I call this meeting to order at 06:05. Claudia, would you please call row? Yes, ma'am. Director Carter? Present. Director Duncan? Here. Doctor Gerken? Here. Doctor Kiki? Present. Director Reinhart? Present. Director Tasker? Present. Director Tom Wing? Present. Thank you, director Tom Wing. I know you're joining us virtually. Where you're at and if you're if anybody's with you? I'm, located in a a hotel room, and there's no one here. Thank you, ma'am. Can we wave at director Tom Wing? Good seeing everybody.
Alright. Thank you, Claudia. Alright. Would you all please join me for the pledge of allegiance? And, superintendent, can you join? Can you lead us? Alright. At this point, I'd like to welcome everyone in attendance for joining us today. Next item on, the agenda is the approval of it. Do I hear a motion? So moved. It's been moved by director Reinhardt and seconded by director Carter. Claudia, would you please call a 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. At this slide at this moment now, I'd like to, take a moment to recognize all of the outgoing directors. Doctor Debbie Gerken, who served the rural public schools for two terms from 2017 to 2021, and also from and also from 2021 to 2025, you've been a trooper. Thank you for your service.
Well, thank you. I it's been an honor and a privilege, and I know I said a few things last, time we were together. Something's very repeating, and I just wanna take the my last, action as a board member to say thank you, thank you, thank you to all the people who trusted me for eight years. And, thank you to the superintendent, the staff, the school leaders, the teachers, everyone who does so many things for kids and families of Aurora Public Schools. And a special thanks to my family, some of whom are here tonight,
especially my husband, who, encouraged me to run-in the first place and has been with me every step of the way and, has had my back at every turn and has even offered a glass of wine when I got home on Tuesday night. It's been a wonderful experience. Thank you all so much. Best wishes to everyone as APS goes forward, and don't forget, I'll always be cheering for you. Thank you. I'd like to also, recognize my good friend and, the current vice president of this board,
representative Carter, who is also outgoing and has served one term from '21 to '25. We're not gonna cry. Right? We talked about that. It's only with him I can do that. I do wanna let you all know how grateful we we are to have served with you, the whole APS family, including the students and the parents, are have seen your selfless efforts, and I know are grateful along with us.
Director Carter. Thank you, doctor Heehy. I I think I've told each of the individuals on here how I felt about them. For those who don't know, this is one of the greatest things I've ever done in my life. I'm a kid who barely graduated high school, but I got to stand on the stage and hand out diplomas, and I got to hug my son as he walked across the stage. This was not a gift from me to you, but it was a gift from you to me. Doctor. Gerken, I say it, I'll say it again, you can make with a hug,
with a hug, with a single hug, it doesn't matter what's going on, we're gonna be all right. And I've sat next to her, and I've hugged her, and some of the hardest stuff we've done, and I knew it was gonna be okay. I've never had a baby sister, so I will apologize. But, Tiffany, you are insanely talented, and and you're the the mountains are not high enough because you're gonna scale them. And I hope you understood that all the nonsense I gave you was because of how I felt. I've never had a baby sister,
but I've never also been around somebody who's going so far and doing so much. Nikki. The mouse that roared. You guys will learn. Yeah. You guys will learn. She doesn't say much, but when she says it, it's on point. And I've never had a question of whether or not, we have there's never been a question of whether or not she was here for the kids. Now how that came out between us, it showed our passion, and I appreciate, man, I appreciate her and her ability to keep me on task. And I'm telling you again, she was the mouse that roared And Tremaine. For those who don't know,
and I tell this story all the time, me and Tremaine have had our battles, and it's just the truth. And it's it's it's the same reason that I fought and had battles with everybody on this board. He cares. He cares so much about the kids, and we didn't know how to communicate with each other. And so a couple of times, y'all can look back. We had to walk in this room and have some conversations. Yeah. But what I wanna make sure y'all understand, I wanna make sure Tremaine understands this. I called my big little brother. I could never be jealous of Jermaine because I'm so proud of everything he's accomplished.
Leaving this board in your hands, I still got two kids left and a wife who still teaches, we're gonna be alright. We're gonna be alright. And I'm not even gonna tell you the first thing I told this man when I met him. We got lucky. We got we we just got lucky. We come through some turmoil and division, and he brought us together. And look look at this district now. Look at it. We got lucky, and so I wanna thank you. I think that's is that everybody? Is that did I miss somebody? Anybody? It's Danielle. I love Danielle. That's the end.
No. Danielle, I'm messing with you for two reasons. One, one of the smartest people on this board, and she brought so much, and she took on so many tasks. I was just impressed, and I'm so proud, to have served with you. I think that's everybody. That is everybody. Now we will allow Hold on. This is You know, here's how you get to doctor Kiki. I'm telling y'all this. This is a secret. Doctor Kiki says she's never lost the race. I know. I know. And she is correct. She had the most votes when we ran.
She had the most votes this time. However, in 2021, somebody beat her in Adams County. So if you ever wanna get in if you ever wanna get under her skin, let her know that, yeah, somebody got to her. When I first got into this race, I was late. And when I got in, I go, okay. It's very simple. To be the best, you gotta beat the best. It was very obvious that the hardest working person during our race was doctor Kiki. And rule number one is to be the best, you gotta beat the best.
Rule number two is you can't beat the best, just join. And that's how I feel about doctor Kiki. She's one of the hardest working people in this room, period. And once again, I think I got everybody. Thank you. Did. Thank you. Thank you. I've seen you twice at the Rotary Club, and I said, you will be missed. And I meant it. And my ride or die here. My god. What am I gonna do without you? I do not know either, but I think I'll figure it out. God, I will miss you, my friend. You have been a faithful friend for four years since the day I met you.
You have challenged me. You have challenged this board. You have also been lazy in being challenged. But, boy, you showed up for the kids. And I know you love this board. You love this district, and you've given everything you've had. We'll miss you, but you are now doing bigger stuff on behalf of this district as well, and we're proud. So go on and do your thing, but remember us and stop by sometimes. Thank you. Superintendent,
over to you. Yeah. Thank you. I'm gonna come around. I'm almost kind of embarrassed to even have to follow these words because sometimes when people speak Thank you. People speak truth and they, when they drop dimes, as we like to say, you kinda just let it sit. But I am gonna take this point of privilege to present these two individuals with a small token of appreciation. I think these are beautiful tokens, but they don't speak to the volume of what you've contributed to this district, to this community, to the kids that we serve. But I'm gonna I'm gonna try to just honor you,
for a moment before we, move on to the next phase of this. So I'm gonna start with doctor Debbie Gerken. I'm humbled, number one, because you and the rest of this board, minus two that came off two years ago, saw fit to give me an opportunity to lead in this district that I tell you I so deeply care about. You didn't have to choose them, and you did. And since I've been on this board, you have been nothing but 100% supportive. I've had individual conversations with you. I've had individual conversations with, Michael Carter, and you have been nothing but supportive,
encouraging, great thought partners. And anything we said that we wanted to do that was gonna improve this district, you stood right by our side to make those things happen. And, mister Carter said, you know, when we came in two and a half years ago, almost three years ago, we knew we had some work to do. And I remember during my interview, you asked you allowed me to ask some questions, and I asked the board. I don't know if you remember. I looked at the board, and I said, are y'all willing to do the work we need to do to reestablish trust in this community? And you as a chair, you said yes, the rest of the board said yes, and we went right to work.
And I do believe we've reestablished the trust that's necessary for us to move our kids forward, our community forward, and I attribute that to you. Another thing that I just wanna recognize is you are truly committed to this community. Not only were you a board president for two term well, two terms as a board director, but then a president for some time, but you were a principal in this very district. You have daughters that serve in this district. So I know that your commitment runs deep. And I know that although you're stepping down from this seat, you will still continue to serve the students of Aurora Public Schools and the community
that surrounds it. So with that, I wanna present you with this token of appreciation and say thank you so very much. And, Rep Carter, why? You need to talk to your friend over here. I gotta tell you everything that I said, just a few minutes ago about just my my appreciation, being humble to be able to recognize, these these servants of the community stands. But what I will add about rep Carter is that, you know, he talked about being proud of, director Duncan, which I truly am too. But he needs to understand how proud we are of him. This man has showed up in so many ways,
not only as at, serving on the school board, but he showed up as a father in the community. He showed up as a father to other students around the community. He's showing up down at the state, and he's been doing that consistently for a number of years. He served our nation's military for our country to protect our rights, And he continues to to advance, the outcomes that we expect for our students in our community. And he's a fighter. He's a true fighter, a true advocate, and I admire every step that he takes along the way. And now that he's down at the state and he's leaving this seat right here,
I know that he will continue to be a champion of Aurora Public Schools, a champion of all kids or for all kids across the state. And I just want you to know how, number one, humbled I am, but, number two, how appreciative of your service and what I know you will continue to do for our students across our state and our rural public schools. So thank you. Madam president, I'll turn it back over to you. Thank you. Can we be curious and see what you all got? Thank you again for your service. It was an honor to serve with you. Okay. So now onto the swearing in. Aurora Public Schools Board of Education is a seven director board.
Each director serves a four year term. A term of four years, I would say. This evening, newly elected board directors, Kristen Mallory and Gayla Charrier, and also reelected directors, Tremaine Duncan and yours truly, will be sworn in. At this point, we'll ask the board assistant, Claudia Blasek, to swear the newly elected board members. Miss Mallory and miss Sherrier, would you please join us at the center? Please raise your right hand and repeat after me.
I state your name. I, Kristen Malagerier. Do solemnly swear Do solemnly swear that I will faithfully perform the duties of the office of the school director. That I will faithfully oh, solemnly hold on. Hold on. Sorry. Sort of it. Swear. That I will faithfully perform the duties. That I will faithfully perform the duties. Of the office of the school director. Of the office of the school director. As required by law. As required by law. And will support the constitution of The United States.
And will support the constitution of The United States. The constitution of the state of Colorado. The constitution of the state of Colorado. And laws made pursuant thereto. And laws made pursuant thereto. Thank you. You are now officially sworn in. We'll ask you to take the seats of the outgoing members, please. Alright. Don't get too comfortable. The seats might be switched. So oh, welcome, director and director Mallory. Okay. So consistent with our obligations under statute and policy,
the Aurora Public Schools Board of Education will now conduct its organizational meeting in which we will nominate and elect board officers for the next two years in the following order: President, vice president, secretary, and treasurer. For expediency, and unless these are any and there there are any objections regardless of the presidential vote, I'll continue to act in my current capacity for all of the nominations and votes for all board officers.
So the floor is now open for nomination for president of the Board of Education. Director Reinhardt. I wish to nominate Tremaine Duncan to be the next president of the board of education. Thank you. Director Duncan, do you have anything to say? I accept the nomination. Thank you. Any other nomination on the floor? I would like to nominate, doctor Kiki for reelection, but, yeah. So it's it's to you, doctor Kiki. Right. Thank you, director Charlier. I just have this to say.
Serving as the board of the as the president of this board has been one of my greatest honor since being elected in 2021. Together, this board, we have increased pay for educators, increased local funding to ensure that we have safe, comfortable, and welcoming schools, seeing improvement in student learning and outcomes, expanded options and opportunities for kids and families, and worked to protect our students from federal overreach and intrusion in our schools.
Most importantly, we have increased our focus on the inequity in our education system and worked to address them. As board president, I have been committed to ensure that students furthered from privilege, students who look and speak like me, are getting the resources they need to be successful. This work is our calling as board members, and I am proud to serve and work alongside you to drive towards change so
that all of our Aurora kids and, yes, you heard me. All of our Aurora kids, no matter where they live or where they come from, get the education they need to have the future that they deserve. I am proud of this work and the part I've played in leading the board for the last two years to put a spotlight on the needs of our kids. This work was never easy. It was never easy. But I am proud to work alongside you, my colleagues, in this struggle.
The key word here is alongside. I believe deeply that strong leaders know when to stand in front and when to empower others to take a leadership role. We are a board of leaders. Serving as a board president was never about me. It was about serving and representing my community and all of the kids who attend Aurora Public Schools. That commitment to serve is why I have decided that I would not stand for
reelection as board president. I wanna thank you. Colleagues, APS staff, families, and students, Deeply for all the chances you have given me to to serve. I know that anyone who has been elected to be the board will be a strong advocate for our students, and I am committed to supporting whoever my colleagues choose to lead us for the next two years. I decline the nomination. I, however, would like to nominate
director Tasker. Thank you for the nomination. And I would love to, but I decline the nomination. And I'd like to nominate director Tom Lee. Give the nomination as well. Good seeing everyone. At this time, I would also decline the nomination. There is then one nomination that still stand, and the board will proceed with the vote for the nomination of director Duncan. Claudia, would you please call Roe? Yes, ma'am. Director Charlier? You're voting yes or no? Oh, you're voting yes or no for Germaine. Oh,
but I could can I abstain? Or do I vote? Do I vote? You can abstain. No. I can abstain. Okay. I abstain. Sorry. Director Duncan? Yes. Doctor Kiki? Abstain. Director Mallory? Yes. Director Reinhart? Yes. Director Tasker? No. Director Tom Moyn? Yes. Thank you. That's four yeses. Now the floor is open for the nomination for vice president. I'd like to self nominate. Thank you. The floor is still open for nomination for vice president. I'd like to nominate director Tom Wing for vice president.
Alright. Director Tom Wing, do you have anything to say? Do you accept your nomination? Very much. Yes. I do accept. Alright. Claudia, would you please call Roe? We are now voting for vice president. So the proposed, process is to since the first nomination was for director Tasker Mhmm. Do a, up and down vote for director Tasker. Okay. If it's not successful, take an up and down vote for director Tompkins. Okay. So If that's since she's the first, we will vote for her and okay. That's the proposed process. Alright. So, Claudia, would you please call Ro for the
the vote for director Tasker? Yes, ma'am. Director Charrier? Yes. Vote yes. Director Duncan? No. Doctor Kiki? Yes. Director Mallory? No. Director Reinhart? No. Director Tasker? Yes. Director Tomlin? No. I'm sorry. Can you repeat? Same. Epstein Epstein. Thank you. Epstein. Thank you. Three yeses. Alright. Now it is the nomination for director Tomlin, Director Charlier? For Tamuina. You're voting for director Tamuina? Abstain. Sorry. Director Duncan?
Yes. Doctor Kiki? Abstain. Director Mallory? Yes. Director Reinhart? Yes. Director Tasker? Abstain. Director Tom Wing? Yes. Four yeses. Vice president director Tomlin. The floor is now open for secretary. Are there any nominations? Madam chair, I nominate Gala Charlier as secretary. Are there any other well, director Charlier, do you accept the nomination? I accept. Are there any other nomination? Claudia, would you please call roll? Yes, ma'am. Director Charlier? Yes. Director Duncan?
Epstein. Doctor Kiki? Yes. Director Mallory? Yes. Director Reinhart? Yes. Director Tasker? Yes. Director Tom Wing? Yes. Thank you. Six yeses. And director Charlier is the new secretary. The floor is now open for treasurer the nomination for treasurer. I nominate director Tasker. I accept. Any other nomination? I'd like to nominate director Reinhardt. I accept. K. Claudia, we're gonna start with, Tasker. Call the votes. Thank you. Director Charlier?
Yes. Director Duncan? No. Doctor Kiki? Yes. Director Mallory? No. Director Reinhart? No. Director Tasker? Yes. Director Tom Wing? No. What was his name? I didn't hear. No. Thank you. Two yeses. I'm sorry. Three yeses. Now for director Reinhardt. Can you please call real quick? Yes, ma'am. Director? I abstain. Director Duncan? Yes. Doctor Kiki? Yes. Director Mallory? Yes. Director Reinhart? Yes. Director Tasker of Abstain? Director Tom Wing? Yes. Yes. Your answer was yes.
Thank you. I have five yeses. Thank you, Claudia. Director Reinhart is the treasurer of the board. So as it's saying, the new board president is director Duncan. The new vice president is director Tom Wing. The secretary is director Charlier, and the treasurer, director Reinhardt. Right? Director Duncan. Thank you. I'm kinda nervous, so bear with me here. I did write a speech. So good evening. First and foremost, I want to extend my deepest gratitude to the constituents
of Aurora for entrusting me once again to serve as your board director. Your confidence in my leadership and your belief in our collective vision for APS means more than I can express. Thank you for allowing me to continue advocating for our students, our families, our educators as we work to make APS a destination district we all know it can be. I also want to thank my colleagues on the board. Thank you for your patience, your honesty, your grace, and your partnership if I as I have grown both personally and professionally and to
the leader you've chosen to serve as your chair today. I do not take this honor lightly. I recognize the responsibility that comes with this role, and I fully intend to lead in a way that reflects the values of this board. While I may carry the title of chair or president, I understand deeply that we speak as one. Our strength has always come from our unity, our collaboration, and our shared commitment to keeping students at the center of every decision we make. And as long as I sit in this seat, that will remain the same. Tonight is more than a moment of celebration. It's a testament to perseverance,
to purpose, and to the power of community. Not many people know, nineteen years ago today, I lost a close friend of mine to gun violence. And I was standing right there, and I'm not trying to make this an emotional moment. It's just everything coming full circle for me. And it continues to form my commitment to serve. To stay here tonight or sit here in this seat tonight, trusted to lead this district, is proof that pain can be transformed into purpose. My calling is bigger than me. I'm here to make Aurora better for every child regardless of their background, their ZIP code, or the challenges they face.
I aim to be a beacon of hope for the hopeless, to inspire the uninspired, and to remind our students that circumstances do not define their destiny. I am humbled. I'm honored, and I'm ready, ready to work, listen, lead with empathy, courage, and unwavering dedication. Together, we will work to continue to build an APS that reflects the brilliance, resilience, and promise of every student that we serve. Thank you for believing in me. Thank you for believing in us. Let's continue this journey together. So So I go conclude an item.
The Board of Education's next regularly scheduled Board of Education meeting will be held on 12/16/2025. As a note, there is a onboarding this Saturday from 07:30 to noon. Right? Yes. Mhmm. Hey. Don't laugh. Okay? Just because you're done doesn't mean it's funny. Okay. Do I hear immersion to adjourn a regularly scheduled special meeting? So moved. Do I hear a second? Second. Director Cherrier? Yes. Director Duncan? Aye. Doctor Kiki? Aye. Director Mallory?
I'm gonna vote, but first, I just do wanna thank everyone for being here today. Anytime that I'm gonna be in a room like this, we're gonna need more space. So heads up to the staff. Thank you all, community, and thanks everyone who was here, who supported me along the way. This was a great first meeting. Aye. Director Reinhart? Aye. Director Tasker? Aye. Director Tom Wing? Aye. Thank you. We are adjourned. Thank you,