[00:00:01]
CAPTIONING PROVIDED BY BEAUFORT COUNTY.[Call to Order]
GOOD EVENING AND WELCOME TO THE BEAUFORT COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION BUSINESS MEETING OF OCTOBER 3RD, 2023.THIS MEETING IS BEING CONDUCTED BY A HYBRID VIDEO CONFERENCING AND IS ALSO BEING LIVE STREAMED BY THE COUNTY CHANNEL IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE NEW SAFETY AND SECURITY GUIDELINES.
BAGS, BACKPACKS, AND PURSES ARE PROHIBITED BY THE PUBLIC AT THE BEAUFORT COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION MEETINGS.
PARTICIPATION WILL BE ACCEPTED BETWEEN FIVE AND FIVE 30 THIS EVENING BY SENDING AN EMAIL WITH YOUR NAME, PHONE NUMBER, AND TOPIC TO ROBIN.
AND THAT'S ROBIN WITH A Y CUSHING BERRY AT BUFORT K12 SC US.
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 IS LIMITED TO 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.
AND EACH SPEAKER MUST FILL OUT A PUBLIC COMMENT CARD.
PLEASE SEE THE BOARD CLERK FOR A CARD REQUEST FOR THE SECOND PUBLIC COMMENTS WILL BE ACCEPTED BETWEEN SEVEN AND SEVEN 30 THIS EVENING IN THE SAME MANNER, THE SECOND PUBLIC COMMENTS WILL TAKE PLACE PRIOR TO ADJOURNMENT, NO LATER THAN 9:00 PM.
SECOND FORM IS LIMITED TO 15 MINUTES.
IN THE EVENT THE BOARD IS NOT FINISHED ADDRESSING ALL ITEMS LISTED ON TONIGHT'S AGENDA, THE BOARD WILL RECONVENE TOMORROW NIGHT AT 6:00 PM TO FINISH THE AGENDA ITEMS, WE NOW NEED A MOTION TO GO INTO
[Executive Session]
EXECUTIVE SESSION AND PLEASE READ THE REASONS.I MOVE THAT THE BOARD AMEND THE AGENDA DUE TO EXIGENT CIRCUMSTANCES PURSUANT TO SOUTH CAROLINA CODE ANNOTATED SECTION 30 DASH FOUR DASH 80 A AND ADD THE FOLLOWING MATTER TO THE EXECUTIVE SESSION AGENDA, RECEIPT OF LEGAL ADVICE COVERED BY THE ATTORNEY-CLIENT PRIVILEGE CONCERNING A PENDING PENDING STATE ETHICS ACT COMPLAINT PURSUANT TO SOUTH CAROLINA CODE ANNOTATED SECTION 30 DASH FOUR DASH 70 A TWO, THE SEAT OF LEGAL ADVICE RELATED TO TWO SETTLED LEGAL CLAIMS AND TWO PENDING CASES COVERED BY THE ATTORNEY-CLIENT PRIVILEGE PUR PURSUANT TO SOUTH CAROLINA CODE ANNOTATED SECTION 30 DASH FOUR DASH 70 A TWO EMPLOYMENT MATTER PERSONNEL RATIFICATION REPORT PURSUANT TO SOUTH CAROLINA CODE ANNOTATED SECTION 30 DASH FOUR DASH 70 A ONE AND ADULT ED HOMESCHOOL REPORT PURSUANT TO SOUTH CAROLINA CODE ANNOTATED SECTION 30 DASH 40 DASH 40 A FOUR.
OKAY, THE MOTION WAS MADE BY, UH, SECRETARY MIDDLETON AND SECOND BY, UH, MR. EARL CAMPBELL.
ANY DISCUSSION? MR. SMITH, CAN YOU TELL US, UH, WHO WILL BE GIVEN THE LEGAL ADVICE ON THESE MATTERS? MS. CARTILAGE? UM, UH, MS. HEISER, MR. MATH? SO, ALL RIGHT.
SO, UM, I GUESS THE EASIEST THING TO DO IS, UH, UM, ROLL CALL.
SO WE'LL START, WE'LL, WE'LL GO THE OPPOSITE WAY THIS TONIGHT.
WE'LL START OVER HERE AND GO THIS WAY.
AND I'LL GO LAST FOR THE PEOPLE IN THE ROOM.
AND THEN WE'LL HAVE THE PEOPLE ONLINE, UH, SAY THEIR NAME OUT, GO IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER AND THEIR VOTE POINT OF LORD CHAIR.
UH, I THOUGHT WE WERE JUST DOING THAT FOR, FOR THAT ONE MEETING BECAUSE THERE WERE A LOT OF PEOPLE ONLINE.
IS THIS, WHAT'S THE PROCESS? IS THIS GONNA BE THE NEW PROCESS OF THE MEETING NOW? BECAUSE WE ONLY HAVE TWO PEOPLE VERSUS EVERYONE IS HERE? I THINK THAT THIS TAKES A A LOT TO DO.
ROLL CALL THE TIME THAT IT TAKES VERSUS EVERYONE SAYING I, OR, YOU KNOW, VERSUS, SO WHAT, FROM HERE, WHAT'S GONNA BE THE PROCESS? WELL, THIS IS WHAT I SUGGESTED FOR TONIGHT.
IT SEEMED LIKE A LOT OF THE BOARD MEMBERS LIKED IT.
AND YOU'RE PROLONGING THE MEETING RIGHT NOW BY QUESTIONING HOW WE'RE GONNA WELL, NO, I'M JUST TRYING TO GET A CLEAR UNDERSTANDING ON WHAT WILL BE THE PROCESS MOVING FORWARD OR WHAT'S THE PROCESS.
WE HAVE, UH, HAY AND WISNESKI.
AND SO THE MOTION CARRIES UNANIMOUSLY AND WE HAVE ONE PERSON ABSENT.
SO WE'LL GO INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION DOWN IN THE CONFERENCE ROOM.
[00:05:29]
DISASTER PLANNING CONSISTS OF THREE SIMPLE STEPS.MAKE A PLAN, BUILD A KIT, STAY INFORMED.
EVERY FAMILY SHOULD HAVE A PLAN FOR HOW THEY WILL COMMUNICATE DURING AN EMERGENCY AND WHERE THEY WILL MEET.
HAVING BASIC EMERGENCY SUPPLIES ON HAND WILL KEEP YOU ALIVE DURING THE DISASTER.
MONITOR LOCAL RADIO STATIONS FOR IMPORTANT INFORMATION AND UPDATES.
VISIT PCSO NET FOR MORE INFORMATION.
GOOD EVENING AND WELCOME TO THE BEAUFORT COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION BUSINESS MEETING OF OCTOBER 3RD, 2023.
THIS MEETING IS BEING CONDUCTED VIA HYBRID VIDEO CONFERENCING AND IS BEING LIVE STREAMED BY THE COUNTY CHANNEL.
THE BOARD WAS JUST AN EXECUTIVE
[Action as Necessary or Appropriate Regarding Matters Discussed in Executive Session]
SESSION.IS NOW BACK IN PUBLIC SESSION.
AND DO WE HAVE ANY ACTION AS NECESSARY OR APPROPRIATE REGARDING MATTERS DISCUSSED IN EXECUTIVE SESSION? MADAM SECRETARY? YES, MA'AM.
WE APPROVE THE SUPERINTENDENT'S RECOMMENDATIONS FOR EMPLOYMENT LISTED ON THE SEPTEMBER 1ST, 2023 THROUGH SEPTEMBER 30TH, 2023.
PERSONNEL RATIFICATION REPORT, MS. BOATRIGHT SECOND THE MOTION.
ANY DISCUSSION? ALRIGHT, UM, WE'RE DOING ROLL CALL AND MS. BOATRIGHT, YOU'RE FIRST PEOPLE IN THE ROOM GOING THIS WAY, MIDDLETON? AYE AND AYE.
MADAM CHAIR, MOVE THAT WE ACCEPT THE SUPERINTENDENT'S RECOMMENDATION FOR THE MONTHLY ADULT EDUCATION HOMESCHOOL REPORT FOR OCTOBER 3RD, 2023.
ALL RIGHT, MR. DALLAS, SECOND THE MOTION RIGHT? MIDDLETON AYE.
MOTION CARRIES UNANIMOUS PLEA.
MADAM CHAIR, THAT CONCLUDES ALL OF THE MOTIONS COMING OUT OF EXECUTIVE SESSION.
[Approval of Agenda]
HAVE, UH, APPROVAL OF THE AGENDA.DO WE HAVE A SECOND? OKAY, MS. BOATWRIGHT? I, WELL, I'LL WAIT TILL YOU SECOND.
WELL, DO YOU WANNA SECOND IT? NO, I'D LIKE TO, UM, MAKE A AMENDMENT THAT WE REMOVE.
NOW HERE, YOUR AMENDMENT, AND I CAN'T REMEMBER IF I JUST HAVE TO MAKE AN AMENDMENT TO THE MOTION, BUT I'D LIKE TO REMOVE O E FIVE OFF THE CONSENT AGENDA.
AND YOU CAN DO THAT ACTUALLY EVEN, UM, YEAH.
WITHOUT HAVING, UH, THE MOTION.
SO, UM, WE'LL MOVE THAT TO, UH, UNDER BOARD BUSINESS ACTION.
SO ALL THOSE IN FAVOR, WE'LL START WITH YOU AGAIN.
UM, THE O E FIVE TO THE BUSINESS ACTION.
[ Pledge of Allegiance, Moment of Silence, Statement of Media Notification]
HAVE THE, UM, P ALLEGIANCE, MOMENT OF SILENCE.THE MEDIA HAS BEEN PROPERLY NOTIFIED.
[Student Performance – Lady’s Island Elementary School & Battery Creek High School Band]
NEXT, WE HAVE OUR STUDENT PERFORMANCES.[00:10:03]
WE HAVE TWO PERFORMANCES TONIGHT.FIRST UP ARE THE LADIES ISLAND ELEMENTARY SINGING, OSPREYS PERFORMING I LOVE THE AUTUMN BY THERESA AND PAUL JENNINGS.
UNDER THE DIRECTION OF MUSIC TEACHER JOHN BITNER IS BEAUTIFUL.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR OUR SECOND PERFORMANCE.
THE BOARD ASKS, UH, THE AUDIENCE MEMBERS TO JOIN US.
WE'RE GOING TO THE COURTYARD BEHIND, UM, BEHIND US OUTSIDE FOR A SPECIAL PERFORMANCE BY THE BATTERY CREEK HIGH SCHOOL BRAND.
AND THEY'RE GOING TO BE PERFORMING PRETTY BROWN EYES.
AND BEFORE I LET GO AND BAND DIRECTOR RODERICK WILLIS WILL TELL US ABOUT AN EXCITING OPPORTUNITY FOR THE CREEK BAND.
[00:16:16]
JUST WANNA LET YOU KNOW WE'RE TRAVELING TO CHICAGO THIS THANKSGIVING, UM, AS, AS MY GRANDMA SAID SO FOR THE STUDENTS.UM, SO YOU DON'T, ANYTHING JUST,
[Points of Celebration]
[00:24:55]
ALRIGHT, WE HAVE TWO FINE, UM, STUDENT PERFORMANCES.WE'RE NOW TO THE POINTS OF CELEBRATION.
[00:25:01]
RODRIGUEZ.UH, WITH POINTS OF CELEBRATION, UH, WANNA SHARE WITH YOU THAT, UH, LAST MONTH, CUSA ELEMENTARY SCHOOL RECEIVED THE EXCELLENT NEWS THAT THEY ARE RECOGNIZED AS A 2023 NATIONAL BLUE RIBBON SCHOOL.
THE US DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION MADE THE ANNOUNCEMENT RECOGNIZING, UH, DESERVING 353 ELEMENTARY, MIDDLE, AND HIGH SCHOOLS ACROSS THE COUNTRY.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT, UH, WE HAVE A VIDEO, A VIDEO FOR YOU TO VIEW.
THIS EVENING BLUE THEME CELEBRATION.
COOS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL IS HAVING SOME FUN.
AFTER BEING NAMED A 2023 NATIONAL BLUE RIBBON SCHOOL BY THE US DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION, EDUCATORS DECORATED THE BUILDING AND ARE GIVING STUDENTS SOME TREATS TODAY.
WHEN THE STUDENTS ARRIVED, WE HAD BALLOONS AT THE BUS RIDER AREA AND RIBBONS AS WELL AS AT THE CAR RIDER AREA.
WE HAVE A HUGE DISPLAY OF CUPCAKES.
WE TOOK AN AERIAL PHOTO OF THE SCHOOL TO COMMEMORATE THIS MOMENT.
WHEN THE SCHOOL FOUND OUT THEY RECEIVED THE AWARD.
ADMINISTRATORS RECORDED THIS CELL PHONE VIDEO AS THEY RODE THROUGH THE HALLWAYS, ANNOUNCING IT TO, TO TEACHERS AND STUDENTS BEFORE PLAYING A RECORDED MESSAGE FROM THE STATE SUPERINTENDENT.
THE NATIONAL BLUE RIBBON IS A HIGHLY SELECTIVE AWARD.
IT RECOGNIZES SCHOOLS FOR OVERALL ACADEMIC PERFORMANCES AND PROGRESS IN CLOSING ACHIEVEMENT GAPS.
BACK WHEN COVID I D WAS A THING A FEW YEARS AGO, WE REALLY SAT DOWN AND REFINED OUR PRACTICES, LOOKED AT RESOURCES, FILLING IN THE EDUCATIONAL GAP OF OUR STUDENTS.
AND OVER THE LAST FOUR YEARS SINCE COVID, WE HAVE TRULY PUSHED FORWARD ACADEMICALLY IN OUR SUBJECT AREAS, WHICH I THINK IS A HUGE REASON WHY THE STATE DEPARTMENT NOMINATED US FOR THIS AWARD.
353 ELEMENTARY, MIDDLE, AND HIGH SCHOOLS ACROSS THE COUNTRY WERE RECOGNIZED FOR EARNING THE AWARD.
A SCHOOL'S NATIONAL BLUE RIBBON STATUS DOES NOT EXPIRE.
WE'RE SO EXCITED FOR CUSA ELEMENTARY SCHOOL BECAUSE BEING A NATIONAL BLUE RIBBON SCHOOL IS ONE OF THE MOST PRESTIGIOUS AWARDS THAT COULD BE BESTOWED UPON ANY SCHOOL ACROSS THE COUNTRY.
EARNING AN AWARD LIKE THIS DOESN'T COME BY ACCIDENT, BUT IT IS AS A RESULT OF THE HARD WORK AND THE DEDICATION OF THE TEACHERS, THE HARD WORK OF THE STUDENTS, THE COMMUNITY, THE FAMILIES, AND EVERYONE ASSOCIATED WITH COUSA ELEMENTARY SCHOOL.
CUSS ELEMENTARY IS PROUD OF ITS TEACHERS AND STUDENTS AND IS THANKFUL FOR ALL THE COMMUNITY SUPPORT THE SCHOOL RECEIVES.
WHEN WE FOUND OUT LAST WEEK THAT WE HAD ACHIEVED THE AWARD, IT REALLY VALIDATED ALL OF THE HARD WORK THAT THE TEACHERS AND THE STUDENTS AND THE STAFF MEMBERS PUT IN ON A DAILY BASIS, BUT ESPECIALLY OUR PARENT SUPPORT AS WELL AS THE COMMUNITY SUPPORT THAT PUSHES INTO OUR SCHOOL AND OUR STUDENTS OUTSIDE THE SCHOOL.
SO THIS IS A HUGE VALIDATION OF ALL OF THAT HARD WORK AND THE RELATIONSHIPS THAT WE'VE BUILT OVER THE LAST FEW YEARS.
THIS IS A THIRD TIME AT DISTRICT SCHOOL, HAS BEEN RECOGNIZED AS A NATIONAL BLUE RIBBON SCHOOL.
99 AT COOSE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL.
RON LOES, BEAUFORT COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT.
THE NATIONAL BLUE RIBBON IS A HIGHLY SELECTIVE AWARD THAT RECOGNIZES SCHOOL'S OVERALL ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE AND PROGRESS.
AND IN CLOSING, GAPS AMONG THE STATE'S HIGHEST PERFORMING SCHOOLS AS MEASURED BY STATE ASSESSMENTS OR NATIONALLY NORM TESTS.
NATIONAL BLUE RIBBON SCHOOLS SERVE AS MODELS OF EFFECTIVE AND INNOVATIVE SCHOOL PRACTICES FOR STATE AND DISTRICT EDUCATORS AND OTHER SCHOOLS THROUGHOUT THE NATION.
CONGRATULATIONS TO CUSA ELEMENTARY, PRINCIPAL, MRS. MELISSA PENDER AND THE ENTIRE CUSA ELEMENTARY STAFF, STUDENTS AND FAMILY FAMILIES FOR ACHIEVING THIS HONOR.
AND I KNOW THAT MS. PENDER IS BACK THERE.
I'M GONNA ASK YOU TO COME UP HERE PLEASE AND, UH, IF YOU JUST HANG OUT RIGHT HERE BY, BY THIS MICROPHONE FOR A MINUTE.
OUR, AS SHE'S COMING UP, I WANNA MOVE INTO OUR SECOND, UH, POINTS OF CELEBRATION, UH, THIS EVENING.
AND THAT IS THE DISTRICT TEACHER OF THE YEAR.
EACH YEAR A SELECTION COMMITTEE OF DISTRICT, STAFF, AND COMMUNITY MEMBERS HAS THE ARDUOUS TASK OF SELECTING THE DISTRICT TEACHER OF THE YEAR.
THE DISTRICT TEACHER OF THE YEAR REPRESENTS THE TALENTED HIGHLY QUALIFIED TEACHERS IN OUR DISTRICT.
BECOMING DISTRICT TEACHER OF THE YEAR IS A THREE STEP PROCESS THAT BEGINS WHEN SCHOOL LEVEL TEACHERS OF THE YEAR ARE SELECTED IN THE SPRING.
THOSE WISHING TO COMPETE FOR THE DISTRICT TEACHER OF THE YEAR SUBMIT DETAILED APPLICATIONS
[00:30:01]
BY THE END OF JULY.AFTER THAT, A SELECTION COMMITTEE CONSISTING OF PARENTS, FORMER EDUCATORS AND COMMUNITY LEADERS FROM ACROSS BEAUFORT COUNTY REVIEW THE APPLICATIONS AND RATE THEM USING A NUMERICAL SCORING SYSTEM.
THE FIVE HIGHEST SCORING APPLICANTS ARE NAMED AS FINALISTS IN THE LAST STEP AT THE DISTRICT LEVEL.
THE FINALISTS ARE INTERVIEWED BY A SEPARATE REVIEW COMMITTEE, AGAIN COMPOSED OF JUDGES FROM ACROSS THE COUNTY.
THE JUDGES SCORE CANDIDATES BASED ON HOW WELL THEY RESPOND TO QUESTIONS ABOUT THEIR TEACHING METHODS AND RECURRENT EDUCATION ISSUES.
AFTER THOSE INTERVIEWS, THE PANEL SELECTS THE DISTRICT TEACHER OF THE YEAR AND THAT PERSON REPRESENTS BEAUFORT COUNTY AND THE SOUTH CAROLINA STATE TEACHER OF THE YEAR PROGRAM.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT, WE HAVE THE SURPRISE ANNOUNCEMENT VIDEO FOR YOU TO REVIEW TONIGHT.
THE 20 23 24 DISTRICT TEACHER OF THE YEAR IS APRIL BRYANT CELEBRATING THE BEAUFORT COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT'S TEACHER OF THE YEAR COS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL'S.
APRIL BRYANT RECEIVED A STANDING OVATION AS SHE WAS ANNOUNCED AS A 20 23, 20 24 DISTRICT TEACHER OF THE YEAR DURING A CEREMONY ON HILTON AND ISLAND.
I AM AMONG SOME OF THE MOST PHENOMENAL TEACHERS I HAVE SEEN IN MY LIFE, IN MY CAREER, AND I WAS VERY, VERY SHOCKED THAT THEY CALLED MY NAME.
BUT FEELING BEYOND BLESSED THAT IT WAS ME BECAUSE I JUST, IT'S SUCH A BEAUTIFUL PLATFORM TO REPRESENT BEAUFORT COUNTY SCHOOLS.
THE FIFTH GRADE TEACHER IS EXCITED FOR THE HONOR AND IS VERY THANKFUL FOR EVERYONE WHO HAS HELPED HER BECOME THE TEACHER SHE IS TODAY.
YOU KNOW, I THINK TO ONE OF MY FAVORITE SAYINGS, THE HARD WORK PAYS OFF, YOU KNOW, DEDICATION AND NOT JUST THE DEDICATION THAT I HAVE BECAUSE I DID NOT JUST SWIM THE AWARDS.
IT WAS THE PEOPLE THAT SUPPORTED ME, THAT GUIDED ME, THAT TAUGHT ME HOW TO BE THE TEACHER I AM TODAY THAT SHARE THIS HONOR WITH ME.
IT JUST MEANS THAT I HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO SHARE MY ENERGY AND MY ENTHUSIASM FOR EDUCATION WITH A LARGER AUDIENCE NOW, WHICH I'M VERY EXCITED ABOUT.
'CAUSE I LOVE WHAT I DO AND I LOVE TO SHARE MY IDEAS WITH OTHERS AND I LOVE TO LEARN FROM OTHERS AS WELL.
SO TOGETHER, I THINK WE'RE GONNA HAVE A PRETTY AMAZING YEAR.
MRS. BRYANT LOVES BEING IN THE CLASSROOM AND HELPING HER STUDENTS AS THEY LEARN.
YOU KNOW, ON YOUR WORST DAY YOU CAN GO INTO A ROOM FILLED WITH CHILDREN.
I THINK IT'S JUST SO SPIRITUALLY UPLIFTING.
YOU KNOW, WE EACH COME FROM DIFFERENT BACKGROUNDS, DIFFERENT PLACES, BUT TOGETHER, YOU KNOW, WE, WE FORM AND GROW TOGETHER AS A COMMUNITY OF LEARNERS AND A FAMILY.
AND EACH YEAR THAT'S WHAT I LOOK FORWARD TO EVERY SINGLE DAY IS GOING INTO MY CLASSROOM, MY FAMILY, MY WORLD WITH MY KIDS.
AND I SHOULDN'T JUST SAY MY, IT'S OUR WORLD WITH THE KIDS, BUT IT'S JUST SUCH A SPECIAL COMPONENT OF BEING A TEACHER.
MRS. BRYANT'S PRINCIPAL ISN'T SURPRISED SHE WAS NAMED TEACHER OF THE YEAR.
MRS. BRIAN IS AN INDIVIDUAL THAT WAS BORN TO BE IN THIS PROFESSION.
SHE CONSISTENTLY SHARES HER CRAFT WITH OTHER TEACHERS.
HER CLASSROOM SERVES AS A MODEL FOR OTHERS IN OUR DISTRICT.
WE ARE SO HAPPY THAT SHE'S BEEN RECOGNIZED WITH THIS HONOR TODAY.
DURING THE CEREMONY, EVERY SCHOOL'S 20 23 20 24 TEACHER OF THE YEAR WAS RECOGNIZED ON HILTON ISLAND, WELLS HUBER COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT.
IT'S MY PLEASURE TO INTRODUCE TO YOU TONIGHT OUR 2324 DISTRICT TEACHER OF THE YEAR, MS. APRIL BRYANT FROM CUSA ELEMENTARY SCHOOL.
AND AS SHE COMES UP HERE, AS SHE COMES UP, I WANNA GIVE HER, UH, A FEW MOMENTS TO SAY A FEW WORDS.
AND THEN I'M GONNA ASK MS. PENDER TO CLOSE US OUT WITH, UH, COMMENTARY ON OUR TEACHER OF THE YEAR AND THE NATIONAL BLUE RIBBON.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THIS HONOR.
I'M VERY EXCITED TO HAVE THIS RECOGNITION AND VERY EAGER TO START WORKING WITH THE OTHER TEACHERS ACROSS THE COUNTY SO WE CAN REALLY UNITE AND COME UP WITH SOME PHENOMENAL IDEAS TO SUPPORT PEOPLE, COUNTY STUDENTS THROUGHOUT THIS YEAR AND INTO THE FUTURE.
AND IF YOU WONDER IF THAT'S FOR LEVEL OF ENTHUSIASM, THAT'S HER LEVEL OF ENTHUSIASM EVERY SINGLE DAY WHEN SHE WALKS IN.
UM, THAT WAS NOT AN EXAGGERATION IN THE VIDEO.
SHE WALKS IN EVERY SINGLE DAY READY TO SERVE KIDS AND IT'S NEVER ENOUGH.
IT'S ALWAYS, WHAT CAN I DO MORE? WHAT CAN I DO BETTER? HOW CAN I SHARE MY CRAFT? SHE STAYS AFTER SCHOOL TUTORING FOR FREE FOR OUR KIDS.
ANYBODY THAT WANTS TO STAY, SHE'S CONSTANTLY LOOKING FOR CLASSES THAT SHE CAN TAKE.
TRAINING CAME OUT, YOU KNOW, THAT'S FOR K THROUGH THREE.
AND SHE SAID, CAN I TAKE IT TOO? 'CAUSE SOMEBODY IN MY FIFTH GRADE CLASS IS GONNA NEED IT.
UM, SHE TRULY WAS BORN FOR THIS PROFESSION AND, UH, WE'RE GLAD WE HAVE HER.
[00:35:01]
ANYWHERE.UH, WE WERE, UM, I'M GONNA DO A LITTLE FUNNY ABOUT THIS.
I RECEIVED AN EMAIL FROM THE STATE DEPARTMENT AND UM, AND IT SAID, YOU'VE BEEN NOMINATED OF ONE OF FIVE SCHOOLS IN THE STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA.
AND, UM, YOU KNOW, FILL OUT THIS AND TURN IN YOUR APPLICATION.
AND I THREW IT TO THE JUNK BECAUSE I THOUGHT IT WAS FAKE AND SOMEONE WAS TRYING TO GET ME TO OPEN IT UP AND GET IN TROUBLE FOR OPENING UP A LINK OUT.
'CAUSE I THOUGHT ONE OF FIVE, I MEAN, HOW'S IT EVEN POSSIBLE? RIGHT? SO THEN A COUPLE DAYS LATER I WAS LIKE, MAYBE I NEED TO GO BACK AND LOOK AT THAT EMAIL TO MAKE SURE, WAS THAT REALLY FAKE? 'CAUSE THERE IS A NATIONAL BLUE RIBBON AWARD.
UM, SO THEN I CALLED THE STATE DEPARTMENT AND SAID, I RECEIVED THIS EMAIL AND YOU'RE AT THE BOTTOM OF IT.
IS THIS REALLY REAL? AND THEY SAID, THIS WAS REAL.
WE FILLED OUT THE APPLICATION AND, UM, SO WE'RE, WE'RE QUITE HAPPY ABOUT IT.
THAT CONCLUDES OUR POINTS OF CELEBRATION.
[First Public Comments]
NEXT WE HAVE FIRST PUBLIC COMMENTS AND, UM, THE BOARD HAS DIRECTED ME TO READ THIS, UM, STATEMENT AT THE BEGINNING OF THE SESSION.WHEREAS IN ORDER TO BETTER ENSURE THE SAFETY, SECURITY, AND GOOD ORDER OF ITS SCHOOL BOARD MEETINGS AND ALLOW ALL CITIZENS OF FAIR OPPORTUNITY TO PARTICIPATE IN PUBLIC COMMENT, BEAUFORT COUNTY SCHOOL'S BOARD GOVERNANCE POLICY GC 2 23 4, ADHERENCE TO PUBLIC PARTICIPATION.
PARAGRAPH B STATES THAT QUOTE, SHOULD A PARTICIPANT FAIL TO ABIDE BY THE REASONABLE DIRECTIVES OF THE BOARDS OR COMMITTEES PRESIDING OFFICER, THE BOARD OR COMMITTEE MAY PROHIBIT THE OFFENDING SPEAKER FROM PARTICIPATING IN FUTURE PUBLIC COMMENT SESSIONS FOR A PERIOD NOT TO EXCEED SIX MONTHS, UNQUOTE.
SO WE HAVE SEVERAL PEOPLE WHO WILL BE COMMENTING, UM, IN PERSON TONIGHT.
YOU WON'T FIND YOURSELF TRAPPED IN THE FRUSTRATING SOMEWHERE BETWEEN THE NEXT SIX HOURS ROUTINE.
AND THEN WE WILL, UM, TAKE THOSE THAT ARE GONNA, UM, UH, PARTICIPATE REMOTELY.
SO WE ASK, UH, THAT YOU, UM, COME TO THE, THE TABLE AND CHAIR THAT'S, UH, UH, IN THE MI IN THE AISLE THERE BY THE AUDIENCE, UH, SEATING AND SPEAKING TO THE MICROPHONE.
YOU HAVE THREE MINUTES AND THERE'LL BE A, A VISIBLE AND AUDIBLE TIMER AND YOU MAY NOT, UH, YIELD YOUR TIME TO SOMEONE ELSE.
AND I'LL INTRODUCE EVERYBODY AND WHAT THEIR TOPIC IS ON THEIR CARD.
SO FIRST UP WE HAVE ROBIN LIEBENBERG AND SHE'LL BE SPEAKING ABOUT SCHOOL LIBRARY POLICY.
GOOD EVENING TONIGHT AS A FAB MEMBER.
I'M SPEAKING ON BEHALF OF THE GROUP.
THIS WEEK IS BANNED BOOK WEEK, A CELEBRATION OF INTELLECTUAL FREEDOM AND THE RIGHT TO READ THAT HAS BEEN HOSTED BY THE AMERICAN LIBRARY ASSOCIATION SINCE 1982.
WE HAVE NOTICED WITH CONCERN OUR STATE SUPERINTENDENT ELLEN WEAVERS, MOVED TWO WEEKS AGO TO CUT TIES WITH THE SOUTH CAROLINA ASSOCIATION OF SCHOOL LIBRARIANS BECAUSE IT LACKS DISCERNMENT CONCERNING PARENTS' EFFORTS TO CHALLENGE LIBRARY BOOKS.
THIS INDICATES EVEN OUR STATE EDUCATION LEADER KNOWS NOTHING ABOUT THE RIGOROUS REVIEW PROCESS.
BOOKS UNDERGO TO LAND ON OUR SHELVES IN THE FIRST PLACE, NOR THE PROTOCOLS IN PLACE FOR PARENTS TO OBJECT.
WE HAVE SEEN A DRAMATIC INCREASE IN ATTEMPTS AT CENSORSHIP BOTH NATIONALLY AND LOCALLY IN THE PAST TWO YEARS.
AN INVESTIGATIVE REPORT FROM THE WASHINGTON POST INDICATES THAT 11 PEOPLE 11 ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR 60% OF THE RECORD.
2,571 CHALLENGES TO UNIQUE TITLES NATIONWIDE IN 2022 AS A COMPARISON, JUST FIVE YEARS AGO, THERE WERE ONLY 262 UNIQUE TITLES CHALLENGED.
AND FOUR YEARS AGO, JUST 190, WE NEED TO BE ASKING WHAT HAPPENED IN OUR PARTICULAR CASE.
THERE ARE TWO PEOPLE FERMENTING CENSORSHIP IN OUR COMMUNITY OF 190,000.
RESEARCH FROM EVERY LIBRARY.ORG
[00:40:02]
INDICATES THAT 72% OF PARENTS DO NOT AGREE WITH LIMITING THE RIGHT TO READ IN OUR SCHOOLS.DO NOT BE SWAYED BY THE HOSTILE AND DIVISIVE RHETORIC FROM THIS MINUTE MINORITY.
COULD YOU PLEASE STAND IS HERE TONIGHT TO REMIND YOU THAT THIS SMALL GROUP DOES NOT REPRESENT THE WHOLE OF BEAUFORT COUNTY JUST THEMSELVES.
AND WHEN THESE TWO PEOPLE HAND YOU THE NEXT LIST OF 97 BOOKS AND IT IS COMING, WE ARE HOPING YOU REQUIRE THEY FOLLOW THE ESTABLISHED PROCEDURES YOU IGNORED LAST YEAR.
SO WE CAN AVOID WASTING PRECIOUS TAX DOLLARS AND BE BEAUFORT COUNTY PERSONNEL'S PRIVATE TIME UNPAID ON THEIR ROGUE AGENDA TO THE EIGHT BOARD MEMBERS WHO CONTINUALLY VOTE TO UPHOLD THE REVIEW COMMITTEE'S DECISIONS.
THANK YOU FOR UPHOLDING INTELLECTUAL FREEDOM AND THE RIGHT OF ALL STUDENTS TO SEE THEMSELVES REFLECTED IN THE BOOKS AVAILABLE IN BEAUFORT COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT LIBRARIES.
NEXT WE HAVE MIKE T HIS TOPIC IS THE BOOK REVIEW AND PROCESS WITHIN DR.
ASIDE FROM THREE OF YOU, THE COMMUNITY HAS LOST FAITH AND TRUST IN YOU SERVING THE GOOD OF THE COMMUNITY, SERVING UNSTABLE AND POLITICALLY MOTIVATED.
I'M SPEAKING POLITICALLY MOTIVATING FOR THE ACCEPTANCE OF ALL NINE, SEVEN BOOKS.
THE OTHER COMPLAINANT AND I PUT FORTH BACK ON SEPTEMBER, OCTOBER, 2022, UH, SAY POLITICAL
SHE'S OVER THE COURSE OF THIS EXERCISE AS THEY WERE WITH US, REQUESTING THEM TO BE SHOWN UNTIL FURTHER INSPECTION.
ANYWAY, I ISSUED STUDY THE SOUTH CAROLINA ATTORNEY'S GENERAL OPINION OF SEPTEMBER, 1999 TO OUR HOUSE REPRESENTING STYLES OF DUE WEST SOUTH CAROLINA.
I OWE YOU TO READ WHERE THE PRESIDING JUSTICE SAID IN I QUOTE, A NU SENSE MAY THE RIGHT THING IN THE RIGHT PLACE LIKE A PIG IN INSTEAD ARD.
THE CLAIM WE HAVE MADE IS THAT THESE BOOKS IN QUESTION ARE
REMEMBER THAT LEGAL ATION OWN SOUTH CAROLINA, THE FIRST AMENDMENT AGAINST CITIZENSHIP CENSORSHIP OF THE PUBLIC SCHOOL LIBRARY DOES NOT REMOVE FROM THE INDECENT OR OFFENSIVE MATERIAL FROM THE SCHOOL LIBRARY.
IF THE MOTIVATION OF SCHOOL OFFICIALS IS NOT TO UFF TO REMOVE A BOOK OR WHICH IS DOWN EDUCATIONALLY UNSUITABLE IS CONSTITUTIONALLY VALID.
SCHOOL OFFICIALS PROTECT SCHOOL CHILDREN, SCHOOL CHILDREN FROM THE DECENCY IN SOUTH.
AGAIN, SCHOOL OFFICIALS HAVE
SOMETHING TOO YOU'RE GONNA TALK ABOUT TONIGHT IF, IF IT REPEATS ITSELF, ALBEIT VERY QUICKLY, NICKNAME OR ATWOOD COMMITTEE AND RECOMMENDED PUTTING IT BACK ON THE SCHOOL LIBRARY SHOWS THIS IS A STORY OF A YOUNG MAN DESTROY THE BEST FRIEND'S GIRLFRIEND FOUND ON THE CHILD PORNOGRAPHY WEBSITE FROM THE BOOK, AFTER A FEW MINUTES OF VISITATION, THE CHILDREN SQUAT DOWN IN A WHOLE CIRCLE.
IT'S DISCOURAGING HOW GOOD EVERYONE GETS WITHOUT MIRRORS.
STILL, THEY'RE AMAZINGLY ATTRACTIVE.
THESE CHILDREN, EACH ONE NAKED.
CHOCOLATE ROSE TEA BUTTER CREAM.
SO ONE OF THE BOARD MEMBERS PARTICIPATING REMOTELY SAID THAT IF YOU GET YOUR MOUTH TOO CLOSE TO THE MICROPHONE, IT'S THERE.
SO, UM, IF YOU'RE HAVE THE MIC CLOSE TO YOUR MOUTH, BUT DON'T ALSO SPEAK VERY LOUDLY, IT WILL, UM, BRING UP YOUR VOICE.
[00:45:01]
WE HAVE I IVY ZALI AND HER TOPIC IS DAMSEL.TONIGHT I'M GOING TO READ THREE REVIEWS FROM DAMSEL FROM AMAZON.
THIS BOOK WAS VOTED TO GO BACK INTO THE LIBRARY CIRCULATION WITH NO RESTRICTIONS FROM A COOPER.
THIS IS NOT Y A MEANING YOUNG ADULT READ, READ BEFORE PURCHASING.
I WAS SENT A FINISHED COPY FROM A PUBLICIST IN EXCHANGE FOR A FREE AND HONEST REVIEW.
THIS BOOK IS NOT FOR TEEN READERS AT ALL, AND THIS SHOULD NOT BE LABELED AS YOUNG ADULT.
THIS BOOK HAS GRAPHIC DEPICTIONS OF RAPE, SEXUAL ASSAULT, BUTTS OF KILLING AND ANIMAL BESTIALITY, SEXUAL VIOLENCE AND STRONG LANGUAGE OF BOTH PROFANITY AND DESCRIBING HUMAN ANATOMY.
THIS ISN'T RECOMMENDED FOR SENSITIVE READERS AND ANY TEEN UNDER 18 DUE THE TO THE DISTURBING CONTENT, KATIE SAYS, THIS BOOK SHOULD NOT BE MARKETED FOR KIDS REVIEWED IN THE LET'S LET ME START BY SAYING THAT I ABSOLUTELY NO IDEA WHY THIS BOOK WOULD BE MARKETED TO CHILDREN.
IT DEALS WITH SEXUAL ASSAULT, WHICH I KNOW CAN HAPPEN TO CHILDREN, BUT IT INCLUDES SEXUAL EXPLICIT SEXUAL DESCRIPTIONS AND SEXUALLY DEVIANT ACTS THAT DO NOT BELONG IN KIDS' BOOKS.
ZIN REYNOLDS STATES NOT 14 AUDIENCE.
I WILL BEGIN BY ADMITTING I ONLY MADE IT HALFWAY THROUGH THIS NOVEL BEFORE STOPPING AND DISCUSSED.
I LITERALLY COULDN'T STOMACH IT.
THE FURTHER I READ, THE MORE NAUSEATED I BECAME AS A HIGH SCHOOL TEACHER.
I READ A LOT OF YOUNG ADULT FICTION AND I'M NOT USUALLY SQUEAMISH ABOUT SEX AND VIOLENCE.
HOWEVER, THIS NOVEL COMBINED SEX VIOLENCE AND THE POWERLESSNESS OF WOMEN WAS INCREDIBLY UPSETTING.
THE BIG REVEAL WAS OBVIOUS EARLY ON AND INNOVATIVE, BUT NOT, DID NOT MAKE UP FOR WATCHING A HELPLESS YOUNG WOMAN BY CONTINUOUSLY THOROUGHLY ABUSED AND TERRORIZED.
AND I'LL READ A PASSAGE FROM THE BOOK AM SOUL.
HE DID NOT WAIT FOR AN ANSWER.
AND STILL HE DID NOT FREE EMMA'S HANDS HOLDING THEM BOTH IN ONE OF HIS, HE MANAGED TO TWIST FREE THE BUTTONS OF HIS TROUSERS AND THEN HE GUIDED AM'S FINGERS TO THE SHAFT OF HIM A NOISE LIKE A HISS ESCAPE FROM EMERY AS HE USED HIS HANDS TO WRAP AM'S FINGERS AROUND HIS YARD.
IT WAS HOT AND HARD WITH A DUET TIP AT ITS DUET DRIP AT ITS TIP AND REMOVED AM'S HANDS WITH HIS GRIP UP AND DOWN, UP AND DOWN SLOWLY AT FIRST AND THEN FASTER UNTIL WITH A GRUNT AND A GROAN AND A SPASM SO TIGHT THAT THE KNUCKLES ON AM'S FINGERS CRACKED A JET OF WARMTH SPILLED OUT OF HIM AND TRICKLED DOWN AM'S HANDS STILL ENCASED IN EMORY'S A MOMENT PASSED DURING WHICH THE ONLY SOUND WERE EMORY'S LABORED, GASP, AND THEIR INTERMITTENT SQUEAKING OF CARRIAGE WHEELS.
WHEN EMERY'S BET BREATH HAD QUIVERED, HE CLEARED HIS THROAT AND RELEASED EMMA'S HAND, WHICH WERE STILL WRAPPED AROUND THE, THE KING'S YARD.
AND I'M GONNA RUN OUT OF TIME.
THANK YOU FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO ADDRESS THE BOARD.
I AM PATRICK GOODE, PRESIDENT OF BEFORD ACADEMY'S CHAPTER OF DA DELO DIVERSITY AWARENESS YOUTH LITERACY ORGANIZATION ON BEHALF OF DELO, I WANT TO THANK THE BOARD FOR CONTINUING TO SUPPORT THESE BOOKS AND UPHOLDING THE BOOK FROM YOU, REVIEW COMMITTEE DECISIONS.
I SINCERELY HOPE YOU WILL DO THAT TONIGHT AS WELL.
THIS WEEKEND I HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO INTERVIEW, INTERVIEW 17 YEAR OLD SIDNEY KEYS II, FOUNDER OF BOOKS AND BROS.
A NATIONAL ORGANIZATION FOR A NATIONAL BOOK CLUB, WHICH PROVIDES BOOKS TO YOUNG BLACK BOYS IN WHICH THEY CAN SEE THEMSELVES REPRESENTED.
SIDNEY STARTED BOOKS AND BROS AT THE AGE OF 10 WHEN HE WAS FIRST TAKEN INTO A BOOKS BOOKSTORE THAT SPECIALIZED IN AFRICAN AMERICAN LITERATURE.
HE RECENTLY PUBLISHED HIS OWN BOOK, WHICH INCLUDES A RECOMMENDATION, LEADING RE READING LIST OF BOOKS AND BRO SELECTIONS.
WHEN READING THROUGH THAT LIST, I FOUND MANY OF THOSE BOOKS HAD BEEN BANNED NATIONWIDE AND SOME RECOMMENDED IN OUR COUNTY.
BUT BECAUSE THEY WERE EDUCATION AND EMPOWERING FOR YOUNG PEOPLE OF COLOR, AND WE HAVE TO WONDER IF IN AN, IN IN FACT THE REASONS THEY HAVE BEEN BANNED.
IF ONLY PEOPLE WHO TRY TO BAN THESE BOOKS WOULD ACTUALLY READ THEM WITH AN OPEN MIND AND AN OPEN HEART, PERHAPS THEY TOO WOULD SEE WHAT DELO ALREADY KNOWS TO BE TRUE.
[00:50:02]
THESE BOOKS ON DIVERSE VIEWPOINTS AND DIFFICULT SUBJECTS HAVE THE POWER TO INSPIRE, UPLIFT, ENCOURAGE, AND UNITE.THEY BRING PEOPLE TOGETHER AND MAKE US MORE UNDERSTANDING AS INDIVIDUALS AND AS A COMMUNITY.
I HOPE YOU WILL THINK ABOUT THAT AS YOU VOTE ON UPHOLDING THE BOOK REVIEW COMMITTEE DECISIONS ONCE MORE.
THANK YOU AGAIN FOR YOUR RECENT VOTES AND HOPEFULLY YOUR VOTES TONIGHT.
NEXT WE HAVE SUSAN BOYD TOPIC BOOK BAN POLICY GOING FORWARD.
I'M SUSAN BOYD AND I LIVE IN CITY OF BEAUFORT.
THANK YOU FOR ENTERTAINING MY QUESTION, WHICH IS, WHAT IS THE SCHOOL'S DISTRICT'S POLICY GOING FORWARD? SHOULD THERE BE ANOTHER LIST OF BOOKS PRESENTED FOR REMOVAL? IS THE BOARD GOING TO FOLLOW ESTABLISHED POLICY? UM, THAT IS OBJECTIONS NEED TO BE IN WRITING AND ANY OBJECTION HAS TO BE SPECIFIC AND PRESENTED IN PERSON.
CAN THE SCHOOL BOARD ANSWER WHAT WE'RE GOING TO DO ABOUT THE NEXT LIST OF BOOKS? THANK YOU.
WE'LL NOW GO TO THE, THE, UM, COMMENTERS BY PHONE YOU FOR PUBLIC COMMENTS.
YOU'LL HAVE THREE MINUTES IF YOU WOULD STATE YOUR FIRST AND LAST NAME AND YOUR TOPIC.
I'M GOING TO PUT YOU ON SPEAKER.
I WANNA TALK TONIGHT ABOUT DR.
UH, THE SUPERINTENDENT SIGNED A CONTRACT WITH DR.
HERBERG ON OCTOBER 14TH OF LAST YEAR TO PROVIDE CONSULTING SERVICES, UH, DR.
BERG SCOPE OF WORK INCLUDED, AND I'M QUOTING NOW ADVISE ON STRATEGIES TO BUILD A SUCCESSFUL SCHOOL BOND REFERENDUM PROGRAM THAT WILL GENERATE MAJORITY SUPPORT FROM THE BOARD OF EDUCATION AND THE COMMUNITY.
THE MAXIMUM VALUE OF THIS CONTRACT CANNOT EXCEED $55,000.
ON JULY 30TH OF THIS YEAR, DR.
RODRIGUEZ ENTERED INTO ANOTHER CONTRACT WITH DR.
THIS AGREEMENT WAS IDENTICAL TO THE AGREEMENT SIGNED IN OCTOBER OF LAST YEAR.
THE MAXIMUM VALUE OF THIS CONTRACT CANNOT EXCEED $30,000.
SO AS MUCH AS $85,000 IN PUBLIC, PUBLIC WILL HAVE BEEN SPENT TO PROMOTE THE PASSAGE OF THE $439 MILLION SCHOOL DISTRICT BOND REFERENDUM ON THE BALLOT IN NOVEMBER.
I BELIEVE THAT THIS VIOLATES SECTION 8 13 13 46.
AND THAT PROVIDES THAT I'M QUOTING NOW, A PERSON MAY NOT USE OR AUTHORIZE THE USE OF PUBLIC FUNDS TO INFLUENCE THE OUTCOME OF AN ELECTION.
NOW, THE SCHOOL DISTRICT WILL UNDOUBTEDLY CLAIM THAT THE HIRING OF DR.
BERG IS INTENDED TO SIMPLY HELP EDUCATE THE COMMUNITY ABOUT THE REFERENDUM.
WELL, THE CONTRACT LANGUAGE CLEARLY STATES THAT HIS JOB, AND AGAIN I'M QUOTING, IS TO GENERATE MAJORITY SUPPORT FROM THE COMMUNITY.
THERE'S NOTHING IN THE CONTRACT THAT SPECIFIES, INFORM AND EDUCATE.
RODRIGUEZ VIOLATED STATE LAW BY SIGNING THE TWO CONTRACTS.
AND BECAUSE OF THAT, I WANT THIS SCHOOL BOARD TO KNOW THAT I HAVE FILED AN OFFICIAL COMPLAINT WITH THE STATE ETHICS COMMISSION.
RODRIGUEZ IS ONE OF THE MOST HIGHLY PAID SUPERINTENDENTS IN SOUTH CAROLINA.
IT'S ABOUT TIME THAT HE DOES HIS JOB.
HE DID NOT NEED OR REQUIRE DR.
IF HE REALLY DID, PERHAPS HE'S NOT FIT TO BE THE SUPERINTENDENT.
RODRIGUEZ COMPLAINED TO THE AD HOC RESULTS COMMITTEE JUST LAST WEEK THAT HE WAS THE ONLY ONE IN THE DISTRICT ACCOUNTABLE FOR THE DISMAL SOUTH CAROLINA READY TEST SCORES.
I GUESS HE DOESN'T WANT TO BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE FOR THE REFERENDUM RESULTS EITHER.
MORE THAN LIKELY THAT'S WHY HE HIRED DR.
IT'S WRONG, IT'S UNETHICAL AND I TRUST THE STATE ETHICS COMMISSION WILL AGREE WITH ME.
[00:55:18]
HI ANGELA, THIS IS ROBIN.I'M CALLING FOR PUBLIC COMMENTS.
ALRIGHT, IF YOU WOULD STATE YOUR FIRST AND LAST NAME AND YOUR TOPIC.
UM, I'M GONNA PUT YOU ON SPEAKER.
UM, TONIGHT I WOULD LIKE TO BRING UP THREE SEPARATE TOPICS THAT I WILL TRY TO DO SO QUICKLY.
FIRST, I WANT TO MAKE THE BOARD AWARE OF AN ISSUE GOING ON AT MAY RIVER HIGH SCHOOL WITH A STUDENT WHO HAS SO FAR IN THE PAST SIX MONTHS, INJURED FIVE TEACHERS AND TWO STUDENTS, FIVE OF THOSE BEING IN THE PAST WEEK, THE CHILD HAS BEEN ALLOWED TO RETURN TIME AND TIME AGAIN.
I'M CONCERNED FOR THE SAFETY OF MY OWN CHILDREN AND THE STAFF, TEACHERS AND OTHER CHILDREN IN THE BUILDING.
IF ADULTS CANNOT KEEP A HANDLE ON THIS CHILD, WHAT'S TO SAY? THIS ISN'T GOING TO BE AN ONGOING THING.
CHILDREN AND STAFF ALIKE DESERVE TO FEEL SAFE IN THEIR SCHOOLS.
THIS SITUATION IS CLEARLY NOT SAFE.
SECOND, I WOULD LIKE TO BRING UP THE FACT THAT I DO NOT FEEL THE SELECTION PROCESS FOR THE BOOK REVIEW COMMITTEE IS A FAIR AND RANDOM ONE.
IT SEEMS THAT TO BE SELECTED, YOU HAVE TO PUT YOUR NAME IN THE PROVERBIAL HAT SEVERAL TIMES IN ORDER TO EVEN STAND A CHANCE TO MAKE IT FAIR.
EACH PERSON SHOULD BE LIMITED TO ONE ENTRY EACH, AND THEN HAVE THE RANDOMIZED SELECTION PROCESS.
NOT EVERYONE HAS THE TIME OR PATIENCE TO ENTER THEIR NAME DOZENS OF TIMES.
THIRD, I WOULD LIKE TO BRING UP THAT A NOVEL INVOLVING A**L SEX IS BEING USED AS THE CORE NOVEL IN HONORS ENGLISH THREE AT MAY RIVER HIGH SCHOOL.
OUT OF ALL OF THE BEAUTIFUL LITERATURE IN THE WORLD, THE TEACHER HAS SELECTED THIS NOVEL IN ORDER TO INSTRUCT THE STUDENTS ON ENGLISH LITERATURE STANDARDS.
THIS BREAKS BOARD POLICY AS IT IS WRITTEN UNDER BUFORT COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT BOARD POLICY HANDBOOK.
I HAVE SPOKEN WITH THE VICE PRINCIPAL, THE PRINCIPAL, AND DR.
COX, AND STILL HAVE GOTTEN NOWHERE IN THIS MATTER.
THIS IS BEING USED TO TEACH STANDARDS IN THE ENGLISH CURRICULUM.
THE TEACHER IS NOT SUPPOSED TO BE TEACHING SEX EDUCATION OR REPRODUCTION IN ENGLISH, THEREFORE, HE'S BREAKING POLICY.
ADDITIONALLY, STUDENTS WHO OPT OUT OF THAT BOOK ARE GIVEN WHAT SEEMS TO BE PUNITIVE WORK IN READING AND ARE EXCLUDED FROM THE CLASS FOR THE ENTIRETY OF THE UNIT.
THERE IS NO REASON AT ALL THAT AN ADULT MAN HAS TO DISCUSS SEX WITH MINOR IN A CLASSROOM SETTING TO GET COMPREHENSION ACROSS.
THIS SHOULD BE REMOVED IMMEDIATELY, FINALLY, TO THOSE BOARD MEMBERS WHO VOTE TO UPHOLD THE AND TRY TO KEEP PORNOGRAPHY OUT OF OUR SCHOOLS.
I SUPPORT YOU AND YOU HAVE THE SUPPORT OF GA AGAINST GROOMERS.
THAT CONCLUDES OUR PUBLIC COMMENTS.
[Chair’s Report]
OCTOBER IS BREAST CANCER AWARENESS MONTH, WHICH IS ABOUT GETTING WOMEN ACCESS TO THE EDUCATION SCREENING AND SUPPORT THEY NEED WHEN THEY NEED IT.DURING A WOMAN'S LIFETIME, ONE IN EIGHT WOMEN WILL BE DIAGNOSED WITH BREAST CANCER.
SO PLEASE TAKE ACTION, GET INVOLVED AND GET SCREENED.
THE BOARD AND SCHOOL DISTRICT.
INVITE THE PUBLIC TO JOIN AT A RIBBON CUTTING CEREMONY AND TOUR TOMORROW AT HILTON HEAD ISLAND MIDDLE SCHOOL, $31.1 MILLION.
IN 2019 REFERENDUM FUNDS WERE USED TO ADD AND RENOVATE AND IMPROVE LANDSCAPING, PARKING, LIGHTING, WINDOWS, DOORS, COURTYARDS, THE LOCKER ROOM, GYM AUDITORIUM, AND A 9,500 SQUARE FOOT CLASSROOM WING, WHICH INCLUDES STEM CLA CLASSROOMS WAS ADDED.
THANKS THE, THE GENEROSITY OF THE TAXPAYERS AND HOPES YOU ARE ABLE TO JOIN US TOMORROW.
TOMORROW AT THE SCHOOL AT ONE O'CLOCK AND YOU'LL BE ABLE TO GET TOURS OF THE BUILDING, UH, DURING THAT CEREMONY.
[Committee Reports]
OUR AGENDA, WE HAVE THE COMMITTEE REPORTS.AND FIRST UP IS ACADEMICS WITH CHAIR CHLOE GORDON.
[01:00:01]
DIS DISTRICTS, UM, ACADEMIC COMMITTEE MET ON SEPTEMBER THE 20, UH, SEVENTH, UH, WITH, UH, DR.IT WAS, UM, LIVE STREAM, SO IT WAS OPEN.
THE, UM, COMMITTEE MET AND DISCUSSED THE SOCIAL STUDIES.
AR ONE IS DASH 10, THE ARTS EDUCATION, I S 12 MUSIC EDUCATION, I S 13, WORLD LANGUAGE I S WRITING, UM, AND THE, UH, VIRTUAL, UH, LEARNING.
UH, THEY ARE ON THE, UH, BOARD OF THIS.
WE'D LIKE TO LOOK AT, UH, WHAT WAS PRESENTED.
IF THERE ARE ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT THOSE ARS THAT WERE UP FOR DISCUSSION.
WE ALSO DISCUSSED THE BYLAWS OF THE BEAVER COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT'S HEALTH ADVISORY COMMITTEE.
UM, ONE QUESTION I HAD WAS, AND THIS IS, YOU KNOW, SOMETHING KIND OF PERSONAL, BUT I WAS READING THE MUSIC ONE AND I DIDN'T UNDERSTAND THE CHORAL ONE.
UM, WHERE IT SAYS THAT BASICALLY PEOPLE WILL HAVE DIFFERENT, UH, LEVELS, WHICH IS TRUE.
UM, SO MUSIC EDUCATION, CHORAL STUDENTS COME TO US FROM A VARIETY OF MUSICAL BACKGROUNDS AND EXPERIENCE.
A CHORAL CLASSROOM MAY CONSIST OF STUDENTS WHO PERFORM AT NOVICE LEVELS AS WELL AS STUDENTS PERFORM AT ADVANCED LEVELS.
MOVING FROM GRADE LEVEL BASED MODEL TO A PROFICIENCY BASED MODEL ALLOWS TEACHERS TO MEET STUDENTS AT THEIR INDIVIDUAL ABILITY TO DIFFERENTIATE LEARNING MOST EFFECTIVELY.
ARE WE MOVING FROM GRADE LEVEL TO PROFICIENCY OR IS THAT WHAT THIS IS SAYING? IT DIDN'T.
IT DOESN'T, IT'S NOT TELLING ME WHAT WE'RE DOING.
IT SEEMS LIKE IT'S A GOOD IDEA.
I HAVE MRS. MS. MCKENZIE HERE THIS EVENING WHO WAS THE AUTHOR FOR THIS ADMINISTRATIVE REGULATION.
I'VE ASKED HER TO COME FORWARD.
SO IT GIVE SOME EXPLANATION ON THAT CLARITY.
BOARD MEMBERS, AND THANK YOU FOR THE QUESTION THAT REALLY ADDRESSES OUR HIGH SCHOOL PREDOMINANTLY SO THAT IT ALLOWS OUR NINTH, 10TH, 11TH, AND 12TH GRADE STUDENTS TO BE WITHIN A CLASS.
BUT THERE ARE LEVELS TO BE INDICATIVE OF THOSE THREE, NOVICE, INTERMEDIATE, AND PROFICIENT TO BE ADDRESSED BY THE TEACHER.
BECAUSE I GUESS MY QUESTION WAS, IF YOU DON'T MIND ME FOLLOWING UP, BECAUSE I, I THOUGHT THAT'S WHAT WE HAD WAS PROFICIENCY.
WE HAD LIKE INTRODUCTORY, YOU KNOW, ON WHATEVER.
BUT I THEN I WAS NOT SURE IF THAT YOU'RE SAYING THAT WE'D HAD BEEN AT GRADE LEVEL AND NOW WE'RE MOVING TO PROFICIENCY, OR WE'RE JUST ACKNOWLEDGING PROFICIENCY IS A GOOD THING.
WE'RE ACKNOWLEDGING THAT PROFICIENCY IS A GOOD THING AND WE WANTED TO UPDATE IT SO THAT THE LANGUAGE WAS IN HERE FOR THE COMMUNITY.
'CAUSE IT SOUNDED LIKE IT WAS GOING SOMEWHERE, BUT I WASN'T SURE WHERE IT WENT.
IT'S FUNNY, THAT'S EXACTLY THE THING I NOTICED IN THE SAME DOCUMENT.
BUT I WAS WONDERING, I NOTICED, UH, WE HAVE, UM, BAND AND ORCHESTRA ARE NOT INCLUDED.
NO, THOSE ARE NOT INCLUDED AS A SEPARATE, UM, THOSE ARE A SEPARATE ONE.
SO, AND HOW IS THAT, UH, SET UP RIGHT NOW? PROFICIENCY OR PRO GRADE LEVEL PROFICIENCY AS WELL? PROFICIENCY AS WELL.
ONCE WE GET TO THE SECONDARY LEVEL PROFICIENCY, UHHUH,
I WOULD LIKE TO SEE PROFICIENCY ACROSS SCHOOLS.
HAVE WE CONSIDERED FOR THOSE CHILDREN WHO HAVE ADVANCED BEYOND WHAT THE SCHOOL HAS AVAILABLE.
I MEAN, IF WE'RE GONNA HAVE HIGH LEVEL CHOIR, BAND AND ORCHESTRA, WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO HAVE SOME SORT OF ALL DISTRICT, ALL COUNTY.
YOU ARE THINKING VERY MUCH ON THE LINES THAT WE ARE.
WE DO, WE ARE PUTTING THAT IN PLACE.
WE CURRENTLY DO HAVE ALL COUNTY, BUT WE ARE LOOKING BEYOND THAT AS A WAY TO, TO SERVE THOSE STUDENTS WHO THEIR TALENT IS AT THE PROFICIENCY LEVEL OR HIGHER.
ALRIGHT, NEXT WE HAVE THE BYLAWS FOR THE, UH, BEAUFORT COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT PUBLIC HEALTH ADVISORY COMMITTEE.
UM, THERE IS AN ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEMBERSHIP FORM, UH, FOR PARENTS, STUDENTS, AND EDUCATORS.
AND THEY ARE, THERE IS A MEMBERSHIP, UM, HEALTH
[01:05:01]
ADVISORY COMMITTEE THAT WE NEED TO FORM AS WELL.STRATAS CAN ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS THAT YOU MAY HAVE ON THIS.
THE FORM ITSELF, WE'VE BEEN LOOKING AT GETTING IT UP, UM, ON OUR WEBSITE, UH, UH, I THINK BY OCTOBER 9TH.
BUT WE MAY HAVE TO EXTEND THAT.
UM, ANY QUESTIONS? YES, MA'AM.
SO JUST INFORMING, IN INFORMING THIS COMMITTEE, CAN YOU GIVE US A LITTLE BACKGROUND JUST FOR, FOR THE PUBLIC WHO MAY NOT KNOW, HAVE BEEN TO OUR MEETING, TO TELL US THE, UH, PROCESS OF DOING THIS, IF YOU WOULD.
AND, UM, I'LL GIVE SOME CLARIFICATION WITH REGARD TO THE FORM AND THE TIMELINE WITH THAT AS WELL.
THIS COMMITTEE IS PART OF SOUTH CAROLINA CODE, UM, 59 DASH 32 DASH 30.
AND I'LL JUST GIVE THE PURPOSE OF THIS FROM THE LANGUAGE OF THE LOCAL SCHOOL BOARDS MAY USE INSTRUCTIONAL UNITS MADE AVAILABLE BY THE BOARD, MEANING THE BOARD OF EDUCATION.
THAT IS A BOARD OF EDUCATION WITH SOUTH CAROLINA, PURSUANT TO 59 DASH 32 20 WHEN IT COMES TO HEALTH EDUCATION, THE ADDITIONAL USE OF MATERIALS OUTSIDE OF WHAT IS PUBLISHED FROM THE, THE STATE OR ADOPTED BY THE STATE IS TO GO THROUGH COMMITTEE.
AND THIS, THIS IS A BOARD COMMITTEE THAT WILL BE CON CONSTITUTE OF 13 INDIVIDUALS ACADEMIC COMMITTEE'S.
PURPOSE WILL BE TO BRING THE ACADEMIC OR THE INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS TO THE HEALTH ADVISORY BOARD FOR APPROVAL.
THE JOT FORM THAT IS DEVELOPED IS IN ORDER TO HAVE THOSE INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE INTERESTED AT SITTING ON THIS COMMITTEE.
AND PLEASE IF I MAY SHARE THE, WHAT CONSTITUTES THE MEMBERSHIP? IT IS TWO PARENTS, THREE CLERGY, TWO HEALTH PROFESSIONALS.
TWO TEACHERS, TWO STUDENTS, ONE OF WHICH MUST BE THE PRESIDENT OF THE STUDENT GOVERNMENT, AND THEN TWO OTHER PERSONS WHO ARE NOT EMPLOYED BY BEAUFORT COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT.
AND THE, AND THROUGH ACADEMIC COMMITTEE, WE WILL BRING FORWARD MATERIALS SHOULD THEY BE AS WE'VE DONE WITH TEXTBOOK ADOPTION.
BUT WE'LL GO THROUGH ACADEMIC COMMITTEE TO THE HEALTH COMMITTEE.
AND THEN THE HEALTH COMMITTEE, WHICH IS MANAGED BY THE BOARD, WILL APPROVE OR BRING A RECOMMENDATION TO THE FULL BOARD FOR APPROVAL.
THE JOT FORM ALLOWS THOSE WHO ARE INTERESTED TO UPLOAD THEIR LETTER OF INTEREST AS WELL AS THEIR RESUME.
ALL APPLICANTS WILL BE SENT ACTUALLY TO MRS. CUSHEN BARRY, OUR ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT FOR THE BOARD.
AND THEN THEY WILL BE REVIEWED THROUGH ACADEMIC COMMITTEE.
ACADEMICS COMMITTEE ROLE WILL BE TO, JUST TO BRING THOSE, BASICALLY TO BREAK THEM DOWN.
WHO ARE THE CLERGY, WHO ARE THE STUDENTS, WHO ARE THE PARENTS, WHO ARE THE THOSE INTERESTED, WHO ARE OUTSIDE OF THE SCHOOL DISTRICT? WHO ARE THE TEACHERS TO BRING THAT APP INFORMATION TO THE FULL BOARD FOR YOUR SELECTION.
THANK YOU, UH, FOR, FOR THAT BASICALLY, UH, STELLA, UM, PRESENTATION ON AND, AND EDUCATING US, UH, ON THAT.
I TOOK ISSUE WITH THE, UM, TIMELINE.
UM, IT, UH, THAT IT, THAT THEY, THE DEADLINE FOR COMPLETING THE INTEREST FORM IS OCTOBER 9TH.
AND YOU JUST ALREADY SAID THIS EVENING THAT YOU DON'T THINK THE, THE FORMS ARE GONNA BE EVEN AVAILABLE ONLINE TILL OCTOBER 9TH OR LATER.
SO CAN YOU REVISE TELL US WHAT THE REVISED TIMELINE IS? SO I THINK THERE WAS A, A MIS MENTION AT THAT.
SO THE FORM IS, IS POSTED, THE DEADLINE IS THE NINTH.
BUT MY UNDERSTANDING THAT THEY'RE SEEKING CONSIDERATION TO EXTEND THAT AND WE'RE UP TO OUR CHAIR FOR OUR ACADEMIC COMMITTEE.
I DON'T WANNA SPEAK FOR THE COMMITTEE 'CAUSE THOSE ARE BOARD MEMBERS.
BUT FROM MY RECOMMENDATION, I AM OPEN FOR WHATEVER'S THE RECOMMENDATION OF THE BOARD.
MA'AM, MADAM CHAIR, AT THIS TIME, WE HAVE NOT LOOKED AT THE EXTENSION, UH, BECAUSE WE NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE IN COMPLIANCE WITH THE, UH, STATE RECOMMENDATION AND TO GET THE FORM OUT THERE.
SO I'LL, UH, MEET WITH THE COMMITTEE THIS WEEK TO MAKE SURE WE GET THAT, THAT WE'RE OKAY WITH IT.
BUT THE RECOMMENDATION IS THE 9TH OF OCTOBER.
SO I WOULD SAY AS AN INDIVIDUAL BOARD MEMBER THAT WE'RE ANNOUNCING IT TO THE PUBLIC AT A, AT A BUSINESS MEETING TONIGHT.
SO SATURDAY AND SUNDAY ARE NOT BUSINESS DAYS.
SO WE'RE GIVING THE PUBLIC THREE BUSINESS DAYS TO SUBMIT A LETTER OF INTEREST AND A, UM, AND A, UM, A RESUME.
AND, UM, I JUST THINK THAT'S A, A LITTLE BIT UNREASONABLE, LIKE A WEEK OR TWO WEEKS.
[01:10:01]
I'M NOT SAYING TWO MONTHS OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT, BUT I JUST THINK THREE BUSINESS DAYS WHEN WE'RE ONLY ANNOUNCING IT NOW, EVEN THOUGH YOU COVERED IT IN COMMITTEE, YOU KNOW, THIS IS THE GENERAL BUSINESS MEETING.SO THAT'S JUST MY OPINION AND THE COMMITTEE CAN TAKE THAT, UH, FOR WHAT IT'S WORTH, RACHEL.
HOPEFULLY YOU GUYS CAN HEAR ME OKAY.
UM, WE CAN, WE DON'T HEAR THE FEEDBACK.
UM, SO MY QUESTION IS IN REGARD TO THE SELECTION PROCESS, IT, BASED ON MY READING OF THIS, IT APPEARS THAT THE ACADEMIC COMMITTEE WILL LOOK AT THE, THE NOMINEES AND THEY WILL CREATE A SLATE THAT WILL THEN
UM, MY QUESTION IS, IS HOW DOES APPROVAL OF THAT SLATE WORK PROCEDURALLY, DO WE APPROVE THE ENTIRE SLATE OF INDIVIDUALS? WHAT IF, YOU KNOW, WE TAKE ISSUE WITH ONE OF THE INDIVIDUALS THAT IS PROPOSED.
UM, I'M NOT SURE IF THAT'S CLEAR HERE, UM, FROM THE BYLAWS OF, OF THAT PROCEDURAL ISSUE.
MADAM CHAIR, MAY I, SO I JUST WANNA BRING FORWARD TWO ITEMS THAT WE COULD WORK AT THE EXTENSION ON THE RECOMMENDATION OF MRS. GORDON.
AND SECONDLY, I WANT US TO RECOGNIZE THAT THESE POLICIES, UM, THESE BYLAWS WENT TO THE POLICY COMMITTEE, UH, LAST NOVEMBER, AND THEY WERE BROUGHT TO THE FULL BOARD LATER IN NOVEMBER AND THEY WERE APPROVED.
I DO HAVE THE SAME QUESTION FOR THE, AS DEFINITIVE AS DR.
IF WE LOOK ONTO THE BYLAWS, PAGE TWO, ROMAN NUMERAL FIVE, ALPHA B, THE CLARITY OF SELECTION IS NOT ABSOLUTELY DETAILED THERE.
AND ONE OF MY RECOMMENDATIONS WOULD BE IF WE, AND AGAIN, THIS IS A RECOMMENDATION.
I AM NOT DRIVING THE BOARD, I'M ONLY MAKING A SUGGESTION THAT DEFINITIVE QUESTION SHOULD HAVE BEEN TIGHTER WITHIN ALPHA B IN ORDER THAT WE COULD BE CLEAR AT SELECTION TO SOME TYPE OF RUBRIC.
AS A PERS AND I, I'M ONLY MAKING A SUGGESTION TO, TO US TO BE A LITTLE MORE DEFINITIVE AT ALPHA B SO THAT WE DON'T HAVE REBUTTAL AND WE DON'T HAVE AN INDIVIDUALS QUESTIONING THE WHY.
IT IS ALWAYS BEST PRACTICE TO LAND ON THE SHOULDERS OF SOMEONE ELSE, AND IN THIS CASE, ANOTHER DISTRICT THAT IS UTILIZING A RUBRIC OR SOME OTHER ITEM RATHER THAN PUTTING YOURSELF OUT THERE ON AN ISLAND.
AND THAT IS JUST A RECOMMENDATION THAT I'M MAKE BRINGING FORWARD TO OUR BOARD, MA'AM.
ONE OF THE CONCERNS, AND I, AND I HEARD, UM, MISS RACHEL IS THAT THIS WAS PRESENTED A YEAR AGO AND NO ACTION A APPARENTLY, SO WE ARE TRYING TO COMPLY MM-HMM.
WE ALSO NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT PEOPLE CAN, UM, APPLY TO THIS PARTICULAR FORM.
AND I HAVE NO PROBLEM WITH AN EXTENSION IF THE FULL BOARD, UM, IS SO INCLINED BECAUSE THIS IS ABOUT GETTING THIS COMMITTEE UP AND RUNNING.
SO, UM, YOU KNOW, TWO EXTRA WEEKS, IT'S, IT'S OKAY.
UM, WE'LL JUST COME UP WITH THE DATE AND, YOU KNOW, LET YOU GUYS KNOW.
IS THAT OKAY? WE'LL JUST TAKE IT BACK AND GET THE DATE DONE AND THEN, UM, MAKE SURE THAT WE GET THIS FORM.
UM, I JUST WANTED TO HAVE A QUE I HAVE A QUESTION, DR.
IS THAT TWO WEEKS BEHIND? DOES THAT TWO WEEKS, DOES THAT TWO YOU IN ANY BINDER WITHIN THE STATE? ANYTHING? NOT AT THIS TIME, SIR, BECAUSE WE DON'T HAVE INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS RIGHT NOW IN THE SENSE THAT NEED TO BE REVIEWED.
I THINK WHAT'S, WHAT IS MUCH MORE CONCERNING TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE GIVEN THE OPPORTUNITY TO THE PUBLIC TO APPLY AND AS WELL THAT WE'RE ALIGNED WITH WHAT THE BOARD WOULD LIKE TO SEE THE LANGUAGE WITHIN THE BYLAWS, SIR.
BUT SO WE'RE IN, WE'RE IN A POSITION RIGHT NOW THAT WE'RE NOT REVIEWING MATERIALS, WE'RE NOT HAVING NEW STANDARDS COMING FORWARD.
WE'RE STILL USING THE MATERIALS THAT THE STATE HAD PROVIDED.
AND WHEN THAT, THAT'S WHERE WE ARE AT AT THIS TIME, I WOULD LIKE TO BRING THOSE MATERIALS JUST AS A REMINDER UP TO OUR BOARD TO, OR ACTUALLY TO OUR HEALTH ADVISORY COMMITTEE WHEN THE TIME ALLOWS.
BUT THESE ITEMS HAVE BEEN IN PLACE FOR QUITE SOME YEARS.
A NEW ADOPTION IS COMING FORWARD WITHIN THE YEAR.
SO IT WOULD BE GOOD TO TO HAVE E EVERYTHING ALIGNED PROPERLY WITHIN THE YEAR.
BUT I DO STRONGLY SUGGEST THAT WE GET OUR COMMITTEE UP.
AND MRS. MRS. UM, MRS. GORDON BECAUSE I DID ATTEND THAT MEETING AND I WANTED TO LIVE TO DISCUSS THIS, DISCUSS THIS, AND ALSO MADE MAKING NOTES OF THAT MEAN THAT, THAT THIS IS A LIVING
[01:15:01]
DOCUMENT AND, AND YOU, UH, WERE WILLING TO WORK, UH, TO GET, TO GET THIS PROCESS DONE, UH, CORRECTLY.IF THERE ARE NO MORE QUESTIONS.
THANK YOU MADAM CHAIR REPRESENTATION.
UH, DOES THAT, DOES THAT CONCLUDE YOUR REPORT? OKAY.
NEXT UP WE HAVE AD HOC RESULTS, WHICH IS, UH, CHAIR INGRID BOATWRIGHT.
UM, SO THE, UH, RESULTS COMMITTEE MET AND, UH, LOOKED AT THE THREE MOTIONS THAT WERE PASSED PREVIOUSLY AND MADE THE ADJUSTMENTS RECOMMENDED BY THE BOARD TO THE UPCOMING SUPERINTENDENT'S EVALUATION.
UM, THE TIMELINE FOR PRESENTING THAT IS WE EXPECT TO HAVE DR.
RODRIGUEZ'S BOOK BY OCTOBER 23RD.
UH, WE'LL COMPILE THE DATA ON OCTOBER 26TH, ROUGHLY, DEPENDING ON, ON EVERYONE'S SCHEDULE.
AND WE WOULD NEED TO HAVE A SPECIALLY CALLED MEETING ON, UH, MONDAY, OCTOBER 30TH TO, TO DO HIS EVALUATION.
THERE WAS DISCUSSION OF ADDING IT TO THE 27TH WORK SESSION 'CAUSE THERE'S A CONVENIENCE FACTOR IN THAT, BUT WE HAVE QUITE A FULL WORK SESSION, SO WE DECIDED TO DO THAT AS A SPECIALLY CALLED MEETING TENTATIVELY.
WE HAVE SET THE TIME FOR 4:00 PM ON MONDAY, OCTOBER 30TH, BUT IF PEOPLE HAVE CONFLICTS, LET ME KNOW AND WE CAN ADJUST THAT TIME, 4 35, BUT IT'LL BE BETWEEN FOUR AND SIX, UH, FOR THE PUBLIC AND FOR NEW BOARD MEMBERS.
WE'LL GO INTO AN EXECUTIVE SESSION.
WE WILL REVIEW THE COMPILED RESULTS, UM, THEN WE'LL BRING IN DR.
RODRIGUEZ AND GO OVER THAT WITH HIM.
AND AT THE END OF THAT, WE'LL HAVE A STATEMENT, UH, TO BE MADE TO THE PUBLIC, THE, UH, NEXT MEETING OF THE AD HOC.
SO BASICALLY THAT, THAT PUTS A WRAP ON THIS PORTION OF AD HOC, UH, RESULTS COMMITTEE FOR THIS EVALUATION YEAR.
WHAT HAS COME UP IS THAT WE NEED TO HAVE, IF WE'RE GOING TO MAKE ANY CHANGES TO THE EVALUATION FOR THE NEXT YEAR, UH, WE NEED TO GET THAT CRITERIA NAILED DOWN SOONER RATHER THAN LATER.
UM, SO WE ARE GONNA HAVE A MEETING ON FRIDAY, UH, AND, UH, WITH, UH, MS. GORDON, MS. HAY AND MYSELF AND I NEED TO TAKE A MOMENT AND SAY THAT, UM, THERE WERE FOUR OF US AT THE RESULTS COMMITTEE MEETING.
UM, AND I THOUGHT IT WAS A GREAT REPRESENTATION OF THE BOARD.
WE HAD MR. CAMPBELL, OUR MOST EXPERIENCED BOARD MEMBER, UM, MS. GORDON, WHO HAS BEEN, UM, ON THE INSIDE OF MANY OF THESE EVALUATIONS AND CAN REALLY GIVE US THAT INTERNAL SCHOOL PERSPECTIVE, WHICH I DO NOT HAVE.
UM, AND MS. HAY, WHO'S A PARENT AND A BUSINESS OWNER.
SO IT WAS A, IT WAS, IT WAS A GOOD, IT WAS A VERY GOOD COMMITTEE AND I'M HOPING WE'RE GONNA CONTINUE THAT.
UM, WHAT WE'RE HOPING TO ACCOMPLISH AT THIS FRIDAY MEETING IS A DISCUSSION OF HOW WE, WHAT WE CAN BRING TO THE BOARD.
I'M HOPING THAT THAT WILL MAKE IT ONTO THE AGENDA FOR THE WORK SESSION TO TALK ABOUT WHAT ADJUSTMENTS THIS BOARD MIGHT WANT TO MAKE SO THAT WE DON'T FIND OURSELVES IN THIS SITUATION OF FEELING LIKE WE WANNA MAKE CHANGES.
BUT TOO MUCH OF THE YEAR HAS GONE BY.
SO, UM, THAT WILL BE FRIDAY, OCTOBER 6TH, UM, AT 11 O'CLOCK.
AND LIKE I SAID, HOPEFULLY THAT CAN MAKE IT ONTO THE AGENDA.
I KNOW WE'VE GOT A LOT TO TALK ABOUT ON THE 27TH.
NEXT UP WE HAVE, UH, FINANCE COMMITTEE CHAIR GUYER REPORTING.
THE FINANCE COMMITTEE MET ON SEPTEMBER 21ST, AND AT THAT MEETING, UH, WE WERE PRESENTED THE MONTHLY BOARD OF EDUCATION BUDGET.
AND AS OF 13 SEPTEMBER, THE BOARD, UH, BUDGET HAS BEEN EXPENDED AT A POINT OF 13.9%.
THOUGH WE ARE WELL AHEAD OF THE FUNDING CURVE, WE AT THE MONTHLY $100,000 REPORT FOR THE MONTH OF JULY AND, UH, FOUND EVERYTHING, UM, AS NORMAL OR THE, THE TYPE OF TIME OF YEAR.
AND THAT'S, THAT'S A BIG EXPANSION EXPENDITURE TIME AS, UH, WE PURCHASE, UH, ITEMS TO GET THE START OF SCHOOL.
WE ALSO LOOKED AT THE TRANSPARENCY REPORT FOR THE MONTH OF JULY, WHICH WAS ABOUT 90 SOME PAGES.
WE WENT LINE BY LINE AND FOUND A FEW QUESTIONS THAT ALL QUESTIONS WERE ANSWERED APPROPRIATELY.
MS. DENISE MATSON PRESENTED THE EXECUTIVE SUMMARY FOR THE ESSER FUNDS, AND I'D LIKE MS. MATSON TO COME UP AND, UH, ROBIN, IF YOU'D SHOW THE, UH, ESSER DASHBOARD PLEASE.
IF YOU'D GO AHEAD AND, UH, GIVE THE BOARD A, UH, A SUMMARY OF FROM THE DASHBOARD, PLEASE.
UM, AS YOU SEE THIS DASHBOARD, AND IT IS, UM, A CUMULATIVE OVER TIME, THE LAST FEW YEARS OF OUR, UM, ESSER GRANTS.
THIS IS BACK, THIS IS END OF AUGUST DATA.
WE ALREADY HAVE CLOSED FOR, UH, SEPTEMBER.
AND YOU CAN SEE THAT WE WERE AT 99.9%
[01:20:02]
SPENT IN SER TWO.AS OF TODAY, THAT IS COMPLETELY, UM, SPENT.
SO OVERALL IT'S, UH, 78% AND WE DO EXPECT TO BE SPENDING THE ENTIRE GRANT BY THE END OF SEPTEMBER 30TH, 2024.
AND YOU CAN SEE ON THE SUMMARY TOO, THAT WE DO HAVE THE LARGEST, UM, AREAS OF EXPENDITURES.
AND, UM, YOU CAN SEE THAT WE HAD EDUCATIONAL SOFTWARE ON THERE THAT'S STARTING UP SCHOOL.
WE WERE DOING RENEWALS FOR THAT.
UM, SOME HVAC REPLACEMENTS AS WELL AS, UM, PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT.
WE STILL HAVE SOME PAYMENTS COMING FOR THAT.
WE HAVE OUR, UM, SALARIES OF, UH, MASTER TEACHERS INTERVENTIONISTS.
AND THEN YOU'LL ALSO SEE WE DID HAVE, UM, WE HAD THE, THE, UM, INDIRECT COST, UM, WAS PAID.
THAT'S A QUARTERLY PAYMENT THAT YOU SEE.
WE SEE THAT, UH, WHEN WE ACTUALLY DO OUR CLAIMS. SO YOU DON'T SEE THAT ONE VERY OFTEN.
SO A TOTAL OF TWO, $2.1 MILLION SPENT IN AUGUST.
SO IS THERE ANY QUESTIONS FROM THE BOARD ON, UH, THAT REPORT, MR. SMITH? YES.
UM, IN TERMS OF THE SOFTWARE PURCHASED PURCHASE, WHAT WAS THE, WHAT WAS THE, WHAT WAS THE PROCESS TO THAT? UM, THE PROCESS THAT WOULD PROBABLY BE BETTER ANSWERED BY DR.
STRATUS ON, UM, THE EDUCATIONAL SOFTWARE PROCESS.
AND, UM, UM, SORRY ABOUT THAT.
I WAS READING SOMETHING LEGAL.
THE QUESTION WAS WITH REGARD TO THE PROCESS OF ACQUISITION OF SOFTWARE, SO ON FROM THE ONSET OF ESSER, WE ACQUIRED IREADY READING, READING PLUS FOR TWO THE PRIMARY SOFTWARES AS WELL AS THE SOFTWARE THAT IS EMBEDDED IN SCHOLASTIC LITERACY INCLUDED AS WELL.
AND, AND THAT WAS OUT OF A NEED BY MONITORING DATA, LOOKING WHAT WE NEEDED AT OUR SCHOOLS.
AND YOU, YOU HAVE, WE HAVE RE REPORTED THE DATA RESULTS ON USING A LITTLE MORE OF A PRESCRIPTIVE MODEL AT OUR SCHOOLS, BUT THEN WE ALSO EMBEDDED SOME OF THE SOFTWARE THAT WE NEEDED TO USE THAT OPERATES WITHIN OUR DISTRICT.
CASE IN POINT, EDGENUITY, WHICH IS OF COURSE, AND CREDIT RECOVERY, RIGHT? THAT AVAILABILITY OF USING ESER FOR THE TIME AND PLACE ALLOWED REALLOCATION, I DON'T WANNA SPEAK FOR FINANCE, BUT IT DID ALLOW SOME REALLOCATION AT GENERAL FUND TO HELP INCREASE OUR SALARY FOR EDUCATORS.
SO WE, WE WERE ABLE TO ACQUIRE SOFTWARE THAT WE USE ON A GENERAL PRACTICE TO HELP OUR SCHOOLS.
NOW, WHEN WE GO THROUGH THE PROCESS OF NEW SOFTWARE, WE DO BETA TEST IT, WE DO GET, WE GO THROUGH A PILOT OF INDIVIDUALS BEING INVO INVOLVED, AS WE DID WITH SCHOLASTIC.
WE HAD A BETA GROUP OF INDIVIDUALS.
WE MAKE SURE THAT THE SOFTWARE THAT IS INVOLVED, IT'S COMPATIBLE WITH MARK JOHAN'S TEAM, UH, AND YOU KNOW, INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY.
SO IT'S NOT ONLY THAT WE WANNA GO PURCHASE SOMETHING, BUT WE, WE DO GET FEEDBACK.
WE DO MAKE SURE IT'S COMPATIBLE WITH THE SYSTEMS THAT ALREADY ARE WITHIN THE DISTRICT.
K AND ME ASKING THAT QUESTION IS TRYING TO UNDERSTAND IF WE ARE MAKING OUR, WHEREVER WE ARE EN LODGING OUR MENU OR NOT.
AND, AND, AND HOW ARE WE MOVING TOWARDS THE, UH, THE, THE, THE ACHIEVEMENT, THE ACHIEVEMENT GAP? MM-HMM.
AND SO, UH, WHEN YOU SAID A COUPLE OF THOSE FIRST, FIRST, UH, NAMES OF THE PROGRAM THAT YOU PURCHASED IN THAT RIGHT, RIGHT, RIGHT, RIGHT.
AT, RIGHT IMMEDIATELY, MY, UH, AHA, MY, MY BELL WENT OFF THE, THE, THE LANGUAGE WAS, UH, IT WAS, IT WAS BEING RECIPROCATED.
SO I'M JUST, JUST TRYING TO DIGEST THAT AND UNDERSTAND THAT.
SO IF I MAY, MADAM CHAIR, JUST TO BUILD ON THAT, IN ORDER TO HAVE SUSTAINABILITY OF THESE SOFTWARE, I DO WANT YOU TO RECOGNIZE WE JUST DID AN ADD TO THE MENU.
WE ACTUALLY WENT THROUGH REVIEWING UTILIZATION OF SOFTWARE IN ORDER TO REMOVE SOFTWARE THAT WERE NOT PRE PREDOMINANTLY BEING USED.
AND I FOUND, AND WITH FEEDBACK FOUND NOT TO BE COST EFFECTIVE FOR THE DISTRICT.
SO THERE WAS A BALANCE AS TO BRINGING ONBOARD, BUT ALSO REMOVING SOFTWARE AS WELL, SO WE DON'T INCUR ADDITIONAL COSTS TO THE SYSTEM.
THERE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS FROM THE BOARD? FROM ES, SIR? YEAH, DR.
ON THE ITEM LISTED UNDER ESSER THREE, IT SAYS, MASTER TEACHER.
MY QUESTION IS, UM, THIS IS THE, JUST THE EXPENDITURES FOR THE MONTH OF AUGUST.
SO IS THAT JUST ONE MASTER TEACHER
[01:25:01]
AT 95,000, OR IS THAT MORETHERE IS, UM, INCLUDED IN THAT NINE MASTER TEACHERS AND ONE, UM, HIGH SCHOOL INTERVENTIONIST.
NEXT ITEM, UH, AT THE MEETING, UH, MS. TANYA CROSBY PRESENTED AN EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ON O E FIVE FINANCIAL PLANNING.
THAT WAS A ONE PAGE SUMMARY PROVIDING AN OVERVIEW OF THE MOST CRITICAL AREAS OF THE OE.
UH, THE COMMITTEE RECOMMENDED AS A WHOLE THE ACCEPTANCE OF THAT OE, BUT IT'S GOING TO BE BROUGHT UP FOR A BOARD WIDE VOTE IN THE BOARD BUSINESS ACTION THIS EVENING.
MS. CROSBY ALSO PRESENTED THE FOURTH QUARTER F Y 23 FINANCIAL SUMMARY.
UH, THAT'S THE END OF THE FISCAL YEAR.
AND THESE ARE, UH, NON AUDITED RESULTS.
THERE'S MORE BILLS TO BE PAID AND REVENUES TO BE POSSIBLY COMING IN.
BUT AS OF THIS MOMENT, AND WE'RE GOING THROUGH AUDIT RIGHT NOW, UH, LAST YEAR WE HAD A INCREASE OF 2.2% AND REVENUE OVER OUR BUDGET, WHICH WAS THE AMOUNT OF $6,495,000.
AND WE HAD AN, WE UNDERSPENT OUR BUDGET OF TO, UM, AMOUNT OF $201 $440.
SO THAT ALLOWED US TO BRING OUR FUND BALANCE UP TO RIGHT NOW 19.9%, WHICH MEANS THAT WE DO NOT HAVE TO BORROW MONEY TO GET US THROUGH THE REST OF THE, THIS YEAR UNTIL THE FUNDS START COMING IN IN DECEMBER.
IS THAT PRONOUNCING THAT RIGHT? PLEASE, MA'AM, WOULD YOU PLEASE COME UP AND TALK ABOUT THE MINORITY, UH, WOMEN-OWNED BUSINESS ENTERPRISE REPORT, PLEASE? IS SHE ONLINE? YES, SIR.
CAN YOU HEAR ME OKAY? YES, WE CAN.
UM, I PRINTED THE, UH, OR PRESENTED THE SEMI-ANNUAL, UH, MINORITY WOMEN BUSINESS ENTERPRISE REPORT TO THE FINANCE COMMITTEE MEETING ON SEPTEMBER 21ST.
SO OUR SIX MONTH FIGURE FOR OUR CONTROLLABLE BUDGET WAS 128,000.
UM, AND 10% OF THAT, UM, IS WHAT OUR GOAL IS TO SPEND, WHICH IS AROUND 12 MILLION.
UM, TOTAL DOLLARS EXPENDED TO CERTIFIED MINORITY WOMEN BUSINESS WAS $452,785 AND 25 CENTS.
SO IT WAS ONLY 0.35% OF THE CONTROLLABLE BUDGET, BUT OUR EXPENDED, UM, DOLLARS FOR NON-CERTIFIED WAS 10 MILLION 100, 620 4076 CENTS, I'M SORRY, $10,100,624 76 CENTS.
UM, THAT CALCULATED OUT TO BE ABOUT 7.86% OF THE CONTROLLABLE BUDGET.
SO, UM, TOTALING OUT, WE MADE OUT 8.2 OR 8.22% OF THE CONTROLLABLE BUDGET.
UM, OUR GOAL IS 10%, AND IF YOU CHECK OUT THE GRAPH ON THE SECOND PAGE, YOU CAN SEE THAT WE'RE TRENDING UPWARDS, UM, WHICH IS SOMETHING WE HAVEN'T DONE IN A FEW YEARS.
SO WE'RE SLOWLY MEETING OUR GOAL.
UM, WE HAVEN'T, WE'RE WORKING ON GETTING MORE CERTIFIED MINORITY WOMEN BUSINESS, UM, ENTERPRISES.
THE CERTIFICATION PROCESS IS VERY DIFFICULT, BUT WE'RE STILL CONTINUING TO REACH OUT, UM, AND DO COMMUNITY INITIATIVES TO INCREASE THAT.
AND DO I HAVE ANY QUESTIONS? QUESTION, MR. DALLAS?
UM, CAN YOU SORT OF GIVE JUST A LITTLE DEFINITION ON WHAT TYPE OF COMMUNITY ORIENTED PROGRAMS YOU ARE USING TO INCREASE THE NUMBERS OF, UM, MINORITY WOMEN BUSINESS ENTERPRISES? THANK YOU.
SO ON OUR WEBSITE, WE ACTUALLY HAVE A, UH, VENDOR HANDBOOK.
AND, UH, WITH THAT, THERE ARE ALSO LINKS UNDER THE, UM, COMMUNITY TAB AND THEN WORKING WITH THE DISTRICT THAT GIVES INFORMATION TO THE COMMUNITY ON HOW THEY CAN BECOME CERTIFI CERTIFIED.
WE ALSO HOLD SEMI-ANNUAL, UM, MEETINGS TO PROPOSE FUTURE PROJECTS.
WE DO THAT BY LOCAL, UH, RUNNING LOCAL ADS IN THE NEWSPAPER, IN THE RADIO.
AND THOSE ARE TYPICALLY DONE IN FEBRUARY AND AUGUST.
UM, IN THE SPRING OF 2023, WE HELD OUR ANNUAL MINORITY VENDOR FAIR, AND WE WORK WITH C B R E HERE, OUR PROJECT MANAGEMENT COMPANY, UM, TO DO OUTREACH WITH THAT AS WELL.
[01:30:02]
ON THE SUGGESTION OF, UM, COLONEL GEIER, I RECENTLY REACHED OUT TO, UH, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR HARRIS FROM THE BLACK CHAMBER OF COMMERCE TO EXTEND AN OFFER FOR A MEETING TO ENGAGE OUR COMMUNITY AS WELL.UH, JUST WOULD LIKE TO SAY THAT, UH, HONOR.
UM, THANK YOU FOR THAT, MA'AM.
AND, UM, I THINK WITH DIRECTOR HARRIS IN POSITION, I THINK THERE'LL BE A LOT OF ENERGY TO ACTUALLY EXECUTE ON SOME OF THE PLANS.
AND SO I'M SURE WITH YOUR PARTNERSHIP, THIS EFFORT, THIS AREA WILL CONTINUE TO GROW.
IF THERE'S NOTHING ELSE, UH, THE NEXT UH, FINANCE COMMITTEE MEETING IS SCHEDULED FOR OCTOBER 12TH, BEGINNING AT 2:30 PM THAT CONCLUDES FINANCE COMMITTEE.
THANK YOU, COLONEL GEIER, NEXT STEP IS YOUR, UH, OPERATIONS REPORT.
UH, THE OPERATIONS COMMITTEE MEETING WAS HELD ON SEPTEMBER 25TH, AND, UH, IT STARTED OFF WITH MR. ROB CORBIN PRESENTING AN EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ON PROJECTS FROM THE REFERENDUM, AN 8% MR. CORBIN, ONLINE, I AM GOOD EVENING BOARD MEMBERS, UH, PER, UH, MR. ER'S EARLIER REQUEST, UH, I'M GONNA FOCUS TONIGHT'S CONSTRUCTION UPDATES ON TWO TOPICS.
THESE TOPICS ARE THE ADDITIONAL ASBESTOS ABATEMENT AT ROBERT SMALLS, AND THE SECOND ONE IS THE REMAINING REFERENDUM FUNDS AND PROGRAM CONTINGENCY IN THE MATERIALS FOR TO, FOR THE OCTA.
FOR THE SEPTEMBER 25TH, O C M, THERE WAS ONE PROJECT WITH YELLOW TRAFFIC LIGHTS THAT APPEARED IN THE REPORT.
UH, THIS PROJECT IS ROBERT SMALLS INTERNATIONAL ACADEMY.
IT SLIDES SIX THROUGH EIGHT IN THE MATERIALS.
UH, THE YELLOW TRAFFIC LIGHTS ARE ASSOCIATED WITH THE DEMOLITION PHASE, AND THAT PREVIOUSLY UNIDENTIFIED ASBESTOS HAS NOW BEEN CONFIRMED TO BE PRESENT IN THE EXTERIOR WALLS OF THE OLD FACILITY.
THIS ASBESTOS MUST BE PROPERLY REMOVED AND DISPOSED OF AND WILL REQUIRE A NEW PERMIT, ADDITIONAL TIME, AS WELL AS FUNDING.
UH, THE PERMIT REQUEST WAS SUBMITTED LAST FRIDAY ON SEPTEMBER 29TH, AND WE'RE HEARING FROM D HC THAT THEIR REVIEW AND ACCESS, UH, AND ACCEPTANCE OF THAT, UH, PERMIT IS ESTIMATED TO TAKE RIGHT AROUND ABOUT RIGHT AROUND A WEEK.
SO WE SHOULD BE, UH, RECEIVING, UH, AN UPDATE ON THAT.
THE, UH, UM, FULL ANALYSIS OF THE ADDITIONAL TIME AND FUNDING THAT'S GONNA BE REQUIRED REQUIRES RECEIPT OF THE G M P PROPOSAL FROM JE DUNN, OUR CONTRACTOR ON THE PROJECT.
JE DUNN IS WORKING ON THEIR G M P PROPOSAL, WHICH IS SCHEDULED.
UH, WE HEARD TODAY, THIS AFTERNOON THAT THEY BELIEVE THAT THEY'LL BE ABLE TO PROVIDE THAT TO US EARLY NEXT WEEK.
UM, FROM MEETINGS THAT HAVE BEEN TAKING PLACE WITH JE DUNN, UH, IT, IT'S FORECASTED THAT ADDIT, THAT THIS ADDITIONAL ASBESTOS ABATEMENT COULD REQUIRE SOMEWHERE IN THE RANGE OF FOUR TO FIVE ADDITIONAL MONTHS TO COMPLETE, AND THE DOLLAR AMOUNT COULD REQUIRE BOARD APPROVAL.
UH, UH, I WILL MENTION THAT IT IS IMPERATIVE TO KEEP THE DEMOLITION PHASE MOVING FORWARD.
AND ONCE WE RECEIVE THIS ADDITIONAL PROPOSAL FROM JE DUNN AND WE HAVE IT ANALYZED, WE'LL BE ABLE TO PROVIDE ADDITIONAL UPDATES AND DETAILS, AND THAT WILL BE FORTHCOMING WHEN AVAILABLE.
BEFORE MOVING ON TO THE NEXT TOPIC, I'M GONNA GO AHEAD AND PAUSE AT THIS POINT TO SEE IF THERE'S ANY QUESTIONS RELATED TO THIS ADDITIONAL ASBESTOS AT ROBERT SMALLS BEFORE MOVING ON.
UH, THANK YOU FOR THE, UH, INFORMATION YOU'RE GIVING US.
SOMETHING KIND OF TWEAKED ME WAS YOU'RE JUST FINDING THIS ASBESTOS OR, UH, WITH THE WORK THAT'S BEING DONE ON THAT SCHOOL.
SEPTEMBER SCHOOL HAS STARTED AGAIN, AND OUR CHILDREN AND TEACHERS ARE IN THAT SCHOOL.
I THINK YOU CAN GO AHEAD AND MOVE ON MR. CORMAN.
UH, MOVING ON A SECOND TOPIC, THE REMAINING REFERENDUM FUNDS AND PROGRAM
[01:35:01]
CONTINGENCY.WHAT I'D LIKE TO DO IS, UH, BEGIN WITH THE FINANCIAL UPDATE FROM OUR LAST, UH, OPERATION COMMITTEE MEETING FROM SLIDE 73 IN YOUR MATERIALS.
UH, AND THE FIGURES I'M ABOUT TO SHARE, WERE, AS OF THE END OF AUGUST, THE FINANCIAL UPDATE IS BEING REPORTED WITH A GREEN TRAFFIC LIGHT.
CURRENT REFERENDUM BUDGET IS STILL AT 375,710,000.
THE PAID AND COMMITTED FUNDS TOTAL, UH, JUST UNDER $365.9 MILLION, PAID EXPENDITURES TOTAL JUST UNDER 263.5 MILLION.
AND REMAINING AVAILABLE FUNDS, INCLUDING CONTINGENCY AT THAT TIME TOTALED, UH, JUST OVER $9.8 MILLION.
CONTINGENCY ACTIVITY IN THE MONTH OF AUGUST INCLUDED THE RETURN OF ALMOST $350,000 IN THE USE OF JUST OVER $1.9 MILLION.
THE CONTINGENCY THAT REMAINED AT THE END OF AUGUST TOTALED JUST OVER $2.3 MILLION.
AND AT THE OPERATION COMMITTEE MEETING, I DID REPORT THAT THE MOST CURRENT ANALYSIS OF THOSE REMAINING AVAILABLE FUNDS AND THE REMAINING SCOPES IS STILL FORECASTING THAT SOFT LANDING THAT I'VE BEEN SPEAKING OF WHERE FUNDS WILL REMAIN AFTER CLOSING OUT ALL OF THE REFERENDUM PROGRAM.
LOOKING FORWARD, UH, DRAFT FINANCIAL REPORTS THROUGH THE END OF SEPTEMBER, WERE RECEIVED YESTERDAY AND HAVE BEGUN TO BE REVIEWED.
UH, THE REMAINING AVAILABLE FUNDS INCLUDE CONTINGENCY, UH, INCLUDING CONTINGENCY TOTAL, JUST OVER 6.6 MILLION IN THE AVAILABLE PROGRAM, CONTINGENCY TOTALS, UH, $1,035,926.
WE ARE STILL FORECASTING BUDGETED TRANSFERS AND SAVINGS FROM CLOSING OUT PROJECTS, AND THAT'S ANTICIPATED TO RETURN AN ADDITIONAL 1.4 MILLION PLUS OR MINUS TO PROGRAM CONTINGENCY.
AND THE ANALYSIS, THE REMAINING FUNDS AND SCOPES PERFORMED TODAY IS STILL FORECASTING A SOFT LANDING WHERE THE FUNDS, UH, WILL REMAIN AFTER CLOSING OUT THE REFERENDUM PROGRAM.
I'LL GO AHEAD AND, UH, CONCLUDE WITH THAT UPDATE AND SEE IF THERE'S ANY QUESTIONS.
THAT'S ALL THAT, THAT CONCLUDES MY UPDATE FOR, UH, THIS EVENING.
UH, I WILL MENTION THAT WE DO HAVE RIBBON CUTTING CEREMONIES AND, UH, CELEBRATIONS COMING UP.
THERE IS ONE, UH, UH, TOMORROW OUT AT HILTON HEAD ISLAND MIDDLE SCHOOL AT 1:00 PM AND THE ST.
HELENA GYM RIBBON CUTTING IS NOW SCHEDULED FOR NOVEMBER 1ST AT 1:30 PM AND THAT'LL CONCLUDE MY UPDATE FOR TONIGHT.
MR. ROBERT OTTING PRESENTED THE MAINTENANCE AND CUSTODIAL SUMMARY UPDATE ON BEHALF OF, UH, MS. BRANDY MAJOR FOR THE PERIOD AUGUST 1ST TO AUGUST 31ST, 2023.
AND MR. OTTING ALSO SHARED THE SCOPE OF WORK SPECIFICATIONS FOR GROUND MAINTENANCE FOR NON-ATHLETIC FIELDS, AND FOR ATHLETIC FIELDS.
UH, MR. OTTING, WOULD YOU LIKE TO GIVE US A UPDATE? THANK YOU, SIR.
UH, I WILL GIVE YOU A VERY QUICK HIGHLIGHT OF SOME OF THE POINTS THAT WE WENT OVER.
WE REVIEWED, UM, WE STARTED BACK OUR SPOT INSPECTIONS IN AUGUST, SO WE REVIEWED SOME OF THE STATS ON SPOT INSPECTIONS AS FAR AS, UM, SOME HIGH AND LOW SCORES, SOME AVERAGE SCORES, AND ANY OF THOSE THAT DID NOT MEET THE 80% STANDARD, UM, WHICH THOSE REQUIRE A RE-INSPECTION.
UM, WE LOOKED AT THE STAFFING NUMBERS, UH, AND ANY NUMBER, ANY STAFFING RESULT THAT'S LESS THAN 70% WOULD REQUIRE, UM, REPORTING AND WOULD REQUIRE SOME ACTION DONE BY OUR CONTRACTOR, A T S.
THERE WERE NO STAFFING LEVELS.
THERE WAS ONE AT 70%, BUT NO UNDER 70, UH, PERCENT.
SO THERE WAS NOTHING TO REPORT THERE AS FAR AS ANY VIOLATIONS OF WHAT THEY'VE, UM, WHAT WE'RE HOLDING THEM TO.
I'M NOT GONNA GO THROUGH ALL THE STATS.
IF YOU HAD A CHANCE TO LOOK, LOOK AT 'EM.
ANY QUESTIONS ON CUSTODIAL? MR. SMITH? UH, YOU SAID ON CUSTODIANS, CORRECT? CUSTODIAL, YES, SIR.
UM, I DIDN'T KNOW, I GUESS I WASN'T REALLY SHOW WHEN I WANTED TO, WHEN I, WHEN I WANTED TO ANSWER, ASK THIS QUESTION, UM, WHICH WE DID TALK AT LINK FOR A SECOND ABOUT CUSTODIANS
[01:40:01]
AND, AND TO THE DEGREE OF COST AND PAY, I NOTICED ON THE ESSER FORM, I, NOT ON THE ANSWER REPORT, I NOTICED THAT, THAT THEY, THAT, THAT THEY PAY CUSTODIANS.WHAT IS THAT? WHAT, WHAT IS THAT, WHAT IS THAT BASED OFF OF? IS IS THAT, AND IS THAT IN, IN THIS REPORT? SO IN THE SERF, I BELIEVE WHAT YOU'RE REFERRING TO, AND IF MS. MATSON NEEDS TO BACK ME UP, I THINK I CAN HANDLE IT, BUT WE'LL SEE.
UM, SO, UH, WE SUPPLEMENTED SOME OF THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS THAT ONLY HAD THE SMALLER ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS THAT ONLY HAD ONE CUSTODIAL, UH, STAFF MEMBER DURING THE DAY WITH AN EXTRA STAFF MEMBER SO THAT THEY WOULD BE ABLE TO DO MORE CLEANING OF TOUCHPOINTS AND THINGS OF THAT NATURE.
SO WHAT YOU'RE SEEING AS FAR AS ESSER FUNDS WAS AN ADDITIONAL DAY STAFF MEMBER AT SOME OF OUR SMALLER ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS.
SO I'M TRYING, I'M I'M THINKING OF COMPREHEND.
SO BASICALLY YOU, SO COULD, COULD YOU SAY THAT ONE MORE TIME FOR ME? SO WE USED ESSER FUNDS, UH, AT SMALL ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS WHERE THEY HAD ONLY MAYBE ONE STAFF MEMBER THERE DURING THE DAY TO HAVE AN ADDITIONAL STAFF MEMBER.
SO THE WHOLE PURPOSE OF THAT WAS TO ADD ADDITIONAL CLEANING OF TOUCHPOINTS AND THINGS OF THAT NATURE.
AND ACTUALLY, UM, WE, WE, WE HOPE TO CONTINUE THAT AFTER ESSER BECAUSE THOSE SCHOOLS, I WOULD SAY HAVE, UH, HAVE REALLY APPRECIATED THAT ADDITIONAL STAFF MEMBER THERE.
BUT THAT'S WHAT THE ESSER FUNDS WERE USED FOR AS FAR AS CUSTODIAL, UM, KIND OF CONCERNING, BUT AL BUT ALSO WITH, WITH, WITH, WITH, WITH WITHIN THAT, I'M WANT JUST SAY, IS THIS A RECURRING, UH, IS THIS ONLY FOR THE MONTH OF AUGUST? I MEAN, FOR ONLY, ONLY FOR THE MONTH OF SEPTEMBER.
I MEAN AUGUST, OH, NO, THAT, THAT'S BEEN GOING ON, UM, SINCE EARLY ON IN, IN ESSER.
SO THAT, AND WE HOPE TO CONTINUE THAT AFTER THE ESSER FUNDS RUN OUT, BUT WE HAVEN'T GOTTEN THERE YET.
SO, UM, AND APPARENTLY THAT WAS NOT IN THE CONTRACT WHEN THAT, UH, PART OF THE CONTRACT WHEN WE NEGOTIATED THE, UH, THE, UH, THESE, THE, UM, CONTRACT WITH, UH, IN THE COMPANY, RIGHT? NO, THIS WAS IN ADDITION TO WHAT WAS REQUIRED AS PART OF THE CONTRACT.
SO THAT'S, THAT'S WHY IT WAS IN THE SMALLER ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS.
THE CONTRACTS ARE BASED ON A SQUARE FOOTAGE AND THE NUMBER OF STAFF MEMBERS PER SQUARE FOOT AND JUST THE SIZE OF THE SMALLER ELEMENTARIES JUST DIDN'T REQUIRE THAT ENOUGH OR ANOTHER STAFF MEMBER.
AND THAT'S WHY WE USED OUR ESSER FUNDS TO SUPPLEMENT THAT AND GIVE THEM AN ADDITIONAL STAFF MEMBER.
UM, JUST TO BRING OUT, UH, A CONVERSATION TO THAT WHICH AT THAT TOOK PLACE DURING THE TIME OF THIS CUSTODIAL CONTRACT THAT WE, WE'VE HAD SOME, OUR CUSTODIANS WHO HAVE REACHED OUT, UH, TO MYSELF, IDEN, I BELIEVE THERE WAS EVEN ANOTHER LETTER, UH, IN TERMS OF, OF THE, THE COMPANIES THAT WE ARE CONTRACTING IN TERMS TO, THERE WERE SOME DAYS THAT WE TOOK FOR THE STORM AND, AND THOSE, UH, STAFF THAT DIDN'T, DIDN'T, THOSE CUSTODIAL STAFF MEMBERS DIDN'T GET PAID.
AND, AND THEY HAD SOME CONCERNS AROUND AROUND THAT AND SAY THAT, WELL, WHERE TAXPAYERS, WHERE DOES THAT MONEY GO AT FOR, UH, WHEN THEY'RE NOT UTILIZING IT? SO, YOU KNOW, THAT'S WHERE MY QUESTIONING COMING TO SAYING THAT, YOU KNOW, UH, SHOULD THAT MONEY NOT BEEN CURVED BECAUSE OF THEY WOULDN'T USING IT BECAUSE THOSE DAYS WERE NOT EFFECTIVELY WORKING, THEN, YOU KNOW, HOW DOES THAT LOOK AND, AND WHAT, WHAT'S THAT PROCESS TO UNDERSTAND HOW WE GIVE THEM MONEY FOR, FOR DAYS THAT ARE NOT, FOR DAYS THAT ARE, THAT ARE NOT BEING UTILIZED, UH, WITH STAFF MEMBERS AND THEM NOT ACTUALLY PAYING THE STAFF.
IT WAS DING DIFFERENT IF THEY WERE PAYING THE STAFF THAT THOUGH THE DISTRICT DOES, WE, WE PAY THEM WHEN THEY'RE NOT, WHEN THEY'RE NOT WORKING FOR THOSE STORM DAYS AND TO PAY THEM THAT CONTINUOUSLY, AND THOSE STAFF MEMBERS ARE NOT WORKING, THEN, YOU KNOW, MY QUESTION COMES IN AS THOSE, AS, AS THOSE PEOPLE, AS THOSE, UH, COMMUNITY MEMBERS WHO'VE ASKED, WHERE IS THAT MONEY GOING? AND HOW'S, AND HOW'S THAT MONEY? HOW'S THAT MONEY BEING SPENT? AND ARE WE GETTING THE BEST BANG FOR OUR BUCK TOO, AS WELL AS, AS, UM, UH, UH, KEEPERS OF THIS OTHER, OF THE, UH, PEOPLE'S MONEY.
I WANTED TO KEEP OUT, KEEP EYE AND BRING AND BRING OUT THERE AS WELL TO YOU.
AND THAT JUST, UH, MA MADE ME REMEMBER THAT AND GAVE AN ALARM AS WELL.
Y YES, I, I HEARD THAT CONVERSATION.
WE'VE HAD SOME DISCUSSIONS WITH H E SS AND I HOPE TO BRING THAT BACK TO THE NEXT OPERATIONS COMMITTEE.
UM, MOVING ON TO THE MAINTENANCE UPDATE.
MOVING ON TO THE MAINTENANCE UPDATE.
WE DID LOOK AT THE STATS FOR WORK ORDER COMPLETION UP THROUGH, UM, AUGUST, AND HAD LOOKED AT NORTH ABROAD VERSUS SOUTH ABROAD, UH, COMPLETIONS, WHICH SEEMED TO BE, UH, RIGHT IN LINE WITH EACH OTHER.
THE ONE THING TO NOTE, JUST, UM, WE HAD
[01:45:01]
5,000, ALMOST 5,400 WORK ORDERS, UM, BY THE END OF JULY.AND THAT JUST, WE HAVE ABOUT 22,000 PER YEAR.
AND THAT JUST SHOWS YOU THE VOLUME THAT WE GET WHEN I'M, I'M SORRY, THROUGH THE END OF AUGUST.
AND THAT JUST SHOWS YOU THE VOLUME WE GET RIGHT AT THE START OF THE SCHOOL YEAR.
AND IT DOES REQUIRE MAINTENANCE TO REALLY, UM, WORK TO KNOCK THOSE DOWN.
UM, AND IT TAKES 'EM A LITTLE WHILE TO CATCH UP WITH ALL THAT.
UM, SOME OF THE STATS, YOU KNOW, THE HIGHEST WERE IN H V A C, UM, AND THEN BY CRAFT, WE DID HAVE AT THE START OF SCHOOL A LOT OF MOVING, UH, WORK ORDERS, WHICH IS NOT UNCOMMON EITHER.
UM, SO WITH THAT, I WILL TAKE ANY QUESTIONS THAT YOU HA, MAY, MIGHT HAVE ON MAINTENANCE.
MR. EARL CAMPBELL
I WOULD LIKE FOR YOU TO GET ON THE PEOPLE THAT CUT THE GRASS AT WHALE BRANCH MIDDLE SCHOOL, WHAT THEY DO, THEY COME IN AND THEY'LL CUT THE GRASS, BUT ALL ONE OF THOSE PEAK IN TREES, GRASS IS HIGH, VERY HIGH.
NOW YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT, UH, AT THE ROAD.
'CAUSE WE'VE HAD SOME CONVERSATIONS ON STORE POINT ROAD AND ALSO ON HIGHWAY 21.
THEY LOOK LIKE THEY PUT SPRAY SOME STUFF THERE, BUT YOU KNOW, IT'S NOT, IT SHOULD BE CUT.
AND WE ARE GONNA BE TALKING ABOUT GROUNDS AT THE NEXT OPERATIONS COMMITTEE AS WELL.
UH, MR. OTTING ALSO UPDATED THE COMMITTEE ON THE MAY, UH, MARYFIELD ROAD PROPERTY SALE.
AT THE TIME OF THE MEETING, THE FINAL PAPERWORK WAS BEING PROCESSED FOR THE CLOSING, AND WE'LL PROBABLY HAVE, IS IT BEEN CLOSED? YES.
THE NEXT MEETING OF THE OPERATIONS COMMITTEE IS SCHEDULED FOR OCTOBER 10TH AT 5:00 PM AND MADAM CHAIR, THAT CONCLUDES.
[Superintendent’s Report ]
OUR AGENDA, WE HAVE, UM, THE SUPERINTENDENT'S REPORT.UNDER THE, UH, SUPERINTENDENT'S REPORT, UH, THIS EVENING, WE HAVE, UH, CAREER AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION, UH, UPDATE FOR THE BOARD.
GOOD EVENING, ONCE AGAIN, BOARD MEMBERS.
I WILL DO A BRIEF INTRODUCTION 'CAUSE YOU DO KNOW THESE WONDERFUL PEOPLE WHO ARE STANDING WITH ME.
IT IS KAREN GILBERT, OUR DIRECTOR FOR CAREER TECHNICAL EDUCATION, AND RALPH LATA, OUR COORDINATOR FOR CAREER TECHNICAL EDUCATION.
THEY'RE GONNA GIVE A PRESENTATION ON SOME INFORMATION REGARDING C T E, WHERE WE WERE, WHERE WE ARE, AND WHERE WE ARE GOING AS A TEAM.
UM, BOARD MEMBERS, FIRST OF ALL, THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE.
WE APPRECIATE YOU AND WE APPRECIATE THE OPPORTUNITY TO PROVIDE SOME UPDATES.
IF IT'S OKAY, WE'LL, UH, HIT THE HIGHLIGHTS ON THESE SLIDES AND THEN ENTERTAIN SOME QUESTIONS AT THE END.
UH, ALWAYS LIKE TO START WITH, IF YOU GO BACK TO THE VISION AND MISSION, THIS IS THE, THE DEPARTMENT OF ED, SOUTH CAROLINA C T E DIVISION.
AND WE LIKE THE VISION PART BECAUSE IT'S REALLY C T E FOR ALL STUDENTS.
SO WE WANTED TO ASK THE WHY, WHY SHOULD PUBLIC EDUCATION CARE ABOUT WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT RIGHT NOW, POST PANDEMIC? IF YOU LOOK AT ANY INDUSTRIES, AND WE HAVE EMPLOYERS IN HERE AS WELL, THEY'RE ASKING THREE QUESTIONS.
WHAT CHANGES ARE IMPACTED MY WORKFORCE? WHAT WILL MY FUTURE WORKFORCE LOOK LIKE? AND WHAT STRATEGIES ARE NEEDED TO BRIDGE FROM THE PRESENT TO THE FUTURE? YOU PICK UP ANY ONLINE JOB, INDEED, MONSTER.COM.
UH, THE, UH, THE COMMITTEES THAT WE SERVE ON WITH OUR WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT,
[01:50:01]
WITH OUR JOHN O'TOOLE AND OUR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, ALL EMPLOYERS ARE SAYING THE THING THE SAME THINGS OR HAVE THE SAME CONCERNS, WHETHER IT'S HEALTHCARE, MANUFACTURING, UM, UH, WELDING, UH, THE CONSTRUCTION TRADES.THEY'RE ALL SAYING THE SAME THING.
WHERE IS OUR FUTURE PIPELINE COMING FROM? AND MIKE ROWE IS, UM, HE'S FUNNY.
IF YOU HAVE A CHANCE TO SEE SOME OF HIS WORK.
HE DOES DOCUSERIES WITH, UH, THE DISCOVERY CHANNEL AS WELL AS, UH, DIRTY JOBS.
AND HE DOES A FOUNDATION NOW, HE STARTED A FEW YEARS AGO FOR SCHOLARSHIPS, SPECIFICALLY FOR YOUNG PEOPLE AND ADULTS WHO ARE MOVING INTO THE SKILLED TRADES.
AND HE SAID, IF, UH, CERTAIN FOLKS DIDN'T SHOW UP TO WORK, WE, WE, WE MAYBE WOULDN'T MIND AS MUCH.
WE WOULDN'T NOTICE THE DIFFERENCE.
BUT INSTEAD OF CTE ISH, PEOPLE DON'T SHOW UP FOR WORK, ESPECIALLY WITHIN A FEW DAYS OR A WEEK'S TIME.
WE WOULD KNOW IF OUR TOILETS AREN'T RUNNING, IF OUR LIGHTS AREN'T WORKING, IF OUR WATER IS NOT RUNNING, UH, IF OUR CARS AREN'T RUNNING, UH, IT, IT MAKES AN IMPACT.
SO WHO'S GONNA FILL THOSE SHOES? AND I LIKE HIS QUOTE, I'LL NOT READ THE FULL ONE, BUT AT THE VERY END, HE SAYS, WE'VE PROVEN THAT OPPORTUNITIES IN THE TRADES AREN'T ALTERNATIVES TO VIABLE CAREERS.
AND JUST IN THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY ALONE, THEY'RE ESTIMATING RIGHT NOW, 720,000 NEW CONSTRUCTION WORKERS ARE GONNA BE NEEDED EACH YEAR JUST TO CATCH UP FROM POST PANDEMIC, UH, ERA ASFA, AS WELL AS A AGING WORKFORCE.
THIS JUST GIVES YOU A SNAPSHOT.
WE ATTENDED A, A TECHNICAL COLLEGE, A LOW COUNTRY WORKFORCE SUMMIT.
UM, I THINK A COUPLE OF YOU WERE THERE AS WELL.
AND WHILE THIS IS NATIONWIDE ABOUT THE, UH, THE, THE NATIONAL, UM, UH, UH, MANUFACTURING JOBS OVER THE NEXT 10 YEAR PERIOD, THEY'RE EXPECTING AROUND 4 MILLION BASED ON INNOVATION, UH, RETIRING, UH, WORKFORCE.
BUT THEY'RE EXPECTING ONLY ABOUT A HALF OF THAT WILL BE ABLE TO BE FILLED.
AND THEN IF YOU GO A LITTLE CLOSER TO HOME ON THE NEXT SLIDE, THE, THE GREENVILLE, SOUTH CAROLINA IS A HEAVY MANUFACTURING BASE.
SO THEY HAVE WORKED WITH THE TECHNICAL COLLEGES THERE TO CREATE THE CENTER FOR MANUFACTURING INNOVATION.
THEY'RE ALSO TACKLING THE PERCEPTION PROBLEM THAT HE SAYS, WE WANT TO BRING 21ST CENTURY VISION OF WHAT MANUFACTURING IS TO OUR YOUNG PEOPLE AND PARENTS.
UH, IT'S FLOORS THAT SHINE, MACHINES THAT ARE COMPUTER CONTROLLED.
IT'S A PLACE WHERE YOU USE YOUR MIND AS MUCH AS YOU ARE YOUR HANDS.
AND THEN IN THE NEXT SLIDE, IF WE COME CLOSER TO OUR REGIONAL PERSPECTIVE, EACH ONE OF THESE AREAS, THERE WILL BE JOB GROWTH OVER THIS NEXT 10 YEAR PERIOD, AND PARTICULARLY IN OUR JASPER AREA, AS WELL AS THE SAVANNAH AREA AND THE CHARLESTON AREA.
WE WILL HAVE GRADUATES THAT CAN GO ON TO POST-SECONDARY, CAN GO TO ADDITIONAL TRAINING, BUT STILL LIVE IN BEAUFORT COUNTY AND STILL HAVE SOME VIABLE JOBS IF WE'RE EXPOSING THEM.
UH, RESEARCH SAYS THAT IF WE WAIT UNTIL THEY GRADUATE TO SAY THERE'S SOME VIABLE JOBS IN THESE AREAS THAT YOU, IF YOU'RE NOT INTERESTED IN A FOUR YEAR DEGREE, HAVE YOU CONSIDERED X, Y, Z BY THE TIME THEY GRADUATE TO AT LEAST EXPOSE THEM TO IT.
SO WHY SHOULD WE CARE ABOUT C T E THE NEXT PAGE, PLEASE? ONE OF THE WAYS THAT WE CAN SUPPORT OUR STUDENTS TO START CONSIDERING THESE ALTERNATIVE OR, OR, OR, UH, VIABLE CAREERS IS THROUGH CAREER EX EXPLORATION EARLY ON.
SO CT FUNDING CAN BE USED TO DO THAT.
UH, PROVIDING OPTIONS FOR STUDENTS TO TAKE FOR PATHWAYS, HELPING MEET THE SOUTH CAROLINA GRADUATION REQUIREMENTS.
IT'S NOT JUST TAKING COURSES, UH, UH, IN RANDOM.
IT IS HELPING MEET STUDENTS GRADUATION STANDARDS BASED TRAINING THAT WHAT RE INDUSTRY RECOGNIZES AS WELL AS INDUSTRY CERTIFICATIONS WHEN THEY GRADUATE, WHAT ELSE CAN THEY PUT ON THEIR PORTFOLIO THAT MARKETS THEM WORK-BASED LEARNING AND DUAL ENROLLMENT.
AND IF YOU'LL NOTICE, THE SLIDES ARE ALL TECHNOLOGY DRIVEN.
THE STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA IS PRETTY PROGRESSIVE RIGHT NOW.
THEY'RE WORKING ON A SOUTH CAROLINA FRAMEWORK AND PATHWAY SPECIFIC TO ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE.
SO THAT'S GONNA BE YET ANOTHER OPTION WHERE THEY ARE BEING PROACTIVE IN HOW DO WE HELP STUDENTS START TO EMBRACE THIS AND GET AHEAD OF IT.
SO, TO DO THIS, WHAT, WHAT WE'VE BEEN USING AS A C T E MODEL, THAT'S THREEFOLD.
WE'VE BEEN USING THE CLASSROOM INSTRUCTION PART OF IT.
SO WHAT CONSTITUTES A PROGRAM VERSUS A COURSE? UH, SOMEONE HAD ASKED THAT, UH, WE'RE ALL STATE STANDARDS.
EVERY CAREER PATHWAY IS APPROVED BY THE STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA.
THEN UNDER EACH PATHWAY, THERE ARE COURSES THAT CONSTITUTE THAT PATHWAY.
THOSE CODES ARE ENTERED INTO POWERSCHOOL.
THEN THAT'S HOW OUR SOUTH CAROLINA ACCOUNTABILITY, THAT'S
[01:55:01]
HOW FEDERAL, UH, REPORTING IS DONE.AND THAT'S HOW WE RECEIVE OUR STATE AND FEDERAL FUNDING WHEN I SUBMIT AN ANNUAL GRANT EACH YEAR.
SO THAT'S HOW PROGRAMS OR PATHWAYS ARE DEFINED, IS BY THE STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA'S FRAMEWORK.
WHAT WE CHOOSE TO OFFER WITHIN OUR SCHOOLS IS, UH, A, A PROCESS.
ALSO A HUGE PART OF CAREER AND TECH ED IS THAT WE HAVE THE FACILITIES TO OFFER THE HANDS-ON THE PROJECT BASE, UH, THE TECHNICAL SKILLS, NOT JUST THE SIMULATIONS, AND NOT JUST GETTING ONLINE TO TALK ABOUT OR READ ABOUT CULINARY OR WELDING OR AUTOMOTIVE, BUT TO BE ABLE TO HAVE SOME INTRODUCTORY SKILLS TO HELP THEM.
AND THEN THE BOTTOM PART IS THE EXTENDED LEARNING.
WHAT ARE WE DOING TO HELP THE KIDS LOOK OUTSIDE OF THE FOUR WALLS OF THE CLASSROOM AND MAKE THOSE CONNECTIONS? AND THEN IN THE MIDDLE, WHAT ARE WE DOING FOR THAT TO BUILDING A BETTER BUFORT AND ALSO THAT CAROLINA PROFILE OF A GRADUATE? WHAT ARE WE DOING TO HELP OUR STUDENTS TO HAVE THOSE LEADERSHIP SKILLS AS WELL AS THOSE EMPLOYABILITY SKILLS? NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE.
SO YOU'VE SEEN THIS SLIDE BEFORE.
THIS IS WHAT WE ARE OFFERING RIGHT NOW AT ALL MIDDLE SCHOOLS AT, UM, WE SHARE WITH OUR CAREER CENTER AND ALL OF OUR HIGH SCHOOLS HAVE SOME FORMS OF PATHWAYS.
AND THEN FOR MAY RIVER AND BATTERY CREEK, WE HAVE SEPARATE BUILDINGS OR A WING THAT STUDENTS CAN WALK DOWN AND TAKE THOSE SPECIALTY TRADES COURSES.
SO I THOUGHT YOU MIGHT FIND THIS INTERESTING.
WHAT'S OUR IMPACT? SO THIS IS LAST YEAR'S ENROLLMENT DATA.
THE FIRST COLUMN THAT'S TOTAL ENROLLMENT FOR THOSE SIX HIGH SCHOOLS.
THEN YOU CAN SEE TOTAL COURSE ENROLLMENTS.
THAT MEANS ONE OR MORE KIDS ARE TAKEN, OR STUDENTS ARE TAKING ONE OR MORE C T E COURSES WITHIN A GIVEN SCHOOL YEAR.
AND THEN I BROKE IT DOWN FOR YOU BY FALL AND SPRING UNDUPLICATED COUNT.
SO FOR EXAMPLE, UH, BLUFFTON HIGH SCHOOL WE'RE AT 62% IN THE FALL AND 84% IN THE SPRING.
SO WE ARE TOUCHING A LOT OF STUDENTS WHO HAVE AN INTEREST IN TAKING THESE COURSES.
NOW, IS THAT ALL STUDENTS WHO ARE STICKING WITH IT TOWARD A COMPLETER PATHWAY? UH, NEXT SLIDE PLEASE.
WE THOUGHT THIS WOULD BE A GREAT SNAPSHOT TO SHOW, WELL, HOW ARE WE MAKING A DIFFERENCE? WHAT'S, WHAT'S YOUR RETURN ON INVESTMENT? ARE OUR TAXPAYER'S RETURN ON INVESTMENT? SO I'LL CALL YOUR ATTENTION TO THE GRAD RATE AND TO THE POST PROGRAM PLACEMENT RATE.
SO IN 20 21, 22, UH, LAST YEAR'S DATA IS STILL EMBARGOED.
WE HAD A ALMOST A HUNDRED PERCENT, UM, GRADUATION RATE, MEANING STUDENTS WHO STARTED IN THE NINTH GRADE THAT HAD A INTEREST IN SOMETHING, CAREER IN TECH ED, THEY STUCK WITH IT.
AND THEY TOOK THREE OR FOUR COURSES WITHIN THAT PATHWAY.
AND THEY DID AN INDUSTRY CERTIFICATION.
THEY GRADUATED WITH THEIR COHORT.
UH, YOU RECEIVED A FLYER THAT WAS ALSO INCLUDED WITH THIS PRESENTATION WITH C T E IN SOUTH CAROLINA.
AND YOU'LL NOTE THAT AS WELL ACROSS THE STATE.
KIDS WHO WHO TAKE THESE COURSES TEND TO WANNA STAY IN SCHOOL AND GRADUATE.
AND YOU SAY, WELL, THE DEVIL'S IN THE DETAILS WITH THE PERCENTAGES, JUST SO THAT YOU'LL KNOW.
AND THAT WAS 693 STUDENTS OUT OF 694 THAT STARTED IN NINTH GRADE, STUCK WITH IT, AND THEY GRADUATED.
SO THAT'S A SIGNIFICANT NUMBER.
FAR AS POST PLACEMENT, WE ALMOST HAD A HUNDRED PERCENT OF THE STUDENTS THAT WE SURVEYED, WHICH WAS 399.
ARE YOU IN SCHOOL? ARE YOU WORKING? ARE YOU GAINFULLY EMPLOYED? SO OF THOSE 399, UH, 401 STUDENTS, 399 MET THOSE THREE CRITERIA.
AGAIN, WE'RE MAKING A DIFFERENCE NUMBERS WISE, DO WE NEED TO INCREASE? MOST DEFINITELY.
AND THEN ONE OF THE QUESTIONS WAS ASKED, WELL, WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE INDIVIDUAL PATHWAYS, WHERE ARE WE AT? SO FOR 21, 22, OUR, UM, OUR LARGEST COMPLETED PATHWAY, HEALTH SCIENCES, WE HAD 180 STUDENTS WHO COMPLETED THREE OR MORE COURSES IN A HEALTHCARE FIELD, WHICH IS GOOD BECAUSE THAT ALIGNS TO THE HEALTHCARE WORKFORCE NEEDS.
THAT IS CRITICAL, EVEN WITHIN OUR COUNTY.
UH, BUSINESS AND HOSPITALITY CA CAME A CLOSE SECOND.
UH, THEN OUR, OUR HUMAN SERVICES SIDE, AND THEN OUR SKILLED TRADES WAS NEXT, AND THEN OUR STEM.
SO WE WANT TO INCREASE THE CAPACITY FOR THE SKILLED TRADES IN THE STEMS IF WE'RE GOING TO BE ABLE TO MEET THAT.
SO SOME WAYS THAT WE'RE DOING THAT.
UM, EXCELLENT SOFTWARE CALLED PATH EXPLORER.
WE HAVE OVER 5,500 STUDENTS WHO TOOK ADVANTAGE OF THIS FOR OUR MIDDLE SCHOOLS.
I USE, UH, FEDERAL FUNDS, UH, TO, UH, HAVE THAT ACCESSIBLE TO ALL EIGHTH GRADERS.
UM, THERE'S CAREER INTEREST INVENTORY.
THERE'S, UH, HUNDREDS OF VIDEOS.
IT'S LITTLE SHORT VIGNETTES ON
[02:00:01]
THE DAY IN THE LIFE OF, SO THAT THEY START TO SEE WHAT DIFFERENT PEOPLE DO WITHIN THEIR PATHWAYS.ALSO, WE HAD OVER 5,000 CAREER PROFILES CREATED.
SO THAT STARTS THEM THINKING ABOUT, WHAT AM I GONNA DO WHEN I GO INTO HIGH SCHOOL? NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE.
ANOTHER ONE THAT'S BEEN REVAMPED BY THE STATE IS CALLED SCOS.
SO THAT'S WHAT WE'RE USING AT OUR HIGH SCHOOL TO HELP OUR STUDENTS BEGIN TO MAKE THOSE COLLEGE AND CAREER DECISIONS.
THE NEXT SLIDE, I REALLY WANNA CALL YOUR ATTENTION TO AND TO THANK YOU.
RODRIGUEZ AND, AND MS. CROSBY AND SENIOR LEADERSHIP, WE NOW HAVE CAREER DEVELOPMENT FACILITATORS.
I CAN'T TELL YOU HOW APPRECIATIVE WE ARE OF THAT POSITION, BECAUSE AS A RESULT, WE HAVE BEEN ABLE TO SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASE, UM, RESOURCES AND SUPPORT FOR OUR SCHOOLS, PARENTS AND STUDENTS THROUGH EVENTS, CAREER EXPLORATION, EXPOSURE.
ALL EIGHTH GRADERS SHOULD BE RECEIVING A CAREER INTEREST INVENTORY THAT IS CONDUCTED BY OUR CAREER DEVELOPMENT FACILITATORS.
WE HAVE INCREASED BUSINESS AND, UH, PARTNERSHIPS AND INITIATIVES.
ALL HIGH SCHOOLS PRETTY SURE WILL NOW THIS YEAR OFFER A REALITY DAY, WHICH IS WONDERFUL.
IF YOU HAVEN'T HAD A CHANCE TO PARTICIPATE, WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO INCREASE WORK-BASED LEARNING.
LAST YEAR WE HAD 107 INTERNSHIPS.
THAT'S NOT JUST COUNTING, JOB SHADOWING OR THE 40 HOUR MINIMUM AT 64 DIFFERENT WORK SITES.
UH, THAT'S, THAT'S THE MOST THAT WE HAVE HAD.
ONE OF THE THINGS THAT OUR C D S ARE DOING, UH, IS AN INITIATIVE WITH THE HILTON HEAD, BLUFFTON CHAMBER OF COMMERCE.
THEY ARE WORKING TOWARD, UM, WHERE THEY WILL HAVE INTERNSHIPS THAT WILL BE POSTED ON THE CHAMBER SITE, AND THEY'RE GONNA HELP TO MARKET AND PROMOTE THIS.
THEN OUR C D S WILL WORK ON IDENTIFYING THOSE STUDENTS.
AND THEN THERE'LL BE A PARTNERSHIP.
AND WE'RE GONNA PILOT THIS STARTING IN THE SPRING.
SPEAKERS IN THE CLASSROOM, UH, CAREER CAFES, UH, C D S HAVE, ARE KNOCKING IT OUTTA THE PARK.
RIVER'S SEAT, CAREER CAFE AT ROBERT SMALLS, OR DR.
MENZIES AT LADIES ISLAND MIDDLE SCHOOL.
UM, FIELD TRIPS, UH, BLUFFTON HIGH SCHOOL, C D F TOOK THE STUDENTS, BIOMED STUDENTS TO THE, UH, SHERIFF'S, UM, FORENSICS LAB.
YOU KNOW, WE HAVE ONE OF THE TOP-NOTCH FORENSICS LAB HERE IN THE, UM, THE, THE SOUTHEAST REGION.
SO AGAIN, I JUST WANNA THANK YOU FOR, UH, GIVING CREDENCE TO THAT POSITION.
'CAUSE IT TRULY IS MAKING A DIFFERENCE.
AND WE CAN GIVE YOU, WE CAN GIVE YOU EXACT NUMBERS, UM, BECAUSE WE HAVE TO REPORT THAT TO THE STATE.
FEW OTHER WAYS THAT WE'RE MAKING A DIFFERENCE, AND WE'LL TALK ABOUT THE FUTURE.
AND MS. MIDDLETON, I KNOW YOU MISS TEACHING WHEN SHE MENTIONED ALL THE, THE BIOMED.
I KNOW YOU MISS TEACHING THAT, BUT WE'LL TAKE YOU BACK.
UM, THE J O T C, WHICH IS NEAR AND DEAR TO MY HEART.
UM, WE NOW HAVE A J O T C IN EVERY HIGH SCHOOL.
WE BROUGHT ON BOARD LIEUTENANT COLONEL MARK RUM AND SENIOR MASTER SERGEANT ADAM REED IN MAY RIVER.
THEY ALREADY HAVE STUDENTS ALREADY.
THEY BORROWED UNIFORMS BECAUSE THE AIR FORCE WASN'T READY FOR THEM TO START, BUT THEY'RE MAKING IT WORK.
WE HAVE ALMOST A HUNDRED KIDS.
UM, IN TERMS OF, UM, CADET LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT, WE'RE IN CYBER PATRIOT.
UH, VEX ROBOTICS, UH, DRONES, UM, AS YOU ALL KNOW, IF YOU'RE OUT THERE, WE SUPPORT THE COMMUNITY EVENTS, POSTING COLORS AT HUNDREDS OF EVENTS THROUGHOUT OUR, UM, LOW COUNTRY.
UM, AND OF COURSE, OUR STUDENTS, IT'S, IT'S A MERIT IMAGE OF THE MILITARY.
THEY HOLD LEADERSHIP POSITIONS, WHETHER IT'S A COMMANDER, A FIRST SERGEANT, YOU KNOW, BOTH OFFICER, COMMISSION OFFICER, NON-COMMISSION OFFICER TO BUILD THAT LEADERSHIP.
UM, NOW ALL OF YOU MARK YOUR CALENDARS.
THE SUPERINTENDENT'S CUP
THEY'LL BE PERFORMING DRILLING CEREMONY, AND THEY'LL HAVE AN ACADEMIC BOWL.
WE HAD TO SPLIT IT UP THIS YEAR BECAUSE OF BUS ISSUES.
THE NEXT ONE IS THE 17TH OF NOVEMBER AT BEAUFORT HIGH.
THEY'RE GONNA DO THE FIELD DAY, UM, ALL OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES, FITNESS KNOCKOUT, WHERE THEY HAVE A DRILL AND CEREMONY WITH THE DRILL SERGEANTS.
AND LAST ONE, STANDING WINDS KNOCKOUT.
UM, AND OF COURSE, THE TROPHY AND PLAQUE PRESENTATIONS BY THE SUPERINTENDENT.
THEY SUPPORT YOU GUYS IN EVERY ENDEAVOR YOU HAVE.
[02:05:01]
UM, NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE.THE STUDENT PROFILES STACKABLE CREDENTIALS.
IT PROVIDES CLEAR ROADMAPS THAT SUPPORTS STUDENTS TO GAIN EMPLOYMENT AND ACTUALLY VISUALIZE HOW TO GET THERE.
UM, THE STATE, WE HAVE A MEETING 24TH OF OCTOBER.
UM, ALL THE STATE DIRECTORS AND COORDINATORS, AND HOPEFULLY THEY'RE GONNA GIVE US, UM, THE LATEST UPDATES ON IT.
UM, EXAMPLES OF THAT, OSHA, AS AN EXAMPLE, IS IT'S AN INDUSTRY NEED.
WE HAD 608 CERTIFICATIONS LAST YEAR.
WE CONTRACT FOR SOMEBODY TO COME IN, UH, BETWEEN BOTH SCHOOLS, UH, BATTERY CREEK AND MAY RIVER, WE HAD ALMOST A 70% PASS RATE.
AND THAT'S AN INTERNATIONALLY RECOGNIZED WELDING CERTIFICATION.
AND WITH THAT STACKABLE, THEY ALSO GET OSHA AND THEY GET ONE FROM, UH, TYCO.
WE WANT 'EM TO BE ABLE TO WALK OUT THE DOOR IF THEY CHOOSE AND, AND HAVE THAT CREDENTIAL.
THAT'S PROOF THAT THEY KNOW THEIR SKILL, THEIR TRADE.
UM, THE EMPLOYABILITY SKILLS FOCUS, WE BRIEFED ON THIS BEFORE THE EMPLOYERS SAID, LOOK GUYS, WE UNDERSTAND THE CURRICULUM PIECE, BUT WE HAVE SOME SOFT SKILL ISSUES, WHICH JUST HOW THEY SHOW UP TO WORK, HOW THEY WORK, AND WHAT'S EXPECTED.
SO WE ACTUALLY HAVE A STATE CREDENTIAL, MICROBURST LEARNING SOFT SKILLS CREDENTIAL.
AND LAST YEAR WE HAD 401, UH, CREDENTIALS THAT WENT OUT.
AND IT'S BASED ON MODULES AND PROJECTS.
STUDENT ORGANIZATIONS, CAREER AND TECHNICAL STUDENT ORGANIZATIONS, UM, THEIR STATE AND NATIONALLY RECOGNIZED, UH, TO ALLOW STUDENTS TO COMPETE AND GROW INTO LEADERSHIP ROLES.
UM, YOU'VE PROBABLY BEEN IN SOME OF THOSE, BUT THAT'S, THAT'S WHAT WE HAVE FOR OUR CTSOS.
AND JUST TO WRAP UP THE NEXT FEW SLIDES IS WHAT WE'RE LOOKING TOWARD TO THE FUTURE.
THERE, WE, YOU SEE OUR GOALS AND WANTING TO MEET THE EMERGING AND CURRENT WORKFORCE NEEDS, AND PARTICULARLY IN CRITICAL AREAS.
IF YOU GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE.
UH, THIS IS OUR PLANNING TOOL.
WE JUST WANNA MAKE SURE, IS WE'RE LOOKING AT LEARNING SPACES AND MODERNIZING, UH, NOT NECESSARILY EXPANDING.
LOOKING AT WHAT WE HAVE AND PROVIDING THAT QUALITY TOWARD THAT.
WHAT CAN WE DO THAT ADAPTS OVER TIME AS EMERGING JOBS ADAPT? NEXT SLIDE.
SO YOU'VE SEEN THESE NEXT TWO SLIDES.
RODRIGUEZ AND HIS, UH, COMMUNITY, UH, UH, SESSIONS.
THIS IS JUST A LITTLE MORE DETAILS WE THOUGHT WOULD BE HELPFUL TO YOU.
UH, THE DESIGN PROCESSES AREN'T IN PLACE FOR MAY RIVER AND HILTON HEAD, SO WE'RE EXCITED THAT THAT WOULD BE SOME, UH, MODERNIZATION OF SOME EXISTING C T E PROGRAMS. AS WELL AS ADDING, UH, A FEW NEW ONES AT HILTON HEAD.
SAME THING WITH BEAUFORT HIGH IN BLUFFTON HIGH BY, UM, HAVING SOME EXPANSION WHERE WE CAN MOVE SOME OF THE EXISTING, UH, PROGRAMS INTO A, A DIFFERENT BUILDING.
THEN THAT'LL HELP TO FREE UP SPACE FOR CAPACITY AS WELL AS CONTINUING TO MEET THOSE NEEDS.
AND THE, THE NEXT COUPLE SLIDES IS JUST LOOKING AT, WE'LL CONTINUE TO HAVE A FOCUS ON MIDDLE SCHOOL SO THAT WE HELP THOSE STUDENTS IN THEIR EXPLORATION AND MAKING WISE CHOICES AS WELL AS WE'RE EXCITED ABOUT.
WELL BRANCH, UM, WE'LL CONTINUE WITH THE MEDTECH SEVEN TO INCREASE THE IT FOCUSED CYBER PATRIOT, THE GOOD THINGS THAT THEY'RE DOING THERE.
AND THEN THE NEXT SLIDE IS FOR BEAUFORT JASPER.
UH, WE'LL CONTINUE TO ALIGN, UH, WITH WHAT WE OFFER AND PARTNER WITH THEM.
WE HAD MIKE, VICKI AND I, WE HAD AN EXCELLENT OPENING WITH PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT WITH OUR TEACHERS IN WHICH THEY CAME TOGETHER.
WE HAD A, A MEMBER OF THE HOME BUILDERS ASSOCIATION THAT CAME AND SPOKE WITH THEM.
AND IT WAS A GOOD COLLABORATION.
UH, AGAIN, WE'LL NEEDED TO CONTINUE TO GROW.
UH, THAT IS A GROWTH FOR US FOR OUR POST-SECONDARY DUAL ENROLLMENT OPTIONS.
AND THEN FOR TIME SAKE, I, I UNDERSTAND WE'LL NEED TO CLOSE IT, BUT IF YOU HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY PL PLEASE LOOK AT THE VIDEO OF JOSH FERGUSON.
HE WAS ONE OF THE, THE TEACHER OF THE YEAR FINALIST AT WELL BRANCH EARLY COLLEGE HIGH SCHOOL.
HE IS A SPORTS MEDICINE TEACHER.
AND WHAT HE AND THE STUDENTS SAY, CAPTURE THE SPIRIT OF WHAT CAREER IN TECH IS.
WE'RE EXCITED ABOUT WHAT THE FUTURE HOLDS, AND WE APPRECIATE YOUR CONTINUED SUPPORT.
SO WE'LL ASK FOR ANY QUESTIONS.
THIS IS NOT A QUESTION, BUT THIS IS A RINGING ENDORSEMENT.
HAVING WORKED CLOSELY WITH THE C T E PEOPLE, UH, AND THEIR PROFESSIONALISM AND THEIR PASSION AS WHAT YOU SEE HERE, UH, WHEN YOU LOOK AT JOBS AND WHERE THE DEMAND IS COMING, UH, THIS PARTICULAR LOW COUNTRY AREA ALREADY
[02:10:01]
HAS A REAL STRONG EMPLOYMENT BASE, BUT IT'S ALSO GOING TO DIVERSIFY IN THE VERY NEAR FUTURE.A LOT OF TECHNICAL C T E JOBS ARE COMING.
SOME OF THAT'S DRIVEN BY THE FACT THAT THE JASPER OCEAN TERMINAL, UH, WITH THE NEW CONTAINERS, CURRENT SHIPS THAT CAN COME, YOU COME THROUGH THE OLD PAN PANAMA CANAL COULD CARRY 88 8,000 CONTAINER UNITS.
THE NEW SUPERMAX SHIPS THAT CAN COME THROUGH THE PANAMA CANAL CAN CARRY UP TO 22,000 CONTAINERS.
THEY'RE TOO BIG TO GO UNDER THE BRIDGE CROSSING OVER TO SAVANNAH.
SO THE AIR DRAFT DIFFERENCE, THE DISTANCE BETWEEN THE BORDER LEVEL AND THE BOTTOM OF THE BRIDGE WILL COST $500 MILLION TO RETROFIT.
SO THAT MEANS THE ECONOMICS ARE TO PUSH THAT TERMINAL DOWN CLOSER TO THE OCEAN MOUTH, MOUTH OF THE SAVANNAH RIVER.
THAT MEANS THE JAS OCEAN TERMINAL IS BECOMING MORE AND MORE FEASIBLE.
THAT'S GOING TO REQUIRE AN EXPONENTIAL GROWTH IN C T E JOBS.
SO I JUST WANT TO COMPLIMENT THE DISTRICT AND ALL THE EFFORTS TO SORT OF SYNCHRONIZE EVERYTHING THEY'RE DOING WITH THE EMERGING DEMAND.
MR. SMITH, UM, FIRST LET ME STOP BY SAYING I APPRECIATE WORK THAT YOU, THAT YOU, THAT YOU ALL DO IN YOUR CD DEPARTMENT.
BUT YOU KNOW, MY, MY HEART IS SO FULL IN HEARING THIS INFORMATION, BUT I, I DON'T THINK LIKE HOW WE KIND OF, UH, YOU ASKED US TO AT THE END TO PLEASE GO AND WATCH THAT VIDEO.
AND WE MUST FOCUS ON, ON, ON, ON THIS INFORMATION.
WHEN YOU BRING US THIS, WHEN YOU BRING US THIS FORWARD, MAYBE SOMETIMES YOU MAY NEED TO COME TO A WORK SESSION,
PROFESSIONAL BASKETBALL IS GOOD, BUT THE STATISTICS OF SOME KIDS MAKING IT OUT AND MAKING IT TO BE TO THE PROFESSIONAL LEVEL AIN'T ALL GOOD FOR US.
THESE PROGRAMS THAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT MUST BE TALKED ABOUT THE SAME WAY WE ARE PILOTING OTHER THINGS IN THIS COMMUNITY.
WE MUST HAVE FLYERS WITH THIS INFORMATION ON IT TO LET THESE KIDS KNOW THAT BEFORD COUNTY IS PUTTING A WAY OUT FOR YOU IN THIS DISTRICT.
I DEFINITELY WOULD LIKE MORE DATA TO UNDERSTAND HOW THE PROGRAM IS MOVING, WHAT WE ARE PUTTING OUT, WHAT'S THE PROCESS? WHAT ARE WE GETTING OUT, OUT OF CERTAIN PROGRAMS, UH, THAT WE, THAT, THAT WE HAVE GOING ON, WHERE THE COUNTRY IS GOING AT, WHERE DO WE SEE THE NEED FOR US TO, TO PUT THE PROGRAMS THAT WE NEED FOR US TO PUT IN, IN TERMS OF OUR MENU.
THERE A LOT OF QUESTIONS THERE.
AND THIS IS VERY, VERY IMPORTANT WORK THAT WE HAVE GOING ON.
AND THIS WORK CAN BE OVERSHADOWED BEYOND ANY OF THE OTHER THINGS THAT WE DO.
THE SAME WITH HOW WE PUT OTHER INFORMATION OUT ON THE INTERNET.
IT AL IT'S ALMOST WHERE WE NEED TO HAVE AT LEAST ONCE A MONTH WHERE WE'RE TALKING ABOUT A SITE OR WE'RE TALKING ABOUT SOMETHING THAT THE C T E PROGRAMS OFFERS.
BECAUSE THERE, THERE'S A LOT OF PEOPLE WHO DOES NOT REALIZE AND WHO DON'T KNOW.
WHEN I WAS IN SCHOOL, I DIDN'T REALIZE WHAT C T E WAS AND EVERYONE AIN'T GONNA GO TO COLLEGE.
WE CANNOT LET OUR OUTLET DIE AND, AND, AND, AND PUSH IT AT TIMES WHEN IT'S CONVENIENT.
WE MUST, AND I'M NOT SAYING THAT YOU ARE, BUT WE HAVE TO PUSH IT THE SAME WAY WE PUSH EVERY DAGGONE THING ELSE IN THIS DISTRICT.
AND, AND, AND, AND I CAN JUST NOT LET THIS MOMENT GO BECAUSE MY HEART ACHES BECAUSE KIDS DO NOT KNOW OF SOME OF THESE PROGRAMS. AND THAT THIS IS ANOTHER WAY OUT.
FOOTBALL'S GREAT, DIFFERENT THINGS ARE GREAT ACADEMICS, BUT EVERYONE IS NOT ACADEMICALLY INCLINED.
BUT WE CAN GIVE THEM A, A AWFUL WAY THAT THEY CAN FEED THEIR FAMILY AND GIVE THEM ANOTHER OPTION.
I JUST WANNA PUT THAT OUT THERE.
I ENCOURAGE US ALL, INCLUDING THIS BOARD.
THANK YOU MADAM CHAIR AND THANK YOU FOR YOUR PRESENTATION.
UM, SOME OF THE THINGS THAT I WAS HOPEFULLY WE WOULD HAVE SOME INFORMATION ON KIND OF GOES TO SOMETHING I TOUCHED ON AT OUR, I BELIEVE OUR LAST BOARD MEETING ON HILTON HAD, UM, WHEN WE WERE LOOKING AT STUDENT DATA.
AND THAT HAS TO DO WITH ALIGNMENT TO OUR STRATEGIC PLAN.
UM, THERE'S ITEMS IN THERE WHERE WE HAVE GOALS.
UH, I BELIEVE WE'RE SUPPOSED TO BE INCREASING
[02:15:01]
BY 5% ANNUALLY.UM, AND SO IT'S, IT'S DIFFICULT TO KNOW AS A BOARD MEMBER WHETHER OR NOT WE ARE REACHING OUR GOALS YEAR OVER YEAR.
'CAUSE THERE'S NO YEAR OVER YEAR DATA, UM, HERE.
AND SO I, I WOULD HOPE THAT WE CAN, UM, LOOK AT THAT DATA IN THE FUTURE TO SEE WHAT OUR, UM, PROGRAM CAPACITY IS FOR C T E AND THE VARIOUS DIFFERENT COURSES THAT WE OFFER AND WHAT THE ACTUAL ENROLLMENT IS.
UM, SO WE KNOW IF WE'RE GROWING ENROLLMENT IN VARIOUS DIFFERENT COURSES THAT WE'RE OFFERING.
'CAUSE I THINK WE HAVE SOME FANTASTIC OFFERINGS, BUT I JUST DON'T KNOW, UM, WHERE WE STAND IN TERMS OF THE, THE ACTUAL ENROLLMENT TO WHAT WE CAN PROVIDE.
UM, AND I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW, YOU KNOW, ARE WE GROWING IN NUMBERS IN TERMS OF HOW MANY STUDENTS ARE ENROLLED YEAR OVER YEAR? I KNOW WE HAVE THE ENROLLMENT DATA FROM FROM ONE YEAR HERE, BUT I DON'T SEE THE PRIOR YEAR OR ANY ANTICIPATED GOAL.
AND I KNOW ON THE GOALS HERE IT SAYS INCREASE, UM, CERTAIN ITEMS, BUT INCREASE BY WHAT I JUST WOULD LIKE SOME MORE DATA, UH, TO DRIVE FROM AS A BOARD MEMBER SO THAT I CAN, YOU KNOW, GO OUT INTO MY COMMUNITY AND SAY, YES, WE ARE ABSOLUTELY GROWING, UM, C T E BY THIS PERCENTAGE EACH YEAR.
UM, WE HAVE MORE KIDS THAT ARE INTERESTED IN X PROGRAM.
UM, SO TELL EVERYBODY ABOUT IT.
IT'S REALLY COMPETITIVE, YOU KNOW, TO DRIVE UP THE INTEREST.
UM, AND BY HAVING THOSE NUMBERS THAT'LL HELP SUPPORT US DO THAT.
UM, SO THAT'S JUST MY, MY MAIN COMMENT AND I APPRECIATE Y'ALL LISTENING TO ME.
IF, IF I MAY, MADAM CHAIR, YES.
AND YOU ARE, UH, POINT ON WHEN THEY, UH, RELEASE THE EMBARGO DATA, WHICH WILL INCLUDE THE C T E CAREER READINESS, WE WILL PUT IT IN THAT FORMAT TO WHERE WE CAN SEE FROM OVER A FIVE YEAR PERIOD AND, UH, HAVE WE MET OUR TRANSFORMATIONAL GOALS OF 5% GROWTH AND ACTUATOR CROSSROADS, THEN WHERE WE GO FROM HERE AS TO THE PERCENTAGES AND TO REVISIT THAT.
SO YES MA'AM, WE'LL BE GLAD TO PUT THAT IN A FORMAT AS WELL AS INCLUDE THE ENROLLMENT.
OKAY, UM, PIGGYBACK OFF, UH, DR.
WISNESKI A LITTLE BIT ON THE DATA ASPECT OF THINGS.
UM, SO ONE THING I WAS WONDERING ABOUT IS, I KNOW HAVING KIDS IN THE SCHOOL SYSTEM THAT OFTENTIMES CTS ARE ELECTIVES.
LIKE YOU TAKE A CULINARY CLASS THAT'S DIFFERENT THAN SOMEONE WHO'S PURSUING A CAREER IN CULINARY SCIENCE.
AND A LOT OF TIMES THERE'S A GUIDANCE COMPONENT TO THIS, UM, BECAUSE I DO HEAR COMPLAINTS FROM PARENTS THAT THEY TOOK A LOT OF CT CLASSES BUT DIDN'T GET ANY COMPLETE OR CERTIFICATES.
SO, UM, I WOULD LIKE TO SEE THOSE NUMBERS SORT OF WHEAT FROM THE TRACK.
LIKE WHO'S ACTUALLY GETTING CERTIFICATES? I THINK THAT C T E REQUIRES A HUGE INVESTMENT BY THIS DISTRICT FOR THE FUTURE OF WORKFORCE.
UM, I THINK THE BOARD NEEDS TO MAKE THAT A BUDGET PRIORITY, UH, BECAUSE I'M A HUGE FAN OF AI, BUT I THINK AI IS GOING TO DECIMATE CONTENT-BASED EXPERTISE, WHICH IS GOING TO LARGELY IMPACT WHITE COLLAR WORKERS.
UM, BUT I CAN TELL YOU AS SOMEONE WHO WAS STANDING IN SIX INCHES OF WATER, UH, IN MY BASEMENT, YOU CAN'T AI A PLUMBER AND WE NEED MORE PLUMBERS.
AND WHEN I CALLED THE LEAK DETECTOR AND HE COULDN'T GET OUT THERE FOR THREE WEEKS, YOU KNOW, I WAS LIKE, I SHOULD BE STARTING A LEAK DETECTION BUSINESS HERE IN BEAUFORT COUNTY.
UM, SO OBVIOUSLY WE ARE A HIGH NEEDS AREA WITH A LOT OF RETIREES WHO WANT TO USE SERVICES SERVICES.
WE'RE DOING A LOT OF BUILDING.
UM, WE HAVE A LOT OF TOURISM TRADES, SO WE NEED TO SUCK UP ALL THESE KIDS OUTTA THE SCHOOLS AND TURN THEM INTO, UH, WORKERS WITH GOOD SALARIES AND UPWARD MOBILITY AND CONTROL OVER OUR BUSINESS, UM, MODEL.
SO THE OTHER THING, UM, AS FAR AS DATA GOES, I THINK IT'S IMPERATIVE THAT WE SOLVE FOR THE CT PROGRAM.
AND I, I KNOW THAT, UM, MR. UH, DALLAS SAYS THIS SOMETIMES, WHAT'S THE DEMAND? WHAT C T E PROGRAMS ARE THE MOST IN DEMAND IN THE COMMUNITY OR FOR KIDS THAT THEY'RE MOST INTERESTED IN? AND MAKING SURE THAT THOSE ARE EQUITABLY DISTRIBUTED BETWEEN THE SCHOOLS.
BECAUSE IF MY CHILD WANTS TO STUDY ARCHITECTURE AND ENGINEERING, AND BLUFFTON HAS GOT THE PROGRAM RIGHT NOW ON SOUTH OF ABROAD, THERE IS NO SCHOOL CHOICE.
BUT I CANNOT STAND THE IDEA THAT THERE'S A BUNCH OF KIDS WHO, BASED ON WHERE THEIR ADDRESSES HAVE ACCESS TO A VERY LIMITED MENU OF C T E.
SO I WOULD LIKE TO FIGURE OUT HOW WE CAN SOLVE THAT FOR C T E SO THAT KIDS CAN CHOOSE ANY, IF THEY'RE WILLING TO DRIVE TO BATTERY CREEK 'CAUSE THEY WANT THEIR SON'S OR DAUGHTER'S INTEREST IN THIS PROGRAM.
UM, BATTERY CREEK'S A BAD EXAMPLE 'CAUSE THEY HAVE SCHOOL CHOICE.
IF THEY WANNA DRIVE TO MAY RIVER OR TO BLUFFTON OR TO HILTON HEAD, THEY SHOULD BE ABLE TO, AND I THINK WE SHOULD COME UP WITH EITHER AN EXCEPTION OR SOMETHING OR, UM, ON THE OTHER HAND, IF THERE ARE PROGRAMS THAT ARE REALLY POPULAR IN HIGH DEMAND, WE SHOULD REPLICATE 'EM.
UM, A LOT OF THIS I'M NOT GO AHEAD, SIT DOWN.
[02:20:01]
A LOT OF THIS INFORMATION IS OUR RESPONSIBILITY AS BOARD MEMBERS TO GO IN YOUR COMMUNITY AND DO THIS.
I I PARTNERED WITH MY COUNCIL MEMBER.
IN FACT, WE GOT A MEETING THIS COMING SUNDAY, GORDON WELLS AND I WILL PASS OUT THIS INFORMATION.
I ALWAYS DO THAT AND WE CANNOT BLAME THE THE DISTRICT TO DO IT ALL BY HIMSELF.
UM, I, I'VE, I'VE HEARD, HEARD A LOT ABOUT US HAVING CERTAIN PROGRAMS THAT WE HAVE IN ONE AREA THAT WE DON'T HAVE ANOTHER AREA.
UM, AS A BOARD, CAN'T WE MAKE THAT DECISION TO OPEN IT UP AND TELL UNTIL THE SUPERINTENDENT SAYS, HEY, THIS SCHOOL IS PACKED, OR THAT PROGRAM IS PACKED, BE BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, I DON'T WANT TO HINDER NO KID COMING FROM FLIP ISLAND TO HILTON HEAD WHO WANTS TO HAVE THE, THE ABILITY, THE OPPORTUNITY TO DRIVE AND GO TO ANOTHER PROGRAM.
SO I DON'T WANT TO HEAR THE NO KID FROM DOING THAT.
SO WHAT IS THAT PROCESS SO THAT WE DON'T DO THAT? SO, SO THAT, SO THAT WE DON'T EXCLUDE NO KID TO ANY OPTION THAT THE DISTRICT HAVE, BECAUSE I DON'T THINK THAT IT'S DONE INTENTIONALLY.
I JUST THINK IT'S BASED, SOMETIMES IT'S DONE BASED, BASED OFF OF RESOURCES, SUPPLY AND DEMAND AND WHAT AND WHAT WE HAVE IN, IN TERMS OF FUNDING.
BUT IF WE CAN OFFER THAT, THEN I DON'T SEE A PROBLEM.
THAT'S, I BELIEVE LEADERSHIP STOPS AT THE TOP.
SO WHAT'S THAT PROCESS SO THAT WE'RE NOT ASKING THAT, WE'RE NOT MAKING THOSE COMMENTS ANYMORE.
SO, UM, MR. SMITH, THANK YOU FOR THE QUESTION.
UM, SO INITIALLY IT'S A COUPLE OF THINGS.
NUMBER ONE, UH, STUDENTS CAN CHOOSE TO GO TO PROGRAMS IN OTHER SCHOOLS, RIGHT? AS LONG AS THE CAPACITIES NOT AN ISSUE TO MISS BELT.
WRIGHT'S POINT, WHEN YOU'RE LOOKING AT, UH, HIGH SCHOOLS IN RIGHT? IN, UH, OUR SCHOOLS IN SOUTHERN BEAUFORD COUNTY, YOU KNOW, THE, THE CAPACITY BECOMES AN ISSUE, RIGHT? IN NORTHERN BEAUFORD COUNTY, WE STILL HAVE SPACE.
UH, SO, SO, UH, YOU, YOU KNOW, YOU CAN TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE SPACE OF THE PROGRAMS THAT EXIST, UH, IN NORTHERN BEAUFORT COUNTY.
UM, UH, I THINK THE ANSWER TO THE QUESTION QUESTION, IF YOU'RE, IF YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO OFFER THESE PROGRAMS IN, UH, UM, YOU KNOW, EVERY SCHOOL, UH, SO TO SPEAK, OR FOR ONE, UH, FACILITIES, WELL, WELL, NOT EVERY SCHOOL IN TERMS OF IF IT MAY RIVER HAVE A PROGRAM THAT KIDS WANT, KIDS, KIDS WANT TO PARTICIPATE IN, AND THEY HAVE THE ROOM, THEN HEY, SCHOOL OF CHOICE IS OPEN TO STUDENTS FROM THIS AREA TO TRAVEL TO MAY RIVER TO GO AND, AND DO THAT.
THAT'S, THAT'S, THAT'S, YEAH, BUT THAT'S SPECIFICALLY, YEAH.
SO THAT, THAT PARTICULAR ISSUE COMES DOWN TO CAPACITY, RIGHT.
BUT, BUT EVERY KID HAVE THAT OPPORTUNITY, THAT CHOICE.
IF THE PROGRAM IS NOT FULL, CORRECT? IT'S, IT'S THE OVERALL, UH, UH, UH, CAPACITY OF THE SCHOOL, RIGHT? RIGHT.
SO, SO IN SOUTHERN BEAUFORD COUNTY IS MS. INGRID'S, UH, MS. INGRID, SORRY, MS. BE WRIGHT'S POINT, RIGHT? UH,
OKAY? UM, BUT IN NORTHERN BEAUFORT COUNTY, THERE IS, UH, THERE IS THE SPACE, YOU KNOW, EXPANDING THAT IS A MATTER OF EXPANDING, UH, CAREER AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION SPACES, RIGHT? EXPANDING ADDITIONAL FACILITY, UH, YOU KNOW, UH, YOU'VE GOT ON THIS REFERENDUM, YOU'VE GOT, UH, CAREER AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION, UH, UH, THREE FACILITIES, RIGHT? YOU'VE GOT, UH, AN EXPANSION AND, UH, AT, UH, AN ADDITION AT, UH, UH, BLUFFTON HIGH SCHOOL, AT
SO IF WE EXPAND THE C T E, IF WE'RE ABLE TO DO THAT, WILL THAT EXPAND THE CAPACITY OF THE SCHOOL FOR SCHOOL CHOICE? AND CAN WE THEN LIMIT THE, YOU KNOW, SO WE DON'T FILL UP SCHOOL CHOICE WITH NON C T E? IS THERE, IS THAT GONNA BE PART OF THE EQUATION WHEN WE LOOK AT EXPANDING THESE SPACES? SO WHENEVER, UH, UH, YOU HAVE THE EXPANSION OF SPACE THAT CHANGES THE, THE CAPACITY AND, AND THEN THE POSSIBILITY IS THERE, DEPENDING, RIGHT? UH, THE ADDITION OF FACILITY, UM, OF A C
[02:25:01]
T E, UH, BUILDING CREATES ADDITIONAL SPACE, RIGHT? SO WOULD, UH, WOULD IN ESSENCE CREATE ADDITIONAL CAPACITY? SO, UH, YOU STILL HAVE GROWTH TO CONTEND WITH WITHIN, WITHIN THOSE SCHOOLS, RIGHT? SO, UH, YOU KNOW, SOME DEGREE, BUT, BUT YEAH.WELL, WELL, WELL, I JUST WANTED TO GET AN UNDERSTANDING OF THAT AND ALSO DO, DO, DO, YOU KNOW, DO MY PUBLIC THAT WE ALSO DO HAVE ACE THAT WE'RE ALSO TRYING TO, THAT'S WHAT I WAS GOING NEXT TO FILL UP AND TO, BECAUSE I, ON THE ACE, I REMEMBER US HAVING THESE CONVERSATIONS ABOUT HAVING ACE TO HIS MAX CAPACITY.
AND SO ACE IS NOT AS MAX CAPACITY.
THAT BRINGS US A, ANOTHER, ANOTHER, ANOTHER ISSUE.
BECAUSE ONCE AGAIN, THAT'S, THAT'S ANOTHER, THAT'S ANOTHER OPPORTUNITY THAT WE'RE MISSING IF WE'RE NOT DOING THAT.
SO THAT IS, UH, ACE, UH, IS AVAILABLE, RIGHT? RIGHT.
UH, IN TERMS OF, UH, STUDENTS CHOOSING INTO ACE AND THEY DO, RIGHT? UH, MANY KIDS TAKE ADVANTAGE OF, OF THE ACE PROGRAM, UH, AND THE, AND THE PROGRAMS THEY HAVE THERE.
SO DOES THAT CONCLUDE YOUR, UM, SUPERINTENDENT'S REPORT? SORRY.
[Board Business Action]
SECRETARY MIDDLETON.UM, WE, I HAVE A COUPLE OF MOTIONS HERE AND I WANT TO START WITH THE FIRST ONE.
I MOVE AND WE'RE UNDER BOARD BUSINESS ACTION.
I MOVE THAT WE ACCEPT THE SUPERINTENDENT'S RECOMMENDATION.
I MOVE THAT THE BEAUFORT COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION CONCUR WITH THE FINDINGS OF THE SEPTEMBER 13TH, 2023 BOOK REVIEW COMMITTEE ON THE FOLLOWING BOOK TITLES, DAMSEL BY ELENA ARNOLD, EMPIRE STORMS BY SARAH J. MOSS, IDENTICAL BY ELLEN HOPKINS, LEAH, ON THE OFFBEAT BY BECKY ALBERT.
ALBERT ALBERT HALLEY RX, AND CRAIG BY MARGARET ATWOOD.
MS. BOATWRIGHT, STARTING WITH YOU.
OKAY, SO IT'S, UH, SEVEN THREE, RIGHT? DID I GO THERE? SO THE EIGHT THREE, I'M SORRY.
UM, MADAM CHAIR, I MOVE THAT THE BOARD OF EDUCATION, EXCEPT THE DONATION FROM THE FRIENDS OF SHANKLIN FOR A HAND TO MIND INTERVENTION KITS VALUED AT $5,999 AND 94 CENTS FOR JOSEPH SHANKLIN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, SECONDED.
HOW ABOUT IF THERE ARE NO OBJECTIONS, WE WILL ACCEPT IT AS A BOARD.
AND I WOULD ALSO LIKE TO THANK THE FRIENDS OF SHANKLIN FOR YOUR GENEROUS DONATION AND YOUR KINDNESS.
SO THAT WAS ACCEPTED UNANIMOUSLY.
WE ACCEPT THE FINANCIAL SERVICES DIVISION, O E FIVE FINANCIAL PLANNING INTERIM REPORT DATED SEPTEMBER 21ST, 2023.
SO HERE ARE MY QUESTIONS ABOUT, I KNOW THAT OUR, UM, I MEAN, WE GO THROUGH THIS WHOLE BUDGET PROCESS, SO I'M NOT, I DON'T HAVE CONCERNS ABOUT THE PROCESS.
WHAT I HAVE CONCERNS ABOUT IS HOW WE ARE SHOWING FIDELITY TO THE OE HERE.
I DON'T KNOW WHY WE'RE DOING IT IN SEPTEMBER, BUT THAT'S ON OUR WORK PLAN.
UM, SO I GUESS THAT THIS FINANCIAL PLANNING OE IS MEANT TO, UH, MONITOR WHETHER OR NOT LAST YEAR'S BUDGET AND FINANCIAL PLANNING PROCESS WAS FOLLOWED AS OPPOSED TO THE UPCOMING ONE, WHICH WE, WE, WE SHOULD PROBABLY HAVE SOMETHING WHERE WE TALK ABOUT WHAT THE, AS WE'RE GOING THROUGH THE BUDGETING PROCESS LEADING UP TO APRIL, UM, SORT OF HOW THAT FINANCIAL PLANNING, UH, VALUES ARE GONNA GO.
BUT SPECIFICALLY THERE ARE TWO AREAS, AND JUST CORRECT ME WHERE I'M, WHERE I'M WRONG,
[02:30:01]
UM, LOOKING AT THE MONETARY INDICATORS AND MOST OF THE MONITOR MONITORING INDICATORS FOR THIS ENTIRE O E IS THE ANNUAL BUDGET, WHICH IS COMPREHENSIVE AND POSTED FOR ALL TO SEE ON OUR WEBSITE.UM, BUT THERE ARE A COUPLE OF THINGS.
ONE IS, UH, O E 5.5 DELINEATES THE PROPOSED EXPENDITURES BY SITE LEVEL, INCLUDING ALL SCHOOLS, CENTRAL OFFICE AND MULTI-SCHOOL FUNCTIONS.
UM, THE INTERPRETATION SAYS THAT WE UNDERSTAND THIS COMPONENT REQUIRES THAT WE PRESENT A BUDGET TO THE BOARD THAT IS A SUMMARY OF GENERAL FUND BUDGETED AND ACTUAL EXPENDITURES BY MAJOR OBJECT CODE AS DEFINED BY THE SOUTH CAROLINA DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION SCHOOL ACCOUNTING MANUAL.
SO WE DO HAVE A SITE BUDGET, BUT IT'S NOT BROKEN DOWN BY MAJOR OBJECT CODE.
THE SECOND THING IS, I'LL ALWAYS 5.6 DISCLOSES BUDGET PLANNING ASSUMPTIONS, INCLUDING THOSE ASSUMPTIONS AND PRIORITIES, IDENTIFY THE BOARD.
IN DECEMBER, WE DIDN'T DO ANYTHING IN DECEMBER, I WENT BACK AND LOOKED TO SEE IF MAYBE I MISSED SOMETHING, BUT WE DID NOT ADDRESS THE BOARD'S PRIORITIES IN BUDGET PLANNING.
AND THAT IS A CONCERN TO ME, AND IT TIES INTO MY ONGOING REQUEST ON RESULTS.
IT SOUNDS LIKE, ACCORDING TO OUR OWN OE, THAT IN DECEMBER WE'RE SUPPOSED TO HAVE SOME SORT OF IT, I MEAN, I, THIS IS JUST WHAT I'M READING, UM, IDENTIFIED BY THE BOARD IN DECEMBER.
IT'S NOT NECESSARILY REQUIRED OF THE OE AND OF THE FINANCIAL DEPARTMENT BECAUSE THEY'RE JUST SUPPOSED TO DISCLOSE THE BUDGET PLAN, WHICH THEY'VE DONE.
BUT WE FAILED TO PROVIDE, FROM WHAT I CAN TELL PRIORITIES IN DECEMBER.
AND I THINK THAT'S ON US AS A BOARD.
AND I WOULD LIKE TO SEE, I AM, I WILL APPROVE THIS OE FIVE A BECAUSE AS WE ALL KNOW, TANYA DOES A SPECTACULAR JOB.
TWO, UM, IT, THE BUDGET IS FULSOME LAID OUT AND ON AVAILABLE ONLINE AND HAS BEEN, I DON'T HAVE CONCERNS ABOUT LAST YEAR'S BUDGET THING, BUT I DO THINK THAT WE HAVE NOT BEEN SHOWN AS MUCH FIDELITY AS WE COULD TO THE O E F FINANCIAL PLANNING, AND SPECIFICALLY THOSE TWO AREAS WHERE WE HAVE A MAJOR OBJECT CODE BREAKDOWN BY SITE I WANNA SEE IN THE NEXT OE.
AND SECONDLY, ARE, IS THERE A PLAN FOR THIS DECEMBER OR FOR US TO TALK ABOUT RESULTS OR TO TALK ABOUT OUR BUDGET PRIORITIES? BECAUSE I DON'T WANT TO GET THE BUDGET PRESENTED IN MARCH AND APRIL AND HAVE US GO, WAIT, WHAT WERE THE BUDGET PRIORITIES? I THINK KATE, RIGHT OFF THE BAT, IS A HUGE BUDGET PRIORITY.
I THINK ARTS PEOPLE HAVE TALKED ABOUT IS A BUDGET PRIORITY, I THINK STEMS A BUDGET PRIORITY.
SO I WANNA DO THAT PRIOR TO THE BUDGET PROCESS.
I'M THE DIRECTOR OF BUDGET FOR THE DISTRICT, AND I WOULD LOVE TO SPEAK TO THAT.
UM, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE HAVE DONE YEAR OVER YEAR IS WE'RE KIND OF BACKING UP THAT PROCESS OF THE, UM, OF THE BUDGET.
AND SO WE, WE KNOW THAT THEY'RE, AND THE OE DOES SAY THAT WE WILL MEET WITH THE BOARD AND DEVELOP PRIORITIES.
SO THAT IS ONE OF THE THINGS THAT IS ON THE AGENDA FOR THIS COMING DECEMBER BUDGET, IS WE'VE GOTTA WORK WITH THE BOARD TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE SCHEDULING THAT TIME TO GET THE PRIORITIES FROM, FROM THE BOARD.
UM, SO WE DO REALIZE THAT THAT IS PART OF THAT OE THAT, THAT WE NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT IS BEING FULFILLED ANNUALLY.
AND LET ME JUST CLARIFY AGAIN, I THINK THAT WE ARE FORTUNATE IN THAT WE HAVE A VERY TRANSPARENT, TRANSPARENT BUDGET PROCESS, UM, THAT HAS BEEN, UH, AWARDED
SO I'M NOT CONCERNED ABOUT THIS YEAR'S BUDGET.
WHAT I'M, WHAT I'M KIND OF TAKING TO TASK CARE IS US AS A BOARD TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE DOING THESE THINGS, UM, AS PART OF OUR MONITORING PROCESS AND THAT WHEN WE GOING FORWARD WITH THIS NEXT BUDGET PROCESS.
SO I'M NOT REALLY ASKING YOU GUYS TO RESPOND.
I APPRECIATE IT, BUT I'M SAYING FROM OUR POINT OF VIEW, BEFORE I VOTED YES ON THIS OE I WANTED TO CALL ATTENTION TO THESE SPECIFIC ITEMS. SO DR.
WISNESKI, THANK YOU, MADAM CHAIR.
I HAD VERY SIMILAR CONCERNS IN REGARD TO THE OE AND, AND THE REPORTING.
UM, I ECHO WHAT MS. BOATWRIGHT SAYS, UM, IN THE SENSE THAT, YOU KNOW, WE ARE VERY TRANSPARENT, UM, AND WE HAVE A WONDERFUL FINANCE TEAM AND OFFICE BEHIND US.
UM, I DID ALSO NOTICE THAT ITEM THAT DELINEATING BY SITE LEVEL.
AND I WENT BACK TO OUR THREE DIFFERENT, UM, BUDGET MEETINGS WHERE WE HAD THE PRESENTATIONS AND THE HANDOUTS.
UM, AND I COULD NOT FIND ANYTHING FOR SITE LEVEL EXPENDITURE SPECIFICS.
UM, IF, IF I, IT SOUNDS LIKE INGRID MIGHT HAVE FOUND SOMETHING, I'M NOT SURE, BUT I DIDN'T SEE ANYTHING SITE.
WHAT, WHAT THE MONITORING THING IS THAT WE WILL POST THE BUDGET TO THE WEBSITE.
IT DOESN'T TALK ABOUT WHAT WILL BE PRESENTED TO THE BOARD.
AND IF YOU GO TO THE BUDGET THAT'S PRESENTED ON OUR WEBSITE UNDER FINANCE DEPARTMENT, TOWARDS THE BOTTOM, IT DOES HAVE A SITE BREAKDOWN TOTAL AMOUNT, BUT IT DOES NOT HAVE A MAJOR OBJECT CODE BREAKDOWN BY SITE.
UM, AND THEN ADDITIONALLY, THERE WAS ONE OTHER AREA THAT, 'CAUSE I WENT THROUGH AND KIND OF WAS HIGHLIGHTING THE ACTUAL OE, UM, AS I WAS TICKING OFF THINGS THAT WERE REPORTED IN THIS, UM, REPORT.
AND ONE OF THE OTHER ITEMS I NOTICED WAS NUMBER
[02:35:01]
SEVEN.AND THIS COULD BE IN THAT BOOK THAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT, INGRID.
SO I'LL GO TAKE A LOOK, BUT IT, THE LAST PART OF IT SAYS, PRESENT THE MINIMUM OF FIVE YEAR FINANCIAL NEEDS AND PROPOSALS TO ADDRESS THE ADVANCEMENT OF STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT.
SO KIND OF JUST TO, UM, I'LL JUST PIGGYBACK ON WHAT INWOOD SAYING.
I THINK THAT WE NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE CROSSING ALL T'S DOTTING ALL I'S ON THESE OES WHEN WE'RE REVIEWING THEM.
UM, I APPRECIATE Y'ALL LISTENING AND I'LL CUT IT OFF.
UM, SO I'M, I'M LEARNING, UH, AND I THINK, UM, I, AT THE LAST BOARD MEETING, I JUST SAW A DOCUMENT FROM DR.
WISNESKI THAT'S ON THE, UM, BOARD DOCS OR DILIGENT COMMUNITY.
AND IT SHOWED A STRATEGIC REVIEW FROM 2020.
AND I THINK, UH, NORMALLY VERY RIGOROUS IN-DEPTH STRATEGIC REVIEWS NORMALLY COME NO LESS THAN, I MEAN, NO MORE THAN FIVE YEARS.
AND SO THAT WOULD THEN CREATE WHAT'S CHANGING IN SOCIETY, WHAT'S THE LONGITUDINAL PROJECTIONS, AND THEN THAT BUILDS YOUR DATA.
AND THEN YOU CAN SAY WHERE ON THOSE, UH, PROJECTIONS THAT MY COLLEAGUE IS TALKING ABOUT, IT TELLS YOU HOW MUCH FUNDING YOU'LL NEED TO SATISFY THE DEMAND THAT YOU'VE IDENTIFIED.
SO I THINK AT SOME POINT THAT MAY BE WORTHWHILE TO GO THROUGH A VERY RIGOROUS PRO, PRO PROCESS.
IT WILL HELP ME BEING NEW IF THERE WAS A CALENDAR THAT SAID, HERE'S WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN OVER THAT FIVE YEAR PERIOD, OH FIVE YEAR PERIOD.
SO JUST SAYING, I, I MEAN, AND ALL OF THIS IS REALLY CONTAINS ACCOLADES TO THE CURRENT STAFF LEADERSHIP.
SO IT'S NOT DIMINUTION OF ANYTHING THAT, YOU KNOW, HAD HAPPENED FOR NEFARIOUS REASONS.
SO WE'RE READY FOR THE, FOR THE VOTE.
SO I THINK WE HAVE 9 1 1, CORRECT? NO, BUT NAY.
OH, YOU SAID, I SAID, OH, I THOUGHT YOU SAID NAY.
I THOUGHT IN THE PREVIOUS VOTE WE WAS GONNA SAY NAY.
[Consent Agenda]
THE CONSENT AGENDA CHAIR.I MOVE, WE APPROVE THE CONSENT AGENDA AND SECOND BY MR. DALLAS.
AND JUST REMEMBER NOW O E FIVE IS NOT PART OF IT.
IT'S THE OTHER THREE I THREE ITEMS LEFT LISTED THERE.
AND WE'LL, I'LL JUST, UH, BOATRIGHT, YOU'RE FIRST AGAIN, THE OUTSIDE ABSTAIN.
OKAY, SO WE GOT 9 0 2 SMITH AND QUADS ABSTAIN.
[Future Agenda Topics]
HAVE FUTURE AGENDA TOPICS.UH, LAST WEEK I ATTENDED A CLINIC, UH, THE C L L C A L N, UH, CAL CAROLINA ACADEMICS UP IN LEADERSHIP, UH, NETWORK, UH, CLINIC.
UM, AND, UH, COME TO FIND OUT, UH, THERE ARE MANY, MANY DISTRICTS OUT THERE THAT HAVE PARLIAMENTARIANS.
UH, AND WE DO NOT, UH, AFTER SPEAKING OFFLINE WITH SOME OF THE OTHER BOARD MEMBERS, I, I, I GUESS WE HAD AT SOME POINT WE HAD A PARLIAMENTARIAN, UH, I WOULD LIKE TO PUT IT ON THE AGENDA TO DISCUSS THAT ITEM.
[Announcements]
I WOULD JUST LIKE TO, UH, RECOGNIZE TAB TABER OUR, UH, BEAUFORT COUNTY COUNCIL LIAISON,[02:40:01]
WHO HAS BEEN IN ATTENDANCE HERE TONIGHT.AND THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR, FOR, UH, BEING HERE.
MS. COLONEL GEIER, MADAM CHAIR, UM, TOMORROW MORNING AT, UM, EIGHT 15, THE COMMUNITY GROUP THAT MEETS AT ST.
LUKE'S A, UM, EPISCOPAL CHURCH IN PORT ROYAL, SIR, IS IT TOMORROW OR THURSDAY? IT'S TOMORROW.
AND, UH, IT MEETS EVERY WEDNESDAY AND IT'S GOING TO GO OVER, UH, TO PORT ROYAL ELEMENTARY AND HAVE A TOUR OF PORT ROYAL ELEMENTARY TO SEE, AND THEY'VE JUST FINISHED, UH, ALL THEIR REFERENDUM WORK.
THIS IS, UH, A, A REALLY GREAT OPPORTUNITY FOR COMMUNITY GROUPS TO COME IN AND VISIT OUR SCHOOLS.
AND WE FRANKLY, DON'T DO THAT ENOUGH.
AND I THINK IT'S ONE THING BOARD MEMBERS, UH, REALLY THINK IT'S A GOOD THING TO DO, IS TO GRA GATHER THESE GROUPS THAT MEET AND GO IN AND TAKE PEOPLE INTO OUR SCHOOLS.
'CAUSE AS I TOLD THEM, UH, I SAID, WHEN YOU GO INTO THE SCHOOL, AND MOST OF THE PEOPLE THAT COME THERE ARE, ARE SENIOR FOLKS.
AND THE CLASSROOMS THEY SEE ARE NOT THE CLASSROOMS THAT WE GREW UP IN.
AND THAT PLUS THE REFERENDUM IS VERY IMPORTANT.
UM, YESTERDAY WAS NATIONAL CUSTODIAL APPRECIATION DAY, AND I JUST WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT WE RECOGNIZED ALL OF THE CUSTODIANS WHO ARE HELPING TO KEEP OUR FACILITIES CLEAN, UM, AND NICE FOR OUR STUDENTS AND STAFF.
UH, UH, AS, AS WELL, THAT, AND AS WELL AS NA, THIS IS NATIONAL'S PRINCIPAL APPRECIATION MONTHS.
SO AS WE GO AROUND AND VISIT OUR, VISIT OUR SCHOOLS, PLEASE MAKE SURE THAT WE LET OUR PRINCIPALS KNOW HOW MUCH WE REALLY APPRECIATE THEM IN THEIR EFFORTS TO, UH, MAKE SURE THAT OUR STUDENTS ARE PRODUCTIVE, BECOME ONE DAY, BECOME A PRODUCTIVE CITIZENS IN THIS COUNTY.
SO, UH, HATS OFF TO THE PRINCIPALS, KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK.
AND THEN ALSO, UM, THIS SHIRT I HAVE ON TODAY, I WOULD BE REMISS IF I DIDN'T, UH, TALK ABOUT THE BEAVER COUNTY YOUTH CONFERENCE.
THAT IT TAKES A LOT OF WORK AND EFFORTS.
AND IT IS, IT IS MAJORITY OF OUR SHOW, ACTUALLY, IT'S ALL OF OUR STUDENTS, UM, THAT COMPOSE OF THIS DISTRICT THAT WE'RE TRYING TO GET ON THE RIGHT TRACK.
AND, AND, AND THERE'S THEIR CONFERENCE THAT THEY MAKE UP, AND BASICALLY THEY CREATE, THEY CREATED THIS SHIRT, THEY DESIGNED IT AND EVERYTHING ELSE.
UM, IT WAS A VERY SUCCESSFUL CONFERENCE.
I BELIEVE IT WAS ON LAST SATURDAY.
UM, HOPEFULLY IN THE YEARS TO COME, WE HAVE MORE BOARD MEMBERS THAT PRO POSSIBLY ATTEND.
AND ALSO THAT WE SUPPORT THIS CONFERENCE BECAUSE THIS CONFERENCE IS A BIG, OR IS, IT IS A BIG ORDEAL.
AND IT IS ANOTHER OUTLET FOR THE KIDS IN BEAUFORT COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT AS WELL, BEAUFORT COUNTY, TO ATTEND AND COMMINGLE WITH EACH OTHER TO HAVE SOME CON CONVERSATIONS AMONG BULLYING, DRUGS AND D DIFFERENT THINGS AND PEER PRESSURE.
SO IT, IT, IT WAS VERY POWERFUL AND IT WAS A LOT OF INFORMATION EXCHANGED, AND A LOT OF OUR STUDENTS WERE THERE, AND THEY, AND THEY, AND THEY, THEY, IT WAS, IT WAS, IT WAS MEANINGFUL.
SO I JUST WANT TO, UH, HATS OFF TO THEM AND, AND ALSO INFORM PEOPLE INTO WHAT THE CONFERENCES IS AND, AND WHAT IT WAS ABOUT.
[Second Public Comments]
HAVE, UH, ONE, UH, COMMENTER FOR OUR SECOND PUBLIC COMMENTS.IVY ZOLA TOPIC, THE BOOK DAMSEL.
UM, I, I JUST WANTED TO REITERATE THIS BOOK, DAMSEL THE, UH, RATINGS THAT I READ TONIGHT.
IF YOU WERE TO GO ON AMAZON, YOU WOULD SEE MANY, MANY MORE THAT PEOPLE AGREE, THIS IS NOT YOUNG ADULT, IT SHOULDN'T BE IN OUR SCHOOLS.
[02:45:02]
UM, THIS IS THE MARKINGS OF THE PAGES THAT HAVE INAPPROPRIATE MATERIAL.THIS BOOK WAS RECOMMENDED TO GO BACK TO THE SHELVES WITH ABSOLUTELY NO RESTRICTIONS.
IT COULD GO INTO AN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL AND A FIFTH GRADER, IT COULD CHECK IT OUT AND READ IT.
IS THIS REALLY WHAT WE WANT IN THE HANDS OF A 10, A 10 YEAR OLD, A 12 YEAR OLD? I, YOU KNOW, YOU HAVE THE ABILITY TO AT LEAST PUT SOME SORT OF RESTRICTIONS ON THIS, AND TO JUST BLINDLY GO BY WHAT SOME VULGAR COMMUNITY MEMBERS RECOMMENDED, I THINK IS A REALLY, REALLY POOR TASTE OF Y'ALL.
I'M, I'M JUST REALLY, REALLY DISAPPOINTED.
YOU WANT ME TO TURN IT OFF? ALL RIGHT.
WE CAN ADJOURN BY UNANIMOUS CONSENT.
AND THANK YOU FOR ALL OF YOU THAT ARE IN ATTENDANCE.