Link

Social

Embed

Disable autoplay on embedded content?

Download

Download
Download Transcript

[1. Opening Items]

[00:00:04]

WELL, GOOD EVENING EVERYONE.

SORRY TO KEEP YOU WAITING.

TWO MEETINGS IN A ROW. WE'VE DONE THAT.

WE'RE USUALLY MUCH BETTER THAN THAT.

WE JUST HAVE SO MUCH GOING ON.

WE'RE TRYING TO GET EVERYTHING DONE.

AND I APOLOGIZE FOR US BEING A FEW MINUTES LATE.

AND ESPECIALLY FOR THE PEOPLE AT HOME WATCHING BECAUSE THEY'RE WONDERING, WHERE ARE THEY? AM I DO I HAVE A BAD CONNECTION OR WHAT? NO, IT'S JUST US RUNNING A FEW MINUTES BEHIND.

SO AGAIN, I APOLOGIZE FOR THAT.

WELCOME TO THE TUESDAY, DECEMBER 5TH MEETING OF THE CAROLINE COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS BOARD OF EDUCATION.

AND IS IT SAFE TO SAY THIS IS OUR LAST MEETING OF THE YEAR? YES. SAFE TO SAY THAT.

SO GREAT TO HAVE THIS WONDERFUL TURNOUT.

WELCOME, ALL OF YOU, AND WE'LL GET RIGHT TO THINGS.

DO I HAVE A MOTION TO OUR OPEN OUR MEETING.

SO MOVED.

DO WE HAVE A SECOND? SECOND. ALL IN FAVOR? AYE, AYE. ALL RIGHT, SO WE ARE OPEN.

AND I AM THRILLED TO SAY THAT WE HAVE THE PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE LED BY THE RIDGELY ELEMENTARY SCHOOL.

AND NO COW KISSING TONIGHT.

MIC] I PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA ,AND TO THE REPUBLIC FOR WHICH IT STANDS, ONE NATION UNDER GOD, INDIVISIBLE, WITH LIBERTY AND JUSTICE FOR ALL.

WELL DONE. THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

GREAT JOB, MR. SUTTON WHO DO WE HAVE WITH US THIS EVENING? SO TODAY WE HAVE MEMBERS FROM OUR MIC].

WELL, WE ARE THRILLED TO HAVE YOU ALL OUT HERE TONIGHT, AND WE ARE REALLY THANKFUL FOR YOUR PARENTS TO BRING YOU OUT TONIGHT TO BE HERE.

SO, PARENTS, THANK YOU FOR BRINGING THEM AS WELL.

SO ARE ANY OF US IN THE CHORUS OR THE BAND.

WE HAVE THAT COMING UP SOON TOO, RIGHT? VERY GOOD.

AND HOPEFULLY WE'RE ALL READY FOR THE HOLIDAYS.

AWESOME. VERY GOOD.

WELL THANK YOU GUYS FOR COMING OUT TONIGHT AND BEING A PART.

WE ARE GOING TO GET A PICTURE BEFORE YOU LEAVE.

SO STUDENTS YOU JUST HAVE TO PIVOT, TURN AROUND AND LOOK AT THAT WALL.

[INAUDIBLE] VERY GOOD.

WELL, THANK YOU GUYS VERY MUCH.

ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU GUYS.

THANK YOU [APPLAUSE].

HIGHLIGHT OF THE MEETING.

WE HAVE OUR AGENDA FOR THIS EVENING.

DO WE HAVE A MOTION TO APPROVE THE AGENDA AS WRITTEN.

SO MOVED. A SECOND SECOND.

ALL IN FAVOR.

ALL RIGHT. SO WE HAVE OUR AGENDA IN PLACE.

SO SOMETHING WE DO EVERY MEETING, WE ACKNOWLEDGE OUR MISSION AND READ OUR MISSION OUT LOUD AS A WAY OF REMINDING ALL OF US OF WHY WE'RE HERE AND THE WORK WE DO AND THE WORK THE SCHOOL SYSTEM DOES.

SO OUR MISSION, IN PARTNERSHIP WITH FAMILIES AND COMMUNITY, WE PREPARE ALL STUDENTS TO ACHIEVE COLLEGE, CAREER AND LIFE READINESS THROUGH A

[00:05:01]

CHALLENGING AND PROGRESSIVE EDUCATIONAL EXPERIENCE.

ALWAYS GOOD TO HAVE THAT REMINDER.

I DO MEAN IT. THAT WAS PROBABLY THE HIGHLIGHT OF THE MEETING.

YOU KNOW FROM HERE [INAUDIBLE] STILL WONDERFUL.

SO THE NEXT THING THAT WE NEED TO ATTEND TO IS ELECTION OF BOARD OFFICERS.

THIS IS THE MEETING EACH YEAR WHERE WE DECIDE FROM THE FIVE MEMBERS OF THE BOARD.

SOME ARE APPOINTED, SOME ARE ELECTED BY THE BY THE VOTERS IN THE COUNTY.

WE DECIDE WHICH PERSON WILL SERVE AS PRESIDING PRESIDENT AND WHO WILL SERVE AS PRESIDING VICE PRESIDENT FOR THE NEXT YEAR.

SO WE DO THAT EVERY YEAR IN OUR DECEMBER MEETING.

SO WE WILL START THAT BY HAVING A NOMINATIONS PROCESS.

AND I THINK THE BEST WAY TO DO THIS IS HAVE A MOTION TO OPEN NOMINATIONS.

WE HAVE A MOTION FOR THAT.

I MOVE THAT WE OPEN NOMINATIONS FOR THE BOARD OFFICERS [INAUDIBLE].

SECOND. ALL IN FAVOR? AYE. ANY OPPOSED? ALL RIGHT. NOMINATIONS ARE OPEN.

AND WHAT THAT MEANS IS THAT WE WILL NOW ACCEPT NOMINATIONS FROM BOARD MEMBERS ORALLY, VERBALLY FOR THE OFFICE FIRST OF PRESIDENT, DO WE HAVE ANY NOMINATIONS FOR PRESIDENT? I WOULD LIKE TO NOMINATE TROY.

ALL RIGHT. WE HAVE TROY NOMINATED, TROY.

OKAY. I WOULD NOMINATE RICK.

OKAY. THANK YOU.

ANY OTHER NOMINATIONS FOR PRESIDENT OKAY.

SO I WOULD JUST LIKE TO SAY I RESPECTFULLY DECLINE.

I'M NOT QUITE READY FOR THAT YET.

ALL RIGHT. AND I WILL ACCEPT THE NOMINATION.

BUT I CERTAINLY WOULD WELCOME YOU AS PRESIDENT AS WELL TROY.

I ONLY HAVE A YEAR IN.

I'M NOT QUITE READY TO [INAUDIBLE].

I CAN APPRECIATE THAT.

OKAY, SO WE HAVE PRESIDENT.

ANY FURTHER NOMINATIONS FOR PRESIDENT? HEARING NONE. ANY NOMINATIONS FOR VICE PRESIDENT? MICHELE. MR. TROY IS NOMINATED.

OH, MICHELE. I'M SORRY, I THOUGHT YOU POINTED [INAUDIBLE].

ACTUALLY, I DECLINE THE NOMINATION.

THANK YOU, BUT I DECLINE.

ALL RIGHT. DO WE HAVE ANY OTHER NOMINATIONS FOR VICE PRESIDENT? I NOMINATE MARK JONES REMAIN AS VICE PRESIDENT.

OKAY. ALL RIGHT.

YOU WILL ACCEPT? YOU WILL ACCEPT.

ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU. ANY OTHER NOMINATIONS FOR VICE PRESIDENT? ALL RIGHT, THEN WE NEED TO HAVE A MOTION TO CLOSE NOMINATIONS.

I MOVE, WE CLOSE NOMINATIONS, AND A SECOND.

SECOND. ALL IN FAVOR? AYE, AYE. NOMINATIONS ARE CLOSED.

AND I KNOW THAT SEEMS VERY PROCEDURAL, BUT WE'RE TRYING TO DO THIS THE RIGHT WAY.

SO NOW WHAT WE'LL DO IS WE HAVE SHEETS OF PAPER HERE, AND WE'RE GOING TO VOTE FOR BOTH PRESIDENT AND VICE PRESIDENT.

AND THAT'S A CLOSED BALLOT, IF YOU WILL.

BUT THEN WE'LL TURN THEM IN TO THE SUPERINTENDENT.

SO IF YOU PASS THEM OVER, I PROMISE TO NOT LOOK.

GUESS I SHOULD VOTE AS WELL.

THE ROOM. WHEN YOU GET OF THE RIGHT AGE WHERE YOU'RE ALLOWED TO VOTE.

IT'S REALLY VERY, VERY IMPORTANT TO VOTE, ESPECIALLY IN A SMALL COMMUNITY LIKE THIS ONE.

VOTES MATTER.

I KNOW OF A CASE IN THIS COUNTY IN CAROLINE COUNTY WHERE SOMEONE WAS RUNNING FOR AN ELECTED OFFICE IN THIS COUNTY, LOST BY ONE VOTE, AND THEY LATER FOUND OUT THAT THEIR MOTHER AND WIFE DID NOT VOTE FOR THEM.

AND IN FACT, THEY DIDN'T VOTE.

SO THEY NOT ONLY WOULD HAVE TIED, THEY GOT ONE OF THOSE VOTES, THEY WOULD HAVE WON.

AND IT IS TRUE, YOU KNOW, A LOT OF THESE LOCAL ELECTIONS, THERE ARE NOT A LOT OF PEOPLE VOTING, SOMETIMES LESS THAN 100 OR A COUPLE OF HUNDRED TOWN OFFICES AND SO FORTH.

YOUR VOTE MATTERS LOCALLY.

AND THE OTHER PART ABOUT LOCAL, BECAUSE I'M GIVING A SPEECH, IS THAT PEOPLE WHO REPRESENT YOU LOCALLY IN A SMALL COMMUNITY LIKE CAROLINE, WHETHER IT'S A TOWN LIKE DENTON OR GREENSBORO OR WHAT HAVE YOU, OR THE COUNTY, THEY ARE AVAILABLE TO YOU.

YOU WILL SEE THESE INDIVIDUALS, WHEREAS YOUR CONGRESS PEOPLE, YOUR SENATORS NOT QUITE AS AVAILABLE.

[00:10:03]

YOU'RE NOT GOING TO RUN INTO THEM IN A GROCERY STORE OR OTHER PLACES IN YOUR COMMUNITY.

[INAUDIBLE] MR. BARTON, THANK YOU FOR THE PSA AND THE PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT AND THE OPPORTUNITY TO COUNT THE VOTES.

OUR PRESIDENT VOTES ARE TABULATED.

IT IS. CONGRATULATIONS, MR. BARTON, PRESIDENT 4-0.

AND CONGRATULATIONS, MR. JONES, VICE PRESIDENT 4-0.

THANK YOU ALL FOR SERVING [APPLAUSE].

I'LL JUST SAY IT'S AN HONOR TO SERVE SOMETHING I WOULD GLADLY RELINQUISH TO ANOTHER BOARD MEMBER, BUT HAPPY TO DO IT FOR ANOTHER YEAR, TO SERVE THE COMMUNITY AND TO WORK WITH DR.

SIMMONS AND ALL THE BOARD MEMBERS AND THE STAFF AND PARENTS AND STUDENTS OF THE CAROLINE COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEM.

IT REALLY IS AN HONOR, AND WE DON'T GET PAID A LOT.

AND IT ISN'T ABOUT MONEY FOR US.

IT'S ABOUT SERVICE.

SO, MR. JONES, ANY COMMENTS YOU'D LIKE TO MAKE? THANK YOU TO THE OTHER BOARD MEMBERS.

WE HAVE WORKED WELL TOGETHER OVER THE PAST YEAR, AND I THINK THAT'S WHAT THAT'S WHAT THIS SHOWS THAT THAT WE HAVE WORKED TO MAKE POSITIVE STRIDES AND AND WE'LL KEEP GETTING WE'LL KEEP DOING THAT FOR ONE MORE YEAR.

SO THANK YOU.

THANK YOU. YEAH. THERE IS AMONG THIS BOARD WE HAVE A VARIETY OF EXPERIENCES.

AND THAT'S A REALLY GOOD THING.

WE HAVE A VARIETY OF POINTS OF VIEW AND WE DON'T ALWAYS SEE THINGS THE SAME WAY.

AND THAT'S A GOOD THING.

YOU DON'T WANT US ALL ALWAYS THINKING THE SAME WAY.

YOU ALL HAVE A VARIETY OF POINTS OF VIEW AND WE SHOULD TOO.

SO WITH THAT SAID, I THINK IT'S TIME TO MOVE ALONG.

I'M SURE ALL OF YOU WANT TO STAY FOR THE ENTIRE MEETING, RIGHT? YOU DON'T NEED TO. ALL RIGHT, SO NOW WE'RE MOVING TO RECOGNITIONS.

[2. Recognitions]

AND THIS IS A WONDERFUL ONE RIGHT HERE, THE 2023 MARYLAND FOREIGN LANGUAGE TEACHER OF THE YEAR.

YES. SO WE HAVE MR. MARCHETTO. MR. JOHN MARCHETTO IS OUR SUPERVISOR OF INSTRUCTION.

ONE OF HIS AREAS OF RESPONSIBILITY IS WORLD LANGUAGES.

SO HE IS HERE WITH US THIS EVENING FOR THIS OUTSTANDING RECOGNITION.

SO, MR. MARCHETTO, I'LL PASS TO YOU.

VERY GOOD. IN EARLY SEPTEMBER WE GOT AN EMAIL, MR. SPEICHER, AND I GOT AN EMAIL SAYING THAT WE HAD A GREAT HONOR OF HAVING MIRTA BRADNER AS A MARYLAND FOREIGN LANGUAGE TEACHER OF THE YEAR.

IT'S A GREAT HONOR, AND IT WAS EXCITING TO WALK DOWN THE HALLWAY WITHOUT HER KNOWING THAT IT WAS COMING.

AND SHE'S A TRUE ASSET TO THE WORLD LANGUAGE DEPARTMENT AT NORTH CAROLINA.

I MEAN, I, AS A NEW SUPERVISOR FROM LAST YEAR AND COMING IN, NOT HAVING SOMEONE AT THE STATE LEVEL TO TALK TO MIRTA IS ALL IS ON IT.

I MEAN, SHE REALLY IS A TRUE ASSET TO ME.

SHE TAKES LEADERSHIP ROLES ANYTIME SHE CAN AND I CAN'T THANK HER ENOUGH FOR EVERYTHING SHE DOES.

I DON'T KNOW HOW SHE GETS EVERYTHING DONE BECAUSE SHE HAS TREMENDOUS DRIVE AND EVERYTHING SHE ACCOMPLISHES.

SHE IS TOP NOTCH.

SO WITHOUT FURTHER ADO, I'D LIKE TO WELCOME MIRTA BRADNER AND CONGRATULATIONS.

THANK YOU. I'M HAPPY TO REPRESENT CAROLINE COUNTY.

I WILL BE REPRESENTING US AT THE STATE LEVEL IN FEBRUARY IN NEW YORK CITY FOR THE NATIONAL COMPETITION.

SO. WONDERFUL. VERY GOOD.

CONGRATULATIONS [APPLAUSE].

BECAUSE MISS BRADNER WILL BE PART OF THE NEXT.

YEAH. SINCE IT'S TWO DIFFERENT.

OKAY. IF I COULD GET.

I THINK MISS BRADNER WILL BE OKAY WITH THAT.

ARE YOU OKAY WITH US DOING YOUR PICTURE NOW? WHENEVER YOU WANT. WHENEVER? YEAH. MISS BARRY WANTS TO.

YEAH. WE'LL GO AHEAD AND DO YOURS.

ALL RIGHT. WE ALSO HAVE THE ANOTHER RECOGNITION THE GLOBAL SEAL OF BILITERACY.

AND THIS IS MR. MARCHETTO AS WELL.

SO TWO TIMES IN A ROW.

SO THE GLOBAL SEAL BILITERACY PROGRAM PROVIDES ACCESS TO ANYONE INTERESTED IN BEING FORMALLY CERTIFIED FOR ACHIEVING A HIGH STANDARD OF PROFICIENCY IN TWO OR MORE

[00:15:06]

LANGUAGES, TO EARN ADVANCED PLACEMENT, TO APPLY FOR SCHOLARSHIPS OR STUDY ABROAD PROGRAMS, AND TO ACCESS EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES OR PAY DIFFERENTIALS.

THE GLOBAL SEAL BILITERACY HAS BEEN ISSUED IN ALL 50 STATES ASIA, SOUTH AMERICA, LATIN AMERICA, AND EUROPE, AND THIS IS THE FIRST TIME IN CAROLINE COUNTY THAT WE HAVE STUDENTS THAT GAINED THE GLOBAL SEAL OF BILITERACY.

AND SO, WITHOUT FURTHER ADO, I'D LIKE TO INVITE MIRTA BACK TO CONGRATULATE OUR STUDENTS.

I JUST WANT TO SAY THAT WE HAVE GROUPS FROM THE CLASS OF 2022 AP CLASS.

WE HAD A 92% PASSING AND A 100% PARTICIPATION IN 2023.

I AM SO PROUD OF THESE STUDENTS.

THERE WAS 100% PARTICIPATION IN THE TEST, WHICH IS A REQUIREMENT IN MY COURSE, AND 100% PASSING SCORES FOR NORTH CAROLINE HIGH SCHOOL, SO THIS IS GREAT.

[SPANISH] WE HAVE A BIG GROUP. SO SOFIA RAMIREZ GONZALEZ.

XIMENA CASTRO BAUTISTA.

YAMILETH BENITEZ CORDOVA . ANAHI LOPEZ SALAS.

STEPHANIE ALFARO.

SHARI MACARIO DELEON.

RENATA DIAZ GOMEZ.

[INAUDIBLE] YOU'RE WELCOME. NELVIN TOMAS.

KELLY PEREZ REYES.

INGRID DOMINGO MÉNDEZ.

INGRID DIAZ.

JOANNA SANTIZO-MORALES.

NAYELI VASQUEZ TOMAS [APPLAUSE].

MIC]

[00:21:28]

I HAVE TO SAY THAT FOR ME PERSONALLY, I HAVE A CONNECTION TO THIS BECAUSE I'M THE GRANDSON OF PEOPLE WHO CAME TO THIS COUNTRY AND DID NOT SPEAK THE LANGUAGE HERE AND HAD TO ADJUST AND LEARN.

AND THIS JUST MEANS A LOT TO SEE, YOU KNOW, SO MANY POSITIVE STEPS.

THEY ALSO ALL EARN COLLEGE CREDIT IN MARYLAND SCHOOLS.

SO WONDERFUL A GREAT THING.

WONDERFUL. THANK YOU SO MUCH.

REALLY. THANK YOU.

ALL RIGHT.

SO EARLY ON I WANTED TO SAY HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO EVERYBODY.

SO AS PEOPLE ARE SAYING HAPPY HOLIDAYS.

BUT WE DO HAVE ALL THESE HOLIDAY PROGRAMS COMING UP.

RIGHT. SO PLENTY OF TIME AT CONCERTS AND SO FORTH TO, TO CELEBRATE THE SEASON.

BUT NEXT WE ARE GOING TO CELEBRATE THE SEASON WITH THE SUPERINTENDENTS HOLIDAY CARD WINNER.

YES. ALWAYS A WONDERFUL THING.

YES. SO AS WE ARE MOVING INTO THAT, ACTUALLY, MRS. RENEE HESSON, WHO IS OUR SUPERVISOR OF INSTRUCTION, WHO HANDLES FINE ARTS, IS ONE OF THE THINGS SHE'S RESPONSIBLE FOR.

SEASONS GREETINGS.

REALLY HELPS COORDINATE THIS EFFORT TO HELP ME WITH MY SELECTION.

YES. SO MISS HESSON WILL PASS TO YOU.

ABSOLUTELY. GOOD EVENING EVERYONE.

IT'S WONDERFUL TO BE HERE.

THIS IS MY FAVORITE TIME OF THE SCHOOL YEAR BECAUSE I GET TO CELEBRATE ALL OF THE HOLIDAYS WITH YOU FINE PEOPLE.

AND ALSO WE GET TO RECOGNIZE OUR SUPERINTENDENTS HOLIDAY CARD COVER CONTEST WINNER.

THIS YEAR'S SELECTION WAS A VERY CHALLENGING ONE.

I BELIEVE WE HAD SOME WONDERFUL ELEMENTARY, MIDDLE, AND HIGH SCHOOL ENTRIES FROM ALL SCHOOLS, SO THAT WAS ANOTHER ACCOMPLISHMENT.

WE WORKED VERY HARD WITH OUR TEACHERS TO MAKE SURE THAT ALL STUDENTS HAD SOME ARTWORK TO SHARE.

AND THEN THERE WILL BE A DISPLAY HERE IN THE HALLWAY THROUGHOUT DECEMBER AND JANUARY TOO.

DO YOU HAVE THE ARTWORK? OKAY, SO FROM COLONEL RICHARDSON HIGH SCHOOL, IT IS MY PLEASURE TO ANNOUNCE THIS YEAR'S SEASON GREETING HOLIDAY CARD WINNER AND HER NAME IS SUMMER SMITH.

CONGRATULATIONS, SUMMER.

SHE IS A SENIOR AT COLONEL RICHARDSON HIGH SCHOOL [APPLAUSE].

THERE YOU GO. AND SHE IS JOINED TONIGHT BY HER FAMILY AS WELL AS HER ART TEACHER, MRS. MELANIE BOWLES.

SHE IS HER DRAWING TEACHER, AND I HAD AN OPPORTUNITY TO MEET HER AND LET HER KNOW IN HER CLASSROOM AND ALSO HER PRINCIPAL, MR. JARED SHERMAN IS HERE TONIGHT TO SUPPORT HER.

WE LOVE YOUR ARTWORK AND WE REALLY APPRECIATE YOU SHARING YOUR GIFT WITH ALL OF US.

SO THANK YOU SO MUCH.

AS MISS HESSON SAID, IT'S NOT AN EASY TASK, NOT WHEN YOU END UP WITH LITERALLY PROBABLY 100 SUBMISSIONS OR MORE THAT WE TRY TO WEED DOWN.

BUT SUMMER, AS SHE'S GRABBING A PICTURE, I WILL BE HONEST.

WHAT REALLY GOT ALL OF US WHEN WE WERE LOOKING THROUGH IT, THE DETAIL YOU PUT IN.

OKAY, AND I'M NOT AN ART PERSON, I APPRECIATE ART, MISS HESSON.

MISS HESSON, I APPRECIATE ART.

I PERFECTED THE STICK FIGURES ABOUT WHERE I STOPPED AND PEOPLE TOLD ME TO GO PLAY MUSIC AS OPPOSED TO TRYING TO DO THIS SO.

BUT LITERALLY, LIKE WE WERE SITTING HERE LOOKING BECAUSE PART OF IT.

I'M NOT SAYING YOU PICK A PART, BUT YOU REALLY GET INTO THE DETAIL OF LOOKING.

[00:25:03]

AND WE WERE LIKE, OH MY GOD.

THEY WENT SO FAR AS TO PUT THE FOOTPRINTS OF WALKING TO BUILD THE SNOWMAN AND GO BACK INTO THE LOG CABIN.

LIKE THOSE LEVELS OF DETAIL, THE SHADING, THE REALISM ABSOLUTELY HAD US THE WAY THE SMOKE WENT THROUGH THE TREES.

LIKE I'M TELLING YOU, THAT'S WHERE WE WERE AND WE WERE JUST LITERALLY IN ALL GOING, THIS IS REALLY COOL.

LIKE THIS IS ABSOLUTELY IMPRESSIVE.

SO GREAT JOB.

FANTASTIC JOB.

WILL GO ON OUR HOLIDAY CARD.

OBVIOUSLY YOU'LL GET YOU'LL GET SOME OF THOSE.

WE DO SEND THEM OUT TO ALL 24 SCHOOLS OR ALL 23 OTHER SCHOOL DISTRICTS IN THE COUNTY AS WELL OR IN THE STATE.

SO THEY'LL MAKE THEIR WAY AROUND MARYLAND AND WILL BE THE CARD THAT WE WILL USE THIS YEAR.

BUT IT ABSOLUTELY FANTASTIC JOB.

YES. FANTASTIC JOB.

MY QUESTION WAS, ARE THE FOOTPRINTS THE SNOWMAN OR THE PEOPLE WHO BUILT THE SNOWMAN? I'D SAY THE PEOPLE. IT'S BEAUTIFUL.

IT IS, IT IS.

I FIND IT IRONIC THAT YOUR NAME IS SUMMER.

OH. YEAH.

YOU SHOULD PUT YOUR NAME ON IT, THOUGH.

YEAH. VERY GOOD POINT, BUT FANTASTIC JOB.

VERY CREATIVE. MISS BARRY, YOU WANT A PICTURE? I HATE TO ASK THIS. IS THERE A WAY FOR US TO DO IT WITH, LIKE, THE CARD AS THE BACKDROP? SURE. THAT MIGHT BE A LITTLE.

MIC]

[00:30:14]

WELL, FROM THE SUBLIME TO THE RIDICULOUS.

[3. Reports]

NOW WE'RE GOING TO TALK ABOUT REPORTS.

NOT ALL THE REPORTS ARE RIDICULOUS, BUT THE BOARD MEMBERS REPORTS BY COMPARISON.

SO THAT'S WHERE WE ARE ON THE AGENDA NEXT.

AND WE'RE GOING TO DO A LITTLE DIFFERENT THIS TIME.

WE'RE NOT GOING TO HAVE A SLIDE UP BECAUSE WE DIDN'T RECEIVE ALL THE BOARD MEMBER REPORTS.

SO WE'RE JUST GOING TO ASK EACH MEMBER WHAT THEY WANT TO TALK ABOUT, AND THEY CAN SHARE ANYTHING THAT COMES TO MIND OR JUST PASS.

OKAY. AND WE'LL START.

DONNA, DO YOU HAVE ANYTHING YOU'D LIKE TO SHARE? I'D LIKE TO THANK THE LEO CLUB.

THEY HAD A FOOD DRIVE AT THE HIGH SCHOOL WITH A RIDGELY FOOD PANTRY, AND THEY COLLECTED AT LEAST 1,500 POUNDS OF FOOD AND DONATED $500 TO THE PANTRY.

SO I AM GOING TO BE ABLE TO GET CHRISTMAS DINNERS FOR ALL THE FAMILIES SO THAT, YOU KNOW, THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

AND THEY WERE ALSO IN THE RIDGELY PARADE THEY HAD A FLOAT AND THEY THEY WERE GOOD AND BOTH BANDS WERE IN IT.

AND I'M GOING TO TELL YOU SOMETHING, LOCKERMAN BAND IS AWESOME FOR MIDDLE SCHOOL.

THEY WERE REALLY, REALLY GOOD.

SO ME PERSONALLY AND YOU ALL KNOW THIS.

I LOVE GETTING TO WORK WITH THE KIDS AND DEALING WITH THE KIDS BECAUSE THAT TO ME IS WHAT THIS IS ALL ABOUT, IS OUR STUDENTS.

OH, GOOD.

THANK YOU. TROY.

I THINK ONE OF THE THINGS THAT STUCK OUT, I WAS ABLE TO STOP BY COLONEL MIDDLE.

ACTUALLY, FOR A NON BOARD RELATED THING, I WAS DROPPING SOMETHING OFF TO MY WIFE AND SHE SAID, YOU NEED TO GO SEE THEM DOING SHADOW BOXING AT LUNCH.

AND I'M LIKE, WHAT IS THAT? SO I ACTUALLY HAD TO LOOK.

BUT MR. LAMBERT HAD THE KIDS.

THEY ACTUALLY HAD A LIKE A TOURNAMENT AND AND FOR, FOR IT.

BUT IF YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT IT IS, IT'S SOMETHING YOU NEED TO DEFINITELY LOOK AT.

AND THE KIDS THAT WERE INVOLVED IN IT WERE ACTUALLY VERY GOOD, BECAUSE I COULDN'T FIGURE IT OUT AND HOW TO DO IT AND KEEP UP.

IT WAS REALLY AMAZING.

JUST THE THE CAMARADERIE OF THE WHOLE CLASS.

LIKE EACH SIXTH GRADE, SEVENTH GRADE, THEY WERE JUST CHEERING EVERYBODY ON.

IT WAS GOOD TO SEE.

AND MR. LAMBERT HAD THEM ALL LIKE HYPED UP.

AND IT WAS GOOD. IT WAS GOOD TO SEE THEM HAVE FUN AT LUNCHTIME AND BE ABLE TO, YOU KNOW, GET UP AND MOVE AND TALK AND ASSOCIATE.

SO BUT IF YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT IT IS, DEFINITELY LOOK IT UP.

IT'S PRETTY NEAT. DON'T MAKE ASSUMPTIONS BECAUSE YES, WHEN MY MIDDLE SCHOOL AGED DAUGHTER SAID THEY WERE SHADOW BOXING AT LUNCH, I ENVISIONED EVERYBODY ACTING LIKE ROCKY BALBOA.

YES, DATED RESPONSE, BUT I EXPECTED A LOT OF PEOPLE LITERALLY DOING.

IT'S NOT THAT AT ALL.

I'M GLAD I LOOKED IT UP TO FIGURE OUT JUST WHAT SHADOW BOXING WAS.

WE'LL HAVE A PRESENTATION ON IT.

SEE. SO COOL.

MICHELE ANYTHING YOU'D LIKE TO SHARE? WELL, I REALLY ENJOYED THE VETERANS DAY PROGRAMS AT PRESTON AS WELL AS AT NORTH HIGH AND LOCKERMAN COMBINED PROGRAM.

THEY WERE ALL VERY GOOD AND I'M GOING TO GIVE A SHOUT OUT TO CCTC.

I WENT TO THEIR SPA NIGHT AND HAD A NICE MANICURE DONE BY TAYLOR AND THAT WAS THAT WAS REALLY, REALLY NICE.

AND THEY HAD A BEAUTIFUL CROWD, PROBABLY 30 OR MORE FOLKS COMING IN TO HAVE PEDI'S OR MANI'S OR FACIALS OR WHATEVER THAT NIGHT.

IT WAS REALLY NICE.

AND I ALSO ATTENDED JUST ON, I GUESS IT WAS LAST WEDNESDAY THAT CAROLINE COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY HAD A PRESENTATION ON ANNA MURRAY DOUGLASS, WHO WAS THE WIFE OF FREDERICK DOUGLASS, WHO WAS BORN AND HAS RELATIVES LIVING HERE IN DENTON.

SO IT WAS VERY, VERY INTERESTING.

AND SOME OF THOSE FAMILY STUDENTS HAVE GONE THROUGH CAROLINE COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS.

SO IT WAS VERY INTERESTING.

AND I THINK IT'S GOING TO BE A CONTINUED PROGRAM THAT THEY'RE HAVING.

SO THANK YOU.

THERE WAS AN EXCELLENT ARTICLE IN THE PAPER.

YES. YEAH.

SOME OF THE NICHOLS FAMILY THAT LIVES HERE IN DENTON ARE DESCENDANTS, AND SEVERAL OF THEIR CHILDREN AND GRANDCHILDREN HAVE GONE THROUGH THE NORTHERN END OF THE COUNTY SCHOOLS, DENTON, PRIMARILY LOCKERMAN IN NORTH CAROLINA.

WOW. YEAH. THANK YOU.

OKAY, MARK. SO MY REPORT IS MORE OF FROM TIME TO TIME THROUGHOUT THE MONTH.

YOU KNOW, WE COMMUNICATE WITH EACH OTHER AT TIMES OR AND MY REPORT COMES KIND OF FROM A CONVERSATION I HAD WITH ANOTHER BOARD MEMBER THIS MONTH.

AND IT'S KIND OF THE ANSWER TO A QUESTION.

A LOT OF TIMES I GET ASKED BY PEOPLE, YOU'RE ON THE BOARD, HOW DO YOU DO?

[00:35:02]

YOU FEEL LIKE YOU MAKE A DIFFERENCE AND THAT'S A DIFFERENT THAT'S A DIFFICULT QUESTION TO ANSWER.

DO I PERSONALLY FEEL LIKE I'VE MADE A DIFFERENCE? AND THIS CONVERSATION I HAD WITH THIS WITH ANOTHER BOARD MEMBER, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT SOMETHING.

BUT BUT REALLY AS A BOARD, WE INDIVIDUALLY DON'T MAKE A DIFFERENCE.

WE HAVE TO COLLECTIVELY MAKE A DIFFERENCE.

AND WE'VE BEEN OVER SOME THINGS OVER THE PAST MONTH THAT THAT REALLY, I THINK WERE FRONT AND CENTER, THAT AS A GROUP, WE HAVE MADE A DIFFERENCE OVER THE PAST FEW YEARS THAT WE HAVE SERVED TOGETHER.

AND THAT'S JUST KIND OF, YOU KNOW, THANKS TO THE REST OF YOU.

BUT BUT WE HAVE MADE A DIFFERENCE.

AND THAT'S KIND OF WHAT THIS IS ABOUT, BECAUSE FROM OUR COMMUNITY MEMBERS, THEY WANT TO SEE, HAVE WHAT HAVE YOU DONE? HAVE YOU MADE A DIFFERENCE. AND WE SEE REPORTS AND DIFFERENT THINGS THAT SHOW THE TRAJECTORY THAT THAT OUR SCHOOL SYSTEM IS ON.

AND I FEEL LIKE WE HAVE MADE A DIFFERENCE.

SO TOGETHER AND THAT'S REALLY HOW HOW THIS THAT'S THE ONLY WAY WE'RE REALLY GOING TO ACCOMPLISH THINGS IS THE FIVE OF US WORKING TOGETHER, SIX OF US, INCLUDING DR.

SIMMONS. SO THAT'S MY REPORT.

THANK YOU. THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

YEAH. AND, YOU KNOW, THIS IS A VERY JUNIOR BOARD, IF YOU WILL, THE LONGEST TENURED PEOPLE ON THE BOARD TONIGHT OR THEREABOUTS TONIGHT ARE CELEBRATING, IF YOU WILL, CELEBRATING OUR THIRD YEAR.

AND SO PREVIOUS BOARDS HAD PEOPLE WITH A LOT MORE YEARS OF SERVICE.

THAT DOESN'T MEAN THERE AREN'T PEOPLE HERE WITH A LOT OF YEARS IN THE EDUCATION WORLD, BUT THREE YEARS IS THE MAXIMUM TIME ANYBODY ON THIS HAS SERVED ON THE BOARD, PRETTY UNUSUAL.

SO SO MY COMMENTS ARE ABOUT THE MARYLAND ASSOCIATION OF BOARDS OF EDUCATION, MABE, AS WE CALL THEM.

SEVERAL OF US SERVE IN DIFFERENT COMMITTEES WITH MABE, AND THE COMMITTEE THAT I VOLUNTEER TO SERVE ON IS THEIR BUDGET COMMITTEE, AND THAT IS THE COMMITTEE THAT DEVELOPS THE MAY BUDGET.

SO MABE NOW HAS A NEW EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR.

MILTON NAGEL, WHO MANY OF US KNOW VERY WELL THE SCHOOL SYSTEM KNOWS WELL, AND MILTON IS BRINGING SOME CHANGES THERE THAT ARE VERY WELCOME.

AND HE IS HE IS CAREFUL TO POINT OUT THAT HE'S NOT CRITICAL OF THE PRIOR LEADERSHIP AT ALL.

HE IS JUST PUTTING KIND OF HIS APPROACH AND HIS STAMP ON THINGS.

AND BUDGET IS CERTAINLY ONE OF HIS AREAS OF EXPERTISE.

SO TWO THINGS THAT STOOD OUT IN HIS BUDGET PRESENTATION.

AND COMMITTEE MEMBERS WERE VERY HAPPY WITH THIS.

THE FIRST ONE, AND I THINK THERE'LL BE SOMEBODY SMILING WHEN I SAY THIS.

THERE'LL BE NO DUES INCREASE.

NONE OF THE COUNTIES WILL BE PAYING MORE THAN THEY DID THE YEAR BEFORE, EVEN THOUGH THEIR COSTS HAVE GONE UP, SO THEY'RE GOING TO ABSORB THAT.

BUT HE ALSO HAS IDENTIFIED NEW AND DIFFERENT REVENUE SOURCES THAT THEY WILL BE ABLE TO DO SOME THINGS, WILL BRING IN REVENUE RATHER THAN PASSING ON THEIR COSTS TO THE COUNTY, WHICH IS JUST GREAT NEWS.

THAT WAS GOING TO SHARE THIS IN AN EMAIL WITH A COUPLE OF, YOU KNOW, JUST ANNOUNCE IT AT THE MEETING BECAUSE I THINK IT'S REALLY POWERFUL.

IT'S A STATEMENT BY HIM.

THE SECOND THING IS, IN THE WORLD OF TRANSPARENCY, SEVERAL COMMITTEE MEMBERS FOR YEARS HAVE BEEN ASKING THE AT LEAST THE THREE YEARS I'VE BEEN AROUND HAVE BEEN ASKING FOR MORE TRANSPARENCY ABOUT THE PAYROLL AT MABE AND THE SALARIES.

AND SO THEY NOW HAVE RELEASED AND HE PROVIDED FOR THE COMMITTEE MEMBERS, THE SALARY LEVELS AND PUBLIC MONEY IS GOING TO SUPPORT MABE.

AND SO COMMITTEE MEMBERS OVER THE YEARS HAVE SAID THAT THEY'VE REALLY WANTED VERY MUCH TO KNOW WHAT INDIVIDUAL PEOPLE ARE BEING PAID, TO KNOW WHERE THE MONEY IS GOING.

AND THERE WAS RESISTANCE.

AND AGAIN, NOT CRITICIZING WHAT WAS DONE IN THE PAST.

BUT MILTON MADE SURE THAT MR. NAGEL MADE SURE THAT THAT WAS MADE AVAILABLE.

AND SO A PERSON ON THAT BOARD WHO IN PAST YEARS VOTED AGAINST THE BUDGET BECAUSE OF THAT MISSING ELEMENT, MADE THE MOTION TO PASS THE BUDGET.

AND THAT REALLY SAYS A LOT TO MILTON AND REALLY GAVE HIM AN ENDORSEMENT.

AND HE SEEMS TO BE DOING A REALLY GOOD JOB THERE.

SO WE ARE FORTUNATE TO HAVE SOMEBODY LIKE HIM STEP UP AND BE THE NEW EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF MABE.

I THINK IT'S GOING TO SERVE THE COUNTY WELL AND THE SCHOOL DISTRICT.

SO USUALLY THOSE KIND OF MEETINGS, YOU WATCH THEM AND GO, HO HUM, YOU KNOW, CAN THIS BE OVER? AND IT DOESN'T HAPPEN AND FAST ENOUGH.

NO, THIS IS REALLY OUTSTANDING.

REALLY GREAT TO SEE. SO I JUST THOUGHT I'D PASS THAT ON TO EVERYBODY.

THAT'S A LITTLE DIFFERENT REPORTS FOR US THIS TIME AROUND.

ALL GOOD ONES. SO WITH THAT SAID I THINK IT'S NOW DR.

SIMMONS TURN.

CERTAINLY SO MY REPORT TONIGHT IS GOING TO BE A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT AS WELL.

AND I JUST WANTED TO HIGHLIGHT AN OPPORTUNITY THAT ALL SCHOOL SYSTEMS HAVE HAD AND THAT WE HAVE AS WELL.

AND THIS IS THE TIME OF YEAR WHERE WE START GEARING UP FOR BLUEPRINT, MEANING GEARING UP FOR THE BLUEPRINT SUBMISSION THAT OUR COUNTY WILL HAVE DUE ON MARCH 15TH.

[00:40:02]

AS PART OF THAT WORK, WE HAVE UPDATES THAT WE DO TO THE PLAN THAT WE SUBMITTED LAST YEAR.

SO OVER THE LAST YEAR, THE AIB, THE ACCOUNTABILITY IMPLEMENTATION BOARD RECEIVED FUNDING AND HAD HEARD ABOUT THE NEED TO SUPPORT DISTRICTS IN DEVELOPING THEIR LONG TERM PLANS ASSOCIATED WITH BLUEPRINT.

SO THE AIB BROUGHT FORTH WHAT THEY CALLED THE STRATEGIC FACILITATOR GRANT PROGRAM.

SO IN ESSENCE, THE AIB OFFERED GRANTS WHERE THEY WILL PAY STRATEGIC FACILITATORS THAT THEY HAVE VETTED TO WORK WITH SCHOOL SYSTEMS TO SUPPORT THEIR EFFORTS IN GETTING THEIR PLANS DONE.

SCHOOL SYSTEMS HAVE A LOT OF FLEXIBILITY OF HOW THEY USE THE INDIVIDUALS, BUT THE AIB IS THE ONE RUNNING THE GRANT PROGRAM FOR THIS.

WE HAVE HAD THE OPPORTUNITY THROUGH OUR WORK THAT WE ARE ACTUALLY BUILDING UPON THE PARTNERSHIP THAT WE HAVE THROUGH OUR STRONGER CONNECTIONS GRANT WITH K-12 SYSTEMS CHANGE SOLUTIONS, THAT THEY WERE SELECTED AS A STRATEGIC FACILITATOR THROUGH THE AIB, AND WE HAVE PARTNERED WITH THEM AS WELL.

AND WE'RE TRYING TO KEEP WE'RE TRYING TO KEEP OUR EFFORTS ALIGNED WITHOUT BRINGING A LOT OF THINGS THAT PULL US OFF POINT.

AND WITH FOLKS WHO AREN'T FAMILIAR WITH WHAT WE'RE WORKING ON IN THE SYSTEM, AND WE'VE PARTNERED WITH CCI OR WITH K-12 SYSTEMS CHANGE SOLUTIONS, DR.

JEN DALE, THEIR CO FOUNDER AND CHIEF IMPACT OFFICER, WAS SELECTED AND SHE HAS ALREADY STARTED WORKING WITH US.

AND SHE'S WORKING CLOSELY WITH MRS. MCCORMICK ON PLANNING OUT THE PATHWAYS FOR CCR AND THE IMPLEMENTATION OF INDIVIDUALIZED LEARNING PLANS.

IT'S A PROCESS WHERE WE DIDN'T HAVE A LOT OF CLARITY FROM [INAUDIBLE] A LOT OF PROMISED CLARITY THAT JUST HASN'T COME FORTH.

BUT THE TIMELINES AREN'T CHANGING, SO WE'RE WORKING THROUGH AND PROCESSING WHAT THAT WILL LOOK LIKE OR COULD LOOK LIKE FOR US.

WE'RE ALSO CONTINUING WITH A DEEP DIVE INTO OUR SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT PROCESS.

AT THE START OF THIS SCHOOL YEAR, WE REVAMPED OUR SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT PROCESS TO NARROW OUR FOCUS FOR OUR SCHOOLS.

DR. DALE IS GOING TO TAKE WHERE WE STARTED FROM WITH THINNING THE PROCESS OUT TO ALLOW MORE FOCUS ON HIGH LEVERAGE STRATEGIES, TO KIND OF BUILD THAT PIECE OUT AND MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE EMBEDDING THE BLUEPRINT PRIORITIES IN OUR SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT PROCESS FOR OUR SCHOOLS AS WELL.

THAT WILL INVOLVE PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT FOR OUR SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT TEAM CHAIRS AND OUR SCHOOL LEADERSHIP, AGAIN, TO STRENGTHEN THAT PROCESS, TO PUT DECISION MAKING AT THE SCHOOL LEVEL AND THINGS THAT WE CAN.

AND SHE ALSO WILL BE ASSISTING IN HER COMPANY, WILL BE ASSISTING WITH OUR SUBMISSION FOR 2024 THROUGH COLLABORATION WITH SOME OF OUR STAKEHOLDER GROUPS.

SO THE BEST WAY TO DESCRIBE IT IS THROUGH THE STRATEGIC FACILITATOR STANDPOINT.

WE GET AN EXTRA SET OF HANDS THAT HAS AN OUTSIDE LENS PROCESS TO HELP WORK WITH US AS WE'RE TRYING TO BUILD THIS OUT.

LAST YEAR, IT WAS A TREMENDOUS AMOUNT OF WORK FOR OUR STAFF.

OUR STAFF DID AN INCREDIBLE JOB.

EVEN IF SHE WASN'T SITTING HERE, I WOULD POINT IT OUT LINDSEY MCCORMICK HAD PROBABLY THE BIGGEST LIFT OF ANYONE LAST YEAR, WITH THE BLUEPRINT IMPLEMENTATION PLAN.

THIS YEAR'S LIST SHOULDN'T BE AS BIG, BUT WE'RE THANKFUL THAT THE AIB HAD A GRANT PROGRAM THIS YEAR TO HELP SUPPORT DISTRICTS GETTING ADDITIONAL HELP TO PULL ALL THIS TOGETHER AS WE MOVE FORWARD.

SO THE AIB SELECTED A HANDFUL OF STRATEGIC FACILITATORS WHO ARE WORKING ACROSS MULTIPLE SYSTEMS SO THEY HAVE AN EXTRA SET OF POINT OF CONTACT TO THEN HELP LOCAL SCHOOL SYSTEMS. SO WE'RE EXCITED TO HAVE DR.

DALE ON BOARD HELPING US WITH THIS AS WELL.

AND AGAIN, SO WE'RE TRYING TO KEEP EVERYTHING ALIGNED WITH PRACTICES BUT EXCITING OPPORTUNITIES.

SO I JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT EVERYONE WAS AWARE OF WHERE WE WERE WORKING ON THAT.

ANYBODY HAVE QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS? ONE COMMENT I'D LIKE TO MAKE IS THE THIRD BULLET EMBEDDING THE BLUEPRINT INTO THE BUILDING LEVEL SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT PROCESS.

I READ THAT TO KIND OF SAY, MAKING SURE THAT THE PEOPLE IN THAT BUILDING, THE ADMINISTRATORS, ETCETERA, ARE AWARE OF WHAT'S GOING ON, INVOLVED IN WHAT'S GOING ON.

AND THAT'S REALLY A POWERFUL THING IN TERMS OF THE STAFF AND YOUR TEAM UNDERSTANDING BLUEPRINT AND WHAT IT MEANS AND WHAT IT'S DOING AND WHERE IT STANDS, SO THAT, YOU KNOW, IN THE ABSENCE OF INFORMATION, PEOPLE MAKE THINGS UP IN THE COMMUNICATIONS WORLD.

TRUE, RIGHT. AND SO THE MORE SHARING THAT CAN BE DONE AT THAT LEVEL, THE BETTER.

AND WHAT WHAT WE REALIZED NOT ONLY IN CAROLINE, BUT THE AIB IS SEEING IT ACROSS THE STATE IN SURVEYS THAT THEY HAVE DONE OR THAT MSBA HAS DONE WITH TEACHING STAFF.

THERE IS A DISTRICT LEVEL LEADERSHIP TEND TO HAVE A VERY GOOD UNDERSTANDING OF BLUEPRINT, BECAUSE THERE'S AN AWFUL LOT OF LIFT THAT HAS TO BE DONE AT THAT LEVEL RIGHT NOW.

IT HAS TREMENDOUS IMPACTS AT THE CLASSROOM LEVEL.

[00:45:03]

LARGELY, FOLKS AT THE DISTRICT LEVEL ARE WORKING SO HARD TO MEET THE COMPONENTS THAT ARE THERE NOW, THAT THE COMMUNICATION DOESN'T ALWAYS TRICKLE TO THE SCHOOL LEVEL FOR WHAT'S GOING TO BE COMING.

SO IT'S TRYING TO HELP BRIDGE THAT GAP TO GET THE COMMUNICATION DOWN.

SO I APPRECIATE YOU BRINGING THAT OUT, BUT THAT IS SORT OF THE STATE IS REALIZING THAT SORT OF A MISSING PIECE RIGHT NOW.

THERE'S THE NEBULOUS BLUEPRINT, BUT IT HASN'T HIT THE REALITY PIECE FOR MOST FOLKS TO TRULY UNDERSTAND WHAT IT MEANS.

I'M SORRY. YES, MA'AM. IS THIS FOR DR.

DALE? YES.

FULL TIME, PART TIME.

SHE IS CONTRACTUALLY WITH US, SO IT'S PART TIME.

AND SHE'S ALSO WORKING WITH US THROUGH ANOTHER GRANT, THE STRONGER CONNECTIONS GRANT, WHICH WE TALKED ABOUT I THINK TWO MONTHS AGO.

SO THIS WILL EMBED WITH THE SAME WORK WE'RE BUILDING IN THERE WITH STRENGTHENING OUR TIER ONE AND TIER TWO AND TIER THREE PROCESSES IN INSTRUCTION.

RIGHT. SO DO WE KNOW LIKE IS SHE GOING TO BE IN COUNTY.

SHE'LL BE IN. YES.

THE MONTH. YES.

SO I BELIEVE THE SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT PLAN PROCESS, IF I REMEMBER OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD, IS ABOUT 100 HOURS WORTH OF WORK IN OUR COUNTY AND THE GRANT ENDS END OF JUNE. I THINK IT'S 50 HOURS SPEAKERS]. IT'S IT'S SOMEWHERE I THINK IN THE GRAND TOTAL IS BETWEEN ONE 150 TO 200 HOURS TOTAL FOR ALL THE WORK ASSOCIATED WITH THAT OVER THE YEAR.

AND THAT IS BETWEEN NOW, BETWEEN BETWEEN NOVEMBER 1ST, ROUGHLY WHEN WE FINALLY GOT THE OFFICIAL APPROVAL, THOUGH SHE STARTED IN OCTOBER THROUGH JUNE 30TH.

OKAY. YEP. OKAY.

THAT'S GOOD. AND WE BELIEVE IT WILL BE A RECURRING GRANT.

IT'S NEEDED, SO IT'LL BE HELPFUL.

YES. ALL RIGHT.

ANYTHING ELSE? ALL RIGHT, SO NOW WE CAN MOVE ON TO THE STUDENT REPRESENTATIVE REPORTS.

AND IT LOOKS LIKE WE DON'T HAVE LESLIE TODAY, SO SHE'S ILL.

SHE IS. SORRY TO HEAR THAT.

LEVI, TAKE IT AWAY.

ALL RIGHT. GOOD EVENING, EVERYONE.

LESLIE, IF YOU'RE WATCHING, I HOPE YOU FEEL BETTER.

BUT I'M GOING TO GET RIGHT INTO IT.

SO, AS I MENTIONED LAST TIME, THAT THEY'RE GOING TO HAVE A GRANDPARENTS DAY, 300 PLUS GRANDPARENTS CAME OUT.

THAT'S AWESOME. I REMEMBER WHEN I WENT WITH MINE AND IT GETS SERIOUS.

I MEAN, FINDING PARKING THERE IS RIDICULOUS.

IT WAS A LOT OF PEOPLE.

I WANT TO EXTEND THE THANKS TO SERGEANT DANIEL MULFORD FOR BEING ABLE TO BE THE GUEST SPEAKER, AND ANYONE ELSE WHO HELPED OUT DURING THE DURING THE DAY, PS ALSO STARTED AN ANNUAL IDLEWILD RUN CLUB FOOD DRIVE TO FEED LOCAL FAMILIES IN NEED DURING THIS HOLIDAY SEASON.

I REMEMBER I'M PRETTY SURE THERE'S PRIZES.

I'M NOT COMPLETELY SURE, BUT WHEN WE DID IT, EACH CLASSROOM HAD TO COMPETE FOR PRIZES.

SO PLEASE, IF YOU WANT THE PIZZA PARTY, YOU GOT TO BRING IN FOOD AND HELP OUT THE COMMUNITY.

THE TOOTH FAIRY IS COMING IN.

YOU KNOW, THAT WAS THAT WAS AN EXPERIENCE FOR ALL PRE-K AND KINDERGARTEN AND FIRST GRADE STUDENTS ABOUT KEEPING YOUR TEETH CLEAN AND WHATNOT.

VERY IMPORTANT.

AND THEN ON DECEMBER 19TH AT 7 P.M., WE'LL HAVE A WINTER CONCERT AT [INAUDIBLE].

OVER AT THE FALCONS AMERICAN EDUCATION WEEK.

FAMILY VISITS.

GUEST READERS.

VERY PACKED MONTH.

THEY HOSTED THE MESDE COMMUNITY SCHOOL VISIT, AND MISS [INAUDIBLE] AND MISS MAYA DELIVERED A THANKSGIVING MEALS FOR NEIGHBORS UNITED TO SERVE.

MISS BACCO AND MISS [INAUDIBLE] WON THE ANNUAL HOLIDAY BAKING CONTEST.

SO, I MEAN, I WONDER WHAT THEY WERE BAKING.

THE WINTER CONCERT.

SO I MEAN, YOU GOT TO COME OUT AND WATCH THEM PLAY DECEMBER 11TH, THE FES AND STAFF WILL BE IN THE FEDERALSBURG CHRISTMAS PARADE AND THEN THE 18TH TO THE 22ND.

THEY DO THEIR HOLIDAY SPIRIT.

OVER AT CRMS MR. PLOCEK WAS SAYING.

[INAUDIBLE] SHADOW BOXING CHAMPION.

SO I HAD I KNEW A LITTLE BIT ABOUT IT, BUT I DIDN'T KNOW IT WAS GOING ON OVER AT CRMS. AND I THINK THAT'S AWESOME.

I BELIEVE THAT WAS DONE ON A HALF DAY.

SO I'M SURE EVERYONE IN THE AUDITORIUM, NOT THE AUDITORIUM, BUT THE GYM WAS ALL PACKED IN WATCHING.

SO PROBABLY VERY ELECTRIC SCENE.

UPCOMING EVENTS INCLUDE THE BAND WILL PERFORM AT CRHS AND FEDERALSBURG PRESTON PARADES DECEMBER 20TH THERE'S A CONCERT AND THE 22ND HOLIDAY [INAUDIBLE] INCENTIVE.

[00:50:04]

STUDENTS WILL BE ABLE TO PURCHASE LITTLE GIFTS AND TRINKETS AND WHATNOT TO CELEBRATE CHRISTMAS, AND IT'S DEFINITELY PARTICIPATED.

YOU CAN GET SOME PRETTY COOL STUFF.

LAST MONTH WE HAD OUR ANNUAL TURKEY BOWL AND JUST I THINK IT WAS YESTERDAY, I BELIEVE THE BLOOD DRIVE.

SO I THINK WE HAD A LOT OF PEOPLE GO OUT AND EXCHANGE SOME BLOOD FOR SOME SERVICE LEARNING HOURS, YOU KNOW, TRY TO SQUEEZE IN.

[INAUDIBLE] OUR WINTER SPORTS HAVE KICKED OFF OVER THERE.

AND THEN SOPHOMORES.

THE DREADED MCAT TESTING IS ARRIVING.

AND THEN DECEMBER 17TH, THE CHRISTMAS PARADE BAND PERFORMANCE.

SO. THAT'S ALL I HAVE.

A LOT OF FUN STUFF THERE.

FANTASTIC. TIS THE SEASON, RIGHT? YEAH, I'LL TAKE THE.

TAKE THE MOMENT. FIRST OFF, LEVI, WE NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT IF ANY OF THE SCHOOLS HAVE A BAKING OR FOOD RELATED CONTEST AS A STUDENT BOARD REP FOR THE SOUTHERN END OF THE COUNTY, THAT WE MUST INVITE YOU IT'S A EXCUSED ABSENCE, THEY MUST INVITE YOU TO BE THERE FOR IT.

YEAH, I BELIEVE SO. YEAH.

AT LEAST INCLUDE A PICTURE.

[INAUDIBLE] I WILL TAKE THE OPPORTUNITY.

WHILE LEVI IS HERE, HE PRESENTED A LOT ABOUT ALL THE HOLIDAY CONCERTS.

WE DO HAVE A LOT KICKING OFF STARTING TOMORROW AT FEDERALSBURG.

BOARD MEMBERS, IF YOU ARE GOING, DON'T FORGET TO CHECK THE BOX ON THE THE GOOGLE SHEET WE HAVE SET UP.

PART OF THAT ALSO THE PRINCIPAL STARTED ASKING US, HEY, WHO'S COMING? WE DON'T WANT TO FORGET SOMEBODY WHEN THEY GET HERE BECAUSE WE TRY TO SCAM THE AUDIENCE.

WE DON'T WANT TO ALWAYS SEE EVERYBODY, SO THEY LIKE TO KNOW.

SO WE TRY TO GIVE THEM A HEADS UP.

USUALLY IF I'M WALKING IN, I'M CHECKING IT AND GOING, OKAY, THIS IS WHO YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO HAVE TONIGHT.

SO THEY'RE GOING, ALL RIGHT, I WON'T FORGET SOMEBODY.

SO IF YOU'RE HITTING ANY OF THEM, MAKE SURE YOU FILL OUT NORTH IS JUST AS BUSY.

SEEMS LIKE WE GOT A PRETTY GOOD SPLIT FEDERALSBURG TOMORROW.

NEXT WEEK IS AN AWFUL LOT OF NORTH END.

THE FOLLOWING WEEK IS AN AWFUL LOT OF SOUTHERN END, AND THERE'S A COUPLE NORTH END ON THE FINE AS WELL, BUT IT'S THERE FOR THE MOST PART.

THERE'S NOT A LOT OF OVERLAP.

BUT LEVI GREAT REPORT.

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU.

WELCOME. YEAH. ALL RIGHT.

FINANCE REPORT ALWAYS.

YOU HAVE A TOUGH ACT TO FOLLOW EVERY TIME.

I ALWAYS FOLLOW THE TOUGH ACT.

GOOD EVENING, PRESIDENT BARTON.

MEMBERS OF THE BOARD. DR.

SIMMONS I KNOW EVERYBODY'S EXCITED THAT THE FINANCE REPORT IS BACK ON THE AGENDA.

IT FEELS LIKE IT'S BEEN A WHILE [INAUDIBLE].

SO YOU HAVE THE FINANCE REPORT FOR THE PERIOD ENDING NOVEMBER NOVEMBER 30TH IN FRONT OF YOU.

WE ARE FIVE MONTHS INTO THE FISCAL YEAR, AND WE SPENT OR ENCUMBERED 74% OF OUR BUDGET.

JUST TO LET YOU KNOW, THIS IS RIGHT IN LINE WITH WHERE WE WERE THIS TIME LAST YEAR.

LAST YEAR WE HAD SPENT AROUND 73% OF OUR BUDGET.

SO WE'RE RIGHT ON TRACK.

SINCE THIS IS THE FIRST TIME YOU'VE SEEN THIS REPORT THIS FISCAL YEAR, I'M JUST GOING TO GO OVER THE OVERAGES THAT YOU SEE ON THE REPORT, SO YOU CAN UNDERSTAND WHY WE HAVE OVERAGES IN THOSE LINE ITEMS. THE FIRST ONE IS SPECIAL ED IN THE CONTRACTED SERVICES CATEGORY.

AND THE REASON FOR THIS IS BECAUSE WE WERE UNABLE TO FILL VACANCIES WITH OUR SPEECH PATHS.

WE HAD A HARD TIME FINDING PEOPLE TO ACTUALLY COME ON BOARD AND BE CPS EMPLOYEES IN THESE POSITIONS.

IT'S HARD TO STAFF THESE POSITIONS.

SO IN ORDER TO PROVIDE THE SERVICES THAT WERE NEEDED, WE HAD TO CONTRACT OUT WITH VARIOUS AGENCIES.

SO IF YOU TAKE A LOOK AT THE SALARIES AND WAGE LINE ITEM FOR SPECIAL ED, THERE'S A BALANCE THERE AND IT'S AROUND THE SAME A LITTLE BIT MORE THAN WHAT WE'RE EVER SPENDING CONTRACTED SERVICES.

SO THERE'S A BALANCE BECAUSE WE COULDN'T FILL THOSE POSITIONS WITH CPS EMPLOYEES.

AND WE HAD TO IN TURN HIRE AGENCIES THAT WERE CONTRACTUAL POSITIONS.

SO THAT'S PRETTY MUCH A WASH.

THE SECOND OVERAGE THAT YOU'LL SEE IS IN THE TRANSPORTATION SALARIES AND WAGE LINE ITEM.

TRANSPORTATION IS VERY DIFFICULT TO PREDICT WHAT WE'RE GOING TO PAY OUT IN SALARIES AND WAGES.

WE KNOW WHAT WE'VE NEGOTIATED, BUT IT'S DIFFICULT TO DETERMINE THE SPECIAL NEEDS STUDENTS, THE MCKINNEY [INAUDIBLE] STUDENTS.

THOSE FLUCTUATE FROM YEAR TO YEAR BASED ON THE SCHEDULES AND THE ROUTES.

ALSO, THE ROUTES WITH OUR REGULAR ED KIDS CHANGE ON A YEAR TO YEAR BASIS.

ALSO, ANOTHER REASON FOR THIS OVERAGE IS BECAUSE WE CHANGED THE WAY WE DO TRANSPORTATION PAYROLL THIS YEAR.

IN THE PAST, AT THE END OF THE YEAR, WE'VE SETTLED UP THEIR HOURS AT THE END OF THE YEAR, SO

[00:55:09]

ONE WEEK THEY MIGHT WORK MORE HOURS DEPENDING ON HOW THE HOW EVERYTHING PLAYED OUT THAT WEEK AND ONE WEEK THEY MIGHT WORK LESS HOURS.

SO AT THE END OF THE YEAR, WE DID A CALCULATION AND THEY GOT A ONE TIME PAYMENT TO SETTLE UP ON THE ACTUAL HOURS WORKED.

WE HAD A LOT OF COMPLAINTS ABOUT THAT.

THEY WANTED TO BE PAID EVERY PAYROLL, WHAT THEY TRULY WORKED.

SO WE ARE EVERY PAYROLL PAYING THEM FOR THEIR ACTUAL HOURS.

SO AT THE END OF THE YEAR, WE WILL BE WE WON'T HAVE TO HAVE A ONE TIME PAYMENT TO SETTLE UP.

AND WE BEFORE WE MADE THE SWITCH, WE DID CHECK AROUND WITH OTHER COUNTIES, AND IT WAS PRETTY MUCH ALL THE OTHER SCHOOL SYSTEMS WERE PAYING THEM FOR THEIR ACTUAL HOURS WORKED EVERY PAYROLL. WE WERE LIKE SITTING OUT THERE BY OURSELVES.

SO WE DID LOOK INTO THIS BEFORE WE MADE THE CHANGE, AND WE DID COMMUNICATE THAT CHANGE TO OUR TRANSPORTATION DRIVERS.

ALSO, WE HAVE USED MORE SUBSTITUTES THIS YEAR THAN IN YEARS PAST.

WE HAVE A COUPLE OF PEOPLE OUT ON LONG TERM LEAVE THAT ARE BUS DRIVERS.

SO THE TRANSPORTATION DEPARTMENT HAS HAD TO CONTINUE TO PAY THESE PEOPLE THAT ARE OUT ON LONG TERM LEAVE, BUT AT THE SAME TIME PAY SUBSTITUTES WHO ARE DRIVING THEIR BUSSES.

SO THAT EXPLAINS THE OVERAGE FOR THAT LINE ITEM.

AND THE FINAL OVERAGE THAT YOU'LL SEE IS FOR CAPITAL OUTLAY IN THE AREA OF EQUIPMENT.

AND I BELIEVE MR. MENGEL HAS BROUGHT SEVERAL OF THESE TO YOUR ATTENTION.

IN PREVIOUS BOARD MEETINGS, WE HAVE HAD LOTS OF EMERGENCIES THAT WERE ONE TIME COSTS THAT WERE NOT INCLUDED IN THIS BUDGET, THAT WE COULD NOT PREDICT, THAT WOULD COME UP AT THE TIME THE BUDGET WAS APPROVED.

THE FIRST IS WE HAD TO DEMO AND CLEAN UP THE HOUSE NEXT TO RIDGELY ELEMENTARY SCHOOL.

THE SECOND, WE HAD SOME WHEELCHAIR RAMPS THAT HAD TO BE BUILT AT DENTON, COLONEL HIGH AND CCTC.

WE ALSO HAD TO REPAIR SOME DRAINAGE ISSUES AT COLONEL MIDDLE AND FINALLY THE REMOVAL OF THE PORTABLE CLASSROOMS AT LOCKERMAN.

SO I'M SURE MOST OF THOSE PROJECTS YOU'D ALREADY HEARD ABOUT, AND THAT'S WHAT'S CAUSING THE OVERAGE IN THAT LINE ITEM.

BUT OVERALL, THESE OVERAGES, WE ARE RIGHT ON TRACK WITH WHERE WE SHOULD BE, AND THERE WILL BE BALANCES IN OTHER LINE ITEMS TO COVER THESE OVERAGES. SO THERE AREN'T ANY ISSUES OR CONCERNS AT THIS POINT IN TIME, BUT I'D BE HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS.

IF ANYBODY HAS ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT ANYTHING THEY SEE.

WELL DONE. THANK YOU.

APPRECIATE YOUR CONTINUING TRACKING OF THIS AND KEEPING US INFORMED AND SEEING THE BRACKETS THERE WILL ALWAYS CAUSE CONCERN.

SO YOU'RE EXPLAINING IT AND THAT'S EXCELLENT.

THANK YOU. ALL RIGHT, NOW, ON TO THE CONSENT AGENDA.

[4. Consent Agenda]

PERSONNEL. OKAY.

GOOD EVENING. MEMBERS OF THE BOARD.

I'M HERE ON BEHALF OF DR.

WILLOUGHBY, WHO IS NOT ABLE TO BE HERE THIS EVENING.

TONIGHT, ON THE CONSENT AGENDA UNDER PERSONNEL, YOU HAVE THREE LEAVES OF ABSENCE, ONE TEACHER APPOINTMENT AND AN ADDENDUM THAT WAS ADDED TODAY, WHICH IS ONE TEACHER APPOINTMENT BY PROVISIONAL CONTRACT OR SORRY, TWO PROVISIONAL CONTRACT FROM A REGULAR CONTRACT.

ALL RIGHT. VERY GOOD. ANY QUESTIONS? BOARD MEMBERS. WE ALSO HAVE MINUTES FROM NOVEMBER, THE NOVEMBER 7TH MEETING AND ALSO THE NOVEMBER 21ST MEETING. ARE THERE ANY ADJUSTMENTS OR CHANGES TO THOSE MINUTES? HEARING NONE. DO WE HAVE A MOTION TO APPROVE THE CONSENT AGENDA? I MOTION WE APPROVE THE CONSENT AGENDA AS PRESENTED.

SECOND. SECOND.

ALL IN FAVOR? AYE.

ANY OPPOSED? ALL RIGHT. CONSENT AGENDA IS PASSED.

THAT BRINGS US TO CITIZEN PUBLIC COMMENTS.

OKAY. THANK YOU.

WE ARE. WE HAVE NO INDIVIDUAL ACTION ITEMS. HOW ABOUT THAT? HAPPY DECEMBER, AND WE'VE BEEN WORKING PRETTY HARD IN THE LAST FEW MONTHS.

YES, ABSOLUTELY. LAST MONTH WAS BUSY WITH A LOT OF THEM.

YES. NEXT IS REPORTS AND PRESENTATIONS, THE 2023 ROTARY CAREER FAIR.

[7. Reports and Presentations]

SO IT'S THE MOMENT WE'VE ALL BEEN WAITING FOR.

WE'VE BEEN WONDERING WHY LINDSEY AND SUE HAVE BEEN IN THE BACK OF THE ROOM JUST WAITING, I KNOW, AND SINCE I AM THE LAST THING BETWEEN YOU AND YOUR EVENING TELEVISION [INAUDIBLE].

HE IS THE LAST THING BETWEEN YOU AND YOUR EVENING TELEVISION CONSUMPTION.

[01:00:02]

IT'S SUCH A GOOD AN OPPORTUNITY TO BE HERE WITH YOU.

I REALLY APPRECIATE IT. RACHEL I THINK YOU ARE SERVING AS OZ.

SO IF YOU WOULDN'T MIND PUTTING THE FABULOUS POWERPOINT THAT AND AND YOU CAN JUST RUN THROUGH THAT.

ALL RIGHT. BECAUSE MY COMMENTS ARE NOT GOING TO BE TETHERED TO THAT.

I JUST KNOW THAT A PICTURE IS WORTH A THOUSAND WORDS.

AND HERE'S WHAT I WANT YOU TO KNOW ABOUT THIS PARTICULAR CAREER FAIR EXPLORATION.

WE ORIENTED THIS TO 10TH GRADERS, AND BY THE NUMBERS WE HAD OVER 105 REGISTER 97. THAT'S MORE 10TH GRADERS THAN EVER BEFORE ATTENDED.

THERE WERE 28 BUSINESS VENDORS.

WE HAD FOUR DIFFERENT WORKSHOPS.

WE HAD 11 TABLE MENTORS AND 10 STUDENT MENTORS THAT WE HAD DEBRIEFED LAST YEAR.

AND WHEN WE ASKED, WOULD YOU LIKE TO COME BACK TO THIS? YOU KNOW SO WE HAD SOME REPEAT ROLES.

IT IS AN EVENT THAT WE LEARN SOMETHING FROM EVERY YEAR.

AND ALTHOUGH ROTARY IS ALSO A SERVICE ORGANIZATION NOT TO BE RIVALED WITH THE RIDGELY LIONS CLUB, I WILL SAY THAT WHAT WE SHARE IS DEFINITELY AN INTEREST AND A COMMITMENT TO STUDENT DEVELOPMENT.

I HAD THE PRIVILEGE THIS YEAR OF WORKING WITH NOT ONLY LINDSEY MCCORMICK, WHO I'VE KNOWN FOR AN AWFULLY LONG TIME, SO IT WAS A REALLY WONDERFUL OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO COLLABORATE AND WORK ON THIS PROJECT TOGETHER.

BUT ALSO ROB [INAUDIBLE] AND THE REMARKABLE GUIDANCE COUNSELOR SUE NORTH AND ANN VIRKLER AND BRAD PLUTCHIK, WHO DID INDEED LOSE HIS COFFEE CUP.

BUT WE DID FIND IT, AND WE DID PLAY A LITTLE PRANK ON HIM DAY AFTER.

I NEVER GOT ANY FEEDBACK FROM BRAD ON THAT, BUT WHATEVER.

BUT I WILL TELL YOU THAT THE WORKSHOPS THAT WE DID, WE NOT ONLY FEATURED FOLKS FROM CHESAPEAKE COLLEGE, WE ALSO HAD SOME OF YOUR OWN STAFF.

MENTAL HEALTH MEANS MENTAL MEANS.

I HAVE MY FILE OVER THERE AND I FORGOT DON'T DON'T GO BECAUSE I DON'T WANT TO MESS UP MY JAM BILL, I HAVE I HAVE A TIMER HERE.

BUT WE DID DO MENTAL HEALTH EQUALS MENTAL WEALTH.

YEAH. SOMETHING.

YES. AS WELL AS SO WE WE AND ALSO HOW TO ROCK AN INTERVIEW WHICH WAS SOMETHING THAT WAS VERY POPULAR FROM CHESAPEAKE COLLEGE AND THE WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM.

SO I WILL SAY THE, THE TABLE COACHES THAT WE HAD A VARIETY OF PEOPLE FROM ALL WALKS OF LIFE, LEADERS FROM JOHNNY MOUNTS OFFICE.

WE HAD ESTHER CURTIS FROM SUN BEHAVIORAL HEALTH.

WE HAD ANGEL PEREZ, WHO IS OUR CURRENT PRESIDENT OF ROTARY AND IS LISTENING TO US RIGHT NOW ONLINE.

SO A VARIETY OF FOLKS THAT WERE THERE TO ENGAGE AND WELCOME THE STUDENTS, I MEAN, WE REALLY SET THEM UP TOO BECAUSE WE INVITED THE STUDENTS TO COME, WE PUT THEM AT ALL THESE DIFFERENT TABLES.

THEY DIDN'T GET TO PICK WHO THEY SAT WITH.

SO YOU INVITE A BUNCH OF UNCOMFORTABLE 15 YEAR OLD'S TO A NEW EXPERIENCE AND THEY DON'T KNOW EACH OTHER.

THERE'S A RECIPE FOR SUCCESS, BUT THEY WERE MAGNIFICENT IN BUILDING THAT.

AND I WILL SAY THAT OF MANY OF THE BUSINESSES THAT WE HAD TALKED WITH, MANY OF THEM CAME BACK TO ME AND SAID, OH MY GOSH, THIS WAS THE MOST ENGAGED GROUP OF KIDS WE EVER HAD.

NOW I'LL TELL YOU SOMETHING ELSE.

IT IS NOT THOSE KIDS THAT WE INVITE AND ENGAGE IN THIS PROGRAM THAT ARE YOUR A AND B STUDENTS.

IT'S CLEAR TO ME, AND ALTHOUGH I'VE CERTAINLY GOT IN THE COMMUNITY A LITTLE PUSHBACK, WELL, WHY DON'T YOU INVITE THEM? BUT THESE WERE AND WHEN I HAD THE PRIVILEGE OF GOING AND TALKING WITH THE KIDS AT EACH OF THE SCHOOLS, THESE ARE THE KIDS.

THEY WERE THE C KIDS.

SOME OF THEM HAVE D PLUSES.

MAYBE A FEW HAD AN E, BUT THEY ARE ON THAT BUBBLE.

AND WHEN THEY ASK, WHY DID YOU PICK US? MY RESPONSE WAS ALWAYS, WHY NOT PICK YOU JUST BECAUSE YOU'RE GOING TO GROW UP? YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE TO DO SOMETHING AFTER HIGH SCHOOL.

WHY WOULD WE THINK THAT JUST YOUR HIGH SCHOOL EXPERIENCE REVEALS HOW STRONG AND CAPABLE THAT YOU ARE? YOU'RE ALL VERY DIFFERENT, AND SO THIS IS AN OPPORTUNITY FOR YOU TO EXPLORE AND ENGAGE WITH PEOPLE.

[01:05:02]

AND BY GOD, THEY REALLY RALLIED TO THAT PERSPECTIVE.

AND WE'RE VERY ENGAGED.

AND THE FEEDBACK THAT WE GOT FROM THE BUSINESSES WAS, WOW, NOW THERE ARE ALL KINDS OF THINGS THAT WE'RE GOING TO DO DIFFERENTLY, AND WE'RE GOING TO CONTINUE TO BUILD ON THE SUCCESSES THAT WE HAVE.

WE MIRRORED THIS PROGRAM YEARS AGO.

THIS WAS, I THINK, OUR SEVENTH YEAR OR EIGHTH YEAR.

WE MIRRORED THIS PROGRAM ON WHAT EASTON ROTARY CLUB WAS DOING.

BUT NOT TO BE COMPETITIVE, BUT WE'RE BETTER.

I'M GOING TO LEAVE IT. AND I JUST WANTED TO SAY, YOU KNOW, FIRST OF ALL, GOOD EVENING.

BUT THANK YOU TO SUE AND HER DEDICATION TO OUR STUDENTS OF CAROLINE COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS.

THIS IS MY FIRST YEAR, ALTHOUGH SEVENTH OR EIGHTH, PURSUE MY FIRST YEAR WITH MY NEW ROLE AND BEING INVOLVED IN COLLEGE AND CAREER READINESS.

IT WAS A PHENOMENAL DAY.

EVEN FROM THE START OF THE PLANNING AND ORGANIZING DOWN THROUGH DEBRIEFING NEXT WEEK.

AND I REALLY THE OPPORTUNITY FOR OUR STUDENTS, THE OPPORTUNITY FOR STUDENTS WHO DON'T ALWAYS GET THAT OPPORTUNITY WAS SOMETHING THAT, AS SUE SAID, A PICTURE.

PICTURES ARE WORTH A THOUSAND WORDS.

BUT IT WAS EVEN BETTER THERE IN PERSON THAT DAY.

THEY WERE FULLY ENGAGED AND VERY GRATEFUL FOR THE OPPORTUNITIES TO BE THERE.

SO FOR THAT, WE THANK THE ROTARY CLUB AND SUE SIMMONS FOR HER LEADERSHIP.

AND I DID NOT DO IT ALONE.

THE ROTARY REALLY STEPPED UP.

I ACTUALLY LOST MY FATHER IN OCTOBER.

SO AT THE SAME TIME I'M HAVING TO PULL THIS TOGETHER.

I WAS LIKE, COULDN'T BRING MY JUDGE.

AND I JUST WENT RIGHT TO THE TEAM AND SAID, YOU ALL HAVE TO HELP, BECAUSE AT THIS POINT, WE ONLY HAVE EIGHT BUSINESSES AND WE NEED THREE TIMES, FOUR TIMES THAT AMOUNT.

AND THEY ALL PULLED IT TOGETHER.

AND I HAVE TO SAY BOARD, YOU HAVE A VERY TALENTED STAFF.

THEY ARE GREAT ALLIES AND PARTNERS.

WE COULDN'T DO IT WITHOUT YOU AND WE'RE GRATEFUL TO THAT TEAM AND LOOK FOR AN INVITATION NEXT YEAR WHEN WE PULL THIS TOGETHER.

WE DIDN'T HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO COORDINATE QUITE THAT LEVEL OF DETAIL.

WE WANT TO ASK YOU TO SPEAK.

WE WILL ASK YOU TO BE ENGAGED IN, JUST WANDER AROUND AND SEE AND FEEL WHAT WE EXPERIENCE AT THIS PARTICULAR EVENT, SO WE ALREADY HAVE THE DATE FOR NEXT YEAR.

IT'S THE DAY BEFORE THANKSGIVING.

THAT'S RIGHT. SO THEY ALREADY KNOW WHEN IT IS AND CHRISTMAS IS EARLY.

SO BUT YES, WE'RE ALREADY WORKING ON DEVELOPING SOME MORE IDEAS AND STRENGTHENING IT FURTHER.

AND IT'S A REAL PRIVILEGE TO TO BE AN ALLY WITH YOU ALL.

DID YOU SAY, NEXT YEAR CHRISTMAS IS EARLY.

THAT MEANS BEFORE THE 25TH.

WE DO HAVE A THIS IS A RECOVERING CHRISTMAS.

THERE ARE ONE LESS WEEKEND NEXT YEAR BETWEEN CHRISTMAS, THANKSGIVING, CLOSER THANKSGIVING AND YEAH, YEAH, EXACTLY THE FOURTH THURSDAY NEXT WEEK.

SO I HAVE A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS BUT I'LL YIELD TO THE BOARD.

FIRST IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS.

I HAVE A COMMENT.

IT SOUNDS LIKE A WONDERFUL EVENT THAT YOU HAD.

MAN I CAN'T BELIEVE THAT.

OH, I KNOW WHAT IT WAS.

I'M DEFINITELY A PROPONENT OF A'S AND B'S.

IT'S NOTHING WRONG WITH IT, BUT I THINK SOMETIMES WE FORGET THAT A C IS AVERAGE.

AND SO I'M HAPPY TO HEAR THAT YOU PULLED, YOU KNOW, A LOT OF OUR AVERAGE KIDS INTO THIS, AND EVEN THOSE WHO MIGHT BE ALMOST AVERAGE BECAUSE THEY GAVE THEM THE OPPORTUNITY THAT SOMETIMES THEY MISS OUT ON.

AND I WOULD SAY THAT WHAT I ENCOUNTERED WERE NOT AVERAGE KIDS.

THERE YOU GO. WHAT I ENCOUNTERED WERE KIDS THAT WERE REALLY PRETTY EXTRAORDINARY.

WHAT I SAID TO THEM AND WHAT I WILL SAY AGAIN, JUST BECAUSE THEIR HIGH SCHOOL EXPERIENCE, I MEAN, YOU'RE TALKING TO SOMEBODY WHO WAS A C AVERAGE IN HIGH SCHOOL, AND I KIND OF KNEW I WASN'T GOING TO HIT MY STRIDE UNTIL AFTER THAT.

EXACTLY. AND HONESTLY, STRAIGHT A'S IN COLLEGE CAN SCREW YOU UP MORE THAN STRAIGHT A'S IN HIGH SCHOOL.

BUT, YOU KNOW, THEY'RE REALLY I MEAN, THEY'RE SO MUCH MORE.

AND I THINK THE OTHER THING THAT THEY REALLY HAD AN OPPORTUNITY TO DO IS EXPLORE A LOT OF DIFFERENT THINGS.

AND THEY DID. PROBABLY THE FEEDBACK WE'RE GOING TO GET NEXT WEEK IS WE DIDN'T HAVE ENOUGH TIME TO TALK TO ALL THE BUSINESSES.

WE DIDN'T HAVE ENOUGH TIME.

SO WE'RE PROBABLY GOING TO BE TALKING ABOUT HOW DO WE STRUCTURE THAT A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENTLY SO THAT THEY DO HAVE MORE TIME? THAT'S GREAT. AND AND YEAH, SO IT WAS A REMARKABLE GROUP OF YOUNG PEOPLE AND REALLY A PRIVILEGE FOR US TO HANG AROUND.

[01:10:08]

AND, YOU KNOW, WE EVEN PULLED IN ONE OF YOUR GRADUATES, DEVIN BECK, WHO HAS BEEN WITH US IN THE PAST TO DO A HE WAS THE ONLY THING STANDING BETWEEN THEM AND 45 PIZZA PIES FROM DOMINO'S.

AND HE SAID, MAN, YOU ALWAYS PUT ME IN THE TOUGHEST SPOTS.

BUT, WELL, HE'S THE MOTIVATIONAL SPEAKER.

YEAH, YEAH, YEAH, YEAH.

I WAS GOING TO ASK ABOUT THAT WAS ONE OF MY QUESTIONS.

THANK YOU FOR THAT. BOARD MEMBERS OTHER COMMENTS.

QUESTIONS. THANKS SO MUCH.

JUST SOUNDS LIKE A TERRIFIC EVENT AND I'M NOT SURPRISED CONSIDERING THE PEOPLE INVOLVED.

BUT STILL YOU STILL HAVE TO PULL IT OFF.

AND SO IT'S GREAT TO SEE YOU'RE STILL GOING 100 MILES AN HOUR.

NO. WHEN YOU WERE COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR, YOU TOLD ME TO SLOW DOWN.

SO JUST MY COMPLIMENT.

YOU'RE STILL SO DEVOTED TO THE COMMUNITY.

AND THANK YOU FOR WHAT YOU'RE DOING.

YOU BRING A LOT AND SO MUCH APPRECIATE IT.

AND IT'S MY PLEASURE IN THIS EVENT.

IT'S JUST AN EXAMPLE OF IT.

THANK YOU. THANK YOU. AND I WON'T TIE UP SINCE APPARENTLY BILL WANTS TO GO WATCH ROTARIAN. BUT REALLY, I SIT IN THAT WEIRD SEAT RIGHT AS ROTARIAN.

BUT ALSO, SINCE THE FIRST YEAR OF DOING THIS, YEAH, IT'S BEEN REALLY IMPRESSIVE AT THE PARTNERSHIP.

THAT'S ONLY GOTTEN BETTER.

YEAH. WE'VE LEARNED A LOT OF WAYS TO NOT DO IT WELL, SCHOOL SYSTEM WISE AS WELL.

AS HAVE I, THE REALLY IMPORTANT THING IS, IS THAT EVERY YEAR WE'VE COMMITTED TO LEARNING HOW TO DO IT BETTER EACH TIME, AND IT JUST KEEPS GETTING STRONGER.

AND I THINK A BIG TESTAMENT AND I'LL GIVE IT TO YOU AND YOUR LEADERSHIP TEAM AND WHAT LINDSEY IS BUILT OFF OF, THE PEOPLE WHO DIDN'T DO IT AS WELL BEFORE IS FANTASTIC AND WONDERFUL AND THANK YOU.

BUT YOU GUYS CONTINUE TO GO BACK TO SOLICIT INFORMATION FROM THE STUDENTS WHO WERE THERE.

YEAH, YEAH, THAT'S THE VOICE THAT MATTERS.

YES. AND IT'S IMPRESSIVE THAT YOU'VE CONTINUED TO DO THAT.

AND IF I RECALL, PROBABLY FIVE YEARS AGO, YOU WERE THE ONE PUSHING ME GOING, WE GOT TO TALK TO THE KIDS.

YOU GOT TO GET ME, GET ME IN FRONT OF THE KIDS TO SEE WHAT THEY THINK.

AND REALLY, THAT'S BEEN ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT THINGS, PROBABLY ONE OF THE BEST THINGS WE'VE DONE IS TO REALLY LISTEN TO THEM.

IT'S REALLY KIND OF A PROCESS.

IT'S A TESTAMENT TO WHAT YOU, MR. JONES, WERE TALKING ABOUT EARLIER IN TERMS OF THAT COLLECTIVE IMPACT.

SO THE THE SUCCESSES THAT WE HAD THIS YEAR WERE BUILDING ON LAST YEAR.

THERE WAS ALWAYS A NEW LEARNING EDGE, BUT IT WAS THAT COLLECTIVE IN TERMS OF IT WASN'T JUST SUE SIMMONS, IT WASN'T ME.

IT WASN'T JUST LINDSEY.

IT WAS THAT COOPERATIVE.

AND EVEN THOUGH IT'S NOT ONE THING, IT'S ALL THE THINGS.

IT'S JUST ENOUGH OF A SHIFT.

AND YOU ALL KNOW THAT THAT INCREMENTAL CHANGE, THAT INCREMENTAL DIRECTIONAL CHANGE.

AND THAT'S WHAT KEEPS ME COMING BACK, THAT INCREMENTAL DIRECTIONAL CHANGE AT THE STUDENT EXPERIENCE LEVEL IS OVER TIME GOING TO THEY'RE NOT GOING THEY'RE NOT GOING THERE.

THEY MAY BE GOING THERE.

I MEAN, IT'S A VERY IMPORTANT AND IMPORTANT TO CREATE THAT SPACE FOR THAT AHA.

THEIR CAPACITY TO SELF DETERMINE TO HAPPEN.

SO AND YOU SAID SOMETHING I THINK I GOT YOUR QUOTE RIGHT.

THEY'RE GOING TO GROW UP.

THEY'RE GOING TO. RIGHT. AND SO THE NOTION OF YOU KNOW CAREER READY COLLEGE READY.

YOU KNOW READY FOR WHAT'S COMING NEXT.

AND THEY'RE AT THE AGE WHERE THEY CAN LOOK AND SEE, HEY, I'M GOING TO BE 16, 17, 18.

THEY'RE GOING TO GROW UP.

THAT HELPED. WHAT YOU WERE DOING, EVERYBODY WAS DOING WITH THIS EVENT IS HELPING THEM PLAN FOR THAT REALITY EVEN WHEN IT'S UNCOMFORTABLE, YOU KNOW? AND THAT'S THE OTHER THING BECAUSE IT ISN'T.

WE ALL ACQUIRE NEW SKILLS AND IT'S UNCOMFORTABLE.

RIGHT. SO THERE'S AN OPPORTUNITY FOR THEM.

YEAH. YEAH. SO IT'S IT'S GOOD WORK.

IT'S REALLY GOOD WORK.

YEAH. THANK YOU. SO THANK YOU.

YEP. THANK YOU. GO HOME AND WATCH TV NOW.

AND PROOF THAT YOU WEREN'T THE LAST THING STANDING BETWEEN US AND WHATEVER ELSE WE'RE GOING TO DO.

[8. Discussion of Items for Future Board Action]

DR. SIMMONS DOES GET THAT OPPORTUNITY TO TALK ABOUT BUDGET PRIORITIES.

CERTAINLY. SO GOOD EVENING.

IT IS THAT TIME OF YEAR WHERE WE START OUR CONVERSATIONS.

REALLY, TONIGHT IS JUST KIND OF LAYING THE FOUNDATIONAL COMPONENTS OF WHERE WE ARE HEADING WITH THE FY 25 BUDGET AND THAT PROCESS.

[01:15:09]

SO, RACHEL, IF YOU CAN GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE, WHAT I'VE OUTLINED BEFORE THE BOARD IS THE TRADITIONAL BUDGET CALENDAR THAT WE HAVE LARGELY FOLLOWED IN THIS COUNTY FOR AN AWFUL LONG TIME.

IT'S NOT A NOT A NOT A BAD CALENDAR.

IT'S A VERY TRADITIONAL CALENDAR THAT WORKS THROUGH DURING THE MONTH OF NOVEMBER.

WE COLLECT OUR BUDGET REQUESTS FROM OUR LEADERSHIP TEAM, SCHOOL BASED AND CENTRAL OFFICE AND DISTRICT LEVEL LEADERSHIP TEAMS. THEY GET SUBMITTED TO THE BUDGET COMMITTEE, WHICH THEN WE END UP REVIEWING ALL BUDGET REQUESTS AND LITERALLY START GOING THROUGH A PROCESS OF, IS THIS A ONE TIME COST? IF IT'S A ONE TIME COST, IT GOES ON ONE LIST OF SOMETHING WE MIGHT BE ABLE TO PICK UP AT THE END OF THE YEAR.

IF THERE'S LEFTOVER FUNDS, IS THIS SOMETHING A GRANT CAN PAY FOR? IF SO, IT GOES INTO A DIFFERENT SLOT OF THIS COULD BE COVERED BY GRANT FUNDS.

WE DO THE WHOLE PIECE OF THIS IS ABSOLUTELY REQUIRED.

WE GOT TO FIGURE IT OUT.

SOME OF IT IS COST OF DOING BUSINESS INCREASES.

FOR THINGS WE CURRENTLY DO, BUT WE CAN ALREADY PROJECT COSTS ARE GOING TO GO UP.

THAT GOES IN ANOTHER LIST AND WE LITERALLY START GOING THROUGH THAT.

YES, WE DO HAVE A LIST THAT SAYS IF THE MONEY TREE ARRIVES, WE DO HAVE THAT LIST THAT OF COURSE, IF FUNDING COMES IN A LOT BETTER THAN WE ANTICIPATED, THAT GOES INTO ANOTHER PILE.

SO WE WORK ON COMPILING THAT IN THE MONTH OF NOVEMBER, WHERE WE ARE AT NOW IN OUR PROCESS.

WE'VE MET AS A BUDGET TEAM TO REALLY COMPILE AND PUT THAT INTO A LITTLE BIT BETTER PICTURE.

AND OUR NEXT STEP WILL BE MEETING WITH OUR LEADERSHIP TEAM, WITH THE A&S, ADMINISTRATORS AND SUPERVISORS GROUP AT OUR MEETING IN DECEMBER, AND WE WILL GO AROUND THE ROOM AND WE WILL EACH DIVISION, EACH SCHOOL BASED PERSON WILL SHARE THEIR TOP BUDGET PRIORITY.

IF THERE WAS ONE THING THEY COULD HAVE FUNDED, WHAT WOULD IT BE? THEN WE KIND OF DO ANOTHER WHIP AROUND THE ROOM AFTER THEY HEAR EVERYBODY'S TOP ONE REQUEST, EVERYBODY GETS TO WEIGH IN.

OKAY, WE HAVE ENOUGH FOR ONE THING.

OUT OF OUR COLLECTIVE GROUP.

WHAT IS OUR PRIORITY? AND IT'S ALWAYS AN INTERESTING CONVERSATION AT THAT POINT BECAUSE IT GOES FROM THE ME TO THE TEAM, AND IT'S DESIGNED TO BE THAT WAY FOR US TO REALIZE THAT OUR RESOURCES ARE LIMITED, LIMITED POOL THAT WE WORK THROUGH, AND WE USE THAT INFORMATION TO HELP GUIDE WHAT GOES INTO MY BUDGET AS WE WORK TO PUT THAT TOGETHER BEFORE IT GOES TO YOU.

SO AS WE'RE WORKING THROUGH THE PROCESS IN JANUARY, WE HOLD OUR JOINT COMMISSIONERS MEETING, AND WE'LL DO THAT AGAIN THIS YEAR IN THIS VERY ROOM FOR OUR JOINT BUDGET MEETING.

JANUARY IS ALSO WHEN I STARTED LAST YEAR, MEETING WITH OUR SCHOOLS AND WITH OUR DIVISIONS TO WALK THROUGH THE BUDGET PROCESS AND SORT OF AT THAT POINT, WHAT BEST WE KNOW ABOUT REVENUES AND WHAT BEST WE KNOW ABOUT POSSIBLE INCREASES OR ADDITIONS TO THE BUDGET THAT WE ARE CONSIDERING.

HISTORICALLY, IN FEBRUARY IS WHEN I HAVE BROUGHT YOU THE MY FINAL BUDGET, MY FINALIZED SUPERINTENDENT'S BUDGET.

BUT I'M GOING TO ASK THE BOARD TO THINK ABOUT.

AND NOT THAT I'M LOOKING FOR DECISION TONIGHT, BUT I'M GOING TO ASK THE BOARD TO CONSIDER A REVISION TO THIS TIMELINE.

THE HISTORICAL TIMELINE FOR BUDGET PRODUCTION WAS DEVELOPED AT A TIME WHERE WE GOT OUR NUMBERS FROM THE STATE FOR KNOWING WHAT OUR STATE REVENUES WERE IN JANUARY.

THAT HASN'T HAPPENED FOR PROBABLY TEN YEARS, IF NOT MORE.

IT REALLY DOES NOT HAPPEN IN THE BLUEPRINT WORLD AS OF RIGHT NOW WITH ALL OF THE UNCERTAINTY.

WHAT I AM ASKING THE BOARD TO CONSIDER, AND WE'LL STILL GO THROUGH THE PRIORITIES, BUT JUST TO THINK ABOUT AND WE CAN DISCUSS IT MORE IN JANUARY.

I'D LIKE THE BOARD TO CONSIDER AN EXTENSION UNTIL APRIL FOR THE SUPERINTENDENT'S FINAL BUDGET COMING TO THE BOARD.

EVERY MONTH, I WILL STILL PROVIDE THE BOARD WITH AN UPDATE OF OUR EXPENSES, OUR ANTICIPATED COSTS, AND OUR INCREASES.

BUT THE VERNACULAR OF ME TELLING YOU THAT I'M BRINGING YOU A FINAL BUDGET WHEN THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY JUST STARTED MEETING AND WE DON'T HAVE REVENUES, IT REALLY IS DISINGENUOUS TO THE BOARD AND TO THE PUBLIC.

IT'S A HISTORICAL PATTERN WE FOLLOWED, BUT IT IS REALLY NOT ACCURATE, AND WE DO NOT HAVE A GOOD IDEA OF WHAT STATE REVENUES LOOK LIKE UNTIL THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY GETS DONE DOING THEIR WORK, WHICH IS APRIL.

WE'VE GOT A REALLY GOOD PICTURE BY EARLY APRIL, AND I'M ASKING JUST THE BOARD FOR THE FOR THE BOARD TO CONSIDER THAT.

AGAIN I WOULD CONTINUE FEBRUARY, MARCH, APRIL, AS WE'VE DONE IN THE PAST OF BRINGING BUDGET PROJECTIONS, WE WILL STILL TALK ABOUT WHAT WE'RE FORESEEING IN THE BUDGET.

WE WOULD STILL KEEP WITH OUR WORK SESSION SCHEDULE, BUDGET CONVERSATIONS THAT WE HAVE, BUT JUST THAT MY FINALIZED BUDGET WOULDN'T COME TO YOU UNTIL THE MONTH OF TILL THE MONTH OF APRIL. WE ALSO HAVE A VERY GOOD WORKING RELATIONSHIP WITH THE COUNTY COMMISSIONERS.

MRS. THORNTON COMMUNICATES REGULARLY WITH MR. FOX AT THE COUNTY OFFICE AROUND REVENUE PICTURES.

[01:20:02]

THE INFORMATION SHARING IS WAY BETTER THAN IT USED TO BE HISTORICALLY, WHEN INFORMATION ONLY CAME TO US, AND THEN WE WOULD HAVE TO DELIVER TO THE COMMISSIONERS PRETTY MUCH THE SAME TIME WE'RE GETTING REVENUE PICTURES.

THEY'RE GETTING IT THE SAME TIME.

THE INFORMATION SHARING IS BETTER PART OF THAT ALSO HISTORICALLY AS A COUNTY, AND I DON'T ANTICIPATE A CHANGE THIS YEAR.

WE ARE NOT ONE OF THOSE COUNTIES THAT WALKS OVER TO THE COUNTY COMMISSIONERS AND DROPS AN ADDITIONAL INCREASE OF 3 4 OR $5 MILLION ON THEM AT THE ASK ON A BUDGET.

WE DON'T. CORRECT.

SO WE KIND OF HAVE THIS AGREEMENT OF WE'RE GOING TO BE REALISTIC.

SO WE KNOW THAT MORE OFTEN THAN NOT, OUR REQUEST TO THE COUNTY COMMISSIONERS IS GOING TO BE MAINTENANCE OF EFFORT OR LOCAL SHARE OR WHATEVER THE REQUIREMENT IS.

THAT NUMBER, ONCE WE HAVE IT, WE TRANSMIT IT TO THEM.

WHEN WE HAVE THE PROJECTED NUMBERS, WE GIVE IT TO THEM.

SO THEY'RE NOT BEING HELD UP BY WAITING FOR MY FINAL BUDGET TO OFFICIALLY GO TO YOU ALL UNTIL APRIL, IF WE WERE TO MAKE THAT DECISION.

SO I JUST GIVE THAT FOR YOU GUYS TO THINK ABOUT.

AGAIN, NO DECISIONS NEEDED RIGHT NOW MY PRACTICE IS STILL GOING TO BE THE SAME, BUT JUST TO CONSIDER SOMETHING FOR US TO POSSIBLY TALK ABOUT IN JANUARY IF WE WANT TO OFFICIALLY CHANGE THAT TIMELINE.

YEAH. WOULD IT HELP IF WE DISCUSSED IT TONIGHT? BECAUSE IF YOU GUYS WANT TO, CERTAINLY, DONNA, IF YOU GUYS WOULD LIKE TO.

DISCUSS THE BUDGET CHANGING CHANGING THE TIMELINE.

YEAH THAT'S FINE. YEAH, DEFINITELY OPEN TO IT.

YEAH. SO I'M OPEN TO THAT.

YEAH. WE TOTALLY CAN DO IT THAT WAY.

NO THAT'S FINE. I DON'T SEE THE POINT I AGREE.

YEAH, NO, I DIDN'T WANT TO SPRING SOMETHING ON YOU ALL EITHER.

THAT'S THE OTHER PIECE. WE CAN MAKE A DECISION TONIGHT.

OKAY SO WE WILL FINALIZE.

WE WILL CONTINUE WORKING.

AND IT'S TYPICALLY IN JUNE.

WE DO FINAL APPROVAL. THE BOARD IS AWARE OF THAT FOR THE PUBLIC.

WE NEED TO WAIT NOT ONLY FOR OUR BUDGET TO BE DONE, BUT FOR NEGOTIATIONS WITH OUR ASSOCIATIONS TO BE FINISHED SO WE CAN FINISH OUR FINAL BUDGET.

OUR FINAL BUDGET IS DUE TO THE COUNTY COMMISSIONERS BY THE END OF JUNE, BASICALLY JULY 1ST.

SO THAT IS OUR DEVELOPMENT TIMELINE.

AND I AM ANTICIPATING SCHEDULING MEETINGS WITH OUR SCHOOL STAFF AND WITH OUR DIVISIONS LIKE WE DID LAST YEAR, TO WALK THROUGH THE BUDGET PROCESS AND HOW THINGS ARE LOOKING.

SO AS A KIND OF BRINGING IT FORWARD, BECAUSE I THINK IT SETS THE TONE FOR WHERE WE ARE BUDGET WISE FOR OUR CURRENT BUDGET YEAR THAT WE ARE IN FY 24.

THIS IS THE PICTURE OF WHERE OUR REVENUES ARE COMING FROM.

THIS IS FROM OUR BUDGET BOOK THAT THE BOARD APPROVED.

PRETTY MUCH THE OVERWHELMING AMOUNT OF OUR MONEY IS FROM STATE AND FEDERAL.

WE KNOW THAT WE GET ABOUT 14% OF OUR MONEY COMES FROM FROM THE COUNTY GOVERNMENT.

THE REST OF IT COMES FROM STATE AND FEDERAL, WHICH IS ALSO WHY WE ARE SO CONTINGENT UPON STATE FUNDING, WHY THOSE NUMBERS ARE IMPORTANT.

I WANT TO HIGHLIGHT IN OUR FY 24 BUDGET, THE RESTRICTED FEDERAL NUMBER IS A LOT HIGHER, AND THAT'S BECAUSE OF AMERICAN RESCUE PLAN MONEY.

AND WE'LL TALK ABOUT THAT ON THE NEXT SLIDE.

BUT OUR RESTRICTED AMOUNTS ARE A LITTLE BIT HIGHER BECAUSE OF THE COVID GRANTS THAT ARE STILL ON THE BOOKS RIGHT NOW.

FOR UNRESTRICTED BUDGET SUMMARY, WHICH IS WHERE WE HAVE MORE SAY AND MORE FREEDOM.

WE PAY FOR MOST OF OUR ITEMS OUT OF THIS AS A SCHOOL SYSTEM, IF YOU ADD SALARIES AND WAGES AND OTHER CHARGES TOGETHER, THAT IN ESSENCE IS OUR SALARIES AND BENEFITS.

THAT'S OUR PEOPLE. OUR PEOPLE ACCOUNT A LITTLE OVER 88% OF OUR BUDGET.

THAT IS VERY TYPICAL OF A SCHOOL SYSTEM BUDGET.

WAS THAT A PRESENTATION LAST MONTH WHERE THERE WAS A NATIONAL SPEAKER ON SCHOOL SYSTEM BUDGETS? AND LITERALLY IT WAS THE RULE OF THUMB IS ANYWHERE BETWEEN 80 TO 90% OF YOUR BUDGET IS PEOPLE.

AND WHEN YOU TAKE PEOPLE OUT AND YOU PAY, TAKE OUT PAYING FOR YOUR ELECTRIC AND YOUR FUEL AND HEATING YOUR BUILDINGS AND RUNNING YOUR BUSSES AND THOSE SORTS OF THINGS, YOU'RE PROBABLY LEFT WITH SOMEWHERE BETWEEN THE NEIGHBORHOOD OF 5 TO 7%.

EVERY YEAR THAT TRULY IS DISCRETIONARY IF WE WANT TO THINK ABOUT THAT.

AND THAT'S YOUR CONTRACTED SERVICES.

THOSE ARE THE MATERIALS OF CONSTRUCTION.

THOSE ARE ALL THE THINGS WE NEED TO DO FOR THE STUFF OF INSTRUCTION.

SO OUR BUDGET LOOKS VERY MUCH LIKE JUST ABOUT EVERYBODY ELSE'S ACROSS THE STATE IN TERMS OF, OF THOSE PIECES.

BUT WHEN WE ALSO TALK ABOUT IF WE HAVE A TIGHT BUDGET YEAR, 88% OF OUR BUDGET IS PEOPLE.

SO WHEN YOU HAVE TO TIGHTEN, IT JUST BECOMES A REALLY BAD SPOT TO BE IN.

IF WE HAVE TO TIGHTEN, WE'RE NOT THERE RIGHT NOW.

WE DON'T BELIEVE WE ARE.

BUT IT'S ALSO WHY IT'S SO IMPORTANT TO GET THOSE NUMBERS FROM THE STATE COMING IN.

SO REVENUE PROJECTIONS OF WHAT WE ARE, WHAT'S TRANSFERRED? MRS. THORNTON TRANSFERS.

THAT'S WHERE WE PAY OTHER AGENCIES.

[01:25:02]

SO OUR REVENUE PROJECTIONS AND THIS IS KIND OF WHERE WE ARE FOR MONEY COMING IN.

GOING INTO INTO THE NEXT SCHOOL YEAR, THE AMERICAN RESCUE PLAN FUNDING ENDS.

SO THE ARPA FUNDS SUNSETS SEPTEMBER OF 2024.

IT'S A HUGE GRANT.

AS A SCHOOL SYSTEM WE HAVE UTILIZED MOST OF THAT FUNDING FOR THINGS THAT ARE NOT STAFF, BUT WE HAVE UTILIZED IT FOR SOME STAFF.

BUT THAT FUNDING STREAM WILL DISAPPEAR, IT WILL END.

WE ARE NOT HEARING OF ANY EXTENSIONS COMING FROM THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT.

THEY CAN'T AGREE ON MUCH.

SO I DON'T THINK THEY'RE GOING TO AGREE TO EXTEND MONEY, BUT WE ARE NOT ANTICIPATING AN EXTENSION FROM THAT.

BUT THAT IS SOMETHING THAT WE HAVE TO KEEP IN MIND WITH ANYTHING THAT WE'RE CURRENTLY FUNDING OUT OF THE AMERICAN RESCUE PLAN, AND WHAT HAPPENS TO IT WHEN THE MONEY ENDS.

SO WE'RE HAVING TO PROCESS THROUGH THAT AS A BUDGET TEAM, WE ALSO HAVE THE SAME EXACT THING FROM MARYLAND LEADS.

MARYLAND LEADS HAS BEEN A FANTASTIC SOURCE FOR US TO PROVIDE, NOT ONLY THINGS LIKE THE NINTH GRADE ACADEMY AT NORTH CAROLINA HIGH SCHOOL, THE YMCA PROGRAM, SOME OF OUR GROW YOUR OWN ACTIVITIES THAT FUNDING IN SEPTEMBER 2024.

IT IS ALSO ITS STATE LEVEL AMERICAN RESCUE PLAN MONEY.

IT'S MONEY THAT THE FED GOT.

SO THE THE PART OF REALLY BRINGING THOSE UP AS WELL IS FOR THE BOARD TO UNDERSTAND.

AND THIS IS AS WE'RE ALSO GOING INTO LEGISLATIVE SESSION, AND YOU'RE GOING TO HEAR A LOT OF CONVERSATION AROUND FUNDING A BLUEPRINT.

THE WINTER CONFERENCE STARTS TOMORROW.

SO I'M SURE IT'LL BE A BIG TOPIC OF CONVERSATION AT THAT.

THE MARYLAND ASSOCIATION OF COUNTIES AT THEIR CONFERENCE IN CAMBRIDGE, THE FUNDING FORMULA FOR BLUEPRINT.

THE INTERESTING THING WITH BLUEPRINT, AND I DO THINK THIS IS A GOOD THING, THE PROJECTIONS ARE DONE FOR HOW MUCH HOW MUCH MONEY SCHOOL SYSTEMS COULD GET FROM THE STATE OVER X NUMBER OF YEARS.

IT'S A DOLLAR AMOUNT PER KID.

IT'S LAID OUT ON A PIECE OF PAPER.

IT'S PRETTY EASY TO SEE WHERE YOU'RE GOING.

THE INTERESTING THING FROM FY 24 TO FY 25, IT'S ROUGHLY ONLY A 1.7% INCREASE FROM ONE YEAR TO THE NEXT. JUST ABOUT EVERY OTHER YEAR IN BLUEPRINT IS ANYWHERE FROM ABOUT A 3.5 TO A 5% INCREASE IN FUNDING SCHOOL SYSTEMS RECEIVE EVERY YEAR. BUT FOR ONE YEAR ONLY, IT'S A 1.7.

AND IT AND IT HAPPENS TO BE, AND IT HAPPENS TO BE COMING IN THE YEAR THAT WE LOSE THE AMERICAN RESCUE PLAN FUNDING.

IT'S JUST A TOUGH TIME FOR THAT TO BE COMING, AND WE'RE WORKING THROUGH AND PROCESSING WHAT THAT MEANS FOR US IN TERMS OF THE OVERALL PIECE WHEN WE'RE LOOKING AT POSITIONS, REQUESTS AND THOSE THINGS.

BUT WHEN WE WHEN WE PUT THE NUMBERS INTO A CALCULATOR, WE'RE NOT LOOKING LIKE IT'S GOING TO BE A BIG DRAMATIC INCREASE IN FUNDING ISSUE.

IF THEIR FUNDING CALCULATOR SHOWS A 1.7% INCREASE IN FOUNDATION, WE CAN PROBABLY ASSUME THAT'S ROUGHLY IN THE BALLPARK OF WHERE WE MAY BE.

WE HAVE ROUGHLY $100 MILLION BUDGET.

I DO NAPKIN MATH.

WE HAVE ROUGHLY A $1.7 MILLION INCREASE OVER LAST YEAR.

AND THAT'S JUST BASIC NAPKIN MATH.

SO I WANT TO GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE, SINCE I'M OBVIOUSLY MR. SHINY RIGHT NOW. ACTUALLY, AS THE TIME I PUT THIS TOGETHER, CURRENT RATE OF INFLATION WAS STILL OVER THREE FIVE, I BELIEVE LAST FRIDAY MORE DATA CAME OUT.

I THINK IT MIGHT BE 3% RIGHT NOW, BUT EVEN IF IT'S 3%, INFLATION IS 3.

OUR INCREASE EXPECTED FROM THE FROM THE FORMULA IS 1.7.

HOW MANY BASIC ALGEBRA THAT'S OUR INCREASE IS ABOUT HALF OF WHAT THE RATE OF INFLATION IS.

HOW MANY PEOPLE ARE GOING TO BE AFFECTED? SO WE ARE WORKING RIGHT NOW MS. WAYMAN TO LOOK AT WHICH POSITIONS DID WE ADD IN OUR ESSER THAT WE REALLY ANTICIPATED MAINTAINING AFTERWARDS? WHICH POSITIONS DID WE ADD THAT BECAUSE OF NEEDS OF COMING OUT OF COVID.

AND WHERE THAT FITS, WE'VE NOT LANDED AT EXACTLY HOW MANY FOLKS IN PARTICULAR WE WERE UP FRONT DURING OUR HIRING SEASON WHEN IT CAME OUT OF THINGS THAT WERE FUNDED BY ARPA AND ESSER.

WE DID INCLUDE ON THE WE TOLD THEM EVERYTHING.

THIS IS A GRANT FUNDED POSITION.

OKAY. SO WE'RE RIGHT NOW, WE TRULY ARE WORKING THROUGH ALL OF THAT BECAUSE AND WE GET TO THAT THAT SLIDE, THAT IS ONE OF THE PIECES WE HAVE TO

[01:30:05]

DO IS WE'RE HAVING TO REALLY LOOK AT WHAT'S BEEN HIGH LEVERAGE FOR US AND TRY TO FIGURE OUT WHAT WE CAN CONTINUE, BECAUSE EVERYTHING WILL HAVE A COST AND EVERYTHING WILL HAVE A TRADE OFF. IF WE KEEP THIS, WHAT DO WE NEED TO STOP DOING OVER HERE, OR IS THERE A NEW GRANT? AND I KNOW SOMETIMES PEOPLE GET CAUTIOUS OVER GRANTS, BUT THAT KIND OF IS HOW CAROLINE COUNTY HAS SURVIVED.

IF WE HAVE OTHER GRANTS THAT CAN COVER THINGS AND THEY'RE STEADY GRANTS, WE TRY TO LOOK TOWARDS THOSE OPPORTUNITIES.

WE HAVE A COUPLE OTHER THINGS WE KNOW THAT ARE COMING.

AND MR. MENGEL'S MENTIONED THIS AT TIMES WITH YOU GUYS WHEN HE'S COME THROUGH WITH ACTION ITEMS AS WE RENEW CONTRACTS.

MULTI-YEAR CONTRACTS WHERE WE LOCKED IN A REALLY GOOD PRICE PRE-COVID OR JUST AS IT WAS HITTING.

WE'RE WONDERFUL.

WE DID REALLY WELL WHEN INFLATION WAS GOING UP AND THE CONTRACTS WERE STILL PRE ALL THAT.

WHEN THOSE CONTRACTS GO UP AND COME IN, YOU KNOW THEY'RE GOING TO BE HIGHER BECAUSE THE COST OF DOING THE WORK HAS DEFINITELY GONE UP.

SO WE'RE ANTICIPATING MULTI YEAR CONTRACTS WILL INCREASE.

SO WE'RE TRYING TO FACTOR IN WHAT THAT RATE OF INCREASE IS.

AND MR. MENGEL AND HIS SHOP IT LARGELY AFFECTS MR. MENGEL'S SHOP. HIS SHOPS AND TEAMS HAVE ALREADY BEEN KIND OF TALKING TO FOLKS TO SEE WHAT THOSE INCREASES SHOULD LOOK LIKE THAT WE NEED TO BE PREPARED FOR.

AND THEN THERE IS THE UNCERTAINTY IN JUST BEING HONEST.

THE UNCERTAINTY THAT WE HAVE OF FUEL PRICES ARE GOING DOWN RIGHT NOW, WHICH IS WONDERFUL FOR ALL OF US DRIVING, GARDENING FOR THE HOLIDAYS.

WE'RE GOING INTO ELECTION YEAR, SO WHO KNOWS IF THEY'LL STAY DOWN OR NOT.

BUT THERE'S ALSO AN AWFUL LOT OF GLOBAL UNCERTAINTY THAT ABSOLUTELY HAS AN IMPACT ON OUR COST OF GOODS AND SERVICES AND MOVING PEOPLE.

AND THOSE THINGS DO HAVE DO PLAY A ROLE WHEN WE SEE THE COST OF THINGS GOING UP.

SO WE EXPECT OUR COST OF DOING BUSINESS JUST SAME SERVICES WILL GO UP, ESPECIALLY ON THE OPERATIONS SIDE.

AND WE TALKED ABOUT TRANSPORTATION.

JUST MOVING KIDS IS GOING TO COST US MORE NEXT YEAR JUST MOVING THEM.

SO THE NEXT SLIDE, IF YOU DON'T MIND, RACHEL, AGAIN AS I'M REALLY BEING MR. HAPPY. THERE'S ANOTHER COST OF DOING BUSINESS.

A COUPLE OF COSTS TO DOING BUSINESS PIECES THAT THAT WE HAVE TO REALLY THINK ABOUT.

AND ONE OF THOSE IS DUAL ENROLLMENT.

AND I WANT TO SHOUT OUT MS. MCCORMICK FOR BEING THE FIRST OF THE MID-SHORE COUNTIES TO BE ON THIS, AND HAS STARTED CONVERSATIONS WITH CHESAPEAKE COLLEGE THAT WE'VE BEEN ENGAGED IN.

BUT I WILL SAY IT'S NOT REALLY IT'S NOT CHESAPEAKE COLLEGE'S FAULT.

SO IN THE BLUEPRINT, WHILE THEY ARE WAITING TO SET THE COLLEGE AND CAREER READINESS STANDARD, WHICH THEY STILL HAVE NOT DONE, EVERY HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT WHO IS ELIGIBLE FOR DUAL ENROLLMENT CAN TAKE DUAL ENROLLMENT AT THE COST, AT THE COST THAT IS BORNE BY US AS THE SCHOOL SYSTEM.

SO AS LONG AS YOU MEET THE MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS FOR DUAL ENROLLMENT, YOU CAN TAKE DUAL ENROLLMENT AND WE PAY FOR IT.

IT'S GREAT FOR THE KIDS.

SO FOR OUR FIRST SEMESTER, DUAL ENROLLMENT COST WAS MORE THAN WHAT DUAL ENROLLMENT WAS FOR US.

LAST YEAR WAS $130,000.

OUR DUAL ENROLLMENT COST IN THE FIRST SEMESTER IS THE EQUIVALENT ALMOST OF ALMOST TWO TEACHERS.

BUDGET WAS. THAT'S ONLY THE FIRST SEMESTER.

THE IN THE BLUEPRINT CALCULATION.

IN THE FUNDING FORMULA, EACH KID WHO IS CCR THE EQUIVALENT THAT'S FACTORED IN FROM WHAT I CAN READ, BASED ON WHAT HAS BEEN PROVIDED IN THE LAW AND THE INFORMATION FROM IT.

EACH STUDENT IS THE DOLLAR AMOUNT ROUGHLY PER KID IS ABOUT $1,000 PER KID CONSIDERED FOR CCR.

IT'S NOT JUST THE ENROLLMENT, BUT A CCR ALLOTMENT PER KID.

YOU ASSUME THEY START DUAL ENROLLMENT IN THE JUNIOR YEAR.

THAT'S TWO YEARS. THEY'RE WORTH $2,000, IN ESSENCE, TO HELP DEFRAY THOSE COSTS.

THERE'S OTHER CCR COSTS $2,000, COVERS TWO AND ONE HALF CLASSES OF DUAL ENROLLMENT, BASICALLY, MAYBE GIVE OR TAKE. THEY TYPICALLY TAKE 800 PLUS PLUS BOOKS PLUS PLUS FEES.

NOW WE'RE PAYING FOR.

WE PAY FOR BOOKS. WE HAVE TO SUPPLIES.

YES, WE HAVE TO PAY FOR EVERYTHING.

PART OF THE BLUEPRINT. EVERYTHING.

AND WE WILL BE TRANSPORTING THERE BEFORE LONG.

WE WILL END UP TRANSPORTING THERE AS WELL.

SO THAT'S THIS IS AN OVER EXPENSE.

EXPENSE WE'RE GOING TO END UP HAVING IN THE FY 24 BUDGET THAT WE HAVE TO THINK ABOUT GOING INTO FY 25 TO ACCOUNT FOR THAT.

AND AGAIN, I'M NOT NOT KNOCKING CHESAPEAKE COLLEGE BY ANY MEANS.

THIS IS WHAT'S IN THE LEGISLATION FOR DUAL ENROLLMENT REALITY.

ONCE THEY SET THE CCR STANDARD THE COLLEGE CAREER READINESS STANDARD, THEN IT'S ONLY KIDS WHO QUALIFY AS COLLEGE CAREER READY CAN THEN QUALIFY

[01:35:08]

FOR DUAL ENROLLMENT.

BUT UNTIL THEY SET IT, IT'S EVERY KID WHO MEETS THE MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS FOR DUAL ENROLLMENT.

AGAIN, GREAT FOR THE KIDS.

THAT THIS HAS BEEN A CONVERSATION AMONGST SUPERINTENDENTS.

THIS HAS BEEN A CONVERSATION WITH LEGISLATORS AS WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THE COST OF BLUEPRINT.

THESE ARE COSTS THAT AREN'T ACTUALIZED IN THE FUNDING FORMULAS THAT I CAN SEE.

I WON'T PRETEND TO BE ERIN.

SHE HAS A MUCH BETTER MIND FOR LOOKING AT AS WELL, BUT SHE'S NOT BEEN ABLE TO FIND IT IN THE FUNDING FORMULAS AS WELL, WHERE IT MATCHES THE TRUE COST OF.

BUT THESE ARE COSTS WE'RE BEARING RIGHT NOW THAT WE'RE WORKING THROUGH.

WE DO HAVE THE LOOMING COST OF GETTING STARTING TEACHER SALARIES TO $60,000.

WE'RE AT $53 RIGHT NOW.

WE HAVE A COUPLE OF YEARS TO GET THERE TO TWO YEARS TO GET THERE.

TWO NEGOTIATION CYCLES.

AND THEN I WILL BE HONEST, THERE'S THE OPERATIONAL COST OF DOING BUSINESS [INAUDIBLE] OPERATIONALIZING THE COST OF THE BLUEPRINT. SO THERE IS THE ADMINISTRATIVE COST OF THE BLUEPRINT THAT ONCE THE FINANCE OFFICE HAS TO START TRACKING THE EXPENSE OF EVERYTHING TO THE SCHOOL LEVEL, WE WILL SEE AN INCREASE IN BUDGET CODES, AN EXPONENTIAL INCREASE THAT WE WILL NEED ANOTHER FULL TIME ACCOUNTING LEVEL POSITION.

WE BELIEVE ONE FULL TIME ACCOUNTING LEVEL POSITION WITH THE RIGHT FOLKS TRAINED UNDER SHOULD HELP US GET THERE.

IF WE CAN GET THE RULES IN PLACE LIKE WE THINK THEY SHOULD BE.

MSD HAD SOME TURNOVER IN THE FINANCE OFFICE, SO WE'RE WORKING ON WE FEEL BETTER NOW WITH THE MSD HIRED AND PUT IN THAT NEW ROLE THAT WILL HELP US HAVE A COMMON SENSE APPROACH TO THIS. BUT THE PIECES THAT FALL INTO WITH THE COST ASSOCIATED WITH BLUEPRINT AND FINANCING AT THE SCHOOL LEVEL AND THE MONEY GOING TO THE SCHOOL LEVEL, 75% OF ALL OF MOST CATEGORIES IN BLUEPRINT HAVE TO BE FUNDED AT THE SCHOOL LEVEL.

SO TEACHER SALARIES, ALL THE TEACHERS AT GREENSBORO WILL BE UNDER THE TEACHER SALARY CODE FOR GREENSBORO ELEMENTARY SCHOOL.

ALL THEIR BENEFITS WILL BE CODED THERE.

WE DON'T HAVE ANSWERS, BUT PEOPLE ARE LOOKING AT WHAT THIS MEANS BECAUSE WE HAVE COSTS ASSOCIATED WITH RETIREES, RETIREE HEALTH.

SO SCHOOL SYSTEMS ARE LOOKING AT DO YOU TAKE THE RETIREE HEALTH COST FROM THE SCHOOL WHERE THE RETIREE RETIRED FROM? AND THAT COST GETS BORNE BY THE PER DOLLAR AMOUNT GIVEN TO THE SCHOOL, BECAUSE THE DISTRICT ONLY GETS 25% TO OPERATE ON FOR EVERYTHING THAT'S NOT AT THE SCHOOL LEVEL.

AND THAT KIND OF ASSUMES THAT PERSON WORKED AT THAT SCHOOL THEIR WHOLE CAREER.

WE WOULD HAVE TO MAKE A DETERMINATION OF WHICH SCHOOL EATS IT.

SO IT'S KIND OF LIKE GOING TO THE HALL OF FAME.

WHAT UNIFORM DO YOU WEAR? CORRECT.

LIKE, LIKE THESE ARE SOME OF THE OPERATIONALIZED THINGS.

BUT ONCE THOSE DECISIONS GET MADE, NO MATTER WHAT THEY ARE, WE WILL NOT HAVE ENOUGH.

WE DON'T HAVE ENOUGH STAFF RIGHT NOW TO BE ABLE TO DO THAT WORK WHEN IT COMES IN.

THERE IS NO WAY.

THAT IS ALSO ONE OF THE THINGS THAT'S NOT INCLUDED IN THE CALCULATIONS WITHIN BLUEPRINT [INAUDIBLE] . IT STARTS NEXT YEAR.

SO WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO REALLY THINK ABOUT THIS [INAUDIBLE].

SO I'M GOING TO HAVE TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO FIT THIS IN THIS YEAR.

SO GOING TO THE NEXT SLIDE SINCE I'M BEING, WHICH ONE OF THESE HAS HAPPY NEWS? SO PRIORITIES MR. BARTON THE NEEDS.

PRIORITY NUMBER ONE NEEDS TO CONTINUE TO BE AND WE WILL WORK WITH THIS AND WITH OUR GROUPS AS WELL.

AND I REALLY DO BELIEVE THIS IS COMPETITIVE SALARIES AND BENEFITS FOR ALL EMPLOYEES.

WE HAVE TO CONTINUE LOOKING AT THAT.

WE MADE GOOD STRIDES LAST YEAR WITH OUR TEACHERS ASSOCIATION, AND WE HAVE CONTINUED WORK TO DO WITH OUR SUPPORT SERVICES GROUP AS WE MOVE FORWARD IN THAT AS WELL, WE HAVE TO CONTINUE TO MAINTAIN REASONABLE STAFFING LEVELS ACROSS THE DISTRICT.

RIGHT NOW, MOST BUILDINGS, WE HAVE REASONABLE STAFFING LEVELS ACTUALLY AT ALL BUILDINGS WE HAVE REASONABLE STAFFING LEVELS, BUT WE DO CONTINUE TO SEE AN INCREASE OF STUDENTS IN GREENSBORO ELEMENTARY SCHOOL.

WE CONTINUE TO SEE CONTINUED ENROLLMENT.

SO WHAT WE WILL HAVE TO LOOK AT AS A SYSTEM WHEN IT COMES TO IT, IS, IS THE ENROLLMENT AT GREENSBORO ENOUGH THAT WE ADD NEW TEACHERS, OR DO WE REPOSITION FOLKS FROM OTHER SCHOOLS TO THERE? THESE ARE THE THINGS WE'LL HAVE TO LOOK AT AND CONSIDER.

[01:40:01]

AND THIS IS MRS. WAYMAN POINT.

POINT. RIGHT NOW WE ARE LOOKING AT WHAT WE'RE USING OUR MONEY FOR IN LEADS MONEY.

AND WE'RE LOOKING AT HIGH YIELD POSITIONS OF WHAT DO WE NEED TO CONTINUE, WHAT HAS SHOWN THE PROVEN THAT WE NEED TO CONTINUE THROUGH OUR CURRENT FUNDING STREAMS T O BE ABLE TO SUPPORT GOING FORWARD, BECAUSE WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO BUDGET FOR ANYTHING THAT WE'RE USING THAT FUNDING FOR RIGHT NOW THAT'S NOT CURRENTLY IN THE LOCAL BUDGET.

AND THE LAST COMPONENT OF THIS IS, OF COURSE, WE HAVE TO IMPLEMENT THE BLUEPRINT AS REQUIRED.

AND THERE'S COMPONENTS OF THAT THAT WE'RE STILL WORKING THROUGH AS WE MOVE FORWARD.

I WILL SAY WE SHOULD SEE AN INCREASE IN FUNDING OF SOMETHING, BUT IT'S RESTRICTED MEANING IT HAS TENTACLES.

WE SHOULD SEE INCREASED FUNDING FOR SOME OF OUR SCHOOLS THAT QUALIFY FOR CONCENTRATION OF POVERTY FUNDING.

SO OUR COMMUNITY SCHOOLS, THOSE INDIVIDUAL SCHOOLS WILL SEE MONEY COMING TO THEM.

SO FEDERALSBURG ELEMENTARY SCHOOL SHOULD SEE AN INCREASE IN MONEY THAT GOES JUST TO FEDERALSBURG ELEMENTARY SCHOOL TO DO THINGS FOR THEIR CONCENTRATION OF POVERTY, GRANT THEIR COMMUNITY SCHOOLS WORK.

IT'S BASED OFF THEIR NEEDS ASSESSMENT.

GREENSBORO SHOULD SEE AN INCREASE OF FUNDING FOR THEM, AGAIN TIED TO WHAT THEY CAN DO.

BUT WE CAN'T USE THAT FUNDING TO HIRE THINGS THAT THE DISTRICT SHOULD BE PAYING FOR, RIGHT? IT'S KIND OF LIKE TITLE ONE IN THAT WAY.

AND I KNOW YOU LIVE IN THAT WORLD MS. WAYMAN.

COLONEL MIDDLE THIS YEAR RECEIVED THEIR FIRST CONCENTRATION OF POVERTY GRANT AS A PERSONNEL GRANT.

NEXT YEAR THEY SHOULD RECEIVE ADDITIONAL FUNDING.

BUT AGAIN, IT'S FOR TARGETED THINGS FOR THAT SCHOOL.

OUR FREE AND REDUCED MEALS RATE HASN'T GONE DOWN.

SO IT'S PREMATURE FOR ME TO SAY WHICH SCHOOLS UNTIL THE STATE GIVES US THE DEFINITIVE AND THEY WILL GIVE US THE LIST OF WHICH SCHOOLS WILL BE ADDED.

BUT IT'S LIKELY WE WILL SEE MULTIPLE OTHER SCHOOLS ADDED AS THE FREE AND REDUCED MEALS RATES MAINTAIN OR INCREASE BECAUSE THE CONCENTRATION OF POVERTY FUNDING IT STARTED OUT AT LIKE SCHOOLS WITH 85% FREE AND REDUCED MEALS.

AND IT STAGGERS ALL THE WAY DOWN TO 55%.

ALL OF OUR SCHOOLS HAVE MORE THAN THAT.

SO WHEN IT'S FULLY IN PLAY, ALL OF OUR SCHOOLS WILL RECEIVE THAT ADDITIONAL FUNDING.

WE'RE JUST NOT AT THAT LEVEL YET.

IT'S A THREE YEAR AVERAGE FOR FREE AND REDUCED MEALS RATE.

IT'S NOT A YEAR OVER YEAR.

SO THE STATE GIVES US A MORE ACCURATE PICTURE OF WHICH SCHOOLS QUALIFY WHEN.

BUT SO IT'S NOT ALL DOOM AND GLOOM PER SE.

OUR STATE MONEY MAY COME IN AND SAY WE GET AN ADDITIONAL AT THE BOTTOM TOTAL, MAYBE $2.5 MILLION, BUT $800,000 OF IT MAY BE TIED DIRECTLY TO HAVE TO GET SPLIT UP BETWEEN THOSE SCHOOLS WHO ARE CONCENTRATION OF POVERTY FUNDING, BECAUSE IT WILL ALL COME IN IN THE SAME SPREADSHEET.

BUT THAT'S WHERE WE HAVE TO INTERNALIZE, KEEP AN EYE ON, THAT'S CONCENTRATION OF POVERTY FUNDING THAT GOES DIRECTLY TO THE SCHOOL FOR THESE THINGS.

IT'S NOT A TOTAL THAT WE CAN USE FOR COVERING SALARY INCREASES AND ADDITIONAL POSITIONS IN CERTAIN ASPECTS.

BUT YES, WE'LL YEAH, WE CAN PROBABLY ASSUME, THOUGH, THAT BECAUSE WE HAVE TWO FEEDER ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS THAT EVENTUALLY, YES, THE MIDDLE AND HIGH SCHOOLS MAY FALL INTO THAT CATEGORY.

YES, THEY ALL I CAN.

I FEEL VERY CONFIDENT ALL NINE OF OUR SCHOOLS WILL GET THERE.

IT'S JUST THE RATE AT WHICH THEY DO.

I'M HOPEFUL WE SEE ANOTHER THREE SCHOOLS ADDED IN NEXT YEAR.

I'M HOPEFUL. CAN'T GUARANTEE MAYBE A LITTLE MORE.

IT'S MY MATH RIGHT NOW AND IT NEEDS TO VERIFY WITH THEM.

BUT WE SHOULD SEE SOME ADDITIONAL FUNDING IN THOSE SCHOOLS FOR THEIR NEEDS.

THAT WOULD AND THAT WOULD HELP FOR SOME OF THE THINGS THAT THEY'RE DOING.

CONCENTRATION OF POVERTY MONEY CAN HELP SUPPORT AFTERSCHOOL PROGRAM.

THEY CAN SUPPORT TUTORING PROGRAMS. IT CAN SUPPORT MENTAL HEALTH PROGRAMS AT THAT SCHOOL.

IT CAN SUPPORT SOCIAL WORKERS AT THAT SCHOOL.

THEY CAN SUPPORT READING INTERVENTION OR MATH SUPPORT TEACHERS IN THAT SCHOOL.

IT JUST CAN'T SUPPORT IT AT THE DISTRICT LEVEL, AND IT CAN'T BE USED OBVIOUSLY OUTSIDE OF THAT SCHOOL.

BUT ALL OF THOSE FUNDS ALSO HAVE TO BE USED AT THE SCHOOL LEVEL.

NONE OF IT CAN BE USED UP AT THIS LEVEL AT THIS POINT IN TIME WITH WITH THE BLUEPRINT THAT WILL ALSO HELP KEEP EXPERIENCED TEACHERS IN THOSE SCHOOLS THAT WILL HELP.

THAT SHOULD. YES, DEFINITELY.

THE HIGHER NEED SCHOOLS WILL SEE MORE FUNDING COMING IN, WHICH YES, WILL MEAN THERE THEY WILL HAVE MORE FUNDING AT THE SCHOOL LEVEL THAT WILL BE ABLE TO MAINTAIN A HIGHER SALARY COST FOR THE INDIVIDUALS IN THE BUILDING, AND ALSO HAVE A HIGHER STAFF CONCENTRATION THAN A SCHOOL THAT DOESN'T HAVE THE SAME LEVEL OF POVERTY AND DOESN'T HAVE THE SAME.

A LOWER POVERTY, SMALLER SCHOOL IS DISADVANTAGED IN THE STRUCTURE OF THE FUNDING THAN

[01:45:02]

A HIGH POVERTY, HIGH POPULATION SCHOOL.

IT'S PROBABLY THE BEST WAY TO DESCRIBE IT.

YEAH, YEAH.

SO WE DON'T HAVE DRAFT NUMBERS YET FROM THE STATE.

WE WILL TYPICALLY WE START SEEING THOSE IN JANUARY.

I'M HOPING THEY DON'T DO LIKE THEY DID LAST YEAR.

DROP IT ON A FRIDAY OF A LONG WEEKEND.

I'M HOPING THEY GET YES, LATE AT NIGHT TOO, AND NOT AROUND TO ANSWER QUESTIONS.

AND A BUNCH OF TYPE-A PEOPLE WHO RECEIVE THOSE EMAILS AND SPEND ALL WEEKEND TRYING TO MAKE SENSE OF THEM.

SO THE MINUTE WE DO GET IT, WE WILL OBVIOUSLY WE'LL SHARE THE INFORMATION WITH THE BOARD OF WHAT WE'RE SEEING, WHAT WE'RE LOOKING AT, AND WE'LL BE TRANSPARENT WITH PUBLIC AS WELL OF WHAT THE REVENUE STREAMS ARE LOOKING LIKE COMING IN FROM THE STATE IN THE MONTH OF JANUARY.

AT OUR JANUARY BOARD MEETING, I'LL BE IN A POSITION TO SHOW YOU OUR FIRST ROUND OF WHAT WE'RE LOOKING AT IN TERMS OF PRIORITIZING NEEDS FOR WHAT'S COMING.

AGAIN, WE WON'T HAVE THE REVENUE LINE AT THAT POINT BECAUSE IT'LL BE FIRST SECOND WEEK OF JANUARY, BUT WE WILL HAVE WHAT OUR NEEDS ARE GOING IN AND POSITION WISE AND KIND OF SOME PLACEHOLDERS FOR HOPEFULLY FOR SALARY.

WE'LL HAVE SOME PROJECTIONS POTENTIALLY AROUND INSURANCE.

WE DEFINITELY HAVE PROJECTIONS FOR COST OF DOING BUSINESS FOR A LOT OF ITEMS, BUT WE'LL BE AT THAT POINT IN JANUARY TO HAVE HAVE A MUCH CLEARER PICTURE, AT LEAST OF THE COST PIECE. BUT I DID WANT TO SET THE STAGE FOR WHAT WE'RE SEEING RIGHT NOW IN TERMS OF REVENUES AND EXPENSES.

SO THAT BUDGET TIMELINE THAT YOU TALKED ABOUT EARLIER.

YES, SIR. AND, YOU KNOW, IT'S A GREAT TIMELINE, A LOT OF TRADITION.

IT WAS A GOOD THING.

WELL, THINGS AREN'T, YOU KNOW, AS WELL USED.

THINGS AREN'T WHAT THEY USED TO BE.

THINGS HAVE CHANGED. AND WITH BLUEPRINT IN PARTICULAR, WE KNOW THERE'S GOING TO BE A LOT OF DEBATE.

IT'S ALREADY HAPPENING AT THE STATE LEVEL.

AND SO THAT BUDGET CALENDAR, IF YOU WILL, YOU'RE JUST INTRODUCING THE IDEA.

BUT A COUPLE OF BOARD MEMBERS INDICATED, I GUESS THREE OF YOU ANYWAY, THAT YOU'RE READY.

WE'RE READY TO SUPPORT THAT CHANGE.

IT'S JUST REALLY THE THE NUMBERS ARE WRITTEN IN PENCIL.

AND SO WHY WHY MAKE YOU HAVE TO MAKE THAT FIRM NUMBER WHEN IT'S REALLY NOT GOING TO BE FIRM UNTIL THE LEGISLATURE FINISHES THEIR WORK.

SO WHY NOT ACKNOWLEDGE THAT IN OUR TIMELINE.

AND IT SEEMS LIKE EVERYBODY'S ON BOARD WITH THAT.

YEAH, I THINK IT'S DUMB TO NOT CHANGE WITH THE TIMES.

JUST GO WITH IT. YEAH.

SO I MAKE THE MOTION WE CHANGE THE TIMELINE TO ADOPT THE [INAUDIBLE].

THAT WOULD BE WOULD BE AN APRIL.

APRIL. YEAH. SO WE HAVE A MOTION AND A SECOND.

DO WE HAVE ANY DISCUSSION? QUESTIONS? COMMENTS? ALL RIGHT. WE'LL CALL A VOTE. ALL IN FAVOR? AYE. ANY OPPOSED? 5 TO 0. AND YOU ARE JUST LOOKING TO INTRODUCE IT.

YEAH. NO, THANK YOU ALL.

IT'S JUST COMMON SENSE.

IT MAKES SENSE. YEAH.

WE'VE REALLY BEEN DIGGING THROUGH THIS, SO I APPRECIATE IT.

WELL WELL DONE. ANYTHING ELSE ON THAT TOPIC? WE'LL GO PLANT SOME MONEY TREES I THINK I WAS RIGHT EARLIER WHEN I SAID THIS TONIGHT.

TOMORROW MORNING.

YEAH, ACTUALLY, MR. BARTON, I WANT TO MAKE ONE LAST COMMENT SINCE SHE'S STILL HERE.

YEARS AGO, I WAS WRITING A GRANT WITH MRS. SIMMONS BACK THERE, AND SHE LITERALLY WROTE INTO THE GRANT APPLICATION.

WE'RE GOING TO PLANT A MONEY TREE.

YES. FOR THE FOR THE SUSTAINABILITY OPTION.

NO ONE EVER CALLED IT.

AND I THOUGHT, WELL, THEY CLEARLY READ THESE THINGS.

YEAH. AND SO, SO I WAS JUST HOPING SHE'D PLANT ONE FOR US.

THAT'S CALLED PLANTING A ZINGER AND SEEING IF THEY NOTICE.

YEAH, WE'LL ALL GO PLANT SOME MONEY TREES AND SEE WHAT HAPPENS.

YEAH YEAH, YEAH.

WHERE IS THAT ONE LOCATED? ALL RIGHT. WE ARE DOWN TO UPCOMING MEETINGS AND EVENTS.

[10. Upcoming Meetings and Events]

WE HAVE OUR CHART.

AND THERE IS A THERE ARE A LOT OF GREAT ACTIVITIES COMING UP.

AND PLEASE, EVERYBODY GO ON THAT SPREADSHEET.

SPEAKERS] AND SOMEBODY HAD SUGGESTED

[01:50:09]

ADDING SOME OF THE DAYTIME.

YEAH WE DID. YEAH. WE GOT THOSE.

THAT'S GREAT. IF WE CAN MAKE THOSE, I'M SIGNED UP FOR SOME OF THESE EVENINGS.

YOU KNOW, SOMETIMES WE HAVE OTHER THINGS IN THE EVENINGS.

I KNOW I DO. SO MAYBE DAYTIME WORK BETTER, BUT ALSO IF YOU MAYBE CAN DO SOMETHING DURING THE DAY AND SOMETHING THAT EVENING TOO.

BUT IT'S A LOT. SO DO WHAT YOU CAN.

THEY'RE ALL FUN. YEAH.

I'D LIKE TO SAY I NOTICED THERE ARE 3 OR 4 OF US SIGNED UP FOR THE MLK MARCH THAT DAY, AND THAT WILL BE GREAT, BECAUSE I KNOW THE LAST 2 OR 3 YEARS THEY'VE HAD BOARD OF ED ON FOR COMMENTS, AND SO IT WOULD BE GOOD TO SEE THAT THOSE OF US AND IT'S A COUNTY WIDE THING BECAUSE STUDENTS FROM COLONEL COME UP AS WELL PARTICIPATE.

YEAH. GOOD. YEAH, I KNOW I'M PLANNING TO BE THERE LAST YEAR TOO.

AND SOMETHING HAPPENED THAT I DON'T RECALL WHAT IT WAS THAT I COULDN'T GO.

SO I REALLY AM LOOKING FORWARD TO THAT.

SO OUR NEXT BOARD MEETING IS JANUARY 9TH.

CORRECT? YES. THE SECOND TUESDAY IN JANUARY.

YEAH. I THINK JANUARY 2ND WOULD BE WONDERFUL.

WE'LL GO WITH IT ALREADY ON OUR CALENDAR.

OKAY, LOOKS LIKE WE'RE AT THE END OF OUR AGENDA.

SO DO WE HAVE A MOTION TO ADJOURN? EVERYBODY WANTS TO STAY HERE [INAUDIBLE].

HAVE A SECOND. SECOND.

ALL IN FAVOR? I MOTION EVERY MEETING.

ALL IN FAVOR? AYE. THANK YOU.

THANK YOU MARK.

* This transcript was compiled from uncorrected Closed Captioning.