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CAPTIONING PROVIDED BY BEAUFORT COUNTY BOARD[Call to Order]
OF EDUCATION AND, AND BEAUFORT, SOUTH CAROLINA, SEPTEMBER 5TH, 2023.IT'S NOW 4:30 PM WE'LL START, UH, SOON WITH THE EXECUTIVE SESSION AND IT'S SIX O'CLOCK.
WE'LL HAVE THE PUBLIC SESSION.
THIS IS HYBRID VIDEO CONFERENCING, AND THIS MEETING WILL BE LIVE STREAMED BY THE COUNTY CHANNEL.
THE INSECURITY GUIDELINES, BAGS, BACKPACKS, AND PER AND PURSES ARE PROHIBITED BY THE PUBLIC AT BUFORT COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION MEETINGS.
REQUEST FOR PUBLIC COMMENT IS THE PATIENT WILL BE ACCEPTED BETWEEN FIVE AND 5:30 PM BY SENDING AN EMAIL WITH YOUR NAME, PHONE NUMBER, AND TOPIC TO ROBIN BERRY AT EUFOR K12 SC US.
AND ROBIN IS SPELLED R O B Y N.
YOU'LL RECEIVE A PHONE CALL DURING PUBLIC COMMENTS WHERE YOU'LL BE ABLE TO SPEAK AND ADDRESS THE BOARD FOR A MAXIMUM OF THREE MINUTES.
ON ISSUES WITHIN THE BOARD'S DOMAIN, THE FORUM WILL BE LIMITED TO TOTAL OF 30 MINUTES.
IF YOU ARE IN PERSON, YOU MAY ADDRESS THE BOARD FOR A MAXIMUM OF THREE MINUTES.
ON ISSUES WITHIN THE BOARD'S DOMAIN, EACH SPEAKER MUST FILL OUT A PUBLIC COMMENT CARD.
PLEASE SEE THE BOARD CLERK FOR A CARD REQUEST FOR SECOND PUBLIC COMMENTS WILL BE ACCEPTED BETWEEN SEVEN AND 7:30 PM IN THE SAME MANNER AS ABOVE.
THE SECOND PUBLIC COMMENTS WILL TAKE PLACE PRIOR TO ADJOURNMENT, NO LATER THAN 9:00 PM THE SECOND FORUM WILL BE LIMITED TO 15 MINUTES IN THE EVENT THE BOARD IS NOT FINISHED ADDRESSING ALL ITEMS LISTED ON THE SEPTEMBER 5TH, 2023 AGENDA, THE BOARD WILL RECONVENE AT 6:00 PM ON SEPTEMBER 6TH, 2023.
THE NEXT BUSINESS DAY TO FINISH THE AGENDA ITEMS DISCUSS.
[Executive Session]
VICE CHAIR.I MOVE THAT WE GO INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION FOR THE FOLLOWING, RECEIPT OF LEGAL ADVICE RELATED TO ONE POTENTIAL LEGAL CLAIM, TWO PENDING LEGAL CLAIMS AND TWO, SETTLED LEGAL CLAIMS COVERED BY THE ATTORNEY-CLIENT PRIVILEGE PURSUANT TO SOUTH CAROLINA CODE ANNOTATED SECTION 30 DASH FOUR DASH 70 A TWO ADULT ED HOMESCHOOL REPORT PURSUANT TO SOUTH CAROLINA CODE ANNOTATED SEC SECTION 30 DASH FOUR DASH 40 A FOUR.
DISCUSSION OF NEGOTIATIONS INCIDENT TO PROPOSE THOMPSON TURNER CONSTRUCTION CONTRACT AMENDMENT NUMBER 57 G M P FOR NEW BUS ENTRANCE ROAD IMPROVEMENT SCOPE AT OKT ELEMENTARY SCHOOL PURSUANT TO SECTION CODE ANNOTATED SECTION 30 DASH 40 30 DASH FOUR DASH 78 2.
AND DISCUSSION OF PROPOSAL SELECTION FOR CONTRACTOR R F P NUMBER 23 DASH 0 2 2 CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT FOR NEW PK THROUGH FIVE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL ON MAY RIVER CAMPUS PURSUANT TO SECTION CODE ANNOTATED SECTION 30 DASH FOUR DASH 70 A TWO.
DO I HAVE A MOTION TO MOVE INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION PLEASE? SECONDED.
IS THERE ANY DISCUSSION MR. SMITH, UM, IN PURSUANT TO THE RECEIPT OF LEGAL ADVICE ON THESE LEGAL MATTERS, WHO WILL BE GIVING US THE, UM, ADVICE ON THIS, WHO WILL, WILL BE THE ATTORNEYS ON THIS? ON THE LEGAL ADVICE, SIR? YES, SIR.
UH, THAT'LL BE, UH, BE MS. CARTILAGE.
IT'LL BE, UH, MS. MAHONEY AND ANYBODY ELSE HEARING FAVOR SIGNIFY BY SAYING AYE.
THOSE ONLINE PLEASE IDENTIFY YOURSELF AND, UH, YOUR VOTE PLEASE.
UNANIM THAT WE HAVE, MOTION HAS PASSED AND WE'LL NOW MOVE INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION.
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IT'S A BEAUTIFUL DAY OUT HERE, SUNNY TODAY WITH LIGHT BREEZES GIVING WAY TO CLOUDS IN THE AFTERNOON.WE COULD SEE SOME LIGHT PRECIPITATION TO MODERATE PRECIPITATION LATER ON, FOLLOWED BY POWERFUL STORM LINE CONDITIONS.
[Action as Necessary or Appropriate Regarding Matters Discussed in Executive Session]
ARE THERE ANY ACTIONS AS NECESSARY OR APPROPRIATE REGARDING MATTERS DISCUSSED IN EXECUTIVE SESSION? YES.I, I'M NOT ON, YEAH, I'M NOT GONNA PAUSE FOR A MOMENT SO WE CAN GET THE AUDIO TAKEN CARE OF.
I THINK IT'S ME, YOU, I THINK IT'S ME.
OKAY, NOW IT'S BETTER, I THINK.
UM, SO VICE CHAIR, I MOVE THAT WE ACCEPT THE SUPERINTENDENT'S RECOMMENDATION FOR THE MONTHLY ADULT EDUCATION AND HOMESCHOOL REPORT FOR SEPTEMBER 5TH, 2023.
ROLL CALL, VOTE AS WE HAVE A NUMBER OF PEOPLE, UH, ABSENT.
SO, MS. UH, CUSHMAN BERRY, WOULD YOU CALL THE ROLL FOR THE VOTE PLEASE? ANGELA MIDDLETON AYE.
OKAY, SO VICE CHAIR, I MOVE THAT THE BOARD OF EDUCATION APPROVE AMENDMENT NUMBER 57 FOR OCA T ELEMENTARY SCHOOL ROAD IMPROVEMENT SCOPE WITH THOMPSON TURNER CONSTRUCTION FOR A GUARANTEED MAXIMUM PRICE OF $884,092.
SO HERE A SECOND, SECOND FROM MR. CAMPBELL DISCUSSION.
MR. SMITH, THIS IS THE, UM, ROAD.
UM, I I, I AM REALLY TORN ON THIS ONE DUE TO THE FACT THAT, UM, WITH IS, IS, IS DE IS, THERE ARE DEFINITELY SOME, UM, UNDERLYING CONCERNS HERE, BUT IN, IN, IN, IN TERMS OF, UM, SAFETY AND SECURITY IS PROBABLY ONE OF THE REASONS WHY I MAY, UH, BEEN SUPPORTIVE IT, BUT I JUST THINK THAT THIS IS A LOT OF TAXPAYERS MONEY.
UM, AND I WOULD WOULD JUST LIKE SOME MORE COMPREHENSIVE, UM, A A MORE OF A, A COMPREHENSIVE, UM, INFORMATION, UH, KNOWING THAT, THAT WE'RE, THAT, THAT WE'RE DOING THIS WITH, UM, SOME MORE, A LITTLE BIT MORE GUARANTEED ON IT.
THAT, THAT, THAT'S WHAT I, I'LL LEAVE THAT.
AND OTHER QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS ON THE HEARING? NONE.
MS. CUSHIER, WILL YOU CALL THE ROLE ANGELA MIDDLETON? I ABSTAIN.
CHRISTINA GUS, I FULLY SUPPORT EARL CAMPBELL.
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UM, I'VE SEEN THE TRAFFIC JAMS LEADING INTO OKEE ELEMENTARY, SO I'M GOING TO ACTUALLY VOTE.UH, THE RE LEMME SHOW THE RESULTS.
SHOW RESULTS SHOWING UP THERE.
CAN YOU SAY IT? FIVE FOUR? YES.
TWO NOSS AND FOUR ABSTENTIONS.
SO WHAT DOES THAT MEAN? IT SAYS, UM, IT SAYS APPROVED.
OKAY, VICE CHAIR, THIS IS THE LAST ONE.
I MOVE THAT THE BOARD AUTHORIZED THE SUPERINTENDENT TO ISSUE AN AWARD TO THOMPSON TURNER CONSTRUCTION TO PROVIDE CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT AT RISK SERVICES FOR THE NEW PK FIVE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL ON THE MAY RIVER CAMPUS.
AS DESCRIBED IN R F P NUMBER 23 DASH 0 22, THE BOARD AUTHORIZES THE SUPERINTENDENT TO EXECUTE A CONTRACT WITH THE, WITH THE CONTRACTOR UPON THE EXPIRATION OF THE PROTEST PERIOD.
A SECOND, SECOND FROM MR. CAMPBELL.
ANY QUESTIONS OR DISCUSSION? SMITH? UM, I WILL DEFINITELY NOT SUPPORT THIS, UM, THIS, THIS, UH, CONTRACT DUE TO CONCERNS OF PREVIOUS BUILDINGS AND PREVIOUS THINGS THAT NEED TO BE DONE.
AND I, I, I AM, UH, CONCERNED WHEN IT COMES TO OUR FACILITIES AND I WOULD LIKE MORE OF AN UNDERSTANDING AND I WOULD LIKE SOME MORE INFORMATION, UH, IN TERMS OF GIVING, GIVING THE THIS CONTRACT TO CONTRACT TO ANY, TO ANY CONTRACTORS AT THIS TIME UNTIL WE CAN UNDERSTAND THE FACILITIES AND UNDERSTAND, UM, WHO'S FIX OR WHAT IN THIS DISTRICT.
WE JUST HAVE SOME UNDERLYING ISSUES.
AND SO UNTIL WE GET THOSE RESOLVED AND A LITTLE MORE CLEAR, THEN I WILL DEFINITELY CANNOT SUPPORT THIS.
UH, I CANNOT SUPPORT THIS, UH, THIS CONTRACT AT THIS TIME.
OTHER QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS? HEARING NONE.
MS. CUSH BERRY, WILL YOU CALL THE ROLL? ANGELA MIDDLETON? I ABSTAIN.
WILLIAM SMITH? ABSOLUTELY NOT.
ANYTHING ELSE? MADAM SECRETARY? NO, SIR.
THAT CONCLUDES ALL OF OUR MOTIONS COMING OUT OF EXECUTIVE SESSION.
[Approval of Agenda]
THE AGENDA IS THE APPROVAL OF THE AGENDA.DO I HAVE A MOTION TO APPROVE THE AGENDA? MS. BOATWRIGHT? DO I HAVE A SECOND MR. CAMPBELL DISCUSSION? HEARING NONE, MS. CUSH BERRY, WILL YOU CALL THE ROLL? MS. MIDDLETON? AYE.
INGRID BOATWRIGHT A RACHEL ESKI AYE.
OCEAN CARRIES ALL THOSE? UH, OKAY.
[Pledge of Allegiance, Moment of Silence, Statement of Media Notification]
NEXT ITEM OF THE AGENDA.THAT'S THE PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE.
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.
PLEASE REMAIN STANDING FOR A MOMENT OF SILENCE FOR TWO BATTERY CREEK HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS PASSED AWAY LAST WEEK.
AND FOR MR. MICHAEL HARRIS, THE SON OF THE LAKE MILLFORD WILSON, WHO SERVED AS A
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PRINCIPAL AT ST.HE PASSED AWAY ON AUGUST 29TH, 2023.
HE WAS A RETIRED TEACHER WHO WORKED AT WILL BRANCH MIDDLE SCHOOL.
[Student Performance – Lady’s Island Middle School Theatre and Chorus performing “Hidden Treasure” from Pirates, the Musical under the direction of Lynda McLain.]
ON THE AGENDA IS A STUDENT PERFORMANCE FROM LADIES ISLAND MIDDLE SCHOOL THEATER AND CHORUS PERFORMING AS THEY COME IN.UNDER THE DIRECTION OF LYDIA M ALL I CAN SAY FOR THAT IS INTRODUCE YOURSELF.
WE, WE WERE NOT USED TO THEATER IN THE ROUND
THESE ARE THE BRAVE SOULS THAT WITH LESS THAN WHAT WE HAD MAYBE EIGHT DAYS OF SCHOOL WE'RE ABLE TO COME.
AND WE DID THIS LAST YEAR WITH OUR EIGHTH GRADERS THAT ARE NOW AT NEWFORD HIGH SCHOOL.
THIS IS PIRATE TWO, THE MUSICAL HIDDEN TREASURE.
WHAT DO YOU HAVE IN YOUR TREASURE BOX? I HAVE MY, I HAVEN'T ANY
SO A WONDERFUL TEACHER WHO WAS THE ORIGINAL TEACHER AT LADIES ISLAND MIDDLE SCHOOL, NANCY DAVIS.
SHE STARTED THERE AS, AS A MUSIC TEACHER IN 1984, IS ONE OF MY BEST FRIENDS.
SHE SAID, LINDA, YOU'VE ALWAYS LOVED THE MUSICAL.
THESE ARE TWO MUSICALS YOU CAN DO THEM IN ONE NIGHT.
I SAID, NO, THIS IS MIDDLE SCHOOL.
SO THE STUDENTS LAST YEAR AT SCRIPT, THEY ADDED THEIR OWN COMEDY.
IT WASN'T UNTIL I WATCHED THE WHOLE DID I NOT PROJECT MYSELF WILL
UM, IT WASN'T UNTIL I ACTUALLY WATCHED THE VIDEO MYSELF THAT I REALIZED THAT THEY WERE IMPROVISING.
NOW, THIS WAS A VERY NEW, IT'S VERY HARD TO BE FLEXIBLE, YOU KNOW, THE LOW CEILINGS, YOU'RE ALSO CLOSE.
AND, UM, BUT I THINK THEY DID A GREAT JOB.
I DO WANT YOU TO INTER THEY'RE GONNA INTRODUCE THEMSELVES TO YOU, BUT THEY NEED TO USE THEIR PIRATE VOICE BECAUSE WE KNOW WHEN WE HAVE A COSTUME ON.
NOW, I WOULD NORMALLY HAVE A COSTUME ON, I NEED TO F*****G LIKE THIS MATE,
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BUT I I'LL HURT MY VOICE FOR TOMORROW'S CLASSES.AND SO I'M GONNA LET THEM INTRODUCE THEMSELVES TO YOU OR WHO DO YOU MEAN? IB ALDEN, CAN YOU TELL US SOMETHING ABOUT YOUR LAST NAME? WHOSE LAST NAME BE TOO LONG TO PRONOUNCE WHAT INTO THE MICROPHONE? ALRIGHT.
I E I IS A TRAITOR BY THE, I'M NO TRAITOR THOUGH.
I MAY START TO MUTI ANY I E CALEB WASHINGTON, NOT GEORGE.
I AM CHRISTIAN KOTZ TREASURER.
AND I, THE LINDA RADIO MCLEAN.
I'M IN MY 21ST YEAR IN BUFORT COUNTY.
I STARTED OUT AT LAYTON'S ISLAND ELEMENTARY SCHOOL FOR 13 YEARS AS THE FIRST DRAMA TEACHER IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL IN THE COUNTY.
AND THEN I MOVED ON TO PORT ROYAL ELEMENTARY SCHOOL WITH, UH, DR.
AND WHEN SHE LEFT TO GO TO THE MIDDLE SCHOOL AFTER THEY WERE, I WAS THERE FOR FOUR YEARS AND WANTED TO RETIRE IN THAT BEAUTIFUL LITTLE SCHOOL.
SO I'M GOING TO MIDDLE SCHOOL, FOLLOW ME.
I WENT, YOU'RE NOT GETTING ME AT A MIDDLE SCHOOL.
AND THIS IS MY THIRD YEAR AND I LOVE MY KIDS.
AND THE ONLY THING WE CAN SAY TO YOU IS WHAT? READY? OH, THANK YOU SO MUCH.
[Points of Celebration]
WE HAVE A POINTS OF CELEBRATION BOARDMAN INSTITUTE RECOGNITION.UH, COLONEL GUYER, UH, THIS EVENING, FOUR BOARD MEMBERS ARE BEING RECOGNIZED TONIGHT FOR THEIR ACHIEVEMENTS IN THE SOUTH CAROLINA BOARDS ASSOCIATION.
THE BOARDMAN SHIP INSTITUTE OFFERS A YEAR-ROUND TRAINING CURRICULUM TO HELP BOARD MEMBERS FOR DEVELOP SKILLS AND STATE OF BRAS OF STATE AND NATIONAL EDUCATION ISSUES, WORKSHOPS, FOCUS ON SCHOOL LAW, ADVOCACY AND LEGISLATION, IMPROVING BOARD OPERATIONS LEADERSHIP FOR IMPROVING STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT AND OTHER TIMELY TOPICS.
MEMBERS EARN POINTS FOR PARTICIPATING IN THOSE WORKSHOPS.
AND SO DOES
RICHARD GEIER, IF YOU'D JOIN ME UP THERE FOR A MINUTE, HONOR LEVEL TWO.
LEVEL TWO, UH, IS REACHED BY EARNING 40 POINTS ONE YEAR AS A BOARD MEMBER, ALSO REACHING LEVEL TWO, OUR BOARD MEMBERS IS, AND RACHEL, WOULD YOU JOIN ME UP HERE, THERE IN SPIRIT? OKAY.
KY WILL HAVE YOUR BLACK AND YOUR CERTIFICATE AND A PIN THAT GOES ALONG WITH THAT.
UH, WAITING HERE FOR YOU AND
THAT CONCLUDES OUR POINTS OF CELEBRATION THIS EVENING.
[First Public Comments]
IS PUBLIC COMMENTS.AND THERE'S A STATEMENT TO BE READ AT THE BEGINNING OF EACH SCHOOL BOARD, UH, MEETING.
WHEREAS IN ORDER TO ENSURE THE SAFETY, SECURITY, AND GOOD ORDER OF ITS SCHOOL BOARD MEETINGS AND ALLOW ALL CITIZENS A FAIR OPPORTUNITY TO PARTICIPATE IN PUBLIC COMMENT, BUFORT COUNTY SCHOOLS BOARD ASSOCIATION POLICY GC TWO DASH 23 4 ADHERENCE TO PUBLIC PARTICIPATIONS.
PARAGRAPH B STATES THAT I QUOTE, SHOULD A PARTICIPANT FAIL TO ABIDE BY THE REASONABLE DIRECTIVES OF THE BOARDS OR COMMITTEE'S PRESIDING OFFICER, THE BOARD OR COMMITTEE MAY PROHIBIT THE OFFENDING SPEAKER FROM PARTICIPATING
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IN FUTURE PUBLIC COMMENT SESSIONS FOR A PERIOD NOT TO EXCEED SIX MONTHS.OUR FIRST COMMENTER IS MR. BRUCE PAGE WHO'S GOING TO TALK ABOUT BOOK REMOVAL AND REVIEWS.
SIR, IT WAS RAMA TO GET STARTED
FINALLY, WITH 10 YEARS OF WORK WITH HOSPICE, I LEARNED THAT RATHER THAN TELLING PEOPLE HOW TO RUN THEIR OWN LIVES, I COULD SOMETIMES BE HELPFUL SHARING WHAT WORKS FOR ME.
NOW THAT I OWN THE LARGEST INDEPENDENT BOOKSTORE IN THE COUNTY, I'M HERE TO OFFER WHAT WORKS AND DOES NOT WORK FOR ME.
WHILE I WILL ORDER A BOOK ON A SINGLE REQUEST FROM ANY PATRON, NO MATTER HOW DIS TASTEFUL THE BOOK MAY BE TO ME, I WILL NOT RELY ON SELF-RIGHTEOUS INDIVIDUALS TO TELL ME WHAT NOT TO CARRY IN MY STORE, I HAVE THE EQUIVALENT OF THREE MASTER'S DEGREES IN TEACHING AND COUNSELING AND MINISTRY, BUT I DON'T SPEND ANY OF MY ENERGY TELLING OTHERS WHAT TO READ AND LEARN HOW TO PARENT AND GROW OR WHAT TO BELIEVE AND SHARE AS A TAXPAYER AND A CITIZEN.
I'M COMMITTED TO INDIVIDUAL FREEDOM OF LEARNING AND EXPRESSION ALWAYS.
BUT I WILL SPEAK AGAINST CENSORSHIP EVEN WHEN IT DOES NOT WORK FOR ME COMMERCIALLY TO DO SO.
MY PROBLEM WITH THE BOARD'S ACTIONS AROUND PROPOSED CENSORSHIP IS NOT THE WAY YOU ARE DEALING WITH BIGOTED SUB SUBVERSION BY AN INFLUENTIAL FEW.
IT MAKES SENSE TO HAVE A MEASURED PLAN TO DEAL WITH IRRATIONAL, DANGEROUS ATTACKS.
BUT MY PROBLEM IS WITH WHAT THIS PROTRACTED REVIEW SAYS ABOUT OUR CONFIDENCE IN THE STAFF, THE BOOK SELECT THE CARETAKERS, AND EVEN WHAT IT SAYS ABOUT OUR CHILDREN.
I'M PLEASED TO SEE THAT MOST OF THE CHALLENGE BOOKS ARE RETURNING TO THE SHELF.
BUT WHEN YOU ADJUST BOOKS OUT OF LOWER LEVEL LIBRARIES, WHAT DOES THAT SAY ABOUT YOUR COMPETENCE IN LOWER LEVEL STAFF? IT'S ALMOST LIKE THEY'RE BEING PUT THROUGH
I MYSELF READ THE CATCHER IN THE RYE FIVE YEARS EARLIER THAN MY OLDER BROTHER DID, AND IT HARMED ME NOT, IT MIGHT EVEN HAVE LED ME TO READ FRANNIE AND ZOE BY THE SAME AUTHOR AND TO A DEEPER EXPERIENCE OF MY FAITH.
IT DOESN'T WORK FOR ME TO TELL MY CHILDREN MUCH LESS OTHER PARENTS AND CHILDREN WHAT THEY MAY AND MAY NOT FIND FREE IN THE LIBRARY LEARNING CENTER.
BETTER, I FIND IS READING MORE ALONGSIDE CHILDREN AND RESOURCING BOOK GROUPS.
SO THAT READING MIGHT REMAIN THE VERY BEST AVENUE TOWARD THINKING AND GROWING IN ME, IN MY LOVED ONES AND IN MY NEIGHBORS.
MY PERSONAL EXPERIENCE OF MOMS FOR LIBERTY AND OTHER AUTHORITARIAN, EVEN BIGOTED GROUPS IS THAT THEIR EFFECTIVE GOAL IS TO NARROW EVEN REMOVE THE LIBERTY OF THEIR NEIGHBORS INSTEAD OF FOCUSING THEIR VIGILANCE ON THEIR OWN CHILDREN.
SIR, I'M SORRY, YOUR, YOUR THREE MINUTES IS UP.
OUR NEXT SPEAKER IS BUFORD COUNTY COUNCILWOMAN TABER NECK.
PLEASE WELCOME THE COUNCILWOMAN TO OUR, UH, PUBLIC COMMENT SESSION.
IT'S KIND OF APP PLEASURE TO SIT ON THIS SIDE OF THE TABLES.
I'M DISTRICT SIX, BEAUFORT COUNTY COUNCIL.
SO I THOUGHT I'D COME AND SAY SOMETHING REALLY NICE BECAUSE USUALLY YOU GET BOMBARDED WITH ALL KINDS OF THINGS.
SO FIRST OF ALL, KUDOS TO ALL THE BOARD MEMBERS FOR SERVING.
I WAS 37 YEARS IN EDUCATION AND EVERY DAY YOU GET PUMMELED.
KUDOS TO ALL OUR STAFF WHO WORK EVERY DAY FOR THE CHILDREN.
BUT I'M REALLY HERE ABOUT YOUR, YOUR SUPERINTENDENT, YOUR C F O.
THEY HAVE BRAVED THE COUNTY COUNCIL MEETINGS PRODUCING YOUR BUDGET.
AND I KNOW IN THE PAST IT'S BEEN QUITE A CHALLENGE.
I'VE HEARD I WASN'T THERE, BUT THIS TIME THEY SAILED THROUGH THE THREE HEARINGS FOR THE BUDGET.
AND THEN MS. CROSBY, TANYA CROSBY, YOUR CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER, SAILED THROUGH THREE UM, HEARINGS WITH THE RESOLUTION TO RE REDO THE REASSESSMENT AND THE
[00:30:01]
ROLLBACK.NOT ONE QUESTION FROM COUNTY COUNCIL.
SO I THINK THAT SHOWS YOUR CONSTITUENTS THAT YOU'RE DOING A GREAT JOB AND THE FACT THAT COUNTY COUNCIL HAS NOW RECOMMENDED TO THE LEGISLATOR TO GIVE YOU FISCAL AUTONOMY SHOULD SAY A LOT TO THIS COMMUNITY.
HAVE A GREAT SCHOOL YEAR, AND IF YOU NEED SOMETHING, YOU KNOW HOW TO FIND US ON COUNTY COUNCIL.
OUR NEXT, UH, SPEAKER IS MS. LORI HALLEN, I BELIEVE IS THE NAME.
UM, I'M THE REVEREND LORI LOIN AND I SERVED THE UNITARIAN UNIVERSALIST FELLOWSHIP ON LADIES ISLAND.
I'VE BEEN AWAY QUITE A BIT THIS SUMMER, AND ONE OF THE THINGS I DID WAS SPEND SEVERAL DAYS WITH OUR NINE, NINE, NOW NINE MONTH OLD GRANDDAUGHTER.
SHE IS AN INSPIRATION AND HER PARENTS AND GRANDPARENTS ARE ALREADY READING TO HER BOARD BOOKS, BUT READING, WE ALL KNOW HOW IMPORTANT READING TO CHILDREN FROM THE VERY BEGINNING IS.
I LOOK AT HER AND I REMEMBER READING TO HER MOTHER, OUR DAUGHTER, AND OUR OTHER CHILDREN.
AND I ALSO REMEMBER MY OWN MOTHER READING TO ME AND CONVINCING THE LOCAL LIBRARIAN BACK IN.
WE WON'T SAY WHEN TO ISSUE ME A LIBRARY CARD EARLY, BECAUSE MY MOTHER WANTED TO BE ABLE TO CHECK OUT BOOKS FOR HERSELF, NOT JUST ME.
I REMEMBER MY PARENTS, NEITHER OF WHOM EVER FINISHED HIGH SCHOOL, THEY DIDN'T HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY.
UM, THEY NEVER CENSORED WHAT I READ.
THEY TRUSTED THAT IF I CHOSE SOMETHING THAT WAS BEYOND ME AND MY COMPREHENSION LEVEL, IT WOULD BE BORING AND I WOULD TAKE IT BACK TO THE LIBRARY ON RED.
I FOLLOWED A SIMILAR SYSTEM WITH MY THREE CHILDREN, ALTHOUGH I WAS A LITTLE MORE ACTIVE ABOUT TALKING TO THEM ABOUT WHAT THEY WERE READING.
AND I LEARNED A LOT ABOUT FROM THOSE CONVERSATIONS.
AND OUR 37 YEAR OLD SON, I'M PROUD TO SAY NOW SEND ME BOOKS HE THINKS I'LL LIKE.
AND I'M GONNA SAY SOMETHING NICE TONIGHT TOO.
I AM GRATEFUL THAT I WAS ABLE TO TRUST THAT THE SCHOOL SYSTEM WOULD HAVE THE BOOKS OUR CHILDREN NEEDED WHEN THEY NEEDED THEM.
AND I WANNA LET YOU KNOW THAT I'M GRATEFUL THAT THE ABILITY FOR PARENTS TO OPT OUT OF SPECIFIC READING ASSIGNMENTS AND BOOKS IS ALREADY PART OF THE BEAUFORT SCHOOL SYSTEM.
I DON'T THINK THAT SYSTEM NEEDS ANY UPDATING.
I'M ALSO GRATEFUL FOR THE BOARD MEMBERS WHO HAVE CONSISTENTLY AGREED WITH THE COMMITTEES WHO HAVE DONE THE HARD WORK AND OF, UH, READING BOOKS THAT MIGHT NOT BE THEIR FAVORITE GENRE.
AND MEETING TO DISCUSS THE BOOK'S MERITS WITH OTHERS, AND THEN RECOMMENDED TO YOU THAT BOOKS BE RETURNED TO THE SCHOOLS.
IT'S MY HOPE THAT WE WILL QUICKLY MOVE THROUGH THE REMAINDER OF THESE BOOKS AND ALL WILL BE RETURNED AND WE CAN MOVE ON TO OTHER THINGS.
I FURTHER HOPE THAT YOU WILL CONTINUE TO SUPPORT ACCESS AND INTELLECTUAL FREEDOM FOR ALL OF OUR STUDENTS AND TEACHERS.
MS. CHRISTENBERRY, I BELIEVE WE HAVE ONE CALL IN.
I'M CALLING YOU FOR PUBLIC CONFERENCE.
YOU'LL HAVE THREE MINUTES TO STATE YOUR FIRST AND LAST NAME AND YOUR TOPIC.
I'M GARY TO PUT YOU ON SPEAKER.
UM, THEY'RE GONNA SPEAK ABOUT SURVEYS.
UM, SURVEYS STARTED UP AGAIN THIS YEAR, AND SOMEHOW TEACHERS ARE ABLE TO PUT, UM, THE FOURTH KIDS TO DO THE SURVEYS BY TELLING 'EM THEY'RE GETTING A GRADE.
AND STUDENTS HAVE A RIGHT TO OPT OUT OF SURVEYS AND THEY SHOULD NOT BE PUNISHED BY HAVING A BAD GRADE FOR NOT PARTICIPATING IN A SURVEY.
BUT I WANTED TO START OFF BY SAYING, CONGRATULATIONS, YOU'RE KEEPING ME OFF THE SCHOOL CAMPUS AND YOU'RE KEEPING ME OUT OF BOARD MEETINGS.
YOU'VE DECIDED TO UNLAWFULLY PROHIBIT ME FROM PARTICIPATING IN MY CHILDREN'S EDUCATION.
BUT WE WON'T LET THIS GO BY AND YOU'LL NEVER BE FORGIVEN FOR THIS.
MY CHILDREN WILL NOT FORGET HOW YOUR DECISION HAS DESTROYED THEIR LIVES BY KEEPING THEIR FATHER OUT OF THEIR EDUCATION.
THIS IS NOT A THREAT NOR HARASSMENT.
SO LISTEN CAREFULLY WITHIN THE LAW, I
[00:35:01]
WILL DO EVERYTHING I CAN LEGALLY TO MAKE SURE THAT THOSE INVOLVED IN HAVING THIS TRESPASS NOTICE ISSUED AGAINST ME ARE HELD ACCOUNTABLE.RODRIGUEZ'S STAFF LAUGHED AT ME WHEN I SPOKE TO THEM ABOUT THIS MATTER A FEW WEEKS AGO.
THE CONVERSATION ON THE PHONE STARTED WITH ME ASKING THEM HOW THEY WERE DOING, AND THEIR RESPONSE WAS A LOT BETTER THAN YOU RIGHT NOW,
I DIDN'T THINK IT WAS VERY FUNNY.
IT'S NOT, IT'S PATHETIC AND IT'S CHILDISH, NO INTEGRITY WHATSOEVER.
AND IT'S SAD DAY WHEN PEOPLE AT THE UNLAWFUL PUNISHMENT OF OTHERS.
BUT I COULD COME TO EXPECT THIS BEHAVIOR FROM OUR DISTRICT BECAUSE THIS IS WHAT HAPPENED IN THE MIDDLE SCHOOL LAST YEAR WHEN ALL THE KIDS IN THE EIGHTH GRADE WERE FORCED TO EAT LUNCH WITH THEIR ADVISORY CLASSES INSTEAD OF WITH THEIR FRIENDS BECAUSE A COUPLE PEOPLE WOULDN'T BEHAVE.
AND THIS IS WHAT HAPPENED LAST YEAR WHEN A SCHOOL MEDIA SPECIALIST DECIDED THEY WOULD INTERFERE WITH SS I C ELECTIONS, ENCOURAGING OTHERS TO VOTE FOR ONE CANDIDATE OVER ANOTHER ON SCHOOL TIME USING THEIR SOCIAL MEDIA DURING THE WORKDAY AND NOTHING WAS DONE.
THERE ARE DOZENS OF REASONS WHY I CAN'T TRUST THE TEACHERS IN OUR SCHOOLS.
MOST OF IT STEMS FROM THE LACK OF RESPONSE ON YOUR PART AS A BOARD TO SUPPORT PARENTS BECAUSE YOU'VE DONE NOTHING IN THE LAST THREE YEARS TO SUPPORT PARENTS IN ANY WAY WHATSOEVER.
SO STAY TUNED BECAUSE I'LL KEEP CALLING IN AND DOING WHATEVER I CAN TO SPEAK MY VOICE, BUT YOU'RE NOT GONNA SILENCE ME WHETHER I'M IN PERSON OR NOT.
UH, THAT CONCLUDES PUBLIC COMMENTS.
[Chair’s Report]
IS THE CHAIR'S REPORT.AND FIVE BOARD MEMBERS ATTENDED THE SCHOOL BOARD ASSOCIATION'S ANNUAL SCHOOL LAW, UH, CONFERENCE.
UH, THEY WERE MS. GORDON, MR. DALLAS, MR. SMITH, MR. CAMPBELL AND MYSELF.
I WANT FOR THE PUBLIC TO REALIZE, UH, SOME OF THE THINGS THAT WERE TALKED ABOUT, UH, TALKED ABOUT ROBERT'S RULES OF ORDERS, LITIGATION, WHAT SCHOOL BOARD MEMBERS NEED TO KNOW, UH, STUDENT DISCIPLINE HEARINGS, POLICY AND PRACTICE, UM, PARENTAL RIGHTS MOVEMENT, WHAT SCHOOL BOARD MEMBERS NEED TO KNOW, UH, CLOSING THE DEAL, HOW TO, UH, UH, CONTRACT NEGOTIATE WITH SUPERINTENDENTS, KNOWING WHAT YOU DON'T KNOW.
IMPORTANT QUESTIONS BOARD MEMBERS SHOULD ASK ABOUT SCHOOL LAW.
AND LASTLY, ADDRESSING CONSTITUTIONAL LAW ISSUES AT THE SCHOOLHOUSE GATES AND NAVIGATING THE CHALLENGE OF STUDENT DISCIPLINE ISSUES.
SO, UH, MR. GORDON, UH, MS. GORDON, I'M SORRY, MS. GORDON, MR. DALLAS, UH, MR. SMITH AND MR. CAMPBELL, DO EITHER OF YOU HAVE ANYTHING YOU'D LIKE TO ADD ABOUT THIS CONFERENCE, MR. CAMPBELL? UH, YES.
UM, ONE THING THAT, UM, I, UM, WOULD LIKE THAT CAME UP WAS MAKING SURE THAT WE AS A BOARD LOOK AT OUR POLICIES AND OUR STUDENT HANDBOOK TO MAKE SURE THAT THE POLICY IS NOT DIFFERENT FROM THE HANDBOOK.
MR. SMITH, DO YOU HAVE ANYTHING? UM, UH, ALSO, UH, WE HEARD FROM, WE HEARD FROM THE SPED DIRECTOR FOR, FOR THE STATE, UM, OUTLINING A COUPLE THINGS TO US THAT AS BOARD MEMBERS THAT WE MIGHT WANT TO, UH, LOOK INTO AS WELL.
UM, UM, WELL, THAT, THAT, THAT, THAT, THAT, THAT'D BE IT FOR RIGHT NOW.
MS. GORDON, DO YOU HAVE ANYTHING? SHE'S MUTE.
YOU'RE MUTED IF YOU'RE SAYING ANYTHING.
AND, UM, IT WAS A VERY, VERY WELL DONE, UM, CONFERENCE.
AND, UM, THAT'S, THAT'S ALL I CAN SAY RIGHT NOW.
MR. DALLAS, DO YOU HAVE ANYTHING? YES, SIR.
UM, AS A NEW BOARD MEMBER, I FOUND THAT EXTREMELY RICH AND FERTILE LEARNING ENVIRONMENT, SPEAKING WITH BOARD MEMBERS FROM ACROSS THE STATE WAS VERY INFORMATIVE.
UH, WE ALL ARE DEALING WITH SOME SIMILAR CHALLENGES AND THAT SOME HAVE DISCOVERED OPPORTUNITIES THAT THEY PASSED AROUND, UH, VERBALLY AND IMPROMPTU CONVERSATIONS.
I ALSO WANNA CONGRATULATE THE BOARD, UH, FOR BEING SO SUPPORTIVE OF BOARD MEMBERS AND STAFF AND WHAT HAVE YOU ACTUALLY PURSUING ADDITIONAL LEARNING.
THERE'S A LOT OF LEARNING THAT TAKES PLACE FAR BEYOND WHAT I HAD ANTICIPATED AS A FIRST TIME ATTENDEE.
SO I JUST WANT TO CONGRATULATE THE BOARD FOR BEING THAT, UM, WILLING TO HELP US GROW.
WAS ALS ALSO ATTENDED AND SHE HAS, UH, I THOUGHT DROPPED
[00:40:01]
OFF THE NET.ALSO, I WOULD LIKE, I WOULD DEFINITELY ALSO LIKE TO, UH, THANK OUR STAFF WHO MAKE OUR TRANSITION DOWN THERE.
SO, UH, ELEGANTLY, UM, M MAKE IT POSSIBLE BECAUSE, UM, WHEN I FIRST GOT DOWN THERE, UM, THEY GAVE US AN ENVELOPE THAT MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE AN INFORMATION THAT WE NEED AND WHAT'S GOING ON DOWN THERE.
ONE LADY WAS AT, UH, SHE SAID, WELL, DID YOU CHECK IT AND GET YOUR ENVELOPE? AND SHE SAID, 'CAUSE I WAS TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHAT'S GOING ON.
AND I SAID, OH, WELL, I ALREADY, I, I KNOW WHAT'S GOING ON.
I ALREADY HAVE THE SAID, OH, CAN I SEE IT? SHE SAID, WHERE'D YOU GET THIS FROM? I SAID, UH, SO ELEGANTLY I SAID, UM, THE BOARD SECRETARY.
SO I WOULD LIKE TO THANK THE STAFF FOR ALWAYS TAKING THE TIME OUT AND MAKING SURE THAT WE ARE READY PREPARED WHEN WE GO TO THOSE CONFERENCES.
JUST LIKE TO THANK YOU PUBLICLY FOR ALL THE WORK THAT YOU DO, THAT YOU DO FOR US AS WELL.
OKAY, THE NEXT ITEM ON THE AGENDA
[Committee Reports]
IS THE ACADEMICS REPORT.UM, THE ACADEMICS COMMITTEE MET LAST MONTH IN AUGUST, AND THERE WERE A LOT OF, UM, ARS THAT WE COVERED.
SO I'M GOING TO TURN THIS OVER TO, UH, DR.
STRATUS SO THAT SHE CAN, WITH HER TEAM, CAN GIVE US A, A, A BRIEF ON WHAT WAS DISCUSSED ON THAT DAY.
THANK YOU, MRS. GORDON, AND GOOD EVENING BOARD MEMBERS.
I'D LIKE TO SHARE WITH YOU THAT OUR PRIOR ACADEMIC COMMITTEE THAT WAS CONDUCTED ON AUGUST 9TH AT MAY RIVER HIGH SCHOOL, WE HAD AN UPDATE, 15 ADMINISTRATIVE REGULATIONS, THE PREDOMINANT AMOUNT OF THEM TOUCH UPON STUDENT SERVICES.
YOU HAVE A SUMMARY SHEET THAT IS PART OF YOUR FOLDER, WHICH ACTUALLY GIVES A QUICK SUMMARY OF THE UPDATES OF THE ADMINISTRATIVE REGULATIONS WHEN THE CARTILAGE, OUR LEGAL COUNSEL FOR THE SCHOOL DISTRICT PRESENTED THESE 15 ADMINISTRATIVE REGULATIONS.
SO I WILL, I WILL PAUSE AND LET YOU TAKE A LOOK AT THE TITLES, AND IF WE HAVE ANY SPECIFIC QUESTIONS, I WOULD HAVE MRS. CARTILAGE COME UP TO ASSIST US.
YOU COULD TELL BY THE AMOUNT OF ADMIN, ALL ADMINISTRATIVE REGULATIONS THAT IT WAS A LENGTHY MEETING, BUT VERY THOROUGH AND VERY MUCH NEEDED.
I'LL GO THROUGH THE TITLES RATHER QUICKLY, JUST FOR FAMILI TO FAMILIARIZE YOU.
INSTRUCTIONAL SERVICES 33 ADULT COMMUNITY EDUCATION.
NEXT WAS INSTRUCTIONAL SERVICES 54 54 SCHOOL OBSERVANCES AND CEREMONIES, INSTRUCTIONAL SERVICES, 55 FLAG DISPLAYS.
ALSO, WE ARE REQUIRED BY STATE LAW TO HAVE THE FLAG MODEL.
IF YOU NOTE WE DO HAVE IT HERE IN THE MEDIA CENTER.
STUDENT SERVICES, FIVE, STUDENT ATTENDANCE, STUDENT SERVICES, 12 RELEASE TIME FOR RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION.
SSSS 19, STUDENT CONDUCT ON BUSES.
I HAVE TO SHARE THAT THAT ADMINISTRATIVE REGULATION WAS A COLLABORATION BETWEEN STUDENT SERVICES AND TRANSPORTATION.
IN ORDER OF THE VOICES OF THOSE WHO ACTUALLY TRANSPORT OUR STUDENTS ON A DAILY BASIS.
SSSS 23, HARASSMENT, INTIMIDATION, AND BULLYING.
THESE ITEMS FALL UNDER TITLE IX AS WELL AS OUR STUDENT CODE OF CONDUCT, SSS 24 TOBACCO USE BY STUDENTS.
ONE OF THE MOST UPDATED ITEMS TO NOTE HERE IS ALSO THE USE OF VAPES, ELECTRONIC DEVICES, ANYTHING TIED WITH NICOTINE.
SS 25 STUDENT SERVICES, DRUG AND ALCOHOL USE BY STUDENTS SSSS 43 COMMUNICABLE INFECTIOUS DISEASES.
THIS ADMINISTRATIVE REGULATION WAS UPDATED WITH THE WORK OF OUR DISTRICT NURSE, DENISE UNRU AS WELL, IN COLLABORATION WITH WENDY CARTILAGE, SSSS 46, ASSISTING STUDENTS WITH MEDICATIONS.
WHAT IS MOST IMPORTANT HERE IS THAT WE ALSO HAVE A BACKUP FOR MEDICAL MEDICATION DISTRIBUTION FOR STUDENTS.
SSSS 47, INDIVIDUAL HEALTHCARE PLANS, INDIVIDUAL TREATMENT PLANS, SSSS 48, FIRST AID AND EMERGENCY CARE.
AND I WANNA NOTE THAT THE MEDICAL ADMINIS, UM, ADMINISTRATIVE REGULATIONS, THE DISTRICT DOES HAVE A CONSULTANT DOCTOR IN THE COMMUNITY WHO DOES REVIEW ALL OUR WORK TO ENSURE THAT WE ARE COMPLIANT WITH MEDICAL PRACTICES, IS NOT CONDUCTED.
ISOLATION, SSS 51, CHILD ABUSE AND NEGLECT.
PLEASE NOTE, I, I WANNA TAKE A PAUSE TO RECOGNIZE THAT WE ARE MANDATORY REPORTERS
[00:45:04]
AND SSSS 54 STUDENT RECORDS.OKAY, MS. CORD AS THE CHAIR OF THE ACADEMICS COMMUNITY, DO YOU HAVE ANY COMMENTS? NO COMMENTS OTHER THAN THIS TEAM IS AWESOME.
UM, IT WAS VERY, VERY, UH, ON POINT.
THEY COVERED ALL OF THE, UH, REGULATIONS THAT NEEDED TO BE INCLUDING THE ADDITIONS.
AND I WANNA THANK THEM FOR SUCH A THOROUGH REPORT AND FOR GIVING THEIR TIME, UM, AND ACTUALLY MAKING SURE THAT WE ARE UP TO DATE ON OUR, UH, ARS.
ANY QUESTIONS? MS. YES, MS. DR.
I LIKE THE FACT THAT YOU ALL GAVE THIS UPDATE IN THIS FORMAT AND YOU WENT OVER THE KEY POINTS.
AND I THINK INGRID MIGHT APPRECIATE THAT TOO,
WE'RE LIKE, OH, IT'S GONNA BE ALL NIGHT.
IF I CAN GIVE CREDIT TO THAT, THAT WAS ACTUALLY THE INITIATOR BY KAREN MCKINSEY.
WE UTILIZE THAT FOR ADMINISTRATIVE REGULATIONS.
AND MRS. CARTILAGE WORKED WITH KAREN ON THAT AS WELL.
UM, AND, AND IN TERMS OF THE, THE BUS DRIVERS, UM, DO WE KNOW IF ALL, IF ALL OUR BUS DRIVERS ARE, ARE C P I, I MEAN, IS, IS, UM, FOR, FOR, UH, OH GOD, WHAT'S IT'S TOP OF MY TONGUE? UH, BASICALLY, UM, NOT FIRST DATE.
C C P I STATE C P R? YES, SIR.
OR CPR, R C P R C P R, UH, DO ALL OUR BUS DRIVERS.
UH, H HOW, HOW HAVE WE MADE SURE THAT ALL OF THEM ARE C P R ARE CERTIFIED? DON'T KNOW THE ANSWER TO THAT.
MAKE SURE THAT THAT'S SOMETHING ON, BECAUSE I JUST KNOW THAT OUR DISTRICT DOES, UH, OFFER THOSE, UH, C P R CLASSES.
AND I JUST, JUST, WE'RE JUST SITTING THERE THINKING AND LISTENING TO YOU WHEN YOU TALKED ABOUT THE, UM, THE HEALTH PLAN AND THE, UH, FIRST AID MEDICAL.
I WAS JUST THINKING, I WAS JUST WONDERING IN TERMS OF OUR BUS DRIVERS, ARE THEY, UH, C P R? BECAUSE WE DO, UH, OFFER THAT.
SO I THINK THAT THAT WOULD BE SOMETHING GOOD FOR, FOR ALL OUR BUS DRIVERS TO, UH, MAKE SURE THAT THEY, THEY, THEY TAKE C P R.
NO, THEY, WE ALSO CONDUCTED C P R TRAINING TODAY FOR OUR CONTACTS, FOR OUR CONTEXT FOR EXTENDED LEARNING SITES.
AND WE HAD FULL REPRESENTATION, SIR.
BECAUSE THE ONE THING THAT MRS. HENDERSON TELLS US THAT, UH, FROM MY UNDERSTANDING IS THAT IF SOMEONE WAS TO NEED C P R ON THIS SIDE OF THE BROAD VERSUS THE OTHER SIDE, IS THAT THIS SIDE, THAT WE'RE DEFINITELY IN TROUBLES.
SO I THINK THE MORE PEOPLE THAT WE HAVE ON THAT, IN TERMS OF ALL BUS DRIVERS WILL MAKE A DIFFERENCE.
ANY OTHER COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS? MS. BOATWRIGHT? REAL BRIEFLY, UM, AND THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION AND FOR THE BREVITY.
UM, THE FLAG AR AND IT WAS JUST, IT CAME, I WAS LOOKING THROUGH IT AT THE SAME TIME.
ALL THIS STUFF WITH LIKE THE GADSON FLAG AND THESE DIFFERENT THINGS ARE GOING ON, IT'S ANOTHER SORT OF CULTURE WAR ISSUE THAT'S BUBBLING UP IN TERMS OF WHAT FLAGS ARE FLOWN IN THE CLASSROOM THAT AREN'T RELATED TO THE SCHOOL OR EDUCATIONAL THINGS.
SO I DON'T KNOW, I THINK IT MIGHT BE AN OPPORTUNITY AT SOME POINT TO DISCUSS LIKE, WHAT FLAG THIS IS, HOW WE'RE GONNA FLY FLAGS.
ARE THERE FLAGS THAT ARE NOT ALLOWED TO BE FLOWN OR THAT WE SHOULD HAVE SOME SORT OF A STANDARD? BECAUSE WHAT I'M SEEING OUT IN THE REST OF THE COMMUNITY, NOT BUFORT, BUT YOU KNOW, IN THE REST OF THE COUNTRY, IS SORT OF A PICKING AND CHOOSING OF WHAT FLAGS CAN BE AND WHAT CAN'T.
AND I THINK THAT LEAVES SOME GROUPS OF PEOPLE FEELING EXCLUDED OR FRUSTRATED OR PERHAPS EVEN ANGRY.
I WILL BRING THAT UP TO STUDENT SERVICES.
I WILL SAY GENERALLY, A SAFE PLACE TO LAND AT FLYING A FLAG, IT IS TO SUE OUR US FLAG AND OUR STATE FLAG.
OH, AND THO THOSE ARE THE TWO PRIMARY FLAGS WE UTILIZE.
AND WITH THE ADDITION OF WHEN WE CELEBRATE MILITARY SERVICE, MILITARY VETERANS DAY, DECEMBER 8TH, THINGS THAT, THAT CORRECTION DECEMBER 7TH, THE EIGHTH IS THE SUPERINTENDENT'S BIRTHDAY.
AND THAT'S, IT'S A HARD LINE TO DRAW.
WHEN YOU HAVE INTERNATIONAL, UH, EDUCATION YES, MA'AM.
BUT I ANTICIPATE THAT IN THE NEXT YEAR WE MIGHT SEE SOME POLITICALLY MOTIVATED FLAGS THAT MIGHT CREATE DISCOMFORT AMONG PEOPLE.
AND IT MIGHT JUST BE A BETTER IDEA TO HAVE A POLICY OF HOW WE'RE GONNA HANDLE THAT GENERAL RULE IS TO STICK TO OUR STATE AND NATIONAL FLAG.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? NO, I WAS, I WAS, I WAS JUST GONNA SAY, UH, WELL, I, I THOUGHT IT WAS KIND OF CLEAR.
I THOUGHT IT WAS, I, I MEAN, I THOUGHT IT WAS KIND OF, KIND OF CLEAR WITH THE, THE, UH, POLICY.
BUT I JUST WANNA SAY AS WE EMBARKED ON THAT, WE, WE DON'T WANNA OPEN PANDORA'S BOX IN THAT ALREADY.
WE, I JUST WANNA BECAU COGNIZANT OF HOW WE APPROACH, APPROACH IT.
I'M SURE THAT YOU KNOW THAT, BUT YEAH, JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE, COGNIZANT OF THAT, I THINK PANDORA'S BOX WILL BE OPEN ON OUR BEHALF OR FOR US, AND I THINK IT'S BETTER TO BE PREPARED FOR PANDORA'S BOX.
THAT'S JUST MY PERSONAL APPROACH.
[00:50:02]
YEAH, TRUE.BUT WE, WE DON'T, WE DON'T WANNA, WE, WE, WE DON'T WANNA BRING THEM.
WE DON'T WANNA BRING ATTENTION TO OURSELVES AS WELL.
I MEAN, THAT'S, THAT, THAT, THAT, THAT'S MY POINT.
AND, AND IN REGARDS OF THAT, I GUESS MY POINT WOULD BE IT'S ALREADY BEING DISCUSSED.
IT WILL BE HERE ON OUR SHORES MOMENTARILY.
OUR NEXT ITEM ON THE AGENDA IS THE ACADEMY FOR CAREER EXCELLENCE, ACE, UH, FOR THE PUBLIC AND FOR SOME BOARD MEMBERS.
A REMINDER, THERE ARE, UH, SIX BOARD MEMBERS ON THE, FOR THE ACE, THREE FROM BEAUFORT COUNTY AND THREE FROM JASPER COUNTY.
UH, THREE FROM BEAUFORT COUNTY ARE MR. UH, DALLAS, AND MR. CAMPBELL AND MYSELF.
AND WE HAD A ACE BOARD MEETING A COUPLE WEEKS AGO, AND WE HAVE A PROBLEM.
UH, THE PROBLEM IS THE AGREEMENT BETWEEN BEAUFORT COUNTY AND JASPER COUNTY ON FUNDING.
AND THE FUNDING ISSUE IS THAT RIGHT NOW, THE AGREEMENT THAT WE HAVE WITH JASPER COUNTY IS THAT BUFORT COUNTY PAYS FOR TWO THIRDS OF THE OPERATIONAL COST OF, UH, THE ACE PROGRAM.
AND JASPER COUNTY PAYS ONE THIRD OF THE COST, BUT JASPER COUNTY ONLY HAS 18% OF THE CURRENT, UH, ENROLLMENT AT, UH, AT ACE.
THE, THE RE REMAINDER TWO THIRDS IS, UH, FROM BEAUFORT COUNTY.
SO THEY FEEL THAT THEY ARE PAYING AN INORDINATE AMOUNT OF MONEY, UH, FOR THE SERVICE THEY GET FOR THEIR STUDENTS.
THERE'S ALSO AN ISSUE WITH CAPITAL FUNDING IN SUPPORT OF ACE.
THERE'S APPROXIMATELY $12 MILLION WORTH OF CAPITAL UPGRADES.
IT MUST BE DONE, UH, TO THE FACILITIES AT ACE.
AND RIGHT NOW THE AGREEMENT HAS THAT, UH, 50% OF THE PROPERTY BELONGS TO US AND 50% BELONGS TO JASPER COUNTY.
AND THEREFORE 50% OF THE CAPITAL REQUIREMENT COMES TO JASPER COUNTY AND 50% COMES TO, UH, BEAUFORT COUNTY, AND THEY ARE HAVING ISSUES WITH THEIR CAPITAL IN THEIR DISTRICT.
AND, UM, AND WE OBVIOUSLY DON'T, DON'T HAVE, UH, THE MONEY RIGHT AWAY, BUT WE ARE MORE ABLE TO COME UP WITH CAPITAL SUPPORT IN JASPER COUNTY.
SO WHAT, AND WHAT HAPPENED AT THIS MEETING WAS BASICALLY WE GAVE IT OVER TO THE TWO SUPERINTENDENTS THAT PUT THEIR HEADS TOGETHER ALONG WITH THE STAFF AND COME BACK TO THE ACE, UH, COME BACK TO THE ACE BOARD REPRESENTATIVES, THE RESPECTIVE DISTRICT WITH A PROPOSAL OF HOW WE SHOULD MOVE FORWARD AND THEN DISCUSS IT AT EACH OF OUR FULL BOARDS.
AND THEN A SUGGESTION WAS TO HAVE IN DECEMBER, A JOINT ACE OR BUFORT COUNTY AND JASPER COUNTY SCHOOL BOARD JOINT MEETING TO DISCUSS THE FUTURE OF ACE.
SO MR. CAMPBELL OR MR. DALLAS, YOU HAVE ANYTHING YOU WANTED TO ADD, UH, TO THAT? THANK YOU.
UM, COLONEL GEIER, I VIEW THIS AS ALMOST BEING A FUNDAMENTAL DIVERGENCE OF INTEREST BETWEEN TWO ALLIANCE PARTNERS, UH, WHICH HAPPENS QUITE OFTEN.
UH, ONE'S THE ECONOMIC DIRECTION AND THE FUTURE FOR JASPER IS EXTREMELY BRIGHT.
AND MY CONCERN IS THAT IF WE LOOK AT WHAT HISTORICALLY HAS HAPPENED OVER THE LAST FIVE OR 10 YEARS, BEAUFORT COULD BE ENCUMBERED WITH SOME SIGNIFICANT CAPITAL COSTS THAT IS SUPPOSED TO BE SHARED 50 50 BY EACH OF THE PARTICIPANTS.
AND ALSO, JASPER COUNTY HAS INVESTED SIGNIFICANT MILLIONS OF DOLLARS IN CREATING PROGRAMS THAT COULD BE VERY PARASITIC ON THE ATTRACTIVENESS OF ACE TO JASPER COUNTY STUDENTS.
SO AS WE, UH, REVIEW THIS, I'M HOPING THAT ONE OF THE OPTIONS, ANYTIME YOU'RE CONSIDERING ALTERNATIVES, IS DO NOTHING.
THE OTHER OPTION IS TO ALWAYS HOLD BOTH PARTIES FIRMLY TO WHAT THEY'VE AGREED TO.
SO I'M VERY CONCERNED THAT AS WE COME FORWARD WITH OPTIONS IN DECEMBER, THAT JASPER IS ALSO GOING TO LEVERAGE THEIR STAFF TO COME UP WITH SOME PROPOSALS THAT WE CAN SAY YAY OR NAY TO.
SO I THINK THAT, YOU KNOW, IT'S A GREAT FACILITY, HAS SOME UPSIDE.
HOWEVER, I DO WANT TO SAY JUST FROM A NEGOTIATING STANDPOINT, UM, I THINK WE HAVE
[00:55:01]
TO LOOK OUT FOR OUR CONSTITUENTS IN BEAUFORT COUNTY PRIMARILY, AND THEN TO BOTH PARTNERS OF THE ALLIANCE.SO THANK YOU VERY MUCH, MR. CHAIR.
MR. CAMPBELL, DO YOU HAVE ANYTHING? YEAH, UM, THIS, THIS PROBLEM STARTED A LONG TIME AGO, IS NOT JUST LATELY.
UM, AND I THINK THE OTHER THING WE NEED TO DO IS THAT WE NEED TO TALK TO THE LEGISLATORS BECAUSE THEY'RE THE ONES SET THIS UP.
SO, YOU KNOW, UM, EVENTUALLY I THINK, UH, TASK WILL WANT TO PULL OUT AND, YOU KNOW, I DON'T SEE, NO, THEY DON'T HAVE THE FUNDS TO BUY US OUT, YOU KNOW, AND WE CANNOT BUY THEM OUT BECAUSE THE SCHOOL IS BUILDING IS LOCATED IN JASPER COUNTY.
WELL, THAT'S ANOTHER THING WE HAVE TO LOOK AT.
SO I HOPE THAT WE CAN COME TO SOME KIND OF AGREEMENT BY DECEMBER, SEE WHAT, WHAT, WHAT WE CAN DO.
ANY COMMENTS FROM OTHER BOARD MEMBERS? MR. SMITH? MS. GORDON, GO AHEAD.
SO I DON'T KNOW THE HISTORY OF ACE.
SO, UM, MR. CAMPBELL, YOU, AND I'LL GET TOGETHER SO I CAN GET SOME BACKGROUND, BUT IN THE LEGISLATE, THE LEGISLATIVE GROUP, IF ACE IS SOMETHING THAT WE WOULD WANT TO TAKE OVER, CAN ACE BE, CAN WE BUY PURCHASE ACE? CAN THEY REDRAW LINES? WHAT CAN HAPPEN WHERE WE CAN TAKE THE SCHOOL ON FOR OURSELVES? I MEAN, I, THAT'S ONE OF MY BIGGEST QUESTIONS.
I, I THINK THAT'S ALWAYS BEEN MY QUESTION.
YOU KNOW, WHY DIDN'T WE OWN ACE OURSELVES? BECAUSE I KNEW THE NUMBERS FOR JASPER COUNTY WERE LOW OF HOW MANY STUDENTS THEY WERE, HAD COMING IN.
BUT I THINK IT WOULD BE BENEFICIAL FOR US IF WE COULD OWN ACE OURSELVES, ALTHOUGH IT'S IN ANOTHER COUNTY, CAN SOMEHOW, I KNOW THEY REDRAW LINES ALL THE TIME.
RODRIGUEZ, WOULD YOU LIKE TO COMMENT? UM, I BELIEVE THERE ALREADY EXISTS A, UM, A SCHOOL THAT PERTAINS TO ONE PARTICULAR COUNTY, BUT IT'S OUTSIDE OF THE COUNTY LINES IN THE STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA.
AND, UM, UH, UM, I BELIEVE THAT'S OVER IN, UH, IN THE COLUMBIA AREA.
I THINK THAT SHOULD BE ONE OF THE OPTIONS THAT IS CONSIDERED BECAUSE IT'S ALREADY HAPPENED.
WE HAVE AN EXAMPLE OF IT ALREADY.
IF IT'S IN LEXINGTON FIVE, LET'S SEE IF WE CAN, YOU KNOW, MAKE THAT ONE OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS WHEN WE ALL COME TOGETHER, DR.
I WOULD, UH, YOU KNOW, JUST ADVISE AS WE HAVE THESE CONVERSATIONS AND DISCUSSIONS ON, ON, UH, POSSIBILITIES, UM, THAT WE'RE, WE'RE JUST CAUTIOUS ABOUT, UM, ANY CARDS YOU THROW ON THE TABLE, UH, IN THIS SETTING AS OPPOSED TO WHAT WE ARE ABLE TO TALK THROUGH AND WORK THROUGH AND THEN BRING BACK TO YOU ULTIMATELY OR SOME CHOICES, UH, OR DECISIONS.
AND THEN MR. UM, AS A, BEING A FORMER, UH, BOARD MEMBER ON, ON THE, UH, ACE COMMITTEE, I MEAN, ACE BOARD AS WELL AS FORMER CHAIR, I, I, I, I, I HAVE GREAT RESERVES AS IN HAVING IT TO BE A ONE DISTRICT SCHOOL JUST BECAUSE OF BEING OUT THERE AND INTERACTING WITH THE KIDS OUT THERE AND INTERACTING WITH THE STUDENTS AND THE STAFF.
YOU KNOW, WE, UM, WE HAVE STUDENTS AND STAFF FROM, UH, FROM BOTH DISTRICTS AND I, AND WHAT I'VE LEARNED OUT THERE IS THAT OUR, OUR KIDS BUILD RELATIONSHIPS WITH DIFFERENT KIDS FROM DIFFERENT TYPES OF DIFFERENT BROAD OF, OF, OF ANOTHER COUNTY.
AND THEY ALSO SEE, UH, HOW SOME OF THE KIDS LIVE AND HOW THEY INTERACT WITH PEOPLE.
AND, YOU KNOW, JUST, IT'S, IT'S A LOT THAT GOES INTO ACE, ACE, ACE, ACE IS A, UH, NOT A, DEFINITELY NOT A ONE SIZE FIX AT ALL.
ACE IS A, IS VERY COMPLEX PEOPLE AND, AND THE OPPORTUNITIES THAT WE'RE ABLE TO PROVIDE BOTH COUNTIES, I THINK IS PHENOMENAL.
I THINK THAT WE REALLY NEED TO UNDERSTAND AND VISIT ACE AND C WHAT ACE REALLY HAVE TO OFFER OUR STUDENTS, BECAUSE WE HAVE KIDS WHO HAVE BEEN, HAVE BEEN THROUGH ACE PROGRAM, ARE NOW ARE NOW ON THE FRONTLINE DOING E M S WORK.
SO, YOU KNOW, AND IN THE RELATIONSHIPS ARE JUST, ARE JUST POWERFUL, YOU KNOW.
UM, JUST THE OTHER NIGHT I WENT TO, UH, ONE OF THE FOOT, THE, THE FOOTBALL GAME, AND THERE WERE SOME KIDS WHO REMEMBER ME FROM ACE, HEY, UH, HEY, HOW YOU DOING, MRS. SMITH, DA, DA DA.
[01:00:01]
I THINK THE RELATIONSHIPS AND WHAT WE CAN OFFER AS A COMMUNITY AND HAVING INTERACTION, BEING GOOD NEIGHBOR, UH, I, I, I THINK, I THINK IT'S, IT'S PHENO, IT'S PHENOMENAL.UM, YOU KNOW, SO I I I WOULD DEFINITELY BE, I'M DEFINITELY CONCERNED, AND THIS WAS, AS MR. CAMPBELL SAID, THIS IS NOT SOMETHING THAT HADN'T, HADN'T COME UP BEFORE, BUT EVERY TIME THAT IT COMES UP AND GO, I JUST HOPE THAT THIS TIME THAT WE HAVE A SHOT AND A CHANCE TO GET IT RIGHT.
AND I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO THIS, TO THIS BOARD AS THIS WAS THE ACE BOARD, GETTING IT RIGHT AND MAKING THE BEST DECISION THAT WILL ULTIMATELY HELP ALL KIDS BECAUSE THEY ARE, THEIR JASPER COUNTY IS OUR NEIGHBOR.
AND SO WHAT THEY, WHAT THEY BREED NEXT, NEXT DOOR IS WE WILL ENCOUNTER SAME THING.
WHAT, WHAT WE BREED THEY WILL ENCOUNTER AS WELL.
AND BELIEVE IT OR NOT, OUR KIDS DO CROSS DO CROSS LINES IN TERMS OF, OF EDUCATION, OF EDUCATING EACH OTHER.
SO THAT, THAT'S SOMETHING WE NEED TO BE COGNIZANT OF AS WELL.
WISNESKI HASN'T HAD A CHANCE TO SPEAK YET, BUT HER HAND IS UP.
WISNESKI, THANK YOU, MR. CHAIR.
UM, I'M, I'M GONNA AGREE WITH MR. CAMPBELL AND, AND HIS SENTIMENTS.
RODRIGUEZ KNOWS A, A GREAT DEAL ABOUT THAT HISTORY AS WELL.
SO I TRUST THAT WHATEVER HE BRINGS FORWARD TO US FOR CONSIDERATION, UM, WE'LL HAVE THAT IN MIND.
MY ONLY REQUEST IS THAT, UM, WHATEVER IS BROUGHT FORWARD, UH, HAS THE STUDENTS FIRST AND AT THE FOREFRONT, BECAUSE I HAVE SEEN A LOT OF THE GREAT THINGS, UM, THAT ACE HAS DONE FOR OUR STUDENTS THAT GO OVER THERE.
UM, AND I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THAT THEY'RE AT THE FOREFRONT OF THE CONVERSATION AND, AND THE PLAN MOVING FORWARD.
UM, AND HOPEFULLY THAT THERE'S SOME ROOM FOR INNOVATION, UM, IN THAT SPACE BECAUSE IT'S A UNIQUE AREA AND SOMETHING THAT CAN ALSO BE AN ECONOMIC DRIVER FOR, UM, OUR AREA AND OUR DISTRICT.
UH, MI MS. GORDON'S HAND IS UP, BUT THEN I'LL GET TO BACK TO MR. DALLAS.
UH, I'VE BEEN LISTENING TO ALL OF THE COMMENTS AND THEY'RE ALL VERY, VERY, UH, INTERESTING AND ON POINT ABOUT THIS.
MR. CAMPBELL, UH, BROUGHT SOMETHING UP THAT I KNOW THAT WE SHOULD REALLY TAKE INTO CONSIDERATION.
I THINK THIS CONVERSATION ABOUT WHAT MAY OR MAY NOT HAPPEN BETWEEN US AND, UH, JASPER COUNTY WITH ACE, WE SHOULD BE VERY CAREFUL ABOUT, YOU KNOW, WHAT WE SAY.
UH, I DO KNOW THAT WE SHOULD THINK OF THE CHILDREN FIRST, BUT AS MR. CAMPBELL BROUGHT OUT, THIS WAS BROUGHT UP MANY, MANY TIMES, YEARS AND YEARS AGO ABOUT BUFORT COUNTY AND, AND ACE AND STILL NO RESOLUTION.
AND I THINK THAT WE REALLY NEED TO LOOK AT THE AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE TWO COUNTIES AND WHAT THE, UH, PROCESS WAS AT THAT TIME AND STILL IS.
AND THE FACT THAT JASPER COUNTY HOUSES ACE, IT IS NOT IN, IN COUNTY.
AND SO WHEN WE START LOOKING AT THAT PROPERTY AND WHAT WE NEED TO DO, WE REALLY NEED TO HAVE OUR ATTORNEYS INVOLVED IN, KNOW THE CONVERSATIONS WITH ACE AND THEIR PEOPLE AND WITH US.
UM, BUT BE VERY, VERY CAREFUL ABOUT WHAT WE'RE SAYING ABOUT WHAT WE WANT TO DO, BECAUSE THAT HAS HAPPENED BEFORE.
AND IF YOU LOOK, ACE STILL BELONGS TO JASPER COUNTY, AND WE DO NOT HAVE CONTROL OVER IT.
SO THAT'S ALL I WANNA SAY IS JUST BE CAREFUL, UM, THAT THERE'S A LOT THAT GOES INTO THIS PLAY, NOT JUST THE FINANCIAL THAT WAS SET UP BECAUSE WE HAD MONEY AND THEY DIDN'T, AND THEY RECOGNIZED THAT BACK THEN, THE TWO THIRDS AND ONE THIRDS.
SO WHILE WE'RE LOOKING AT THIS, I'M JUST CAUTIONING ALL OF US TO THINK ABOUT WHAT IT IS WE TRULY WANT, WHAT THE OUTCOMES SHOULD LOOK LIKE, AND, AND HOW IT'S GONNA AFFECT NOT JUST ONE COUNTY PEOPLE, BUT TWO.
UH, COLONEL GAR, A COUPLE OF POINTS.
UM, THIS TOPIC WAS RAISED IN AN ACE MEETING, SO I THINK IT'S IN THE PUBLIC DOMAIN.
THE, UH, SECOND POINT IS I THINK THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY IS ACTUALLY WORKING TO CONSOLIDATE AND ELIMINATE SOME OF THE SCHOOL DISTRICTS THAT ARE IN THE STATE BECAUSE OF THE EFFICIENCY THAT CAN BE ACCRUED ACHIEVED.
UH, AND I THINK SOME OF THE CROSS BORDER SCHOOLS ARE BEING LOOKED AT BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY AS WELL.
SO THERE MAY BE LESS OF A COMFORT LEVEL WITH THE EXCEPT EXCEPTION OF SITUATIONS SUCH AS LEXINGTON FIVE.
FOR ME, THE MORE IMPORTANT ISSUE IS THAT THE DISTRICT HAS BEEN ON A VERY IMPORTANT JOURNEY TOWARDS COMMUNITY-BASED SCHOOLS, SO THAT YOU ARE INCREASING THE AFFINITY WITHIN THE COMMUNITY FOR PEOPLE TO PARTICIPATE
[01:05:01]
AND SUPPORT THEIR LOCAL SCHOOLS.I THINK THAT IF WE ARE GOING TO LOOK AT SOME OF THE OPTIONS THAT MAY HAVE BEEN CONSIDERED, UH, IT COULD CANNIBALIZE THE COMMUNITY ATTRACTION FOR OUR COMMUNITY BASED EFFORT.
AND WE ARE LOOKING AT IMPROVING OUR C T E, UH, PENETRATION, UH, SORT OF STANDARDIZING SOME OF THE CONVERSATIONS I'VE HEARD ACROSS THE STATE, STANDARDIZING WHAT'S OFFERED IN EACH OF OUR SCHOOLS.
SO A STUDENT IN ANY SCHOOL AS THE SAME OPPORTUNITY, DISCOVER SOME UNIQUE STUDY, PURSUE SOME UNIQUE, UH, COURSES.
SO I JUST WANT US TO TREAT IT AS AN ASSET MERGER AND LOOKING AT WHAT'S BEST LONG-TERM.
AND THE THIRD LAST POINT I'LL MAKE IS IF YOU LOOK AT THE FINANCIAL TRAJECTORY OF JASPER COUNTY, JASPER COUNTY IS NOT GONNA BE, YOU KNOW, UH, LESS CAPABLE THEN BEAUFORT COUNTY IN THE NEAR FUTURE.
SO WE, WE HAVE TO LOOK AT WHERE THE BALL IS GOING AND NEGOTIATE ACCORDINGLY.
UH, THANK YOU ALL FOR THE COMMENTS THAT THIS WAS BROUGHT UP SO THAT DR.
RODRIGUEZ COULD HAVE A SENSE OF THE, THE BOARD'S THINKING BEFORE HE STARTS HIS NEGOTIATION WITH HIS, UH, COUNTERPART IN JASPER COUNTY.
SO I THINK WE'RE READY TO MOVE ON TO THE NEXT ITEM, AND THAT IS AD HOC RESULTS COMMITTEE AND MS. POT WRIGHT.
UM, SO THE RESULTS, WE HAD SOME RESULTS COMMITTEE MEETINGS BACK AT, I THINK THE BEGINNING OF THE SUMMER.
THERE WAS A LOT OF, UM, FEEDBACK TO WHAT THE COMMITTEE BROUGHT FORWARD.
UM, AND I THOUGHT THAT WE POTENTIALLY LOOK, UM, HAVE A WORK SESSION OR IN INVOLVE THIS.
AND WHAT I SENT OUT TO THE BOARD WAS LOOKING FOR SOME SORT OF GUIDANCE FROM THE BOARD, UM, BECAUSE, AND JUST TO REMIND EVERYBODY WHO'S NEW AND FOR THE PUBLIC, THE CURRENT EVALUATION INSTRUMENT WAS PUT IN PLACE WHEN, RIGHT WHEN DR.
RODRIGUEZ WAS HIRED, BUT BEFORE WE HAD ADOPTED COHERENT GOVERNANCE.
AND IT WAS THE END RESULT OF A LOT OF WORK OF SOME OF THE CURRENT BOARD MEMBERS.
UM, AND THEY ENDED UP GOING WITH, UH, THE STATE OF MICHIGAN'S MATRIX, BUT THEN SORT OF BEAUFORT IZED IT, UM, AND, AND SORT OF TWEAKED IT AROUND.
UM, AND SO THAT'S WHAT WE HAVE CURRENTLY.
UM, WHEN I WAS FIRST ON THE BOARD, I WAS ASSIGNED TO THE RESULTS COMMITTEE AND, UH, KATHY INE WAS THE CHAIR AT THAT TIME.
AND BASICALLY WHAT WE ARE CHARGED WITH WAS ALL OF THESE, HOW DO WE, UH, ASSESS THE SUPERINTENDENT DURING A PANDEMIC.
SO WE SPENT A FAIR AMOUNT OF TIME LOOKING AT, UM, WHAT WE COULD ADD OR SUBTRACT TO MAKE IT FAIR, GIVEN THE FACT THAT WE ARE UNDER THIS PANDEMIC AND ALL OF THE DATA WAS BEING EMBARGOED.
SO, UM, I'LL STATE UP FRONT, AS I'VE STATED MANY TIMES, IF WE ARE TO TRULY DO COHERENT GOVERNANCE, COHERENT GOVERNANCE IS 100% CLEAR ABOUT HOW WE ARE TO EVALUATE OUR C E O.
AND IT IS BECAUSE WE SHOULD U IT IS BY USING THE OPERATIONAL EXPECTATIONS THAT WE ALREADY GIVE HIM AND HIS STAFF AS WELL AS RESULT POLICIES.
AND I DON'T FEEL LIKE WE HAVE CLEAR CUT RESULT POLICIES AT THIS TIME.
WE DEFINITELY HAVE THE OPERATIONAL EXPECTATIONS AND, UH, DR.
RODRIGUEZ AND HIS STAFF WORK TO MEET THOSE OPERATIONAL EXPECTATIONS ON A REGULAR BASIS.
UM, THE FEEDBACK I GOT FROM THE BOARD MEETING, UH, WAS THAT WE COULD NOT CHANGE THE CURRENT EVALUATION BECAUSE IT WAS ALREADY UNDERWAY, UH, THIS COMMITTEE.
AND I THINK WE NEED TO THINK ABOUT HOW THIS COMMITTEE AS A WHOLE IS RESTRUCTURED, DOES NOT REALLY GET FORMED TILL LATE JANUARY, BY WHICH TIME WE'RE ALREADY HALFWAY THROUGH THE SCHOOL YEAR.
SO I GUESS THE REAL PURPOSE OF THIS COMMITTEE, WHICH I DID NOT REALLY UNDERSTAND AT THE TIME, IS TO LOOK AT THE FOLLOWING YEARS.
UM, SO I THINK WE, I STILL WOULD LIKE TO DO THAT WITH THE REMAINING FOUR MONTHS OF THIS COMMITTEE IS LOOK AT, OKAY, THE CURRENT YEAR WE'RE CURRENTLY IN, CAN WE MAKE SOME ADJUSTMENTS? UM, BUT I DO THINK THAT'S GONNA REQUIRE SOME SORT OF A WORK SESSION OR COMMITMENT ON BEHALF OF THE WHOLE BOARD.
SO IN THE MEANTIME, WHAT WE LOOKED AT WITH THE CURRENT EVALUATION TOOL, THERE WERE SEVERAL PROBLEMS OF IDENTIFIED AT THE LAST, UH, EVALUATION THAT I THINK THE BOARD DISCUSSED AS A WHOLE.
NOW THERE ARE NEW BOARD MEMBERS, BUT THE BOARD MEMBERS THAT WERE THERE THAT WE WANTED ADDRESSED.
SO I'M BRINGING FORWARD FOR THIS CURRENT EVALUATION, WHICH IS DUE IN OCTOBER.
UM, WHAT SHOULD I CALL THAT? 2023 EVALUATION.
UM, OKAY, SO THE CURRENT EVALUATION THAT IS GOING TO BE COMING DUE, UH, WE NEED TO LOOK AT THREE AREAS THAT I THINK THAT THE BOARD DISCUSSED.
SO, UH, CHLOE GORDON AND I MET, UM, WITH SOME OTHER BOARD MEMBERS TO LOOK TO TALK ABOUT WHAT WE COULD REALISTICALLY DO.
THE THREE AREAS I THINK WE NEED TO LOOK AT AS ONE, I THINK WE NEED TO REMOVE THE PANDEMIC RESPONSE PORTION.
'CAUSE THAT WAS NOT A FACTOR IN THIS ACADEMIC YEAR TO THE EXTENT THAT IT SHOULD AFFECT HIS EVALUATION.
UM, WE IDENTIFIED QUITE CLEARLY THAT THERE WAS A PROBLEM WITH THE WAY WE EVALUATED HIM ON HIS FINANCIAL
[01:10:01]
MANAGEMENT BECAUSE IT WOULD NOT ALLOW US, EVEN THOUGH WE GET AWARDS AND OUR BUDGET AND, AND TAB TABERNAC COMES AND TELLS US HOW GREAT IT IS, WE WERE UNABLE TO GIVE HIGH MARKS BECAUSE IN MICHIGAN, I, I GUESS IN MICHIGAN, UM, THE WAY THIS FINANCIAL PIECE IS STRUCTURED CURRENTLY IS THAT A FULL SCORE ON A 4.0 SCALE IS 2% UNDER BUDGET.BUT I BELIEVE IN SOUTH CAROLINA, YOU'RE NOT REALLY ALLOWED TO BE UNDER BUDGET.
THE THIRD THING IS SOMETHING THAT WE HAVE BEEN ROLLING AROUND WITH THIS THING, WHICH IS THE WAY WE EVALUATE THE ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT PIECE.
SO, UM, I THINK WHAT MIGHT BE THE BEST WAY TO DO IT, I'LL, I'LL LET, UH, MS. GORDON ADD, UM, OR ANY OF THE BOARD MEMBERS HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, BUT I THINK MAYBE WE DO IT AS THREE SEPARATE MOTIONS, UH, TO ADDRESS WHETHER OR NOT WE'RE GONNA, UM, LOOK AT THESE THREE AREAS, UH, OF THE CURRENT EVALUATION.
SO MS. GORDON, DO YOU WANNA ADD ANYTHING? NO, NO, NO.
NO, I WAS VERY GRATEFUL TO HAVE MS. GORDON AS A FORMER ADMINISTRATOR, AND, UH, AND SHE KNEW EXACTLY WHAT HAPPENS IN THESE CLASSROOMS AND IN THESE EVALUATIONS.
SO, UM, BASICALLY, I GUESS WHAT I'LL DO THEN IS WE WILL START WITH THE FIRST SECTION, WHICH IS THE, THE PANDEMIC RESPONSE.
AND ROBIN, I'M SORRY, I SHOULD HAVE TEED THIS UP FOR YOU, BUT I'D LIKE TO MAKE A MOTION THAT THE, UH, BOARD OF EDUCATION REMOVE THE PANDEMIC RESPONSE SECTIONS FROM THE CURRENT EVALUATION INSTRUMENT.
DO WE HAVE A SECOND, MR. CAMPBELL WITH SECONDS? ANY DISCUSSION? YES, I'D LIKE SOME DISCUSSION.
UM, I, WELL I WAS DOING THE PRE-READ FOR THIS.
UH, I WAS GONNA RECOMMEND THAT WE CHANGE IT TO CRISIS RESPONSE, ACTUALLY.
UM, WE DO HAVE THE, THE OCCASIONAL CRISIS.
UM, THE, I MEAN, WE HAVE THE OCCASIONAL LOCKDOWNS, UH, DUE TO WHATEVER REASON.
SOMETIMES, UH, YOU KNOW, IT'S A SCARE.
WE HAD THE, THE SCARE LAST YEAR.
UH, NOW WE HAVE OUR, UH, A RESPONSE, UH, OUR CRISIS RESPONSE TRAILERS, UH, ALL THAT KIND OF STUFF.
SO, UM, YEAH, WE'RE NOT STILL DEALING WITH, UH, THE PANDEMIC, BUT I WAS GONNA RECOMMEND WE CHANGE IT TO CRISIS RESPONSE.
UH, ANY RESPONSE TO THAT MS. MS. BOATRIGHT? YOU'RE, UM, YEAH, AND I, I, I BELIEVE I WAS TRYING TO PULL UP MY, UH, CURRENT, I THINK THAT IS COVERED IN OUR CURRENT EVALUATION.
WHAT WE DID, 'CAUSE I WAS PART OF THIS TEAM WITH THE PANDEMIC WAS, UM, BECAUSE SCHOOL WASN'T EVEN IN SESSION, WE PUT IN SOME VERY SPECIFIC PANDEMIC RESPONSE PLAN, UM, SECTIONS.
I DO BELIEVE CRISIS RESPONSE, OF COURSE, IT'S AN OE IT IS, UM, PART OF OUR POLICY IS CONTAINED IN THE UM, CURRENT EVALUATION INSTRUMENT IN THAT WAY.
SO I DON'T NEED KNOW, THOUGH, KNOW IF IT NEEDS A SPECIAL WAITING WITHIN THE DIFFERENT SECTIONS, BUT IF YOU HAVE A RECOMMENDATION ON WHERE YOU THINK IT WOULD GO.
I'M, I'M TRYING TO PULL UP MY, MY, UM, COPY OF THE, OF THE, HERE IT IS.
UM, MS. BOATWRIGHT, WERE YOU FINISHED WITH YOUR THOUGHTS THERE? YEAH, I WAS TRYING TO FIND TO SEE WHERE I THOUGHT IT CAME UNDER, BUT OKAY, GO AHEAD.
BUT WHAT, WHILE YOU'RE LOOKING FOR THAT, UH, I JUST WANT, UM, US TO BE MINDFUL THAT WHATEVER WE DO, WE CANNOT CHANGE THIS INSTRUMENT BECAUSE HE'S ALREADY BEEN GIVEN WHAT HE WAS GOING TO BE EVALUATED ON.
I TOOK THAT CLASS THIS SUMMER AND, UH, BASICALLY ON OUR PART THERE WOULD BE A BREACH OF CONTRACT BECAUSE WE DID NOT TELL HIM THAT PANDEMIC IS NOW CRISIS, WHICH HE COULD HAVE BEEN WORKING ON SINCE JANUARY.
AND HIS, UH, EVALUATION, UH, MR. NAY IS DUE IN OCTOBER, BUT WE COULD PUT IT ON FOR THE FUTURE, WHICH IS NOT A PROBLEM.
WE JUST CAN'T CHANGE IT FOR THIS, UH, PERIOD OF HIS EVALUATION.
WE CAN TAKE THIS OUT, BUT WE CAN'T ADD ANYTHING.
MS. POTE WRIGHT, DO YOU HAVE ANY PER NO, AND I, I WOULD ALSO, I'M TRYING TO FIND THE SPOT THAT I THINK IT WOULD FIT IN, UM, BECAUSE ONE THING IS THE PANDEMIC RESPONSE.
THERE ARE I THINK SIX SORT OF WHAT IS DOMAINS UNDER THE SUPERINTENDENT.
DID I GET THAT RIGHT, MS. GORDON? I DON'T KNOW THE JARGON.
SO LIKE COMMUNITY RELATIONS BOARD AND GOV BOARD GOVERNANCE.
AND WE PUT A PANDEMIC SORT OF WAITING INTO EACH ONE OF THOSE TO MAKE SURE IT WOULD MAKE UP FOR ANY OF THE, UH, SHORTCOMINGS BECAUSE OF, UM, THE FACT THAT WE WERE IN VIRTUAL SCHOOL AND, AND THOSE DIFFERENT THINGS.
SO I DON'T KNOW IF WE COULD EASILY TRANSITION TO A CRISIS MANAGEMENT.
SO I WOULD SUPPORT MS. GORDON SAYING WE SHOULD LOOK AT THAT, UM, FOR THIS COMING, NOT THIS CURRENT EVALUATION, BUT THE UPCOMING EVALUATION.
BUT I DON'T SEE IT WORKING REALLY WELL TO JUST SWAP THE TWO OUT.
UH, I THINK WE, WE HAVE A MOTION.
[01:15:01]
MS. MR. SMITH? WE'LL GET A SECOND FIGURE OUT HOW WE DISPLAY IT.ON, ON WE GO AHEAD MR. SHIP I TO BRING IT UP? NO, THE PULLING UP THAT MOTION WOULD PROBABLY BE A GOOD, I CAN UNDERSTAND THAT MOTION TO, ALRIGHT.
PART OF MY QUESTION IS UNDERSTAND.
THE MOTION THAT YOU MADE IS TO REMOVE THIS IN THE FUTURE? NO, FOR THIS CURRENT EVALUATION.
THIS JUST THE PANDEMIC SEC SECTION.
SO THE, AND THEY'RE IN RED UHHUH, THEY WERE ADDED SORT OF JUST IN A SHORT TERM DURATION OF THE PANDEMIC.
THAT WE REMOVE THOSE SECTIONS.
THAT'S SO IN THE RED REMOVE FOR THIS, AND TO BE CLEAR, EACH DOMAIN HAS A PANDEMIC RESPONSE.
SO WE'D BE REMOVING THE PANDEMIC RESPONSE SECTION FROM EACH DOMAIN.
AND YOU REDID THE WEIGHTS? WELL RECALCULATED THE WEIGHTS THAT SPREAD? NO, THE WEIGHTS WOULD STAY THE SAME.
'CAUSE THE DOMAINS ARE WEIGHTED.
SO WE JUST BASICALLY BACK WHEN ADDED THAT PANDEMIC RESPONSE TO KIND OF PLUG HOLES THAT WE COULDN'T EVALUATE HIM ON.
UM, AND NOW THAT THAT'S NOT AN ISSUE, WE'D JUST BE REMOVING THAT AND THE FULL WEIGHT OF THE DOMAIN WOULD STAY THE SAME.
SO MY, MY IONS WERE KIND OF ALONG.
WHAT, WHAT SHE, WHAT SHE, SO IF WE, IF WE, IT WAS, IF WE MOVE THOSE, THEN WHERE WOULD, HOW WOULD THAT CHANGE UP THE POINT STRUCTURE? IN MY OPINION, IT WOULDN'T CHANGE THE POINT STRUCTURE BECAUSE GOVERNANCE AND BOARD RELATIONS WOULD STILL HAVE THE SAME WAITING.
IT JUST WOULDN'T HAVE THAT EXTRA ASTERISK BY IT FOR PANDEMIC.
AND THEN THE, THE, THE SEC THE SECOND THING IS THAT I HEAR, I HEAR, I, I HEAR YOUR, UH, I, I HEAR, I HEAR WHAT YOU'RE SAYING, BUT I AM CONCERNED THAT WE ARE POSSIBLY ON THE VERGE OF POSSIBLY A, A ANOTHER PANDEMIC COMING BECAUSE, UM, I'VE SEEN WHERE SOME PEOPLE, SOME STATES HAVE SHUT DOWN.
SOME DISTRICTS ACROSS THE COUNTRY HAVE SHUT DOWN FOR TWO WEEKS.
AND I WOULD HATE FOR US TO PULL THIS OUT.
AND THEN THIS OCCURRED, AND THEN WE SAY, WELL, WE WANNA RE-ADD IT.
SO NOW WE GOING, GOING, WE DON'T WANNA GO BACK AND FORTH.
SO THAT'S THE ONLY THING THAT CONCERNED ME THAT I HAVE SEEN WHERE THE PANDEMIC IS KIND OF ALL THE, ALL THIS COVID IS, AND THE FLU IS TAKING A IS TAKING BECAUSE, UH, YOU KNOW, OH, IT'S OUT THERE.
UM, UH, WHAT I WOULD SAY TO THAT IS WE'RE NOT BANNING PANDEMIC RESPONSE, BUT I THINK, WOULD YOU CONCUR THAT IN THIS PREVIOUS SCHOOL YEAR THAT WE JUST WENT THROUGH WHERE WE JUST GRADUATED, WOULD THAT THE PANDEMIC WAS NOT A WEIGHT ON LAST YEAR'S SCHOOL YEAR? 'CAUSE THAT'S WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT.
WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THE PREVIOUS YEARS.
SO IT WOULDN'T BE, IT WOULD NOT AFFECT THE UPCOMING NEXT YEAR, THE YEAR WE'RE ACTUALLY IN.
THAT'S, THAT'S A VALID APPEAL.
UM, JUST SO I'M CLEAR, UM, THE SUPERINTENDENT SCHOOL YEAR IS FROM WHAT MONTH TO WHAT MONTH? AUGUST.
AUGUST, AUGUST STARTS IN AUGUST.
UH, SO THEN FOR 22, 23, THEN WE REALLY ARE IN MONTH WHAT, 12 OR PAST AUGUST.
SO I'M VERY LEERY ABOUT CHANGING THINGS BECAUSE THIS IS A GOOD EXAMPLE OF US TRYING TO BE VERY FAIR.
BUT I COULD SEE WE SET A PRECEDENT WHERE, YOU KNOW, THE FUTURE BOARD MAY SAY, I DON'T LIKE THIS.
AND FOR IT TO OCCUR AFTER THE END OF THE YEAR WOULD MAKE ME VERY LEERY OF THE ORGANIZATION.
SO I, I'M, I'M MORE THAN HAPPY TO ALLOW IT TO REMAIN AS IS.
AND THEN TO GRADE THE SUPERINTENDENT ON THAT WAS AN ISSUE THAT DID NOT FLARE UP BECAUSE THERE ARE MICRO COMMUNITIES THAT ARE HAVING, YOU KNOW, FLARE UPS OF THE PANDEMIC.
SO I'M WILLING TO GIVE THE BENEFIT OF THE DOUBT THERE.
AND THEN REALLY WITH THIS AD HOC COMMITTEE, WHICH YOU'VE DONE A GREAT JOB OF LEADING AND TRYING TO MAKE IT MORE SPECIFIC AND TIGHTER, IS TO LOOK GOING FORWARD 23, 24, AND REALLY SORT OF WORK WITH THE SUPERINTENDENT TO SEE WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE THERE.
AND I THINK, UH, CHANGING METRICS AND RESULTS, NORMALLY IT'S PROCEEDED BY RIGOROUS STRATEGIC ANALYSIS.
[01:20:09]
STILL COMPARE OURSELVES AGAINST THE STATE MEDIAN, BUT ALSO SAY THAT'S OUR ASPIRATIONAL GROUP.AND I THINK THAT TYPE OF CLEAR FOCUS HELPS GALVANIZE THE WORKFORCE PUSH POINT OF ORDER.
WE, I THINK WE'RE, WE'RE VEERING OFF THE MOTION.
SO LET'S, UH, ACTUALLY, UM, SOME, SOME PEOPLE SAID THEY'VE LOST, GOT BACK THERE.
THEY'VE LOST AUDIO, BUT THEY'VE CAME BACK.
DO YOU HAVE ANYTHING BEFORE WE GO FOR THE VOTE? NO, BUT I, I CONCUR.
AND I WILL SAY, I THINK THAT THERE ARE TWO THINGS THAT I'LL PUT RIGHT UP FRONT ON ALL THIS.
'CAUSE WE'RE GONNA HAVE THREE MOTIONS HERE.
ONE, I THINK THERE'S SOME STRUCTURAL PROBLEMS WITH THE WAY WE SET UP RESULTS, BECAUSE IF WE'RE DOING ESTABLISHING THE RESULTS COMMITTEE IN JANUARY, THAT DOESN'T MAKE A WHOLE LOT OF SENSE.
WE NEED TO FIGURE OUT HOW WE'RE ESTABLISHING THAT AND BE CLEAR AND INTENTIONAL.
UM, SO I THINK THAT THAT, AND THEN I THINK WE DO NEED TO LOOK AT PUTTING OUR, UH, THIS IS NOT REALLY IN ALIGNMENT WITH LIKE OUR OES AND WHATNOT.
SO I THINK THAT THOSE ARE TWO CHALLENGES.
AND WHAT I WILL SAY, UH, TO THE NEW BOARD MEMBERS, THESE DISCUSSIONS WERE HAD IN PRETTY GOOD DETAIL WHEN WE DID THE LAST EVALUATION.
THAT'S WHY I FEEL SOMEWHAT CONFIDENT.
I FEEL LIKE IT WAS MORE THE BALL WAS DROPPED AS TO WHETHER WHO, WHICH RESULT COMMITTEE WAS IN CHARGE.
UM, BUT I DON'T THINK IT'S FAIR BECAUSE I THINK THE EXPECTATION WAS THESE THINGS WERE GONNA GET REMOVED.
SO THAT'S WHY I'M BRINGING THESE THREE AND I'M LIMITING IT TO THESE THREE SPECIFIC THINGS THEY WERE DISCUSSED DURING THE LAST EVALUATION.
I THINK WE'LL CALL THE QUESTION, AND MS. BERRY, WOULD YOU CALL THE ROLE PLEASE ON THIS MOTION? ANGELA MIDDLETON? NO, SORRY.
JUST LET'S, LET'S, LET'S GET THE NUMBERS.
SO, ANOTHER ONE OF THE AREAS THAT WERE DISCUSSED AT THE LAST EVALUATION, UM, WAS THE FINANCIAL PIECE.
AND JUST TO REVIEW, ON A SCALE OF ONE TO FOUR, PER THE MICHIGAN, UH, MATRIX, A FOUR WAS UNDER TWO, 2% UNDER BUDGET, WHICH REALLY IS NOT POSSIBLE.
SO WHAT WE WANTED TO DO WAS TO SHIFT, UM, THE MATRIX SO THAT THE HIGHEST ACHIEVABLE GRADE WAS ACTUALLY THE PERFECT SCORE OF BEING ON BUDGET.
UM, SO THIS IS, IS NOT A QUESTION OF CHANGING THE CONTENT, IT'S JUST A QUESTION OF ADJUSTING THE GRADES TO REFLECT WHAT'S ACTUALLY HAPPENING.
SO, UH, MS. CUSHIER, I'D LIKE TO MOVE THAT WE ADJUST THE FINANCIAL, IS IT NO FINANCIAL DOMAIN OF DR.
RODRIGUEZ EVALUATION TO MAKE THE HIGHEST ACHIEVABLE SCORE, UH, TO BE ON BUDGET? HEAR SECOND.
PARDON? DID YOU GET THAT? OKAY.
MOTION TO ADJUST THE FINANCIAL DOMAIN TO MAKE THE HIGHEST ACHIEVABLE SCORE ON BUDGET.
AND THE MOTION WAS SECOND BY MR. DALLAS.
MILTON, DID YOU HAVE SOMETHING? YES, I DO.
SO ARE WE TALKING ABOUT WITH THIS MOTION AS WELL? ARE WE TALKING ABOUT DOING THIS NOW? THIS OKAY.
YEAH, I HAVE A PROBLEM WITH THAT.
ANY OTHER COMMENTS, MR. SMITH? YEAH.
I, I WAS ALSO GONNA, I WAS GONNA ASK HER WHAT THAT LOOKED LIKE.
I MAYBE, UM, MAYBE I, I WOULD LIKE TO, I WOULD LIKE TO, UH, GET YOUR HEAD TOGETHER.
I WOULD LIKE TO MAKE A, UH, A, A AMEND AMEND THE MOTION TO THE UPCOMING YEAR, UM, FOR, FOR THE, FOR THAT TO BE A PART OF THE EVALUATION TOOL FOR THE, FOR THE UPCOMING YEAR.
AMENDMENT'S BEEN MOVED AND SECONDED TO MAKE THIS MOTION EFFECTIVE ON THE
[01:25:01]
NEXT YEAR.AND IT'S BEEN SECONDED BY MS. MIDDLETON DISCUSSION ON THE AMENDMENT.
DALLAS? UH, I'D HAVE ONE QUESTION.
SO THIS DOES NOT PRECLUDE US AS A BOARD SAYING THAT HE WOULD'VE ACHIEVED THE HIGHEST RATING, CORRECT? THIS YEAR? IT WOULD.
IT WOULD NOT PRECLUDE THAT OR WOULD IT? NO, IT WOULD, IT WOULD STOP IF THIS AMENDMENT PASSES.
IT WOULD STOP GETTING A POSSIBLE FOUR IF WE WAITED AND TO SHIFTED IT TO NEXT YEAR.
THAT'S THE, AND THAT'S THE PROBLEM.
WHEN YOU HAVE A TEST AND A HUNDRED PERCENT'S NOT POSSIBLE, THEN, THEN 90%, I MEAN, THAT'S, THAT'S NOT GOOD ENOUGH.
YOU KNOW, YOU, YOU HAVE TO HAVE A POSSIBILITY OF MAKE, MAKING AND MEETING THE OBJECTIVE.
AND UNDER THE CURRENT THING, IT'S AGAINST THE LAW TO BE UNDER BUDGET.
AND I WAS ON THAT BOARD THAT PUT THIS OUT, AND, AND WE JUST SCREWED THAT UP.
SO THERE'S NO GRADING ON A CURVE NOW MM-HMM.
MS. MIDDLETON, MY PROBLEM WITH THIS IS WE SHOULD HAVE ADDRESSED THIS LAST YEAR IN SEPTEMBER.
AND THIS IS A CONTRACTUAL ISSUE.
I MEAN, WE HAVE A CONTRACT WITH HIM.
I WISH WE HAD DONE THIS LAST YEAR.
YEAH, I THINK THAT, SORRY, GO AHEAD.
UH, CAN I RESPOND TO THAT? IF IT WAS NEGATIVE RESPONSE TO HIM, I WOULD SAY, I WOULD AGREE WITH YOU IF IT WAS A NEGATIVE ISSUE FOR THE SUPERINTENDENT, BUT IT'S NOT.
I UNDERSTAND THE SUPERINTENDENT, BUT IT'S JUST LIKE, IT'S THE LAST MINUTE.
WE'RE A MONTH AWAY FROM DOING THIS EVALUATION.
WHAT I WILL TELL YOU, AND I'LL OWN UP, BECAUSE I WAS MADE THE CHAIR OF THE RESULTS COMMITTEE AT THE END OF JANUARY.
I THINK THERE WAS A NOTION THAT THE AD HOC RESULTS COMMITTEE WAS, WAS FORMED IN JANUARY, AND THEN IT COMPLETED ITS WORK IN OCT, AUGUST, OCT, YOU KNOW, SEPTEMBER, OCTOBER WHEN THE CURRENT, AND THEN THEY WOULD NOT MEET AGAIN.
SO THIS DISCUSSION WAS HAD, WE JUST DIDN'T VOTE ON IT.
WE ALL AGREED AT THE LAST EVALUATION, LIKE, THIS IS CRAZY.
UM, BUT THERE WAS NEVER A MOTION BROUGHT FORWARD BECAUSE IT KIND OF SLIPPED THROUGH THE CRACKS BECAUSE OF THE WAY WE SET UP THE RESULTS COMMITTEE.
BUT IT WAS ABSOLUTELY DISCUSSED WITH THE BOARD.
IT WAS JUST A PROCEDURAL ISSUE.
MS. MIDDLETON, I DON'T KNOW IF YOU WANNA COMMENT, BUT HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT THIS? WELL, YOU KNOW, IT'S THE FAIRNESS PIECE, RIGHT? I MEAN, YOU KNOW, YOU CAN'T BE THE BEST YOU CAN BE RIGHT? WITH THE MODEL, RIGHT? IT, IT, IT, IT PRECLUDES YOU FROM SCORING MAXIMUM POINTS, RIGHT? UH, REGARDLESS, YOU KNOW, OF WHAT I DO.
'CAUSE I CAN'T DO WHAT IT ASKS YOU TO DO IN ORDER TO GET MAXIMUM POINTS.
WELL, THIS PARTICULAR ONE IS, IS ONE THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, I WOULD BE OKAY IF THE BOARD WOULD CHANGE THAT, BECAUSE IT WOULD ALLOW FOR, FOR THAT.
UH, WE HAVE A COUPLE HANDS UP ONLINE.
WISNESKI, THANK YOU, MR. CHAIR.
WHAT? GOT FEEDBACK? ECHO? OKAY.
UM, SO I, I SOMEWHAT DISAGREE WITH THIS, WITH THE BELIEF OR THE PREMISE THAT THE, THE 2% IS NOT POSSIBLE.
AND THAT'S SIMPLY FROM PAST PRACTICE OR PAST BOARD MEETINGS WHERE WE HAVE HAD PRESENTATIONS SHOWING THAT WE HAD SLIPPAGE THAT YEAR IN MILLIONS OF DOLLARS, AND ALSO OTHER AREAS OF SAVINGS THAT WERE, UM, GLEANED IN A BUDGET YEAR.
AND WE WERE ASKED WHERE WOULD WE LIKE TO ALLOCATE THOSE DOLLARS, BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, WE DO NEED TO, TO USE IT.
UM, S SO I, I WOULDN'T NECESSARILY AGREE WITH THAT STATEMENT.
I, I WOULD BE MORE IN FAVOR WITH MAYBE CHANGING THE PERCENTAGE TO BE IN LINE WITH SOMETHING THAT IS FEASIBLE BASED ON HISTORICAL, UM, DATA THAT WE HAVE.
UM, I, I ALSO, YOU KNOW, AS IT'S WRITTEN RIGHT NOW, I, I WOULD SUPPORT IT BEING PUT INTO EFFECT THIS YEAR, THOUGH.
I, I DON'T SEE A POINT IN WAITING.
UM, AND I THINK THAT, YOU KNOW, IF WE'RE GONNA ESSENTIALLY LOWER THE BAR, THEN WE MIGHT AS WELL GO AHEAD AND, AND DO IT.
I THINK OUR DISTRICT HAS BEEN GIVEN MANY ACCOLADES IN REGARD TO THEIR FINANCIAL SAVVINESS.
AND, UM, I DON'T SEE IT AS BEING, UH, A MAJOR DETRIMENT TO THE EVALUATION.
AND I'M, I'M NOT TRULY CONCERNED, UM, ABOUT THAT.
BUT I, I DON'T NECESSARILY AGREE WITH THE ASSESSMENT THAT BEING UNDER BUDGET IS SOMETHING THAT'S UNATTAINABLE, BECAUSE
[01:30:01]
IT'S HAPPENED BEFORE.UH, I, I AGREED WITH THE, THE LAST MOTION BECAUSE IT WAS REMOVING THE CRITERIA TO NOT BE HELD AGAINST THE SUPERINTENDENT.
UH, I DON'T KNOW THAT I CAN AGREE WITH THIS ONE, BECAUSE WE'RE MOVING THE GOALPOST ON THIS ONE, UH, A AFTER, AFTER THE, THE, THE GRADING PORTION OR THE GRADING PERIOD HAS PASSED.
UH, NOW I, I, I UNDERSTAND, YOU KNOW, THE SUPERINTENDENT OBVIOUSLY IS, UH, IN, IN FAVOR OF THIS.
AND, UM, BUT, UH, I, I, I AGREE WITH SOME OF THE BOARD MEMBERS.
THIS SHOULD HAVE BEEN HANDLED A WHILE AGO.
AND I, I WOULD, I WOULD FULLY AGREE WITH CHANGING THIS FOR THE NEXT GRADING, UH, PERIOD.
BUT FOR THIS GRADING PERIOD, I, I, I DON'T KNOW.
IT'S, UH, EVEN THOUGH, UH, IT'S MOVING THE GOALPOST CLOSER, UH, IT'S, IT'S STILL CHANGING THE CRITERIA AFTER THE PERIOD HAS ALREADY ENDED.
SO, I, I'M, I'M CONFLICTED OVER THIS.
UM, I JUST WANNA SPEAK ON THIS FROM ANOTHER POINT OF VIEW.
HAVING, BEING ON THE RESULTS COMMITTEE AND HAVING DISCUSSED THIS TIME AND TIME AGAIN, I'M PRETTY SURE IT'S BEEN EVERY SINGLE TIME WE'VE MET THUS FAR.
IF, AND THIS IS JUST A HYPOTHETICAL, IF I WERE IN DR.
RODRIGUEZ'S POSITION, OR ANYONE ELSE'S, FOR THAT MATTER, IF I HAD A JOB WHERE I COULD NOT ATTAIN A PERFECT SCORE, I WOULD START LOOKING FOR ANOTHER JOB YEAR AFTER YEAR, BEING, YOU KNOW, HELD TO A STANDARD THAT I CAN'T MEET BECAUSE IT'S OUT OF MY HANDS.
UM, I MEAN, I'M JUST SAYING IT, HOW I WOULD LOOK AT IT IS I WOULD BE LOOKING FOR ANOTHER JOB.
SO I THINK WE NEED TO KEEP THAT IN MIND AS WELL WHEN MAKING THESE DECISIONS.
RODRIGUEZ, I THINK THE ISSUE WITH THIS PARTICULAR ITEM IS THAT WHAT, WHAT YOU WOULD BE ASKING ME TO DO IN ORDER TO GET THE MAXIMUM POINTS, OKAY, IS TO HOLD BACK $5.9 MILLION AND ADD THAT TO THE FUND BALANCE EVERY YEAR.
THAT'S WHAT YOU'D BE ASKING ME TO DO RIGHT NOW, WHEN WE CREATE A BUDGET, WE CREATE A BUDGET THAT SAYS, THIS IS WHAT WE NEED, WHAT WE NEED TO OPERATE.
SO WHAT WE WANT TO DO IS GET AS CLOSE TO THAT AS POSSIBLE WITHOUT GOING OVER.
I DON'T THINK GOING UNDER IS ILLEGAL.
GOING OVER IS ILLEGAL, BUT, BUT WHAT YOU WOULD BE ASKING ME TO DO TO ACHIEVE MAXIMUM SCORE IS TO PUT ASIDE $5.9 MILLION EVERY YEAR, NOT USE IT, LEAVE THIS OVER HERE, AND AT THE END OF THE YEAR, GO SORT OUT FUND BALANCE.
AND WE'VE GOT A FUND BALANCE POLICY, WHICH WE'RE AT.
UH, I THINK THAT'S REALLY THE ISSUE AROUND THIS PARTICULAR PIECE.
UH, MR. SMITH, AT THIS POINT, LISTENING TO EVERYONE, AND, UM, I, I, ALMOST MYSELF, UM, BEING THAT THIS IS A BONDING CONTRACT TO SOME, TO SOME DEGREE IN THAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT DIFFERENT THINGS THAT, THAT DUKE KIND OF PERTAIN TO THAT.
WE WERE LOWERING THE, UH, STANDARDS, WHICH WE WOULD NEVER WANTED.
I DEFINITELY DON'T WANNA LOWER THE STANDARDS.
UM, I'M CONCERNED THAT, THAT, THAT WE POSSIBLY NEED LEGAL, UH, WE NEED LE WE NEED LEGAL ADVICE, BECAUSE THIS IS, THIS IS SOMETHING THAT THE BOARD, I DON'T, I DON'T THINK THAT THAT, THAT WE HAVE THAT MUCH ROOM FOR TRIAL AND ERROR.
I, I WOULD DEFINITELY, DEFINITELY NOT LIKE TO, UH, I WOULD DEFINITELY NOT WANT TO VIOLATE, UH, VIOLATE OUR SUPERINTENDENT'S CONTRACT.
SO, I'M, I'M, I'M ALMOST, UH, WANT TO YIELD AND LEAN, LEAN TO LEGAL ADVICE IN THE, IN THE SITUATION.
I MEAN, I, I, I MEAN, WHEN YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT THIS, I, I, BECAUSE THE EVALUATION IS A PART OF THE CONTRACT, SO I, I, I, I'M, I'M, I'M, UH, I'M REAL ON EDGE ABOUT THAT.
I'M ABOUT THE WHOLE SITUATION.
UM, I CAN GO ALONG WITH TAKING OUT THE, UH, PANDEMIC AND WHAT I WOULD SUGGEST THAT THE COMMITTEE COMES WITH SOMETHING FOR NEXT YEAR.
YOU KNOW, UH, SINCE I'VE BEEN ON THIS BOARD, WE HAVE CHANGED A DIFFERENT INSTRUMENT, HOW WE VALUE SUPERINTENDENT.
AND TONIGHT WE ARE CUSSING ALMOST THE SAME.
I THINK WE SHOULD LEAVE, TAKE THAT OFF AND, AND THIS VALUABLE
[01:35:01]
EVALUATING HIM ON THE REST OF THE STUFF, AND GO FROM THERE.AND NEXT YEAR, COME UP WITH, STARTING NEXT MONTH WITH A, WITH A, A PLAN, DO A BETTER JOB ON, ON AN INSTRUMENT.
BECAUSE IF WE DON'T LIKE THIS INSTRUMENT, THEN WE NEED TO, TO GET RID OF IT.
I THINK, UH, I THINK WE'RE READY TO CALL THE QUESTION, UH, MS. CHRISTIAN BERRY ON THE AGENDA.
THIS IS ON THE, UH, AMENDMENT.
MS. CHRISTIAN BERRY, WILL YOU CALL THE ROLL? PLEASE AMEND THE MOTION TO OCCUR FOR THE NEXT SCHOOL YEAR EVALUATION.
ANGELA MIDDLETON, WE'RE VOTING ON THE AMENDMENT TO AMEND THE MOTION TO OCCUR FOR THE NEXT SCHOOL YEAR, THE NEXT SCHOOL YEAR'S EVALUATION.
AND JUST TO BE CLEAR, MS. BERRY, A YES VOTE MEANS THAT WE WOULD REMOVE IT FOR THE CURRENT EVALUATION.
A NOMO VOTE MEANS WE WOULD KEEP THE CURRENT EVALUATION AS IS WITHOUT CHANGES.
WE WOULD GO BACK TO THE ORIGINAL MOTION.
THOSE PEOPLE UNDERSTOOD THE, THE AMENDMENT, WHATEVER, MR. MR. CAMPBELL NO, NO.
INGRID VOTE, RIGHT? I'M VOTING NO.
YEAH, THAT'S WHAT I WAS JUST TRYING TO MAKE SURE.
UM, SOMEBODY'S TRYING TO CONNECT IN, UM, ELIZABETH HAY NAYYY, UH, AND CARL CARLTON DALLAS.
I NEED, IF I MAY CLARIFY, SO, 14 YES.
MEANS THAT IT'S GONNA GO TO NEXT YEAR AND NOT COUNT.
SO THE, YOU'RE STILL GOING BACK TO THE ORIGINAL AFTER THIS VOTE.
AND THE ORIGINAL ONE IS, OH, OKAY.
AND YOU WANNA TRY FROM MR. NAY AGAIN? UM, MR. NAY? YES.
WHAT'S THE MOTION? YOUR VOTE ON THE AMENDMENT? ON THE AMENDMENT.
THE AMENDMENT IS TO CHANGE, UM, TO MAKE THE CHANGE FOR NEXT YEAR, FOR NEXT SCHOOL YEAR'S EVALUATION.
LET'S GO BACK TO THE ORIGINAL MOTION, PLEASE.
THE ORIGINAL MOTION TO ADJUST THE FINANCIAL DOMAIN TO MAKE THE HIGHEST ACHIEVABLE SCORE ON BUDGET.
YOUR NEXT MOTION, MS. BOATWRIGHT.
SO THE, UM, LET ME JUST, CAN I JUST MAKE A LITTLE SIDEBAR HERE SINCE WE'RE GOING DOWN THIS RABBIT HOLE? ANYWAYS, I JUST WANNA POINT OUT, SO I DON'T LIKE THE WAY THE MICHIGAN AND BUFORT COUNTY FEELS LIKE A SQUARE PEG IN A ROUND HOLE OR ROUND PEG IN A SQUARE HOLE.
AND, UM, OUR OE ON FINANCIAL PLANNING SAYS THIS, THE SUPERINTENDENT SHALL DEVELOP AND MAINTAIN A MULTI-YEAR FINANCIAL PLAN THAT IS RELATED DIRECTLY TO THE BOARD'S, RESULTS, PRIORITIES, AND OPERATIONAL EXPECTATION GOALS.
AND THAT AVOIDS LONG-TERM FISCAL JEOPARDY TO THE DISTRICT.
THAT GIVES US SO MANY MORE PLACES WHERE WE CAN TALK ABOUT WHAT'S GOING ON AND MAKE COMMENTS AS OPPOSED TO THIS REALLY VERY CUT AND DRY, 2%, 5% ON BUDGET.
YOU KNOW, IT'S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN AN ESSAY AND A MULTIPLE CHOICE TEST.
SO THAT IN MIND, THE THIRD SECTION THAT WE HAVE HAD A LOT OF CONVERSATIONS ABOUT, BECAUSE
[01:40:01]
ALL THIS DATA HAS BEEN, UM, EMBARGOED FOR SO LONG, IS THE ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT GAP.TRYING TO PULL IT UP HERE, UH, SECTION.
AND THAT COMES OUT OF OUR, WHAT WE MIGHT CALL OUR RESULTS POLICIES.
AND THE MATRIX IS A LITTLE UPDATED.
YEAH, IT IS UNDER, SO ONCE YOU GET THROUGH ALL THE DIFFERENT DOMAINS, YOU GET DOWN TO THE MEASURABLE COMPONENTS OF EVALUATION.
AND ONE, THERE'S THREE STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT.
AND IT SAYS, SEE ATTACHED MATRIX.
UM, AND THEN IT SAYS, AND THEN IT'S GOT SOME VERY CLEAR MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS FOR FINANCIAL OVERSIGHT AND TEACHER RECRUITMENT AND, AND TRAINING.
UM, AND THEN IT'S BECAUSE IN THE STATE OF MICHIGAN, THE ACHIEVEMENT OF THE STUDENTS, THE TEACHERS ARE HELD ACCOUNTABLE IF THEIR STUDENTS ARE NOT MEETING ACHIEVEMENT GOALS.
THAT REFLECTS ON THE TEACHER'S EVALUATION.
THE PRINCIPALS THEN ARE HELD ACCOUNTABLE FOR THE SCHOOL, FOR THE TEACHERS, AND SO ON AND SO FORTH, UP THE LINE UNTIL IT GETS TO THE SUPERINTENDENT IN SOUTH CAROLINA.
AND MS. GORDON, I'M GONNA ASK YOU TO EXPAND ON THIS SOME MORE.
THAT IS NOT HOW WE EVALUATE EDUCATORS.
SO TO ME, THIS IS THE MOST GLARING EXAMPLE OF WHERE WE ARE USING A METRIC THAT DOES NOT REALLY FIT WHAT WE'RE DOING HERE IN BEAUFORT COUNTY.
AND WE'VE HAD A LOT OF CONVERSATIONS ABOUT THIS.
OBVIOUSLY, STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT IS ONE OF OUR TOP GOALS.
WE DON'T HAVE TO PUT IT IN THE HANDBOOK.
EVERYONE KNOWS THAT WHAT I'M ASKING THE BOARD TO CONSIDER IS TO USE, UM, RATHER THAN THIS SEE ATTACHED MATRIX, WHICH I'M NOT EVEN A HUNDRED PERCENT SURE WHERE IT IS, AND WE DON'T HAVE A GOOD BASELINE ON THESE NUMBERS, THAT WE AT LEAST USE THE COHERENT GOVERNANCE GRADING POLICY FOR THE STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT PIECE, BECAUSE IT ALLOWS US TO GO INTO MORE DETAIL AND TO ESTABLISH A BASELINE FOR DR.
RODRIGUEZ THAT THE WAY YOU DO IN, IN A COHERENT GOVERNANCE IS STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT, GAP CLOSURE, ET CETERA, ARE OUR GOALS.
I THINK THERE ARE THREE GOALS, ACHIEVEMENT, GAP CLOSURE, COLLEGE OR CAREER READY.
WHAT I WOULD LIKE, BECAUSE HE'S HAD NOW THREE YEARS DURING THIS WHOLE HORRIBLE PANDEMIC TIME AND ALL THIS EMBARGOED DATA TO PUT IN A LOT OF POLICIES THAT WE SHOULD START SEEING THE, UH, FRUITION OF, I WOULD LIKE TO USE, MAKING REASONABLE PROGRESS, MAKING REASONABLE PROGRESS WITH NOTED EXCEPTIONS.
MEANING THAT YOU COULD SAY SOMETHING LIKE GAP CLOSURE, MAKING REASONABLE PROGRESS, BUT HERE IS STILL A CONCERN OR FAILING TO MAKE REASONABLE PROGRESS.
AND THAT WE COULD GRADE IT ON THAT, UM, OF, OF A, A FOUR BEING, I'D HAVE TO FIGURE OUT THE MATH.
UM, BUT WE COULD USE THAT INSTEAD OF THE ATTACHED MATRIX, WHICH I DON'T ACTUALLY HAVE.
SO I WOULD LIKE TO MAKE A MOTION THAT UNDER THE, UH, SUPERINTENDENT'S, UM, SHOOT, HOLD ON.
IS IT ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT? STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT? YES.
MEASURABLE COMPONENTS THAT WE USE.
THE COHERENT GOVERNANCE MODEL OF REASONABLE PROGRESS, REASONABLE PROGRESS WITH NOTED EXCEPTIONS, OR FAILING TO MAKE REASONABLE PROGRESS TO EVALUATE THE SUPERINTENDENT IN THOSE AREAS.
SORRY, THAT, WOULD YOU PLEASE PUT IT
SO UNDER THE STUDENT AND MEASURABLE, SHOOT, HOLD ON.
UM, MEASURABLE COMPONENTS THAT WE USE, THE COHERENT GOVERNANCE MODEL OF EVALUATION, AND WE CAN JUST LEAVE IT AT THAT.
BUT JUST FOR YOU GUYS KNOW, THAT WOULD INVOLVE US LOOKING AT IN DEPTH AT STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT, WHICH WOULD INCLUDE LOOKING AT THE NUMBERS AND INCLUDE LOOKING AT THE PROGRAMS AND INCLUDE LOOKING AT STAFF AND SAY, IS HE MAKING REASONABLE PROGRESS? REASONABLE PROGRESS WITH NOTED EXCEPTIONS, OR FAILING TO MAKE REASONABLE PROGRESS.
SO AGAIN, NOT LOOKING AT CHANGING THE GOALS, NOT LOOKING AT MOVING THE GOALPOSTS.
I'M LOOKING AT USING THE COHERENT GOVERNANCE, UM, EVALUATION CRITERIA AS OPPOSED TO THE SEE ATTACHED MATRIX CRITERIA.
DID WE USE A COHERENT GOVERNANCE MEASURE? EV EVALUATION TOOLS, MAKE SURE WE HAVE THE, ALL THE, UH, WORDS RIGHT BEFORE WE DISCUSS THIS, UH, MOTION.
MOTION TO CHANGE UNDER THE SUPERINTENDENT STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT MEASURABLE COMPONENTS THAT WE USE, THE COHERENT GOVERNANCE EVALUATION TOOLS.
IS THERE A SECOND? SECOND, YOUR HONOR.
SO GO AHEAD AND SAY WHAT YOU'D LIKE TO SAY ANYMORE ABOUT THAT.
I JUST THINK THAT THIS NUMERIC, AND I THINK IT'S A GOOD ANALOGY, THIS MULTIPLE POINT S A T STYLE QUESTION FOR STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT DOES NOT ALLOW US TO GO INTO KIND OF THE DETAIL THAT OUR CONSTITUENTS WANNA HEAR, AND DOES NOT ALLOW US TO BE MORE WIDE RANGING IN OUR EVALUATION.
AND THIS IS ONE OF WHETHER WE, LIKE I SAID, WHETHER WE HAVE THE GOALS WRITTEN DOWN EVERY BOARD MEETING WHEN I FIRST STARTED, THIS WAS WHAT WAS HAMMERED IN WHERE STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT IS OUR PRIMARY GOAL.
AND I CAN GET BEHIND THAT, BUT I WOULD LIKE IT TO BE MORE
[01:45:01]
THAN, YOU KNOW, THE ATTACHED MATRIX.MS. FELT RIGHT, AND THIS, WE'RE MAKING THIS CHANGE FOR 20 22, 23.
QUESTIONS, COMMENTS, UH, MR. DALLAS? AND THEN, YEAH.
THIS ONE, UH, GOES BACK TO THE FACT THAT HIS YEAR PERFORMANCE HAS ENDED, AND I THINK WE'RE TALKING ABOUT CHANGING THE GRADING.
THAT IS VERY PROBLEMATICAL FOR ME.
UM, I THINK HE'S DONE AN EXCELLENT JOB.
UH, ALL THE METRICS I'VE SEEN EXCEED WHAT WOULD'VE BEEN JUDGED, UM, AGAINST THE ESTATE PERFORMANCE.
SO I THINK THAT WHAT THIS IS SAYING OR INFORMING ME, IS THAT I THINK THERE'S AN OPPORTUNITY FOR US, UH, A IN-DEPTH STRATEGIC REVIEW OF WHAT THE METRICS SHOULD BE FOR 2023 DASH 2024.
AND THE AD HOC COMMITTEE, RESULTS COMMITTEE WOULD PROBABLY BE LOOKING AT WHAT THEY'RE PLANNING AND RECOMMENDING FOR THE UPCOMING GRADING PERIOD.
AND I THINK THAT WOULD GIVE THEM PLENTY OF TIME TO ACTUALLY GO IN AND DO THAT.
SO, UH, LET MS. BOATWRIGHT MAKE A RESPONSE, THEN I'LL GO TO MR. SMITH.
I PROMISE YOU THAT CHLOE AND ELIZABETH, MS. GORDON, MS. HAY, AND I WILL, WILL WORK HARD TO MAKING THAT POSSIBLE.
AGAIN, THIS GOES BACK TO MULTIPLE CONVERSATIONS WE'VE HAD, BECAUSE THAT DATA HAS BEEN EMBARGOED BY THE STATE.
SO WE'VE NEVER ESTABLISHED A BASELINE ON WHICH TO DO THE MATRIX.
UM, AND THAT WAS SOMETHING THAT HAS BEEN DISCUSSED MULTIPLE TIMES, IS THAT DURING HIS TENURE AS SUPERINTENDENT, WHICH HAS BEEN PREDOMINANTLY DURING THE PANDEMIC, WE'VE NEVER BEEN ABLE TO GET GOOD AND TIMELY NUMBERS THAT I FEEL LIKE WE COULD HANG OUR HAT ON.
SO WE HAVE TALKED ABOUT THIS MULTIPLE TIMES.
IS THERE A BETTER WAY TO DO THIS? I'M PROPOSING THAT WE SNEAK A LITTLE COHERENT GOVERNANCE IN HERE, BECAUSE REALLY TO ME, WHAT I WANNA EVALUATE THE SUPERINTENDENT ON IS NOT WHETHER OR NOT, I MEAN, RIGHT NOW, THERE'S SO MANY CONFOUNDING VARIABLES ON STUDENT TEST SCORES AND ATTENDANCE AND ALL THESE THINGS STILL COMING OUT OF THE LEARNING LOSS FROM THE PANDEMIC.
HOW ARE WE ADDRESSING, AND THAT'S NOT EVEN IN OUR EVALUATION.
HOW ARE WE ADDRESSING LEARNING LOSS? WHAT PROGRAMS ARE WE PUTTING IN PLACE? AND SO, I DO THINK THAT THE COHERENT GOVERNANCE HAS A PRETTY GOOD MODEL FOR THAT, WHICH IS REASONABLE PROGRESS TOWARDS THE GOAL OF STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT, GAP CLOSURE IN COLLEGE AND CAREER READY, AS OPPOSED TO LIMITING IT TO THE NUMBERS, WHICH I THINK RIGHT NOW ARE STILL, UM, FAIRLY MURKY.
UM, I JUST WANNA LISTEN SOME MORE, MR. GORDON, MS. GORDON, UH, OKAY, GO AHEAD, MS. GORDON.
THANK, THANK YOU, MR. CHAIRMAN.
UH, JUST PIGGYBACKING ON WHAT MS. BOATRIGHT JUST SAID, BUT I, I WOULD LIKE TO HEAR THE SUPERINTENDENT'S COMMENTS BECAUSE WE TALK ABOUT BEING FAIR.
WE TALK ABOUT BEING FAIR IN SETTING HIS GOALS AND EVALUATIONS FOR HIM.
WHEN I LOOKED AT, UM, AS MS. BOATWRIGHT SAYS, THOSE THREE COMPONENTS THAT WE'RE SUPPOSED TO BE LOOKING AT, I DON'T KNOW WHAT I'LL BE LOOKING AT FOR DR.
REALLY? UH, WHAT KIND OF NUMBERS ARE WE LOOKING AT FOR HIM? WE GOT 3.0, WHAT'S 3.0? BUT I THINK WE NEED TO BE FAIR AND MAKE THE GOALS THAT, THAT ARE ATTAINABLE THAT HE'S BEEN WORKING ON.
BUT THERE ARE, THERE'S INFORMATION WE DON'T EVEN HAVE, UH, ON HIM RIGHT NOW IN ORDER TO HAVE THOSE MEASURABLE COMPONENTS THAT'S FAIR TO THE SUPERINTENDENT TO ACHIEVE.
'CAUSE RIGHT NOW, I, I CAN'T TELL YOU WHAT I WOULD BE LOOKING AT IF I WAS LOOKING AT THAT RIGHT NOW.
SO THAT'S WHY I WAS, I'M VERY EXCITED ABOUT MAKING COMPONENTS THAT ARE, UH, MEASURABLE AND THAT HE UNDERSTANDS, BECAUSE WE OWE THAT TO, UH, THE SUPERINTENDENT, AND THEN HE OWES IT TO US TO GIVE US THAT INFORMATION ON, UH, STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT THAT WE CAN UNDERSTAND AND THAT THE PARENTS CAN UNDERSTAND, AND THE, THE PRINCIPALS CAN UNDERSTAND WHAT HE WANTS THEM TO DO.
RODRIGUEZ, UM, AND I'M NOT TRYING TO PUT YOU ON THE SPOT, BUT WOULD THE STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT MEASURABLE COMPONENTS BE SOMETHING THAT YOU CAN, I KNOW YOU'RE ALREADY WORKING ON, I KNOW YOU GOT YOUR NOTEBOOK, BUT THAT'S JUST A CHANGE IN WORDS.
IT'S NOT CHANGING WHAT WE WANT FROM YOU, BUT IT'S A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT YOU NEED TO DO FOR US AND FOR US TO GET OUT TO OUR COMMUNITY.
RODRIGUEZ, YOU WANNA TRY? YEAH.
UH, I MEAN, I THINK, UH, UH, MS. MS. BOATWRIGHT, UH, CAPTURED, UH, THE ISSUE AROUND THIS, UM, WHICH IS SOMETHING I'VE SHARED WITH EACH OF YOU AT DIFFERENT TIMES, UH, THAT IS
[01:50:01]
THAT IN SOUTH CAROLINA, UH, IN THE CURRENT VALUATION SYSTEM THAT THE STATE HAS, TEACHERS AND, UH, ADMINISTRATORS IN THE SYSTEM ARE NOT HELD ACCOUNTABLE TO THE STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT ON THE STATE ASSESSMENT, RIGHT? MM-HMM.SO THE ONLY INDIVIDUAL IS THE FURTHEST ONE FROM THE CLASSROOM IN OUR MODEL, OUR COMPONENT HERE, RIGHT? MM-HMM.
WHICH MEANS THAT IF YOU, IF YOU FACTORED IN HOW MUCH TIME I SPEND IN EACH CLASSROOM IN THE SCHOOL DISTRICT TEACHING, RIGHT? IT, IT WOULD BE I GO INTO ONE CLASSROOM A YEAR AND TEACH.
AND THAT'S JUST 'CAUSE I SHOULD, FROM MY OPINION, ON ONE DAY, THAT'S NOTHING TO WHAT OUR, COMPARED TO WHAT OUR TEACHERS DO EVERY DAY.
YOU KNOW? UM, SO YOU KNOW IT WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE EVALUATION MODEL, AND IT'S WAITING A QUARTER OF THE OVERALL EVALUATION ON THAT, RIGHT? THAT'S NOT TO SAY THAT I'M NOT ABOUT STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT.
MY WHOLE ENTIRE CAREER, IF YOU LOOK AT MY TRACK RECORD HAS BEEN ABOUT STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT, BUT I DO COME FROM A SYSTEM IN FLORIDA WHERE STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT WAS A PART OF EACH INDIVIDUAL'S EVALUATION ALONG THE CHAIN.
IT ACTUALLY WASN'T THE SUPERINTENDENTS PER SE, SUPERINTENDENTS WERE EVALUATED TYPICALLY ON WHAT KIND OF PROGRAMS AND INITIATIVES YOU'RE BRINGING IN TO TRY TO IMPACT THAT POSITIVELY, RIGHT? AND THEN WHAT'S THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THOSE PROGRAMS? AND, AND THAT SORT OF THING, UH, IS TYPICALLY WHAT IS DONE.
SO I'VE, I'VE BEEN SAYING THAT SINCE I GOT HERE AND REALIZED THAT IN THE CURRENT EVALUATION IN THE STATE'S EVALUATION SYSTEM, IT'S NOT IN THERE TIED SPECIFICALLY TO STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT.
AND THE REASON IT CAN'T BE IS BECAUSE EVALUATIONS, MS. WALTON ARE DUE JUNE, JUNE FOR EDUCATORS ARE DUE FOR TEACHERS IN MAY.
STUDENTS ARE JUST STARTING THE TEST.
MY EVALUATION HAPPENS TO BE IN OCTOBER.
SO THAT'S TYPICALLY WHEN YOU GET IT.
IN FACT, THIS EVENING, YOU'RE GONNA SEE SOME RESULTS THAT WERE RELEASED TODAY AND PROJECTIONS, RIGHT? NOT PROJECTIONS, SOME RESULTS RAW DATA THAT WAS RELEASED TODAY.
THEY'LL DO, THEY'LL DO SOME WORK ON IT IN TERMS OF THE ACCOUNTABILITY SCORE AND THAT KIND OF THING.
BUT YOU'LL SEE SOME OF THAT TODAY DURING THE SUPERINTENDENT'S REPORT AND PRESENTATION.
SO ANYWAY, THAT'S, THAT'S THE ISSUE, I THINK, UH, AT HAND FOR ME ABOUT THAT, THAT ISSUE.
YOU KNOW, I, I, I HEAR WHAT, UH, DR.
UM, BUT IN ALL, IN ALL FAIRNESS, WE STILL DO DO, DO EVALUATIONS ON TEACHERS AND, UH, PRINCIPALS AT END OF THE DAY, YOU KNOW, THE GUESS PRINCIPALS COULD SAY THE, COULD KIND OF SAY THE SAME THING, THAT THEY ARE KIND OF AS FAR AWAY FROM THE CLASSES AS POSSIBLE THEMSELVES.
BUT AT SOME POINT IN TIMES, IF THAT BUILDING IS NOT SUCCESSFUL, THEN SOMETHING HAS TO CHANGE THAT, THAT, THAT SHOULD BE THE DISTRICT OF PRACTICE.
IF THAT THE BUILDING IS NOT SUCCESSFUL, THEN SOMETHING FROM THE STOP FROM THE TOPS HAVE TO, HAS TO HAPPEN TO MAKE SURE THAT BUILDING BECOMES SUCCESSFUL.
SO WHEN I SAY THAT, I SAY THAT TO SAY WE HAVE TO START HOLDING ACCOUNTABLE THE PERSON AT THE, AT, AT THE TOP, AND, YOU KNOW, UNFORTUNATELY, REVENUE HIT THE CLASS OR NOT.
WE, YOU KNOW, WE STILL HAVE TO BE ABLE TO ANSWER TO CONSTITUENTS WHAT THAT LOOK LIKE, AND, AND HOW ARE WE, HOW IS THAT BEING MEASURED AND WHAT, AND WHAT, WHAT, WHAT MEASURABLE MARKS AND DO WE HAVE TO GO OFF OF? BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, AS, AS BEING ELECTED PEOPLE, WE RUN INTO TOUGH CONVERSATIONS AND, AND PEOPLE, PEOPLE, I DON'T KNOW ABOUT ANYBODY ELSE ON THIS BOARD, BUT PEOPLE HOLD MY FEET TO THE FIRE.
THEY EXPECT ME TO BE ABLE TO HAVE THAT CONVERSATION WITH THEM AND BE ABLE TO HAVE THAT CONVERSATION AND, AND IN LENGTH WITH RESULTS AND, AND WITH, WITH, UH, TALK TO OR WITH GREAT TALKING POINTS, UH, TO BE
[01:55:01]
ABLE TO TELL THEM WHY I'M DOING WHAT I'M DOING ANDAND I, IF WE, IF WE DON'T PUT SOMETHING THERE, I THINK IT BECOMES VERY, VERY PROBLEMATIC.
BECAUSE FROM MY STANDING, WE STILL HAVE TEACHERS THAT ARE BEING PUT ON OR WHO ARE, WHO STILL HAVE, AND, AND WHO STILL, WHO BEEN PUT ON IMPROVEMENT PLANS.
SO THE TEACHERS STILL CAN BE PUT ON IMPROVEMENT PLANS.
AND WE ARE STILL EVALUATING PRINCIPALS AND TEACHERS THEN BASED OFF, BASED TO SOME DEGREE, BASED OFF THE LEARNING, THE LEARNING, THE LEARNING EXPERIENCE THAT'S GOING ON IN THAT BUILDING, THEN HOW COULD WE NOT EVALUATE THE SUPERINTENDENT OF THE LEARNING, OF THE LEARNING THAT'S GOING ON IN THIS, IN THIS, IN THIS DISTRICT? SO, I, SO, SO, SO, I MEAN, I, I GET WHAT YOU'RE SAYING, BUT YOU KNOW, I, I WOULD HATE TO GO OUT THERE AND PEOPLE SAY, WELL, YOU KNOW, LAST NIGHT, HEY, Y Y Y'ALL SAID Y'ALL DIDN'T WANT TO EVALUATE THE SUPERINTENDENT OR ANYTHING, LEARN A LEARNING LAW SORT OF THING.
SO, HEY, NEXT WEEK, HEY, HEY, TELL, HEY, TELL, UH, TELL DO TIME.
DON'T, DON'T COME SIT IN MY CLASS AND EVALUATE ME.
AND, YOU KNOW, SO, SO THAT, THAT, THAT AND THAT, AND I'VE HAD THAT CON I'VE HAD THAT, THAT, THAT CONSTITUENTS HAVE TELL ME THAT.
SO, YEAH, NO, JUST TO BE CLEAR, I, I, I DIDN'T THINK THAT MS. BOATWRIGHT WAS PROPOSING NOTHING AT ALL.
I, I THOUGHT SHE HAD A DIFFERENT, A PROPOSAL.
I THINK THE ONLY THING I WOULD LIKE TO CHANGE IS THAT RATHER THAN USING THE HARD NUMBERS, WHICH WE DON'T CURRENTLY USE, AND I THINK THAT DR.
RODRIGUEZ MADE AN EXCELLENT POINT.
WHEN YOU'RE TRYING TO DO A JOB, YOU ARE TRYING TO GET FEEDBACK TO KNOW IF YOU'RE DOING A GOOD JOB, IF YOU NEED TO IMPROVE, ET CETERA, ET CETERA, WHATEVER IT IS, THE WAY WE RELEASE THE DATA DOESN'T EVEN GIVE HIM A FAIR SHOT AT KNOWING WHERE THIS DATA IS THAT HE NEEDS TO IMPROVE ON.
SO THE BOTTOM LINE IS THIS, WE CAN USE THE DATA, BUT WE EVALUATE HIM AS TO WHETHER OR NOT THE POLICIES AND THE BUDGET REFLECT OUR VALUE OF PRIORITIZING STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT.
BUT THAT'S NOT THE ONLY THING WE'RE GOING TO USE.
BECAUSE ONE OF THE THINGS WITH THIS FINANCIAL ACHIEVEMENT PIECE IS THE ONLY THING WE CAN USE, CAN WE STICK TO THE EDUCATIONAL PIECE? 'CAUSE I, WHEN YOU SAY, WHEN YOU SAY BUDGET AND DATA, YOU CHANGED THE WHOLE CONVERSATION.
THE ONLY REASON I SAID IS THAT WHEN YOU HAVE BUDGET, YOU KNOW, WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT THE BUDGET PRIORITIES ARE TO STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT, RIGHT? I MAKE ACHIEVEMENT.
ALL WE CAN USE IS THE NUMBERS, RIGHT? AND THE NUMBERS ARE SUBPAR AT BEST, BECAUSE, AND I'M A DATA PERSON.
THEY'RE NOT GREAT NUMBERS BECAUSE THEY HAVE BEEN MESSED UP WITH ALL, THEY'VE BEEN EMBARGOED, THEY'VE BEEN TURNED AROUND.
SO RATHER THAN LIMITING OURSELF TO ONLY LOOKING AT THE NUMBERS, WE LOOK AT THE NUMBERS AND THEN LOOK TO SEE WHAT HAS THE SUPERINTENDENT DONE THAT HAS IMPACTED THESE NUMBERS.
AND THAT'S WHAT WE EVALUATE HIM ON.
IT'S GOING TO BE MORE OF AN ESSAY ON OUR SUPERINTENDENT AND HIS FINANCIAL PIECE, RATHER THAN COLORING IN THE BUBBLE SAYING THAT, YOU KNOW, YOU HIT THIS THING, BUT IT DOESN'T MEAN WE DON'T USE THE NUMBERS AT ALL.
IT'S JUST NOT THE ONLY THING WE USE.
BUT ONCE AGAIN, THAT GOES BACK TO THE SAME POINT OF WHAT I WAS SAYING.
IF THE, THE ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL, THEY'RE, THEY'RE NOT BEING EVALUATING ON NUMBERS.
THE PRINCIPAL IS TO SOME DEGREE, EITHER YOUR SCHOOL IS PASSING OR YOU'RE FAILING, OR YOU'RE DOING THIS OR YOU DOING THAT.
RIGHT? SO, SO WITH UNDERSTANDING THAT IF THE PRINCIPAL IS EVALUATED ON THAT ALONE, THEN THE SUPERINTENDENT WOULD, WHAT WOULD, WILL FALL UNDER THE SAME LINE OF THAT? BECAUSE THE PRINCIPAL IS ONLY A REPLICA OF THE SUPERINTENDENT BECAUSE HE, HE, HE, HE'S NOT THERE.
AND HE, AND HE'S ONLY ONE PERSON.
SO THAT, THAT'S A LINE OF HIM.
SO I, I'M A LITTLE, LITTLE, I'M A LITTLE COMING UP.
AND MS. GORDON, I THOUGHT YOU WERE SO HELPFUL ON THIS PIECE, BECAUSE I DON'T, I'VE NEVER BEEN EVALUATED AS AN EDUCATOR.
CAN YOU TALK ABOUT WHAT THE SOUTH CAROLINA, 'CAUSE MY UNDERSTANDING IS THE SUPER, THE SUPER, UH, THE PRINCIPAL'S NOT EVALUATED SOLELY ON GAP CLOSURE AND COLLEGE AND CAREER READY? NO.
CAN YOU TALK ABOUT NO, YOU'RE, YOU'RE RIGHT.
UM, RODRIGUEZ CAN TELL YOU THE PRINCIPALS HAVE DIFFERENT GOALS, UH, WHEN THEY SIT DOWN WITH THE, THE SUPERINTENDENT AND THEY WORK OUT THE GOALS FOR THAT PRINCIPAL AND HIS OR HER SCHOOL.
OKAY? SO THOSE ARE, THOSE ARE, ARE DONE.
AND THEN THE PRINCIPAL AND, YOU KNOW, WILL TAKE THOSE GOALS AND OBJECTIVES AND PUT IT TO THE ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL AND, AND, AND TEACHERS.
BUT MAKE NO MISTAKE, NUMBERS, DATA.
WE JUST DON'T SAY, UH, YOU KNOW, A SCHOOL DID THIS AND B SCHOOL DID THAT.
WE, WE PUT THOSE NUMBERS TOGETHER.
UH, IF YOU LOOK AT THE ACHIEVEMENT OF OUR, UH, YOU KNOW, UH, CELEBRATING THE, THE PRINCIPAL OF THE YEAR, IT WASN'T JUST BECAUSE SHE HAD A SCHOOL.
IT'S BECAUSE OF ALL THE THINGS THAT ENCOMPASSED THE GRADING.
[02:00:01]
THE GAP CLOSURE PEOPLE IS SOMETHING, IT'S JUST NOT SAYING, OH, UH, I'LL MAKE UP A SCHOOL, YOU KNOW, VOTE.RIGHT? SCHOOL MADE A 1%, YOU KNOW, INCREASE.
YAY, NO BOATRIGHT SCHOOL MADE A 10 POINT.
WELL, THAT'S BIG, BIG BECAUSE SHE HAD TO TOUCH THE MALE ON MALE AFRICAN AMERICANS, SPED.
AND THEY HAVE DIFFERENT, UH, MEANINGS TO CLOSE GAPS.
GAPS, AS YOU KNOW, UH, AFRICAN AMERICAN STUDENTS, YOUR, YOUR HISPANIC POPULATION, YOUR WHITE ON WHITE, YOU KNOW, AND EACH SCHOOL'S, UH, POINT SYSTEM IS, IS DIFFERENT.
AND SO YOU'RE LOOKING AT THAT IMPROVEMENT.
SO YOU CANNOT, UH, WITH ALL DUE RESPECT, MR. UM, UH, WILLIAM LUMP ALL OF THAT INTO THE SUPERINTENDENT.
AND YOU CAN'T SAY THAT THE PRINCIPALS ARE NOT RESPONSIBLE.
AND THEY'RE WORKING WITH THE GOALS THAT FROM WHAT WE GIVE THE SUPERINTENDENT, THAT HE PASSES ON TO HIS PRINCIPALS AND THEY ALL HAVE TO WORK TOGETHER AND MAKE THIS WORK.
SO WHEN WE PUT UP HERE AN EVALUATION INTEREST INSTRUMENT FOR HIM, WE NEED TO BE SPECIFIC SO THAT HE KNOWS WHAT WE WANT FROM HIM.
THIS HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THE PRINCIPLES.
THIS IS ABOUT OUR SUPERINTENDENT.
AND THEN ONCE WE GIVE HIM HIS CLEAR GOALS, HE'LL PASS THAT DOWN.
AND BELIEVE IT OR NOT, HE JUST DOESN'T GO TO JUST ONE SCHOOL.
THEY HAVE A DATA DRIVEN MACHINE THAT LOOK AT READING, UM, UH, MATHEMATICS, YOU KNOW, ALL OF I'M, BUT WHAT I'M SAYING IS, 'CAUSE I CAN'T HEAR YOU, IS THIS, WE HAVE TO BE FAIR TO OUR SUPERINTENDENT SO THAT HE KNOWS EXACTLY WHAT IT IS WE WANT FROM HIM.
I THINK WE GETTING HUNG UP ON WHAT THIS SHOULD HAVE BEEN DONE.
WELL, NO, THE OLD BOARD DIDN'T DO WHAT IT WAS SUPPOSED TO DO.
NOW WE ARE HERE TO FIX THIS NOW, BECAUSE YOU WOULD WANT IT FIXED.
YOU WOULD WANT IT FIXED SO THAT YOU CAN GO FORWARD, BECAUSE YOU CANNOT PUT ALL OF THAT ON FRANK WHEN HE HAS SO MANY OTHER PEOPLE WORKING WITH HIM TO ACHIEVE THIS GOAL.
BUT HE NEEDS TO KNOW WHAT WE WANT FROM HIM.
AND I THINK THAT THIS IS WHAT THIS DOES, AND THIS HELPS HIM TO UNDERSTAND.
AND I DON'T WANT TO SADDLE ANY SUPERINTENDENT WITH A GOAL THAT HE OR SHE CANNOT MEET.
I WOULD NEVER VOTE ON A GOAL THAT SAID HE HAD TO CLOSE THE ACHIEVEMENT GAP.
I WANNA SEE 10 POINTS, 15 POINTS OR WHATEVER.
BUT WE HAVE TO DO THAT TO THIS SUPERINTENDENT AND FIX WHAT DIDN'T GET DONE, BUT FORGET IT DIDN'T GET, DIDN'T GET DONE.
WE'RE NOT ADDING ANYMORE ON HIS PLATE.
HE ALREADY KNOWS THIS, YOU KNOW, BUT THEN WE'RE GONNA PUT IT OFF ANOTHER YEAR AND ANOTHER YEAR.
EVERYBODY'S HAD A CHANCE TO TALK ABOUT THIS ISSUE.
WE'RE GONNA, I'M NOW CALLING THE QUESTION, AND WHEN YOUR NAME IS CALLED, WHEN YOUR NAME IS CALLED, IF YOU WISH TO SAY SOMETHING BEFORE YOUR VOTE POINT OF ORDER, YOU CAN DO THAT.
I DON'T WANT YOU TO CALL IT, BECAUSE I THINK THAT THIS IS A VERY, THIS IS ONE OF THE FUNCTIONS OF THE BOARD.
AND IF WE DON'T GET YOU ANYTHING ELSE, THIS IS ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT THINGS.
WHILE WE'RE A BOARD MEMBER, I WENT TO TWO FUNERALS THIS WEEKEND, BUT I MEAN, I MEAN, ONE FURTHER WEEKEND AND, AND, AND TALK TO SEVERAL FAMILIES WHO HAVE, WHO HAVE A KID.
SO EDUCATING OUR KIDS ARE VERY IMPORTANT.
AND THIS IS ONE OF, ONE OF OUR DUTIES TO EDUCATE OUR, OUR, OUR EMPLOYEES.
SO I THINK IT'S VERY IMPORTANT THAT IF WE WANT TO TALK, TALK THIS AROUND, I THINK THAT YOU, WE SHOULD, YOU SHOULD ALLOW US TO, TO HAVE THIS CONVERSATION.
SO SOME OF US MAY HAVE SAID, HAVE MAY HAVE TALKED ONE TIME, AND I NEED TO GET MORE, MORE, MORE CLARITY ON IT, AND ALSO UNDERSTAND WHAT MRS. GORDON IS, IS STATING, BECAUSE I UNDERSTAND SOME OF THE DIFFERENCE.
SO THIS IS A, THIS IS A LEARNING TIME AS WELL AS EDUCATING FOR THE BOARD MEMBERS.
SO YOU'RE APPEALING THE RULING FROM THE CHAIR.
ARE YOU APPEALING THE APP RULING? THAT'S THE APPROPRIATE, YEAH.
I'M THE APPEALING ROOM, BUT I'M MOSTLY, YEAH.
THE, MY RULING HAS BEEN APPEALED.
YOU NEEDS A SECOND? YOU NEED A SECOND? DO YOU HAVE A SECOND FOR THAT APPEAL? HEARING NONE.
I SAID WHAT I NEED TO SAY ANYWAY.
CALL THE RULE MS. CUSH BERRY, PLEASE.
[02:05:01]
EARL CAMPBELL.I'M TRYING TO, IT'S BEEN SO LONG.
I'M TRYING TO RE UH, THANK YOU, MS. CHRISTIAN, BUT YES, I MEAN, I TALK DOWN CHLOE GORDON.
WE'VE BEEN AT THIS FOR, UH, TWO HOURS.
I'D LIKE TO TAKE A 10 MINUTE RECESS.
WE START BACK AT, UH, EIGHT 10.
HEY, HONEY, CAN YOU SET THE TABLE? DALE 9 1 1 IS YOUR EMERGENCY SUPERINTENDENT EVALUATION OF THE, UM, THE EVALUATIONS COMMITTEE.
UM, I JUST WANNA SAY MAKE THE MAKE, UH, I LIKE TO MAKE A MOTION AT THIS TIME BECAUSE I WAS VERY UNCOMFORTABLE MAKING ALL THESE DECISIONS BASED ON THE SUPERINTENDENT'S CONTRACT AS WELL AS, AS, AS WELL AS THE, THE TENSION THAT THE EVALUATION TOOL BEING A PART OF THAT, THAT WE HAVE OUR OWN COUNSEL WHEN WE, WHEN WE, WHEN WE GO OVER THESE TYPES OF THINGS.
SO, UM, AT THIS TIME, I'D LIKE TO MAKE A MOTION THAT MOVING FORWARD, THAT WHEN WE GO OVER THE SUPERINTENDENT'S, UH, EVALUATION AND SAY THE SAME AS THIS CONTRACT THAT WE HAVE LEGAL COUNSEL.
AND YOU HAVE A SECOND FOR THAT MOTION.
GOING OVER TO, UH, FINANCE, FINANCE COMMITTEE REPORTS, UH, AT THE LAST FINANCE COMMITTEE, WHICH WAS, UH, HELD AUGUST 10TH, WE RECEIVED THE MONTHLY BOARD OF EDUCATION BUDGET.
AND OF COURSE, UH, THE FISCAL YEAR JUST STARTED.
SO THERE WASN'T ANYTHING EXPENDED IN THAT BUDGET.
WE LOOKED AT THE $100,000 REPORT FOR THE MONTHS OF MAY AND JUNE FOUND SOME, UH, SMALL ISSUES THAT WERE CLARIFIED AT THE, AT THE COMMITTEE MEETING, AS WELL AS THE TRANSPARENCY REPORTS FOR THE MONTH OF MAY AND JUNE, UH, MS. DENISE MATSON PRESENTED AN EXECUTIVE SUMMARY FOR ESSER FUNDS.
CAN WE HAVE THIS DASHBOARD? OKAY.
WELL, WE MAY HAVE TO, MAY ASK FOR THE DASHBOARD IN A LITTLE BIT.
UM, MS. CROSBY, MS. CROSBY GAVE US A REPORT ON ALL THE NEW GRANTS THAT WE RECEIVED IN THE 2223 SCHOOL YEAR.
THE TOTAL AMOUNT OF GRANTS THAT THIS DISTRICT RECEIVED WAS $898,250 AND 73 CENTS.
UH, MS. CROSBY AND, UH, MR. BRIAN NERRICK, OUR BOND COUNSEL, EXCUSE ME, OUR FINANCIAL ADVISOR PRESENTED THE DEBT SERVICE MILLAGE LEVY LEVY SUMMARY REPORT.
AND MS. CROSBY, WOULD YOU COME UP AND GIVE THAT REPORT, PLEASE? SHE'S FINISHED.
UM, THE REPORT YOU SEE BEFORE YOU WAS PREPARED BY BRIAN MERRICK'S OFFICE, UH, THE, OUR MUNICIPAL ADVISOR OR FINANCIAL ADVISOR, UM, IT
[02:10:01]
JUST DOCUMENTS, UH, UH, JUSTIFY THE AMOUNT OF MILLAGE.BASICALLY THE GOAL OF THIS REPORT IS TO JUSTIFY THE 36.3 MILLS THAT IS REQUIRED OF, OF OUR DEBT SERVICE FUND.
AND SO THOSE ARE ON THE SCHOOL DEBT MILLAGE THAT IS ON OUR TAX BILLS.
AND, UM, WHAT COMES IN, IN THE FORM OF REVENUE IS, IS TAX REVENUE INTO THE DEBT SERVICE FUND.
WHAT GOES OUT IS PRINCIPAL AND INTEREST PAYMENTS ON ALL OF OUR OUTSTANDING BONDS.
AND SO THIS IS A EIGHT, AN 18 MONTH LISTING OF WHAT THOSE BONDS WILL BE.
UM, WE DO HAVE TO ENSURE THAT WE ARE ABLE TO COVER, UM, BOTH THE SPRING, UH, THE FALL AND THE SPRING, AND THEN THE NEXT FALL AS WELL, BECAUSE TAX REVENUE DOESN'T COME IN UNTIL JANUARY, DECEMBER AND JANUARY OF THE FOLLOWING YEAR.
SO, UH, WE DO HAVE A LOW FUND BALANCE AT DECEMBER 31ST.
THAT IS THE LOWEST POINT, AND THE GOAL OF OUR LOW POINT IS ABOUT $5 MILLION.
AND SO, UM, WITH THAT IS THE INFORMATION THAT YOU SEE BEFORE YOU TODAY.
UH, AND THIS REPORT HAS BEEN EMAILED ALONG WITH THE, UM, MILLAGE ROLLBACK INFORMATION AND THE, OR COUNTY ORDINANCE, UH, OVER TO THE COUNTY AUDITOR'S OFFICE AS OF TUESDAY OF LAST WEEK.
UM, THIS TO, TO, UM, TO JUSTIFY AND, AND, UM, VERIFY THE AMOUNT NEEDED FOR OUR MILLAGE ON THE TAX BILLS THAT WE'LL BE GOING OUT IN THE NEXT COUPLE OF MONTHS.
SO IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, I'D BE HAPPY TO ANSWER QUESTIONS.
HEARING NONE, I'D LIKE TO, IF YOU WOULD PLEASE, UH, RESPOND ABOUT, AND YOU AND MRS. WALTON ABOUT THE, UH, THE PAY ISSUES RIGHT NOW BECAUSE OF, UH, THE WAY THAT THE TWO WEEK PAY GOES SO THAT YES, BOARD MEMBERS KNOW ABOUT THAT.
SO, UM, ABOUT EVERY 11 YEARS, UM, AN OCCURRENCE HAPPENS.
UM, AN ISSUE OCCURS ON OUR PAY CYCLES BECAUSE WE PAY ON A, UM, CONTRACT BASIS.
SO IF EMPLOYEES WHO WORK 10 MONTHS OF THE YEAR, BUT OUR PAY OVER 12 MONTHS OF THE YEAR.
SO WHAT HAPPENS IS THE CALENDAR, AS WE PAY A BIWEEKLY PAYROLL, UH, THE CALENDAR CHANGES EACH YEAR BY ADDING A DAY.
AND SO OVER AN 11 YEAR PERIOD, OUR EMPLOYEES ON A, WHO ARE ON A 10 MONTH BASIS OR 11 MONTH BASIS END UP BEING PAID BEFORE THEY EVER START WORK.
AND SO THAT ACTUALLY DID OCCUR THIS YEAR, UM, BEFORE THE FIRST DAY OUR TEACHERS RETURNED.
AND SO THAT PRESENTS A PROBLEM, OBVIOUSLY.
AND SO, UM, AND OFTEN IF, IF FOLKS, UH, WORK FOR A FEW MONTHS AND THEN LEAVE MIDYEAR, WE MAY BE, MAY HAVE OVERPAID THEM AS WELL.
SO THAT IS AN ISSUE WITH THE 26 PAY CYCLE.
UH, IT IS A VERY COMMON OCCURRENCE IN THE EDUCATION WORLD, UH, ESPECIALLY FOR THOSE, FOR THOSE WHO PAY 26 PAYCHECKS.
UM, SO WHAT ARE, UM, HISTORICALLY WHAT WE'VE DONE IS TO, FOR EACH ONE TIME EVERY 11 YEARS, WE EXTEND THEIR ANNUAL SALARY OVER 27 PAYCHECKS.
SO THAT PUSHES, ADDS AN EXTRA PAYCHECK TO THE END OF THE CYCLE.
AND SO NEXT YEAR THAT, THAT WILL NOT OCCUR, THEY'LL ACTUALLY WORK TWO WEEKS AND THEN BE PAID FOR THE, UM, FOR AFTER THE FIRST 10 DAYS.
AND SO THIS YEAR WE FOLLOWED ALONG WITH WHAT HAS HISTORICALLY BEEN DONE, AND THAT CHANGE WAS MADE, AND THOSE, UM, ALL OF THE EMPLOYEES HAVE BEGUN TO RECEIVE, UM, THEIR CHECKS IN THIS CYCLE.
THEY WERE NOTIFIED BY MS. WALTON'S OFFICE.
WE, UH, JOINTLY WROTE, UH, THIS LETTER TOGETHER AND, UH, DISPLAYED THE EFFECTS THAT IT WOULD HAVE ON THE AVERAGE, UH, TEACHER AND THE AVERAGE CLASSIFIED EMPLOYEE, AND INCLUDING THE PAY RATES, PAY RAISES THAT WE, WE WERE ABLE TO PROVIDE BOTH WITH THE, UM, I THINK IT WAS A $3,000 PAY INCREASE, UH, FOR TEACHERS, AND THEN PLUS A STEP INCREASE.
AND THEN FOR CLASSIFIED, I BELIEVE IT WAS, THERE WAS A, A SAL BETWEEN THE SALARY STUDY AND THE, UM, 2% COLA OR 3%, I CAN'T RECALL, AND I DON'T CAN'T SEE IT UP ON THE SCREEN THERE, BUT WITH THE INCREASES THAT WE HAD, UH, EMPLOYEES, ILL RECEIVED AN INCREASE.
SO THERE WAS NO REDUCTIONS IN PAY AS THE RESULT OF THAT.
UM, SO WITH THAT, I'LL BE HAPPY TO TAKE ANY COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS.
ALL THE EMPLOYEES WERE INFORMED INDIVIDUALLY ABOUT THIS, SO IT'S NOT A SURPRISE, BUT I NEEDED THE BOARD TO, UH, TO, UH, REALIZE THAT WAS GOING ON.
THE NEXT SLIDE, COULD YOU BRING UP THE ESER DASHBOARD PLEASE?
[02:15:03]
OKAY.UH, SO AS OF, UM, UM, LET'S SEE THE DATE OF THAT REPORT.
UH, AS OF THE MOST RECENT REPORT, UH, AND THAT WAS, UH, PROVIDED TO THE FINANCE COMMITTEE, UH, IN AUGUST, EARLY AUGUST, UH, WE HAVE EXPENDED OF THE THREE GRANTS FOR, FROM THE ESSER FUNDS.
UM, WE'VE EXPENDED 75% OF THE $80 MILLION.
SO WE TYPICALLY SPEND, UH, ABOUT $25 MILLION PER YEAR.
AND WE ARE ON TRACK TO DO THAT.
SO, UH, A HUNDRED PERCENT OF SER ONE FUNDS HAVE BEEN EXPENDED.
SER TWO IS 99.7%, AND IT'S MAYBE FULLY EXPENDED BY NOW.
WE JUST HAD A, UH, MAYBE, UH, $10,000 OR VERY SMALL AMOUNT REMAINING IN THAT GRANTS THAT WILL BE FULLY EXPENDED BY THE END OF THIS MONTH, UH, WHICH IS WHEN IT EXPIRES.
SO ALL FUNDS AT THIS POINT, ALL ACTIVITIES AND EXPENDITURES WILL BE FOCUSED IN ON ONE GRANT.
SO THE SPENDING WILL OCCUR AT A FASTER PACE IN THAT ONE GRANT AS WELL.
UM, SO AS YOU CAN SEE BY OUR GRAPHIC IN THE FAR BOTTOM LEFT, WE ARE ON TRACK, UM, TO FULLY EXPEND THOSE FUNDS.
WE DID EXPECT A LITTLE UPTICK IN THE SUMMER BECAUSE OF A LOT OF THE SUMMER PROGRAMS, SUMMER INSTITUTE AND THAT SORT OF THING.
AND THEN IT'S TAPERING OFF AND WILL BE RELATIVELY LEVEL.
WHAT YOU SEE IN THE BLUE IS A CASHFLOW, UH, UM, ANALYSIS OR THE QUARTERLY PROJECTION OF EXPENDITURES.
WE'LL CONTINUE TO, UM, DECLINE AS WE GO THROUGH THE REMAINDER OF THE GRANT.
SO WE DO EXPECT TO FULLY EXPEND THIS.
AND, UH, WE ARE ON TRACK TO, TO DO THAT AND ARE CONSTANTLY MONITORING IT BASICALLY ON A MONTHLY BASIS.
UM, DO WANT TO MENTION THAT WE HAVE SOME MEETINGS TO DISCUSS ESSER TRANSITION.
UM, WE'RE CALLING IT, THAT'S MY TERMINOLOGY FOR THE MEETINGS THAT WE'RE GONNA BE HAVING.
UM, SO WE DO HAVE A, A MEETING COMING UP.
WE HAD A, HAVE HAD A SERIES OF MEETINGS, UM, WORKING WITH A FACILITATOR TO HELP US TO PRIORITIZE, GATHER DATA, DO SOME PROGRAM EVALUATION, SORT OF THINGS TO MAKE SOME DECISIONS ABOUT AS WE, UM, MOVE AWAY FROM THE FEDERAL FUNDING.
SO WE'RE WORKING WITH, AND IT WON'T BE A, A ONE MAN SHOW, IT WILL BE A LARGE GROUP OF PEOPLE MAKING, HAVING CONVERSATIONS AND REALLY HAVING, UM, HAVING SOME TOUGH, UM, TOUGH DECISIONS TO MAKE.
SO AS WE MOVE FORWARD, ANY QUESTIONS FOR MS. CROSBY? I JUST HAD ONE.
UM, JUST TO CONFIRM IN ON THAT NOTE OF PROGRAM EVALUATION AND THE, THE TRANSITION, UM, FOR ESSER, I, I BELIEVE I ASKED A, A WHILE BACK, AND I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE IT'S STILL THE CASE THAT ANY, UM, HUMAN CAPITAL, UH, THAT IS EMPLOYED BY THE DISTRICT BEING PAID FOR THROUGH ESSR DOLLARS, THAT IT IS IN THEIR CONTRACT, THAT THAT IS A, THAT IS A TEMPORARY POSITION PAID FOR THROUGH ESSR DOLLARS.
IS THAT A CORRECT ASSESSMENT? YES, THAT IS MY UNDERSTANDING.
THE NEXT ITEM ON THE FINANCE COMMITTEE REPORT, UH, IS HOW SOME OF HOW THAT MONEY WAS SPENT.
AND MR. SMITH ASKED THIS, UH, TO BE PRESENTED AND DR.
NAKIA CAMPBELL PRESENTED TO THE COMMITTEE INFORMATION ON THE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT INITIATIVE, AND SHE REPORTED THAT THERE WERE 12 ACTIVE SITES.
AND THIS INITIATIVE HAS TOUCHED NEARLY 600 STUDENTS SINCE JANUARY, 2022.
THE SUMMER EXTENDED LEARNING CAMP WAS HELD JULY 10TH TO AUGUST 3RD AND SERVED 120 STUDENTS.
UM, AND WE'RE GOING TO HEAR MORE ABOUT THIS, UH, DURING DR.
RODRIGUEZ'S PRESENTATION ON, UH, THE, UH, COMMUNITY, UM, UH, COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT INITIATIVE, THE END OF THE
WE'RE GOING TO THE OPERATIONS COMMITTEE.
CANDACE BRU, UH, BRUDER PRESENTED THE SECOND QUARTER FOIA REPORT FROM APRIL TO JUNE, 2023.
UH, MS. UH, BRANDY MAJOR AND DR.
AND MR. ROBERT OTTING PROVIDE INFORMATION ON THE GROUNDS CONTRACTED SERVICES.
THERE WAS SOME QUESTIONS ABOUT HOW THAT WAS BEING, UH, EVALUATED AND DONE.
A REVIEW PROVIDED INFORMATION ON THE SCOPE OF WORK FOR CONTRACTORS AND WHO WAS RESPONSIBLE FOR WHAT COMPANIES HAD REPRESENTATION IN ATTENDANCE
[02:20:02]
AND ANSWERED COMMITTEE MEMBERS QUESTIONS AT THAT.UH, AT THAT MEETING, MS. UH, BRANDY MAJOR SHARED WITH THE COMMITTEE, THE MAINTENANCE AND CUSTODIAL MONTHLY UPDATE, GIVING US ALL THE INITIAL DATA THAT SHE'S BEEN COLLECTING.
AND MR. ROB CORBIN PRESENTED AN EXECUTIVE SUMMARY FOR PROJECTS THROUGH JULY 1ST, UH, 2023.
AND, UH, THERE IS AN UPDATE ON PROJECTS, UH, AVAILABLE FOR THE FULL BOARD IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO HAVE THAT AT THIS TIME.
ANYBODY? YOU HAVE A QUESTION? GO AHEAD.
PARDON ME? WHAT WAS YOUR QUESTIONS ABOUT? I HAVE A QUESTION ABOUT THE FOIA REPORT, AND I DO HAVE A QUESTION ABOUT, UM, THE, UH, HILTON HEAD MIDDLE SCHOOL, UM, CLEANUP.
WE, WE, WE, WE'VE GOT THAT COMING UP.
YOU WANNA GET THE FOIA REPORT? UH, DR.
BRUTER, DO YOU WANNA ANSWER THE QUESTION? HELLO? UM, THERE WAS A, UH, FOIA REQUEST FOR SOMETHING CALLED THE GENDER SUPPORT PLAN, AND THAT WAS SENT, WHAT IS THE GENDER SUPPORT PLAN? THAT WAS FOR, UM, A FOIA REQUEST.
THAT WAS AN EMAIL SEARCH OKAY.
FOR THE TERMS GENDER SUPPORT PLAN.
SO WE DON'T ACTUALLY HAVE A GENDER SUPPORT PLAN? YES, THAT IS CORRECT.
YOU'RE, WHAT YOU'RE SAYING IS CORRECT.
AND YOU HAD A QUESTION ABOUT THE PROJECT LIST? NO, THE, UM, MIDDLE SCHOOL VANDALISM.
UM, MR. OTTING AND MS. CAROL CRUTCHFIELD PRESENTED THE FY 2025 8% PROJECT LIST.
THE COMMITTEE RECOMMENDED THAT THIS LIST BE PRESENTED TO THE FULL BOARD AND WILL BE PRESENTED AT THE NEXT BOARD MEETING.
AND, BUT IT IS AVAILABLE, THE LIST IS AVAILABLE ON BOARD DOCS.
I ENCOURAGE ALL BOARD MEMBERS TO GO THROUGH THAT LIST.
AND SO WHEN WE DISCUSS IT AT THE NEXT BOARD MEETING, YOU HAVE, UH, YOU HAVE SOME QUESTIONS AND, AND, UH, UM, COMMENTS ABOUT THAT LIST? MISS BOATWRIGHT, DIDN'T WE VOTE ON THIS ALREADY? I MEAN, OBVIOUSLY WE DID.
IT SEEMS AWFULLY LATE IN THE YEAR THAT WE'RE VOTING ON COMPARED TO PREVIOUS YEARS.
WELL, IT'S, IT DOESN'T AFFECT TILL 2025.
SO WE HAVE PLENTY OF TIME, BUT YOU'RE RIGHT, WE ARE A LITTLE BEHIND.
WE NORMALLY HAVE IT DONE BY THEN.
MR. OTTING PROVIDED INFORMATION ON THE VANDALISM THAT TOOK PLACE AT, UH, HILTON HEAD ISLAND MIDDLE SCHOOL.
AND MR. OTTING, IF YOU WANNA BRIEF THE FULL BOARD, PLEASE.
WELL, BY THIS TIME, UM, I'M SURE THAT MOST OF YOU'VE HEARD ABOUT THE INCIDENT THAT OCCURRED AT HILTON HEAD MIDDLE SCHOOL.
UH, AT THE TIME OF THE OPERATIONS COMMITTEE, WE WERE JUST, UH, IN THE MIDDLE OF IT AND LETTING THE OPERATIONS COMMITTEE KNOW ABOUT IT.
AND WHAT OCCURRED? UH, BASICALLY FIRE EXTINGUISHERS WERE EXTINGUISHED THROUGHOUT THE BUILDING.
UM, THE H V A C SYSTEMS CARRIED THE MATERIAL THROUGHOUT THE BUILDING, AND THAT REQUIRED, UH, A MASSIVE CLEANUP.
IT WAS BASICALLY DESCRIBED TO ME AS A FIRE WITHOUT A FIRE.
SO THERE WERE NO FLAMES, BUT IT HAD TO BE TREATED AS A FIRE JUST BECAUSE OF EVERYTHING THAT, UM, UH, FIRE EXTINGUISHER MATERIALS OR WHAT, WHAT'S EXPELLED IN THOSE MATERIALS PROVIDING A LOT OF DETAIL.
AND I JUST WANNA REMIND EVERYBODY THIS ONGOING, THIS IS AN ONGOING LAW ENFORCEMENT INVESTIGATION, SO I, I DON'T REALLY BELIEVE WE SHOULD GET INTO THAT LEVEL OF DETAIL AT THIS JUNCTURE.
WELL, TO BE HONEST, THAT WAS KIND OF MY QUESTION, WHY IT WAS COMING BEFORE OPERATIONS AND IT WASN'T COMING TO THE BOARD.
I JUST DIDN'T UNDERSTAND WHAT THE WHOLE, WELL, IT WAS BASICALLY, YOU KNOW, SINCE THE, THE COST OF IT WAS, I MEAN, IN THE END IT WAS $1.25 MILLION.
UH, WE WANTED TO MAKE SURE THE BOARD WAS AWARE THAT WAS GOING ON AND WHAT, UH, YEAH.
AND I, YOU KNOW, I'M ASSUMING THAT YOU'LL BRIEF US WHEN WE KNOW MORE.
'CAUSE I, AND MAYBE WE HAVE AN EXECUTIVE SESSION FOR SOME OF THIS, BUT MY QUESTION WAS, IF THE POINT WAS TO BRIEF THE BOARD, WHY DOES IT GO TO COMMITTEE? WHY WOULD IT JUST COME TO THE BOARD? JUST TIMING.
YOU DIDN'T HAVE A BOARD MEETING? UM, IT'S CLOSEST TO WHEN IT HAPPENED WAS THE OPERATIONS COMMITTEE.
SO WE LET THE OPERATIONS COMMITTEE KNOW ABOUT IT.
BECAUSE YOU ACTUALLY HAVEN'T HAD A YEAH, WELL,
[02:25:01]
YOU HAD THE, UH, UH, THE WORK SESSION, BUT YOU HAVEN'T HAD A BOARD MEETING SINCE THEN.IT WASN'T ON THE AGENDA FOR THE WORK SESSION, SO, NO, AND I JUST, MY THING IS THIS HAPPENED, AND I DON'T THINK IT WAS YOUR COMMITTEE, BUT, OR YOUR COMMITTEE.
UM, BUT I DON'T, I THINK IF SOMETHING GOES TO, IF THE BOARD FOR INFORMATION PURPOSES, WE GOTTA MAKE SURE IT COMES TO THE FULL BOARD.
'CAUSE IT'S NOT ON THIS AGENDA EITHER, WHICH WAS PROBABLY JUST OVERSIGHT.
BUT I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THAT, THAT WE'RE NOT INFORMING COMMITTEES AND NOT THE BOARD.
SO THAT WAS, WELL, THE INTENT WAS THE NOTED INFORM BOTH.
I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE WE ALL GET INFORMED.
BECAUSE I DIDN'T KNOW WHAT YOU GOT.
THE LAST ITEM ON THE, UH, OPERATIONS COMMITTEE IS THE COMMITTEE WENT INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION TO DISCUSS TRANSPORTATION ROUTES.
THE BOARD HAS TO APPROVE THE ROUTES, AND THAT'S GOING TO BE PLACED UNDER, UH, BOARD BUSINESS ACTION AT THIS MEETING.
THAT THE NEXT OPERATIONS COMMITTEE IS SCHEDULED FOR SEPTEMBER 25TH AT 5:00 PM THAT CONCLUDES THE OPERATIONS COMMITTEE REPORT.
UM, JUST TO ALSO CLARIFY AND ALSO BRING UP SOMETHING THAT YOU SAID, UM, I, I, AND I DIDN'T MENTION IT 'CAUSE I WAS PONDERING, UH, YOU SAID IN THE COMMUNITY, UH, ENGAGEMENT INITIAL, INITIAL INITIAL, UM, IN THE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT PIECE, THAT, UH, DR.
RES IS GONNA BRING THAT UP TO THE BOARD IN TERMS OF THE COST ANALYSIS AND EVERYTHING ON THAT AS WELL.
AND I, I, I LEFT THAT ALONE ALSO.
THAT WAS INITIATED BY MRS. BOATRIGHT, I BELIEVE.
AND SO I JUST KEPT, KEPT IT, KEPT IT, UH, IN THE AIR SO THAT WHEN WE GET TO IT, THAT IT CLARITY WOULD BE THERE JUST TO, YOU SAID THAT I BROUGHT IT UP, BUT YEAH, ACTUALLY I WAS JUST, UM, BRINGING UP SOMETHING THAT MRS. UH, WARD BOATWRIGHT BROUGHT UP FOR CLARITY.
[Superintendent’s Report]
AGENDA IS THE, UH, I S D PRESENTATION.25TH OF SEPTEMBER AT FIVE O'CLOCK WE HAVE KTS, WHICH, WHICH, I'M SORRY.
WHO? HE'S ASKING FOR H E S PERSONNEL TO ATTEND THE OPERATIONS COMMITTEE.
THIS MORNING, UH, THE STATE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION DEPARTMENT RELEASED SOME, UM, UH, RAW DATA FROM THE 2 23, UH, FOR SC READY AND, UH, AND SC PASS.
STRATOS, UM, HAS A PRESENTATION PREPARED, UH, TO SHARE WITH THE BOARD TO PROVIDE AN UPDATE.
GOOD EVENING BOARD MEMBERS, BEFORE WE ROLL INTO THE PRESENTATION, I DO HOPE YOU HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO LOOK AT THIS MONTH MAGAZINE, OUR ONE AND ONLY ASHLEY HUTCHINSON IS BEING FEATURED.
I DO WANNA PUT THAT OUT THERE WITH THAT.
I KNOW YOU, SHE HAD TO SIGN OFF THIS EVENING.
SO, VICE CHAIR TONIGHT, I, I AM SHARING A PRESENTATION ON THIS ON THE SCHOOL DISTRICT'S UN EMBARGOED SC READY DATA.
JOINING ME THIS EVENING IS NICHOLAS FLOWERS, OUR DIRECTOR OF ACCOUNTABILITY, AND ASHLEY HUTCHINSON, DIRECTOR OF READINESS.
SC READ IS A STATEWIDE ASSESSMENT IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS AND MATHEMATICS, AND IS ALIGNED TO THE SOUTH CAROLINA COLLEGE AND CAREER READY STANDARDS.
IT IS, IT IS ADMINISTERED IN GRADES THREE THROUGH EIGHT.
ADDITIONALLY, REPORTING DATA POINTS WILL BE SHARED ON THE SEPAS SCIENCE, WHICH IS ADMINISTERED IN GRADES FOUR AND SIX.
AS I GO FORWARD, FORWARD WITH THIS PRESENTATION, I WANNA MAKE NOTE THAT THE STATE ACKNOWLEDGES THE FOLLOWING REPORTING CATEGORIES FOR THEIR STATE TESTING DOES NOT MEETS, APPROACHES, MEETS AND EXCEEDS OF THESE FOUR REPORTING CATEGORIES, THREE, HAVE THE POTENTIAL OF EARNING POINTS FOR SCHOOL ACCOUNTABILITY APPROACHES IS ONE POINT MEETS IS TWO POINTS.
IN REALITY, THERE'S A RANGE OF ONE TO THREE POINTS AWARDED FOR STUDENTS' PROFICIENCY LEVELS.
I ALSO WANT US TO KEEP IN MIND COMMENTARY BY THE STATE SUPERINTENDENT ELLEN WEAVER.
THIS DATA IS A TOOL, NOT A WEAPON, JUST LIKE A G P S APP.
IT GIVES A CLEAR PICTURE OF WHERE WE ARE ON THE MAP SO THAT WE U WE KNOW HOW TO PLOT OUR COURSE TO GET WHERE WE NEED TO GO WITH THAT.
MRS. BERRY, I'M GONNA ASK KINDLY, IS THERE ANY WAY OF
[02:30:01]
MAKING THAT MAP FOR ME A LITTLE LARGER? YOU THAT I'M GONNA MOVE UP CLOSER? NO.SO I WANNA GO THROUGH FIRST OVERVIEW.
WE'RE GOING TO RECEIVE INFORMATION WHO WE ARE, WE'LL ALL PROVIDE YOU INFORMATION ON ACCOUNTABILITY MEASURES, PROFICIENCY MEASURES, ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE, AND THERE'LL BE SUMMARIES PROVIDED.
I'D LIKE TO, FOR YOU TO NOTE THAT IN THIS AGENDA IS WHERE I'M GONNA WALK YOU THROUGH A FEW POINTS.
WHAT I THINK IS IMPORTANT THAT IN THIS PRESENTATION, WE CAPTURE TWO TYPES OF REPORTING, THE RAW DATA AND THE ACCOUNTABILITY DATA POINTS.
MRS. BERRY, RIGHT NOW IS SHARING WITH YOU, IS GIVING YOU DATA POINTS OF WHO WE ARE.
WE WANTED YOU TO HAVE AN UNDERSTANDING AND OUR CONSTITUENTS OF WHO WE SERVE IN BEAUFORT COUNTY.
IF WE LOOK ON THE FAR LEFT, IT GIVES THE TITLES PER ROW.
YOU GO TO THE TABLE VERY ON THE VERY BOTTOM, AND I HAVE TO SHARE, I WANNA WALK YOU THROUGH THAT.
YOU NOTE THAT WE DID THIS QUICK TODAY, BUT I WANNA WALK THROUGH THE FIRST BAR JUST FOR YOU TO KNOW.
POVERTY, WE SERVE 39% OF OUR STUDENT POPULATION ARE NOT STUDENTS OF POVERTY.
OUR STUDENTS OF POVERTY, 60% ARE OKAY.
SO I JUST WANTED TO GIVE YOU WHAT THE KEYS MEAN, AND I'D LIKE TO GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE.
I'D LIKE US TO TAKE A LOOK AT OUR SUBGROUPS AND WHO WE SERVE BY
AGAIN, THESE DATA THAT I'M SHOWING YOU RIGHT NOW ARE THE ACCOUNTABILITY GRADE LEVELS.
SO THEY ARE GRADES THREE THROUGH EIGHT.
IF YOU LOOK AT THE VERY FIRST ROW IN BLUE, THAT IS GONNA REPRESENT OUR STUDENTS OF NATIVE HAWAIIAN OR OTHER PACIFIC ISLANDERS.
THE ORANGE ARE STUDENTS OF COLOR, BLACK AFRICAN AMERICAN, 28.5% ARE GRAY.
OUR STUDENTS ARE CLASSIFIED AS HISPANIC, 29.6%.
THE SLIGHT LITTLE GOLD BAR, 0.6% ARE AMERICAN INDIAN OR ALASKA ALASKAN NATIVES.
AND THE BLUE, OUR OVERALL POPULATION IS 38.9% WHITE IN OUR TESTED GRADES OF THREE THROUGH EIGHT.
IF WE CAN GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE ALSO WANT US TO HAVE AN UNDERSTANDING THAT I'VE HEARD A LOT OF CONVERSATION THIS EVENING ON THE PANDEMIC.
PANDEMIC HIT IN 9 20 19, 20 20.
AND YOU COULD GO ACCORDINGLY, RIGHT? STRAIGHT ACROSS.
WE RECOGNIZED IN 20 19, 20 20, 82 0.3% OF FOUR YEAR OLDS QUALIFIED FOR PRE-K.
THAT NUMBER IS PRETTY CONSTANT ACROSS THE TOP.
BUT I WANT YOU TO ALSO RECOGNIZE THAT IN 20 19, 20 20, IF YOU WERE A FOURTH IN PRE-K LAST YEAR, YOU WERE A SECOND GRADER THIS YEAR, YOUR THIRD GRADER, YOUR ACCOUNTABILITY CLOCK STARTS.
THIS IS A STUDENT POPULATION THAT WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO GIVE THE MOST CONSISTENCY TO.
THEY HAD BREAKS, BUT WE WERE ABLE TO GIVE THEM FOUNDATION AT THEIR KNOWLEDGE.
AND I WANT YOU TO STAY WITH THAT FOR A MOMENT.
AS I GIVE YOU THE EXAMPLE AGAIN, AND THINK OF THE STUDENTS WHO WERE KINDERGARTEN IN 20 19, 20 20, WHO LAST YEAR WERE THIRD GRADERS IN ACCOUNTABILITY.
NOW, THINK IT FROM A THINK FROM ANOTHER PERSPECTIVE.
IF I WAS A FIFTH GRADER IN 20 19, 20 20, THESE STUDENTS ACTUALLY HAD A GREATER GAP AND LOSS OF TIME AND IMPACT FROM EDUCATORS.
YES, THEY HAVE THE FOUNDATIONAL KNOWLEDGE, BUT THE COMPLEXITY KNOWLEDGE THAT HAPPENS AS YOU GO UP TO AT GRADE BANDS, STUDENTS GOING HIGHER IN A GRADE LEVEL, ACTUALLY HAD A GREATER UP CHANCE OF FALLING BACKWARDS AT ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT.
JUST TO INTERJECT, AS YOU'RE LOOKING AT THAT SLIDE AND YOU SEE, FOR EXAMPLE, UH, 21, 22, 83 0.9% OF FOUR YEAR OLDS QUALIFIED FOR PRE-KINDERGARTEN.
WHAT THAT TELLS YOU IS THAT 83.9% OF FOUR YEAR OLDS WERE BELOW THE 50TH PERCENTILE DEVELOPMENTALLY, OR HAD ENOUGH RISK FACTORS, NO RISK FACTORS.
THAT NUMBER ON THE TOP, THAT PERCENT ON THE TOP, UH, IF YOU TAKE THE 20, 21, 22 SCHOOL
[02:35:01]
YEAR, OKAY, YOU SEE THE 83.9%, THAT MEANS THAT FOUR YEAR OLDS THAT YEAR, 83.9% WERE BELOW THE 50TH PERCENTILE AND, OR I'M SORRY, BELOW THE 50TH PERCENTILE OR HAD ENOUGH RISK FACTORS TO QUALIFY FOR PRE-K.MRS. SMITH ARE THE STUDENTS WHO WERE SCREENED, RIGHT? OKAY.
UM, MR. DALLAS, WHAT ARE SOME OF THE RISK FACTORS? I HAVE AN EXPERT IN THE ROOM WHO'S GONNA BRING THAT FORWARD.
AND MS. ASHLEY, IT'S IN YOUR MAGAZINE.
UM, IN THE STATE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION, IDENTIFY SEVERAL RISK FACTORS.
UM, IT COULD BE FREE AND REDUCED LUNCH, MEDICAID, UM, SINGLE PARENT LITERACY LEVEL OF THE MOTHER AND THE FATHER.
IT'S A LIST OF ABOUT 10 TO 15 DIFFERENT INDICATORS.
UM, MULTI-LANGUAGE LEARNER, SOCIAL EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT AT THE TIME OF THE SCREENING, UH, OUTSIDE THERAPY, WHETHER YOU'RE IN EARLY INTERVENTION OR NOT, IN AN EARLY INTERVENTION.
SO IT'S ABOUT, I CAN PROVIDE THAT TO THE BOARD SO THAT THEY KNOW, BUT IT'S A, IT'S A LIST OF ABOUT 10 TO 15.
AND MR. DOS, WE CAN PROVIDE THAT.
I WANT A REQUEST FOR THE INTENSIVE REVIEW THAT'S GONNA BE PART OF THAT PACKAGE.
SIR, MR. SMITH, DO YOU HAVE ANOTHER QUESTION? YES, YES, SIR.
ALSO, IN THE, IN THE, IN, IN THE ESSENCE OF THAT, WHAT DOES, WHAT, WHAT, WHAT DOES THE SCREENING PROCESS LOOK LIKE? AND, AND, AND WHO, WHO COMES UP WITH THAT SCREENING PROCESS? THAT'S ACTUALLY, BECAUSE THAT, THAT'S A KEY POINT AS WELL, MS. ASHLEY? YEAH.
SO, UM, PART OF, AND IN THE ARTICLE TODAY, WE TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT WHAT OUR SCREENING PROCESS LOOKS LIKE.
SO IT'S A COMPREHENSIVE SCREENING PROCESS.
WE LOOK AT LANGUAGE, COGNITIVE AND MOTOR, AS WELL AS SOCIAL, EMOTIONAL, AND SELF-HELP HELP SKILLS.
WE ALSO DO A HEARING AND VISION CHECK FOR CHILDREN DURING THOSE SCREENINGS.
UM, ONE OF THE LEADING CAUSES OF PRESCHOOL DEVELOPMENTAL DELAY IN PRESCHOOLERS WOULD BE HEARING AND VISION.
SO WE DO THAT COMPREHENSIVE EVALUATION.
WE LOOK AT THE DEVELOPMENTAL SCORE, WHICH IS, WE USE THE DIAL FOUR, WHICH IS FROM PEARSON, AND IT'S ALSO NAMED AS THE STATE READINESS, ONE OF THE STATE READINESS ASSESSMENTS TO QUALIFY CHILDREN FOR PRE-KINDERGARTEN.
AND THEN WE USE THE LIST OF RISK FACTORS PROVIDED BY THE STATE DEPARTMENT OF ED.
SO BASICALLY, THE INSTRUMENT IS, IS MADE UP BY THE DISTRICT AND NOT THE STATE? NO, IT'S A, IT'S A, IT'S A PEARSON MADE BY PEARSON.
IT'S THE DIAL FOUR, THE FOURTH EDITION, UHHUH
UM, IT'S, I CAN'T KNOW THE DEVELOPMENTAL OF INDICATORS OF YOUNG LEARNERS.
UM, IT'S AN ACRONYM, BUT IT IS USED ACROSS THE STATE AND NATIONWIDE AS A READINESS INDICATOR.
WHY DO THEY KEEP USING SINGLE PARENT? THAT'S, YOU KNOW, THAT'S NOT THE REASON WHY A LOT OF STUDENT LEARN THERE.
I, I, I UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU'RE SAYING THERE.
THERE ARE A LOT OF, OF DIFFERENT RISK FACTORS.
UM, SINGLE PARENT IS, IS ALSO, WE LOOK AT SINGLE INCOME, A LEVEL OF THE PARENTS.
UM, BUT SINGLE, IT'S SOMETHING THAT THE STATE DEPARTMENT STILL NAMES AS A RISK FACTOR.
IF WE LOOK AT SLIDE SIX IS, ASHLEY, DON'T GO TOO FAR.
I'D LIKE TO TAKE THAT OPPORTUNITY TO SHARE THE AMOUNT OF STUDENTS LOOKING AT 2019 THROUGH 2023.
AND IF, AND BUILDING ON KINDERGARTEN, THIS IS WHERE STUDENTS ARE, ARE CHILDREN ARE TAKING SOUNDS AND MAKING LE
AS A REMINDER, KINDERGARTEN IS NOT COMPULSORY IN SOUTH CAROLINA, MEANS IT'S, IT'S NOT REQUIRED IN SOUTH CAROLINA.
MANY OTHER STATES IT IS, BUT NOT IN SOUTH CAROLINA.
IN OTHER WORDS, WILL YOU CAN ENROLL DIRECTLY AT FIRST GRADE? SHOULD YOU MEET THE AGE REQUIREMENT? AND AGAIN, SHARING WITH YOU THE PERCENTAGES IN OUR STUDENTS AT KINDERGARTEN AND THEIR READINESS FOR KINDERGARTEN.
I THINK THAT'S IMPORTANT TO NOTE AS WELL.
SO THIS IS WHERE WE START WITH THE RAW DATA.
THIS IS EVERY STUDENT WHO HAS SAT FOR THE SC READY GRADES THREE THROUGH EIGHT IN ENGLISH, LANGUAGE ARTS, MATHEMATICS AND SCIENCE.
[02:40:07]
AS WE GO TO SLIDE EIGHT, WE TAKE ANOTHER DIVE, A LITTLE DEEPER, LOOKING AT OUR SUBGROUPS, GIVING YOU AN OPPORTUNITY TO LOOK AT COMPARATIVE SUBGROUP DATA POINTS.AND I RECOGNIZE AS YOUR FIRST OPPORTUNITY OF SEEING THIS, THAT'S WHY I AM PAUSING TO GIVE YOU TIME TO RE TO REVIEW.
UM, STRATAS, THANK YOU FOR, FOR BEING SO PATIENT AND ALLOWING US TO LOOK THROUGH.
UH, THERE ARE SOME PRETTY PRECIPITOUS DROPS SOME OF THIS DATA.
UH, WHAT IS THE RESEARCH OR THE STUDY SORT OF POINTING US TO AS FACTORS? THERE'S ACTUALLY A FEW, I'LL START WITH ONE FROM A NEW YORK TIMES ARTICLE THIS MORNING.
AND, AND THEY ACTUALLY HAD A FULL STUDY THAT WAS ROLLED OUT EARLIER THIS MORNING WHEN, WHEN THAT ARTICLE CAME OUT IN THE STUDY.
I, I THINK, WELL, NATIONALLY, THIS MUST BE UN EMBARGOED DAY.
ALSO, IF YOU LOOK AT GIFTED AND TALENTED, IF YOU, THE RESEARCH SHOWS WHAT HIGHER FUNK, HIGHER INTELLECTUAL STUDENTS, IF WE'RE NOT TAPPING YOU TO WHERE YOU NEED TO BE OR HAVING YOU PLACED IN THE RIGHT PLACE, I'M GONNA BE BORED WITH THE TEST OR I'M GONNA START OVERTHINKING THE TESTS.
SO THAT WAS ONE OF THE ITEMS WE STARTED RESEARCHING EARLIER TODAY AS TO WHY WHEN WE LOOK AT THE MATH FOR OUR GIFTED AND TALENTED POPULATION.
BUT I DO WANNA SHARE THAT WE'VE HAD GROWTH ON THE DATA POINTS AS WELL.
THE ONE AIR CONTENT AREA THAT WE DID NOT HAVE STRENGTH THAT'LL BE VERY DIRECT, IS IN SCIENCE.
IN REVIEW, AT ANALYZING SCIENCE ON MASTER SCHEDULES, I WILL SAY THAT IT'S AN AREA THAT WE HAVE TO PUT GREATER EMPHASIS ON THE AVAILABILITY OF DEEPENING TIME FOR TEACHING SCIENCE, THE STATE LENS, THAT IT SHOULD BE A MINIMUM OF 15 MINUTES OF SCIENCE PER DAY AT ELEMENTARY.
SO AS WE'RE HAVING OUTSTANDING GROWTH AT LITERACY, WE RECOGNIZE THAT WE KNEW THAT NATIONALLY THERE WAS GONNA BE A SLIDE AT MATH.
AND WE KNOW THAT WE, WE'VE HELD OUR OWN AT MATH.
WE DIDN'T HAVE THE GROWTH IN MATH AS WE HAD IN E L A, BUT AT THAT, I, I BELIEVE WHEN DOING ANALYSIS OF THE AMOUNT OF INSTRUCTIONAL TIME THAT WAS AT THE LOSS OF ANOTHER CONTENT AREA.
I THINK WHEN YOU'RE LOOKING AT YOUR E L A DATA, YOUR E L A DATA, ONE IS SHOWING YOU THAT THE DISTRICT HAS SCORED THE HIGHEST THAT IT'S EVER SCORED IN THE STATE ASSESSMENT.
AND THAT IT CONTINUED TO GROW AND MOVE FORWARD IN EVERY GRADE LEVEL.
AND I BELIEVE AT EVERY SUBGROUP IN E L A, WHEN YOU LOOK AT, UH, YOUR MATH DATA, I BELIEVE THAT ON THE MATH DATA, IT ESSENTIALLY IS FLAT, YES.
UH, HOLDING STEADY, RIGHT? UH, BUT CERTAINLY SCIENCE, UH, WAS HIT PRETTY HARD.
AND MATH WAS INITIALLY HIT HARD, UM, IN THE PANDEMIC, RIGHT? AND, AND IF YOU LOOK AT, UH, WHAT THE STATE SUPERINTENDENT PUT OUT WITH RESPECT TO RESULTS, UH, THE MESSAGE WAS, WE'RE DOING GREAT WORK IN IN THE AREA OF LITERACY, AND WE'RE, WE'RE MOVING FORWARD IN THE AREA OF LITERACY.
AND WE'VE GOT SOME INITIATIVES AND SOME PROGRAMS LIKE LETTERS TRAINING THAT THE STATE IS PUTTING OUT, UH, TO SUPPORT THAT CONTINUED, UH, PROGRESS.
IF YOU LOOK AT MATH, SHE BASICALLY SAYS, IT'S CLEAR THAT WE HAVE WORK TO DO.
AND IF YOU LOOK AT SCIENCE, IT'S NOT REALLY ADDRESSED BECAUSE, UH, THAT'S ONE OF THE THINGS YOU'RE SEEING STATEWIDE, UH, AROUND SCIENCE, IS THERE'S AN IMPACT THERE.
BUT ESSENTIALLY, IN TERMS OF MATH, UH, THEY'RE SAYING IT'S HOLDING STEADY AND CLEARLY A PLACE THAT NEW INITIATIVES NEED TO COME FORWARD.
SO WE HAVE SLIDE NINE, PLEASE.
SO I'VE SHARED WITH YOU BASICALLY THE RAW DATA, A DATA FILE, A BREAKDOWN OF THE INFORMATION.
WHAT WE'D LIKE TO SHARE IS THE OPPORTUNITY OF LOOKING AT SHIFT, SHIFTING TO ACCOUNTABILITY MEASURES, SEE READY RESULTS BASED ON ACCOUNTABILITY ME METRICS.
[02:45:01]
THIS INCLUDES ALL STUDENTS WHO WERE CONTINUOUSLY ENROLLED FROM THE 45 DAY TO THE HUNDREDTH AND 60TH DAY WITH NO BREAK ENROLLMENT, WHICH MEANS THAT THEY WERE THERE FOR THE FIRST DAY OF TESTING.I THINK THAT'S IMPORTANT TO NOTE.
THE RAW, THE ACCOUNTABILITY DATA ALSO REMOVES ML STUDENTS WHO HAVE BEEN IN THE COUNTRY FOR TWO YEARS OR LESS IF THEY'RE MEASURING NOT PROFICIENT AT ENGLISH.
IF WE GO TO NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE.
AND THIS JUST GIVES YOU A QUICK VIEW OF HOW THE POINT SYSTEM OF CONNECTING OUT PROFICIENCY MEASURES.
'CAUSE MANY TIMES WE DON'T TAKE TO NOTE THAT APPROACHES EVEN IN THE STATE WHEN YOU RE READ THEIR INFORMATION IN DETAIL, APPROACHES DOES GIVE ACCOUNTABILITY POINTS, MEETS GETS TWO AND EXCEEDS OBVIOUSLY GETS THREE.
OR WE THINK OF IT LIKE THE TRAFFIC LIGHT, IF IT DOES NOT MEETS, WE HAD A, WE'RE ON M T SS S, WE NEED TO HAVE ADDITIONAL SERVICES FOR MARY ON YELLOW AS APPROACHES.
I NEED SOME ADDITIONAL INSTRUCTIONAL SUPPORT.
GREEN, I'M DOING GOOD, BUT I'M NOT GREEN ENOUGH.
SO LOOKING AT OUR ACCOUNTABILITY STUDENTS AS WE GO TO SLIDE 11, THIS IS SHARING WITH YOU APPROACHES, MEETS AND EXCEEDS MEASURES OF PROFICIENCY OF STUDENTS RESPECTIVELY FOR EACH SCHOOL.
BLUE IS A PROFICIENCY PERCENTAGE.
ORANGE WILL BE, DOES NOT MEETS.
THESE ARE THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS ON AT THIS SLIDE, ONE OF THE OLD TRICKS TO DO IS JUST DRAW A LINE STRAIGHT DOWN AT THE 50 YARD LINE AND IT GIVES YOU A, A, A QUICK VIEW OF HOW SCHOOLS ARE PERFORMING.
IF WE GO TO MIDDLE SCHOOL, PLEASE THANK YOU IF ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS FOLLOWS THE SAME MODEL, BLUE, PROFICIENT ORANGE, NOT PROFICIENT AS YOU GO.
SO HERE'S SOME SUMMARY POINTS ON ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS.
RODRIGUEZ SHARED, THIS IS THE HIGHEST DIS DISTRICT PERFORMANCE EVER.
88% OF THE SCHOOLS SHOWING LITERACY INCREASE, INCREASE IN MEETS AND EXCEEDS.
21 SCHOOLS ARE SHOWING INCREASE OF AT STATIST STATISTICALLY OF 3% OR MORE, WHICH IS, IS A STATISTICAL SIGNIFICANCE.
SIX SCHOOLS ARE SHOWING DOUBLE DIGIT INCREASES AT MEETS AND EXCEEDS DIS DISTRICT INCREASE AT ALL GRADE LEVELS.
DISTRICT INCREASED AT ALL SUBGROUPS.
76% OF THE SCHOOLS DE DECREASED AND DOES NOT MEET EXPECTATIONS.
78.2% OF THE SCHOOLS ARE PROFICIENT IN WHEN WE USE THE MEASURE APPROACHES, MEETS AND EXCEEDS.
THIS FO FOLLOWS THE SAME MODEL.
BLUE IS PROFICIENT ORANGES AREA OF GROWTH, OR DELTA.
OUR SCHOOLS ARE LISTED ON THE X AXIS.
SO YOU CAN GO STRAIGHT ACROSS AND IDENTIFY IF YOU, YOU WANNA LOOK AT THE BOTTOM AND JUST DO A 50 LINE, 50% LINE STRAIGHT DOWN IN YOUR PAPER, AND YOU COULD SEE THE HIGHEST ACHIEVERS, YOU COULD SEE AREAS OF IMPROVEMENT.
I DO NOT WANT YOU NOT TO REALIZE, IF YOU GO EARLIER INTO PRESENTATION, SCHOOLS THAT ARE NOT SHOWING A GREAT AMOUNT OF BLUE ACTUALLY HAD SIGNIFICANT GROWTH THIS PAST YEAR.
I THINK THAT IS IMPORTANT TO SHARE.
AND I AM GONNA SHARE AT THIS POINT, WHEN WE CONDUCTED A QUICK ANALYSIS OF OUR SCHOOLS INVOLVED WITH EXTENDED LEARNING, THEY HAD GROWTH, WE HAD BEAUTIFUL MOVEMENT IN OUR SUBGROUPS IN THESE CAMPUSES.
STRATAS, THIS IS VERY INTERESTING INFORMATION.
UH, IS THERE ANY OVERLAY ABOUT SOCIOECONOMIC LEVELS,
[02:50:01]
INCOME THAT COULD HELP, YOU KNOW, REAFFIRM WHAT YOU'RE SAYING? I'M GONNA BUILD ON A COMMENTARY BY MR. CAMPBELL.I'M NOT AS STRONG, AND I KNOW WE USE IT AS A STATE INDICATOR, AND IT ACTUALLY MAY BE A PRETTY ADVANTAGE OF CHILDREN BY USING SOCIO RIGHT S E S AND USING SINGLE HOUSEHOLD.
BUT LET'S NOT LEAVE OUT THE GRIT AND FORTITUDE AND BELIEF THAT YOU HAVE IN YOUR CHILDREN THAT COULD OUTWEIGH ANY BARRIER.
BUT CHILD HAS HOPE AND I BELIEVE IN YOU AND I VALIDATE YOU.
SO WE HAVEN'T GONE INTO THAT ANALYSIS TO THAT LEVEL, BUT EARLIER IN THE PRESENTATION, WE DO SHARE, YOU SHARE THE DISTRIBUTION OF REPRESENTATION, AND WE DO HAVE MORE INFORMATION IN HERE BY SUBGROUP.
IF, IF I COULD JUST SUPPORT WHAT YOU'RE SAYING.
UH, GROWING UP IN EASTERN NORTH CAROLINA, THERE WAS SIGNIFICANT POVERTY.
AND WHAT WE SAW WAS THAT IN FAMILIES WHERE EDUCATION WAS STRESSED, NO EXCUSE WAS ACCEPTED AT HOME, KIDS PERFORMED REGARDLESS OF THE INCOME OF THE PARENTS.
SO THAT'S A COUPLE OF GENERATIONS AGO, BUT IT'S PRETTY INSTRUCTIVE IN HOW I VIEW LIFE.
IT GOES TO THAT PERSEVERANCE AND GRIT, OUTPERFORMS ANYTHING THAT IS BENEFICIAL.
SO MIDDLE SCHOOL AGAIN, UM, SLIDE 15 AND SCIENCE FOR ELEMENTARY AND SCIENCE FOR THE MIDDLE SCHOOL IS ON SLIDE 17.
SO WE COULD LOOK AT SLIDE 18 GIVES US A SUMMARY IN THIS.
UM, JUST LISTEN, I'M TRYING TO HOLD MY QUESTION TO THE END OF YOUR, UM, ANALYSIS, BUT DO WE HAVE LA LAST YEAR, UM, LA LAST YEAR, UM, ANALYSIS AND THIS POWERPOINT IN ANYWHERE? SO WHAT WE'RE GOING TO, UH, COMPARE, UM, THAT THE, THESE, THESE, UH, WHAT WE'VE BEEN GIVEN, WHAT WE'VE BEEN GIVEN TODAY, BECAUSE, UH, DO HAVE SOME, SOME CONCERNS.
AND THEN, YOU KNOW, I'M, I'M, I'M, I'M ALSO HOPING THAT THIS IS NOT THE ONLY TIME THAT WE'RE GONNA GO OVER THIS BEING THAT WE JUST GOT THIS TODAY AS A BOARD AND, YOU KNOW, UH, I HAVEN'T HAD TIME TO DIGEST THIS.
AND I, AND I DO, YOU KNOW, I WOULD LIKE TO BE ABLE TO UNDERSTAND AND PROCESS THIS, EVEN THOUGH WE'RE GOING, WE'RE GOING OVER TONIGHT.
I, I RECOGNIZE THAT THIS, THESE DATA POINTS WE RECEIVED, WE'VE WORKED ON THE FILE, WE'VE GONE THROUGH THIS NOT MAYBE TO THE DEPTH THAT WE WOULD LIKE TO COMPARATIVE TO LOOK AT LONGITUDINAL DATA.
THAT OPPORTUNITY WE CAN BRING TO THE BOARD.
MR. SMITH, I DID NOT BRING COMPARATIVE FOR THE PAST THREE, YOU KNOW, FIVE YEARS DATA POINT TO THE TABLE AT THIS TIME.
I I CAN, I CAN HAVE THAT PREPARED.
BECAUSE THAT, THAT'S ALSO GIVES SOME VALIDITY AND SOME UNDERSTANDING.
IT'S COME TO THE POINT WHERE MR. DALLAS IS, MR. CAMPBELL IS ALSO, UH, THEY, THEY'RE BOTH ALSO KIND OF ELEGANTLY BROUGHT TWO DIFF TWO DIFFERENT TIES TO THE, UH, TO, TO THIS, UM, INFORMATION THAT, THAT YOU BOUGHT TONIGHT.
SO, UH, JUST, JUST TO, THAT ALSO HELPS US JUST TO PROCESS IT, UH, IF YOU WOULD A LITTLE BIT.
SO IF WE GO TO THE EARLIER PART OF THE PRESENTATION, AND I DON'T WANNA MISSPEAK THE COMPARATIVE DATA.
SLIDE SEVEN, AND I APOLOGIZE, I'M GOING BACKWARDS.
IT GIVES YOU A TWO YEAR ANALYSIS OF COMPARATIVE.
I DIDN'T GO BACK IN LIKE THE 2019 COMPARATIVE, SIR.
SO AT THIS TIME, I ONLY HAVE A TWO YEAR COMPARATIVE BEING PROVIDED.
AND IT ALSO, UH, ON, ON, ON SLIDE, ON SLIDE SIX, I MEAN ON SLIDE ON SLIDE ON, ON SLIDE FIVE, I NOTICED THAT YOU GAVE US A, UH, FOR THE, UH, FOR THE, UH, FOUR YEAR OLDS.
YOU GAVE, YOU GAVE US A, A BASICALLY, UM, A PERCENTILE ON WHERE THEY WERE INTO WHAT THE, WHAT THE LOWER PERCENTILE IS.
I KNOW SHE GAVE US THAT ON THE FOUR YEAR OLDS, BUT I WOULD ALSO LIKE TO SEE THAT AS WELL ON THE, UM, JUST FOR CONSISTENCY AS WELL FOR THE, UM, FOR THE, FOR THE KINDERGARTENS BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, THEY, UH, YOU KNOW, THEY, IN OUR DISTRICT, THEY, THEY GO UP AND THEY COME DOWN AS WELL.
AND I WOULD LIKE TO HAVE AN ANALYSIS ON THEM AS, AS WELL AND UNDERSTANDING WHERE, WHERE THEY ARE, UH, IN TERMS OF A YEAR AS WELL.
UH, TO YOU WERE TALKING ABOUT SLIDE FIVE, I THINK WHEN YOU WERE TALKING ABOUT THE EARLY CHILDHOOD IN THE PRE-K, RIGHT? THAT BOTTOM NUMBER, THAT 51% ON THAT FIRST ONE, RIGHT? IT'S THE LOWEST 25.
SO THAT, THAT IS, UH, 51% OF THOSE
[02:55:01]
THAT WERE SCREENED WERE BELOW THE 25TH PERCENTILE, RIGHT? SO THE TOP NUMBER IS BELOW THE 50TH PERCENTILE, RIGHT? AND, UH, UH, THE PERCENT OF, OF THE STUDENTS BELOW THE 50TH PERCENTILE, RIGHT? AND THE BOTTOM NUMBER IS THE PERCENT, 51% IN THIS CASE BELOW THE 25TH PERCENTILE.RIGHT? AND I WAS ASKING FOR THAT.
AND WHAT I'M SAYING IS THAT I LIKE THAT SAME INFORMATION FOR THE, UH, FOR, FOR, FOR THE, UH, THE KINDERGARTENS BE, BE, BE, BE, BE, BE BECAUSE IT'S THE CARING WHAT THAT, WHAT THAT DOES THAT BEGIN TO GIVE TEETH AND THAT, AND THAT'S, THAT, THAT BRINGS A TRACK RECORD TO SHOW US HOW WE'RE GROWING AND WHERE THEY CAME FROM AND, AND THEN WHEN AND WHO'S LEARNING AND, AND WHEN, WHAT'S BEING, WHAT'S EFFECTIVE AND WHAT'S NOT.
BECAUSE YOU BEGIN ALSO TO GET, TO BEGIN INTO THE PROGRAMS THAT A DISTRICT OFFER YEAH.
AT, AT, AT, AT, AT, AT THAT, THAT, AT THAT TIME AS WELL.
THEREFORE, THAT JUST GIVE US MORE MEASURABLE, UH, UH, UH, TEETH IN TERMS OF WHAT WE OFFER AS A DISTRICT, I THINK.
I THINK, UH, ONE OF THE THINGS YOU CAN LOOK AT, AND THIS, ONE OF THE REASONS WE INCLUDED THIS IN THIS PRESENTATION ON THE FRONT END IS BECAUSE YOU CAN LOOK AT, UH, AND SAY, UM, THE LAST, YOU KNOW, BASICALLY THEY'RE LIKE 82%, IF WE JUST CALL IT 82%, RIGHT? RIGHT.
OF THOSE PRE-K, UH, THAT YOU SEE THERE, RIGHT.
UM, YOU, BECAUSE THERE'S 0.3, 0.1, BUT LET'S JUST CALL IT 82% FOR DISCUSSION PURPOSES, OKAY.
ARE BELOW THE 50TH PERCENTILE, RIGHT? RIGHT.
AND YOU LOOK AT THAT, 51% IS BELOW THE, UH, 25TH PERCENTILE WHEN YOU TURN AROUND AND YOU LOOK AT, UH, SLIDE SEVEN.
SLIDE SEVEN, RIGHT? SLIDE SEVEN SHOWS YOU THAT IN LANGUAGE ARTS, THERE'S A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF PROGRESS THAT HAS BEEN MADE TO GET KIDS UP TO, UH, YOU'RE TALKING TWO DIFFERENT ASSESSMENTS.
BUT, BUT THERE'S A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF PROGRESS MADE TO GET THAT MANY KIDS UP TO A MEETS AND EXCEEDS.
RIGHT? AND, AND I, AND I HEAR YOU, BUT ONCE AGAIN, JUST GOING BACK TO MY CORE POINT, I WOULD LIKE TO SEE WHAT, WHAT THEY LEARNED WITHIN, WITHIN THIS YEAR, WITHIN THAT ONE YEAR, WELL, WITHIN THAT ONE YEAR, BECAUSE THAT TELLS US THAT DISTRICT LOT, NOT JUST OUR KIDS COMING IN LEARNING VERSUS KNOWING A HUNDRED WORDS TO THREE OR 400 WORDS YEAH.
VERSUS THE KIDS BEING ABLE TO, UH, READ AND ADD AND SUBTRACT AT THAT AGE.
YOU KNOW, SO, SO THAT, THAT TELLS US TOO, AS A DISTRICT WHERE WE ARE EFFECTIVE AT AND, AND, AND, AND HOW ARE WE, HOW WE ARE THRIVING IN THOSE DIFFERENT AREAS.
RODRIGUEZ, MAY I SHARE A POINT? YEAH.
MR. SMITH AND I UNDERSTAND WHERE YOU'RE DRIVING.
SO WE LOOK AT SLIDE SIX AT THE FIRST BOX, 20 19, 20 20.
THAT STUDENT BACK THEN WAS A KINDERGARTNER, RIGHT? I GO TO PAGE SEVEN AND I LOOK AT GRADE THREE, 50.6% OF THOSE KINDERGARTERS WERE AT MEETS OR EXCEEDS.
RIGHT? THE QUESTION THAT LIES IN BETWEEN, THAT IS A UTILIZATION OF OTHER ASSESSMENTS.
K R A IS A KINDERGARTEN READINESS ASSESSMENT.
WE DON'T HAVE STANDARDIZED TESTING FOR FIRST AND SECOND GRADE.
SO I'M, I DON'T KNOW IF IT'S GONNA BE FAIR ENOUGH TO SAY, NOW LET ME USE THIS OTHER TOOL IN BETWEEN AND THIS OTHER TOOL IN BETWEEN AS MARK AS WE USE DIAGNOSTIC DATA TO SHARE WITH YOU, EACH OF YOU BOARD MEMBERS TO GIVE YOU A ROADMAP AS WE'RE GROWING THROUGH THE ACADEMIC SCHOOL YEAR.
RODRIGUEZ IS TRYING TO SHOW IS, IF IN 2019 AND 2020, IF ONLY A THIRD OF OUR KIDS WERE READY FOR KINDERGARTEN, BY THE TIME THAT YOU WERE A FIFTH IN THIRD GRADE, WE GOT YOU AT MEETS OR EXCEEDS, THAT'S SIGNIFICANT.
AND THAT'S SUPER KUDOS TO THE EDUCATORS, RIGHT? AND THAT IS, AND I KNOW THAT'S MUCH BETTER WITH THE NUMBERS THAN I'M THAT'S, THAT'S, THAT'S YOU, YOU SAID IT BETTER THAN I DID, RIGHT? YES.
AND, AND, AND, AND I, AND I DON'T EVEN NEGATE THE FACT OF WHAT YOU'RE SAYING.
BUT, BUT, BUT WHAT I AM SAYING IS THAT I KNOW AT THE BEGINNING OF EVERY SCHOOL YEAR, WE GIVE A BEGINNING OF THE SCHOOL YEAR TEST, AND THEN WE GIVE AN END OF THE SCHOOL YEAR TEST.
SO, SO, SO, SO WITH THAT BEING SAID, THEN THAT, THAT INFORMATION CAN BE, IT, IT, IT, IT CAN BE DRILLED OUT THERE.
BECAUSE ALSO THAT'S, THAT'S ALSO A, A, A COMMON AREA OF PRACTICE WHERE WE CAN SEE HOW OUR KIDS ARE LEARNING IN THE, IN THE, THE, THEIR PATTERNING PATTERN OF SOME OF THEIR LEARNING STYLES AS WELL, AND HOW QUICK THEY'RE PICKING UP FROM, FROM WHAT.
SO THEREFORE, AND ALSO THAT ALSO GIVES US MORE AMMO TO TELL SHOW PARENTS, THIS IS WHY IT'S IMPORTANT TO BE IN SCHOOL, TO BE IN SCHOOL.
BECAUSE YOU AS A PARENT TELLING ME JUST FROM THIS RIGHT HERE, YES.
SOME PARENTS MAY SAY, WELL, MY KID, WE ALSO NICE A DIFFERENT MOVEMENT WHEN WE UNDER UNDERSTAND, WE'RE ABLE TO DIGEST AND HAVE THAT CONVERSATION JUST OFF, BASED OFF WHAT YOU TELL ME THEN, OKAY, AS LONG AS MY, SOME PARENTS THINK
[03:00:01]
AS LONG AS MY CHILD IS IS READY BY THIRD GRADE, YOU KNOW, IT IS WHAT IT IS.YOU KNOW, I I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE WHEN THAT THIRD GRADE TEST COMES, THAT MY CHILD IS READY.
NOW, YOU, YOU, YOU, YOU SPOKE ABOUT SOMETHING THAT IS CRITICALLY IMPORTANT.
YOU SAID THAT'S WHY IT'S SO IMPORTANT, IMPORTANT TO BE IN SCHOOL, RIGHT? ATTENDANCE IS INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT, INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT.
YOU, YOU HIT THE NAIL ON THE HEAD WITH THAT.
WE, AND JUST TO NOTE, OUR STRATEGIC PLAN CLOSING FOR THE YEAR IS TO BE THAT WE ARE AT 82% APPROACHES, MEETS, AND EXCEEDS FOR E L A, COLLECTIVELY.
RIGHT NOW WE'RE AT 8 78 0.2 FROM LAST YEAR'S MEASURE.
SO WE'RE THAT CLOSE TO MEETING OUR FIVE YEAR GOAL.
SO, SO THAT WAS JUST A COMMENTARY TO SHARE.
SO IF WE CAN GO TO SLIDE 18, PLEASE.
SO THIS IS PROVIDING A QUICK SUMMARY ONCE AGAIN WHEN, FOR THE TABLES THAT YOU HAD PRIOR.
SO THE DISTRICT HELD A STUDY IN MATH.
AS WE SHARED WITH YOU, 64% OF THE STUDENTS SHOW MATH INCREASE.
EIGHT SCHOOLS SHOWN A 3% INCREASE OR MORE FOR MATH.
AGAIN, THAT IS A STATISTICAL, STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT.
TWO SCHOOLS SHOWING DOUBLE DIGIT INCREASE FOR MEETS EXCEEDS WITHIN MATH DISTRICT INCREASED WITHIN MATH FOR GRADES THREE AND FOUR 50% OF THE SCHOOLS DECREASED DOES NOT MEETS EXPECTATIONS, IN OTHER WORDS, AS DOES NOT MEETS, GOES DOWN, APPROACHES AND EXCEEDS AND APPROACHES AND MEETS AND EXCEEDS GOES UP.
THE FULCRUM ACTUALLY IS THE TEACHING, BUT WE'LL GO INTO THAT ANOTHER TIME.
69% OF THE STUDENTS ARE PROFICIENT APPROACHES, MEETS, OR EXCEEDS FOR MATH.
SO WE STILL HAVE GROWTH HERE TO MEET THAT GOAL OF 82% AT THE END OF THIS YEAR, SCIENCE IS 44.2 PROFICIENCY, 65.7% OF STUDENTS SCORED APPROACHES, MEETS AND EXCEEDS.
AGAIN, I SHARE THAT BECAUSE THAT APPROACHES IS STILL AN ACCOUNTABILITY POINT AREA.
SLIDE 19, YOU SEE THE INFORMATION BY SUBGROUPS.
AGAIN, THIS SLIDE INCLUDES OUR STUDENTS WHERE WE EARN ACCOUNTABILITY POINTS.
I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT THAT WE START THINKING THIS WAY AS A SYSTEM, BECAUSE EVERY POINT COUNTS TOWARDS ACHIEVEMENT.
SLIDE 20 TAKES YOU FOR MATH, 21 SHARES FOR SCIENCE.
THE ONE THING I THINK WE'VE DONE THAT THE STATE SLID A LITTLE QUICKER THAN US.
WE WERE ACTUALLY SHOWING THE GOOD OR OUR FLAT LINE AND AREAS OF IMPROVEMENT AT ONE TIME.
AND I, I WANTED TO SHARE THAT.
SO IF WE CAN GO THANK YOU AND HOLD THAT SLIDE A SECOND, MA'AM.
SO THIS IS THE VI VIDEO TO BUILD A LITTLE BIT ON OUR EXTENDED LEARNING.
IT IS PUT TOGETHER BY CHIEFS FOR CHANGE.
AND I WANNA JUST GIVE YOU A QUICK BACKGROUND.
CHIEFS FOR CHANGE REPRESENTS A CONSORTIUM, EDUCATIONAL LEADERS FROM THE NORTHEAST TO THE DEEP SOUTH, FROM THE MIDWEST TO THE WEST COAST THROUGH THE NON-CONTINUOUS US.
THE ORGANIZATION'S CORE VISION IS TO SERVE STUDENTS AND SCHOOLS AT HOW TO SERVE OUR LEARNING COMMUNITIES ACROSS THE NATION.
AS THE ORGANIZATION HEARD OF THE WORK OF B C S D EXTENDED LEARNING SITES, THEY REACHED OUT TO OUR SUPERINTENDENT, DR.
RODRIGUEZ, AND VISITED OUR PROGRAMS. I WANNA LEAVE YOU WITH A VIDEO THAT HIGHLIGHTS THE WORK BEING CONDUCTED AT OUR EXTENDED COMMUNITY SITES AND SHARE THAT THIS WORK HAS HA HAS HAD AN IMPACT AND WILL CONTINUE TO HAVE A POSITIVE IMPACT UPON OUR STUDENTS AND OUR COMMUNITY.
MY GRANDFATHER ALWAYS TOLD ME, EDUCATION IS THE ONE THING NOBODY CAN EVER TAKE AWAY FROM YOU.
THE MINDSET AT MOUNT CARMIE IS WE CAN DO ANYTHING WHEN IT INVOLVES OUR CHILDREN.
MY GRANDMA, MADDIE, WHATEVER IS CLOSEST TO OUR HEART, MOVES US.
YOU CAN'T DO IT ALONE AS A SCHOOL DISTRICT, YOU HAVE THEM FOR SEVEN
[03:05:01]
HOURS A DAY.WE ADD AN EXTRA TWO OR THREE HOURS WITH OUR EXTENDED LEARNING SITES THROUGH THESE ECUMENICAL PARTNERSHIPS.
I HAVE A RESPONSIBILITY TO THE COMMUNITY AND TO GOD TO BE INVOLVED.
IT'S LIKE SIMILAR TO SCHOOL, BUT IT'S JUST LIKE IN THE CHURCH.
WE HIRE RETIRED EDUCATORS, EIGHT LEGS FOR EACH SPIDER.
WE'RE COMING OUT OF THE PANDEMIC AND THE CHILDREN ARE BEHIND.
AND I THINK THIS WOULD HELP THEM TO UNDERSTAND CERTAIN SKILLS THAT MAYBE THEY DID NOT MASTER.
AND WHAT DID GRANDMA DO? WE LOOK VERY CLOSELY AT WHAT OUR DATA IS TELLING US, AND THEN WE PROVIDE THAT INFORMATION TO THE INDIVIDUAL SITES SO THEY CAN BE PURPOSEFUL WITH THE CHILDREN WHILE THEY HAVE THEM HERE.
WHAT WE'RE SEEING IS AN INCREASE IN PROFICIENCY.
WE'RE SEEING 12%, 15% IN LITERACY IN SCHOOLS THAT ARE IN AREAS WHERE THESE PROGRAMS ARE CLEARLY ESTABLISHED.
SO HOW MANY ALL TOGETHER? 18 AND OUR STUDENTS HAVE SCORED THE HIGHEST IN SCHOOL DISTRICT HISTORY ON THE STATE ASSESSMENT WORK IN MATH.
WE WERE HEAVILY IMPACTED BY THE PANDEMIC AS SCHOOLS ACROSS THE NATION WERE, AND WE'RE SEEING GROWTH IN MATH.
I AM DRIVEN TO TEARS BECAUSE IT REINFORCES MY BELIEF THAT OUR CHILDREN, OR AS INTELLIGENT AS ANY GROUP OF CHILDREN IN THIS NATION, I BELIEVE THAT WITH EVERYTHING THAT IS IN ME, I BELIEVE YOU NEVER UNDERESTIMATE WHAT A FEW COMMITTED PEOPLE WHO SHARE, UH, A PASSION FOR MAKING A DIFFERENCE IN KIDS' LIVES CAN DO.
I AM WITH YOU THAT WILL GO NATIONAL TOMORROW THROUGH CHEESE 14
THE WORK THAT IS DONE AND THE DEDICATION TO THE STUDENTS, EVERYBODY WANTS TO BE A, B AND A.
EVERYBODY WANTS TO HAVE A RIBBON.
WE KNOW WE STILL HAVE WORK TO DO, BUT I DO WANT YOU TO WALK AWAY WITH RECOGNIZING THAT WE ARE MOVING OUR STUDENTS.
I STOOD HERE IN 2020 TALKING ABOUT DIAGNOSTIC DATA IN 2021.
I WAS LIKE, OH MY GOD, HOW ARE WE GONNA DO THIS? AND KNOW I'M NOT WHERE I WANT US TO BE WHEN I LOOK BACK.
AND THAT'S WHY, YES, WE WILL SHARE DATA POINTS TO WHERE MR. SMITH PUT FORWARD.
IT IS COLLECTIVE IMPACT, AND IT IS THE WORK THAT WE DO TOGETHER.
UH, I'VE BEEN ASKED ON SEPTEMBER 21ST TO GO TO CAPITOL HILL AND TALK ABOUT THIS INITIATIVE AND THE IMPACT THAT IT'S HAVING, UH, IN TERMS OF, UH, STUDENTS AND, AND THE COMMUNITY.
UM, BECAUSE, UH, THERE'S AN, THERE'S A, UH, EFFORT THROUGH CHIEFS FOR CHANGE, UH, TO CONNECT WITH, UH, POLICYMAKERS AND LEGISLATORS AT THE, UH, NATIONAL LEVEL TO SUGGEST THE FUNDING THAT WAS PROVIDED TO SCHOOLS.
THERE ARE EXAMPLES OF EXCELLENCE THAT CAN BE REPLICATED, BUT THERE'S THAT FUNDING NEEDED TO KEEP THOSE KINDS OF THINGS GOING.
AND SO IT'S A, IT'S AN EFFORT TO HIGHLIGHT GREAT INITIATIVES AND GREAT PROGRAMS THAT THEY'VE FOUND ACROSS THE COUNTRY AND, UM, AND SHARE IT WITH POLICY MAKERS AND LEGISLATORS AT THE NATIONAL LEVEL.
UM, I, I'VE SPENT SOME TIME, EXCUSE ME, UH, WITH THE I S D GROUP, AND I'VE BEEN VERY IMPRESSED BY THE PASSION COMMITMENT THAT YOU AND YOUR TEAM HAVE TOWARDS THE KIDS.
I'VE ALSO BEEN VERY IMPRESSED BY, AS I GO FROM SCHOOLS, VARIOUS SCHOOLS, THE PASSION AND COMMITMENT OF THE EDUCATORS THEMSELVES.
I GUESS WHAT I'M NOT, I GUESS I AM SO ELATED ABOUT THIS CHIEFS FOR CHANGE BECAUSE I THINK THE REAL SWEET SPOT LEFT TO BE MAGNIFIED IS THE COMMUNITY'S IMPACT AND GETTING KIDS OUT OF THE STARTING BLOCKS VERY EARLY ON.
SO I THINK FROM A COMMUNITY PERSPECTIVE, ANYTHING THAT CAN BE DONE TO, TO SUPPORT THE SCHOOL DISTRICT IN CARRYING THAT MESSAGE EXTREMELY STRATEGICALLY IMPORTANT.
AND I KNOW THERE ARE A LOT OF PEOPLE OUT THERE
[03:10:01]
AS I HAD A CONVERSATION THIS MORNING WITH THE GENTLEMAN WHO'S A BUSINESS OWNER, AND HE WAS TALKING ABOUT THE CULTURE.AND I THINK IF WE LOOKED AT THE CULTURE, YOU SEE THAT THERE'S SOME OPPORTUNITY TO VIEW IN THOSE YOUNG KIDS WHAT IS POSSIBLE.
MS. BORAY, THIS IS WHERE I ASK QUESTIONS ABOUT THE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT PIECE.
SO I'VE LOVE THE, THE, UH, COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT PIECE.
MY FRUSTRATION WITH THE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT PIECE IS THAT IT IS, WE'RE NOT, UH, SCALING IT OUT INTO THE REST OF THE COUNTY.
I DON'T KNOW WHEN WE'RE GONNA START DOING THAT, BUT I KNOW I'M IN THE NONPROFIT AREA.
THERE ARE LOTS OF PEOPLE IN BLUFFTON, IN AN OKEE AND ON HILTON HEAD THAT WOULD LOVE TO PARTNER WITH THE SCHOOL DISTRICT, AND THEY LOVE TO OFFER THESE SAME THINGS, THESE SAME SMALL FAMILY, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE A LOT OF BIG NONPROFITS THAT, AND SO EVERYONE KNOWS I'M ON THE BOARD OF BOYS AND GIRLS CLUB.
THAT'S A BIG SUCCESSFUL PROGRAM.
BUT THESE SMALL, YOU KNOW, WHETHER THEY'RE FAITH-BASED OR IN A CHURCH OR IN A COMMUNITY CENTER, UM, I THINK COULD BE REALLY IMPACTFUL.
AND I THINK PEOPLE WOULD REALLY LIKE TO SEE THEM MOVING INTO OTHER AREAS.
I THINK WE CURRENTLY HAVE, UH, WELL, WELL WE, WE'VE GOT, UH, I THINK WE HAVE TWO ON HILTON HEAD.
AND YOU HAVE IN BLUFFTON AS WELL, RIGHT? YES, SIR.
COMPARED TO, I MEAN, THERE'S JUST, YES.
IN OTHER WORDS, IT'S A GREAT IDEA.
THE SECOND THING OF THIS, WITH THIS COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT, WHICH I LOVE BECAUSE I DO FEEL LIKE ONE OF THE BIGGEST THINGS FROM THE PANDEMIC WAS THAT THE COMMUNITY GOT SHUT OUT OF EDUCATION.
AND IT'S BEEN GOING ON FOR A WHILE BECAUSE I THINK THAT THE WHOLE, UH, SECURITY OF THE SCHOOL, WHEN YOU CALL YOUR KIDS' SCHOOL, YOU KNOW, YOU MIGHT AS WELL BE GOING TO PRISON.
YOU PUT YOUR THING UNDER LIKE THE LITTLE THING AND THEY TAKE YOUR PICTURE AND THEY LABEL, YOU KNOW, IT, IT, IT HAS KEPT THE COMMUNITY.
AND, AND I THINK WHAT I SENSE IS THAT THE COMMUNITY WOULD LOVE TO GET INVOLVED AND THEY'D LOVE TO ALL HANDS ON DECK AND THEY'D LOVE TO HELP, BUT THEY NEED A LITTLE BIT.
WE NEED TO GROW THIS MODEL OUT INTO THE REST OF THE COMMUNITY.
THE OTHER THING IS FOCUSING VERY MUCH ON YOUNG CHILDREN IS PHENOMENAL, OBVIOUSLY TO HAVE AN IMPACT ON THE SCORES.
BUT ONE AREA THAT I THINK IS SO UNDER, IT SEEMS LIKE ONCE KIDS GET TO HIGH SCHOOL, WE KIND OF FIGURE THEY'RE DONE.
THEY ARE WHO THEY'RE GONNA BE.
TEENAGERS NEED TO HAVE THAT SAME SENSE OF COMMUNITY.
THEY NEED TO KNOW THAT PEOPLE CARE ABOUT THEM AFTER SCHOOL.
AND IT MAY NOT BE AS FOCUSED ON THE ACADEMICS, BUT MAYBE MORE ON CIVICS.
AND SO, YOU KNOW, DIFFERENT THINGS THAT ARE, YOU KNOW, BECOMING CITIZEN OF THE COUNTY SO STRONGLY IN FAVOR AND THINK IT'S PHENOMENAL, REALLY LOOKING TO HEAR HOW WE'RE GONNA GROW IT INTO THESE OTHER AREAS.
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, IT'S, UH, ALMOST NINE 15 AND WE STILL HAVE, UH, MORE ACTIONS TO GO.
SO WE NEED A MOTION, UH, TO EXTEND OR TO POSTPONE UNTIL TOMORROW.
SO DO I HEAR A MOTION, MOTION TO EXTEND? I, AND I'LL SECOND THAT MOTION AND SECONDED BY MR. SMITH.
ANY DISCUSSION? YES, I'D LIKE TO DISCUSS? YES, GO AHEAD.
UM, I, I WOULD SAY THAT, UH, I MEAN I'VE, I'VE, I'VE MENTIONED, UH, THE LENGTH OF OUR MEETINGS BEFORE, UH, AND, UH, I'VE ALWAYS, UH, GOTTEN RETURN COMMENTS, UH, FROM OTHER BOARD MEMBERS.
UM, BUT I, I WOULD SAY THAT, UH, UM, AMONG OTHER THINGS, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, WE'RE ELECTED TO PRESENT, DEVELOP, VOTE ON POLICY IN A MANNER THAT REPRESENTS THE MAJORITY OF OUR CONSTITUENTS.
AND I AGREE WITH OUR FELLOW BOARD MEMBERS THAT THAT DOES NOT HAVE A TIME LIMIT.
I GET THAT IT TAKES AS LONG AS IT TAKES TO DO THESE THINGS.
HOWEVER, I WAS NOT ELECTED TO ATTEND UNNECESSARILY LONG MINUTES WHERE WE IGNORE OR PICK AND CHOOSE ROBERT'S RULES AND ORDERS, PROCEDURES THAT LENGTHEN OUR, OUR MEETINGS.
I WOULD SAY THAT I WAS NOT MAYBE ELECTED TO LISTEN TO BOARD MEMBERS WHO DON'T DO THE PRE-READS AND THEN ASK QUESTIONS OF OUR PRESENTERS WHERE THAT INFORMATION IS CLEARLY STATED IN THE PRE-READS.
SOMETIMES AS MANY AS FOUR DAYS IN ADVANCE.
I WOULD SAY THAT WE WERE NOT ELECTED TO, TO LISTEN TO PEOPLE THAT MAY BE LATE TO MEETINGS AND THEN ASK QUESTIONS, UH, FROM THE PRESENTERS OF INFORMATION THAT WAS PRESENTED WHEN THEY WEREN'T THERE AT THE MEETING.
I WOULD SAY WE WERE NOT ELECTED TO LISTEN TO PRESENTERS THAT READ WORD FOR WORD OFF OF THESE POWERPOINT PRESENTATIONS, AGAIN, THAT WERE PRESENTED OR LEFT FOR US TO READ FOUR DAYS AS MUCH IN ADVANCE.
AND I WOULD ALSO SAY THAT, UM, WE WERE NOT NECESSARILY ELECTED TO LISTEN TO, UM, COMMITTEE CHAIRS HAVE PRESENTERS PRESENT ALL THEIR MATERIAL TWICE, ONCE FOR THE COMMITTEE AND ONCE FOR THE FULL BOARD.
UH, SO I, I THINK WE ARE IN FACT WASTING, UH, A LOT OF OUR TIME.
AND, UH, I AM NOT GOING TO, FROM THIS POINT FORWARD, I'M NEVER GOING TO VOTE TO EXTEND OUR MEETINGS EVER AGAIN.
[03:15:01]
ANY OTHER DISCUSSION? MR. UH, UM, I WOULD, WOULD LIKE TO RESPOND TO MR. GENTLEMAN, MR. PARK, WHEN YOU ELECTED, GET ELECTED TO THE SCHOOL BOARD.A LOT OF FOLKS DON'T REALLY UNDERSTAND WHAT IT TAKES TO BE A SCHOOL BOARD MEMBER.
YOU KNOW? UM, I'M HERE BECAUSE I BELIEVE IN, IN, IN, IN, IN CHILDREN, YOU KNOW, AND HOW, HOWEVER LONG IT TAKES, I DON'T HAVE A PROBLEM WITH THAT, YOU KNOW? UM, AND I THINK THAT FOLKS, WHEN THEY RUN FOR THE SCHOOL BOARD, THEY SHOULD UNDERSTAND THAT THE PEOPLE THAT ELECT YOU, THAT'S WHAT THEY ELECT YOU TO DO.
AND I'LL SAY THAT I, UH, I DEFINITELY AGREE WITH WHAT MR. CAMPBELL JUST SAID.
UH, WITH MR. CAMPBELL BEING THE OLDEST PER THE OLDEST MAN, MAN HERE, AND HAVING, AND HAVING TO DRIVE, UH, STAYING THERE JUST AS FAR AS ANYONE ELSE, YOU KNOW, UM, THAT UNFORTUNATELY, YOU KNOW, UH, AND, AND JUST FOR INSTANCE, JUST IN, IN TERMS OF WHAT WAS JUST SAID, THIS PACKET RIGHT HERE THAT WE WERE JUST GIVEN, WE JUST GOT THIS INFORMATION.
WE, OUR MEETING TONIGHT CONSISTS OF A LOT OF OUR FUNCTIONS AS BOARD MEMBERS.
SO MAYBE SOME OF US JUST AIN'T CAUGHT TO BE A BOARD MEMBER.
SOMETIMES, YOU KNOW, BEING A A, A PARENT OR NOT BEING, UH, A BOARD MEMBER AND OTHER THINGS, SOMETIMES FOR SOME PEOPLE IT JUST DON'T WORK OUT UNFORTUNATELY.
YOU KNOW? BUT THIS IS WHAT WE SIGNED UP FOR AND THIS IS THE SACRIFICE WE MAKE, YOU KNOW, AND I'LL CONTINUE TO SAY THAT.
I MEAN, JUST, JUST AS AN EXAMPLE OF MAKING SACRIFICES.
HECK, I MISSED, I MISSED LA MAY LAST, MAY THIS LAST YEAR.
I MISSED MY, MISSED MY, MY NEPHEW GRADUATED FROM, GRADUATED FROM HIGH SCHOOL.
BUT THAT'S THE BLOOD, SWEAT, AND TEARS AND SACRIFICE THAT SOME OF US MAKE TO BE BOARD MEMBERS.
AND THAT'S WHAT WE SIGNED UP FOR.
BUT THANK, BUT THA BUT THANK YOU TOO FOR HEARING, FOR HEARING HOW YOU, HOW YOU, HOW YOU, UH, DEFINITELY FEEL AS OUR COLLEAGUE, BUT MOVING FORWARD, THAT'S, THAT, THAT'S STILL MY STANCE.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS, COMMENTS, MS. OUTRIGHT? I DON'T WANNA VEER TO THIS CONVERSATION RIGHT NOW, EXCEPT TO SAY THAT I AGREE WITH MR. NAN A LOT OF THOSE POINTS BECAUSE YES, WE'RE HERE FOR THE KIDS, BUT THERE IS A LOT OF DATA THAT'S THAT MEETINGS THAT GO OVER TWO HOURS, WHICH MOST SCHOOL BOARDS DO NOT DO.
IF YOU LOOK AROUND THE STATE, EFFECTIVE IS, IS A IMMEDIATE DROP IN EFFICACY.
SO I DON'T THINK NECESSARILY WE'RE BEING MORE EFFECTIVE, BUT I DON'T WANT TO GET IN.
BUT I ALSO POINT OUT TO MR. NAY, IF WE VOTE NO TO EXTEND THE MEETING, WE HAVE TO COME BACK TOMORROW.
UH, I JUST WANNA POINT THIS CRITICAL PART OUT TO OUR BOARD MEMBERS.
YOU KNOW, WE, WE ALL ASKED TO UNDERSTAND TOO, THAT SOME PEOPLE, AND, AND I'M NOT THROWING NO SAND, THIS IS HONEST, THIS IS HONEST TO GOD, SOME PEOPLE LEARN DIFFERENT THAN OTHERS.
WE, WE GET A PAIR AND WE, AND WE TALK ABOUT ALL THIS DATA TONIGHT AND ABOUT ALL THIS, ABOUT HOW ABOUT THE BEGINNING? THERE'S A REASON WHY THE DISTRICT GIVES A BEGINNING OF THE YEAR TESTING AND THE END OF THE YEAR TESTING.
SOMETIME IT MAY TAKE TWO OR THREE TIMES FOR YOU TO HEAR IT AND UNDERSTAND IT.
JUST TO GO BACK TO THE CONVERSATION WE WERE HAVING EARLIER, EARLIER, UH, TONIGHT, ABOUT THE, UH, SUPERINTENDENT'S EVALUATION.
SOMETIMES HOW YOU PERCEIVE THINGS, I MAY NOT, I MAY NOT UNDERSTAND IT BECAUSE THERE WAS A TIME OF NIGHT WHEN, WHEN, UH, THIS RIGHT HERE WHERE MRS. UM, MIDDLETON, MRS. MIDDLETON, MS. MIDDLETON BROKE SOMETHING DOWN TO ME.
SO THERE MAY BE TIMES WHERE SOME, WHERE SOME OF US LEARN DIFFERENT, AND SOMETIMES THEY MAY TAKE FOR A PERSON TO VISUALLY T UH, TAKE, UH, UH, TALK TO US AND TELL US SOMETHING.
TONIGHT IN EXECUTIVE SESSION, ONE BOARD MEMBER SAID, HEY, LOOK HERE.
I HA YOU GAVE, YOU GAVE ME THIS, YOU GAVE ME THIS, THIS DOCUMENT, BUT I NEED TO SEE IT DRAWN OUT.
SO TAKE THAT INTO, INTO CONSIDERATION WHEN YOU START SAYING THAT YOU WANT TO BE INTO ONE OR TWO HOUR BOARD MEETINGS.
AND FOR ME, I DO, I DEFINITELY LEARN IT AND LEARN, LEARN DIFFERENTLY.
I'D LIKE TO CALL THE QUESTION, LET'S CALL THE QUESTION, UH, MS. CARY, WILL YOU CALL THE ROLE PLEASE? ANGELA MIDDLETON? YES.
EARL CAMPBELL AND GRIP ALTRIGHT? YES.
RACHEL ESKI, I THINK SHE'S LEFT.
YOUR MIC'S NOT ON MS. GORDON IF YOU'RE SAYING SOMETHING.
UH, DO YOU HAVE ANYTHING FURTHER FROM I S D?
[03:20:01]
ALRIGHT, NEXT.UH, WE ARE IN THE BOARD BUSINESS ACTION AND A
I'VE GOT ONE FOR, I DO HAVE A QUESTION TO CONCERN THIS, UM, THIS, UH, PACKET RIGHT HERE.
IS THAT, IS IT? YEAH, GO AHEAD.
I S D YEAH, I'M ON THE, FORTUNATELY, YEAH.
UM, ALSO, AND, AND, AND WITH THE INFORMATION THAT YOU'VE GIVEN US, I I, I DO HOPE THAT THIS IS NOT GOING TO BE THE, UH, LAST TIME THAT WE GO OVER THIS, BECAUSE ALSO I WOULD LIKE TO UNDERSTAND, UH, THE SCHOOL RANKINGS, WHETHER THIS PUT US AT, IN TERMS OF OUR, OF OF OUR SCHOOLS.
AND, AND, AND, OKAY, BECAUSE, UH, I MEAN, THIS IS A LOT OF INFORMATION, A LOT OF INFORMATION TO DIGEST, UH, TO UNDERSTAND AND PROCESS IT.
AND THIS IS WHEN, THIS IS WHAT PEOPLE, PEOPLE ACTUALLY ASK ME IN THE, IN THE COMMUNITY.
I WOULD LIKE TO BE ABLE TO BE A GOOD, UH, A, A GOOD, A GOOD STEWARD OF, OF THE, UH, PEOPLE'S, UH, TRUST.
RODRIGUEZ, THAT INFORMATION WILL BE AVAILABLE ON OCTOBER.
SO IT'S THE PURVIEW OF THE BOARD.
I BELIEVE AT, AT THE MOMENT, THAT IS A STATE'S PLAN IS OCTOBER, SO YES, SIR.
BUT IN, IN TERMS OF OCTOBER, HOW WILL WE PROCEED TO GO BACK OVER THIS, BACK OVER SOME OF THIS INFORMATION THAT WE YEAH, YEAH.
SO BASICALLY OCTOBER IS WHAT?
SO NOW WHAT THE STATE DOES IS THE STATE WILL LOOK AT THAT AND, AND TRANSFER THAT INTO ACCOUNTABILITY TO THE RANKINGS.
AND, AND WHAT YOU'RE ASKING ABOUT, SO WHAT YOU'RE ASKING ABOUT REALLY ISN'T GONNA COME OUT UNTIL OCTOBER.
ALRIGHT, THE FIRST ITEM ON THE BOARD
[Board Business Action]
BUSINESS ACTION.SO, UM, I DON'T KNOW IF WELL, DR.
RODRIGUEZ A SEPARATE WAY, BUT LET ME GIVE SOME, SOME BACKGROUND INFORMATION.
OH, YOU WANNA TALK ABOUT
TALK ABOUT, UM, THE FIRST STEPS PARTNERSHIP BOARD.
ARE YOU AWARE WHO'S, WHO'S AWARE OF THAT? YEAH, SO FIRST STEPS, UH, PARTNERSHIP.
WE HAVE, UH, SOMEBODY THAT IS, HAS A SEAT AT THAT TABLE.
UM, ASHLEY HUTCHINSON HAS BEEN AT THAT TABLE AND, UH, COME ON.
UM, AND SO EVERY, WE HAVE TO, I, I HAVE TO SIGN THAT.
AND THEN I THINK IT COMES TO THE BOARD FOR APPROVAL, RIGHT? YES.
SO WE, UM, THE WAY IT'S BEEN IN THE PAST IS, IS THAT, UM, DR.
RODRIGUEZ APPOINTS SOMEONE FROM THE DISTRICT OR HIMSELF TO AS, AS A, A BOARD APPOINTED SEAT TO THE FIRST STEPS BOARD.
NOW THAT GOVERNOR MCMASTER HAS, UM, IDENTIFIED FIRST STEPS AS THEIR OWN ENTITY.
SO THEY'LL BE THEIR OWN 5 0 1 C THREE.
WE, WE HAVE TO GO THROUGH THIS PROCESS TO JUST SHOW THAT THE BOARD SCHOOL BOARD KNOWS WHO WILL BE SITTING ON THE FIRST STEPS BOARD.
WE STILL HAVE AN APPOINTED SEAT.
YOU JUST HAVE TO VOTE ON THE PERSON THAT YOU'RE OKAY.
YOU KNOW, WITH SITTING WHO IS GONNA SIT IN THAT SEAT.
SO, UM, SO VICE CHAIR, I MOVE THAT THE BOARD OF EDUCATION APPOINT REBECCA STIPEL, COORDINATOR OF EARLY CHILDHOOD AND PARENTING EDUCATION TO THE BEAUFORT COUNTY FIRST STEPS LOCAL PARTNERSHIP BOARD.
I THINK MS. GORDON, I HEARD MS. GORDON SAY SECOND.
NO, LET'S GO AHEAD AND HAVE HER BE THE SECOND PLEASE.
IS THERE ANY DISCUSSION ON THIS MOTION? HEARING NONE, MS. CUSHIER, WILL YOU CALL THE ROLL? ANGELA MIDDLETON? YES.
THE NEXT THING THAT WE'RE GOING TO, UM, VOTE ON IS THE ANNUAL BUS ROUTE.
SO WE HAVE SOME INFORMATION ABOUT THIS.
YOU, YOU'LL FIND IN YOUR PACKETS, UM, ARE INBOARD DOCKS.
UH, THE, THE ROUTES FOR THE START OF THE YEAR, THESE ARE REQUIRED BY THE STATE.
IN ORDER TO FIGURE OUT THE NUMBER OF BUSES EACH DISTRICT NEEDS, I HAVE TO THANK, UH, DR.
WENSKI FOR BRINGING THIS TO OUR ATTENTION BECAUSE WE HAVE NOT DONE THIS IN YEARS PAST, BUT THERE IS A REQUIREMENT THAT THE BOARD APPROVE THE BUS ROUTES.
SO WITH THAT, I'LL TAKE ANY QUESTIONS YOU MIGHT HAVE.
AND, UM, I BELIEVE, UH, THE DIRECTOR OF TRANSPORTATION, MS. MALEO O'BRIEN, IS ON THE LINE IF I CAN'T ANSWER 'EM.
SO ANY QUESTIONS ON BUS ROUTES? ARE THEY IN OPERAT? ARE THEY IN THE OPERATIONS COMMITTEE? OH, THEY'RE UP UNDER, ACTUALLY.
[03:25:03]
I MEAN, IT WAS, IT'S, IT WAS A NOTEBOOK.I MOVE THAT THE BOARD OF EDUCATION APPROVE THE TRANSPORTATION ROUTES.
ANY DISCUSSION? MS. CUSH BERRY, WE CALL THE ROLE PLEASE.
ONE OF OUR HIGH SCHOOLS RECEIVED A DONATION.
SO VICE CHAIR, I MOVE THAT THE BOARD OF EDUCATION ACCEPT THE DONATION FROM CHARTER ONE REALTY IN THE AMOUNT OF $5,000 TO BLUFFTON HIGH SCHOOL FOR CELEBRATING STAFF AND STUDENTS.
MRS. BOATRIGHT, ANY DISCUSSION, HEARING AND SEEING NONE.
MS. BERRY, WILL YOU CALL THE ROLE? UM, GIMME A SECOND.
COMPUTER DOESN'T LOOK QUITE AS FAST AS WE DO.
MS. MIDDLE, THE LAST THING IS OUR ANNUAL WORK PLAN.
IN YOUR FOLDERS, DO YOU HAVE A COPY OF THE ANNUAL WORK PLAN? AND I HAVE A, WE HAVE TO APPROVE THAT EVERY YEAR.
SO ARE THERE ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT THE ANNUAL WORK PLAN? YES.
I DIDN'T LOOK AT IT IN ADVANCE BECAUSE IT WASN'T IN OUR COMPUTERS AND SO I'M NOT GONNA VOTE YES ON IT JUST BECAUSE I MEAN, IT IS A PART OF WHAT WE DO AND I HAVEN'T HAD A CHANCE TO LOOK AT IT.
YOU WANNA MAKE A MOTION TO TABLE THAT TO NEXT MEETING? THE SAME FOR LAST YEAR.
I MEAN, IT'S THE SAME FOR LAST YEAR.
SO IT'S JUST A, 'CAUSE WE DIDN'T REALLY FOLLOW THE LAST YEAR PLAN EITHER, SO I GUESS IT YES, WE DID.
I THOUGHT WE CHANGED IT ON OUR MEETINGS.
WE, NO, THE ONLY THING, THE ONLY THING THAT WAS CHANGED IS, UH, TANYA CROSBY, BUT EVERYTHING ELSE WAS THE SAME FROM LAST YEAR.
AND YES, WE DID FOLLOW THE PLAN FROM LAST YEAR.
THE OTHER THING THAT WAS REMOTE WAS THE T S I PRIORITIES, BECAUSE WE NO LONGER HAVE TO DO THAT.
SO WE DID O E NINE CONSTRUCTION IN MAY, AND WE DID O E 12 INSTRUCTIONAL PROGRAM IN JULY.
AND WHEN ARE WE DOING THE O E FIVE FINANCIAL PLANNING, WHICH IS SUPPOSED TO BE IN THE SEPTEMBER, I GUESS.
I FEEL LIKE WE HAVEN'T SEEN OES IN A WHILE, BUT I HAVEN'T, I DIDN'T HAVE A CHANCE TO GO BACK AND CHECK.
SO THERE WE HAVEN'T BECAUSE THERE'S A, THERE'S A GAP IN THERE, UH, REGARDING OES.
AND, AND MAY, LET ME CLARIFY, MAY I CLARIFY? THERE IS A GAP DUE TO REPORTS COMING OUT.
THERE'S CERTAIN REPORTS THAT COME OUT DURING A CERTAIN TIME.
THAT IS WHY THE CALENDAR WAS ADJUSTED.
WHEN WE, UH, WE WENT THROUGH AN EXERCISE IN, UH, UH, GETTING THE OE APPROVED BY THE BOARD AND TIMING OF THINGS.
AND THE BOARD HAD MADE ADJUSTMENTS TO, UH, SOME OF THE DATES ON THOSE THINGS.
AND THEN WHEN IT CAME BACK TO STAFF, WE, WE CONNECTED IT TO THE CALENDAR OF WHEN CERTAIN THINGS ARE AVAILABLE.
UH, AND THEN WE HAD TO COME BACK AND REQUEST THAT, THAT IT GET ADJUSTED TO, TO A DIFFERENT CALENDAR FOR THAT REASON.
SO SOME OF THE ITEMS ON HERE ARE CERTAINLY SPECIFIC TO CERTAIN TIMES.
SO SIR, VICE CHAIR, I MOVE THAT THE BOARD OF EDUCATION APPROVE THE 2024 ANNUAL WORK PLAN.
MS. CUSH BARRY, WE CALL THE ROLE ANGELA MIDDLETON.
EARL CAMPBELL IN GROUP BOATRIGHT? NO.
[Consent Agenda]
IS ON THE CONSENT AGENDA.AND, UH, THE AGENDA SAYS THAT EACH SET OF MANY MEETING MINUTES WILL BE VOTED ON INDIVIDUALLY.
SO DO I HAVE A MOTION TO ACCEPT THE AUGUST 1ST, 2023 BOARD
[03:30:01]
MEETING.SEEING NONE, MS. KUSH? I'M CATCHING UP.
MAKE SURE WE'RE TRANSMITTING PLEASE.
CAN YOU HEAR US NOW, ELIZABETH? YES, IT'S BACK.
DO I HAVE A MOTION TO APPROVE THE AGENDA OF THE AUGUST 25TH, 2023 WORK SESSION MINUTES.
ANY DISCUSSION? READY? UM, HOLD ON.
CALL THE ROLL WHEN YOU'RE READY.
[Future Agenda Topics]
TOPICS.UM, TONIGHT, UH, WHEN WE WENT, WHEN WE, WHEN WE WENT OVER THE, UM, THE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT PLAN, I WAS LOOKING FOR THE, UH, THE, UH, THE, THE COST OF IT, UM, AND HOW MUCH IT ACTUALLY COST DISTRICT AS, AS IN A TOTAL, UH, ALL, ALL OVER, I MEAN AS A HOLD, UM, AND WITH WITHIN ITS ENTIRETY.
UH, SO I WAS, I'M STILL WAITING.
I'D STILL BE WAITING, WAITING FOR THAT.
AND, AND AS WELL AS ALSO I WOULD LIKE TO, UH, UH, TO, I WOULD LIKE TO UNDERSTAND HOW MUCH WE'RE PAYING IN LEGAL, IN LEGAL AND LEGAL REPRESENTATION FEES AS A DISTRICT, AS A WHOLE AS WELL.
UH, FINANCE COMMITTEE WILL PUT THAT, UH, AND BRING IT TO THE FULL BOARD.
ANY OTHER FUTURE AGENDA TOPICS? HEARING NONE ANNOUNCEMENTS.
DO WE HAVE ANY ANNOUNCEMENTS? HEARING NONE.
SECOND PUBLIC COMMENTS? WE DIDN'T GET.
ANY SECOND PUBLIC COMMENTS, UH, COME IN.
CORRECT? UH, SO THE NEXT ITEM OF A AGENDA IS ADJOURNMENT, UH, WITH, UH, UH, IS THERE ANY OBJECTION TO ADJOURNMENT? UH, BY UNANIMOUS CONSENT, WE ARE ADJOURNED.