5 14 25 Board of Education Meeting

and join us in saying the pledge.
I pledge allegiance to the flag of the
United States of America and to the
republic for which it stands, one nation
under God, indivisible, with liberty and
justice for
all. Thank you, Chris. Would you read
the motion to approve the agenda as
posted, please? I move that the board of
education approve the agenda as posted.
Second.
Oh, all those in favor? Any opposed?
Okay. Motion passes. Agenda is
approved. Um Okay. Um I'd like to move
now to recognizing our own Dr. Sberger.
Thank
you. Good evening. Tonight, we are proud
to recognize a group of Clayton High
School seniors who have committed to
pursuing careers in education. Through
their involvement in our educators
rising club led by CHS teacher Dr.
Lauren Compton, these students have
demonstrated a strong passion for
teaching and a deep commitment to their
future of learning. Seniors have
participated in various shadowing
opportunities in our elementary schools
in their respective areas. They also met
monthly for many education lessons and
participated in an HR Q&A session. On
May 6th, 2025, these students
participated in National Educator
Signing Day, a celebration held across
the country to honor students who have
chosen to pursue a career in education.
Supported by the school district of
Clayton faculty, these students were
recognized for their decision to become
future educators. A choice that reflects
both vision and a strong sense of
purpose. Please join us in honoring the
following students. I'm going to
announce the names and then I'll have
you guys come up and take pictures so
that we can um recognize you tonight.
So, first we have Sam Brown. Sam is
pursuing a degree in secondary education
at St. Louis Community College. Then we
have Iron Bell pursuing a degree in
secondary music education at Missouri
State University. We have Riley
Zimmerman pursuing a degree in
elementary education at Vanderbelt
University. We have Lauren Young
pursuing a degree in K through2 physical
education at Illinois College and Maddie
Nettles pursuing a degree in K through2
physical education also at Illinois
College. Please join me in a round of
applause for our
students. You guys like to come. Um Sam,
do you want to come up first? Is Sam
here? Come up.
All
[Applause]
right.
We'll get
[Applause]
You know, she's going to love that.
All right.
[Applause]
We're imp incredibly ly proud of their
decision to pursue this noble profession
and we are confident they will inspire,
guide and empower generations of
students to come. Congratulations to our
future
educators. Okay. Next, we would like to
recognize um our student representative
on the board of education, Lucia Lena.
this is her last meeting since we don't
um have the student rep come to meetings
after school is out. So Lucia, we are
going to miss you so much. We have all
appreciated your preparedness, your
enthusiasm, and the many ways in which
you shared the student perspective with
us through your organized
presentations and also your thoughtful
contributions to all of our discussions,
always with a smile.
You embody exactly what we had in mind
when we created this position six years
ago to bring to the board a student who
has the ability to represent the diverse
voices of our entire student body. Being
the student rep takes a lot of time yet
you've never complained. We're always
well informed and wellprepared which we
all appreciate. Congratulations on
graduation. Best of luck at WashU and
since you'll be close we hope to see you
around. Congratulations.
[Applause]
Think you should bring your grandma for
the
Good morning.
[Applause]
Thank you, Lucia.
and to to your abuela who came all the
way from Peru just for
tonight. Um, thank you. Thank you to
her, Lucia, to your family for being
here as well. Um, I would also like to
take this opportunity to introduce our
new student representative on the school
board, Nina Storius. Nina sitting next
to Lucia tonight to kind of um see what
it's like to be at a meeting and also I
wanted the opportunity to introduce her
to the board and to the community.
um we had several qualified applicants
and went through an um application
process, two different rounds of
interviews. So I am proud to welcome
Nina to the board. Um some of the
reasons that we selected Nenah is that
she is very approachable. She is
organized, she is mature, confident,
prepared, and articulate. And we are
looking forward very much to having you
join us on the board next year, Nina.
Thank you. So let's welcome Nina.
Thank you.
And you don't have to stay the whole
time. If you if you need to go to do
homework, that's fine. I'm very excited.
Okay, great. Great, Nina. Great first
impression. Um, and that excitement.
Yeah. And also Lucia's family, you don't
need to stay. And the other recognizing
our own families, you are welcome to
stay for the entire meeting, but you're
free to leave if you want to as
well. Um, okay. So, moving ahead to
public comment.
Um, I would like to start with Thomas
Gershman.
Good evening. Uh, thank you all for your
time. I'm here to My name is Thomas
Gershman. I have uh two kids at Glenidge
Elementary School.
Um I'm here to address the incident that
occurred this week of
um a illegal hate event at
Glenrich. What happened?
um this we're not exactly sure as
parents but some sort of anti-semitic
uh writing as well as racist writing. So
maybe
swastikas, maybe Jews are bad, maybe the
n-word. Um we can only speculate as to
what
happened.
Um what happened though is horrible.
What happened is
horrible. Let's all establish that
premise, which I don't know has been
communicated. What does the district
have to say? Hate has no place in
Clayton. Hate does have a place in
Clayton and it's on the exterior of
Glenidge.
Clayton is a place where hate is dealt
with
reactively. Thank you Clayton PD for
doing your
part. Reality is this impacts our
children who we are all first
responsible
to. The district must make changes.
What
changes will the district make to
address anti-semitism and
racism? Now, I'd like to
read a statement from another parent,
Tara
Hoisington. I have been a parent at this
school for 11 years. My children
collectively have attended the family
center, Glenidge, Marramck, Wound, and
Clayton High School.
During my family's time in the district,
I have observed and p participated in
initiatives that aspired to ensure that
all students voices, identities, and
experiences are valued. I would ask now
that the school board advise the
leadership at our schools to evaluate if
the same considerations are being
afforded to the Jewish students in the
district. Judaism is a religion that is
practiced with a widely diverse level of
observance. The customs, religious
practices, and culture will vary from
region to region and even from family to
family. The Jewish people, however, are
a minority ethnic group that has been
historically marginalized, discriminated
against, and persecuted for centuries.
Anti-semitism is again on the rise in
this country with
incidences of anti-semitic
harassment one of our schools. While
this incident was shocking, it can
hardly be surprising to anyone who has
been paying attention to the rise in
such hate
speech. But how lucky we are to be part
of a district who has been dedicated to
self-reflection and courageous
conversations around race and identity.
We have an
opportunity right now. The windows open.
We have an opportunity to use this
moment to teach our students
historically accurate information in an
age appropriate way to evaluate whether
our curriculum is explicitly defining
and calling out anti-semitism and to
check in with social emotional needs for
our Jewish students and others
impacted. A statement asserting that
hate, discrimination, and and
intolerance have no place in our schools
is an important first step, but means
very little if not followed up by
meaningful. Thank you for addressing
these requests and concerns with the
seriousness required. Sincerely,
thank you. Thank you for sharing Tara's
statement as well.
Um, me Greenberg.
Hi, good evening. Um, is this on? Can
you hear me? Okay. Um, I just wanted to
take a minute to publicly thank the
district and especially the nurses at
the family center. Um, so my they were
so instrumental in making sure that my
son's um, school experience went on
seamlessly after he broke his leg. He's
three, so he can't operate crutches. And
they I emailed them over spring break
that this had happened. And um within
one day, they had written back that they
had gotten a little toddlerized
wheelchair for the family center and
that there was room in the budget for
that. And I just wanted to say thank you
so much to Jod Tomchek and Heather
Chrisman. They and to the district for
having the funds to do that. And I feel
very grateful that they were in they
were in the position to be able to do
that so that my son could continue to go
to school. I have friends that have had
little toddlers break their legs and
they've had to keep them home from
preschool or um go to school with them
and just the nurses and the teachers at
the family center were great. So, I just
wanted to say thank you. Thank
you. Okay. And Maria Ria.
Um hello. Yes. So, this is a statement
against anti-
anti-semitism and hatred.
And my family and I are deeply saddened
and outraged are outraged by the recent
act of anti
antiatism that occurred within our
school school community. Acts of hate
whether
sad or overt have no place in our
schools, our city or our world. This is
deeply personal for us. We left Russia
to escape anti-semitism, seeking safety
and opportunity. Yet now, our own
children are facing the same hatred
here. For my wife and I, as a longtime
resident and parent, this incident
painfully echoes the fear and prejudice
we once fled. We remember a place where
Jewish children were bullied simply for
who they were, hoping that here would be
different only to witness hate reemerge
in our children's
school. Let us be clear, anti-semitism,
racism, and all forms of bigotry are
unacceptable. Our schools must be places
of safety, inclusion, and respect for
every student and family. We must come
together not just to condemn this act
but but to ensure it never happens
again. This means talking to our
children about empathy and respect and
working with our school's leaders to
promote a culture of understanding and
inclusion. Hate has no home here.
Sincerely, Everra family.
Thank
you.
Um, Jenny Kaufman.
Good evening. Can you hear me? Okay.
Yes. My name is Jenny Kaufman. I am the
mom, a Jewish mom of two Jewish girls, a
first grader and a sixth grader in
Clayton. They are grandkids and great
grandkids of Holocaust survivors and
rabbis on one side, Holocaust survivors
on one side and rabbis on the other. At
the beginning of nth grade in another
city, I was sitting with a Jewish friend
of mine in a classroom of kids of
diverse backgrounds. Upon learning we
were Jewish, one of my new classmates
gazed at us in surprise. "My grandmother
told me Jews have horns," she said in a
matter of fact way, shocked that we did
not indeed have
horns. We were able to have an open
conversation about Jewish stereotypes,
which became a learning moment. We were
fortunate that in my school that my
school was enrolled in a groundbreaking
curriculum called facing history and
ourselves which examines pivotal moments
in history such as the Holocaust, the
South African apartheid, the civil
rights movement to help students
understand that history is not
inevitable. Bystanders can make the
choice to become upstanders and choices
make history. Fast forward to two weeks
ago. I learned of a hate speech incident
at a public elementary school in a
nearby state. A Jewish first grader
discovered the words f the Jews written
out on the inside of the walls of the
Gaga pit on their playground. It's
ironic because gaga is thought to be
important from
Israel. The first grader tried to report
the hate speech to three different
teachers and only ended up getting
himself in trouble for saying the f
word.
Some days later, a fourth grader
reported to a teacher who told the
principal who had the facilities manager
remove the hate speech. No further
action was taken. The police were not
called. Parents were not notified. No
education was provided to students or
staff
on regarding the incident, how to
process it, or check in with their
safety. This was obviously a complete
and total failure to support and educate
the literal equivalent of sweeping it
under the rug. As distressing as this
story was, I comforted myself with the
thought that if a similar incident were
to happen within my home district in
Clayton, the response would look
completely different. Following police
involvement, a letter from our
superintendent, our students would
immediately receive an age appropriate
explanation of what happened, of why
anti-Jewish and antilack symbols and
speech are never okay and what to do if
they hear or see something in the
future. I spoke with my six-year-old, my
12-year-old. But these conversations
should not only happen in the home. Our
kids deserve to feel mutually mutually
respected and safe in their schools and
communities. They are counting on us to
respond with real tangible education and
about anti-semitism, Jewish history and
inclusion of Jewish students. Anything
less and we risk history repeating
itself. Thank you so much for listening.
Thank you,
Dylan Gelfand.
Hi,
my Hi, my name is Dylan Gelfand. I go to
Glen Ranch and I'm in third grade. On
Saturday, two kids wrote swastikas at my
school. As a Jewish 9-year-old, it felt
like the Nazi symbol, a swastika, was
targeted toward me and other Jews. When
I went to school on Tuesday morning, I
was not even surprised to see that this
was not talked about enough in our
classroom. I was not surprised because
at my school, Glenidge, we don't talk
about anti-semitism and racism enough.
Most of my friends do not even know what
anti-semitism or the Holocaust are. When
I heard there were swastikas at my
school, the first thoughts that came to
my mind were, why would people do this?
Weren't they educated? But the answer
sadly was they weren't as much as they
should have been. That's why we need to
educate students more about the
Holocaust, anti-semitism, and racism.
What I'm asking you to do is bring
someone in from the Holocaust Museum to
all of our elementary schools and ask
them to teach third, fourth, and fifth
grade about Nazi symbols, racism, and
anti-semitism.
I do not have the power myself to bring
someone in to teach these schools, but
you guys do. You can be the reason this
doesn't happen again, but we have to be
willing to talk and learn about it
first.
Thank you,
Marissa Gelfian.
Hi, I'm Marissa Gelfand. I'm a Clayton
parent and a Jewish woman with a black
brother and a gender queer sibling. When
I was a teenager, there was a KKK
presence in my town culminating in a
confrontation between the KKK and Jesse
Jackson on the steps of the town hall on
Martin Luther King Day. My high school
was steps away. That is to say, I know
hate. I've seen it many times and it
looks like
ignorance. I love the Clayton School
District. Clayton shaped my kids as
learners and it shaped me as a parent.
Sometimes our best feedback comes from
our closest friends. I say this with
love. Clayton is failing its Jewish
students and family members and the
community at large by not adequately
educating its students about
anti-semitism, the Holocaust, hate
speech, and hate symbols. Over the
weekend, two Clayton kids made a huge
mistake. They were ignorant. They
engaged in hate crimes. Only now, with
the damage done, are they likely coming
to understand the magnitude of their
behaviors. Their mistake was our
mistake. We shaped them. We cannot erase
hate from all of Missouri, but we can
certainly tackle it with the kids we
have in our schools for seven hours a
day. This is not the first incident of
hate speech in the Clayton School
District or at Glenidge. If kids are
able to move through a Clayton education
without learning about hate speech and
symbols, without learning about
anti-semitism and the Holocaust, we have
failed. As evidenced over the weekend,
we are failing. And now my nine-year-old
doesn't want to be on school grads
before or after school without me. A
place where he felt safe just a week ago
is now shattered and desecrated. He
worries that people in his community
hate him because he's Jewish. And as you
saw, he's a really brave
kid. We cannot continue avoiding this
conversation. This isn't a lesson kids
should only learn at home. If I could
devise a consequence for these kids, it
would include spending the day with me,
my black brother, my gender queer
sibling, and their wife. We would have
fun. We'd go to the Holocaust Museum.
I'd also encourage my siblings to talk
and share their life experiences because
even though we grew up together, our
perspectives are
different. This is basically what I
experienced as a middle schooler when
the my temple was swastikuted. My rabbi
held Hebrew school classes outside,
invited in Holocaust survivors and
neighboring students and community
members and advocacy groups, and he
followed their advice. Together, we
learned and together we said never
again. Friends tell friends when they're
going astray. Friends also hold hands
and walk forward together. Clayton's
past has been problematic for members of
the Jewish community, and that doesn't
need to be the future. I believe that we
can be partners and that Clayton has to
act with tangible real real steps. No
brushing microaggressions or
anti-semitic comments or discrimination
under the rug. Through complicity, the
district is unfortunately allowing
ignorance and hate to fester. I hope the
horrible events of last weekend serve as
a wakeup call to the administration and
marks the beginning of a new era in
Catton that take and that we take the
necessary steps to ensure a welcoming
and inclusive environment for Jewish
people.
Thank
you. Okay. Um before we head
to the superintendent update, um I just
wanted to say a few words about the
incident at Glenidge, which it seems
that everyone is aware of. Um, this was
very hurtful to me professionally as a
board member, but also personally
because I am a member of the Jewish
community as well as the Glenridge
community. But I also understand this
this deeply affected others, our black
community and our our allies and
supporters in our community in general.
So, I just wanted to say I'm grateful
for for Dr. Patel's leadership and her
quick response
um by involving the Clayton Police
Department, her communication about it.
And I also am grateful to the police for
their quick action and assistance and
for the many community members who have
reached out to share their heartbreak
over this, their solidarity with us and
to offer support. The diversity of our
community to me is what makes Clayton so
special and so beautiful. and the way we
support one another is also what makes
Clayton so special and so beautiful. So
I do want everyone um to know that and
also know that im immediately following
um the revelation of this incident, the
district leadership did immediately
begin working on plans to offer both
education and support to our students
and families, which you'll hear more
about from Dr. Patel.
Um, changing gears a little bit, I also
wanted to acknowledge um that May, this
is our first May meeting, has brought
many annual celebrations and
recognitions that I wanted to thank our
communications team for recognizing. One
of which is JewishAmerican Heritage
Month. Um, we also have um May is also
Asian-American Pacific Islander uh month
and I again thank the communications
team for recognizing that. I think it's
even more meaningful now as we as we
talk about the hate in our community to
recognize these minority groups um this
month. But also May is also mental
health awareness month which also ties
into that. But in addition we had
teacher appreciation week and national
school nurses day which um was perfectly
fitting to me's comment tonight. So, um,
I just wanted to acknowledge that
because May is a big month of
recognitions and celebrations, some of
which to me were are very timely,
unfortunately. But I will hand it over
to Dr. Patel for her update. Thank you,
Stacy. Good evening, everyone, and thank
you for taking the time to give us some
um feedback and your perspectives
through public comments. We always
appreciate that and value your
perspectives. So, thank you for that.
Before I get into my superintendent
update, I do want to echo uh what Stacy
said in terms of we understand the
gravity. There's an alarm going off, so
it's just Is that just me? Okay. Um we
understand the gravity of this and as I
said in my communication, we completely
condemn any anti-semitic acts or any
type of hate speech against our black
families. When situations like this
happen, they not only hurt the groups
that it was targeted to, we know it
hurts the entire community. We know it
causes pain, it causes fear, it causes
uncertainty and a level of chaos. And it
also um is a stark reminder to us of the
work that we continue to do in this
area. One of our commitments, right, is
our strategic goal in being a place for
everyone where everyone feels safe and
they feel valued and the education that
comes with that. And so whether it's
looking at curriculum, it's looking at
programming, it's looking at speakers
coming in, we are continuing to do that.
And in fact, we want to make sure that
we enhance that. And this is a reminder
for us that this work is ongoing. Just
yesterday, Dr. pool, our chief officer
of equity inclusion, met with or had a
meeting with um representatives from
ADL. There was a represent from J J two
representatives from JCRC St. Louis and
NAACP. So, we're talking with them,
engaging with them on how we can be
better. That's one of the things we
always ask our students, right? And what
are some things we can do better and
learn from? Um and so, I just want to
reaffirm our commitment to this work.
We're not shying away from it. We're not
shying away from courageous
conversations. We don't shy away from
reflecting and seeing areas that we can
continue to be better in. And I just
want to make sure that the community
knows that we are dedicated to this
work. Um we started this school year
with me addressing our entire district
staff with the theme of being stronger
together. And I think it's fitting
especially during challenging times. And
I think it's fitting that we're towards
the end of the year almost second to the
last board meeting. And here I I those
words kept coming back to me about being
stronger together. And I do believe that
we can rise above hate, but I believe
that we can do it through empathy and to
a lot of your points, education. And so
I want you to know that we're committed
to that and we will assure you that we
will take necessary um additional steps
that we need to and we'll be
communicating that out. And I think part
of that also is an understanding of what
we currently are doing in the district
that we probably in reflecting haven't
done a good job communicating that piece
as well. There are things that we that
are happening at our elementary schools,
middle schools, and high schools that we
don't advertise because we just feel
like it's part of what we do. Um, and I
think part of that is also sharing our
story in that work that we're doing. So,
thank you for your comments and please
know we've reflected we're reflecting on
it and we'll continue to be
better. Okay, I'm going to switch gears
now and get into the formal
superintendent update. And look how
everybody leaves as soon as I said that.
Not I'm not calling you guys out. Thank
you. Just
kidding. Have a great
evening. Um, so superintendent update.
We It's a busy time of the year.
Obviously, it's May and lot of
celebrations, lots of activities
happening. In addition, lots of
assessments happening and I'm sure our
students can attest to that. One of the
things at the high school level, we are
having AP exams um being administered.
We have over a thousand AP exams this
year that we're administered during and
I'm sure Lucia can speak to some of
those and the experience that they're
having with that. Um in addition at the
high school we're also having EOCC exams
that are taking place in in um algebra
1, English 2, biology and government. So
our high school students are also taking
part in that. And then also our three
through 8th grade students are
participating in the MAP testing. I
believe it's over now. We should be
completely done. I'm seeing nods. Look
at them. They're like, "Yes, we're
done." Um, and then in addition, our
fifth and eighth graders also take the
science assessments in addition to the
math and literacy assessments. And then
also grades K through eight, we look at
math assessments through NWA. And we're
always looking at literacy development
with our STAR assessments. I say all
that to say May is a busy month not only
for our students who we thank for
staying focused and committed to this
work and our staff who organize all of
this and make sure it's run smoothly and
effectively. It is an important part of
what we do. I know it's like a lot of
testing but that's data is important for
us because then we can turn around and
see how we can personalize learning for
each of our students. So, I do want to
thank our students for really focusing
and giving it your all during those
days. Um, next long range facilities
plan update. Real quick, if you
remember, we're in the process of doing
our RFQ right now. And we had outlined
three priority areas. One priority area
was looking at the high school and
addition of an academic wing and
refreshing the auditorium. Another
priority area was our athletic fields,
looking at W down and looking at gay
campus. And the third and most complex
priority was looking at our three
elementary schools and the aging
buildings and facilities and what to do
with that. We've issued an RFQ. Look,
I'm Yes, we're we're we're getting
there. Elementary, we're getting there.
Um I can see someone really excited
about that in middle school and turf. Um
so we've issued our RFQ. We've our the
deadline was yesterday to for architect
firms to turn in the submissions. We
actually had 16 firms
um submit. So there there's a list of
all of them in alphabetical order. What
happens next? We look at the 16 firms.
We evaluate their qualifications. Um all
of them are very highly qualified. We
have the hard job of narrowing this list
down and then we'll have selection
interviews. The interviews are like
district administration, board members,
community members, and parents. and it's
a panel interview and then we will bring
our final recommendations to the June
4th board meeting for the board to
accept um our recommendation. So that's
an update exciting work happening in
that area. And then the next thing I
would be remiss to not mention the
Mayfair awards that we recently had.
This is an annual celebration that the
district puts together to recognize all
of our staff. We had over 200 um
community staff members in attendance
and we celebrate our staff who've been
here for years. So, years of service,
including our teachers and staff that
are retiring. It's a feel-good um event.
I think there was lots of smiles. We
make sure there's boxes of Kleenex at
each table because there also lots of
tears as we celebrate these amazing
individuals. And I really want to thank
the board for being there and um
supporting our staff because it means a
lot. So, I appreciate all of you giving
up another evening and volunteering your
time again for us. So, thank you for
that. And then presentations. We have
two tonight. Our first one is our K8
counseling program. Dr. pool. Jason
Thompson, who's our Wound Middle School
counselor and counseling coordinator,
and Jenny Todd, our amazing Glenidge
counselor, is going to be at the table
to give you an overview of K8 counseling
and also really give you
um set the stage for the two-year
program study that they're about to
embark on in that journey. So, that'll
be the goal for that presentation. And
then we have Mr. Brazil, who is going to
give us the first draft of our budget,
and he will be back in June for formal
adoption of that budget. And with that,
it is my honor one last time to hand off
um the the platform to you, Lucia, to
give the student update. And I just have
to say from my perspective, Lucia, I am
so proud of you. You are one of the most
amazing human beings that I have met.
And I hope that you stay in touch with
us.
Thank you.
Thank you very very much. No, it's been
an incredible year and I'm so so honored
to be able to be sitting at this table
right now. Um I would like to start off
with some shoutouts. Um earlier this
month, CHS celebrated the remarkable
achievements of its students at the
annual awards ceremony. The event was a
resounding success, drawing the largest
and most enthusiastic crowd in recent
memory. It was an inspiring event
dedicated to honoring students for their
exceptional accomplishments in the
classroom, on the athletic fields, on
stage, and through their service to the
community. While this is just a snapshot
of the evening, it was a truly fantastic
night, and we want to say congrats again
to all of the recipients.
Jonah, a fifth grade student at Captain
Elementary School, recently qualified to
compete in the 2025 International
Academic Competitions, Middle and
Elementary School National Championships
for the National Geography B. Later this
month, he will travel to Orlando,
Florida to represent the school, and we
wish him the best of
luck. In April, Tiffany Markwart, the
dedicated art teacher at Captain
Elementary School, was honored at the
post dispatch teacher of the month. Her
achievement was celebrated with a photo
in the newspaper and a thoughtful gift
in recognition of her efforts to engage
and inspire students through the arts.
Congratulations, Miss
Markquart. Um, additionally, I would
like to bring back a report on the
meetings that I had with the elementary
schools this quarter. And first off, I
would like to say that I have loved
every single one of these meetings. I
have laughed so much with each and every
one of these kids and had a great time
talking about the schools. It is
incredibly clear clear that they love
their teachers, their communities, and
that they have a lot of school spirit.
Um, having said this though, I would
love to share some of the common threads
through the elementary schools that I
heard during our discussions. Um, one of
the first ones that I would like to
address is playground layout. Um, there
was lots of voices for adding a turf
field to Marramac and to Captain. um not
only for the use of playground
activities but also learning activities
and of course to prevent some injuries
that I've heard that the black top
actually um has a lot when um in during
recess. Um also we had some
conversations about Marramac's back
corner in the playground how it could
maybe be utilized for some more
um indepth recess fun activities. They
feel that it's a little more underused
and only a couple of kids go there. So
maybe they're adding some green spaces,
the turf field and there there was just
a lot of advocation for that corner.
It's the So there's the black top and
then the playground and then there's a
little wood chip corner that has a
couple of a couple of like jungle gym
things that you can use. But that was
one of the main areas that we had
speaking loudly for Marramac. Um, we
also had some great discussions at the
three elementary schools for advocacy in
computer and typing lessons. Especially
with the use of Chromebooks and how much
it's being utilized more and more and
presented through the elementary
schools, students felt that they could
greatly benefit from having some typing
classes and being able to learn exactly
where your fingers go and how they can
type quicker and just feel how this is
going to be better for like their
homework and the use of their
technology. Especially as technology is
becoming much and more used, much much
more used throughout the um throughout
the years. We also had my last point is
to um a couple of improvements in the
classroom. Um maybe bigger desks, some
areas more designated for um being able
to put backpacks and materials. Um we
also had some great advocacy in two of
the schools actually Marramac and
Captain for some um comfortable corners
really with some seating where people
could go and relax, have
um maybe some me time, be able to gather
their emotions and it was amazing to
actually hear this come from the
students as well. Um yeah and then also
there was lots of advocacy for some
flexible seating throughout the
classroom. Maybe just the addition of
the rubber bands. I know lots of
students had come to me saying that they
had loved when they were able to use the
rubber bands um in their desks and be
able to use it. They help they thought
that it greatly benefited their um
education and there's a lot of advocacy
for that. It was truly great to hear um
all of the ideas and improvements for
the students had for the buildings and
the areas outside because my mind
immediately went to the long range
facilities master plan and how it aligns
exactly with what our district has
worked so hard throughout the school
year. So, I know that Nina is going to
do a great job next year of being able
to advocate for those students and bring
all of the ideas to the table. Um,
having said that, I would like to say a
couple of words about our next student
representative. Um, Nenah is someone who
embodies what it means to be a leader. I
have been able to see this through
speech and debate throughout my years,
and she is a wonderful person. Whether
through her thoughtful ideas, her
ability to listen, or the way she has
always made people feel seen and valued,
Nenah stands up. She is dedicated,
compassionate, and unafraid to speak up
for what matters. I have no doubt that
Nina will bring fresh and amazing energy
to this role. Best of
luck. Um, and last, but certainly not
least, I would truly like to thank every
member of this board table. I have had
such an incredible year and have grown
thanks to your support, love, and
guidance, and I will miss you very much
next year. Um, I am very thankful to
have had the opportunity to be a student
representative this year and to have
been able to attend all of these amazing
meetings. So, thank you.
Thank you,
Lucia. And I know you have AP tests, so
if you have to leave early tonight. Oh,
that's I would have missed my last
meeting. I know. Just wanted to make the
offer. Yeah, just wanted to make the
offer. Thank you. Um, okay. Thank you.
I'll turn it over now to Dr. P for the
counseling program update.
All
right. Good evening. Thanks for having
us at the board table today. Um,
tonight's presentation will be led by
myself, Dr. Cameron P. To my left we
have Miss Jenny Todd who serves as our
elementary counselor at Glen Ridge
Elementary and then Jason Thompson who
serves as our curriculum coordinator for
counseling um as well as a counselor at
WA Middle
School. There we go. So tonight's uh
presentation is twofold. Um, our goal
tonight is to give you a snapshot of
what counseling looks like K through
eight. Um, earlier this fall, we came
with our uh, high school team and they
gave you a deep dive into the college
and career process 9 through 12. Uh, so
we wanted to make sure that we also
touched on K through8 just to show kind
of the vertical alignment um, of our
counseling program. Um, and I'm excited
to have us finish uh, you know, the back
part of these presentations as well
because I think it sets the stage well
for our two-year program study uh, that
we will be launching into into our
counseling program to look at exactly
um, as times change, as our children
change, uh, do our services and do our
personnel match the needs of our
students which are changing every day.
Um, and we hope to get answers for that
in terms of counseling programming and
personnel moving forward in the future.
All right. Well, first of all, I want to
thank you all again for allowing us to
come to this table. Um, I think I came
last year to do a curriculum report and
I did bring candy, so I'm bringing it
again. And it's symbolic. So, as you
know, educators and counselors fill our
buckets so we can fill yours. So, please
take a piece and then don't ask any
crazy questions and stroke
it. All right? So, enjoy that. So,
basically, um, I'm excited because we
are doing our two-year program um,
review. As you all know, last year we
did a curriculum review for two years.
And you may you may have remembered back
then there were four areas of school
counseling and curriculum is one of
them. So we're excited this year to
actually begin looking at all four of
our components. And we're going to use
something called the Missouri
Comprehensive School Program Evaluation.
Say that fast. So Mosby for short. And
that was created by DESIE along with the
Missouri School Counselor Association.
It's a way for school counselors in in
the state and actually in the in the
country actually. Some other states have
adopted this particular evaluation tool
to let people know, let programs know
how well they're doing in those four
areas, identify strengths and areas for
growth and really just to help our make
our best
better. And so with that with the MOSI
once again, we're going to look at that
as each building to look at those four
areas. Desi has put out some evaluation
tools for that to let us know what areas
we should be working on and what
percentage of our time should be
dedicated to certain areas. So starting
in August, we're going to look at each
building and use this tool to see what
areas we're doing well in and then areas
for improvement and then that will set
our smart goals in our two-year plan and
hopefully with that you all will be able
to approve our two-year
plan. So you think about four areas
again we learned about some of this last
year. So, I'll kind of do a quick
review. So, our first area is school
counseling curriculum. And this is where
we're teaching lessons, co-f
facilitating classes, having guest
speakers come in to teach about really
things that we kind of mentioned earlier
today before we came up here, things
like social emotional development,
academic development, and career
development. So, those are done in the
lessons. And with that, we took an
average from K through 8th grade on what
percentage of our time we're working on
these areas. And from K through 8 this
year is about a 20% of our time is
working on school counseling curriculum.
The next one is individual student
planning. Once again about 12% of our
time is built on that one. Definitely at
the middle school we spend more time on
our IAPS the individual career and
academic plan. So starting in eighth
grade every student will have a plan
created for that person and that carries
on to high school to help them with
their career and college goals. Then two
we look at goal setting. We do a
check-in, check out with students that
need it. Course advising, scheduling,
and transitions. And we'll talk more
about transitions later. Responsive
services, you can see 35% of our time is
with that. That's when we spend most of
our time where we're actually sitting in
working face to face with students
either through individual counseling,
group counseling, um crisis counseling,
consulting, and things like that. The
final one, system support, 19%. This is
where we are basically supporting the
school, supporting the district and
supporting the community in different
systems. So this way we are part of
program advising, we do professional
development, program management, program
evaluation and also involved on various
committees.
Well, good evening everyone. I'm Jenny
Todd and I'm the counselor at Glenidge
Elementary School and I'm going to be
speaking on behalf of the entire
elementary team tonight. And so I want
to start off with going over just giving
you all a snapshot of what we do as
elementary school counselors. We believe
that early intervention is extremely
important because we take we are the
first ones that have the impact on our
students as they make it through their K
through2 education and we hope that our
impact really contributes to their
post-secary outcomes. So, as Jason
mentioned, a lot of what we do is
providing individual and small groupoup
counseling at the elementary school. We
use a lot of datainformed decisions to
decide which students that we work with
because again, we want to make sure that
we are making a significant impact on
our students. We deliver classroom
lessons on social emotional learning.
Those lessons can include empathy,
respect, responsibility, diversity, and
all of our lessons are listed um under
our curriculum programming on the
Clayton website. And then we also, as
Jason said, respond to student needs as
they arrive. In addition to that, we
consistently collaborate with teachers,
families, administrators. We ensure that
communication is consistent so that we
can have a very collaborative
relationship with our parents and our
community. And then we also just want to
make sure we are removing any barriers
to learning and academic
potential. So Jason mentioned
transitions and we wanted to give you an
idea of how students are transitioned
into the elementary schools. So we have
transition meetings with the family
centers and those are happening now. And
so that gives us an opportunity to get
to know not only the students but the
families as well of our students who are
coming in. In addition, we have
kindergarten preview and orientation
activities. The kindergarten preview not
only gives me the counselor an
opportunity to get to know the students
but also the kindergarten teachers, the
administrators and it helps the students
feel more comfortable on the campus so
that they can have a seamless transition
into elementary school. And then we also
work on transition from fifth grade to
middle school. We offer counseling
lessons, transition lessons. We take our
students on middle school visits and
give them the opportunity to take a look
at wind down to ask any questions that
they have about their experiences. And I
also work with individual students who
may have a little bit of anxiety with
that transition. And then we have
transition meetings with middle school
personnel and just give them a heads up
about our student needs.
All right, that picture was not
photoshopped. Those people look great.
So great to be honest with you. So I um
have Liz Tucker who's our current eighth
grade counselor will be sixth grade
counselor next year and then Mark
Schneider who is our sixth grade
counselor this year and I'm the seventh
grade counselor.
So very similar to elementary, our goal
for a middle school support students,
teachers, and families. Though basically
all of our stakeholders, we play a vital
role in the areas of responsive
services, individual and group
counseling, individual student planning,
as well as personal, academic, and
career development. And that's done
again through our lessons in classrooms,
individual sessions, group sessions, and
our individual student
planning. So like like elementary, we
have transitions also. um exciting year.
I know Liz is our eighth grade
counselor, working with sixth grade, I
mean fifth grade, too. So, she's doing
double work. So, she's working with all
of the students at the elementary level
and fifth grade, getting them ready to
make a smooth transition to the high
school, working with the teachers and
staff and administrators and parents at
those schools to learn as much as we can
about those fifth graders again so they
become part of our YO down family. We
have a counselor administrative visits
to elementaryaries done every year where
they make presentations to the students
to let them know about the positives and
excitement about coming to the middle
school and answer all the great
questions they have as far as will I get
left behind? Will people know me? Will I
know my locker and things like that. So,
it's really exciting time for them to
learn. Then also we have a great time
just happened in April with our fifth
graders come and visit us and we have
eighth grade web leaders where this
stands for where everyone belongs and
they serve as mentors and tour guides
for those fifth graders again just to
welcome them to their school. And then
I'm very partial to this web
orientation. Myself and Chris Chisum are
the two co-directors for web. And we
started this about maybe six, seven
years ago where we actually have a half
day dedicated just to our rising sixth
graders. the whole school is theirs. We
have full activities, small group
activities. We do tours and answer
questions and feedback from teachers,
parents, and students is that when that
first day of school comes, they feel
ready. And then final one for the eighth
grade to high school transition. We're
looking at curriculum and transition
lessons to prepare students about
getting ready for high school. What
exactly is a GPA? Why is every every
grade, every assignment important? And
talking about that with those students.
Uh we assist with the I caps. Again,
every student will have an ICAP by
eighth grade and that carries them
through the high school years. They do
eighth grade visits at the central
Clayton High School also. And we have
transition meetings throughout the year
with all CHS
personnel. And this is something just to
kind of show the different areas again
and what's used by the different
buildings. As you can tell, most of the
four components are being used K through
8th grade. The only major difference
right now is the counseling lessons. I
know elementary school counselors kind
of use that um something called
character strong that we've adopted a
few years ago. They use that with their
lessons whereas our school at W down all
the teachers use that in some way or the
some form or the other. The other areas
you can tell that K through 8th grade
everyone is using. Um individual student
planning we have the IAP of course since
that is a eighth grade specific.
Elementary won't um do that one. And
then career fairs, we do that every
three years at the height at the at
Yown. And I believe elementary touches
on careers throughout their lessons
throughout the
year. You all have the candies, so
there's no
questions. All right. We're open it up.
Okay. Um I have a question, but who I
I'll just open up the floor to anyone
else. Lucia or Nina, do you have any
questions for them?
You don't have to. No pressure.
So, you said Oh, turn that up. Yeah,
there you go.
You said you have pretty positive
student feedback from the web program at
Woundown. Um, like what's the specific
feedback you're hearing? What do you
think is like working well, especially
like within that program? Great
question. That's one of my students.
Great question. So, great.
So, yes, that's right. That's right. So,
I would say actually we had uh our web
we're doing web interviews right now.
And so, we have about 85 students that
are all trying to apply for just 40
spots. And so, we are myself and Chris
have a great opportunity to meet with
those students. And one question we
asked is that what do you remember about
web when you came in last year as a
sixth grader? What do you remember? And
many of them said I was scared coming to
white down. It's huge homework, bigger
kids and things like that. But most of
them said, "My web leader helped me with
that transition." And that having an
eighth grade kind of a rock star,
someone who knew me in the hallways,
they really felt they belonged at White
because people saw them. Yeah, great
question.
Okay, Lucia, did you Yeah. Um, first of
all, thank you so much for the
presentation and for the candy. It's
always amazing to be able to go into
like all of the little offices and just
throughout Clayton High School like take
a minute, take a Kit Kat, take a minute.
It's I don't know. It's amazing. Um I
have first of all I'd like to say
something about the transitions because
it's one of the things that I didn't
necessarily mention in my speech in my
um update with the elementary schools
and I think I did mention it in the
middle school one though if not earlier
this year but um it's something that
definitely is on students minds a lot
and I have heard amazing feedback about
the transition. Um fifth graders would
tell me I'm mostly excited but I am
naturally a little bit nervous. I'm just
curious about how it's going to be. Why
on is so big? And then I'd get to the
middle school and speak with sixth
graders and say it was amazing. Like my
nerves like they were completely all
addressed. It was perfect. And that they
had really positive things to say about
the transitions, especially from same
thing with the eighth graders and then
speaking to the ninth graders. So, thank
you really to the counseling department
for being able to make it possible. I
did have um a little question about it
though. Um, how do students know that
they can individually like request
counseling for that transition? Is like
is it are they do they approach you or
is there like I won't say and if you
have any like questions just how sort of
it's introduced.
Sure. Absolutely. And so when the middle
school comes over, we do let students
know that if they are experiencing some
concerns, they can definitely meet with
their elementary counselor and if they
do need that extra time, we give it to
them. Okay, perfect.
I would say the same thing for middle
school actually part of our tours when
they tour the building um one stop is
the counseling office. So they go in,
they see their teacher, I see their
counselor, they see Miss Stout who's
awesome. She's our registar and
everything at White House. So they meet
her too. And then at the beginning of
the year, we um have presentations when
we actually go into each classroom to
introduce ourselves. Normally us and our
administrator for that building or for
that grade level just to let them know
our role, how they can reach us.
Normally students will either email or
just we have an open door policy. So
they just come in if we're busy or not
there, they sign a form and we try to
get to them within 24 hours. Thank you.
Okay. Um I'm wondering we've we hear a
lot about um how teachers use
educ counselors also use that or are
there spaces in educ that that collect
data from counselors and I'm just
curious how you might use that data in
the counseling department. So the
elementary counselors were very lucky
this year. Dr. G came in and showed us
how to input our interventions into edge
of climber. So that's a way for us to
track the support that we're providing
our students and that was something new
that we were able to do this year. It's
great. Okay. And at White, we're
starting the same. Actually, we have a
student leadership team that meets every
Thursday and many times we're talking
about students behavior, their academics
or attendance. We do pull up Edge
Climber to look at that data. Okay.
Thank you. That's great because I I
think what what I love about Edgie
Climber is that
um all the teachers have access, you
know, to looking at basically the whole
child, right? And getting a picture for
them as learners, but I wanted to make
sure they also could access information
about counseling services,
interventions, and social emotional
needs as well. So, I'm I'm I'm glad to
hear that. Thank you.
I learned a new name, Dr. G. Dr.
Gargano. Yeah. I figured I assumed that
was Good job, Jenny. Dr. G. I like that.
Yeah,
Dr. G.
Hi. Um, two questions, I think. Um, at
the very beginning of the presentation,
you gave us like the percentage that you
spend, the school's counseling spends.
This is on page five, I think. the 20%
on school counseling curriculum etc. I'm
wondering how much of that 20% do you
know goes into tier one it seems like
the number two and three or maybe tier
two and three is that I mean would you
say that number one is all tier one
interventions or yes I would say number
one every child gets that and then for
two three two and three is probably tier
two and then responsive services if
needed would be tier three also.
Okay, thank you. Um, and then I'll I had
asked this question ahead of time of Dr.
P, so I'll just give a an opportunity to
answer here for others. Is that you
know, you're embarking on this two-year
we I appreciate the update on where you
are now and then, you know, a forecast
for the next two-year study and if you
could just tell us a little bit more
about what you hope to learn from that
study and do with that study. I know you
said and then come to us and share that
with us. So what are you hoping to find?
So I think one of the big things is um
again one thing that we can all admit is
that you know the the social emotional
need of students is constantly evolving
and I think it's important that our
services um and our personnel evolve
with it. So with the program study, um
the big goal is to see where our time is
being allocated, what are the services,
and then how does that align with
student need um and kind of looking at
the study to give us some answers in
terms of, you know, how we need to
reimagining our counseling programming
moving forward. Um and to kind of give
us some answers on some ways we can
better meet the student need.
Will you speak a little more to re I
love that reimagining our is moving
forward. What can you say more about
what you mean by that? Yeah, definitely.
I think
um I think it comes down to two things
three things programming skill set and
personnel. Um does our programming match
up? So when we look at our uh school
counseling curriculum, when we look at
how we respond to students with our
individual counseling and small group
counseling, um how we keep track of
data, you know, from our risk
assessments, um the role of the
counselor within the systems of support,
whether it be support for with students
with IEPs and disabilities or 504s, kind
of looking at all of the all of that
time and where it's allocated and seeing
if that's the best way for us to meet
the student needs from a mental wellness
and social emotional health lens. Um and
then personnel I think again as um
education evolves and as kids needs
evolve um does our current structure um
do the per does the personnel within the
current structure have the skill set to
meet all kids needs. So if that means
diversifying
um who we have um at the table serving
our children is looking at that. I think
going into next year one you know one
big lift and one change that's happening
is adding a director of support. So
someone with a mental wellness uh
background at the district level, you
know, kind of helping facilitate the
services within the district um as a new
addition, I think will be huge and will
really help in terms of moving forward
with the program study. So just like
that addition, what are some other
additions whether programmatically uh
skill set wise or personnel that we need
to add? Um professional development is
also a big thing with our counselors as
well. oftentimes being in a position
where they're leading professional
development, but what professional
development needs do they have, like I
said, in order to meet the evolving
needs of our students.
What great timing to have our new
director of student services join us.
Agree.
Um, thank you
for I did too, but I'm still gonna ask
the questions.
Um, I appreciate the presentation. Thank
you for being here. Um, I
really I've said this before when you
guys have with just the two and probably
I just you know I'm very proud of our
district for doing the work that we do
in this area and I would want to just
specifically just say how much I
appreciate all of you back there and all
of you sitting at the table for being so
um um just so enthusiastic about what
you do and I just want to say to you
that it is incredibly important and
you're doing a fantastic fantastic job
of making sure that our district um
continues to hold this as a priority for
um our students. So, I appreciate that.
Um okay, my questions. Um the only time
that I heard the word 504 mentioned, it
wasn't on that list you gave Jason that
I saw. I only heard it mentioned by
Cameron, which I was really glad to
hear. Um tell me more about which
category that goes in. Is it individual?
Is it you know what it's not respon is
it responsive? I I mean just tell me
where that belongs and how much time you
guys are spending on it and um how that
has I'm assuming uh from what I know the
number of 504s has increased and what
that looks like in terms of your time um
and um how you see maybe looking at that
differently in the next couple years.
I'll answer the first one. So if you
look that little bottom right
miscellaneous that 14% uh my assumptions
like that's kind of on that part just
because with our professional agencies
or organizations that we follow there's
a non-school counseling related column.
There you go. Yeah. So but that's kind
of part of that 14%. Okay. That's so you
would say so in addition to that 504s
there's a bunch of other things in that
14%. Correct. Okay.
Okay. What about this ex the other
questions I had. How much time do you
spend um
re creating and following through on and
all of those things with 504s?
I will say it varies with each grade and
each building to be honest with you. Um
one thing I will give a huge shout out
to uh Dr. pool is that we now are have
we kind of reinvisioning our 504 process
whereas before the counselors were doing
the majority of the lift uh for various
reasons and now our admins are taking a
lot of that role because they are the
educational leaders of our building they
can make decisions at the table that we
really can't make and it's hard to
advocate for a child and then tell a
child that they can't have certain
accommodations correct and so now I
think that we're making a right shift
for that of course not perfect but
definitely better wonderful Yeah, I
agree. I mean, I loved what you said in
terms of our personnel making sure that
we have skill people with, you know,
that specific skill of counseling and I
am very excited about the new position.
And I do really like that you've already
started to tease out that the the you
know, sort of uh conflict of interest
almost, right? um that that existed
where when counselors were being the
ones that you know were you know looking
at 504s when it really needs to be an
educator and the counselor has a
different role in supporting that
student right so I really appreciate
that we're doing that and I hope um that
that really helps our students get
better served and um I hope it helps the
our staff to be better at what they do
in terms of you know giving that giving
the appropriate accomodations when
necessary. Um, so I I look forward to
that. Thank you.
Um, one one thing that just came up when
you were presenting, do you keep track
of how many students I I think um the
question was asked, how do you know that
you can come and talk to the counselor
about these transitions? Um, do you keep
track of how many students are actually
just writing you emails like self-
advocating for themselves either by
email or dropping
it? I would say that each counselor has
their own method for tracking data. Um,
I can say at the elementary level, we do
keep track of which students request to
see us. It looks a bit different at
elementary than it does secondary. Um, I
would say key stage one, K through two,
it's usually a teacher letting us know
that a student has requested to see us.
With the older students, they have an
opportunity to leave a note saying that
they want to meet with the counselor or
sometimes they do let the teacher know
that they want to see us. So, it look,
we all keep track. It just looks a
little bit different. Okay, I would
agree. Okay. But, um, have you seen that
growing? I mean, we talk about
self-actualization. You know, this is
part of the profile of graduate. would
love for our students to recognize when
they need um assistance and be able to
say this is what I need and it's
wonderful if it goes to the teacher. I
just was happy to hear that you also
have a drop in policy and I wonder how
much students really are aware of that
and then are learning that they you know
and taking advantage of it. Yeah. Well,
I think um the beginning of the year
having that presentation but I also know
that our teachers are our best advocates
and so when they're hearing things
sometimes they're student facing more
than we are. Yeah. So if they're hearing
concerns or our lit teachers may read
something in a poem, even our art
teachers may see something in a drawing
or painting and they'll come to us. So
it's basically a village helping with
that child. Yeah. Yeah. Great. Thank you
very much
again. Anyone else have anything else to
add? Okay. Well, thank you very much.
Thank you.
Thanks for the candy. I do want to say
one more thing. Um Dr. Cool. Big chunk
of our counseling department K through8
is in the building as well. And again,
they do a tremendous job. I think, you
know, one of my duties this year and and
and being over counseling and being able
to work closely with them, um I've
learned so much just about our systems,
the mental health of our children, um
and trying to redevelop ways to serve
them, you know, in even greater
capacity. So, I just want to say I
commend them for the work that they do
and we're extremely fortunate to have
them on our team. Yes. Yes. Thank you to
all of you in the back, too. Thank
you. And Mr. Brazil, we will move on to
the
budget, preliminary budget.
Good evening. I forgot to bring you
candy.
I appreciate your
indulgence. Um I'm here to provide a
preliminary glimpse glimpse into the
2526 budget and I have a few slides
around that. Also and attached to the
agenda was a more detailed document
about 35 pages that will uh provide
greater
insight. Some opening thoughts. Uh this
is a preliminary budget and it's still a
bit of a work in progress. Uh I would
say it's
95% complete. Uh but it is subject to
some change as we get additional
information and try to perfect some
numbers.
Um, I say this every year that it's
really not about numbers. I mean, we use
numbers to keep score on how we spend
money, but as a budget, it's really more
about the goals, initiatives,
programming that we seek to implement
over the coming
year. So, I think of it in those
terms. It's a year- round process as
well. And here are some of the steps
that we do throughout the year uh as we
monitor and develop
budgets. Um the highlights for this
budget um it is balanced. Uh the
revenues and expenditures
uh we believe are reasonably estimated.
Um we do expect to see some growth in
the property tax revenue over the prior
year. Uh we continue to pay down debt.
Uh we expect our existing debt to uh be
fully paid in in the year
2029. Uh and we believe the budget
continues to support the ex uh expected
levels that this district has for its
operations. We like to try tie
everything to our strategic plan. And uh
so here are some examples of funding for
services, systems, and supplies to help
that all of our learners feel safe and
valued. These are just some
examples. Um goal two, these are some of
our investments for curriculum and
technology to support the growth,
educational growth of our learners.
Um, in goal three, we provide funding to
support enable the well-being of our
learners. These are a few of those
examples. Um, we also seek to especially
in our school academic budgets uh to be
equitable and address both the student
enrollment and the student needs that
exist with within the building. And we
encourage our building principles to
reflect that in their uh budget requests
as they seek to drive student
achievement. This is a snapshot of our
revenues for next year. Our revenue
projections are at
79.6 million as in total. Uh that's all
four funds. Um and we've distributed
that across there. As you can see, we're
very heavily locally funded. 75.8
million out of 79.6 million is locally
funded. In a history comparison, we do
expect to see a little revenue growth
this next year. Uh our revenue through
time es and flows at different rates. Um
and we're hoping to see about a 3%
growth this next
year. Expenditure budget currently
stands at 77 million. 77.7 million. And
you can see how we've distributed that
across salaries, benefits, services,
supplies, capital purchases, and debt.
Uh the majority of this, of course, is
uh compensation and benefits for
staff. Typical for a school
district. Uh and this is how that
compares historically.
Uh you can see we show some modest
growth going into next year.
Um and I'm pretty pleased to see that
we're at that slow of a rate right
now. Um our fund balances we're
expecting to end these would be June 30
of 2026. We expect to end above $50
million. Important to know that that's a
June 30 number. Uh may look strong to
you. It's quite a bit less in November
and quite a bit higher in February. So
we uh take most of our revenue in in
December and January and then we spend
it through all year long and reach a low
point in
November. Uh this is how that compares
historically. The blue graph is total
fund balances and the orange bars
represent operating funds uh funds one
and
two. The orange bar is also part of the
blue bar, but just separating those out.
So, we continue to see some upward
growth uh in our fund
balances. We have some capital purchases
planned. Uh this is a quick rounded off
summary of those. Uh some furniture
throughout the
organization. Uh that third one there,
Main Street Furniture Refresh and Wide
Down is I think an important adjustment
in that building. Uh they've been
dealing
with, you know, student uh separations
and and uh variety of ways to um improve
upon their lunchtime experience. So
making those changes. Uh the next to
last one there, our school buses, we
have three
um are at an age, you know, the state
expects them to last 12 years and we're
at that point. Um school bus market
right now is crazy. Uh there's a lot of
different u manufacturers that are
struggling with orders and engine
issues. And as we start to evaluate
this, uh, we're due to make these
replacements, but whether they can
happen in this year or whether they get
pushed into the subsequent year, we'll
see, but it's a project we're actively
working
on. Closing thoughts. Um, this budget
again supports the strategic plan with
intentionality and our fiscal health of
this district remains strong. that
financial stability is very important to
us and we intend to maintain that going
forward. Be happy to take any
questions. We'll be back at your next
meeting with uh a final version of this
document. Um and like I said, there will
be some minor changes to it.
Thank you.
Okay. Go on, Leo. Go ahead.
You touched on this a little, but I get
asked about it enough that I'm going to
ask you to expand on it. The the cycle
with the fund balance and the reserves
and um the amount that we have in the
bank now and the smaller amount we'll
have in November. Can you explain why
that is and about where we would expect
to be at at a low point for the year?
And something about the you know, I know
we set a
policy on that on the long-term finance
committee a couple of years back and how
we think about what's an appropriate
reserve.
Um yes, our cash flow is such that uh we
receive the bulk of our local resources
from property taxes and those inflow in
December and January primarily with a
little extra flow of protested taxes
about this time of year. um the rest of
the year uh our expenses flow roughly
evenly all year long and we spend that
reserve down uh and it reaches it low
point in November. So anytime I'm
quoting a number or a percentage I'm
usually talking about a June 30 snapshot
uh and not some other date. Um history
has shown us in this district that if
we're at 25% in June, we're probably
hitting zero in November. I would
recommend respectfully that we stay at
least at 35%
uh in June and for our operating funds
specifically and we're currently above
60%. So we're in a healthy position.
Um and I hope we keep it that way.
So our policy has the minimum fund
balance set at 25%. And you're right, it
was set two years ago. Yeah. So which is
at June 30th snapshot in time. So you
think of the fund balance I mean when
you guys get questions from the
community about this it's working
capital right is how I would um yes is
is that's that's really what the fund
balance is. It's the amount of working
capital that's on hand to operate the
district. So your working capital
fluctuates as you have expenditures
before you have big revenue that comes
in as John just mentioned. So um but yes
we had robust discussion about this sure
during the long-term financial planning
committee and after propy and proxy and
the you said it but the point is we
receive basically one big check every
year and so the if you take so it goes
up once and it comes down for the rest
of the year and if you take it midpoint
it looks a lot higher than it does at
the end. Yes sir. Thanks.
Yeah, we're not selling t-shirts, so we
don't sell the same amount of t-shirts
or an estimated amount of t-shirts every
It's just the way property taxes work,
but it's worth explaining at least once.
Yeah. No, it's it's good. And and that's
how when you get if you ever get
questions from the public about fund
balance, what is it? It's it's really
it's working capital. Um, so John, I
couple things um that I wanted to be
sure that the rest of the board members
know or aware of and that the public
hears out loud. So there's no major
construction projects planned in this
budget, although we are still going to
continue our work around the long range
facilities planning. So no major um
capital construction costs in next
year's budget. That is correct. Uh we're
moving very slowly. We have some uh
pavement repairs, some roofing repairs,
some electrical switch gear that needs
to be be replaced. Other than that,
we're really waiting for the the the
whole planning process to complete
itself. Um I have put $400,000 in here
for architectural services. That's a
rough estimate. We haven't hired those
folks yet. Um and as we move forward,
we'll be able to zero in on that number
a little bit better. But uh that's
intended mainly for planning purposes.
Yeah. And then I just did some quick
math. So revenues are going to increase
by 3% but expenditures are only going up
by 1 six or 1.7% depending on how many
decimals you go out in your
calculations. So that's really good. Um
and so that's that's why I mean that's
very healthy and actually a little
unexpected given all the uncertainty
around the macro environment right now.
Um, one of the things that John and I
have recently been asked is, you know,
um, well, or asked and also challenged
on is why does Clayton not have a policy
like Leoo has about keeping expenditures
under a certain level every year and
Leoo's is at under two and a half
percent I think is what they have. So
this year for this budget cycle, our
expenditures are only going up 1.7%.
We've not as historically as a district
or a board set a cap on expenditure
increases. Um but you know if you get
asked well you you know again like Leoo
has this they're they they make sure
that when they do their budgets every
year it's no more than unless it's a
special project or something else it's
been approved. Well, um, our
expenditures this year are well below
what, um, a school district that we're
often compared to should it come up.
That's good to know. That's good to
know.
Um, and that's it. Yeah, the minimum
fund balance, like I said, is 25%.
So, if you're ever on this board and
June 30th the you're you hear that the
fund balance is 23%. That is when the
board under our policy is required to
take action for to raise funds for the
district. Yeah.
And the fund balance is only calculated
off of funds one and two. That's the
other thing. So, right, we have four
operating funds. funds one and two are
the only two um funds that you use to
calculate the fund
balance. We often get asked, why don't
you include three and four? Well, we use
the same calculation that um the state
of Missouri uses. Yes.
Um but that's the other question that we
often get asked.
Good.
John, how do you see the senior tax
freeze affecting our budget?
um it's going
to affect us gradually and increase
through time. Kind of like waiting into
a pool. Um so our current estimates are
that over the next 10 years, next
decade, it will cost this district
around $6 million. That's based on a few
assumptions. We'll be able to understand
that better after a couple cycles of
this. Um but initially people's that are
eligible uh you'll see their taxes
frozen uh in 25 where they were in 24.
So that's not going to be a big impact
in year one and that'll grow marginally
every year after that. Got it. And they
have to opt into it, right? They have to
uh join the program every year to be
eligible. Oh, each year. Okay. Um they
can lose eligibility um by building onto
their property um or changing ownership
and things like that will bring that
property back on the tax roles in a
different way. Oh, good. Okay. So,
thank you. Okay. I'm expecting we have a
significant number of eligible parties
in this town. Yeah, that's why I was
asking. Yes. If they
are good at, you know, enrolling every
year, then we'll see we'll we'll feel an
impact over time. Yeah. And the result
of
that the result of that could be and
John we've talked about this we've also
talked about it with financial planning
is that
um although you know we have enrollment
that's projected to be flat to declining
and the decline could occur faster than
we would anticipate if we don't see the
historical turnover of homes that
typically bring new families into the
district if people are not downsizing
their houses. um you know as quickly as
they used to because their fixed costs
are
are set. Yeah. The only variable was
what you paid in taxes and your house is
paid for. There's not a lot of incentive
to Yeah, you're right. to move, right?
That's a good point.
So, I learned something this week in
communication with John that I want to
share with you all. You might know it
and correct me because I'll probably get
it wrong, but that the senior tax freeze
does not apply to the debt levy. It only
applies to the operating,
right?
Thank you. Which felt important. Yeah.
Um, you mentioned the school bus
replacements. Have you at all explored
electric buses? We have explored that
and it's been suggested to us by the
Clayton Sustainability Committee and
we've been looking at those.
um they're very expensive and the grant
revenue from that is currently up in the
air a little bit with the feds. Um on a
local basis we can probably um utilize
those buses close to home, but on some
of our field trips that are a couple
hours out um it's doubtful that they
could make that round trip. Right.
Right. So that's kind of our challenge
as we evaluate those whether I don't
know that we could have a full fleet of
three uh all being electric fleet. Yeah.
Right. Well, I would say also the
challenge there just in general is that
the technology the capabilities of the
technology have not caught up I would
say for school districts to the point
where they become practical. Yeah. So I
I just know we've had community members
ask about it. So I was just curious.
They're extraordinarily heavy vehicles
and
it would it takes a lot of battery. Turn
on the heat in those buses and the power
goes down by half like in in in minutes.
Yeah. So it doesn't We're evaluating
electric, super cold, but we're
evaluating gas, diesel, uh propane,
natural gas. We're evaluating all those
power sources. Your estimate basically
is about $200,000 per bus. Yes. Wow.
An electric bus currently runs closer to
300,000.
Wow. Okay.
And you can only go within a 50 mile
radius, right? Thank you for Thank you
for exploring all those bus options.
Yeah. Yeah. Any other questions or
comments?
Preliminary budget. Okay. Thank
you.
Yeah. Okay. Okay, we're now moving on to
agenda item seven, policies. We have um
three policies to approve um for that
are all in the second reading that we
discussed la at the last meeting. So,
Chris, if you would read those motions
one at a time. Yes, one at a time. Yes.
Thanks. Uh I move that the board of
education adopt policy KK, visitors to
district property and events with
proposed changes.
Second. Okay. Any comments or questions
on the second version of this policy?
All those in favor?
I. Any opposed? Okay.
I move that the board of education adopt
policy JCA, eligibility to enroll with
proposed changes.
Second. Any comments or questions on the
changes
here? Okay. All those in favor? Any
opposed? Okay. Motion passes.
I move that the board of education adopt
policy
JHCD, administration of medication to
students with proposed changes.
Second. Any questions or comments on the
changes in this one? Did you have one,
Pam?
Yeah.
I I I just want to add because I emailed
with Dr. P about this. Um this was the
policy that MSBA had recommended to take
out a whole piece about RN's need to
like clarify orders etc. And so Dr. P
learned from MSBA that they took that
out because not all school districts
actually have RNs on staff. And so they
said that should be in a job
description, but because we have RNs on
staff, it made sense for us to keep that
wording in. Thank you for looking into
that. That makes sense.
Okay. All those in favor?
Any opposed? Okay, motion
passes. Um, now to item number
eight. We have some other action items
to approve.
I move that the board of education
approve the assessment plan as
submitted.
Second. Okay. Any questions or comments
on the assessment plan?
No. Okay. All those in favor? I I. Any
opposed? Okay. Motion passes. Next one.
I move that the board of education
approve the district professional
learning plan for the 2025 2026 school
year as submitted.
Second. Okay. Questions or comments on
the professional learning plan from
anyone?
Okay. All those in favor? I I Any
opposed? No. Motion passes.
I move that the board of education
ratify the school district of Clayton
legislative principles.
Second. Okay. Any questions or comments
on this one? Introduce it. I mean, we've
talked I was going to ask you to do
that. Yeah, we've talked about it at the
table a little bit. This is the product
of the work of the legislative advisory
committee. Um it's a set of pretty high
level principles that um you know speak
to the district's position on kinds of
legislation that we see primarily coming
out of Jeff City. I think that was
really the focus of this discussion and
I think these are the three principles
we've set out. Valuing public education,
making curriculum decisions locally,
especially with an eye towards empathy
and cultural competency, particularly
relevant tonight. Um, and local control
of local tax dollars are pretty enduring
principles for this district that have a
long history. I'm sure we'll have things
come up that don't fit into one of these
things and we'll have to talk about
those, but these should kind of ground
us and, you know, it allows somebody
who's representing the district or the
board to say this is what we stand for
on a piece of legislation with some
footing, some grounding. So, that's
that's what's uh going on there. And I
would love it if the board would ratify
it. Thank you. And thank you for all
your work getting this done, Leo. This
is a new committee this year, so it was
a lot of work getting it off the ground
and this is a perfect example of of the
work they've been doing. So, thank you
very much for that. Yeah. And the only
other thing I would add is I've been
asked some questions about like what is
this legislative stuff that you guys are
doing and I think that I really like
that the three principles that you focus
the work around because what I've been
saying all along because you know
there's a question behind the question
when you get asked that um is that this
has it's not partisan work. this is just
um like public school principled work
that you know we are a nonpartisan
board. We don't run as partisan members
of any particular party. Um and I think
that these principles are a really nice
reflection and confirmation of that. So
yeah,
right. I mean I think this district has
a perspective and has historically had a
perspective but it it's not a partisan
perspective. Right. Exactly. And will
this be um on the
website somewhere? I believe so. Right.
Okay. Got that. I just wanted to make
sure it's somewhere. Um not just in, you
know, our board docs, but somewhere
where the public could find it or see it
if they wanted to. Okay. Thank you. Um
Okay. All those in favor? I. Any
opposed? No. Okay. Great. The
legislative principles passes. Thank
you. And one more. I move that the board
of education renew the Chartwell's food
service management contract for 2025
2026 year and approve the contract
amendment as presented.
Second. Any questions or comments on
this? I had a quick question. I know in
recent years there haven't been
like others that bid on this. Like
there's not that many food service
companies on there. Did we have other
bids on this? Those bids were a year ago
and I think we had five. So, this is
just renewing. This is renewing. So, we
adopted a um we're required to bid every
five years. So, we adopt a uh one-year
agreement with four option years behind
it. So, this is year two of that
fiveyear cycle. Okay. Thank you for
reminding me on that. Um all those in
favor? I. Any opposed? Oh, okay. Thank
you. That contract
passes. And moving to the consent
agenda. If you would read that motion,
please. I move that the board of
education approve consent agenda items
9.1 through 9.4.
Second. I have a question about 9.2 on
surplus equipment.
Yeah. So, John, can you tell me I see
that most of these are like technology
equipment, computers, iPads, MacBooks?
Um, what is the depreciation schedule
for those in the district? Is it five
years, three years? Uh, these have a
four-year cycle where they're in full
use. Some of them will move into a fifth
year of loaner backup kind of inventory.
Um, but those that are pretty worn out
after four years of student use are uh
sold to recycling firms. Okay. And then
Luke's here. So Luke, are most of the or
subset or some of this the equipment on
this list is still in pretty good
condition
after after five years.
Okay. Because I see and the reason I
asked is I see goes to a technology
recycling company. And my wondering was,
do we first offer these up? Because you
probably get we getting pennies on what
and if they're fully depreciated by that
point, it's not like we're recovering
anything, right? That's um uh I don't
know, snack money. So, um, do we offer
the ones that may be in good I mean
there's a lot of devices here, but if
you if you've got six, seven devices, a
dozen devices maybe that are in decent
condition, do we do we offer those up to
our social workers for um, you know, for
uh, students that may be able to use
them that have we ever thought about
doing anything like that where we're
currently there are depending on what it
is like we are required to to make
sure because
yeah I just wonder if that's if that's
something that we might consider, you
know, the same way that and maybe it
goes through the PTO's maybe it goes
through, you know, we have I know we
have uh pantries at all the schools and
the social workers are going to be the
ones that are in the best position for
that. Also, the PTO's historically, you
know, during the holiday time adopt
families. These could be the types of
things where um maybe not even for kids
in our district if there's not a need
for that, but in other districts they
they could use these. I mean, I just
know we just went through um a a big uh
exercise of inventory and equipment
where at the company I work at and we
had probably 2,000 laptops that we
actually just gave to a school. Um so
that's what made me think of when I saw
this list of do we because you got to
inventory the stuff before it goes out
the door anyway. So you know what's
good, what's not, and you know, is there
a way that we can get a second life out
of these and do some good?
Most of it, most of it.
Sure. And that's what I figured. But I
mean, a few of those might be, you know,
uh, former board members laptops where
hopefully we're not throwing them around
after meetings. So, um, can't guarantee
that.
That's but it's it's a wondering that I
had. That was it. So, I don't have a
question about like consenting to it,
but you know, in the future if that's
something that one thing I would add is
um there's an organization called PCs
for people. They take in stuff. I don't
know if they take in all these types. I
I would suspect they probably take Apple
products. Um but they refer them and
give them to all kinds of organizations
and uh so just as a thought. Yeah,
that's nice. Thank you. We'll explore
that.
Yeah. Okay. Okay. All those in favor?
Any opposed? Okay. Consent agenda
passes. Um board communications. Did
anybody does anybody have anything to
share?
I don't have any notes that anyone had a
meeting. Did you Pam
have the equity committee? Oh, it was
the final meeting. I'm sorry. Equity
committee. It was the final meeting of
the year. Um we reviewed the
walkthroughs. There had been 190 total
equity walkthroughs in the district um
which was 10 more than last year. We
reviewed the data by building from year
two to year one looking at the the data
from those walkthroughs and gave
feedback about that to Dr. Paul.
Good. Thank you. Anything else?
Um the Shaw Park former ice rink task
force u met um is that the official
title? Is that the official title? I
don't I think it changes every time. I
mean, you know, it is what it is. Um uh
we spent I think it was four hours last
Friday evaluating um different
architecture and design firms. Um uh
which was you know it was long but it
was actually very very cool. Um four I
think it was four hours. Yeah. still
um so pleased to announce that there's
they there's two firms have been down
selected and there's a call I think next
week to kind of refine that down to one.
So should be some progress uh on that uh
on that site soon.
All right, that's exciting. I I had a
meeting with a a group that's sort of
broken off from the center board to talk
about a a I guess they call it a
scholarship that's available for
students or for children who
um want a a fee reduction for youth
athletics. Um, and we're talking about
making that more accessible and
publicizing it and getting the word out
that it exists, that it applies to
anyone who's attending the schools, not
only residents, resident children or
attending the schools and on free and
reduced lunch. And um, it's a great way
for kids who might not have a chance to
play sports with the kids they go to
school with to get that opportunity. So,
we're just trying to get the word out. I
think that's great. And I think not only
could we help with that communication,
but internally again the social workers
or counselors might be able to identify
kids to make sure they get personally
kind of notified about it. And and it
goes with because the criteria is free
and reduced lunch. There's there may be
some really good ways for us as a school
district to communicate. Yeah. Um, and
there's a there's look at making the
program a little easier to use and more
uh generous, I guess. I mean, generous
in the context of fees for athletic
programs. It's a relatively small amount
of money. Uh, so that's that's a
conversation that's going on, too.
Great. Anything else? Okay. All right.
We can adjourn. I move that the board of
education adjourn.
All those in favor? I I. Any opposed?
Okay, motion passes. We are adjourned.
Thank you.