* 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. [00:00:01] CLOSED CAPTIONING PROVIDED BY BEAUFORT COUNTY. [Call to Order] GOOD EVENING AND WELCOME TO THE BEAUFORT COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION BUSINESS MEETING OF MAY 21ST, 2024. THIS MEETING IS BEING CONDUCTED VIA HYBRID VIDEO CONFERENCING AND IS BEING LIVE STREAMED BY THE COUNTY CHANNEL. WE HAVE FOUR MEMBERS IN PERSON. AND HOW MANY ONLINE? OKAY, SO WE HAVE A QUORUM IN ACCORDANCE WITH NEW SAFETY AND SECURITY GUIDELINES. 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 OR VIA PHONE. THERE ARE TWO SCHEDULED PUBLIC COMMENT FORM TIMES DURING EACH BOARD MEETING. THE FIRST IS A 30 MINUTE SESSION NEAR THE BEGINNING OF THE MEETING, WHICH IS LIMITED TO TOPICS ON THE BOARD MEETING AGENDA. THE SECOND PERIOD IS 15 MINUTES AND 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. MAY SHOULD INCLUDE THE SPEAKER'S NAME, PHONE NUMBER, TOPIC, AND MUST BE EMAILED TO THE EXECUTIVE ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT TO THE BOARD, ROBIN CUSHING BERRY AT ROBIN CUSHING BERRY AT BUFORT K12 SC US REQUESTERS. WILL SUBSEQUENTLY RECEIVE A PHONE CALL DURING YOUR RESPECTIVE PUBLIC FORM TIME AND SHOULD BE READY TO SPEAK. CITIZENS DESIGNED TO PARTICIPATE IN PERSON MUST FILL OUT A PUBLIC COMMENT CARD THAT CAN BE OBTAINED FROM THE BOARD CLERK UPON ARRIVAL AND IN THE MEETING ROOM IN THE EVENT THE BOARD IS NOT FINISHED ADDRESSING ALL ITEMS LISTED ON THE MAY 21ST, 2024 AGENDA. THE BOARD WILL RECONVENE AT 6:00 PM TOMORROW EVENING. TO FINISH THE AGENDA ITEMS, WE NOW NEED A [Executive Session] MOTION TO GO INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION. COLONEL GEIER AND CHAIR, I MOVE, WE GO INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION FOR THE FOLLOWING REASONS. NUMBER ONE, RECEIPT OF LEGAL ADVICE RELATED TO PENDING AND SETTLED LEGAL CLAIMS COVERED BY ATTORNEY CLIENT PRIVILEGE PURSUANT TO SOUTH CAROL LOAD, SOUTH CAROLINA CODE SECTION 30 DASH FOUR DASH SEVEN ZERO A TWO. SECOND, RECEIPT OF LEGAL ADVICE AND ATTORNEY. ATTORNEY-CLIENT PRIVILEGE COMMUNICATION REGARDING PENDING WORKERS' COMPENSATION CLAIM PURSUANT TO SOUTH CAROLINA CODE SECTION 30 DASH FOUR DASH SEVEN A TWO. THIRD, A DISCUSSION OF PROPOSED AMENDMENT NUMBER TWO WITH LITTLE DIVERSIFIED ARCHITECTURAL CONSULTING FOR THE HILTON HEAD HIGH SCHOOL, REBUILD DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION ADMINISTRATION WORK PURSUANT TO SOUTH CAROLINA CODE SECTION 30 DASH FOUR DASH SEVEN ZERO A TWO. AND FINALLY, HOMESCHOOL REPORT PURSUANT TO SOUTH CAROLINA CODE SECTION THREE ZERO DASH FOUR DASH SEVEN A ONE. OKAY, SO THE MOTION WAS MADE BY COLONEL GEIER AND SECOND BY EARL CAMPBELL. ANY DISCUSSION? I CAN'T SEE ANYTHING ABOUT WHAT'S HAPPENING ONLINE. SO WHO IS PRESENT ONLINE? ELIZABETH CARLTON. CARLTON. OKAY. ANY QUESTIONS? ANY QUESTIONS FROM THOSE OF YOU ONLINE? NO. NONE HERE? NO. OKAY. AND IN PERSON? NO. ALL RIGHT. ALL IN FAVOR OF GOING INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION FOR THE REASONS LISTED BY COLONEL GUYER. PLEASE RAISE YOUR HAND IN PERSON. AYE. AYE. AYE. AYE. ALL RIGHT. ONLINE, GO ALPHABETICALLY. SAY YOUR NAME AND YOUR VOTE PLEASE VOTE. RIGHT. AYE. DOWN. AYE. A AYE, MS. GORDON. OKAY. SO THREE. SO WE'RE GOING INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION WITH SEVEN, UH, EYES. IT WAS UNANIMOUS FOR THOSE PRESENT. [Action as Necessary or Appropriate Regarding Matters Discussed in Executive Session] GOOD EVENING AND WELCOME TO THE BEAUFORT COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION BUSINESS MEETING OF MAY 21ST, 2024. THE BOARD, UH, WAS JUST AN EXECUTIVE SESSION AND WE ARE NOW BACK IN PUBLIC SESSION. WE HAVE FIVE, UH, MEMBERS IN PERSON AND THOSE OF YOU PARTICIPATING ONLINE, CAN YOU PLEASE, UH, IF YOU'RE PRESENT, JUST SAY YOUR LAST NAME AND TRY TO GO [00:05:01] ALPHABETICALLY VOTE RIGHT. I DALLAS, I GORDON, IKI. OKAY. WE CLEARLY HAVE A QUORUM. UH, THANK YOU TO THOSE OF YOU ONLINE AND IN, IN PERSON. SO WE NEED, UM, DO WE HAVE ANY ACTION AS NECESSARY OR APPROPRIATE REGARDING THE MATTERS DISCUSSED IN EXECUTIVE SESSION? COLONEL GEIER? YES, MA'AM. I MOVE THAT THE BEAUFORT COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION APPROVE THE SETTLEMENT AUTHORITY IN THE PENDING WORKERS' COMPENSATION CASE INVOLVING THE CLAIMANT, FEMALE CLAIMANT, CONSISTENT WITH THE TERMS DISCUSSED IN EXECUTIVE SESSION. SECOND. OKAY. THE, UH, MOTION MADE BY COLONEL GEIER, SECOND BY BY EARL CAMPBELL. ANY, UH, DISCUSSION? YES, MR. SMITH? DUE TO THE FACT THAT I AM NOT AWARE OF WHAT'S GOING ON, I'M GOING TO ABSTAIN. UH, JUST FOR OUR CLARITY, IF ANYONE SAID, UM, WONDER WHILE I'M STAYING, I'M NOT UNDER, I'M NOT AWARE OF WHAT'S GOING ON. THANK YOU. ALL RIGHT. THERE BEING NO QUESTIONS FROM THOSE OF YOU PARTICIPATING REMOTELY. FIRST WE'LL GO WITH THE, UH, UH, VOTING IN, IN PERSON. ALL THOSE IN FAVOR, PLEASE SAY AYE. AYE. AYE. AYE. AND SAY YOUR NAME WHEN YOU SAY AYE. ONLINE VOTE. RIGHT. AYE. GORDON. AYE. UH, DALLAS. AYE. SORRY. PAY. AYE. ALL RIGHT. AND SO WE DON'T HAVE ANY NOS AND WE HAVE SMITH ABSTAINING. SO THE MOTION CARRIES. AND THAT WOULD BE 8 0 1. MADAM CHAIR, I MOVE THAT THE BOARD OF EDUCATION APPROVE AMENDMENT NUMBER TWO WITH LITTLE DIVERSIFIED ARCHITECTURAL CONSULTING FOR THE REBUILD OF HILTON HEAD HIGH SCHOOL DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION ADMINISTRATIVE WORK FUNDED BY THE 2023 REFERENDUM IN THE AMOUNT OF 400 OR $4,307,000. SECOND. OKAY. ALL RIGHT. WE HAD A SECOND BY, UM, VICTOR NAY. ANY DISCUSSION? ALL RIGHT. ALL THOSE IN FAVOR, PLEASE SAY, AYE. THAT ARE PRESENT. AYE. AYE. AND THEN ONLINE, YOUR NAME AND VOTE. OKAY. THANK YOU. YEAH. GOOD. AND AYE. A AYE A, RIGHT. ANY NAYS AND ABSTENTION? NO ABSTAINS. OKAY. SO THE MOTION CARRIES 8 0 1. DO YOU HAVE ANY FURTHER, UM, MOTIONS COMING OUT OF EXECUTIVE SESSION. COLONEL GEIER? NO, MA'AM. CHAIR. OKAY. THANK YOU. [Approval of Agenda] ALL RIGHT. NEXT ON OUR AGENDA IS A MOTION TO APPROVE THE AGENDA. SO MOVED. THANK YOU VICTOR. NAY? A SECOND. OKAY. THANK YOU. UM, MR. DALLAS. SECOND THE MOTION. ANY DISCUSSION? ALL RIGHT. ALL IN FAVOR? AYE. AYE. AYE. AYE. AYE. DALLAS. AYE. GORDON. AYE. AYE. ANY NAYS? AND ANY ABSTENTIONS? I GONNA STAY. OKAY. THANK YOU. YOU VOTE SO THAT THE, UH, AGENDAS APPROVED, 8 0 1. NEXT [Pledge of Allegiance, Moment of Silence, Statement of Media Notification] WE WILL, UH, STAND FOR THE PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE, PLEDGE OF TO THE FLAG, THE FLAG. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, REPUBLIC FOR RICHES ONE NATION UNDER THEIR AND LIBERTY JUSTICE FOR ALL. AND THIS IS FOR ALL. UH, PLEASE REMAIN STANDING. WE WILL HAVE A MOMENT OF SILENCE FOR ROBERTA A SMALLS WHO WORKED FOR BEAUFORT COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT AS A BOOKKEEPER FOR 34 YEARS, AND SHE PASSED AWAY ON FRIDAY, MAY 10TH. PLEASE BE SEATED. THE MEDIA HAS BEEN PROPERLY NOTIFIED. [Student Performance] SO TONIGHT OUR STUDENT PERFORMANCE ARE THE HILL HILTON HEAD ELEMENTARY, SINGING OTTERS WITH THEIR NICE BLUE SHIRTS, [00:10:01] PERFORMING FOLLOW THE RAINBOW, AND WALKING ON THE BEACH UNDER THE DIRECTION OF THE MUSIC TEACHER. MICHELLE KRAMER, WELCOME AND THANK YOU. WALKING ON THE BEACH. I LOVE IT WHEN I'M WALKING ON THE BEACH. I LOVE IT WHEN THE SHINES ON [00:15:44] ON THAT TO HEAR THEIR FULL PERFORMANCE. THEY WILL BE PERFORMING AT THE, UH, ELEMENTARY SCHOOL AT FIVE 30 ON THURSDAY. AND NO PUBLIC COMMENTS SURPRISING. THANK YOU TO THE SINGING OTTERS. [Points of Celebration] NEXT WE HAVE THE POINTS OF CELEBRATION, DR. RODRIGUEZ. THANK YOU. AND, UH, GOOD EVENING. UH, TONIGHT, UH, WE BEGIN WITH POINTS OF CELEBRATION. AND THE FIRST ITEM IS THE APRIL STUDENT OF THE MONTH. FOR SOUTHERN BEAUFORD COUNTY. OUR CHARACTER EDUCATION PROGRAM WAS FORMED TO SUPPORT PARENTS' EFFORTS TO DEVELOP GOOD CHARACTER IN THEIR CHILDREN. AND TONIGHT WE'RE CELEBRATING THE CHARACTER EDUCATION, UH, EDUCATION STUDENT OF THE MONTH, EXHIBITING THE CHARACTER TRAIT OF FORGIVENESS. FORGIVENESS IS DEFINED AS TO STOP FEELING ANGER TOWARD SOMEONE WHO HAS DONE SOMETHING WRONG. APRIL STUDENT OF THE MONTH FOR SOUTHERN BEAUFORT COUNTY IS FINLAY ROBLE, AN EIGHTH GRADER AT BLUFFTON MIDDLE SCHOOL. AND HERE TO INTRODUCE FINLAY IS PRINCIPAL MATT HALL. WE TOLD FINLEY THAT SHE WAS GONNA HAVE TO SPEAK TONIGHT. SAID YOU WANT TO TELL EVERYBODY ABOUT YOURSELF. JUST KIDDING. FINLEY. UM, I'M GONNA READ WHAT THE TEACHERS, UH, SHARED WITH EVERYONE RELATED TO FINLEY. UH, THEY WROTE THAT GANDHI FAMOUSLY SAID, THE WEAK CAN NEVER FORGIVE. FORGIVENESS IS THE ATTRIBUTE OF THE STRONG, THE EIGHTH GRADE MUSTANG OF THE MONTH. AND NOW SOUTHERN BEAUFORT COUNTY, UH, STUDENT OF THE MONTH EMBODIES THIS VERY BELIEF EVERY SINGLE DAY. THIS MUSTANG SHOWS THEIR STRENGTH THROUGH UNDERSTANDING, ACCEPTANCE AND THEIR FORGIVING PERSONALITY. THEY DO NOT ALLOW THEMSELVES, THEIR TEAMMATES, CLASSMATES, OR TEACHERS TO DWELL ON MISSTEPS OR DEFEATS. BUT INSTEAD THEY PROMOTE LEARNING FROM THE MISTAKES AND FINDING A PATH TO SUCCESS DURING MOMENTS OF ADVERSITY. THEY DO NOT BLAME PEERS FOR FAILURES, BUT INSTEAD, THEY THANK THEIR PEERS FOR THEIR HARD WORK IDEAS AND THE VALUE THEY BROUGHT TO THE TEAM. THIS STUDENT EMBRACES THE POWER OF POSITIVITY AND RELEASES NEGATIVE EMOTIONS WITH MATURITY AND GRACE. WELL BEYOND THEIR YEARS, EMPATHY AND COMPASSION COME NATURALLY TO THIS LEADER, WHICH IS WHY IT IS WITH GREAT PLEASURE THAT WE NAME FINLEY ROBLE AS NOT ONLY OUR EIGHTH GRADE MUSTANG IN LA MONTH, BUT AS OUR SOUTHERN BEAUFORT COUNTY, BEAUFORT COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT MUST OR STUDENT OF THE MONTH. SO FINDLAY ON BEHALF OF BLUFFTON MIDDLE SCHOOL, THIS IS A TREMENDOUS STUDENT. I KNOW DR. RODRIGUEZ, YOU GOT TO SHARE A MOMENT WITH HER AT THE JUNIOR SCHOLARS BANQUET. SO SHE IS A JUNIOR SCHOLAR. SHE IS A LEADER IN OUR ORCHESTRA. SHE IS IN ALL HIGH SCHOOL CREDIT CLASSES, UH, AND SHE IS WELL ON HER WAY TO BEING ONE OF THE BEST STUDENTS YOU HAVE EVER SEEN IN BEAUFORT COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT. SO, CONGRATULATIONS, FINLEY. [00:20:05] THE NEXT ITEM IS SOUTH CAROLINA ART EDUCATION ASSOCIATION. YOUTH ART MONTH WINNER MARCH WAS YOUTH ART MONTH AND IS A CELEBRATION OF THE VISUAL ARTS DURING YOUTH ART MONTH. THE SOUTH CAROLINA ART EDUCATION ASSOCIATION HOSTS A CONTEST FOR STUDENTS WITH WINNING ENTRIES FEATURED AT THE S-A-S-C-A-E-A STATE CONFERENCE IN NOVEMBER, AND AT THE NAEA CONFERENCE IN MARCH, 2025. WE LEARNED EARLIER THIS MONTH THAT BCSD HAS AN ARTIST WHO PLAYS FIRST IN THE LOWER REGION HIGH SCHOOL DIVISION ON NORA MAYERS FROM HILTON HEAD ISLAND HIGH SCHOOL. AND HERE TO INTRODUCE ON, LAURA IS HILTON HEAD ISLAND HIGH ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL KRISTEN AUSTIN. SO YOU MENTIONED ALREADY WHAT I HAD TO SAY, BUT LET ME JUST REITERATE THAT THIS IS LUCKY AND LUCKY, UM, COMPETED IN THE LOWER STATE REGION FOR THE YOUTH ART MONTH AND SHE WAS THE WINNER. AND, UH, HER DRAWING IS A CHARCOAL DRAWING CALLED REFLECTION. AND SHE NOT ONLY WON FOR OUR REGION, BUT SHE ALSO WON FOR THE STATE. THIS IS A FIRST FOR BEAUFORT COUNTY AND FOR HILTON HEAD ISLAND HIGH SCHOOL. SO, CONGRATULATIONS. LUCKY CONGRATULATIONS. KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK. THE NEXT ITEM THIS EVENING IS MIDDLE SCHOOL COACHES CHOICE COACH OF THE YEAR. IN OUR LAST COUPLE OF MEETINGS, WE'VE RECOGNIZED THE COACHES AND PLAYERS OF THE YEAR FOR MIDDLE SCHOOL FALL SPORTS. TONIGHT WE'RE RECOGNIZING COACHES AND PLAYERS OF THE YEAR FOR MIDDLE SCHOOL SPRING SPORTS. HERE TO INTRODUCE HERE TO INTRODUCE THE COACHES OF THE, OF COACHES AND PLAYERS OF THE YEAR ARE THEIR PRINCIPALS. SO IF YOU ALL COME UP TO THE FRONT AND, UH, WE CAN HAVE YOU INTRODUCE YOUR COACHES AND PLAYERS VIDEO. GOOD EVENING EVERYONE. I'M RYAN MILLING, PRINCIPAL OF H MCCRACKEN MIDDLE SCHOOL. UH, PROUD TO ANNOUNCE, UM, THAT OUR SOCCER TEAM WHEN OUR SOCCER CHAMPIONSHIP THIS, UM, THIS YEAR. AND WE ARE EXCITED ABOUT THAT. OUR GIRLS MADE A LOT OF PROGRESS. UM, ALL BECAUSE OF, UH, MISS RE REVEAL'S DEDICATION AND SEEING THE GOOD IN OUR GIRLS AND GETTING THEM TO PLAY AS A TEAM. YOU GUYS KNOW HOW IMPORTANT THAT IS. SO THE, THIS GOES TO CERTIFICATE OF RECOGNITION. OUR COACH OF THE YEAR FOR GIRLS SOCCER IS EMILY VILLE. ALRIGHT, WELL ALSO, UH, FROM THAT WINNING SQUAD WE HAVE KENDALL BRIBERRY. YOU GUYS KNOW THERE'S A LOT OF GREAT THINGS THAT COME INTO MAKING A GOOD PLAYER ON A CHAMPIONSHIP TEAM, AND SHE'S A GREAT STUDENT AND GREAT PERSON AS WELL. SO WE ARE PROUD THAT KENDALL IS OUR, UM, SOCCER ATHLETE FOR GIRLS OF THE YEAR. AMEN. [00:25:40] ALRIGHT, THANK YOU. AND WELCOME. UH, I'D LIKE TO START THIS EVENING, UM, BY CELEBRATING ONE OF OUR ATHLETES, ONE OF OUR BASEBALL PLAYERS. UM, SOMEONE WHO NO MATTER WHAT WAS GOING ON IN THE GAME, GAVE IT THEIR ALL DURING THE SCHOOL DAY, WORKED HARD AND WAS A MODEL STUDENT AND A MODEL STUDENT ATHLETE. SO PLEASE COME ON UP. MR. ISAAC ROMAN. THANK YOU. ALRIGHT. I'M PRIVILEGED TO, UH, BE ABLE TO GIVE AWAY A FEW COACH AWARDS THIS EVENING AS WELL ON THEIR CHAMPIONSHIP BASEBALL SEASON WHERE ISAAC WAS ONE OF THE PLAYERS. PLEASE CONGRATULATE OUR BASEBALL COACH, MR. BOBBY FREEMAN. COME ON UP. ALRIGHT, NEXT UP ON AN OUTSTANDING SEASON, UH, HER FIRST SEASON WITH THIS TEAM, WORKING HARD IN THE MORNINGS AFTER SCHOOL, MAKING THE GIRLS WORK HARD, MAKING 'EM EARN IT EVERY GAME. MISS ANGELINA HIDDEN. COME ON UP. CONGRATULATIONS. ALRIGHTY. AND WE ALSO HAVE OUR GIRLS TRACK COACH WHO WORKED HARD THIS SEASON, ALL SEASON LONG, EVEN THROUGH, UM, PLANNING AND CARRYING OUT A WEDDING. MS. HALEY, EASTER EDWARDS. COME ON UP. ALRIGHT, FROM, SORRY, CLINT, UH, FROM BOSTON MIDDLE SCHOOL. UH, WE HAD A TREMENDOUS SPRING SEASON. UH, FIVE OF OUR SIX TEAMS, UH, WERE EITHER THE, UH, CHAMPIONS OF THE LEAGUE OR RUNNERS UP. UH, AND SO WE ARE VERY, VERY PROUD OF ALL THE SUCCESS OF OUR STUDENT ATHLETES, UM, AND VERY GRATEFUL FOR THE LEADERSHIP THAT THEY HAD ON THE FIELD, UH, THIS YEAR. SO, UH, WE'LL START WITH OUR COACHES WHO ARE RECEIVING, UH, THE COACH OF THE YEAR AWARD, UH, FOR OUR BOYS SOCCER TEAM. UH, MR. TREY AUSTIN FROM OUR GIRLS, UH, CHAMPIONSHIP SOFTBALL TEAM. UH, MR. JAMES BASEL, OUR LONGTIME COACH, UH, AT BLUFFTON MIDDLE SCHOOL. UH, THIS AWARD, UH, WAS FOR COACH FIELDS WHO HAS LED OUR BASEBALL TEAM, UH, TO ANOTHER SUCCESSFUL SEASON. UH, SO COACH FIELDS COME ON UP AND ACCEPT THAT AWARD COACH OF THE YEAR AND IN TRACK AND FIELD. UH, THIS ONE [00:30:01] GOES TO A COACH WHO HAS MORE ATHLETES UNDER THEIR DIRECTION THAN, UH, MANY OTHER SPORTS. UH, 60 TO 70 ATHLETES EVERY YEAR. UH, OUR BOYS WERE COUNTY CHAMPIONS THIS YEAR, AND THE GIRLS WERE RUNNERS UP. UH, SO PLEASE HELP ME IN CONGRATULATING COACH DARREN WEINGART ON TRACK OF THE, UH, COACH OF THE YEAR FOR TRACK. AND WE ARE HAPPY TO ANNOUNCE TWO, UH, STUDENT ATHLETES OF THE YEAR. UH, FIRST UP FROM OUR COUNTY CHAMPION SOFTBALL TEAM, UH, MISS AMELIA CARINI KNEE, AND FROM OUR BOYS CHAMPIONSHIP SOCCER TEAM. UH, A GUY WHO ABSOLUTELY STOOD OUT ON THE FIELD, A GREAT RECOGNITION FOR HIM. BOY, SOCCER PLAYER OF THE YEAR FOR BEAUFORT COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT GOES TO JULIAN GONZALEZ. DR. GLAD THAT CONCLUDES OUR POINTS OF CELEBRATION THIS EVENING. THANK YOU. THANK CONGRATULATIONS TO THE COACHES AND THE PLAYERS. DO WE HAVE ANY FIRST PUBLIC COMMENTS? OKAY. SO WE DO NOT HAVE ANY, UH, FIRST PUBLIC COMMENTS TONIGHT [Chair’s Report] FOR THE CHAIR REPORT. THIS IS OUR LAST, UM, BOARD MEETING BEFORE OUR GRADUATIONS. AND SO THE BOARD MEMBERS WILL BE ATTENDING A NUMBER OF THE GRADUATIONS, BUT WE WANNA CONGRATULATE THE STUDENTS AND THEIR FAMILIES, UM, FOR THEIR ACADEMIC ACCOMPLISHMENTS. AND WE HOPE TO BE CELEBRATING WITH MANY OF YOU IN JUST ANOTHER COUPLE OF WEEKS. [Committee Reports] NEXT ON OUR AGENDA ARE THE COMMITTEE REPORTS AND FIRST REPORTING IS, UH, FINANCE CHAIR COLONEL GEIER. THANK YOU, MADAM CHAIR. ON MAY 16TH, THE FINANCE COMMITTEE MET AND, UM, MS. TANYA CROSBY PRESENTED THE FOLLOWING REPORTS, MONTHLY BOARD OF EDUCATION BUDGET, MONTHLY $100,000 REPORT FOR THE MONTH OF MARCH, AND THE TRANSPARENCY REPORT FOR THE MONTH OF MARCH. UH, THERE WERE A FEW MINOR QUESTIONS, ALL OF WHICH WERE ANSWERED SATISFACTORILY. UH, MS. DENISE MATSON PROVIDED AN EXECUTIVE SUMMARY OF ESSER FUNDS THROUGH APRIL 30TH, 2024. AND, UH, AGAIN, WE ARE ON A, UH, EXCELLENT GUIDE SLOPE, UH, TO SPEND ALL THE ESSER FUNDS BEFORE THE END OF THE, UH, FISCAL YEAR. MS. CROSBY ALSO PRESENTED THE THIRD QUARTER FINANCIAL REPORT FOR FISCAL YEAR 20, UH, FOUR, AND THAT, UH, BOARD MEMBERS HAVE THAT IN THEIR PACKET. UH, HIGHLIGHTS, FOLLOW A LOCAL PROPERTY TAX COLLECTION AT THE END OF THE THIRD QUARTER. FISCAL YEAR 24 ARE REPORTED AT 199.9 MILLION, OR ONE OH 2%, 102%. THAT'S, UH, PRIOR YEAR ALLOCATIONS WERE 99.9%. THIS VARIANCE DEMONSTRATES TO, UH, STRONG TAX COLLECTIONS FOR THE FIRST TIME IN 20 PLUS YEARS. A TAX ANTICIPATION NOTE WAS NOT ISSUED IN THE THIRD QUARTER LIKE WE HAVE DONE BECAUSE OUR FUND BALANCE IS SUFFICIENT TO COVER OUR EXPENSES UNTIL STATE REVENUES ARRIVE. STATE REVENUES WERE 91.4 MILLION OR 74.8% AT THE END OF THE THIRD QUARTER. PRIOR YEAR COLLECTIONS WERE 65.1%, SO WE ARE AHEAD GENERAL FUND EXPENDITURES. THIRD QUARTER FISCAL YEAR 24 SPENDING IS REPORTED AT $226.8 MILLION OR 70.8% OF THE BUDGET. PRIOR YEAR SPENDING WAS AT 76.8%. WE ARE ALSO WITH INTOLERANCE [00:35:02] UNDER DEBT SERVICE FUND. THE S CGO INSTALLMENT PURCHASE REVENUE BOND WAS PAID IN FULL IN FEBRUARY, 2024. THIS TRANSACTION AFFECTED BOTH THE GENERAL FUND AND THE DEBT SERVICE FUND IN THE AMOUNT OF $12.6 MILLION AND RESULTED IN TAXPAYER SAVINGS OF $833,674 UNDER THE CAPITAL PROJECTS FUND. THE 2019 REFERENDUM PROJECTS ARE 99.3% ENCUMBERED OR PAID AS OF MARCH 31ST, 2024. LASTLY, DENISE MATSON PROVIDED A TITLE ONE OVERVIEW, AND SHE'S GOING TO COME UP AND GIVE THE BOARD THE FULL BOARD A BRIEFING ON THIS. THE FINANCE COMMITTEE HAD MANY QUESTIONS AND ASK THAT MS. MATSON BRIEF THE BOARD AND AN OVERVIEW SO THAT YOU ARE FAMILIAR WITH THE ISSUE AND THEN THAT WE WILL TALK ABOUT IT AT DETAIL, GREAT DETAIL AT AN UPCOMING, UH, WORK SESSION. SO, MS. MATSON, GOOD EVENING. THANK YOU, CHAIR AND BOARD. GOOD EVENING. COULD YOU SPEAK INTO THE MIC PLEASE? THANK YOU. YES. OKAY. THANK YOU. ALRIGHT, THANK YOU . UM, YOU HAVE PROVIDED IN YOUR PACKET A THREE PAGE OVERVIEW. UM, BRIEFLY, I PUT EVERYTHING ON ONE A ONE PAGER SO THAT YOU WOULD HAVE THAT, UM, EASILY ACCESSIBLE. UM, FIRST I BROKE DOWN. WHAT IS TITLE ONE? TITLE ONE IS JUST ONE OF OUR FEDERAL FUNDING, UM, PROGRAMS. IT IS THE LARGEST ONE THAT WE HAVE. AND, UM, IT WAS, IT'S BEEN LAW SINCE 1965, SO IT'S BEEN AROUND A LONG TIME. UM, THERE'S BEEN CHANGES TO IT, UM, OVER, OVER THE YEARS. UH, CURRENTLY WE HAVE 18 SCHOOLS THAT ARE TITLE ONE, UH, BEAUFORT COUNTY SCHOOLS, AND WE ALSO HAVE TWO PRIVATE SCHOOLS WHO PARTICIPATE IN EQUITABLE SERVICES WITH THAT PROGRAM. AND HOW DOES IT WORK? UM, WAS THE NEXT SECTION YOU'LL SEE THERE BRIEFLY. UM, WE ARE ALLOCATED AN AMOUNT OF MONEY THROUGH. IT COMES FROM THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT THROUGH THE STATE TO US EVERY YEAR. UM, ACTUALLY WE HAVE BEEN SEEING A DECLINE IN OUR ALLOCATION, UM, OVER THE PAST, UH, COUPLE YEARS. IT'S TOTAL TO ABOUT $500,000 THERE. SO WHEN WE RECEIVE THAT ALLOCATION, UM, THE STATE ALSO SENDS US THE PERCENT OF PUPILS IN POVERTY AT EACH OF OUR SCHOOLS. AND WE ACTUALLY WILL THEN DETERMINE OR A P PUPILS IN POVERTY PERCENTAGE. AND YOU CAN SEE THE LIST OF SCHOOLS, IF YOU'LL LOOK AT TABLE A OF YOUR, UM, DOCUMENT. SO I WILL, UM, PRO TAKE EACH OF OUR SCHOOLS, AND YOU CAN SEE THEY HAVE A PIP OR PUPILS IN POVERTY, UM, PERCENTAGE FAR RIGHT WITH EACH SCHOOL. AND THEY'RE SIMPLY RANKED ORDER BY THAT POVERTY, UM, PERCENTAGE. UM, THE LAW REQUIRES THAT YOU MUST SERVE SCHOOLS AT 75% OR ABOVE. UM, THAT'S A REQUIREMENT. UM, BUT AFTER THAT, YOU HAVE SOME FLEXIBILITY OF HOW YOU LOOK AT YOUR SCHOOLS. UM, BEAUFORT COUNTY, UM, DOES A GRADE SPAN. SO AFTER WE DO OUR MANDATORY SCHOOLS, WE THEN SORT EACH OF THE GRADE SPANS BY THE, UM, PUPIL AND POVERTY PERCENTAGE. UM, THE TABLE AT THE BOTTOM OF THIS SHOWS OUR, UM, PERCENTAGES THAT ANY IN THE FIRST AREA IT SAYS ELEMENTARY. UM, ANY SCHOOL THAT THEIR PIP IS ABOVE, UM, 55, THEY ARE TITLE ONE. THEY ARE ELIGIBLE FOR TITLE ONE, UH, SERVICES. UM, AND THEN IN THE K EIGHT, WE HAVE THE SAME BREAKDOWN IN MIDDLE SCHOOLS. UM, THE 65% IS THE, [00:40:01] UM, NUMBER THAT WE LOOK IN A GRADE SPAN TO SEE WHO WOULD ACTUALLY BE SERVED THERE. AND THEN HIGH SCHOOLS, 75% IS THEIR, UM, PERCENTAGE OF SERVING. WE REVIEW THIS, UM, WITH LEADERSHIP EVERY YEAR TO LOOK AT IF WE WANT TO ADJUST HOW MANY, WHAT OUR PERCENTAGES IN SERVING THE LITTLE RED LINES IN YOUR SECTIONS. THAT'S THE NUMBER. THOSE ARE THE SCHOOLS ABOVE THAT LINE ARE THE ONES WE SERVE. AND YOU CAN SEE THAT. UM, SO THAT'S HOW WE DECIDE, THAT'S HOW IT'S DECIDED WHO'S ACTUALLY RECEIVING TITLE ONE FUNDS. YOU CAN TELL THAT BEAUFORD COUNTY DOES GO DOWN TO A LOWER PERCENTAGE RATE WITH ELEMENTARY BECAUSE EARLY INTERVENTION HAS BEEN THE, UH, MODEL FOR THAT. AND SO THAT'S THE PROCESS THAT WE'VE GONE INTO. WE DO LOOK TO SEE, UM, HOW THE SCHOOLS ARE CHANGING IN THAT. AND INTERESTING, UM, THING ON THIS, IT, ANY SCHOOL OVER 40% COULD BE ELIGIBLE FOR TITLE ONE FUNDS. HOWEVER, WHEN YOU DO THAT, YOU SPREAD IT REAL THIN AMONG EVERYBODY BECAUSE YOU ONLY GET ONE AMOUNT. IT DOESN'T CHANGE BASED ON THE NUMBER OF SCHOOLS THAT YOU HAVE. SO THAT'S HOW WE DECIDE, UM, WHO IS ACTUALLY TITLE I. AND THEN YOUR LAST PAGE WILL SHOW YOU THE, THE SCHOOLS THAT WERE SCHOOL-WIDE PROGRAMS. UM, AND THAT'S WHAT WE HAVE A TITLE ONE SCHOOL-WIDE PROGRAM IN THESE 18 SCHOOLS. AND YOU CAN SEE THE FAR RIGHT IS WHAT THEIR, UM, CURRENT YEAR ALLOCATION IS. ARE THERE ANY QUESTIONS? UM, YEAH. SO A SO ACTUALLY YOU'RE TELLING ME THAT, AND AS FAR, UH, AND IN THIS FAR GREEN COLUMN IS THE ACTUAL AMOUNT OF MONEY THAT EACH SCHOOL IS BEING ALLOTTED THROUGH THE TOTAL OF FUNDS THAT WE, THAT WE RECEIVE THE TITLE ONE PROGRAM? YES. THROUGH, THROUGH, THROUGH THE TITLE ONE PROGRAM CORRECTION. MM-HMM, RIGHT ON THAT. AND YOU, AND YOU SAID THE DISTRICT MAKE THE DECISIONS UPON THIS MONEY BASED ON THE PERCENTAGE THAT THAT THEY'RE GIVEN. IS THAT, IS THAT CORRECT? CORRECT. THEY, THAT'S WHO'S ACTUALLY SERVED THERE. AND THEN EACH OF THEM, YOU GET A PER PUPIL AMOUNT BASED ON THE NUMBER OF ECONOMICALLY, UM, OR PUPILS IN POVERTY ON THEIR SCHOOL. IT'S THE CALCULATION. UM, IF YOU GO ACROSS THE TOP LINE, YOU SEE THEIR TOTAL ENROLLMENT. HOW MANY STUDENTS ARE PIP, THEIR PERCENTAGE, WHAT TYPE OF TITLE ONE SERVICE THEY GET IS SCHOOL-WIDE. UM, THEY GET, THIS SCHOOL GETS 900, UH, PER PIP. SO FOR 252,000. AND THEN ALSO A REQUIREMENT IS TO SPEND PARENTING FUNDS, UM, AT EACH SCHOOL. AND THEY GET $11 PER, UM, PIP STUDENT FOR A TOTAL OF, UM, 2 55, UM, 80 THERE. AND ALSO EXACTLY WHAT, WHAT, WHAT'S THE, AND, AND GOING FROM TO, I, I KNOW THIS TO ENHANCE THE EDUCATIONAL PROCESS, BUT WHAT EXACTLY CAN THIS MONEY CAN AND CANNOT BE SPENT ON? CAN YOU, CAN YOU EDUCATE THE PUBLIC ON THAT? UM, WHAT IT CANNOT BE SPENT ON? UM, WELL, THE QUESTION IS WHAT CAN THE MONEY CAN, WHAT, WHAT THE MONEY, WHAT CAN THE MONEY BE SPENT ON AND WHAT CAN'T THE MONEY BE SPENT ON? 'CAUSE YOU EDUCATION, COULD YOU EDUCATE THE PUBLIC? THE MONEY IS SPENT ON EDUCATIONAL, UM, ONLY FOR THAT, AND IT'S TO MEET YOUR SCHOOL GOALS THERE. SO IT'S, UM, BUT THERE ARE LOTS OF RULES OF WHAT YOU CAN'T SPEND IT ON. UM, MOST PEOPLE DO. UM, A STAFF MEMBER, AN EXTRA STAFF MEMBER, THEY DO SUPPLIES, ADDITIONAL SUPPLIES. UM, THERE'S TUTORS THAT COME IN. SO THERE'S LOTS OF WAYS IT'S REALLY EDUCATIONAL, UH, USES. SO NOW FOR INSTANCE, LIKE A PARENT UNIVERSITY, IT COULD BE DONE WELL, PARENTING EDUCATION. YES. THAT IS A EXCELLENT, UM, ACTIVITY. OKAY. AND WHAT CAN IT BE SPENT ON? UM, FOOD FOR ONE IS ALWAYS ONE OF THOSE, RIGHT? UM, UM, LET'S SEE. ENTERTAINMENT, IT'S NOT ALLOWED FOR ENTERTAINMENT. UM, IF YOU WANNA TAKE YOUR STUDENTS ON A CO-CURRICULAR FIELD TRIP, SOMETHING THAT'S TIED TO STANDARDS THAT'S ALLOWABLE, BUT YOU CAN'T TAKE 'EM TO A PLACE LIKE CAR OWENS FOR, UM, ENTERTAINMENT. [00:45:01] SO WE CALL THOSE EDUCATIONAL EXPERIENCES. UM, THERE'S A, THERE'S A ALSO LOT MORE IN THIS, THAT EACH OF THE ACTIVITIES AND HOW THEY SPEND IT HAS TO SUPPORT A GOAL THAT IS IN THEIR, UM, SCHOOL RENEWAL PLAN. AND ALSO THAT THEY'VE IDENTIFIED IT AS A NEED. I MEAN, THAT, I'M SURE IF ANYONE ELSE HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, DO WE HAVE ANY QUESTIONS FROM THOSE OF YOU ONLINE? COMMENT A A AGAIN, WE'RE, WE'RE GOING TO BE TALKING, UH, GREAT DETAIL ON THIS, ON EXACTLY HOW THE FUNDS ARE BROKEN OUT IN A WORK SESSION. THERE'S, THERE'S A LOT OF, A LOT OF MOVING PIECES. SO WE, WE REALLY DIDN'T WANT TO TRY TO DEAL WITH ALL THOSE QUESTIONS TONIGHT, BUT TO PUT IT AT A WORK SESSION. OKAY. WELL, I'LL JUST SAY THAT I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO BEING, BEING, UH, MORE, UH, TAKING A DEEPER DIVE IN THIS CONVERSATION IN TERMS OF THE EDUCATIONAL COMPONENTS, COMPONENTS OF THIS, UH, SOONER THAN, SOONER RATHER THAN LATER. BECAUSE THIS IS A, THIS IS, UH, SOME VALUABLE INFORMATION. AND, UH, I THINK THAT THE GENERAL PUBLIC AND EVERYONE SHOULD UNDERSTAND IT AND UNDERSTAND THE IMPORTANCE FOR US TO CONTINUE GETTING THESE FUNDS AND ALSO PUSHING FOR THESE FUNDS IN, BECAUSE, UH, THIS IS A LITTLE, MAYBE, MAYBE FUNDS THAT OTHER SCHOOLS OR SOME SCHOOLS AREN'T GETTING THAT WE MAY NEED TO PUSH FORWARD. BUT ANYWAYS, BUT THAT'S, IT'S JUST, IT'S JUST GOOD INFORMATION AND THERE'S A LOT OF QUESTIONS OUT THERE. THANK YOU, MADAM CHAIR. BEFORE, I, I HAVE TWO MOTIONS TO GIVE FROM THE FINANCE COMMITTEE, BUT BEFORE I DO, ARE THERE ANY QUESTIONS FROM, UH, THE, THE FULL BOARD AS TO THE REPORTS THAT I HAVE GIVEN THUS FAR? NONE HERE. ALL RIGHT. ANY, ANY, ANYBODY ONLINE WANNA ASK ANY QUESTIONS? OKAY. IN PERSON, MS. OH, GO AHEAD. I DON'T HAVE ANY THAT THOUGHT I WAS GONNA SAY. OKAY. THANK YOU, MR. SMITH. NO, I, I DON'T HAVE ANY. OKAY. TH THANK YOU. NONE HERE, MADAM CHAIR. OKAY. THANK YOU. ALL RIGHT. IN PERSON, MR. SMITH. UM, CURRENT GUY, YOU EARLIER, I MEAN, MR. GUY, YOU SAID EARLIER THAT THERE WAS A QUESTION THAT THE FINANCE COMMITTEE HAVE A COUPLE QUESTIONS THAT THEY HAD, BUT THEY WERE ANSWERED. COULD YOU ELABORATE ON THAT, WHAT THOSE QUESTIONS WERE? OKAY. RIGHT. UH, THERE WAS A NUMBER OF ENTRIES THAT WERE, UH, WARRANTS. THERE WERE WARRANTS GIVEN OUT AND PAYMENTS WERE GIVEN, AND BASICALLY THAT THOSE WERE GARNISHMENTS. BUT ANYTIME I SEE ANYTHING ON THERE TO AN INDIVIDUAL, NOT A COMPANY, I QUESTION WHY THAT INDIVIDUAL IS GETTING PAID. AND IN THIS CASE, THE INDIVIDUAL THAT'S GETTING PAID IS ACTUALLY THE ATTORNEY, NOT, NOT THE INDIVIDUAL THAT HAS BEEN, UH, HIT WITH A, A, UH, NOT A WARRANT, BUT A, A GARNISHMENT, GARNISHMENT, GARNISHMENT OF THEIR PAY. BUT THOSE ARE THE KIND OF QUESTIONS THAT I LOOK FOR. AND THE BOARD LOOKS AT THAT. THE, THE COMMITTEE LOOKS AT IS UNUSUAL ENTRIES, LARGE, LARGE DOLLAR ENTRIES. AND WE ASK WHY THERE WAS ONE ENTRY THAT WAS LARGER THAN OTHERS, BUT FOUND OUT THAT IT WAS A MULTIPLE PAYMENT. AND THAT'S WHY IT WAS, IT WAS, UH, HIGHER THAN THE REST. YOU KNOW, THEY, THESE WERE REIMBURSEMENTS TO EMPLOYEES, AND THERE WAS ONE THAT WAS, MOST OF THEM ARE 40, $50. ONE OF 'EM WAS ABOUT $1,400. BUT WHAT THEY DID WAS THEY CONSOLIDATED THEIR, UH, REQUEST FOR REIMBURSEMENT, AND THEY PAID THEM IN A LUMP SUM WITH A CONSOLIDATION. THAT'S THE KIND OF THING THAT WE LOOK AT AND SPEND TIME AT THE COMMITTEE LEVEL, UH, EVERY, EVERY MONTH WHEN IT COMES IN. THANK YOU. OKAY, MADAM CHAIR, I HAVE TWO MOTIONS. THESE ARE MOTIONS THAT COME, UH, EVERY YEAR. UH, ONE OF 'EM HAS TO DO WITH, UH, UH, GRANTS, UH, ALLOWING THE SUPERINTENDENT TO APPLY FOR GRANTS. AND THE SECOND MOTION IS ABOUT FILING OF OUR E-RATE FUNDING, UH, TO THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT. AND SO, THE FIRST MOTION I WILL GIVE, NOW, I MOVE THAT THE BUFORT COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION APPROVE THE RESOLUTION TO AUTHORIZE THE SUPERINTENDENT OR DESIGNEE TO APPLY FOR SIGN, SUBMIT AND ADMINISTER FEDERAL, STATE, LOCAL, AND FOUNDATION GRANT APPLICATIONS AND COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS FOR THE 20 24 20 25 SCHOOL YEAR. OKAY. THANK YOU. UM, COLONEL GEIER MADE [00:50:01] THE MOTION, MR. CAMPBELL, UH, SECOND THE MOTION. ANY DISCUSSION? MR. NAY? THANK YOU, MADAM CHAIR. UH, COULD YOU MAYBE GO INTO SLOW A LITTLE BIT OF DETAIL AS TO WHY WE HAVE TO DO THIS EVERY YEAR AND WHY WE CAN'T JUST MAKE IT A STANDING POLICY? UH, MS. CROSBY, MS. CROSBY, HELLO? DID YOU HEAR THE QUESTION? YES, YES, MA'AM. UM, SO IN OUR, UM, ADMINISTRATIVE RULES, THE DISTRICT POLICIES, UH, OS SEVEN, UH, WHICH IS AN OPERATIONAL, UM, EXPECTATION, OR NOT AN EXPECTATION, BUT, UH, OPERATIONAL SERVICES, EXCUSE ME. IT DOES REQUIRE THAT WE ANNUALLY COME BEFORE THE BOARD TO GET APPROVAL FOR THIS AUTHORIZATION. SO THIS IS IN COMPLIANCE WITH THAT DISTRICT ADMINISTRATIVE RULE. SO MR. SMITH AND I, AND, UH, WITH THAT, WITH THAT, I DO REMEMBER I WAS TALKING ABOUT THAT ONE TIME BEFORE, AND, AND I THINK, AND, UM, HIS REACH SO THAT THERE'S, EVERYONE'S ON THE SAME PAGE, I BELIEVE, AS WELL. AND THAT ONE, ONCE WHAT, UH, GRANT STUFF COME BEFORE THE DISTRICT THAT THEY DO BRING THAT STUFF, UH, BRING THAT STUFF BACK TO US AND LET US KNOW. SO I THINK IT'S MORE OF A, OF US HOLDING THE DISTRICT ACCOUNTABLE AND, AND THE DISTRICT, UH, BEING HELD ACCOUNTABLE. SO I THINK IT'S A PART OF OUR JOB, A FUNCTION OF THE BOARD'S JOB. SO I SEE, I SEE. NO PROBLEM WITH IT. SO, UH, I, I, I MEAN, YEAH, JUST, JUST FROM, AS, FROM ME LEARNING WHEN I ASKED THAT QUESTION ONE TIME BEFORE. THANK YOU. ALRIGHT. ALL, ALL THOSE IN FAVOR OF THE MOTION, PLEASE SAY, AYE. AYE. AND ONLINE NAME AND VOTE. VOTE. RIGHT. A GORDON, A VAL AYE. PAY. AYE. ALL RIGHT. SO THE MOTION CARRIES 9 0 0 UNANIMOUSLY. FOR THOSE PRESENT, MADAM CHAIR, I MOVE THAT THE BUFORD COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION AUTHORIZED THE FILING OF E-RATE FUNDING YEAR 2024 APPLICATIONS FOR ELIGIBLE E-RATE CATEGORY ONE SERVICES. AND THAT BY DOING SO, THE BOARD ACKNOWLEDGE THAT IT WILL BUDGET FOR SUFFICIENT FUNDS TO PAY FOR THE DISTRICT'S SHARE OF THE SERVICES THAT ARE NOT SUPPORTED BY THE E-RATE PROGRAM. ALL RIGHT, COLONEL GUYER MADE THE MOTION AND, UH, MR. EARL CAMPBELL SECOND THE MOTION. ANY DISCUSSION, MR. SMITH? UM, THAT SEEMED TO BE A LOT. COULD YOU, UM, COULD YOU ELABORATE ON, ON, ON THAT A LITTLE BIT IN TERMS OF WHAT THAT LOOKED LIKE? SO, E-RATE IS A PROGRAM THROUGH THE FEDERAL COMMUNICATION COMMISSION. IT IS A PROGRAM SPECIFICALLY FOR SCHOOLS AND LIBRARIES. SO IT HELPS TO MAKE AFFORDABLE, MAKE, UH, COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS, TELECOMMUNICATIONS AND INTERNET SYSTEMS, UH, AFFORDABLE FOR SCHOOLS AND LIBRARIES. SO THIS PROGRAM, UH, PROVIDES A DISCOUNT FOR SCHOOL DISTRICTS, UM, WHERE THEY WOULD REIMBURSE US 80% OF CERTAIN SERVICES THAT ARE IN, THEY HAVE A CATEGORY ONE AND A CATEGORY TWO. CATEGORY ONE IS WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THIS EVENING, AND IT HAS TO DO WITH TELECOMMUNICATIONS SERVICES AND INTERNET. UM, THOSE FOR OUR DISTRICT ARE PAID TO HARRAY EACH YEAR. AND, UM, THE AMOUNT THAT WE ARE PAYING THIS YEAR IS ESTIMATED TO BE FIVE, UH, $715,000. UH, IF WE RECEIVE AUTHOR, WHAT YOU ARE AUTHORIZING THIS EVENING IS THAT THE DISTRICT WILL COMPENSATE, UH, WILL PAY OUR SHARE, UH, AND IN ORDER FOR, UH, THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT TO REIMBURSE US 80% OF THAT. SO, UH, OUR NET COST WILL BE $143,000 AFTER THE FEDERAL REBATE. SO, UM, THIS IS A BENEFIT TO THE DISTRICT THROUGH A FEDERAL PROGRAM. THANK YOU. DOES, DOES REQUIRE OUR ANNUAL, EACH TIME WE APPLY, WE ARE REQUIRED FROM THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT TO GET THAT APPROVAL EACH YEAR. MISS BO, MISS BOATRIGHT, THANK YOU. UM, I HAVE A SIMILAR QUESTION. IS THE SECOND PART OF THAT MOTION, SO WE'RE ACKNOWLEDGING THAT WE'RE BUDGETING SUFFICIENT FUNDS. HAVE WE DONE THAT? BECAUSE I DON'T REMEMBER, I'M NOT SURE EXACTLY WHAT'S INCLUDED IN ME. COULD YOU REPEAT YOUR QUESTION? I DIDN'T HEAR YOU. I APOLOGIZE. POSSIBLE FOR, SO, UM, INGRID, YOU BROKE UP A LITTLE BIT. CAN YOU JUST SAY, JUST REPEAT WHAT YOU SAID SURE. THIS ANY BETTER AT ALL? A LITTLE BIT, YES. ALL RIGHT. JUST HELP ME CLARIFY THE SECOND PART OF THAT MOTION. YES. THE PART THAT WE NEED TO ACKNOWLEDGE AND SUFFICIENTLY BUDGET FOR, YES. WE, UH, BUDGET FOR THE HAR GRAY SERVICES IN OUR TELECOMMUNICATIONS BUDGET. IT IS IN THE OPERATIONS CATEGORY OR A PROGRAM. AND SO [00:55:01] THAT, UH, BUDGET COVERS THE FULL A HUNDRED PERCENT OF THE AMOUNT OF, OF THE DISTRICT SHARE, EXCUSE ME, THE A HUNDRED PERCENT OF THE AMOUNT OF THE TOTAL SERVICES. WHEN WE RECEIVE REBATES BACK, WHICH COULD BE A YEAR OR TWO OR THREE FROM NOW, WHICH ARE RELATIVELY, UH, LAGGED BEHIND AFTER OUR, UH, REQUEST AND AND REIMBURSEMENT, THEN THOSE GO BACK IN AS A REVENUE SOURCE IN THE FEDERAL REVENUE SECTION OF OUR, UH, FINANCIAL STATEMENTS IN THE GENERAL. SO IT GOES BACK INTO THE GENERAL FUND AND HELPS OFFSET THE COSTS. SO, UH, WE DO SUFFICIENTLY BUDGET A HUNDRED PERCENT OF THOSE COSTS, UH, ANNUALLY. AND THEY ARE IN YOUR FY 24 AND FY 25 BUDGET, UH, PROPOSED BUDGETS AS WELL. THANK YOU. MM-HMM. , DOES THAT ANSWER YOUR QUESTION, MS. BOATWRIGHT? YES. I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE I UNDERSTOOD. OKAY. WHAT WAS INVOLVED IN THAT? THANK YOU. ANY OTHER QUESTIONS FROM THOSE ONLINE? NO. OKAY. READY TO VOTE? SO ALL THOSE IN, IN FAVOR, PLEASE SAY AYE. AYE. AYE. AYE. VOTE, RIGHT? AYE. DALLAS. AYE. GORDON. AYE. A AYE. ALL RIGHT. SO THE MOTION CARRIES UNANIMOUSLY. NINE, UM, ZERO ZERO. DAN, I'M SURE THAT CONCLUDES WE ONLY HAVE FOUR ONLINE. FIVE HERE. RACHEL IS ONLINE NOW. NO, RACHEL'S THE ONLY ONE. YEAH, THAT'S NINE FIVE HERE? YEAH, BUT SHE JUST TOLD ME THERE'S 10. PARDON? WOULD IT BE 10? I THOUGHT NINE. AND THERE'S FIVE IN THE ROOM. FOUR PLUS FIVE IS NINE. OKAY. WELL, THAT'S, YEAH, WE JUST WANNA BE SURE IT'S ACCURATE. THANK YOU, ROBIN. ALL RIGHT. WE'RE GOOD. MADAM CHAIR, THAT CONCLUDES THE FINANCE COMMITTEE REPORT. ALRIGHT, THANK YOU COLONEL. GEIER. NEXT ON OUR AGENDA, UH, IS, UH, OPERATIONS REPORTING. AND THAT IS, UH, CHAIRMAN CARLTON DALLAS, AND HE IS ONLINE CARLTON. THANK YOU. NOW, CHAIR. UM, WE HAD, UH, HAD SOME GOOD MEETINGS, UH, SINCE OUR LAST MEETING AND PRESENTATION. UH, A COUPLE OF THINGS WE'LL HIGHLIGHT. UH, THE BASICS ARE THAT, UH, THE 2019 REFERENDUM, UH, IS RIGHT AT, UH, CLOSURE. UM, AND WITH THE SPENDING AND THE PAID IN, UM, THERE'S JUST A FEW MILLION. UH, ONE THING THAT WE ARE WORKING IN COLLABORATION WITH THE, UH, FINANCE PEOPLE IS, UH, REALLY FOCUSING ON CLOSE OUT. UH, BUT OVERALL, WE'RE VERY PLEASED WITH THE PERFORMANCE, UH, OF THE COLLECTIVE TEAMS. UH, THERE ALSO IS, UH, ITEMS COMING, UH, CHARACTER, I'M SORRY, BOND 2019 BOND REFERENDUM. THE REMAINING PROJECTS REALLY, UH, IS, UM, ROBERT SMALL, WHERE WE HAVE A, AN A SMALL MINOR RED THERE. BUT ALL EVERYTHING ELSE IS GREEN. UM, ONLY 30 PROJECT CLOSEOUTS REMAIN, MEANING 190 PROJECTS HAVE BEEN COMPLETELY CLOSED OUT TO DATE, WHICH IS 99.14% OF PROJECTS COMPLETED. AND CONTINGENCY REMAINING IS $826,000. SO 2019 REFERENDUM IS LOOKING GOOD, PARTICULARLY ALL YOU LOOK IN VIEW OF ALL THE CHALLENGES WITH COVID AND SUPPLY CHAIN AND WHAT HAVE YOU. SO KUDOS TO THE TEAM ON THAT. UM, MOVING TO THE 2023 COURSE EARLY, ALL PROJECTS ARE GREEN, MAY RIVER, UH, HIGH SCHOOL FRONT ENTRANCE ARE RENDERING, REWORKING OUR COST TO ENSURE HOME BUDGET. GLAD TO SEE THAT. UH, THE TEAM IS REALLY LOOKING AT, UH, THINGS THAT WHERE WE CAN DECO WITHOUT NEGATIVELY IMPACTING THE QUALITY AND THE AESTHETICS OF WHAT'S BEING BILL. UM, HILTON HEAD, UM, ALSO IS MOVING FORWARD. YOU SAW IN THE, UH, MOTION TO APPROVE THE, THE, UM, THE PAYMENT, UH, FOR THE DESIGN. UH, THINGS ARE MOVING FORWARD THERE. IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN THE FACILITY ITSELF, YOU CAN NOW SEE SOME OF THE MOBILE, UH, MANAGEMENT, LEADERSHIP, UH, CONSTRUCTION UNITS THAT ARE ON SITE. UH, THERE'S A LOT OF BUZZ IN THE COMMUNITY, A LOT OF BUZZ. UH, WE ACTUALLY ARE PRESENTING ON THURSDAY TO A GROUP, UH, WHERE, YOU KNOW, WE'VE BEEN ASKED SPECIFICALLY BECAUSE OF, UH, THE, THE ENERGY THAT'S DEVELOPING ALONG THERE. THE OTHER ITEM THAT IS VERY IMPORTANT IS GROUNDBREAKING [01:00:01] TO BEAR ON MAY 8TH. THAT HAS BEEN WELL RECEIVED AND PUBLICIZED. AND WE ARE GOING TO HAVE THE, UM, CONTINGENT FOR OUR CONSTRUCTION. UH, R UH, SUPERINTENDENT RODRIGUEZ. UM, WE, WE, HE'S BEEN INVITED LARGEST POA ON HILTON HEAD, WHICH HAS ABOUT 10, ABOUT 25% OF THE VOTING POPULATION, BECAUSE THAT, UM, POA IS SO CLOSE TO THE HILTON HEAD CLUSTER OF SCHOOLS. AND THERE'S A LOT OF ENERGY AND A LOT OF YOUNG FAMILIES THAT WANT TO KNOW WHAT'S WHAT'S ACTUALLY GOING ON. AND THEY'RE VERY EXCITED ABOUT THAT. UM, THE OTHER ITEM I DO WANT TO SPEND A LITTLE BIT MORE TIME ON IS, ADDITIONALLY, THE 8% PLANNING HAS MAXED OUT PER BASE CONSENSUS AT $30 MILLION. WE HAVE ALSO BEEN FORTUNATE THAT THE TEAMS COLLECTIVELY HAVE ACHIEVED THAT TARGET AT 29.9 MILLION. HOWEVER, IN CONSULTATION WITH FINANCE AND OUR BOND ADVISOR EFFICIENCY, IF WE POTENTIALLY TO A LITTLE BIT HIGHER, UM, UH, PROJECT, UM, PLANNING. AND SO WE, WE BASICALLY HAVE MOVED ONE OF OUR MEETINGS SO THAT WE CAN SPEND A VERY CLEAR, SINGULAR FOCUS ON, UH, THOSE PROJECTS, THE ONES THAT WE WANT, SO THAT WE CAN BRING THOSE BACK TO THE BOARD. UM, SO, UH, I THINK MS. CRUTCHFIELD IS THERE. UH, MS. CRUTCHFIELD, UH, VERY INSTRUMENTAL IN HELPING MOVE SOME OF THE, WHAT, CUSTODIAL MAINTENANCE SHE'S GOING TO FILL IN, UH, FOR THAT. AND MS. , IF YOU WILL BE SO KIND IF YOU'RE THERE. I AM HERE. THANK YOU. SO I'M FILLING IN FOR ROBERT AND, UH, FOR BRANDY. SO, UH, WE DID GIVE A UPDATE ON WITNESS AND AS CUSTODIAL AT THE LAST OPERATIONS COMMITTEE. AND THEY REVIEWED, UM, MATERIALS THROUGH THE MONTH OF APRIL FOR CUSTODIAL. THERE WERE NO INSPECTIONS OR STAFFING VIOLATIONS THAT WERE NOTED DURING THAT PERIOD. UM, THE SERVICE PROVIDER IS SHOWCASING SUCCESSFULLY COMPLETING SPRING CLEANING SERVICES AT MULTIPLE LOCATIONS AND RECOGNIZING, UM, EMPLOYEES OF THE MONTH. THE CUSTODIAL SERVICES REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL SOLICITATION HAS BEEN PUBLISHED WITH A DEADLINE FOR SUBMITTALS OF MAY 31ST. UM, CUSTODIAL SCHOOL TOURS WERE COMPLETED WITH MULTIPLE VENDORS WHO WERE INTERESTED IN THAT CONTRACT, AND WE HAD A GREAT TURNOUT FOR THAT. IT WAS A TWO DAY, UH, TOUR FOR THOSE FOLKS. UM, MAINTENANCE WORK ORDER DATA, AND QUARTERLY TRENDING GRAPHS WERE PRESENTED TO THE COMMITTEE AS WELL. NO STAFFING VIOLATIONS DURING THAT REPORTING PERIOD. UM, THE MAINTENANCE SERVICE PROVIDER SHOWCASED SUCCESSFULLY COMPLETING VARIOUS SMALL PROJECTS AT MULTIPLE LOCATIONS IN A SCHOOL BLITZ AT OKEE. AND THEN, UM, THAT IS ALL YOU HAVE QUESTIONS? ANY QUESTIONS, MR. SMITH? UM, I WOULD JUST LIKE, SHE'D LIKE TO, UM, I WOULD HAVE A QUESTION. I HAVE A COMMENT. UM, UM, IN TERMS OF MRS. BRANDY, UM, LAST NAME NOW? MAJORS, MRS. MAJORS? YEAH. MAJOR. UH, I'D JUST LIKE TO, UH, YOU KNOW, YOU KNOW, I GIVE OUT COMMENTS, GIVE OUT COMMENTS PUBLICLY. MY MOM SAID, YOU SPANK ME PUBLICLY. YOU KNOW, THAT'S, I SPANK YOU PUBLICLY AND I PRAISE YOU PUBLICLY. MRS. MAJOR IN THAT DEPARTMENT HAS DONE A WONDERFUL JOB WITH, THEY HAVE REALLY CAME A LONG WAY FROM SOMEONE WHO'S BEEN ON OPERATIONS COMMITTEE SINCE THEY, THEY'VE, I'VE BEEN ON THE BOARD UP UNTIL, UH, PRIOR. BUT BEYOND THAT STORY, I STILL WATCH THAT COMMITTEE. AND MRS. MAJOR HAS DONE A WONDERFUL JOB WITH SHOWING US EXACTLY WHAT WE HAVE AND THE QUALITY OF A PERSON WHO TAKES PRIDE IN THEIR WORK AND SHOWING US EXACTLY WHAT THIS, WHAT, WHAT THE, UH, THE, UM, WORK ORDERS AND WHAT MAINTENANCE DEPARTS REALLY LOOKS LIKE. SO, I, I JUST WANNA GIVE HER A CLUES OUT TO HER PUBLICLY AND, AND LET YOU KNOW, DR. RODRIGUEZ, WE DO APPRECIATE THAT WHAT THAT DEPARTMENT BRINGS AND WHAT SHE'S BEEN BRINGING WITH THAT, BECAUSE HER WORK IS, IS VERY HARD. AND YOU CAN SEE IT IN THE, IN THE PRESENTATION. THANK YOU. THANK YOU TOO AS WELL. THANK YOU, MR. SMITH. TOTALLY AGREE. DO YOU HAVE ANY, ANY, UH, OTHER INFORMATION, MR. DALLAS? UH, NO MA'AM. NO MOVE. ALRIGHT. WELL, THANK YOU FOR YOUR REPORT. SO NO, NO MOTIONS RIGHT. COMING OUT OF OPERATIONS TODAY. CORRECT. THANK, THANK YOU. ALL RIGHT. THAT COMPLETES OUR COMMITTEE, UH, REPORTS FOR THE MEETING. NEXT UP ARE [Superintendent’s Report] THE SUPERINTENDENT'S REPORT, DR. RODRIGUEZ. [01:05:01] THANK YOU, UH, DR. GUS AND BOARD MEMBERS THIS EVENING. UNDER SUPERINTENDENT'S REPORT, UH, DR. STRATOS IS, UH, WORKING HER WAY UP AND UNDER, UH, GOAL NUMBER ONE, STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT. SHE'S GONNA COVER GRANT SUBMISSION. UH, SUMMARY UPDATE FOR, FOR THE BOARD. GOOD EVENING BOARD MEMBERS, THANK YOU FOR YOUR EARLIER MOTION. YOU'RE SUPPORTING MY PRESENTATION BOARD MEMBERS. YOU HAVE TWO DOCUMENTS THAT ARE INCLUDED IN YOUR BOARD DOCS. YOUR FIRST ONE IS TITLED BUFORT COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT GRANT SUB SUBMISSION TABLE. I'LL GO THROUGH THIS QUICKLY. WHAT I SEE THAT THERE ARE TWO ITEMS, NUMBER ONE AND NUMBER SIX, WHICH ARE HIGHLIGHTED. THIS TABLE SHARES THAT THESE TWO GRANTS WILL NOT HAVE ANY IMPACT ON PERSONNEL. SO THE TABLE GIVES YOU THE NAME OF THE GRANT, THE AMOUNT OF FUNDING, A QUICK NARRATIVE, THE TERM OF THE GRANT, DATE OF NOTIFICATION, AND AGAIN, IF PERSONNEL WILL BE IMPACTED. I'D LIKE TO LOOK AT ITEM NUMBER ONE. FOR EXAMPLE, 21ST CENTURY GRANT, WHERE WE ARE A PARTNER. THAT GRANT IS OUTSIDE OF US. WE ARE NOT A FISCAL AGENT. HOWEVER, IT DOES BENEFIT OUR SCHOOL SYSTEM FOR AN ESTIMATE OF THREE TO $5 MILLION. WHAT I DO WANNA SHARE WITH YOU WITH THIS GRANT LISTING IS THAT THERE'S A POTENTIALLY $43,314,837 IN THE GRANTS ON THIS TABLE, WHICH I BELIEVE IS SIGNIFICANT FOR US AS A SYSTEM. I WANTED TO POINT THAT OUT BECAUSE AS WE GO FORWARD FROM PRIOR YEARS AND GOING INTO THE FUTURE, WE WILL CONTINUE TO SEEK FOR ADDITIONAL FUNDING FOR OUR SCHOOL SYSTEM. HAD LIKE TO GO TO THE NEXT DOCUMENT THAT YOU HAVE, WHICH ARE EXECUTIVE SUMMARIES OF THE GRANT. THESE GRANTS IN THIS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY, YOU ARE FAMILIAR WITH ONE, WHICH WILL BE THE LAST ONE THAT I DID PRESENT TO YOU. IT IS A MAGNET SCHOOLS ASSISTANCE PROGRAM GRANT FOR THE HILTON HEAD CLUSTER. BUT I'D LIKE TO START AT THE VERY BEGINNING JUST TO GIVE YOU SOME IDEA OF THE US DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION GRANTS THAT WE HAVE REACHED OUT IN COLLABORATION WITH A GRANT GROUP. YOUR FIRST GRANT FOCUSES FOR SITE-BASED MENTAL HEALTH. IT IS THROUGH THE US DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION. THE TOTAL REQUEST IS FOR $14,983,687. THIS GRANT FOCUSES UPON THREE GOALS. GOAL NUMBER ONE, RECRUITING QUALIFIED PERSONNEL TO WORK WITH OUR STUDENTS FOR MENTAL HEALTH, EVEN IN THE SENSE OF RECRUITING SCHOOL COUNSELORS TO GET THEIR CLINICIAN LICENSING TO BECOME COUNSELORS. BEYOND THAT OF JUST, AND I DON'T MEAN IT BY SAYING JUST, BUT IS IT AS A PERSON DOES THEIR MASTERS IN COUNSELING, YOU HAVE A CHOICE OF EITHER GOING SCHOOL, COUNSELING OR MENTAL HEALTH. IT WOULD ALLOW OUR SCHOOL COUNSELORS TO HAVE BOTH OPPORTUNITIES AS PROFESSIONALS. SECOND GOAL IS OBVIOUSLY HIGH QUALITY PD IN ORDER TO BUILD THAT CAPACITY OF OUR EDUCATORS. AND THE THIRD GOAL IS EXPANDING ACCESS TO MENTAL HEALTH FOR ALL STUDENTS WITHIN BUFORT COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT. I DO WANNA EMPHASIZE THAT SPECIFICALLY, YOUR SECOND EXECUTIVE SUMMARY IS ACTUALLY IN AN AREA THAT'S SOMETHING YOU MAY RECALL, AVID, WHICH WAS BROUGHT FORWARD BY BUFORT MIDDLE SCHOOL. AND I BROUGHT TO YOU A LOCAL BOARD, UM, COURSE FOR YOUR APPROVAL AT THE MIDDLE SCHOOL. THIS IS A GEAR UP GRANT ONCE AGAIN TO THE US DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION. THE VALUE TO OUR SCHOOL SYSTEM IS 8,730,000 101 HUNDRED $50. IN THIS, THERE ARE THREE GOALS. AND LET'S REMEMBER THAT ABBOTT IS SELF-ADVOCACY BUYER, INDIVIDUAL DETERMINATION. THIS, THE THREE GOALS ARE TO INCREASE ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE OF STUDENTS, HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATION RATE INCREASE, PROVIDE OPPORTUNITY OF POST-SECONDARY EXPERIENCES, AND DEEPENING THE KNOWLEDGE OF OUR COMMUNITY AND FAMILIES IN REGARD TO THESE POST-SECONDARY EXPERIENCES. FOR THIS GRANT, THIS IS TARGETING FOUR OF OUR HIGH SCHOOLS WITHIN BEAUFORT COUNTY, WHICH ARE ELIGIBLE BASED ON, WHICH WAS HAPPENS TO BE WONDERFUL THAT MS. MATT MADISON MATT'S, UM, PRESENTED EARLIER. 'CAUSE IT IS BASED ON PYP, I MEAN, PEOPLES AND POVERTY NUMBERS. SO IT GETS WHAT HAS GIVEN US OUR ELIGIBILITY. THE NEXT GRANT YOU'LL SEE IS IT IS CALLED THE CATALYST GRANT. THIS IS OUTTA CHARLESTON MAYOR [01:10:01] FOUNDATION. THIS GRANT IS FOCUSED, THE TITLE IS UNITE. AND I'D LIKE TO TAKE A MOMENT. UNITE HAS BEEN DESIGNED AROUND THE AFRICAN PROVERB. IT TAKES A VILLAGE TO RAISE A CHILD UNITES, SEEKS TO BUILD UPON BEAUFORT COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICTS EXTENDED LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES. THIS GRANT IS SEEKING FUNDING FOR $4,476,000. AND WE ACTUALLY JUST RECEIVED NOTIFICATION OF OUR SITE VISIT FOR JUNE 4TH. I DID WANNA SHARE THAT WE ARE PREPARING OUR PRESENTATION AND WORK FOR THAT. THE GO, THE GOALS FOR THIS GRANT, STUDENTS INCREASE STUDENT ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE. OBVIOUSLY WE BUILD STRENGTH AND TRUST WITHIN OUR SYSTEM. WE SAY WE'RE GONNA DO SOMETHING, LET'S DO IT. AND THE THIRD ONE IS ACCESS TO EXTENDED LEARNING, ADDED TRADITIONAL SETTINGS. AND AS I MENTIONED AS I STARTED WITHIN THE EXECUTIVE SUMMARIES, THE FINAL GRANT IS THE MAGNET SCHOOLS ASSISTANCE PROGRAM. JUST SHARED THAT IT IS $15 MILLION THAT WE'RE SEEKING FROM THE US DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION. AND EACH FEDERAL GRANT I DO WANNA HIGHLIGHT IS THAT THE AWARD INFORMATION IS PROVIDED ON SEPTEMBER 30TH. THAT IS ACROSS THE BOARD FOR US, FOR FEDERAL GRANTS THROUGH, THROUGH THE US DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION, WHICH MEANS SHOULD WE BE AWARDED, GRANTS WILL START IMMEDIATELY ON OCTOBER 1ST, 2024. SO I, I APPRECIATE YOUR TIME AND I WANTED TO BRING YOU SOME SUMMARIES FOR THIS AFTERNOON. THANK YOU DR. OSINSKI. THANK YOU, MADAM CHAIR. THANK YOU, DR. STRATOS. YOU KNOW, THIS IS SOMETHING THAT, UM, I LOVE AND IS NEAR AND DEAR TO MY HEART. MY QUESTION IS ON THE SUMMARIES. IT DOESN'T SAY FOR HOW LONG THESE PARTICULAR GRANTS ARE, UM, GIVEN FOR. YES, MA'AM. SO IF POSSIBLE, IF I MAY HAVE YOU GO TO THE FIRST DOCUMENT, I DO APOLOGIZE. RIGHT. I WAS LOOKING AT THE SUMMARY. YES, MA'AM. NOTED. UM, FIVE YEAR IS, IS THE AVERAGE ON THE TERM. THANK YOU, MA'AM. YES, NOTED. I WILL MAKE SURE I INCLUDE THAT IN FUTURE MS. BOAT. MS. BOATRIGHT, THANK YOU. CAN YOU GUYS HEAR ME OKAY? YES. PERFECT. UM, ONE QUESTION I HAVE WOULD BE MENTAL HEALTH GRANT, WILL WE THEN BE AS A DISTRICT HIRING MENTAL HEALTH COUNSELOR AND THEY WILL BE OUR EMPLOYEES? ARE WE GOING TO BE CONTRACTING AT BRINGING IN SITE-BASED MENTAL HEALTH? PERFECT, WONDERFUL QUESTION. CITY, THE RESPONSIVE FOR DETERMINED OF GRANT IS AS A PROGRAM GRANT DIRECTOR AND 21 IN-SERVICE PROVIDERS EITHER ALREADY LICENSED OR THOSE WHO SEEK OR SCHOOL COUNSELORS TO OBTAIN THEIR CLINIC TUITION LICENSING IN ORDER TO BE A COUNSELOR. AND THAT WOULD BE FOR THE TERM OF THE GRANT, AND THAT WOULD BE PART OF THE HIRING REQUIREMENT ALSO LISTED IN THE JOB DESCRIPTION. SO JUST TO CLARIFY, YOU'RE SAYING THAT THEY WILL BE BCSD EMPLOYEES? YES, MA'AM. FOR THE TERM OF THE GRANT. OKAY. SO WE NEED TO BE CAREFUL BECAUSE THERE ARE A LOT OF PITFALLS. UM, THIS IS HIGHLY SENSITIVE PERSONAL HEALTH INFORMATION, HIPAA, FERPA, WHEN THEY ARE OUR EMPLOYEES, IT'S UNDER FERPA. I AM 99% SURE. SO I JUST WANNA BE VERY, VERY CAREFUL BECAUSE IT'S A BIG DIFFERENCE WHO EMPLOYS THEM AS TO WHAT LEVEL OF PRIVACY THOSE RECORDS HAVE AND PARENTAL CONSENT AND ALL OF THAT. SO HOPEFULLY WHOEVER GETS TIME, THE SITE BASED USER WILL UNDERSTAND THAT. YES. THE SITE BASED PROGRAM. SO THE SITE BASED DIRECTOR, AND THAT IS AN ABSOLUTE YES. AND RECOGNIZE THAT FUNDING IS ALSO FOR OUTSIDE AGENCY. BUT WITH N-B-C-S-D, UH, MRS. BOATWRIGHT, THAT SHOULD THAT BE VIOLATED. THAT IS LOSS OF LICENSING AND OTHER, AND THEN PERSON IS ALSO SUBJECT TO OTHER ITEMS. BUT YES, NOTED. CAN I ASK ONE MORE QUESTION? I CAN'T SAY YES, GO AHEAD. GO AHEAD. THANK YOU. UH, I'M A GEAR UP GRANT. THERE'S A LOT GOING ON IN THAT GEAR UP GRANT, AND I'M HUGELY IN FAVOR. I LOVE THE IDEA OF FAFSA COUNSELING. APPLYING TO COLLEGE IS OVERWHELMING. UM, AND IT'S REALLY OVERWHELMING FOR PARENTS AND ESPECIALLY IF YOU HAVE, YOU DON'T SPEAK ENGLISH IF YOU ARE, YOU KNOW, REMOTE WORKING MULTIPLE JOBS FOR THE SCHOOLS TO PROVIDE A HIGHER LEVEL OF SUPPORT, I THINK IS A GREAT IDEA. ONE THING THOUGH THAT I NOTICED IS WHEN WE TALK ABOUT POST, UH, YOU KNOW, WHAT HAP HOW WE TRACK PEOPLE AFTER THEY LEAVE OUR SYSTEM, I WOULD LIKE TO EXPAND THAT TO INCLUDE WHAT I THINK IS GOING TO BE A GROWING INDUSTRY OF PARTNERSHIPS WITH UNIVERSITIES, BUT THAT ARE REALLY MORE APPRENTICESHIPS. MAYBE TYING INTO THE KATE PROGRAM. WOULD WE BE ABLE, OR IS THIS STRICTLY FOR COLLEGE? SO IF I UNDERSTAND YOUR CORRECT QUESTION DIRECTLY, THE OPPORTUNITY FOR POST-SECONDARY EXPERIENCES CAN BE WITHIN A CAREER TECHNICAL EDUCATION [01:15:01] AVENUE AS WELL, BECAUSE WE RECOGNIZE THAT THOSE, LET'S JUST SAY FOR ELECTRICIAN. UM, AND THAT COULD EITHER BE OBTAINED THROUGH THE TECHNICAL COLLEGE OF A LOW COUNTRY WITHIN A, FOR US HERE OR, OR IF A STUDENT APPLIES TO TRIDENT UP IN CHARLESTON AREA. SO YES, THOSE OPPORTUNITIES DO EXIST. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. MR. SMITH. UM, IN TERMS, IN TERMS OF HOW MUCH, HOW MUCH THE ACTUAL GRANTS FOR, UH, WHEN, WHEN DO WE FIND OUT WHAT, HOW MUCH THE ACTUAL GRANTS ARE AND WHAT DOES, WHAT, WHAT DOES THE, UH, PROCESS OF SPENDING THAT MONEY AND WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE? WELL, THE PROCESS WOULD BE RATHER LENGTHY CONVERSATION, BUT I'LL START, I'LL START FROM THE VERY BEGINNING. IN A SENSE, WE MAY ASK FOR, LET'S JUST SAY $5 MILLION, BUT WE MAY BE AWARDED 4 MILLION WITH THAT. WE HAVE TO WORK WITH THE GRANT OFFICE. IN THIS CASE, LET'S SAY THE US DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION, THEY WOULD GIVE US A PROGRAM MANAGER. AND WITH THAT PROGRAM MANAGER PRIOR TO ACCEPTING AWARD, WE HAVE TO REDEFINE OUR BUDGET AND GIVE THE JUSTIFICATION OF THE WHY WE MAY CUT A MILLION DOLLARS. AND THEN THE REALLOCATION THAT WOULD THEN BE REVIEWED WITH BY THE PROGRAM MANAGER BASED ON OUR JUSTIFICATION. AND THEN IF AWARDED AT THAT POINT TO SAY, YES, YOU'LL, WE'LL GIVE YOU THE 4 MILLION. THEN THAT ACTUALLY WORKS WITH OUR DISTRICT. MOST OF THESE GRANTS, WE WILL BE THE FISCAL AGENT. AS A FISCAL AGENT. OUR OFFICE, OUR DIVISION WORKS VERY CLOSE WITH FINANCE TO REMAIN IN COMPLIANT IN OPERATION TO MEET ALL COMPLIANCE NECESSARY FOR THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT AS WELL AS STATE AND PROCUREMENT CODE FOR A SCHOOL DISTRICT. RIGHT. AND THE REASON WHY I'M ASKING THAT JUST BECAUSE, UH, SOME, ONE OF THE QUESTIONS I WAS BROUGHT TODAY AND I WAS JUST, JUST, UH, SOMEONE ASKED ME BEFORE, UM, IN TERMS OF WHAT DO OUR GRANT FUNDING LOOK LIKE AND HOW MUCH MONEY DO WE GET AS A DISTRICT FOR, FOR GRANTS? AND I WAS LIKE, I WAS LIKE, I SHOULD HAVE YOU HAVE IT NOW, RIGHT? YEAH. SO I WAS LIKE, UH, LET ME GET BACK TO YOU. I SAID, I SAID, I AIN'T GONNA TELL YOU TO LIE. I AIN'T GONNA TELL YOU I DO KNOW, BUT LET ME, LEMME CHECK ON THAT. AND SO THAT JUST MADE ME, YOU KNOW, UM, THANK YOU FOR GIVING THIS TO US. BUT I WAS JUST, UM, WONDERING AT SOME POINT IN TIME, MAYBE, UH, AT, UH, I, I THINK THAT AN UPDATE THROUGHOUT A COUPLE TIMES THROUGHOUT THE YEAR JUST TO LET US KNOW, YOU KNOW, HOW THE GRANT MONEY'S GETTING, IS GETTING, UH, IN, IN TERMS OF AT THE EDUCATIONAL PROCESS, WHAT THAT LOOK LIKE AND HOW WE MAKE A UTILIZATION OF IT. SO THAT, YOU KNOW, I THINK THAT WOULD BE GOOD TO HELP THE, NOT JUST THE COMMUNITY, BUT ALSO, UM, FURTHER PEOPLE, FURTHER AGENCIES KNOW THAT BEFORD COUNTY IS GOOD TO, UH, GIVE MONEY TO BECAUSE THEY'RE ACTUALLY MAKING GOOD UTILIZATION OF IT TO, UH, STUDENTS AND, UH, BUT TOWARDS STUDENTS ACHIEVEMENT. AND I SAY THAT, THAT, THAT MAY, MAY HELP US, UH, HELP US ALONG, ALONG THE WAY IN, IN, IN OBTAINING MORE GRANTS. SO MADAM CHAIR MAY ADD AN ITEM. SO IF YOU LOOK AT THE LANDSCAPE DOCUMENT, THE LAST ITEM, ITEM SIX, THIS IS ACTUALLY OUT OF OUR FOUNDATION HERE IN HILTON HEAD. I KNOW IT LOOKS SMALL IN RE REGARDS TO OTHER GRANTS, BUT IT'S $125,000 THAT TO HELP US IN DEVELOPING A LEARN A LEARNING ADULT LAB FOR STUDENTS TO OBSERVE WHAT'S HAPPENING. LET'S USE THIS ROLE FOR AN EXAMPLE THAT WE HAVE A CLASS ON THE, ON THE OTHER SIDE. SO WE HAVE BE BECOMING TEACHERS, THOSE WHO ARE AT USCB OBSERVING CLASS ON THE OTHER SIDE, WE HAVE TO FOLLOW AND DO REPORTS, MR. SMITH BI-ANNUALLY TO THE FOUNDATION TO SHOW THEM THAT A, WE'RE SPENDING, HOW WE SAID WE WOULD SPEND, AND THAT WILL WHAT IS OUR MARK TOWARDS GETTING OUR GOAL. SO THOSE ARE REQUIREMENTS FOR ALL THESE GRANTS. THE FEDERAL ONES, I WILL SHARE WITH YOU THAT THOSE REPORTS WILL RUN FROM 50 TO A HUNDRED PAGES. THEY'RE NOT EASY, BUT THEY'RE VERY CUMBERSOME, BUT THEY ARE VERY DETAILED AT SUPPORT AND THEY GO TO THE PROGRAM MANAGER RESPECTIVELY, OF EACH GRANT AT THE US DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION. RIGHT. WELL, ACTUALLY I AM, I AM, I, I AM PERSONALLY AWARE, AWARE THAT WHAT THAT PROCESS LOOKED LIKE. OKAY. BECAUSE I USED TO HAVE AN AUNT AND, UH, YOU USED TO, SO, YOU KNOW, SO, SO I'M, I'M, I'M, I AM EDUCATED ON THAT PROCESS. YES, SIR. BUT ONCE AGAIN, I JUST THINK THAT IN TERMS OF THE BOARD LEVEL, SOMETHING OF COMES UP. WE'VE, WE CAN SAY WE'VE BEEN LOOKING AT OR WE'VE SEEN THAT. SO I MEAN, EVEN, EVEN MAYBE A FOUR OF THOSE REPORTS JUST TO, TO, AND KNOWING IS GOOD. THAT'S ALL. YES, SIR. THANK YOU. THANK YOU, MARY. THANK YOU. YES, SIR. DR. REOS. THANK YOU. OKAY. UM, THIS EVENING, THE NEXT ITEM IN THE SUPERINTENDENT'S REPORT, UH, IS RELATED TO CELL PHONES. AND IT'S A, A FOLLOW UP, UH, TO OUR LAST MEETING. IN YOUR, UM, BOARD MATERIALS, YOU WOULD HAVE AN EXECUTIVE SUMMARY. YOU WOULD HAVE A CURRENT, UM, SS 27, UH, REGULATION, AND YOU WOULD HAVE AN SS 27 INITIAL. I'M, I'M GONNA HIGHLIGHT THAT INITIAL DRAFT WITH REVISION. [01:20:01] AND I SAY THAT, UH, BECAUSE THIS SECTION FOR THIS EVENING IS GONNA BE JUST FOR INFORMATION ONLY IN TERMS OF, OF WHAT WE'RE DOING. MY PURPOSE IS NOT TO HAVE, UH, REALLY A, A WEIGH IN ON THE DRAFT OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT BECAUSE, UH, AR WHEN THEY FIRST GET A DRAFT, THEY START OUT LOOKING LIKE THIS FINAL PRODUCTS ARE DIFFERENT. RIGHT? UH, BECAUSE THERE'S A LOT OF VETTING, THERE'S A LOT OF CHANGING AND ADJUSTING AND EVERYTHING THAT GOES, UH, THROUGH THE PROCESS OF PRODUCING AN AR THAT IN THE END WOULD COME FOR YOU, UH, COME TO YOU, EXCUSE ME, FOR INFORMATION. SO I JUST WANNA BE CLEAR, I'M, I AM WELL AWARE THAT THAT IS, UH, A FIRST DRAFT, AND THAT'S REALLY WHERE I WANT TO LEAVE THAT, BECAUSE IT, I KNOW THERE'S WORK TO BE DONE ON IT, BUT THE BOARD'S MOTION, UH, DIRECTED THE SUPERINTENDENT TO RESEARCH POSSIBLE OPTIONS FOR AN ADMIN REGULATION THAT WOULD PROHIBIT CELL PHONES DURING INSTRUCTIONAL TIME. AND OPTIONS SHOULD BE PRESENTED AT THE NEXT BOARD MEETING FOR FURTHER BOARD DISCUSSION. DURING THAT BOARD MEETING, UH, ONCE THAT MOTION WAS MADE AND APPROVED BY THE BOARD, I IMMEDIATELY GOT UP. I WENT OVER AND SPOKE WITH DR. LEE, AND I SAID, I WANT A COMMITTEE. UH, I WANT, UH, SUBCOMMITTEES ESTABLISHED IN THAT, SO THAT EVERY SUBCOMMITTEE TAKES ON DIFFERENT THINGS. THIS IS A HIGHLY COMPLEX MATTER. IT'S NOT SIMPLE. AND TO BE HONEST WITH YOU, IT REALLY ISN'T SOMETHING THAT CAN BE THROWN TOGETHER IN, IN TWO WEEKS. AND, AND I THINK IT NEEDS TO NOT ONLY CONSIDER, UH, WHAT THE FINAL DECISION IS AROUND, UH, CELL PHONES AND INSTRUCTIONAL TIME. UH, I MEAN, UH, UH, BANNED FOR INSTRUCTIONAL TIME OR BANNED FOR THE WHOLE DAY OR WHATEVER, STIPULATIONS. IT ALSO HAS TO CONSIDER, UM, UM, UH, ENFORCEMENT. AND THAT'S WHERE IT GETS STICKY. YES, SIR. AND THE MOST CHALLENGING. OKAY. AND SO, UH, SO REALLY WE'RE LOOKING, UM, WE NEED MORE TIME ON THIS. IN ADDITION, UH, THE SOUTH CAROLINA GENERAL ASSEMBLY HAS A BILL OUT THERE. UH, AND, AND, AND THERE ARE TWO VARIATIONS OF THAT. BILL NUMBER ONE SAYS, BANNED FOR THE DAY, BANNED FROM SCHOOL OKAY. THE SECOND ONE SAYS INSTRUCTIONAL TIME. SO THEY'RE, THEY'RE DOING TWO DIFFERENT THINGS WITH THOSE OPTIONS. IT IS MY UNDERSTANDING THEY'RE TAKING THAT UP IN JUNE AND THEY WILL BE MAKING DECISIONS IN JUNE. OKAY. UM, WHAT I HAVE LAID OUT HERE, IN TERMS OF THE EXECUTIVE SUMMARY OF SOME OF THE WORK THAT WE HAVE BEGUN, UH, THOSE SUBCOMMITTEES ARE GONNA BE LOOKING AT WHAT IS THE CURRENT STATE, WHAT HAVE OTHER DISTRICTS DONE IN DEALING WITH THIS TOPIC? WHAT ARE POSSIBLE TOOLS TO USE IN DEALING WITH THE TOPIC AND IMPLEMENTATION PLAN WITH CONSIDERATIONS FOR POTENTIAL ISSUES SUCH AS AROUND ENFORCEMENT, FOR EXAMPLE. UH, AND IN ADDITION, CONSIDER GATHERING, UH, PER PARENTAL FEEDBACK ON THE TOPIC. TWO THINGS ON THAT. NUMBER ONE, UH, I THINK IT IS IMPERATIVE THAT WE CONTINUE OUR WORK AND OUR RESEARCH AND OUR PLANNING, AND LET'S FIND OUT WHAT THE FINAL RULING IS FROM THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY BEFORE WE MOVE, BECAUSE WE DON'T HAVE, WE DON'T WANNA BE IN A POSITION WHERE WE MOVE AND THEN HAVE TO BACKTRACK OR THEN HAVE TO SHIFT GEARS OR, OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT. UH, MY UNDERSTANDING IS THAT THAT BILL OR THOSE, THOSE CONSIDERATIONS, RIGHT, UM, UM, HAVE FUNDING, UM, UH, ATTACHED TO THAT, THAT THERE COULD BE LOSS OF FUNDING OR THOSE KINDS OF THINGS. SO THIS IS NOT A KICK THE CAN DOWN THE ROAD THING. THIS IS, LET'S SEE WHAT COMES FROM THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY RULING OR REQUIREMENT. BUT IN THE MEANTIME, WE'RE GONNA BE PREPARING TO BRING SOMETHING BACK TO THE BOARD, UH, AND THEN WHICHEVER WAY, UH, THAT PANS OUT IN TERMS OF LEGISLATION, THEN WE'LL BE BETTER POSITIONED TO PIVOT AND ONLY ONE COMMUNICATION ULTIMATELY AROUND WHAT THE FINAL DECISION WOULD BE TO PARENT AND FAMILIES SO THAT THERE ISN'T ONE COMMUNICATION AND THEN A CHANGE IN COMMUNICATION, AND THEN, AND THEN WE CREATE, UH, UH, A MESS AROUND THAT. RIGHT? SO, SO THIS IS WHY I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT THAT WE WAIT, WE SEE WHAT THEY ACT, BUT IN THE MEANTIME, WE ARE DOING OUR WORK IN OUR PREPARATION FOR WHAT I THINK THE BOARD WAS, UH, WAS CLEAR AS A GROUP IN TERMS OF, OF, OF WHAT THE BOARD IS SEEKING, UH, CERTAINLY IN THIS AREA AROUND CELL PHONE AND CELL PHONE USE. OBVIOUSLY, I THINK WE ALL UNDERSTAND THERE'S AN IMPACT THERE. AND I THINK EVERYBODY, UH, GENERALLY FEELS LIKE, WELL, I'M NOT GONNA SAY EVERYBODY, UH, UM, MOST SEEM TO FEEL LIKE THERE'S SOMETHING THAT, UH, THAT NEEDS TO BE ADDRESSED. OKAY? AND SO WE WILL MOVE WITH OUR RESEARCH TOWARDS THAT END. BUT IN THE MEANTIME, UM, UM, WHILE WE'RE RESEARCHING, WHILE WE'RE BUILDING AND REVISING OUR, OUR, OUR AR UM, [01:25:01] UH, WE'RE GONNA BE, UH, LOOKING AT NOT JUST WHAT SCHOOLS DISTRICTS IN SOUTH CAROLINA HAVE DONE, BUT ALSO WHAT'S HAPPENING ACROSS THE NATION. AND WE KNOW THAT THERE ARE, UH, EVEN INTERNATIONAL INTERNATIONALLY THINGS THAT HAVE BEEN DONE, RIGHT? AND SO ALL OF THOSE THINGS ARE WHAT OUR SUBCOMMITTEES ARE GONNA BE REVIEWING, RESEARCHING, AND FINALIZING. UH, BUT I UNDERSTAND THE BOARD'S INTENT IS THAT NEXT SCHOOL YEAR, UM, WE HAVE SOMETHING AROUND THAT. UH, AND WITH THAT IN MIND, THAT IS THE UPDATE AND THE FOLLOW UP. YOU HAVE MY, UH, MY EXECUTIVE SUMMARY. UM, I DIDN'T WANT TO GO THROUGH STEP BY STEP, BUT I DID, UH, THINK I COVERED THE HIGHLIGHTS OF IT. DR. ROSOVSKY. THANK YOU, MADAM CHAIR. DO WE KNOW WHEN THE LEGISLATURE ADJOURNS FOR THIS SESSION? ARE THEY, IS THIS JUST ONE BILL THAT THEY'RE TAKING UP? I, I DO NOT KNOW. I, AND I WOULD DOUBT IT'S JUST ONE BILL, BUT I DO THINK THEY'RE, THEY'RE, FROM WHAT I UNDERSTAND, THEY'RE TACKLING THIS IN JUNE. OKAY. AND THE GOAL FOR US AS A BOARD IS TO HAVE SOMETHING BUTTONED UP IN TERMS TERMS OF AN AR BY THE BEGINNING OF THE SCHOOL YEAR NEXT YEAR. YEAH. WELL, I WANNA SEE WHAT THEY DO IN JUNE, BUT WE WANNA START THE YEAR WITH SOMETHING, RIGHT? SO IF WE, OKAY. SO THERE WILL BE SOMETHING IN PLACE BEFORE SCHOOL STARTS. WE WILL HAVE SOMETHING. YES. AND, AND, AND WHETHER, WHETHER THEY ACT OR THEY DON'T ACT, UH, THAT'S THE DIRECTION I FELT. I HEARD FROM THE BOARD THAT THE BOARD WANTED SOMETHING BEFORE THE YEAR STARTED SO THAT WE WOULDN'T BE TRYING TO DO SOMETHING MIDYEAR OR THAT, RIGHT. THAT WE'RE GONNA JUST START THE YEAR IN ONE FORM OR ANOTHER AROUND THIS TOPIC. RIGHT. AND, UH, AND SO, SO OUR INTENT IS TO, IS TO FOLLOW THROUGH WITH THAT. UM, HOWEVER, UM, UM, I THINK IT'S, IT'S WISE THAT WE SEE WHAT HAPPENS, UH, FROM, FROM THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY ON, ON THIS ISSUE. YEAH, I WOULD AGREE WITH THAT. UM, I JUST HAD ONE COMMENT IN REGARD TO THE DRAFT, AND I, I RECOGNIZE IT'S A DRAFT. UM, IT DISCUSSES THE BUILDING PRINCIPLE, BELIEVING THAT AN ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATION VICE MAY HAVE SOMETHING, SOME CONTENT ON IT THAT MAY VIOLATE LAW, AND IT USES THE WORD, THE PRINCIPLE MAY CONTACT LAW ENFORCEMENT, I WOULD PREFER. THAT SAYS THEY WILL CONTACT LAW ENFORCEMENT AND LET LAW ENFORCEMENT TAKE IT FROM THERE. I THINK THAT'S THE MORE APPROPRIATE MEASURE. UM, THE WORD MAY JUST LEAVES TOO MUCH DISCRETION UP ON THAT. YEP. NOTED. THANK YOU. NO, ALL OF THOSE THINGS, LANGUAGE, UH, WILL BE BUTTONED UP. BUT, UH, ADDITIONALLY, UH, THERE'S A LOT IN THAT AR UH, AND SOMETIMES MAYBE, MAYBE THERE'S A WAY TO, TO GET THAT TRIMMED DOWN SO THAT, UH, UH, IT'S NOT AS EXPANSIVE AS THAT IS, BUT IT IS TRYING AT THE MOMENT TO, UH, I THINK TO CAPTURE VARIOUS DEVICE, ELECTRONIC DEVICE OPTIONS AND THOSE KINDS OF THINGS. SO I THINK IT'S TRYING TO CAPTURE ALL OF THAT. UH, OBVIOUSLY WE USE ELECTRONIC DEVICES IN, IN SCHOOLS AS PART OF OUR INSTRUCTIONAL MODALITIES. UM, UH, AND SO, UM, THOSE ARE JUST, IT'S A DRAFT. THAT'S THE BEST WAY TO SAY FIRST DRAFT. ALRIGHT. ALL RIGHT. NEXT WE HAVE ELIZABETH HAY. OH, I WAS GONNA LET INGRID GO FIRST BECAUSE SHE HAD HER HAND UP FIRST. OKAY. I, I DID NOT KNOW THAT, BUT THANK YOU. WE'LL GO INGRID THEN, ELIZABETH. THANK YOU. WHAT A SHI MOVE. . UM, CAN YOU GUYS STILL HEAR ME OKAY? BECAUSE CHICAGO'S WEATHER'S A LITTLE DICEY. AM I COMING? YES, WE CAN HEAR YOU. OKAY. UM, SO A COUPLE THINGS. FIRST OF ALL, THANK YOU, DR. RODRIGUEZ. I THINK YOU DID, UM, CAPTURE THE INTENT OF THE BOARD, WHICH IS LET'S GET A MOVE ON. BUT THAT DOESN'T MEAN WE DON'T DO THE NECESSARY RESEARCH, RATHER, UM, FOR ME, WHAT I'M REALLY INTERESTED IN SEEING, TAKE A STATE LIKE FLORIDA, THEY'VE HAD THIS BAND IN PLACE FOR A YEAR FOR INSTRUCTIONAL TIME, AND ALL THE DISTRICTS HAVE DONE DIFFERENT THINGS. AND I'M REALLY INTERESTED TO HEAR, YOU KNOW, HOW HAVE THEY DONE IT FOR A YEAR? WHAT WORKED, WHAT DIDN'T WORK? ARE THEY CHANGED? WHAT CHANGED? HIGH SCHOOL DISTRICT DOESN'T HAVE TO REINVENT THE WHEEL OF THE SITUATION. I THINK ENFORCEMENT IS THE KEY ISSUE HERE. AND WHAT I'LL TELL YOU, IT'S INTERESTING IN OUR STUDENT HANDBOOK FOR THIS YEAR, UM, WE ACTUALLY ALREADY HAVE A POLICY THAT SAYS STUDENT'S USE OF PERSONAL ELECTRONIC DEVICES DURING SCHOOL HOURS IS NOT PERMITTED UNLESS TEACHER DIRECTED SCHOOL OFFICIALS SHALL CONFISCATE ALL SUCH UNAUTHORIZED EQUIPMENT, DEPENDING ON WHETHER THE OFFENSE IS THE FIRST, SECOND, OR THIRD OFFENSE. I DON'T THINK I SAY THAT THAT IS NOT HAPPENING. I THINK THAT WHEN WE LOOK AT WHAT OUR OPTIONS ARE, ENFORCEMENT IS THE KEY. IT'S, IT'S NOT A POLICY DECISION. AND IF WE MAKE THIS WHERE WE PUT CLASSROOM TO ENFORCE THIS, I THINK WE'RE SETTING IT UP FOR FAILURE. WE TO REALLY LOOK AT HOW WE CAN MAKE THIS FUNCTIONAL, BECAUSE WE ALREADY HAVE THAT [01:30:01] POLICY. UH, WE DIDN'T HAVE THE AR, BUT THAT WILL DO HANDBOOK FOR THIS CURRENT SCHOOL YEAR. UM, AND LIKE I SAID, IN THE RESEARCH, 77% OF SCHOOLS ALREADY HAVE BANDS ON CELL PHONES. BUT IT IS VERY, VERY CHALLENGING TO ENFORCE THAT KIDS ARE ADDICTIVE. I MEAN, OUT OF COVID IN PARTICULAR, THEY'RE SURREPTITIOUS IN THEIR ABUSE. AND EVEN IF THEY HAVE AN OFF, SORRY, WAS THAT ME? OKAY. EVEN IF THEY HAVE 'EM OFF OR, YOU KNOW, SILENCE IN THEIR BAG, THEY'RE STILL GONNA BE HEARING VIBRATIONS. THEY'RE STILL GONNA SEE 'EM LIGHT UP. WE REALLY, THAT'S THE PIECE TO ME THAT IS GONNA REQUIRE THE MOST RESEARCH ON OUR PART ON HOW TO BE EFFECTIVE. THANK YOU. YEAH, GO AHEAD. DR. RODRIGUEZ WANTS TO RESPOND YEAH. IN KEEPING PACE. NO, I, I, I UNDERSTAND. UM, YOU KNOW WHAT YOU'RE SAYING. UM, MS. BOATWRIGHT AND I, AND I AGREE, YOU KNOW, ENFORCEMENT IS, IS WHERE IT'S TRICKIEST. UM, UM, BUT I WOULD, I WOULD ALSO LIKE TO JUST SAY THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, IT'S IMPORTANT TO REALIZE THAT THIS KIND OF THING IS A SINGLE SCHOOL CULTURE SOLUTION, WHICH MEANS THAT TEACHERS ARE A PART OF THE EQUATION. OKAY? IT, IT WOULD BE NAIVE FOR US TO THINK THAT THREE PEOPLE, OR FOUR PEOPLE IN AN ADMINISTRATIVE CAPACITY AT A SCHOOL ARE GONNA BE ABLE, UH, TO CAPTURE ALL OF THIS FOR 1400 KIDS IN A SCHOOL, RIGHT? UM, UH, THE REALITY IS THAT IT TAKES EVERYONE IN THE BUILDING TO DO THAT. NOW, THE KEY IS WHAT IS THE PROCESS? WHEN, WHEN, WHEN THERE IS AN ISSUE, RIGHT? AND, AND CERTAINLY ADMINISTRATORS ARE THE ONES THAT ARE EQUIPPED TO COME. AND IF, IF YOU HAVE TO DEAL WITH, UH, WITH THE ISSUE, BECAUSE, BECAUSE THERE'S A NON-COMPLIANCE, RIGHT? UH, BUT THE ALERT OF A NON, NON-COMPLIANCE IS ABOUT EVERYBODY IN THE BUILDING AND EVERYBODY IN THE BUILDING SAYING, YOU KNOW, THIS IS HOW WE DO BUSINESS HERE. RIGHT? AND SO I THINK, I THINK WE SHOULD UNDERSTAND THAT, THAT THERE IS A ROLE FOR EVERYONE IN THE BUILDING TO PLAY. IT'S NOT, IT'S, WE CAN'T, WE CAN'T JUST SAY THAT THIS, WE'RE NOT THAT. TEACHERS SHOULDN'T HAVE TO DEAL WITH THIS 'CAUSE 'CAUSE THEY'RE GONNA HAVE TO. THAT'S JUST THE REALITY, RIGHT? AND, AND, AND NOW TO WHAT EXTENT, AND WHERE DOES THAT TRANSITION OVER TO THE ROLE OF THE ADMINISTRATOR? AND THEN WHAT ARE THE CONSEQUENCES AND WHAT IS THE ENFORCEMENT COMPONENT OF IT? AND THOSE ARE ALL THE THINGS THAT NEED TO BE RESEARCHED AND WORKED OUT. UM, ELIZABETH HAY? YES. THANK YOU, MADAM CHAIR. UM, JUST ECHOING WHAT DR. KY AND MS. BOATWRIGHT ALREADY SAID, HOWEVER, UM, REALLY WANNA LEAN IN ON HAVING MULTIPLE PLANS IN PLACE FOR THE BEGINNING OF THE SCHOOL YEAR, WHICH I THINK IS WHAT DR. RODRIGUEZ IS SAYING AS A WHOLE, IS SORT OF LIKE A PLAN A, PLAN B, PLAN C, UM, DEPENDING ON WHAT COMES THROUGH WITH LEGISLATION. HOWEVER, I JUST WANTED TO RAISE A FLAG, UM, ACCORDING TO OTHER BOARD MEMBERS I KNOW AT OUR CAPITAL COLUMBIA, UM, THESE BILLS WENT TO COMMITTEE AND HAVE NOT BEEN SCHEDULED AS FAR AS I'M AWARE THROUGH OTHERS. UM, SO MY CONCERN THERE IS SIMPLY, I DON'T WANNA WAIT AROUND FOR, I WOULDN'T WANT US AS A COUNTY TO WAIT AROUND HOPING THAT THIS IS GOING TO COME TO SOME RESOLUTION IN JUNE THAT NEVER COMES. AND THEN WE'RE ILL PREPARED, BECAUSE AS WE ALL KNOW, THE START OF THE SCHOOL YEAR COMES QUICKLY. SO I WOULD JUST LOVE TO SEE, UM, AND I'M SURE DR. ROBERT, YOU GUYS WILL DO THIS 'CAUSE I, YOU KNOW, JUST WALKING WITH PLANNING, BUT A PLAN A, B, C TYPE OF SCENARIO, SO WE'RE NOT SCRAMBLING RIGHT BEFORE SCHOOL YEAR STARTS. THAT'S ALL. SO NEXT IS MR. SMITH. UM, FIRST, UH, LET ME START BY SAYING, UM, THAT IN TERMS OF THE PLAN THAT RODRIGUEZ LAID OUT IN TERMS OF FALLING THE STATE LEGISL, UH, THE STATE LEGISLATIVE PROCESS IN TERMS OF THEM COMING UP AND THEM, UM, BRINGING SOMETHING TO THE FLOOR FOR, FOR THE PUBLIC, I THINK THAT'S THE SENSIBLE THING TO DO WITH THE UNDERSTANDING THAT HAVING DR. LEACH AND HER TEAM SPEND TIME ON THIS, ON, ON THE, ON THIS, VISITING IT TWO TIMES IS, IS HINDERING STAFF, WHEN STAFF COULD BE MORE FOCUSED ON THE EDUCATIONAL PROCESS AND THE LEARNING LOSS THAT WE'VE HAD IN THIS DISTRICT, AND, AND CLOSING THAT GAP THAT WE STILL HAVE. SO I, I, I THINK THAT WOULD GIVE THE STAFF MORE STAFF TIME TO FOCUS ON, ON OTHER, ON OTHER AREAS, BECAUSE THIS IS LIKE, AS HE SAID, THIS IS A LOT GOING ON. THERE'S A LOT OF MOVING PIECES. AND I THANK ONE OF MY COLLEAGUES BECAUSE SHE JUST BROUGHT UP A GREAT POINT. WE DON'T HAVE TO RUSH AND RUN, [01:35:01] BECAUSE APPARENTLY WE ALREADY HAVE A POLICY IN PLACE. SO THE QUESTION IS, WHEN IT COMES TO DISCIPLINE AND IT COMES TO THE DISTRICT, WE MAY NEED TO REACTIVATE LIKE HOW YOU CRANK UP YOUR CARD. SOMETIMES YOU CRANK IT UP AND IT, AND THEN YOU CRANK IT UP AGAIN AND IT CRANKS RIGHT UP. SOMETIMES YOU MIGHT JUST NEED TO REACTIVATE ACROSS THE DISTRICT AND REMIND PEOPLE OF POLICIES THROUGHOUT THE YEAR. IF YOU'VE BEEN ON THE BATTLEFIELD, YOU'VE BEEN IN THE CLASSROOMS, OR YOU'VE BEEN IN ONE OF THESE POSITIONS, AND YOU UNDERSTAND THAT CERTAIN PARTS OF THE YEARS YOU HAVE CERTAIN THINGS GOING ON. SO YOU INTEND TO PUT MORE EMPHASIS ON CERTAIN, EVEN AT BOARD MEETING, CERTAIN BOARD MEMBER MEETING MEETINGS, WE PUT EMPHASIS AS A BOARD SOMETIMES ON DIFFERENT THINGS. SO NOW IF IT'S, IF IT IS THAT IMPORTANT, THEN MAYBE WE MIGHT NEED TO REACTIVATE THOSE POLICIES AND LET EVERYONE KNOW THAT THOSE POLICIES DO EXIST. AND THIS IS THE, UH, THIS IS WHERE WE AT WITH THOSE POLICIES COMING FROM, STARTING FROM THE BOARD LEVEL. UM, THE, UH, ANOTHER QUESTION I GOT, ANOTHER THING I WANT TO RESPOND TO IN TERMS OF, UM, ONE OF THE COLLEAGUES THEY SAID ABOUT, THEY WERE TALKING ABOUT THE CONTACTING LAW ENFORCEMENT. YOU KNOW, ONE THING I WANNA LET THE PUBLIC, LET ALL BOARD MEMBERS KNOW THAT YOU HAVE TWO DIFFERENT, YOU HAVE SCHOOL LAW AND YOU HAVE STREET LAW. SCHOOL LAW IS A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT THAN STREET LAW. YOU, WHEN YOU FIND STUFF ON THESE KIDS' PHONES AND TABLETS, YOU HAVE TO BE VERY CAREFUL ON HOW YOU RESPOND, WHO YOU TELL IMMEDIATELY THE STEPS AND WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE. SO, ONCE AGAIN, MAKE SURE THAT, I'M SURE THAT WE WILL HAVE LEGAL ON THIS AND LEGAL BEING A PART OF THIS, BUT SCHOOL LAW AND STREET LAW ARE DIFFERENT MEASURES. SO YOU JUST CAN'T GO UP TO A KID, GRAB A CELL PHONE AND CALL AND CALL LAW ENFORCEMENT AND DON'T LET, DON'T NOTIFY THE PARENT. THERE'S A PROCESS. SO IF WE WOULD WORK, WHEN, WHEN, WHEN WE WORK ON ONE HAND OF THIS, IF WE'RE GONNA PUT THAT IN THERE, MAKE SURE THAT WE, THAT WE ARE GOING, LET THE PARENT KNOW AS WELL. AND SOMEWHERE IN THERE PARENTAL GUIDANCE IS KNOW, BECAUSE I'VE GETTING FAR, I'VE GOTTEN PHONE CALLS ABOUT THOSE IN THE PAST. SO THAT'S, I JUST WANNA BE CLEAR ON THAT, THAT WE UNDERSTAND THAT THEY'RE, THEY'RE, THEY'RE TWO DIFFERENT, THERE'S SOME DIFFERENT RULES HERE. SO I DON'T, I DON'T MIND US LETTING LAW ENFORCEMENT KNOW. I'M SURE I'M A OTHER KID. YEAH, YEAH. YOU GONNA LET LAW ENFORCEMENT KNOW. BUT AT THE SAME TIME, ALSO LET THE PARENT KNOW, BECAUSE YOU DON'T WANT A KID FEEL AS THOUGH THEY'RE BEING, THEY'RE BEING ATTACKED OR THEY'RE BEING CORNERED AND THEY HAVE NO ONE ELSE IN, IN THEIR CORNER EXCEPT FOR GROWN, GROWN ADULTS THAT ARE ASKING THEM QUESTIONS. SO, UH, I JUST WANNA PUT THAT OUT THERE. AND YES, I, I DO PUBLICLY STAND BY THAT. SO, UH, BUT IN, IN, IN TERMS OF THIS POLICY, I JUST THINK THAT THAT RODRIGUEZ, IN TERMS OF, IN TERMS OF WHERE WE HEADING AT LETTING THE LEGISLATIVE, UH, AS I'VE SAID BEFORE, FINISH OUT UNDERSTANDING WHAT THEY'RE GOING, WHAT THEY'RE GONNA DROP DOWN, AND WHAT THEY'RE GOING TO DEMAND US. BECAUSE MY SAME QUESTION GOES TO THEM TOO, AS WELL. WHEN YOU, WHEN YOU MAKE THESE DEMANDS, ARE YOU GONNA GIVE US SOME FUNDING TO SUPPORT THESE DEMANDS? CAN, CAN'T JUST DROP, CAN'T YOU DROP BOBS ON, JUST DROP BALLS ON, SAY, HEY, YOU WANT TO BE DONE? HOW ARE YOU GONNA HELP US OUT? WHO, WHERE, WHAT, WHEN, WHY, HOW IT, THIS IS, TEACHERS ARE, ARE QUITTING AT ALL TIME HIGH. THIS IS, THIS IS SOMETHING THAT'S GONNA BE IMPORTANT AT SOME POINT IN TIME, THEY'RE GONNA BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE TO. SO HOW ARE YOU GOING TO HELP THEM OUT? THANK YOU. SO NEXT UP WE HAVE, UH, CHLOE GORDON CARE. I'VE BEEN LISTENING AND READING, BUT MOSTLY LISTENING TO WHAT MY COLLEAGUES ARE SAYING. AND, UH, EVERYONE HAS A VALID POINT HERE. SOMETHING HAS TO BE DONE SO THAT WHEN STUDENTS ENTER THE CLASSROOM, THE FOCUS IS INSTRUCTIONAL. SO THE TEACHER CAN GO ABOUT HIS OR HER BUSINESS OF EDUCATING OUR CHILDREN. NO, THEY DO NOT NEED THE DISTRACTIONS. HAVE THEM BEEN ONE OF THOSE ADMINISTRATORS WHO HAS TAKEN A, A, A CELL PHONE OR ASKED FOR THE CELL PHONE. AND THE RESPONSES ARE VARIED DEPENDING ON THE CHILD. YOU HAVE SOME CHILDREN WHO GIVE YOU THE PHONE. YOU HAVE SOME CHILDREN WHO WILL CUSS YOU FROM YOUR HEAD TO YOUR TOE BECAUSE THAT'S THEIR PHONE. UM, THE AR IS GOOD. I, I I, I, I KNOW THAT WE NEED SOMETHING TO COME IN WITH STRONG TO OUR CHILDREN THAT WE'RE NOT TAKING THEIR PHONE, BUT WE'RE MERELY TRYING TO GET THROUGH THE EDUCATIONAL DAY. THIS IS GONNA BE DIFFICULT WHETHER WE WRITE THE AR OR NOT, BECAUSE AT THE END OF THE DAY, PEOPLE, IT DEPENDS [01:40:01] ON THE CHILD. AND OUR TEACHERS HAVE A HARD TASK WHEN THEY ASK FOR A CELL PHONE. THE KIDS DO NOT WANNA GIVE 'EM UP. I DON'T CARE WHAT THAT PIECE OF PAPER SAY. SO MAYBE WE'RE LOOKING AT IT UPSIDE DOWN. MAYBE WE SHOULD GET SOME FEEDBACK FROM SOME OF THE KIDS, BECAUSE IN ORDER FOR IT TO WORK, THEY HAVE TO COMPLY. TEACHERS CANNOT DO ALL THIS AT THE BEGINNING OF THE CLASS. AND THEN AT THE END OF THE CLASS, THEY GOTTA GIVE THESE CELL PHONES BACK. ALL THAT'S TAKING AWAY FROM INSTRUCTIONAL TIME. I DO BELIEVE THAT THE TEACHERS WANT THIS HELP. I THINK PARENTS DO TOO. 'CAUSE THEY GET TIRED OF US CALLING THEM ABOUT COMING TO THE SCHOOL TO PICK UP THE FALLS BECAUSE IT'S THEIR CHILD. THIRD TIME I SEE THE HINDRANCE, BUT, BUT I ALSO SEE THE WEIGHT OF THIS R HOWEVER, THROUGH WRITTEN, WHEN TEACHERS HAVE TO COMPLY AND IMPLEMENT, BECAUSE I HEARD SOMEONE SAY, YOU KNOW, THE TEACHERS NEED TO, THE TEACHERS NEED TO, THE TEACHERS NEED TO, AND I KNOW IF MR. UH, CAMPBELL'S LISTENING, HE'S GONNA SAY, WELL, WHAT DOES THE PARENT DO? WE NEED HELP. YOU KNOW, WE NEED THIS HELP. SO, UM, CUTTING IT SHORT, I'M SAYING I THINK IT'S A GOOD IDEA THAT WE HAVE AN AR TO BACK UP, BUT IT'S GONNA BE DIFFICULT TO GET A HUNDRED PERCENT BUY-IN FOR THEM NOT TO HAVE THEIR PROBLEMS DURING THE SCHOOL DAY. THANK YOU. UM, NEXT WE HAVE COLONEL GEIER. THANK YOU, MADAM CHAIR. THIS MORNING I GOT A CHANCE TO VISIT WITH THE PRINCIPAL OF BROAD, UH, OR EXCUSE ME, PORT ROYAL ELEMENTARY. AND I ASKED HER, HOW MANY OF YOUR ELEMENTARY SCHOOL STUDENTS HAVE CELL PHONES? SHE SAID, MANY. I SAID, REALLY? UM, SHE SAID, MOST ARE HAND ME DOWN PHONES. WHEN THE PARENTS BUY A NEW PHONE, THEY GIVE THE OLD PHONE TO THE CHILD, BUT IT'S NOT HOOKED UP TO, TO GET, YOU KNOW, UH, A CELL PHONE, CELL RECEPTION. BUT IT'S HOOKED UP MOSTLY FOR THE FAMILY'S WIFI. AND THEY WILL NOT ALLOW THEM TO USE THE SCHOOL WIFI. SO THEY'RE USED FOR GAMES, THEY'RE USED FOR, THEY CAN USE A COMPUTER. UH, THE ON IT, SHE SAID, SOME OF THEM DO HAVE ACTUAL, UH, SUBSCRIPTIONS, MOSTLY THE FOURTH AND FIFTH GRADE. AND I STARTED THINKING, I GOT THIS, THIS WATCH HERE, AND YOU CAN GET THIS WATCH WHERE IT ONLY WILL LINK TO YOUR CELL PHONE, BUT FOR $9 EXTRA A MONTH, I CAN CALL ON THIS WATCH AND RECEIVE, RECEIVE CALLS. I CAN TEXT ON THIS WATCH. AND SO THIS TECHNOLOGY IS SPREADING OUT. IT'S, IT'S NOT JUST CELL PHONES. AND SO WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO, WE'RE GONNA HAVE, IT'S GONNA BE A CONSTANT ROBINHOOD GAME THAT WE'RE GONNA BE PLAYING WITH, UH, THE STUDENTS ON HOW THEY'RE GOING TO, WELL, YEAH, TAKE MY CELL PHONE. NO PROBLEM. I GOT MY WATCH. YOU CAN TAKE MY WATCH TOO. YEP. AND THEN NEXT THING WE KNOW, WE'LL BE IMPLANT, YOU KNOW, MUSCULAR PLANTING STUFF IN OUR BRAINS. THIS IS NOT, THIS IS NOT THE END OF THIS ISSUE. THIS IS SOMETHING THAT WE ARE GOING TO BE LIVING WITH FOR THE NEAR AND FAR FUTURE. BECAUSE IF YOU LOOK AT THE HISTORY OF HOW, UH, PHONES HAVE GONE IN FROM PARTY LINES TO, TO, UH, MA BELLS TO, UH, MANY, MANY, MANY DIFFERENT PROVIDERS AND CABLES AND SO ON, UH, THIS IS NOT GOING TO BE A SOLUTION THAT WE'RE GOING TO FIND TODAY THAT'LL WORK FOR TOMORROW. WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO CONTINUALLY STAY ON TOP OF THIS. NEXT IS EARL CAMPBELL. UM, I HEARD SOMEONE SAY THAT THE STUDENTS ARE ADDICTED TO THE PHONE. WELL, I THINK THE PARENTS ARE ADDICTIVE. WE AS ADULT ARE ADDICTED. YOU CAN'T GO. YOU CAN GO EVERYWHERE YOU SEE, AND SOMEBODY GOT A CELL PHONE UP ON THE AIR. [01:45:01] IT'S RIDICULOUS, YOU KNOW, UM, THE, THE HOUSE IS SUPPOSED TO BE TALKING ABOUT COMING UP WITH A BILL, BUT THE CONGRESS IS ALSO SAYING THAT THEY'RE GOING TO COME OUT WITH SOMETHING. THE BANS HAVE FALLEN IN SCHOOLS, SO WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO? YOU KNOW? SO THAT'S, THAT'S JUST MY THING. AND I THINK THESE PARENTS NEED TO BE A LITTLE BIT MORE RESPONSIBLE. A CHILD IN ELEMENTARY OR MIDDLE SCHOOL AIN'T GOT NO BUSINESS WITH NO PHONES, PERIOD. THAT'S JUST MY TAKE. THANK YOU. ALL RIGHT. WE, VICTOR. AND THEN WE'LL DO CARLTON. SO, VICTOR, THANK YOU, MADAM CHAIR. UM, AS, AS FAR AS THE CURRENT POLICY GOES, UH, IF IT WAS EFFECTIVE, WE WOULDN'T BE HAVING THIS CONVERSATION. SO I DON'T THINK THE CURRENT POLICY IS EFFECTIVE. AND I THINK, UH, I THINK JUST KIND OF RESTARTING IT IS NOT GONNA BE EFFECTIVE. UH, SOME OF THE OTHER BOARD MEMBERS SAID, UH, I THINK IT'S A, A LOSING STRATEGY TO PLACE THE, THE, THE BURDEN ON THE TEACHER. UM, DISCIPLINE AS, AS WAS MENTIONED, DISCIPLINE IS AT AN ALL TIME HIGH, OR DISCIPLINE ISSUES ARE AN ALL TIME HIGH. WE HAVE TEACHERS LEAVING BECAUSE OF DISCIPLINE ISSUES. UM, AND NOW WE'RE GONNA ASK THE, THE, IF WE ASK THE TEACHERS TO, UH, INCREASE THE, THOSE DISCIPLINE FRICTIONS BY REMOVING PHONES, UM, IT'S, KIDS ARE NOT GONNA BE WANT TO EN ENGAGE WITH THE TEACHER WHEN THE TEACHER'S ALWAYS THE BAD PERSON, UH, YOU KNOW, REPRESENTING, UH, YOU KNOW, TAKING AWAY THE PHONES AND ALL THAT KIND OF STUFF. UH, SO TEACHER ENFORCEMENT, I BELIEVE SHOULD BE THE LAST RESORT. UH, AND THEN AS FAR AS, UH, EVERYTHING THAT, UH, MR. GUY JUST MENTIONED, UH, I, I THINK AS MORE AND MORE STATES COME ON BOARD, UH, AND MORE AND MORE STATES ARE, UH, I THINK IT'S GOING TO BECOME A NATIONAL ISSUE, UH, AND THEN AN INTERNATIONAL ISSUE. AND HOPEFULLY, UH, IT'S A SLOW SHIP THAT WE'RE TURNING HERE, BUT, UH, PEOPLE WILL START TO SEE THE BENEFIT, UM, UH, SCORES TURNING AROUND ACHIEVEMENT GAPS, CLOSINGS, UH, SCORES RISING. UH, HOPEFULLY, UH, AS A SOCIETY WILL START TO SEE THE SOONER RATHER THAN LATER. UH, BUT IT'S DEFINITELY GOING TO GET WORSE BEFORE IT GETS BETTER. I SAID THAT MONTHS AND MONTHS AGO AT THE SAC MEETING. UH, BUT IT'S DEFINITELY GOING TO GET WORSE BEFORE IT GETS BETTER, BECAUSE, UH, AS ALSO WAS MENTIONED, UM, UH, THERE ARE ADDICTIONS ON BOTH ENDS. UH, BOTH PARENTS AND THE CHILDREN. UH, PARENTS, UH, ARE ADDICTED TO THE IMMEDIATE CONTACT THAT THEY CAN HAVE WITH THEIR KIDS. UM, THE KIDS ARE, ARE ADDICTED TO, UH, ALL THE DOPAMINE, UH, RUSHES THAT THEY'RE GETTING FROM THEIR PHONES. UH, AND I WILL SAY, UM, UH, IT'S, IF WE'RE GOING TO, TO BAN, UH, BAN PHONES, I'M BE ALL ABOUT IT. UH, IT, WHETHER WE NOT, UH, AT THIS POINT, UH, THAT WE SAY THAT WE HAVE THE ABILITY TO BAN PHONES, I THINK WE CAN. UM, THERE'S A LOT OF KIDS THAT HAVE POCKET KNIVES, BB GUNS, AND WE DON'T LET 'EM BRING THAT TO SCHOOL. UH, SO WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE, UH, IN A PHONE, UH, IN, IN THE WAY I SEE IT ANYWAYS. UH, BUT, UH, THAT'S ALL I HAVE. THANK YOU. CARLTON DALLAS. UH, THANK YOU MADAM CHAIR. UH, I TOO AGREE WITH SO MANY OF THE POINTS THAT HAVE BEEN MADE HERE. UM, AND, AND, AND I THINK WE GOTTA MOVE ON IT. I THINK WE ARE GOING TO HAVE TO MOVE ON IT BASED ON SYSTEMIC ENFORCEMENT. UH, IT THAT STARTS AT THE TOP, THE BOARD REINFORCING IT AS WE MIGRATE, NAVIGATE THROUGH THE COMMUNITY. I THINK ONE, HAVE A MESSAGING CAMPAIGN TO SHARE WITH THE LARGER COMMUNITY, THE NEGATIVE IMPACT THAT PHONES AND SOCIAL MEDIA HAVE ON LEARNING. WE'RE SPENDING MILLIONS OF DOLLARS TO IMPROVE SCORES. AND YET, TO A LARGE DEGREE, SOCIAL MEDIA ROBS THOSE KIDS OF THEIR TIME TO ACTUALLY STUDY AND PRACTICE PHONES. ROB THEM OF THESE, A LITTLE BIT OF THEIR INDEPENDENCE AND THE CONFIDENCE, UH, BECAUSE THEY, THEY ARE SO TIED TO THIS PHONE AND WHO'S SAYING WHAT? UH, AND IT IS A LARGER PROBLEM. IT GOES BACK TO 1996 WITH THE COMMUNICATIONS ACT OF 1996, SECTION 2 3 0, WHEN TO PROMOTE LARGE ENTITIES CONTRIBUTING TO POLITICAL CAMP PARK LAUNCH, TO ALL EMERGING SOCIAL MEDIA. EUROPE HAS ADDRESSED IT A LOT MORE AGGRESSIVELY THAN THE US. THERE'S SOME MODELS THERE, HOW THEY CONTROL IT BETTER, NOT COMPLETELY, BUT BETTER THAN WE DO. AND I THINK WE NEED TO LOOK AT SOME OF THE CULTURES WHERE PHONES JUST ARE NOT ALLOWED. AND THAT MESSAGING CAMPAIGN, I THINK, SHOULD INCLUDE VERY SPECIFIC INFORMATION, EASILY UNDERSTOOD, EASILY CONVEYED, SO THAT PARENTS KNOW, WE KNOW YOU AS PARENTS CARE ABOUT YOUR KIDS. HERE'S SOMETHING THAT IS REALLY CRITICALLY IMPORTANT TO HELPING YOUR KID BE COMPETITIVE IN A GLOBAL SOCIETY. AND SO THAT'S, THAT'S WHAT I WOULD SUGGEST. I THINK ANOTHER THING IS [01:50:01] TO ACTUALLY INFORM THE MEDIA IF WE EVER GET TO A COLLECT CALIBRATED POINT ON IT, AND WE SAY, YES, NOT THE MEDIA, I'M SORRY, THE LEGISLATURE, SO THAT THEY KNOW WE ARE BEHIND THEM IF THEY HAVE THE, NOT IF THEY, IF THEY HAVE, BUT WE ARE BEHIND THEM WHEN THEY MOVE FORWARD ON THIS BILL, BECAUSE I, I THINK ALL OF AMERICA IS BEGINNING TO SEE THE NEGATIVE IMPACT OF PHONES AND HOW IT REALLY SORT OF HINDERS LEARNING. SO THANK YOU. I HAVEN'T SPOKEN SO WELL AT A FEW THINGS. I THINK, UH, A LOT OF THE COMMENTS ALREADY HAVE BEEN REALLY EXCELLENT BY MY COLLEAGUES. UM, YOU KNOW, THERE'S NO QUESTION THAT THE CELL PHONES ARE DETRIMENTAL TO, UH, ACADEMIC, UH, ACHIEVEMENT, UH, BY THE STUDENT THAT HAS THE CELL PHONE, BUT ALSO BY THE OTHER STUDENTS IN THAT CLASSROOM, UH, THAT ARE COMMUNICATING WITH THAT CHILD. SO, UM, IT'S, IT'S, IT'S AFFECTING EVERYBODY. SOCIAL MEDIA IS DESIGNED TO BE ADDICTIVE. IT'S DESIGNED THAT WAY. THEY'VE SHOWN THAT. AND IT'S, THAT'S WHY THIS PROBLEM IS SO HARD TO, FOR, FOR SCHOOLS TO TRY TO ADDRESS, IS IT'S AN ADDICTION. AND IT'S AN ADDICTION HAS BEEN BROUGHT OUT FOR THE STUDENT AND AN ADDICTION FOR THE, THE PARENTS. AND, UM, IT'S, IT'S, UH, THAT'S, THAT'S A REAL PROBLEM TO, TO, UH, TRY TO, UH, UH, TURN AROUND AN ADDICTION, UM, AND, AND REMOVE IT FROM THE CLASSROOM. UM, I DON'T THINK THERE'S A QUICK FIX. I THINK, UH, WE DEFINITELY NEED PARENTAL SUPPORT. UH, WE NEED TO HAVE THE PARENTS AND THE KIDS ON BOARD, UH, TO ADDRESS THIS ISSUE. IF IT IS AN EASILY SOLVABLE PROBLEM, IT WOULD BE ALREADY FIXED. IT'S NOT. SO, I AGREE WITH MR. DALLAS. IT NEEDS, I WOULD SAY, KISS, KEEP IT SIMPLE, STUPID. UM, I ALREADY EXPRESSED MY, UH, UH, MY OPINION ABOUT THE AR WAY TOO WORDY, WAY TOO MANY. IF THIS, IF THAT, YOU KNOW, I, I JUST, I THINK IT HAS TO BE, MY PREFERENCE PROBABLY WOULD BE JUST BAN THEM IN THE SCHOOLS. I, I JUST THINK THAT'S THE ONLY WAY THAT YOU CAN REALLY KEEP IT SIMPLE. AND I CONCUR. WE, YOU KNOW, YES, OUR EDUCATORS IN THE CLASSROOM OBVIOUSLY HAVE TO BE INVOLVED WITH ENFORCEMENT, AND THAT'S GONNA BE SUPER HARD. AND WE DON'T WANNA PUT A HUGE BURDEN ON THEM. AND I THINK IF YOU HAVE, THEY CAN USE IT FOR THE FIVE MINUTES BEFORE LUNCH OR THE 10 MINUTES AFTER LUNCH OR WHATEVER. IT'S GETTING WAY TOO COMPLICATED. JUST HAS TO BE MUCH, MUCH SIMPLER THAN THAT. BUT WE ABSOLUTELY HAVE TO HAVE BUY-IN FROM THE, FROM THE STUDENTS AND THE, AND THE PARENTS AND THE COMMUNITY. AND, UH, SO, UM, I THINK, UH, DR. RODRIGUEZ, I WANNA COMPLIMENT YOU ON STARTING THIS. IT'S NOT AN EASY THING TO START. UM, AND, UH, I THINK A LOT OF GOOD POINTS HAVE BEEN RAISED AND, UH, UM, THOSE, I THINK, I THINK EVERYBODY'S WEIGHED IN AND, AND MADE VERY GOOD POINTS. ALL RIGHT. DR. ESKI HAS BEEN WAITING TO SPEAK AGAIN. JUST, JUST ONE LAST THING, UM, TO BUILD ON WHAT MR. DALLAS SAID ABOUT A COORDINATED, UM, PR KIND OF CAMPAIGN FOR PARENTS. I KNOW WE'RE WAITING UNTIL JUNE TO SEE WHAT THE LEGISLATURE DOES. SUMMER'S GONNA BE BUSY FOR A LOT OF FAMILIES, AND I KNOW WE ALSO, AND, AND SHORTER THIS YEAR. UM, AND, AND I KNOW THAT WE ALSO WANT PARENTAL FEEDBACK. WE HAVE A FANTASTIC COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT. I WOULD JUST IMPLORE YOU ALL TO BEGIN THAT PROCESS NOW. IT, IT APPEARS BASED ON THE CONVERSATION HERE AND WHAT YOU'VE STATED, THAT SOMETHING IS GONNA HAPPEN BEFORE THE START OF THE SCHOOL YEAR. SO LET'S START THE COMMUNICATION, UM, AND MAKE IT PRETTY AGGRESSIVE SO THAT WE GET THAT PARENTAL BUY-IN AND THEY ARE PREPPING THEIR STUDENTS BEFORE THE SCHOOL YEAR STARTS. AND THEREFORE THAT TRICKLES DOWN INTO HOPEFULLY LESS ENFORCEMENT BEING NEEDED. UM, I JUST THINK WE NEED TO START NOW ON THAT PIECE. THANK YOU. ALRIGHT, MR. SMITH. UM, I DO UNDERSTAND, UH, WHAT MY COLLEAGUE JUST SAID, BUT MY ONLY THING ABOUT THIS IS, UH, AS I HEARD, UH, ONE OF THE BOARD MEMBERS SAID AS WELL, IS THAT WE MUST GET STUDENT INPUTS. STUDENTS HAVE TO BUY IN NO MATTER WHAT WE PUT IN PLACE. AND AT SOME POINT IN TIME, IT'S, IT'S NO DIFFERENT THAN HAVING A FOOTBALL TEAM. WE HAVE TO GET THE STUDENTS IN THIS DISTRICT TO HAVE PRIDE IN THIS DISTRICT, TO HAVE PRIDE IN THEIR SCHOOLS, TO HELP US LEAD AS WELL. AND I DO AGREE WITH, WITH THE, WITH, UH, I GO SAY, I DO AGREE GROUP SHEET DR. KY, ABOUT, ABOUT YOU AND MR. DALLAS, ABOUT GETTING THE PARENTS TO BUY [01:55:01] IN IS, IS GOOD. BUT WE ALSO MUST ALSO GET THE STUDENTS TO BUY IN AND UNDERSTAND WHY WE'RE DOING WHAT THEY'RE, WHAT WE'RE DOING, BECAUSE WE CARE ABOUT THEM. AND THAT WAY WE WE'RE TRYING TO GET THEM TO FOCUS MORE ON THE, ON THEIR CLASS, ON THEIR CLASSWORK THAN ACTUALLY WHAT'S GOING ON OUTSIDE OF SCHOOL. SO I JUST, THAT'S JUST SOMETHING I WANT, I WANNA PUT, I WANTED TO PUT OUT THERE TO GET, NOT NOT JUST TO PARENTS' UNDERSTANDING OF IT, BUT TO GET THE STUDENTS' BUYING OF IT AND NEGOTIATION OF IT AND WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE AND HOW WE CAN PUT SOMETHING IN PLAN AND, AND PLAN WITHOUT WORRYING, WORRYING ABOUT ANYONE. BECAUSE AS WELL HAS BEEN STATED, WE ALREADY HAVE AR WE REACTIVATE THE AR AND GET PEOPLE TO BUY IN AT EVERY LEVEL, AT EVERY, AT EVERY CROOK AND EVERY KOREAN IN THIS COMMUNITY TO TELL THEM WE WANT LESS CELL PHONES AS POSSIBLE OUT DURING THE EDUCATIONAL PROCESS. THANK YOU ALL. MR. NAY. THANK YOU MADAM CHAIR. I, I JUST HAD ONE SAY ROUND, UH, I, I THINK IT'S OKAY TO REMOVE PAGER FROM DESCRIPTION OF ELECTRONIC DEVICES. . I'M JUST SAYING THERE ARE A FEW. VERY FEW. ALRIGHT. THAT CONCLUDES YOUR, YOUR, UM, REPORT, DR. RODRIGUEZ? YES. YES. OKAY. NEXT, WE'RE ON [Board Business Action] UP TO BOARD BUSINESS ACTION. UM, REGARDING THE 20 24 20 25 BUDGET CERTIFICATION, COLONEL GEIER, MADAM CHAIR, UH, IT IS NOW TIME TO APPROVE OUR OPERATIONS BUDGET AND OUR DEBT SERVICE BUDGET. WE HAVE TWO MOTIONS I WILL READ. THE FIRST MOTION WILL BE THE OPERATIONS BUDGET, AND MS. CROSBY WILL BE ABLE TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS THE MOTION FOLLOWS. I MOVE THAT THE, THE BUFORD COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION APPROVE AND CERTIFY THE FISCAL YEAR 20 24, 20 25 GENERAL FUND BUDGET IN THE AMOUNT OF $359,170,000 WITH AN OPERATIONS MILLAGE RATE OF 1 21 0.8 MILLS SECOND. SO THE MOTION MADE BY COLONEL GEIER AND SECOND BY VICTOR NAY. AND WHY DON'T WE, UH, DO YOU WANT TO SAY A FEW POINTS? YOU DON'T HAVE TO GO PAGE BY PAGE, BUT CORRECT. YES. MOST OF THE PRESENTATION IS WHAT YOU'VE ALREADY SEEN. UH, IT'S JUST A SUMMARY. I DID WANNA MENTION OUR, UH, WE HAD A PRESENTATION YESTERDAY, UH, AFTERNOON WITH COUNTY COUNCIL FINANCE COMMITTEE. UH, IT WAS VERY WELL RECEIVED. WE DID THE SAME OR VERY SIMILAR PRESENTATION. UH, WE HAD A FEW QUESTIONS AND WHICH WE WERE ABLE TO ANSWER. UH, THEY CELEBRATED DR. RODRIGUEZ A LITTLE BIT THERE, UH, HIS RECENT ACCOMPLISHMENT. UM, SO, AND, UH, THEY ULTIMATELY, UH, WITH UNANIMOUS CONSENT, UM, THE COMMITTEE APPROVED THE AGENDA ITEM TO BE MOVED FORWARD TO FULL COUNSEL FOR FIRST READING OF THE BUDGET ORDINANCE ON TUESDAY, MAY 28TH, CONTINGENT UPON THE BOARD'S FINAL APPROVAL THIS EVENING. SO THEY DID ALLOW US TO GO AHEAD AND MOVE IT FORWARD TO FIRST READING, UM, CONTINGENT UPON YOUR APPROVAL. SO, UM, THAT WAS, I'M VERY EXCITED THAT WE WERE ABLE TO DO THAT. AND SO THE OTHERWISE MAY HAVE HAD A SPECIAL CALLED COMMITTEE MEETING. SO, UM, THAT WAS, UH, VERY, UH, APPRECIATED. ALSO, WE PROVIDED THE BUDGET FLYER, WHICH YOU HAVE A COPY OF IN YOUR PACKET TONIGHT. UM, WE EMAILED THAT TO ALL OF THE COUNCIL MEMBERS AS WELL AS ALL OF THE BOARD MEMBERS. SO THEY CAN, UM, IT'S A, JUST A BRIEF SUMMARY OF, WITH ALL THE MAJOR DETAILS OF COMPENSATION, WHICH IS SOME, ONE OF THE MAIN PIECES OF OUR, UM, UH, THE FOCUSES OF OUR BUDGET THIS, THIS YEAR. SO, UM, THOSE ARE BASICALLY THE DETAILS. I THINK THE OTHER POINT I WOULD ADD IS JUST A REMINDER THAT, UM, THERE IS NO MILLAGE INCREASE IN THIS BUDGET. YES, THAT'S RIGHT. . YES. ALL RIGHT. DO YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS FROM BOARD MEMBERS? DR. WISNESKI? I JUST HAVE A SUGGESTION, THE ONE PAGER WITH YOUR LOVELY PHOTO ON IT, FRANK. UM, I WOULD JUST MAKE A SUGGESTION FOR THIS ONE. IT'S PUSHED OUT TO OTHER PEOPLE. MAYBE SAY MILLAGE SLASH TAX INCREASE JUST SO THAT THE GENERAL PUBLIC IS MORE, LISTEN, WHEN I LEARNED WHAT MILLAGE WAS, IT MADE ME GO CROSS-EYED. SO, YEAH. MM-HMM, , I THINK TAX INCREASE, NO TAX INCREASE SEEMS A LOT BETTER. PERFECT. THANK YOU. I THOUGHT YOU WANTED MY PICTURE OUT, WHICH IS FINE. , I WOULD'VE BEEN A MUCH BETTER RECOMMENDATION. . THAT'S RIGHT. ALRIGHT, MR. SMITH, UM, ONE THING I WILL SAY IN TERMS OF THIS BUDGET IS THAT, UH, FIRST, NOT MR. MRS. UH, CROSBY, DR. CROSBY, UH, MRS. CROSBY, UM, I APPRECIATE THE PROFESSIONALISM FROM YOU AND YOUR TEAM AS WELL AS FROM DR. RODRIGUEZ, UH, AS WELL. UM, UM, AND I, AND I, AND I JUST WANT TO SAY THIS, UM, IN TERMS OF [02:00:01] THIS BUDGET, THERE ARE A COUPLE THINGS THAT WE DID THAT WE WEREN'T ABLE TO SQUEEZE IN THIS BUDGET THIS YEAR IN TERMS OF BRINGING BACK STAFF, UH, AND OR STAFF OF, OF CUSTODIANS AND A COUPLE OTHER, UH, CUSTODIANS AND A COUPLE OTHER THINGS, UM, THAT WE WOULD, I WOULD LIKE TO SEE IN THE FURTHER BUDGET COMING, UH, MOVING FORWARD, BECAUSE THESE PEOPLE ARE TAXPAYERS AND THEY, WHEN WE WE GO OUT, DO WE DO GO OUT FOR BORROW REFERENDUMS. AND WE MUST ALWAYS REMEMBER THAT THESE PEOPLE, UH, WELL, NOT THESE PEOPLE, THEY'RE THESE MEMBERS OF OUR COMMUNITIES. THEY ARE VERY IMPORTANT. AND WHEN IT COMES TO THEIR HEALTHCARES AND DIFFERENT THINGS, AND THAT, I'M JUST LOOKING FORWARD TO SEE THOSE THINGS AND, AND FOR US TO MOVE US MOVING FORWARD, HOW WE CAN, HOW WE CAN PUT THAT INTO, INTO FURTHER, FURTHER, UH, FIND THE, UH, FIND THE, UH, FURTHER BUDGET EXCUSE THANK YOU. FURTHER BUDGETS MOVING, MOVING FORWARD IN TERMS OF HAVING THEM IN-HOUSE, IN IN-HOUSE JUDGE DISTRICT DISREGARD EMPLOYEES. SO I JUST WANT TO PUT THAT IN THERE TONIGHT. I WILL SUPPORT IT BECAUSE I APPRECIATE THE DILIGENCE OF YOU AND YOUR TEAM. UH, BUT I AM, I AM LOOKING FOR THAT IN, IN THE FUTURE, FUTURE BUDGET OF THE BUDGET THAT WILL COME NEXT YEAR FOR US TO START LOOKING, MOVING IN THAT DIRECTION. THANK YOU. ALL RIGHT. THERE. BEING NO FURTHER HANDS UP, WE'LL CALL FOR THE VOTE. ALL THOSE IN FAVOR OF, UH, CERTIFYING THE, UH, BUDGET AS PROPOSED. UH, PLEASE RAISE YOUR HAND AND SAY AYE, AYE, AYE. AND VOTE. RIGHT. I. ALRIGHT. THE, UM, SO THE OPERATIONS, UH, BUDGET IS CERTIFIED, UH, 10, UH, ZERO ZERO MADAM CHAIR. WE'RE NOW GOING TO TALK ABOUT THE DEBT SERVICE. AND THIS PAYS PRINCIPLE AND INTEREST ON OUR REFERENDUM AND 8% DEBT. MADAM CHAIR, I MOVE THAT THE BUFORT COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION APPROVE AND CERTIFY THE FISCAL YEAR 20 24, 20 25 DEBT SERVICE FUND BUDGET IN THE AMOUNT OF $108,063,241 WITH A DEBT SERVICE MILLAGE RATE OF 36.3 MILS. OKAY. ALL RIGHT. SECOND BY EARL CAMPBELL. AND, UM, WOULD YOU LIKE TO MAKE A FEW COMMENTS REGARDING THIS? COLONEL GEIER, UH, SPOKE VERY WELL ON THIS TOPIC. DEBT SERVICE FUND IS VERY SIMPLE. IT HAS TAX REVENUE COMING IN AND PRINCIPAL AND INTEREST PAYMENTS GOING OUT. THAT'S PRETTY MUCH, IT'S VERY SIMPLE AND IT EASY. UM, THESE ARE BASED ON PROJECTIONS OF THE PRINCIPAL AND INTEREST PAYMENTS COMING FROM OUR FINANCIAL ADVISOR OVER THE NEXT 12 MONTHS FROM JULY ONE TO JUNE 30. SO THEY JUST, IT'S PRETTY SIMPLE AND THERE IS ALSO NO MILLAGE INCREASE REQUIRED OR REQUESTED OF THIS BUDGET AS WELL. ANY, UH, QUESTIONS FROM, FROM THE BOARD MEMBERS? MR. SMITH? UM, MR. CROSBY, I DO HEAR WHAT YOU'RE SAYING, BUT, AND, AND IN, UM, THE MOST SIMPLEST TERM FOR THE PEOPLE WHO WANNA KNOW, WHO DON'T UNDERSTAND WHAT, WHY EXACTLY SHOULD WE BE VOTING FOR THIS? LIKE WHAT DOES, WHAT DOES THAT MEAN IN TERMS OF, IN, IN TERMS, IN TERMS OF US VOTING IN, IN, IN, IN TERMS OF SUPPORT TODAY? UM, OPERATIONAL EXPECTATION, I BELIEVE IT IS SIX, REQUIRES THE BOARD TO APPROVE BOTH THE GENERAL FUND OPERATING AND THE GENERAL FUND DEBTS, OR THE, EXCUSE ME, THE DEBT SERVICE FUND BUDGETS. SO THEY ARE BOTH REQUIRED, SO THAT'S WHY I BRING THEM BOTH FORWARD. UM, THERE WERE SOME DETAILS IN YOUR LAST PACKET OF EACH FUND, UM, BUT BASICALLY IT IS TAX REVENUE COMING IN OF $108 MILLION AND TAX REVENUE, UH, UH, REVENUE GOING OUT IN THE FORM OF PRINCIPAL AND INTEREST PAYMENTS ON OUR BONDS. UM, SO IT'S PRETTY SIMPLE WITH KEEPING A FUND BALANCE AT THE MINIMAL LEVEL, UM, SO THAT WE'RE ABLE IN CASE OF AN EMERGENCY. SO, UH, PRETTY SIMPLE. IT'S A SEPARATE LINE ITEM ON THE TAX BILL AND IT IS REQUIRED BY BOARD BOARD POLICY. THANK YOU, MR. QUI. I'LL LOOK FURTHER FURTHER. MM-HMM. TO EDUCATE THE COMMUNITY. THANK YOU. ALL RIGHT. THERE. BEING NO FURTHER HANDS UP. UM, WE WILL NOW TAKE THE VOTE ON, UH, APPROVAL OR CERTIFYING THE DEBT SERVICE BUDGET FOR 20 24 20 25. ALL IN FAVOR, PLEASE SAY AYE. AYE. ONLINE VOTE, RIGHT? AYE. DALLAS. AYE. SORRY, GORDON. AYE. A AYE. OKAY. YEP. SO THE, THE, UM, DEBT SERVICE, UH, BUDGET IS ALSO, UH, [02:05:01] UNANIMOUSLY APPROVED, 10 0 0. ALRIGHT. AND I'LL UPDATE THE BOARD ON THE, UH, EACH OF THE NEXT THREE READINGS AND LET YOU KNOW HOW IT GOES THROUGH COMMUNICATION. UM, REGULAR COMMUNICATIONS OFFICE. OKAY. THANK YOU. THANK YOU . COLONEL GEIER [Consent Agenda] CHAIR, I MAKE A MOTION TO APPROVE THE CONSENT AGENDA. SECOND. ALRIGHT. THE CONSENT AGENDA OF MOTION WAS MADE BY COLONEL GEIER AND SECOND BY VICTOR NAY. ALL THOSE IN FAVOR PLEASE SAY AYE. AYE. AND ONLINE, RIGHT? A DALLAS. AYE. JORDAN AYE. A AYE. ANY NAYS SMITH? OKAY. YES, MA'AM. ALL RIGHT. SO THE MOTION, UH, CARRIES 9 1 0. [Future Agenda Topics] ALRIGHT. NEXT WE HAVE FUTURE AGENDA TOPICS. IF YOU'D LIKE TO PROVIDE AN AGENDA TOPIC, JUST RAISE YOUR HAND. INGRID. YEAH. CAN WE GET THIS NOT AGENDA TOPIC, BUT CAN WE GET A FOLLOW UP? WE HAD AN APPROVED, AN ELECTRONIC, UH, PUBLIC COMMENT CARD, AND I KNOW I'VE GIVEN IT BEEN DESIGNED, BUT I DON'T HEAR IT ANY INSTRUCTIONS, SO I WOULD LIKE AN UPDATE ON THAT. OKAY. THANK YOU. ALL RIGHT. YOU STILL HAVE YOUR HAND UP? YOU HAVE ANOTHER INGRID. SORRY. OH, OKAY. NO PROBLEM. I'M GOOD. ALL RIGHT. ON THE ICE, IT'S A LOT. . ALL RIGHT. [Announcements] NEXT ON OUR AGENDA, WE HAVE ANNOUNCEMENTS. AND, UH, FIRST UP IS DR. RACHEL WAS NEVSKY, THE DISTRICT SEVEN REPRESENTATIVE. THANK YOU, MADAM CHAIR. UM, I HOPE YOU ALL WILL ALLOW ME JUST A COUPLE MINUTES MORE OF YOUR TIME THIS EVENING. UH, I BELIEVE MOST OF YOU ALREADY KNOW, BUT I'D LIKE TO PUBLICLY ANNOUNCE THAT I'LL BE VACATING MY SEAT ON THE SCHOOL BOARD IN EARLY JUNE. DUE TO MY PENDING MOVE OUT OF DISTRICT, BEAUFORT COUNTY HAS BEEN HOME MY ENTIRE LIFE. I WAS BORN, RAISED, AND EDUCATED HERE IN BCSD SCHOOLS. MY DEDICATION TO MY ROOTS AND CHILDREN IS WHAT DROVE ME TO RUN FOR THE SCHOOL BOARD, AND I'VE BEEN BLESSED TO BE TWICE ELECTED AS THE DISTRICT SEVEN BOARD OF EDUCATION REPRESENTATIVE AND BEYOND UNGRATEFUL TO HAVE HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO REPRESENT THE BLUFFTON COMMUNITY. HANG ON. SORRY. TAKE YOUR TIME. PLEASE TAKE YOUR TIME. I WAS TRYING NOT TO. DON'T RUSH. TAKE YOUR TIME. SO I SET OUT WITH A FEW GOALS WHILE IN THIS SEAT, ONE BEING TO DIVERSIFY SOURCES OF OUR REVENUE STREAMS. I'M EXTREMELY PLEASED THAT WITH THE BOARD DIRECTIVE AND RENEWED FOCUS ON GRANTS OPPORTUNITIES, COMBINED WITH DR. STRATOS AND HER AMAZING TEAM, UH, TO ALIGN THOSE GRANTS TO OUR BOARD AND DISTRICT PRIORITIES, WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO OFFER SOME INCREDIBLE OPTIONS AND PROGRAMS TO OUR STUDENTS. ANOTHER GOAL WAS TO STRENGTHEN OUR SAFETY AND SECURITY INITIATIVES. I'M EXTREMELY PROUD TO HAVE DRAFTED AND IMPLEMENTED THE FIRST BOARD POLICY ON SAFETY AND SECURITY, AS WELL AS PASSING THE REQUIREMENT THAT ALL OF OUR SCHOOLS ELEMENTARY INCLUDED, BE REQUIRED TO HAVE AT LEAST ONE SECURITY OFFICER, OR SRO BUFORT COUNTY NOW LEADS SOUTH CAROLINA IN PRIORITIZING STUDENT AND STAFF SAFETY. AND FOR THAT, I AM FOREVER GRATEFUL. ONE OF THE FIRST AND MOST IMPORTANT TASKS THAT WE HAD WHEN I FIRST CAME ON THE BOARD WAS TO HIRE THE NEXT LEADER OF BEFOR COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT. DR. RODRIGUEZ WAS THE OBVIOUS CHOICE FOR THAT POSITION, AND I HAVE NO DOUBT THAT HE'LL CONTINUE TO LEAD BCSD WITH INTEGRITY AND THOUGHTFULNESS. FRANK, YOU'VE ALWAYS BEEN RESPONSIVE AND OPEN TO HONEST DISCUSSION ON THE HARD TOPICS. I APPRECIATE YOUR CANDOR AND THE CONSIDERATE, RESPECTFUL RELATIONSHIP WE'VE BUILT SERVING THE STUDENT, STAFF AND CITIZENS OF THIS COUNTY. I'D ALSO LIKE TO THANK MY FELLOW BOARD MEMBERS PAST AND PRESENT FOR THEIR DEDICATION TO OUR STUDENTS IN BEAUFORT COUNTY AND FOR SERVING AT TIMES. THIS IS A THANKLESS ROLE AND ONE THAT I BELIEVE NONE OF US STEPPED INTO LIGHTLY. THANK YOU FOR LISTENING AND FOR ENGAGING IN THIS PRODUCTIVE AND IMPORTANT WORK. MY ASK OF ALL OF YOU AS I DEPART, IS THAT YOU CONTINUE TO USE A STUDENT-FOCUSED LENS, ALONG WITH A DATA-DRIVEN APPROACH TO LEADING THE DISTRICT. LASTLY, I'D LIKE TO THANK MY FAMILY, ESPECIALLY MY DAUGHTER, SOPHIE SCARLET AND SHELBY, WHO HAVE BEEN MY BIGGEST CHEERLEADER SINCE I TOOK ON THE RESPONSIBILITY OF DISTRICT SEVEN REP. THEY HAVE SACRIFICED MANY DAYS AND NIGHTS AWAY FROM THEIR MOM SO THAT I COULD SERVE OUR COMMUNITY IN THIS CAPACITY. BUT THEY ALWAYS PROVIDED WORDS OF ENCOURAGEMENT, LIKE, HAVE A GREAT MEETING MOM. AS I LEFT, I AM BEYOND BLESSED THAT GOD CHOSE ME TO BE THEIR MOM. THANK YOU ALL AGAIN FOR ALLOWING ME THE HONOR OF SERVING FOR AND WITH YOU. [02:10:10] SO I WOULD LIKE TO JUST SAY A FEW WORDS. SO, UM, DR. S DR. WISNESKI CALLED ME AND TOLD ME, UH, YOU KNOW WHAT, SHE JUST ANNOUNCED TO THE PUBLIC. AND I SAID SOME THINGS TO HER THAT I WOULD ALSO LIKE TO SAY PUBLICLY. I HAVE SERVED WITH YOU FOR THE ENTIRE TIME YOU'VE BEEN ON THE BOARD, AND IT'S BEEN A PLEASURE TO BE YOUR COLLEAGUE. YOU HAVE BROUGHT SO MUCH TO THIS BOARD. YOU ARE ALWAYS, UH, WELL PREPARED, THOUGHTFUL, UH, INTELLIGENT AND INTELLECTUAL ABOUT YOUR, UH, DECISION MAKING. ALWAYS HAVE CHILDREN FIRST. UM, I KNOW YOU'VE BEEN A VERY BUSY LADY AS A, AS A, A MOTHER OF, OF YOUNG CHILDREN. I DON'T KNOW HOW YOU'VE DONE IT. I PERSONALLY WAITED UNTIL MY CHILDREN WERE GROWN BEFORE I RAN FOR THE SCHOOL BOARD, BECAUSE I DIDN'T THINK I COULD DO IT WITH A FULL-TIME JOB. SO, AS BILL PAYNE USED TO SAY, ONE OF OUR FORMER BOARD MEMBERS, YOU DESERVE TO BE COMMENDED. AND, UH, YOU HAVE BEEN SUCH AN ASSET TO THIS BOARD AND TO THE, UH, THE, UM, STUDENTS AND FAMILIES AND THE COMMUNITY THAT YOU'VE SERVED AND TO BEAUFORT COUNTY AS A WHOLE. AND WE WILL MISS YOU. I'M SURE YOU'LL DO WONDERFUL THINGS, UH, WHERE YOU'RE HEADED, AND THEY ARE VERY FORTUNATE TO, UH, HAVE YOU. AND, UH, I JUST PERSONALLY, I FOUND IT HARD TO ACCEPT THAT YOU'RE LEAVING, ESPECIALLY SINCE THIS HAS BEEN WHERE YOU HAVE LIVED YOUR ENTIRE LIFE. AND, UH, THANK YOU SO MUCH, RACHEL, FOR STEPPING UP AND, AND SERVING. WE, YOU, YOU'VE DONE A GREAT JOB AND YOU'VE ALWAYS, UH, TAKEN ON A GREAT LEADERSHIP ROLE. WHEN, UH, WHENEVER I CONTACTED YOU, YOU WERE, YOU WERE WONDERFUL ABOUT, UH, VOLUNTEERING. THANK YOU. OKAY, DR. RODRIGUEZ, AGAIN, ON BEHALF OF MY STAFF AND CERTAINLY MYSELF, RACHEL, I WANT TO, UH, THANK YOU FOR AFFORDING ME THE OPPORTUNITY, UH, TO LEAD HERE IN BEAUFORT COUNTY. UH, THANK YOU FOR, UH, FOR THAT. I HAVE, UH, CERTAINLY A RESPONSIBILITY THAT I TAKE GREATLY AND, AND I APPRECIATE, UH, ALL OF OUR DIALOGUES OVER THE YEARS, UM, BECAUSE ALL OF THOSE HAVE SERVED, UH, TO HELP MAKE BEAUFORT COUNTY BETTER. AND SO I APPRECIATE YOUR INSIGHTS ON THINGS, UH, YOUR, YOUR ENGAGEMENT WITH THE COMMUNITY AND SHARING THOSE THOUGHTS WITH ME TOO. UH, THOSE ARE ALL VERY HELPFUL IN LEADING SCHOOL DISTRICTS. AND, UM, I APPRECIATE WORKING ALONGSIDE YOU, UH, HERE IN LEADING BEAUFORT COUNTY. THANK YOU. I JUST WANNA SAY THAT. YEP. JUST, JUST A MINUTE. COLTON, PLEASURE. YOU RIGHT, MR. KIM. BEEN A PLEASURE SINCE YOU CAME ON THE BOARD. AND, UH, GONNA MISS, YOU'RE GONNA BE MISS, THANK YOU. ALRIGHT, WE'LL GO TO CARLTON AND THEN VICTOR, I HAVE OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS. YEAH. UM, DR. ESKI, IT'S BEEN AN ABSOLUTE PLEASURE. I NEVER KNEW YOU REALLY BEFORE COMING ON THE BOARD, BUT I'VE ALWAYS BEEN IMPRESSED BY YOUR INTELLECTUAL PROWESS, YOUR ANALYTICAL CHOPS, AND YET YOUR REFINED WAY OF DELIVERING YOUR MESSAGE, UM, BOTH WIN-WIN. SO GOD SPEED IN YOUR LIFE'S JOURNEY, MA'AM. THANK YOU. UM, COLONEL GEIER, AND THEN INGRID BOATWRIGHT, I AM GONNA MISS YOU. UM, I DON'T LIKE TO GET INTO DETAILS. YOU DO AND I APPRECIATE ALL THE TIME YOU SPENT AND ALL THE ENERGY THAT YOU USED TO MAKE SURE THAT WHAT WE WANTED TO DO WAS PROPERLY DOCUMENTED. AND I, I DON'T, I DON'T KNOW HOW WE'RE GONNA REPLACE. WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO GET, UH, YOU'RE GONNA HAVE TO FIND SOMEBODY ELSE IN, IN YOUR DISTRICT TO COME IN AND TAKE YOUR PLACE BECAUSE, UH, WE WILL MISS YOU GREATLY. ALRIGHT, INGRID, YES, AS ALL MY COLLEAGUES HAVE SAID, I SHARE ALL THOSE SENTIMENTS, BUT I HAVE TO SAY, I THINK IT IS THE PERFECT FINAL COMMENTS OF RACHEL'S BOARD CAREER THAT SHE SAID, DIRECT TO THE SUPERINTENDENT TO CHANGE, MAY NOTIFY LAW ENFORCEMENT TO WILL NOTIFY LAW ENFORCEMENT. I THOUGHT THAT TOING DONE OVER THE BOARD. THANKS FOR EVERYTHING. AND YES, I AGREE. LET'S FIND SOMEBODY THAT CAN, YOU KNOW, CAN FILL THOSE SHOES BECAUSE THOSE ARE VERY DIFFICULT SHOES TO FILL. VICTOR, DID YOU WANT TO, UM, SAY YES, BUT I ALSO HAVE OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS IF YOU WANT TO. OKAY, WELL LET'S STAY ON THIS ONE 'CAUSE WE STILL HAVE OTHER PEOPLE THAT WANT TO SPEAK. OKAY. SO, UH, CHLOE, THANK YOU MADAM CHAIR ALL. MISS RACHEL, I REALLY APPRECIATE YOU, UM, COMING ON BOARD LAST YEAR AND LISTENING TO YOU, WATCHING [02:15:01] YOU NAVIGATE. UM, I ASPIRE TO BE CLOSELY IN YOUR FOOTSTEPS, BUT I KNOW I CAN'T BE IN YOUR FOOTSTEPS BECAUSE YOU HAVE SET THIS UP SO UNIQUELY THAT IT'S GONNA BE HARD TO REPLACE YOU. I APPRECIATE EVERYTHING YOU SAY, WHAT YOU DO, HOW YOU GO ABOUT IT, AND, YOU KNOW, SHOWING LEADERSHIP. SO I'M GONNA MISS YOU. BUT I DO UNDERSTAND THAT WHEN YOU GOTTA GO, YOU GOTTA GO. BUT KNOW THAT, UM, I ADMIRE YOU. I REALLY DO. AND THANK YOU FOR ALL THAT YOU'VE DONE BEFORE. CAN ALRIGHT, NOW WE'LL LET VICTOR MOVE. HI, BRONSKI. UH, YOU'VE BEEN AN INCREDIBLE, UH, EXAMPLE TO A FRESHMAN BOARD MEMBER ON WHAT IT MEANS TO BE DETAILED AND DATA DRIVEN. UM, I, I SPEND A, A CONSIDERABLE AMOUNT OF TIME. I, I FEEL LIKE I STILL, A YEAR AND A HALF INTO THIS, I STILL FEEL LIKE I'M TRYING TO CATCH UP TO A MOVING TRAIN. UH, SO WHEN I'M DOING ALL MY TIME IN THE PRE-READ, I THINK TO MYSELF, UH, WHAT IS RACHEL LOOKING AT IN THIS? AND WHAT KIND OF, WHAT ARE THE LITTLE EASTER EGGS IN HERE THAT I SHOULD BE PICKING OUT? UH, AND I NEVER FIND THEM. SO I HOPE THAT, UH, MAYBE ONE DAY, UH, I, I CAN GET TO THE TYPE OF DETAIL OR THE ALMOST SURGICAL WAY THAT YOU HAVE OF BEING ABLE TO CUT THROUGH ALL THE INFORMATION AND DIG TO THE, THE, THE MATTER OF THINGS. UM, SO, UM, I WISH YOU THE BEST AND CONGRATULATIONS AND TO EVERYTHING THAT'S COMING, COMING YOUR WAY. I APPRECIATE YOU. THANK YOU. UH, AS FAR AS MY OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS, IF YOU DON'T MIND ME SEGUEING, UH, THANK YOU MADAM CHAIR. UH, SINCE OUR LAST MEETING, UH, I, I ATTENDED TWO WONDERFUL EVENTS. UM, THE FIRST ONE WAS THE CINDERELLA FELLOW BALL, UH, FOR OUR PHYSICALLY ABLED AND OUR EXCEPTIONAL LEARNER COMMUNITY. UH, AND WHAT AN AMAZING EVENT. I HAD AN INCREDIBLE TIME, UH, GETTING TO KNOW SOME OF, SOME OF THE COMMUNITY, UH, THERE. AND, UH, ALSO INTERACTING, UH, WITH, UH, MR. GUYER AND SOME OF OUR, OUR STAFF, UH, DIETRA HOLMES AND, UH, DR. WHITE WERE ALSO THERE AND A FEW OTHERS THAT I'M NOT NOT AWARE OF. UH, BUT, UH, WHAT A GREAT EVENT. AND I HAD SORT OF WONDERFUL TIME, WAS VERY HUMBLED TO RECEIVE AN INVITATION. UM, THE OTHER ONE THAT I UH, ATTENDED WAS, UM, THE TEACHER SUPPORT STAFF OF THE YEAR AT OKT ELEMENTARY. UH, I WAS VERY HUMBLED TO BE INVITED TO THAT, UH, AND, UH, FOR, UM, MRS. LEESE TO ALLOW ME TO BE A PART OF SOME SUCH A CLOISTER AND INTIMATE, UH, CEREMONY WITHIN A SCHOOL. UH, 'CAUSE THAT IS THEIR COMMUNITY. AND I WAS JUST THERE REPRESENTING THE STAFF AND LUCKY TO BE, BE A PART OF IT. UH, SO I JUST WANTED TO, UH, UH, PUT SOME GOOD NEWS OUT THERE, UH, AND NOT, NOT THAT BEING ME. SO DOWNER TONIGHT. . THANK YOU MADAM CHAIR. YOU'RE WELCOME. UH, MR. SMITH. UM, ACTUALLY, YEAH, THE, UM, JUST TO GO OFF OF HIS, UM, THIS CROWN ACTUALLY CAME FROM THE, UH, FROM THAT CINDERELLA FELLOW BALL, UH, IN THIS BAG AS WELL. THE THINGS IN, IN THIS BAG, UH, ANYONE WANTED TO SEE IT. UH, THEY DID A VERY GOOD JOB PUTTING THIS TOGETHER AS WELL AS MY WAND. UH, I BOUGHT TONIGHT JUST TO, UH, . DIDN'T KNOW RACHEL, DR. WINKY WAS GONNA WANDER US WITH A SURPRISE TONIGHT. UM, TO THAT DEGREE. UM, KY UH, IT'S, IT'S BEEN DIFFERENT. WE'VE, UH, FROM HER GOING TO, YOU'RE THE YOUNGEST ON THE BOARD. MEMBER ON THE BOARD. ON THE BOARD. AND NOW I'M OLDER THAN YOU AND US TELLING ME, TELLING HER. UM, SHE'S ALWAYS, UM, I'M OLDER THAN HER. UM, , IT IS, UH, IT'S, IT'S UH, IT'S, IT'S JUST, UH, IT'S SHOCKING. BUT, UM, I WISH YOU WELL. I WISH YOU AND YOUR FAMILY WELL. UM, GOD. SPEED. ALRIGHT, UM, LOOKS LIKE WE'RE ONTO THE SECOND PUBLIC COMMENTS AND WE DON'T HAVE ANY ONLINE OR IN PERSON. OKAY. WELL, , WITHOUT FURTHER ADO, IF THERE'S NO OBJECTION, WE CAN, UH, ADJOURN BY UNANIMOUS CONSENT. AND THANK YOU FOR ALL THAT. WERE INTENDANCE. * 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.