The Norman Public Schools Board of Education swore in its new Office 5 board member, approved meal price increases and approved new State Board of Education policies during its Monday meeting.
Swearing in and reorganization of the board
The news: Tori Collier, a special education advocate, won her race for the Office 5 seat against former board president Tina Floyd on April 1. Floyd did not attend the meeting.
The board unanimously elected Office 1 Board member Dirk O’Hara as president and Office 2 Board member Alex Ruggiers as vice president of the board.
The board also elected Cathy Sasser as clerk of the board, Natalie Eckert as deputy clerk, Jill Eidson as second deputy clerk, Cameron Cox as encumbrance clerk, Shannon Benda as deputy encumbrance clerk, Tyler Jones as treasurer and Vladia Cortest as deputy treasurer.
What they're saying: In an interview with OU Daily following the meeting, Collier thanked those who voted for her and said she is excited about her future on the board.
“I’m excited to bring the experience that I’ve had as a parent of over 18 years in Norman Public Schools and being able to speak into policy on things that I witnessed and experienced, and bring to light changes that are needed,” Collier said.
Office 3 Board member Annette Price said Collier is a great advocate for students and families. She also recognized Collier as the first Black member of the NPS board of education, saying she is a “trailblazer” and an “inspiration.”
“I would love to work with (Collier), and the rest of us here feel the same way because we all have that passion and desire,” Price said.
From left to right: Nick Migliorino, Norman Public Schools superintendent; Alex Ruggiers, Office 2 board member; Dawn Brockman, Office 4 board member; Tori Collier, Office 5 board member, and her husband, Milton Collier; Annette Price, Office 3 board member; and Dirk O'Hara, Office 1 board member.
Land exchange for property between elementary schools and parks
The news: The board heard information about land exchanges with the city of Norman for a property at Adams Elementary and Woodslawn Park, and a property at Eisenhower Elementary and High Meadows Park.
NPS and the city of Norman each own half of High Meadows Park. The district would exchange the north half of High Meadows Park near Eisenhower Elementary for land adjacent to the school’s parking lot owned by the city.
The Adams Elementary playground is not currently owned by the school district. The land exchange will grant the land where the playground sits within Woodslawn Park.
What they’re saying: Justin Milner, NPS associate superintendent and chief operating officer, presented the board with information about the land exchanges.
If the city acquired all of High Meadows Park, Milner said students would still be able to access the park. Milner said there is no current plan as for what future opportunities the land near Eisenhower Elementary will be used for.
The vote: The board unanimously approved the land exchanges with the city of Norman.
Proposed Board of Education policies
The news: The board heard updates on the three proposed Oklahoma State Board of Education policies.
What they’re saying: Karen Long, the board's legal counsel, presented the board with the proposed policies.
Policy 5012 defines the flags required to fly outside school grounds and disallows flags unrelated to curriculum the ability to fly in a classroom. According to Long, the policy does not apply to stickers or posters. Long said the purpose of the policy is to ensure both the U.S. flag and the Oklahoma flag are flown outside school buildings.
Office 4 Board member Dawn Brockman asked whether the policy applied to 2SLGBTQ+ pride flags hung inside classrooms. Long said the policy applies, and the flag could only be flown for curriculum related reasons.
Ruggiers asked whether an OU flag could be flown in classrooms. Similar to pride flags, Long said the OU flag would also have to relate to the curriculum.
In light of intense discussion among board members, O’Hara said the board was not ready to pass policy and proposed to discuss it at a later date. Long said the board must pass the policy due to deadline obligations.
NPS Superintendent Nick Migliorino said the district has a strong relationship with the Human Rights Commission, which would not change if the board passed the flag policy.
“This is simply for accreditation purposes to have a policy in place, but (I) would love to make any changes or suggestions,” Migliorino said.
Brockman disagreed with Migliorino’s reference to the commission, and said she wants to ensure teachers can hang what they choose in their classrooms.
“I don’t think it’s worked out that way at schools,” Brockman said. “So I want to protect teachers’ rights to put these things up in their classrooms.”
Policy 5010 would require a daily minute of silence beginning with a loudspeaker announcement, Long said. The policy would also add a complaint procedure for students to file if they feel the minute of silence is not met.
Price questioned why the policy is necessary since NPS schools already practice moments of silence. Long said it is because the state now requires districts to have a policy instead of a regulation.
Policy 5013 would allow students and teachers to participate in voluntary private prayer. Brockman asked if private prayer was permitted before the 2022 U.S. Supreme Court case, to which Long said it was not an issue.
Kennedy v. Bremerton School District was a case pertaining to a high school coach who was disciplined for praying with students on the field. In a 6-3 vote, the Supreme Court sided with the coach and determined the prayer to be private speech and therefore constitutional.
Long said public prayer is permissible in schools, and NPS does not have a policy on public prayer.
The vote: The board unanimously approved to amend policy 5012 to remove its last paragraph, consisting of the phrase “in the event other flags are flown…” The board unanimously approved the amended policy.
The board unanimously approved policy 5010 and policy 5013.
Spanish Language Academy overview
The news: The board heard an overview and updates about the Spanish Language Academy, a new program NPS announced in April.
The district intends to launch the program next school year and house the academy within Truman Primary and Truman Elementary.
The program is open to elementary-aged students from families outside NPS boundaries, but priority enrollment will be given to those within the district. Students in the program are not required to have prior experience speaking Spanish.
The Pre-K class will hold up to 20 students. Kindergarten through first grade classes would hold a maximum of 25 students, and second through fifth grade classes would hold up to 26 students.
What they’re saying: Janet Gorton, NPS curriculum center coordinator, and Ann Rosales, NPS director of elementary teaching and learning, presented the board with information about the program.
According to the presentation, the program is committed to a rigorous curriculum and removing barriers of access for students.
“How fortunate are we to be in Norman where there's so much available within our community,” Gorton said. “We always want to do our best to leverage people (and) businesses that can really help us grow and build and just make the program … the best it can be.”
Gorton said there are three primary goals of the program: supporting students to succeed academically at levels comparable to English-only instruction, developing proficiency in both Spanish and English through immersive practices and fostering understanding of other cultures.
Rosales said content will be delivered in both English and Spanish. For Pre-K through second grade students, reading and language arts will be in English, and other subjects will be balanced with English and Spanish.
For third through fifth grade, all content areas will be balanced in both Spanish and English.
Gorton said the program has around 100 outstanding applications, with the highest interest being early childhood levels.
Selected students must complete the online enrollment process by May 9. The program is expected to begin Aug. 13.
Meal price increases
The news: The board heard a proposed increase for meal prices, which would raise the cost of food by 10 cents beginning next school year.
What they’re saying: Tyler Jones, NPS chief financial officer, presented the proposal to the board.
Jones said the board raises the prices by 10 cents annually, with the increase being the maximum amount possible.
The vote: The board unanimously approved to increase meal prices next school year.
Amended budget
The news: The board heard updates on the 2024-25 budget.
What they’re saying: Jones presented the board with updates on the budget.
Jones said he increased the budget on school land earnings and motor vehicle collections.
He also highlighted the Apple device resale program, which allows NPS to sell the district’s old Apple devices to compensate for costs of new technology, would bring about $482,362 into the general fund. Price asked Jones if tariffs implemented by the Trump administration will impact the district’s budget costs.
President Donald Trump announced global “reciprocal tariffs” with a 10% baseline and higher rates for nations that run trade surpluses with the U.S. on April 2. When such tariffs took effect April 9, the stock market plunged, and Trump paused the reciprocal tariffs, except those on China, for 90 days.
Jones said he is anticipating a 4-6% increase in inflation due to tariffs.
“I will say I’m being really conservative in our budgeting and making sure that (I’m) underestimating our revenues, overestimating our expenditures, and I'm also including an inflation estimate,” Jones said.
The vote: The board unanimously approved the budget.
This story was edited by Ana Barboza.
