* This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting. [00:00:09] APPARENTLY DICK IS COMING TO US FROM A MEDIA CENTER. I'M IN A, IN THE OFFICE NEXT, RIGHT NEXT DOOR TO MOLLY AND ROBIN COMING TO US FROM A STORAGE CLOSET. UH, THAT USED TO BE A COMPUTER LAB INSIDE JOKE THERE, I GUESS DICK WORKS FAST. I'M GOING TO MUTE BECAUSE MY HUSBAND, ALL YOUR ROBIN, CAN WE GET THE AGENDA UP? UH, THANK YOU VERY MUCH. OKAY. UH, AS IS OUR CUSTOMER, IF WE COULD STAND FOR THE PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE, I PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE TO THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND TD. WE CALL IT LOOK FOR WHICH IT STANDS. ONE NATION UNDER GOD, INDIVISIBLE WITH LIBERTY AND JUSTICE. ALL. THANK YOU. OKAY. UH, MALINA, RAMEN, ANY PUBLIC COMMENTS? NO, SIR. UM, THE NEXT ITEM IS APPROVAL OF THE OCTOBER 5TH, THE AGENDA. OH, THANK YOU. I MOVE, WE APPROVE THE AGENDA DISCUSSION. ALL THOSE IN FAVOR. AYE. THANK YOU, ROBIN. NO PUBLIC COMMENTS. THERE IS NO COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES FOR, FOR THIS MEETING. THEN WE GET RIGHT INTO THE HEART OF THE MEETING, UH, RESPONSES TO THE FIRST I, I COMPILED THE AGENDA BASED ON ALL THE FEEDBACK I GOT. I'M NOT SURE IF WE CAN GET THROUGH IT ALL, BUT I WANT TO REMIND THE COMMITTEE MEMBERS, OUR MANDATE IS ALWAYS 17 AND I THINK WE NEED TO NOT DRIFT AWAY FROM THAT, UM, TOO MUCH BECAUSE, WELL, ONE THING WHEN WE, WHEN WE MAKE REQUESTS THAT REQUIRE SOME, SOME EFFORT ON THE PORT ON THE PART OF THE STAFF, I THINK WE NEED TO, WE NEED TO REMAIN COGNIZANT OF THAT FACT. UM, AND ALSO WE NEED TO STAY FOCUSED ON RESULTS. SO AS WE MOVE FORWARD, LET'S, LET'S TRY NOT TO DRIFT AWAY FROM THAT BECAUSE THERE'S ALL THESE THINGS. EACH ONE OF US WOULD REALLY LIKE TO KNOW MORE ABOUT. UM, AND PERHAPS WE CAN DO IT IN ANOTHER FORMAT OTHER THAN THE, THE TECHNOLOGY COMMITTEE MEETING. MAYBE WE COULD HAVE HAD PRIVATE MEETINGS WITH SOME OF THE STAFF OR SOMETHING, BUT I JUST, THE SIZE OF OUR AGENDA JUST, UM, CAUSED ME TO THINK ABOUT IT. UM, SO, UH, IF WE CAN JUST STAY FOCUSED ON OUR MANDATE, WHICH IS THAT, THAT O E UM, AND RESULTS OF FUNCTIONS, THEN I THINK WE CAN COME BACK A LITTLE BIT MORE, A LITTLE BIT MORE TO THE REASONABLE SIDE. ALL RIGHT. WITH THAT LITTLE LECTURE, UH, WE CAN START ON THIS, UH, IS THIS MARK OR TANYA IS GOING TO DO THIS? I'LL BE INGRID. WELL, JUST IN RESPONSE WHAT YOU'RE SAYING, SOMETIMES I'M THROWING OUT THINGS. I THINK THAT WEREN'T DISCUSSION BECAUSE I'M HAVING DISCUSSIONS AND THEY DON'T ALL HAVE TO BE ON ONE AGENDA. LIKE, I DON'T THINK THEY'RE TIME SENSITIVE. SO IF WE DON'T GET TO THEM, IT'S FINE. BUT YOU KNOW, I'LL HAVE A CONVERSATION WITH SOMEBODY I'M LIKE, THAT'S SOMETHING I COULD TAKE TO THE TECHNOLOGY COMMITTEE FOR FURTHER DISCUSSION, BUT IT DOESN'T HAVE TO ALL BE ONE MEETING. RIGHT. THAT'S YEAH. AND SOME OF THOSE THINGS YOU MIGHT BE ABLE TO GET THROUGH A PHONE CALL WITH MARK. UM, I DON'T KNOW. THAT'S UP TO YOU. I'M GOING TO KEEP MAKING THE AGENDA BASED ON WHAT Y'ALL SEND ME. CAUSE, CAUSE WE'RE A TEAM AND THAT'S HOW [00:05:01] WE DO IT. UM, BUT JUST KEEP IN MIND THAT IF WE CAN DO IT QUICKER WITH A PHONE CALL OR A SPECIFIC EMAIL, UM, THAT WOULD PROBABLY BE A GOOD IDEA. ALL RIGHT. UH, COMPUTER LABS, USER, THESE ARE THE ITEMS THAT WE HAD REQUESTED A FOLLOW-UP ON. SO IS IT MARK? IS MARK ON? OKAY. UH, YES, I PROVIDED, OH MY GOD, I GOT MY PHONE. HOLD ON ONE SECOND. UM, I PROVIDED TWO DOCUMENTS THAT, UM, OH, SORRY. EXCUSE ME. ONE DOCUMENT, WHICH WAS A SURVEY OUT TO THE PRINCIPALS TO HOW THEY USE THEIR LABS, THE AMOUNT OF TIME, UH, WE ALSO ASKED FOR, UH, WHAT THEIR, OF THE FUTURE FOR THOSE SPACES ARE AND WHAT THEY THOUGHT WOULD BE SOME GREAT NEW PROGRAMS COMING IN TO THEIR SCHOOLS. AND, UH, THE FEEDBACK WE GOT IS IN THE ATTACHED DOCUMENT, IT VARIES WIDELY FROM BUILDING TO BUILDING, BUT, UM, I THINK IT'S ALL USEFUL. ROBIN ROBIN IS ONE PDF DOCUMENT. YOU SCROLL DOWN. I THINK YOU'LL IN THERE IN ORDER, BASED ON THE NUMBER OF THE QUESTION NUMBER HERE. WHEN DID THIS GET LISTED? DOES THAT MEAN, DID YOU HAVE SOMETHING? YES MA'AM. AM I GETTING FEEDBACK? I JUST GOT, OKAY. WHEN DID, WHEN DID THIS GET PUT IN A BOARD DOCS? CAUSE I CHECKED THIS MORNING. I'M JUST, I FEEL LIKE I'M LOOKING AT IT ON THE FLY. OKAY. SEE IT THIS MORNING. UH, CAN'T ANSWER THAT ONLY ROBIN COULD ANSWER THAT, I THINK THIS MORNING. SO DO WE NEED TIME TO DIGEST THIS AND PUSH IT INTO ANOTHER AGENDA? OR CAN WE QUICKLY GO THROUGH, ARE THERE HIGHLIGHTS ON HERE, MARK? DID YOU WANT TO DRAW OUR ATTENTION TO, UM, I GUESS THE BEST ONE WOULD BE THE FINAL COLUMN, UM, WHICH IS HOW THE PRINCIPALS ENVISION THEIR SPACES AND THEIR BUILDINGS. YOU KNOW, I SEE IT, SORRY, I'LL RAISE MY HAND. UM, I SEE A THEME THAT JUST VERY QUICKLY LOOKING AT IT. AND THEN WE HAD TALKED ABOUT THIS A LITTLE BIT AT THE LAST MEETING THAT OF REINVISIONING COMPUTER LABS AS SORT OF STEM ACTIVITY, MAKERSPACES, INNOVATION LAB, THAT KIND OF THING. UM, WHICH I THINK IS ABSOLUTELY THE RIGHT WAY TO GO. UM, I HAVE A COUPLE OF SPECIFIC QUESTIONS. YOU KNOW, A COUPLE OF PEOPLE SAID THEY DON'T HAVE SPACE FOR A COMPUTER LAB, WHICH I THOUGHT WAS INTERESTING. UM, BUT I CAN SEE ROBOTICS, I SEE STEM ACTIVITIES. AND I DON'T KNOW IF MARK'S LOOKED AT THIS AND HAS AN IDEA OF WHAT WOULD BE NEEDED TO, TO HAVE THAT KIND OF CONVERSION, UM, HAVE MULTIPLE OPTIONS. THERE IS A LOT OF SPACE IN MOST OF OUR MEDIA CENTERS. UM, AND IF WE CONVERTED TO MORE OF A INNOVATIVE INNOVATION SPACE, UM, WE WOULDN'T HAVE THE PHYSICAL DESKTOPS. WE COULD POSSIBLY HAVE A CART WITH SOME HIGH-END LAPTOPS. UM, WE COULD BREAK OUT AREAS, UM, FOR, UM, STUFF LIKE 3D PRINTERS AND ITEMS LIKE THAT. UM, UH, I WOULD PREFER TO HAVE MORE DIRECTION FROM THE SCHOOL AND, UH, DR. STRATUS FOR AN OVERARCHING PLAN FOR IT. AND I KNOW HER TEAM HAS ALREADY BEEN WORKING ON THIS. WE'VE UH, TALKED SOME WITH KAREN AND GILBERT, UM, AND THE KATE SIDE AND SHE ENVISIONS A PIPELINE FROM BASICALLY KINDERGARTEN THROUGH HIGH SCHOOL, UM, WITH COMPUTER INNOVATIONS. DID YOU WANT TO FOLLOW UP ON THAT MIRROR? THE COMMENT I HAD [00:10:01] SHARED, WE AHEAD OF MEETING WITH MARK AND COLLEEN EARLIER IN THE WEEK. AND ACTUALLY A FEW TIMES I HAD RETROFIT A FEW SCHOOL MEDIA CENTERS SO THAT WE PROVIDE OPPORTUNITY TO STILL HAVE TEXTS, RICH PRINT, TO PROVIDE OPPORTUNITY TO HAVE ELECTRONIC, UM, READING KIOSK AREAS. WE PROVIDE AREAS WHERE STUDENTS WERE ABLE TO HAVE SUPER HIGH END COMPUTERS WHEN THEY SHOULD, THEY COULD DO SOME CREATIVE WORK ON TRYING NOT TO SAY THE APPLE WORD MARK, BECAUSE I KNOW WE COULD DO IT ON A WINDOWS BASE. NOW, UM, WE PROVIDE A 3D PRINTERS THERE. IT WAS A WORK ENVIRONMENT FOR ALL, BUT STILL RECOGNIZING THAT THE TEACHERS LIKE THEY HAVE THEIR SACRED PLACE AS WELL AS A WORKPLACE. SO THAT'S KIND OF WHAT WE WERE HAVING CONVERSATION OF BEING A LITTLE MORE CONTEMPORARY, STILL MEETING, RECOGNIZING WE NEED TO HAVE BOOKS. WE NEED TO PROVIDE FOR THOSE READERS WHO WANT TO TOUCH SOMEONE AS MYSELF, BUT THEN WHERE MY BROTHER IS THE ELECTRONIC GURU AT READING FOR YEARS, HE WOULD JUST COME AND BE AT A HIGH TOP AND SIT, SIT UP AN IPAD AND PULL UP AN UTILIZE, YOU KNOW, OUR, OUR FREE SUBSCRIPTIONS OR MYSELF WANTED TO GO IN AND DESIGN SOMETHING ON A HIGH END COMPUTER AND BE ABLE TO DESIGN SOMETHING AND BE ABLE TO PRINT IT. AND THEY WILL BE PROBABLY A FEE ATTACHED TO THAT, BUT BEING CREATIVE WITH OUR SPACE, THAT IS A LEARNING PLACE DURING THE DAYTIME OR FEATURES COMING IN AND UTILIZING THE MEDIA CENTER AS WELL AS PART OF THEIR INSTRUCTIONAL LESSON THAT HAS BEEN APPROVED. SO THERE'S SOME CREATIVE APPROACHES WE COULD DO TO TAKE OUT OF JUST A ROOM WITH SHELVES. I MEAN IT RESPECTIVELY A COUPLE OF I'LL LET ANGRY GO. BUT A COUPLE OF TIMES YOU SAID MEDIA CENTER AND I THINK WE'RE CALLING THEM AT COMPUTER LABS, RIGHT? TRIVIA I'M DISTRIBUTOR. I'M THINKING LIKE AN INTEGRATION OF THE TWO, NOT JUST LEAVING A, AN ISOLATED ROOM IN THE BUILDING, THAT'S A COMPUTER LAB, BUT WE HAVE A FOUNDATIONAL PLACE THAT WE'RE SO HARD WIRED. AND YOU MEANT THE EMERGENCIES FOR TESTING, RIGHT? BECAUSE THERE'S ALWAYS THAT BACKUP. THAT PRINCIPAL PART OF ME ALWAYS STAYS IT. I STILL WANT TO KEEP SOME HARDWIRED AREA, BUT TO ME, A MEDIA CENTER WAS ALWAYS THAT PLACE THAT I CREATED THAT BACKUP IT'S UTILIZED FOR CREDIT RECOVERY IN THE AFTERNOON FOR MY ATHLETICS IS UTILIZED AS A TUTORING PLACE IN THE AFTERNOON FOR ALL GROUPS ON THE WEEKENDS. IT COULD OPERATE AT THE HIGH SCHOOL FOR CREDIT RECOVERY AND TUTORING PROGRAMS THAT IT'S A LEARNING HUB. IT ALSO ASSURES GREATER SECURITY AND SAFETY. WHEN WE DO THINGS AFTER SCHOOL AS WELL. I SAID IT, A LIBRARY DOES NOT CLOSE AT DISMISSAL. IT'S A LEARNING HUB. SO I'M SEEING IT A LITTLE DIFFERENTLY, NOT JUST USING OUR TECH LABS. I CERTAINLY ADJUST MY OUTPUT OF INGRID. YEAH, I WAS WHEN I DID A LITTLE POKING AROUND ABOUT THIS, I THINK THE KEYWORD IS MODULARITY LIKE MODULAR FURNITURE. YOU CAN REARRANGE IT FOR DIFFERENT USES. I ALSO THINK THAT WE SHOULD NOT GET COMPLETELY AWAY FROM HARDWIRED COMPUTERS, ESPECIALLY AT THE HIGH SCHOOL LEVEL, UM, BECAUSE OF CYBERSECURITY ISSUES. AND SOMETIMES YOU NEED THAT, YOU KNOW, HARD WIRED DESKTOP OR LAPTOP, EVEN THOUGH WE HAVE THE ONE-TO-ONE DEVICES. UM, SO I THINK THAT THERE'S A LOT OF REALLY EXCITING POSSIBILITIES. THE OTHER THING I NOTICED, MY QUICK SURVEY OF THIS INFORMATION IS THERE SEEMS TO BE A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, MIDDLE SCHOOL AND HIGH SCHOOL, AND WE SHOULDN'T HAVE A ONE SIZE FITS ALL SORT OF SOLUTION. SO I GUESS THAT WAS MORE OF A COMMENT THAN A QUESTION. YEAH. I TOOK IT AS A COMMENT, A DICK. YEAH. TH THIS IS, UM, I'M THINKING ALONG THE SAME LINE AS DR. STRATOSE. WHEN I LOOK AT USAGE OF DIFFERENT AREAS OF SCHOOLS THAT I VISIT, I SEE COMPUTER LABS THAT ARE EMPTY AND I SEE MEDIA CENTERS THAT ARE UNDER UTILIZED AND I'M LOOKING AT SPACE AND I'M LOOKING AT CLASSROOM SPACE. AND I SEE THAT THE MEDIA CENTER, WHICH WAS THE LIBRARY, AND I THINK LIBRARIES ARE DINOSAURS THAT ARE, THAT WILL BE GOING AWAY. UH, AND I REALLY CAN SEE THE MEDIA CENTER BEING THE HUB FOR, UH, REFERENCE WORK FOR HIGHER TECHNOLOGY, UH, APPLICATIONS FOR STUDENTS WITH SAY 3D PRINTERS AND, UH, AND HIGHER END, UH, CODING AND SO ON. IT COULD BE DONE THERE. AND THAT'S WHY I BROUGHT UP AT LAST NIGHT'S MEETING ABOUT HAVING THE MEDIA CENTER BE A TOPIC OF DISCUSSION, UH, TO THE BOARD AS IT'S HOW IT SHOULD BE USED IN THE FUTURE. UH, I SEE LOTS AND LOTS OF BOOKS AND I WILL BE WILLING TO BET THAT VERY, VERY FEW [00:15:01] GET CHECKED OUT AND CHECKED IN. AND I DON'T SEE PERIODICALS, AND I THINK PERIODICALS ARE, ARE CRITICAL, BUT I GET ALL MY PERIODICALS NOW ONLINE. UH, AND SO I'M, I'M NOT SURE THAT THAT PAPER-BASED ANYTHING IS GOING TO BE THE FUTURE AND TO BUILD ANYTHING THAT'S GOING TO SUPPORT PAPER-BASED OR GANG COMPUTERS LIKE THE COMPUTER LAB IS THAT WAS SOMETHING THAT WE LOOKED AT IN CLASSROOM 21 IN THE NINETIES. WE THOUGHT THAT'S WHAT CLASSROOMS WERE GOING TO LOOK LIKE WOULD BE DESKTOPS SIDE-BY-SIDE IN A, IN A, IN A ROW. AND THAT'S NOT HOW WE TEACH AND USE LAPTOPS AND SO ON. SO THERE'S JUST A BIGGER DISCUSSION. OKAY. UM, SO WHAT IS THE NEXT STEP ON THIS AND WHO HAS THE LEAD? IS IT YOU MARRIED? DO YOU HAVE A LEAD ON THIS? IT'S ACTUALLY A PROPERTY, A COMBINATION OF MYSELF AND WORKING WITH OUR TECH TEAM AND FACILITIES. UM, I'M VERY MUCH A BELIEVER IN, IN A CREATIVE ENVIRONMENT, EVEN TO THE POINT THAT MEDIA CENTERS PROVIDE A GALLERY WALK OF ARTWORK. YOU KNOW, THAT'S ALSO A PLACE WHERE A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF SCHOOL HAVE PARENTS COME IN. SO I, IT'S A SHIFT OF MINDSET. WE MAY HAVE TO BRING SOME OF OUR MEDIA SPECIALISTS IN FOR INPUT. SO THEY FEEL LIKE THEY HAVE A VOICE. THAT'S SOMETHING THAT THEY'VE BEEN PART OF CREATING, UM, BECAUSE THERE'S ALSO THAT SACRED NYSSA, RIGHT? AND AGAIN, IT'S A DIFFERENT MINDSET AS WELL AS DISTRIBUTOR. I THINK IT HAS TO BE A BALANCE OF BOTH AGE APPROPRIATE AS MRS. BOATWRIGHT BROUGHT FORWARD IS NOT ONE SIZE FITS ALL. SO MAYBE AN INTEGRATED PANEL AND DISCUSSION AND BRING ADDITIONAL PEOPLE TO THE TABLE. IT SOUNDS LIKE YOU'RE IN THE LEAD. YEAH, I KNOW. I KNOW WE COULD PUT SOMETHING TOGETHER. MRS. TRIBUTE YOU'RE LIKE THAT. I REALLY WOULD LIKE TO GET THE VOICE OF THE SCHOOLS AND HAVE MULTIPLE GRADE BANDS INVOLVED, UM, WITH EDUCATIONAL TECH AND TECH AS WELL. SO I COULD WORK WITH COLLEEN AND HER TEAM CAUSE WE DO, WE DO PROVIDE A STIPEND FOR ONE OF OUR ED TECH, UM, LEADERS TO BE OUR POINT OF CONTACT WITH A MEDIA SPECIALIST. OKAY. YEAH. I'M JUST LOOKING FOR THE PERSON THAT WE'RE GOING TO POKE IN A MONTH AND SAY, WHAT'S GOING ON? THAT'S YOU? OKAY. SORRY ABOUT THE DOG HERE. I ACTUALLY THINK IT WOULD GO FACILITIES TECH INSTRUCTION, BECAUSE I THINK THE FIRST THING YOU GOT TO DO IS THE, THE KEY THING WE'RE TALKING ABOUT HERE NOW IS RE-IMAGINING WHAT THE SPACE COULD BE, HOW TECHNOLOGY CAN SUPPORT THAT. AND THEN WHAT INSTRUCTION YOU WOULD BRING INTO THAT SPACE. I THINK SOME OF THESE SPACES WILL NOT BE WITH INSTRUCTIONAL SERVICES. YOU COULD HAVE OTHER USES. SO I ACTUALLY SUGGEST PUTTING UP FACILITIES AS A FIRST LOOK AT THIS. OH, I AGREE. I AGREE WITH YOUR DOG. UM, I REALLY THINK CURRICULUM SHOULD LEAD IT AS YOU KNOW, WE HAD THIS DISCUSSION ON OTHER TOPICS. UH, I THINK THAT THE TECHNOLOGY AND FACILITIES ARE THERE TO SUPPORT A NEED AND THE NEED WOULD BE COMING FROM, UH, FROM THE SCHOOLS AND FROM MARY, YOU KNOW, THIS IS A AS, AS MENTIONED, THIS IS A RETHINKING OF HOW WE TEACH AND WHAT WE TEACH AND WHAT WE CAN TEACH. UM, SO I REALLY THINK THAT WOULD BE THE LEAD, BUT, UM, YOU KNOW, WE'VE HAD THIS DISCUSSION ALREADY, SO I'M GOING TO BRING DICK IN TO BREAK THE TIE. OH, I, I THINK IT'S A LEAD ACADEMICS. I THINK WE HAVE TO LOOK AT HOW IT'S USED, WHAT THE REQUIREMENTS ARE AND FROM THE USER, THE END USER, WHICH IS OUR STUDENTS AND OUR TEACHERS. AND SO I THINK THAT HAS TO, THAT HAS TO LEAD THE EFFORT. HE BROKE THE TIE. UH, I KNOW YOU'RE NOT GOING TO GIVE UP ON THIS ONE. UM, I DON'T DISAGREE. I WAS JUST THROWING IN MY IMPRESSION OF IT. IF I WAS DOING IT LIKE AS QUEEN OF THE UNIVERSE, I WOULD FIRST TALK TO THE FACILITIES AND SEE WHAT'S POSSIBLE AND THEN TALK TO TECHNOLOGY AND SEE WHAT'S POSSIBLE. AND THEN SAY, OKAY, HERE ARE OUR OPTIONS. UH, MRS. DR. STRATUS, WHAT, WHAT CAN YOU DO WITH IT? BUT, BUT THAT'S JUST, THAT'S JUST A DIFFERENT WAY OF THINKING OF IT. AND IF, IF DR STRATOSE WANTS TO TAKE THE LEAD, I AM, I'M ALWAYS HAPPY TO FOLLOW HER. THIS IS AN AGE OLD THING ABOUT TECHNOLOGY, [00:20:01] ENABLING THINGS VERSUS TECHNOLOGY SUPPORTING, AND THIS DISCUSSION. YOU AND I ARE HAVING A DISCUSSION THAT'S BEEN HAD FOR YEARS. UM, BOTH SIDES ARE LEGITIMATE CONCERNS. MARY, I'M SORRY. I DIDN'T MEAN TO CUT YOU OFF. YEAH, JUST TWO QUICK POINTS. I WOULD LOVE THAT WE DO IT TOGETHER. IT'S NO ONE TAKING A LEAD. AND I MEAN THAT WHOLEHEARTEDLY WITH OUR MEMBERSHIP OF OUR BOARD REPRESENTATION SHOULD BE PART OF A VOICE AT DEVELOPMENT. YOU'RE ANOTHER PULSE TO THE COMMUNITY, BUT ALSO AMONGST US HERE AT, IN SENIOR LEADERSHIP, I HAVE TO SHARE THAT WE WORK TO BE VERY CLOSE AT INTEGRATING WHAT WE WANT TO DO. UM, AND I WOULD, I DON'T WANT TO SPEAK WITH FACILITIES OR FOR ROBERT, BUT HE WOULD TURN AROUND AND SAY TO ME, STRATAS, WHAT DO YOU SEE? SO THAT I COULD TURN AROUND AND MAKE IT HAPPEN. AND THAT'S WHY IT'S DANGEROUS. CAUSE I'M GOING TO SAY, I WANT NORTH LIGHT. I WANT COOL LIGHT COMING IN. YOU KNOW, SO IT'S GOING TO BE AT A WHOLE DIFFERENT LEVEL. SO HE HAS TO BRING ME IN A LITTLE MORE MRS. BOAT. RIGHT. BUT I HAVE TO, WE'VE REALLY DEVELOPED A PRETTY MUCH OF A, A PLATFORM OF SPEAKING WITH ONE ANOTHER. SO I THINK THAT'S IMPORTANT TO SHARE AMONGST US. UM, AND MARK WOULD PROBABLY SAY, HEY, YOUR NAME BECAUSE YEAH. IT'S. YEAH. BUT I THINK SURVEY SPECIALISTS WOULD LIKE TO SURVEY OUR EDUCATORS, BUT, AND YOU BROUGHT UP YOUR CRITICAL ONE AS WELL. OUR KIDS, OUR STUDENTS FOR UTILIZATION. WHERE DO THEY SEE? SO I ACTUALLY PUT THAT IN THE NOTES AS WELL. COLLEEN'S TAKING NOTES, THIS DISTRIBUTED SUGGESTED BIG NOTICE. SO THE NEXT STEP IS FOR T I'M SORRY, TANYA. UM, I, WE ACTUALLY ALREADY HAVE A FEW EXAMPLES ACTUALLY OF SOME CHANGES THAT WERE MADE TO OUR MEDIA CENTERS AND MODERNIZATION. UM, WHEN, UH, I KNOW THAT CAROL CRUTCHFIELD IN PARTICULAR HAS MADE AN EFFORT IN, UH, IN MANY OF OUR SCHOOLS TO UPGRADE THE MEDIA CENTERS. AND I CAN THINK OF ONE VERY GOOD EXAMPLE. AND I THINK PUPIL HIGH SCHOOL IS THAT NUMB, THAT EXAMPLE, YOU HAVE A HIGH TOP, UH, CHARGING STATIONS RIGHT THERE. YOU HAVE DIFFERENT SEGMENTS OF THE, OF THE MEDIA CENTER. AND SO THAT IS ONE SPACE THAT HAS BEEN UPGRADED AND THOSE HAVE BEEN BUDGETED FOR IN THE 8% FUNDS. SO AS YOU, AS YOU BEGIN TO SEE IN THE SPRING THAT THOSE MEDIA CENTER UPGRADES ARE ON THAT LIST, THEY CONTINUE TO BE EACH YEAR. AND THAT'S BECAUSE THEY HAVE A PROGRAM OF A MODERATE, UH, MODERNIZING EACH ONE OF OUR MEDIA CENTERS. SO I IT'S GREAT THAT WE'RE, UM, YOU KNOW, INTEGRATING ACADEMICS IS PROBABLY JUST AT TIME TO, YOU KNOW, MAKE SURE THAT THE CONTINUED PLAN THAT WE HAVE ALIGNED WITH THE ACADEMIC PLAN. UM, BUT I KNOW THAT THEY'VE BEEN WORKING ON MODERN OR MODERNIZING MANY OF THEM ALREADY. SO, BUT THINGS HAVE CHANGED IN THE LAST FEW YEARS FROM A TECHNOLOGY STANDPOINT. SO WE MIGHT NEED TO MAKE SOME UPDATES TO, OKAY, WELL THEN I WIN BECAUSE SHE'S IN FACILITIES AND SHE'S ALREADY DONE SOME WORK. SO NO MATTER WHAT YOU DO, FACILITIES TOOK THE LEAP. YOU'RE STILL THE QUEEN OF THE UNIVERSE QUEEN OF THE UNIVERSE. OKAY. SO THAT'S THE NEXT STEP? UM, YOU'RE BACK TO THE AGENDA. I THINK THAT'S AN INTERESTING TOPIC. I'M GLAD YOU BROUGHT IT UP. I, I DIDN'T, I DIDN'T REALLY THINK OF THE POSSIBILITIES WHEN YOU FIRST MENTIONED. I WAS LIKE, OH, BUT THIS IS AN INTERESTING, A BIGGER, BIGGER PICTURE ISSUE. YES, YES IT IS. AND THEY'RE REALLY FUNDAMENTAL THINGS THAT WE'RE DISCUSSING HERE IS REALLY FUNDAMENTAL THINGS LIKE WHO LEADS, WHO CREATES THE NEED AND WHO DOES THE SUPPORT. THOSE ARE, THOSE ARE CRITICAL THINGS TO GET STRAIGHT. AND IT IS REALLY REFRESHING. UM, TONYA, MARK, AND MARY, BECAUSE I'VE BEEN ON THIS BOARD FOR A LITTLE WHILE AND THIS, THIS IS THE FIRST TIME I ACTUALLY SEEN PEOPLE WHO WANT TO COOPERATE. UM, AND IT'S, AND IT'S GREAT BECAUSE THAT'S HOW YOU GET AHEAD DESK. YOU KNOW, THAT THAT'S HOW YOU MAKE PROGRESS. IS EVERYBODY PULLING ON THE ROPE AND TRYING TO GET THE, YOU KNOW, GET THE, GET IT DONE. UH, SO I APPLAUD YOU ALL FOR KEEPING THAT IN THE FOREFRONT. ALL RIGHT. OUR NEXT ITEM, UM, IS THIS SCHOOL ADMIN CHECKLIST? WHO'S, WHO'S THIS ONE? UH, YES. WE WERE ASKED ABOUT THE, UM, DEVICE AND DEVICE COLLECTION CHECKLIST. AND HERE IS AN EXAMPLE OF WHAT, UH, COLLEEN AND I WORKED WITH THE PRINCIPALS ON BEFORE SCHOOL STARTS. UM, WE GET [00:25:01] THIS OUT TO ALL THE SCHOOL ADMINISTRATORS, SO THEY CAN WORK WITH THEIR IN SCHOOL TEAMS TO GET PERSONNEL TOGETHER, TO HELP ROLL OUT ALL THE DEVICES TO THE CHILDREN. IT'S VERY CRITICAL THAT WE WORK WITH THE SCHOOL STAFF BECAUSE WE DO NOT HAVE THE MANPOWER TO DO IT BY OURSELVES. MR. SHERMAN, I THINK THIS IS IN RESPONSE TO SOME OF MY ONGOING QUESTIONS AND REALLY THE PART THAT I'M INTERESTED IN IS DOWN THE OPEN LOCATIONS BY LOCATION, OPEN TICKETS BY LOCATION GROUP. CAUSE WHAT I WANT TO GET A SENSE OF IS HOW OFTEN THESE THINGS ARE GETTING NEEDING TO BE REPAIRED AND HOW OFTEN IT'S THERE NEEDED TO BE REPAIRED TO THE EXTENT THAT PARENTS ARE HAVING TO REPLACE THEM. UM, I THINK YOU'RE GOING TO FIND SOME INTERESTING INFORMATION IN OUR, UM, REPAIR SHEETS, UM, OUR HELP DESK, UM, UH, REPORT. UM, IT'S VERY TELLING THAT YOU CAN SEE WHERE THE DAMAGE IS HAPPENING. GENERALLY SPEAKING, OUR MIDDLE SCHOOL KIDS ARE THE ROUGHEST. UM, UM, BUT UH, THAT'S NOT ALWAYS THE CASE. CAN YOU EXPLAIN THE COLORS BECAUSE, UM, I THINK ONE'S THE SECOND ONE AND ONE'S THE FIRST ONE, BUT I'M NOT SURE WHICH COLORS, WHICH IF YOU LOOK AT THE BOTTOM OF PAGE EIGHT, IT SAYS BE COMPUTERS, PRINTERS, AND THEN IT KIND OF WARRANTY SERVICE REQUESTS AND THEN BE COMPUTERS. I'M NOT SURE WHAT THOSE COLORS REPRESENT. I THINK I KNOW. YEAH. SO, UH, THERE'S THE, UH, GRAPH AT THE BOTTOM? UM, OH, IT DOESN'T SHOW IT OFF. I'M SORRY. THAT'S WHAT I'M SAYING. UM, BASICALLY THE BLUE IS THE BASIC WARRANTY SERVICE, SO IT WAS A FIRST DAMAGE. IT WAS SOMETHING MAJOR, MAYBE A CRACKED SCREEN, UM, MAYBE DAMAGE TO THE BASE OF THE LAPTOP. UM, AND USUALLY THE SECOND ONE IS MORE PERIPHERAL STUFF. MAYBE IT WAS SOFTWARE, UM, AND THINGS LIKE THAT. SO WE HAVE IT LISTED IN THREE CATEGORIES. UM, THE INITIAL OPENING OF A TICKET THAT'S WHEN THE STUDENT REPORTS IT AND FILLS OUT, UM, THEIR, UM, RECOLLECTION OF WHAT HAPPENED TO THE DEVICE. UM, AND THEN AFTER THE TECHNICIAN LOOKS AT IT, THEY HAVE TWO DAYS. UM, IT USUALLY DOESN'T TAKE THAT LONG. UM, IT THEN GOES INTO A PENDING STATE IF IT HAS TO GO OVER TO OUR HP REPAIR TECHS, WE HAVE ONE, UM, LOCATED IN HOUSE, UH, NORTH OF THE BROAD AND ONE SOUTH OF THE BROAD. AND THEN IT GOES FROM THE THIRD CATEGORY IS CLOSE TICKETS. SO THAT WOULD BE ALL THE TICKETS. AND THEN I BROKE IT OUT INTO TWO SHEETS, ONE NORTH OF THE BROAD AND ONE SOUTH OF THE BROAD. AND WE CAN PLAINLY SEE THAT OUR MIDDLE SCHOOLS GENERATE THE MOST TICKETS. SO IF YOU DON'T MIND ME TO JUST BUTTON IN HERE, I'M ON PAGE 12, FOR EXAMPLE, I THINK IT'S PAGE 12, PAGE 12, THE HEADING SAYS COMPUTERS, PRINTERS BOARDS, TIME CLOTS, OTHER HARDWARE GREATER THAN COMPUTERS, IPADS GREATER THAN LAPTOPS, STUDENT HP. AND THEN THE OTHER ONE SAYS WARRANTY SERVICE REQUESTS. SO IS THE SECOND COLUMN WHERE PARENTS ARE ACTUALLY PAYING TO HAVE THE DEVICE REPAIRED? NO, THE FIRST ONE MIGHT BE, SO THERE WERE, SO FOR EXAMPLE, LADY'S ISLAND MIDDLE SCHOOL HAS 273 FAMILIES THAT ARE HAVING TO PAY TO REPLACE A PERIPHERAL OF LAPTOP, A TIME CLOCK. NOT NECESSARILY THESE ARE TICKETS THAT CAME IN. SO IT COULD BE THAT THEY WERE HAVING ISSUES WITH THEIR GMAIL. THEY WERE HAVING ISSUES WITH A PIECE OF SOFTWARE. THEY WERE HAVING ISSUES, LOGGING IN, UH, KIDS TEND TO HAVE A LOT OF ISSUES WHEN IT COMES TIME TO TAKE TESTS. SO SOMETIMES, UH, A LOT OF PROBLEMS HAPPEN WITH THOSE DEVICES WHEN A CHILD DOES NOT WANT TO DO SOMETHING. SO A LOT OF TIMES AT FIRST CATEGORY CAN BE A LITTLE HIGHER BECAUSE IT'S GOING THROUGH OUR TICKETING PROCESS, BUT IT MIGHT NOT HAVE BEEN ANYTHING, UM, CATASTROPHIC. AND THEN THE SECOND ONE SPECIFICALLY SAYS WARRANTY, SERVICE REQUESTS. WHAT DOES THAT MEAN? SO THAT WOULD BE, IT WENT TO OUR HP, UH, AUTHORIZED. SO IT EITHER HAD A SCREEN REPLACED OR, UM, UH, THE, THE BASE UNIT OF THE DEVICE REPLACED. MAYBE THEY RIPPED OFF THE KEYS AND THE KEYBOARD WAS REPLACED. SO IT WAS SOMETHING THAT PHYSICALLY HAD TO GET OUR HP TECH AND HE ORDERED, UM, A PIECE OF, UH, PART FOR, BECAUSE WHAT I'M REALLY INTERESTED, ONE OF THE THINGS IS, YOU KNOW, NOW THEY HAVE, IF YOU LOOK AND YOU LOOK AT, UH, SAVANNAH CHATHAM, RIGHT? THE REPLACEMENT COST IS HALF OF WHAT OURS [00:30:01] IS, FOR EXAMPLE. RIGHT. AND ONE OF THE REASONS YOU MENTIONED WAS THAT THESE ARE BADE FOR K THROUGH 12. AND SO THEY'RE MORE EXPENSIVE TO REPLACE. IF I AM, I RECAPPING THAT CORRECTLY, UM, SAVANNAH CHATHAM USES A CHROMEBOOK, WHICH IS A MUCH CHEAPER DEVICE. THEY ALSO CHARGE A, UM, A $50, UM, UH, I GUESS WARRANTY OR WHATEVER, UM, INSURANCE PROGRAM. I HAVE TO BUY IT FOR BOTH OF MY KIDS. RIGHT. I'M JUST SAYING, SO CHROMEBOOKS SEEM TO BECOMING MORE THE NORM BECAUSE THEY ARE CHEAPER. AND SO MY QUESTION IS WHEN WE HAVE, WHEN WE HAVE SOMETHING THAT'S TWICE THE PRICE IS THAT RESULTING IN FEWER BREAKAGES BECAUSE THAT IS WHETHER THE VALUE OF IT. RIGHT? WELL, YOU'VE ALSO GOT TO LOOK AT THE, UH, THE, THE ABILITIES THAT THAT PIECE OF HARDWARE CAN PROVIDE. UM, MY KIDS WERE NOT ABLE TO DO ZOOM SESSIONS ON THEIR CHROMEBOOK. I HAD TO PROVIDE A LAPTOP DURING THE PANDEMIC FOR THEM TO DO THEIR WORK TEACHERS IN THE CHAT. SAVANNAH, CHATHAM COUNTY COULD NOT USE THEIR CHROMEBOOKS TO TEACH. THEY HAD TO EITHER USE A PERSONAL DEVICE THAT THEY PURCHASED TO TEACH DURING THE SCHOOL YEAR. SO IT WAS VERY DIFFICULT, UM, ON THAT DISTRICT. AND THAT'S A DISTRICT, I THINK, 50, UH, 58,000 KIDS. UM, SO IT WAS, IT WAS VERY HARD, UM, LITERALLY KIDS ON A DESKTOP AND THE OTHER ONE ON A LAPTOP. SO WE WERE ABLE TO GET THROUGH, I MEAN, IT SEEMS TO ME FROM WHAT I'VE LOOKED AT, A LOT OF DISTRICTS, I DON'T KNOW IF THEY'VE CHANGED THAT OR WHAT, BUT ARE DOING MORE CHROMEBOOKS, BUT ALSO I GUESS THE, THE HP X 360 THAT YOU CAN JUST BUY AT BEST BUY HAS HALF THE PRICE OF WHAT WE'RE CHARGING FOR AN EIGHT FOR AN HP, BECAUSE IT'S A SCHOOL VERSION. YEP. ONE THING I WOULD ADD TO THAT IS ON THE BASE PRICE IS ABOUT 400 AND SOMETHING DOLLARS. WE ALSO ADD ABSOLUTE SOFTWARE, WHICH IS A TRACKING MECHANISM. MEANING IF SOMEBODY STEALS ONE OF OUR DEVICES, WE HAVE A SERVICE THAT CAN TRACK IT AS SOON AS IT TOUCHES THE INTERNET AND THEY WILL HELP RECOVER IT OR EITHER, UM, REIMBURSE US IF THEY CAN. SO WE DO GET SOME OF THOSE BACK, UM, THROUGH THE ABSOLUTE PROCESS. AND THAT SERVICE IS ABOUT A HUNDRED AND I THINK $140 PER DEVICE. SO THAT'S ANOTHER REASON WHY IT COSTS A LITTLE BIT MORE, UM, ON THE CHROMEBOOK, YOU BASICALLY DON'T HAVE THAT. IF A KID STEALS THE CHROMEBOOK IT'S GONE AND YOU HAVE NO TRACKING MECHANISM FOR IT. AND CHROMEBOOKS USUALLY RUN ABOUT THREE 50 ISH SOMEWHERE IN THAT NEIGHBORHOOD. RIGHT? ALL RIGHT. THIS, THIS DOVETAILS INTO ANOTHER TOPIC WE HAVE ON THE AGENDA, WHICH IS SUITABILITY OF THE HARDWARE TO SUPPORT NEW SOFTWARE. SO MAYBE WE CAN, WE CAN DRIVE. AND SINCE OUR DISTRICT IS, UM, THEY, WE UTILIZE A LOT OF APPLICATIONS AND A LOT OF APPLICATIONS BEYOND JUST THE GOOGLE ENVIRONMENT. AND THAT'S ONE OF THE BENEFITS WE GAINED BY USING A WINDOWS LAPTOP IS THAT WE CAN USE A LOT OF PROGRAMS THAT ARE DESIGNED FOR APPLE AND WINDOWS THAT WE WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO USE ON A CHROMEBOOK UNTIL THEY DEVELOP THE APP FOR IT. OKAY. ALL RIGHT. ANGRY. ARE YOU SATISFIED? CAN WE MOVE ON FROM THIS ONE? YES. YOU CAN MOVE ON. ALL RIGHT. QUEEN OF THE UNIVERSE GRANTS, PERMISSION TO MOVE ON, ALL FIT YOUR HEAD ALL THE WAY DOWN TO THIS TOP, BECAUSE I GOT MORE INFORMATION BECAUSE I'M INTRIGUED BY THE FACT THAT FROM MY, FROM MY CHECKING AROUND CHROMEBOOKS ARE MUCH MORE COMMON. AND I'M JUST CURIOUS AS TO, IF WE'RE JUST DOING BETTER THAN PEOPLE ON THE ONE-TO-ONE DEVICE, WHICH IS GREAT. YOU KNOW, I'M JUST, I'M JUST INTRIGUED BY THE DISCUSSION. ALL RIGHT. EXCUSE ME, DAVID, DO YOU WANT TO GO AHEAD AND TALK ABOUT THE, UH, ABOUT THE TECHNOLOGY THAT, THAT I MET BROUGHT UP AS A, UH, TALKING POINT? I THINK WE CAN FROM THE AGENDA, BUT, BUT IT DOVETAILS WITH THIS CONVERSATION. YEAH. AND MARY AND I TALKED ABOUT THIS BRIEFLY AT THE INSTRUCTIONAL REVIEW AT ROBERT SMALLS, UM, INTERNATIONAL ACADEMY, UH, EARLIER THIS WEEK, UH, WE WERE BOTH IN THE CLASSROOM WATCHING OUR STUDENTS USE OUR AR DEVICES FOR THEIR COURSEWARE. AND IT POINTED OUT TO ME, SOMETHING THAT I'VE COME ACROSS FOR MANY YEARS IN TECHNOLOGY IS, IS THE CONSTANT RACE BETWEEN THE SOFTWARE DEVELOPER AND THE HARDWARE DEVELOPER [00:35:01] AND SOFTWARE PEOPLE WANT TO GET THE MOST POSSIBLE APPLICATIONS AND ADAPTABILITY AND COLORS AND MOVEMENT AND PIXEL QUAL, YOU KNOW, EXACTNESS AND THE HARDWARE PEOPLE ARE TRYING LIKE THE DICKENS TO BE ABLE TO, UH, SUPPORT THAT WITH, UH, YOU KNOW, THE TECHNOLOGY IN THE ACTUAL MACHINE TO MAKE IT HAPPEN. WHAT I SAW WHEN WE WERE GOING AROUND IS I SAW, UH, SCREENS THAT WEREN'T ABLE TO DISPLAY THE ENTIRE PAGE OF THE COURSEWARE. I SAW SCREENS THAT WEREN'T ABLE TO SHOW THE COLORS, WHICH ARE VERY, VERY IMPORTANT. AND ESPECIALLY FOR THE YOUNGER KIDS AND HOW THEY MANIPULATE, UH, THE COURSEWARE, IT'S A LOT OF COLORED AND SYMBOL BASED THAT THEY MOVE AROUND. I SAW, UH, THE TIMING, YOU KNOW, THE, YOU KNOW, LAG BECAUSE IT WAS TRYING TO, THE SYSTEM WAS TRYING TO REFRESH AND SO ON. SO WHAT I SAW AND MARY WANTED, WHEN DID YOU SEE, UM, I'M GOING TO BUILD ON WHAT COLONEL GEIER HAS SHARED, AND, AND MAYBE I'M LOOKING AT THIS FROM AN, UH, LENS AS WELL, A LITTLE DEEPER THAN I SHOULD. AND COLLEEN AND I HAD CONVERSATION, BUT I LOOK AT IT FROM PERSPECTIVE OF ABILITY TO READ ABILITY TO HAVE A CHILD SHOULDN'T HAVE TO BE UP ON TOP OF A COMPUTER, DISCLOSE TO READ IT. AND I'M NEAR SIGHTED. I COULD NOT READ SCREENS. THEY WERE FOGGY AND I'M, YES, IT MAY BE A SETTING ISSUE. BUT THE QUESTION THAT I POSH IT HAD GIVEN THE OPPORTUNITY TO PROVIDE A HIGHER QUALITY SCREEN FOR CHILDREN, ESPECIALLY WITH THE AMOUNTS OF TIME THAT THE GENERATIONS NOW ARE IN FRONT OF A SCREEN. I STARTED THINKING ABOUT IT ABOUT EYESIGHT GLASSES AND IMPACT. AND THEN I STARTED THINKING ABOUT THE QUESTION OF, IS THERE A GUIDELINE MARK, MAYBE IT'S AND I MEAN, DISRESPECTFULLY TO ASK YOU OF WHAT SHOULD BE THE PIXEL RATING AT A MINIMUM FOR DEVELOPMENTALLY APPROPRIATE FOR CHILDREN, EXCUSE ME, ONE OF THE BIGGEST THINGS WE, UH, WE LOOKED AT WHEN WE WERE DECIDING ON WHICH SCREEN TO GO FOR, BECAUSE YOU HAVE A BRIGHT GLOSSY SCREEN THAT SHOWS EVERY PIXEL IN THE WORLD, IT'S THE MOST VIVID, IT'S BEAUTIFUL, BUT THESE ARE TOUCHSCREEN DEVICES, THE KIDS TOUCH AND WOULD GRUBBY HANDS ALL DAY. THEY'RE VERY DIRTY. A BRIGHT SCREEN REFLECTS ALL AMBIENT LIGHTS, UM, WHICH CREATES EYE STRAIN AND FATIGUE FOR LONG PERIODS OF USING DEVICES. UM, WE ALSO TOOK INTO ACCOUNT THAT KIDS USE THESE DEVICES IN VARYING ENVIRONMENTS. THEY COULD BE OUTSIDE, THEY COULD BE INSIDE AND ESPECIALLY WITH OUR BUILDINGS, UM, PRETTY MUCH ANY OF OUR CLASSROOMS AT DIFFERENT TIMES OF THE DAY, WE'LL HAVE SUN STREAMING THROUGH THE WINDOWS THAT WILL BOUNCE BACK OFF OF THESE SCREENS. THAT WAS THE MAIN REASON WE WENT WITH A MASK SCREEN, UH, BECAUSE, UH, RESEARCH HAVE SHOWN THAT IT'S BETTER FOR THE CHILDREN'S EYES. UM, ONE THING WE COULD LOOK AT AS POSSIBLY A BIGGER SCREEN, COLONEL GEIER SAID THAT, UH, NOT ALL THE PAGE WAS DISPLAYED. SO THAT IS DEFINITELY SOMETHING WE COULD LOOK AT. YOU KNOW, I, I GOT A IPHONE 13 AND IT'S UNBELIEVABLE THE DIFFERENCE IN THE QUALITY JUST BASED ON THAT TECHNOLOGY IN THAT PHONE, EVEN. AND I REPLACED IT WITH A 12. SO THAT'S MY ISSUE WAS, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE A FLEET MANAGEMENT ISSUE. WE OBVIOUSLY CAN'T REPLACE ALL OUR SCREENS AND ALL OUR COMPUTERS AT ONE TIME, BUT WE HAVE TO MANAGE IT. LIKE YOU MANAGE A FLEET OF VEHICLES, YOU KNOW, YOU, YOU MANAGE TRUCKS DIFFERENT THAN YOU MANAGE CARS AND LOOK AT AS WE GO AHEAD AND I'M NOT SAYING, PLEASE DON'T GET ME WRONG. WE'VE GOT TO SCRAP IT ALL AND START ALL OVER. AND I'M NOT SAYING THAT AT ALL, BUT I'M SAYING TO MARK AND TO THE TECHNOLOGY PEOPLE, IF THEY FLEET MANAGEMENT PLAN WITH ALLOWING US TO PROJECT WHAT WE'RE GOING TO NEED WHEN WE'RE GOING TO NEED IT. AND WHEN IT MAKES THE BEST SENSE TO START TO ROTATE IN NEW TECHNOLOGY AND WHO GETS IT FIRST AND, AND, YOU KNOW, THE, THE, THE SCREEN QUALITY, THE SIZE QUALITY, THE RUGGEDNESS OBVIOUSLY IS ALL YOU HAVE TO, YOU HAVE TO CARE FOR, BUT IT'S NOT, IT'S NOT SERENDIPITY. IT EATS, IT NEEDS TO BE [00:40:01] SOMETHING THAT'S, UH, IT'S A PLAN THAT YOU SAY, OKAY, WE DON'T KNOW THE SPECIFICS, BUT THIS IS WHAT WE ANTICIPATE. AND THIS IS WHERE WE, WHERE WE PLAN TO GO. AND WE CONSTANTLY UPDATE IT AS THE TECHNOLOGY CHANGES. DOES THAT MAKE SENSE, MARK? SO DICK DOES THIS DOVETAIL TO RJ THING, UPDATE ON TECHNOLOGY, ASSESSMENT PLANNING. I MEAN, THAT'S WHAT I THINK THAT'S WHERE IT DOES. IT DOES, UH, THAT THAT'S A DIFFERENT SCOPE OF AN ISSUE BECAUSE THAT GOES INTO NETWORK AND, AND ALL OTHER THINGS, BUT THIS, FOR THIS HARDWARE, THIS USER INTERFACE, YOU KNOW, I THINK WHAT WE SAW, AND IT WAS VERY CLEAR TO ME WHEN I WALKED INTO THOSE CLASSROOMS AND IT WAS NICE AND ROBERT SMALLEST BECAUSE WE SAW MIDDLE SCHOOL AND WE SAW ELEMENTARY SCHOOL AND I SAW DIFFERENT PROGRAMS BEING USED ON THE SCREEN BY DIFFERENT STUDENTS. AND FRANKLY, I THOUGHT THAT WHEN I SAW THE, WHAT THE, UH, MIDDLE SCHOOL FOLKS WERE USING, I THOUGHT IT WAS PERFECTLY ADEQUATE, BUT I SAW WHAT MARY SAW WITH THE, WITH THE READING LEARNERS AND A LOT MORE TOUCHSCREEN ACTION, WHEREAS THE MIDDLE SCHOOL USED A LOT MORE KEYBOARD, FOR EXAMPLE. AND, AND, AND SO LIKE, SO THAT'S, THAT'S WHY, UH, I BROUGHT THAT UP AND, AND, AND TALK TO DR. STRATIS ABOUT THAT WHILE WE WERE AT THE INSTRUCTIONAL REVIEW. WELL, AND THIS ALSO TIES INTO THE IDEA LIKE YOU CAN'T HAVE EVERYTHING, RIGHT. YOU CAN'T HAVE THE CHEAPEST COMPUTER THAT BREAKS THESE. SO, UM, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I THINK WOULD BE GREAT WITH THEY'RE ALWAYS 17 AND WITH SORT OF A POLICY BOARD VIEW IS WHAT IS, WHAT'S THE IMPORTANT POINTS. LIKE IF WE GO TO REORDER EQUIPMENT, YOU KNOW, LOOKING AT WINDOWS-BASED VERSUS GOOGLE CHROMEBOOKS, LOOKING AT THE SCREEN SIZE FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, AND THEN MAKING SURE THAT WE LOOK TO SEE IF THAT ONCE THEY'RE IMPLEMENTED, DID WE ACHIEVE THOSE GOALS? CAUSE WE CAN'T, WE, WE THERE'S NO PERFECT SOLUTION. SO YOU'RE, IT'S A BALANCING AND A COMPROMISE. UM, AND I KNOW THAT I WANTED TO BRING UP, I THINK THEY'RE GETTING READY TO REFRESH OR REORDER ALL THE MIDDLE-SCHOOL, UM, DEVICES, I THINK. SO DO WE HAVE, DO WE KNOW, LIKE WHEN WE REORDER, HERE'S THE SOFTWARE WE'RE NOW USING, WE BOUGHT A BUNCH MORE SOFTWARE, RIGHT. UM, AND HERE'S THE GOALS FOR MIDDLE SCHOOL? HERE'S, WHAT'S IMPORTANT AT THIS STAGE. HERE'S HOW THE KIDS ARE. WE KNOW HOW THEY'RE USING HERE'S OUR BREAK AND YOU KNOW, ALL THESE DIFFERENT THINGS. SO WE, WHEN WE, I DON'T KNOW IF WE'RE JUST AUTOMATICALLY GONNA ORDER THE SAME BOOKS OR LOOKING AT BRINGING IN NEW HARDWARE, UM, BASICALLY WITH OUR FOUR YEAR LIFE CYCLE UPDATES. UM, WELL, OF COURSE, MIDDLE SCHOOL IS RIGHT NOW ON ITS, UH, ITS FOURTH YEAR. SO, UH, THEY'RE, THEY'RE HAVING THE, UM, THE OLDEST DEVICES, UM, THAT ALSO DOES INCREASE SOME OF THE DAMAGE OR BREAKAGE FROM THEM. UM, BECAUSE THEY HAVE BEEN USED PRETTY HARD FOR FOUR YEARS. UM, EVERY YEAR WE PURCHASED COMPUTERS, WE DO GET HIGHER PROCESSORS. UM, WE EVALUATE THE RAM NEEDED. UM, SO WE USED TO PUT, YOU KNOW, FOUR GIGS OF RAM IN A COMPUTER. NOW WE'RE PUTTING EIGHT. UH, IT'S NOT GOING TO BE LONG. YOU KNOW, WHEN OUR KC DEVICES, WE HAVE TO PUT 16, SO WE DO EVALUATE IT BASED ON THE SOFTWARE THAT WE'RE GOING TO BE USING. UM, AND WE DO SPEND TIME WITH ISD, FIGURING OUT WHAT THEY'RE USING AND ANALYZING WHERE THE SOFTWARE THEY'RE USING IS GOING BECAUSE EVERY YEAR AS IT CHANGES OR AS THEY MAKE UPDATES, THERE ARE MORE HARDWARE REQUIREMENTS FOR IT THAT WE TAKE INTO CONSIDERATION. BUT EVERY YEAR WE'RE GETTING A HIGHER PROCESSOR AND WE'RE EXAMINING THE RAM. WE'VE ALSO SWITCHED FROM, UM, STANDARD SPINNING DRIVES TO SSD DRIVES, WHICH PUT ABOUT FIVE TIMES THE CAPABILITIES ON THE MACHINE. SO WE'VE SEEN GREAT BENEFITS WITH THAT. AND THEY'RE MORE RELIABLE. ABSOLUTELY. UM, IN, I DUNNO, THE X, THE HPX THREE SIXTIES. CAN YOU UPGRADE THE RAM AFTER THE FACT OR NOT? I KNOW CHROMEBOOKS, YOU CAN'T, THAT'S ONE OF THE DOWNSIDES. UM, YES, YOU CAN CHANGE OUT THE STICKS. GENERALLY SPEAKING FOR OUR LIFECYCLE, WE VERY RARELY FIND REASON TO USUALLY BY THE TIME THE LIFE CYCLE IS OVER WHERE WE'RE THAT NEXT GENERATION THAT SHOULD, THAT WE CAN BUILD IN THOSE A HARDWARE SPECS. BUT YES, WE CAN UPGRADE RAM AND SOME OF THE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE DEVICE, IT'S GENERALLY A LOT MORE EXPENSIVE TO DO IT AFTER THE FACT. YEAH. AND YOU, YOU REALLY KEEP UP WITH SPEED. RAM IS ONE THING, BUT SPEED IS ANOTHER BECAUSE THE SOFTWARE DEVELOPERS PUT SO MUCH MORE IN THERE, YOU GOT TO CRANK THROUGH IT FASTER SO WELL, AND THAT'S WHAT I'M THINKING IS IF WE ARE INTRODUCING NEW PROGRAMS AT THE [00:45:01] BEGINNING OR MIDDLE OF A CYCLE, AND WE'RE FINDING THAT THE MACHINES CAN'T KEEP UP, SOUNDS LIKE THE HP'S YOU COULD GO IN AND UPGRADE, YOU KNOW, SOME OF THOSE, UH, PROCESSORS OR RAM TO MAKE THEM BETTER. WELL, THE RAM YOU CAN TH TH THE CHIPS YEAH. FOR THE LAPTOPS, THE CHIPS ARE BUILT INTO THE BOARD. SO WE WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO DO A CHIP UP. YEAH. AS I WAS SAYING THAT I WAS TRYING TO TAKE IT BACK. IT'S JUST ONE OF THOSE TERMS YOU THROW AROUND WHEN WE TALK ABOUT COMPUTER HARDWARE, PREDECESSORS. UM, BUT I KNOW LIKE MY SON JUST BUILT HIS COMPUTER AND IT'S AMAZING THE PARTS YOU CAN TAKE OUT AND UPGRADE AND NOT HAVE THE, I MEAN, THE, THE LAPTOP ITSELF IS JUST A BOX, YOU KNOW, NOT, NOT THESE ONES, BUT SOME OF THE DESKTOPS, AGAIN, THIS HAS BEEN A, THIS IS A FUNDAMENTAL ISSUE. THAT'S BEEN AROUND FOREVER, WHERE AS SOMEONE POINTED OUT THE SOFTWARE DEVELOPERS, RIGHT. TO THE LATEST CHIP. AND SO, YOU KNOW, THEY'RE IN A CONSPIRACY WITH THE HARDWARE PEOPLE TO GET YOU TO BUY THE LATEST CHIP. I DON'T THINK IT'S A CABAL WHERE THEY SIT DOWN AND TALK ABOUT IT, BUT THAT'S ALWAYS BEEN THE CASE, YOU KNOW, UH, SOFTWARE DEVELOPERS. IT'S JUST PART OF THEIR DNA THAT THEY, THEY, THEY AIM FOR THE HIGHEST CAPACITY THEY CAN GET. UM, SO TH YOU KNOW, THIS ISSUE HAS BEEN AROUND A LONG, LONG TIME. ALL RIGHT. SO WHAT'S THE NEXT STEP ON THIS ONE? IS THERE ONE, I REALLY BELIEVE THAT IT'S JUST, IT'S JUST A MATTER OF HAVING TECHNOLOGY AND ISD, UH, TALK TOGETHER ABOUT WHAT THE REQUIREMENTS, BECAUSE YOU KNOW, THAT THE ISD PEOPLE ARE READING ALL THE JOURNALS AND ALL THE JOURNALS COME IN AND SAY ALL THE NEXT THING IT'S GOING TO HAPPEN. AND, AND THE I IS THE TECHNOLOGY PEOPLE THEY'RE READING WIRED AND SEEING WHAT IS THERE, AND THEY HAVE TO COME TOGETHER AND SAY, OKAY, HERE'S WHAT WE THINK IS WHAT YOU THINK. LET'S, LET'S AMALGAMATE THAT INTO A TENTATIVE PLAN. YOU CAN'T HAVE A PLANNED CLASS CASTING, CONCRETE AND TECHNOLOGY. IT'S GOT TO BE SOMETHING THAT'S CONSTANTLY REVIEWED AND TALKED ABOUT, AND IT'S AN EVOLUTIONARY PROCESS. AND SO, AS LONG AS I THINK THAT A COMPREHENSIVE, SIMPLISTIC BRIEFING TO THE BOARD, FOR THEM TO UNDERSTAND WHY WE ARE USING OUR FUNDS, THE WAY WE ARE WITH THE 8%, THE REFRESH, HOW WE'RE, HOW WE ARE PLANNING TO KEEP UP WITH THIS AND COPE WITH THIS ISSUE WOULD BE VERY, VERY HELPFUL, NOT ONLY FOR THE BOARD, BUT ALSO FOR THE PUBLIC. THAT'S GENERALLY NOT VERY TECH SAVVY TO UNDERSTAND IN SIMPLE TERMS, WHY WE SPEND THE AMOUNT WE SPEND TO GIVE THE PRODUCTS THAT WE NEED TO GET OUR KIDS READY TO BE A SUCCESSFUL ADULTS IN THE 21ST CENTURY. AND I AGREE WITH THAT A HUNDRED PERCENT, I THINK TWO THINGS THOUGH, I THINK THAT WHAT WE CAN NEXT STEP TO, TO DAVID'S QUESTION, WHAT I WOULD LOVE TO SEE IS, ESPECIALLY AS SOMEONE WHO'S INTERACTING WITH IN THE COMMUNITY, THE GOALS OF THE TECH, YOU KNOW, WE BUY STUFF, WHAT WERE THE GOALS AND HOW DO WE ACHIEVE THEM? AND SO WHEN YOU HEAR FROM PARENTS THAT THEY CAN'T READ THE WHOLE SCREEN, YOU KNOW, KNOWING WHAT THE DECISIONS WERE, ET CETERA, AND BEING ABLE TO ARTICULATE AND EXPLAIN THAT, AND THEN HAVE THAT FEEDBACK GO INTO THE NEXT REFRESH CYCLE. AND THEN THE SECOND THING IS OUR STUDENTS ARE TECH SAVVY. OUR STUDENT, YOU WOULD BE AMAZED AT WHAT THEY KNOW THAT THEY ARE WAY AHEAD OF WHERE WE ARE. SO THE PARENTS MAY HAVE, YOU KNOW, MAYBE GETTING TO STEP IN WONDERING THAT THE KIDS ARE DOING MORE THAN WE UNDERSTAND WHAT THESE DEVICES IN GENERAL. SO, UM, I THINK THAT'S PART OF THE PROBLEM IS MAKING SURE WE'RE MEETING THEIR EXPECTATIONS, THEIR FEARS. I MEAN, MY SON PUT TOGETHER HIS OWN COMPUTER WITH WATCHING YOUTUBE VIDEOS. YOU KNOW, I DIDN'T HAVE A THING TO DO WITH IT. AND HE JUST WANTED, IT WAS HIS BIRTHDAY THING. HE ORDERED ALL THE PARTS OFF AMAZON ASSEMBLED, IT, BUILT IT HIMSELF, YOU KNOW, AND AT 14 WITH MITCH BECAUSE OF YOUTUBE VIDEOS. SO IT IS, IT'S, IT'S AMAZING. WHAT'S OUT THERE. ALL RIGHT. SO WE NEED TO LOOK COOL TO THE STUDENTS AND WE NEED TO, WE NEED TO LOOK LIKE WE'RE ON TOP OF THINGS AND THAT WE ACTUALLY ARE READING THE JOURNALS. UM, GOT THAT PART. I AGREE WITH DICK AN UPDATE BECAUSE THE NUMBERS THAT COME FOR TECHNOLOGY ARE, UH, RAISE EYEBROWS FOR THE, FOR THE CONSTITUENTS, FOR THE PUBLIC. THEY SEE THOSE BIG NUMBERS, HOLY COW, MILLIONS OF DOLLARS ON. SO IT WOULD BE A REALLY HELPFUL IF WE WOULD GET, UM, AN UNDERSTANDABLE EXPLANATION, WHICH YOU'RE REALLY GOOD AT MARK. UM, AN UNDERSTANDABLE EXPLANATION OF WHY WE CHOSE [00:50:01] THESE, WHICH GOES BACK TO WHAT ANDREW WAS SAYING, YOU KNOW, WHY WE CHOSE THIS HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE AND, YOU KNOW, THE CAPABILITIES THAT IT PROVIDES AND WITHOUT GETTING TOO TECHNICAL, BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, WE WANT TO UNDERSTAND WHAT WE WANT TO SPEAK TO THE AUDIENCE. AND THE AUDIENCE REALLY IS THE CONSTITUENTS THAT THE TAXPAYERS AND THE PEOPLE THAT VOTE FOR THOSE REFERENDUMS, UM, YOU KNOW, THAT'S AUDIENCE, WE HAVE TO MAKE SURE IT'S, UM, DIGESTIBLE BY THAT AUDIENCE. AND, UH, AS I SAY, YOU'RE GOOD AT THAT MARK. SO WE JUST NEED TO, UM, THINK THAT THROUGH AND SOMEHOW GET IT ON AN AGENDA IN THE FUTURE, UH, SO THAT YOU CAN DO THAT. I THINK THAT'S A GREAT IDEA. ALL RIGHT. I THINK WE'RE DONE WITH THIS TOPIC. YEAH. I THOUGHT YOU DID A GREAT JOB OF PULLING IT ALL TOGETHER AND PUTTING A BOW ON IT. THAT WAS A PRECEDENT. UM, I JUST WANT TO, I'M ALWAYS LOOKING AT OUR OWN DOCUMENT AND, UH, THIS WOULD FIT VERY NICELY IN O E 17.5. UM, IT IS RECEIVED RECOMMENDATIONS REGARDING TECHNOL TECHNICAL LOGICAL INNOVATIONS THAT CAN BE INTEGRATED IN DISTRICT IN THE DISTRICT AND PLANS FOR TRANSITION OF EXISTING TECHNOLOGIES. AND SO, UM, IT, THE INTERPRETATION IS THAT WE UNDERSTAND THIS TO MEAN RECEIVING INPUT FROM TEACHERS, STAFF, STUDENTS, COMMUNITY MEMBERS, UH, REGARDING CURRENT AND FUTURE TECHNOLOGIES IN FACING THE DISTRICT. SO I THINK THAT FITS VERY WELL IN THERE. IT DOESN'T REALLY FIT ON THE SCHEDULE, THE MONTHLY SCHEDULE IN PLACE, CAUSE IT WAS TECHNICALLY, UH, UH, SET FOR OCTOBER, BUT WE COULD SWITCH IT UP A BIT AND DO THIS ONE, YOU KNOW, NOW, OR AS SOON AS THE ALLOW, AS SOON AS WE WERE ABLE TO GATHER THAT INFORMATION AND THEN, UM, UM, SWITCH IT UP WITH ANOTHER ONE THAT WAS SCHEDULED FOR THIS MONTH. I LIKE IT. GOOD. THANKS FRANK. WE'RE IN US. UM, YEAH, I WAS SUGGESTING THE SPRING SOME TIME TO DO THIS. UM, AND THEN AGAIN, IF WE'RE GOING TO GO OUT FOR A REFERENDUM IN 23, AGAIN AT A GOOD TIME, SO THAT IT'S NOT FORGOTTEN BEFORE THAT REFERENDUM. WELL, AND TO YOUR 0.2, 8% WHEN WE DID THE 8% PROJECTS, BECAUSE THAT'S A GROWING CHUNK OF OUR 8% PROJECTS RIGHT NOW, BUT IT'S UP TO, IT'S UP TO 25% OF OUR 8% PROJECT SPENDING. YEAH. ALL RIGHT. LET'S UH, GET TO THE NEXT ITEM IS NEW SOFTWARE SELECTION. I'M NOT SURE WHAT, WHAT THE FOCUS OF THIS IS. SO, UH, I'M NOT SURE WHERE IT CAME FROM. ALL RIGHT. UPDATE ON TECHNOLOGY UPDATE ON TECHNOLOGY STAFFING IS THE NEXT ITEM. AND THAT'S JUST AN UPDATE. WHERE ARE WE? HOW MANY OPENINGS DO WE HAVE? AND ARE WE HAPPY? I'M HAPPY TO SAY WE WENT FROM FOUR OPENINGS. UH, WE'RE DOWN TO TWO, WE HAVE ONE AT LADY'S ISLAND, MIDDLE ATTACK ONE, AND WE HAVE, UM, AND THAT WAS DUE TO THAT TECHNICIAN BEING PROMOTED UP TO A TECH TWO AT THE KNOCK. AND THEN WE STILL HAVE ONE TECH TO OPEN AT THE KNOCK. SO ALL THE SCHOOLS ARE COVERED EXCEPT FOR LADIES ISLAND MIDDLE. THEY JUST LOST THEIR TECHNICIAN BACK TO THE DISTRICT OFFICE. YES. WE SLIDE SOMEONE IN THERE IN THE INTERIM TO COVER ANY ISSUES THE NORTH OF IRAN SUPERVISOR COVER, AND THAT HE'S A ROTATING STAFF AND COVERING HIMSELF TO, UH, TO MAKE UP FOR THE SHORTFALL. GREAT, UM, UPDATE ON TECHNOLOGY ASSESSMENT. RFP IS THE NEXT ITEM AND THAT, UH, OKAY. UM, WHO, WHO IS THAT? IS THAT, OH, I'M SORRY. UH, I JUST WANT TO MENTION REAL QUICKLY THE JOB DESCRIPTIONS INFORMATION WAS PROVIDED TO ROBIN. SHE HAS A FOLDER IN HER OFFICE THAT HAS THAT AVAILABLE, MAKE ANY BOARD MEMBER WHO WISHES TO VIEW THAT. SO I JUST WANTED TO POINT THAT OUT. THANK YOU THAT IT SLIPPED MY MIND, BUT, UH, THAT WE DIDN'T WANT TO DISCUSS IT IN A PUBLIC FORUM, BUT IT IS AVAILABLE TO US. UM, SO THAT WAS, THAT WAS WHERE WE LANDED ON THAT ONE. IF THAT'S OKAY WITH THE OTHER COMMITTEE MEMBERS, YOU TAKE A LOOK AT IT. [00:55:01] IF THERE IS SOMETHING JUMPS OUT, THEN WE JUST, WE DON'T WANT, EVEN THOUGH I THINK THAT IT'S, THERE'S, IT'S A FOGGY AREA ABOUT DISCUSSING POSITIONS AND SALARY IS FOGGY, WHETHER THAT IS PUBLIC INFORMATION OR NOT PUBLIC INFORMATION. UM, AND I KNOW MR. DALLIN KNEW WHICH, WHICH COURT CASE IT WAS, AND I CAN'T REMEMBER IT, BUT HAD SOMETHING TO DO WITH THE COLUMBIA COLUMBIA FIRE DEPARTMENT, UM, HORTON VERSUS COLUMBIA FIRE DEPARTMENT. SO IT'S, IT'S FOGGY, BUT WE'RE GOING TO ERR ON THE CAUTIOUS SIDE AND THE FOLDERS ARE AVAILABLE FOR YOU IF YOU WANT TO BE. OH, GREAT. THAT'S THE QUESTION. THAT IS THE BEST. THE QUESTION, THE SILENCE IS NOT HELPFUL. I'VE GOT A LEAF BLOWER GOING ON. SO YOU SPLIT, WOULD YOU SAY ABOUT THE RFP? THAT'S THE QUESTION? THE QUESTION IS, HEY, WE HAVE AN RFP. IS THAT OUT ON THE STREET? HAVE WE GOTTEN ANY RESPONSE TO IT? AND UH, YOU KNOW, WHAT'S THE, WHAT'S THE STATUS OF THE REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL? IS THAT FOR THE, UM, THE ASSESSMENT, THE FLIPPER IT'S A PROCUREMENT ISSUE NOW. YEAH, I WASN'T SURE. I THOUGHT MAYBE WAS SOME SORT OF BROAD RFP WE'RE TALKING ABOUT, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THE, THE TECHNOLOGY ASSESSMENT. OKAY, GOOD. TANYA, DO YOU KNOW, DO YOU KNOW THE STATUS OR, OR HAVE YOU NOT BEEN TOLD, UM, I'LL, I'LL SPEAK THE, UH, THE RFP IS NOT YET OUT ON THE STREET. THE SCOPE OF WORK HAS TO BE FINALIZED. WE'VE GONE BACK AND FORTH. UM, GOTTEN INPUT FROM, UH, FROM OTHER RFPS. WE HAVE GOTTEN INPUT FROM THE TECHNOLOGY STAFF AND WE HAVE ONE MORE REVIEW TO DO AND IT WILL BE ON THE STREET. UM, MY GOAL IS TO HAVE IT OUT BEFORE THANKSGIVING. ALL RIGHT. SO YOU CAN COUNT ON THIS ITEM BEING ON THE NEXT AGENDA. AWESOME. OKAY. OUR NEXT ITEM IS UPDATE ON BROADBAND. UM, AND I GUESS THAT'S, UH, CONNECTED TO OUR COMMUNITY PARTNER INVOLVEMENT AND THE COUNTY COUNCIL'S INVOLVEMENT AND WHOEVER ELSE WE'RE TRYING TO WORK WITH. AND WE DIDN'T HAVE A LOT OF BIG MOVEMENT ON IT THIS PAST MONTH. UM, WE'RE STILL WAITING FOR A MEETING WITH HARD GRAY. UNFORTUNATELY, THE TIMES TO GET EVERYBODY TOGETHER, UH, WAS NOT VERY CONVENIENT OVER THE LAST COUPLE OF WEEKS. THERE'S BEEN A LOT GOING ON. UM, WE'RE HOPING TO HAVE THAT MEETING WITH HARD GRAY, UH, FIRST WEEK OF DC. UH, FIRST TWO WEEKS OF DECEMBER, BEFORE WE GO OUT ON BREAK, UH, TO GET THEIR INPUT ON IT. SINCE WE'VE ALREADY TALKED WITH THE COUNTY AND WE'VE TAUGHT WITH THE PALMETTO RULE, TELEPHONE COOPERATIVES, UM, WE WOULD LIKE TO GET HARGRAVE'S OPINION AND THEIR THOUGHTS ON IT ALSO BECAUSE THEY'RE OUR PRIMARY PROVIDER AND ONE OF THE PRIMARY PROVIDERS FOR BUFORD COUNTY. SO WHERE, UM, IS, OR WHERE ARE WE THAT'S TALKING ABOUT ADDING INFRASTRUCTURE TO AREAS AND FIBER WHERE THERE IS NOT RIGHT. THAT'S WHAT OUR IS TALKING ABOUT. SO I, YOU KNOW, I TALKED TO MARK ABOUT THIS SEPARATELY, BUT I ACTUALLY ACCIDENTALLY ENDED UP HAVING A CONVERSATION WITH JIM STRINGER UP AT, UH, THE HEAD OF THE NEW REGIONAL BROADBAND OFFICE. AND HE USED TO LIVE ON HILTON HEAD. HIS KIDS WENT TO HELP HEAD MIDDLE AND HELP HIM HAVE HIGH. SO HE ACTUALLY IS FAIRLY INTERESTED IN WHAT'S GOING ON IN THIS AREA. UM, AND ONE OF THE THINGS HE TOLD ME IS THAT TO USE FEDERAL FUNDING, IT HAS TO BE 120. YOU CAN'T DO 25, 3, UM, TO THE DIFFERENT AREAS, WHICH IS NEITHER HERE NOR THERE, BECAUSE I THINK THAT'S WHAT THEY'RE DOING. UH, BUT THE OTHER THING THAT I THOUGHT MAYBE WE COULD TALK ABOUT HERE, AT LEAST START HAVING THE CONVERSATION IS BEYOND INFRASTRUCTURE. THERE'S LIKE HILTON HEAD HAS INFRASTRUCTURE THROUGHOUT THE ISLAND. EVERYONE CAN BE CONNECTED TO, UH, W UH, FIBER, ACCORDING TO THE, UH, THE MAPS. AND, UH, BUT THERE'S AFFORDABILITY ISN'T ALSO IS, IS THE NEXT THING. AND ONE OF THE THINGS THAT'S INTERESTING IS THERE'S LIKE FOUR THINGS YOU NEED FOR, UM, BROADBAND ADOPTION. YOU NEED THE INFRASTRUCTURE YOU NEED END-USER DEVICE, WHICH SINCE WE'RE A ONE-TO-ONE DISTRICT, ALL OUR STUDENTS HAVE A DEVICE. YOU NEED DIGITAL LITERACY. PEOPLE NEED TO KNOW HOW TO USE THEIR DEVICE, AND THEN YOU NEED AFFORDABILITY. AND THAT'S SOMETHING WHERE MAYBE THE SCHOOL DISTRICT COULD [01:00:01] PLAY. A LARGER ROLE IS SAYING WE ALREADY HAVE ONE-TO-ONE DEVICES. SO WE SHOULD HAVE SOME, I MEAN, PERSONALLY, I WOULD LOVE TO SEE SOME SORT OF COMMITMENT THAT WE MAKE SURE THAT EVERY STUDENT HAS ACCESS TO BROOKE HAS BROUGHT ACCESS TO BROADBAND. UM, AND HE SUGGESTED ONE OF THE WAYS HE'S LOOKING AT IS THROUGH A SUBSCRIPTION. HAS ANYONE TALKED ABOUT THAT? DOING SOMETHING LIKE THAT THROUGH THE SCHOOLS? IS THAT A NO. CAN YOU REPEAT THE LAST, I THINK YOU SAID SUBSCRIPTION SO THAT HE'S SUGGESTING, OR HAS TALKED WITH OTHER DISTRICTS ABOUT A MODEL FOR STUDENTS. THAT'S A SUBSCRIPTION MODEL THAT WOULD BE COVERED ON A SLIDING SCALE BY SOME GOVERNMENT AUTHORITY, POSSIBLY, YOU KNOW, THE SCHOOLS, THE COUNTY, WHATEVER THE STATE, UM, WHERE EVERY STUDENT GETS BROADBAND BASED ON THEIR ABILITY TO PAY. AND IT'S SIMILAR TO WHAT YOU GET. HE, HE DESCRIBED IT TO ME AND I'M NOT AS UP ON IT AS I THINK OTHER PEOPLE ARE. BUT LIKE WHEN YOU GO TO A HOTEL, YOU CAN ACCESS DIFFERENT LEVELS OF WIFI. YOU LOG IN WITH YOUR ROOM NUMBER, ET CETERA. YOU DON'T HAVE TO HAVE, THEY BASICALLY HAVE, UM, WIRELESS ACCESS POINTS THAT BROADCAST A SIGNAL THAT YOU CAN SUBSCRIBE TO. SO I DIDN'T KNOW IF ANYONE HAD TALKED ABOUT THIS AT THE SCHOOL LEVEL. UM, NO. WE'VE WORKED WITH PARTNERS FOR DISCOUNT PROGRAMS, WITH COMCAST, WITH HARD GRAY, UM, WITH OUR DIFFERENT, UH, PROVIDERS IN THE AREA. UH, BUT THAT'S BEEN THE EXTENT OF IT, UH, WORKING ON REDUCED COST PLANS FOR FAMILIES. UH, I, I'M NOT SURE THAT THE SCHOOL DISTRICT IS GOING TO TAKE ON THE BURDEN OF SUBSIDIZING, UM, BECAUSE THE GOVERNMENT'S ALREADY MOVING IN THAT DIRECTION. YEAH. THAT'S WHAT I'M SAYING. I DON'T NECESSARILY THINK IT HAS TO BE SCHOOLS TO DO IT, BUT PART OF IT IS IF WE'RE GOING TO START THIS LAW ENVELOPE, LEAF BLOWERS RIGHT HERE, UM, PART OF THE ISSUE IS IF WE'RE GOING TO START OFFERING LIKE A CYBERSECURITY PROGRAM AND THE KIDS DON'T HAVE ACCESS TO DECENT BROADBAND, IT'S SETTING US UP FOR FAILURE IN MY OPINION. SO I DON'T KNOW, WE HAVE SOME PLENTY IN THE SHORT TERM, YOU KNOW, OR MAYBE SOME FUNDING THROUGH THAT PILOT PROGRAM, BUT, UH, I DON'T KNOW IF THAT'S MODEL THAT ANYONE'S CONSIDERING FOR AREAS THAT SPARK THAT DO YOU HAVE, UM, ALREADY HAVE INFRASTRUCTURE, BUT STILL DO NOT HAVE ACCESS. LIKE WE STILL NEED TO GET IT TO THE HOME. ALRIGHT. YEAH, LET'S CONTINUE THAT WHEN WE GET DOWN TO, UM, THE CYBERSECURITY, I KNOW, I AGREE WITH YOU. IT'S SOMETHING WE NEED TO DISCUSS, BUT I THINK IT'S, UH, IT'S APPLICABLE TO WHAT WE HAVE LISTED AS M DISCUSSION IN TECHNOLOGY AND CYBERSECURITY. YOU KNOW, THE COUNTY IS TAKING A LEAD ON THE INFRASTRUCTURE PIECE AND I THINK WHALE BRANCH AND SOME OF THOSE AREAS, UM, REALLY NEED THE INFRASTRUCTURE BUILT IN. THERE ARE SOME OF THE HIGH TARGET AREAS FOR THE, THE REGIONAL OFFICE. BUT I THINK THAT THAT AS A SCHOOL DISTRICT, EVEN AREAS WHERE THERE IS ACCESS, WE STILL HAVE KIDS WHO DON'T HAVE BROADBAND. AND SO THAT'S SOMETHING I THINK THE SCHOOLS CAN NOT TAKE THE LEAD IN TERMS OF PAYING FOR IT, BUT POSSIBLY BE MORE OF A VOICE FOR THAT GROUP. I AGREE COMPLETELY MR. SMITH. YEAH, MY QUESTION WAS GOING TO BE IN TERMS OF THE BROADBAND. UM, I WAS AT A MEETING NOT LONG AGO AND RATHER THAN THE MEETING WAS THAT THERE WERE, THERE WERE, THERE WERE, THERE WAS A CODE THAT THEY GAVE OUT AND THAT THEY WOULD LIKE FOR PEOPLE TO HAVE THEIR KIDS IN DIFFERENT PEOPLE TO, TO TYPE IN THIS CODE. AND IT WILL TELL THE WELL HOW MUCH BROADBAND IS IN THE AREA THAT I WAS WANTING TO DID IT. THIS WAS THE ONLY THING ABOUT THAT. AND I WILL BE FAMILIAR WITH THAT. AND IT WAS SOMETHING THAT WAS SOME THAT THE COUNTY COUNCIL WAS PRESENTING. DOES THE NAME OOLA SOUND FAMILIAR? THAT IS A SERVICE THAT THE STATE HAS BEEN USING WITH OOLA OR WHATEVER. THE NAME OF IT IS A SPEED OF BROADBAND SPEED TESTING WEBSITE. AND EVERY TIME YOU USE IT, THEY MARK DOWN THE COORDINATES OF WHERE THAT TEST ORIGINATED FROM. AND IT'S STORED IN A DATABASE. AND THE STATE HAS BEEN USING THAT DATABASE TO OUR, THAT INFORMATION TO CREATE FIRST, A WIRED MAP OF THE STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA. AND NOW THEY'RE EXPANDING THAT TO COMPLETE A, UM, A, UH, A WIRELESS ONE FOR, UM, MORE DETAIL. AND THEY WERE HOPING TO HAVE THAT FINISHED UP BY THE END OF THIS YEAR. UM, THAT WAS THE LAST I HEARD. SO IT MIGHT BE EARLY 20, 22, BUT YES, WE HAVE HEARD OF THAT. UM, AND IT'S BASICALLY JUST A SPEED TEST WEBSITE. IT'S NOTHING INTRUSIVE, [01:05:03] WELL, WE'LL GET SOMETHING GOOD FOR OUR PARENTS AND STUDENTS TO KNOW, TO, FOR, TO USE IT IN THE DISTRICT AS WELL. IT'S MORE OF A ONE-TIME THING ONCE YOU, UH, RUN, UH, IT'S ABOUT A MINUTE AND A HALF SCAN, AND IT DOES A QUICK TEST OF THE DOWNLOAD AND UPLOAD SPEED OF YOUR BROADBAND CONNECTION. UM, AND IT'S A ONE-TIME THING. UH, I WAS JUST GOING SAY THAT IN A NORTHERN PROVINCE, THERE'S NOTHING UP HERE TO, TO HELP STUDENTS. I KNOW EVEN TALKING ABOUT THIS FOR THE LAST TWO YEARS. AND, UM, I KNOW DR. RODRIGUEZ I'VE TALKED TO SOME OF THE, THE COMPANIES, UM, CENTRAL LINK SEEMS TO BE, UH, NOT WILLING TO DO ANYTHING, YOU KNOW, HARGRAVE IS, SO I DON'T KNOW WHAT WE NEED TO DO. I THINK WE NEED TO MAKE IT PROFITABLE FOR CENTURY LINK. YEAH. I MEAN, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE CENTURY LINK HERE ON, ON THE ISLAND AND IT'S NOT A RELIABLE SERVICE UP HERE IN THIS AREA IS CENTRALLY. THEY DON'T WANT TO DISCUSS IT, PERIOD. SO DAVID, I'M GOING TO MAKE YOU MAD BECAUSE THIS IS NOT POLICY. THIS IS PHILOSOPHY, BUT MR. CAMPBELL, I AGREE. AND I DON'T, WE CAN'T MAKE IT PROFITABLE, BUT JAMES , HE IS USING THE MODEL THE FDR USED FOR RURAL ELECTRIFICATION, THE RURAL ELECTRIFICATION ACT, WHICH BASICALLY SAID, UM, YOU KNOW, THAT EVERY, THERE ARE 43% OF RURAL FARMS HAD ELECTRICITY IN 1943. I THINK IT WAS, UH, 46. AND HE SAID, THAT'S NOT ACCEPTABLE, BUT THE PRIVATE COMPANIES WOULDN'T DO IT UNLESS THEY WERE PRESSURED BY PUBLIC INTEREST, BY PUBLIC BENEFIT. RIGHT. AND SO BASICALLY WHAT HE SAID WAS IN ORDER TO PRODUCE CROP OUTPUT DURING A DEPRESSION, YOU NEEDED TO HAVE THE FARMS, UH, ELECTRIFIED. AND I THINK THIS IS AN AREA WHERE THE SCHOOL CAN PUT SOME PRESSURE BECAUSE WE CAN'T OFFER JOB CREATION PROGRAMS. WE CAN'T OFFER A TECHNOLOGY. WE CAN'T GET REMOTE WORKERS TO COME WORK HERE, WHICH THEY JUST SPENT MONEY ON THAT SOUTH COAST, UH, CYBER COLLEGE OR WHATEVER. THEY'RE CALLING IT WITHOUT BROADBAND. AND BASICALLY I THINK THERE IS A LOT OF IMPETUS. JIM CLIBURN PUT, UH, RECOMMENDED MR. STRINGER, THERE A LOT OF INTEREST IN GETTING TO THESE RURAL AREAS, DESPITE THE FACT THAT THERE WAS NO WAY TO MAKE IT PROFITABLE BECAUSE THESE ROADS ARE LONG. AND THESE, THESE ARE NOT PEOPLE THAT CAN AFFORD THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS TO INSTALL FIBER. BUT I DO THINK THIS IS WHERE THE SCHOOL DISTRICT CAN COME IN AND PUT PRESSURE ON BECAUSE THEY CAN SAY, LOOK, WE'VE GOT STUDENTS THAT HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO LEARN CYBER SKILLS, LEARN DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY, TO IMPROVE THE DIGITAL LITERACY, WHICH IS ESSENTIAL FOR THE NEXT 20 YEARS, YOU KNOW, FOR THEIR FUTURE. AND WE CAN'T DO THAT UNLESS THERE IS A MORAL IMPERATIVE TO PUT BROADBAND IN. AND SO I THINK THAT IS KIND OF THE TACK THAT NEEDS TO BE TAKEN. AND WE, WE, THERE'S NO WAY TO MAKE IT PROFITABLE. WE HAVE TO MAKE IT A MORAL IMPERATIVE. AND SO, SO SORRY, DAVID. I KNOW I GOT WAY OFF THE AGENDA AND THE POLICY. WELL, NO, I, AND YOU KNOW, I HEAR YOUR MORAL IMPERATIVE AND I UNDERSTAND YOUR ANALOGY IS TELEPHONE SERVICE, TELEPHONE SERVICE IS SUBSIDIZED, AND THAT'S WHY THE TELEPHONE COMPANIES LAID THE LINES. AND, UH, IT WASN'T A MORAL IMPERATIVE THAT THEY HAD TO GET SUBSIDIZED. SO SOMEWHERE, SOMEWHERE ON THAT SPECTRUM IS WHERE WE'RE LANDING. BUT I AGREE WITH YOU. WE NEED TO PUT PRESSURE ON PEOPLE. UM, AND I WOULD LOVE IT IF A MORAL IMPERATIVE, UH, HAD ANY, UH, STRENGTHS TO IT. BUT, UH, LATELY I'M NOT SURE MORAL IMPERATIVE IT'S REALLY ARE DOING A VERY GOOD JOB. UM, SORRY FOR THAT DIVERSION. I HEAR YOU, YOU KNOW, WHAT WE CAN DO IS PUT PRESSURE ON PEOPLE AND WE CAN RUN OUR ARGUMENT. BUT I THINK AT THE END OF THE DAY, THE FEDS ARE GONNA END UP SUBSIDIZING. YEAH, THAT'S WHAT THEY'RE ALREADY. THAT'S WHAT ALL THIS FUNDING SCORE AND THAT'S, THAT'S WHY THEY'RE GOING TO LAY THE CABLE WHEN THAT MONEY COMES IN. UM, CAUSE YOU KNOW, COMPANIES DON'T EXIST FOR, FOR SOCIETY'S BENEFIT. THEY, THEY EXIST FOR THE STOCKHOLDERS. THAT'S [01:10:01] THEIR JOB. IT'S NOT, IT'S NOT A MORAL PROBLEM FOR THEM. THAT'S THEIR JOB. THAT'S WHAT THEY'RE SUPPOSED TO DO. THEY'RE SUPPOSED TO MAKE A PROFIT. UM, AND THAT'S WHAT FDR SAID IS HE'S LIKE WE CAN'T, THIS IS NOT A PROFITABLE ISSUE. THEREFORE WE'RE GOING TO SUBSIDIZE IT. YOU ACTUALLY SUBSIDIZE IT THROUGH LOANS THAT WERE GUARANTEED BY THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT. BUT BASICALLY THAT'S THE THING WE'RE GETTING ALL THIS MONEY, YOU KNOW, FROM THROUGH THE SCHOOLS, THROUGH THE MUNICIPALITIES, THROUGH THE STATE, THROUGH THE COUNTY, THE BIG PUSH IS, YOU KNOW, BROADBAND PEOPLE NEED TO RECOGNIZE THAT BROADBAND IS LIKE ELECTRICITY. NOW IT IS ESSENTIAL TO MODERN LIFE. IT IS NOT A NICETY AND IT'S NOT FOR STREAMING NETFLIX. IT'S FOR HEALTHCARE, IT'S FOR EDUCATION. IT'S GOING TO IMPROVE ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT IN A LOWER INCOME AREAS. IT'S GOING TO IMPROVE MATERNAL RATE MORTALITY IN LOWER INCOME AREAS. SO I AGREE. I DON'T THINK WE DEMAND THAT PRIVATE COMPANIES DO IT. I THINK WE SAY, YOU'RE NOT CAPABLE OF DOING IT. AND WE GOT TO PUT A LOT OF PRESSURE ON, ON, YOU KNOW, GOVERNMENT DOESN'T WORK PARTICULARLY FAST AND GIVE THEM A SENSE OF URGENCY ABOUT IT. WE JUST, WE'RE GOING TO SPEND $12 MILLION IN GRANT MONEY ON A CYBERSECURITY PROGRAM IN AN AREA WITH 30% BROADBAND. YOU KNOW, THAT'S A MORAL IMPERATIVE. WE CAN GIVE THEM THE SKILLS WE CAN GIVE THE DEVICE, BUT IF YOU DON'T GIVE THEM BROADBAND, IT'S NOT GOING TO BE ENOUGH. AND WE CAN ALSO CONVINCE THEM THAT IT WILL HELP THEM GET REELECTED. YEAH. I WAS JUST GONNA SAY THAT, YOU KNOW, WE CAN DISCUSS THIS MOUSE OURSELF, BUT, AND, AND, AND THE COMMUNITY HAVE BEEN PUSHING IN TALKING TO COUNTY COUNCIL FOR THE PAST SEVERAL YEARS, UM, AND SOME FOLKS IN THE STATE. UM, BUT YOU HAVE FOLKS THAT LOOK AFTER THE INFRASTRUCTURE, UH, THING THAT THIS PAST THURSDAY ONLY ONE, UH, REPRESENTATIVE FROM STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA VOTING FOR EVERYBODY HAS VOTED AGAINST IT. YOU KNOW, UM, THE LADY FROM THAT REPRESENT THIS AREA MAZE, SHE COMPLAINED ABOUT FLOODING AND CHARLESTON, BUT YES, SHE VOTED AGAINST THE BILL, YOU KNOW, SO THE ONLY WAY ANYTHING'S GOING TO CHANGE AND THEY CHANGE THE BENEFITS TO STUDENTS, ESPECIALLY IN THE RURAL AREAS, IS GOING TO HAVE TO WALK THESE PEOPLE OUT. YOU KNOW, IT'S, IT'S, IT'S RIDICULOUS THE THINGS THAT GOES ON IN THIS COUNTRY, THEY DON'T CARE ABOUT FOR EVERYBODY AS LONG AS THEY GET ELECTED. AND THAT'S SAD. THANK YOU. UM, DISCUSSION OF HARDWARE UPGRADES. I THINK WE COVERED THAT ALREADY. DID WE NOT DICK? I THINK THIS IS YOURS, RIGHT? YES. I THINK WE COVERED THAT. SO LET'S GO ON TO THE TECHNOLOGY COURSES, CYBERSECURITY PILOT, HOW'S THE PILOT GOING. AND THEN, UM, THE GINGRICH HAS A QUESTION AS TO, YOU KNOW, HOW DO WE EXPAND THAT TO THE ENTIRE DISTRICT? AND IF WE DO EXPAND IT TO THE ENTIRE DISTRICT, HOW DO WE MAKE SURE WE HAVE THE HARDWARE SUPPORT AND THE BROAD GRANT SUPPORT? SO I GUESS WE START WITH, HOW'S THE PILOT POINT OUT AT WHALE BRANCH. I KNOW THAT I DID VERY WELL IN THEIR FIRST COMPETITION. UM, THEIR CAPTURE, THE FLAG COMPETITION. I DON'T HAVE THE RESULTS IN FRONT OF ME, BUT, UM, I KNOW THEY DID FAIRLY WELL ON THE FIRST COMPETITION. WHAT PROGRAM WERE THEY WORTH? WAS THAT CYBER PATRIOT OR PATRIOTS? YES MA'AM. SO HOW LONG IS IT GOING TO TAKE BEFORE ALL THE HIGH SCHOOLS CAN HAVE THAT? UM, I WOULD RATHER HAVE A MS. GILBERT, MS. GILBERT WITH BLIND WANTED TO ADDRESS THIS, UH, THIS COMMITTEE, UM, MAYBE IN LATE JANUARY, OUR JANUARY MEETING, BUT, UM, SHE HAS SOME GREAT TOPICS TO DISCUSS ON IT AND SHE COULD BETTER STATE HOW IT'S GOING. THE HARDEST PART IS JUST GETTING THE INSTRUCTORS AT THE SCHOOL AND IMPLEMENTING THE, UH, THE NEW, UM, PROGRAMS INTO THE SCHOOLS. I THINK SHE'S GOT A PLAN FOR IT. AND, UH, WE WOULD LOVE TO SEE IT GO THROUGH MORE OF OUR HIGH SCHOOLS. YEAH, I MEAN, SO THIS WAS MY, ONE OF MY QUESTIONS BECAUSE I WAS AT THIS CONFERENCE AND THEY WERE TALKING ABOUT, YOU KNOW, ONE IN 20 JOBS NOW, A CYBER DEFENSE IN THE COUNTRY, 5% OF THE WORKFORCE, 42% OF THE, OF JOBS WILL BE EITHER RELATED TO CYBERSECURITY OR DATA ANALYST IN THE NEXT FIVE YEARS. AND SO I FEEL LIKE, AGAIN, I FEEL A SENSE OF URGENCY IF IT'S GOING WELL AT WHALE BRANCH. AND I THINK WE HAVE A STRONG MILITARY CHAIR ROTC PROGRAM AT MOST OF OUR SCHOOLS. UM, I THINK WE SHOULD HAVE THAT BY THIS TIME NEXT YEAR, YOU KNOW, THIS IS A FALL COMPETITION, THE CYBERPATRIOT, [01:15:01] BUT YOU DO ALL YOUR REGISTERING AND SOME OF YOUR, UH, TEAMWORK STUFF IN THE SPRING. I MEAN, I WOULD LIKE TO SEE THIS IN PRETTY MUCH EVERY HIGH SCHOOL THAT HAS A GERALD TC, AT LEAST NEXT FOR THE NEXT FALL. I MEAN, IT'S JUST, IT'S JUST CRITICAL TO WHAT'S GOING ON IN THE WORKFORCE RIGHT NOW. I UNDERSTAND THAT THERE WAS, THIS PILOT WAS, WAS LINKED NOT TO JR RTC, BUT TO MILITARY FAMILIES. NO, THAT'S THE DOD GRANT. THIS IS A SEPARATE PAGE. SORRY. PERFECT. IS THAT WHAT WAS I CYBERPATRIOT ANYWAY, IN FACT, YOU KNOW, I'M LOOKING AT DOING IT WITH A COMMUNITY ORGANIZATION. UM, IF WE CAN'T GET IT IN THE SCHOOLS, THEY HA THEY HAVE OTHER VERSIONS OF IT, BUT IT IS BASICALLY JUST A COMPETITION, LIKE A SPORTS LEAGUE, AND YOU CAN GO THROUGH ROTC. THAT'S LIKE THE NATURAL FIT FOR IT, BUT YOU CAN DO IT WITH BOY SCOUTS OF AMERICA, BOYS AND GIRLS CLUB. YOU CAN DO IT HOMESCHOOL. UM, AND IT'S JUST, IT'S AWESOME. UH, IT'S AN AWESOME PROGRAM. AND I THINK THE SKILL SET IS SO NECESSARY. SO I DON'T WANT IT IF THE PILOT'S GOING WELL, LET'S ROLL IT OUT. THAT'S MY THOUGHT. IT'S ALSO HAVING THE SPONSOR TO PICK THAT UP. I THINK THAT IS WHY IT WOULD TRY TO BUILD CAPACITY AND MOMENTUM. WE WERE ABLE TO GET A POT AT THE PILOT ROLLING UP AT WHALE BRANCH. UM, COLONEL WARREN WARREN PARKER ACTUALLY IS A BIG SUPPORTER HERE IN THE NORTH END OF THE COUNTY. HE BROUGHT IT TO OUR ATTENTION. UM, WE WOULD LIKE TO HAVE IT GROW, BUT AGAIN, IT IS MY SPONSORSHIP TO GO AHEAD AND SAY TO INTEGRATE IT DIRECTLY INTO ROTC. I'M JUST GOING TO GIVE YOU A PUSHBACK THAT IF THEY DON'T WANT TO DO IT AS A NATURAL FIT, THEY'LL PUSH BACK AND SAY THAT THEIR CURRICULUM DOES IT, YOU KNOW, JUST BECAUSE I'VE DEALT WITH ROTC AND APPLIED WAY. SO THERE'S A WAY OF INTEGRATING SO THAT OUR ROTC SEES THE BENEFITS AS YOU'VE PUT FORWARD, THAT THEY ARE PART OF IT. SO I THINK, LIKE MARK SAID, LET'S COME FORWARD WITH KAREN BECAUSE SHE'S BEEN WORKING ON A PLAN AND I KNOW IT'S A BIT, CYBER SECURITY IS A BIG PUSH HERE IN THE NORTH END. AND THERE'S A TEAM THAT HAVE WRITTEN UP, UH, HERE IN THE NORTH, IN A, A CURRICULUM THAT THEY'RE TRYING TO DEVELOP THEIR OWN LITTLE CYBER PRIVATE SCHOOL WORLD. AND SO WE NEED TO BE COMPETITIVE. YOU'RE RIGHT. THERE'S A, THERE'S A TERM I KNOW IN HILTON HEAD. AND I JUST BRING THAT UP BECAUSE THAT'S WHO I TALK TO. THAT'S WHO I HANG OUT WITH. UM, THERE'S A LOT OF COMMUNITY INTEREST IN DOING IT. AND IN MY OPINION, IF THE SCHOOL DOESN'T DO IT, OTHER GROUPS WILL STEP IN QUICKLY BECAUSE WITH THE CYBER SALE, THEY'RE WHAT IS IT? SOUTH COAST, SOMETHING. UM, ONE QUESTION I HAVE, DOES IT HAVE TO BE IF WE'RE GOING TO DO IT THROUGH THE SCHOOLS, WHICH IS WHERE I THINK WE SHOULD DO IT BECAUSE WE HAVE A MUCH HIGHER LIKELIHOOD OF CAPTURING A, UH, MORE DIVERSE AND EQUITABLE PARTICIPATION RATE. IF WE DO IT THROUGH THE SCHOOLS, DOES A TEACHER HAVE TO, CAN, CAN A COMMUNITY MEMBER BE A SPONSOR? YES AND NO. SO TECHNICALLY YOU STILL HAVE TO HAVE A DISTRICT PERSON BE THERE WITH OUR STUDENTS, UNLESS THAT PRINCIPAL ACTUALLY LENDS FOR THAT ALLOWANCE. UM, AND THAT EVEN GOES TO ALMOST ALL GROUPS. IF WE HAD AN OUTSIDE COMMUNITY COMING IN TO DO SOME TYPE OF WORK, WE SHOULD HAVE BY ALL PRACTICES, UM, A DISTRICT EMPLOYEE TIED TO THEM. SO THAT'S ALSO A STIPEND SCENARIO, BUT THERE'S ALSO THE OPPORTUNITY TO LOOKING AT BETTER INTEGRATION INTO OUR COMPUTER SCIENCE COURSES. SO I THINK THAT'S A CLEANER APPROACH, BUT IT TAKES TIME TO GET THOSE TEACHERS ONBOARD AS WELL. SO, BECAUSE IT'S A GREAT OPPORTUNITY AS WELL AS GOING TO THE CYBER. UM, OH MY GOD, IT'S OUTSIDE OF AUGUSTA CYBER ACADEMY OR SOMETHING I DID COLONEL GUY MAY KNOW, OR MRS. TROOPER DID A PROPER NAME, BUT, UM, THE CYBERSECURITY SITE AT THE MILITARY BASE, THEY ACTUALLY GO, THEY GET STUDENTS GET TO GO THERE AND HAVE A FULL TOUR. WELL, I KNOW SOME OF THOSE AREAS AROUND THERE ALSO DO SUMMER PROGRAMS, YOU KNOW, WHICH WOULD BE GREAT. BUT, UM, YEAH. SO WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT WHEN HAVING A DISTRICT PERSON THERE, THAT'S MORE FOR BUILDING SECURITY THAN ACTUALLY HAVING TO SIT THERE. AND BECAUSE THERE ARE RETIRED MILITARY AND RETIRED TECH PEOPLE HERE WHO WOULD DO IT, WHO WOULD SPONSOR IT. AND IF I COULD LINK THEM UP WITH ROTC AND THEY'RE ALREADY AFTERSCHOOL DOING SOMETHING ELSE, I MEAN, I DON'T KNOW. YEAH, LET'S DO THIS. LET'S, LET'S FIT KAREN GILBERT AT THE NEXT MEETING. IF WE, IF SHE'S, IF SHE'S READY AND THEN WE CAN HAVE THIS DISCUSSION, UM, WITH HER AND SHE CAN LAY OUT OUR VISION AND THEN WE CAN, UH, SEE WHAT WE NEED TO DO TO SUPPORT THAT. AND, YOU KNOW, INCLUDING, UM, GETTING COMMUNITY MEMBERS IN IF WE CAN. AND, BUT LET, LET'S LET HER GIVE US THE VISION. I DON'T MEAN TO STRONG ARM, EVERYBODY. I'M JUST TRYING [01:20:01] TO MAKE SURE WE GET THROUGH THIS AGENDA. DAVID, I THINK YOU'RE DOING AN AWESOME JOB AND YOU KEEP PEOPLE ON TRACK AND YOU BRING THINGS A GOOD POINT. AND I, IT IS A BAD HABIT OF MINE THAT I GET ON TANGENTS. SO BRING ME IN ANY TIME. WELL, I'VE DEALT WITH OTHER QUEENS DISTRICT. AND SO I KIND OF UNDERSTAND, OKAY. DISCUSSION OF FUTURE TOPICS. NOW WE HAVE ON HERE NOW, ALREADY THERE, WE'RE GOING TO BRING KAREN GILBERT IN. WE GET ENOUGH, ANOTHER UPDATE. UM, I FORGOT WHAT WE'RE GETTING OUT THERE. THERE WAS SOMETHING WE SAID, OKAY, WELL NEXT MONTH WE'RE GOING TO GET ANOTHER COMPUTER LABS AND THE RFP. YES, MA'AM SO GOOD THAT YOU'RE HERE. ROBIN, JUST FILL IN THE GAPS THAT I HAVE. UM, OKAY. ANYTHING ELSE ON FUTURE TOPICS? I WAS THINKING ABOUT, UH, ANOTHER PIECE OF TECHNOLOGY WE HAVEN'T TALKED ABOUT, BUT THAT IS OUR INTERNAL COMMUNICATIONS, OUR RADIO SYSTEMS AND OUR CELL PHONES. WE HAVE DISTRICT CELL PHONES. IT WOULD BE, UH, SOMETHING THAT SHOULD BE, WE SHOULD GET AN OVERVIEW. WHAT, WHAT, WHERE WHO'S GOT THE CELL PHONES? DO WE HAVE ONE CONTRACT? UH, HOW MANY CELL PHONES? UH, THE INTERNAL RADIO SYSTEMS. I KNOW THAT WE'VE, WE PUT, UH, NEW ANTENNAS UP, UH, TO HAVE A, KIND OF A, A, A RADIO NETWORK DIAGRAM OF WHERE ARE THE, WHERE ARE THE TRANSMITTERS AND, AND SO ON. UH, THAT WOULD BE A VERY GOOD OVERVIEW, UH, TO LET THE BOARD KNOW ABOUT THAT PIECE OF TECHNOLOGY AND ELECTROMAGNETIC MEDIC, UH, SPECTRUM. OKAY. NOW, MARK, WOULD THAT BE YOU OR ROBERT? THANK YOU. UM, YES, I WOULD PROBABLY GIVE THAT, UM, I WOULD JUST NEED TO GET WHAT ROBERT, I WORKED WITH HIM ON HOW MANY BUILDINGS HE'S GETTING DONE. UM, HE COMES BACK AND LETS US KNOW WHEN HE GETS THE REPEATERS IN PLACE SO THAT WE CAN GET THE, UH, THE NEW RADIOS OUT TO THE SCHOOLS. UM, BUT YEAH, IF I COULD GIVE SOMETHING ON THAT, UM, AND ALSO THE CELL PHONES, THAT WOULD BE A FAIRLY EASY ONE TO DISCUSS. UH, I WOULD LIKE TO, UM, AND I DON'T KNOW IF THIS IS APPROPRIATE. SO DAVID, I FULLY EXPECT YOU TO, TO, TO BLOCK THIS. I'M, I'M RELYING ON YOU. UM, BUT YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I'M LOOKING AT AS A PRECURSOR TO THIS CYBERPATRIOT OR SIMILAR PROGRAM IS E-SPORTS AND MAY RIVER HIGH SCHOOL HAS AN AWESOME E-SPORTS PROGRAM THAT GETS COLLEGE SCHOLARSHIPS, AND THEY, YOU KNOW, THE WHOLE BIT. SO I HAD TALKED TO MR. SHOHAN ABOUT WHAT IS THE HARDWARE REQUIREMENTS FOR HAVING, CAUSE THEY HAVE TO GO ON A, ON A DIFFERENT NETWORK AND THERE'S SOME OTHER STUFF, UM, IN TERMS OF EXPANDING E-SPORTS. AND IN ADDITION TO WHICH, WHEN I WAS TALKING TO THE COACH OF THE E-SPORTS, UH, PROGRAM AT MAY RIVER, HE WAS SAYING THAT, UM, ONE OF HIS, HIS DREAM IS TO HAVE THE SOUTH CAROLINA HIGH SCHOOL LEAGUE RECOGNIZED E-SPORTS AS A LEGITIMATE SPORT. MOST STATES ALREADY DO, SOUTH CAROLINA IS BEHIND IN DOING THAT. UM, SO I DON'T KNOW IF THAT'S SOMETHING THAT TECHNOLOGY COMMITTEE COULD SPEARHEAD AND LOOK INTO. CAUSE I BASICALLY I'M SAYING, IS, IS IT REALISTIC OR POSSIBLE TO START OFFERING E-SPORTS AT ALL HIGH SCHOOLS, UM, AND POSSIBLY MIDDLE SCHOOLS AS WELL. I WOULD START WITH HIGH SCHOOLS AND COME DOWN AND THEN, YOU KNOW, IS THERE ANY, UH, THING THAT WE COULD DO AS A DISTRICT TO HELP FACILITATE DISCUSSIONS WITH THE HIGH SCHOOL LEAGUE? UM, BECAUSE THEY ARE THERE AS HAVING A SON IN COLLEGE WHO'S IS A GAMER. UM, IT'S A BIG DEAL AT COLLEGES, THEIR SCHOLARSHIPS, THE KIDS, THE INTERNATIONAL KIDS IN PARTICULAR GO TO THESE COMPETITIONS. SO I THINK IT'D BE SOMETHING THAT, YOU KNOW, WOULD BE WORTHWHILE LOOKING INTO, IT'S NOT ON OUR OWN E ANYWHERE. RIGHT? YOU ANTICIPATED WHAT I WAS GOING TO SAY AND ENGAGEMENT WITH TECHNOLOGY NOW, BROADBAND EXPANSION. THEY'RE LIKE, I CAN COME UP WITH SOMETHING. YEAH. IT KIND OF LIKE THE BIBLE. YOU CAN FIND SOMETHING IN THERE. IF YOU LOOK HARD ENOUGH, UM, WOULD THAT COME UNDER ROBERT, UH, BEING OVER NO SPORTS? I'M NOT SURE WHERE THAT WOULD START. WELL, ROBERT NO LONGER IS TIED TO THE ATHLETICS IS THAT NOW HAS FALLEN UNDER STUDENT SERVICES UNDER, UM, DR. WHITE, WHO IS DIRECTLY UNDER DR. BRADLEY. [01:25:01] SO PART OF THAT IS YES. IT WOULD FALL UNDER ATHLETICS TO BE POSTURED FOR A CONVERSATION RESEARCH. YES. AND IT WOULD FALL UNDER DR. WHITE, SHE'S OUR OFFICE FOR STUDENT SERVICES. SORRY. OKAY. THAT SEEMS TO BE WHERE WE SHOULD START, UM, FOR THAT AGENDA ITEM, MAKE SURE THAT WE GET, UH, DR. WHITE INTO PUT US ON THE ROAD IN THE RIGHT WAY. OKAY. UM, I DO NOT SEE ANY OTHER, I WAS AT MY BAD. YEAH, I WAS THAT. AND IN THAT TOP, THAT TOPIC PROBABLY WE'LL CALL HIM COME UNDER FACILITIES AND THAT PROBABLY WILL COME TO WE'LL COME TO THAT RISK COMMITTEE POSSIBLY. NOW, WHILE WE'RE GOING TO PUT IT ON A FUTURE TOPIC OF, FOR THIS COMMITTEE AND THEN IF WE NEED TO BOUNCE IT OVER THERE, WE WILL. OKAY. OKAY. OKAY. ALL RIGHT. WE'LL GET THE GROUNDWORK LAID AND THEN FIGURE, I CAN'T CONVINCE MY HUSBAND TO GET ENGAGED ON E-SPORTS CAUSE HE'S, UH, YOU KNOW, SMALL TOWNS, UH, SOUTH, SOUTH GEORGIA BOY, BUT I'M TELLING YOU E-SPORTS IS A HUGE PART OF THE FUTURE FOR COLLEGE KIDS. I MEAN, IT'S THESE KIDS THAT ARE AT NORTHWESTERN, THEY COMPETE IN INTERNATIONAL TOURNAMENTS. THEY'RE RANKED, THEY SIGNED AUTOGRAPHS. LIKE THEY, IN A LOT OF THESE SCHOOLS LIKE NORTHWESTERN, LIKE UC BERKELEY, WHERE MY KIDS GO, THEY ARE, THEY HAVE STATUS LIKE QUARTERBACKS OF FOOTBALL ON THE FOOTBALL TEAM. AND SO FOR THE FACT THAT IT JUST DRIVES ME CRAZY THAT SOUTH CAROLINA IS LIKE, NOPE, BUT I GET IT. WELL, THERE'S NO PROTEIN. UM, OKAY. WHAT KINDS OF PROTEINS DAVID? I WILL SAY PROTEINS. YEAH. SEND ME A LIST BECAUSE THEY DON'T SHOW UP ON MY, UH, SPORTS FEED, HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS AT THESE TOURNAMENTS AS MILLIONS OF DOLLARS AND A FEW OF THEM. WOW. OF COURSE. I DIDN'T KNOW THAT THERE WERE PROFESSIONAL HOT DOG EATERS. I JUST FOUND OUT THAT THERE ARE PEOPLE WHO GO AROUND TO THESE HOT DOG EATING CONTEST AND THAT'S THEIR JOB AND THEY'RE SKINNY AND THEIRS AND THEIRS. YEAH. YEAH. EXCEPT FOR THAT ONE HOUR. UM, YEAH. THERE'S ALL THESE THINGS GOING ON THAT I'M NOT AWARE OF. I'M GOING TO SEND YOU GUYS STUFF ABOUT E-SPORTS YOU'LL SEE THE MONEY, THE PARTICIPATION IN THE YOUNGER GENERATION. ALL RIGHT. YOUR CONNECTION. ALL RIGHT. CAN WE ADJOURN ANY ONE OBJECT? THIS WAS A GREAT MEAL. I LEARNED A LOT. WE'RE ON TIME AND NOW WE HAVE 30 MINUTES TO GET ORGANIZED FOR THE FINANCE. THANKS DAVID. THANKS EVERYBODY. * This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting.