The meeting is now called to order. Roll call. Mr. Shapiro. All board members are present. Thank you. Please stand for the pledge of allegiance. I aliance to the flag of the United States of America
and to the republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Next, I am going to read our CCS mission statement and that statement is that
Carmel Clay Schools will provide opportunities for all students to realize their potential in an everchanging world. Up first this evening we have public comment. And typically I'm going to glance at
these. Typically speakers are placed in uh one of or one or two groups but we have uh only speakers this evening from group one which is CCS students, parents and guardians, employees um and Carmel residents. Uh this evening is a workshop session.
So comments must be on items that are on the agenda. And as a reminder, participants must be recognized by the presiding officer and must preface their comments by an announcement of their name and group affiliation. Speakers may not yield their time to
another speaker. Comments may not reference specific corporation employees, patrons, or students. Comments shall be directed to the board. No person may address or question individual board members. The school board will not act on or respond to
questions or comments made during public comment, but we'll take them under advisement. The numbers for the speakers this evening have been placed in our bingo basket, and we're going to have the numbers called out one at a time. The first speaker, I will call your name,
and then I will name the second person who will be on deck. So, number five is up first, and number six is on deck. So, first we have um Dundee Bacon Rubble up first and then on deck is Jill
Cooper. Good evening. My name is Donnie Bacon Ruble and I'm the negotiation representative for the school board, excuse me, for the bus drivers association. I'm here tonight to emphasize the critical importance of having the bus drivers association formally recognized by the school board
thereby ensuring a voice and voting rights of all its members. As we navigate the complexity of our modern world postco, it's become increasingly evident that our drivers are much more interested, more aware, and want to play a more pivotal role in aspects of their
daily lives. The drivers association serves as a unified voice for the drivers, provides a platform where we can come together, share their experiences, and address common challenges. By joining forces within the association, members can advocate for improving work conditions, fair wages,
and better safety standards. A collective voice always has a much greater impact than an individual one. And through the association, we often affect positive change, protect the rights and interests of all drivers. I know the associations can sometimes be challenging for administrators simply
because the process of meaningful discussion can take extra times these days. the association learning. The association is learning a lot about how to streamline this process, but there will always be points that need further dialogue.
The association is happy to meet earlier with administrators to allow time for these discussions. By having terms ready to be ratified by the drivers before the first pay, the issues of back pay can be avoided. Even in this new postcoid world, our drivers are realistic and
understanding. But the ability to vote on these terms of their employment is very precious to them. It is their voice and their excuse me, it is their voice and their vote that they can help shape the policies that have always have a positive effect on our students, our drivers, and the school district itself.
In conclusion, we hope that the we hope and trust the board of the board of school trustees recognize and encourage with us that the formal agreement between the board associations are beneficial to our shared culture and should be continuing into the future just as they have been since 1976. Thank
you. Thank you. Up next is Jill Cooper on deck number three. On deck is Russ Harris. Good evening. My name is Jill Cooper and I am a Mohawk Trails parent and I've
been actively involved in supporting our school community by volunteering in our media center PTO and working with other families to advocate for positive solutions for our children and staff. I want to thank the board for listening to families at the last meeting. For many of us, it has been a long time of
feeling unheard and it meant a great deal to have our voices acknowledged. As parents, we believe the needs of Mohawk Trails should be included in upcoming budget decisions. In particular, families are asking for the enclosure of the library so that it can once again function as the heart of learning at our
school while also providing staff and students with greater safety and peace of mind as well as a safe and functional playground. We understand that the most pressing safety concerns for our playground are expected to be addressed hopefully by fall break and we thank the district for their attention to this
matter. It was stated at the last meeting that the estimated cost for enclosing the library was said to be around $150,000. In the context of the district's 63 million upcoming budget, this is a modest investment, yet it would have a long-term impact on both academic
success and safety. At the last meeting, it was also explained how major school renovation priorities are determined. Families would appreciate further clarity on this process as understanding the rationale. For example, a $2.5 million playground budget for Cherry
Tree. This would better help us understand how the Mohawk Trails projects are considered and supported. Regarding the library, families were encouraged to hear that it is confirmed that the enclosing of the space is possible. Since that meeting, parents have reached out for updates, but we
have not received clear direction or communication from the district on what next steps will be. At this point, families are asking for clarity so that we can partner with the district to ensure this project moves forward in the best way possible. The Mohawk Trails community is eager to be a part of the
solution. We are ready to collaborate and support this process, but transparency and timely communication are essential so we can understand where things stand and how we can help. Thank you for your time, your service, and for considering the needs of Mohawk Trails with these upcoming budget items. We
look forward to working together to make these improvements a reality for our children and staff. Thank you. Up next, we have Russ Harris. On deck, number four. On deck is Rick Carlton.
Hello, I am Russ Harris. I'm treasurer of the Caramel Clay School Bus Drivers Association. Today, teachers and bus drivers are still the only two groups of school employees that have a voice in their pay, safety, and working conditions. As of last week, the bus
drivers association and administration and agreed on terms of drivers employment. Yet, some administrators are still recommending that the formal agreement between the bus drivers association and the board of school trustees be ended. I know it's not always expedient discussing and coming
to terms. However, after hearing the administration's sincere concerns regarding the new property tax laws, the association came on board quickly and agreed with the proposed daily rates. Terms outside of the daily rates were negotiated to a slightly higher amount for drivers, but nothing significant
enough to strain our school finances, but certainly significant enough to have a positive impact on our drivers. It's not all about money, though. The association has provided valuable insight to the administration for 50 years. I feel discontinuing our formal
agreements with the trustees will end up being detrimental to our school district and not in the best interest of drivers or the administration. It's hard for the administration to be versed on all things from behind a desk. They may not be able to engage with parents and students every day. They may not hear
from the drivers. The association can and does. The association distills and filters all the points of discussion and does it in a positive, productive way for administration. The association really does like our administrators. We become quite friendly
over the years. However, I'm afraid that tipping the scales to eliminate our recognized collective voice, tarnish our relationship, and breed disinterest and apathy. I feel the valuable insight the association has provided for over four decades may slowly evaporate.
In conclusion, I would like to strongly recommend that the board of school trustees continue our history in written formal agreements that recognize the association as the bus driver's exclusive representative. I also would like to encourage the
administration to continue considering the the association a valuable resource and a trusted partner because we absolutely are. Thank you very much. Thank you. Up next is Rick Carlton and on deck number one
on deck is Mary Sw. Good evening. My name is Rick Carlton. I am a Caramel Clay bus driver and here this is my start of my 19th year. And the reason I'm here is because I love what I do. I love the relationships that I build with my parents, with my
students. I've had the same routes for this is the fifth year. I hope to have the same routes for many years. One thing that concerns me is the uncertainty of having a collective
bargaining voice with Carmel Schools. The other thing that concerns me is the inequity in the pay that we have been under for the last four years. I addressed that two weeks ago as being the only group that works the second
third of our day at a 25% pay reduction that could have been solved very first year by declaring a new daily rate which essentially mounted to no raise at all. But we'll get past that. I sent each of the board members an email last week
outlining some facts and figures which I won't get into because I want to focus more on the possibility of losing our negotiating rights and just being considered
a non-teer support staff. We are much much more. And I invited any of you on the board to come run routes with me and see what it is like that I do every day and the relationships that I build.
That's what it's about. Dr. Ori said about seven years ago that classroom management was not about rules and regulations. It was about building those relationships. It's the same way with us. It's the same way with dealing with our administrators
that we have to come and sit down with every two years to negotiate fairness in our compensation and uh and benefits. It seems for the last few years though that administration could
care less how the bus drivers feel. They want to come in and go well this is all we can do. Uh we were told two weeks ago that previous association presidents pretty much came in and said, "Well, what's it going to be this, you know, this contract?" Okay. And that's not
right. We as with teachers spend the most time with the students. Therefore, we should be able to negotiate as a separate group just like the teachers. That's my feeling. I appreciate you listening to me. Thank you.
Thank you. Up next is Mary Swing and on deck number two is Paul Peterson. Good evening. I am Mary Swing and I am the president of the bus drivers association. The last time we were here, we shared
with you the concern that the administration was recommending to dissolve a 50-year relationship between the board of school trustees and our association. You challenged us to look inward and be
reasonable in our negotiations with administration. I am happy to report that we have fulfilled that directive and have come to a satisfactory agreement with administration. We are however in strong disagreement
that the agreement between the association and the board of trustees be ended. The agreement outlines all the benefits and salary terms accepted, but more importantly, it formally recognizes the
association as the exclusive representative to our drivers. The future of our important relationship rests with you, the board of trustees, because you must decide whether you believe this
association remains valuable. We strongly believe it does. For decades, our association has been more than just a negotiation partner during contract years. We provide ongoing insight and support that
directly impacts student safety, staff well-being, and district operations. For example, we've raised concern about students having to walk between buses at the high school, helping to prevent potential safety incidents.
We've identified security risks such as unlocked driver gates T1 and T2 after drivers coming back from late night field trips. We've offered input on the driver's handbook, brought forward paid corrections, and ensured important information about the administration
reaches every driver quickly as possible. Every day, we are on the front lines at the schools, on the buses, and in our community. Drivers often share issues with us that they would not feel comfortable raising
directly with administration. In this way, the association acts as a bridge, ensuring that problems are heard and addressed before they grow larger. We are committed to maintaining a healthy and productive relationship with
administration. But if our role is reduced to simply accepting what is placed before us without dialogue, without negotiation, and without a real vote, then we lose the very foundation this relationship was built upon decades ago.
We ask you, the board of trustees, to recognize the value we bring, not only in what we negotiate, but in the daily insights we provide that keep students safe, support our drivers, and strengthen the district. This relationship has lasted years for a reason.
Thank you. Thank you. Up next, we have Paul Peterson. Good evening. My name is Paul Peterson and I live here in Carmel. Like many residents, uh even those of us like me who don't have children in the school
system, I care deeply about the strength of our schools. Not only for the quality of the education, but because they're the foundation of our community's reputation and our property values. and a reliable school system is central to that. Recently, when just one bus
driver took a planned day of PTO, I understand that students waited for as much as 30 minutes at school because no other driver was available. That was a single absence we knew about
in advance. And to their credit, the district was able to respond quickly and find another driver to get those kids home. But if we can't cover one driver on a planned leave, what happens when somebody calls in sick unexpectedly or heaven forbid when two drivers are
out? This is a clear sign that our system is already stretched thin. If we take away collective bargaining, we risk encouraging more drivers to leave and discouraging new ones from applying.
With an aging workforce, many of our drivers well into retirement age, that pipeline is already fragile. The last thing we can afford is to make the job less attractive. When our transportation system falters, it's not just an inconvenience.
Family schedules are disrupted, kids safety and learning are affected, and over time, the district's reputation suffers. that impacts home values and in the longterm strength of our community. As homeowners and taxpayers and parents,
we all have a stake in making sure this system is strong. I'm not here to prescribe an exact solution, but I do ask the board to take a hard look at what it will take to shore up our driver network, competitive pay, retention strategies, and real
efforts to bring in the next generation of drivers. That's how we safeguard both our education for our kids and the investment that we've made in Carmel. So, I encourage you, please take this opportunity to reinforce, not weaken, a
system that is already showing signs of strain. Thank you for your time and more importantly, thank you for your service to our schools. [Applause] As always, we thank the public for participating in public comment. Uh,
next on our agenda is consent. And tonight, the consent items include the personnel report, claims, and payroll. And as a reminder, this consent portion of our meeting is where we have a designated section and routine items are grouped together so that we can consider
them and approve them in a single motion. Do I have a motion to approve all items on the consent agenda? Madame President, I would like to make a motion to pro to approve as a group all
items on the consent agenda, including the personnel report, claims, payroll, and that's it. Thank you. Do I have a second? Second. Thank you. Any discussion on consent?
All right, we will now vote. All those in favor signify by saying I. I. I. Motion carries. Next, we have our workshop topic and that is the presentation of the 2026 budgets. Mr. Mcichael.
Thank you. Great with you. Okay, this evening, um, I'd like to present, um, and make some comments before we start. As I think everybody knows, this is really an exceptional year. Um, every time the legislature
meets and they every two years, and they adopt a two-year formula for school funding, something changes. This year, about everything changed. And so I thought I would start by giving a little bit of overview relative to to comments on the budget and then I'll get into the
presentation of each fund and so forth. And some of you have seen some form of that in the past. But first I want to empas start by emphasizing that these budgets um our director of finance has spent all summer u putting all the details that you're and you're going to
see an overview of that. Um but the budgets are it's we're not deciding how the money is going to be spent. Uh typically the budget those major decisions have been made as you know over 95% for salary and benefits. And so
oftent times in Carmel uh when we receive the uh the state formula from the bienium for two years um many of the budgets are you you have proceeded to approve salary and benefit uh changes or
increases for for both years in which case that's on a fiscal basis. This is a our budget those on a calendar and so the budget really is half of one fiscal year and half of the other. This year it's it's different than that because
this year as you know we only recommended one year of salary adjustments uh because of all the uncertainty. And so for us that's a little different. Many districts have always kind of settled one year at a time. This year um as you can see our
our budget does reflect ex uh revenue for the whole year or at least our estimate of it. But that the revenue is pretty solid. We have a formula. We we now have the assessed value. Um there's still some unknowns. You know, we're not 100% sure like we typically would be um
with the uh property taxes because of Senate Bill One that you've all heard about. Um but the revenue is pretty solid. The expenditures on the other hand, you'll see in a minute that uh we we assume expenditures because we have to for a whole calendar year, but you'll see that we the first half's already
done. we have salary increases except for teachers. Um and and the teachers are out they're under contract until June 30th for this school year. And so again, it's reflecting that fact. The second half is not finished. Uh the re
we know the revenue or at least a pretty close estimate. Um but you'll see in a minute that um you haven't decided on salary increases. um we haven't decided on premium increases for insurance insured benefits and so forth. So you'll
see that in a minute. But I want to point out that on the revenue side from the state um in part significantly becau we also had declining enrollment this year of 174 students which you'll see that you probably are aware of that but
the public may not be but that has a major impact on funding. Um, and so we're receiving about 40% of our additional funding from the state formula and about 60% from our referendum, which is reflect one reason
why the board has approved referendums in this district since 2010 to supplement the the state funds. And we're very fortunate, as we always say, and I want to say it one more time, uh, because Hamilton County, it looks pretty typical. All of our neighbors have
referendums, but they're we're about a collect a total of about 50 out of about 400 school districts. So when you move out if you get outside of Hamilton County, like a lot of things in Hamilton County, that that doesn't necessar that doesn't reflect the whole state. And so I wanted to share that. And then finally
I want to make a comment about the state education funding which as you know since 2000 excuse me 2010 the the education fund has been the formula is for the education fund from the state which means it's funded with property tax. Prior to that was prop mix
of property and and uh property tax and uh sales tax I'm sorry. And so so in our case it's it's still sales tax from the state property tax through our referendum. And so um
but um I will just say that I at least and I know many others are have concerns about the state funding because u of the three things that I've mentioned that we have or I've identified here. We have charter schools in this state as as we're all aware of. We have vouchers in
and in in the state. And then most recently, we've added uh textbooks, which I was personally in favor of. We're we were only about one of maybe four states in the United States that charge parents for textbooks. I'm not opposed. I think we should have as close as we can get to a free public
education, and the textbook seems to be contrary to that. So, I'm in favor of it. The concern is is that um there was there's been no more money um adjusted. I mean it's sales tax and so the sales
tax 7% has not changed since the funding was changed to the state and that was in 2009. And so those three items add up to $1.2 billion and it's growing. It grew quite a bit this year because of and you read heard a lot of this through the
legislative station, but the voucher program got significantly increased and and which is now about a half a billion dollars a year and all that comes from the same bucket um sales tax primarily that funds our education fund.
And so, and I point that out because if you if you bring that down to the local level to Carmel Clay Schools, it's about $1,200 per student or about $19 million. And and you know that our ref our our referendum is $30 million. So twothirds
of it helps offset at this point that would be twothirds of of this. And so, and as I noted then, the sales tax um has gone from um it went up, but it it has not changed
since since um 2009. But, as you know, our referendum has and and you'll see in a minute that um we have con definite concerns this year. Uh the most I've seen since I've been here uh relative to
um you know, the funding for this year or maybe I should say the lack of it. And so with that, I'll now start the budget presentation. Um, and got to hit present. Yes, hold on a sec. Okay. So, as you know, we have five
major funds and these are tax supported funds. We probably have 70 funds altogether with federal funds and grants and all kinds of things, but these are the major funds, all of which are taxup supported. First the education fund which is our single largest fund and that's the fund I just was commenting on
and that's state funded and it is primarily for salary and benefits for teachers and instructional assistance and and as the name implies the educational fund expenses directly out in the schools. So transportation maintenance all that's not a part of the
education fund that's part of the second fund which is which which is the operations fund. here are are the the next fund that we I would talk about is the operating referendum which I've alluded to and that's supplementing um the state funding the uh from from the
formula um and that's subject and has to have had voter approval because they essentially taxpayers are saying yes you have my permission to raise our tax rates beyond beyond the cap that in Indiana there is a cap as you know and so uh then the second uh refer we have
two referendums The second one is a safety referendum. Uh I believe we may still be the only school district that has a safety referendum. Uh that came into play about just a few years ago and we were the first district to ask for one. And as you know that funds our our
resource offices in every school, our social workers and and and a major program uh for inschool uh student counseling and therapy, not not you know our employees. And then the next fund is our operations fund and that's the
second major fund and that's the second fund for most school districts. Uh and they and they only have the two they may only have those two funds. And that funds um things like just what it sounds like. It's transportation. Um both drivers as well as you know
buses and so forth. The whole operation of transportation. It funds maintenance. Uh it funds our custodial staff, our utilities, and those those uh custodians and utilities alone are about $6 million a piece every year. And um uh as well as
uh any central office functions or staff u and some other professional services. And then finally, our debt service fund. As the name implies, this is servicing debt uh primarily as a result of it is bond issues typically. Um and in our
case that's exactly what it is. And so their bond issues primarily for dollar-wise for facilities but also meaningfully for technology. And um we're up to you know a few million dollars just out of this fund for technology plus the um technology staff
and so forth are also out of the operations fund. So those are the funds. And with regard to state funding, as I mentioned earlier, we have and you'll see it in another chart. Uh but we had declining enrollment this year, which
was disappointing because a our our forecast from our demographer that's fairly recent um indicated we'd be level and we've made it we've made um decisions and recommendations based on level students and and and the
enrollments coming right now. It's about 174 kids down. and that we had been up for two years in a row, not 174, but at least we were in the positive and and we had a few more kids the last two years right after COVID we did decline for
three years and which is be the way the formula works that's financially very painful um and also for the first time ever the textbooks that have uh for a couple years have been funded through the state rather than charging parents
but now uh there was a change made to where that funding is reflected in the education fund. And so for us, that's $2.5 million. So when you if you were to compare this year's budget to last year's, you have to apples to apples, you take off the 2 and a.5 million
because it's going to be 2 and a.5 million higher because of that change. Um, with regard to property tax funding, again, I think certainly the board has and many people in the community have are aware of the p passing of of Senate
Bill One, um, which has um, by design is is suppressing and lowering property tax. That's the intent. And and um, but it's not just doing it this year. You'll see the reflection. This is our first year, but it but but overall continues to do
that at some level. um for the next six years. So so it's there's more to come with that. Um so with regard to the state funding and again I had mentioned this earlier but you can see the basic grant uh last year
was 108 it's 111 this year um plus 3 million but when you adjust that for textbooks it's $642,000 um and you and you know how large our fund is. However, the next fiscal year for 2627 it it's up that adjustment now
we're comparing textbooks in there with textbooks in there. So, so next year assuming a level enrollment and I'll emphasize that um because we are and and our our projection was level as well but the problem was it was level this year
too but but it came in less and that happens sometimes because now that's an exact science and you know my hope would be is maybe we'll grow 170 kids next year and kind of get them back but uh I don't really think that's likely but but you know you just don't know for sure
but but given the the assumption we'd be up 1.6 million for the second fiscal year. Now, keep in mind this budget that I'm showing you is half of the first year and half of the second year. Okay? And um and then you can see the the negative uh enrollment this year
going to property tax u funding and referendums. Um the operating re referendum you can see is is 14.8 billion and now it's 15.7. um as well as the safety referendum. Um
and both of those have a net change of 6%. And and um which is a good thing for the school district because it it you know it's and and could be a bad thing for the property tax owner in the sense that it is 6% but that's an average. That doesn't mean everybody's taxes change
6%. But the overall assessment that includes you know 20% of our assessment is in in tiff districts. Uh but we get that on a referendum and so so the overall it's up 6% which is higher than
we expected um and was welcomed in the sense of from a funding standpoint uh because of what I said about the loss from the state because of the enrollment. And so we would be much worse off as we would be without a referendum in the first place. And so it
continues to to uh support the local school district. Um and then you can see the operating referendum uh and the and the 6% increase uh with the operating referendum as well as the safety referendum. Then you see the dollars
associated going to local property tax funding for operations fund and net service. First you'll see the um the header of the circuit breaker loss. It it's credit when it's when it's on our tax bills because it is a credit. It means you're
going to it's you would have paid higher taxes except for this circuit breaker which caps the for a homeowner. Um it caps it at 1% of the of the net assessed value. And so um that starts but for this for the governmental units it's a
loss because you're getting less tax dollars. And so that's why I express it this way. And for us that's $1.9 million in the operating fund. Um, and it's only, you see, it's only in the operating fund. That, by the way, is is
a million dollars less than it has been. And which contributes to um our operating fund having um being financially stable, much in other words, we we end up with a million dollars more than we did the year before. And and so
that right now that's helping us, but it's not permanent. Um we we anticipate it being at about 2 million for two years. Um prior the third year back it was it would it was 3 million. So so we'll get that benefit if you will for
two years and that has to do with how the assessed value came when it came in high that also means that your number to hit the 1% is higher. So we have less people being capped and and uh so there's that. Uh then you see just a small amount of I'll call it like a
local circuit breaker where the the local government can choose to u to to have $16,000 worth of impact to the tax taxpayer. And uh it's in our total finances. It's fairly insignificant, but that's what that is. But here's the big
one and a new one. Uh the supplemental homestead homestead credit loss. And this is new with with Senate Bill One. And I want to emphasize this because you'll see a million almost a million4 loss in the operations fund. That's half
of it. And the other half uh because they're the amounts are similar is a million almost a million6. So about almost $3 million with the new credit. And that's a credit that's not a deduction. And so that credit uh cost
Carmel Schools almost $3 million in these two funds. didn't affect the other funds, but it did affect these. And so to and you see the total and then the resulting um projected revenues. So that's how we get to the to the bottom line on revenue
and some general expense assumptions and these are really significant this year. first is is I I mentioned that the the budget that you're the details of the budget um and in the terms of the totals you'll see again that re we're
reflecting the ADM that it dropped 174 but then we're assuming in 26 27 that it stays level and that's an important assumption um and then um we are facing a deficit in in the education operating
referendum um in that we are assuming be but we're still assuming with that deficit of no increase in benefits and no no raises or in including increments. So not not assuming that because trying
to presume what what's going to happen. I didn't want to I didn't want to put some number in there and then make the which would make the deficit worse and be presuming we're just going to make it worse. So, we'll talk about that over the next several months and well ahead of when we'll have to make some
decisions, but that I purposely set it up that way because I didn't want to be presumptuous on what's going to happen the second half of 26. That that's the conversation that will be lengthy. And then we have a a another increase. I say
another because the TRF contribution is going up January 1. it'll be $400,000 more money which has to come out of that new revenue. Um about three years ago we had a we heard pleasant news that that
the rate was going down 2%. And so and so we used that 2% that got reflected in essentially it looked like unencumbered money so it became a part of what was available for raises and staffing and so forth. Now it's working
just the opposite. The new rate is 7.1%. Two years ago when it got a lot of publicity, positive publicity because you know we were helping the the local community is and they were by 2%. And um
which was um you know what, $2 million or something. It the new rate is 7.1. And so we we we went 75 7.5 down to 5.5 creeped it up to to six or six you know
it. So the the most recent increase which is January 1st it'll be 7.1. So we're almost back where we started from is what I'm saying. And uh and I I wouldn't be shocked if if it could end up another increase to 7.5. Now it
changes because it's an actuarial kind of thing. they have to have enough money to this this is money that um contributes to pay the uh for the pensions and and and we have a similar thing in in for um our employees that are in in perf or public employer
retirement fund it's 11.2% 2% by the way and because actuarily it's a higher percentage is needed in order to fund that pension. And so that's those are the the major assumptions this year. And and then you can see our total with all these funds and we've combined it for
this purpose. We've combined education and operating refu because that's how I always present it since they're used for the same thing. And you can see our total then budget is just under $253 million. As I said, I think last year I think or the last time I think it was
140 something, but again this has textbooks in it and some other things that so it's not an applesto apples comparison. Now I'll start with the education and referendum fund then go through the other ones. So first with regard to revenue, you can see it's $145 million and you'll see in a minute on
what happens with expenses and again it's re state formula. These are uh I won't read it to you because we it's just repeating what you've already heard in terms of assuming enrollment decline and so forth. Uh here's the expenses at 147 million. So obviously 2 million
higher. So uh that's going to that's going to lower our uh reserves. Um and you'll see that in a second. Again, this is restating um the basis on which this was projected. Um, and then here we get to the balance um, in in a written form
rather than a chart. And you can see we started out with 9.3 million um, at the first of uh, first of the year and 25 and we're projecting to be for that to decline to 6.6. But let me stop there because that's I believe $2.8 million.
And so we'd all want to know what happened. And here's what happened. A lot of it has to do with that textbook change. You'll remember maybe that u a couple months ago we had we said we have to close out the textbook fund as this is
moving over here and that textbook fund because we had just adopted the largest adoption in five years and the adoption by the way isn't the same every year cost of it you know art cost a lot less than language arts and as an example and so $1.5 million we paid it from here
because now that's where the funding for textbooks is at but it took a million and a half dollars and we we haven't recovered that yet. Over time, we would expect that it'll all level out. Um but not this year. So that's a million and a
half. Then uh we purchas the students have those new textbooks right as we speak. And we'll get two and a half million from the state. but we're only going to get half of it by December because it again it comes in a fiscal year and so
we'll get about 1.2 2 million, but we spent two and a half. And so that'll work itself out as well because it's just a timing. By the end of this year, we won't we won't buy any more textbooks, but we'll still be getting the other half of the money that will hopefully cover the cost of. And so
that's essentially uh gets you back to the difference between the beginning cash balance and the ending cash balance. So I would emphasize that that's not an indication of a problem. U but the next the rest of it is. And so then you see that we go down to the bottom and you can see, you know, u
revenue and expenses, but we get down to the cash balance by the end of 26, by the end of this budget. And now we've dropped two another $2 million. And that's a real deficit. That's that's that's going to be the if we give no raises, no insurance, no nothing.
Anything if anything on the plus side there, it'll get bigger and um the deficit will. And so now the balance is 4.6. Um, now I'm not I'm not yelling panic yet. I'm just saying you can see it dropping and I want to be sure
everybody understands that and that um there will be decisions made before July 1st. I'm I'm confident that well there kind of has to be u that will um reflect the staffing for having lost 174
students. um that will either and we'll still have that recurring other half of that expense for losing enrollment. So, so part of this $2 million difference, you know, 700 7 or 800,000 of it will continue unless we stop it, which I'll
be recommending that we stop it. And uh because I want to make clear that this is a situation that I'll be recommending as your you know your CFO that we not assumed to take years to to make the adjustment. Um we have very adequate we
have adequate reserves but but that's what they are. So we would not recommend you know continue to use those with a recurring expense. It's not going to stop itself. And so uh my advice later will be we should that'll be part of the conversation the next several months. We
need to we need to respond to you know there's different ways to respond but we do need to respond and and we will need to respond. Now going to the operations fund which is the second major fund. Um we have 56 and this is better uh because you can
see we have 56 million in uh revenues and in spite of the fact that you're aware that we we have said that it looks like the Senate Bill one will be zero increase we're very fortunate because in this fund as I said it right now there's
we're paying we're losing a million dollars less with the circuit breaker. So right away that that's a plus but it's not a permanent plus. Uh but it but it does handle uh to a great extent it does handle 26 and the raises by the way that you've already I recommended and
you've approved in June for support staff. Um and so that's why we could get no increase and still be financially responsible and not show a deficit here because we started uh on the plus side
if you will as we go into this year. Uh it's also why we've been able to um improve and increase our rainy day fund as you were all aware of uh over the last two or three years which we needed to do because we needed to have um more
money in reserve both for it it um um it it it helps our bond rating because you know standard and pores would like to see about 18% or so and we started at eight and um had been at for years and
now and then we said new new minimum recommended is 12 and so we're pretty much there but that is a minimum not the maximum might be the 18 and um and there'd be nothing wrong with that I would think beyond that I would say we don't have any need to just accumulate
cash um we needed enough to be financially stable and and to be able to kind of cover a rainy day that's why it's called a rainy day and um so then you see the expenditure and and they're 55 millions and you see the the basis on
which those are and then I'll go to the same sheet. So we start at 7.6 um it does go down to 6.2 by the end of this year but then it's back up to 7.4. So so from from the be from beginning of 25 to the end of 26
as far as it goes through this budget this this fund is okay. And unlike um well this fund is okay but at this point but it still has that second half. We haven't given in you haven't approved increases for the second half for
anybody uh of the of the budget year. Then there's two other things. Um we have u a capital projects plan which you can see here is is a is a one of the plans that we have for things over $10,000. Then a bus replacement plan
which is based on an assumed 12-year cycle and a five-year plan. Uh so finally then we have the safety referendum uh with projected revenue of of and I think it was Mr. Brown had actually recomded this so I would like to thank him for reminding me to include
it because it is one of our major funds and we included that we didn't include this part. So so u um but we are this year so it's 8.2 2 million on revenue. And as you know, it's it's based on an approved 5-cent tax rate. Um, which
while we didn't start out with levying that much because we didn't need these were new programs, but now we we are at the 5 cents and have been for a year or this will at least be the second year. And as I said, it's funded from property tax. You can see the expenses in that
fund are 7.8. And it shows what the primary um expenses are by category. Um, and then again the same uh format. We started here with a cash balance that's less than what I'd like to have at $467,000.
Uh, and you can see at the end of 20 which is be two years later we're we're going to be at about a million4. Um, which I don't think is excessive. Um, and I'm not lower recommending we lower that tax rate. Um, because we also most
of this fund is is not you approving it directly. It's contracted services with the Carmel, you know, police department for our SRO's and a similar arrangement with Ascension for our U therapists. And so, um, I'm not as sure what their
increases are going to be, although that we're all suffering from as government entities from SB1. Um, but this one's a little less predictable as far as increases because mo a good deal of the increase is is a second party.
Okay. So then we get to debt service and and again you see uh 5.4 million in the debt service fund. We're we're permitted by statute to to uh maintain a reserves of of 15% and of of the like the annual payment.
And so again you hear 12% here's 15%. Used to be 50% by the way but for older bonds it was we no longer have the older bonds. So we're at the 15%. Um and then you see it dropping uh a bit to 5.4 and then down to 2.8. Part of what you're
seeing over this two years, remember that million five that is the uh SB1 credit uh that taxpayers get and and it's half about half of that's coming here and the other half's the operations fund. Then I believe this was asked for too and you've seen this in different
formats uh or the same format in a different uh presentation but these are all of our bond issues and um and I would start by pointing out you can see when they'll be paid off. So that 21 general obligation bond will be
paid off this year in when I say this year I'm talking about 26. Um and the 22 bond in in what 2030 and so and then we have another general obligation bond also be paid off in 26 and so and so on
and so when you so you go across and you can see when they'll be paid off and and clear down to the I guess the longest one would be 2035 and we're pleased with that and proud of it frankly that that we're able to have comparatively speaking a very short payoffs on our
debt. Um the maximum you could have is 20 years and it's not a very it's very it's much more typical to have 20 years than it is to have three or five or 10. Um and so but and that's in that's uh due in part by how we manage the the
finances but it's also due because of our assessed value level that's that's very high per student and makes this um it's also you also need that you know I can try to manage the the the leveling of the sketch of the payments um but it
it does start also the other part of the equation is is what's the assessed value and so then then here is the summary of the levies and the rates and you for we we we're showing this at we stopped at two decimals when it's actually approved it's four. Um but for all practical
purposes what this is is showing you is that the rate for 26 will remain constant with 83 and years prior to that and so we continue we're able to continue in 26 at least with a level tax rate. You'll hear later that that is and
all of my counterparts would say the same thing that that the the likelihood is is the rate will creep because with an a suppressed uh value if debt service for example if you're if you're if you
if where you have a fund that that is salaries or or needs to reflect inflation I should say it wouldn't be salaries necessarily if it if and if you can if you're able to raise say a 3% increase or a 4% increase, but the assessed value is suppressed with a new
legislation, then that means that the tax rate will go up. And so, as pointed out correctly that we've maintained a level tax rate, that doesn't mean we never get more money because the fact is is we have and we do and and so you'll see later in in a facilities presentation how kind of how you'll see
kind of the impact of that. So we'll be talking more and more in the future about levy which is money and money increase or not increased as compared to tax rate and which is better I think because people understand if you know had this you're asking for this much
money but now it's going to go up when I say level tax rate for people oh nothing's changing well it is changing because your assessed value went up and so I I think that's a better uh better approach really but and it'll be necessary with some of this new
legislation and then you can see the u um the 20 the 26 rates the 25 25 and 26 rates and then the same thing with the levy and you see the difference and then finally uh this is the budget schedule.
So, this is the first step in about a two-month process. And uh at the end of this, you'll be asked to uh approve a resolution to authorize advertisement of all this so that the public has an opportunity for a hearing to provide any
input and comments that they would like to make at that hearing. And then eventually um by the time we get to uh October the 27th, so a couple months, that's when you'd be asked to approve this. And in the case of our budget, um,
you must approve it or we wouldn't have a budget to begin with, but also the state has to approve it or we don't have a budget. And so the next step, as you can see, is after after it's finished here, then it goes on to u the DLGF and
so forth. Um, and then finally it's it's it's approved before January by by the end of excuse me, not later in the end of December and then it becomes effective January 1. And that's the routine part. So with that, I'll respond
to questions that you might have. It's pretty good for me, right? I'm just saying. Thank you very much. Any questions from the board? Come on. Okay, Greg looks like he's ready. Greg's
ready. Now, I wouldn't say I'm ready. I'd say that uh I'm ready to start thinking and looking and analying. Yes. You know, you pointed out the a lot of uh uh things that are affecting the uh
the revenue changes and textbooks and SB SEA1 bill and and on and on and enrollment. Um, I I think we're going to need a I think the board really needs to take a lot of time this this go around to really understand
uh these changes that are coming about, you know, and I uh I've got lots of questions, but I I haven't got them in my head where I could, you know, put them out in the right priority because there there's so much there. And I I appreciate it and you did a lot of work dealing with all the uh the changes that
you had to get in. And I appreciate the new format. It was a lot there's a lot more uh explanation than we've had in prior years. It's really helpful. Um you know I I would just say my general reaction to looking at it is that you know given that we've got you
know an enrollment decline not a huge but it's it's it's there and it was not predicted and u we've seen that over the last number of years with kindergarteners. It's like why is that happening? You know 15% those kind of numbers. Um and
seeing that we have to fund some of our expenditures with cash reserves. Is that a is that an accurate statement? Totally accurate. Yes. And let me emphasize for you Goen that that this is the first time as you know that you've seen this and I purposely didn't want to
send you this PowerPoint without any explanation uh because I think and I hope that the narrative helped pull it all together and so you've seen it and the public's seen this for the first time. So naturally you'll need time to process and and uh but as I said it's two months
before you actually approve it. So, I'm sure by, you know, whenever we have that hearing that you may have more questions than the public does, which would be perfectly fine. Yeah. Yeah. Absolutely. Um, so I would just generally say that I think we the board will need to do a lot more uh
spend a lot more time on looking at the budget this year and uh and we'll talk a little bit later in this meeting on one of the agenda items is to consider a a budget committee. And I I think this would this is a good reason to to try that this year. So,
um I I don't really have any questions because I wouldn't know where to start because we just we are just now looking at this. So, uh but we'll have a lot of questions going forward. So, absolutely. Thank you. Thank you. Just a clarifying question, Roger. Thank
you so much for the presentation and thank you so much for the explanation. Your narrative really did help and I know these aren't easy issues to explain and I was I was really thinking hard as you talked so I appreciate it. Um
you've got several places in the presentation where you note um transfers Yes. from one fund to another. Yes. And I know that we also and and those are normal and and a part of operations, but I think where folks
might get confused is we talk about these different funds cannot be co-mingled. Yes. So if they can't be co-mingled, how can you transfer from A to B? Can you talk to that? I can. I'm glad you asked that question because it clarifies and you may you may
have the answer much more so than somebody in the public in the position that you're in. uh as a board member. But to answer your question and um when the state picked up funding for the education fund, they continued to send money uh since I'll
say the same amount of money when it was the general fund except now that that new fund when it moved from general fund to education fund things like the operational aspect of what was in the general fund such as custodians as I mentioned, utilities as I mentioned,
they could no longer can no longer be paid from the education fund and so they have to be paid from the operations fund but the transfer means that but we didn't get more money so we and we continue to get the money in the education fund. So the routine is is we
we transfer and it's about $18 million. We transfer that education money. We don't co-mingle the funds but we transfer the money that's given to us that originally was to pay for custodians and utilities and those other things that are no longer permitted. Now they're paid out of the operations fund
and so the only way we would have any money to pay them is to have the money follow the expense. And so you many people have heard about money following the child. This is kind of like that except it's money following the expense over to that operations fund. So that's the transfer.
Thank you. That makes a lot of sense. Um follow-up question. Okay. Madam President, would you one of the things I noticed with your um assumptions, Mr. Mcichael and I was wondering if you would agree with me that there's another one in there that maybe you didn't mention and
if you don't please tell me you don't but I think you're you're also presuming that that tax rate stays essentially the same. I know it's a little bit different out to four digits but the the chart you showed the tax rate for is the same
for 25 and 26 is the same even in a deficit in 26. Correct. Yes. And that is an assumption you built into it as well, right? It's it's it it is, but I'm hesitating a little bit because it's als
and and and specifically relative to changes in legislation. Okay. And so when you do the minuses there, it still ends up about the same this year. Now, when we get to the facilities report and the and that bond issue being proposed, you'll see where and it it'll
show it'll be the same in debt service as well this year and next year, but our assumption there is is as you go past into the third year, that rate's going to go up. And that's what I was alluding to earlier that that uh the current leg
the new legislation will have a a tendency to increase tax rates rates not not levy but rate in order to get the levy that you if you have if you have that choice in order to to arrive at a levy that allows you to manage the you
know to to fulfill your needs if you will. Right? So the way I summarize that in my mind would be our state legislators cut state taxes and then forced local
governments and schools to make decisions to raise taxes to raise the same amount of money. So, they talk a lot about how our state taxes are going down, and they are, but they don't talk about how we're going to make up the
difference. I tried to be really polite about that. Right. I tried really hard to do the same. Now that you opened up that subject a little bit, the short answer is I agree with you 100% that as I I said in the in the comments, the this
the money from the state that funds our it's all out of our t it's out of one side one pocket taxpayer and and everything's out of the taxpayers's pocket, right? this the the pocket that feeds the sales tax and therefore is what primarily funds the education fund
and very proud of the fact Indiana is very proud that they fund education and most of the money goes to education um and it does as far as that goes but as I said there are those three major things things $1.2 2 billion dollar does
not go to traditional like Caramel public schools. Now charter schools are they they've been defined as public schools and that's a whole other conversation. But but the point is is the 1.2 billion doesn't come here. It
goes somewhere else. But the sales tax hasn't raised. So, you know, to the extent things cost more, I mean, it raises like that, but it's not been it was raised in 2009 by 16.6%. And our and all of our and I like the
property tax part. All of our property taxes went down, but our sales tax went up 16.6%. So, as you can imagine, in Hamilton County, that might be a sizable number in terms of what we spend on that pays sales tax. But it in 2010, what did
we approve? Safety or operating referendum. Because right from the same year that that happened, we had the great hundredyear recession. And what do you think happens with sales tax when people don't have a job or they, you know, whatever. They don't buy stuff if
they don't have to. Property tax is politely called a stable tax because at the end of the day, they'll sell your house if you don't pay your taxes, whether you're employed or not. And so, but financially it's called a stable tax. And that's why because recessation it it's you still have to pay your
taxes. Um, your house may not appreciate as much, but but you have to pay your tax. We all have to pay our taxes. That death and taxes thing. And so so uh so we started receiving 100% funding for the what then was the general fund and
then we Carmel and 49 other school districts immediately almost immediately started supplementing that the support of our with the support of our taxpayers with a referendum and we've been doing it ever since. And and
um but you you can see it may not be enough. and um uh because we are we're going to have serious conversation about several million dollars of either cuts or additional money and that's that's
the six-month conversation. So, we won't start it now, but but but you're what you're assuming is right. And when those things happen and and property taxes are suppressed, um we're that that can be could be a motivation to go and say, "Yeah, but
will you give us more money?" And and the first part is I might not be asking for you to raise your taxes. I just want back what the governor saved you. That would be the first level. And then I might need more because of some of the things that you saw in the comments. And
so that'll be the discussion over the next six months. And I would want the public to hear that clearly because for the first time in most of the time I've been here, it'll be necessary to have that type of a conversation. And we've been very fortunate for better part of 30 years, we've not had to have it.
I have no further questions. Thank you, Mr. Mcichel. Thank you. I This is very dense and it can become very confusing. I know one of the things that uh is asked many times is well if
there's a deficit in one fund why do we keep building things? Yes. And can you address that because I think that is a very confusing item and that's where the co-mingling comment comes. can't co-mingle because we can't sell we can't um choose to not build a
building or or maintain a building and to and or to renovate a building and and we c we cannot choose to not do that and instead have a a tax rate a debt service tax rate in that case. We could change the tax rate but but we could we can't
take that tax rate and borrow money to cover operating expenses or what we'll call education direct ed. all education in my mind, but that's why it's there. But but direct educational expenses like like for teacher salaries and and all that that we talked about. And so each
fund has a purpose. And so we have those five funds each have a tax rate and they each have a purpose. That's what we're saying when we coingle. So we could stop u renovating buildings or building new buildings or anything else that somebody might look at and think we don't need that or you know and that's all fair
because everybody gets an opinion, right? and and I think we should respect everybody's opinion. Um, but then you have to decide on behalf of everybody else because that's what you were elected for and that's a little harder uh to have the responsibility along with
the opinion and so but that's that's where comes where you can't you can't mix them. you don't have, you could lower the tax rate by not having any debt. And I can show you communities right close to us uh that have done that for 30 years and then when their
buildings got so bad that collectively they couldn't stand it, they sold a half a billion dollars worth of bonds. Um and that's they're not done. That won't that even if it does fix them up, the the current generation of taxpayers are going to have to pay off that bond. and the previous taxpayers, their children
went to increasingly, you know, inferior schools, if you will, or schools that were in disrepair. Um, and that wasn't fair either. And those taxpayers didn't pay it. They had they didn't have nice schools, but they also didn't have a debt rate, right? So, so it's like this.
And we've my philosophy, and I want to make it very clear, and I've, you know, that I've recommended for as long as I've been here, is to try to keep that level because it's fair for kids first. Um and then it's also fair for their parents who are and and other community members who are paying the paying for
it. And so we have that philosophy which I shared you know at a previous meeting. Um but that's that's to answer your question that there's that's why each each fund has a purpose and each fund has a texture. So just to be really plain. Yep. If we did not remodel a school or did
not repair the football stadium, that money doesn't just go to teacher salaries. It just it just all things equal just lower the tax rate because you wouldn't ask for a tax rate to pay a debt that you don't have. Right. And you would you and we use terms by the way of deferred
maintenance. That's just code for don't take care of it. And that is what I think and and I think that if we're asking taxpayers to spend millions of dollars to build a facility, we ought to take care of it for Thank you.
Just a quick comment. Um, thank you for the context. It is super helpful. Like to echo uh both Chris and Greg's comments. I do think we are going to have a lot of hard work ahead of us. Yes. Um, and I I do think it's important that
we're really candid with the community about the hard work that we have in front of us. Um, you know, we're going to face significant challenges. Every school district is going to be facing significant challenges. Um, and I think it is important that we have these open, honest conversations uh amongst
ourselves uh and with each other that uh that we're going to have to make some tough decisions in order to make sure that we still provide a high quality education that we all come to expect here. It's going to require
a lot of work and some really sharp pencils. Yes. And we'll be in a very good starting position as compared to mo many places because because of you and your predecessors um and our staff teachers specifically
um that have that get a 94% approval rating. And so whatever you're saying, people are going to 94% of them are going to not necessarily agree with you, but that they'll feel that you're honest and forthright. Um, and if if it was,
you know, not if it was a minority percentage, you can see it would be a whole different starting point. So, so we're going to start at a very good place with a very difficult situation. Greg had one more. Just we want one quick one. Um, you have
a schedule in in here that has the uh the outstanding debt service, lease rental payments, you know, Yes. Yes. And um This just a technical question for for the payment year 2026. Um we'll be looking at a bond proposal
here in the next later today tonight and down the next several board meetings. Will the payments on that bond be uh manifested in 2026 or would that be likely in 2027? It'll be 27. And I'm glad you raised that question because um occasionally we
we uh there's something called capitalized interest and what that means is that we're going to borrow money including enough money to pay that first year of payment and and there's a number of reasons why you might do that and we do
that occasionally. One reason is is that you don't want a payment in 26 uh coming out of the raising the tax rate in other words. Um and it's a part of that part of the financial planning. And so when you see the facilities at 63 million,
the bond issue would be 66 million or something like that because it it will include that capitalized instrument payment which are the payments that we will make to those bonds. We'll start paying them back in in 26, but we won't get current 26 tax dollars to pay them
back. We you will use part of the bond sale, and that's what that is. Great. Thank you. Great. Thank you so much. We'll you've got your first part of the conversation. Just the first. Next on our agenda are the action items.
And our first action item is item 5.1 and that is permission to advertise the 2026 budgets, the capital projects plan, the bus replacement plan, and conduct a public hearing. Back to you, Mr. Mcichael.
Thank you. So for this action item, it's a as you said, it's a followup to the budget presentation and the next step is to the required step actually to offer a hearing um for the community to comment on these budgets and these plans.
Thank you. May I have a motion to approve action item 5.1, permission to advertise the 2026 budgets, the capital projects plan, the bus replacement plan, and conduct a public hearing. I I move that we uh vote on action item
5.1, permission to advertise the 26 budgets, the capital projects plan, bus replacement plan, and to conduct a public hearing. Thank you. May I have a second? It's a mouthful. Second. Thank you. Any discussion?
Okay, Mrs. Kok, I do have a um piece of discussion and some information I'd like to share with the board uh and the community. And I'd like to provide a brief but important update on Mohawk Trails Elementary School. And so in recent years, uh the district has imple
implemented additional security measures that have further strengthened safety at Mohawk Trails. Our certified district safety specialists along with our Carmel Police Department leadership have confirmed that the school provides a safe and secure learning environment for
our children. Carmel Clay Schools was the first district in the state to have at least one school resource officer in every building including all of our uh elementary schools thanks to our safety referendum. We are grateful to our
community for making this possible. These highly trained Carmel Police Department SRO's are on site each day, adding a valuable layer of protection at the elementary level. Mohawk Trails is a safe school and our building remains
secure. While listening to community and staff feedback, our safety specialists and school resource officers concluded that add additional safety upgrades were not warranted. However, it was determined that changes could be made to
enhance the student learning environment. We are moving forward with plans to add walls to the Mohawk Trails Elementary School library to reduce noise and create a more focused space for our students. We are in the early
stages of planning and will share an updated timeline with the Mohawk community as the process moves forward. Additionally, we are addressing playground improvements. Uh replacement parts have been ordered and those are expected to arrive within 6 to 8 weeks
after which repairs will begin promptly. Our commitment to safety and highquality learning environments remains unwavering and we greatly appreciate the continued feedback and support from the Mohawk Trails community. Thank you.
Thank you, Dr. O strike. Um so again the uh motion on the table is for item 5.1 permission to advertise the 2026 budgets, the capital projects plan, the bus replacement plan, and to conduct a public hearing. We will now now take a
vote. All in favor signify by saying I. I. I. Motion carries. Next on our agenda is action item 5.2, two, which is to adopt a resolution authorizing publication of notices of public hearings. Mr. Mcichael,
thank you. Um, I have two things I want to present to you and the and the public. First, I'm going to quickly review the projects that are, uh, being being recommended. And so, um, the first one being the Smoky Row Elementary School major renovation.
You can see that's estimated at $32.5 million. Um, and that building was bu it's a sister school to Cherry Tree. Same floor plans and so forth. Was built three four years later in 93 opened and um so it's it will have similar um
renovations if you will and modifications as Cherry Tree. So it'll continue to look very much like Cherry Tree when it's finished. And by the way, it's at that the next project and we'll talk more about this specifically later, but but Mohawk Trails and Woodbrook are
the next schools up and and it on today's money, it'll look like 30 or $40 million as well. So So what happens when we do that, that becomes the latest, best, new, whatever. And like Carmel Elementary, for example, when that one came up for a major renovation a second
time, we build a new Carmel Elementary School, you know, and so sometimes it goes it goes uh to a major renovation like Cherry Tree. And then if it's an older building, it sometimes ends up being a replacement for that school. And so more to come on that, but and then
Carmel Middle School is a is a midcycle, but it's a significant midcycle because there are some major pieces of mechanical equipment that that we didn't replace when the building had a major innovation in 2007, but we need to now. And so not everything fits as nice and
neat as I present in terms of midcycle and major. And here's an example to where this midcycle is significantly more money uh than Creekide, for example. that Creek Side started out brand new and so you know 17 18 years later a couple years ago. Um we did a
midcycle and it wasn't even close to this because mechanical system was was was still in good shape. And then we have high school projects and you can see what those are. We'll finish the whole stadium project which significantly includes outside work with
paving and sidewalk extensions and fencing and landscaping and those kinds of things. Uh we then have some roof repairs primarily uh to replace over the cafeteria which then will this started with the exhaust hood and um the
majority of the money here is for the roof because we we need to replace the roof before we put a a a new exhaust system on an old roof. And and then you can see the other ones we have fire suppression that's required was required
that we do um when we were doing the polytech project actually it has to be approved at the state we had always gotten a waiver on certain things to otherwise you have to bring the building up to a current standard and and sprinkling is a current standard has been for years but was not in is not in
our auditorium so we'll have to go back and put that in. We we said we would and that's what this is. Then you see some some also some outside work and then cherry tree as was mentioned the playgrounds are about $2 and half million dollars and this is finishing that cherry tree project is included
then because we don't have another project for this these two schools that it'll look like we just did the playground last whatever we you know we'll put change the surface for sure there's differences in the two schools because the equipment at Cherry Tree has
been replaced since it was built and and Smoky Row has not and and so um any rate that's what that is for and then we have some um districtwide for everything from HVAC repairs to to
various miscellaneous things as noted and that totals the 63 um million dollars as I said you'll see in a minute that that um the project the bond issue will be more than that because of as I mentioned about capitalized interest and
so forth And this I don't know if the public can see it. Um I can hardly see it but I know what's here. And so what this is showing to is is a a repeat of of what Mr. Brown was talking about in terms of well no this is this is future
bond issues not current bond issues. And so this shows the the the starts with the existing debt service. Then it shows uh this proposed project in 26. And then it shows um another one in another pro
projects in dollar amounts in 27. And and um and we did that because we didn't want to want to propose one large project in 26 and then then it takes two or three years to finish. So we've got borrowed money just kind of sitting there. And so this is really two years
in a row. And then we go to um it's not identified here, but but the in 29 that's that's going to address Woodbrook and Mohawk trails primarily. And there will be some other things as I mentioned earlier when we get closer to it. This is the further out you go the the the
the likelihood it'll something will change in 10 years, right? Or even two or three years. Um and then it goes all the way out for 10 years. Um and and what it shows on and we do this so that you can see not only what the tax rate is going
to be next year or something close to it but you can see it stays stable at about 30 cents which it's been for for for 26 and 27 but then starting then I wanted you to I wanted to emphasize that for the first time
for years at least uh it this would show that it it may tick up a bit for about 10 years and then it then it drops off drastically. ically, but I would tell you that my best guess is is it won't drop off that drastically because there will be there will be another 10 years
of projects that but I've just carried this out for 10 years, not 20. And and uh so we know our facilities uh have a useful life and we've talked all about that. So there will be new there will be expenses after 2035 and and they're not in here. So in fairness that it shows
the rate going down. I think it will go down by the way. My best guess uh because we're going to have tiff districts that are going to start being back on the rolls and that's going to lower the tax rate all things equal. That'll be have a positive effect on the tax rate. It already has a positive
effect on our referendum fund but not our debt service fund. And so we have some things like that in this community that if I were if I were guessing I would guess that the rate here long term is going to tend to be tend to go down rather than up. I I I don't I'm not
aware of anything that I would project you know a spiking or an increase in the rate. But I think there are some things that are working in our favor that that um will basically expand the tax base which will lower the rate all things equal. And so I wanted to share those to
before you. Then the next step in this process is two public hearings and um and they're on I believe September the 23rd and then another one oc October uh 14th I believe. And and that's in the resolution that you have in front of
you, those dates. And and this action item would would move this to the to the next that's the next step for the facility projects would be two hearings. And then finally, when you do, this one
will go on for a while because um you won't be asked to sell um to actually sell bonds and approve the you know, moving forward with the with the financing part of these projects until I believe November. And um so you've got
you got have there's longer be once you do that for all the practical you've said go ahead and start to to sell the bonds and we would of course if you approve that and then it really then you're really pretty much out of it until you award bids in this case you'd
like well we've got it scheduled tenatively that the schedule to award bids on that Smoky Road project which is half of this um would be in in January. uh and it would be subject to the closing of the bonds because we still won't have the money until February and
so so you would be awarding bonds but subject to the successful sale and of course as a practical matter by January nothing really could stop it. You could stop it before that, but it can't there's not a pro. There's remmonstrance opportunities for the public and all those things as a part of this six-month
process. Um, but by before you're actually awarding bids, um, it really can't stop. I mean, it but it hasn't closed yet either. So, the bids would be qualified to the the contractors would bid and you would award subject to that sale because you have to because you
can't be awarding bids and you don't have the money. and u so that'll all work itself out but this is a longer process than the budget. With that that ends my comments. Thank you. Uh may I have a motion to
adopt action item 5.2 and that is to adopt a resolution authorizing publication of notices of public hearings. I move to adopt a resolution authorizing publication of notices of public hearings. Thank you. May I have a second?
Second. Thank you. Any discussion? Seeing none, we will now take a vote. And again, the motion is in favor of approving item 5.2 to adopt a resolution authorizing publication of notices of public hearings. Uh if you are in favor,
please signify by saying I. I. I. Motion carries. Next on our agenda is the salary adjustments for the bus drivers for the 20252026. This item was tabled at the regular session schoolboard meeting on August
25th, 2025. So I first will need a motion to return that item and that is item 5.3 salary adjustments for bus drivers 2025 2026. So I need a motion to bring that back to the table.
I move to bring back the items 5.3 salary adjustments for bus drivers with 2025 2026 that was tabled on August 25th. Thank you. May I have a second? Second. Thank you. All in favor signify by saying I. I.
I. Motion carries. Um so this again this item is item 5.3 is back for discussion. We that's kind of where we left off was in the discussion phase. Um but since that time the the board has
had some time to have discussions um and and try to work on this a little bit and it is recommended that um there will be two increased stipens made to the original salary adjustments. Um so those are that the drivers receive a stipend of $187 for training and orientation
days and then a $93 per day stipend for online training. So, in order to start the discussion of this, I need a motion to amend the salary adjustments. So, this is to amend those adjustments to include the $187
stipen for training and orientation days and the $93 stipend per day for online training. Madame President, I move to um amend the original salary adjustment proposal for
bus drivers for 2526 to include a stipend of $187 for training and orientation days and a $93 per day stipen for online training. Thank you. May I have a second? Second. Thank you. Any discussion on this
amendment? Did you? No. Okay. Seeing none, we'll take a vote. So, this vote is to approve the amendments. Again, this is that's what the motion was to approve the amendments for the $187 stipen for training and orientation and for the stipend of $93 per day for online
training. So, we're adding that amendment to action item 5.3. If you are in favor, please signify by saying I. I. I. And so, um, kind of going back to what
we started at our August 25th meeting was that was, um, item 5.2 on the agenda. Um, we have already had the motion to approve. Mr. Shapiro made that motion and Miss Wheeler seconded it and so we were in the discussion portion
when this was tabled and set aside. Um, so we can continue with that discussion. Um, and then with the addition of the amendments that we just approved. Do I have any discussion? Um, you know, we've heard uh comments uh
this meeting and the previous meeting and and uh and I think everyone heard a pretty good uh explanation of the budget challenges going on this year and and we've got to rustle through that and we're we're going to be I I'll use the
word deficit spending uh meaning that we have to dip into our cash reserves to to pay uh for expenses. Um, and we need to do a lot of assessment of where where can we cut costs smartly and we don't
know what that is. So, you know, I'm I'm looking at it from a you know, we're able to or we're maybe not able to, but we are going to make an increase for bus drivers and others at 2% and there's some other upward adjustments and I
think that's uh um that's a pretty bold move to make. Um and the other issue and I hear that that's not so much the issue at this point but there's a lot of concern about whether we have a um a negotiating entity of some sort and I
don't know exactly what happened this last time go around. I I said last time that it'd be nice if uh people could go back and reflect at that. Um, one thing I do understand we have is we do at this point. Um, we have uh u lead drivers, I
believe it is what they call it at every one of the schools. And uh I think we're going to have to uh I would suggest we rely on that entity to be representative. And uh um but I would I would just suggest that uh um you know
the the drivers themselves look back and say you know what what could we do to u look at how we might uh communicate needs and requirements and concerns and uh in the future and and I think that um
that we can all find a way to continue talking and I think the administration uh from my experience in the last two and a half years is very open to discussions. Uh and so I just ask that uh that we all take maybe a step back
and and look at where we have been and uh what opportunities we have for the future. But uh just kind I'll leave it at that. I I hope we can find a way to continue talking and that's it.
Thank you. Madame President, thank you. Um I after listening and hearing and and looking I I'm convinced our our bus drivers are paid well and I I certainly appreciate the acknowledgment of and understanding of the budget constraints
and the definite or the deficit spending situation that we're in. I really um hope that what you'll find going forward and what I plan you know to support is
continued communications and I don't really see any material differences between um what we could do in the future and what we've done in the past in the sense
of you So if the bus drivers want to communicate collectively, they certainly can do that. Um, and what you have here is exactly the same things we've always
been doing. And so I hope you'll find I I know it's hard when you're looking at elected officials when we tell you, hey, we'll we'll do right by you. But that absolutely is my intention and I hope that time will prove that out. Thank you.
Thank you. Thank you, President Kok. Uh, I want to start where I started last time, which is, you know, thank you for the work that you do for our school district, for our students. Um, you know, I I understand and appreciate
the concern and um, you know, some of the conversations that we've had over the last couple of weeks. Um, I feel I feel confident that I've gotten the reassurance uh from um some of the folks
sitting up here from the administration and from others that uh there's a sincere commitment to uh to cooperative communication uh and transparency. And if there's anything that um is not
that, I will be grossly disappointed. Um, but I but I don't expect that to be the case. Um, you know, I I mean, I think the finances speak for themselves. So, I don't know that I I need to talk about that. Um, to me, what is more important
is that uh the people that uh choose to work for our school district feel respected and feel heard uh and feel valued when they come to work as people. Um, you know, I think we all show up to work and want to feel as if we can make
a living. However, we live in a really difficult climate and I think we've clearly earlier this meeting outlined the difficult path that lies ahead for our school district. That being said, you know, what came through uh in the comments from bus
drivers both this evening and a couple of weeks ago uh to me what I what resonated was about being heard. And so that's what struck me to make that motion to table a few weeks ago. Uh and so that's the work that I've tried to do
between two weeks ago and today. And so I've gotten that reassurance that makes me feel comfortable, you know, that that we can move forward in a way that there will be a commitment to ongoing dialogue
to open communication and not just when it comes to talking about contracts and pay rates and things like that, but to ensuring that needs are met when things arise. And I would highly encourage people if they don't feel like that's being met to
please reach out and let us know because that's the only way we can do something. Thank you. Uh I just wanted to reiterate what everybody said and so far what the board has said and I I wanted to kind of brag on them in appreciation that that we
have spent a lot of time in the past couple weeks. we we were listening and listening to kind of everybody giving input on this. Um so when we make decisions like this, it's it's not a rash decision. We we really have thought about this and and really one of the
biggest things that that conversations came out is we do want to make sure that bus drivers are heard. That was the biggest thing that came from conversations and we want to continue to know that you can be heard. Um, and so one of the things that was brought up is is making sure that they we have
checkpoint specific dates set out during the year so that there is so that it isn't just some surprise date, but these are these dates that you know that you can come and you can bring your concerns to the table. Um, whether it be, you know, that like the 15 lead um like Miss Wheeler said and Mr. Brown said, we will
have these 15 lead bus drivers who can be representative um and bring concerns not just at those meetings but anytime. And again, as as Mr. Shapiro noted, um you know, this is on us as well. And so we we want to make sure that if that if
things are not going right, please reach out to us. Um we want to make sure we know how valuable you are to our district and we want to make sure um that you do feel heard. So that is I think the biggest takeaway that our board has come. We I I really want you to understand how much time that they
have spent in the past two weeks um on this subject. I'm joy of any further discussion. Uh we will take a vote on this item then. Um and again this is item 5.3. The motion was for salary adjustments for bus
drivers 2025 2026 including the approved amendments. If you are in favor signify by saying I I motion carries. Next on our agenda is our uh discussion item of budget committees. Um and I'm
going to start with a little bit of this and then I'm going to turn it over to uh Mr. Brown. Um so again, this is just a discussion item. This is not any sort of action item, but so what we are discussing um is several of the board members have
indicated an interest in um having a budget committee to be able to to dig a little deeper into the budget process. Um, and so I'm going to turn it over to Mr. Brown. Great.
Thank you. Um this is an idea we've uh toyed with uh for uh some amount of time a year probably a little more than that about uh um to me the the core of the issue is the uh the financing and budgets of
schools is complex and deep and different than uh one might see in the corporate world. And and I've learned a lot in the last two years. I spent a lot of hours with Mr. Mcichael and u I still don't there's still more I could spend. Uh but um I think one of the most
important things we need to do is is we need to make sure that we we are really doing our job as a board in oversight and governing uh not dictating where monies are spent necessarily but uh just you know higher levels but to do that we
need to really understand a lot more than I think we have in the past. Um, and I think also with a with a focus that we really wanted to make, and I and I want to uh applaud President Kok on this one, is to really have a a a new
focus going forward with the board and board meetings to focus on student outcomes. And uh I think we're in the process of defining that. I think we've got a wonderful starting point with the strategic plan. And as that gets uh uh
taken down to the school levels, I think we're going to really see some real impacts uh uh in that regard. I think we'll have just a much better. So the real idea is to really this make sure we have a lot of time in board meetings focused on uh do looking at things that
make students uh uh do the best that each one of them can do. But if we're spend a lot of time on budgets and asking questions on that, not to demean the importance of that, um it's just it's it's easy to get off on that in in other discussions, but it it requires it. So So what I've noticed is uh
there's a at least a couple uh districts in our area that that employ budget finance committees. It's not uncommon for I think you could pretty well say other uh boards like city councils and other other entities like that that that
have that. And what they will do is they they decide that hey we got a deep complex convoluted topic. Let's send it off to committee and let's let them really get deep there and and so let me read through some notes of what how I thought would be I don't want to spend a lot of time on it. Uh I don't think it
needs a lot of time uh for presentation but just to to get through it. Um what one thing it does do it allows board members to uh you know to develop a real expertise on a complex topic that can come back and make recommendations
to the board uh from a board perspective not an administration. So it provides kind of that counterbalance. Um it ensures that we have some that are really deep uh deeply skilled in that area and um it ensures the board's performing its due diligence and
overseeing the budget. Um so for me the purpose of a caramel clay school budget committee is that would provide uh us an expertise to or an opportunity to develop that expertise. uh particularly we look in light of u sea one that's we
keep talking about how it's affected our our revenue sources and it's going to be impactful for quite a number of years as we've seen that you know how do we wrestle with that and combine that with uh some enrollment challenges some declining enrollment uh those are
pressures that really are going to very likely result in having to look for opportunities to reduce costs smartly uh if if things don't change and I I think we need to to have a board a subcommittee that could could do that.
Uh it would also preserve like I mentioned valuable time on regular and workshop board meetings to focus on the strategic plan key initiatives and performance measures as outlined in Dr. Ostright's strategic plan. uh the structure I see it conforming to our
existing bylaw 0155 on committees and it's uh has several references to Indiana code or Indiana law and it uh just to pick a little quote out it says the the committee shall conduct studies receive information make recommendations to the board and act in an advisory
capacity but shall not take action on behalf of the board. uh it's appointed by the board as a governing body subject to the open door laws. Meetings would be posted for and open to the public. Minutes would be recorded and published. Um I recommend that members would
include two of the board members uh with just one-year terms and the committee members terms would start in January of next year along with the other board positions that we we uh vote on in in January typically. And given that we're
in uh the tail end of this year, I would recommend that the committee term would start as soon as we we would decide uh if we did decide to proceed with it and the oneyear term would start in January of 26 and and go through the January 27. One board member would be the
chairperson, the other would be the secretary and record minutes. Um the associate superintendent of business affairs would represent the administration and other individuals uh as deemed relevant by the committee uh would be brought in or as Mr. Mcichael
would bring in. We'd meet monthly uh particularly uh during this this budget cycle. The initial scope uh would be to deep dive the 26 budget details and challenges, understand uh teacher and student classroom ratios all the way up to the
middle school level. um do a deeper review of capital projects both both short and longer term and discuss uh any upcoming big ticket expenditures that uh that might be coming up. Uh later scope would be uh as we enter the uh the uh
getting ready for the safety referendum preparation. They would give us an opportunity to work details on that. Uh we could look at enrollment um you know what are causing the changes um and what what might we be able to do to counter that. uh develop we've talked about this
at board meetings before uh about developing a a dashboard of sorts that would have uh key performance indicators KPIs that uh would give an easily easy u view as to how we are doing on certain
um uh areas of finances and we look at large or long range capital planning and grants. grants is one thing we we don't uh really uh spend a lot of time on, but it's significant. It's 15% of our budget.
So, I propose that we consider establishing a budget finance committee uh with just a six-month pilot. Give it a try. And at that time, we would re-evaluate if it's uh adding value and if uh we would decide at that point if we would continue.
That's my proposal. Thank you. Do they have anybody any questions for Mr. Brown on this? Yeah, just a discussion. Yeah, discussion.
Well, I know Greg that this has been a um keen interest for you and you certainly put together a very thoughtful process. We have also had a lot of discussion on or some proposal for having some ISBA
training which is through IU Bloomington on a certification that the board can go through as well as Dr. Orike presenting um an idea for having some Baker Tilly sorry Baker Tilly doing some
finance training for us. So my counter proposal would be that we table this for six months and do our due diligence on having this finance training. I think some of these issues would be resolved if we were more
fluent in finance financial have the more financial training and so then it may be relevant. does seem strange that two of us would be on a committee when there's only five of us. Uh so I would vote I' I'd feel
more confident if we first had um the Baker Tilly and the IU certification. Thank you. Any other questions or comments? Thank you, President Kok. No questions. Thank you, Greg. Um you and I have spent
a little bit of time talking about this. I I I love the concept of spending more time on the budget. Um the challenges that I have um or where I'm stuck
are a couple of places. One um I see this as one of the three or four primary functions of a school board member is to help oversee the budget. um one of our primary responsibilities and so while I understand that the committee would not
be making decision uh would not be decision-m it would sort of be advisory and be doing some deep dive I think that's a responsibility that we all sort of share um and I do think there's space for us to take our budget and finance
work and have it be uh more of a discussion item within the framework of our board meetings and not be taking away from evaluating student performance, teacher performance, um some of strategic plan. I think there's space for those things. Um it may
require us to look at our board meetings differently, but I think I think we can do both of those things. Um I mean candidly I think to have a third meeting a month that requires open door law publishing meetings um
if more than two of us want to serve then what happens um because I think it's highly likely that at least three of us would want to be part of the finance committee. So then what's how do we while certainly a third person is welcome to show up um is that okay and
then if four of us are showing up then then what's the purpose then it becomes like well why don't we just do this at a board meeting um and this isn't a no let's not try it but these are some of the things I think we should think through before we make a
decision um and I'm not averse to giving something a try I just think maybe these are some things that we should think through before we go through it. Because again, if three or four of us say, "Hey, I'm interested in serving on the finance committee," then you've got 80% of the
board that wants to show up, then we're taking a third day. And again, I'm not averse to spending the time. That's But we're already here. So let's look at a way that we can maybe restructure our board meetings that every other month there is part of the discussion is
around budget finance because I I don't know about anybody else but I spent a considerable time uh amount of time when I was campaigning talking to people that this was one of the primary functions of the work that we do uh is overseeing a $250 million budget.
I I think it is a really important piece of the work we do. clearly spend a lot of time hearing about how challenging it's going to become. Um, and while I'm certainly not a finance expert, I do think part of the responsibility we have is to the commitment to the community to
make sure we understand it even if we're not CFOs or accountants uh and ensure that we're making the best decisions. Um, and so I do think uh it's incumbent upon all of us to have that that level of understanding. I think that's the
commitment we made by uh by saying we were willing to sit up here. So that's just a couple of thoughts. Thank you. Thank you, Madam President. Um Greg, I know we talked about this when I first started and I also I have no problem
with the concept of a finance committee. I think now being eight months in, this is a lot like a second job. um that we don't really get paid for, but and that's okay. That's what we signed up for. But I started thinking in my
experience um working with boards and committees and commissioners, the committee structure tends to be used in organizations of seven or more board members because
you can have meetings of two, three, four people and it doesn't it it makes more sense. For example, I think HSC that does it has seven board members. Um, our city council
has nine. That's what I thought. They had nine board members. The Indianapolis city county council has 21. I think that I know and and it's really hard to do a deep dive when you have that many. And I I I agree like if we are going to have
to and we absolutely should follow the open door law, take minutes, do all the steps we would do at a meeting, I'd rather just do it at a meeting because we've and I will absolutely, you know, I don't love three-hour meetings, but if that's what we need to do, that's what we'll do. Or if we need a special
meeting, we can call that as well. So, I tend to think there's nothing we couldn't do in a regular meeting that we could do at a in a committee. Um, so that's kind of how I feel about it. I'm
a little overwhelmed now because we all have full-time jobs and we all have roles, as I know you do, Greg, on other committees as part of our role as, you know, other organizations as part of our role as a school board member. Um, so I
just feel like a little calendared out meeting out. So I don't want to have a meeting just to have a meeting um when we've got to talk about it in this room in these meetings anyway is kind of how I analyzed it. I really appreciate this thoughtful
discussion and um I the only thing I was going to add is I um I don't truly have an opinion on this either way. Um, but I do really think we should do the um, IU training as a board. Um, just so the public knows, there's one
that through ISBA that IU is offering that is a really big deep dive and gives the board a certification um, in finance at 16 hours. And I think um, with a budget as large as it is here at Carmel and with what we are facing, I think it would be really good for for the board
to do that. But if if I may add, I just wanted to also thank the board for this discussion. and we really appreciate it. And no matter what the format is or what it looks like, um I'm committed as your superintendent to get the information to you that you need and I know that Mr.
Mcichael is also equally committed. We want to get you the information that you need and request so that you can have that oversight and continue to have that oversight here in the district. So, I want to say thank you very much. Yeah, I I just maybe a final comment
would be is uh you know I've gone through two budget cycles before and um I I can dig into stuff and I do dig in and I feel it's part of our duty as a board member to dig in and uh but we
haven't had the challenges the revenue challenges like we had going forward. So, um I just see us spending more time with it. um in in talking to the HSSE board president, they felt this was an absolutely fundamentally important and
useful committee and their format is at the end of uh most meetings they'll have reports like we have at the end where board members will talk about you know you've had some parks I've had some CRC policy we have these other entities for these things you know to do policies and
and uh so the board members that are involved with those budget committee has an opportunity to give a very brief succinct view of what may have happened if there are some important things. It's just a very efficient way to deal with a
complicated topic. So, uh I do not I I I hear that we could carve room out. Uh, I would like to see us uh add content to our board meetings uh with reviewing our strategic plan performance
to objectives. And I I think that's needs to be the focus. And if we're going to be spending time trying to figure out how are we going to get uh monies for one thing, we've got to reduce it from some other place. I think we'll find ourselves spent a lot of time on that. So that that's why I proposed a six-month pilot. I'm real big on pilots
in my professional career. Uh it's easy to sit around and and talk about how things might work and might not work and you certainly can't think of all the all the details. The best thing is to go give it a try the prototype. So in doing that, that's why I said let's put a
six-month limit on it. It's timely and that we're entering a budget cycle. And um I think uh if we felt after six months, if we do training first, I mean uh uh yeah, we should do training. Uh, I did a lot of self training. I've spent I
think it's eight and a half hours with Roger in his office. Uh, enjoyed it. Wasn't Wasn't one meeting. Wasn't one. It was more than that actually because Yeah. Uh, and and I I learn a lot and and I'm ready to go. I'm I'm ready to say let's take a look at u you know if
we we just voted to increase the operations labor pool by 2%. That's probably a safe assessment. and we're going to start paying deficit spending. So, I I think uh we need to sharpen our pencils and and take a deeper look at I
think it's an efficient way to do it to allow us to really implement this strategic plan. So, that that's the end of my comments on that. No, thank you. No, we really appreciate how thoughtfully you prepared it and and um again, thank you for the we had a
really good discussion. Next on our agenda is the student data report that was supposed to be at our last meeting. So, we're excited to see this. Um, this report is on academic excellence and I'll turn it over to Dr. Dudley. Thank you. I am excited to be
here to be able to present um our academic excellence report. So, it's my privilege to share with you an update on our district's continued pursuit of academic excellence. And at the heart of our work is a commitment to ensuring that every student, no matter where they
start, has access to rigorous, meaningful u learning experiences that prepare them for success in college and career and in life. Then this report highlights not only the progress our students have made, but also the collaborative effort of our teachers,
administrators, support staff, and our families. Together, we've built a culture of high expectations where achievement is measured not only by a strong assessment results, but also by development of critical thinking, creativity, and the resilience in our
students. We'll begin with the incredible I read results. 95.7% of our third grade students passed I read this past spring and our scores reflect incredible growth across all groups as we're working hard to close
the achievement gaps and we have staggering gains from several key student groups. For example, special education students achieved a point 14.9 percentage point increase from 2024 to 2025 and an extraordinary 25.1
percentage increase since 2021. And our multilingual learners posted the largest single-year gain among all Caramel Clay schools reported groups scoring 24.9 percentage points from 2024 to 2025.
So very exciting and these results are a direct reflection of the dedication and the expertise of our teachers, building leaders and curriculum instruction and assessment administrators. Our unwavering focus on literacy ensures that every Carmel Clay student develops
the foundational skills needed for future success. The state began um using IED to assess our grade 2 students to identify early literacy readiness this past spring. And we're proud to report that 85.9%
of Caramel Clay second grade students have already passed or are on track to pass I read in third grade. And so this momentum sets the stage for even greater success in grade three and beyond. So moving on to iLearn that is um tested
in grades three through eight. Armlay school leads the state with the highest percentage of students passing both English language arts and math. And we're encouraged to see continued growth in student performance across both subject areas reflecting the strength of
our instructional pract practices and the dedication of our students and our teachers. So, our iLearn results also demonstrate meaningful progress in closing achievement gaps. Since 2021, students receiving special education services have achieved an 11 point
increase in English language arts, while our Hispanic students have achieved a 12 point 12.4 point increase in math. And these gains highlight our district's commitment to ensuring that all students, regardless of their background or circumstances, have the opportunity
to succeed at the highest levels. The 2025 advanced placement exam results are nothing short of outstanding. I'm pleased to share that our students excelled at the highest levels this year. 2,277 students took a total of 5,144
AP exams, an increase of 114 students and 553 exams compared to last year. And even with this growth, performance rose significantly. The percentage of students earning at least a one score of
three or higher increased from 91.86% to an impressive 94.64%. And of the 5,144 exams administered, 4,794 received a score of three or higher,
reflecting a remarkable 93.2% pass rate. And one particular highlight is our AP pre-calculus offered for the first time this past year. All 300 students who took the exam earned a passing score of a three or higher with 203 of those
students achieving the highest score of a five. So very exciting. So these results are a testament of the hard work and dedication of our students, staff, and our families. And I also want to express deep appreciation to our AP teachers. In a year when College Board transitioned
rapidly to digital exams, they adapted seamlessly and ensured that our students were wellprepared and positioned for success and their commitment, expertise, and tireless efforts make them truly outstanding educators. Carmarmaclay school's average SAT scores
significantly exceed both the state and national averages, reflecting the rigorous academic preparation provided by our educators and the high level of commitment demonstrated by our students. This accomplishment underscores the district's dedication to fostering
academic excellence and preparing students for post-secary success. Building on this achievement, the district remains committed to continuous improvement by providing students with meaningful learning experiences that further enhance readiness for college,
career, and lifelong learning. So, as we reflect on the progress we've made and the work that lies ahead, it's clear that our district commitment to academic excellence is both strong and unwavering. Our new strategic plan provides a clear roadmap for advancing
academic excellence across the district. By aligning our efforts around instructional coherence, we ensure that every student experiences high quality teaching and learning, no matter the grade level or the classroom. Through robust systems of support, we're meeting students where they are and providing
the resources, interventions, and encouragement they need to succeed. And equally important, we're preparing students for their futures by prioritizing real world learning and re real world learning and relevance. Connecting what happens to in our classrooms to the skills and the
knowledge our students will need beyond graduation. And at the heart of all of this work is our promise to support every student, ensuring that each student has the opportunity to realize their potential in an everchanging world. So our path forward is ambitious, but it's very purposeful. And with the
dedication of our educators, partnerships of our families, and the leadership of our administrators and school board, we will continue to advance these strategic initiatives and deliver our mission of success for all of our students. Thank you for your um
support of our students and our schools. Thank you very much for that. Do you have any questions? I just wanted to thank Dr. Dudley for the report and thank our staff. Just truly truly remarkable. Any one of those
tests, those would have been remarkable results for all of them together. Um yeah, you want to talk about results, those are results. Thank you. Thank you so much. Thank you for being amendable to to postponing it a couple
weeks. We appreciate you. Uh next on our agenda is the superintendent report. Dr. Ostrike. Oh, I'm sorry. Did you have a question, Greg? Yeah, I appreciate the report and and I'm encouraged, you know, watching over the last three years uh going in third
year, it's see the the big increases particularly with the uh u like with iid, you know, we saw in the particularly the uh special ed and MLL's uh and Hispanic numbers just really growing. So, obviously we've had a focus
there. Um uh with iid um and we've achieved the uh state goal of 95% which I think is a 20 27 goal or something. Anyway, we're ahead of the pack with ahead of people
and that's good. Uh we we do have a you know amazing uh demographics I think overall uh you know that that helps us uh improve these things. Um and I'm really looking forward to we talk I keep bringing this up. Um I really look forward to going over the strategic plan
particularly at the school level when we aggregate numbers like like we have here. Um it we don't see the opportunities for improvement like we might see uh had we disagregated it. Um you know an example
example would be like with iid with uh mohawks free and reduced meals they had 82.6% 6% on reading where Forestdale had 93.3 and they're similar schools. One it seems like on the surface demographically wise they're both title
one schools um but Forestdale is is getting much better number there's over a 10 almost a 10point improvement. Similarly, uh Mohawk's general education group, which is which is all all the demographics except the special
education group. Um Mohawk was 88.6% and Forestdale was 100%. So, um, those are numbers that I think it would be nice to look at from key initiatives like what might Forest Ale be doing that we
could that Mohawk could be looking at and and maybe you you do these things, but it just when we get down to that next level of data, we we can see these kinds of things surface and it's like it's an opportunity. It's like, you know, maybe there's something we can do at Mohawk that we learning from
Forestdale. And I see the same kind of things with the the uh the middle schools with iLearn. Um Carmel Middle School was 48% 23. Now they're 49%. Um and you know the district average is
63.3 I think overall ELA math combined scores aggregate at at the district level. But um we saw a you know Clay went from 50% to 50 50% to 58. And I don't put a lot of numbers out there,
but Glaz saw a significant increase from 23 to to to this latest numbers and they're kind of a similar school, I would say, demographically just at looking at the surface of it. But so why, you know, what what is Clay what has Clay done these last couple years
get an 8-point increase where we've we've only seen a one point increase at at Caramel. Um, so I just wanted to point that out that I'd like to see the numbers disagregated um as we go forward. looking at the strategic plan and we talked about maybe
having the principles come in and uh talk about what they're doing at their schools uh with their key initiatives and and their key metrics. Um and let's see. Yeah, just one other comment on the, you
know, when we compare ourselves to Indiana and to the US numbers, we do way better, you know, and but I think that's that should be expected. We've got a lot going for us that a lot of districts don't. So, I think it's I don't want to
say it's a meaningless, it it's it's a wonderful thing to see and and what's really I'm happy seeing is is the improvement from year to year to year. And uh and I've seen that my three years on the board. this is my third year. uh and I think that's wonderful and um so I
would just like to see is when we look at metrics going forward is that um you know looking at us and it's really disappointing uh not not caramel what I'm saying is uh to give you an example why I don't think looking at US numbers
is is very meaningful is out of 71 countries we were rated 38th 38th out of 71 countries in math math. Um, in 1990 we were sixth. So the US went from sixth
place to 38th. Similarly with science we were 24th out of 71 countries. In 1990 we used to be sixth. Um, in a competitiveness ranking we're 12th.
Um, in 2018 we were number one. and and I you know you know clearly we have we are doing some wonderful things here and uh but I just think there are some uh good opportunities for better metrics uh
where we can can raise the bar uh uh differently than than maybe we're looking. So I just wanted to point that out. But again, uh, congratulations on some tremendous improvements over the last since I've been looking at the numbers the last several years and let's
just take it to the next level and and uh see what we can do. And and so one thing I would say, Mr. Brown, is we very much are about continuous improvement in our district and we know that no matter how good we are, we can always get better. And we also know that we want to make sure that every student
is achieving at high gains. And that is one thing that we are focused on doing, making sure that all of our students are um achieving um and not just on the measures that I shared here, but achieving so that they have the skills that they need to move forward and not
all of those things are tested as you know. Um and so one thing yes we do have we are very blessed that we have fabulous students we have very committed families and we have outstanding educators that work with our students each and every day to make sure that
they are committed to that and so that's a result of our test scores and we're can continue to improve those test scores. So thank you. Thank you. Now moving on to Dr. Orike with the superintendence report. All right. Okay. Well, thank you everyone. Tonight we're going to start
off with a couple of updates and I'm going to start with it's fall sports season and we're in a full swing of our fall sports and so check out our middle school websites, our athletic websites and the Carmel High School athletic website to catch your favorite sport
across the district. Uh Carmel High School is off to an amazing start and we discussed that today on Ino with Dr. O as my guest where Mr. Jim Inskeep and Coach Kevin Wright today. And so just to give you and you can listen to that if
you missed it today, you can listen to that on whj.com. So you can check it out there. But give you a little update on our fall sports at the high school level. Our girls cross country team is ranked number one in the state and top 15 nationally,
which is very excited. our boys cross country team top 10 in the state I believe 67 around there they're ranked sixth or seventh in the state um in addition our girls soccer team is ranked number three in the state boys soccer number two in the state caramel tennis
uh number one in the state and undefeated so very proud of our tennis team uh we have a board member who has a tennis player up here with us and my son also plays tennis as well so um and uh caramel football is ranked number three
in the state and they're off to a 3 and 0 start. Very exciting. Um and then our girls golf team is ranked number two in the state right now. Uh and they have three freshman uh phenoms who are uh teeing it high and letting it fly. So
that's really really good. So congratulations to all of our fall sports doing great. We can't wait to see the season progress. Uh, and we are all cheering you on from the school board to the administration to our community. So, keep up the good work with fall sports.
Also on Saturday night, I drove over to Brownsburg and attended the marching band's first performance competition and uh they I just witnessed a fabulous show and this year's show is called La Arena
and uh it explores the essence of the bull fight and also showcasing courage, elegance and the clash between the matador and the bull. So, you will have to check out our marching band. Caramel High School Greyhound Marching Band. Um,
and also they have new uniforms this year, which Caramel marching band, high school marching band was one of the last to be in those traditional uniforms. So, they've kind of blinkeded it up a little bit. So, not only uh are they shining on
the field, literally, they're also shining with their performance this year. So, you'll have to check it out. next performance September 27th in the Bands of America Louisville Regional or Louisville Regional. Um and then on October 18th, they'll be local here.
You'll get to check them out at the Isma Regional. And then there's plenty of performances after that or you can come to any one of our football games and you can check them out at halftime as they perform. And so bell ringer today. Uh it it's been said by Dr. Dudley, it's been
said by a lot of us, but I just want to give a shout out to our teachers. They are working so incredibly hard in the classroom, working with our students, with our parents, with our families, and also I really appreciate them and I appreciate the work of Dr. Dudley with professional development and our
teachers collaborating with one another to work on best practice and continue to take their work to that next level. So, bell ringer tonight is to our teachers. I appreciate the work you do each and every day. And with that, that concludes tonight's superintendent report. Thank
you. Thank you. May I have a motion to adjourn the meeting? So moved. Do I have a second? Thank you. Meeting adjourned.