[B. CALL TO ORDER ] [00:00:07] GOOD EVENING IT IS 6:30 AND THIS CALLED BOARD MEETING A BUDGET WORKSHOP OF THE ROUND ROCK INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT BOARD OF TRUSTEES IS CALLED TO ORDER. IN ATTENDANCE TONIGHT, WE HAVE TRUSTEE LANDRUM, TRUSTEE WEIR, TRUSTEE MARKUM TRUSTEE ROSS, TRUSTEE WEI, AND TRUSTEE CUERO. PLEASE STAND FOR THE PLEDGE, I PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND TO THE REPUBLIC FOR WHICH IT STANDS. HONOR THE TEXAS. OKAY, WE ARE GOING TO JUMP [D. PUBLIC COMMENTS TO AGENDA ITEMS UNDER SECTIONS E. and F. ONLY ] RIGHT INTO PUBLIC COMMENT. WE WILL START WITH JENNIFER KUHN, AND YOU ARE AN EMPLOYEE IN THE DISTRICT. OH, I'M SORRY. HOLD PLEASE. FORGOT MY SCRIPT. WHICH ONES ARE THE SUPER STUDENTS? AT EACH BOARD MEETING, THE BOARD WILL SET ASIDE TIME TO AFFORD THE GENERAL PUBLIC AN OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK ON ITEMS ON THE AGENDA. WE ASK THAT CONCERNS OR COMPLAINTS REGARDING SPECIFIC INDIVIDUALS NOT BE RAISED IN THIS PUBLIC FORUM. SPECIFIC CONCERNS ABOUT EMPLOYEES OR FORMER EMPLOYEES SHOULD BE CONSIDERED SEPARATELY ACCORDING TO APPLICABLE BOARD POLICIES. THE BOARD REQUESTS THAT COMMENTS, WHETHER POSITIVE OR NEGATIVE, BE COURTEOUS AND RESPECTFUL. I WOULD LIKE TO REMIND THE AUDIENCE AND THE VIEWERS THAT THE COMMENTS OF THE SPEAKERS REFLECT THEIR OWN POSITIONS OR OPINIONS. AS A REMINDER, THE BOARD ADOPTED AN ANTI-HATE RESOLUTION ON JANUARY 20, 2022, WHERE THE BOARD REAFFIRMED ITS COMMITMENT TO THE WELL-BEING AND SAFETY OF ALL PEOPLE, REGARDLESS OF RACE, COLOR, NATIONAL ORIGIN, RELIGION, SEX, GENDER IDENTITY, GENDER EXPRESSION, SEXUAL ORIENTATION, DISABILITY, AGE, OR POLITICAL BELIEFS, AND STANDS AGAINST SPEECH THAT INCITES HATRED AND VIOLENCE TOWARDS ANY PERSON. PLEASE NOTE THAT WHILE THE PUBLIC DOES HAVE THE RIGHT TO SPEAK, THAT RIGHT IS NOT UNLIMITED. FOR TEXAS PENAL CODE 38.13, 42.01, 42.02, AND 42.05, AND TEXAS EDUCATION CODE 37.105, NO AUDIENCE MEMBER OR SPEAKER WILL BE PERMITTED TO ENGAGE IN ANY CONDUCT THAT IS DISRUPTIVE OR THREATENING TOWARD ANY SPEAKER OR OTHER PERSON, OR TO VIOLATE THE PRIVACY RIGHTS OF ANOTHER PERSON. THE BOARD SHALL NOT TOLERATE DISRUPTION OF THE MEETING BY MEMBERS OF THE AUDIENCE. IF, AFTER AT LEAST ONE MORE INDIVIDUAL WARNING FROM THE PRESIDING OFFICER, ANY INDIVIDUAL CONTINUES TO DISRUPT THE MEETING BY HIS OR HER OWN WORDS OR ACTIONS, THE PRESIDING OFFICER WILL REQUEST ASSISTANCE FROM LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICIALS. TO HAVE THE INDIVIDUAL REMOVED FROM THE MEETING. THE BOARD MAY NOT DISCUSS OR ACT UPON ANY MATTER THAT IS NOT LISTED UNDER THE ACTION ITEM PORTION OF THE AGENDA. THEREFORE, BOARD MEMBERS MAY NOT DISCUSS THE COMMENTS OF SPEAKERS. PLEASE UNDERSTAND THAT A LACK OF RESPONSE FROM BOARD MEMBERS DOES NOT INDICATE AGREEMENT OR APPROVAL OF THE COMMENTS. EACH SPEAKER WILL BE GIVEN TWO MINUTES TO ADDRESS THE BOARD. TRUSTEE ROSS, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE BOARD, WILL BE THE DESIGNATED TIMEKEEPER. AND WE'RE ACTUALLY GOING TO START WITH OUR STUDENTS. OUR FIRST SPEAKER TONIGHT IS ANYA YALAMANCHILI. AND YOU ARE A STUDENT IN THE DISTRICT AND YOU'RE SPEAKING ON AGENDA ITEM E3. HI, MY NAME IS ANYA AND I'M 8 YEARS OLD. I'M IN SECOND GRADE AT TERRA VISTA ELEMENTARY. I'M HERE TONIGHT BECAUSE I LOVE TAG. IT IS MY FAVORITE PART OF SCHOOL. I LOOK FORWARD TO IT EVERY DAY. MY TAG TEACHER KNOWS HOW I LEARN. SHE KNOWS WHEN TO PUSH ME AND WHEN TO HELP ME. IF YOU TAKE... TAG TEACHERS AWAY, KIDS LIKE ME WON'T GET THAT ANYMORE. PLEASE DON'T CUT FUNDING FOR TAG. IT HELPS US FIND NEW THINGS AND CHALLENGES US. THANK YOU FOR LISTENING TO ME. I HOPE YOU CHANGE YOUR MIND. THANK YOU, ANYA. NEXT IS MAYA GADGIL, AND YOU'RE A STUDENT IN THE DISTRICT, AND YOU'RE SPEAKING ON AGENDA ITEM E3. HI, MY NAME IS MAYA GADGIL, AND I AM A SECOND-GRADE STUDENT AT TERRA VISTA ELEMENTARY SCHOOL. I HAVE BEEN A STUDENT THERE SINCE KINDERGARTEN AND I HAVE ALWAYS LIKED SCHOOL AND LEARNING. THIS YEAR WAS MY FIRST YEAR IN THE TAG PROGRAM AND NOW I DON'T LIKE SCHOOL. I LOVE IT. RIGHT NOW I GET TO GO TO TAG TWICE EVERY DAY, BUT IF THE BOARD MAKES THESE TAG CUTS THEN I'LL ONLY GO ONCE PER WEEK. I'M WORRIED THAT SCHOOL WON'T BE AS ENJOYABLE FOR ME NEXT YEAR. TAG TIME IS THE PART OF MY DAY I LOOK FORWARD TO THE MOST. WHENEVER I TALK ABOUT ACTIVITIES OR PROJECTS WE DO IN TAG, LIKE THE MYSTERIES OR MY PLAN PROJECT THAT I JUST RECENTLY FINISHED, MY FACE JUST LIGHTS UP. I HOPE ROUND ROCK ISD CONTINUES TO FULLY SUPPORT OUR AMAZING TAG PROGRAM. THANK YOU FOR LISTENING. THANK YOU, MAYA. AND NEXT WE HAVE AVA RYE, AND YOU'RE A STUDENT IN THE DISTRICT, SPEAKING ON AGENDA ITEM E3. [00:05:03] OKAY, WE WILL MOVE ON TO OUR NEXT SPEAKER. JENNIFER KUHN, YOU ARE AN EMPLOYEE IN THE DISTRICT, AND YOU ARE SPEAKING ON AGENDA ITEM E2. OKAY, SO EMPLOYEES WERE ASKED TO ACCEPT CONTRACTS WITHOUT A COMPENSATION PLAN BY MAY 1ST OF THIS YEAR. ANY EMPLOYEE THAT SIGNED THEIR CONTRACT IS TRUSTING THAT YOU WILL MAKE THE BEST DECISION FOR US, SO THAT WE ARE ABLE TO CONTINUE TO DO OUR BEST FOR THE STUDENTS AND FAMILIES WE DIRECTLY SUPPORT. BUDGET AND COMPENSATION DECISIONS ARE DIFFICULT, AND YOU'VE PRESENTED NUMEROUS OPTIONS, INCLUDING THIS NEW ONE TONIGHT, WHICH AT FIRST GLANCE SHOWS TWO EXTREME OPTIONS. REVIEWING THE DISTRICT COMPENSATION PLAN SINCE 2022 TO THIS CURRENT YEAR, DEPENDING ON YOUR ROLE IN ROUND ROCK ISD, YOUR POSITION HAS SEEN AN OVERALL INCREASE OF 2%, 5%, OR ALL THE WAY UP TO 22%. A PROPOSAL OF A 1% GENERAL PAY INCREASE WOULD CONTINUE THIS DISPARITY AMONG YOUR EMPLOYEES. THE CITY OF ROUND ROCK CONSUMER PRICE INDEX TOTAL FOR THE LAST THREE YEARS IS 8.8%, AS WELL AS TONIGHT'S PROPOSED INCREASE IN EMPLOYEE MONTHLY MEDICAL CONTRIBUTION AFFECTS ALL OF YOUR EMPLOYEES THE SAME. ADDITIONALLY, DUE TO HIRING FREEZES AND AMENDED JOB DUTIES, IT HAS CAUSED SOME OF US TO HAVE INCREASED WORKLOADS WITH NO HOPE OF A PAY INCREASE, WHICH DEVALUES OUR CURRENT INCOME. IF NOT THIS BUDGET, I WOULD ASK THAT IN THE FUTURE FOR YOU TO REVIEW PAY BASED ON EACH POSITION SO THERE ARE FAY PAY INCREASES FOR ALL EMPLOYEES IN THE DISTRICT. TRUST THAT ALL OF US BELIEVE THAT OUR CONTINUED DEDICATION IS MISSION CRITICAL IN SUPPORTING OUR STUDENTS AND THEIR FAMILIES. THAT WE WORK FOR AND SEE EVERY SINGLE DAY. THANK YOU. AND DID I SEE ONE OF OUR STUDENT SPEAKERS WALK IN? IS THIS AVA? OKAY, YOU'RE AVA RYE, AND YOU'RE A STUDENT IN THE DISTRICT, AND YOU'RE SPEAKING ON AGENDA ITEM E3. HI, MY NAME IS AVA RYE AND I'M IN SECOND GRADE. I MOVED TO TERRA VISTA IN THE MIDDLE OF THE YEAR. IT WAS REALLY HARD TO MOVE TO A DIFFERENT SCHOOL, BUT THEN IN TAG I FELT LIKE I REALLY BELONGED SOMEWHERE AND I LEARNED NEW THINGS THAT I NEVER KNEW. AND THE BEST PART THAT REALLY ENCOURAGED ME TO LEARN WAS THAT I WAS LEARNING IN A FUN WAY. BUT WHEN I HEARD THAT TAG MIGHT GO FROM EVERY DAY TO ONE DAY A WEEK, I FELT SUPER-DUPER SAD BECAUSE MY PREVIOUS SCHOOL ALSO HAD TO HAVE CLASSES ONCE A WEEK FOR HALF AN HOUR, AND AS SOON AS MY BRAIN WAS GETTING WARMED UP TO THE CLASS, IT WAS ALREADY OVER, WHICH IS THE MAIN REASON WHY THE CLASSES HERE ARE SO EFFECTIVE TO ME. SO PLEASE DON'T TAKE IT AWAY. THANK YOU. THANK YOU, AVA. OUR NEXT SPEAKER IS TAMMY CONRAD, AND YOU'RE REPRESENTING EDUCATION ROUND ROCK, AND YOU'RE SPEAKING ON AGENDA ITEM E2. THANKS. GOOD EVENING. AS YOU KNOW, I'M A TEACHER AND I SERVE AS THE PRESIDENT OF EDUCATION ROUND ROCK, OUR EMPLOYEE UNION. AT SEVERAL PREVIOUS BOARD MEETINGS, WE HAVE SPOKEN ON THE ISSUE OF COMPENSATION AND LAID OUT OUR ASKS FOR THE NEXT SCHOOL YEAR. OPTION TWO, AS PRESENTED IN THE BOARD PACKET, IDENTIFIES A FIGURE FOR TEACHER RAISES, BUT DOES NOT INDICATE HOW MUCH OF A PERCENTAGE THIS IS. THIS WAS THE VERSION I SAW AS OF YESTERDAY. WE WILL BE KEEN TO LEARN MORE FROM YOUR DISCUSSIONS THIS EVENING ABOUT WHAT THIS ACTUALLY REPRESENTS. ADDITIONALLY, FOR OTHER PROFESSIONALLY CERTIFIED STAFF, IT IS STATED ELIGIBLE EMPLOYEES WILL RECEIVE A GENERAL PAY INCREASE THAT LEVELS PAY TO THE EQUIVALENT TEACHER STEP. AND WE LOOK FORWARD TO LEARNING HOW MUCH MONEY THIS ACTUALLY IS AND HOW MUCH OF A PERCENTAGE INCREASE THIS REPRESENTS. EDUCATION ROUND ROCK HAS ADVOCATED FOR LIBRARIANS WHO WERE KNOCKED OFF THE TEACHER SALARY SCHEDULE LAST YEAR. SO WE ARE PLEASED TO SEE THAT LIBRARIANS ARE NOW RECEIVING DUE ATTENTION IN OPTION TWO. WE HAVE ALSO HIGHLIGHTED THE PLIGHT OF OUR EDUCATION SUPPORT PROFESSIONALS AND THEIR NEED FOR A LIVING WAGE. WE HAVE ASKED FOR $2 PER HOUR FOR THESE UNDERPAID EMPLOYEES AND A $20 STARTING SALARY. FROM WHAT IS ON THE OFFER THIS EVENING OR WHAT WAS THERE YESTERDAY WHEN I LOOKED AT IT, IT LOOKS LIKE ONCE AGAIN THE PLAN IS FOR THEM TO RECEIVE JUST CENTS ON THE DOLLAR BY WAY OF A 2% RAISE. WE HAVE TO DO BETTER FOR THIS GROUP OF EMPLOYEES. WE JUST HAVE TO, IF WE WANT TO RETAIN THEM AND IF WE WANT TO RECRUIT OTHERS WHEN NEEDED. IF THE DISTRICT CANNOT PAY A LIVING WAGE TO HOURLY EMPLOYEES BECAUSE OF THE STATE'S SYSTEMATIC UNDERFUNDING OF SCHOOLS, IT IS BECOMING OBVIOUS THAT THE TIME [00:10:01] HAS COME TO TURN TO OUR COMMUNITY TO ENSURE THE NECESSARY LEVEL OF INVESTMENT IN OUR SCHOOLS. IT'S TIME TO INITIATE A VATRE. THE LONG-TERM SUCCESS OF OUR DISTRICT IS DEPENDENT ON SUFFICIENT FUNDS FOR PERSONNEL IN THE EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM. THERE ARE OTHER DISTRICTS LIKE DEL VALLE THAT HAVE PLANNED A VATRE, AND THEY'RE ASKING FOR EMPLOYEE COMPENSATION PLANS OR PROPOSALS BAKED INTO THIS OUTCOME. AND WE THINK THAT THIS REPRESENTS A CREATIVE APPROACH FOR SOMETHING THAT ROUND ROCK CAN DO. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. OUR NEXT SPEAKER IS SARAH SIMPSON KELLER, AND YOU'RE A PARENT IN THE DISTRICT, AND YOU'RE SPEAKING ON AGENDA ITEM E3. GOOD EVENING. THANK YOU FOR THIS OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK TO THE BOARD ONCE AGAIN. I AM A PARENT OF A THIRD-GRADE TAX STUDENT. MY CONCERN IS REGARDING THE PLAN TO CUT THE DISTRICT'S ELEMENTARY TAG TEACHERS BY 20% IN THE BUDGET FOR THE NEXT SCHOOL YEAR. I'VE SHARED PREVIOUSLY HOW MUCH TAG MEANS TO MY DAUGHTER AT A PREVIOUS BOARD MEETING. TODAY, I WANT TO EMPHASIZE HOW MUCH THESE STUDENTS NEED SPECIALIZED INSTRUCTION. THEY HAVE ADDITIONAL NEEDS. THEY ARE CONSIDERED NEURODIVERGENT. MANY ARE CONSIDERED TWICE EXCEPTIONAL, MEANING THEY ARE NEURODIVERGENT IN MORE THAN ONE WAY. IT IS COMMON FOR GIFTEDNESS TO BE PAIRED WITH A LEARNING CHALLENGE. WE CAN'T ASSUME BECAUSE THEY HAVE GOOD GRADES AND OR HIGH TEST SCORES THAT THEY NEED LESS NURTURING. ONE ASPECT OF GIFTEDNESS IS SENSITIVITY. THEY ARE SENSITIVE TO THEIR ENVIRONMENTS. PARENTS AND EDUCATORS CAN HELP THEM THRIVE BY BEING WILLING TO MEET THEIR SPECIALIZED NEEDS. THESE NEEDS REQUIRE RESEARCH, TIME, PLANNING, RESOURCES, AND INDIVIDUALIZED ATTENTION. THEY NEED SPECIALIZED TEACHERS, TEACHERS WHO ARE UP TO THESE SPECIFIC YET EVER-CHANGING CHALLENGES AND TASKS. TO ACCOMPLISH THESE GOALS, ADEQUATE STAFFING, PLANNING TIME, AND INSTRUCTIONAL HOURS ARE A NECESSITY. WHILE THIS ISSUE IS VERY CLOSE TO MY HEART, I SPEAK TODAY FOR ALL TAG STUDENTS. THE TAG PROGRAM MEANS SO MUCH TO THEM. IT NOT ONLY MAKES A DIFFERENCE IN THEIR ACADEMIC LIVES, BUT IN THEIR OVERALL WELL-BEING. THANK YOU SO MUCH. I APPRECIATE ALL THAT YOU DO. THANK YOU. OUR NEXT SPEAKER IS SUNIL GADGIL, AND YOU'RE OUR PARENT IN THE DISTRICT, AND YOU'RE SPEAKING ON AGENDA ITEM E3. GOOD EVENING. THANK YOU FOR ALLOWING ME TO SPEAK TODAY. MY NAME IS SUNIL GADGIL. I AM A PARENT OF A TAG STUDENT AT TERRA VISTA ELEMENTARY SCHOOL. I'M HERE, AGAIN, I WAS AT THE LAST BOARD MEETING AS WELL, TO URGE YOU TO OPPOSE THE REDUCTION IN ELEMENTARY TAG STAFFING AS A PART OF NEXT YEAR'S BUDGET. RESPONSES THAT I'VE SEEN FROM SOME DISTRICT STAFF ABOUT THIS SUBJECT HAVE CONSISTENTLY INCLUDED THE EXPLANATION THAT THIS IS NOT A BUDGET CONCERN, THAT THESE REDUCTIONS WILL NOT ACTUALLY REDUCE SERVICES. MY UNDERSTANDING IS THAT CAMPUSES RETAIN DISCRETION OVER HOW TO ALLOCATE THEIR TAG STAFF AND STUDENT TAG TIME BASED ON NEED AS LONG AS THEY MEET THE MINIMUM REQUIREMENT OF 30 MINUTES OF TALENT DEVELOPMENT PER WEEK IN ADDITION TO 80 MINUTES OF MATH PER DAY. IT IS ESSENTIAL THAT CAMPUSES RETAIN THE ABILITY TO INCREASE TAG INSTRUCTION BEYOND THESE MINIMUMS IF THEIR STUDENTS AND COMMUNITIES DEMONSTRATE A NEED TO DO SO. IF THESE CUTS GO INTO PLACE, MY DAUGHTER'S AND HER CLASSMATES' TALENT DEVELOPMENT TIME WILL BE REDUCED FROM 300 MINUTES A WEEK TO 30 MINUTES A WEEK, A WHOPPING 90% CUT. IF WE REDUCE TAG STAFFING AND THEREBY TAG TIME, THOSE STUDENTS' NEEDS DO NOT JUST GO AWAY. THE RESULT WILL BE ASKING CLASSROOM TEACHERS TO DIFFERENTIATE THEIR INSTRUCTION EVEN MORE THAN THEY ALREADY DO, WHICH WILL DILUTE THE LEARNING BOTH OF TAG KIDS AND NON-TAG KIDS AT THE SAME TIME IN THE SAME CLASSROOM. MY FINAL POINT, I THINK WE'RE ALL WELL AWARE THAT TAG IS NOT JUST ABOUT GIVING EXTRA PRIVILEGES TO SMART KIDS. THESE ARE DIVERSE STUDENTS WITH SPECIAL NEEDS THAT NEED TO BE CHALLENGED, SUPPORTED, AND HAVE THEIR EFFORTS CHANNELED IN ORDER TO ENSURE THAT THEY ARE ENGAGED AND UPLIFTED IN A SCHOOL ENVIRONMENT THAT MAKES THEM WANT TO KEEP COMING BACK EVERY DAY HUNGRY FOR MORE KNOWLEDGE. THAT'S WHAT WE WANT TO DO FOR ALL KIDS ON EVERY CAMPUS. PLEASE SUPPORT OUR ELEMENTARY SCHOOL CAMPUSES AND COMMUNITIES BY REJECTING THIS PROPOSAL TO CUT ELEMENTARY TAG STAFFING. THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR TIME AND FOR LISTENING TO ME TODAY. THANK YOU. OUR NEXT SPEAKER IS, FORGIVE ME IF I PRONOUNCE THIS WRONG, AMADINE SCHAEFER, AND YOU ARE A PARENT IN THE DISTRICT AND SPEAKING ON AGENDA ITEM E3. GOOD EVENING. MY NAME IS AMANDINE SCHAEFER AND I AM THE PARENT OF THREE ROUND ROCK ISD STUDENTS. I HAVE A 7TH GRADER IN THE NATIONAL JUNIOR HONOURS SOCIETY. I HAVE A 5TH GRADER WHO BENEFITED FROM TAG AND TAG MATH. AND I HAVE A 2ND GRADER WHO IS EXPECTED TO BE IN TAG AND TAG MATH NEXT YEAR. I'M ASKING YOU TO NOT CUT [00:15:01] ELEMENTARY TAG STAFFING. TAG IS NOT A LUXURY PROGRAM FOR MANY STUDENTS. IT IS WHERE CHILDREN WHO NEED. ADDITIONAL ACADEMIC CHALLENGES ARE FINALLY MET AT THEIR LEVEL. IT KEEPS THEM ENGAGED, MOTIVATED AND EXCITED TO LEARN. CUTTING TAG MEANS REDUCING THE QUALITY OF EDUCATION FOR STUDENTS WHO ALSO HAVE LEGITIMATE EDUCATIONAL NEEDS. THIS ISSUE IS ALSO BIGGER THAN TAG ALONE. FAMILIES RECENTLY HAD TO RAISE CONCERNS ABOUT BUS ROUTES AND STUDENT SAFETY. NOW WE ARE AGAIN DISCUSSING COMPROMISES TO EDUCATIONAL QUALITY. FAMILIES CHOOSE ROUND ROCK ISD AND CHOOSE NEIGHBORHOODS LIKE OURS BECAUSE STRONG PUBLIC SCHOOLS ARE PART OF WHAT MAKES THIS COMMUNITY SPECIAL. WHEN WE REDUCE ADVANCED PROGRAMS AND OTHER MARKERS OF EDUCATIONAL EXCELLENCE, WE WEAKEN ONE OF THE MAIN REASONS FAMILIES CHOOSE TO STAY, MOVE HERE, AND INVEST IN THIS DISTRICT. I UNDERSTAND THE DISTRICT FACES DIFFICULT FINANCIAL DECISIONS, BUT BEFORE CUTTING TEACHERS AND PROGRAMS, THAT DIRECTLY SERVES STUDENTS. I ASK THE BOARD TO LOOK HARDER AT LOWER VALUE SPENDING, INCLUDING EXCESSIVE RELIANCE ON SCREENS, SCREEN-BASED PROGRAMS, AND COSTLY SOFTWARE PROGRAMS. OUR CHILDREN DO NOT NEED MORE SCREEN TIME. THEY NEED STRONG TEACHERS, DIFFERENTIATED INSTRUCTIONS, AND HIGH-QUALITY ACADEMIC PROGRAMS. PLEASE PROTECT WHAT MAKES ROUND ROCK ISD, A DESTINATION DISTRICT. DO NOT CUT ELEMENTARY TAG. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. OUR NEXT SPEAKER IS DEEPAK SUBIKI, AND YOU ARE A PARENT IN THE DISTRICT, AND YOU ARE SPEAKING ON AGENDA ITEM E3. THANK YOU FOR ALLOWING ME TO SPEAK TODAY. MY NAME IS DEEPAK SUBIKI, AND I'M A PARENT OF A TAG STUDENT AT SPICEWOOD ELEMENTARY SCHOOL. I'M HERE TODAY TO ASK YOU TO HELP ME STOP THE DISTRICT FROM CUTTING 20% OF OUR ELEMENTARY TAG TEACHERS IN NEXT YEAR'S BUDGET. MY DAUGHTER LOVES THE TAG PROGRAM. SHE SAID BECAUSE SHE LEARNS DIFFICULT THINGS AND SHE LOVES HER TEACHERS. SHE SAID SHE LEARNED HARDER MATH, HOW TO DO A PROJECT, AND ABOUT THE NUMBER PI. SHE SAID SHE WOULDN'T WANT TO GO TO TAG LESS BECAUSE SHE LIKES IT TOO MUCH, AND SHE WOULDN'T LEARN AS MUCH HARD MATH OR ABOUT HOW TO DO RESEARCH FOR A PROJECT. EACH ONE OF YOU IS A HIGH-ACHIEVING INDIVIDUAL. YOU'RE ELECTED OFFICIALS FOR A PRESTIGIOUS SCHOOL DISTRICT. I'M CONFIDENT THAT YOU CAN LOOK BACK AT YOUR PAST AND FIND FORMATIVE EXAMPLES THAT MADE YOU THE SUCCESSES THAT YOU ARE TODAY. PERHAPS ADVANCED CURRICULUM, TAKING ON MORE RESPONSIBILITY AT WORK, OR PERSONAL TESTS YOU FACE TO GROW AS CHILDREN, CITIZENS, OR PARENTS. THE ONE COMMON ELEMENT IN THOSE EXAMPLES IS THAT YOU WERE CHALLENGED. EACH OF YOU IS A TESTAMENT TO THE IMPORTANCE OF CHALLENGES IN ORDER FOR US TO REACH OUR FULL POTENTIAL. THAT IS WHAT THE TAG PROGRAM PROVIDES FOR THESE CHILDREN. THE DISTRICT HAS SAID THAT THESE CUTS ARE MEANT TO PROMOTE EQUALITY. BUT THE BAR CAN'T BE THE SAME FOR ALL KIDS. THESE PROPOSED CUTS FLATTEN THE BAR THAT ALL KIDS SHOULD REACH FOR. EQUALITY MEANS MAKING SURE THAT BAR IS JUST AS OUT OF REACH FOR ONE CHILD AS IT IS FOR ANOTHER. EACH CHILD IS UNIQUE. THEY NEED DIFFERENT LEVELS OF CHALLENGE. THE DISTRICT HAS SAID THAT THESE PROPOSED TAG CUTS WILL STILL ALLOW THE DISTRICT TO MEET ITS TAG MINIMUMS. THE DISTRICT HAS SET ITSELF APART, HOWEVER, BECAUSE IT DOESN'T EXPECT THE MINIMUM OUT OF ANY OF ITS STUDENTS. THE DISTRICT SHOULD HOLD ITSELF TO THE SAME STANDARDS AS IT EXPECTS OF ITS STUDENTS. PLEASE DON'T CUT THIS VITAL PROGRAM THAT MEANS SO MUCH TO OUR KIDS. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. OUR NEXT SPEAKER IS MARK ADAMS, AND YOU'RE A PARENT IN THE DISTRICT, AND YOU'RE SPEAKING ON AGENDA ITEM E3. TRUSTEES, SUPERINTENDENT DAZES, MY NAME IS MARK ADAMS, AND I'M A PARENT OF A THIRD-GRADE STUDENT IN TAG AT HARRINGTON ELEMENTARY. THANK YOU FOR LETTING ME SPEAK TO YOU TODAY. I'M HERE TO URGE YOU TO STOP THE 20% CUTS THE DISTRICT HAS PLANNED FOR OUR ELEMENTARY TAG TEACHERS NEXT YEAR. SINCE I LAST SPOKE TO YOU, PARENTS HAVE CONTINUED TO ASK THE DISTRICT ABOUT THESE CUTS. WE'VE HEARD ABOUT HOW THESE CUTS ARE ABOUT INTERNAL EQUITY, MAKING SURE OUR TAG TEACHERS HAVE A FULL DAY LIKE OUR OTHER TEACHERS. ASK ANY TAG PARENT IN THIS ROOM AND THEY'LL STARE AT YOU WITH A CONFUSED LOOK. THAT'S BECAUSE WE KNOW THESE TEACHERS AND WE KNOW THEIR SCHEDULES. THEY ALREADY HAVE A FULL DAY PACKED WITH SERVICES THEY'RE PROVIDING TO OUR STUDENTS. WE'VE HEARD ABOUT HOW THESE ALLOCATION SHIFTS DON'T ALIGN WITH THE REDUCTION IN SERVICES FOR OUR STUDENTS. NOW, Y'ALL, THERE'S A LOT OF THINGS I DON'T UNDERSTAND. BASIC MATH IS NOT ONE OF THEM. IF OUR TEACHERS HAVE A FULL SCHEDULE PROVIDING SERVICES TO OUR TAG STUDENTS AND YOU CUT THEM BY 20%, SOMEBODY IS LOSING SERVICES SOMEWHERE. WE'VE HEARD ABOUT HOW IT'S NOT EQUITABLE THAT SOME CAMPUS TAG TEACHERS HAVE MORE TIME FOR PROVIDING ADDITIONAL SERVICES THAN OTHERS. AND I ACTUALLY AGREE WITH THAT ONE, BUT I THINK WE [00:20:01] VIEW THE SOLUTION A BIT DIFFERENTLY. INSTEAD OF LOWERING THE BAR TO A COMMON MINIMUM ACROSS OUR CAMPUSES, WE SHOULD BE WORKING TO RAISE THE BAR ACROSS ALL OF OUR CAMPUSES. WE'VE HEARD ABOUT HOW OUR STAFF ALLOCATIONS FOR TAG WERE NOT IN LINE WITH STUDENT NEEDS BECAUSE WE DEDICATE A HIGHER SHARE OF OUR TEACHERS TO OUR TAG POPULATION COMPARED TO OTHER SPECIAL POPULATIONS LIKE BILINGUAL AND ESL. HOWEVER, IF YOU LOOK AT OTHER SIMILARLY SIZED SUBURBAN DISTRICTS, MANY OF THEM HAVE SIMILAR PERCENTAGES OF THEIR TEACHER ALLOCATIONS DEDICATED TO GIFTED STUDENTS AND SUCCESSFULLY SERVE THOSE OTHER SPECIAL PROGRAMS AS WELL. IF THEY CAN DO IT, WHY CAN'T WE? THE REASONS WE'VE BEEN GIVEN FOR THESE CUTS DON'T MAKE SENSE, AND I THINK THAT'S BECAUSE... THE CUTS THEMSELVES DON'T MAKE SENSE. I'LL END WITH THIS. I HAVE A PETITION HERE. YOU CAN FIND A COPY IN YOUR EMAIL AS WELL, SIGNED BY OVER 180 COMMUNITY MEMBERS, MOSTLY TAG PARENTS REPRESENTING OVER 80% OF OUR ELEMENTARY CAMPUSES, ASKING YOU TO HELP US STOP THESE CUTS. WILL YOU HELP US? THANK YOU. THANK YOU. OUR NEXT SPEAKER IS RENEE KILPATRICK, AND YOU ARE A PARENT IN THE DISTRICT, SPEAKING ON AGENDA ITEM E3. HI, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ALLOWING ME TO SPEAK. MY NAME IS RENEE KILPATRICK AND I HAVE TWO, OH SORRY, I'M HERE SPEAKING IN OPPOSITION TO THE PROPOSED 20% CUT TO TAG TEACHERS ON ELEMENTARY CAMPUSES FOR NEXT YEAR. I HAVE TWO TAG STUDENTS CURRENTLY AT POND SPRINGS, A THIRD GRADER AND A FIFTH GRADER. I'M ALSO AN ACTIVE VOLUNTEER AND MEMBER OF OUR PTA. I'M IN THE CLASSROOM, I'M EVERYWHERE AROUND THE SCHOOL. IF YOU HAVEN'T BEEN TO POND SPRINGS OR YOU DON'T KNOW IT, IT'S REALLY SPECIAL. OUR ENROLLMENT SITS JUST UNDER 600, SO WE WILL BE AFFECTED BY THIS PROPOSED CUT. MY KIDS WILL LOSE TIME WITH THEIR EXCEPTIONAL TAG TEACHER, MS. WESTOVER. WE ALREADY LOST MS. JOHNSON FROM HER FULL-TIME TAG POSITION. SHE HAD TO MOVE AWAY BECAUSE SHE COULDN'T TAKE A PART-TIME POSITION. WE HAVE MS. WESTOVER. YOU'RE GOING TO CUT INTO MY KIDS' TIME WITH HER. THESE CUTS WILL CUT INTO MY KIDS' TIME WITH HER. SHE'S THE NUMBER ONE REASON THAT THEY LOVE SCHOOL. SCHOOL ABOVE EVERYTHING ELSE, ABOVE THEIR FRIENDS, ABOVE RECESS. SO WHILE OUR CAMPUS IS SMALL, WE DON'T ALWAYS QUALIFY FOR ADDITIONAL FUNDING, BUT WE ARE CONTINUOUSLY CHOSEN TO HOUSE BEHAVIORAL PROGRAMS AND PROVIDE OTHER PROGRAMS THAT DEMAND MORE AND MORE FROM OUR STAFF. PLEASE DO NOT CUT OUR OWN ENRICHMENT PROGRAM. WE'RE NOT A WEALTHY, SHINY TROPHY CAMPUS. BUT WE ARE DEFINITELY THE BEATING HEART OF YOUR DISTRICT. CUTTING THE TAG PROGRAM DEMORALIZES SEVERAL SUBTYPES OF STUDENTS THAT ARE OFTEN LEADERS AND TRUSTED PEERS IN THE CLASSROOM. STUDENTS WHO MODEL A COMBINATION OF ACADEMIC RIGOR, PROPER CLASSROOM BEHAVIOR, CRITICAL THINKING, TEAMWORK, AND MOST IMPORTANTLY, EMPATHY. AT POND SPRINGS, WE OFFER ACCOMMODATIONS TO A RANGE OF STUDENTS. TAG IS ONE OF THE SERVICES WE CANNOT AFFORD TO LOSE. WHEN IT COMES TO RETAINING AND INCREASING OUR ENROLLMENT NUMBERS, ONE ADDITIONAL ASK IS IF WE KEPT THE TAG PROGRAM INTACT. THANK YOU. YOUR TIME IS UP. THANK YOU. OUR NEXT SPEAKER IS EDDIE GALBAVI, AND YOU'RE A PARENT IN THE DISTRICT, SPEAKING ON AGENDA ITEM E3. GOOD EVENING, EVERYONE, AND I APPRECIATE THIS OPPORTUNITY TO ADDRESS THE BOARD. LOOKING TO PUT IN ANOTHER PLUG FOR THE PROGRAM. I DO REALLY APPRECIATE BEING ABLE TO TALK WITH YOU. WE MOVED OVER TO THE DISTRICT ACTUALLY ABOUT TWO YEARS AGO. I MEAN, BECAUSE OF HOW THE GREAT REPUTATION THAT ROUND ROCK ISD HAD. AND MY SON AND DAUGHTER, MY SON ESPECIALLY, HE'S TWICE EXCEPTIONAL. HE HAS LEARNING DISABILITIES BUT AT THE SAME TIME IS ABLE TO EXCEL AND HAS BEEN ABLE TO EXCEL WITH THIS TAG PROGRAM. AND ACTUALLY THE DAUGHTER USES THE FRIENDS AND MY SON AS INITIATIVE TO ALMOST WORK HARDER TO KIND OF ACHIEVE THAT LEVEL. SO MORE OR LESS WHAT I WANT EVERYONE TO THINK ABOUT IS HOW IMPORTANT THIS SMALL GROUP INTERVENTION IS. IN THE KIDS' UPBRINGING, IN THEIR EDUCATIONAL BASE. AND ALMOST THINK ABOUT TAG AND OTHER SMALL GROUP LEARNING INITIATIVES AS A CORE BASIS OF EDUCATION AND PRIORITIZE THAT. AND I'VE ONLY LEARNED THAT RIGHT NOW THAT IT'S A 20% CUT THAT THEY'RE PROBABLY LOOKING AT. AND IF THAT'S GOING TO BE THE CASE, PERHAPS PROVIDE SOME [00:25:01] CLARITY ON WHERE YOU'RE GOING TO FILL THAT GAP IN EDUCATING THE CHILDREN AFTERWARDS, IF THAT ACTUALLY GOES THROUGH, OR IF YOU NEED TO RESTRUCTURE THE TAG PROGRAM WITH OTHER KIDS TO PROVIDE THIS BENEFIT. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. OUR NEXT SPEAKER IS AMANDA GITTLEMAN, AND YOU'RE A PARENT IN THE DISTRICT, SPEAKING ON AGENDA ITEM E3. HELLO AGAIN. MY NAME IS AMANDA GITTLEMAN. I'M ONE OF THE TAGPAC REPRESENTATIVES FOR TARAVISTA ELEMENTARY SCHOOL AND THE PROUD PARENT OF MACKENZIE, OUR FIRST GRADE TAG STUDENT. WE MOVED TO ROUND ROCK ONE MONTH INTO HER KINDERGARTEN YEAR, AND AT HER FIRST PARENT-TEACHER CONFERENCE, HER TEACHER TOLD US THAT HAD SHE STARTED AT THE VERY BEGINNING, SHE WOULD HAVE IMMEDIATELY BEEN IDENTIFIED AS FIRST GRADE, NOT KINDERGARTEN. THE TIMING WASN'T RIGHT FOR THE SCHOOL TO MAKE THE CHANGE, AND FOR SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT REASONS, WE DIDN'T WANT HER TO MAKE THAT JUMP EITHER, BUT WE LEARNED ABOUT TAG, AND WE WERE REALLY EXCITED ABOUT IT, AND THAT'S WHAT WE HELD OUR BREATH FOR. SHE TESTED IN THE SPRING AND GOT IN WITH FLYING COLORS. AT HER FIRST GRADE PARENT TEACHER CONFERENCE THIS PAST FALL, WE SAT WITH HER HOMEROOM TEACHER WHO SHOWED US A LIST OF WHAT IT TAKES FOR A FIRST GRADE STUDENT TO BECOME A SECOND GRADE STUDENT. AND MACKENZIE HAD ALREADY COMPLETED THE ENTIRE LIST. I LOOKED AT HER AND I SAID, WHAT DO YOU DO WITH HER FOR THE REMAINING SEVEN MONTHS? TAG. TAG IS WHAT WE DO WITH HER. TAG IS WHERE MACKENZIE IS STIMULATED AND IT'S WHERE SHE GROWS. AND IF YOU CUT THAT STAFFING, YOU WILL FORCE US CLOSER TO THE MINIMUMS OF 30 MINUTES PER WEEK OF LANGUAGE ARTS AND 80 MINUTES PER DAY OF MATH. BUT MACKENZIE IS NOT OLD ENOUGH FOR MATH. HER AGE LIMITS HER TO ONLY LANGUAGE ARTS. AND FOR A STUDENT THAT COMPLETED FIRST GRADE IN ONLY TWO MONTHS, YOU CANNOT TELL ME THAT 30 MINUTES PER WEEK IS SUFFICIENT. IF YOU CUT TAG MANPOWER, YOU WILL INDIRECTLY, INEVITABLY CUT TAG INSTRUCTION TIME FOR THESE KIDS. I'D LIKE TO TELL YOU A STORY THAT THIS PAST MONTH WAS CAREER DAY FOR THE ELEMENTARY KID STUDENTS, AND THEY WERE ASKED TO DRESS UP AS THEIR FUTURE PROFESSIONS. MACKENZIE WANTS TO BE A TEACHER, SO SHE PUT ON GLASSES TO MAKE HERSELF LOOK SMARTER. AND WE MADE HER AN ID BADGE THAT SHE WORE ON A LANYARD AROUND HER NECK, AND IT SAID HER NAME WITH HER ROLE AS FACULTY WITH HER PICTURE ON THE FRONT. BUT THE VERY BOTTOM SAID ROUND ROCK ISD, BECAUSE SHE LOOKS UP TO YOU, BECAUSE SHE BELIEVES IN YOU. SHE DOESN'T KNOW ANY BETTER, AND I HOPE I CAN BELIEVE IN YOU TOO. THANK YOU. OUR LAST SPEAKER TONIGHT IS PATTY MCBRADY. YOU'RE A PARENT IN THE DISTRICT, AND YOU ARE SPEAKING ON AGENDA ITEM E3. GOOD EVENING, EVERYONE. I'M THE FATHER OF TWO KIDS IN THE TAG PROGRAM AT CARRAWAY ELEMENTARY, ANOTHER STARTING IN 2027. MY WIFE, LIZ, IS ALSO THE PTA PRESIDENT AT CARRAWAY. WE ARE VEHEMENTLY OPPOSED TO THE PROPOSED 20% CUTS TO ELEMENTARY TAG. HOPEFULLY YOU'RE ALL AWARE OF ROUND ROCK ISD'S MISSION STATEMENT, INSPIRING STUDENTS TO LEARN, EMPOWERING STUDENTS FOR LIFE. I CAN'T THINK OF ANYTHING LESS INSPIRING AND MORE DISEMPOWERING THAN DECIDING TO RIP AWAY THEIR EDUCATION FOR THE DISTRICT'S BEST AND BRIGHTEST STUDENTS. THESE ARE THE CHILDREN THAT FOR MANY YEARS WILL BE AGGRESSIVELY ACHIEVING AND HELPING GENERATE THE MARKERS OF SUCCESS THAT THE DISTRICT LOVES TO BRAG ABOUT. I DON'T THINK MOST PEOPLE UNDERSTAND WHAT TAG TEACHERS AND PROGRAMS MEAN TO THESE CHILDREN. WHEN I ASK MY CHILDREN, SOPHIE AND JACK, ABOUT WHAT THEY ENJOYED ABOUT THEIR SCHOOL DAY, THEY WILL WITHOUT FAIL DISCUSS WHAT THEY'RE WORKING ON IN TAG WITH MRS. VERZEL. IT'S THE ONLY PART OF SCHOOL WHERE THEY FEEL CHALLENGED AND FREE TO EXPLORE THEIR POTENTIAL. AT MY AGE, I COULDN'T TELL YOU MUCH ABOUT MY GRADE SCHOOL TEACHERS EXCEPT FOR MRS. ZION, MRS. GRUBER, AND MR. KATZEL. WHY? BECAUSE THEY WERE MY TAG TEACHERS, AND I VIVIDLY REMEMBER THEM KEEPING ME ENGAGED AND EXCITED WHILE AT SCHOOL. THE DISTRICT BOASTS OF THEIR DATA-DRIVEN APPROACH TO DECISION-MAKING. I WOULD LOVE TO HEAR YOU COME OUT AND PUBLICLY STATE AND EXPLAIN TO ALL THE FAMILIES OF TAG STUDENTS WHAT DATA YOU'VE USED TO JUSTIFY THIS MISGUIDED DECISION. THE DATA WE SEE IS THE TAG BUDGET REPRESENTS BARELY 1% OF THE DISTRICT'S EXPENDITURES, MAKING THEM A VERY POOR TARGET FOR CUTBACKS. AND WITH THESE CUTS, YOU'LL SOON SEE THE PERCENTAGE OF DISTRICT DEPARTURES RISE, AND WITH THAT A SUBSTANTIAL DECREASE IN YOUR COVETED STAR TESTING RESULTS WHERE TAG STUDENTS OUTPERFORM. SO I ASK THE BOARD TO DO SOMETHING ACTUALLY INSPIRATIONAL AND EMPOWERING AND REJECT THESE CUTS AND INSTEAD INCREASE THE FUNDING FOR THESE CHILDREN. THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME. THANK YOU. [E. BUDGET WORKSHOP ] THAT CONCLUDES PUBLIC COMMENT. WE'RE GOING TO MOVE ON TO AGENDA ITEM E1, HEALTH INSURANCE OVERVIEW, AND I'M GOING TO TURN IT OVER TO DR. AZAIEZ. ALL RIGHT, GOOD EVENING, PRESIDENT MARKUM, BOARD MEMBERS, COMMUNITY MEMBERS. SO SO, I DON'T KNOW, EVERY YEAR AT THIS TIME OF THE YEAR, WE, WE COME BACK AND LOOK AT HEALTHCARE INSURANCE. HOW WE DOING AS FAR AS, LIKE, THE PLAN WE HAVE? TO, WE'VE BEEN ACTUALLY TRYING TO SAYS THAT EVERY YEAR WE'RE [00:30:02] SEEING A LOT OF INCREASE IN THE PREMIUM AND ALSO OUR EXPENDITURES WHEN IT COMES TO HEALTHCARE. SO WITH US TONIGHT IS EDDIE AND KRISTIN. I KNOW WE ALSO HAVE OUR FRIENDS HERE WHO HELP US RUN THE NUMBERS FOR US AND MAKE SURE WE ARE STAYING ON TRACK AND ALSO PLAN ACCORDINGLY. SO, EDDIE, IF YOU CAN TAKE IT FROM HERE. YES SIR, MADAM PRESIDENT, TRUSTEES, AND DR. AZAIEZ, THANK YOU ALL FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO VISIT WITH YOU THIS EVENING. KRISTIN GRAY IS OUR DIRECTOR OF COMPENSATION, BENEFITS, AND TOTAL REWARDS. I THINK THAT'S THE TITLE RIGHT NOW. AND WE ALSO HAVE TODD PATCH AND AARON ROMAN IN THERE, HERE FROM MARSH MCCLELLAN. AND MARSH MCCLELLAN HAS BEEN OUR BENEFITS CONSULTANT FOR MANY YEARS NOW, AND MANY OF YOU HAVE MET WITH TODD AND AARON BEFORE. SO, THEY'RE GOING TO GIVE US AN OVERVIEW OF KIND OF THE STATE OF PLAY, WHERE WE ARE RIGHT NOW. AND THERE'S LOTS OF NUMBERS. IT'S VERY DATA HEAVY. AND SO WE'LL BE GLAD TO TAKE ANY QUESTIONS THAT YOU HAVE AT THE END. TODD AND AARON. THANK YOU, TRUSTEES AND SUPERINTENDENT, FOR HAVING US TONIGHT. EDDIE FORGOT TO MENTION THAT I'M ALSO A WESTWOOD GRAD AND A PRODUCT OF THE DISTRICT FROM K THROUGH 12, SO I'M VERY PROUD OF THAT. BUT MOVING ON TO OUR TOPIC FOR TONIGHT, WHICH IS YOUR HEALTH INSURANCE FUND. THANK YOU. TODAY'S FOCUS IS GOING TO BE A BENEFITS PLAN REVIEW, A FINANCIAL UPDATE. AS EDDIE MENTIONED, IT'S GOING TO BE A LITTLE DATA HEAVY. AND AT THE END, LOOK AT LOCAL DISTRICT BENCHMARKS. IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT THAT YOU'RE COMPARING YOURSELF TO OTHER DISTRICTS IN THE AREA. JUST A REMINDER OF THE DISTRICT'S GOALS FOR THE BENEFITS PROGRAM: WANT TO PROVIDE CHOICE, SO THAT'S WHY YOU OFFER MULTIPLE PLANS FOR EMPLOYEES AND ALSO ADDITIONAL BENEFITS THAT THEY CAN ENROLL IN. IT'S IMPORTANT TO INFORM AND EDUCATE ON HOW TO MOST EFFECTIVELY AND EFFICIENTLY USE THE PLAN, AND ALSO WE WANT TO CONTINUE TO ADD PROGRAMS AND MODIFY THE PLAN TO MITIGATE ANY TREND AND COST INCREASE THAT THE DISTRICT AND JUST THE MARKET IN GENERAL IS INCURRING. A REMINDER THAT THE DISTRICT'S PLAN IS SELF-FUNDED. THAT MEANS THAT ROUND ROCK ISD PAYS FOR YOUR ACTUAL CLAIMS RATHER THAN JUST A SET PREMIUM EACH MONTH. THERE'S ALSO, IN ADDITION TO THE CLAIMS THAT YOU'RE PAYING, FIXED MONTHLY EXPENSES. SO YOU PAY OUT TO BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD TO ACTUALLY ADMINISTER THOSE CLAIMS, PROVIDE THE NETWORK. YOU HAVE SEPARATE STOP-LOSS INSURANCE. THAT STOP-LOSS INSURANCE IS COVERAGE FOR ANY OF YOUR LARGE SHOCK CLAIMS THAT YOU HAVE. IT CURRENTLY SETS AT A $500,000 DEDUCTIBLE. WE LOOK AT THAT EACH YEAR TO SEE IF THAT CAN BE INCREASED OR DECREASED DEPENDING ON WHAT THAT PREMIUM COST IS. ONE OF THE FACTORS WITH A SELF-FUNDED PLAN IS THE DISTRICT BECAUSE YOU'RE PUTTING INTO A CLAIMS FUND IF THERE'S A SURPLUS AT THE END OF THE YEAR YOU'RE ABLE TO ROLL THAT SURPLUS OVER INTO NEXT YEAR TO HELP COVER THOSE EXPENSES. OBVIOUSLY THIS YEAR IN THE PAST FEW YEARS YOU'VE BEEN WORKING WITH DEFICITS. SO IT IS THE DISTRICT'S RESPONSIBILITY TO PAY FOR THOSE DEFICITS IN ADDITION TO YOUR 466 FUNDING THAT YOU HAVE FOR THE EMPLOYEES. THE BENEFITS, SO WHY ARE WE SELF-FUNDED ESPECIALLY WHEN WE'RE TALKING ABOUT DEFICITS? OVER THE LONG TERM IT'S THE MOST EFFICIENT WAY TO RUN YOUR PLAN. BENEFITS EVEN WHEN YOU'RE FULLY INSURED AT ROUND ROCK ISD SIZE, YOUR COST IS BASED ON YOUR CLAIMS IN THE FORECAST. OF THOSE CLAIMS. SO FULLY INSURED CARRIERS WILL DETERMINE A SET PREMIUM FOR A 12-MONTH PERIOD BASED ON YOUR ACTUAL CLAIMS. SO AS A SELF-FUNDED YOU ARE PAYING THOSE CLAIMS AS YOU GO VERSUS FULLY INSURED WHERE IT'S A SET PREMIUM FOR 12 MONTHS AND THEN THEY REEVALUATE WHAT YOUR CLAIMS MIGHT LOOK LIKE FOR THE NEXT 12 MONTHS. TYPICALLY UNDER SELF-FUNDED PLANS YOU HAVE LOWER ADMINISTRATION COSTS. YOU GET TO SET YOUR OWN STOP-LOSS LEVEL, LIKE I MENTIONED BEFORE. THAT'S LOOKED AT EACH YEAR AT RENEWAL. AND YOU HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO KEEP THOSE SURPLUSES IN GOOD YEARS RATHER THAN THE CARRIER RETAIN THOSE SURPLUSES. MOST SELF-FUNDED PLANS HAVE MORE CARRIER AND NETWORK STABILITY OVER TIME BECAUSE YOU'RE NOT CHASING RATES. WITH FULLY INSURED PLANS, THERE'S MUCH MORE CARRIER MOVEMENT. IT ALLOWS YOU MORE FLEXIBILITY AND CONTROL SO YOU CAN DETERMINE WHAT YOUR PLAN LOOKS LIKE, WHAT YOU OFFER YOUR EMPLOYEES. IT ALSO ALLOWS YOU TO INCLUDE DIFFERENT PROGRAMS TO HELP MITIGATE SOME OF YOUR COSTS. A MAIN ONE IS YOU HAVE A CARVE-OUT PHARMACY PROGRAM, SO YOU DON'T USE BLUE CROSS [00:35:02] BLUE SHIELD FOR YOUR PHARMACY. THAT'S ACTUALLY CARVED OUT WITH ANOTHER PROVIDER, ARTS BENEFITS, THROUGH CVS CAREMARK. THERE'S DIFFERENT PROGRAMS LIKE LANTURN THAT OFFER OUTPATIENT. SURGERY AT NO COST OUTSIDE OF YOUR HEALTH PLAN FOR THOSE THAT ARE ENROLLED IN THAT. NEXT SLIDE. LOOKING AT THE 2026 PLANS AND HOW THEY'VE CHANGED SINCE LAST YEAR, THERE HAVE BEEN DEDUCTIBLE AND OUT-OF-POCKET MODIFICATIONS ON MOST OF THE PLANS AND YOU'LL SEE INCREASES IN COPAYS ON THAT COPAY HMO PLAN. YOU ALSO MOVED YOUR PHARMACY. YOU'LL SEE ON A FUTURE SLIDE THE PHARMACY TREND DEFINITELY WENT UP LAST YEAR. SO THAT WAS ONE OF THE COST CONTROL MEASURES WAS TO MARKET THAT, TAKE IT OUT TO RFP, AND MOVE IT THIS YEAR TO ARCS BENEFITS UNDER CVS CAREMARK. THE CO-PAYS ESSENTIALLY STAYED THE SAME, SO IT'S CO-PAY FOR THAT GENERIC TIER IF YOU'RE IN A CO-PAY PLAN WITH COINSURANCE FOR THE REMAINDER OF THE TIERS. YOU CAN ALSO SEE THE COST INCREASES AT THE BOTTOM OF THE PAGE. THOSE ARE MONTHLY, SO WHAT'S COMING OUT OF THE EMPLOYEES' PAYCHECK ON A MONTHLY BASIS. YOU'LL SEE IN 2026 THIS IS THE FIRST YEAR THAT ROUND ROCK HAS MOVED AWAY FROM HAVING A ZERO DOLLAR PLAN. IF YOU LOOK AT OTHER DISTRICTS IN THE AREA AND AROUND THE STATE MANY ARE MOVING AWAY FROM ZERO DOLLAR PLANS SO CURRENTLY YOUR LOWEST COST PLAN SITS AT TEN DOLLARS PER MONTH. IF WE LOOK AT ENROLLMENT BY PLAN CURRENTLY FOR 2026 YOU'LL SEE A PRETTY EVEN BREAKOUT IN ALL FOUR PLANS. THIS IS IDEAL, RIGHT? YOU DON'T WANT ONE PLAN THAT HAS SUPER HEAVY ENROLLMENT. IN THE PAST, IN PRIOR YEARS, YOUR COPAY PPO PLAN HAD THE MOST ENROLLMENT. THAT'S ALSO THE MOST COSTLY PLAN. SO OVER THE LAST FEW YEARS, IT'S BEEN IMPORTANT TO HELP. BALANCE THE ENROLLMENT WITHIN THE PLANS AND NOW THEY'RE FAIRLY EVEN WITH THE MOST ENROLLMENT SITTING IN THAT COPAY HMO PLAN. OVER 50 PERCENT OF THE PEOPLE ARE IN EITHER THE HIGH DEDUCTIBLE HEALTH PLAN HMO OR THE COPAY HMO. THAT HMO IS IN PLACE BECAUSE THEY HAVE STRONGER NETWORK DISCOUNTS WITH FACILITIES. SO IF YOU HAVE A LARGE CLAIM UNDER THE HMO THAT GOES TO A HOSPITAL VERSUS THIS IS THE PPO NETWORK, ONE OF THE OTHER TWO PLANS. THE AMOUNT OF CLAIM PAID OUT TO THAT FACILITY FOR THAT CLAIM IS THEORETICALLY LESS UNDER THE HMO NETWORK, AND THAT'S WHY THOSE ARE IN PLACE. THEY'RE MORE EFFICIENT NETWORKS. YOU ALSO HAVE A PCP GATEKEEPER, SO THE GOAL IS THAT MEMBERS IN THOSE HMO PLANS ARE TAKING BETTER CARE OF THEIR HEALTH BECAUSE THEIR CARE IS DIRECTED BY A PRIMARY CARE PHYSICIAN. ALL RIGHT, PIVOTING TO AN OVERVIEW AND WE'RE GOING TO GET INTO THE DETAILS ON HOW THE DISTRICT PLAN IS RUNNING. BUT BEFORE WE DO THAT, WE FELT IT WAS REALLY IMPORTANT TO TALK ABOUT JUST WHAT'S HAPPENING IN THE MARKET IN TOTAL. AND SO STARTING 24, WE STARTED SEEING SOME PRETTY UPWARD MOVEMENT, PRETTY SIGNIFICANT UPWARD MOVEMENT. AND AS WE'VE WORKED OUR WAY INTO 2026, IT'S AS BAD OF A YEAR AS I'VE SEEN IN A VERY LONG TIME. SO AARON AND I ARE OUT TALKING TO LOTS OF CUSTOMERS THESE DAYS ABOUT INCREASING COST AND HOW TO MANAGE THAT AND IT'S A REAL CHALLENGE TODAY IS THE BOTTOM LINE. SO, YOU KNOW, WHAT ARE EMPLOYERS DOING TO COMBAT THAT CHALLENGE? IF YOU LOOK OVER IN THE BLUE SHADED SECTION, RAISING PREMIUMS, INCREASING PLAN COST SHARE, LIKE AARON JUST GOT DONE GOING THROUGH OVER A COUPLE SLIDES AGO. CONSIDERING NARROW NETWORKS OR HMO NETWORKS LIKE THE DISTRICT HAS DONE, TIGHTENING SOME PLAN CONTROLS, AND JUST ADOPTING ANYTHING THAT YOU CAN TO TRY TO STEER CARE TO MORE EFFICIENT PROVIDERS AND PROCESSES, ALWAYS BALANCING, KEEPING PEOPLE HEALTHY, PROVIDING THEM THE CARE, BUT TRYING TO DO THAT IN AN EFFICIENT WAY. AND SO WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE STATE OF THE MARKET, WE'RE GOING TO TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THIS IN A FEW MINUTES, BUT VALUED BASE CARE, THAT SECOND-TO-LAST BULLET, IS SOMETHING THAT WE SPEND A LOT OF TIME TALKING TO OUR CUSTOMERS ABOUT. IN ESSENCE, VALUE-BASED CARE MEANS TRYING TO DIRECT CARE AND INCENTIVES TO PROVIDERS THAT SIMPLY JUST DO A BETTER JOB. THERE ARE TOP-TIER PROVIDERS OUT THERE, AND SO PRODUCTS LIKE SUREST AND GARNER AND CAREWAY PLUS, WHICH IS A BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD PLAN, ARE PRODUCTS LIKE THAT. [00:40:01] SO WE ARE LOOKING VERY CLOSELY AT AND LIKELY WILL MAKE A RECOMMENDATION. TO MOVE TO A CAREWAY PLUS PLAN WITH BLUE CROSS. AND JUST TO GIVE YOU SOME CONTEXT, IT WOULD BASICALLY, YOU'D HAVE KIND OF A THREE-TIER PROGRAM. SO, YOU KNOW, THE HIGHER QUALITY, BETTER PROVIDERS AND FACILITIES, ET CETERA, WOULD BE IN A LOWER COST TIER. AND SO THAT WOULD GIVE EVERYBODY INCENTIVE TO TRY TO USE THAT CARE. SO, YOU KNOW, IN OUR WORLD, IT'S ALL ABOUT TRYING TO GET PLANS IN AS EFFICIENT CARE AS POSSIBLE. SO THESE ARE THE TRENDS THAT ARE HAPPENING AS... ALL AMERICANS AND ALL COMPANIES TODAY ARE REALLY KIND OF BATTLING THIS FIGHT WITH INCREASING HEALTH CARE COSTS. AS WE PIVOT AND KIND OF LOOK AT THE DISTRICT HEALTH FUNDING, WE'VE LOOKED AT THIS SLIDE, I THINK, EVERY TIME WE'VE BEEN HERE TALKING TO THE BOARD. SO AT A VERY HIGH LEVEL, THIS IS KIND OF MEANT TO IDENTIFY TRENDS THAT ARE GOING ON. SO IF YOU LOOK OVER TO THE RIGHT AND LOOK FROM 2016 TO 2025, THE DISTRICT'S AVERAGE IS 6%, WHICH IS PRETTY GOOD COMPARED TO WHERE THE MARKET IS AT 6.7%. BUT IF YOU KIND OF EYEBALL THE LAST FOUR, FIVE, SIX YEARS, THAT HASN'T BEEN THE CASE. YOUR ACTUAL CLAIM TREND IS OUTPACING MARKET TREND, WHICH IS PART OF THE REASON WHY WE'VE BEEN DOING THE THINGS THAT WE'VE BEEN DOING, AND WE'RE GOING TO TALK A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT THAT IN A LITTLE BIT, BUT YOU GUYS HAVE BEEN RUNNING AT A DEFICIT, AND YOU CAN SEE EIGHT OF THOSE TEN YEARS YOU'RE IN A DEFICIT POSITION. AND THEN ONE MORE POINT, AND WE'LL ADDRESS THIS MORE AS WELL, THE DISTRICT FUNDING, SO YOUR BUDGET IS PUBLISHED AT $466 PER EMPLOYEE PER MONTH, BUT THAT'S NOT YOUR ACTUAL COST. BECAUSE OF THE DEFICIT, YOUR ACTUAL COST IS HIGHER THAN THAT. AND IN 2025, THAT CAME IN AT $588. SO I TALKED A LITTLE BIT ABOUT US ACTIVELY MANAGING THE PLAN, AND I'M GOING TO ADDRESS THIS, I THINK IT'S ON THE NEXT SLIDE, ON YOUR ACTUAL COST. SO HAD WE NOT BEEN ACTIVELY MANAGING THIS WITH EDDIE AND KRISTEN AND THE FULL HR TEAM, THE COST WOULD BE SIGNIFICANTLY HIGHER. AND SO AARON ALREADY TALKED THROUGH SOME OF THE THINGS THAT YOU'VE DONE ABOUT INCREASING EMPLOYEE CONTRIBUTION, AND CHANGING THE PLANS, AND ADDING THE HMO AS AN EXAMPLE. AND YOU NOW HAVE A HIGHER PERCENTAGE IN THE HMO THAN YOU DO THE PPO, WHICH IS A GOOD THING BECAUSE THAT MEANS WHEN SOMEBODY GOES TO THE HOSPITAL OR SEEKS SERVICES, THE COST IS LESS FOR THE DISTRICT. SO WE'LL CONTINUE TO LOOK AT THOSE KIND OF THINGS AS WE PLAN FOR 2027. ANOTHER REALLY GOOD PROGRAM WE IMPLEMENTED IN 2021 IS CALLED LANTERN, AND THAT'S A VERY NARROW NETWORK THAT IS SET UP FOR SPECIALTY SURGERIES, LIKE A HIP REPLACEMENT, AS AN EXAMPLE. IT PROVIDES A BIG BENEFIT FOR THE EMPLOYEE, TOO, SOME INCENTIVES TO GO THERE, AND THE COSTS ARE A LOT LOWER AND THE QUALITY IS OFF THE CHARTS, SO THEY JUST DO A PHENOMENAL JOB. I ALREADY KIND OF TALKED ABOUT THE BLUE CROSS HMO PLAN, AND THEN LASTLY, A COUPLE MONTHS AGO, YOU OPENED UP THE 4U HEALTH CENTER, WHICH IS SUPER AWESOME, AND THE PHARMACY IS UP AND RUNNING NOW AS WELL, AND WE'RE GOING TO VISIT ABOUT THAT. SO THIS SLIDE JUST, I'LL HIT THIS QUICKLY, BUT IT'S JUST A VISUAL, A REPORT THAT WE PROVIDE AND LOOK AT MONTHLY ON HOW MUCH THE CLAIMS ARE PER MEMBER PER MONTH, AND IT JUST KIND OF GIVES YOU A A FEEL FOR HOW THINGS ARE TRACKING, AND ESPECIALLY THE LAST HALF OF 2025, WHICH WAS NOT GREAT AT ALL. OVER THAT FOUR-YEAR PERIOD THAT WE HAVE ON THIS REPORT, THAT TREND'S BEEN ABOUT 8.25%. SO AGAIN, A LITTLE BIT HIGHER THAN MARKET TREND, BUT WE HAVE CUSTOMERS THAT RUN WORSE THAN THIS, UNFORTUNATELY. BUT THAT'S KIND OF WHERE YOU'VE BEEN THAT FOUR YEARS WHEN YOU LOOK AT YOUR ACTUAL TREND. THE NEXT SLIDE IS THE ONE I THINK THAT... FOR ME, IF I WAS YOU ALL, I WOULD PROBABLY ZERO IN ON THE MOST. SO OVER TO THE RIGHT, THIS IS A DIFFERENT WAY OF LOOKING AT IT THAN WE HAVE PREVIOUSLY, BUT IT'S A PER EMPLOYEE PER YEAR CALCULATION. AND SO WHEN YOU LOOK AT 2025, THE DISTRICT'S, THIS IS ACTUAL COST, $7,057 PER EMPLOYEE PER YEAR. AND THAT IS AN AVERAGE. SO IT DOESN'T MATTER WHICH OF THE FOUR PLANS THEY'RE IN, WHETHER OR NOT THEY HAVE EMPLOYEE ONLY, SPOUSE, CHILD, FAMILY, THAT'S HOW MUCH YOUR COST IS, AND SO SIMILARLY WE ALSO MEASURE HOW MUCH THE EMPLOYEE CONTRIBUTIONS ARE, OR THEIR PREMIUMS TOWARDS THE PLAN, AND YOU CAN SEE WHAT THAT IS IN 2025, AND HOW IT, HOW IT'S INCREASED QUITE A BIT SINCE 2022, AND THEN THE LAST THING THAT WE MEASURE ARE THE EMPLOYEE BENEFIT PAYMENTS, SO THAT'S WHEN THEY HAVE TO MEET DEDUCTIBLES, AND CO-PAYS, AND COINSURANCE WHEN THEY'RE ACTUALLY SEEKING CARE, AND THEN THE TABLE AT THE BOTTOM LEFT JUST GIVES YOU A [00:45:01] PERCENTAGE INCREASE FROM 22 TO 25 TO GET A FEEL FOR WHAT THAT'S LOOKED LIKE FOR THOSE DIFFERENT BUCKETS. AND THEN UP TOP IS THE NET PLAN COST. SO THIS IS BOTH THE DISTRICT'S CONTRIBUTION AND THE EMPLOYEE'S CONTRIBUTION. SO WHEN YOU LOOK AT $47.7 MILLION VERSUS $44.7, $3 MILLION IS A LOT OF MONEY, BUT THAT'S NOT A CRAZY NUMBER GIVEN ALL THOSE TRENDS THAT I'VE BEEN TALKING TO YOU ABOUT. BUT IT'S IMPORTANT TO NOTE THAT THE EMPLOYEE ENROLLMENT HAS REDUCED DURING THAT TIME PERIOD. SO I THINK THAT'S A KEY THING TO TAKE NOTE OF. JUST QUICKLY ON THE PHARMACY IMPACT, WE'RE GOING TO TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE CLINIC PHARMACY, KIND OF THE WHY AND HOW IT WORKS. BUT JUST WE HAVEN'T BROUGHT PHARMACY TREND OUT HERE, I DON'T THINK, IN A WHILE. SO I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT TO NOTE WHAT... PHARMACY IS COSTING YOUR PLAN IN TOTAL. IT'S ABOUT A FOURTH OF THE TOTAL CLAIMS SPEND. IT WAS A LITTLE OVER 14 MILLION DOLLARS LAST YEAR JUST IN PHARMACY COST, BUT THAT'S NOT UNUSUAL. A NORMAL EMPLOYER GROUP, THEIR PHARMACY SPEND RUNS ABOUT 25 TO 30 PERCENT, SO YOU'RE ACTUALLY A LITTLE BIT BELOW THAT. SO IT'S A HUGE NUMBER, IT LOOKS SCARY, BUT YOU'RE WELL WITHIN THE NORM. WHAT OTHER EMPLOYERS ARE. ONE OF THE THINGS YOU'LL NOTE DOWN AT THE BOTTOM WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE PER MEMBER PER MONTH CLAIM COST ON THAT BAR GRAPH, YOU'LL SEE YOUR TREND HAS BEEN RELATIVELY LOW OVERALL BUT IT DID JUMP UP LAST YEAR. SO OBVIOUSLY WE WENT THROUGH A PROCESS LIKE I MENTIONED BEFORE THE RFP AND MARKETING AND THAT IS THE REASON WHY YOU CHANGED PHARMACY BENEFIT PROVIDERS. FOR 2026. I'LL JUST QUICKLY HIT ON THE OTHER. I WON'T GO INTO IT IN DETAIL, BUT NONE OF THE CLASSES THAT YOU'RE SPENDING MONEY ON, A LOT OF THE, ESPECIALLY WHEN YOU LOOK AT NUMBER ONE AND NUMBER TWO, NUMBER THREE, THOSE HAVE VERY EXPENSIVE MEDICATIONS INCLUDED FOR THOSE THERAPEUTIC CLASSES. SO IT'S NORMAL TO SEE THOSE UP TOP. AND YOUR TOP SHELF SPEND, THOSE ARE DRUGS THAT COST A THOUSAND DOLLARS OR MORE PER MONTH THAT'S RIGHT IN LINE WITH OUR NORM, TOO, OF BEING 65% OF YOUR ACTUAL PHARMACY SPEND. SO PIVOTING BACK TO KIND OF BUDGETING AND WHERE WE SEE THIS HEADED, IN 2025 ACTUAL THERE WAS A DEFICIT OF $7.5 MILLION. WITH THE CHANGES THAT WE MADE FOR THIS PLAN YEAR IN 26, AND ALSO WHEN YOU BAKE IN JANUARY THROUGH MARCH, THUS FAR, KNOCK ON WOOD, HAS RUN A LOT BETTER THAN LAST YEAR AT THIS TIME. WE'RE PROJECTING ABOUT A $6.7 MILLION DEFICIT. OF COURSE, THAT'LL EBB AND FLOW JUST DEPENDING ON HOW CLAIMS COME IN, BUT HOPEFULLY IT'LL BE BETTER THAN THAT. AND THEN IF WE DON'T MAKE ANY CHANGES AT ALL, WE JUST KIND OF KEEP STATUS QUO. WE JUST ILLUSTRATE WHERE THAT COULD GO. WE'VE BEEN DOING THIS FOR A FEW YEARS WITH YOU ALL AS WELL, WHICH REALLY JUST IS MEANT TO KIND OF ILLUSTRATE WHY THE NEED FOR CHANGE IS THERE, RIGHT? YOU'VE GOT TO GET OUT AHEAD OF THIS AS MUCH AS YOU CAN TO TRY TO MITIGATE TRENDS AND GET CARE DELIVERED IN AS EFFICIENT A WAY AS POSSIBLE. TODD, IF I COULD JUST JUMP IN JUST REAL QUICK. SO JUST TO POINT OUT, THIS IS OVER THE CALENDAR YEAR, SO FROM JANUARY THROUGH DECEMBER, THAT'S WHAT THESE COSTS ARE BASED ON. SO IT'S NOT GOING TO LINE UP PERFECTLY WITH DENNIS'S NUMBERS IN TERMS OF FISCAL YEAR BECAUSE YOU'RE ACTUALLY TALKING ABOUT ESSENTIALLY TWO PLAN YEARS WITH TWO DIFFERENT PLAN DESIGNS. BUT THIS REFLECTS THE JANUARY THROUGH DECEMBER NUMBER, RIGHT? YES. THANK YOU, EDDIE. YEAH, THAT'S IMPORTANT TO KNOW FOR SURE. SO I'LL TAKE ONE MORE, AND THEN AARON'S GOING TO LAUNCH INTO SOME COOL THINGS THAT YOU'RE DOING WITH THE HEALTH CENTER. EMERGENCY ROOM UTILIZATION IS AN ISSUE AROUND THE COUNTRY. IT'S A BIGGER ISSUE THAN TEXAS, THAN MOST STATES, JUST FOR A VARIETY OF REASONS. AND IT'S A BIGGER ISSUE FOR ROUND ROCK ISD THAN IT IS OTHER EMPLOYERS. SO WHEN YOU LOOK AT 21 AND THE TOTAL GROSS CLAIMS, PERCENT OF CLAIMS, AND ER VISITS, AND YOU BUMP THAT UP AGAINST 25, IT'S GONE UP MORE THAN DOUBLE, RIGHT? AND SO THE ER VISITS ARE UP SIGNIFICANTLY, BUT YOUR GROSS COST PER VISIT HASN'T CHANGED THAT MUCH. IT'S BOUNCED AROUND A LITTLE BIT. AND SO THE REASON FOR ALL OF THIS. REALLY HAS TO DO WITH THE EXPANSION OF EMERGENCY ROOM CENTERS ON THE CORNER. THEY TEND TO DO MORE LIKE URGENT CARE TYPE STUFF, [00:50:02] AND THERE ARE SOME FEDERAL LAWS THAT HAVE PUT THEM IN A POSITION WHERE THEY'RE ABLE TO JUST, IN MY OPINION, KIND OF TAKE ADVANTAGE, FRANKLY, OF THE SITUATION. SO THAT ALSO A BIG DEAL IS THAT ACCESS TO CARE, IT'S DIFFICULT FOR FOLKS, RIGHT, ANYBODY. TEACHERS WORKING LATE HOURS, THAT MUCH MORE. SO, YOU KNOW, WE BELIEVE THIS WAS A BIG REASON WHY BUILDING THE HEALTH CENTER WOULD BE SUPER IMPORTANT TO GET PEOPLE TAKEN REALLY GOOD CARE OF AND HAVE GOOD ACCESS TO CARE, AFTER-HOURS CONTACT TO DOCTORS, ET CETERA. BUT. WE DID WANT TO POINT THIS OUT. IT'S A BATTLE WE'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT, WORKING THROUGH WITH BLUE CROSS, EXPLORING EVERY OPTION THAT WE CAN DO. BUT AT THE END OF THE DAY, THIS IS KIND OF WHAT THE RESULTS ARE. SO THAT LEADS US INTO THE CLINIC. I KNOW THAT YOU AS A BOARD HAVE SPENT A LOT OF TIME ON THE REASONS WHY, SO WE WON'T HIT THAT VERY HEAVY TODAY. JUST WANT TO GIVE YOU SOME HIGH-LEVEL STATS. THE HEALTH CENTER HAS ONLY BEEN OPEN SINCE MID-FEBRUARY, BUT VISITS CONTINUE TO INCREASE AS THE MONTHS MOVE ALONG. SO YOU'LL SEE THE CURRENT COUNTS THERE. AND THE PHARMACY ALSO IS OPEN. SO IT'S AVAILABLE FOR MEMBERS OF THE HEALTH PLAN TO FILL THEIR PRESCRIPTIONS AT THE CLINIC PHARMACY. WE'LL TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THAT NEXT. BUT JUST HIGH LEVEL, WE ARE KEEPING TRACK OF SURVEY DATA. SO THE MEMBERS THAT GO IN ARE ASKED, VOLUNTARILY ASKED TO FILL OUT A SURVEY, AND THE SCORE IS ACTUALLY VERY HIGH. SO OUT OF A 10 POINT SCORE, THE SURVEY RESULTS ARE AT 9.5, AND I'LL JUST READ A COUPLE OF THE, THE SURVEY COMMENTS THAT WE'VE GOTTEN, SO, VERY ACCESSIBLE, GREAT EXPERIENCE, EASY, KIND STAFF, EFFICIENT, KNOWLEDGEABLE, HAVING THE ON-SITE PHARMACY HELPS REDUCE THE TIME AND GETTING CARE THAT IS NEEDED, SO, REALLY POSITIVE COMMENTS. THE MAJORITY OF THE COMMENTS WITHIN THE SURVEY RESULTS THAT WE GET ARE POSITIVE. SO THIS SLIDE IS MEANT TO KIND OF TALK ABOUT THE ENHANCEMENTS WITH THE CENTER AND, YOU KNOW, I, YOU SAW THE GARNER LISTED ON ONE OF THE PREVIOUS SLIDES. ONE OF THE REASONS THAT WE SELECTED, OR YOU GUYS SELECTED, MARATHON AS A PARTNER IS WHAT THEY, THEIR PARTNERSHIP WITH GARNER, AND BASICALLY WHAT GARNER'S ROLE IS IS THEY IDENTIFY THE TOP 20-25 PERCENT OF PHYSICIANS IN EVERY MARKET, EVERY ZIP CODE, AND THEY'VE GOT ALL THIS REALLY GREAT DATA, THEY'RE COMPLETELY AGNOSTIC TO ANY, ANY MEDICAL CARRIER, SO THEY'RE LOOKING AT DATA AND IDENTIFYING, YOU KNOW, WHICH ARE THE BEST PHYSICIANS TO GO TO, AND SO IF SOMEBODY'S IN THE CENTER AND NEEDS A REFERRAL OUTSIDE FOR WHATEVER IT MIGHT BE, THEN THE CENTER IS GOING TO BE LOOKING AT THAT GARNER DATA AND PROVIDING THAT EMPLOYEE WITH SOME OPTIONS AND TALKING TO THEM ABOUT THE QUALITY OF THE GARNER-APPROVED PROVIDERS. AND SO THAT'S JUST A TESTAMENT, AGAIN, TO US DOING EVERYTHING WE CAN TO TRY TO MANAGE CARE AS WELL AS WE CAN. I'LL GIVE YOU AN EXAMPLE, AND THIS WILL CORRELATE TO THE CAREWAY PLUS PLAN TOO. I ALWAYS USE KNEE SURGERY. SO, YOU KNOW, YOU... GOT A PROBLEM WITH YOUR KNEE, YOU POP IN, YOU KNOW, AND YOU VISIT WITH A SURGEON. SURGEON A GOES STRAIGHT TO, LET'S GO AHEAD AND GET THE SURGERY DONE, CUT ON YOU. SURGEON A MAY SEND YOU TO A FACILITY THAT COSTS THREE TIMES AS MUCH AS A BETTER QUALITY FACILITY. SURGEON A MAY HAVE REOCCURRING RATES, INFECTION RATES, AND JUST SIMPLY NOT BE AS GOOD, RIGHT? SO THAT DATA IS OUT THERE. SURGEON B, ON THE OTHER HAND, MIGHT SAY, HEY, LET'S RUN YOU THROUGH SOME PHYSICAL THERAPY. MAYBE YOU DON'T NEED SURGERY, BUT IF YOU DO NEED SURGERY, THAT PHYSICAL THERAPY IS GOING TO PUT YOU IN A POSITION WHERE YOU'RE GOING TO RECOVER FASTER AND THAT KIND OF THING. AND SURGEON B IS GOING TO ALSO USE A HIGH-QUALITY, WHICH IS ALSO ALMOST ALWAYS LOWER-COST FACILITY, WHICH CAN BE THE DIFFERENCE OF A $15,000 SURGERY AND A $50,000 SURGERY. SO THAT'S THE TYPE OF THING THAT WE'RE TALKING A LOT ABOUT AND A BIG REASON WHY MARATHON WAS SELECTED, IN ADDITION TO BEING A GREAT PARTNER FOR YOUR HEALTH CENTER. JUST SOME QUICK HITS ON THE CLINIC PHARMACY THAT IS OPEN NOW. SO THE PHARMACY GOALS ARE TO HELP WITH SAVINGS FOR MEMBERS. SO YOU SEE OFF TO THE RIGHT-HAND SIDE, THERE ARE LOWER COPAY. THERE'S A LOWER COPAY STRUCTURE FOR MEMBERS THAT GO THROUGH THE CLINIC PHARMACY VERSUS GOING THROUGH WALGREENS OR CVS ON THE CORNER. SO THERE IS MEMBER SAVINGS. THE GOAL IS REALLY NOT ONLY TO PROVIDE SAVINGS FOR THE MEMBERS, OBVIOUSLY SAVINGS FOR THE DISTRICT, [00:55:01] BUT ALSO DRIVE TRAFFIC INTO THE CLINIC BECAUSE UTILIZATION IS KEY FOR THE CLINIC TO BE SUCCESSFUL, IS TO DRIVE PEOPLE TO THE CLINIC AND USE THE CLINIC. SO IT'S VERY CONVENIENT FOR PEOPLE IF THEY GO IN FOR AN URGENT CARE VISIT AND NEED AN ANTIBIOTIC, THE PHARMACY IS RIGHT THERE AND THEY CAN FILL THE PRESCRIPTION. THEY CAN FILL MOST PRESCRIPTIONS ON SITE. EXCEPTIONS WOULD BE SPECIALTY MEDICATIONS. SOME OF THOSE THEY CANNOT FILL, AND THEY'D HAVE TO GO THROUGH THE HEALTH PLAN TO GET THOSE SPECIALTY MEDS. IT'S FILLED, BUT MOST MAINTENANCE MEDICATIONS, TYPICAL MAINTENANCE MEDICATIONS, THEY CAN FILL. THIS IS A COORDINATED EFFORT ALSO WITH RX BENEFITS AND CVS CAREMARK. WE'RE WORKING DIRECTLY WITH THEM TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE ALSO MANAGING THE COST WITHIN THE CLINIC PHARMACY, TOO, SO WE WILL, AS TIME GOES ON AND UTILIZATION GOES UP AND MORE CLAIMS RUN THROUGH THE CLINIC PHARMACY, WE'RE GOING TO TO BE MONITORING THE COST OF THAT, TOO, TO MAKE SURE THAT IT STAYS IN LINE. AND THEN, KIND OF NOT THE QUITE FINAL SLIDE, BUT ONE OF THE FINAL SLIDES IS FUTURE CONSIDERATIONS. SO WE'VE MENTIONED QUITE A FEW OF THESE AS WE'VE GONE ON ALONG IN THE PRESENTATION, BUT IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT, AS I MENTIONED BEFORE, TO DRIVE UTILIZATION TO THE CLINIC. THAT TAKES CLAIMS OFF OF YOUR HEALTH PLAN FOR PEOPLE THAT CAN GO TO THE CLINIC. IT'S IMPORTANT TO COORDINATE THAT, GET UTILIZATION UP. BUT ALSO FOR THE HEALTH OF THE MEMBERS, NOT JUST COST SAVINGS, RIGHT? THERE'S IMPROVED HEALTH WITH MEMBERS THAT ARE GOING TO GO THROUGH THE CLINIC AND DO THEIR PRIMARY CARE THROUGH THE CLINIC. THERE'S ALWAYS GOING TO BE LARGE CLAIMS THAT ARE UNEXPECTED, UNFORESEEN, THAT WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO DEAL WITH. SO WE'LL CONTINUE TO MANAGE YOUR STOP LOSS COVERAGE EACH AND EVERY YEAR AS WE DO TO MAKE SURE THAT YOU HAVE THE APPROPRIATE COVERAGE AT THE BEST PREMIUM THAT WE CAN GET FOR YOU. ANOTHER THING THAT WE'VE HIT HOME PRETTY HARD IN THIS PRESENTATION IS CONTINUING TO LOOK AND TRY TO FIND WAYS TO MITIGATE COST AND MITIGATE TREND. SO TODD MENTIONED CAREWAY PLUS IS ONE OF THE THINGS ON THE TABLE FOR 2027 THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT, AGAIN, TO DRIVE MEMBERS TO MORE EFFICIENT PROVIDERS, WHICH IN TURN WILL PROVIDE SAVINGS NOT ONLY FOR THE MEMBERS, BUT ALSO FOR THE DISTRICT. AND THEN LASTLY, WE JUST WANTED TO REMIND YOU THAT WE ARE CONSTANTLY LOOKING AT TRS BENCHMARKS, PEER GROUP, PEER DISTRICT BENCHMARKS TO MAKE SURE THAT THE BENEFIT PLAN THAT YOU'RE OFFERING TO YOUR EMPLOYEES IS NOT OUT OF LINE OR OUT OF MARKET. SO THIS IS SOMETHING THAT WE'RE CONTINUING TO MONITOR. AND WITH THAT, WE'LL TAKE ANY QUESTIONS. TRUSTEE ROSS. BACK ON THE SLIDE FOR YOUR SURVEYS, HOW MANY OF THOSE VISITS FILLED OUT A SURVEY? SO FROM A PERCENTAGE STANDPOINT OF VISITS, HOW MANY PERCENTAGES OF PEOPLE, THAT'S A DATA POINT THAT WE'LL GET BACK TO YOU ON. THANK YOU. TRUSTEE WEIR. ACTUALLY, MY QUESTION IS IS FOR STAFF BECAUSE I'M JUST CURIOUS FOR OUR EMPLOYEES, LIKE WHEN ARE THESE DECISIONS, LIKE IF WE'RE GOING TO GO WITH CARRAWAY PLUS, WHEN ARE THOSE DECISIONS MADE, AND WHEN DOES THAT GO OUT TO OUR EMPLOYEES? I MEAN, I KNOW IT'S NOT WITH THE SCHOOL YEAR. IT'S WITH THE CALENDAR YEAR. SO I KNOW YOU'VE GOT SOME TIME, BUT JUST A LITTLE IDEA OF WHEN THAT HAPPENS. YEAH, WE'VE BEEN EXPLORING A LOT THIS YEAR. OBVIOUSLY, THESE NUMBERS ARE, YOU KNOW, THEY'RE NOT SUSTAINABLE. SO WE'VE REALLY HAD OUR EYE ON THIS EVEN SINCE WE LAUNCHED. THE LAST OPEN ENROLLMENT SESSION TO FIGURE OUT HOW CAN WE GET IN FRONT OF THIS. THE GOAL IS TO GET INFORMATION TO THE STAFF WELL AHEAD OF OPEN ENROLLMENT SEASON, WHICH IS IN OCTOBER. SO WE'D REALLY IDEALLY BE ABLE TO KIND OF LAND THAT PLANE LATE AUGUST, SEPTEMBER TIME TO GET INFORMATION OUT AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. BUT SOME OF THAT IS THERE'S A LOT OF WORK WITH THOSE CARRIERS AS WELL TO MAKE SURE THAT WE CAN GET THE PRICES WHERE WE NEED THEM TO AND THE PLAN DESIGN ITSELF. THE OTHER PIECE TO THAT IS OBVIOUSLY THIS WE'RE THREE MONTHS INTO HAVING OUR OWN HEALTH CENTER, AND SO I WANTED TO JUST ADD TO THAT, AND I KNOW THIS, JUST TO MAKE SURE THE COMMUNITY IS AWARE, THREE MONTHS IN, WE HAVEN'T REALLY REALIZED THE CLAIM SAVINGS THAT WE ANTICIPATE, AND THEY'RE CERTAINLY NOT REFLECTED IN THOSE DEFICIT SLIDES. SO WHEN WE TALKED ABOUT THE HEALTH CENTER, YOU KNOW, LAST YEAR, GOSH, IT FEELS LIKE 10 YEARS AGO, BUT LAST YEAR WE TALKED ABOUT IF WE DON'T DO ANYTHING, AND YOU'LL ALL REMEMBER THE NUMBER WAS A LOT WORSE. THAN IT IS. SO WE'RE HOPING THAT WE CAN GRADUALLY DIG INTO THOSE DEFICITS, [01:00:02] AND IT WILL ALLOW US TO MINIMIZE THE COST, THE OUT-OF-POCKET EXPENSE FOR THE EMPLOYEES. BUT ALL OF THAT TO SAY, IT MAKES THINGS A LITTLE MORE COMPLICATED IN TERMS OF THAT PLAN DESIGN, BECAUSE AGAIN, WE REALLY WANT TO DRIVE AS MUCH TRAFFIC AS WE CAN THROUGH THE CLINIC. SO I WOULD SAY SEPTEMBER, CONSERVATIVELY. AND JUST AS A FOLLOW-UP, BECAUSE I MEAN, IT IS GOING TO BE VERY COMPLICATED. AND I KNOW IT'S... A LOT FOR OUR STAFF AS THEY ARE JUST COMING BACK IN AND THE SCHOOL YEAR IS JUST STARTING. AND I KNOW YOU'VE TRIED TO GO OUT, BUT SORT OF DO YOU HAVE A PLAN WHERE HOW YOU'RE GOING TO GET THIS INFORMATION OUT TO EVERYBODY SO THAT THEY'RE ABLE TO MAKE THE BEST DECISIONS FOR THEMSELVES? ONE OF THE BEST THINGS THAT KRISTEN HAS PUT IN PLACE IN THE LAST FIVE YEARS IS WE'VE LAUNCHED A U AMBASSADOR PROGRAM AT EACH OF OUR CAMPUSES AND WITH THEIR DEPARTMENTS. AND SO THAT MEANS THAT EACH CAMPUS HAS THEIR DESIGNEE. IT'S A STIPEND POSITION, AND THEY COME ONCE A MONTH AND MEET WITH US AND LEARN ABOUT PROGRAMS. AND, YOU KNOW, A LONG TIME AGO, A FORMER BOARD MEMBER CHALLENGED ME TO FIGURE OUT WAYS TO COMMUNICATE WITH 06,400 STAFF. AND WE'VE REALLY BEEN SCRATCHING OUR HEADS ON THAT BECAUSE EMAILS DON'T WORK FOR EVERYBODY. RIGHT. SO, BUT BUT HAVING THAT FACE-TO-FACE CONTACT AND BEING ABLE TO KIND OF TRANSLATE THE MESSAGE HAS BEEN REALLY IMPORTANT. I REALLY BELIEVE THAT'S WHY WE'RE SEEING GREAT UTILIZATION IN THE CLINIC, BECAUSE WE'VE DONE A LOT OF WORD OF MOUTH, AND TALKING ABOUT PROGRAMS ONCE A MONTH AND MAKING SURE PEOPLE REALLY UNDERSTAND THAT. BECAUSE TO TODD AND ERIN'S POINT, WE HAVE A LOT OF PROGRAMS, AND THOSE ARE ALL BY DESIGN, DESIGNED TO REALLY HELP EMPLOYEES WITH ACCESS TO GOOD HEALTH CARE. I MEAN, LANTERN'S A GREAT EXAMPLE OF THAT. IT'S A GREAT PROGRAM. THOSE THINGS ARE ONLY SUCCESSFUL IF PEOPLE UTILIZE THEM, RIGHT? SO THAT'S BEEN THE BEST WAY. I THINK WE'LL REALLY LEVERAGE THOSE U AMBASSADORS NEXT YEAR AS WELL. AND, I MEAN, THE GOAL IS, AGAIN, AMY, TRUSTEE WEIR, EXCUSE ME, WE'RE TRYING TO GET OUT AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE TO CAMPUSES. BUT THE CHALLENGE IS THERE'S WORK AS WELL THAT WE HAVE TO GET DONE IN ORDER TO DESIGN THE PLANS. AND SO, REALLY TRYING TO FIGURE OUT SMART WAYS TO LEVERAGE THOSE CAMPUS STAFF. OUR FRONT OFFICE ADMIN ASSOCIATES ARE OUR BEST FRIENDS WITH THIS KIND OF STUFF TOO BECAUSE THAT'S WHO EVERYBODY GOES TO AND THEY HAVE QUESTIONS ABOUT DOCTORS AND HEALTH CARE AS WELL. SO WE'RE GOING TO DO SOME TRAINING AROUND THAT TO TRY TO BUILD CAPACITY IN THOSE INDIVIDUALS TOO. THANK YOU. TRUSTEE CUERO. EDDIE, I THINK THIS ONE'S FOR YOU. SO IF I SEE THAT OUT-OF-NETWORK IS NOT COVERED, IS THAT CORRECT? OUT-OF-NETWORK? CAN YOU ANSWER THAT? I CAN HELP WITH THAT. SO ON THE HMO PLANS, THE HIGH DEDUCTIBLE HMO AND THE COPAY HMO, THEY ARE NOT COVERED. THOSE PLANS ARE DESIGNED TO KEEP PEOPLE IN-NETWORK WITH THE PRIMARY CARE GATEKEEPER. THE TWO PPO PLANS, THE HIGH DEDUCTIBLE PPO AND THE COPAY PPO, THOSE DO HAVE OUT-OF-NETWORK NETWORK BENEFITS AVAILABLE. OKAY. SO IF FOR SOME REASON AN EMPLOYEE NEEDS TO GO TO OUT OF NETWORK, HOW DOES THAT WORK? SO REALLY WITH THE BENEFIT OF BEING WITH BLUE CROSS IS THAT IT HAS A HUGE NETWORK, RIGHT, WITH ALL OF THE HOSPITAL SYSTEMS LOCALLY IN THE NETWORK. SO YOU ACTUALLY HAVE VERY LITTLE OUT OF NETWORK UTILIZATION. MOST OF YOUR OUT OF NETWORK UTILIZATION COMES ON THE EMERGENCY ROOM SIDE, WHICH HAS TO BE COVERED EVEN UNDER THE HMO PLANS AS PART OF FEDERAL LAW. SO THERE'S JUST VERY LITTLE OUT-OF-NETWORK UTILIZATION. BUT IF SOMEONE DOES GO OUT-OF-NETWORK ON THOSE PPO PLANS, THEY HAVE QUITE A BIT OF OUT-OF-POCKET. THEY HAVE A HIGHER DEDUCTIBLE, A HIGHER COINSURANCE, SO THEY'RE PAYING MORE TO GO OUT-OF-NETWORK. SO A QUESTION TO YOU, EDDIE. IS THERE EDUCATION REGARDING THOSE DIFFERENCES TO THE STAFF? WE'VE DONE SOME THINGS, LIKE WE'VE RUN VARIOUS SCENARIOS AND PRESENTED THOSE TO STAFF, LIKE THE COST OF CARE AT EACH OF THOSE DIFFERENT ENTITIES. AND WE DID A LOT OF THAT PRIOR TO US RULING AT THE CLINIC, THE HEALTH CENTER. AND SO, YES, WE CONTINUE TO DO THAT. THE KEY THING, THOUGH, IS BECAUSE THIS IS SO COMPLEX, WE HAVE TO MAKE SURE THAT WE DISTILL THE INFORMATION IN A WAY THAT PEOPLE REALLY TAKE IT ON BOARD AND UNDERSTAND IT. YOU HAVE TO MAKE IT REAL FOR PEOPLE, RIGHT? SO DEFINITELY THAT HAS TO BE MORE OF A FOCUS FOR THIS UPCOMING YEAR. THANK YOU. TRUSTEE WEI. THANK YOU. SO CAN YOU GO BACK TO SLIDE NUMBER 18? SO WOULD YOU MIND JUST EXPLAIN TO US WHAT IS STOP-LOSS COVERAGE? YEAH, SURE. IT'S SPECIFIC STOP-LOSS COVERAGE, AND BASICALLY IT COVERS EVERY PERSON ON THE PLAN FOR THE CALENDAR YEAR. UP TO $500,000 IS THE DISTRICT'S LIABILITY. ONCE THAT HITS $500,000, THEN IT GOES OVER TO THE INSURANCE COMPANY, AND THEY WOULD PICK UP A CLAIM. SO A MILLION-DOLLAR CLAIM, YOU'D PAY HALF A MILLION, AND THE STOP-LOSS COMPANY WOULD PAY [01:05:02] HALF A MILLION. ALL RIGHT, THANK YOU. OKAY, I DON'T SEE TRUSTEE LANDRUM. MY QUESTION IS, THE SLIDE THAT KEEPS ME UP AT NIGHT IS SLIDE EIGHT. SO I AM DEFINITELY INTERESTED IN HEARING MORE IDEAS, MORE PLANS TO GET MORE OF THOSE LINES, STARTING WITH A SURPLUS, SLURPY STORE. SO I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO HEARING MORE INFORMATION FROM ADMINISTRATION ON HOW WE'RE GOING TO ADDRESS THAT TREND. THIS IS A SLIDE THAT MAKES ME LOSE SLEEP AT NIGHT. YES, MA'AM, ABSOLUTELY. THIS IS SOMETHING THAT WE ARE REALLY. YOU KNOW, WE'VE HAD A FOCUS ON THIS BECAUSE WE'VE HAD A DEFICIT FOR SO MANY YEARS AT THIS POINT. AND SO GIVEN THIS SITUATION, ALONG WITH OUR BUDGET AND ALL THE OTHER PRESSURES ON THE BUDGET, I MEAN, OBVIOUSLY IT'S HIGH PRIORITY. SO WE'LL DEFINITELY KEEP THE BOARD UPDATED. SURE. I KNOW IT'S ON YOUR RADAR. JUST SAYING I'M LOOKING FORWARD. THANK YOU. TRUSTEE ROSS. TO KIND OF FOLLOW UP WITH TRUSTEE LANDRUM'S POINT ON THIS, I WOULD LIKE TO REMIND THE COMMUNITY. THAT AS MUCH AS THE LEGISLATIVE SESSION IN THE SPRING FEELS VERY FAR AWAY, AND THERE'S DECISIONS BETWEEN NOW AND THEN THAT COULD AFFECT THAT. AND WHEN WE ALWAYS GO BACK TO JUST THE PER-STUDENT ALLOTMENT AND HOW WE WISH THAT THAT WAS MORE ACCURATE WITH COSTS, THERE ARE ALSO THOUGHTS ON HOW TO HELP DISTRICTS IN SITUATIONS LIKE THIS AS WELL. AND THERE'S WAYS FOR THE STATE TO RECOGNIZE THAT THIS MIGHT BE SOMETHING THAT THEY WOULD WANT TO SUPPORT. SUPPORT HELPING OUR FACULTY WITH. I WILL JOIN YOU IN THAT CRUSADE. THAT WAS VERY TAME VERSUS WHAT'S GOING ON IN HERE. CAN WE SING KUMBAYA? OKAY I DON'T SEE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS. THE ONLY THING THAT I WOULD ASK AND I THINK THIS GOES TO WHEN WE TALK ABOUT THE COMPENSATION PLAN, I JUST WANT TO UNDERSTAND THE FULL PICTURE, TOO. I KNOW THAT WE HAVEN'T DECIDED ON A PLAN, OR WHAT WE'RE GOING FORWARD WITH AS FAR AS HEALTH CARE GOES, BUT, YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE THINGS WE ALWAYS HEAR IS WHATEVER RAISE WE DO GIVE, IT DOESN'T MATTER FOR THOSE WHO ARE ON OUR HEALTH INSURANCE PLAN BECAUSE THE PREMIUMS CONTINUE TO GO UP. SO, JUST AS WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THE COMPENSATION PLAN, IF WE COULD KIND OF KEEP THAT IN MIND, IF YOU COULD KIND OF ILLUMINATE US ON HOW THOSE TWO THINGS KIND OF WEIGH OUT, THAT WOULD BE GREAT. YES, MA'AM. THANKS. OKAY, I DON'T SEE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS, SO WE WILL MOVE ON TO AGENDA ITEM. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR BEING HERE. WE'LL MOVE ON TO AGENDA ITEM E2, COMPENSATION PLAN. THAT WILL BE EDDIE AGAIN. THAT'S THE QUICKEST ENTRY YOU'VE EVER GIVEN ME, SIR. THANK YOU. SO WE'LL JUST WAIT FOR THE SLIDES. OBVIOUSLY IT IS, YOU KNOW, IN HR WORLD AND HR SPEAK, WE TALK ABOUT TOTAL REWARDS, AND TOTAL REWARDS INCLUDES HEALTH INSURANCE AND THE DISTRICT'S CONTRIBUTION TO THAT, BUT OBVIOUSLY COMPENSATION IS THE, THE MAIN PART TO THAT. SO WE'RE GOING TO RUN THROUGH SOME SLIDES TONIGHT. THESE ARE NOT THESE ARE REALLY MORE SCENARIOS. ESPECIALLY AS WE GET TOWARDS THE END OF THE PRESENTATION, WE'VE GOT SOME NUMBERS FOR CONSIDERATION, AND I THINK IT'LL DOVETAIL NICELY INTO MR. COVINGTON'S PRESENTATION LATER WHEN WE REALLY TALK ABOUT THE BUDGET. SO, THE FINANCIAL CONTEXT. THIS IS REALLY FOR EVERYBODY, JUST ALWAYS WANT TO MAKE SURE WE'RE ALL AWARE. TO PROVIDE PAY INCREASES FOR 26-27, THE DISTRICT WOULD NEED TO IDENTIFY ADDITIONAL WAYS TO INCREASE FUNDING. INCREASE FUNDING. MR. COVINGTON WILL SPEAK TO THIS MORE ELOQUENTLY THAN I CAN, BUT IN A NUTSHELL, WE NEED MORE STUDENTS, WE NEED THEM TO COME TO SCHOOL MORE, AND ESSENTIALLY WE NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE DOING EVERYTHING WE CAN TO DRIVE ENROLMENT AS MUCH AS WE POSSIBLY CAN. THERE WILL BE NO ADDITIONAL FUNDING FROM THE STATE THIS YEAR TO SUPPORT DISTRICT-WIDE PAY INCREASES. WHATEVER WAS BAKED INTO THE 89TH LEGISLATIVE SESSION THROUGH HOUSE BILL 2 IS WHAT WE GET THIS YEAR. SO, I WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT THAT'S JUST ABUNDANTLY CLEAR. THAT'S KIND OF THE SITUATION WE'RE FACING WITH AS WE COME UP WITH SOME SCENARIOS. ALL RIGHT, SO AS, AGAIN, BASICALLY WITH OUR NO ADDITIONAL FUNDING TO SUPPORT PAY INCREASES, WHAT OUR RECOMMENDATION AT THIS TIME FOR 26-27 IS ESSENTIALLY TO PROVIDE ONLY THE HOUSE BILL 2 MANDATED INCREASES FOR TEACHER RETENTION ALLOTMENT. IN THAT INSTANCE, OUR STARTING SALARY WOULD REMAIN AT $56,750 FOR TEACHERS. WE WOULD ADJUST OUR SALARY STRUCTURE WHICH WOULD RESULT IN NO PAY INCREASE EXCEPT FOR YEARS THREE AND FIVE, WHICH IS REQUIRED BY HOUSE BILL 2. SO, YOU'LL RECALL THE LEGISLATION IN HOUSE BILL [01:10:01] 02, IT SPOKE SPECIFICALLY ABOUT TEACHERS WITH THREE AND FOUR YEARS OF EXPERIENCE AND THEN FIVE PLUS YEARS OF EXPERIENCE. AND SO, FOR 25-26, FOR THIS SCHOOL YEAR, WE PROVIDED TWENTY-FIVE HUNDRED DOLLARS, AS REQUIRED FOR TEACHERS WITH THREE OR FOUR MORE YEARS OF COMPLETED EXPERIENCE AND THEN FIVE THOUSAND DOLLARS FOR TEACHERS WITH FIVE OR MORE YEARS OF EXPERIENCE. SO, THAT WAS PROVIDED AS PART OF THE 25-26 SCHOOL YEAR. THE LAW REQUIRES THAT WE PAY $2,500 OR $5,000 MORE THAN THAT TEACHER WOULD HAVE EARNED OR DID EARN IN 24-25. SO, THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE REALLY TRY TO MAKE SURE EVERYONE'S CLEAR ON. IT'S NOT $2,500 ON TOP OF THEIR CURRENT SALARY. THE STATE LAW, HOUSE BILL 2, SPEAKS TO ON TOP OF WHAT THEY EARNED IN 24-25. SO, THAT'S WHY THE NUMBERS ARE NOT $2,500 AND $5,000. WE WOULD PROVIDE A $1,890 SALARY INCREASE TO TEACHERS WHO ARE MOVING TO THAT STEP THREE. AND THE REASON IS, LAST YEAR, FOR ALL OTHER TEACHERS WHO WERE NOT DESIGNATED FOR AN INCREASE BY THE STATE, WE PROVIDED A 1% GENERAL PAY INCREASE OF $610. AND SO, THE $610 PLUS THE $1,890, THAT MAKES THE $2,500 THAT WE'RE STATUTORILY REQUIRED TO PROVIDE. AND THEN THE SAME FOR TEACHERS MOVING TO THAT STEP FIVE, FIVE COMPLETED YEARS OF SERVICE. THAT GROUP WAS PROVIDED $2,500 THROUGH HOUSE BILL 2 FOR THE 25-26 SCHOOL YEAR. SO, THE ADDITIONAL $2,500 THAT THEY WOULD RECEIVE WOULD BE OUR STATUTORY REQUIREMENT IN ORDER TO BRING THEM UP TO THAT $5,000 AMOUNT. ALL OTHER ELIGIBLE TEACHERS WOULD RECEIVE AN ADDITIONAL YEAR OF CREDITABLE SERVICE. SO, BASICALLY WHAT THAT MEANS IS THE DISTRICT WOULD PROVIDE THEM A YEAR OF SERVICE ON THE SERVICE RECORD, MEANING IF YOU WERE A YEAR TWO TEACHER, YOU WOULD BECOME A YEAR THREE TEACHER. HOWEVER, THERE WOULD BE NO CHANGE TO YOUR SALARY. SO, WE WOULD ESSENTIALLY FREEZE THE SALARY STRUCTURE ITSELF, AND I'LL SHOW YOU, THERE'LL BE A VISUAL HERE TO KIND OF DEMONSTRATE WHAT THAT WILL LOOK LIKE IN PRACTICALITY, BUT THERE WOULD BE NO CHANGE IN SALARY FOR THOSE EMPLOYEES. FOR ALL OTHER EMPLOYEES IN THIS SCENARIO, WE WOULD BE MAINTAINING OUR 25-26 SALARY STRUCTURES WITH NO GENERAL PAY INCREASE FOR EMPLOYEES. WE ARE RECOMMENDING THAT WE PROVIDE PAY COMPRESSION ADJUSTMENTS FOR ONE EMPLOYEE GROUP, AND THAT IS OUR ELEMENTARY PRINCIPAL GROUP, AND THERE IS A REASON FOR THAT. THE FIRST REASON IS WE HAVE SOME SIGNIFICANT PAY COMPRESSION WITH OUR ELEMENTARY PRINCIPAL GROUP, PARTICULARLY FROM THOSE WITH LESS EXPERIENCE TO THOSE WITH GREATER EXPERIENCE. AND WHAT WE'VE REALLY DETERMINED THIS YEAR IS WE'VE HAD SOME PRINCIPAL RETIREMENTS, AND IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT FOR US TO POSITION OURSELVES IN A STRONG SENSE TO BE ABLE TO RECRUIT EXPERIENCED PRINCIPALS AND TO RETAIN EXPERIENCED PRINCIPALS FOR OUR DISTRICT. I'LL SHOW YOU THE DOLLAR AMOUNTS ASSOCIATED WITH THAT. BASICALLY, AS WE WORK THROUGH AN EXERCISE IN PRIORITIZATION, WE FEEL THAT THIS IS A NECESSARY COMPRESSION ADJUSTMENT AT THIS TIME. SO, THIS IS AN EXAMPLE OF WHAT THAT TEACHER RETENTION ALLOTMENT LOOKS LIKE AND THOSE FROZEN PAY STRUCTURES LOOKS LIKE. PRACTICALLY, SO YOU CAN SEE THERE'S TWO, TWO EMPLOYEE GROUPS, EXCUSE ME, IDENTIFIED. SO, IF YOU LOOK AT THE YEAR ONE, THE EXPERIENCE ONE TEACHER ON THE LEFT COLUMN IN 24-25, SO IN 24-25, THEY MADE FIFTY-SIX THOUSAND EIGHT HUNDRED AND SEVENTY-FIVE. THEY EARNED THE YEAR OF SERVICE FOR THE, FOR THAT YEAR, AND SO FOR THE 25-26 YEAR, THEY WERE PLACED ON THE STEP TWO, AND THEY RECEIVED THAT $610 GENERAL PAY INCREASE THAT I SPOKE ABOUT EARLIER. THEY WERE NOT ELIGIBLE FOR THE TEACHER RETENTION ALLOTMENT BECAUSE THEY DIDN'T HAVE THE REQUIRED YEARS OF EXPERIENCE FOR THE STATE. FOR YEAR, THEY COMPLETE THEIR THIRD YEAR THIS YEAR, AND SO WE PUT THEM ON STEP THREE FOR THE 26-27 SCHOOL YEAR, AND YOU CAN SEE THEY WOULD RECEIVE $1,890. AND FOR THE MATHEMATICIANS, YOU'LL SEE THEIR TOTAL SALARY FOR THE 26-27 SCHOOL YEAR, 59,375, IS $2,500 HIGHER THAN IT WAS IN THE 24-25 SCHOOL YEAR. SIMILARLY, FOR THE YEAR THREE EXPERIENCE INDIVIDUAL, THEY START AT $57,425. THEY COMPLETED THEIR FOURTH YEAR OF SERVICE, AND SO THEY WERE PROVIDED THAT $2,500 TEACHER RETENTION ALLOTMENT AMOUNT. AND THEN SINCE THEY'VE COMPLETED THEIR FIFTH YEAR OF SERVICE IN THE 25-26 SCHOOL YEAR, THEY WOULD BE RECEIVING AN ADDITIONAL $2,500 TO BRING THEM UP TO $62,425, WHICH IS $5,000 HIGHER THAN THEY EARNED IN THE 24-25 SCHOOL YEAR. ALL RIGHT, SO THESE ARE OUR COSTS FOR THIS RECOMMENDATION. WE TALKED ABOUT THE HOUSE BILL 2 MANDATED TRA INCREASES ONLY. THAT WOULD IMPACT 341 EMPLOYEES. AGAIN, IT'S ONLY EMPLOYEES MOVING TO THAT STEP 3 OR STEP 5 WHO WOULD BE [01:15:03] IMPACTED. THE TOTAL COST FOR THAT, THE BASE COST IS $750,630 BASED ON THAT EMPLOYEE COUNT. REMEMBER, THE STATE WILL ACTUALLY, THEY HAVE A LINE ITEM FOR THAT TEACHER RETENTION ALLOTMENT WHICH WE WOULD RECEIVE FOR ALL ELIGIBLE TEACHERS. WHAT THE STATE DID NOT ACCOUNT FOR IN HOUSE BILL 2 WAS THE FRINGE COSTS, WHICH WE REFER TO FRINGE AS TRS, TEACHER RETIREMENT SYSTEM COMPENSATION. WE HAVE TO PAY A PREMIUM IN ORDER TO MAKE THAT MONEY TRS ELIGIBLE. WE ALSO PAY WORKERS' COMP INSURANCE ON EVERY PAYROLL DOLLAR AND MEDICARE AS REQUIRED BY THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT. AND SO, THAT FRINGE COST BY ITSELF IS $36,180 ON THAT TRA MONEY. SO, WE HAVE TO PAY THAT. THAT COMES FROM THE LOCAL BUDGET, AND SO THAT'S AN INCURRED COST FOR THE LOCAL BUDGET. AND THEN THE ELEMENTARY PRINCIPAL PAY COMPRESSION ADJUSTMENTS I SPOKE ABOUT EARLIER, WE'VE IDENTIFIED 22 EMPLOYEES OF OUR 35 PRINCIPALS WHERE WE'VE SEEN SOME SIGNIFICANT COMPRESSION. AND WE'RE ESTIMATING THE COST TO ADJUST THAT COMPRESSION WOULD BE $139,856, AND THAT WOULD INCLUDE THE FRINGE COST FOR THAT. SO, THE TOTAL IMPACT OF THE LOCAL BUDGET IS JUST UNDER $180,000 SINCE WE WOULD RECEIVE THE TRA MONEY AS A SEPARATE LINE ITEM FROM THE STATE. SO, WE'VE HAD VARIOUS DIFFERENT REQUESTS FOR ADDITIONAL SCENARIOS, SO WE WANTED TO PROVIDE THAT CONTEXT THIS EVENING IN TERMS OF THOSE COSTS. SO, WE HEARD ABOUT A 1% GENERAL PAY INCREASE, AND I WANTED TO PROVIDE SOME COSTS AND WHAT THAT WOULD LOOK LIKE. SO. A 1% GENERAL PAY INCREASE FOR ALL EMPLOYEES WOULD COST APPROXIMATELY $4 MILLION. THAT'S INCLUSIVE OF THAT FRINGE COST I TALKED ABOUT EARLIER. BUT WE SHOULD ESTIMATE ANOTHER $2.3 MILLION ON TOP OF THAT. YOU'VE HEARD A LOT IN RECENT TIMES ABOUT PAY COMPRESSION. I JUST TALKED ABOUT IT, BUT THIS PAY COMPRESSION HAS REALLY BECOME A PROBLEM RECENTLY BECAUSE OF HOUSE BILL 2. WE HEARD FROM SOME SPEAKERS THIS EVENING, AND I KNOW WE'VE TALKED ABOUT THIS A LOT SINCE THE PASSAGE OF HOUSE BILL 2. WE'RE VERY, VERY APPRECIATIVE OF THE MONEY THAT THE STATE PROVIDED TO TEACHERS, AND THEY DESERVE EVERY LAST CENT AND THEN SOME OF THAT MONEY. BUT WHAT IT'S ALSO DONE IS IT'S CREATED A SITUATION IN OUR DISTRICT WHERE THOSE POSITIONS THAT ARE AT A HIGHER PAY GRADE OR AT A DIFFERENT PAY RANGE OF THOSE TEACHERS, THE TEACHERS MAY WANT TO HISTORICALLY HAVE APPLIED TO DO FOR THEIR OWN CAREER PATHWAY. THE FINANCIAL INCENTIVE TO DO THAT NOW HAS BECOME LESS BECAUSE OF THAT ELEVATION OF THE TEACHER PAY SCALE. AND THE LACK OF ELEVATION OF THE, FOR EXAMPLE, A COUNSELLOR AND ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL AND THOSE TYPES OF ROLES. SO IN ORDER TO REALLY FIX THE PAY STRUCTURE AND TO FUTURE-PROOF IT AND ALLOW US TO BE ABLE TO CONTINUE TO STAY COMPETITIVE FOR THOSE TYPES OF POSITIONS, WE'RE ESTIMATING THAT THERE WOULD BE A $2.3 MILLION PAYMENT FOR PAY COMPRESSION THAT WOULD IMPACT A LOT OF THOSE PAY STRUCTURES. SCENARIO TWO. WOULD BE A 2% GENERAL PAY INCREASE FOR ALL EMPLOYEES, AND WE'RE ESTIMATING THAT WOULD COST APPROXIMATELY $8 MILLION. AND YOU CAN SEE PAY COMPRESSION IS STILL AN ISSUE, BUT BECAUSE WE WOULD BE ABLE TO PUT MORE MONEY INTO A GENERAL PAY INCREASE, IT MEANS WE WOULD HAVE TO PAY LESS IN ADJUSTMENTS. SO IT'S ACTUALLY LESS IN ADJUSTMENTS, THE MORE OF A GENERAL PAY INCREASE THAT YOU GIVE ON THE FRONT END. SO OUR GENERAL PAY INCREASE WITH ADJUSTMENTS ESTIMATE FOR A 2% INCREASE WOULD BE ABOUT $10 MILLION. SO WITH THAT 2% MODEL, THAT WOULD LOOK ESSENTIALLY LIKE IT WOULD BRING OUR TEACHER STARTING SALARY TO $58,000. ELIGIBLE EMPLOYEES IN THAT TEACHER GROUP, THEY WOULD RECEIVE A $1,325 GENERAL PAY INCREASE. AND SO THAT MEANS WE TAKE THE MIDPOINT OF THAT TEACHER SCALE AND WE APPLY A 2% DOLLAR AMOUNT TO THAT, AND THEN EVERY EMPLOYEE WITHIN THAT SCALE GETS THAT SAME PAY INCREASE. AND THAT ALLOWS US TO MAKE SURE THAT EVERYBODY'S MOVING THROUGH THAT SCALE AND WE'RE ABLE TO MAINTAIN OUR PAY STRUCTURES ACCORDINGLY. THIS GPI WOULD BE IN ADDITION TO THE TRA MONEY. SO IF A TEACHER HAD RECEIVED THE $2,500 FOR MOVING FROM YEAR TWO TO YEAR THREE, THEY WOULD ALSO BE ELIGIBLE TO RECEIVE THE $1,325 GENERAL PAY INCREASE. I THINK I'M A STEP AHEAD OF MYSELF HERE, SORRY. WHAT WE WOULD ALSO BE LOOKING AT WITH THIS MODEL IS WE WOULD BE ESSENTIALLY LEVELLING UP EMPLOYEE COMPENSATION TO TEACHER LEVELS FOR THOSE THAT WERE PREVIOUSLY PAID ON THE TEACHER PAY SCALE. SO THOSE GROUPS ARE PROFESSIONAL CAMPUS SUPPORT. SO THAT WAS A GROUP THAT WAS PREVIOUSLY PAID ON THE TEACHER PAY SCALE UP UNTIL 25-26 BECAUSE THE STATE PASSED HOUSE BILL 2 AND DEFINED TEACHER POSITIONS THE WAY THEY DID. WE WERE UNABLE TO MAKE THEM ELIGIBLE FOR THAT TEACHER RETENTION ALLOTMENT, SO WE HAD TO CREATE A DIFFERENT STRUCTURE. PART OF THIS ADJUSTMENT WOULD [01:20:01] BE TO KIND OF RESTORE THEM BACK TO WHERE THEY WOULD BE WITH THE EQUIVALENT YEARS OF EXPERIENCE AS A TEACHER. THAT LEVEL-UP APPROACH WOULD ALSO IMPACT OUR LIBRARIANS. I'M SORRY. SO THE PROFESSIONAL CAMPUS SUPPORT, THE BASE SALARY WOULD REFLECT WHAT THE TEACHER STARTING SALARY WOULD. THEY WORK THE SAME NUMBER OF DAYS. FOR LIBRARIANS, YOU CAN SEE THE BASE. STARTING SALARY WOULD BE A LITTLE HIGHER. THE REASON IT'S HIGHER IS BECAUSE THEY WORK MORE DAYS THAN TEACHERS. THEY'RE 195-DAY EMPLOYEES, SO THAT'S WHY THAT ANNUAL SALARY WOULD BE A LITTLE HIGHER. AND THEN OUR ATHLETIC TRAINERS ARE ALSO IN THAT CATEGORY. THEY WORK MORE DAYS THAN TEACHERS. I BELIEVE THEY'RE 220-DAY POSITIONS, AND SO THAT WOULD BE A LITTLE HIGHER ON THAT BASE ANNUAL SALARY. SO THE 2% WOULD HELP US BRING THEM UP, AND WE WOULD GIVE THEM ADJUSTMENTS FOR THE REST OF THE WAY TO GET THEM UP TO THAT FULL AMOUNT. SO WITH THAT ADDITIONAL SCENARIO FOR THE 2% MODEL, ALL OF THEIR EMPLOYEES, WE WOULD IMPLEMENT PAY STRUCTURE ADJUSTMENTS FROM THE TASB PAY SYSTEMS REVIEW. AMY CAME AND TALKED TO US IN MARCH ABOUT THOSE, AND SO WE'LL REVIEW THOSE NUMBERS AGAIN IN JUST A FEW MINUTES. ELIGIBLE EMPLOYEES WOULD RECEIVE AN INCREASE EQUAL TO 2% OF THE PAY RANGE MIDPOINT FOR THE PAY SCALE THAT THEY'RE IN, AND THEN OBVIOUSLY... THAT PAY SYSTEM REVIEW, WE WOULD WANT TO MAKE SOME OF THOSE ADJUSTMENTS TO IMPROVE MARKET COMPETITIVENESS, BUT MORE IMPORTANTLY, IN MY OPINION, TO REALLY ADDRESS THAT PAY COMPRESSION AND PUT US BACK ON AN EQUAL FOOTING IN TERMS OF KEEPING THOSE STRUCTURES WHERE THEY NEED TO BE. SO THESE ARE THE COSTS FOR THAT 2% MODEL. YOU CAN SEE WE'VE GOT THE TEACHERS BROKEN OUT AT THE TOP LINE. THAT'S ON TOP OF THE TEACHER RETENTION ALLOTMENT THAT THAT WE WOULD BE GETTING REGARDLESS. THIS WOULD BE THIS WOULD IMPACT ALL OF OUR TEACHERS, AND THEY WOULD ALL RECEIVE THAT THAT GENERAL PAY INCREASE. WE BROKE UP THE PROFESSIONAL CAMPUS SUPPORT LIBRARIANS AND ATHLETIC TRAINERS SO YOU CAN SEE WHAT THE DOLLAR AMOUNTS WOULD LOOK LIKE TO RESTORE THEM BACK TO THAT TEACHER EQUIVALENT PAY STEP. AND THEN FOR THE OTHER GROUPS, YOU CAN SEE FOR INSTRUCTIONAL EXEMPT THAT'S YOUR COUNSELORS, ASSISTANT PRINCIPALS, PRINCIPALS, COORDINATORS, INSTRUCTIONAL COACHES, THOSE TYPES OF POSITIONS, YOU CAN SEE THAT THE ADJUSTMENTS ALONE ARE ALMOST EQUAL TO WHAT THE GENERAL PAY INCREASE WOULD LOOK LIKE. SO THAT'S AN EXAMPLE OF HOW PROFOUND THOSE COMPRESSION ISSUES HAVE BECOME IN THAT PAY RANGE. YOU CAN SEE FOR EVERY OTHER PAY STRUCTURE THAT'S LISTED UP THERE, WE HAVE SIGNIFICANT ADJUSTMENTS THAT WE WOULD BE RECOMMENDING THROUGH THAT 2% MODEL. SO WE'RE ESTIMATING RIGHT AT ABOUT $9.8 MILLION. THAT NUMBER IS BASED ON OUR CURRENT HEADCOUNT FOR WHEN THE DATA IS PULLED. OBVIOUSLY, THAT NUMBER MAY FLUCTUATE A LITTLE BIT BASED ON THE NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES THAT WE HAVE AT THE TIME FOR NEXT YEAR. SO WE WERE ASKED TO LOOK AT SOME ADDITIONAL SCENARIOS AS WELL. WE'VE HAD SOME FEEDBACK FROM FROM VARIOUS AREAS ABOUT POTENTIALLY IMPLEMENTING A MINIMUM WAGE FOR OUR DISTRICT, SO PROVIDING A TWO DOLLAR AN HOUR MINIMUM RAISE FOR EMPLOYEES AND THEN MAKING THE NEW MINIMUM RATE FOR HOURLY EMPLOYEES TWENTY DOLLARS PER HOUR. SO THE NUMBERS ARE WHAT THEY ARE. I MEAN, YOU CAN SEE FOR YOURSELF THAT WOULD BE A VERY EXPENSIVE ENDEAVOR FOR US. IT'S NOT TO SAY THAT WE DON'T BELIEVE THAT SOME ADJUSTMENTS ARE NEEDED, AND CERTAINLY IN TERMS OF RECRUITING AND RETAINING EMPLOYEES IN SOME OF THOSE POSITIONS, WE COULD CERTAINLY BENEFIT FROM AN ADJUSTMENT. HOWEVER, THE COST FOR DOING THAT THAT'S REFLECTED UP THERE IS ONLY PART OF THE STORY. IF WE WERE TO IMPLEMENT A MINIMUM RATE OF $20 PER HOUR, THAT WOULD MEAN THAT 16 OF OUR CURRENT PAY GRADES WHICH ARE BELOW $20 PER HOUR ON THE MINIMUM WE WOULD HAVE TO ADJUST THOSE UP TO $20 PER HOUR, SO THERE'S ACTUALLY SOME ADDITIONAL COMPRESSION COST THAT WE WOULD HAVE TO ANTICIPATE AS A RESULT TO THAT FOR ALL EMPLOYEES WITHIN THAT RANGE. YOU WOULD HAVE TO ACTUALLY, IF YOU WERE TO DO THIS THE RIGHT WAY, YOU WOULD HAVE TO REALLY TAKE A LOOK AND EVALUATE, ONCE YOU START AT THAT $20 MINIMUM, IF YOU NEED TO PAY COMPRESSION ADJUSTMENTS TO OTHER EMPLOYEES TO KIND OF SPREAD THEM BACK OUT THROUGH THE RANGE. SO THERE WOULD BE A LOT OF WORK INVOLVED WITH THAT IN TERMS OF THAT ANALYSIS. AND I WOULD ANTICIPATE THAT THAT $8 MILLION TOTAL AMOUNT MIGHT ACTUALLY BE MORE IN THE $10 TO $11 RANGE BY THE TIME YOU CONSIDER ALL OF THOSE COMPRESSION ADJUSTMENTS. THE 2% GPI AND ADJUSTMENTS FOR ALL OTHERS, SO THAT WOULD BE IF WE DID THE $20 AN HOUR MINIMUM AND THEN WE DID THAT FOR OUR HOURLY EMPLOYEES, WE WOULD PROVIDE A 2% GENERAL PAY INCREASE IN ADJUSTMENTS FOR EVERYBODY ELSE WHO WASN'T IN AN HOURLY POSITION. AND YOU CAN SEE WE LISTED OUT THE PROFESSIONAL CAMPUS SUPPORT LIBRARIANS AND ATHLETIC TRAINERS AS WELL, JUST TO MAKE SURE THAT THAT STAYS ON THE RADAR. SO OUR SUBTOTAL FOR THAT GROUP AND FOR THOSE SCENARIOS WOULD BE ALMOST $16 MILLION. THERE WAS ALSO SOME DISCUSSION ABOUT A POTENTIAL RETENTION BONUS. AND SO AT A HEADCOUNT OF $6,488 IN OUR DISTRICT WHEN WE RAN OUR DATA, THAT WOULD BE APPROXIMATELY $6.8 MILLION, WHICH WOULD ACCOUNT [01:25:01] FOR THE FRINGE COSTS. SO AGAIN, THESE ARE BASED ON CURRENT EMPLOYEES AND THE ANTICIPATED COSTS. IT WOULDN'T DOESN'T NECESSARILY ACCOUNT FOR THE FUTURE COSTS ASSOCIATED WITH THAT MINIMUM PAY ADJUSTMENT IF WE WERE TO EXPLORE THAT FURTHER. I WOULD ANTICIPATE THE TOTAL COST FOR PUTTING ALL OF THIS IN PLAY COULD BE CLOSER TO 24 OR 25 MILLION DOLLARS. SO THAT'S A LOT OF INFORMATION. I'D BE GLAD TO TAKE ANY QUESTIONS AT THIS TIME. THANK YOU, EDDIE. TRUSTEE LANDRUM. I'M NOT SURE IF THIS IS A QUESTION FOR YOU, EDDIE, OR FOR DENNIS, BUT WHAT PERCENTAGE OF OUR M&O BUDGET GOES TO SALARIES? IT'S CURRENTLY 90% OF OUR BUDGET IS IN PERSONNEL COSTS. 90%? 90%, 9-0. SO THAT'S A COMBINATION OF SALARIES AND ALSO THE HEALTH INSURANCE, THE PIECE THAT THE DISTRICT CONTRIBUTES TO. OKAY, THANK YOU. AND THEN THIS IS A RATHER BLEAK OUTLOOK. I'VE BEEN ON THE BOARD SEVEN AND A HALF YEARS, AND WE'VE NEVER, SINCE I'VE BEEN HERE, NOT BEEN ABLE TO PASS A RAISE. BUT CAN WE ALSO TALK ABOUT OPTIONS? A COUPLE OF YEARS AGO, I'M NOT SURE WHEN WE DID THIS, BUT IF THE ENROLLMENT INCREASED, WE PASSED ALONG A STIPEND TO STAFF. IF WE HIT CERTAIN BENCHMARKS, WE DID ONE IN THE FALL AND ONE IN THE SPRING. AND I DON'T KNOW IF THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE COULD ALSO THROW OUT THERE. IF WE GET MORE REVENUE, WE'RE GOING TO GIVE IT RIGHT BACK OUT TO OUR EMPLOYEES. AND THEY DON'T KNOW I DON'T REMEMBER EXACTLY THE PROCESS FOR THAT, BUT COULD YOU KIND OF TALK THROUGH THAT KIND OF SCENARIO? AND I KNOW I DIDN'T PREPARE THIS QUESTION IN ADVANCE, SO I APOLOGIZE. THAT'S OKAY, MA'AM. NO, I THINK I RECALL THAT SITUATION. SO WE BASICALLY, I THINK WE HAD TWO TOUCH POINTS IN THE YEAR. WE LOOKED AT OUR PEMS ENROLLMENT IN OCTOBER AT THE WINTER, I THINK IT'S THE WINTER SNAPSHOT, AND THEN WE HAD THE, SORRY, THE FALL SNAPSHOT, AND THEN WE, THANK YOU, AND THEN WE HAD THE WINTER SNAPSHOT IN FEBRUARY. AND SO. WE LOOKED AT OUR ENROLLMENT AT THE START OF THE YEAR, AND IF WE GREW BY A CERTAIN THRESHOLD, I BELIEVE IT WAS 500 STUDENTS, THEN WE WERE PROVIDING A STIPEND TO EMPLOYEES. I BELIEVE IT WAS $500. THAT IS NOT TRS ELIGIBLE, AND IT'S A ONE-TIME STIPEND AS WELL, SIR. YEAH, YOU'RE RIGHT. SO WHAT WE DID IS WE DID 500. SO WE DID IN OCTOBER. THAT WAS THE BENCHMARK, AND I THINK WE HIT IT THAT YEAR. AND SO WE GAVE OUR STAFF $500 EACH ONE, EVERY PERSON $6,480. STAFF MEMBERS RECEIVED IT, BUT ALSO WE HAD A BENCHMARK. IF THEY CONTINUE GROWING AND IT'S BY ANOTHER $500 BY FEBRUARY, THAT'S WHEN WE ADDED ANOTHER $500. UNFORTUNATELY, WE CAME SHORT OF THE SECOND ONE, BUT OUR STAFF, EVERYBODY RECEIVED THAT IN DECEMBER, I THINK $500 DUE TO THAT INCREASE BY 500 STUDENTS. AND WHAT YEAR WAS THAT? WAS THAT IN 23 OR 24? 23 OR 24. WE HAVE TO GO BACK. 24? MAYBE 24, YES. OKAY. IS THAT SOMETHING THAT WE COULD CONSIDER AGAIN OR THIS BOARD COULD CONSIDER? WE HAVE TO RUN THE NUMBERS AGAIN BECAUSE WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE WILL BE ABLE TO AFFORD TO I MEAN, OBVIOUSLY, WE WILL GIVE IF WE CAN GENERATE ENOUGH MONEY TO GIVE $500 OR $1,000, WE WILL DO IT. IT'S JUST WE NEED TO MAKE SURE WE RUN THE NUMBERS TO SEE WHAT IS THAT MAGIC NUMBER WILL LOOK LIKE. DOES THAT MAKE SENSE? SURE. IS IT 500 STUDENTS STILL? IS IT LASTED MORE SO WE CAN MAYBE LOOK AT IT? I DON'T KNOW IF I HAVE CONSENSUS FROM THE BOARD TO EXPLORE THAT EVEN OPTION, MAYBE THE GIVE THE DISTRICT UM TILL JUNE OR SOMETHING TO GET THAT INFORMATION BACK, BUT UM JUST TRYING TO THINK OUTSIDE OF THE BOX ON HOW WE CAN GIVE SOME ADDITIONAL REVENUE TO OUR STAFF, TRUSTEE ROSS, WHAT IS OUR CURRENT HOURLY MINIMUM? 15.25. AND THEN DO WE HAVE, AND AGAIN, I'M LIKE TRUSTEE LANDRUM, I'M SORRY IF YOU DON'T HAVE THE, THE NUMBER IS FINE, BUT DO YOU HAVE A STAFF PER STUDENT RATIO, TOTAL STAFF PER STUDENT? I DON'T HAVE THAT TONIGHT, MA'AM, BUT I CAN GET THAT FOR YOU. OKAY, COOL, AND THEN WHAT IS OUR ADMINISTRATION PERCENTAGE? OF TOTAL STAFF. I WOULD HAVE TO DEFER TO MR. COVINGTON FOR THAT, BUT I CAN GET THAT FOR YOU AS WELL. DOLLARS OR POSITIONS? I WAS TALKING ABOUT PERCENTAGE OF TOTAL STAFF, BUT WE COULD, I MEAN, YEAH. THE DOLLARS IS ABOUT 3%. 3%. I DON'T KNOW ABOUT THE POSITION COUNT. OKAY. YEAH, YOU KNOW, WE JUST HEAR A LOT. AND I KNOW, I MEAN, I'M A FIFTH GENERATION EDUCATOR. AND SO IT'S ALWAYS BEEN A US VERSUS THEM STORY [01:30:02] BETWEEN ADMIN AND TEACHERS. AND I JUST, YOU KNOW, I KNOW YOU GUYS HAVE WORKED REALLY HARD ABOUT KEEPING ADMIN COSTS RESERVED VERSUS OTHER DISTRICTS AS WELL. I WANT TO THANK YOU FOR THE QUESTION. THAT'S ACTUALLY A VERY GOOD QUESTION. I KNOW SOMETIMES, YOU KNOW, WE DON'T DO ENOUGH EXPLAINING, BUT TO DENNIS' POINT, IT'S ABOUT 3%. SO IF YOU DO THE MATH, I THINK WE'RE LOOKING AT $11 MILLION, BUT THAT MEANS, LIKE, PAYROLL HAS TO GO, SO NO ONE WILL RUN. PAYCHECK, I MEAN THE PAY, LIKE NO ONE WILL OR PAY PEOPLE STAFF, HR HAS TO GO, SO WE'RE GONNA PROCESS UM PEOPLE WHO ARE, HOW WE HIRING, BENEFITS, THINGS LIKE THAT. SO EVEN IF WE SAY WE, LET'S GET RID OF ALL THAT MAN, FOLKS WHO SUPPORT THE SCHOOL, THE SCHOOLS BUT THEY ARE IN CENTRAL OFFICE, YOU LOOK AT 11 MILLION DOLLARS AND WE JUST SAW THE NUMBERS WE NEED TO PARTY, JUST TO DO A TWO PERCENT IN COMPRESSION, IT'S ABOUT TEN AND A HALF MILLION, TEN SOMETHING MILLION, TEN MILLION, BUT THEN THAT MEANS NO ONE WILL PAY PEOPLE, RIGHT? NO ONE WILL, AGAIN, PROCESS HR OR BENEFIT OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT, THAT'S ALSO NEEDED TO SUPPORT THE WORK THAT OUR TEACHERS AND STAFF DO IN THEIR CAMPUSES. SO I GUESS WHEN MOST PEOPLE WOULD ASK ABOUT THAT, THEY WOULD ASK ABOUT WHAT YOU WOULD CONSIDER LIKE YOUR EXECUTIVE TEAM PERCENTAGE AND YOUR PRINCIPALS, MORE SO THAN LIKE HR AND TECH, YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN? YEAH. I MEAN, AT PRINCIPLES, I DON'T KNOW HOW WE CAN RUN A CAMPUS OR HAVE A CAMPUS. I'M NOT SAYING NONE OF THIS IS A SUGGESTION FOR CUTS. IT'S MORE OF A SUGGESTION FOR TRANSPARENCY'S SAKE OF BUDGET ALLOCATIONS, I GUESS. AND I KNOW THIS IS A COUPLE YEARS OLD, BUT A COUPLE YEARS AGO, THAT 3% WAS FAR BELOW THE STATE AVERAGE OF WHAT OTHER DISTRICTS CURRENTLY RUN FOR ADMINISTRATION. SO, I JUST WANT TO PUT THAT OUT THERE. TRUSTEE WEI, SO COULD YOU GO BACK TO SLIDE NUMBER THREE, PLEASE? IF NOT THAT, I JUST WANT ONLY, LIKE, WHEN YOU MENTIONED ELEMENTARY PRINCIPALS, ARE YOU INCLUDING ASSISTANT PRINCIPALS? NO, SIR. AT THIS TIME, THIS WOULD, THIS WOULD JUST BE FOR ELEMENTARY PRINCIPALS. NOW, THE 2% AND THOSE OTHER SCENARIOS, THEY WOULD ACCOUNT FOR ASSISTANT PRINCIPALS AND EVEN MIDDLE SCHOOL AND HIGH SCHOOL PRINCIPALS AS WELL, BUT THE INITIAL SCENARIO FOR THE RECOMMENDATION IS JUST ELEMENTARY PRINCIPALS. OKAY, YEAH. SO ON PAGE SLIDE NUMBER 10, WITH THE TWO PERCENT MODEL, THAT, INCLUDING ASSISTANT PRINCIPALS, RIGHT? YES, SIR, THAT WOULD INCLUDE ASSISTANT PRINCIPALS. ALL RIGHT, THANK YOU. BUT THEY ALSO INCLUDE THE COMPRESSION, SO WE'LL TAKE CARE OF THE COMPRESSION FOR ALL CATEGORIES, RIGHT? PRETTY MUCH, YEP, TRUSTEE CUERO. JUST A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS FROM MY KNOWLEDGE. THE YEARS OF EXPERIENCE, IS THAT BASED ON TEXAS CERTIFIED TEACHERS, OR IS THAT LIKE IF I'M FROM NEW YORK? WELL, I DON'T WANT TO, I DON'T KNOW WHY I WANT TO MOVE DOWN TO TEXAS IF I'M FROM NEW YORK. BUT IF I'M FROM NEW YORK AND I WANT TO MOVE TO TEXAS, I HAVE THREE YEARS OF EXPERIENCE IN NEW YORK. DOES THAT COUNT INTO THAT THREE YEAR EXPERIENCE? IF IT'S LIKE EXPERIENCE, WE TRY TO GIVE AS MUCH CREDIT FOR THAT AS POSSIBLE. SO, YES. OKAY. YES, SIR. AND THEN FINALLY, TO DR. WEI'S POINT OR QUESTION, WHAT DOES OUR PIPELINE FOR APS, INTERNAL PIPELINE, LOOK LIKE? WELL, ANECDOTALLY, I DON'T HAVE DATA IN FRONT OF ME, BUT WE HAVE HEARD FROM SOME THAT, AND THERE'S SOME, IT'S NOT EVEN IN OUR DISTRICT, IT'S FROM OTHER DISTRICTS AS WELL, AND TALKING TO MY COLLEAGUES, TALKING TO NATALIE AND, YOU KNOW, OTHER SCHOOLS' PEOPLE, IT'S BECOMING LESS FINANCIALLY VIABLE FOR SOMEBODY TO STEP OUT OF THE CLASSROOM. YOU KNOW, IT'S NOT NECESSARILY FINANCIALLY VIABLE, FINANCIALLY LUCRATIVE, AND MAYBE THE INCENTIVE IS LESS. SO, IF YOU COMBINE THE TEACHER RETENTION ALLOTMENT AND WHAT THAT DID TO OUR PAY STRUCTURES, AND THEN THE TEACHER INCENTIVE ALLOTMENT, WHICH IS, YOU KNOW, FOR TEACHERS ONLY, YOU KNOW, OUR TEACHERS, AND AGAIN, I CAN NEVER EMPHASIZE THIS ENOUGH, THEY DESERVE EVERY PENNY THAT THEY GET, RIGHT? THEY ABSOLUTELY DO. IT'S THE MOST CRITICAL JOB IN OUR DISTRICT, AND SO I WOULD NEVER SAY ANYTHING OTHER THAN THAT. BUT IT TAKES A LOT OF PEOPLE TO MAKE A SCHOOL RUN. IT TAKES A LOT OF PEOPLE TO MAKE AN ORGANIZATION RUN. AND REALLY, OUR ASSISTANT PRINCIPALS AND PRINCIPALS, THEY MAKE THINGS HAPPEN AT OUR CAMPUS, RIGHT? SO, I THINK MY CONCERN LONGER TERM, IF WE CAN'T ADDRESS COMPRESSION OVER TIME, YOU'RE CREATING LESS INCENTIVE FOR SOMEBODY TO WANT TO STEP INTO THAT ROLE. AND ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT A LOT IS, IF YOU LOOK AT EVERY ONE OF OUR PRINCIPALS, WHEN YOU GO TO A PRINCIPAL MEETING, EVERY ONE OF THEM WAS A TEACHER AT ONE POINT, RIGHT? SO, THEY [01:35:01] MADE THAT DECISION IN THEIR, IN THEIR PAST, AND THERE WAS REASONS FOR THAT SO WE, WE REALLY HAVE TO THINK ABOUT THE FUTURE OF THE ORGANIZATION AND MAKE SURE THAT WE'VE GOT THOSE STRUCTURES IN PLACE SO WE CAN CONTINUE TO RECRUIT AND RETAIN THE BEST FOR THOSE ROLES. OKAY, THANK YOU. I THINK FOR THE MOST PART, OUR DISTRICT IS TRYING TO DO THE BEST THAT WE CAN FOR OUR STAFF. BUT TO TRUSTEE ROSS'S POINT, THE COMMUNITY REALLY NEEDS TO THINK ABOUT ADVOCATING MORE FOR WHAT'S COMING DOWN THE PIPELINE, ESPECIALLY NEXT YEAR AT THE LEGISLATURE, AND SHOW UP AND SHOW OUT AND ADVOCATE FOR MORE FUNDING FOR US. STAFF. THANK YOU. I JUST WANT TO ADD, AND THANK YOU TO BOTH OF YOU FOR SAYING THAT, BECAUSE IF YOU REMEMBER, AND I THINK WE TALKED ABOUT ON THIS DAIS A YEAR AGO, WHEN THE ADMINISTRATORS PASSED HOUSE BILL 3, THEY INTENTIONALLY SAID, "LEAVE ADMINISTRATORS, LEAVE THE PRINCIPALS OUT OF IT, LEAVE APS OUT OF IT." IT'S ALMOST LIKE IT'S NOT HEALTHY FOR AN ORGANIZATION TO, WHAT EDDIE WAS SAYING ALSO, LIKE WE NEED, IT'S A, IT TAKES A VILLAGE TO TAKE CARE OF IT, TO RAISE A CHILD, AND HELP THE KIDS SUCCEED. AND AGAIN, OUR, OUR TEACHERS ARE THE, THE BACKBONE OF OUR SCHOOL DISTRICT, BUT ALSO, LIKE ANYBODY ELSE, NEED SUPPORT, NEED HELP, NEED COACHING, YOU KNOW, NEED A VARIETY OF THINGS THAT OUR COUNSELORS, OUR LIBRARIAN, OUR A, ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL, PRINCIPAL PROVIDE SO THEY CAN SUCCEED AT THEIR AT THEIR JOB, RIGHT? AND SO, BUT THAT'S, AND THAT'S REALLY WHAT WE'VE SEEN IS THIS DIVISION THAT WAS, I THINK IS INTENDED, WAS CREATED BECAUSE OF HOUSE BILL 3. NOW, WE, AS A DISTRICT AND AS A COMMUNITY, WE HAVE TO COME BACK AND TRY TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO FIX THIS AND MAKE SURE THAT EVERYBODY IS VALUED, EVERYBODY IS TREATED AS A PROFESSIONAL, REGARDLESS OF THE JOB THEY DO TO HELP OUR STUDENTS SUCCEED. OKAY, I DON'T SEE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS. I JUST HAD A COUPLE. I KNOW THAT WE DON'T HAVE THE FUNDING TO GIVE THE $2 INCREASE FOR OUR HOURLY EMPLOYEES. I JUST WANT TO PUT IT OUT THERE THAT IN THE FUTURE, IF WE ARE PROVIDED MORE FUNDING BY THE STATE LEGISLATURE, I PERSONALLY WOULD WANT TO MAKE THAT A PRIORITY, ESPECIALLY AMONG OUR EDUCATIONAL ASSISTANTS, BECAUSE IF I REMEMBER CORRECTLY FROM A PREVIOUS PRESENTATION, THAT'S ONE AREA WHERE WE ARE NOT COMPETITIVE IN PAY, AND THERE IS A TREMENDOUS AMOUNT OF WORK THAT GOES INTO THAT POSITION, IN ALL OF THOSE HOURLY POSITIONS. BUT WITH OUR EDUCATIONAL ASSISTANTS, I KNOW THAT WE WERE NOT COMPETITIVE IN THAT AREA, SO, AND EVERYBODY DESERVES TO HAVE A LIVING WAGE. SO, I KNOW THAT'S SOMETHING THAT I WANT TO PRIORITIZE GOING FORWARD WHEN WE DO HAVE THE FUNDING. AND I THINK WE'RE GOING TO WRAP THIS INTO OUR BUDGET CONVERSATION, BUT LOOKING AT THE 2% MODEL, AND IF THAT'S SOMETHING WE WANT TO CONSIDER, WE OBVIOUSLY DON'T HAVE FUNDING FOR NINE POINT EIGHT MILLION DOLLARS. BUT ARE WE GOING TO WRAP THAT INTO OUR BUDGET CONVERSATION ABOUT HOW WE POTENTIALLY COULD ADDRESS THAT? CORRECT. OKAY. ALL RIGHT. SO, THOSE ARE MY ONLY TWO QUESTIONS. I JUST WANT TO ADD, AND I WANT TO THANK YOU FOR THAT, WHEN YOU MENTIONED THE $2 INCREASE. I DON'T KNOW IF YOU REMEMBER, BUT WE MADE THAT A PRIORITY A FEW YEARS AGO, AND THIS BOARD AND ALL OF US WORKED TOGETHER TO ACTUALLY INCREASE. I DON'T KNOW IF EDDIE, IF YOU WANT TO TALK A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT IT? WE MADE THAT IN THE MIDDLE OF THE YEAR, ACTUALLY. WE DID. AND YOU'RE REALLY CHALLENGING ME NOW AS I GET OLDER TO TRY TO REMEMBER THESE THINGS THAT WE DID, BUT IT WAS ABOUT FOUR YEARS AGO WE DID A MID-YEAR ADJUSTMENT FOR OUR TEACHING ASSISTANT, FOR OUR EDUCATIONAL ASSISTANTS. THE OTHER, SO IT REALLY IS A PRIORITY. I THINK AT THE TIME WE WERE TALKING ABOUT, I MEAN, WE HAVE SOME OF THE BEST PEOPLE IN OUR CLASSROOMS WHO ARE NOT TEACHERS AS WELL, RIGHT? I MEAN, AND OUR WHOLE PIPELINE MODEL IS BUILT AROUND THAT CONCEPT. YOU, IT ABSOLUTELY NEEDS SOME ATTENTION. YOU KNOW, IF DENNIS WOULD JUST FIND ME $200 MILLION, WE COULD FIX EVERYTHING. BUT, YOU KNOW, UNFORTUNATELY, I HATE TO BE GLIB ABOUT IT, BUT IT'S JUST REALLY THAT CHALLENGE RIGHT NOW OF TRYING TO FIGURE OUT CREATIVE WAYS TO FIND THE FUNDS TO DO ANYTHING AT THIS POINT. BUT I APPRECIATE THAT. THANK YOU. AND I DO JUST WANT TO ADD, YOU KNOW, I APPRECIATE THE THINGS THAT YOU ARE DOING WHERE YOU'VE CREATED PIPELINES FOR EDUCATIONAL ASSISTANTS WHO HAVE A DEGREE TO GO ON AND BE A TEACHER. AND THEN THE TIERED SYSTEM THAT YOU ROLLED OUT. TO HELP THEM GET THEIR DEGREE. SO I APPRECIATE ALL OF THOSE THINGS THAT YOU ARE TRYING TO DO. I MEAN, ULTIMATELY, THE MONEY IS THE PRIORITY. BUT I KNOW THAT WE'RE DOING WHAT WE CAN. I JUST WANTED TO PUT IT OUT THERE THAT I THINK THAT'S I THINK I HEAR FROM EVERYONE THAT THAT'S A PRIORITY FOR EVERYONE. AND WE HEAR YOU, AND WE DEFINITELY AGREE WITH YOU. AND I WANT YOU TO KNOW IF WE'RE ALL HOPING AND PRAYING THAT WE'LL HAVE SOME CHANGES WHEN IT COMES TO WAY PUBLIC EDUCATION IS FUNDED COME THE NEXT LHSRF SESSION, BUT OBVIOUSLY WE WILL MAKE IT. EVEN IF WE HAVE TO MAKE SOME ADJUSTMENT IN THE MIDDLE [01:40:01] OF THE YEAR OR WHATEVER, MAKE THAT A PRIORITY, WE WILL DO THAT, WHATEVER WE NEED TO DO. I JUST WANT TO SAY, I KNOW SINCE WE'RE TALKING ABOUT COMPENSATION, IT IS PART OF COMPENSATION, BUT WE'RE NOT POSTED FOR TEACHER INCENTIVE ALIGNMENT. AND JUST IN A POSITIVE NOTE, AND I KNOW WE WILL TALK MORE ABOUT IT. IF YOU REMEMBER, TWO YEARS AGO, OR LAST YEAR ACTUALLY, WE GAVE OUR FIRST GROUP CHECKS FOR OUR TEACHERS, THE FIRST GROUP WHO QUALIFIED FOR DISTANCE SELF-ALIGNMENT. AND AT THAT TIME, WE HAD ABOUT 900,000. DOLLARS THAT WOULD ADD IT AS PART OF THEIR COMPENSATION, BUT IT'S NOT IT'S NOT A IT'S NOT PART OF THEIR SALARY BUT THEY EARN THAT EXTRA MONEY. WE'RE NOT POSTED FOR THAT. IT'S COMPENSATION. YEAH I'M LOOKING AT THE AGENDA RIGHT NOW. LET'S MAKE IT MORE GENERAL IF YOU TIE IT INTO THE COMPENSATION SO WE ACTUALLY BROUGHT THIS YEAR WE WOULD BE BRINGING IN OVER TWO MILLION DOLLARS TO ADD TO OUR TEACHERS AND FORMER TEACHERS AND OF ALLOTMENT AS BONUSES THANK YOU. OKAY, I DON'T HAVE, I DON'T SEE ANY OTHER BUTTONS PRESSED, SO THANK YOU, EDDIE. WE WILL MOVE ON TO AGENDA ITEM E3. TRUSTEES, DO YOU ALL NEED A BREAK BEFORE WE DO BUDGET, OR DO YOU ALL WANT TO? OKAY. AMY WOULD LIKE TO TAKE A LONG RECESS SO WE CAN BE HERE LATE INTO THE NIGHT. JUST WANTED TO CHECK. ALL RIGHT, LET'S MOVE ON TO AGENDA ITEM E3, BUDGET UPDATE. I'LL TURN IT OVER TO YOU FIRST, DR. AZAIEZ. ALL RIGHT, SO I KNOW, SINCE WE TALKED LAST TIME, DENNIS WENT BACK AND WE DID SOME ADJUSTMENT, AND I KNOW HE'S TRYING TO GET, I GUESS, THE PRESENTATION AND EVERYTHING READY TO GO, BUT ONE OF THE THINGS HE'S GOING TO TALK ABOUT IS WHEN WE WERE ON THE NUMBERS LAST TIME AND HE PROJECTED THE BUDGET, HE PROJECTED BASED ON THE 45,000 STUDENTS ENROLLMENT. SINCE THEN, WHAT HAPPENED IS WE OPENED OUT OF DISTRICT TRANSFERS, AND WHAT WE SAW AS OF... LATE LAST WEEK, WE HAD ALMOST A THOUSAND FAMILIES AND STUDENTS WHO ACTUALLY APPLIED TO JOIN ROUND ROCK ISD FROM OUTSIDE OF ROUND ROCK ISD. AND AS YOU KNOW, THE MONEY FOLLOWED THE STUDENTS, RIGHT? SO IF THEY'RE ZONED TO PFLUGERVILLE ISD, BUT THEY DECIDED TO ATTEND A ROUND ROCK ISD CAMPUS, WHEN THE STUDENT ENROLLS WITH US, THE MONEY DOES NOT GO TO PFLUGERVILLE ISD, BUT IT COMES TO ROUND ROCK ISD. AND SO WE HAVE ABOUT A THOUSAND, AGAIN, AS OF LATE LAST WEEK. AND OUT OF THAT, I WAS OUT. OUR PRINCIPALS HAVE TO LOOK AT A VARIETY OF THINGS TO WHETHER APPROVE OR DENY THE TRANSFER. ONE OF THEM IS CAPACITY. DO THEY HAVE THE CAPACITY THERE? DO THEY HAVE THE STAFF TO MAKE SURE THEY CAN ACCEPT MORE STUDENTS? DO THEY HAVE THE PHYSICAL SPACE IF THEY NEED TO ADD ANOTHER CLASSROOM? ALL THAT STUFF IS OBVIOUSLY TAKEN INTO CONSIDERATION. AND THEN OUT OF THAT ALMOST 01,000, SO FAR OUR PRINCIPAL APPROVED OVER 600 OUT-OF-DISTRICT TRANSFERS. THAT MEANS ALSO THAT THEY'RE BRINGING, AGAIN, AT LEAST A BASIC ALLOTMENT. $6,250 PER KID WITH THEM. SO DENNIS WENT BACK AND ADJUSTED THAT ENROLLMENT NUMBER. HERE ARE THE NUMBERS PROJECTED WITH RHONDA AGAIN. OKAY, GIVE US A MINUTE TO PUT UP THE CHANGED PRESENTATION. WHAT? IT CHANGED AGAIN? I FIND THAT SO HARD TO BELIEVE, MR. COVINGTON. SHOULD WE TAKE A RECESS? NO. IT SHOULD TAKE THEM A COUPLE OF MINUTES. THEY HAD TO PULL ONE DOWN AND PUT ONE UP. THAT'S ALL. THE NUMBERS DIDN'T CHANGE, JUST THE PRESENTATION. WHILE WE WAIT, DR. AZAIEZ, A QUICK QUESTION. SO THOSE 600 OR 1,000 STUDENTS, THOSE APPLICATIONS, ARE THEY LOOKING FOR A SPECIFIC CAMPUS? YES, SIR. SO WHEN DO YOU FILL UP? WHEN THE PARENTS FILL UP THE THEIR OUTER DISTRICT TRANSFER I THINK THAT'S PROBABLY OUTSIDE WHAT'S POSTED. OKAY. ALL RIGHT, WE'RE READY TO BEGIN NOW. SO I'M GONNA WALK YOU ALL THROUGH WHERE WE ARE AS OF MAY 14TH FOR THE PRELIMINARY BUDGET FOR THE 26-27 SCHOOL YEAR AND IT'S JUST THE M&O BUDGET. SO, AS YOU RECALL OR CAN RECALL ON 4-16 I CAME TO YOU WITH THAT SECOND COLUMN FROM THE RIGHT. SO TONIGHT WE'RE GOING TO TALK ABOUT THE FIRST COLUMN FROM THE RIGHT AND ALL THE CHANGES ARE HIGHLIGHTED IN BLUE. SO THE FIRST CHANGE IS WE WENT BACK AND WE LOOKED AT OUR INVESTMENT INCOME. NO I'M SORRY THE FIRST CHANGE IS NUMBER OF STUDENTS. AT THE TOP IT CHANGED FROM $45,000 TO $45,500. SO THAT'S WHAT THIS PROJECTION. IT'S BASED ON, AS DR. AZAIEZ MENTIONED A COUPLE MOMENTS AGO. SO THE FIRST BLUE CHANGE IS OUR INVESTMENT INCOME. [01:45:02] BASED ON WHERE OUR EARNINGS ARE AS OF THIS YEAR, WE HAVE CHANGED THAT NUMBER WITH AN INCREASE OF $1 MILLION FROM $5 MILLION TO $6 MILLION. THE NEXT BLUE CHANGE IS YOUR STATE REVENUE NUMBER. THAT IS THE ADDITIONAL, JUST THE BASIC ALLOTMENT, $62.15 TIMES THE 500 KIDS. SINCE WE WERE NOT IN RECAPTURE. PRIOR TO THE 500 KIDS, THEN WE SHOULD GET THAT ADDITIONAL MONEY FROM THE STATE. SO WE INCREASED THAT NUMBER BY $3,107,000. THE TEACHER RETENTION ALLOTMENT, THAT'S THE ONE THAT WENT UP ACCORDING TO THE NUMBERS EDDIE SHOWED YOU THAT WE WOULD GET FOR THE TEACHERS MOVING FROM THE 2 TO 3 YEARS AND THE 4 TO 5 YEARS. FROM THE 12-962 TO THE 13-713. AND THEN YOU'LL SEE ANOTHER LINE THAT HAS $310,000. FOR ADDITIONAL SPED REVENUE, AS YOU ALL KNOW, THE STATE DURING LAST YEAR'S SESSION HAS ALLOCATED $275 MILLION FOR SPED CHANGES TO THOSE FORMULAS. WE KNOW THAT THERE ARE SOME SPED COSTS THAT WE'RE GOING TO INCUR ABOVE WHAT WE HAVE THIS YEAR. SO YOU WILL SEE THIS $310,000 REVENUE, AND BELOW YOU WILL SEE A $310,000 EXPENSE. SO WE'RE GOING TO HAVE THOSE TO WASH BECAUSE WE'RE SURE WE SHOULD GET $310,000 PLUS. BUT THOSE ARE THE KNOWN COSTS WE HAVE FOR SPARE INCREASES FOR NEXT YEAR. SO WITH THOSE BLUE CHANGES AND WITH THE CHANGE FROM 45 TO 45.5, OUR TOTAL REVENUE WILL GROW FROM 489.52 TO 486.120. ON THE EXPENSE SIDE, AGAIN, LOOKING AT THE BLUE NUMBERS ON THE FAR RIGHT, YOU SEE THE TEACHER RETENTION ALLOTMENT. THAT'S THE SAME NUMBER YOU SAW. THAT WAS ON THE REVENUE SIDE. SO THE STATE WILL PAY WHAT THE EXPENSE IS AND THAT'S THE $13,317,000. THE $36,000 IS THOSE BENEFITS THAT GOES WITH THE INCREASE IN THE TRA THAT THE STATE DOES NOT FUND AND SO WE WILL HAVE TO PAY THAT. AND THE LAST LINE OF THE $140,000 IS THE INCREASE FOR THE ELEMENTARY PRINCIPAL ADJUSTMENTS FOR THEIR SALARY. AND THEN ANOTHER CHANGE YOU'LL SEE ON THE POSITION DECREASE. SO, BASED ON THOSE OUT OF DISTRICT ENROLLMENT, WE HAD TO ADD ADDITIONAL STAFF BACK TO WHAT WE ORIGINALLY CUT. SO THAT $5,914,000 ORIGINAL CUT FOR ENROLLMENT NOW IS DOWN TO $3,652,000. WE ADDED BACK ABOUT $2.2 MILLION WORTH OF STAFF TO COVER THAT INCREASE IN OUR ENROLLMENT AND THE POSITIONS WE NEEDED AT THE SCHOOLS TO HANDLE THAT INCREASE IN ENROLLMENT. JUST WANT TO CLARIFY, DENNIS, IT'S NOT CUT. IT'S ADJUSTED TO THE ALLOCATION. YES. IF WE BUDGETED FOR $46,000, $45,000, WE CANNOT HAVE THE SAME NUMBER OF TEACHERS IF WE WERE AT $46,000 OR $47,000. SO WHEN WE INITIALLY WORKED AT $45,000, THAT'S ALMOST A DROP BY 1,000 STUDENTS. SO, EDDIE AND THE TEAM LOOK AT HOW THAT IMPACTS. THE ENROLLMENT IS IMPACTING PER GRADE LEVEL PER CAMPUS. AND BASED ON THAT, THEY ADJUST, RIGHT? THE ALLOCATION, HOW MANY ENROLLMENT IS, HOW MANY FULL-TIME TEACHERS, I GUESS, WOULD HAVE TO BE THERE. AND SO WE HAVE TO DROP IT, AND NOW THAT WE'RE BRINGING THAT NUMBER UP TO 45,500, WE HAVE TO GET TO ADJUST ACCORDINGLY. NOW WE'RE GONNA NEED MORE TEACHERS OR MORE STAFF TO SUPPORT THE WORK, CORRECT? FOR MORE KIDS, FOR MORE STUDENTS, YES. AND, MOVING ON TO THE NEXT BLUE LINES, YOU SEE THE 310 AGAIN THAT YOU SAW UP IN REVENUE. THAT'S WHAT THE SPED CHANGES, WELL, WE WILL REDUCE FIVE AND A HALF TEACHERS, ADD THREE BEHAVIOR TECHNICIANS AND 15 ED ASSISTANTS TO SPED TO GET TO THE $310,000. AND DUE TO OUR CHANGES THAT WE HAD CUT THE CUSTODIAL ASSISTANT DIRECTOR AND WE NEED TO ADD THAT POSITION BACK DUE TO THE COMPLEXITIES OF THINGS THAT'S HAPPENING IN THAT DEPARTMENT. AND SO WE HAD, WE ADDED THE $93,000 TO ADD THAT POSITION BACK TO THE BUDGET. SO, TOTAL SALARIES CHANGED FROM $438,570 TO $442,162. AND ON THE ALLOCATIONS SIDE, THE ONLY CHANGES TO THIS PAGE IS THE PROGRAM INCREASES THAT'S HIGHLIGHTED IN BLUE. DUE TO CONTRACT CHANGES IN ATHLETICS FOR OFFICIALS AND SECURITY, WE HAD TO ADD $80,000 FOR THAT, AND WE HAD TO ADD $40,000 FOR HR STAFFING MODULE, AND $9,000 FOR OUR VISITING INTERNATIONAL FACULTY APPLICATIONS. SO, THE CHANGE IN TOTAL EXPENSES IS NOW FROM $484,408 TO $488,129. IF YOU LOOK AT THAT IN TOTAL, WITH THE $486,120 REVENUE AND [01:50:01] THE $488,129 EXPENSES, WE ADD A $2,000,009 DEFICIT. WE CAN AND WILL BE ABLE TO MAKE UP WITH LAB SALARIES DURING THE YEAR. SO, WHEN WE COME BACK TO YOU NEXT WEEK, WE HAVE A PLAN ON HOW TO BALANCE THIS $2 MILLION. SO, WE'LL HAVE, OBVIOUSLY... A LITTLE BIT OF A DIFFERENT OUTLOOK BECAUSE WE'RE GOING TO DO WHAT'S CALLED LAB SALARIES, WHAT THAT'S GOING TO SAVE US. THIS YEAR SAVED US A LITTLE OVER $10 MILLION. AND SO, FOR NEXT WEEK, YOU WILL SEE ANOTHER LINE THAT SAYS LAB SALARIES. AND AGAIN, I DON'T HAVE THE EXACT AMOUNT, BUT I KNOW IT'S A LITTLE BIT MORE THAN $2 MILLION. YEAH, WE SAVED A LITTLE OVER $2 MILLION WHEN WE IMPLEMENTED IT IN DECEMBER OF THIS YEAR. SO, WE DO IT FOR A WHOLE YEAR. AND TYPICALLY... CFOS PUT IN THEIR BUDGET A LAP SALARY ADJUSTMENT. SO, BUT THESE NUMBERS DO NOT INCLUDE ONE. SO, AS ASKED ABOUT, CAN I ASK ONE QUESTION? YES, MA'AM. I DON'T KNOW IF WE'RE DOING QUESTIONS, BUT I DO HAVE A QUESTION BEFORE WE GO. OKAY. SORRY, I SHOULD HAVE SAID POINT OF ORDER ON, MY SLIDE NUMBERS ARE DIFFERENT THAN YOURS. BUT YEAH, WHEN YOU GO BACK TO THE TEACHER RETENTION ALLOTMENT, I UNDERSTAND IT, BUT SINCE THESE TWO PRESENTATIONS WERE SO CLOSE TOGETHER, CAN YOU EXPLAIN WHY IT IS $13,713,000 IN THIS PRESENTATION, BUT IN THE PRESENTATION WE JUST HAD, IT SAID TRA WAS ONLY $750,000? IF YOU TAKE THE $12,952,000 AND ADD THE $750,000, THAT'S THE INCREASE FOR NEXT YEAR. SO, JUST TO CLARIFY THAT, WE'RE ONLY INCREASING THE TRA MONEY THAT WE'RE RECEIVING BY $750,000 BASED ON WHAT WE RECEIVED LAST YEAR, CORRECT? THAT'S WHY THOSE TWO NUMBERS ARE DIFFERENT, CORRECT. OKAY, I JUST WANT TO, I KNEW THE ANSWER, BUT I JUST WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT I WAS INTERNALIZING IT BECAUSE IT WAS LIKE, WAIT, IT JUST SAID $750,000, BUT THERE WAS A WHOLE GROUP OF PEOPLE THAT GOT THIS MONEY LAST YEAR. RIGHT, THAT WAS JUST TO COVER THE COST FROM THE TEACHERS MOVING FROM TWO TO THREE AND FOUR TO FIVE LAST YEAR. EXACTLY. SO, THAT MEANS PRETTY MUCH THAT WE HAVE... MORE TEACHERS WITH MORE YEARS OF EXPERIENCE. GREAT, THANK YOU. BEFORE WE GO ON TO THE NEXT PART, CAN I JUST GO AHEAD AND STOP HERE FOR ANY QUESTIONS? YES, MA'AM. DO I HAVE ANYONE WITH QUESTIONS? YOU'RE GOOD TO GO. TRUSTEE CUERO. YOU MENTIONED THE 500 STUDENTS ADDITION THAT WE'RE NOT HAVING ANY RECAPTURE FOR THOSE STUDENTS. CORRECT. WE WILL STILL NOT BE IN RECAPTURE IF WE HAVE 500. SO IS THAT RECAPTURE HAPPENING AT A LATER DATE? RIGHT NOW WE'RE NOT PROJECTING ANY RECAPTURE. OKAY. THERE'S A VERY LONG DELAY WITH THE BUTTONS, SO YOU ALL MAY HAVE TO KIND OF SIGNAL ME. OKAY. I THINK WE'RE GOOD. FOLLOW-UP ON YOUR QUESTION, BECAUSE THAT'S ACTUALLY A VERY IMPORTANT QUESTION WHEN IT COMES TO RECAPTURE. REMEMBER, THE STATE OF TEXAS IS ONE OF ONLY SEVEN SCHOOL DISTRICTS WHO ARE FUNDED BASED ON ATTENDANCE. SO WHEN WE BUDGET, WE HAVE TO PROJECT AND SAY AND HOPE THAT WE WILL HAVE, LET'S SAY, 94% ATTENDANCE, RIGHT? MEANING THAT STUDENTS WILL ATTEND 94% OF THE TIME, RIGHT, NEXT YEAR. BUT IF, FOR WHATEVER REASON, LET'S SAY THERE IS A FLU SEASON THAT IS REALLY, IT'S GOING TO BE REALLY BAD AND WE HAVE MORE STUDENTS MISSING MORE TIME, MORE DAYS, RIGHT? THAT COULD DROP OUR ATTENDANCE, FOR EXAMPLE, TO 93%. AND THAT DROP FROM 94% TO 93%, SIR, THAT'S A $3 MILLION OUR DISTRICT WILL LOSE IN FUNDING WHILE WE ARE ALREADY IN THE MIDDLE OF THE SCHOOL YEAR. AND SO THAT COULD PUT US IN SOME KIND OF RECAPTURE, RIGHT? SO I JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE WE CLARIFY. I KNOW I'M PREACHING TO THE CHOIR HERE, BUT JUST IT'S ALL THIS STUFF IS PROJECTION. AND BECAUSE OUR STATE, AGAIN, IS ONE OF ONLY SEVEN WHO DOES USE. AVERAGE DAILY ATTENDANCE ADA VERSUS TOTAL NUMBER OF ENROLLMENT. TRUSTEE ROSS. IN YOUR WONDERFUL BUDGET MEETINGS THAT I APPRECIATED THAT YOU GUYS HELD, I PERSONALLY LEARNED HOW MUCH MY KID COSTS THE DISTRICT EVERY SINGLE TIME THEY DON'T GO TO SCHOOL. WOULD YOU WANT TO SHARE THAT? YES. AS DR. AZAIEZ SAID, TEXAS FUNDS SCHOOL DISTRICTS BASED ON ATTENDANCE, NOT ENROLLMENT. AND SO IF A CHILD MISSES A DAY, IT'S ROUGHLY $30 TO $31 PER DAY PER CHILD THAT'S OUT OF THE DISTRICT. BUT REMEMBER, I DON'T PAY LESS FOR THE TEACHER. I DON'T PAY LESS FOR UTILITIES. I DON'T PAY LESS FOR BUS RIDERS, BUS DRIVERS, CUSTODIANS. [01:55:01] IT'S JUST THAT THEY REDUCE THE FUNDING BECAUSE THE CHILD DID NOT COME TO SCHOOL BY $31 A DAY. I MAY HAVE TO WRITE YOU A CHECK, MR. COVINGTON. I TEXTED MY SON WHEN I FOUND THAT OUT, AND I WAS LIKE, YOU NEED TO START MAKING SOME DONATIONS. OKAY, I DON'T SEE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS. OKAY, YOU ALL ASKED ABOUT THE COST OF A VATRE, SO. FIRST, LET'S TALK ABOUT THE VATRE. IF YOU ALL APPROVE TO GO FOR A VATRE, WE WILL BE GOING FOR COPPER PENNIES, NOT GOLDEN PENNIES, AND COPPER PENNIES ARE SUBJECT TO RECAPTURE. SO THAT FIRST LINE YOU SEE THAT IF WE GO FOR FIVE COPPER PENNIES, IT WOULD GENERATE $13,522,000 FOR ROUND ROCK ISD TO KEEP, BUT WE WILL ALSO HAVE TO SEND $13,000,000. $265,000 TO TEA FOR RECAPTURE BASED ON THE YIELD OF EACH OF THE COPPER PENNIES. SO BASED ON THAT, IF YOU LOOK AT OPTION TWO THAT EDDIE TALKED ABOUT EARLIER, THE COMPENSATION INCREASE WITH 2% FOR ALL PLUS THE COMPRESSION ADJUSTMENTS WAS $9.8 MILLION. THAT WILL LEAVE $3.7 MILLION TO HELP COVER THE OTHER PORTION OF THE BRIEFINGS THIS EVENING ABOUT THOSE HEALTH SERVICE FUNDS THAT WE ARE SELF-FUNDING AND ARE RUNNING A DEFICIT EVERY YEAR. SO IF WE WOULD GO FOR FIVE COPPER PENNIES AND GET APPROVED BY THE CITIZENS, DO A VOTE IN NOVEMBER, IT WOULD GENERATE THOSE DOLLARS AND THOSE ARE THE USES WE WOULD USE FOR THE DOLLARS AND NONE OF THOSE, THAT NONE OF THOSE DOLLARS GOES TOWARDS THE DEFICIT FOR FY26-27. TRUSTEE CUERO. DENNIS, THANK YOU SO MUCH, BUT CAN YOU, JUST FOR THE PUBLIC, TALK ABOUT WHAT A VATRE IS AND HOW IT WORKS? A VATRE IS A VOTER-APPROVED TAX RATE THAT THE BOARD WILL HAVE TO CALL FOR A VATRE, AND THEN YOU WILL HAVE TO PUT IT ON THE BALLOT IN NOVEMBER AND THE CITIZEN WILL HAVE TO PASS THE VATRE, AND SO YOU WILL HAVE A BUDGET IN CONTINGENCY OF A VATRE PASSING. THAT DOES, THAT DEALS WITH COMPENSATION. TRUSTEE LANDRUM, I KNOW WE'VE DONE THESE BEFORE, BUT THE LAST TIME WE DID ONE, WE PASSED A PAY RAISE AND THEN WE, THIS WOULD BE PART TWO OF THE PAY RAISE. BUT ON THIS ONE, THERE'S NOT REALLY A PAY RAISE, THIS WOULD BE THE ONLY THING. CAN YOU TALK ABOUT WHEN THE PAY RAISES WOULD GO INTO EFFECT IF THE VATRE PASSED IN NOVEMBER? BECAUSE WE DON'T AUTOMATICALLY GET A BUCKET OF MONEY JUST BECAUSE THE CITIZENS APPROVED A VATRE, SO WHEN WOULD THE PAY RAISE GO INTO EFFECT AND WHEN WILL WE START COLLECTING THAT MONEY? AND HERE COMES EDDIE. SO I THINK YOU'RE ASKING TWO DIFFERENT QUESTIONS. DO YOU NEED A WALK-UP SONG? THE FUNDING WOULD COME IN THROUGH TAX COLLECTIONS BECAUSE WE'RE GOING TO THE PUBLIC TO ASK FOR AN INCREASE IN THE TAX RATE, AND SO EVERY TAXPAYER WOULD PAY MORE ON THEIR TAX BILL THAT'S DUE BY JANUARY 31ST. SO THE MONEY, WE NORMALLY START COLLECTING TAXES LATE NOVEMBER, A LITTLE BIT IN DECEMBER, BUT THE BULK IN JANUARY AND THEN SOME IN FEBRUARY FROM THE LATE COLLECTIONS. AND SO WE'RE STILL ON THE SAME TIMELINE FOR THAT, FOR COLLECTING THE FUNDING, AND THEN I THINK WE'RE PLANNING ON THE CALCULATIONS. SO REAL QUICK BEFORE YOU GO ON, THE TAX BILLS WOULD GO OUT AFTER THE ELECTION. CORRECT. OKAY. SO IF YOU REMEMBER, THE LAST TIME WE DID A VATRE WAS IN 2023, AND THE WILLIAMSON COUNTY, THAT, THAT SENDS OUT ALL OF OUR TAX BILLS, AND TRAVIS COUNTY FOR THAT PORTION, THEY WAITED UNTIL THE ELECTION PASSED BECAUSE THEY DON'T WANT TO HAVE TO DO THINGS TWICE. THEY SEND IT OUT ASSUMING IT PASSES OR WITHOUT IT AND THEN HAVE TO RESEND. SO LESS CONFUSION FOR EACH TAXPAYER TO GET THE SINGLE BILL AFTER THE VOTE IS VERIFIED. NO, IT'S MORE WORK FOR THE APPRAISAL DISTRICT. NO, I UNDERSTAND. BUT ALSO, WE, WILL CHARGE US MORE, TOO, BECAUSE WE USE THEM. SO THEY TRY TO, AND THEN ALSO FOR CONFUSION, TAKE YOUR POINT FROM OUR TAXPAYERS, WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE SEND THEM THE PROPER INFORMATION, I GUESS. REGARDING THE COMPENSATION, BASICALLY WE WOULD BE, [02:00:02] IF THE BOARD DECIDED TO MOVE FORWARD WITH THIS, WE WOULD ACTUALLY INCLUDE THIS IN OUR COMPENSATION PLAN LANGUAGE THAT WE BRING BACK TO THE BOARD AS A CONTINGENCY INCREASE, RIGHT? WE DID THIS LAST TIME AS WELL, LIKE YOU MENTIONED, TRUSTEE LANDRUM. SO WE WOULD HAVE TWO PIECES TO OUR COMPENSATION PLAN THAT WE WOULD BRING FORWARD. ONE WOULD BE THE RECOMMENDATION THAT WE PROVIDED TONIGHT, AND THEN THE OTHER WOULD BE IF AND ONLY IF A VATRE IS APPROVED WE WOULD, AND PASSED, WE WOULD PROVIDE THAT, WHATEVER THE DECISION IS ON THE COMP PLAN. AND THEN WE, BECAUSE WE WOULD APPROVE THAT IN OUR COMP PLAN FOR THIS FISCAL YEAR, WE'D BE ABLE TO PROVIDE THOSE INCREASES. EVEN IF WE WEREN'T ABLE TO MAKE THEM, PUT THEM INTO EFFECT UNTIL DECEMBER NEXT YEAR, THEY WOULD BE RETROACTIVE BACK TO JULY 1. SO IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT THAT WE MAKE THAT PART OF OUR COMPENSATION PLAN. AND SO THAT WE'RE ABLE TO, BECAUSE YOU CAN'T BACK PAY SOMEBODY, BASICALLY TEXAS CONSTITUTION DOESN'T ALLOW YOU TO DO THAT, RIGHT? SO YOU HAVE TO PUT THAT IN PLACE AHEAD OF TIME IN ORDER TO GO BACK AND GIVE THEM RETROACTIVE PAY. AND THEN I HAVE ONE LAST QUESTION ABOUT THE VATRE. COPPER PENNIES REALLY TICK ME OFF BECAUSE IT SENDS MORE MONEY BACK TO THE STATE. CORRECT. FOR THEM TO WASTE ON WHATEVER THEY, SORRY, FOR THEM TO ALLOCATE AS THEY SEE FIT, EVEN THOUGH MY FIRST LANGUAGE CHOICE WAS CORRECT. WHAT IS THE LAW, AND IS THAT SOMETHING THAT COULD POSSIBLY BE ADDRESSED WITH OUR LEGISLATURES OF GIVING US MORE PERCENTAGE OF OUR COPPER PENNIES? LIKE WHAT IS THE LAW OR THE REASONING WHY THEY GET HALF OF OUR MONEY THAT OUR TAXPAYERS, THAT'S WHY I'VE BEEN SO OPPOSED TO COPPER PENNIES. I DON'T KNOW WHAT THE LOGIC WAS FOR THAT, BUT I DO KNOW PART OF IT. AT ONE POINT DURING THE LEGISLATIVE SESSION LAST YEAR, THERE WAS TALK OF CHANGING THREE OF THE COPPER PENNIES BACK TO GOLDEN, AND THAT FAILED. IT NEVER WENT ANYWHERE. BUT THE YIELD OF THE COPPER PENNIES VARIES FROM DISTRICT TO DISTRICT. SERIOUSLY? OH YEAH, IT'S NOT THE SAME FOR EVERY DISTRICT. OUR PERCENTAGE IS 51-49. SOME OTHER DISTRICTS ARE WORSE THAN THAT. I THINK IT'S WORSE FOR AUSTIN. YEAH. I THINK AUSTIN HAS THESE. AUSTIN'S ON A VATRE WHERE THEY GOT $20 MILLION, SENT $40 MILLION TO THE STATE. I THINK IT'S BASED ON TAX VALUES. AND SO WE HAVE HIGH TAX VALUES AND SO DOES AUSTIN. OKAY. AND WHEN DO YOU NEED A DECISION FROM THIS BOARD AS TO WHETHER WE'RE GOING TO GO TO THE VOTERS FOR A VATRE? SO PART OF THE VATRE TIMELINES INCLUDE THE DISTRICT IS REQUIRED TO CONDUCT AN EFFICIENCY AUDIT AND THAT AUDITOR WOULD HAVE TO BE CHOSEN BY JULY 3RD, WHICH IF YOU REMEMBER WE ARE ON BREAK. THE DISTRICT IS CLOSED DURING THAT TIME. THE LAST TIME WE WILL SEE YOU IS JUNE 16TH. SO WE WOULD HAVE TO KNOW AND OF COURSE YOU'RE GOING TO ADOPT THE BUDGET AND YOU'RE GOING TO THE COMPENSATION PLAN NEXT WEEK, POTENTIALLY. AND SO AS PART OF THE ADOPTION OF THE COMPENSATION PLAN, YOU'RE GOING TO PUT THIS LANGUAGE THAT EDDIE SPOKE TO IN THERE. THANK YOU, RHONDA. SO NO, THE COMPENSATION IS NEXT WEEK. SO IF YOU REMEMBER BACK IN 2023, OUR BOARD AT THAT TIME IN MAY ADOPTED THE COMPENSATION. AND THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT EDDIE WAS SAYING. THIS IS IF WE DECIDE, IF THE BOARD AT THAT TIME DECIDED, OUR BOARD DECIDED. I THINK IT WAS WE'RE GOING TO GIVE 3% OR WHATEVER, AND THEN IF THE VATRE PASSES, WE'LL GIVE ANOTHER. THAT WAS PART OF THE WHOLE APPROVAL PROCESS FROM OUR BOARD MEMBERS AT THAT TIME. AND SO YOU PRETTY MUCH, WITH THAT, THAT TRIGGERED US TO START DOING WHAT RHONDA WAS SAYING, LIKE WE NEED TO KIND OF START LOOKING FOR AN AUDITOR, AND THEN ALSO START, LIKE, GETTING THAT PERSON OR THAT COMPANY TO DO THE AUDIT IN TIME TO PRESENT TO YOU. AND THEN AFTER THAT, MAKE IT OFFICIAL, RIGHT? YOU GET A CALL FOR THE, I THINK BY AUGUST, I THINK WE HAVE TO CALL FOR IT. YES. SO NORMALLY WE SET OUR TAX RATE IN SEPTEMBER, BUT IF YOU ARE PLANNING TO CONDUCT A VATRE ELECTION, THAT TAX RATE CANNOT BE ADOPTED LATER THAN AUGUST 17TH. SO WE WOULD HAVE TO PLAN AT OUR REGULARLY SCHEDULED BOARD MEETING IN AUGUST. AUGUST IS LATER THAN THE 17TH, SO YOU WOULD HAVE TO HAVE A CALLED MEETING IN AUGUST WITH THE HEARING, THE PUBLIC HEARING AHEAD OF IT, TO SET THE TAX RATE. AND AS SOON AS YOU ADOPT A TAX RATE THAT IS HIGHER THAN YOUR VOTER-APPROVED TAX RATE, WHICH IS CURRENTLY THE MAXIMUM COMPRESSED RATE PLUS THE EIGHT GOLDEN PENNIES THAT WE'VE ALREADY ADOPTED, THAT TRIGGERS [02:05:02] THAT VATRE ELECTION. SO ALL THAT TO SAY WE HAVE TO DECIDE ON THIS BY NEXT WEEK? OR DO WE REALLY HAVE UNTIL JUNE TO WE ADOPT THE COMPENSATION PLAN FOR WHAT'S REQUIRED, BUT THEN IF WE DECIDE TO GO BACK FOR THE VATRE. SO THE COMPENSATION PLAN WILL HAVE LIKE A CONTINGENT LANGUAGE IN IT. SO WHAT IT WOULD SAY IS IF A VATRE IS APPROVED AND IF THE ELECTION IS APPROVED BY THE VOTERS, THEN WE WOULD DO THAT, BUT WE WOULD WE WOULD PUT THAT IF LANGUAGE IN PLACE, WHICH MEANS THAT WE COULD GO BACK THEN AND APPLY THOSE PAY RAISES, YOU KNOW, WITH WHATEVER HAPPENS IN THE FUTURE, BUT WE'RE NOT TIED TO THAT SHOULD THAT ELECTION NOT MATERIALIZE. HOWEVER, I'LL ADD THAT WE HAVE TO SELECT THE EFFICIENCY AUDITOR BY JULY 3RD, AND THE BOARD HAS TO APPROVE THAT AUDITOR. SO WE WOULD BE BRINGING THAT AUDITOR SELECTION TO YOU AT THE JUNE 16 MEETING. AND THAT'S THE NIGHT WE WOULD ADOPT THE BUDGET, NOT THE TAX RATE. SO IT'S ALL TO SAY THAT THEORETICALLY YOU COULD APPROVE AN EFFICIENCY AUDIT BE DONE. THERE WILL BE A COST TO THAT. AND THEN YOU COULD DECIDE AT A LATER DATE NOT TO ADOPT A TAX RATE THAT'S HIGHER THAN THE VOTER APPROVED TAX RATE. OKAY. IT'S A PRETTY QUICK TURNAROUND TO GET THAT FEEDBACK FROM THE COMMUNITY. AND I KNOW WE'RE TALKING ABOUT RAISING PRICES, YOU KNOW, TAXES AND NOT GIVING, YOU KNOW, POSSIBLY MAY OR MAY NOT GIVE INCREASES TO SALARIES. AND A LOT OF THE PROPERTY VALUE INCREASES THAT HAPPENED BACK IN COVID ARE REALLY STARTING TO BE REALIZED NOW WITH THE 10 PERCENT MAXIMUM EVERY YEAR. THEY'RE STARTING TO REALLY HIT PEOPLE'S PROPERTY VALUES AND THEIR TAX BILLS. AND I JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE AS A BOARD HAVE ENOUGH TIME TO GAUGE OUR COMMUNITY INTEREST. IN GOING FOR A VATRE. SO THANK YOU. I KNOW I HAD A LOT OF QUESTIONS. TRUSTEE WEI. I WAS WONDERING, FOR OUR NEIGHBOR DISTRICTS, ARE THEY USING COPPER PENNIES ALREADY? MOST OF OUR SURROUNDING DISTRICTS HAVE ALL NINE OF THEIR COPPER PENNIES. THERE'S A COUPLE THAT DO NOT, BUT MOST OF OUR SURROUNDING DISTRICTS HAVE ALL NINE. ALL RIGHT, THANK YOU. TRUSTEE ROSS. I WAS JUST BEING NOSY ABOUT WHAT OTHER DISTRICTS HAVE BETTER PERCENTAGES. I GUESS WE CAN SEND IT OUT TO YOU IN A BOARD UPDATE. WE HAVE THE TAX RATE FOR ALL OUR SURROUNDING DISTRICTS. I JUST DON'T HAVE IT TONIGHT, SO I CAN SEND IT TO YOU. NEXT WEEK, I'M SORRY, THAT'S ACTUALLY A GOOD QUESTION. NEXT WEEK, WE'LL BE MORE THAN HAPPY TO SHARE WITH YOU AND ALSO THE COMMUNITY MEMBERS. BUT WE HAVE THE TAX RATE FOR EVERY SCHOOL DISTRICT, AND WE ACTUALLY HAVE THE LOWEST TAX RATE IN THE ENTIRE AREA. I THINK EANS MAYBE HAS THE LOWEST ONE, AND THEN OST IS SECOND. AND THEN, MOST SCHOOL DISTRICT RUNNERS HAVE NINE. I THINK EANS DOESN'T HAVE ANY COPPER. SO, EANS IS THE LOWEST TAX RATE IN THE CENTRAL TEXAS REGION 13 AREA, BUT THAT'S BECAUSE THEIR INS RATE IS SO LOW. IT'S AT A 0.12. THEIR MNO IS ACTUALLY HIGHER THAN OURS. YEAH. SO, THE MNO IS THAT'S WHAT THAT'S HOW THEY PAY THE TEACHERS AND STAFF, OBVIOUSLY, RIGHT? SO, THEY THEY'RE THAT THAT PART IS THE ONE WE DISCUSSED AND TONIGHT, NOT THE INS. AND THEN, I THINK LEANDER HAS SIX COPPER PENNIES, THEY DON'T HAVE ALL NINE, BUT THE REST, I THINK, ARE NONE, I THINK, OR LIBERTY HILL, IT WAS THE LAST SCHOOL DISTRICT THAT WENT FOR THEM, AND IT WENT FOR THEM LAST NOVEMBER, NOVEMBER OF 2025, I BELIEVE. OKAY, I DON'T SEE ANYONE ELSE IN THE QUEUE, BUT I WANT TO CHECK SINCE THERE'S A DELAY ON THE BUTTONS. OKAY. WELL, EVERYBODY ASKED MY QUESTIONS. I WANTED TO ASK ABOUT TIMELINE AND THEN TALK ABOUT OUR SURROUNDING DISTRICTS. THE ONLY THING THAT I'LL ADD, WHEN WE LOOK AT THE BIG PICTURE OF OUR SURROUNDING DISTRICTS AND THAT MANY HAVE ALREADY USED ALL NINE COPPER PENNIES, THAT WE HAVE THE LOWEST TAX RATE OUTSIDE OF EANS, I THINK IT SPEAKS TO THE FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT OVER THE YEARS THAT WE'VE SPREAD OUT THE TOOLS AVAILABLE TO US, IN ORDER TO CONTINUE TO GIVE INCREASES TO OUR TEACHERS AND OUR STAFF, AND MANAGE THIS DISTRICT WELL. SO, I JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT THAT BROADER PICTURE IS OUT THERE TO THE COMMUNITY. WE DO HAVE TOOLS AT OUR DISPOSAL, AND WE ARE CONTINUALLY GETTING CLOSER TO THE END OF THOSE TOOLS WITHOUT A FUNDING INCREASE, BUT WE HAVE SPREAD THOSE OUT IN ADDITION TO, YOU KNOW, LOOKING AT THINGS LIKE ATTRITION AND... HOW CAN WE BETTER ALIGN PROGRAMS TO OUR STUDENT ENROLLMENT, AND WORKING WITHIN THE CONFINES THAT THE STATE HAS SET [02:10:01] FOR US? SO, YOU KNOW, WE'RE CONTINUALLY LOOKING AT ALL OF THOSE THINGS AND DOING THE BEST THAT WE CAN WITH THE FUNDING THAT'S COMING INTO US. AND, YOU KNOW, I HOPE THIS CONVERSATION DID GIVE THE COMMUNITY A BROADER PICTURE. AND THEN, JUST TO THE POINT OF COMMUNITY FEEDBACK, I MEAN, I KNOW THE TAX RATE, WE DO HAVE TO KEEP THAT IN MIND BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, FAMILIES ARE STRUGGLING NOW, AND AS THE TAX RATE CLIMBS, YOU KNOW, IT'S... IT'S A DIFFICULT SITUATION FOR EVERYONE, BUT I DO ALSO WANT TO THINK ABOUT THE FEEDBACK THAT WE'VE RECEIVED. WE'VE RECEIVED A LOT OF EMAILS AND PUBLIC COMMENT ABOUT OUR TEACHER AND STAFF RAISES AND WHAT OUR TEACHERS AND STAFF ARE HOPING TO SEE. AND SO, I WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE PRIORITIZE THAT FEEDBACK, TOO, IN ADDITION TO INCREASING THAT RATE FOR THE COMMUNITY, BECAUSE LOOKING AT THE NUMBERS PUT IN FRONT OF US TONIGHT, AND THAT 9.8 MILLION, AND WE'RE ALREADY RUNNING A DEFICIT. THE ONLY WAY TO GET THERE IS WITH A VATRE. SO, I JUST KIND OF WANTED TO PUT ALL OF THAT OUT THERE, LAY IT ALL OUT THERE. AND I DON'T, AGAIN, [F. CLOSED SESSION] I STILL DON'T SEE ANYONE IN THE QUEUE. SO, THANK YOU, MR. COVINGTON. APPRECIATE IT. AND WE ARE GOING TO MOVE TO AGENDA ITEM F1. WE'RE GOING TO BE IN CLOSED SESSION. AND I'M GOING TO GO AHEAD AND READ US INTO CLOSED, AND WE'RE GOING TO DO CLOSED IN HERE. SO, WE'LL ASK EVERYONE TO STEP OUT. PURSUANT TO TEXAS GOVERNMENT CODE SECTION 551.0821, THE [G. CALL BACK TO ORDER/EXECUTIVE SESSION MOTIONS] BOARD WILL REVIEW AND DELIBERATE REGARDING BOARD SCHOLARSHIP FINALISTS. IT IS 8:41, AND WE ARE IN CLOSED. IT IS 9:03, AND WE ARE BACK IN OPEN. DO I HAVE ANY MOTIONS? YES, MADAM PRESIDENT. I MOVE THAT THE BOARD AWARD A $1,000 SCHOLARSHIP TO AZIL ALMATY. SECOND. I HAVE A MOTION AND A SECOND. ALL IN FAVOR? MOTION PASSES 7-0. WITH NO OTHER BUSINESS ON THE AGENDA, WE ARE ADJOURNED AT 9:03. * This transcript was compiled from uncorrected Closed Captioning.