--------- I'm going to call the work session board of education meeting to order. Um the first item of approval is the agenda. >> I move that we approve the agenda. >> Second. All those in favor say I.
>> Those opposed say nay. Motion carries. First item of new business, the presentation of substitute services. Dr. Grant. >> All right. Thank you very much and I'm going to turn this over to Dr. Stout and Dr. Robinson as they worked through this process to make international.
>> Thank you Dr. Grant. Good evening board members. It's my pleasure this evening to have Kelly represent Kelly services here represented with Brandy Misenheimimer. Um got to know her a little bit um the last couple of years and appreciate her attentiveness and her
willingness to come and speak to the board of education. So Dr. Dr. Robinson and HR team has worked with her a lot closer than I have. So, I'm going to uh introduce Dr. Robinson and he can give more of a formal introduction and then we'll get started. Thank you.
>> Good evening everyone. Um we started this process as part of an effort to really focus on teachers about retention and retainment. As the teacher crisis expanded, we also
were impacted by substitutes and a lack of substitutes and how that was impacting teachers ability to have plan and filling the holes that existed when we did not have subs and how that weighed and impacted our teachers um and
in some cases wear them out. So we wanted to look at how can we help and what are some things that we could do to fill the gap and that started that re this research into looking at subservices and that's why through our process we selected Kelly Education and
they're going to come do a presentation about their company and then we'll have a Q&A after the presentation. All right, Miss Brandy Misenheim. Good evening, Dr. Grant, board president, fellow board members. Thank you all for having me tonight. What I'd
like to do is start with the presentation about Kelly and then open it up for any questions that you have. And I'm going to step back. Let me know if you can't hear me. But I can try to move the microphone a little bit towards you. >> Sure. And there we're recording the
meeting, so we want you to be picked up. >> Okay, perfect. Can you hear me now? >> I think so. >> Okay, it's okay. Thank you. When you look at the footprint of Kelly Education, we've been in business for 28
29 years now across the United States in 31 states. More importantly to you is where are we at in Kansas City? And we have a local office downtown on the river market, but we also have three on-site locations throughout the market, which means that we have an individual
from Kelly that sits at each school district, which is also what we're proposing to you. Also, myself, I live in Blue Springs and I've been with Kelly for 22 years, so not planning on going anywhere. And then our client services manager, he wasn't able to make it
tonight. He's not feeling well, but he will manage the on-site here. He's been with Kelly for eight years. So, lots of tenure and and the local presence. This is what we call the wheel. And this is what we're doing every day, which makes us different from a district, is
because we're performing this every single day, focusing solely on substitutes. How we're recruiting. We're in your market. We want to attend things with you. We want to attend things here
focusing on your neighborhoods and your the people living in your community. But also some things that we've done in the community is attending like St. Patrick's Day parades where we know there's lots of people handing out goodies, QR codes, all of those things. There's a kite festival that they attend
every year where over 15,000 people attend. So we're also engaged in those things, making sure that we recruit for you. And that again is happening every day 12 months a year not just several throughout several months throughout the
year. What we are doing every day and this is going to be for your new hire individuals. This is not what your transition substitutes would go through. They go through a behavioral interview. Then they attend our training that they
have to take and pass and that's role specific training. So if they're a teacher, they're going to take the teacher training. If they're a parah, they're going to take the para training. What's not mentioned in here is also Kelly is the only staffing company that
has partnered with Desi to give that training, the training to become a substitute if you don't have the college credit hours. We have been approved by DESIE to give that training and our training is on the DESIE website so you can view that too if you'd like. But we
will also be able to utilize that as we build a pool for independence specifically. With that though, we have 2,000 individuals that we've already hired in your community that you'll be able to tap into should they want to come to work for independence. If they don't, we
don't mandate anyone go anywhere. So, your transition substitutes, if they're happy here, they're not going to be asked to move anywhere else. And if they are, if they want to move, they likely already have. And you're just not aware that they're working in multiple school
districts. This is a piece on our training. Not only do we do the prehire training, but also we have post-hire professional development. Every month, each employee gets a newsletter where there's at least three topics that they can take for
professional development. It is not mandatory, but if you have somebody fresh out of school that wants to be a teacher that's substituting to see if this is the right move for them, they can also take some PD classes to make sure that in the future they're ready
for that teaching role. On top of your local presence here, we also have a call center that is open extended hours and they are specifically there to schedule absences. So, if you've got a teacher at home that's sick or maybe at a hospital and doesn't have
access to any type of technology to log their absence, they can call this number and they'll put it in for them. But those people are also making outbound calls each and every day to fill those last minute absences so that we're not dependent on technology.
Everything is included in our price. You will not have any charges from Kelly unless there is someone working in your building. There's not an implementation fee, a finance fee, a fee for anything that we do, including incentives because
we evaluate your absences and understand those priority days like in Kansas City the day after the Super Bowl when we know that you're going to have high absences and we offer incentives to the substitutes to try to get additional
people to work. None of that is charged to the district. Also, orientation. We orientate everyone, your transition substitutes, because we want them to know what great things they're going to have as a Kelly individual,
but also our new hires. We want them to understand all of the policies, dress code, etc. for independent specifically that that is paid by Kelly and not charged to the district. Again, the benefits for our substitutes
much different than a district. We offer weekly pay and then each individual that works for Kelly has the ability to take advantage of our medical, dental, whole life insurance, major medical, whatever works for them.
And oftentimes it's just a supplement what they have. For instance, if you have a kiddo that's getting braces and your spouse has dental insurance that caps out at 1,500, you can hop on the dental insurance where you have two pieces that you can utilize for those
braces or I care, whatever is needed. We also have an option for 401k. If they want to utilize their 401k option, they can invest in 401k too. Also with our benefits, something that differentiates Kelly is summer. Summer's
difficult for substitute teachers. And being a part of Kelly services, our substitute teachers will have the ability to talk to our Kelly services friends if they want to continue to substitute but need that summer employment where they can go work at our commercial friends is what we call them.
But if you think of Pepsi or Coke or the law firms downtown that need administrative help, they can go work for the summer there and then come back to us in the fall. What it looks like as we make that transition. This is our implementation
calendar. What it would look like, all of the pieces that go into implementation. Implementation starts right after you agree that Kelly will be a good partner for you. And what happens then is we start with two teams deployed. One focuses in on
implementation, making sure that your technology, all of those things is working. But our second deployment team is a recruiting team. So we have multiple people on the ground in your community, starting with recruiting, transitioning your current substitute pool, making sure that everybody is
comfortable with Kelly education and they know us, so we're not strangers to them. And then we continue to move through as we get closer to the start of school. We'll do district training so that the principles and the secretaries are comfortable with what that looks
like for their new dayto-day. Secretaries aren't going to need to spend as much time. They get their time back in the day. Principles aren't going to have to be mentoring, coaching, counseling, terminating substitutes. We're going to take that off their
plate. And more importantly, teachers are going to get back their plan time so that they're not covering classrooms and they're going to go home and not have work on their plate at night. After that, we do a pre-go live, which means that we make sure all the systems
are up and running. Everybody can put in their absences. And then after go live, we do a 45day review to make sure that everything is what we said it is. oftentimes decisions made in implementation we may need to tweak a little bit because what the district
thought may work really well might not be working quite as well as we thought. So, we still have the opportunity to change whatever needs to be changing, but your account team, which would be Keith, my peer that wasn't able to come tonight, your on-site here, and then 13
other individuals just living in Kansas City. And above and beyond that, they're all going to be in touch with the district at all times. We do partnership reviews twice a year to provide you all the data that you need down to school specific so that we can see if there's a
school struggling that we need to focus our recruiting efforts in that area. Making sure that the district as a whole has a high fill rate. Thank you again for the opportunity. We are very excited to partner with
Independence School District. >> Hi, Kelly. My name is Anthony Montain. I just had a quick question. I did not get your last name. Randy, I apologize. >> That's okay. It happens all the time. >> I bet it does. I'm sorry. >> I was going to wear a green jacket tonight, but then everybody's always like, "Oh, the Kelly Green." >> Yeah.
>> What was your last name? >> Misenheimer. >> Misenheimimer. Okay. Thank you. Earlier I heard when you were sharing about the 20 29 years you've been in existence that there was partnerships locally already. I don't know if you referenced what districts and if that's
okay to share. >> Yeah of course. So currently in the Kansas City market we support six school districts, six major school districts and they are Lee Summit Liberty Shauny Mission Hickman Mills Grand View and Kansas City Public Schools. Lee Summit,
we've been a partner with them since 2015. Liberty 2017. Shauny Mission 2017. Hickman Mills, I believe it was 2017. Grand View 201819
and Kansas City Public was about the same. >> I will say that um I know throughout the process, correct me if I'm wrong, Dr. Stout, Dr. Robinson, you specifically spoke with reached out to Shauny Mission Police Summit as well as Liberty.
Correct? >> Oh, Dr. Robinson. >> Okay. >> Do you have an average rate um for the like just an average fill rate for the Kansas City area for those combined schools? >> I have the fill rates for each
individual school if you would like. >> Um sure, that'd be great. Okay. So in Lee Summit currently we're at a 96%. Liberty at 93%. Shny Mission at 97%. Hickman Mills 86%
Grand View 80% equally for Kansas City public schools. >> And Dr. Grant, what is our current fill rate? >> That's what I was just going to say. We're right around 70% this year. And if if I could share too when you when you talk about fill rates, Kelly is
different when we calculate our fill rates. And the reason I say that is our fill rates are real time. So oftent times you'll see companies, they shut off the fill rate calculation after 5:00 p.m. Ours are always real time. So if there's an absence put in at 8 a.m.
that still counts against our fill rate. And really when we look nationwide, there's about 22% of absences that happen overnight. >> You talked about um systems being in place. Just kind of trying to imagine
this. Um does the administration at each building put down when they need somebody or does a teacher enter in when they need somebody? How does that Can you just kind of walk me through that a little bit? >> Yes, of course. And I I apologize that I don't know exactly, but I'm I'm gonna
assume here. So you guys can correct me if I'm wrong. Um, but we also use frontline. So when you look at usernames and access and all of that, not that's not going to change for your teachers. It's just going to look a tad bit different um because they're going to go
to a different spot to but we'll train them on that. But their username and everything remains the same. And just as they do today, if a teacher needs a a substitute, she would she or he would put in their absence and then it flows to us. As far as access to our system,
everybody that has access now will remain having the same access. So each principal will have campus user access. Um district office would have have super user access. So none of that's going to change. And basically what we do as far
as technology and implementation, just two things. So, we're going to make sure how your systems are integrated now. Meaning front line to your back office system is everything you dreamed of because if not, it's a great time to take a look at that. If it's not integrating properly, we'll take the
time to make sure that the integration is then proper as what you need. And then also, we're going to build a streamline to our back office system from that front line because we pay weekly. So then all of those absences will flow into our back office system
for payment. >> So I will say that our process will remain the same where teachers will call and report their absence or parents to their administrator and the administrator will not change change that process. >> So there's not a possibility of like I
just see that as maybe a relief on the administrators for the teachers to be able to enter that in and then not to have to be a middleman >> eventually maybe. as we start, we're going to keep the process the same. >> Is that reflected in the soft cost savings? Because right now we have um
one and a half hours per day at each building for 139,000 in our estimate. >> Can you talk about the soft costs? >> Of course. So soft costs are associated with people that are it's not their dedicated job to complete but a portion of their job. So oftent times sub
secretaries will spend many hours a day touching substitutes, moving them around, calling for last minute placements which won't be necessary. Also when you think of people that might not be compensated like if you have a um
counselor or a um music teacher may not be compensated if they are covering a plan. they those are also associated with soft costs because they might not be compensated for that. But then when you look at principal responsibilities too
that is also associated with soft cost. Then you move to a district level and you have payroll individuals that a portion of their job is to process payroll and that's usually a large amount of their time um associated just with processing payroll to make sure all
of the things are are approved and everything is okay to make payment. that will be removed too and that will be a Kelly responsibility. >> But I just want to confirm that the admin time that is not included in the soft cost savings because they'll still be doing that. So the
>> they would still be doing that piece but then like for using for interviews for substitutes sometimes we use principles to help interview all of that pulling them out. So that would be even >> Is there a is there a like a maybe like
a report that you offer the district um for like a tracking of absences or parties or whatever? Is that is that something you guys maintain and produce to the district at all? >> So all of the reports that are in Frontline that you your users are
currently using will still be available for them. your principles will still get an email if they do not. If they don't now, they will um at 6:00 a.m. and 11:00 a.m. stating who is going to be out, who the substitute is, and then the 11:00
email showcases any changes that happened in between then. But also, if there are reports that you're wanting that maybe take a lot of time for someone in district office to pull every month, we can have that conversation during implementation. And we set that
up as the account managers here's responsibility if it's weekly, monthly, before a board meeting, any of those things so that they they know when those are due. And then if there's something that is ongoing that you want monthly, then we
set that up for an auto send. So it's automatically pushed to you on the day needed. >> One of Oh, sorry. I was just gonna say when you talk about reporting too, we utilize another piece too outside of Frontline PowerBI that's specific to
Kelly and that's monitoring your participation rate which is very important. It monitors multiple things but it's very important for the participation rate because we can have a pool of 800 individuals but if they're only working once that 800 pool isn't
doing us any good. So the client services team is responsible to monitor the PowerBI. It it's okay if people only want to work once a month, but we need to understand that and we need to adjust our pool size to that. We don't want to hire too many because then we have
people unhappy because they can't work. And then the people that want to work certain days might not be able to pick up assignments. So it's a science that we use to determine what that pool looks like and how many people should be in the pool. But that's something that's also evaluated through PowerBI. And
you'll also see s significant amounts of reports that come from PowerBI versus Frontline. What is um some feedback that you've received after school districts have signed with Kelly Services? You know, do
they feel like they have a better subfill rate? I mean, >> of course. Yes. Um and it the fill rate is up, your teacher morale is up as I mentioned. Um teacher retention is usually also something in soft costs that are looked at because when teachers
are happy, they stay. And so if they have their plan period and they can take off and not feel bad for their friend that's going to absorb their classroom, they're happier and they come to work and they stay. Uh so that has also been
something that we've heard a lot and and then the fill rate overall your your principles are happy. There's continuity in the classroom and they're seeing the same people every day. Your teachers are still going to have the option. Nothing changes there. It really as far as
substitutes. They're going to have access to benefits. Their payroll comes from a different place. But if they only want to work in one building and they only want to work for one teacher, that's okay. If they want to work five days a week, we love it. But we cater to
what they're looking for, so we make certain everyone is happy. >> Can a principal request a certain sub? >> Of course. >> Like for a long-term sub position, >> of course. So, anytime that you have a long-term opening, we have multiple ways of of coordinating how that works. that
even if it's a short term, if if a teacher is going to be out for two days, they still have the ability to identify a substitute. We do ask that they have a conversation with a substitute so the substitute knows they're coming, but they'll have a functionality just like
they do today in frontline to hit save and assign and that then that substitute gets the confirmation number that they're going to be on that. >> Great. um we have a list that you can type in that person's name and assign it and that is understanding you've already
talked to them before you assign them. Um so that's I teach at Liberty so um and I think that works great. It we certainly I teach foreign language so we always want specific people and um it generally works out really well. I just
text my usual subs. I'm like are you available these days and and it's really simple. It's the same same process. >> Can you talk a little bit about your experience as a teacher utilizing it and just being in the district? I think it'd be great for everyone to hear. >> Um, so
it's super easy. We do use front line. We go into front line. You can select your date. Um, and there is a list of people to choose from. And if you don't have a specific request, you can go ahead and just p bypass that step. And
um there is a like a click of a principal approval. So um but if it's just a single day, there's really no like no conversation whatsoever. Put in your day and you're done. And as long as there's a cut off, for example, I think
ours is by 700 a.m. because we start at 8:10, maybe 6:30. Um, so you can still plug it in in the morning even if you, you know, for example, me wake up with a sick kid. I can just get in the system and request my sub and really feel like
I'm not bothering anyone either. Um, and get my sub plans in immediately. And there is even a space for you to insert a document to link whatever your plans are. So there's really high level of I feel like communication opportunities with the sub, with administration,
whatever. And then I usually get an email that says principal approved. >> Good to go. >> And I had one question. So for districts who have transferred from in-house sub services to um to Kelly, about how many
of those substitutes transitioned? >> Usually we see over 90%. And what are the reasons for not transitioning? oftentimes that 90% are substitutes that really were actively working and they were on the roster.
They may pick something up if the perfect day comes and they don't have other responsibilities, but it's not something that that they were actively doing. So then they decide at that point that they don't want to transition and that they would prefer just not to
substitute anymore. I have one question and that is uh you have a lot of different benefits. >> Yes. >> And I've actually used Kelly for years off and on not on education but >> uh they did a great job. But so many
different benefits and options which is pretty cool. Uh so does the substitute have to work so many hours per month to be eligible for different ones? Is it all is it all different or how does that work? So after they are employed with
Kelly, they do not have to work. We encourage them to work, but they do not have to work a minimum amount of hours to continue their benefits. Now, they will have to work once, and this is not just for benefits, but overall, each
substitute does have to work one time every 150 days. And we let them know what's coming and encourage them to take absences. But after 150 days of not working, we take them out of the system. They're not terminated, but we remove them for multiple reasons. One is so
that we have a clean list, so we don't have our individuals calling on people that aren't going to work. But secondly, we want to make sure that nothing has transpired in those 150 days that was preventing them from working. So, we take them out and then we run a
background check on them before we allow them to come back to work. >> Love that. That's fantastic. I did have a question. Um, so out of the 31 states that you all serve already, are any of the districts that you're serving now 4 days school week?
>> Yes. >> Okay. >> I can't tell you who because they're um only because they're rural districts, so it's not something I'm overly familiar with, but yes, we have had four day school weeks um but not in large cities.
>> So that will be different for us. >> Yeah. So fantastic. I'm just curious to know if there's anything that stands out that's unique about their experience as a four-day school week with Kelly. >> You know, I I would have to I I'm happy to dive into that and get back to you with that answer. What I will say is we
were super excited for two for opposite reasons to partner with you. One is because we can recruit people that are only interested in working four days a week, but others the people that want to work five days a week, we surround you with our with neighboring districts. So if it's important to them to work every
day, they can scoot over to another district and they don't have to fill out any more paperwork or anything like that. They can just go to another district to work that day. >> Can you talk about how the sub pay compares for through Kelly versus
inhouse sub? >> It does. It's the same. So we pay exactly what the district pays and that never changes. If your neighboring partners increase their pay and it's
impacting your fill rate as a partner, we will come to you and share that with you. But unless you give us the approval, which we know needs to come to board and we have new contracts to sign and all of those pieces, nothing changes in the pay.
>> And do still have priority subs if they use Kelly or does that go away? So that will go away. The purpose of the priority sub is to help buildings. And then the last thing
is is um is this part of the um employment contract with the union? Um does it need to go through them before we make changes? >> No. Can you tell me what the starting fill rate was for like Mills and Kansas City
Grand View maybe like how much their fill rate increase? >> All three of those um districts were 45% or below. >> Cool. So almost doubled. Um, you also
said, hold on, I noted it. Um, that the transition subprocess was a little different. So, if they're already employed by ISD, what does that look like? >> So, we ask them to come to an orientation with us. And really, that's so they get to know us. So, we're not
scary. Um, and we get to know them. Um, and they feel comfortable making that transition, but also to hear the great benefits that they're going to have. We want them to take advantage of that. And if we just send them a link to a
brochure, how many of those do we all get? They may or may not look at them. But secondly, we need to make certain that they fill out all of their employment paperwork. We do ask that they do that online so they have to spend less time hanging out with us. But
if there's somebody struggling, then that gives them the opportunity to come in and sit down with one of our recruiters and fill out all of their paperwork. And then we are going to run a background again to make sure nothing has transpired since their fingerprints
before they move to Kelly Payroll. But it's a very simplistic process. So, when we talked about the pre-screen, the interview, the training, they don't have to do any of that. We take your stamp of approval and just move through to the tax
paperwork. >> I appreciate that. I like the benefit too of getting a second background. >> Yeah. And really the only time we do also ask them if they've ever been employed here before on our new hires and that's the only time we really need
to engage um HR because if they have worked here and they're not on your transition list, we're going to make sure that they're on the employment is okay to move forward with instead of the do not employ. >> I just had a couple of questions on the
financials from the cost comparison. Um, right now the subservices wages are listed as the same, but my understanding is that there is a 27% um on top of what we would pay the substitutes, what our rate is in order to pay for your services and everything
that that includes. So, I'm curious how those numbers can stay the same, especially if we're expecting our sub rate to increase our fill rate. So the number when you look at what you're putting into moving from a districtled program to moving to Kelly,
there's several things that we take away that are cost to the district. One thing is front line. So front line that you pay for now comes in our markup. Yes. And and that's included on this list. I'm just looking at that top line. Both of them say 1.4 million um in sub
services wages. And so right now they're equal for Kelly and ISD. But I'm curious how that works where you guys will still make something off of that because of the 27% increase. >> What I will say is that our um cost
savings will come from not having the priority subs is if that is the question that you're asking. >> Um no because that's not listed on here and I'm assuming it's not c it's not in the soft cost savings. Um,
so are we including our priority subs in that 1.42? >> No. So these are numbers that we received from the district in 2024 that we utilize to build this cost comparison. If you look all the way at the bottom, there's a slight cost savings to the district. Very slight
cost. And one thing to take into consideration when you look at payroll costs for easy math, if you pay $100, that's not what the district is paying. there's payroll taxes and and things associated with that which is where it kind of balances out from Kelly because if you look at a
13% payroll cost and then 27 to Kelly there's we're narrowing the gap everywhere we go there's a slight cost savings when you take out the priority substitutes but then when you include them there's about a $500,000 cost savings
that's not included on this document >> we wouldn't be paying the workers compensation anymore >> that's correct won't take that over. So, which is an audible policy. So, I don't know how much that would save us, Dr. Stout, but that would save some
throughout the year. >> So, >> and it's on it's listed as 71,000 that we're currently paying. Yes. >> So, also when you think about workers comp, oftent times your insurance is based on how many people you have paid
and so you're going to take hundreds of people off of your payroll. So, your annual premiums outside of the cost of what your accidents have been, but your annual premium should go down significantly as well because the cost
of people that you're employing, and I don't have the numbers in front of me, but we did an absence analysis about a year ago, and there were I'm going to guess a hundred people that worked here that worked 10 days or less in a substitute capacity, but they were still
that's still cycling through your payroll. Not to mention the time, effort, and energy it costs to recruit, hire, and train those individuals. Okay. So, we can we expect then I guess I'm sorry that I keep belaboring this point. I'm just really confused how
those two costs can be the same if we're hoping for a higher fill rate and more substitute teachers, the 1.42. I just want to make sure that we're knowing what we're getting into. >> So, this cost comparison is on your current fill rate. So you're absolutely correct when you say should your cost go
up a tad bit absolutely because we're going to increase your fill rate >> and so then we would also see the 27% on top of that. So if we were to in if we were still having substitutes in house and kept them there then we would be paying our rate but with yours we would
also be paying the 27% on top of that for each one of those. >> That's correct. But you're already even on your payroll you're paying a portion of that 27%. It's just not on the sheet because you're paying payroll taxes, workers comp, unemployment, all of those pieces.
>> Okay. So, is that the I'm sorry. Is the 27% in is that what that 186 549 is then? Because that's your Fed, FUTA, SUTA, WC, background, front line. >> That that's a cost for Kelly, not for the district. >> Okay. So, that's not included in the
27%. >> Everything is included in the 27%. >> Okay. So, that is included. Okay. Okay. There's not a cost outside of the 27% that you will be charged. >> Okay. So, the extra expenses plus the 1.4 would equal 27%.
So, everything the Kelly MU and I'm sorry, what is the Kelly MU 1.27? >> The mark. >> Okay, that's what that is. So, that's the 27%. So for easy math, if you paid substitutes $100 now, your bill rate
would be $127. We are going to near our adjournment for this work session. So I want to make sure that if anybody has one last question, you have the opportunity to do that. to I will entertain a motion to adjurnn.
>> Thank you. >> I'll move to adjourn. >> Second. >> All those in favor say I. >> I. As opposed to say nay. We didn't need a roll call for a work session. That's correct, right?
Okay. Um Is that correct? >> Yep, we're correct. Okay, we are attorneys. Part: 2
weather warning. Is that better? >> Oh, it's a watch. It's a watch. I don't want to use the word warning, right? >> Um, so, uh, the first item of of business is the approval of the agenda. I would like
to move to amend the agenda and um on item number 14 under new business change discussion of board of education or I'm sorry number 15 discussion of refund of sunshine law fees to approval of refund of sunshine law fees.
second >> discussion. >> Uh my understanding was that we had already discussed some of this and some of the legal implications and that we I would like for us to be ready to either approve or not approve.
>> Uh was this a open session discussion? It was not, but we will still have an opportunity to discuss it and then before we approve it, there will be discussion. >> Yeah, I understood that we were going to have this discussion in open session and so we were not ready to do a motion to do that because it needs to be open or
discussed publicly. >> Yes. Then we'll discuss it publicly um before we approve it or we can decide not to approve it. So we'll have that opportunity. >> So do we need to just all those in favor
of adding as an agenda item say I >> amending the agenda to add this to it. All those in favor say I. >> I. >> Those oppos say nay. The motion carries. Um we do not have any requests for
district citizen employees to speak this evening. So we're going to move straight into the consent agenda. I'll entertain a motion. >> I'll move to approve the consent agenda. >> Second. >> All right. Thank you. Um we have bills
totaling 27,469,18480. This is up from last year. Utility costs are up overall. Uh we did add additional sound panels to elementary gymnasiums or capatoriums as we like to call them. We upgrades to furniture. Uh concrete
repairs across the district. Um final payment with the Glendale roof repair that the board approved a while back as well as HVAC services, lights on the Bingham Field. Um those are some of the items that cost for the increase. So that's what I have there. >> Dr. Just curious out of the utilities. I
know all of us that live here in Independence, we continue to learn about the projected reading of utilities and that there was a penalty or something about that for what is that impacting the increase? >> I have not seen that. >> Okay. >> Any discussion?
>> All those in favor say I. >> I. Those oppos say nay. Motion carries. Up next, we have the superintendent report. Dr. >> All right. First and foremost, thank you to our board of education. Um, it is
board appreciation week and I hope you enjoy your small gift that was on your chair when you came in. So, thank you for your service and then just a small token of our gratitude. So, we just wanted to say thank you. Um, now as we transition, we'll talk a little bit
about uh what's going on in the legislature. Some bills uh for you to pay attention to. I've shared them um throughout the session. Um but I'll bring a few to note in my report this evening. We have House Bill 2872
uh which would require districts to use a single approved reading screener. Um right now we do have the option um to choose from a list that is approved by the state. This would also include a mandator a mandatory student retention for students who do not meet the required reading benchmarks at the third
grade. Uh Senate Bill 900 998 would expand Missou's school voucher program. Um Senate Bill 971, this is the open enrollment bill, school choice bill to take a look at. And if this passes, it
would be in implementation July 1, 2028. We also have House Bill 2710 which modifies what we know as our APR currently. Uh you had a presentation on that, but this would in institute an A throughF accountability system and it
would cap the number of A grades at 10% of school districts statewide. So those are the things that we are continuing to monitor at the state level happening in Jefferson City. Um it is also hard to believe that summer school enrollment and staffing applications are open and
that is happening and you're going to hear a little bit more about that on um under new business tonight. And then bond presentations are taking place throughout the community as we prepare for April 7th. Um we have several uh one or two a week leading up to that point.
So we're excited about that. The bond committee has been established and engaging and working hard. So there's a Facebook page out there as well. So that's what I have. Does the um bill about the reading screener does it state which one we
would use? >> It does not. >> Is there any other discussion? >> Okay. Under new appro uh first item is the approval of the substitute service. I'll entertain a motion.
>> Second, >> all right, I'm going to turn this over to Dr. Sha. >> Thank you, Dr. Graham. First of all, board, I thank you sincerely for coming early this evening so you can be a part of the work session and hear directly from Brandy with Kelly Services. and
Mandy, I certainly thank you for your time as well. Um, she is still here, so if there's any other pressing questions that have come in the last 10 minutes, I know she's here to answer those. But, uh, this evening, administration recommends the selection of Kelly Education for sub services at a cost of
1,87,145 discussion. I know I know we have some more people um here right now. So I kind of wanted to give a little summary. Um one of the benefits I think to using Kelly services is that some districts have seen an increase in their subfill
rate. So um the districts around us that use Kelly services are Lee Summit, Liberty, Shauny Mission, Pigma Mills, Grand View, and Cam City Public Schools. And um those last three that I named are
at like 80 80% 86% fill rate and previously were at like 40 and 45%. Um ISD's current fill rate is 70. So um obviously we're not going to jump by
40%. But um I really see that that would be a huge boost for me. Um it was something that weighed heavy on me a lot as a teacher when I was was asked to sub during my plan and um just
really contributed to building culture and um and your morale when you never have enough playing time in life in general. Um and you're asked to work and basically it turns into your only break
that day is your 20-minute lunch. Um, I think it makes a big difference that we would be able to respect plan time and teachers be able to work on their class or whatever that may be.
One of my big concerns, and I apologize if I misunderstood this, but when we had had a conversation and talked about it, I did not understand that the priority subs would be going away. Um, I understand the reasoning why cuz I guess we wouldn't need them if we went this direction. Um, but I feel like that they
have become such an integral part of our schools and they are a part of the staff and it breaks my heart to say thanks but no thanks and um, hope you find another position within the ISD. Um, that is one big thing that gives me some
hesitation. I also um have concerns that this doesn't that the cost comparison, which we talked about in the work session, um might not completely reflect what it will actually cost. And currently, right now, it's only projecting a savings of $3,881.
Um and I worry that we would lose that and then some and might actually be paying more. Um especially with an increased fill rate, which is wonderful. Um, but I we did have some wonderful comments and unfortunately um technology difficulties did not allow um Miss
Southerntherland who submitted an email to us um to speak tonight, but she had some great ideas and I would love to um look at what other school districts like Blue Springs are doing um and maybe there are some other opportunities
to increase our fill rate in house without going to a different service. Thank you. I do think it's important to note um that priority subs we have thought a lot about that and Dr. Stout please interject here as well but they would
have the opportunity to transition to Kelly services um and working with closely with them as well as reaching out to them for other positions within the district that we do have open um I know HR will be working through that and talking to them about that and we talked to our administrators about that as
well. Um it will look at approximate cost savings to the district with uh transitioning away from the priority subs about h um a half a million dollars. >> And and how many priority subs do we currently have? >> Um how many is that?
>> We currently have spots for 55 priority subs. >> And we would have positions for each of those 55 if they wanted to stay in the ISD. >> Go for I was going to say I'm not sure that we'll have positions for everyone, but we do know that they have a position
with Kelly in transitioning there, >> but that would just be a substitute position. They wouldn't be in the same building every day, 5 days a week, be part of the team, be integrated into the schools like they are now. >> They would not be assigned to a building. No, that is not correct. And I see Amy Chapel sitting back there probably waving her hands up and down to
say, "How many parent positions would you have?" Um, we currently have about 40. >> There you go. >> Yeah. And is the pay rate comparable to what they would make as a priority sub? >> Comparable. >> We'd have to look at that.
>> It would not be quite as much, but they would have benefits. >> But comparable. >> Comparable. >> It's comparable. >> Yes. >> Okay. I do have a question. Um, throughout your presentation, did I cut someone off? >> No. >> Okay. throughout your presentation, Brandy, and you can stay seated. I just
recall you saying um that teachers or staff persons could still prioritize their specific sub that they desired. Is it realistic to anticipate that if I wanted this to be quote a priority sub that I could make that a thing? Is that is that something you're familiar with?
I guess I am asking you to tell me the answer. I'm sorry. Thank you. >> Yes, absolutely. you would have the ability as a teacher to go in and put in your absence and assign whoever you would like. If you don't if you haven't had a conversation, then it goes out to the general pool. But anytime you put in an absence, you have the ability to
assign whomever you would like. >> Was there a term like can I assign this sub for six months or I don't know if that's even realistic. >> Yeah, there's limitations built in the system so that there can't be an accidental um absence put in for six months.
>> Okay. So any long-term positions they would have to go through HR. So whatever HR deems long-term, then they would that would open up. They would be halted, but then they would have the ability to assign that long-term, but they a teacher couldn't put in a long-term
assignment and assign somebody. It would have to go through HR. And then with the request to HR, then it would also say, I would like Mr. Smith as my as my substitute for that time.
Do current priority subs um get benefits as Kelly services will be offering? Do you know? >> Yes. >> Dr. Robinson, can you explain the benefits of the priority sub position?
Just so we're clear on >> So, is a priority sub the same as your full-time building sub? is that >> priority sub is >> is essentially the same thing. So they're in a building designated for that on a daily basis and can fill
whatever sub need there is for that building. >> Is it true though that if there isn't a sub need in that building they get moved over to another building with possibility >> they can be reassigned to another building >> and then they also serve as if someone needs to use the rest like they're also
all hands on deck. it's an extra staff member in the building for restroom breaks or for taking over if someone gets sick and has to leave like there's lots of benefits to having them in house there every day. >> I mean that is a benefit but that's a benefit that a sub could serve as well. >> If scheduled
are are we talking a difference in pay or is like I want to be clear about this because I mean these are things I guess I wouldn't think of. Um, so how different is it from a priority sub and then a sub at Kelly Services walking
a kid to a restroom if they don't have a dire need to be in a classroom or is it the same pay or is that something that has to be scheduled like you can't do this outside of this, you know, schedule order? >> Sounds like priority. Well, I mean like
the priority sub is already in the building and already there, whereas a substitute with Kelly Services or any any extra substitute would be called in to take the assignment. >> Sorry. Thank you. >> They wouldn't know that they're needed for a restroom break. >> Okay.
>> So, Wendy, you had referenced 38 $3,800 cost savings. Is that correct? >> Yes, that's what's on the cost comparison. >> Okay. And that cost comparison does not include the savings from not having priority subs. The cost saving conservatively from Dr. Hurl would be
$500,000. >> So half a million >> at least. Yes. >> At least. >> Um do we have an approximate cost of what Kelly Services would charge to cover all of the absences that our priority subs are currently doing? >> That contains that cost.
So the 500 is a savings and includes what the >> what it would cost to have those people subbing on a daily basis. >> So in my mind, correct me if I'm wrong here, but are you done? I'm sorry. You're good. Okay. Um, in my mind, what I'm trying to do is understand from
Brett from Ry's experience with this, she seems to believe that this is a good idea. Is that a correct reflection of how you feel? Uh, I think I would love the best of both worlds, which is what we have. >> Okay.
>> We have full-time building. So, but we also we use services. >> Okay. Um, so in my thinking, how does this 3,800 cost savings, which doesn't sound like a whole lot, but when you think about savings, I'll take anything I can, especially if my teachers are able to plan more and have some more
peace in mind. Is that a reasonable expectation or understanding of what we're seeing? would you say? >> So, is it not possible to have both? Is that just not within the agreement? >> That's for the >> No, it is not in our our plan to have
both >> nor our desire. >> Not right now. No, because that those funds will be utilized to assist with adding additional positions elsewhere as Dr. Hurl shared with our funding and what it's looking like. Um, we need to be cognizant of that as well. So, adding
additional positions in the special education world. um because numbers continue to increase. I think we're up quite a bit. Amy's back there shaking her head. Um so those funds will be utilized to provide staff for other positions. >> So with the agreement that we have
presented for us this evening, it doesn't say that we can't come back next school year and say, you know what, we tried this. We love Kelly. Can we add the priorities component to it? >> Yeah. Yeah, you could. We could do that. >> Dr.
Sorry, Director Barrett. I'm promoting you, girl. Hey, so just with that being said, wanting to see how we could put these things together and work together forward. Would that be appealing in ways that we could maybe get to the middle maybe? >> I mean, I'm just worried about a bunch
of um we have it was 55, is that correct? Priority subs currently. That's 55 folks without um a position next year >> potentially, right? Because they can't apply. they can apply. Um, but it might be not the same wage and it might be something that they're they may not have
an interest in being a Farah and enjoy being a substitute. It could be a >> whole bunch of different things. >> I mean, one of one of the things that I keep in mind is that those priority subs are on a year contract. They are not on a long-term contract. So, it is possible that those subs have already made a
decision they won't be coming back in that same position or that they want to move to a different um job. Um, and so because it is that one term, uh, or that is a one-year contract that we give them as a priority sub, we are not laying
people off that that contract ended. >> No, I understand, but we're still saying that there's not going to be a position for you as a priority sub next year. Um, even if they wanted it. >> Yeah. And there are many. Um, I know the folks at my daughter's school have been there
ages. Um, and they're well known and well-loved and yeah, respected and supported and they're part of the team. Throw throw in when needed. >> Have we considered speaking to dis the building administration to have their buy in on something like this? For
example, if we have a priority sub that is beloved and well known and very effective with our community and teachers and family and parents, uh, we would love to see them retained. Is that even a possibility to entertain? >> Again, those funds would be utilized to
add those other additional positions, >> but they they will be moved over to Kelly and have the ability to say, "I only want to work in this school and I'm willing to work 5 days a week." And so they can still do that in one school or five days a week.
>> True. I mean I at the end of the day we have counselors that we are paying to be counselors going into classrooms and covering for teachers who are absent. We have gym teachers teaching English. We
have music teachers doing math lessons. We do not have enough substitutes to take care of educating our children. And so I think that is one of the the things that I value most about um our district
looking into other solutions to fix this problem when we only have a 70% fill rate of our substitutes. We have empty positions and we're not educating our children the best that we can. And I would just add to that that is something
when I meet with the associations um once a month prior to board meeting of you know it is a concern when teachers have to give up their plan time that time is valuable um there's way too much to have to get done and then adding this on top of it or at the elementary level when kids are split between classes and
that that makes a difference and so um providing this opportunity would definitely make a difference in that regard. I think we're ready for um a vote. All those in favor say I. >> I. Those opposed say nay. >> Nay.
>> The motion carries. >> Moving on to item number two, approval of the adult educational literacy grant application. I'll entertain a motion. >> I move to approve the grant. Second,
>> Dr. Grant. >> All right, Dr. Bo. >> Good evening. Um, the adult education and literacy grant is currently up for renewal. This grant provides critical funding to support a comprehensive range of services designed to meet the educational and workforce needs of adult
learners in our community. Through this grant, the ISD AAEAL program delivers the following services: adult education, literacy services, workplace adult education and literacy, English language acquisition, workforce preparation,
integrated education and training, and integrated English literacy and civics education. These services are aligned to support adult learners in achieving academic um advancement, career readiness, workforce participation, and
civic engagement. In addition, we're expanding our program offerings to better meet the community and workforce demands. The following new initiatives will be integrated or introduced as part of the ISD AEAL program. Substitute teacher and para educator training,
entrepreneurialship training and civics and naturalization course. These new courses are programs are designed to strengthen local workforce pipelines, promote economic development and support individuals seeking career advancement.
The total AAL uh grant budget for the three-year cycle is $466,59167. And of this amount, $381,63.84 is requested from the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education with the Independent School District contributing $85,5289
over a three-year period. The administration is requesting the approval of the AEAL grant. >> Any discussion? All those in favor say I. >> I. All those opposed say nay.
>> Motion carries. >> Item number three is the approval of the accounting textbook for the 2026 2020. I move that we approve the accounting textbooks. >> Second, Dr. Grant. >> Dr.
>> All right. The high school accounting teachers conducted a thorough review of Century 21 accounting general journal 12th edition using the district's standardized textbook review feedback form to evaluate the standards alignment, instructional components,
assessment quality, digital materials, and teacher resources. Based on this comprehensive review, the recommendation is to adopt the Century 21 accounting general journal 12th edition for accounting one and accounting 2. The review indicates that this resource
fully aligns with the Missouri learning standards and national standards, earning the highest rating in all standards aligned to these categories. As an updated edition of the textbook used success successfully in our schools for the past 10 years, this version
includes critical updates to current tax forms, payroll deductions and documents and laws, ensuring that students receive accurate and relevant instruction aligned to modern business practices. While the digital resources are strong, the teachers have identified the importance of maintaining a paperbased
option to support student learning. Specifically, they request including their requests include 30 physical copies of the student text for each class along with at least one paper version of the working papers or permissions to produce printable versions of the instructional resources.
We request the board's approval of the Century 21 accounting general journal 12th edition for use in accounting 1 and two, including the purchase of 30 physical textbooks and accompanying access to online and duplicate working paper resources. And this would be for
six years. question on the accounting textbooks. I'm assuming that they're able to get updates during that period of 10 years previous six years going forward. It's not like they have that information because I mean being a CPA, there's no
way that things are not going to change in the next six years, >> right? And that's the purpose of that online resource. They provide updates throughout. So the printed would be until the next version comes out, but that's the reason why we also purchase the online resource because those are
continually updated as um new information comes out. >> Thank you. >> Y >> any other discussion? All those in favor say I. >> I. Those oppos say nay. Motion carries. Item number four is the approval of the
biology textbooks for the 2026, 2027, and 2027, 2028 school year. >> We need a motion. >> So moved. >> Second. >> Dr. All right. The high school biology teachers in collaboration with our
district instructional coach Matt Bannon conducted a thorough review of two biology textbooks using the standardized scoring rubric to evaluate the content and alignment. Based on this review, the teams recommended adopting a one-year extension of the current Science
Dimensions Biology online license for the 2627 school year, followed by the adoption of the science de dimensions biology version two beginning in the 2728 school year. This adoption would include student and teacher online
license as well as hardcover student and teacher editions. This textbook and its accompanying online resources are highly recommended by the teachers and staff and closely align with materials currently in use. The staff believes that this resource will effectively support the student mastery of content
and adequately prepare the students for their subsequent science courses. We request the board's approval of the science dimensions biology version two textbook which would provide online licenses for the next six years. Discussion.
All those in favor say I. >> I. Those post say nay. Number six, approval of the studies weekly for we at five. >> Okay. Item number five, approval of the comprehensive health textbook for the
2026 2027 school year. >> I'll make that motion. Second, >> Dr. >> All right. The high school health teachers are requesting approval to update their current health textbook by purchasing the newest edition of the same text currently in use. This updated
version continues to align with the Missouri learning standards and the national standards. The resource is comprehensive health and includes a classroom set of textbooks along with a six years of online access. Our current license will expire at the end of the school year. The administration
recommends the purchase of the comprehensive health for high school health classes. And again, this is for six years. >> All those in favor say I. Do you want to have discussion? You're welcome. All those in favor say I. >> I. Those oppos say nay. Motion. Item
number six, approval of studies weekly for the 2026 2027 school year. I'll make that motion. >> Second. Dr. >> The studies weekly would replace the teacher created virtual learning slides that have been used as a primary
curriculum resource since 2020. The studies weekly scope and sequence is directly aligned to the Missouri social studies learning standards. ELA is embedded throughout the scope and sequence. Weekly magazines will engage students in rich printed non-fiction
text. Academic and domain specific vocabulary are taught within these context. It includes inquirybased discussions that support ELA speaking and learning standards. There are primary and secondary sources also embedded. Teachers are provided with a
complete teacher guide and student resources which are paper magazines. The paper magazines and teacher guides are sent are sent upfront at the beginning of the year. Assessments are available by unit, but also formatives for each week are built within the unit. Teachers
can edit the assessments and save them from year to year. If the standards change, studies weekly will update and the schools will also receive the most up-to-date resource. The administration is requesting the purchase purchase of the studies weekly for our elementary social studies resource and this would
be a three-year online and print request. question. >> Is it um I'm assuming it's always a thing when you transition to a new service. Is this particularly cumbersome or because it's already laid out? Um
will it be easier on our teachers or any thoughts on that? >> Yeah, it's actually a a beautiful resource and I wish I would have brought one of the prints, but um they're newspapers. Um they're probably a little bit larger than a standard newspaper. um
and they would be used for um a week's worth of lessons. Um so there's about they they send us the whole year, but it's also an online there will be training during cross district professional development. And so um it is just a really neat opportunity also
for our kids to touch newspapers again and not just have everything online. So >> journalism major. I love that. Um, so they actually use the same newspaper for a week's worth of lessons in social studies. That's fantastic. So they keep going back to it. >> Yeah. And there are online opportunities
that they can go and um actually gather other up-to-date resources as well um as they're talking about the current article and it'll be a K5. So that's what's really neat is they tailor it to the grade level and the reading level. Um, and so I'm really excited about
bringing this on and so is the team. Not just me, but the team is. So >> thank you. Yeah. >> All those in favor say I. >> I. >> Those opposed say nay. Motion carries. >> Item number seven is the approval of the
employment calendars for the 2026 2027 school year. >> I'll move to approve those calendars. >> Second. Right. Dr. Plater. Good evening. How are you all today? Um, you should have access to the
calendars for our 10-month, 11 month, and 12 month. And so, uh, today we're asking you to approve those. I just want to quickly go through the different calendars. I'm going to start with the 10. I'll do the 11 and do the 12. Uh, 10-month calendar, um, for next year. The first contract day would be July
23rd, 2026 with the last contract day uh being May 28th of 2027. That's a total of 993 days which include four flow days and then three holidays. The 11-month calendar, the first contracted day would
be July 21st of 2026. The last contract day on June 30th of 2027 for a total of 215 days, which include five float days and three holidays. And for our 12-month calendar, the first contract day is July 1st. Uh, and the last of 2026, the last
contract day would be June 30th of 2027. So, that's a total of 250 um contract days, which includes five holidays. So, I'll take questions if you have them, but that's how the calendars are for next year. >> Can you um reiterate which employee
groups are on like the 10 on each calendar? >> Sure. So, First off, I also want to say that overall we have 29 calendars are developed out of these by the way. And so um know that we work with our directors once these uh three are
approved. Uh but for example, our 10 10 month include assistant principles um at the middle school level. Um our 11 month calendars include um some of our employees are administration again. or
principles, assistant principles, athletic directors of that. Uh we do have some obviously nutrition services and then also that are on the 10-month, the 11 month and then also the 12 month. Um a lot of our 12-month calendars are going to be our again directors um
central office staff. Uh we don't have any administrators at the school level that are on 12-month calendars. Um but again, you know, a lot of our employees that that fall, for example, paras, uh recovery rooms and so forth, they're on
our teacher calendars that that we provided for. Early education is another group that falls within our 12 month. Uh we do have some positions, um secretaries and so forth that would fall in the 10, 11, and 12 month. Um
I I can't name them all. There's some in nutrition service. We have one health secretary for example that's a 12 month u most of them are either the 10 or the 11 month as well. >> Thank you. >> Um and I know we've spoken about this before Dr. Grant and um I know we can't
do anything about it right now but for these folks on the 10 and the 11th and 12 month calendar. Um, I hope we continue to think of creative ways to make sure that um, they are also able to take part in the child care benefit on the days where they have to work where the other buildings might not be open because they're on a different calendar.
Um, and so I just hope that we keep working towards some sort of solution so that folks are able to focus on their work and not have to take vacation days all the time to get those days. So, thank you. >> All those in favor say I. I. Those
opposed say nay. Motion carries. >> Item number eight is the approval of the appointment of the Jackson County Board of Equalization. >> I'll second. All right. This is something that we approve each year. It is the administration's recommendation to
appoint Deborah Allen and Yori Flu as the alternate to represent the district on the 2026 Jackson County Board of Equalization. Um, this board hears appeals for property values, adjust valuations
and equalize assessment and address uh correct any errors um omitted properties, things like that. Yeah. So, thank you for your consideration. >> Just a thunderstorm warning. >> But,
>> big. >> Um, all those in favor say I. >> Oh, I had to ask question. >> Oh, there you are. >> I was distracted. I'm like one of the um so um how many years has Miss Allen been our representative for the last several
I believe um when I spoke to her she was willing to continue to do that so that commitment yes any more discussion all those in favor say I those say nay motion carries
item number nine is the approval of the 2026 summer school program. >> Move that we approve the 2026 summer school program. >> Second. >> All right. We have um Erica Smith. Good evening. The administration
recommends that the school district conduct a 2026 summer school program. The summer success program for GA grades K12 would be held May 27th through June 26, four days per week, Tuesday through
Friday. Summer school will be in attendance on Monday, June 15th, and off on Friday, June 19th. The school district will hire teachers and administrators to staff the program. The sites are as follows. Elementary, the early schools from 8:30 to 2:50 will be
Castle Park in Santa Fe. The other elementary schools from 9:30 to 3:50 will be Benton, Blackburn, Lu, Malinsson, Mil Creek, Spring Branch, and William Southern. Bridger for sixth
grade will be open from 8:35 to 2:55. Bingham for grades 7th and 8th will be open from 8:25 to 2:45 and will include Independence Academy students from 8:35 to 255. Truman High School will be for
grades 9 through 12, open for from 7:15 to 1:55. We're looking for approval for the 2026 summer school session and sites for the various courses classes that will be offered. Thank you. >> Any discussion?
>> Yes. Questions? This goes back to Miss Brandy. I think she referenced this already 12-month program. So that would include summer school program, right? that they're they're pling services good staff, right? Is that correct? Yes. Okay. Thank you.
>> All those in favor say I. >> I. >> I. Those oppos say nay. Motion carries. >> Item number 10 is a three-year contract with Imagine Learning Ingenuity Virtual
Platform. I move that we approve the three-year contract. >> All right. This is our online learning platform that we utilize. It replaced fuel ed for credit recovery oper options as well as virtual learning
opportunities. So, we would ask that you approve a three-year contract. It has worked out well. Um that for implementation, >> was this a three-year contract previously? No, we were trying it out.
>> Used it for one year. >> Yes, Dr. Maglinger. One year. >> Is it a three-year contract? >> One year. >> Yeah. >> And I assume it's going well. Yes, it is. >> Do we get any kind of price break for a
three-year contract? >> We do. Um, for the difference, we will save approximately um, $3,200 a year. We do a kind of um, survey or um, group
information from those in the district that are using it to be able to get some kind of feedback on making this decision to go for the three. >> Are you talking for with students or with staff? >> I was thinking of staff, but I guess either one. So staff does have input
into how it's going because we have teachers who manage this and work directly with Dr. Madlinger on that. That is definitely something that we could if we wanted to survey students, we could. >> Approximately how many students do we have currently using this program? >> Dr. Mager, you have that number.
First of all, the the feedback for Egeneuity um compared to what we had with Huled vastly different in a good way. Uh the program in the platform is more robust. It gives us uh more
accountability measures that are built in. Um the feedback that we've gotten from teachers and students and even uh parents has been really really good. uh they really enjoy this platform versus the other one. And then as far as how
many are currently using it, uh 516 are currently using it. Do we expect that to increase with the 750 max or >> so 750 that's per semester and so last semester
uh we were up to 600 some um so yes it it can go up to that amount >> and correct me if I'm wrong but they offer more opportunities than fuel did correct platforms for students management
>> correct so they they have a package uh that is more robust. Uh you have CTE offerings uh that are built in. Uh whereas uh the previous vendor, if you went outside of the package, you had to
purchase uh one-off classes. And so with this one, they've been very responsive. We've had some one-off request and they're like, "You know what? Don't worry about it. We we've gotten this. um uh we'll we'll take care of it. And so
they have been very responsive to our needs and the questions that we've had. >> So it sounds like this is a a program that works well for our district. Um one of my concerns is is this is a
three-year contract and I know that we have an incoming superintendent and so I always want to be mindful and thoughtful of what that person can consider add to that discussion. Uh, but with that being said, my my I guess my earnest concern is if we were to like not enjoy this three-year contract, let's say year two
midcontract, is there a cancellation fee? I'm sure there is. And do we know what that is? >> Um, that's something I I have not looked into. Uh, I'm assuming you can cancel a contract, but there's going to be penalties and fees involved with that.
And >> I I don't anticipate that happening. I just I want to be as thoughtful as I can be with a three-year contract um is is is a a serious undertaking. So, but it sounds like it served us well and we have the support through administration to say this is what what we want to do
um with credit recovery. >> Yeah. the the previous uh vendor that we had, we were with them for say 10 years uh maybe even longer than that, but uh definitely a decade and uh
this vendor we have gotten more in this year as far as data and responsiveness um uh grade reports, anything that that we've needed uh is readily available to us. Um and so it's been greatly
appreciated with the customer uh response time and everything that they've given us. >> Okay. Thank you. >> Any more discussion? All those in favor say I. >> I. Those oppos say nay. Motion carries.
>> Thank you. Item number 11 is the approval to accept and sign the proposal for the boiler replacement for the Cordi Elementary School. I move that we accept and uh the approval to accept the uh and signed
proposal for boiler replacement. >> Second. >> All right, Dr. Stout. >> Thank you. Uh the boiler at Cordi is over 20 years old and has stopped working. There are two boilers at Cordium and we're currently running the entire building off of only one at this
time. We would ask that the board of education accepts a proposal from Liberty Mechanical Services in the amount of $176,289 under the Omnia com uh cooperative contract uh this evening and to assure you that this work would take place over
the summer months. Happy to answer your questions. >> I'm just curious. I don't ever remember saying sign the proposal in the item. Is there any particular reason why that's there? >> I guess I need to see you sign this
then. Okay. >> Somebody. Okay. Thank you. >> All those in favor say I. >> I. >> I. Those say nay. >> Motion carries. Item number 12 is the approval to accept and sign proposal for the chiller
replacement for 40 elementary. >> I move that we approve this proposal for a chiller replacement. Uh the current chiller is close to 25 years old accordion. Uh this is the last of our R22 chillers in ISD and the new
one will be much more efficient as we will not have to purchase R22 refrigerant. Uh this evening we would ask that the board approve the purchase of a new chiller for Cordy in the amount of $738,876 from Liberty Mechanical Services under
the Omni contract. Um just a note this would this work would take place in the fall and winter after the cooling season is over. >> These chillers last 30 years or longer. >> We're hopeful. >> I don't know what the guarantee is, but
uh they last a while. Okay. >> Um, with these both being at Cordy, can we expect other buildings to be looking at similar replacement costs in anytime soon, particularly from that side of the district? >> Yeah, it's a great question, Wendy. Greg's here. I know that he has a
significant map with all of these on years when we're projected to come up. So, these happen to hit at the same time. I know there's others coming at us, but I don't think two in the same year. I know in homes a lot of times you get heat and cooling in the same equipment.
Is that a possibility for schools or is it something that the uh the need for I can see where they go? >> Yes, some some of our schools do have that. But this boiler specifically, if we wanted to get into that, it would cost over a million dollars. So, we are
actually doing the cheaper version of fixing it. It's a steam boiler. So, we're putting back in a steam boiler. >> Thank you. >> And the answer to your question was we pretty much wait for things to fail
and that are this large of a project before we fix or replace them. >> All those in favor say I. >> I. Those say nay. Motion carries. Item number six 13 is the approval to accept bid and contract for the asphalt
concrete replacement districtwide. >> I make that motion. >> Second. >> Yes. Uh start off with some good news. We say we receive great participation with biders and also receive very competitive bid numbers. So happy to share that. We would ask that the board
of education work a bill in $463,9695 from advanced asphalt paving and concrete. Uh this number was significantly under our projections and budget which is great news. This will cover asphalt replacement of following schools this summer. Mil Creek, Spring
Branch, Malinson, Cordy, Three Trails, and also Crackfield and Sil Coat William Southern and Be This contract has been reviewed by Mr. McGee and his department and our architects. discussion.
>> All those in favor say I. >> I. Those oppos say nay. Item number 16 is oh wrong number on it. Okay. So we item number 13 from 14 is discussion of the board of education
code of >> Thank you. Thank you madam president. Good evening again everyone. I wanted to uh take an opportunity just to share uh with my peers in our audience this evening our code of civility. Um, and I want to read this line by line for those
of us who are here this evening to hear and those who will uh review the live stream and of just how important it is that that we uphold these principles among ourselves. Um, and so to promote a positive collegial
atmosphere with mutual honesty, integrity and respect among professionals, staff and patient patents, sorry. um independent school district board of education and superintendent has developed the following code of
civility. Our first code is respect. Treat all board members and the superintendent, staff, students and families with respect and in a professional and courteous manner at all times, whether in person or in written communication, including email and social media.
Our second code is courtesy. Embrace courteous discourse, oral, verbal, non-verbal, and electronic, and refrain from using profanities, insults, or other disparaging remarks. Avoid using
your own personal lens to infer the motivations of others. Extend grace whenever possible, and seek to clarify intent of all communication when unsure. Our third code is truth. Endeavor
endeavor to speak truthfully and not knowingly misrepresent, mischaracterize, misquote professional or private information received from others. Stand up for truth from others. Vow to respectfully and professionally voice
when others are not being truthful. Responsibility. Take responsibility for your own actions. Maintain personal integrity. Keep promises and support open professional communications. Cooperation. Work together with all
board members, the superintendent, staff, students, and families in a spirit of cooperation toward our common goals of seeking and providing highquality results for our district. Collaboration. Foster a sense of inclusivity and work and teamwork.
Include others whenever possible and lift up each other and our respective strengths. Privacy. Strive to uphold the right to privacy and not share private confidential information. And our last code is non-discrimination.
Respect the differences in people and their ideas and opinions and reject bigotry. Support tolerance of differing points of view. I think it's important to share this and revisit this as we are welcoming um two
new board members to our team. Um, and I think it's just really important to emphasize how important it is that this is to us. Um, there was a reason why we brought this uh together. And I want to ask publicly, my peers, that we honor this and reaffirm our intention and our
sincere devotion to making sure when we see this being broken, that we don't wait later to apologize. Um, although an apology is always welcome. Um, but we speak up in the moment. Um, I will be very frank and candid. There have been times where I have felt that this has
been um broken here on this dis and there have been text messages and calls um to me that said, you know, I'm sorry. I should have spoke up when it happened. And I just want to openly and publicly say that I need that and you have my support. If I see that happening, I will
speak up um and and ensure that we are acting responsibly and respectfully. I would honestly like to hear us embrace that together this evening. And I want to start I want to start actually and I want to offer my apology to you director bear. Um although we have a good relationship and I value that you are a
professional and I should not you know mischaracterized that we play up here. This is not a playing space and earlier I played with you. Um but that is a sincere reflection of the respect and kindness that we share. That is not an excuse to joke that way because this is
serious business that we're doing. And so I don't ever want to minimize that and I certainly don't want to mischaracterize that you're not professional or serious in your role. So thank you. >> I think um that it's beautiful thing to have a group of people that have
different point points of views and that's what we should be because we all come from different spaces and but we're all professionals and should be able to have our conversations and discuss whatever we may be approving. Um at the
same time respecting everyone >> I think it's yeah fine and good to review this um frequently. We do have several other documents that kind of guide our our behaviors and our conduct and those are like board norms. We have several um board uh board policies. We
have one about board member ethics, the role of an or individual board member, board member visits to buildings and a school board's role and responsibilities. And I have those numbers, too. But my thought is as we do bring on two new board members and a new
superintendent, perhaps all of these documents together, we can explore a little more in depth um maybe in a in a board retreat this summer or something. I think any organization that everybody in Congress had something like
this maybe maybe it wouldn't but maybe we have a better chance of having success when I was rereading the philosoph This is something mayor of our city first female mayor mayor
but she had some rough times very rough times She and my mother were riding together. So we were my folks. One thing I remember her saying to me is
because I remember asking how did so much and other problems. And I remember her saying to everybody to their values like Jesus, took responsibility for
things. He did not problems. refused to take. Any other discussion? I'm going to move on to item number to the bottom. I'm not sure. We will go ahead and leave
it in its current place. Um, but the amended um motion to approve the refund for sunshine laws. >> I move that we approve the um refund of sunshine law fees. >> Um I'll start. Um, I had learned through
an article in the examiner um that the ISD had charged for our superintendent and other um highle contracts um contracts. It was a nominal fee about $20. Um but I believe in the interest of
transparency and for something with that kind of public interest, I think it's important that we allow access um to those documents, especially when they're readily available. No one had to go and research them. I had them in my folder and if it had been appropriate to do so, I could have provided them to somebody
who had asked. Um, I think it's important to build relationships with our local media and our local publications. Um, versus making it hard. Um, and so I would like to see us in the interest of goodwill refund the fees
that were incurred for those contracts. >> I'd like to speak into that. I think that it is important that we maintain consistency in what I what our practice is and that we treat everyone the same. You know, when they request certain
documents or whatever it is that takes research that we do abide by precedents and what we've done in times past. Um, and I want to be very clear. I do believe that that is important. I equally believe that we should handle these at a case by case level and use
reasonable judgment. In in many ways these are our partners. I mean we want to have a good relationship. Um, we depend on our partners to uh be of good faith and nature toward us and for us and and honestly in particular um I
think we have a really good relationship with this partner and um whether it's $2 million or $20 it to me the dollar amount really doesn't make the difference. is the principal. And so I would like to support this and seeing us refund this and not only refund it this
time, but in the future when you know it gets, you know, maybe within that $20 range, hopefully we can just say, you know, we can we can do this for free. Um, and I am not saying that people's work is is not counted or important or
or worthy of pay. Not suggesting that at all. But I find it hard to calculate when I too had the the contract with me. I mean it charged me if you need to. I don't know. But I mean I had it too. So it's just in good faith. I think it would be a good good idea to refund
this. So >> I would say that um I would be u willing to consider some kind of a dimminimous amount um going forward uh that we forgive. Um, I think when we sadly in
today's culture, we pick and choose which are okay and which are not. We set ourselves up for problems. So, I'd like to make sure that it's something that's very clear um and um
easily defended. So, I I would probably support something in the future. Um I would like to not go back Do we have something in writing that states what the formula is for this? Is that
>> it's all based in the statute. >> Um so the statute says what we can um whenever request is made it's like 10 cents per copy. It's um you can charge for the salary of the of the person. And
I think our district our district does the lowest rate of the person who is obtaining the information. Um there is a formula that is is established in the statute. >> How does that work if you're not copying? You're just sending an email.
>> Well, unfortunately, when someone does a sunshine request, it isn't just a matter of copying an email. It has to be vetted by all parties in the district to assure that the information is correct. Um So there are there are hands that are
touching that are not necessarily just the person that is in charge of sending the information. >> Right. But if you're not actually printing a document, how does 10 cents work out? >> I I'm telling you that's what the statute says. I didn't say that that's
what we do. The statute said it has criteria in there for how you can charge. And I think if there's no paper exchanging hands, then it's the the employees time is how it's charged.
And and that's where I struggle. Mike, it loves me. Um that's where I struggle because it was something that I imagine we expected to get a sunshine request on and we all had it available. And so I would hope that um especially of things
with that much of a public interest, we're hiring a new superintendent. Um we hired a new interim superintendent. So and um Dr. Hurle transitioned to a new position. I understand that people were curious and it was in the public interest to know what those numbers and the specifics of the contracts were. Um
that we would have been prepared to do that. Um, and so to me it makes sense that we do not charge for those things when we know that it's going to be asked
of us and we can be prepared to have it and all of us had that same information. So to me, it makes sense that we even if it's just this one time and we could even say only superintendent contracts at this time and we revisit it and maybe add a policy of what we do charge for or or wave I guess because we technically
can charge for whatever we want. But if we want to create a policy that enables us to um to wave certain things and not others, then that's I think on us. But for this one, I would encourage us to say yes, superintendent contracts, they're fair game.
I do think that in a district our size that is always going to be a question and I agree and I'm on board with that and and totally agree to revisit the statute to just look at that and see where we
can make sure that we're following a precedent act to make sure that we're not trying to single out certain instances. I do think it's important to note refunding of the sunshine laws does set um a picture of unequal treatment.
Others have paid fees, right? And um but would not receive refunds. It also sets a retroactive precedent. So that inviting additional refund demands and expectations within that. And I do I think it's important to honor our staff that has a lot of workload and um their
time is valuable. And so I think we need to consider that when the decisions made. >> Um Oh, sorry. >> My concern, excuse me, my concern with that and and I I agree with you Dr. Grant. My my push back to that frankly is I had the contract and so the same
concern that we would have in getting the contract to be reviewed for whatever reason we need to have it reviewed among the staff people that had to retouch it. it was literally in the the body's hands that made the decision to approve it
already. So, what is it that we're reviewing? It just gives me concern that maybe I don't know are we are we just trying to find a way to say no or are does it make sense? And is for me it's not making a lot of sense that we approved a
contract that potentially had error maybe or like what reason did we not have it readily available? I guess that's what I'm not understanding >> and I don't disagree with that. I'm saying that we need to follow our consistent practice so we don't create
unequal treatment and do something retroactively that would increase the potential for others to do the same. So I don't disagree with you. >> I agree. >> Our consistent practice, >> right? And I I support that. And and my honest question is okay,
what did we charge the $20 for? Like literally what was it built for? >> The time >> that it took for someone to what? Like maybe we just need to talk about this at a different time. I don't know. But I'm just trying to understand like what did we literally build for? Like if it was >> the time that it took
>> to send >> Yeah. to pull it up to have HR review it and then to do that. Yes. >> How many um sunshine requests did we get for the superintendent contract? >> How many did we have? Just the one. >> Okay. So, I think that we could just um
approve that we refund anyone who paid for the contracts and then everyone would be included for that >> and then going forward it's already been provided and we know what should be provided so that we could if someone else asked for it they can have it at no cost. I think one of the things that I
find most concerning is that a sunshine request was made and our policy and our practice was followed. Or maybe it's not a policy. I apologize for using the word policy, but our practice was followed. It doesn't matter what the request is.
If it's a sunshine request, the practice needs to remain the same. And you can't pick and choose who you're going to say you are assessed a fee and you are not assessed a fee. You were refunded a fee. you are not refunded the fee. We have to stay consistent and that is our board
our job as this board to have the best interest of our district first and foremost at all times. And so for that reason, I would not recommend that we refund anyone for a sunshine request. And as someone who previously
before I joined this diet and who submitted many many sunshine requests, um I think I was only charged for one of them. So, it's not actual practice to do it for every single one. Um, so we can take that as it will, but I was only charged, I think I wrote one check to
the ISD in the couple of years that I was submitting some shine requests. way to bring way to bring it down. >> No, you're right. I agree. Yeah, I think for the record I I just what I care about is the and I maybe I'm
just getting really sensitive here, but I care about the morale of our community and as we take so much on in the coming months and years, we just we need to demonstrate yes, consistency Absolutely. I would I would literally be
willing to speak to whoever would oppose refunding this and defend our position. To me to me it just seems petty. It really really does. And it's it's difficult for me to call this abiding by
rules when it just it just seems really icky. And I don't think our community needs us to send the message that we're abiding by this policy for $20 to a local newspaper. I mean, hopefully the policy committee, I'm aligned with Blake, I think this is a good idea that
that that goes to them. Uh, but they can consider, you know, maybe when local media requests these types of things, we absolutely do not charge. That's just a recommendation, but I I would like to support this idea to get it to the committee. And and I think that we could still do this now and it I don't think
it has to be an eitheror. I think it can be a both and. I do think that there would be value in adding it to um one of our as one of our policies. But I think for right now there was one entity that requested the superintendent contract. We charge them a very very tiny rate.
And I would agree with Anony's um character characterization that it does feel petty. It feels icky. I want to bring us back to the code of civility that we need to show courtesy and not infer that someone felt or was had intention to do something and that is
what we are saying we need to use our board of con of civility here >> our code of civil >> and I wasn't saying that someone was acting in that sense but the fact and yes we're allowed by law to um charge what we want under the sunshine um
statute but it because we didn't need to. We didn't need to. And so I just want us to be really careful in the interest of transparency and good faith. I think it's in everybody's best interest to give what was it three total for the three contracts, $60 or whatever it is. I
would like to see us refund that money. >> I do think that we need to get back to the question at hand. Um, I the only thing I would like to say in before we vote is that we should be extending grace to an
interim superintendent and a new uh secretary who's doing this job for the first time. Previous administration may have done something, but this administration was looking at the way that um the statute was written. They were following the statute that we have
directed them to follow. and I appreciate you doing that. I know there was no malice intent or um you weren't trying to do something for a particular entity by charging them the minimal amount. So, thank you. Um but it is time
for us to go ahead and vote for uh this >> I am sorry that was the furthest from my intentions to to personalize that at all. That is not what I meant. I fully expect everyone to do their job and I
appreciate you wholeheartedly and trust that you have not a malice intent in your body. I want to be abundantly clear and frankly I didn't even know you were technically involved in the process to be honest. So I just want to make that very very clear. Um I do not minimize anyone's effort or work ethic. I expect
everyone to do their job the way they should. I just feel that it doesn't look like what I would like to represent in this community and that's I just wanted to have that space to speak into. Um I'm ready to vote. So >> all those in favor of refunding the
Sunshine Law fees um say I >> I. >> Those opposed say nay. >> Nay. >> This does not pass. Item number 16 is the approval for declaration of surplus items.
I move that we approve the approval of approve approval of declaration of surplus items. >> All right. We do this quarterly. Uh you have the list there in front of you to approve the items for surplus. Any discussion?
All those in favor say I. >> I. Those opposed say nay. >> Motion carries. I will entertain a motion to I move to adjourn to close session pursuant to Missouri state statute for
personnel issues 610.021 subp paragraph 3 and legal matters 610.021 1021 sub paragraph 1. Second. >> Yes. >> Yes. >> Yes.
>> Yes. for a journey.