[00:00:10]
AND THEY JOIN AS I SEE YOU FOR COUNTY SCHOOL BOARD MEETING MAY 21.
AND, UH, THE ONLY WE DO THIS MEETING EVERY YEAR.
WELL, I'VE BEEN A KIND OF CHANNEL.
IS, IS REMOTE, REMOTE, CONTROLLING THIS OR WHAT? UM, YES.
SO IT'S BEING SHOWN THROUGH REMOTE HYBRID.
I CAN'T TELL IF THEY'RE ON YET.
BUT IT WILL BE LIVE STREAM BY THE KIND OF GAP, UH, COUNCIL.
AND, UH, OUR AGENDA IS, IS PRIMARILY A LITTLE BIT DEVIATED, UH, DIFFERENT FROM WHAT IT HAS BEEN.
BUT, UH, THE ONLY WAY WE GOING TO DO TOPICS THAT HAVE BEEN SUBMITTED BY THE, BY THE SIC IS YEAH, WELL, FOUR QUESTIONS THAT WE'VE NARROWED DOWN.
UH, MOST OF THE INTEREST HAS BEEN THERE WITH THE FOUR TOPICS AND WE'RE GOING TO DO BREAKOUT SESSIONS.
AND I THINK IF YOU'RE REGISTERED EARLIER, YOU REGISTERED FOR ONE OF THOSE SESSIONS.
SO AS, UH, YOU KNOW, I DID, I, I REGISTERED FOR THE HIGH SCHOOL CAUSE THAT'S WHERE MY EXPERIENCE WAS.
I HAPPENED, EVERYBODY SHOULD HAVE REGISTERED FOR EITHER ELEMENTARY, MIDDLE OR HIGH SCHOOL.
DO WE HAVE A COUNT ON HOW MANY PEOPLE WE HAVE ROBERT? UM, NOT YET.
UM, LET'S SEE, MR. CAMPBELL DOWN AT THE BOTTOM 48, 48, BUT YEAH, SOME OF THEM, MOST OF THEM.
SO THAT'S, THAT'S STILL A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT.
SO FIGURE WE WERE GOING TO BREAK INTO MAYBE 3, 3, 1 DOZEN GROUP OF, OF SIC PEOPLE PROBABLY, BUT BEFORE WE GET STARTED, LET'S DO OUR DUE DILIGENCE.
I PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND TO THE REPUBLIC FOR WHICH IT STANDS ONE NATION UNDER GOD, INDIVISIBLE WITH LIBERTY AND JUSTICE FOR ALL.
SO YOU HAVE, UH, SIMPLY SIC CHAIRS THAT WILL INTRODUCE THEIR PARTICULAR GROUP OR FOR INSTANCE, BOARD MEMBERS.
CAN WE APPROVE THE AGENDA? OKAY.
CAN WE HAVE A MOTION TO APPROVE THE AGENDA? I KNOW THAT WE APPROVE THE AGENDA.
THEY WAS EVERY JURY, JURY, THE EMOTION.
ANY QUESTIONS READY FOR THE VOTE? ALL IN FAVOR? YES.
DICK GOT HIS HANDS UP AND DAVID, SO, OKAY.
WE HAVE SEVEN YESES, ZERO NOSE, AND THE OTHERS ARE ABSENT.
I GUESS YOU GOT SOME KIND OF A, UH, STATIC ROBIN.
I'M THE VICE CHAIR OF THE BOARD.
AND I WOULD, CHAIR IS NOT WITH US TONIGHT, BUT UH, GENERALLY WE DO THIS EVERY YEAR.
THIS IS MY THIRD TIME DOING IT.
[00:05:01]
I LIKE TO LEAN ON DAVID AND OTHER BOARD MEMBERS WHO HAVE BEEN HERE LONGER THAN I GUESS, DAVID ON THE PROCESS.BUT JOLLY, WE, WE, UH, HAVE QUESTIONS FROM THE SIC.
THAT'S HOW I WAS ONE MINUTE AT SIC SUBMITTED QUESTIONS.
WE NARROWED THEM DOWN TO WE'RE ALL FOUR QUESTIONS THIS TIME AND KIND OF COVERING MOST OF THE, MOST OF THE THOUGHT PROCESS THAT WAS SET THEN.
SO, UH, PEOPLE WHO HAD IT JUST, I THINK WE ADDRESSING THEIR INTEREST IN THE METHOD TO THE MADNESS AS WE BREAK INTO BREAKOUT SESSIONS.
AND THEY, UH, THE QUESTIONS ARE PRESENTED IN THE DOOR AS DISCUSSED THAT SOMEONE THERE TAKES NOTES FROM EACH SESSION AND THEY BRING IT BACK TO THE GREATER GROUP AND WE DISCUSS THE RESULTS.
THAT'S GENERALLY HOW IT'S DONE.
ANYBODY WANT TO CHIME IN OR SOMETHING ELSE THAT I MAY HAVE MISSED, BUT WE LEAN ON BOARD MEMBERS IN THOSE BREAKOUT SESSIONS FOR, FOR COMMENT OR SUGGESTIONS.
BUT GENERALLY THE BREAKOUT SESSION IS THE DISCUSSION OF THE DIFFERENT SIC MEMBERS WHO WERE OVERLAPPING AND TRYING TO COME UP WITH SOME SUPPORT FOR WHAT THEY FEEL NECESSARY AS BOARD ACTION.
BUT, UH, WE DON'T VOTE ON ANYTHING TONIGHT ON WHAT WE GOING TO DO.
I DON'T THINK IS THAT RIGHT? THAT'S TRUE.
PLUS THE IDEAS THAT ARE PRESENTED AND TRY TO TRY TO ACTUALLY, UH, ALLOW COMFORT COMFORTABLE IN THIS DISCUSSION.
I SHOULD SAY DISCUSSION WHERE PEOPLE FEEL LIKE IT'S BEING ADDRESSED AND WE HAVE A QUORUM.
I WANT TO KNOW WHAT BOARD MEMBERS ARE HERE.
TINA SIGNED ON GINA'S NAME WAS PULLED UP FOR THE, LET ME, LET ME, LET ME, LET ME CHECK IT.
UH, WELL, CAMPBELL CATHETER ROLL BY INGRID BOAT RIDE.
SHOULD'VE BEEN DOING DNS AND ALL.
SO THE ONLY SIX, SO THAT'S NOT COOL.
UH WHO'S PLUS TINA'S NOT HERE.
SO WE ONLY HAVE SIX, RIGHT? YEAH.
SO THEY CAN'T, HE CAN'T HAVE ANY ACTION.
I THOUGHT IT WAS PLUS ONE, WHICH SHOULDN'T MAKE IT LIKE HALF PLUS ONE.
MAYBE LIKE SIX AND A HALF TRADITIONALLY PHONE.
THAT BEING THE CASE THEN SIC IS BEING REPRESENTED THERE.
DO WE KNOW WHO THEY ARE? UM, DOES ANYBODY WANT TO SPEAK FOR THAT PARTICULAR SIC SPEAKING FOR BLUFFTON HIGH IS IN THE HOUSE.
THE BOBCAT'S A ACADEMY IS HERE.
WELL IT'S OH, I KNOW WHAT IT IS.
IS THAT SHIELD THING? I'M NOT SURE EXACTLY.
NO, I KNOW WHERE THE RAIDERS, BUT DO YOU CALL HER A LITTLE GUY? YEAH, YEAH, YEAH.
REALLY? THE SHIELD IS SO BALI.
ANYBODY ELSE? WELL, BRANCH WARRIORS ARE HERE.
[00:10:01]
MOORE PRINCIPAL IN THE WHALE BRANCH ELEMENTARY, ELEMENTARY, ELEMENTARY, K ENTERING HILTON HEAD ISLAND, MIDDLE SCHOOL.WHEELER BRANCH ELEMENTARY, SHELL BRISBANE CHOPS ELEMENTARY.
SO WE HAVE RILEY ELEMENTARY SCHOOL.
MICHAEL C. RILEY EAGLES, MIDDLE SCHOOL HERE AS WELL.
ELEMENTARY HELPING HEAD ELEMENTARY.
WE HAVE BEAUTIFUL HIGH SCHOOL BATTERY CREEK HIGH SCHOOL IS HERE.
SO WE ALL, I JUST WANTED TO MAKE SURE WE HAD ENOUGH PEOPLE TO BREAK INTO THOSE BREAKOUT GROUPS.
AND I'M SURE MOST OF YOU SELECTED THE GROUPS THAT YOU WERE PART OF THE SPLIT OF YOUR HIGH SCHOOL.
UH, AS I SEE YOU PROBABLY GO INTO A HIGH SCHOOL BREAKOUT SO EVERYBODY COULD HAVE OPPORTUNITY TO PRESENT THEIR OPINIONS.
SO, UH, ROBIN, WHAT'S OUR COURSE OF ACTION.
NOW YOU GO INTO A SIGN, WE'LL BREAK OUT INTO YOUR, THEY'LL LET YOU INTO YOUR GROUPS NOW WE'LL DO THE BREAKOUTS.
HAVE THOSE ASSIGNMENTS CLARE ON TRENDS OF BOARD MEMBERS.
THEY SHOULD HAVE DONE IT WHEN THEY REGISTERED.
UM, JUST FOR EVERYONE LISTENING IN CASE YOU DO NOT, FOR WHATEVER REASON, MAKE IT INTO THE RIGHT ROOM.
THERE SHOULD BE A BUTTON THAT SAYS, UH, LEAVE BREAKOUT ROOM.
AND THAT WILL TAKE YOU BACK INTO THE MAIN ROOM.
UM, FROM THERE YOU CAN LET ME KNOW WHICH ONE YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO GO TO AND I CAN FIX IT FROM THERE.
UM, WE'LL GO TO THE BREAKOUT ROOMS. MR. CAMPBELL, MR. CAMPBELL.
I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE, UM, IF SOMEONE GOING INTO THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, IS THERE A BOARD MEMBER THAT'S GOING TO GO INTO THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL BREAK UP.
LET ME MAKE SURE EARL CAMPBELL IS GOING TO THE ELEMENTARY.
WE GOT BOARD MEMBERS EVERYWHERE.
YOU WERE GOING TO MIDDLE SCHOOL, I ASSUME.
KATHY'S GOING TO THE MIDDLE SCHOOL AND I'LL BE JOINING YOU IN THE HIGH SCHOOL.
SO, UH, LET US KNOW WHEN YOU, WHEN YOU GET THAT DOWN.
SO SHE HAS EVERYONE SEPARATED.
EVERYONE, FOR SOME REASON, WHEN YOU REGISTERED, YOU SHOULD HAVE PICKED A ROOM TO JOIN.
SO IF YOU COULD GIVE ME ONE SECOND, I'M GOING TO HAVE TO FILTER THROUGH ALL OF YOU TO ASSIGN YOU TO A ROOM.
THANK YOU FOR THAT'S YOUR SOUL.
[00:15:01]
EVERYONE SAYS THE BREAKOUT ROOMS, UH, UM, ASSIGNMENT DID NOT WORK.COULD YOU PLEASE RENAME YOURSELF WITH YOUR SCHOOL? LIKE SOME OF YOU HAD ALREADY DONE.
UM, I SEE LUMPED IN HIGH BLUFFTON MIDDLE.
IF YOU COULD JUST PUT THE NAME OF YOUR SCHOOL IN FRONT OF YOUR NAME SO I CAN ASSIGN YOU TO A ROOM.
I'M HERE AT THE HIGH SCHOOL AND EVERYBODY ELSE HERE.
I DON'T KNOW IF HE GOT MORE TO JOIN US OR NOT.
WHAT'D YOU ONLY SIX HIGH SCHOOLS.
SO WE'RE A SMALL BUT PLUCKY GROUP, RIGHT? FROM MY ABROAD, MORE PEOPLE WITH THEM THOUGH.
SO MORE PEOPLE MIGHT BE ADDED AS WE GO ALONG.
SINCE THEY HAD TO GO THROUGH SO MANY PARTICIPANTS, IT SOUNDED LIKE THERE WERE MORE HIGH SCHOOLS.
SO THE BISHOP, SO MY CALLER ON THE PHONE AND ALL THAT IS I THINK THE NEW, SORRY.
LET'S HAVE THEM AS TO THE PHONE.
AFTER THEY CEMENT MADELINE WITH GRASS, WE SEE THAT THEY'RE ON ALSO WITH DICK GUY WITH A JOIN US.
I GUESS WE CAN BEGIN, UH, BY, YOU KNOW, IF YOU WANT TO INTRODUCE YOURSELF FINE.
BUT I THINK EVERYBODY KNOWS WHO I AM AN ANGRY GUY, BUT THE EDUCATORS, DO YOU KNOW EACH OTHER, STEVE CHICKEN IS EDDIE.
YOU KNOW, ALL THE OTHER ADMINISTRATORS, ET CETERA.
I DO KNOW, UH, MR. LAZARD AND I KNOW MS. CARTLIDGE SO YEAH.
MS. VAUGHN IS MS. VAUGHN, THE SIC CHAIR OR THE PRINCIPAL? I'M SORRY.
UH, WELL BLANCHE THAT'S RIGHT.
SO WHO'S MISSING, UH, RON, I'M THE LEAD SCHOOL COUNSELOR AT WHALE BRANCH.
UM, ONE OF THE ASSISTANT PRINCIPALS, I THINK STEVE KNOWS ME AS WELL.
HE WAS AT MAY RIVER LAST YEAR AND HE WAS THERE WHEN I WAS AT BLUFFTON MIDDLE.
SO ANTHONY AND I HAD MET EACH OTHER A COUPLE OF TIMES.
SO I HAD THE, I, I DIDN'T HAVE MY READING GLASSES ON AT THAT TIME.
BISHOP ALEX BISHOP, WAS HE ON, WHAT WAS HE? OH, I SEE THE NATIONAL MAN IN MINISTRY.
HE'S THE INTERNATIONAL MAN OF MYSTERY.
WELL, WE BETTER NOT SAY ANYTHING ELSE THAT YOU HAVEN'T GONE ANYWAY.
WE HAVE SOME, SOME QUESTIONS THAT WERE SUBMITTED.
I DON'T KNOW IF, IF YOU GOT THIS INFORMATION OR NOT, BUT IT SHOULD HAVE THE QUESTIONS ALREADY
[00:20:01]
BEFORE YOU, OR DO YOU HAVE THEM? OKAY, SO WE LEAVE A RECORDER, SOMEONE WHO WAITS WELL, SPEECH.WELL, I DO NEITHER OF THOSE THINGS, BUT I'M HAPPY TO RECORD, BUT I DON'T KNOW IF I MEET THE MINIMUM REQUIRED THAT YOU'LL DO, IF YOU DID THE MINIMUM REQUIREMENT.
THAT IS, UM, AND WE, WE LIKE TO, YOU KNOW, TALK ABOUT PROCESS, I GUESS WE GOING TO JUST GO 1, 2, 3, 4, AND THEN THEY WILL CHIME IN AND TALK ABOUT WHAT THEIR THOUGHTS ARE ON THESE QUESTIONS.
IS THAT OKAY WITH EVERYONE? YES, SIR.
AND THE FIRST QUESTION I WILL SEE THEM.
WELL, YEAH, I DON'T HAVE IT FOR ME, BUT IT'S EASY USING A RECENT SURVEY AS A REFERENCE, YOU KNOW, IS THERE A PLAN? I DON'T KNOW THE WORDS, CAUSE I DON'T HAVE THE WORDS IN FRONT OF ME.
IS THERE A PLAN TO GO YEAR AROUND? WHATEVER I THOUGHT ABOUT GOING ER, OUT OF SCHOOLING AND I'M SURE YO GUYS GOT MORE PLANNED AND MORE THOUGHTS ABOUT IT THAN I DO.
I, I WOULD LIKE TO SPEAK, ADDRESS THAT, BUT THAT'S OKAY.
CERTAINLY, UH, THE PROBLEM, I KNOW WE'RE SORT OF IN A BIND BECAUSE OF THE STRICT, THE, WE CAN'T START EARLY BECAUSE OF THE STATE LAW.
UM, I'M NOT SURE HOW IT CAN WORK WITH HIGH SCHOOLS, ESPECIALLY A SCHOOL LIKE OURS AT BLUFFTON HIGH IS, UH, WE DO A LOT OF AP TESTING.
UH, WE USUALLY TEST MORE ABOUT 500 STUDENTS PLUS, AND UH, WE ALSO HAVE LIKE A LOT OF THE DUAL ENROLLMENT STUDENTS.
UH, IF WE DON'T START THAT SPRING SEMESTER, RIGHT IN JANUARY, UH, STUDENTS THAT ARE DUAL ENROLLMENT HAVE TO FINISH UP FINALS WHILE THEY'RE TRYING TO TAKE THEIR START, THEIR COLLEGE COURSES, THE, A CLOT FOR THE AP TEST STARTS RIGHT THEN.
AND WE CAN'T CHANGE THE TEST STATE.
AND SO, UH, STARTING LATER THAN JANUARY, UH, PUTS US BEHIND THE EIGHT BALL ON AP.
UH, I DON'T KNOW A GOOD WAY AROUND THAT.
UH, IT ALSO AFFECTS, UH, IF YOU START AFTER DECEMBER TECHS, EARLY GRADUATES OR THE GRADUATES, A LOT OF THEM WANT TO GRADUATE AND GO TO COLLEGE.
WELL, IF THEY HAVE TO STAY IN SCHOOL ANOTHER TWO WEEKS AFTER IN JANUARY, THEIR SCHOOLS HAVE ALREADY STARTED.
SO, UM, THOSE ARE SOME OF THE THINGS AND HOW THAT CHANGING THE SCHEDULE THAT WE HAVE FROM NOW WHERE WE HAVE TWO SEMESTERS SEPARATED BY CHRISTMAS BREAK.
THOSE ARE SOME OF THE THINGS THAT WOULD HARM US.
AND I THINK, UH, THEY'LL TRY, MAN.
I THINK YOU'VE HIT SOME OF THE KEY POINTS THAT WERE MENTIONED AMONGST US BOARD MEMBERS AND DOCTOR DR.
RODRIGUEZ, WHY IT'S VERY EMPOWERFUL FOR HIGH SCHOOL.
AND NOW THOUGH, SOME PEOPLE MIGHT HAVE A DIFFERENT THOUGHT ON IT.
AND IF ANY OTHER INPUT DISCUSSION, UM, YOU KNOW, UH, PAYBACK THAT WE HAVE, WE'RE AN IB SCHOOL AND THE SAME THING, WE HAVE THE IB EXAMS AND, YOU KNOW, IN MAY, UM, YOU KNOW, SO, YOU KNOW, EXTENDING THE SCHOOL YEAR, YOU KNOW, AND GIVING US LESS REVIEW DAYS, YOU KNOW, GETTING THE KIDS READY FOR THOSE IB EXAMS, WHAT HURT US TO KNOW? AND I, I WOULD LIKE TO ECHO AS WELL.
WE DO CAMBRIDGE AND WE HAVE THE SAME THING.
CAUSE OUR TEST DATES FALL AROUND THE SAME TIME AS THE AP AND THE IB.
UM, AND WE HAVE THE DUAL ENROLLMENT.
WE ALSO HAVE STUDENTS THAT CHOOSE TO GO INTO THE MILITARY AND MANY OF THEM HAVE TO REPORT FOR LIKE BASIC TRAINING IN JANUARY.
AND SO WE RAN INTO THAT WITH SOME OF OUR DECEMBER GRADUATES.
IT WAS HAMILTON AS YOU WANT TO SAY SOMETHING.
I WANTED TO ASK WHEN WE DID THIS BEFORE, WERE OUR HIGH SCHOOLS NOT INCLUDED AS A PART OF THIS, WE HAD CERTAIN SCHOOLS THAT WERE YEAR ROUND, BUT THE WHOLE DISTRICT WAS NOT NO.
AND I'M SURE THAT WOULD BE THE THOUGHT NOW, BUT WE DO HAVE TO DISCUSS THE TRUCK DOOR.
THEY'RE COMPETENT FROM A PRO STANDPOINT.
SO THE HIGH SCHOOLS PRESENT THEIR ARGUMENT OF WHY THEY PROBABLY WOULD NOT BE SELECTED TO GO YEAR ROUND.
THE OTHER THING IS IT'S TALKING ABOUT THE IMPLEMENTATION BECAUSE SOME DISTRICTS IMPLEMENTED DIFFERENTLY, WHEREAS BEFORE WE STARTED OFF WHERE YOU HAD NINE WEEKS ON THREE WEEKS OFF AND THEN AS YOU CONTINUED IT, THE OFF WEEKS GOT SHORTER AND SHORTER UNTIL YOU GOT DOWN TO ONE WEEK.
I DON'T REMEMBER THE FORMAT, BUT I, I KNEW IT WAS SOMETHING LIKE THAT
[00:25:01]
ON, OFF ON OFF.AND THOSE, THOSE DAYS WERE ATTRACTED TO PEOPLE WHO WERE IN THAT, UH, PROCESS, BUT I WAS IN HIGH SCHOOL, SO WE DIDN'T DO IT.
I HAVE A QUESTION FOR THE, UH, PEOPLE PRESENT.
UM, WE TALKED A LOT ABOUT THE CALENDAR, ONE OF THE THINGS, AND I HAVE HIGH SCHOOL AGED KIDS WAS TO NOT, THERE WAS SOME DEBATE ABOUT WHETHER OR NOT WE SHOULD EXTEND THE CALENDAR PAST JANUARY.
SO THAT YOUR, THIS SEMESTER YOU WOULD GO ON CHRISTMAS BREAK AND THEN COME BACK AND HAVE A WEEK OR TWO OF THE FIRST SEMESTER, WHICH I THOUGHT WAS REALLY PROBLEMATIC FOR HIGH SCHOOL.
UM, KIDS, WOULD YOU GUYS, WOULD YOU GUYS SAY FROM A HIGH SCHOOL PERSPECTIVE, IT'S IMPORTANT THAT THE FIRST SEMESTER END BEFORE CHRISTMAS BREAK? YES MA'AM YES.
I THINK THAT THE KNOWLEDGE THAT THE RETENTION OF KNOWLEDGE, YOU KNOW, GETS DIMINISHED OVER CHRISTMAS.
UM, BUT EVEN EXTENDING IT, I, YOU KNOW, AS YOU KNOW, DENISE AND, UM, UM, NOT JUST A DUSKY SAID, WE HAVE SOME OF THOSE DUAL ENROLLMENT KIDS THAT START SCHOOL, YOU KNOW, PROBABLY THAT FIRST OR SECOND WEEK OF JANUARY.
SO THEY'LL BE TAKING FINAL EXAMS IN OUR CLASSES FOR THE FIRST SEMESTER.
AND THEN I'LL GET A LITTLE HAIRY.
AND AS A FOLLOWUP TO THAT, I KNOW NATIONWIDE, THERE'S AN ISSUE WITH, UM, ABSENTEE TEACHERS BECAUSE LIKE, UH, THE FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 12TH, RIGHT.
THEY HAD THURSDAY OFF AND THEN A LOT OF PEOPLE WANT, MAKE SENSE, WANT TO MAKE A FOUR DAY WEEKEND.
UM, DO YOU THINK THAT WE SHOULD LOOK AT REARRANGING THE CALENDAR? SO WE DON'T HAVE THE SORT OF ONE DAY ARE, YOU KNOW, WHERE THERE'S A BIGGER GAPS OF TIME.
SO TEACHERS AREN'T TRYING TO CALL IN SUBS AS MUCH.
IS THERE ANY VALIDITY TO THAT DISCUSSION? DID ANYBODY ELSE HAVE PROBLEMS IN HIGH SCHOOL WITH KIDS OR, BUT TEACHERS ALL ASKING FOR FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 12TH OFF? I, I, WE DIDN'T HAVE THE ISSUE, BUT I THINK IT IS AWKWARD IN THE SCHEDULE TO HAVE A DAY OFF ON LIKE A TUESDAY OR THURSDAY WHERE THEN YOU WOULD HAVE TO COME BACK FOR ONE DAY.
SO WE, WE FIGURED IT OUT AT OUR SCHOOL.
UM, I DON'T KNOW HOW THE OTHER SCHOOLS WERE.
I'LL GO AWAY FROM THE TOPIC NOW AND GET INTO ALL OF THE POSSIBLE THINGS WE COULD TALK ABOUT TONIGHT.
CAN I GO AHEAD? I DID HAVE A CA I DO THINK DR.
SANDUSKY BROUGHT UP THE POINT ABOUT THAT START DATE THAT IS MANDATED BY STATE LAW.
THAT IS PROBLEMATIC BECAUSE HAVING THE 85 DAY FALL SEMESTER AND THE 95 DATE SPRING SEMESTER PUTS THESE FALSE STUDENTS AT A REAL DISADVANTAGE, PARTICULARLY IN THE AREAS OF THE EOC CLASSES.
THOSE TEACHERS ARE LOSING 10 INSTRUCTIONAL DAYS, UM, BEFORE THE STUDENTS HAVE TO TEST, WHICH CAN SIGNIFICANTLY IMPACT.
UM, SO THAT IS SOMETHING I DON'T KNOW WHAT KIND OF, UM, CONVERSATIONS MAY BE HAPPENING AT THE STATE LEVEL.
BUT IF THAT, THAT DELAYED START DATE IN AUGUST DOES MAKE IT AWKWARD.
CAUSE I THINK THE DECEMBER BREAK SPLIT OF THE SEMESTERS IS CRITICAL, BUT THEN WE HAVE TO LOOK AT HOW DO YOU GET 90 DAYS IN BEFORE THAT? I JUST WANT TO TELL YOU THAT THE ACTUAL QUESTION WAS NOT JUST ABOUT YEAR-ROUND SCHOOL.
IT WAS, UH, USING THE RECENT CALENDAR SURVEY AS A REFERENCE POINT.
IT WOULD APPEAR THAT THE BEAVER COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT COMMITTEE IS LOOKING FOR EXTENDED BREAKS THROUGHOUT THE SCHOOL YEARS TO ACCOMMODATE THE BREAKS A YEAR ROUND CALENDAR SEEMS TO BE A VIABLE OPTION, BUT I WAS KIND OF WONDERING, CAUSE I KNOW SOME SCHOOLS, THEY HAD TO CANCEL SCHOOL, THEY'RE HAVING TO, YOU KNOW, AROUND THANKSGIVING OR THESE OTHER HOLIDAYS BECAUSE THEY NEED, THEY DON'T HAVE ENOUGH SUBS.
SO I WAS JUST WONDERING IF THAT WAS SOMETHING THAT WE WERE DEALING WITH AT BUFORD COUNTY, BUT IT'S BEYOND YEAR-ROUND SCHOOL.
NO, I JUST THINK THAT, THAT THAT'S, I DON'T KNOW IF THAT IS A PROBLEM FOR BEAVER COUNTY SCHOOLS.
I WAS KIND OF INTERESTED IN HEARING.
AND YOU MENTIONED SOMETHING ABOUT THE 85 95 DAYS, RIGHT? I, YOU KNOW, I DON'T KNOW, STATISTICALLY, I DON'T KNOW IF THE NUMBERS, YOU KNOW, SUPPORT 90, 90 ANY BETTER BECAUSE OF THE WAY.
THERE ARE A LOT MORE TESTING DAYS IN THE SPRING BECAUSE, SO WE ACTUALLY LOSE FIVE ADDITIONAL DAYS IN THE SPRING THAT WE DON'T HAVE THAT WE DON'T LOSE IN THE FALL BECAUSE OF, UH, MANDATED TESTING.
SO, UH, THEY'RE NOT AS OUT OF BALANCE AS YOU WOULD THINK.
UM, ALSO IN THE PAST WE HAVE SPLIT, UH, THE, UM, WE'VE HAD HAD EOC WHEN WE'VE DONE, YOU KNOW, SPLIT THE SEMESTER AND AFTER SCREEN SPRING BREAK AND THE SCORES WERE LOWER THAN THEY WERE WHEN WE WENT BACK.
SO IT DEFINITELY HURT OUR EOC SCORES, SPLITTING THOSE SPLITTING THE SEMESTER.
SO YOU HAD LOWER SCORES IF YOU HAD THE JANUARY.
YEAH, BECAUSE LOSE IT LIKE STEVE SAID.
[00:30:01]
UH, I, I TAUGHT MATH FOR YEARS AND I KNOW THE ELC SCORES.I MEAN, IT'S JUST, IT'S JUST A DIFFERENT DYNAMICS THE FIRST SEMESTER OF THE FALL SEMESTER THAN IT IS IN THE SPRING.
IT'S JUST SO MUCH STUFF GOING ON.
WHEN THE WEATHER CHANGES, YOU DON'T GET NEARLY AS MUCH DONE COROLLA.
YOUR BANG FOR YOUR BUCK IS NOT THE SAME.
THE OTHER ISSUE THAT WHERE, WHERE WE'RE NOT DISCUSSING THAT WE NEED TO, I, I KNOW WE KEEP TALKING ABOUT DOC, WE TALK ABOUT API IB.
BUT THE ONE THING THAT I THINK IS ALSO A PRO IT'S PROBLEMATIC, BUT IT HASN'T BEEN DURING THE PANDEMIC IS, IS THAT, YOU KNOW, IF YOU HAVE 85 DAYS IN THE FALL AND YOU HAVE 95 DAYS IN THE SPRING BASED UPON C REQUIREMENTS, YOU'RE MANDATED BY THE STATE, YOU KNOW, YOU ONLY HAVE FIVE WINTER WIGGLE IN THE FIRST SEMESTER.
YOU HAVE 10 AT THE SECOND, YOU'RE GOING TO SEE A HIGHER NUMBER OF FAILURES BECAUSE OF A TENANT AT THE FIRST SEMESTER THAT YOU PUT IN THE SECOND SEMESTER.
SO THAT'S W THAT WAS SOME OF THE ARGUMENTS OF EXTENDING IT INTO JANUARY.
IF THAT FIRST WEEK WAS BECAUSE OF ALLOWING THAT THE 90, 90 SPLIT.
SO YOU HAVE SOME EQUITY THERE BETWEEN THE TWO SEMESTERS.
UM, BUT AGAIN, YOU KNOW, YOU GET LEARNING LOSS THAT HAPPENS OVER THE, OVER THE BAKE.
SO IT'S, IT'S, IT'S A CATCH 22.
UM, YOU CAN LOOK AT THAT AND SEE, YOU KNOW, WE CAN ASK DANIEL, LOOK AT THAT AND SEE HOW, WHAT THE NUMBERS REALLY SHOW, YOU KNOW, I MEAN, IT WAS GREATER IN THE SPRING.
THE, YOU KNOW, TEND TO BE GREATER IN THE SPRING ANYWAY, THAT IS IN THE FIRST SEMESTER.
SO WE CAN HAVE HIM LOOK AT THAT AND TRY TO DESIGN SOMETHING THAT'S EQUITABLE FROM OUR PERSPECTIVE.
UM, ANYTHING ELSE FOR THE FLAVOR OF THE CONVERSATION? CAN I MAKE THEM COME IN? UH, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT BOTHERED ME ABOUT THIS IS, OF COURSE THE STATE LAW IS ABSOLUTELY STUPID, BUT I'VE UNDERSTOOD THAT.
YEAH, I UNDERSTAND THERE ARE SCHOOLS IN THIS STATE THAT ARE GOING AROUND THAT BY HAVING, BY SAYING THAT THEY ARE YOU'RE AROUND SCHOOLS.
SO I THINK IT'S, UH, YOU KNOW, TOMATO, TOMATO, YOU, YOU GOTTA, YOU GOTTA FIGURE OUT, MAYBE WE CAN START TO SEEM TO, THE SIMPLEST SOLUTION IS TO START A WEEK OR TWO EARLIER THAN WE START RIGHT NOW AND GET 90, 90 BEFORE CHRISTMAS AND 99 AND 90 AFTERWARDS.
SO I THINK IT'S STILL SOME SEMATIC THAT WE NEED TO, WE NEED TO LOOK AT IT FROM A POLITICAL STANDPOINT TO GET AROUND THE LAW.
AND BY SAYING WE ARE YEAR-ROUND SCHOOLS QUOTE, AND WE START AND HAVE DIFFERENT HAVE, YOU KNOW, DIFFERENT, UH, BREAKS BECAUSE OF THAT.
UH, I THINK THAT'S HOW WE COULD, WE COULD DO THIS.
I BELIEVE, I THINK THAT WAS BROUGHT UP BEFORE, OFF ON THE THING ABOUT IT IS THE POLITICS INVOLVED IN OUR COMMUNITY WHEN YOU'RE, WHEN YOU'RE, WHEN YOU START EARLIER, ESPECIALLY THE HIGH SCHOOL, THEIR HIGH SCHOOL CHILDREN ARE WORKING IN THE SUMMERTIME AND THEY WANT TO WORK.
AND OUR WHOLE RESORT INDUSTRY DEPENDS ON THAT EXTENDED WORKFORCE THROUGH THAT TIME PERIOD.
THAT'S, THAT'S THE OTHER ISSUE.
THAT'S NOT PROBABLY GOING TO EVER BE DISCUSSED IN WITH PARENTS OVER A PUBLIC FORUM, BUT THAT'S THE OTHER ISSUE.
UM, AND HOW DO WE GET AROUND THAT? I DON'T KNOW, BUT I MEAN, I'M SURE THEY GET, WE CAN DESIGN A CALENDAR AND SAY THIS YEAR AROUND, I DON'T KNOW IF IT FITS THE STATE REQUIREMENT OR NOT, BUT WHERE WE, WE, WE CAN, YOU KNOW, CIRCUMVENT THAT START DATE, BUT THAT'S, THAT'S SOMETHING THAT, THAT IS, THERE'S ALWAYS A DISCUSSION.
WE BETTER MOVE ON TO THE NEXT QUESTION.
I AIN'T READY TO SAY SOMETHING ABOUT HOW WILL THE DISTRICT MAKE CHANGES TO IMPROVE THE RECRUITMENT? HOW WILL THE DISTRICT MAKE CHANGES TO IMPROVE THE RECRUITMENT RETENTION OF QUALITY TEACHERS WITH THE RISING COST OF LIVING IN THE AREA? IS THE DISTRICT CONSIDERING AN INCREASE IN COLA SALARIES FOR TEACHERS COST OF LIVING OR SALARIES? YEAH.
I'M NOT SURE THEY CAN GO ANYWHERE WITH THAT CONVERSATION.
THAT'S ALL ON US PRIMARILY, I SUPPOSE.
RIGHT? WELL, WE ARE DOING THE, THE TEACHER SALARY SURVEY.
IN FACT, I THINK IF SOMETHING WAS SENT OUT.
AND FRANKLY, EVEN BALKED ON THAT SURVEY AS A WAY OF GETTING
[00:35:01]
GATHERING DATA SO HE CAN SUPPORT SOME EFFORT TO, TO YEAH.THAT'S, THAT'S A BIGGIE, BUT YOU KNOW, YOU JUST CAN INCREASE SALARY.
YOU CAN'T JUST PRINT MONEY, YOU GOTTA HAVE THE MONEY TO INCREASE THE SALARY.
SO THAT'S THE OTHER, OTHER ELEPHANT OF THE RUMOR AND A STATE AS VERY, VERY TIGHT IN TERMS OF THEIR ALLOWANCES, YOU KNOW, CORRECT ME IF I'M WRONG.
I DIDN'T MEAN TO CUT YOU OFF THERE NOW, BUT CORRECT ME IF I'M WRONG, DENISE.
BUT WE HAD THAT MEETING TODAY WITH PRINCIPALS AND I WAS ON THE IMPRESSION, THE SALARY SURVEYS, NOT FOR TEACHERS, RIGHT.
IT IS FOR CLASSIFIED STAFF AND MAN, AND I THINK THAT'S IT.
SO I ONLY DO THE SALARY SURVEY PERTAINS TO TEACHERS THE WAY IT WAS BECAUSE THERE'S TWO SEPARATE ONES.
THAT'S, THAT'S, EVERYBODY'S GOING TO BE SURVEYED IS THAT IT'S A COMPREHENSIVE STUDY IN TERMS OF THE EMPLOYMENT COMPENSATION.
AND I CAN SPEAK ON THAT A LITTLE BIT BECAUSE I'M IN THE OPERATIONS COMMITTEE WE WANTED TO DO ACROSS THE BOARD COMPENSATION SALARY, BUT ELLIS WALTON SAID WE HAD TO BREAK IT INTO TWO PIECES BECAUSE OF THE WAY THE STATE PAYS IT.
SO WE'RE DOING, WE'RE IN THE SWING OF DOING THE COMPENSATION ANALYSIS FOR ADMINISTRATIVE AND CLASSIFIED STAFF, BUT RIGHT BEHIND THAT IS COMING THE CERTIFIED STAFF AS WELL.
BUT WE HAD TO BREAK THEM INTO TWO SEPARATE AND I THINK, AND I CAN GO BACK AND CHECK, BUT THERE WAS AN EMAIL THAT WENT OUT SPECIFICALLY TO TEACHERS THAT WE'VE HIRED NOW, UH, MTG, WHICH I DON'T, I THINK THAT'S JUST GETTING STARTED.
MY QUESTION FOR, UM, FOR SCHOOL PERSONNEL IS HOW BIG A FACTOR IS SALARY IN TEACHER RETENTION.
ARE THERE OTHER THINGS THAT THE DISTRICT CAN BE LOOKING AT TO, TO ENCOURAGE RECRUITMENT? SO THAT'S A NEW, OKAY, WELL, IS THAT WHAT YOU'RE HEARING FROM PEOPLE? UH, WHAT, WHAT, I, I, YOU MOSTLY GET IT FROM THE YOUNGER PEOPLE BECAUSE THEY, THEY COME IN AND THEY, AND THEY REALIZE THAT THEY CAN'T LIVE.
YOU KNOW, YOU USUALLY THE ONES WHO ARE MID-LEVEL TO HIGHER, YOU KNOW, YEARS, YOU KNOW, THEY'VE LIVED HERE.
THEY, THEY, THEY, YOU KNOW, THEY, THEY ESTABLISHED THEMSELVES, BUT YOU KNOW, THE ONES COMING IN BETWEEN, YOU KNOW, GETTING A SALARY AND THEY'RE WORKING TWO JOBS AND YOU KNOW, NOW I HAVE TWO TEACHERS TRYING TO FIND A PLACE TO LIVE AND THEY CAN'T FIND A PLACE TO LIVE TOO.
UM, BUT GENERALLY IT'S, IT'S, IT'S THOSE YOUNGER TEACHERS, THEY COME HERE, UM, AND THEY JUST CAN'T SURVIVE ON THE SALARY THAT THEY GET.
UH, I'D LIKE TO, JUST TO DOUBLE DOWN ON THAT, UH, ONCE WE HAVE, IF WE HAVE TEACHERS THAT ALREADY ARE ESTABLISHED HERE OR HAVE A FAMILY, UH, WE TEND TO KEEP THEM, IT'S THAT NEW, NEW PERSON, THAT'S A POSSIBLE NEW HIRE THAT LOOKS AT, OKAY, I'M MAKING THIS MUCH AND I'M LOOKING FOR A PLACE TO LIVE.
I CAN'T FIND ONE THAT THAT SEEMS TO BE WELL, WHY WE JUST, WE HAVE A LOT OF PEOPLE, EVEN GOOD PEOPLE THAT WON'T, DON'T, DON'T EVEN COME IN THE DOOR BECAUSE THEY CAN'T FIND A WAY TO LIVE HERE.
YOU KNOW, UH, THE BOARD HAS NOT THE BOARD, BUT THE DISTRICT I'VE BEEN APPROACHED WITH SOME, SOME OF OUR HOUSING, UH, DEVELOPERS AND, AND TRYING TO FORCE SOME KIND OF PARTNERSHIP WITH, WITH THE DISTRICT IN TERMS OF THE NEW TEACHERS.
AND THAT'S SOMETHING THAT I DON'T THINK WE HAVE LOOKED AT AND TACKLING, BUT WHAT I'M HEARING FROM YOU IS THAT'S PROBABLY SOMETHING THAT WE NEED TO LOOK AT IF WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THE, THE YOUNG TEACHERS AND THE NEW TEACHERS, BUT WITH SOME TYPE OF SUPPORT OTHER THAN, YOU KNOW, SALARY OF COURSE, HAS TO BE ONE WAY OF LOOKING AT IT, BUT ALSO HELPING THEM FIND AFFORDABLE HOUSING AND TELL UNTIL THEY FIGURE IT OUT.
UH, GENERALLY THEY'RE YOUNG AND THEY HAVEN'T FIGURED OUT A PLAN THAT HE HAD PLANNED YET.
YOU KNOW? SO I THINK THAT'S MALE YOU'RE SO RIGHT ABOUT THAT.
AND I WONDER IS IF THEY SEE THE SALARY AND THEY'RE LIKE, OKAY, THAT'S A REASONABLE STARTING SALARY.
AND THEN IT'S REALLY THE COSTS THAT HOUSING AFFORDABILITY I KNOW ON HILTON HEAD AND MEL AND I ARE BOTH REPRESENT HILTON HEAD IT'S ESPECIALLY ACUTE, BUT I KNOW IT'S ACROSS THE DISTRICT AS WELL.
IS THIS, ARE PEOPLE COMING IN WITH SAYING THE SALARIES? OKAY.
BUT THEN ONCE THEY SEE THE COST OF HOUSING, THAT'S THE ISSUE.
OR I THINK IT'S BOTH BECAUSE I THINK THAT, UM, LIKE DR.
SANDUSKY JUST SAID, IF YOU HAVE PEOPLE, THEY TEACHERS ARE NEEDED EVERYWHERE.
SO IF THEY'RE LOOKING AT THAT STARTING SALARY AND WE'RE LOWER THAN SAY GEORGIA OR ANOTHER BORDERING STATE, AND THEY HAVE CHOICES, UM, WE MAY NOT, WE MAY NOT ATTRACT AS MANY, UM, TEACHERS FROM THE NORTH.
SO, YOU KNOW, LIKE WE HAVE A LOT OF TEACHERS FROM OHIO, FOR EXAMPLE, WE MAY, IF THE STARTING SALARY ISN'T ENOUGH
[00:40:01]
TO GET THEM TO CONSIDER US, UM, BECAUSE EVERYBODY NEEDS TO ACROSS THE COUNTRY, UM, THAT, THAT I THINK IS THE FIRST BIGGEST ISSUE.AND THEN OF COURSE THE HOUSING I'M GOING TO ASK YOU FOR KIND OF USED TO BE THE HEIGHT.
ONE OF THE HEIGHTS USED TO BE THE HIGHEST PAID SCHOOL DISTRICT IN SOUTH CAROLINA, BEHIND GREEN GREENVILLE.
AND IN GREENVILLE TOOK IT TO THE, WHERE THEY BECAME THE HIGHEST PAID SCHOOL DISTRICT IN SOUTH CAROLINA.
SO WHAT, HOW WAS IT THAT WE WERE PROPELLED AT THAT POINT TO BE THE LEAD WITH THE HIGHEST PAID SALARY IN SOUTH CAROLINA, BUT THEN NOW WE GOT TO DO A SALARY STUDY IN ORDER TO DETERMINE, RATHER THAN NOT, UM, TO GIVE OUT EDUCATORS A SALARY INCREASE.
UM, THE OTHER CONCERN IS, IS THE HEAD, DID THE DISTRICT WORK WITH THE COUNTY AT ALL DURING THEIR COMPREHENSIVE PLAN TO INCLUDE A SALARY STUDY FOR THIS AREA? BECAUSE THAT'S THE OTHER PROBLEM THAT WE HAVE HERE TO BE A PROFESSIONAL AND HAVE THIS TO BE A ROOM, MAY HAVE TO HAVE A ROOMMATE IN ORDER TO HAVE LIVING ACCOMMODATIONS.
THAT'S NOT, UM, BECOMING TO ATTRACT THE PEOPLE TO THIS AREA.
AND THAT'S THAT'S HAPPENING WHERE PEOPLE HAVE TO HAVE A ROOMMATE IN ORDER TO COVER THEIR, UM, UH, LIVING ACCOMMODATION.
AND THE, THE, THE, THE THING THAT YOU HAVE TO UNDERSTAND TOO, IS THE ECONOMY OF THE COUNTY AND, YOU KNOW, AND, AND YEAH.
COMPETING WITH THE LIFESTYLE ON HILTON HEAD.
IT'S NOT A FAIR GAME FOR EDUCATORS.
EDUCATORS ARE IN GREAT DEMAND TO BE AN EDUCATOR AND BUFORD COUNTY.
IT'S NOT A FAIR GAME IN TERMS OF ECONOMICS.
SO WE HAVE TO FIND A WAY TO SUPPORT IT THEN.
AND THAT'S WHAT HE SAID, THE WAY THE STATE'S, UH, ECONOMIC STRUCTURE IS FOR TEACHERS.
IT'S NEVER GOING TO BE A FAIR GAME.
YOU KNOW, IT'S NOT GOING TO BE A FAIR GAME BECAUSE THE RESTRICTIONS OF THE STATE LIMIT LIMITED EVEN GREENVILLE COUNTY, IT WAS NOT A FAIR GAME FOR EDUCATORS THERE, BUT HILTON HEAD THAT'S PARTICULARLY PRONOUNCED.
AND WHEN YOU ADD THEM, THE FACT THAT THE OTHER SALARIES AROUND THEY AIN'T REALLY GOING TO LEND TO, YOU KNOW, THE SUPPORT SYSTEM OR TAXES AND THE HOUSING LEVEL AND ALL THAT AS THE TAXES FOR SCHOOLS.
SO IT'S, IT'S JUST A VICIOUS CYCLE THAT EDUCATORS ARE INVOLVED IN A NEW TEACHERS.
YOU KNOW, THE ONLY THING THAT WOULD ATTRACT THEM TO THE AREA THAT WOULD BE MAINLY GETTING IT IS THE, IT'S THE AREA, THE, THE, THE, THE, THE NEATNESS OF THE, OF THE, OF THE AREA IN TERMS OF WHERE TO LIVE IN ALL THE LIVE.
BUT OTHER THAN THAT, IF YOUR SCHOOLS ARE REALLY GREAT AND IT, WE'RE NOT PAYING ENOUGH, AND WE, THAT'S A HURDLE THAT WE'RE PROBABLY NOT GOING TO GET THROUGH RIGHT AWAY.
AND, UH, OKAY, LET'S GO WITH MELANIE FIRST DAY, THEN I FELL VIOLENTLY.
UM, I'M ON THE ASSISTANT PRINCIPALS.
UM, AND CONVERSELY, ONE OF THE ISSUES THAT WE'RE HAVING ARE, WELL, I SHOULD SAY TWO OF THE ISSUES.
UM, WE ARE TRYING TO START A COUPLE OF REALLY GREAT K PROGRAMS, UM, THAT COULD REALLY FIT SOME OF THE NEEDS OF OUR STUDENTS AND PREPARE THEM FOR, UM, POST-SECONDARY GOALS, WHETHER THAT'S TO WORK INTO, WALK INTO A JOB WITH A CERTIFICATE OR TO, YOU KNOW, GET THEIR CNA LICENSE, UM, WHILE THEY PURSUE THEIR NURSING DEGREE.
UM, BUT THE ISSUE IS THAT IN ALL REALITY, WE CAN'T START OUR DENTAL HYGIENIST PROGRAM OR DENTAL ASSISTANT PROGRAM, BECAUSE WE CAN NOT FIND A DENTAL HYGIENIST.
WHO'S WILLING TO TAKE SUCH A MAJOR PAY, CUT TO COME WORK AT THE SCHOOLS.
UM, IT IS HARD FOR US TO MAINTAIN OUR HEALTH SCIENCE TEACHERS, OUR COMPUTER AND CODING TEACHERS, BECAUSE THEY'RE TAKING HUGE PAY CUTS.
UM, SO ULTIMATELY THE PEOPLE WHO SUFFER THE STUDENTS AND WE CAN SIT HERE AND SAY, TEACHERS ARE SUPPOSED TO BE SELF-SACRIFICING AND WANT TO DO IT FOR THE JOB.
AND THAT'S A HUNDRED PERCENT ACCURATE AND TRUE.
THEY SHOULDN'T HAVE TO TAKE $40,000 PAY CUTS TO WALK IN AND DO SOMETHING THAT THEY'RE PASSIONATE ABOUT.
UM, SO I KNOW WE'RE DOING THIS COMPREHENSIVE STUDY AND I'M EXCITED TO SEE HOW THAT WILL TURN OUT.
UM, ON THE FLIP SIDE, HEY, DOES IT AFFECT NEW TEACHERS, BUT I'VE ALSO HAD SOME OF MY VETERAN OLDER TEACHERS JUST SAY, YOU KNOW WHAT, UM, TEACHING ISN'T WHAT IT USED TO BE.
[00:45:01]
A LITTLE BIT HARDER.WE'RE PUTTING STRESSORS ON THEM, UM, BECAUSE WE HAVE SOME LARGE GAPS IN LEARNING LEAPS TO FILL, AND THEY'RE READY TO TAP OUT AND JUST SAY, YOU KNOW, IT'S NOT WORTH THE STRESS AND THE MONEY BECAUSE I'M STILL NOT MAKING A TON OF MONEY, EVEN THOUGH I'VE BEEN DOING THIS FOR 18 YEARS.
UM, SO THAT'S JUST KIND OF MY STANCE ON IT FROM WE'LL BRANCH.
UH, WE'RE GOING TO START THE BUDGET PROCESS IN JANUARY.
I'VE HAD SOME CONVERSATIONS WITH MS. CROSBY, OUR CEO ABOUT THIS TOPIC.
ONE OF THE THINGS I WANT TO CONSIDER IS, YOU KNOW, FOR THE LAST FIVE YEARS, WE'VE GIVEN TEACHERS A $5,000 LOCALITY SUPPLEMENT.
THAT SHOULD NOT THAT'S, THAT'S GOOD, BUT THAT $5,000 IS NOT A PART OF THEIR RETIREMENT.
WE'VE BEEN BUDGETING THAT FOR FIVE YEARS NOW.
LET'S JUST ADD THAT TO THE SALARIES FROM THE START, AND THEN LOOK AT AN ADDITIONAL LOCALITY SUPPLEMENT THAT WE DEVELOP FROM SAVINGS AT THE END OF THE YEAR.
IN OTHER WORDS, OUR BUDGET, 80% OF OUR BUDGET IS SALARIES, BUT WE HAVE, WE DON'T HAVE ALL OUR AUTHORIZED POSITIONS FUNDED COME AND GO.
WE END UP WITH A CONSIDERABLE AMOUNT OF MONEY AT THE END OF THE FISCAL YEAR, THAT WAS BUDGETED FOR SALARIES THAT WE HAVEN'T USED.
IF THAT MONEY CAN BE THEN FOCUSED AT THE END OF THE YEAR, WE SPLIT IT UP AND SAY, OKAY, TEACHERS, YOU GET X NUMBER OF DOLLARS ADDITIONAL BECAUSE WHAT THAT REALLY WHAT HAVING THOSE GAPS IN POSITIONS MEANS THAT THE PEOPLE THAT ARE HERE WORK HARDER, THEIR CLASSES ARE BIGGER.
SO THAT'S ONE OF THE THINGS WE'RE GOING TO, I'VE STARTED THE CONVERSATION WITH TONYA AND PLAN TO CONTINUE THAT AS WE GO THROUGH, THE OTHER ISSUE, OF COURSE, IS FISCAL AUTONOMY BECAUSE WE HAVE THE WAY WE GET TEACHERS SALARY COMES FROM, UH, OUR MILL RATE THAT IS SET BY OR APPROVED BY THE COUNTY COUNCIL.
AND I I'M ALL FOR RAISING THAT MILL RATE AS MUCH AS WE CAN LEGALLY AND NOT WANTING THE COUNTY COUNCIL, JUST PUT A STOP TO IT.
AND THAT'S WHY THAT'S IMPORTANT BECAUSE THEY REALLY DON'T UNDERSTAND THE ISSUE ON SALARIES FOR OUR PEOPLE.
WELL, ONE OF MY COMMENTS SAYS WE NEED TO MOVE IT, BUT I WAS ALSO GONNA MAKE THE POINT TO THE EARLIER QUESTION WAS ABOUT WHY WE WENT FROM HIGH TO LOW, WHICH IS A QUESTION AS A NEW BOARD MEMBER.
ONE OF THE THINGS I THINK IS THAT WE HAVE TO THE STATE ONLY, WE ONLY, THE STATE ONLY PAYS FOR 22% OF OUR TEACHER SALARIES, THE REST OF IT.
AND THAT'S WHERE THE, I THINK ONE OR TWO.
AND I THOUGHT, UM, I KNOW DICK GARNER KNOWS THE ANSWER TO THIS WE'RE FIRST OR SECOND IN THE AMOUNT OF MONEY THAT, UM, WE HAVE TO PAY LOCALLY.
SO A LOT MORE OF THE BURDEN FALLS TO OUR LOCAL TAXES, WHICH I THINK IS ACT 3 88, WHATNOT, AND DID CORRECT ME IF I'M WRONG, BUT THAT'S ONE OF THE REASONS WHY WE HAVE NOT BEEN ABLE TO KEEP UP AS MUCH, BECAUSE WE ARE LIMITED ON THE AMOUNT OF MONEY THAT WE CAN RAISE LOCALLY.
SO, UM, AND ALLOW IT THAT'S THE BOTTOM LINE.
AND UNLESS WE DO SOMETHING SERIOUSLY OUT OF THE BOX, YOU KNOW, IT'S NOT GOING TO CHANGE THAT.
I MEAN, THIS IS MAYBE THE TIME WHERE EDUCATORS DO GET THEIR DUE DILIGENCE.
AND I IT'S ABOUT SEEING THAT TEACHERS ARE A, B YOU KNOW, SACRIFICE, SAILOR, UH, DEDICATION.
WE KNOW TEACHERS ARE DEDICATED.
THEY WOULDN'T BE THERE DAY IN AND DAY OUT, OR UNLESS THAT'S THE CASE, BUT THIS IS A LITTLE BIT COMPENSATED CORRECTLY.
YOU KNOW, WE HAVE ALWAYS BEEN, BEEN THE SACRIFICE AND TODAY'S TIME DOESN'T LEND TO THAT VERY EASILY.
AND WE'RE STILL, YOU KNOW, BEING SACRIFICED THEM UNTIL SOMEONE DOES SOMETHING, YOU KNOW, WE CAN'T KEEP LOOKING AT THE NUMBERS.
I SAID, TEACHERS ARE HARD TO GET TEACHERS.
AND MY BEING WITH DAN, WE HAVE TO DO SOMETHING AS EDUCATORS TO BRING THAT TO THE HIGHLIGHT OF THE NATION.
I JUST WORKED FOR THE COUNTY, BUT, YOU KNOW, EDUCATORS HAVE TO BE PAID MORE THERE WEREN'T A LOT MORE.
SO LET'S GO TO THE NEXT TOPIC ON INGRID.
THE NEXT TOPIC IS UNIFORMS. HAS
[00:50:01]
THE DISTRICT REVISITED THE POSSIBILITY OF GETTING RID OF UNIFORMS, AND I'M GOING TO, I'M GOING TO PLACE MONEY ON EVERYONE'S ANSWER TO THIS QUESTION.I HAVEN'T HEARD FROM MS. BRANTLEY.
SHE'S ONE OF OUR NEW PRINCIPALS.
UH, YES, DIDN'T ME AT THE LISTENING.
UM, COMING FROM ANOTHER DISTRICT, I PRETTY MUCH PRO UNIFORMS BECAUSE, UH, RIGHT NOW WE HAVE A MARCA DRESS CODE POLICY.
AND, UH, THE NUMBER OF DAYS THAT WE HAVE TO DEAL WITH PEOPLE BEING DRESSED AND APPROPRIATELY AT SCHOOL IS, UH, IN THE NUMBER OF TIMES A DAY IS REALLY, UM, TO ME, RIDICULOUS THAT WE SHOULD NOT HAVE TO CONSTANTLY DEAL WITH THIS HOUSE.
SO YOUNG LADIES EXPOSING THEM BODIES, A YOUNG MEN EXPOSING THEMSELVES BECAUSE THEY JUST DECIDE THEY DON'T WANT TO DRESS APPROPRIATELY.
SO FOR ME, UM, I'VE BEEN AT BOTH MIDDLE AND HIGH SCHOOL, AND I HAVE NOT SEEN A MAJOR DIFFERENCE IN ANY, EITHER GROUP BEING ABLE TO REALLY DECIDE HOW TO DRESS APPROPRIATELY WITHOUT HAVING SOME GUIDELINES IN PLACE.
ANYONE ELSE, STEVE, YOU WANT TO WEIGH IN ON THAT WITH YOU, BUT YO PEOPLE ARE SAYING, WELL, MEL, YOU AND I ARE OLD TIMERS.
AND WE WERE HERE BEFORE THE, THE DRESS CODE, YOU KNOW, BUT, BUT THEY WEREN'T MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS FOR LENGTH AND CLEAVAGE AND ALL THOSE OTHER THINGS.
UM, TO BE HONEST, YOU KNOW, AS FAR AS A DRESS CODE, YOU KNOW, WITH THE WAY KIDS GO TO COLLEGE, THERE'S NO DRESS CODE.
UM, THERE'S NO STUDY THAT SHOWS THAT STUDENTS LEARN MORE, YOU KNOW, LISA'S, I HAVEN'T SEEN ANY, YOU KNOW, IF THEY, IF THEY'RE WEARING, YOU KNOW, LIKE A POLO SHIRT OR WEARING A T-SHIRT, BUT DID THE THING THAT, THAT BOUGHT THAT ABOUT THE DRESS CODE IS, IS THAT WE HAVE TO ENFORCE IT.
AND THAT DOES CREATE SOME TIMES ANIMOSITY BETWEEN OFFICIALS AND STUDENTS, AS STUDENTS COME WALKING IN THE DOOR AND THEY ALREADY HAD A DRESS CODE.
YOU ALREADY GIVE THEM A HARD TIME AND THEY HAVEN'T STARTED THEIR LESSONS YET.
SO I, FOR ONE WOULD LIKE JUST, YOU KNOW, AS FAR AS, YOU KNOW, A DRESS CODE, JUST SOMETHING AS SIMPLE AS THE LENGTH OF THE SHORTS, YOU KNOW, THE, YOU KNOW, THE TOP, YOU KNOW, JUST SOME REQUIREMENTS OF WHAT A TOP YOU'D HAVE A LENS OF A TOP AND, YOU KNOW, THEY'LL MIDRIFF AND STUFF LIKE THAT.
BUT AS FAR AS COLORS AND ALL THIS OTHER STUFF, YOU KNOW, I, I'M JUST, YOU KNOW, I DON'T WANT TO FIGHT WITH STUDENTS EVERY DAY.
I WANT TO BE IN CLASSROOMS, YOU KNOW, WATCHING KIDS PERFORM AND, YOU KNOW, AND TEACHES YOU TEACH.
AND, UH, I DON'T WANT TO WALK INTO A CLASSROOM AND SAY, TAKE YOUR HOOD OFF, TAKE THIS OFF, YOU KNOW, THIS OR THAT.
AND, UM, YOU KNOW, I, I DON'T WANT TO FIGHT WITH STUDENTS AND HE THOUGHT, MR. ZOD UM, WELL, FOR ME, I DEFINITELY WOULD PREFER A DRESS CODE AS OPPOSED TO A UNIFORM, UM, DRESS CODE, HAVING THE GUIDELINES, KIND OF WHAT STEVE SAID, AND I'D BE HAPPY TO VOLUNTEER, TO BE ON THE COMMITTEE IF WE CAN CREATE SOMETHING LIKE THAT.
UM, I COME FROM A DISTRICT, UM, PREVIOUS, BEFORE BUFORD COUNTY, WHERE WE HAD A DRESS CODE, UM, BECAUSE ONE OF THE THINGS WE'RE RUNNING INTO MUCH LIKE STEVE IS, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE KIDS THAT, YOU KNOW, THE ONLY SWEATSHIRT THEY HAVE IN THEIR HOME IS RED AND THAT'S NOT A BAD RECRUIT COLOR.
DENYING THEM ACCESS TO GOING TO CLASS BECAUSE THAT'S THE COLOR SWEATSHIRT WORE THAT DAY.
UM, IT IS COOLER WEATHER, LIKE JUST THAT'S ONE EXAMPLE.
I DO SUPPORT NO HOODS AND HATS IN THE BUILDING.
AND THE HATS DO BE, I MEAN, THE HOOD'S BECOME AN ISSUE SAFETY, ESPECIALLY NOW WITH KIDS WEARING MASKS.
UM, DEFINITELY BEING ABLE TO IDENTIFY THE STUDENTS.
I DO LIKE THE, YOU KNOW, I'M PRETTY A STICKLER ABOUT THE, THE HEADWEAR.
UM, BUT AS FAR AS THE COLORS AND ALL OF THAT, I JUST, IT CREATES A LOT OF PROBLEM.
AND THEN WE DO HAVE SOME SITUATIONS WHERE STUDENTS, BECAUSE OF FINANCE, UH, FAMILY SITUATIONS, THEY CAN'T GET THE RIGHT COLORS, OR THEY HAVEN'T BEEN ABLE TO DO LAUNDRY BECAUSE OF THEIR CIRCUMSTANCES.
AND SO YOU MAY HAVE THOSE EXCEPTIONS WHERE I KNOW AS THE PRINCIPAL OF, UH, A SITUATION AS STUDENTS HAVING, BUT THEN IT LOOKS TO OTHER STUDENTS AS IF WE'RE LETTING CERTAIN KIDS GET AWAY WITH THINGS.
YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN? AND SO TAKING INTO CONTEXT, EVERYTHING, THAT'S THE LEAST OF MY CONCERNS.
I WANT KIDS IN CLASS, LIKE STEVE SAID, LEARNING AND GETTING TO BE WITH THEIR TEACHERS.
WHAT ABOUT A DOC THAT YOU'RE THINKING, OH, I KNOW I GOT IT.
UM, I'VE SPENT TOO MUCH TIME AND TOO MANY MEETINGS TALKING ABOUT DRESS CODE AND NOT GETTING A LOT OF BANG FOR YOUR BUCK, OTHER THAN CERTAIN THINGS LIKE WITH HOODIES.
I KNOW IF YOU, IF YOU LET THEM HAVE THEY HAVE A HOODIE ON, THEY GOT YOUR BUTTS IN.
SO, UH, YOU KNOW, CERTAIN THINGS LIKE THAT YOU CAN TARGET.
BUT AS I SAID, I THINK WE WASTED A LOT OF TIME.
IS THAT REALLY BLUE? IS THAT REALLY GREEN? AND, UM, DOESN'T GET A LOT OF, YOU KNOW, FOR ALL THAT EFFORT.
[00:55:01]
OF, UH, YEAH.I CONCUR WITH YOU GUYS THAT I THINK WE, YOU KNOW, EDUCATIONAL LAYS NOT SOUND PRACTICE EITHER.
I THINK, I THINK WE DO NEED A DRESS CODE.
THEY DO NEED TO LEARN HOW TO ADJUST TO THE DRESS CODE.
THAT'S ACCEPTABLE DRESS IN SOCIETY.
AND AT THE SAME TIME THEY DRIVING THE SOCIETY TO THOSE CHILDREN, GOT TO BE THE ONES WHO ARE WEARING THIS AND THAT LATER ON, DOES IT AFFECT THEIR THOUGHT PROCESS AND THEIR RESPECTABILITY FOR EACH OTHER? THAT'S WHAT WE OUGHT TO BE FOCUSING ON MORE SO THAN, RATHER THAN WEARING THAT PARTICULAR UNIFORM.
YOU KNOW, AND YOU KNOW, I'M NOT AGAINST UNIFORM, I'M IMPRESSED WITH YOU ON THE FORM, BUT MOST OF THE TIME, BUT TO, TO ISSUE THAT KIND OF CONCRETENESS ON THEM KIND OF TAKES AWAY THE FLEXIBILITY OF THE AMERICAN EDUCATIONAL STYLE.
WE SUPPOSED TO BE CREATIVE, FLEXIBLE, AND YOU KNOW, THESE SUPPOSED TO PUSH THE ENVELOPE, THAT'S WHERE THE EDUCATION SUPPOSED TO DO.
SO I SUPPORT DRESS CODE AS OPPOSED TO UNIFORM AND SOME, YOU KNOW, AND SOME, SOME THOUGHT, YOU KNOW, THAT THING IS IT'S GONE.
IT'S, IT'S, IT'S, IT'S OUTLIVED ITS USEFULNESS IN TERMS OF WHAT IT WAS ATTENDED YEARS AGO.
IT'S WHEN YOU GOT THE BEST STUFF IN HIGH SCHOOL, BUT YOU KNOW, THE DRESS GO TO BUFORD COUNTY IS OVER 20 YEARS OLD, ABOUT 28 YEARS OLD.
SO YOU THINK ABOUT THAT AND THINK ABOUT HOW WE'VE BEEN USING THAT AS A TOOL TO EDUCATE BETTER THAN LOOK AT OUR SCHOOLS AND SEE THAT IT HADN'T REALLY WORKED TO DO ANYTHING SIGNIFICANTLY DIFFERENT.
I, YOU KNOW, I SUPPORT A CODE AND THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE MAY BE LOOKING AT.
I THINK WE GOT ONE MORE, RIGHT.
CAN I ASK ONE QUICK QUESTION THOUGH? YEAH.
THE LAST ONE IS WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF THE DISTRICT'S NEW SECURITY GUARDS AND OUR STAFF WORKING WITH RESOURCE OFFICERS TO INCREASE STUDENTS' SCHOOL SAFETY, WHICH IS KIND OF, I THINK MORE OF THE ELEMENT, YOU KNOW, THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL ISSUE RIGHT NOW, SINCE WE'RE ADDING THOSE.
IT WAS SUBMITTED BY AN ELEMENTARY SIC.
SO, BUT THE UNIFORM CODE, CAUSE I'M A PARENT, A PARENT OF A HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT.
WHAT I'M HEARING IS THAT YOU AND TELL ME IF I'M WRONG, YOU GUYS EITHER WANT IT TO BE A VERY SIMPLE, VERY BASIC UNIFORM LIKE THEY HAVE IN OTHER COUNTRIES AND OTHER PLACES, YOU KNOW, OR CATHOLIC SCHOOL OR NO UNIFORM, LIKE IT'S THIS IN-BETWEEN THAT'S CAUSING A LOT OF THE PROBLEMS OR ARE YOU GUYS ADVOCATING FOR NO DRESS CODE OR NO UNIFORM? HI, I AM SAYING I WOULD PREFER A DRESS CODE, NO UNIFORM.
SO A DRESS CODE WHERE WE HAVE GUIDELINES OF WHAT'S ACCEPTABLE AND WHAT'S NOT ACCEPTABLE.
LIKE STEVE WAS TALKING LENGTH, NO MID DRIFTS, THINGS LIKE THAT, BUT CORRECT.
NOT, NOT LIKE YOU HAVE TO WEAR THESE COLORS AND YOU HAVE TO HAVE A COLOR, LIKE A LOT OF MY BEST BEHAVED, AWESOME STUDENTS WEAR T-SHIRTS EVERY DAY BECAUSE WE ALLOW THE SPIRIT WEAR.
SO LIKE SAYING THAT THEY HAVE TO WEAR A POLO IN A PARTICULAR COLOR, DOESN'T CHANGE THEIR ENGAGEMENT IN CLASS.
UM, SO THAT WE I'M IN FAVOR OF DRESS CODE WITH GUIDELINES.
AND I WAS TRYING TO SAY BEFORE I SAW, I'M NOT VERY GOOD WITH SEMANTICS, I GUESS, AND UNIFORM.
RIGHT? BECAUSE METAL, WHEN WE, WHEN I STARTED 99 MILE WAY BACK WHEN YOU WERE THERE TOO, WE HAD A DRESS CODE.
UM, AND THAT'S WHAT I KINDA, YOU KNOW, I JUST THINK ABOUT A SENIOR.
YOU KNOW WHAT ONE OF MY FRIENDS WAS HIS LAST TEACHER AT MY SCHOOL IS COULD JUST MAKE CLEMSON, HE CAN'T WEAR A CLEMSON SHIRT TO HILTON HEAD BECAUSE IT'S NOT A DRESS CODE.
YOU KNOW, THERE'S A BIG ACCOMPLISHMENT.
WHY CAN'T THEY CAN WEAR A CLEMSON SHIRT TO HILTON HEAD HIGH SCHOOL.
IT COULD BE A DRIVER AS A STUDENT.
SO A MOTIVATION, THE STUDENTS, YOU KNOW, ALL OF THOSE LITTLE THINGS, WE MISSED THE SOUND PROCESS OF EDUCATING.
ONE OF THE THINGS I WORRY ABOUT THOUGH WITH A DRESS CODE IS LIKE LOGOS.
ARE YOU GONNA ALLOW LOGOS? AND I'M NOT TALKING ABOUT DESIGNER LOGOS TALKING ABOUT T-SHIRTS WITH EMOJIS THAT ADULTS DON'T REALIZE WHAT KIDS ARE SAYING, AND KIDS ARE GETTING AWAY.
YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN? LIKE WOULD IT WOULD ADDRESS CODE INCLUDE, OKAY.
ANY COLOR, BUT NO LOGOS OR IS IT JUST BASICALLY DECENCY? THE TEACHERS LET US KNOW ABOUT THOSE THINGS.
I MEAN, BECAUSE THERE WAS SOMETHING THAT POPPED UP ON, ON SOMETHING WHERE IF I KNEW, YOU KNOW, WHATEVER ONE OF MY YOUNG TEACHERS SAYS, YOU KNOW, THIS IS WHAT THAT REALLY MEANS THAT WE WANT TO THANK YOU FOR LETTING US NOW.
RIGHT? YOUNG TEACHER, THE 22, 23 YEAR OLD TEACHERS WHO COME IN, THEY TELL US WHAT'S GOING ON.
WELL, I BET THAT'S, WHAT'S REAL IN TERMS OF WELL SOCIETY TOO, THOUGH, THE KIDS
[01:00:01]
ARE GOING TO DRIVE TO ANOTHER LEVEL.I MEAN, COMMUNICATION TO, YOU KNOW, HEY, ROCK AND ROLL WILL NEVER GET AN INTERVIEW LEGAL CYCLE.
SO I WAS SAYING, WHAT I HAD HERE IS THERE, YOU HAVE TO MANAGE IT.
AND YOUR MANAGEMENT WILL DETERMINE, YOU KNOW, HOW MUCH YOU ALLOW THAT THEY'LL GET AWAY WITH BASICALLY THAT YOU WANT THEM TO BE ABLE TO ALL THAT.
ANYHOW IT, WITHOUT YOU SEEING IT.
SO I DON'T, I DON'T SEE, I DON'T SEE HOW THAT'S, THAT'S GONNA HELP PROCESS ANY.
IT'S GOING TO HELP THE PROCESS BECAUSE WE'RE TALKING ABOUT IS DRESS CODES OVER FOR DECENCY, RIGHT? THERE'S A LOT OF INDECENT STUFF THAT'S GETTING PUT INTO STUDENTS' DRESS CODE.
THAT'S WHAT I'M GETTING AT IS, YOU KNOW, IF IT'S A DCE, IF ALL WE'RE TALKING ABOUT, AND I WILL SAY OUTSIDE OF SOUTH CAROLINA, THERE'S A LOT OF DISCUSSION ABOUT BODY POSITIVITY.
WHEN, WHY CAN MEN WEAR SHORTS? AND WHEN YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN, WHY CAN WOMEN NOT WEAR LEGGINGS? AND IT BECOMES VERY POLITICAL TOO.
IF YOU'RE, IF YOU'RE LOOKING AT JUST A DRESS CODE.
BUT HOW DO YOU TEACH IT? I MEAN, WE'RE EDUCATORS.
HOW DO YOU EDUCATE THEM TO BE ABLE TO HANDLE IT FOR THE FUTURE? HOW YOU DON'T ENGAGE? WELL, EXCEPT PART OF THE THING IS THAT I THINK WHAT I'M HEARING IS THAT THE ENGAGEMENT'S TAKING AWAY A LOT OF TIME, THE WAY WE ARE DOING IT.
BUT I'M SAYING IF WE, IF WE TAUGHT EARLIER A PROCESS OF DECENCY, IT'S A WHOLE MINDSET.
THAT'S NOT EASILY DISCUSSED FOR HIGH SCHOOL INDIVIDUALS, BUT BY THE TIME THOSE CHILDREN GET TO US, THEY SHOULD HAVE A CERTAIN DIFFERENT LEVEL OF RESPECTABILITY.
AND WE ARE NOT ADDRESSING THAT AT ALL BECAUSE WE DON'T GET A CHANCE TO ADDRESS IT.
I TELL A LITTLE, THEY GET OLD ENOUGH TO VENT FRUSTRATION WITH A SYSTEM AND WE DON'T HAVE ANY SIC CHAIRS IN THE ROOM.
IS THAT RIGHT? ANY PARENTS, PARENT REPRESENTATIVES IN THE HIGH SCHOOLS, I'M JUST WONDERING PARENTS.
CAUSE I KNOW AS A PARENT, I AM ALL ABOUT UNIFORM.
I WOULD HAVE MORE UNIFORMS. I DON'T WANT MY KID FOOLING WITH IT.
I DON'T WANT IT TO BE AN ISSUE IN THE MORNING.
I DON'T WANT TO HAVE TO BUY THE LATEST THING.
I DON'T WANT TO MEASURE HIM BEFORE HE GOES OUT AND MAKE SURE THAT, YOU KNOW, IT'S MORE FOR DIFFERENT THINGS.
I WONDER IF PARENTS ARE, AS IN FAVOR OF A DRESS CODE VERSUS UNIFORM OR IF I'M JUST, OKAY, I UNDERSTAND YOU, THAT'S AN EASY WAY OUT AND IT'S FOR YOUR CHILD, BUT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT A WHOLE SOCIETY OF PEOPLE WHO DON'T HAVE CHANCE TO WET MEASURE EITHER.
HOW DO WE TEACH THEM? HOW DO WE EDUCATE THEM? WHERE A PARENT, 30 YEARS FROM NOW WON'T HAVE TO MEASURE, BUT CAN TRUST MAKING THE RIGHT DECISION.
THERE'S A LOT OF STUDIES THAT SHOW THAT KIDS SPEND TOO MUCH TIME THINKING ABOUT WHAT THEY'RE WEARING THAT TAKES AWAY FROM SCHOOL OR HOW THEY LOOK OR HOW THEIR CLOTHES ARE FITTING WHEN THEY SIT DIFFERENTLY.
WELL LIKE MARK ZUCKERBERG AND STEVE JOBS, THE REASON THEY WEAR THE SAME UNIFORM EVERY DAY IS BECAUSE THEY FOUND THAT IT HAD A HUGE, POSITIVE AND BENEFIT ON THEIR EFFICACY IN THE WORKPLACE.
SO IT'S NOT, IT'S NOT JUST US, UH, BLOOD REFERENCES, BUT ANYWAY, ALL RIGHT, LET'S MOVE ON.
WE DIDN'T GET THROUGH THE SECURITY GUARDS, BUT UH, WELL THOSE ARE THE NEW SECURITY GUARDS.
WE DON'T, THIS HIGH SCHOOLS DON'T HAVE NEW SECURITY GUARDS.
SO WITH THAT DISCUSSION, WHEN MY EYES PERFECT PERSPECTIVE, RECORDING STOPPED RECORDING IN PROGRESS, I GUESS WE'RE BACK.
AND WE HAVE REPORTERS FROM EACH GROUP.
ANYBODY FROM THE MIDDLE SCHOOL WHO'S REPORTING.
I BELIEVE IT'S REAL BUYING PROPERTY.
I MEAN, I DON'T WANT TO PUSH HER.
DOES ANYBODY TAKE NOTES? YEAH, OF COURSE I TOOK NOTES, BUT I THOUGHT IT SHOULD BE SOMEBODY FROM THE TEAM THAT WOULD REPORT OUT, NOT FROM THE BOARD, BUT ALL RIGHT.
WELL, I MEAN, AS A BOARD MEMBER IN THAT GROUP, DID YOU HELP OUT THERE? WE WERE, WE WERE SUPPOSED TO HELP FACILITATE IT, SO.
[01:05:02]
WHAT ELSE? WHAT ABOUT THE ELEMENTARY GROUP? I TOOK NOTES SO I CAN REPORT OUT AND, UH, PEOPLE COULD CORRECT ME FOR ANYTHING I MISSED.SO WE CAN, UH, OUR GROUP INGRID COULD SPEAK TO IT, BUT DIDN'T GET THE CHANCE TO DISCUSS THAT FOURTH QUESTION.
UH, WE WERE IN HIGH SCHOOL, SO IT WAS PROBABLY THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL TO, UH, UH, AS I SEE A LOT BETTER.
I TELL US THE DISCUSSION AND I, YOU COULD WEIGH IN ON THAT, DAVID WITH ME GET TO IT, BUT LET'S TALK ABOUT THE FIRST QUESTION I WAS JUST ANGRY.
CAN YOU READ THAT FOR US? YEAH.
THE FIRST QUESTION, DO YOU WANT ME TO GO AHEAD AND REDO MY REPORT MAIL OR JUST READ THE QUESTIONS? LET'S READ THE QUESTION FIRST AND THEN YOU CAN DO YOUR REPORT.
UH, THE FIRST QUESTION WAS USING THE RECENT CALENDAR SURVEY AS A REFERENCE POINT, IT WOULD APPEAR THAT THE BUFORD COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT COMMUNITY IS LOOKING FOR EXTENDED BREAKS THROUGHOUT THE YEAR TO ACCOMMODATE THE BREAKS.
A YEAR ROUND CALENDAR SEEMS TO BE A VIABLE OPTION.
WELL, THE BUFORD COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT CONSIDER IMPLEMENTING A YEAR-ROUND SCHOOL CALENDAR.
THE OTHER ONES ARE JUST STOP THERE.
NOW I'LL JUST STOP THERE AND THEN TELL US WHAT YOU THOUGHT ABOUT HER AS, AS, AS A GROUP, BUT WHAT DID WE COME UP WITH? OKAY.
THE HIGH SCHOOL GROUP, WE TALKED ABOUT, UH, THE YEAR ROUND OPTION AND THAT IT REALLY WOULD NOT WORK BECAUSE OF DUAL ENROLLMENT, EARLY GRADUATION, PEOPLE GOING INTO THE MILITARY, AP IB TESTING AND CAMBRIDGE.
UM, WE DISCUSSED THAT AND I DIDN'T REAL, I LEARNED SOMETHING, UM, BECAUSE WE DID HAVE YEAR ROUND SCHOOL SEVERAL YEARS AGO, BUT THE THOUGHT WAS THE HIGH SCHOOLS WERE EXCLUDED FROM THAT JUST BECAUSE IT'S NOT VERY FEASIBLE TO DO A YEAR ROUND CALENDAR, UM, WITH, UH, HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS.
UM, AND THEN I KIND OF BROUGHT UP SOME OF THE OTHER ISSUES AROUND, UM, THE WAY WE BREAK UP OUR SEMESTER AND THE START DATE, UH, POINTED OUT THAT THE STATE REALLY WILL NOT ALLOW US TO CHANGE OUR START DATE, BUT THAT IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT FOR HIGH SCHOOL THAT WE FINISHED THE SEMESTER IN DECEMBER.
AND THAT THERE WAS EVIDENCE THAT THE THAT WE DID IF STUDENTS CAME BACK AND TOOK THEM AFTER CHRISTMAS BREAK WERE IMPACTED, UM, AS OPPOSED TO TAKING THEM IN DECEMBER BEFORE CHRISTMAS BREAK.
BUT OF COURSE, ONE OF THE PROBLEMS IS THAT WE HAVE TO DEAL WITH OUR SEAT HOURS.
UM, AND THAT THIS SORT OF TRUNCATED FALL SCHEDULE MAY LEAD TO SOME ATTENDANCE BASED FAILURES.
UM, AND THEN, UH, COLONEL GEIER, UH, TALKED ABOUT HOW SOME OTHER SCHOOLS MIGHT BE GETTING AROUND, UH, AN EARLIER START DATE BY DATE BY SAYING THAT THEY ARE YEAR ROUND.
AND THAT MAYBE THAT'S SOMETHING THAT, UM, WOULD WARRANT FURTHER CONVERSATION FROM THE HIGH SCHOOL GROUP.
WHEN I ADD SOMETHING THAT GOOD MAY HAVE MISSED, I, YOU KNOW, I THINK SHE DID A WONDERFUL JOB IN CAPITALIZING WHAT WE SAID, OUR GOOD LET'S GO TO THE MIDDLE SCHOOL THEN.
OUR GROUP, THE MIDDLE SCHOOL GROUP WAS, UH, OVERWHELMINGLY IN FAVOR OF YEAR-ROUND SCHOOLING.
WE HAD, UM, A COUPLE PEOPLE THAT PARTICIPATED THAT HAVE EXPERIENCED IT HERE IN BUFORD COUNTY.
THEY TALKED ABOUT, UH, REASONS THAT, THAT, UH, THEY THOUGHT IT WAS DISCONTINUED.
UM, BUT REASONS THAT THEY WERE FAVORABLE IS BECAUSE OF THE, UM, THAT SHORTER, YOU KNOW, THAT MORE FREQUENT BREAKS FOR TEACHERS THAT THEY WORK REALLY HARD.
AND THEN THEY, THEY GET, UM, A BREAK TO REFRESH.
BUT IN ADDITION TO THAT, THE IMPACT THAT IT CAN HAVE ON STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT IN THOSE INTERCESSIONS, YOU'VE GOT TIME FOR, UM, REMEDIAL WORK AND YOU'VE GOT TIME FOR, UM, UM, YOU KNOW, SPECIAL ADVANCED WORK FOR KIDS THAT ARE SO MOTIVATED TO ATTEND.
SOME OF THE ISSUES THAT WERE DISCUSSED WERE SPORTS.
UM, THAT KIND OF, YOU KNOW, I, I THINK DIDN'T GET A LOT OF CREDENCE FROM THE FOLKS BECAUSE IT WAS LIKE, WELL, THE KIDS COULD STILL COME IN AND PLAY IF THE SCHOOL IS NOT IN SESSION.
UM, AS FAR AS THE START DATE BEING SET BY THE STATE, I KNOW THAT IF YOU ARE OPERATING ON A YEAR ROUND CALENDAR, THAT START DATE DOES NOT APPLY.
UM, I, I KNOW THAT, UM, PICKENS COUNTY, UM, THAT'S HOW THEY GOT AROUND THEIR START DATE SET BY.
THEY CLAIMED TO HAVE A YEAR ROUND CALENDAR, WHICH REALLY IS NOT QUITE YEAR ROUND HAS SOME MODIFICATIONS, BUT THAT ALLOWS THEM TO MODIFY THEIR START DATE.
SO ANYBODY FROM THE MIDDLE SCHOOL TEAM WOULD LIKE TO ADD, PLEASE JUMP IN.
[01:10:01]
OUT IN THE MIDDLE OF SCHOOL I THINK IT'S SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT.UH, IT'S NOT, IT WON'T BE THE PROBLEM SOLVING TOOL FOR EVERYTHING, BUT, YOU KNOW, IF YOU LOOK AT IT, THE BIGGER PICTURE ON EVEN RETENTION, UH, THIS IS THE DATA SHOWS THROUGH THE SURVEY.
AND I THINK OVER A THOUSAND PEOPLE TOOK THE SURVEY THAT THEY WANT THE FEDERAL HOLIDAYS OFF AND THE EXTENDED SPRING BREAK AND FALL BREAK AND ALL THESE OTHER EASTER MONDAY, WELL, A WAY AROUND THAT IS THROUGH, UH, THE EXTENDED YEAR.
AND, UH, I THINK IT'S SOMETHING TO LOOK FORWARD TO.
AND THE TEACHERS THAT I KNEW BACK IN THE DAY AT LADY'S ISLAND ELEMENTARY AND SOME OF THE OTHERS, THEY THOROUGHLY ENJOYED IT.
IT WAS, IT REVITALIZED A LOT OF THINGS IN THEIR MIND.
THEY, THEY, THEY WOULD GO A FEW WEEKS, GET SOME TIME OFF.
SO IT MAY BE SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT.
THIS IS, UM, FROM, UM, MIDDLE SCHOOL, UH, HILTON HEAD, MIDDLE SCHOOL, WE TALKED ABOUT WHAT WOULD THE KIDS DO ON THAT TIME? AND OF COURSE HAD SOME IDEAS THAT THEY WOULD DO ENRICHMENT OR REMEDIAL, BUT THEN THERE'S ALSO LIKE THE PARENTS, YOU KNOW, DO WE HAVE OPTIONS FOR THE PARENTS FOR, UM, YOU KNOW, CHILDCARE? UM, AND SOMETHING THAT I WAS CURIOUS ABOUT WAS, YOU KNOW, THE COMMUNITY, YOU KNOW, HOW IS THE COMMUNITY ABLE TO STEP UP AND HELP AND GIVE PARENTS OPTIONS? AND WE ALSO MENTIONED THAT, YOU KNOW, IF WE SAID, WE'RE GOING TO DO THIS, IT'S NOT JUST, OKAY, WE'RE GOING TO DO IT.
YOU KNOW, WE WOULD DEFINITELY GIVE ADVANCE, NOTICE TO PARENTS AT COMMUNITIES WHERE, YOU KNOW, THEN WE CAN PROBLEM SOLVE AND, YOU KNOW, HOPEFULLY FIGURE OUT SOLUTIONS.
FORGIVE ME FOR ASKING HIM WHO WAS SPEAKING JUST THEN, UH, THIS IS AN BUCKLEY FROM HILTON HEAD MIDDLE SCHOOL.
UM, LET'S GO TO THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL AND SEE WHAT, WHAT THEIR TAKE WAS AT MIDDLE SCHOOL.
UM, WE HAD THE ADVANTAGE OF HAVING SEVERAL PEOPLE IN THE GROUP, UM, WHO HAD EXPERIENCED A YEAR ROUND, UM, BOTH HERE AND IN OTHER, OTHER LOCALES.
I THINK THAT THE PREDOMINANT THING WAS THAT ONE WOULD TAKE A LOT OF PREP WORK.
THERE ARE A LOT OF PIECES THAT HAVE TO BE IN PLACE AND WOULD AFFORD WORK ISSUE, TEACHERS WHO ARE ALSO PARENTS ISSUE.
AND HISTORICALLY WE, WE HAD THIS IN SOME SCHOOLS WERE AND SOME SCHOOLS WEREN'T AND APPARENTLY THAT WAS, UH, THAT, THAT, THAT DIDN'T, THAT WAS NOT AN ADVANTAGE.
UH, AND THEN AS FAR AS REMEDIATION, UH, SEVERAL FOLKS MENTIONED THAT THAT REMEDIATION REALLY NEEDS TO BE LOADED.
UM, YOU KNOW, YOU HAVE TO DO THAT AHEAD OF TIME, SO TO SPEAK.
SO THAT WAS THAT THAT'S MY SUMMATION.
UM, CERTAINLY ANYONE ELSE CAN PITCH IN THERE IF I MISSED IT.
UM, THERE WAS A SUGGESTION AWESOME.
DO TO HAVE, MAYBE HAVE A FOUR DAY WEEK INSTEAD OF FIVE DAY, WEEK, FIVE DAY.
UM, IF YOU THOUGHT ABOUT YEAR ROUND, SO THAT MEL WAS ALSO SUGGESTION.
UM, THIS IS WHERE OUR FRIENDS ELEMENTARY, MIDDLE SCHOOL AND ELEMENTARY SCHOOL.
WE ALSO THOUGHT ABOUT THE FACT THAT CHILDCARE IS AN ISSUE IN THIS REGION.
AND SO WHERE THE, WHAT DO WE DO WITH THE CHILDREN WHEN THEY'RE REALLY OUT OF SCHOOL AND THERE IS NO SCHOOL OPEN FOR THEM TO GO TO.
UM, LET'S GO TO QUESTION NUMBER TWO, IT'S GETTING LATE, THE PROMISE, THE THIRD, THE TIME LIMIT, THOSE PROMISES ARE NOT ALWAYS KEPT.
WELL, WHY DON'T WE ALLOW DAVID TO START NUMBER TWO? SO WE GET UP, I DON'T GET THE FLAVOR OF THE SAME WAY WE ROTATE.
I CAN SEE YOU'RE IN FAVOR OF INCLUSION.
UM, HOW WILL THE DISTRICT MAKE CHANGES TO IMPROVE OR IMPROVEMENT POTENTIAL OF QUALITY PAGERS WITH THE RISING COST OF LIVING IN THE AREA? IS THE DISTRICT CONSIDERING AN INCREASE IN COAL LOSS SLASH SALARIES FOR TEACHERS? UM, I THINK WE WERE UNANIMOUS IN THAT TO KEEP STARTING TEACHERS, YOU KNOW, THAT ONE THROUGH FIVE GROUP, ONE YEAR
[01:15:01]
THROUGH FIVE HERE, WE NEED TO DO SOMETHING.UM, THE, THE ARRANGING FOR A ROOMMATE IS NOT AN IDEAL, UH, SOLUTION.
UH, AND YOU KNOW, WE WANT TO HOLD ON TO THOSE FOLKS AND THAT ONE TO FIVE YEAR RANGE, AND WE ALSO NEED TO CONSIDER STAFF.
UM, AND IT WAS BROUGHT OUT WAS THAT TO GET AN APARTMENT IN THE AREA.
THERE'S A BIG, A BIG BUBBLE IN THE FRONT WHERE YOU HAVE TO HAVE A DEPOSIT, YOU HAVE TO HAVE A CO-SIGNER, UM, AND THAT'S AN ISSUE WE HAVE TO DEAL WITH.
AND ANYTHING ELSE I DIDN'T WANT TO ADD? OKAY.
LET'S, LET'S GO TO THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL.
YOU WERE JUST AT AN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL.
LET'S GO TO THE MIDDLE SCHOOL THEN.
UM, THE CONVERSATIONS THAT WERE HELD AT THE, IN THE MIDDLE SCHOOL GROUP, UH, GENERALLY THE MOST TIME WAS SPENT ABOUT, UM, ADVANCED PAY, LIKE THE TAP PROGRAM, AND MAYBE CHAVONNE BROWN, YOUR DR.
UH, SOME IT'S A PROGRAM THAT WAS IN PLACE BEFORE, UM, IT'S REGARDING MOTIVATING TEACHERS BASED ON, UM, PAY FOR ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE AND STUDENT GROWTH.
COULD YOU TALK ABOUT THAT? YES, MA'AM.
UM, I BELIEVE IN, UH, I THINK IT WAS 2003, MAYBE 2004 OUT AT WHALE BRANCH ELEMENTARY AND A FEW SCHOOLS, YOU KNOW, WE HAD THE PRINCIPALS HAD THE CHOICE TO, TO, TO ENGAGE IN THIS SYSTEM, BUT IT WAS THROUGH NIET AND THE TEACHER ADVANCEMENT PROGRAM WHERE, UH, UM, TEACHERS WERE GIVEN A VALUE ADDED SCORE BASED ON THEIR EFFECTIVENESS, UM, ON STUDENT GROWTH AND ACHIEVEMENT, UM, IN TERMS OF PROGRESS FROM ONE YEAR TO THE NEXT ON THEIR STATE ASSESSMENTS.
SO, UM, THERE WAS JOB EMBEDDED PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT CLUSTER CYCLE MEETINGS ARE, YOU KNOW, WHAT WE CALL PLCS TODAY THAT REALLY HAD IN-DEPTH STRATEGIES FOR FOLKS TO WORK ON.
UM, BUT THE KEY COMPONENT, THE THING THAT, YOU KNOW, SEEM TO BE VERY MOTIVATING IS THE MORE PROGRESS AND GROWTH THAT YOUR PARTICULAR STUDENTS THAT WERE ASSIGNED TO YOU MADE ON THOSE ASSESSMENTS, THE HIGHER THE INCENTIVE PAY OR PAY OUT WAS FOR, FOR YOU.
SO, YOU KNOW, TEACHERS WHO HAD, UM, STRUGGLING STUDENTS WHO STILL MADE GROWTH RECEIVED AN INCENTIVE BONUS, STUDENTS WHO TEACHERS WHO HAD, UM, ADVANCED STUDENTS WHO CONTINUED TO MAKE GROWTH ALSO MADE BONUSES, BUT THERE WAS ALSO THE, SOME DIFFERENT WEIGHTING VALUES THAT INCLUDED THE OVERALL SCHOOL EFFECTIVENESS.
SO, HOWEVER, YOU KNOW, THE WHOLE SCHOOL GROUP THAT WAS ADDED ON TO THE TEACHERS, YOU KNOW, BASE BONUS RATE, AS WELL AS, UM, SOME OTHER FACTORS, INCLUDING THEIR PROFESSIONALISM SCORES AND A COUPLE OF OTHER THINGS.
SO, UM, IT REALLY, AND THERE WERE SOME OTHER FOLKS ON THE, ON OUR, IN OUR GROUP WHO TALKED ABOUT HOW MOTIVATING IT WAS AS A TEACHER TO REALLY PARTICIPATE AND ENGAGE IN THOSE INSTRUCTIONAL PRACTICES THAT MADE TEACHERS BETTER.
THAT'S THE OVERALL RESULT IS TO IMPROVE TEACHER EFFECTIVENESS, WHICH ULTIMATELY DOES LEAD TO BETTER STUDENT OUTCOMES.
AND BY THE WAY, THERE WAS A MONETARY COMPONENT ADDED ON TO THE ANSWER WE JUST THOUGHT, WELL, MAYBE THERE MIGHT BE CONSIDERATION FOR PARTICIPATING IN THAT TYPE OF SYSTEM AS WELL, BUT WE DID HAVE A COUPLE OF FOLKS WHO MENTIONED A FEW OF THE NEGATIVE DRAWBACKS FOR TYING, YOU KNOW, MONEY TO TEACHER EFFECTIVENESS AND, UM, COMPETITION IN TERMS OF, YOU KNOW, FALSIFYING INFORMATION OR ATTEMPTING TO DO THAT IN ORDER TO RECEIVE THAT OUTCOME.
AND THE OTHER COMMENT, AND THEY COMMENT ON THAT.
I THINK WE COULD PROBABLY HAVE A TWO HOUR DISCUSSION ON THAT TOO, BUT THAT'S, LET'S MOVE ON.
UM, SO WE WERE VERY MUCH IN LINE WITH THE OTHER GROUPS, UM, AND THAT THIS IS A BIG ISSUE FOR RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION IN PARTICULAR, LIKE WAS BROUGHT UP BEFORE WITH YOUNGER PEOPLE, UM, THAT WERE IT'S, IT'S EASIER FOR PEOPLE WHO ARE HERE AND ESTABLISHED, BUT RECRUITING NEW TEACHERS, UM, THAT THAT'S A REAL DIFFICULTY.
AND, UH, ESPECIALLY WITH THE COST OF HOUSING.
ALTHOUGH ANOTHER ISSUE THAT WAS BROUGHT UP IS OUR SALARY IS NOT COMPETITIVE WITH OTHER NEARBY DISTRICTS AND EVERYONE NEEDS TEACHERS AND THESE TEACHERS HAVE A CHOICE.
SO IT MAKES IT MORE DIFFICULT.
ONE PERSON MENTIONED THAT OUR SALARY USED TO BE
[01:20:01]
A MUCH HIGHER COMPARED TO OTHER DISTRICTS IN SOUTH CAROLINA, AND IT HAS DROPPED DOWN QUITE A BIT.UM, COLONEL GEIER, I FINANCE CHAIR EXPLAIN SOME OF OUR BUDGET PROCESS AND, UH, REITERATED THE BOARD'S COMMITMENT AND THE DISTRICT'S COMMITMENT TO, UH, STUDYING AND RAISING TEACHER COMPENSATION.
THAT THAT'S A BIG GOAL FOR US.
UM, I ALSO BROUGHT UP, UH, WORKING WITH OPERATIONS AND WITH ALICE WALTON THAT WE ARE DOING A COMPENSATION STUDY, UH, IT WILL BE DONE IN TWO PARTS.
ONE, THE FIRST PART IS GOING TO BE FOR CLASSIFIED STAFF AND THE SECOND PART FOR CERTIFIED.
UM, BUT THAT WE ARE GOING TO LOOK AT TEACHER SALARIES AS PART OF THE, UH, COMPENSATION, UH, ASSESSMENT.
UM, AND THEN ANOTHER REALLY EXCELLENT, UH, POINT WAS BROUGHT UP BY, UH, WHALE BRANCH.
UH, THEY'RE TALKING ABOUT CATE PROGRAMS AND SPECIFICALLY MENTIONED THAT, UM, THEY'RE TRYING TO GET A DENTAL HYGIENIST PROGRAM GOING AT WHALE BRANCH, WHICH IS A GREAT PROGRAM, BUT THE PROBLEM IS THEY WOULD HAVE A PROFESSIONAL DENTAL HYGIENIST WHO WOULD COME IN AND TEACH WOULD HAVE TO TAKE A SUBSTANTIAL PAY, CUT TO BE A TEACHER.
AND THAT JUST MADE IT, FIRST OF ALL, DIFFICULT TO RECRUIT AND NOT FAIR TO OTHER PEOPLE THAT IF THEY HAVE THE PASSION TO TEACH STUDENTS, THEY SHOULDN'T HAVE TO TAKE A HUGE PAY CUT TO MAKE THAT HAPPEN.
UM, COLONEL GEIER ALSO MENTIONED THAT, YOU KNOW, WE'RE LOOKING AT THINGS LIKE MAKING OUR LOCALITY SUPPLEMENT THAT WE CURRENTLY OFFER THE OFFER AS PART OF THE SALARY, AND THEN ADD SOME NEW COMPENSATIONS AND MAXING OUT WHAT WE CAN DO LOCALLY IN TERMS OF, UH, LOCAL TAXES.
AND, UH, HE REITERATED THAT WE ARE, UH, AGGRESSIVELY PURSUING FISCAL AUTONOMY WITH THE COUNTY.
UM, SO, AND THEN IN CONCLUSION, MEL ALSO POINTED OUT, UH, MEL CAMPBELL, THAT THE STATE REALLY TIES OUR HANDS ON A LOT OF THE COMPENSATION ISSUES, BUT THAT THE BOARD IS DOING EVERYTHING.
THEY PULLING EVERY LEVER THAT WE CAN THINK OF TO ADDRESS THIS ISSUE, BECAUSE IT IS DEFINITELY A CRITICAL ONE.
THAT, UH, AND YOUR DISCUSSION ON ANY OF THEM.
AND I READ THREE IDEAS THAT WERE PRESENTED AT SUMMARY NOW ON THEN LET'S MOVE TO THE NEXT QUESTION.
AND, UH, KATHY, THE QUESTION IS, HAS THE DISTRICT REVISITED THE POSSIBILITY OF GETTING RID OF UNIFORMS? UM, SO BASICALLY OUR DISCUSSION, UM, IN THIS AREA REVOLVED AROUND THE PROS AND CONS OF UNIFORMS. AND I THINK THAT, UM, BOTH SIDES WERE WELL-REPRESENTED.
UM, BUT THAT, I DON'T KNOW, PEOPLE SEEM TO BE SATISFIED WITH, UM, HAVING UNIFORMS AND, UH, UH, ALLOWING OTHER DAYS WHEN KIDS DON'T HAVE TO DRESS IN UNIFORMS, BUT IT WAS, YOU KNOW, IT WASN'T AT THE MIDDLE SCHOOL LEVEL, AT LEAST FROM MY PERCEPTION.
IT WASN'T SOMETHING THAT WAS REALLY HOT.
WE, UH, YOU KNOW, DIVIDED, IT WAS LIKE, YEAH, IT'S OKAY IF WE HAVE, IF IT'S OKAY, IF WE DON'T, THAT'S BASICALLY WHAT I HEARD AND ANYBODY ELSE WHO WAS THERE, IF YOU DIFFERENT THAN ME CHIME UP, BUT THAT'S WHAT I HEARD.
BUT YEAH, BUT ALSO THERE WAS, UH, SOMETHING MENTIONED THAT IT WAS A COST BARRIER IN THE, IN THE, IN THE COST OF BOTH OF THEM TO, UH, IT WAS SOMETHING ABOUT THAT TO NOT DISCUSSION AND ABOUT FINDING THEM, I'M DEALING WITH A PARENT THAT I SPOKE TO THAT YES, THERE WAS ONE PARENT THAT SPOKE TO THAT.
LET'S GO TO, UH, ELEMENTARY SCHOOL AND THEN HIGH SCHOOL, I STARTED HIGH SCHOOL.
I SAID THAT I HAD THAT LONG DISCUSSION.
WE HAD, YEAH, WE HAD A LOT OF DISCUSSION THAT WAS MOSTLY MY FAULT, BUT, UM, THE PRINCIPALS WERE AN ASSISTANT PRINCIPALS WERE WIDELY IN, UH, AGREEMENT THAT THEY WOULD, THE MODIFIED DRESS CODE POLICY TAKES UP A LOT OF THEIR TIME.
UM, ESPECIALLY IN TERMS OF WHAT COLOR THEY'RE WEARING AND THAT THEY WOULD PREFER.
I THINK I MISSPOKE THE UNIFORM POLICY TAKES UP A LOT OF THEIR TIME AND THEY WOULD PREFER A DRESS CODE AND THEN ALLOW KIDS TO KIND OF DO WHATEVER THEY WANTED TO DO WITHIN THOSE STANDARDS.
AND EXAMPLES WERE GIVEN LIKE LENGTH OF SKIRTS EXPOSED.
MIDRIFFS THAT KIND OF THING WOULD BE IN THE DRESS CODE.
AND THEN OTHER THAN THAT, UM, IT WOULD BE MORE OF A, THE, YEAH, THE DRESS CODE AND NOT THIS UNIFORM WHERE WE HAVE SPECIFIC COLORS OR COLOR STYLES OR WHATEVER.
UM, AND THEY DID RAISE THE ISSUE IN THE HIGH SCHOOL THAT HOODS AND HATS ARE A SAFETY ISSUE.
AND THEY AGREE WITH, UH, NOT ALLOWING HOODIES AND HATS.
UM, AND A LOT OF PEOPLE, A LOT OF THE PRINCIPALS BASICALLY SAID THEY SPEND A LOT OF TIME DISCUSSING IT, TRYING TO ENFORCE IT.
KIDS ARE WALKING IN AND THEIR FIRST INTERACTION WITH THE SCHOOL ENVIRONMENT IS A NEGATIVE ONE BECAUSE THEY'RE OUT OF DRESS CODE OR OUT OF UNIFORM CODE.
AND SO THEY WOULD LIKE TO SEE US MOVE AWAY FROM UNIFORMS AND INTO A DRESS CODE.
AND THEN I KIND OF, AS THE ONE PARENT
[01:25:01]
HIGH SCHOOL PARENT THERE, I, I DON'T KNOW HOW PARENTS WOULD FEEL ABOUT IT.I ACTUALLY WANTED TO DISCUSS, YOU KNOW, SOME OF THE OTHER, UM, ISSUES AROUND WHETHER OR NOT IT AFFECTED LEARNING TO HAVE PEOPLE IN UNIFORM AND DRESS CODE.
SO WE DID HAVE A GOOD DISCUSSION, BUT I WILL SAY THAT THERE WAS WIDE CONSENSUS THAT WE NEED TO MOVE TO A DRESS CODE AND GET RID OF ALL THE COLORS AND THE STYLES AND WHATNOT IN THE UNIFORM CODE, BECAUSE IT TAKES UP TOO MUCH TIME.
SO THAT SOUNDED LIKE A RIGHT SUMMARY MALE.
I'M NOT THE CRITIQUE OF THIS, THE SUMMARY.
SO WHO, WHO ELSE? UH, THE ELEMENTARY THEY WITH, UM, THE GUY FROM YOU A REAL BRIEF SUMMARY ON THIS ONE.
YOU DON'T HAVE MUCH DISCUSSION AT ALL.
UH, THE SHORT ANSWER IS THE QUESTION WAS HOW HAS THE DISTRICT RECONSIDERED THE UNIFORMS, THE SHORT ANSWER WAS NO.
UH, AND THERE, THERE WEREN'T REALLY ANY STRONG FEELINGS ABOUT IT ONE WAY OR THE OTHER, BECAUSE THERE ARE TWO SIDES TO IT, AS YOU WILL KNOW FROM YOUR HIGH SCHOOL THING.
WHAT I'M HEARING IS, IS, IS STILL VERY IMPORTANT FOR US OVERALL AS EDUCATORS AND MY MIND AS WE'RE HEARING THAT THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL HAD NO FIGHT WITH IT, THEY DO WHAT THEY'RE TOLD AND THAT'S GREAT, AND THEY WEAR THE UNIFORMS AND EVERYBODY'S IN UNIFORM, BUT CHILDREN BECOME A LITTLE BIT MORE INDEPENDENT AS THEY BECOME HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS.
SO CONTINUALLY TRYING TO PIGEONHOLE LIMIT TO A CERTAIN COLOR UNIFORM IS, YOU KNOW, AN ELEMENT THAT WE MAY NEED TO LOOK AT.
THAT'S, THAT'S, THAT'S WHAT I'M HEARING TIME INTERVIEW HEARING SOMETHING DIFFERENT THAN I DON'T THINK THAT, UM, THE UNIFORM POLICY HAVE BEEN IN FALSE THE WAY IT WASN'T WAS FIRST STARTED.
UM, SOME STUDENT WOULD COME IN WITH THE UNIFORM, SOME WOULD NOT.
AND, UM, LIKE MR. SMITH SAID ABOUT THE PRICE, THE COST, UM, AND FINDING SOMEONE TO, TO, UM, TO GET THE UNIFORM FROM, I KNOW PEOPLE ARE TRAVELING ALL THE WAY TO SAVANNAH TO LOOK FOR UNIFORMS. I THINK WALMART, UH, DID HAVE SOME UNIFORM, BUT THEY DIDN'T HAVE ALL THE RIGHT TYPES.
I THINK MAYBE WE JUST HAVE A LESS CODE AND LEAVE THE INFORMAL, BUT THE ELEMENTARIES, THE ELEMENTARY TEACHERS AND, AND, AND, UH, PRINCIPALS, THEY SEEM TO THINK THAT THAT'S NOT AN ISSUE AT ALL.
SO WE DON'T CHANGE ANYTHING THAT'S WORKING.
IF IT AIN'T BROKE, DON'T FIX IT.
BUT THE HIGH SCHOOL THAT THEY DID MENTION THERE WAS SOME CONCERN.
SO THAT MAY BE SOMETHING WE NEED TO LOOK AT THEM.
IT WOULD ALSO SHOW UP IN MY MIND AND I'M JUST ONE PERSON, A GROUP PROCESS.
AND I WOULD, CHILDREN'S DECISION-MAKING, UH, SKILLS THAT THEY NOW, AFTER EIGHT YEARS IN UNIFORM CAN APPRECIATE NO UNIFORM, BUT A DRESS CODE AND SOME RESPECTABILITY, SOME, SOME EDUCATION ON HOW TO DRESS PROPERLY AS THEY GO OUT INTO SOCIETY.
I THINK THAT NEEDS TO BE LOOKED AT, I THINK THAT, UM, WE SHOULD ASK THE PRINCIPALS COLLECTIVELY, ALL THE ELEMENTARY PRINCIPALS, ALL THE MIDDLE SCHOOL PRINCIPALS AND ALL OF THE HIGH SCHOOL PRINCIPALS, JUST TO MAKE RECOMMENDATIONS BASED ON THEIR GRADE LEVEL, IF THEY WANT, IF THAT'S SOMETHING THAT THEY WOULD LIKE DR.
I AGREE WITH THAT, BUT THERE'S ANOTHER SIDE TO UNIFORMS AND THAT IS IT.
IF YOU DON'T HAVE YOUR FORMS, THERE IS A CLEAR DIFFERENTIATION OF PEOPLE OF MEANS VERSUS PEOPLE WHO HAVE, WHO ARE NOT WEALTHY.
ONE OF THE ADVANTAGES OF UNIFORMS IS YOU DON'T GET, UH, IMMEDIATE VISUAL, UM, TIP-OFF ON WHAT KIND OF A FAMILY AND WHAT THEIR, THEIR ECONOMIC ABILITIES ARE.
AND I, THAT YOU COULDN'T HAVE A DISCUSSION ON THAT TOO, BUT LET'S NOT DIGRESS.
LET'S GO ON TO THE NEXT QUESTION.
I THINK I UNDERSTOOD FROM THE HIGH SCHOOL GROUP THAT THE, UM, THERE WAS A LOT OF TIME SPENT DEALING WITH THE KIDS, NOT COMPLYING WITH THE UNIFORM.
[01:30:01]
UM, AGAIN, HAVING COME FROM A HIGH SCHOOL TEACHING BACKGROUND, I'VE NEVER TAUGHT IN A HIGH SCHOOL, BUT HAD A UNIFORM BEFORE.AND WE SPENT A LOT OF TIME DEALING WITH KIDS, NOT COMPLYING WITH THE DRESS CODE.
SO I DON'T, YOU KNOW, THAT'S, AND, AND THE DAYS THAT WE LIVE IN NOW ENFORCING A DRESS CODE, I THINK IS MUCH HARDER THAN ENFORCING A UNIFORM.
IF THE UNIFORM IS UNIFORM, THEN YOU KNOW, THAT'S EASIER TO ENFORCE.
I DON'T THINK, WELL, YEAH, I COULD BUY THAT ARGUMENT.
I'M NOT THAT KIND OF EDUCATED AS YOU PROBABLY CAN GUESS.
I DON'T THINK WE, WE SHOULD BE INTO THE ENFORCING BUSINESS AS MUCH AS WE ARE INTO THE LEADING AND EDUCATING BUSINESS.
AND I THINK WE FIND OURSELVES IN FORCING A LOT OF RULES.
THAT'S NOT EDUCATIONAL, NOT SUPPORTING THE PROCESS.
AND THAT'S, THAT'S MY THOUGHT ABOUT IT, BUT, YOU KNOW, UM, I'LL FIND MINORITY AND THAT THOUGHT PROCESS.
UH, ROBIN, UH, THAT BRINGS US, I THINK WE ONLY HAD A COUPLE OF PEOPLE, BUT THE SECURITY, YOU ARE A SECURITY GOD QUESTION.
THEY DISCUSS IT, RIGHT? YES, WE DID.
I THINK THAT'S REALLY WHERE THE QUESTION WAS AIMED.
AND, AND THE GROUP AS A WHOLE THOUGHT IT WAS A GOOD IDEA.
UM, THERE'S A RELATIONSHIP AND A FAMILIARITY THAT GETS FORMED WHEN YOU HAVE A CONSISTENT OFFICER THERE, UM, CONSISTENT FACE THERE'S SAFETY.
AND AN UNIMPORTANT THING WAS BROUGHT UP IS IT'S, IT'S NOT JUST SAFETY.
IT'S A LOT OF SMALL THINGS THAT A RESOURCE OFFICER CAN DO IN THEIR ELEMENTARY SCHOOL THAT THE STAFF DOES NOT HAVE TO DO.
LIKE, YOU KNOW, WALKING AROUND REGULARLY AROUND THE SCHOOL AND LOOKING AT THINGS, ONE EXAMPLE WAS GIVEN HIM ABOUT, UH, EMPTY BEER CANS BACK BY THE DUMPSTER AND TAKING CARE OF THOSE LITTLE THINGS.
UM, BUT THE BIG THING WAS THAT IT'S IMPORTANT TO HAVE CONSISTENT RELATIONSHIP SO THAT THE OFFICER'S PART OF THE TEAM, EVERYBODY KNOWS THEM.
THE PARENTS FEEL COMFORTABLE WITH THEM.
THE STUDENTS FEEL COMFORTABLE WITH THEM.
SO IT WAS UNIVERSALLY, UH, THOUGHT IT WAS A GOOD IDEA.
HEY, AND NEED FURTHER THOUGHT ON THAT.
WHAT ABOUT THE MIDDLE SCHOOL AS YOU GUYS GET A CHANCE TO DISCUSS THAT? UH, JUST BRIEFLY.
AND I, I THINK, UH, ONE OF THE PARTICIPANTS FORGIVE ME, I DON'T RECALL, UM, STATED THAT THEY ACTUALLY HAVE A, UM, SECURITY GUARD, UM, AT THE MIDDLE SCHOOL, BLUFFTON POLICE OFFICER, MAYBE ONE DAY A WEEK OR TWO DAYS A WEEK, AND THEN A SECURITY OFFICER AND HOW PLEASED THEY WERE WITH THE SECURITY OFFICER, THAT GREAT RELATIONSHIPS, THAT TYPE OF THING.
AND IT BARELY AT ALL, WANNA MAKE A COMMENT.
JIMIN, DIDN'T HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO, TO TALK ABOUT THAT.
PARTICULARLY FOR THE HIGH SCHOOL, WE DIDN'T GET A CHANCE TO TALK ABOUT UNIFORMS OR KIDS SECURITY.
WELL, MY COMMENT WOULD BE THAT I THINK DAVID HAD, UH, HIT THE NAIL ON THE HEAD IN TERMS OF HOW WE OPERATE WITH THE SECURITY BUILT RELATIONSHIPS.
THERE HAVE TO BE A PART OF OUR FAMILY.
AND I THINK AS A SOUND EDUCATION, WHEN THE CHILDREN UNDERSTAND THAT THE SECURITY OFFICERS ARE THEIR FRIENDS, THEY LEARN TO EXPECT A RESPECT THAT I'M GOING TO EXPECT THEM TO SUPPORT, YOU KNOW, THEIR NEEDS AND THAT WHEN THEY GET INTO TROUBLE.
SO THEY HAVE TO GO TO PEOPLE IN THE SCHOOLS AND SECURITY OFFICERS SHOULD BE A GO-TO PERSON.
I, YOU KNOW, I, I, YOU KNOW, I DON'T KNOW ABOUT THE WAY THEY DRESS OR ALL THAT, BUT I THINK, YOU KNOW, SECURITY IS ABSOLUTELY A FUNDAMENTAL PART THAT WE HAVE TO WAVE IT TO THE PROCESS OF EDUCATING, NOT A PERSON JUST WALKING AROUND, YOU KNOW, TAUGHT THEM AS TO THE REST OF THE BUILDING.
[01:35:01]
QUESTION OR OBSERVATION FROM THE GROUP FOR THE GOOD OF THE GROUP? I DO HAVE JUST, UH, JUST ONE COMMENT SINCE WE'RE GETTING READY TO WRAP UP, THIS LADY IS OUT OF OUR MIDDLE SCHOOL.WELL, WE GET ANY FEEDBACK ON, UH, THE CALENDARS OR UNIFORMS OR WHERE DO WE GO AFTER THIS DISCUSSION? DOES IT STOP? OR WE HEAR SOMETHING ELSE ABOUT, I CAN ONLY SPEAK FROM MY PERSPECTIVE FROM THE BOARD AND EACH OF THESE ISSUES, THESE QUESTIONS HAD SIGNIFICANT, UH, INPUT FROM PEOPLE THAT WE RESPECT, UH, MINISTERS, ET CETERA, OF THE, OF THE DISTRICT.
AND WE WE'VE, WE, WE HAVE THIS DISCUSSION WITH FRANKLIN, WHAT THE QUESTIONS WERE, WHAT THE RESULTS WERE, AND YOU CAN EXPECT SOME KIND OF FEEDBACK FOR MYSELF, SOME KIND OF DIRECTION IN TERMS OF SOME OF THE THINGS WE COULD DO SOMETHING WITH.
BUT OBVIOUSLY THOUGH THE TEACHER SALARY THING IS, IS AS A FOREFRONT OF OUR THOUGHT PROCESS AND HOW WE DEAL WITH IT.
NOW WE'RE NOT FLEXIBLE ENOUGH TO DEAL WITH IT THE WAY IT SHOULD BE DEALT WITH, BUT, UH, WE CERTAINLY SUPPORT ALL THE EFFORTS IN TERMS OF GETTING AS MUCH FUNDING AS MY SUPPORT TO RETAIN OUR GOOD TEACHERS AS WE CAN.
THAT'S A, THAT'S A PART OF MY PLATFORM.
AND I THINK MOST OF THE BOARD MEMBERS HAD LETTERS.
SO THERE'D BE LESS THAN, YOU KNOW, THE FAIR TO SAY WE WEREN'T GOING TO ADDRESS THAT ONE.
BUT, UH, THE UNIFORMS, A SECURITY ISSUE, I DON'T KNOW, KATHY SUGGESTED PROBABLY BE THE WAY WE GO WITH THAT.
JUST GET AN OVERALL SURVEY OF THE ADMINISTRATORS IN THE BUILDINGS AND WHAT THEY FEEL AS IMPORTANT ABOUT IT AND MAKE DECISIONS ACCORDINGLY.
BUT MR. CAMPBELL, TO THAT WE WANTED TO ADD, OR I WANT TO KNOW JUST A SCHOOL-WIDE.
UM, WE UNDERSTAND THE SALARY AND THE RETENTION OF TEACHERS THAT BASICALLY, UM, BUFORD COUNTY SCHOOL BOARD SYSTEM, DISTRICT HANDS ARE TIED, BUT THE OTHER THINGS THAT ARE ADDRESSED TONIGHT, WE ALWAYS ARE SENDING OUT SURVEYS.
AND THERE'S ONLY SO MANY SURVEYS AND DISCUSSIONS THAT WE CAN HAVE, UM, TO MR. SHIP'S EAST POINT.
WHEN WILL WE KNOW WHEN THERE WILL BE ACTION, I THINK IS WHAT SCOTT WAS ASKING.
WELL, I, I UNDERSTOOD SQUASH QUESTION AND I ANSWERED THE BEST OF MY ABILITY.
I DON'T KNOW IF WE GOING TO HAVE A TIMETABLE OF SCOTT'S EXPECTING SOMETHING BY THE NEXT BOARD MEETING ON THESE.
UM, I'M NOT GOING TO PROMISE THAT I'M PROMISING ONE THING THAT THESE ALL QUESTIONS WILL BE VETTED BY THE BOARD AND DR.
RODRIGUEZ IN TERMS OF ANALYZING IT AND COMING TO SOME KIND OF ACTION PLAN.
SO, YOU KNOW, EACH OF THEM IS DIFFERENT.
SOME OF THEM MIGHT TAKE TWO DAYS TO DEAL WITH US.
SO I, I, YOU KNOW, I, I JUST ASKED YOU TO TAKE OUR WORD THAT WE, WE WILL DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT.
WE WILL NOT IGNORE WHAT, JUST WHAT YOU'RE TELLING US TONIGHT.
I WOULD SAY THAT, UM, WE HAVE SOMETHING BACK TO THOSE FOLKS BY JANUARY OR FEBRUARY.
WELL, I'LL SAY SOMETHING BACK OR WHETHER YOU SUGGEST, OH, I THINK WHAT WE NEED TO DO IS SIT DOWN WITH THE SUPERINTENDENT AND, AND, UH, TALK TO HIM ABOUT WHAT WE HEARD TONIGHT.
THEN WE, AND THE SUPERINTENDENT HAS TO MAKE A DECISION AND IT'S NOT IT'S, UH, I THINK WHAT ARE WE GOING TO ALSO HAVE TO DO IS SIT DOWN AND TALK WITH THE DELEGATION IN COLUMBIA.
THAT'S WHAT, THAT'S WHAT I KNOW.
AND ALL OF THAT MIGHT TAKE MORE TIME THAT WE CAN PUT UP.
I'M SAYING WE WILL ENGAGE HIM OUT IF YOU, IF YOU KEEP UP WITH THE BOARD ACTION AND KEEP UP WITH THE SUPERINTENDENT IS ACTION.
YOU'LL KNOW THAT WE'RE ENGAGED IN THESE FOUR TOPICS AND WE HAVEN'T ATE NOR THAT WE'VE DEALT WITH THEM, YOU KNOW? NOPE.
I WOULD SAY NO LATER THAN FEBRUARY MR. CAMPBELL, CAN YOU HEAR ME? YES, THIS IS, UH, DR.
SO I'VE, I'VE BEEN ABLE TO HEAR THE, UH, SORT OF THE REPORT OUT ON THE CONVERSATION.
AND, AND I AGREE WITH, UH, WITH WHAT YOU SAID, SOME OF THESE THINGS, UH, YOU KNOW, ARE GOING TO TAKE A LITTLE MORE TIME TO DEVELOP BECAUSE
[01:40:01]
WE ARE DEPENDENT ON SOME OF THE I'M TRYING TO HIDE BEHIND A WALL.SO, UM, UM, SOME OF THESE THINGS WILL TAKE A LITTLE MORE TIME TO DEVELOP BECAUSE WE'RE DEPENDENT ON, UH, ON SOME OF THE STATE MATTERS.
AND THEN SOME OF THESE THINGS WE NEED TO FLUSH OUT A LITTLE BIT MORE LIKE, LIKE THERE ARE THE UNIFORM ISSUE.
UH, THERE ARE THINGS THAT WE NEED TO FLUSH OUT, UH, THE CLAUSE, BECAUSE YOU DO GET INTO ISSUES RELATED TO WHAT A STUDENT WEARS ON A SHIRT AS AN EXAMPLE.
AND WHEN YOU SENSOR THAT YOU CAN DO SOME SENSORY, BUT WHEN YOU STEM, SO SOME OF THAT YOU'RE GETTING TO, WHAT IS IT? FREEDOM OF SPEECH, EVEN THOUGH IT'S ON A SHIRT AS AN EXAMPLE.
AND I CAN TELL YOU, IN MY, IN MY, IN MY PAST, THERE WAS A STUDENT WHO WORE A PARTICULAR SHIRT WITH A PARTICULAR FLAG ON IT.
AND THE DISTRICT THAT THE SCHOOL PERSONNEL TOLD THEM, THEY COULDN'T WEAR IT.
AND THE DISTRICT SUPPORTED YOU COULDN'T WEAR IT.
THE DISTRICT GOT SUED AND LOST BIG TIME BECAUSE OF THE FREEDOM OF SPEECH ISSUE.
WE HAVE TO REALLY FLUSH A LOT OF THOSE KINDS OF FEEDS OUT BECAUSE YOU CAN FIND YOURSELVES IN A SITUATION THAT YOU DON'T REALLY WANT TO BE IN IN TERMS OF MANAGING THINGS.
SO, UH, SO THERE'S A LOT THAT REQUIRES FURTHER DEVELOPMENT AND GO THE BEDDING THAT YOU GAVE MR. CAMPBELL, THAT I THINK, YOU KNOW, AS WE MAKE PROGRESS, YOU CAN KEEP EVERYBODY IN ON THE PROGRESS ON THE FOUR QUESTIONS.
SOME OF THEM ARE GOING TO TAKE, RIGHT.
WELL, YOU KNOW, I, I PROMISE WE WILL MAKE PROGRESS AND WE WILL ADDRESS THESE ISSUES.
THAT'S, THAT'S ALL I CAN PROMISE.
I CAN'T PROMISE A TIMETABLE ON WHEN WE WILL GET THAT SALARY WAGE, THESE TO BE, BUT THAT WILL ALL, THAT'S REALLY AN ONGOING THING.
AND THE UNIFORM THING, WE WILL ADDRESS IT, ACCORDING TO WHAT YOU TELL US ABOUT YOUR PARTICULAR SITUATION AND WHAT WE, WHERE WE THINK WE CAN GO, YOU KNOW, IN TERMS OF EDUCATION OR THE SOUND PROCESS WITH THAT.
AND THERE ARE OTHER ELEMENTS, THE SAME THING, WE, WE, WE CAN LOOK AT ALL OF THOSE THINGS IN A BASIS WHERE WE'VE GOT A METHOD TO GET THROUGH SOME TYPE OF SOLUTION.
ALL RIGHT, NOW I APPRECIATE YOUR PARTICIPATION AND I'M NOT GOING TO DISMISS THAT.
I KNOW I WOULDN'T HAVE ON A SCHOOL LIKE TWO HOURS ON A SCHOOL NIGHT.
IT'S NOT AN EASY THING TO DO SO WELL, YOU HAVE TWO HANDS UP, YOU HAVE DAVID AND YOU HAVE, UH, KEVIN'S THE DANCE.
I, I WAS GOING TO SAY, YOU KNOW, WHAT WE COULD COMMIT TO IS GIVING A STATUS REPORT.
UM, IN THE BEGINNING OF JANUARY, WE CAN SAY, HERE WE ARE ON, THIS IS THE PROGRESS WE'VE MADE.
AND YOU KNOW, IT JUST GIVE US STATUS.
WE CAN GIVE A STATUS BACK TO THIS GROUP EVERY MONTH OR EVERY TWO MONTHS, WE'LL PROBABLY BE MORE COMFORTABLE.
I JUST WANTED TO MAKE A POINT THAT THERE ARE SOME ISSUES THAT WE DID REACH CONSENSUS ON.
HERE ARE WE ARE ON THE SAME PAGE AND THERE ARE SOME ITEMS LIKE NUMBER ONE, UH, THE, THE HIGH SCHOOLS AREN'T QUITE DIFFERENT, UH, OPINION THAN THE OTHER SCHOOLS.
I DON'T THINK WE HAD A CLEAR CONSENSUS ON WHAT TO DO WITH THE CALENDAR AT ALL.
NO, THE HIGH SCHOOLS ARE DIFFERENT HIGH SCHOOLS PROBABLY.
I MEAN, THEY PROBABLY ANSWERED THE QUESTION ALREADY.
THE HIGH SCHOOL, THEY PROBABLY NOT GOING TO DO A WHOLE LOT, BUT THE HIGH SCHOOL CALENDAR, BUT THE ELEMENTARY AND MIDDLE SCHOOL, THAT'S GONNA REQUIRE SOME, SOME OLD BEDDING AND SOME MORE LOOKING AT THE STATISTICS AND LOOKING AT WHAT'S POSSIBLE.
SO I'M NOT SURE WE'LL BE ABLE TO SAY, AND IN JANUARY OR FEBRUARY, WHETHER WE ARE GOING TO HEAR ROUND OR NOT, THAT'S GOING TO BE UP TO FRANKLIN AND HIS GROUP TO DECIDE HOW EASY IT IS OR HOW DIFFICULT IT IS TO DO THAT AND BRING US A PLAN AT THE BOARD LEVEL.
AND WE, I DON'T KNOW IF WE WANT TO DIRECT THAT.
WE JUST DIRECT THEM THOUGH, TO LOOK AT IT, BECAUSE THAT WAS THE QUESTION YOU ASKED.
YOU ASKED US TO LOOK AT IT BY, AND IF ANYTHING ELSE, ANYBODY ELSE, DAVID, YOU FORGOT YOUR HANDS UP.
ROBIN, I THINK YOU GOT TO, YOU GOT ALL THIS INFORMATION SOME WAY OR ANOTHER WE'LL GET INTO YOU, BUT,
[01:45:01]
UM, THANK YOU.THANK YOU FOR JOINING US THIS EVENING.
THEY HAVE FUTURE TOPICS OR FORMAT IF ANYONE HAD ANY FUTURE TOPICS.
THAT'S THE LAST DAY ON THAT AGENDA, FUTURE TOPICS, THAT FORMAT, I DON'T KNOW WHAT FORMAT, MAN.
WHAT, WHAT ARE WE GONNA DO IT NEXT TIME OR FORMAT AS IS, AS IS OUR BREAKOUT GROUPS.
UM, WE HAVE A BROKEN DOWN BY GRADE LEVEL.
WAS IT, WAS IT ADEQUATE TONIGHT? I MEAN, I THOUGHT I WAS WELL FOR GOOD AT THAT FIRST QUESTION, BECAUSE DISCUSS IT FROM A DIFFERENT LEVEL THAN THE OTHER, IF WE HAD A MIXED GROUP THERE.
I THINK THAT THE FORMAT MIGHT DEPEND ON THE TYPE OF QUESTIONS.
CAUSE YOU KNOW, I THINK THESE QUESTIONS WORK WELL BY LEVEL, BUT THERE MIGHT BE SOME QUESTIONS THAT NEED TO BE DISCUSSED LIKE BY, YOU KNOW, CLUSTER GROUPS OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT.
UM, SO I GUESS NEXT YEAR WE'LL WAIT UNTIL YOU DON'T WAIT UNTIL NEXT YEAR.
MAYBE YOU START SO MANY OF THOSE QUESTIONS EARLIER AS THEY COME UP AS SOMETHING COME UP, YOU MIGHT WANT TO SUBMIT THOSE QUESTIONS.
THEN WE WILL BE RESPONSIBLE TO BRING THEM UP AS INTRODUCTION QUESTIONS.
CAUSE WE ASKING YOU, YOU KNOW, SPUR OF THE MOMENT THE LAST MONTH TO COME UP WITH SOME QUESTIONS AND YOU KNOW, THINGS OF JANUARY TO DO IN THE COURSE OF THIS WHOLE SCHOOL YEAR AT SOMETIME, I WANT TO KNOW WHY CAN'T WE DO THIS? WHY CAN'T WE DO THAT? YOU CAN BRING THOSE THINGS UP.
AND THEN SHE HAD THE FORUM BILL.
I VETTED IT PROBABLY, AND I HAVE SOME ANSWERS.
IT DOESN'T ALWAYS HAVE TO BE THIS WAY THAT WE DO IT.
YOU COVERED WITH THE QUESTIONS THAT WE TALK ABOUT IT AND THEN EXPECT SOMETHING LATER.
YOU COULD ALL, YOU KNOW, THE FUTURISTIC IN TERMS OF WHAT YOU EXPECT US TO BE ADDRESSING WHEN WE MEET.
AND THE SECOND THING I'D LIKE TO SAY IS WE NEED TO BRING SO MANY SIC REPS WITH US NEXT TIME.
DAVID, UM, YEAH, MAYBE JUST A QUICK ONE.
UM, WE, WE MIGHT WANT TO RETHINK WHETHER ONCE A YEAR IS, IS ADEQUATE TWICE A YEAR.
UM, WE MIGHT HAVE TO HAVE THESE MORE FREQUENTLY TO GO ON WITH YOUR THING ABOUT THE QUESTIONS COMING UP ALL DURING THE YEAR.
UM, YOU KNOW, THAT JUST A TOPIC WE MIGHT WANT TO TALK ABOUT.
OR THE BOARD STANDPOINT, THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE CAN DO EASILY THERE.
ANYTHING ELSE? ANY OTHER IDEAS, SUGGESTIONS? SO COMMENTS.
WELL THANK YOU FOR JOINING US TONIGHT.
NOW, AS YOU GO BACK INTO YOUR FORTRESS OR YOUR HEAL BACK, HEAL YOUR RETREAT TOMORROW, PLEASE HAVE A GOOD SUCCESSFUL DAY AND KNOW THAT THAT YOU HAVE OUR SUPPORT.
AND WE KNOW IT'S NOT AN EASY JOB, YOU KNOW THAT YOU'RE NOT EARNING NEARLY ENOUGH AND ALL YOU A PAT ON THE BACK AND WHY THING.
I LIKE TO COMPLIMENT THE ANSWER I SEIZE ON THE INSIDE.
I SEE IS HILDA IN HIGH SCHOOL.
ANYWAY, I HOPE ALL THAT I SEE AS, UH, AS APPRECIATIVE OF WHAT THE TEACHERS DO, BECAUSE THEY HELPED ME IN HIGH SCHOOL.
AS I SEE, THEY'RE ALWAYS SPOT ON.
IT'S JUST THAT, THAT DAY WHEN THEY'RE DOING A LUNCHEON FOR THOSE GOLFERS OR JUST THROWING LITTLE, EXTRA STAFF THINGS, AND THAT'S WHERE THE SIC IS DUE TO HELP IMPROVE THE SCHOOL.
YOU KNOW, AND I CERTAINLY, AS AN EDUCATOR, APPRECIATE THAT SIDE SEATS.
AND, AND WE, YOU KNOW, WE MAY LEAD TO UNDERSTAND THAT MORE AS WE GO ALONG WHAT THE SIC DOES AND WHAT THEY'RE SUPPOSED TO DO AND HOW WE, YOU KNOW, UH, MAKE THEM A PART OF OUR FAMILY, A BIGGER PART OF OUR FAMILY.
UH, LET US KNOW WHAT ELSE WE CAN DO.