[00:00:03]
[1. Opening Items]
THAT CLOCK SAYS 6:02.MY COMPUTER SAYS 6:01, SO [NOISE] WE'RE NOT TOO LATE.
WELCOME TO THE MAY, CAROLINE COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION BOARD MEETING.
AT 5:05, THE BOARD CAME TOGETHER AND WITH MOTION BY MR. MARK JONES AND A SECOND BY MS. MICHELLE WAYMAN TO OPEN THE MEETING VOTED FOR.
WE STARTED OUR MEETING AT THAT TIME AND THEN FOLLOWED BY A MOTION BY MR. BARTON AND SECONDED BY MR. JONES AND THIRD TO FOUR GO INTO CLOSED SESSION TO DISCUSS [NOISE] PERSONNEL UNION NEGOTIATIONS AND WHATNOT.
DO I HAVE A MOTION TO RECONVENE IN THE OPEN SESSION?
>> SECOND BY MR. JONES. ALL THOSE IN FAVOR?
>> NOW, WE GET TO WELCOME PRESTON ELEMENTARY SCHOOL.
[NOISE] THEY BROUGHT SOME PEOPLE WITH SO AS TO HELP [NOISE] GIVE THE PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE [BACKGROUND]
>> EVERYONE CAN REMAIN STANDING.
WE'RE GOING TO SING THE NATIONAL ANTHEM FOR YOU TONIGHT.
>> OBVIOUSLY WE HAVE A CHOIR WITH US THIS EVENING.
>> YES. [LAUGHTER] THIS IS [INAUDIBLE] PANTHER SINGERS, EIGHT OF THE 12.
FOUR OF THEM ARE [NOISE] ALL BUSY DOING OTHER THINGS, SOFTBALL GAMES AND WHATNOT BUT IT WAS NICE TO HAVE THESE EIGHT HERE.
>> DO YOU WANT THEM TO INTRODUCE THEMSELVES OR?
>> PLEASE, YEAH. THAT WOULD BE GREAT.
>> THEY ARE MORE NERVOUS TO SAY THEIR NAMES.
[LAUGHTER] BUT THIS IS OUR AUDITION FORCE.
IT IS A SMALLER GROUP THIS YEAR BECAUSE WE WERE REBUILDING BUT THEY WERE REALLY, REALLY EXCITED AND WANTED TO COME SING.
I WAS ACTUALLY MORE NERVOUS ABOUT IT BECAUSE THERE'S ONLY EIGHT OF THEM.
I EXPLAINED TO THEM THAT SINGING IN A SMALL GROUP CAN BE EXTREMELY NERVE-WRECKING, AND THEY SAID, ''WE'RE GOING TO GO DO IT.'' SO THEY MADE ME BE VERY PROUD TONIGHT TOO, AND THAT WAS REALLY AWESOME TO GET THIS OPPORTUNITY.
SOMETHING THAT I WANTED TO SHARE THAT I THOUGHT WAS REALLY COOL WAS THAT WE'RE THE LAST GROUP ON MARCH 3RD 2020 TO COME TO THE BOARD MEETING IN MARCH.
FOR ME AND THE REASON WHY I PUSHED US TO DO THIS,
[00:05:02]
I KNOW THERE WAS ONLY A COUPLE OF DAYS FOR US TO DO IT WAS BECAUSE IT'S LIKE A LIGHT AT THE END OF TUNNEL MOMENT FOR ME, AND THEY WERE ALL LIKE, "YEAH LET'S GO DO IT." HERE WE ARE AND THANKS FOR HAVING US. [APPLAUSE]>> MR. LIVES, THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
>> [INAUDIBLE] I HAVE TO ASK MR. LIVES TO PLEASE GIVE THE CONCERT DATE FOR GETTING THE ROOM.
>> IT'LL BE MADE 11TH, WHICH IS NEXT WEDNESDAY.
WE WILL BE ACTUALLY HAVING IT AT PRESTON ELEMENTARY SCHOOL THIS YEAR.
IF THE WEATHER COOPERATES IT'LL BE A NICE OUTDOOR EVENT THIS TIME.
>> IT'D BE LIKE A CONCERT ON THE LAWN.
IT WILL BE A VERY NICE EVENING [INAUDIBLE] [LAUGHTER].
PARENTS THANK YOU FOR BRINGING THEM AND TO MR. LIVES' POINT EXACTLY, WE'VE BEEN SITTING HERE FOR A COUPLE OF YEARS NOW LOOKING AT A BLANK WALL AND SIX OR EIGHT PEOPLE IN HERE AT A TIME.
IT WAS REALLY NICE TO HAVE THE STUDENTS BACK SHARING THEIR TALENT AND THEIR SKILLS AND TO SEE PARENTS' FACES AND ACTUALLY HAVING COOKIES BECAUSE WHAT YOU DON'T EAT, WE GET.
>> WELCOME BACK. DON'T STAY AWAY SO LONG.
>> SOMEBODY'S GOT PRACTICE TO GET TO IT. [LAUGHTER] [OVERLAPPING]
>> IS IT OKAY TO STAY UP HERE?
>> YEAH, THAT'LL BE GREAT. [NOISE] [OVERLAPPING]
>> I THINK WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO SQUISH A LITTLE BIT.
MAYBE NOT, SQUISH IN JUST A LITTLE BIT WITH EACH OTHER.
>> THANKS FOR COMING. [NOISE] DON'T MISS THE COOKIES.
>> THAT'S RIGHT. [LAUGHTER] [BACKGROUND] [BACKGROUND]
>> THOUGHT I DIDN'T HAVE THE SAME.
>> IT'D BE MORE BE BELIEVING IF I TRIED.
>> [OVERLAPPING] YEAH, SURE. [INAUDIBLE].
>> BOARD MEMBERS, WE HAVE AGENDA IN FRONT OF US.
ARE THERE ANY CORRECTIONS OR ADDITIONS TO THE AGENDA? IF NOT, CAN WE HAVE A MOTION TO APPROVE THE AGENDA AS SUBMITTED?
>> I MOVE WE APPROVE THE AGENDA AS SUBMITTED.
>> SECOND BY MS. WAYMAN AND MR. JONES, BOTH. ALL THOSE IN FAVOR?
>> NEXT UP, SUPERINTENDENT ANNOUNCEMENT.
WITH THAT, I'LL JUST SAY BOARD MEMBERS IF YOU HAVE ANYTHING ELSE TO SAY, I'M JUST GOING TO PARAPHRASE REAL QUICK.
AS MOST OF YOU KNOW AND WE'VE TRIED TO SUMMARIZE, WE'VE GONE THROUGH A PROCESS AFTER HIRING MABE AS OUR CONSULTANT TO GUIDE THIS BOARD THROUGH A SEARCH PROCESS, WHICH WE HAD A GOOD TURNOUT OF APPLICATIONS.
WE NARROWED IT DOWN AND ENDED UP WITH OUR TOP THREE.
LUCKILY, WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO FIND OUR TOP CANDIDATE SITTING RIGHT NEXT TO US THIS WHOLE TIME.
NOT TO REALLY SAY ANYTHING MORE, BUT HAVING GONE THROUGH THE INTERVIEW PROCESS, SEEING SOME VERY TALENTED PEOPLE, INCLUDING DR. SIMMONS, BUT ALSO SEEING HOW HE'S HANDLED ONE OF THE TOUGHEST YEARS AND TOO AN EDUCATION THAT I THINK ANY OF US HAVE EVER SEEN AND MAINTAINED THE SANITY DEFINITELY SPOKE TO HIS SKILL SET.
THE SYSTEM AND THESE TEACHERS AND THE STAFF AND ALL I'VE BEEN ANXIOUS, AS WELL AS DR. SIMMONS, WE WOULD'VE LIKED TO BEEN ABLE TO MOVE QUICKER, BUT JUST THE MODERN DAY WORLD OF REQUIREMENTS OF CHECKING IN WITH THE STATE SUPERINTENDENT AND GETTING LAWYERS TO RESPOND TO EMAILS AND WRITE CONTRACTS AND DIFFERENT THINGS, THIS IS WHERE WE ARE TODAY.
BOARD MEMBERS, WE NEED TO TAKE A VOTE.
I DON'T KNOW IF ANYBODY ELSE WANT TO SAY ANYTHING BEFORE WE TAKE A VOTE? BOARD MEMBERS, DO WE HAVE A MOTION TO APPOINT DR. SIMMONS AS OUR NEXT SUPERINTENDENT OF CAROLINE COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS?
>> I'LL MAKE A MOTION TO APPOINT DR.
DEREK SIMMONS NEXT SUPERINTENDENT OF CAROLINE COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS.
>> CONGRATULATIONS. [APPLAUSE]
>> I THINK YOU WANT TO ACKNOWLEDGE THE DIGNITARIES WE HAVE.
[00:10:02]
>> YEAH. THANK YOU. DELEGATE GRACE IS HERE WITH US TODAY TO MAKE SURE HE KNOWS WHO TO CALL, [LAUGHTER] IF THERE'S ANY ISSUES OR CONCERNS WITH EDUCATION IN CAROLINE COUNTY.
I THINK [OVERLAPPING] COUNTY COMMISSIONERS, MR. FRANKLIN AND MR. LEVENGOOD HANGING BACK HERE IN THE BACK ROW, THANK YOU FOR COMING.
THE COMMISSIONERS, AND LARRY PORTER SENDS HIS REGRETS.
HE'S AWARE, BUT SENDS HIS REGRET, HE'S OUT OF TOWN.
THOSE THREE COMMISSIONERS, INCLUDING THEIR PREDECESSORS AS WELL AS THIS BOARD AND OUR PREDECESSORS, HAVE TAKEN PRIDE AND BRAG ON THE RELATIONSHIP THIS BOARD OF EDUCATION AND CAROLINE COUNTY COMMISSIONERS HAS.
IT JUST SPEAKS THAT THEY WANTED TO BE HERE FOR YOU TONIGHT.
>> AS WELL AS OUR ELECTED PRESIDENT DELEGATE.
>> THANK YOU. FOR THAT LET'S TAKE A 10 MINUTE RECESS.
>> DO YOU MIND IF I SAY A FEW THINGS FIRST?
>> YOU SAY A FEW WORDS AND THEN WE'LL TAKE A 10 MINUTE RECESS.
>> I PROMISE TO BE BRIEF. NOW [LAUGHTER], TO SAY THAT I'M HONORED PROBABLY WILL BE AN UNDERSTATEMENT, AND I'M REALLY THRILLED WITH THE OPPORTUNITY TO SERVE OUR COMMUNITY.
FOR THOSE WHO MAY NOT KNOW ME OR MAY NOT HAVE HAD THE HONOR TO WORK WITH ME OVER THE LAST 21-AND-A-HALF YEARS, I THINK IT IS, I'VE BEEN IN CAROLINE COUNTY.
NOT A CAROLINE COUNTY RESIDENT, GREW UP VERY CLOSE BY IN THE BIG METROPOLIS OF CORDOVA.
HAD THE OPPORTUNITY REALLY TO GET TO KNOW CAROLINE COUNTY THROUGH A STUDENT TEACHING.
I DID MY STUDENT TEACHING AT LOCKERMAN MIDDLE SCHOOL WITH JENNY WALLACE.
TO BE HONEST, THE BUG BIT THEN ABOUT THE FIELD THAT THIS COUNTY HAS.
THE CLOSE-KNIT STAFF, THE KIDS ARE AWESOME, THE FAMILY SUPPORT IS INCREDIBLE.
THEN HAD THE OPPORTUNITY LITERALLY IN THE MIDDLE OF STUDENT TEACHING TO GET HIRED TO COLONEL.
I'LL BE HONEST AT FIRST IT WAS LIKE, WHERE'S COLONEL? ACTUALLY, I HAD THE INTERVIEW THERE, I'M GLAD I FOUND IT, AND STARTED MY CAREER THERE, AND IT WAS THE SAME EXACT FIELD IN THE SOUTHERN END OF THE COUNTY.
WE HAVE AN INCREDIBLE COMMUNITY THAT ABSOLUTELY WRAPS AROUND EVERY KID THAT LIVES HERE, AND WE'LL DO ANYTHING IN THE WORLD FOR THEM.
I'M THRILLED OF THE CHANCE TO LEAD THE SCHOOL SYSTEM OVER THE NEXT FOUR YEARS, AND THEN SOME.
THIS IS WHERE I WANT TO BE, THIS IS HOME.
THIS SCHOOL SYSTEM CAN BE THE BEST IN THE STATE, AND WE'RE GOING TO STRIVE TO DO THAT TOGETHER OVER THE NEXT FOUR YEARS.. AGAIN, I'M EXCITED TO BE ABLE TO HAVE THIS OPPORTUNITY.
THERE'S A FEW PEOPLE I WOULD LIKE TO THANK.
I'M GOING TO TAKE THE MOMENT TO, EVEN THOUGH I THINK ONE OF THEM IS WATCHING AT HOME.
FIRST OFF, I WANT TO THANK MY WIFE, WHO'S HERE, BRITTANY, WHO HATES ATTENTION, [LAUGHTER] SO I'LL HEAR IT LATER. IT'S OKAY.
I DO WANT TO THANK MY WIFE, WHO HAS BEEN AN ABSOLUTE AMAZING PARTNER, MY BEST FRIEND AND SUPPORTER FOR OVER 20 YEARS.
WE WERE FIGURING THIS OUT THIS PAST WEEKEND [LAUGHTER] OVER A DIFFERENT CONVERSATION.
FOR OVER 20 YEARS, AND HAS BEEN WITH ME FOR THE ENTIRE ADMINISTRATIVE RIDE OVER MY LIFE.
LITERALLY, I THINK I BECAME ASSISTANT PRINCIPLE THE YEAR WE GOT MARRIED.
IT'S BEEN AN INCREDIBLE RIDE, AND THANK YOU FOR ALL YOUR SUPPORT.
I DO WANT TO THANK MY KIDS, ONE WHO IS AT BALL PRACTICE, SHE'LL BE THERE WHENEVER HERE SOON.
ONE IS AT BALL PRACTICE TONIGHT AND THE OTHER, WHO ACTUALLY IS AT HOME NOT FEELING WELL, BUT LITERALLY I THINK SHE'S WATCHING ME FROM HOME, ZOOMING IN OR WATCHING ON [INAUDIBLE], WHICH IS GREAT.
HAVING KIDS IN THE SYSTEM IS A BLESSING.
I HOPE THEY FEEL THAT WAY ABOUT IT, BUT IT TRULY [LAUGHTER] DOES REMIND YOU EVERY SINGLE DAY OF WHY WE DO WHAT WE DO.
THERE IS A DIRECT IMPACT EVERY DAY ON EVERY DECISION WE MAKE, AND KEEPING THAT AT THE FOREFRONT IS SO IMPORTANT AND VITAL.
I DO WANT TO THANK THE BOARD FOR THE CONFIDENCE THAT YOU HAVE IN ME TO BE ABLE TO LEAD THE SCHOOL SYSTEM FORWARD.
THE BOARD HAS BEEN NOTHING SHORT OF SUPPORTIVE SINCE APRIL 1ST OF 2021, WHEN I STEPPED INTO THE INTERIM ROLE.
THE BOARD HAS BEEN INCREDIBLY SUPPORTIVE, AND I APPRECIATE THAT.
WE'VE HAD SOME TOUGH THINGS TO WORK THROUGH, BUT THE BOARD HAS BEEN THERE TO HELP ME THROUGH ALL OF THAT AS WELL.
I WANT TO THANK ALL OF OUR STAFF, IN PARTICULAR, I WANT TO THANK OUR TEAM WHO WORKS TOGETHER VERY CLOSELY HERE, OUR EXECUTIVE TEAM, WHO HAS BEEN NOTHING BUT SUPPORTIVE AS WELL AND DOES EVERYTHING EVERY DAY FOR EVERYBODY IN THE SYSTEM AND EVERY KID IN THE SYSTEM.
I DO ALSO WANT TO THANK ALL OF OUR STAFF, WHO IS NOT HERE AS WELL.
I PROMISE TO WORK AS HARD AS ALL OF THEM FOR THE NEXT FOUR AND MANY YEARS.
LASTLY, FOR THE COMMUNITY MEMBERS WHO ARE HERE AND THOSE WHO HOPEFULLY ARE WATCHING AT HOME OR WILL WATCH IT RECORDED LATER, WE WILL DO EVERYTHING WE CAN TO CONTINUE TO BUILD BRIDGES WITH OUR COMMUNITY.
WE DON'T EXIST WITHOUT OUR COMMUNITY.
WE ARE PART OF THE COMMUNITY AND WE NEED TO BE PART OF THE COMMUNITY.
IT IS THROUGH ALL OF US WORKING TOGETHER, AND I TRULY BELIEVE THAT AT MY CORE, ALL OF US HAVE A COMMITMENT TO EVERY CHILD IN THE COUNTY, AND WHEN WE ALL WORK TOGETHER, THERE TRULY IS NOTHING WE CANNOT ACHIEVE FOR OUR KIDS.
WE WILL CONTINUE TO PUSH THAT MESSAGE AND CONTINUE TO WORK IT FORWARD,
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BREAK DOWN ANY BARRIERS THAT MAY EXIST HISTORICALLY THAT WE NEED TO PUSH THROUGH, AND REBUILD, REMEND, AND GET OUT THERE FOR OUR FAMILY AND FOR OUR COMMUNITY.WITH THAT BEFORE I GET TOO LONG-WINDED, THANK YOU TO EVERYBODY, AND I'M JUST THRILLED.
THE WORK CONTINUES, SO IT'S LIKE I'LL GET A BREAK.
[LAUGHTER] THANKS. I GOT IT OUT NOW, WE'LL GET BACK TO WORK, I GUESS.
>> MR. NEWCOMB, NOW I'M READY TO SAY SOMETHING.
>> I WANT TO THANK DR. SIMMONS FOR BEING WILLING, FOR STEPPING UP FOR WHAT HE'S DONE OVER ALL THESE YEARS AND FOR DOING SUCH AN EXCELLENT JOB IN THE PROCESS.
BUT I'LL TELL ALL OF YOU AND ALL OF YOU AT HOME, THAT BY GOING THROUGH THIS PROCESS, WHAT WE LEARNED, PEOPLE WILL SAY, THEY DID THIS BROAD SEARCH, THEY ENDED UP GETTING THE GUY WHO'S RIGHT HERE? BY DOING THAT SEARCH, WE FOUND OUT JUST HOW GOOD THIS GENTLEMAN IS.
BECAUSE WE COMPARED HIM TO ANYBODY AND EVERYBODY WHO WANTED TO LOOK AT THIS PLACE TO WORK, AND WE HAD VERY GOOD CANDIDATES.
HE BEAT THE BEST. HE'S THAT GOOD.
WE ARE THAT LUCKY IN CAROLINE COUNTY TO HAVE THIS GUY. THANK YOU.
>> [APPLAUSE] [BACKGROUND] [LAUGHTER]
>> WELCOME BACK. I REALLY APPRECIATE THE RECESS THERE.
WE'VE GOT THE CONGRATULATE OUR NEW SUPERINTENDENT AND WE CAN UPDATE EVERYTHING AND GET RID OF THE INTERIM STUFF, AND JUST USE SUPERINTENDENT NOW SO THAT'S ALL GOOD. THANK YOU.
[2. Reports]
>> MOVING ON SECTION 2.1, BOARD MEMBER REPORTS [NOISE].
I WOULD GO MS. MATE WAYMAN, DO YOU HAVE A TAKEAWAY FROM THE MONTH? I SEE YOUR [INAUDIBLE]
>> IT WAS A LITTLE BUSY THIS MONTH, BUT IT WAS ALL GOOD.
THE HONOR SOCIETY AND TECHNOLOGY HONEST SOCIETY INDUCTION WAS REALLY A BEAUTIFUL EVENT.
THE STUDENTS WERE EXCITED AND THE STAFF WAS EXCITED AND IT WAS BEAUTIFUL.
WE'VE CONGRATULATED AND WE SAY CONGRATULATIONS AGAIN FOR OUR TEACHER OF THE YEAR, MURDOCK, WHO IS WELL DESERVING OF THAT TITLE.
I WENT SATURDAY TO THE UNVEILING OF THE MARKER UP HERE AT THE COURTHOUSE.
IF YOU HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY, TAKE TIME TO STOP BY TO READ THE MARKER.
IT WAS GREAT THAT MR. CARNEY'S FAMILY WAS HERE FROM OUT OF TOWN AND THEY SPOKE BEAUTIFULLY ABOUT THEIR APPRECIATION TO CAROLINE COUNTY FOR IT AND THE, I THINK IT WAS THE DAUGHTERS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION IN THE NAACP THAT WORK TOGETHER TO SPONSOR THAT EVENT THROUGH RECEIVING A GRANT TO DO IT.
IT WAS REALLY NICE. THANK YOU.
>> THIS MONTH, NATIONAL TECHNICAL HONOR SOCIETY AT COLONEL RICHARDSON, TEACHER OF THE YEAR AND SUPPORT EMPLOYEE PRESENTATION, THE DENTON SPRING CONCERT, WHICH I DID HAVE ONE CHILD PARTICIPATING IN, WHICH WAS A REALLY NICE CONCERT.
ONE THING THAT STANDS OUT TO ME THROUGHOUT THE MONTH WAS THE SUPPORT EMPLOYEE OF THE YEAR PRESENTATION WITH MR. MATT WAS REALLY NEED TO SEE A LOT OF THE TEACHERS CAME OUT AND A LOT OF THE STUDENTS CAME OUT CHEERING THEM ON.
WHAT I'VE BEEN FORTUNATE ENOUGH THAT I HAD CHILDREN IN DENTON ELEMENTARY SCHOOL.
I'VE SEEN MR. MATT IN ACTION IN THE PAST.
THE SUPPORT THAT THE KIDS GAVE HIM IS THE SUPPORT THAT HE GIVES THEM EACH DAY.
HE IS A STANDOUT AND IT WAS REALLY NEED TO SEE HIM GET RECOGNITION.
IT WAS REALLY NEED TO SEE THE CHILDREN REALLY CHEERING THEM ON BECAUSE IT WAS REALLY NEED AND WELL DESERVING.
THAT'S ALL I'LL WRAP UP FOR THE MOMENT, BUT THAT WAS REALLY NEED TO SEE.
MY JOB THIS MONTH WAS A KILLER NOT LITERALLY, BUT A LOT OF HOURS SPENT ON THE JOB.
BUT I WAS ABLE TO MAKE IT TO OUR MEETINGS AND OUT TO A LOT OF THE ATHLETIC FIELDS.
I COULD SNEAK INTO SOME OF THOSE GAMES SO TO SPEAK.
NOT ENTIRELY SNEAKING IN, BUT ABLE TO GETTING THE BLEACHERS AND BEHIND THE BACKSTOPS AND HEAT AND DUST SOME OF THOSE SOFTBALL GAMES.
IT WAS JUST FUN TO WATCH THE TEAMS AND THE ATHLETES COMPETING AND TO WATCH BY ENLARGE GREAT SPORTSMANSHIP OUT THERE.
[00:20:03]
THE COACHES DID A REALLY GOOD JOB FOR NORTH CAROLINA, ENCOURAGING GREAT SPORTSMANSHIP.I CAN'T SAY THAT ABOUT SOME OF THE OTHER TEAMS. WHAT I'VE SEEN, SOME OF THE BEHAVIORS, BUT FOR THE MOST PART THEY'RE REALLY GREAT THAT WAY.
SUPPORT FROM PARENTS SEEING THEM THERE, WHEREVER THEY CAN GET THERE.
IT'S JUST SUPER TO SEE THAT AND PEOPLE TALK A LOT.
YOU'LL READ ABOUT PROFESSIONAL SPORTS COLLEGE BOARD, BUT PARTICULARLY ALL YOU EVER HEAR ABOUT IS PROFESSIONAL SPORTS.
WHEN YOU HEAR ABOUT SPORTS AND REALLY WHERE IT'S AT, IS AMATEUR SPORTS AND SCHOOL SPORTS AND YOUTH SPORT.
BECAUSE THEY'RE TRYING THE BEST THEY CAN AND THEY'RE NOT BEING PAID.
COACHES OUT THERE ARE REALLY DEVOTING THEMSELVES TO HELP THESE KIDS, TO TEACH THEM VALUES.
IT'S JUST WONDERFUL TO WATCH THAT.
IT SEEM LIKE THE TIMES THAT I COULD GO IT WANTED TO RAIN OR BLOWING REALLY HARD.
I THINK WE HAD ONE GAME OR IT WAS PLUS 20 MILE AN HOUR WINDS AND THE WINDS WERE BLOWING OUT.
IF YOU'RE PLAYING BASEBALL OR SOFTBALL AND [NOISE] WIND IS BLOWN OUT, THAT'S A GOOD THING.
BUT I DID WATCH [NOISE] NORTH CAROLINA SOFTBALL WITH A WIND BLOWING IN AND THEY WERE HAMMERING UP ONTO THE OUT FIELD.
I WAS LIKE, YEAH, BECAUSE THEY WANTED TO AND THAT'S ALL.
>> MS. DIGIACOMO WASN'T ABLE TO BE WITH US TONIGHT, BUT I DID WANT TO MENTION SOMETHING ON HER REPORT.
ASPIRING TEACHER SCHOLARSHIP MEETING AND THAT IS SOMETHING I KNOW MS. WAYMAN PARTICIPATED IN LAST YEAR AND WAS ABLE TO DO THIS YEAR AND DIGIACOMO DID IT AGAIN THIS YEAR.
BUT JUST SOMETHING TO IMAGINE BECAUSE I KNOW THAT'S IMPORTANT TO OUR BOARDS AND OUR SYSTEM AS PART OF GROWING OUR OWN, TRYING TO REINVEST IN OUR OWN COMMUNITY AND STUDENTS THAT WE KNOW WANT TO BE FUTURE EDUCATORS AND HOPEFULLY GET THROUGH COLLEGE WITHOUT ANY PROBLEM AND COME BACK AND BEING A VALUABLE ASSET TO OUR SYSTEM.
AGAIN, I MISSED PUTTING ON HERE, BUT I WASN'T ABLE TO MAKE THE TEACHER OF THE YEAR, BUT THE SUPPORT STAFF OF THE YEAR, AND IT'S LIKE MR. JONES MENTIONED.
JUST GREAT TO SEE SOMEONE GET THE RECOGNITION.
BUT WHEN YOU SEE THE STUDENT'S EXCITEMENT OVER THAT TEACHER OR THAT SUPPORT STAFF PERSON AND THEIR LOVE FOR THAT PERSON, THERE'S NOT A LOT OF JOBS THAT GET THAT REWARD.
BUT JUST BOARD MEETINGS, MAKING SURE WE MADE THE RIGHT CHOICE AND DOTTING THE I'S AND CROSSING THE T'S AND WE'RE SO THANKFUL DR. SIMMONS IS WITH US.
BUT TO SAY THAT, MR. BARTON SAID, WE GOT TO SEE WHO'S OUT THERE AND WE'VE GOT WHAT WE NEED RIGHT HERE.
BUT JUST LIKE WE WANT TO GROW OUR OWN TEACHERS AND GROW OUR OWN ADMINISTRATORS, WE'VE REINVENTED THE ADMINISTRATION. WHAT DO YOU CALL THAT?
>> THE CAROLINE INSPIRING LEADERS [OVERLAPPING].
>> INSPIRING LEADERS TO TRY TO MAKE SURE OUR TEACHING STAFF, ANYBODY ELSE WHO WANTS TO CONTINUE TO GROW HAS AN OPPORTUNITY, WE NEED THAT.
BUT ONE THING THAT SPOKE TO THIS BOARD IS ONE THING DR. SIMMONS MENTIONED IS WE CAN NEED TO CONTINUE TO GROW AND GET OUTSIDE LEADERSHIP TO FOCUS ON DIVERSITY AND OUTSIDE IDEAS.
I KNOW THAT'S SOMETHING THAT'S IMPORTANT TO DR. SIMMONS AND THIS BOARD AND THAT'S GOING TO CONTINUE.
WHETHER IT'S SPORT, ATHLETICS OR PROM, I GET TO PROM.
IT'S JUST NICE TO SEE LIFE BACK TO NORMAL [INAUDIBLE] PEOPLE HERE TONIGHT.
SAYING THAT LET'S GO ON TO THE SUPERINTENDENT'S REPORT.
YOU'RE GOING TO SEE A COMMON THEME THAT WAS MENTIONED BY SEVERAL BOARD MEMBERS TONIGHT AND REALLY IN MY HIGHLIGHT IS ONE OF THE MOST EXCITING EVENTS THAT JUST PAID IN THE LAST MONTH.
BECAUSE IT IS GREAT TO RECOGNIZE THEIR STAFF AND THE WORK THAT THEY DO.
OBVIOUSLY, IT WAS ABLE TO PARTICIPATE IN THE TEACHER OF THE YEAR RECOGNITION AND THE SUPPORT EMPLOYEE OF THE YEAR ANNOUNCEMENTS.
MS. BRANDER IS AN INCREDIBLE WORLD LANGUAGES TEACHER IN NORTH CAROLINA HIGH SCHOOL, DOES A FANTASTIC JOB.
ONE OF THE FUNNIEST PARTS OF GOING IN LITERALLY, MS. BRANDER WAS HARD AT IT WITH HER KIDS IN HER CLASS WAS HER AP CLASS.
THEY WERE SO HARD AT IT AND WE CAME IN QUIETLY.
THEY JUST KEPT RIGHT ON GOING AND DID NOT RECOGNIZE WHO WERE THERE AT FIRST.
SHE WAS WORKING WITH A GROUP OF KIDS.
ALL OF A SUDDEN IT WAS LIKE WHOA WHICH WAS A GREAT RECOGNITION.
THE KIDS WERE EXCITED, BUT LITERALLY IT WAS AN AP CLASS.
IT WAS LIKE COOL THIS GREAT, WE BETTER GET BACK TO WORK.
[LAUGHTER] THEY'RE BACK TO WORK AND WHAT'S GREAT MS. BRANDER WILL REPRESENT US EXTREMELY WELL.
SHE'LL BE RECOGNIZED BEFORE THE STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION I BELIEVE IT'S MAY 18TH.
HER PACKET, I BELIEVE WILL GO UP SOON AND AGAIN, SHE'LL BE IN THE RUNNING FOR THE STATE TEACHER OF THE YEAR.
[00:25:01]
BUT AGAIN, WE'LL DO A FANTASTIC JOB.THEN OF COURSE, AS IT'S BEEN TALKED ABOUT AS WELL, WAS ABLE TO PRESENT MR. SARTWELL, MR. MATT, WITH HIS RECOGNITION AS SPORT EMPLOYEE OF THE YEAR.
I DON'T KNOW THAT I WAS PREPARED FOR MR. MATT'S REACTIONS, OR SARTWELL'S WELLS REACTION.
JUST HOW EXCITED AND OVERWHELMED HE WAS SEEING ALL OF THE STUDENTS AND STAFF OUT THERE.
AGAIN, IN THE COMMENTS THAT WE RECEIVED IN THE RECOGNITION THAT OUR FOLKS GO THROUGH, THE COMMON THEME THROUGHOUT MATT'S RECOMMENDATIONS COMING IN REALLY AS HOW GIVING HE IS OF HIS TIME, OF HIS ENERGY TO THE KIDS INTO THE COMMUNITY.
MATT IS MORE THAN JUST A GUY WHO DRIVES A BUS AND TRANSPORTATION, HE REALLY IS PART OF THE HEARTBEAT OF DENTON ELEMENTARY AND DOES REALLY GIVE SO MUCH.
THOSE HONORS, AWESOME RECOGNITION AND A GREAT TIME.
THAT WAS THE THING I WANT TO HIGHLIGHT
>> THANK YOU, SUPERINTENDENT SIMMONS.
>> YOU WANT TO GRAB MORE OF PODIUM?
>> GOOD EVENING, PRESIDENT NEWCOMB, SUPERINTENDENT SIMMONS, AND MEMBERS OF THE BOARD? THIS MONTH, FOR OUR INSTRUCTION HIGHLIGHTS, GOES WITH THE THEME OF THE EVENING, WE'RE GETTING BACK TO PRE-COVID NORMALCY, AND SO WE REALLY WANTED TO HIGHLIGHT SOME OF THE NUMEROUS FIELD TRIPS THAT OUR STUDENTS HAVE TAKEN THIS PAST MONTH.
YOU COULD SEE THAT OUR 8TH GRADE STUDENTS PARTICIPATED IN JA INSPIRE AND SALISBURY AND 4TH GRADE STUDENTS HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO SAIL ON THE SCHUNA SULTANA.
MR. WILLOUGHBY HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO GO AT LEAST ONE DAY AND BE A PART OF THAT AS WELL.
7TH GRADE LOCKERMEN STUDENTS VISITED STATE HIGHWAY ADMINISTRATION GARAGE IN DENTON AND REALLY LEARNED HOW TO TIE THINGS INTO PROJECT LEAD THE WAY.
WE ALSO HAD STUDENTS PARTICIPATE IN REGIONAL HISTORY DAY COMPETITIONS, AGAIN, EVERYTHING GETTING BACK TO THAT NORMALCY.
WE ALSO HAD OUR AMP CLASS PRESENT THEIR NESTING BOXES, SO YOU CAN SEE THAT THERE'S PICTURES OF SEVERAL OF THOSE EVENTS UP HERE.
AND MR. KEITH HAIL AT SCCTC IS YOUR CONTACT IF YOU'RE INTERESTED IN PURCHASING EITHER A PURPLE MARTIN BOX OR A BAT NESTING BOX.
KIDS DID A GREAT JOB WITH THOSE.
>> GOOD EVENING, PRESIDENT NEWCOMB, SUPERINTENDED SIMMONS, AND MEMBERS OF THE BOARD.
YOU CAN SEE THAT WE HAD QUITE A FEW THINGS THAT HAPPENED IN SPECIAL PROGRAMS AND STUDENTS SERVICES, BUT TONIGHT I WANT TO HIGHLIGHT THE LAST ONE.
THAT IS OUR FIFTH ANNUAL STAFF APPRECIATION EVENT.
SOME OF THE BOARD MEMBERS, MAYBE JUST ONE, PROBABLY REMEMBER THIS EVENT AS WE HAD A BIG BANQUET AT NORTH CAROLINA HIGH SCHOOL.
WE STARTED OFF WITH MAYBE 75-80 PEOPLE THAT WERE REPRESENTING FAMILIES AND STAFF, AND THEN THE NEXT YEAR IT MOVED TO ABOUT 100, AND THEN IT TURNED INTO ABOUT 150, AND THEN COVID HIT.
WE KNEW WE HAD TO SCRAMBLE AND FIGURE ANOTHER WAY THAT WE COULD RECOGNIZE OUR TEACHERS AND OUR SUPPORT STAFF, BUS DRIVERS, CAFETERIA WORKERS FOR ALL THAT THEY DO FOR OUR STUDENTS.
THESE FOLKS ARE ACTUALLY NOMINATED BY OUR FAMILIES.
WHAT WE DECIDED TO DO WAS WE WOULD STILL BRING THE EVENT TO THE TEACHERS, AND THE SUPPORT STAFF, AND THE BUS DRIVERS.
ON MAY 4TH, WE CELEBRATED 29 STAFF MEMBERS THAT HAD BEEN NOMINATED BY OUR FAMILIES TO SAY THANK YOU FOR ALL YOU DO.
OUR THEME THIS YEAR WAS, AND YOU CAN SEE THIS ON OUR FLYER, THE WORLD NEEDS MORE STAFF LIKE CCPS, SO WE HAD A CAMPING THEME.
EVERY STAFF MEMBER RECEIVED A EIGHT BY 10 FRAMED LETTER OF THE LETTER THAT WAS WRITTEN BY THE FAMILY.
THEY ALSO RECEIVE BALLOONS, AND FLOWERS, AND A GIFT CERTIFICATE THAT WAS DONATED BY SOMEONE IN THE COMMUNITY, AND THEN ALSO THEY RECEIVED A RAFFLE TICKET.
[00:30:03]
OUR COORDINATOR AND SUPERVISOR WENT OUT TO EACH SCHOOL AND PRESENTED EACH OF THE 29 THAT HAD BEEN NOMINATED WITH THESE GIFTS.THEN THERE WAS THIS RAFFLE TICKET I JUST TOLD YOU ABOUT.
WE RAFFLED OFF A RING DOORBELL, A COOLER THAT WAS FULL OF ALL KINDS OF CAMPING EQUIPMENT, AND A FULL CAR DETAILING.
THE COOLER WITH CAMPING SUPPLIES WAS DONATED BY WALMART, THE RING DOORBELL WAS BY SAFEHOUSE IN PRESTON, AND THEN THE FULL DETAILING WAS PRESTON AUTO.
THE EVENT WENT WELL, THE ONLY THING THAT WE ARE HOPING FOR IS NEXT YEAR, WE'RE GOING TO GET NORTH CAROLINA HIGH SCHOOL BACK IN THAT CAFETERIA WITH THE BANQUET.
BUT IT WAS CHEERS TO ALL OF OUR STAFF.
>> GOOD EVENING, PRESIDENT NEWCOMB, MEMBERS OF THE BOARD, SUPERINTENDENT SIMMONS. GET USED TO HEARING THAT.
[LAUGHTER] TONIGHT IN OPERATIONS IS LIKELY THINGS GOING ON UNDER THE DIVISION, WE FIND OURSELVES IN A PIVOTAL TIME OF THE YEAR.
MAY AND JUNE IS WHEN WE ARE STARTING TO REALLY THINK ABOUT SHUTTING THINGS DOWN ONLY TO OPEN THEM UP BACKUP FOR THE FOLLOWING YEAR, THE VERY NEXT DAY, AND THEN IN-BETWEEN THERE SOMEHOW SOMETHING CALLED SUMMER SCHOOL.
WE'RE TRYING TO FIGURE ALL THIS OUT.
WHAT'S BEEN GOING ON IS THAT WE'RE ESTABLISHING OUR SUMMER TO-DO LISTS, BUILDING MAINTENANCE PROJECTS THAT WE HAVE LINED UP AND FORM CERTAIN TIMES OF THE SUMMER.
WORKING AT SUMMER SCHOOL FEEDING PROGRAMS AND BUS ROUTES FOR THE SUMMER, AS WELL AS TO STARTING TO WORK ON BUS ROUTES FOR NEXT FALL ALREADY.
WE'RE ALSO IN THE PROCESS OF DEVELOPING THE EDUCATIONAL FACILITIES MASTER PLAN WHICH IS THE EFMP, WHICH I WILL PRESENT TO YOU PROBABLY IN JUNE, AS WELL AS THE NEW THING THAT'S REQUIRED BY THE MSDE, AND THAT IS THE ENERGY POLICY.
THEY'LL BE AT LEAST TWO THINGS THAT I'LL BE BRINGING TO YOU IN NEXT MONTH.
TECHNOLOGY IS VERY BUSY WITH UPDATING THEIR SOFTWARE ON SEVERAL DEVICES FOR 3RD-5TH GRADE, THEY WILL CONTINUE DOING THAT THROUGHOUT THE LAST PART OF THE SPRING HERE AND INTO THE SUMMER.
THERE ALWAYS BEEN BUSY UPDATING THE INTERNET SO IT'S BETTER ACCESS FOR THE STUDENTS AND THE STAFF AT THE SCHOOLS WITH BETTER DATA EQUIPMENT, BETTER NETWORKING EQUIPMENT.
TWO WEEKS AGO, BETH BREWSTER, SUPERVISOR OF FOODSERVICE, WAS A MAJOR PRESENTER AT NEW ORLEANS AT THE NATIONAL CHILD NUTRITION CONFERENCE.
TALK EXCLUSIVELY ABOUT THE MOBILE FEEDING AND THE ROLE THAT HAD IN TRYING TO GET MEALS IN FRONT OF KIDS DURING THE COVID ERA THAT WE STILL FIND OURSELVES IN THERE.
SO SHE DID REALLY GREAT JOB WITH THAT SHE WAS GONE FOR ABOUT THREE DAYS AND SHE HAD A GOOD TIME.
MY KIDS ARE LITTLE OLDER, SO I'M NOT QUITE SURE ABOUT SESAME STREET BUT IS THAT EMO.
>> [LAUGHTER] LAST BUT NOT LEAST, I KNOW WE'VE TALKED ABOUT THIS ALREADY, BUT THE TRANSPORTATION DEPARTMENT IS VERY EXCITED TO HAVE MR. MATT AS SUPPORT EMPLOYEE OF THE YEAR RECOGNITION.
THERE'S THE MOTION THAT SIMMONS WAS TALKING ABOUT EARLIER, HOW HE WAS REACTING TO IT.
>> LOOKS LIKE WE'RE MISSING ZACK FROM NORTH CAROLINA TONIGHT, BUT I GUESS HE DID SUBMIT WHAT'S GOING ON AND YOU CAN SEE HIS BASEBALL GAME.
DENTON AND RIDGELY IN GREENSBORO LOCKERMAN SPRING END OF THE YEAR ACTIVITIES, SO I'M SURE THE SCHOOLS ARE GOING TO BE FULL AND BUSY.
BUT WE DO HAVE ZAIDE FROM COLONEL RICHARDSON AND HE WAS TELLING ME A LITTLE BIT AGO OF WHAT THE [INAUDIBLE] REPORT BUT PLEASE TELL US AFTER YOU REPORT A LITTLE BIT, BUT WHAT YOU'RE DOING AFTER YOU GRADUATE THIS YEAR.
>> GOOD EVENING, PRESIDENT NEWCOMB, SUPERINTENDENT SIMMONS.
STARTING WITH FES LAST MONTH, THE FALCONS HOSTED PRE-K AND KINDERGARTEN REGISTRATION FOR BOTH FES AND PES.
IT WAS GREAT MEETING THE NEW STUDENTS AND FAMILIES.
FOR THEIR UPCOMING EVENTS, IT INCLUDES STAFF APPRECIATION AND CELEBRATING INSURANCE MENTAL HEALTH AWARENESS WEEK FROM MAY 2ND TO 6TH.
ON MAY 13TH, THEY HAVE A STEAM NIGHT FROM 6:00-7:30.
THE EVENING WILL BEGIN HIGHLIGHTING THE BAND AND CHORUS CONCERTS FROM 6:00-6:30.
AND THEN FAMILIES WOULD BE ABLE TO ENGAGE IN PE ACTIVITIES IN A GYM, VISIT THE BOOK FAIR, AND OR ENGAGE IN GAME NIGHT.
ON THE MAY 20TH, THEY HAVE A CAREER DAY.
NOW MOVING ON TO PRESTON ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, THE PANTHERS WOULD LIKE TO THANK ALL OF THEIR STAFF MEMBERS FOR ALL THAT WORK THEY DO.
THE WEEK OF MAY 2ND TO MAY 6TH IS STAFF APPRECIATION WEEK,
[00:35:03]
AND AT PES, WE KNOW THAT OUR STAFF IS SECOND TO NONE.FOR THEIR UPCOMING EVENTS, IT INCLUDES ON MAY 3RD THE 5TH GRADE WILL BE GETTING THEIR PANORAMIC PHOTOS.
ON MAY 4TH, THE PANTHERS WILL BE CELEBRATING MAY THE 4TH BE WITH YOU AND ENCOURAGE EVERYONE TO WEAR THEIR STAR WARS GEAR.
ON MAY 11TH, THEY HAVE A SCREEN CONCERT, AND ON MAY 26TH, A CAREER DAY.
NOW, MOVING ON TO COLONEL RICHARDSON MIDDLE SCHOOL.
LAST MONTH, ACTIVITIES INCLUDE BAND BOOSTERS, HAD A FLOWER SALE.
FOR THEIR UPCOMING EVENT, IT INCLUDES MAY 6TH, PBIS, ICE CREAM INCENTIVE, AND ON MAY 21ST, BANK COMPETITION AT SIX FLAGS, AND FINALLY, ON MAY 26TH, DRAMA PRODUCTION.
FINALLY MOVING ON TO COLONEL RICHARDSON HIGH SCHOOL, THEY WOULD LIKE TO THANK ALL OF THE PARENTS AND STUDENTS WHO HELD FOR A SUCCESSFUL PROM NIGHT LAST MONTH.
FOR THEIR UPCOMING EVENT, IT INCLUDES ARTS AND ACADEMIC SHOE ON MAY 11TH, AND DRAMA PRODUCTION FROM MAY 20TH TO MAY 22ND, AND AWARDS BANQUET ON MAY 23RD, AND ON MAY 25TH, THEY HAVE A SENIOR AWARDS NIGHT.
MAY 26TH, CRHS SPRING CONCERT AND MAY 31ST, SENIOR CLIP.
THANK YOU FOR MY FUTURE PLANS, [NOISE] I DID GET ACCEPTED TO 3 COLLEGES, BUT IN THE END, I DECIDED TO GO WITH SOFTWARE UNIVERSITY TO MAJOR IN INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS, AND MINOR IN COMPUTER SCIENCE AND ACCOUNTING.
WHAT'S THE DATE FOR THE PROM OCCURRING?
>> IT'S OVER, I'M SORRY. OKAY.
>> I'VE BEEN HEARING MORE ABOUT THAT THAN I COULD EVER IMAGINE. [LAUGHTER]
>> WAS IT NICE? DID YOU ENJOY IT?
>> YEAH. I COULDN'T GO TO PROM.
>> YEAH, AND I REGRET THAT NOW.
>> THERE WAS A GREAT VIDEO POSTED OF DR. VONDA BOSCH DANCING.
I DID ASK HER AFTERWARDS, DID YOU KNOW THEY WERE TAKING THE [LAUGHTER] VIDEO AND POSTING IT? HE WAS LIKE, YES, I DID.
>> I THINK THEY WERE SNIPING PEOPLE BECAUSE THEY GOT THE RESOURCE OFFICER TOO.
>> IT WAS A NICE EVENT. IT WAS NICE TO SEE IT AGAIN.
IT'S DIFFERENT TO ASK ABOUT PROM.
BUT A LOT OF SCHOOLS STILL DON'T DO IT IN THE GYMS ANYMORE.
IT'S ALMOST LIKE OLD MOVIES, THE OLD TV SHOW STUFF.
BUT IN CAROLINE COUNTY, THEY STILL DO IT IN THE GYM, AND EXCEPT THE LAST TWO YEARS.
IT'S NEAT TO GO GET A BALLROOM AND TO HIRE OR SOMETHING.
THAT'S NEAT. BUT IT STILL GOES BACK WHEN THE PARENTS COME TOGETHER AS A COMMUNITY, YOU WALK IN THE GYM AND IT DOESN'T LOOK LIKE THE GYM ANYMORE, IT'S A DANCE FLOOR.
THEY DID A GREAT JOB AND THANK YOU TO ALL THE PARENTS AND STAFF WHO STAYED EXTRA AND LATE.
I THINK DR. VONDA BOSCH SAID SHE DIDN'T LEAVE THE HIGH SCHOOL UNTIL TWO O'CLOCK IN THE MORNING [OVERLAPPING], AND I SAID, WHY DIDN'T YOU COME OUT TO THE AFTER PROM PARTY? I WAS THERE UNTIL FOUR. BUT WE ALL SLEPT GOOD SUNDAY AND THANK GOODNESS, I THINK EVERYBODY GOT HOME SAFELY, SO ALL GOOD STUFF.
>> I THINK THAT MR. SPIDER CAN CONFIRM THAT THE PROBLEM THERE WAS OUTDOORS,.
>> THE DANCE FLOOR, I WILL NOT BE DANCING. [LAUGHTER].
>> DO A VIDEO OF THAT, ARE YOU SURE?
>> YOU GUYS DO A VIDEO OF THAT. [LAUGHTER].
>> ALL RIGHT, WE'LL HAVE TO WORK ON THAT.
>> OKAY, SO AND HOPEFULLY EVERYBODY IN NORTH CAROLINA HAS A GREAT SAFE NIGHT AS WELL.
MOVING ON, WE HAVE THE FINANCE REPORT. MRS. LORTON?
>> GOOD EVENING, PRESIDENT NEWCOMB, SUPERINTENDENT SIMMONS AND MEMBERS OF THE BOARD.
YOU HAVE BEFORE YOU THE FINANCE REPORT FOR THE PERIOD ENDING APRIL 30TH.
AS YOU CAN SEE, WE'RE GETTING CLOSE TO THE END OF THE FISCAL YEAR.
YOU ARE STARTING TO SEE A FEW MORE NEGATIVES AND A FEW OF THE LINE ITEMS. ONE OF THE NEW ONES THAT APPEARS ON HERE THIS MONTH IS THE TRANSPORTATION SUPPLIES AND MATERIALS LINE ITEM, WHICH IS ON THE SECOND PAGE.
IT HAS A NEGATIVE $22,000 BALANCE, AND THAT'S BECAUSE OF FUEL PRICES.
[LAUGHTER] OBVIOUSLY, LAST YEAR WHEN WE WERE DRAFTING THIS BUDGET, WE HAD NO IDEA THAT FUEL PRICES WERE GOING TO BE THROUGH THE ROOF.
NEEDLESS TO SAY, THIS YEAR'S BUDGET, TRYING TO PLAN FOR THE FY23 BUDGET HAS BEEN FUN WITH INFLATION AND TRYING TO PREDICT WHAT WE'RE GOING TO NEED FOR NEXT YEAR.
AS OF RIGHT NOW, WE HAVE SPENT APPROXIMATELY 90 PERCENT OF OUR BUDGET AND WE ARE IN GOOD FISCAL SHAPE FOR THIS POINT IN TIME.
WE ARE BEGINNING TO WRAP UP SPENDING FOR THE YEAR SO THAT WE CAN GAUGE WHERE WE ARE AND COME UP WITH SOME YEAR-END PROJECTIONS NEXT MONTH.
[00:40:05]
I DO ANTICIPATE COMING BEFORE YOU WITH A LIST OF PROPOSED YEAR-END PURCHASES BECAUSE WE WILL HAVE SOME SAVINGS AND WE WILL BE LOOKING TO DO SOME MUCH NEEDED ONE-TIME PURCHASES, ONE OF THEM BEING GYM FLOORS.WE HAVE SOME GYM FLOORS THAT ARE IN PRETTY BAD SHAPE.
WHEN WE HAVE YEAR-END SAVINGS, WE WILL LOOK FOR ONE-TIME PURCHASES LIKE THAT THAT WE CAN USE THE SAVINGS FOR.
IF THERE ARE ANY QUESTIONS, I WILL BE HAPPY TO ANSWER THEM.
>> DID YOU FIGURE OUT WHAT THE GAS PRICE NEXT YEAR IS GOING TO BE? [LAUGHTER].
>> NO. [BACKGROUND] [LAUGHTER] I DO KNOW, I CAN'T SAY THAT IT'S NOT GOING TO SNOW AGAIN THIS YEAR.
>> WE DON'T WANT TO MAKE IT THAT EASY.
[LAUGHTER] ALRIGHT, THANK YOU.
MOVING ON BOARD TO WE HAVE A CONSENT AGENDA.
[3. Consent Agenda]
>> GOOD EVENING, MEMBERS OF THE BOARD, PRESIDENT NEWCOMB, SUPERINTENDENT SIMMONS.
I'VE COME BEFORE YOU THIS EVENING TO PRESENT THE PERSONNEL AGENDA FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION AND CONSENT.
I KNOW I'M LEAVING OFF THE CONSENT SECTION HERE, BUT I PRESENT TWO LEAVES OF ABSENCES, A TOTAL OF 11 RESIGNATIONS, SEVEN IN THE PERSONNEL, AND THEN FOUR IN THE ADDENDUM.
ONE RETIREMENT, ONE APPOINTMENT TO TEACH A REGULAR CONTRACT FOR THIS SCHOOL YEAR, ONE APPOINTMENT ALREADY FOR NEXT SCHOOL YEAR, AND THEN ADDITIONALLY FOR NEXT SCHOOL YEAR, A PROVISIONAL CONTRACT APPOINTMENT.
ARE THERE ANY QUESTIONS FOR ME?
>> BOARD MEMBERS, PART OF THE CONSENT AGENDA, WE HAVE MINUTES FROM THE APRIL 6TH MEETING AND OUR APRIL 20TH MEETING.
IF THERE WERE ANY CORRECTIONS TO THOSE, IF SO, PLEASE NOTE THEM.
WE HAVE SOMETHING WE HAVEN'T HAD IN A WHILE.
>> IT'S BEEN A COUPLE OF YEARS.
ON THE CONSENT AGENDA, YOU ALSO HAVE AN OVERNIGHT FIELD TRIP REQUEST.
NORTH CAROLINA HIGH SCHOOL FBLA STUDENTS QUALIFIED FOR THE NATIONAL COMPETITION.
THERE'S A REQUEST IF IT'S AN OVERNIGHT FIELD TRIP THAT EXCEEDS SO MANY DAYS, THE BOARD HAS TO APPROVE AS WELL.
THAT'S ON THE CONSENT AGENDA TONIGHT.
THE TRIP IS JUNE 28TH, I BELIEVE.
YEAH, JUNE 28TH THROUGH JULY 2ND TO CHICAGO.
CONGRATULATIONS FOR THOSE OF WHO QUALIFIED.
THE ADVISOR, MRS. MAHONEY, WILL BE TAKING THE STUDENT ON THE TRIP AND WE JUST NEED YOUR APPROVAL TO BE ABLE TO DO THAT.
WE DO FUNDING SPLIT IN THIRDS, ONE THIRD BY THE SCHOOL SYSTEM, ONE THIRD FROM THE SCHOOL, THEN ONE THIRD THROUGH FUNDRAISING OR EFFORTS THROUGH THE CLUB TO BE ABLE TO AFFORD THE COSTS ASSOCIATED WITH.
>> IT'S JUST A GREAT OPPORTUNITY.
>> OUTSTANDING EFFORT BY THE TEACHER.
A LOT OF CREDIT DESERVED THERE.
>> DO WE KNOW WHAT THEY COMPETED IN? I'M JUST CURIOUS.
>> OKAY. FBL IS A NEAT OPPORTUNITY FOR THESE KIDS.
ALL RIGHT, BOARD MEMBERS, ANY CORRECTIONS OR COMMENTS ON THE CONSENT AGENDA? HEARING NONE, DO I HAVE A MOTION TO ACCEPT THE CONSENT AGENDA?
>> I MOVE WE ACCEPT THE CONSENT AGENDA.
>> SECOND BY MS. WAYMAN. ALL THOSE IN FAVOR?
>> ALL RIGHT. NOW WE GET TO GO INTO SOME RECOGNITIONS.
[4. Recognitions]
[NOISE] FIRST UP, WE HAVE A 2022 GOVERNOR HOGAN'S HEALTHCARE HEROES POSTER CONTEST WINNER.[BACKGROUND] THIRD PLACE WINNER.
>> DR. SIMMONS, PRESIDENT NEWCOMB, BOARD MEMBERS, I'M RENEE HESSEN, SUPERVISOR OF INSTRUCTION FOR FINE ARTS, ENGLISH SCHOOL LIBRARY MEDIA.
IT IS MY HONOR TODAY TO SHARE OUR FORMAL RECOGNITION OF THIRD GRADE GREENSBORO ELEMENTARY STUDENT.
HER NAME IS ABBIGAIL ROSE MARSHALL.
SHE IS JOINED TODAY BY HER ART TEACHER, MELISSA LEWIS, AS WELL AS THE PRINCIPAL, DAWN SWANN.
THIS CONTEST WAS A VERY SPECIAL ONE WHERE GOVERNOR LARRY HOGAN SPONSORED WHAT HE CALLED THE 2022 HEALTHCARE HEROES CONTEST.
STUDENTS ALL ACROSS THE STATE SUBMITTED POSTERS AND ABBIGAIL'S WAS RECOGNIZED AS THIRD OF ALL OF THE ELEMENTARY ENTRIES AND SHE GOT THE PRIVILEGE OF GOING TO THE STATE HOUSE IN ANNAPOLIS, AND DIDN'T YOU GET TO VISIT SOMEBODY THERE? SHE MET LARRY HOGAN AND SHE GOT A CITATION FROM THE GOVERNOR.
>> THE REAL HERO IS HER MOTHER [LAUGHTER] FOR ALL THESE REASONS, ABSOLUTELY.
[00:45:04]
ABBIGAIL, COME ON UP.>> GOOD. THERE YOU GO, YOU GOT IT.
>> DID SHE GET A PICTURE WITH THE GOVERNOR?
[BACKGROUND] [APPLAUSE] [LAUGHTER]
>> NEXT WE HAVE REGIONAL HISTORY DAY WINNER. MR. WILLOUGHBY.
>> PRESIDENT NEWCOMB, SUPERINTENDENT SIMMONS, MEMBERS OF THE BOARD.
EVERY YEAR IN CAROLINE COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS, OUR STUDENTS PARTICIPATE IN MARYLAND HISTORY DAY, THAT PART OF THE NATIONAL HISTORY DAY CONTEST.
THIS YEAR, OUR STUDENTS HAD AN OPPORTUNITY TO DO SOMETHING A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT AND WE PARTICIPATED IN THE UPPER SHORE REGIONAL HISTORY DAY CONTEST.
WHAT THAT MEANT WAS INSTEAD OF HOLDING CONTESTS IN OUR SCHOOL, OUR STUDENTS GOT THE OPPORTUNITY TO TRAVEL TO CHESAPEAKE COLLEGE AND TO PARTICIPATE AND INTERACT WITH FOLKS FROM QUEEN ANNE'S, KENT, AND TALBOT.
EACH COUNTY STILL HAD THEIR OWN WINNERS, SO IT WAS STILL A COUNTY LEVEL CONTEST, BUT THEY WERE EXPOSED TO A LARGER ARRAY OF JUDGES AND DIFFERENT EXPERIENCES LIKE THAT.
IT'S A MIMIC TO STATE COMPETITION.
ONE OF OUR STUDENTS FROM NORTH CAROLINA, LELAND CURRY, YOU WANT TO COME UP? SHE PUT TOGETHER A DOCUMENTARY AND FOR A HIGH-SCHOOL STUDENT TO PUT TOGETHER A DOCUMENTARY IS NO SMALL FEAT.
HER DOCUMENTARY WAS ON THE OSLO PEACE ACCORDS.
IT WAS ENTITLED "OSLO: A DREAM OF PEACE".
AT THIS UPPER SHORE REGIONAL HISTORY DAY, NOT ONLY DID SHE WIN THE CAROLINE COUNTY FIRST-PLACE TO BE ABLE TO GO TO THE STATE COMPETITION WHICH WAS HELD THIS PAST SATURDAY, BUT SHE WAS ALSO RECOGNIZED AS HAVING THE BEST OVERALL PROJECT IN THE ENTIRE [NOISE] UPPER SHORE HISTORY DAY.
WE WANT TO RECOGNIZE HER AND JUST MAKE MENTION THAT WHILE STATES WAS ALSO HELD AT UMBC ON SATURDAY, SHE RECEIVED A SPECIAL RECOGNITION FOR EXCELLENCE IN THE STUDY OF PEACE AND NON-VIOLENCE.
[APPLAUSE] PRINCIPAL, MR. SPIKER IS ALSO HERE FROM NORTH CAROLINA, AS WELL AS THE HISTORY DAY ADVISOR, MR. ANDREW BUFFENMYER, WHO WAS RECOGNIZED AS CAROLINE COUNTY'S HISTORY DAY TEACHER OF THE YEAR.
>> [INAUDIBLE] [BACKGROUND] [LAUGHTER]
>> YEAH, IF YOU CAN GET IT TO ME THAT'D BE GREAT, I'D LOVE TO SHARE IT.
MRS. WAYMAN, IF YOU COULD STEP JUST ONE, AND MR. BARTON, ONE BACK.
[00:50:18]
[APPLAUSE] [BACKGROUND]HE GETS FOR OVERNIGHT FIELD TRIP AND FOUND OUT THE FPLA WINNER ABOUT FOURTH PLACE FOR NETWORKING, BUT QUALIFIED FOR NATIONALS.
THAT'S STILL AN AWESOME OPPORTUNITY TO GO HAVE THAT EXPERIENCE.
>> NEXT, WE HAVE SOME MARYLAND STATE WRESTLING TOURNAMENT RECOGNITIONS.
>> PRESIDENT NEWCOMB, SUPERINTENDENT SIMMONS, MEMBERS OF THE BOARD, I'M GOING TO TAKE OFF MY RESEARCH STUDIES HAT FOR A MINUTE, PUT ON MY ATHLETICS HAT FOR A MOMENT TO RECOGNIZE TWO STUDENTS FROM COLONEL RICHARDSON HIGH SCHOOL WHO RECEIVED PODIUM PLACEMENTS AT THE MARYLAND STATE WRESTLING CHAMPIONSHIPS.
FIRST WRESTLING IN THE GIRLS TOURNAMENT IN THE 140 WEIGHT CLASS IS SELENA NICHOLLS WHO PLACED FOURTH.
SELENA, IF YOU'D LIKE TO COME FORWARD.
WRESTLING IN THE 285 WEIGHT CLASS IN THE BOYS WRESTLING TOURNAMENT, MR. ALSTON ALEXANDER, WHO PLACED SECOND.
[APPLAUSE] JOINING THEM TONIGHT IS DR. NICOLE VONDENBOSCH, PRINCIPLE OF COLONEL HIGH, AS WELL AS MR. BRYAN HALL, HEAD COACH OF THE WRESTLING PROGRAM.
DO YOU GUYS WANT TO COME UP AS WELL? [BACKGROUND] [APPLAUSE] [BACKGROUND]
>> WE WANT TO KEEP THE AWARD WINNERS FRONT AND CENTER, BUT THIS IS GOING TO BE A BIT OF A CHALLENGE.
FRONT ROW DON'T MOVE AT ALL. THERE YOU GO.
MRS. WAYMAN, IF YOU COULD BE IN THE MIDDLE. THERE YOU GO.
MR. BARTON, YOU'RE GOOD, I NEVER LOSE YOU.
>> ALL RIGHT. I THINK THEY LEFT SOME COOKIES OUT THERE FOR YOU.
[OVERLAPPING] [LAUGHTER] YOU DON'T HAVE TO MAKE WAY, WRESTLING SEASON'S OVER.
[OVERLAPPING] [BACKGROUND] [BACKGROUND] YEAH, END OUT THERE. GIVE ME [INAUDIBLE]
>> [NOISE] HAS ANYBODY SIGNED IN?
>> NO PUBLIC COMMENT. ALL RIGHT.
LET'S KEEP MOVING IF EVERYBODY'S GOOD WITH THAT.
[6. Individual Action Items]
INDIVIDUAL ACTION ITEMS, 6.01, POLICY REGION, BULLYING, HARASSMENT, AND INTIMIDATION.>> [LAUGHTER] OKAY. THANK YOU FOR CLARIFYING.
>> PRESIDENT NEWCOMB, SUPERINTENDENT SIMMONS, MEMBERS OF THE BOARD, BEFORE YOU, YOU HAVE SOME REVISIONS TO OUR POLICY 334,110, WHICH IS BULLYING, HARASSMENT, INTIMIDATION.
THERE WERE SOME UPDATES TO THE EDUCATION ARTICLE OF ANNOTATED CODE THAT REQUIRED SCHOOL SYSTEM TO HAVE A POLICY, BUT ALSO DICTATES WHAT'S ON THAT LANGUAGE MUST SAY ALL OF THE REVISIONS THAT YOU RECEIVED ARE IN COMPLIANCE WITH THE MODEL POLICY AND WITH COMAR.
THOSE REVISIONS ARE SUMMARIZED FOR YOU ON THE BOARD.
THE PURPOSE OF THE POLICY CHANGES IS A LITTLE BIT, AS WELL AS INSTEAD OF DEFINING BULLYING, HARASSMENT,
[00:55:03]
INTIMIDATION IN ONE PARAGRAPH, THEY ARE BROKEN OUT AND GIVEN THREE SEPARATE DEFINITIONS.THE TERM THAT IS USED THROUGHOUT THE POLICY HAS CHANGED FROM A VICTIM TO TARGETED STUDENT.
WE KNOW BULLYING IS A TARGETED ACT.
IT IS NOT SOMETHING THAT IS RANDOM.
WE ALSO SEE A SECTION THAT INSTEAD OF JUST TALKING ABOUT ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATIONS, WOULD UPDATE THAT A LITTLE BIT TO SPECIFICALLY TALK ABOUT CYBERBULLYING.
THERE'S A NEW SECTION ON LIMITATIONS OF LIABILITY, WHICH TALKS ABOUT THE FACT THAT EMPLOYEES WHO ARE REQUIRED TO REPORT BULLYING, HARASSMENT, INTIMIDATION, THEY FULFILL THAT OBLIGATION IF THEY FOLLOW OUR POLICY.
IT JUST SAYS THIS IS THE WAY THAT YOU CAN FULFILL THAT OBLIGATION.
SPECIFIC LANGUAGE ABOUT ELECTRONIC REPORTING, WHICH THE CPS HAS BEEN DOING FOR THE BETTER PART OF 10 YEARS.
THIS IS NOT GOING TO HAVE A GREAT DEAL OF IMPACT ON HOW WE DO DAY-TO-DAY BUSINESS.
IT'S UPDATING THOSE DEFINITIONS TO BE IN COMPLIANCE WITH THE MODEL POLICY.
THERE'S NO LANGUAGE HERE THAT'S DISCRETIONARY IF THAT MAKES SENSE.
>> BOARD MEMBERS, WE HAVE IT AND IT'S PART OF THE AGENDA TO REVIEW.
IT'S PART OF OUR, MAKE SURE I SAY IT RIGHT, I GUESS IT'S ALSO DR. WILLOUGHBY NOW, RIGHT?
>> IT'S WHATEVER YOU CALL ME, SIR.[LAUGHTER]
>> DON'T SAY THAT, BUT WITH CHANGES MANDATED BY THE STATE, WE CAN JUST DO IT [OVERLAPPING] IN ONE READING IF EVERYBODY'S COMFORTABLE.
>> JUST SO YOU KNOW, THIS HAS GONE THROUGH SSIC THROUGH CAC.
IT WAS PUT OUT AS A NEWS RELEASE FOR PUBLIC COMMENT.
THERE WAS NO COMMENT RECEIVED.
EVEN THOUGH IT IS A MANDATED LANGUAGE CHANGE AND YOU'RE GOING TO BE ABLE TO APPROVE IT IN ONE READING, WE STILL WENT THROUGH OUR NEW PROCESS TO MAKE SURE THAT IT WAS SEEN BY A VARIETY OF STAKEHOLDERS.
>> BOARD MEMBERS, ANY FURTHER QUESTIONS?
>> DO WE HAVE A MOTION TO ACCEPT THE CHANGES AS RECOMMENDED?
>> SECOND BY MR. JONES. ALL THOSE IN FAVOR?
>> NEXT, WE HAVE SOME BIDS FOR FLOORING. MR. MANGO.
>> [LAUGHTER] GOOD EVENING ONCE AGAIN.
I STAND IN FRONT OF YOU TO BRING RECOMMENDATION TOOK CAROLINE COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION TO ACCEPT THE BIDS AS SHOWN, AND TO AWARD A CONTRACT, THIS IS TOUGH SAYING IT, FITZ FLOORING, LLC IN THE AMOUNT OF $315,000 THAT IS COMPRISED OF A BASE BIT OF $265,000 AS WELL AS $50,000 FOR ADD ALTERNATES.
WHAT THEY'RE GOING TO BE DOING IS BASICALLY FURNISHING, INSTALLING THE FLOORS IN FIVE SCHOOLS, WHICH INCLUDE DENTON ELEMENTARY, RIDGELY ELEMENTARY, FEDERALSBURG, COLONEL RICHARDSON, MIDDLE AND NORTH CAROLINE HIGH.
BASICALLY, WHAT THEY'RE GOING TO DO IS THEY'RE GOING TO RIP OUT THE CARPET, AND THEY'RE GOING TO REPLACE THAT WITH LUXURY VINYL TILE, BUT ALSO PUT COPE BASE MOLDING BACK ON THE EDGE OF THE FLOOR TO THE TRANSITION OF FLOOR TO THE WALL.
WE'RE TRYING TO GET RID OF THE CARPET.
SOME OF THE ADD ALTS IN OUR MEDIA CENTERS, CARPETS COMING OUT, BUT WE'RE PUTTING CARPET BACK IN IF IT'S GOING BE CARPET SQUARES.
THE REASON BEING IT'S A FRESH CARPET.
IF WE HAVE A STAIN OR SOMETHING THAT IS BAD ON THAT CARPET, INSTEAD OF RIPENING OFF WE JUST RIP OFF A TWO-BY-TWO PIECE OF CARPET AND REPLACE IT.
THIS WILL BEGIN JUNE 20TH, 2022, AND IT'LL BE COMPLETED AUGUST 8TH, 2022.
IT IS FUNDED BY THE SR2 FUNDS.
[NOISE] BEFORE I SEEK YOUR APPROVAL, DO YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS?
>> QUESTION I HAVE IS WHILE THIS WORK IS GOING ON, STAFF THAT'S IN THE SCHOOLS, WHAT HAPPENS THERE?
>> THAT'S A VERY GOOD QUESTION. FEDERALSBURG AND DENTON ELEMENTARY WILL BE THE TWO SCHOOLS THAT ARE GOING BE IMPACTED THE MOST.
WE'RE GETTING MOST OF THOSE CLASSROOMS CONVERTED.
I'M ACTUALLY MEETING WITH THE PRINCIPAL AT DENTON TOMORROW TO DISCUSS HOW ARE WE GOING TO DO THAT.
WHAT I'M GOING TO SUGGEST IS THAT WE TAKE BASICALLY SPLIT THE BUILDING IN HALF.
ONE HALF TO WHERE THE CHILDREN WILL GO FOR THEIR RECS AND PARKS, SUMMER SCHOOL OR WHATEVER ELSE IS GOING ON IN SCHOOL AND THE OTHER HALF WILL BE UNDER CONSTRUCTION.
THEN ONCE THAT STAGE IS DONE, FLIP-FLOP.
IN FEDERALSBURG, PRETTY MUCH UPSTAIRS AND DOWNSTAIRS.
WE'RE LOOKING AT OVER NEARLY 60 CLASSROOMS AND/OR DESIGNATED EDUCATIONAL AREAS THAT ARE GOING TO BE REDONE THIS SUMMER.
IT'S A BIG PROJECT. WE'RE TRYING TO FINISH UP FROM LAST YEAR.
IF FOR SOME REASON WE HIT BUMPS AND WE RUN OUT OF TIME AND WE CAN'T GET ALL THE ADD ALTS DONE, THEN WE WILL RUN OUT AND GET THAT NEXT YEAR.
THOUGH THEY'VE ASSURED THAT THEY SHOULD BE ABLE GET EVERYTHING DONE.
>> THE ONLY DIFFERENCE IN THESE PRICES, BECAUSE THE FITZ IN SOUTH RIVER IS MAJOR DIFFERENCE.
IT'S JUST LABOR AND THE COST OF MATERIALS, THAT'S THE DIFFERENCE?
[01:00:01]
>> YES, IT REALLY IS. WHAT WE'RE EXCITED ABOUT WITH FITZ IS THAT HE IS ALSO THE SAME COMPANY THAT DID OUR FLOORS LAST YEAR WITH SOME OF THE LVT INSTALLATION.
HE'S VERY FAMILIAR WITH CAROLINE COUNTY.
HE PROVED LAST YEAR TO BE VERY, VERY FLEXIBLE WITH ISSUES WITH STUDENTS MOVING FROM DIFFERENT PARTS OF THE BUILDING, ALL THAT.
SO HE'S EXPERIENCED WITH THAT, BUT HE WON BID BASED ON HIS PRICING, NOT JUST EXPERIENCE.
>> IS HE USING THE SAME MATERIAL THAT HE USED LAST YEAR?
>> IT'S SHOULD BE THE EXACT SAME TILE THAT YOU SEE NOW. YES.
>> IS IT MORE OR LESS LIKE SQUARE FOOTAGE THAN WE DID LAST YEAR? DO YOU KNOW?
>> LAST YEAR, WE DID TWO ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS,RIGHT?
>> YEAH. WE DID TWO ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS AND BASICALLY GOING TO BE PRETTY MUCH TAKING THE CARPET OUT OF THAT SCHOOL ENTIRELY WITH FEW EXCEPTIONS.
THEN WE'RE HITTING SOME SMALL PARTS AT THE CAROLINE MIDDLE, NORTH CAROLINE.
JUST A COUPLE OF ROOMS THEY'RE IN THERE.
BUT YES. IT'S MUCH MORE EXTENSIVE THAN WHAT WAS LAST YEAR.
>> THANK YOU. ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? HEARING NONE. DO WE HAVE A MOTION TO ACCEPT THE FITS [INAUDIBLE]
>> I MOVE. WE SUPPORT THE BID AWARD AS PRESENTED.
SECOND BY MR. JONES ALL THOSE IN FAVOR.
>> THANK YOU. MOVING ALONG TO REPORT SOME PRESENTATIONS.
[7. Reports and Presentations]
MS. MACOMIC WE HAVE A TEACHER EVALUATION UPDATE.>> YES, I DO. GOOD EVENING AGAIN, PRESIDENT NEWCOMB, SUPERINTENDENT SIMMONS AND MEMBERS OF THE BOARD.
AT THE NOVEMBER SECOND BOARD MEETING, I CAME BEFORE YOU FOR APPROVAL OF A TEACHER EVALUATION COMMITTEE AND YOU ALL DID APPROVE THAT COMMITTEE.
TONIGHT I COME BEFORE YOU TO SHARE THE COMMITTEE'S FINDINGS, RECOMMENDATIONS, AND NEXT STEPS.
THE COMMITTEE CONSISTED OF SCHOOL-BASED ADMINISTRATION, CENTRAL OFFICE ADMINISTRATION, REPRESENTATIVES FROM THE TEACHER UNION AND MYSELF AS CHAIR.
YOU SEE WE MET SEVERAL TIMES IN DECEMBER AND THEN MONTHLY FOR JANUARY, FEBRUARY, AND MARCH.
THE PURPOSE DESCRIBED TO YOU IN NOVEMBER AND THE PURPOSE THAT WE FULFILLED WAS TO DISCUSS THE PILOT OF A NEW EVALUATION PLATFORM AND TO DETERMINE IF THERE WAS A NEED TO ADD DEVELOPING AS A RATING BACK INTO OUR SYSTEM FOR SELECT POPULATIONS OF TEACHERS.
THE FIRST THING I DID WAS REACH OUT TO SURROUNDING COUNTIES, DORCHESTER, TALBOT, QUEEN ANNE'S TO INQUIRE ABOUT THEIR EVALUATION PLATFORMS. I THEN REACHED OUT TO THEIR VENDORS AND RECEIVED INFORMATION FROM THE VARIOUS VENDORS.
WE, AS A COMMITTEE, VIEWED SEVERAL DEMONSTRATIONS OF VENDORS AND IT WAS IN CONSENSUS THAT THE RECOMMENDATION FROM THE COMMITTEE WAS TO PURCHASE A POWERSCHOOL PRODUCT WHICH IT'S CALLED PERFORM.
IT IS EXTREMELY USER-FRIENDLY AND THE DATA CAPABILITIES ARE AMAZING.
>> IT'S OUT OF ORDER. DO YOU MIND JUST BEARING WITH ME?
>> RIGHT THERE THAT'S GOOD. THESE ARE JUST A FEW OF THE DATA SLIDES THAT SHOW WHAT ADMINISTRATORS AND TEACHERS WILL BE ABLE TO SEE.
THESE ARE TEACHER RATINGS AND WE WILL BE ABLE TO SEE PROGRESS OVER TIME FOR INDIVIDUAL TEACHERS.
WE WILL ALSO BE ABLE TO SEE DATA FOR ENTIRE SCHOOL AT A TIME, WHICH IS SOMETHING WE CANNOT SEE RIGHT NOW.
WE CAN SEE A SNAPSHOT OF A TEACHER THIS YEAR, A SNAPSHOT OF A TEACHER LAST YEAR.
THIS NEW SYSTEM WILL BE ABLE TO SHOW US IN ONE DATA CAPTURE, ONE INDIVIDUAL TEACHER OVER TIME, AS WELL AS THE ENTIRE SCHOOL AND HOW INDIVIDUAL TEACHERS ARE RATING ON AN INDIVIDUAL STANDARD.
TRULY IT WILL BE USABLE DATA FOR ADMINISTRATION TO BE ABLE TO SEE STRENGTHS OF THEIR TEACHERS INDIVIDUALLY AND AS A WHOLE, AS WELL AS WHERE ARE THEIR AREAS OF IMPROVEMENT.
THE SECOND PURPOSE WAS EVALUATION RATINGS. THANK YOU. YOU'RE GOOD, RACHEL.
THE COMMITTEE HAD LENGTHY CONVERSATIONS ABOUT THE RATING OF DEVELOPING.
WE TALKED ABOUT IF IT SHOULD BE FOR INDIVIDUAL GROUPS OF TEACHERS, I APOLOGIZE.
[01:05:07]
SHOULD IT BE JUST FOR NON-TENURED, SHOULD IT BE FOR TEACHERS WHO ARE NEW TO OUR SYSTEM? WE HAD NUMEROUS CONVERSATIONS AROUND THAT.TRULY THE CONSENSUS WAS TO RESTORE A DEVELOPING RATING FOR ALL TEACHERS.
HOWEVER, ON AN OBSERVATION AND NOT A FINAL EVALUATION.
TEACHERS ARE RATED AT A MINIMUM OF FOUR TIMES A YEAR WITH AN OBSERVATION.
THE RECOMMENDATION IS THAT WE HAVE THE FOUR RATINGS FOR AN INDIVIDUAL OBSERVATION.
WE WOULD HAVE HIGHLY EFFECTIVE, DEVELOPING AN INEFFECTIVE ON ANY ONE TIME THAT A TEACHER IS OBSERVED.
HOWEVER, WHEN ALL OF THOSE OBSERVATIONS ARE CALCULATED TOGETHER, WE AS A COMMITTEE FEEL THAT A TEACHER IS EITHER EFFECTIVE, HIGHLY EFFECTIVE, OR INEFFECTIVE AND THAT OVER TIME YOU CAN BE DEVELOPING IN AN AREA.
YOU CAN BE DEVELOPING ON A SNAPSHOT OF ONE OBSERVATION.
BUT OVER TIME, YOU ARE EITHER AN EFFECTIVE TEACHER, HIGHLY EFFECTIVE OR YOU ARE INEFFECTIVE AND SO AT THE END OF A SCHOOL YEAR, THE RATING OF DEVELOPING WOULD NOT BE IN THERE.
THAT'S THE RECOMMENDATION OF THE COMMITTEE.
NEXT STEPS ARE THAT WE DID GO AHEAD AND CONTRACT WITH POWER SCHOOL.
WE ARE IN THE PROCESS OF CREATING ALL OF THE NEW OBSERVATION AND EVALUATION FORMS WITHIN THIS PLATFORM, WE ARE WORKING ON WHAT OUR TRAINING WILL LOOK LIKE FOR BOTH ADMINISTRATORS AND TEACHERS IN AUGUST UPON RETURN.
IT WILL BE A LITTLE BIT MORE OF A HEAVY LIFT FOR ADMINISTRATORS THAN TEACHERS.
THEY WILL HAVE A LOGIN, WHICH IS ACTUALLY THEIR SAME LOGIN AS THEIR GRADE BOOK AS IT WILL BE FOR SCHOOLOGY.
IT'LL BE ONE ENCOMPASSING LOGIN.
THEY WILL HAVE A FEW CLICKS OF A BUTTON.
A LITTLE BIT MORE HEAVY LIFT FOR TRAINING ADMINISTRATORS ON HOW TO USE THE SYSTEM, BUT IT IS EASILY NAVIGATED.
AS FOR OUR NEXT STEPS FOR THE RATINGS, IT WOULD BE TO ACTUALLY ADD DEVELOPING BACK INTO OUR OBSERVATION FORMS. HOWEVER, WE WOULD BE ABLE TO USE THE SAME CALCULATION METHOD AS WE HAVE IN THE PAST SINCE WE WOULD NOT BE ADDING DEVELOPING INTO THE OVERALL EVALUATION RATING.
>> CONSIDERING THAT THERE ARE FOUR OBSERVATIONS, IS THERE A NUMBER OF DEVELOPING THAT WILL LEAD TO INEFFECTIVE?
>> YES, WE ARE ON A FOUR-POINT SCALE, SO FOUR IS HIGHLY EFFECTIVE, THREE, EFFECTIVE TWO AND ONE.
THERE IS A BEHIND THE SCENES CALCULATION THAT TEACHERS ACTUALLY HAVE WHERE IT FALLS WITHIN OUR TEACHER EVALUATION SYSTEM, WHERE THAT CUTOFF POINT IS.
IT IS DEPENDENT UPON THE NUMBER OF OBSERVATIONS DONE THROUGHOUT THE YEAR.
IF YOU ARE DEEMED INEFFECTIVE IN AN AREA, YOU RECEIVE ADDITIONAL OBSERVATIONS.
IT'S JUST THAT CALCULATION OF THERE'S MORE THE DENOMINATOR.
THE DENOMINATOR IS HIGHER, THE RATING.
BUT YES, THERE IS A SPECIFIC CALCULATION AS TO NUMBER OF POINTS AND WHERE THAT WOULD FALL.
>> BASICALLY WHAT I'M THINKING IS THAT TO RECEIVE AN INEFFECTIVE IN MAY OR JUNE IN THE YEAR SHOULD NOT BE A SURPRISE?
>> ABSOLUTELY IS WOULD NOT BE A SURPRISE.
>> AS OUR CURRENT SYSTEM NOW WILL NOT ALLOW IT TO BE A SURPRISE EITHER.
WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO DO AND WHAT THE WORK OF THE COMMITTEE WAS, WAS LOOKING AT THE CONCEPT OF IN DEVELOPING BACK IN DURING THE OBSERVATION PROCESS.
[OVERLAPPING] BECAUSE YOU'RE WORKING TOWARDS IMPROVING AND GETTING THERE AND THE DEVELOPING AS WE'RE SEEING IT GROWING.
WE'RE JUST NOT WHERE WE NEED TO BE AND WE WANT TO ENCOURAGE THAT GROWTH DURING THE OBSERVATIONS CYCLE TO
[01:10:01]
PUSH THE PERSON NEEDS AN ADDITIONAL SUPPORT AND THEN FOR US TO BE ABLE TO PROVIDE IT TO THEM.>> I'VE BEEN HEARING YOU TALK ABOUT THIS, AND TO MIRRORING TO FOLLOW UP ON MICHELLE'S QUESTION A LITTLE BIT.
IF A TEACHER IS A NEW TEACHER, FIRST TIME TEACHER AND THEY'RE NOT ON TENURE YET, THEN THEY'RE DEVELOPING IN THE OBSERVATIONS.
IS THIS CALCULATION, SO IF YOU GET TO THE END OF THE YEAR, THEY'RE DEVELOPING BUT THE NUMBER OF CHARACTERISTICS IS GOING TO PUT THEM IN A WAY WHERE THEY'RE AN EFFECTIVE TEACHER AT THE END OF YEAR 1?
>> IT WOULD DEPEND ON THE NUMBER OF DEVELOPING.
YOU WRITE TO FOUR STANDARDS ON EACH OBSERVATION SO A MINIMUM OF 16 STANDARDS IF THEY HAVE FOUR OBSERVATIONS A YEAR.
A MINIMUM OF 16 STANDARDS ARE WRITTEN TO, SO IT DOES DEPEND ON HOW MANY STANDARDS WHERE THEY DEVELOPING.
IF THEY'RE DEVELOPING IN ALL FOUR STANDARDS OF A GIVEN OBSERVATION, THEN IT WOULD, BY THE END OF THE YEAR LEND ITSELF TO BE AN INEFFECTIVE EVALUATION.
>> BECAUSE IT'S NOT FULLY MET RIGHT.
>> A 10 YEARS OFFER IS WHAT? TWO OR THREE?
>> THE FIRST DAY OF YOUR FOURTH YEAR.
>> YOU GOT TO GET THROUGH THREE YEARS.
>> BUT ONE THING TO REMEMBER IS JUST BECAUSE THEY ARE NEW TEACHER, DOESN'T MEAN THEY'RE DEVELOPING IN AN EVALUATION.
>> IN SOME PART PEOPLE ARE NATURALISTS AND THEN OTHERS AREN'T SO I GUESS WHERE I'M COMING FROM TOO IS, FROM YOUR PERSPECTIVE IF THEY'RE DEVELOPING THROUGH YEAR 1 BUT THEY HAVE ENOUGH OFFSETS TO GET EFFECTIVE.
DO WE SEE THE END OF THE YEAR, THEY'RE EFFECTIVE TEACHER.
IF THEY STAGNATE, THEY HAVE THE ABILITY IN YEAR 2, YEAR 3 TO THOSE OBSERVATIONS, IF THERE'S NO STAGNATION, THE COULD DROP BACK TO INEFFECTIVE?
>> THAT COULD HAPPEN WITH [OVERLAPPING]
>> IT CAN BE VETERAN BUT YES, IT COULD. IN ORDER WITHIN OUR SYSTEM AS MR. HARMELL POINTED OUT, IF ANYBODY RECEIVES AN INEFFECTIVE RATING ON ANY OBSERVATION THEIR ARE AUTOMATIC TRIGGERS THAT GO IN PLACE THAT WE HAVE TO GO BACK AND OBSERVE IN A SET PERIOD OF TIME AND SUPPORT SYSTEM.
>> PROVIDE SUPPORTS IN-BETWEEN.
>> IN-BETWEEN,SO WE CAN HELP IMPROVE THOSE STANDARDS AND THEY'LL WORK WITH THE TEACHER TO GET THERE.
OUR GOAL IS, AND IT'S BEEN A WHILE SINCE WE PROBABLY HAD THESE CONVERSATIONS.
THERE'S A LOT OF EFFORT THAT GOES INTO HIRING A TEACHER.
THERE'S A LOT OF RESOURCES THAT GO INTO HIRING A TEACHER.
IF SOMEONE WHO IS VERY COMMITTED TO GROWING THAT PERSON TO BE THE STRONGEST TEACHER THAT THEY CAN BE FOR KIDS, KIDS DESERVE THE BEST TEACHERS WHO WILL PUT AN EFFORT WHEN THEY ARE GROWING.
WE DEFINITELY PUT THE EFFORT IN TO GROW AN INDIVIDUAL.
BUT THERE ARE TIMES, YOU CAN WATER, YOU CAN PROVIDE GOOD SOIL.
SOMETIMES IT DOESN'T QUITE GROW LIKE YOU WANT IT TO, AND THERE ARE PROCESSES IN PLACE, THAT WE TRIED TO USE OUR FRESH IMPROVEMENT PLANS TO HELP GUIDE THE PROCESS.
WE HAVE VARIOUS VARYING CHECKPOINTS ALONG THE WAY WHEN WE WERE WRITING THIS REPORT, AND YOU HOPE THAT SOMEONE'S NOT INVESTING FOUR YEARS OF THE COLLEGE EDUCATION OR 100 AND SOME THOUSAND DOLLARS INTO A CAREER THAT THEY'RE NOT GOING TO BE SUCCESSFUL IN.
HOWEVER, UNFORTUNATELY, IT DOES HAPPEN SOMETIMES.
BUT WE'RE GOING TO DO EVERYTHING WE CAN TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE MAKING THE RIGHT DECISION ABOUT OFFERING TENURE, AS WELL AS ALSO MAKING THE RIGHT DECISION WHEN IT COMES TO HAVING CAREER COUNCIL AS WELL.
>> SOUNDS LIKE A LOT WORK WHEN INTO A LOT WHEN THEY NEED GOOD WORK.
>> I THANK THE COMMITTEE VERY MUCH FOR THEIR TIME. ABSOLUTELY.
>> DISCUSSION [INAUDIBLE] OUR TEACHER EVALUATION SUMMARY OF THE 2022 STAFF SURVEY RESULTS AFTER SUMMER [INAUDIBLE]
>> YES, SIR. GOOD EVENING, MEMBERS OF THE BOARD.
FOR THE PUBLIC WE HAD A CLOSE SESSION MEETING IN APRIL TO REVIEW THE SURVEY RESULTS WITH NEW MEASURES, WHICH IS A COMPANY THAT WE CONTRACT WITH THAT DOES THE DATA ANALYSIS OF THE ANNUAL EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT SURVEY IT'S COMPLETED.
THIS IS THE 3RD YEAR CCPS HAS PROVIDED OR USE THE ENGAGEMENT SURVEY TO GAUGE TO SEE HOW THINGS ARE AND WHERE THINGS ARE WITH STAFF, THEN WHICH WE GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE.
WHAT THE SURVEY IS ACTUALLY MEASURING WHEN PROVIDED, MEASURING THREE COMPONENTS THAT QUALTRICS, AGAIN IS THE COMPANY WE GO WITH, WHETHER LOOKING FORWARD FOR EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT, WHICH ONE IS ACTIVE COMMITMENT? EMPLOYEES PLAN TO STAY WITH CCPS AND RECOMMEND THE ORGANIZATION AND OTHERS.
THERE'S PERSONAL SIGNIFICANCE OF HOW EMPLOYEES FEEL THAT THEY FEEL VALUED.
ARE THEY ENTHUSIASTIC ABOUT THEIR WORK AND THEN THE CONFIDENCE IN FUTURE.
DO OUR EMPLOYEES, DO OUR STAFF BELIEVE IN
[01:15:01]
THE FUTURE OF OUR ORGANIZATION AND WHERE WE'RE WORKING TO GO TOWARDS? THE SURVEY WAS GIVEN IN FEBRUARY OF THIS YEAR, I BELIEVE, IF I REMEMBER CORRECTLY, IN EACH OF THE OTHER YEARS THAT WAS GIVEN IN FEBRUARY AS WELL.SORRY, AS MARCH OF THIS YEAR, IT'S FEBRUARY THE PREVIOUS TWO YEARS.
OUR PARTICIPATION RATE THIS YEAR WAS A LITTLE BIT DOWN COMPARED TO PREVIOUS YEARS.
WE WERE TO 73 PERCENT PARTICIPATION RATE.
WE WERE AT 79 PERCENT IN 2021.
ACCORDING TO NEW MEASURES, THE FOLKS WHO DO THE DATA ANALYSIS, THERE'S A 99 PERCENT DEGREE OF CONFIDENCE THAT THE SCORES THAT WERE DERIVED IN IT ARE WITHIN BASICALLY A TWO-POINT SWING PLUS OR MINUS OF THE SURVEY THAT IF EVERYBODY TOOK IT, SO FAIRLY ACCURATE IS THE EASIEST WAY TO GET TO THAT.
THE SURVEY DOES PROVIDE SOME REALLY VALUABLE INFORMATION TO THE SCHOOL SYSTEM.
IT IS A SNAPSHOT IN TIME, BUT IT'S AN IMPORTANT SNAPSHOT IN TIME.
IT IS WHERE PEOPLE WERE FEELING AT THAT MOMENT WHEN THEY DO TAKE THE SURVEY.
WORKING THROUGH THAT TONIGHT'S PRESENTATION, I DO WANT TO HIGHLIGHT THE STRENGTHS THAT WE FOUND IN THE SURVEY BECAUSE THERE WERE DEFINITE STRENGTHS THAT EXISTED, THERE'S OPPORTUNITIES FOR US TO IMPROVE AND GROW WITHIN, AND THEN WE'LL ALSO TALK ABOUT SOME OF WHAT OUR NEXT STEPS ARE.
WHAT I WANT TO GROUND THE SURVEY RESULTS IN, IS JUST AN UNDERSTANDING THAT THIS WAS EXTREMELY CHALLENGING YEAR.
MR. NICO MENTIONED THAT EARLIER, THAT WAS ONE OF THE MOST CHALLENGING SCHOOL YEARS PROBABLY ANY OF US HAS EVER HAD AS A SYSTEM AS EDUCATORS.
WE STARTED THE YEAR, THE FIRST HALF OF THE YEAR WE HAD OVER A THOUSAND QUARANTINES.
THAT CREATES A LOT OF RIPPLES WITH STAFF AS WELL AS WITH STUDENTS AND CONSISTENCY.
THERE'S ALSO THE POLITICAL DYNAMIC THAT WE WERE ALL EXPERIENCING AT THE TIME WITH MASK MANDATES AND THOSE PIECES AND THE DISRUPTION IT CAUSES.
RIGHT NOW, AT LEAST OR LAST FEW MONTHS, IT SEEMS TO BE OPEN SEASON ON PUBLIC EDUCATION NATIONALLY.
THOSE THINGS DO CREATE RIPPLES, AND PUBLIC ED IS REALLY AS A WHOLE AND NATIONALLY THERE'S SOME REAL THINGS BUBBLING UP WITH TEACHER SHORTAGES, ITEMS ALONG THOSE LINES.
I GIVE YOU THAT TO THINK ABOUT AS WE DO LOOK AT OUR SURVEY RESULTS, BECAUSE ALL OF THOSE THINGS DO HAVE AN IMPACT HERE LOCALLY AS WELL.
SOME OF THE STRENGTHS OF THE KEY FINDINGS THAT THE SURVEY DID POINT OUT, IS THAT HIGHLY AND ACTUALLY THIS WAS ONE OF OUR ACTUALLY WAS OUR HIGHEST SCORING ITEM IN THE SURVEY, WHICH IS EMPLOYEES KNOW WHAT IS EXPECTED OF THEM AND UNDERSTAND HOW THEIR WORK CONTRIBUTES TO THE GOALS OF THE DISTRICT, DID COME OUT VERY WELL, VERY STRONG.
EMPLOYEES VALUE THE SUPPORTIVE RELATIONSHIPS, POSITIVE WORK CULTURE AND STRONG TEAMWORK AND COLLABORATION WITH THEIR COLLEAGUES.
THEY WERE SEEMED TO BE IN A GOOD FEEL OF WORKING WITH THOSE THEY WORK WITH ON A REGULAR BASIS.
WE DID ASK A QUESTION ABOUT EMPLOYEES WHO IF THEY INTEND TO STAY AND IF THEY DO, WHY? WHAT'S THE DRIVING FORCE FOR REMAINING AT CCPS? THE THEMES THAT CAME OUT OF THOSE QUESTIONS WERE OUR STUDENTS.
THE OPPORTUNITY TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN DOING WHAT THEY DO BEST, TO THE CONTRIBUTION.
QUESTION THAT DOES COME UP AT TIMES AND WAS INTERESTING TO GET THE RESULTS.
EMPLOYEES OVERWHELMINGLY FELT TREATED WITH RESPECT BY THEIR SUPERVISORS AND THEIR BUILDING ADMINISTRATION.
THIS YEAR, THAT QUESTION WAS SEPARATED OUT.
IN PREVIOUS YEARS, IT WAS A QUESTION OF SUPERVISION AND BUILDING LEVEL TOGETHER.
WE SEPARATED THAT OUT TO BE ABLE TO DO A LITTLE BIT MORE DATA ANALYSIS, AND BOTH SCORES DID STILL RATE HIGH ACCORDING TO NEW MEASURES.
THE LAST ITEM AS A STRENGTH, AND IT'S A STRENGTH AND IT WILL SHOW UP AGAIN.
IT'S SOMETHING WE'RE WORKING TOWARDS.
THERE'S DEFINITELY STILL ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT, BUT THERE WERE SIGNIFICANT INCREASES OVER THE PAST SCHOOL YEAR AND THE PERCEPTIONS OF OUR STAFF AND CONFIDENCE IN DISTRICT-LEVEL LEADERSHIP, DISTRICT-LEVEL COMMUNICATION AND SHARING AN INSPIRATIONAL VISION.
I BELIEVE THE GAINS AND ALL THREE OF THOSE AREAS WERE DOUBLE DIGITS COMPARED TO WHERE WE WERE AGAIN, AND WE GREW A LOT, WE STILL HAVE OPPORTUNITIES TO GROW.
IN TERMS OF OPPORTUNITIES, THERE'S ALWAYS OPPORTUNITIES, AND AGAIN, I APPRECIATE THE FACT THAT THE SURVEY DOES HELP US IDENTIFY THOSE ACROSS OUR AREAS.
AGAIN I JUST MENTIONED THIS ONE, BUT IT DOES FOLLOW UP CONSISTENT AND TRANSPARENT COMMUNICATION FROM DISTRICT LEADERSHIP.
WE DID IMPROVE SIGNIFICANTLY FOR THE YEAR, BUT THERE'S STILL A LOT OF OPPORTUNITY FOR GROWTH WITHIN THIS AREA.
WE'VE PUT A LOT OF EMPHASIS ON ONE YEAR, BUT ONE SCHOOL YEAR OR FREELY EIGHT MONTHS OF A SCHOOL LEVEL BY THE TIME THE SURVEY WAS TAKEN, ACTUALLY ABOUT SIX MONTHS OF A SCHOOL YEAR.
I UNDERSTAND THAT IT DOES NOT PROVE A LONG-STANDING PATTERN OF IMPROVEMENT, AND WE HAVE OPPORTUNITIES TO CONTINUE TO GROW AND MAINTAIN TRANSPARENT COMMUNICATION FROM OUR DISTRICT-LEVEL LEADERSHIP.
ALSO AN AREA OF IMPROVEMENT IS, EXPLICITLY SHARING AND CONNECTING OUR COORDINATE ORGANIZATIONAL DECISIONS AND ACTIONS TO AN INSPIRING, MOTIVATING, AND COMPELLING VISION FOR THE FUTURE.
THERE'S OPPORTUNITIES THOUGH WE HAD LOTS OF GROWTH IN THIS AREA,
[01:20:04]
BUT CONTINUING TO HELP OUR EMPLOYEES UNDERSTAND THE WHY FOR DECISIONS THAT ARE MADE AND CONNECTING THAT WHY TO OUR VISION AND MISSION OF THE SCHOOL SYSTEM.WE HAD A LOT OF TOP-DOWN THINGS THIS SCHOOL YEAR COMING FROM THE STATE AND THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT, AND THERE WERE TIMES WHERE WE HAD TO HAVE SOME TOP-DOWN THINGS DUE TO THE IMPACT OF THE PANDEMIC, AND WE WILL CONTINUE TO WORK TO IMPROVE SHARING THE WHY BEHIND THE DECISIONS AND BUILDING THOSE COMPONENTS OUT.
ANOTHER OPPORTUNITY IS COMMUNICATION AND SUPPORT COLLABORATION BETWEEN SCHOOLS AND DEPARTMENTS WITHIN OUR DISTRICT.
A LOT OF THE FEEDBACK WAS VERY POSITIVE WITHIN THE OWN SCHOOL, BUT THAT COLLABORATION ACROSS SCHOOL CAMPUSES.
LAST YEAR DURING THE PANDEMIC, WE HAD LOTS OF OPPORTUNITY FOR CROSS CAMPUS COLLABORATION.
IT WAS BUILT INTO OUR PLANNING TIME WHEN WE HAD OUR ASYNCHRONOUS WEDNESDAYS WERE STAFF WERE WORKING ACROSS THIS YEAR, THAT DIDN'T EXIST.
WE'RE AT A DIFFERENT SCHEDULE, BUT THAT DEFINITELY DOES HAVE AN IMPACT.
IT JUST HAS US RETHINKING HOW DO WE BUILD THAT CULTURE WE HAD LAST YEAR FOR CROSS CAMPUS COLLABORATION AND DOING IT IN A WAY THAT'S MEANINGFUL WITHIN OUR NORMAL SCHOOL YEAR.
ENCOURAGING EMPLOYEE INPUT AND IDEAS TO CONSIDER NEW AND BETTER WAYS OF DOING THINGS.
THIS IS ONE THAT WE'RE GOING TO CONTINUE TO BUILD UPON AS WELL.
THIS IS THE FIRST YEAR WE STARTED THE TAC COMMITTEES AT THE SCHOOL LEVEL AND THEY'RE PROVIDING OPPORTUNITIES FOR GETTING THAT FEEDBACK.
BUT AS WE'VE DISCUSSED AT BOARD MEETINGS, WE SPENT A LITTLE TIME CLARIFYING BETTER WAYS TO UTILIZE THOSE TAC COMMITTEES AND OUR PRINCIPALS ARE DOING A GREAT JOB OF STRENGTHENING THOSE PARTNERSHIPS WITH OUR STAFF TO GET THE FEEDBACK AND THEN FIGURING OUT HOW THEY CAN IMPROVE THINGS WITHIN THE BUILDING.
[NOISE] THAT AGAIN, ENGAGEMENT CONTINUES TO VARY GREATLY BY LOCATION AND DEPARTMENT TEACHER PERCEPTIONS HAVE IMPROVED, REGARDING ENGAGEMENT OVER LAST YEAR, WHICH IS ACTUALLY INCREDIBLE CONSIDERING FROM THE YEAR WE'VE HAD, AND AGAIN, THE FEELINGS ACROSS THE COUNTRY WITH A STRESS ON TEACHERS.
TEACHER PERCEPTIONS HAVE IMPROVED.
BUT AGAIN, WE STILL HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY THERE TO BUILD UPON.
IN TERMS OF LOOKING FOR STEPS MOVING FORWARD. WE WILL CONTINUE TO WORK ON THIS, THE GOALS THAT WE HIGHLIGHTED LAST YEAR.
AT THIS TIME, WE MADE SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENT ZONE, SO WE WILL CONTINUE TO WORK ON THOSE.
WE'RE REALLY GOING TO KNUCKLE DOWN ON THESE AS WELL, AND THAT'S CONTINUING TO BUILD CONFIDENCE BY BEING OPEN AND CONSISTENT IN OUR COMMUNICATION.
NOT JUST FROM MY OFFICE, BUT FROM ALL OF OUR OFFICES AND THEN ACROSS BUILDINGS BEING OPENED WITHIN OUR BUILDINGS.
I THINK OUR PRINCIPALS DO A FANTASTIC JOB, BUT THERE'S ALWAYS AN OPPORTUNITY TO HELP EXPLAIN THE WHY A LITTLE BIT BETTER SO EVERYBODY UNDERSTANDS IT.
AGAIN, WHAT HAS BEEN LACKING, BECAUSE THERE HAS BEEN A REAL IMPETUS HERE REALLY OF GETTING THE YEAR GOING AND GETTING THROUGH COVID.
THOSE THINGS HAVE GOTTEN IN THE WAY OF US BEING ABLE TO STICK TO THE VISION AND MISSION OF THE SCHOOL SYSTEM.
WE'VE NOT BEEN ABLE TO BE AS FUTURE-FOCUSED BECAUSE WE'VE BEEN VERY IN THE MINUTE FOCUS BECAUSE OF NECESSITY, WAS PROVIDED WITH AN OPPORTUNITY TO REMAIN FUTURE FOCUSED ON WHAT OUR GOALS NEED TO BE ON THE SCHOOL SYSTEM, I THINK PART OF THAT IS ALSO INDICATIVE UPON STEP THE BOARD MADE TONIGHT IN PROVIDING CLEAR DIRECTION FOR FOUR YEARS OF WHERE WE'RE HEADING.
ANOTHER PART THAT WE'RE BUILDING UPON AND MR. NEWCOMB MENTIONED THIS TONIGHT A LITTLE BIT EARLIER AND THAT'S WORKING WITH OUR EMPLOYEES, UNDERSTAND HOW THEY CAN GROW THEIR SKILL SETS AND THEIR CAREERS AT CCPS, INCLUDING ADVANCEMENT AND TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES.
WE STARTED OUR CAROLINA ASPIRING LEADERS PROGRAM IN JANUARY.
WE HAVE ALREADY SENT OUT A REMINDER FOR NEXT YEAR.
WE'RE READY TO START AGAIN IN THE FALL, TO START WORKING TO GROW OUR OWN.
WE'RE LOOKING AT OPPORTUNITIES FOR HOW WE CAN ENHANCE THAT FOR SUPPORT EMPLOYEES AS WELL AND HOW TO INCLUDE OUR SUPPORT STAFF IN THAT PROCESS.
WE ARE LOOKING ALSO AT ANY OPPORTUNITIES WE CAN FIND THROUGH GRANTS, AS WELL AS TO SUPPORT EMPLOYEE GROWTH AND LEARNING THAT WAY WE'RE ACTUALLY WORKING ON ONE NOW.
IT MAY WORK INTO A POTENTIAL FOR SOME MASTER'S PROGRAM GROWTH FOR INDIVIDUALS AND INSTRUCTIONAL TECHNOLOGY WE'LL CONTINUE TO WORK FOR THOSE OPPORTUNITIES.
THEN LASTLY, AND THIS ONE'S BEEN A BIG ONE THIS YEAR, WE'RE WORKING THROUGH THIS IS CONSIDERED WAYS TO BETTER SUPPORT EMPLOYEE HEALTH AND WELL-BEING.
IF YOU LOOK AT EVEN NATIONAL SURVEYS OUTSIDE OF THE CCPS, WORK-LIFE BALANCE HAS BEEN A REAL STRUGGLE FOR A LOT OF FOLKS.
IF YOU LOOK AT HUMAN SERVICE ORGANIZATIONS, WHICH OBVIOUSLY SCHOOL SYSTEMS ARE THOSE IN HEALTH-RELATED FIELDS AS WELL.
IT'S BEEN A TRYING 18 MONTHS, 20 MONTHS OF LEARNING HOW TO SEPARATE AND KEEP THAT BALANCE AND REALLY PULLING YOUR OXYGEN MASK FIRST.
IT'S AN OVERUSED CLICHE, BUT REALLY ACCURATE.
WORKING WITH OURSELVES AND MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE DOING THAT FOR OURSELVES FIRST, EVERYBODY PUTS THE KIDS FIRST, WHICH IS GREAT.
BUT YOU'VE GOT TO MAKE SURE YOU'RE HEALTHY, WE'RE TAKING STEPS TO LOOK AT REINVIGORATING EMPLOYEE WELLNESS PROGRAM AND PUT SOME OF THOSE PIECES BACK IN PLACE THAT WE USED TO DO.
[01:25:05]
TO BE HONEST FOR A LOT OF US, IT'S GOING BACK TO LEADING BY EXAMPLE, BY PUTTING OUR OWN HEALTH FIRST AS WELL.IT'S REALLY EASY FOR A LOT OF FOLKS, ESPECIALLY THOSE IN LEADERSHIP TO TELL PEOPLE TO DO ONE THING AND THEN NOT DO IT YOURSELF WHEN IT COMES TO BALANCE AND HEALTH, THOSE WERE THE THINGS WE'RE GOING TO CONTINUE BUILDING THOSE OUT MOVING FORWARD.
I REALLY APPRECIATE THE HONESTY AND THE FEEDBACK THAT COMES IN THE ENGAGEMENT SURVEY. IT IS VALUABLE.
WE FINALLY HAVE THREE YEARS WORTH OF DATA WHICH IS GREAT AND START LOOKING AT TRENDS, AND VERY IMPORTANT.
ONE CHANGE FOR NEXT YEAR THAT WE WILL BE LOOKING TO IMPLEMENT IS LOOKING TO MOVE THE SURVEY TO THE END OF THE FIRST QUARTER, IN THE SCHOOL YEAR, PUTTING IT AT THE END OF OCTOBER, EARLY NOVEMBER.
IT'S GREAT INFORMATION THAT'S IN THE SURVEY, BUT RECEIVING THE SURVEY DATA IN APRIL OR MAY OF A SCHOOL YEAR, WE'RE WINDING DOWN A SCHOOL YEAR.
IF THERE'S TRENDS THAT ARE POSITIVE, IT'S GREAT TO HIGHLIGHT THOSE, BUT THERE'S TRENDS THAT REALLY NEED ATTENTION.
STAFF WHO WE COULD HAVE SUPPORTED HAVE ALREADY MADE THE DECISION IF THEY HAVE BEEN DISENGAGED TO MOVE ON.
WE DON'T HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO PROVIDE THE SUPPORTS TO DO A COURSE CORRECTION IN A MOMENT.
HAVING THE DATA EARLIER IN THE YEAR IS REALLY IMPORTANT FOR US TO BE ABLE TO DO WHAT YOU NEED TO SUPPORT OUR STAFF, WE WILL BE LOOKING TO MOVE IT TO THE END OF OCTOBER FOR NEXT SCHOOL YEAR AND THEN KEEP IT THERE EACH YEAR GOING FORWARD.
AGAIN, I APPRECIATE STAFF FEEDBACK.
I'D LOVE TO SEE A HIGHER TURNOUT RATE, 73 IS GOOD.
LIKE TO SEE HIGHER, BUT I DO APPRECIATE AND VALUE ALL THE FEEDBACK THAT WE GET FROM STAFF.
WE'VE BEEN MEETING WITH PRINCIPLES, REVIEWING THEIR DATA.
I KNOW OUR DIRECTORS HAVE ACCESS TO THEIR DATA AS WELL IF THEY'RE REVIEWING FOR THEIR DIVISIONS.
WE'RE REALLY LOOKING TO SEE AGAIN TRENDS, THAT ARE THERE AND WHAT WE CAN DO, HOW WE CAN SUPPORT OUR STAFF BETTER GOING FORWARD. ANY QUESTIONS.
JUST A COMMENTS. THIS IS AN EXCELLENT TOOL TO HAVE IN YOUR HANDS FOR ANALYSIS AND FEEDBACK AND HELP GUIDE YOU AS YOU BEGIN YOUR TENURE, WOULD THAT INTERIM PART GOING UP IN FRONT OF YOUR TITLE.
THIS GREAT TIMING, AND THE IDEA OF MOVING IT TO OCTOBER, TOTALLY ON BOARD WITH THAT.
WHAT PERFECT TIMING FOR THOSE TO BE HAPPENING NOW, WHEN YOU'RE SETTING YOUR VISION AND YOUR STEPS TO MOVE FORWARD.
THANK YOU MR. BARTON, WE'LL SAY TO MY KNOWLEDGE, THIS IS THE OUTPUT CORRECT ME IF I'M WRONG, I THINK WE'RE STILL THE ONLY SCHOOL SYSTEM IN THE STATE WHO'S COLLECTING THIS INFORMATION FROM OUR STAFF AFTER EVERY YEAR ASKING A TOOL LIKE THIS THAT WE'RE UTILIZING, I'M GLAD WE ARE, PROVIDES GREAT FEEDBACK.
GOT TO BE WILLING TO PUT YOURSELF OUT THERE TO GET THE INFORMATION, IT GIVES US THE OPPORTUNITY THEN TO DO SOMETHING WITH IT.
I APPRECIATE YOU POINTED OUT DR. SIMMONS BECAUSE I DIDN'T REALIZE THAT WE MIGHT BE ONE OF THE ONLY SCHOOL IF THEY ONLY SCHOOL SYSTEM DOING THAT.
I'LL JUST SAY THAT, 73 PERCENT IS A GOOD PARTICIPATION RATE.
THE FIRST YEAR WE DID IT, I LOOK BACKWARDS, WE ERE AT 75, THAT WAS GREAT.
THAT'S EVEN BETTER. WE DROPPED TO 73.
HOPEFULLY IT DOESN'T GO, IT STAYS BACK UP THERE.
IT TURNS AROUND A LITTLE BIT, I KNOW ADMINISTRATION IS USED IN LOOKING AT THIS DATA.
I KNOW THE PREVIOUS BOARD IN THIS BOARD HAVE DIGESTED THIS DATA AND WHAT THIS SURVEYED REMAINED FAIRLY SIMPLE AND LOCAL BECAUSE IT'S HARD YOU CAN HEARSAY IN THE GROCERY STORE OR EVEN IN THE SCHOOL SYSTEM, STAFF TO STAFF, PEER-TO-PEER.
BUT YOU'VE GOT DIFFERENT PERSONALITIES.
YOU'VE GOT THE SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE CHARACTERS, THE DEBBIE DOWNERS AND THE MISS POSITIVITY, MR AND MRS. POSITIVITY, SOMEBODY EVERYTHING'S ALWAYS ROSY AND OTHER PERSON SAYING THINGS ALWAYS NEGATIVE.
BUT THIS IS JUST BEHIND THE SCENES, GOOD INFORMATION FOR OUR LEADERSHIP TO FOCUS ON.
I KNOW THEY'VE ADDRESSED SOME THINGS AND WORKED ON SOME THINGS.
BUT AGAIN, THIS IS THE THIRD TIME WE'VE TAKEN THIS IN A CRAZY THREE YEARS.
I MEAN, THE FIRST ONE CAME OUT, WE'VE HAD SOME GOOD INFORMATION.
LET'S SAY WE CAN DEAL WITH IT, LIKE WE HEARD MR. LEE SAY, NOBODY ALL HECK BROKE LOOSE A MONTH OR TWO LATER.
WE TOOK IT IN THE MIDDLE, GOT A GOOD DATA.
HOPEFULLY WITH THE ADMINISTRATION WE HAVE AND THE SUPERINTENDENT, WE'VE JUST BEEN PLACED YOU'LL BE ABLE TO MAKE GOOD USE OF THIS DATA.
I JUST ASKED THE STAFF TO CONTINUALLY REMEMBER THIS IS A LOCAL SURVEY DRIVEN BY THE LOCAL BOARD AND IT'S VERY WELL MUCH WANTED, PLEASE DON'T DISCARD IT.
I'D LIKE TO JUST MAKE A COMMENT.
THINKING ABOUT A WAY TO BOOST PARTICIPATION,
[01:30:05]
TO TRY TO GET UP TO 90 OR MORE PERCENT TO UTILIZE SOME OF OUR LOCAL BUSINESSES.WE HAVEN'T MCDONALD'S AT BOTH ENDS OF THE COUNTY, WE HAVE RURAL FARMS AT BOTH ENDS OF THE COUNTY.
WE HAVE WALMART, MAYBE IF WE CAN GET 15 PERCENT DISCOUNTS FROM WALMART AND GIVE THEM TO EVERYONE.
BUT I'D LIKE 15 PERCENT WHEN I GO SHOPPING, [BACKGROUND] IT'S NOT COSTING THEM ANYTHING REALLY.
IT MIGHT BOOST OUR PARTICIPATION UP, JUST THE IDEA FOR POSSIBLY GETTING 100 PERCENT.
OTHER QUESTIONS, COMMENTS? NO. OKAY.
THAT'S RIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS, [BACKGROUND] MAYBE PEOPLE WILL USE IT.
>> DISCUSSION FOR ITEMS FOR FUTURE BOARD ACTION, BUDGET SUMMARY.
[8. Discussion of Items for Future Board Action]
WE CONTINUE TO LOOK AT OUR BUDGET. MS. THORNTON.>> GOOD EVENING, PRESIDENT NEWCOMB, SUPERINTENDENT SIMMONS, MEMBERS OF THE BOARD, YOU HAVE BEFORE YOU THE BUDGET SUMMARY AS IT STANDS AT THIS POINT IN TIME, THERE HAVE ONLY BEEN A FEW CHANGES SINCE YOU SAW THIS DOCUMENT LAST MONTH.
THE FIRST CHANGE, WHICH I'M SURE YOU NOTICED, WE'RE DOWN TO ONE SCENARIO NOW.
WE'RE NO LONGER DEALING WITH TWO DIFFERENT SCENARIOS.
THE GOVERNOR SIGNED HOUSE BILL 1450.
OUR MAINTENANCE OF EFFORT NUMBER IS NOW HARD-CODED INTO STATUTE AND WE'RE GETTING SLIGHTLY OVER $100,000 FOR MAINTENANCE OF EFFORT.
WHAT WE THOUGHT WAS GOING TO BE COMING IN WITH THE BLUEPRINT, ALL OF THE ADDITIONAL MONEY.
REALLY IN YEAR 1 IT'S NOT TURNING OUT TO BE THAT WAY.
HOPEFULLY THINGS WILL CHANGE IN YEARS TO COME.
THE NEXT CHANGE, SINCE YOU SAW THIS DOCUMENT LAST MONTH, IS THE ITEM HIGHLIGHTED IN BLUE.
THIS IS THE $602,000, IS A GRANT THAT WE CURRENTLY RECEIVED.
WE RECEIVED IT LAST FISCAL YEAR FY21 AND FY22.
IT CAME IN AS A RESTRICTED GRANT.
IT IS NOW WITH THE BLUEPRINT ROLLING INTO OUR UNRESTRICTED OPERATING BUDGET.
THIS IS JUST A WASH. BASICALLY, OUR STATE UNRESTRICTED REVENUE INCREASED BY THE SAME DOLLAR AMOUNT AND THEN THIS CAME ON AS AN ADDITION, AND THIS MONEY IS GOING TO BE USED TO FUND TWO SPECIAL AID TEACHERS, TWO TEACHER SPECIALISTS AND ONE COORDINATOR.
>>IT'S THE SAME THING AS THE BOARD MAY RECALL FROM A COUPLE OF MONTHS AGO WHEN MS. THORNTON DESCRIBE THE MENTAL HEALTH COORDINATOR.
THIS IS PART OF [OVERLAPPING] REWORKING OF THE FORMULAS, THINGS THAT HAVE ALWAYS BEEN FUNDED ONE WAY THEN YOU JUST PUT IT NOW ALL INTO UNRESTRICTED. WE STILL HAVE TO HAVE.
>> IT'S JUST FUNDED IN A DIFFERENT STREAM.
WE DIDN'T GET MORE MONEY FOR IT.
>> IN YEAR 1 THEY'VE SHUFFLED EVERYTHING AROUND, HOPEFULLY IT'LL BE A LITTLE CLEANER NEXT YEAR AS WE MIGRATE INTO THIS BLUEPRINT.
THE NEXT ITEM IS THE ONE HIGHLIGHTED IN GREEN BECAUSE IT IS SAVINGS.
WE GOT OUR FINAL HEALTH INSURANCE RATES.
SAVINGS, WE WERE AT 10 PERCENT, WE'RE DOWN TO 8 PERCENT.
I [OVERLAPPING] CONSIDER THAT A $180,000 WORTH OF SAVINGS, SOME BIG SAVINGS THERE.
BECAUSE EVERY 1 PERCENT WE WERE ABLE TO SAVE $90,000.
AS SUPERINTENDENT SIMMONS MENTIONED EARLIER, WE ARE HOPING THAT WE'RE REALLY GOING TO FOCUS ON WELLNESS.
WE HAVE SOME WELLNESS INITIATIVES THAT WE'RE GOING TO FOCUS ON FOR EVERYBODY'S MENTAL HEALTH AND WELL-BEING AND WORK-LIFE BALANCE AND THAT SORT OF THING, AND WE'RE HOPING THAT ULTIMATELY THAT WILL IN TURN DOWN THE ROAD HELP WITH OUR HEALTH INSURANCE RATES.
THE REASON WHY THE RATE IS AT 8 PERCENT IS BECAUSE OF THE USAGE, OUR USAGE IS UP.
HOPEFULLY WE CAN GET THAT SO THAT WE AREN'T EVERY YEAR LOOKING AT AN 8 PERCENT INCREASE.
THE ITEMS HIGHLIGHTED IN ORANGE, THESE ARE ADDITIONAL COST OF DOING BUSINESS.
THE FIRST ONE, THE PROPERTY LIABILITY AND CASUALTY INSURANCE.
THIS WAS ON THERE ON PREVIOUS BUDGET SUMMARIES, BUT WE GOT THE FINAL RATES FOR NEXT YEAR, AND MY ESTIMATE WITH A LITTLE LOW, I THINK I WAS OFF BY ABOUT $5,000.
I HAD TO INCREASE THAT LINE ITEM BY AN ADDITIONAL $5,000.
THIS IS A LINE ITEM THAT I ADDED THIS MONTH BECAUSE IN LOOKING AT OUR ACTUAL ELECTRICITY,
[01:35:07]
PROPANE, FUEL, OIL COSTS, I WAS LOOKING AT THE NUMBERS AS OF THE END OF APRIL AND WE'RE ALREADY OVER BUDGET IN THOSE LINE ITEMS, WE NEED TO TRUE IT UP SO THAT NEXT YEAR WE DON'T GET OUR SELF INTO A SITUATION WHERE WHEREVER BUDGET AGAIN, AND THEN THE MID SHORE SPECIAL EDUCATIONAL CONSORTIUM, WHICH WERE A MEMBER OF WE ALSO HAVE A RATE INCREASE THERE, $46,847.WITH THAT BEING SAID, ALL OF THOSE COSTS OF DOING BUSINESS INCREASES AID INTO THE HEALTH INSURANCE SAVINGS [LAUGHTER].
IT DIDN'T REALLY LEAVE US WITH MUCH ADDITIONAL REVENUE, WHAT WE WERE LEFT WITH WAS PLUGGED INTO THE SALARY ENHANCEMENT LINE ITEM, BECAUSE THIS IS THE BOARD'S NUMBER ONE PRIORITY.
THAT'S WHERE THAT ADDITIONAL MONEY DID GO, THAT NUMBER IS A LITTLE HIGHER THAN LAST MONTH.
I DO WANT TO MENTION, JUST TO MAKE IT CLEAR, THAT LINE ITEM DOES REPRESENT SALARY ENHANCEMENTS FOR ALL EMPLOYEE GROUPS, BOTH TEACHERS, SUPPORT STAFF, IT ALSO REPRESENTS WHEN WE INCREASE SALARIES, WE HAVE TO ALSO INCREASE THE WORKERS COMP COST AND THE SOCIAL SECURITY COSTS THAT GO ALONG WITH THEM.
THAT ONE LINE ITEM REPRESENTS A LOT.
YOU CAN'T REALLY PASS OUT EXACTLY LIKE WHO'S GETTING ONE.
BUT IT ALL IS SUBJECT TO NEGOTIATIONS AND HOW THINGS FALL AS FAR AS NEGOTIATIONS GO.
WITH THAT BEING SAID, ARE THERE ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT THE BUDGET SUMMARY?
>> BEFORE YOU ASK KAREN QUESTIONS, IF IT'S OKAY, I JUST WANT TO COMMENT.
I KNOW WE'VE TALKED ABOUT IT IN PREVIOUS MONTHS, BUT I JUST WANT TO GO WITHOUT SAYING.
THANK YOU FOR THE WORK IN PULLING THIS TOGETHER, AND AS WE'VE BEEN WORKING ON IT, THERE ARE LEGIT REAL CHALLENGES, THE BLUEPRINT FUNDING NOT QUITE BEING THERE ASIDE, THERE ARE REAL CHALLENGES WHEN YOU HAVE AN INFLATION RATE OF ABOUT 8.5 PERCENT, I BELIEVE IS WHERE IT CURRENTLY IS.
YOU HAVE FUEL COSTS RISING AT AN EXTREMELY RAPID CLIP AND NOT TURNING BACK DOWN.
ALL OF THOSE THINGS HAVE A DRAMATIC IMPACT ON EVERY ASPECT OF DOING BUSINESS.
WHETHER IT'S ON THE PRICE OF FUEL THAT WE HAVE ON BUSES.
PRICE OF FUEL FOR HEATING, TOWARDS THE PRICE OF JUST GETTING GOODS COMING INTO THE SYSTEM.
ALL OF THOSE THINGS FACTOR IN AND REALLY EAT INTO THE ABILITY WHEN YOU'RE AT AN ENTITY LIKE A SCHOOL SYSTEM WHERE YOU'RE ON A FIXED INCOME, BEST WAY TO DESCRIBE YOU GOT TO FIXED INCOME COMING IN, YOU KNOW WHAT YOUR DOLLARS ARE, HAVING TO STRETCH THOSE AS FAR AS WE POSSIBLY CAN TO MEET THE NEEDS.
JUST REALLY PRESENTS UNFORESEEN CHALLENGES.
WHEN INFLATION IS RUNNING THE WAY IT HAS, AND FUEL IS, IT'S REALLY MAKING THINGS CHALLENGING AND DIFFICULT.
BUT WE'RE GOING TO BE OPTIMISTIC.
WE'RE GOING TO GET THROUGH IT AND GET THERE AND DO THE BEST BUDGET WITH WHAT WE CAN.
THOSE ARE THE VERY REAL CHALLENGES WE'RE WORKING THROUGH.
>> THANK YOU, MS. THORNTON. NOTHING ON UNFINISHED BUSINESS UNLESS ANYONE HAS SOMETHING THAT I'D LIKE TO ADD.
UPCOMING MEETINGS OR EVENTS ARE FAST AND FURIOUS.
[10. Upcoming Meetings and Events]
MAY IS SUPER BUSY, JUST FALL IN WHERE YOU CAN.IF YOU DON'T MIND BOARD MEMBERS JUST KEEPING THE GOOGLE SHEET UPDATED, YOU NEED US TO RESEND THE LINK WE CAN.
MAY IS SUPER BUSY, AND HELPS ALSO YOU GUYS WITH YOUR PLANNING.
IF YOU KNOW SOMEBODY'S AT ONE YOU MIGHT BE AT TO GIVE YOURSELF A NIGHT OFF [LAUGHTER] BETWEEN THE FIVE MEMBERS OF THE BOARD, [INAUDIBLE] AND I'M TRYING TO GET TO EVERYTHING.
JUST HELPS WITH THAT PLANNING AND SOMETIMES THINGS POP UP AS THEY DO, WE'LL KEEP POPULATING ON THE GOOGLE SHEET IF SOMETHING ELSE JUMPS IN.
>> NEXT BOARD MEETING WE'RE GOING TO HAVE OUR WORK SESSION ON TUESDAY THE 17TH, AND LIKE DR. SIMMONS HAS MENTIONED, WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT IT FOR OUR STAFF TOO, AND KEEP OUR STAFF IN MIND ABOUT BALANCE, A LIFE-WORK BALANCE.
I JUST WANT TO THANK THE BOARD AND THE STAFF WHO DID MAKE CHANGES ON MOVING A COUPLE OF THE LAST FEW MEETINGS FROM TUESDAYS TO WEDNESDAYS BECAUSE I DID MISS A LOT OF THINGS OVER THE YEARS, BUT LUCKY ENOUGH TO SIT IN ON SOME SENIOR SOFTBALL GAMES AND SOME OTHER SENIOR ACTIVITIES AND REALLY APPRECIATE THAT.
IF THERE'S NOTHING ELSE GOOD FOR THE CALLS TO HAVE MOTION TO ADJOURN [NOISE].
>> SINCE I BECAME A BOARD MEMBER, MAY EVEN OTHER PEOPLE WOULD INSTRUCT US ON WHAT OUR ROLE IS, INCLUDING VETERAN BOARD MEMBERS AND OTHERS FROM THE FAST FAIL.
[01:40:03]
THE MOST IMPORTANT THING YOU DO, AND REALLY THE ONLY THING YOU DO IS TO HIRE A SUPERINTENDENT, DIRECTOR SUPERINTENDENT.HOW FAR ARE WE INTO OUR TERM HERE? I GUESS, I GO TO A 2024 MISSION ACCOMPLISHED [LAUGHTER].
BUT ALL OF YOU, ALL FOUR OF US, WE DID IT.
WE WENT THROUGH THE PROCESS, AND THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT MEETING, WE'LL HAVE.
NOT TO MEAN THAT WE DON'T DO ALL THE OTHER THINGS WHEN WE'RE ASKED TO DO.
ACCORDING TO MAY, IT'S MOST IMPORTANT THING WE DO, WE CAN SNOOZE [LAUGHTER].
>> I JUST WANTED TO SAY THAT ONE MORE TIME [INAUDIBLE].
>> I'LL MAKE A MOTION TO ADJOURN.
>> MOTION SAYING ALL THOSE IN FAVOR.
>> THANK YOU ALL.
* This transcript was compiled from uncorrected Closed Captioning.