I submitted a um resolution regarding special education and the recent cuts to the federal department of special education and I would like to add that to the agenda for discussion with the board.

What we're experiencing now is not just a lack of funding for the program, but it's actually been decimated.

This this shutdown is different. In years past, um when we've had a government shutdown, those those employees are furled. That means that as soon as the shutdown is complete, then those employees get their jobs back. Uh this this was not done that way. They were given an RFI. So that means at the end of the 60 days that they have notice of that they lose their jobs.

I think there's opportunity here to use the weight of the board as opposed to the weight of our individual voices, which at times is not very heavy.

This is our most vulnerable population. These are students that um that don't have a voice and some of them the only voice they have is the voice that we give them. So, I guess when I think about my integrity as a person, it's when you see something that's not right, you stand up and you say, 'This is not right.'

I do know that the federal government is shut down and maybe the best course would be to ask our elected official in our congressional district and I believe that is um Senator Angie Craig to say can you help get the government back on track.

Um we are bumping it up 2%. Um, each of our individual schools have their approximate goals set for how much they have to bump it up to get to 85% by 2030. 2030. Um, and so we moved as a district um up that 2% um to make sure that um we're on track to try to get there as well.

I just also want to clarify um this is a living document that we can continue to come back to. I have some thoughts that I certainly want to follow up with um Superintendent Bowman on with regard to the idea of looking at access to mental health services. You know, um just working in a hospital setting in a hospital setting and mental health access is a big issue, but outcome is also a very important thing to be considering.

I would love to have an individual slide uh that would be kind of a companion document that states the the uh the intent of the metric, the definition, how you guys uh got to that formula of that respective metric, so we're all on the same page.

Well, there there'll be plenty of that coming. Uh I I think when we started the conversation around this that that was one of the key objectives. Uh the challenge becomes identifying that uh and then articulating what it is in in real terms which often times is going to boil down to either funding priorities or funding process for the future.