I THINK WE'RE GOOD. MARK IS IT GOOD?
[00:00:02]
YEP, WE'RE GOOD. ALL RIGHT.[1. Opening Items]
IT'S BEEN A YEAR SINCE WE'VE MET.THERE WAS A LOT OF THINGS HAVE CHANGED.
I SEE ALL THESE WONDERFUL POSTERS IN THE BACK, TREMENDOUS.
SO THIS IS THE FIRST MEETING OF THE YEAR OF THE BOARD OF EDUCATION, CAROLINE COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS, AND WE'RE A WEEK LATE, BUT I THINK THAT THIS WAS A GOOD MOVE TO MEET TONIGHT INSTEAD OF LAST WEEK, THE FIRST DAY BACK FOR EVERYBODY, AND BUT IT WILL BE INTERESTING BECAUSE WE'LL BE BACK HERE AGAIN IN A WEEK SO I NEED TO RECEIVE A MOTION TO OPEN, BUT BEFORE WE DO THAT, WE'LL RECOGNIZE THAT WE HAVE THREE MEMBERS PRESENT DONNA AND MICHELLE ARE BOTH ATTENDING VIA REMOTE CONNECTION, AND HOPEFULLY WE CAN HEAR FROM THEM, AND THEY CAN HEAR US WELL, BUT WE DO HAVE THREE MEMBERS PRESENT, MYSELF AND TROY AND MARK. SO I'D LIKE TO GET A MOTION TO OPEN THE MEETING.
IF I COULD MAKE A MOTION TO OPEN THE MEETING SECOND.
ALL IN FAVOR? AYE, WE ARE OPEN.
[CHUCKLING] YES. SO WITH THE WEATHER WE DID NOT HAVE THE KIDDOS OUT TONIGHT BECAUSE WE CANCELED ALL AFTER SCHOOL ACTIVITIES.
I'M SURE THERE WERE SOME SOME HAPPY CAMPERS.
PROBABLY HAPPIER WHEN THEY GOT THE CALL AT 5:15 THAT WERE DELAYED TOMORROW MORNING TO GIVE US MORE TIME TO CHECK THE ROADS, BUT EVEN BEFORE WE MADE THE DECISION TO CANCEL AFTER SCHOOL ACTIVITIES, GREENSBORO ELEMENTARY SCHOOL HAD ALREADY COME UP WITH A FANTASTIC SOLUTION TONIGHT FOR THE PLEDGE BECAUSE THEY WERE TO BE HERE, AND MISS KERR HAD HER GROUP GO AHEAD AND ACTUALLY RECORD THE PLEDGE FOR US FOR THIS EVENING.
I CAN'T TAKE CREDIT FOR THE IDEA.
IT WAS ONE OF OUR COUNSELORS WHO'S IN CHARGE OF SGA.
YES. PLEASE TELL HER. THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
[INAUDIBLE] THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
MISS KERR, WOULD YOU LIKE TO TAKE THE COOKIES WITH YOU? [CHUCKLING] I THINK WE CAN TAKE CARE OF THEM.
YOU MIGHT. WE MIGHT NEED A SNACK ON THE WAY HOME.
OUTSTANDING. NO, PLEASE, THANK YOUR COUNSELOR FOR PULLING THAT TOGETHER.
IT'D BE GREAT IF THEY'RE HERE.
WE'LL LOOK FORWARD TO HAVING THEM HERE THE NEXT TIME.
VERY CREATIVE, WHICH IS MUCH APPRECIATED SO TONIGHT'S AGENDA AS HAS BEEN PUT ON THE WEBSITE AND BEFORE YOU, WE NEED TO HAVE A MOTION TO APPROVE THE AGENDA I MOVE, WE APPROVE TONIGHT'S AGENDA SECOND.
OKAY WE HAVE A MOTION AND A SECOND.
ALL IN FAVOR? AYE. OKAY, THE AGENDA IS APPROVED.
SO OUR MISSION, IN PARTNERSHIP WITH FAMILIES AND COMMUNITY, WE PREPARE ALL STUDENTS TO ACHIEVE COLLEGE, CAREER AND LIFE READINESS THROUGH A CHALLENGING AND PROGRESSIVE EDUCATIONAL EXPERIENCE, AND AS I MENTIONED EARLIER, IT GETS BEFORE WE ACTUALLY STARTED THE MEETING, HAVING THE POSTERS IN THE BACK IS ANOTHER REMINDER OF WHY WE'RE HERE AND WHAT WE DO AND WHAT WE'RE FOCUSED ON.
[2. Recognitions]
WEATHER, BUT I KNOW WE HAVE AT LEAST ONE OF THE PEOPLE HERE FOR THE FIRST ONE.YEP. OKAY, I'LL LET YOU TAKE IT AWAY.
SO MRS. MULLIGAN IT IS HERE TONIGHT TO HELP US RECOGNIZE ONE OF OUR NEW NATIONAL BOARD CERTIFIED TEACHERS, WHICH IS NOT AN EASY PROCESS.
[00:05:08]
NO SO MRS. MULLIGAN IS GOING TO WALK THROUGH A LITTLE BIT ABOUT WHAT THE PROGRAM IS LIKE, AND THEN WE WILL DEFINITELY RECOGNIZE AND CELEBRATE OUR INDIVIDUAL WHO COULD JOIN US TONIGHT.SIMMONS, PRESIDENT BARTON, MEMBERS OF THE BOARD THIS IS A VERY SHORT ELEVATOR PITCH ON WHAT IS NATIONAL BOARD CERTIFICATION SO THE NATIONAL BOARD CERTIFICATION PROCESS HAS SOME HAS RESEARCH BEHIND IT TO SHOW THE IMPACT THAT IT HAS ON STUDENTS AND THEIR ACHIEVEMENT.
IT IS A VERY ENRICHING AND IMPACTFUL PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT EXPERIENCE FOR TEACHERS IT IS THE NATIONAL BOARD CERTIFICATION NATIONAL BOARD IS A GROUP OF STANDARDS THAT WERE CREATED BY TEACHERS FOR TEACHERS.
THEY ARE THE ONES THAT ARE SCORING THESE AND 91% OF TEACHERS WHO ENGAGE IN NATIONAL BOARD CERTIFICATION REPORT THAT IT HAS HAD AN IMPACT ON THEIR OWN PROFESSIONAL PRACTICES.
SO IT IS A VERY REWARDING PURSUIT WE HAVE ABOUT 50, A LITTLE LESS THAN 50 TEACHERS RIGHT NOW WHO ARE CURRENTLY IN THE PROCESS, AND WE HAD TWO LAST YEAR WHO ATTEMPTED ALL FOUR OF THE COMPONENTS OF THE NATIONAL BOARD CERTIFICATION PROCESS THE I KNOW THAT DOCTOR WILLOUGHBY WILL BE TALKING ABOUT PILLAR TWO LATER THIS AFTERNOON OR LATER THIS EVENING. NATIONAL BOARD CERTIFICATION WAS PART IS PART OF THE MARYLAND BLUEPRINT THERE IS FINANCIAL INCENTIVE THAT'S ATTACHED TO IT.
THERE'S FINANCIAL INCENTIVE WITH RENEWING BUT I WILL TELL YOU, IT'S NOT ENOUGH IT'S NOT ENOUGH INCENTIVE TO GET YOU THROUGH THE PROCESS OR WE WOULD HAVE A LOT MORE THAT WERE SUCCESSFUL IT'S DEFINITELY A COMMITMENT TO YOUR PRACTICE AS A PROFESSIONAL.
OKAY. THERE ARE THIS IS A LIST.
IF YOU'RE AT HOME AND YOU WANT TO PULL THIS UP.
THESE ARE ALL THE CONTENT AREAS THAT ARE ASSESSED IN THE NATIONAL BY THE NATIONAL BOARD STANDARDS, AND MRS. WATERS IS HERE TONIGHT, AND SHE DID READING LITERACY.
YES AND THE CONTENT, THERE ARE CONTENT AREAS, BUT THEN THERE ARE ALSO DEVELOPMENTAL LEVELS.
SO IT PRETTY MUCH COVERS EVERYTHING THAT WE TEACH IN OUR K TO 12 SYSTEM.
THE BIGGEST ONE IS COMPONENT ONE.
THAT'S YOUR CONTENT KNOWLEDGE.
GO AHEAD SO THE FIRST IS THAT COMPUTER TEST.
IT IS, I WOULD SAY, AN AUTHENTIC ASSESSMENT OF YOUR CONTENT KNOWLEDGE.
THIS IS A CLASSROOM BASED PORTFOLIO IF YOU CAN KEEP GOING.
RACHEL THE COMPONENT THREE IS YOUR TEACHING PRACTICE AND THE LEARNING ENVIRONMENT.
TEACHERS CREATE VIDEOS OF THEIR INSTRUCTION.
THEY ANALYZE THOSE VIDEOS AND THEN THEY SUBMIT ALL OF THOSE ARTIFACTS AND THE VIDEOS ELECTRONICALLY TO THE NATIONAL BOARD, AND THEN COMPONENT FOUR IS EFFECTIVE AND REFLECTIVE PRACTITIONER.
THIS IS ABOUT USING EVIDENCE STUDENT EVIDENCE IN YOUR LEARNING AND USE OF PRACTICE OF ASSESSMENTS AND ASSESSMENT PRACTICES. SO IT'S A TRULY AUTHENTIC EVALUATION OF A TEACHER'S EFFECTIVENESS IN THE CLASSROOM, AND IT'S DRIVEN BY THE TEACHER, HIM OR HERSELF.
SO JOINING THE RANKS, WE HAVE OUR CURRENT NBC TEACHERS ARE JESSICA ANDRES, KEVIN WEBSTER, MIRTA BRADNER, JEANNINE NECESSARY AND DOCTOR ROB WILLOUGHBY I'M HAPPY TO CONGRATULATE AMY SUNDT.
UNFORTUNATELY, SHE WAS NOT ABLE TO BE WITH US TONIGHT.
WEATHER KEPT HER AWAY BUT WE HAVE WITH US SARAH WATERS.
SARAH IS FROM GREENSBORO ELEMENTARY SCHOOL.
SHE DID HER CERTIFICATION IN EARLY AND MIDDLE CHILDHOOD, AND THIS IS READING AND LANGUAGE ARTS, AND, SARAH, I HAVE A CERTIFICATE FOR YOU IT'S A CERTIFICATE OF RECOGNITION.
[00:10:01]
I KNOW THEY'RE GOING TO WANT TO TAKE YOUR PICTURE.YEAH. SO MS. WATERS, WHILE YOU'RE COMING UP FOR THE PICTURE, SARAH, WHILE YOU'RE COMING UP, I JUST WANT TO SAY I WANT TO THANK YOU FOR TAKING THE STEP FOR THE NBC.
IT IS NO JOKE, AS MRS. MULLIGAN POINTED OUT, IT'S A TREMENDOUS AMOUNT OF WORK IT'S A LOT OF REFLECTIVE PRACTICE ON YOU AS AN INDIVIDUAL, AND PUTTING YOURSELF OUT THERE IS A CHALLENGE.
IT'S TOUGH SO I APPRECIATE EVERYTHING YOU DID FOR IT.
IT'S ALSO A MAJOR COMPONENT OF BLUEPRINT AND YOU TRULY ARE ONE OF THE FIRST TO MOVE THROUGH THIS PROCESS SINCE THE BLUEPRINT HAS BEEN LAUNCHED, WHICH IS IMPRESSIVE AND TO MOVE THROUGH IT AS QUICKLY AND AS WELL AS YOU HAD IS AWESOME KIDS AT GREENSBORO WILL BENEFIT TREMENDOUSLY FROM IT, AND I KNOW YOU WILL OVER YOUR CAREER, AND I HOPE WE'RE RECOGNIZING YOU AGAIN IN FIVE YEARS FOR A RENEWAL.
OKAY, WE CAN PHOTOSHOP MICHELE AND DONNA IN.
WE HOPE TO HAVE MANY MORE NBC'S TO COME.
[INAUDIBLE]. WELL, THANK YOU FOR THAT PRESENTATION. THAT WAS VERY ENLIGHTENING.
HELP US UNDERSTAND BETTER WHAT IT'S ABOUT.
WE'VE HEARD ABOUT IT, BUT THAT REALLY, YOU KNOW, FILLED IN A LOT OF BLANKS FOR US.
YES. SO THE NEXT RECOGNITION I AM EXCITED FOR THIS EVENING.
NOVEMBER 30TH. CORRECT? THE 27TH. 27TH, IT WAS THE MONDAY OF THAT WEEK.
IT WAS THAT MONDAY I HAD THE PLEASURE THAT MONDAY OF GOING TO SALISBURY UNIVERSITY TO SIT IN ON A PUBLIC DEFENSE OF A DISSERTATION WHICH WAS FUN, BUT IT WAS ALSO EXCITING TO, TO BE THERE TO SUPPORT OUR OWN AT THAT POINT IN TIME.
MRS. CREBS, AS SHE WAS GOING THROUGH THE PROCESS OF DEFENDING HER DISSERTATION, AND THE COOL THING OF THAT IS, ONCE YOU'RE DONE AND YOU GET DONE ANSWERING ALL THE QUESTIONS, THE BEST PART IS AT THE END OF IT, THEY COME TO TELL YOU, CONGRATULATIONS, DOC.
IT'S AN AWESOME THING THAT ANYBODY WHO'S BEEN THROUGH THE PROCESS, YOU DON'T FORGET THAT MOMENT, YOU DON'T FORGET THE EXPERIENCE BECAUSE IT KIND OF IT'S A LOT OF YEARS OF HARD WORK AND IT PAYS OFF I WAS THRILLED TO BE THERE, TO BE PART OF IT TO BE ABLE TO SUPPORT AND NOT ASK CHALLENGING QUESTIONS, BUT SUPPORT.
SHE WOULD HAVE HANDLED IT ANYWAY, BUT IT DOES BRING ME GREAT PLEASURE TONIGHT TO BE ABLE TO FORMALLY INTRODUCE IN FRONT OF THE BOARD AND HONESTLY, SCHOOL SYSTEM WISE, PUBLICLY FOR THE FIRST TIME DR.
SARAH DID A FANTASTIC JOB WITH HER DEFENSE.
DISSERTATION WAS VERY WELL DONE.
SHE EARNED HER DOCTORATE FROM SALISBURY UNIVERSITY IN CONTEMPORARY LITERACY STUDIES AND AGAIN, SHE DID A FANTASTIC JOB, AN OUTSTANDING JOB, AND WE'RE HERE TO CONGRATULATE YOU AND RECOGNIZE YOU FOR THAT OUTSTANDING ACCOMPLISHMENT.
SEE THE BEST THING OF IT, DOCTOR CREBS-OBERDORF IS IT'S DONE RIGHT.
IT'S A GREAT JOURNEY, BUT BEING DONE IS JUST FANTASTIC.
[INAUDIBLE] ASK THIS QUESTION, BUT KIND OF BOGGLES MY MIND.
[00:15:03]
AS OTHERS OF YOU HAVE BEEN THROUGH THAT.HOW DO YOU DO THAT AND CARRY OUT THAT CHALLENGING DAILY JOB YOU HAVE? I MEAN, THAT'S JUST AMAZING.
WHAT AN ACCOMPLISHMENT, AND THERE'S OTHER PEOPLE IN THE ROOM CAN ANSWER THAT SAME QUESTION IF THEY COULD, BUT THAT'S VERY IMPRESSIVE THERE'S PEOPLE I KNOW THAT'S BEEN THEIR FULL TIME JOB PURSUING THAT PHD, AND TO DO THAT WHILE YOU'RE WORKING, ESPECIALLY THE KIND OF WORK YOU DO AND THE JOB YOU DO.
NOT NOT ENOUGH SLEEP, PROBABLY, BUT I DON'T KNOW.
GOOD FOR YOU. CONGRATULATIONS.
ALL RIGHT, SO THAT'S THE SUBLIME.
WOULD WE ARE WE GOING INTO THE [INAUDIBLE]? THE BOARD MEMBER REPORTS SO WE WERE MISSING A REPORT OR SO FROM.
[3. Reports]
THAT'S KIND OF A DIG, ISN'T IT? YEAH SO WE'RE JUST GOING TO DO THIS VERBALLY TONIGHT.WE DON'T HAVE SOMETHING UP ON THE SCREEN TO GO OVER.
SO, MARK, IF YOU'D LIKE TO GO FIRST.
SURE. I WOULD JUST SAY DECEMBER WAS A BUSY MONTH WITH PARADES, CONCERTS TAKES A LOT OF WORK ON THE PART OF OUR STAFF TO TO PUT THOSE ON AND THE PARENTS AND THE STUDENTS THAT ARE INVOLVED IN ALL THAT.
SO I HAD A GOOD TIME GOING TO THE DIFFERENT EVENTS, AND THAT'S JUST ABOUT IT.
THANK YOU. TROY I JUST WANTED TO POINT OUT THAT I WAS ACTUALLY ABLE TO ATTEND ONE OF MY FIRST LEGISLATIVE MEETING IN DECEMBER THAT WAS SOMETHING THAT I LISTENED TO.
SO IT'S A LOT, AND WE JUST HAD ONE YESTERDAY, SO IT WAS ANOTHER ONE TAKING A LOT OF INFORMATION IN THAT'S COMING, AND IT'S COMING DOWN THE [INAUDIBLE] AND I WAS ACTUALLY ALSO ABLE TO GO TO COLONEL RICHARDSON MIDDLE'S WINTER CONCERT, WHICH WAS GREAT.
YEAH, I KNOW WE'LL TALK ABOUT THE LEGISLATURE LATER IN THE AGENDA, BUT IT'S ALWAYS JUST FASCINATING TO ME WHEN THE LEGISLATIVE SESSION STARTS, THERE SEEMS TO BE AN INCREASE IN WIND, AND OFTENTIMES IT'S HOT AIR.
IT JUST HOW MANY YEARS THAT ACTUALLY HAPPENED? SO OUR REMOTE CONNECTORS THERE, MICHELE, WOULD YOU LIKE TO GO NEXT? OKAY I ATTENDED SEVERAL OF THE HOLIDAY CONCERTS, AND THEY WERE ALL VERY, VERY WELL DONE, AND I ONE OF THE THING I'D LIKE TO HIGHLIGHT IS I ATTENDED A VIRTUAL WEBINAR ON RURAL EDUCATION, AND IT WAS VERY INFORMATIVE ABOUT THE THE GOOD THINGS AND THEN THE THINGS THAT RURAL SCHOOL SYSTEMS STAND IN NEED OF, AND IT'S GOING TO BE CONTINUED AT THE NATIONAL CONFERENCE IN APRIL.
SO I DO INTEND TO FOLLOW UP WITH ATTENDING THAT BOARD OF EDUCATION.
DONNA, DO YOU HAVE A REPORT FOR US? SHE CAN HEAR. OKAY, SO JUST REPEATING WHAT RACHEL SAID SO DONNA CAN HEAR US, BUT WE'RE HAVING A HARD TIME GETTING HER THE AUDIO FROM HER.
SO SO FOR ME, A LITTLE DIFFERENT TACT DECEMBER HAS ALL THOSE GREAT EVENTS THAT EVERYBODY WAS TALKING ABOUT AND WHAT I WANT TO TALK ABOUT IS SOMETHING THAT ACTUALLY HAPPENED LAST WEEK, BUT IT'S SINCE THE LAST MEETING AND I ACCOMPANIED DOCTOR SIMMONS OR ACTUALLY MET HIM THERE AT PRESTON ELEMENTARY FOR HIM TO MEET WITH STAFF THERE AND TALK ABOUT THE BUDGET, THE BUDGET PROCESS, THE BUDGET PROSPECTS.
IT SOUNDS LIKE KIND OF A BORING TOPIC, RIGHT? IT'S NOT REALLY.
I MEAN, IT'S THE FUEL THAT RUNS THE ENGINE, SO TO SPEAK, BUT HE DID AN OUTSTANDING JOB.
FIRST OF ALL, HIS PRESENTATION WAS VERY GOOD, VERY CLEAR, VERY CONCISE.
THE THING THAT REALLY STRIKES AND I DIDN'T HAVE REALLY ANY SPECIFIC COMMENTS PREPARED FOR THEM, BUT I SAID THIS AT THE TIME YOU'LL SEE THIS IN DENTON WHEN WHEN HE'S THERE. I'M NOT SURE WHAT THAT DATE IS, BUT HE'S GOING TO BE GOING TO EACH AND EVERY ONE OF THOSE SCHOOLS, AND I'M LIKELY GOING TO BE WITH HIM AT EVERY ONE OF THEM, JUST AS A BOARD REPRESENTATIVE, IF YOU WILL, BUT THE THING THAT STRIKES ME AND I COMMENTED THAT DAY, THIS IS WHAT THE VALUE YOU GET IN A SMALL SCHOOL SYSTEM, YOU'RE NOT GOING TO SEE THE SUPERINTENDENT GO TO EVERY ONE OF THOSE SCHOOLS AT ANNE ARUNDEL COUNTY, FOR EXAMPLE.
HOW COULD THEY EVER DO THAT? OR MONTGOMERY OR PRINCE GEORGE'S OR BALTIMORE OR MANY OTHERS, AND HOPEFULLY OTHER SCHOOL SYSTEMS THAT ARE CLOSER TO OUR SIZE, THEIR SUPERINTENDENTS THAT ARE COMMITTED TO HAVING
[00:20:08]
THAT DIRECT CONTACT AND IT JUST REALLY IS POWERFUL.SO I JUST WANTED TO ACKNOWLEDGE THAT, AND I THINK IT'S A COMMITMENT ON DOCTOR SIMMONS PART, BUT ALSO AGAIN, A REFLECTION OF THE SYSTEM WE HAVE AND TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE VALUES YOU HAVE OF A SMALL SYSTEM.
THERE'S SO MANY TIMES WE'RE OVERWHELMED BY ALL THE DEMANDS PUT ON OUR SYSTEM THAT ARE PUT ON THE LARGER SYSTEMS. WE HAVE BIGGER STAFF AND MORE MONEY TO DO THOSE THINGS.
IT'S A GOOD THING. SO THAT'S MY REPORT, AND WE CAN NOW MOVE ON TO DOCTOR SIMMONS REPORT.
OKAY. SO MINE'S GOING TO BE VERY BRIEF BECAUSE I ORIGINALLY WAS GOING TO REPORT OUT LATER IN THE MEETING BECAUSE I'VE GOT A COUPLE OF THE REPORTS AND PRESENTATIONS BUT I DID WANT TO HIGHLIGHT ONE THING THAT ACTUALLY I WAS MADE AWARE OF TODAY, AND I WAS GLAD I WAS MADE AWARE OF.
SORRY, IS MARYLAND SCHOOL BOARD RECOGNITION MONTH.
SAW THAT TODAY SO I THANK OUR STAFF MEMBER WHO SHARED THAT WITH ME.
IT WAS A WONDERFUL POST BY THE GOVERNOR DECLARING THIS MONTH AS THAT AND I DID WANT TO TAKE A MOMENT TO JUST THANK OUR BOARD NOT EVERYBODY SEES WHAT A SCHOOL BOARD DOES I KNOW WE HAVE TWO, TWO MEMBERS WHO WILL NEED TO DECIDE WITH AN OPEN SEAT COMING UP IN THE NEXT ELECTION YEAR NO PRESSURE ON ANY OF THEM BUT THE SCHOOL BOARD IS A THANKLESS JOB THEY WORK VERY HARD AT THEIR JOB.
SUPPORT AND GOVERNANCE WE ARE LUCKY AND WE ARE BLESSED TO HAVE THE BOARD.
WE DO WE HAVE FIVE VERY COMMITTED MEMBERS THAT ARE VERY COMMITTED TO OUR STAFF AND OUR KIDS AND NO DOUBT ABOUT IT, AND THERE'S NOT A QUESTION ABOUT THAT AND AS A COMMUNITY, WE ARE BLESSED TO HAVE THE FOLKS WE DO WHO ARE ALL HERE FOR THE RIGHT REASONS EVERY MONTH, EVERY DAY HERE FOR ALL THE RIGHT REASONS, AND IT'S APPRECIATED AND IT'S NOT TAKEN FOR GRANTED.
SO I THANK EVERYBODY FOR WHAT THEY DO AND ENCOURAGE EVERYBODY ELSE.
HEY, THANK A BOARD MEMBER THIS MONTH IT'S A TOUGH JOB THAT NOT EVERYBODY UNDERSTANDS SO AGAIN, I APPRECIATE EVERYBODY'S WORK AND SUPPORT AS WE MOVE FORWARD BUT THANK YOU ALL.
YEAH. WOULD IT BE OUT OF LINE? I KNOW IT'S TYPICAL OF ME, [CHUCKLING] BUT MAY HAS FACILITATED.
I'M SORRY I WASN'T ABLE TO BRING IT WITH ME.
GOT IT, AND PUT IN THE MAIL BEFORE THEY KNEW THAT I WAS COMING HERE TONIGHT, BUT IN THE MAIL.
LATER THIS WEEK IS AN OFFICIAL PROCLAMATION FROM THE GOVERNOR DECLARING IN RECOGNITION OF JANUARY BEING SCHOOL BOARD APPRECIATION MONTH, AWESOME, AS WELL AS A CERTIFICATE OF APPRECIATION FROM THE MARYLAND STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION SIGNED BY CLARENCE CRAWFORD, PRESIDENT OF THE STATE BOARD, AND MYSELF ON BEHALF OF MABE.
SO THOSE TWO DOCUMENTS ARE FORTHCOMING.
THEY ARE NOT FRAMED, BUT THEY ARE VERY FLAMMABLE, AND SO WE HOPE THAT YOU DO SEE FIT TO FRAME.
THEM AND DISPLAY THEM PROUDLY HERE BECAUSE IT IS A THANKLESS JOB MORE SO TODAY THAN EVER IN THAT BUT YOU'RE DOING IT FOR THE RIGHT REASON, AND THAT'S FOR KIDS, AND SO NEVER LOSE SIGHT OF THAT, BUT I DO WANT TO EXPRESS ON BEHALF OF MAY OUR SINCERE APPRECIATION FOR YOUR VOLUNTEER EFFORTS, BECAUSE WHILE YOU DO RECEIVE A STIPEND, IT IS A PITTANCE COMPARED TO THE TIME THAT YOU PUT FORTH.
SO THANK YOU. THANK YOU BILL, AND IT SHOULD BE HERE IN TIME FOR NEXT WEEK'S MEETING.
YEAH. SO WE CAN MAKE SURE WE GET THAT TO YOU NEXT WEEK.
I THINK I CAN SAFELY SPEAK FOR THE ENTIRE BOARD TO SAY IT'S AN HONOR TO DO THIS.
IT REALLY FEELS TERRIFIC, AND FOR ME PERSONALLY, THIS IS ALONG THE ROUTE WHERE I WALK MY DOG.
SO WHEN I COME UP FROM MY HOUSE AND WALK DOWN, YOU KNOW, PAST ON MARKET STREET, AND I COME UP ON THAT SIDE OF OUR BUILDING, MY DOG KNOWS TO CROSS THE STREET TO COME OVER INTO THIS PARKING LOT.
I DON'T KNOW HOW, BUT IF I'M NOT COMING THAT WAY, SHE MAKES ME GO THAT WAY.
NOW, I DON'T THINK IT'S BECAUSE SHE WANTS TO COME TO THE CENTRAL OFFICE.
I THINK IT'S BECAUSE IT'S ON THE WAY HOME, BUT NONETHELESS, MY DOG IS PUSHING ME TO COME TO THIS BUILDING, AND SO IT JUST, BUT IT IS THE KIND OF TASK FOR ALL OF US THAT IS JUST IT IS REWARDING.
[00:25:04]
BE PART OF IT.OKAY. ANYBODY ELSE WANT TO COMMENT? DO YOU WANT TO MICHELE? I'M GOOD. I'M JUST SAYING THANK YOU DOCTOR SIMMONS, FOR THE REMARKS, AND IT IS A JOB THAT I ENJOY, [INAUDIBLE].
THANK YOU MICHELE. WE HAVE ONE STUDENT.
WE DON'T WANT THEM TAKING THAT CHANCE, AND BUT WE HAVE ONE OF US, ONE OF THEM WITH US.
SO, LESLIE, IF YOU'RE THERE, WE'D LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU.
I'M SORRY I COULDN'T BE THERE, BUT UNFORTUNATELY, ONE OF THE THINGS I'M NOT GOOD AT IS DRIVING THROUGH THE RAIN; [CHUCKLING] SO, I DECIDED TO NOT TRY MY CHANCES WITH THAT BUT THE SUMMER WAS A VERY BUSY MONTH, AND A LOT OF SCHOOLS ARE TRYING TO JUST SETTLE INTO THE NEW YEAR.
SO WE'RE GOING TO START OFF WITH OUR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS OVER AT PRESTON ELEMENTARY, PRINCIPAL CREBS WANTS EVERYONE TO KNOW THAT THE STAFF THERE ARE APPROACHING THE NEW YEAR WITH OPTIMISM, ENTHUSIASM, AND A SHARED COMMITMENT TO CREATING A POSITIVE AND IMPACTFUL LEARNING ENVIRONMENT FOR THE STUDENTS.
SO I'M SURE THE KIDS WILL ENJOY THAT OVER AT RES, PRINCIPAL SUTTON WANTS EVERYONE TO KNOW THAT, AS ALWAYS, RES IS WILD ABOUT LEARNING.
THIS MONTH THEY ARE HAVING THEIR PTA MEETING ON THE 17TH AT 6:30, AND THEN ON THE 24TH THEY'LL HAVE THEIR TITLE ONE FAMILY ENGAGEMENT ACADEMIC NIGHT.
SO MAKE SURE FOR FAMILIES WITH CHILDREN, YOU GO TO SCHOOL THERE THAT'S SOMETHING TO LOOK OUT FOR, AND THEN OVER AT GREENSBORO ELEMENTARY THEY STARTED OFF THIS NEW YEAR WITH THEIR ONE SCHOOL, ONE BOOK KICKOFF ASSEMBLY WHERE THEY WELCOME BACK HUMPHREY THE HAMSTER FOR ANOTHER YEAR ON THE 16TH, THEIR AFTER SCHOOL WINTER SESSION WILL BEGIN, AND THEN ON THE 23RD, THEY WILL HAVE THEIR ONE SCHOOL, ONE BOOK, FAMILY ACADEMIC NIGHT WHERE FAMILIES CAN JUST COME IN, FIGURE OUT WHO HUMPHREY THE HAMSTER IS, WHY THEIR KIDS ARE OBSESSED WITH HIM AND THEN ON THE 30TH, THEIR YOUNG GENTLEMAN'S CLUB, AND THEIR HONEYBEE CLUB WILL BEGIN IT'S AN EIGHT WEEK PROGRAM FOR BOYS AND GIRLS IN THE FIFTH GRADE, AND THEN OVER AT THE UPPER SCHOOLS AT LOCKERMAN LAST YEAR, [INAUDIBLE] THE MUSIC STUDENTS, THEY HAD THE WONDERFUL OPPORTUNITY TO PERFORM AT THE ANNUAL DENTON HOLIDAY PARADE AND THE TALBOT HOSPICE FESTIVAL OF TREES. A HUGE SHOUT OUT TO [INAUDIBLE] AND MR. POTTER AND THEIR STUDENTS FOR HAVING SEVERAL SEVERAL GREAT PERFORMANCES.
I WAS ABLE TO MAKE IT OUT TO THE PARADE.
I WAS REALLY JUST BLOWN AWAY BY THE SKILL OF THESE OF THESE YOUNG MUSICIANS.
LAST MONTH, SIXTH GRADE WAS ALSO VERY, VERY FORTUNATE TO HAVE AN ARTS RESIDENCY WITH THE [INAUDIBLE] PRODUCTIONS WITH AN ASSEMBLY WHERE THEY SHARED THE VALUABLE MESSAGE OF SELF-WORTH AND ANTI-BULLYING OF STUDENTS.
IT'S ALWAYS NICE TO SEE THESE ASSEMBLIES AS A WAY TO REALLY CONNECT WITH STUDENTS, AND THEN THIS MONTH, THIS UPCOMING MONDAY, THEY'LL HAVE THEIR ANNUAL MLK DAY PROGRAM PROGRAM, MARCH.
I HIGHLY ENCOURAGE YOU GUYS TO MAKE IT UP IF YOU CAN.
IT'S A WONDERFUL SHOW OF COMMUNITY AND SUPPORT FOR THIS REALLY JUST THIS GREAT HOLIDAY AND A GREAT THING THAT WE SHOULD WE SHOULD BE HONORING, AND THEN ON THE 19TH, THEY'RE HAVING THEIR FIRST ANNUAL TALENT SHOW FOR STAFF AND STUDENTS I THINK I'M GOING TO TRY TO MAKE IT AS I CAN.
I CAN'T WAIT TO SEE WHAT HIDDEN TALENTS EVERYBODY HAS I'M HOPING FOR A UNICYCLE RIDER.
[00:30:04]
I DON'T KNOW IF I'LL SEE IT, BUT I WILL BE OUT FOR ONE AND THEN OVER AT NCHS, PRINCIPAL SPIKER WANTS EVERYONE TO KNOW THAT HE WISHES THEM A HAPPY NEW YEAR, AND HE HOPES THAT YOU ENJOY YOUR WINTER BREAK AND THAT YOU'RE READY TO FINISH THE FIRST SEMESTER STRONG. SO THIS WEEK OVER AT THE HIGH SCHOOL, THEY STARTED STATE TESTING SUCH AS THE GOVERNMENT ALGEBRA ONE, AND, I BELIEVE, BIOLOGY LUCKILY, I'VE MOVED ON FROM WHEN I HAD THE STATE TESTING, BUT MY YOUNGER SISTERS.FROM WHAT I'VE HEARD FROM HER.
IT'S NOT THE MOST EXCITING THING, BUT THEY'RE PUSHING THROUGH IT.
ON THE 20TH THE EDUCATORS RISING WILL HAVE THEIR FUNDRAISING BINGO NIGHTS AND THEN THAT SAME WEEK WILL BE THE DREADED FINALS WEEK.
SO I WISH EVERYBODY GOOD LUCK WITH THAT AND THEN OVER AT CCTC LAST MONTH, THEY DID THEIR AMP CLASSES HAD THEIR DARTBOARD PRESENTATIONS FOR STUDENTS TO SHARE THE SUCCESSES AND CHALLENGES OF MAKING THE DARTBOARDS, AND THEN THE COMPLETED DARTBOARDS WERE AVAILABLE FOR SALE I WAS ABLE TO SEE PHOTOS OF THEM.
THEY WENT FOR THIS WESTERN SALOON STYLE.
IT WAS VERY UNIQUE THEY ALSO HAD A VERY FABULOUS FESTIVE WEEK WITH A LOT OF FUN BOARD DECORATING AND SPIRIT WEEK, AND THEN THEY ENDED OFF THE YEAR WITH THE SGA COLLECTING DONATIONS FOR HIS HOPE MINISTRIES, AND REALLY, THE MAIN THING THAT I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO THIS MONTH IS THAT AS THE FIRST SEMESTER IS COMING TO AN END, A LOT OF CCTC PROGRAMS ARE COMPLETING THEIR INDUSTRY CREDENTIAL TESTS I JUST WANTED TO WISH THEIR STUDENTS THE BEST OF LUCK I, YOU KNOW, I HAVE FRIENDS IN COSMETOLOGY, AND THEY'VE BEEN SUPER STRESSED ABOUT IT, SO LET'S JUST GIVE THEM, YOU KNOW, THE BEST OF LUCK AND, YOU KNOW, MANIFEST THAT THEY WILL PASS THESE EXAMS BUT THAT IS ALL FOR THIS MONTH.
WELL DONE. THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
EXCELLENT REPORT. ALWAYS ENTERTAINING AND INFORMATIVE.
MUCH APPRECIATED SO I THINK WE NOW CAN MOVE ON TO THE FINANCE REPORT.
YEAH. ONE MONTH WE'RE GOING TO CHANGE THE ORDER.
JUST BECAUSE MISS THORNTON ALWAYS HAS TO FOLLOW A STUDENT REPORT, IT IS TOUGH TO FOLLOW THAT.
GOOD EVENING, PRESIDENT BARTON.
MEMBERS OF THE BOARD. DOCTOR SIMMONS, YOU HAVE BEFORE YOU THE FINANCE REPORT FOR THE PERIOD ENDING DECEMBER 31ST AT THIS POINT, WE ARE SIX MONTHS INTO THE FISCAL YEAR. SO WE WERE AT THE HALFWAY MARK WE SPENT OR ENCUMBERED 78% OF THE BUDGET, AND THIS IS RIGHT ON TRACK WITH WHERE WE WERE AT THIS POINT LAST YEAR. LAST YEAR WE SPENT OR ENCUMBERED 77%.
SO OVERALL, I'M HAPPY TO REPORT THAT WE ARE IN GOOD SHAPE FROM A FISCAL STANDPOINT AND THERE ARE NO CONCERNS OR NOTHING THAT NEEDS TO BE BROUGHT TO YOUR ATTENTION.
ARE THERE ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT ANY OF THE FIGURES? LITTLE QUESTIONS.
THANK YOU, THANK YOU. ALL RIGHT, WE'RE ON TO THE CONSENT AGENDA NOW.
[4. Consent Agenda]
PERSONNEL. DOCTOR WILLOUGHBY.WELCOME. PRESIDENT BARTON, MEMBERS OF THE BOARD, DOCTOR SIMMONS THE PERSONNEL AGENDA INCLUDES ONE LEAVE OF ABSENCE, ONE APPOINTMENT OF A TEACHER TO A REGULAR CONTRACT, FOUR RETIREMENTS THROUGH THE VOLUNTARY RETIREMENT INCENTIVE PLAN AND ONE RESIGNATION, AND THEN THE ADDENDUM HAS TWO ADDITIONAL RETIREMENTS THROUGH THE VOLUNTARY RETIREMENT INCENTIVE PLAN. ANY QUESTIONS? BOARD MEMBERS.
ALL RIGHT WE NEED TO LOOK AT OUR MINUTES FROM LAST TIME.
DO WE HAVE ANY ADDITIONS OR CHANGES TO THE MINUTES? HEARING NONE. DO WE HAVE A MOTION TO APPROVE THE CONSENT AGENDA? I MOVE, WE APPROVE THE CONSENT AGENDA AS PRESENTED SECOND.
THANK YOU ANY FURTHER DISCUSSION?
[00:35:01]
HEARING NONE. ALL IN FAVOR? AYE. OKAY.ALL RIGHT. CONSENT AGENDA IS PASSED DO WE HAVE CITIZEN COMMENTS TONIGHT? ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU.
NO INDIVIDUAL ACTION ITEMS, REPORTS AND PRESENTATIONS.
[7. Reports and Presentations]
MABE TIME TO CARE ACT COLLABORATIVE.THIS IS A VERY INTERESTING THING, AND YOU GET TO WELCOME BACK HERE WITH US.
OUTSTANDING. FREE STUFF IS ALWAYS GOOD.
WE CAN MAKE SURE THAT THE MEMBERS WHO ARE NOT PRESENT TONIGHT, I'LL MAKE SURE THEY RECEIVE THEIRS AND [INAUDIBLE] THANK YOU. BECAUSE I DON'T WANT TO TAKE [INAUDIBLE].
THE REST OF IT, AND CAN DISTRIBUTE IT ACCORDINGLY, INCLUDING OUR LEGAL COUNSEL.
YOU DID TELL ME HOW MUCH TIME I HAD OR HOW MUCH TIME I DIDN'T HAVE.
I THINK THE ORIGINAL EMAIL MIGHT HAVE SAID, LIKE, ABOUT 20 MINUTES OR SO, I THINK IS WHAT YOU ASKED? 15 TO 20. OKAY, I'LL POWER THROUGH IT.
THANK YOU AND I DID APOLOGIZE FOR NOT HAVING THAT WITH ME TO PRESENT TONIGHT, LIKE I SAID, SLIPPED THROUGH THE MAIL BEFORE ME.
SO, RACHEL, YOU HAVE MY PRESENTATION, RIGHT? SO ONE OF MY AS MR. BARTON REFERENCED, YOU KNOW, IT'S GOOD TO BE BACK.
IT'S MY FIRST TIME BACK TO A CAROLINE COUNTY BOARD MEETING SINCE JUNE OF 21 YEAH, I DO REMEMBER THAT LAST BOARD MEETING AND, YOU KNOW, HAVING ATTENDED A LOT OF BOARD MEETINGS FOR A LONG TIME, IT WAS GOOD TO HAVE A LITTLE RECESS FROM THAT, BUT IT'S GOOD TO BE BACK FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF IN MY NEW ROLE NOW AS EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, ONE OF MY GOALS WAS TO THERE IS TO GET AROUND A BOARD MEETING IN EVERY JURISDICTION, ALL 24 IN A SOMEWHAT SYSTEMATIC WAY, BUT NOT NECESSARILY SYSTEMATIC, BECAUSE IT'S GOT TO BE IT'S GOT TO WORK FOR THE BOARD AND HOWEVER LONG THAT PROCESS TAKES AND IT'LL BE ONGOING.
SO TO THE EXTENT THAT YOU NEED OR WANT ME TO COME BACK AND PRESENT ON SOMETHING ELSE, YOU JUST HAVE TO ASK BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT I'M HERE FOR NOT ONLY TO PROVIDE YOU ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON A TOPIC OF YOUR DECISION, BUT ALSO TO MAKE SURE YOU UNDERSTAND ALL THE BENEFITS THAT MABE OFFERS TO YOU AS BOARD MEMBERS, AND THAT'S PRETTY MUCH WHAT THE LITERATURE THAT I JUST HANDED OUT WAS ATTEMPTS TO COVER IS MAKE SURE THAT YOU DO KNOW OF ALL THE DIFFERENT PROGRAMS AND SERVICES THAT ARE AVAILABLE TO YOU AS BOARD MEMBERS, BUT ALSO TO THE GREATER SCHOOL SYSTEM AND CAROLINE HAS A LONG HISTORY OF TAKING ADVANTAGE OF NEARLY EVERY SERVICE THAT MABE OFFERS ESPECIALLY, YOU KNOW, ON THE INSURANCE PROGRAM SIDE CAROLINE IS INVOLVED IN ALL THE PROGRAMS THAT MABE OFFERS, AND THAT'S A REAL BENEFIT. IT'S BEEN A REAL WIN.
IT'S A REAL SUCCESS STORY THAT DOESN'T GET TOUTED NEARLY ENOUGH ABOUT THE GOOD WORK THAT CAN BE DONE WITH COLLABORATIVE ARRANGEMENTS SUCH AS THE GROUP INSURANCE POOL AND THE WORK COMP FUND, AND REALLY, THAT DOVETAILS NICELY INTO WHY I'M HERE TONIGHT, AND THIS IS YET ANOTHER COLLABORATIVE EFFORT BEING PUT FORTH BY MABE AND IN RELATION TO THE TIME TO CARE ACT AND SO WHAT IS THE TIME TO CARE ACT? SO TWO LEGISLATIVE SESSIONS AGO, ALMOST THREE AND STARTING TOMORROW LEGISLATIVE SESSIONS AGO, THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY PASSED A LAW CALLED THE MARYLAND TIME TO CARE ACT THE GOVERNOR AT THE TIME, GOVERNOR HOGAN, VETOED IT, BUT IT WAS OVERRULED, AND THEN THAT LEGISLATION WAS AMENDED LAST LEGISLATIVE SESSION, BUT BASICALLY, IN A NUTSHELL, WHAT IT IS, IS A STATE PAID VERSION OF FMLA FAMILY MEDICAL LEAVE ACT.
WELL, MANY STATES AND NOW MARYLAND IS PART OF THAT.
MANY STATES OFFER A STATE VERSION OF THAT IS PAID TIME OFF, AND SO MARYLAND IS NOT THE FIRST.
MARYLAND IS 13TH OR 14TH IN THE NATION TO OFFER A STATE VERSION OF FMLA AND SO JUST TO GO ON TO THE NEXT PAGE AND I'M GOING TO SKIP THROUGH SOME OF THIS, BUT YOU HAVE IT TO READ, AND I'M NOT GOING TO GET LOST IN THE WEEDS HERE BECAUSE IT DOES GET TO GET
[00:40:07]
TECHNICAL, BUT BASICALLY, THE LEGISLATION EMPOWERED THE MARYLAND DEPARTMENT OF LABOR TO REGULATE AND ADMINISTER THIS, THIS NEW LAW, AND THEY HAD UNTIL JANUARY 1ST TO PUBLISH REGULATIONS ASSOCIATED WITH THE LAW.WE HAVEN'T HAD THE REGULATIONS PUBLISHED YET, BUT THEY WILL BE FORTHCOMING.
NOW, WHICH IS A SHORT, YOU KNOW, NINE, NINE AND A HALF MONTHS AWAY WITH THE BENEFITS NOT ELIGIBLE UNTIL 01/01/26, A FULL 15 MONTHS AFTER CONTRIBUTIONS HAVE TO START WHICH I'LL GET TO WHY THAT'S IMPORTANT IN A MINUTE.
WHO IS COVERED? ANY EMPLOYER IN MARYLAND IS COVERED UNDER THIS.
THE STATE HAS TO BUILD UP ENOUGH MONEY TO BE ABLE TO START TO PAY OUT BENEFITS 01/01/26 ESPECIALLY FOR A LOT OF THOSE SMALL EMPLOYERS THAT COULD HAVE EMPLOYEES TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF IT. 01/0/26 AND WHERE ARE THEY GOING TO GET THE MONEY? SO THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR AND I SHOULD SAY DEPARTMENT OF LABOR CREATED A NEW DIVISION CALLED FAMILY, THE UNDER DEPARTMENT OF LABOR TO JUST TO ADMINISTER THIS, AND THEY'VE BEEN WORKING HARD. WE'VE BEEN WORKING HARD WITH THEM ALONG THE WAY.
SO WHO WITHIN AND ANY EMPLOYERS ELIGIBLE? THE MAGIC THRESHOLD IS 680 HOURS IN THE LAST 12 MONTHS.
SO BEGINNING 01/01/26, IF YOU LOOK BACK OVER 12 MONTHS PRIOR TO 01/01/26 THE PRIOR CALENDAR YEAR, IF YOU'VE WORKED MORE THAN 680 HOURS IN MARYLAND, YOU'RE ELIGIBLE FOR TIME TO CARE ACT LEAVE.
THAT'S 680 CUMULATIVE HOURS ACROSS MULTIPLE EMPLOYERS, NOT ONE EMPLOYER IN MARYLAND.
SO YOU COULD BE A PART TIME EMPLOYEE.
BE A SUBSTITUTE EMPLOYEE FOR FOR CAROLINE COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS AND A PART TIME EMPLOYEE FOR WALMART OR DUNKIN DONUTS, AS LONG AS CUMULATIVELY YOU HAVE 680 HOURS, YOU BECOME ELIGIBLE FOR THAT BENEFIT.
THAT'S WHERE IT GETS VERY COMPLICATED, VERY CONFUSING, VERY QUICKLY, AND THAT'S WHERE A LOT OF WORK BY THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR IS GOING TO COME AS FAR AS REPORTING FOR EMPLOYERS TO BE ABLE TO REPORT HOURS ON A REGULAR BASIS IN ORDER FOR THEM TO MAKE THE DETERMINATION AS TO WHETHER AN EMPLOYEE IS ELIGIBLE OR NOT FOR BENEFITS, AND THEN REPORT BACK TO THE EMPLOYEE ONCE THEY'VE SUBMITTED AN APPLICATION FOR TIME TO CARE ACT LEAVE WHETHER OR NOT THEY QUALIFY FOR IT OR NOT.
THERE'S A NUMBER OF STATES THAT HAVE SUCCESSFULLY ROLLED THIS OUT, VERY SIMILAR PLANS AS FAR AS ELIGIBILITY, AND SO WE'RE OPTIMISTIC THAT THE STATE'S GOING TO GOING TO GET IT RIGHT AND NOT BE LIKE WHEN WE HAD THE ROLLOUT OF THE AFFORDABLE CARE ACT IN THE 800 NUMBER CALLED A FLOWER SHOP IN OHIO SOMEWHERE, PROBABLY DON'T REMEMBER THAT.
NEXT SLIDE. SO A LOT OF DIFFERENT ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA AND THEY'RE LISTED THERE.
I'M NOT GOING TO READ THEM TO YOU, BUT THEY ARE BROADER THAN FMLA REASONS.
HOW MUCH IS PAID? I DON'T KNOW, IT'S A COMPLICATED FORMULA, BUT IT IS A 90 UP TO 90% OF SALARIES FOR WAGES, AND THEN BASED ON 65% OF MARYLAND'S AVERAGE WEEKLY WAGE.
DEPARTMENT OF LABOR IS GOING TO HELP US WITH THIS AS WE MOVE FORWARD, BUT IT'S CAPPED AT $1,000 PER WEEK NEXT SLIDE. SO WHAT'S IT GOING TO BE, THE COST TO THE EMPLOYER? SO THE EMPLOYERS ARE GOING TO HAVE TO IT'S A NEW TAX.
ALL OF IT, AND THAT IS AN OPTION, BUT THE WHAT THE LAW STATES IS THAT THE EMPLOYEE CAN PAY FOR UP TO HALF OF WHATEVER THE RATE IS, AND IT'S GOING TO BE AN ASSESSED RATE.
WE DON'T KNOW WHAT THE RATE IS.
WHAT WE DO KNOW IS BECAUSE THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR CAME OUT WITH A DEFAULT RATE.
[00:45:06]
YOU WILL BE PAYING 0.9% OF PAYROLL INTO THE STATE PLAN.NOW, WHO PAYS THAT 0.9%? UP TO HALF OF IT CAN BE PAID BORNE BY THE EMPLOYEE.
SO 0.45% OF PAYROLL CAN BE BORNE BY THE EMPLOYEE, THE OTHER HALF BY THE EMPLOYER, OR SOMEWHERE IN BETWEEN, BUT NO MORE THAN 50% OF WHATEVER THAT RATE IS, AND FOR EMPLOYERS THAT ARE GOING TO HAVE TO PICK UP THIS COST THAT AREN'T DEFAULTING OUT INTO A DIFFERENT PRIVATE PLAN, THEY'RE GOING TO HAVE TO AT LEAST WITHHOLD 45% OF 0.45% FOR EVERY DOLLAR OF PAYROLL UP TO THE SOCIAL SECURITY WAGE BASE FOR EVERY EMPLOYEE, FOR EVERY DOLLAR OF PAYROLL, WHETHER THEY WORK A WEEK OR WHETHER THEY'RE FULL TIME, IT'S ON THE VERY FIRST DOLLAR.
BECAUSE, AGAIN, YOU DON'T KNOW AS THE EMPLOYER, EVEN IF THEY WORK THREE HOURS A WEEK FOR YOU, THAT THEY DON'T WORK ALMOST FULL TIME FOR ANOTHER EMPLOYEE, AND THUS, IN TOTAL, THEY WORK THAT 680 HOURS AND BECOME ELIGIBLE.
SO THAT'S THE RATE THAT'S IN EFFECT FOR THE FIRST TWO YEARS AND THEN THE DOL WILL COME OUT WITH A NEW RATE AT SOME POINT.
SO NEXT PAGE THIS WILL HAVE IMPACT ON OTHER LEAVE BENEFITS BECAUSE AS THE LEGISLATION WAS AMENDED THIS PAST LEGISLATIVE SESSION IT CAN IT EMPLOYEES MUST HAVE THE OPTION TO SUPPLEMENT OTHER BENEFITS WITH THIS, AND THEY CANNOT BE TOLD THAT THEY HAVE TO EXHAUST OTHER LEAVE BENEFITS BEFORE THEY ACCESS TIME TO CARE ACT BENEFITS.
THE AMENDMENTS TOOK THAT OUT, AND SO NOW THEY CAN RUN CONCURRENTLY, OR THEY CAN CHOOSE TO JUST TAKE TIME TO CARE, ACT, LEAVE AND LEAVE THEIR BENEFITS INTACT, BUT IT'S GOING TO BE UP TO THE EMPLOYER, I.E.
THE BOARD OF ED, TO DETERMINE WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE, AND SO IF THEY NEED TO UTILIZE SOME OF THEIR OTHER LEAVE BENEFITS, HOW DOES THAT WORK? AND IN THIS COLLECTIVE BARGAINING WORLD, THAT'S A COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AGREEMENT, AND ITEM AND WE'LL LEAVE IT AT THAT.
IT'S SUBJECT TO BE DETERMINED BY OTHER PEOPLE.
SO WHAT DOES THAT LOOK LIKE? AND SO AS I SAID, IT CAPS OUT.
SO THIS IS GOING TO BE MORE BENEFICIAL AS FAR AS REPLACING AS ALMOST ALL THEIR SALARY FOR LOWER INCOME EARNING EMPLOYEES, AND THE EXAMPLE ON THE LEFT TALKS ABOUT HOW AN EMPLOYEE WHO MAKES $45,000 A YEAR CAN GET THROUGH TIME TO CARE ACT LEAVE 90% OF HIS OR HER SALARY AND THEN ONLY HAVE TO MAKE UP 10% OF THE DIFFERENCE, OR JUST TAKE THAT 90% AND BE SUFFICIENT WITH THAT.
YOU KNOW, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT LIFESTYLE.
WE'RE TALKING ABOUT, YOU KNOW, MATERNITY, PATERNITY LEAVE TYPE THINGS WHERE PEOPLE BEFORE HAVE HAD TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO MAKE DO WITH NO SALARY, AND NOW THERE'S GOING TO BE A BENEFIT FOR THAT AND THEN ON THE OTHER END, YOU HAVE SOMEBODY THAT MAKES TWICE AS MUCH AS THAT.
THEY'RE GOING TO BE CAPPED OUT AT THAT THOUSAND.
SO THERE'S GOING TO BE A MUCH BIGGER GAP, AND THEY'RE GOING TO HAVE TO DETERMINE WHETHER TO USE LEAVE BENEFITS TO HELP SUPPLEMENT THAT IN ANY SCENARIO THEY CANNOT MAKE MORE WHEN THEY SISTER THAT ANY, YOU KNOW, TIME TO CARE ACT WITH ANY OTHER OF THEIR EXISTING LEAVE BENEFITS.
THEY CAN'T MAKE MORE THAN THEY THAN THEY DID BEFORE THEY APPLIED.
SO THEY CAN'T GIVE THEMSELVES A RAISE THROUGH THE TIME TO CARE ACT SITUATION SO VERY COMPLICATED.
I SAY THIS I PUT THIS SLIDE IN HERE FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF THE COMMUNITY AT LARGE.
YOU KNOW, YOU FOLKS ARE ALL WELL VESTED IN THE COMMUNITY.
THAT COULD BE SOME EMPLOYERS SAYING OUT THERE, I AIN'T GOING TO FOOL WITH THAT MESS.
THERE'S A LOT OF CHALLENGES WITH THIS.
I TALKED ABOUT SOME OF THEM, YOU KNOW, THE ELIGIBILITY THRESHOLD.
HOW ARE YOU GOING TO DETERMINE HOW'S CAROLINE COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS GOING TO KNOW WHETHER A PART TIME EMPLOYEE IS ELIGIBLE OR NOT? IT'S GOING TO BE SOME COORDINATION THAT A LOT OF COORDINATION ON A VERY QUICK TURNAROUND.
IT'S GOING TO BE ELECTRONIC BECAUSE OF THE REQUIREMENTS IN THE LAW.
AS FAR AS NOTICE NOTICE FOR WHETHER OR NOT THEIR LEAVE IS APPROVED OR NOT.
TERMINATE, YOU KNOW, QUALIFYING LEAVE.
SOME SITUATIONS ARE GOING TO REQUIRE LIKE A RETURN TO WORK STATUS, AND WHO HAS THAT SAY WHETHER OR NOT THEY'RE ELIGIBLE TO RETURN TO WORK FROM THAT LEAVE UM COORDINATION WITH WITH TAX WITH SOME OF THE TAXABILITY OF SOME OF THESE BENEFITS AND, AND SO WORKING ON SOME OF THAT STILL AND THEN
[00:50:01]
COORDINATION WITH THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR AND, AND WHAT'S NOT ON HERE IS THE MARYLAND INSURANCE ADMINISTRATION.THIS IS A LICENSED INSURANCE PRODUCT, AND SO IT HAS TO BE APPROVED BY THE MIA DOESN'T STAND FOR MISSING IN ACTION STANDS FOR MARYLAND INSURANCE ADMINISTRATION BUT WE HAVE BEEN WORKING WITH THE MARYLAND INSURANCE ADMINISTRATION TO SEE A PATH FORWARD FOR THEM APPROVING WHAT WE'RE DOING.
SO NEXT SLIDE YOUR OPTIONS AS A SCHOOL SYSTEM, AS AN EMPLOYER, AS THE LARGEST EMPLOYER IN CAROLINE COUNTY, ONE YOU COULD HAVE DEFAULTED INTO THE STATE PLAN, WHICH WOULD MEAN THAT YOU'RE BUDGETING FOR FY 25, AN ALLOCATION FOR YOUR SHARE OF THAT TAX, THAT DEFAULT RATE AT MINIMUM OF 0.45% OF PAYROLL GOING INTO THAT, INTO THAT PLAN.
NOW, THE SECOND OPTION IS DO YOUR OWN PLAN SELF-INSURED ON YOUR OWN.
I'M TELLING YOU, YOU CAN'T DO IT BECAUSE THE STATE'S TREATING IT LIKE A PENSION FUND, AND SO WITH A PENSION FUND, YOU HAVE TO BE ABLE TO SAY THAT YOU HAVE THE CASH TO PAY IT OUT ON AN ACTUARIAL BASIS IN HAND, AND SET ASIDE A RESERVE JUST FOR TIME TO CARE ACT.
THAT'S WHERE MABE COMES IN, AND SO WE HAD THIS GREAT IDEA THAT, HEY, WHY DON'T WE CREATE A NEW PROGRAM? AND LO AND BEHOLD, WE HAVE ALL 24 SCHOOL DISTRICTS IN THIS COLLABORATIVE AND I'M JUMPING AHEAD OF MYSELF.
SO NEXT PAGE SO THE COLLABORATIVE DOES A NUMBER OF THINGS.
IT AVOIDS THAT 15 MONTH OF PAYING TAX IN.
SO INSTEAD OF HAVING THAT TAX BECOMING EFFECTIVE 10/01/24, IT WON'T START UNTIL 01/01/26, 15 MONTHS LATER, I DID A BACK OF THE ENVELOPE, A LITTLE BIT MORE SOPHISTICATED THAN THAT.
I WENT ONLINE, FOUND THE CAROLINE COUNTY BUDGET.
THANK YOU, ERIN, LOOKED AT [INAUDIBLE], LOOKED AT GROSS SALARIES AS A LINE ITEM IN THE BUDGET.
JUST THAT 15 MONTH DEFERRAL IN TOTAL OF OF THE 0.09% OF PAYROLL IS $623,000, THAT CAROLINE COUNTY TAXPAYERS ARE NOT GOING TO HAVE TO.
THAT'S REAL COIN. NOW, THE BAD NEWS IS THAT THERE'S GOING TO BE A HIT TO YOUR FY 26 BUDGET AND BEYOND, BECAUSE IT'S A NEW TAX.
IT'S A SHARED TAX THAT'S GOING TO HAVE TO BE BORNE IN SOME PERCENTAGE BY THE EMPLOYER AND THE EMPLOYEE YET TO BE DETERMINED WHAT THAT MIX IS, BUT YOU KNOW, THERE IS GOING TO BE A COST TO THIS, AND THERE'S SOME THERE'S GOING TO BE SOME ADDITIONAL COSTS.
THERE'S GOING TO BE, YOU KNOW, IF I DON'T KNOW HOW MANY FMLA APPLICATIONS YOU GET IN A YEAR, BUT LET'S JUST SAY IT'S 20, MULTIPLY IT BY TEN, AND THAT'S HOW MANY TIME TO CARE ACT APPLICATIONS YOU'RE GOING TO GET.
I WOULD VENTURE TO GUESS, BECAUSE THERE'S A NUMBER OF PEOPLE THAT FIND OTHER WAYS AND DON'T TAKE TIME OFF WITHOUT PAY BECAUSE THEY JUST CAN'T AFFORD IT, AND NOW ALL OF A SUDDEN, ESPECIALLY A FRATERNITY AND I DON'T MEAN TO LET PEOPLE ARE GOING TO FIGURE THIS OUT AND THEY'RE GOING TO, YOU KNOW, KNOW THAT, HEY, BOTH SPOUSES NOW CAN TAKE THAT TIME OFF TO BE THE NURTURING PARENTS WITH A NEWBORN OR AN ADOPTED CHILD OR NUMBER OF OTHER ELIGIBLE CRITERIA, AND SO I JUST THROW THAT OUT THERE THAT THIS IS GOING TO THIS IS A SIGNIFICANT UNFUNDED MANDATE FROM THE STATE BUT THIS COLLABORATIVE NOT ONLY DEFERS THAT CONTRIBUTION STARTING IN OCTOBER OF 24, BUT IT CREATES THIS ECONOMIES OF SCALE.
WE HAVE 100 ENTITIES IN THIS POOL.
WE HAVE NEARLY EVERY COUNTY GOVERNMENT, ALL THE BOARDS OF ED, SEVERAL OF THE COMMUNITY COLLEGES, MANY OF THE LIBRARY SYSTEMS, THE MARYLAND PARKS AND PLANNING, UM SERVICE. WE HAVE A NUMBER OF OF ENTITIES AND WE LAUNCHED THE WELCOME LETTER TODAY.
ERIN GOT IT, WENT OUT TO ALL THE SCHOOL DISTRICTS.
WE'RE GOING TO START THE DATA COLLECTION VERY SOON AND GO OUT TO BID IN A VERY SHORT AMOUNT OF TIME.
SO ALL OF THIS ENABLES US TO COME TOGETHER AS ONE EMPLOYER.
WE ARE TALKING DIRECTLY TO THE MARYLAND INSURANCE ADMINISTRATION, TALKING DIRECTLY TO MEETING REGULARLY WITH DEPARTMENT OF LABOR OR THE OR DEPARTMENT OF FAMILY UNDER THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
WE ARE WORKING THROUGH THIS TOGETHER.
IF WE CAN MAKE IT BE SUCCESSFUL, IT HELPS TO MAKE THEM SUCCESSFUL.
SO AND ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE HAVE AT MABE IS A SECURE SITE CALLED A RISK RISK RESOURCE
[00:55:05]
COMMUNITY, WHERE PEER GROUPS CAN TALK TO EACH OTHER AND CHAT AND SHARE INFORMATION IN A PASSWORD PROTECTED AREA, DEPENDING ON THEIR PEER GROUP WE'VE CREATED A NEW PEER GROUP CALLED TIME TO CARE ACT COORDINATORS AND SO THEY CAN POST QUESTIONS.WHAT DO YOU DO ABOUT THIS? WHAT DO YOU DO ABOUT THAT? OUR BENEFIT CONSULTING FIRM THAT WE'VE HIRED TO DO THIS IS BOLTON, AND THEY'LL HAVE ACCESS TO THAT, AND, AND SO WE'LL GET QUESTIONS ANSWERED A LOT QUICKER.
THEY'LL POST THEM TO DEPARTMENT OF LABOR AND MARYLAND INSURANCE ADMINISTRATION AND GET ANSWERS BACK IN MUCH MORE TIMELY FASHION, AND WE'LL BE ABLE TO IMPLEMENT THEM, THOSE ISSUES ACROSS THE STATE.
SO EVERYBODY'S DOING IT THE RIGHT WAY.
SO I THINK OUR CONFORM, OUR CONFORMITY TO THE STATUTORILY DEFINED LAW IS GOING TO BE MUCH GREATER THAN IF WE WERE DOING IT INDIVIDUALLY AND THEN TIMELINE WISE, WE'RE A LITTLE SLOWER THAN WHAT WE HAD ORIGINALLY PREDICTED, PRIMARILY BECAUSE OF THE TIME SPENT TRYING TO MAKE SURE WE HAD A PATH FORWARD WITH MARYLAND INSURANCE ADMINISTRATION, THE WORST THING WE WANTED IS TO HAVE A HAVE A PROPOSAL, A RECOMMENDED VENDOR, AND THEY AND MARYLAND [INAUDIBLE] ADMINISTRATION NOT APPROVED.
WE DON'T WANT THAT SO AND WE NEED WE HAVE TO MAKE SURE THAT WE BID IT IN A TIME FRAME THAT ISN'T TOO SOON PRIOR TO US BEING ABLE TO ACTUALLY LAUNCH IT AND GO WITH IT.
SO THIS IS A PRETTY GOOD TIMELINE AT THIS POINT, BUT WE ARE STARTING TO COLLECT THE DATA.
WE STILL HOPE TO WE'RE THE BOLTON IS DRAFTING THE RFP AT THIS POINT THE SPRING TIME IS GOING TO BE VERY YOU KNOW, AS WE GO THROUGH THE LEGISLATIVE SESSION I DON'T SEE I HAVEN'T HEARD ANY RUMBLINGS OF ANYTHING, ANY LEGISLATION COMING FORTH TO CHANGE THIS ANYMORE.
I THINK WE ARE WHERE WE ARE WITH THIS, WHICH IS SOMETHING WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO DEAL WITH AND SO I HOPE THAT IT'S I HOPE IT WORKS. YOU KNOW, I REALLY DO I LIKE MY JOB AND I THINK THAT'S IT.
QUESTIONS? I HAVE A COUPLE CONFUSED.
SO IF SOMEBODY HAS FIVE EMPLOYEES OR 500, DOESN'T MATTER.
SO, AND IS THERE IT LOOK LIKE THINGS CAN WORK CONCURRENTLY.
YOU KNOW SICK LEAVE AND SO BUT THERE'S IT'S NOT A MATTER OF FMLA SUPERSEDING THIS.
THEY CAN KIND OF WORK IN TANDEM.
THEY CAN, THEY CAN RUN CONCURRENTLY.
YEAH. SO THERE'S NOT LIKE UH THE FEDERAL LEVEL ISN'T GOING TO SUPERSEDE THE STATE.
THIS IS MORE THIS ACTUALLY BECAUSE IT'S MORE GENEROUS.
SO LET ME ASK THIS KIND OF OPINION QUESTION FROM YOU.
I DON'T I'M NOT PUTTING YOU ON THE SPOT, BUT WHAT WAS BROKEN? WHAT WERE THEY TRYING TO FIX? WHAT WHAT WAS TRYING TO BE ADDRESSED? I THINK IT GETS AT THE PART TIME EMPLOYEES, THE NON BENEFIT ELIGIBLE, THE FOLKS THAT ARE SCRAPING, THAT ARE WORKING 2 OR 3 PART TIME JOBS TO MAKE ENDS MEET IN THE HOUSEHOLD AND BUT YET THEY DON'T HAVE ANY BENEFITS IF SOMETHING HAPPENS.
THERE'S A LOT OF PEOPLE LIKE THAT.
YEAH, YEAH, PEOPLE THAT ARE MAYBE WORKING 3 OR 4 HOURS HERE, BUT THEN THEY GO WAITRESS SOMEWHERE.
YEAH. OR, YOU KNOW, OR THEY JUST WORK A PART TIME JOB, BUT IT'S 700.
IT DOESN'T QUALIFY FOR BENEFITS, RIGHT? YEAH. THERE'S A LOT OF PEOPLE THAT HAVE FALLEN IN THAT CATEGORY.
SO THAT HELPS BECAUSE OTHERWISE IT KIND OF WONDERING I REMEMBER WHEN IT WAS BEING WORKED ON BY THE LEGISLATURE AND THEY WERE TALKING ABOUT WHO IT BENEFITS, BUT YOU KNOW, YET WHEN THERE'S OPPONENTS AND PROPONENTS YOU HEAR CONFLICTING ARGUMENTS.
SOMETIMES IT'S HARD TO REALLY IDENTIFY.
SO WHAT IS THAT THEY'RE TRYING TO FIX? BECAUSE YOU'LL HEAR PEOPLE SAY, HERE'S THE ADVANTAGE OF IT AND YOU HEAR SOMEBODY ELSE SAYING, THAT'S A LIE BUT THAT'S GOOD.
IT'S HELPFUL. I WILL TELL YOU, THOUGH, THAT IN A LOT OF THE OTHER STATES, GOVERNMENT WAS CARVED OUT.
WAS ATTEMPTED TO BE CARVED OUT IN MARYLAND, BUT UNSUCCESSFULLY.
SO IN MARYLAND, THAT'S NOT THE CASE.
CORRECT? WELL, I THINK IT'S TERRIFIC THAT MABE IS TAKING LEADERSHIP HERE, AND HE SAID ALL 24 SYSTEMS NOW CAN JOIN AND IT'S COLLABORATIVE.
THAT'S REALLY JUST A GREAT OPPORTUNITY.
[01:00:03]
ALL 24, AND LIKE I SAID, WE HAVE 100 ENTITIES.THERE ARE NATIONAL CARRIERS THAT HAVE THAT ARE PLAYING IN THIS SPACE IN OTHER STATES.
SO THEY'RE ALREADY FAMILIAR IT'S GOING TO COME WITH A LOT OF BELLS AND WHISTLES.
WE HAVE TO BE CAREFUL TO THAT.
FOR INSTANCE, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT INDIVIDUAL EMPLOYERS MAY WANT TO DO WITH WHOEVER THE SELECTED VENDOR IS TO ALSO GIVE THEM FMLA APPS, BECAUSE THEY DO MIRROR EACH OTHER SO MUCH SO THAT'S ONE LESS THING THAT STAFF HAS TO DEAL WITH.
A LOT OF THESE CARRIERS ARE ALSO DISABILITY CARRIERS, AND SO THEY MAY, YOU MAY WANT TO GIVE THEM THAT BUSINESS AS WELL SO THAT IT'S ALL ONE ALL IN ONE YOU KNOW, PACKAGE AND YOU KNOW, BUT WE'LL BE ARTICULATING THAT IN DUE COURSE WITH, WITH THE APPROPRIATE STAFF, WE JUST HAVE TO BE CAREFUL NOT TO BID THAT WAY, BECAUSE IT WON'T IT WON'T PASS MUSTER BY THE MARYLAND INSURANCE ADMINISTRATION HAS TO BE SPECIFIC TO JUST WHAT THE LAW REQUIRES.
YOU MAY HAVE SAID THIS AND I MAY HAVE MISSED IT.
WHO IS ELIGIBLE TO JOIN IN THE COLLABORATIVE GOVERNMENT ENTITIES IN MARYLAND? WE HAD SOME INTEREST BY THE MARYLAND PRIVATE COLLEGES AND WE EVENTUALLY HAD TO SAY NO TO THEM BECAUSE THEY THEIR TAX STATUS IS NOT THE SAME AND BUT WE I WILL TELL YOU, WE WORKED WE HAD A LOT OF LEGAL HELP IN GETTING TO THIS POINT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE, YOU KNOW, STEPPING CORRECTLY.
I THINK I READ WHERE NONPROFITS.
HAVE YOU SEEN THIS? AM I CORRECT IN THIS? NONPROFITS ARE JOINING TOGETHER IN SOME WAY TO DO A SIMILAR THING.
THAT SOUND FAMILIAR? THEY MIGHT.
SO MUCH MORE POWER OR STRENGTH.
YEAH. YEAH, AND WE DO THINK I FAILED TO MENTION THE STATE RATE IS 0.9%.
I DO THINK AND WORKING WITH OUR CONSULTANTS THAT WE'RE GOING TO GET A BETTER RATE THAN THAT, AND SO I WILL JUST TELL YOU THAT FOR EVERY ONE TENTH OF 1% THAT WE CAN LOWER THAT RATE.
SO IF WE CAN GET 0.08% INSTEAD OF 0.09 AGAIN, BACK OF THE ENVELOPE MATH ON AN ANNUAL BASIS THAT FOR EVERY 10TH OF A PERCENT THAT WE CAN LOWER, IT'S ABOUT $72,000 IN SAVINGS SO THAT WE MAY GET A I'M NOT GOING TO BE OVERLY OPTIMISTIC, BUT I THINK I KNOW WE'RE GOING TO GET A BETTER RATE.
JUST HOW MUCH BETTER IS TO BE DETERMINED BECAUSE WE'RE SUCH A PRETTY SIMILAR GROUP.
WE'RE NOT TALKING ABOUT CONTRACTORS AND, SORRY, FARMERS OR YOU KNOW, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT GOVERNMENT ENTITIES, AND SO THE DEMOGRAPHICS OF GOVERNMENT ENTITIES ARE PRETTY CONSISTENT, ESPECIALLY ALL 24 SCHOOL DISTRICTS, BUT ALSO AND THEY'RE THE BIGGEST ENTITY, YOU KNOW, OF ALL THIS HUNDRED ENTITIES IN THIS COLLABORATIVE, THE SCHOOL DISTRICTS ARE THE BIGGEST AS FAR AS NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES, STRENGTH IN NUMBERS.
OTHER QUESTIONS? COMMENTS MICHELE ANYTHING FROM YOU? THE ONLY COMMENT I HAVE. MILTON THANK YOU FOR THE WORK THAT YOU GUYS ARE DOING BECAUSE FROM THIS FIRST CAME OUT, IT SCARED A LOT OF US.
STILL NOT A SIMPLE PILL TO SWALLOW BY ANY MEANS, BUT MAYBE TAKING THE LEAD, MABE CONNECTING WITH [INAUDIBLE], MAYBE CONNECTING WITH SEVERAL PARTNERS HAS REALLY MADE THIS SEEM DOABLE AND I REALLY APPRECIATE EVERYTHING YOU GUYS ARE PUTTING FORWARD, BECAUSE THERE I DON'T WANT TO SAY THERE'S NO WAY WE PEOPLE WOULD FIGURE IT OUT, BUT WE WOULD BE IN A REALLY HURTING SPOT TRYING TO DO IT ON OUR OWN FOR SURE.
SO APPRECIATE IT. LOOK, LIVED HERE MY WHOLE LIFE.
I KNOW THAT'S HOW WE DO IT ON THE SHORE, AND GOING TO ANNAPOLIS NOW, IT'S LIKE, WHY? WHY ARE WE NOT DOING THIS, YOU KNOW, FOR THE WHOLE STATE, AND THERE ARE SOME OTHER INITIATIVES OUT THERE, YOU KNOW, ABOUT A COUPLE OF THEM, BUT THIS IS FRONT AND CENTER RIGHT NOW, BUT I'D LOVE TO COME BACK SOMEDAY AND TALK ABOUT SOME OTHER THINGS THAT WE'RE DOING THAT ARE CREATIVE AND, AND ALL DESIGNED TO TRY TO SQUEEZE AS MUCH JUICE OUT OF THAT PENNY AS WE CAN. BECAUSE I KNOW ALL TOO WELL HOW TIGHT THE BUDGETS ARE, AND THEY'RE NOT GOING TO GET ANY LOOSER IN THE NEXT SEVERAL YEARS WITH, WITH BLUEPRINT, AND SO THE WAY WE CAN FIGURE OUT TO HELP MAXIMIZE THE DOLLARS THAT GO TO THE CLASSROOM, THAT'S WHAT WE'RE ALL ABOUT.
[01:05:07]
WELL, WE KNOW YOU'RE GOOD AT THAT.SO I'VE SEEN OTHER I GOT SOME CRAZY IDEAS, NOT ALWAYS GOOD IDEAS, [CHUCKLING] BUT THEN SEEING AS OTHER PEOPLE SEEING THE EMAILS, YOU KNOW, WITH ANNOUNCEMENTS ABOUT INITIATIVES MABE IS PURSUING AND YOU'RE YOU'RE CARRYING FORWARD THE PLAN.
YOU'RE IDENTIFYING AT THE CONFERENCE LAST FALL AND IT'S GOOD TO SEE.
YEAH AGAIN, THANK YOU, DEREK, FOR FOR REPLYING QUICKLY TO THE EMAIL AND INVITING ME HERE TONIGHT, AND YOU'RE THE FIRST, BUT I'VE GOT 3 OR 4 MORE HERE IN THE NEXT COUPLE WEEKS. SO A MONTH FROM NOW I'LL PROBABLY REGRET.
[CHUCKLING] YEAH, BEING A GOAL OF MINE.
WE LIKE TO HAVE YOU BACK. WE KNOW YOU'RE CLOSE BY ALSO, SO IT HELPS FOR US.
YEAH, BUT I THINK THERE MIGHT BE SOME MORE CONVERSATION.
SO YOU KNOW WHAT WE'RE GOING THROUGH.
YEAH, YEAH. THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU.
THANKS FOR BRAVING THE WEATHER.
OTHERWISE I MIGHT NOT HAVE MADE IT.
MARK SAID THEY CLOSED THE BRIDGE.
YES, THEY DID, SO I MIGHT STILL BE OVER THERE.
WE GOT YOU ON THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE BRIDGE.
OKAY, SO I THINK NEXT ON OUR REPORTS IS THE BLUEPRINT FOR MARYLAND FUTURE UPDATE.
YES, DOCTOR [INAUDIBLE] HAPPY NEW YEAR.
GOOD EVENING, PRESIDENT BARTON.
MEMBERS OF THE BOARD AND DOCTOR SIMMONS THIS EVENING WE HAVE THE PILLAR CHAIRS HERE TO SHARE OUT UPDATES ON WHAT WE'RE DOING WITH THE BLUEPRINT. WE HAD OUR APPLICATION THAT WAS SUBMITTED IN THE SPRING, AND SINCE THEN WE'VE BEEN RECEIVING NEW GUIDANCE ON WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE IN THE NEXT ITERATION OF THIS PROCESS AND THE GOOD NEWS IS, IS I FEEL LIKE WE WERE ABLE TO PROVIDE INPUT THAT HELPED FLESH OUT A MORE DIGESTIBLE PLAN AIB DID SOME REFLECTION MSDE AND REFLECTED ON THE FACT THAT THEY CAN PROVIDE SOME MORE GUIDANCE ON CERTAIN ASPECTS OF THE PLAN.
SO AS YOU CAN SEE HERE, THE TIMELINE LOOKS A LITTLE DIFFERENT.
LAST YEAR I PRESENTED A TIMELINE OF MARCH 15TH, ALL 200 PAGES.
SO THE PILLAR CHAIRS HAVE BEEN PHENOMENAL IN BEING PROACTIVE WHEN IT COMES TO THE WORK, AND LOOKING AT THE PLAN THAT WE HAVE NOW THAT WE'VE BEEN GIVEN GUIDANCE ON, BUT ALSO BEING REALLY RECEPTIVE TO ATTENDING THE TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE MEETINGS THAT WE'RE HAVING AND THE ONGOING WORK THAT IS HAPPENING THROUGH THE COMMITTEES.
SO WE'RE CONTINUING TO MEET THE STATES, CONTINUING TO MEET, AND WE'RE TRYING TO MAKE ALL THOSE MEETINGS HAPPEN AND THEN CONVENE TOGETHER AS A TEAM TO MORE TO BE MORE COMPREHENSIVE ON OUR PLAN MOVING FORWARD.
SO I WON'T READ ALL THESE THINGS TO YOU.
I JUST WANT TO SHARE OUT THAT THEY'VE KIND OF CHUNKED OUR ASSIGNMENTS, SO TO SPEAK FOR OUR SUBMISSION, AND WE ARE ACTUALLY AHEAD OF SCHEDULE WHEN IT COMES TO SOME OF THE ASPECTS OF THIS PLAN THAT WERE TO SUBMIT, FOR EXAMPLE, THE COMPREHENSIVE LITERACY PLAN THAT WE'RE GOING TO BE SUBMITTING IT ALREADY HAS THE PRE K TO 12 COMPONENTS COMPREHENSIVE PLAN IS ALREADY COMPLETE SO THAT WE CAN GET THAT FEEDBACK AND INPUT NOW TO BE ABLE TO MAKE ADJUSTMENTS MOVING FORWARD.
SO I'M GOING TO HAND THIS OVER TO THE BLUEPRINT CHAIRS.
SO THE FIRST UP IS MISS LIZ [INAUDIBLE], AND SHE IS IN CHARGE OF PILLAR ONE.
I WILL NOT DO INTRODUCTIONS AFTER THIS.
THEY WILL INTRODUCE THE NEXT PILLAR AFTER THEM.
THANK YOU. SO PILLAR ONE'S MAIN FOCUS IS THAT EXPANSION OF PRE-K FOR THREE YEAR OLDS AND FOUR YEAR OLDS.
SO YOU CAN SEE THAT WHEN WE LOOK AT THAT PROGRAMMING, WE LOOK AT A HIGH QUALITY PROGRAM, A MIXED DELIVERY SYSTEM WHICH INCLUDES PUBLIC AND PRIVATE PROVIDERS IN A FULL DAY PROGRAM. SO IF YOU LOOK ON THE CHART UP THERE, YOU WILL SEE WE HAD TO SUBMIT OUR FIRST PIECE OF DATA FOR ENROLLMENT, AND SO YOU CAN SEE THAT WE HAVE 300. THIS REFLECTS THE SEPTEMBER 30TH COUNT.
SO WE HAD 375 PRE-K STUDENTS ENROLLED, 58 OF THEM BEING IN PRE-K THREE AND 317 OF THEM BEING IN PRE-K FOUR. SO OUR MAIN FOCUS RIGHT NOW IS TIER ONE, AND THAT IS THE MAIN FOCUS OF THIS PHASE OF BLUEPRINT.
TIER TWO LOOKS AT 301 TO 600% AND TIER THREE IS 600 AND ABOVE.
[01:10:03]
SO IN THE FUTURE WHEN BLUEPRINT GOES FURTHER IN IMPLEMENTATION, THEY WILL START TO TALK ABOUT A SLIDING SCALE, WHICH WILL BE FOR TIER TWO AND TIER THREE FAMILIES.SO JUST TO KIND OF WE CAN GO BACK FOR A SECOND.
SO WE'RE DEFINITELY DOING A LOT FOR OUR PUBLIC PROGRAM.
THEN ON THE OTHER HALF OF THE SLIDE, I ALSO HIGHLIGHT THE PRIVATE PROVIDERS BECAUSE AS YOU KNOW, THAT IS PART OF THE PLAN IS THAT WE HAVE PUBLIC AND PRIVATE OPTIONS FOR FAMILIES. SO IN CAROLINE COUNTY, WE HAVE TWO PROVIDERS, ONE IN THE RIDGELY AREA AND ONE IN THE PRESTON AREA, AND AS YOU CAN SEE, BOTH OF OUR PROVIDERS ARE ACTUALLY AT CAPACITY.
REMEMBER THAT THEY ARE FOLLOWING THE CRITERIA FOR BLUEPRINT OR WORKING TOWARDS THAT, BUT BECAUSE THEY ARE A PRIVATE DAYCARE OR CHILD CARE AT THEIR HOME, THEY ALSO HAVE TO FOLLOW ALL THE LICENSING.
SO YOU CAN SEE THEY TOP OUT AT 10 IN 1 LOCATION AND EIGHT AT ANOTHER, AND YOU CAN SEE THE SPECIFIC BREAKDOWN, AND SO AS WE CONTINUE TO WORK THROUGH AND YOU NOTICE THAT ONE OF THE EVENTS ON THE TIMELINE IS THE WAIVER BLUEPRINT HAS EVERY EVERY YEAR OF BLUEPRINT, WE INCREASE BY 5% OF THE SEATS THAT THEY WOULD LIKE TO SEE PRIVATE HAVE IN PUBLIC HAVE.
SO LAST YEAR THE GOAL WAS 35, AND YOU CAN SEE OUR NUMBERS THAT PRIVATE WAS AT THREE.
SO WE DID OUR WAIVER AND I ANTICIPATE THAT WE WILL DO THAT AGAIN, BUT WE CONTINUE TO WORK ON OUR PARTNERSHIP WITH OUR PRIVATE PROVIDERS BY INCLUDING THEM IN PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT. ANYTIME WE DO MATERIALS FOR CLASSROOMS AS WELL AS FAMILY ENGAGEMENT MATERIALS, WE ALSO MAKE SURE WE INCLUDE THEM AND THEN FINALLY KEEPING THEM INVOLVED IN SCHOOL EVENTS. SO IF THERE IS AN EVENT HAPPENING AT THE SCHOOL THE PRINCIPALS HAVE BEEN GREAT WITH SHARING THAT INFORMATION SO WE CAN INCLUDE THEM AS WELL.
SO THE NEXT PART LOOKS AT THAT WORKFORCE DELIVERY AND PIPELINES FOR HIGH QUALITY PRE-K STACK.
SO CONTINUING TO FIGURE OUT WAYS WITH DOCTOR WILLOUGHBY AND HIS PILLAR, TO FIGURE OUT HOW WE CAN GET MORE QUALIFIED STAFF AND MORE CERTIFIED STAFF, AND WE DO HAVE SOME STAFF MEMBERS CURRENTLY WHO ARE WORKING THROUGH THAT PROCESS AND PUTTING SPENDING ALL THE TIME IN THE CLASSROOM TEACHING AND THEN DOING THAT AS WELL FOR THEIR SCHOOL WORK, TOO.
SO RIGHT NOW WE HAVE A PARTNERSHIP WITH CHESAPEAKE COLLEGE.
WE HAVE A COHORT OF INSTRUCTIONAL ASSISTANTS THAT ARE GOING THROUGH THAT.
SO THEY GO HOME AND THEY DO CLASSES IN THE EVENING.
THEY DO THEIR PROJECT AND WE FACILITATE THE COST OF THAT.
SO AS YOU CAN SEE CURRENTLY WE HAVE 12 THAT ARE EITHER HAVE THAT DEGREE OR THEY'RE IN PROGRESS, AND THEN WE HAVE THE CURRENT STAFF WITHOUT THAT IS TEN, BUT I WILL SAY WE'VE ALSO JUST HIRED A GOOD HANDFUL OF STAFF MEMBERS, TOO.
SO WE'RE STILL WORKING THROUGH WHAT THEIR CREDENTIALS LOOK LIKE IN RESPONSE TO THAT, AND DEFINITELY INCLUDING ALL OF OUR INSTRUCTIONAL ASSISTANTS AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT AS WELL, BECAUSE THAT COVERS ONE OF THE OTHER COMPONENTS OF GETTING THEIR CDA, AND THEN JUST MOVING FORWARD WITH PILLAR ONE OUR END GOAL IS EVERYONE IS READY FOR KINDERGARTEN.
SO LOOKING TO SEE, YOU KNOW, ALL OF OUR SELECTIONS THAT WE MAKE ARE BASED ON THE DATA AND THE KINDERGARTEN READINESS ASSESSMENT, BUT REALLY SPENDING TIME LOOKING AT THE PRIVATE PROVIDER COLLABORATION, THE MATERIALS THAT WE USE, THE ASSESSMENTS THAT WE ADMINISTER, THE TRAININGS WE PROVIDE, AND THEN REALLY FOCUSING ON THAT TRANSITION BETWEEN GRADES. SO THAT CAN BE OUR FRIENDS COMING FROM EARLY HEAD START TO PRE-K OR PRE-K THROUGH TO PRE-K FOUR OR PRE-K TO KINDERGARTEN BUT REALLY, TAKING INTO CONSIDERATION ALL OF THOSE TRANSITIONS AND MAKING SURE FAMILIES AND STUDENTS ARE READY FOR KINDERGARTEN.
QUICK QUESTION. SO ALL THOSE PRE-K.
YES IT'S JUST A WHOLE DIFFERENT DYNAMIC, RIGHT? I MEAN, YES, SOME OF THESE KIDS ARE REALLY AHEAD OF THE CURVE.
RIGHT. MHM, AND THEN OTHERS GOOD GRIEF SO ONE CHILD COULD LIKE DOMINATE THE STAFF'S ATTENTION FOR AN HOUR, FOR A DAY, EVERY DAY.
IT'S JUST IT'S JUST I DON'T KNOW IF IMPRESSIVE IS THE RIGHT WORD OR JUST DEMANDING OR CHALLENGING.
WE KNEW THIS WAS GOING TO BE OUR PILOT YEAR TO SEE SO TAKING WHAT HAS HAPPENED AND GOING FORTH, BUT DEFINITELY CREDIT TO EVERYONE BECAUSE WE DO HAVE A LOT OF CREATIVE THINKERS AND MAKING SURE THAT, YOU KNOW, WE'RE SERVING EVERYONE IN THEIR NEEDS.
[01:15:05]
THANK YOU. YEAH. THANK YOU I APPRECIATE THAT.THANK YOU. ALL RIGHT, PRESIDENT BARTON, MEMBERS OF THE BOARD.
OBJECTIVE THREE IS MSDE OBJECTIVE FOR THINGS FOR THEM TO DO BUT WE HAVE REALLY TAKEN A HARD LOOK AT RECRUITING OUR RECRUITING RADIUS HOW WE TARGET RECRUITING.
I WILL TELL YOU THAT RIGHT NOW WE ARE SOLICITING OUR ADMINISTRATORS, AND FOR THE FIRST TIME IN A LONG TIME, OUR TEACHERS TO SEE WHO WOULD LIKE TO BE A PART OF OUR RECRUITING EFFORTS TO DATE, WE HAVE RECEIVED 44 FOLKS WHO ARE INTERESTED IN TAKING PART IN OUR RECRUITING THIS YEAR, AND SO WE'LL BE LOOKING AT THAT, AND WE'VE ALSO IDENTIFIED THE LAST COUNT WAS 20 COLLEGES IN THE AREA FOR SOMEWHERE AROUND 16 RECRUITING TRIPS, BECAUSE SOME WILL BE MULTI-DAY TO DIFFERENT COLLEGES.
SO REALLY EXPANDING THAT AND THEN LOOKING AT OUR INTERNAL PROCESSES AS WELL AND JUST REVIEWING THOSE AS WE GO INTO THE RECRUITING SEASON FOR OBJECTIVE TWO THIS IS OUR PARTNERSHIP WITH COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES, AND WE'VE TAKEN A LOT OF EFFORTS TO REALLY EXPAND THAT.
CHESAPEAKE COLLEGE, AS LIZ SAID, HAS BEEN A FANTASTIC PARTNER WITH US THROUGH MARYLAND LEADS NOT ONLY THROUGH THE CDA, BUT IN HELPING OUR SUPPORT STAFF PURSUE THEIR ASSOCIATES AND THEIR BACHELOR'S DEGREES AS WELL AS CONDITIONAL TEACHERS AND HELPING THEM GET WHAT THEY NEED AND REALLY MATCHING PROGRAMS WE'VE EXPANDED THAT.
SO WE JUST RECENTLY SIGNED A MOU WITH MOUNT SAINT MARY'S.
MOUNT SAINT MARY'S UNIVERSITY OFFERS A FULLY ONLINE BACHELOR'S DEGREE IN ELEMENTARY EDUCATION, DESIGNED FOR THE WORKING PROFESSIONAL SO THAT THEY CAN TAKE THEIR COURSEWORK.
SO IF THEY'RE AN IA FOR US, THEY DON'T HAVE TO BE AT SALISBURY AT 2:40 ON TUESDAY AND THURSDAY.
THEY CAN DO IT IN THE EVENING AND WORK THROUGH THAT, AND IT'S ONE OF THE ONLY PROGRAMS LIKE THAT IN THE STATE OF MARYLAND, AND THAT MOU WILL BE SIGNED ALLOWS OUR FOLKS TO HAVE A 20% TUITION REDUCTION RIGHT OFF THE BAT.
MORE IF MORE PEOPLE SIGN UP AND WE ALSO INCLUDED THEM IN OUR DIRECT BILLING.
WE'RE ALSO LOOKING AT THAT SAME THAT SAME IDEA IN TALKS WITH UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND GLOBAL CAMPUS, AS WELL AS EXPANDING OUR PARTICIPATION WITH UNIVERSITY OF PHENIX THROUGH THEIR DIRECT BILLING AS WELL AND JUST SO YOU KNOW ONE 120 FOR THOSE NEW EDUCATOR LICENSURE REGULATIONS DID GO INTO EFFECT THAT WERE PASSED IN NOVEMBER.
SO WE'RE ONGOING PD NOW TO LOOK AT WHAT THEY REALLY REQUIRE OUR FOLKS TO DO.
HAPPY NEW YEAR COMES WITH [INAUDIBLE].
SO YEAH AND THEN CONTINUING TO LOOK AT SUPPORT STAFF CAREER CHANGERS IN OUR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS, HOW CAN WE GET THEM INTO THE FIELD OF EDUCATION? SO GETTING THEM HIRED IN A SUPPORT STAFF ROLE, BUT THEN SUPPORTING THEM AS THEY GO THROUGH THEIR EDUCATION TO PURSUE TEACHER CERTIFICATION.
A LOT OF TALKS WITH MR. COOK AND MRS. MCCORMICK ABOUT WHAT A TEACHER APPRENTICESHIP COULD LOOK LIKE IF WE WERE ABLE TO GET THAT OFF THE GROUND.
OBJECTIVE FOUR IS ALL AROUND THE CAREER LADDER AND WE RECEIVED SOME GUIDANCE THIS YEAR THAT THE CAREER LADDER, WHICH ORIGINALLY WAS GOING TO GO INTO EFFECT. ONE 120 I'M SORRY SEVEN 124 WILL NOW GO INTO EFFECT.
SEVEN 125 AS YOU KNOW, IN THIS PART OF IT, THERE'S WHAT THE LAW SAYS WE NEED TO DO AND THEN THERE ARE THE DETAILS OF HOW WE DO IT, AND THE DETAILS OF HOW WE DO IT ARE NEGOTIABLE, AND SO WE HAVE ON NOVEMBER 17TH, WE INVITED OUR ASSOCIATION PARTNERS IN HERE TO WATCH A CONVENING WITH MULTIPLE AGENCIES ABOUT GIVING GUIDANCE ON HOW THAT WOULD WORK, AND WE STARTED HAVING SOME CONVERSATIONS, NOT WITHIN THE NEGOTIATION PROCESS, BUT JUST SOME CONVERSATIONS AS TO WHAT OUR CAREER LADDER MAY LOOK LIKE, AND THOSE CONVERSATIONS WILL CONTINUE IN THE NEXT FEW WEEKS AND WE KNOW THAT THROUGH OUR NEGOTIATIONS, WE'VE ALREADY COMMITTED TO A NEW TEACHER SCALE IN THIS NEGOTIATING SEASON
[01:20:04]
WE'VE ALSO, AS MRS. MULLIGAN SAID EARLIER SHE AND CHRIS NEVILLE, RETIRED SPECIAL EDUCATION TEACHER FROM COLONEL MIDDLE.CHRIS IS OUR NATIONAL BOARD COORDINATOR THAT PROVIDES SUPPORT TO THE 48 TEACHERS WHO ARE CURRENTLY GOING THROUGH THAT PROCESS AND SOME IN SOME FASHION YOU DO HAVE FIVE YEARS TO GO THROUGH THAT, AND SO WHEN YOU THINK OF 48 GOING THROUGH IT, THAT IS 10% OF OUR TEACHING STAFF PURSUING A REALLY RIGOROUS NATIONAL CERTIFICATION, AND SO HOW DO WE SUPPORT THEM AS THEY MOVE FORWARD? AND THEN FINALLY, IN OBJECTIVE FIVE, THIS IS ABOUT TEACHER PREPARATION PROGRAMS AND LICENSURE, BUT IT'S ALSO ABOUT TEACHER PAY, AND THE BIG THING HERE, IT'S A TWO FOLD A TWO FOLD PLAN.
ONE, WE HAD TO DEMONSTRATE A 10% RAISE IN TEACHER SALARIES BEYOND THE NEGOTIATED PAY SCALE BY FY 23, AND AS YOU CAN SEE THERE, WE WERE ABLE TO DO THAT THROUGH OUR SALARY ENHANCEMENTS STARTING BACK IN FY 20 TO BE ABLE TO BE ABOVE THE 10% IN THE TIMELINE. SO THEN THE SECOND ONE THAT'S LEFT IS BY JULY 1ST OF 2026, A STARTING TEACHER SALARY OF $60,000, AND WE KNOW WHERE WE STAND.
OUR STARTING TEACHER SALARY THIS YEAR 53 167, AND IF I'M DOING SOCIAL STUDIES TEACHER MATH, THAT MEANS WE'RE ABOUT $6,800 TO THE END, AND IF YOU DIVIDE THAT OVER THE THREE FISCAL YEARS WE HAVE, THAT MEANS IT NEEDS TO GO UP AT LEAST 2278.
SO IS THAT MATH SIMILAR TO THE BACK OF THE ENVELOPE? MY ENVELOPE IS JUST A POST-IT NOTE, I THINK I'M NOT A CPA.
[CHUCKLING] CLOSE ENOUGH. I DON'T GET REAL ENVELOPES BUT, YOU KNOW, 2278 A YEAR IS WHERE WE NEED TO GET OUR STARTING SALARY UP TO, AND IF YOU LOOK, WE WERE ABLE IN THE LAST TWO YEARS, AND I WILL JUST BE TRANSPARENT ABOUT IT.
WE WERE ABLE TO GET SOMEWHAT CLOSE TO THAT NUMBER, BUT WE ALSO KNOW IN THE LAST TWO YEARS WE GAVE VERY HEAVY COLAS WITHOUT GIVING INCREMENTS, AND THAT IS WHEN FOLKS SAY, YOU KNOW WHY THAT? THERE IS A MANDATE HERE, AND THAT IS HOW WE'VE HAD TO GET THAT SALARY UP.
WE HAVE THREE MORE YEARS TO GET IT THERE WE'VE COMMITTED TO NOT ONLY RENEGOTIATING THE OLD SCALE, BUT ALSO THE CAREER LADDER AS WELL, AND I'M CONFIDENT THAT WE CAN DO THAT, BUT THAT JUST SHOWS YOU OUR PROGRESS TO DATE.
ANY QUESTIONS? THANK YOU. ALL RIGHT. MRS. MCCORMICK WILL TAKE OVER PILLAR THREE.
ALL RIGHT. GOOD EVENING, PRESIDENT BARTON.
MEMBERS OF THE BOARD AND DOCTOR SIMMONS.
I'M HERE TO TALK ABOUT PILLAR THREE AND AS YOU ALL KNOW, PILLAR THREE IS ALL ABOUT COLLEGE AND CAREER READINESS THIS YEAR, MSDE AND AIB HAD A THIRD PARTY RESEARCH GROUP COME IN AND RESEARCH COLLEGE AND CAREER READINESS STANDARDS, AND THEY WERE ABLE TO MAKE SOME RECOMMENDATIONS WHAT YOU SEE ON THE SCREEN HERE IS THE CURRENT AND CURRENT STANDARDS OF AS TO WHAT WOULD DEEM A STUDENT COLLEGE AND CAREER READY.
STUDENTS ARE MEASURED AT THE END OF 10TH GRADE AND NEED TO HAVE THIS MET FOR BOTH ELA AND MATH IN ORDER TO BE DEEMED COLLEGE AND CAREER READY THERE WERE SEVERAL OPPORTUNITIES FOR PUBLIC COMMENT AND FEEDBACK AROUND THE STATE AND THROUGH THAT, THE STATE BOARD HAD THOUGHT THAT IN DECEMBER THEY WOULD ADOPT NEW STANDARDS THERE WAS SO MUCH PUBLIC COMMENT AND FEEDBACK THAT THEY REALLY WANTED TO TAKE THEIR TIME AND GET IT RIGHT, SO THEY HAVE NOT MADE ANY ADJUSTMENTS.
WE'RE STILL UNDER THE INTERIM STANDARDS POSSIBILITY OF SOMETHING COMING THIS MONTH.
SOME OF THE OPTIONS THAT HAVE BEEN CONSIDERED OR BROUGHT TO THE TABLE WOULD BE ADDING GPA AS A MEASURE THERE'S ALSO BEEN CONVERSATION AROUND THAT A LOT OF THESE STANDARDS REALLY RELATE TO IF YOU ARE GOING TO A TWO OR A FOUR YEAR COLLEGE, BUT THAT CAREER READINESS MIGHT HAVE A DIFFERENT FEEL IF YOU WERE GOING TO A CAREER TECHNICAL SCHOOL OR FURTHERING YOUR CAREER STRAIGHT OUT OF HIGH SCHOOL AND NOT GOING ON TO POST-SECONDARY.
SO THERE HAS BEEN CONVERSATION AROUND IF A CAREER READINESS STANDARD SHOULD BE IMPLEMENTED AS WELL ANOTHER PART OF PILLAR THREE IS CAREER COUNSELING AND I AM VERY PLEASED TO SAY THAT THIS YEAR THROUGH OUR MOU WITH THE WORKFORCE INVESTMENT BOARD, WE HAVE ADDED A HIGH SCHOOL, ONE HIGH SCHOOL AND ONE MIDDLE SCHOOL CAREER COACH THAT ARE IN THE BUILDINGS FIVE DAYS A WEEK WORKING WITH STUDENTS.
[01:25:10]
WE PUT IN A GOOGLE FORM REFERRAL FORM, AND TEACHERS HAVE REALLY TAKEN TO THAT, MADE REFERRALS FOR INDIVIDUAL STUDENTS TO MEET WITH THE CAREER COACHES, BUT WE'RE ALSO USING THE SAME KIND OF FRAMEWORK AS TIER ONE, TIER TWO AND TIER THREE AS INSTRUCTION DOES SO THE COACHES ARE GOING IN AND WITH TIER ONE, THEY ARE SEEING ALL STUDENTS AND HAVING THOSE STUDENTS DO DIFFERENT ASSESSMENTS SURROUNDING THEIR STRENGTHS, THEIR INTERESTS AND THEIR CAREER ASPIRATIONS AND THEN PULLING SMALL GROUPS TO DO INDIVIDUAL BASIS.THE NEXT SLIDE GOES INTO COLLEGE AND CAREER PATHWAYS.
SO ONCE A STUDENT IS DEEMED COLLEGE AND CAREER READY AT THE END OF 10TH GRADE WITH THOSE ENGLISH AND MATH MEASURES, UH STUDENTS WILL HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO CHOOSE FOUR PATHWAYS. WHAT WE HAVE DONE THIS YEAR IS REALLY START HONING IN ON WHAT EACH OF THESE PATHWAYS WILL LOOK LIKE.
SO FOR EXAMPLE, WITH THOSE ARE THE FOUR ADVANCED PLACEMENT, DUAL ENROLLMENT OR EARLY COLLEGE CTE AND YOUTH APPRENTICESHIP WITH UH WITH ADVANCED PLACEMENT. WE ARE LOOKING TO ADD ADDITIONAL COURSES NEXT YEAR.
I BELIEVE THAT MIGHT BE COMING TO YOU ALL NEXT MONTH.
YES FOR A POTENTIAL PILOT IN AP PRE-CALCULUS, AND THEN WE HOPE TO DO SOME PLANNING FOR ANOTHER ADDITIONAL AP CLASS THE FOLLOWING YEAR.
SO THAT WILL NOT BE COMING TO YOU NEXT MONTH, BUT WE ARE IN THE PLANNING PROCESSES ALL STUDENTS WHO ARE ENROLLED IN AN AP COURSE MUST NOW SIT FOR THE AP EXAM.
OUR PARTNERSHIP, I WOULD SAY, WITH CHESAPEAKE COLLEGE HAS REALLY ENHANCED I PROBABLY HAVE IN VARIOUS REALMS, 6 TO 10 MEETINGS A MONTH WITH CHESAPEAKE COLLEGE RIGHT NOW HAVING TO DO WITH DUAL ENROLLMENT OR, AND OR EARLY COLLEGE AND OR CTE, ETC..
SAME TIME THAT THEY'RE GRADUATING WITH A HIGH SCHOOL DIPLOMA, IT WOULD MEAN THAT OUR STUDENTS ARE STARTING AT CHESAPEAKE AT AN EARLIER YEAR, AND SO THERE ARE SOME THINGS THAT WE'RE WORKING THROUGH THAT WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE FOR A NINTH GRADE OR 14 YEAR OLD TO BE IN A COLLEGE COURSE? BUT WE'RE WORKING THROUGH THAT, AND STILL THE LEAS PAY FOR TRANSPORTATION, TUITION, FEES, BOOKS AND SUPPLIES, AND THROUGH THIS YEAR, WE HAVE FOUND THAT'S A HEAVIER LOAD THAN WE HAD ANTICIPATED FROM THE BEGINNING.
SO WE'VE LOOKED AT HOW CAN WE AS THE SCHOOL SYSTEM, MAXIMIZE OUR MONEY AS IT RELATES TO DUAL ENROLLMENT AND TUITION AND FEES AND BOOKS, ETC.
AS IT RELATES TO THE CCR PATHWAY OF CAREER TECHNOLOGY EDUCATION.
INDUSTRY RECOGNIZED CREDENTIALS, AND YOU HEARD THAT EARLIER FROM OUR STUDENT MEMBER OF THE BOARD SAYING THAT STUDENTS WERE GETTING READY TO TAKE THEIR IRCS INDUSTRY RECOGNIZED CREDENTIALS THAT'S IN THE BLUEPRINT.
THAT'S KIND OF HOW WE ARE MEASURED.
DO OUR CHILDREN PASS THE IRCS? WELL, RIGHT NOW ONLY 12 OF OUR 16 PATHWAYS OFFER AN IRC.
MSDE IS GOING TO BE ADDING ADDITIONAL IRCS.
YOUTH APPRENTICESHIP IS THE NEXT CCR PATHWAY AND WE HAVE A GOAL OF MANY, MANY STUDENTS GRADUATING AS A YOUTH APPRENTICE BUT WE ARE GROWING IT.
IT TAKES BUSINESSES IN THE AREA TO WANT TO PARTNER AND BE WILLING TO TAKE ON A HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT TO HAVE A ONE ON ONE APPRENTICESHIP OPPORTUNITY BUT I AM VERY GRATEFUL TO SAY THAT EVEN CCSPS HAS GONE ON AND WE ARE TAKING ON FOUR YOUTH APPRENTICESHIPS STUDENTS SO I JUST THINK THAT AS THE LARGEST EMPLOYER IN CAROLINE COUNTY, US, SHOWING THAT WE CAN MAKE IT WORK REALLY IS SHOWING THE REST OF THE COUNTY THAT IT CAN WORK.
WE'LL HAVE A SIGNING DAY COMING UP SOON ALL RIGHT.
[01:30:05]
SO THAT'S CCR PATHWAYS.SO THE NEXT SLIDE TALKS ABOUT NON CCR PATHWAYS.
SO AGAIN AT 10TH GRADE WHEN YOU'RE DEEMED CCR OR NOT CCR OBVIOUSLY OUR GOAL IS FOR EVERYBODY TO BE COLLEGE AND CAREER READY, BUT IF YOU ARE NOT WE WANT TO PUT SOME PATHWAYS IN PLACE TO SUPPORT EACH INDIVIDUAL STUDENT.
SO EACH STUDENT THAT AT THE END OF 10TH GRADE IS NOT DEEMED COLLEGE AND CAREER READY.
THEY WILL HAVE AN INDIVIDUAL LEARNING PLAN WE ARE LOOKING INTO OPTIONS.
WE'RE POTENTIALLY GOING TO PILOT WITH A VERY, VERY SMALL GROUP THIS SPRING.
WE'RE LOOKING AT USING PERFORMANCE MATTERS AND CASE MANAGING IT KIND OF IN SIMILAR PROCESSES AS WE CURRENTLY DO FOR OTHER THINGS SOME OF THOSE ADDITIONAL SUPPORTS MIGHT BE IN THE SUMMER, MIGHT BE AFTER SCHOOL, MIGHT BE ADDITIONAL CONTENT MODULES JUST IN THEIR NEXT CLASS AND THEN ULTIMATELY HAVE A REASSESSMENT OR RELOOK AT THE MEASURES AGAIN TO HOPEFULLY THEN DEEM THEM COLLEGE AND CAREER READY AND I THINK THE LAST KIND OF ONE OF THE LAST SLIDES IS REALLY TAKING A LOOK.
WE'VE SPENT A LOT OF TIME AS TO WHAT DOES THE INDIVIDUAL LEARNING PLAN LOOK LIKE.
SO WE ARE TAKING A LOOK AT WHAT IS THE PROCESS, WHAT ARE THE COMPONENTS OF THE PLAN ITSELF? I'M WORKING WITH OUR STRATEGIC FACILITATOR TO, TO WORK ON THIS ASPECT OF PILLAR THREE.
SO I LOOK FORWARD TO BEING ABLE TO SHARE PILOT RESULTS COMING UP IN THE SPRING, AND TRULY, OUR NEXT STEPS ARE TO REFINE ALL OF THESE THINGS THAT WE'RE DOING.
CAREER COACHING IS GOING VERY WELL, BUT WE KNOW THAT WE NEED TO REFINE THOSE PRACTICES.
WE NEED TO CONTINUE TO BUILD OUT THE COLLEGE CAREER PATHWAYS, AS WELL AS THE NON CCR PATHWAYS, AND FINALIZE OUR INDIVIDUAL LEARNING PLAN FOR OUR STUDENTS WHO ARE NOT MEETING THAT STANDARD AND THEN OBVIOUSLY THE SUBMISSION IN MAY.
SO I'M GOING TO TURN IT OVER TO PILLAR FOUR WHICH IS CRYSTAL[INAUDIBLE].
I GOT ONE QUESTION. OH I'M SORRY.
FOR THE DUAL ENROLLMENT, IS THERE MAYBE PLANS IN THE FUTURE FOR THESE KIDS TO BE ABLE TO DO IT ONLINE INSTEAD OF HAVING [INAUDIBLE]? SO ACTUALLY, THE MAJORITY OF OUR STUDENTS CURRENTLY DO IT ONLINE.
YES I MEAN, IT'S LIKE SO IT IS I MEAN, TO THE 80%, MAYBE AT LEAST 80% OF OUR STUDENTS ARE ONLINE.
NOW THAT ONLINE IS A MIXTURE OF AN ASYNCHRONOUS COURSE WHERE YOU DON'T HAVE LIVE TIME WITH A TEACHER AND A SYNCHRONOUS COURSE WHICH DOES HAVE LIVE TIME.
SO WE ARE BETTER WITH THAT IN SOME BETTER FIT.
CORRECT. WE'RE LOOKING INTO SOME SOME DETAILS IN RELATED TO THAT JUST DUE TO SOME OF THE LAWS ABOUT VIRTUAL EDUCATION BUT YES, FOR NOW IT IS DEFINITELY AN OPTION AND ONE THAT HAS BEEN A GREAT OPPORTUNITY FOR KIDS RIGHT NOW.
TRANSPORTATION AND STUFF LIKE THAT.
ONE LINE HAS BEEN A WONDERFUL MONEY THAT IF WE CAN SAVE AND TO BE HONEST WITH YOU, MR. PLUTSCHAK, WE'VE LOOKED AT THE DATA CHESAPEAKE COLLEGE WAS VERY TRANSPARENT AND GAVE US A LOT OF DATA THIS WEEK ON THE SUCCESS RATES OF OUR STUDENTS OVER THE PAST THREE YEARS.
SO TREND DATA AND OUR STUDENTS ARE JUST AS SUCCESSFUL ONLINE AS THEY ARE IN PERSON.
THAT'S GOOD TO HEAR. YEAH. ANY OTHER QUESTIONS BEFORE I TURN IT OVER.
SO IN MARCH OF 2023, WHEN WE TURNED IN OUR FIRST PLAN WE DESCRIBED HOW WE WERE GOING TO ENGAGE AND COMMUNICATE WITH OUR MLL FAMILIES, AND ONE OF THOSE THINGS THAT ALSO CAME OUT OF THE WORKGROUP FOR ENGLISH LEARNERS, IF YOU REMEMBER, WHEN I PRESENTED AT THE BOARD WORK SESSION LAST MONTH, I INCLUDED A LINK TO THAT.
IF YOU HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO READ THROUGH THAT, YOU'LL RECOGNIZE THE POSITION OF THE MLL FAMILY COORDINATOR, AND WE HAVE BEEN LUCKY ENOUGH TO HIRE TWO PEOPLE TO FILL THE MLL FAMILY COORDINATORS.
WE HAVE MR. DAVID ROSARIO, WHO IS OUR SPANISH SPEAKING FAMILY COORDINATOR, AND THEN WE HAVE MISS LULU [INAUDIBLE], WHO IS OUR PATIENT CREOLE SPEAKING FAMILY COORDINATOR, AND THEY'RE EACH POSITIONED ONE ONE ON THE NORTHERN END, ONE ON THE SOUTHERN, BUT THEY WORK ACROSS THE COUNTY,
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AND WE HAVE REALLY BEEN ABLE TO IMPROVE OUR COMMUNICATION WITH OUR FAMILIES.THEY STAY AFTER THEY ATTEND ALL KINDS OF AFTER SCHOOL EVENTS, PARENT CONFERENCES WHEN WE NEED THEM FOR 504 MEETINGS OR IEP MEETINGS TO MAKE SURE OUR PARENTS UNDERSTAND YOU KNOW, WHAT THE NEEDS OF THEIR STUDENTS ARE AND TO BE ABLE TO ADVOCATE AND ASK QUESTIONS, THEY ARE ABLE TO ATTEND.
THE NEXT STEPS WITH OUR MULTILINGUAL LEARNER FAMILY COORDINATORS WILL BE TO PROVIDE ADDITIONAL PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND TRAINING, BECAUSE THERE ARE EXPECTATIONS THAT JUST RECENTLY CAME OUT REGARDING THIS POSITION FROM [INAUDIBLE] AND FOCUS ON INCREASING FAMILY ENGAGEMENT, AND MY GOAL IS BY THE END OF THIS YEAR, TO START IDENTIFYING SOME OF OUR MLL FAMILIES FOR PARENT LEADERSHIP OPPORTUNITIES. I WOULD REALLY LIKE TO SEE MORE PARENT INVOLVEMENT IN OUR PTAS AND PTOS ACROSS THE DISTRICT AND SEE THEM, YOU KNOW, GOING OUT AND JUST HELPING US WELCOME MORE FAMILIES INTO OUR SCHOOLS AND ATTENDING THE EVENING EVENTS.
CAN YOU HIT THE NEXT SLIDE, RACHEL.
SO THE SECOND THE SECOND PART OF OUR MULTILINGUAL LEARNERS INVOLVES HOW WE SUPPORT THEM IN INSTRUCTION AS WELL AS INCREASING THEIR LANGUAGE ACQUISITION, AND SO THERE ARE A LOT OF THINGS THAT WE HAVE BEEN PUTTING IN PLACE, AND ONE OF THE FIRST THINGS THAT WE HAVE DONE IS ONGOING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT, NOT JUST FOR OUR TEACHERS, BUT ALSO FOR OUR INSTRUCTIONAL ASSISTANTS THAT WORK WITH OUR MLL STUDENTS.
WE HAVE ALSO BEEN HOLDING MONTHLY MEETINGS WITH INDIVIDUAL MLL TEACHERS WE HAVE BEEN GOING AROUND TO THE SCHOOLS THIS YEAR OUR PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT TIME WITH THE TEACHERS HAS BEEN A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT THIS YEAR, AND SO WE'VE BEEN VERY CREATIVE AND WE'VE TRIED TO BE VERY MINDFUL AND RESPECTFUL OF THEIR PLANNING TIME. SO WE PLAN AHEAD AND SCHEDULE MONTHLY MEETINGS THAT ARE ABOUT 30 MINUTES AND IT'S NICE BECAUSE THE TEACHERS GET ONE ON ONE TIME WITH ME AND EITHER THE COORDINATOR OF ELEMENTARY MLL OR OUR COORDINATOR OF SECONDARY, SO THEY HAVE THAT OPPORTUNITY TO ASK QUESTIONS.
WE PROVIDE SOME PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT.
WE LOOK AT PROGRESS MONITORING FOR OUR STUDENTS.
WE'VE ALSO BEEN TRACKING DATA ON OUR LONG TERM MLLS, AND IF YOU REMEMBER, A LONG TERM MLL IS A STUDENT THAT DOES NOT EXIT WITHIN THAT SIX YEARS THAT THEY ARE GIVEN TO SCORE THAT 4.5 OR HIGHER ON THE Y AXIS, WHICH IS THE MCAP FOR OUR ENGLISH LEARNERS.
SO WE HAVE A LOT OF LONG TERM MLLS WHO, IF THEY'RE NOT EXITING AT THE ELEMENTARY LEVEL, THEY'RE GOING TO SECONDARY, AND SO WE'RE LOOKING AT THAT DATA.
IN ORDER TO DO THAT, WE HAVE REALLY BEEN LOOKING AT OUR ENGLISH LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM AND STRENGTHENING IT AND LOOKING AT WAYS THAT WE CAN SUPPORT OUR TEACHERS AND STUDENTS AND MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE INCREASING THEIR ENGLISH LANGUAGE PROFICIENCY WITHIN THAT SIX YEARS OR LESS, AND OUR GOAL IS TO EXIT MORE STUDENTS FROM THE PROGRAM, AND ONE OF THE OTHER THINGS THAT WE HAVE DONE TO MOVE TOWARDS THAT GOAL IS THIS YEAR, WE USED OUR TITLE THREE FUNDS TO PURCHASE WDA MODEL, WHICH IS ALIGNED TO THE ACCESS ASSESSMENT THAT THEY ARE ACTUALLY TAKING TOMORROW.
OUR PRIMARY WINDOW OPENED UP ON MONDAY, BUT WE USUALLY TRY TO GIVE A COUPLE OF DAYS BEFORE WE START, BUT FOR THE REMAINDER OF THE MONTH OF JANUARY, THEY ARE TAKING WDA ACCESS AND WDA MODEL WE GAVE IN OCTOBER THIS YEAR WE'LL GIVE IT AGAIN IN MAY AND IT WILL BE OUR BEGINNING OF YEAR AND END OF YEAR BENCHMARK DATA.
THANK YOU. HELLO, I'M ERICA MACDONALD, AND I AM HERE TO DISCUSS THE SPECIAL EDUCATION PART OF PILLAR FOUR AND I'M EXCITED TO SHARE SOME OF THE THINGS THAT WE'VE BEEN WORKING ON, BUT THEN ALSO NEXT STEPS FOR WHAT'S TO COME FROM OUR DEPARTMENT SO TWO OF THE FOCUS POINTS FOR PILLAR FOUR FOR SPECIAL EDUCATION I'LL GO OVER.
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DISABILITIES WHAT I REALLY LOVE THAT WE DID AT THE BEGINNING OF THE YEAR WAS AS A LEADERSHIP TEAM, WE CREATED A MISSION STATEMENT AND IT'S ALL ABOUT PROVIDING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT TO NOT JUST OUR TEACHERS, BUT TO OUR STAFF, OUR INSTRUCTIONAL ASSISTANTS, OUR SPEECH LANGUAGE PATHOLOGISTS, ANYONE WHO WORKS WITH OUR STUDENTS.WE ALSO WANT TO RETAIN THEM BECAUSE THE PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT THAT WE GIVE TO THEM, WE WANT THEM TO STAY SO THEY CAN BE CONSISTENTLY PROVIDING WHAT THEY'RE LEARNING TO THOSE STUDENTS AND WE OF COURSE, WANT TO PROVIDE HIGH QUALITY INSTRUCTION FOR THOSE STUDENTS SOME OF THE THINGS WE DID THIS SUMMER AND THEN ALSO THROUGHOUT THE SCHOOL YEAR, WE PROVIDED GOAL BOOK TRAINING, WHICH, IF YOU'RE NOT FAMILIAR WITH GOAL BOOK TOOLKIT, IT'S AN AMAZING RESOURCE THAT WE PURCHASED FOR SPECIAL EDUCATION STAFF RELATED SERVICE PROVIDERS CAN ACCESS IT.
UDL STRATEGIES PROGRESS MONITORING RESOURCES.
IT REALLY IS LIKE A ONE STOP SHOP FOR STAFF WE HAD SOMEBODY COME TO OUR DISTRICT TO PROVIDE IN-PERSON TRAINING, AND THEN WE ALSO HAVE WEBINARS THAT WE ACCESS THROUGHOUT THE YEAR THAT WE MAKE SURE WE COMMUNICATE.
WE ALSO HAVE PROVIDED PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT FOR WRITING AND IMPLEMENTING HIGH QUALITY IEPS BECAUSE YOU KNOW, YOU CAN WRITE A HIGH QUALITY IEP, BUT WE NEED TO MAKE SURE WE'RE IMPLEMENTING THEM WITH FIDELITY, AND WE ALSO OFFERED NEW TEACHER AFTER SCHOOL WORKSHOPS TO HELP THE NEW TEACHERS TO THE DISTRICT GET ACCLIMATED, UNDERSTAND THE COMPLIANCE THINGS THAT THEY NEED TO UNDERSTAND FOR PAPERWORK AND ALSO SCHEDULING HELP ANY SUPPORT THAT THEY NEED. THEY WERE OFFERED THAT OPPORTUNITY.
WE ALSO HAVE BEEN PROVIDING OPPORTUNITIES FOR CO-TEACHERS TO PLAN TOGETHER AFTER SCHOOL.
LIKE CRYSTAL SAID, TIME IS HARD TO GET TO OUR TEACHERS.
SO IF WE CAN PAY THEM AND GIVE THEM THAT TIME SO THEY CAN PLAN TOGETHER SO THEY CAN PROVIDE THAT HIGH QUALITY INSTRUCTION WE ARE OFFERING THAT AS WELL, AND THEN ANOTHER THING THAT WE'VE DONE FOR SECONDARY SPECIAL EDUCATION AND ALSO ELA TEACHERS THEY WERE ABLE TO BE TRAINED IN LEXIA ASPIRE AND POWER UP PROGRAMS AND THAT THEY WERE GIVEN $1,000 STIPEND TO COMPLETE THIS TRAINING AND THEY ARE IMPLEMENTING THE INTERVENTIONS DURING THEIR FOCUS TIME AND THEN ON THE NEXT SLIDE, THE OTHER FOCUS POINT THAT WE HAVE FOR SPECIAL EDUCATION IS OF COURSE, FOCUSING ON DISPROPORTIONATE IDENTIFICATION AND DISCIPLINARY PRACTICES WE HAVE DONE A LOT OF WORK THIS YEAR TO COLLABORATE WITH OTHER DEPARTMENTS LIKE STUDENT SERVICES BUT ALSO THE CONTENT SUPERVISORS PARTICIPATING IN THE DISCIPLINE REVIEW COMMITTEE IF THERE ARE DISTRICT LEVEL SST MEETINGS THAT WE NEED TO ATTEND AS REPRESENTATIVES OF SPECIAL EDUCATION BUT ALSO REALLY PARTICIPATING WITH THE ITSS TEAM TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE FOLLOWING THE MULTI-TIERED SYSTEMS OF SUPPORT.
SO WE'RE NOT OVER IDENTIFYING STUDENTS WE DO MONTHLY DATA REVIEWS OF THE DISTRICT WIDE SPECIAL EDUCATION ELIGIBILITY. WE LOOK AT REFERRAL DATA.
WE LOOK AT TRENDS YOU KNOW, IF THERE'S BEEN A LARGE INCREASE IN ELIGIBILITY AT A CERTAIN SCHOOL OR WITH A PARTICULAR DISABLING CONDITION, WE'RE ABLE TO KIND OF GO BACK AND LOOK AT THE HISTORICAL DATA.
IS IT PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT THAT WE NEED TO PROVIDE? IS IT TRULY THAT, YOU KNOW, THESE STUDENTS ARE QUALIFYING FOR THIS DISABILITY? SO WE HAVE A REALLY NICE SPREADSHEET THAT OUR DATA MANAGER GIVES TO, GIVES TO US TO REVIEW.
SO WE'RE THANKFUL FOR THAT AND THEN THE OTHER PIECE TO THIS, AND THIS WAS PART OF THE STAFFING PLAN THAT WAS APPROVED LAST YEAR. OUR SPECIAL EDUCATION TEACHERS, SPECIALISTS HAVE REALLY TAKEN ON THE ROLE OF EDUCATIONAL DIAGNOSTICIANS, AND THEY HAVE BEEN REALLY INVOLVED IN THE PROCESS OF MONITORING REFERRALS, ATTENDING OUR ASSESSMENT PLANNING MEETINGS.
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TO FIND A STUDENT ELIGIBLE OR TO FIND THAT THEY'RE CONTINUING TO BE ELIGIBLE AND THEY ARE COMPLETING THOSE ACADEMIC EVALUATIONS. SO THAT'S KIND OF A TWOFOLD SUCCESS BECAUSE TEACHERS ARE ABLE TO STAY IN THE CLASSROOM TO PROVIDE HIGH QUALITY INSTRUCTION, AND OUR TEACHER SPECIALISTS ARE TAKING THE TIME TO EVALUATE THOSE STUDENTS.SO I TOLD YOU WHERE WE ARE NEXT STEPS FOR SPECIAL EDUCATION.
WE REALLY WANT TO GET INTO CLASSROOMS AND DO SHORT WALKTHROUGHS TO REALLY PROVIDE A SNAPSHOT OF WHAT SPECIALLY DESIGNED INSTRUCTION LOOKS LIKE AND USING THE DATA FROM THAT TOOL TO INFORM DECISIONS FOR PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT LIKE CRYSTAL, I TOOK THIS IDEA FROM HER WE PLAN TO USE THAT 30 MINUTE COLLABORATIVE PLANNING TIME SO WE CAN REALLY INDIVIDUALLY SUPPORT TEACHERS WITH WHAT THEY NEED AS FAR AS INSTRUCTION AND COMPLIANCE GOES, WE PROVIDE MONTHLY SCHOOL BASED PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT BASED ON THINGS THAT NEED TO BE ADDRESSED THROUGHOUT THE YEAR, AND WE CONTINUE OR WE PLAN TO CONTINUE TO COLLABORATE ACROSS DEPARTMENTS, AND ALSO UPCOMING IS LETTERS TRAINING FOR ELEMENTARY SPECIAL EDUCATION TEACHERS.
SO YOU KNOW, DIVING DEEP INTO THE SCIENCE OF READING.
DO YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS FOR ME? IT'S A LOT. YOU HAVE A LOT OF QUESTIONS.
OH, OKAY. I WAS LIKE, WHEW! OKAY, TRY TO TRY TO PUT IT ALL INTO.
YEAH. A LOT OF ACTIVITY ON A ON ON A BRIEF NOTE, AS SHE'S STEPPING BACK FROM THE PODIUM I DO WANT TO PUBLICLY THANK ERICA FOR STEPPING UP AS OUR INTERIM SPECIAL EDUCATION SUPERVISOR WHO'S BEEN DOING A FANTASTIC JOB.
DIDN'T DO ALL THIS JUST IN ONE MONTH.
SO IF YOU SAW THAT LOOK ON MY FACE.
THANK YOU. YES. I WAS LIKE, AH! OKAY. SO BASICALLY WE ARE REALLY FORTUNATE HERE TO HAVE THREE COMMUNITY SCHOOLS THAT ARE AT THREE DIFFERENT LEVELS.
SO NOW THAT I'VE COME INTO THIS REALM AND I'M WORKING WITH COMMUNITY SCHOOLS, I'M LITERALLY GETTING TO SEE IT AS WE HAVE OUR FIRST YEAR SCHOOL, WHICH IS COLONEL MIDDLE, AND WE HAVE GREENSBORO ELEMENTARY, WHICH IS IN YEAR TWO WHICH MEANS THEY ALSO NOW RECEIVE THEIR SECOND GRANT AND THEN FEDERALSBURG ELEMENTARY, WHO IS IN YEAR THREE. SO AGAIN, ALL THE SCHOOLS ARE WORKING ON ALIGNING THEIR PARTNERSHIPS REALLY DIGGING INTO THEIR NEEDS ASSESSMENTS AND UTILIZING THAT TO DRIVE THE ACTIONS THAT THEY'RE TAKING FOR EACH OF THEIR SCHOOLS COLLABORATING WITH THEIR PARTNERS AND CREATING THAT SHARED LEADERSHIP ASPECT IS KEY.
AGAIN, COMMUNITY SCHOOLS IS SOMETHING THAT IS A STRATEGY.
SO EVEN THOUGH YOUR SCHOOL IS DESIGNATED, THEY REALLY NEED TO UNDERSTAND THAT THEY'RE BEING GIVEN A WONDERFUL OPPORTUNITY TO USE THIS AS A STRATEGY TO REALLY REACH AND CHANGE LIVES OF THE STUDENTS IN THE SCHOOLS, BUT ALSO OF THE FAMILIES AND EVERYONE.
WE HAD OUR FIRST VISIT FROM THE STATE AND WE MANAGED TO START AT FEDERALSBURG WITH IT BEING OUR YEAR THREE SCHOOL AND EVEN THOUGH COLONEL MIDDLE DOES NOT HAVE A LOT TO SHARE RIGHT NOW BECAUSE THEY ARE LITERALLY IN NEEDS ASSESSMENT MODE, WE WERE DETERMINED TO MAKE SURE THE STATE FOLKS SAW WHAT WE ARE TRAVERSING AS WE GO THROUGHOUT THE COUNTY.
SO WHEN THEY SEE OUR NEED FOR TRANSPORTATION, OR WHEN THEY UNDERSTAND THAT OUR NEEDS ASSESSMENT SAYS THAT WE NEED WAYS TO BRING OUR FAMILIES IN, THEY KIND OF SEE HOW FAR THE DISTANCES ARE AND HOW REMOTE SOME LOCATIONS ARE AND THEN WE DID END OUR DAY AT GREENSBORO ELEMENTARY, BUT AGAIN, IT REALLY COMES BACK TO ESTABLISHING THOSE GOALS AND MAKING SURE WE'RE PUTTING SOME ACCOUNTABILITY MEASURES IN PLACE, AND THE COMMUNITY SCHOOLS ARE DOING A LOT OF THAT BY HAVING THEIR ADVISORY GROUPS.
WHICH LEADS US INTO THE LAST BULLET, WHICH IS COLLECTIVE IMPACT.
WHAT ARE OTHER AGENCIES DOING TO SERVICE OUR KIDS AND OUR FAMILIES, MAKING SURE THOSE VOICES ARE AT OUR TABLE, BUT THEN ALSO US ACTIVELY HAVING EACH OF OUR FOLKS PARTICIPATE IN THE COUNTY'S COLLECTIVE IMPACT WORK, AND I'LL JUST DO A SHAMELESS PLUG FOR [INAUDIBLE] SHE IS DEFINITELY INTERESTED IN MAKING SURE SHE HAS AN
[01:50:06]
OPPORTUNITY TO COME IN AND SHARE MORE INFORMATION ABOUT COLLECTIVE IMPACT AT THE COUNTY LEVEL, BECAUSE WONDERFUL THINGS ARE HAPPENING THERE, AND ALL OF OUR COORDINATORS ARE ACTIVELY ENGAGED IN BEING ON ONE OF THE COMMITTEES, AND THAT'S ON PURPOSE.SO GREAT THINGS THERE IN THE WORLD OF BEHAVIORAL HEALTH.
SO AGAIN, I'M GOING TO SHAMELESSLY PLUG STEPPING INTO THIS ROLE.
SO CURRENTLY, WE ARE WORKING WITH PROVIDERS AND LOOKING TO EXPAND EVIDENCE BASED PRACTICES, MAKING SURE WE'RE USING THE DATA AND MAKING SURE I'M GOING TO EMPHASIZE IT AGAIN, THAT WE'RE USING EVIDENCE BASED PRACTICES, AND THOSE ARE JUST A FEW BULLET POINTS OF THE DIFFERENT PROGRAMS THAT OUR STAFF ARE BEING TRAINED TO USE AND ALSO OUR PARTNERS ARE USING.
OKAY, AND THEN AS WE LOOK AT THE DATA THAT'S GOING TO BE REQUIRED IN THE COMING YEAR WE'RE GOING TO BE UTILIZING A TOOL THAT CARA CALLOWAY HAS BEEN REFINING SO THAT WE ARE REALLY ABLE TO ANALYZE WHAT IMPACT ARE WE HAVING BY THE RESOURCES WE'RE CONNECTING STUDENTS TO, WHAT GAPS MAY EXIST SO THAT WE CAN LOOK ON MAKING SURE WE CLOSE THOSE.
DO WE NEED ADDITIONAL STAFF TO PROVIDE SOME OF THE BEHAVIORAL RESOURCE SUPPORT? IT'S REALLY COMPETITIVE OUT THERE RIGHT NOW.
RIGHT. SO WE GOT TO BE ABLE TO REALLY SHOW WHAT WE NEED AND ADVOCATE FOR GETTING ADDITIONAL RESOURCES EXCITED ABOUT THE FACT THAT WE DO HAVE TWO BEHAVIOR FACILITATORS THROUGH A DIFFERENT GRANT THAT ARE GOING TO BE COMING IN AND REALLY WORKING WITH STUDENTS AND FAMILIES, AND THEY'RE LOOKING AT OUR TIER TWO LEVEL. THEY'RE LOOKING AT OUR STUDENTS WHO SOMETIMES ARE ON THAT WAIT LIST, AND THEY STILL NEED RESOURCES, AND OUR COUNSELORS ARE REALLY STRETCHED.
RIGHT. SO IT'S AMAZING THAT WE HAVE THESE TWO NEW RESOURCES IN OUR DISTRICT AGAIN, WE'RE BACK TO THAT EVIDENCE BASED INTERVENTION, AND ANOTHER BIG ONE IN AT SOME POINT WILL DEFINITELY WANT TO SHARE A LITTLE MORE INFORMATION.
THEY GOT A SMALL UPDATE THIS WEEKEND IN THEIR EMAIL.
ABOUT THE INCREASE SUPPORT FOR STUDENTS BECAUSE SUBSTANCE USE IS REAL AND NOT ONLY IN FAMILIES AND OLDER FOLKS, BUT WE ARE SEEING A LOT OF THAT REALLY RUNNING RAMPANT WITH OUR KIDS EXPERIMENTING EVEN MORE.
SO, LOTS OF GREAT THINGS ARE HAPPENING IN THIS REALM, AND AGAIN, EVEN WITH THE BEHAVIORAL HEALTH PIECE, THEY ARE ACTIVELY WORKING WITH OUR COMMUNITY SCHOOLS, AND THAT COLLECTIVE IMPACT MODEL IS SOMETHING THAT REALLY DOES WEAVE ITS WAY THROUGH ALL OF THE WORK WE'RE DOING IN THIS REALM.
LOTS OF STUFF. ANY QUESTIONS? LOTS OF STUFF GOING ON THERE.
SO I THINK WE'RE PUTTING DOWN PILLAR FIVES.
YES, AND AS WE GO TO PILLAR FIVE COMMUNITY SCHOOLS, WHICH MR. FISHER WAS TALKING ABOUT AND THE CONCENTRATION OF POVERTY FUNDING, WE ARE GOING TO BE A SCHOOL SYSTEM THAT HAS BLUEPRINT RATCHETS UP.
SO THE BASICALLY THE FOUNDATION THAT WAS LAID AT FEDERALSBURG THAT MOVED TO GREENSBORO, THAT'S NOW AT COLONEL MIDDLE, DEPENDING IF WE CAN TRUST THE STATE DATA IN THERE, AND I HAVE SOME QUESTIONS IF WE SHOULD, BUT WE MAY SEE THREE OR MORE SCHOOLS ADD IN NEXT YEAR, BUT EVENTUALLY IN ABOUT ANOTHER 2 TO 3 YEARS, ALL NINE OF OUR SCHOOLS WILL QUALIFY FOR THOSE OPPORTUNITIES AND THOSE SUPPORTS AT THE SCHOOL LEVEL SO IT'LL BE VERY EXCITING FOR US TO BE ABLE TO REALLY GET THAT GOING.
SO PILLAR FIVE, MY UPDATE IS GOING TO BE KIND OF BRIEF BECAUSE HONESTLY, PILLAR FIVE IS WHAT PULLS TOGETHER ALL OF THE OTHER PILLARS AND PILLAR FIVE, THERE'S TWO MAIN AREAS THAT THIS BLUEPRINT PLAN IS GOING TO ASK US TO SPEAK TO OR THIS ITERATION, AND ONE OF THOSE IS A STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT PLAN PILLARS ONE THROUGH FOUR HAVE DONE AN INCREDIBLE JOB OF REACHING OUT TO COMMUNITY MEMBERS, AND THEY'VE GOT STRONG, ROBUST TEAMS THAT ARE GETTING LOTS OF FEEDBACK.
I MENTIONED IT LAST MONTH IN MY UPDATE AS MRS. JEN DALE WITH K-12 SOLUTIONS WILL BE FOR US TO DO AN ANALYSIS OF WHERE ARE WE FILLING GAPS OR SORRY, WHERE ARE WE GETTING THE FEEDBACK, AND THEN WHERE DO THE GAPS EXIST? WHICH COMMUNITIES ARE WE NOT ACCESSING? WHICH GROUPS ARE WE NOT HEARING FROM? AND THEN ALSO US LOOKING AT THERE'S A LOT OF CONVERSATION ABOUT THE BLUEPRINT, BUT THE PEOPLE ACTUALLY KNOW WHAT THE BLUEPRINT IS SO PART OF THAT WILL BE OUR ENGAGEMENT PLAN OF THINKING.
HOW DO WE GET THAT INFORMATION OUT? PART OF THAT IS OUR DISCUSSION TONIGHT FOR THE BOARD TO SEE THE BLUEPRINT REALLY INVOLVES EVERYTHING THAT WE'RE DOING ON A DAILY BASIS.
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THERE ARE SHIFTS, MONUMENTAL SHIFTS IN SOME AREAS FOR THE WAY THAT WE'RE DOING IT.EVENTUALLY WE'LL STOP TALKING ABOUT BLUEPRINT, AND WE'LL JUST BE TALKING ABOUT WHAT IT IS THAT WE'RE DOING THAT CONNECTS TO THE STRATEGIC PLAN, BECAUSE THE OVERLAP WILL BE THERE WHEN IT'S CLOSER TO FULL IMPLEMENTATION.
SO THAT'S ONE OF THE KEY AREAS THAT I'LL BE WORKING ON, WILL BE WRITING TOWARDS IN OUR IMPROVEMENT PLAN, AND THE OTHER AREA IS ON OUR FUNDING AND OUR RESOURCES COMPONENT, AND THIS WILL BE PARTLY DONE THROUGH THE WORK THAT WE'RE DOING WITH OUR BUDGET THIS YEAR BUT A BIG COMPONENT THAT THEY ARE GOING TO ASK US TO BE ABLE TO DO IN OUR PLAN THIS YEAR IS FOR US TO START PROJECTING OUT WHAT OUR FUNDING SOURCES LOOK LIKE OVER MULTIPLE YEARS. THE BLUEPRINT FORMULA IS IS CLEAR IN SOME AREAS OF WHAT WE CAN EXPECT IN TERMS OF INCREASES WHEN IT COMES TO FOUNDATION DOLLARS, PROVIDED THEY FUND IT, BUT THEY ARE GOING TO ASK US TO REALLY START PROJECTING OUT OF HOW WE'RE HOW WE'RE USING THOSE FORECASTING PIECES TO BE ABLE TO PREDICT OUR ABILITY TO, SAY, MEET THE $60,000 TEACHER THRESHOLD.
DOCTOR WILLOUGHBY DID A GOOD JOB OF SHOWING IT IN HIS.
IT'S JUST $2,600 A YEAR FOR THE NEXT THREE YEARS WELL, WE KNOW WHAT OUR OUR INCREASE LOOKS LIKE THIS YEAR AT FOUNDATION LEVEL TO 1.7% INCREASE, WHICH IS VERY SMALL, BUT WE KNOW NEXT YEAR LOOKS TO BE ABOUT A 5% INCREASE, AND I THINK THE YEAR AFTER THAT IS LIKE A 5.4% INCREASE IN FOUNDATION.
WHAT DOES THAT ACTUALLY MEAN DOLLARS WISE WHEN OUR OPERATING BUDGET AND THEN THAT KIND OF PREDICTING, DOES THAT HELP US MAKE DECISIONS OR BE IN A POSITION TO MAKE DECISIONS IN FUTURE YEARS? SO THEY'RE GOING TO ASK US TO LOOK AT THAT, AND THAT IS SORT OF THE WORK WE'RE WORKING ON.
MSDE PROVIDED A FUNDING CALCULATOR FOR US TO USE FOR PREDICTING THIS YEAR'S MONEY.
THE CFOS HAVE DONE A FANTASTIC JOB OF FINDING SOME MISTAKES IN THAT WAS CREATED BY THE FORMER ASSISTANT SUPERINTENDENT OF FINANCE AT MSDE AND THE CURRENT ASSISTANT SUPERINTENDENT OF FINANCE, AND OUR CFOS ARE WORKING ON FIXING IT BUT ONCE THAT MODEL IS CORRECT, THEORETICALLY IT WILL HELP US PROJECT FUTURE YEARS.
THE SAME SETUP SHOULD BE ABLE TO WORK, AND THEN THE OTHER PART WE'RE GOING TO BE ASKED TO CONSIDER AND REALLY START THINKING ABOUT, AND THAT IS AS BLUEPRINT MOVES INTO THE REALM OF THE MONEY, FOLLOWING THE STUDENT 75% OF THE FUNDING IN CERTAIN CATEGORIES, FOLLOWING THE KIDS TO THE SCHOOL LEVEL, US PROJECTING WHAT THOSE IMPACTS ARE ON US AS A SCHOOL SYSTEM THIS WILL LEAD INTO OUR LEGISLATIVE CONVERSATION POTENTIALLY A LITTLE BIT, BUT I WILL JUST SAY THERE'S PROBABLY GOING TO BE A FAIR AMOUNT OF CONVERSATION, WHETHER IT'S ON THE FLOOR IN THE HOUSE OR SENATE, OR IT'S JUST AROUND THE ENVIRONMENT OF TALKING ABOUT BLUEPRINT.
THIS IS GOING TO BE SOMETHING THAT IS GOING TO BE DISCUSSED OPENLY, I BELIEVE, IN ANNAPOLIS A FEW SCHOOL SYSTEMS HAVE DONE A FANTASTIC JOB OF FORECASTING THE REAL STAFFING CHALLENGES THAT ARE GOING TO HAPPEN IN SCHOOL SYSTEMS THAT HAVE WIDE GAPS IN SCHOOL SIZE, AS WELL AS WIDE GAPS IN WEALTH AND CONCENTRATION OF POVERTY SCHOOLS THERE'S JUST SOME REALLY UNIQUE CHALLENGES THAT ARE GOING TO EXIST.
WE HAVE A LOT OF STUDENTS IN MULTIPLE BUCKETS, SO WE'RE NOT GOING TO SEE THE TOUGH IMPACTS THAT SAY A LARGER COUNTY THAT MAY BE LOOKING AT HAVING TO MOVE 20 STAFF FROM ONE BUILDING TO ANOTHER BECAUSE THE MONEY DOESN'T FOLLOW THE KIDS ENOUGH TO KEEP THE STAFFING LEVEL AT WHERE IT CURRENTLY IS IT'S NOT GOING TO BE OUR REALITY, BUT YOU ARE GOING TO HEAR ABOUT THAT BECAUSE IT IS THEIR REALITY IN SOME LARGER COUNTIES.
SO THAT IS A LOT OF INFORMATION.
I KNOW IT IS INFORMATION OVERLOAD, I DARE SAY.
DOES THE BOARD HAVE ANY QUESTIONS? BUT I WILL ALSO ADD THAT BOARD DOES.
HOPEFULLY THE BOARD DOES KNOW THAT.
IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS RELATED TO THIS WORK, PLEASE REACH OUT TO MYSELF OR ANY OF THE PILLAR CHAIRS THIS HAS BECOME THE WORK FOR US AS A SYSTEM.
YES, IT'S STILL CALLED THE BLUEPRINT.
IT'S NOT REALLY THE OTHER THING ANYMORE.
IT TRULY HAS BEEN MORPHING INTO THE THING THAT WE'RE DOING ALL THE TIME BUT HATS OFF TO THE TEAM FOR ALL THE WORK THAT THEY'VE DONE AND CONTINUE TO DO TO MAKE THESE HUGE SHIFTS FOR OUR SYSTEM.
I JUST WOULD LIKE TO ASK YOU A QUESTION.
YOU HAVE TALENT IN THIS DISTRICT AS WE DO.
WE DO. IT IS THE INFORMATION EQUIVALENT OF THE RAINFALL.
WE'RE GETTING OVERWHELMING RAIN.
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PLEASE BE CAREFUL.YES, YES. WATCH OUT FOR UMBRELLAS.
WATCH OUT FOR PUDDLES AND JUST TAKE YOUR TIME.
MR. MENGEL'S BEEN KEEPING AN EYE ON THE WEATHER APP BACK THERE, I KNOW.
ALL RIGHT. WE ARE NOW AT LEGISLATIVE UPDATE.
DESPITE ALL MY KIDDING, BEFORE IT'S A BIG DAY TOMORROW, SO THIS THIS LITERALLY WILL BE A PLACEHOLDER FOR THE NEXT SEVERAL MONTHS I DID WANT TO TAKE A MOMENT TO THANK BOTH MR. PLUTSCHAK AND MR. JONES FOR SERVING ON THE LEGISLATIVE COMMITTEE WITH ME THIS YEAR THRILLED TO HAVE US HAVE TWO REPRESENTATIVES ON IT.
I WILL BE PARTICIPATING IN [INAUDIBLE] LEGISLATIVE COMMITTEE AS WELL AND BOTH ENTITIES WORK VERY WELL TOGETHER WORKING THROUGH THE PROCESS I DID INCLUDE IN OUR AGENDA ITEM, JUST FOR EVERYBODY'S INFORMATION, THE DATES OF INTEREST FROM THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY THAT IT THAT THEY PUT OUT TOMORROW IS A BIG DAY, MEANING THEY OPEN, WHICH IS WHERE A BIG DAY FOR POMP AND CIRCUMSTANCE THE REAL WORK WILL START TO PICK UP AFTER TOMORROW A DATE TO HIGHLIGHT, OBVIOUSLY, IS BY JANUARY 17TH, THE GOVERNOR HAS TO RELEASE HIS BUDGET WHICH WILL BE IMPORTANT FOR US TO SEE.
THERE'S BEEN A LOT OF CONVERSATION AROUND BUDGET.
EVERYTHING THAT WE'RE HEARING IS EXPECT BUDGET TO DOMINATE.
THE WHOLE SESSION YOU KNOW, THE BOARD, WE'VE HAD LOTS OF CONVERSATION ABOUT THE BUDGET SHORTFALL THAT THEY'RE EXPECTING WE'VE SEEN ALL OF THE PUBLICATIONS BEING PUT OUT IN THE MEDIA ABOUT THE REQUEST TO CUT TRANSPORTATION, TO CUT OTHER BUDGETS.
AT THE SAME TIME, WE SAW REQUESTS COME OUT BY I FORGET WHICH COMMISSION, BUT IT WAS A COMMISSION ON THE CLIMATE CHANGE EFFORT IN MARYLAND, AND IT HAVING A $1 BILLION PRICE TAG IN ORDER TO PULL IT OFF.
AT THE SAME TIME, WE SAW THE GOVERNOR MAKE A STATEMENT OF A COMMITMENT TO THAT.
SO I THINK EVERYBODY'S WAITING TO SEE WHAT DOES THAT ACTUALLY MEAN WHEN THE BUDGET DROPS? BLUEPRINT, ACCORDING TO THE STATE, IS FULLY FUNDED THROUGH FY 27 BUT THERE'S A LOT OF ISSUES BUDGET WISE.
WE'VE HEARD LOTS OF DISCUSSION ABOUT WILL THEY TRY TO RAISE TAXES? WHAT ARE THOSE IMPACTS? I KNOW THERE'S A LOT OF WORK AND A LOT OF THINGS WE'RE GOING TO NEED TO KEEP AN EYE ON AND LEGISLATIVELY, PRIOR TO TODAY, THERE WERE OVER 500 PRE-FILED BILLS, NOT A TREMENDOUS AMOUNT ABOUT EDUCATION, PROBABLY JUST AS MANY ON JUVENILE JUSTICE AS THERE WERE ON EDUCATION SO FAR, WHICH WILL ALSO BE A BIG TOPIC THAT WILL IMPACT THE SCHOOL SYSTEM AND TYPICALLY WE DON'T KEEP AN EYE ON THINGS OUTSIDE OF EDUCATION, BUT I KNOW I'VE ALREADY GONE THROUGH THE [INAUDIBLE] LEGISLATION TO KEEP AN EYE ON RELATED TO JUVENILE JUSTICE BECAUSE IT HAS A PROFOUND IMPACT ON US AS WELL SO I DON'T KNOW IF MARK OR TROY, IF YOU GUYS HAVE ANYTHING YOU WANT TO SHARE FROM WHERE WE'RE AT RIGHT NOW, BUT I KNOW FROM STARTING TOMORROW UNTIL APRIL, IT'S A BUSY TIME.
I DON'T HAVE A LOT TO ADD AT THIS POINT OKAY.
TWO MEETINGS THAT WE'VE HAD SO FAR.
I MEAN, THEY'VE SET LEGISLATIVE PRIORITIES, WHICH I WOULD SAY VERY SIMILAR TO IN YEARS PAST AS FAR AS MABE'S LEGISLATIVE PRIORITIES BUT AS AS THINGS GET GOING, OUR MEETINGS WILL BE I'VE MORE IN DEPTH DESCRIPTIONS OF SOME OF THE BILLS THAT REALLY DO IMPACT EDUCATION, AND AS THAT HAPPENS, THEN WE'LL TALK AND BE ABLE TO BRING SOME OF THE ONES.
IN THE MEETING THAT REALLY DO AFFECT, WE FEEL WOULD AFFECT OUR SCHOOL SYSTEM.
CERTAINLY I WOULD THINK ANOTHER THING WE WON'T GET LOST IN THE FOCUS IS REALLY ON THE BUDGET.
WE'LL STILL KEEP AN EYE OUT FOR OTHER BILLS, SOME BILLS MAYBE THAT HAVEN'T PASSED IN THE HAVEN'T PASSED IN PREVIOUS YEARS THAT MAY TRY TO GAIN SOME TRACTION UNDER THE RADAR, THAT WOULD WOULD AFFECT THE WAY WE OPERATE.
SO YEAH, I WILL ADD MSDE HAS TAKEN A DIFFERENT APPROACH THIS YEAR.
WITH LEGISLATIVE PRIORITIES THEY APPEAR TO BE MORE FOCUSED IN THEIR EFFORTS THAN IT WAS LAST YEAR WITH CLEAR PRIORITIES AND CLEAR EFFORTS BY THE BOARD WORKING WITH THE STATE SUPERINTENDENT TO MAKE SURE THEY'RE ON THE SAME PAGE AND THERE'S COHESION.
SO THEY AVOID SOME THINGS THAT OCCURRED LAST YEAR.
THEY SEEM TO BE MAKING A CONCERTED EFFORT TO BE ACTIVELY ENGAGED IN THE LEGISLATIVE PROCESS, WHERE HISTORICALLY, THEY MAY NOT HAVE BEEN, OR AT LEAST IN THE LAST SEVERAL YEARS SO THIS WILL STAY AS A STANDING ITEM AND WE'LL CONTINUE TO SHARE OUT THE COMMUNITY AND ENCOURAGE THE BOARD TO TAKE ACTION WHERE WE SEE FIT, ALSO TO SEND LETTERS AND BE PART OF THE PROCESS.
[02:05:02]
YEAH, MABE'S ALSO TAKEN A VERY DIFFERENT STANCE THIS YEAR.WE'VE GOT A PROPOSED DRAFT BILL WE DON'T HAVE ANY SPONSORS YET, AND WE'RE POTENTIALLY GOING TO FARM IT OUT, AND BECAUSE THERE'S MULTIPLE COMPONENTS, BUT THERE'S SOME COMPONENTS OF OF WHAT WE'RE PROPOSING, WHICH IS VERY DIFFERENT.
MABE'S ALWAYS BEEN REACTIVE, BUT IT'S FELT LIKE ESPECIALLY WITH BLUEPRINT, SOME CHANGES THAT NEED TO HAPPEN TO HELP SCHOOL SYSTEMS NOBODY NOBODY'S SAYING BLUEPRINT'S BAD, BLUEPRINT'S GOOD FOR KIDS, BUT IT'S SYSTEMS ABILITIES TO IMPLEMENT THAT.
THERE NEEDS TO BE A FEW THINGS CHANGED, AND SO IT'S ON OUR WEBSITE.
I INVITE YOU TO TAKE A LOOK AT THAT POSITION PAPER WE HAVE, FOR THE FIRST TIME AS WELL ENGAGED ADDITIONAL LEGISLATIVE SUPPORT IN ADDITION TO JOHN [INAUDIBLE], SOME OTHER LOBBYISTS IN THE ANNAPOLIS AREA TO HELP TO MAKE A LOT OF THOSE CONNECTIONS AND WE HAVE MEETINGS SCHEDULED WITH HIGH, HIGH RANKING SOME OF THE KEY LEGISLATORS STARTING NEXT WEEK.
SO WE'RE OPTIMISTIC THAT WE'RE GOING TO AT LEAST HAVE OUR STORY TOLD, AND TO THAT EXTENT, WE'RE GOING TO BE ASKING BOARD MEMBERS TO COME TELL YOUR STORY. HOW DOES THIS IMPACT CAROLINE COUNTY? LEGISLATORS DON'T KNOW, YOU KNOW, THEY SEE 1500 PIECES OF LEGISLATION.
HOW DOES IT IMPACT ME? SO THEY NEED TO HEAR NOT FROM NOT, YOU KNOW, THE TOP ONE THING HERE FROM JOHN [INAUDIBLE], BUT IT'S ANOTHER THING TO HEAR FROM BOARD MEMBER THAT ACTUALLY WALKS THE WALK.
A LINK TAKES YOU TO VOTER VOICE PLATFORM, CHECK A FEW BOXES AND HIT SEND, AND IT GOES AND IT SENDS AN AUTOMATED EMAIL TO YOUR CONSTITUENTS, BECAUSE IN ANNAPOLIS AND IN DC, IT'S NOT THE QUALITY BUT IT'S THE QUANTITY.
THE INDIVIDUAL LEGISLATORS DON'T READ ALL THE CORRESPONDENCE THAT COMES TO STAFFERS DO.
SO STAFFERS KEEP TALLY, AND SO, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE A LOT OF HITS ON THIS.
WE GOT A LOT OF PEOPLE UPSET ABOUT THIS.
WE NEED TO TAKE A LOOK AT THAT.
SO PLEASE PAY ATTENTION TO THOSE AS THEY COME OUT AS WELL.
I'M THRILLED TO HEAR ME TAKING TAKING A MORE OUT THERE STANCE.
ONE OF MY DIRECTIVES AND COMING INTO THIS POSITION WAS THEY WANTED THE MABE BOARD OF DIRECTORS WANTED TO TAKE A VERY DIFFERENT STANCE AS IT RELATES TO LEGISLATION.
NOTHING AGAINST THE JOHN AND THE LEGISLATIVE COMMITTEES HAVE DONE IN THE PAST, BUT THIS TIME, THIS IS SO BIG WE CAN'T ALLOW OUR VOICE TO BE UNHEARD AND AND WE NEED THE TOOLS, AND SO MY TURN TO JOHN WAS WHAT TOOLS DO YOU NEED? HOW CAN WE MAKE THIS HAPPEN? AND SO RESOURCES AND PEOPLE AND PLATFORM.
SO YOU DON'T HAVE THE TOOLS TO GET THE JOB DONE.
YOU'RE NOT GOING TO GET THE JOB DONE.
YEAH, THAT'S GOING TO BE MORE IMPORTANT THAN EVER, AND IT'S TIMELY.
OKAY I THINK WE CAN MOVE ALONG NOW TO SURVEY RESULTS, THE ENGAGEMENT SURVEY.
OKAY. SO THIS IS ME SO WANTED TO GIVE AN UPDATE TO AND REALLY, FOR THE FOLKS WHO ARE HERE IN THE COMMUNITY, AS THE BOARD HAS HAD A DEEPER DIVE AS IT RELATES TO THE ENGAGEMENT SURVEY IT HAS BEEN CONDUCTED EVERY YEAR IN CAROLINE COUNTY FOR FIVE SCHOOL YEARS NOW, FIVE CALENDAR OR FIVE SCHOOL YEARS THE ENGAGEMENT SURVEY, WE CONTRACT WITH A THIRD PARTY VENDOR NEW MEASURES, WHO PROVIDES AN ENGAGEMENT SURVEY? THEY'VE USED THE SAME TOOL OVER ALL FIVE YEARS.
IT HELPS THEM MEASURE GAINS FOR THE SCHOOL SYSTEM.
IT'S A SURVEY THAT'S ALSO USED NATIONALLY WITH FOR PROFIT AND PRIVATE COMPANIES.
[02:10:04]
IT MEASURES ENGAGEMENT UNDER THESE THREE CATEGORIES OR SORRY.THEY DEFINE ENGAGEMENT UNDER THESE THREE ITEMS AS ACTIVE ENGAGEMENT.
EMPLOYEES PLANNING TO STAY AND RECOMMEND THE ORGANIZATION TO OTHERS.
EMPLOYEES FEEL VALUED AND ARE ENTHUSIASTIC ABOUT THEIR WORK AND CONFIDENCE IN THE FUTURE.
SO THE SURVEY ACTUALLY IS CONDUCTED ANONYMOUSLY THIS YEAR WE CONDUCTED THE SURVEY IN NOVEMBER THE BOARD ORIGINALLY DID THE SURVEY IN THE SPRING. WE MOVED IT TO THE FALL TO GET A MORE ACCURATE REFLECTION FROM STAFF EARLIER IN THE YEAR WHEN THERE'S STILL TIME TO DO SOMETHING WITH THE RESULTS WITH THE SAME PEOPLE WHO ARE CURRENTLY WORKING WITH US THIS YEAR, OUR PARTICIPATION RATE WAS A 65% PARTICIPATION RATE ACCOUNTS TO ABOUT 70 LESS PEOPLE THAN LAST YEAR OUR PARTICIPATION RATE WAS CLOSER TO 70% LAST YEAR IT'S STILL A GOOD PARTICIPATION RATE.
WE HAVE ABOUT 1000 EMPLOYEES, SO IT'S ABOUT 650 PEOPLE TOOK THE SURVEY, WHICH WAS GREAT.
SO LAST YEAR WHEN WE HAD 70 MORE PEOPLE TAKE IT, THEIR CONFIDENCE WAS 99% SURE WITHIN TWO POINTS.
SO IT DIDN'T CHANGE THE OVERALL VALIDITY.
VERY MUCH OF WHAT THE DATA WAS THAT IT WAS TELLING US THE INTERESTING THING AND WHAT I'M PLEASED TO REPORT IS OUR ENGAGEMENT CONTINUES TO TREND UP FROM A LOW POINT WHERE WE WERE IN 2021 OR MARCH OF 22 AND WE'VE CONTINUED TO MOVE TO MOVE UPWARDS WITH OUR ENGAGEMENT INDEX COMING IN AT 71%.
SO WHAT DOES THIS REALLY MEAN? AND I WILL RELY ON THE RESPONSE WE RECEIVED FROM THIRD PARTY VENDOR WHO DOES THE SURVEY FOR US, WHO WORKS WITH NATIONAL FOLKS, WHO GIVES US OR HELPS US INTERPRET THE RESULTS THEY GIVE US THEIR THEIR VIEW OF IT THEY HIGHLIGHTED AND I WAS THRILLED TO SEE IT BECAUSE I'LL BE HONEST, WHEN YOU'RE LOOKING GOING, OKAY, WE'RE 71, WE'RE TRENDING UPWARD, WHICH IS GREAT.
NOT A HUGE NUMBER GAIN FROM LAST YEAR.
WE'RE MOVING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION, AND THE AGAIN, NEW MEASURES.
WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT WE WERE VERY AWARE CAROLINE COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS IS ACTUALLY BEATING THE NATIONAL CURVE, BEATING THE NATIONAL AVERAGE FOR WHERE THINGS ARE WITH FOR PROFIT COMPANIES AS WELL AS PRIVATE OR, OR SCHOOL SYSTEMS AS WELL.
WE'RE SITTING AT A 71% ENGAGEMENT.
WE HAVE REBOUNDED FROM WHERE WE WERE DURING COVID, AND IT'S WHAT THEY'RE SEEING NATIONALLY OR TRENDS WHERE MOST BUSINESSES, MOST EMPLOYERS ARE DOING EVERYTHING THEY CAN TO JUST GET BACK, TO GET BACK, TO EVEN GET BACK TO NORM, AND WE HAVE EXCEEDED WHERE WE WERE PRIOR TO WHICH AGAIN, WHICH IS EXCITING.
DOES IT MEAN WE ARE PERFECT? NO. DOES IT MEAN WE'RE DOING EVERYTHING RIGHT? NO. DOES IT MEAN WE'RE BETTER OFF THAN WE WERE A FEW YEARS AGO? ABSOLUTELY. DOES IT MEAN WE'RE MOVING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION? YES. ACCORDING TO OUR EMPLOYEES FEEDBACK WE RECEIVED IN THE SURVEY.
STRENGTHS: OVERALL ENGAGEMENT IS STILL TRENDING UPWARDS THIS YEAR MAIN REASONS THAT WERE HIGHLIGHTED BY EMPLOYEES IN BOTH THE UM LIKERT SCALE QUESTIONS, AS WELL AS THE OPEN ENDED QUESTIONS THAT STAFF COULD FILL OUT.
MAIN REASONS EMPLOYEES TEND OR PLAN TO STAY WITH CCPS MOVING INTO NEXT YEAR.
STAFF RESPONDED POSITIVELY TO US BRINGING BACK THE WELLNESS PROGRAM AND OTHER INITIATIVES ALONG THOSE LINES, AND THERE WERE SIGNIFICANT COMMENTS ABOUT PEOPLE LIKE, FOR THE MOST PART, THE PEOPLE THEY WORK WITH, AND THEY LIKE OUR KIDS, WHICH IS GREAT THERE CONTINUES TO BE VERY POSITIVE INFORMATION ABOUT HAVING CLEAR JOB EXPECTATIONS AND EMPLOYEES BEING ABLE TO FIND A CONNECTION BETWEEN THE WORK THEY DO AND THE BIGGER PICTURE WORK OF THE ORGANIZATION.
THOSE SCORES WERE EXTREMELY HIGH WHICH WAS EXCITING TO SEE THAT MOVE UPWARD AND IT'S AN EFFORT THAT OUR ALL OF OUR PEOPLE AND LEADERSHIP HAVE WORKED HARD TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE WORKING TOWARDS THAT AND THE OTHER PIECE, WHICH CONTINUE TO BE A STRENGTH--IT WAS STRONG LAST YEAR AND CONTINUES TO BE STRONG--IS THAT THERE'S A STRONG SENSE OF TEAMWORK WITHIN THE IMMEDIATE WORK TEAM.
SO THE PEOPLE THAT WE WORK WITH ON A DAILY BASIS IN ALL OF OUR BUILDINGS, FOR THE MOST PART, AND OUR GRADE LEVEL TEAMS, THE PEOPLE WE WORK CLOSEST WITH, WE FEEL THE CLOSEST CONNECTED TO, AND WE FEEL THAT WE ARE REALLY DOING WHAT WE SHOULD BE TO BETTER THE SYSTEM, SO PEOPLE FEEL VERY CONNECTED TO THOSE WHO ARE IN THEIR INNER CIRCLE, IF YOU WILL, FOR WHO THEY'RE WORKING WITH.
[02:15:10]
PERCEPTIONS OF COMMUNICATION AND COLLABORATION AT THE LOCAL TEAM DEPARTMENT LEVEL VERSUS THE DISTRICT LEVEL.WE FEEL REALLY CONNECTED TO THE PEOPLE WHO ARE CLOSEST TO US.
WE DON'T FEEL AS CONNECTED TO THE PEOPLE WHO ARE NOT.
WE FEEL THAT WE WORK REALLY WELL AS A TEAM HERE, BUT WHEN WE LOOK AT THE BIGGER ENTITY, WE DON'T ALWAYS SEE THAT CONNECTION, AND THAT'S SOMETHING THAT AS AN ORGANIZATION AS LARGE AS WE ARE WE MIGHT NOT THINK THAT WE'RE COMPLEX, BUT WE REALLY ARE A COMPLEX ORGANIZATION OF 1000 EMPLOYEES.
OTHER OPPORTUNITIES FOR US WAS TO BUILD A CLEAR CONNECTION TO OUR CCPS BRANDING.
I HATE THE TERM BRANDING, BUT I GET IT WITHIN THE LAST YEAR, WE CHANGED UP OUR CAROLINE COUNTY LOGO AND WE STARTED UTILIZING THE MESSAGE ONE FAMILY OR ONE VISION, ONE FAMILY, ONE FAMILY, ONE VISION.
SO IT IS AN AREA IN THE SURVEY THAT WAS ONE OF THOSE SCORES THAT IT WAS ON THE FENCE SCORES.
SO IT'S A LOT OF OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO BE CONSCIOUS ABOUT MAKING THAT CONNECTION TO OUR STAFF AND MAKE SURE THAT, THAT EVERYBODY IS SEEING THAT CONNECTION PIECE FOR US, AND THE LAST WHICH DOES CONNECT TO THE ONE VISION COMPONENT, AN OPPORTUNITY FOR US IS REALLY WORKING TO MAKE SURE EVERYBODY UNDERSTANDS THE WHY BEHIND THE DECISION, AND THAT'S A BIG PIECE FOR US TO THINK ABOUT.
I WILL TELL YOU SOMETIMES, SOMETIMES WE MAKE ASSUMPTIONS, MYSELF INCLUDED, THAT PEOPLE UNDERSTAND THE WHY OR THE WHY IS IMPLIED THERE'S ALWAYS AN OPPORTUNITY TO MAKE SURE FOLKS UNDERSTAND THE WHY, AND THAT'S SOMETHING WE'VE GOT TO BE CONSCIOUS OF AND CONTINUE TO WORK THROUGH FROM ME DOWN TO MAKE SURE THAT EVERYBODY IS SEEING THAT CONNECTION PIECE.
TODAY WAS A GOOD EXAMPLE OF THAT TODAY.
TODAY WAS THE WHY DORCHESTER IS DOING THIS AND QUEEN ANNE'S IS DOING THAT, BUT WHY ISN'T CAROLINE DOING THIS? AND PEOPLE WERE MAKING UP THE WHY IF THEY DIDN'T FEEL LIKE THEY WERE GETTING IT ADEQUATE ENOUGH, WHY? AND TEACHERS THAT WERE IN THE CLASSROOM WERE CONCERNED ABOUT IT, BUT THEY'RE SUPPOSED TO BE FOCUSED ON THE KIDS, SO THEY'RE REALLY NOT NECESSARILY GETTING ALL THE INFORMATION.
IT'S REALLY A CHALLENGE. YEAH.
SO TODAY'S A GREAT EXAMPLE OF THAT, MR. BARTON OF ONE OF THOSE THAT YOU WORK THROUGH OF OKAY, THERE'S SEVERAL WHYS FOR WHY WE LANDED THE DECISION WHERE WE DID TO REMAIN IN SCHOOL ALL DAY WITHOUT GETTING LOST IN THE SAUCE, BUT IN ESSENCE, GEOGRAPHY OF CAROLINE COUNTY IS NOT ONE WE HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT TIDAL FLOODING.
WE JUST DON'T. IF THE BAY FLOODS, WE'VE GOT ABOUT FOUR PLACES.
WE GOT ABOUT FOUR PLACES IN THE COUNTY WHERE THE CHOPTANK RIVER WILL PUSH UP HIGH ENOUGH TO FLOOD, AND ONLY TWO OF THEM BUSSES GO DOWN RIGHT, AND BOTH OF THEM WE REROUTED AGAIN IN THE LAST MONTH SO, LIKE, THOSE WEREN'T OUR CONCERNS BUT I'LL BE HONEST, THERE'S AN OPPORTUNITY FOR ME TO HAVE PUT OUT SOMETHING EXPLAINING THE WHY FOR WHY WE WERE NOT DOING THAT CAUSED SOME CONSTERNATION, BUT IT IS ONE OF THOSE THINGS THAT WE JUST HAVE TO THINK ABOUT OF.
IT IS A CHALLENGE BECAUSE WHEN YOU'RE DEALING WITH A STORM, YOU'VE GOT TO ACT.
YOU DON'T NECESSARILY HAVE A LOT OF OPPORTUNITY FOR WHY AND EXPLAINING.
IT'S HERE'S WHAT WE'RE GOING TO DO IN THE FOLLOWING ORDER, AND THEN WHY HAS TO FOLLOW.
MR. MENGEL AND I MAY HAVE BEEN TALKING ABOUT THIS EARLIER TODAY IS MR. MANGO AND I STARTED LOOKING AT TIDE CHARTS FRIDAY OF LAST WEEK WHEN WE SAW THE STORM COMING AND SAY, OKAY, WHAT'S THE LIKELIHOOD OF THESE ROADS FLOODING DURING THE SCHOOL DAY WHEN WE HAVE BUSSES OUT? YEAH, THE AVERAGE PERSON IS NOT GOING TO EXPECT THAT TWO PEOPLE ARE GOING TO SIT DOWN AND LOOK AT TIDE CHARTS DAYS IN FRONT OF A STORM, BECAUSE YOU'RE TRYING TO MAKE SURE WE CAN STILL TRAVEL AND TRAVERSE.
[02:20:03]
OR STAFF HAVE GIVEN US, WE DO USE THE SURVEY RESULTS.WE DO READ THEM. WE CAREFULLY LOOK AT THEM AT ALL LEVELS TO FIGURE OUT WHAT WE CAN DO, BUT WE DON'T ALWAYS MAKE THE CONNECTION TO THIS IS WHY WE'VE MADE THIS DECISION, BECAUSE WE'VE HEARD STAFF LOUD AND CLEAR.
THAT'S AN INTENTIONAL CONNECTION PIECE THAT WE FEEL WE CAN DO A LITTLE BIT BETTER JOB WITH WHICH THEN HELPS WITH STAFF TAKING THE SURVEY BECAUSE THEN THEY START SEEING POTENTIAL OPPORTUNITIES FOR ACTION BASED OFF OF FEEDBACK THAT WE'RE GETTING WE WILL CONTINUE TO SUSTAIN OUR FOCUS ON OUR VISION, MISSION, CORE VALUES AND GOALS OF THE STRATEGIC PLAN SO BOARD, JUST SO YOU ARE AWARE, WE ARE ABOUT PROBABLY ONE YEAR AWAY FROM NEEDING TO REVISIT OUR STRATEGIC PLANNING PROCESS. I'LL JUST DROP SPRINKLE THAT OUT THERE RIGHT NOW.
THIS WAS THE FIRST YEAR WE OFFERED THAT QUESTION THE RESULTS WERE POSITIVE, BUT A GREAT OPPORTUNITY TO MAKE THEM STRONG FOR US TO MAKE SURE WE'RE MAKING THOSE CONNECTIONS, WE WILL CONTINUE TO IMPLEMENT THE EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT SURVEY.
WE GET VERY POSITIVE FEEDBACK WE ARE LOOKING FOR WAYS TO IMPROVE THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE TAKING THE SURVEY, AND LASTLY, WHICH IS SUPPORTING LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITIES BY REFLECTING ON THE DATA AND TARGETED STEPS TO IMPROVE, WE ARE WORKING WITH MEETING WITH ALL LEADERS IN THE COUNTY WHO HAVE DATA ATTACHED TO THEM.
SO IT PROVIDES AN OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO HAVE REFLECTIVE DIALOG WITH EVERYBODY IN THE LEADERSHIP POSITION ABOUT PERCEPTIONS THEIR STAFF HAVE, ABOUT ENGAGEMENT AND CONNECTION TO THEIR WORK AND THEN CREATING ACTION STEPS BASED OFF OF THAT INFORMATION FOR WHAT WE CAN DO TO STRENGTHEN OUR SYSTEM WE HAVE MADE GREAT PROGRESS.
WE HAVE STRONG DATA THAT INDICATES WE'RE A POSITIVE PLACE FOR PEOPLE TO WORK.
AS ROB MENTIONED EARLIER RECRUITING IS TOUGH ERICA MENTIONED IT IN HER PRESENTATION.
WE DO A LOT WITH PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT.
SO WE NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE OUR EARS OPEN WHEN STAFF AREN'T STAYING SO WE CAN TRY TO FIGURE OUT WHY AREN'T THEY? AND WHAT IS IT ABOUT OTHER EMPLOYERS THAT'S DRAWING THEM THERE AS OPPOSED TO STAYING HERE.
SO WE'VE JUST GOT TO LISTEN, AND TYPICALLY PAY IS NOT THE NUMBER ONE REASON.
PAY JUST BECOMES A REASON WHEN OTHER THINGS AREN'T WHERE THEY NEED TO BE.
SO THAT'S SORT OF WHERE WE ARE WITH THAT.
I APPRECIATE THE BOARD'S SUPPORT AS WE'VE GONE THROUGH THIS, AND WE ARE CLEAR, WE REALLY ARE USING THE DATA TO DO THE BEST WE CAN WITH THE SCHOOL SYSTEM TO STRENGTHEN THINGS MOVING FORWARD. COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS.
ONE IS AND I DON'T WANT TO JUST BLOW BY THIS.
MOVING THIS TO THE TIME OF YEAR, YOU'RE NOW DOING IT EARLIER IN THE YEAR.
SUCH A GOOD STEP REMAINS A GOOD STEP.
IF IT HAPPENED IN THE SPRING, TOO LATE, THE SCHOOL YEAR IS OVER.
WELL, NEXT YEAR WE'LL DO BETTER.
I JUST THINK IT'S A GOOD TIMING FOR IT AND JUST ENCOURAGING PEOPLE TO TAKE THE SURVEY.
WELL, NO, IT'S ANONYMOUS AND IT'S RUN BY A THIRD PARTY.
SO THAT COMPANY WOULD BE RISKING THEIR LIVELIHOOD IF THEY DIDN'T HONOR THAT PIECE OF IT, AND IF IT, YOU KNOW, IF IT GOT OUT THAT IT WASN'T ANONYMOUS, BUT IT REALLY DOES HELP YOU MAKE CHANGES, AND ANYBODY LISTEN IN OR LISTENING TO THE RECORDING OR WATCHING IT, THIS SUPERINTENDENT PAYS ATTENTION TO THESE RESULTS.
THAT'S MY UNPAID ADVERTISEMENT, I GUESS.
I THINK THAT DOES ADD AN ELEMENT TO IT ALSO THAT WHEN YOU CAN FOLLOW IT BACK TO THE SUPERVISOR, WHEN YOU HAVE PEOPLE THAT EITHER LOVE THEIR SUPERVISOR OR OR HAVE COMPLAINTS ABOUT THEIR SUPERVISOR, THIS SURVEY IS A GOOD WAY TO BE ABLE TO REALLY GIVE SOME ANONYMOUS FEEDBACK, BUT THAT CAN, YEAH, HELP THE PEOPLE THAT DO MAKE THE DECISIONS TO MAKE THE DECISIONS THAT, YOU KNOW, THE KIND OF THAT YOU WANT TO SEE AS AN EMPLOYEE.
SO VERY, VERY IMPORTANT LIKE YOU SAY TO TAKE THE TIME TO DO THE SURVEY.
[8. Discussion of Items for Future Board Action]
[02:25:10]
SO THE LAST PRESENTATION OF TONIGHT AS WE'RE ALL WINDING DOWN REALLY IS SORT OF AN UPDATE, IF YOU WILL, OF WHERE WE ARE WORKING THROUGH THE BUDGET AND I KNOW WE HAVE OUR MEETING WITH COUNTY COMMISSIONERS ON TUESDAY AND THEY CONTINUE TO BE GREAT PARTNERS WORKING THROUGH THIS AS WELL AS THEIR STAFF DANNY FOX IS AMAZING AND HE'S BEEN VERY HELPFUL LOOKING AT JUST VARIOUS THINGS AT THE COUNTY LEVEL.WHAT THEY'RE ANTICIPATING AS WELL, WHERE WE ARE TONIGHT IS JUST A FEW THINGS JUST FOR THE BOARD TO THINK ABOUT AND CONSIDER AS WE CONTINUE TO WORK THROUGH THE DEVELOPMENT PROCESS, AND ONE OF THOSE WE TALKED ABOUT, AND MR. BARTON [INAUDIBLE] MENTIONED IT AT THE STAFF MEETING THAT WE HAD AT PRESTON, AND ACTUALLY, THIS SLIDE, I'M GOING TO PROBABLY END UP INCLUDING IN REIGNING CONVERSATIONS WITH OUR SCHOOLS. SO THEY SORT OF SEE AND THAT IS I THINK THIS IS IMPORTANT TO KIND OF SEE WHERE WHERE THE STRUGGLE IS GOING TO COME FOR A LOT OF SCHOOL SYSTEMS THIS FISCAL YEAR. SO WHAT I'VE TRIED TO DO IS OUTLINE FOR EVERYBODY, AND I REALIZE I PROBABLY SHOULD HAVE PUT A LEGEND ON HERE WITH THE DATA POINTS ABOVE IT, BUT IT'S THE PERCENTAGE INCREASE YEAR OVER YEAR THAT'S BAKED INTO THE FORMULA FOR BLUEPRINT NOW, I DON'T WANT TO JUST BASH THE WRITERS OF BLUEPRINT BECAUSE THEY COULD NOT HAVE PREDICTED COVID, THEY COULD NOT HAVE PREDICTED THE FISCAL CLIFF OF ARP ESSER DISAPPEARING, BUT IT IS THE REALITY OF WHAT WE'RE SITTING WITH, AND SO WHAT YOU'RE LOOKING AT IS WHAT THE STATUTE INCREASE IS FROM FISCAL YEAR OVER FISCAL YEAR FOR FOUNDATION DOLLARS, FOUNDATION DOLLARS ARE, IN ESSENCE, THE AMOUNT OF MONEY THAT IT TAKES TO EDUCATE THE STUDENT WHO DOESN'T FIT INTO SPECIAL EDUCATION. COMPENSATORY ED, ELL.
IT'S YOUR, I HATE TO SAY AVERAGE KID, BUT IT'S YOUR AVERAGE KID.
IT WAS WAS A LARGE INCREASE OF OF 4% FROM THE YEAR BEFORE THIS YEAR.
MOVING IN WHAT THEY WHAT WAS DRAFTED IN THE LEGISLATION IS LITERALLY ONLY A 1.7% INCREASE.
SO $1.7 MILLION INCREASE OVER LAST YEAR'S BUDGET TO MAKE IT REALLY DIFFICULT FOR BUDGETING.
HOWEVER, GOING FROM NEXT YEAR INTO THE FOLLOWING YEAR, WE'LL SEE ALMOST A 5% INCREASE THE YEAR AFTER THAT, WHICH IS THE YEAR WE ARE SUPPOSED TO IMPLEMENT 60,000 BY FY 27.
WE'RE THEN ABOUT A 5.7% INCREASE IN FOUNDATION.
THERE'S AN OPPORTUNITY TO HELP US GET THERE.
THINGS GET A LITTLE BIT EASIER AFTER THIS YEAR SO WHAT DOES THAT MEAN FOR US RIGHT NOW AS WE'RE BUILDING THE BUDGET OUT? RACHEL, IF YOU COULD, WHAT DOES IT MEAN AS WE'RE WORKING THROUGH ONE OF THE BOARD TO THINK ABOUT, WE TEND TO CALL IT COST OF DOING BUSINESS, BUT I SAW A COLLEAGUE PRESENT IT THIS WAY, AND IT JUST SEEMED TO MAKE SENSE FOR ME A LITTLE BIT IN A DIFFERENT WAY, AND IT WAS, WHAT IF WE JUST TOOK OUR FY 24 BUDGET AND ROLLED IT FORWARD? IF WE DID NOTHING DIFFERENT IN THE TERM THEY USED WAS ROLLING IT FORWARD AND IT JUST STUCK A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT FOR ME.
IF WE TOOK THE SAME NUMBER OF KIDS, THE SAME EVERYTHING AND MOVED IT FORWARD ONE YEAR, WHAT WOULD BE THE COST TO DO IT NEXT YEAR VERSUS THIS YEAR? SO WE KNOW WE'RE LOOKING AT AN INCREASE TO HEALTH INSURANCE.
WE KNOW WE ALREADY HAVE A CONTRACTUAL AGREEMENT FOR OUR SUPPORT SERVICES AGREEMENTS.
WE KNOW WHAT THE DOLLAR AMOUNT IS ON STEPPING 1%.
THAT'S JUST ROLLING FORWARD WHAT WE HAVE.
SO THAT LEAVES US WITH $700,000 REMAINING TO DO THE OTHER ITEMS. IT'S JUST A DIFFERENT WAY OF THINKING ABOUT IT.
SO WE KNOW WE CAN'T JUST ROLL IT FORWARD BECAUSE WE'LL HAVE A BIG NEGATIVE.
[02:30:01]
SO WHAT DO WE NEED TO DO TO KIND OF THINK ABOUT THOSE OPTIONS? AND THAT'S KIND OF WHERE WHERE OUR BUDGET TEAM HAS BEEN RIGHT NOW PROCESSING THROUGH THAT.SO WHERE WE ARE RIGHT NOW AND WHAT WE'RE PROCESSING, WE TALKED ABOUT DUAL ENROLLMENT AND OTHER COSTS, BUT RACHEL, IF YOU WANT TO GO AHEAD, SO WHERE WE ARE RIGHT NOW, WE KNOW WE HAVE REQUESTS FROM OUR TEAMS TO RETAIN OUR POSITIONS.
WE HIRED A THIRD ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL FOR A SCHOOL OF 13, ALMOST 1300 KIDS, AND PAID FOR IT THROUGH ACTUALLY THROUGH LEADS THROUGH THE NINTH GRADE ACADEMY WORK. NORTH CAROLINE HIGH SCHOOL CANNOT GO BACK TO TWO APS WITH 1300 KIDS.
WE HIRED AN ADDITIONAL COUNSELOR AT DENTON AND COLONEL MIDDLE.
WE HIRED ADDITIONAL TECHNOLOGY STAFF, SO WE CHANGED THE WAY THAT WE HANDLE TECHNOLOGY.
ABSOLUTELY HAS, BUT THERE'S INCREASED STAFFING POSITIONS.
I BELIEVE IT'S THREE SO WE'VE GOT TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO DO ALL THAT.
REMEMBER, WE DIDN'T HAVE THE MONEY ON THE FIRST [INAUDIBLE].
SO, RACHEL, IF YOU GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE, THAT'LL MAKE THE CONNECTION.
SO WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO DO IS WE ARE LITERALLY GOING TO GO LINE BY LINE.
IT'S FUNNY BECAUSE AND ESPECIALLY WITH MILTON BEING HERE, LITERALLY ERIN AND I HAD THE CONVERSATION LAST WEEK AND IT WAS LIKE, REMEMBER THAT TIME WE LITERALLY SAT DOWN WITH MILTON AND A TEAM OF US, AND WE LITERALLY WENT LINE BY LINE THROUGH THE BUDGET.
PIECE BY PIECE, LOOKING FOR EVERY BIT YOU CAN TO WRING OUT OF IT.
WE WILL. I WILL TELL YOU WHEN WE DID IT, BEFORE THEY WRUNG EVERYTHING OUT OF IT THAT THEY COULD.
WE ARE ALSO LOOKING AT ANY FINANCIAL COMMITMENTS WE HAVE THAT ARE LONGER TERM.
WHEN I SAY LONG TERM, WE'RE NOT TALKING TEN, 15 YEAR LEASES, BUT DO WE HAVE FINANCIAL COMMITMENTS THAT MIGHT BE COMING TO AN END IN THE NEXT COUPLE OF YEARS? WE WILL HAVE TO EVALUATE, DOES IT MAKE BUDGETARY SENSE FOR US TO PAY OFF LEASE PAYMENTS THAT MAY END IN THE NEXT COUPLE OF YEARS, TO FREE UP RECURRING EXPENSES WITHIN THE CURRENT OPERATING BUDGET IN FUTURE YEARS? BECAUSE NEXT YEAR IS GOING TO BE HARD.
WE WILL WORK TO AND I WILL ADD MILTON MENTIONED IT AS WELL ABOUT MABE'S EFFORTS TO BE I'LL USE THE TERM MORE AGGRESSIVE I DON'T MEAN THAT IN A BAD WAY, BUT WE'RE GOING TO NEED TO BE, AND I WILL NEED TO BE THE COUNTY COMMISSIONERS WE'VE TALKED ABOUT, AT LEAST I HAVE WITH COMMISSION PRESIDENT ABOUT US TRYING TO BE MORE AGGRESSIVE PEOPLE, UNDERSTANDING THE ABSOLUTE IMPACTS OF, OF BLUEPRINT ON SMALL JURISDICTIONS LIKE CAROLINE.
THE INCREASE FROM THE LOCAL LEVEL AND WE'RE GETTING WHAT THEY MAXIMIZE AT THE STATE LEVEL.
YOU KNOW, IF WE'RE [INAUDIBLE] I GET IT.
CAROLINE. NO AND WE'VE GOT TO WORK TOGETHER ON THAT AND BE VOCAL ABOUT THE CHALLENGES WE'RE SEEING, AND THE OTHER PART THAT WE'VE REALLY BEEN DIGGING INTO AND I APPRECIATE TARA'S WORK ON THIS AND HER TEAM.
WE'RE REALLY HAVING TO DIG INTO THE WAY THAT WE UTILIZE OUR GRANTS, BECAUSE MOST OF THE POSITIONS THAT WE HAVE UNDER THE REQUESTS OF THINGS WE HAD IN THE GRANTS, THERE'S NO WAY WE CAN COVER THEM OUT OF OPERATING AT A LOCAL BUDGET.
WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO REVISIT WE'RE GOING TO BE STRATEGIC ABOUT HOW WE UTILIZE TITLE ONE, HOW WE USE TARGETED SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT GRANTS, HOW WE UTILIZE TITLE FOUR GRANTS, HOW WE UTILIZE OTHER OPPORTUNITIES TO BRAID FUNDS TO BE ABLE TO KEEP OUR INTERVENTION TEACHERS TO BE ABLE TO KEEP THINGS THAT HELP SUPPORT WHAT IT IS THAT WE'RE DOING.
HOW DO WE SUPPORT THE ADDITIONAL COUNSELORS WE NEED TO ADD IN? WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO BE SMART ABOUT UTILIZING THAT WITHIN THE CONFINES OF WHAT THE STATE WILL ALLOW BUT THAT'S WHAT WE'RE REALLY GOING TO HAVE TO DIG INTO.
[02:35:03]
I DON'T WANT PEOPLE TO MISPERCEIVE THAT.I'M SAYING THE SKY IS FALLING.
THE SKY ISN'T FALLING, BUT IT'S A REALLY ROUGH ROAD FOR FALLING TONIGHT.
YEAH, IT'S A ROUGH ROAD FOR ONE YEAR FOR US, IT REALLY IS.
TO BE HONEST IT'S GOING TO BE ONE REALLY BAD YEAR FOR EVERY SINGLE SCHOOL SYSTEM THAT GETS FUNDED AT MAINTENANCE OF EFFORT ACROSS THE STATE OF MARYLAND, BECAUSE EVERYBODY IS SEEING THAT 1.7% INCREASE IN TRYING TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO MAKE SENSE OF IT AND HOW TO GET SALARY INCREASES AND ALL OF THOSE THINGS THAT'S GOING TO BE A CHALLENGE.
WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO WORK THROUGH THE COMMISSIONERS WILL COMMISSION PRESIDENT IS AWARE OF OUR CHALLENGES DANNY FOX IS VERY WELL AWARE. YOU KNOW, WE'VE HAD CONVERSATIONS ABOUT THE BUDGETARY CHALLENGES WE HAVE THEY ARE AS SUPPORTIVE AS THEY CAN BE AND WILL CONTINUE TO TRY TO LOOK FOR WAYS TO BE SUPPORTIVE OF OUR SCHOOL SYSTEM IT'S JUST THIS IS GOING TO BE ONE OF THE BUDGET YEARS.
IT'S JUST NOT GOING TO BE FUN FOR US.
SO THE GOVERNOR'S BUDGET IS KEY.
YEAH, I MEAN, NEXT TUESDAY, BUT ONE LEGISLATIVE CHANGE IN RECENT YEARS IS IT USED TO BE CALLED THE BIRTH OF THE BUDGET RECONCILIATION FINANCING ACT.
THE LEGISLATURE NOW HAS A LOT MORE AUTHORITY TO ADD TO THE BUDGET THROUGH THE LEGISLATIVE SESSION.
SO THERE IS AN OPPORTUNITY, BUT YOU HAVE TO ADVOCATE, YOU KNOW, KENT COUNTY SMALL SCHOOL DISTRICT IN THE STATE SUCCESSFULLY ADVOCATED LAST YEAR FOR A SUPPLEMENTAL APPROPRIATION THAT WAS PUT IN THE SUPPLEMENTAL BUDGET TO HELP THEM OUT.
SO THERE'S ALREADY A TRACK RECORD THERE IN ANNAPOLIS OF THE SMALL SCHOOL DISTRICT IN THE STATE BEING SUCCESSFUL IN GETTING ADDITIONAL RESOURCES TO HELP THEM NAVIGATE THIS.
IT WAS $100,000, BUT YOU MIGHT BE RIGHT.
I'M NOT GOING TO. I THINK IN THE MEETING YESTERDAY THEY HAD SAID $250,000 TALKED ABOUT I DON'T REMEMBER I DON'T KNOW IF I WROTE IT DOWN, BUT I REMEMBER BUT IT WAS, YOU KNOW, A NICE LITTLE SHOT IN THE ARM FOR THEM.
YOU KNOW, A LOT OF WHAT HAPPENS IN ANNAPOLIS HAPPENS BEHIND, YOU KNOW, BEHIND THE SCENES.
SO IT'S GOING TO BE AND WE'LL CONTINUE WORKING THROUGH I APPRECIATE THAT.
MILTON IT'S GOING TO BE TOUGH, BUT WE'LL CONTINUE WORKING THROUGH IT.
WE'RE CONTINUING TO REFINE BY NEXT WEEK'S MEETING, WE WILL NOT HAVE A MASSIVE SHIFT IN REFINEMENT OF WHERE WE ARE TALKING ABOUT 3 OR 4 WORK DAYS WHEN WE MEET WITH THE COUNTY COMMISSIONERS BUT WE WILL CONTINUE TO WORK IT OUT, AND AT THE FEBRUARY MEETING, WE'LL HAVE A PRETTY GOOD, CLEARER PICTURE OF WHERE AT LEAST OUR OUR EFFORTS HAVE LANDED US AT THAT POINT IN TIME, AND WE'LL CONTINUE TO BUILD FORWARD TO SEE WHERE IT GOES.
I'M NOT EXPECTING THE GOVERNOR TO PULL OFF A SUPERMAN AND SAVE ALL SCHOOL SYSTEMS. THAT'S JUST NOT REALISTIC.
THE 1.7 IS WHAT IT IS IN TERMS OF THE PERCENTAGE PIECE, THEY'RE NOT GOING TO DO A MASSIVE.
I DON'T SEE THEY CAN'T AFFORD A MASSIVE SHIFT.
SO WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO JUST WORK OTHER ANGLES AND FIND WAYS TO MAKE IT MAKE IT HAPPEN.
SO BUT WE'LL CONTINUE TO KEEP IT FRONT AND CENTER WITH THE BOARD AND WITH THE PUBLIC.
THANK YOU. GOOD. THANK YOU WE ARE AT THE POINT OF OUR AGENDA WHERE WE HAVE UPCOMING MEETINGS AND
[10. Upcoming Meetings and Events]
EVENTS. YOU CAN SEE THEM THERE ON THE BOARD MLK DAY, MARCH NINE, EIGHT, 9 A.M.COMING UP, AND THE PRODUCTION AT COLONEL, DID THAT DATE CHANGE? YES IT DID. THEY HAD SOME ILLNESS IN THE STAFF, SO THEY MOVED IT FROM THIS WEEKEND TO FEBRUARY.
THOSE THINGS ARE TREMENDOUS TO GO TO, AS ARE SO MANY OF THE EVENTS AND ACTIVITIES.
WE'LL CONTINUE TO KEEP UP WITH THAT, AND WE HAVE OUR MEETING NEXT TUESDAY, WHICH IS OUR WORK SESSION, BUT THAT WILL BE THE ONE WHERE WE HAVE THE COMMISSIONERS AND I PRESUME THE COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR AND DEPUTY ADMINISTRATOR, DEPUTY ADMINISTRATOR HERE.
YES AND SO THAT'LL BE GOOD, BECAUSE THE PEOPLE IN A COUPLE OF NEW ROLES THERE.
YEAH, AND HAVE THEM HERE WITH US, IT'LL BE A FULL ROOM.
[02:40:01]
REMEMBER, WE EAT FIRST.YES. DON'T TURN THE CAMERAS ON.
WE GET TO EAT, AND THEN WE'LL START THE MEETING.
PEOPLE DON'T WANT TO WATCH US EAT.
WATCH US EAT. SO WE START AT SIX.
THE MEETING STARTS AT SIX, SO WE WILL BE HERE.
I THINK WE USUALLY START AT FIVE.
DO YOU MIND SENDING SOMETHING OUT TO THE FULL BOARD? YEAH. OF COURSE. CERTAINLY FOR THE TWO WHO AREN'T HERE, THEY MAY ALREADY KNOW.
YEAH. THANK YOU. I DON'T KNOW THAT WE CAN FINALIZE THAT, BUT THAT'S JUST WHAT WE'VE DONE.
WE JUST WANT TO GET PEOPLE HERE IN A TIMELY MANNER, AND MR. MENGEL, LAST TIME I LOOKED AT MY WEATHER APP, IT SAID 30 MILE AN HOUR WINDS GOING ON OUT THERE THAT YOU THINK THAT'S ACCURATE TO WHAT [INAUDIBLE]? YEAH, I THINK WE HELD THE BOARD MEETING LONG ENOUGH.
WE CAN SUNBATHE THAT. IT'S IT'S ON THE DOWNWARD SLOPE.
YEAH. I COULDN'T HELP MYSELF WHEN YOU SAID THE SKY IS NOT FALLING TONIGHT.
IT IS. WALKED RIGHT INTO THAT.
ALL RIGHT. WELL, I'LL ENTERTAIN A MOTION TO ADJOURN.
BOTH MOTION. YEAH MARK MOTION, TROY SECOND.
ALL RIGHT.
* This transcript was compiled from uncorrected Closed Captioning.