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Palisades School District board meeting, Sep 16, 2026

2 h 23 min · 5 public speakers

School closures ▶ 1:06:06Budget cuts and layoffs ▶ 30:48Enrollment ▶ 1:25:52Safety, weapons and police ▶ 2:09:12

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 2 h 23 min.

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What happened

What happened at this meeting

Palisades school board approves bond parameters resolution and purchase agreement 7⁠-⁠2 1:22:58

  • Saul Ramos said the district was seeking a $5.75 million bond tied to spending on the Palms Auditorium and the water treatment plant. 32:34
  • The board approved a parameters resolution and bond purchase agreement by a 7⁠-⁠2 vote after a discussion of the district's five-year financial projections. 1:22:58
  • The board held a discussion on building consolidation with no votes, and the chair said a working meeting would be held on the 30th. 1:25:52

Until Nov 4, lines where a board member takes a side don't name the member. Why →

Item by item (12)
  1. Opening and roll call 7:30
    • The meeting opened with the Pledge of Allegiance and a roll call of directors. 7:30
    • The chair announced that the board held an executive session at 6:45 regarding personnel. 9:43
  2. Student and staff recognitions 10:04
    • A presenter recognized 16 students named by the College Board Big Futures program based on AP exam scores, PSAT scores and GPA. 10:23
    • A district staff member recognized two professional staff members who earned tenure and presented a certificate of appreciation for 5 years of school board service. 17:51
    • Student representatives reported on fall sports, homecoming planning, testing and events at the high school, middle school and elementary schools. 22:24
  3. Committee reports 24:53
    • DR. JAMES OTT said the baseball coach requested permission to take the team to Florida for spring training and that the band was up 5 members from last year. 24:57
    • DR. KAREN BEERER listed 5 themes from public comment on potential building consolidation, including grade configurations, transportation and preservation of small school cultures. 26:50
    • SCOTT FREEMAN said the sewer treatment plant was up and running and the Dornach-Mixon School emergency generator project had still not started. 29:43
  4. Fiscal oversight committee report 30:41
    • SAUL RAMOS said that with the assumptions in the five-year projection, the district was projected to be in a deficit within 5 years. 30:48
    • SAUL RAMOS said the fitness center's loss last year was minus $6,249 and that the special education reconciliation would produce a credit of $200,000. 30:48
  5. Policy, technical school, intermediate unit and association reports 36:54
    • The chair said policies on social media, charter schools, integrated pest management and recording of board meetings were up for first read, and that the solicitor would be consulted on charter school transportation language. 37:21
    • CORA LANDIS said 93% of the technical school's co-op students were offered full-time jobs and that the joint committee approved a passenger van purchase for $70,429. 39:35
    • JAMES HALLOWELL said the intermediate unit described professional development courses for staff. 44:03
  6. Consent agenda 46:42
    • The consent agenda included the August 19th, 2026 minutes, the September financial reports and the September personnel recommendations. 46:42
    • The motion carried 9⁠-⁠0. 48:10
  7. Baseball team overnight trip 50:40
    • The motion sought approval of an overnight trip for the baseball team March 12th to 23rd, 2027 to participate in spring training. 52:15
    • The motion carried 9⁠-⁠0. 52:53
  8. Bond parameters resolution and purchase agreement 52:53
    • One board member said the district would pay probably $1.5 million in interest and said, "I'm gonna have to vote no." 54:35
    • A district staff member said the district would end preliminary '26 with $29 million in fund balance and that bond debt service would start at $148,750 and continue around $475,000. 59:54
    • The staff member said interest rates were not going lower soon and that this fiscal year was the time to reimburse the district for the auditorium and wastewater treatment plant spending. 1:12:16
    • The motion carried 7⁠-⁠2. 1:22:58
  9. Change order, federal grants and policies 1:22:54
    • The board considered Sewage Treatment Plant Change Order Number 5 and federal grants of $189,054 for Title I, $29,858 for Title II, $1,428 for Title III and $16,170 for Title IV. 1:22:54
    • The board also took up policies on social media, charter schools and recording and live streaming of board meetings, and an agreement regarding a special education matter. 1:24:36
    • Each motion carried 9⁠-⁠0. 1:23:41
  10. Building consolidation discussion 1:25:52
    • The board was told the discussion carried no votes and that KCBA would attend a working meeting on the 30th. 1:25:52
    • SAUL RAMOS raised an idea from a community member to keep all 3 elementary schools open as K through 6 and place grades 7 through 12 in the high school. 1:42:56
    • A district staff member said earlier options could be rerun, including moving 5th grade back to the elementary schools and half-day kindergarten. 1:44:37
  11. Public comment 2:07:05
    • A speaker at public comment asked about the role of a security guard and said there was no light or walkways for students crossing to the fields. 2:09:12
    • A speaker at public comment asked about the district's bond rating, and a district staff member said S&P rates the district AA and the district had not yet gone to the ratings. 2:12:18
    • Speakers at public comment raised safety concerns about placing 7th and 8th graders in the high school building. 2:14:39
  12. Board comments 2:18:40
    • A speaker said the IU received a grant from Amazon for $197,800, and a speaker said it was for the Fab Lab. 2:19:26
    • The motion to adjourn carried 9⁠-⁠0. 2:22:14

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 “Board Meeting 9/16/2026”