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Carmel Clay Schools board meeting, Aug 26, 2026

1 h 45 min · 0 public speakers

Phones in school ▶ 1:37:28Reading and test scores ▶ 53:20

This board doesn’t post agenda times. Click a board member to jump to where they first speak; we list only members whose voice our check named. Video length 1 h 45 min.

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What happened

What happened at this meeting

Carmel Clay board authorizes notices of public hearings on proposed bond issue 21:33

  • The board approved the consent agenda and heard a student data report. 21:10
  • The board approved a resolution authorizing publication of notices of public hearings, a step a district staff member described as part of about a 6-month process on a proposed bond issue. 21:33
  • Before the vote, a presenter from Policy Analytics compared the district's tax rates and debt service with peer districts, and board members discussed the proposed projects and their cost. 23:38

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Item by item (10)
  1. Opening of the meeting 0:50
    • Jon Shapiro called the meeting to order, and a speaker reported that all board members were present. 0:50
    • Jon Shapiro led the Pledge of Allegiance and read the district mission statement. 0:56
  2. Recognitions 0:56
    • The board recognized Creekside Middle School Indiana Robotics State Champions, and a presenter said the team earned a state champion title and the Think Award at the World Championship. 1:20
    • A district staff member recognized the transportation team for helping the Carmel Fire Department evacuate residents from a nursing facility during flooding. 6:14
    • A district staff member said MaxPreps named Carmel High School the number 1 overall high school athletic program in the nation for the 25⁠-⁠26 school year, with 8 state championships. 13:26
  3. Consent agenda 18:54
    • Jon Shapiro said no one had signed up for public comment and listed consent items including the personnel report, several change orders and the July 22nd, 2026 meeting minutes. 18:54
    • Kristina Wheeler asked whether there was anything to know about the change orders, and a staff member said several of them are back charges that do not cost the district anything. 20:46
    • Jon Shapiro announced that the motion to approve the consent agenda carried. 21:10
  4. Debt service data presentation 21:33
    • A district staff member said the resolution would authorize the administration to advertise 2 public hearings so the public could comment on the proposed bond issue. 21:33
    • A presenter from Policy Analytics said the district's debt service tax rate this year is 32 cents and that the district raised $2,500 per ADM on a net levy basis. 23:38
    • A district staff member said the district's current debt service is $39 million and that the district receives 42% of each property tax dollar. 31:07
  5. Resolution on public hearing notices 35:50
    • Kristin Kouka asked to confirm that the action would only publicize notice of 2 public hearings at which the public could comment. 36:22
    • One board member said they stood by a challenge to cut $1.5 million over 3 years, and a staff member said that savings would be about $11 per year to a taxpayer that owns a half a million dollar house. 44:37
    • Kristina Wheeler asked for more detail on the list of projects in the bond, such as what the IT expenses would buy. 51:49
    • Jon Shapiro announced that the motion to adopt the resolution authorizing publication of notices of public hearings carried. 52:41
  6. Student data report 53:20
    • A district staff member said 95.5% of 3rd grade students passed iREAD this year and 2,354 students took AP exams. 54:25
    • Kristina Wheeler said 6 out of 11 elementary schools went down in iRead and asked whether a handful of students could cause large percentage swings. 1:07:53
    • In response to a question from Jon Shapiro about support for students who struggle, a staff member described interventions and said the district has not had to retain any students in the last 2 years. 1:10:47
  7. Monthly financial update 1:14:28
    • A district staff member said the 2026 budget included no raises and that the district will likely seek additional appropriations for health insurance, curricular materials, utilities and transfer tuition. 1:14:38
    • The staff member said a 1% increase in the required TURF contribution will cost about $1 million and property and casualty insurance will increase about 11%. 1:21:04
    • Greg Brown asked about the 12% cash balance goal, and a staff member said a recommendation of 16% to 24% is coming and the district is more like 10 or 11% perhaps. 1:28:17
  8. Parks Department report 1:32:54
    • A presenter said one park has no reopen date after flooding and that parent survey scores for the Extended School Enrichment program are about 4.8, 4.9 and higher. 1:33:03
    • Greg Brown asked about a park project near Carmel Elementary School, and Kristin Kouka said they would ask about it. 1:36:22
  9. Superintendent's report on cell phones 1:37:16
    • The superintendent said Carmel High School logged 23 cell phone related events during the first 6 days of school under the new law. 1:37:28
    • The superintendent said students cited challenges such as communicating last-second changes and club communications, and middle school principals reported little to no issues. 1:37:28
  10. Announcements and adjournment 1:44:27
    • Jon Shapiro said the next meeting is a workshop session on Wednesday, September 9th, with a regular session on Wednesday, September 23rd. 1:44:27
    • The meeting adjourned at 7:43. 1:45:08

Written by software from the meeting's transcript and checked sentence by sentence against it.

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Video: posted by the district as “08-26-2026 CCS School Board Meeting”