I call this meeting to order at 06:00. Claudia, would you please call roll? Yes, ma'am. Director Carter? Present. Director Duncan? Here. Doctor Gerken? Here. Doctor Kiki? Present. Director Reinhart? Present. Director Tasker? Present. Director Tomwein? Present. Thank you. Thank you, Claudia. Would you please join me for the pledge of allegiance? Superintendent Kennedy. Thank you. Thank you, superintendent. I'd like to welcome everyone in attendance for joining us today. Next item is the approval of the agenda. Do I hear a motion? So moved.
Do I hear a second? Second. It's been moved by director Tom Wing and seconded by director Tasker. Claudia, would you please call the roll? Yes, ma'am. Director Carter? Aye. Director Duncan? Aye. Doctor Gerken? Aye. Doctor Kiki? Aye. Director Reinhart? Aye. Director Tasker? Aye. Director Tom Wing? Aye. Thank you. Thank you, Claudia. Right. We will now turn it over, to the Aurora Central High School students. It's the jazz band, under the direction of teacher mister Hayden Sovereign.
They will be performing CGIF by Andy Clark. Please join me, in Mount Massive, and I'll see you back here. So those of you with seats here in the boardroom come back to the exact same seat. Alright. Hello. Thank you all for having us. My name is Hayden Sovereign. I'm the director of instrumental music at Aurora Central High School in Charles Burrell, nine through 12. This is our jazz band. We'll be performing for you, TGIF by Andy Clark. We'll be featuring a few, improvised solos by, Naomi Gallegos.
Kimberly Villalobos Estrada, and Jonathan Guzman. Thank you all, and I hope you enjoy. Please join me in thanking mister Sovereign and the Central High School jazz band on that amazing performance. You're quite impressive. Thanks for being here. Come back again. One more time. Big hands. Right. This was a beautiful performance. Let's give them another round of applause. Alright. And I'll now turn it over to our superintendent. Thank you, president Kiki. Good evening, members of the board, members of the audience. At this time, we will continue with several more recognitions. We have quite a few this evening,
so I ask that you bear with us, but just speaks to all the great work that's going on in our district. So I will start with the first one. I'll call up your name, and if you'll come up to the, center so that we can, share the excellence that you bring to the district. First person is Ima Imrona Bonu Abdulkali Lova. Abdulkali Lova. Did I pronounce that correctly? Oh, she's not here? Okay. I'll go on to the next one. William Betul Krueger Krueger? Is William here? No? Okay. Let's go to our top AP scores in APS.
I'm gonna call I think we've seen Mike Hansen. Is Mike Hansen here? Alright. Mike, if you'll come up, Alexandria Everly, Rebecca Wagner, and Anna Pierce. Alright. So let me tell you why we're recognizing these individuals. In alignment with board result two record regarding graduation, I'm thrilled to highlight a group of APS educators whose students achieved the top AP scores in our district. The following teachers work diligently to help students earn AP scores above a three, with three being the score necessary to earn college credit. I'll read their names again if you'll wave your hand.
Mike Hanson at Aurora Central, Alexandra Saba, Alexandra Eberly, Rebecca Wagner, and Anna Pierce. Let's give them a round of applause, please. Just a second. Still have a little bit more, though. High AP scores are the product of and a testament to high quality instruction, tireless teaching, and meaningful relationships with students. These outstanding teachers, commitment, expertise, and belief in their students have inspired our high schoolers to stretch themselves, rise higher than expectations, and achieve results that open incredible opportunities for their futures. We wanna thank each of these teachers here tonight for passionately fostering a culture of
academic excellence in the classroom and for challenging our students to reach their full potential. Together, we will continue to break barriers and become the destination district. Let's give them a round of applause again. One second. Alright. And you all can turn around. If you go around, shake hands, we have a certificate for you. Oh, where? Oh, it's 5852. There you go. Great work. Thank you. Thank you. I'm pretty sure, Kevin. Yeah. Go ahead. Do you want one? Oh, okay. Thank you. Yep. Thank you so much. Appreciate that. Thank you so much for your time. Thank you so much.
Thank you for listening. Thank you. Congratulations. Let's give them another round of applause, please. Also have a couple of other recognitions that I would be remiss not to, mention tonight. So in this district, we recognize classified employees during the week of October. Tonight, I'm honored to celebrate three remarkable classified professionals from the division of the superintendent, individuals who embody the APS core values of support, respect, and appreciation each day. And so I'm gonna ask Claudia, I'm gonna ask Candice, and I'm gonna ask Sara e to come up, please. So Candice Hux is the calm,
steady center of a very busy office. She manages complex calendars, mine, prepares materials that keep our leadership aligned, and ensures families and staff are greeted with warmth and respect. Her professionalism and grace under pressure exemplify our APS core values. Claudia is the bridge between our community and the board of education. She orchestrates board agendas and packets, coordinates public communications, and supports an open, orderly, and welcoming process for public participation. Claudia's commitment to service and transparency strengthens trust across APS.
And Sara e lives the APS core values by demonstrating empathy, collaboration, and commitment in everything that she does. Her ability to connect people, solve problems, and communicate with care helps elevate the entire district. Sara e, your initiative, empathy, and relentless focus on students exemplify the APS spirit. We recognize you, and we thank you. Let's give them a round of applause, please. So on behalf of Oliver. Let's give them a round of applause, please. And then madam president, closing, I wanna acknowledge all the classified employees who truly make the Aurora Public Schools what it is.
From driving buses to managing offices, serving meals, keeping our facilities clean, and supporting teachers and students in the classroom, whatever your role, you are the heartbeat of the district. As such, I wanna emphasize how eager I am to get to work with the classified employees on behalf of our board of education. It is important to the board and to me that you not only feel, but experience a sense of belonging, recognition, and value for what you do every day. We've already met with a few of you to initiate our commitment, and we'll be reaching out across the district within the next few weeks to capture the voices of the nearly thousand or so classified staff.
So until then, I just wanna express again our appreciation for what you do day in and day out to make APS a destination district. So thank you all, classified staff. With that, I'll turn it back to you, madam president. Thank you so much, superintendent. In that same you couldn't say it any better. But in that same vein, I would also like to acknowledge, the board's, heroes without capes. The one that get us to, do our job every time we come in the boardroom, better and for our community to see what we're doing.
They sit way back in the back. No one really notices them. No one talks to them. No one really even realize that they're the magician behind all of this. This is our IT. Can we all stand and give them a round of applause? Thank you again. Right. Next item on our agenda is opportunity for audience. Claudia will call members who have signed up to speak to the board this evening. Please remember that the board will not be able to respond to any comment this
evening. Would also like that when you address the board, you state your name and you limit your comment to three minutes. Claudia, how many do we have today? Yes, ma'am. We have 13 speakers this evening, and we can start with Cisco Santiago. Thank you. Welcome. Please state your name, and you have three minutes. My name is Cisco Santiago. I've been in APS for about ten years. The five years, I was a one on one special education para with a student that was quadriplegic is quadriplegic,
graduating from Central this year. Then that moved me to Aurora West that got me into the family liaison position that I've been doing for about six years. I love this district. This district is amazing. I'm not from Colorado, but this feels like home. Seeing the diversity, the underrepresented people, coming to our district and getting lifted is a beautiful sight to see. And being a family liaison and being, part of that factor to help our students succeed in our school makes me really happy to do my job here. We have all these programs,
all these, systems into place to support our families to make sure they have what they need to be successful in life. The only thing I see lacking a little bit is the support systems that help support the classified staff within their living, wages, the job low that they get per each school. So I'm here in behalf of our, school to talk about our classified union and what we wanna see changed to make our district a destination district.
We received an email on October 8, that talked about our collective bargaining and our council that we want to create for our classified staff. We're not here for a council. We're here for a union that helps us and supports us, that's gonna be there to create a destination district to work at. And we're here to ask that because we don't wanna come into our work stressed about whether we're gonna pay our rent that month. We wanna be serving our kids lunches.
We don't wanna be worried about whether we're gonna be able to pay a car payment to get our transportation to work. We wanna be there ready to greet our families in the front office. We don't wanna worry about medical bills and whether we'll have enough money to pay them. We wanna be in the school to support our staff, our teachers in any way and capacity that we may do so. The union for classified staff is not something new. We're not discovering new land here. We know the effects that has the data. We have the effects within our own district with our licensed,
union. We see the benefits. We see teachers coming back. We see teachers staying here for, for long periods of time within APS. We're not asking for something drastic. We're asking for us to create union to give us the rights that already exist everywhere else. Thank you. Our next speaker is Joseph Pescador. Welcome. Hello. Please state your name, and you have three minutes. Hi. I'm Joseph Pescador, and I have worked in the district for about, like, seven years. And I think one of my favorite things about my job is,
seeing the kids, seeing the world through their eyes, and they have so much wonder and hope and trust. And it feels like we're letting him down. Feels like we're lying to them. Because lately, I can see how the bureaucracy is making their lives worse. It's making all of our lives worse. The overworking of building staff while schools are understaffed has a ripple effect that hurts everyone, especially the kids. When I saw the email about the CEC, I saw it as a Band Aid on a gaping wound.
I don't feel represented by the CEC, and it feels like there are barriers preventing classified staff from being there. The fact that it happens during the day, during working hours, the fact that it seems pretty small, pretty, you know, insular, I sorry. In that same email, we also got, the concerns of the district. It was, an analysis of the effects of unions on our staff and the district. I ask why. We've had a union for over forty years with our licensed staff. I want to move we want to move to something that truly matters,
our buildings, our buses, the kids in those buildings, and the people who work in it. We're asking for collective bargaining, plain and simple. I yield my time. Next, we have Tiffany Barker. Hello, members of the board. I am Tiffy, and I've been a classroom para for seven years. I came to you on August and shared my story with you. And I'm disappointed that you have that you haven't put our policy for union recognition on the agenda. I've got more to say this time. I am no longer able to do my job in a safe manner. I am now working with one student,
but I am not a one on one para. My one student has needs that the district has deemed as not autistic enough for qualifying for other programs. However, I know differently, And I don't have the training to effectively care for this student, and that puts me and him at risk. Last time, I spoke about better wages, better health care, and being able to live while doing the job I love. This time, I am asking for better job training and safety to care for our students. These issues will not be solved with a study.
They won't be solved with a stronger CEC. They'll only be solved when classified staff have room to form our union and collectively bargain with the district. Now, I am going to reiterate our policy from 08/19. We, the Aurora Classified Union, are asking for the right to bargain as a union. We're asking for the right to hold an election to recognize our union. And we're just asking for the same rights that private sector workers and the licensed
staff already have. The right to a process. The right for recognition. From here on out, we, the Aurora Classified Union, need to be included in any studies, meetings, and discussions that have to do with classified staff. And we need to have recognition, so it's not just talk. It's bargaining. Thank you for your time. We look forward to being recognized formally as our union. Our next speaker is Heather Morgan. Welcome. Please state your name, and you have three minutes. My name is Heather Morgan.
And last time I spoke to you, I was wearing one of those red shirts. I just wanted to say, we are on the other side of the fence now. However, after some recent experiences, we we feel that some of the union organizers misrepresented themselves. We wanted to speak with you today about our shifted position regarding the union. We were told by the organizers that the board would not give us anything without a fight and that we had to go in and demand change. After approaching the board, that way, we have learned that the approach was not productive. It only created a us versus them situation through conversations with doctor Kiki,
mister Gals, mister Duncan, miss Reinhardt, miss Ross. She's not here. But with with conversations with them, we realized that the board has always been willing to listen and hear our concerns. Excuse me. We believe that the lack of representation for classified staff is something that all parties can acknowledge. The board did not revise the policy since 2014. The CEC has not made its role clear to everyone, and we as staff have not consistently shown up to advocate for ourselves. Each group shares some responsibility, and that recognition can move us forward.
We have already had meaningful conversations that are leading to productive changes. For that reason, we feel it's best to pause on union on unionizing and give everyone the opportunity to work together to strengthen the CEC. We don't believe we should pay union dues when we are already have a system in place, one that is free and capable of improvement through collaboration. It's going to take the board, the CEC, and all classified staff working together to make this happen. We truly believe we can accomplish this if we take the time and effort together.
Thank you. Our next speaker is Adaliz Montoya. Welcome. Please state your name, and you have three minutes. Good evening, board members. My name is Adalise Montoya, and I'm a paraprofessional with six years in the district. I wanna start off by saying thank you. I truly notice how each of you have taken the time to listen, respond, and follow-up with classified staff. And it means a lot to know that our voices are being heard and our concerns are being taken seriously. Over the past year, many of us have been working for classified voices to be part of the conversation again.
We are the people who open the schools, drive the school buses, prepare the meals for the students, and support students every single day. We've come together to build a strong connection, share experiences, and rebuild trust because we deeply care about the work we do and the students we serve. I am open and willing to give the CEC the time and effort it needs to truly support classified staff. I believe that if we stay committed and approach it with honesty and collaboration, it can grow into something strong and meaningful for everyone. I want to see that happen. Many of us really do want to do our part to make it work.
At the same time, I do wanna be honest about something. I've experiencing during the organizing efforts for our union. I sometimes have felt that limit I'm limited to the ability of having a voice, share my concerns, and have the best approach of moving forward. If a union is eventually put in place, I wanna make sure that we are the classified employees who have the ownership and have the voice and decisions when it comes to our union. It's important that whatever structure represents us reflects classified staff and us. I also believe it's important that every classified employee has access to clear structure and
accurate information. These people deserve to understand the CEC, what it does, what it could it could offer. Everyone should be able to make an educated, informed decision about what kind of representation works best for them, whether that continues through the CEC or through a union. It's about to make sure it's about making sure classified staff have all the right information, the pros, the cons, and everything in between so that we can make an informed decision on what we want. This isn't about taking sides or creating division. It's about finding what truly helps and protects people who keep this district running every
day. I believe that if we continue working together in trust and transparency and open communication, we could build something that lasts. Thank you again for taking the time to listen and for all that you have done for classified employees. The effort really makes a difference, and I'm hoping that we can move forward together. And thank you. Our next speaker is Brandy Redmonds. Welcome. Please state your name, and you have three minutes. Hello, board. My name is Brandy Redmonds. Last time I spoke to you, I was also wearing red shirt. But today, I'm here to thank you for taking the time to listen to our classified staff
and opening the door to honest conversations about both unionizing and strengthening the CEC. Your willingness to hear our voices and consider our experiences mean a great deal. I want to share that I have supported and still support the movement to unionize. I believe in the power of advocacy and collective action to ensure that classified employees are valued and treated equitably. However, my personal experience with some aspects of the organizing process was challenging. I witnessed and experienced moments of unprofessional behavior directed towards myself and colleagues, which was discouraging and not reflective of the inclusive culture we strive for in APS.
Because of that, now is a good moment to pause and refocus. Before moving forward with unionizing, we have an opportunity to rebuild and reimagine what the Classified Educators Council can be. The CEC has not been fully utilized or maintained in recent years, yet it holds real potential to serve as a strong representative and solution oriented body for classified voices. With renewed structure, clear communication, and partnership with dish district leadership, the CEC could become a model for collaboration and shared purpose. In closing, I want to empathize that classified staff are not asking to be separated from our
district's mission. We're asking to be fully included in it. Our voices are being heard. Our flexibility and dedication are being recognized, and we sincerely appreciate the collaboration we are beginning to see from leadership. Together, we can build something that honors every role, every condition, and every person who makes APS a place where students can and staff can thrive. Thank you again for your time, your respect, and your partnership. Thank you. Next is Corey Tonjes. Welcome. Please state your name, and you have three minutes. Good evening, board. My name is, Corey Tonjes.
I've been the past past CEC president for two years. My official last day will be at tomorrow's meeting. So I'm here tonight once again on behalf of classified staff of Aurora Public Schools. Over the past few years, I have faced challenges that no employee should experience simply by speaking up. There have been false accusations, damaging rumors, and attempts to discredit my intentions, yet through it all, I continue to show up. My grandfather used to tell me, as long as you're doing the right thing, nothing else matters. That's what keeps me grounded. These experiences don't define who I am.
They only reflect on the characters of those who choose to act that way. I've worked for a APS for nearly nine years, and during that time, people have come to know me as a hard worker, someone reliable, and someone who stands up for what is right. When the late Jeff Kanishi, God rest his soul, reached out and asked me to help, get the employee council up and running again, I was proud to take on the challenge. I believed and still believe, in creating a platform where classified employees have a voice in the district's decisions. But even that effort has been met with resistance.
At the end of last year, I was told directly by the previous chief operations officer, Mark Seglum, that some chiefs within the district leadership viewed my advocacy as self serving. And because of that perception, the district deliberately slowed down collaborations with the CEC. Think about that for a moment. Positive progress for classified employees was put on hold because of a personal misunderstanding. That's not just unfair to me. It's unfair to the people, the council was created to serve. And that is exactly why it's so important for you to pass a policy that
classified employees have the option to unionize. Let the employees decide for themselves. It's not right to say you can only vote for a Democrat if the Republican doesn't work out. People deserve the right to choose from the start, not after someone else decides what's best for them. Now I'm not here to tell you or anybody else that the CEC is better than the union, and I'm not here to say the union is better than the CEC. That decision belongs to each and every employee. But it is not or but it is your responsibility as a board of education
to make that choice possible to ensure a fair, open, and transparent process, where every classified employee can freely decide how they wish to be represented. And before I close, I want to highlight two recent issues that reflect the challenges classified staff are still facing. First, recently, head custodians have had their access to the security cameras for their building removed, which many believe to be a safety concern and a limitation on their ability to manage their buildings effectively. Second, we simply want an even playing field.
On August 19, I met with the chief operating officer or chief financial operating officer, Brett Johnson, custodial manager, Ira, Hermison, and coordinator, Jeff Fahy, after exercising my legal right to hand out flyers at transportation's break room. During that meeting, I was asked if I had signed in when I entered. Unfortunately, the sign in book had been Can you please wrap up? Yep. Unfortunately, that book was thrown out. I only bring this up because on September 19, district leadership held a meeting at ESE 5 and only three signed in,
an executive director and two data analysis. That inconsistency speaks for itself. I will leave it at that. Thank you for your time, your service, and your commitment. Thank you. Our next speaker is Rebecca Finney. When DSST first opened up, I looked into it as an option for my son. It was started by a former investment banker who got big bucks from some wealthy people, including Oprah. At the meeting, we ruled it out because they had some really bizarre ideas about they had strict uniform,
and they were gonna have very strict rules about what the kids could and couldn't do. And I ruled it out. My husband is a scientist. My father was a civil engineer. My uncle was a civil engineer. What they were saying, saying that it was something that engineers and scientists would do, was simply not true. In 2019, I asked the board what would distinguish AST from DSST other than location. DSST had a complaint filed against them investigated by the US Department of Education Office of Civil Rights, and the Office of Civil Rights determined that Denver Public Schools was responsible for DSST's
failure to evaluate a student for suspected disabilities. In the same case, the Office of Civil Rights determined that there was insufficient evidence regarding the complaint of discrimination because of national origin. They also said after this incident, you know, after this incident, the child withdrew from DSST. The Office of Civil Rights noted the complainant may have the right to file a private suit in federal court whether or not the OCR determined there is a violation. Now when I was in high school, I took a probability and statistics class where the first assignment was to read the
book How to Lie with Statistics. When DSST cited 100% college acceptance right for the 76 students in their first graduating class, the implication is that the charter school transforms kids academically. I wondered what happened to the 44 kids, 37% of the original 120 students who started at DSST. One idea comes from this glass door comment. This school boasts a 100% college acceptance rate, yet year after year, special education and underperforming students are pushed out,
take five to six years to even graduate, or decide on other schools on their own accord because of the lack of understanding on their struggles from DSST. This is the most heartbreaking thing to witness as a teacher and is the kind of emotional weight you bring home with you every day. If high performing charter schools results come by driving out certain students and not admitting new students, it refutes the high performing moniker. I personally know of students that were sent to their refocus, which is their disciplinary actions they don't track because their shirt was untucked,
because they spoke in the hallway. Middle school students aren't allowed to speak to each other in the hallway or they can Miss Finney, please wrap up. I'll wrap up. You all have a responsibility when you had adding more DSST or AST schools to know what goes on in those schools and know what the policies are because I don't think to know. Our next speaker is David Boucher. Thank you. My name is David Boucher and I'm here because the previous speaker, who is my wife, has concerns about some of the practices and the claims made by the DSSTAST school
group. I am a scientist. I have a PhD in cell biology from the University of Virginia where I help to train medical students in histology and gross anatomy. I have two master's degrees from the University of Kentucky, one in virology, one in business administration, where I also taught sophomore level microbiology and worked in the hospital's clinical bacteriology lab. I came here as a younger man to do research at the cardiovascular pulmonary research group at the Health Sciences Center. And I can tell you that if somebody claims the best way to train young
people to be scientists is to teach them not to talk in hallways and that they have to wear a certain dress code, in my sixteen years as a scientist at all the different universities, that has not been my experience. We talk to each other in the hallways because communication with your colleagues is essential. Faculty, staff, students, we wear what we want, whether it's jeans and t shirts, sneakers, even hoodies with pictures of cats on them. Because what's important is free thinking and your knowledge of the science, not how you dress. For the past two and a half decades,
I've been a health care analyst in the investment banking industry. My job is to evaluate biotechnologies with cutting edge science. And if a CEO of one of those companies tells me that they achieve a 100% of anything, I know how I have to look a lot closer at all their claims. So if a school tells me that a 100% of their students are accepted into college, congratulations. But I wanna know how many of those students actually go to college. I wanna know how many of those students actually do well in college. How well are they being prepared? And I wanna know what happened to the students who started out in that school
who maybe didn't achieve the test scores necessary. How were they separated out? If you accept a school, if you accept their policies and their practices and their claims, you also accept the responsibility for those and the repercussions. If you do decide that you want to look a little closer at any of these, let me know. I would be happy to volunteer and help in any way that I can. Thank you. Thank you, sir. Our next speaker is Britney Snow. Welcome. Please state your name, and you have three minutes. K.
Hello. My name is Britney Snow, and I've been a classified worker in the district for eight years. I started as a para at Hinkley where I saw firsthand how our system can fail our students. An educator told me these kids aren't gonna be shit anyway and that they just end up working at King Soopers. I remember thinking, no way. We can do better, and I can do better. That was the fuel to my fire. I worked harder, gained more skills, and learned braille where went wild supporting a visually impaired student. That led me to become a district braillist. Eventually,
I became a pre k teacher. I care deeply for my students, and I'm incredibly proud of the progress I've made rising through hard work and dedication to one of the highest paid classified roles in the district. But here's the truth. As a facilitator, we make less money doing the same work as licensed staff, and we have fewer rights. That's why I'm working towards my teaching license, and it's also why the district keeps losing incredible pre k teachers and other classified staff. We're here today standing up for our union rights, not to be delayed or sidelined.
That's why the recent email about strengthening the CEC and studying the effects of unionization was so frustrating to read. We already know the results. Licensed staff have more voice, more respect, and more stability because they can collectively bargain. With all due respect, a report like this won't be meaningful or fair if it's not created with APS staff. Across the district, we all face different challenges shaped by our roles, schools, race, and cultures, and the students we serve. No outside study can capture that reality. In the district,
if the district genuinely values transparency and accountability, then it must start by listening to the people living this work, not just studying us from a distance. Otherwise, those findings will miss the truth of our experiences and fail to bring about real solutions. When I first joined the district, I tried participating in the CEC. I had to ask my boss for permission to attend during work hours. While attending, I realized it wasn't a space for us. It was a managed and controlled space. That's not what the classified staff is asking for. We're demanding a union because we wanna run it ourselves.
We don't need another study where admin spends resources and pro loans just to tell us that it's not the right time. Districts across Colorado like Cherry Creek, DPS, and GEFCO have figured it out, and it's time for APS to do the same. I'm speaking to you not today, speaking to you today not just as a PS worker, but as a parent and a dedicated educator who believes in our students and this community. Please put our policy on the agenda. We want collective bargaining and nothing less. Let us have a fair and free process for unionization. Thank you.
Our next speaker is Kevin Worth. Hello. My name is Kevin Worth. I teach tenth and eleventh grade English at Rangeview High School. I'm a proud member of the AEA, a union that will hopefully grow and influence with the addition of our classified siblings. I am proud to be a union member, particularly at this point in time as hate and ignorance parade around so proudly. And especially as public education itself comes under fire, the union, for me, is a means of organizing to fight back against those forces.
I'm keenly aware of hateful and ignorant policies as I came here from Florida in June 2024, and anything that has happened in Florida unfortunately can in time happen here. Florida legislation has made it harder, specifically for teachers unions to exist. As a result, older teachers are taking early retirement and younger teachers are leaving the state or the profession entirely. That's the environment that I've moved away from. We know that teachers unions are excellent for many things. The union allows for teachers to collectively bargain for better working conditions that translate to
better outcomes for students since an overworked teacher with low morale in an overcrowded classroom simply cannot be effective. So why would Florida wish to eliminate these teachers unions if they benefit student performance? I am sure no one is surprised to hear that there is a concerted and multi decade effort to privatize the public education system, one of our last public goods guaranteed by our increasingly profit driven society. It is no coincidence that the same groups and individuals supporting this goal are also
anti union. They know the threat we as a union can pose to that goal. Now, while Florida has been a champion of empowering charter schools at the cost of public schools, this is not just happening in Florida or Southern states. The movement to privatize the public school system has shown itself prominently within the District 11 Of Colorado, and I'm proud to say that on October 8 several aEA members including myself drove down to Colorado Springs to picket in solidarity if it could happen there it can happen here James Baldwin once wrote ignorance allied with power is the most ferocious enemy
justice can have. As teachers, we are charged with, among other things, combating this ignorance. The union sees to it that our ability to combat ignorance is minimally stifled. The higher the union membership, the better all workers are protected, the better we can resist the increasing attacks on public the public education system, and the better we can guarantee the best learning outcomes for students. The union unionization of classified staff would be an immense help in supporting all these goals, and I'm excited to see what AEA can do in the future to benefit Aurora Public Schools. Thanks for your time. Our next speaker is Maribel Murillo who has an interpreter with her,
so I will add three minutes to her time. Okay. Good evening. My name is Lucero Giron, and I will be interpreting for miss Maribel Murillo. Board members, my name is Maribel Murillo. I have worked at Ranger View High School for two years, and I have two children. My youngest will be starting kindergarten in APS soon and my daughter currently attends Marachek. I come to you tonight as both a parent and as an employee of APS. I was deeply frustrated to read your response on October 8, conveniently released just days before a week long break,
to our request for a fair union recognition policy. It felt intentional. It felt like another delay tactic. And frankly, it felt disrespectful to all of us who have been waiting for you to simply do the right thing. Let me be clear about what it means to work for the district. Until just recently, I was earning $1,297 a month. Now it's it went up to 1,450. If anyone sitting on this board or anyone in the room can survive on $1,450
a month in Aurora, Colorado in the current times, please raise your hand. No one. I think I didn't think so. But I do. I'm the sole breadwinner for my family and I do it so I could be near my family my daughter's school. So I could be there for her. I am grateful for my job in APS. Before I came here, I used to work long hours and my daughter would tell me that I didn't spend enough time with her. That pain bled into her academic life and her grades suffered. So I come so I came to this district thinking I could do both,
provide for my family and be present for my daughter. But let me tell you what it costs. I noticed that just one just on a few select staple groceries that used to cost my family $29 now costs 47. That means I sometimes have to wait until halfway through the month to buy the yogurt or something else my daughter asks for. I want to be able to buy my children a new pair of shoes when they need them. But I am always have to be delaying purchases for my family when they need
something. These aren't luxuries. These aren't basics. And I am forced to ration everything. We became we came to you months ago asking for one thing, a fair policy that would allow us to hold an elect a union election and collectively bargain for a better wage for working condition and working conditions. I'm sorry. We did not ask you to look into the classified council. We did not ask for a study. We asked for the democratic right to vote on whether we want a union, a right that a majority of classified staff across the district have already said they
want. But instead of listening to us, you responded by saying you need to analyze the impact of the unionization and classified staff and the district. Let me let me remind you that the Aurora Education Association has been in collective bargaining for decades. You wanna tell me that after all these years I have of having a union in this district, you still don't know what the impacts of a union are? That's insulting. What you're really saying is that you need time to study whether classified staff are
people enough to deserve the same respect and treatment you give to that licensed staff. We already know the answer to that. The real question is, when will you? It's time to stop the delays, stop the excuses, and put our union recognition policy on the agenda for a vote. We are not going away. We are the people who feed your students, who clean your schools, who keep your buses running, who support your teachers. We deserve a voice. And we're asking you one more time to give us the respect of allowing us
to use it. Thank you for your time. Our next speaker at our final speaker of the night is Allison Douglas. Allison Douglas. Hello. My name is Allison Douglas, and I'm a speech language pathologist or SLP at Virginia Court with an APS. Thank Thank you for the opportunity to address the board this evening. I've come to speak with you about the impact of unionization in our essential classified colleagues. To start, I would like to share my analysis of the positive impact of unionization within our school district. I first spoke at public comment in the 2022 when Wheeling Elementary,
a school that helped me grow into an effective educator, was closing. The negative impact of neighborhood school closure is insurmountable. Shaping the future does not mean destroying the past. During that time, I joined the union and found a new way to move forward. Becoming a member of the union consistently helps to pick up the broken pieces, better understand and advocate for rights, and foster new organizing efforts to drive progress with input from actual educators and community members themselves. Joining the union has encouraged me to better understand and advocate for my essential role within the community beyond solely as an SLP,
which expands beyond Aurora and at the state level. Some contract negotiation wins that I am especially proud of during the past couple years include considerable compensation increases, including more educational lanes, a workload review process for SSPs, LGBTQ plus inclusivity language, and class size caseload thresholds. However, these ones would only be words on a page without our additional education and advocacy efforts. Additionally, we have relentlessly advocated for the termination of underfunding in education and defunded against state budget cuts.
Going to the capital and speaking with Colorado representatives was definitely not something that I learned or even considered in graduate school, but that was rather something I learned from my union colleagues. As you know, a res a Responsible School Finance Act recently passed with an additional $150,000,000 in funding for public schools. Whoop. This, in addition to other legislative wins, are a testament to what we can accomplish when we come together with union power. In Aurora, I felt our current union's dedication to empowering educators,
enhancing the quality of education and student success, as well as fostering a more supportive and well connected community. With a strong union comes a strong sense of solidarity that benefits the community as a whole. As you know, our classified colleagues are currently struggling to be heard in their call for a union recognition policy. Supporting their efforts isn't just about labor rights. It's about supporting a respectful, equitable workplace that values every member of our school community with dignity. We can't expect our politicians, communities, and most importantly, students to value educators when we are not making it a priority ourselves.
This is all about more than just certified and classified staff. It's about the quality of education that we can provide to students. Thank you so much for your time. That concludes our speakers for this evening. Thank you so much, Claudia. Alright. Well, I also wanna thank everyone who, addressed the board this evening. And now is the time if you'd like to leave. If not, you're welcome to hang out with us for the rest of the evening. Alright. Board as tradition, we do have a working agreement, posted in a working agreement posted for us,
and we are going to abide by it today. Do I hear a motion to approve the consent agenda? So moved. Do I hear second? Second. It's been moved by director Gherkin and seconded by director Tasker. Claudia, could you please call Roe? Yes, ma'am. Director Carter? Aye. Director Duncan? Aye. Doctor Gerken? Aye. Doctor Kiki? Aye. Director Reinhart? Aye. Director Tasker? Aye. Director Tomwein? Aye. Thank you. Thank you, Claudia. Alright. And we have received the packets for
the UIP, for the schools on the clock. I trust that we've all read it. Now is the time. The floor is open for comments or, additional questions if we had any before we, move on to action. I submitted some questions on, how the the district was going to implement, a culture of belonging, safety, and care. And, I received those responses, and I thank very much for those, of course. Any additional question? Alright. I, on the contrary, did not have the chance to send my questions on time.
K. First, I wanted to, acknowledge, the presentation. Thank you for a good presentation. And I also wanted to say, right, like, we know UIPs are as meaningful as the districts want them to be. I was browsing slide seven. I believe it is. Slide seven. I wanna make sure that I understand. Those are the all the schools that are, on the clock currently? No, ma'am. Okay. The slides that you or the schools that you see on this slide are schools
that were identified as either being on turnaround or needing to be in improvement status. And so I'm sorry. Priority improvement. So that's the list of schools that are required to submit a UIP to the state. And then if you see a school that has a star next to it, they have a pathway plan, which is a more rigorous level. There's some involvement of the state. The only one that was not submitted to you was for Aurora Hills because that one is in development. Okay. And Hinkley does not have to submit because it's no longer in term?
That is correct. Good job. All schools still develop a UIP, but they were not required to. Yeah. Understand. Okay. And I I believe it's on slide. So Ford does give us the the schools that are on request for reconsideration. I think director Gurr can ask that question as well. So once that's granted, how does the how does that change the, the improvement plan? Their improvement plan will not change. Their accountability rating will change. So they could move from priority improvement to improvement or move from improvement to performance.
The state has a formula that we have to put in calculations for, and from that, they determine whether or not they move into that next level of categorization as identified by the SPF. So thank you for that answer. So let me make sure I understand that. So Boston gets granted the reconsideration. They move from turnaround to what? They move from priority improvement to improvement? Sorry. Priority improvement to improvement. Am I hearing that the the UIP will not change? They will still move forward with the same model?
That is correct. Because they're basing it off of the request to reconsider process is basing it off of last year's k two I Ready scores is what we were able to submit on behalf of them because it's not something that's included when the state does their calculations to identify what your rating is going to be. And so, with that addition of k through two, we believe that we'll be able to move them to the next categorization. That does not diminish what the school has identified in their ninety day plan or in their UIP about where they want their concerted efforts to be. Okay. Any additional question?
Judge your test. Okay. So, and and I might have went over or missed it. Speak a little now. Alright. I might have went over and missed it, but we're gonna have these, like, oh, no. I'm sorry to go. I'm sorry. So we we are going to have these culture belonging, safety, and care community hubs. And so I was wondering where, what strategies you have or sources you're pulling from for these community hubs. I'm probably not the best person to answer this question. Oh, hey, Jaylen.
Good evening, everyone. Can we ask the question again, please? It was en route. Yeah. So we're we have these, community hubs, and I was wondering what sources and strategies you're pulling from. Pulling from? Yeah. So a lot of this work is grounded in a really strong campaign that the culture, equity, and engagement department did in partnership with, community partners, staff, students, families. We, heard from over 600 stakeholders, had over 40 stakehold or, focus groups on this.
And then we also grounded it in the work coming out of the family school partnerships framework as well as the community schools framework, and finally, the belonging work that came out of the TNT partnership from last year. And from all of that work, there's an identification. And so if you were to go on CEE site and look at what our major improvement strategies for APS's UIP are, there's a list of adult behaviors that we're expecting to see change as a as a result of this major improvement strategy being put into place.
As an example, family liaisons will demonstrate consistent implementation of community hub framework principles evidenced by the annual needs assessment that is conducted. Okay. Thank you. I was just wondering, though. I mean, this is probably more for the superintendent. Like, what would it look like if when we are presenting we're presented those UIPs or ninety day plans or SPFs, the school leaders themselves come and present those because they know their schools, and, I believe they're the ones that fill those,
those form. Now I know if there's a plethora of them, we're not gonna be able to to listen to all of them. But one from a turnaround school, one from a performance school, one something like that to kinda give us, you know, a better overview of of the work. Just Yeah. Just the thought. Yeah. If that's a request of the board, we can talk about what that might look like. I think as far as the UIP, you won't get much different than what's presented already. You might just get their, their color commentary as a building leader.
But, again, if that's something that the board requires, we can figure out what that might look like. It could be a video presentation or something of that sort. But on SPS, they will it could help on the SPS and all. It could help. It's just a thought. I I am not, you know, something to consider if my colleagues are, interested in it. Any other comment before we take action? Thank you so much, Steph. Alright. Do I hear a motion to approve the district UIP and the UIP for the turnaround and priority improvement schools as presented.
So moved. Second. Second. Second. It's been moved by director Tasker and seconded by director, Duncan. Claudia, would you please call her? Yes, ma'am. Director Carter? Director Duncan? Aye. Doctor Gerken? Aye. Doctor Kiki? Aye. Director Reinhart? Aye. Director Tasker? Aye. Director Tomlinson? Aye. Thank you. Thank you so much. Motion passed. Okay. Now the board will be presented with information related to the city of Aurora. What? The city of Aurora builds up, Aurora initiative.
Welcome. Thank you. My name is Jason Batchelor, city manager for City of Aurora. Thank you for having us this evening. We're gonna present to you on, an initiative we have undertaken about a year ago, on Build Up Aurora. And it is our initiative to engage the community, with the hope that, November year, November 2026, we'd like to go to our community and ask for, some bonds to go ahead and improve infrastructure, and meet the needs. So right now, we're in the middle of an engagement process where we're listening to the community, and to hear what their needs are, what their desires are, and then we're gonna work through that and,
come back again next year with, hopefully, some a number of questions and and, get some funding to, you know, kind of do some improvements. We know that, you all have had some success in that, so we're hoping to model, after you all and, follow in your footsteps. So with that, I'm gonna turn over to my colleague, Laura Perry, deputy city manager, to kind of walk you through our presentation for this evening. Good evening. Thank you for the opportunity to share the city's strategic infrastructure initiative, Build Up Aurora. My name is Laura Perry, and I am a deputy city manager with the city of of Aurora. Today, as Jason mentioned,
we'll walk you through where we are, where we've been, and what's next, and how Aurora will care for its infrastructure and build for its future through our Build Up Aurora initiative. So as mentioned, Build Up Aurora is a strategic effort to both care for the city's existing infrastructure and make sure we're preparing for the future. We have more than 700,000,000 in unmet critical capital project needs to maintain what we already have and to serve our growing community's immediate and future needs. Aurora's population has grown by nearly 40% in the last twenty years.
And when population growth happens, it compounds infrastructure demands on roads, public safety, parks, libraries, and city facilities. Having safe, adequate, and well maintained infrastructure in Aurora is essential, not just for our built environment, but for our economic health and the quality of life for every resident. Next slide. So the city's infrastructure strategy has really followed three main core pillars. First was exhaust all funding options for infrastructure. So we were very fortunate in that several years ago the federal government approved the
infrastructure bill and through that funding we were able to pursue several state and federal grant opportunities to address some of our infrastructure needs and put forward grant applications to pursue other opportunities to exhaust those opportunities. The second main core pillar was build public trust through delivering capital projects on time and on budget. Since 2023 the city has been investing in residential street paving and these residential streets had been unpaved and unfunded for many years.
The city invested $35,000,000 to catch up on its residential streets in the worst condition and we continue to budget for residential street paving annually in our annual budget. The third pillar is engaging our residents and stakeholders. So as Jason mentioned, we've been in the process of doing that, through communication, education, and transparency with the goal of identifying shared priorities and long term creative solutions to maintain our current infrastructure as well as support needed future capital investments.
And long term creative solutions include issuing bonds and supporting funding options, as Jason said, to be proposed on the 2026 ballot. The overall goal is strategic sustainable infrastructure investment that supports sustainable infrastructure development, ongoing capital maintenance, and that is aligned with the community's expectations. Next slide, please. To guide this effort, Aurora City Council has appointed an infrastructure chair task force that is co chaired by council member Curtis Gardner and council member Francoise Bergen.
The task force is comprised of community, business, labor, and government stakeholders, and the names of our infrastructure task force appointments are listed on the slide. The primary task of the task force is to develop a phased strategic approach to prioritize and fund critical infrastructure projects through collaboration, public engagement, and sustainable funding. Next slide. The task force is following a multi year transparent process which kicked off in January and includes multiple opportunities for community engagement. As shown on the diagram,
we are currently in the evaluation and input stage, which includes developing an understanding of the city's capital needs, public engagement, and assessment of funding strategies. This work will culminate in recommendations made from the infrastructure task force to Aurora City Council by summer of next year. Next slide. Over the last two years, the city has been completing major capital master planning efforts across multiple domains, including public safety, transportation, parks, rec, and open space, libraries, cultural services,
and ADA. Our capital master planning efforts have allowed for a comprehensive and holistic look at Aurora's infrastructure needs that have also included public engagement at each step. Recommendations from our capital master planning efforts are informing and being evaluated by the infrastructure task force and are foundational to the city's ongoing capital and financial planning. Next slide, please. Community engagement is central to the build up Aurora process. Robust engagement helps build public trust and ensures decisions reflect community priorities.
Since April, outreach efforts have included 43 events, including council town hall meetings, community festivals, nonprofit and business organizations, and farmers markets. More than 3,600 direct interactions have been made, and we received over 2,600 online survey responses. To support these efforts, we've also launched a dedicated social media infrastructure campaign to raise awareness and invite continued participation in the initiative. So, our next steps, we are wrapping up the evaluation stage,
continuing with presentations to our task force through the end of the year, and then into 2026 our task force will be forming various subcommittees to further refine and evaluate specific capital project categories. We will also be doing additional public outreach as well as, the task force will be making recommendations to our city council for ultimate referral to the ballot in 2026. And with that, that concludes our presentation today. Again, thank you for the opportunity to present today and if you'd like more information or
would like to get further involved, you can find more information on our Engage Aurora website at engageaurora.org/buildupaurora. Thank you very much. Boyd, do we have questions for one to ten? We can Thank you. We can still, add comments, suggestions, that kind of thing? Yes. The EngageAware website allows for consistent interaction where you can post comments. And so if if, you know, others, you have them yourself, we welcome those, now and and certainly into the future. Great. Thank you. Thank you for your time, VC. Thank you. Okay. And
now onto board work. Board, we received a central policy draft, and, any discussion around that? Director Gherkin? I know this has come up before, and I I would just like to say that, it's a good this is a good time to talk about censorship. Censure policy, not censorship. I was right there. When when when there's not a need to take action immediately. You know? I I support the, the idea of looking into this and having conversation about it. Thank you.
I did have a I did have a question. Were you Yeah. Asking for questions right now? Christine comments. In the process of getting the ball rolling, I believe it says that if a director has a complaint, that that complaint with all the criteria is submitted to the president and copied to the person, for whom the complaint is issued. And then, later, after the president has determined whether all the criteria is met to to start that process,
that the board member gets notification of that. Is is that correct? Am I reading that right? Yeah. Okay. It is the Brown submissions process for initiating censure, and that will be second. Yeah. So process for initiating censure, I think it's one written notice. Is that what you're talking about? I yeah. I guess if it felt like that the let's say I was the one who was, someone had a a complaint Mhmm. Against that. I was getting notice that there was a complaint,
and then I get notice again that all the pieces were in place. Like, I get noticed twice. I I just wondered if that was redundant. Brandon, if you wanted to help with that question. Thank you. In drafting, I I guess, as a matter of due process, I don't see it as redundant. First is notification that there's an issue. The second is notification of the finalized document Okay. That would be presented to the board for a hearing if the board determines there is a hearing. I think it's important to give any board member notice that a process is initiating
even though it's not been reviewed or finalized. And then final notification of the sandbox in which you'd be discussing, the complaint at the hearing. K. Yeah. That is the intent and purpose. That makes sense. I'd I'd wanna know that something was in the works if that were the case. I will add the caveat. There is no statutory process for censure. This is a first attempt for board conversation. So you do have a lot of flexibility in how you wanna approach it. So, comment and input is encouraged. But like I said, it it's easier to rewrite than to write sometimes.
Mhmm. Yeah. I did have a question. So, when it says grounds for censure, I didn't know you know, it's, like, things like ballot the board's code of ethics. I know we just did the handbook. I don't know if we have a section. I don't recall there being a section for code of ethics. Do we need that? Like, I just some of this could be subjective. Right? Like, some things are black and white, like breach of confidentiality or at least I think, conflicts of interest, but, like and it's clear in my mind, but, you know, some people, it may not be what is harassing abusive behavior.
And I don't know if we need to go to that level or if it's just all, like, it's okay for it to be subjected the way it is. I don't know. Again, this is this is up for this is just a a draft. So any Yeah. Suggestions Yeah. Are welcome. If you're welcoming comments, I I'm happy to give a response to that. I don't wanna get in the middle of the conversation. But, my 2¢ is you could try to drill down and give specific def definitions for everything, but you're not gonna be able to predict everything. That's gonna be problematic for a board member.
And the whole idea is to give the board, latitude to address an area of concern, understanding that there's gonna be a hearing and the majority of the board is gonna have to support that particular viewpoint. Hopefully, you don't get to an area fingers crossed, you never get to an area where this is going to be, you know, a sword Mhmm. Against anybody from a political perspective. But I would caution, yes, more solid is better, but because the range of things that could happen from my experience doing this job, you're not gonna be able to fully predict.
That's why even in employment employee manuals, you just see, for disciplinary action on professional behavior. A lot of manuals keep it at that level, but this is very hard to define every type of unprofessional behavior. Right. Absolutely. It's not a gray area. Yeah. Yeah. Director Tasker, do you have a question? I I really appreciated the the draft. I was looking, and I I kinda stumbled upon the Orange, Unified School District, Orange County, California sensor policy. I like the way they, the preface the way they preface it,
and and then they came down to the procedure and all. And so, I kinda took another stab at what was already drafted. Claudia, I just sent it to you if you wanted to send it to everyone. Maybe not. So, once my computer decides to work, you will get it. Any questions? Any additional questions? Yeah. I don't I don't have a question. I think along the lines of director Tom Lee's point about the subjective language within
this entry policy, I think for me, this allows too much room for Interpretation. Interpretation. I think room for someone to make a claim or a suggestion for a censure based on potentially a politically motivated disagreement, something that could be stated on social media that they may not be in agreement of. And I'm not saying those aren't things that board members should be censured censured for. But I think we are toeing the line. This is just me of freedom of speech and people allowed to
come and put a complaint against you for the sake of censuring because they don't like what you said. So Right. Figure out. And I agree. As far as social media, I think in the handbook on page 25, there is something that we have to post on each of our pages. But the language of boards, code of ethics, or conduct, I feel like that is so subjective. And I'm wondering, should that be something that's implemented in the handbook as, like, a brief list, just so we can limit the subjectivity?
I was gonna say I I really appreciate that. I in the step that I took, instead of one person sending a complaint, it would be two And then submitted it to the, you know, to the board's officer. Anyways, it went to to Claudia, and Claudia can send it so that you guys can compare and see what I came up with and also how the language with the, for Orange County, was written. May take a minute. Yeah. I I mean, I I really think it's a good idea or a great thing that we're having
this conversation, but I don't wanna create something that we're trying to take a stance on. And I'm sure, like, the heart of why we're putting this policy in place is to protect the board and to ensure that we have something in place for new members that come in. But there's also the chance that someone can come in and totally use this century policy and weaponize it against others on the board. Oh, absolutely. And I just wanna make sure whatever we put into place that it mitigates that possibility as much as possible. And I think that was,
something we were talking about. I think it was couple of shoots ago, ago. Director Carter said something about this since your policy being you could could possibly be used to weaponize. And so how do we limit that? Suggestions are welcome. Well Check your quarter. I do like I echoed, doctor Gerken in we should be having the conversation Yep. And we should be talking about the policy. I do also hear, director Duncan and director Tasca about this being weaponized.
The fear or the piece of the policy that I really like is that it takes a super majority. So it's, you know obviously, I'm assuming that the individual who is, you know, being censored wouldn't vote yes. So it's basically, you know, the whole board by this the one person is being censured and one other person. So I I'm I'm happy that we're having a conversation. I hear the the the concerns I echo these concerns, but I also, based on the fact that it's going to take a super majority, to get anything done, gives me less pause just knowing that getting five people to vote for anything.
Director Reinhardt, I have thought that very same thing that the super majority is I I find that however you just ordered it gives me less pause. And I also wanna ask, the issue, the the statement of concern, whatever comes to board president, presiding officer, you said board officer, what if the issue is with the person in that chair? Then where does it go? Right. Does that person review their own concern? So in this is a basic well, yeah. It's a great question. So in the in in the draft that I redid,
the suggestion that I gave, instead of coming to the board app, I said two people and, to the superintendent. So the sensor goes to the superintendent. I understand that he's not a board member, but, again, that's how Orange County did it to mitigate the what if it's the board officers who are the one? Again, that's my suggestion. It's open for conversation, because that is that instance could happen. Absolutely. We are all humans. It could, but I think that puts our superintendent in an awkward place.
Yeah. For sure. Especially thinking that he's our only employee. So the question still remains. What if the center is against a board officer? Well, if sorry. The issue is not a board officer. The issue is The board officer. So just if if it's with the The president. President, take it to the vice president. Also the president oh, take it say that again? Take it to the vice president. It says If it is the vice president, then take it to the president. If it is the president and the vice president, then And then we got a problem.
It says president or presiding officer. Mhmm. So I suppose if the president is out isn't present there, then the presiding officer will be be vice president. Mhmm. If for some reason, they're both Yeah. Not there. You know, I We have a problem. Yeah. I I I can comment on the intent. Sure. Under your board officer policy, it does say the vice president, takes over the responsibilities of the president. Correct. If the president is absence or inability of the president, it can be clearer that the point is well taken. But I I think the assumption is that if it's against the president,
they're in it unable to rule on themselves. And due to that inability, it would pass to the vice president. Which makes sense. And I if I'm reading this right, it also says that the person to whom the complaint or concern has been issued, that person doesn't vote Correct. On that issue Mhmm. Regarding themselves. Right? Right. Any other comment? Any additional? I can see that some of the, potential breach of ethics would be, you know, as we have in, whether it's policy or handbook, the board has made a vote on something,
and maybe you were in you were not in the majority. But if you go out there making bad comments about the board's vote, that's unethical. If you, obviously, breach confidentiality, that's clear. If if there are some, yeah, in an in an old case, someone had told, had misrepresented themselves and, to the detriment of the board, that was huge. I would say that would be a breach of ethics. But not, you know and I guess if you're constantly harassing someone. I I think you have first amendment rights on
your social media, but you shouldn't be harassing board members. We talk about that. We shouldn't be, you know, doing all those kinds of things. That's if we did any of that, that would be unethical. And, you know, if it if it continued, I'd I'd say someone ought to be censured for that. Yeah. Brandon, how would you like the suggestions to come? Well, let me recap what I'm hearing. So, there are five criteria for center. The first one is the board's code of ethics or conduct. That seems to be nebulous enough because we don't have an established code.
I think we could just take that out. That seems to be what the board is discussing, so I just wanna make sure that I'm hearing that message right. The second one engages in behavior incompatible with responsibilities of a board director. That includes your conflict of interest, so that is already covered by that. Breach of confidentiality that director, Gerken was talking about and harassing abusive behavior, that's fairly well defined, I think, as well. Public statements or actions that misrepresent the board or district, I think that's probably nebulous, but I can tell you in the only center that we've had in the district,
that was the criteria, that was used. I don't know, Debbie, if you were on the board during that. I think it was on the board. You know, you were previous to that. Yeah. So I'm hesitant to advise you to take that one off because of the possibilities of how a person represents themselves. Fails to comply with statutory or regulatory obligations. Again, that's that's gonna be, you know, you just are staying legal. And other conduct is determined by board policies or local law. Again, that would be just conforming to your own policy. So what I'm hearing is maybe re remove number one because it's not defined,
but the rest are probably okay. And then I'm also hearing, doctor Kihei has will be sending some potential revisions as far as who can submit it and then just take that into consideration. Cardio already sent it. Is there anything else I'm missing from the board that and clarifying that vice president would take over in the event that the board president is the subject? What's that? Mhmm. Sounds about right. If a if a member or a board member is removed from office, like, their officer position or committee or liaison role,
how is that determined? Is that with any censure, or it depends on the level of censure? As currently written, if you are censured, you are removed from, positions as a result of the center. As an Oh, I'm sorry. Center may be removed from particular assignments, inclusive of officers. So that would be a determination of the board as it votes on the center. Cool. Yes. And as you're reading it, I totally understand the concern about weaponizing that. On the other hand, if it truly is an issue that is different deserving of censure,
the you also don't want that person maybe out and about representing the board. I I I know it's it's about you can't No. You no. If you were legally elected, you are legally elected, and there's nothing this board can do to undermine that. Correct? Even if we censure someone who came on here and was very vocal about their stance, they're still gonna be a board member, right, and able to go and continue to rant on about what they were just censured about. Right? Fully voting board member with ability to speak at every meeting. Okay. Absolutely. It would be public that they were censured.
So if the person was concerned about that, it might make a difference. I don't And, I mean, censuring someone does not mean, limiting their, the right to exercise, right, the freedom of speech. So I'm not saying that it does. I think we're here trying to talk about forming some type of central policy that kinda diverse the behavior of certain board members if they step out of line of what we're outlining here in this document. But we know in today's
climate, like, people don't care about censures. Like, they're gonna say whatever they wanna say regardless of what we feel or whatever, especially if this policy has no real teeth. Yeah. Right. We just heard it has no real teeth. And I'm not saying we shouldn't do it, but, like, for some people, a central policy is just words on a piece of paper. Yeah. To your point, even though it doesn't prevent anyone with this, you know, hard circumstances. I think it's merely more of a just of us saying that we acknowledge the
behavior and we don't approve of it as a unified board. And that we don't approve of it? Us making a statement with the community saying that we're not approving of this behavior. Yeah. And I'm I'm not in disagreement with Yeah. Truly. I was just Don't want us to get too hung up on the language because it really means Right. At the end of the day. Yeah. Yeah. So that did help me. Like, when you said that helped me work through it, like, why are we putting this? I mean, we've seen that at play in other organizations, right, to your point. And, yes, we've also seen that being weaponized as you said.
And so, at the end of the day, at least there's something that is holding board members accountable. Not that we're not holding ourselves accountable already. There's something more, official. Yeah. I I definitely see the pitfalls and the concerns. But, if there was something going on, what whatever, x y z, and and we had no grounds as a board to call out, other than to say, doctor Gherkin, you you know, you're doing blah blah blah blah blah. Stop that saying that publicly.
The public might like to know that this board, cared deeply about ethical behavior. And a censure policy might speak to the public Mhmm. In ways that maybe if doctor Gerken didn't care, at least the public maybe does. Mhmm. Yeah. Any other comment? And I think it will come back next month? Yes. There is small procedural issue. You guys are having an election here pretty soon. If we make material changes to this draft, which are based on the conversation I'm encouraging you to do,
typically, you would bring it back for another reading to make sure that everybody's on board with the final draft, and then you would bring it back at the next meeting for the vote. I think that gets us into new board members voting on this. I just wanna be transparent about that. There's I don't think there's anything wrong with that. I just wanna be transparent, that that might happen. Has everyone built out it? So, Brian, you said if we make significant changes? Yes. I have your feedback. So I will I will bring those changes back. But, typically, as we went through the board policies, our process has been when we make material changes,
you bring it back for a second reading so that, everybody has reviewed and is on board with the final draft before loading. We can be flexible on that, but that has been our process. Okay. So so that vote could happen on the eighteenth or no? November 8? If we continue our standard the process that we've been implementing, it would have to be brought in the December meetings for final vote, and that would be placed on consent agenda. So what are we up November 18, our business meeting would not be would be for the second reading. Would be for the second reading,
make sure everybody's review had an opportunity to to review Mhmm. A final draft and then a vote in December. The vote could we could also call a special meeting to vote. And please don't laugh or chuckle. What I'm trying to say here is we've done that in the past where a special meeting could mean right after our somebody no. Study session. Thank you. We close, and then we reopen a meeting just to vote, and then we close.
That we can do that. Right? Yes. Yeah. Is it something that we would like to do? Or we can wait for the new board, and then just there is no right or wrong with that. Yeah. I'm whatever board members want to do, I would say we've had conversations about this, in an ongoing way. Yep. It might be nice to conclude it with this makeup of the board. I totally agree. If this went to December, would that be the meeting where the new board members are sworn in?
No. Because that would be the first meeting, the first special meeting where the issues are limited. Okay. Yep. I swear. Assuming we don't have to call a special meeting for it. The the the timing for swearing is sometimes a little nebulous based on how the county gets back to us, but the current anticipation would be that first meeting where we have limited options. I agree with doctor Kirkin. Right? This group started the conversation. This current group should also close it out with action. So Yes. It requires a super majority to implement the center.
What is the vote needed just to make a policy? Is it just the majority? Yeah. It's like every other policy, so it's just the majority. Which is a good point. You, depending on how the election goes Mhmm. Do you there's a possibility that you would still have majority of this existing board or possibly not. Don't wanna predict anything. But you would also know by your November meeting what that composition would look like. So, composition would look like. So So if we were to because I know we've kind of done this a little bit with the other policies. If we agreed to minor changes this evening,
then would we still have to come back to another round of Reading. Yeah. Review read? It's still second reading. The second reading? If if we sat here and just rewrote it and everybody was in agreement with what that new version is, then no. Because you would have all seen the draft. The only issue is I don't I haven't seen doctor Kiki's revisions, and I don't know what those are. I mean, I we can remove that first item from the the grounds for censure, And I could come up with a line right now that says,
if the board president is the subject of, the censure, the vice president shall act in that role. One sentence will take care of that. And then I think we spoke about having two people Yeah. So, And that I'm just doing that update. If y'all give me some time yeah. Go ahead. Has been sent to you all, but, and and Brandon as well. So the question is, do we want to do all of that this evening, or do we want to just, you know, read it, take some time. I'd like time to review it and then go with
did I say it right? In our next meeting, then the special meeting because this board has had the conversation. Right. So Sure. How does that sound for everyone? Alright. So time to review, with the, the suggestions added and then second reading and special meeting. And just to clarify, I I did get the email. Well, we have the two board members to propose the center. Is there any other, area of the Orange County policy that you'd like me to pull in just so that I or was it primarily the the two board member,
say, first? It was primarily the two board members and then the the explanation of the governance and all of that. I don't think that was added to yours. I'm sorry. The explanation of? The the first part. Yours goes straight into the definition and the procedure. The first part explains a little bit. The the governance standards. Yes. The governance standards and all of that. Thank you. Which is very standard as well. So Okay. I will have a draft for the board. Director Gweikin has a question. So did I miss anything? Or, is there a time limit for someone to be censured?
Or is there a time when when you can say grace is given? I mean, obviously, this person has been able to vote all along, but to be back on committees, to hold, hold an office. I'm just so I didn't miss it. It's not in there. It's not in there. And I'm wondering if if something like that needs to be in there. So the way the policy is currently written, and I think director Duncan brought this up, is that it's discretionary with the board whether to remove, the director from those positions. And we can make it clear, but I think the presumption is the board has discretion how long to withhold them
from that position as well as part of that vote. So if you'd like, I can I can add that? The difficulty in drafting that is, you know, what is a one year offense, what is a two year offense, what is a term offense, and be able being able to define that as opposed to leaving it to the discretion of the super majority of the board. I'll go either way, but that's the hurdle. I see. Could it be something that is stated there that is at the discretion of the board? Yeah. I think that's how it currently reads is that Century May members may be removed
from particular assignments. But I can expand that language. It is on there. Yeah. Effect of distinction. Yeah. I I could add language into that that line that would basically say and set a duration for the prohibition, something like that, just to clarify the authority. How about that? How does that sound to to everyone else? Great. Are we all set on that? We good? Alright. Thank you so much, Brandon. Thank you for your You're welcome. Thank you. Nice. Of course. And, now to director Duncan to provide us with the the time the actual time spent.
Yeah. I have excuse me. I have fifty four minutes and nineteen seconds. Thank you so much. Alright. And so the next regularly scheduled board of education meeting will be held on November 11. Is that right? November 11. Yes. Yep. Do I hear a motion to adjourn? I just cannot make a comment because we didn't do open dialogue, and I wanna do open dialogue. Oh. Yep. Well, sir, please. So I think us as a board, we do a good job at ensuring that whatever decision we're making,
we're extremely informed of that decision. We're extremely cognizant of who that particular decision could affect, what subgroup it could affect, how it could cause disruptions within the system. And I just want that to permeate through the microphone tonight is that we do our best to ensure that whatever decision we're making is from an informed standpoint. I know sometimes when we have meetings, it's not public, and it leaves the public left to speculate about what transpired within that meeting.
And oftentimes, it's human nature to fill in gaps, for things that you don't know. Oftentimes, those gaps that you fill in could be damaging based on what you say or what you perceive. But to reiterate, I I believe that our board acts with integrity, and takes their time to ensure that whatever decision that we're making is grounded in our student success and also the health and well-being of our staff and faculty. And, again, I just want that to be known that we we aren't using a delay tactic as it was stated tonight.
I don't know what UEM busting is, And I I I would hate to have that term used against us as a board because I know that's not what we're doing, and I know where our heart is. So I just wanted that to be on record. That just because the conversation wasn't public doesn't mean that the perception that's out there is what the perception is. Thank you. Thank you for saying that for the record. Any additional, comment? I know we've heard a lot today. There there were a lot of names that were, thrown in a pot and all that good stuff.
And just to echo director Duncan, every single person sitting here has the best interest of everyone, staff, teachers, and, students, and families because we are that. We are families in this district. We are community leaders in this district. Some of us have been staff in this district. Right? Teachers in this district. Our hearts are in the right place even when we find ourselves in having to make hard decisions. That's why we practice open door policies.
We meet with any and everyone who request our our attention. Any and everyone. And that I don't think that is gonna stop because we love this district. Anyone who says, I wanna meet with this with a board member, I know we will make ourselves available even sometimes at our own peril. And I want to commend this board, and I want to continue to encourage you to continue to have a open door policy and listen to our communities. Yes. Our communities. So thank you for saying that.
Thank you for doing your job, sir. Thank you everyone for doing that job. Director Tasker, you had something, sir? Okay. Second. Alright. She said I thought she said it's a move. I know you heard it. Sorry. I guess it is a move. I guess it is a so moved, and I will accept the second. It's been moved by director Tasker, seconded by director, Duncan. Claudia, would you please call Roe? Yes, ma'am. Director Carter? Yes, ma'am. Doctor Gerken? Aye. Doctor Kiki? Aye. Director Reinhart? Aye. Director Tasker?
Aye. Director Tom Wing? Aye. Thank you. Thank you. Good night, everyone.