[00:00:04] ALL RIGHT, HERE WE ARE. WELCOME, EVERYBODY. [1. Opening Items] CAROLINE COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS, TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 5TH. THERE'S SOMETHING SPECIAL ABOUT TODAY. I'M NOT SURE EXACTLY WHAT IT IS. WE'LL FIND OUT THROUGHOUT THIS MEETING, WELL THAT'S RIGHT. IT'S THE FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL. CONGRATULATIONS, EVERYBODY. SO THIS IS OUR REGULAR MEETING. WE HAD OUR CLOSED SESSION AT 5:15. NOW I'D LIKE TO CALL THE MEETING TO ORDER AND ASK FOR A MOTION TO OPEN OUR MEETING. I SO MOVE. AND DO WE HAVE A SECOND? SECOND? ALL IN FAVOR? AYE. THERE WE GO. WE HAVE OPENED AND WE WILL BEGIN WITH OUR PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE. AND IT'S JUST US TONIGHT. WE COULD CALL SOMEBODY FROM THE AUDIENCE. . ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. WELL, WE HAVE SOMETHING VERY SAD TO TO RECOGNIZE. AND IT'S THE LOSS OF ONE OF OUR OWN, ONE OF OUR EMPLOYEES, HANNAH GEVAUDAN. AND I'M NOT SURE, DEREK, IF YOU WANT TO MAKE ANY COMMENTS ABOUT HER, BUT WE'RE GOING TO HAVE A MOMENT OF SILENCE BEFORE WE DO THAT. LET'S DO OUR MOMENT OF SILENCE. SURE. SO HANNAH [INAUDIBLE] WAS A GRADUATE OF COLONEL RICHARDSON HIGH SCHOOL. HANNAH GEVAUDAN, SHE BECAME AFTER MARRIAGE. HANNAH WAS A SPECIAL, DEDICATED TEACHER AT FEDERALSBURG ELEMENTARY SCHOOL WHO WE SADLY AND TRAGICALLY LOST IN AUGUST OF THIS YEAR. AND THE SCHOOL OPENED TODAY AND THINGS WENT WELL. BUT HANNAH'S LOSS IS DEFINITELY WEIGHING ON THE FEDERALSBURG STAFF. WEIGHING ON CAROLINE COUNTY WILL CONTINUE TO WEIGH ON HER HUSBAND AND YOUNG CHILD AND HER FAMILY. AND JUST ASK THAT EVERYBODY, KEEP HANNAH'S FAMILY IN YOUR THOUGHTS AND PRAYERS. HANNAH'S SISTER TEACHES AT PRESTON ELEMENTARY SCHOOL. HANNAH'S AUNT WORKS IN THIS OFFICE IN SPECIAL EDUCATION. AND I'M SURE THERE'S OTHER SIBLINGS OR OTHER RELATIVES I'M MISSING AT THIS POINT JUST THINKING ABOUT IT. BUT HANNAH'S LOSS WAS TRAGIC. I'M THANKFUL THAT WE WERE ABLE TO HOST THE SERVICE FOR HANNAH AT COLONEL RICHARDSON HIGH SCHOOL. AND THE AUDITORIUM IS ONE FACILITY BIG ENOUGH IN THE COUNTY TO BE ABLE TO DO THAT. AND I'M GRATEFUL FOR COLONEL RICHARDSON HIGH SCHOOL, FOR JARED SHERMAN AND EVERYBODY IN THE BUILDING, OUR TECHNOLOGY OFFICE THAT MADE SURE EVERYTHING WENT WELL. BUT HANNAH WAS AN INCREDIBLE KINDERGARTEN TEACHER WAS THE HEARTBEAT OF THAT KINDERGARTEN TEAM AT FEDERALSBURG. AND SHE WAS THAT KID. I SAY KID BECAUSE I'VE KNOWN HER THAT LONG. SHE WAS THAT KID THAT TRULY SAW WHAT WAS SPECIAL IN EVERY SINGLE KID AND I MEAN EVERY SINGLE KID. HANNAH WAS THAT TEACHER THAT JUST KNEW HOW TO UNLOCK POTENTIAL IN KIDS THAT OTHERS SOMETIMES STRUGGLE WITH FINDING OR KIDS THEMSELVES WHO STRUGGLED WITH THAT AND HER LOSS WILL BE WITH US, THAT'S FOR SURE. THANK YOU, DARREN. I APPRECIATE THAT. AND IT'S VERY CONSISTENT WITH CAROLINE COUNTY. SOMEONE WHO FAMILY, FRIENDS. AND IT JUST WEAVES THROUGH THE ENTIRE COUNTY. SO AND LOSS IS ALWAYS PAINFUL WHEN A YOUNG PERSON IS LOST. IT'S JUST NOT RIGHT. IT'S NOT FAIR. NEEDLESS TO SAY. SO PLEASE JOIN ME WITH A BRIEF MOMENT OF SILENCE TO HONOR HANNAH. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. SO I'D LIKE TO ASK NOW IF WE CAN TAKE A LOOK AT OUR AGENDA AND HAVE A MOTION TO APPROVE OUR AGENDA. I THINK WE HAVE AN ADJUSTED ONE. YES. ARE WE GOOD WITH THAT, FOLKS? NEED A MOTION. [INAUDIBLE] WHAT THE ADJUSTMENT IS. YEAH. CAN WE. WE CAN MENTION HIGHLIGHTING THE AMENDMENT TO THE AGENDA. I DON'T HAVE THE ELECTRONIC VERSION IN FRONT OF ME. RACHEL, I DON'T KNOW IF YOU CAPTURED IT. OKAY. AND WE'LL TALK ABOUT THAT DURING NEW BUSINESS. THERE'S A NEW BUSINESS ITEM TO DISCUSS. EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATION. THANK YOU. OKAY, SO WE HAVE A MOTION TO ACCEPT THE AGENDA AS AMENDED. ADJUSTED AGENDA. THANK YOU. SECOND. [00:05:02] SECOND BY MICHELLE. ANY DISCUSSION? ALL IN FAVOR? AYE. UNANIMOUS FIVE ZERO. THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THAT. I THINK IT'S VERY APPROPRIATE THAT EVERY MEETING WE READ OUR MISSION STATEMENT AND ON THE FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL, WHEN IS THERE A BETTER TIME TO REFRESH OURSELVES ABOUT OUR MISSION? AND IT'S WHAT WE DO IN PARTNERSHIP WITH FAMILIES AND COMMUNITY. WE PREPARE ALL STUDENTS TO ACHIEVE COLLEGE, CAREER AND LIFE READINESS THROUGH A CHALLENGING AND PROGRESSIVE EDUCATIONAL EXPERIENCE. WE DO HAVE A RECOGNITION. HOW ABOUT THAT? [2. Recognitions] YES, WE DO. I DON'T KNOW WHAT IT IS. OKAY, I'LL HELP YOU. I HAVE MY CONTACTS IN SO I CAN SEE IT. WE HAVE RECOGNITION TONIGHT WITH US, THE CAROLINE COUNTY RETIRED SCHOOL PERSONNEL ASSOCIATION. WE HAVE MISS SEWARD WITH US THIS EVENING FOR A SPECIAL RECOGNITION. YES. YES, MA'AM. SORRY ABOUT THAT. WHERE DO WE GO? UP HERE TO THE PODIUM. WE'RE GLAD TO HAVE YOU GUYS ON THE FIRST FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL. THANK YOU. WE WOULD HAVE BEEN HAPPY TO HAVE YOU ALSO THIS MORNING, ABOUT 7:30. NO, THANK YOU. [LAUGHTER] THANK YOU. THANK YOU, DOCTOR WILLOUGHBY, RETIRE, REHIRE. I ALREADY TRIED. OKAY. HE TRIED, BUT. NO, NO. BEFORE WE DO THE RECOGNITION, THERE'S ONE OTHER THING THAT WE WANTED. I WANTED TO LET THIS BOARD KNOW. IN 1976, THE CAROLINE COUNTY ASSOCIATION OF STUDENT COUNCILS UNDER THE LEADERSHIP OF FRANCES HOLSINGER, WHO WAS THE PRINCIPAL OF NORTH CAROLINE HIGH SCHOOL, WE PLANTED A TIME CAPSULE ON THE COURTHOUSE GREEN. IT IS TO BE OPEN ON MARCH THE 25TH, 2026. I WANTED SOMEBODY ELSE TO KNOW THIS BESIDES ME WHEN WE PLANTED IT, MR. HOLSINGER SAID. AND MR. HOLSINGER WAS HE WAS OLDER AND HE SAID, I ATTEND. HIS INTENTION IS TO BE HERE WHEN IT WAS TO BE DUG UP. WELL, HE'S NOT HERE, BUT I WANTED SOMEBODY ELSE TO KNOW THIS OTHER THAN ME. THAT'LL BE 50 YEARS. THAT'S EXACTLY RIGHT. AND EACH SCHOOL, THE HIGH SCHOOLS AND THE MIDDLE SCHOOLS PLACE SOMETHING IN THAT TIME CAPSULE. SO YOU HAVE THE RESPONSIBILITY TO MAKE SURE IT'S DUG UP ON MARCH THE 25TH. BESIDES YOURSELF, WHO KNOWS WHERE IT IS? IT'S OKAY. I'M GOING TO TELL YOU. DEREK KNOWS I. I MEAN, I'M SORRY. DR. SIMMONS KNOWS. IT'S WHEN YOU'RE SAYING IT'S A STONE OUT THERE, THAT'S HIGH. IT'S TWO PLACES TO THE RIGHT OF THAT, AND IT HAS THE TITLE ON IT AND EVERYTHING. GREAT. YES. SO NEXT TIME YOU'RE ON THE COURTHOUSE, WALK OVER THERE AND FIND IT. SO YOU BOARD MEMBERS HAVE THE RESPONSIBILITY TO MAKE SURE IT'S DUG UP. OKAY. WE WILL MAKE SURE. I'M GOING TO SAY, LIKE MR. HOLSINGER, I INTEND TO BE HERE. [LAUGHTER] MY PLAN IS TO BE HERE WHEN IT'S DUG UP, BUT JUST IN CASE. BECAUSE WHEN I SAY THIS TO OTHER PEOPLE, NOBODY ELSE SEEMS TO REMEMBER THIS BUT ME. WELL, WE'RE COUNTING ON YOU BEING THERE. OKAY. OKAY. WE WILL ALSO MAKE SURE THAT THE COUNTY COMMISSIONERS. RIGHT. I'VE SHOWED IT. YEAH, I SHOWED IT TO SOME OF THE COUNTY COMMISSIONERS. GOOD. TALBOT RAO WAS THE PRESIDENT OF THE STUDENT COUNCIL AT NORTH HIGH AT THE TIME. I HAVE TOLD HIM ABOUT IT TO REMIND HIM. AND DOWN AT COLONEL IS SHAWN TAYLOR. IT WAS SHAWN TAYLOR THEN, BUT SHE LIVES IN KENTUCKY. I HAVE TOLD HER ABOUT IT. AND SHE WAS HERE THIS SUMMER. SO SHE AND I WALKED OVER AND SHE KNOWS THAT IT'S THERE. WHAT A GREAT THING. SO SHE SAID TO REMIND HER AND SHE PLANS TO COME. WONDERFUL. I DON'T RECALL WHAT WE PUT IN THERE, BUT THAT WAS MR. HOLSINGER'S IDEA THAT THE STUDENT COUNCILS SHOULD GET TOGETHER AND WE WOULD DO IT LIKE ONCE A MONTH. THE MIDDLE SCHOOL AND THE HIGH SCHOOL. THE MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENT COUNCIL PERSON WAS ALWAYS THE PRESIDENT AND THE THE HIGH SCHOOL I'M SORRY, THE HIGH SCHOOL PERSON WAS THE PRESIDENT AND THE MIDDLE SCHOOL PERSON WAS THE VICE. BUT WE WOULD GET TOGETHER AND SHARE IDEAS OF WHAT EACH STUDENT COUNCIL WAS DOING, AND THAT'S HOW IT CAME ABOUT. SO THAT WAS THE BICENTENNIAL YEAR. AND HE CAME UP WITH THE IDEA THAT WE SHOULD DO THIS. [00:10:03] SO IT'S THERE VERY VISIBLE AND WHOEVER CUTS THE GRASS ALWAYS MAKES SURE IT'S CLEAR SO YOU CAN SEE IT. WELL, LET ME ASK YOU A QUESTION ABOUT IT. SO WHEN THAT ONE COMES OUT, DO YOU THINK IT'S A GOOD IDEA THAT ANOTHER SIMILAR EFFORT IS DONE TO PUT ANOTHER ONE IN THE GROUND? SOUNDS GOOD TO ME AS LONG AS I DON'T HAVE TO DO IT. [LAUGHTER] NO, BUT YEAH, AND THAT WAS THE BICENTENNIAL YEAR AND WE JUST DECIDED THAT IT WOULD NOT IT WOULD BE NICE TO DO THAT. LINWOOD TODD WAS VERY INSTRUMENTAL IN HAVING THAT DONE AND I BELIEVE. TOWERS PROBABLY WAS THE ONE THAT DID THE CONCRETE AND ALL OF THAT FOR US TO PUT IT IN. SO I'M REALLY ANXIOUS TO SEE WHAT WE PUT IN THERE. BUT EACH EACH OF THE SCHOOLS OF THE HIGH SCHOOL AND MIDDLE SCHOOLS, WE WERE ABLE TO PUT SOMETHING IN. SO NOW, YOU KNOW, THE REST OF THE STORY. [LAUGHTER] YOU [INAUDIBLE] ONE IS DUG UP AND WE'LL SEE WHAT'S IN IT. EXACTLY. EXACTLY. SO NOW THE OTHER REASON WHY WE'RE HERE. YEAH, THE REAL REASON WE'RE HERE IS LIZBETH AND I ARE CO-PRESIDENTS OF THE CAROLINE RETIRED SCHOOL PERSONNEL FOR THE NEXT TWO YEARS. THE LETTER I GAVE YOU WENT OUT TO ALL THE NEW RETIREES. THIS YEAR, THERE WERE 24 RETIREES TO INVITE THEM TO JOIN OUR ORGANIZATION. AND IN THAT LETTER, IT GIVES YOU A LITTLE BACKGROUND OF WHAT WE DO AND WHAT WE SUPPORT AND THAT WE ARE A MEMBER OF THE MARYLAND ASSOCIATION ALSO. WE'RE ALWAYS LOOKING FOR NEW MEMBERS. SO WE HAVE 24 THIS YEAR. WE'VE GOTTEN SIX THAT HAVE AGREED TO COME TO THE SEPTEMBER MEETING. SO AND ANY OF YOU, ANY TIME, IF YOU'RE INTERESTED IN COMING TO A MEETING AND JOINING US, YOU'RE WELCOME. JUST LET US KNOW. AND WE HAVE A NICE LUNCHEON AND A SHORT BUSINESS MEETING AND THERE'S A LOT OF SOCIALIZATION, PEOPLE SEEING EACH OTHER AGAIN. SHE'S BEEN PRESIDENT BEFORE. CO-PRESIDENT? NO. YEAH. WHAT? TELL THEM. OH, MIRIAM DYER WAS THE PRESIDENT AND I WAS THE CO-PRESIDENT. AND LIKE CAROL SAID, THERE ARE A LOT OF ACTIVITIES THAT WE SUPPORT. BUT TONIGHT WE'RE HERE BECAUSE WE SUPPORT THE SCHOOLS. WE ALWAYS LIKE TO GIVE BACK TO THE AREA THAT GAVE US OUR LIVELIHOOD. SO TONIGHT, WE HAVE A CHECK. WE HAVE A CHECK FOR EACH OF THE SCHOOLS FOR $100 FOR SCHOOL SUPPLIES. SO WE'RE HERE TO PRESENT THAT TO, I GUESS, YOU, DR. SIMMONS. I CAN MAKE SURE THAT THEY GET IT. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. VERY NICE. WONDERFUL. I'M COMING TO YOU. [APPLAUSE] YOU KNOW, IF YOU EVER NEED ANY VOLUNTEERS IN THE SCHOOLS OR FOR SOMETHING, YOU KNOW, LET US KNOW AND WE CAN PUT THE WORD OUT. WE HAVE RIGHT NOW WE'RE CURRENTLY AT 178 MEMBERS, SO NOT ALL OF THEM COME TO OUR MEETINGS, BUT WE HAVE ABOUT 50 TO 70 THAT COME TO OUR MEETINGS. WE ONLY NEED FOUR TIMES A YEAR, BUT A LOT OF THEM ARE STILL INVOLVED IN THE SCHOOLS AND DIFFERENT ACTIVITIES. SO, YOU KNOW, IF ANYTHING EVER ARISES, WE WOULD BE GLAD TO PUT THE WORD OUT AND SEE IF WE CAN FIND SOME VOLUNTEERS FOR YOU. WE ALSO SUPPORT TWO FREE LITTLE LIBRARIES, ONE IN GREENSBORO AND ONE IN MARYDEL. AND WE GIVE TWO SCHOLARSHIPS EACH YEAR. ONE TO EACH OF THE SCHOOLS. RIGHT. SO WE OUR MONEY COMES FROM OUR DUES. WE DO A 50/50 RAFFLE AT EACH MEETING. THAT BRINGS US PRETTY GOOD MONEY. AND PEOPLE ARE VERY GENEROUS IN MAKING DONATIONS. WE ALSO SUPPORT A NEEDY FAMILY AT CHRISTMAS TIME. WHAT ELSE? THAT'S A LOT RIGHT THERE. YEAH, BUT I THINK THE BIGGEST THING IS WE TALKED TO BARBARA. SHE TALKED TO BARBARA COOK TODAY. BARBARA COOK HAS BEEN A MEMBER OF THIS ORGANIZATION SINCE 1996. SO AND IT'S BEEN GOING LONG BEFORE THEN. WE CAN'T FIND THE ORIGINAL START DATE, BUT IT'S AN ORGANIZATION THAT HAS KEPT GOING AND DEREK'S DONE THERE [00:15:07] AS A SPEAKER NOT BECAUSE HE'S RETIRED BUT [LAUGHTER] IT'S A NICE GROUP AND WE ON THAT LETTER I GAVE YOU, WE HAVE OUR FIRST EVER CAROLINE RETIRED SCHOOL PERSONNEL LOGO. OH, NICE. YEAH. IT WAS MADE BY MARJORIE SCOTT AND CINDY NICKLIN. THEY PUT THEIR HEADS TOGETHER AND ACTUALLY, IT'S SUPPOSED TO BE THE PRINTER WASN'T THE BEST FALL LEAVES BECAUSE WE'RE ON THE FALL OF OUR LIVES. SO WE, WE STAYED WITH THE THEME OF THE COUNTY OF THE COUNTY. [LAUGHTER] THEY LOOKED LIKE EARLY FALL. YEAH, YEAH. RIGHT, RIGHT. YEAH. GOOD. YEAH. AND I BET THAT START DATE OF THE ORGANIZATION IS IN THE TIME CAPSULE. I'M SORRY. MAYBE THE TIME CAPSULE HAS THAT START DATE OF THE ORGANIZATION? I DON'T THINK SO. BECAUSE IT WAS. I'M HOPING. NO, BECAUSE THAT WAS 1976. YES. TOO LONG BEFORE. IT WAS BEFORE THAT. BECAUSE I WAS STILL WORKING. YEAH, I WAS DOWN AT COLONEL AND THE TEACHERS ASSOCIATION USED TO ALWAYS HAVE AN ACTIVITY TO RECOGNIZE THOSE PEOPLE WHO WERE RETIRING. AND I JUST COULDN'T WAIT FOR MY TIME TO COME BECAUSE ALL OF THE LADIES ALWAYS GOT THIS GORGEOUS ORCHID. BUT AT THE TIME I RETIRED, THEY WEREN'T DOING IT ANYMORE. SO BUT SO I'M SAYING THAT TO SAY THAT THIS ORGANIZATION HAS REALLY BEEN WAY BEFORE 19, PROBABLY BEFORE 1996. BUT BARBARA COOK WAS THE ONE THAT I CALLED TODAY. AND WE HAVE MEMBERS WHO HAVE BEEN RETIRED FOR 20 AND 30 YEARS. ONE MEMBER SAID, I THINK IT MIGHT HAVE BEEN, BARBARA, THAT SHE'S BEEN RETIRED MORE YEARS THAN SHE TAUGHT. YEAH, AND SHE'S AN ACTIVE MEMBER OF OUR ORGANIZATION AND COMES TO EVERY MEETING. BARBARA WRIGHT, WHO WAS DOWN AT THE SOUTHERN END OF THE COUNTY OF THE SAME THING SHE TAUGHT FOR A LONG TIME. AND I WAS IN THE COUNTY FOR 40 YEARS AND I REALLY DID. I REALLY ENJOYED MY TIME IN THE SYSTEM. AND THIS YOUNG MAN BACK HERE WAS ONE OF MY STUDENTS, ROB WILLOUGHBY. BUT CAROLINE COUNTY HAS ALL OF MY EDUCATIONAL CAREER WAS IN CAROLINE COUNTY. SO THAT'S WHY THIS IS NEAR AND DEAR TO ME. YEAH. THAT WE GIVE BACK TO THE SYSTEM THAT HELPED US OUT. SO AFTER SAYING ALL THAT HERE ARE THESE TEXTS. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. OKAY, THANKS. THANK YOU. IT MIGHT NOT SEEM LIKE MUCH, BUT, YOU KNOW, FOR KIDS THAT NEED HELP WITH THEIR BACK TO SCHOOL. THANK YOU. THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE. AND THANK YOU FOR THE CHECKS AND THANK YOU FOR THE WORK YOU'RE DOING AND OF COURSE, FOR YOUR SERVICE WHEN YOU'RE ACTIVE. I GUESS IT'S PHOTO OP TIME NOW WE WILL HAVE A PHOTO OP HERE. YES. AND THIS IS NOT THE FIRST YEAR WE'VE DONE THIS. AND IT'S ABSOLUTELY WONDERFUL. OH, I GUESS ON THE PLATFORM. YEAH. A COUPLE MORE. ARE WE GOOD? IS THIS GOOD? OH, EXCELLENT. I HOPE THAT NOW WE WILL HAVE A DIFFERENT HOBBY WITH YOU. LENS IS TOO LONG. SORRY. WELL, THANK YOU GUYS VERY MUCH. AND HAVE A GOOD YEAR. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. SEE YOU ON THE 21ST. SEE ME ON THE 21ST. OH, YOU COME HERE. ON. I'LL GO TO JACK. OKAY. I CAN TAKE A HINT. [INAUDIBLE] GOES WITH JACK. IF YOU WANT A WARM DAY, CONSERVING ENERGY. ALL RIGHT. THAT WAS A WONDERFUL RECOGNITION. THANK YOU FOR BAILING ME OUT THERE. NO PROBLEM. SO BOARD MEMBER REPORTS WE DON'T HAVE ANYTHING ON THE SCREEN, BUT WE CERTAINLY KNOW WHAT WE [3. Reports] [00:20:04] MIGHT WANT TO TALK ABOUT TODAY BEING THE FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL. THAT'S SOMETHING THAT I KNOW WE ALL PARTICIPATED IN AND IN ONE WAY OR ANOTHER. BUT MEMBERS, WE ALSO HAD OUR BOARD RETREAT DURING AUGUST AND THE ALL STAFF MEETING AT COLONEL, WHICH WAS JUST TERRIFIC. WHAT A WONDERFUL DAY THAT WAS. AND I KNOW THAT THE TEACHERS DON'T WASTE MUCH TIME GETTING OUT OF THERE BECAUSE THEY WANT TO GET BACK AND GET BACK TO WORK. BUT IT WAS REALLY WELL DONE. DR. SIMMONS DID A GREAT JOB, BUT I DO WANT TO GIVE EACH OF THE BOARD MEMBERS AN OPPORTUNITY TO COMMENT ABOUT WHATEVER THEY WOULD LIKE TO SHARE OR THEIR OBSERVATIONS ABOUT THE FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL. MARK, WOULD YOU LIKE TO GO FIRST? I CAN GO FIRST. SURE. JUST, IT'S GOOD TO GET BACK IN THE SADDLE, I GUESS, AND GET TO GO OUT TO SOME EVENTS, LIKE YOU SAY, AND THE BUILD UP LEADING UP TO THE FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL WITH THE NEW TEACHER, THE ALL STAFF, AND THEN CULMINATING IN TODAY'S FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL. IT WAS GREAT TO SEE AGAIN LITTLE KIDS GET OFF THE BUS AND FIND THEIR WAY TO THEIR CLASSROOMS. SOME FOR THE FIRST TIME SAW MOMS TAKING AND DADS TAKING PICTURES, SELFIES ON THE WAY TO THE SCHOOL THIS MORNING ON THE SIDE OF THE STREETS WAITING FOR THE BUS. EVERYBODY. EVERYBODY WAS EXCITED. AND I'M SURE THEY'LL ALL NOBODY WILL WANT TO GET UP TOMORROW MORNING, I SAY, BUT I KNOW I HAD KIDS THAT WANTED TO SET THE ALARM AT 4 A.M. THIS MORNING. YOU DON'T NEED TO GET UP THAT EARLY. SO IT WAS A GOOD FIRST DAY FOR FOR US. THANK YOU, MICHELLE. WELL, ALONG WITH EVERYTHING THAT YOU'VE ALREADY SAID, I ATTENDED A COUPLE OF OPEN HOUSES AT LOCKERMAN AND AT PRESTON, AND THE TURNOUT WAS EXCELLENT. THE PARENTS WERE EXCITED. THE THE CHILDREN WERE EXCITED. AND I WAS EXCITED TO JUST, YOU KNOW, THE BUSYNESS OF GETTING BACK TO SCHOOL. I ALSO ATTENDED TWO MEETINGS DURING THE MONTH OF AUGUST. ONE WAS FROM THE EDUCATIONAL EQUITY COMMITTEE, AND I SHARED WITH THE WITH MY PEERS HERE AT THE BOARD THE LOOKING THROUGH THE EQUITY LENS. POLICY PROGRAMS AND SO FORTH THAT WE ARE TO REFER TO. AND DR. SIMMONS HAS THE REST THAT WERE SENT TO ME TO SHARE AMONG THE ADMINISTRATION, AND I ALSO ATTENDED THE MAY NOMINATING COMMITTEE MEETING. AND SO WE HAVE OUR OFFICERS IN PLACE READY TO BE SHARED AT OUR MAY MEETING IN OCTOBER. SO IT'S BEEN A BUSY MONTH, BUT A GOOD MONTH. WONDERFUL. THANK YOU. MICHELE TROY. I ACTUALLY ATTENDED ONE OF MATT'S TRAININGS IN AUGUST AS WELL FOR THE NEW BOARD MEMBER ORIENTATION. I JUST WOULD LIKE TO THANK ME FOR PUTTING THAT ON AS REALLY GOOD INFORMATION TO START OUT MY MORNING ACTUALLY AT COLONEL MIDDLE AND HIGH. GOT TO SEEING MY LITTLE ONE OFF TO SEVENTH GRADE. SO IT WAS GOOD. KIDS WERE GETTING OFF THE BUS AND ACTUALLY IN THE SCHOOLS PRETTY QUICK. I WAS KIND OF SURPRISED. I FIGURED THEY'D WANT TO HANG OUT A LITTLE BIT, BUT THEY DID NOT. THEY WERE THEY WERE GETTING INTO SCHOOLS QUICK, AND I WAS ABLE TO MAKE MY WAY OVER TO PRESTON ELEMENTARY AND SEEMED LIKE EVERYBODY WAS READY THERE AND THEY WERE EXCITED. LIKE THE PICTURES, THE AMOUNT OF PICTURES THEY WERE TAKING OUT FRONT. AND MISS BARRY WAS THERE TAKING PICTURES AS WELL OUT FRONT. SO IT WAS IT WAS GREAT TO SEE ALL THE KIDS HAPPY. I THINK THEY HAD ONE THAT WAS A LITTLE UPSET TO GO IN, BUT OTHER THAN THAT, I THOUGHT IT WAS PRETTY GOOD. OKAY. THANK YOU, DONNA. I WENT TO THE NEW TEACHER BREAKFAST, NEW TEACHER LUNCHEON, WENT TO MS TODAY AND KTC. AND I GUESS MY BIGGEST TAKEAWAY ALMOST ALWAYS IS PEOPLE TALKING TO THE TEACHERS, THE STAFF, THE STUDENTS. AND, YOU KNOW, I JUST HOPE PEOPLE KEEP TALKING, BECAUSE SOMETIMES WHEN YOU'RE SITTING HERE, YOU'RE JUST GETTING ONE VIEW OF EVERYTHING. AND I APPRECIATE ALL THE DIFFERENT VIEWS AND BEING ABLE TO SEE THE WHOLE PICTURE. SO I JUST HOPE NOBODY EVER FEELS THEY CAN'T TALK TO ME OR THAT THEY SHOULDN'T BECAUSE THAT'S PART OF WHY I RAN. SO PEOPLE COULD TALK TO ME AND I CAN KNOW WHAT'S GOING ON. AND FOR ME, THAT'S EXTREMELY IMPORTANT. SO JUST I APPRECIATE. PEOPLE TELLING ME WHAT'S GOING ON. PEOPLE TRUSTING ME. OKAY. THANK YOU. SO I'D SAY ONE OF MY OBSERVATIONS OF OF THE FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL IS THAT WHEN YOU WATCH ELEMENTARY SCHOOL ESPECIALLY, BUT CERTAINLY NOT JUST THERE, BUT AS YOU WATCH THE STUDENTS WALK INTO THE SCHOOL, IT'S KIND OF LIKE THE PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEM'S VERSION OF RED CARPET ONLY. [00:25:05] NO ONE THERE IS SAYING, NOW, WHO ARE YOU WEARING? INSTEAD THEY'RE SAYING, WHO ARE YOU? BUT ALTHOUGH FREQUENTLY THEY KNOW WHO THEY ARE, THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL LEVEL FROM THOSE KIDS, THOSE YOUNG CHILDREN GET WHERE THEY NEED TO BE FOR THE KIDS WHO ARE BEING DROPPED OFF. YOU KNOW, THEIR PARENTS DRIVE THEM OR SOMEBODY AN ADULT DRIVES THEM THERE. YOU KNOW, THE TEACHERS ARE HELPING THEM OUT OF THE CAR, IF NECESSARY, HELPING THEM GET WHERE THEY NEED TO BE. IT'S JUST SO ORGANIZED. IT'S JUST IMPRESSIVE. SO TODAY I HAD THE OPPORTUNITY BEFORE CHILDREN STARTED ARRIVING TO WALK AROUND AND I'LL SINGLE IT OUT. GREENSBORO ELEMENTARY. THE CLASSROOMS ARE AMAZING. JUST AMAZING WHAT THE TEACHERS DO AND HOW THEY PREPARE THOSE CLASSROOMS. IT IS JUST TERRIFIC. THE WORK, THE EFFORT, THE BLOOD, SWEAT AND TEARS, THE CARE, THE THOUGHT. AND I JUST CAN'T SAY ENOUGH ABOUT THAT. JUST WONDERFUL THING. SO I KNOW THE DAY IS NOT COMPLETELY OVER YET. STAFF HERE HAS HAD A REALLY, REALLY LONG DAY. A LOT OF GETTING READY FOR IT. AND YOU CAN SAY, I DON'T THINK I'M JINXING US. IT WAS A LONG AND SUCCESSFUL DAY. NOT QUITE DONE YET, BUT JUST WONDERFUL AND TERRIFIC AND HEARING THAT FROM YOUR BOARD. SO THANK YOU ALL FOR THAT EFFORT. OKAY. SO MOVING ALONG, WE NOW HAVE THE SUPERINTENDENTS REPORT. MY REPORT IS GOING TO KIND OF ECHO THE SAME SENTIMENT. AND I APPRECIATE SANDY FOR PULLING TOGETHER SOME PICTURES, KIND OF HIGHLIGHTING THINGS HAPPENING THROUGHOUT THE DISTRICT FOR TODAY. BUT WE DID HAVE A STRONG FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL. AND YES, I WAS KNOCKING ON WOOD A LITTLE BIT OF SUPERSTITION. WE WELCOMED 5123 KIDS TODAY INTO OUR BUILDINGS. IT'S ABOUT 95 MORE KIDS THAN WE WELCOMED IN THIS TIME LAST YEAR. ON THE FIRST DAY. IT'S NOT OUR TRUE ENROLLMENT. ENROLLMENT IS DIFFERENT THAN THE FIRST DAY WHO SHOWS UP. BUT OUR FIRST DAY COUNT WAS UP BY 95 KIDS. WE WERE UP IN SEVEN OF OUR NINE SCHOOLS. WE'RE UP OVER WHAT LAST YEAR'S FIRST DAY ENROLLMENT WAS. BUT I CAN TELL YOU, NOT ONE BUILDING SEEMED LIKE THE INCREASED NUMBERS BOTHERED THEM. ALL OF THE PLANNING, ALL OF THE WORK, ALL THE DEDICATION REALLY CAME THROUGH AND WELCOMING, WELCOMING OUR KIDS. I GOT TO START MY DAY AT COLONEL AT THE COLONEL CAMPUS WHERE MR. BELICHICK GOT TO ENJOY THE DAY WITH TAKING HIS DAUGHTER TO SCHOOL. MY DAUGHTERS WOULD NOT GET OUT OF THE CAR WITH DAD. I'M GOING TO TAKE IT FOR THE FACT THAT JUST BECAUSE I WAS THERE REALLY EARLY AND THEY DIDN'T NEED TO GET OUT OF THE CAR, NOT THAT I'M NOT COOL ENOUGH TO WALK WITH, BUT I DID GET TO START MY DAY AT THE COLONEL'S AND WHAT A GREAT START. KIDS LITERALLY GOT RIGHT OFF, WENT RIGHT IN LIKE THEY NEVER SKIPPED A BEAT. BOTH BUILDINGS, THE KIDS WERE WHERE THEY WHERE THEY NEEDED TO BE. EVERYTHING JUST WORKED SMOOTHLY. AND IT'S PART OF IT IS BECAUSE OF THE HUGE TURNOUT THEY HAD ON BACK TO SCHOOL NIGHTS. KIDS HAD SCHEDULES KNOWING WHERE THEY WERE GOING TO GO. SCHOOLS WERE VERY PREPARED, GOT TO LEAVE THERE AND GO TO FEDERALSBURG ELEMENTARY SCHOOL. WE HAD THE PLEASURE OF WELCOMING TWO DISTINGUISHED GUESTS TODAY. IT'S THE PICTURE YOU SEE IN THE BOTTOM RIGHT HAND CORNER. THE GENTLEMAN ON THE RIGHT IN THE BLUE BLAZER IS BRIGADIER GENERAL WARNER SUMPTER STATE BOARD MEMBER WARNER SUMPTER FROM THE MARYLAND STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION. HE'S OUT OF SOMERSET COUNTY. SO WE WERE ASKED IF WE WANTED TO INVITE A BOARD MEMBER TO COME SEE OUR FIRST DAY. WE TOOK THE OPPORTUNITY AND HE CAME DOWN TO VISIT FEDERALSBURG CAME UP TO VISIT FEDERALSBURG AND THE STATE SUPERINTENDENT JOINED HIM AS WELL TO COME VISIT FEDERALSBURG ELEMENTARY SCHOOL AND SEE THE GREAT THINGS HAPPENING THERE ON DAY ONE. MISS BROGAN DID AN EXCELLENT JOB, MISS KATIE. ALICE FISHER WAS THERE AS WELL TODAY. SHE IS THEIR LIAISON, BUT IT WAS GREAT FOR HER TO BE ABLE TO TALK ABOUT WHAT WE'RE DOING WITH ELEMENTARY READING, IN PARTICULAR WITH THE STATE SUPERINTENDENT AND A STATE BOARD MEMBER AS THEY PUT A LOT OF EMPHASIS ON FOUNDATIONAL READING. SO IT WAS A GREAT CONVERSATION WE COULD TALK ABOUT. AND THE WORK HAPPENING AT FEDERALSBURG LITERALLY WENT FROM THERE TO PRESTON AND DEBORDIEU FROM THE HOP TO EVERY SINGLE BUILDING, BUT MADE IT TO NINE OF THE TEN SCHOOLS TODAY, MADE IT TO ALL NINE COMPREHENSIVE SCHOOLS IS ON THE AGENDA TOMORROW. I TOLD MRS. NANCY I'LL BE BY WHEN THERE ARE KIDS THERE. THE ADULTS HAVE SEEN ME, BUT I WANT TO GET BY WHEN THE KIDS ARE THERE AND SEE HOW IT'S GOING. BUT EVERYTHING WAS FLOWING SMOOTHLY AT EVERY ONE OF OUR BUILDINGS. STAFF WERE EXCITED. LOTS OF SMILES AMONGST THE KIDS. I AM STILL IMPRESSED AT WHAT I SAW KINDERGARTNERS DOING ON DAY ONE. EVERY SINGLE KINDERGARTEN CLASSROOM. IF YOU TRIED TO PUT ME IN CHARGE OF FIVE YEAR OLDS TO GET THEM TO EVEN LINE UP STRAIGHT, THEY'D STILL BE PROBABLY SCREAMING AND I'D BE PULLING MY HAIR OUT LITERALLY EVERY SINGLE ROOM, WHETHER IT WAS A NEW TEACHER OR EXPERIENCED TEACHER. I MEAN, THE KIDS WERE JUST DOING AS THEY NEED. [00:30:03] IT'S REALLY, REALLY A GREAT DAY. AND I WANT TO GIVE A SHOUT OUT TO TRANSPORTATION AS WELL. WHEN YOU OPEN AND SOME OF THIS WILL BE HIGHLIGHTED IN MR. MANGLE. SO I WON'T STEAL ANY OF THE THUNDER, BUT JUST TRANSPORTATION. WE LITERALLY DROVE IN PROBABLY 4500 OF THOSE KIDS, PROBABLY CLOSE TO THAT ROAD INTO SCHOOL ON A BUS AND RODE HOME FROM SCHOOL ON A BUS. OUR DRIVERS HAD A FANTASTIC FIRST DAY, A SUCCESSFUL FIRST DAY. IT'S ONE OF THOSE WE'RE HAPPY WHEN WE GET THEM ALL IN, BUT WE'RE EVEN HAPPIER WHEN WE KNOW THEY'VE ALL GOTTEN HOME SAFELY. BUT DRIVERS DID A GREAT JOB. TRANSPORTATION DID A FANTASTIC JOB WITH ROUTING, WITH BALANCING BUSSES, ALL OF THOSE THINGS. AND COMPETING DEMANDS THAT WE HAVE ON TRANSPORTATION. SO HATS OFF TO MRS. MILLIGAN AND HER TEAM REALLY WAS A VERY SOLID START TO THE SCHOOL YEAR. AND WE'RE VERY EXCITED FOR DAY TWO. GREAT STUFF. BOARD MEMBERS, ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS FOR THE SUPERINTENDENT? WELL DONE. THANK YOU. CAN I SAY I WAS JUST LOOKING THROUGH THE EMAILS. BOB OVER. A PREVIOUS BOARD MEMBER? YES. PASSED AWAY. PASSED AWAY. AND SO I JUST THOUGHT WE SHOULD ACKNOWLEDGE THAT. DID ANY OF YOU KNOW HIM? I DID. I WAS AN ADMIN AT THE TIME WHEN BOB WAS. HE WAS GREAT. EVERYBODY THOUGHT HE WAS, LIKE, KIND OF QUIET. HE HAD A WICKED, WICKED SENSE. AND SO THAT'S SAD THAT HE PASSED AWAY. DO YOU KNOW WHAT YEARS HE SERVED? IT WAS WHEN DR. SHIRLEY WAS HERE. IT WAS WHEN I FIRST STARTED. SO I STARTED 1998. SO IT WAS AROUND THAT TIME FRAME. 99. EARLY 2000. PICTURE MIGHT BE ON THE WALL. HE IS OUT ON THE WALL. I THINK HE'S A GREAT, GREAT GUY. COULD YOU SERVE? AND HE WAS AWESOME. THANK YOU FOR BRINGING THAT UP. WELL, SO THE STUDENT REPRESENTATIVES ARE HERE WITH US. WELCOME. IT'S GREAT TO HAVE ONE BACK AND ANOTHER NEW ONE HERE AND CERTAINLY KNOW HOW TO KEEP US INFORMED. AND IT'S REALLY ALWAYS A HIGHLIGHT OF THE MEETINGS FOR ME. CERTAINLY. SO, LESLIE, WHY DON'T WE HAVE YOU GO FIRST IF YOU'RE READY OR ARE YOU A SECOND? I CAN GO FIRST. YEAH. SO, IT'S THE FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL FOR ME. IT'S MY SENIOR YEAR, WHICH IS I DON'T LIKE TO THINK ABOUT IT, BUT IT IS WHAT IT IS. SO, A LOT HAS BEEN HAPPENING TODAY. BUT JUST TO START OFF WITH ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS WITH THE PRINCIPAL, KREBS WANTS EVERYONE TO KNOW THAT EVERYONE HAS WORKED HARD TO GET THE BUILDING BACK TO SCHOOL READY AND THAT EVERYONE IS SO EXCITED TO GET THE DOLPHINS AND DOLPHIN TRAINERS RETURNING TO DS. SO LAST MONTH THEY HAD THEIR LAST SUMMER, ACCORDING TO HUMPHREY KNIGHT. I'M SURE WE ALL REMEMBER. WHAT WAS IT? HUMPHREY, THE HAMSTER. SO BYE BYE TO HIM. WE'LL SEE WHO WE HAVE THIS YEAR, MAYBE. AND THEN THEY ALSO WANTED TO GIVE A HUGE THANKS TO THE CUSTODIAL STAFF AND MAINTENANCE WHO REALLY HELPED GET THE SCHOOL READY FOR THIS YEAR. AND THEN THEY ALSO HAD THEIR BACK TO SCHOOL NIGHT ALONG WITH ALL THE WITH THESE THREE ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS. I THINK THEY ALL HAPPENED ON THE SAME DAY, WHICH I THOUGHT WAS A LITTLE FUNNY. UM, OVER AT OUR IS PRINCIPAL SUTTON WANTS EVERYONE TO KNOW THAT ARIAS IS GOING TO BE WILD ABOUT LEARNING THIS YEAR. LAST MONTH THEY ALSO HAD THEIR BACK TO SCHOOL NIGHT. STUDENTS WERE ABLE TO GET KONA ICE TREATS, WHICH I THOUGHT WAS REALLY COOL, A LITTLE INCENTIVE FOR THEM TO ACTUALLY SHOW UP. AND THEN FOR ALL THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS, THEIR PRE-K ORIENTATION IS ON SEPTEMBER 11TH. AND FOR ARIAS, THEY'RE HAVING THEIR FIRST PTA MEETING ON SEPTEMBER 18TH AT GUESS. THERE'S A NEW PRINCIPAL HERE THIS YEAR, MISS KERR. SHE WANTED EVERYONE TO KNOW THAT WE'RE THEY'RE SO EXCITED ABOUT THE UPCOMING SCHOOL YEAR. THE STAFF AND HER HAVE REALLY BEEN WORKING HARD TO MAKE SURE THAT THE SCHOOL IS READY TO WELCOME BACK THE STUDENTS. AND THEN AT GHS, THEY'RE GOING TO HAVE THEIR WILD ABOUT LEARNING WILD ABOUT SCHOOL NIGHT. FOR ANYBODY WHO MISSED LIKE THE BACK TO SCHOOL NIGHT JUST FOR PARENTS TO HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO MEET THEIR THE TEACHERS. AND THEN THAT SAME NIGHT THEY'RE GOING TO HAVE THEIR BAND INFORMATION NIGHT AND THEN THEY'RE GOING TO END OFF THE MONTH FOR THEIR FALL PICTURE THEN. AND THEN OVER AT THE UPPER LEVELS. [00:35:01] LOCKERMAN ALSO THE PRINCIPAL MUST. I'M SAD TO SEE HER GO, BUT I'M SURE SHE'S GOING TO DO WONDERFUL AT LMS. SHE WANTS EVERYONE TO KNOW THAT SHE IS SO HAPPY TO BE JOINING THE TEAM THERE. SHE'S CONFIDENT THAT EVERY STUDENT WHO ENTERS LMS IS GOING TO EXPERIENCE SUCCESS AND THAT SHE REALLY LOOKS FORWARD TO CELEBRATING THE SUCCESSES WITH EVERYONE. LAST MONTH, THEY HAD SIX GRADE TOURS WITH MR. GIBBONS. THEY WERE THERE AT CAROLINE SUMMERFEST. I SAW THEM, I PASSED BY, I SAID HI. AND THEN THEY ALSO HAD THEIR BACK TO SCHOOL NIGHT FOR NORTH CAROLINE. LAST MONTH. AT THE VERY BEGINNING OF AUGUST, THEY HAD THEIR FRESHMAN BRICKY CAMP. LIKE I SAID LAST YEAR, IT'S AMAZING TO SEE THAT THIS IS A NEW THING. AND AS A PLUS, THEY ALSO GET TO GO TO SIX FLAGS LIKE I'M SURE THAT'S A GREAT WAY FOR THEM TO START OFF THEIR NINTH GRADE YEAR. HOPEFULLY ALLEVIATE SOME OF THEIR WORRIES ABOUT STARTING AS A FRESHMAN. YEAH, BUT IT WAS GOOD TO SIX FLAGS. I SAW MR. HOLT ONCE. HE'S A FUN GUY. I'M SURE HE MADE SURE EVERYONE HAD FUN. AND THEN THERE ARE THE NEW TEACHERS AT NORTH CAROLINE. THEY HAD A BUS TOUR AROUND CAROLINE COUNTY, AND THEN THEY ALSO HAD A COOKOUT AND YARD GAMES. AND THEN THEY ALSO HAD A BACK TO SCHOOL NIGHT. AND THEN FINALLY AT CCTC, MISS NANCY JUST WANTS EVERYONE TO KNOW THAT KTTC IS LOOKING FORWARD TO HAVE THEIR STUDENTS RETURNING AT THE BACK TO SCHOOL NIGHT. THEY HAD A LOT OF STUDENTS AND FAMILIES COMING FROM SEMESTER ONE AND SEMESTER TWO CLASSES, AND THEY ALSO HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO SHARE LIKE LITTLE MINI SESSIONS OF KTTC COURSES TO MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENTS THIS SUMMER, WHICH IS REALLY A GREAT THING BECAUSE, LIKE YOU'RE A MIDDLE SCHOOLER AND YOU HEAR THE WORD LIKE AUTOMOTIVE, LIKE WHAT IS THAT EVEN FOR? SO IT'S A GREAT WAY TO GET THE MIDDLE SCHOOLERS MAYBE THINKING A LITTLE BIT ABOUT WHAT THEY WANT TO DO IN THE FUTURE. AND THAT'S ALL. BUT YEAH, I HOPE EVERYONE HAD AN AMAZING FIRST DAY. I KNOW I DID. I'M A LITTLE TIRED, BUT I'M READY FOR THE NEW SCHOOL YEAR. YEAH. LONG DAY FOR YOU, TOO. YES. ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU. GREAT REPORT. APPRECIATE IT. AND WE HAVE OUR SECOND STUDENT REPRESENTATIVE, A NEW GUY HERE. HELLO. HELLO, LEVI. THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE AND LOOK FORWARD TO YOUR REPORT. WELL, THANK YOU, GUYS FOR HAVING ME. SO WITH PRESTON ELEMENTARY SCHOOL AND FEDERALSBURG STARTING TODAY, I WASN'T THERE PERSONALLY, BUT FROM THE PICTURES THAT I SAW, IT LOOKS LIKE IT WAS VERY, VERY GOOD TURNOUT. BACK TO SCHOOL NIGHT. I LIVE RIGHT ACROSS FROM PRESTON ELEMENTARY. VERY BIG TURNOUT. ALL THE PARKING LOTS, EVEN PARKING LOTS DOWN BY THE BALL FIELDS WERE ALL FILLED UP. SO A VERY GOOD TURNOUT AND PARENT AND FAMILY INFORMATION NIGHT THAT THEY HELD LAST MONTH. THEY ALSO WELCOMED A NEW TEACHER, MISS PAWLOWSKI. SO HOPEFULLY I'M PRONOUNCING THAT CORRECTLY. AND I GUESS THE UPCOMING EVENTS FOR THEM, SEPTEMBER 11TH, THE PRE K ORIENTATION, SEPTEMBER 20TH, THEY'RE BACK TO SCHOOL NIGHT. AND IS THAT NIGHT I'M SORRY, EXCUSE ME. AND THEN SEPTEMBER 28TH FOR PICTURE DAY SO DRESS NICE FOR FHS FEDERALSBURG ACTUALLY IN THE LIONS CLUB TOGETHER HELD A SUPPLY DRIVE FOR ANY STUDENTS IN NEED. FHS ALSO HELD A SUMMER BOOK GIVEAWAY AND JUST IMPRESSIVE FROM THEM, YOU KNOW, GOING OUT OF THEIR WAY. SUMMER SCHOOL AND PARKS AND REC RECREATION CAMP HAD A JURASSIC JAMBOREE. I'M NOT FAMILIAR WITH THE JAMBOREE, BUT I'M SURE IT SOUNDS LIKE A GOOD TIME. THE FHS MEET THE TEACHER AT CHAMBERS PARK AS WELL. I'M SURE THEY HAD A GOOD TURNOUT AND BACK, I GUESS, BACK TO SCHOOL NIGHT, SEPTEMBER 13TH. LAST MONTH, CMS. I WENT AND MET THE NEW TEACHER THERE, THE TEACHER, THE NEW PRINCIPAL. AND IT WAS IT WAS HARD BECAUSE THERE WERE SO MANY PEOPLE THERE. I THINK I SPOKE TO ONE OF OUR BOARD MEMBERS, MR. PLUTCHIK, WHILE I WAS THERE TRYING TO FIND HER. BUT VERY GOOD TURNOUT. TONS OF PEOPLE SHOWED UP LIKE JUST KIDS GETTING TO KNOW WHERE ALL THE CLASSES ARE, UPCOMING EVENTS, THE BACK TO SCHOOL NIGHT DANCE AT 5:30 P.M. TO 7 P.M. I REMEMBER GOING TO THOSE AND THOSE WERE ALSO GREAT MEMORIES. I HAVE A LOT OF GOOD MEMORIES DOING THOSE, SO DEFINITELY TURN OUT TO THOSE COLONEL RICHARDSON WE HAD A NEW PRINCIPAL, MR. SHERMAN, STEPPING UP JUST A TREMENDOUS JOB THIS MORNING. HE BROUGHT DOWN EVERYBODY DOWN TO THE AUDITORIUM AND REALLY BATTENED DOWN THE HATCHES ON THE NEW PHONE RULE. AND HE SECURED THE. BATHROOMS NOW WITH NEW DEVICES THAT THEY HAVE. AND HONESTLY, I'M VERY APPRECIATIVE OF IT. [00:40:03] I FEEL LIKE THOSE DEVICES AND OTHER THINGS HAVE BEEN HINDERING LEARNING. AND I FEEL LIKE KERNELS NOT NOT ONLY WAS ALREADY ON THE COME UP, BUT WILL GETTING THERE EVEN QUICKER. SO AND THEN I GUESS UPCOMING EVENTS WE HAVE OUR HOMECOMING SPIRIT WEEK SO I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO THAT, ESPECIALLY FOR FOOTBALL GAMES AND STUFF. SO IT WOULD BE VERY INTERESTING TIME. OH, GOOD. GREAT. THANK YOU. I APPRECIATE THAT. WE ALWAYS LIKE IT. OR AT LEAST I DO. I'LL SPEAK FOR MYSELF. I APPRECIATE WHEN YOU PUT THAT KIND OF PERSONAL REFERENCE, YOU KNOW, WHAT YOU EXPERIENCED WHEN YOU WERE IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL OR WHAT HAVE YOU, OR EVEN WHERE YOU ARE NOW. YOU KNOW, YOUR OWN PERSONAL OBSERVATIONS. ABSOLUTELY. PUT THOSE IN THERE. IT MEANS A LOT. AND IT ADDS IT ADDS TO YOUR PERSONALITY AS WELL. SO MUCH APPRECIATE IT. THANK YOU. YEAH, THANK YOU. ANYBODY HAVE ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS FOR THE NEW. THANK YOU. HE WAS AT SPORTS PRACTICE BEFORE COMING HERE TONIGHT, SO I WANTED TO BE WELL HYDRATED. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. YEAH. YEAH. LOTS OF WATER THESE DAYS. OH, YEAH. WELL, AGAIN, THANK YOU. THANK YOU, GUYS. ALL RIGHT. SO I THINK FORMER STUDENT WE HEARD ABOUT EARLIER HERE, DR. WILLOUGHBY HAS A PERSONNEL REPORT FOR US. YOU WERE BEAMING WHEN SHE CALLED YOU OUT LIKE THAT. YOU KIND OF HAD THAT STUDENT LOOK ON YOUR FACE AGAIN. THERE'S ALWAYS THAT STUDENT. LOOK AROUND, MISS PINKETT. SHE WAS OUR SHE WAS OUR GRADUATION SPEAKER WHEN I GRADUATED BECAUSE WE ALL KNEW SHE WAS GOING TO RETIRE. AND I ENDED UP WORKING WITH HER WHEN I GRADUATED COLLEGE BECAUSE SHE DIDN'T RETIRE. SHE JUST KEPT GOING. SO PHENOMENAL. PHENOMENAL LADY. TONIGHT'S PERSONNEL AGENDA HAS TWO RESIGNATIONS, SEVEN TEACHERS, TWO REGULAR CONTRACT AND NINE TEACHERS, TWO PROVISIONAL CONTRACT. THANK YOU. ANY QUESTIONS? BOARD MEMBERS. JUST OUT OF CURIOSITY, HOW MANY PROVISIONAL CONTRACTS? ROUGHLY? I KNOW YOU DON'T. I DON'T KNOW. OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD. WE WILL HAVE THAT DATA AT OUR WORK SESSION ON THE 18TH, BUT I HAVE NOT. I'LL BE VERY, I HAVE NOT PULLED THAT OUT. AND IT KEEPS CHANGING. IT DOES. IT DOES. THANKS. WE ALSO HAVE MINUTES FROM AUGUST 1ST AND AUGUST 2ND. AND THOSE ARE THE THREE ITEMS ON OUR CONSENT AGENDA. [4. Consent Agenda] DO WE HAVE A MOTION TO APPROVE THE CONSENT AGENDA AND APPROVE THE ITEMS THERE? I'LL MAKE A MOTION. WE APPROVE THE CONSENT AGENDA AS WE HAVE A SECOND. SECOND. ALL IN FAVOR? ANY COMMENTS? QUESTIONS? ALL IN FAVOR? AYE. OKAY. 5-0. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. WE HAVE A LINE OF PEOPLE, CITIZENS HERE TO COMMENT TONIGHT. YES. NO PUBLIC COMMENT TONIGHT. OKAY. THANK YOU. I THOUGHT ALL THE PARENTS, YOU KNOW, AFTER DROPPING OFF THEIR KIDS, I THINK THEY'RE TIRED. A COUPLE OF I'M SURE THEY ARE. THEY'RE DEALING WITH SOME TIRED CHILDREN FOR THE YOUNGER ONES, ESPECIALLY. YEAH. OKAY. SO NOW INDIVIDUAL ACTION ITEMS THAT CONVENTION OF EXEMPT ADMINISTRATORS AND APPOINTMENT OF NEGOTIATIONS TEAM. [6. Individual Action Items] SO, FIRST UP WILL BE DR. WILLOUGHBY FOR THIS ACTION ITEM. SORRY. I WASN'T SURE IF YOU DID THE APPOINTMENT OR. NO. YOU DO THE ACTUAL APPOINTMENTS AND YOU DO THE ACTION ITEMS. NOT A PROBLEM. SOME MEMBERS OF THE BOARD EACH YEAR WE COME BEFORE YOU TO ASK FOR YOUR DESIGNATION OF CERTAIN EMPLOYEES AS EXEMPT ADMINISTRATORS. THESE ARE EMPLOYEES THAT EITHER BY VIRTUE OF THE NATURE OF THEIR JOB, HAVE ACCESS TO INFORMATION THAT WOULD PRECLUDE THEM FROM BEING ABLE TO BE PART OF AN ASSOCIATION TO NEGOTIATE BECAUSE THEY HAVE ACCESS TO THAT INFORMATION OR ARE DIRECTLY INVOLVED IN NEGOTIATIONS VIA MEMBERSHIP OF THE NEGOTIATING TEAM. AND SO, THAT LIST IS THERE FOR THE FIRST PART OF THIS ACTION ITEM. THE SECOND PART OF THIS ACTION ITEM ASKS YOU TO APPROVE THE NEGOTIATION TEAM THAT IS PROPOSED FOR THE NEGOTIATIONS THIS YEAR WITH THE CAROLINE COUNTY EDUCATORS ASSOCIATION. TEACHERS. AS YOU MIGHT REMEMBER, LAST YEAR WE WERE ABLE TO NEGOTIATE OUR AGREEMENT AND AS PART OF THAT AGREEMENT THIS YEAR, THE ONLY THING THAT IS OPEN FOR NEGOTIATION IS SALARY. AND SO YOU WILL SEE IT'S A LITTLE BIT OF A SMALLER NEGOTIATING TEAM. MYSELF, MS. ROSS, MS. THORNTON, OUR CFO, AND THE ADDITION OF MR. ACKERSON, WHO IS OUR DATA SYSTEMS MANAGER, WE ARE NEGOTIATING A BRAND NEW PAY SCALE. THE THE LANGUAGE THAT IS IN THE CONTRACT IS THAT THIS PAY SCALE WILL MATCH EXPERIENCE TO PLACEMENT ON THE SCALE WHICH WE KNOW IS AN ISSUE THAT WE NEED TO RECTIFY. AND HAVING MR. ACKERSON THERE, WHO CAN ACTUALLY, THROUGH HIS PROGRAMING, RUN THE NUMBERS AND SORT OF SEE THAT WOULD BE VERY VALUABLE AT THE NEGOTIATING TABLE. [00:45:02] ALSO, WE KNOW THAT OUR AGREEMENT WITH SUPPORT STAFF DOES NOT END UNTIL JUNE 30TH, 2025. HOWEVER, THAT AGREEMENT HAS NOT BEEN OPEN SINCE JULY 1ST OF 2011. AND SO IT IS AN AGREEMENT THAT HAS BEEN CLOSED FOR A VERY LONG TIME WITH ONLY VERY BRIEF OPENINGS FROM HERE AND THERE. SINCE THAT TIME. WE ARE ASKING FOR YOU TO GO AHEAD AND APPROVE THE APPOINTMENT OF A NEGOTIATING TEAM THAT WOULD SPAN THIS SCHOOL YEAR AND NEXT WITH THE ABILITY FOR US TO BEGIN NEGOTIATING WITH THE CCR ISP UNIT STARTING IN JANUARY. WE'VE TALKED TO MS. BAUMAN, WHO'S THE PRESIDENT OF CCR. WE BOTH UNDERSTAND THAT THIS IS PROBABLY GOING TO BE SOMETHING THAT THE EXTRA TIME WILL BE SOMETHING THAT WILL BE GOOD FOR US AS WE TRY TO WORK THROUGH THIS AGREEMENT. JUST BECAUSE BOTH SIDES ARE GOING TO HAVE A LOT OF THINGS THAT NEED SOME ATTENTION, WHICH YOU VERY WELL KNOW, AND MANY OF YOUR PRIORITIES ARE IN THAT AGREEMENT AS WELL, THAT WE NEED TO HAVE WORKED OUT DURING THIS NEGOTIATIONS FOR THAT TEAM. WE HAVE TRIED TO ASSEMBLE REPRESENTATIVES OF THE DIFFERENT ASPECTS THAT ARE COVERED UNDER THE SUPPORT SUPPORT SERVICES AGREEMENT, MAKING SURE THAT WE HAVE OPERATIONS REPRESENTED, MAKING SURE THAT MS. BREWSTER IS THERE FOR FOOD SERVICE, MS. HUGHES IS THERE FOR NURSE NURSES THAT ARE UNDER THAT AGREEMENT. MR. LAMBERT HAS A GOOD REPUTATION WITH SUPPORT STAFF, TRANSPORTATION AS WELL AS FOOD SERVICE. SO JUST TRYING TO MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE A LOT OF FOLKS AT THE TABLE WITHOUT IT BECOMING TOO UNWIELDY, THAT THERE'S TOO MANY PEOPLE AT THE TABLE. SO, THAT'S EACH PART OF THIS ACTION ITEM. AND THE REASON BEHIND EACH OF THEM, IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, COULD YOU JUST EXPLAIN AGAIN WHAT EXEMPT? SURE. EXEMPT MEANS THAT YOU CANNOT BE A MEMBER OF AN ASSOCIATION. SO, I'LL TAKE MYSELF AS AN EXAMPLE. I CANNOT JOIN A CAC, THE ADMINISTRATORS AND SUPERVISORS ASSOCIATION OF CAROLINE COUNTY, AND I CAN'T BECAUSE BY NATURE OF MY POSITION AND MY INVOLVEMENT WITH NEGOTIATIONS, I'M PRIVY TO INFORMATION WHETHER THAT MIGHT BE BUDGETARY INFORMATION, WHETHER THAT'S MEETING WITH YOU ALL IN CLOSED SESSION AND KNOWING WHAT YOUR NEGOTIATING PRIORITIES ARE AND THINGS LIKE THAT. I'M PRIVY TO INFORMATION THAT I CANNOT TAKE INTO AN ASSOCIATION NOR BE INVOLVED IN ANY WAY ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE TABLE. AND SO THAT IS WHAT THAT DESIGNATION IS. IS IT PREVENTING CONFLICT? THAT'S CORRECT. THAT'S CORRECT. BECAUSE SOME OF THESE FOLKS, FOR EXAMPLE, MS. YOST AND MR. LAMBERT AND MS. BREWSTER, THEY COULD BE MEMBERS OF THE ASSOCIATION. I MEAN, I'M GOING TO APPEAR ON THIS LIST EVERY YEAR, BUT THOSE FOLKS COULD, IN A NORMAL YEAR, BE MEMBERS OF THE ASSOCIATION. BUT BY VIRTUE OF THE APPOINTMENTS LATER IN THE ACTION ITEM, THEY SHOULD NOT BE. AND MR. ACKERSON COULD BE A MEMBER OF THE CCR EFP UNIT. CORRECT. BUT BECAUSE OF HIS POSITION IN WHAT HE WOULD BE DOING WITH THE NEGOTIATING TEAM. YEAH. THANKS. YEAH, ABSOLUTELY. I HAVE A QUESTION. YES, MA'AM. YOU SAID THAT THE AGREEMENT WITH THE SUPPORT STAFF HASN'T BEEN OPENED SINCE IN FULL SINCE 2011. OKAY. WHEN WE NEGOTIATE THIS TIME, WHAT WILL BE THE TIME SPAN FOR. OR IS THAT SOMETHING THAT WILL BE THAT WILL BE NEGOTIATED? THAT WILL BE NEGOTIATED? BECAUSE IT SEEMS LIKE A LONG TIME. IT DOES SEEM LIKE A VERY LONG TIME. IT IS. I MEAN, IT'S JUST IT WAS TOO LONG. AND I THINK WITHOUT WITHOUT GETTING INTO SOMETHING THAT WILL BE NEGOTIATED, I FEEL LIKE THE BOARD RECOGNIZES THAT AS A VERY LONG TIME. THE ASSOCIATION RECOGNIZES THAT'S A VERY LONG TIME. AND I THINK THAT'S PROBABLY ONE OF THE FIRST THINGS WE CAN AGREE UPON IS THAT IT SHOULDN'T WE DON'T KNOW, NOT NECESSARILY HOW LONG, BUT IT SHOULDN'T BE THAT LONG WITHOUT HAVING SOME SOME CHECKPOINTS. THANK YOU. ABSOLUTELY. ARE THERE QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS? BOARD MEMBER? I THINK IT'S GREAT TO SEE. AND WE KNEW THAT WAS COMING, THAT THE EXAMINATION OF THE PAY SCALE VERY MUCH NEEDED. WE HAD A LOT OF DISCUSSION ABOUT THAT IN THE PAST AND IT'S JUST NICE TO SEE THAT CERTAINLY IS IN THE INTEREST OF AN AWFUL LOT OF EMPLOYEES OUT THERE. SO I FEEL LIKE WE'VE BEEN SAYING JUST WE'VE BEEN SAYING FOR A COUPLE OF YEARS NOW, WE HAVE NEGOTIATED A FIX TO THIS PROBLEM. JUST BEAR WITH US. WE'VE NEGOTIATED A FIX TO THIS PROBLEM, AND WE'RE FINALLY HERE WITH THE FIX TO THE, YOU KNOW, THE PROCESS FOR THE FIX TO THE PROBLEM. SO I'M GLAD WE'RE HERE. AND IT'S GOOD THAT YOU'RE GIVEN THIS SITUATION AN EXTRA AMOUNT OF TIME FOR SUPPORT. YES, RIGHT. TO TO WORK THROUGH IT. CORRECT. AND SO, IT LOOKS LIKE A VERY WELL THOUGHT OUT LIST TO SAY, ALTHOUGH I'LL SAY IT ANYWAY, GREAT PEOPLE ON THERE, A LOT OF DIFFERENT BACKGROUNDS AND EXPERIENCES AND A LOT OF GOOD BRAINS THERE. [00:50:07] SO, THIS IS AN ACTION ITEM. SO, WE NEED TO SUPPORT THIS. SO WE'LL LOOK FOR A MOTION TO SUPPORT THIS ACTION ITEM. I SO MOVE WE HAVE A SECOND SECOND. ANY FURTHER DISCUSSION? ALL IN FAVOR? AYE. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. YES. RIGHT NOW, WE GET TO TALK ABOUT THE FY 25 CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM. ESSER, MR. NAGEL BE BRINGING THIS TO YOU THIS EVENING. THIS WILL LOOK SEMI FAIRLY FAMILIAR FROM THE LAST TIME WE AMENDED IT IN THE SPRING. RIGHT. GOOD EVENING, PRESIDENT BARTON. MEMBERS OF THE BOARD, DR. SIMMONS. YES. THIS IS VERY SIMILAR TO THE ADJUSTED CIP THAT I BROUGHT TO YOU BACK IN THE SPRING. THERE HAVE BEEN SOME TWEAKS AND SOME CHANGES, BUT IT'S VERY SIMILAR. SO, I COME TO YOU WITH A RECOMMENDATION THAT THE BOARD OF EDUCATION APPROVE THE FY 25 CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM. IT IS A REQUIRED PROGRAM BY THE IAC IN THE STATE OF MARYLAND THAT WE HAVE TO HAVE IT UPDATED AND APPROVED ANNUALLY BY LOCAL BOARDS OF EDUCATION. UPON THAT APPROVAL, I WILL TAKE IT TO THE COUNTY COMMISSIONERS FOR THEIR ACCEPTANCE AND WE WILL GO FORTH FROM THERE. SO IN YOUR PACKET, THE MEAT AND POTATOES OF THIS IS ON PAGE TWO, THE SUMMARY OF CURRENT PLANNING AND FUNDING REQUESTS, AND I'LL EXPLAIN SOME OF THE DIFFERENCES SO YOU'LL SEE THAT WE HAVE. NEXT PAGE. RACHEL. NEXT PAGE. RACHEL. PAGE TO PAGE. YEAH, THE LIST. THERE YOU GO. SO, YOU'LL SEE WE HAVE EIGHT LINE ITEMS THIS YEAR. I WILL TALK ABOUT SOME OF THESE IN DETAIL AND SOME I'M JUST GOING TO KIND OF BRIEF OVER. THE FIRST ONE IS GOING TO BE NORTH CAROLINA ROOF REPLACEMENT. THE PHASE TWO OF THAT WILL TAKE PLACE NEXT YEAR. NEXT SUMMER. THAT WILL BE A CIP PROJECT, UNLIKE WHAT IT WAS THIS SUMMER. THIS SUMMER IT WAS A BUILT TO LEARN FUNDED PROJECT THROUGH ECC, BUT STILL WAS NOT PART OF THE CIP THAT I'M PRESENTING TO YOU TONIGHT. OKAY. WHERE THIS IS GOING TO DIFFER A LITTLE BIT IS I PUT THIS IN AS A AS A PLACEHOLDER FOR THE BOARD TO UNDERSTAND WHERE PRESTON ELEMENTARY'S PARTIAL ROOF IS GOING TO FIT IN. WHEN I SUBMIT THIS TO THE IEC, THIS LINE WILL BE EXCLUDED. I JUST WANTED TO SHOW THE BOARD WHERE THIS FITS IN. THIS IS GOING TO BE COVERED BY THE HEALTHY SCHOOL FACILITY FUND AGAIN THROUGH THE IAC. BUT IT'S NOT THE CIP THAT I'M PRESENTING. AGAIN, I JUST WANT TO SHOW YOU THE PLACEHOLDER WHERE THAT IS. BILL, IF YOU DON'T MIND REAL QUICK. YEAH. FOR POINT OF CLARITY FOR THE BOARD TO UNDERSTAND, THERE'S THREE LARGE POTS OF MONEY THAT ESSENCE WE CAN WORK FROM RIGHT NOW FOR FUNDING PROJECTS. HEALTHY SCHOOLS IS ONE FUND. IT'S NOT AN ONGOING FUND. IT'S A FUND THAT CAN BE UTILIZED RIGHT NOW. BUILT TO LEARN ACT, WHICH BUILDS MENTIONED A COUPLE OF TIMES, BUILT TO LEARN ACT FUNDING IS ALSO SORT OF A VERY NARROW WINDOW THAT WE'RE TRYING TO OPERATE IN. THE CIP, THE CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM IS THE ONGOING CAPITAL PROJECT FUNDING PIECE THAT COMES OUT OF THE GOVERNOR'S BUDGET THAT MOST SCHOOLS ARE FAMILIAR WITH. WHEN YOU HEAR ONGOING CAPITAL PROJECTS, IT'S THE CIP WHERE IT COMES FROM. SO, BILL HAS BEEN WORKING VERY HARD, HE AND HIS TEAM, TO BE ABLE TO UTILIZE EVERY POCKET WE CAN FIND TO FUND THE PROGRAM, FUND OUR PROJECTS THAT NEED TO BE DONE INSTEAD OF WAITING FOR JUST THE CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM. BECAUSE THAT'S. HAVE WE BEEN WAITING? WE'D STILL BE WAITING FOR SOME. EXACTLY. SO, THANK YOU FOR THE CLARIFICATION. OKAY. SO, ONE ONE OF THE DIFFERENCES THAT YOU MAY YOU PROBABLY AREN'T GOING TO NOTICE UNLESS YOU WERE STUDYING THIS FEVERISHLY OVER THE LAST COUPLE OF DAYS. THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THIS FORM AND THE FORM THAT I PRESENTED TO YOU IN THE SPRING WAS THAT THE STATE HAD CHANGED THEIR FUNDING FORMULA. YOU MAY NOT BE AWARE OF THIS, BUT WE USED TO BE AN 8812, WHICH MEANT THAT THE STATE PROVIDED 88% OF THE FUNDING AND LOCAL ON OUR SIDE PROVIDED 12% OF THE FUNDING. THE STATE'S BEEN VERY GENEROUS THIS YEAR AND THAT'S GONE TO 94 SIX, MEANING THAT 94% OF THE FUNDING WILL COME FROM THE STATE AND ONLY 6% NOW COMES FROM THE LOCAL. WE'RE HAPPY ABOUT THAT. I KNOW THE COMMISSIONERS ARE AWARE OF THIS REFORMULATION AND WHEN I PRESENT THIS TO THEM, I KNOW THEY'RE GOING TO BE VERY HAPPY ABOUT THAT AS WELL. BASICALLY CUTS THEIR FUNDING REQUESTS IN HALF THAT WHEN WE GO AFTER CERTAIN FUNDING FROM THEM, 6% VERSUS 12%. SO THAT'S A VERY GOOD THING. THIS IS THAT IS ONLY SLATED FOR TWO YEARS. WHERE IT GOES OUT THAT I DON'T KNOW. BUT FOR THE NEXT TWO YEARS, WE'RE AT 94.6, WHICH IS WHICH IS VERY GOOD FOR CAROLINE COUNTY. SO THOSE ARE GOING TO BE THE NEXT SUMMER'S PROJECTS. AND THEN AFTER THAT, WE GET INTO THE WE'RE STILL, LIKE I SAID, WE'RE STILL IN A ROOFING BUSINESS. PROBABLY THE NEXT THREE YEARS OR 3 OR 4 SUMMERS. ACTUALLY, WE'RE LOOKING AT COLONEL RICHARDSON MIDDLE SCHOOL. THE YEAR FOLLOWING THAT WOULD BE THE SUMMER OF 25 LOCKERMAN MIDDLE SCHOOL WOULD BE THE WOULD BE SLATED FOR THE SUMMER OF 26, AND DENTON ELEMENTARY SCHOOL WOULD BE [00:55:02] SLATED FOR THE SUMMER OF 27. WHERE THAT GETS A LITTLE INTERESTING IS THAT YOU SEE THE LINES BELOW IT SIX, SEVEN AND EIGHT. YOU NOTICE THERE'S NO FUNDING, NO MONEY DESIGNATED THERE. WE ARE IN THE PROCESS OF WE'RE IN THE INFANCY STAGES OF HAVING THE PRELIMINARY CONVERSATIONS WITH BETWEEN THE BOARD OF EDUCATION AND THE COUNTY COMMISSIONERS SO WE CAN KIND OF FIGURE OUT WHERE THEY LINE UP THEIR CAPITAL PROJECTS AND WHERE WE CAN LINE UP OUR CAPITAL PROJECTS SO WE CAN WORK TOGETHER WITH THEM. WE DON'T KNOW WHAT SCHOOL WOULD BE THE NEXT BUILD PER SE. WE DON'T KNOW. AND I SAY BUILD. WE DON'T KNOW IF IT WOULD JUST BE RENOVATION, IF IT'S GOING TO BE AN ADDITION OR IF IT'S GOING TO BE A BUILD. SO THESE ARE THE CONVERSATIONS THAT WE'RE JUST NOW STARTING TO COME TO THE TABLE ON. WE'RE YEARS AHEAD OF ACTUALLY THESE LOCAL PLANNING CONVERSATIONS. SO IT'S GOOD THAT WE'RE WAY, WAY OUT IN FRONT OF THIS WITH THE COUNTY COMMISSIONERS. SO I CAN'T REALLY GIVE YOU ANY KIND OF MORE INFORMATION ON LINE SIX, SEVEN AND EIGHT BECAUSE WE JUST DON'T KNOW WHAT SCHOOL IT MAY BE. WE DON'T KNOW WHAT THE COUNTY CAN THEORETICALLY AFFORD GOING BEYOND THAT EVERY COUPLE OF YEARS, WHAT'S THAT LOOK LIKE? AND THEY HAVE A BETTER UNDERSTANDING. AND SO, WE JUST NEED TO MEET AND DISCUSS THAT WITH THAT. THAT BEING SAID, WITH THOSE THREE SCHOOLS, IT ALSO IMPACTS THE ROOFING, ESPECIALLY OF LOCKERMAN AND EAST AND DENTON ELEMENTARY SCHOOL. SO THE WAY THIS COULD ALL CHANGE, TOO, BUT THE WAY IT CURRENTLY IS NOW, WHEN YOU PUT A ROOF ON A BUILDING, YOU HAVE TO GET 20 YEARS OUT OF THAT. IF YOU DON'T GET 20 YEARS OUT OF THAT THAT ROOF, THEN THE FUNDING FOR THE NEXT BUILD, THAT PART COMES OFF THE TABLE. SO WHAT I'M TRYING TO AVOID IS A. SITUATION. WE HAVE IT PRESTON ELEMENTARY SCHOOL WHERE WHEN THAT SCHOOL CAME OUT OF RENOVATIONS ABOUT EIGHT YEARS AGO, THEY ONLY FUNDED HALF OF THE ROOF. THE OTHER HALF IS THE PROBLEM THAT WE HAVE NOW. AND THEY DIDN'T FUND IT BECAUSE AT THAT TIME THAT ROOF HAD NOT EXCEEDED THE 15 TO 18 YEAR MINIMUM TO GET SOME KIND OF FUNDING BACK FROM THE STATE. SO I DON'T WANT TO GET IN THAT SITUATION WHERE HALF A ROOF HERE AND THEN TEN YEARS LATER ANOTHER HALF AND THEN TEN YEARS LATER GO BACK TO THE OTHER HALF, LIKE TO DO ONE ROOF, HAVE IT GOOD FOR 20 OR 30 YEARS AND BE DONE WITH IT SO THAT THOSE BILLS, AS BILLS POINTED OUT TO, IF YOU LOOK AT LOCKERMAN OR FOR THAT MATTER DENTON ELEMENTARY, DO WE WANT TO SPEND MONEY PUTTING A ROOF ON IF WITHIN THE NEXT YEAR OR TWO WE'RE BUILDING OR RENOVATING REGARDLESS? LOCKERMAN I DON'T THINK YOU CAN RENOVATE. I THINK IT'S A NEW BUILD. LIKELY THAT'S THE CASE. BUT WE DON'T WANT TO THROW MONEY AT A ROOFING PROJECT FOR A BUILDING. WE'RE GOING TO BUILD A BRAND NEW 1 IN 2 YEARS OR THREE YEARS BEHIND IT. SO, THAT'S WHERE WE ARE. WE ARE AT THAT INFANCY STAGE OF WORKING WITH THE COMMISSIONER'S OFFICE ON THE CAPITAL SIDE, BECAUSE THIS IS GOING TO BE A BOND ISSUE. THIS IS GOING TO BE A LONG TERM FISCAL PLANNING ISSUE FOR THE COUNTY COMMISSIONERS TO WRESTLE WITH. BUT THEY SEEM VERY WILLING TO HAVE THE CONVERSATION AND WANT TO HAVE THE CONVERSATION SO WE CAN START FIGURING OUT DEBT CAPACITY. BECAUSE RIGHT NOW AND MR. MENGEL AND I HAVE RUN THE PRELIMINARIES VERY BASIC, WE HAVE FOUR BUILDINGS THAT ARE SITTING. AT LEAST 50% OF THE BUILDINGS ARE OVER 40 YEARS OLD, AT LEAST FOUR. SO, IT'S, WE'RE REALLY TRYING TO GET A HOLD OF THIS FROM THE COUNTY DEBT CAPACITY WISE TO KNOW HOW WE STAGGER OUT WHAT OUR BIG TIME CAPITAL PROJECTS LOOK LIKE SO WE CAN REALLY START GETTING IN FRONT OF IT IN SOME FORM OR FASHION. CORRECT? ANY QUESTIONS? YES. I DON'T SEE THAT ANYWHERE. SO THAT IS, AGAIN, A CONVERSATION THAT WE'RE HAVING WITH THE COUNTY COMMISSIONERS. AND MAYBE DR. SIMMONS CAN ALLEVIATE AND PUT SOME LIGHT ON THIS BECAUSE HE BROUGHT SOME NEWS TO ME THE OTHER DAY ABOUT IT. THE COLLEGE CHESAPEAKE COLLEGE IS TRYING TO COME TO THE TABLE AND GET INVOLVED IN THIS CONVERSATIONS. I THINK THEY UNDERSTAND THAT THEY MAY BE A LOCATION FOR THAT. IT COULD BE A REGIONAL FACILITY. CHESAPEAKE IS LOOKING TO BUILD A CTE PROGRAM THERE. I BELIEVE WE WENT TO COMMISSIONERS TODAY WITH THE PRELIMINARY DISCUSSION PIECES. I DON'T KNOW WHAT THEIR CAPACITY WOULD BE TO TAKE ON A REGIONALIZED APPROACH. FIVE YEARS AGO, I THINK IT WAS DELEGATE GRACE PASSED LEGISLATION TO ALLOW A REGIONALIZED. IT WAS ENABLING LEGISLATION TO ALLOW A REGIONALIZED TECHNICAL HIGH SCHOOL. IT'S ONE OF THOSE NOBODY THINK PEOPLE LIKE THE CONCEPT OF IT, BUT EVERYBODY WANTS IT IN THEIR BACKYARD, NOT IN SOMEONE ELSE'S. THAT THE DRIVE THROUGH OR DRIVE THROUGH TO GET THERE. THE NICE PIECE IF WE CAN FIND A WAY FOR IT TO WORK WITH SOMEWHERE ELSE, IF IT IS LIKE A CHESAPEAKE OR SOMETHING, IT PROVIDES US WITH WITH AN OPTION. THE HARD PART WE'RE GOING TO GET INTO WITH WITH THE CTC HERE. I DON'T HAVE A CRYSTAL BALL, DONNA, TO KNOW WHAT THE COUNTY CAN TRULY AFFORD. I CAN'T IMAGINE THE COUNTY AFFORDING MORE THAN ONE BILL AT A TIME. AND WHEN IT COMES DOWN IN THE SHAKER AND THE MIX AND THERE'S LOCKERMAN 900 AND SOME KIDS OR 900 KIDS TECH CENTER THAT HOUSES 200. [01:00:06] WHERE DOES THE FIT GO? OR DENTON ELEMENTARY THAT HAS 600 AND ALL ALL FOUR OF THOSE BUILDINGS ARE SITTING OVER 40 YEARS OLD. OUR OLDEST, CCTC, IS OVER 50 PARTS OF IT. BUT IT IS SOMETHING, I GUESS, BASIC WE ARE LOOKING AT. OH YEAH. OH YEAH. OH YEAH. I MEAN, THAT'S ALL BECAUSE IT WASN'T HERE. YEAH. IT'S JUST NOT ON THERE BECAUSE THERE'S SOME TALK, THERE'S MORE TALK NOW FAVORING THAT IT'S GOING TO BE OFFSITE OUT OF CAROLINE COUNTY. SO I DIDN'T WANT TO PUT IT ON THERE. JUST JUST DIDN'T MAKE SENSE TO PUT IT ON AT THIS TIME. OUR BUILDINGS THAT ARE THAT ARE OLD ENOUGH. LOCKERMAN DENTON HEARTS ARE A GOOD CHUNK OF RIDGELY CCTC. FEDERALSBURG IS AN INTERESTING SCENARIO. FEDERALSBURG HAS PARTS OF THE BUILDING THAT ARE OLD ENOUGH. THE RENOVATION DID NOT. RENOVATION OF FEDERALSBURG DID NOT TOUCH ENOUGH OF THE BUILDING TO BRING A LOT OF IT UP TO WHAT WOULD BE MODERN CODE. FEDERALSBURG IS A CHALLENGE BECAUSE IF WE GO TO RENOVATE EXISTING SPACES THERE, THE COST IS EXORBITANT TO DO MINOR MODIFICATIONS. BUT THE BUILDING ITSELF, THE RENOVATION OF FEDERALSBURG, I THINK WAS OFFICIALLY ON PAPER, FINISHED IN 2001. SO THE BUILDING ITSELF IS LITERALLY ONLY 20 TO 22 YEARS OLD BY RENOVATION STANDARD. SO WE'LL HAVE TO THINK THAT THE COUNTY HAS TO THINK ABOUT ALSO OF, OKAY, IT'S NOT 40 FOR MAXIMUM FUNDING, BUT WHAT IS THAT THRESHOLD FOR WHEN A FEDERALSBURG CAN COME ON LINE? BECAUSE I THINK WE ALL CAN SAY FEDERALSBURG ELEMENTARY SCHOOL COULD USE A RENOVATION IF YOU WANT TO PUT THEM ALL IN LINE, THOSE SORTS OF THINGS. SO WE'VE WE DEFINITELY HAVE SOME CAPITAL ISSUES THAT ARE GOING TO REQUIRE A LOT OF A LOT OF DEEP THINKING TO HOW HOW WE STRETCH THE DOLLAR AS FAR AS WE POSSIBLY CAN TO BRING FACILITIES UP THE LINE, THAT'S FOR SURE. SO THIS DOCUMENT, AS YOU KNOW ME LONG, LONG ENOUGH. THIS HAS CHANGED A LOT FROM YEAR TO YEAR. IT'S OBVIOUSLY NOT CHISELED IN STONE. WE DO REEVALUATE OUR ASSETS AND OUR INVENTORIES ON AN ANNUAL BASIS TO DETERMINE, YOU KNOW, MAYBE WE NEED TO MOVE THIS PROJECT UP A YEAR OR MAYBE WE CAN PUSH THAT PROJECT BACK A YEAR BECAUSE THIS IS NOW STARTING TO TAKE PRIORITY. SO, LIKE MAYBE NEXT YEAR IT MAY BE ON THERE. WE JUST DON'T KNOW WHERE THAT'S GOING TO GO RIGHT NOW. SO, I LEFT IT OFF. THAT'S WHY. SO SOMETHING LIKE FEDERALSBURG ROOF WASN'T ON HERE RIGHT WHEN MR. MENGEL STARTED IN THIS POSITION. BUT THE STRUCTURAL ISSUES THAT WERE THERE REQUIRED US TO REALLY ADD IT TO IT. AND THAT'S WHY IT'S GETTING DONE WHERE WE'RE ABLE TO GET IT ON HERE AND CIP MONEY. BUT IT LEAPFROGGED ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING BECAUSE OF THE SHAPE IT WAS IN. THAT WILL BE DONE. WELL, YOU LOOK AT REALLY JUST AN OBSERVATION. IT DOESN'T I'M NOT EVEN SURE WHAT THIS MEANS. WHAT I'M ABOUT TO SAY, IF MY MATH IS RIGHT, WHEN YOU LOOK AT THAT LOCKERMAN RENOVATION, THE KIDS WHO JUST ENTERED LOCKERMAN SIXTH GRADERS, THEY'LL BE GRADUATING FROM HIGH SCHOOL. AND THAT RENOVATION HAPPENS. YEAH. YES. IF IT WERE TO HAPPEN IN THIS ONE. YES. YEAH. YEAH. SO IT JUST TELLS YOU THAT THERE'S JUST NOT ENOUGH MONEY TO GO AROUND. AND AS DONNA POINTED OUT, YOU KNOW, THERE'S PLACES YOU JUST CAN'T GET TO. AND FOR ALL THE NEEDS OF FEDERALSBURG, THERE'S NO DOLLARS NEXT TO THAT ONE YET. IT'S JUST A PROCESS. YOU HAVE TO WORK AND YOU HOPE THAT MORE MONEY WILL COME IN, BUT THERE'S ONLY SO MUCH TO GO AROUND. SO THE REALITY OF IT, IT'S NOT THE THE NEED DOESN'T ALWAYS EQUAL THE SUPPLY AND DEMAND. ARE THERE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? OKAY, THEN I WOULD SEEK YOUR APPROVAL FOR THE FY 25 CIP. I SHALL MOVE. THANK YOU. WE HAVE A SECOND. SECOND. ALL RIGHT. ANY FURTHER DISCUSSION? ALL IN FAVOR? AYE. ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU. THAT'S UNANIMOUSLY. THANK YOU, MR. MENDILLO. MUCH. ALL RIGHT. SO NOW WE'RE MOVING INTO REPORTS AND PRESENTATIONS. [7. Reports and Presentations] SUMMER PROGRAM UPDATE. MRS MCCORMICK AND LEVI HERE, YOU'LL GET A LITTLE BIT OF EDUCATION ON THE FEDERALSBURG PROGRAM THAT HAPPENED THIS SUMMER AND A WHOLE LOT MORE. AND THE CTE, CTE PROGRAM THAT HAPPENED WITH MIDDLE SCHOOL THAT I HEARD YOU GUYS MENTIONED. SO THANK YOU BOTH. GOOD EVENING, PRESIDENT BARTON, DR. SIMMONS AND BOARD MEMBERS, I DO COME BEFORE YOU TONIGHT JUST TO GIVE YOU A BRIEF UPDATE OF OUR SUMMER PROGRAMING THIS YEAR. LIKE LAST YEAR, WE DID A FIVE WEEK IN-PERSON PROGRAM AROUND JUNE 20TH 3RD TO JULY 27TH. WE DID ADJUST THE START DATE BY ONE DAY, BUT THOSE WERE WERE THE DAYS. [01:05:02] AND YOU CAN SEE THE TIMES ELEMENTARY WAS ALL DAY IN COLLABORATION WITH CAROLINE COUNTY RECREATION AND PARKS, AND SECONDARY WAS JUST SIMPLY CCPS AND IT WAS JUST IN THE MORNING WE HIRED OVER 75 CERTIFIED TEACHERS. SO WE TALK ABOUT HOW TEACHERS GIVE AND GIVE AND GIVE AND WE TALK ABOUT HOW TEACHERS GIVE DURING THE YEAR, AND WHEN STUDENTS LEAVE, IT IS THEIR OPPORTUNITY TO TAKE A BREAK. 75 PLUS 15 IS PLUS. SITE COORDINATORS CHOSE TO GIVE UP PORTIONS OF THEIR SUMMER AND COME CONTINUE TO WORK WITH OUR STUDENTS. SO HUGE SHOUT OUTS AND KUDOS TO OUR STAFF. AND THAT'S JUST IN THAT PART. WE HAVE OTHER STAFF THAT WE WILL GET TO LATER THAT ALSO GAVE DURING THE SUMMER. ONE THING I WANTED TO HIGHLIGHT IS THIS YEAR WE BROUGHT IN A SITE COORDINATOR TO KIND OF REALLY OVERSEE THE DAY TO DAY OPERATIONS OF THE PROGRAM, AND THREE OF THOSE SEVEN ACTUALLY COMPLETED THE ASPIRING LEADER PROGRAM THAT DR. ORR AND I LED OVER THE PAST COUPLE OF YEARS. SO THAT WAS EXCITING TO ME TO SEE THREE OF THEM STEP OUT AND WANT TO BE IN A LEADERSHIP ROLE. AS YOU SEE RECREATION AND PARK, THEY HAD OVER 100 STAFF. THEY ALSO HAD LEADERS IN TRAINING AND COUNSELORS IN TRAINING, AND THEN THEY ALSO HAD A DIRECTOR AT EACH OF THE SITES. OUR ELEMENTARY SCHOOL PROGRAM. WE WERE UP BY AROUND 50 STUDENTS THIS YEAR, SO WE HAD 747 STUDENTS THAT ATTENDED. AND IT SAYS FOUR SITES. IT TRULY WAS FIVE SCHOOLS REPRESENTED. HOWEVER, BECAUSE OF ROOFING PROJECTS, WE HAD TWO SCHOOLS WITHIN ONE BUILDING, SO BOTH FEDERALSBURG AND PRESTON WERE HOUSED AT PRESTON. IT AMAZES ME EVERY SINGLE YEAR, BUT WHEN I LOOK BACK ON MY PRESENTATION THIS TIME LAST YEAR, WE WERE EXACTLY THE SAME 50% MALE, 50% FEMALE. OF IT JUST KIND OF BLOWS ME AWAY. 19 DAYS OF PROGRAMING AND ON AVERAGE, STUDENTS ATTENDED 14 DAYS, WHICH I THINK IS REALLY GOOD. PEOPLE DO TAKE A WEEK'S VACATION HERE AND THERE. AND SO FOR THEM TO ATTEND 14 DAYS ON AVERAGE I THOUGHT WAS GREAT. IN THE MORNING, IN THE MORNING, IN ELEMENTARY PROGRAM, STUDENTS PARTICIPATED IN MORE ACADEMIC OPPORTUNITIES WITH READING EGGS AS WELL AS MOVING WITH MATH AND AGILE MIND IN THE CLASSROOM AT THE TIME WAS A CAROLINE COUNTY TEACHER AS WELL AS A RECREATION AND PARK LEADER AND A JUNIOR LEADER. SO IN THE MORNING THERE WERE THREE ADULTS WORKING WITH THE GROUPS OF STUDENTS, WHICH WAS WONDERFUL. IN THE AFTERNOON THE TEACHERS DID LEAVE AND IT WAS RECREATION AND PARK STAFF THAT DID ENRICHMENT ACTIVITIES WITH THE STUDENTS. I WILL DISCUSS THIS SLIDE, BUT IT TRULY IS ONE OUT OF PLACE, SO I APOLOGIZE FOR THAT. I DON'T KNOW WHY WHEN I WAS REVIEWING IT TODAY, I'M LIKE, THAT'S NOT IN THE RIGHT ORDER. OVERALL, ELEMENTARY, MIDDLE AND HIGH SCHOOL PROGRAM STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES, WE WERE WE WERE UP AGAIN BY 30 STUDENTS IN THIS SUBGROUP WITH 127 STUDENTS PARTICIPATING. THEY TOOK PART IN REGULAR DAY PROGRAM WITH THE REST OF OUR STUDENTS AS WELL AS WE DID HAVE SOME STUDENTS WHO RECEIVED EXTENDED SCHOOL YEAR SERVICES DURING THAT TIME AS WELL. LET ME LOOK AT YOU. OKAY, NOW I'M ALL RED, CONNIE. SO, MIDDLE SCHOOL. SO I TALKED A LITTLE BIT ABOUT ELEMENTARY MIDDLE SCHOOL. I WAS SUPER PLEASED. AND I DO WANT TO GIVE A LARGE SHOUT OUT TO OUR AFTER SCHOOL COORDINATOR, DEJA THOMPSON, WHO WE WERE ABLE TO HIRE THROUGH MARYLAND ARP ESSER FUNDING, AND SHE IS STILL WITH US THIS SCHOOL YEAR. BUT SHE REALLY AT LAST YEAR, ONE OF OUR GOALS WAS TO BOOST OUR MIDDLE SCHOOL PROGRAM FOR THIS SUMMER. AND I TASKED HER WITH THAT AND SAID, THIS IS REALLY MY VISION AND CAN YOU PUT THIS INTO PLACE? AND WITHOUT A DOUBT, SHE DID. SO WE DID RAISE OUR NUMBERS. I KNOW IT'S MIDDLE SCHOOL, BUT WE RAISED OUR NUMBERS TO 40 STUDENTS AND I WAS THRILLED WITH THAT. 41 I BELIEVE WE DID HAVE ACADEMIC PORTION, BUT AS LESLIE EVEN MENTIONED, WE HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO HAVE OUR MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENTS HAVE 45 MINUTES A DAY WHERE THEY COULD ROTATE THROUGH BY CHOICE SOME CTE MINI SESSIONS, [01:10:04] AS YOU KNOW, IN THE BLUEPRINT, ONE OF THE LARGE PUSHES IS MORE CAREER EXPLORATION, STARTING AT MIDDLE SCHOOL THROUGH HIGH SCHOOL. ON AN ASIDE, OUR CAREER COACHES STARTED TODAY, SO SUPER EXCITED ABOUT THAT. BUT I THOUGHT IT WAS JUST GREAT THAT OUR STUDENTS HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO BE EXPOSED TO SOME OF OUR DIFFERENT CTE PROGRAMS TAUGHT BY OUR CTE TEACHERS, I SHOULD SAY. SO THEY, THE CTE TEACHERS THEMSELVES CAME TO THE MIDDLE SCHOOLS TO DO THAT. IN HIGH SCHOOL, WE OFFERED CREDIT RECOVERY. WE HAD 131 STUDENTS PARTICIPATE. IT WAS LESS STUDENTS THIS YEAR, WHICH I WHICH YOU COULD SAY THAT IS A GOOD THING BECAUSE IF YOU ARE DOING CREDIT RECOVERY, YOU DO WANT LESS STUDENTS. SO WE DID HAVE A FEW LESS STUDENTS THIS SUMMER THAN WE DID LAST, BUT THE TOTAL COURSES COMPLETED WERE ABOUT ON ON PAR. SO, LAST YEAR I THINK WE HAD 151 COURSES COMPLETED THIS YEAR, 149. BUT WHEN I SAY COMPLETED, I ALSO MEAN PAST. SO THAT'S VERY GOOD NEWS. QUICK QUESTION. SURE. UM, DO STUDENTS HAVE TO TAKE CREDIT RECOVERY? THEY DO NOT HAVE TO TAKE CREDIT RECOVERY AND WE NOW HAVE MULTIPLE OPTIONS FOR CREDIT RECOVERY OR EARNING THAT CREDIT AFTER YOU HAVE FAILED SO YOU CAN RETAKE THE COURSE WITHIN SCHEDULES. IF YOU HAVE SEVERAL COURSES THAT YOU MAY NEED, YOU STILL NEED A CERTAIN NUMBER OF CLASSES, ET CETERA. TO GRADUATE SO IT COULD PUSH GRADUATION. BACK WITH OUR MARYLAND LEADS MONEY WE HAVE FOR LAST SCHOOL YEAR AND THIS SCHOOL YEAR. WE HAVE OFFERED CREDIT RECOVERY IN A CLASS PERIOD DURING THE SCHOOL DAY. THAT GIVES AN OPPORTUNITY FOR STUDENTS WHO HAVE MULTIPLE CLASSES THAT THEY NEED TO RECOVER CREDITS FROM TO DO DURING THE SCHOOL DAY AND STILL HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO PARTICIPATE IN, SAY, EXTRACURRICULARS THAT HAPPEN AFTER SCHOOL WHEN WE OFFER CREDIT RECOVERY AFTER SCHOOL HOURS. SO, NO, THEY DON'T HAVE TO DO CREDIT RECOVERY. THEY CAN TAKE THE COURSE A SECOND TIME, BUT IT IS AN OPTION IN MANY DIFFERENT WAYS AND WE DON'T CHARGE FOR THAT. THERE IS NO FEE. SO THIS IS WHERE THE STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES SLIDE SHOULD HAVE BEEN BECAUSE I COULD HAVE DONE ELEMENTARY, MIDDLE, HIGH AND THEN INTO OUR SPECIAL POPULATIONS. BUT WE HAD 70 MULTILINGUAL LEARNERS PARTICIPATE IN OUR ELEMENTARY PROGRAM THIS YEAR. AND AGAIN, THEY HAD THE OPPORTUNITY, THEY WERE PARTICIPATING WITH ALL OF THEIR PEERS, ALTHOUGH THEY WERE PROVIDED WITH MULTILINGUAL SERVICES. WE DID HAVE TEACHERS PARTICIPATE IN SUMMER PROGRAMING, SO THEY HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO HAVE SOME ADDITIONAL SERVICES FOR THEIR NEEDS. NO. 49 AT GREENSBORO. CORRECT. INCREDIBLE. SO AS I SAID, LOTS MORE THANK YOUS TO OCCUR. ALL OF OUR OPERATIONS ALSO GIVE UP THEIR OPPORTUNITY IN THE SUMMER TO TAKE SOME TIME OFF TO PROVIDE SERVICES. SO YOU SEE, WE HAD HEALTH ROOM STAFFED, WE HAD WELLNESS CENTERS, OPEN FOOD SERVICES, PROVIDED BREAKFASTS FOR BOTH ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY. AND BECAUSE IT WAS ALL DAY, THEY PROVIDED LUNCHES FOR ELEMENTARY. SO JUST I MEAN, 14,000, 15,000 MEALS DONE OVER THE COURSE OF THE SUMMER. JUST ABSOLUTELY AMAZING. AND THEN WE HAD 14 BUSSES WITH THREE ASSISTANTS, SO 17 TRANSPORTATION FOLK. WE ALSO HAD WE PROVIDED TRANSPORTATION TO A MIDDLE SCHOOL PROGRAM IN DORCHESTER COUNTY THAT WAS A TRI COUNTY PROGRAM FOR CAREER ENRICHMENT, WHICH I HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO GO VISIT FOR A DAY. AMAZING. SO WE WE DID HAVE A FEW STUDENTS PARTICIPATE IN THAT. AND THEN WE HAD SOME SPECIAL NEEDS STUDENTS GO TO CAMP LAZY DAYS. SO LOTS OF TRANSPORTATION GOING ON ALL SUMMER LONG. WE STILL SAW YELLOW BUSSES ON THE ROADS, WHICH WAS A GREAT THING. SO AGAIN, SHOUT OUT AND THANK YOU TO ALL OF OUR STAFF WHO CAME BACK THIS SUMMER TO HELP WITH THIS. SOME OF THE THINGS THAT WERE NEW THIS YEAR, WHICH I WAS VERY PLEASED WHEN WHEN REALLY REVIEWING THIS, THESE WERE SOME OF THE THINGS THAT WE SAID LAST YEAR WERE OUR NEXT STEPS. [01:15:01] SO THIS YEAR WE INCREASED OUR TRAINING FOR OUR INSTRUCTIONAL ASSISTANTS, BROUGHT THEM IN EARLY AND WERE ABLE TO GIVE THEM ADDITIONAL TRAINING. WE INCREASED OUR NUMBERS AND THE PROGRAM AT THE MIDDLE SCHOOL LEVEL AND THROUGH OUR MARYLAND LEADS. WE WORKED WITH OUR PARTNER OF :44. TO REALLY ANALYZE AND REVIEW OUR OUT-OF-SCHOOL TIME PROGRAMING. SO WITH ALL THAT BEING SAID, OUR NEXT STEPS ARE WHAT WE FIND IS 19 DAYS IS AMAZING. IT'S NOT TOO SHORT AND IT'S NOT TOO LONG. SO NEXT YEAR WE'D LIKE TO CONTINUE WITH 1919 DAYS OF SUMMER PROGRAM. WE DO HAVE OUR AFTER SCHOOL SUMMER SCHOOL COORDINATOR CONTINUING WITH OUR ESSER FUNDS THROUGH NEXT SUMMER, SO WE LOOK FORWARD TO THAT. IN OUR COLLABORATION WITH RECREATION AND PARKS THEY HAVE IN COLLABORATION WE WROTE TOGETHER, BUT THEY ARE THE LEAD ON ANOTHER 21ST CENTURY GRANT. SO, WE KNOW THAT ALTHOUGH WE HAD 750 STUDENTS, WE KNOW THAT THERE WERE WAIT LISTS IN SOME CLASSROOMS AND WE KNOW THAT WE CAN INCREASE. SO, OUR GOAL IS TO INCREASE SUMMER PROGRAMING BY 400 STUDENTS. SO, I HAVE TO HAVE ABOUT 1200 TO 1300 STUDENTS NEXT SUMMER. AND THEN WE'RE CONTINUING OUR WORK WITH FOUR POINT. AND WE ARE THIS IS NOT SUMMER PROGRAMING, BUT FOR THIS SCHOOL YEAR AT FEDERALSBURG WE ARE PILOTING A NEW AFTER SCHOOL PROGRAM THEY'VE HAD AFTER SCHOOL, BUT WE'VE LEARNED A LOT AND ARE GOING TO PILOT A NEW AFTER SCHOOL PROGRAM WITH THEM THIS YEAR. SO, I WILL END WITH I HAVE TWO SLIDES OF FEEDBACK, ONE FROM STAFF AND ONE FROM PARENTS. SO, STAFF JUST SAYING THAT MAKING CONNECTIONS WITH STUDENTS. AND I THINK ONE OF ONE OF THAT IS THEY GET TO SEE THEIR STUDENTS IN A DIFFERENT LIGHT. AND SO YOU DO HAVE THAT OPPORTUNITY TO MAKE CONNECTIONS THAT YOU DON'T ALWAYS GET TO DO BETWEEN 9:00 AND 330 ON A GIVEN SCHOOL DAY. SO, STAFF WERE VERY PLEASED. THEY WERE ABLE TO DO SOME THINGS ON THEIR OWN THIS YEAR AND IT WASN'T AS SCRIPTED. AND SO, THEY ENJOYED THAT AS WELL AS THE STUDENTS DID. AND THEN SOME OF THE PARENTS, STUDENTS WHO CAN'T WAIT FOR NEXT YEAR, CHILDREN WHO LOVE THE ACTIVITIES. BUT THEN I THOUGHT THIS ONE WAS A GREAT ONE. THEIR SEVENTH GRADE SON DIDN'T WANT TO. QUOTE UNQUOTE, GIVE UP THEIR SUMMER TO DO PROGRAMING. HE ENDED UP GOING ONLY MISSED THREE DAYS OUT OF THE 19 AND WAS THRILLED TO BE EXPOSED TO CCTV. ROOMS. SO THAT IS WHERE WE ARE FOR THIS SUMMER'S SUMMER PROGRAM. LOOK FORWARD TO STARTING ALREADY. WE START IN ABOUT OCTOBER TO START PLANNING FOR NEXT SUMMER'S PROGRAM AND ARE CONTINUING THOSE CONVERSATIONS. I JUST. THE STAFF FEEDBACK ABOUT THE FLEXIBILITY ABOUT ADDING THEIR OWN FLAVOR TO. THAT'S POWERFUL. IT'S VERY POWERFUL BECAUSE THIS IS MY PERSONAL OPINION. I THINK THAT'S PART OF WHAT'S MISSING NOW. EVERYTHING IS SO SCRIPTED THAT TEACHERS CAN'T FIT THEIR PERSONALITY INTO WHAT THEY'RE DOING RIGHT. AND IN THE SUMMER WE HAVE TO THINK ABOUT THAT. WE DO NOT HAVE STANDARDS THAT WE HAVE TO MEET THROUGH THE SUMMER PROGRAM. YES, WE ARE STILL WORKING TOWARDS THOSE STANDARDS, BUT IT'S NOT AS WE'RE NOT HELD TO AS ACCOUNTABILITY STANDARDS AS WE ARE DURING THE SCHOOL YEAR. SO THEY DEFINITELY HAVE THAT OPPORTUNITY. I THINK THAT'S PART AND IT'S NOT ANYBODY HERE IN THIS COUNTY, BUT I THINK THAT'S PART OF WHERE WE'RE GOING WRONG WITH THE PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEM AS A WHOLE. EVERYWHERE. IF YOU LOOK AT WHERE THE UNITED STATES USED TO BE AND WHERE WE ARE NOW, I THINK IT'S PART OF THE PROBLEM. YOU KNOW, YOU CAN SCRIPT IT ALL YOU WANT, BUT ONE SIZE DOES NOT FIT ALL. SO I'M GLAD TO SEE THAT THEY DEFINITELY ENJOYED IT OVER THE SUMMER BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, HAPPY TEACHER, HAPPY STUDENTS. OTHER QUESTIONS? YES. NOT NOT A QUESTION. JUST A COMMENT. I THINK THE MINI SESSIONS WITH THE OPPORTUNITIES AT CCTC. YES. HAD TO BE A PLUS. AND I THINK THAT THAT'S SOMETHING THAT OUR STUDENTS NEED MORE OF AND SEE THE POSSIBILITIES. I AGREE. AND TRULY, THE PROGRAM THAT IS PUT ON IN DORCHESTER COUNTY IS REALLY AROUND CAREERS. AGAIN, IT IS AND I WILL BE HONEST, I DON'T HAVE ALL THE INFORMATION IN MY HEAD. I KNOW DEREK HAS A LOT OF IT. [01:20:02] IT IS THROUGH PEOPLE FOR CHANGE. IT IS THROUGH. SO, MID-SHORE REGIONAL COUNCIL FUNDS PEOPLE FOR CHANGE TO PUT ON A REGIONAL COUNCIL. SCOTT WARNER. WARNER THANK YOU. SCOTT WARNER'S GROUP HAS GRANT FUNDING THAT CAN COVER THE PROGRAM AND HAS FOR THE LAST TWO YEARS. WE'RE MEETING, I THINK, EARLY OCTOBER THE AREA SUPERINTENDENTS TO DISCUSS NEXT STEPS IF SCOTT CAN CONTINUE TO FUND. BUT THEY RUN TWO TWO WEEK PROGRAMS PUT ON BY PEOPLE FOR CHANGE, WHICH IS AN ORGANIZATION OUT OF PRINCE GEORGE'S COUNTY OF LARGELY MINORITY BUSINESS OWNERS AND PROFESSIONALS. AND THEY RUN STEM SESSIONS WAS ARE AMAZING UNREAL FOR MIDDLE SCHOOLERS TO COME GIVE UP PART OF THEIR SUMMER FOR AND DORCHESTER TALBOT AND CAROLINE AT THE DORCHESTER JUST THE TECH CENTER WE BUST THEM WE HAD THERE WAS ONE SESSION ALL ON DRONES STUDENTS ALTHOUGH THEY ARE NOT OF AGE YET THEY WOULD BE ELIGIBLE TO EARN THEIR DRONE CERTIFICATION BECAUSE THEY LEARN ALL OF THE INFORMATION IN THERE. THEY'RE JUST NOT OF AGE YET TO TO DO THAT. WE I WENT INTO ONE IT WAS MEDIA ARTS FILM AND IT WAS THE MOST DYNAMIC TEACHER THERE WHO JUST HAS A PASSION FOR HER, FOR KIDS IN GENERAL, BUT ALSO FOR HER AREA OF EXPERTISE. WE WERE I WAS THERE ON DAY SEVEN OF EIGHT AND THEY HAD ALREADY DONE AN ENTIRE FILM. THEY HAD SCRIPTED IT, THEY HAD EDITED IT, THEY HAD DIRECTED IT, THEY HAD FILMED IT, THEY PUT IT TOGETHER. AND I GOT TO VIEW ON DAY SEVEN, I MEAN, IT WAS ABSOLUTELY AMAZING. AND YOU NAME IT, MULTIPLE PROGRAMS LIKE THAT, THAT YES, WHAT WE DID WAS MUCH BETTER THAN WE HAVE DONE IN THE PAST. THIS WAS VERY IN-DEPTH FOR SOME FIELDS OF STUDY FROM, AS DOCTOR SIMMONS SAID, SOME TRUE BUSINESS OWNERS THAT ARE GIVING BACK TO THE COMMUNITY WITH A PASSION. SO I HOPE TO SEE THAT CONTINUE. AND THEN WE WEIGH WHICH WHERE DO WE WANT TO PUT OUR EFFORTS? THANK YOU. ABSOLUTELY. QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS? BOARD MEMBERS. I HAVE A COUPLE COMMENTS. I THINK THEIR COMMENTS MIGHT BE QUESTIONS IN HERE. I LIKE HEARING THE SHOUT OUT TO SCOTT WARNER AND THE MID-SHORE REGIONAL COUNCIL. SCOTT'S BEEN THERE A NUMBER OF YEARS. THEY DO A LOT OF REALLY GREAT WORK AND SOMETIMES PEOPLE DON'T CONNECT THAT WORK TO REAL RESULTS. AND SO HEARING THESE REAL RESULTS, I MEAN, SCOTT'S A TERRIFIC GUY TO WORK WITH, A GREAT PARTNER, AND IT'S NICE TO SEE THAT I'VE KNOWN HIM A LONG TIME IN DIFFERENT CAPACITIES. AND WHEN YOU MENTIONED CAMP LAZYDAYS, THE YMCA PROGRAMS, SO THAT FOR ME, THERE'S YMCA IS MID-SHORE REGIONAL COUNCIL, THERE'S RECREATION AND PARKS, THE PARTNERSHIPS, ABSOLUTELY. THAT'S HOW YOU GET THINGS DONE. AND PLAYERS THAT ABSOLUTELY HAVE AN OWNERSHIP, WHICH IS JUST TERRIFIC FOR OUR COMMUNITY. AND IT JUST I JUST WANT TO APPLAUD THAT. SO IT'S NOT REALLY A QUESTION. THERE WAS A QUESTION IN THERE. SO JUST A COUPLE OTHER OBSERVATIONS. SO THE ACADEMIC PIECE, THIS THERE'S A QUESTION IN HERE. OKAY. SO THE KIDS WHO ATTEND AND GET SOME ACADEMIC HELP THERE, DOES THAT TRANSLATE INTO KIDS GETTING AHEAD IN GRADE LEVEL OR CATCHING UP? BECAUSE WE KNOW THAT KIDS LOST SOME, YOU KNOW, GRADE LEVEL OR HAD SOME SETBACKS BECAUSE OF COVID AND IT'S STILL OCCURRING. BUT EVEN IF IT'S NOT COVID, DOES THAT DO YOU FIND THAT THAT. SO THAT'S OUR ULTIMATE GOAL. OUR ULTIMATE GOAL IS I GUESS OUR ULTIMATE GOAL IS TO ENSURE THAT THERE IS NO SUMMER SLIDE. SO EVERYBODY TALKS ABOUT SUMMER SLIDE, WHERE WHEN YOU LEAVE IN JUNE AND YOU DON'T PICK UP ANYTHING UNTIL SEPTEMBER 5TH, YOU CAN LOSE SOME OF THE INFORMATION THAT YOU GAINED. SO OUR GOAL IS TO NOT HAVE ANY SUMMER SLIDE. OUR HOPE IS THAT WE CAN ACTUALLY BOOST A CHILD EVEN FURTHER THAN THEY WERE AT THE END OF THE SCHOOL YEAR. SO WHAT WE REALLY DO IS WE USE OUR IREADY DATA FROM THE END OF LAST SCHOOL YEAR, AND WE TAKE A LOOK AT THE BEGINNING OF THE YEAR I DATA THIS FALL. AND THAT'S WHERE THAT'S WHERE WE TEND TO LOOK. DID THEY STAY ON LEVEL? DID THEY INCREASE THEIR LEVEL? WE DID TRY A COUPLE OF YEARS AGO TO DO ASSESSMENT THE FIRST DAY OF SUMMER PROGRAM AND THE LAST DAY OF SUMMER PROGRAM. [01:25:06] BUT THEN YOU'RE TAKING IT DOWN TO 17 DAYS OF PROGRAM A STUDENT DOESN'T WANT TO ASSESS BECAUSE IT'S SUMMER. AND TRULY NOTHING THAT WE DO IN THOSE 17 DAYS IS GOING TO MAKE A ENORMOUS DIFFERENCE, ESPECIALLY IF THEY'RE ONLY THERE 14 DAYS. ET CETERA. SO WE DID GO TO JUST USING THE EYE READY DATA IN THE SPRING VERSUS I READY DATA THE FOLLOWING FALL. SO WE WILL BE LOOKING AT THAT DATA AND IT MAY BE MAYBE JUST GET SOME EXCITED ABOUT LEARNING OR KEEP THEIR MOMENTUM GOING OR GIVE THEM NEW MOMENTUM. IT CERTAINLY DOES. ALL OF THOSE ARE POSITIVE. SO JUST WANTED TO RECOGNIZE THAT. JUST TWO MORE POINTS. THAT'S FINE. SO THE 75 TEACHERS, THE 15 EYES AND THE OTHER FOLKS, I THINK THAT WADE, THAT THINKING ABOUT THEIR SUMMER AND OF COURSE THEY CHOOSE TO DO THIS RIGHT BUT WE'RE THRILLED THAT THEY DO THAT ENTERED OUR THINKING WHEN WE LOOKED AT THE SCHOOL CALENDAR, TOO. SO WHEN PEOPLE TALK ABOUT ONE SCHOOL IS GOING TO START, OTHER SYSTEMS START EARLIER, THAT SORT OF THING. I DON'T REMEMBER THE EXACT ANALYSIS, OF COURSE, BUT WHEN THEY'RE WHEN THEY'RE WHEN THIS SUMMER PROGRAM ENDED AND THEY WERE GOING TO COME BACK TO WORK, IF WE HAD STARTED BEFORE LABOR DAY, THEIR TIME OFF WOULD HAVE BEEN SQUISHED. AND MAYBE THAT WOULD AFFECT HOW MANY OF THEM WANTED TO BE INVOLVED BECAUSE THEY WOULDN'T GET ENOUGH OF THAT TIME. OR MAYBE IT WOULD HURT THE PROGRAM, BUT IT CERTAINLY WOULD BE DIFFICULT FOR THEM. AND THEY MIGHT SAY THEY MIGHT BE WATCHING ALL OF THEM. RIGHT. OR WATCHING THEY MIGHT SAY, OH, NO BIG DEAL, I'VE DONE IT ANYWAY. BUT WHEN PEOPLE QUESTION THAT CALENDAR, THAT'S PART OF THE THINKING THAT WENT INTO IT IS YOU WANT A ROBUST, ROBUST SUMMER PROGRAM WITH ALL THESE TEACHERS. SO I JUST WANTED TO MAKE THAT COMMENT. LAST COMMENT. IT SEEMS VERY CLEAR TO ME THAT YOU HAVE APPLIED LESSONS LEARNED, THINGS YOU'VE LEARNED IN THE PAST, THINGS YOU WERE SAYING, WELL, THIS COULD HAVE BEEN A LITTLE BETTER. YOU'RE ALWAYS REALLY HONEST ABOUT THAT. THAT, LOOK, HERE'S SOME THINGS THAT DIDN'T GO QUITE THE WAY WE WANTED IT TO BE, AND WE'RE GOING TO WORK ON THAT. AND YOU'VE MADE A LOT OF LEAPS AND BOUNDS IN MY COMPLIMENTS. THANK YOU TO EVERYBODY INVOLVED. I SEE THE PROGRESS IT'S GETTING BETTER EVERY SUMMER. THAT'S OUR GOAL. YEAH, BECAUSE I REMEMBER I HEARD ABOUT ALL THIS CHAOS TO EVERYBODY. OH, MY GOSH, THIS IS BAD. THAT. OH, CALM DOWN. THEY'LL WORK ON IT. YOU KNOW, YOU GOT TO TRY BEFORE YOU CAN LEARN. SO YOU'RE LEARNING, TOO. AND SO, IT'S JUST GREAT TO SEE THAT PROGRESS. THANK YOU. AGAIN, MY PERSONAL OPINION THERE, BUT I'LL TAKE IT JUST YOUR REPORT. IT'S ALL GOOD. YOU KNOW, JUST PEOPLE I'VE RUN INTO IN THE COMMUNITY ARE SAYING, WHAT IN THE WORLD? WELL, NO, I'M NOT HEARING THAT. I'M HEARING HOW WONDERFUL THOSE COMMENTS ARE. JUST SIMPLY WONDERFUL. SO, THANK YOU FOR THAT REPORT. SORRY FOR THE LONG. NO, YOU'RE FINE. I WANT TO JUST ECHO ONE THING AND A LOT OF YOU SAID IT, BUT I DON'T WANT TO MISS THE OPPORTUNITY. MS. MCCORMICK HAS DONE A FANTASTIC JOB AND WITH HER TEAM, WITH ORGANIZING, SUMMER PROGRAMING CAN BE A CHALLENGE. IT MOVES QUICK. YOU DO START PLANNING IT IN OCTOBER, LITERALLY FOR WHAT'S GOING TO BE COMING. REGISTRATION MOVES QUICK TO GET IT MOVING. IT'S TOUGH TO GET TRANSPORTATION. ORGANIZED IN A VERY QUICK FASHION. IT'S TOUGH TO GET BECAUSE YOU DON'T KNOW HOW MANY KIDS ARE. HOW DO YOU GET THE APPLICATIONS IN? YEAH, I NOTICED THE HEARTBURN GO UP. BUT JUST AS A AS A AS AN ASIDE. SO THIS YEAR WE HAD 747 KIDS IN THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL PROGRAM. THAT'S JUST ABOUT A THIRD OF OUR OF OUR ELIGIBLE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL KIDS PARTICIPATED. IF WE GET 1200 NEXT YEAR, IT'S 50% OF OUR ELEMENTARY SCHOOL KIDS ARE PARTICIPATING IN SOMETHING MEANINGFUL OVER THE SUMMER FOR 19 DAYS, WHICH IS ABSOLUTELY INCREDIBLE. AND WE HAVE THIS FUNDING FOR ONE MORE YEAR. AND I WANT TO RING THAT BELL AS WELL FOR OUR BOARD AND FOR FOLKS WHO MIGHT BE LISTENING ELSEWHERE. WE HAVE THE FUNDING SOURCE FOR ONE MORE YEAR AND WE WANT TO MAKE SURE WE MAXIMIZE IT. WE WILL CONTINUE TO LOOK FOR GRANT OPPORTUNITIES, WORKING WITH OUR PARTNERS, WITH RECREATION AND PARKS, WITH YMCA. IF POSSIBLE, WE WILL CONTINUE WORKING WITH OUR PARTNERS. BUT WE'RE GOING TO MAXIMIZE EVERYTHING WE CAN TO MAKE IT, MAKE IT WORK, MAKE IT SUSTAINABLE, AND THEN HAVE THE GREAT DATA TO THEN GO TO THE GRANT SOURCES TO KEEP THE FUNDING COMING IN TO HELP IT MOVING BEYOND THE ESSER FUNDING CYCLE. BUT REALLY, LINDSAY'S DONE A FANTASTIC JOB. HER TEAM HAS DONE A FANTASTIC JOB THIS SUMMER. IT'S AN ABSOLUTE TESTAMENT TO THAT. I HAVE TO REALLY SHOUT OUT RECREATION AND PARKS, TOO, BECAUSE IT IS THAT ELEMENTARY 750 KIDS IS TRULY IN COLLABORATION WITH THEM AND THEY ARE THERE ALL DAY. WE'RE ONLY THERE HALF THE DAY. SO REALLY THEY'RE A TREMENDOUS PARTNER AND THEY START THERE LIT AND SIT TRAININGS FOR THOSE KIDS WHO ARE HELPING IN LIKE, YES, JANUARY, FEBRUARY, THEY START TRAINING UP THE KIDS WHO ARE GOING TO HELP IN THE PROGRAMS THERE AS WELL. [01:30:04] SO IT'S A YEAR ROUND THING TO MAKE IT HAPPEN AND THEY'VE GOTTEN BETTER EVERY YEAR. IT'S REALLY GREAT. THANK YOU. ABSOLUTELY. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. IN THE IN THE WORLD OF TOUGH ACT TO FOLLOW CAPITAL PROJECTS UPDATE. BUT THIS IS GREAT STUFF. GOOD EVENING ONCE AGAIN. SO YOU HAVE GREAT STUFF, TOO. SO I DO APOLOGIZE IN ADVANCE FOR THE INCREASE IN CABIN PRESSURE. THAT IS JUST MY GREAT SIGH OF RELIEF THAT THESE PROJECTS ARE DONE OR REALLY CLOSE TO BEING DONE. SO TONIGHT I WANT TO TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE OPERATIONAL SUMMER PROJECTS. OUR BUILDINGS ARE READY TO GO. BRETT MORTON AND HIS CREW OF CUSTODIANS AND MAINTENANCE STAFF DID A FABULOUS JOB OF GETTING EVERYTHING READY TO ROLL FOR TODAY. THERE WAS MANY TIMES THIS SUMMER WHERE I THOUGHT, OH MY GOSH, WHAT ARE WE WHAT ARE WE IN FOR? WE HAD TIME TO GET DEEP CLEANING DONE IN BETWEEN ALL OF LEFT, IN BETWEEN ALL OF HER, HER EVENTS GOING ON AT DIFFERENT SCHOOLS. WE HAD THE CHANCE TO GET THE FLOORS WAXED. AND I GOT TO TELL YOU, IT DOESN'T EVER GET OLD FOR ME TO SEE FRESH WAX ON TERRAZZO FLOORS. I LOVE GOING TO FEDERAL BUILDINGS IN DC AND JUST GAWKING AT THE FLOOR SAYING, THAT'S INCREDIBLE. IT JUST DOESN'T GET OLD FOR ME. SO IT'S ALL GOOD STUFF. BUT THOSE TEAMS, THEY DID A REMARKABLE JOB GETTING THESE BUILDINGS READY FOR FOR TODAY AND BEYOND. WE LEARNED A LOT. A BIG LESSON IN JUNE THAT A LOT OF OUR PORTABLES ARE GOING TO BE CONVERTED FOR SPECIAL NEEDS, PULL OUT SESSIONS AND ONE ON ONES AND TUTELAGE LIKE THAT. AND WE REALIZED THAT WE DON'T HAVE ADA ACCESS TO THESE PORTABLES, SO WE NEED TO BUILD RAMPS. SO WE BUILT A SERIES OF RAMPS. THE ONE ON YOUR FAR LEFT IS THAT DENTON ELEMENTARY SCHOOL. THAT'S A VERY LONG ONE. ONE THING THAT I LEARNED IS THAT FOR EVERY I THINK IT'S 25FT, YOU MUST HAVE A LEVEL PLATFORM. SO, IT GIVES A WHEELCHAIR ACCESS PERSON A BREAK. YOU GO UP THE RAMP, THERE'S A RESTING AREA, AND THEN YOU GO TO THE NEXT 25FT. AND SO, WE HAD TO DO IT. THERE'S MULTIPLE TIERS THERE. ON THAT PARTICULAR RAMP, WE HAD TO DO ANOTHER ONE AT COLONEL MIDDLE. WE DID A RAMP THAT'S COMING OFF THE BACK ABOUT 40FT. IT FALLS AND THEN WE HAD TO LAY ABOUT 40 FOOT OF CONCRETE TO MARRY AN OLDER SIDEWALK TO THE RAMP FOR WHEELCHAIR WHEELCHAIR ACCESS. WE DID DO A LOT OF CONCRETE WORK AND I'M GOING TO TOUCH BASE ON THAT THIS SUMMER HERE. WE WE ALSO UPGRADED THE TRANSITION CENTERS CENTER, BOTTOM CENTER THERE FOR THE RAMP. THAT RAMP WAS IN TERRIBLE SHAPE. IT DID NOT DO WELL IN OUR RECENT AC EVALUATION. AND I WAS TRYING TO TELL THEM, LIKE, I HAVE THE PAPERWORK RIGHT HERE, IT'S GOING TO BE DONE. THEY STILL THINK ME ANYWAYS, SO THEY'LL COME BACK IN THREE YEARS. WE'LL DO GOOD ON THAT. SO NEXT SLIDE, GYM FLOORS. WOW. THIS WAS A COUPLE OF YEARS IN THE MAKING. IF YOU RECALL, THE COVID YEARS WERE NOT GOOD ON GYMS AND GYM FLOORS IN PARTICULAR. GYM FLOORS WERE USED AND JUST NONTRADITIONAL WAYS. AND WE HAD TAPE AND OTHER THINGS DOWN ON THE FLOORS THAT ARE DESIGNED TO BE ON THE FLOOR FOR LIKE TWO WEEKS, NOT EIGHT MONTHS. AND SO, WE RIPPED IT UP. WE LITERALLY RIPPING UP SHEETS OF THE POLYURETHANE AND WE COULDN'T GET THEM FIXED LAST YEAR. WE JUST KIND OF RAN OUT OF TIME. WE RAN OUT FUNDINGS. SO, WE COMMITTED THAT THIS WILL BE THE FIRST PROJECT THAT WE SEEK APPROVAL ON. SO YOU CAN SEE ON THE FAR LEFT, THAT'S WHAT THE FLOORS LOOK LIKE WHEN THEY COME IN. THEY SCREEN THE FLOORS, THEY TAKE THE POLY OFF, THEY TAKE THE PAINT OFF. AND THEN WE HAD THREE OF OUR SECONDARY FLOORS PROFESSIONALLY DONE. WE HAD THEM COME IN. THEY PUT NEW LINES ON. THEY PUT NEW MASCOTS IN THERE. IT LOOKS REALLY, REALLY SHARP. THE FOURTH ONE UPPER RIGHT IS COLONEL MIDDLE'S FLOOR. AGAIN, SUSTAINED SOME DAMAGE THAT WE WEREN'T ABLE TO GET PROPER FUNDING TO GET ALL FOUR DONE. SO THIS WILL BE A NUMBER ONE PRIORITY GOING INTO NEXT SUMMER. I ALREADY HAD MY SUMMER LIST KIND OF GONE ALREADY FOR NEXT SUMMER. THIS IS ONE OF THEM. IT'LL BE STRIPPED. IT'S GOING TO BE STRIPPED JUST LIKE YOU ALL APPROVE THE FUNDING AT THE END OF THE YEAR. YEAH. YEAH, EXACTLY. IT'LL COME TO YOU IN JUNE OF NEXT YEAR. IT NEEDS IT. YEAH, IT DOES. IT DOES. I'VE SEEN IT FIRSTHAND. YOU GOT ONE RIGHT THERE? YEAH. GOOD. SO WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THAT FLOOR THERE IS THAT I SAID THAT WAS NOT PROFESSIONALLY DONE. OUR CUSTODIANS AT THAT BUILDING DID THAT. THEY SHOWER, SCRUBBED IT, THEY GOT THEY SANDED IT DOWN AS BEST THEY COULD WITH THEIR MACHINES AND THEY WERE ABLE TO GET SOME OF THOSE BIG BLOTCHES TO KIND OF SHAVE DOWN. SO, THEY'RE NOT PEELING UP HUGE PIECES OF POLY AND THEN THEY SEALED IT. SO, IT'S A TEMPORARY FIX. IT WILL LAST ALL YEAR LONG WITH HEAVY USE. IT'S JUST IT WILL GET REDONE TOTALLY NEXT SUMMER WITH YOUR APPROVAL, OF COURSE. [01:35:04] NEXT, PLEASE. CAFETERIA MODELS, REMODELS, BETH BREWSTER AND THE FOOD SERVICE DEPARTMENT. MAN, SHE WAS BUSY THIS SUMMER GETTING THIS STUFF DONE. SHE DID ABOUT 4 OR 5 CAFETERIAS WITH ALL NEW EQUIPMENT, LINE SERVING EQUIPMENT, GOT THE OLD EQUIPMENT OUT, PUT THE NEW STUFF IN THAT WAS JUST NOT RUNNING VERY WELL OR WAS INEFFICIENT AND JUST JUST NEEDED TO BE CHANGED OUT. IT'S BEEN YEARS AND YEARS AND YEARS SINCE THAT STUFF WAS DONE. SHE WAS ABLE TO REDESIGN THE FLOWS OF A COUPLE CAFETERIAS AND A COUPLE KITCHENS IN THE CAFETERIAS TO GO DOWN FROM TWO CASHIERS DOWN TO ONE CASHIER. WITH THE ADVENT OF TECHNOLOGY, THEY THEY HAVE THAT ABILITY TO BE ABLE TO DO THAT. SHE ALSO DID A LOT OF PAINTING AND MOST OF THESE CAFETERIAS, SHE DID LIKE THE METAL GRIDS. SHE TOOK ALL THE CEILING TILES, HAD IT TAKEN DOWN, PAINTED ALL THE METAL GRIDS, PUT ALL NEW CEILING TILES IN, REPLACED ALL THE LIGHTS THAT WERE UP THERE, AND REPLACED THEM WITH LED ENERGY EFFICIENT LIGHTING. THAT'S ALSO MUCH BRIGHTER. THE PAINTING OF THE METAL GRIDS WAS LIKE THE SAME COLOR AS WHAT SHE PAINTED THE DOORS AND THE AND THE THE FRAMES WITH. SO, THERE'S A LITTLE THOUGHT PROCESS IN THIS REMODEL THAT SHE HAD. AND OF COURSE, THE REAL BIG ONE IS THAT YOU SEE THE LOWER LEFT, IT'S THE FALCON CAFE. THAT'S THE WALL MURAL THAT WAS PUT UP IN THERE. AND THEY SAY A PICTURE'S WORTH A THOUSAND WORDS. I CHALLENGE YOU GO IN THERE AND SEE THAT AND YOU'LL SEE THAT PICTURE DOESN'T HOLD ANYTHING TO IT. SEEING IT IN ITS VALUE RIGHT THERE IN FRONT OF YOUR FACE. IT'S INCREDIBLE. I MEAN, AN OUTSIDE CONTRACTOR. AN OUTSIDE VENDOR. YEAH. I DON'T KNOW THE NAME OF THE COMPANY. SOMEBODY IN THE SCHOOL THAT DREW IT OR NO. SO THERE WAS I DO REMEMBER THIS. PROCESS. THERE WAS SEVERAL LIKE BOOKS LIKE WALLPAPER, YOUR HOUSE, YOU JUST GO THROUGH ALL THESE PAGES. IT'S THE SAME THING. SO WE KIND OF WE KIND OF MIX AND MATCH A LITTLE BIT. AND THEY FOCUSED ON THE FALCON LOGO AND KIND OF BUILT IT OUT FROM THERE. SOMEWHAT OF A WOOD SCENE UP IN COLONEL MIDDLE TOP LEFT, THAT IS. THEY REPAINTED THAT THE RED AND THEY'RE PUTTING A MURAL UP THERE THAT DAY THAT I WAS THERE. SO I THANK YOU, BETH BREWSTER, FOR GETTING RID OF THE MOLD OR WHATEVER THE HECK IT WAS. YEAH. SO THEY LIKE, SAY, THIS SUMMER, IT'S BEEN IT'S BEEN SHE'S BEEN VERY AGGRESSIVE WITH, WITH HER PROJECTS AS WELL. ALL RIGHT. VAPOR SENSORS AS IT WAS BROUGHT UP HERE A LITTLE BIT EARLIER THIS EVENING. SO I'M GOING TO READ YOU THIS MORE. IT PROBABLY SOUNDS BETTER IF I READ IT THAN IF I WERE TO TALK ABOUT IT, PER SE. SO THESE SENSORS ARE PROGRAMED TO ALERT BUILDING ADMINISTRATORS WHEN SMOKE AND VAPE CLOUDS ARE DETECTED. ALSO, LOUD NOISES COMING FROM THESE SPACES WILL SEND ALERTS TO BUILDING ADMINISTRATION. ALERTS ARE SENT TO ANY DESIGNATED COMPUTER, CELL PHONE, IPAD OR MOBILE DEVICE THAT'S BEEN SELECTED. BUILDING ADMINISTRATION WILL BE ABLE TO GAIN VALUABLE AND UP TO THE MINUTE INFORMATION ABOUT POSSIBLE PROBLEMATIC HOTSPOTS IN THEIR BUILDING. VAPOR SENSORS HAVE PROVEN TO REDUCE BUILDING DAMAGES AND DESTRUCTIONS IN THE HARD TO MONITOR BUILDING SPACES. SO, YOU KNOW, I'M NOT GOING TO LIE. THE LAST COUPLE OF YEARS THEY'VE BEEN HOTSPOTS FOR US. WE'VE PUT A LOT OF MONEY INTO THE BATHROOMS TRYING TO KEEP THEM GOING AND EVERYTHING, ONLY TO HAVE BE VANDALIZED AGAIN. I'M REALLY EXCITED ABOUT THIS TOOL. I THINK THE ADMINISTRATION IS VERY EXCITED ABOUT THIS TOOL, EVEN IF THEY CAN'T CATCH THE VIOLATORS RIGHT THEN AND THERE. IT CHIMES ON YOUR PHONE AND THERE'S A TIME IT'S A TIMESTAMP AND OR WHATEVER MOBILE DEVICE THEY'RE USING. THERE'S A TIMESTAMP THERE. THEY CAN SIT THERE AND SAY, OKAY, WELL, I'VE GOT A DING AT 1138, BUT I WASN'T ABLE TO GET TO THAT SPOT. AND WHEN I GOT THERE, IT WAS GONE. WELL, IT'S FINE. YOU CAN GO BACK TO LIKE 1135 OR 1130 BECAUSE THERE'S A CAMERA RIGHT OUTSIDE IN THE HALLWAY AND YOU CAN SYNC IT WITH THE CAMERA AND THE TIMESTAMP AND THEN YOU CAN START DOING YOUR INVESTIGATION FROM THERE, BECAUSE THEN YOU KNOW WHO THE WHO THE PLAYERS WERE THAT WERE IN THAT AREA AT THAT PARTICULAR TIME. SO YEAH, IT'S VERY TAMPER RESISTANT. I HAPPEN TO YES, AT KERNEL HIGH WHEN THEY WERE INSTALLING AND TESTING ONE IT IS THE MOST ANNOYING LOUD NOISE. IF SOMEONE TRIES TO TAMPER WITH ONE OF THEM, THEY HAVE A GYROSCOPE IN IT. SO IF IT MOVES AT ALL, YEAH, IT GOES OFF AND IT KEEPS GOING OFF UNTIL SOMEONE ACKNOWLEDGES IT, ACKNOWLEDGES IT AND SHUTS IT OFF. BUT IT IS SUPER ANNOYING AND I GUARANTEE YOU ANY CLASSROOM AROUND THEM IS GOING TO HEAR IT AND WANT IT TO STOP IT. YEAH, FOR WHERE THEY CONTINUE. SO, THEY'RE DONE REALLY WELL. A LOT OF SCHOOL SYSTEMS HAVE GONE TO THESE AND ARE HAVING GREAT SUCCESS. I WANT TO GIVE A SHOUT OUT ON THIS NOTE TO QUITE A FEW FOLKS WHO PITCHED IN TO GET THESE THINGS INSTALLED AND WORKED A LOT OF SUMMER, A LOT OF OVERTIME HOURS THIS SUMMER. FRANKIE PERRYMAN. MATT RYAN. DUSTIN YOXALL, JASON FISHER. JAY BOSWELL. MARK HELPED OUT. DENNIS HELPED OUT AS WELL TO GET THESE THINGS IN INSTALLED AND WIRED AND ADMINISTRATORS ARE GETTING THEIR TUTORIAL AND GETTING THEIR PHONES AND ALL SET UP AS WE SPEAK. I STARTED TODAY WITH THOSE AND WE'LL BE READY TO READY TO GO, BUT THEY'RE PRETTY, PRETTY IMPRESSIVE. AND I WANT TO THANK THE BOARD FOR APPROVING THE PURCHASE RIGHT AT THE END OF LAST YEAR AND THE YEAR END FUNDING. AND RICO'S BEEN GREAT, GREAT FUN. STUDENTS ARE MADE AWARE OF THIS. [01:40:02] YES. YEP. IF NOT, THEY WILL BE. NO, BUT I MEAN, YEAH, BECAUSE IF THEY KNOW THAT, THAT'LL BE PREVENTION AND DETERRENCE, RIGHT? THIS IS SOMETIMES YOU GOT TO CATCH SOMEBODY BEFORE IT'S RIGHT FOR THEM. BUT YES, YOU HOPE SOME PEOPLE THERE'S SOME PEOPLE THAT IT'S JUST ANOTHER TOOL IN THE TOOL BOX AND SO THAT'S AWESOME. YEAH. YEAH. SO. NEXT, PLEASE. ALL RIGHT. SAFETY CLEANUP. WE HAD TO RELY ON OUR OUTSIDE CONTRACTORS FOR THIS. WE HAVE A LOT OF AGING TREES, A LOT OF OLD TREES AND A LOT OF DEAD TREES ON OUR PROPERTY. THE LAST COUPLE OF SUMMERS I SPENT A LITTLE BIT OF MONEY JUST EITHER SPRUCING THEM UP OR GETTING RID OF THEM. WE GOT RID OF A COUPLE OF TREES THIS YEAR. WE GOT RID OF ONE IN THE CENTER THERE, WHICH IS A COLONEL MIDDLE. AND THEN IF YOU LOOK OVER TO THE RIGHT, YOU'LL SEE A BIG BRICK BUILDING. THAT'S A BIG TREE THAT USED TO BE RIGHT THERE BEHIND LOCKERMAN MIDDLE SCHOOL. IF YOU'RE NOT FAMILIAR WITH THAT PARTICULAR TREE, FROM A DISTANCE, IT LOOKS LIKE A WONDERFUL TREE. BIG SHADY. IT LOOKS LIKE A GREAT TREE. WHY IN THE WORLD WOULD I TAKE THAT DOWN? WHEN YOU GOT CLOSE TO IT, YOU REALIZE HALF THE BRANCHES WERE LEAFED AND HALF THE BRANCHES WERE DEAD FROM THE BOTTOM OF THE TREE TO THE TOP OF THE TREE. SO, IT BECAME A BIG TIME SAFETY ISSUE. SO, WE PULLED THAT DOWN. WE PULLED THE ONE AT COLONEL MIDDLE. WE HAD STUMP AROUND THEM SO THE GRASS WILL COME IN AND COVER IT AND HOPEFULLY SOME GOOD RAIN BY NEXT SPRING. MAYBE YOU WON'T SEE THE 30 OF THE STUMP THERE, A TREE THERE. THE TWO OVER ON THE LEFT WERE. SO THE STOP SIGN IS THE PARKING, THE DROP OFF LOOP AT NORTH CAROLINA. WE EXIT. TWO WEEKS AGO, YOU COULDN'T SEE THAT RED SIGN. WE HAD TO CUT TREES OUT AROUND IT. WE HAD TO TRIM AND CARVE OUT THE LEAVES AND LIMBS AROUND IT. NOW YOU CAN SEE IT'S GREAT DOWN BELOW THE THAT IS THE TREES GOING UP CENTER CENTRAL AVENUE BETWEEN THE BARN AND THE AUXILIARY PARKING LOT. IT WAS SO BAD THAT THE LIMBS WERE ACTUALLY IN THE ROAD AND STUDENTS WHO PARK THERE AS WELL AS ANYBODY ELSE. YOU HAD TO PUT YOUR CAR ACTUALLY OUT TO THE ROAD TO SEE LEFT AND RIGHT. VERY DANGEROUS SITUATION. SO WE'RE GLAD WE WERE ABLE TO GET THAT CLEANED UP. NEXT, PLEASE. SO WITH SANDY BERRY'S HELP, WE GOT INVOLVED IN THE BRANDING CONCEPT THAT THE DISTRICT IS GOING THROUGH. YOU'LL NOTICE THAT IN THE ADMINISTRATION BUILDINGS, WE HAVE THE THREE D SIGNS. THE CAROLINE COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS WITH THE NEW TAG ONE FAMILY, ONE VISION. WE ALSO HAVE THE EXACT SAME LOGO AND DESIGN WORK ON OUR MAINTENANCE TRUCKS, AS WELL AS A COUPLE OF OTHER VEHICLES THAT WE USE ON A DAY TO DAY BASIS AT THE SUPPORT SERVICES CENTER. NEXT. ALL RIGHT. SO, THIS IS KIND OF OUR CONCRETE SEGMENT. SO LIKE I SAID, WE DID SOME CONCRETE WORK AT COLONEL MIDDLE. WE DID SOME MORE AT GS. I'M VERY HAPPY ABOUT LIKE BOTH OF THEM. BUT ONE IS NEAR AND DEAR TO MY HEART. THE FIRST ONE IS THE PRE K WE JUST HAD TO EXTEND. THAT WAS A DIRT PATH THAT GOT MUDDY. WHEN IT GOT WET, IT WAS NOT COMPLIANT WITH THEIR WITH THEIR AUDITS. WHEN THE STATE CAME, WE WERE GETTING DINGED ON IT EVERY YEAR. I SAID, OKAY, WE'RE GOING TO BITE THE BULLET, LET'S PUT IT IN THERE. SO IT'S A 30 FOOTER WE PUT IN THERE. THE OTHER ONE IS A LARGE 55 FOOT PIECE OF CONCRETE THAT WE STRETCHES FROM THE VERY END OF THE OF THE SOUTH PART OF THE BUILDING, THE WHOLE WAY OUT TO THE FEC, THE ACCESS FIELD. IT'S ABOUT TWO PLUS ACRES. THOSE KIDS NOW HAVE DIRECT ACCESS TO THOSE PLAY FIELDS AND GREEN SPACES. AND THE PE TEACHERS ARE VERY EXCITED ABOUT THAT. WE HAD TO PURCHASE THE ALUMINUM BRIDGE LAST MAY, SO WE WERE ABLE TO MARRY THAT BRIDGE WITH THE SIDEWALK. IT'S ALL PERMANENT STRUCTURE NOW AND MY UNDERSTANDING IS THE TEACHERS LOVE IT. SIDEWALK. IS THAT WHERE THE BRIDGE IS? YES. YOU CAN JUST BARELY SEE US RIGHT THERE, JUST TO THE RIGHT OF THE OF THE THE TREES THERE. ALL RIGHT, NOW, PLEASE. THEN WE CONTINUED ON. WE DID SOME MORE CONCRETE WORK AT OUR DUTY CENTERS. WE HAD TO PUT IN SOME PADS FOR THEIR PLAY SHEDS, THE TOYS, THEIR TRICYCLES. SO, WE GOT THOSE UP AND RUNNING. THOSE SHEDS ARE ACTUALLY FROM THE RIDGELY JUDY CENTER THAT WE CLOSED UP AND MOVED DOWN THE LAST NOVEMBER, I BELIEVE. AND THEN WITH THE FAR LEFT, FAR RIGHT ONE, THAT'S A PAD. WE JUST ACTUALLY POURED THAT ON THURSDAY. THAT'S GOING TO BE FOR A VERY LARGE TOY SHED BEHIND THE FEDERALSBURG JUDY CENTER. NEXT. OKAY. HVAC CONTROLS. SO IT'S FUNNY, WHENEVER I TALK TO CONTROLS, PEOPLE LOOK AT ME AND THEY GET THAT DUMBFOUNDED LOOK LIKE, WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT? WHAT'S WHAT ARE YOU CONTROLLING? SO WE JUST GOT NEW CONTROLS AND THEY'RE CLOSE TO BEING FINISHED AT PRESTON ELEMENTARY. SO THIS IS WHAT IT IS. IT'S BASICALLY SOFTWARE HARDWARE, AND THEN IT COMES WITH A ON THE RIGHT HAND SIDE. IT COMES WITH A DISPLAY THAT YOU CAN PUT ON AN IPAD. AND WHAT'S NICE ABOUT THIS IS THAT WE CAN SIT THERE AND REMOTELY ANY TIME OF DAY FROM ANYWHERE. IF THERE'S A PROBLEM, WE CAN SIT THERE AND PROBABLY GET 95% OF IT COMPLETE JUST BY TINKERING WITH THOSE CONTROLS RIGHT THERE. SO IF YOU'LL SEE, IT MIGHT BE A LITTLE HARD TO SEE. BUT THOSE ARE CLASSROOMS. AND SO, YOU'LL SEE THAT THERE'S ONE AT LIKE 70, 72, 71, 73, 74, AND THEN DOWN BELOW, THERE'S ONE THAT'S 77 [01:45:04] THAT'S GOT THE THE ALERT ICON AND SOME KIND OF ORANGE. PITCHER. THAT'S A 77. THAT WOULD TELL US RIGHT THERE AN ALARM IS GOING TO GO OFF. WE GOT A ROOM THAT'S TOO HOT. THAT'S OUTSIDE OF OUR PARAMETERS OR IT'S STILL RISING AND THERE'S AN ISSUE GOING ON. THIS WILL ALSO HAPPEN IN THE WINTERTIME. WE GOT A ROOM THAT'S TOO COLD. IT'S NOT GETTING ENOUGH HEAT. IT'S AT 58 DEGREES AND FALLING. WE CAN MAKE THAT ADJUSTMENT AND NINE TIMES OUT OF TEN, WE WILL ACTUALLY HAVE SOMEONE ON SCENE. IF WE CAN'T FIX IT REMOTELY FROM HERE, WE'LL HAVE SOMEONE ON SCENE. BEFORE I WOULD GET THE CALL FROM THE PRINCIPAL SAYING, HEY, BILL, DO YOU REALIZE THAT I GOT A ROOM THAT'S TEMPERATURE IS OFF ON IT. SO AGAIN, TECHNOLOGY IS GREAT. I WILL PREFACE YOU THAT TECHNOLOGY IS GREAT WHEN IT WORKS. OKAY. SO, WE STILL HAVE TO SOMETIMES GO DOWN THERE AND MANUALLY TURN THINGS ON AND OFF. SO IS IT POSSIBLE THAT THERE'S SOMEBODY'S CLASSROOM THERE AND YOU KIND OF WANT TO ZING THEM A LITTLE BIT AND SAY 77 DEGREES FOR YOU? I'M NOT GOING TO ANSWER THAT QUESTION. YOU WOULD NOT DO THAT. I DON'T HAVE CONTROL OF THAT. THAT'S NOT ME. NOBODY WOULD DO THAT. BUT JUST THE THOUGHT OF IT ENTERTAINS ME. WE CAN WE CAN CONTROL THE ENVIRONMENT MUCH QUICKER FOR COMFORT FEATURES. YES. YEAH. NEXT, PLEASE. ALL RIGHT. VISITOR BLEACHERS. SO, WE GET OUR BLEACHERS INSPECTED EVERY YEAR INSIDE AND OUTSIDE. TWO YEARS AGO, THEY CAME AND THEY DID THE. WHEN THEY WENT TO THE VISITOR SIDE OF COLONEL RICHARD HIGH SCHOOL, THEY SAID IT'S GOING TO PASS, BUT IT'S JUST BARELY PASSING. WE'RE PUTTING YOU ON A WARNING. YOU GOT TWO YEARS TO GET THIS FIXED OR WE GOT TO COME AND TEAR IT DOWN AND SHUT IT DOWN. SO, FORTUNATELY, WE WERE ABLE TO GET THAT FIXED OVER THE SUMMERTIME WITH YEAR END FUNDING. WE GOT THE NEW BLEACHERS IN THERE. NOW, THERE IS A LITTLE CAVEAT STORY THAT I'LL GO INTO LATER. IT WASN'T AS SMOOTH AS WHAT IT APPEARS TO BE, BUT THE NEW SEATING IS COMPLETE. THEY ACTUALLY THEY ACTUALLY PUT THE LAST BOLT IN THIS MORNING ABOUT 8:00 IN THE MORNING. THEY SEE US DOWN HERE IN THE LOWER RIGHT, LOWER LEFT. THERE'S A COUPLE OF LITTLE THINGS THAT ARE MISSING. THEY HAD TO COME BACK AND DO THAT. SO I GOT THE ALL CLEAR. THAT'S GOOD TO GO. CAN SEAT ABOUT 150 KIDS, 150 BODIES, PUT IT THAT WAY. AND THERE'S STILL IF YOU LOOK AT THE TOP RIGHT PICTURE, THERE'S STILL BLEACHERS LEFT AND RIGHT, SMALLER. SO WE CAN PROBABLY PUT EASY 200 PEOPLE VISITORS AT THAT LOCATION FOR ANYTHING THAT HAPPENS AT THAT TRACK EVENT OR A FOOTBALL GAME OR A SOCCER GAME. WE'RE GOOD TO GO FOR THAT LAST 80 YEARS. SO THAT'S THAT'S THE LAST PROJECT I HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT. THOSE PARTICULAR BLEACHERS. I BELIEVE YOU AND YOUR REPLACEMENT. I'M JUST SAYING. REPLACEMENT? EXACTLY. YEAH. ANOTHER TIME CAPSULE. LET'S PUT THAT. I PUT THAT SLIDE IN THE TIME CAPSULE. PUT IT IN THE CONCRETE. YEAH. NEXT, PLEASE. ALL RIGHT. SO ALL NEW ATHLETIC FIELDS. WE GOT TWO NEW ATHLETIC FIELD MOWERS. THIS WAS SOMETHING THAT JOHN MARKETO, THE COUNTY ATHLETIC DIRECTOR, HE WAS ON ME, I THINK, SINCE THE SECOND DAY THAT HE WAS HERE LAST SUMMER. BENDING MY EAR, BILL, WHEN ARE WE GOING TO GET NEW TRACTORS? WHEN WE GET NEW TRACTORS. LIKE, WHAT'S WRONG WITH THE ONES WE GOT NOW? WE JUST GET THEM FIXED. WELL, YOU KNOW, WHEN I STARTED LOOKING AT THE BILLS AND WE GET THEM FIXED A LOT OF MONEY EVERY 3 OR 4 MONTHS, EVERY YEAR, I COULD HAVE BOUGHT 3 OR 4 OF THESE IN THE LAST TEN YEARS. I SAID, OKAY, WE'RE DONE. LET'S INVEST THE MONEY. LET'S GET THESE. SO THEY'RE REALLY NICE. THEY HAVE 72 INCH DECKS ON THEM SO THEY CAN CUT THE FIELD UP PRETTY QUICK, DIFFERENT DEPTHS. THEY CAN MAKE SURE THAT THAT ATHLETIC FIELD GRASS IS THE PROPER HEIGHT. WE HAD A PROBLEM WITH THAT WITH ONE OF OUR TRACTORS. SOMETIMES THE BALL FIELD WOULD BE LIKE REALLY HIGH, YOU KNOW, AND IT NEEDS TO BE A LITTLE SHORTER. AND AND SOMETIMES WE COULDN'T GET THE FOOTBALL FIELD AT NORTH CAROLINA TO THE PROPER HEIGHT. SO NOW WE HAVE THE ABILITY TO DO THAT. SO JOHN IS VERY HAPPY ABOUT IT. BOTH THE ATHLETIC DIRECTORS AT THE HIGH SCHOOLS ARE VERY HAPPY ABOUT IT. AND AGAIN, I SHOULD NOT HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT THESE FOR THE REST OF MY CAREER EITHER. ALL RIGHT. SO THIS IS THE AGRICULTURE ROOM AND KTC. AND I'M GOING TO TELL YOU, THIS PICTURE SAYS IT ALL FOR ME. THIS IS THE REASON WHY WE WENT AND GOT A CARPENTER. JASON FISHER HAS PROVEN HIS WORTH OVER AND OVER AND OVER. IT LOOKS LIKE A SIMPLE DESIGN. SO, JODY NEIL CAME TO ME AND SAID, I'VE GOT TO HAVE THE ABILITY TO LOCK UP SOME CERTAIN SUPPLIES. YOU KNOW, WE'RE GETTING DINGED ON WHEN OUR EVALUATION COMES THROUGH FROM MSI. WE GOT TO BE ABLE TO I NEED MORE LOCKABLE SPACE. SO I SAID, OKAY, LET'S GET SOME CUPBOARDS. WELL, I THOUGHT WE HAD THE CUPBOARDS. I THOUGHT SOMEONE HAD THEM SECURED ALREADY. IT WASN'T UNTIL ABOUT AUGUST 1ST WHEN I REALIZED THAT I WENT TO JASON AND SAID, HEY, ARE WE DOING THOSE CUPBOARDS? HE GOES, WE TALKED ABOUT IT. I DIDN'T GET NO CUPBOARDS. I SAID, OH, YOU DON'T HAVE COVERAGE. HE GOES, NO. I SAID, DO YOU KNOW HOW EXPENSIVE THOSE THINGS ARE? I SAID, I CAN'T GET THOSE IN LIKE FOUR WEEKS BEFORE SCHOOL STARTS. AND HE'S LIKE, I GOT AN IDEA. SO HE TOLD ME ABOUT THIS BACK IN MAY. THERE WAS LIKE FOUR VERY LONG, TALL, SIX FOOT SHELVING UNITS AT DENTON ELEMENTARY THAT THEY DIDN'T WANT ANYMORE. THEY DIDN'T HAVE A NEED FOR. SO I PUT IT OUT THERE TO ALL THE PRINCIPALS, HEY, IF YOU WANT THEM, WE'LL MOVE THEM FOR YOU, POSITION FOR YOU. BUT NO ONE TOOK THEM. [01:50:01] SO WE GOT BUSY DOING OUR PROJECTS AND LONG STORY SHORT, WE JUST FORGOT ABOUT IT. JASON SAYS, I CAN TAKE THOSE CABINETS AND I CAN. CUT THEM DOWN. I CAN REFURBISH THEM. YOU WOULD NEVER BELIEVE THAT. THAT'S THREE OF THOSE CABINETS THAT HAVE BEEN CUT IN HALF. SIZE, DOWN, PAINTED, TWEAKED OUT. HE HAS TO PUT DOORS ON STILL. HE HAS THE DOORS. HE JUST NEEDS TO PUT THE DOORS ON. BUT IT'S ALL GOOD TO GO. THE TEACHER LOVES IT. THE KIDS ARE ECSTATIC ABOUT IT BECAUSE THEY CAN SEE IT HAS A LITTLE COUNTERTOP ON IT THAT THE KIDS CAN USE AS WORKSTATIONS. SO VERY EXCITED THAT WE HAVE A CARPENTER. WE HAVE A CARPENTER THAT'S ABLE TO DO THAT WITH THE SKILL SET THAT HE HAS, AND I'VE BEEN ABLE TO USE HIM FOR OTHER PROJECTS THE SAME WAY. SO WORTH THE WEIGHT IN GOLD. VERY GOOD. ROOFS. OKAY. YOU'RE PROBABLY TIRED OF TALKING ABOUT THE ROOFS, BUT THE ROOFS ARE SO IT SAYS 98% COMPLETE AND 95% UPDATE YOU THE 99% AND 99%. THE ONLY THING THAT'S LEFT ON BOTH OF THEM IS SOME FLASHING, SOME METALWORK AND PAINTING THAT IS REALLY ABOUT IT. WITH THOSE, PHASE TWO WILL BEGIN NEXT SUMMER AND WE'LL GET THE OTHER PART OF THAT. I ACTUALLY THINK THEY WENT A LITTLE BIT ABOVE AND BEYOND THEIR SQUARE FOOTAGE THAT THEY WERE INITIALLY GOING TO DO THIS SUMMER. SO WE DON'T HAVE THAT MUCH TO DO NEXT SUMMER. BUT FEDERALSBURG IS DONE. PHASE ONE IS DONE AT NORTH CAROLINA, SO WE'LL BE READY TO GO FOR NEXT SUMMER. ALL RIGHT. AND SO, THIS HURT ME A LITTLE BIT THIS SUMMER. LIST OF UNEXPECTED PROJECTS. THAT WAS CRAZY EXPENSIVE. SO LET'S JUST START CLOCKWISE AND WORK FROM THE TOP LEFT AND I'LL EXPLAIN A LITTLE BIT. TOP LEFT PHOTO. THAT IS WHERE THE VISITOR BLEACHERS WENT. SO, WHEN THE GUY CAME OUT, HE SAYS, HEY, I'M GOING TO BE OUT THERE, I'LL DROP STUFF OFF. WE'LL START PUTTING TOGETHER ON THE, IN FIVE DAYS. I'M GOING TO BE OUT TOMORROW JUST TO LOOK AT THE SITE AND MAKE SURE IT'S ALL READY TO GO. HE GETS OUT THERE AND HE CALLS ME. HE SAYS, ARE YOU AWARE THAT THAT SLOPES EIGHT, EIGHT INCHES FROM FRONT TO BACK? SO THE FRONTS HERE AND THE BACK IS HERE. AND I SAID, NO. I SAID, I THINK THAT'S A PROBLEM. HUH? HE'S LIKE, I CAN'T INSTALL THESE. I'M LIKE, I GOT A FOOTBALL GAME COMING IN LIKE THREE WEEKS. I MEAN, LIKE, WE MEAN YOU CAN'T DO THIS. SO WE HAD TO SCRAMBLE AND GET NEXT X COMPANY TO COME IN TO PUT CRUSHED CONCRETE AND CRUSHED ROCK STONE PROFESSIONALLY STAMP IT DOWN. IT IS HARD. IT IS LEVEL. WE WERE ABLE TO GET THAT DONE, BUT THAT WAS ADDITIONAL COST THAT WE DIDN'T PLAN FOR WITH THOSE WITH THOSE BLEACHERS. THE SECOND PHOTO OVER IS WE HAPPY 4TH OF JULY TO US, ON JULY 3RD, ABOUT 630 AT NIGHT, WE GOT A CALL SAYING THAT THE FEDERAL OR THE FAMILY SUPPORT CENTER CENTER HAD A LEAKY FIRE SPRINKLER SPRINKLER, SORRY. AND IT WAS ALL OVER THE PLACE. IT DESTROYED THE CEILING TILES, WHICH IS, YOU KNOW, PRETTY EASILY DONE. IT DESTROYED THE CARPET, THE FURNITURE. THEY HAD BOXES OF PAPERWORK DESTROYED, THAT KID'S CLOTHING THAT WAS HANGING ON ON THE CLOSET WALL DESTROYED THAT. AND THE LESSON I LEARNED HERE WITH THIS IS WHAT YOU SEE IN HOLLYWOOD AND TV WITH SPRINKLERS GOING OFF, MAN, THAT'S JUST FOR MOVIE THAT IT'S ALL WATER. MOST OF YOUR SPRINKLERS, AS YOU KNOW, ARE IN IN PLACES IN OUR COUNTRY THAT ARE GOING TO HAVE SOME KIND OF A FREEZE AT LEAST ONE DAY. WELL, IN ORDER TO HAVE THAT, YOU GOT TO HAVE ANTIFREEZE IN THERE. THIS ISN'T PRESTON ANTIFREEZE YOU PUT IN YOUR CAR. THIS IS LIKE FIRE GRADE AND IT STINKS TO HIGH HEAVEN. WE GOT TO CLEAN IT UP IN ABOUT FOR ABOUT THREE DAYS. IT TOOK US ANOTHER FOUR DAYS AFTER THAT JUST TO GET THE SMELL OUT. AND WE RAN THE HUMIDIFIERS. WE RAN AIR SCRUBBERS, WE OPENED UP WINDOWS. WE WENT THROUGH AND CLEANED IT ALL OVER AGAIN WITH NEW DISINFECTANT JUST TO TRY AND GET THE SMELL OUT. IT JUST TOOK FOREVER TO GET IT OUT OF THERE. SO YEAH, HOPEFULLY IT NEVER HAPPENS TO YOU IN ANY KIND OF SIDE BUILDING THAT YOU'RE RESPONSIBLE FOR. BUT THE SMELL, IT'S UNBELIEVABLE. I MEAN, IT MAKES YOUR EYES WATER. ALL RIGHT. SO, THEN WE'LL GO TO THE FAR RIGHT AND WE'LL START WRAPPING THIS UP HERE. THIS WAS ANOTHER ONE OF MY. THIS IS ANOTHER OF MY FAVORITE PROJECTS THAT WE DID. SO, YOU KNOW, I'VE BEEN HEARING THAT COLONEL MIDDLE FRONT OF HOUSE TENDS TO FLOOD PRETTY SEVERELY WITH RAIN, YOU KNOW, AND I'VE BEEN HEARING ABOUT IT AND I'M LIKE, OKAY, WELL, WE'LL GET TO IT. WELL, IT WASN'T UNTIL DR. SIMMONS KIND OF KINDLY LIT A FIRE IN MY BUTT AND SAID HE SAID, HEY, THEY WERE JUST REALLY GOOD. HE WAS HE WAS JUST THERE WHEN THEY HAD A STORM AND THERE WAS SOME SOME FLOODING GOING ON THERE. AND I'M LIKE, OKAY, WELL, NOW I'M CONNECTING THE DOTS. I CAN SEE WHAT I'M HEARING AND NOW WHAT HE'S SHOWING ME. SO I GET THE CONTRACTOR, WE GO DOWN THERE AND WE GET STUCK IN A THUNDERSTORM SUPERCELL THAT DUMPED THREE INCHES OF RAIN IN 45 MINUTES. AND THAT WHOLE AREA BECAME A POND. AND IT WAS THE RAINS COMING LEFT AND RIGHT. WE WERE UNDER THE CANOPY AND WE WERE JUST SOAKING WET. AND ON TOP OF THAT, WE'RE STANDING IN THE ON THE SIDEWALK AND THERE'S TWO INCHES OF WATER RUSHING DOWN AND WE'RE TOTALLY SOAKED. AND I WAS LIKE, GOD. AND WE WERE BOTH JUST LIKE SHOCKED THAT THERE'S THIS TYPE OF FLOODING GOING ON LIKE THIS. IS IT NO OFFENSE. IT PUTS YOUR PHOTOS TO SHAME. I'M GLAD YOU DID IT BECAUSE WE WERE NOT BEEN THERE ON THAT DAY. [01:55:01] BUT OH, WOW, IT WAS. I SAID, OKAY. HE GOES, YEAH, WE NEED TO FIX THIS. WE'LL BE HERE IN THREE DAYS. I SAID, WHATEVER, WHATEVER YOU GOT TO DO, I CAN'T HAVE THIS. WHAT HAPPENED IS THAT THE THE GROUND THERE ON BOTH SIDES OF THE MAIN ENTRANCE SLOPES BACK TOWARDS THE SCHOOL. SO ANY RAINWATER THAT FALLS OFF THE ROOF RUNS UP THE HILL. IT RUNS BACK DOWN THE HILL, STACKS UP IN THE BUILDING, GOES INTO THE BUILDING. WE WITNESSED THAT WITH THE CONTRACTOR THAT ONE DAY. SO WE REGRADED EVERYTHING. WE PULLED THE MULCH OUT. WE PULLED ALL THE LANDSCAPING OUT, WE STRIPPED IT, WE PUT NEW TRENCHES IN. WE DID MOVE PIPES, TOTALLY REDID THE ENTIRE THING. AND NOW YOU'LL SEE THAT THERE'S BIG ROCKS DOWN THERE THE SIZE OF LIKE SOFTBALL AND CANTALOUPE. IT'S KIND OF A ROCK HARD SURFACE. BUT IF YOU LOOK AT THE MIDDLE PICTURE THAT WE DID, WE WERE ABLE TO SALVAGE PART OF THAT SOIL AND MAKE GRASS. SO THERE'S A NICE SOFT APPEARANCE. WHEN YOU LOOK AT IT. YOU DON'T SEE THE HARD ROCK RIGHT AWAY. BUT I THINK THE NEXT BIG STORM, REGARDLESS OF WHAT TIME, THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT, I'M GOING TO RUN DOWN TO SEE HOW IT WORKS. IT WAS CRAZY. I COULDN'T BELIEVE WHAT WE WERE EXPERIENCING. THE OTHER ONE IS LOCKERMAN MIDDLE SCHOOL, AS YOU KNOW, THE PORTABLES, MY GOSH, THEY WERE THERE FOREVER AND EVER. AND, YOU KNOW, WE HAD PEOPLE THAT WERE THAT WERE, YOU KNOW, KIND OF COMMITTED TO BUYING THEM. AND, YOU KNOW, THE MONEY WAS IN AN ESCROW OF THE OF THE ONLINE COMPANY THAT WE USED. THE BID. SO WE NEVER REALLY HAD THE MONEY. WE RELEASED THE FUNDS BACK TO HIM. I GIVE HIM A HARD CLOSE DATE OF JUNE 30TH. GET HIM OUT OF HERE OR THEY'RE GONE. WE'LL RELEASE THE MONEY BACK TO YOU. NO ONE CAME AND GOT HIM, SO WE TOOK DOWN SIX. WE DID GET RID OF THREE EARLIER IN THE YEAR, BUT THEY ARE SIX ARE STILL THERE. THEY CAME JUST DEMOED THEM. AND IF YOU LOOK AT THAT MIDDLE PICTURE ABOVE IT, YOU WOULD NEVER KNOW THAT THERE WAS A PORTABLE THERE. THAT'S ALL GRASS THAT'S THERE. THOSE KIDS CAN USE THAT ENTIRE TRACK, INNER TRACK SPACE. IT'S SAFE. IT'S GRASS. IT'S GREAT. IT'S IN GREAT SHAPE. I'M VERY IMPRESSED IT CAME OUT. AND THEN THERE'S MY FAVORITE PROJECT OF THE WHOLE SUMMER. SO BACK IN APRIL OF 2020, WE ACQUIRED AN OLD WHITE HOUSE NEXT TO RIDGELY ELEMENTARY SCHOOL. MR. WILLIAM MOORE HAD PASSED AWAY, AND WHEN HE PASSED AWAY HE GIFTED US HIS PROPERTY AND HIS HOUSE SO WE NOTHING WAS DONE TO IT. WELL, I STARTED DOING SOME INSPECTIONS ON IT IN THE FALL AND THE WINTER AND REALIZED THIS IS IN BAD SHAPE. THIS IS THIS IS NOW OUR PROPERTY. WE HAVE LIABILITIES HERE. I KNOW PEOPLE USE OUR PROPERTY IN THE EVENINGS AND THE WEEKENDS AND YOU KNOW WHAT'S GOING ON HERE. AND SO I WENT TO THE THE RIDGELY FIRE CHIEF, CHIEF GUNDERSON, AND SAID, HEY, I HAVE I GOT A DEAL FOR YOU. IF YOU LIKE TO DO SOME SOME TRAINING, YOU CAN DO THAT. THE ONLY THING I NEED FROM YOU IS I JUST NEED YOU TO LEVEL THIS HOUSE WITH A FIRE AT THE END. AGAIN, MORE TRAINING FOR YOURSELF. SO HE WAS ALL ON BOARD. HE SAID IT'S A GREAT PROJECT FOR HIM. THEY DID DO SEVERAL TRAININGS. I BELIEVE SWAT FROM EASTON CAME UP AND DID SOME TRAINING ALSO. SO YEAH, IT WAS IT WAS WELL USED. AND THEN THEN THEY BURNED IT DOWN. AND WHAT I WAS REALLY IMPRESSED WITH HIM AS WELL AS HIS STAFF, HIS HIS FIREFIGHTERS, THEY TOOK A LOT OF CARE TO THE TREES BEHIND THE FIRE. THEY TOOK A LOT OF CARE TO MAKE SURE THOSE TREES DIDN'T GET SINGED, BURNT OR SCORCHED OR ANYTHING. THEY ALSO TOOK CARE TO MAKE SURE THAT THE GRASS AROUND IT DID NOT BURN, THAT PRETTY MUCH THE BURN MARKS WERE PRETTY MUCH LIKE A FOOT OUTSIDE THE BLOCK FOUNDATION OF THAT BUILDING. THAT WAS ABOUT IT. YOU COULD SEE THEM HOSING DOWN CERTAIN AREAS. IT WAS IMPRESSIVE TO SEE. IT REALLY WAS. IT WAS A GREAT PROJECT TO BE A PART OF. AND IF YOU SEE THE VERY MIDDLE, THAT'S WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE NOW AND IT WILL PROBABLY LOOK LIKE THE PICTURE NEXT TO IT HERE SOON WITH THE GRASS COMING UP. AND NO ONE EVER KNOW THAT THERE WAS A HOUSE THERE. WE WILL FINISH THE REST OF THAT PROJECT LATER NEXT SUMMER, BUT FOR NOW, IT'S SAFE AND IT'S THERE. SO, IT'S A LOT GOING ON. I APOLOGIZE FOR THE LENGTHY PRESENTATION, BUT WE HAD A LOT AND I SAY I GOT TO GIVE A SHOUT OUT TO MY STAFF, MY SUPERVISORS AND THEIR STAFF. ABSOLUTELY INCREDIBLE, THE FLEXIBILITY THEY DISPLAYED, THE TEAMWORK THEY DISPLAYED, AND THE THEY DIDN'T ACCEPT ANYTHING EXCEPT WE WILL GET IT DONE TYPE OF ATTITUDE. AND THEY WERE ABSOLUTELY AMAZING TO WORK FOR ALL DIVISIONS. TRANSPORTATION REALLY DIDN'T DO TOO MUCH WITH THIS. THEY HAD THEIR HANDS FULL WITH THE WHOLE SUMMER PROJECT. AND LIKE YOU SAID, I MEAN, WE GET A WEEK OFF AND YOU GOT TO GET THE ROOFS READY FOR SUMMER PROGRAM AND THEY HAD THEIR HANDS FULL. SO I CAN'T SAY ENOUGH FOR THE JOB THOSE PEOPLE DO. SO WITHOUT THEM, I WOULDN'T HAVE BEEN ABLE TO GET THIS STUFF DONE. ANY QUESTIONS? I HAVE A COMMENT. YES, SIR. THANKS FOR LISTENING. THE TWO EXAMPLES I HAVE ARE THE LAWNMOWERS AND THE CABINETS. YOU LISTEN TO WHAT SOMEBODY ELSE SAID AND AND ACTED ON IT. IT MAY SEEM LIKE SMALL THINGS, BUT, YOU KNOW, IN ORDER TO GET TO GET BETTER, YOU HAVE TO LISTEN. YOU HAVE TO LISTEN TO YOUR EMPLOYEES. YOU HAVE TO LISTEN TO THE PEOPLE THAT ARE DOING THE JOB. AND THAT'S WHAT YOU DID. AND LIKE I SAY, IT MAY SEEM SMALL, BUT IT MAKES A BIG DIFFERENCE TO THOSE PEOPLE THAT YOU WERE ABLE TO DO SOMETHING FOR THE PEOPLE THAT WERE HAVING TO DEAL WITH THAT GRASS ON THE FIELDS. THEY'VE BEEN HAVING A TOUGH TIME WITH IT. SO YEAH, THANK YOU. IT MAKES A BIG DEAL. SO THANK YOU. THANK YOU. ESPECIALLY REPURPOSING. [02:00:01] THAT'S EXACTLY. OH YEAH. CABINETRY, AS YOU KNOW, IS VERY, VERY EXPENSIVE. AND SO HOW DID YOU GET ALL THAT DONE? YOU DON'T HAVE TO ANSWER THAT QUESTION. I'M ON VACATION TOMORROW. YEAH, HE DOESN'T KNOW THIS YET, BUT YOU'RE CHEAP. LIKE YOU SAID, YOUR TEAM TEAM WAS AWESOME. THEY'RE AWESOME. GOT A LOT DONE. REALLY GOOD PROJECTS, GOOD QUALITY SOLVED, A LOT OF PROBLEMS. YEAH. FANTASTIC. APPRECIATE THAT UPDATE. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. VERY INFORMATIONAL. OKAY. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. YEAH. I DON'T KNOW HOW THEY DID IT BECAUSE THOSE THINGS THAT POP UP MAKE IT EVEN HARDER. BUT STILL, THEY'VE DONE A FANTASTIC JOB THIS SUMMER. SO, THANK YOU, GUYS. ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU. AND DR. WILLOUGHBY IS READY TO TALK ABOUT STAFFING. SEE YOU. ROB'S NOT THE SUPERVISOR OF ATHLETICS ANYMORE. BUY NEW LAWN MOWERS. ROB ISN'T THE PRINCIPAL AT COLONEL MIDDLE ANYMORE. YOU FIX THE FLOOD. IT'S BECAUSE YOU LAID THE FOUNDATION. I SEE A PATTERN EMERGING. SO, YOU SHOULD FEEL SORRY FOR THE HR TEAM, BECAUSE APPARENTLY NOTHING'S HAPPENING. I WANT TO I WANT TO BRING YOU JUST A COUPLE UPDATES. WE WILL HAVE MORE AND A MORE IN-DEPTH CONVERSATION ABOUT HIRING AND RECRUITING AT OUR WORK SESSION ON THE 18TH. BUT JUST A COUPLE OF UPDATES THAT WE TRADITIONALLY HAVE DONE AS THE FIRST BOARD MEETING OF THE YEAR ON HIRING TO KIND OF SEE WHERE WE'RE AT AND TRY TO PAINT THE PICTURE AND TELL THE STORY A LITTLE BIT. SO I'M GOING TO WALK YOU THROUGH THESE SLIDES. IF YOU HAVE QUESTIONS, PLEASE, IF I HAVE, YOU KNOW, IF I CAN ANSWER, THAT'S FINE. AND IF I NEED TO PULL THAT DATA, THAT'LL HELP ME AS WELL AS I PREPARE FOR THE 18TH. TRADITIONALLY, WE'VE ALWAYS SHOWN YOU HIRING METRICS BY SCHOOL FOR WHAT THIS YEAR LOOKED LIKE AS OPPOSED TO LAST YEAR. SO THIS IS THE NUMBER OF NEW HIRES. I WILL PREFACE THIS. THIS IS NOT THE NUMBER OF POSITION CHANGES. THIS IS NOT THOSE SORTS OF THINGS. THESE ARE TRUE NEW HIRES PER BUILDING. AND YOU CAN SEE THE LIGHTER GREEN IS WHAT OUR STAFFING NEEDS WERE LAST YEAR IN EACH BUILDING. AND THE DARKER GREEN IS WHAT OUR STAFFING NEEDS WERE THIS YEAR IN THE BUILDING. DATA IS DATA. THAT IS JUST WHAT THAT NUMBER IS. YOU'LL SEE WHAT SOME OF THOSE NUMBERS REPRESENT A LITTLE BIT LATER BECAUSE IN MANY OF OUR BUILDINGS WE DID ADD STAFF, WHICH MEANS THAT THERE'S GOING TO BE A LARGER DARK GREEN BAR. THEN THERE'S GOING TO BE A LIGHT GREEN BAR SO WE CAN GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE. AGAIN, SNAPSHOT YEAR TO YEAR. SO LAST YEAR WHEN I REPORTED TO YOU, WE HAD HIRED 39 STAFF MEMBERS, 40 TOTAL POSITIONS. WE HAD ONE VACANCY AT THE TIME. AND YOU CAN SEE THE THE CALL OUT THERE OF WHAT THOSE WERE. WE'VE HIRED 58 STAFF MEMBERS AS OF THIS POINT THIS YEAR. AND YOU CAN SEE AGAIN WHERE WHERE THOSE WHY THOSE POSITIONS WERE VACANT. WE HAVE FOUR POSITIONS THAT ARE TEACHING POSITIONS THAT ARE FILLED CURRENTLY WITH A LONG TERM SUBSTITUTE. WE DO HAVE 11 VACANCIES IN OUR TEACHING RANKS. AND YOU CAN SEE DOWN AT THE BOTTOM TWO OF THOSE POSITIONS ARE SCHOOL COUNSELOR POSITIONS. THEY WERE WRITTEN INTO MARYLAND LEADS AS TWO YEAR GRANT FUNDED. IN BOTH OF THOSE POSITIONS, WE HAD SOMEONE LEAVE AND WE WERE ABLE TO TAKE THE PERSON THAT OCCUPIED THE GRANT FUNDED POSITION LAST YEAR AND MAKE THEM A PERMANENT SCHOOL COUNSELOR, WHICH IS FANTASTIC. BUT WHAT IT LEAVES IS HIGH. DO YOU WANT TO COME WORK FOR US IN A VERY SPECIAL ISED POSITION THAT'S ONLY FUNDED FOR THIS YEAR? SO THEY'RE STILL VACANT BECAUSE WE HAVE NOT FOUND THAT PERSON THAT, YOU KNOW, TO GET A SCHOOL COUNSELING CERTIFICATION IN THE STATE OF MARYLAND, YOU'RE GETTING A MASTER'S DEGREE IN SCHOOL COUNSELING. SO THIS IS A VERY SPECIALIZED POSITION WITH A VERY FINITE BUDGET. AND WE HAVEN'T FOUND ANYONE THAT'S WILLING TO SORT OF CHANCE IT TO SEE IF THERE'S FUNDING SECURED AFTER THIS YEAR. THREE POSITIONS THAT ARE TEACHING POSITIONS ARE NEW PRE K POSITIONS THAT WERE ADDED LATE IN THE SUMMER. SO WE GOT FROM MSD APPROVAL IN JULY TO OPEN TO PRE K THREE CLASSROOMS AND THEN THROUGH ENROLLMENT REALIZED VERY LATE IN THE GAME IN AUGUST THAT WE WERE GOING TO NEED TO ADD A PRE K FOUR CLASSROOM IN GREENSBORO AND A PRE K FOUR CLASSROOM IN RIDGELY. SO WE HAVE ADDED FOUR PRE K CLASSROOMS. WE FILLED ONE OF THEM. WE HAVE THREE POSITIONS THAT ARE STILL OPEN, TWO OF THE THREE, HOWEVER, GO INTO THE PRE K THREE PROGRAM AND THAT'S BECAUSE WE DIDN'T JUST HIRE A PRE K THREE TEACHER. WE ALSO ARE HIRING PRE K THREE ML TEACHERS SO WORK WITH THAT POPULATION IS THE ML VACANCIES THAT ARE THERE. [02:05:04] THE TWO THE TWO THREE YEAR OLD PROGRAMS HAVE TEACHERS. IT'S THE ML TEACHERS THAT ARE THAT ARE THERE AND THEN SIX POSITIONS ARE OUR TEACHING POSITIONS. THREE SPECIAL ED TWO SORRY, IT SAYS L MY BAD. ML WITH OUR CHANGING LANGUAGE AND ONE SPANISH. AT NORTH CAROLINA, WE DO HAVE A SPANISH VACANCY THAT WE HAVE NOT FILLED. SO YOU CAN SEE THE COMPARISON AND AGAIN, THE REASON WHY THOSE CAME OPEN AND JUST THE DIFFERENCE IN LAST YEAR WE FILLED WE WERE LOOKING TO FILL 40 TOTAL POSITIONS AND THIS YEAR THE NUMBER WAS 73. BUT WHEN YOU START LOOKING AT EIGHT OF THOSE OR THOSE. LATE HIRE PRE K. YOU KNOW THINGS LIKE THAT. THAT'S YOU START ADDING THAT UP PRETTY QUICKLY. WHEN YOU SAY CERTIFIED, THE POSITIONS ARE CERTIFIED. THE POSITIONS ARE CERTIFIED. WELL, THE PERSON THAT WE'RE HIRED IS CERTIFIED. THEY MIGHT BE CERTIFIED CONDITIONALLY, BUT THEY'RE CERTIFIED. YES. OKAY. THIS IS RACE AND ETHNICITY AND GENDER. WE'LL GET MORE INTO THIS IN OUR OUR EFFORTS TO RECRUIT A DIVERSIFIED WORKFORCE. THIS IS STILL AN AREA OF FOCUS FOR US. IT IS STILL AN AREA OF IMPROVEMENT FOR US. AND YOU CAN SEE THAT THAT DATA SPEAKS FOR ITSELF. WE ARE STILL TRYING TO MAKE ANY INROAD POSSIBLE TO MAKE SURE THAT CAROLINE COUNTY IS AN OPTION FOR NOT ONLY FOLKS OUTSIDE OF CAROLINE COUNTY WHO WANT TO COME HERE TO TRY TO DIVERSIFY OUR WORKFORCE, BUT ALSO WE'RE SEEING SUCCESS. AND SOME OF THESE NUMBERS COME FROM THE ABILITY TO HIRE OUR SUPPORT STAFF THROUGH OUR OWN GROW YOUR OWN EFFORTS. THEY'RE ALREADY WORKING FOR US. THEY'RE ALREADY LOVING OUR KIDS. AND AS WE SUPPORT THEM TO GET THEIR DEGREE AND THEY MOVE INTO TEACHING ROLES, WE'RE FINDING THAT THAT IS AN EFFORT THAT WE CAN DO RIGHT HERE AT HOME THAT WILL HELP TO DIVERSIFY OUR WORKFORCE AS WELL. AND OF COURSE, YOU CAN SEE THE GENDER BREAKDOWN AS WELL. THE NEXT SLIDE WHERE FOLKS CAME FROM JUST KIND OF PUT THIS OUT THERE TO SEE KIND OF WHERE THIS IS, WHERE PEOPLE WERE LIVING LAST YEAR BEFORE THEY ALL CAME TO CAROLINE COUNTY. I DO WANT TO HIGHLIGHT THAT 10% ARE COLONEL GRADUATES. 9% ARE NORTH HIGH GRADUATES. SO ONE OUT OF EVERY FIVE TEACHER THAT WE HIRED THIS YEAR IS HOMEGROWN. AND THAT IS THAT IS SOMETHING TO BE SAID. FOLKS WANT TO COME BACK AND THEY WANT TO TAKE OUR POSITIONS AND WE'RE EAGER TO HAVE THEM. AND TO MAKE THAT WORK. 58% COME FROM MARYLAND THAT ARE NOT THE 19% THAT ARE HOMEGROWN. YOU STILL SEE DELAWARE IS THERE AS OUR OUR NEXT RECRUITING. AND THEN, HEY, LET'S THROW IT IN THERE JUST TO BE FUN. VERMONT, FLORIDA, MICHIGAN AND BOLIVIA. YOU DID NOT APPROVE OF RECRUITING TRIP FROM ME TO BOLIVIA, HOWEVER. NO, YOU DID NOT. I DO HAVE MY LIST READY FOR NEXT YEAR. BUT BUT THIS WAS THIS WAS A PERSON WHO HAD TAUGHT PREVIOUSLY IN MARYLAND, HAD AN OPPORTUNITY TO TEACH INTERNATIONALLY AND NOW WAS COMING BACK HOME AND WAS LOOKING FOR A PLACE TO SETTLE BACK IN MARYLAND WITH HIS FAMILY. AND SO I GUESS HE COULD REALLY BE A MARYLAND PERSON, BUT I'M GOING TO COUNT HIM AS BOLIVIA. HE WAS THERE FOR, I THINK, 16 YEARS FOR ANY OF THESE TRIPS ARE GOING TO BE IN. YEAH. SO. GOT YOU. THANK YOU, SIR. NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. I WILL JUST SAY ON THAT LAST SLIDE, WE'LL TALK MORE ABOUT THIS WHEN WE HAVE OUR OUR. WORK SESSION. THE BIG TELL FOR ME THAT STANDS OUT AND FOR BOARD MEMBERS WHO'VE BEEN AROUND OR BEEN IN EDUCATION FOR A WHILE, NO PAY, NO PENNSYLVANIA. PENNSYLVANIA HAS BEEN A HUGE EXPORTER STATE TO MARYLAND FOR TEACHERS FOR A LONG TIME. IT USED TO BE A THIRD OF OUR TEACHERS WOULD BE PENNSYLVANIA PEOPLE COMING HERE. NONE. SOMETHING CHANGE ON THERE? YES. A LOT LESS PEOPLE GOING TO COLLEGE TO BE TEACHERS IN THE PENNSYLVANIA SCHOOLS THAT WERE CRANKING OUT IN PENNSYLVANIA HAS FINALLY HIT THAT PIECE TO WHERE THEY'RE TEACHING. POPULATION IS GREAT. AND BECAUSE THEY'RE NOT PRODUCING AS MANY, THEY'RE HIRING THEIR OWN. THEY DON'T HAVE THAT HUGE EXPORTER BASE THAT THEY USED TO. BUT PA WAS THE BREAD AND BUTTER FOR ALMOST THE ENTIRE STATE OF MARYLAND FOR SO MANY YEARS. AND THAT'S A HUGE LANDSCAPE SHIFT FOR US, THINKING ABOUT RECRUITING, HUGE LANDSCAPE SHIFT FOR US IN TERMS OF I MEAN A LOT OF THINGS AS IT RELATES TO OUR TRADITIONAL PATHWAYS IN HR, MANY NOT JUST FOR US, BUT THE WHOLE STATE, MANY OF OUR CAREER FAIRS THAT WE WENT TO IN PENNSYLVANIA, ESPECIALLY [02:10:02] THE ONES THAT WERE TRULY EDUCATIONAL CAREER FAIRS, WE LEFT WITH VERY FEW NAMES. AND THAT USED TO BE, LIKE YOU SAID, YOU WOULD GO AND YOU KIND OF FILL UP THE VAN AND BRING THEM HOME, LIKE, YOU KNOW, BUT IT'S JUST IT'S WE HAVE SEVERAL PENN STATE, SEVERAL SLIPPERY ROCK. CLARION IS A BIG ONE THAT WE'VE HIRED FROM BLOOMSBURG. BLOOMSBURG, MILLERSVILLE. WE'VE GOT A NUMBER OF THEM. WHERE ARE SOME OF THE PLACES YOU WENT OUTSIDE OF MARYLAND BESIDES PENNSYLVANIA? WE WENT INTO VIRGINIA. WE WENT INTO WEST VIRGINIA. WE WENT TO DELAWARE. I THINK WE DID ONE IN NEW JERSEY. THAT'S THAT'S WHERE WE WENT. WE DID GO FARTHER INTO VIRGINIA AND WEST VIRGINIA. THOSE TRIPS ESTABLISHED SOME RELATIONSHIPS WE WANT TO BUILD ON THIS YEAR. BUT WHAT'S THAT? VERY LITTLE. VERY LITTLE. VERY LITTLE. WHAT WE'RE FINDING IS WE'RE TRYING TO BE AND WE'LL TALK ABOUT THIS MORE IN TWO WEEKS WHERE YOU GET INVITED TO A CAREER FAIR. IT'S NOT ALWAYS A CAREER FAIR SOMETIMES. SOMETIMES YOU FOUND YOURSELF SITTING AT A TABLE OF A COMMUNITY. RESOURCE FAIR IS WHERE YOU REALLY WERE. BUT THEY BILL IT AS A CAREER FAIR BECAUSE THEY'RE SELLING YOU, YOU KNOW, WHATEVER. WE'RE GOING TO FOCUS ON EDUCATION FAIRS AND ON SITE. THIS IS A THIS WILL BE A NEW PLACE FOR US. BUT ON SITE INTERVIEWING AND HIRING, THAT'S JUST WHERE WE ARE. SO AND WE'LL CONTINUE TO EXPAND OUR OUR RADIUS. SO WE'VE GOT SOME PLANS FOR THAT. NEXT SLIDE. WHERE DID WHAT WERE THEY DOING LAST YEAR? THIS IS THIS IS WHAT WERE THEY DOING LAST YEAR? SO 45% WERE TEACHING AND 19% WERE STUDENTS AT A COLLEGE BECAUSE THEY GRADUATED. AND THIS IS THEIR FIRST JOB. MR. GIACOMO, TO YOUR QUESTION ABOUT CONDITIONAL HIRES, 17 OF ABOUT ABOUT A FIFTH OF WHO WE HIRED COME FROM INDUSTRY. THEY'RE GOING TO BE CONDITIONAL HIRES. THE ENTRYWAY TO TEACHING IS A BACHELOR'S DEGREE. YOU HAVE A BACHELOR'S DEGREE. WE CAN DO A TRANSCRIPT ANALYSIS AND WE CAN SEE WHAT YOU NEED IN ORDER TO GET YOUR TEACHING CERTIFICATION. JUST KEEP IN MIND, A CONDITIONAL CERTIFICATION ONLY MEANS YOU HAVE NOT HIT EVERY REQUIREMENT. SO WE HAVE SOME FOLKS THAT THE ONLY THING THEY NEED IS ONE YEAR OF SERVICE BECAUSE THEY DIDN'T STUDENT TEACH. THEY'VE GOT EVERYTHING ELSE. WE'VE GOT SOME FOLKS WHO TAUGHT AT ANOTHER POINT IN THEIR LIFE AND THEY HAVE A TEACHER CERTIFICATION, BUT THEY CAME TO MARYLAND WHERE YOU HAVE TO HAVE TAUGHT WITHIN THE LAST SEVEN YEARS FOR MARYLAND TO TO BE RECIPROCAL. IF NOT, YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE TO DO YOU MIGHT ONLY NEED ONE CLASS. YOU'RE STILL CONDITIONAL. SO CONDITIONAL DOESN'T MEAN YOU NEED ALL 39 OR 40 2 OR 55 CREDITS, WHATEVER IT IS. IT JUST MEANS THAT YOU'VE GOT SOME REQUIREMENT THERE THAT ISN'T DONE 9% OR GROW YOUR OWN. THESE ARE FOLKS THAT THIS 9%, SO 10% BASICALLY OF WHO WE HIRED WERE WORKING FOR US LAST YEAR IN A SUPPORT SERVICES ROLE IN THEIR TEACHING THIS YEAR. I'M REALLY PROUD OF THAT. I'M VERY PROUD OF THAT. THAT NUMBER SHOULD CONTINUE TO RISE, BUT I'M VERY PROUD OF THAT. 7% RETURNED TO US. THEY WORKED FOR US AT SOME OTHER POINT, TAUGHT FOR US, AND THEY DECIDED TO COME BACK. THEY LEFT FOR A VARIETY OF REASONS. I WISH I COULD TAKE CREDIT FOR IT. EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM. I WENT BACK AND LOOKED. IT WAS A COLLEAGUE OR A COWORKER THAT CALLED THEM UP AND SAID, YOU REALLY NEED TO COME BACK. AND THEY REALIZED THAT WHETHER THINGS HAD CHANGED ON OUR END OR WHETHER THE GRASS WASN'T TRULY AS GREEN ON THE OTHER SIDE AS THEY THOUGHT, OR A COMBINATION OF BOTH, BECAUSE I HEARD BOTH FOLKS DID COME BACK. AND SO THAT WAS GOOD. AND THEN FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER, WE ARE PARTICIPATING IN THE MARYLAND RETIREE HIRE AND WE HAVE TWO RETIREES THAT HAVE AGREED TO COME ON BOARD WITH US TO TO WORK ONE AT COLONEL HIGH TEACHING SCIENCE, ONE AT FEDERALSBURG ELEMENTARY, TEACHING SECOND GRADE. THIS IS A PROGRAM WHERE THEY CAN BE WAIVED FROM THEIR EARNINGS LIMITATION FROM THE PENSION SYSTEM AS LONG AS THEY'RE IN A TITLE ONE SCHOOL WHERE THEY'RE IN A HIGH NEEDS AREA. AND SO WE'VE WE'VE NEVER VENTURED INTO THIS BEFORE, BUT WE HAD FOLKS THAT WERE WILLING AND WE HAD VACANCIES THAT NEEDED A TEACHER. AND SO THIS WAS AN OPPORTUNITY TO FILL THEM AND SORT OF ENGAGE IN A WIN WIN WITH OUR FOLKS. AND THEN FINALLY, THAT'S JUST THE TEACHING POSITIONS. SO SINCE APRIL OF 2022, WE HAVE TOUCHED OUR OFFICES, TOUCHED IN SOME WAY 203 POSITIONS IN THE SYSTEM. WE EMPLOY ABOUT 100, 120 PEOPLE. SO ABOUT 20% OF OUR FOLKS HAVE EITHER HAD AN INTERNAL TRANSFER OR THEY'VE CHANGED BUILDINGS THROUGH THE INTENT PROCESS, OR THEY'VE BEEN PROMOTED UP, WHICH CREATED A VACANCY, WHICH CREATED A VACANCY. SOMETIMES IT CREATES MULTIPLE VACANCIES DEPENDING ON HOW THINGS GO. SO WHEN WE TALK ABOUT THIS, SOMETIMES WE WE FOCUS IN ON CERTIFIED STAFF OR A CERTIFIED POSITION, BUT ADMINISTRATIVE POSITIONS [02:15:10] THAT HAVE BEEN VACATED AND FILLED, WHICH THEN CREATES A TEACHING VACANCY MANY TIMES, OR SUPPORT POSITIONS, ESPECIALLY AS WE GROW OUR OWN. NOW, WE VACATED AN OR WE VACATED A PERMANENT SUBSTITUTE. ALL THOSE SUPPORT POSITIONS. THE EXAMPLE I GAVE YOU ABOUT FOR NEW PRE-K CLASSES, WELL, WE STAFF OUR PRE-K CLASSROOMS WITH THREE INDIVIDUALS A TEACHER, AN INSTRUCTIONAL ASSISTANT AND A TUTOR. SO WHEN I TELL YOU THAT WE ADDED FOUR PRE-K CLASSROOMS IN THE MONTH OF AUGUST, YES, WE ADDED FOUR TEACHERS, BUT WE ADDED EIGHT SUPPORT STAFF MEMBERS. YOU KNOW THAT. SO SINCE APRIL, WHEN WE TRULY STARTED PROCESSING OUR NEW HIRES IN EARNEST, WE'VE PROCESSED 203 POSITION MOVES IN OUR SYSTEM. SO A LOT OF THINGS BESIDES JUST 58 CERTIFIED HIRES THAT WE'RE DOING, THE VACANCIES THAT EXIST. I WILL JUST TELL YOU, THE TEACHER SHORTAGE IS REAL. THE RECRUITING CHALLENGES ARE REAL. AND FOR LACK OF A BETTER TERM, I WOULD JUST TELL YOU THAT THE MARKET IS CUTTHROAT. I LITERALLY, AS AN EXAMPLE, GOT AN EMAIL FROM OUR APPLICATION SYSTEM WITHIN 20 MINUTES OF THE APPLICANT BEING IN THE SYSTEM, I CALLED THE APPLICANT TO SCHEDULE AN INTERVIEW AND THEY HAD ACCEPTED ANOTHER JOB IN ANOTHER COUNTY. I MEAN, I GUESS I SHOULDN'T SIT ON IT FOR 19 MINUTES, BUT IN IT'S THAT QUICK ONE. AND WE ONLY HAD ONE PERSON THAT WE GAVE AN OFFER TO THAT CALLED US AND SAID, I'M GOING TO TAKE A BETTER OFFER IN ANOTHER PLACE. WE ONLY HAD ONE OF OUR FOLKS, SO I WAS PROUD OF THAT. BUT IT IS VERY DIFFICULT IN JUST WHERE WE ARE AND OUR CONDITIONS AND AND THE STATE OF OF NOT OUR CONDITIONS BEING CAROLINE COUNTY, BUT JUST THE CONDITION OF THE PROFESSION. AND SALISBURY ONLY GRADUATED 136 OR 125 LAST YEAR. 136 THIS YEAR IS PROJECTED. THAT'S ABOUT. IT'S ABOUT TEN FOR EVERY COUNTY ON THE EASTERN SHORE. IF YOU BREAK THEM UP EVENLY AND WE KNOW THAT THEY DON'T BREAK UP EVENLY. SO THAT'S THAT'S KIND OF WHERE WE ARE. WE'LL GO INTO MORE DETAIL IN TWO WEEKS. BUT IT'S A, WE'RE THE YEAR HAS STARTED. WE'RE IN A GOOD SPOT. WE'RE NOT UNLIKE OUR NEIGHBORS. AND FOR SEVERAL OF OUR NEIGHBORS, WE'RE IN A BETTER PLACE THAN THAN THAN THEY ARE. IT DOESN'T MEAN WE'RE WHERE WE WANT TO BE. BUT A LOT OF WORK HAS GONE INTO THIS RECRUITING SEASON AND THIS HIRING SEASON. QUESTIONS. UNFILLED POSITIONS? YES. WHAT ARE WE DOING? LIKE, I KNOW WE DON'T PUT KIDS IN AN EMPTY CLASSROOM. SURE, SURE. SO WHAT'S HAPPENING? WE'RE COVERING WITH INSTRUCTIONAL ASSISTANTS THAT WE'RE PAYING THE EXTRA MONEY THAT'S IN THE CONTRACT TO COVER ONE OF THE PRE K POSITIONS. THERE IS AN INTERVIEW TOMORROW. WE HAVE A PROSPECTIVE SPECIAL ED TEACHER WHO HAS AN INTERVIEW, I BELIEVE ON FRIDAY WE HAVE ANOTHER PROSPECTIVE SPECIAL ED TEACHER WHO'S COMING FROM OUT OF STATE AND WILL BE HERE NEXT WEEK. SO THE SPANISH POSITION AT NORTH HIGH, THEY ENDED UP COLLAPSING. THEY COLLAPSED. YEAH. YEAH. BECAUSE IT'S BEEN OPEN SINCE MAY. I THINK APRIL OR MAY NOT BE ABLE TO FIND SOMEONE. SO THEY HAD TO COLLAPSE THREE SECTIONS WITH THE HOPES OF FINDING SOMEBODY MID-YEAR SO THEN THEY CAN REPOPULATE FOR A SECOND SEMESTER. AND THAT'S WHAT YOU TRY TO HOLD OFF TO THE LAST POSSIBLE MINUTE TO DO THAT. BUT YOU'VE LIVED THE HIGH SCHOOL LIFE. YEAH. HIGH SCHOOL SCHEDULE. YOU YOU GOT TO PULL THAT, THAT, THAT CORD AT SOME POINT AND THAT'S WHERE THEY ENDED UP HAVING TO GO WITH THAT SPECIAL ED AND ELL HAVE LOOKED AT CASELOAD DATA TO LOOK AND SEE WHERE THEY NEED TO DEPLOY RESOURCES OR WHAT THE CASE MAY BE IF THEY NEED TO USE THEIR TEACHER SPECIALISTS OR IF THEY NEED TO PROVIDE ADDITIONAL SUPPORT TO A PARTICULAR BUILDING. I MEAN, WE'VE DONE A LOT OF A LOT OF WORK JUST TO MAKE SURE WE'RE READY FOR DAY ONE WITH HAVING 11 VACANCIES. AND THAT DOESN'T MEAN THAT WE STOP. THERE'S ALWAYS THE BRIGHT SIDE OF SOMETHING. THE BRIGHT SIDE OF IT IS THERE'S 11 VACANCIES. I DON'T HAVE TO WAIT FOR SOMEONE TO RETIRE. I DON'T HAVE TO WAIT FOR SOMEONE TO RESIGN. I KNOW TODAY THAT FOR NEXT YEAR, EVEN FOR RIGHT NOW, I'VE GOT A TEACHER VACANCY. SO, YOU KNOW, SOMEONE HAS A FRIEND IN A NEIGHBORING COUNTY. YEAH. YOU'RE UNDER CONTRACT THIS YEAR, BUT NOT NEXT YEAR. LET'S HAVE THAT CONVERSATION. YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN? OR WE CAN SEE WE HAVE STUDENT TEACHERS IN OUR BUILDINGS RIGHT NOW AND WE'RE GOING OUT AND WE'RE HAVING THAT CONVERSATION ALREADY. HEY, YOU'RE GOING TO GRADUATE IN MAY. WHEN WOULD YOU LIKE TO TELL YOUR FAMILY YOU'VE GOT A JOB? FEBRUARY. WHEN? WHEN WOULD YOU LIKE TO HAVE THAT CONVERSATION? YOU KNOW, WE'RE TRYING TO BE VERY AGGRESSIVE WITH WHAT WE'RE DOING BECAUSE IT'S JUST WHERE WE ARE. WE KNOW THERE'S A STUDENT GRADUATED AND THEY'RE GOING FOR THEIR MASTER'S AND TEACHING HISTORY. WE WANT THEIR NAME. ABSOLUTELY. ABSOLUTELY. BECAUSE THEY HAVE A BACHELOR'S. IF THEY HAVE A BACHELOR'S IN THEIR CONTENT AREA, THEY COULD BE AS FEW AS 18 CREDITS AWAY FROM A TEACHING CERTIFICATION, WHICH A MASTER'S WILL GET FOR THEM, AND WE'LL PAY FOR IT. [02:20:05] SO I ALWAYS TELL THEM, IF YOU WANT YOUR MASTER'S, JUST GET THE JOB. EXACTLY. EXACTLY. I MEAN, THAT TO ME IS A NO BRAINER. EXACTLY. EXACTLY. YEAH, ABSOLUTELY. WELL, MAYBE THE GLASS HALF FULL PART OF CONSIDERING WHAT'S GOING ON NATIONALLY, 11 VACANCIES, THEY'RE NOT ALL TEACHERS. THEY ARE. THOSE ARE ALL TEACHER, 11 TEACHER VACANCIES. YES. OKAY. SO THEY'RE NOT ALL CERTIFIED, YOU KNOW, TO BE CERTIFIED, RIGHT? NOT ALL OF THEM CONDITIONAL. THEY MAY BE CONDITIONAL, BUT STILL. 11. YES, 11 COMPARED TO WHAT WAS ONLY ONE A YEAR AGO. IT WAS IT BECAME MORE, BUT IT DID BECOME MORE. WHAT'S GOING ON? I LAUGHED AT THAT SLIDE BECAUSE I SAID IT WAS ONE ON SEPTEMBER, WHATEVER IT WAS LAST YEAR. AND THEN I THINK WE WERE ANOMALY. I'LL BE HONEST, WE WERE. WE'D BE HAPPY ABOUT IT. OH YEAH. THEN MORE HAPPENED, BUT WE WERE FULLY STAFFED FOR ABOUT FOUR MINUTES, SO THEN WE'D LIKE IT IF IT WAS FIVE. YES. RIGHT. YEAH. CONSIDERING WHAT'S GOING ON NATIONALLY, 11 IS NOT BAD. YOU WORKED HARD. I LIKE I SAID IT, IT'S NOT FOR LACK OF TRYING FROM THE HR TEAM, FROM THE RECRUITING TEAMS THAT GO OUT, FROM THE SUPERVISORS. I MEAN, WE GET A VACANCY AND WE HAVE SUPERVISORS, WE HAVE DIRECTORS, WE HAVE TEACHERS, WE HAVE PEOPLE SHARING ON FACEBOOK. WE HAVE PEOPLE TEXTING THERE. I MEAN, THE RECRUITING, WHEN WE SAY RECRUITING IS EVERYBODY'S JOB, THEY TAKE IT SERIOUSLY. I MEAN, AND THAT IS SOMETHING. SO IT'S NOT FOR LACK OF TRYING. IT'S JUST WE WANT TO FIND QUALITY CANDIDATES. THERE IS THAT JOKE ABOUT, WELL, IF YOU'VE GOT A HEARTBEAT, I DON'T LIKE THAT JOKE. THAT'S NOT THAT'S NOT WHERE WE ARE. YEAH, BECAUSE WE CAN COVER OR WE CAN COLLAPSE OR WE CAN DO WHATEVER BECAUSE WE WANT SOMEONE QUALITY IN THERE. BUT QUALITY DOESN'T NECESSARILY MEAN YOU'VE GOT A FULL TEACHING CERTIFICATION IF THAT'S WHAT YOU'RE IF THAT'S WHAT YOU'RE AIMING FOR, WILL HELP YOU WALK THROUGH IT. SO. I'LL SEE YOU GUYS IN TWO WEEKS, UNLESS YOU HAVE OTHER QUESTIONS. WE'LL GO INTO MORE DETAIL. GOOD, SIR. ABSOLUTELY. THANK YOU, GUYS. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. GOOD JOB. SO WE ARE AT THE PART THE ADJUSTMENT WE MADE IN OUR AGENDA. THE DISCUSSION OF ITEMS FOR FUTURE BOARD ACTION AND MICHELE HAD SUGGESTED A DISCUSSION ABOUT INVESTIGATING AND DEVELOPMENT OF A [8. Discussion of Items for Future Board Action] FOUNDATION. AND I'LL LET YOU SPEAK FOR YOURSELF AND DR. SIMMONS CAN COMMENT OR ANYBODY ELSE, OF COURSE. ALL RIGHT. I WOULD JUST LIKE TO SHARE THAT. I WOULD LIKE THE BOARD TO INVESTIGATE THE DEVELOPMENT OF A CAROLINE COUNTY EDUCATION FOUNDATION THAT CAN BE UTILIZED. FOR OUR STUDENTS AND OUR TEACHERS. IN ADDRESSING THEIR NEEDS. SO AND I APPRECIATE MS. WAYMAN BRINGING THIS UP. THERE'S BEEN CONVERSATION IN THE COMMUNITY. STARTED THE CONVERSATION THAT ACTUALLY WE HAD A COUPLE OF US THAT HAD A COUPLE OF MONTHS AGO, I BELIEVE, AND IT HAPPENED TO BE AT THE SAME TIME THAT I HAD A COMMUNITY MEMBER REACH OUT TO ME TO SAY THERE USED TO BE AN EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATION IN CAROLINE COUNTY A LONG TIME AGO, AND THAT INDIVIDUAL HAPPENED TO REMEMBER ONE OF THE PEOPLE WHO WAS PART OF THAT EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATION ALL THOSE YEARS AGO. AND ACTUALLY THERE ARE STEPS THAT THAT INDIVIDUAL, MR. TALBOT RAO, IS TAKING TO REESTABLISH A AN EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATION WORKING WITH MID-SHORE COMMUNITY FOUNDATION, SO MID-SHORE COMMUNITY FOUNDATION. MR.. BUCK DUNCAN THEY DO AN AWFUL LOT OF WORK WITH NONPROFITS ALL OVER THE EASTERN SHORE. AND THEY THEY ARE THE ENTITY THAT HANDLES THE FINANCES FOR TALBOT COUNTY, DORCHESTER COUNTY AND COUNTY AND COUNTIES. EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATIONS. SO, MID-SHORE HAS BEEN PROVIDING INFORMATION TO MR. RAO FOR WHAT NEEDS TO TAKE PLACE IN ORDER TO ESTABLISH AN EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATION TO GET ONE STARTED. AND THEY ARE AT THE GROUND LEVEL RIGHT NOW OF ACTUALLY GETTING IT ESTABLISHED, OF BUILDING THAT PIECE. BECAUSE THE OLD CAROLINE EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATION NOT SURE WHAT IT WAS CALLED, BUT THE OLD FOUNDATION STILL ACTUALLY HAS MONEY IN THEIR ACCOUNT THAT THEY ARE THEY ARE WANTING TO TURN OVER TO A NEW ENTITY THAT WANTS TO BUILD THIS PIECE OUT. SO RIGHT NOW, THEY'RE ACTUALLY WORKING THROUGH THAT PROCESS WITH MID-SHORE TO GET A LEGITIMATE ORGANIZATION ESTABLISHED AND THEN CAN BUILD THAT PIECE OUT. AND I'D BE HAPPY TO SHARE WITH WITH MR. RAO AS WELL THAT THE BOARD IS ON BOARD AND AS THEY'RE WORKING TO BUILD THAT PIECE OUT. THE THING THAT I ENCOURAGE THE BOARD TO TO THINK ABOUT AS THEY'RE TALKING ABOUT EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATION AND THE EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATIONS OPERATE OUTSIDE OF THE SCOPE OF THE BOARD OF EDUCATION, OUTSIDE OF THE SCOPE OF CCPS IN THIS MATTER. AND THEY'RE ESTABLISHED AS A NONPROFIT THAT THEN HELP SUPPORT ENTITIES. SO SO THAT RIGHT NOW IS THE DIRECTION THAT THEY'RE HEADING, NOT OPERATING THROUGH OUR BOOKS. [02:25:04] I DON'T WANT TO SPEAK FOR AARON, WHO WOULD BE HERE TONIGHT TO SAY, YEAH, WE DON'T WANT TO HANDLE THEIR MONEY, BUT THAT THEY WOULD BE THERE TO EXIST AND SUPPORT WHATEVER THEIR MISSION, THEIR CHARTER, THEIR THEIR BELIEFS AND VALUES WOULD BE TO HELP SUPPORT WHAT'S HAPPENING IN CAROLINE COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS. BUT I KNOW TALBOT WORKING TO REESTABLISH THAT. AND THEN ONCE THEY GET THEIR CHARTER OFFICIALLY STARTED, I'LL BE HAPPY TO SHARE THE INFORMATION WITH THE BOARD AS TO WHAT THAT STRUCTURE LOOKS LIKE AND WHAT THE DIRECTION IS THAT THEY'RE GOING TO BE GOING, BECAUSE THEY'LL NEED TO HAVE AN ESTABLISHED BOARD OF DIRECTORS. THEY'LL NEED TO ESTABLISH ALL OF THOSE PIECES AS THEY INCORPORATE TO MOVE FORWARD, BUT THEY ARE ACTIVELY WORKING ON ESTABLISHING THAT. I CAN'T SAY ENOUGH ABOUT COMMUNITY FOUNDATION HAS BEEN REALLY HELPFUL AND I DON'T KNOW HOW THEY WILL EVER EXIST WITHOUT BUCK DUNCAN BEING THERE. I'M SURE THEY'LL FIGURE OUT A WAY, BUT HE JUST SEEMS TO HAVE THE ANSWERS WHEN IT COMES TO THESE SORTS OF THINGS, LIKE THIS IS HOW YOU GET IT DONE, THIS IS HOW YOU GET IT STARTED. AND IT'S BEEN VERY HELPFUL WITH TALBOT IN THAT TRYING TO JUST AGAIN GET IT REESTABLISHED. WE WERE VERY INTERESTED TO FIND OUT. WE WERE ONE OF THE ONLY COUNTIES THAT DOESN'T HAVE AN EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATION ON THE EASTERN SHORE. SO I APPRECIATE THE CONVERSATION THAT WE HAD A COUPLE OF MONTHS AGO ABOUT WHERE MIGHT THIS LAND AND LED US TO FIGURE OUT THAT THERE REALLY WASN'T ONE, BUT THE ONE HERE PROBABLY WENT. PROBABLY STOPPED ACTING IN EARNEST IN AT LEAST 20 TO 25 YEARS. PROBABLY 20 YEARS AGO, IT STOPPED OPERATING IN EARNEST. SO IT'D BE NICE TO GET THAT BACK TO SUPPORT. WELL, GREAT SUGGESTION. THANK YOU FOR BRINGING THAT UP. IT'S GREAT TO HEAR THAT TALBOT'S INVOLVED BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, MANY PEOPLE KNOW HE WAS ON THIS BOARD FOR A LONG, LONG TIME. AND HE'S STILL VERY ACTIVE IN THE COMMUNITY. SO HE'S A KNOWLEDGEABLE GUY AND A GOOD GUY TO WORK WITH AND HE GETS THINGS DONE. SO HIM BEING INVOLVED, REALLY A PLUS. SO JUST OUTSTANDING. SO REALLY GLAD YOU BROUGHT THAT UP BECAUSE THIS WILL GET IT SOUNDS LIKE IT'S ALREADY MOVING. IT WILL GET EVEN MORE MOMENTUM. SO JUST ONE OF THOSE REAL POSITIVE THINGS. AND WE HEARD THAT HE WAS INTRICATELY INVOLVED WITH THE TIME CAPSULE. THAT'S TWICE IN 1976. YEAH, I CAN'T WAIT TO SEE HIM AND TALK TO HIM ABOUT THE TIME CAPSULE AND HOPEFULLY HE'LL REMEMBER IT. SO VERY GOOD. ALL RIGHT. SO NEXT FOR US IS UNFINISHED BUSINESS TO MAYBE TALK ABOUT AT OUR NEXT MEETING. SURE. BECAUSE WE ALWAYS DO THE CALENDAR FOR NEXT YEAR MUCH SOONER THAN I REALIZE. WE'RE GOING TO DO IT. OKAY. AND ONE OF THE THINGS THAT AS A TEACHER, MOST OF THE TIME, WE DIDN'T HAVE A FULL WEEK OF SCHOOL UNTIL OCTOBER. AND I FIND IT VERY DIFFICULT TO TO GET A GOOD ROUTINE GOING BECAUSE WE HAVE IN-SERVICES OR OTHER THINGS. AND SO ONE OF THE THINGS I WOULD LIKE TO, YOU KNOW, DISCUSS ABOUT FEASIBILITY IS. NOT HAVING ALL THOSE DAYS OFF IN SEPTEMBER. WE DON'T HAVE TO TRY TO GET INTO A ROUTINE FASTER AND THEN MAYBE HAVE SOME MORE IN OCTOBER. SO JUST SOMETHING TO LOOK. JUST SOMETHING TO LOOK AT. THAT'S ALL BECAUSE I REALIZED WHEN WE DO THE CALENDAR, I'M LIKE, OH, TOO LATE. SO WE COULD WE BRING THE CALENDAR TO THE BOARD IN JANUARY. AND WE'VE TRADITIONALLY USED CC AND CAC TO HELP DEVELOP THE CALENDAR AND GIVE THE FEEDBACK. WE CAN DEFINITELY GET BOARD PRIORITIES PRIOR TO. I JUST ASK THAT AS WE GO TO SET PRIORITIES, THE BOARD GAVE US CONSENSUS ON PRIORITIES AS WE'RE DRAFTING THE DIFFERENT VERSIONS BECAUSE IT WILL HELP DOCTOR DOWNS AND HER TEAM AS THEY BRING THEM FORWARD TO CC AND CAC. WE DON'T WANT TO BRING A CALENDAR BEFORE THOSE GROUPS TO CONSIDER THAT THE BOARD DOESN'T WANT TO. THIS COUNTY HAS DONE THAT ONE TIME INSTRUMENTAL. NONE OF YOU ALL WERE HERE, BUT THEY'RE VERY INSTRUMENTAL IN PROVIDING FEEDBACK AND INPUT IN THE CALENDAR. OKAY. DEFINITELY SOMETHING THAT CAN BE LOOKED AT AS PART OF THAT. JUST LOOK AT IT. YEP, DEFINITELY. [10. Upcoming Meetings and Events] OKAY. UPCOMING MEETINGS AND EVENTS. THERE'LL BE A LOT OF THEM COMING. YEAH, WE'LL BE POPULATING ALL OF THOSE AFTER WE GOT SOME INFORMATION TONIGHT FROM THE STUDENTS. WE'RE BACK IN FULL SWING. YEAH, THE WORK SESSIONS COMING UP IN TWO WEEKS. 19. AND THE WORK SESSION. AS WE MENTIONED, ONE OF OUR TOPICS THAT NIGHT IS OUR RECRUITING AND RETENTION. AND THEN ANOTHER COMPONENT THAT WE'LL BE LOOKING AT THAT NIGHT WILL BE THE STATE DATA WHICH WAS RELEASED SINCE OUR LAST MEETING. IT WE'VE BEEN JUST TOO MUCH FOR TONIGHT. WE'RE ALREADY AT 830, SO WE'RE GOING TO PUT IT ON TO THE WORK SESSION AS WELL SO WE CAN KIND OF DIG INTO THE STATE ASSESSMENT DATA FROM LAST YEAR AND KIND OF DO A DIVE INTO THAT [02:30:04] AS WELL. GOOD. ALL RIGHT. IF THERE'S NOTHING ELSE, WE CAN ENTERTAIN A MOTION FOR ADJOURNMENT. I WANT TO THANK EVERYBODY, BY THE WAY, THE STAFF, ESPECIALLY FOR THIS LONG DAY. I KNOW YOU'RE ALL TIRED. TOMORROW'S A WHOLE NOTHER ONE. BUT YOU WON'T HAVE THIS MEETING TOMORROW NIGHT, SO YOU'LL BE. YOU HUNG IN HERE UNTIL THE END. THANK YOU FOR HANGING IN HERE. WE APPRECIATE THAT. OUR MOTION MOTION FOR ADJOURNMENT. SO MOVED. DO WE HAVE A SECOND? SECOND. YOU ALL HESITATED. I THOUGHT YOU WANTED TO STAY A LITTLE LONGER. ALL IN FAVOR? SAY I'M COMING. ALL IN FAVOR? AYE. ADJOURNED. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. THANK YOU, MARK. * This transcript was compiled from uncorrected Closed Captioning.