Community members praise CCMS principal and urge investment in blended, work‑based learning ahead of budget discussions

Victor Schoenfeld, principal of Churchill County Middle School, used public comment to thank the Board of Trustees and district staff for the opportunity to serve and to acknowledge colleagues and site staff for their support. "It's been a true honor to lead such an amazing and dedicated educational community," Schoenfeld said, adding that he remains committed to the site and students as he transitions to new roles.

Community member Joe Frey followed, telling trustees that education decisions should be driven by a broader set of evidence than a single dataset. "Decision making in education cannot rely solely on numbers," Frey said, and offered his perspective as a parent: three of his four children and many others, he said, have advanced academically through the blended learning program. Frey also praised the high school's work‑based learning and career and technical education programs and offered to assist the district during budget deliberations.

Frey urged the Board to adopt "a more comprehensive and future‑focused approach to budgeting," saying repeated budget cuts over decades have eroded programs. He stressed that some impacts are not readily quantified and asked trustees to consider qualitative outcomes when weighing program performance.

The chair thanked both speakers. The Board's public comment rules — announced at the meeting — allow members to respond briefly but prohibit deliberation on non‑agenda items; public comment for agenda items occurs after discussion of each action item or before a board member takes action. The district's budget vote was flagged at the start of the meeting as addressing budget items rather than personnel matters.