##VIDEO ID:wCMu5RDubG4## e e e e e e e e e e e e good evening the regular meeting of the Independent School District 279 School Board is called to order at 6:01 p.m. on October 22nd 2024 this regular business meeting of the oio school board is being conducted in the boardroom of the Educational Service Center the meeting can be monitored electronically by streaming online from the district website an archived recording of tonight's meeting will also be available on the district website seated in front of you this evening from my left to your right are director Thomas Brooks director Heather Douglas director Tanya Prince myself Jackie moscada Jones director Sarah Mitchell and director Tamara Grady also present in the room this evening um super in endent Dr Kim Hile and members of the superintendent's cabinet as well as our esteemed student School Board Representatives um I don't see reason no she's okay reason is not here antoanet Brown for AIO senior um and we welcome new student board representative Henry at a sleo she's not here she's not here either okay and then student representative Gavin Chaba for Maple Grove senior hi is not able to be here yeah okay sounds good all right those of you can please stand for the Pledge of Allegiance and director Douglas will you please lead us I pledge of alance 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 um board members are there any additions to the agenda um at this time I would like to make a motion to table the vote for policy 652 until November is there a second no second okay then that fails because there's no second um any discussion about the rest of the agenda no okay all right all in favor of um accepting the agenda is printed say I I I all oppos say nay all right motion passes 6 to zero the next standing agenda item is recognitions we have no recognitions this evening wait a minute we do we have a scholar showcase not a recognition our next agenda item is the scholar showcase we're happy and proud again this school year to have showcases and presentations of some of oio area school's amazing programs this evening we have staff and Scholars from Brooklyn Middle steam school board members will be moving to the seats in the front of the audience at this time and principal Kim Monette will you please step up to the podium for introductions and start us off with the presentation good evening board chair board Vice chair and directors superintendent Dr Hy and cabinet members our amazing student representations um representatives of our high schools good evening and Welcome to our fabulous BMS families and our staff members my name is Kim onet and I am the proud passionate principal of Brooklyn Middle steam school and we are so excited to be here to Showcase all the amazing things that our students have the opportunities and experiences at Brooklyn middle so behind me I have oh come on up here everybody I have Megan hack who is our assistant principal I have Shannon Kar who is our steam curriculum integration coordinator and kayn Bricks who is our technology integration specialist and then I have our amazing resident experts that will be our feature experts tonight so come on up I have Raphael I have Jameson I have Aiza and June and they are going to be sharing a little bit about their favorite steam experiences that they've had throughout their time at Brooklyn Middle I'm going to turn it over to Shannon Kar our steam integration specialist who is going to talk a little bit about our steam experiences our value added standards and a little bit about the events that we have coming up good evening and Welcome to our steam showcase I'm Shannon commissar and I'm the steam integration coordinator I have the pleasure with working with all content areas and grades to integrate our steam theme which is engineering a Global Perspective and these value added standards you see here and in your packet all students in their middle SCH School careers will have the opportunity to work along and have discussions with Professionals in Steam careers such as Engineers musicians artists scientists and more you will see evidence of these steam standards value added standards in our steam Showcase tonight every content area addresses the engineering design process engineering design is a process interwoven in all of the content areas at BMS it involves tools and ways of thinking that people can use in almost any situation each part of the process reveals information about the problem and possible solutions engineering design is problem solving and this is an important 21st century skill that all people need to have you will find out from our expert residents today how they specifically use this engineering design process and designing and preparing a menu for the Bulldog Cafe creating their own circuit map of Minnesota and how to create their own esophagus stent with Boston Scientific which is one of our partners today you will learn more about our steam experiences from our resident experts here so what are steam experiences well steam experiences are about creating transformative learning experiences that go beyond the classroom where students are actively engaged in Hands-On real world activities and can make connections to their future career path now um I'm going to hand it over to our resident experts here who are going to introduce themselves and lead you through their favorite steam experiences so let's give them another room hello School Board my name is Jameson Hawthorne I'm an eighth grade advis student I'm here with my fellow peers and we're here to demonstrate some steam activities that demonstrate our learning experiences at BMS first I'm going to show you something I learned back in the sixth grade Minnesota studies we did many steam activities in this class something that stuck with me is called a circuit map and it connects technology with iography if you push a button an electric current moves from a battery through a copper tape to light to a light bulb and back to the battery this creates a complete circuit and light bulb lights up if the light bulb does not light up your circuit is incomplete scoreboard I want to challenge your Minnesota geography see if you can find the different places highlighted on the map of Minnesota when you are ready to check your answers push the button my friend June is going to bring you your the various circus Maps thank you now I'm going to iot right thank you now I'm going to pass it to my friend [Applause] Z hello School Board I'm AA dataton I currently attend Brooklyn middle school and I'm in e8th grade one of my highlights last year in seventh grade was fax class we made a lot of different foods from different cultures we and we had the experience of hosting the Bulldog Cafe for the bud do Cafe all students work together to make different cultural foods for families and staff during conference nights students recreate a restaurant and have different roles servers chefs and hosts we were very busy the whole night of the buldog cafe over 200 St people attended to prepare for the event we first connected Concepts from science and art to our fact class we learned about the chemistry of cooking and how food undergoes chemical reactions as it Cooks we also utiliz our art skills to create the menu with photography and creative writing take a look at our menus from our budda Cafe last spring my friend rapael Hill IS F pass out the menus additionally we compiled all our favorite foods we made last year between the facts and culinary arts classes in a cookbook we printed copies for you to keep and enjoy at home my friend Raphael is also going to pass out the cookbooks today our current intro to Culinary Arts students May trust less cake in honor of Hispanic Heritage Month we brought from we brought some for you to try Miss havac will pass out the cake thank you thank you no she's not thank you for listening now I'm going to hand it over to my friend June [Applause] here hello my name is June Bey I also currently attend Brooklyn Middle steam school I'm in the eighth grade one of my highlights has been our steam explorers program the purpose of this program is to expose us students to careers that we may want to have in the future for the program different professionals come to into our school to talk about their career and how they got there during these events we participate in Hands-On activities to learn more about the career of the presenter the staff at BMS do their best to bring in presenters that are that are diverse and reflect our student population my personal favorite steam explorers was when the dentists from the U ofm came in to talk about their career field we did many activities about oral health and looked at teeth we acted as dentists and figured figured out how to solve different Dentistry problems another popular steam explorers experience is when Engineers from Boston Scientific come into our school they highlight the many different careers offered at Boston Scientific and we are challenged to design a stent here's an example in this scenario someone's esophagus is clogged the stent help helps keep the esophagus open so that food can easily pass through the digestive system in activity we had different constraints based upon different patient scenarios like allergies and we were required to complete a cost analysis we also got to use their procedure pal later in the year students are invited to take a field trip to the Boston Scientific campus where we are participate in different manufacturing and lab stations and see how robotics is connected to engineering work an example is sh with these cubet challenges board members pair up and try to solve this cubet challenge of making the light bulb light up you have two minutes my friend Jameson will pass them out oh oh not too much am I red know okay ready set go you guys have two minutes turn on the what turn on the blue one oh yeah turn on the blue cube yeah there yes okay 30 more seconds okay Rafa me okay just as EAS okay we're time's up thank you for participating in our challenge I'm going to pass it to [Applause] Raphael hi hi my name is Rafa kilua and I'm an eighth grade Avid student and a GPS leader at BMS I'm here to present on the ufro show that I experienced in my seventh grade science class this event was a culmination of what we learned in seventh grade science we saw a real human brain played a carding coding card game from a u ofm professor and learned about how UV light can filter water and perception by the brain my favorite activity was the perception glass glasses I'm going to show you how they work you there are lines on the inside that blur your vision and when you look through them they distort your vision in the activity we put on the glasses and then played a bean bag game what people typically don't know is when you first see something and then something else happens afterwards your brain generally thinks of the second thing because it's fresher in your mind for example if I put an apple in front of you and then I blindfolded you you're probably going to think of the blindfold because it's fresher in your mind this relates to the glasses because you are supposed to throw a bean bag then you put on the glasses you're probably going to miss because of the Distortion from the glasses and then also you know it distorts your mind do two do two board do two board members want to try the game [Laughter] War does another person want to also try [Laughter] [Music] [Applause] would you like to try without the would you like to try without the glasses to show the difference no they told me all right thank you for inviting us to this space to share our experiences we invite you to join us at our school for some of our future events that are listed in your packet thank you School Board [Applause] yes good right big smiles [Applause] okay who else felt like they were on who's smarter than a fifth grader all right our next agenda item is the school board representative reports um and then we have reason's not here Antonette will you please share your report yeah good evening everyone um at AEO Senior High last month we celebrated our homecoming week and 100 Years of Excellence 100 Years of growth courage and success gradually oio Senior High has become super inclusive and diverse for example at AIA Senior High we celebrated a beautiful you day whether that was expressing you your beautiful culture your sports or just being your beautiful self um for example the football players show their love and dedication for football for by wearing their jerseys speaking of sports fall was super successful for our soccer and volleyball team they have been playing extremely well similar to similar to being team players our link crew and BSU have been team players by helping out families and freshman around the school this this mea break U Senior High had the most students on our HBC HBCU tour which was extremely informational and special and we learned a lot so that was nice thank you all right and Naomi here yep will you please share your report hello just hello everyone just in case you forgot I am Naomi Cooper hyen Greer and I represent Park Center it is officially the month of October but in my opinion it's a it's come extremely fast I remember the first day of school like it was yesterday and sometimes I wish it was yesterday moving forward I'd like to congratulate all the fall Sports and activities and having a great run and turnout for their season all of our teams have been seeing to move up and taking steps up from last year for example marching man has been accomplishing New Heights in beginning higher scores and more outstanding scores than last year now now that our F activity sports that are coming to a close our winter sports and activities have been coming up into the scene and making an appearance Asian Club has been in full swing collecting members like there's no tomorrow everybody's just been drawn to the activity and the creativeness that's been surrounding it to continue on I'd like to mention a few fun events at Park Center that have been hosted this month first of all I'd love to start off with the Hispanic Heritage Month celebration to give credit where credit is due Latino Circle our Spanish club that is held at our school did an incredible job assisting those who needed help during the event and trust me me there was tacos and they look good alongside with that there was a mariachi van and they played well too so y'all should go next time we have an event alongside that there would there's more concerts including musical concerts that are coming up this week and that have happened this week and they're putting in a lot of skill and effort to play their beautiful instruments and use their vocals so please go to those concerts too speaking of food there's a lot of food from fundraisers this month a lot of assorted items and Gifts a lot of club and activities like CSS sophomore class cabinet have been selling boo bags filled with candies and fidgets they've been selling like hot cakes Latino Circle has been selling spicy candy and you know soft and smooth buttery muffins a lot of assorted baked goods a lot uh lastly I'd like to mention that our school has seen an increase of disposable items around our school many many students and teachers have been talking about how they're concerned about you know all the trash around the school and what we can do to pick it up and make our school look a little more cleaner so hopefully within the seven months our school looks like a brand new school so that's all I got to say thank you thank you oh thank you for those amazing reports Anette and Naomi um the student represent review the board meeting packet in advance and are prepared to answer questions from board members on issues to seek student input related to agenda items for this evening's meeting board members do you have an agenda item for which you would like student input I was just really excited to hear their reports I forgot to think of questions I know we really appreciated it when we could have students at our work questions which is where we um really work hard on getting our ideas was there anything that you wanted to give input on that we did not ask you on the agenda no that's good too all right I thinking our first readings we're going to be on here next time cell phone policy for next time sure for sure okay so our next agenda item is audience opportunity to address the school board and I have a few um guidelines um for participation um Stu speakers will be called to the podium in this order students first then parents then staff then community members and others when I call your name please come to the microphone and state your name the topic and whether or not you're District resident please keep your comments to three minutes and address the entire board um that means not addressing an individual board member or the audience um if you have handouts please uh for the board please hand them to either Sherry or put them on the table back there um the board and audience will listen and not respond back at this time um also it is um as it is election time we are not taking uh any kind of um campaigning for any individual uh person running as we want to focus on the um on the governance of the district currently thank you um and for the good of community Personnel concerns should be directed to individuals in the following order the building principal the executive director for human resources assistant superintendent superintendent and finally in writing to the school board and with all that I call the first person um to speak Celeste runquist well good evening school board members and Dr H and cant my name is Celeste runquist I am a District 279 resident as well as a parent to five children three of which currently attend oio senior high school as some of you on the school board may remember uh three years ago I initiated what I was told was the first book re-evaluation request in The District in 10 plus years and I realized now that um since that time three years ago there have been several other requests um that have been made um this book review request was driven by concerns over the content of a required reading that was in one of my child's n9th grade English class there was lack of transparency for the parents and the Guardians and also our child was eventually placed in a separate classroom to read a book um of their choice by themselves we were frustrated to have to walk through this process but we do believe that some good came from it we did discover that there was a lack of accountability in place and as parents and myself as also a Community member this is one of our roles for students in our school district for decades public education has been afforded to any individual that desires to receive it in our country all citizens living in a school district are required to provide the necessary funds to meet the financial needs via our taxes these community members have an invested interest in our schools and it is their hard-earned money at work we want our schools to remain Community Schools and not isolated to only students employees and parents eventually my children will graduate out of oio area schools and at that point I desire to be a support to the district as a community member being held accountable is never an enjoyable process but it is necessary to allow growth to take take place our District 279 is surrounded with invested and engaging community members many that I know personally and we must continue to provide opportunities for them to come alongside of all of us I hope that we can continue to come together as parents teachers and community members in the oio area school district for the growth and betterment of our students even if it means more accountability and more work as a parent I appreciate and am thankful for the community that I have found in this school district and I'm thankful for them coming along my children to support them over seconds remaining okay our next speaker is Jessica bam [Music] be it's all good Jessica thank you hello my name is Jessica B and I'm District resident and a parent of students in the district over the past several months I've observed various discussions in this room regarding the appropriateness of certain books for certain student audiences not surprisingly reasonable people disagree about whether or not certain content may or may not be considered appropriate in different circumstances in the course of those discussions I've observed some very thoughtful and nuanced commentary and Reflection by many parties including those raising the concerns and various board members considering those concerns I've also observed some less thoughtful approaches or reactions to these situations where it seems as though some might be suggesting that literally any challenge to the appropriateness of public school library content for minors amounts to an infringement on or at least blatant disrespect for the First Amendment as an initial matter I don't believe it's accurate to claim that the First Amendment somehow prohibits the board from reviewing the appropriateness of content that the public school makes available to children I happen to be a lawyer but don't base this conclusion on any claimed personal expertise regarding constitutional law rather I reached this conclusion based on listening to the discussions during those board meeting board meetings including commentary from the general Council quite simply it seems that board objections to so excuse me broad objections to book reviews based on appeals to the First Amendment are misplaced however for the moment I want to set aside the accuracy of the application of the First Amendment and instead focus on the consistency of its purported application on the one hand we have the idea of limiting children's access to certain specific content within the limited scope of the school library and that is somehow characterized as gross infringement of the First Amendment on the other hand we now seem to have some positions of leadership seeking to remove the right of taxpaying community members to voice concerns about that content but somehow That explicit limitation on their speech doesn't seem to raise the same First Amendment concerns the contradiction is alarming if one wants to be guided by the overarching principle that more speech and sharing of ideas in the form of books or otherwise is fundamentally better why would we aim for Less speech and sharing of ideas in the form of community input community members have a vested interest in how the children within the community are being educated with taxpayer dollars regardless of any biological or legal ties to one or more of those children disagreement is uncomfortable speaking here is uncomfortable I imagine many people in various seats today find those seats quite uncomfortable at times but we can't deal with the discomfort of disagreement by trying to stop certain people from Ever voicing it I would encourage anyone supporting the idea of blocking Community Voices in this manner to First pause for a moment of reflection imagine a future circumstance where you happen to agree with a Community member who wants to raise a concern with Public Schools or you are that Community m concerns but theen for getting those concerns heard is blocked if we want to retain the right toar from people with whom we agree then we must unequivocally unequivocally accept the obligation to hear from those with whom we disagree thank you Michaela McCoy hello I'm Michaela McCoy I'm a teacher at Park Center Senior High School and I'm here um on behalf of several of my colleagues um at Park Center my grandmother was a first grade teacher and did not believe in book censorship my mother was allowed to read whatever she wanted because she was unrestricted my mother spent a large part of her childhood at the library and she fell in love with reading she passed this love of books onto me and similarly did not restrict me from reading anything I wanted to read as a multi-racial person with a white mom and a black dad I had many questions growing up about my identity reading was one of and continues to be one of the primary ways I understand my biracial black experience from my board books as a baby to what I took home from the Scholastic Book Fair my parents always gave me the freedom to read books that featured characters that looked like me I decided decided I wanted to become an English teacher when I was a sophomore in high school after I made this decision I began to read as much classic American literature as possible and so naturally I picked up Tony Morrison from my teacher's classroom Library when I read The Bluest Eye at age 15 I resonated deeply with Paka the main character like her I too felt ugly in my brown skin I attended a predominantly white school and I was one of three black girls in my class of over 300 I didn't have straight hair or thin lips and our theater Department didn't even have a makeup shade that matched my skin for our Productions before I read The Bluest Eye I didn't have language to describe how eurocentric beauty standards were damaging my self-esteem I thought I was just ugly but Tony Morrison's book showed me that my feelings of unworthiness weren't my fault the racism I was experiencing and internalizing as a young girl was a system outside of me that was praying on my my Humanity I'm grateful for her to her Tony Morrison and for her book for showing me a truth about my experience of black girlhood and unlocking a path for younger me to learn to love her skin English teachers are taught that books can be mirrors or Windows for our students black children deserve to have access to books that are mirrors to books that affirm the experiences we're having the pain we're feeling and the joy we're cultivating we deserve access to the truth about our history and our Humanity no matter how uncomfortable able and it can be uncomfortable seconds remaining horrifyingly so but in confronting these harsh realities we are able to understand the cause of the pain in our world deepen our sense of empathy for others and reaffirm our uh reaffirm our desire to make the world a better place black students deserve freedom and agency to decide even in adolescence what literature is and isn't appropriate for our journey to understanding ourselves and our communities thank you thank you uh Max Mah sorry we're not responding to anyone at this time thank you hello I am a district resident Max Maher I am here to express my deep concern about representatives from the verified hate group gays against groomers who have spoken unopposed at recent school board meetings gags leaders have proven ties to to the proud boys a violent Neo fascist extremist group with deeply islamophobic beliefs and gag has been ousted from payment platforms like PayPal and venmo due to their unethical positions and practices it's a red flag within organization's preferred online payment method is Bitcoin the kind of homophobic rhetoric a professes has sadly been shared by other community members uh one of which who has appeared before you at at least four times to deliver vitriolic commentary against lgbtq plus students including defacing a pride flag and displaying it at a June 2023 board meeting this conduct is harmful to District students and employees it is a distraction from the focus on a quality experience and education and preparation for Life current Workforce requirements and laws do not allow discrimination on the basis of gender identity and sexual orientation to teach students otherwise or to encourage them to opt out of understanding that is wrong finally while I'm not sure to what extent these reports are made public I'd be interested in seeing an annual analysis of the instructional and Library materials challenged under the revisions made to policy 652 with breakdowns by the challenged author's demographics that's the kind of transparency I would expect as a district stakeholder I think we all know which communities will suffer when diversity is challenged rather than acting as Gatekeepers of literature this board would be better served by trusting the certified professionals such as library media Specialists and the coordinator of digital learning and instructional media who are trained to select materials that meet curriculum standards and student needs oio schools face real challenges like low ESP pay overworked staff and increasing class sizes it's disheartening that some individuals Aspire both locally and across the United States of America 30 seconds Foster the kind of regressive thinking that will harm students teachers and their communities thank you for your time thank you Deb Peterson hello uh my name is Deb Peterson I am the proud parent of a Maple Grove graduate and a member of this community we aren't here to argue vacular every parent has the right to decide what their child reads they do not however have the the right to tell my child what they can read in the library based on their beliefs call what you will that's book Banning oio School District already has a system in place to challenge books it's filled with professionals who have training and age appropriate materials and the process works you may not agree with the outcome but if you go to the doctor and don't like the diagnosis you don't get a second opinion from an accountant or a plumber stop disrespecting our educated and fully trained Library professionals I spent 20 years as a military spouse I spent countless months anxiously awaiting that unexpected knock at the door when my husband was deployed this bracelet represents one of my heroes who didn't return didn't return from fighting for our freedoms to be who we are and who we are as a country is rooted in the free exchange of ideas moving forward toward more Enlightenment and inclusion for all not backward toward a Theocratic monarchy we've lost too many Heroes to do that thank you again we're not responding to the speakers tooa Cochran good evening everyone my name is taka Cochran and and I'm here to speak to the residents um and fellow community members regarding book Banning so today I stand before you to address a pressing issue that threatens the very Foundation of our democracy the Banning of books in our schools this practice not only undermines the principle of freedom and education the values that our nation has fought so hard to uphold but also educational system achievements such as any degrees that faculty members May hold that allow them the scope of practice to do their jobs the United States was built on the ideas of Liberty Justice and the pursuit of knowledge our founding fathers instill these principles in the Constitution recognizing that freedom of speech and the freedom of exchange of ideas are fundamental to a functioning democracy when we restrict access to books we deny students the opportunity to explore diverse perspectives challenging their own beliefs and engaging in critical thinking this is merely an issue of educ not just an issue of Education it's a violation of constitutional rights many people understand that the first amendment gives them the right to speak on any subject probably fewer realize that it also grants the rights to read whatever you like challenging the language of the first amendment is not appropriate in this menu it should therefore not be entertained throughout our history we have seen the destructive impact of censorship Banning books not only silences those voices but perpetuates a culture of fear and hate my son is currently serving to protect our nation our stitution as is his father and my father my family marched with Dr King in the Civil Rights Movement I here today as a resident ready to defend our students rights in our community in closing I urge that you consider the implications of banning books in our schools it's not just an infringement on our rights it's a betrayal to the idea of freedom and de democracy that defines us As Americans let us protect our students rights to read learn and grow in an environment that celebrates diversity and fosters critical thinking thank you okay leadon seon good evening Leon San District resident and concerned parent um and forgive me I don't have any notes tonight but I just wanted to say something quick about uh was looking at the agenda for tonight and I know 441 is also on the docket um policy 441 and I just wanted to mention um I noticed that let's see if I can remember uh Roman numeral 6 part e it just um it's supposed to be edited out of there and I would just like you guys to relook at that because I think it's it's more talking about just queuing the kids in on the dangers of what can happen online um I don't know I've just heard too many stories of people that get into like sex trafficking and get back out of it and then the initial problem was an online encounter so I don't know if there was maybe a reason you guys wanted to take that out but I thought well that would be probably something actually good to help kids uh be aware of if their own parents aren't warning them about it and then I also noticed the uh whole section seven Roman numeral 7 was going to be edited out and I really like the language of that I feel like it's some of the most substantial language that is in the policy 441 so I would just ask you to reconsider that and um just because I am one of the people who has challenged a book I wanted to use the remaining amount of my time to just kind of talk about that um I think like I challenged a book because of sexually explicit content um it's a book that people could probably find in public libraries or buy it on Amazon if they must um so really the issue is just getting it out of the tax funded kids libraries in schools and I I mean I feel like we've said this a million times but um I also want to mention that it's still in the library um I guess only three people have checked it out um so it's not like it's widely used but um the main thing is if if something is harmful I don't know why we need to be offering it in the school libraries with tax pay taxpayer funds I just don't see the purpose in it again it can be found if if they must find it they will find it somewhere else um I'm also a little concerned about how I think there's only been five other four or five other book challenges and all of them have have stayed in so really I don't I don't see the alarm and a lot of the comments I've been hearing tonight kind of remind me I was just reading um some a the union magazine the latest one September and October um version and and I just I saw the letter from the director and and she made it sound like she's afraid that we're going to start Banning books about Martin Luther King Jr and Rosa Parks and I just thought why why are they always trying to Hitch when they're when they're trying to do sexual stuff why are they trying to always hitch the wagon to the race card time because that's already it's already something that we know is totally wrong in our nation so your they AR getting the public support your time's up Lon thank you um Lori wolf good evening thank you for the opportunity to address the board my name is Dr Lori wolf and I'm a mom my son has graduated and is proudly in college now and I'm a district resident and I wanted to address the board policy and procedure 652 the instructional Library material selection and reevaluation that has already been spoken about by a number of people um particularly um I would like to reiterate what Deb Peterson I think already said about trusting our professionals we have trained staff that have gone through college have master's degrees they are experts in this area and we should trust them to be able to do their job and select appropriate materials for the classroom for the library for the schools I have a doctorate in educational leadership I still would not presume to tell teachers what is appropriate and not appropriate for their classroom for their students they are the experts and they know best second trying to interfere with that process as a community member undermines confidence in our schools and in those professionals and also schools are meant to be be a place of disagreement Jessica whose last name we couldn't pronounce right and I don't know I'm sorry mentioned that disagreement is uncomfortable it absolutely is and it's necessary for growth and schools should be a place where we are exposing people to diversity of ideas diversity of experience diversity of the world and helping them in a guided facilitated supported kind of environment have discussions and work through issues that make them uncomfortable that make all of us uncomfortable because that discomfort is where growth happens and our school district has a mission to create a welcoming and inclusive learning environment for all students representation matters students need to see themselves reflected in the curriculum reflected in the materials that they are reviewing that they are seeing that they are being asked to read and if as a parent parent you have a concern about that there's a process in place you can talk to the teacher you can talk to the superintendent the the principal the board whomever you need to in order to feel like your concern is addressed 30 seconds remaining but you should not be presuming to do that for everyone else's child that's why we have staff trained in it thank you okay our last um speaker is Ann Harms my name is Ann harms and I'm a district resident I also have a master's degree in literature from a large University and I would like to speak on the issue of freedom to read as someone who has studied literature I do not believe in book Banning I don't believe it is good for society and I am not a proponent of it but I just want to take a step back and say that this is not an issue of taking away a student's right to read this is not about limiting a student's ability to read what they wish the issue at hand is what materials are is our school presenting to children and do we feel that those are appropriate to their age levels and I understand what people are saying but if parents are coming and saying I don't feel this is appropriate I don't feel this is appropriate I don't feel this is appropriate then there is something there that we need to address and not just sweep under the rug and I also am concerned about um trying to limit District um voices and community members on this matter I no longer have students in this District but that doesn't mean I don't care about the kids in my district and I also find it interesting that you're interested in my input on a bond issue but you're not interested in my input on other issues um as well and I feel like if you're going to ask me for my money then I feel like it is okay for me to ask questions about how my money is being used and I think we just need to just step back from this issue and just see the truth of what it is we're actually arguing here we all love our kids we all want what's best for our kids we all want books that our kids can read and identify with and I think when we hype that up we take away the commonality that we are trying to achieve here we want our kids to be safe we don't want our children to encounter sexually explicit things before they are ready for them and as a school that's on that's on us we introduce that to them that's not the library that's not the internet that's on the school and so I think when we're thinking about this I would just invite everyone involved to just think about okay what is what is my part that I'm going to bring to this and how can I make sure that the decisions I'm making in my school are the best for students and we are going to disagree and that's okay as everyone has said but I think we just need to be really thoughtful and listen to one another truly listen to one another about what our concerns are and not just a blanket yes or a blanket no because because that benefits no one so I'm just going to ask that as you're considering this issue we just take a step back from where wherever we're standing and just look at it with fresh eyes and just say if this was my kid standing here looking at this book would I want that for them and let's just kind of go from there thank you okay thank you okay our next agenda item is the superintendent report Dr h thank you good evening chair M sko Jones and school board members uh today I would like to speak about a term that has a profound meaning and that term is belonging while we often use the word inclusive to signify our efforts to integrate diverse individuals with different thoughts and different lived experiences belonging goes a step further it emphasizes a deer a deeper sense of acceptance connection and feeling valued within one's community it's not just about being included it's about ensuring that every individual feels that their presence and their contributions matter as we reflect on these contributions I want to emphasize the importance of holding space for one another some of you may have heard it already but holding space means that we're willing to walk alongside another person on whatever Journey that they're on without judging them making them TR feel inadequate or trying to fix them or trying to control the outcome when we hold space for others we open our heart offer unconditional support and let go of judgment and control our number one goal here in aary school is to build one Community for all where all voices are valued and heard and when we create a safe space for all of our voices achieving this isn't always easy in our district this serves eight cities approximately 21,000 students and around 3,000 300 staff members naturally there will be times that we don't agree and we may encounter obstacles as we strive to make our district a place that continues to prioritize our Scholars and our staff but let's but let's remain committed to honoring the humanity in all of us and continue to work toward our goal of making this District always be human Centric our Scholars are watching and learning from what way they see and hear from us the journey may be messy at times and we might face conflict but I am confident that through transparency collaboration and respect that we will continue to strive to become the best place to learn the best place to work and a safe place of belonging for each and every one of our stakeholders I want to conclude with our district vision statement which guides everything we do our goal is to unleash and enhance the Brilliance of our Scholars or or our babies as I say to thrive and change the world for the better let this Vision remind us that our work is not just about today but about shaping a brighter more inclusive and more connected future for each and every one of us thank you a regular part of our superintendent's report is to share points of pride in our district by sharing our points of Pride we are taking time to recognize and celebrate the scholars our staff and our community members who are contributing to our accomplishment of our mission statement which states to inspire and prepare each and every scholar with confidence courage and competence to achieve their dreams contributed to community engaging the lifetime of learning this evening I have members of our district cabinet here to assist in sharing some examples of this from this last month in the area of achieving dreams AIO Senior High School centennial celebration was a huge success the festivities included School tours band and dance performances food trucks games and alumni recognitions from each decade which included alumni from as far back as 1949 in attendance happy 100th birthday AIO Senior High elementary schools across the district hosted fund run events in September as fundraisers a great opportunity to get outside and be active together great work to all of the students and staff involved students at Edinbrook Elementary School recently captivated an audience of family friends and School staff with a performance in the school's gymnasium of selections from Frozen the After School production was made possible in partnership with oio area school's Community Education youth enrichment program and the beat bunts educational Adventure theater in the area of contributing to community fa Oaks Elementary staff made the 2024 employee giving campaign extra memorable with staff events running throughout the 11-day campaign such as a cornhole and pickle ball tournaments Plinko Donut Day Shucks I missed that one trivia trivia and break time and hammocks all meant to bring staff together and encourage them to donate to District 279 Foundation greater cities United Way or a nonprofit of their choosing way to make a feel-good campaign even more fun Far Oak staff on the beautiful fall morning of October 4th oio education center students and staff celebrated their new accessible playground with a grand opening celebration featuring music popcorn ice cream and a whole lot of playground play and exploration special education teacher Angie oir said we needed to dream big and dream big we did we had many purposeful committee conversations about how to include everyone at oec and in the community we are so pleased at how this amazing Park and fitness path turned out and we look forward to seeing you get your workout on in the area of lifelong learning Hispanic heritage AG month ran from September 15th through October 15th in AIO area schools celebrated in a few different ways all community members were welcomed to attend the family and Community engagement Department's Hispanic Heritage Month celebration October 5th at Park Center Senior High School where attendees enjoyed food music and celebrated Hispanic culture and history additionally Palmer Lake Elementary School recognized the event with a Hispanic Heritage Month museum for students to visit and learn about important events within Hispanic cultures students at Rice Lake Elementary and oil Middle School wore orange on October 16th to celebrate Unity day uniting for kindness acceptance and inclusion to prevent students from being bullied at Rice Lake Elementary School students wrote down ways that they can show kindness to their fellow classmates on an orange piece of paper the classes then connected the piece of paper pieces of paper together in a link roie the mascot visited all of the classrooms as they worked on this project at ail middle school students in the unified advisory class chalked the sidewalks writing inspiring messages that included kindness and acceptance they also planned a mural that will display further messages of inclusion the whole school participated in this event decorating a small part of the mural the unified advisory students will assemble the mural this week for all students to view these events were planned in partnership with the Pacer Center Oak viw Elementary School behavior interventionist ESP Stephanie Halverson started using move mindfully techniques or moving your body to explore your emotions after noticing more kids were coming into the school's intervention room feeling emotionally disregulated after seeing the initial success haverson applied for a grant and receive $5,000 from henpen County public health promotion allowing her and and Oak View's new principal Ryan Gibbs to bring in move mindfully coaching and expand it schoolwide including at the new monthly husky Pride assemblies that principal Gibbs will lead each month Zanewood Community esteemed school's fall engineering night has become a beloved tradition for the school community and the school's dedicated partner organizations families came together on September 26th to enjoy food games robots virtual reality and other steam related activities during the week of September 16 through 20 elementary school students across the district participated in bus safety week kindergarteners in Mrs Johnson's class at Basswood Elementary School and in classes at other elementary schools learned where to stand to wait for the bus how to get on and off and how to sit and act while riding the bus students also watched a video in their library media centers called bus safety it's everyone's job to learn more about the importance of bus safety a group of Park Center Senior High Juniors and seniors from the school's community-based vocational assessment and training or CVB program recently attended a career exploration field trip from with envent Hoffman a company that designs and manufactures systems that protect Electric systems and electronic controls oio area schools adult basic education or AB launched additional classes this fall in response to a growing Community need to help adults gain skills to support their personal academic and career goals the ab program expansion includes increasing courses offered in driver's education citizenship and computer skills from Summer only offerings to now include fall and spring semester opportunities Emily Watts AB program coordinator said we are always looking to improve programming that is responsive to the needs of our community and students and are excited to offer some of our most popular summer classes throughout the year now dare officers in training recently spoke with students at Elm Creek Elementary School to talk about life skills for Success officer Laurel Slawson said we're take we're talking in these class asss about stress and dealing with Stress and Anxiety talking about communication and being confident in your communication we're also talking about ways to handle bullying about ways to resist peer pressure in the area of Missi driven employees the AIO area schools custodial team does so much to keep our schools and grounds in good working order for students staff and the community this year we celebrated the team on OCT October 2nd if you see a custodial worker make sure to thank them for all that they do Elizabeth Shong a staff development teacher with the District student services department served as a distinguished guest panelist at the 2024 check and connect Global reach conference on September 26 at the University of Minnesota's mcnamer Alumni Center the conference seeks to bring together hundreds of collaborators who are dedicated to boosting student engagement oio area schools recognize National lunch School National School Lunch week the week of October 14th through the 18th in schools across the district our nutrition services Team Works diligently every day to provide meals a few final notes and reminders for this evening looking for that perfect School fit this is your chance to explore all grade levels from Early Childhood to high school including our magnet and online programs whether you're new to the district or if you have enrollment questions or just want to learn about your child schools or other schools that we uh have in our district we got everything in one place for you join us on Saturday November 16th from 9:00 a.m. to noon at oio senior high for our first ever school choice fair so thank you and that concludes tonight's superintendent report thank you our next agenda item is Schoolboard reports director Brooks do you have a report I do not have a report my first uh committee meeting is this week okay thank you director Douglas do you have a report or update I do not director sentman I do I have the October 8th 2024 policy committee summary report at the meeting we reviewed and discussed half of the remaining policies from the 400 series these included reviewing And discussing proposed edits to policies and procedures for 403 discipline suspension and dismissal of School District employees 421 gifts to District Personnel 443 tutoring of students and 435 qualification of personnel we also reviewed and discussed the proposed repeal of policy 448 workers compensation a oneline policy that states that the district will provide workers compensation as required by Statute as a policy change does not change or add that requirement we also reviewed and discussed a new policy required by recent legislation related to School sponsored Publications and the First Amendment rights that student journalists have that must be reflected in policy this will be a new policy for the district and is policy 512 School sponsored student publication and activities the last policy review and discussion was proposed edits and the addition of procedures to policy 505 student cell phone and Technology we heard about the feedback from students principls School staff parents and community members because of the importance and level of Interest by our community we asked Administration to seek feedback based on the edits to the policy and procedures which are new that feedback will be available at the next regular board meeting all of these policies were moved forward for their November regular board meeting for a first reading thank you director Mitchell not at this time director Grady no not this time okay and at this time I do not have a report or update um the next agenda item is the consent agenda board members our consent agenda items this evening include meeting minutes and financial reports for September 24 um fiscal year 25 budget adjustment extended educational trips Personnel items construction bid approvals and we have 25 grants requiring requiring approval as well are there any items that you would like to remove for separate consideration okay hearing none is there a motion to approve the consent agenda as printed so moved moved by director Brooks is there a second second by director Mitchell um is there any discussion I just want to say thank you to all the people that spent hours and hours um of time writing grants so that our students have extra opportunities um all in favor say I I I I'll oppose say nay motion passes six to zero uh our first action item tonight is the second reading of policies General Council Amy Moore will share the information for all policies up for second reading and then we'll act on each policy individually Amy you're on all right so uh I'll do you want me to go through all the policies or you want them one by one it is written here to go through all of them but I would prefer to go one at a time yeah thank you so we'll start with 432 which is teacher involuntary transfer process and this policy is being proposed for repeal because this is addressed in collective bargaining agreements thank you is there a motion to approve the second reading of policy 432 teacher involuntary transfer proposed proposed for repeal as presented so moved okay moving by um Tam M Grady second second second by director Prince is there any discussion all in favor say I I I I'll oppose say nay motion passes 6 to zero all right the next policy uh the next policy then is 441 digital Technologies and digital systems responsible use um as we discussed last time the updates to this policy were done to reflect um what is responsible use what you should do versus all the prohibitions that were the main changes to the policy um we haven't received any feedback since the first reading and Publishing for the past month thank you is there a motion to approve the second reading of policy 441 digital Technologies and digital systems AC acceptable use proposed edits as presented so move by director Brooks is there a second I'll second second director greedy is there any discussion and I just just want to clarify that um this is the policy and there are procedures and we do have curriculum that teaches kids how to responsibly use digital media correct absolutely um yeah that's a good point we had a lot of discussion and policy committee about kind of what um other things were taking place in the district and where all of that was outlined so I want to be really clear all of those things are still present um in our in our district thank you any other discussion all in favor say I I I all oppos say nay motion passes six to zero next policy the next policy is policy 507 corporal punishment and prone restraint and um due to legislation uh clarifying um uh school resource officers and and um who is and is not a um employee or agent of the district we updated um um with the changes that you see um we have also not received any input since the first reading and posting thank you is there a motion to approve the second reading of policy 507 corporal punishment and prone restraint statutory updates as presented sorry longer than I thought it was sorry all right um motion by director Grady is there a second second second by director Brooks um is there any discussion all in favor say I I all say n motion passes 6 to Zer next next policy 640 class size and student teacher Staffing ratio this is one we're also proposing for repeal because it is now negotiated through the collective bargaining process by Statute thank you is there a motion to approve the second reading of policy 640 class siiz and student teacher Staffing ratio proposed for repeal as presented so moved all right moved by um director Douglas and a second by director Prince um is there any discussion all in favor say I I I I'll oppose say n motion passes 6 to zero all right so the last one then we have is policy 652 instructional and Library material selection and re-evaluation and you have two sets of the policies and uh we're also including the procedures uh the form and the guidelines so everyone can see all of the updates that we are proposing um the first set that starts on page 269 and then goes through Page 285 um is what has been posted and was discussed at the first reading um since that meeting through feedback and uh questions from the directors and discussion we did do some updates that are then highlighted um um and that's the second set which starts on 286 and goes through the end there to 302 and so I am recommending that the policy with those updates that starts on page 286 is one that the board would consider for approval tonight um the um updates that you can see are well one was a bit of a Miss on the policy was removing and production we discussed that at the last board meeting somehow after reading it a million times I still missed that so that was one um we did make further clarification then in section six saying uh uh that a parent or Guardian could make the request in writing or verbally to the principal or Li library media specialist That's practically how it's working currently but putting that Clarity in there and then reflecting the same order of um our community who can um voice concerns or objections we made sure it was the same order in the policy and the procedures so you see that reflected as an update in section um eight there um those are the changes since last time in the policy um we did also do some updates in the procedure um and form somewhere grammatical um the probably one of the bigger changes or updates we made that we thought was a really great idea was that when um the director coordinator of digital learning instruction all media was supposed to select someone that uh that position would also include the director of learning and achievement and director of educational Equity so it's a team making that decision um we also encourage that for those selecting individuals to be on the district evaluation committee that um they consider appointing um different individuals to the extent that that's available to them because we value that diversity um in variety of input um and like I said some of the other updates were kind of more grammatical those were the main ones um this is a policy that started our review in December of 2023 uh um went through three policy committees we've received a great deal of feedback um there's been a lot of discussion um what you see before you is um a compromise to some folks um but I think it reflects a an improvement from where we have been it provides Clarity um we will be digitizing the form um you know making it more accessible uh we will put guidelines that St that folks can see how the committee works as well um so it's been it has been a long process but I think overall it's been really good um and we've been able to input a lot of really good I think productive feedback into um the policy you know it is a reminder to the board that you're voting only on the policy tonight um not the procedures um you know regardless of what the um happen tonight on the vote for the policy the procedure language will get updated because that is under uh Administration to do um and I think like I said a lot of the updates are really productive and um help in kind of clarity and transparency thank you okay is there a motion to um let me read the whole thing is there a motion to um approve the second reading of the policy of policy 652 revised after the first reading published on the district website as agenda item 12 point a. 3 point B 2 so moved um motion by director Brooks is there a second second second by director Prince um any discussion yes I I just would like to start by saying that I really appreciate the policy committee's time effort and their diligence in creating the revisions to policy 652 the policy revisions provide for enhanced checks and balances to ensure the highest educational standards are adhered to and that's why I'll be um voting to approve this um revised policy tonight other comments or discussions so um we spend a lot of time talking about this at the last meeting so um it was a little surprising to um find that there were a fair number of people who felt like this was the first time that they were learning about it especially from staff members who reached out and asked about why they were receiving an email about the board reviewing a book Banning policy tonight so that was very unfortunate that there's been confusion created and misinformation um since we've been working on this um since December so if there if this is new information to you I invite you to um go back and review last meetings uh detailed information all of our policy committee meetings are open to the public we've had uh a number of people participating in that which is really um good for that transparency and seeing the discussion taking place so um we we've definitely had robust discussion and as we stated last time I think um our goal was to make impove improvements for the benefit of everybody uh in the district and those participating in the process um so that that's my comments at this particular time anyone else I would like to go ahead no it's right you first like many of you I don't like book bands and I am grateful for all the work of our system for giving feedback on this policy um books are important it's and these you know the part that I have the most objection to in this is Library materials should be available for all students and they should have the freedom to read what matches their um interests the part that's controversial I guess tonight that we have a lot of feelings about is really talking about what materials are available in the library for all students to read to have the freedom to read what they want when they want what's appropriate and regarding what's appropriate we have qualified media Specialists who go to school and have training to be able to do this so this isn't just an attempt to pull away rights of students but also pulls away from the confidence that we have in our system and our teach teachers parents in this policy have the right to restrict the reading of their child they have the right to talk to the librarian they have the right to bring it to the school committee they don't like the result on that they can bring it to the district committee what I object to is the political push since we pushed for for our district to recognize the humanity of LGBT St lgbtq students we've the rules of our board are to focus discussion on the merits of the policy so I would just like to again remind us to consider our discussion to stay focused on that versus claims or projections or conjecture about intent of community members or people who have participated in the process thank you for once again for interrupting me um parents parents have the right to decide what their kids read That's not been taken away it's there but parents don't have the right to decide what other kids are reading I have a rights as a parent too and I want my kids to have the freedom to read whatever they want to that's deemed appropriate by our library professionals the problem with where this policy is at right now is it comes on the heels of I had forgotten about the first book Banning I believe that was about Trevor no um three years ago but even the last year and a half is the consistent political agenda against books that represent lgbtq students and it's not just about lgbtq students because from when folks come to ban books about one marginalized Community they come for another and that's exactly what has happened with the next book that is coming through our system which is The Bluest Eye by Tony Morrison now I get that this is a fear-based political campaign that is working to gross parents out about sex there's nothing grosser than coming to a school board meeting and reading these passages out loud these are things that students ought to have the opportunity and if somebody mentioned only three students had mentioned it we've got a point in our district and in our country right now where folks are talking about academic excellence and there's nothing further than promoting academic Excellence than nitpicking over books that children may or may not choose to read and for those reasons I object to the community part of being able any Community member again this is a parents rights any Community member being coming into a school district and and and and initiating a book Challenge on what's going on our books on our books that should be a parents right that should be a students right and once again if our books have passed at the building level and at the district level why would they need to come to the school School Board unless it is part of a concerted coordinated effort to remove books from our system to ban marginalized identities and to remove the academic freedom for our students to learn to read and learn about themselves and having all marginalized identities within our very diverse District be respected and and supported because no child can achieve academic Excellence when their identity is being erased thank you uh yes uh first I'd like to say thank you to um General Council am Moore and District staff for answering my numerous questions after the last um reading they the first reading I'm sorry um and I wanted to recognize I really appreciate the changes that were made to the reeval re-evaluation committee section in procedure 652b um for creating more transparency and Clarity around committee selection um and thank you to our policy committee members for their work on this policy um you've been working on it for quite a long time so thank you um as a board we have received many inquiries and comments regarding perceived changes to this policy many of which correlate to comments made after the first reading of the policy erroneous statements have been repeatedly made by director Grady leading to widespread misinformation regarding this polic specifically that this policy was created excuse me point of order no please don't I mean I that these are public comments that were made I can respond to them have to say but the director I say the director I said director Grady she's the one who made the comments is not arous no it's not I can respond to your comments we do typically allow for exchange among members um let's be sure to keep um keep things as clear as possible leading to widespread information regarding this policy specifically that this policy was created to erase lgbtq identities from our libraries and that the purpose of the policy is to ban books this is simply not the case as stated in the policy the school board recognizes that instructional and Library materials serve a vital component of each students education Library materials enrich the breath of curriculum as a whole and meet the needs of students interests uh individual interests of students I stand behind those words wholeheartedly as a board member it's also important to acknowledge that school boards are required by Minnesota statute to create policies to serve the needs of the school district and are responsible for the adoption of instructional materials including books and other materials this policy was originally introduced into our district in 1981 as policy 6401 it's been revised twice before it was recategorized into the current 600 series as Poli 652 in 2003 it was revised one additional time in 2019 prior to being brought back to the policy committee for reevaluation in 2023 please note that the language regarding those who have the right to express concern or object to materials has always always included District residents this is not a change to the policy I share this history because numerous stakeholders have been misled to believe that this policy has been newly developed to ban books particularly after the adoption of the LT lgbtqia plus resolution which we passed in 2022 this policy was brought to the policy Committee in December of 2023 as part of the policy committee's regular three-year evaluation cycle a process that was developed to maintain clear and Equity Equitable policies that align with both state statutes and our District's mission mission and vision in compliance with Minnesota State Statute 120b 11 subdivision 3 which states each School Board must establish an advisory committee to ensure active Community participation active Community participation in All Phases of planning and improving the instruction and curriculum affecting State and District academic standards consistent with subdivision 2 a district advisory committee to the extent possible must reflect the diversity of the district and its School sites including teachers parents support staff students and other community residents and goes on to say that whenever possible parents and Community residents must comprise 2third of the Community Committee membership our district committee is called deac the District planning advisory Council deac and its members play a vital role in the material review plan which makes its recommendations to the full board as an example of the board's trust in its leadership of its community and staff director Grady made comments suggesting that community members should have no say in the selection and reevaluation process of instructional and Library materials those comments are in direct conflict with Minnesota State Statute this board has a duty to uphold the rights of community residents in this process the re-evaluation process is an important aspect of this policy and needs to be available to all of our stakeholders I appreciate the community's input in regarding putting trust in our very capable staff while the board is charged with the selection of instructional materials we place our trust in our superintendent and her designated staff to select materials that are both enriching engaging and age appropriate during my tenure District staff have recommended an implemented curriculum that has later been identified as inappropriate content content that was did not align with our mission and our vision and had taken steps to remove this content those materials in those cases a formal reevaluation process was not required because the decision makers in those instances were all in agreement if there had not been agreement a formal process may have been necessary it's important that a pro procedure for when parties disagree on instructional materials is established so we may attain a clear and transparent process should the need arise furthermore our district is funded by taxpayer dollars not all taxpayers are parents but all taxpayers and residents have a vested stake in our district and a fundamental right to participate in the process we will rely on our community for a great many things including passing referendums and bonds in addition to property taxes so that we might better serve our students the majority of our voting community members are not parents but they our stakeholders just as much as any parent student or District employee we all have the right to have our voices heard thank you anyone else yeah um so I uh also just want to shout out um General councel Amy Moore um not just for keeping all of our edits together and neat um but also for your facilitation of some pretty um contentious uh policy committee meetings um and always bring in I think a calm presence um to those discussions and keeping us moving forward I am really disappointed in what this has become this has become more than what the content is of this policy um and this regularly scheduled review of policies that we do every single year this somehow turned into some bigger political ideological debate about book Banning and while we can certainly entertain a discussion about book Banning which I am against right now I want to focus on the content of this policy that we spend so much time working on we spend a lot of time in policy committee talking about all of our policies um and most of our a lot of our wish list items don't actually make it into the policy we work to build consensus on the things that we do agree with we work work with staff to understand what their capacity is and what they can actually move forward um and what's able to make it into a policy and then onto the board is what actually makes it to the board I I have a pretty high threshold for removing a book from a public library and we haven't met that threshold yet I made the decision to bring this policy forward and policy committee along with director Prince because I do believe that the community has a vested interest in our our school district um and if they don't they should we if I look back just a year in the Community member actually beat me to it if I look back just the year the district was out in the community telling residents how important their role is and supporting the success of our district and Scholars as we had our hands out for money at that time and today it's being proposed that we give the exact opposite message to Residents that their voice doesn't matter in this process so we'll take take your money but your voice doesn't matter as long as I've been on this board we've worked to build an inclusive culture we talk a lot about inclusion on this board uh we also talk a lot about elevating Community engagement um I we continue to talk about engagement and I want us to invest more in it and I worry about the dangerous Direction um that we're going in by intentionally excluding certain groups of community members from policy particularly because we don't like or agree with who they are or what they have to say with that said um I know for quite some time um since the gender inclusion policy and the lgbtq history and culture resolution there have been numerous occasions where uh people have come into this room and made some pretty harmful comments to lgbtq students and staff um comments that are deeply rooted in bigotry and hatred and it's not okay but I also believe that this policy works both ways and just as community members have been in here to advocate for um their their Scholars um for whatever their reasons are I think it works both ways in just a few months uh director Grady half of our school board is actually going to roll off this board um and this entire board is going to look completely different and any Community member should be able to come forward and have a voice voice and ask questions about what we're doing in our district if I look back even in my own past and history as a kid um whether that was a younger kid in church or with my large extended family that was very hands on or whether it was as an older youth even having to come to terms with my own identity in the lgbtq community um and what that meant in a social aspect or professional aspect or in a school setting it was actually community members that stood up for me and advocated and were my Ally um and that actually mentored me um throughout all of that time and I think any of our students should be able to have that I would hope that someone like director greedy or director mosca Jones or any of the other members that are sitting in here today um would take the time to advocate for a student that needs them and so for me I am going to support this policy language as I um originally did when I voted to move it forward to this board um I am willing and continue to be open to continuing the discussion and continuing to evaluate uh this policy I don't think our work is done um as I mentioned we had a lot of discussion and not everything necessarily made it into uh what you see here today but that's how policy committee Works um so with that said I'll I'll be supporting IT director books um thank you so much for modeling our values and the mission of our district and everything you just said anything else okay so um I just wanted to make a few comments um in looking at this policy revision and the original policy and the original practices um I don't see much difference between the two um versions of the policy or at least the practice of what um we've been doing originally I think um I have issues with some of the procedure pieces um and um I'm going to continue to voice my opinion about that um but the reality is the procedure is the purview of the district um Administration and um the designes and the people with highly qualified um educated experienced um backgrounds um as a teacher um I want parent feedback I want parent input and in the end the decision needs to be mine as the educator um and my supervisors um because I am the one with the expertise but that doesn't mean I don't hear the um the voices it doesn't mean I don't change my mind I might change my mind um but to really listen and sit and hold space for people um and I trust that our district um Personnel will do that as well um I've worked with this Administration um in the previous one for six years now um I only have two more months left and I'm I'm really saddened that people's identity has been um politicized in general and I'm trying to figure out from a governance position I'm on the policy Committee in 287 it's always been very clear that we vote on the policy not the procedures the procedures is is operational um so when I look at the this and I'm looking only at the policy I don't see really anything that has changed from the original policy aside for some um definitions and um the criteria of the selection of Library materials which is already in um process through the um the procedures that our um esteemed library media Specialists um go through so for that reason I don't see a a need to have um to vote for this new policy because it doesn't seem to make any difference and I would like to um make sure that all the voices are heard I'm hearing from Educators that um they didn't feel like their voices were heard and I understand they had a month I also understand that September is crazy for teachers um and so to have had that time to really look into this and dig into it and give feedback um I I would like to have a little more um feedback before I would vote Yes for this and um I'm not voting no just on principle but that it just isn't really changing anything so I don't understand um I just don't understand so any other comments before we move forward all right with that let me get my procedures over here um we are at the point where we vote um all in favor say I I all oppos say nay n n motion passes four to zero I mean four to two sorry the final action item is gifts to the district is there a motion to approve the gifts of to the district District totaling 9938543932 749m so moved um motion by director Douglas is there a second second second by director Prince all in favor say I I all oppos say nay motion passes 6 to Zer and we are officially adjourned your comments were really really good seriously e