Feb 11 2026
Board Meeting

▼Full Transcript Below

1. Public Comment
   ⏯ 0:7:26 – 0:15:43

   • • Morgan Dukes (McKean staff member & alumni): Emphasized that dismantling a successful comprehensive high school does not solve enrollment challenges;

     • Mary Cole (parent): Urged the board to consider the human impact on students

     • Jenny Howard (parent): Raised concerns about equity and district-wide planning; 

2. Board Committee Report
   ⏯ 1:27:27 

   • • Board Member Susan Sander provided an update on the Attendance Zone and Restructuring Review Committee that met February 5, 2026 including upcoming dates and meeting topics. 

3. Board Discussion
   ⏯ 1:37:22 

   • • Board members debated the role of the community in Innovation Center committee meetings.

⏯ 0:7:26 – 0:15:43 

Morgan Dukes: Hello. My name is Morgan Dukes. I'm a McKean staff member and alumni. I want to be really clear. I don't claim to have the perfect solution to our enrollment challenges. It's a complex problem and it deserves a lot more thoughtful and collaborative work. But what I can say is that dismantling one of the district's comprehensive high schools that is performing well is not the answer. You don't fix one problem by creating another. And repurposing a stable, successful school does not strengthen our system. It destabilizes it. What is most troubling is not just the plan itself, but how consistently the concerns about it have been ignored. Staff, parents, community members, and students have spoken out repeatedly. They've shown up to meetings. They've emailed. They've shared thoughtful questions, real fears, and practical concerns. And yet, those plans have gone unanswered, not addressed, not incorporated, just acknowledged, and then set aside. Public schools are already losing students. Trust is fragile. Families are paying attention. Right now, parents with children in elementary and middle schools are watching this process unfold. They're watching how concerns are handled. They're watching whether voices matter. And many of them are asking a very reasonable question. Is this a district that listens to its community? If the answer appears to be no, they will choose to leave public education. That's how enrollment declines accelerate. Not because families reject public education, but because they lose faith in the process behind it. Finally, I want to address a hard truth. A plan without buy-in will fail. It doesn't matter how detailed the rollout is. It doesn't matter how enthusiastic district leadership or board members might be. If staff don't believe in it, if students don't support it, and if families don't trust it, the plan won't succeed. Implementation requires cooperation, morale, and shared purpose. You can't mandate those. They have to be earned. Right now, buy-in is not just low, it's actively eroding. and continuing forward without addressing that reality risks wasting time, resources, and goodwill that this district can't afford to lose. I urge you to pause, reflect, and reconsider the path forward. Engage the people who will be most affected. Strengthen what is already working. And remember, sustainable solutions are built with communities, not imposed on them. Thank you. 

Mary Cole: Good evening members of the School Board. I come here tonight before you not just as a parent, but as an advocate for stability, security, and fairness for our children. In the fall of 2027, Thomas McKean High School is set to be restructured into an Innovation Center. While I understand the intent behind this change, I need you to understand what this means for students like my daughter and for so many others. My daughter will be a senior that year. Instead of celebrating her final year with the teachers, the counselors, the coaches, the friends who have supported her for three years, she will be uprooted and sent to a completely different school. New teachers, new administration, new sports teams, new support staff. And for her and for many students, this isn't just a change. It's a disruption of everything that gives them confidence and security. Students with special needs and learning disabilities thrive on consistency. They need to feel safe and supported to succeed. McKean has given my daughter that environment. It has molded her into a confident, independent young adult. To rip her away from that in her senior year would be devastating. It could set her back tremendously, not just academically, but emotionally. And this isn't just about my child. Every student deserves a chance to finish their high school journey where they started, surrounded by the relationships that they've built with the teachers and counselors, coaches, and peers. These bonds aren't just connections. They are lifelines. They are what help our kids grow into strong, capable adults. Senior year is supposed to be a celebration, a time to reflect on years of hard work and look forward to the future. Forcing these students to start over in an unfamiliar environment during this critical year is frankly unfair. It would be a sin to tear them away from the place that they call home. So tonight, I'm asking the board to consider the human impact of this decision. Please work with the district to create a transition plan that allows current McKean students, especially those entering their senior year, to graduate at McKean. Grandfather them in. Give them the stability that they need and deserve. Because when we prioritize their well-being, we set them up for success not just in school but in life. Thank you for listening and considering the impact this will have on the current students of McKean High School. Thank you.

Jenny Howard: Hi. Good evening members of the School Board and Dr. Green. My name is Jenny Howard and I almost wasn't going to speak tonight but at the last second I thought you know what - I need to say this so that you all can understand. Over the past two years my questions have been dismissed or reframed as adversarial. And I'm aware of the chatter, but I want to remind everyone of something I said the first time I spoke. I'm here for one reason and one reason only and that's the kids and that means all of the kids which is why I want to talk about the fiscal and structural implications of the proposed McKean Innovation Center. We're discussing major redesign of three comprehensive high schools but we currently have five high schools in this district - two of which are selective magnet schools with enrollment criteria that many students can't access. Those two schools consistently offer the broadest range of sports, extracurriculars, advanced coursework, and CTE pathways. So, if we're talking about structural change, why are we not examining the full high school ecosystem? Why are only the comprehensive schools being restructured? If we're serious about equity, shouldn't we be evaluating whether resources are equitably distributed across all five high schools, not just redesigning the ones that serve the highest need populations? This isn't an attack. It's a systems question. And before moving forward with the innovation center, I really think we need to see the full fiscal impact analysis, a comparison of per pupil expenditures across all five high schools, and a clear explanation of how this plan advances equity districtwide, not just structurally reshuffles three buildings. And finally, I just want to say to the parent that just spoke about the bus concern back in October, the Director of Transportation promised that there would be some type of portal or Google doc or some method to contact transportation and get a written response back to them back to the parents because parents have transportation concerns all the time. It is very difficult to call transportation. Most of the time someone doesn't answer. When they do answer, they are very short. Obviously, they are busy and it is not the best way to get in contact with somebody from the transportation department. There needs to be a system and we were promised that and parents are still waiting for that. So, we're just asking for more transparency across the board. Thank you for your time tonight. 

⏯ 1:27:27 

Susan Sander: I can give that report. This was our initial meeting. As you know, this committee was approved of just recently. So we had our initial meeting. We went over meeting norms. Basically be respectful of everybody's points of view, be respectful of time. We went over the committee's charge from the Board, which Mr. Pruitt reviewed. We went over the history of how we got to this point which was appreciated by a lot of people who were on the committee just to have a refresher on the entire history of this Attendance Zone Restructuring Committee. We then went over the team and the topics. I believe the steering committee information can be found on the website so I'm not going to go into a lot of detail on that. We did go over the calendar and I do want to bring that up to the Board. It was proposed that we have a meeting on March 25th, which is a Wednesday. The reasoning for the days of the week is though that we would not be heavily concentrating our time on just one day of the week in case that was a conflict for parents and administrators and people that serve on the board. 

So we have a Wednesday, March 25th. We'll go over communications, student services, the Meadowood program, attendance zones, and school choice. 

May 28th is the next scheduled meeting. Thursday and that will go over finance, facilities, transportation and staffing. 

August 25th, which is a Tuesday, we will go over professional learning, the my to skyline program, nutrition, and state community supports.

last meeting is scheduled for October 28th, which is a Wednesday, when we will go over the McKean Innovation Center rollout and student life activities and athletics.

And the one of the reasonings for these dates is going to also coincide with Board Meetings. So, we will do every other month that the board will be meeting.

⏯ 1:37:22 

Jose Matthews:  I just had a comment overall, just a public service announcement for the committees. This is always a reminder to the community that our committee meetings are open to the public and we encourage participation. The reason I mentioned this specifically I know that there's been concern - about the amount of what's being referenced at least - community engagement for the McKean Innovation Center. We had the AI Task Force which was open and available to the community. We had the AZ Committee and now we have this committee. So I just want to reiterate and I can't stress enough that everyone's welcome. But looking at the minutes... I can't tell how many people were in attendance from the public but there were only two public comments so… 

Susan Sander: In person, we had, I believe, two adults and two children. On Zoom, I cannot, I don't have that information. 

Jose Matthews: Right. So I just want to stress, you know, if the concern is that there isn't ample opportunity for engagement I just can't stress enough that this is your opportunity. This is your chance to engage and participate and have your voice heard. So I just want to just stress our welcome for those who would like to participate. 

Devon Hynson: I did want to note though, that remember we had a disagreement about what role the community can play in those committees. It was decided that those are just informational sessions where they don't really get an opportunity to participate. I hear you, but the way that it's set up now is that they don't have that opportunity. 

Jose Matthews: With the public comment. 

Susan Sander: The public comment and discussion is allowed definitely. We're not putting any holds on discussion. I believe questions can be asked to the committee. The committee members are able to respond. So I don't believe that I also just---

Beth Twardus: I was one of the people that was online and I was able to join virtually and I really appreciate I had some questions going into it and they were actually answered. 

Susan Sander: Oh, good. 

Beth Twardus: Through the presentation, the spreadsheet was really helpful as far as like the questions of what the District is thinking of and having shared that screenshot of the spreadsheet. Yes, the District is thinking of like that was really helpful to be engaging. Even though I didn't give public comment or I wasn't there in person, that information is being shared and I think that's what Mr. Matthews is getting to is that it’s a way that that information is out there for our community members.

Devon Hynson: Am I imagining that we had this discussion the previous month? Do I have to go back and pull the tape? I imagining that? Do you think? 

Jose Matthews: No, I don't think anyone's sharing that. I just, this discussion is more so to reinforce that the meetings are happening. They are public. People are welcome to attend.

Devon Hynson: I think we would have to repackage the ask because previously it was understood that there wasn't an opportunity for engagement. So what I'm saying is if we're saying now we do want you to come, we do want you to engage, we do want you to participate - then that's a new ask. 

Jose Matthews: If it wasn't stressed before, I'm making the stress now to make it. 

Devon Hynson: Ok.

Susan Sander: The next meeting is March 25th. 

Vic Leonard: Will you be available on March 25th? 

Devon Hynson: On what? 

Vic Leonard: You're on that committee, right? 

Devon Hynson: Oh, yeah. Absolutely. If the community is allowed to engage. Absolutely. Yeah.

Vic Leonard: You weren't at the last one, right? The first one.

Devon Hynson: Because the community wasn’t allowed to engage. Let me be clear. If our position now as a Board is that the community is allowed to engage, I would be more than happy to participate. 

Vic Leonard: Okay, thank you all. 

🌐Attendance Zone Restructuring & Review Committee Webpage

📁Attendance Zone Restructuring & Review Committee Rolling Slides

📹 Attendance Zone & Restructuring Review Committee February 5, 2026 Recording

📋 Attendance Zone & Restructuring Review Committee February 5, 2026 Meeting Minutes (draft)