Jason Lanier, a resident who identified himself during public comment, told the board that proficiency on Keystone exams has fallen compared with results from 2015 and asked the board to explain current policy and large capital expenditures.

"Those kids, historically underperforming in 02/2015, are doing better than our graduates of any demographic in 02/2024," Lanier said. He cited figures he said were from 2015 (overall algebra proficiency about 92.5 percent; biology 91 percent; literature 90 percent) and contrasted them with what he described as lower proficiency in 2024 for most demographic groups. He also asked where district renovation funding would come from, saying the high-school renovation alone was cited at $260,000,000 and the district had another $375,000,000 planned over 10 years.

Superintendent Dr. Bauer responded during the public-comment exchange and in later remarks, saying proficiency reporting requires careful interpretation. "What is reported for a year is the eleventh grade class proficiency," Bauer said, and noted that Keystone results reflect the junior cohort in reporting and that since 2015 state law changed to allow alternate graduation pathways. "You can take a dual enrollment class, you can take an AP exam, you can take, get a certification at the Technical Career Center. There are other ways that you can obtain proficiency in order to graduate." Bauer said those changes mean the way results are counted and reported is different than in earlier years and offered to review spreadsheets with Lanier to reconcile numbers.

Lanier also asked about fiscal responsibility and how the district will pay for capital projects and whether taxpayers should fund spending if proficiency is declining. The board and superintendent did not adopt any new policy during the meeting; Bauer offered to follow up with Lanier to fact-check the numbers and to review district spreadsheets.

Ending: Board members and staff offered to follow up with Lanier to review the data sources and to clarify which cohorts and measures were being compared rather than make immediate policy changes at the meeting.