00:00:05,400	S1:
Good evening. I'm Josh Hager, president of the Bismarck school board. It's 515 on Monday, May 11th. I call this meeting to order. Welcome to those of you who are joining us both here and also online. You can find our agenda and follow along online under the school board tabs at Bismarck schools.org. Doctor Scherr, will you call the roll, please? Mr. Hager here. Mr. Eastgate here.

00:00:29,600	S2:
Mr. Lee here, Mrs. Peterson here. Miss Preskey here.

00:00:34,440	S1:
Doctor Fresno. Would you lead us in the pledge?

00:00:43,400	S3:
I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

00:01:05,320	S1:
Item one. See the mission, vision and values. The mission is to empower every learner to thrive. The vision states, together, our relationships build inclusive, collaborative, and innovative environments that create, agency and inspire a passion for learning, excellence and discovery. The values are. Inclusion. Excellence. Innovation. Leadership. You'll also find a link in the agenda to the BPP's Strategic Plan. Item two is to adopt the agenda.

00:01:35,280	S4:
I'll move that. We adopt the agenda.

00:01:37,560	S1:
Second, we have a motion and a second. Any discussion? Seeing. None. Doctor. Scherr.

00:01:42,640	S2:
Eastgate. Yes. Lee. Yes. Peterson. Yes. Preskey. Yes. Hager.

00:01:46,920	S1:
Yes. Item three. Focus on success. And we get two of them tonight. You do? These are my favorite segments.

00:01:53,520	S2:
Doctor foster, double up for you tonight. Board members again. Nice to see you. Good. Good afternoon. We'd like to introduce Mr. Tony Fladeland. He's a principal at Roosevelt and Highland Acres. But on his side duty, you might say. He's also a representative for the fine arts portfolio. So I will let him take it from here. Appreciate it. Mr. Friedman.

00:02:13,010	S5:
President Hager, members of the board. Doctor Fastnacht not. My name is Tony Fladeland. I serve at principal at Highland Acres and Roosevelt elementary schools, and also as the elementary fine arts coordinator at Bismarck Public Schools. My fine arts colleagues and I are here tonight to highlight the success of the performing arts, and in to detail the excellence of our existing programs, and to communicate the role of high quality facilities and resources that are critical to the success of our programs. At the elementary level, the music teachers foster a love of programming in the performing arts and a classroom environment that encourages movement, performance, and exploration. All students in our elementary schools receive 60 minutes of weekly music instruction and perform at least one class music program per year. They also attend several different performances throughout the year, organized by secondary schools and various performing arts in Bismarck. This exposure allows all of our students to place a greater value in their performing arts education, and to see themselves as continuing performing artists during their journey in BS and beyond at the secondary level. Opportunities expand for our students with various pathways in music and drama. Each year, thousands of Baps middle, middle, and high school students participate in performances at the local, regional and national level. This past Friday's Band Night Parade is just one example of the positive, visible presence our groups play in our community. To speak more about this is my colleague Melinda Halverson, who serves as the director of bands at Horizon Middle School. Melinda.

00:03:53,690	S6:
Thank you for your time today. I've had the privilege of serving in Bismarck Public Schools for the past 13 years, both at the high school and the middle school levels. I've also worked outside the district and state, and I can say with confidence that we have are very fortunate in the level of support our schools and community provide for student access and our fine arts programs. Our students are not simply participating in activities, they are performing and competing at highest level and representing Baps with a distinction across North Dakota and beyond in all state music ensembles alone. Students typically represent between 20 to 30% of all selected musicians statewide. Our students also earn placements in regional, state, and national honor festivals, where they consistently perform in highly competitive environments. Just this past March, both Century and legacy ensembles earned top honors while on tour and achievement that reflects significant preparation, discipline, and teamwork beyond the school day in theater. Our students continue to excel as well, including Century High School's recognition at the 2026. North Dakota High School Activities Association's State one Act festival. These accomplishments reflect more than talent, so they reflect perseverance, collaboration, and leadership. Bismarck Public Schools has been recognized as a Best Communities for Music Education by the National Association for Music Merchants. Underscoring the strength of our programs and community support beyond awards and recognition. Our fine arts programs serve a much larger purpose in our schools. They bring people together. At horizon, for example, our band program has spent the past four years developing a music in our community unit. During this time, we bring in local community members to perform for students and share their experiences, and we continue to conclude the unit with a collaborative concert alongside the Missouri River Community Band. This past Friday, as Mr. Flatman mentioned, we had our fine arts students involved in Band Night Parade, which brought thousands of spectators experience and like this highlight what our fine arts programs truly do. They go far beyond creating performances. They create connection. Concerts, musicals, plays, and school events bring families, students, staff, and community members together in ways that few other experiences in schools can. In many ways, the arts become a bridge between our schools in the city of Bismarck. They create a pride in our students, pride in our schools and pride in our community. When audiences come together to support student performances, they are not just attending an event, they are investing in the identity and culture of our schools. These community connections also translate directly into skills our students carry into their future. This past year, I completed my master's degree and principalship through the Bismarck Public Schools Teacher Leader Academy. As part of that work, I researched how fine arts programs support to career ready practices that our district is developing. I gathered perspectives from sixth graders, eighth graders, high school students, parents, and educators across our feeder program. One trend stood out clearly the longer students participate in music programs, the more strongly they recognize growth in teamwork, responsibility, communication, problem solving, and creativity. These are not just music skills, they are career and life skills. As AI technology continues to evolve, the human skills developed through arts become even more valuable. As the quote from Youngstown State University. The performing arts fulfill fundamental human need that technology cannot replicate, including emotional expression, community connection, and meaning making. Our finance program are helping students develop the skills that will matter most in their future, both professionally and personally. To help bring this work into the real world context. I'd like to introduce my colleagues Connie Stradlin and her husband, Eric Stradlin. Connie is the six through eight choir director at Horizon Middle School, and Eric is the associate director of bands at Century High School. Together, they both established the musical program we have at horizon.

00:07:44,620	S7:
Thank you Melinda. It is wonderful to be here this evening. I just want to break on the kids a little bit. Um, 11 years ago, we had this idea of wanting to get started doing musicals at the middle school level, and we just thought, well, let's let's give it a try and see if there's interest. And I just have to tell you right now, there is definitely interest. And it has been growing and growing and growing for 11 years. Um, and we see it across the whole district. Um, 11 years ago, we were the first middle school to start a musical. Um, and since then Simelane walked her have followed. And in 2021, all three of the high schools then split into their own productions. And it is incredible to see the involvement and the excitement about being involved in the theatre arts. And I just have to break on, on, on the numbers that we have at horizon. We had 154 students involved in our musicals this year. Um, we decided five years ago that originally we started in sixth, seventh and eighth grade musical in the spring productions, and we didn't. We never want to turn anyone away. Everyone is welcome and everybody has a place. And we ended up with so many students involved, we thought we better do something. And so we started a fall production and that is for our sixth graders. And this year, when those sixth graders first started, um, we were like, how are we going to fit them all on this space? And we figured it out because they wanted to be there and we wanted them to be there. And in result, I did some math and it was 154 students in total this year, which is really, really exciting. Um, you know, and that is and that is the truth. We don't want to turn anyone away. Um, these students are going on. They're going on to high school. They're winning this state one act, because those are the same students that started as sixth graders. And what they developed, their leadership, their their growth is, is incredible. And it's beyond that. Now we're seeing those students who are in college and they're taking it out into the communities and they're speaking in, you know, meetings there. They're out doing all of the wonderful things in this community. They are the leaders. They are the ones going out and and making a difference. And so we as educators are constantly trying to figure out what can we do to to make the space safe and equitable and make this reality continue to happen for our students. And so when we have the large enough space, we can continue to grow and we can continue to create these opportunities for students not only on the stage, we have the kids that are behind the scenes, that are building, that are painting, that are working the set and sound and and it's really exciting. And I have with me, Eric, my husband together, this is a really wonderful dream that we had to see that these students are so actively involved in the theater arts and, and the current reality is we're seeing it not only there, but in the band and the choir. In the orchestra programs too. And in a slide down the road, you're going to see the the most recent Century Band program concert a couple of weeks ago, and you can see how large those kids are sitting there in the gym performing and having a great time. So thank you for having us and hearing about all the wonderful things that are happening in the arts. Now, I would like to introduce you to Jen Bedard, the PHS theater director and Grimsby parent.

00:11:14,030	S4:
Thank you. I just want to commend you on being brave to allow a theater teacher to come up here and talk about how important a theater building is, because I could talk about it for hours, but I wrote it down and gave myself a script. So I began teaching at Bismarck High School in 2008, and I came from a community where every middle school and high school had a dedicated theater. And I was very surprised when I arrived at Bismarck High. And it did not for more than a decade, my students and I built an entire program out of my art room. We rehearsed in my art room. We built sets in my art room. My art room was the makeup room. My back room was the dressing room. And I had to remind them not to put their costumes or anything on the floor or counters, because it would have clay dust on it by the time they got to the stage. And by the stage, I mean the nook. The nook had kind of been converted into a performance center, but from a theater perspective, it was still a gym. So every time a student would walk, it was like, to be or not to be. And then because the gym floor would creak as you would walk. Um, so performances in the required creativity and flexibility and determination, but they were also very limited on what our students could truly experience when it came to theater. Um, when the public gifted VHS a theater in 2019. And let me be clear, it was a gift. And it's not something I take for granted. And I make sure my students don't take for granted, it transformed far more than our performances. As previously mentioned, theater is not just what you see on stage. 50% of theatre is what happens backstage, and those students are very important to our program. And although they're not seen because some of them choose not to be seen because that's not their gig, they're very important. They are the ones building the sets, doing the lighting, sound, costumes, and stage management. During our musical, one adult is in the booth and one adult is backstage. Everything else is designed, built, and run by students the way it should be. With proper facilities, students now gain hands on experience with professional level tools, technology and production processes that were previously impossible. My previous sets were built out of styrofoam because after every performance, we would have to break it apart and throw it in a dumpster because there was no place to put it. my art room is hard enough to store art projects. Not alone is set for theater. Um, this space has elevated the quality of our productions, expanded student involvement, and strengthened our entire arts program. I want to be clear that a theater is simply not a stage. It is a classroom. Um, it is a learning environment that supports countless educational opportunities for students, both on stage and off. It also serves the broader community. That theater is not just used by the theater department. That theater is used by orchestra, band, choir, sports team. Sports teams have meetings there. We have speakers during the school year. We have rentals. It is used by many different things, not just the theater department. Um, quality performing arts spaces provide meaningful experiences, fosters creativity, and ensure equitable opportunities for future generations. Now, as a parent, as I step into my PS parent shoes I have two boys of those future generations and they both go to Grimsby Elementary and as a parent, we need to not just look at what is upcoming in our school. For our kids right now, we need to look at where our kids will be going, and my kids will be going to century and century is in need of a new facility. It is undersized. It doesn't have the space there's. The stage is the only place to build the set. So and it only compared to the seating seeds about two thirds of what other high schools seat. And so having a big concert and having that room and having those possibilities, having the technology, having something come down from the sky during a show is not a possibility the way it is at our other two high schools right now. So I would say that, as you can see from the slide, number one is performances and nooks in the upper right where my sets are boxes and styrofoam. And underneath it, those two are the pictures of current performances that have happened at VHS. One with choir and one with theater. And that is a big difference. And it is an educational difference. And we want to make sure to give every student an opportunity. And that's the importance of having a good facility.

00:16:02,600	S5:
Above all, the strength, growth and consistent high level of performing arts education within BSS lies in our music educators and the support they receive from administration, this board and this community. We'd like to take this opportunity to offer our sincere thanks to our performing arts educators, administration, BP's families, and the school board and community members who place such a high value on the importance of the performing arts in Bismarck Public Schools. Thank you again for this opportunity and we would stand for any questions you may have.

00:16:34,090	S1:
Board members questions, Mr.

00:16:36,890	Lee? S2:
Thank you, President Hager.

00:16:38,770	S8:
More comments than anything. But I just so appreciate our music programs and our theater programs that we have in middle school and high school, and they've been very important in the lives of my kids. And yeah, you're right. I mean, we I've spent a lot of time in that century auditorium and it's definitely, definitely tight. Very proud of the auditoriums we built at Legacy and Bismarck High. And it it is just incredible for kids. So one thing I heard was, you know, um, artificial intelligence brought up, and that's a big thing right now and everybody's talking about it. But I think as we move forward, uh, things that support programming like this, that support social and emotional intelligence is is critical. And I see how our kids interact and those those kids that are behind the scenes, um, benefit just as much as the, as the performers do. And and they are so valuable to the production. So it's just it's just wonderful what we have going on in our schools every day. And I'm always blown away by the talent of our kids. So thank you for this presentation. Appreciate it.

00:17:41,530	S1:
Mr. Eastgate. Yeah.

00:17:42,330	S9:
Thanks, President Hager. Um, I'd also like to just say thank you. We just really appreciate you guys presenting this Miss Bedard for Bismarck High. You know, stage of the classroom. I really like hearing that and that it's a learning space. It's not just a place to present to perform, but it's actually a learning space that we're able to use for a lot of things after school hours. But also, of course, during the school day. I think that's a huge benefit to any of our buildings, you know, for drama, music, the performing arts, they all blend in and it's Mr. Lee said that, you know, there's a lot of other meetings that take place in these auditoriums as well. Um, and all the people behind the scenes for those two, of course, as you stated, I mean, you have people back there constructing actual and doing art and all the things that make us that happen. Um, Mr. Dolan, I have a nephew that performed in your middle school play this year, and I was out of town when it was going on, but I know my wife and my high school son went and just couldn't say enough about it. So thank you so much for your guys's efforts. And in blending all that, the music and the and the drama all together. I know it was a great thing for my mother in law as well. I think she attended every single performance. So, um, it's good for her and good for those students. I just think it's great that we're having a chance to showcase some of those things. And obviously with some of the information coming across for century, um, that we hope to be able to continue to offer those to, to not just some of our students and, but all of them. So I'm hopeful for that. And I just want to say thanks for for everything you guys do to make that a possibility. Thank you, Principal President.

00:19:05,650	S1:
Thank you, Mister Eastgate. One thing I would add to your comment there. I know Mister Sadler and I were walking around at one time talking about, I think it was a Christmas time performance and you guys had to turn people away because that auditorium was too full. So it kind of speaks to the quality of the kids and the performances that they're they're putting on. And as a parent of kids in the Bismarck High feeder, I can tell you from a middle school perspective from choir and band, how fortunate we have been to have the auditorium for Bismarck High to host those middle school choir and band events, that we just wouldn't have the space otherwise that those middle schools. So it's been a nice facility. Doctor.

00:19:43,540	S2:
Fortunate I was going to be ready for the next one, so. Oh, but well done.

00:19:48,660	S1:
Well done. Thank you.

00:19:49,220	S2:
All. Thank you. Thank you.

00:19:54,620	S2:
So if you'd like, I'd introduce your second round for this evening. We'd like to bring Miss Courtney Crain up. She's works in our learning design innovation team, and she has a portfolio of social studies. And she'd like to share a little bit about some of the successes we've had. So that's great.

00:20:09,900	S10:
Thank you. Doctor. President Hager, members of the board, it's my pleasure to be able to introduce the 2025 North Dakota Social Studies Teacher of the year. Um, yes. Um, he didn't want me to say that, but I said it anyway. And, um. Teacher at legacy High School, Mr. Landon Schmeichel.

00:20:37,420	S9:
President Hager. Members of the Bismarck school board.

00:20:40,260	S11:
Doctor Fastnacht not. Assistant superintendents. Doctor Scherr ba, president van Winkle and the Bismarck community. Good evening. Thank you for allowing us to share about civic education tonight. My name is Landon Schmeichel, and I am a social studies instructor at Legacy High School. I'm also honored to be joined by two LHS students this evening. I'm pleased to report that the state of civic education is strong. While we could measure success in many ways, tonight we'll focus on increased enrollment in U.S. history and AP US government and politics courses Highlighted in highlight increased interest in dual credit courses. And finally. Celebrate the high achievement of young historians in the national history. Day competition. Just as formulas are needed in math and science, civic education can thrive only when. Intentional content and skill development occurs. Justice Sandra Day O'Connor articulated this best when she holds that the practice of democracy is not passed down through the gene pool. It must be taught and learned by each new generation. Tonight, I also want to celebrate the increased enrollment and remarkable exam performances within WPS. Over the past few years, enrollment has remained consistent at DHS, CHS, and LHS for AP, US history, and AP govt. BS students have consistently demonstrated scores that are higher than the national average over several years. More on that later. Additionally, enrollment for AP government has increased nearly 200% at DHS, 134% at CHS and 421% at LHS since 2023. Clearly, students are pursuing the content and skills requisite of effective citizenship, and part of that enrollment spike is certainly a result of BP's partnership with Bismarck State College. To dive into the data. Looking at BHS, the majority of students who take the AP U.S. history exam have passed over the past three years for AP gov. At DHS, 94% of students passed the exam at century AP U.S. history. Pass rates are consistently high as well. One year CHS scores were 35% higher than the national average for AP government century. Pass rates ranged from 82% to 100%. At legacy. A push pass rates rose to 92% in 2025. AP govt pass rates rose to 100% for 2025, and 66% of those students scored a for or an elusive five on those exams. The data is in no doubt impressive. It's clear that BS students who pursue rigorous social studies courses are receiving both the content and the skill refinement they need in order to be successful. And while data is fun, it doesn't necessarily tell us everything. In addition to the numbers, BS has seen an increase in students participating in the National History Day competition. National History Day, or ND, has been around since 1974, though participation throughout North Dakota has changed over time. The goal of National History Day is influencing the future through discovery of the past. Additionally, D seeks to help students and instructors develop skills in communication, project management, management, and historical thinking. And this year's ND theme, Revolution, Reaction and Reform is centered around our nation's semi centennial. Last year we had eight students participate from legacy. Out of the eight who were selected to advance to the National Competition for Young Scholars were able to attend and compete where they were recognized with the Best Senior Division submission for the state of North Dakota this year. Legacy. Century and horizon. Under the direction of Miss Bauer, boasted a total of 22 students who competed at the regional level. 19 of those individuals advanced to state, including all students from both Legacy and Century, now 11 from LSE and horizon have advanced to the national competition in Washington, D.C. throughout June 14th through the 18th.

00:25:27,310	S9:
Students have worked hard.

00:25:28,670	S11:
Throughout the year on their projects, which have ranged from websites to exhibits and theatrical productions to documentaries. Their scholarship is evident in the support and learning from their teachers is notable. In addition to the skills mentioned earlier about ND, involvement with the competition isn't exclusive to research and inquiry abilities and also challenges students to develop community driven connections and fiscal literacy skills as they fundraise thousands of dollars to be able to compete in Washington. A fundraiser that I'm certain you won't hear the last of tonight. In ND, students are learning about rights and they're exercising their responsibilities as proud American citizens. To tell you a little bit more about National History Day, about the Legacy Historical Society and the learning environment in AP, U.S. history and AP US government and politics. I now enthusiastically invite both President Lilly and Roo and Chief of Staff, Samuel Zamba, to share with you this evening. President Roo.

00:26:47,870	S12:
Hello, everyone. My name is Lillian Roux, and I am the president of Legacy High School's Historical Society. I am a sophomore at Legacy High School, and I am super grateful for the opportunity to speak here today. Legacy's Historical Society is an extracurricular club focused on education and conversation about history. We also have members from Century High School as this is the only history club in WPS, we prioritize giving back to our community through participation and community events. For example, we have spent the last two winters volunteering in the Wreaths Across America event at the Veterans Cemetery. Our weekly meetings are spent discussing historical topics and events and working on projects in HD or national history. Day is an international competition that focuses on analyzing history and interpreting its events in a modern day lens. Last year, I competed along with some graduated students at NCS National Competition. It was incredible. We got to meet with members of Congress and we were able to tour the capital city. We even won an award, as Mr. Schmeichel shared. This year, we have had even more members qualify for nationals and we are currently fundraising for it. So if you are interested in donating, get in touch with Mr. Schmeichel. All donations are appreciated. The society helps prepare members for real world experiences through collaboration, giving back to our community, and learning about history. Thank you again for giving me this opportunity to speak tonight. Have a great day and I will hand it over to my Chief of Staff, Samuel Zampa.

00:28:23,880	S13:
I first wanted to thank you all for allowing me the opportunity to speak to you all today. Apparently, if you guys had a pretty good idea of who I was. So maybe you shouldn't have, but I'll take it. I thank the school board for being here, although I think it might be a few of your guys's job to be here, so I don't want to give you too much credit, but I thank the community for being here. Certainly, I wanted to take the time I was allotted to talk a little bit about how my relationship with social studies has definitely changed and evolved over my high school career. For the first half of my senior year, being my freshman and sophomore year. Sorry Michael, I did not care about social studies at all in any way. But that all changed when I took Mr. Schmeichel's approach and it really sparked this passion for me, especially when learning about American history, when we would talk about the past events and the important historical figures, and more importantly, how that led to the America we live in today. I just I just found that so fascinating and interesting and that spark of passion, I think it built over that year and eventually I ended up chief of staff. Um, I found that 50% of that job entailed carrying around men and presidents books and papers. But that's the life of a civil servant. Um, if I'm not yapping for too long, I'd like to mention one more thing. Um, I think one of the things that I'll really remember from all my social studies classes, whether that's a push with Mr. Schmeichel or AP gov world history one with Mr. Gandhi or even Global studies with Mr. Gandhi, my freshman year is oftentimes we would look back at past events that happened globally, but more specifically in American history. And we can pretty easily condemn or maybe support certain events or people. But.

00:30:10,330	S13:
To the people in those time periods, those were debates. And I found that so interesting because in a lot of ways, those are the analogue to the debates we have today, and there's plenty of stuff going on in the world and not just American politics, but the world in general. So I think it really it really inspired and motivated me to make sure that 20, 30 years down the line, when moments like this are history, if anything interesting happens that I'm able to look back and be, you know, I'm glad I wasn't too stupid back then. I'm glad the actions and words that I chose to take were ones that I could be proud of. So I appreciate the opportunity. Once again.

00:30:52,410	S11:
The state of civic education is strong and they display it well. We'd be happy to stand for any questions.

00:30:59,770	S1:
Board members. Questions. Comments? My chief of staff, Mr. Lee.

00:31:04,490	S8:
Wow. Nice. Thank you. Mr..

00:31:08,170	S1:
That means you gotta carry my bag.

00:31:09,290	S8:
Yeah I'm going to. I've already been doing it for a couple of years. So carry your water too. Uh, no, this is great. So, uh, Samuel and Lillian, were you were you both students of Mr.

00:31:20,050	Schmeichel's? S12:
Um, I am not able to be in his classes since I am a sophomore, but I am already enrolled for AP U.S. history next year. My sibling, my sister, was okay.

00:31:31,050	S13:
I have taken Mr. Schmeichel's a push and AP gov. And I should have taken your criminal law. But you know I'll have regrets over that when I grow up.

00:31:40,330	S8:
Okay, so I'm going to lob this softball to to Samuel because I know you've had a great teacher, but um, alongside the necessary and proper clause, there's a clause called the Commerce clause. Wondering if you could expound on article one, section eight.

00:31:55,890	S13:
Was this question your idea?

00:31:58,330	S8:
Uh, no, it was Mr. Schmeichel.

00:31:59,810	S14:
Oh. That's good.

00:32:01,330	S13:
Well, uh, the ability for Congress to control the purse is one of the enumerated powers. Uh, the commerce class has been one of the primary clauses throughout American history when it came to expanding the legislative ability. So I could point to those two.

00:32:18,970	S14:
Things.

00:32:19,890	S13:
When talking about the Commerce Clause.

00:32:22,930	S8:
That's that's that's perfect.

00:32:24,490	S14:
Okay.

00:32:24,890	S8:
You you passed.

00:32:26,410	S14:
Thank you. Thanks.

00:32:29,570	S1:
Mrs. Peterson.

00:32:30,930	S15:
Thank you guys so much. Again, not really a question because I think you guys did a great job of explaining all of the not only all of the learning that you guys have been participating in, but what I really want to come in for, both the focus is on success that we saw tonight is how much the the classroom bled into the extracurricular and how you're taking what you're learning in your classes and your academics, and you're taking those to even greater, greater links through through your your clubs and your extracurriculars and then even your competitions. And that's what we want to see. And I think the, the fine arts. But you guys are doing this in social studies. We see this in science across the district. So just well done Mr. Schmeichel. And then well done students. You guys are are certainly making us proud and good luck in a couple of weeks here in a month I suppose out in D.C.

00:33:28,490	we we need you guys representing and good luck S15:
Miss Preskey.

00:33:29,330	S16:
Thank you. Yes. Good luck in Washington DC. Hope you guys do well. Uh, thank you for sharing your passion. I just think it's just so wonderful to hear from, especially the students and also our instructors as well, that you play a big role in feeding their hunger to learn, uh, and, and their passions to grow. So thank you so much.

00:33:54,610	S1:
Doctor Posen.

00:33:55,930	S2:
Any future aspirations would be civic leaders, legislators, governors in here. Samuel, you kind of bragged you up earlier.

00:34:05,460	S14:
I mean.

00:34:05,860	S13:
This morning, Mr. Schmeichel was trying to convince me to become a staffer for whatever legislator. So, I mean, if that involves more carrying books and papers, I'll be pretty good at it. So there's that.

00:34:19,900	S12:
Um, I do not plan on doing any governmental role, but I do really want to work in a museum when I'm older. That would be really cool.

00:34:35,660	S1:
Well, Mr. Schmeichel, Lilly and Samuel, thank you guys for presenting. That was. That was fun to hear, you guys. And it's always fun to hear from the students and your perspective and what you're learning. I do have to comment briefly on your socks, Mr. Schmeichel. I thought my Charlie Brown socks were we're good tonight, but I think you got me beat with those American flag ones. So thank you guys, I appreciate it.

00:34:56,700	S1:
Item four is public comment. The board recognizes the central role parents play in the education of their children, and supports active parent involvement in the education process. The board's practice of public comment reflects and aligns with policy, CBA, and the spirit of its intent. For classroom issues, it's best to follow the chain of command. Teacher. Principal. Assistant superintendent. Superintendent for district issues. Please reach out to Doctor Fastnacht. Not if you do speak tonight. We simply ask that you be responsible. Be helpful and be respectful. Our students deserve to have adults model the expectations we have for them. Groups are urged to select one spokesperson. Individuals will be limited to no more than four minutes and will be notified with 30s remaining to conclude the remarks. The board will not debate issues as presented, but will take such matters under advisement with that. Please stand and approach the podium if you wish to speak tonight.

00:35:53,580	S1:
Okay seeing no one, uh, public comment is closed down to item five. Monitoring district operations, academic achievement, social studies. Doctor. Fresno.

00:36:09,060	S2:
And for this tonight, I'd like to ask, uh, Doctor Ben Johnson to come and present this pretty short report, but present it to the board. Thank you, Doctor Johnson.

00:36:19,260	S17:
Thank you, president Hager, members of the board. Doctor Fastnacht. Um, pretty tough to follow that, but, uh, we'll we'll go on to this lovely report that I think just again, echoes what we talk about as graduation season nears. And the school board was very intentional when we adopted, uh, this results a few years ago, Mr. Lee, right, to be thinking about what it meant to be civic ready. And so we have different measures as we look to quantify and be able to report to the public. The more quantifiable data side of that. But yet we also know that a true product of a graduate is someone that is not only civic ready, ready to vote, perhaps in their first election this June, but also a jury ready. Who and what would you want in someone who's going through their US history or their government, or the econ in terms of being prepared to cast a vote for whether it's a local government, state, federal, and also be able to serve on a jury that might be a jury of your peers. So I think we're in good hands when you see people like Mr. Schmeichel and all the other wonderful educators that we have. And again, this is through our elementary as well, with intentionality around the units that occur in the elementary social studies as well. So with that, I'm pleased to present a very short report and say that we are in good standing with making reasonable progress on all of our indicators. We do take a look at the data a little bit here. Just want to point towards, um, the two measures there that we have. And one really looks at our ability to have that continuous improvement towards reaching those standards, either a 2.5 or a B in relation to social studies standards. And so again. Um, you see at 87.9 for K5 and 78.6 at middle school and 74.4, um, all above the 70% target there for social studies at either reaching a letter grade of A B or higher or a 2.5 on that proficiency scale. And what that points to is that we're having good stability in that change, but also that students are at a high level. The second indicator talks about passing the civics exam. And of course, those that know that it is a requirement for graduation. But again, many of our students and most of our students are passing on their first attempt, etc., but we are at 99.7. You might say, what happens to that 0.3? And you'll see the targets only at 98. There are a few students that graduate with some special needs due to their due to some special needs, that their individual education plan allows for some alternative waiver of that requirement. But again, we believe and want everyone to be ready for that. And as a result, we really have just some great resources, great work on our guiding coalitions that's going around. We have a lot of vertical alignment of the academic work and the alignment of proficiency skills. You saw one of our teachers who's just outstanding. And again, um, board member Peterson, I think you're the one that called out a scene that beyond the classroom that starts extending into that meaningful engagement of activities that occur outside of the Bell schedule, but it also is leading them to be engaged in their community. Sometimes that's seeing themselves as a citizen of their school. Of our community and of course, of our state and nation. So really some great opportunities to. Continue making connections to literacy. Through social studies, but also just what it means to be that well-rounded citizen. So at this point, we know that civic responsibility, critical thinking, the ability to be globally aware all falls into this umbrella of what we get to discuss not only across the day, but very intentionally during some of our time that's dedicated towards social studies. So at this point in time, again, with making reasonable progress, I stand for any questions of the board.

00:40:23,910	S1:
Board members. Questions, comments. Mrs. Peterson.

00:40:27,110	S15:
I don't have any questions. I think this is a great report. And, um, but I also want to call attention to the data that Mr. Schmeichel shared in terms of the participation in the AP classes. I know obviously that's not all of our students, but those numbers were quite impressive. And the numbers of fours and five in some you know AP gov and AP US history are some of the hardest AP classes that are out there. So those kinds of numbers and that that type of data is also quite impressive at all three high schools. So um, so I don't have any questions, but just wanted to kind of that was a nice focus that precluded this, um, this report and those results.

00:41:13,280	S16:
I would move that we accept, ah, to academic achievement, social studies as making reasonable progress.

00:41:21,560	S14:
And.

00:41:23,880	S1:
I have a motion in two seconds. Any further discussion? Uh, seeing none. Doctor Scherr.

00:41:31,560	S14:
Lee. Yes.

00:41:32,360	S2:
Peterson.

00:41:33,000	S14:
Yes.

00:41:33,320	S2:
Preskey.

00:41:33,960	S14:
Yes. Eastgate.

00:41:34,880	S2:
Yes. Hager.

00:41:36,000	S1:
Yes. Uh, item B BSR three staff accountability. So this will be the public reading of BSR three Staff accountability. The superintendent is responsible for all matters related to the day to day operation of the district, within the values expressed by the board in policy. All staff members are considered to be considered to report, directly or indirectly to the superintendent one. The board will never give direction to any employee other than the superintendent. Two The board will not formally or informally evaluate any staff member other than the superintendent. Three except as required by law, the board will not participate in decisions or actions involving the hiring, evaluating discipline, disciplining, or dismissal of any employee other than the superintendent. Other provisions of these policies notwithstanding, the business manager shall submit routine financial reports directly to the board and shall be employed, disciplined, and terminated by the board. That concludes the reading of BSR three. Staff accountability.

00:42:51,040	S16:
I would move that we retain BSR three. Staff accountability.

00:42:58,160	S1:
Second, we have a motion and a second. Any further discussion? Seeing. None. Doctor. Share.

00:43:05,520	S2:
Peterson.

00:43:06,400	S14:
Yes. Preskey. Yes. Eastgate. Yes. Lee. Yes.

00:43:10,400	S2:
Hager.

00:43:11,240	S1:
Yes. So this is a two parter. Mr..

00:43:14,040	S9:
Eastgate I was just gonna. Yeah. For your second part here, president Hager I would just motion. Move that. The board determines that we are in compliance for BSR three. Staff accountability.

00:43:25,560	S15:
And I'll second.

00:43:26,920	S1:
Motion and second. Any discussion? Seeing. None. Doctor. Share.

00:43:30,680	S14:
Preskey. Yes. Eastgate. Yes. Lee. Yes. Peterson. Yes. Hager.

00:43:35,560	S1:
Yes. Which brings us down to item five. Matters reserved for board action. I know we've got a couple school visits tonight.

00:43:50,000	Anybody want to volunteer to go first, Miss Preskey? S16:
Um. All right. Uh, so I visited Legacy and Mister Tom Schmidt there, and, uh, a lot of what I'm going to talk about really ties in with a lot of the things that we heard tonight, too. So that's that's fun. Um, but starting out just he made a point of talking about the challenge that they are having and filling positions. Um, when I went to visit him, it was really like the peak of hiring season where they're finding out what teachers are not returning or moving on to other, um, experiences. And, um, and so we visited about that, uh, and he gave me an example that for a teacher, a science teachers position, they had 11 applicants and only two of those 11 were born in the US. So, you know, I reflected a lot on. I remember when I was in college and teaching in Bismarck was a coveted position. And so it really made me reflect on, you know, how hard it is, even for a system our size to fill these positions. Um, and then just taking that one step further, it was shortly after this visit that, that that I and others here attended the National School Boards conference. And I sat in one of the sessions on how, uh, presenting some unique ideas or what what are some success measures that other school districts have done to try to recruit and retain teachers? Um, and so just, I don't know, I my question, I guess, to the community is how do we get our young people interested in teaching? Um, there's so many more opportunities that are out there today than there were numerous years ago. And how do we get them interested and engaged? And, um, and that leads me right to a success that he highlighted. So Bismarck Public Schools, he informed me, provides a high school educator pathway program that is designed to introduce students to teaching. And they have a former legacy high school graduate that went through the program, went on to Und, graduated, and he's been hired at legacy for orchestra. So this is the first time a student has gone through the program, went to college and then decided to pursue that education, pursue education, and then returned to the school to teach. I think that's a great focus on success. Maybe next year when he comes back around, huh? So really cool story there. And I and I, I did share this program when I was at the National School Board's association, um, workshop as well. And there there are some schools across the country that have something similar. So we're not doing our own thing. But I think it's a great idea in a way, to try to grow our own, um, students, to come back and and give back. Um, I think that program is one example of many that we offer through CTE and, and the like that really helps students explore programs and professions before college and gives them a a head start. So, uh, love it. Other examples that legacy does that's similar is they have the saber sabers, which is like a IT computer fix it tech area, um, and the clock corner where it's a legacy shop and um, is part of their marketing class. Again, opportunities to get to give students real hands on job experience. We also visited about the high interest in dual credit and AP courses, so they offer 29 dual credit courses 16 AP courses. And then we talked about how this translates to early graduation. So in 2025, there were five, uh, legacy grads that, um, graduated from legacy with their associates degrees from BSc. And this year they will have 17 graduates getting their associates degrees from BSc and then their high school diploma. So a really great jump there in our numbers and amazing program that shaves off time for those students to to get their their degrees and pursue their careers.

00:48:31,820	S16:
Mr. Schmidt also praised an initiative that was something that was news to me, but, um, with providing, um, tuition to covering the tuition for teachers to receive their credentials, that they need to teach those college courses, um, so that they can provide those dual credit courses in our school. And I think, again, um, I think that's a great incentive to, to continue to grow our own. And we're investing in our teachers to help them, to help them grow and then really help the success of our students. Um, of course, with legacy having block schedules, we visit about that and, um, ask teachers in the hallway what they thought of the block schedule, and no one really had anything negative to say about it. I think when you're part of that culture, you you enjoy it, you've adapted to it. You like it. Um, so I didn't hear anything negative about it. Um, also asked about the cell phone ban. Um, so at this point in the year, they had 400 phones that had been confiscated, but they were from 200 students, so some repeat offenders there. And the best part about my tour is that I got, I was, um, blessed to pop into my daughter's Spanish classroom. So I got to wave and say hi. So that was that was the best part.

00:49:58,060	S1:
You mean Hola.

00:50:03,660	S1:
Mrs.

00:50:05,100	Peterson? S15:
Oh, that's that's hard to follow, Miss Preskey. Um, I I I, too, I have two, um, school visits to report on. I'll try to both honor the fact that I got to go to both of those, but also keep it short. I think Mr. Eastgate also has a school visit, and it's kind of at the end of the year where, um, just in the last couple of weeks, I was able to go to four different Bismarck Public School schools, and I'll save the other two for next time. But I was blessed to have Bismarck High School on my list. And obviously as a former alum, my kids are all there. My my two kids are still at Bismarck High School.

00:50:42,700	S14:
And.

00:50:43,060	S15:
My oldest graduated from there. I am no stranger to and I worked there. So I am no stranger to Bismarck High School. So to go as a board member, it's always interesting to make sure that how do we go to something when we know these schools so well? But I, I made it a point to get to attend their academic pep assembly, and it is something that was started at Bismarck High School. Um, and, and just kudos to Lynette Johnson and Sarah Arenas who have, have, have not only started it at Bismarck High School but have kept it going and kept it fresh. And then also it has now. I believe all schools do this event just like the Senior Walk. It's these events that are honoring academics and and honoring the time that these these students go through our entire system. And so that was really fun. And then I, too, miss Preskey got to see my boys receive some, some awards as well. So I got to be a little bit of a double duty as, as a mom as well, which I'm sure they were super happy I was in the audience for them. But one of the things, if you don't know what these academic Pep assemblies are, is, you know, we do Pep assemblies all the time to honor our, our, our fall sports, winter sports, spring sports, all of those things. And and we should we should celebrate some of those things to pep up, um, the opportunities that our kids do to succeed. But in the academic space, oftentimes all of the kids who attend these, these, um, AP classes and go to these extracurricular competitions, um, for for some of those academics, they don't get to be celebrated or it's quiet, quieter Celebrations. And so one of the really cool things that you got to do, and I know I tying. To the fact that we have fine arts as, as our focus on success, um, fine arts was, was definitely celebrated as they are at all assemblies they perform. Um, they had tonic was jamming out very, very loudly a couple of some some rock music, um, by some by some students who have their own band. Seniors were filing in, and at first I was sporting an academic, um, t shirt with the VHS crest that I had in the in the back of my closet. And I was I was noticing that there wasn't as much demon gear that there typically is for assemblies, and that's because all of the seniors were asked to wear like a sweatshirt or clothing for where they're going next year, and I picked that up very quickly as I saw a lot of, um, BSU mystics and Ndsu and Und and MIT, I saw, you know, so there's I think I saw Kansas Jayhawks sweatshirt. So a lot of different schools, local schools celebrated by this. And it really was really strong. I mean, the whole senior section had had something. They were also celebrating their military achievement if they were going to go on to the military. And so it was just really interesting to see. You know, you might wonder, okay, what are they honoring with academics? Any student that had above a 4.0. Got to go up and receive a medal and an award. And the amount of students that I think I mean, we know this because we see it at a graduation and so on, but the amount of students that have it above a 4.0 at every single level is pretty amazing. And this year, Miss Johnson was especially excited to show me how many freshmen there were that have above a 4.0. And if you don't know this, it's really hard to take an AP class as a freshman. There's only a couple of options, and you really have to take summer school to be able to take AP bio. And then they have a new AP human geography that's in the social studies space that we had many students. And then you have to actually pass with an A to get above a 4.0. So it was it was super exciting to see how many freshmen and sophomores were there. Um, something that's exciting this year that will we'll get to participate in is honoring military service with cords. So they were receiving their their cords, their honor cords, um, for the for the for the seniors with, uh, above a 4.0. Um, and then they also acknowledge kind of perfect attendance. And there was one senior who had had perfect attendance all the way through for four years. Perfect attendance. That is incredible. And, um, and then they also honored and what brought tears to both me and Mister or Doctor Fastnacht knots I's is they honored inclusive sports and watch those inclusive sports go up and receive their attention. And and the way that the the rest of the kids honored those kids on the stage was was. Yeah. Um, they also honored the most improved, which was really, really cool as well. And this is the student that improved the best from freshman GPA to, um, senior GPA. And, I mean, those of us that know math and knowing how to raise your GPA, this student raised by like, I think it was like 2.3 percentage points, which is almost just unheard of, obviously, where they they were as a freshman to see all the things that they had accomplished. I just thought that was amazing. And finally, if we talk fine arts, the the student who was Ariel in their musical production, all of a sudden the lights dimmed and she sang A Whole New World in front of all of the all of the student body. And if you don't, if you can imagine it's one thing to sing in a musical when you have, what, 600 in our audience? Max. Um, you know, when you're performing in a pep assembly where there are almost 2000 students and adults in that VHS gym, and the lights are dimmed and you're singing a solo. That was, um, was was pretty impressive. And she did it. It did an amazing job. And all of that led to I mean, obviously, if that wasn't exciting enough, then I got to sit with Principal Wisdom and he got to talk a little bit about, obviously, we're talking a lot about the bond and the needs that we have. And one place I had never gone to in all of my years at Bismarck High as as a demon is, I had never seen these infamous boilers. And I said, Mr. Westhoff, you better take me down there as hopefully we don't blow up. If I go down there and these, these boilers and got to see the young and the old. And I had Bruce Brady when a long time custodian at Bismarck High. Just the amount of information he, by the way, knew about Bismarck High and those boilers and everything else. Um, it was quite impressive and and I was actually really glad to be I mean, where they are in the school, I saw the coolers outside, and it is. I mean, if we're talking about some of the needs, we get to talk about the exciting things like the Century auditorium, but we also need to talk about the real things, like the boilers that are at any time. Um, you know, that that is not going to be able to heat and cool the, that part of the school. And, and I think that some of the things that came up a lot in, in Mr. West in my conversation is just the things that maybe we don't get to see as a school board. Just the costs that go into just just printing costs alone is $45,000. And that's in a space where we're also 1 to 1 technology. But in all of the things where AI and other things, there's been kind of a there was a dip in printing costs, and now there's kind of an increase in printing costs so that we make sure that we're actually seeing where our kids are learning and so on. So it was just there's just been a lot of information that I think that we don't see some of those, those hidden costs that just take to running a school. And my favorite thing that Mr. Westhoff said is that when we think about all of the communities in in Bismarck, the fact that we have about 2000 students or 2000 people running through kind of a Bismarck high, a legacy a century every single day in and out of these buildings, that's that's larger than a lot of our towns in North Dakota. And so when he kind of said that in just the amount of traffic that we're getting in and out of these, these buildings, um, it's no wonder that the need upgrades beyond what we're able to do kind of in just the regular budget. So I just thought that was that was really good. And he actually celebrated after a couple of years of a lot of turnover. Um, as people were retiring, he was celebrating that there was very limited turnover, but also just to to piggyback off of Miss Preskey comments about the the grow your own programs. In all of the school visits that I've at, they've talked about that parent teacher programs, but also just the increase for those those programs overall. So that was my visit at Bismarck High and um, and was was super proud and was able then a couple of weeks later to go to Moses and obviously Moses being a feeder to Bismarck High, it was nice to kind of see where they all start. And again, I've been in a lot of schools across the district. Um, my kids went to Solheim and I play, or my kids have played in the Moses Park or in their their playground equipment for for years and years and years. And I had never been in Moses, so I was really glad to visit with Mister Bitz and, and really just kind of learn how his his year was going. And I know that Mr. Friedland was here earlier and, you know, Doctor Horn Baker was at Moses for a long, long time. And so that's just a really got a culture of, of kind of success at that school in, in, in one of our more, you know, harder demographics and lots of needs. And I think that when you're at a school like that and you're seeing kind of all the, the programs and some of the things and the challenges, you kind of see it in real time. And obviously talking about kind of the the facility and the things that we we need to do, the amount of of effort that our teachers and our educators pour into the wraparound supports that are needed every day so that academics can thrive is just nothing short of amazing. Obviously, when you walk into Moses, you've got your free little pantry right there. You've got, um, the, the, the what do they call the must be their Moses moments. So a lot of our, uh, positive behavior supports that, that we see in all of the different schools, and they've got their little taglines. But I think that that is just is pretty amazing. And Mr. Bitz was able to meet me only after he had to leave the the kindergarten classroom because he was subbing for the kinder, not because, um, they were out of subs that day, although that probably is a challenge as well. But because that was a part of their raffle and he was subbing for one of the educators who actually just happened to be a former, I didn't get to see her, but it was Miss Sandvik. And and she was a former student of mine. So just it was really cool just to see things kind of come full circle. And I think that when you see some of this intentionality by our principals to build these, these cultures, I think that it's it's really impressive to see how how that was going. Um, he was really talking about kind of putting himself in that teacher mindset and making sure they're right at that time of year where they're talking about kind of class lists for, for next year. And he's really making sure that the teachers were a part of the voice and choice in that process as they as they align some of those components. Um, and he was also really transparent with me. Um, he had received a letter from the state that just happened to have my name on it. And and really talking a little bit about how that was fueling some of their, their work and, and making sure that they were not receiving. They, you know, they didn't want to be having some of those, those accountability goals. But he said actually, it was with some um, he said it was it's a good driver to make sure that they are that that what they're doing is not just wrapping around supports, but that they're, they're setting academic goals, having high expectations for students, because we know that as they move along along the chain, they really want to make sure that all students can thrive. And so he he had you know, he was just like, we want to move the needle. We want to instill that confidence and then really make that a priority. So, um, so I was he he didn't even connect the dots that I was the one that had sent him that letter. Um, so. And I don't know why I told him that it was, but, um, but here we are. But I also think that it really, um, he it gave him the opportunity to really talk about the Moses Improvement team and really focus on the ABCs, academic behavior and the culture. So, um, I just can't say enough good things about Moses. We obviously did a tour of the building and really showed what I think that one is a good highlight for the bond is because just really maximizing the space, there's there's a big open space that's kind of in, I don't know if you'd call it a center courtyard, which for six months out of the year is just kind of space that they don't get to use, probably just collects a lot of snow, and they'll be able to build on that as classroom space. And then also some just space is going to be able to be used for not only classrooms, but also for their specials and so on. So um, just over overall, it was an amazing visit. Thanks to Mister Bitz, thanks to Mister Wistar for all they do. And thanks for letting me share both of those school visits. Um, today. Thanks.

01:03:56,620	S1:
Thank you, Mr. Peterson. Mr. Eastgate.

01:03:59,700	S9:
President Hager. Thank you. Off the bench, bat and clean up here for the school board visit. Updates. This evening I get to talk about the Wilmore Wildcats. So, Wilmore, if you don't know Wilmore, you haven't been around Bismarck much. Um, it's right in the heart of the community, and it's been around a long time, and it's a great school. Mr. Barnhart, you know a little bit about Wilmore, I believe. Yeah, yeah, I thought so. Um, he's one of the esteemed principals that's been there and served for our community before, so thanks, Mister Barnhart. Um, Principal Jill Vallejo was there to greet me. Um, I will tell you right away. I'm just going to jump into some of these important notes for both the board and anybody listening. We need an elevator at Wilmore. Um, we need an elevator. So you come in the entry, and you're immediately greeted by stairs, and there's no other option. You have to go up or down stairs, and, um, so we need an elevator, and I'm. I'm excited that we're going to make that happen. Um, also, when you come in to Wilmore and I have been there before, um, I've played elementary basketball there. I've been in the building for a school visit before. I forgot where the office was. Um, and Principal Vallejo kind of laughed because she said, Dan, I saw you looking around and I didn't know where I was going. Um, so I got buzzed in, but then I didn't know where to go. That's my own fault a little bit. But I also know it's also part of our proposal is to have a more formal office space. And I think that's a very positive thing. And I'm also excited about that. Um, Principal Vallejo herself at the time was kind of nursing some kind of nagging injury, and luckily she didn't have to go up and down the stairs with me because she quickly introduced me to two fifth graders that are part of the ambassador program. We've all experienced some of this, some school visits. I really enjoy it. But, um, Miss Isabella and Miss Simone. And so Isabella and Simone are my tour guides for all things Wilmore, and very impressed with everything that they were as tour guides. I mean, trivia of the building staff, every kid they knew like that so-and-so's little brother. Um, I it's amazing. And Wilmore is not a huge school, but they knew it felt like they knew every every kid in that building. It's kind of like when we walk around with the principal, who's like a celebrity in a school. That was Isabel and Simone, um, and through this ambassador program that's been created that will more if they get a chance to lead other kids, underclassmen, they get these leadership roles chances to to speak to other classmates and those underclassmen. So very cool. They gave me more of a hallway tour. We weren't trying to interrupt too many classes, but we knew a couple we could duck into. Um, I kind of I had a note when I was with them. Like, it feels like they know exactly how many kids are in every classroom. Like, there's 23 kids in that class. Like, they just knew everything. Um, going down the front hallway, the first hallway upstairs, there's a Wildcat store. And much as Miss Peterson just talked about, there's some behavioral, um, kind of supports, if you will, where they can earn Wildcat dollars. And it had some prizes up, and they were telling me about how they get to earn those things through positive behaviors. Great reinforcement for all the kids and all the different grades, um, and just fun for them to kind of see some things that they could try to achieve by being good community members in their school. What a great way! Um, as we continued on the tour, a couple of really neat things they showed me that I've never seen. They had to. I hope I can read this, but hydroponic tower. Do we have any great growth? You know what I'm talking about over here. Good for you. Um. Growing plants without soil. I mean, doctor notes over there. Farm kid. He's nodding. He knows what it means, but I didn't. Um, so that was really cool for me just to see some little highlights going around. Um, what else did they talk about? They they were really excited to show me the lockers that their aides get to use. Um, there's these. They're one of the newer things or nice things that are there for some of the teaching aids to get to, to at least have a place to put their things because they don't have their own classroom. They may not have space. And so there's some lockers there for aides. And I know that's something at other schools, when I visit pioneer, we'd like to see more of those things going on. Um, they took me down through the basement. We kind of wrapped all around the building. And so we got to view the music room. They showed me around that showed me their stations where they sat and their music time. Um, we briefly buzzed through the gym. This is, uh, Nibbler was teaching kindergarteners how to ride bike on some Strider bikes. Cool skill. I'm glad that our schools are doing things like that as well. I still see a lot of e-bikes out there. You know, I'm sure a lot of you guys, we got a lot of teenage kids buzzing around on e-bikes, but it's good to see kids, to learn how to ride a bike, a real bike. Um, so I thought that was cool. Um, as we made our way up to the all the way to the upstairs, uh, we we ducked into their fifth grade classroom, Mrs. Williams races class, and she was really great about. She was excited about the bond being proposed, and she was very outspoken about it with some plumbing issues, some sewer backup issues, some things that have happened in the kitchen area at Wilmore. And so she just she's like, yeah, you know, some of these things are just these should be expected. We gotta we got to get this stuff taken care of. And all I could do is nod my concern. I agree, I totally agree with you. Um, as we made our way around the building, they also introduced me and would yell at Bob, um, which is not his real name, but it's the custodian at Wilmore. I believe it's Aaron, but the girls call him Bob and he does answer. And so they had a great back and forth, very friendly with one another. They obviously, uh, like to give Bob a hard time. And, uh, he was just awesome. Just a great good natured with the kids. And I think every kid in school knows him as well. So they were stopping and talking to him. Um, there's 220 students roughly at Wilmore at a given time, and they have some of the most mobility in town at the at least as of this last semester, I believe the most mobility in town, of families coming in and out of that. So as we've talked about in the past, we know that that can, with some of the instability that can go on, it can create learning issues that come up. And so just some of the challenges that they have, um, when I had, uh, miss video and I also sat down and visited at the end of the tour, and I was able to ask some questions about some challenges, but she was just really quick to point out some of the things they're proud about as well, that once a month they have a bilingual breakfast where they celebrate and they do an honoring of people that are even coming from different countries and speaking different languages. Free breakfast and lunch being provided for folks. What they can do to try to not just get an understanding of what they can expect from Willmore, but also for the educators to to learn and understand what they can get from families coming into the area. I also love that Willmore was very proactive. They had a May 6th Ice Cream Social Justice Month just to talk to people about what it is that Willmore is hoping to do and what they're trying to do, both through the bond. But even regardless of the bond, what they're trying to do to serve families. And again, I, I see our educators again and again stepping up to the plate to to take care of their communities and their families and their kids. And that's that is nothing. As a board, we just get to say, hey, great job. Thank you. You know, we get to be the ones who get to say thank you. We're not telling them to do that. We just get to hear about it on the back side. And I just think it's awesome because I know we have leadership like that in our district from the classroom up to the district level. And I just think it's really great to know that we have a district that's doing the best they can to care about our kids. So it was really, again, Simone and Isabella, thank you for any educators from Willmore. Please pass it along. I don't expect them to be watching school board meetings. Um, again, you know, and I, you know, we talked briefly about that at the beginning, but I want to point out to you, you don't need to be in a wheelchair to not need stairs. Um, between educators, grandparents, parents, we've talked about the Wilmore Stairs quite a bit already. But, you know, we might have a kid who breaks a leg during the school year, and all of a sudden, now they have an issue. And it's not just about going to your neighborhood school that time. It should be all the time. And so again, these are some things that I know. We agree that we just it's the right thing to do for our community. So I'm excited to see this happen. Thanks for listening to me share about Wilmore Wildcats and thank you, Wilmore.

01:11:22,040	S1:
Thank you, Mr. Wilson. Uh, that brings us. Unless Mister Lee's got a school visit. Otherwise, we should be down to item seven.

01:11:29,440	S3:
We are down to item seven.

01:11:30,680	S14:
Okay.

01:11:32,840	S1:
Uh, item seven is the consent agenda. What are the wishes of the board? Mrs. Peterson.

01:11:38,360	S15:
I move that we adopt the consent agenda.

01:11:42,760	S1:
Second, we have a motion and a second doctor share.

01:11:46,200	S14:
Eastgate.

01:11:47,160	S9:
Yes.

01:11:47,760	S14:
Lee. Yes. Peterson. Yes. Preskey. Yes. Hager.

01:11:51,480	S1:
Yes. Item eight. Superintendents report the 2026 bond update. Doctor.

01:11:56,800	S2:
Again. Thank you, board members. Thanks for the reports. Those are good. I'm glad you remembered the girl with the perfect attendance. Because I was texting Mr. Westhoff asking for a name because I thought that was the most impressive bit. Thank you. Leah. There you go. Because that's that's a heck of an achievement. But, um, for my report tonight, again, I've told you told the community I'm kind of keeping this on here just so people have an opportunity. If they want to come to the mic, they want to ask us questions. They can, um, they don't have to find a way to get on the agenda. I kind of make it for them, but I guess, um, just just so, you know, we continue to get questions and I guess I wanted to just to address a question we got just recently, um, as I was on, uh, Michael Bell Show today talking about as we get questions, we just keep adding them to that repertoire of FAQs that we have on our website. Again, if people want to see what's going on with the bond and learn more about what's happening in school, please go to the Bismarck School's website. Click on the 2026 bond. We think we've have everything there that you could ever want and more. But again, we get questions that challenge us. So one of the things that came up again, I believe I've answered this, but I'm going to hit it one more time. For those that are listening tonight, is that question about why doesn't the district just use this fund or this this way? Specifically, the question was why don't you use sales tax? Or why don't you go after the legacy fund, both of which schools do not have access to? Very plainly and clearly, schools cannot get access to sales tax dollars. We cannot go and tap the legacy fund. I think if you want to talk about the legacy fund being tapped, that is kind of coming to us a small part, because it's a portion of that $1,600 tax reduction that the state approved last session for all of us as residential homeowners. Um, that's probably the only thing we can see as a tax relief going to, um, going to our, our patrons that, yes. Are we asking for a portion of that? We are we're asking for a portion of that, if you want to think about it. But for us, going to the Legacy Fund or asking legislature for funds for schools, again, the last two sessions, they have taken that up and they have said no. Um, when you're dealing with schools, school construction, school remodeling, um, updating, modernizing and improving efficiency of of the the systems we have in it, those are local issues. And they've said that loud and clear that you need to go to your taxpayers. You need to go to your citizens. Ask for that. So that is why we have been making this, uh, telling this story and asking for people to support it. And I will say again, I believe I hit it last time again and again. Someone asked, actually, Michael Bell asked today on the radio segment, so I think I'll hit it is when you look at the taxation rate in Mills that BS is taxing presently 106.45 mills this last tax season. If if the voters would approve the bond. As multiple people have mentioned tonight and we add on those mills, we'll be at 117.29. That's without any real change in valuations, which, you know, that will affect it. But if we just stay static. 117.29. Um, if you just look at and these are all in finance, finance facts, if someone wants to double check me okay. So you can go on N.D.P. Finance facts. Um and look at just class two AA schools with over 202,500 kids in them. So I'm looking at all the ones that are comparable to us now. Just for people that don't know, Bismarck is the largest, best, largest school in the state. Okay, so we have the most kids of anybody. So if we go, just exclude the ones under 2500, which is really the Jamestown and the Watford's Wilsons that are a little bit smaller. Okay, so if you take the large schools that we think we're comparable to, if you average their taxation and that's taking out the highs and lows, then. But if we just average their taxation rate, we are 14.34% lower than all of them their average. So to your work to previous boards work, I think RBS has held a very fiscally conservative approach. They've helped to reduce tax pain tax tax impact on taxpayers for years. So why are we asking? Because it's time to ask. And we're asking our taxpayers to say now we're asking you because we have a need. We're just asking you to support it. And even with the addition that we're asking for, we will still be over 14% less in mills than our comparable schools. I think that's worth noting. And so when you're out in the community or when people are watching and they talk about the tax impact, I think this is just another step of why the district has been fiscally conservative and prudent and only really asking for for what they need. And again, that kind of falls in the bucket that we have now. So I I'm glad people continue to share questions openly and honestly with me, either by email or by text and or Facebook or wherever. Um, continue to do that because I think it just helps keep us answering the questions and being as transparent as possible. But with that, I have heard nothing else unless you have questions about that or concerns. And I would stand for any questions.

01:17:16,020	S1:
Board members questions.

01:17:20,140	S1:
Okay. Seeing none, all agenda items have been considered. I declare this meeting adjourned.