Feb 06, 2024 Board of Education Meeting

[00:00:01]

GOOD EVENING EVERYONE.

[1. Opening Items]

IT'S GREAT TO HAVE ALL OF YOU HERE WELCOME.

SEE SOME HAPPY, FRIENDLY FACES HERE.

AND GREAT TO HAVE ALL OF YOU WITH US.

SO, I'D LIKE TO ASK FOR A MOTION TO OFFICIALLY OPEN OUR MEETING.

SO MOVED. DO WE HAVE A SECOND? SECOND? ALL IN FAVOR? AND WE HAVE ALL FIVE MEMBERS HERE, WHICH IS WONDERFUL.

AND IT LOOKS LIKE WE HAVE SOME WONDERFUL PEOPLE HERE FROM PRESTON TO LEAD US IN THE PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE.

OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND TO THE REPUBLIC FOR WHICH IT STANDS, ONE NATION UNDER GOD, INDIVISIBLE, WITH LIBERTY AND JUSTICE FOR ALL. THANK YOU.

MIC] WELL WE ARE THRILLED YOU GUYS ARE OUT HERE TONIGHT.

SO WHEN'S THE CONCERT DATE? BUT ONE THING'S FOR SURE WE WILL NOT MISS IT.

MIC] WELL, THANK YOU GUYS FOR COMING OUT TONIGHT.

PARENTS, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR BRINGING YOUR CHILDREN ON THEIR ONE NIGHT THEY PROBABLY HAVE FREE THIS WEEK.

IT IS GOOD TO SEE THEM.

AND WE THANK YOU GUYS FOR COMING OUT.

MISS BARRY, DID YOU GET PICTURES OR DO YOU NEED PICTURES? I NEED OKAY, BEFORE I SEND THEM TO THE COOKIES.

STAND HERE.

THANK YOU, THANK YOU.

OKAY. THANK YOU GUYS VERY MUCH [APPLAUSE].

THANKS FOR COMING TONIGHT.

A LOT OF COOKIES. YES.

YEAH. A LOT OF COOKIES FOR YOU GUYS.

IT'S AT LEAST PROBABLY 3 OR 4 EACH, RIGHT? THANK YOU GUYS. THANK YOU.

MIC] DO WE HAVE A MOTION TO APPROVE OUR AGENDA FOR TONIGHT'S MEETING?

[00:05:05]

APPROVE THE AGENDA FOR TONIGHT'S MEETING.

DO I HAVE A SECOND.

SECOND. ALL IN FAVOR? AYE. ALL RIGHT.

WE'RE GOOD TO GO WITH OUR AGENDA.

THE NEXT THING IS THE READING OF THE MISSION STATEMENT.

SOMETHING THAT WE DO EACH MEETING.

AND IT'S A GREAT OPPORTUNITY TO REMIND OURSELVES AND REMIND EVERYBODY WHO'S WATCHING WHY WE DO WHAT WE DO.

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.

GREAT THING TO DO THAT EACH TIME.

SO NOW WE MOVE INTO WE HAVE NO RECOGNITIONS TONIGHT.

SO WE MOVE RIGHT TO REPORTS STARTING WITH BOARD MEMBERS REPORTS.

[3. Reports]

SO WE'RE JUST GOING TO DO THIS VERBALLY TONIGHT.

AND LET'S START WITH DONNA.

IF YOU HAVE ANYTHING YOU'D LIKE TO SHARE.

NO, REALLY, I MEAN.

TALKED TO A LOT OF PEOPLE.

JUST DISCUSS WHAT A BOARD MEMBER'S ROLE IS.

I DON'T WANT TO BORE Y'ALL, BUT IT WAS VERY INTERESTING TO SEE ALL THE DIFFERENT OPINIONS OF SHOULD YOU JUST BLINDLY SAY YES? SHOULD YOU HAVE YOUR OWN OPINION? SO THERE WAS A LOT OF INTERESTING DISCUSSIONS.

[INAUDIBLE] I JUST WANTED TO SHARE THAT, 6:00 ON FRIDAY, THE DRAMA CLUB AT CRMS IS GOING TO HAVE PRODUCTION ANYTHING YOU'D LIKE TO SHARE? I WENT TO NORTH HIGH COLONEL GIRLS BASKETBALL GAME.

IT WAS AT COLONEL.

I FORGET THE EXACT DATE, BUT IT WAS A GOOD GAME.

I ENJOYED WATCHING IT, AND I THINK IT WAS I DON'T KNOW WHO WON, BUT I CHEERED I CHEERED FOR BOTH.

AND I ALSO ATTENDED THE MARTIN LUTHER KING EVENT, WHICH I THOUGHT WAS A VERY GOOD TURNOUT EVENT AND MARCH TO THE COURTHOUSE.

VERY GOOD. MARK, ANYTHING YOU'D LIKE TO SHARE? I WAS ABLE TO CHAPERON MY OLDEST DAUGHTER'S TRIP TO PENNSYLVANIA FARM SHOW WITH THE FFA IN JANUARY.

IT WAS A VERY LONG DAY.

A LOT OF WALKING.

THE FARM SHOW THAT I WAS THERE 30 YEARS AGO WHEN I WAS AT NORTH CAROLINA HIGH SCHOOL.

THE SHOW'S A LOT BIGGER NOW.

IT WAS A VERY WORTHWHILE EXPERIENCE FOR FOR THE KIDS TO SEE, LIKE, THE THINGS THAT THEY WERE INTERESTED IN.

AND IT WAS MYSELF AND MRS. NEAL WERE THE ONLY TWO ADULTS THAT WERE THERE.

AND THE KIDS WERE VERY WELL, VERY WELL, WELL BEHAVED, IF YOU WANT TO SAY THAT.

BUT, REALLY FOCUSED ON WHAT THE SHOW WAS ABOUT AND, IT WAS A REALLY GOOD, GOOD GROUP OF YOUNG ADULTS THAT WENT ON THAT, THAT WENT ON THAT TRIP.

SO THEY DID A GOOD JOB REPRESENTING OUR COUNTY AT THAT SHOW.

SO THANK YOU.

ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU. I WOULD LIKE TO ADD THAT IT WAS REALLY GOOD TO SEE THE, MLK EVENT, THE NUMBER OF SCHOOLS THAT REPRESENTED WITH THE STUDENTS PARTICIPATING AND JUST EVEN BEING THERE FOR THE EVENT, IT WAS REALLY GOOD.

THANK YOU FOR THAT. SO I'D LIKE TO TAG ON TO THAT JUST BRIEFLY.

THAT WAS A TREMENDOUS EVENT.

IT REALLY IS, JUST A GREAT EXAMPLE OF HONORING THE LEGACY AND THE LIFE OF AN AMAZING HUMAN BEING WHO STILL MAKES A DIFFERENCE IN OUR WORLD.

I ALSO WANT TO ACKNOWLEDGE THAT MICHELE DID A PRESENTATION THERE THAT WAS REALLY WELL PUT TOGETHER.

IT WAS REALLY TREMENDOUS, REALLY MADE ME VERY PROUD OF HER.

BUT, IT WAS JUST TERRIFIC.

AND THERE WERE A LOT OF GREAT PRESENTATIONS, INCLUDING BY A COUPLE OF STUDENTS.

BUT, MICHELE'S REALLY STOOD OUT FOR ME, SO.

BUT THAT'S NOT WHAT I THOUGHT I TALKED ABOUT.

I WAS HOPING SOMEBODY ELSE WOULD TALK ABOUT THAT EVENT.

PEOPLE KNOW THAT I'M INVOLVED WITH THE VOLUNTEER WITH SPECIAL OLYMPICS MARYLAND, AND THAT INCLUDED BEING AT THE COOL SCHOOLS EVENT, WHICH WAS THE THURSDAY SPECIAL EVENTS PLUNGE.

AND THAT'S WHEN IT'S ACTUALLY THREE DIFFERENT LEVELS.

THERE'S ELEMENTARY SCHOOL KIDS, THERE'S MIDDLE SCHOOL KIDS AT 12:00 WHERE THE HIGH SCHOOL KIDS, INCLUDING A REALLY STRONG REPRESENTATION FROM CAROLINE COUNTY, BOTH COLONEL RICHARDSON AND NORTH CAROLINE HIGH SCHOOL.

I CAN'T SAY HOW MANY EXACTLY WERE THERE FROM COLONEL, BUT THEY HAD A GOOD NUMBER.

AND I KNOW THAT, NORTH HIGH HAD THREE BUSLOADS, AND SOMEONE THERE TOLD ME 93 STUDENTS, I KNEW A FEW OF THEM BY NAME, AND I WAS THE

[00:10:01]

SO I WAS ABLE TO CALL THEM BY NAME AND WAS SHOUTING TO COLONEL AND SHOUTING TO NORTH HIGH, ALONG WITH SOME OTHER SCHOOLS THAT I HAVE TO SAY NICE THINGS ABOUT THEM TOO.

BUT WHAT I REALLY LOVE ABOUT IT IS NOT JUST THE EXCITEMENT OF THAT EVENT, AND THE FUNDRAISING IS THE FACT THAT THESE STUDENTS, THESE YOUNG PEOPLE ARE INTERACTING WITH THE ATHLETES, WITH PEOPLE WHO QUALIFY FOR SPECIAL OLYMPICS AND TO SEE THAT UNIFIED WORK, HOW FAR THAT HAS COME AND THAT THEY, YOU KNOW, KIDS WHO IN THE PAST MAY HAVE BEEN SUBJECT TO BULLYING ARE NOW PART OF THE MAINSTREAM AND IN THOSE SCHOOLS.

AND TO SEE OUR COUNTY SO STRONGLY REPRESENTED THAT WAY AND TO BE SO MUCH INVOLVED REALLY WAS HEARTWARMING AND, EASY FOR ME TO SAY BECAUSE I WAS WEARING WARM CLOTHES THAT PARTICULAR DAY, AND I WAS LOOKING AT THEM SHIVERING AND THEY, WHEN THE NOONTIME PLUNGE AGAIN SHOWS GREAT DEDICATION BECAUSE IT COORDINATES WITH WBAL, AND THAT MEANS IT'S SUPPOSED TO GO AT 12.

YOU DON'T GO UNTIL THE NEWS PEOPLE SAY GO.

BUT THE IMAGERY WAS AMAZING.

THE HELICOPTER FROM THE NEWS STATION WAS THERE, AND IT HAD TO BE A GREAT EXPERIENCE FOR THEM, ESPECIALLY AFTER THEY GOT WARMED UP.

BUT AGAIN, VERY PROUD OF CAROLINE COUNTY REPRESENTATION.

ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU, EVERYONE.

AND NOW WE CAN MOVE TO THE SUPERINTENDENT'S REPORT.

ALRIGHTY. GOOD EVENING.

SO I WANT TO TAILOR MY REPORT AROUND SORT OF WHAT FEELS LIKE I'VE BEEN DOING FOR THE LAST MONTH.

AND THAT IS TAKING A BUDGET SHOW ON THE ROAD.

I WANT TO THANK MR. MARTIN FOR THE PICTURES.

RICK HAS BEEN ABLE TO JOIN ME FOR THE BUDGET PRESENTATIONS AT EACH ONE OF OUR SCHOOLS SO FAR.

AS OF TODAY, WE HAVE COMPLETED SEVEN.

WE HAVE OUR EIGHTH ONE TOMORROW MORNING AT GREENSBORO ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, AND THEN FEDERALSBURG AND COLONEL MIDDLE, I THINK IN THE NEXT WEEK AND A HALF.

SO WE WILL FINISH EVERYBODY UP IN FEBRUARY.

IT'S BEEN GREAT TO GET OUT, TO TALK TO STAFF ABOUT OUR BUDGET DEVELOPMENT PROCESS AND REALLY TO DEMYSTIFY THE BUDGET.

AND TO TRY TO BE AS TRANSPARENT AS WE CAN WITH HOW OUR FUNDING IS UTILIZED.

AND ALSO, WHAT DO WE SEE ON THE HORIZON? AND TO TRY TO FORECAST, AS BEST WE CAN OF OUR CURRENT BUDGET, WHAT THE FORECAST LOOKS LIKE FOR NEXT YEAR.

SO WHAT ARE WE TRYING TO PLAN TO BUDGET FOR FOR FY 25? AS WELL AS WHAT THE SUBSEQUENT YEARS LOOK LIKE? THE MESSAGE WE'VE BEEN SHARING WITH STAFF, AND WE'LL TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THIS LATER WHEN YOUR BUDGET UPDATE OF WHERE WE ARE IN DEVELOPMENT.

FY 25 IS GOING TO BE TOUGH.

WE'VE SAID IT HERE.

BUT IT'S ONE TOUGH YEAR TO GET THROUGH.

FY 26 AND 27 LOOK A WHOLE LOT BETTER.

I FEEL CONFIDENT IN 26 AND 27 BECAUSE THEY HAVE FUNDED BLUEPRINT AT THE STATE LEVEL.

THEY HAVEN'T MOVED THAT MONEY YET.

SO I FEEL CONFIDENT THERE THAT THE YEARS WILL GET BETTER.

SO IT'S NOT A DOOM AND GLOOM.

IT'S A WE'VE GOT A BUMPY SEASON AHEAD OF US.

WE'LL GET THROUGH IT.

AND BE BETTER IN THE FUTURE YEARS.

SO IT'S BEEN A HELPFUL CONVERSATION.

IT'S BEEN GREAT INTERACTION WITH STAFF.

I WILL BE HONEST. TYPICALLY IN A LARGE GROUP SETTING, YOU DON'T GET A LOT OF INTERACTION IN THE MOMENT.

BUT I'VE HAD REALLY GOOD DISCUSSIONS AFTERWARDS WITH PEOPLE ASKING QUESTIONS EITHER OF TRYING TO UNDERSTAND IT AT A DEEPER LEVEL.

OR JUST THOUGHTS AROUND SOME THINGS YOU MIGHT WANT TO CONSIDER MOVING FORWARD.

SO IT'S BEEN HELPFUL.

IT'S BEEN GREAT. STAFF HAVE BEEN WONDERFUL.

WHICH IS WHICH IS GOOD.

SO LOOKING FORWARD TO GREENSBORO ELEMENTARY SCHOOL TOMORROW AND THEN COLONEL MIDDLE AND FEDERALSBURG IN THE NEXT TWO WEEKS.

BUT GLAD WE DID IT.

I WILL THANK THE CURRENT SUPERINTENDENT WHO GAVE ME THE SUGGESTION TWO YEARS AGO FOR THAT WHEN I SEE HIM THIS THIS FRIDAY.

BUT IT'S GONE. WELL I'LL TAG ON JUST BRIEFLY [INAUDIBLE].

IT'S BEEN VERY IMPRESSIVE.

AND YOU'VE BEEN CONSISTENT IN YOUR MESSAGE SO THAT ONE SCHOOL ISN'T GETTING A DIFFERENT MESSAGE THAN ANOTHER, BUT THAT FY 25 DISCUSSION IS SO RELEVANT.

OTHER SCHOOL SYSTEMS ARE AT LEAST POSTURING THAT THEY'RE GOING TO MAKE CUTS TO POSITIONS AND OTHER KEY THINGS BECAUSE OF A ONE YEAR ISSUE.

AND ONCE THEY CUT THOSE POSITIONS, THAT COULD BE MORE THAN A ONE YEAR ISSUE.

THAT IS MORE LIKELY MULTIPLE YEARS.

AND IT'S NOT A REALLY GOOD STRATEGY FOR A ONE YEAR DOWNTURN.

SO IF YOU IF YOU THOUGHT YOU WERE HAVING A TWO, THREE, FOUR YEAR DOWNTURN, THAT IS THE RIGHT THING TO DO BECAUSE IT GETS YOU POSITIONED TO BE ABLE TO HANDLE THOSE FUTURE YEARS.

THE FUTURE YEARS ARE LOOKING BETTER.

SO AND IT'S SO HARD TO RECRUIT AND HIRE PEOPLE AND RETAIN THEM.

EVEN IF YOU'RE CUTTING VACANT POSITIONS, AS I HEARD OR READ, THE BALTIMORE COUNTY PROPOSING TO DO THAT IS A PRETTY STRONG STEP.

NOW, I'M NOT CRITICIZING.

I'M NOT. I CAN'T LOOK AT THEIR BUDGET AND SO FORTH, BUT IT'S REALLY GOOD THAT YOU'RE GIVING THAT FORECAST TO EVERYONE, AND IT'S, VERY UNDERSTANDABLE.

[00:15:08]

AND YOU HAVE ADDED A FEW THINGS WHERE THINGS HAVE SHIFTED AND CHANGED, BUT REALLY WELL DONE.

AND I THANK YOU, HOPEFULLY WELL RECEIVED.

ALSO, NOBODY'S THROWN ANYTHING AT YOU THAT WELL.

WE HAVE THREE MORE TO GO, SO HOPEFULLY NOT.

NO THANK YOU RICK.

ALL RIGHT. SO WE ARE NOW AT THE FINANCE REPORT.

AND WHAT'S NICE IS THAT THE FINANCE REPORT DOES NOT HAVE TO GO AFTER THE EXCITING, ENTERTAINING OTHER PIECES THAT WE HAVE, RIGHT? NO. YOU SWITCHED UP THE AGENDA ON ME.

MADE THE MOVE THAT NEITHER ONE OF THEM COULD BE HERE [LAUGHTER] AND DIDN'T KNOW THAT WHEN WE MADE THE MOVE, BUT YES.

DARN IT, WE WERE TRYING.

WELL, I DON'T HAVE TO FOLLOW A TOUGH ACT TONIGHT.

GOOD EVENING, PRESIDENT BARTON, MEMBERS OF THE BOARD, DR.

SIMMONS, YOU HAVE BEFORE YOU THE FINANCE REPORT FOR THE MONTH ENDING JANUARY 31ST.

WE ARE SEVEN MONTHS INTO OUR FISCAL YEAR, AND WE SPENT OR ENCUMBERED 80% OF OUR BUDGET.

AND THIS IS EXACTLY WHERE WE WERE AT THIS POINT IN TIME LAST YEAR, WE SPENT OUR ENCUMBERED 80% OF OUR BUDGET.

SO WE ARE RIGHT ON TRACK WITH WHERE WE USUALLY ARE AT THIS POINT IN THE YEAR.

AND I'VE EXPLAINED ALL THE OVERAGES THAT YOU SEE ON THIS REPORT IN PREVIOUS BOARD MEETINGS, BUT I WANTED TO TOUCH ON ONE OF THE OVERAGES.

IT'S IN THE SPECIAL ED, CONTRACTED SERVICES, LINE ITEM ON PAGE AT THE TOP OF PAGE TWO.

THAT OVERAGE HAS GROWN FROM WHAT YOU SAW IN PREVIOUS MONTHS, AND I JUST WANTED TO EXPLAIN WHY.

THIS HAS TO DO WITH OUR SPEECH PATH CONTRACTS, AND THERE'S BEEN QUITE A BIT OF TURNOVER IN THESE CONTRACTS.

WE'RE FINDING THAT THESE PEOPLE DON'T SEEM TO STAY AROUND FOR ONE REASON OR ANOTHER.

SO WE CAN'T CLOSE OUT ONE PURCHASE ORDER UNTIL FOR THE PRIOR, PREVIOUS CONTRACT UNTIL WE HAVE ALL THE INVOICES.

SO SOME OF THESE POSITIONS, WE HAVE TWO POS FOR THE SAME SPEECH PATH POSITION.

AND WE'RE IN THE PROCESS OF GETTING THE FINAL INVOICES SO THAT WE CAN CLOSE OUT THE FIRST PO SO WE DON'T HAVE.

SO THESE EXPENDITURES AREN'T OVERSTATED.

BUT THAT'S THE ONLY THING THAT I WANTED TO BRING TO YOUR ATTENTION THIS MONTH.

OVERALL, WE ARE IN GREAT SHAPE.

WE JUST NEED TO PRAY FOR NO MORE SNOW.

BECAUSE, AS YOU KNOW, WE DON'T BUDGET FOR SNOW REMOVAL.

BECAUSE HE SAID SOONER SPRING MEANS LONGER WINTER.

WE'LL SEE. IT'S LOOKING PRETTY GOOD.

SO THE COLD WEATHER IS FINE, JUST NO PRECIPITATION THAT HAS TO BE PUSHED AROUND WITH A PLOW.

NO BLOWING WIND.

BUT ALSO WHEN THERE'S SNOW DAYS AND YOU SEE THE DAYS THAT YOU'VE ALLOTTED NOT NECESSARILY A BUDGET ISSUE ALTHOUGH IT HAS SOME IMPLICATIONS. JUST POINT TO THE END DAY RIGHT.

WHEN SCHOOL SUPPOSED TO END AND MAYBE THE KIDS WON'T BE QUITE SO HAPPY.

YEAH, YEAH.

ALL RIGHT. ANY QUESTIONS? BOARD MEMBERS? THANK YOU, THANK YOU. WELL DONE.

THANK YOU. SO OUR STUDENT REPRESENTATIVES WERE NOT ABLE TO BE HERE, THIS EVENING BECAUSE OF OTHER COMMITMENTS.

BUT DID YOU GET THE PICTURE OF THE.

YES. SO LESLIE ACTUALLY SENT US A PICTURE, WHICH IS FANTASTIC.

SHE WAS NOT ABLE TO BE HERE BECAUSE SHE IS A STUDENT PAGE.

YES. SO SHE IS HAVING A GREAT TIME IN ANNAPOLIS, I'M SURE.

I CAN'T WAIT TO TALK TO HER WHEN SHE GETS BACK ABOUT HER EXPERIENCES.

AND MAYBE SHE'LL HAVE SOME INSIGHTS WE CAN HELP INFLUENCE SOME LEGISLATION IN A POSITIVE WAY.

WE'LL SEE WHO SHE'S MET AND WHO SHE'S BEEN WORKING WITH, SO SEE IF THAT CAN HELP US.

BUT SHE DID SEND US THE PIC, WHICH WAS AWESOME.

BUT OUR STUDENT REPS COULD NOT BE HERE THIS EVENING .

THEY'RE A PART OF THE AGENDA.

AND WE MISS THEM. THEY ALWAYS DO A GREAT JOB, BUT WE WILL MOVE FORWARD.

SO YOU WERE SPEAKING ABOUT THE LEGISLATURE, THAT SHE'S THERE.

[00:20:04]

AND OF COURSE, IF, MR. JONES AND MR. PLUTSCHAK, WHO ALSO SIT ON [INAUDIBLE] LEGISLATIVE COMMITTEE IF THEY HAVE ANYTHING TO ADD, THEY CAN FEEL FREE.

I JUST HAVE A SORT OF A ONE SLIDE PIECE RIGHT NOW.

AND THE REASON FOR THE SMALL PART IS WE'RE IN THAT SPOT WHERE, IN ESSENCE, LEGISLATION JUST EXPLODED.

SO THE SENATE HAD TO HAVE ANY SENATOR WHO WISHED TO HAVE A BILL THAT WOULD BE GUARANTEED A HEARING, HAD TO HAVE IT, FILED BY LAST NIGHT.

AND ANY HOUSE MEMBER, ANY DELEGATE WHO WISHES FOR THEIR BILL TO HAVE A HEARING, MUST HAVE IT FILED BY FRIDAY.

SO LITERALLY, THE BILL UPDATE THAT CAME THIS MORNING FOR WHAT'S BEEN FILED IN THE LAST 24 HOURS WAS 92 OR 93 PAGES.

SO THAT'S HOW MANY THE SENATE DROPPED LAST NIGHT.

SO THERE'S OVER 2,000 BILLS FILED RIGHT NOW.

AND THERE IS AN EXPECTATION THAT BY THE END OF THE WEEK IN THE HOUSE GETS DONE DROPPING ALL OF THEIRS, WE'LL BE SITTING PROBABLY 3,500 ISH BILLS THAT WILL GET DROPPED, WHICH IS A TREMENDOUS AMOUNT OF LEGISLATION.

NOW THAT DOESN'T INCLUDE CROSS FILES.

SO ONE BILL COULD BE COUNTING FOR TWO, WITH CROSS FILES.

BUT IT IS A VERY, VERY, VERY BUSY, BUSY SEASON IN ANNAPOLIS.

AND I KNOW MABE AND BOTH SAM ARE BOTH TRYING TO MONITOR ALL THE BILLS THAT ARE COMING OUT AS QUICKLY AS THEY'RE COMING AND GETTING SCHEDULED.

THERE ARE JUST TWO BILLS I REALLY WANTED TO HIGHLIGHT TO OUR BOARD THIS EVENING.

ONE OF THEM IS A BILL THAT I WOULD LIKE TO SUBMIT WRITTEN TESTIMONY IN SUPPORT OF THE BILL, WHICH IS KIND OF A FIRST FOR US.

WE HAVEN'T DONE THIS IN A LONG TIME, BUT IT'S A BILL THAT WOULD REALLY SUPPORT CAROLINE COUNTY.

AND THAT'S HOUSE BILL 200 AND SENATE BILL 61.

AND IT DEALS WITH THE COMMUNITY SCHOOLS PART THE CONCENTRATION OF POVERTY SCHOOLS WITHIN THE BLUEPRINT.

THE NICE THING ABOUT THIS BILL, FIRST OFF, IT'S GOTTEN A REALLY GOOD REVIEW SO FAR AT BOTH COMMITTEE HEARINGS, BOTH IN THE HOUSE AND SENATE.

IT HAS A FISCAL NOTE OF ZERO.

SO THE ODDS OF IT GETTING PASSED AND THERE'S A BAD BUDGET DEAL OR A BAD BUDGET YEAR ARE PRETTY GOOD BECAUSE IT DOESN'T COST THEM A CENT, BUT IT'S A SMART CHANGE TO BLUEPRINT.

AND I THINK IF THERE IS A SMART CHANGE THAT'S BEING ADVOCATED FOR BLUEPRINT THAT BENEFITS US, LIKE THOSE ARE GOOD WINS FOR US AS A SMALL COUNTY TO SUBMIT SOMETHING THAT SUPPORTS THAT BILL MOVING FORWARD.

SO WITH THIS BILL, THE MAIN FOCUS OF IT THAT MATTERS TO US RIGHT NOW, THE WAY THE BLUEPRINT WAS WRITTEN, IS THAT ANY SCHOOL SYSTEM WHO HAS SCHOOLS IDENTIFIED FOR CONCENTRATION OF POVERTY GRANT OR A COMMUNITY SCHOOL.

EACH SCHOOL GETS ITS OWN SEPARATE GRANT, ITS OWN SEPARATE POT OF MONEY.

SCHOOL SYSTEMS HAVE TO HAVE 40 SCHOOLS QUALIFY AS COMMUNITY SCHOOLS IN ORDER TO HAVE MONEY ALLOCATED FROM THAT LARGE POT TO PROVIDE CENTRAL OFFICE DISTRICT LEVEL SUPPORT FOR THE COMMUNITY SCHOOLS GRANTS.

SO IN A SCHOOL SYSTEM THAT HAS 39 COMMUNITY SCHOOLS, EACH PRINCIPAL IS RESPONSIBLE FOR WRITING AND MONITORING AND OVERSEEING THAT GRANT.

AND I COULD NOT IMAGINE HOW ERIN WOULD FEEL IF WE HAD 39 DIFFERENT PEOPLE MONITORING GRANTS AND TRYING TO MAKE SURE IT GETS DONE RIGHT.

YOU'RE JUST ASKING FOR A LOT OF CHALLENGES.

AND THEN THE OVERSIGHT IS VERY TOUGH.

RIGHT NOW WE HAVE THREE COMMUNITY SCHOOLS, AND IT'S A REALLY HARD CHALLENGE WITH THE OVERSIGHT OF THE GRANTS, BECAUSE THERE'S A LOT THAT NEEDS TO BE MANAGED CENTRALLY AS WELL AS AT THE SCHOOL. AND CURRENTLY, NIKKI FISHER IS HELPING TO OVERSEE THAT GRANT PROCESS, AND IT'S A CHALLENGE [INAUDIBLE].

I OVERSAW IT THE VERY FIRST YEAR WE ONLY HAD ONE.

IT WAS REALLY EASY WITH ONE, WE HAD TWO, IT BECAME A LITTLE BIT MORE WORK, BUT THREE STARTS TO BECOME A JUGGLE.

BY NEXT YEAR BASED OFF OF PRELIMINARY DATA AND IT'S PRELIMINARY.

WE MAY HAVE SEVEN COMMUNITY SCHOOLS.

SO ALL OF OUR ALL BUT TWO OF OUR SCHOOLS WOULD QUALIFY FOR THIS LEVEL OF FUNDING.

IT'S A TREMENDOUS AMOUNT OF WORKLOAD IF WE DON'T HAVE CENTRAL OFFICE OVERSIGHT HELPING TO SUPPORT THIS PROGRAM.

SO WHAT IS BEING PROPOSED IN THE LEGISLATION IS THAT A CERTAIN PERCENTAGE CAN BE UTILIZED BY A SCHOOL SYSTEM TO PROVIDE THAT ADMINISTRATIVE OVERSIGHT.

NOT TIED TO A NUMBER OF SCHOOLS.

SO IT ELIMINATES THAT 40 FACTOR AND SETS THE PERCENTAGE AT NOT MORE THAN 10% OF THE PER PUPIL GRANT.

SO THERE'S TWO GRANTS.

THAT'S CONCENTRATION OF POVERTY.

YOUR FIRST YEAR YOU GET THE PERSONNEL GRANT WHICH IS YOUR COMMUNITY SCHOOLS COORDINATOR EXPANDING.

SCHOOL-BASED HEALTH SERVICES, THOSE SORTS OF THINGS.

THE PER PUPIL IS WHAT GROWS REALLY LARGE OVER TIME.

THE PER PUPIL IS THE HARD PART OF THE GRANT BECAUSE IT GETS THERE'S A LOT OF FLEXIBILITY THAT SCHOOLS CAN DECIDE, AND THERE'S A LOT OF OVERSIGHT IN THAT MONITORING THAT NEEDS TO TAKE PLACE. FOR A SCHOOL SYSTEM NOT ONLY OF OUR SIZE, BUT EVEN I BELIEVE BALTIMORE COUNTY HAD 39 COMMUNITY SCHOOLS LAST YEAR.

[00:25:09]

THEY COULD NOT PROVIDE ANY SUPPORT.

SO NO BLUEPRINT FUNDS COULD BE USED AT ALL TO DO THE WORK.

SMART. THIS HERE IS AN EXAMPLE.

I THINK OF A SMART MODIFICATION TO BLUEPRINT THAT WILL SUPPORT.

SO IT IS MY INTENTION TO SUBMIT A LETTER SUPPORTING THIS LEGISLATION.

IT ALSO HAS SOME OTHER COMPONENTS IN IT THAT THAT ARE BEING AMENDED IN, AND THE SPONSOR IS SUPPORTIVE OF THAT WILL GIVE SCHOOL SYSTEMS THE FLEXIBILITY BASED OFF OF NATIONAL COMMUNITY SCHOOLS MODELS TO USE FUNDS BASED OFF WHAT THE NATIONAL MODELS RECOMMEND FOR COMMUNITY SCHOOLS.

SO THE RATIONALE FOR THAT THE FIRST YEAR COMMUNITY SCHOOLS CAME IN, THE RULES HADN'T BEEN WRITTEN YET FOR HOW TO USE THE FUNDS.

IN YEAR TWO MSDE STARTED TRYING TO PUT SOME PARAMETERS AROUND, BUT THEY PROBABLY GOT A LITTLE TOO TIGHT AND RESTRICTIVE FOR SOME OF THE THINGS THAT THE COMMUNITY SCHOOLS FUNDING REALLY IS INTENDED FOR BY DEFINITION OF A COMMUNITY SCHOOL.

SO THEY'RE TRYING TO LESSEN UP SOME OF THOSE RULES FROM MSDE AND TETHER IT MORE TO WHAT NATIONAL MODELS ARE, AS WELL AS THE 10% PIECE, WHICH WOULD BE VERY BENEFICIAL AND SUPPORTIVE. FOR OUR SCHOOL SYSTEM AND MAKE OUR PROCESSES A WHOLE LOT SMOOTHER FOR THAT TO TAKE PLACE.

SO THAT'S A PIECE OF LEGISLATION THAT I DO PLAN ON DRAFTING SOMETHING OF SUPPORT.

I WILL SEND IT TO THE BOARD TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE OKAY WITH THAT BEFORE IT GOES IN.

BUT I WOULD LIKE TO GET THAT OFF MY PLATE AND GET IN THIS WEEK.

JUST TO SUPPORT IT, IT IS A BILL I EXPECT TO PASS, BUT I THINK IT'S ONE THAT A SMALL SCHOOL SYSTEM SHOULD WEIGH IN.

RIGHT NOW IT'S BEEN YOUR ALLEGHENY OR, SORRY, YOUR ANNE ARUNDEL, YOUR BALTIMORE COUNTY, YOUR LARGER DISTRICTS.

BUT I THINK THAT SMALL DISTRICT VOICE WOULD BE IMPORTANT TO HAVE LIKE [INAUDIBLE] OR DORCHESTER OR A SOMERSET AS WELL.

THAT ANSWERS THE QUESTION THAT MAY GO UNASKED THAT IF A MEMBER OF THE COMMITTEE WONDERS WHAT A SMALLER SCHOOL SYSTEM WOULD THINK OF THIS, THAT LETTER CAN BE, YOU MIGHT SAY, PROACTIVE, THAT THEY'RE NOW NOT GOING TO HAVE THAT CONCERN, WHICH COULD SLOW IT DOWN.

YEAH, THAT'S A GOOD THING TO DO.

HOW HOW ARE WE MAKING OUT WITH [INAUDIBLE] DOING OKAY WITH THE COMMUNITY SCHOOL STUFF? ARE THEY ABLE TO PURCHASE WHAT THEY NEED [INAUDIBLE]? THEY ARE ABLE TO PURCHASE WHAT THEY NEED.

THERE ARE SOME DIFFERENT RULES THAT HAVE POPPED UP THAT WE'VE HAD TO WORK THROUGH.

SO IN THE FIRST YEAR OF COMMUNITY SCHOOLS GRANTS.

I AM AWARE THAT A SCHOOL SYSTEM WAS ABLE TO UTILIZE FUNDING THROUGH COMMUNITY SCHOOLS TO FUND A TRANSPORTATION INITIATIVE TO GET PARENTS TO THE SCHOOL F OR EVENING EVENTS.

THEY BOUGHT A VAN FOR THEIR SCHOOL.

IT WAS ACCEPTABLE IN YEAR ONE WHEN THE RULES CAME IN FROM MSDE, IT WAS NO LONGER ACCEPTABLE BECAUSE WE ASKED.

WE HAD TWO ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS THAT IT REALLY WOULD HAVE BEEN BENEFICIAL FOR.

NOT THAT WE'RE IN THE GO BUY A VAN BUSINESS, BUT ACCESS TO OUR BUILDINGS IS HUGE, AND GETTING PEOPLE TO THEM IS SIGNIFICANT.

I MEAN, WE KNOW THE TRANSPORTATION ISSUES AND IT WAS A NO NO OFF THE TABLE.

CAN'T NO. NO WAY, NO HOW, NO FORM.

THERE'S AN IMPORTANT PIECE.

WE HAD FOUR KIDS SIGN THEIR APPRENTICESHIP PAPERWORK TODAY TO BECOME APPRENTICES WITH THE SCHOOL SYSTEM, WHICH IS AWESOME.

THANK YOU LINDSAY FOR BEING PART OF THAT, IT'S GREAT THEY'RE DOING IT WITH US.

IT'S A FANTASTIC OPPORTUNITY.

BUT THE BIGGEST BARRIER FOR KIDS TO DO APPRENTICESHIP IS TRANSPORTATION.

IF YOU'RE IN A COMMUNITY SCHOOL, WE KNOW TRANSPORTATION IS AN ISSUE.

IT'S GOING TO SHOW UP IN EVERY SINGLE NEEDS ASSESSMENT THEY DO.

WHAT IF THAT SCHOOL HAD TRANSPORTATION THAT COULD MOVE KIDS AROUND? IT'S NOT A BIG YELLOW, WHICH COST A LOT TO DRIVE AND A LOT TO BUY, BUT THEY HAVE THE ABILITY TO MEET THE NEEDS OF THEIR KIDS.

BECAUSE PRELIMINARILY, BASED ON DATA, ALL SCHOOLS BUT RIDGELY IN NORTH HIGH WILL QUALIFY FOR COP NEXT YEAR.

IF THE DATA IS ACCURATE.

IT WOULD BE GREAT FOR COLONEL HIGH, WHICH IS IN THE MIDDLE OF NOWHERE.

IF THEY HAD THE ABILITY TO HAVE SOME SORT OF A TRANSPORTATION USE TO SUPPORT KIDS FROM THAT BUILDING, BEING ABLE TO GO TO EMPLOYMENT, SAY WE HAVE APPRENTICESHIP PLACES AT THE INDUSTRIAL PARK IN FEDERALSBURG.

WE COULD HUG THEM RIGHT THERE.

SO THOSE ARE THE THE OPPORTUNITIES THAT WILL EXIST IF THIS LESSENS THAT A LITTLE BIT.

SO WE'RE DOING OKAY NOW.

BUT I ALSO WILL TELL YOU THAT WHEN AS THE MONEY LEVEL PICKS UP, WE'RE GOING TO WANT THAT FLEXIBILITY TO BE ABLE TO USE THAT FUNDING WHAT ARE WE BUYING WITH IT NOW? SO RIGHT NOW COLONEL MIDDLE IS JUST PERSONNEL.

SO THEY'VE EXPANDED THEIR WELLNESS PROGRAM.

THEY'VE HAD A COMMUNITY SCHOOLS COORDINATOR.

WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO USE THE FUNDING TO ACCESS, COMMUNITY CLOSET TYPE INITIATIVES, SCHOOL SUPPLIES.

WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO USE IT FOR FUNDING LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES FOR KIDS.

[00:30:01]

EVENTUALLY, AS COVID DISAPPEARED WITH COVID, MONEY DISAPPEARS.

IT WILL PROBABLY BE AN AVENUE FOR SCHOOLS TO CONSIDER FUNDING AFTER SCHOOL PROGRAMING BECAUSE RIGHT NOW IT'S COVERED THROUGH ARP.

AND WHEN THAT GOES, THAT WILL BE A REPLACEMENT FUNDING IF THE NEEDS ASSESSMENT SHOWS IT.

FEDERALSBURG IS USING, PART OF THEIR COMMUNITY CONCENTRATION OF POVERTY FUNDING TO COVER THEIR, TSP CLASSROOMS OR BEHAVIORAL SUPPORT CLASSROOM.

THEY'RE USING THAT RIGHT NOW.

THE OTHER TWO SCHOOLS ARE FUNDED THROUGH ARP.

SO THAT'S SOMETHING THEY CAN CONSIDER.

BUT RIGHT NOW WE'RE MAKING GOOD USE OF IT.

WE JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE THAT FLEXIBILITY AS THOSE AS THE FUNDS INCREASE.

YEAH. AND WE SEE OTHER NEEDS WE WANT TO MAKE SURE WE GET THERE.

YEP. SO THAT ONE IS ACTUALLY SMART LEGISLATION.

THE 10% THAT YOU TALKED ABOUT THAT MIGHT BE WE MIGHT BE ABLE TO USE TO HAVE SOMEONE AT THIS LEVEL MONITOR [INAUDIBLE]. IS THAT COMING OFF THE TOP OF WHAT THE SEVEN SCHOOLS WILL RECEIVE? IT ACTUALLY FOR NEXT YEAR IF IT PASSES THIS YEAR, IT ACTUALLY WILL COME OFF THE TOP OF WHAT THREE SCHOOLS WOULD RECEIVE.

SO THE FOUR NEW ONES WILL ONLY HAVE A PERSONNEL GRANT.

SO IT'S ONCE YOU GET THE PER PUPIL WHICH THE PER PUPIL GRANT INCREASES EVERY YEAR, IT'S A CERTAIN PERCENTAGE OF THE FOUNDATION DOLLAR.

SO IN THE FIRST YEAR MY PERCENTAGES WILL BE A LITTLE BIT WRONG, MRS. WAYMAN, IN THE FIRST YEAR I BELIEVE IT'S LIKE 12% OF THE FOUNDATION DOLLAR, AND THE SECOND YEAR IT'S LIKE 30%.

AND THEN IT GOES TO 37% AND THEN IT GOES TO 55%.

SO IT JUST KEEPS RAMPING UP UNTIL YOU'RE AT 100%, WHICH IS BASICALLY DOUBLE THE COST OF AN AVERAGE KID, BASICALLY WHAT [INAUDIBLE] IS BASED OFF OF.

SO IT WOULD COME OFF OF THAT PIECE THE BIGGER POT OF MONEY.

YEAH. SO THE FIRST YEAR IS JUST MORE OR LESS GETTING ESTABLISHED.

YEAH GET THE PEOPLE IN PLACE AND THEN DO YOUR [INAUDIBLE].

DO YOUR NEEDS ASSESSMENT, YOUR HAVE YOUR SCHOOL ITSELF, DO THEIR PLAN TO SEE WHAT THEY NEED.

AND THEN THE REST OF THE MONEY IS SUPPOSED TO BE TO AFTER THAT IS TO PUT YOUR PLAN IN PLACE AND REDO YOUR PLAN OF COURSE, AS NEEDS CHANGE.

BUT SO THAT ONE'S, THAT ONE'S BEEN INTERESTING.

THE SECOND PIECE OF LEGISLATION I JUST WANT TO PUT OUT THERE, AND I'M NOT GOING TO PRETEND TO KNOW ALL ABOUT IT BECAUSE IT JUST DROPPED RECENTLY.

BUT I KNOW MR. NAGEL WAS HERE.

MILTON WAS HERE IN JANUARY AND EXPLAINED THE FAMILY MEDICAL LEAVE INSURANCE PROGRAM THAT WE ARE PARTNERING WITH MABE AND MACO, THE MARYLAND ASSOCIATION OF COUNTIES, FOR THEIR MODEL FOR HOW TO HANDLE THE TIME TO CARE ACT.

THIS LEGISLATION SEEKS TO DELAY THE BEGINNING OF THAT.

IT'S ACTUALLY TIED TO THE GOVERNOR'S ASKED FOR SOME OF THIS.

I DON'T KNOW IF THIS IS HIS LEGISLATION, BUT THERE IS A PART IN HIS BUDGET THAT HE WAS BUDGETING FOR THE DELAY.

SO THEY'RE LOOKING TO POSSIBLY SLOW DOWN THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THIS ACT BECAUSE OF THE COST OF IT RIGHT NOW.

SO THIS ONE WILL BE INTERESTING TO WATCH.

THERE'S OTHER PIECES OF IT THAT AREN'T JUST TIED TO THAT.

SO IT'S NOT JUST A BILL TO SLOW THINGS DOWN.

THERE'S OTHER PIECES I KNOW WE'RE WAITING TO HEAR.

YOU GUYS ARE PROBABLY HEAR IT ON YOUR CALL, BUT I KNOW LAST NIGHT THAT WAS A QUESTION ASKED AT THE MAIN FUNCTION OF WHAT DOES THIS MEAN? AND THEY'RE LIKE, WE'RE TRYING TO WORK THROUGH IT TO SEE WHAT ALL IT'S TRYING TO DO.

WE KNOW IT SLOWS IT DOWN, BUT WHAT ELSE THEY'RE TRYING TO DECIPHER AND FIGURE OUT, LIKE, IS THIS REALLY WHAT WE NEED OR DO WE NEED TO MAKE SOME AMENDMENTS? BUT I DO TRUST MABE TO WORK THROUGH THAT SINCE THEN AND MACO, WE'RE WORKING TOGETHER WITH HOW TO IMPLEMENT.

BUT THAT COULD HAVE SOME HAVE SOME SHIFTS FOR US ONE WAY OR THE OTHER.

SO AND AND I DON'T KNOW IF YOU GUYS HAVE ANYTHING YOU WOULD WANT TO ADD AT THIS POINT IN TIME.

IT'S STILL KIND OF EARLY IN THE SEASON.

SO THERE'S BEEN A COUPLE THAT MADE MY EYE TWITCH A LITTLE BIT, BUT I'M JUST GOING TO WATCH THEM AND SEE WHAT HAPPENS.

THERE'S QUITE A BIT I IT'S FUNNY, I WAS JOKING WITH SOMEBODY EARLIER TODAY.

MY USUALLY MY GET HOME AND RELAX ABOUT 9:00 AT NIGHT TO KIND OF DEBRIEF IS LIKE GO TO I DON'T KNOW, WHATEVER I'VE RECORDED ON TV OR NETFLIX OR WHATEVER IT'S BEEN GO TO WATCH BILL HEARINGS, I'LL BE HONEST.

PULL OUT THE LAPTOP WATCH IT TO SEE KIND OF HOW THE DISCUSSION GOES BECAUSE THERE ARE SOME.

YEAH, I KNOW, I SEE YOU LAUGHING, MISS FRANCE.

BUT THERE ARE AND MR. PLUTSCHAK'S RIGHT. THERE ARE SOME THAT WILL TRULY MAKE YOUR EYE TWITCH.

IT'S AN ELECTION YEAR, SO PEOPLE ARE THROWING SPAGHETTI AT THE WALL, WITH A LOT OF BILLS, BUT YOU REALLY ARE WATCHING THEM TO HEAR HOW THE DISCUSSION GOES OR TO WATCH OTHER PEOPLE'S FACES WHEN THEY'RE DISCUSSING THEM, BECAUSE THAT YOU CAN SORT OF GET A FEEL FOR LIKE, IS THIS ACTUALLY GOING TO MOVE? OR LIKE, DOES EVERYBODY IN THE ROOM KIND OF REALIZE

[00:35:05]

THEY ACTUALLY CAN BE. SOME PUT YOU TO SLEEP.

SO I JUST GOT THAT IMAGE OF A NETFLIX SERIES.

THE MARYLAND GENERAL ASSEMBLY.

THESE THINGS WILL HAVE SEASONS, RIGHT? YEAH. SO HOW MANY SEATS? THIS IS LIKE INFINITY, RIGHT? THEY'RE GOING TO GENERAL ASSEMBLY IS GOING TO MEET UNTIL THERE'S NO MORE HUMAN BEINGS ON THIS PLANET.

SO WHATEVER 3,500 BILLS.

YES. YEAH. AND IF YOU WENT AND LOOKED AND SAW THAT IT HAS 200 YEARS, YOU KNOW, THAT'S IT AFTER THAT YOU'RE DONE.

SO IT'S FOREVER EVERY YEAR.

YEAH. PROBABLY BE A GOOD IT'S BETTER THAN MELATONIN.

SOME OF THEM ARE ASLEEP.

VERY TRUE.

ALL RIGHT. SORRY TO DIGRESS ON THAT.

SORRY. ALL RIGHT.

ANY OTHER LEGISLATIVE COMMENTS? ANYBODY OKAY. YEAH.

VERY GOOD. YEAH.

JUST EXCITING.

IT SHOWS. I MEAN, ALL KIDDING ASIDE, IT DOES MAKE A HUGE DIFFERENCE IN OUR WORK AND WHAT WE DO NEXT.

SO ALL RIGHT, NOW WE CAN MOVE TO THE CONSENT AGENDA.

[4. Consent Agenda]

THAT'S AN EASY ACT TO FOLLOW.

MR. BARTON, MEMBERS OF THE BOARD, DR.

SIMMONS, FOR THE PERSONNEL AGENDA THIS EVENING HAS ONE RESIGNATION, TWO RETIREMENTS, FOUR RETIREMENTS THROUGH THE VA VOLUNTARY RETIREMENT INCENTIVE PLAN, ONE TEACHER APPOINTMENT TO A REGULAR CONTRACT AND ONE TEACHER APPOINTMENT TO PROVISIONAL FROM REGULAR.

THANK YOU. ALSO, WE HAVE OUR MINUTES FROM JANUARY 9TH.

OUR REGULAR MEETING AND THEN THE WORK SESSION JANUARY 29TH.

UNLESS THERE'S SUGGESTED CHANGES TO THOSE MINUTES.

DO I HAVE A MOTION TO APPROVE THE CONSENT AGENDA? I'LL MOVE WE APPROVE THE CONSENT AGENDA AS SUBMITTED.

DO WE HAVE A SECOND? SECOND. ANY DISCUSSION? HEARING NONE. ALL IN FAVOR? AYE. ANY OPPOSED? ALL RIGHT. CONSENT AGENDA PASSES.

THANK YOU, DR. WILLOUGHBY, DO WE HAVE PUBLIC COMMENT TONIGHT? ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU.

I THOUGHT THERE MIGHT HAVE BEEN A COMMENT ABOUT THAT WONDERFUL ARTICLE YOU GOT IN THERE ABOUT THE COOLEST BOARD PRESIDENT.

A STACK OF LETTERS. YEAH, I BET YOU COULD HAVE SAID COLDEST AS WELL.

ANYWAY, THANK YOU FOR DOING THAT.

I GOT A LOT OF COMMENTS ABOUT IT, WHICH IS VERY NICE.

ALRIGHT. INDIVIDUAL ACTION ITEMS.

[6. Individual Action Items]

ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL OF NORTH CAROLINA HIGH SCHOOL.

OUTSTANDING. YES.

SO, I AM VERY EXCITED, TONIGHT, TO BRING BEFORE YOU, THE OFFICIAL APPOINTMENT, FOR ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL OF NORTH CAROLINA HIGH SCHOOL OF MRS. CHASTITY WRIGHT.

CHASTITY HAS BEEN FULFILLING THE RESPONSIBILITIES, SINCE THE START OF THE SCHOOL YEAR.

ACTUALLY, AS DEAN OF STUDENTS, AND SHE'S DONE A FANTASTIC JOB.

AND THAT WAS WHILE SHE WAS FINISHING HER PROGRAM.

ALL COURSEWORK WAS DONE.

HAD TO FINISH ONE SMALL PIECE OF IT, AND SHE HAS FINISHED THAT.

SO, CHASTITY, FOR THOSE WHO DO NOT KNOW MRS. WRIGHT, SHE'S BEEN WITH US SINCE 2012.

SHE'S DONE AN OUTSTANDING JOB AT NORTH CAROLINA HIGH SCHOOL AS A READING INTERVENTION TEACHER, PBIS COACH, UDL COACH, EVENING SCHOOL TEACHER, YOU NAME IT CHASTITY IS THERE.

I MEAN, JUST IS.

AND SHE WAS THE UNANIMOUS CHOICE BY THE INTERVIEW COMMITTEE TO SERVE IN THIS ROLE BACK WHEN WE HELD THE INTERVIEWS.

AND I'M GLAD WE WERE ABLE TO MAKE IT WORK AS A DEAN IN THE MEANTIME, BUT SINCE SHE IS NOW OFFICIALLY DONE HER COURSEWORK, WE CAN FULLY APPOINT HER AS THE ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL AGAIN.

SHE'S BEEN DOING THE WORK.

AND I'M HAPPY TO BRING HER TONIGHT TO ASK FOR YOUR APPROVAL.

OKAY. OUTSTANDING.

DO WE HAVE A MOTION FOR APPROVAL? SO MOVED.

GOT A LITTLE NERVOUS BACK THERE.

ALL IN FAVOR? AYE, AYE.

UNANIMOUS. THANK YOU.

CONGRATULATIONS. WONDERFUL.

CONGRATULATIONS [APPLAUSE].

I WONDER WHO WAS SQUIRMING MORE, YOU OR MR. SPIKER? IT WAS A LITTLE BIT LIKE.

BECAUSE. YEAH. WELL, OFFICIALLY.

CONGRATULATIONS. SHE HAS LITERALLY DONE A FANTASTIC JOB AT NORTH CAROLINA HIGH SCHOOL AND JUST JUMPED RIGHT IN.

THEIR TEAM IS SO COMPLETE.

AND JUST WORKING SO WELL TOGETHER, WHICH IS MAKING LEAPS AND BOUNDS, MOVEMENTS AT THE SCHOOL.

AND WE'RE EXCITED FOR THE FUTURE WITH NORTH HIGH.

AND, YOU KNOW, SHE WASN'T THE COOL SCHOOLS THING.

[00:40:06]

SO, NO, CONGRATULATIONS CHASTITY.

WELCOME ABOARD IN THIS ROLE AND AGAIN, I KNOW YOU'LL DO GREAT THINGS, AS YOU ALREADY HAVE, SO THANK YOU.

SO, SANDY, DO WE NEED PICTURES? I FIGURED YOU DID.

ALL RIGHT. WE HAVE OUR GRASS MOWING SERVICES CONTRACT IS UP NEXT.

MR. MENGEL GOOD TO SEE YOU.

THANK YOU. GOOD EVENING, PRESIDENT BARTON.

MEMBERS OF THE BOARD. DR. SIMMONS, I COME BEFORE YOU THIS EVENING WITH A RECOMMENDATION FOR THE BOARD TO APPROVE OUR GRASS CUTTING SERVICES BID.

THIS BID IS A FIVE YEAR GRASS CUTTING SERVICE BID THAT WILL INCLUDE FOUR ONE YEAR RENEWAL OPTIONS.

IT WILL BE IN EFFECT MAY 1ST OF 2024 THROUGH DECEMBER 31ST, 2028.

THE AWARDED VENDOR WILL BE RESPONSIBLE FOR CUTTING GRASS SERVICES ON ALL OR NOT ALL, BUT ON 13 CAROLINE COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOL PROPERTIES WHILE WE'RE STILL UNDER CONTRACT WITH THE CURRENT VENDOR UNTIL APRIL 30TH OF THIS YEAR.

THE PROACTIVE BID AGREEMENT, ELIMINATES ANY POTENTIAL LAPSE OF GRASS CUTTING SERVICES RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF SPRING SPORTS.

DIDN'T WANT THAT TO HAPPEN.

YEAH. IF YOU COULD PLEASE REVIEW THE SUMMARY SHEET, YOU'LL SEE THAT THERE ARE SIX VENDORS THAT SUBMITTED BIDS.

I DO WANT TO TELL YOU THAT FORMALIZED BIDDING PROCEDURES WERE STRICTLY FOLLOWED ACCORDING TO ALL STATE PROCUREMENT GUIDELINES.

WE HAD ONE VENDOR WHO HAND-DELIVERED A BID AND THREE VENDORS THAT DID THEIR SUBMITTED SUBMITTED THEIR BIDS ONLINE.

WE ALSO HAD ONE VENDOR THAT STAYED FOR THE BID OPENING ON JANUARY 31ST AS WELL.

I DO WANT TO NOTE THAT THE COMPETITION WAS RATHER FIERCE FOR TWO OF THE FOUR.

I BELIEVE IT WAS A $47 DIFFERENTIAL ANNUAL.

SO IT WAS THIS IS WHY YOU DO BIDS AND WHY YOU DO QUOTES BECAUSE YOU GET COMPETITION.

THE OTHER TWO WERE CLEARLY OUT OF THE BALLPARK.

IF THERE'S NO FURTHER QUESTIONS, I SEEK YOUR APPROVAL FOR OUR CURRENT INCUMBENT COMPANY, TOP NOTCH LAWN CARE AND LANDSCAPING LLC, TO CONTINUE TO BE OUR GRASS CUTTING SERVICES VENDOR DURING THE NEXT FIVE YEAR CONTRACT.

HOW MUCH DID THEY GO UP? NOT MUCH.

SURPRISINGLY NOT MUCH DR.

SIMMONS ASKED ME TO LOOK FOR THAT ABOUT 1.5%.

WELL THE CURRENT VENDOR WILL KNOW WHAT IT COSTS, RIGHT.

WHAT IT COSTS THEM. BUT NONE OF THAT IS SECRET.

SO NO, THE PRIOR BIDS AND WHOEVER GETS THAT AWARD, SOMEBODY DOING THEIR HOMEWORK AND LOOK AT THAT AND THAT'LL GET THEM IN THE RIGHT RANGE.

CORRECT. AND SO THE ACTUAL DOLLAR AMOUNT IS CONSIDERABLY HIGHER THAN IT WAS LAST YEAR.

BUT WE'VE ALSO ADDED PIECES THAT WE WERE JUST SAYING, OKAY, I NEED YOU TO GO CUT THIS N OW.

I NEED YOU TO GO CUT THAT SOLAR FIELDS.

WE ADDED SPACE WITH GREEN SPACE BEHIND GREENSBORO JUDY CENTER.

ALL THESE WERE LITTLE ADDITIONS THAT WE WOULD JUST KIND OF LIKE A LA CARTE AND SAY, HEY, I NEED TO CUT THIS NOW.

THAT'S ALL INCORPORATED INTO THIS CONTRACT.

SO ONCE YOU PULL THOSE OUT AND YOU LOOK AT THE ACTUAL WHAT WE PAID FOR LAST YEAR VERSUS THIS YEAR, PRETTY GOOD DEAL.

YEAH. THERE YOU GO.

IS THAT PER WEEK FROM WHENEVER TIME OF THE YEAR THEY START MOWING THE GRASS UNTIL WHATEVER TIME OF THE YEAR THAT THE GRASS IS.

YES. SO THEY WILL.

SO THEY WILL PROBABLY CUT, BELIEVE IT OR NOT, ABOUT TWO WEEKS BECAUSE SPRING SPORTS IS ONLY ABOUT THREE AND A HALF WEEKS AWAY, BELIEVE IT OR NOT.

ESPECIALLY THE THOSE PARTICULAR WORKOUT FIELDS PRACTICE FIELDS.

THEY'LL CUT THOSE FOR NOW.

THEY MIGHT NOT CUT EVERYTHING AT THAT TIME.

AND THEN THE SAME THING WILL GO THROUGH TOWARDS THE FALL.

THEY'LL START RAMPING SOME OF THESE OTHER FIELDS DOWN THAT THEY DON'T NECESSARILY DO ANYMORE.

[00:45:02]

THEY ALSO GO FROM LIKE TWO EVERY TWO WEEKS IN THE SPRING AND LATE SPRING TO ABOUT ONCE A MONTH COME LIKE JULY AND AUGUST.

AND SOMETIMES I WILL SHUT THEM DOWN IF IT'S LIKE WE HAD A PRETTY SUBSTANTIAL DROUGHT LAST YEAR FOR ABOUT FOUR WEEKS AND HE HAD CALLED ME, HE SAYS I DON'T WANT TO WASTE MY MY ASSETS ON CUTTING NOTHING.

I SAID NOTHING IS GOOD.

[INAUDIBLE] SO WE HAVE SOME FLEXIBILITY THERE.

SO IF THEY'RE NOT MOWING, THEY'RE NOT GETTING CORRECT.

WE'RE NOT PAYING FOR IT. YEAH, CORRECT.

VERY GOOD. UNLESS THERE'S OTHER QUESTIONS OR DISCUSSION.

DO WE HAVE A MOTION TO SUPPORT? I'LL MAKE A MOTION.

ANY FURTHER DISCUSSION? ALL IN FAVOR? AYE, AYE. THANK YOU.

WELL DONE. THANK YOU, THANK YOU.

THANK YOU, MR. MENGEL. YEP.

NEXT UP IS AP ADVANCED PLACEMENT PRE-CALCULUS COURSE APPROVAL.

YES. SO TONIGHT WE HAVE PINCH HITTING FOR DR.

VONDENBOSCH. WHO'S UNDER THE WEATHER IS, MRS. MCCORMICK, WHO WE'RE GLAD WHO'S BEEN ABSOLUTELY BEEN PART OF THE THE, THE PROCESS OF GETTING US TO THIS POINT.

BUT SHE WILL BE TAKING THE LEAD ON THE PRESENTATION TONIGHT AND HELPING TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS WE MAY HAVE, AS WELL AS BERNADETTE AS WELL AS MISS FRANCE, WHO'S HERE AS WELL.

YES. SO GOOD EVENING, PRESIDENT BARTON.

DR. SIMMONS, MEMBERS OF THE BOARD.

RACHEL, CAN WE.

I'M SORRY. I COME BEFORE YOU TONIGHT ON BEHALF OF AS DR.

SIMMONS, SAID MATH SUPERVISOR NICOLE VONDENBOSCH WITH AN INDIVIDUAL ACTION ITEM FOR YOU TO CONSIDER, WE ARE REQUESTING TO CHANGE OUR EXISTING PRE-CALCULUS COURSE TO AN ADVANCED PLACEMENT PRE-CALCULUS COURSE.

YES. AS YOU KNOW, ONE GOAL OF THE BLUEPRINT IS TO INCREASE POST CCR PATHWAYS, ONE OF WHICH IS AN AP PATHWAY. WITH THIS SHIFT, THERE WOULD BE NO CHANGE IN COURSE CONTENT OR COURSE MATERIALS, YET IT WOULD BE AN OPPORTUNITY FOR OUR STUDENTS TO EARN COLLEGE CREDIT.

AND I ACTUALLY HAVE HEARD OVER AND OVER FROM CHESAPEAKE COLLEGE, FROM COLLEGE BOARD, FROM TEACHERS PRE CALCULUS IS PRE-CALCULUS IS PRE-CALCULUS, NO MATTER WHAT COURSE OR CLASS IT IS, IT'S PRE-CALCULUS.

NEXT SLIDE RACHEL.

AS YOU CAN SEE, DATA SUGGESTS THAT TAKING PRE-CALCULUS IN HIGH SCHOOL SUGGESTS HIGHER COMPLETION RATES OF A BACHELOR'S DEGREE.

AND IN ADDITION, TAKING AP CLASSES IN HIGH SCHOOL CAN MAKE IT ACTUALLY EASIER FOR STUDENTS TO GRADUATE COLLEGE IN FOUR YEARS.

WE HAVE HAD DISCUSSIONS WITH COLLEGE BOARD AND HAVE REVIEWED INFORMATION FROM THEIR WEBSITE.

THE AP PRE-CALCULUS COURSE ITSELF PREPARES STUDENTS FOR ADDITIONAL COLLEGE MATH AND SCIENCE CLASSES.

IN THIS COURSE, STUDENTS WILL USE MATHEMATICAL TOOLS TO DEVELOP AN UNDERSTANDING OF MODELING AND FUNCTIONS AND EXAMINE SCENARIOS THROUGH MULTIPLE REPRESENTATIONS, ALL OF WHICH CURRENTLY OCCUR IN OUR PRE-CALCULUS COURSE.

IN ORDER TO BE PREPARED FOR AP PRE-CALCULUS, A STUDENT WOULD NEED TO HAVE COMPLETED GEOMETRY AND ALGEBRA TWO.

AGAIN, THAT'S THE SAME AS OUR CURRENT PRACTICES.

NEXT SLIDE. HERE YOU SEE THAT IN ORDER TO OFFER AP IN ORDER TO OFFER AP PRE-CALCULUS, TEACHERS WOULD NEED TO BE TRAINED. WE WOULD USE THE CCR FUNDS TO PAY FOR THIS TRAINING, AND ALREADY HAVE TEACHERS FROM BOTH COLONEL RICHARDSON HIGH SCHOOL AND NORTH CAROLINE HIGH SCHOOL THAT HAVE AGREED TO BE TRAINED.

AS I STATED EARLIER, WE WOULD USE OUR CURRENT TEXTBOOK AND THIS WOULD NOT IMPACT SCHEDULING OR STAFFING.

WE ARE HOPING, IF APPROVED TONIGHT, TO BEGIN THIS AP OFFERING DURING NEXT SCHOOL YEAR.

IN ADDITION, COLLEGE AND CAREER READINESS FUNDS CURRENTLY PAY FOR AP EXAMS AND OTHER COURSES SO STUDENTS WOULD HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO EARN COLLEGE CREDIT AT NO COST TO THEM OR THEIR FAMILIES.

IF SUCCESSFUL ON THE EXAM, 292 COLLEGES CURRENTLY ACCEPT AP PRE-CALCULUS FOR COLLEGE CREDIT, INCLUDING TOWSON UNIVERSITY, LOYOLA UNIVERSITY AND SEVERAL OTHERS, AS WELL AS ADDITIONAL COLLEGES OFFER ELECTIVE CREDIT THROUGH COLLEGE.

NEXT SLIDE. THANK YOU.

WE HAVE SPOKEN TO TEACHERS AND MATH COACHES WHO AGREE THAT THIS IS A POSITIVE SHIFT FOR OUR COMMUNITY AND STUDENTS.

A SURVEY WAS SENT TO STUDENTS AND PARENTS OF CURRENT ALGEBRA TWO STUDENTS WHO WOULD SOON BE REGISTERING FOR PRE-CALCULUS.

[00:50:05]

28% OF THE RESPONSES STATED THAT THE SHIFT WOULD HAVE NO BEARING ON THEIR INTEREST.

AND THERE WERE NO RESPONSES WITH A NEGATIVE REACTION TO THE SHIFT.

NEXT SLIDE. AND HERE YOU SEE A QUOTE FROM BERNADETTE FRANCE, OUR COLONEL RICHARDSON HIGH SCHOOL MATH COACH, WHO IS HERE WITH US TONIGHT. THAT SHARES HER EXPERIENCE OF LEARNING ABOUT AP PRECALCULUS AND HOW SHE FEELS THAT IT IS A GREAT OPPORTUNITY FOR OUR STUDENTS IN CAROLINE COUNTY.

MRS. FRANCE, WOULD YOU LIKE TO DO A DRAMATIC READING OF YOUR.

I CAN READ IT. NEXT SLIDE RACHEL.

AND HERE YOU SEE, A QUOTE FROM ONE OF OUR MATH TEACHERS FROM COLONEL RICHARDSON HIGH SCHOOL WHO IS ONE OF THE TEACHERS WHO HAS AGREED AND IS LOOKING FORWARD TO HOPEFULLY BEING TRAINED TO TEACH THE AP PRE-CALCULUS COURSE.

SHE AGAIN BELIEVES THAT IT IS A GREAT OPPORTUNITY FOR OUR STUDENTS TO, IN HIGH SCHOOL, WORK AT A COLLEGE LEVEL.

THEY'RE ALREADY DOING THAT IN THEIR CURRENT PRE-CALCULUS COURSES, BUT HAVING THE OPPORTUNITY TO EARN THAT COLLEGE CREDIT.

SO, AS YOU CAN SEE, WITH ONLY AN ADDITIONAL COST OF TEACHER TRAINING AND COST OF AP EXAMS, BOTH OF WHICH WOULD BE COVERED THROUGH THE CCR FUNDS, WE COULD OFFER OUR STUDENTS THE OPPORTUNITY TO EARN COLLEGE CREDIT.

SO AT THIS TIME, I'LL TAKE ANY QUESTIONS AND ALSO ASK FOR YOUR APPROVAL OF CHANGING OUR CURRENT PRE-CALCULUS COURSE TO THE ADVANCED PLACEMENT PRE-CALCULUS COURSE.

WELL DONE. ANY QUESTIONS? YES, I JUST HAVE A COMMENT.

I WANT TO MAKE SURE I'M CLEAR WHICH I THINK I AM.

THAT'S OKAY. THAT, OUR STUDENTS CAN TAKE THIS CLASS AT NORTH HIGH OR COLONEL IN HIGH SCHOOL, CORRECT.

AND EARN COLLEGE CREDIT FOR IT.

IF THEY WERE TO GET A CERTAIN SCORE, A 3, 4 OR 5 ON THE AP EXAM, OKAY, THEY WOULD EARN THE COLLEGE CREDIT.

YES. DO THEY TAKE THAT AP EXAM WHILE THEY'RE IN YOUR HIGH SCHOOL? CORRECT? YES.

JUST LIKE ANY OTHER OF OUR AP COURSES.

THEY'RE END OF APRIL AND THROUGHOUT MAY AND SOME INTO EARLY JUNE.

BUT YES, THEY WOULD TAKE IT IN OUR HIGH SCHOOL.

THANK YOU. YES.

IF I ASK THE MATH QUESTION, I WOULDN'T UNDERSTAND.

OKAY, THEN.

THEN HAVE AT IT.

OH, I'M SORRY, MISS WAYMAN.

I THINK IT'S LIKE, EXCUSE ME.

ONE SESSION. WILL THERE BE.

WILL WE HAVE ENOUGH STUDENTS? YOU THINK THAT THERE WILL BE A NEED FOR MORE THAN ONE CLASS AT EACH HIGH SCHOOL? OH, THERE'S, YEAH, CURRENTLY THERE'S SIX CLASSES AT NORTH HIGH.

WONDERFUL.

WITH HAVING TO TAKE A MATH EACH YEAR IN HIGH SCHOOL.

SO IF YOU ARE A STUDENT THAT TAKES ALGEBRA ONE IN EIGHTH GRADE, YOU GO TO 9TH GRADE AND YOU WOULD TAKE GEOMETRY, ALGEBRA, ALGEBRA TWO AS A SOPHOMORE, YOU STILL HAVE JUNIOR AND SENIOR YEAR.

OKAY. SO EVEN IF YOU TAKE ALGEBRA ONE IN 9TH GRADE, YOU STILL GET TO THE POINT OF PRE-CALCULUS BEING IN IN YOUR REALM. OKAY.

THANK YOU. YES.

OKAY. I GUESS JUST JUST PIGGYBACKS A LITTLE BIT.

I THINK WHAT YOU'RE TRYING TO GET AT THE COURSE IS NOT CHANGING.

THE COURSE IS NOT CHANGING.

THE TITLE IS CHANGING.

YEAH, THE TITLE IS CHANGING TO MEET BLUEPRINT TO YET IT HELPS US WITH THE BLUEPRINT HELPS WITH THE AP PATHWAY.

IT HELPS WITH THE AP PATHWAY.

OKAY. REALLY IT IT IS JUST GIVING OUR STUDENTS AN OPPORTUNITY FOR THAT ADDITIONAL OPPORTUNITY OF AN AP EXAM WHEN IT IS THE SAME COURSE CONTENT.

IT'S THE SAME TEXTBOOK.

I KNOW BERNADETTE HAS IT WITH HER TONIGHT.

IT'S THE SAME TEXTBOOK.

TEXTBOOK YOU'RE USING NOW IS THE SAME TEXTBOOK YOU WOULD USE FOR THIS COURSE.

IN TALKING TO CHESAPEAKE COLLEGE, THEY SAID PRE-CALC.

[00:55:02]

THERE'S NO DIFFERENCE.

THANK YOU. DO YOU HAVE MORE? THIS MIGHT BE RHETORICAL.

THAT'S OKAY. BUT THERE'S ONLY FIVE SCHOOLS THAT DON'T HAVE IT AS AP CORRECT.

YES. AND I THINK THAT WAS IN HERE AND I DID NOT.

THAT WAS WHEN I WAS AT THE [INAUDIBLE] CONFERENCE IN OCTOBER, I WENT TO A SESSION ABOUT THE AP SO THAT I COULD LEARN ABOUT IT.

RIGHT. AND THE FIRST QUESTION OUT OF THE PRESENTER'S MOUTH WAS HOW MANY? YOU KNOW, HOW MANY OF YOU WORK AT A SCHOOL SYSTEM THAT OFFER THIS? AND ALL THE HANDS WENT UP.

MINE DIDN'T GO UP.

RIGHT. BUT IT WAS NATIONWIDE.

THAT CONFERENCE WAS NATIONWIDE.

RIGHT. SO THAT WHICH LEADS TO MY QUESTION, WHICH MIGHT BE RHETORICAL.

WHY ARE WE WAITING SO LONG TO DO THIS? I MEAN, WELL, THEY JUST STARTED IT LAST YEAR.

OH, SO IT'S NOT LIKE THIS HAS BEEN GOING ON AND ON.

OKAY. IT'S NEW FOR COLLEGE BOARD.

WE JUST DIDN'T JUMP ON LAST YEAR.

OKAY. THAT'S THAT MAKES ME FEEL A LITTLE BETTER.

WE WEREN'T TOO SURE ABOUT IT.

I DON'T THINK WITH, MELISSA AND MYSELF AND MOLLY ELLIOT, THE COACH AT NORTH HIGH HAD HAD SEVERAL CONVERSATIONS ABOUT IT, BUT NEITHER OF THE THREE OF US WERE COMFORTABLE TO JUMP IN LAST YEAR.

BUT AFTER GOING TO [INAUDIBLE] I THINK IT'S A DISSERVICE TO OUR KIDS TO NOT GIVE THEM A LEG UP, RIGHT? SO I FELT BETTER AFTER THE COURSE.

DOESN'T CHANGE. WHAT CHANGES IN THE TEACHING? LIKE WHAT DO THEY HAVE TO LEARN THAT'S DIFFERENT BECAUSE LIKE YOU SAID, THEY'LL LEARN MORE ABOUT THE AP EXAM.

AND SO THEY'LL LEARN IN THE, IN THE IT'S A TWO WEEK, I BELIEVE, VIRTUAL TRAINING, FOR THE TEACHERS DURING THE SUMMER. AND THEY'LL LEARN ABOUT THE AP EXAM.

THEY'LL JUST GET MORE INFORMATION, TO INCREASE THEIR TEACHING ABILITIES TO THAT LEVEL, TO MATCH THE EXAM.

CORRECT. OKAY, SO THIS IS PRE-CALC.

WE HAVE CALCULUS ALSO, I'M ASSUMING.

YEAH. YEAH, BECAUSE IT WOULD BE CALCULUS AND THEN WE ALSO COULD OFFER AP CALC BC.

CORRECT. BC IS VERY RARE.

WE GET TO THAT LEVEL, BUT IT COULD CHESAPEAKE COLLEGE DOES OFFER THAT SO OR DUAL ENROLLMENT RIGHT.

THANK YOU. SO IF WE DID HAVE A STUDENT WHO'S READY FOR THE ABCD, BC IS THE HIGHEST IT GOES.

YES. THEN WE COULD PROVIDE WE DO HAVE STUDENTS THAT DO TAKE THAT AT CHESAPEAKE, RIGHT? YES. OKAY. YEAH. WELL, I LIKE THE STAKEHOLDER FEEDBACK PIECE OF IT.

YES.

AND THE STUDENTS AND PARENTS WHO WOULD BE SIGNING UP FOR THE COURSE.

RIGHT. OTHER COMMENTS QUESTIONS? SO WE CAN ENTERTAIN A MOTION TO APPROVE.

WAS THAT MOTION? I THOUGHT THAT WAS A MOTION.

I'LL SECOND IT.

AYE, AYE. NONE OPPOSED.

THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU.

GREAT. AND I HOPE SHE'S NOT WATCHING FROM HOME.

SO WE'LL JUST SEND HER A TEXT LATER AND TELL HER THANK YOU.

HOPEFULLY SHE'S RESTING AND FEELING BETTER.

NEXT AP US HISTORY COURSE MODIFICATION.

YES. SO WE HAVE, MR. JON MARKETTO, OUR SUPERVISOR OF SOCIAL STUDIES, WHO IS WITH US TONIGHT REGARDING SOMETHING THAT'S BEEN A LONG TIME IN THE MAKING AND A LONG TIME IN DISCUSSING.

AND IT'S HERE TO PRESENT A ACTION ITEM ON A CHANGE TO OUR AP US HISTORY OFFERING.

SO, MR. MARKETTO, MR. BARTON, DR.

SIMMONS AND THE REST OF THE BOARD [INAUDIBLE] THANK YOU AGAIN FOR LETTING ME COME TONIGHT.

I'M COMING FOR YOU TO TALK ABOUT AP US HISTORY AS A GRADE LEVEL CHANGE.

CURRENTLY, WE OFFER, AP IN 9TH GRADE TO INCOMING 9TH GRADERS.

IT IS A VERY DIFFICULT COURSE, TO SAY THE LEAST.

AND SO WHAT WE'RE ASKING IS THAT WE WOULD MOVE OUR 9TH GRADE AP US HISTORY TO AN 11TH AND 12TH GRADE ELECTIVE.

AND I'LL TALK TO YOU HERE IN ABOUT WHY HERE IN A FEW MINUTES.

BUT THE AP US COURSE IN GENERAL, IT'S A BASICALLY IT COVERS TWO.

IT'S EQUIVALENT TO TWO COLLEGE US HISTORY COURSES.

IT COVERS EVERYTHING FROM 1491 TO TODAY.

[01:00:05]

IT TALKS ABOUT CULTURAL AND ECONOMIC CHANGES THAT HAVE HAPPENED.

AND YOU ANALYZE TEXT RESOURCES.

YOU LOOK AT, DIFFERENT PRIMARY RESOURCES, SECONDARY RESOURCES.

IT'S INTENSE.

I'M NOT GOING TO LIE TO YOU. IT'S VERY, VERY INTENSE.

AND WE'RE ASKING EIGHTH GRADERS LAST YEAR TO COME INTO A 9TH GRADE CLASS AND LEARN ALL THIS INFORMATION WHEN THEY'VE ONLY HAD PRETTY MUCH HALF THAT COURSE, BECAUSE CURRENTLY IN EIGHTH GRADE, NOW WE GO FROM COLONIALISM TO RECONSTRUCTION.

SO WHEN THEY COME IN AS 9TH GRADERS, THEN THEY HAVE TO LEARN ALL THE MATERIAL AS WELL, FOR THE REMAINDER OF THE CLASS.

SO IT'S VERY HARD.

SO IF YOU WOULD CHANGE THE NEXT SLIDE, IN TERMS OF THE SKILLS THAT YOU LEARN, YOU'RE GOING TO EVALUATE PRIMARY RESOURCES AND SECONDARY RESOURCES.

YOU'RE GOING TO ANALYZE CLAIMS, EVIDENCE AND REASONING YOU FIND IN THE SOURCES.

SO WHY THE POINT OF VIEW OF THE AUTHOR, THINGS LIKE THAT.

PUTTING HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENTS IN CONTEXT AND MAKING CONNECTIONS BETWEEN THEM AND COMING UP WITH A CLAIM THESIS AND EXPLAINING AND SUPPORTING IT AND WRITING IT IS A INTENSE WRITING RUBRIC THAT THEY HAVE TO FOLLOW.

IT IS A LOT COMING IN FROM EIGHTH GRADE INTO 9TH GRADE.

THAT'S PROBABLY ONE OF THE MOST DIFFICULT THINGS FOR A FRESHMAN TO DO.

IN CAROLINE COUNTY, YOU CAN SEE OVER THE LAST THREE YEARS IT'S NOT ONE OF OUR MOST SUCCESSFUL AP SCORES.

IT WAS 42% IN 2021, 11 OUT OF 26 STUDENTS PASSED 21-22 WE HAD 29%, 10 OUT OF 25 STUDENTS PASSED.

AND LAST YEAR WE HAD 25% OF OUR STUDENTS PASS 9 OUT OF 36.

NOW, THAT BEING SAID, ACCORDING TO THE COLLEGE BOARD, IT IS LIKE THE THIRD RANKED HARDEST AP EXAM TO TAKE, AND THAT NATIONAL AVERAGE IS 48.5% PASS RATE.

SO YOU'RE LOOKING AT 51% OF THE POPULATION IN THE UNITED STATES FAIL THAT EXAM.

IT IS A VERY INTENSE TEST.

IT'S IT'S VERY HARD.

IT'S A AND THE AP US PIECE.

AND I'M KIND OF JUMPING AHEAD OF MR. MARKETTO'S SLIDES POTENTIALLY TYPICALLY THE TRAJECTORY FOR YOUR AP US, IN THE SOCIAL STUDIES REALM AP GOVERNMENT IS TYPICALLY YOUR ENTRY LEVEL AP SOCIAL STUDIES COURSE, WHICH WE OFFER IN 10TH GRADE.

THAT'S WHERE NOT ONLY YOU LEARN THE CONTENT, BUT YOU'RE LEARNING YOUR WRITING AND YOUR CRITICAL THINKING SKILLS.

IT'S WHERE YOU'RE FIRST DOING YOUR SHORT ESSAY, WE'LL CALL IT THAT.

[INAUDIBLE] IT'S WHERE YOU'RE DOING A SHORT, SHORTER WRITING.

SO THE KIDS DEVELOP THEIR SKILLS AND THEIR STUDY HABITS, TYPICALLY THEIR AP US YOU'RE MOVING BEYOND JUST YOUR SHORT ESSAYS, BUT YOU'RE GOING TO YOUR DBQS, WHICH ARE YOUR LONG ESSAYS. AND THE DEPTH THAT GOES INTO THE SELECTED RESPONSE ITEMS IS JUST AT A MUCH HIGHER LEVEL, CRITICAL THINKING WISE.

THAT JUST MAKES IT A CHALLENGE.

TYPICALLY SCHOOL SYSTEMS PUT THEM IN ORDER OF AP GOV AND THEN AN AP WORLD AND AN AP US OR AP GOV, AP US, AP WORLD. BUT YOU TYPICALLY HAVE THE GOV IN FRONT OF IT TO DEVELOP THOSE SKILL SETS.

AND TYPICALLY THE SAME KID WHO'S PROGRESSING AND DOING WELL IN AP.

US IS A KID WHO'S PROBABLY ALSO ENROLLED IN AN AP ENGLISH COURSE, WHERE THEY'RE WRITING AND READING SKILLS ARE REALLY GETTING HONED AT THE SAME TIME. IT'S JUST HARD.

AND, YOU KNOW, YOU, MR. MARKETTO HAS GOT SOME INFORMATION HERE ABOUT WHY IT'S A 9TH GRADE FOR US.

AND WE CAN KIND OF WALK THROUGH THAT AS WE MOVE THROUGH.

BUT IT IS IT'S A YOU'VE GOT THREE PEOPLE IN THIS ROOM.

YOU'RE CERTIFIED AP. YES, DR.

WILLOUGHBY TAUGHT AP OR AP US FOR A PERIOD OF CERTIFIED AP TEACHER AS WELL AS MIC]. SO WHY WHY ARE WE DOING THIS? WELL, IT'S LIKE I SAID, IT'S ONE OF THE TOUGHEST EXAMS. BUT AS FRESHMEN COMING IN, THE WRITING REQUIREMENTS, THE LACK OF THE BACKGROUND KNOWLEDGE AND STUDY HABITS JUST OF A 9TH GRADER JUST AREN'T DEVELOPED YET.

AS A RESULT, WE ARE RECOMMENDING TO MOVE THIS TO 11TH AND 12TH GRADE ELECTIVE.

BY DOING THAT, TAKING THE TRADITIONAL US HISTORY COURSE WILL GIVE THEM THE BACKGROUND INFORMATION THAT THEY NEED AS A 9TH GRADER, 10TH GRADE WILL BE REITERATED IN GOVERNMENT CLASSES, AND A LOT OF THE CASES THAT THEY DISCUSS IN THE AP EXAM WILL BE TAUGHT IN THE GOVERNMENT CLASSES.

AND THEN THEY CAN ALSO TAKE AP GOVERNMENT IN 10TH GRADE SO THEY CAN GET THAT COURSE UNDER, FOR THEIR CREDIT AND THEN TAKE, AP US IN 11TH GRADE AND MAKE THEM HAVE THAT ABILITY WITH THE BACKGROUND KNOWLEDGE ALREADY DONE.

[01:05:02]

SO THAT IS OUR WHY.

ANOTHER REASON WHY CURRENTLY RIGHT NOW IS SCHEDULING, IF A STUDENT IS UNSUCCESSFUL IN THE FIRST SEMESTER AND THEY GET PULLED FROM THAT CLASS, THEY GET NO CREDIT.

SO THEY THEN HAVE TO BE RE-ENROLLED IN A US HISTORY COURSE.

AND SO THAT MAKES OUR NUMBERS IN THOSE CLASSES GO UP.

CURRENTLY, RIGHT NOW, I LOOKED AT THIS PAST SEMESTER, I THINK WE HAD, 9 STUDENTS THAT HAVE DROPPED.

I THINK IT WAS 7 OR 9 STUDENTS THAT DROPPED, FROM AP US.

AND NOW PUT INTO A REGULAR US HISTORY COURSES.

SO THEN IT ADDS NUMBERS TO THOSE US HISTORY COURSES.

AND THEN AGAIN, WHEN WE'RE OFFERING THAT CLASS, IT JUST MAKES THE OTHER CLASSES HIGHER.

SO WHAT ARE OTHER COUNTIES DOING? WELL BALTIMORE COUNTY, IT'S 11TH/12TH GRADE ELECTIVE.

DORCHESTER COUNTY, IT'S 11TH/12TH GRADE.

AND THEY DO IT IN THE SPRING IN ONE BLOCK.

QUEEN ANNE'S USED TO DO IT IN 9TH GRADE, BUT THEY CHANGED IT A FEW YEARS AGO TO GO 10TH, 11TH AND 12TH.

WORCESTER AGAIN, 11TH AND 12TH.

AND IT'S A FULL YEAR, TWO BLOCK COURSE, AND [INAUDIBLE] DOES IT IN 9TH GRADE, BUT THEY ALSO OFFER IT AS 10TH, 11TH, 12TH GRADE ELECTIVE AS WELL. SO IT'S IT'S VARIES AROUND THE STATE.

AND YOU CAN SEE THAT, I MEAN, MOST OF THE PEOPLE WHO ARE SUCCESSFUL ARE THE ONES THAT ARE DOING IT LATER IN THEIR YEARS.

SO HOW DO WE COME TO THIS? A FEW WEEKS AGO, WE ACTUALLY HAD A MEETING TALKING ABOUT THE BLUEPRINT AND AP COURSES.

I WAS MADE OF ADMINISTRATORS, SUPERVISORS, TEACHERS, PARENTS AND STAFF.

AND WE TALKED ABOUT AP, US HISTORY, POSSIBLY MOVING BECAUSE IT WOULD ALSO HELP WITH THE COLLEGE.

AND THE MARYLAND BLUEPRINT IN TERMS OF OFFERING MORE AP COURSES DOWN THE ROAD THAT WE COULD BE SUCCESSFUL ON AS THEY GET OLDER.

DURING THIS MEETING, WE ALL AGREED THAT IT WOULD BE BETTER TO BE MOVING IT TO THE 11TH AND 12TH GRADE.

I ALSO DID TALK TO PARENTS AND STUDENTS THAT ACTUALLY WAS ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL LAST WEEK AT NORTH HIGH, AND I GOT THE CHANCE TO TALK TO, MANY OF THE STUDENTS WHO WERE WHO TOOK AP THAT SOME OF THAT WERE SUCCESSFUL, SOME THAT WERE NOT SUCCESSFUL.

AND GETTING THEIR FEEDBACK, IT WAS IT WAS FUN TO ACTUALLY SIT DOWN WITH THEM AND TALK ABOUT IT BECAUSE THEY WERE VERY TRANSPARENT AND VERY NO, WE'RE NOT WE WEREN'T READY.

WE DIDN'T KNOW WHAT WE WERE.

YOU KNOW, IT'S HARD TRANSITION FROM MIDDLE SCHOOL TO AP WORK.

LOTS OF MY FRIENDS DROPPED THE COURSES.

I WAS TOO IMMATURE.

TIME MANAGEMENT WAS NOT MY STRONG SUIT.

AND I WAS HAPPY THAT THE HONEST ANSWER.

I CALLED SOME PARENTS THEN, AFTER TALKING TO THEIR STUDENTS AND SAID, HEY, WHAT'S YOUR WHAT'S YOUR FEEDBACK? AND IT WAS GREAT TO HEAR, ONE OF THE PARENTS SAY, YOU KNOW, THANK YOU FOR DOING THIS.

BECAUSE IT WAS VERY HARD FOR MY CHILD.

AND IT'S A BIG, HUGE CHANGE.

THEY HAD NO IDEA WHAT THEY WERE GETTING INTO IS WHAT HER WORDS WERE.

AND THE HOURS OF HOMEWORK, YOU KNOW, GOING FROM MIDDLE SCHOOL WHERE YOU MIGHT HAVE, YOU KNOW, 20 MINUTES OF HOMEWORK AT A TIME, YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE AN HOUR EVERY NIGHT FOR AP US. THAT WAS A BIG TRANSITION.

AND TO DO THAT ON THEIR OWN IS VERY DIFFICULT.

BUT EVERY EVERY STUDENT, EVERY PARENT I TALKED TO ALL SAID IT PROBABLY WOULD HAVE BEEN BETTER IF IT WAS A LATER GRADE.

SO THAT'S WHY I COME TO YOU TODAY TO SAY, YOU KNOW, WE WOULD LIKE TO MOVE THIS FROM 9TH GRADE, TO 11TH, 12TH GRADE ELECTIVE.

SO LOOKING AT THE CONTEXT OF FOR SOME OF US WHO'VE BEEN HERE FOR A WHILE.

IT WAS ORIGINAL 11TH GRADE COURSE WHEN IT CAME OUT.

WE HAD IT AS 11TH GRADE.

WE USED TO TEACH US HISTORY AT 11TH GRADE AS A COUNTY WE RE-SEQUENCED PROBABLY AROUND 2004, 2003, 2004. WE RE-SEQUENCED TO TRY TO GET EIGHTH GRADE US AND 9TH GRADE US TO LINE UP. SO THEY GET THE FULL OF US IN ONE YEAR BECAUSE WE USED TO DO THE FIRST HALF IN EIGHTH GRADE, THE SECOND HALF IN 11TH GRADE, AND THEN WE HAD THE GOVERNMENT TEST IN 10TH GRADE.

SO AS A COUNTY, WE MADE THE DECISION.

I WAS A TEACHER AT THE TIME AS WELL AS ROB, AND WE WERE ON THE COMMITTEE TALKING ABOUT IT.

IT MADE SENSE TO GET ALL OF YOU AT PUT FIRST OFF, PUT ALL OF US TOGETHER AND GET ALL THAT LEARNING BEFORE YOU TAKE GOVERNMENT IN 10TH GRADE.

SO THE KIDS WILL BE SUCCESSFUL IN THE TEST.

MADE SENSE.

THE QUESTION AT THE TIME WAS, AND WE ALL WRESTLED WITH IT, WHAT DO YOU DO WITH AP US AND IT WAS, I DON'T KNOW, BECAUSE IT'S PROBABLY GOING TO BE REALLY HARD FOR THE FRESHMEN, AND WE HAVE LITERALLY WRESTLED WITH IT SINCE 2003 OR 4, WHENEVER THE CHANGE WAS.

AND WHEN WE FIRST MADE THE CHANGE, THE SUCCESS RATE HELD AT ONE SCHOOL AND IT HELD FOR A LITTLE WHILE. AND WHEN THAT PERSON RETIRED, THE SUCCESS RATE JUST WENT DOWN.

AP US COMING IN FOR A 9TH GRADER TAKING IT.

MOST 9TH GRADERS SIGN UP FOR AP US BECAUSE THEY'RE LOOKING FOR SORT OF THE A GT TYPE CLASS OR AN HONORS CLASS THEY'RE LOOKING FOR, AND WE BUMP THE CREDIT.

[01:10:08]

WE ACTUALLY TURN MORE KIDS OFF FROM TAKING AP BECAUSE OF THEIR EXPERIENCE IN AP US.

WE THINK WE'RE DOING SOMETHING REALLY GOOD, BUT IT ACTUALLY WE END UP TURNING MORE AWAY THIS YEAR.

COLONEL RICHARDSON HIGH SCHOOL. BLESS YOU.

THANK YOU. THIS YEAR AT COLONEL HIGH, THEY DID NOT HAVE ENOUGH KIDS WANTING TO TAKE IT TO EVEN OFFER IT.

THAT'S THE FIRST TIME THEY HAVEN'T OFFERED IT, PROBABLY SINCE BEFORE THEY STARTED OFFERING IT WHEN JEAN SMITH WAS A TEACHER, LIKE IT'S BEEN EVERY YEAR OFFERED.

THIS IS THE FIRST YEAR IT'S NOT MADE IT IN BECAUSE THE KIDS WILL VOTE WITH THEIR FEET.

WE LOOK AT THE THE SUCCESS RATE, THEY ARE.

WHY WOULD YOU WANT TO FAIL? YEAH. AND IT'S AND IT'S IT'S HARD.

WE DO HEAR FROM PARENTS AND YOU DO A LOT OF COMMUNICATING WITH PARENTS AND ABOUT THE COURSE.

AND IT IS A REAL CULTURE SHIFT FOR 9TH GRADERS, TO SHIFT INTO, SO WE'VE WE'VE TALKED ABOUT IT FOR LONG ENOUGH, FRANKLY, AND WE REALLY HAVE, WE HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY AS WE'RE BUILDING OUR AP PATHWAY.

AND THAT'S ALSO GIVING US AN OPPORTUNITY TO REALLY RELOOK AT THINGS THROUGH A FRESH LIGHT.

SO WE THAT REALLY IS WHERE WE'RE COMING AT THIS.

IT'S NOT A IT'S BEEN A LONG TIME IN THE DISCUSSION AND JUST THE DATA IS NOT THERE.

IT'S IT'S NOT SUPPORTING KEEPING IT WHERE IT IS.

WE'RE ONE OF THE ONLY SCHOOL SYSTEMS AROUND THAT HAS DONE IT IN 9TH GRADE, AND NOBODY'S SEEN THE SUCCESS.

SO AT SOME POINT WE GOT TO STOP BEATING OUR HEAD ON THE WALL.

IT SOUNDS LIKE A NO BRAINER.

OR BEATING OUR KIDS HEAD ON THE WALL REALLY IS WHAT WE'VE BEEN DOING.

I CAN SEE WHERE WHERE THE THOUGHT WOULD BE THAT IT WOULD CONTINUE BECAUSE OF HAVING US HISTORY IN EIGHTH GRADE.

YEAH, AND THE THOUGHT IS FOR A STUDENT TO TAKE IT, YOU KNOW.

WELL, I'VE HAD US HISTORY THIS MIGHT GET ME A GOOD YOU KNOW.

YEAH, I CAN SEE THAT.

BUT AFTER READING ALL OF WHAT'S INVOLVED, I MEAN, 1491 UNTIL TODAY THAT THEY HAVE TO LEARN THAT, THEN THEY HAVE TO LEARN THE WRITING SKILLS ON TOP OF IT AND THE DBQ AND IT'S IT'S A LOT.

SO WE HAVE 9TH GRADE US HISTORY.

YEP. 10TH GRADE GOVERNMENT, AMERICAN GOVERNMENT, 11TH, 12TH.

THEY CAN TAKE THE AP, US WORLD HISTORY AND WORLD HISTORY.

AND THEN THERE'S CONTEMPORARY ISSUES THEY CAN TAKE AS A SENIOR.

OKAY, I HAVE ONE MORE QUESTION.

I'M DONE. IS THIS BECAUSE OF THE INTENSITY OF THIS COURSE.

IS IT CONSIDERED TO BE TAKEN AS A SUMMER SCHOOL CLASS? NO, NO, NOT ENOUGH TIME.

NOT ENOUGH TIME. OKAY.

NO. AND YOU KNOW, WE OFFER AP GOVERNMENT IN 10TH GRADE, WHICH IS PROBABLY ONE OF THE MORE SUCCESSFUL AP TESTS.

AND WHAT MY BELIEF IS THAT WE'RE LEARNING THE AP GOVERNMENT LIKE THIS YEAR WAS 88%.

I MEAN, WE DID WELL. WE DID WELL ON I THINK IT WAS THAT WAS THE GOVERNMENT TEST.

EXCUSE ME.

AP SCORES WERE WERE GOOD.

THEY WERE SUCCESSFUL. THEY WERE ABOVE THE NATIONAL AVERAGE.

SO I MEAN, THAT'S AND THAT'S WHAT I'M LOOKING AT.

YOU KNOW, THEY HAVE THAT BASE BECAUSE MOST OF THEM WILL PROBABLY TAKE AP GOVERNMENT AND GO FROM AP GOVERNMENT INTO AN AP US OR WORLD.

SO THEY HAVE THERE'S STILL THOSE OPPORTUNITIES TO DO THAT.

THANK YOU. OKAY.

SO THEY IS IT STILL GOING TO BE A FULL YEAR COURSE.

RIGHT NOW. IT'LL BE A ONE SEMESTER COURSE BECAUSE THEY ALREADY HAVE THE SKILLS OR THE KNOWLEDGE FROM THE ORIGINAL 9TH GRADE US HISTORY COURSE.

AND THEY'RE ALSO PICKING UP THERE RIGHT NOW.

THAT'S A FULL YEAR CREDIT DONNA.

BECAUSE WE HAVE ONE OF THEM IS THEIR US CREDIT AND ONE IS AN ELECTIVE.

SO THEY WOULD STILL BE GETTING THEIR US CREDIT IN 9TH GRADE.

AND THEN THE OTHER HALF OF IT, THAT ELECTIVE CREDIT WOULD BE A STANDALONE SEPARATE AP COURSE LATER IN THEIR.

SO THEY STILL GET THE SAME AMOUNT OF CREDITS.

IT'S JUST A REGULAR SEMESTER SEMESTER COURSE, NOT TWO SEMESTERS.

YES, YES. AND THEY CAN TAKE IT IN 11TH OR 12TH.

YES. YES. YEP.

SAME. SAME CONTENT.

SAME CONTENT. NO CHANGES TO THE BOOK.

NO CHANGES TO ANYTHING ELSE.

WOULDN'T CHANGE. COST US ANYTHING? YEAH. WOULDN'T COST ANYTHING.

I MEAN, YOU MENTIONED BLUEPRINT ALIGNS WITH WHAT'S COMING DOWN THE LINE.

TROY SAID IT ALL. I THINK IF THERE'S NO OTHER QUESTIONS, WE HAVE A MOTION TO APPROVE.

YOU GUYS DID YOUR HOMEWORK? I'LL MOTION WE MOVE 9TH GRADE AP HISTORY TO 11TH GRADE.

[01:15:01]

SECOND. ALL IN FAVOR? AYE. AYE. AYE. ALL RIGHT.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH. THANK YOU.

THANK YOU, MR. MARKETTO. VERY HELPFUL.

WELL, THE NEXT ITEM DOESN'T REALLY NEED TO BE DISCUSSED AT ALL, SO WE CAN MOVE ON TO RECRUITMENT SCHEDULE.

YEAH. NICELY TRY.

YEAH. GUESS WE CAN'T DO THAT, SCHOOL CALENDAR.

ALL RIGHT, SO, I'LL BE TAKING THE LEAD ON THIS TONIGHT AS DR.

DOWNES IS OUT OF TOWN THIS RIGHT NOW.

SO, BEFORE THE BOARD TONIGHT, WILL BE A REVIEW OF THE TWO CALENDAR OPTIONS THAT WERE OUT FOR, FEEDBACK FROM STAKEHOLDERS AND BRING TO THE BOARD TONIGHT FOR US TO MAKE A DECISION ON THE SCHOOL CALENDAR FOR 24-25.

SO TO WALK THROUGH AND, AS BARRY HAS A SLIDE PRESENTATION UP, THE SURVEY DRAFTS WERE CREATED THROUGH A TEAM HERE AT THE CENTRAL OFFICE AND OTHERS AFTER CONSULTATION WITH THE SSIC, THE SCHOOL SYSTEM IMPROVEMENT COUNCIL AND THE CAC SO THE CITIZENS ADVISORY COUNCIL, WHAT BOTH ASKED FOR, THEY GAVE FEEDBACK AND SAID, WE DON'T WANT TO COME.

WE DON'T WANT TO SIT HERE AND DRAFT OUR OWN VERSIONS.

HERE ARE SOME COMPONENTS.

CAN YOU PUT TOGETHER SOME CALENDARS FOR US TO CONSIDER THAT ARE BASED OFF OF THIS INFORMATION? SO CALENDARS WERE DEVELOPED BASED OFF OF THAT FEEDBACK FROM SSIC AND CAC.

AND THOSE ARE THE TWO CALENDARS THAT ARE PUT TOGETHER FOR DRAFT ONE AND DRAFT TWO.

AS THE BOARD IS, IS AWARE, WE HAVE CERTAIN DATES WE HAVE TO BE OFF, EVERY SCHOOL YEAR, BOTH BASED OFF OF [INAUDIBLE] AND BASED OFF OF THE TEACHER CONTRACT.

SO THERE ARE A SET NUMBER OF SET MINIMUM NUMBER OF HALF DAYS THAT HAVE TO BE IN THERE.

THERE'S A SET NUMBER OF DAYS WHERE WE HAVE TO HAVE CONFERENCE DAYS.

THERE'S TRANSITION DAY THAT WE HAVE TO BUILD IN THE MIDDLE OF THE YEAR.

THERE'S CERTAIN DAYS BEGINNING OF THE YEAR.

AND NOW AT THE END OF THE YEAR, WITH THE CHANGE TO THE CONTRACT, THERE'S A DAY AT THE END OF THE YEAR TO CLOSE OUT.

SO THERE'S CERTAIN THINGS WE HAVE TO MAKE SURE WE HAVE IN.

IN NEXT YEAR'S CALENDAR AS WELL AND IT'S IMPORTANT TO NOTE NEXT YEAR'S CALENDAR HAS A PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION YEAR.

COLONEL RICHARDSON HIGH SCHOOL IS A POLLING SITE.

IT'S OUR ONLY SCHOOL THAT'S USED AS A POLLING SITE.

BUT IN A PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION YEAR, TOO MANY PEOPLE COME OUT TO VOTE TO BE ABLE TO KEEP THE SCHOOL OPEN DURING . A COUPLE YEARS AGO THERE WAS A CONSCIOUS EFFORT TO MOVE THEM OUT OF THE SCHOOLS, WHERE POSSIBLE, BUT THE AMERICAN CORNER DISTRICT, THERE'S JUST NO OTHER PLACE TO MOVE IT AT COLONEL.

BUT WITH THE TURNOUT, THERE'S JUST IT'S TOO MANY PEOPLE COMING AND GOING FOR US TO KEEP THE SCHOOL OPEN ON A PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION YEAR.

SO THAT MEANS NOVEMBER 5TH HAS GOT TO BE A DAY OFF FOR KIDS.

SO THAT HAS TO BE A PLACEHOLDER IN ANY CALENDAR THAT WE DEVELOP.

WE ALSO HAVE SOME, SOME, WHERE CHRISTMAS FALLS NEXT YEAR.

CHRISTMAS FALLS ON A WEDNESDAY.

SO THAT HAS AN IMPACT ON WINTER BREAK.

AND THEN HONESTLY, AT THAT POINT IT BECOMES A GAME OF COUNTING TO 90 TWICE.

I'VE DONE ENOUGH DRAFT CALENDARS OVER THE YEARS.

IT REALLY IS COUNTING TO 90 TWICE BECAUSE THAT'S YOUR SEMESTER SPLIT.

IT'S BUILDING IN YOUR YOUR INCLEMENT WEATHER DAYS.

YOUR SNOW DAYS.

AND THEN IT'S TRYING TO MAKE SOME OF THOSE PIECES WHERE THEY PLOP MAKE SENSE.

MEANING IF THERE'S A REQUIRED DAY OFF OR AN END OF SEMESTER, YOU TRY TO LINE IT UP AS BEST YOU CAN WITH NATURAL BREAKS IN THE CALENDAR.

YOU TRY NOT TO HAVE START AND STOPS THAT JUST SEEM DISRUPTIVE, BUT REALLY IT BECOMES A GAME OF MOVING PIECES AROUND.

BEFORE WE GET TO THE PART OF REVIEWING THE FEEDBACK, I WILL PREP THE BOARD TONIGHT THAT NO MATTER WHAT DECISION YOU MAKE, YOU'RE GOING TO MAKE PEOPLE UPSET.

YEP. PERIOD.

YEAH. THERE IS NO PERFECT CALENDAR, PERIOD.

THERE IS NO PERFECT CALENDAR WHATSOEVER AT ALL.

SO WHAT WE HAVE BEFORE US, AND I'LL WALK THROUGH THE DIFFERENCES IN EACH DRAFT FIRST, IF THAT HELPS AND THEN WE'LL DRIVE THROUGH THE PRESENTATION.

THERE'S NOT A LOT OF SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCES IN THE DRAFTS, THERE REALLY ARE NOT.

DRAFT ONE IS A PRE-LABOR DAY START.

WE HAVE SOME FOLKS WHO IN THE DEVELOPMENT WERE SAYING, IT'S NICE TO GIVE THE KIDS A COUPLE DAYS BACK TO KIND OF EASE INTO BEING BACK TO A NORMAL SCHEDULE.

WE ALSO HAD A POST LABOR DAY OPTION BECAUSE WE ALSO HAD FOLKS SAYING, WELL, LET'S SEE WHAT A POST LABOR DAY OPTION LOOKS LIKE.

YOU KNOW, IT'S NICE WHEN WE HAVE A POST LABOR DAY START.

WE DID THIS YEAR. SO THOSE WERE KIND OF THE STARTING POINTS OF, WELL, A COUPLE DAYS BACK BEFORE OR A POST LABOR DAY START.

THE DIFFERENCE IN WINTER BREAK BETWEEN THE TWO CALENDARS IS AN EIGHT DAY BREAK IN ONE OF THEM AND A TEN DAY AND THE OTHER IS IS A DIFFERENCE.

[01:20:13]

SO, LOOKING AT THE CALENDARS AND THIS IS JUST THE WONKINESS OF HOW IT PLAYED OUT AGAIN, JUST SO YOU'RE AWARE.

AND THEN WE'LL GET TO THE FEEDBACK ON THE PRE-LABOR DAY START CALENDAR THE ELECTION DAY HAPPENS TO FALL AT THE RIGHT TIME FOR IT TO BE CONFERENCE DAY, FOR A PD DAY SLASH CONFERENCE DAY THAT WE ALWAYS HAVE AT THE END OF THE FIRST QUARTER.

ON THE POST-LABOR DAY START CALENDAR THE DECISION BY THE COMMITTEE, WHICH I UNDERSTAND BECAUSE WE TALKED ABOUT IT AD NAUSEUM, THE, CONFERENCE DAY HAS TO FALL BEFORE THE FIRST REPORT CARD GOES OUT, BEFORE GRADES ARE SECURED, BECAUSE WE HAVE TO BE CLOSED ON NOVEMBER 5TH BECAUSE THE ELECTION DAY.

SO THE QUARTER WILL END ON NOVEMBER 8TH.

AND OUR CONFERENCE DATE WILL BE ON THE 5TH.

IT'S NOT TO SAY IT CAN'T HAPPEN.

FOR THE MOST PART, PEOPLE KNOW WHERE THE GRADES ARE GOING TO FALL THAT CLOSE TO THE.

SO IT'S NOT UNUSUAL OR TOTALLY OBSCURE, BUT IT DOES LOOK A LITTLE WONKY, BECAUSE OF THAT.

BUT TRYING TO SQUEEZE ANOTHER DAY IN OFF FOR CONFERENCE DAY BETWEEN THAT AND THANKSGIVING.

AND THEN IF YOU PUT ANOTHER DAY OFF IN THERE, THAT THEN THROWS OFF YOUR 90 COUNT, WHICH THEN THROWS OFF, THEN YOU'RE IT.

YEAH. IT JUST MAKES THE CALENDAR VERY STRANGE.

YOU MOVE ONE PIECE, IT'S LIKE ALL OF A SUDDEN OTHER THINGS START FALLING IN PLACE.

IT JUST BECOMES A GAME OF DOMINOES.

SO THAT'S WHERE THESE CAME AFTER REALLY PLAYING WITH PROBABLY 7 OR 8 DRAFTS TO GET DOWN TO THE TWO THAT MADE THE MOST SENSE TO TRY TO WORK WITH, TO PUT OUT.

SO THAT'S WHERE THE CALENDARS ARE.

I DO WANT TO SHARE THE FEEDBACK BECAUSE WE DO ASK FOR FEEDBACK FROM THE COMMUNITY.

AND WE DO HAVE THAT I WANT TO WALK THROUGH THAT DATA.

SO WE OPENED A SURVEY ON JANUARY 12TH.

WE EMAILED THE LINK OUT TO ALL PARENTS AND GUARDIANS AND STAFF.

WE SENT A REMINDER EMAIL ON THE 22ND BEFORE WE CLOSE IT ON THE 26TH.

SO WHAT DOES THE DATA SHOW? SO WE'RE GOING TO BREAK IT DOWN AND SHOW YOU THE OVERALL WHAT ALL RESPONDENTS SAID.

AND THEN WE'LL BREAK IT DOWN BY GROUP, TO HELP THE BOARD IN TERMS OF UNDERSTAND WHERE WE ARE.

WE HAD 759 PARENTS OR PEOPLE WHO IDENTIFIED THEMSELVES AS SOLELY PARENTS OR GUARDIANS.

WE HAD 507 PEOPLE WHO IDENTIFIED THEMSELVES AS JUST EMPLOYEES.

AND THEN WE HAVE 189 PEOPLE IN THE COMBO GROUP OF THEIR PARENT OF A KID IN THE SCHOOL, AND THEY WORK FOR US.

AND THEN WE PUT IT OUT TO THE COMMUNITY, AND WE HAD 23 PEOPLE WHO WERE OTHER COMMUNITY MEMBERS PROVIDE FEEDBACK ON THE CALENDAR.

SO IF WE GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE, THIS IS THE EVERYBODY IN THE BIG MIX WHERE THEIR FEEDBACK FELL.

SO WE HAD 1,477 RESPONDENTS OR RESPONSES.

AND OVERALL WHERE IT FELL, IT WAS 53.55% SELECTED DRAFT TWO OF THE POST-LABOR DAY START, 46.45% SELECTED THE PRE-LABOR DAY START.

I WANT TO KEEP IN MIND WE ASKED FOR FEEDBACK TO HELP INFORM ANY DECISIONS WE MAKE.

THAT'S THE POINT OF THE SURVEY.

SO THIS IS THE OVERALL GROUP.

SO A 53/46 SPLIT.

IF YOU GO TO THE NEXT CALENDAR OR THE NEXT SHEET, WE BROKE IT DOWN BY GROUP TO TRY TO HELP THE BOARD IN TERMS OF LOOKING AT PERSPECTIVE.

FROM A PARENT PERSPECTIVE SO OUR PARENTS OR GUARDIANS, THE 758 WHO RESPONDED, WE HAVE 75% POST-LABOR DAY, 189 PEOPLE, 25, ALMOST 25% PRE-LABOR DAY, WE HAD 758 PARENTS RESPOND OUT OF A ABOUT 3,500 FAMILIES. WE HAVE IF WE GO TO TWO OUR STAFF, AND WE LUMP THIS TOGETHER WITH STAFF WHO ARE ALSO PARENTS.

OR. NO. SORRY.

YES WE DID. WE PUT THEM BOTH TOGETHER.

BECAUSE THEY ARE STAFF.

WE HAD 696 STAFF MEMBERS COMPLETE THE SURVEY AT ABOUT 1,000 EMPLOYEES.

FOR THAT WE HAD ABOUT 70%.

AS FOR THE PRE LABOR DAY AND 30% POST LABOR DAY.

NOW COMES THE FUN.

WHEN I HAVE A QUESTION.

YES, SIR. I THINK SOMEBODY CAN ANSWER THIS WITH THESE TWO DAYS.

WHEN? WHEN DO SPRING OR FALL SPORTS START?

[01:25:07]

IT'S THE SIXTH.

I THINK IT'S THE SIXTH WEDNESDAY AFTER THE SOMETHING OR ANOTHER.

THANK YOU. SO SO IT'S THE FOURTH.

IT WOULD AUGUST 14TH IS WHEN HIGH SCHOOL SPORTS WOULD START.

YEAH. SO THE THE THE THING THAT DOES COME UP AND MR. JONES IN CONVERSATION AT TIMES OVER PRE LABOR DAY OR POST LABOR DAY START IF YOU HAVE A HIGH SCHOOLER WHO'S INVOLVED, THEY'RE BACK IN SCHOOL ON THE 14TH.

BY AND LARGE THE FIRST ACTUAL GAME.

YEAH, BECAUSE YOU HAVE TO HAVE 21 DAYS OF PRACTICE BEFORE.

SO ONE CALENDAR STARTS AUGUST 28TH.

THE OTHER STARTS SEPTEMBER 3RD, BUT THE END DATE IS JUST ONE DAY DIFFERENCE.

SO IF YOU GO WITH DRAFT ONE, THEY ACTUALLY GET THE STUDENTS IN A IN A ROUTINE QUICKER.

AND YOU HAVE A SHORTER WEEK WHEN YOU START, YOU HAVE THREE DAYS.

SO EVERYBODY'S NOT DEAD BY FRIDAY.

WE'RE THE OTHER ONE YOU HAVE FOUR DAYS, WHICH DOESN'T SOUND LIKE A LOT, BUT IT'S A LOT.

AND PEOPLE ARE TEACHING.

IT'S A LOT. YOU'RE DEAD.

YES. OKAY.

AND THEN.

THE POST ONE, YOU GO BACK ON JANUARY 2ND.

THIS MIGHT NOT BE A POPULAR THING TO SAY, BUT THE REALITY IS NOT A WHOLE LOT IS GOING TO GET DONE ON THAT THURSDAY AND FRIDAY.

IT'S GOING TO BE A LOT OF ABSENCES.

YES, TWO DAYS AND PEOPLE THAT ARE THERE STAFF, NOBODY'S HAPPY.

OKAY. A LOT OF MOVIES BEING WATCHED PROBABLY.

RIGHT OR, YOU KNOW, YOU KNOW, THE TEACHERS.

I DON'T KNOW ABOUT MOVIES, BUT EVEN IF THEY'RE TRYING, THE KIDS ARE LIKE THIS.

OKAY. BECAUSE THEY'RE LIKE, WHY AM I HERE? DA DA DA DA DA DA DA DA DA.

AND THEN I KNOW WHEN I TAUGHT, I PERSONALLY LOVED THAT TWO WEEK BREAK.

I TRULY MISSED THE KIDS.

I TRULY MISSED THE TEACHING.

I WAS READY TO COME BACK AFTER THAT TWO WEEKS.

YOU WOULDN'T THINK A COUPLE OF DAYS MAKES A DIFFERENCE, BUT WHEN IT WAS JUST A WEEK AND A HALF, YOU'RE LIKE, OKAY.

SAME THING WITH THE STUDENTS.

SO GIVEN THAT THERE'S ONLY ONE DAY DIFFERENCE IN THE END, I THINK DRAFT ONE AND I THINK AND THE TEACHERS PICKED DRAFT ONE.

SO I THINK AND I'M NOT TRYING TO OFFEND ANY PARENTS, BUT I FEEL LIKE THAT WAS MORE OF A PROFESSIONAL, LIKE LOOKING AT IT FROM THE POINT OF VIEW OF STUDENTS AND DOT DOT DOT DOT DOT, WHICH I WOULD HAVE BEEN INTERESTED TO SEE WHAT STUDENTS THINK.

I THINK MAYBE THAT'S SOMETHING WE SHOULD THINK ABOUT WHAT THEIR OPINION IS.

SO, I MEAN, JUST MY PERSONAL OPINION I SAY GO WITH DRAFT ONE.

THE STUDENTS MIGHT SAY DRAFT THREE WE'LL GO BACK AFTER LABOR DAY I DO THINK THAT IT IS A GOOD SUGGESTION.

YOU SHOULD ASK THEM, BUT THAT'S JUST THAT'S JUST MY OPINION.

THE PLUSES OF DRAFT TWO ARE JUST NOT AS MANY AS THE PLUSES IN DRAFT ONE.

BOARD MEMBERS OTHER COMMENTS I JUST HAVE A QUESTION.

HOW COME WE'VE NEVER THOUGHT ABOUT OR DOING LIKE A STAGGERED START LIKE OTHER SCHOOL DISTRICTS ARE? LIKE THE FIRST DAY WOULD BE ALL OF ELEMENTARY, SIXTH GRADE AND 9TH GRADE TO GET THESE GUYS INTO THOSE NEW.

YOU GOT A LITTLE BIT MORE TEACHERS TO HELP WITH LOCKERS, SHOWING THEM THE SCHOOLS WHAT THEY EXPECT.

I THINK IT WOULD BE BENEFICIAL AS HAVING THAT SIXTH GRADER BECAUSE BACK TO SCHOOL NIGHT, YOU'RE NOT GETTING THEIR LOCKER.

IT'S NOT IT WAS A DISASTER [INAUDIBLE].

THANK GOODNESS THERE WERE SOME OTHER PEOPLE.

BUT I KNOW HOW IT IS.

I THINK THAT WAS SOMETHING THAT WE NEED TO MAYBE DISCUSS OR THINK ABOUT.

IF IT'S NOT THIS YEAR, NEXT YEAR SHOULD BE TALKED ABOUT.

AND THEY THEY USED TO LIKE ONE OF THE LAST FEW DAYS OF SCHOOL, THEY WOULD HAVE THE EIGHTH GRADERS GO TO THE HIGH SCHOOL FOR A DAY.

I'M NOT QUITE SURE WHY THAT STOPPED.

SO YOU'RE ON THE ON THE HIGH SCHOOL PIECE, THE REASON ONE OF THE BIG REASONS WE DON'T ANYMORE IS THE HIGH SCHOOL IS FULL NOW UP TO THE LAST DAY, SO WE CAN'T DO

[01:30:09]

SO WE CAN'T RUN THE FINAL SCHEDULE WE USED TO WHICH THE HIGH SCHOOLS WOULD BE REALLY EMPTY ON THE LAST DAY OF SCHOOL BECAUSE IT WAS JUST KIDS DON'T MAKE UP.

RIGHT. SO THE FLEXIBILITY.

MR. PLUTSCHAK I'D SAY IT'S SOMETHING WE SHOULD PROBABLY LOOK INTO.

MY RECOMMENDATION IS WE WOULD LOOK INTO IT FOR THE FOLLOWING YEAR SINCE WE HAVE THESE SET, IT WILL BE WE'LL BE PUTTING OFF THE CALENDAR FOR A LITTLE WHILE TO FIGURE OUT WHAT IT WOULD TAKE TO GET IT PUT IN PLACE TO BE ABLE TO MAKE IT HAPPEN.

AND THERE'S SOME RESEARCH I KNOW WE WOULD NEED TO DO TO LOOK AT TO SEE.

IS IT PART OF YOUR 180 IS IT AN ADDITION TO CORRECT AND WHAT THE CONTRACTUAL OBLIGATIONS THEN ARE FOR? CONTRACTUAL PIECES WE WOULD NEED TO LOOK AT TOO, TO ISOLATE THAT, TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'VE GOT EVERYTHING COVERED ON OUR CONTRACT END FOR STAFFING.

YEAH, MAYBE EVEN A HALF DAY IF YOU CAN'T DO IT BECAUSE OF CONTRACTUAL.

JUST A HALF DAY FOR THE OLDER STUDENTS IN THE MORNING IT'S JUST FOR THE SIXTH GRADERS AND 9TH GRADERS.

IT'S JUST A THOUGHT. YEAH.

JUST THINKING OUT LOUD. BECAUSE I DO LIKE YOUR IDEA.

DIFFERENT GROUPS OF KIDS COME IN AT DIFFERENT TIMES, BUT I JUST THINK GETTING THEM IN, KNOWING THE SCHOOL, DOING THE SCORE, GETTING THEIR TEACHERS, YOU GRANT YOU MEET YOUR TEACHERS AT THE BACK OF SCHOOL, BUT YOU DON'T MEET THEM AS YOU'RE GOING TO EACH CLASS AND SPENDING TIME WITH THEM.

YEAH, YOU KNOW, TAKE THEM OUT, SHOW THEM THE LOCKER ROOM, SHOW THEM, YOU KNOW, THE LUNCH STUFF WHERE THEIR OTHER CLASSES ARE GOING TO BE AT.

I THINK IT'D BE BENEFICIAL, YOU KNOW, AND IF IT DOESN'T END UP BEING BENEFICIAL, WE CAN ALWAYS BACKTRACK.

SO I JUST THINK IT MIGHT BE SOMETHING TO LOOK AT.

YEAH. MICHELE AND MARK COMMENTS QUESTIONS? I NEVER I'M NEVER REALLY A FAN OF STARTING BEFORE LABOR DAY, BUT I'M ALSO NOT A FAN OF NECESSARILY OF THE.

THE WINTER THE WINTER BREAK BEING, YOU KNOW, GOING BACK TO SCHOOL ON THE WEDNESDAY VERSUS THE THE LONGER BREAK.

I MEAN, I, I LIKE THE IDEA OF THE LONGER BREAK.

I DON'T REALLY LIKE THE IDEA OF GOING BACK TO SCHOOL PRE LABOR DAY.

I HONESTLY I DON'T LIKE EITHER ONE OF THEM REALLY.

THEY BOTH HAVE JUST LIKE EVERYBODY ELSE.

IT'S FOR ME.

WHEN DO WE WANT TO WHEN DO WE WANT TO HEAR COMPLAINTS.

DO WE WANT TO HEAR THEM RIGHT BEFORE THE FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL, OR DO WE WANT TO HEAR THEM AFTER CHRISTMAS BREAK? SO BECAUSE THAT'S REALLY DO YOU WANT TO HEAR THEM AT THE BEGINNING OF THE YEAR, DO WE WANT TO HEAR THEM ON NEW YEAR'S DAY OR THE DAY AFTER NEW YEAR'S? SO I THINK I'D PROBABLY RATHER HEAR THEM AT THE BEGINNING OF THE YEAR AND GET IT OUT OF THE WAY.

HAVE A GOOD HAVE A GOOD CHRISTMAS BREAK.

I'D LIKE MY CALENDAR DRAFT NUMBER ONE MICHELE I PREFER DRAFT NUMBER ONE.

OKAY. I WAS JUST SAYING THAT, YOU KNOW [INAUDIBLE] INTO OUR BUDGET.

REALLY, IF YOU'RE YOU'RE ONLY OPENING ON THE 2ND AND 3RD FOR HEATING SCHOOLS FOR TWO DAYS WHEN WE DON'T NEED TO NEED THEM.

[INAUDIBLE] I DON'T KNOW THE EXACT COST, BUT THAT'S PROBABLY A GOOD CHUNK.

SO, WELL, DRAFT ONE, YOUR AIR CONDITIONING THE SCHOOLS FOR A COUPLE OF DAYS.

IT'S KIND OF TRADE OFF.

IT'S CHEAPER THAN EATING.

SO, MR. BARTON, IF I CAN.

I'VE BEEN. I'VE INTENTIONALLY NOT GOING TO ASK FOR YOUR RECOMMENDATION.

YEAH. I'VE INTENTIONALLY I INTENTIONALLY DID NOT BECAUSE I WANTED TO HEAR EVERYBODY ELSE'S.

I HAVEN'T COMMENTED YET, BUT I'M GOING TO HOLD MY COMMENTS.

YEAH. I DIDN'T WANT TO SWAY, ANYTHING.

YOU GUYS HAVE ALL RAISED VALID POINTS.

MY RECOMMENDATION IS DRAFT ONE.

AND I WANT TO EXPLAIN IT BRIEFLY.

I AM A FAN OF COMING IN WITH A STAGGERED START A LITTLE BIT BEFORE LABOR DAY.

PART OF THAT IS OUR TESTING WINDOWS DO NOT CHANGE.

THEY'RE SET BY THE STATE. WE DON'T HAVE ANY FLEXIBILITY ON THAT WHATSOEVER AT ALL.

SO IF WE HOLD OFF COMING IN, WE LOSE TIME ON THAT.

SO WE LOSE THOSE OPPORTUNITIES.

SO YOU WOULD BE LOSING 3 OR 4 DAYS.

WE LOSE 3 OR 4 DAYS OF OF LEARNING TO GET TO THE POINT BEFORE WE HAVE TO START SITTING FOR THE STATE EXAMS. THE ONLY STATE EXAM WE HAVE FLEXIBILITY ON, DEPENDING ON WHEN THE SEMESTER ENDS IS THE STATE FINAL EXAM IN BIOLOGY AND GOVERNMENT.

BUT THAT'S ABOUT IT. BUT EVERYTHING ELSE IS VERY HARD LOCKED IN.

[01:35:04]

A COUPLE OTHER THINGS.

THE ELECTION YEAR MAKES IT HARD.

IF WE CAN MAKE THE ELECTION DAY OUR PARENT CONFERENCE DAY, I THINK IT HELPS.

AND HAVE IT AT THE END OF THE QUARTER.

I KNOW YOU CAN PULL IT OFF, BUT I JUST THINK IT'S A MUCH BETTER CONVERSATION WHEN YOU KNOW WHERE THE FINAL GRADE SITS FOR THE QUARTER FOR MAKING SOME ADJUSTMENTS. AND THE OTHER PIECE.

AND I APPRECIATE MR. PLUTSCHAK BRINGING THIS UP.

THE TWO DAYS COMING BACK FROM WINTER BREAK.

SO OVER WINTER BREAK THIS PAST YEAR, I DON'T HAVE THE EXACT SAME SAVINGS ON IT.

AND I SHOULD I SHOULD HAVE GOT IT FOR TONIGHT.

AND THIS YEAR'S WINTER BREAK WAS SHORT.

BUT IF WE CAN DO A HARD SHUTDOWN OVER WINTER BREAK FOR TWO SOLID WEEKS, AND REALLY REDUCE, HEATING COSTS WE'RE HAVING, WE WOULD HAVE SIGNIFICANT SAVINGS.

WE ALSO PROVIDED THERE'S NO SNOW ON THEM IF OUR ENERGY USAGE IS REALLY LOW DOWN, WE'RE MAXIMIZING THE SOLAR FIELDS, WHICH HELPS US FOR MONEY COMING BACK. AND NEXT YEAR IS TO GO BACK TO WHAT I'VE BEEN TELLING STAFF.

AND WE SANG IT TO MARK GREENSBORO.

NEXT YEAR IS THE HARDEST BUDGET YEAR WE'RE GOING TO HAVE.

I HOPE IT'S THE HARDEST BUDGET YEAR I HAVE IN THE REST OF MY CAREER, AND I HOPE IT'S THE HARDEST BUDGET YEAR I HAVE WITH YOU ALL AS BOARD MEMBERS.

BUT NEXT YEAR IS GOING TO BE THAT HARD YEAR, AND ANYTHING WE CAN DO TO REDUCE IT MAKES SENSE IT'S NOT A BAD IDEA TO LET THAT BE SOMETHING THAT PLAYS INTO THE CONSIDERATION.

WE ARE TALKING A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN EIGHT DAYS OR TEN DAYS OF A BREAK.

I'LL REPEAT IT FOR ANYBODY WHO GOES BACK TO WATCH.

THE HARDEST CALENDAR TO MAKE IS THE WEDNESDAY CHRISTMAS.

IT JUST IS.

YES, BECAUSE IT ALWAYS IS.

YOU DON'T BRING A KID IN FOR ONE DAY AND HAVE OFF ON CHRISTMAS DAY.

YOU CAN BRING PEOPLE BACK ON JANUARY 2ND FOR 2ND AND 3RD, BUT IT'S TWO DAYS.

IT'S IT'S A CHALLENGE AT THAT POINT, WITH SOME THINGS.

SO I THINK STARTING A LITTLE BIT SOONER HELPS US, WITH THAT PIECE.

I REALLY DO APPRECIATE THE PARENT FEEDBACK.

I DEFINITELY DO.

AND I APPRECIATE THE PERSPECTIVE STAFF FOR BRINGING TO THIS AS WELL.

SO. YES, MA'AM.

I HAVE ONE QUESTION ABOUT ELECTION DAY ON.

DRAFT ONE.

YES, MA'AM. IT MAY BE THIS IS DRAFT ONE AND DRAFT TWO.

HAVING PARENT CONFERENCES ON THAT DAY.

ARE THEY GOING TO BE HALF DAY? HOW ARE WE GOING TO DEAL WITH THAT? WE HAVE OUT OF STATE EMPLOYEES WHO WILL NEED TO GO VOTE.

WE HAVE OUT OF COUNTY EMPLOYEES WHO WILL NEED TO AND IT IS A NATIONAL ELECTION.

SO ARE WE REALLY GOING TO BE ABLE TO HOST ALL DAY CONFERENCES THAT DAY? CONTRACTUALLY, THAT'S THE WAY WE WOULD HAVE TO DO IT UNLESS WE WERE TO WORK SOMETHING OUT.

BUT IT WOULD BE A FULL DAY.

YEAH. THE POLLS ARE OPEN TILL THEY COULD COME TILL EIGHT.

SO ONE OF MY QUESTIONS IS THE FOUR BUILT IN SNOW DAYS, AND IT'S JUST REALLY.

YEAH. FOR, TO DOCUMENT THE POINT.

WHAT HAPPENS IF THERE'S NO SNOW DAYS? THEN THE FOUR COME OFF.

YOU COUNT THEM OFF AT THE END. BOTH COUNT.

YEAH. AND WE DID FOR NEXT YEAR BECAUSE FRANKLY, I'M A LITTLE BIT NERVOUS WITH THREE FOR THIS YEAR.

WE BURN THROUGH TWO A LOT FASTER THAN I THOUGHT WE WOULD HAVE.

THERE WASN'T A LOT OF SNOW, BUT IT JUST KEPT BLOWING.

SO I, I THINK IT'S SMART FOR US FROM NOW ON TO JUST CONSIDER FOUR SNOW DAYS BUILT IN BECAUSE BECAUSE YOU GET IF YOU DON'T USE THEM.

YEAH, THAT'S A BONUS.

ABSOLUTELY RIGHT. IF YOU LET'S JUST GO WITH FOUR FROM NOW.

VERY HARD. SO IF IT'S DRAFT TWO YOU GO WITH IT.

IT'S GOING TO BE ON JANUARY 2ND NEXT YEAR.

IT COULD I'M PRETTY LIKE THE ALMANAC.

SO YOU KIND OF HAVE THE YOU KIND OF HAVE BASED ON THE FEEDBACK, YOU HAVE THE PARENTS FAVORING ONE, THE STAFF FAVORING ANOTHER.

AND IT'S NOT A VOTE. SO I CAN'T ASK WHAT THE ELECTORAL COLLEGE DECIDED BECAUSE POPULAR VOTE.

YEAH. SO, I MEAN, JUST I'VE HEARD WHAT EVERYBODY SAID AND JUST, YOU KNOW, I REALLY SEE, AS MARK DOES, WHY

[01:40:09]

AND IT JUST AND PARTICULARLY FOR THE PARENTS, I REALLY, YOU KNOW, APPRECIATE WHERE THEY'RE COMING FROM.

THEY HAVE TO CONSIDER DAYCARE.

THEY HAVE TO CONSIDER DAYS OFF.

THERE'S PLENTY OF PEOPLE WHO WHEN THEY TAKE OFF, THEY DON'T GET PAID.

THAT'S AN ISSUE FOR THEM.

AND SO OR IF THEY HAVE TO TAKE OFF THEIR VACATION DAYS OR WHAT HAVE YOU TO DO CHILDCARE, THAT'S DEFINITELY MEANINGFUL.

DRAFT ONE, AS YOU DESCRIBED VERY WELL, LINES UP, BETTER TESTING LINES UP FOR A LOT OF PROFESSIONAL PIECES AS DONNA POINTED OUT, IT'S MORE, MORE CONSISTENT WITH WHAT THE PROFESSIONAL NEEDS ARE FOR EDUCATING THE STUDENTS.

AND THAT PIECE ABOUT COMING BACK AND GETTING A COUPLE DAYS UNDER YOUR BELT AND THEN, YOU KNOW, MOVE INTO A LONGER WEEK THE NEXT WEEK.

THERE'S A LOT TO BE SAID FOR THAT.

AND IN THE END IT'S STILL LIKE THE PARENTS AND DAYCARE BECAUSE I THINK ABOUT THAT.

BUT IN THE END IT'S IT'S 180 DAYS EITHER WAY.

EITHER WAY YOU LOOK AT IT, EITHER WAY, IT'S 180 DAYS.

YEP. YEAH. THAT'S ALL.

SO SO ANYWAY, I THINK WE'RE READY TO HAVE A MOTION FOR ONE OR THE OTHER.

LET'S SEE IF IT GETS SECONDED AND APPROVED.

SO DO WE HAVE A MOTION FOR ONE OF THE DRAFTS? I MAKE A MOTION THAT WE GO WITH DRAFT NUMBER ONE B.

AND DO WE HAVE A SECOND SECOND OKAY.

SO WE HAVE A MOTION AND A SECOND.

IS THERE ANY FURTHER DISCUSSION.

YEAH WE HAVE A QUIET VOICE.

DO WE HAVE ANY FURTHER DISCUSSION? IF NOT WE'LL CALL THE VOTE.

VOTE. ALL IN FAVOR OF DRAFT ONE AYE, AYE.

YES. ANY OPPOSED? OKAY. NONE OPPOSED.

IT'S FIVE ZERO.

LET THE CONCERNS ROLL IN I UNDERSTAND.

AND IF ANYBODY HAS A PROBLEM . AND THE RECORD SHOWS THAT I DIDN'T COMMENT UNTIL EVERYBODY ELSE DID.

THE CALENDAR. IT'S ONE OF THOSE THINGS GOOD COMMENTS BY EVERYBODY I CAN LIVE EVERYBODY'S COMMENTS WERE EXCELLENT MUCH APPRECIATED.

AND YOU KNOW JUST AN ASIDE, IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT TO GIVE DUE CONSIDERATION TO BOTH.

AND I THINK THAT'S THE FAIR AND REASONABLE THING THAT PEOPLE PEOPLE CAN LOOK AT THAT AND SAY, AT LEAST IT WAS DEEPLY CONSIDERED.

AND IT WASN'T JUST A FLY BY DECISION.

OKAY. SO ALL RIGHT, MOVING ALONG.

[7. Reports and Presentations]

WELCOME BACK TO THE PODIUM.

PRESIDENT BARTON MEMBERS OF THE BOARD, DR.

SIMMONS. EACH YEAR WE BRING BEFORE YOU OUR RECRUITING CALENDAR JUST FOR AN INFORMATIONAL ITEM.

AND SO IT IS BEFORE YOU WITH WHERE WE WILL BE GOING FOR FAIRS.

AS AN UPDATE AND I WON'T GO THROUGH EACH FAIR, BUT AS AN UPDATE OF SORT OF SOME THINGS WE'VE DONE DIFFERENTLY THIS YEAR.

NUMBER ONE, THE WAY THAT THINGS GOT ON THIS CALENDAR TRADITIONALLY IS KIND OF WE'D GONE THERE IN THE PAST AND WE KEPT GOING, AND WE TRIED TO TAKE A LOOK THIS YEAR AT WHAT OUR SUCCESS HAS BEEN, ESPECIALLY IN LIGHT THAT AFTER COVID, MANY OF THE FAIRS THAT WE WENT TO THAT WERE CAREER FAIRS, ESPECIALLY IN SMALLER COLLEGES, BECAME COMMUNITY FAIRS, AND NOT EVERYBODY THAT WAS THERE WAS TRULY LOOKING FOR A CAREER.

SO EVERY FAIR ON THIS LIST IS A DEDICATED EDUCATION FAIR FOR EDUCATION MAJORS.

SO EVERYBODY THERE IS LOOKING FOR A TEACHING JOB.

AND THAT WAS DONE STRATEGICALLY WE ALSO AND ON THE THIRD PAGE, I'M SORRY, BUT RECOVERING SOCIAL STUDIES TEACHER, YOU GET A MAP.

AND IT'S COLOR CODED.

NO, I'M JOKING, BUT, BUT I GAVE YOU A MAP IN THE FALL OF WHERE WE WENT LAST YEAR, AND.

AND I COULD HAVE PUT THEM SIDE BY SIDE, BUT WE HAVE GREATLY EXPANDED OUR RADIUS, TO GO INTO SOME PLACES.

YOU'LL SEE THAT WE ARE GOING FARTHER INTO SOUTHERN VIRGINIA.

BECAUSE OUR STARTING SALARY WILL ECLIPSE VIRGINIA'S IN THE NEXT COUPLE YEARS, WE ARE GOING BACK TO WEST VIRGINIA, WERE THE HIGHEST PAYING DISTRICT, WEST VIRGINIA STARTS THEIR TEACHERS AT $42,000.

AND WE ARE TAKING A TRIP, ACROSS THE STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA, WHERE ALL TEACHERS IN NORTH CAROLINA MAKE THE SAME AMOUNT OF MONEY.

IT'S A STATE, STATE DETERMINES THE SALARY.

AND THAT STARTING SALARY IS $37,000.

AND THEY GET PAID ONCE A MONTH.

SO WE'RE GOING TO GO TO NORTH CAROLINA AND SEE, KIND OF WHAT WE CAN GET.

[01:45:04]

ONE'S ON A MONDAY, ONE'S ON A WEDNESDAY, ONE'S ON A FRIDAY.

SO WE CAN SEND A TEAM AND COVER THEM TO THE MAGIC OF SCHEDULING.

I CAN'T TAKE CREDIT FOR THAT.

YOU CAN ALSO SEE THAT IN OHIO, THERE'S A STAR THAT'S BOWLING GREEN, AND THAT'S A VIRTUAL FAIR THAT COSTS US VERY LITTLE MONEY.

AND IT HAPPENS TO BE ON ANOTHER ONE OF OUR MULTI-DAY TRIPS ON A TRAVEL DAY.

SO WE'RE GOING TO HAVE THAT SAME TEAM THAT'S GOING TO BE TRAVELING FROM ONE COLLEGE TO THE NEXT STOP IN THE MIDDLE OF THEIR TRAVEL DAY AND PARTICIPATE IN THAT VIRTUAL FAIR.

WE DON'T ACTUALLY HAVE TO GO TO OHIO, BUT IT'S JUST ANOTHER WAY TO SORT OF EXPAND OUR RADIUS.

AND WHERE POSSIBLE, WE HAVE ALSO SIGNED UP TO HAVE THE FAIR IN THE MORNING AND THEN HAVE A ROOM TO CONDUCT INTERVIEWS IN THE AFTERNOON.

SO WE'RE TRYING TO BE VERY AMBITIOUS WITH WHAT WE'RE DOING, A LITTLE STRATEGIC FOR HOW WE'RE USING OUR RESOURCES.

WE ALSO CAST A BROADER NET FOR WHOEVER RECRUITERS ARE.

WE HAD 49 EMPLOYEES, ADMINISTRATORS AND TEACHERS WHO WERE INTERESTED IN HELPING WITH OUR RECRUITING EFFORT.

WE DID NARROW THAT.

I MEAN, THERE IS A FINITE NUMBER OF FAIRS, SO WE DID NARROW THAT DOWN TO 35.

EVERYBODY THAT WANTS A TRIP GOT A TRIP, THAT THEY'RE GOING ON.

WE HAD A FEW FOLKS THAT SAID THEY COULDN'T DO OVERNIGHT AND WE ACCOMMODATED THAT, BUT WE HAVE THAT SCHEDULE DONE.

AND SO OUR OFFICE IS BUSY MAKING THOSE ARRANGEMENTS, THOSE TRAVEL ARRANGEMENTS AND THINGS LIKE THAT.

SO THAT IS WHERE WE'LL BE FOCUSING OUR ENERGY FOR THE NEXT SEVERAL MONTHS.

AND THE REASON WHY SOME OF THE CHANGES AND WHY IT LOOKS A LITTLE DIFFERENT THAN IT HAS IN PREVIOUS YEARS.

QUESTIONS. WHY ARE YOU GOING TO NEW JERSEY TWICE? WE'RE GOING TO NEW JERSEY TWICE BECAUSE ONE IS A FAIR.

AND THEN THE SECOND IS THE INTERVIEW DAY.

SO INSTEAD OF THEM HAVING IT BE A MORNING AFTERNOON, THE FIRST DATE IS THE FAIR AT THE COLLEGE OF NEW JERSEY.

AND THEN THE SECOND DATE IS WHERE YOUR FOLKS CAN SIGN UP FOR INTERVIEWS.

AND, THE FIRST DATE ALSO IS WITH MILLERSVILLE UNIVERSITY.

SO THEY'RE ABOUT TWO HOURS APART.

SO WE'RE ALREADY SENDING A GROUP UP TO MILLERSVILLE.

SO THEY'RE JUST GOING TO GO OVER TO COLLEGE, NEW JERSEY.

AND I'LL BE VERY HONEST, WE HAVE NOT YET REGISTERED FOR THAT APRIL 19TH INTERVIEW.

WE WANT TO SEE KIND OF HOW WE DO ON THE FAIR AND IF WE HAVE INTEREST, BUT WE WANT TO KEEP THAT OPTION OPEN.

AND SINCE THEY DID IT, IT'S NOT I THINK IT'S LIKE A THREE HOUR DRIVE OR SO TO GET THERE.

SO IT WASN'T TOO FAR OUT OF OUR ZONE.

IF WE HAD PEOPLE THAT WERE INTERESTED IN IN COMING DOWN AND TALKING WITH US, WELL, WHEN YOU GET THERE, YOU COULD JUST TELL PEOPLE THAT YOU THINK NEW JERSEY IS SO GREAT.

THAT'S WHY YOU WENT THERE TWICE.

SURE, ABSOLUTELY.

I'M FROM NEW JERSEY. NO, BUT BUT NO, THAT'S WHY BECAUSE WE WANT TO GIVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO INTERVIEW IF WE HAVE INTERESTED FOLKS.

SO. YES, MA'AM, I WANT TO COMMEND YOU ON THE EXPANSION, THE RADIUS.

WELL THANKS. REALLY.

A BIG IMPROVEMENT.

AND ON THE TEACHER INVOLVEMENT, I THINK THAT WILL PROBABLY MAKE A POSITIVE DIFFERENCE FOR US.

I DO WANT TO RECOMMEND I DIDN'T SEE ANY HBCUS ON THE MAP, BUT IF WE CAN'T TRAVEL TO THEM, LOOK AT THE OPPORTUNITY TO DO SOME VIRTUAL. THERE ARE SEVERAL INTERVIEWS.

THERE ARE A COUPLE THAT ARE ON THE THAT ARE THERE.

I NEED TO HIGHLIGHT THEM.

OKAY. AND THEN SEVERAL OF OUR FAIRS, IT MIGHT NOT SAY THAT, BUT LIKE TOWSON UNIVERSITY IS NOT JUST TOWSON, RIGHT? PERK IS ALL AROUND THE PITTSBURGH AREA.

YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN? SO THERE'S THERE'S SEVERAL AND I COULD HIGHLIGHT THOSE ON THE MAP, BUT THERE ARE SEVERAL THAT WE ARE GOING TO.

GOOD. AND LOOKING AT VIRTUAL OPPORTUNITIES AS WELL, I WILL SAY TO ALL THE FOLKS THAT SIGNED UP HAD TO COMMIT TO A TRAINING DATE.

AND WE HELD THREE TRAININGS IN THIS ROOM.

AND I SAY IT'S TRAINING.

YES. WE WENT OVER LOGISTICS OF WHAT YOU DO AND HOW YOU SET UP AND WHAT WE PAY FOR AND YOU KNOW, THIS, THAT AND THE OTHER.

BUT WE REALLY HAD CONVERSATION AND WE STARTED THAT TRAINING BY SAYING, EVERYBODY HAS A STORY.

THINK BACK TO HOW YOU GOT HERE.

THAT'S RIGHT. AND IT JUST SORT OF SET THE, THE, THE, THE MOOD A LITTLE BIT FOR WE'RE GOING TO HAVE THAT SAME EXPERIENCE FOR THESE COLLEGE SENIORS COMING UP TO OUR TABLE POTENTIALLY. AND SO IT WAS REALLY EVERYBODY THAT HAS BEEN INVOLVED IN THIS HAS REALLY THOUGHT, A LOT ABOUT IT.

THEY'VE REALLY REFLECTED ON THEIR OWN EXPERIENCE SOME GOOD SOME LET'S NOT DO THAT.

LET'S BE LET'S IMPROVE ON WHAT HAPPENED.

BUT IT'S BEEN A VERY REFLECTIVE PROCESS.

AND SO I'M VERY HAPPY WITH OUR WITH OUR GROUP AND OUR NEW STAFFING AND EMPLOYMENT SPECIALIST HANNAH BREWSTER, WHO STARTED WITH US ON THE 26TH OF JANUARY, HAS REALLY JUMPED RIGHT IN AND TAKEN THE LEAD ON THIS.

SO WE'RE VERY HAPPY TO HAVE HER AS AN ADDITION TO OUR OFFICE.

DEFINITELY PUT SOME WORK IN ON IT.

THAT'S GREAT. OTHER QUESTIONS COMMENTS.

ARE WE ARE WE ALSO GOING TO BE WORKING ON, RECRUITING MORE HISPANIC TEACHERS BECAUSE WE DO HAVE A LARGE POPULATION.

[01:50:07]

I MEAN, WE'RE LOOKING AT ANY DEMOGRAPHIC THAT WE CAN LOOK AT.

SO YES, AND THERE ARE A COUPLE OF THESE COLLEGES THAT HAVE LARGER POPULATIONS OF, HISPANIC OR LATINX, STUDENTS. AND SO WE'RE LOOKING AT THAT.

WE ALSO LOOKED AT COLLEGES THAT ARE OUT OF STATE THAT MIGHT HAVE A LARGE PERCENTAGE OF MARYLAND STUDENTS.

SO FOLKS THAT MIGHT HAVE GONE OUT OF STATE, THAT MIGHT WANT TO COME BACK HOME.

THANK YOU.

WELL DONE.

THANK YOU. SO WE ARE UP TO DISCUSSION OF ITEMS FOR FUTURE BOARD ACTION, STARTING WITH, THE

[8. Discussion of Items for Future Board Action]

YEAH. SO THERE'S NO SLIDE ON THIS ONE.

BUT, ERIN AND I JUST WANTED TO REALLY UPDATE THE BOARD OF WHERE WE ARE IN OUR CURRENT WORK OF OUR BUDGET DEVELOPMENT PROCESS.

WE HAVE RECEIVED PRELIMINARY STATE NUMBERS FOR NEXT YEAR.

WE ARE QUESTIONING THE ACCURACY OF THOSE NUMBERS.

WE ARE NOT THE ONLY COUNTY QUESTIONING THE ACCURACY OF THOSE NUMBERS IN CERTAIN AREAS.

SO THE BOARD HAS A PRELIMINARY COPY.

WE ARE QUESTIONING THE ACCURACY OF THOSE NUMBERS IN SOME AREAS.

SO AT THIS POINT IN TIME, WE'RE NOT WRITING.

WE'RE SURE NOT WRITING ANY PROMISES BASED OFF OF WHAT WE, WHAT WE RECEIVED.

WE ARE HOPING IT'S A BANK ERROR IN OUR FAVOR.

WE BELIEVE IT PROBABLY SHOULD BE.

BUT WE'RE WAITING TO GET FEEDBACK FROM MSDE ON THAT.

BUT THERE SEEMS TO BE A MISCALCULATION IN THE IN THE DATA PIECE THAT WE'RE WAITING TO HEAR BACK ON.

SO WE'RE WE'RE HOPEFUL, WE CONTINUE TO REFINE AND GO THROUGH OUR BUDGET PROCESS OF, OF KIND OF WRING IT OUT A LITTLE TIGHTER TO FIGURE OUT WHERE WE CAN FIND SOME ADDITIONAL SAVINGS.

AND WE'RE CONTINUING TO WORK THROUGH THAT PROCESS, TO FIND WHERE SOME OPPORTUNITIES MAY EXIST.

AND WE ARE PREPARING FOR THE BUDGET WORKSHOP THAT IS GOING TO HAPPEN WITH THE COMMISSIONERS, LATER THIS MONTH.

SINCE WE GOT SNOWED OUT OF THE I THINK IT WAS SNOWED OUT.

YEP. ICED OUT, WHATEVER IT WAS OF THE BLOWN OUT, WHATEVER.

IT WAS NASTY.

SO WE'VE GOT IT SET TO HAPPEN IN TWO WEEKS.

ONE PIECE THAT WE, WE DO FEEL CERTAIN, THOUGH, IN THE NEW BUDGET AND THE COUNTY COMMISSIONERS ARE AWARE, IT DOES APPEAR THAT WE ARE MOVING FROM A MAINTENANCE OF EFFORT DISTRICT INTO WHAT IS CALLED A LOCAL SHARED DISTRICT, WHICH MEANS THAT THE BLUEPRINT FORMULA, THAT WILL BRING ALL COUNTIES INTO WHAT'S WHAT WILL BE KNOWN AS A LOCAL SHARE AMOUNT OF THE FORMULA.

OUR COUNTY IS MOVING INTO THAT AT THIS POINT IN TIME.

THAT DOES NOT MEAN THAT CAROLINE COUNTY WILL BE GETTING IT DOESN'T CHANGE THE TOTAL AMOUNT WE'RE SUPPOSED TO GET, BUT IT DOES INCREASE THE COUNTY'S SHARE OF WHAT THEY ARE TO PUT FORWARD.

SO IF THAT HOLDS AND WE BELIEVE THAT IS ACCURATE, WE'VE BEEN IN CONTACT WITH DANNY FOX AT THE COMMISSIONER'S OFFICE AS WELL.

THEY BELIEVE THAT PART OF IT IS ACCURATE AS WELL.

THAT, THAT IS A DIFFERENT REALITY FOR THEM THIS YEAR THAT THEY'RE WORKING THROUGH PROBABLY AN INCREASED FUNDING TO US, BUT IT'S A BUDGET NEUTRAL INCREASE FUNDING, MEANING THE TOTAL, THE TOTAL GRAND TOTAL FUNDING THAT WE WILL RECEIVE DOESN'T CHANGE BECAUSE THEY'RE GIVING MORE. THE STATE'S JUST REQUIRING THEM TO GIVE MORE, WHICH IS AN INTERESTING COMPONENT BECAUSE WHAT IS ACCURATE IN THE STATE DATA, THERE IS A DATA CHART THEY PUT IN THERE ABOUT THE WEALTH PER PUPIL.

THEY FACTORED ACROSS THE STATE, AND WE HAVE THE LOWEST WEALTH PER PUPIL OF ANYBODY IN THE STATE OF ANY JURISDICTION WHICH IS, WHICH IS TOUGH, THAT THEIR LOCAL SHARE IS INCREASING AT THIS TIME.

AND THEY SAID THEY'LL FIGURE IT OUT.

I MEAN, THEY, THEY WERE NOT PANICKING.

THEY WERE. AND WE'LL TALK ABOUT IT IN TWO WEEKS.

THE, HIT THAT THE COUNTY IS GETTING AND NOT SO MUCH US, BUT IT DOES SHOW UP IN OUR IN OUR FORMULA.

THERE'S SOMETHING CALLED THE DISPARITY GRANT, WHICH IS MONEY THAT THE STATE GETS THE STATE GIVES POORER JURISDICTIONS TO OFFSET SOME OF THEIR EDUCATION FUNDING TO HELP THEM MAKE UP THE DIFFERENCE.

AND THE COUNTY IS TAKING A HIT IN THEIR DISPARITY FUNDING THIS YEAR.

IT'S IT'S BEING REDUCED BY ABOUT $600,000.

SO WHAT THAT MEANS IS THE COUNTY GOVERNMENT WILL FEEL IF THERE'S AN INCREASE TO US BY LOCAL SHARE, THEY'RE ALSO GOING TO FEEL A $600,000 INCREASE BECAUSE THEY LOST $600,000.

[01:55:01]

INTERESTING STORY ABOUT IT.

AND I'LL CLOSE WITH THIS ON THE BUDGET TALK.

WE ASKED WHY THAT HAPPENED.

WAS THAT A LEGISLATIVE FUNCTION.

AND COMMISSIONER BARTZ, COMMISSIONER BREEDING WERE THERE.

AND WE ASKED SOMEBODY FROM THE LEGISLATIVE OFFICE AND THEY WERE LIKE, WE'LL GET BACK TO YOU.

THEY DID GET BACK TO US.

I'M GLAD THEY DID.

BUT THE STORY WAS TOO WILD TO BE TRUE.

BUT IT ACTUALLY IS.

SO THE DISPARITY GRANT IS A POT OF MONEY, IT'S A ONE SIZE, THAT'S JUST WHAT IT IS, T HERE'S A DOLLAR AMOUNT, HERE YOU GO, IT GETS DIVIDED UP AMONGST THE FOUR COUNTIES.

TWO YEARS AGO I THINK IT WAS TWO YEARS AGO.

LAST FISCAL YEAR IS WHEN IT IMPACTED ONE PERSON, HIT THE POWERBALL OR MEGA MILLIONS OR SOMETHING IN A POOR COUNTY IN THE STATE.

THAT POOR COUNTY SAW THEIR DISPARITY GRANT GO DOWN A LOT, BECAUSE THAT PERSON HAD A HUGE WINDFALL OF MONEY FOR ONE YEAR.

THAT WAS THIS FISCAL YEAR.

SO THE COUNTY, THIS COUNTY, WE AND OTHERS GOT MORE IN DISPARITY GRANT THAN WE PROBABLY SHOULD HAVE GOTTEN.

THEY'RE LIKE, MAN, THAT'S GREAT.

WE DID REALLY WELL THIS YEAR IN DISPARITY GRANT.

THIS IS AWESOME. THAT'S WHY.

SO NEXT YEAR BECAUSE NOBODY ELSE HIT THE POWERBALL IN THAT COUNTY OR ANOTHER POOR COUNTY.

IT LEVELS BACK TO WHERE IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN.

SO THAT IS TRULY THAT'S THE BIGGEST FACTOR IN WHY WE LOST $600,000 IN DISPARITY GRANT.

THAT'S CRAZY.

THAT IS JUST CRAZY.

YEAH. TRULY I AND I DO TRUST THE SOURCE.

I WILL TELL YOU, I DO TRUST THE SOURCE.

BUT DEPARTMENT OF BUDGET AND MANAGEMENT WAS THE ONE THAT SHARED THIS IS WHY DEPARTMENT OF BAM.

YEAH. THIS IS SO.

YEAH. SO THAT'S SO THE COMMISSIONERS ARE WORKING THROUGH THAT.

I DO HAVE FAITH THAT OBVIOUSLY WE'VE GOT A STRONG RELATIONSHIP WITH THEM AND WE'RE WORKING WORKING THROUGH ALL THAT, BUT WE'RE CONTINUING TO CRUNCH, ONCE WE GET MORE ACCURACY FROM THE STATE, WE WILL UPDATE AND WE'LL BE IN A BETTER POSITION TO PRESENT WHAT WE'RE LOOKING AT BUDGET WISE.

BUT FRANKLY, RIGHT NOW, WITH US NOT NOT KNOWING IT'S ACCURATE, I DON'T WANT TO START BUILDING A BUDGET AROUND IT AND PRESENT IT PUBLICLY OF WHERE WE ARE IF I KNOW THE NUMBERS ARE NOT RIGHT WHERE THEY WANT TO BE AND SET FALSE HOPE.

AND THAT'S PART OF WHY WE CHANGED THE CALENDAR A LITTLE BIT, TO ALLOW YOU TO BE ABLE TO GIVE US A MORE ACCURATE REPORT.

YEAH. OKAY.

VERY GOOD. ANY QUESTIONS? COMMENTS?

[10. Upcoming Meetings and Events]

AND I NOTICED THERE ARE TWO OF THE AMP AMP CLOCK PROJECTS, ONES FOR NEXT AND NESTING BOX, THE OTHERS FOR CLOCK TWO DIFFERENT PROJECTS.

YES, THERE'S TWO DIFFERENT.

THERE'S TWO CLOCKS. IT'S A NESTING.

ONE IS THEY PITCH THEIR EVENT.

YES. AND ONE IS THE COMPLETION.

YEAH. YEP.

YEAH. THE DART BOARD. THEY DID I WENT TO THAT ONE.

THEY'RE AWESOME. AND THEY'VE DONE THOSE IN THE PAST TOO.

JUST DIFFERENT DESIGN THIS TIME.

THERE IS ALSO NOT THAT IT WOULD BE ON OUR, OUR SHEET, BUT, WE DID GET AN EMAIL ABOUT THE GOVERNOR'S TOWN HALL ON THURSDAY, WHICH WAS AT 2:00.

IT'S A IT'S A VIMEO I THINK ANYBODY CAN ATTEND.

SO YOU'RE NOT REALLY IT'S NOT INTERACTIVE, I DON'T BELIEVE AND TOMORROW, OF COURSE, IS THE STATE OF THE STATE FOR ANYBODY WHO'S INTERESTED, THAT'S AT NOON. SO I DO THINK IT'S A PRETTY INTERESTING IDEA TO HAVE THE TOWN HALL FOR WHAT IT'S WORTH, YOU KNOW, AS BEST THEY CAN

[02:00:01]

AND I DON'T THINK IT'S GOING TO JUST BE A REITERATION OF THE STATE OF THE STATE MIGHT BE MORE DIRECTED TO WHAT CITIZENS WANT TO HEAR.

BUT WE'LL SEE FOR ANYBODY WHO WANTS TO ATTEND THAT.

ALL RIGHT. SO THAT'S OUR UPCOMING MEETINGS AND EVENTS.

AND I DID CHECK THAT I PLANNED TO GO TO THE DISTRICT 36 RECEPTION.

I'M NOT SURE IF ANY OF OUR COMMISSIONERS ARE GOING TO GO.

I'M GOING TO CONNECT WITH AT LEAST ONE OF THEM, TO SEE IF IF THEY'RE GOING.

OUR NEXT BOARD MEETING IS A WORK SESSION FEBRUARY 20TH.

IT'S WITH THE COMMISSIONERS.

RIGHT AND THE TIME OF THAT WILL BE 5:00 FOR DINNER.

WE MAY BE MISSING A COUPLE OF OUR MEMBERS.

SO THOSE OF YOU WHO ARE COMING, IT'S IMPORTANT TO TRY TO MAKE THAT HAPPEN BECAUSE WE NEED TO HAVE A QUORUM.

SO RIGHT NOW IT LOOKS LIKE WE WILL HAVE THREE.

I MAY BE ABLE TO ZOOM.

YEAH, INTERACTION WILL BE AS LONG AS IT'S NOT BAD WEATHER AFTER I BUSTED MY KNEE HERE IN THE BAD WEATHER.

WELL, IF IT'S BAD WEATHER, YEAH, IT'S BAD WEATHER WE'LL PROBABLY DO JUST WHAT WE DID LAST TIME.

AND I PROBABLY CAN BE HERE BY FIVE.

IT'S POSSIBLE I'LL BE A LITTLE BIT LATER THAN THAT, BUT I WILL MAKE IT TO THE MEETING.

MORE THAN LIKELY.

YOU WANT PEOPLE TO BE SAFE AND.

WELL, IT'S LIKE WE SAID, PARENTS, WHEN SCHOOLS OPEN AND THEY DON'T FEEL COMFORTABLE, THEY IN THE END HAVE TO MAKE THE DECISION.

SO SAME THING HERE, IN THE END I'M LIKE, YEAH, NO MORE SURGERIES FOR ME.

[INAUDIBLE] HEALTH AND SAFETY ALWAYS COMES FIRST.

SO ALL RIGHT.

SO WE ARE AT THE POINT WHERE WE CAN ADJOURN THE MEETING WITH A MOTION.

I MOVE WE ADJOURN THE MEETING.

SECOND. SECOND. ALL IN FAVOR.

WHERE'S CRYSTAL. YEAH.

ALL IN FAVOR? AYE.

WE ARE ADJOURNED.

THANK YOU MARK. THANK YOU EVERYBODY.

* This transcript was compiled from uncorrected Closed Captioning.