Mhm. >> You owe me a drink. >> Two drinks. >> All right, we are going to get started with the Elkhart Community Schools June 23rd, 2026 regularly scheduled board meeting. At this time, I'd like to call the board meeting to order.
If you please rise for the pledge of allegiance. Mr. Ivory, the Elkhart Promise. >> Where every student is known by name, challenged and supported by highly effective staff, and in partnership with the community, will graduate career, college ready, and life ready. >> Thank you, Mr. Ivory.
>> Uh next on the agenda are invitation to speak protocol. Everybody should have received uh a little pamphlet with a little tear off here that you could uh put your name and uh affiliation with the school and give it to Chris.
Um member of the public are invited to speak at the podium. Uh and we ask you begin by stating your name and your affiliation with Elkhart Community Schools. Uh which time you are limited to 3 minutes. >> [clears throat] >> Um uh as determined by
uh myself. Um we've had a little bit of issue with um going past this. I I think I've I've been um somewhat lenient and it's tending to go longer and longer. So, we're going to have to probably take a step back and really kind of adhere to that 3 minutes.
So, be prepared to keep it at 3 minutes and I thank you for that. Um statements should not be directed to the board as a whole or to an individual board member. We've had some issues with that recently. Um no person shall speak or discuss any charges or complaints against individual
employees. Instead, this information must be provided in writing to the board through the superintendent. So, please um do that. Uh it is appropriate for the board to publicly discuss personal or student issues. So, it's not appropriate rather. And so, we we uh
can't answer or comment on uh any of those. And should any of these protocols not be followed, we are tightening it up and we would ask uh the opportunity to speak be withdrawn at that time. I don't foresee us getting there, but just as a general reminder uh for everybody uh on
that. So, with that said, Chris. Thank you. All right. Um Chris Thomas Bartley. >> Hello. Chris Thomas Bartley. Uh today I'm representing Elkhart Community Schools, specifically the Unified Track program.
Um I hope that you're aware that just recently the Unified Track program participated in its seventh uh state tournament appearance and finished second at the state tournament.
Um the >> [applause] >> The board uh in front of you, you have uh an invitation to a celebration of a legacy. Uh that is tomorrow night, Wednesday, June 24th, 6:00 p.m. Uh at the EHS Little Theater, main
campus over here. Uh we're celebrating seven sectional titles in nine years of competition. Seven sectional titles, three regional titles, seven state appearances, three state titles. We have finished in those seven state appearances, we have
finished fifth once, fourth once, third once, second once, and we finished first three times. I am including the Elkhart Memorial. And the reason I'm including the Elkhart Memorial sched- uh record is because nine years ago Carrie
Anderson sent out an email asking for a coach for this new program. It's all Carrie's fault. >> [laughter] >> Uh sent out an email, needed a coach for this new program. Todd Shealy was a new teacher uh in Elkhart. He had been hired
as the boys soccer coach. He came to us from Center Grove. He had some experience with the Unified program, so he stepped up. That first year, uh Todd had about 12 students. Uh they were wearing old soccer uniforms cuz they didn't really have
uniforms yet. I helped him informally. Uh in 2018, uh I joined the staff officially as a coach along with Todd as the head coach and Zack Stone
>> [clears throat] >> as an assistant coach. That's the year that Memorial went to the state finals. Um possibly the winningest program in Elkhart Community Schools history if you look at our 78%
record for reaching the state level, 78% for winning sectionals. Um we could not have done this without the help of several people, not the least of which is Carrie Anderson for sending out that email.
But director of inclusion Charlene Trotter and then Cindy Bonner and most recently supervisor of special services Krista Searles. Without their in-building help getting this started and making sure the right people had the right information, we probably would not
be as ex- the cut- successful. Um we also have a great bunch of assistant coaches. Assistant coaches are paras. They help with our students who have one-to-one help. Kendra Mauer, Rusty Ford, Deshawn Williams, Rayshawn Smith. This year I
want to thank Elkhart Lions Club and Carrie Sommer for stepping up and being financial donors. It costs a lot of money to keep 60 kids in fruit snacks, granola bars, and waters. Uh and then
on the invite there is a QR code. The Elkhart Athletic Club is spearheading the fundraiser for our championship rings. So if anybody would like to donate, there is a QR code there. >> Thank you, Chris. I
You know, nine years back to back wins is is amazing. I would say that we need just have the the third Wednesday of June set for a celebration, but I don't want to I don't want to jinx it. So, I don't want to I don't want to jinx you, but job well done to you and your team. [clears throat]
>> And I want to share with you that Nick and Dylan when I was talking to them and it was time for graduation and I was getting my haircut and they were getting ready to go, they said, "We just don't want this to end because we never want to stop with United Track." And Brian taking care of them and making sure they had
the right shoes and the mentorship and making them feel so valued, but the exciting thing was when they were talking about how they got second place in the relay and they were like, "We were only supposed to get fourth and we ended up getting second." And they were just so excited. So, the impact that you
get to see when you talk to the kids is just so big. So, good job. It was amazing. >> Thank you. >> Uh those two particular students uh had never participated >> Never. Mhm. >> kind of a situation where it wasn't until junior year, senior year where they started paying attention to their
grades and we could have them be academically eligible. >> Right. >> But neither one of them had participated uh and when they got those spikes and for the first time they thought that was the coolest thing ever. >> thing ever. >> They were like and their times improved
so much. >> That's what they said, but and it made high school for them amazingly memorable. >> Yeah. >> Amazing. So, thank you. >> Thank you very much. >> Hope you can attend tomorrow night. Thank you. >> Thank you.
>> Bethany Ward. >> Hi, my name is Bethany Ward. I am a parent of soon-to-be three children in Elkhart Community Schools. Um I'm here this evening to express some continued concern about the district's
increasing reliance on standardized district-wide policies, particularly the new school supply list. >> [gasps] >> While standardization is often like shown as efficient, what I'm seeing is a reduction in the autonomy
um in classroom level decision-making. Classrooms are not interchangeable. Even within the same grade, teachers are using different instructional methods and have different student needs, and that's good. A one-size-fits-all supply list assumes
you you you want you uniformity that doesn't actually exist in practice. And it shifts practical decision-making away from the educators who are actually responsible for instruction. The concern I have is that these
standardized lists risk being created from a adult logistical perspective rather than the perspective of what actually works for students, especially younger students. Guys, one box of kindergarten of box of crayons is not going to cut it for
kindergarteners. >> [laughter] >> Um [gasps and clears throat] those classroom level decisions are exactly why teacher input matters. More broadly, it reflects a pattern of centralization that concerns me because it narrows professional discretion for teachers.
As a parent, I will personally be following individual teacher supply lists rather than just a district-wide supply list because I trust classroom level guidance to be more accurate. And especially in the middle of a
financial crisis, I'm not interested in buying things that my kids are not actually going to use in the classroom. Um but the biggest thing I want to ask is how is the district's new focus on
standardizing classroom supplies and classroom environments helping our current financial crisis? Specifically, what portion of the district's budget gap is expected to be addressed through through these initiatives?
If possible, are there percentages or dollar estimates for how this is going to help? Um many teachers and families are struggling to understand how these changes meaningfully connect to the stated financial shortfall.
For trust and transparency during a financial crisis, it's important to have clear, measurable information on how each major initiative contributes to closing that budget gap. I would encourage the board to consider whether these policies are truly supporting teachers and students or
unintentionally moving decision-making farther from the professionals closest to the classrooms. Thank you. >> Thank you. All right. That is all we have for public comment. Uh next uh Mrs. Wood, excellence of Elkhart.
>> Thank you, President Scott, members of the board, Mrs. Reese, community members. I'm grateful for the opportunity to share the highlights in the areas of academics, arts, and athletics. June 11th, Elkhart High School celebrated commencement and the accomplishments of the class of 2026.
With 766 graduates, our students are taking their next steps into higher education, skilled trades, military [clears throat] service, and the workforce. Each graduate represents a reason to celebrate and reflect on the hard work, perseverance, and support that defines
the Elkhart promise. Elkhart High School students have been participating in an immersive educational travel experiences in Maine and Colorado. Through these trips, students engage in hands-on learning while earning academic credit, giving them the opportunity to explore new environments and apply their learning in
meaningful ways. In the area of athletics, the Elkhart boys golf team received a great community send-off as they traveled to the IHSAA state finals, where they finished an impressive 13th in the state. Congratulations to Ben DeVitto, who led the Lions with a tie for 12th
place individually, representing Elkhart with an excellence on one of the Indiana's biggest stages. And in celebrating our unified track team, we want to congratulate them on placing second place at state finals. >> [clears throat] >> And for future happenings, tomorrow's
unified track celebration. And as always, please be sure to follow our district and school social media pages as we share each day the excellence of Elkhart schools. Thank you. >> Very much. Again, to reiterate, tomorrow, 6:00 p.m.
Little Theater for the celebration. All right. Next, we're on to the consent items. Do I have a motion? I have a motion. Do I have a second? >> Second. >> I have a motion. I have a second. Do I have any discussion? >> Sure. >> $10,000, uh $10,025,
we have donations from the following community members. Crossroads United Way donated $1,000 for our one book, one school author visit program in September. Two donations came at $500 a piece from Alliance RV and Bailey's Butterflies to grow our girls volleyball
team. >> [clears throat] >> Our Elkhart athletics received Okay, I'm joking. Okay. $500 from Simplified Tools to use for water and snacks for the players' programs, and the Career Center received from Royce Stutsman
um hm, $486 worth of donations for makeup and hair products. We received two pianos, you guys. One that will go to Cleveland and one that will be used for Elkhart High School. One is from Lynn Buckley at a donation of $2,250, which includes the moving fee. And
another one is from Melissa Green, a great supporter of our school system at $3,000. Mark and Debbie George are going to continue our pickleball program that was at Woodland. They're just transferring it over to Cleveland at $1,289. And the Sisters of the Tri Kappa Alpha
Rho donated to Pierre Moran for their Hoopla event, again, $500. So, at $10,025, we benefit again from our community partners. Thank you, Elkhart. >> Thank you. Mr. Mullins, any other discussion or
comments regarding the consent agenda? Seeing or hearing none, all in favor? >> Aye. >> Opposed? >> Motion passes. Thank you, everyone. On to old business, Mr. Thorn. We have board policy 5136, personal communication devices.
>> Thank you, President Scott, members of the board, Mrs. Reese. This evening, the administration is recommending approval to the proposed revisions of this board policy. >> Thank you, Mr. Thorn. Do I have a motion to the proposed revisions? >> Motion. >> Do I have a second?
>> Second. >> Do I have any questions regarding this policy from the board? I have one. The the um changes, proposed revisions, are based on >> They are They are in compliance with
changes at the state level in terms of the state, in essence, enacting a bell-to-bell prohibition on the use of cell phones in our schools. >> We were already down this path, but the bill that goes into effect July 1 does tweak it a little bit, and these
revisions adhere to that bill. Is that correct? >> Yes. >> Thank you. Any other questions or concerns? I have a motion, I have a second, all in favor? >> Aye. >> Opposed? Motion passes unanimously. Thank you. Next, we have board policy 5410,
promotion, placement, and retention. Mr. Thorn. >> Yes, uh thank you again. Uh the administration is uh seeking proposed approval of the proposed revisions to board policy 5410, uh which were first presented to you uh earlier this month.
>> Thank you. Do I have a uh motion for uh the revision for board policy 5410? >> Motion. >> Do I have a second? >> Second. >> I have a motion, I have a second. Do I have any questions or comments regarding this board policy?
Seeing or hearing none, all in favor? >> Aye. >> Opposed? Motion passes again unanimously. Thank you. All right, Mr. Thorne, we keep >> [sighs] >> plugging along here. Administrative guidelines 5410, retention of students in grades K through 8. >> Thank you. Uh the administration is presenting this
proposed revision to that administrative guideline for final review by the board. >> Thank you, Mr. Thorne. Do I have a motion? >> Uh there's no motion. >> Oh, by the way, there's no motion. This is uh Yep, it's a administrative guideline. Okay. Thank you. Do I have any questions or concerns from the board?
>> Mr. Thorne, would it be correct if I was to say that uh this is probably the last time that you'll be presenting board policies and administrative guidelines to [laughter] us? Is that correct? >> That is correct, Mr. Weaver. This will be the last time I am up here, you know, unless called to come back years from
now uh to present a new policy revision, but I am sure there will be capable people who will stand in my stead before you and present policies and administrative regs in the future. >> Thank you very much for your service. I appreciate that. >> Thank you.
>> Thanks. >> I'm sure that we won't uh uh there'll be many opportunities to refer to policy and uh things that you have put in place during your tenure once you're gone, so uh you you you will not you will not be forgotten.
>> I'm just going to say he's got you on speed dial. >> No, I I think that was We'll blame you if necessary. [laughter] >> It could have gone It could have gone either way. >> It was tricky. >> Yeah, it was tricky, but no, we we >> But thank you. >> Yes, we appreciate your saying that. >> the first two years too that you guided
me in so many different directions and kind of kept me on my path, so thank you. >> How long have you been with the district? >> I started with the district in 2002. It pains me to say this, I've been working in school law and school labor relations since
1987. I was five at the time when I started. [laughter] >> I graduated. >> So, what's your What's your plans for retirement? >> Mostly to goof around, travel.
I intend to actually start going to Beacon to see if I can get rid of some of the weight I put on over the last 24 years here. But it seems like just yesterday that I had lunch with Mark Mow and was invited to come work here. And it's been a pleasure working with
all of the board members that I've worked with over the last 24 years. >> Well, it has been a pleasure, Doc. Happy retirement and I hope you enjoy. >> I'm going to enjoy it. Thank you. >> [laughter] >> Thank you so much. >> Thank you, Doc.
>> Doc, thank you. >> YAY, DOC. >> [applause] >> ALL RIGHT, MOVING AWAY FROM OLD BUSINESS. >> [laughter] >> I I APOLOGIZE. >> [laughter] >> Right into new business. Mr. Hickenbottom. We have the resolution of the Board of School Trustees for Elkhart Community
Schools regarding administrative salary ranges. >> Thank you, Mr. President. Good evening, honorable board members, Mrs. Reese. The administration recommends the adoption of a resolution establishing administrative salary ranges consistent with the requirements of board policy
3421.01A. The proposed salary range for the 2026-2027 school year does not include an across-the-board increase for administrators. The administration further recommends this process that this process be followed in subsequent school years based upon the board's
revision toward policy 3421.01A that took place on April 8th of 2025. We've provided the board with additional details regarding the proposed ranges and individual administrative salaries, and with that, I am happy to answer any questions that you may have, perhaps
with the assistance of Mrs. Lozano. >> All right, we're getting there. Do I have a motion for the resolution of the board of trustees? >> So moved. >> Do I have a second? >> Second. >> I have a motion and a second. Do I have We have any questions for Mr. Hickenball?
No questions? >> [laughter] >> Well, we to be To be fair, we did discuss some of this in the executive session, so we we got a majority of our questions answered. Um [clears throat] All in favor? >> All right. >> Opposed? Motion passed unanimously. Thank you,
Mr. Hickenball. Next, Mr. Ekins, on my way pre-K recommendation. >> Good evening, Mrs. Reese, Board of School Trustees. The administration requests approval for Elkhart Community Schools through the Elkhart Area Career Center's Teen Parent
Program preschool to participate as an approved On My Way pre-K provider and accept state reimbursement funds for eligible families. The administration also recommends approval of a $50 per week tuition increase for ECS child care families effective with the 2026-2027
school year. >> Thank you. Do I have a motion for On My Way pre-K recommendation? >> Motion. >> Do I have a second? >> Second. >> I have a motion, I have a second. Do I have any questions or concerns from Ms. Reekens? >> Um Brandon,
you can verify that with the increase we're still below what the average is around the area. Is that correct? >> Yeah, we're we're 25 to 28% below all other child care providers that are at the same accreditation level. We're at a level four through Pathways of Quality.
That's the top level that you can get. So yes, considerably lower than what we see in the region. >> So just for those who don't know, what is the weekly cost now with the increase? >> Depends on the level. So you have a level, a step up increase. I don't think I brought those numbers.
Give me 1 second. But for our infants, two-year-olds, and then our preschoolers, it generally steps up through each one of those. Um off the top of my head, I'm going to say it's by 250, 220.
Um and I think around 200. And and I could be off just a little bit there. I can follow back up if you'd like me to. But I did not bring those numbers with me. >> Okay. Any other questions? >> Do you take like can anybody come to
to um >> bring their kids or is it only for you have to qualify? >> Um well, when we initiated this, I think we just finished our fourth year. It was for all ECS staff members. That was the intent along with the teenage parent program.
With the changes on increasing the tuition, accepting on my way pre-K, we had about five to seven seats last year that were unfilled that we will be opening to the public. What I think we want to establish this year is is there an interest in the public to fill those seats.
If we find that those seats can be filled, we can convert an additional classroom for the upcoming school year to accommodate 15 more children. We have to wait for at least that following year because in our accreditation we're only accredited for 66 seats. That would help. So, we'll be
able to evaluate it this year and then see if moving forward if that interest is there, we'll open it up to the public. >> Brandon, I do I did find the rates in the paperwork that you supplied the board. >> How close was I? >> Kind of close. >> Hey, was there [laughter] a two in there?
>> Um for infants in that program, the current rate's $199. And so, the proposed rate's $250. For the two to three-year-olds, the current rate's $168. and 50 cents. And the proposed rate um for this new one is $220.
And preschool is $148 currently, but for this proposed rate, it's $200. So, you you you're pretty close. >> No, you you were spot on when you added the proposed rate. This guy right here. >> [laughter] >> Thank you. >> But, good job for trying to remember,
Brandon. Good job. >> Brandon, any other questions? [clears throat] Seeing and hearing none, all in favor? >> Aye. >> Opposed? Motion passes. Thank you. Mr. Aikens, you are up still. We have the Herb Olery Legacy Project. >> Oh.
Enjoy. >> Please tell us. >> Enjoy bringing this one up. >> Yes. >> Administration requests acceptance of a donation of $97,758.10 from Mr. Amish Shah and recommends approval of the Elkhart Area Career Center Motorsports Program renovation, which will serve as the Herb Olery
Legacy Project honoring Mr. Olery's commitment and lasting impact at Elkhart Community Schools. If you don't know uh Mr. Olery, first thing I'll I'll start with is um his teacher handbook that he provided me uh through a conversation about three years ago. This
is prior to the '59-'60 school year. Um if I remember correctly, he was in his third year when he received this. Um he came over to the career center in 1993 and worked as a technical assistant. Um, in that time it would have been our motorcycle small engine program as the technical assistant from
'93 um, up until 2014 when he quote unquote retired. Um, we could not fill the TA role for a number of years and just like a bad penny Mr. O'Leary came back and came back and came back. Uh, when we finally did get a
a long-term technical assistant to serve in that position, Mr. O'Leary has served as a substitute teacher all the way up until two school years ago, uh, when his wife at that time told him at 89 that he no longer could serve. Um, so this is uh, would be great for us to be
able to do this for Mr. O'Leary and share it with him. >> So that is great and I think uh, the legacy project is a great name and and and and well earned. Um, any other questions? >> Um, have you worked out the any details
of the renovation you plan to do? >> We have, absolutely. So if you're familiar with the the motorcycle small engine um, space, the the lab is rather tight um, if you've ever been there. Um, when we started doing the building projects at the Annex campus and we
moved our automotive programs over to the new building, we're able to open up a corner shop. Um, that corner shop it's really difficult to navigate between those two of those and what sits in between those corner shops is an old storage room. Um, not the greatest room, but much better than the current
classrooms. What we'll be doing is we'll be renovating that, um, making sure that we have pass-through windows that go all the way through. We'll be widening where the wash bay is at so that we can get forklifts and things through there. Um, we'll be putting a small welding fab
shop in the corner to accommodate the instruction that we have in that program. Fresh paint, new lights. >> Um, will the uh dragster still be hanging from the ceiling? >> I I think the dragster's not going to go anywhere uh anytime soon. Um so, yes, I think that's still going
to be there. >> Okay. Thank you. >> Any other questions, comments? All right. All in favor of the Herb Do we have a motion and a second? Yeah. >> No, I >> Do we No. >> I don't think so. >> All right. Do I Do I have a Do I have a motion?
>> Motion. >> I'll move. >> I'll second. >> Motion. >> Somebody second. >> Go ahead. >> Second. >> All right. >> [laughter] >> We have a motion and a second. >> actually. >> We have a motion, a second, and to your point, a third. Uh all in favor? >> Aye.
>> Opposed? Motion passes. Thank you very much for bringing that to us. Next, uh Mrs. Ross, the uh April-May finance reports. >> Thank you. Good evening, Board President, Board members, uh Superintendent. I would like to present our monthly
financial update. And uh this month I'm presenting both April and May because of the one meeting month we had, the one board meeting month. So, starting with the education fund, uh here are our monthly expenditures. Um just as a reminder, I included the
budget line. Um and this is our adjusted budget wherein our wages, we've kind of increased the wages due to transferring money from our transfers from operations to wages to kind of uh
balance our budget a little bit and make it more realistic. So, you'll see in uh our expected total receipts about, I'm rounding up, 90 million, and you can see our expenses about 86 million is the goal with some net revenue to increase our cash balance
for our budget. Um April, you'll see our expenditures here. Our receipts for the education quite typical and our expenses went up a bit because there was one transfer to operations there.
Leaving us with um a net um expense for that month for April and a positive cash balance. And for May in the education fund a typical receipts from the state tuition support
a typical expenses give or take and we ended with a positive um net revenue and a positive increase in cash balance. Um year-to-date here um you can see our wages and benefits
it's a little bit small for me from here but about 93% of our fund to date uh is spent on wages and benefits using the transfer to ops as an expense in that pie but the traditional method is to exclude
that. Most school districts take that transfer off the top. And so if we compare it to the traditional method, it's 95% of our wages and benefits um kind of taken up in that education fund. Um
wages and benefits with the adjusted budget so we're now at 88% just kind of have a metric before when we worked on the budget, it was about 81%. Um and so the remaining pieces of the budget, we got about 12% that would include the curriculum, supplies,
professional services and that net revenue we're hoping where we can increase the cash balance so that is part of our budget per se to have some money's left over to increase our cash balance. So those are our monthly expenditures
for April and May. If there are no questions, I'll move on to our cash flow for the education fund from January to May. Um January just a reminder was a three payroll month, so you see that dip
there, but steadily trying to increase there. And on to our operations fund. Uh, kind of same setup here. Here is our budget, just kind of a reminder recap, cuz I haven't presented in about 2
months, it feels like, so [laughter] um, got our budget line, and notice, just going back to that budget line, we do plan on having a uh, $10 million cash balance in the operations fund, but that's a function of receipts coming
in twice a year, June and December, and that ending cash balance needs to carry us through the beginning first half of that next year, so for 2027. So, that's typical. And you'll see later our cash balance in this fund, how it
has looked and trended over the past few years. Um, what do we have here? April, on total receipts, not typical, what we receipted here were the uh, funds from the reimbursable geo bond, and also the $1 million transfer
from education, so that's not a typical receipt, so just calling that out there. Our expenses, in line, but so we ended with a net revenue and a positive cash balance for April. May, we have typical receipts,
um, expenditures, um, utilities went up, supplies uh, went down a bit. And we ended, which is typical for this fund, in a negative um, expense, [clears throat] net expense, due to the nature of this
fund's receipts, and then our ending cash balance. Um, year-to-date information is uh, posted there, and we are trending downward, our average monthly spend used to be about $3 million, we're just under that.
And I just noticed supplies seem to be down, but utilities trend is is going up in that fund. So, just moving on and how this looks for the year. Um we have our receipts in green, so we've normally we wouldn't see that green bar until June and then in
December, but again that green is that that reimbursable bond and um that trajectory is typical for this fund where we have our revenue go up and then it drops in terms of cash balance.
And then our rainy day, no change in our rainy day at 6.7. Started with 6.7, ended with 6.7 million. And here are cash balances combined for uh the month ended in May, uh about 12. million 12.5 million.
And cash flow projections, this is um from our partner Policy Analytics just to remind the community kind of where we stand. Uh you saw a glimpse of this at our last board meeting. Uh just want to call out just a couple things. 2026, what we kind of
are projecting with our partners here. They did um kind of increase our revenue is slightly what than what we projected, but that's fine. They have 90.6 million. Um it projected expenditures about 93, so we have deficit spending on this
trajectory. Uh so, we'll dip into our cash balance with ending cash balance of a negative 1. 15 million. Um >> [clears throat] >> 2027 without the help of the GO bond, you can kind of see it kind of reflects
what we would have looked like this year without the help of that bond. We are at about a $12 million deficit. And that's before any changes. This is has not included the consolidation changes and other things that are happening. So, I'll speak to that next.
And just a note here on what that line is, the transfers out. Uh just same for operations. Um You see our projected cash balances we looked at earlier. And if you step back and look from 2021 to 2026, we were about what, 11 and 15 million, then 14
million cash balance. So, we're not you know, it's pretty much in line with the cash balances of previous years. Um What's interesting or not so interesting, but there is a projected deficit. However, they do
increase our expenditures here in their model like 2 to 3%. They've modeled an increase in expenditures. We are not on that trajectory necessarily. We've been cutting, so I don't anticipate that you know, with our current path of cutting, so
that fund is more healthy presenting. So, that's all the deficit news, but um just to highlight this and I present this pretty much monthly when I present is some of the highlights of our savings. So, as you know, we've um since the beginning of the year I've been tracking
this and presenting this. Um since the beginning of the year reduced central office staff, building level staff, added pays, extended contracts, and the sub pay rate. Um also, we added some overtime and comp time controls including the time clock
uh software. And we also had some unfilled vacancies which contributed to from this from the beginning of the school year, first pay in August to the first pay in June this year versus last year, a $4.65
million reduction in education operations and the operating referendum which has since fallen off in 2025. So, this is a great, you know, trajectory. This is not include benefits, so there's
even more savings that have occurred. Um this is comparing 24-25 school year versus the current school year. And most of those savings I have some bullets to the right and notes are from the education fund, which is consistent with the reduction
in ADM and revenue that we should be declining and decreasing cost in that fund. But what was another interesting find when doing this research, we've rolled back to kind of our 23-24 numbers. Again, this is just a 10-month
span from first pan August to first pan June. It's not the total year. We still have, in terms of a 12-month basis, we still have some months to go, but this is kind of where we are. Um and so keep in mind, although we've rolled back expenses,
our ADM has declined since 23-24 to the tune of about 900 students. So, yeah, we rolled back, we've cut, but now we have another pressure of decreasing revenue from our ADM. So, couple challenges there and a win there, too.
So, other savings initiatives and future reporting will be on the consolidation. So, we've got more savings to come. And we're also going to present on that at some point in the near future and also food service management Chartwells savings, so.
And I believe that concludes the financial update. >> Thank you, Mrs. Ross. Do we have any questions? >> question. Rhonda, have we received our property tax payment for June yet? >> I'm with us today. Not not that I know of. >> Do we have any idea what we're thinking
that might be? >> They usually give us about 55% of our amount due. It's bigger in June than December. I don't have that number for you. >> That's okay. That helps. >> But, yeah. Okay.
>> Any other questions? All right. We'll move on to the insurance updates. >> Sure. So, uh briefly here I have our insurance update for uh April and May. So, our loss ratio is overall better from last year to this year, where last
year at this point we were at about 86%. This year is 75. Um so, our insurance plan is performing well. And for Mr. Scott, I've given you some um things that you might want to nerd out on.
>> [laughter] >> And provided some trends and some areas that we're closely watching. Um And that includes the insurance update. >> Great. Thank you. >> Thank you. >> I love love insurance. >> I know you [laughter] do.
>> All right. Any questions or comments regarding the insurance update? No? Thank you, Mrs. Ross. >> All right. Superintendent, the floor is yours. >> Thank you. Uh before we wrap up tonight, I just want to do a couple reminders. Uh
please remember that registration is open for all students. We are especially excited to welcome our incoming kindergartners in the fall, but we welcome any new student to Elkhart Community Schools. Uh getting your students registered now is a vital thing. As you hear from our financial
presentation and what has been shared um in many of our board meetings, these enrollment numbers directly help us plan for staffing for the upcoming school year. So, for our families of students in grades 6 through 12, please check out our website for more information on our
virtual school options if in-person is not for you. And before we head home tonight, I want to share an important next step for our district. As we work to keep our district financially sound, it's a It is crucial that we have a clear, shared roadmap for this for the future.
And to build that path forward, I'm launching a strategic planning advisory group that will meet from July through September of this year. The best strategic plans are created with our community and not just for our community. Those who will be involved will be a representative small group of our
parents, educators, business partners, faith leaders, and residents of Elkhart Community Schools. Together, this group will look at our data and focus on key priorities like student achievement, school culture, workforce development, fiscal responsibility, and future readiness, just to name a few.
So, stay tuned as more information will be be shared about this group and what we are doing moving forward. Also, I want to take a quick moment to address some of the online conversations about our classrooms, our supply lists, and district updates. Change can naturally cause anxiety. It does it on
all of us. And because our community cares so much, that often turns into passionate discussion. I welcome that, but I want to provide a clarity on a few things. First of all, we did not make some of these changes for financial reasons. First, regarding the supply list, we
originally originally worked with principals to create a common list based on individual supply lists that we've gathered from the schools and had discussions with our principals. We recognize additional tweaks may be needed um as we were in discussions with the ETA today, so we're working with them to revise the list and repost them
on July 1st. So, please stay tuned. Second, we deeply value the unique, welcoming environments our teachers create. We want our teachers to personalize their rooms with student work, visual elements, and materials that inspire learning. Our goal is a balance, ensuring our
buildings are safe and compliant for everyone while maintaining academic focus classrooms keeping in mind individual student accommodations including those in IEPs and 504 plans is our goal and will continue to be as we move forward. Remember, while change can be
challenging, our shared commitment to our students' success is a common ground that brings us together. If you are a staff member or parent and have questions about changes in school routines or classroom practices, please reach out directly to your building principal or someone here within the
district office so we can help answer them um besides going on social media. So, thank you for all that you have done and have a great evening. But, before I end, I do want to say thank you to Mr. Doug Thorn for his years of service and we thank you for his continued service
he has had with Elkhart Community Schools and beyond and we wish him well. I know your grandbaby will love to have you around more often. Have a great evening. >> [applause] >> Thank you, Superintendent Reese. Uh anything from the board before we adjourn?
>> Yes, um following up on uh Miss Reese and uh welcoming me and uh kindergartners, uh I think we also ought to uh celebrate uh our alumni. Uh my wife and I, who is in the audience with us today, had the luxury of attending a wedding in Nashville uh 2
weekends ago and uh in that wedding uh some very, very interesting uh graduates. You know, they've been out of school, you know, 10, 12 years now. So, like our kids are getting married, having kids. And anyhow, but super successful group of kids.
Uh construction, insurance, cybersecurity, uh medicine, uh physician's assistant and stuff like that. So, the message is bring your kids to Elkhart Community Schools. They will have a great career. They're out there. We just don't know about them. We don't talk about them. We
don't bring them back, but they are there and to have been in the room with a bunch of you know, adults consuming alcohol and stuff like that and at 90° and an open barn. It was quite the interesting experience and stuff. So
anyhow, don't forget we have a great alumni with this school corporation and we have had so for many many years great things happen within this school corporation and will continue to do so for many years going forward and thank you.
>> Mr. Weaver. Any other comments? Hang on. [laughter] Mr. Thorne, I'd be remiss if I did not say, you know, you're going to be missed. I do think our meetings may go a little faster.
>> [laughter] >> In the future, but no, it's it's been a pleasure to serve with you. It's been a pleasure to you know, have your wisdom and your answers. How many years has it been? >> 24 years not including the 13 years I
was >> Okay. So so needless Yeah. So needless to say you you you will have left a presence on this district and just remember you are a phone call away. So
thank you for your service. We will miss you at these meetings, but feel free you know on Tuesdays if you're not doing anything. >> Or tune in. >> Yeah, or tune in. >> You know what? You could come back and be 3 minutes of positive speaking every Tuesday. Yeah. >> As he laughs. >> [laughter]
>> That's right. Not a chance. All right, any other comments from the board? All right, this meeting is adjourned. Thank you. >> Mhm.