ALL HERE, RIGHT, READY. [00:00:02] ALL RIGHT, WE'RE ON. GOOD EVENING, EVERYONE. [1. Opening Items] IT'S WHAT IS THIS, IT IS TUESDAY, MARCH 1ST, ABOUT SIX O'CLOCK AND THIS IS THE MARCH CAROLINE COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION MEETING AT 5:01. THE BOARD CAME TOGETHER AND WITH A MOTION BY MS. WAYMAN, THE SECOND BY MR. JONES IN A VOTE OF 5-0, WE OPENED THE MEETING AND OPEN SESSION, AND THEN WE HAD A MOTION BY MR. JONES AND A SECOND BY MR. BARTON AND THE VOTE OF 5-0 TO GO IN THE CLOSED SESSION TO DISCUSS APPOINTMENT EMPLOYMENT ASSIGNMENT PERSONNEL ISSUES WITH OUR SUPERINTENDENT AND HR AND ALL, AS WELL AS COLLECTIVE BARGAINING WITH OUR UNION. THAT'S ONGOING. SO WITH THAT, IT'S 6:01. DO I HAVE A MOTION TO RECONVENE IN OPEN SESSION? SO MOVED. A MOTION BY MS. DIGIACOMO. SECOND. SECOND BY MR. BARTON. ALL THOSE IN FAVOR? AYE. WELCOME, EVERYONE. LET'S STAND FOR THE PLEDGE WITHOUT MASKS. I PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND TO THE REPUBLIC FOR WHICH IT STANDS, ONE NATION UNDER GOD, INDIVISIBLE WITH LIBERTY AND JUSTICE FOR ALL. WELL, THAT WAS NICE. WELL, AS EVERYBODY'S HEARD AND WE'VE GOT A FULL MEETING ROOM HERE, SO I SEE PEOPLE'S FACES AND SEE PEOPLE AND SIT UP HERE WITH ALL MY COUNTERPARTS AND SPEAK WITHOUT MASKS. HOPEFULLY WE CAN STAY HEALTHY AND OUR COMMUNITY STAYS HEALTHY SO WE CAN KEEP GOING IN THIS DIRECTION. AND MAYBE SOME HERE IN A FEW WEEKS, WE CAN START HAVING LITTLE ONES COME BACK IN AND HELP LEAD US IN THE PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE. ALL RIGHT. THAT BEING SAID, BOARD MEMBERS, WE HAVE AN AGENDA IN FRONT OF US. THAT'S NEW NORMAL. WE RECEIVED IT. AND ANY RECOMMENDATIONS TO APPROVE THE AGENDA OR ADDITIONS OR SUBTRACTIONS. DO WE HAVE A MOTION TO APPROVE THE AGENDA? SO MOVED. A MOTION, MR. JONES, SECOND BY MS. WAYMAN. ALL THOSE IN FAVOR? AYE. ALL RIGHT. MOVING ON TO BOARD REPORTS, REPORTS OF BOARD MEMBERS. [2. Reports] WHO DO WE HAVE? I'LL START TO MY LEFT. MR. BARTON? WELL, I GOT A TAKE AWAY FOR THE MONTH. I THINK THE BIGGEST TAKEAWAY THAT I'LL TALK ABOUT THIS LITTLE BIT. JUST OUR MEETINGS THAT, OUR REGULAR SCHEDULED MEETINGS. THE BIGGEST TAKEAWAY I'LL TALK ABOUT IN A MINUTE SINCE I GOT TO GO FIRST, I CAN SAY SOMETHING PROBABLY EVERYBODY WANTS TO SAY, BUT I WANT TO GIVE A HUGE SHOUT OUT TO MICHELE AND THE PROGRAM THAT WAS DONE AT CHESAPEAKE COLLEGE. IT WAS OUTSTANDING. IT'S EXACTLY WHAT A PROGRAM DURING BLACK HISTORY MONTH SHOULD BE LIKE. NOT ALL OF THEM SHOULD BE LIKE THAT. SOME SHOULD HAVE DIFFERENT COMPONENTS. BUT I WOULD SAY IF SHE WASN'T SITTING AT THIS TABLE, IT WAS SO WELL-RUN. IT'S SO NICE TO ATTEND AN EVENT, CERTAINLY WHEN THEY'RE VIRTUAL. I MEAN, VIRTUAL PROGRAMS, PEOPLE SEEM TO LOSE THEIR SENSE. SOMETIMES THE ORGANIZERS OF KEEPING IT SHARP AND MOVING FORWARD, AND JUST EVERY BIT OF IT WAS JUST SO EFFICIENT AND MEANINGFUL AND ALSO ENTERTAINING. THEY HAD MUSICAL PIECES AND INCLUDING VOCAL. BUT THEY WOULD ACTUALLY, YOU KNOW, THE CAMERA WOULD THEN BE ON THE PEOPLE PERFORMING, WHICH WAS JUST WONDERFUL AND THE SPEAKERS WERE ALL GOOD. THE AWARDS WERE JUST WONDERFUL TO SEE. AND SO I WANT TO COMPLIMENT THAT, BUT MY TAKEAWAY IS THE MAPS WERE TAKEN AWAY. AND, YOU KNOW, FOR TWO DAYS, I'VE BEEN WHEREVER I COULD TALKING TO PEOPLE, AND ZACH AND I WERE JUST CHATTING ABOUT A LITTLE BIT BEFORE WE STARTED THE MEETING THAT, YOU KNOW, NOW PEOPLE ARE SEEING THE REST OF A FACE THAN OUR STUDENTS WHO DIDN'T KNOW WHAT THE REST OF THEIR TEACHERS FACE LOOKED LIKE. I GUESS THEY DON'T SEE THEM IN THE COMMUNITY OR THEY DON'T SEE THEM SOMEWHERE ELSE. AND I THINK FOR THE MOST PART, THAT'S A GOOD THING BECAUSE THEY KNOW WHAT THE WHOLE TEACHER'S FACE LOOKS LIKE. AND YOU KNOW, YOU REALLY CAN'T TELL SOMETIMES YOU DON'T SEE THAT SMILE. IT JUST MEANS SO MUCH. SO FINGERS CROSSED THAT THIS KEEPS GOING THIS WAY AND WE STAY ON THIS COURSE. AND SO I GOT TO SEE IT FIRST. ALL RIGHT. MR. JONES? I ZOOMED A COUPLE OF LEGISLATIVE COMMITTEE MEETINGS THROUGH THE PAST MONTH. I ATTENDED A COLONEL RICHARDSON HONOR SOCIETY INDUCTION AND SOME MONTHLY BOARD MEETINGS WITH THE CLOSED SESSIONS FOR THE SUPERINTENDENT HIRING PROCESS. I'VE LEARNED A LOT THROUGH THAT HIRING PROCESS, I THINK THROUGH SOME OF THE SOME OF THE MEETINGS THAT WE'VE HAD LEARNED A LOT. AND IT OPENS OUR EYES TO DIFFERENT THINGS ABOUT OUR SCHOOL SYSTEM AND OTHER SCHOOL [00:05:04] SYSTEMS. SO I THINK BY THE TIME IT'S DONE, THAT PROCESS IS GOING TO BE HANDS ON A NEW BOARD MEMBER. THAT'S GOING TO HELP ME. THAT'S REALLY TEACHING ME SOME SOME THINGS ABOUT OUR SYSTEM AND OTHER SYSTEMS. SO I THINK I'M FORTUNATE TO BE ABLE TO TO COME ON NEW AND TO GO THROUGH THAT PROCESS AND TO SEE THAT. AND WE'VE HAD A COUPLE OF GOOD MEETINGS ABOUT THAT. ALL THE MEETINGS HAVE BEEN GOOD AND IN THE MASKS. YEAH, SO THANK THE GOVERNOR FOR GETTING THAT BALL ROLLING, I THINK, AND THEN OUR LOCAL LEGISLATORS WHO HAVE HELPED PUSH IT AND THANK OUR INTERIM SUPERINTENDENT, DR. SAELENS, FOR HER BEING READY WHEN THE TIME CAME TO DO WHAT NEEDED TO BE DONE. SO THAT'S MY SPEECH FOR THE NIGHT. MS. WAYMAN? WELL, I ATTENDED THE WORK SESSION AND THE OPEN AND CLOSED SESSIONS THAT WE'VE BEEN PRETTY BUSY WITH OVER THE LAST MONTH OR SO, I WANTED TO THANK YOU, RICK, FOR BRINGING UP THE BLACK HISTORY PROGRAM AT CHESAPEAKE COLLEGE AND CAROLINE COUNTY WAS VERY WELL REPRESENTED VERY WELL. MCKAYLA SCHARF, WHO AND THEY TOLD A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THEMSELVES. AND SHE'S GOT LIKE A 3.95 AVERAGE AND HAS PASSED HER COSMETOLOGY TEST AND IS A LICENSED COSMETOLOGIST, ELIJAH BOLDEN FROM COLONEL RICHARDSON HIGH SCHOOL, WHO I THINK WAS THE PRESIDENT OF. SPANISH SOCIETY, I CAN'T RECALL THE CORRECT TITLE, AND THEN TAYLOR HOLLOWAY, WHO HAS A COUPLE OF LEADERSHIP POSITIONS AT NORTH CAROLINA HIGH SCHOOL, THEY ALL HAVE AMBITION AND WE WISH THEM WELL AS THEY STEP OUT INTO THE REAL WORLD AND BEGIN THEIR CAREERS. MS. DIGIACOMO? WELL, LIKE EVERYBODY ELSE ON THIS BOARD, WE SPENT HALF OF FEBRUARY IN MEETINGS. IT WAS AT LEAST ONCE A WEEK AND I WENT TO THE SERVICES FOR KYLE RICHARDS. IT WAS SAD, YOU KNOW, WHENEVER A STUDENT DIES, BUT I WAS VERY IMPRESSED WITH THE STAFF AT COLONEL HIGH. THERE WERE A LOT OF STAFF MEMBERS THERE AND ADMINISTRATORS, SO I THOUGHT THAT WAS NICE AND A LOT OF STUDENTS, THEIR SUPPORT. I MET WITH DR. WILLOUGHBY ABOUT THE POLICY COMMITTEE, WENT TO BUDGET TRAINING, I LIKE TO CALL IT TRAINING 101, SO I GOT A LITTLE ERIN. THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THAT. IT WAS IN A WAY I COULD UNDERSTAND, SO I APPRECIATE THAT TREMENDOUSLY. I WENT TO THE AMP PRESENTATION AT CCTC. MS. MCCORMACK, WAS THERE ANYBODY ELSE THERE? IT'S JUST THE CCTC FASCINATES ME. I MEAN, I'M TELLING YOU IT JUST IT ROCKS AND THESE KIDS. THAT DON'T TAKE ADVANTAGE OF IT REALLY SHOULD, BECAUSE YOU CAN GET, YOU KNOW, YOU GRADUATE, YOU HAVE A SKILL, YOU CAN MAKE MONEY WHILE YOU GO TO COLLEGE AND IT WAS VERY INTERESTING TO SEE THE PROCESS. THEY'RE BUILDING BIRD HOUSES. AND SO WHAT WAS ABOUT 12 STUDENTS, 14 STUDENTS? PRESENTED WHAT BIRDHOUSE THEY'D LIKE TO MAKE, AND THEY SUPPORTED EACH OTHER, WHICH WAS GREAT, AND SOME OF THOSE KIDS HATED TO GET UP IN FRONT OF EVERYBODY. BUT THEY DID IT, SO I WAS VERY IMPRESSED WITH THAT. AND THEN I WAS THERE, SO I WENT AND VISITED NORTH CAROLINA HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS ACROSS THE WAY HAD TO GO SEE MY PEOPLE, SO WHAT THE HECK? AND THEN I WAS PRETTY LUCKY. YOU KNOW, I TALKED TO STAFF MEMBERS, BUT I'VE ACTUALLY HAD GRADUATE STUDENTS ACTUALLY CONTACT ME WANTING TO GET TOGETHER AND ASKING PEOPLE AND QUESTIONS. AND THERE WAS ONE STUDENT GRADUATING 2020. VERY QUIET, VERY SHY. MS. DIGIACOMO. I'M THINKING ABOUT JOINING THE AIR FORCE RESERVES. AND I'M LIKE, SAY WHAT, BECAUSE YOU JUST WOULDN'T EXPECT IT TO. I REMEMBER YOU USED TO TALK ABOUT BEING IN THE MILITARY AND YOU ALWAYS HAD A SENSE OF PRIDE IN KNOWING. BUT SHE GOES, NO, I LISTEN TO YOU BECAUSE YOU WERE IN THE NAVY, BUT YOU ALWAYS SAID AIR FORCE IS THE SAFEST. AND, YOU KNOW, BECAUSE I WILL TELL STUDENTS NOWADAYS. SO I THOUGHT IT WAS REALLY NEAT THAT, YOU KNOW, WE MADE THAT CONNECTION AND WE TALKED ABOUT IT. AND I HAD TO BE HONEST. I THINK IT WOULD BE THE BEST THING YOU COULD DO. MIGHT WANT TO WAIT A LITTLE BIT TILL THIS ISSUE OVER THERE CALMS DOWN. BUT AFTER THAT I SAID, GO FOR IT. SO FOR ME, IT WAS A VERY INTERESTING, PRODUCTIVE AND REALLY ENJOYABLE TIME. [00:10:06] THANK YOU. DITTO TO THE MEETINGS THIS MONTH. IT'S THE MOST IMPORTANT DECISION WE CAN MAKE, AND THIS BOARD IS DOING THEIR DUE DILIGENCE TO MAKE SURE WE'RE FAIR AND DO THE BEST WE CAN. THAT BEING SAID, IT'S NICE TO HAVE MASKS OFF AND IT'S NICE TO SEE STUDENTS IN SCHOOL, WHETHER IT'S SENIOR NIGHT OR FOR BASKETBALL AND CHEER OR HONOR SOCIETY INTERACTING, BEING IN SCHOOL AND CELEBRATING ALL THE HARD WORK AND EFFORTS THEY DO ACADEMICALLY AND PHYSICALLY. SO IT'S JUST GOOD. SO THAT'S THAT'S FOR ME. DR. SIMMONS, MOVING ON TO THE SUPER BOWL. CAN I SAY ONE THING ABOUT MASKS, THOUGH, I DO THINK IT'S GREAT THEY'RE GONE. BUT I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT WE KEEP IT OPTIONAL AND RESPECT THE PEOPLE THAT WEAR IT. I JUST I THINK IT'S EXTREMELY IMPORTANT. YEAH, EVERYBODY'S IN DIFFERENT SITUATIONS. RIGHT? I WORK WITH A GENTLEMAN WHOSE KIDS GO TO, HAPPENS TO BE A PRIVATE SCHOOL, BUT WHATEVER. THEY SHUT THE WHOLE SCHOOL DOWN LAST WEEK FOR AN OUTBREAK, AND LUCKILY WE HAVEN'T HAD TO DO THAT. AND I HOPE MOVING FORWARD WITHOUT MASKS, EVERYBODY SAYS, HAPPILY ENOUGH THAT WE DON'T TAKE A STEP BACK. SO BUT HE WAS IN WORK TODAY BECAUSE HIS DAUGHTER HAD IT FOR THE SECOND TIME LAST WEEK. HE WAS JUST WEARING A MASK AS A PREVENTATIVE FOR EVERYBODY ELSE. HE DIDN'T HAVE IT OR ANYTHING, BUT WE GOT WE DON'T KNOW EVERYBODY'S SITUATION. DR. SIMMONS, THANK YOU. MOVING ON. CERTAINLY. AND JUST TO ECHO MRS. DIGIACOMO SENTIMENT, I HAD A GREAT OPPORTUNITY YESTERDAY TO ACTUALLY BE INTERVIEWED BY A SEVENTH GRADER AT LOCKERMAN MIDDLE SCHOOL WHO WAS WORKING ON HIS BOY SCOUT BADGE, DEALING WITH CIVIC RESPONSIBILITY AND INTERVIEWED ME AROUND THE MASKING DECISION AND THOSE THINGS. AND IT WAS THE ONE QUESTION HE HAD. IF THERE WAS SOMETHING THAT STUDENTS COULD DO TO SUPPORT THIS, WHAT WOULD IT BE? AND REALLY, IT'S KINDNESS. IT'S BEING KIND TO THOSE WHO WISH TO WEAR, WHETHER IT'S A STAFF MEMBER, WHETHER THE STUDENT, EVERYBODY HAS THEIR OWN REASONS FOR NEEDING TO WEAR IT OR WANTING TO WEAR IT AND JUST RESPECT THAT PIECE FOR EVERYONE'S DECISION. SO I COULDN'T AGREE MORE THAT THEY ARE OPTIONAL. AND AGAIN, THE RESPECT SOMEBODY WISHES IF THEY IF THEY WISH TO DO SO. THANK YOU. SO FOR MY REPORT. ACTUALLY, THIS WAS ACTUALLY A REALLY GOOD MONTH. FEBRUARY WAS WAS A GOOD MONTH FOR CAROLINE COUNTY, A BUSY MONTH AS WELL FOR MYSELF. BUT PERHAPS ONE OF THE NEATEST THINGS THAT I'VE EVER HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO DO. IT'S NOT EVERY DAY THAT CAROLINE COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS GETS ASKED BY THE MARYLAND STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION TO COME BE PART OF A PRESENTATION ON SOMETHING. WE'RE DOING REALLY WELL. WE DO A LOT OF STUFF REALLY WELL. BUT AS A SMALL, RURAL COUNTY ON THE EASTERN SHORE, WE TEND TO NOT GET RECOGNIZED AND TEND TO NOT BE AWARE OF THE THINGS THAT ARE GOING ON OVER HERE. BUT THE STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION WAS DOING A DEEP DOVE INTO WHAT SCHOOL SYSTEMS HAVE DONE AROUND STUDENT MENTAL HEALTH AND THE EFFORTS THAT THEY'VE PUT IN PLACE OVER THE LAST MULTIPLE YEARS. THEY WERE TALKING PRE-PANDEMIC AND DURING THE PANDEMIC. WHAT HAVE YOUR SCHOOL SYSTEM'S DONE? WE WERE ONE OF FIVE THAT WERE ASKED TO BE THERE. WE WERE DEFINITELY THE SMALLEST SCHOOL SYSTEM THERE, BUT I WOULD HEARKEN TO SAY WE WERE THE MIGHTIEST THERE IN THE ROOM. WE HAD GREAT BUZZ FROM THE STATE BOARD ABOUT SOME THINGS WE'VE BEEN WORKING ON, WHICH WAS EXCITING, AND WE EVEN HAD THE STUDENT BOARD REP TO THE STATE BOARD LOBBYING ON BEHALF OF FUNDING FOR RURAL COUNTIES FOR MENTAL HEALTH, WHICH WAS GREAT TO THINK. WE HAD A CONVERT IN A FIVE MINUTE PRESENTATION. BUT SOME OF THE THINGS THAT WE DID HIGHLIGHT, WE HIGHLIGHTED OUR WORK AROUND OUR PROJECT TO WHERE GRANT, WHICH YOU'LL SEE SOME OF THAT IN THE SNAPSHOT TONIGHT FROM THE STUDENT SERVICES DIVISION, WHICH IS THAT FEDERAL GRANT THAT WE DID RECEIVE TO INCREASE AWARENESS AROUND MENTAL HEALTH NEEDS FOR OUR FAMILIES AND OUR COMMUNITY. WE DID HIGHLIGHT THE FACT OF THE NUMBER OF STUDENTS WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO SERVE WHERE MENTAL HEALTH NEEDS AND THEIR FAMILIES JUST SINCE APRIL OF 2021 THREE HUNDRED AND SEVEN STUDENTS AND FAMILIES, WHICH IS INCREDIBLE FOR A SCHOOL SYSTEM OF OUR SIZE AND REALIZING THAT OUR SERVICE IS REALLY WORKING AND CONNECTING WITH OUR SCHOOL BASED MENTAL HEALTH PARTNERS. WE DON'T PROVIDE OUR OWN SERVICES. WE PARTNERED TO PROVIDE THOSE SERVICES WITHIN OUR BUILDINGS AND WE'RE MAKING THOSE CONNECTIONS. SO HATS OFF TO ALL THE FOLKS AT THE SCHOOL LEVELS AND THE COUNTY LEVEL, PEOPLE WHO ARE MAKING THOSE HAPPEN. AND WE SHARED HOW WE'VE BEEN WORKING TO EXPAND SERVICES EVEN THROUGHOUT THE PANDEMIC. MUCH MORE WE COULD GO INTO WITH THAT. BUT HATS. OFF CARA CALLAWAY, OUR MENTAL HEALTH COORDINATOR, WENT WITH ME AS WELL AS [INAUDIBLE] COBURN, OUR PROJECT AWARE COORDINATOR, OUR GRANT MANAGER. STEADILY, CARA DID A FANTASTIC JOB AS WELL REPRESENTING US, AND HOPEFULLY WE'LL HAVE ANOTHER OPPORTUNITY TO SHARE SOME OF THE GOOD WORK THAT CAROLINE COUNTY IS DOING WITH THE STATE BOARD. BUT IT REALLY WAS. TO BE HONEST, IT WAS AN HONOR. AT ONE POINT IT CAME UP AND WAS, YOU KNOW, YOU GUYS COULD HAVE ZOOMED. YEAH, WE COULD HAVE, BUT YOU ASKED US TO PRESENT, AND WE'RE PROUD OF THE FACT THAT WE GET [00:15:01] FIVE, MAYBE 10 MINUTES IN FRONT OF YOU AND WE'RE HERE IN FRONT OF YOU TO TALK ABOUT WHAT IT IS THAT WE'RE DOING AS OPPOSED TO THROUGH A ZOOM. SO WE WERE THRILLED TO BE ABLE TO BE THERE. VERY GOOD. GOOD STUFF, AND IT JUST HAPPENED TO BE THE DAY THEY ALSO VOTED TO [INAUDIBLE]. YEAH, WE MISSED THE VOTE. WE WERE IN THE ELEVATOR GOING UP WHEN THEY ANNOUNCED THE VOTE, SO AT LEAST WE GOT UP THERE. WE HEARD WHAT IT WAS. THESE MEETINGS ARE NOW OPEN TO THE PUBLIC. YES. YEP. OK. I DON'T KNOW IF THEY'RE AWARE. I MEAN, IT WAS A LITTLE BLURB IN THERE. YES, BUT WE'RE OPEN. YEAH, WE'VE GOT SEVERAL OPEN SEATS. THANK YOU FOR POINTING THAT OUT. YEP. SO SUPER DIRECTORS. ALL RIGHT, DIRECTOR SNAPSHOT. MOVING INTO THE SNAPSHOT POINT, IT LOOKS LIKE RESTRICTIONS UP FIRST. MR. THORNTON. WE'RE FIGURING OUT THE CAMERA THING. OK, FOLKS ARE WONDERING, WE'RE WORKING WITH MR. KAUFMAN, WE'LL MAKE SURE WE HAVE THE RIGHT LOCATION FOR THE CAMERA. SO I JUST SAID, WHICH WAY ARE WE JUST STANDING UP? WE BOTH AGREED. YES. TWO YEARS NEW PROCESS. THERE YOU GO. OKAY. ALL RIGHT. GOOD EVENING. SO TONIGHT I'D LIKE TO HIGHLIGHT A LITTLE BIT ABOUT FEBRUARY AND INTO MARCH. MIDDLE SCHOOL TEACHERS HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO PARTICIPATE IN SOME MATH INTERVENTION TRAINING FOR MATH 180. WE HAVE BEGUN OUR PILOT OF OUR NEW K-2 READING CURRICULUM WITH TWO DIFFERENT CURRICULUM BEING PILOTED, AND THEN THROUGHOUT THE THE REST OF THE SPRING, WE WILL HAVE FOCUS GROUPS TO DECIDE WHICH ONE OF THOSE WE WILL PROCEED TO PURCHASE. HIGH SCHOOL THEATER CLASSES BEGAN A SERIES OF SURE SHAKESPEARE WORKSHOPS, AND YOU SEE SOME PICTURES UP THERE OF THE WORKSHOP THEMSELVES. THIS MONTH, MARCH, IS AN OPPORTUNITY TO RAISE AWARENESS FOR ALL OF OUR ARTS, INCLUDING FINE ARTS, MUSIC AND THEATER, AS MARCH IS ARTS EDUCATION MONTH WITH THE COUNCIL OF ART EDUCATION. HAVING THE THEME OF ART CONNECTS US AND WE REALLY WANT TO HIGHLIGHT THAT THE LITTLE BLACK SCREEN WILL CHANGE IN A SECOND CORNER. BUT THE GREENSBORO ELEMENTARY SCHOOL YOUNG GENTLEMEN'S CLUB CONSISTS OF 20 FIFTH GRADE STUDENTS LED BY FIVE COACHES, SO THEIR RESOURCE OFFICER DREW DURHAM, TO BUSINESS OWNERS MR. NICK WAKE AND MR. TREVOR NICHOLS, AS WELL AS NORTH CAROLINA HIGH SCHOOL TEACHER COLIN JOSEPH AND DR. ORR ARE THE FIVE COACHES THEY HAVE HAD OTHER SPEAKERS, INCLUDING MILTON, NAGEL, MR. LEE SUTTON FROM RIDGELY, ADDITIONAL LAW ENFORCEMENT AS WELL AS MILITARY PERSONNEL COME AND SPEAK TO THE GENTLEMEN. AND HERE THIS IS A VIDEO OF THE 20 FIFTH GRADE STUDENTS SAYING THE GREENSBORO PLEDGE. [INAUDIBLE]. WHAT THEY SAID IS ACTUALLY SCRIPTED BELOW AND NOW WITH NO MASKS, HOPEFULLY WE WOULD BE ABLE TO HEAR THEM CLEARER. VERY GOOD. THANK YOU. AND SPECIAL PROGRAMS, MS. ANTHONY? GOOD EVENING. WELL, TONIGHT I WOULD LIKE TO HIGHLIGHT OUR SOCIAL EMOTIONAL WELLBEING PROGRAM THAT DR. SIMMONS HAS ALREADY SHARED ABOUT WHAT HE DID LAST WEEK. I WANT TO GO INTO A LITTLE BIT MORE DETAIL BECAUSE OF THE PROGRESS THAT'S BEEN MADE WITH THIS PROGRAM. WE HAVE BUILT SO MUCH CAPACITY WITHIN OUR OWN STAFF BY HAVING OUR STAFF TRAINED IN THE YOUTH MENTAL HEALTH FIRST AIB, THE TBM, THE THERAPEUTIC BEHAVIOR MANAGEMENT AND THEN ALSO ACES, WHICH IS ADVERSE CHILDHOOD EXPERIENCES FROM THEIR BUILDING. ALL THIS CAPACITY WITH TRAINERS. WE'VE TAKEN THAT TO A LEVEL OF PROVIDING THE ACES TRAINING, WHICH IS THE ADVERSE CHILDHOOD EXPERIENCES TO OUR BUS DRIVERS, TO OUR BUS AIBES AND TO ADDITIONAL SUPPORT STAFF. YOU KNOW, TYPICALLY YOU SEE THIS TYPE OF TRAINING WITH ALL OF OUR TEACHERS, WHICH OF COURSE WE DO PROVIDE IT TO OUR TEACHERS. BUT WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT ALL OF OUR STAFF THAT ARE WORKING WITH OUR STUDENTS ARE WELL EQUIPPED WHEN WORKING WITH STUDENTS THAT DO HAVE SOCIAL EMOTIONAL LEARNING CONCERNS. ALSO, WE HAVE CREATED COMFORTABLE CAFETERIA AND WE ARE RIGHT ON THE BRINK OF REFRESHING [00:20:04] RECESS. SO WHAT IS THIS? WHAT WE'RE DOING IS WE'RE ACTUALLY TAKING THE SAME THEME AS CONSCIOUS DISCIPLINE, WHERE WE'RE BUILDING RELATIONSHIPS AMONG PEER TO PEER AND PEER TO ADULT. BUT IN THE CAFETERIA, WHAT WE WANT TO DO IS WE WANT OUR STUDENTS TO BUILD RELATIONSHIPS WITH OUR CAFETERIA STAFF, AND WE WANT THEM TO UNDERSTAND HOW THE DIFFERENT CHILDREN ARE BEHAVING IN WHY THEY'RE BEHAVING THE WAY THEY ARE. AND THE RELATIONSHIPS ARE ALSO BEING BUILT FROM PEER TO PEER AT THE SAME TIME. SOMETHING THAT I ALWAYS THINK OF WHEN I THINK OF THE COMFORTABLE CAFETERIA IS THAT'S MY SEAT, AND THAT'S TYPICALLY WHAT KIDS STILL DO TODAY. THAT'S MY SEAT. SO, HOW CAN WE RESOLVE THAT ISSUE WITHOUT IT TURNING INTO SOMETHING IT NEVER NEEDED TO TURN INTO? SO WE'RE BUILDING THOSE SKILLS WITHIN OUR STUDENTS, NOT JUST IN THE CLASSROOMS, BUT ALSO IN THE CAFETERIA. SO THEN WE TAKE IT TO THE LEVEL OF RECESS, WHICH I THINK WE CAN ALL FIGURE OUT WHAT HAPPENS OUT ON THE PLAYGROUND, ESPECIALLY WHEN WE'RE HAVING A REALLY, REALLY GOOD TIME. SOMETIMES THE BEHAVIORS DO COME OUT, BUT WE WANT TO TEACH KIDS HOW TO RESOLVE SOME OF THOSE CONFLICTS THAT TAKE PLACE FROM PEER TO PEER. SO THEN WE'VE ALSO PUT IN CALMING CENTERS, WHICH A CALMING CENTER IS A PLACE WHERE I CAN SAY, YOU KNOW WHAT? I'M IN AN EMOTIONAL STATE RIGHT NOW. I NEED TO TAKE A BREAK AND GET MYSELF TOGETHER BEFORE I RETURN TO LEARNING. AND WE'VE ACTUALLY 88 CLASSROOMS AND THE MINDFULNESS AREA THIS WE'VE ESTABLISHED AT CCTC RIGHT NOW. THIS IS FOR ADULTS AND STUDENTS. AND IF YOU EVER FEEL LIKE YOU NEED THAT MOMENT WHERE YOU NEED TO DISENGAGE FROM WORK AND ALL THE STRESSES OF LIFE, ESPECIALLY THE DIGITAL WORLD, THIS IS THE PLACE TO GO. IT HAS CALMING MUSIC, VERY COMFORTABLE FURNITURE. IT HAS A NICE LIGHTING, SOMETHING TO TRY OUT. AND THIS IS FOR EVERYBODY, INCLUDING THE BOARD MEMBERS. SO YOU ARE MORE THAN WELCOME TO STOP BY CCTC IF YOU NEED THIS. ALSO, WE HAVE ESTABLISHED FAMILY LEARNING SESSIONS WITH ACES. WE HAVE A SCHEDULE THAT WE HAVE PUT TOGETHER. AND THEN AS YOU MOVE DOWN, YOU CAN SEE ONCE AGAIN THROUGH OUR SOCIAL EMOTIONAL WELLNESS PROGRAM. WE HAVE WORKED ON PUTTING CONSCIOUS DISCIPLINE INTO OUR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS. SECOND STEP INTO MIDDLE SCHOOLS AND THEN THE TBM THERAPEUTIC BEHAVIOR MANAGEMENT IN THE HIGH SCHOOLS. AND THIS IS ALL ABOUT SOCIAL, EMOTIONAL LEARNING. THEN YOU MOVE DOWN TO THE LAST ONE, WHICH IS THE EDUCATIONAL SYSTEMS FEDERAL CREDIT UNION. THIS IS SO EXCITING. THEY ACTUALLY DONATED TWO HUNDRED BACKPACKS FOR OUR HOMELESS POPULATION. SO THAT'S THAT'S A LOT TO BE SAID. THEY'RE VERY EXCITING ON THE INSIDE. THESE BACKPACKS ARE SUPPLIES FOR AT HOME AND IN SCHOOL. OKAY. I HAVE A QUESTION. CAN YOU TELL ME A LITTLE MORE ABOUT THE YOUTH MENTAL HEALTH FIRST AIB? NOW I HAVE NOT BEEN THROUGH YOUTH MENTAL HEALTH FIRST AIB. DR. SIMMONS HAS. THERE'S 12 TRAINERS. ARE YOUR ONE? I WAS. YEAH. MY TRAINING HAS LAPSED. BUT YOUTH MENTAL HEALTH FIRST AIB IS DESIGNED NOT JUST FOR EDUCATORS, IT'S ANYONE IN THE COMMUNITY AND WHAT IT'S TEACHING YOU. JUST LIKE YOUR BASIC FIRST AIB, WOULD YOUR FIRST RESPONDER COURSE. IT'S HOW DO YOU RESPOND WHEN SOMEONE MAY BE IN A CRISIS OR MAYBE APPROACHING A CRISIS BY ANY MEANS? IT'S NOT A OH MY GOD, THIS PERSON IS HAVING A BREAKDOWN. THIS IS HOW YOU CAN HELP SOLVE IT. IT'S ONE OF THE SIGNS YOU SEE IN PEOPLE. AND THEN HOW DO YOU KNOW, HOW DO YOU GO ABOUT GETTING HELP FOR THE INDIVIDUAL? WHEN DO YOU CALL 9-1-1? WHEN YOU ALERT SOMEONE ELSE, YOU KNOW, IT'S THOSE SORTS OF THINGS. FANTASTIC TRAINING, I THINK IT'S ABOUT AN EIGHT HOUR TRAINING? YES. BEFORE IT STARTED BEING BUILT OUT REALLY ALONG THE EASTERN SHORE, PROBABLY ABOUT SEVEN YEARS AGO, TRYING TO PROVIDE THAT TRAINING. IT WAS INITIALLY, OH, WAS IT A? I THINK INITIALLY STARTED BRANCHING OUT THROUGH CONNECTIONS WITH LIKE HUMAN SERVICES COUNCIL? YES. DSS THEMSELVES WERE BUILDING IT. THAT'S WHERE SOME OF US INITIALLY WERE TRAINED AND THE PROCESS. AND THROUGH THIS, IT'S BEING FUNDED THROUGH THE PROJECT OF WHERE GRANT. AND THERE IS A COMPONENT THAT WE'RE EXPLORING. OTHER PEOPLE'S MONEY IS WONDERFUL TO HELP PAY FOR IT IF WE HAVE TO. THERE IS A TEAM MENTAL HEALTH FIRST AIB PROGRAM THAT WE'VE BEEN LOOKING AT THAT WOULD AFFORD THAT SAME OPPORTUNITY FOR TEACHING OUR HIGH SCHOOL AGE YOUTH HOW TO BE ABLE TO RESPOND IF THEY HAVE A FELLOW PEER WHO'S STRUGGLING WITH SOMETHING AND THEN KNOWING HOW TO KIND OF COPE AND HOW TO HOW TO GET THEM HELP. OUTSTANDING STUFF. YES, THANK YOU. THANK YOU. THERE'S ALSO AN ADULT CLASSES AS WELL. YES. SO YES, SOME OF THEM WANTED TO STUDY IT FOR HELPING PEERS, STAFF, MEMBERS OF WHATEVER MENTAL HEALTH. FIRST AIB IS A PROGRAM THAT IS USED QUITE A BIT FOR FIRST RESPONDERS, POLICE, FIRE, EMS AND RIGHT AT THE DENTON FIREHOUSE. [00:25:02] PROBABLY ABOUT A YEAR AGO, THE PROGRAM PUT ON AND PROBABLY HAVE HAD SOME SINCE THEN, TOO. BUT I KNOW THE TRAINER AND IT IS AN OUTSTANDING APPROACH AND IT'S GREAT TO SEE IT BEING APPLIED TO YOUTH TEAMS AND SO FORTH. THANK YOU. GOOD STUFF. THANK YOU. GOOD EVENING. I WANT TO TALK TO YOU ABOUT THE GREAT THINGS THE OPERATIONS DIVISION THAT'S BEEN GOING ON IN OUR DEPARTMENTS, ESPECIALLY OF THE MONTH OF FEBRUARY. AS ALLUDED TO EARLIER, FEBRUARY'S BEEN BUSY AND WE'VE BEEN GETTING A LOT OF GREAT THINGS DONE. IN TECHNOLOGY, THEY HAVE DEPLOYED WELL OVER 450 APPLE TVS IN THE CLASSROOMS. SO FOR EASILY DISPLAYING THE VIDEO AND THE AUDIO, THEY'VE INSTALLED MORE ERIN HIVE ACCESS POINTS FOR WIFI FOR CONTINUED IMPROVING THE WIRELESS ACCESS IN FOOD SERVICE. OUR FOOD SERVICE SUPERVISOR MRS. BETH BREWSTER IS GOING TO BE GOING TO NEW ORLEANS IN APRIL TO REPRESENT CAROLINE COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS TO PRESENT TO 2022 NATIONAL CHILD NUTRITION CONFERENCE. SHE IS GOING TO TOP TALK ABOUT MOBILE FEEDING AND THE IMPACT OF THE SHAW GOURMET BUS ON OUR COMMUNITY WITH READY TO EAT MEALS AND PHYSICAL PLANT. VERY PROUD OF THIS AND I'LL GO INTO IT A LITTLE BIT AFTER THIS. BUT THE MARYLAND DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE CONDUCTED AN INSPECTION OF SEVERAL SCHOOLS FOR THE INTEGRATED PEST MANAGEMENT PROGRAM. NO VIOLATIONS WERE FOUND. IF YOU DON'T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT INTEGRATED PEST MANAGEMENT, IT'S KNOWN AS IPM, SO WE DON'T SAY ALL THIS LONG WORDS. AND SO THEY COME THROUGH. IT IS A NON-CHEMICAL WAY OF ADDRESSING AND DEALING WITH OUR LEGLESS CRITTERS. OUR FOUR LEGGED CRITTERS, OUR SIX TO EIGHT CRITTERS AND OUR EIGHT LEGGED CRITTERS. AND I'M JUST SAYING THAT NICELY. SO AND SO IT HAPPENED IN FEBRUARY, AND PEOPLE ALWAYS SAY, WELL, YOU KNOW, IT HAPPENED FEBRUARY. IT'S WINTER, IT'S COLD. WHY, YOU KNOW, HERE'S THE DEAL WITH BUGS. IF THEY CAN'T GET BELOW THE FREEZE LINE IN THE SOIL, THEY'VE GOT TO COME UP AND THEY'VE GOT TO FIND WARMTH AND FOOD AND WATER. AND WHAT BETTER PLACE THAN TO GO TO A BUILDING AND ARE SMALL AND THEY'LL TRY AND FIND EVERY LITTLE ACCESS POINT THEY GET INTO AND THEY CAN RAISE AS MUCH HAVOC AS THEY DO IN THE SUMMERTIME, IN JANUARY, FEBRUARY. SO IT'S VERY HAPPY THAT WE HAD NO VIOLATIONS. THAT WAS GOOD TRANSPORTATION. WE HAVE AN EXCELLENT CLASS OF FOUR BUS DRIVERS GOING THROUGH JUST COMPLETED THEIR TRAINING CLASS IN THE PROCESS OF GETTING THEIR CDL. WHY IS IT IMPORTANT? BECAUSE WE HAVE REACHED VERY NEARLY FULLY STAFFED FOR BUS DRIVERS. SO ON PAPER? OK, BUT WE'RE WELL, BUT WE ARE HOPING WE'RE HOPING TO HAVE THEM FULLY ON BOARD BY MID-MARCH AND HAVE THEM AS BUS DRIVERS IN CAROLINE COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS. SO WITH THAT, I DO WANT TO GO BACK A LITTLE BIT AND DISCUSS SOMETHING THAT I BROUGHT UP. I THINK BACK IN OCTOBER, THAT KIND OF RELATES A LITTLE BIT TO THE HIRING OF TRANSPORTATION. IF YOU RECALL, I TALKED A LITTLE ABOUT STAFFING WOES BACK THEN AND HOW THE SPORT SERVICES WAS DOWN, PROBABLY THE SAME SIMILAR PERCENTAGES THAT TEACHERS AND CERTIFICATED STAFF WERE. WE WERE DOWN TWENTY ONE PEOPLE SINCE THEN. APPLICATIONS TO TURN AROUND, THEY'RE ACTUALLY COMING IN. WE'RE GETTING GOOD APPLICANTS WHO ARE COMING IN FOR INTERVIEWS. WE STILL GET GHOST AT THE TIMES. OK, BUT IT'S IMPORTANT THAT WE'RE GETTING APPLICATIONS COMING IN. AND AS OF NOW, ABOUT FIVE MONTHS LATER, WE'RE ONLY DOWN SIX PEOPLE AND SUPPORT STAFF. AND I'M HOPING BY MID MARCH, THREE OF OUR DEPARTMENTS WILL BE FULLY STAFFED. SO WE'RE MAKING WE'RE MAKING INROADS ON IT AND, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE WANT TO WORK AND PEOPLE WANT TO COME TO WORK. CAROLINE COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS SO I'M VERY HAPPY ABOUT THAT. CAN I ASK A QUESTION? YES. HOW OFTEN ARE THE IPM INSPECTIONS DONE? THEY'RE DONE, DEPENDS. YOU KNOW, WITH COVID, IT WAS ONCE A YEAR NOW THEY'LL START COMING BACK ON A QUARTERLY BASIS. OK, BUT WE ALSO GET THEY ALSO THAT'S FROM THE STATE. SO THEY ALSO COME ON A MONTHLY BASIS AND OUR PRIVATE CONTRACT WILL COME AND TAKE CARE OF THAT, TOO. OK. YES. MONEY'S ALWAYS AN ISSUE. SO TO PREVENT THE APPLE TV RELEASE A GRANT. WE'VE BEEN UTILIZING OUR MONEY IN OUR CARES II FUNDING FROM BEFORE. A SIGNIFICANT COMPONENT OF OUR TECHNOLOGY WORLD REALLY IS BEING SUPPORTED THROUGH GRANT MONEY. THANKFULLY, THAT'S IT'S A ONE TIME PURCHASE? RIGHT. AND THANKFULLY, THAT MONEY'S THERE TO HELP OFFSET SOME OF THOSE COSTS. YEAH, BIG TIME. OK, GOOD. THANKS. ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. THANK YOU, ALL RIGHT, MOVING ALONG TO STUDENT REPRESENTATIVE REPORTS, WE HAVE ZACH WITH US TONIGHT, SO HE COULDN'T MAKE IT AS HE ON ZOOM OR ONLINE? ALL RIGHT, SO LET'S START WITH THE ZOOM ONLINE IF HE'S WITH US. SO HERE ARE YOU WITH US? YES. WELCOME. ALL RIGHT. WHAT CAN YOU SHARE WITH US? [00:30:03] GOOD EVENING TO PRESIDENT MR. NEWCOMB DR. SIMMONS AND TO ALL MEMBERS OF THE BOARD. SO STARTING WITH FEDERALSBURG ELEMENTARY SCHOOL. SO LAST MONTH THEY HAD STUDENTS AND STAFF PARTICIPATING IN FALCON SCHOOL'S FRIENDSHIP ACTIVITIES, AND THEIR UPCOMING EVENTS INCLUDE MARCH 4TH-11TH, WHICH IS A BOOK FAIR FOR FES FALCONS AND MARCH 10TH, WHICH IS FAMILY ENGAGEMENT NIGHT. SO MOVING ON TO PRESTON ELEMENTARY, THEY HAVE A LOT OF UPCOMING EVENTS COMING UP, SO ON MARCH 2ND, THEY HAVE A CELEBRATION OF READ ACROSS AMERICA DAY. 7TH-11TH OF MARCH NATIONAL SCHOOL BREAKFAST WEEK, MARCH EIGHT TO NINE. FIFTH GRADE MISA TESTS. MARCH 10TH IS Q3 INTERIMS WHICH WILL BE SENT HOME MARCH 31ST IS A SPRING INDIVIDUAL PORTRAITS TAKEN THROUGH. SO AND THEN MOVING ON TO COLONEL MIDDLE. OH, SO THE LAST MONTH ACTIVITIES INCLUDE ORCHESTRA ENSEMBLE PERFORMANCE IN WICOMICO COUNTY AND FOR THEIR UPCOMING EVENTS ON MARCH THREE, HEY GOT THIS PBIS GRADE INCENTIVE. MARCH 8TH, WHICH IS A NATIONAL JUNIOR HONOR SOCIETY INDUCTION AT FIVE P.M. IN CRMS CAFETERIA, MARCH 31ST IS CELEBRATING OPENING DAY OF BASEBALL SEASON AND NOW FINALLY COLONEL RICHARDSON HIGH SCHOOL ON MARCH 1ST. OR THEY HAD SPRING SPORT START AND MARCH 2ND AS JUNIORS ARE TAKING SATS. THAT'S ALL WE HAVE, SO THANK YOU. OK. ALL RIGHT, AND ZACH, I'M HERE FOR LIVE. YES, NORTH COUNTY UPDATE. SO GOOD EVENING, DR. SIMMONS, PRESIDENT NEWCOMB AND ALL MEMBERS OF THE BOARD. SO TO BEGIN MY REPORT, DENTON ELEMENTARY SCHOOL FUND HAS BEEN HAD DURING THE WHOLE MONTH OF FEBRUARY. THE DOLPHINS ARE EXCITED TO HAVE THE BOOK FAIR AT THEIR BUILDING THIS WEEK, AS WELL AS PAJAMA DAY ON FRIDAY AND BUDDY DAY, IN WHICH CLASSROOMS HAVE BEEN PAIRED TO COMPETE, COMPLETE A READING ACTIVITY WITH THEIR BUDDY. LASTLY, ON MARCH 16TH, PARENTS NIGHT WILL BE HELD IN WHICH PARENTS WILL LEARN MORE ABOUT SOCIAL MEDIA AND BEGIN PLANNING THE END OF THE YEAR CELEBRATIONS OVER RIDGELY ELEMENTARY SCHOOL. LAST MONTH, STAFF SUCCESSFULLY HELD A VIRTUAL TITLE ONE FAMILY ENGAGEMENT ACADEMIC NIGHT. UPCOMING EVENTS FOR THE TERRIERS INCLUDE ON MARCH SEVENTH OR EIGHTH. FIFTH GRADE MISA TESTING WILL HAPPEN AND ON MARCH 17TH, ALL STUDENTS AND STAFF WILL WEAR GREEN FOR ST. PATRICK'S DAY. AND LASTLY, ON MARCH 21ST-25TH, THE SCHOLASTIC BOOK FAIR WILL MAKE ITS WAY TO RIDGELY ELEMENTARY SCHOOL NEXT AT GREENSBORO ELEMENTARY SCHOOL. LAST MONTH, ALL ENJOYED SOME SCHOOL SPIRIT AND A KINDNESS CAMPAIGN. ALSO, ALL STAFF AND STUDENTS ENJOYED TUESDAY, WHICH WAS ON FEBRUARY 22ND, 2022 IN WHICH EVERYONE PARTICIPATED BY WEARING TUTUS AND TIES. IT WAS A VERY FUN FEBRUARY AT RIDGELY ELEMENTARY SCHOOL BACK IN DENTON AT LOCKERMAN MIDDLE SCHOOL, THE WILDCATS RECENTLY HELD THEIR WIDA TESTING. THEY HELD A MARYLAND PUBLIC SCHOOL SURVEY FOR ALL STUDENTS, AND THEY TOOK THE MISA ASSESSMENTS AS WELL, WHILE STAFF CONTINUED TO BENEFIT FROM THEIR PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT DAYS. I ALSO WANT TO INCLUDE THIS PHOTO OF MR. GROW IN A TUTU AND TIE ROCKING IT WITH SOME STUDENTS AND STAFF AS WELL ON THAT TUESDAY TO EXACTLY NEXT AT NORTH CAROLINA HIGH SCHOOL. THE BULLDOGS HAVE BEEN VERY BUSY. LAST MONTH, SURE, SHAKESPEARE VISITED NORTH CARROLL HIGH SCHOOL AS WELL AS SPRING SPORTS. ORIENTATION WAS HELD FOR PARENTS AND ATHLETES ON MARCH 1ST TODAY. SPRING SPORTS TRYOUTS BEGAN. TOMORROW, MARCH 2ND IS AN SAT DAY IN WHICH JUNIORS WILL TAKE THE TEST. ON MARCH 10TH, Q3 REPORT CARDS ARE ISSUED AND FINALLY, ON MARCH 16TH, THE PSAT WILL BE ADMINISTERED TO ALL SOPHOMORES AND I ALSO WANTED TO INCLUDE THAT JUST BE COLLEGE BLACK HISTORY PROGRAM WOULD LIKE TO CONGRATULATE SENIOR TAYLOR HOLLOWAY FOR BEING AN OUTSTANDING STUDENT, AS MS. WAYMAN SAID EARLIER, SO CONGRATULATIONS TO HER. AND LASTLY, AT CCTC, THE CHESAPEAKE COLLEGE ANNUAL BLACK HISTORY MONTH PROGRAM WOULD LIKE TO RECOGNIZE AND NCHS STUDENT MIKAYLA SCHARF, WHO HAS COMPLETED THE CAREERS AND COSMETOLOGY PROGRAM THIS YEAR AND PASS THROUGH MARYLAND STATE BOARDS OF COSMETOLOGY EXAM. CONGRATULATIONS TO MIKAYLA. THE AMP PROGRAM CONNECTED WITH COMMUNITY PARTNERS THIS PAST MONTH IN ORDER TO PITCH IDEAS FOR THEIR NESTING BOX PROJECTS. FINALLY, CTE VIRTUAL INFORMATION NIGHT WILL BE HELD ON MARCH 9TH VIA ZOOM FOR STUDENTS AND FAMILIES. THE SCHOOLS IN WHICH I REPORT FOR CONTINUES TO WORK HARD WHILE HAVING FUN AS WE WORK TOWARDS THE END OF THE SCHOOL YEAR. THANK YOU SO MUCH. I HAVE A QUESTION, PLEASE, AND IT MAY NOT BE FOR YOU TO ANSWER. IF YOU WANT TO BE. YES. INSTRUCTIONAL PEOPLE, SAT AND PSAT DAYS, IS THAT A DAY WITH ALL OF THE JUNIORS TAKE [00:35:07] THE TEST OR ALL OF THE SOPHOMORES? OK. YES, WE DO EVERYBODY. SO ALL JUNIORS ARE TOMORROW TAKING SAT. DO THEY HAVE TO PAY FOR THAT OR ARE WE ABLE TO? WE DO THAT? ABSOLUTELY. THAT'S GREAT. THAT IS, I BELIEVE THIS IS MAYBE THE FOURTH OR FIFTH YEAR THAT WE HAVE, AND IT'S WONDERFUL DOING THAT. WONDERFUL. AND I NOTICED THAT THE SPRING SPORTS SEEM TO BE STARTING ON TIME. TODAY. MM HMM. JUST LOVE BASEBALL PRACTICE. SUIT AND I WAS LIKE, OH, IT'S ON BASEBALL. YOU THINK BACK A YEAR? I THINK BACK TWO YEARS. AND YOU KNOW, THAT WAS A REALLY TERRIBLE SITUATION, BUT CERTAINLY UNDERSTANDABLE AND JUSTIFIABLE, UNLIKE THE MILLIONAIRES AND BILLIONAIRES WHO WON'T START MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL AT THE TIME. SO SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL SPORTS, EVERYBODY, SUPPORT YOUR YOUTH SPORTS . MORE EXCITING TO WATCHING IT. YEAH. YES. ALL RIGHT, THANK YOU. MOVING ON, WE HAVE OUR FINANCE REPORT. WE HAVE MS. THORNTON WITH US. GOOD EVENING, PRESIDENT NEWCOMB. MEMBERS OF THE BOARD YOU HAVE BEFORE YOU THE FINANCE REPORT FOR THE PERIOD ENDING FEBRUARY 28TH. THEREFORE, WE ARE EIGHT MONTHS INTO OUR FISCAL YEAR. IF YOU ADD THE YEAR TO DATE EXPENDITURES AND THE ENCUMBRANCES, WE'VE SPENT APPROXIMATELY 84 PERCENT OF OUR BUDGET. THEREFORE, WE ARE RIGHT ON TRACK WITH WHERE WE SHOULD BE FOR THIS POINT IN THE YEAR. AT THIS POINT IN TIME, THERE ARE NO ISSUES TO REPORT, BUT IF ANYBODY HAS ANY QUESTIONS, I'D BE HAPPY TO ANSWER THEM. NOBODY WANTS TO TALK NUMBERS TONIGHT. CORRECT. AND SO HOW DID WE DO WITH OUR SNOW PLOWING THAT NOT BUDGETED BECAUSE WE DID HAVE SOME SNOW PLOW AND NONE TO COME YET? RIGHT? WE'RE PRAYING COMING RIGHT? WE'RE PRAYING FOR NO MORE SNOW. THANK GOODNESS WE HAVE BALANCES IN OTHER LINE ITEMS TO COVER. SO IT'S COVERED, BUT GOOD. YES, IT. THERE'S NO MORE SNOW. IT'S DONE. WINTER'S OVER. YES, WINTER'S OVER. THAT'S WHAT OUR BUDGET'S SAYING. WINTER'S OVER. ERIN THORNTON TELLS YOU THAT, YOU KNOW IT'S TRUE. HERE THAT OPERATIONS? NO MORE SNOW. I'M SURE BILL IS PRAYING THAT THE SNOW IS OVER TO THANK YOU. THANK YOU. ALL RIGHT, NEXT UP IS OUR CONSENT AGENDA AS PART OF THE CONSENT AGENDA, WE HAVE PERSONNEL AND MINUTE MEETINGS MEETING MINUTES FROM THE 1ST, THE 9TH, THE 15TH TO 23RD AND THE 24TH. FIRST, WE'LL START WITH MS. [INAUDIBLE]'S AND THE PERSONNEL AGENDA. SURE. GOOD EVENING, PRESIDENT NEWCOMB MEMBERS OF THE BOARD. DR. SIMMONS. I'M HERE BEFORE YOU THIS EVENING TO PRESENT THE PERSONNEL AGENDA FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION AND CONSENT. FIRST OF ALL, THERE'S THREE WEEKS OF ABSENCES TO SICK LEAVE PAPERS, THREE RESIGNATIONS, ONE RETIREMENT AND ONE APPOINTMENT TO TEACHER FOR THE REGULAR CONTRACT. YOU QUESTION. NOT THAT WE CAN DISCUSS HERE IN OPEN SESSION. WELL, BASICALLY, WAIVER, REMEMBER THAT WAS AN EXTENSION FROM PERSONAL LEAVE TO FAMILY THINGS LIKE THAT, SUCH AS, YEAH, RIGHT, OK. ALL RIGHT, BOARD MEMBERS, WE HAD A FEW MEETINGS IN FEBRUARY. [3. Consent Agenda] SOME OF US COMMENTED ON. DID ANYBODY SEE ANY? DID ANYBODY SEE ANY CORRECTIONS OR ADDITIONS TO THE MINUTES? HEARING NONE. DO I HAVE A MOTION TO ACCEPT THE CONSENT AGENDA? SECOND. MOTION BY MS. WAYMAN, SECOND BY MR. BARTON. ALL THOSE IN FAVOR? AYE. ALL RIGHT, THANK YOU. ALL RIGHT. RECOGNITION'S WE'RE JUST FIGURING OUT WHERE THE CHAIRS GO IN THE ROOM. [4. Recognitions] HOPEFULLY SOMEDAY WE CAN HAVE RECOGNITIONS. WE HAVE SOME NEXT MONTH TO DO. WE HAVE ANY CITIZENS SIGNED UP FOR PUBLIC COMMENT OR SEND ANY COMMENTS IN? NEITHER. ALL RIGHT. BIZARRO WORLD. SO WE HAVE A FEW INDIVIDUAL ACTION ITEMS, WE HAVE AN ADMINISTRATIVE APPOINTMENT. [6. Individual Action Items] DR. SIMMONS? YES. THANK YOU. MR. NEWCOMB BRINGS ME GREAT PLEASURE TO COME BEFORE YOU THIS EVENING. WE'VE HAD A POSITION OPEN AT LOCKERMAN MIDDLE SCHOOL FOR AN ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL. AND WHEN THE POSITION BECAME OPEN, I'LL BE PERFECTLY FRANK WITH THE BOARD. PRINCIPAL HAD SAID HE HAD ONE CHOICE TO MAKE AND THAT WAS IT, WHICH LED TO A REALLY SHORT CONVERSATION FROM HIS SIDE, HE THOUGHT. SO ASKED FOR FURTHER CLARIFICATION, HELP ME UNDERSTAND YOUR ONE CHOICE AND IT WAS ACTUALLY PRETTY SIMPLE AND PRETTY EASY. TONIGHT I COME BEFORE YOU WITH THE RECOMMENDATION TO APPOINT MRS. BECKY MIELKE MANN AS THE ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL AT LOCKERMAN MIDDLE SCHOOL. [00:40:01] MRS. MANN HAS BEEN AN OUTSTANDING SCIENCE TEACHER THERE SINCE 2013 AND DONE AN ABSOLUTELY OUTSTANDING JOB. ON TOP OF THAT, MRS. MANN STEPPED UP, STEPPED IN, DID A FANTASTIC JOB IN THE FALL WHEN HE CAME NEEDING SOME ASSISTANCE TO FILL IN AS AN ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL. AS MR. GROSS SAID EVEN AT THE TIME, SHE JUST FIT RIGHT IN LIKE A GLOVE. SHE'S A WORKER, THERE'S NO DOUBT ABOUT IT. I JUST RAN CIRCLES AROUND THE BUILDING DOING EVERYTHING THAT NEEDED TO BE DONE AND HAS JUST BEEN AMAZING AND WILL BE AN ABSOLUTE ASSET TO LOCKERMAN. WE HATE TO SEE HER LEAVE THE CLASSROOM, BUT AT THE SAME TIME, I KNOW IN MY HEART SHE'S GOING TO AFFECT A LOT OF CHANGE FOR THE SEVERAL HUNDRED KIDS THAT SHE WILL BE WORKING WITH ON A DAILY BASIS, AS OPPOSED TO JUST THOSE IN THE CLASSROOM. SO THERE'S TWO PARTS OF THIS BECKY WILL BE YOU'LL BE ACCEPTING HER RESIGNATION AS A TEACHER, JUST NOT PART OF THE CONSENT AGENDA. IT'S PART OF THIS ACTION ITEM COMBINED BECAUSE SHE'LL BE RESIGNING HER POSITION AS A TEACHER AND ACCEPTING THE POSITION AS THE ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL FORMALLY IF THE BOARD ACCEPTS THAT RECOMMENDATION THIS EVENING. BOARD MEMBERS, ANY QUESTIONS? ALL RIGHT, HEARING NONE, DO WE HAVE A MOTION TO SUPPORT THE SUPERINTENDENT'S RECOMMENDATION? ALL RIGHT. WE HAVE A MOTION BY MS. WAYMAN, SECOND BY MR. JONES. ANY CONVERSATION OR DISCUSSION? HEARING NONE; ALL THOSE IN FAVOR? AYE. CONGRATULATIONS. CONGRATULATIONS. . ALL RIGHT. INDIVIDUAL ACTION ITEMS. ALL RIGHT. MOVING ON TO 6.02. WE'LL DO TO SOME OF THOSE SNOW DAYS. WE HAVE AN AMENDMENT TO THE SCHOOL CALENDAR. DR. SIMMONS? YES. GOOD EVENING. MR. NEWCOMB. MEMBERS OF THE BOARD COME BEFORE YOU TONIGHT WITH THE RECOMMENDATION. THE BOARD IS WHO SETS THE SCHOOL CALENDAR FOR THE APPROVAL PROCESS AND LAST YEAR'S SCHOOL CALENDAR WE HAD PROVIDED FOR THREE INCLEMENT WEATHER DAYS. THOSE THREE INCLEMENT WEATHER DAYS WERE UTILIZED JANUARY 3,4,5, FIRST SNOWSTORM. WE HAVE ATE THOSE THREE DAYS UP AND THEN WE WENT OVER BY TWO ADDITIONAL DATES. WHAT WAS BUILT INTO THE CALENDAR AS TWO POSSIBLE SCENARIOS OF DAYS TO UTILIZE WAS LOOKING AT A MARCH 14TH PD DAY AND ALSO LOOKING AT POSSIBLY SHORTENING EASTER BREAK AS TWO POSSIBILITIES. AND WE HAVE LOOKED AT THOSE OPTIONS AS A TEAM. AND CONSIDERING THAT WITH THE CHALLENGES OR THE CHANGES, THE BOARD MADE TO THE CALENDAR IN DECEMBER TO SUPPORT OUR STAFF WITH ADDITIONAL TIME OFF AT THE EASTER BREAK, WITH AN ADDITIONAL HALF DAY AND AN EARLY RELEASE TIME, WE FELT THAT THE BEST COURSE OF ACTION AT THIS TIME FOR THE SCHOOL CALENDAR WOULD BE TO TAKE THE TWO SNOW DAYS THAT WE ARE OVER BY AND ACTUALLY ADD THEM TO THE END OF THE YEAR. MARCH 14TH PD DAY IS ONE THAT WE HAVE CONTRACTS THAT ARE ALREADY APPROVED WITH VENDORS TO PROVIDE THE PD WITH STAFF. SOME OF THOSE THINGS LIKE CONSCIOUSNESS ONE WHICH THE BOARD HAS HEARD ABOUT. WE'VE GOT THOSE FOLLOW UP TRAININGS WITH INDIVIDUALS. WE'RE WORKING ON THIS ELEMENTARY PILOT AND TRYING TO GET THOSE THINGS IN PLACE. TO LOSE THAT PD DAY WOULD BE VERY CHALLENGING. AND AGAIN, WE'RE ALREADY OUT COMMITTED ON MONEY CONTRACTORS. AND THEN AGAIN, THAT EASTER BREAK PIECE, I FEEL LIKE WE WOULD BE TAKING BACK SOMETHING THAT WE GAVE IN DECEMBER FOR STAFF TO HAVE THAT ADDITIONAL TIME. AND I HOPE STAFF HAVE BEEN ABLE TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF PLANNING TO USE THAT TIME TO GET A BREAK AND GET AWAY WITH THEIR FAMILIES. AND THEN FOR US TO SHORTEN THAT EASTER BREAK AT THIS POINT IN TIME, I THINK KIND OF GOES [00:45:02] AGAINST WHAT WE VALUED IN DECEMBER. AT THIS POINT IN TIME WITH THE CALENDAR, THE WAY IT IS, THE LAST STUDENT DAY IS ON A TUESDAY. THIS WOULD MOVE THE LAST TWO DAYS TO A THURSDAY OF THE SAME WEEK. WE'RE NOT JUMPING INTO AN ADDITIONAL WEEK IN THE LAST DAY FOR 10 MONTHS. AND I ALWAYS WANT TO CLARIFY THAT THE LAST DAY FOR 10 MONTHS THAT BY AND LARGE MOST TEACHERS WOULD THEN MOVE FROM WEDNESDAY TO THAT FRIDAY. SO WE'RE WITHIN THE SAME WEEK. THIS IS A LITTLE EARLY COMING TO THE BOARD HISTORICALLY AND CAROLINE COUNTY, WE COME TO THE BOARD WITH A CALENDAR CHANGE IN APRIL. WE KIND OF LIKE TO THINK WE'RE PAST THE SNOW AGAIN. ERIN HAS CONFIRMED. WE'RE PAST THE SNOW BUDGET WISE, SO IT'S NOT GOING TO SNOW ANYMORE. AND IF IT IS, THEN WE JUST HAVE TO DEAL WITH IT. I PROBABLY HAVE [INAUDIBLE], BUT I'M GOING TO PUT IT ALL ON ERIN BECAUSE SHE KNOWS THE NUMBERS AND SHE SAYS IT'S NOT GOING TO SNOW ANYMORE. SO MY FAITH IS THERE, BUT IT IS ONE OF THOSE PIECES WHERE WE DO HAVE STAFF ASKING AND THEY'VE REALLY BEEN ASKING AROUND THE PIECE OF EASTER, ARE WE? IS THE EASTER BREAK GOING TO BE SHORTENED OR NOT? AND IF WE WAIT UNTIL THE APRIL BOARD MEETING, IT REALLY JAMS THAT UP AND MAKES THE DECISION FOR US. BUT I DON'T THINK IT'S FAIR TO OUR EMPLOYEES TO KEEP THEM IN LIMBO. AND IF WE HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO MAKE A DECISION THIS EVENING, I THINK WE SHOULD, AND THAT'S WHY I BROUGHT IT TO YOU KIND OF A MONTH EARLY. BUT AGAIN, MY RECOMMENDATION KNOWING, OF COURSE, PROBABLY 50 PERCENT OF THE PEOPLE WANT IT ONE WAY OR THE OTHER. BUT BEST FOR OUR SYSTEM, I THINK IN MOVING FORWARD, I THINK, IS THE TACK THE TWO DAYS ON THE END OF THE YEAR, NEXT YEAR'S CALENDAR THAT YOU'VE APPROVED IS BUILT IN MORE SNOW DAYS. I WOULD HOPE TO NOT HAVE TO USE THEM, BUT WE WILL HAVE MORE BUILT IN. BUT THAT IS THE RECOMMENDATION BEFORE YOU. YES, MA'AM, BECAUSE I LIKE I DO. BUT NOW THAT WE PUT THE WHAMMY ON THE SNOW, IF WE HAVE IT, WE'RE NOT GOING TO TOUCH EASTER BREAK. IS THAT A FAIR THING TO SAY? I WOULD NOT BE ASKING THE BOARD TO TOUCH EASTER BREAK UNLESS THE BOARD ABSOLUTELY WISHES TO DO SO, BUT THAT I FEEL VERY CONFIDENTLY I WOULD NOT BE COMING TO YOU WITH THAT RECOMMENDATION. OK, SO SOMETHING HAPPENS. WE'LL GO TO PLAN B. WE'LL CREATE A NEW PLAN. BUT YES, AND I WOULD BELIEVE THAT IF SOMETHING WERE TO HAPPEN AND WE WOULD HAVE ANOTHER SNOW DAY, WE HAVE A VERY GOOD ARGUMENT FOR A CASE, FOR A WAIVER BECAUSE THEN IT WOULD BE EXTENDING ONE DAY INTO AN ADDITIONAL WEEK. I DON'T KNOW IF WE HAVE A NEW STATE SUPER. DON'T KNOW WHERE THE FEELINGS WOULD FALL, BUT I THINK THAT'S THE ROUTE I WOULD BE LOOKING AT US GOING AT AS OPPOSED TO TAKING I REALLY FEEL STRONGLY WE GAVE THAT AS LONG AS WE GAVE THAT I DON'T WANT TO TAKE IT BACK, RIGHT? NO, AND I AGREE WITH THAT. YEAH, SO. I THINK IF WE HAVE A SNOW THAT SIZE THAT IT'S GOING TO CAUSE A PROBLEM, IT'S GOING TO BE MORE THAN CAROLINE JUDY ASKING FOR [INAUDIBLE], RIGHT? AND USUALLY MARCH SNOWS DON'T STICK AROUND. YEAH, IT SNOWS, IT MELTS. IT'S DONE. IT'S USUALLY THIS WEEK IF IT'S RIGHT. BUT AGAIN, ERIN TOLD US, IT'S NOT GOING TO. ERIN'S FORECAST SAYS NO SNOW. YEAH, IT'S THE EARLY MARCH SNOW THAT COULD SOMETIMES BITE YOU, BUT AFTER THAT, THE SUN ANGLE IS TOO HIGH AND RIGHT. DAYLIGHT SAVINGS IS NEXT. LOOK, YOU'RE LAUGHING, BUT IT'S TRUE. I PAY ATTENTION TOO MUCH WEATHER AND THE DAYLIGHT SAVINGS, I THINK IS NEXT WEEKEND. WE'RE A COUPLE OF WEEKS AWAY FROM THAT, AND THAT USUALLY CHANGES THE LANDSCAPE SIGNIFICANTLY OF, YES, MY TEAM'S LAUGHING AT ME, BUT I DO FOLLOW THE WEATHER STUFF. WE'RE DIGGING. WE'RE GOING TO BE IN TROUBLE. I MOVE WE SUPPORT THE RECOMMENDATION. I APPROVE A MOTION TO SUPPORT THE RECOMMENDATION ADDED TWO DAYS TO THE END OF THE YEAR. SECOND BY MRS. GIACOMO. ALL THOSE IN FAVOR. AYE. ALL RIGHT, THANK YOU. OUR FATE IS SEALED. YEAH, THE DIE IS CAST. I HAVE FAITH IN THIS BOARD AND US WORKING TOGETHER TO FIND A SOLUTION IF WE HAVE OUR KIDS. WOW, WHAT WAS THAT MARCH '79, YOU COULDN'T EVEN SLED IN IT. LET'S MOVE TO THE NEXT TOPIC. YEAH, GOOD IDEA AND SLEDDING FOR SECOND THAT. ALL RIGHT. MOVING ON POLICY REVISION SOUNDING BOARD. MR. WILLOUGHBY, YOU'RE UP. MR. NEWCOMB. I'M DR. EXCUSE ME, DR. WILLOUGHBY. OH, MR. NEWCOMB, MEMBERS OF THE BOARD ,YOU HAVE BEFORE YOU PROPOSED REVISIONS TO POLICY 12-1-2040, WHICH IS CURRENTLY CALLED SOUNDING BOARD SESSION PROPOSAL, INCLUDES RENAMING IT TO PUBLIC COMMENT AND TRIES TO INCORPORATE THE DISCUSSION THAT THE BOARD HAS HAD IN THEIR JANUARY AND FEBRUARY MEETINGS. THE TIMELINE FOR THIS REVISION IS ALSO OUTLINED. [00:50:02] POLICY COMMITTEE MET ON FEBRUARY 7TH AFTER YOUR FEBRUARY 1ST MEETING. ON FEBRUARY 14TH, THERE WERE ADDITIONAL EDITS THAT WERE MADE FOLLOWING FEEDBACK FROM BOARD MEMBERS. ON FEBRUARY 16TH, IT WAS SUBMITTED TO THE SCHOOL SYSTEM IMPROVEMENT COUNCIL, AS WELL AS THE CITIZENS ADVISORY COUNCIL FOR REVIEW AND FEEDBACK. AND THEN THE VERY NEXT DAY IT WAS SHARED WITH A NEWS RELEASE SOLICITING COMMUNITY FEEDBACK TO THE PUBLIC INFORMATION EMAIL ADDRESS. TO DATE, WE HAVE RECEIVED NO PUBLIC FEEDBACK ON THIS POLICY CHANGE, SO IT IS BEFORE YOU TONIGHT FOR FIRST READING. IT IS A POLICY REVISION, SO THE BOARD DOES HAVE THE ABILITY TO APPROVE IT ON FIRST READING OR TO SCHEDULE A SECOND READING, WHATEVER YOUR PLEASURE IS. THANK YOU FOR THAT OVER YOU, DR. WILLOUGHBY. BOARD MEMBERS, YOU HAVE THE DRAFT POLICY IN FRONT OF YOU. IT'S PART OF OUR AGENDA ONLINE. IT'S VISITED AND REVIEWED BY THE COMMITTEES, AS DR. WILLOUGHBY MENTIONED. ANY DISCUSSION OR EDITS OR COMMENTS IS IN LINE WITH OUR THOUGHTS AND HOW WE OUTLINED IT. NOT MINE. YOU KNOW THAT I'M OUTVOTED, AND THAT'S FINE, BUT I WANT TO MAKE IT CLEAR, I THINK THIS IS WRONG. WE ARE TAKING AWAY PEOPLE'S VOICES AND I FUNDAMENTALLY HAVE A PROBLEM WITH THAT. MEMBERS, ANY OTHER COMMENTS? I JUST DISAGREE THAT ADDING STRUCTURE TO IT IS TAKING ANYTHING AWAY. I JUST DISAGREE THAT ADDING STRUCTURE TO SOMETHING IS, IN TURN, TAKING SOMETHING AWAY. I DON'T THINK IT'S ANY STRUCTURE. THAT'S JUST SOMETHING WE'RE ALL GOING TO HAVE TO AGREE TO DISAGREE ON. I THINK THE PEOPLE ARE REFERRING TO OUR EMPLOYEES. CORRECT? YEAH, RIGHT. SO THE PUBLIC CAN STILL COME IN, JUST NOT IN. THE PROBLEM WITH THAT AND EMPLOYEES CAN COME IN AS LONG AS IT'S NO ALL RELATED AND AS WE'VE DISCUSSED IN OPEN SESSION. AND I THINK AS MRS. DIGIACOMO SAID, WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO AGREE TO DISAGREE, AT LEAST IN MY WORLD. MOST OF MY WORLD DOESN'T WORK IN AN ENVIRONMENT THAT HAS A REPRESENTED NEGOTIATED AGREEMENT AS PART OF A UNION AND DOESN'T HAVE THAT STRUCTURE THAT THEY HAVE TO OPERATE IN THIS EMPLOYEE. A LOT OF OUR EMPLOYEE GROUPS DO HAVE THAT STRUCTURE, AND I THINK THEY NEED TO. WE NEED TO HELP EDUCATE THEM AND MAKE THEM AWARE OF THAT STRUCTURE AND THEIR RESOURCES IF THEY'RE NOT. BUT PUBLIC SESSION FOR THIS PUBLIC BODY IS NOT PART OF THAT. SO AGAIN, WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO, YOU KNOW, WE'VE HAD NUMEROUS DISCUSSIONS ABOUT THIS, BUT WE'RE TRYING TO ADD SOME STRUCTURE AND ANY ADDITIONAL DISCUSSION OR COMMENTS. I WOULD JUST SAY IT'S GOOD. IT'S OK TO HAVE DIFFERENCE OF OPINION HERE AND TO AIR IT POLITELY AND PUBLICLY AND HAVE DIFFERENT POINTS OF VIEW, I RESPECT THAT. SO IT'S, YOU KNOW, THAT'S GOOD. IT'S OK. THAT'S THE DEMOCRATIC PROCESS, I SUPPOSE. BUT IT'S GOOD TO HAVE THAT AND SHARE THOSE COMMENTS. YOU KNOW, AND I DID LOOK INTO WHAT YOU GUYS CALL THE CHAIN OF COMMAND OR WHATEVER, AND THEY GO TO THEIR IMMEDIATE SUPERVISOR ONLY. IT IS NOT ALWAYS CLEAR WHO THE IMMEDIATE SUPERVISOR IS. IS IS IT THE COACH? IS IT YOUR CONTENT SUPERVISOR? IS IT YOUR AP? IS IT YOUR PRINCIPAL? SO NOT CLEAR. THEN THEY CAN GO TO THE SUPERVISOR OR SUPERVISOR AND THEN THE SUPERVISOR OF HUMAN RESOURCES, AND THAT'S ALL THAT'S WRITTEN IN THE STAFF HANDBOOK. TALKING TO DR. SIMMONS, HE SAID, WELL, I GUESS THEY CAN COME TO ME. BUT, YOU KNOW, FROM BEING IN THE SYSTEM. IT DOESN'T ALWAYS WORK, AND MORE OFTEN THAN NOT, IT DOESN'T WORK. THAT'S JUST A FACT I'LL TAKE UMBRAGE TO MORE OFTEN THAN NOT, ACTUALLY. AND AND IF I WOULD JUST SAY THAT IF YOU KNOW, I'LL JUST, THERE'S ONLY ONE SIGNATURE ON ANYBODY, I'VE NEVER SEEN MORE THAN ONE SIGNATURE ON ANYBODY'S EVALUATION ON ANY EMPLOYER I'VE EVER BEEN AT. THERE'S ONE SIGNATURE ON YOUR EVALUATION BESIDES YOUR OWN. WHEN YOU SIGN IT, THAT'S YOUR IMMEDIATE SUPERVISOR THAT IS EVALUATING YOU FOR YOUR PERFORMANCE ON WHETHER YOU'RE GOING TO GET MOVE FORWARD OF THAT. OTHER THAN THAT, AGAIN, I'VE NEVER WORKED FOR AN ORGANIZATION THAT WAS REPRESENTED BY A [00:55:02] UNION. I'VE NEVER BEEN REPRESENTED BY THE UNION. BUT FROM WHAT I KNOW, EVERY BUILDING HAS A UNION REP IN OUR SYSTEM. AND I WOULD STRONGLY RECOMMEND IF ANY OF OUR STAFF ARE CONCERNED ABOUT THEIR TREATMENT. THEIR PRIORITY IS PART OF BEING THEIR UNION IS TO REPRESENT THEIR MEMBERS AND TO FIND YOUR POINT OF CONTACT. AND THAT POINT OF CONTACT HAS A BOARD THAT'S OVER THE COUNTY, THAT HAS MONTHLY MEETINGS WITH OUR SUPERINTENDENT THAT THEY CAN SHARE THOSE CONCERNS WITH. AND IF THAT'S NOT WORKING, THAT COUNTY BOARD HAS A STATE OF MARYLAND STATE MARYLAND REPRESENTATIVE. THERE ARE MORE OPPORTUNITIES FOR OUR STAFF TO TO COMMUNICATE AND NOT TO MENTION THAT ANY ONE OF US WILL BE IN THE FOOD LION ON THE SPORTS FIELDS OR, YOU KNOW, AT THE WHEREVER WHERE THEY COULD PUT A BUG IN OUR EAR. AND THEN WE SAY, DR. SIMMONS, WHAT THE HECK'S GOING ON WITH AND THIS IS SO-AND-SO OR MR. SO-AND-SO? AND THAT'S, THERE ARE PLENTY OF OPPORTUNITIES, I BELIEVE, AND I DO NOT THINK THIS POLICY IS NEGATIVELY IMPACTING ANYBODY IN INSIDE OR OUTSIDE OF OUR SYSTEM. AND I JUST I DON'T WANT TO MAKE BROAD STATEMENTS THAT STAFF THAT I CARE SO DEEPLY ABOUT AND THAT WE HAS ADMITTED THAT IS OUR NUMBER ONE RESOURCE FOR HELPING TO EDUCATE AND TAKE CARE OF OUR CHILDREN THAT WE'RE NEGATIVELY IMPACTING THEM. SURE. I THINK IT'S AN ISSUE REALLY ANYMORE, BECAUSE THIS IS SENDING A MESSAGE OUT AND THE MESSAGE THAT THEY'RE RECEIVING IS NOT GOOD. THEY DON'T. WHAT THEY'RE HEARING IS WE DON'T WANT TO HEAR HER VOICE IN A PUBLIC FORUM AND THEY HAVE A PROBLEM WITH THAT. SO. YOU CAN SAY WHAT YOU WANT, BUT YOU'RE SAYING YOU CANNOT SPEAK TO US IN PUBLIC. ARE WE SENDING A MESSAGE OR ARE YOU SENDING THAT MESSAGE? NO, I'M NOT. I DON'T EVEN REALLY GO LOOKING FOR PEOPLE. OK, SO IF YOU WANT TO ACCUSE ME OF IT, JUST ASK, NO, I'M THEN I'M TELLING YOU IF YOU WANT TO KEEP IT. IT'S THE STATE LAW MRS. DIGIACOMO, WE ARE NOT, WE ARE TRYING TO PROVIDE GUIDANCE AND STRUCTURE TO A SITUATION THAT WE ARE GIVEN STATE LAW AND MARYLAND CODE TO OPERATE UNDER AND THAT CODE IF WE REGULARLY HAVE STAFF IN OUR MONTHLY MEETINGS TALKING TO US ABOUT THEIR CONCERNS THAT BYPASSES THEIR OWN UNION AND THAT BYPASSES THEIR IMMEDIATE SUPERVISOR AND THEIR SUPERVISOR'S SUPERVISOR, THE SUPERINTENDENT OF OUR SCHOOLS. RIGHT. SO THE STRUCTURE THAT THE STATE OF MARYLAND AND STATE LAW GIVES US TO OPERATE UNDER AND WE HAD A MEETING AND DISCUSSED THIS WITH OUR LAWYER, AND HE OUTLINED THAT FOR ALL OF US, IS COMPLETELY IN LINE WITH OUR. THAT IS YOUR OPINION. AND YOU KNOW, I CAN MAKE COMMENTS ABOUT SOME OF THE THINGS THAT WERE SAID AT THE MEETING, BUT I'M NOT GOING TO. BUT I WAS EVEN WILLING TO COMPROMISE THAT IF THE PERSON WENT THROUGH THE ENTIRE CHAIN OF COMMAND, WHICH I DO BELIEVE YOU SHOULD. BUT IF THEY'VE GONE AND HAVE STILL GOTTEN NO RESOLUTION THAT THEY THOUGHT WAS FAIR, EQUITABLE, I THINK THEY SHOULD BE ABLE TO COME AND THEY CAN FILE A GRIEVANCE. NOW WHAT YOU JUST SAID, IF THEY GO THROUGH THE CHAIN OF COMMAND? RIGHT. AND I DO BELIEVE THERE IS A CHAIN OF COMMAND. I DO. IF SOMEONE COMES DIRECTLY TO THE BOARD, THEY AREN'T. IDENTIFY THEMSELVES. I DIDN'T SAY TO COME DIRECTLY TO THE BOARD. I NEVER SAID THAT. WELL, YOU SAID FOR THEM TO SPEAK PUBLICLY. BUT I THINK AFTER THEY'VE GONE THROUGH THE CHAIN OF COMMAND, THAT SHOULD BE AN OPTION. IT IS. AFTER THEY'VE GONE THROUGH THE CHAIN OF COMMAND? WHERE DOES IT SAY THAT'S AN OPTION? THE CHAIN OF COMMAND SAYS THAT. NO, IT DOES NOT. WELL, I'VE READ THE. THAT'S NOT PUBLIC THEN, THAT IS AN EMPLOYEE CONCERN. AND ULTIMATELY THE EMPLOYEE'S CONCERN WOULD END UP WITH THE SUPERINTENDENT'S DECISION. AND IF THEY TAKE, DEFER, IF THEY DO NOT AGREE WITH THE SUPERINTENDENT'S ULTIMATE DECISION OVER THEIR PERFORMANCE, THEIR ACTIONS OR ANYTHING THEY DO, THEIR NEXT STEP IS TO THEN WITHIN 30 DAYS, ASK FOR A MEETING WITH THE BOARD. AND THAT IS DONE, BUT NOT AN OPEN SESSION AND NOT AT THE PODIUM. THAT IS A PRESENTATION WHERE WE HEAR TWO SIDES OF A STORY. WE HEAR THE EMPLOYEE'S CONCERNS AND THEIR POINT OF VIEW, AND THEN WE HEAR THE SUPERINTENDENT'S POINT OF VIEW AND THEN US AS THE BOARD CAN HEAR THAT, THOSE CONCERNS, BUT IT'S NOT TO BE HEARD IN PUBLIC SESSION PRIOR, YOU KNOW, PRIOR TO THAT. AND, I JUST, YOU KNOW, WANT TO BE CLEAR, AND AS I THINK MR., BARTON HAS SAID AND OTHERS HAVE SAID, AND I'LL SAY IT TOO, IF THERE IS SOME MISUNDERSTANDING OF THAT BY ANY OF OUR [01:00:04] STAFF, WE AS A BOARD AND HAVE TO ASK OUR ADMINISTRATORS AS LEADERS OF THE SCHOOL TO DO A BETTER JOB OF EDUCATING THEM. AND WE HAVE TO ASK OUR UNION LEADERSHIP TO DO A BETTER JOB OF EDUCATING THEIR MEMBERS. AND YOU KNOW, FROM MY EXPERIENCE, OUR NEGOTIATED AGREEMENT IS, I DON'T KNOW, 10 OR 20 PAGES LONG. DOES ANYBODY KNOW? ANYBODY IN THE ROOM KNOW HOW LONG OUR NEGOTIATED AGREEMENT IS? 26 PAGES. HAS ANYBODY SEEN HOW THICK MONTGOMERY COUNTY OR PRINCE GEORGE'S COUNTY NEGOTIATED AGREEMENT IS? NO. I MEAN, SO OUR TWENTY SOME PAGE NEGOTIATED AGREEMENT WOULD BE AN EVENING'S READING TO REVIEW AND UNDERSTAND ALL YOUR OPPORTUNITIES AND RIGHTS AS AN EMPLOYEE VERSUS, YOU KNOW, THE VERY THICK, YOU KNOW, I'M GUESSING MORE THAN A HUNDRED PAGE NEGOTIATED AGREEMENT IN SOME OF THESE BIGGER COUNTIES. SO, YOU KNOW, I THINK WE'VE HAD SOME GOOD DISCUSSION. AND IF THERE IS ANY MISUNDERSTANDING, I HOPE WE'VE SHED SOME LIGHT ON SOME THINGS THAT MAYBE WE NEED TO DO BETTER. BOARD MEMBERS, ANY FINAL DISCUSSION ON OUR PUBLIC COMMENT AT MEETINGS OF THE BOARD OF EDUCATION POLICY UPDATE? MY ONLY COMMENT IS THAT DR. [INAUDIBLE] YOU'VE DONE AN OUTSTANDING JOB WITH US. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. THANK YOU. COULD NOT HAVE BEEN EASY LOT TO TAKE DOWN AND TRY TO PUT IT INTO A POLICY AND LOOK PRETTY DARN GOOD. THANK YOU FOR. BOARD MEMBERS. DO WE HAVE A LEVEL OF COMFORT THAT WE COULD ACT ON THIS TONIGHT? DO WE HAVE A MOTION TO IMPLEMENT THIS POLICY? I'LL MAKE A MOTION IMPLEMENT THE POLICY. WE HAVE A MOTION BY MR. JONES. DO WE HAVE A SECOND? I'LL SECOND IT. SECOND BY MR. BARTON. ANY FINAL DISCUSSION? HEARING NONE. ALL THOSE IN FAVOR? AYE. ANY OPPOSED? MRS. DIGIACOMO, IT'S 4-1. THANK YOU FOR THE DISCUSSION. WE HAVE THAT POLICY. ALL RIGHT. MOVING ON TO 6.04 CONTRACT WITH FOR WI-FI ACCESS POINTS. MR. MANGALA AND MR. MANGALA AND MR. WILL MR. WILL GUY WELCOME AND MR. KAUFMAN MAY BE JOINING IN AS WELL. GOOD THING COULD BE AS WELL. GOOD EVENING, PRESIDENT NEWCOMB, MEMBERS OF THE BOARD AND DR. SIMMONS. I STAND IN FRONT OF YOU TO RECOMMEND THAT THE CAROLINE COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION ACCEPT THE BID AS SHOWN ON THE ATTACHED EXHIBIT AND AWARD, A CONTRACT TO CDW GOVERNMENT LLC AND THE TOTAL AMOUNT OF THREE HUNDRED AND SEVENTY FIVE THOUSAND DOLLARS, OR SEVENTY FIVE THOUSAND THIRTY TWO DOLLARS PER PROVISION, CONFIGURATION, INSTALLATION AND MAINTENANCE OF APPROXIMATELY FIVE HUNDRED WI FI ACCESS POINTS. THE TERM OF THE CONTRACT IS JULY 1ST, 2022 THROUGH JUNE 30TH, 2027. BEFORE I ASK FOR YOUR APPROVAL ON THIS ON THIS CONTRACT, BE AWARDED INVITED THE SUPERVISOR OF TECHNOLOGY MITIGATION, [INAUDIBLE] TO STEP UP HERE AND ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS AND DISCUSS WHY ACCESS POINTS ARE IMPORTANT TO CAROLINE COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS AND AN IMPORTANT PIECE IS BEING PAIB FOR BECAUSE E-RATE MIGHT NEED TO BE EXPLAINED A LITTLE BIT. JUST A GOTCHA. NO PROBLEM AT ALL. GOOD EVENING. BOARD MEMBERS, PLEASE EXCUSE ME, THIS IS MY FIRST TIME DOING SOMETHING LIKE THIS, SO I'M GOING TO MAKE SOME MISTAKES. YOU'RE DOING GREAT, BUT SO ACCESS POINTS. BASICALLY, THIS PROPOSAL IS AN E-RATE ITEM, AND WITH E-RATE ITEMS, 80 PERCENT OF THE FUNDING COMES FROM THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT AND 20 PERCENT BECOMES IS A LOCAL FUNDED ITEM. SO AROUND SEVENTY FIVE THOUSAND OF THE THREE HUNDRED AND SEVENTY FIVE THOUSAND WOULD COME FROM LOCAL FUNDS, WIFI ACCESS POINTS. WE ALL USE THEM EVERY DAY. THEY'RE ACTUALLY IN THIS ROOM. YOUR LAPTOPS ARE CONNECTED TO THEM AND THEY'RE JUST LIKE AUTOMOBILES. LAST TIME WE BOUGHT SOME OF THOSE FIVE YEARS AGO, AND YOU THINK IF YOU HAD AN AUTOMOBILE FOR 15 YEARS, HOW BAD IT WOULD BE OR WHAT CONDITION OR WHAT OPTIONS ARE FEATURES? AND SO BASICALLY, THIS PROPOSAL IS BRINGING THAT EQUIPMENT UP UP TO SPEC, BRINGING IN SOME NEW STUFF. THE ONE TO ONE PROGRAM REALLY IS TAXING THAT OLD EQUIPMENT AND WE SEE IT EVERY DAY AND WE DO OUR BEST TO MITIGATE THOSE THINGS. BUT BUT PURCHASING THIS EQUIPMENT WOULD REALLY HELP CLASSROOMS AND EVERY SCHOOL IN CAROLINE COUNTY, STUDENTS CONNECT TO THE INTERNET AND DIGITAL RESOURCES, SO ABOUT FIVE HUNDRED DEVICES WOULD BE IMPLEMENTED. THE OLD ONES WOULD BE TAKEN OUT AND REUSED AND NON-CRITICAL AREAS OR AREAS THAT MAY NEED A LITTLE MORE COVERAGE, BUT NOT AS CRITICAL AS A CLASSROOM. SO IS THERE ANY QUESTIONS? IT IS EERIE. [01:05:02] SO 80 PERCENT COMES FROM THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT AND THE OTHER 20 LOCAL FUND, SO ABOUT SEVENTY FIVE THOUSAND WILL BE LOCAL FUND. I THINK I GOT MY FIRST QUESTION WAS CAN WE USE CARES MONEY FOR ART MONEY TO PAY FOR THE 20 PERCENT? AND IT WAS NO, BECAUSE IT HAS TO COME FROM LOCAL MONEY. BUT WE'VE BEEN CREATIVE AND WE'VE SHIFTED SOME OF OUR DEVICE PURCHASES THAT WERE PAIB FOR WITH LOCAL MONEY TO THE ART GRANTS AND THE CARES GRANTS TO FREE UP MONEY TO COVER OUR 20 PERCENT. SO ESSENTIALLY NOT EXACTLY, BUT ESSENTIALLY KIND OF LIKE THAT SORT OF KIND OF DROP OUT EARLIER. IT'S ESSENTIALLY BEING PAIB FOR WITH OUTSIDE MONEY, EVEN THOUGH WE HAVE THAT LOCAL PART, WHAT YOU JUST DESCRIBED, WHAT SHE SAID. THAT'S A VERY GOOD POINT. YES, IT'S THE GOOD PURCHASE. I THINK SO. I JUST. AND AS I WAS READING THIS AND YOU KNOW, IT'S KIND OF DIVERT WITH THIS HOT SPOTS WHEN WE HIT COVID, WE ALWAYS HAD INTERNAL HOT SPOTS TO THE SCHOOLS, BUT WE DRILLED THROUGH SOME OF THE WALLS, PUT IN THE PARKING LOT, HOT SPOT. I DON'T EVEN KNOW. ARE THEY STILL ACTIVE? THEY ARE, THEY ARE. AND WE'RE STILL UTILIZING THOSE FOR THE COMMUNITY AND OUR STUDENTS. YES, THEY CAN PULL UP TO THE SCHOOLS NOW AND STILL USE THOSE OPEN ACCESS POINTS. COOL. MAYBE A LITTLE MORE SECURE, BUT THEY'RE STILL UP. YOU CLICK ON. OK. HOW DO YOU GET THE, HOW DO YOU COME UP WITH THE TECHNICAL SCORE, FINANCIAL SCORES THAT JUST CURIOSITY? NO, THAT'S A GREAT QUESTION. SO THE TECHNICAL SCORE, WE AS PEOPLE THAT DO THIS EVERY DAY, YOU ENTRUST US TO DO THIS. WE KIND OF RATE HOW THEIR PROPOSAL MET WITH THE SCHOOL NEEDS AND NEEDS OF. AND AS YOU CAN SEE, THERE'S ONE DOWN AT THE BOTTOM HAVE A LOWER RATING. THE PROPOSAL THEY GAVE US DIDN'T NECESSARILY MEET OUR NEEDS AS A SCHOOL, SO IT'D BE LIKE, YOU KNOW, YOU HAVE A FORD CAR AND THEY'RE GIVING YOU A DODGE KEY. AND THAT'S KIND OF WHERE THAT PROPOSAL FELL FOR US. AND THAT'S WHY IT GOT THE SCORE. DID IT AMAZES ME LIKE THE PERSON THE ONE COMPANY CAME UP ON MOST TWO HUNDRED THOUSAND MORE. WHAT DID THEY OFFER FOR THAT? THEY OFFERED A LOT OF BACK IN MANAGEMENT THINGS WE DO IN HOUSE THAT CUT COSTS, AND A LOT OF IT WAS UNNECESSARY. I THINK THEY WERE COMING AT IT FROM A FULL ON PROPOSAL OF HANDS OFF FOR THE SCHOOL SYSTEM, AND THEY COME IN AND THEN HAND US A FINAL PROJECT, BUT WE DON'T NEED THAT WITH THIS PARTICULAR PROJECT. ALL RIGHT, THANKS FOR EXPLAINING THAT. OH YEAH, ABSOLUTELY. SO THE PRODUCT, THE PRODUCT, ANY OF THE PHYSICAL PIECES, RIGHT, THE HARDWARE WE ALL HEAR ABOUT HOW TECHNOLOGY PRODUCTS, SOME OF THEM SUPPLIER ISSUES, BACKLOG, THE CHIP SHORTAGE AND THAT SORT OF THING. DO YOU ANTICIPATE ANY ISSUES WITH SUPPLIER TO PROVIDE THE MATERIALS NECESSARY TO DO THAT? SO WE DID PROJECT THAT THERE WOULD BE, BUT WE'VE BEEN REALLY SURPRISED WITH SOME OF THE MORE RECENT PROJECTS WE'VE BEEN GETTING THE EQUIPMENT IN. IDEALLY, WE WOULD GET IT IN BETWEEN NOW AND SUMMER. GREAT. THANK YOU. THIS HAS A TERM THAT THIS IS USED FOR. IT'S THE FUNDING. JUST WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT THE BOARD UNDERSTOOD THE WAY [INAUDIBLE] FUNDING WORKS BECAUSE IT IS USING FEDERAL DOLLARS AND THEN THE LOCAL MATCH THAT GOES WITH IT. BUT THE DEVICES, ONCE THEY'RE IN THERE, THEY'RE GOOD UNTIL THEY GO BAD, I GUESS. EXACTLY. THIS IS A FIVE YEAR SUPPORT MAINTENANCE COVERAGE. BE PART OF THAT COST. IT'S NOT JUST THE PHYSICAL BOX OF PAYMENT, BUT THEIR SUPPORT. AND IF SOMETHING GOES DEAD, IT'S SEND IT BACK AND GET IT REPLACED FOR A FIVE YEAR PERIOD THAT'S INCLUDED IN THIS BUMPER TO BUMPER. YEAH, AND A LOT OF PEOPLE LIKE THAT SECURITY. WHEN YOU HAVE ACCESS TO MONEY LIKE THIS, EIGHTY PERCENT MONEY AND OTHER ALTERNATIVES, THAT MAKES GOOD SENSE. AND IT'S AN EXAMPLE THROUGH YOUR RATING, WHERE IT'S NOT NECESSARILY THE LOWEST DOLLAR FIGURE. YOU KNOW, IF YOU KNOW THE LOWEST DOLLAR FIGURE SCORED WELL, BUT THE TECHNICAL, THE TECHNICAL SCORE BEHIND IT PULLED IT BACK DOWN RIGHT. AND WE'VE ALL SEEN GOOD SIDES AND BAD SIDES OF JUST GETTING THE LOWEST BIDDER. SO RIGHT? YEAH, YOU PAY FOR. THAT'S EXACTLY RIGHT. YES, MA'AM. BOARD MEMBERS, ANY ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS? HEARING NONE, DO WE HAVE A MOTION TO ACCEPT THIS RECOMMENDATION TO AWARD THE GRANT THE BID TO CDW? SO MOVED. MOTIONED BY MRS. DIGIACOMO, SECOND BY MS. WAYMAN. ANY FURTHER DISCUSSION? WHAT DOES CDWG STAND FOR? IT'S A COMPUTER BUSINESS. THE G IS GOVERNMENT, BUT CDW IS VERY BIG TECH COMPANY. [01:10:04] OK, THANK YOU. YES, MA'AM. I'VE AWESOME, SEE, IS DEFINITELY COMPUTER. YEAH, AFTER THAT, THIS IS GOVERNMENT, IT'S NOT COMPUTERS DON'T WORK. NO, NO, NOT IN GOVERNMENT. ALL RIGHT. IT'S NOT THAT, WE KNOW THAT. LET'S GIVE THEM A HALF A MILLION DOLLARS. YEAH. YEAH, WE I AGREE ON THAT. YES. ALL RIGHT. THAT'S A GOOD ONE MINUTE. ALL RIGHT. SO WE HAVE A MOTION BY MS. WAYMAN. DO WE HAVE A SECOND? CAN WE GET A SECOND? NO, NO. WE HAD A MOTION BY MR. DIGIACOMO. I'M SORRY, YOU GOT US SECOND. BY MS. WAYMAN. ALL THOSE IN FAVOR. AYE. 5-0, THANK YOU. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. DON'T WORK IN GOVERNMENT. I A BETTER TALENT THAN THAT COMING UP WITH THOSE IDEAS. ALL RIGHT. MOVING ON TO REPORTS AND PRESENTATIONS. [7. Reports and Presentations] WE HAVE A LEGISLATIVE UPDATE AND WE ARE IN LEGISLATIVE SESSION. SO YES, WE ARE. GOOD EVENING. WE ARE IN DEEP IN THE THROES OF LEGISLATION AND IT'S MOVING ALONG PRETTY QUICK AND IT'S I DON'T KNOW. BOARD NEWS IS MY FIRST GO AROUND IN THIS ROLE AS WE'RE WORKING THROUGH THIS PROCESS AND IT DOES MOVE RATHER QUICKLY. MR. JONES, I KNOW CHRIS BATES IN THE MAIB LEGISLATIVE UPDATE CALLS. SO OBVIOUSLY, MR. JONES, DO YOU HAVE ANYTHING YOU WANT TO SHARE? THERE'S TWO BILLS PARTICULAR I WANTED TO DISCUSS TONIGHT FOR THE BOARD. ONE OF THEM IS HOUSE BILL 633, ACTUALLY, WHICH WAS INTRODUCED BY THE EASTERN SHORE DELEGATION AND ACTUALLY HAS A HEARING THIS THURSDAY. SO I HAVE PROVIDED THE BOARD WITH A COPY OF A LETTER THAT WAS SUBMITTED TODAY ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD. I WORK WITH MR. NEWCOMB THIS AFTERNOON AND MY APOLOGIES FOR NOT GETTING IT BEFORE THE FULL BOARD AHEAD OF TIME. COVID PROTOCOLS AT THE HOUSE REQUIRED THEM TO HAVE WRITTEN TESTIMONY IN TODAY BY THREE O'CLOCK WHERE WE ORIGINALLY THOUGHT WE HAD TILL TOMORROW, SO I THOUGHT WE WOULD GET A CHANCE TO DISCUSS IT TONIGHT. BUT THIS IS A BILL THAT WE HAD DISCUSSED THE CONCEPT OF PRIOR TO THE BILL GOING IN, AND IT HAS TO DO WITH THE MAKEUP OF THE ACCOUNTABILITY AND IMPLEMENTATION BOARD, PART OF THE BLUEPRINT PACKAGE AS THE BOARD IS FULLY AWARE, AND WE DISCUSSED IT AT THE JANUARY WORK SESSION WITH THE COUNTY COMMISSIONERS THAT CAME UP THEN, AS WELL AS EVEN EARLIER THIS YEAR WHEN THE AIB WAS BEING WORKING THROUGH THE NOMINATION PROCESS. BECAUSE REMEMBER, WE DISCUSSED GOVERNOR HOGAN'S COMMENTS REGARDING THE MAKEUP OF THE COMMITTEE. THOSE WHO ARE ON THE COMMITTEE ARE LARGELY FROM THE URBAN AREA THAT PRETTY MUCH ARE ALL FROM MONTGOMERY, PRINCE GEORGES, BALTIMORE CITY AREA. I BELIEVE THOSE ARE. THE COUNTY MAKEUP'S EASTERN SHORE DELEGATION HAS PUT FORTH LEGISLATION TO PUT A REQUIREMENT ON THE AIB THAT REPRESENTATION BE REQUIRED FROM CERTAIN GEOGRAPHIC REGIONS WITHIN THE STATE. THE BILL THAT IS IN FRONT OF OR THAT THE LETTER IN FRONT OF YOU REFERENCES THIS BILL. WHAT THEY'RE DOING IS IF THE LEGISLATION PASSES, ONE MEMBER SHALL BE A RESIDENT OF WESTERN MARYLAND. ONE RESIDENT SHALL BE OUR ONE MEMBER, SHALL BE A RESIDENT OF SOUTHERN MARYLAND. ONE MEMBER SHALL BE A RESIDENT OF THE EASTERN SHORE. AND THEN REPRESENTATION THEN WOULD COME FROM THE LARGEST POPULATED COUNTIES IN THE STATE, THE FIVE LARGEST. AND THAT'S HOW YOU WOULD COME UP WITH MEMBERS OF THE I'VE. AGAIN, THE LEGISLATION IS GOING FORTH. IT'S IN COMMITTEE NOW AND WILL BE DISCUSSED THURSDAY. AND WE HAD HAD A CONVERSATION WITH THE EASTERN SHORE DELEGATION ON FRIDAY WITH THE EASTERN SHORE SUPERINTENDENTS, AND THEY WERE ASKING FOR SOME SUPPORT REGARDING THIS BILL. AGAIN, IT'S OUR DELEGATION PUTTING IT FORWARD ON BEHALF OF NOT ONLY OUR COMMUNITY, BUT ALSO OUR SCHOOL SYSTEM AND ALL THE SCHOOL SYSTEMS, I'M SURE, AS WELL AS WESTERN, BUT LARGELY THIS CAME FROM DRIVEN FROM OUR FOLKS. AND I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT THAT WE DO SUPPORT LOCAL LEGISLATION THAT'S REALLY KEEPING THE BEST INTERESTS OF OUR SCHOOL SYSTEM AND OUR COMMUNITIES AT THE AT THE AT THE CENTER. SO AGAIN, YOU HAVE A COPY OF A DRAFT LETTER THAT WENT IN SUPPORTING THIS BILL THAT WILL GO IN ONE RECORD THAT CAROLINE KENNEDY DOES SUPPORT THIS MOVE. ANY QUESTIONS ON HOUSE BILL 633 OR MR. JAMES, YOU ANYTHING YOU WANT TO ADD AS WELL. I DO NOT HAVE ANYTHING REALLY TO ADD OTHER THAN THIS BILL WAS PUT IN BY OUR EASTERN SHORE DELEGATION AND I HAVE HEARD NO MENTION OF IT IN OUR LEGISLATIVE MEETINGS. I DID SEND AN EMAIL, WHICH WAS WHEN DR. SIMMONS MADE MENTION OF IT IN HIS SUPERINTENDENT REPORT SUNDAY. I ACTUALLY GAVE YOU A CALL YESTERDAY MORNING TO TRY TO FIGURE OUT IF THERE WAS ANYTHING I COULD DO DURING THAT SET DURING THAT MEETING YESTERDAY MORNING, WHICH I BASICALLY I RAN OUT OF TIME. I DID SEND AN EMAIL. I HAVEN'T GOT A RESPONSE BACK IN ABOUT IT AS FAR AS MAYBE SUPPORT, WHICH NOW IT WOULD BE [01:15:04] TOO LATE FOR ANYTHING THAT HAPPENED WITH THAT. BUT WE ARE GOING TO SEND OUR OWN. IT'S ALREADY THERE. YEAH, IT HAD TO BE VERY MUCH SO. WELL, HOPEFULLY FOR RURAL COUNTIES, IT'S YEAH, I WOULD LIKE TO THANK MR. JONES, TOO. IF HE GETS OUT OF THE WAYS AND MEANS COMMITTEE, I WOULD LIKE TO THINK IT WOULD. HOPEFULLY IT WOULD COULD. THEN WE CAN REVISIT AND TRY TO GET IT MADE TO SEE IF WE CAN GET THE LEGISLATIVE COMMITTEE TO RECOMMEND SUPPORTING IT OR AT LEAST TALK ABOUT YOU KNOW, THE STATE IS SO DIVERSE. OUR SCHOOL SYSTEMS ARE SO DIVERSE. THERE'S NO REASON I WOULD HOPE NOBODY WOULD BE AGAINST IT. IT'S JUST A REPRESENTATION OF REPRESENTATION THAT, YOU KNOW, IF IT'S CROSS FILED IN THE SENATE? IT IS. I FORGET THE SENATE BILL, BUT IT WAS GOOD NEWS. I WOULD NEED TO KNOW THAT, YEAH, NO, THE SENATOR WAS PART OF THAT CROSS BEFORE. I WOULD IMAGINE THAT REPRESENTATION IN SOUTHERN MARYLAND AND WESTERN MARYLAND WILL BE ON BOARD WITH US. I WOULD HOPE SO. THEY ARE FREQUENTLY FORGOTTEN, OR AT LEAST THEY FEEL THEY ARE. AND THAT'S WHAT YOU HEAR FROM THEM AND THEIR, YOU KNOW, THE GEOGRAPHY OF THE STATE IS SO DIVERSE THAT IT'S REALLY DIFFICULT TO UNDERSTAND IF YOU HAVEN'T BEEN THERE AND LIVED THERE. SO IT'S A GREAT BILL. I HOPE IT MAKES IT. SO THE SECOND BILL I HAD THAT I WANT TO MAKE BRING TO THE BOARD'S ATTENTION AND MAKE YOU AWARE OF. THERE'S A BILL THAT'S BEEN FILED ACTUALLY FEBRUARY 23RD. IT WAS FILED IN ITS HOUSE BILL 1450, WHICH I DO BELIEVE WILL BE AMENDED. HOUSE BILL 1450 IS BEING REQUESTED ACTUALLY BY THE AIB AND THIS IS THE FORMAL PROCESS AT THE ACCOUNTABILITY IMPLEMENTATION BOARD IS TAKING TO MODIFY TIMELINES THAT ARE WITHIN BLUEPRINT. SO THESE ARE THE TIMELINES THAT THERE'S NO WAY THE I'VE CAN MEET THE ORIGINAL TIMELINE. WHEN THE BILL WAS PASSED LAST YEAR, THE I'VE WERE WERE TO HAVE THEIR DRAFT PLAN TOGETHER BY FEBRUARY 15TH TO GO TO LOCAL SCHOOL SYSTEM OR TO GO TO THE STATE MSDE AND MSDE THEN WAS TO HAVE THEIRS. REMEMBER, OUR PLAN WAS DUE IN JUNE. THEY'VE HIRED AN EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR WHO WAS WORKING TO STAND UP THE ENTITY, BUT THAT'S AS FAR AS AIB HAS GONE AT THIS POINT. THERE'S NO WAY THEY CAN HIT THE TIMELINES. THE I'VE HAD TWO APPROACHES THEY COULD TAKE, ONE OF WHICH I WOULDN'T RECOMMEND, THOUGH THEY DIDN'T ASK ME, WHICH WOULD BE YOU JUST DON'T FOLLOW THE LAW, WHICH THEY COULD TAKE THAT APPROACH BECAUSE THEY WOULD BE ACCOUNTABLE TO THEMSELVES. OR YOU GO TO THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY AND ASK FOR LEGISLATION TO CHANGE THE TIMELINES. THAT'S WHAT THIS BILL DOES. IT MAKES THE TIMELINES MORE AMENABLE. WHAT THEY PROPOSED ARE THE TIMELINES THAT ACTUALLY THE I'VE DID PROPOSE ON THE MEETINGS THEY'D HAD. IT WOULD MOVE TO BACKWARD MAP IT. IT WOULD MOVE OUR PLAN. THAT WAS ORIGINALLY DUE IN JUNE TO BEING DUE MID-MARCH OF NEXT YEAR. MARCH OF TWENTY TWENTY THREE DOES MOVE THE TIMELINE. MSDE WOULD WORK WITH US WITH LOCAL SCHOOL SYSTEMS STARTING IN SEPTEMBER ONE OF TWENTY TWENTY TWO. TO HELP US PREPARE FOR THE PLAN THAT NEED TO BE SUBMITTED. THE AIB WOULD BE PUTTING OUT A DRAFT OF WHAT THEIR PLAN IS GOING TO LOOK LIKE BY OCTOBER ONE. SO WE WOULD HAVE PLENTY OF TIME TO MAKE SURE THAT OUR LOCAL PLAN DOES MEET THOSE REQUIREMENTS. THERE IS ONE AMENDMENT THAT I DO BELIEVE IS GOING TO BE ADDED TO THIS, AND I WANT TO MAKE OUR BOARD AWARE. AND THIS CAME AFTER THE I'VE MEETING, WHICH TOOK PLACE YESTERDAY AFTERNOON. ALL THE TIMELINES WERE ADJUSTED IN THIS BILL, EXCEPT FOR THE COLLEGE AND CAREER READINESS PATHWAYS COMPONENT OF BLUEPRINT. YESTERDAY, THE STATE SUPERINTENDENT SPOKE TO THE AIB AND IT DOES APPEAR AT THE END OF THAT MEETING THAT STATE SUPERINTENDENT HAS CONVINCED THE I'VE THAT THAT TIMELINE SHOULD BE ADJUSTED WITH EVERYTHING ELSE AS WELL. AND IT DOES MAKE SENSE. WE SHOULD BE PUTTING OUR PLAN IN PLACE. WE SHOULD HAVE STRUCTURES IN PLACE FOR HOW WE'RE GOING TO WORK WITH KIDS WHO ARE NOT COLLEGE AND CAREER READY AFTER WE KNOW WHO'S NOT COLLEGE AND CAREER READY. WE'VE NOT HAD FULL CAP HAS NOT ACTUALLY BEEN ADMINISTERED YET. IT WON'T BE UNTIL THE SPRING OF THIS YEAR. THE FALL ONE WAS A MODIFIED TEST, SO WE WON'T REALLY KNOW OUR STARTING POINT UNTIL THE TEST IS GIVEN IN MARCH, WHICH MARCH APRIL. WE KNOW THE TIMELINES. TYPICALLY, YOU DON'T GET STATE TEST RESULTS THE NEXT DAY. IT'LL BE AT SOME POINT IN THE SUMMER, WE'LL START GETTING DATA IN. PROBABLY THE FALL IN ALL REALITY BECAUSE IT'S THE FIRST TIME THROUGH. IT'S HARD FOR US TO IMPLEMENT A MINI PROGRAM TO START NEXT SCHOOL YEAR, WHICH WAS ORIGINALLY IN THE LEGISLATION WITHOUT HAVING THE DATA TO BE ABLE TO BACK IT UP AND THEN US TO BE ABLE TO STAFF UP OR BUILD UP PROGRAMING, BUT THEN SUPPORTS SOMETHING WE DON'T KNOW WE'RE TRYING TO BUILD UP TO YET. SO THE STATE, I BELIEVE, WAS SUCCESSFUL AND THERE WILL BE AN AMENDMENT MADE TO THIS TO [01:20:01] CHANGE THE TIMELINE ON THE COLLEGE READINESS PATHWAYS COMPONENT, NOT TO BORE THE BOARD. THERE'S A CTE PATHWAY COMPONENT AS WELL. IT ACTUALLY PUTS THOSE TWO ON THE SAME TIMELINE. THE ORIGINAL LEGISLATION HAD THEM ABOUT A YEAR APART. THIS WOULD PUT THEM BOTH AT THE SAME TIME, WHICH MAKES SENSE IF YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT HIGH SCHOOL KIDS AND ACCESS TO PROGRAMING, THEY BOTH SHOULD BE STARTING AT THE SAME TIME. AT LEAST FROM A PROGRAMING STANDPOINT, SO THIS BILL IS VERY NEW. BUT I BELIEVE THE AMENDMENT IS GOING TO COME, THE BILL IS GOING TO GO THROUGH. BUT I KNOW THE TIMELINES ARE IMPORTANT AS WE'RE TRYING TO WORK THROUGH ALL OF THE IMPLEMENTATION PIECES OF BLUEPRINT AS WE TALK BUDGET IN FUTURE MONTHS. WE'RE PROBABLY GOING TO GET A REPRIEVE ON TIMELINES, WHICH IS WHAT WE'VE REALLY NEEDED. SO THEY GET, YOU KNOW, IT'S EASY FOR THEM TO ASK FOR THAT, I GUESS, IS AS PAZAN OR MAYBE IF WE HEARD OF POSITIONS OR ARE THEY SUPPORTING THAT REQUEST? I'VE NOT HEARD OF MAVIS PAZAN WILL BE. I BELIEVE THEY ARE. I DID. I DID HEAR THAT. THEY FEEL THAT. SO THAT ONE HAS A REALLY GOOD CHANCE OF. OK, VERY GOOD. I CAN'T I MAY BE WRONG. I HAVE TO LOOK BACK ON SOME MOMENT BACK ON THE PRESENTATION. WE HAVE OUR NEXT MEETING FRIDAY, SO I WILL OFFICIALLY HERE, BUT PRELIMINARILY 100 PERCENT SUPPORTING CHANGING THE TIMELINES. AND WE'VE BEEN HOPING FOR THAT. THOSE WERE THE TWO MAIN ONES. I REALLY WANTED TO MAKE SURE THE BOARD WAS AWARE OF AT THIS POINT IN TIME. MR. JONES MAY BRING UP ANY THESE OR ANY OF THE OTHERS THAT CAUGHT YOUR INTEREST. THERE ARE SOME INTERESTING BILLS. THERE'S SO MANY. UM. THINK ABOUT A FEW LOOK HERE. JUST ANYTHING WE THOUGHT WE SHOULD BE. WELL, ANYTHING WE SHOULD BE CONCERNED ABOUT POSITIVELY OR NEGATIVELY, I GUESS I SHOULD SAY THERE IS A BILL. I'M LOOKING AT MY NOTES. THERE'S THERE'S A BILL SB 617. I DON'T KNOW WHAT THE LIKELIHOOD OF IT PASSING IS, BUT IT HAS TO DO WITH THE END RESULT WOULD BE IT WOULD AS A SCHOOL SYSTEM, WE WOULD HAVE TO HAVE A IT HAS TO DO WITH DIGITAL EQUIPMENT AND WE WOULD HAVE TO HAVE A COMPLIANCE OFFICER, A 508 COMPLIANCE OFFICER. I DON'T KNOW IF WE HAVE SOMEBODY THAT'S TRAINED IN THAT, BUT WE WOULD HAVE TO HAVE SOMEONE TO TO BE ABLE. WE WOULD HAVE TO. IT HAS TO DO WITH USING CERTAIN, LIKE CERTAIN TYPES OF EQUIPMENT, DIGITAL EQUIPMENT, AND IT HAS TO BE APPROVED. SO IT CAN EITHER BE THEY WERE ASKING IF THERE WAS GOING TO BE A LIST OF WHAT EQUIPMENT WAS APPROVED. AT THIS POINT, THERE'S NOT, BUT EACH SCHOOL SYSTEM WOULD HAVE TO HAVE A SOMEONE TRAINED SOMEONE IN PROBABLY THE TECH DEPARTMENT IS WHAT THEY WERE SAYING AND IT COULD BE A THEY DIDN'T NECESSARILY SAY IT HAS TO BE A FULL TIME POSITION, BUT IT MAY BE SOMETHING THAT GETS ADDED TO SOMEONE'S SOMEONE'S PLATE TO BE ABLE TO RATE THESE. LIKE I SAID, I DON'T I DON'T REMEMBER WHAT THEY SAID AS FAR AS LIKELIHOOD OR HOW MUCH STATEMENTS GO HIDE BEHIND IT. BUT THAT WAS A HOUSE BILL 547 SENATE BILL 617. LOOK, HERE THERE WAS. ANYBODY KNOW WHAT A 508 COMPLIANCE OFFICER IS. I DON'T KNOW. IT'S A PERSON THAT CAN FROM WHAT I FROM WHAT I GATHER, IT'S A PERSON THAT'S TRAINED AND CAN TELL YOU IF THE BASICALLY FIGURE OUT IF YOUR DIGITAL DEVICE FITS WHATEVER, WHATEVER LITTLE HOLE IT'S GOT TO FIT INTO. IF IT'S A SQUARE PEG OR A ROUND PEG, I GUESS IF IT DOESN'T FIT, I DON'T. I DON'T KNOW. I REALLY DON'T KNOW. AND I'M NOT. I REALLY DON'T. IT'S SOME OF THE STUFF IS JUST, YOU KNOW, YOU'RE TOLD YOU HAVE TO USE PROBABLY HAS SOMETHING TO DO WITH IT OR SOMETHING. YOU HAVE TO USE RED SHOESTRINGS. AND YEAH, BUT THIS IS AN OFFICER THAT'S GOING TO TELL YOU YOUR SHOE STRINGS ARE RED OR. WHAT WAS THE NUMBER ON THAT ONE AGAIN, MR. JONES? JUST I DON'T HAVE IT IN MY NOTES, BUT IT'S WHAT I'LL LOOK INTO AND SEE SB 617, HB 547. I MAY HAVE ANOTHER ONE HERE THAT I HAD A QUESTION MARK NEXT TO THE EXAMPLE OF AN UNFUNDED MANDATE. SOUNDS LIKE, YOU KNOW, TO A POINT. I HAD SPOKE OF THIS ONE EARLIER AND I DON'T KNOW WHAT THE LIKELIHOOD OF THIS IS, BUT THERE'S A BILL HB 686 AND MAYBE DOES OPPOSE THIS ONE. BUT IT'S ABOUT CARBON DIOXIDE MONITORS IN SCHOOLS, AND THIS BILL WILL REQUIRE A BIANNUAL INSPECTION FOR CARBON DIOXIDE. IT WOULD ALSO OUR SCHOOLS WOULD HAVE TO ESTABLISH AN AIR QUALITY PLAN. IT HAS TO DO WITH CARBON DIOXIDE MONITORING AND IN THIS BILL, IT ALSO THERE'S NO MONEY FOR REMEDIATION OF WHATEVER THE PROBLEM IS, BUT YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE TO HAVE A PLAN FOR [01:25:02] FIGURING OUT THE PROBLEM AND FIXING THE PROBLEM. AND I BELIEVE IT'S WITHIN A YEAR OF FINDING THE PROBLEM. I GUESS ON THE WESTERN SHORE, THERE HAVE BEEN SOME STUDENTS SENT TO SCHOOL WITH CARBON DIOXIDE DETECTORS TO DO CLANDESTINE CARBON DIOXIDE MONITORING OF THEIR SCHOOLS. THE SCIENCE PROJECT SOME SOME PARENTS ARE CONCERNED THAT THEIR KIDS MAY BE BREATHING AIR, THAT ANOTHER STUDENTS BREATHE OUT. SO AND OTHER THINGS ARE SO. YEAH. NO, NO MENTION OF. OUR HVAC SYSTEMS HAVE TO RUN WITH SO MUCH FRESH AIR COMING IN. COVID HAS MADE US SUPER AWARE OF A LOT OF THINGS WITH FRESH AIR DOESN'T TAKE PLACE. NO, SO OFTEN THAT'S THE DEAL WITH THIS BILL IS IS THAT FROM WHAT I HEAR, [INAUDIBLE] DOES NOT SUPPORT IT. IT DOES NOT CONNECT THE DOTS BETWEEN THE IDENTIFICATION OF THE PROBLEM AND THE SOLUTION, WHICH IS MONEY. THERE'S NO MONEY FOR THE SOLUTION. MONTGOMERY COUNTY SUPPORTS THAT BILL. AND ONE MORE THAT YOU MAY WANT TO LOOK AT HB 1231. IT HAS TO DO WITH HAVING A CERTIFIED. FOR CERTIFIED HEALTH PROFESSIONALS TO GET BLUEPRINT FUNDS, BUT PART OF THE ISSUE IS THAT IT KIND OF ESTABLISHES A SCHOOL HEALTH PROGRAM, WHICH THEN OPENS IT UP TO COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AND CREATES A CAREER LADDER FOR THOSE INDIVIDUALS IT WOULD OPEN IT UP TO THE END GOAL IS TO OPEN IT UP TO BLUEPRINT FUNDS FOR FOUR HEALTH OFFICERS, WHICH ARE NURSES. YES, NURSES. IT ALSO WOULD INCLUDE SCHOOL PSYCHOLOGISTS. I BELIEVE WE'RE IN THAT LIST, AND I CAN'T REMEMBER IF THAT WAS WHEN THERE WAS SIX OR EIGHT DIFFERENT THINGS. BUT THE ONLY PROBLEM IS IS THAT NOW THAT BECOMES A SEPARATE COLLECTIVE BARGAINING UNIT. SO YEAH, AND THERE'S SOME ISSUES WITH THAT BILL. WITH SOME OF THE SCHOOL SYSTEMS, NURSES ARE PROVIDED BY THE LOCAL HEALTH DEPARTMENTS VERSUS IT'S KIND OF ABOUT A NOT QUITE A 50-50 MIX, BUT WHERE OUR EMPLOYEES AND EVEN OUR NEIGHBORING COUNTY TO THE. EAST, OUR HEALTH DEPARTMENT NURSES, IT CREATES SOME CHALLENGES ASSOCIATED WITH THAT ONE. NO, I AM AWARE OF THAT BILL. YES. HB 136. I BELIEVE THAT'S THE ONE. THIS IS A DIFFERENT ONE. I BELIEVE THAT'S THE ONE WHERE EACH OF OUR SCHOOLS IS GOING TO HAVE TO HAVE AT LEAST. I THINK IT'S ONE TRAINED PERSON FOR SEIZURES. I DON'T THINK IT'S STILL I THINK IT'S ONLY I THINK IT'S ONE SCHOOL BILL. THEY'RE ON IT. YEAH, BUT THAT'S H.B. 136. I THINK THAT ONE'S BEEN AROUND A COUPLE OF YEARS. SO IT HAS A HISTORY AND IT HAS A HISTORY IN ALL LIKELIHOOD. AND THEN HB 1255, WHICH DEALS WITH RESTRAINT, SECLUSION, AND THIS ONE HAS A LOT OF STEAM BEHIND IT. SO WE'RE WE'RE MONITORING THAT VERY CLOSELY. THAT'S A BIG ONE. THAT'S BEEN THAT'S BEEN UNDER DISCUSSION. EVERY AT LEAST IT'S BEEN ON THE LIST, EVERY EVERY MEETING SINCE PROBABLY SINCE I STARTED PUBLIC SCHOOLS, PRIVATE SCHOOLS, EVERYBODY IS KEEPING A REALLY CLOSE EYE ON THAT BILL. APPRECIATE YOU SITTING IN ON THAT CONFERENCE CALL, MARK. A LOT OF THINGS TO KEEP TRACK OF, SOME OF THEM ARE GREAT IDEAS, BUT WITHOUT THE PROPER FUNDING, YOU KNOW, IT MAKES IT HARD, MAKES IT DIFFICULT. ALL RIGHT. MOVING ON REPORTS AND PRESENTATIONS. OBVIOUSLY, THERE'S BEEN A BIG CHANGE LAST WEEK AND MASKING, AND WE THOUGHT WE SHOULD HAVE A SHORT DISCUSSION OF IT THIS EVENING. CERTAINLY, TO GIVE A BRIEF TIMELINE. OBVIOUSLY, WE WERE AWARE THE STATE BOARD WOULD BE HAVING A DISCUSSION ABOUT MASKING, AND THIS BOARD MADE A DECISION TO SUBMIT A LETTER TO THE STATE BOARD IN SUPPORT OF GOVERNOR HOGAN'S REQUEST ABOUT RESCINDING THE MASK MANDATE AND PASSING IT BACK TO LOCALS. AS WE'VE ALREADY TALKED ABOUT, THAT DECISION WAS MADE BY THE STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION. THEY VOTED 12-2 TO REPEAL THAT TIMELINE AND SENT IT BACK TO THE LOCALS THAT NEEDED TO GO TO THE AELR ADMINISTRATIVE EXECUTIVE LEGISLATIVE REVIEW COMMITTEE, WHICH IS A JOINT COMMITTEE. THAT HEARING TOOK A WHILE. HEARING TOOK WAS A LONG COMMITTEE HEARING. THE INTERESTING COMPONENT WHILE THAT COMMITTEE WAS HEARING OR WAS DOING ITS WORK. IT STARTED AT 2:30. THANK YOU. AT THREE O'CLOCK THAT DAY, I RECEIVED AN INVITATION TO PARTICIPATE IN A NATIONWIDE PRESS CONFERENCE WITH THE CDC, AT WHICH POINT AT THREE O'CLOCK THE CDC [01:30:04] UPDATING THEIR GUIDANCE AS IT RELATES TO UNIVERSAL MASKING. AND THEY WERE DISCUSSING THEIR CHANGES THAT WILL BE COMING FROM THE CDC'S LENS OF HOW THEY'RE LOOKING AT, RESPONDING TO AND MOVING FORWARD WITH LIFE IN THE COVID WORLD. SO ONE OF THE THINGS THAT THEY ANNOUNCED ON THE CALL WAS THE CDC WAS CHANGING THE WAY THAT THEY WERE LOOKING AT SPREAD WITHIN A COMMUNITY AND THEY WERE MOVING THEIR CONVERSATION. AND WE'LL GET TO THAT ON THE NEXT SLIDE. WE CAN HOLD THIS ONE A LITTLE BIT LONGER. LET'S OK. THEY WERE CHANGING THE WAY THEY WERE LOOKING AT LOOKING AT COVID IN THE COMMUNITY AND FROM THE STANDPOINT OF TO USE THE WORDS THAT HAVE BEEN USED BY GOVERNOR HOGAN AND OTHER ELECTED OFFICIALS. AT SOME POINT, AS A COUNTRY AND AS A COMMUNITY, WE HAVE TO REALIZE THAT COVID IS GOING TO BE WITH US, PROBABLY FOREVER. COVID VIRUSES HAVE ALWAYS BEEN WITH US, AND THIS VERSION OF COVID 19 WILL PROBABLY BE WITH US FOREVER AND DIFFERENT VARIANTS. SO HOW DO WE LIVE WITH. WORDING WE'RE ABLE TO USE. AND WITH THAT, THEY CHANGE THE METRICS BY WHICH THEY'RE VIEWING COMMUNITIES AND THE COMMUNITY RESPONSE TO COVID. SO THEY'VE MOVED AWAY FROM A STRICTLY CASE COUNT APPROACH, WHICH WAS POSITIVITY RATE OVER SEVEN DAYS AND THE NUMBER OF CASES PER 100000 OVER A SEVEN DAY PERIOD, WHICH UNDER THOSE RATINGS, CAROLINE COUNTY WAS COMING UP AS HIGH. AND ACTUALLY, THE OVERWHELMING MAJORITY OF THE COUNTRY WAS COMING UP AS HIGH FOR THE LEVEL OF SPREADS. BUT THEY COUNTERED THAT WITH THE FACT THEY WERE NOT SEEING A BURDEN OR TAXING OF THE HEALTH CARE SYSTEM, WHICH IS WHAT THEIR CONCERN WAS AS WELL. SO THEY CHANGED THEIR METRICS TO INCLUDE BASICALLY THE IMPACT ON HOSPITALS. AND WITH THOSE NEW METRICS LITERALLY THE SAME TIME THE AELR IS MEETING BEFORE THEY EVEN GOT THEIR VOTE DONE. THE CDC ANNOUNCED NEW METRICS THAT CAROLINE COUNTY AND I BELIEVE IT WAS ALMOST 60 PERCENT OF THE COUNTRY MOVED FROM BEING IN A HIGH UNDER THE OLD STANDARD TO A LOW UNDER THE NEW STANDARD BECAUSE THERE'S NOT THE IMPACT ON OUR HOSPITALS LOCALLY. SO WITH THOSE TWO THINGS COMBINED LED THE DECISION THAT I MADE, AND I APPRECIATE THE BOARD FOR SUPPORT IN THAT. BUT THE DECISION TO MOVE TO MASK OPTIONAL AS OF MONDAY WAS FOR THE AELR DID VOTE TO UPHOLD THE STATE BOARD'S DECISION, WHICH WAS AS OF MARCH 1ST, WHEN THE STATE BOARD MADE THEIR VOTE AND MADE THEIR DECISION. THEY WERE NOT AWARE OF THE CDC CHANGE AT THE SAME TIME WHEN THE AELR WAS MEETING. I REALLY DON'T THINK THEY WERE LISTENING TO THE CDC'S PRESS CONFERENCE AT THE SAME EXACT TIME. THERE'S NO WAY THEY COULD HAVE. THEY WERE VERY ATTENTIVE TO THOSE WHO SPOKE BEFORE THEM, LITERALLY THAT CHANGE THE CALCULUS IN THE LANDSCAPE OVERNIGHT FOR THE COUNTRY AND ALSO FOR CAROLINE COUNTY. SO WE MADE THE DECISION TO MOVE TO MASK OPTIONAL. WE DID SEND OUT A MESSAGE ON FRIDAY, JUST ABOUT 4:30. I BELIEVE LETTING FOLKS KNOW WE WERE MOVING TO MASK OPTIONAL AND TRYING TO EXPLAIN THE WHY WE HAD TO SEND OUT ANOTHER MESSAGE WITHIN FIVE MINUTES, AND I APOLOGIZE FOR THE DOUBLE MESSAGE FOR THOSE GOING TO BE WATCHING FROM HOME. BUT THE INTERESTING PIECE WAS OUR ORIGINAL MESSAGE THE CDC HADN'T UPDATED THEIR GUIDANCE ON THE WEBSITE. AS OF TODAY, IT STILL WASN'T UPDATED, YOU HAD TO DIG TO FIND IF YOU EVER TRIED TO FIND ANYTHING ON THE CDC WEBSITE, THEY COULD TAKE A PAGE FROM OUR WELL, FROM MANY OF OUR YOUTH WHO CAN PROBABLY NAVIGATE AND CREATE BETTER WEBSITES THAN THEY HAVE. BUT WE FOUND OUT LITERALLY WITHIN FIVE MINUTES OF SENDING SENDING THIS OUT AND ACTUALLY THANKFULLY TO A GROUP I BELONG TO NATIONALLY. THAT'S HOW I GOT NOTIFICATION THAT THE SCHOOL BUS PIECE HAD BEEN RESCINDED AND I WAS ABLE TO GO LOOK TO FIND THE GUIDANCE WITHIN THE CDC DOCUMENT. THE CDC HAS MAINTAINED THEIR REQUIREMENT FOR MASKING ON TRANSPORTATION, BUT THEY DID A CARVE OUT FOR SCHOOL BUSSES FOR PUBLIC SCHOOLS, PRIVATE SCHOOLS AND CHILD DAYCARE CENTERS. SO THAT IS WHAT PROVOKED IF PARENTS ARE WONDERING WHY THEY GOT TWO MESSAGES OR STAFF WERE WONDERING THAT WAS WHY THE SCHOOL BUS PIECE CHANGED. I'M VERY THANKFUL IT DID, BECAUSE IT WOULD HAVE MADE THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN AN EXTRA CHALLENGE, AN EXTRA LAYER OF FRUSTRATION MONDAY OF STUDENTS THINKING WE DON'T HAVE TO WEAR MASKS AND THE BUS DRIVERS TRYING TO MANAGE DRIVING THAT THING DOWN THE ROAD WITH 40-50 KIDS ON THERE AT THE SAME TIME, WITH KIDS ARGUING OVER DO I HAVE TO WEAR A MASK OR NOT WEAR A MASK? SO IT HELPED US TO BE ABLE TO GET THAT CLEARED UP AND GET IT OUT TO OUR FAMILIES. SO IF YOU GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE, RACHEL, THIS JUST GIVES THE BOARD OF SORT OF THE NEW CHART, IF YOU WILL, OF WHAT THE CDC IS USING FOR GUIDANCE. AND I'M NOT GOING TO PROFESS TO BE AN EXPERT IN IT. ALL I KNOW IS WE'RE IN THE GREEN TO OVERSIMPLIFY. [01:35:01] BUT IF YOU DO LOOK ON THE LEFT, IF YOU'RE TRYING TO TRACK, WE DID ADD THE WIDGET THAT CDC HAS CREATED THAT ANYBODY CAN GO TO OUR WEB PAGE AND ON OUR WEBSITE WHERE YOU CAN FIND THE COVID COUNTS FOR THE WEEK. WE'VE ADDED THE WIDGET SO YOU CAN GO THERE ANY TIME AND SEE WHAT THE COMMUNITY TRANSMISSION RATE IS IN CAROLINE COUNTY, I BELIEVE CAROLINE COVID 19 HAS ADDED THAT TO THEIR WEBSITE AS WELL, SO THE WIDGET IS IN TWO DIFFERENT PLACES. AGAIN, IT'S ON OUR WEBSITE. IT'S ALSO IN THE COUNTY'S COVID RESPONSE WEBSITE. SO ANYBODY IN THE COMMUNITY CAN FIND IT BECAUSE IT CAN BE A PAIN TO FIND IT ON THEIR SITE. IF YOU LOOK DOWN THE LEFT HAND COLUMN, THAT REALLY IS HOW MANY PEOPLE WITHIN THIS COUNTY HAVE COVID IN THE LAST SEVEN DAYS. WE'RE A COUNTY OF ROUGHLY SIMPLE MATH THIRTY THREE THOUSAND PEOPLE. SO WHATEVER THE NUMBER OF CASES IS, MULTIPLY IT BY THREE GIVES YOU THE NUMBER OF CASES PER HUNDRED THOUSAND. AND IF WE'RE OVER TWO HUNDRED CASES WITHIN A WEEK, THEN WE'RE MOVING INTO MEDIUM OR HIGH. AS LONG AS WE'RE UNDER TWO HUNDRED, SO TWO HUNDRED DIVIDED BY THREE, AS LONG AS WE'RE UNDER ATTACK FOR OUR COUNTY, IT'S AT 60 SOME CASES WITHIN A SEVEN DAY PERIOD, WE'RE GOING TO REMAIN IN LOW. AND THEN YOU START LOOKING AT, DO THOSE CASES HAVE AN IMPACT ON THE HOSPITALS? AND IF THEY DO, THEN YOU START MOVING TO MEDIUM AND HIGH FOR A SCHOOL SYSTEM UNDER THE NEW GUIDANCE, UNIVERSAL MASKING KICKS IN AT HIGH. UNDER THE NEW MEASURES, UNDER THE CURRENT STRUCTURE THAT IS THERE, IF YOU'RE LOW OR MEDIUM, UNIVERSAL MASKING DOES NOT GO IN PLACE NOT JUST IN SCHOOLS, BUT ALSO INDOORS. IF WE MOVE TO HIGH, THAT'S WHEN THE CDC WILL BE RECOMMENDING THAT WE WOULD BE GOING TO UNIVERSAL MASKING AND AT THAT POINT IN TIME, HOPE WE DON'T SEE IT BY ANY MEANS, OF COURSE. OBVIOUSLY, WE WOULD BE HAVING MANY CONVERSATIONS AND THINGS WOULD BE CHANGING IN DAILY LIFE, OBVIOUSLY, IF WE'RE SEEING HOSPITALS OVERWHELMED WITH CASES TIED TO THIS DIRECTLY. THAT'S WHAT LED TO OUR OVERALL DECISION TO MOVE FORWARD WITH WITH THE MASKING PIECE AND DELAYING MASK OPTIONAL. WE'VE TRIED TO BE SMART ABOUT IT AND WE'LL CONTINUE TO BE AND I UNDERSTAND THAT IT'S A. PERSONAL AND HOT DECISION FOR LOTS OF FOLKS AND HAS BEEN OVER THE MONTHS. I APPRECIATE EVERYBODY'S PATIENCE AS WE'VE WORKED THROUGH IT. I UNDERSTAND HOW MANY PEOPLE DON'T LIKE IT. I FOR ONE PAGE WEARING THE DANG-ON THING, ESPECIALLY IT DEFINITELY GOT THAT WAY. BUT I APPRECIATE EVERYBODY'S PATIENCE AND WORKING THROUGH IT AS WE PROGRESSED. AND HOPEFULLY WE'RE AT A POINT. AND WITH THIS NEW GUIDANCE, IT REALLY DOES HELP US THAT WE'VE MADE GOOD DECISIONS GOING FORWARD OR WE WILL CONTINUE TO MAKE GOOD DECISIONS GOING FORWARD. I DON'T WANT TO MISS JUST HIGHLIGHTING ONE INDIVIDUAL AGAIN, AS WE TALKED ABOUT BEFORE. ROBIN K. HALL WITH THE HEALTH DEPARTMENT HAS BEEN AN ABSOLUTE GODSEND WORKING THROUGH THIS. ROBIN WAS THE ONE WHO REACHED OUT RIGHT AWAY AS SOON AS SHE HEARD THE CDC GUIDANCE WAS COMING AND IT WAS BEING CHANGED. DIDN'T KNOW WHAT THE CHANGE WAS, BUT YOU NEED TO BE ON HERE. WE NEED TO BE LISTENING IN. ROBIN HAS BEEN AN ABSOLUTE GODSEND, A GREAT PARTNER WORKING THROUGH THIS NOT ONLY FROM THE COUNTY LEVEL, BUT FOR THE SCHOOL SYSTEM. IT'S BEEN ABSOLUTELY PHENOMENAL AND WONDERFUL. AND IT'S HELPED THROUGH THIS PROCESS. ANY QUESTIONS? YEAH. COULD YOU BE LIKE LOW IN ONE AREA AND MEDIUM OR HIGH AND THE OTHER ERIN COULD BE FROM? FROM MY UNDERSTANDING OF THE WAY YOU DESCRIBED IT IS YOU CAN'T AS LONG AS YOUR CASES ARE UNDER THE TWO HUNDRED, YOU'LL LIKELY BE IN THE LOW. AND IF YOU'RE I BELIEVE IF YOU'RE GOING INTO A HIGHER LEVEL, THEY WILL MOVE YOU TO THE HIGHER LEVEL, LIKE IF YOU TRIGGER SOMETHING THAT GOES THERE, LIKE, SAY, YOUR CASE RATES LOWER, BUT YOUR HOSPITALIZATIONS ARE GOING UP, THEY'RE GOING TO PUSH IT TO THE HIGHER LEVEL ONE TO ONE AS OPPOSED TO KEEPING YOU DOWN LOW. IT'S NOT LIKE TWO OF THREE IF YOU HIT ONE OF THEM IN THOSE AREAS. FROM MY UNDERSTANDING, YOU THEN FALL TO THE UPPER LEVEL AND RIDGELY WITH ALL THESE HOME TEST KITS OUT. THIS IS JUST BASED ON THIS REPORT. YES. YEAH, I MEAN, THE TESTING POSITIVE RATE I BELIEVE IN MARYLAND TODAY WAS TWO POINT SOMETHING IN CAROLINE COUNTY WAS ONE POINT SOMETHING. AND HOME TEST KITS, I THINK, ARE HAVING A BIG IMPACT ON THE POSITIVITY RATE BECAUSE MOST PEOPLE MAKE ASSUMPTIONS FOR. BUT I KNOW THOSE SOME INDIVIDUALS AND IT'S A FAIR ASSUMPTION THAT IT'S AN EXTRA STEP, IT'S A PAIN IN THE BUTT. I'VE DONE A HOME TEST BEFORE AND I HATE A QR CODE. I DO. I DON'T KNOW IF IT'S AN AGE THING, BUT I SURE AS HECK CAN'T GET THEM TO WORK MORE OFTEN THAN NOT. AND FOR A HOME TEST I TOOK AFTER ABOUT 10 TRIES OF TRYING TO GET IT TO [01:40:04] WORK, I'VE WAS READY TO SAY DONE. WE HAD A CHILD WHO COULD GET IT, BUT I COULDN'T GET IT TO WORK, TO BE ABLE TO UPLOAD MY RESULTS RIGHT? AND I WAS FRUSTRATED, READY TO GIVE UP. YEAH, I'M PROUD. LIKE MY PHONE. YOU CAN FIND ONE IN THE SMITHSONIAN. THANK YOU, DR. SIMMONS. CRAZY ABRACADABRA FROM HIGH TO LOW AND AND HOPEFULLY EVERYBODY CAN STAY HEALTHY. ANY QUESTIONS FOR ME? I JUST THINK IT'S FAIR TO SAY THAT UNDER DR. SIMMON'S LEADERSHIP. BUT THE STAFF AND HE REFERENCED ROBIN'S WORK AND JUST EVERYBODY INVOLVED JUST DONE AS GOOD A JOB AS THEY CAN DO IN SUCH A DIFFICULT SITUATION. IT'S FAR FROM DONE TO HELP THE NUMBERS STAY WHERE THEY ARE. THE REALLY, I DON'T KNOW WHAT ELSE COULD HAVE BEEN DONE DIFFERENT, BETTER. I'M SURE THERE'S THINGS ALONG THE WAY. WE ALL KNOW THERE'S THINGS ALONG THE WAY AND NOBODY HAD, YOU KNOW, YOU CAN'T OPERATE WITH HINDSIGHT. YOU HAVE TO OPERATE IN THE PRESENT AND THE BEST YOU CAN IN THE FUTURE. BUT LOOK BACK TO AUGUST FROM WHAT WE WERE DEALING WITH, AND THIS HAS BEEN A LONG HAUL. IT'S BEEN ALMOST TWO YEARS AND COUPLE OF WEEKS, EVERY TWO YEARS TO THE DAY, AND IT'S AN AMAZING CHALLENGE. SO I JUST WANT TO COMPLIMENT MYSELF AND YOUR ENTIRE TEAM TEAM EFFORT THAT CAN USE THE NURSES. YEAH, YEAH. SINGLING PEOPLE OUT. IT'S NOT RIGHT BECAUSE EVERYBODY, YOU KNOW, FROM TOP TO BOTTOM IN THE STRUCTURE, WE KNOW THE IT PEOPLE HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH THIS BEING SUCCESSFUL AND THE WORKLOAD ON THAT INCREDIBLE TRANSPORTATION PEOPLE. THERE HAVE BEEN LOTS OF FITS AND STARTS AND PROBLEMS AND UNKNOWNS. JUST AMAZING. JUST AMAZING. AND THE LEARNING LOSS PART GOES ON FOR WHO KNOWS HOW LONG WE'RE WORKING THROUGH IT. AND EVERY SYSTEM HAS HAD THESE ISSUES. AND I'D LIKE TO THINK THAT EVERY DISTRICT AND EVERY SYSTEM HAS DONE A GREAT JOB WITH IT TOO. WE DON'T KNOW. I DON'T KNOW ABOUT ALL THAT YOU MIGHT, BUT I JUST THINK WE CAN'T LET THIS MILESTONE PASS WITHOUT SOME FAIR CELEBRATION HERE. AND NOT JUST, YOU KNOW, THE MASTODON. WHEN I SAID EARLIER TODAY, THE TAKEAWAY IS THAT THE TAKING AWAY DON'T TURN THEM YET BECAUSE THERE ARE PLACES THAT NEED TO WEAR THEM, BUT AND PEOPLE WHO WANT TO WEAR THEM. I APPLAUD THEIR EARLIER COMMENT THAT, YEAH, WE HAVE TO TREAT THOSE PEOPLE WITH RESPECT AND UNDERSTANDING, AND THINGS HAVEN'T CHANGED THAT MUCH AND THEY STILL NEED. SO AGAIN, MY COMPLIMENTS. MUCH APPRECIATED. WE GOT TO COMPLIMENT BETH BREWSTER IN THE FOOD BECAUSE THEY NEVER CLOSED. EVER THEY WERE GIVING FOOD OUT. YEAH. DO THE WHOLE THING. AND THEY DIDN'T GET THE SUMMER OFF. THEY DIDN'T KNOW WHAT WAS GOING ON. YET THEY KEPT COMING IN AND MAKING SURE THE STUDENTS OF CAROLINE COUNTY HAD FOOD. AND SO, I MEAN, IT'S HUGE KUDOS TO TO BETH AND ALL OF THE FOOD SERVICE WORKERS. AND OF COURSE, WE DON'T FORGET THE STUDENTS, ONE WHO'S SITTING HERE RIGHT WITH US. WHAT THEY HAVE ENDURED IS JUST AMAZING, AND THEY'VE DONE AN INCREDIBLY GOOD JOB WEATHERING THIS AND BEING FLEXIBLE AND MAKING IT WORK. AND THEY'RE GOING TO ALWAYS HAVE THE STORY, YOU KNOW, AND I KNOW THEY'RE IN SCHOOL. YOU THINK YOU HAD IT ROUGH? I MEAN, MY DAD USED TO TELL ME STORIES ABOUT WALKING TO SCHOOL UPHILL BOTH WAYS AND A FOOT OF SNOW. AND YOU GREW UP IN UPSTATE NEW YORK. YEAH. WELL, GUESS WHAT? YOU GUYS ARE GOING TO HAVE AN AMAZING STORY TO TELL. I'M GLAD YOU GET TO IN YOUR CASE AND GLAD YOU GET TO FINISH OUT YOUR YEAR OF SEEING EVERYBODY'S FACE AND GETTING A LITTLE CLOSER TO NORMAL. BUT WHAT AN EXPERIENCE AND ALL THE THINGS THAT ARE BAD ABOUT IT. YOU KNOW, THE OLD ADAGE ABOUT WHAT DOESN'T KILL YOU MAKES YOU STRONGER? WELL, COVID CERTAINLY TOOK A LOT OF WONDERFUL PEOPLE AWAY FROM US FOR THOSE WHO HAVE ENDURED THIS. MAYBE IT'S ONE OF THOSE THINGS THAT HAVE MADE ME STRONGER, MORE RESILIENT FROM A MANAGEMENT LEADERSHIP AND PARTICIPATION POINT OF VIEW. A LOT OF LESSONS LEARNED. AND SO AGAIN, YOU KNOW, WE ALL I KNOW AGREE WITH US. THE STUDENTS WERE AMAZING. NOT ALL OF THEM, I'M SURE. BUT THEY'VE GOT TO GIVE THEM CREDIT TO AND THEIR PARENTS, THE PARENTS WHO WERE SO INVOLVED AND TRYING TO MAKE IT WORK FROM ALL DIFFERENT ANGLES. NOT EVERYBODY WAS GREAT. BUT. AGAIN, ENOUGH SAID. AND THANKS TO THE CUSTODIAL STAFF ALSO. I FREAKED OUT. OK. THANK YOU FOR THAT UPDATE. HOPEFULLY, WE DIDN'T DIG A HOLE LIKE WE DID WITH THE SNOW, AND HOPEFULLY WE ALL STAY STAY [01:45:03] HEALTHY ERIN WE'RE NOT. OK, I'M GOING TO CALL YOU IN FOR UPDATES. WE'VE STILL GOT OUR HAND SANITIZER. IF YOU'RE SICK, STAY HOME. YES, YOU KNOW, LET'S TAKE CARE OF EACH OTHER AND YOU CAN GET FREE MASKS NOW. NO, REALLY? YEAH. THE RIDGELY PHARMACY IS GIVING AWAY BOXES FOR WALGREENS. SO IF YOU STILL WANT MASKS, HEY, NOW THAT WE DON'T REALLY NEED THEM, THEY'RE FREE. YEAH. WELL, I THINK MR. NEWCOMB MAKES A GREAT POINT. WE ALL KNOW THAT. OK, SO IF THIS HEALTH ISSUE IS CALMING DOWN A BIT, THE REGULAR FLU, COLD AND SO FORTH, PEOPLE HAVE TO KEEP THEIR KIDS HOME WHEN THEY'RE SICK, AND I UNDERSTAND THAT'S DIFFICULT. BUT OUTSIDE EVEN OF THE SCHOOL SYSTEM, ADULTS NEED TO STAY HOME WHEN THEY'RE SICK AND NOT BRING THEIR GERMS TO WORK, AND THEY SHOULD HAVE BEEN DOING THIS BEFORE COVID. REALLY? YES. I MEAN, EXACTLY. IT'S JUST COMMON SENSE. I'M NOT TRYING TO BE STUPID, BUT I HOPE WE'VE LEARNED SOMETHING AS A SOCIETY. BUT I DOUBT IT BECAUSE PEOPLE ARE GOING TO GO BACK INTO BAD HABITS. SO I GET TO STAY HOME WHEN I'M SICK? YEAH, YEAH. NOW, YOU KNOW YOU WERE ALL RIGHT BOARD MOVING ON. NOTHING UNDER DISCUSSION FOR ITEM FOR FUTURE BOARD ACTION. NOTHING [INAUDIBLE] UNFINISHED BUSINESS. UPCOMING MEETINGS IN ADVANCE. [10. Upcoming Meetings and Events] WE HAVE A LAUNDRY LIST HERE. SO PLEASE TAKE NOTE, AND I'LL TRY TO ADDRESS THIS BEFORE, BUT WHAT'S SCCA SEE? I NEED AN ALPHABET. YES. SPECIAL EDUCATION GOOD SPECIAL EDUCATION SYSTEMS ADVISORY COMMITTEE. OK, SO WE HAVE THE EXACT. YOU KNOW, WE'RE ALL HAVE OUTSIDE OF. BOARD OF ED, YOU KNOW, JOBS AND DUTIES AS WELL. BUT THE TWO WE NEED TO KEY IN ON, I THINK AND HOPE FOR THE BEST IS GRADUATIONS JUNE 1ST AND 2ND OR THEY'RE AT THE BOTTOM NEXT BOARD MEETING LAST YEAR. YES, I NOTICED THAT AS WELL BECAUSE USUALLY WE FLIP FLOP. AND IT IS THAT I WOULD JUST SAY, I THINK THERE WERE SOME LAST MINUTE CHANGES LAST YEAR THAT WAS BECAUSE OF THAT. YES. AND HAVING THAT? THANK YOU. AND THEN COLONEL. SIDE. SO IT WAS NOT SUPPOSED TO BE WORK, BUT. AND I'M SORRY, I JUMPED IN. NO, THANK YOU. THEY WERE GOING LIKE, I DON'T WANT YOU TO GET LIKE, IT'S OUR TURN NOW AND WE'LL BE FLIP FOR NEXT YEAR WILL BE 1ST NEXT YEAR. AND IF ANY GRADUATE WANTS TO COMPLAIN IN NEW JERSEY, YOU DO YOUR 180 HUNDRED AND EIGHTY DAYS. YOUR GRADUATION DAY IS MOVED. BUT YOU DO 180 DAYS. SO. YEAH, THAT IS A NICE BONUS REALLY IS. SO NEXT BOARD MEETING IS OUR WORK SESSION ON THE 15TH. BUT FOR JUST PUBLIC NOTE, WE ARE HAVING A SECOND ROUND OF INTERVIEWS ON MARCH 11TH. FRIDAY, THE 11TH. SO THE BOARD WILL BE CONVENING FOR THAT. AND WITH THAT, IF THERE IS, IS THERE ANYTHING FOR THE GOOD OF THE CAUSE? ANYONE? HEARING NONE, DO I HAVE A MOTION TO ADJOURN? SO MOVED. MOTION BY MR. JONES. SECOND. SECOND BY MR. BARTON. ALL THOSE IN FAVOR? AYE. ALL RIGHT. I THANK YOU ALL. GOOD TO SEE YOUR SMILING FACES. A NORMAL BOARD MEETING. * This transcript was compiled from uncorrected Closed Captioning.