* This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting. [00:00:15] WE WILL NOW CALL THE BEAUFORT COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION BUSINESS MEETING OF APRIL 2ND, 2024 TO ORDER. THIS MEETING IS BEING CONDUCTED AT THE, UH, HILTON HEAD ISLAND MIDDLE SCHOOL MEDIA CENTER, AND IS BEING, UH, HIGH. IT IS HIGH BEING CONDUCTED BY A HYBRID VIDEO CONFERENCING AND IS ALSO BEING LIVE STREAMED BY THE COUNTY CHANNEL IN ACCORDANCE WITH NEW SAFETY AND SECURITY GUIDELINES. BACK BAGS, BACKPACKS, AND PURSES ARE PROHIBITED BY THE PUBLIC AT BEAUFORT COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION MEETINGS. PUBLIC COMMENTS ARE LIMITED TO THREE MINUTES PER SPEAKER ON BEAUFORT COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT AND SCHOOL RELATED TOPICS. CITIZENS WISHING TO PARTICIPATE IN PUBLIC COMMENTS CAN DO SO. IN PERSON, IN PERSON OR VIA PHONE, VIA PHONE. THERE ARE TWO SCHEDULED PUBLIC COMMENTS MADE. THERE ARE TWO SCHEDULED PUBLIC COMMENT FORUM TIMES DURING EACH BOARD MEETING. THIS. THE FIRST IS A 30 MINUTE SESSION NEAR THE BEGINNING OF THE MEETING, LIMITED TOPICS ON THE BOARD MEETING AGENDA. AND THE SECOND IS A 15 MINUTE SESSION, WHICH TAKES PLACE PRIOR TO ADJOURNMENT AND NO LATER THAN 9:00 PM. REQUEST TO PARTICIPATE IN PUBLIC COMMENTS VIA PHONE WILL BE ACCEPTED VIA EMAIL THE DAY OF THE MEETING FROM FIVE TO 5:30 PM FOR THE FIRST TIMEFRAME AND FROM SIX TO 6:30 PM FOR THE SECOND OPPORTUNITY REQUEST SHOULD INCLUDE THE SPEAKER'S NAME, PHONE NUMBER, AS WELL AS TOPIC AND SHOULD BE EMAILED TO THE EXECUTIVE ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT TO THE BOARD, ROBIN CUSHING BERRY AT ROBIN WITH A Y CUSHING BERRY AT BEAUFORT K12 SC US REQUESTERS WILL SUBSEQUENTLY RECEIVE A PHONE CALL DURING THEIR RESPECTIVE PUBLIC FORM TIME AND SHOULD BE READY TO SPEAK. CITIZENS DESIRING TO PARTICIPATE IN PERSON MUST FILL OUT A PUBLIC COMMENT CARD THAT CAN BE OBTAINED FROM THE BOARD CLERK UPON ARRIVAL IN THE EVENT THE BOARD IS NOT FINISHED ADDRESSING ALL ITEMS LISTED ON TONIGHT'S AGENDA, THE BOARD WILL RECONVENE AT 6:00 PM TOMORROW NIGHT. TO FINISH THE AGENDA ITEMS, WE NOW NEED A MOTION TO GO INTO EXECUTIVES SESSION. VICE CHAIR GUYER MADAM CHAIR, WE HAVE A NUMBER OF ITEMS ON THE EXECUTIVE SESSION AGENDA. FIRST ONE, RECEIPT OF LEGAL ADVICE RELATED TO LEGAL CLAIMS AND PENDING CASES COVERED BY ATTORNEY CLIENT PRIVILEGE PURSUANT TO SOUTH CAROLINA CODE SECTION 30 DASH FOUR DASH SEVEN ZERO. SECOND ONE. RECEIPT OF LEGAL ADVICE REGARDING FISCAL AUTHORITY COVERED BY THE ATTORNEY-CLIENT PRIVILEGE PURSUANT TO SC CODE SECTION 30 DASH FOUR DASH SEVEN ZERO. THIRD EMPLOYMENT MATTER IN REGARDS TO PERSONNEL RATIFICATION REPORT PURSUANT TO SC CODE SECTION THREE ZERO DASH FOUR DASH SEVEN FOUR ADULT ED HOMESCHOOL REPORT PURSUANT TO SC CODE SECTION 30 DASH FOUR DASH 4 0 5. DISCUSSION OF NEGOTIATIONS INCIDENT TO PROPOSED AMENDMENT NUMBER FIVE WITH THOMPSON TURNER CONSTRUCTION FOR CUSA ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, HVAC ESSER FUNDED EQUIPMENT PURCHASE AND 8% INSTALLATION SCOPE. NEXT DISCUSSION OF NEGOTIATIONS. INCIDENT TO PROPOSED AMENDMENT NUMBER TWO WITH MB CONN CONSTRUCTION COMPANY, INCORPORATED FOR THE BATTERY CREEK HIGH SCHOOL PARKING LOT PAVING PURSUANT TO SC CODE SECTION 30 DASH FOUR DASH SEVEN ZERO. NEXT DISCUSSION OF NEGOTIATIONS WITH PROPERTY OWNER INCIDENT TO PROPERTY IN THE BLUFFTON AREA, SOUTH CAROLINA CODE PURSUANT TO SOUTH CAROLINA CODE SECTION 30 DASH FOUR DASH SEVEN ZERO. LASTLY, DISCUSSION OF HEALTH ADVISORY COMMITTEE APPLICANTS PURSUANT TO CODE SECTION THREE ZERO DASH FOUR DASH SEVEN ZERO. DO WE HAVE A SECOND? SECOND. ALL RIGHT, MR. DALLAS, MR. SMITH, UH, MADAM CHAIR WHO WILL BE GIVING US UH, UH, ADVISE GIVING US LEGAL ADVICE ON, ON, UM, ON SOUTH CAROLINA CODES, UH, SECTION 30 DASH FOUR DASH 78 AND TWO ON, UH, LEGAL REPRESENTATION. SO THAT'S GONNA BE, UH, REGAL MATTHEWS AND, AND OUR GENERAL COUNSEL FOR THE DISTRICT CARTILAGE. OKAY. REGAL. MR. MATTHEWS AND MRS. CAR. THANK YOU. ALL RIGHT, ALL THOSE IN FAVOR OF GOING INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION. FOR THE, [00:05:01] UH, ITEMS LISTED, PLEASE RAISE THEIR HAND IN THE ROOM AND SAY AYE. AYE. AYE. ONLINE WE HAVE, UH, VOTE RIGHT EYE WAS KYKI I. ANYBODY ELSE ONLINE? OKAY. I DON'T SEE ANYBODY ELSE. SO WE GO INTO, UM, EXECUTIVE SESSION SEVEN ZERO WITH SEVERAL MEM MEMBERS ABSENT RECORDING. I'M SARAH BROCK, CLERK TO COUNCIL FOR BEAUFORT COUNTY COUNCIL. DID YOU KNOW BEAUFORT COUNTY HAS 29 ACTIVE BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS? THESE BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS SERVE A VITAL ROLE IN BUFORT COUNTY AND ALLOW CITIZENS LIKE YOU TO GET INVOLVED WITH LOCAL GOVERNMENT AND ADVISE YOUR COUNCIL MEMBERS ON A WIDE RANGE OF ISSUES. MEMBERS SERVE IN A VARIETY OF CAPACITIES FROM ADVISING COUNCIL REGARDING THE SELLING AND PURCHASING OF LAND HEARING APPEALS, ALLOCATING AT ATEX MONIES, ADVOCATING FOR SPECIFIC ORGANIZATIONS WORKING ON STORMWATER RELATED ISSUES, ZONING ISSUES, DESIGN REVIEW, HISTORICAL PRESERVATION, YOU NAME IT. VISIT WWW.BUFORTCOUNTYSC.GOV/COUNCIL/BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS TODAY TO SEE A LIST OF OUR ACTIVE BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS AND FILL OUT AN APPLICATION. SIGN UP TODAY SO YOU CAN HAVE A HAND IN MAKING OUR COMMUNITY EVEN GREATER THAN IT ALREADY IS. BOARD OF EDUCATION BUSINESS MEETING OF APRIL 2ND, 2024. THIS MEETING IS BEING CONDUCTED BY A HYBRID VIDEO CONFERENCING AND IS BEING LIVE STREAMED BY THE COUNTY CHANNEL IN ACCORDANCE WITH SAFETY AND SECURITY GUIDELINES. BAGS, BACKPACKS AND PURSES ARE PROHIBITED BY THE PUBLIC AT BEAUFORT COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION MEETINGS. THE BOARD HAS JUST BEEN AN EXECUTIVE SESSION AND WE ARE NOW BACK IN PUBLIC SESSION AND VICE CHAIR COLONEL GEIER, DO WE HAVE ANY ACTION AS NECESSARY OR APPROPRIATE REGARDING MATTERS DISCUSSED IN EXECUTIVE SESSION? AND BEFORE YOU GO AHEAD. CAN SOMEBODY FIX THE TERRIBLE ECHO THAT'S GOING ON? IT'S BACK THERE. OKAY. PLEASE GO AHEAD. ADAM. CHAIR, I MOVE THAT THE BOARD OF EDUCATION APPROVED THE SUPERINTENDENT'S RECOMMENDATIONS FOR EMPLOYMENT LISTED ON THE MARCH 1ST, 2024, MARCH 31ST, 2024. PERSONNEL RATIFICATION REPORT. ALL RIGHT. THE MOTION WAS MADE BY COLONEL GEIER AND SECOND BY EARL CAMPBELL. ANY DISCUSSION THERE BEING NO HANDS UP PLEASE. ALL IN, IN THAT ARE PRESENT HERE. RAISE YOUR HAND AND SAY, AYE, IF YOU'RE IN FAVOR. AYE. AYE. AND ANY NAYS? ABSTENTIONS, ABSTENTION. OKAY, DR. WISNESKI ABSTAINS. MR. SMITH YOUR VOTE PLEASE. WHAT'S THE, WHAT'S THE, WHAT'S THE MOTION MADAM CHAIR? I'LL HAVE HIM READ IT AGAIN. IT'S DISPLAYED ON THE SCREEN. I MOVE THAT THE BOARD OF EDUCATION APPROVED THE SUPERINTENDENT'S RECOMMENDATIONS FOR EMPLOYMENT LISTED ON THE MARCH 1ST, 2024, MARCH 31ST, 2024. PERSONNEL RATIFICATION REPORT. I'M GONNA ABSTAIN. OKAY. ALRIGHT. AND THEN ONLINE, UH, GO ALPHABETICALLY PLEASE. AND SO THAT WOULD BE MIDDLETON. OKAY. ANGELA, CAN YOU SAY I AGAIN, STATE YOUR NAME AND VOTE? YEAH, WE CAN'T HEAR YOU VERY WELL AT ALL. OKAY. AND IS MS. GORDON ON THERE? OKAY. THANK YOU. 7, 2, 3, 4. THE MOTION CARRIES SEVEN IN FAVOR. UH, TWO OBS. EXCUSE ME. UH, NO NAYS. WE HAVE TWO ABSTENTIONS WITH SEVKI AND SMITH, AND WE HAVE TWO ABSENT GORDON AND HAY FROM THE VOTE. MADAM CHAIR, I MOVE THE BOARD OF EDUCATION APPROVE THE SUPERINTENDENT'S RECOMMENDATION FOR THE MONTHLY ADULT EDUCATION REPORT FOR APRIL 2ND, 2024. ALL RIGHT. SECOND BY MR. CARLTON DALLAS. ANY DISCUSSION? NO HANDS BEING UP. ALL IN FAVOR, PLEASE SAY AYE. AYE. AYE. THOSE [00:10:01] OPPOSED IN THE ROOM? THOSE ABSTAINING. OKAY. UM, AND THEN ONLINE. ALL RIGHT. SO WE HAVE SEVEN IN FAVOR. WE HAVE, UH, NO NAYS AND TWO ABSTENTIONS, WHICH ARE BOATRIGHT AND WISNESKI AND ABSENT HAY AND GORDON. MADAM CHAIR, I MOVE THAT THE BOARD OF EDUCATION APPROVE AMENDMENT NUMBER FIVE WITH THOMPSON TURNER CONSTRUCTION FOR THE OSA ELEMENTARY SCHOOL ESSER FUND, AND 8% FUNDED HVAC PURCHASES FUNDED BASED ON GUARANTEED MAXIMUM PRICE OF 1,423,799. SECOND BY MR. COLTON DALLAS. RIGHT. ANY DISCUSSION? ALL IN FAVOR, PLEASE SAY AYE. AYE. ANY NAYS? ANY ABSTENTIONS? OKAY. THREE. ALL RIGHT. ONLINE, SO THE MOTION, JUST A MINUTE PLEASE. I'M ANNOUNCING THE VOTE. THE MOTION CARRIES SIX, UH, EYES, ZERO NOSE, AND THREE ABSTENTIONS. BOATRIGHT. WAS NEVSKY AND SMITH ABSENT, UH, GORDON AND HAY IN TERMS OF THE LAST VOTE? ACTUALLY BEFORE YOU WERE, WERE COUNTING IT. I WAS GONNA SAY BASIC, BUT ACTUALLY YOU CAN, UH, UH, CONCLUDE MY VOTE TO A, TO A NO. DID YOU GET THAT MS. UM, CUSHING BARRY? OKAY. THE MOTION WOULD STILL CARRY. OKAY. I APPROVE THAT THE BOARD OF EDUCATION APPROVE AMENDMENT NUMBER TWO WITH MB CON CONSTRUCTION COMPANY REFERENDUM BASED ON THE GUARANTEED MAXIMUM PRICE OF $743,220. SECOND. THANK YOU. SO SECOND BY EARL CAMPBELL. ANY DISCUSSION? YES, MA'AM. CHAIR? MM-HMM, , UM, JUST FOR THE PUBLIC KNOWLEDGE, KNOWLEDGE OF, OR WAS THE APPROVAL ME PRIOR 8%. UH, AS WELL, IT WAS NOT APPROVED. SO THIS IS A NEW, THIS IS A NEW PROJECT, WHICH IT TRACKED ON 8%, BUT IT WOULD, COULD YOU GET A MIC? SORRY. THEY CAN HEAR YOU. THANK YOU. TESTING? YEP. YEP. SO IT WAS NOT APPROVED AS AN 8% PROJECT PRIOR. IT WAS A PROJECT IN THE 10 YEAR PLAN AND IT WAS APPROVED AS PART OF THE 2023 REFERENDUM. THANK YOU. ALRIGHT. ALL IN FAVOR? IN THE ROOM, PLEASE RAISE YOUR HAND AND SAY, AYE. AYE. OKAY. ANY NOS, ANY ABSTENTIONS? WHAT WAS YOUR VOTE? OH, YES, VOTE. OKAY. THANK YOU. ONLINE. ALL RIGHT. SO THE MOTION CARRIES. UM, EIGHT, UH, ZERO ONE, THE ONE ABSTENTION, WISNESKI, SAME TWO. UM, NOT PRESENT FOR THE VOTE. IE, GORDON AND HAY CONTINUE ON. COLONEL GEIER, I MOVE THAT THE BOARD OF EDUCATION APPROVE THE ACADEMIC COMMITTEE'S RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE HEALTH ADVISORY COMMITTEE. APPLICANTS APPLICANT. A, ALPHA B, BRAVO, D, DELTA, E, ECHO, F, FOXTROT, G, GOLF H, HOTEL I, INDIA, J JULIET, K, KILO, N, NOVEMBER O, OSCAR, AND Q QUEBEC. SERVE ON THE COMMITTEE. DO WE HAVE A SECOND? SECOND. ALL RIGHT. ROGER, . . THANK YOU. UM, CARLTON, DALLAS. SECOND, THE MOTION. ANY DISCUSSION? ALL RIGHT. ALL ALL IN FAVOR OF THE MOTION, PLEASE RAISE YOUR HAND AND SAY, AYE. AYE. MIDDLETON. MIDDLETON. AYE. OKAY. SO THE, THAT CARRIES UNANIMOUSLY. 9 9 0 2 ABSENT, THAT CONCLUDES THE MOTIONS. UM, THANK YOU. ALL RIGHT. NEXT WE NEED, UM, A MOTION FOR APPROVING THE AGENDA. OKAY. THANK YOU. UH, MS. BOATWRIGHT. A SECOND. MR. CAMPBELL, ANY DISCUSSION? [00:15:01] ALRIGHT, ALL IN FAVOR OF APPROVING THE AGENDA. PLEASE RAISE YOUR HAND AND SAY AYE. AYE. AYE. YOUR VOTE? AYE. OKAY. COULD YOU PLEASE ALSO SAY IT? 'CAUSE IT MAKES IT EASIER FOR ME TO COUNT YOU. NO PROBLEM. THANK YOU. WELL, ACTUALLY, YEAH. THANK YOU. YEAH. AND MIDDLE TONIGHT. OKAY, SO THE AGENDA'S APPROVED, 9 9 0 0. NEXT WE WILL, UH, STAND FOR THE PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE FLAG OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, AND TO THE REPUBLIC FOR WHICH IT STANDS, ONE NATION UNDER GOD, INDIVISIBLE, WITH LIBERTY AND JUSTICE FOR ALL. PLEASE REMAIN STANDING FOR A MOMENT OF SILENCE. PLEASE BE SEATED. THE MEDIA WAS PROPERLY NOTIFIED. TONIGHT WE HAVE THE HILTON HEAD, ISLAND MIDDLE SCHOOL, PERCUSSION ENSEMBLE, PERFORMING TOON, ME, TIM BALL AND RIVER DANCE MEDLEY UNDER THE DIRECTION OF THE MUSIC TEACHER JAMES WETHER. [00:22:13] THANK YOU TO THE PERCUSSIONIST. THAT WAS GREAT. RECOGNIZING WE'LL DO IT AGAIN. THANK YOU, UH, PRINCIPAL, MR. AUSTIN AND, UH, MR. WECTER FOR, UH, YOUR STUDENTS AND THEIR SUCCESS TONIGHT, A WONDERFUL OPPORTUNITY TO GET A CHANCE TO LISTEN TO THEM. IN THIS EVENING, WE MOVE ON TO OUR POINTS OF CELEBRATION THIS EVENING, AND THE FIRST ONE IS THE FEBRUARY STUDENT OF THE MONTH FOR SOUTHERN BEAUFORD COUNTY IS THIRD GRADE STUDENT, WILLIAM CRUZ. UH, WILLIAM CRUZ. BRIAN. OUR CHARACTER EDUCATION PROGRAM WAS FORMED TO SUPPORT PARENTS' EFFORTS TO DEVELOP GOOD CHARACTER IN THEIR CHILDREN. AND TONIGHT WE'RE CELEBRATING THE CHARACTER ED STUDENT OF THE MONTH EXHIBITING THE CHARACTER TRAITS OF HONESTY AND INTEGRITY. AND HONESTY IS DEFINED AS TELLING THE TRUTH, ADMITTING WRONGDOING AND INTEGRITY IS DEFINED AS A FIRM ADHERENCE TO A CODE OF ESPECIALLY MORAL OR ARTISTIC VALUES. FEBRUARY STUDENT OF THE MONTH FOR SOUTHERN BEAUFORT COUNTY IS WILLIAM CRUZ RYAN, A THIRD GRADER AT BLUFFTON ELEMENTARY SCHOOL. AND HERE TO INTRODUCE, UH, MR. CRUZ IS PRINCIPAL. MS. BROWN. OKAY. STAND NEXT TO ME. JUST YOU CAN JUST STAND HERE BY, OKAY. UM, I'M JUST GONNA READ MY NOMINATION. UM, I'M NOMINATING CRUZ RYAN FOR THE CHARACTER TRAIT OF HONESTY AND INTEGRITY. CRUZ CONSTANTLY DEMONSTRATES A COMMITMENT TO HONESTY IN ALL ASPECTS OF HIS ACADEMIC AND SOCIAL ACTIVITIES IN THE CLASSROOM. HE EXHIBITS A STRONG SENSE OF INTEGRITY BY CONSISTENTLY COMPLETING HIS WORK WITH HONESTY AND DILIGENCE. WHETHER FACED WITH A CHALLENGING ASSIGNMENT OR TEMPTED BY SHORTCUTS, CRUZ CONSISTENTLY CHOOSES THE PATH OF HONESTY, SHOWCASING HIS COMMITMENT TO HIS ACADEMIC INTEGRITY. BEYOND HIS ACADEMIC EX, UH, PURSUITS, CRUZ EXEMPLIFIES HONESTY AND HIS INTERACTIONS WITH PEERS AND TEACHERS ALIKE. HE POSSESSES THE QUALITY OF BEING FORTHRIGHT AND TRUTHFUL, EVEN IN SITUATIONS WHERE IT MAY BE DIFFICULT TO DO SO. HIS PEERS TRUST AND RESPECT HIM, KNOWING THAT CRUZ WILL ALWAYS SPEAK AND ACT WITH INTEGRITY. WHAT TRULY SETS [00:25:01] CRUZ APART IS HIS WILLINGNESS TO TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR HIS ACTIONS. IN INSTANCES WHERE MISTAKES ARE MADE, CRUZ DEMONSTRATES ADMIRABLE INTEGRITY BY OWNING UP TO THEM WITHOUT HESITATION. HIS ABILITY TO ADMIT FAULT AND LEARN FROM EXPERIENCES IS A TESTAMENT TO HIS STRONG MORAL CHARACTER. IN CONCLUSION, CRUZ EMBODIES THE QUALITY OF HONESTY AND INTEGRITY IN EVERYTHING HE DOES. HIS EXEMPLARY BEHAVIOR SERVES AS A SHINING EXAMPLE TO HIS PEERS AND REFLECTS POSITIVELY ON OUR SCHOOL COMMUNITY AS A WHOLE. I WHOLEHEARTEDLY BELIEVE THAT CRUZ IS DESERVING OF STUDENT OF THE MONTH FOR HIS OUTSTANDING DISPLAY OF THESE ESSENTIAL CHARACTER TRAITS. THANK YOU. NEXT IS DISTRIBUTIVE EDUCATION CLUBS OF AMERICA, DECA, SOUTH CAROLINA CAREER DEVELOPMENT CONFERENCE, AND ONE OF OUR SOUTHERN BEAUFORT COUNTY HIGH SCHOOLS. RECENTLY COMPETED AT THE DISTRIBUTIVE EDUCATION CLUBS OF AMERICA DECA CONFERENCE, BRINGING HOME FIVE FIRST PLACE WINS, AND ONE STATE OFFICER WHO WILL ADVANCE TO THE NATIONAL COMPETITION IN ATLANTA. AND HERE TO TELL US MORE ABOUT THE CONFERENCE AND TO INTRODUCE HER FIRST PLACE, WINNERS IS BLUFFTON HIGH DECK ADVISOR AND BUSINESS EDUCATION INSTRUCTOR, MS. CAROL, DR. CAROLYN NEWT. AND I, I SEE, UM, MS. DONICA, PRINCIPAL OF BLUFFTON HIGH SCHOOL THERE AS WELL. DR. NEWT COULD NOT BE HERE TONIGHT, BUT I DO WANNA GIVE HER A SHOUT OUT FOR ALL OF HER HARD WORK AND HER DEDICATION, UH, THAT SHE HAS PUT BLUFF IN'S DECA ON THE MAP. GOOD EVENING. IT IS MY PRIVILEGE TO INTRODUCE SOME BLUFF IN'S, MOST PROMISING FUTURE LEADERS WHO HAVE BLOWN AWAY THE COMPETITION AT THE RECENT STATE CONFERENCE. DECA IS A NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION THAT PREPARES EMERGING LEADERS IN FINANCE, HOSPITALITY, MANAGEMENT, AND MARKETING. BLUFFTON HIGH IS FORTUNATE ENOUGH TO HAVE ITS VERY OWN CHAPTER AND BE HOME OF SOUTH CAROLINA'S DECA. PRESIDENT SANTANA PINA SANTANA WILL NOW SPEAK ON HER TRANSFORMATIVE JOURNEY IN DECA AND BLUFFTON HIGH SCHOOL'S MOST RECENT SUCCESSES. GOOD EVENING, AND THANK YOU FOR THIS OPPORTUNITY TO SHARE MY JOURNEY WITH YOU. ALLOW ME TO BEGIN WITH MY STORY. WHEN I FIRST JOINED DECA JUST A YEAR AND A HALF AGO, I NEVER IMAGINED IT WOULD BECOME SUCH A DEFINING PART OF MY LIFE. YET HERE I AM STANDING BEFORE YOU AS THE PRESIDENT OF SOUTH CAROLINA DECA, A ROLE THAT HAS SHAPED ME IN SUCH PROFOUND WAYS. DECA DIDN'T JUST CHANGE MY LIFE, IT TRANSFORMED IT. AND THROUGH THIS ORGANIZATION, I DISCOVERED A PASSION FOR BUSINESS AND MARKETING THAT I NEVER KNEW EXISTED WITHIN ME. IT'S PROVIDED ME WITH A PLATFORM TO NOT ONLY DEVELOP VALUABLE SKILLS, BUT ALSO TO FORGE LIFELONG FRIENDSHIPS AND CONNECTIONS. ONE OF THE PROUDEST MOMENTS OF MY DECA JOURNEY WAS WITNESSING THE REMARKABLE ACHIEVEMENTS OF MY FELLOW PEERS AT BLUFFTON HIGH SCHOOL. THROUGH SHEER DETERMINATION AND HARD WORK, EVERY STUDENT WE SENT TO STATES PLACED WITHIN THE TOP 10. AND TO TOP IT OFF, SIX STUDENTS BROUGHT HOME FIRST PLACE TROPHIES, A TESTAMENT TO THE DEDICATION AND TALENT WITHIN OUR CHAPTER. BUT OUR SUCCESS ISN'T LIMITED TO OUR SCHOOL WALLS. AS THE PRESIDENT OF SOUTH CAROLINA DECA, I HAVE THE PRIVILEGE OF SERVING OVER 2000 MEMBERS STATEWIDE, EACH WITH THEIR OWN DREAMS AND ASPIRATIONS. TOGETHER, WE'VE EMBARKED ON A JOURNEY OF GROWTH, LEARNING, AND EMPOWERMENT. AND AS I STAND HERE TODAY, REFLECTING ON MY OWN DECA JOURNEY, I'M FILLED WITH GRATITUDE FOR THE OPPORTUNITIES IT HAS GIVEN ME AND THE PERSON AT HAS DEVELOPED, HELPED ME BECOME. DECA ISN'T JUST A CLUB, IT'S A COMMUNITY, A SUPPORT SYSTEM, AND A CATALYST FOR PERSONAL AND PROFESSIONAL GROWTH. SO, TO EVERYONE HERE, I URGE YOU TO CONTINUE SUPPORTING ORGANIZATIONS LIKE DECA, FOR THEY HAVE THE POWER TO CHANGE LIVES AND SHAPE FUTURES AND WAYS WE CAN ONLY BEGIN TO IMAGINE. THANK YOU. HELLO EVERYONE. MY NAME IS ORI SARR AND I'M HONORED TO FOLLOW SANTANA'S INSPIRING WORDS WITH MY OWN DECA JOURNEY. DECA HAS BEEN MORE THAN JUST AN EXTRACURRICULAR ACTIVITY FOR ME. IT'S BEEN A LIFE ALTERING JOURNEY WITH SELF-DISCOVERY AND GROWTH, WORKING A LOT ALONGSIDE SANTANA. WE POUR OUR HEARTS AND SOULS INTO CRAFTING A COMPREHENSIVE 20 PAGE FRANCHISE [00:30:01] BUSINESS PLAN. OVER THE PAST SIX MONTHS, TOGETHER, WE METICULOUSLY RESEARCHED, ANALYZE, AND STRATEGIZE EVERY ASPECT COTTING INTO A 15 MINUTE PRESENTATION THAT WE DELIVERED FLAWLESSLY TO OUR JUDGES AT STATES. THE MOMENT THEY ANNOUNCED OUR FIRST PLACE SOME, OUR FIRST PLACE WIN, WE GOT EUPHORIC. IT WAS WONDERFUL, AMAZING. ALL OF OUR HARD WORK WENT INTO THAT PRESENTATION. IT WAS VALIDATION NOT ONLY OF OUR DEDICATION, OUR HARD WORK, BUT THE BELIEF IN OURSELF. DECA HAS NOT ONLY EQUIPPED ME WITH INVALUABLE SKILLS AND EXPERIENCES, BUT IT'S ALSO INSTILLED A BELIEF IN ME THAT IN MY OWN POTENTIAL, IT'S A JOURNEY THAT I'M IMMENSELY GRATEFUL FOR AND ONE THAT I KNOW WILL CONTINUE WITH ME FOR MY COMING YEARS. THANK YOU ALL ANYMORE. SO, NEXT ITEM ON POINTS OF CELEBRATION IS A SUPERINTENDENT'S CUP. THE WINNER OF THE 2024 SUPERINTENDENT'S CUP WAS BLUFFTON HIGH'S JUNIOR, ROTC UNIT WITH COLONEL THOMAS FOSTER. PLEASE COME FORWARD TO TALK MORE ABOUT THE COMPETITION AND INTRODUCE HIS UNIT, SIR. UM, I WILL TELL YOU THAT, UH, VERY FORTUNATE, UM, WE'VE BEEN LUCKY TO WIN THIS TROPHY A FEW TIMES IN A ROW. I THINK IT'S BEEN IN OUR, UH, SCHOOL FOR ABOUT SIX YEARS NOW. UM, SO WE'RE GONNA TRY TO KEEP IT THERE AGAIN NEXT YEAR. THE EVENTS MADE UP OF SEVERAL, UH, EVENTS, UM, FROM PHYSICAL ACTIVITY, PHYSICAL, UM, PUSHUPS, UH, SITUPS COMPETITION TO, UH, THE ACADEMIC BOWL, TO THE, UM, UM, TRYING TO THINK OF THE OTHER ONES WITH, WHAT'S THAT? RIFLE. RIFLE, THE MARKSMANSHIP COMPETITION. SO THE CAPTAINS ARE HERE, UH, TO TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT WHAT THEY'VE DONE. UM, BUT YES, I'LL INTRODUCE THEM ALL. I GOT SEAN MCDONOUGH, WHO IS THE, UH, BATTALION COMMANDER, THE EXECUTIVE OFFICER ELVIS ROBLES, THE COMMAND SERGEANT MAJOR IS HUNTER MCBRAYER. AND THEN WE GOT OVER HERE, UH, ALPHA COMPANY COMMANDER ARMANDO ALVARADO. AND THEN THE, UM, UH, MARKSMANSHIP, UH, CAPTAIN, OH WELL, WAS CAPTAIN. HE STEPPED DOWN, BUT TYLER TRAN AND ALL OF 'EM DID A GREAT JOB. AGAIN, IT COMES TO A NUMBER OF HOURS THAT YOU PUT INTO YOUR, UH, YOUR CRAFT, AND THEY ALL PUT A LOT OF HOURS IN. SO I'M REALLY PROUD OF ALL OF THEM FOR, UH, WHAT THEY'VE DONE. EXCUSE ME. GOOD EVENING AND THANK YOU FOR YOUR, SO MUCH FOR YOUR TIME. I'M CADET LIEUTENANT COLONEL SEAN MCNA, AND I HAVE THE HONOR OF SHARING MY PEERS RECENT EXPERIENCE AT THIS RECENT SUPERINTENDENT'S CUP. WE'RE GONNA OPEN WITH ELVIS ROBLES TO TALK ABOUT HIS COMPETITION EXPERIENCE. OH, GOOD EVENING, EVERYONE. AS HE SAYS, HE, AS HE SAID, I'M CADET MAJOR OF US ROBUST, AND I'M A JUNIOR ATTENDING BLUFFTON HIGH SCHOOL, UM, IN THE ROTC PROGRAM. AND I'M THE COMMANDER FOR, UM, THE DRILL TEAM AND THE, UM, COLOR GUARD. SO I WAS COMPETING IN THE COLOR GUARD FOR THE FIRST PHASE OF SUPERINTENDENTS, AND WE PLAYED SECOND OVERALL BETWEEN ALL THE SCHOOLS THAT COMPETED. SO WE DID REALLY WELL AS A TEAM TOGETHER. AND APART FROM THAT DRILL TEAM, WE ALL COMPETED TOGETHER. I DON'T REMEMBER EXACTLY WHAT PLACE WE PLACED, BUT WE DID REALLY WELL. THE CAMARADERIE, THE TEAMWORK, EVERYONE WAS JUST REALLY HAPPY TO BE THERE. IT WAS A REALLY FUN TIME FOR US. AND I'LL PASS IT ON TO HUNTER MCBE ON HIS EXPERIENCE. THANK YOU. HELLO, I'M HUNTER MC BRA. I WAS A COMMANDER OF THE PT TEAM AND THEN I REALLY APPRECIATED THE COMPETITION AT BEAUFORT HIGH SCHOOL, UH, OFFERED US, WE HAD FIVE EVENTS AND WE ENDED UP GOING FIFTH PLACE. OVERALL, IT'S A REALLY GREAT OPPORTUNITY TO HAVE OUR TEST, TO HAVE OUR CADETS TEST THEIR PHYSICAL FITNESS, AND WE REALLY APPRECIATE IT. LIKE TO THANK BEAUFORT HIGH SCHOOL FOR IT. AND ARMANDO WILL BE TAKING THIS. HELLO RADO. I WAS THE CAPTAIN FOR BOTH THE ACADEMIC TEAM AND THE FIELD TRIP TEAM FOR THE ACADEMIC TEAM. I'M SORRY TO SAY THAT WE DIDN'T PLACE HOWEVER, FOR THE FIELD TRIP TEAM, EVEN THOUGH IT WAS THE LAST MINUTE TEAM THAT WE PUT UP. I THINK WE DID REALLY GREAT. WE GOT FIRST PLACE OVERALL, AND ALL WE COULD THINK ABOUT WAS REALLY WHAT'S GOING ON. YOU KNOW, WHAT'S, WHAT'S HAPPENING IN THIS COMPETITION? WHAT, WHAT, WHAT'S GONNA HAPPEN? UH, ALL THESE SCHOOLS ARE HERE. HOW ARE THEY GONNA DO, HOW ARE WE GONNA DO? [00:35:01] AT THE END OF THE DAY, WE HAD FUN. UH, I THINK THAT THE TEAMWORK HAD UNITED US HAD LED US TO THE VICTORY. WE SAW THAT WITH A TUG OF WAR. WE SAW THAT WITH, UH, THE DIFFERENT EVENTS THAT THE FIELD TRIM TEAM HAD. AND I REALLY WANNA THANK ALL OF BEAUFORT COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO GIVE DISC CADETS, NOT ONLY US, BUT ALSO THE OTHER SCHOOLS, THE OPPORTUNITY TO BOND, THE OPPORTUNITY TO COMPETE AGAINST EACH OTHER AND TEST EACH OTHER'S POTENTIAL. AND THE COM, THE RADER THAT EACH ONE OF US HAD WAS JUST REALLY GREAT. THANK YOU. UH, NOW PASSING ON TO TYLER TRAN. HELLO. I AM TYLER T TR, FORMER CAPTAIN OF THE MARKSMANSHIP TEAM. WE HAVE BEEN TRAINING FOR MONTHS AND MONTHS, AND FINALLY GOT GOTTEN FIRST PLACE FOR SUPERINTENDENTS FOR SUPERINTENDENT'S CUP OH, THROUGH MANY PRACTICE SHOTS AND BREATHING EXERCISES TO CALM OURSELVES DOWN. . THANK YOU. ONE THING I'D LIKE TO, UH, MAKE NOTE OF IS THAT, UH, THE SUPERINTENDENT'S CUP WAS AN OPPORTUNITY FOR NOW ALL SIX HIGH SCHOOLS. 'CAUSE ALL SIX HAVE ROTC PROGRAMS NOW WITH THE ADDITION OF AIR FORCE AT MAY RIVER HIGH SCHOOL. AND SO, UH, THEY WERE ABLE TO WORK AND COMPETE, UH, AGAINST ONE ANOTHER FOR THE SUPERINTENDENT'S CUP. AND JUST A FEW WEEKS AFTER THE CONCLUSION OF THE SUPERINTENDENT'S CUP, UH, THEY BROUGHT TO A CULMINATION THEIR COLLABORATION ACROSS SCHOOLS, DEMONSTRATING, I THINK, SUPERB LEADERSHIP IN ORGANIZING A MILITARY BALL THAT ENCOMPASSED FOR THE VERY FIRST TIME ALL SIX SCHOOLS UNIFIED TOGETHER. SO THEY HAD THE SPIRIT OF COMPETITION AND THE SPIRIT OF TEAMWORK AND COLLABORATION TO PULL OFF A MILITARY BALL FROM THEIR PLANNING, FROM THEIR OWN RESPECTIVE SCHOOLS ORGANIZING AND DELIVERING AND EXECUTING. SO CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR ROTC PROGRAMS. NEXT ITEM ON, UH, POINTS OF CELEBRATION IS THE, UH, SOUTH CAROLINA VEX IQ, FULL VOLUME STATE CHAMPIONSHIP, RIVER RIDGE ACADEMY, RAIDERS ROBOTICS TEAMS RECENTLY COMPETED IN THE VEX IQ FULL VOLUME SOUTH CAROLINA STATE CHAMPIONSHIP, THE GREEN GIRLY GREEN GRIN BOTS BROUGHT HOME THE DESIGN AWARD. AND HERE TO INTRODUCE THE WINNING TEAM IS RIVER RIDGE PRINCIPAL, MR. BRIAN RYMAN. GOOD EVENING. THE GREEN GURLEY GRINCH BOTS, ONE OF SEVEN VEX IQ TEAMS FROM RIVER RIDGE ACADEMY. RAIDERS ROBOTICS THIS YEAR PARTICIPATED IN THIS SEASON'S VEX IQ FULL VOLUME ROBOTICS COMPETITION. THROUGHOUT THE SEASON, THEY GARNERED NUMEROUS ACCOLADES, INCLUDING THREE EXCELLENCE AWARDS AND TWO SKILLS CHAMPIONSHIPS ADVANCING TO THE SOUTH CAROLINA VEX IQ STATE CHAMPIONSHIP IN GREENVILLE. THE GRINCH BOTS CLINCHED BOTH THE VEX IQ FULL VOLUME TEAMWORK CHAMPIONSHIP AND THE DESIGN AWARD. THEIR TEAMWORK CHAMPIONSHIP VICTORY EARNED THEM THE HONOR OF REPRESENTING RAIDERS ROBOTICS IN BEAUFORT COUNTY AND SOUTH CAROLINA AT THE VEX IQ WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS IN DALLAS, TEXAS. SCHEDULED FOR MAY 1ST THROUGH THE FOURTH. HERE WE HAVE OUR MEMBERS OF THE GREEN GIRLY GRINCH SPOTS, LUCY MORMON, AVERY LINDBERGH AND LEAH RAVICH WITH THEIR COACH, MR. ERIC MORMAN. . OKAY. THE RIVER OF WORDS COVER ART RIVER OF WORDS IS A COLLECTION OF ART AND POETRY BY BEAUFORT COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT STUDENTS. THE COMPLEX ECOLOGY AND PEACEFUL BEAUTY OF THE PORT ROYAL SOUND SERVES AS THE INSPIRATION FOR THIS ANNUAL COLLECTION. TEACHERS AND STUDENTS TAKE THEIR LEARNING BEYOND THE CLASSROOM AND BECOME INSPIRED BY THE ENVIRONMENT. THIS YEAR'S BOOK HAS OVER 200 WORKS OF ART AND POETRY. EACH YEAR, ONE STUDENT'S ARTWORK IS SELECTED FOR THE COVER OF THE PUBLICATION. AND THIS YEAR AT MCCRACKEN MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENT KAYLEE CARTER [00:40:01] CAPTURED THE ESSENCE OF THE LOW COUNTRY. AND HERE TO INTRODUCE THE COVER ARTIST AND TALK MORE ABOUT RIVER AWARDS IS KAREN MCKENZIE, DIRECTOR OF TEACHING AND LEARNING. AND WELCOME MR. MILLING. I SEE YOU'RE HERE THIS YEAR WE HAD OVER 300 PIECES OF ARTWORK SUBMITTED FOR THE RIVER OF WORDS, WHICH IS PHENOMENAL. IT WAS A VERY TOUGH DECISION. THERE WERE SO MANY WONDERFUL PIECES. UM, AND FROM ALL OF THOSE, WE SELECTED KAYLEE'S THROUGH OUR JURY TO DO IT, ISN'T IT IT BEAUTIFUL. YES, SIR. AND I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT TO SAY THAT THIS IS A COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIP WITH SOME PARTNERS AROUND OUR DISTRICT. THIS IS OVER 10 YEARS OF HAVING THE RIVER WORDS. WE'RE REALLY PROUD OF BEING ABLE TO PRODUCE THIS FOR OUR STUDENTS, FOR OUR FAMILIES, FOR OUR COMMUNITIES. AND I THINK IT'S ALSO IMPORTANT TO NOTE THAT THIS IS THE SECOND TIME IN THREE YEARS THAT TARA MORRIS, THE ART TEACHER AT H MCCRACKEN, HAS PRODUCED OUR COVER ARTIST. SO I THINK THAT SAYS A LOT ABOUT HER TILLAGE IN THE CLASSROOM. AND I'M GONNA TURN IT OVER TO MR. MILLING NOW. CONGRATULATIONS, KAYLEE. GOOD EVENING EVERYONE. THANK YOU ALL FOR, UM, HAVING US AGAIN. UM, AS MS. MCKENZIE HAS SAID, MS. MORRIS IS, UH, ONE OF OUR SHINING LIGHTS AT ACHY MCCRACKEN. I WANT TO THANK, UM, ALL OF THE PARTNERS, UM, THAT'S LISTED WITH THE PAT CONROY, UH, FOUNDATION, UM, PORT ROYAL SOUND AND ART CENTER OF THE COASTAL CAROLINA. ALSO OUR INSTRUCTIONAL, UM, OUR INSTRUCTIONAL DIVISION FOR OUR SCHOOL DISTRICT. UH, THERE ARE A LOT OF THINGS THAT WE CAN PULL AND PIECE TOGETHER, BUT KEEPING THE ARTS, UM, AT THE CENTER ALONG WITH, UM, THE POETRY AND WRITING THAT GOES INTO THESE IS VERY IMPORTANT. IT HELPS, UM, EMPHASIZE THE STEAM, UH, FOUNDATION THAT WE HAVE AT H MCCRACKEN. SO, THANK YOU ALL AND CONGRATULATIONS TO KATIE KAYLEE. NOW, DISTRICT ATHLETICS, WE HAVE FEW RECOGNITIONS TONIGHT AS THE BASKETBALL SEASON WRAPPED UP. AND HERE TO INTRODUCE COACHES AND PLAYERS OF THE YEAR IS DISTRICT ATHLETIC DIRECTOR COACH CARLOS CAVE. GOOD EVENING. IT IS AGAIN, A PLEASURE FOR ME TO STAY IN BEFORE YOU REPRESENTING ATHLETICS IN BEAUFORT COUNTY. AND TONIGHT WE WANNA CELEBRATE OUR WINTER SPORTS COMPLETION WITH OUR CROWN CHAMPIONS AND COACHES AND PLAYERS OF THE YEAR. WE'RE GONNA START WITH THE YOUNG LADIES AND THE COACH'S CHOICE COACH OF THE YEAR, AND I DON'T THINK SHE'S IN ATTENDANCE TONIGHT IS MS. DIKA TAYLOR. SHE WAS SELECTED BY THE COACHES OF, ON THE, FROM THE GIRLS SIDE OF THE BASKETBALL BRACKET AS THE COACH'S CHOICE COACH OF THE YEAR. SO MS. DIKA TAYLOR IN HER ABSENCE, UH, I WILL BE DELIVERING THIS, UH, AWARD TO HER. OUR PLAYER OF THE YEAR IS FROM HILTON HEAD ISLAND MIDDLE SCHOOL, UH, HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO SEE HER PLAY IN THE CHAMPIONSHIP GAME. AND WITHOUT FURTHER ADO, I WOULD LIKE FOR HER TO COME UP PLAYER OF THE YEAR FOR, UH, THIS BASKETBALL SEASON. 2324 IS MISS DOMINIQUE JONES. AND OF COURSE, THE CHAMPIONSHIP IS NOT WON WITHOUT OUTSTANDING COACHING. AND THE COACH OF THE YEAR AND CHAMPIONSHIP COACH IS MR. RONNIE GUILFORD [00:45:02] HILTON HEAD, MIDDLE. GOOD JOB. AND NOW TO THE BOYS COACHES CHOICE, CHOICE AGAINST SELECTED BY HIS PEERS, COACH'S CHOICE COACH OF THE YEAR FOR THE BOYS MIDDLE SCHOOL. 2324 SEASONS IS MR. OSCAR FRAZIER FROM HE MCCRACKEN MIDDLE PLAYER OF THE YEAR FOR THE 20 20 23 24 BASKETBALL SEASON. ALSO FROM HILTON HEAD, UH, ISLAND MIDDLE SCHOOL IS MR. SMITH. AND OUR FINAL AWARD, UH, AGAIN, WE HAVE THE PLAYER OF THE YEAR FROM HILTON HEAD MIDDLE. AND OBVIOUSLY HE WAS, UH, COACHED BY AND LED, UH, TOOTH AND CHAMPIONSHIP BY THIS GENTLEMAN. AND I HAVE THE HONOR OF BRINGING HIM FORWARD AS THE COACH OF THE YEAR, MR. RONALD LEWIS. SO THAT CONCLUDES OUR, UH, POINTS OF CELEBRATION THIS EVENING. I'LL LEAVE THE THE LAST ONE ON THE AGENDA FOR OUR CHAIR, AND I'LL COVER THAT UNDER THE CHAIR REPORT. SO WE DO NOT HAVE ANY, UM, FIRST PUBLIC COMMENTS. SO NOW I'LL GO TO THE CHERRY PORT. OH, SORRY, . SO APRIL IS THE MONTH OF THE MILITARY CHILD. MILITARY CHILDREN FACE CHALLENGES AND UNIQUE EXPERIENCES AS A RESULT OF THEIR PARENTS' SERVICE TO OUR COUNTRY. THE BOARD OF EDUCATION WOULD LIKE TO CELEBRATE THE BEAUFORT COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT MILITARY CHILDREN, AND RECOGNIZE THE SACRIFICES THEY MAKE. MILITARY FAMILIES MOVE ON AVERAGE EVERY TWO TO THREE YEARS, IMPACTING THEIR CHILDREN THROUGH CHANGING SCHOOLS AND SUPPORT NETWORKS. PURPLE IS THE OFFICIAL COLOR OF THE MILITARY CHILD. IT'S A COMBINATION OF ALL THE COLORS OF THE US ARMED FORCES, AIR FORCE, NAVY, AND COAST GUARD BLUES, ARMY GREEN AND MARINE CORPS. RED, THANK YOU TO OUR MILITARY CHILDREN AND FAMILIES. AND THANK YOU FOR YOUR CONFIDENCE IN, IN TRUSTING YOUR CHILDREN TO THE BEAUFORT COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT. NEXT ON OUR, UM, AGENDA ARE THE COMMITTEE REPORTS, AND WE'LL START WITH ACADEMICS CHAIR CHLOE GORDON REPORTING. AND CHLOE IS ONLINE. YES. THANK YOU. YOU KNOW WHAT, CHLOE, GET A LITTLE CLOSER TO YOUR MICROPHONE. I THINK WE'LL HEAR YOU BETTER. CAN HEAR ME NOW? YEAH. HOLD ON A SECOND. WE'RE GONNA UNMUTE THE TV. THAT'S CLO UH, YEAH, JUST, IT'S BETTER WITH YOU. CLOSER TO THE MICROPHONE. AND JUST, I WAS GONNA SAY, UM, PROJECT THAT'S, THANK YOU, MISS BOATRIGHT. WELL, ACTUALLY WHAT WOULD HAPPEN IS THE, THEY NEED TO TURN THAT UP OVER THERE BECAUSE SHE'S PLAYING OFF ON SPEAKER. OR MAYBE TURN THE SPEAKER TOWARDS US. NO, THAT'S, IF IT'S OKAY, CAN MR. OKAY, THERE YOU GO. THERE YOU GO. RIGHT. OKAY. I WAS GONNA SAY, IF IT'S OKAY, IF MR. SMITH CAN GIVE THE REPORT, UM, WE MET LAST WEDNESDAY AND THE FOLLOWING ARS [00:50:01] WERE, UM, READ TO US AND WE, UH, APPROVED THEM. UM, I CAN'T SEE THEM THAT WELL ON THE SCREEN, BUT, UH, IF MR. WILL SMITH CAN READ THOSE ARS, THEY WERE, UM, THE COMMITTEE, UH, APPROVED THESE, UM, ARS AND WE'RE BRINGING THEM BEFORE THE BOARD. GO AHEAD. OKAY. I, IIS UH, 17, UH, IS 17, THE EXECUTIVE SUMMARY OF HR S 17, UH, SS 40 S SS DASH 39 SS DASH 39 SS DASH 16 S, UH, SIX SS DASH 16 SS DASH 40 ELA TEXTBOOKS AND CT TEXTBOOK APPROVAL LIST. THAT WOULD BE, OH, EXCUSE ME. YEAH. WHAT'S WRONG? EXCUSE. ARE THERE ANY QUESTIONS, UH, TO THE BOARD ABOUT THESE ARS? YES, RACHEL KY. THANK YOU, MADAM CHAIR. I JUST HAD A QUESTION IN REGARD TO THE HEALTH EDUCATION CHANGES THAT ARE REDLINED. UM, THE ONLY NEW, UH, SECTION OF SOUTH CAROLINA CODE THAT IS ADDED TO THE BACK AS REFERENCE IS THE ONE IN REGARD TO SEXUAL EXTORTION. AND, BUT THERE WAS QUITE A NUMBER OF CHANGES, INCLUDING, AND IT'S ALSO, I GUESS GAVIN'S LAW IS THE EXTORTION ONE, BUT THERE WAS SOME OTHER CHANGES. SO I'M JUST WONDERING, ARE THE CHANGES THAT ARE LISTED, FOR EXAMPLE, IN ROMAN NUMERAL, UM, FIVE SIX, UM, AND THE, LIKE, ARE THOSE ALSO IN REFERENCE TO UPDATES TO SOUTH CAROLINA CODE? AND IT JUST WASN'T REDLINED IN THE REFERENCES? ? UM, I CAN'T SEE THEM ON MY SCREEN. I'M USING MY, MY CELL PHONE, BUT I'LL BE GLAD TO, UM, KI KAREN MCKENZIE IS HERE TOO. I'M JUST, MRS. KINZIE'S IN, COULD YOU COME FORWARD PLEASE? THANK YOU. OH, YES. OKAY. MS. MCKENZIE, COULD YOU PLEASE ANSWER THAT? YES, I'D BE HAPPY. ME TOO. DOCTOR, I'M GONNA ASK YOU A VERY GOOD QUESTION. GAVIN'S LAW WAS ADDED, 'CAUSE THAT IS LEGISLATION THAT WE HAVE TO ADHERE TO. AND I THINK YOU HAD A QUESTION ABOUT SECTION FOUR, FIVE AND SIX. THOSE ADDITIONS WERE MADE AS WELL BECAUSE OF REGULATION CHANGES FROM THE STATE. THANK YOU. IF THAT'S FINE, JUST TO KEEP US IN COMPLIANCE. THANK YOU. ABSOLUTELY. THEY WERE VERY SPECIFIC, SO I FIGURED THEY CAME FROM SOMEWHERE VERY SPECIFIC. . THANK YOU. THANK YOU. ANYONE ELSE? UH, YES, MS. COURT. I WOULD ALSO ALSO ADD, JUST TO ALSO CLARIFY IF ANYONE HAVE ANY QUESTIONS. UM, I, AND I DID THAT WE, I, WE DID ASK THESE QUESTIONS. UH, THE QUESTION MRS. DR. ESKI DID ASK AS WELL. UH, THEY, THEY WERE, THEY WERE VERY DILIGENT ON GOING OVER THIS STUFF, UH, FOR MY STANLEY WITH LEGAL. SO THEREFORE, MRS. UH, I THANK ALL LEGAL, UH, BUT MRS. CARTILAGE AS WELL AS THE, UH, MRS. FORGIVE MY HEART, MA HAND, NOT MY HEART, MR. MCKENZIE. UH, THAT, THAT THEY ALL WENT OVER THIS TOGETHER. AND BASICALLY A LOT, A MAJORITY OF THIS STUFF CAME FROM THE STATE. UH, SO IT, IT WASN'T, IT WASN'T REALLY, UH, ANY, UH, WORDSMITHING IN IT FROM MY UNDERSTANDING. SO JUST, AND THEN THIS IS A LOT, UH, THIS IS A LOT THAT, THAT, THAT CHANGES. AND IT IS A, A LOT OF STUFF THAT THEY WILL BE GOING OVER WITH THE STAFF, UH, FROM MY UNDERSTANDING AT THE NEXT ADMINIS UH, PRINCIPAL'S MEETING, BECAUSE THERE'S A LOT OF CHANGES THAT, THAT, THAT ARE GOING ON. SO, UH, JUST TO LET YOU KNOW, THAT THOSE THINGS, THOSE THINGS WOULD, WOULD BE, UM, GIVE, THE INFORMATION WILL BE GIVEN TO THE STAFF BECAUSE THIS IS, THERE IS A LOT IN HERE THAT, THAT HAS BEEN CHANGED. THANK YOU. MR. SMITH. IS THERE NO MORE QUESTIONS? LET ME JUST, UM, ADD TO, UM, MS. GORDON THAT, UH, JUST FOR THE PUBLIC THAT'S LISTENING, UH, OR PARTICIPATING TONIGHT, THAT, UM, THESE ARE ADMINISTRATIVE REGULATIONS. AND SO THE BOARD NEEDS TO BE INFORMED OF THESE REGULATIONS, BUT WE DON'T, UH, HAVE TO VOTE, UH, UH, TO APPROVE THEM. UM, CORRECT. THANK YOU. ALRIGHT. CAN WE GO ONTO THE NEXT ONE? I CAN'T SEE THE SCREEN. SO THE AR HAVE BEEN READ AND, UM, THE BOARD IS, WERE IN COMPLIANCE, UH, ACCORDING TO MS. MCKENZIE. THANK YOU. THE, UH, TEXTBOOK ADOPTIONS. MR. SMITH, COULD YOU READ THOSE OUT FOR US, PLEASE? THE MOTION, [00:55:01] ACTUALLY AT THIS TIME, UM, MADAM CHAIR, I MAY, I, I MOVE THAT THE BEAUFORD COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT BOARD OF EDUCATIONAL APPROVE THE ADOPTION OF THE TEXTBOOK SELECTION PRESENTED ON APRIL 2ND, 2024 FOR THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS, CAREERS AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION AND SECONDARY COURSE PROGRAMS. CAN I GET A SECOND? OKAY. THANK YOU. MS. BOATRIGHT. DO I ELABORATE? UM, MS. GORDON OR SOMEBODY FROM ISD, MRS. MCKENZIE, COULD YOU COME FORWARD PLEASE AND, UH, GIVE, GIVE AN UPDATE ON THAT AND LET US KNOW HOW THIS LIST WAS COMPILED? THANK YOU. OUR SECONDARY COURSE PROGRAMS, WE HAD SEVERAL THAT WERE UP, UM, BY THE STATE FOR ADOPTION. OUR ADVANCED PLACED PLACEMENT WORLD HISTORY TEACHERS, AND THAT'S NINE, NINE THROUGH 12TH GRADE SELECTED THE EARTH AND ITS PEOPLE, WHICH IS DONE BY, UM, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC CENGAGE CORPORATION. OUR CHEMISTRY ONE TEACHERS, UM, SELECTED INSPIRE SCIENCE, WHICH IS BY MCGRAW HILL. OUR CHEMISTRY HONORS TEACHERS SELECTED INTRODUCTORY TO CHEMISTRY, WHICH IS ALSO BY MCGRAW HILL. AND OUR CHEMISTRY, ADVANCED PLACEMENT SELECTED CHEMISTRY BY NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC CENGAGE CORPORATION. SO REALLY EXCITED FOR OUR CHEMISTRY TEACHERS. WE REALLY NEEDED UPDATED BOOKS THERE. AND THEN ONTO PHYSICS, ANOTHER AREA WE NEEDED OUR ADVANCED PLACEMENT PHYSICS TEACHERS SELECTED COLLEGE PHYSICS, EXPLORE AND APPLY THE AP EDITION. AND THAT IS FROM SABBATH LEARNING COMPANY. AND OUR PHYSICS ONE TEACHERS SELECTED INSPIRE SCIENCE, PHYSICS, MCGRAW HILL, MS. ABOUT. RIGHT. UM, SPEAKING OF UPDATING, ARE WE GOING TO, ARE WE STILL USING PHYSICAL TEXTBOOKS PREDOMINANTLY? DO THEY HAVE A, UM, SOFTWARE COMPONENT WITH THEM THAT WE USE IN CONJUNCTION? ARE THERE ANY, UH, GROUPS THAT ARE USING STRICTLY A SOFTWARE VERSION OF TEXT? AND THAT REALLY GOES ALONG WITH IS 36, WHICH IS OUR, OUR ADMINISTRATIVE REGULATION ON TEXTBOOK ADOPTIONS. IF THE STATE PROVIDES US AN OPTION TO HAVE BOTH, WE TAKE BOTH. AND THAT'S TYPICALLY WHAT THEY'LL DO. IF THERE IS A PRINT VERSION AND A DIGITAL VERSION, THEY WON'T OFFER US BOTH. AND WE TAKE BOTH. UM, WE JUST DO THAT BECAUSE IT'S NOT ALWAYS SOMETHING THAT TEACHERS GO STEP BY STEP ANYMORE, BUT IT'S A GREAT RESOURCE TO HAVE IN THAT CLASSROOM. UM, BUT YES, NOT ALL OF THEM ARE DIGITAL, BUT IF THEY ARE, WE GET IT FOLLOW UP. ARE THERE, DOES THE STATE NOT PROVIDE ANY SOFTWARE EXCLUSIVE OPTIONS, ESPECIALLY FOR LIKE AP IB COLLEGE LEVEL? NOW FOR THINGS LIKE AP, WE DO HAVE COLLEGE BOARD, WHICH IS TYPICALLY JUST AN ONLINE RESOURCE FOR OUR TEACHERS, BUT THE STATE LOOKS AT BOTH ONLINE AND PRINT RESOURCES. DR. SKE, THANK YOU MADAM CHAIR. UM, I SEE ON THE CTE AND THE ELA, UH, THERE'S A RESPONSE RATE. IS THERE A RESPONSE RATE COMPONENT FOR THE SECONDARY, UM, SLIDESHOW PRESENT, OR THE, EXCUSE ME, THE SLIDE DECK? ABSOLUTELY. AND I APOLOGIZE. I DID NOT CONCLUDE THAT FOR YOU. WE DON'T HAVE AS MANY TEACHERS TEACHING CHEMISTRY AND PHYSICS. UM, BUT OUR CHEMISTRY WAS AT 89%. OUR PHYSICS WAS AT A HUNDRED PERCENT. AND WORLD HISTORY WAS AT A HUNDRED PERCENT. OKAY, THANK YOU. ABSOLUTELY. ARE THERE ANY MORE QUESTIONS, MS. GILBERT? DO YOU, MS. GILBERT, DO YOU HAVE ANYTHING TO ADD ON THE CT, SIR, WE, JUST AS THE SUMMARY, UH, REQUESTED AND GOOD EVENING BOARD MEMBERS, WE HAD, UH, SEVEN CONTENT AREAS UP FOR ADOPTION. OF THOSE, WE HAD 30 TEACHERS, UH, THAT, UH, RESPONDED, UH, UH, 30 TEACHERS THAT WERE TEACHING THESE COURSES. AND OF THOSE, WE HAD 26 RESPONSES FOR AN 86%, UH, RATE. AND IT EXPANDED ACROSS OUR PERSONAL FINANCE, ACCOUNTING, WELDING, SPORTS, MEDICINE, MARKETING, AND CULINARY. AND WE ALSO HAD ONE MIDDLE SCHOOL TITLE THAT WAS STATE ADOPTED FOR OUR STATE COURSE CALLED INTRO TO CAREER CLUSTERS. SO THESE ARE THE COURSES THAT YOU HAVE IN FRONT OF YOU THAT THE TEACHERS REVIEWED AND SELECTED. UM, SO IT WAS FOR A TOTAL OF 13 TITLES FOR YOUR APPROVAL. THANK YOU. DOES ANYONE ELSE HAS ANYTHING TO ADD OR SAY? WE CAN GO AHEAD AND VOTE. YES. OKAY. THE MOTION IS ALREADY ON THE TABLE. CAN YOU DISPLAY IT? UM, ROBIN? [01:00:31] IT'S KIND OF SMALL, BUT YEAH. , CAN YOU MAKE IT BIGGER OR NO? NO, MA'AM. ALRIGHT. I CAN, YEAH, I CAN READ IT. OH, LET ME JUST READ IT ALOUD. I MOVED IT. THE BEAUFORT COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT BOARD OF EDUCATION APPROVED THE ADOPTION OF THE TEXTBOOK, UH, SELECTIONS PRESENTED ON APRIL 2ND, 2024 FOR LANGUAGE, ENGLISH, LANGUAGE ARTS, CAREER AND TECHNICAL, UH, EDUCATION AND SECONDARY COURSE PROGRAMS. SO, ALL IN FAVOR, PLEASE SAY AYE. AYE. AND ONLINE. AYE. A AYE. MS. GORDON HAS OUR HANDS UP SAYING AYE. I THINK HER MIC JUST MUTED. OKAY. YEP. ALL RIGHT. SO THE MOTION CARRIES UNANIMOUSLY. MS. GORDON? YEAH, I THINK YOU JUST UNMUTE. UNMUTED. THANK YOU. DEFINITELY. THANK YOU MS. MCKENZIE AND HER STAFF, AND DR. GREENSTONE'S FATHER THAT THEY'VE DONE WITH THIS RARE. WE DEFINITELY APPRECIATE YOU. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. THAT'S IT FOR THE ACADEMICS, I BELIEVE. YEAH. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. SO, NEXT, UH, REPORTING. WE HAVE, UH, FINANCE WITH, UH, CHAIR COLONEL GEIER. THANK YOU, MADAM CHAIR. THE FINANCE COMMITTEE MET ON MARCH 14TH. I'M GONNA GIVE YOU A MEETING SUMMARY. UH, MS. TANYA CROSBY, A REPORT PRESENTED THE FOLLOWING REPORTS, THE MONTHLY BOARD OF EDUCATION REPORT. IT SHOWS THAT THE BOARD BUDGET IS, UH, UNDER BUDGET FOR HALF OF THE YEAR AT 42.4% EXPENDED. WE ALSO RECEIVED THE MONTHLY $100,000 REPORT FOR THE MONTH OF JANUARY AND THE TRANSPARENCY REPORT FOR THE MONTH OF JANUARY. UH, WE FOUND SOME MINOR QUESTIONS, UH, IN THE REPORT, ALL OF WHICH WERE ANSWERED, UH, COMPLETELY. MS. DENISE MATSON PROVIDED THE ESSER DASHBOARD THAT SHOWS THAT WE CONTINUE TO BE ON THE POSITIVE GLIDE SLOPE TO MEET ANNEX AND SPEND ALL OF THE ESSER FUNDS, UH, BY THE END OF THE FISCAL YEAR, FEDERAL FISCAL YEAR OF, UH, 30 SEPTEMBER OF THIS YEAR. ANY QUESTIONS ON THE DASHBOARD? WE'LL GO ON. MS. CROSBY PRESENTED US A VERY COMPREHENSIVE REPORT, COST REPORT FOR EVERY SCHOOL IN THE DISTRICT. UH, I REALLY ENCOURAGE BOARD MEMBERS TO TAKE A LOOK AT IT. THERE'S A LOT OF DATA ON THERE. WE'VE INCLUDED IN YOUR HANDOUTS A DRAFT OF A SPREADSHEET, TWO DRAFTS OF A SPREADSHEET THAT PUT, UH, THE, UH, DATA COMPILED A BIT FOR YOU TO TAKE A LOOK AT IT. THIS IS A DRAFT ONLY, IT HAS NOT BEEN VERIFIED THAT, UH, ALL THE MATHEMATICS, UH, UH, WERE DONE CORRECTLY. AND I'M ASKING THE STAFF TO DO THAT. BUT ALSO WOULD ASK THE BOARD TO TAKE A LOOK AT BOTH OF THESE SPREADSHEETS. AND I THINK IT WILL BRING UP SOME REQUESTS FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION TO HIGHLIGHT SOME OF THE, THE FINDINGS IN THE, UH, REPORT. IT'S A, IT'S A REALLY EXCELLENT, UH, THING FOR THE BOARD TO TAKE A LOOK AT. UH, BEFORE WE START INTO, UH, BUDGET DISCUSSIONS IN THE LAST COUPLE MONTHS, MR. CAMPBELL, YOU HAVE ANYTHING YOU WANNA SAY ABOUT THAT? OKAY. ALRIGHT. ANY QUESTIONS ON THAT, MS. BOATWRIGHT? I UNDERSTAND THAT, UM, THE MATH HASN'T ALL BEEN CHECKED, BUT I DID, 'CAUSE IT THREW ME OFF. EARLY CHILDHOOD CENTERS. HILTON HAD ISLAND EARLY CHILDHOOD CENTER, UH, COST PER PUPIL, 16,531 DAVIS EARLY CHILDHOOD CENTER, 10,693. WHEN I DID THE MATH THOUGH, WHICH IS THE TOTAL COST DIVIDED BY THE ENROLLMENT, I GOT 20,000 [01:05:01] IN CHANGE FOR, UH, DAVIS EARLY CHILDHOOD. YEAH. THAT, THAT'S, WOULD THAT COME UP ALREADY? THAT'S, THAT'S ONE OF THE ISSUES IN THE REPORT. WE, JUST TO CHECK THE MATH, MAKE SURE. YEP. YOU WANNA, GOOD EVENING. UH, A FEW YEARS AGO, UM, WE CONSOLIDATED, WELL BRANCH ELEMENTARY SCHOOL WITH JAMES J. DAVIS ELEMENTARY. SO ALL OF THE ADMINISTRATION AND ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS ARE ALL BUDGETED AT THE, AND, AND THE TEACHER PRIMARILY ARE CODED TO THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL. SO UNDER CODE 54, WHICH IS WIL BRANCH ELEMENTARY. SO, UH, GENERALLY, UH, FEWER COSTS ARE CODED DIRECTLY TO THE SCHOOL. THEY MAY BE ENERGY. SO WE, WE, WE TRACK PER SQUARE FOOTAGE AND AT VARIOUS COSTS LIKE THAT. SO THERE ARE SOME SEPARATIONS OF THE COST BECAUSE OF THAT CONSOLIDATION OF THE TWO SCHOOLS AS ONE. SO THAT MAY BE THE CASE IN SOME OF THE OTHER SITES. DUSKY IS ANOTHER EXAMPLE OF THAT AS WELL. THAT ANSWER YOUR QUESTION. SO I GUESS MY QUESTION THEN IS, ARE YOU SAYING THAT, UM, INGRID, CAN YOU SPEAK INTO THE MICROPHONE PLEASE? THANK YOU. BEING ORGANIZED. OKAY. SO JUST TO BE CLEAR, SO YOU'RE SAYING, SO, AND THIS JUST, UH, THE NUMBERS DIDN'T ADD UP WHEN I WAS GLANCING THROUGH IT, BUT, SO DAVIS EARLY CHILDHOOD, YOU HAVE THE TOTAL COST IS 1,940,112. IS THAT THE CORRECT COST? BECAUSE IF YOU DIVIDE THAT BY 96, YOU GET 20,000. SO IF YOU'RE SAYING THAT THE ACTUAL COST OF DAVIS IS MUCH LESS THAN THAT, I'M JUST NOT SURE WHICH NUMBER 'CAUSE IT'S JUST A MAP. UM, I DID NOT PREPARE THIS DOCUMENT. UM, MR. GUYER ACTUALLY PREPARED IT, SO I WOULD HAVE TO GO BACK. LOOK, THAT'S WHY I'M SAYING IT'S A DRAFT. WE HAVE TO CONFIRM THAT NUMBERS. AND I WOULDN'T HAVE HAD A FOLLOW UP QUESTION. I JUST DIDN'T UNDERSTAND WHAT SHE WAS SAYING WITH THE ADMINIS ADMINISTRATION IF SHE WAS SAYING THAT, THAT THE 10 THOUSAND'S CORRECT. IN THE NUMBERS. SO THAT'S WHAT I WAS TRYING TO GET CLARITY ON. I'LL GO BACK AND TAKE A LOOK AT THE, AT THE COSTS. MM-HMM. , DR. WASOWSKI. YEAH, JUST TWO THINGS THAT I WANTED TO POINT OUT THAT JUMPED OUT TO ME. UM, ONE IS UNDER THE EARLY CHILDHOOD CENTERS, UM, BLUFFTON ELEMENTARY HAS AN EARLY CHILDHOOD CENTER AS WELL. SO IT'S A SEPARATE, UM, FACILITY ON THIS, ON THE SITE. SO THAT ONE, I DON'T KNOW IF THAT'S INCLUDED IN BLUFFTON ELEMENTARY'S NUMBERS UP HERE. SO THERE'S THE ECC AND THEN THERE'S THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL. THE OTHER THING THAT I'D BE INTERESTED IN KNOWING, UM, 'CAUSE I DO SEE THE ASTERISK FOR THE TITLE ONE SCHOOLS. I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT THAT WE DELINEATE OUR SCHOOLS THAT OFFER THE, UM, SPECIAL, THE INTENSIVE SPECIAL EDUCATION SERVICES. 'CAUSE I BELIEVE THOSE ARE CLUSTERED AT A SPECIFIC SITE AND THAT CAN VERY MUCH IMPACT FUNDING. YES, THAT IS CORRECT. AND THAT'S, THAT'S ONE OF THE, ONE OF THE ADDITIONAL COLUMNS THAT WE PUT IT ON. ALSO, THESE COSTS, UH, DO NOT REFLECT THE TITLE ONE AND SPECIAL, UH, THE SPECIAL REVENUES COSTS. SO THAT NEEDS TO BE, UH, ADDED ONTO IT AS WELL. THESE ARE JUST GENERAL FUND, UH, COSTS. OKAY. AND THEN ALL, AND THEN JUST THIS. OH, AND THEN ALSO, UM, I KNOW FOR LIKE, UH, I BELIEVE FOR DAVIS, FOR DAVIS, UH, EARLY CHILDHOOD, I BELIEVE THAT ALSO THAT WE ALSO HAVE ANOTHER, WE HAVE, WE HAVE PROGRAMS IN THOSE SCHOOLS. SO I KNOW THAT THOSE SCHOOLS DO MAKE US SOME, SOME, UH, UH, SOME TYPE OF REVENUE AS WELL BECAUSE, UH, I KNOW THEY, THEY DO PAY, UH, FEES FOR BEING IN THOSE SCHOOLS. SO, UM, UM, I GUESS WE WOULD WANT TO UNDERSTAND HOW, HOW THAT WORKS AS, AS, AS WELL INTO GOING INTO WHAT NUMBERS THAT WE'RE GIVING, BECAUSE THERE'S, SO, THERE'S, SO IS MONEY COMING OUT? MONEY MONEY'S GOING INTO, SO, SO WE CAN JUST UNDERSTAND HOW, HOW THAT WORKS. APPRECIATE THAT THEY HAVE THAT AS WELL. THANK YOU. OKAY. THE, UH, NEXT ITEM IS ADMINISTRATIVE REGULATION, SS 42 DISTRICT WELLNESS. AND, UH, IT'S ABOUT PROPER NUTRITION, NUTRITION EDUCATION, PHYSICAL ACTIVITY. AND WE TOOK, TOOK A LOOK AT THAT. AND, UH, THE CHANGES ARE MARKED IN RED. I BELIEVE IT'S MOSTLY FOR STATE AS A RESULT OF, UH, STATE POLICIES. OKAY. NOT A, NOT A MOTION ON THAT. THE NEXT ITEM WAS THE OE FIVE DASH ONE, WHICH IS THE FUND BALANCE POLICY. AND WE, WHAT WE'VE ARE RECOMMENDED, WE SEND A MOTION TO SEND IT TO THE POLICY COMMITTEE [01:10:01] TO LOOK AT CHANGING THE POLICY AMOUNT FOR FUND BALANCE. AND BASICALLY WHAT WE'RE LOOKING AT IS HAVING THE FUND BALANCE AMOUNT BE SUFFICIENT TO NOT REQUIRE AN ANNUAL TAX ANTICIPATION NOTE EVERY YEAR. BUT THAT GOES TO THE POLICY COMMITTEE. DID YOU HAVE A RECOMMENDATION? WE MAKE THAT, THAT'S WHAT WE, WE HAVE IT. I SURE ROB ROBIN WILL GET IT TO ME. I'M SURE SHE WILL. OKAY. NEXT ITEM IS GOOD NEWS. MS. CROSBY, WOULD YOU COME UP AND I'D LIKE YOU TO SAY THAT, GIVE THE GOOD NEWS, SINCE OFTENTIMES YOU COME UP WITH BAD NEWS. , I'D LIKE TO TALK ABOUT THE GOOD NEWS. , I ASSUME YOU'RE REFERRING TO THE TAX REVENUES? YES, SIR. UM, SO AS OF JANUARY 31ST, OUR LOCAL TAX COLLECTIONS, UH, BOTH IN OPERATIONS AND IN DEBT SERVICE ARE VERY HEALTHY AT THIS POINT, UM, AT JANUARY 31ST. UM, SO AT, IN BOTH CATEGORIES WE ARE AT 98%. UH, EXCUSE ME, THIS SHOULD BE LOCAL TAX REVENUES. UH, THE COUNTY, COUNTY, UH, TREASURER USES THE TERM COLLECTIONS AS A COLLECTION RATE. WE GENERALLY USE, UH, REVENUES AS A PERCENTAGE OF OUR BUDGET. SO IT'S A REVENUES RECEIVED AS A PERCENTAGE OF OUR BUDGET. AND SO 98.1% IN THE OPERATIONS CATEGORY, UH, WHICH MEANS WE HAVE RECEIVED 192.3 MILLION SO FAR. UH, AND DEBT IS AT 98.0% AT 90 MILLION. OUR DEBT SERVICE PAYMENTS, UH, ARE IN THE, IN THE 87 TO $90 MILLION, UH, EXPENDITURES PER YEAR. SO THESE DO EXCEED, I'VE PROVIDED TWO OTHER COLUMNS AND, UM, THEY DO EXCEED THE PREVIOUS YEARS. AND SO WE ARE IN A VERY GOOD SHAPE. UM, DO WANNA CAUTION THOUGH, WE ARE IN REASSESSMENT YEAR, SO THEY COULD BE GIVE SOME APPEALS, UH, COULD BE SOME REFUNDS. AND SO WE'RE WATCHING THOSE EACH MONTH VERY CLOSELY. WE RECEIVE THE REVENUE INFORMATION AT THE END OF THE MONTH FOLLOWING THE, THE MONTH OF COLLECTION. SO, UH, WE ARE IN APRIL, SO WE, AT THE END OF APRIL, WE'LL RECEIVE UP TO DATE INFORMATION AS OF MARCH 31ST. SO, SO QUESTIONS FOR THE BOARD. IF YOU LOOK AT THE 92 OR THE 2019 NUMBERS, THAT WAS THE LAST REASSESSMENT YEAR. AND UM, THAT WAS NOT A GOOD YEAR FOR US. BUT THIS YEAR, UH, IT LOOKS LIKE IT'S, WE'RE GONNA BE IN HEALTHY SHAPE. THANKS. YES. AND, UH, THIS WILL ONLY HELP US IN OUR BUDGET FOR BUILDING THE BUDGET FOR NEXT YEAR IN THE LOCAL AND TAX REVENUE AREA. EXACTLY. MM-HMM. MADAM CHAIR THAT COM. UH, I HAD A QUESTION, NOT IN REGARD TO THE REVENUE COLLECTION, SO DON'T WORRY ABOUT IT, HONEY. I DON'T THINK I'LL NEED YOU. UM, IT WAS ACTUALLY, I WANTED TO GO BACK TO THE VERY FIRST ITEM. I MISSED IT. MY APOLOGIES. IT'S ON THE BOE BUDGET. UM, I WAS LOOKING THROUGH IT AND, UM, WE DON'T TYPICALLY HAVE BIG CONVERSATIONS SURROUNDING IT, BUT THE TECH PURCHASE SERVICES AND LICENSES, WE HAVE AN ALLOCATED BUDGET OF $80,000, AND THAT'S ONE OF THE LARGEST AREAS OF BUDGETING THAT WE HAVE FOR THE BOARD. AND I'M JUST WONDERING, HISTORICALLY, HAS THAT BEEN USED AND WHAT HAS IT BEEN USED FOR? 'CAUSE THERE'S GOTTA BE A REASON FOR THE NUMBER. IT'S JUST SUPER HIGH, I FEEL, AND IT COULD GO TO SOMETHING MORE USEFUL PERHAPS. DO WE WANNA LOOK INTO IT AT ANOTHER TIME? YEAH, WE'LL LOOK, WE'LL LOOK INTO IT AND BRING IT UP AT THE NEXT, UH, FINANCE COMMITTEE MEETING. COOL. THANK YOU. THANK YOU, MADAM CHAIR. THAT CONCLUDES MY REPORT. UM, THANK YOU COLONEL GEIER. NEXT WE HAVE OPERATIONS, AND THAT'S, UH, CHAIRMAN CARLTON DALLAS REPORTING. OKAY, THANK YOU, . THANK YOU. OKAY. TO BRING EVERYONE UP TO SPEED ON, UH, FEBRUARY 24TH, THE OP OPERATIONS COMMITTEE MEMBERS ASKED THE DISTRICT FINANCE AND OPERATIONS COMMITTEE, OPERATIONS DEPARTMENT TO TAKE A LOOK AT PROVIDING FURTHER ANALYSIS ON THE TOPIC OF BRINGING THE, UH, CUSTODIAL THE UM, SERVICES INSIDE IN-HOUSE. WE THEN MET ON MARCH 12TH, AN OPERATIONS COMMITTEE MEETING STAFF PRESENTED AN UPDATED FINANCIAL COST ANALYSIS THAT PROVIDED A COMPREHENSIVE COMPARATIVE LOOK AT SCHOOL DISTRICT AND COMPANY'S, UM, COSTS. UM, PROUD TO SAY THAT, UH, UM, BOTH MR. OTTING AND CFO CROSBY PRESENTED [01:15:01] FEEDBACK IN FROM HER MEETING WITH, UH, PROFESSOR PETER SWIFT, WHO IS A BROWN AND HARVARD TRAINED BUSINESS ECONOMISTS, UH, FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA TO EVALUATE THE METHODOLOGY. ONE OF THE CONCERNS WE HAD IS, WHEN YOU'RE LOOKING AT AN IN OR OUT DECISION, WE ALWAYS WANT OUR EFFORTS AND METHODOLOGY TO BE DEFENSIBLE TO ANYONE COMING IN FROM OUTSIDE AND QUESTIONING HOW WAS IT DONE? SO THAT FEEDBACK FROM PROFESSOR SWIFT WAS VERY POSITIVE. HE FELT THE METHODOLOGY AND ASSUMPTIONS LOOKED THOROUGH AND REASONABLE. SO HE GAVE HIS STAMP OF APPROVAL. AND ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WAS ALSO DISCUSSED BY MS. CROSBY AND MR. OTTING IS TO LOOK AT WHAT POTENTIAL UNFORESEEN CHALLENGES COULD OCCUR. SO YOU DO SOME ALTERNATIVES OF WHAT IF THIS HAPPENS. UH, SO THAT WORKED OUT VERY WELL. AND SO WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE PRESENTATION THAT'S THERE, YOU'LL SEE THAT, UH, THE RECOMMENDATION IS TO CONTINUE TO OUTSOURCE THE DOLLARS. THE SAVINGS ARE OVERWHELMING AND SUPPORT OF THAT. BUT WE ALSO WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT FROM A QUALITATIVE PERSPECTIVE, THAT THERE ARE SOME IMPROVEMENTS IN THE WAY THE CONTRACT IS DONE, UH, SO THAT WE CAN MAKE SURE THAT THE ADMINISTRATIONS AND THE SCHOOLS ARE A LITTLE BIT HAPPIER WITH HOW IT HAS, UH, PROGRESS. MR. NAY, UH, MADE A RECOMMENDATION THAT WE BRING THIS BEFORE THE BOARD FOR APPROVAL, UH, TO ENABLE THE OPERATIONS DEPARTMENT TO GO OUT TO BID, UH, FOR CONTINUED OUTSOURCING. TWO VENDORS, TWO VENDORS. YEAH. MR. OTTING, WOULD YOU LIKE TO COME IN AND SUPPLEMENT SOMETHING? SIR, YOU DID A LOT OF WORK AS WELL AS MS. CROSBY. I THINK YOU DID A FABULOUS JOB. I'LL JUST BE GLAD TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS ANYBODY HAS. MS. BOATWRIGHT AND THEN DR. OSKY. SO APPARENTLY THEY DON'T WANT ME TO SPEAK. UM, SO I, YOU KNOW, I HAVE CONCERNS ABOUT, UH, YOU KNOW, CONTINUING TO OUTSOURCE SERVICES LIKE CUSTODIAL. I UNDERSTAND THE FINANCIALS, BUT I THINK ONE THING IS, AND THIS IS INFORMATION YOU GOT FROM ME, IT REALLY COMES DOWN TO BENEFITS IN A LOT OF WAYS. SIX OF OUR CURRENT CUSTODIAL EMPLOYEES ARE TAKING THE INSURANCE OFFERED THREE OF, UH, THERE ARE THREE INSURANCE COMPANIES OFFERED, ONE OF WHICH HAS A $5,000 DEDUCTIBLE. THE OTHER TWO ARE REALLY NOT EVEN INSURANCE PRODUCTS. SO WHAT WE CAN SAY, AND I CAN'T REMEMBER, I WAS TRYING TO FIND OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD THAT WE HAVE 200 EMPLOYEE, UH, CUSTODIAL WORKERS. DOES THAT SOUND ABOUT RIGHT? AND THERE'S PROBABLY SOME PERCENTAGE OF THEM THAT GET INSURANCE THROUGH THE MILITARY. UM, MAYBE THROUGH A SPOUSE, MAYBE VETERANS BENEFITS. BUT I, I THINK WE CAN SAFELY ASSUME THE BULK OF OUR CUSTODIAL STAFF DID NOT HAVE HEALTHCARE INSURANCE. SO THE PROBLEM IS, AND THAT'S A HUGE EXPENSE, AND OBVIOUSLY IF WE BRING IT IN-HOUSE, THAT'S A HUGE EXPENSE. BUT I THINK WE HAVE TO BE REALISTIC IF WE'RE GOING TO CONTINUE TO HAVE CUSTODIAL STAFF, MAINTENANCE STAFF, ET CETERA, THAT DO NOT HAVE ACCESS TO QUALITY HEALTHCARE, WE HAVE TO BE REALISTIC ABOUT WHAT WE CAN EXPECT FROM THAT CUSTODIAL STAFF. BECAUSE THERE'S A LOT OF RESEARCH THAT SHOWS THAT EDUCATION LEVEL WORK, UH, JOBS, ET CETERA, CORRELATE TO HIGHER LEVELS OF UNCONTROLLED BLOOD PRESSURE, ASTHMA, ARTHRITIS. AND SO, AND WE ALSO, I MEAN, I THINK I READ IN HERE, FIVE DAYS OF SICK DAY PER YEAR. SO THEY'RE NOT ABLE TO TAKE THOSE SICK DAYS OFF. SO THEY'RE GONNA BE WORKING AND THEY'RE NOT GONNA FEEL GREAT. THEY'RE GONNA HAVE ISSUES THAT ARE GOING TO IMPACT THEIR JOB PERFORMANCE. SO AS WE DEMAND MORE AND MORE, UM, WHAT'S THE WORD? I'M A HIGHER LEVEL OF SERVICE FROM THE CUSTODIAL WORKERS, I THINK THAT THAT IS A HUGE FACTOR. I THINK ALSO WE HAVE TO THINK ABOUT THE IMPACT TO THE COMMUNITY AS A WHOLE, WHO IS TAKING CARE OF OUR WORKFORCE IF THEY DON'T HAVE ANY ACCESS TO HEALTHCARE. SO THOSE ARE CONCERNS I HAVE. I, I UNDERSTAND THE FINANCIAL, I'M NOT PREPARED TO, I'M GONNA ABSTAIN FROM THIS VOTE, UM, ABOUT, BECAUSE I HAVE NOT BEEN AS IN DEPTH, UM, IN THE CONVERSATIONS. BUT I THINK REALISTICALLY, WHEN WE DO THESE COMPARISONS AND WE'RE LOOKING AT 200 PEOPLE GETTING HIGH QUALITY HEALTHCARE AND DENTAL AND A 401K AND LONG TERM DISABILITY, AND WE COMPARE THEM TO PEOPLE WHO DON'T HAVE ACCESS TO THOSE THINGS AND SAY, WELL, THAT'S NOT AN APPLES TO APPLES COMPARISON. SO I THINK THERE ARE ALSO, UM, ONE THING WITH THE CHARLESTON I NOTICED IS THAT THEY HAVE A HUN THAT THEY GET A FINE, THEY, OR HOWEVER THEY PUT IT, THEY GET DINGED IF THEY DROP BELOW A HUNDRED PERCENT, UH, OF THEIR, OF STAFFING. THAT'S GONNA BE IMPACTFUL IF WE TRY TO, I DON'T KNOW IF WE'RE TALKING ABOUT DOING SOMETHING LIKE THAT, THAT'S GONNA RAISE THE COST. UM, SO I DON'T, I, I, I, LIKE I SAID, I AM GONNA ABSTAIN, BUT I THINK WE CAN THINK ABOUT IF IS THERE SOMETHING WE CAN DO PARTNER WITH BEAUFORT COUNTY, UH, ACCESS HEALTH, UM, YOU KNOW, VOLUNTEERS IN MEDICINE WHERE I WORK FULL DISCLOSURE, UM, TO MAKE SURE THAT OUR CUSTODIAL AND MAINTENANCE WORKERS, IF THEY DON'T HAVE ACCESS TO HEALTHCARE [01:20:01] AND THEY'RE NOT GETTING ACCESS TO SOME OF THESE MEDICATIONS, DIABETIC MEDICATIONS IN PARTICULAR ARE VERY EXPENSIVE. BUT THERE ARE A LOT OF COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS THAT CAN HELP. I JUST THINK, UM, WE NEED TO THINK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT HAVING A HEALTHY WORKFORCE, ESPECIALLY IF WE'RE GONNA EXPECT THE KIND OF SERVICE THAT WE'RE EXPECTING FROM THEM. DR. KY THANK YOU MADAM CHAIR. I JUST WANTED TO THANK THE OPERATIONS COMMITTEE AND ALL THE STAFF THAT, THAT PUT IN THE WORK ON THIS. 'CAUSE THIS IS A VERY COMPREHENSIVE, UM, DISCUSSION AND PRESENTATION THAT TALKS ABOUT, AND, AND LAYS FORTH THE CHANGES TO THE CONTRACT STRUCTURE, WHICH IS SOMETHING I DON'T THINK THAT I'VE EVER SEEN COME OUT OF A COMMITTEE. AND I THINK THAT'S GONNA BE REALLY BENEFICIAL TO STRENGTHENING THE CONTRACT AND MAKING THE PRIVATE OUTSOURCED CONTRACT MUCH STRONGER FOR US. WHEN I THINK ABOUT THESE CONVERSATIONS, I THINK ABOUT WHAT'S OUR MAIN CHARGE, AND THAT'S TO EDUCATE STUDENTS. I WOULD MUCH PREFER TO PUT OUR OPERATIONAL BUDGET DOLLARS TOWARDS, UM, TEACHERS AND STUDENTS AND THINGS THAT ARE GONNA LEAD TO ACADEMIC OUTCOMES. UM, AND I THINK THAT DOING THIS WORK WILL MAKE THE OUTSOURCE CONTRACT STRONGER IN, IN THE FUTURE. SO I APPRECIATE Y'ALL. THANK YOU VERY MUCH, MR. SMITH. UM, I DEFINITELY, UM, HAVE SOME CONCERNS ABOUT THIS BECAUSE, UH, UH, AND ACTUALLY FIRST, I, I, I, FIRST, I'LL JUST PIGGYBACK OFF WHAT DR. ROMANSKI JUST SAID. NOW, ACTUALLY, I THANK MR. COLTON DALLAS BECAUSE THAT'S THE ONE PERSON WHO, UM, MAY ASK WHO ASKED FOR THIS, UH, INTENSE REPORT. UH, I GUESS HE, HE, UH, HE CONNECTED THE DOTS WITH SOME, I GUESS THE PEOPLE FROM UNIVERSITY OR SOMETHING WITH, UH, MR. OUTING AND MRS. AND MRS. CRO CROSBY, FOR THEM TO, UM, COME TOGETHER AND FIGURE OUT HOW TO GET THIS WHOLE, GET THIS ALL HOLISTIC APPROACH WITH ALL THE INFORMATION AND DATA THAT THAT, THAT WE HAVE IN THIS PACKET. SO JUST, UH, JUST, UH, COOL TO HIM FOR, UH, LEADING THAT CHARGE. UM, BUT, BUT, BUT, BUT WHEN WITHIN ITSELF, UM, I GO BACK TO WHAT MR. BOATWRIGHT SAYS EXACTLY. UM, EVEN AS A BOARD MEMBER, YOU KNOW, WE KNOW A LOT OF PEOPLE COME TO ME AND, AND THE CUSTODIANS, THEY TALK ABOUT WANTING TO BE A PART OF THE DISTRICT IN TERMS OF THE HEALTH BENEFITS, BECAUSE CONTRACT WORKS DOES NOT GIVE THEM HEALTH BENEFITS. AND, AND THEY'RE LIKE, YOU KNOW THEY WOULD LIKE TO BE A PART OF THE DISTRICT. AND ALSO WHEN, WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE, IN TERMS OF HIRING THEM TO BE A PART OF THE DISTRICT, AND THEN THE PEOPLE WHO YOU, WHO ARE, WHO, ADMINISTRATION OR PRINCIPALS WOULD HIRE THOSE PEOPLE, THEY TAKE A CERTAIN, A DIFFERENT APPROACH AND THEY TAKE MORE PRIDE AND WHAT AND WHAT IS GOING ON IN THE BUILDING. THEY TAKE MORE OWNERSHIP OF YOUR, OF YOUR STUFF. SO TO ME, IT'S, IT IS, IT IS NOT REALLY JUST NEW VERSUS WANT IT IS. YOU PAY FOR WHAT YOU GET. IF YOU, IF YOU, IF YOU, IF YOU, IF WE, IF WE WANNA PAY FOR, IF WE, IF WE WANNA PAY FOR, FOR CONTRACT WORKERS, THEN WE GONNA GET CONTRACT HELP. AND WE HAVE TO UNDERSTAND, UNDERSTAND THAT WE CAN'T, WE CAN'T REQUIRE THESE PEOPLE. WHEN, WHEN THE DISTRICT IS GIVING OUT BONUSES TO OUR STAFF, WE CAN'T REQUIRE 'EM TO WORK THE SAME LEVEL AS OUR STAFF DO. 'CAUSE SPEAKING THOSE PEOPLE, THEY DON'T WORK FOR THE DISTRICT. THEY WORK FOR THE CONTRACTOR. AND SO, AND SO THERE'S A, THERE'S A LOT OF GRAY AREAS IN, IN TERMS OF HOW THE DISTRICT IS INVOLVED IN THE CONTRACTOR, WHAT WE CAN AND CANNOT DO. WHAT, WHAT, THERE'S A, THERE'S A BUNCH OF GRAY AREA I THINK THAT WE SHOULD, UH, PROTECT PRECAUTION, BUT MOSTLY IMPORTANTLY, LET'S NOT FORGET THAT THESE ARE SOME OF THE SAME PEOPLE WHO WE GO OUT AT BOMBING FROM AFTER BOMBING REFERENDUM, WHICH IS BEING OUR SECOND BOMBING REFERENDUM. THESE PEOPLE ARE COMMUNITY MEMBERS. SO ARE WE SAYING THAT WE VALUE AND ONE COLLEAGUES, UH, YOU KNOW, JUST ONE TELL ME THAT WE, WE, WE PUT EDUCATION, NOT WE, WE HAVE TO TREAT EVERYONE EQUAL AND FAIR IN TERMS OF WE WANT THEM TO WORK, BUT WE HAVE, BUT WE HAVE TO PAY THEM BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, THE SAME PEOPLE WHO WE GO OUT FOR BOND FOR, AND WE ASK THEM TO SUPPORT THE BOND ON ONE, ONE ACTUALLY TO SUPPORT BOND ON THIS HAND. BUT I'M TELLING YOU, YOU'RE NOT IMPORTANT ENOUGH AND YOU, I DON'T VALUE ENOUGH TO PAY YOU MORE MONEY TO BRING YOU IN HOUSE TO BE A STAFF MEMBER, TO TAKE OWNERSHIP AND, AND IN, IN THIS COUNTY. SO, SO TO ME, OUR MESSAGES IS, IS KIND FROM, FROM MY POINT, MY PERSPECTIVE. AND PEOPLE CAN, CAN, CAN DISAGREE WITH ME. EVERYBODY HAS OPINIONS AND THEN, AND THEY ENTITLED TO THEM. BUT IT'S, IT'S DISINGENUINE A LITTLE BIT. AND I'VE HAD SEVERAL CUSTODIANS WHO HAVE TIME AT THE TIME SAID, WHEN Y'ALL GONNA STOP GETTING ALL THESE COMPANIES, Y'ALL BOUGHT THE BUS, BOUGHT THE BUSES BACK, WHY CAN'T Y'ALL BRING THE CUSTODIANS BACK? WE WANNA COME BACK. WE, WE WANT BENEFITS, WE NEED, WE NEED IT. SO, I MEAN, SO, SO THAT, THAT'S, THAT'S JUST MY, SOME OF, SOME OF MY CONCERNS AND THAT, THAT I'VE BEEN GETTING THAT I WOULD, I WOULD NOT SUPPORT, SUPPORT THIS BECAUSE ONE CAN'T BE, ONE CAN'T BE GREATER THAN ANOTHER. THE COMMUNITY HAS TO COME FIRST THE SAME WAY THE STUDENTS DO AS WELL. THESE ARE THESE KIDS, GRANDPARENTS, GRANDMAS, AUNTS AND UNCLES WHO ARE WHO, WHO ARE CUSTODIANS IN OUR DISTRICT. WE HAVE TO VALUE 'EM ALL. [01:25:01] WE CAN'T JUST VALUE ONE, CAN'T TAKE THE COW WITHOUT THE CALF. SO CAN I ASK, UH, A COUPLE QUESTIONS OR, OR COMMENTS HERE? SO I NOTICED ALSO WHAT INGRID BOATWRIGHT NOTICED IS THAT THE HUGE DIFFERENCE, UH, BETWEEN IN-HOUSE VERSUS A CONTRACTOR IS THE BENEFITS JUST ENORMOUS DIFFERENCE. AND, UM, I, I, UH, I THINK, AND I HOPE THAT OUR, UH, BEFORD COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT EMPLOYEES REALIZE THEY'VE GOT AMAZING BENEFITS. YOU DON'T GET THOSE. THE PRIVATE SECTOR, I CAN TELL YOU THAT AS A , AS A, AS A BUSINESS OWNER. SO IF YOU LOOK AT THE, AT THE IN-HOUSE VERSUS, UH, CONTRACT, SO IT LOOKS LIKE IF THEY WERE IN-HOUSE, THEIR BENEFITS ARE MORE THAN WHAT THEY'RE GONNA, THEIR SALARY IS GOING TO BE CORRECT. AND YET, IF YOU GO THROUGH A, A CONTRACT SERVICE OUTSOURCE IT, THEIR BENEFIT, UH, COST IS GREATLY REDUCED AND THEIR SALARY IS INCREASED SIGNIFICANTLY. IS AM I, I THINK THE SALARY IS THE SAME. WELL, THAT, THAT'S EXACTLY CORRECT. I MEAN, WHAT WE WERE SAYING, IF YOU HAD THE SAME, WE JUST USED, UH, A $50,000. IF YOU'RE GONNA SPEND THE $50,000 PER EMPLOYEE, THE DIFFERENCE IS THE BULK OF THAT'S GONNA GO FOR BENEFITS IF IT'S IN-HOUSE AS COMPARED TO IF IT'S OUTTA HOUSE, THE, THE EMPLOYEE WOULD GET A MUCH HIGHER SALARY AND MUCH LOWER BENEFITS. SO, RIGHT. SO IT'S, IT'S, YOU KNOW, IT'S PROBABLY GOING TO, UH, VARY BASED, YOU KNOW, ON THAT, ON THAT INDIVIDUAL, UH, UH, EMPLOYEE IN TERMS OF WHETHER THEY WANT A HIGHER SALARY AND LESS BENEFITS OR VICE VERSA. I MEAN, YOU KNOW, SOMEBODY OBVIOUSLY YOUNG AND HEALTHY IS GONNA WANNA HIGHER SALARY AND LESS BENEFITS. AND SOMEBODY WHO'S NEARING THE END OF THEIR, UH, WORKING CAREER AS A CUSTODIAN IS GONNA HAVE A DESIRE TO HAVE HIGHER BENEFITS AND PERHAPS A LOWER SALARY. SO THE BIG, I THINK THE BIG TAKE HOME FROM THIS, TO ME LOOKING AT THIS WAS THERE'S A HUGE DIFFERENCE IN BENEFITS. AND, AND SO IT'S, YOU CAN HAVE TOP, TOP OF THE LINE BENEFITS AND A LOWER SALARY OR VICE VERSA. AND THAT'S WHAT IT COMES DOWN TO. YES. UM, CAN I RESPOND BRIEFLY? OKAY. SO, SO PART OF WHAT THE TEAM LOOKED AT IS THAT, UM, BINARY OPTIONS OF, AS YOU'RE SAYING, THIS IS A CASH NOW SOCIETY. I THINK A COUPLE OF MONTHS AGO WHEN I FIRST JOINED THE BOARD, THERE WAS AN OFFERING OF BENEFITS AND THE EMPLOYEES HAD AN OPPORTUNITY TO SAY, WE WANT A HIGHER SALARY, OR WE WANTED BENEFITS. AND THEY, THEY TENDED TO SURPRISE US BECAUSE THEY CHOSE CASH NOW. SO WHAT WHAT THE TEAM TRIED TO DO WAS TO REWARD THE EMPLOYEES, THE CONTRACTORS, SORRY, SORRY, SORRY. THE CONTRACTORS. SO THAT THEY COULD HAVE A HIGHER TAKE HOME. AND WE ALSO, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT, UH, WE'VE LEARNED OVER THE CAREER IS THE NUMBER ONE REASON A PERSON LEAVES A JOB IS NOT PAY, IT'S NOT BENEFITS EITHER. IT IS THE INTERACTION BETWEEN THAT PERSON AND THEIR SUPERVISOR. AND WHAT YOU'LL SEE IN THIS CONTRACT IS WE'VE TRIED TO INDUCE THE CONTRACTORS TO TREAT THEIR PEOPLE BETTER. ONE OF THE FEEDBACK POINTS WAS WE NEEDED TO HAVE THE ADMINISTRATORS INVOLVED SO THAT THEY TAKE OWNERSHIP AND FEEL THAT THEY'RE HELPING. WE HAVE TO, AND, UH, MS. CROSBY AND MR. OTTING HAVE DONE A WONDERFUL JOB OF GOING OUTSIDE AND LOOKING AT WHAT THE COM COMPETITION LOOKS LIKE. I THINK A GOOD JOB HAS BEEN DONE TO ACTUALLY PUT IN MECHANICS IN THE CONTRACT WHERE THERE IS MOTIVATION TO TREAT THE CONTRACTORS BETTER. AND SO WHAT WE ARE HOPING IS WE CAN GO WITH THIS CONTRACT AND SEE HOW IT WORKS IN THE NEAR TERM. IT'S DIFFERENT FROM WHAT WE'VE HAD BEFORE. IT WAS PRODUCED BY, IN-HOUSE WITH OVERSIGHT FROM EXTERNAL PARTIES. AND THEN THAT WILL GIVE US MORE INFORMATION TO SAY, HERE'S HOW WE CAN TWEAK IT AT THE NEXT GENERATION. BUT WE'RE LOSING ER FUNDS. AND, YOU KNOW, THIS IS A TIGHT TIME IN OUR COUNTRY, VERY UNSETTLING TIME. AND WE WERE LOOKING AT BEING VERY CONSERVATIVE IN TERMS OF CASH COMMITMENTS AND PUSH THAT ALLOW THE CONTRACTOR TO TAKE THAT AND WORK WITH US TO TREAT THE, UH, CONTRACTORS VERY WELL. SO THAT WAS OUR THINKING. AND YOU SAID, UH, THAT IT WOULD GO OUT FOR BID FOR AT LEAST TWO CONTRACTORS? YES. YES. DID THAT, MS. TY? YES. I, I MEAN, THE LAST PAGE ON HERE I BELIEVE SHOWS YOU SOME OF THE THINGS WE'RE LOOKING AT, UH, AS FAR AS CONTRACT CHANGES. AND IF I CAN JUST SAY THE CONVERSATION Y'ALL ARE HAVING TODAY IS THE SAME CONVERSATION IN GENERAL AND COMMITTEE. 'CAUSE IT IS A, IT'S A TOUGH CONVERSATION TO HAVE AND THERE ARE THINGS YOU WANT TO DO, BUT MAYBE, UM, THERE'S NOT THE FUNDING THERE TO SUPPORT IT. UM, AND, AND [01:30:01] SO WHAT YOU SEE ON THERE ARE THE CHANGES THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT FOR THE NEW CONTRACT, WHICH INCLUDES, YES, WE'D LIKE TO DO TWO VENDORS PRIMARILY, SO WE CAN COMPARE HOW THEY'RE DOING. AND IF WE HAVING ONE THAT'S STRUGGLE, IT'LL MAKE IT EASIER TO MOVE THE OTHER ONE TO, UH, THAT'S DOING WELL, POSSIBLY TO PICK THAT UP. THE OTHER THING THAT YOU SEE ON THERE AS, AS YOU WERE SAYING, MS. BOATWRIGHT, WE DID LOOK AT, UH, WHAT CHARLESTON WAS DOING AND MANY OF THE THINGS THAT THEY, AND THEY'RE VERY PLEASED WITH THEIR CUSTODIAL SERVICE RIGHT NOW, MANY OF THE THINGS THAT THEY'VE ENACTED ARE THINGS THAT WE'RE PUTTING IN HERE. AND SOME OF THOSE ARE THE PENALTIES. SO THAT THEY HAVE TO MAINTAIN A HUNDRED PERCENT STAFFED. THEY HAVE TO HAVE FLOATING STAFF MEMBERS SO THAT THEY CAN ENSURE THEY'RE A HUNDRED PERCENT STAFFED WHEN PEOPLE ARE OUT OR NEED TO BE OUT. UM, SOME OF THE OTHER THINGS IS THAT WE'RE GONNA FOCUS MORE ON NIGHT CUSTODIANS. 'CAUSE THAT'S ONE THING WE KEPT HEARING OVER AND OVER IS YOU CAN'T CLEAN DURING THE DAY. THERE NEEDS TO BE CUSTODIANS THERE DURING THE DAY THAT ARE ABLE TO OVER, YOU KNOW, TO HELP OUT IN THE CAFETERIA AND TAKE THE TRASH OUTTA THE RESTROOMS AND THINGS OF THAT NATURE. BUT YOU REALLY HAVE TO FOCUS ON THE NIGHTTIME. AND WE'RE LOOKING AT VERY INCREASING THAT AND INCREASING THAT SUPERVISION AS WELL TO ENSURE THAT THERE'S PEOPLE THERE THAT SUPERVISE. AND WE'VE ALSO PUT IN ITEMS TO PROMOTE INTERACTION WITH THE ADMINISTRATIVE STAFF. HAVE A A HEAD DAY CUSTODIAN, A HEAD NIGHT CUSTODIAN, AND THAT THE ADMINISTRATIVE STAFF WILL ACTUALLY BE INVOLVED IN THEIR HIRING OR THEY'LL HAVE TO APPROVE THEIR HIRING. THE ADMINISTRATIVE STAFF WOULD ALSO HAVE TO LOOK AT, UM, APPROVING ANY MOVEMENT OF STAFF IF THEY, IF THEY NEED TO GO SUB SOMEWHERE ELSE, THEY'LL HAVE TO, UM, CHECK WITH, UH, THE PRINCIPAL BEFORE THEY ALLOW THAT TO HAPPEN. THOSE ARE ALL THINGS WE'VE HEARD FROM OTHER DISTRICTS THAT WERE SUCCESSFUL IN OTHER DISTRICTS. SO WE'VE INCORPORATED THAT. UM, AND THERE ARE A FEW OTHERS AS WELL, BUT THAT'S KIND OF THE OVERSIGHT OF EVERYTHING WE'RE LOOKING AT A, TO DO A LITTLE DIFFERENT. THE ONLY THING, UM, I WANTED TO CLARIFY IS WHEN THEY LOOKED AT 50,000, THAT WAS AN ARBITRARY NUMBER. YEAH. IF WE, YOU KNOW, IT'S NOT THAT. YES. WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT IS IF WE WERE TO BRING IT BACK IN HOUSE, WE WOULD HAVE TO, IT WOULD BE A HUGE BUDGET HIT. AND I UNDERSTAND THAT. WHAT I DO, AND I AM CONCERNED ABOUT THOUGH, AND, AND DR. WISNESKI HAS A POINT, WE DON'T WANNA TAKE MONEY OUT OF ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT, BUT I DO THINK SOME OF THESE SERVICES DO HAVE AN IMPACT SECURITY. WE CONTRACT MAINTENANCE, YOU KNOW, AND I'LL TELL YOU WHAT, MY KIDS SAT MANY A DAY IN A ROOM WITHOUT AIR CONDITIONING. AND IT IMPACTS LEARNING. UM, THE BATHROOMS BEING, YOU KNOW, A DISASTER. UM, AND I, WE HAVE EXCELLENT CUSTODIANS IN HILTON HEAD HIGH SCHOOL, SO THAT I CAN SPEAK TO THAT. I'M NOT, I'M NOT CRITICIZED. AND I RESPECT THESE FOLKS TREMENDOUSLY AND THINK THEY DO A GOOD JOB. AND THAT'S PART OF WHAT I'M SAYING HERE IS I WANNA MAKE SURE WE ARE DOING THE BEST JOB WE CAN FOR THEM. WE ALSO ARE ON A TREND OF CONTRACTING OUT MORE AND MORE, INCLUDING PARAPROFESSIONALS. AND I HAD A LOT OF PEOPLE THAT TEACHING ASSISTANTS THAT SPOKE TO ME THAT SAID, I TOOK THIS JOB FOR THE BENEFITS. I DIDN'T NEED THE MONEY. I NEED THE BENEFITS. AND THAT'S NO LONGER AN OPTION. IT'S, TO ME, IT'S A WORRISOME TREND. I UNDERSTAND THE BUDGET, BUT I THINK THAT'S THE CONVERSATIONS WE GO FORWARD, WE NEED TO THINK ABOUT IS WHAT ARE OUR EXPECTATIONS AND WHAT REALISTICALLY CAN WE ACHIEVE? AND I WOULD POINT OUT THAT THERE ARE SCHOOLS LIKE GREENVILLE COUNTY WITH 76,000 STUDENTS. I DON'T KNOW HOW MANY STUDENTS THEY HAVE THEIR CUSTODIANS IN HOUSE. SO WHAT ARE THEY DOING? AND THEN TO FINALIZE, I, I AM GONNA ABSTAIN BECAUSE I DON'T UNDERSTAND THIS WELL ENOUGH. AND I, I DEFER TO, UM, MR. DALLAS AND, AND YOU IN TERMS OF, I, I DON'T HAVE A DEEP DIVE ON THIS YET, BUT I'M RAISING A RED FLAG OF WE CAN'T, BEAUFORT COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT SHOULD ATTRACT THE KIND OF EMPLOYEES AND WE SHOULD TAKE CARE OF THOSE EMPLOYEES WITH, YOU KNOW, GOOD BENEFITS. UM, SORRY, MY SON'S GOING. UM, BUT I DO THINK THAT THERE ARE A LOT OF SERVICES IN THE COMMUNITY. WE SEE THIS ON HILTON HEAD. WE HAVE THE FOOD SERVICE WORKERS, THE HOTELS, THE HOUSEKEEPING. WE HAVE A LOT OF PEOPLE THAT DON'T HAVE ACCESS TO HEALTHCARE. AND WE HAVE A LOT OF PEOPLE THAT HAVE INSURANCE THAT CAN'T FIND A DOCTOR TOO, SINCE . THERE'S THAT PROBLEM. UM, BUT I THINK IT'S GONNA CONTINUE TO INCREASE. AND SO THERE MAY BE SOME SOLUTIONS THAT IF WE CAN'T RIGHT NOW, ADJUST THE BUDGET, UM, TO BRING OUR CONTRACTED SERVICE BACK IN HOUSE. CAN WE LOOK AT, UM, WORKING WITH OUR PARTNERS? WE'VE GOT NOVANT HEALTHCARE COMING IN WITH SOME EXCELLENT, UH, COMMUNITY SERVICE OUTREACH. I KNOW BEFORD MEMORIAL HAS SOME, THERE ARE PROGRAMS THAT WILL HELP PEOPLE GET MEDICATIONS, UM, IF THEY MEET 300% OF THE FEDERAL POVERTY LEVEL, AND A FAMILY OF FOUR CAN MAKE ALMOST $60,000 AND QUALIFY FOR SUBSTANTIAL, REDUCED, OR FREE INSULIN. SO I JUST THINK THAT IT'S SOMETHING WE NEED TO BE AWARE OF. I WOULD LIKE TO SEE THE TREND OF CONTINUING TO OUTSOURCE RATHER THAN RAISING THE MILLAGE BE DISCUSSED MORE FULLY. THAT'S NOT FOR THIS MOMENT RIGHT NOW. UM, AND THEN, LIKE I SAID, THERE, I THINK THAT THERE, THAT THIS IS A GIVING COMMUNITY AND THERE MAY BE SOME GOOD OPTIONS THAT WE CAN KIND OF FIND A MIDDLE ROAD. MR. CAMERON, MS. GORDON HAS THEIR HAND UP. THANK YOU. CAN YOU HEAR ME? YES. YES. VERY WELL. OKAY. THANK YOU. I'VE BEEN LISTENING TO ALL OF MY [01:35:01] COLLEAGUES WHO ARE MAKING SOME GREAT POINTS HERE TONIGHT. UM, I RECEIVED A PHONE CALL BEFORE THE MEETING. AND, UH, CUSTODIALS ARE CONCERNED THAT, UM, DURING THE SPRING BREAK, I BELIEVE, YES, THAT THEY WILL NOT GET PAID, UM, ACCORDING TO WHAT THEY'RE TELLING ME FROM THE, UH, COMPANY. AND SO I WOULD LIKE, UH, FOR THIS COMMITTEE, OUR COMMITTEE TO LOOK INTO THAT, IF YOU WILL, MR. UH, CARLTON, AND SEE WHAT THAT IS ABOUT. UH, BECAUSE WE ARE TALKING ABOUT CUSTODIALS, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT PEOPLE WHO WORK FOR OUR DISTRICT, AND THE TIME AND ENERGY THAT THEY PUT IN MORNING, MORNING, NIGHT TO MAKE SURE OUR FACILITIES ARE GOOD TO GO. WE NEED TO DO AS MUCH. I, I KNOW THERE'S A COST BEHIND, UM, BRINGING IN THE BENEFITS, BUT THERE'S A COST TO ANYTHING THAT IS GOOD. AND IF WE RE-LOOK AT THIS AND, YOU KNOW, LOOK AT SOME NUMBERS, UM, I THINK WE CAN COME UP WITH A, A PALATABLE SOLUTION FOR THIS, YOU KNOW, DEPARTMENT OF OURS. THEY ARE PART OF BEFORD COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT. WHETHER THEY'RE OUTSOURCED OR NOT, THEY WORK WITH US AND FOR US. SO, UM, I WOULD LIKE US TO LOOK INTO THIS NONPAYMENT DURING, UH, SPRING BREAK, UH, AND ALSO MAKING SURE THAT WE, AS, UH, MS. BOATWRIGHT ELOQUENTLY PUT IT. UM, I DON'T THINK I CAN VOTE ON THIS TONIGHT EITHER, AS IT IS WRITTEN, BUT I DO UNDERSTAND THE CONTENT. THANK YOU. SO, UM, ROBERT, WOULD YOU LIKE TO RESPOND? YES. UM, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I DIDN'T MENTION THAT WE'RE LOOKING TO ADD TO THE CONTRACT IS FOR FUTURE CONTRACTS IS WE'RE GOING TO DEDICATE JUST LIKE THE SCHOOL DISTRICT 180 AND TWO 60 EMPLOYEES. SO LIKE, THE HEAD CUSTODIANS WOULD BE TWO 60. SO BASICALLY IF WE ARE WORKING ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICE, THEY WILL BE WORKING. UM, AND ALSO THE 180, IF TEACHERS ARE WORKING, THEY WILL BE WORKING. SO WE'RE GONNA, 'CAUSE AS MS. GORDON SAID, THAT'S A PROBLEM OVER SPRING BREAK, WE, WE'VE ALSO HEARD THAT PROBLEM IN THE SUMMER. SO TO ADDRESS THAT, WE'VE ADDED THAT TO WHAT WE'RE LOOKING AT IN THIS PROPOSAL TO ENSURE THAT, UM, IF WE'RE WORKING THAT, BUT THEY WOULD BE OFF LIKE A 180 WOULD BE OFF DURING SPRING BREAK, LIKE TEACHERS. UM, BUT THERE WOULD BE THE TWO 60 TO ENSURE THAT THE HEAD CUSTODIANS ARE IN EVERY BUILDING ALL THE TIME. SO, 'CAUSE EVERY BUILDING HAS ADMINISTRATIVE STAFF THAT HAVE TO BE OVER, YOU KNOW, DURING SPRING BREAK. SO THANK YOU EARL. UH, YES. UM, MR. HARDING, IF WE GO OUT FOR A BID, CAN WE ASK THE CONTRACTOR TO INCLUDE BENEFITS IN THE CONTRACT? Y YES. IT, WE DO AT THIS TIME, ACTUALLY, WE REQUIRE THEM TO HA OFFER BENEFITS. NOW THEY, IT'S UP TO THE EMPLOYEE TO DECIDE TO TAKE THEM BECAUSE THERE IS A PORTION THE EMPLOYEE HAS TO PAY, RIGHT? THAT'S TRUE. TO, TO TAKE 'EM. SO THEY'RE REQUIRED TODAY, AND THEY WILL BE REQUIRED IN FUTURE CONTRACTS TO OFFER BENEFITS. NOW, I KNOW, I DON'T KNOW ABOUT THIS, THE CONTRACT WE HAVE NOW, BUT I KNOW IN THE PAST, UH, THE CONTRACTORS DID GIVE OUT BONUS IN THE PAST, I DON'T KNOW ABOUT NOW, YOU KNOW, SO THANK YOU MR. SMITH. UM, JUST TO, UH, FROM MY UNDERSTANDING THAT THE CONTRACTORS DID NOT, THIS, THIS COMPANY DID NOT GIVE OUT, UH, BONUSES DURING THE WHOLE TIME WHEN WE WERE OUT FOR COVID, BECAUSE I HAD PLENTY OF MY CONSTITUENTS WHO COME, WHO CAME TO ME AND RESPONDED AND, AND SAID THAT. SO, UH, JUST TO ANSWER THAT. BUT, BUT, BUT, BUT ALSO, JUST TO GO, GO BACK THE, UH, ONE, ONE OF MY ONE OF MY QUESTIONS ARE, UM, HA HAVE WE EVEN LOOKED AT DOING A PILOT IN TERMS OF TRANSITIONING? MAYBE SEE, SEEING HOW MUCH OF THEM MAY WANT TO BE A PART OF THE DISTRICT AND START WITH THEM, BECAUSE WE HAVE TO START SOMEWHERE. BECAUSE SEE, WHAT WE'VE BEEN DOING FOR THE LAST COUPLE YEARS THAT I'VE BEEN ON THIS BOARD, WE'VE BEEN TALKING AROUND AND SAID, WE'VE BEEN TALKING IN, IN CIRCLES. SO AT SOME POINT, IN SOME WAY, WE HAVE TO GET THIS, UH, PROCESS STARTED. SO I THINK THAT I, WE SHOULD LOOK AT BRINGING, WE BROUGHT, WE BROUGHT HALF OF THEM ON, OR WE BROUGHT THE, MAYBE THE PEOPLE WHO WOULD BE IN INTERESTED IN THE BENEFITS ON AND BRING THEM AS PART, AS BRING THEM AS ON AS DISTRICT EMPLOYEES. THAT WOULD START, THAT WOULD START SOMETHING MOVING. AND [01:40:01] WE COULD THEN SEE WHAT THAT LOOKED LIKE. BECAUSE FOR INSTANCE, FOR INSTANCE, WE, UH, FOR INSTANCE, WE HAVE, UM, THE MAINTENANCE, YOU KNOW, WHEN WE TALK, WHEN WE TALK ABOUT THAT BEING CONTRACTED, IT BOTHERS ME WHEN, WHEN WE CONTRACT MAINTENANCE OUT, BUT HECK, WE, WE PROVIDE THEM THE VEHICLES. SO WHY ARE, WHY, WHY THAT, THAT QUESTION COME TO ME? WHY ARE WE GIVING THEM VEHICLES AND STUFF TO DRIVE IF THEY CONTRACT US? I'M JUST TRYING TO FIGURE OUT, I CAN'T FATHOM ON HOW OUR TAXPAYERS WOULD FEEL KNOWING THAT WE PROVIDE MAINTENANCE WITH THE VEHICLES, BUT THEY'RE CONTRACTED OUT. SO MY, MY THING IS, HAVE WE LOOKED AT, IF WE STARTED OUT, IF WE, IF WE OFFER THE OPTION THAT PEOPLE WHO WOULD WANT TO BE A PART OF THE DISTRICT TO START AS A, AS A TRIAL, WHAT THAT WOULD LOOK LIKE AND WHAT THAT WOULD COST, WHAT THAT WOULD COST US. SO THEREFORE WE WOULD HAVE HALF OF IT. WE, SO YOU SAID, Y'ALL SAID Y'ALL GONNA GET TWO PEOPLE, OR Y'ALL GONNA GET TWO CONTRACTORS. SO WE'LL BRING HALF OF THEM IN AS DISTRICT EMPLOYEES, AND THEN WE DO HALF OF 'EM ON CONTRACTS. WHO, WHO MAY NOT, WHO MAY NOT WANT TO HAVE THE, UH, BENEFITS. SO THAT WOULD BE A START, UH, THAT, THAT, THAT I WOULD BE MORE COMFORTABLE WITH POSSIBLY MOVING FORWARD. BUT AS IN THIS RIGHT HERE FROM MY, FROM A COUPLE OF MY COLLEAGUES, I'M, I'M, I'M ALMOST INTERESTED IN, IN, IN TABLING THIS UNTIL WE GET THAT DONE. BECAUSE I THINK THAT WOULD BE THE RIGHT THING TO DO, JUST TO SHOW THAT COMMUNITY THAT WE ARE DOING OUR DUE DILIGENCE, UH, AS, AS, AS, AS, AS WAS STATED IN THE OPERATIONS COMMITTEE, UH, COMMITTEE, THAT WE WANTED TO DO IT THOROUGHLY AND WE WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'VE TRIED EVERYTHING THAT WE COULD TRY. SO I, I, I THINK THAT, THAT, THAT THAT, THAT, THAT IS SOMETHING THAT WE COULD ALSO DO. AND THEN ALSO, YOU KNOW, I, I, I THINK I HEARD SOMEONE SAY THAT WE DON'T HAVE THE MONEY. NO, WE HAVE THE MONEY, BUT WE HAVE TO MAKE DECISIONS ON WHERE WE WANT THE MONEY TO GO. SO IT'S NOT THAT BEKINS ONE OF THE RICHEST DISTRICTS AND, AND, AND IN THE CITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. SO LET'S, LET'S NOT, LET'S NOT SAY THAT WE DON'T HAVE THE MONEY. 'CAUSE WE DO HAVE THE MONEY. THE QUESTION IS WHERE DO WE WANT THE MONEY TO GO AND HOW DO WE WANNA MAKE BEST UTILIZATION OF OUR MONEY IN TERMS OF OUR COMMUNITY, IN TERMS OF OUR CITIZENS, IN TERMS OF STANDING ON PRINCIPLE BEING EQUITABLE AND, AND FAIR AND OBJECTIVE. THAT IS THAT, THAT, THAT, THAT IS, THAT IS, THAT, IS THAT, IS THAT, THAT'S WHAT I'M PUTTING UP. SO, MR. DO, YEAH. SO I APPRECIATE ALL THE HUMANITY THAT'S BEING SHOWN BY MY COLLEAGUES. THIS IS WHAT A $300 MILLION BUSINESS WE'RE RUNNING, WHERE YOU GONNA GET THE $5 MILLION FROM? LET ME ANSWER THAT. OKAY. THE REASON YOU CREATE A SCHOOL DISTRICT IS NOT TO HIRE MAINTENANCE MECHANICS. IT IS LIKE WHAT SHE SAID, DR. WISNESKI, WE HAVE TO RAISE OUR SCORES. WHAT WE TRIED TO DO WAS ALLOW YOU TO PIVOT AND DEVOTE MONEY TOWARDS EDUCATING STUDENTS AND RAISING SCORES. THAT'S WHAT WILL MAKE, CONTINUE TO MAKE BEAUFORT COUNTY PREEMINENT IN THE STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA AND ALSO MOVING FORWARD TO BEING PREEMINENT IN THE WHOLE NATION. SO WHAT WE'VE LEARNED AND WHAT WE TALKED ABOUT IS THAT, AGAIN, THE MOST IMPORTANT THING IS HOW YOU TREAT YOUR EMPLOYEES. AND WE'VE WRAPPED THINGS IN HERE THAT ACTUALLY WILL ENCOURAGE THE CONTRACTOR TO ACTUALLY EMPLOY ENOUGH PEOPLE SO THAT THE EMPLOYEES AREN'T STRAPPED. BECAUSE WHAT I HEAR IN THE 14 MONTHS I'VE BEEN ON THE BOARD IS THAT THEY'RE HAVING, BEING ASKED TO DO EXTRA OVERTIME IN SHORT NOTICE, THOSE TYPES OF THINGS. THAT'S WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO ADDRESS. SO WHAT WE DID WAS WE CONSIDERED A LOT OF OPTIONS, A LOT OF ALTERNATIVES. AND IT'S NOT THAT WE ARE NOT CARING NOTHING TO BE FURTHER FROM THE TRUTH, BUT WE ARE TRYING TO GIVE THEM CASH NOW. BECAUSE EVEN IN MY SHORT PERIOD, I'VE SEEN WHERE THE EMPLOYEES AT THIS PARTICULAR INCOME LEVEL PREFER CASH OVER SOMETHING THAT'S IN THE FUTURE. SO THAT'S ALL WE'RE WE'VE TRIED TO DO. SO IF SOME OF THE OTHER COMMITTEE MEMBERS WANT TO COMMENT, I'M HAPPY TO LISTEN. ACTUALLY, I, I, UH, JUST IN RESPONSE TO YOUR RESPONSE TO ME, I, I, I, I, I, UH, I HEAR, I HEAR WHAT YOU'RE SAYING, BUT NO, IN ALL FAIRNESS, I REMEMBER A COUPLE MONTHS AGO WHEN WE WERE TALKING ABOUT THE LATIN WAS THE LAST BUDGET SESSION WHEN WE WERE JUST TO BRING, MAYBE HELP, HELP BRING OUR, OUR, UH, SOME CLARITY TO US WHEN WE WERE TALKING ABOUT THE DIFFERENT EMPLOYEES IN TERMS OF HOW WE WERE GOING TO TAKE THE $5,000, THE THE $5,000 BONUS, AND HOW WE WERE GONNA BREAK IT UP AND WE WERE GOING TO PUT IT INTO THE TEACHER'S RETIREMENT FIRST. JUST GIVING THEM THE $5,000 FOR RIGHT NOW, BECAUSE OVERALL THAT WOULD BE BETTER FOR THEM TO HAVE. SO I, SO I ASKED MY COLLEAGUES THE SAME THING. OKAY. SO OVERALL, IF IT WOULD BE BETTER IF WE MADE IT SAY, EVEN THOUGH SOME EMPLOYEES SAID THAT THEY WANTED IT NOW, BUT I REMEMBER THE BOARD SAYING, NO, [01:45:01] WELL, EVEN THOUGH THEY WANT IT, WE'RE GOING TO GO WITH WHAT THE, THE, THE, THE BOARD MADE A VOTE TO GO BASICALLY TO SPLIT HALF OF THAT UP AND PUT AND PUT SOME OF IT IN, INTO A PROCESS IN TERMS PUTTING IT INTO THEIR ACTUAL SALARY. THAT'S, THAT'S, THAT'S NOT, THAT'S NOT CORRECT, DOCTOR, I SEE YOU SHAKING. THAT'S NOT CORRECT. I DON'T THINK SO. OKAY. WELL, I KNOW THE CONVERSATION WAS THERE AND I, AND I KNOW THAT WE, WE TALKED ABOUT THAT, ABOUT PUTTING HOW, HOW, HOW WE WERE GONNA TRANSITION SOME OF THAT INTO THE SALARY. I BELIEVE THAT WE DID PUT SOME OF IT INTO THE, INTO THE SALARY. WE DID TALK ABOUT MAKING THAT, MAKING THAT, UH, UH, TRANSFER OR, AND CHANGE, CHANGE THEIR POWER, BECAUSE WE USED TO GIVE THEM 5,000 BONUSES. WE WAS TO GIVE THEM TWO FOR TWO 50 AT ONE TIME, AND THEN TWO, UH, TWO 50 AT OTHER, AT ANOTHER TIME. NOW THAT'S NOT HAPPENING. SO I KNOW THAT, THAT SOME OF THAT BONUS IS GOING INTO THEIR REGULAR RETIREMENT AND RIGHT TO THEIR REGULAR SALARIES. SO WITH THAT BEING SAID, THE SAME THING APPLIES HERE. A, A, A STEADY, A STEADY GIVING THE CUSTODIANS A, A HIGHER PAY GIVE SOME OF THEM THE OPTION THAT THEY, THEY, THEY, THEY WANNA GET THE INSURANCE THEN LET, THEN LET THEM MAKE IT AVAILABLE BECAUSE SOME THAT, THAT THAT'S WHAT SOME OF THEM NEED. IF WE VALUE THEM TO HELP THEM OUT OVER A LONG RANGE OF TIME, THEN WHY, THEN WHY NOT DO THE SAME THING FOR, FOR OUR, UH, CUSTODIANS? THAT'S THE FIRST THING. THE SECOND THING IS THIS, AND, AND I'M GONNA, AND I'M GONNA BE DONE, THERE'S ALSO A GRAY AREA WHEN WE TALK ABOUT, WE KEEP TALKING ABOUT THESE CONTRACTORS AND ADMINISTRATION AND DA ACTUALLY, WE, TECHNICALLY SPEAKING, I, I'VE KNOW, I'VE BEEN TOLD, AND ALSO I'VE BEEN, BEEN MADE AWARE THAT, THAT SOME ADMINISTRATORS DO MEET WITH CUSTODIANS AND THEY, AND, AND THEY DO, UH, TALK WITH, WITH, WITH CUSTODIANS AND, AND IN THE, IN THE CUSTODIAN'S SUPERVISORS. AND SOMETIMES THAT DOESN'T GO GOOD. SO THE SAME THING THAT WE ARE PROPOSING, SOME OF THAT STUFF IS ALREADY HA IS ALREADY IS IS ALREADY HAPPENING. SO IT, IT, IT, IT, IT BRINGS MORE CONCERN TO ME BECAUSE ALSO THAT'S A GREAT AREA BECAUSE NOW OUR ADMINISTRATION IS GETTING INTO SOMETHING, AND I WON'T EVEN GO INTO THE, THE, THE, THE LEGALITY OF THINGS OF, UM, OUR ADMINISTRATIVE ARE NOT GETTING INTO CONTRACT WORK. OUR CONTRACT WORKERS AND OUR CONTRACTOR WORK CAN SAY, CAN SAY SOME OTHER THINGS. SO, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE TO BE VERY COGNIZANT ON HOW WE INVOLVE ADMINISTRATION INTO THIS CONTRACT WORK. SO, I MEAN, I JUST WANNA PUT THAT OUT THERE. ALRIGHT, I'M GONNA CALL THE QUESTION 'CAUSE I THINK WE'VE HAD PLENTY OF DISCUSSION. OKAY. IS IT SOMETHING NEW OR TO ADD TO OUR DISCUSSION? GO AHEAD. UM, YOU KNOW, WE ARE TALKING ABOUT BRINGING IN THE HOUSE OR CORE CONTRACTOR, BUT YOU GOTTA UNDERSTAND ONE THING. YOU NEVER ADDRESS THIS. IF YOU BRING IN THE HOUSE, YOU BRING PART OF IT IN THE HOUSE, YOU GOT TO BUY EQUIPMENT AND EQUIPMENT COSTS. I CAN TELL YOU THAT RIGHT NOW. AND WE HAVEN'T ADDRESSED THAT. SO WHERE ARE WE GONNA GET THAT, THAT MONEY FROM? SO WE, UH, THAT'S JUST MY THANK YOU. OKAY. SO THAT WAS NO INFORMATION. ALRIGHT, MR. DALLAS, WOULD YOU LIKE TO MAKE A MOTION? YES. UH, MADAM CHAIR. THANK YOU. I MOVE THAT THE BEAUFORT COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT, UH, ENTERTAIN A MOTION TO ACCEPT THE RECOMMENDATION MADE BY THE OPERATIONS COMMITTEE ON APRIL 2ND, 2024 TO CONTINUE TO PUT, TAKE THE CONTRACT TO BID AND CONTINUE TO OUTSOURCE. I DO, I HAVE A SECOND MADAM CHAIR. I'D LIKE TO, AT THIS TIME, I'D LIKE TO TABLE THAT MOTION. IF I CAN GET A SECOND. I'D LIKE TO TABLE THE MOTION UN UNTIL, UNTIL WE GET THEM TO GO BACK OUT TO, UH, POSSIBLY SPLIT SPLIT UP, SPLIT UP THE, UM, HALF HALF OF IT DISTRICT STAFF AND, AND HA AND HALF OF IT, UM, CONTRACTOR, IF I CAN GET A SECOND TO, UH, ENTERTAIN THAT MOTION BECAUSE IS IS THERE, IS THERE I IMMEDIATE EXIT AN EMERGENCY FOR US TO GET THIS DONE TONIGHT? YES. START, IF WE'RE GOING TO MOVE FORWARD, WE HAVE TO START THE VIDEO. WE START TALKING TO THE MIC, PLEASE. I'M SORRY, MADAM. I'M CHAIR. THANK YOU. UH, YES, THERE, THERE IS, IT IS NOT AN EMERGENCY, BUT WE, WE NEED TO GET ON THIS BECAUSE IF, IF WE DELAY, THEN THE, THE PROCESS OF BIDDING IS GOING TO BE HAMPERED QUITE SUBSTANTIALLY. I WOULD JUST ADD, ONCE THE BIDDING HAS CONCLUDED, ONCE NEW CONTRACTORS ARE SELECTED, THEN THE PROCESS OF ONBOARDING, UH, UH, EMPLOYEES WITH A NEW CONTRACTOR HAS TO TAKE TIME JUST LIKE WE DID WITH, UH, SCHOOL FOOD SERVICES, UH, BEFORE. SO THE WINDOW IS AN IMPORTANT WINDOW. WE'VE GOT A SHORTENED SUMMER, UH, AND YOU'VE GOT, UM, YOU KNOW, CERTAINLY SPRING BREAK IN THE MIDDLE THERE AND THAT KIND OF THING. SO WHATEVER THE DECISION IS, UH, IT'S IMPORTANT TO NOTE. ALRIGHT, SINCE THERE'S NOT A SECOND ON THE TABLE, IS THERE A SECOND ON, UH, THE MOTION THAT CARLTON DALLAS MADE? OKAY. VICTOR NAY SECOND THAT. ALL RIGHT. SO ALL THOSE IN FAVOR OF THE MOTION, UM, AS, UH, MR. DALLAS, UH, JUST, UH, UH, SPOKE, PLEASE RAISE YOUR HAND AND [01:50:01] SAY AYE AYE. AYE. AND THEN IF WE CAN GO ONLINE. HEY, AYE. OKAY, GORDON. OKAY. HEY, AYE. GORDON. AYE. MIDDLETON. AYE. OKAY. SO ALL THREE ONLINE, HOW MANY, ANY NAYS? NO. OKAY. AND ANY ABSTENTIONS? OKAY, SO THE MOTION CARRIES, UH, LET'S SEE. 10, IS IT 10? 9, 1 1, 9 1, 1 9, 1 1. CORRECT. NINE ONE ONE. CALL . RIGHT. OKAY. EXCUSE ME, MADAM CHAIR, THIS TIME I'D LIKE TO MAKE A MOTION. GO AHEAD. I WOULD LIKE TO MAKE A MOTION THAT WE, THAT WE, THAT WE HAVE THE OPERATIONS COMMITTEE TO DO A STUDY TO SEE HOW MUCH IT WOULD COST TO BRING PART OF THE, PART OF THE, BRING PART OF THIS PART OF IT TO THE PART OF IT IN, IN THE, IN, IN-HOUSE TO THE DISTRICT. UH, SO, UH, IN, IN TERMS OF, OF, UH, IF NOT THIS YEAR, WELL, IN TERMS, IN TERMS OF THE 20, NEXT YEAR WILL BE 20. I DON'T THINK WE CAN HAVE THAT MOTION BECAUSE THE BOARD'S WILL, HAS APPROVED WHAT MR. DALLAS SAYS THAT DOES IT. YES, IT DOES, BECAUSE COURSE, SIR, THAT'S MY, THAT'S MY, UH, RULING AS THE CHAIR. YOU CAN'T NOW SAY WE, WE, WE JUST AGREED OR VOTED AND APPROVED, UH, DURING THE, UH, OUT, OUT OUTSOURCE IE CONTRACT WITH TWO BIDS. SO NOW YOU CAN'T SAY, WELL NOW WE'RE GONNA SWITCH IT TO 50% IN-HOUSE AND 50% OUT. I'M NOT SAYING SWITCH IT. I'M NOT, I'M NOT, I'M NOT SAYING SWITCH IT. I'M OKAY. IF YOU GONNA PUT OUT A CONTRACT, THEN THAT CONTRACT GOES FOR A YEAR. YOU HAVE A TIMEFRAME. SO I'M SAYING DO THE HOMEWORK. SO, SO WHETHER, WHETHER, WHETHER THE FOLLOWING YEAR OR NOT, THEN IF THAT'S WHAT THE BOARD WANTS TO DO, THEN WE HAVE THE INFORMATION OF IT. I'M SAYING BRING US BACK THE INFORMATION IN TERMS OF HOW MUCH IT WOULD COST. I'M ASKING TO DO A STUDY THE SAME WAY THEY WAS THE STUDY FROM TODAY. I'M JUST ASKING THEM TO DO US ANOTHER STUDY POINT OF ORDER. YEAH. SO THIS IS, YOU CAN'T, YOU, THAT MOTION TO TABLE FAILED. SO YOU'RE BRINGING THE SAME MOTION. YOU CAN'T BRING A FAILED MOTION BACK UP. IT'S THE SAME MOTION THAT JUST FAILED ON THE TABLE. I TAKE THAT. YEAH. , I'LL TAKE THAT. ALRIGHT. UM, MR. DALLAS, DOES THAT CONCLUDE YOUR OPERATIONS REPORT? YES, MA'AM. AND I'D LIKE TO THANK THE BOARD FOR THE HONEST CONVERSATION. ALL RIGHT. NEXT UP WE HAVE THE TECHNOLOGY REPORT WITH, UH, CHAIRMAN, UH, INGRID BOATWRIGHT. OKAY. HOLD ON TO YOUR, NO, WE HAD A, UM, MEETING . UM, AND I WILL SAY IT AS A CHAIR OF THE MEETING, I TAKE FULL RESPONSIBILITY FOR THIS. IT WAS NOT A VERY PRODUCTIVE MEETING BECAUSE WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO DO IN TECHNOLOGY IS TO REALLY GET OUR HANDS AROUND UTILIZATION OF TECHNOLOGY AND PURCHASING DECISIONS. SO WE HAVE MADE SOME PROGRESS. WE NOW HAVE A COMPREHENSIVE LIST OF THE, UM, SOFTWARE THAT THE DISTRICT USES, AND WE HAVE ENGAGED IN SOME DISCUSSIONS. UH, MARK JOHAN AND COLLEEN BECK KY ARE GONNA BE BRINGING FORWARD, UH, IN MAY, UM, ONCE THE BUDGETING SEASON OVER, I THINK SOME REALLY INTERESTING, UM, PROCESSES THAT WE'LL BE LOOKING AT. SO NOT MUCH TO REPORT FROM THE LAST MEETING. MR. NAY, WOULD YOU LIKE TO ADD ANYTHING? OKAY. OKAY. THANK YOU. RIGHT, DR. RODRIGUEZ, I THINK WE'RE DOWN TO YOUR, UM, SUPERINTENDENT'S REPORT. SURE. THANK YOU. UH, THIS EVENING UNDER SUPERINTENDENT'S REPORT UNDER STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT, UH, WE'RE GONNA TALK ABOUT INSTRUCTIONAL FRAMEWORK AND RESEARCH BASED, UH, COMPONENTS AND BEST PRACTICES OF INSTRUCTIONAL FRAMEWORK. UM, DR. STRADDLES, I THINK WAS ONLINE. I DON'T KNOW IF SHE HAS ANYTHING, UH, TO ADD AT THIS TIME, BUT SHE HAS STAFF THAT ARE HERE, UH, AS WELL. SO, UH, TO, TO GUIDE US THROUGH THE PRESENTATION. BUT DR. STRADDLES, DID YOU HAVE ANYTHING TO ADD? SENDING A MUTED MICROPHONE. WE'RE GONNA MOVE FORWARD. OKAY. GO AHEAD. THANK YOU SO MUCH. UM, TONIGHT NICHOLAS AND I ARE BRINGING FORWARD THE INSTRUCTIONAL FRAMEWORK. WE HAVE BEEN WORKING ON THIS AS A DISTRICT TEAM FOR A WHILE, AND WE NOW HAVE IT TO A PLACE WHERE WE'RE READY TO SHARE IT WITH YOU. WE WILL GONNA DO A BASIC OVERVIEW TONIGHT, BUT WE WILL GO DEEPER AT A LATER TIME. UM, SO WE UNDERSTAND ALL THE COMPONENTS OF IT. FIRST OF ALL, WE HAD A LOT OF OPPORTUNITIES OVER THE LAST COUPLE YEARS WITH OUR INSTRUCTIONAL REVIEWS, OUR DATACOM MEETINGS, THINGS LIKE THAT TO REALLY LOOK AT WHAT DO WE NEED INSTRUCTIONALLY IN BEAUFORT COUNTY TO HELP US MOVE FORWARD. WE SET SOME RATIONALE FOR PUTTING AN INSTRUCTIONAL FRAMEWORK IN PLACE, HIGH EXPECTATIONS, EFFECTIVE PLANNING, THAT'S EVIDENCE-BASED USING EVIDENCE-BASED STRATEGIES, INSTRUCTIONAL PRACTICES THAT PROVIDE THAT HIGH LEVEL OF RIGOROUS TASK FOR ALL STUDENTS. SO THAT WAS WHERE WE STARTED. [01:55:02] WE ENDED UP LOOKING AT MARZANOS, UM, THE ART AND SCIENCE OF TEACHING. THAT FRAMEWORK THAT YOU'RE LOOKING AT HAS THREE OVERARCHING CATEGORIES. FEEDBACK, WHICH IS A LOOP BETWEEN THE TEACHER AND THE STUDENT. CONTENT AND CONTEXT. WHAT AM I LEARNING AND HOW AM I LEARNING IT? IT ALSO HAS 10 DESIGN, UM, AREAS BELOW THAT. AND YOU'LL SEE THERE'S FOUR UNDER CONTENT, THERE'S FOUR UNDER CONTEXT, THERE'S TWO UNDER FEEDBACK UNDER EACH. ONE OF THOSE ARE 43 DESIGN ELEMENTS. AND THIS IS WHERE IT REALLY GETS EXCITING FOR OUR TEACHERS RIGHT NOW. TEACHERS KNOW THEIR CONTENT, THEY'RE DOING THEIR PLANNING, AND THEY NEED THOSE STRATEGIES THAT THEY KNOW ARE GONNA WORK WITH STUDENTS. RIGHT NOW. THEY'RE HAVING TO DIG FIND THOSE. THIS IS GONNA HAVE IT WHERE IT'S AVAILABLE TO THEM. THE FORMAT THAT WE'RE USING MAKES IT REALLY EASY FOR THEM TO GO IN AND CLICK FIND ALL THESE STRATEGIES THAT THEY CAN USE TO WORK WITH STUDENTS. YOU CAN SEE SOME OF 'EM ARE LIKE CHUNKING BUBBLE DIAGRAMS, UM, BEING ABLE TO HAVE ERROR REASONING OF YOUR LOGIC. HOW DID I GET TO THIS CONCLUSION? MARZANO'S WORK IS BASED IN A LOT OF RESEARCH, INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES, STANDALONE AS WELL AS THEY DO AS A GROUP. SO YOU CAN USE ONE OF THE STRATEGIES THAT WORKS OR YOU CAN USE THEM AS A GROUP THAT WORKS. ALSO, THEY DID A STANDARD MEAN DIFFERENCE THERE. SO THEY LOOKED AT DIFFERENT GROUPS AND LOOKING FOR A MINIMAL DIFFERENCE IN OUTCOME. THERE THEY LOOKED AT TWO VARIABLES ASSESSED AND THEY TRIED TO PUT VERY LITTLE INPUT INTO THAT TO SEE WHETHER OR NOT IS IT THE STRATEGY THAT'S HELPING THE KIDS LEARN? IS IT THAT CHANGE? AND THEN WE LOOKED AT FOCUSING OUR LEARNER ON ENGAGEMENT AND WE WERE, THIS IS REALLY A ROADMAP TO WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR. THE INSTRUCTIONAL FRAMEWORK IS A COACHING MODEL, NOT AN EVALUATIVE MODEL. AND WHEN I FIRST STARTED TALKING ABOUT, I SAID THIS WAS A TEAM EFFORT. THE WAY THIS ALL STARTED WAS WHEN WE LOOKED AT THIS, WE ALREADY HAVE AN EVALUATIVE MODEL IN THE STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA THAT WE MUST USE THE 4.0 RUBRIC. A GROUP OF US FROM ISD ALONG WITH OUR EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR SAT DOWN AND SAID, IS THIS GONNA BE ONE MORE THING FOR OUR TEACHERS IF WE DO THIS? OR IS IT THE SAME? WE WERE ABLE TO CONNECT ALL 43 OF THE ELEMENTS ON MARZANO'S PLATFORM WITH OUR CURRENT 4.0 RUBRIC. SO THAT WAS VERY IMPORTANT FOR US. ALSO, TEACHER OUTCOMES. WHAT ARE OUR TEACHER OUTCOMES? RAISING THEIR LEVEL OF KNOWLEDGE, RAISING THEIR LEVEL OF PRACTICE, AND MOST IMPORTANTLY, WHAT ARE OUR STUDENT OUTCOMES? WHAT'S THE IMPACT ON ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT AND WHAT'S THE IMPACT ON OUR OVERALL STUDENTS' DEVELOPMENT? I'M GONNA TURN IT OVER NICK TO YEAH, WE'RE GONNA OBSERVE ALL THIS. SO THE GREAT THING ABOUT THIS IS THAT AS, UM, IT'S ROLLED OUT AND EVERYTHING, WE'LL BE ABLE TO HAVE IT COLLECTED AND THE DATA THAT'S COLLECTED FROM HAVING THOSE THAT ARE OBSERVING FILL OUT A FORM WILL BE ABLE TO BE TABULATED AND PUT INTO A DASHBOARD SO THAT UM, THOSE THAT ARE ARE COLLECTING THE DATA CAN SEE THE RESULTS, UM, AT THE CONCLUSION OF KIND OF THAT VISIT. AND WE CAN GET A PULSE ON THE DISTRICT, UM, IN LIFETIME, UM, AND DRILLING IT DOWN TO THE SCHOOL. SO, UM, AS YOU CAN SEE, THERE'S KIND OF PICTURED, WE, WE ARE THAT IS TEST DATA TO KIND OF GET THE FLAVORING OF WHAT THE POSSIBILITIES ARE FOR PEOPLE. UM, BUT TAKING THE 10 DESIGN AREAS THAT WERE ORIGINALLY SHOWN AND TO BE ABLE TO GET DATA COLLECTED THERE BY HAVING IT BEING, UM, EVIDENT, SOMEWHAT EVIDENT, VERY EVIDENT OR NOT OBSERVED, UM, AS THEY GO THROUGH. SO WE CAN COLLECT THAT AND THEN COMPILE IT AND VIEW IT IN DIFFERENT WAYS. THE NICE THING ABOUT DOING A DASHBOARD LIKE THIS, WE CAN ALSO GO BACK AND ADD OTHER WAYS TO DISSECT THE DATA, UM, BASED ON CONVERSATIONS. SO THEN IN SUMMARY OF ALL OF THIS WORK, THEN, UM, THE KEY THING IS THAT THIS WILL ALLOW US TO MEASURE, UM, THE LEARNER ENGAGEMENT WITHIN THE VARIOUS LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS THAT HAPPEN ACROSS THE DISTRICT. SO THAT WAY WE ARE REALLY ABLE TO TAILOR THIS BACK TO WHAT ARE OUR STUDENTS DOING? HOW ARE THEY ENGAGING WITH THE CONTENT AS WE, UM, CORRELATED TO STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT. UM, THIS DIRECTLY CONNECTS TO OUR ACCREDITATION PROCESS OF THAT CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT THAT'S EMBEDDED. UM, WITH THE WORK THAT WE DO WITH COA, UM, ON THAT, UM, ACCREDITATION ASPECT OF IT, UM, IT WILL ALLOW US TO TAILOR IN TO SPECIFIC SUPPORTS FOR OUR SCHOOLS. UM, REALLY BEING ABLE TO HONE IN ON, UM, PATTERNS, TRENDS [02:00:01] TO ENSURE THAT WE'RE GETTING THAT REGULAR, UM, INSTRUCTION TAKING PLACE. UM, AND THAT OUR FRAMEWORK IS ABLE TO BE CUSTOMIZED TO MEET THE NEEDS OF THE TEACHERS DEPENDING ON WHERE THEY ARE IN THE DISTRICT TO OVER, UM, OVERARCHING TO THE STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT ASPECT. THANK YOU. ANY QUESTIONS? OKAY. WE GOT LOTS. LET'S, WE'LL JUST GO, WE'LL JUST GO AROUND DALLAS, SEVKI GEIER. THEN WE'LL GO OVER HERE. ME TOO. OH, YES. UM, YOU WANNA GO? NO. OKAY. SO, SO AS A NEWBIE, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I WAS REALLY PLEASED AND THANKFUL TO THE ISD GROUP FOR, UH, AND MS. CUSHING BARRY, THEY ACTUALLY GAVE ME ABOUT SEVEN OR EIGHT COPIES OF THE BOOKS THAT ARE BEING PROVIDED. AND I CAN TELL YOU THESE BOOKS ARE DIFFERENT FROM WHAT I GREW UP ON. SEE DICK RUN, SEE JANE THROW THE BALL. THEY ARE PREPARING OUR KIDS TO COMPETE IN A SUPER COMPETITIVE WORLD. AND I THINK AS MUCH AS IT'S NEW TO US AND NEW TO ME, BUT ONCE I WENT THROUGH IT AND SAW HOW IT TAKES A KID FROM ONE POINT TO ANOTHER, IT MADE ALL THE SENSE IN THE WORLD AND THEIR THINKING AND THEIR CRITICAL THINKING SKILLS, PROBLEM PROCESSING ARE JUST LEAP YEARS AHEAD OF WHAT MOST OF US WILL REMEMBER. AND WHAT THESE BOOKS DO IS THEY ACTUALLY ARE GOING TO PREPARE OUR KIDS TO COMPETE AGAINST COUNTRIES OUTSIDE OF OUR BORDERS. AND THAT'S WHERE THE COMPETITION COMES FROM. IT'S NOT COMING FROM THAT LITTLE KID NEXT DOOR SO MUCH. IT DOES. BUT YOU LOOK AT WHO'S BLOWING UP THE A CT AND THE SAT TESTS IS KIDS COMING FROM OTHER COUNTRIES AND THEY ARE DOMINATING OUR BEST UNIVERSITIES BECAUSE TO USE A EASTERN NORTH CAROLINA VERNACULAR, THEY AIN'T JOKING. THEY'RE REALLY GOING HARDEN ON THAT. SO JUST FOR WHATEVER IT'S WORTH. THANK YOU MADAM CHAIR. UM, I'M FAMILIAR WITH MARZANO AND IT'S WONDERFUL RESEARCH EVIDENCE-BASED PRACTICES. MY, MY QUESTION REALLY SURROUNDS, UM, THAT MARZANO'S MARZANO'S RESEARCH THAT'S CITED HERE IS FROM LARGELY 2010. UM, I DON'T THINK IT'S BAD. MY CONCERN IS, IS THAT THE IPHONE WAS RELEASED IN 2007, BECAME AFFORDABLE FOR CHILDREN IN 2012. THERE IS A LARGE GAP THERE FROM WHERE THOSE DEVICES HAVE BEEN IN THE HANDS OF CHILDREN NOW. AND IF WE'RE GOING TO BE USING THE DATA TO ANALYZE THE LEARNING ENVIRONMENT AND LEARNER ENGAGEMENT, LEARNER ENGAGEMENT IS LARGELY HALTED BY THE DEVICES THAT ARE IN OUR CLASSROOMS THAT ARE DESTROYING THE CAPABILITY OF OUR FABULOUSLY TALENTED EDUCATORS FROM DOING THEIR JOB. SO I WOULD LIKE TO, NOT TO HIJACK YOUR PRESENTATION, LIKE TO HAVE A SERIOUS CONVERSATION. I KNOW INGRID ALSO WOULD LIKE TO HAVE THE CONVERSATION ABOUT OUR SCHOOL DISTRICT GETTING SERIOUS ABOUT DEVICES IN THE CLASSROOM AND GETTING RID OF THEM FROM THE CLASSROOM. THEY ARE, THEY, THEY'RE A DISTRACTION. THEY PREVENT THIS WONDERFUL WORK FROM BEING DONE. AND I'LL GO AHEAD AND DIE ON THAT HILL RIGHT NOW. THANK YOU. JUST KEEP GOING. WE CAN, I JUST, THIS IS THE, THE DEVICE PIECE AND JUST SAY, IF THERE IS A COMMITMENT FROM THE BOARD TO MOVE FORWARD WITH THAT DISCUSSION ON THE DEVICES, THEN, THEN I THINK WE NEED TO BRING THAT FORWARD, PUT IT ON AN AGENDA SO WE CAN TALK ABOUT IT, HAVE THAT CONVERSATION. THAT'S SOMETHING THAT CAME UP AT THE JOINT SIC BOARD MEETING. UM, AND, AND, AND SO, UH, THERE ARE, UH, YOU KNOW, OPPORTUNITIES AROUND THAT. BUT IT, BUT, BUT IT TAKES ONE, A COMMITMENT BECAUSE NOT EVERYBODY IN THE COMMUNITY IS GONNA BE ON BOARD WITH THAT IDEA. BUT I THINK, I THINK A LOT MIGHT BE, AND I ALSO THINK THAT OUR STUDENTS, BASED ON CONVERSATIONS I'VE HAD WITH, UH, STUDENTS AT STUDENT ADVISORIES IN THE PAST, WHILE THEY WOULDN'T RAISE THEIR HAND AND SAY, YEAH, YEAH, YEAH, TAKE MY DEVICE. I DO THINK THAT IF THE DEVICE WAS GONE EVENTUALLY THEY WOULD WELCOME THAT DIFFERENCE AND THAT CHANGE. 'CAUSE IT WOULD PROVIDE A LITTLE BIT OF RELIEF FOR THEM, UH, UH, FROM HAVING TO BE ATTACHED TO IT, UH, ALL DAY. WELL, SO YEAH, I'VE ALREADY GOT IT DOWN UNDER FUTURE AGENDA TOPICS. OKAY, WHY? SO LET'S NOT KEEP DISCUSSING IT NOW. NO, I JUST WANTED TO MAKE ONE COMMENT 'CAUSE IT'S THE ONE THAT I OFTEN HEAR FROM PEOPLE, AND IT'S IN REGARD TO SAFETY AND SECURITY. IF THERE IS AN ISSUE, PARENTS WANNA BE ABLE TO GET IN TOUCH WITH THEIR KID. AND I'LL JUST SAY THIS, IF THERE IS EVER AN ISSUE, YOU DON'T WANT YOUR KID LOOKING AT THEIR DEVICE TRYING TO TEXT YOU. YOU WANT THEM RUNNING, YOU WANT THEM GETTING IN A SAFE PLACE. AND THAT'S PRIORITY NUMBER ONE. SO, UH, THAT'S CONTINUED TO DIE ON THE HILL. THANK YOU [02:05:01] . UH, THANK YOU MADAM CHAIR. UM, I'M FAMILIAR WITH MARZANO. UH, DR. SAIN HAS, UH, GIVEN ME TOO MUCH TO READ ABOUT THAT GUY. AND I, I LIKE IT. I MEAN, IT'S GOOD STUFF, BUT, UM, IT IS DATED AND, AND I, I REALLY THINK THAT, UM, DR. WISNESKI MADE A SUPER EXCELLENT POINT THAT WE'VE GOTTA HAVE A LITTLE MORE CURRENT EVIDENCE-BASED, UH, DATA TO GO ON BECAUSE I THINK, I THINK IT'S CHANGED CONSIDERABLY. MY CONCERN IS TEACHER WORKLOAD. EVERY TIME I'VE SEEN A NEW PROGRAM COME OUT, THERE'S MORE STUFF TO DO FOR A TEACHER, MORE DATA TO COLLECT. I, SO I, WHEN YOU COME BACK, I KNOW THIS IS THE INTRODUCTION. I REALIZE THIS, WHEN YOU COME BACK, I, I NEED YOU TO, UH, DICK AND JANE IT A LITTLE BIT FOR A NON-EDUCATOR. I, I NEED TO KNOW FROM THE STUDENT ASSESSMENT TO THE TEACHER TO WHAT SHE HAS TO DOCUMENT AND HOW IT FLOWS, BECAUSE I, I'M JUST AFRAID OF ANOTHER PROGRAM DU JOUR. HERE'S SOMETHING THAT'S HOT OFF THE PRESSES. AND WHEN I LOOK AT THE VELOCITY OF THINGS IN JUST MY FIVE YEARS ON THIS EDUCATION BUSINESS, I'VE SEEN HOW THINGS HAVE ALREADY CHANGED SINCE I'VE BEEN ON THIS BOARD. NEW PROGRAMMING, WE, WE DID INSTRUCTIONAL REVIEWS. I LOVE THE INSTRUCTIONAL REVIEWS. I LIKE THE, UH, THE LEARNING COMMUNITIES. I, I, I THINK THEY'RE FANTASTIC. I JUST DON'T WANNA SEE ANOTHER ORNAMENT ON AN OVERLOADED CHRISTMAS TREE FOR OUR TEACHERS. AND, AND THAT'S MY CONCERN. SO WHEN YOU, WHEN YOU RUN THROUGH THIS, THAT'S WHAT I'M GONNA BE LOOKING FOR. CAN I PROVIDE SOME INFO? I MEAN, YOU GUYS ARE GONNA HAVE A LOT OF QUESTIONS. IF I WAIT TILL THE END TO TACKLE THESE, UH, THERE, I'LL BE TALKING FOR AN HOUR. SO FIRST, THIS ISN'T A PROGRAM. THIS ISN'T A PROGRAM. I WOULD ADD THAT INSTRUCTIONAL REVIEWS ARE NOT A PROGRAM. OKAY? I GO ALL THE TIME. SO, UM, CULTURE SYSTEMS AND INSTRUCTION. WE SPENT TIME WORKING ON CULTURE. WE DO THAT ALL THE TIME. SYSTEMS IN PLACE ARE IMPORTANT BECAUSE THOSE SYSTEMS HELP US MOVE OUR SYSTEM OR OUR SCHOOL DISTRICT FORWARD HELP OUR SCH OUR, UH, UH, TEACHERS AND, AND SCHOOLS FUNCTION AND THEIR CRITICAL COMPONENTS. INSTRUCTION IS, IS THE CRITICAL PIECE, THE SYMBOL GREATEST FACTOR IN HOW, UM, IN STUDENT OUTCOMES IS INSTRUCTION, INSTRUCTIONAL DELIVERY BY THE EDUCATOR. OKAY? MARZANO'S RESEARCH AND WORK IS JUST THAT. IT'S A BODY OF WORK AND A BODY OF RESEARCH, RIGHT? THAT IS GROUNDED IN RESEARCH BASED EVIDENCE BASE. WHEN YOU LOOK AT, UH, THIS, THIS MAP THAT YOU SEE ON PAGE THREE HERE, RIGHT? THESE ARE THINGS THAT YOU WOULD BE LOOKING FOR ANYWAY IN TERMS OF HIGH QUALITY INSTRUCTION, RIGHT? YOU ARE DELIVERING INSTRUCTION ON A COMPLEX CONTENT AND CONTACT AND CON COMPLEX CONTENT. UM, CHUNKING THE INFORMATION MIGHT BE AN APPROPRIATE STRATEGY TO HELP STUDENTS UNDERSTAND ALONG THE WAY. GREAT STUDENTS SOMETIMES HAVE THE ABILITY TO DO THAT FOR THEMSELVES AS THEY READ AN INTERNALIZE AN ADVANTAGE OVER OTHER STUDENTS WHO, WHO HAVEN'T DEVELOPED THAT SKILL SET YET. FOR EXAMPLE, SAME THING WITH INSTRUCTION. YOUR VETERAN TEACHERS, YOUR VETERAN EDUCATORS, INSTINCTIVELY, NATURALLY DO MANY OF THESE STRATEGIES THAT LAY OUT HERE. AND I CAN TELL YOU THAT BECAUSE THE REASON THEY LANDED AS RESEARCH BASED EVIDENCE PRO, UH, UH, PRO, UH, STRATEGIES IS BECAUSE THEY WERE OBSERVED BY A TEAM OF RESEARCHERS IN HIGHLY EFFECTIVE AND HIGH QUALITY CLASSROOMS. AND ALL THEY DID WAS CAPTURE THIS GREAT WORK THAT THEY SAW OVER AND OVER AGAIN IN VARIOUS CLASSROOMS ACROSS THE COUNTRY, AND LAID THAT OUT ONTO A MAP IN ESSENCE, RIGHT? SO WHAT THIS IS, IS, IS, IS, IS A MAP. NOW, HOW DO YOU [02:10:01] IMPROVE INSTRUCTION? THE MOST EFFECTIVE WAY TO IMPROVE INSTRUCTION, IT IS JUST LIKE THE MOST EFFECTIVE WAY TO IMPROVE MOST THINGS. FEEDBACK, FEEDBACK. I COME IN, I OBSERVE IF I CAN PICK ON MR. NAY, MR. NA'S CLASSROOM, I SEE THE STRATEGIES THAT MR. NAY IS UTILIZING. THEY COULD BE TECHNOLOGY BASED, THEY COULD BE VARIOUS THINGS. IF YOU THINK BACK TO MY STRATEGY IN THE BUDGET CONVERSATION WITH THE BOARD, I UTILIZED TECHNOLOGY IN THAT, IN THAT APPROACH, RIGHT? BUT WHAT DID YOU DO? WHAT DID I ASK YOU TO DO? I ASKED YOU TO CHUNK INFORMATION ALONG THE WAY AND TO PRIORITIZE THAT INFORMATION, RIGHT? SO, SO THE TECHNOLOGY IS THE TOOL OR A TOOL, RIGHT, TO ACCELERATE LEARNING, RIGHT? THE INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES, HIGH LEVERAGE INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES ARE IN ESSENCE WHAT'S BEEN PICKED OUT, LAID OUT, NOT ONLY ON THIS MAP, BUT UH, BUT IN THE EVALUATION TOOL THAT TEACHERS ARE EVALUATED ON, ON A REGULAR BASIS, RIGHT? THROUGH THE STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA. SO IN ESSENCE, UH, THIS IS A LOOK AT HIGH QUALITY, HIGH LEVERAGE INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES, THE ART AND THE SCIENCE OF TEACHING. YOU DON'T WANNA TAKE AWAY THE ART OF TEACHING, BUT YOU ALSO WANNA SEE THE SCIENCE PLAYING OUT SOME OF THOSE HIGH LEVERAGE STRATEGIES TO GET TO HIGHER OUTCOMES AND HELP STUDENTS REACH THEIR HIGHEST POTENTIAL. SO I DON'T, I WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE, WE'RE, WE'RE ALL UNDERSTANDING THIS FROM THIS PERSPECTIVE, THAT IT'S NOT A PROGRAM, BUT IT IS AN, THIS IS NOT A PROGRAM. THIS IS AN OPPORTUNITY AND A, AND A, A, A STRATEGY, IF YOU WILL, RIGHT? AS A SYSTEM TO SEE WHERE WE ARE WITH THOSE HIGH LEVERAGE INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES THAT MOST HIGH QUALITY EDUCATORS, UH, INSTINCTIVELY DO. AND IT, THE TOOL CAN HELP US DEVELOP YOUNGER EDUCATORS, RIGHT? THERE'S ACTUALLY A BOOK OUT THERE CALLED GET BETTER FASTER, GET BETTER FASTER, GET BETTER FASTER, RIGHT? AND, AND GET BETTER FASTER LOOKS AT VARIOUS STRATEGIES AND FEEDBACK IS GROUNDED IN IT, RIGHT? UH, IN ORDER TO HELP IMPROVE OUTCOMES. SO THAT'S, BUT WHAT YOU'RE SAYING IS RIGHT, WHEN WE CONTINUE TO DEVELOP AND BRING THIS BACK, WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT THAT, THAT YOU'RE SEEING, UH, HOW THAT TIES INTO THE DIFFERENT THINGS WE HAVE, LIKE INSTRUCTIONAL REVIEWS, MASTER BOARD ANALYSIS, RIGHT? THOSE KINDS OF THINGS. OKAY. I'M QUIET. ALRIGHT. THANK YOU MADAM CHAIR. UM, YOU DON'T BE GO, YOU DON'T GO FROM, UH, ENTRY LEVEL TEACHER TO MASTER TEACHER OVERNIGHT. IT'S A, IT'S, IT'S A, IT'S A, IT'S A PROCESS. I GET THAT. UM, AND WHAT DIFFERENTIATES IS A IS A VAST CAREER OF, UH, BODY KNOWLEDGE, UH, AND, YOU KNOW, 20, 30 YEARS OF EXPERIENCE. I GET THAT. AND IF THIS PROGRAM ALLOWS, UH, OUR ENTRY LEVEL TEACHERS TO BECOME MASTER TEACHERS FASTER, I'M OKAY WITH THAT. BUT WHAT I'M REALLY CONCERNED ABOUT IS RESULTS. THAT'S, THAT'S ALL I CARE ABOUT IS RESULTS. IF THIS MAKES OUR, OUR, OUR, UH, OUR CHILDREN MORE COMPETITIVE, ABSOLUTELY. GREAT. WHAT I WOULD LIKE TO HEAR, INSTEAD OF WHAT WE'RE GOING TO DO, I WOULD LIKE TO HEAR, THIS IS WHAT WE'VE DONE AND THIS IS THE RESULTS THAT HAVE, THAT HAS HAPPENED. THAT'S WHAT I WOULD PREFER TO HEAR. INSTEAD OF TAKING UP TIME WITH A LOT OF REALLY COOL WORDS, WORD SALAD STUFF, I WOULD LIKE TO HEAR RE RESULTS. THAT'S, THANK YOU MR. SMITH. MR. THEY PRETTY MUCH SAID HE SAID IT FOR ME. UH, IN TERMS OF, I JUST HAVE ONE QUESTION FOR MR. FLOWERS IN, IN, IN TERMS OF, UH, THAT, THAT DAY AT, WELL, BRANCH IS THIS, DO YOU REMEMBER THAT DAY WAS AT, AT WELL BRANCH AND Y'ALL HAD THE, UM, THE OBSERVATION OF THE TEACHERS AND WERE GONE FROM GROUPS. IS THAT, WHAT, IS THAT WHAT THIS CONSISTS OF RIGHT HERE? SO IT IT COULD, YES. SO SOME OF THE WORK COULD, THIS COULD BE USED FOR, UM, WHEN WE WERE BREAKING OUT TO DO OBSERVATIONS OR WHATNOT. IT COULD BE A TOOL THAT'S LEVERAGED THERE BECAUSE IT DOES LOOK AT THINGS HOLISTICALLY. UM, AND IT COULD ALSO BE USED AS A WAY TO, UM, DIG INTO THE DATA THAT'S SHOWING AND SHOW TEACHERS THAT HOW THIS INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGY IS CORRELATING OVER TO WHAT'S HAPPENING ON THE MATH ASSESSMENT. UM, AND SO, UM, IT, IT COULD ALL COME TOGETHER. YES. OKAY. AND, AND, AND, AND I, I'M NOT GONNA LIE, I WAS, I WAS VERY, VERY, THAT I WAS, I WAS GLAD TO EXPERIENCE THAT AND BE ABLE TO SEE IT AND UNDERSTAND THAT PROCESS BECAUSE THAT IS, THAT, WAS THAT A UNIQUE PROCESS. [02:15:01] BUT THE AMOUNT OF THOUGHT THAT GO INTO THAT, IN TERMS OF WHAT DR. RODRIGUEZ WAS JUST SAYING, HE WAS KIND OF SPOT ON. AND THAT'S WHAT MADE ME ASK YOU THAT QUESTION IN TERMS OF DISSECTING AND UNDERSTANDING THIS OF, OF, OF, OF THE PROCESS OF WHAT, WHAT YOU'RE, WHAT YOU'RE BRINGING AND, AND, AND HOW THAT PROCESS IS GOING TO, IT IS GOING TO EQUAL OUT TO A GOOD PRODUCT AS THOUGH MR. NATE JUST, UH, STATED. SO THAT THAT'S, THAT'S WHY, UH, IF BOARD MEMBERS HADN'T SEEN THAT, THAT I THINK THAT, THAT, THAT, THAT, THAT WE SHOULD, BECAUSE IT ALSO HELPS YOU UNDERSTAND WHEN YOU'RE DEALING WITH THE COMMUNITY AND DIFFERENT THINGS. BECAUSE BELIEVE IT OR NOT, I HAVE TALKED ABOUT THAT PROCESS AND WHAT I'VE SEEN THAT DAY TO HELP UNDER, TO HELP PEOPLE UNDERSTAND THE AMOUNT OF THOUGHT AND BEHIND THE SCENES THAT GOES INTO MAKE TEACHERS SUCCESSFUL, TO MAKE STUDENTS SUCCESSFUL IN THIS DISTRICT THAT, THAT ARE NOT SEEN. SO I DO, I DO APPRECIATE, I DO, I DO, I DO APPRECIATE DR. SRA, YOU AND HER TEAM, DR. RODRIGUEZ, FOR, FOR, FOR THAT AND MAKING SURE THAT TEACHERS HAVE THE NECESSARY TOOLS THEY NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT OUR STUDENTS ARE BEING SUCCESSFUL. NOW, ON THE OTHER HAND, UH, IN, IN, IN TERMS OF WHAT MR. NA SAY TO DO YOU ANYTHING, WANNA ADD TO THAT? OKAY. UM, I WAS JUST SINCE THIS WEEK AND I GOT CHEWED OUT, UH, IN TERMS IN TERMS OF DR. RODRIGUEZ OR ANYONE HERE, YOU KNOW, IN, IN TERMS OF PEOPLE IN COMMUNITY JUST SAID THAT TO, TO ME IN TERMS OF WE REALLY SEE RESULTS AS MR. N JUST SAID, WELL, Y'ALL BEEN TALKING ABOUT THE ACHIEVEMENT GAP SINCE MY DADDY BEEN IN SCHOOL, SINCE MY UNCLE BEEN IN SCHOOL. HE, SINCE I'VE BEEN IN SCHOOL. SO NOW IT'S TIME, IT'S TIME TO GO TO ANYONE TO MAKE OUR MONEY MATCH OUR RESULTS BECAUSE WE SAID THAT WE WANT PRIME TEACHERS, NUMBER ONE TEACHERS. SO NOW WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT OUR RESULTS ARE MATCHING WHAT THE TOP DOLLARS THAT WE'RE PAYING AND THE COMMUNITY HAS SAID IT TO ME LOUDLY AND CLEARLY WE WANNA SEE RESULTS. SO I'M LIKE, MR. NA, I'M LOOKING FOR RESULTS. POINT BLANK PERIOD. THANK YOU MR. KIMBALL. YOU CAN PASS. YOU DON'T HAVE TO SAY SOMETHING I SAY AGAIN THAT I'LL, A LOT OF THE RESULTS YOU GET, IT HAS TO COME FROM THE PARENTS AND THE COMMUNITY. THE DISTRICT CAN DO WHATEVER WE WANT THEM TO DO, BUT IF THE PARENTS DON'T, IS NOT RESPONSIBLE AND THE STUDENTS ARE NOT RESPONSIBLE TO LOSE 'EM CALLS, YOU KNOW, NOW I'VE SEEN A LOT OF RESULTS AND I'LL TAKE WILL BRANCH THE CHILDREN THAT HAVE LEFT AND WENT TO COLLEGE OUT OF THAT SCHOOL THAT A LOT OF FOLKS SAID WOULDN'T HAPPEN, BUT IT DIDN'T HAPPEN. BUT THE REASON IT HAPPENED, YOU HAVE A COMMUNITY AND PARENTS THAT ARE RESPONSIBLE AND THEY CARE. THANK YOU ABOUT, RIGHT? YEP. DO YOU WANNA GO TO MS. GORDON? NO. THE ONLINE PEOPLE, THEY'RE AT THE BOTTOM OF THE LINE. THEY, YOU KNOW, YOU UP HERE FIRST. SORRY, MS. GORDON. UM, SO FIRST OF ALL, THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION AND ALL THE WORK. AND I UNDERSTAND THE IMPORTANCE OF TEACHER ASSESSMENT AND BUILDING YOUNG TEACHERS. 'CAUSE WE ARE LOSING THAT, YOU KNOW, GOLD MINE OF RETIRED OF TEACHERS, THEY'RE HITTING THAT RETIREMENT AGE. SO I WANT YOU TO HOLD ONTO THE POSITIVITY HERE FOR A MINUTE. I AM THE DAUGHTER OF TWO HIGH SCHOOL TEACHERS. THERE ARE THINGS ABOUT THIS I FIND REALLY JUST HARD TO TAKE AND I'M, I'M GONNA TELL YOU WHAT I DON'T LIKE ABOUT IT. AND IT'S NOT, IT, IT'S NOT A CRITICISM OF THE DISTRICT, IT'S NOT A CRITICISM OF THIS MR. MARZANO. UM, YOU CAN HIRE HIM ON CELEBRITY BOOKING AGENT FOR $20,000. HE WILL COME SPEAK TO US. UM, HE, HIS COMPANY IS PRIVATELY OWNED AND WORTH SOMEWHERE AROUND $500 MILLION. SO OUTTA CURIOSITY, I SAID, OH, I WONDER WHAT KIND OF JOBS MR. MARZANO'S RESOURCES IS HIRING. IT'S EVENT COORDINATORS, SALES AND MARKETING. SO TO THE POINT THAT THIS, UM, DATA IS DATED, NOT ONLY IS THE DATA DATED I DO MR. FLOWERS HAVE CONCERNS ABOUT SOME OF HIS DATA. HE DID A META-ANALYSIS ON HIS OWN DATA, RIGHT? HE USED AN EN COVA LINEAR REGRESSION, AND HE, HOW DO YOU CONTROL FOR THE COVARIATES OF CHILDREN? HE BASICALLY COM. AND SO THAT'S NOT THE APPROPRIATE. NOW IN 2009, MAYBE THAT'S WHAT WE HAD, BUT IN 2024, WE HAVE BRAIN IMPLANTS THAT LET PARALYZE PEOPLE OPERATE A COMPUTER MOUSE WITH THEIR MIND. WE CAN DO BETTER THAN THIS. AND THAT'S NOT, THIS IS JUST MY CRITICISM OF THIS METHOD. AND TO MR. UM, DALLAS'S POINT. WE ARE ABSOLUTELY, AND I'VE SAID THIS AT THIS BOARD MEETING MANY TIMES WE ARE COMPETING. I SAW IT WITH MY DAUGHTER AT UC, BERKELEY, I SEE IT, MY SON AT NORTHWESTERN. UM, THE HARD SCIENCES ARE BEING DOMINATED BY, UM, INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS. AND SO THAT IS A GRAVE CONCERN. IF THIS PROGRAM THAT RULED OUT ROLLED OUT IN 2009 WAS HAVING SUBSTANTIAL RESULTS, WE'D KNOW IT ALREADY. THERE WOULD, I MEAN, WE CAN PROBABLY MOVE THE NEEDLE A LITTLE BIT. SO THAT'S ONE CONCERN. UM, THE OTHER CONCERN I HAVE IS, IS WITH THE TEACHERS, UM, AND, AND THE WORKLOAD. BUT MR. MARZANO TWEETED STUDENTS ATTENTION AND [02:20:01] ENGAGEMENT ARE DIRECTLY UNDER THE CONTROL OF THE CLASSROOM TEACHER. SO TO RACHEL S'S POINT, KIDS ARE NOT UNDER CONTROL RIGHT NOW. IT IS A DISCIPLINE ISSUE. AND WE HAVE HEARD RECENT EVENTS WHERE JUST DESPAIRING TEACHERS ARE NOT ABLE TO TEACH. AND I DON'T THINK THAT, I DON'T KNOW WHAT I WOULD DO IF I DECIDED TO VENTURE IN THE CLASSROOM AND TRY TO TEACH A CLASS. AND I HAD THE KIND OF BEHAVIOR AND DISRUPTION THAT'S CURRENTLY GOING ON IN OUR SCHOOLS. AND SOMEONE WAS ASSESSING ME AS TO WHETHER OR NOT I DEMONSTRATED WITHITNESS. SO I UNDERSTAND WHY THE DISTRICT IS DOING THIS. WE ARE CONFINED BY THE EXPECTATIONS THAT OUR POLITICIANS SET FOR US. WE ARE DEFINED BY THE EXPECTATIONS THAT, UM, BUSINESSES AND COMMUNITY MEMBERS. BUT THAT'S MY RANT. I JUST, THESE SORTS OF PROGRAMS, IT, THE DATA NEEDS TO BE REEVALUATED AT SOME POINT. UM, AND THEY'RE ACTUALLY DOING THAT WITH SOME OF THESE EDUCATIONAL, UM, SCHOLARS. UH, JOE B BOWLER, BALLER FROM STANFORD WAS RECENTLY IN THE NEWS BECAUSE SHE'S BEEN ACCUSED OF FALSIFYING A LOT OF HER DATA. AND SHE'S THE WOMAN THAT SAID CALIFORNIA SCHOOLS SHOULDN'T OFFER ALGEBRA IN EIGHTH GRADE. AND THE OBVIOUS CONSEQUENCE OF THAT IS ANYBODY WHO WAS WANTS TO GO INTO THE COMPETITIVE HARD SCIENCES, YOU CAN'T, YOU HAVE TO TAKE ALGEBRA IN EIGHTH GRADE. 'CAUSE YOU CAN'T GET TO CALCULUS, RIGHT? SO THEY JUST PULLED THEIR KIDS OUTTA SCHOOLS. SO THAT WAS, THAT WAS DEFEATED. BUT I DO THINK WE RUN THE RISK OF RELYING ON 14-YEAR-OLD DATA, OF WHICH HE DID HIS OWN. I MEAN, I JUST CAN'T GET OVER THAT. HE META ANALYZED HIS OWN STUDIES, UM, AND SAYING THAT THIS IS SOME SORT OF NEW PRODUCT. I, YOU GUYS CAN BRING IT TO THE BOARD AND HERE ARE THE QUESTIONS I'M GONNA HAVE, HOW MUCH DOES IT COST? AND I WANT, I WANT THE TEACHERS TO HAVE BIDIRECTIONAL FEEDBACK. SO AS THEY'RE BEING ASSESSED, I WANT THEM TO BE ABLE TO REACH OUT TO YOU AND NOT LIKE A, A FOCUS GROUP. I WANT ROBUST. LIKE IF THE TEACHERS ARE GOING, THIS IS CRAZY, I'M TRYING TO KEEP TRACK OF THESE 43 THINGS. I'M TRYING TO KEEP A LIVELY PACE. ACKNOWLEDGE THE STUDENT'S ENGAGEMENT SHOW WITHITNESS, LET THEM TELL YOU, BECAUSE I DON'T WANNA BURN TEACHERS OUT WHEN THE ASSESSMENT PROGRAM. THE THIRD QUESTION I HAVE, DOES THIS REPLACE PERFORMANCE MATTERS? I THINK THAT YOU'RE ALL MISSING, UH, THE POINT ON THIS, UM, SO LET ME TRY TO, LET ME TRY AND CLARIFY THIS PIECE, RIGHT? SO PERFORMANCE MATTERS IS A PLATFORM, RIGHT? THAT HOUSES ASSESSMENT RESULTS, THAT HOUSES THE ABILITY, UH, TO CREATE, UH, OR, AND UTILIZE A, UH, COMMON ASSESSMENTS THAT YOU COULD ADMINISTER ACROSS THE DISTRICT, RIGHT? SO THAT YOU CAN SAY AFTER, YOU KNOW, THREE WEEKS OR FOUR WEEKS OF INSTRUCTION, RIGHT? ARE, ARE KIDS MASTERING THE INFORMATION OR NOT? AND THEN I CAN MAKE AN INFORMED DECISION AS AN EDUCATOR ABOUT, UM, WHETHER WE MOVE FORWARD, WHETHER I NEED TO RETEACH OR WHATEVER IT IS. SO PERFORMANCE MATTERS IS AN ASSESSMENT PLATFORM THAT'S THAT, THAT, THAT ALLOWS YOU TO DELIVER ASSESSMENTS THAT HOUSES ASSESSMENT RESULTS, THAT ALLOWS TEACHERS TO GO IN THERE AND SEE HOW STUDENTS HAVE DONE ALONG THE WAY. THIS IS POORLY ABOUT TRYING TO IDENTIFY HIGH QUALITY, HIGH LEVERAGE STRATEGIES FOR INSTRUCTIONAL PURPOSES. THIS ISN'T AN ASSESSMENT THAT, UH, THAT OUR KIDS ARE GONNA TAKE. THIS ISN'T AN ASSESSMENT THAT OUR TEACHERS ARE GONNA TAKE, UH, OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT. IT'S, IT'S ABOUT IMPROVING INSTRUCTIONAL PRACTICE, PERIOD. THAT'S WHERE IT ENDS. THERE'S FEEDBACK THAT GOES BACK AND FORTH BETWEEN AN ADMINISTRATOR OR AN INSTRUCTIONAL COACH OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT WHEN THEY CONNECT WITH TEACHERS, EITHER IN A PLC OR EITHER ON ONE-ON-ONE OR WHATEVER. IT'S ABOUT IMPROVING INSTRUCTIONAL PRACTICE, NON-EVALUATIVE AS THEY STARTED, RIGHT? THAT'S IT. THAT'S WHAT THAT IS, RIGHT? NO MORE THAN THAT, PERFORMANCE MATTERS IS SOMETHING ELSE. SO I DON'T WANNA, ALRIGHT, JUST A MINUTE PLEASE. WE HAVE MS, UH, CHLOE GORDON NEXT. OH, CAN YOU HEAR ME? MM-HMM. . YES. VERY WELL. OKAY. THANK YOU. UH, AFTER LISTENING TO EVERYONE AND HEARING DR. RODRIGUEZ'S, UM, COMMENTS, I HAVE NOTHING TO SAY. I JUST APPRECIATE ALL THE [02:25:01] FEEDBACK. THANK YOU, MARY STRATO. ALL RIGHT. UM, DR. WASOWSKI, DR. STRATAS IS HAND IS HAND. OKAY. YEAH, GO AHEAD. UM, DR. STRATAS. THANK YOU, DR. BLAS. I KNOW THE VIRTUAL PEOPLE. I APOLOGIZE NOT BEING THERE. I I JUST WANNA PUT A BIG POINT OF CLARIFICATION. DR. RODRIGUEZ, DROVE, DROVE FORWARD STATE, FORWARD TODAY HAVE TO BE ALIGNED WITH THE BRIGHT ST STRATEGIES IN ORDER TO ENSURE THAT WE'RE TEACHING CHILDREN TO THE DEPTH OF KNOWLEDGE. THIS WORK WAS PUT TOGETHER AT A ZERO COST TO THE DISTRICT. IT WAS HUMAN CAPITAL THAT WAS BASICALLY UTILIZED. WE DID OUR RESEARCH, WE WORKED IN GROUPS. WE DID NOT HIRE AN OUTSIDE CONSULTANT. WE DID ATTEND SOME CONFERENCE WORK ALMOST A YEAR AND A HALF AGO, HAVE TAKEN A YEAR AND A HALF OF RESEARCH WORK TO PUT TOGETHER INFORMATION TO HELP DOING PLCS FOR COACHING PURPOSES. NOTHING FOR ASSESSMENT, NOTHING FOR EVALUATIVE, AND THE TEACHER THEMSELVES IS NOT TALENTING. THIS, THIS IS AN OPPORTUNITY AS WE DO WALKTHROUGHS IN OUR IRS. THIS IS AN OPPORTUNITY AS INSTRUCTIONAL COACHES ARE BUILDING, AREN'T MY CAPACITY AS AN INSTRUCTOR TO HELP ME ALIGN MY PRACTICES AND THEN HELP ME DURING A PLC SO I COULD REDEFINE IT. DID I HIT THE MARK? AS WE ARE TAKING FORMATIVE ASSESSMENTS, I JUST WANTED TO SHARE THAT IN, INTO THIS. THERE'S A BIG DIFFERENCE BETWEEN HANDING A CHILD A PAPER AND PENCIL AND WRITING OBSERVATIONS AND ENDING A LESSON THERE VERSUS GIVING OUR STUDENTS AN OP OPPORTUNITY TO DISCUSS THEIR OBSERVATIONS AND DO COMPARATIVE CONTRACTS, TALK ABOUT WHAT THEY'VE OBSERVED, GIVE JUSTIFICATION OF PRACTICE. AND THAT'S WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO LEAD INTO, DEEPER KNOWLEDGE TO ALIGN WITH THE STATE STANDARDS. SO I JUST WANTED TO GIVE A LITTLE MORE CLARIFICATION. DR. DR. BROADS, THANK YOU. YOU'RE WELCOME. DR. OSKY. I WAS JUST GONNA CLARIFY KIND OF WHAT I MEANT BY MY COMMENTS AND THE DATES AND WHATNOT OF MARZA MARZANO. I THINK MARZANO'S PRETTY COMMON SENSE, JUST PERSONALLY, A LOT OF IT JUST IS, IS PUTTING INTO A VERY REGIMENTED AND CLEAR OUTLINE OF WHAT INSTRUCTIONAL PRACTICE SHOULD LOOK LIKE TO GET EFFECTIVE OUTCOMES. UM, THAT'S MY WAY OF PUTTING IT. I THINK IT'S COMMON SENSE. MY PURPOSE FOR MENTIONING THE DATES ON MARZANO IS THAT YOU CAN HAVE ALL THAT, THAT CAN BE FANTASTIC AND WONDERFUL AND FOUNDATIONAL, BUT WHEN YOU HAVE THIS OTHER DISTRACTION, IT, THAT'S JUST WHAT PREVENTS IT FROM BEING EFFECTIVE. AND, AND YOU CAN'T GET TO THOSE OUTCOMES. SO WE MIGHT BE COLLECTING DATA AND WE MIGHT BE DOING GREAT STUFF, BUT WE'VE GOT THIS HINDRANCE. SO THAT WAS MY POINT OF CLARIFICATION. THANK YOU. DO YOU HAVE ANYTHING FURTHER? NOPE, THAT'S IT. OKAY. THANK YOU. ALL RIGHT. UH, WELL, THERE'S NO BOARD BUSINESS ACTION OR CONSENT AGENDA. THE FUTURE AGENDA TOPICS. UH, YOU CAN RAISE YOUR HAND IF YOU'D LIKE TO, UH, UM, SUGGEST A TOPIC. WE ALREADY HAVE THE DEVICES IN THE CLASSROOM FROM OUR DISCUSSION. YEAH, THAT'S GONNA BE A, A GOOD ONE. . YEAH. ALL RIGHT. UM, YES, GO AHEAD. I DON'T KNOW WHEN, WHETHER IT BE IN A WORK SESSION. OH, SO CAN YOU, OH, SORRY. SORRY. THANK YOU. I DON'T KNOW IF IT'LL BE IN A WORK SESSION OR AN, UH, UPCOMING BOARD MEETING, BUT FILLING THAT GAP FROM BIRTH TO FIVE, I THINK STRATEGICALLY THERE NEEDS TO BE SOME DISCUSSION OF THAT, AND WE NEED TO BE ABLE TO HAVE SOME REALLY HARD CANDID CONVERSATIONS WITH THE COMMUNITY AT LARGE, SO THEY UNDERSTAND, BECAUSE I TRULY BELIEVE NO PARENTS GOING TO, FEW PARENTS ARE GOING TO KNOW HOW IMPORTANT THEY ARE IN THE LEARNING PROCESS AND NOT PUT FORTH THAT EFFORT TO HELP THEIR KIDS. SO WHENEVER THAT'S APPROPRIATE. OKAY. DR. WAS JUST GONNA, UH, PIGGYBACK ON MR. DALLAS'S COMMENTS. SO, AT THE WORK SESSION, UH, ONE OF THE ITEMS THAT WE HAVE ON THE WORK SESSION IS, IS, UM, A BUDGET. BUT THE OTHER ITEM WE HAVE AT THE WORK SESSION, AND BOTH OF THESE ARE GONNA TAKE UP, UH, PRETTY MUCH THE DAY, BUT, BUT THE SECOND PART OF IT THERE IS ALSO A STRATEGIC PLAN, UH, CONVERSATION. AND SO THAT SOUNDS TO ME LIKE THAT COULD SORT OF, I'M SURE IT'S GONNA COME UP WHETHER, YOU KNOW, WE PLAN FOR IT OR NOT. I THINK IT'S GONNA COME UP. SO I WOULD ENCOURAGE ANYBODY TO THINK ABOUT THAT BEFORE WE GET TO THE WORK SESSION, BECAUSE I'M SURE THERE'LL BE PART OF IT. THANK YOU. [02:30:02] ALL RIGHT. UM, FOR ANNOUNCEMENTS, SO WE HAVE A SPECIAL CALLED, UH, BOARD MEETING TOMORROW AT 5:00 PM AND IT IS AT THE, UM, DISTRICT OFFICE. AND, UM, IF YOU ARE NOT ABLE TO COME IN PERSON, YOU MAY, UM, PARTICIPATE, UH, REMOTELY VIA ZOOM. AND THE ONLY AGENDA ITEM IS TO DISCUSS OUR LEGIS, THE BOARD'S LEGISLATIVE AGENDA. AND THE REASON WE'RE DOING IT, UM, NOW IS BECAUSE, UH, WE HAVE, UH, SEVERAL BOARD MEMBERS GOING TO THE STATE CAPITOL, UM, TO MEET WITH OUR DELEGATION, UH, THROUGH SOUTH CAROLINA SCHOOL BOARDS ASSOCIATION PROGRAM. THEY DO THAT EVERY YEAR, AND THAT IS ON APRIL 10TH. SO THAT'S JUST, UM, UH, A WEEK LATER. UM, THOSE ARE THE TWO THINGS I REALLY WANTED TO SAY. UM, EARL AND I ARE ACTUALLY GOING TO THE NATIONAL SCHOOL BOARDS ASSOCIATION, UH, CONFERENCES WEEKEND. AND, AND I WAS ALREADY LOOKING AT THE, AT THE LECTURES, UH, OR PROGRAMS PRESENTATIONS. AND I, MY INTEREST IS GONNA BE HOW TO GET THE COMMUNITY AND FAMILIES ENGAGED. THAT'S JUST WHERE I WAS GONNA FOCUS, UH, MY INTEREST. UM, ANY OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS? DR. RODRIGUEZ? MM-HMM? . THAT'S WHY I JUST WAS SEEKING CLARIFICATION. YOU'RE GOING TO THE NSBA? YES. OR TO THE CC, THE OTHER ONE? ? NO, THE NS. THE NSBA. OKAY. YEAH. THANK YOU. YEAH. ALL RIGHT. SO, UM, WE DO NOT HAVE ANY, UM, SECOND PUBLIC COMMENTS, CORRECT, ROBIN? CORRECT. OKAY. SO, UH, THERE BEING NO FURTHER, UH, AGENDA ITEMS OR BUSINESS, WE WILL ADJOURN BY UNANIMOUS CONSENT. GOODNIGHT AND THANK YOU TO EVERYONE THAT PARTICIPATED. THANK . * This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting.