* 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 BUFORT COUNTY [Call to Order] PER SPEAKER ON BUFORT 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 SIX TWENTY TWENTY FIVE AGENDA. THE BOARD WILL RECONVENE AT 6:00 PM THE NEXT BUSINESS DAY. TO FINISH THE AGENDA, ICE, [Executive Session] A RATIFICATION REPORT PURSUANT TO SOUTH CAROLINA CODE ANNOTATED SECTION 30 DASH FOUR DASH 70 A ONE. DISCUSSION OF NEGOTIATIONS INCIDENT TO PROPOSED AMENDMENT NUMBER 76 WITH THOMPSON TURNER CONSTRUCTION FOR PRITCHARD V ELEMENTARY SCHOOL. LIGHTING UPGRADES, 8% CIP SCOPE, GUARANTEED MAXIMUM PRICE PROPOSAL PURSUANT TO SOUTH CAROLINA CODE ANNOTATED SECTION 30 DASH FOUR DASH 70 A TWO. DISCUSSION OF NEGOTIATIONS INCIDENT TO PROPOSED AMENDMENT NUMBER 78 WITH THOMPSON TURNER CONSTRUCTION FOR DISTRICT EDUCATION SERVICES CENTER PHASE THREE RENOVATIONS 8% CIP SCOPE GUARANTEED MAXIMUM PRICE PROPOSAL PURSUANT TO SOUTH CAROLINA CODE ANNOTATED SECTION 30 DASH FOUR DASH 70 A TWO. AND DISCUSSION OF NEGOTIATIONS INCIDENT TO PROPOSE CONTRACTUAL ARRANGEMENTS RELATED TO THE PROPERTIES IN NORTHERN BEAUFORT COUNTY PURSUANT TO SOUTH CAROLINA CODE ANNOTATED SECTION 30 DASH FOUR DASH 70 A TWO. OKAY, ANY OTHER DISCUSSIONS? RODRIGUEZ, WHEN HE'S ASKING ABOUT THE CHANGE FROM PHASE THREE TO PHASE FOUR, UH, COULD THAT, THAT ITEM COULD HAVE A MOTION COMING OUT? WELL, I WAS, I THOUGHT YOU AND PARLIAMENTARIAN GONNA RIGHT WILL THAT IT IS A MINOR ERROR AND SO IT IS SHOULD NOT NEED TO GO THROUGH THE WHOLE . IT IS, UM, WHAT'S THE TERM? THERE'S A TERM FOR IT HERE. YOU CAN RULE THAT IT'S [00:05:01] SO MINOR THAT IT DOESN'T NEED TO BE REVISED, WHICH I WOULD SUGGEST. SO. OKAY. ALL THOSE IN FAVOR SIGNIFY BY SAYING AYE. AYE. ONLINE. HEY. AYE. LILY'S NOT ONLINE. OKAY. MOTION CARRIES. WE'LL MOVE NOW TO EXECUTIVE SESSION. DISASTER PLANNING CONSISTS OF THREE SIMPLE STEPS. MAKE A PLAN, BUILD A KIT STAND FOR EVERY FAMILY. SHOULD HAVE A PLAN FOR HOW THEY WILL COMMUNICATE DURING AN EMERGENCY AND WHERE THEY WILL MEET IF SEPARATED. HAVING BASIC EMERGENCY SUPPLIES ON HAND WILL KEEP YOU ALIVE DURING THE DISASTER. MONITOR LOCAL RADIO STATIONS FOR IMPORTANT INFORMATION AND UPDATES. VISIT BCSO.NET FOR MORE INFORMATION OR APPROPRIATE TO REGARDING [Action as Necessary or Appropriate Regarding Matters Discussed in Executive Session] MATTERS DISCUSSED IN EXECUTIVE SESSION. YES, COLONEL. CHAIRMAN, WE HAVE, UH, THREE MOTIONS. I MOVE THAT THE BOARD OF EDUCATION APPROVE THE SUPERINTENDENT'S RECOMMENDATIONS FOR EMPLOYMENT LISTED ON THE APRIL 3RD, 2025 THROUGH APRIL 30TH, 2025. PERSONNEL RATIFICATION REPORT. SECOND MOTION CAN SECOND BY MR. NA. ANY DISCUSSION? NONE. ALL THOSE IN FAVOR BY SAYING AYE. AYE. MADAM OR OPPOSED MS. HAY? A AYE. A MR. OPPOSED? YOU'RE GONNA OPPOSE THAT. OPPOSE IT. OKAY. MOTION CARRIES SECOND MOTION. I MOVE THAT THE BOARD OF EDUCATION APPROVE AMENDMENT NUMBER 76 WITH THOMPSON TURNER CONSTRUCTION, INCORPORATED FOR THE CHARVILLE LIGHTING UPGRADES BASED ON THE GUARANTEED MAXIMUM PRICE PROPOSAL OF SEVEN THOU SEVEN HUNDRED THOUSAND SEVEN HUNDRED SIXTY NINE THOUSAND ONE HUNDRED SEVENTY SIX DOLLARS. THANKS. THANK MS. GORDON. ANY DISCUSSION? SAY NONE. ALL THOSE IN FAVOR SIGNIFY BY SAYING AYE. AYE. AYE. AYE. MOTION CARRIES FINAL MOTION. I MOVE THAT THE BOARD OF EDUCATION APPROVE AMENDMENT NUMBER 78 WITH THOMPSON TURNER CONSTRUCTION, INC. FOR THE DISTRICT EDUCATIONAL SERVICES CENTER BASE. FOUR RENOVATIONS BASED ON THE GUARANTEED MAXIMUM PRICE PROPOSAL OF $2,195,099 SECOND BY MR. DALLAS. ANY DISCUSSION? I, UM, I JUST WANNA SAY I HAD A POST THIS WHEN IT WAS BROUGHT FORWARD AT 24 MILLION FOR THE FULL COMPLETE, UH, PACKAGE, UH, I THINK 18 MONTHS AGO. THIS IS PHASE FOUR. I INITIALLY THOUGHT ABOUT OPPOSING IT AGAIN BECAUSE I WOULD LIKE TO SEE THE DISTRICT ESTABLISH, UH, A PRESENCE OR A SATELLITE OFFICE IN SOUTH OF ABROAD. BUT I WANNA SAY I WILL GO AHEAD AND SUPPORT THIS 'CAUSE IT IS PART OF THE ORIGINAL PACKAGE. OKAY. ALL THOSE IN FAVOR AND VOTE SIGNIFY BY SAYING AYE. AYE. MS. HAY A AYE. AYE. ALL RIGHT. MOTION CARRIES. I CONCLUDE. MOTIONS COMING OUTTA EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE. NEXT [Pledge of Allegiance, Moment of Silence, Statement of Media Notification] ITEM ON THE AGENDA IS THE P OF ALLEGIANCE, FOLLOWED BY A MOMENT OF SILENCE, PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE TO THE OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. AND TWO REPUBLIC FOR WHICH IT STANDS. ONE NATION UNDER GOD, LIBERTY, JUSTICE. JUSTICE ALL. THANK YOU. PLEASE BE SEATED. MS. BERRY HAS THE MEDIA TO NOTIFY. UM, I NEED TO APPROVE [Approval of Agenda] THE AGENDA. I MOVE. CAN WE APPROVE, UH, APPROVE THE AGENDA AS WRITTEN. SECOND. ANY DISCUSSION? HEARING NONE. ALL THOSE IN FAVOR AND THANK SECOND BY SAYING AYE. AYE. AYE. [00:10:02] AYE. MR. SMITH, MOTION. MOTION CARRIES. UM, DO WE HAVE, UH, NOW A STUDENT [Student Performance- Coosa Elementary Drum Line] PERFORMANCE KU SAW ELEMENTARY DRUM LINE, SOME DRUMMERS COMING. PLEASE, PLEASE TURN AROUND AND FACE THE AUDIENCE AND, AND I EVERY PAL. UM, AND REALLY GREAT. UM, THAT FIRST SONG WAS ONE CALLED, UM, AND THIS SONG IS CALLED WRITTEN US. AND IT'S MEANT THAT CAN FEATURE FROM THEY PLAY ALTOGETHER, THEN BASS DRUMS, THEN ALL OF THESE GUYS NERD TOGETHER, AND THEN CYS AND THEN'S ALL TOGETHER AT THE END. UM, . IT'S OKAY. [00:15:47] MR. NAY IS OUR PROFESSIONAL DRUMMER. WHAT DO YOU THINK? VERY ENTERTAINING. . I SEE SOME PROFESSIONALS IN OUR FUTURE. DR. POINTS [Points of Celebration] OF CELEBRATION. THANK YOU, SIR. UH, THIS EVENING IN POINTS OF CELEBRATION, WE BEGIN WITH CHARACTER EDUCATION FOR FEBRUARY AND, UH, FEBRUARY'S CHARACTER TRAITS FOR HONESTY AND INTEGRITY. HONESTY IS DEFINED AS TELLING THE TRUTH AND ADMITTING WRONGDOING AND INTEGRITY IS DEFINED AS A FIRM ADHERENCE TO CODE OF ESPECIALLY MORAL OR ARTISTIC VALUES. THE FEBRUARY STUDENT OF THE MONTH IS LUCILA GARCIA BARRIOS, A SEVENTH GRADE STUDENT AND WILL BRANCH MIDDLE SCHOOL. AND HERE TO INTRODUCE LUCILA IS PRINCIPAL BRIAN LEWIS RODRIGUEZ. GOOD EVENING, DR. RODRIGUEZ AND MEMBERS OF THE BOARD. I FIRST WANT TO SAY THANK YOU FOR GIVING, UH, LUCILA THE OPPORTUNITY TO COME AND BE RECOGNIZED. SHE WASN'T ABLE TO MAKE THE EVENT, UH, IN FEBRUARY, BUT SHE'S A VERY DESERVING STUDENT. SO IN ADDITION TO CONSISTENTLY DISPLAYING INTEGRITY AND HONESTY THROUGHOUT THE WAY THAT SHE CONDUCTS HERSELF IN CLASS AND HER ASSIGNMENTS, UH, SHE'S MADE IT THROUGH THIS SCHOOL YEAR WITH ABSOLUTELY NO BEHAVIORAL INFRACTIONS AND A GLOWING REPUTATION AMONG HER PEERS AND, UH, FACULTY. SO WE'RE VERY HONORED TO HAVE HER RECEIVE THE AWARD AND SHE'S VERY DESERVING CHARACTER EDUCATION. FOR MARCH, WE'RE ALSO CELEBRATING THE MONTH OF MARCH. AND MARCH'S CHARACTER TRAIT WAS SELF-CONTROL. SELF-CONTROL IS DEFINED AS THE ABILITY TO CONTROL OVER YOUR FEELINGS OR ACTIONS IN PARTICULAR ONE'S EMOTIONS AND DESIRES. IN THE MARCH STUDENT OF THE MONTH FOR NORTHERN BEAUFORT COUNTY IS MACKEY FRI A SEVENTH GRADE STUDENT. GOOD EVENING, DR. RODRIGUEZ AND MEMBERS OF THE BOARD OF EDUCATION DISTRICT, SENIOR STAFF OFFICIALS. I AM THE PROUD PRINCIPAL OF LADIES ISLAND MIDDLE SCHOOL, AND I HAVE HERE WITH ME, UM, TONIGHT DR. KAREN PARKER, WHO'S MACKAY'S, UM, SEVENTH GRADE ELA TEACHER, AND THE TEACHER RESPONSIBLE FOR NOMINATING HIM FOR THIS AWARD. UM, I JUST WOULD LIKE TO SAY ONE THING AND, UM, DR. PARKER'S GONNA SAY A COUPLE OF WORDS AS WELL. IT IS AMAZING TO SEE WHAT EDUCATORS WHO ARE ABLE TO SEE WITHIN STUDENTS THEIR INTERNAL POTENTIAL, THEY CAN SEE MORE THAN WHAT IS DISPLAYED ON THE OUTSIDE. UM, DR. PARKER, THANK YOU FOR HAVING THAT LEVEL OF INSIGHT AND THANK YOU FOR RECOGNIZING MACKAY BRI, WHO IS JOINED HERE, UM, TONIGHT WITH, UM, MANY GENERATIONS OF FAMILY MEMBERS. HE'S GOT SOME GRANDPARENTS FROM MANY SIDES. HE'S GOT COUSINS, UM, AND LOTS OF FAMILY MEMBERS HERE TO SUPPORT HIM, UM, IN THIS WONDERFUL ACCOMPLISHMENT. SO THANK YOU DR. PARKER. THANK YOU DR. BROWN. GOOD EVENING BOARD MEMBERS, OUR SUPERINTENDENT. IT IS A GREAT HONOR TO STAND UP HERE WITH MACKAY, MY ELA STUDENT, JUST LIKE DR. BROWN. MY [00:20:01] PRINCIPAL SAID SOMETIMES WE LOOK ON THE OUTSIDE AND NOT WITHIN THE STUDENT. AND I TRY TO INSTILL IN MACKAY THAT HE'S, HE CAN BE AN AWESOME STUDENT. WE STILL WORKING ON HIS ACADEMICS, BUT HE'S GETTING THERE. BUT WHEN IT COMES TO SELF-CONTROL AND COMPOSING HIMSELF WHEN IT COMES TO PETER'S SITUATIONS WILL ALWAYS, HE'S ALWAYS CALM. HE KNOWS HOW TO MAINTAIN HIS COMPOSURE AND THE SITUATION GETS OUT OF CONTROL OR WHATEVER. HE'S ALWAYS CALM. HE'S LIKE MY BIG TEDDY BEAR. SO I'M TRYING TO MOTIVATE HIM AND ENCOURAGE HIM THAT HE CAN BE SOMETHING. SO MY GOAL IS TO GET HIM OUTTA SEVENTH GRADE HIGH SCHOOL AND GO ON TO COLLEGE OR WHATEVER HE WANTS TO DO IN LIFE. AND I JUST WANT HIM TO KNOW THAT THERE'S NOTHING THAT CAN STOP YOU. IF YOU HAVE IT IN YOUR MIND, YOU CAN DO IT. SO I'M GONNA ALWAYS PUSH YOU, EVEN THOUGH I WON'T BE BE WITH YOU NEXT YEAR, YOU WILL HAVE MY EMAIL. I WILL BE KEEPING TRACK OF YOU, AND I EXPECT YOU TO DO GREAT THINGS. CONGRATULATIONS, MACKAY. CAN WE BRING THE FAMILY UP FOR A PICTURE? READY? THE MARCH STUDENT OF THE MONTH FOR SOUTHERN BUFORD COUNTY IS ELLA COOLER, A FOURTH GRADE STUDENT AT OT ELEMENTARY SCHOOL. AND HERE TO INTRODUCE ELLA AS PRINCIPAL OF TRACY LENISE. GOOD EVENING BOARD. UM, MY NAME IS TRACY LENISE. I'M THE PROUD PRINCIPAL AT OPT ELEMENTARY, AND I JUST WANTED TO THANK EVERYONE, UM, FOR HAVING THESE HONORS AND THESE OPPORTUNITIES FOR STUDENTS TO BE CELEBRATED BECAUSE THIS IS SUCH AN HONOR AND IT'S EASY TO SELECT STUDENTS WITHIN THE SCHOOLS THAT EXEMPLIFY SELF-CONTROL. BUT FOR YOU TO SELECT ELLA, IT JUST SAYS ALL THE HARD WORK AND THE SELF-CONTROL SHE SHOWS EVERY DAY PAYS OFF. UM, WE HAD TWO PAGES OF NOMINATIONS FROM TEACHERS, SO IT WAS VERY EASY TO SELECT SOMEONE THAT EXEMPLIFIES WHAT A GREAT STUDENT IS INSIDE THE SCHOOL AND IN OUR COMMUNITY. SO I JUST WANTED TO READ JUST A VERY SHORT PIECE OF ONE OF THE MANY THINGS THAT WAS SAID ABOUT ELLA. ELLA KOHLER IS THE PERFECT REPRESENTATIVE TO BE RECOGNIZED FOR SELF-CONTROL ACADEMICALLY. SHE MAINTAINS FOCUS ON HER BEST WORK EACH AND EVERY DAY. SHE'S INVOLVED IN MANY SCHOOL AND EXTRACURRICULAR ACTIVITIES, WHICH REQUIRES HER TO MAINTAIN SELF-CONTROL BY BEING PROACTIVE AND ENSURING SHE COMPLETES HER RESPONSIBILITIES WHILE MAINTAINING A BALANCE OF WORK AND FUN. ELLA IS TRULY AN EXEMPLARY STUDENT AND IS RESPONSIBLE, COMPASSIONATE, AND POISED ALL CHARACTERISTICS WHICH LEND THEMSELF TO HER BEING RECOGNIZED FOR THIS HONOR. I HAVE ONE OTHER ONE SAYS, SHE'S AN AMAZING YOUNG LADY, RESPONSIBLE AND TRUSTWORTHY IN A WORLD WHERE CHOICES ARE HARD TO MAKE BETWEEN GOOD AND EVIL, RIGHT AND WRONG, ELLA STANDS ABOVE IT ALL AND CHOOSES THE GOOD EVERY TIME. SO WE HAVE SO MANY TEACHERS THAT WROTE WONDERFUL THINGS ABOUT HER BECAUSE SHE EXEMPLIFIES AND SHE ALWAYS LOOKS TO BRING OUT THE BEST IN OTHERS. SO WE ARE SO PROUD THAT SHE IS REPRESENTATIVE AS THE CHARACTER OF THE MONTH, AND IF WE HAVE HER FAMILIES JOIN US TOO. SO THANK YOU. [00:25:21] I'M GOING TO, UH, STEP OVER HERE FOR THE NEXT ROUND OF AWARDS AND THESE ARE, UM, OUR TRACK AWARDS. SO THE MIDDLE SCHOOL GIRLS TRACK AND FIELD COACH OF THE YEAR IS MR. DARREN WEER. I DIDN'T SEE. YEAH, NO. OKAY. YES. SO GOOD EVENING BOARD. UM, APOLOGIZE. I WAS TUCK AWAY IN THE CORNER SO HE DIDN'T SEE ME STANDING THERE. SO, UH, WE'RE GONNA CONTINUE WITH THE AWARDS. UH, AS HAS BEEN STATED, IT'S BEEN AN OUTSTANDING TRACK AND FIELD SEASON BY MIDDLE SCHOOL PROGRAMS. UM, AGAIN, OUR MIDDLE SCHOOL LEAGUE COMPETES AGAINST ALL, UH, EIGHT MIDDLE SCHOOLS COMPETE AGAINST EACH OTHER IN TRACK AND FIELD. UM, MR. WEINGART, UM, HAS RECEIVED BOTH THE BOYS AND GIRLS COACH OF THE YEAR BECAUSE BOTH THE BOYS AND GIRLS FROM BL MIDDLE WERE OUR MIDDLE SCHOOL CHAMPIONS. OUR BOYS COACHES CHOICE COACH OF THE YEAR WAS VOTED ON BY HIS PEERS AND THE RECIPIENT OF THE COACH'S CHOICE COACH OF THE YEAR. AND UNFORTUNATELY, HE IS NOT ABLE TO ATTEND THIS MEETING AND OR THE NEXT MEETING. UM, SO RECEIVING THE AWARD IN HIS, ON HIS BEHALF, UH, WILL BE, UH, COACH BARNES, THE ATHLETIC DIRECTOR AT LADIES ISLAND MIDDLE. AND THE WINNER OF THAT AWARD IS AUSTIN MAJOR. OUR GIRLS COACHES CHOICE COACH OF THE YEAR GOES TO MS. HALEY EDWARDS OF HILL HEAD ISLAND MIDDLE SCHOOL. WE'RE GONNA RECOGNIZE THAT OUR OUTSTANDING TRACK AND FIELD ATHLETES. FIRST, WE'RE GONNA ANNOUNCE OUR GIRLS FIELD EVENT. MVP FIELD EVENTS. YOU HAVE TWO SETS OF EVENTS IN TRACK AND FIELD. YOU HAVE IN RUNNING EVENTS, AND THEN YOU HAVE YOUR FIELD EVENTS, WHICH CONSIST OF LONG JUMP, TRIPLE JUMP, AND ON THE MIDDLE SCHOOL LEVEL. ALSO DISCUS AND SHOCK. THE RECIPIENT OF THIS WAR AWARD IS MS. LAYLA, UH, CPA, I HOPE I BOYS FIELD. MVP FROM BLUFFTON MIDDLE, MR. JOSE SHACK, [00:30:24] A FEMALE TRACKING FIELD RUNNING. MVP IS MS. EMILY HUNT FROM BLUFFTON MIDDLE SCHOOL. THE RECEIVING AWARD ON FROM HER BEHALF IS HER FATHER. SHE'S ACTUALLY AT PRACTICE WITH THE VARSITY TEAM AND OUR FINAL AWARD, THIS GOES TO THE MALE TRACK MVP AND THAT AWARD GOES TO HI HEAD MIDDLES, KRE FROST NAME. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. THANK YOU COACH DAVE NEXT, SOUTH CAROLINA MUSIC EDUCATORS ASSOCIATION, LOW COUNTRY CONCERT PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENT. SO RECENTLY THE BUFORT HIGH SCHOOL CHOIR. UNDER THE DIRECTION OF COURSE, TEACHER FOREST STAR EARNED A SUPERIOR AWARD AT THE SOUTH CAROLINA MUSIC EDUCATORS ASSOCIATION COUNSELOR PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENT. AND HERE TO TELL US MORE IS OUR COURSE TEACHER . HELLO. UH, IT IS AN HONOR TO BE HERE. THANK YOU SO MUCH, UH, FOR THE RECOGNITION. UH, A LITTLE BIT ABOUT CPA BEFORE I HAND IT OFF TO MY TWO LOADED STUDENTS HERE. UH, CPA A STANDS FOR CORAL PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENT. AS YOU HEARD, UM, IT'S A CHANCE FOR US TO GET OUT OF THE BUILDING AND SHOW A LITTLE BIT ABOUT WHAT WE DO. UM, JUST, UH, SO WE WENT TO UP TO CHARLESTON. UH, WE GOT TO SING SOME STUFF THAT WE PREPARED. UH, AND I'LL ACTUALLY, LET ME TOSS IT ON. THEY'RE PROBABLY BETTER. EXCUSE . SO, HI, I'M ELEANOR, THE CPA. WE HAD TO LEARN TWO SONGS THROUGHOUT THE MONTHS, AND SO WE LIVE ON THOSE FOR THE JUDGES. AND THEN WE HAVE TO GO INTO A SEPARATE ROOM AND LEARN A SITE READING FOR SIX MINUTES. AND THEN THAT'S FORMAT AS WELL. AND, HI, I'M SADIE AND I JUST BELIEVE THAT CKA WAS A WONDERFUL EXPERIENCE FOR NOT ONLY ME, BUT MY CLASSMATES AND FOR THE ENTIRETY OF THE CHOIR BECAUSE IT TAUGHT US HOW TO WORK TOGETHER AS A FAMILY AND REALLY JUST BROUGHT US ALL TOGETHER IN THE TWO MONTHS THAT WE SPENT WORKING. . THANK YOU. UH, CKA IS, IT IS A GREAT EXPERIENCE FOR ALL CHOIRS. I THINK ONE OF THE, THE BIGGEST REASONS THAT WE SHOULD CELEBRATE THIS IS BECAUSE WE HAVE THE SUPERIOR. SUPERIOR IS A RATING THAT DOESN'T COME BY EASILY. OUT OF ALL THE HIGH SCHOOLS IN THE ENTIRE STATE, ONLY 20 OF THEM WERE GIVEN OUT. WOW. TWO IN BEAVER COUNTY, ONE BY US AND ONE BY BAY RIVER. SO, UH, IT'S, IT'S SOMETHING TO CELEBRATE FOR SURE. THANK YOU. SO, OKAY. AND OUR FINAL, UH, RECOGNITION THIS EVENING IS BATTERY CREEK HIGH SCHOOL WELDING AWARDS. EARLIER THIS SPRING, BATTERY CREEK STUDENTS COMPETED IN A FEW WELDING COMPETITIONS. AND HERE TO TELL US MORE ABOUT THE COMPETITIONS AND INTRODUCE THE STUDENTS IN WELDING IS TEACHER NICHOLAS VICTORIA. HELLO, MY NAME IS NICHOLAS KOCHER. I'M THE WELDING INSTRUCTOR AT BATTERY CREEK HIGH SCHOOL. UM, OVER THE COURSE OF TWO YEARS, I'VE HAD THE PLEASURE OF HAVING THESE TWO STUDENTS IN MY CLASS. UM, THEY'VE ALWAYS SHOWED HARD WORK, DEDICATION. UM, WE WENT TO, WE GO TO A TOTAL OF FIVE TO SIX WELDING COMPETITIONS THROUGHOUT THE SCHOOL YEAR. AND TWO OF 'EM PLACED, UH, FIRST PLACE AT THE AWS WELDING COMPETITION, WHICH IS IN COLUMBIA, SOUTH CAROLINA. UM, AND THE OTHER COMPETITION WAS IN SAVANNAH, GEORGIA AT THE [00:35:01] COMPETITION. IT WAS A WELDING SCULPTURE. AND ACTUALLY RECENTLY, APRIL 25TH, WE WENT TO A WELDING COMPETITION IN CHARLESTON AT THE ARC LABS WELDING SCHOOL, WHERE ONE STUDENT PLACED SECOND, ANOTHER STUDENT PLACED THIRD, UM, AT THE ARC LABS COMPETITION. THEY WON A HALF PAID SCHOLARSHIP, WHICH IS ABOUT $10,000. AND THIRD PLEDGE RECEIVED, I THINK IT WAS $5,000 OFF OF THEIR TUITION AND SLIP. UM, THOSE TWO STUDENTS ARE CHRISTIAN FEST AND GRAYSON LANNING. THAT CONCLUDES OUR POINTS OF CELEBRATION. WE HAVE ONE OTHER I'M POINT OF CELEBRATION BY, UH, A BAND MEMBER OR BOARD MEMBER. MR. NA. THANK YOU, MR. CHAIR. UH, I WOULD LIKE TO TAKE THE OPPORTUNITY PUBLICLY, EVEN THOUGH THERE'S NOBODY HERE. I'M SURE IT PROBABLY HASN'T MADE ITS WAY UP THE, UH, UP THE CHAIN YET. UH, AND WE MIGHT GET A CHANCE, BUT I JUST WANNA ANNOUNCE THAT, UH, THE MAIN RIVER HIGH SCHOOL OVER THE LAST WEEKEND, UM, WAS AWARDED THE OPA, UH, OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE AWARD. UH, THIS IS A YEAR LONG CULMINATION OF, OF EVENTS. IT STARTS OUT WITH IN THE FALL WITH, UH, MARCHING BAND COMPETITIONS, THEN CONCERT BAND PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENTS, REGIONAL HONOR BAND SELECTIONS. AND, UH, THIS PAST WEEKEND, UH, THEY HAD STUDENTS, UH, MANY STUDENTS, 10, I BELIEVE, UH, WHEN SOLO ENSEMBLE COMPETITIONS, THERE'S A POINT SYSTEM AND, UH, YOU HAVE TO RATE AT LEAST 90 POINTS OUT OF A HUNDRED. UM, THIS IS NOW ONLY THE SECOND TIME IN 50 YEARS THAT A BAN FROM MAY RIVER HIGH OR FROM BEAUFORT COUNTY HAS BEEN ABORTED. THE OPA. UH, SO THAT JUST HAPPENED THIS WEEKEND. SO HOPEFULLY WE'LL HAVE A CHANCE TO RECOGNIZE HIM. THE DIRECTOR, UH, SOON WE HAVE NO, UH, FIRST COMMENT PERIOD, UH, PUBLIC COMMENTS BECAUSE, UH, THEY'RE NOT ON THE KNIGHT'S AGENDA, BUT WE WILL GET THEM, UH, LATER ON IN THE EVENING. THE NEXT, UH, ITEM [Chair’s Report ] IS THE CHARITY BOARD. AND I JUST WANNA ANNOUNCE THAT, UH, THIS WEEK WE ARE RECOGNIZING THE TEACHER OF THE YEAR AND SPORTS SUPPORT STAFF PERSON OF THE YEAR IN EACH OF OUR SCHOOLS AND BOARD MEMBERS ARE ATTENDING THESE, UH, VERY, VERY IMPORTANT CEREMONIES. AND WE LOOK FORWARD TO THE DISTRICT EACH OF THE YEAR AND THE DISTRICT SUPPORT STAFF. UH, THE YEAR MEMBER OF THE YEAR AT THE, UH, NEXT COUPLE, COUPLE WEEKS. THAT'S ALL I HAVE FOR THE CHAIR'S REPORT NEXT TO OUR COMMITTEE [Committee Reports] REPORTS. AND FIRST REPORT IS THE ACADEMIC COMMITTEE REPORT. I THANK YOU MR. CHAIR. DR. . DR. THANK YOU CHAIRMAN GUYER FOR A QUICK REVIEW ACADEMIC COMMITTEE ACTUALLY DID FOR THIS BOARD MEETING, DIDN'T HAVE A MEETING, BUT WE DO HAVE HEALTH ADVISORY COUNCIL WHERE THERE WAS REVIEW OF THE MIDDLE SCHOOL AND HIGH SCHOOL CURRICULUM AND RECOMMENDATIONS DID NOT GO FORWARD 'CAUSE WE WERE JUST GIVING AN UPDATE TO THE COMMITTEE MEMBERSHIP. IF I COULD PLEASE TAKE A MOMENT THOUGH, FOR THOSE OF OUR BOARD MEMBERS WHO HAVE BEEN ATTENDING, I WANNA SAY THANK YOU FOR JOINING IN. THERE WAS NO ACTION TAKEN AT THAT TIME AT THE HEALTH ADVISORY, SIR. IT WAS A REVIEW PROCESS. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. THERE'S NO, NO FURTHER REPORT. NO. OKAY. THANK YOU. UH, FINANCE COMMITTEE. THANK YOU, MR. CHAIR. UH, CFO CROSBY AND HER TEAM AND THE REST OF THE BOARD MEMBERS AND STAFF HAVE BEEN WORKING FEVERISHLY ON THE BUDGET. AND NOT ONLY HAVE THEY BEEN DOING A LOT OF THINGS IN RESPONSE TO CHANGES THAT ARE HAPPENING NATIONALLY, [00:40:01] STATEWIDE LEGISLATION THAT'S OCCURRING AND MAKING SURE THAT WE ARE IN COMPLIANCE. THEY ALSO, UH, WANT TO CONGRATULATE THEM BECAUSE THEY'VE BEEN LOOKING AT HOW IT MAKES THEIR JOBS EASIER AND MORE EFFICIENT. LEVERAGING TECHNOLOGY THAT ACTUALLY CAN IDENTIFY VARIANCES INSTEAD OF HUMAN EYES HAVING TO SEE EVERYTHING. AND WE GO THROUGH ALL THE REPORTS WITH GREAT DETAIL. WE ENSURE THAT WE ARE PROVIDING AS MUCH EFFECTIVE AND SUPPORTIVE OVERSIGHT AS HUMANLY POSSIBLE. WE WANT TO AVOID ANY TYPE OF CALAMITY REGARDING THE FINANCIALS. AS MANY OF YOU KNOW, SCHOOL DISTRICT HAS THE HIGHEST RATING EQUIVALENT TO GREENVILLE IN THE STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA. AND SO EFFORTS TO SUSTAIN THAT REQUIRE WORK AND EFFORT AND DILIGENCE. AND SO I WANT TO CONGRATULATE THEM ON THAT. A COUPLE OF REPORTS THAT WE ROUTINELY VIEW ARE THE BOARD MONTHLY BUDGET REPORT, WHERE WE GO THROUGH EACH LINE AND SEE HOW EACH OF THE BOARD MEMBERS IN VARIOUS SEGMENTS OF THE OPERATION THE ORGANIZATION ARE PERFORMING. AND WE, AGAIN, WE COMPARE TO VERSUS BUDGET. AND SO THAT'S ONE OF THE WAYS WE STAY ON TARGET. AND THEN THERE'S A MONTHLY $100,000 REPORT, WHICH IS WHERE WE COLLECTIVELY AND INDIVIDUALLY LOOK AT WHAT ARE THE ACCOUNTS THAT ARE ABOVE A HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS AND WHAT TYPE OF, UH, COMPARISON VERSUS LAST YEAR IS THERE. BUT WE CAN SEE ITEMS THAT REALLY REQUIRE A LITTLE BIT MORE DISCUSSION THAN WOULD NORMALLY, UH, BE THERE. WE ALSO LOOK AT THE TRANSPARENCY REPORT. AND IN THE TRANSPARENCY REPORT, AS YOU CAN SEE ABOVE, THERE ARE QUITE A FEW ITEMS THAT WE LOOK AT. AND AGAIN, THAT'S TO PROVIDE VERY RIGOROUS OVERSIGHT SO THAT WE CAN PROTECT THE INTEGRITY AND THE REPUTATION THAT HAS BEEN EARNED BY THE SCHOOL DISTRICT. THE OTHER THING THAT WE FOCUSED ON WAS LOOKING AT THE CHANGE IN SOME OF OUR OPERATIONAL EXPECTATIONS. NOW, WE'RE NOT GONNA BE DISCUSSING THOSE TONIGHT BECAUSE WE VERY MUCH ARE PECULIAR ABOUT ADHERING TO PROTOCOLS AND DETAILS AND, AND REQUIREMENTS. SO YOU'LL HAVE A DISCUSSION AT THE BOARD LEVEL AT OUR NEXT BOARD MEETING, BUT THAT'S ONE OF THE THINGS WHERE IT WAS LAST UPDATED IN 2021 AND WE WANNA MAKE SURE IT'S CURRENT. SO THAT'S WHAT YOU'RE GOING TO SEE. THERE'S NO ACTION COMING OUT OF THIS DISCUSSION TONIGHT, BUT YOU'LL HAVE A DISCUSSION. AND OUR NEXT MEETING IS SCHEDULED FOR MAY 15TH, 2025. AND MS. CROSBY, DO YOU HAVE ANY COMMENTS YOU'D LIKE TO SHARE, MA'AM? OKAY. OKAY. I HAVE A QUESTION, CHAIRMAN. UH, THE, THE REASON WE'RE NOT HAVING THE, UH, UH, DISCUSSION ABOUT THE OE IS THAT OUR OE POLICIES ARE, UH, COVERED UNDER GC TWO DASH 15. WHAT IT REQUIRES THAT WE DISCUSS IT TONIGHT, TAKE THE VOTE AT THE NEXT MEETING. SO I THINK IF THERE IS A DISCUSSION TO BE, HAD THE DISCUSSION PART WITH NO MOTION, THIS IS SOMETHING THE BOARD HAS DECIDED ON PRIOR TO . OKAY. SO WE DO NEED THE DISCUSSIONS BACK, BUT THERE WILL BE NO MOTION. OKAY. SO MS. CROSBY, EVENING, JUST AS A BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE ITEM, JUST WANTED TO, UH, GO OVER THAT WITH YOU ALL. UM, AS MR. DALLAS MENTIONED, UH, THE LAST CHANGE IN THIS, UH, OPERATIONAL EXPECTATION, UH, WAS IN FEBRUARY, 2021. AT THAT TIME, THE FUND BALANCE WAS ESTABLISHED AT A RANGE OF 15 TO 17%. UM, SO THAT RANGE SORT OF, UH, IN COULD BE INTERPRETED AS A, A LIMIT CAP OF 17%. SO, UH, WHAT I DID WAS RESEARCH OTHER SCHOOL DISTRICTS, UH, OF BEST PRACTICES FROM OUR GFOA, OUR GOVERNMENT FINANCE OFFICERS ASSOCIATION, WHICH WE USE, UM, A LOT FOR OUR BEST PRACTICES. AND WITH THAT, UH, WE FOUND THAT MANY OTHERS, UH, GFOA RECOMMENDS A BALANCE OF LESS, UH, NO LESS THAN TWO MONTHS OF THE NEXT YEAR'S EXPENDITURES. 'CAUSE YOU'LL, ANY FUND BALANCE OR RESERVES WOULD BE SPENT IN THE NEXT FISCAL YEAR. SO YOU COMPARE IT TO THAT, UH, THE CURRENT POLICY ALSO CONFLICTS WITH OE 5.2, WHICH REQUIRES US TO HAVE ENOUGH RESERVES TO SUFFICIENT TO NOT HAVE TO BORROW A TAX ANTICIPATION NOTE IN THE FALL WHEN OUR TAX, OUR CASH RESERVES ARE LOW RIGHT BEFORE TAX REVENUES COME IN. SO IT CONFLICTS WITH THAT. UM, AND SO WE BELIEVE, UH, BASED ON OUR ESTIMATES THAT ABOUT A 20% FUND BALANCE IS NECESSARY IN ORDER TO NOT HAVE TO BORROW A TAN. SO THAT IS SOMETHING THAT IS ABOVE THE RANGE THAT IS, UH, CURRENTLY IN THE POLICY. UH, SO WE HAVE RECOMMENDED, HAVE MAINTAINED THAT 20% FUND BALANCE FOR THE LAST TWO YEARS, AND WE'LL NEED TO SUSTAIN THIS LEVEL IN ORDER TO MAIN FAN FINANCIAL STABILITY AND CREDIT STRENGTH. UH, ONE OF THE KEY PIECES TO A FUND BALANCE IS MAKING SURE THAT OUR CREDIT RATING, AS MR. DALLAS MENTIONED, IT CAN MAINTAINS AT A VERY HIGH LEVEL. UH, SO THEN WHEN WE BORROW FUNDS FOR REFERENDUM PROJECTS OR OTHER [00:45:01] OTHER PROJECTS WE HAVE, AND FOR CAPITAL PURPOSES, THAT WE HAVE THE LOWEST POSSIBLE INTEREST RATE, THE MOST COMPETITION AND THE LOWEST INTEREST RATE POSSIBLE. SO, UM, THAT THIS IS TO MAKE SURE WE HAVE SUFFICIENT RESERVES AND STRENGTHEN OUR LONG-TERM FINANCIAL POSITIONS. SO THAT'S JUST A QUICK SUMMARY OF, OF WHAT THIS POLICY'S ABOUT AND WHY THE CHANGE IS BEING REQUESTED. YOU TAKE ANY QUESTIONS IF YOU HAVE ANY, YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS? HEARING NONE? YES. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. MS. CAR? YES SIR. THANK YOU. AND THAT CONCLUDES THE FINANCIAL WHO FINANCE REPORT. DON'T HAVE A QUESTION. DO YOU HAVE A QUESTION ON THE FINANCIAL REPORT? NOT ON THE, ON THAT. OKAY. OKAY. SO MS. CROW, YOU DON'T HAVE TO COME BACK UP HERE. UM, SORRY. THE, I HAD A COUPLE QUESTIONS. UM, AND THIS MAY BE MORE, THESE ARE TECHNOLOGY THINGS. I WAS LOOKING AT THE BUDGET, GAGGLE IS NOW DOING THERAPY AND OUTREACH. IS THAT NEW? I DON'T THINK MR. SHOW HANDS HERE. IS THAT, IS THAT HE'S HE'S ONLINE. HE'S ONLINE. I JUST NOTICED SEVERAL, UH, LARGE CHARGES FOR GAGGLE MENTAL HEALTH AND THERAPY. NOT NEW. HE'S NOT NEW. YEAH. BECAUSE GAGGLE IS WHAT WE USE TO MONITOR COMMUNICATIONS ON SCHOOL DEVICES, RIGHT? CORRECT. SO WHAT IS THAT MENTAL HEALTH OUTREACH PIECE? DO WE KNOW OFF THE TOP OF OUR HEAD? I YOU WANT TALK? I CAN, IT, IT'S NOT NEW, BUT IT'S AN, IT IS AN ADDITIONAL, IT SEEMS LIKE AN, AN ENHANCED SERVICE, BUT IT'S NOT NEW FOR US. WE, WE, WELL, FULL DISCLOSURE, MY KID GOT DINGED ON GAGGLE BECAUSE MAKING A JOKE AND WE WERE RIGHT ON TOP OF IT, BUT THERE WAS NO MENTAL HEALTH COMPONENT THAT I RECALL. SO THAT'S THE PART TO ME THAT SEEMED LIKE A NEW SERVICE. I THINK THAT WHAT THAT IS IS THAT, UH, I, I THINK WHAT THAT IS IS COUNSELING, UM, IN TERMS OF, OR, OR A KID NEEDED, UH, SUPPORT OR SOMEONE, I THINK, I THINK IT WAS MORE THAN BECAUSE I REMEMBER, UH, HAVING, I THINK THAT I, HAVING THAT CONVERSATION FOR THE, UH, FOR AN ACADEMIC, UH, ACADEMIC, AND THAT WAS, THAT WAS A FUNCTION THAT WAS NOT ACTIVATED THAT, THAT WE THOUGHT NEEDED TO BE ACTIVATED. AND SO, AND SO IT, IT, IT, IT WAS ALREADY A PART OF THAT. BUT I BELIEVE THAT IS SOMETHING TO ENHANCE WHAT WE HAVE TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE GIVING OUR STUDENTS AND OUR COMMUNITY THE BEST SERVICES, UH, POSSIBLE. SO IF I UNDERSTAND IT CORRECTLY, GAGGLE AS IT WAS INTENDED, IS MONITORING DEVICE, DEVICE INTERACTIONS AND ALSO OUTSIDE OF SCHOOL HOURS. CORRECT. SOMETIMES SOCIAL MEDIA, ET CETERA UP. AND THEY'RE LOOKING FOR WARNING THINGS THAT ARE, YOU KNOW, STUDENTS, CORRECT. THERE THERE ARE WORDS THAT ARE, THAT ARE UTILIZED, YOU KNOW, AND, AND ALL OF A SUDDEN THAT IT'S SUPPLY AND, AND THEN WE GET NOTIFICATIONS. THE SCHOOLS RIGHT ON TOP OF IT. YEAH. BUT MY QUESTION IS NOW HOW DOES THAT WORK WITH THE MENTAL HEALTH? SO THEY HEAR SOMETHING THAT THEY INTERPRET AS NEED, MENTAL HEALTH. AND THEN WHEN THERE'S AN OUTREACH, WHAT ARE THEY REACHING OUT TO THE STUDENT? ARE THEY REACHING OUT TO THE PARENTS WHO, AND ONCE THEY REACH OUT, WHO ARE WE CONNECTING THOSE KIDS WITH? LIKE, I JUST GOT, HAD A LOT OF QUESTIONS AND MAYBE I CAN UM, SAY THIS FOR ANOTHER TIME. 'CAUSE I JUST NOTICED IT ON THE TRANSPARENCY REPORT THAT THAT WAS A CHANGE. UM, IT MAY BE MORE OF AN ACADEMIC COMMITTEE, BUT I HAVE SOME QUESTIONS ABOUT HOW THAT WORKS. ANDREA MARIE GIVES AN ALERT. ANDREA MURRAY AND STUDENT SERVICES. COULD YOU GET, UH, YES. THANK YOU. AND ACTUALLY, UH, BEFORE YOU SAID, I WAS GONNA SAY ACTUALLY, UH, I DIDN'T WANNA SAY, COULD YOU GET CORRECTION IF YOU COULD JUST USE IT? LIKE, I APPRECIATE THAT. I DON'T USE THE WORD SOUNDS KIND OF HARSH. NO, NO, I THINK YOU WOULD GET GAGGLED. . THANK YOU. GOOD TAKE. THANK. YES. SO ANDREA MRA THAT WORKS IN STUDENT SERVICES WOULD GET AN ALERT AND SHE WOULD SET UP, UM, SERVICES FOR THE STUDENT. THEY DO THREAT ASSESSMENTS. SO THAT IS PART OF THE THREAT ASSESSMENT WORK THAT HAPPENS WHEN A STUDENT MAKES SOME TYPE OF THREAT OR SOMETHING THAT HAPPENS ONLINE. AND THEN SHE CAN SET UP MENTAL HEALTH COUNSELING SERVICES WITH THE STUDENT IF IT'S NEEDED. DO WE PAY FOR THE MENTAL HEALTH? IS THAT PART OF THE, THAT'S PART OF THE GAP. THAT'S PART OF THE COST. THAT WAS JUST A LARGE EXPENSE. AND THAT MAKES SENSE. IT IS PART OF THE COST. SO IT WORKS FOR OUR STUDENT SERVICES FOR MENTAL HEALTH. THANKS FOR CLARIFY THAT. AND IF I CAN READ ONE MORE QUICK QUESTION, THIS , HOW MUCH DO WE GET FROM E-RATE 20 PER YEAR, ROUGHLY? IS IT MORE THAN 50,000? LESS THAN 50,000 ? UH, IT'S PUTTING ASSETS ON THE, THE NEXT FINANCE COMMITTEE. WE WILL HAVE E-RATE AUTHORIZATION, WHICH WILL HAVE ALL OF THAT INFORMATION ON MAY 15TH. HOWEVER, UH, IN THE GENERAL FUND, UH, WE DO HAVE E-RATE REIMBURSEMENTS THAT ARE OFF OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS THAT WE ARE PAYING THROUGH, I BELIEVE, FOR GRADE. AND SO THAT'S ABOUT 50 $500,000 IN THE GENERAL FUND. THERE ARE, DEPENDING ON THE LEVEL OF PROJECTS THAT WE'RE DOING IN CAPITAL PROJECTS, USUALLY 8% FUNDING. THOSE ARE E-RATE REIMBURSABLE. THERE ARE DIFFERENT CATEGORY AND THEY COULD BE IN THE MILLIONS PER YEAR. BUT, UH, IT JUST DEPEND ON THE PRO LEVEL OF PROJECTS THAT WE'RE PARTICIPATING IN THAT YEAR. SO WE'LL BE BRINGING FORWARD AN E-RATE AUTHORIZATION AT THE NEXT MEETING, AND THAT MAY PROVIDE SOME MORE DETAILS FOR YOU. WELL, I SAW THE $11,000 [00:50:01] CONSULTING FEES TO GET TO COMPLY WITH E-RATE. THAT'S WHAT I WAS KIND OF WONDERING, LIKE, IF IT WAS WORTH IT CLEARLY IS WORTH IT. BUT THAT'S, YOU KNOW, YES, THOSE FUNDS, THE FUNDS THAT WE, UH, ARE REIMBURSED GO RIGHT BACK TO THE E-RATE CONSULTANT FOR PAYMENT TO HELP BUT SUPPORT US IN THAT EFFORT. AND WE HAVE A, A STAFF MEMBER WHO'S PART OF THEIR JOB IS E-RATE AND MONITORS THAT ON A REGULAR BASIS. SO THANK YOU SO MUCH. SORRY TO COME BACK UP. THAT'S FINE. OKAY. THAT'S, I THINK OUR NEXT ITEM IS, IS THE LEGISLATIVE COMMITTEE. YES, SIR. THANK YOU, MR. CHAIR. THE LEGISLATIVE COMMITTEE, UM, AS WE DISCUSSED BEFORE, IS REALLY TAKING A PROACTIVE STANCE TO DO MORE RESEARCH ON WHAT'S HAPPENING AT THE, UM, GENERAL ASSEMBLY, BOTH IN THE HOUSE AND THE SENATE TO DEVELOP RELATIONSHIPS, UM, WITH KEY LEADERS SO THAT WE HAVE ACCESS TO THEM AND HOPEFULLY CAN BE A VERY POSITIVE INFLUENCE AS THEY GO THROUGH THEIR LEGISLATIVE MACHINATIONS. THE THINGS THAT, UH, WE ALSO HAVE LOOKED OVER, LOOKED AT OVER THE LAST MONTH IS, UH, WE'VE SENT OUT A REQUEST TO, UH, BOARD MEMBERS, LEGISLATIVE COMMITTEE MEMBERS AS TO THE PRIORITIES. WE ALSO HAVE SHARED IN 2024 PRIORITIES. SO WE CAN HOPEFULLY, THERE MAY BE SOME THAT ARE WORTHWHILE CARRYING OVER, BUT THERE ALSO MAY BE SOME NEW ONES THAT ARE TAKING PLACE IN TODAY'S ENVIRONMENT. AND SO WE'RE GOING TO HAVE AN EVENT IN THE NOT TOO DISTANT FUTURE WHERE WE ACTUALLY PRIORITIZE THOSE USING TECHNOLOGY. THE NEXT AREA, IN TERMS OF BEING PROACTIVE, UM, A LOT OF TIMES ORGANIZATIONS REACT TO THINGS THAT ARE BEING DEVELOPED BY OTHERS. WE ARE MOVING TO A POSTURE WHERE WE ACTUALLY ARE BEGINNING TO WORK TO CREATE PROPOSALS FOR BILLS THAT WILL BENEFIT PUBLIC SCHOOLS, BENEFIT THIS PARTICULAR SCHOOL DISTRICT, AND BEGIN TO BUILD ALLIANCES ACROSS THE STATE THAT CAN SUPPORT THAT SO THAT WE ARE NOT JUST MERELY RESPONDING TO ACTIONS TAKEN BY OTHERS, BUT WE ARE IDENTIFYING THINGS THAT BENEFICIAL TO PUBLIC SCHOOLS VIS-A-VIS THE OTHER CHANNEL OPTIONS, PRIVATE CHARTER HOMESCHOOLING AS WELL AS PUBLIC. AND THEN THE LAST THING IS ACTUALLY MOVING INFORMATION AND SHARING IT MORE AGGRESSIVELY INTO THE PUBLIC BECAUSE ONE OF THE EPIPHANIES I CERTAINLY HAVE HAD IN MY SHORT TIME ON THE BOARD IS HOW LITTLE I KNEW ABOUT WHAT THE SCHOOL DISTRICT WAS REALLY FACING BEFORE JOINING THE BOARD. SO WE WANNA MAKE SURE WE'RE HELPING CITIZENS BE INFORMED AND YOU CAN TAKE SPECIFIC ACTIONS THAT YOU ALSO WILL AGREE HOPEFULLY, THAT THEY BENEFIT STUDENTS OF ALL CATEGORIZATIONS IN THE STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA, IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. SO WITH THAT, MR. CHAIR, THANK YOU. ANY QUESTIONS FOR THE FINANCE COMMITTEE? JUST LEGISL LEGISLATIVE, UH, SORRY. LEGISLATIVE COMMITTEE. LEGISLATIVE COMMITTEE, MR. SMITH? NO. UH, UM, I'LL JUST SAY WHAT I SAID IN THE LAST, AT THE LAST MEETING AS TO, UH, SHE JUST ALLUDED TO, I THINK THAT, UM, IT WAS A GREAT, GREAT DECISION IN TERMS OF, UH, HAVING US TO WHAT WE SAW LEGISLATION, UH, IN TERMS OF, OF WHAT WE ARE DOING RIGHT NOW. AND I THINK THAT WE'VE GOTTEN A BETTER RETURN ON OUR INVESTMENT. AND, UH, I HAD TO TALK TO YOU, TO YOU, UH, MR. UH, DALLAS AND YOU AND YOUR, YOUR COMMITTEE, UH, FOR THE WORK THAT YOU'VE DONE AND, UM, SOME OF THE STUFF THAT YOU PUT FORWARD IN THE HOURS, A AMOUNT OF WORK THAT YOU PUTTING FORWARD IN THE COMMUNITY. AND I KNOW I DEFINITELY, UH, HAVE APPRECIATED AND I, IT HAS DEFINITELY BROUGHT SOME, UH, EYEOPENING INFORMATION TO US AND SO THAT WE CAN BETTER HELP SERVE OUR COMMUNITY. SO I WANTED TO TELL YOU IN THAT COMMITTEE, KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK. I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO CONTINUE TO WORK WITH YOU GUYS. THANK YOU. THANK YOU, SIR. IF I MAY HUMBLY REPLY, MR. CHAIR, IT IS A TEAM EFFORT WITH OUR BOARD, OTHER BOARD MEMBERS, MS. NAY, UM, MS. GORDON, UM, PASTOR GORDON AND, UM, MS. BOATRIGHT. SO ALL OF US ARE WORKING COLLECTIVELY TOGETHER AND APPRECIATE YOU RECOGNIZING IT. THANK YOU, SIR. NEXT ITEM IS THE OPERATIONS COMMITTEE. MR. NAY. THANK YOU, MR. CHAIR. GOOD EVENING. UH, I WOULD LIKE TO SAY THAT, UH, IT IS BEEN A VERY LONG TIME SINCE I'VE SEEN THIS, UH, THIS MANY, UH, UH, PEOPLE FROM OUR COMMUNITY STATE FOR THE MEETING. SO THANK YOU FOR YOUR, UH, UH, FOR YOUR ATTENDANCE TONIGHT. UM, OPERATIONS COMMITTEE AND THE, UH, THE OPERATIONS DEPARTMENT, UH, I WOULD SAY THAT MR. ING IS ALSO WORKING FEVERISHLY, NEVERMIND. ANYWAYS, , UH, THE WORK IN FEVERISHLY TO BE GOOD STEWARDS OF THE EXPENDITURES, UH, OF THE, THE, THE, THE FIGURES THAT THE FINANCE COMMITTEE IS SCRUTINIZING, WE'LL GO WITH THAT. UM, WE HANDLE THINGS SUCH AS, UH, CUSTODIAL MAINTENANCE, THE, THE , THE COUPON REFERENDUMS, 2019 2023, AS WELL AS THE 8% CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT. UM, BUT WE'LL START TONIGHT WITH, UH, WE HAD, UH, WENDY CARTILAGE AND DR. CRA SCAGGS SPRING FORWARD, UH, SS 19 CONDUCT [00:55:01] ON BUS UPDATES. UM, KEY UPDATES INCLUDE CLEAR DEFINITION OF MISCONDUCT, STRUCTURED RESPONSIBILITIES FOR DRIVERS AND AREA SUPERVISORS, AND INTEGRATION WITH EDUCATORS HANDBOOK, AND TO IMPROVE COMMUNICATION AND FEEDBACK ON THE CONSTRUCTION UPDATE FOR THE 2019 REFERENDUM. UH, ALL SIX ACTIVE PROJECTS ARE PHYSICALLY COMPLETE. WE'RE ONLY, UH, WAITING ON PROGRAMMING, I'M SORRY, SECURITY PROGRAMMING REMAINS. UH, 99% OF FUNDS ARE COMMITTED AND PAID. UH, WE HAVE 4 MILLION REMAINS WITH 3 MILLION IN CONTINGENCY OF THE 2023 REFERENDUM. ALL PROJECTS ARE GREEN EXCEPT FOR THE MAYOR RIVER ELEMENTARY, WHICH, UH, HAVE BEEN REPORTED, UH, WEEKLY, UH, SCENES. UM, LET'S SEE OF, UH, WE HAVE, UH, 182 MILLION COMMITTED, UH, AND 257 MILLION REMAINS. OF THE 8% PROJECTS, UH, UNDER CURRENT, UH, UM, CURRENTLY HAPPENING RIGHT NOW. UH, ALL OF 'EM ARE GREEN KNIGHT AND THE MAY RIVER HIGH SCHOOL CAFETERIA IS AHEAD OF SCHEDULE FOR THE 2025, UH, 2025 AND 26 SCHOOL YEAR FOR OUR CUSTODIAL SERVICES. UM, SO WE HAD 74 INSPECTIONS BY THE, THE DISTRICT STAFF AND 421 INSPECTIONS BY VENDORS OF OUR 30 ISH BUILDINGS. THAT'S ABOUT 15 INSPECTIONS PER MONTH, UH, PER BUILDING, WHICH, UH, I THINK THAT'S WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO GET TO. UM, LET'S SEE. WE ONLY HAD ONE VENDOR PENALIZED FOR NONCOMPLIANCE. UM, OUT OF ALL OF OUR THREE VENDORS, UH, VENDOR STAFFING WAS GREAT WITHIN 90%, AND OUR RETENTION FOR THOSE STAFFING IS 94 TO 96%. SO WE'RE SEEING GOOD NUMBERS THERE. UM, C FOUR, OUR MAINTENANCE SERVICES, UM, 90% OF WORK ORDERS COMPLETED WITHIN 14 DAYS. UM, OUR LAST BLITZ WAS AT OXY OAKS. UM, OF THE 50 WORK ORDERS THERE, WE COMPLETED 36 OF THEM. UM, AND LET'S SEE, WE ALSO HAD, UM, UH, MS. CRUTCHFIELD PRESENTED A DRAFT, A LIST OF, UH, $58 MILLION PROPOSED PROJECTS FOR THE 8%, UH, CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT STUFF COMING UP FOR FISCAL YEAR 27. UM, THAT STUFF HAS ALL BEEN SENT OUT TO THE BOARD MEMBERS. I, WE ASK THAT YOU, YOU GET YOUR PRIORITIES BACK TO MR. ING LIKE KO LIKE YESTERDAY, I BELIEVE IS WHEN HE WAS ASKING FOR THAT. SO IF YOU HAVEN'T DONE HIM DO THAT, UM, FISCAL YEAR 28 SHOWS, UM, 160 MILLION DUE AND MAJOR REPLACEMENTS, UH, SUCH AS DUSKY. UM, AND THEN NORTH OF THE BRI ELEMENTARY SCHOOL REPLACEMENT, UM, COMMITTEE REQUESTED THREE YEARS OF REVISED PLANS TO REDUCE TO 27 TO, UH, FROM THE 50 MILLION DOWN TO 35 MILLION, UH, AT THE MAY MEETINGS. AND LET'S SEE, UH, THE NEXT MEETING IS MAY 13TH. QUESTION. APPARENTLY WE HAVE ONE, I AM WONDERING WHY WE HAVE A SCHOOL REPLACEMENT ON OUR 8% PROJECT LATER. WE HAVE DONE THAT DIFFERENTLY IN THE PAST. MR. I ONLY BECAUSE YOU'RE A LITTLE MORE ENT THAN I'M . YOU CAN HANDLE IT. I MEAN, UM, THIS IS AN ITEM THAT WAS BROUGHT FORWARD BY THE COMMUNITY PROJECT REVIEW COMMITTEE. WE ACTUALLY HAD, UM, THREE ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS IN NORTHERN BEAUFORT COUNTY THAT WE'VE HAD AS A REFERENDUM PROJECT. SO THIS IS HOLDING THAT AS A LIST AND WE'RE HOLDING OUT IN F 5 28 AT THIS POINT JUST TO, YOU KNOW, TO ACKNOWLEDGE THAT THAT NEED HAS BEEN NOTED AND IT'S OUT THERE. OKAY. 'CAUSE MY, MY UNDERSTANDING IS, I JUST WANNA MAKE IT CLEAR FROM, FROM MY, WHAT MY UNDERSTANDING IS, WE DID, UH, MAY RIVER EL MAY RIVER HIGH SCHOOL, A BIG CHUNK OF THAT CAME OUT A 'CAUSE WE COULDN'T PASS A REFERENDUM AND WE HAD, AND WE HAD TO DO SOMETHING 'CAUSE WE WERE BURSTING OUT THE SEAMS. THEN WE PUT, UM, UH, THE PLANNING FOR MAY RIVER ELEMENTARY SCHOOL IN ON THE 8% SO THAT WE WOULD BE SHOVEL READY, UH, WHEN WE GOT THE REFERENDUM FUNDING APPROVED. THIS SEEMS LIKE A TOTALLY DIFFERENT THING. AND IN MY OPINION THAT A NEW SCHOOL SHOULDN'T BE ON THE, ON THE, UNLESS WE'RE JUST DOING AS A CEREMONIAL SORT OF ACKNOWLEDGEMENT, I DON'T THINK WE SHOULD PUT BE PUTTING THAT KIND OF PROJECT ON AN 8% LIST. SO NOTICE THAT THE BOARD APPROVE WELL, WE, WE PRESENT AS A FIVE YEAR PLAN. AND THE FIVE YEAR PLAN IS MORE A TRACKING OF ALL THE PROJECTS THAT WE KNOW THAT ARE OUT THERE THAT WE NEED TO BE, UM, YOU KNOW, KEEPING TRACK OF ON WHAT IS NEEDED WITHIN THE DISTRICT. THE BOARD ONLY APPROVES THE UPCOMING YEAR, WHICH WILL BE FY 27, AS MR. NAY, UH, ALLUDED TO. THAT PROJECT IS AN OUTER YEAR. SO IT IS TO TRACK PROJECTS THAT WE KNOW ARE NEEDED. FOR EXAMPLE, WHEN WE GET TO A FUTURE REFERENDUM, POSSIBLY THAT LIST WOULD BE LOOKED AT. HERE'S EVERYTHING WE KNOW OF THAT WE'RE TRACKING AS A NEED. SO WE'RE JUST NOT TAKING, IT'S NOT BEING PRESENTED AS A PROJECT TO BE FUNDED AT THIS TIME. IT IS BEING TRACKED AS A NEED THAT WE KNOW IS OUT THERE. I, I AGREE WITH YOU AS FAR AS MS NEW SCHOOLS MSRA. YES SIR. WHAT I, WHAT I HEAR YOU SAYING IS THAT WHEN THERE IS A COMMUNITY PROJECT REVIEW COMMITTEE, [01:00:01] THREE POINT OR ANOTHER REFERENDUM DOWN THE ROAD, THAT THEY WILL LOOK AT THE LIST THAT ARE OUT THERE AS PART OF THE FACILITY NEEDS AND MOVE FORWARD. BUT THIS IS NOT A PROJECT WE WOULD, WE, WE WOULD BE MOVING FORWARD TO THE BOARD, UH, TO FUND THROUGH 8%. YOU JUST KEEP, YOU HAVE IT ON THERE AS A LIST WAY DOWN THE ROAD. SO WHEN A COMMUNITY PROJECT REVIEW COMMITTEE COMES BACK TO LOOK AT WHAT ARE, UH, POTENTIAL, UH, UH, NEEDS OR PROJECTS PLUS FACILITY CONDITION ASSESSMENT REPORTS AND THE PROCESS THAT THEY UTILIZE TO DO THEIR WORK, THAT WOULD BE ON, ON A LIST SOMEPLACE THAT THEY COULD SEE THAT IS A NEED THAT WAS ON A PRIOR ONE AND CORRECT. I MEAN, NOTICE THAT WE, WE TRACK WAY MORE PROJECTS THAN WE'RE FUNDING. 'CAUSE THAT'S, WE'RE SHOWING OUR NEEDS BASICALLY. YEAH. AND I, AND I, THAT I CAN UNDERSTAND THAT AND I'M FINE WITH THAT. I JUST WANNA MAKE IT CLEAR THAT IN MY OPINION, A NEW SCHOOL WOULD NOT BE FUNDED OUT. 8% MONEY SHOULD BE FUNDED OUT AROUND RENT. AND THEN THE ONLY OTHER QUICK QUESTION, I HAVE THIS KIND OF A DATA SCIENCE QUESTION. SO, AND YOU, YOU AND I HAVE THIS CONVERSATION AFTER FOR FIVE YEARS. I HATE THE WAY WE DO THE 8%. IT'S NOT A JUDGMENT, IT'S JUST, IT'S WEIRD TO ME LIKE WE'RE VERY IN THE WEEDS AND YET NOT. UM, BUT WE HAVE CATEGORIES AND I KNOW THE BOARD HAD A MOTION AT SOME POINT THAT, UH, SAFETY AND SECURITY WOULD BE ALL THOSE WOULD GET KICKED OFF BEFORE ANYTHING ELSE GOT DONE. AND THEN WE HAVE ACADEMIC SUPPORT, WHICH MAKES A TON OF SENSE. ASSET PRESERVATION, WHICH IS ABSOLUTELY, THEN WE HAVE THIS CATEGORY STANDARDIZATION AND EQUITY, AND I THOUGHT WE WERE KIND OF GONNA DROP THAT BECAUSE IT'S SORT OF A CATCHALL, IT'S SORT OF LIKE SECURITY, ASSET PROTECTION, ACADEMIC SUPPORT AND MISCELLANEOUS AND REALLY IS WHAT IT IS. BECAUSE IN THERE, UNDER, I WAS JUST CURIOUS UNDERSTAND IF WE HAVE A HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS DIGITAL MARQUEE SIGN, UM, THAT'S A STANDARDIZATION AND EQUITY ISSUE. AND THEN WE HAVE A FIELD HOUSE FOR A MIDDLE SCHOOL UNDERSTANDING, LIKE, I, IF WE'RE GONNA HAVE CATEGORIES, LET'S MAKE 'EM MAKE SOME SORT OF SENSE. BECAUSE THE POINT OF HAVING THE CATEGORIES IS TO LOOK AT GROWTH IN CERTAIN AREAS, YOU KNOW, ALL THAT KIND OF STUFF. HAVING THIS SORT OF CATCHALL WITH A BUNCH OF STUFF PUT INTO IT, I THINK IS NOT HELPFUL. THAT'S JUST NOT OBSERVATION. THANKS. OTHER QUESTIONS? COMMENTS? YES, SIR. OKAY. AND, AND MR. SMITH, JUST TO, UH, PIGGYBACK OFF OF WHAT MRS. MY COLLEAGUE SAYING, SECRETARY , MADAM SECRETARY HERSELF, UH, TO, JUST TO GO BACK OFF OF WHAT SHE WAS SAYING. SO I I, I UNDERSTAND EXACTLY WHAT SHE WAS SAYING IN TERMS OF 80% PROJECTS, BUT TO, I GUESS IF, IF WE COULD, MAYBE WE CAN JUST HAVE A, A, A CATEGORY TO SAY, UH, LIKE HOW ON THE BOARD WE HAVE A ROLLING, UM, A ROLLING LIST OF THINGS. SO MAYBE WE WANNA GET INTO AKA ROLLING LIST OF PROJECTS, UH, MAYBE THIS AND THAT WAY THAT WILL BE A CLEAR NOTED AREA OF THINGS THAT, IN TERMS TERMS OF HAVING NEEDS VERSUS WANTING THE BALANCE BEAM. SO WE WOULD HAVE, SO WE HAVE A CLEAR SET OF THINGS THAT WE, THAT WE NEED OR THINGS THAT WE MAY WANT. AND I THINK, AND I THINK THAT THAT WILL, UH, SIGNIFY, UH, WHICH IS, WHICH IS WHAT, AND IN, IN TERMS OF US MOVING FORWARD, I DON'T THINK THAT THAT WOULD, THAT, THAT WOULD HURT US. SO WELL I THINK IF, IF, UH, THAT'S A GOOD SUGGESTION. YEAH. YEAH. I THINK THAT THAT WOULD, THAT WOULD BRING CLARITY TO THAT. ABSOLUTELY. YEAH. THANK YOU. ANYTHING FURTHER? UH, THAT CONCLUDES MY REPORT AND I, UH, YIELD THE RESPONSE, OR MAYBE NOT. AND ALSO I, UH, ALSO, I, I MUST BRING, UM, WE DO IT SOMETIMES DURING THE OPERATIONS COMMITTEE, BUT I MUST BRING PUBLIC PRAISE TO MRS. MAJOR, MRS. BRANDY MAJOR IN TERMS OF, UH, THE FACILITIES AND THE JOB THAT SHE'S DONE IN TERMS OF THE, UM, CUSTODIAL, CUSTODIAL STAFF AND, AND KEEPING UP WITH WHAT'S GOING ON. AND I THINK SHE'S REALLY BEEN A ASSET IN TERMS OF, TO WHERE WE'VE COME FROM, FROM ME BEING ON THE OPERATIONS COMMITTEE. AND I, I HAVE TOLD HER THIS AT THE ACTUAL, AT THE ACTUALLY OPERATIONS COMMITTEE MEETING, BUT I THINK MY MOM SAID, YOU PRAY, YOU PRAISE ME PUBLICLY. I MEAN, YOU, YOU, YOU PRAISED ME, UH, PRIVATELY AND, UH, YOU PRAISE ME PUBLICLY. AND I, I THINK THAT, I JUST WANT TO REALLY GIVE HER A TOTAL APPRAIS BECAUSE THAT THE, THE MODEL OF WORK THAT SHE'S PUT IN, WE'VE SEEN WHERE THESE PROGRAMMERS MADE A 300, 3 80 3 MILLION TERM. SO I JUST WANT TO PROBABLY THANK HER FOR ALL HER HARD WORK THAT SHE'S DOING. THANK YOU. THANK YOU MR. SUPERINTENDENT PUTTING THAT IN PLACE. APPRECIATE THAT ONCE PLACE. ALRIGHT, I'M DONE SIR. RODRIGUEZ, SUPERINTENDENT. [Superintendent’s Report] THANK YOU, SIR. THE ITEM, UH, WE HAVE TWO ITEMS. UH, UNDER STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT. WE HAVE, UH, ONE ITEM UNDER FISCAL [01:05:01] RESPONSIBILITY. WE WILL BEGIN WITH, UH, STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT, UH, THE ACADEMIC CALENDAR, UH, AND, AND THEN, UM, THE WAVE THE DAY AT HOME ISLAND MIDDLE SCHOOL, UH, THAT'S WE'LL TALK ABOUT AS WELL. DR. THANK YOU SUPERINTENDENT AND GOOD EVENING BOARD MEMBERS AND CHAIRMAN DYER THIS EVENING. THERE ARE GONNA BE TWO ITEMS TO MOTIONS FOR YOUR REVIEW AND CONSIDERATION. FIRST WILL BE IN REGARDING UPCOMING CALENDARS FOR BUCA COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT. I WANNA MAKE NOTE THAT WE ARE IN COMPLIANT FOR THIS COMING ACADEMIC SCHOOL YEAR. AND WHAT YOU HAVE IN YOUR POSSESSION AS MRS. CUSH BARRY HAS BROUGHT FORWARD IS THE ACADEMIC CALENDAR IS ACTUALLY FOR THE 26 AND 27 AS WELL AS THE 27 FOR ME ACADEMIC SCHOOL YEARS. WHAT YOU WILL HAVE, AND I'LL PAUSE FOR YOU AN OPPORTUNITY SO THAT YOU MAY BE ABLE TO REVIEW WITHIN THE EXECUTIVE SUMMARY. THANK YOU MR. DISCUSSIONARY. IT STARTS WITH A TABLE OF CONTENTS AND LETS YOU KNOW THE PAGES FOR THE 26 27 3 OPTIONS AS WELL AS FOR THE THREE OPTIONS FOR THE 27 28. I'D LIKE YOU TO TAKE A LOOK AT POSSIBLE AT THE EXECUTIVE SUMMARY. WE RECOGNIZE THAT OUR ACADEMIC CALENDARS CONSIST OF 180 ACADEMIC DAYS. A FULL PROCESS HAS GONE FORWARD WITH REGARD TO BRINGING THESE OPTIONS TO YOU. AND I HAVE MEMBERSHIP OF THOSE WHO HAVE LED THOSE OPTIONS. THAT IS KAREN MCKINZIE AS WELL AS NICHOLAS FLOWERS. AS YOU KNOW, KAREN, MISS MCKINSEY IS OUR DIRECTOR FOR SECONDARY TEACHING AND LEARNING. MR. FLOWERS IS OUR DIRECTOR FOR ACCOUNTABILITY FOR NEWFORD COUNTY ONLY. WAIT TILL, I'LL WAIT UNTIL EVERYONE CATCHES THAT. IS THAT OKAY? SEND IT. ALRIGHT, SO WE CAN BE SO KIND AS TO LOOK AT YOUR EXECUTIVE SUMMARY. LET'S LOOK FIRST AT PAGE FIVE. THE EXECUTIVE SUMMARY IN NARRATIVE IS THERE FOR YOUR OWN READING. OPTION ONE, WE RECOGNIZE THAT THE START DATE IS AUGUST 10TH FOR THE 27 20 EIGHTH SCHOOL YEAR. THE START DATE WILL BE AUGUST 11TH. I WANNA SHARE WITH YOU THAT THIS OPTION WAS OVERWHELMING RECOMMENDED BY OUR TEACHERS. AND YOU'RE GONNA SEE A TREND AS I GO FORWARD. THIS OPTION DOES NOT PROVIDE A FULL BREAK. HOWEVER, SECOND SEMESTER HAS THREE BREAKS. EACH STUDENT'S ACADEMIC SCHOOL YEAR ENDS. WE PUT A CLOSE OF THE MONTH OF MAY GRADUATIONS WOULD BE CONDUCTED JUNE 1ST THROUGH JUNE 3RD, SO THAT RESPECTIVE SCHOOL PERSONNEL MAY PARTICIPATE. OPTION TWO FOR THE 26 AND 27 ACADEMIC SCHOOL YEAR AS WELL AS FOR THE 27 28 SCHOOL YEAR WAS AN OVERWHELMING FAVORITE OF APPEARANCE. AND I'LL LET MR. FLOWERS GIVE YOU SOME INFORMATION WITH REGARD TO OUR FEEDBACK ON TECHNOLOGY. START DATE IS AUGUST 7TH FOR THE 26TH, 27 SCHOOL YEAR I, THE 27 28 ACADEMIC SCHOOL YEAR. CATCHING UP ON MY NOTES. I DON'T HAVE IT QUICKLY IN FRONT OF ME. MR. FLOWERS, YOU HAVE IT. OKAY, FOR THE START, START DATE THERE FOR THE 27TH, 28 SCHOOL YEAR, I DO APOLOGIZE IF YOU CAN PULL UP OPTION TWO FOR THE FOLLOWING YEAR. I DO. IT'S HARD TO READ IT DOWN HERE. AUGUST 9TH. THANK YOU MRS. BERRY. THERE IS A BREAK IN OCTOBER AND IN THIS DESIGN YOU'LL SEE THAT THE BREAKS ARE EARLY AS THE STUDENTS GET OUTTA SCHOOL EARLIER IN MAY. GRADUATIONS WOULD BE [01:10:01] CONDUCTED PRIOR TO MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND. I WANNA RECOGNIZE THAT. AND ONE OF THE OVERWHELMING RECOMMENDATIONS, IF YOU COULD LOOK AT THE MONTH OF OCTOBER FOR BOTH OPTIONS HERE IS THAT PARENTS WANTED TO HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO TRAVEL WITH COLLEGE TOURS WITH THEIR STUDENTS IN OCTOBER. HENCE, THAT'S THE BIGGEST DIFFERENCE THAT YOU SEE AN EXTRA DAY OFF IN THE MONTH OF OCTOBER, WHICH I HAVE TO SHARE. THAT WAS VERY INSIGHTFUL FROM THE PARENTS, SO THAT MANY PARENTS LIKE TO MAKE THOSE DECISIONS SO THE CHILDREN CAN MAKE THEIR DECISIONS FOR RESPECTIVE COLLEGES AND FOR JANUARY AND THE UPCOMING SPRING. THEN AS YOU REVIEW OPTION THREE, SINCE THEN, I LET YOU KNOW THAT IT WAS TEACHERS, IT WAS PARENTS WHO WOULD OVERWHELMINGLY WANT OPTION THREE ADMINISTRATORS. START DATE IS AUGUST 6TH FOR THE 26TH, 27TH SCHOOL YEAR. OCTOBER HAS ONE DAY OFF IS ONE DAY BREAK DAY LESS THAN ACTUALLY AT THE OPTION TWO WHERE THE PARENTS WANNA BE ABLE TO TRAVEL AND GO TO COLLEGE TOURS. IT DOES PROVIDE A FULL WEEK IN NOVEMBER FOR THANKSGIVING. AND I HAVE TO MAKE EMPHASIS. THAT IS THE LARGEST DIFFERENCE OF THE OPTIONS WHEN YOU REALLY TAKE A LOOK AT THEM. EACH ONE OF THESE OPTIONS PROVIDE THREE INTERMITTENT BREAKS, SECOND SEMESTER AND IN OPTION THREE, ONCE AGAIN FOR STUDENTS. THE ACADEMIC CALENDAR ENDS BEFORE MEMORIAL DAY. WE HAVE BEEN VERY FORTUNATE TO DO TWO YEARS APPROVAL IN ADVANCE. WE'D LIKE TO BRING FORWARD ANOTHER TWO YEARS TO OUR COMMUNITY. IT ALLOWS FOR OUR SCHOOLS AND OUR FAMILIES TO PLAN AS WELL AS THE SCHOOL DISTRICT AS WE'RE WORKING WITH OPERATIONS AND ALLOWS OUR PRINCIPALS ACTUALLY TO DO PROPER PLANNING FOR THE UPCOMING YEARS. HENCE THAT'S WHERE WE'RE BRING YOU ONCE AGAIN, TWO MORE YEARS OF CALENDAR. AND WITH THAT, I WILL PAUSE QUESTION. MR. NA. THANK YOU MR. CHAIR. AS FAR AS THE GRADUATIONS GO, I KNOW THIS IS PRETTY MINOR WHEN IT COMES TO THE ENTIRE SCHOOL YEAR. UM, WE HAVE SIX HIGH SCHOOLS, BUT WE'RE STACKING 'EM ALL UP ON THREE DAYS. SO THAT MEANS WE HAVE TWO DIRECT, TWO GRADUATIONS ON TWO DAYS. YES. TO BE VERY, TO SHARE WITH YOU SIR, WE ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR 180 ACADEMIC DAYS, HENCE WE TRY TO PUT OUR GRADUATION THAT HAPPENED AFTER THE 180 DAY MARK FOR OUR STUDENTS SO WE CAN SAFELY SAY OUR STUDENTS HAVE ATTENDED FOR 180 DAYS, SIR. SURE. AND, UM, OKAY, GREAT. UM, WHAT I WAS ASKING ABOUT IS, WAS THE, WAS THERE, UH, SOME FEEDBACK AS TO STACK UP THE GRADUATIONS OR THAT WAS A CHOICE INTERNAL, BECAUSE I CAN TELL YOU THE GRADUATIONS DURING THE DAY ARE TOO HOT. UM, SO IF WE COULD STACK, YOU KNOW, HAVE FIVE IN A ROW, YOU KNOW, AT NIGHT AND MAYBE STACK UP ONE IN THE DAY OR SO, I DON'T KNOW. BUT, UH, STACKING UP TWO DURING THE DAY. UM, I, I, MYSELF, AND I'M SURE MANY OTHER BOARD MEMBERS TRYING TO GO ALMOST AS MANY AS WE CAN FOR THE GRADUATIONS AND STACKING 'EM UP FOUR IN A ROW, UM, OVER TWO DAYS IS, IS A LOT. THAT'S A LOT, ESPECIALLY IN THE HEAT OF THAT TIME OF YEAR. CHANCE TO MAYBE ALTER THAT THEY WOULD BE THE PURVIEW OF THE BOARD AND YOU'RE OPEN TO ANY OF YOUR RECOMMENDATIONS FOR ANY OF THEM. BUT I DO WANNA PUT TWO POINTS FORWARD TO YOU. ONE, IT IS STRONGLY RECOMMENDED THAT WE KEEP TO 180 ACADEMIC DAYS FOR STUDENTS ATTENDANCE. BY GOING BEYOND THAT. IF YOU LOOK IN, I'M GONNA USE AN EXAMPLE RIGHT NOW OF OPTION ONE, AND WE LOOK AT THE 26 27 ACADEMIC YEAR, I WANTED TO LOOK AT THE MONTH OF JUNE. WE'VE IDENTIFIED JUNE FOR FIRST, SECOND, AND THIRD FOR GRADUATION TO A DAY. OUR STAFF WOULD BE THERE AVAILABLE TO BE PARTICIPATE WITHIN GRADUATION. I RECOGNIZE THAT ONE OF THE DAYS WE HAVE THIS YEAR IS A SATURDAY THAT WAS ON AGREEMENT WITH THE SCHOOL, BUT WE'VE TRIED VERY HARD TO HAVE THE GRADUATIONS OCCUR WHEN THE TEACHERS ARE ALSO WITHIN CONTRACTS. SO THEY COULD BE PART OF THAT PROCESS OF APPEARING AND THEN OBVIOUSLY PARTICIPATE IN THE CEREMONY. BUT AGAIN, IT IS THE PER THE BOARD, IF YOU'D LIKE US TO MOVE IT EARLIER TO, TO DO SIX CONSECUTIVE DAYS, OBVIOUSLY RECOGNIZING THE WEEKEND. MR. SMITH, UM, I'LL JUST, UH, SO I, MY QUESTION WAS, UH, IT WAS THERE A PROBLEM WHAT WE'VE DONE IN THE PAST BECAUSE, UM, I'VE BEEN THE BOARD NOW GOING ABOUT SEVEN YEARS NOW [01:15:01] AND, AND, AND THEY'VE ALWAYS BEEN, AT NIGHTTIME THERE HAVE NEVER BEEN A PROBLEM. BUT I'VE SEEN WHERE THEY MAY HAVE, UH, IN DIFFERENT, ALL THE VARIOUS PLACES WHERE THE HEAT, THE HEAT, THE HEAT MAY BE SOMETHING DIFFERENT AND WE DON'T REALLY HAVE THE FACILITIES TO, UH, DO IT TO, TO THOSE, THOSE SITUATIONS OCCUR. SO IF IT'S NOT BROKEN, THEN NOT. MY THING IS LET'S NOT FIX IT AND IT AIN'T BROKEN. I DON'T THINK THAT THIS IS A SITUATION THAT IS BROKEN AND WHEN WE ALREADY HAVE CHALLENGES WHEN, WHEN GRADUATIONS NOT MOVE TO WHEN IT RAINS AND THEN MOVED TO THE INSIDES. WE HAVE A TON OF PARENTS WHO ARE UPSET AND COUSINS WHO COMING DOWN FROM NEW YORK AND CANADA AND UH, HAWAII. SO I THINK THAT THE NIGHTTIME, EVERYONE HAD THEIR OWN DAYS. I I, I DON'T SEE A PROBLEM WITH THE WAY IT IS BEEN FLOWING. UM, I-I-I-I-I DON'T SEE WHY, WELL, WE COULDN'T KEEP, KEEP THAT WE, UM, TO MY RECOLLECTION AT LEAST SINCE I'VE BEEN HERE, UM, WELL WE, THE DON'T CALL IT A PROBLEM, BUT THE ONE DIFFICULTY WE ENCOUNTERED, UM, ONE PARTICULAR YEAR, UH, THE GRADUATION FELL, UH, THE DAY AFTER TEACHER'S, UH, LAST DAY. IS THAT RIGHT? THAT'S, UH, YES SIR. YEAH. SO I THINK IF WHAT YOU'RE LOOKING AT, UH, IF I READ, LET'S JUST TAKE OPTION ONE AS AN EXAMPLE, RIGHT? MM-HMM. UH, WHAT YOU'RE LOOKING AT IS, UH, JUNE 3RD IS THE LAST LAST CONTRACT DAY, CONTRACT DAY FOR TEACHERS. SO IF TO, TO MAKE WHAT BOTH OF YOU'RE SUGGESTING HAPPEN, UM, WE WOULD BACK UP, RIGHT? SO MONDAY OF MEMORIAL DAY, RIGHT? WE WOULD HAVE SATURDAY OF, UH, I'M SORRY, WHICH ONE, WHICH ONE ARE YOU LOOKING AT? OPTION ONE, I'M SORRY. THANK YOU MR. SCH SMITH 26, 27 OPTION ONE. I'M JUST LOOKING AT THAT JUST TO KIND OF PLAY IT OUT FOR YOU. RIGHT? SO YOU'VE GOT THOSE THREE DAYS IN JUNE, RIGHT? THEN YOU'D HAVE TO GO TO, UH, MONDAY, RIGHT? UH, BEFORE, WHICH WOULD BE THE 31ST. THAT'S WHEN, THAT WOULD BE MEMORIAL DAY AND THEN YOU'D GO TO SATURDAY, UH, THE 29TH, RIGHT? AND THEN YOU NEED, UH, THE 28TH AT NIGHT THAT FRIDAY AND THAT WOULD GIVE YOU SIX, RIGHT? THAT'S A YES SIR. SO I MEAN THAT'S SOMETHING, UH, WE, WE WOULD DO, BUT IT'S JUST LAP OVERLAPPING WITH THE MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND. THAT'S THE ONLY TIME CHAIRMAN GARY, IF I COULD BRING FORWARD ONE THING. GO AHEAD. WE DIDN'T PUT THE DATES FOR GRADUATION PURPOSELY ON THE CALENDARS. YOU WERE SEEKING TO GET YOUR INPUT FOR THOSE DATES SEPARATE AND THE CALENDARS THEMSELVES FOR YOUR APPROVAL SO THAT YOU COULD HAVE THIS OPPORTUNITY FOR DISCOURSE AS WELL. BUT AGAIN, I WANTED TO KEEP NOTE, 180 DAYS OF INSTRUCTION THAT STUDENTS ATTEND. THAT'S WHAT THE LEGISLATION DOES SHARE. SO WE WERE TRYING TO AVOID WAY EARLY RELEASE OF STUDENTS AND WE'VE HAD GRADUATIONS AT 10 IN THE MORNING, THEN AT SEVEN AT NIGHT WE COULD SCAN AND WE CAN OPERATE THAT WAY. AND I DO APOLOGIZE MRS. GORDON. OKAY. UH, MS. HAY HAD HER HAND UP. I'D LIKE TO HAVE HER ASK HER A QUESTION. GO AHEAD MS. HAY. YES SIR. THANK YOU. UM, TWO THINGS, WELL, A FEW THINGS I ECHO, UM, WHAT BOTH OF MY COLLEAGUES HAVE JUST EXPRESSED IN TERMS OF NOT DOUBLING UP, UM, THE GRADUATION CEREMONIES ON ANY PARTICULAR DAY. ALSO BECAUSE I DO UNDERSTAND THAT IT'S EASIER FOR TEACHERS WHEN IT'S DURING THE SCHOOL DAY, BUT THAT'S NOT WHAT'S EASIER FOR PARENTS AND FAMILY MEMBERS. AND OFTEN, YOU KNOW, FAMILY MEMBERS WANT EXTENDED FAMILY THERE. THE GRADUATION IS A REALLY BIG DEAL TO THE FAMILIES. UM, SO THAT MAKES IT MORE CHALLENGING FOR FAMILIES. HOWEVER, I'D CHALLENGE US TO THINK A LITTLE BIT OUTSIDE OF THE BOX AND PERHAPS, UM, YOU KNOW, IF WE NEED TO HAVE ONE PER NIGHT, PERHAPS WE'RE NOT ALL AT EVERY SINGLE GRADUATION BECAUSE NOT ALL THE CONSTITUENTS KNOW US. FOR EXAMPLE, EVEN WITHIN OUR OWN DISTRICTS, UM, WE COULD DIVIDE AND CONQUER AND THAT'S PERHAPS AN OPTION IF WE GET IN A STICKY SITUATION, UM, SCHEDULING WISE. BUT I WOULD AGREE WITH KEEPING IT ONE PER EVENING AS I THINK WE CAN ALL AGREE. WE HAD HESITATION EVEN THIS YEAR ABOUT WEARING ROBES DUE TO THE HEAT. I KNOW I'VE SAT ON THE STAGE EVERY YEAR AND THOUGHT THAT I FELT SO BAD FOR THE KIDS WHO ARE SITTING THERE ROBED WHILE I WASN'T BECAUSE I WAS BURNING UP HOT. UM, AND NOT EVERY VENUE THAT WE HAVE HAS ANY SHADE EVEN IN THE EVENING. AND THE, THE HIGHEST [01:20:01] SUNPOWER HOURS ARE BETWEEN 10:00 AM AND TWO. SO IF WE'RE SITTING ON A FIELD WITH NO SHADE, WE BEING EVERYONE IN THAT PARTICULAR AREA, I JUST, I DON'T KNOW THAT IT WOULD MAKE ALL INVOLVED HAPPY. I KNOW WE CAN'T MAKE EVERYONE HAPPY, BUT I DUNNO THAT THAT'S THE BEST, THE BEST ROUTE. OKAY. THANK YOU. UH, MS. GORDON, DO YOU HAVE SOMETHING? YES. UM, THANK YOU, UH, DR. STRATAS AND TEAM, UH, AND LOOKING AT THE DIFFERENT OPTIONS AND PARTICULARLY THE STACKING UP AND HAVING BEEN AN ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL WHEN YOU'RE SITTING OUT THERE WITH, WHEN YOUR 200 SENIORS TRYING TO GET THEM READY FOR THIS DAY. UM, I DON'T PARTICULARLY LIKE THE TWO A DAY. AND THE REASON BEING IS THAT WE'RE ALREADY TALKING ABOUT 45 MINUTES TO AN HOUR OR MORE TO TRAVEL FROM ONE END OF THIS COUNTY TO THE OTHER. SO YOU HAVE PARENTS AND THEIR FRIENDS AND THEIR FAMILIES BOTH COMING INTO TOWN FOR THESE GRADUATIONS, UM, ARE LOOKING AT MAY 31ST BEING MEMORIAL DAY. WHY CAN'T WE DO MAY 28TH? BECAUSE YOUR SENIORS ARE DYING. THEY'RE NOT IN CLASSROOMS, YOU KNOW, THEY'RE AT THE SCHOOLS GETTING READY TO CHECK OUT, UH, PREPARE FOR GRADUATION. SO, YOU KNOW, WE CAN LOOK AT THE 27TH AND 28TH OF POSSIBLE GRADUATION DAYS, BUT IF WE CAN, I WOULD LIKE TO DO THE SIX DAYS AND, UH, GIVE PARENTS AND FRIENDS AND, AND US AN OPPORTUNITY TO MAKE AS MANY GRADUATIONS, YOU KNOW, AS POSSIBLE. THANK YOU, DR. RODRIGUEZ. SO, UM, LET ME, LET ME HELP US ALONG ON HERE, RIGHT? OUR, OUR, OUR, I GOT THE MESSAGE. I THINK WE ALL GOT THE MESSAGE JUST FROM THE BRIEF COMMENTS THAT YOU PREFER ONE A DAY, RIGHT? SO WE CAN DO THAT. I THINK WHAT WE WANNA STAY FOCUSED ON IS THE SELECTION OF THE, OF THE CALENDARS, AND THEN WE'LL JUST DO ONE AGAIN. OKAY. CAN WE START WITH THIS IN AUGUST, THE START OF SCHOOL MICROPHONE? YES. IN AUGUST. UM, THAT OPTION ONE IS, UH, SCHOOL START AUGUST 10TH, AND WE STARTED SCHOOL A LITTLE EARLIER THAN THAT TO GET ALL THE GRADUATION STUFF IN. WELL, UM, FIRST THERE WERE SOME LEGISLATIVE ISSUES, WHICH I THINK WE ARE, WE'RE GOOD IN TERMS OF, OF OUR EARLIEST START DATE, WHATEVER THAT DATE IS. WE CAN GO, WE CAN GO AHEAD OF THE, BECAUSE WE HAVE A MODIFIED CALENDAR, RIGHT? SO WE CAN GO AHEAD OF WHAT THE STATE PROJECTED DATE IS, WHICH WE'VE DONE. THE ONLY THING IS THAT THESE CALENDARS HAVE BEEN, UH, VETTED BY THE COMMITTEES, RIGHT? YES, SIR. AND THEN PUT OUT FOR, UH, SO IF YOU, DO YOU WANNA TALK ABOUT THAT? YES, SIR. IF WE CHANGE ANYTHING ON HERE, YOU'RE GONNA NEED TO GO BACK TO COMMITTEE. YES, SIR. SO IF I COULD BRING TO YOUR QUESTION, SIR. A BIG GROUP OF EDUCATORS DO WORK DURING THE SUMMER. SO AS I SHARED WITH YOU IN OPENING, OPTION ONE IS A PREFERRED BY OUR EDUCATORS. SO WE DO HAVE A MODIFIED CALENDAR AS DR. RODRIGUEZ IS SHARED WITH YOU BY REGULATION. REGULATION STATES THAT WE MUST START NO, EARLIER THAN THE THIRD TUESDAY OF THE MONTH OF AUGUST. HOWEVER, THERE'S NO LEGISLATION WITH REGARD TO TWO ITEMS. ONE IS A MODIFIED YEAR ROUND, SO BE THAT WE'RE ABLE TO START EARLIER WHEN THIS CALENDARS WENT FORWARD TO OUR COMMITTEES, AND WE HAD AN SENSITIVE COMMITTEE GROUP. SO WE'VE MET WITH OVERWHELMINGLY MANY OF OUR EDUCATORS WORK THIS SUMMER. WE'RE ASKING IF THEY CAN GET ONE MORE WEEK OR SO THAT, BECAUSE IT'S ADDITIONAL SUMMER PAY. SO THIS CALENDAR REFLECTS THE TEACHER'S REQUESTS ON OPTION ONE? YES. ALL RIGHT. ARE WE STILL 90, 90 FALL? YES, MA'AM. FOR EACH ONE? BECAUSE THE ONE, HOW DO WE GET, HOW DO WE DO THAT? 'CAUSE WE DON'T HAVE ANY BREAKS IN ONE. I WAS TRYING TO COUNT IT UP. 'CAUSE MY CONCERN IS, AS YOU KNOW, I MEAN, THE FIRST IV TEST, NOT, I JUST LOOKED UP IV, I DIDN'T LOOK UP AP AT APRIL 28TH. SO IF WE DON'T HAVE ANY BREAKS AND WE HAVE 'EM ALL IN THE SPRING, DOES THAT WORK OUT? YOU SAID THAT THE FIRST ONE HAD NO FALL BREAKS. THE FIRST ONE HAS [01:25:01] NO FALL BREAKS, BUT IV IS ADMINISTERED IN APRIL. RIGHT. SO I'M, I'M FOLLOWING YOUR LONG PLAN. CONTINUE, PLEASE. SO, BUT, SO WHICH MEANS THEY HAVE MORE BREAKS IN THE SPRING, CORRECT? YES, MA'AM. DOES THAT AFFECT THE AMOUNT OF TIME WE HAVE FOR AP AND IB? NOT AT ALL. THEY BOTH HAVE 90 DAYS IN EACH SEMESTER, RESPECTIVELY. I KNOW THAT EACH 90 DAYS EACH SEMESTER. BUT IS THAT BE BECAUSE LIKE MY SON'S GOT HIS LAST IV TEST, MAY 9TH, Y'ALL, GOOD LUCK GETTING ANYTHING OUTTA HIM FROM MAY 9TH. BUT, UM, THE IV TESTS ARE DIFFERENT THAN THE GRADUATION RATE, RIGHT? SO THE AMOUNT OF TIME BETWEEN WHEN THE IV CLASS WOULD START, I WAS TRYING TO DO THIS MANUALLY, UM, WHICH WOULD BE JANUARY 6TH AND OPTION ONE, FOR EXAMPLE, TO WIN THE IV TEST WOULD START APRIL 28TH. IS THAT THE SAME AMOUNT OF DAYS ON ALL CALENDARS? OR DID WE EXTEND THE AMOUNT OF 90 DAYS BY EXTENDING OUT AT THE END WHEN THOSE KIDS, BECAUSE WE, YOU'VE GOTTA GIVE KIDS AS MUCH TIME AS POSSIBLE FOR IB, YOU ARE ALREADY KIND OF MAKING A MESS OF IT WITH A FOUR BY FOUR. SO IF I MAY, IF THE STUDENT IS SITTING FOR AN HL, WHICH IS A HIGHER LEVEL IB COURSE, I KNOW YOU RECOGNIZE THAT THAT CHILD IS SITTING FOR TWO YEARS WITH REGARD TO THAT CONTENT AREA, OR THEY WILL BE SITTING FOR THAT EXAM VERSUS AN SL COURSE, WHICH IS A ONE YEAR COURSE HERE. SO I UNDERSTAND, SAID I DON'T WANNA GET INTO THE MASTER SCHEDULE DESIGN BECAUSE I DON'T HAVE, I HOOKED IN IN HIGH SCHOOL, BUT THEY COULD DESIGN AN HL COURSE TO BE CONSECUTIVE FOR TWO, FOR TWO SEMESTERS. SEMESTERS IF THEY WANT TO. SO THAT STILL MEETS THE AMOUNT OF NECESSARY HOURS. SO A STUDENT WOULD HAVE CONSECUTIVE, CONSECUTIVE SEMESTERS WITHIN THAT CONTENT TO SIT FOR THAT EXAM IN APRIL. I DON'T, SO I WILL SAY THAT MRS. BOW RIGHT, WITH REGARD, IF IT WAS DESIGNED FOR THE AMOUNT THAT HOURS WAS SITTING UP FOR IB, THE ANSWER TO THAT IS NO. IS IT A DESIGN WITH REGARD TO THE TEACHER'S INPUT? AND I COULD SHARE THAT ONE TEACHER IN PARTICULAR WAS VERY HIGH PASSING RATE FOR ADVANCED PLACEMENT AT LEFT AND HIGH TO THE CAPSTONE. HE ACTUALLY SAT VERY WELL AND WAS FELT WELL WITH THE DESIGN OF EACH ONE OF THESE OPTIONS FOR THE READINESS OF HIS STUDENTS BASED ON THE MASTER SCHEDULE. I WON'T SHARE NAMES, BUT HE SCRUTINIZED VERY STRONG AT THIS WITH US. MR. SMITH, UM, AT SOME POINT, I KNOW THERE WAS A SURVEY THAT, THAT WENT OUT TO THE COMMUNITY. DO HAVE THOSE RESULTS FOR THAT SURVEY PLEASE? YES, WE DO. AND WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE CAN GO, YEP. PAGE 11. SO WE PROVIDED FOR YOU THE FULL, UH, REPORT THAT WE RECEIVED, UM, THAT HAS ALL OF THE FEEDBACK THAT WAS COMPLETED FROM ALL OF THE, UM, STAKEHOLDERS THAT ACTUALLY GAVE VERBAL CON OR WRITTEN COMMENTS, UH, ON THEIR FEEDBACK. AND THEN YOU CAN ALSO SEE, UM, WHERE THE COMMUNITY AND STAKEHOLDERS ACTUALLY VOTED. SO, UM, ON PAGE 11, IT KIND OF GIVES YOU THE NUMBERS THAT WE HAD, UM, 1,238 THAT ENGAGED PARTICIPANTS ON IT. UM, AND THEN FROM THERE, ON PAGE 1214 ON PAGE 14, YOU CAN ACTUALLY SEE WHAT THE, UM, RESULTS WERE. SO, UM, BOTH CALENDARS. FAVORITE OPTION ONE. SO FOR THE 26 27 SCHOOL YEAR, UM, OPTION ONE HAD 43.6% OF THE VOTE THERE THAT YOU CAN SEE ON THE GRAPH. AND THEN ON PAGE 15 WAS THE 27 28 ACADEMIC YEAR WHERE OPTION ONE WAS ALSO THE FAVORED ONE WITH 40% OF THE VOTE. THERE YOU CAN SEE THE VOTE. THANK YOU. UM, ALSO, UM, A MICRO CONCERN ON, ON THE OPTION ON ON ONE WAS THAT THIS YEAR HERE WE WERE, WE, WE, UH, THEY WERE COMPLAINING I GUESS, THAT WE WERE OUT A LOT IN THE MONTH OF FEBRUARY. AND, UH, I BELIEVE THAT THEY WASN'T, THEY WASN'T MUCH BREAKS MONTH BEFORE THAT. SO, UH, I, I DO SEE THAT THERE'S, THAT THERE, THERE'S A DIFFERENT OPTION ON SHOOT WITH THAT. AND, UH, MRS. ASKED ANOTHER QUESTION ABOUT THE 90 90. UM, WELL, IT SEEMS LIKE, UH, WE'RE NOT GONNA PLEASE EVERYBODY ON THIS. SO I THINK WE NEED TO START, UH, WITH A MOTION. UH, WE GET A MOTION AND, UH, AND WE'LL SEE IF WE CAN, UH, GET ENOUGH PEOPLE TO VOTE FOR THAT MOTION. LET IT GO. I, I THINK THAT WE CAN WORK WITH THE GRADUATION PIECE AFTERWARDS. LET'S, LET'S GET THE SCHOOL SCHEDULE AND [01:30:01] THEN WORK GRADUATION AFTERWARDS. I BELIEVE THAT SCHOOL, YEAH, THAT'S WHAT, YEAH. SO I, A MOTION, I'LL MAKE A MOTION, I'LL MAKE A MOTION THAT WE GO WITH OPTION TWO. I'LL SECOND THAT. OKAY. THEN MOVE IN SECOND TO GO TO OPTION TWO. IS THAT FOR BOTH YOUR WELL, I THINK THAT WE NEED TO DO ONE AT A LEAST ONE AT A TIME. THIS IS FOR THE FIRST, THE FIRST HEARING. 20 26, 27. CORRECT. ALRIGHT. OPTION TWO FOR 27 27, CORRECT? YEAH. ALRIGHT. IT IS BEEN MOVED. SECONDED. ANY, ALL MORE DISCUSSION ON THAT? NONE. ALL THOSE IN FAVOR STATE BY SAYING AYE. AYE. A. AYE. SO LET'S SEE AGAIN. WE GOT HOW MANY UP? 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8. ABSTAIN. SAIN. I ABSTAIN. OKAY. ONE. I'M STAYING. UH, MS. HAY. OKAY. SAID A SHE SAID AYE. YOU SAID AYE, FRAZIER AND MR. SMALL. YEAH. AND WE HAD SOME THAT VOTED BILLS? NO. OKAY. SO YOU HAVE TWO. HE, HE VOTED YES. MR. FRAZIER SMALL VOTED YES. HE VOTED YES. YES. OKAY. YOU, MS. FRAZIER, DID YOU, MS. FRAZIER, HOW DID YOU VOTE? YOU HAD A QUESTION. I HAVE A QUESTION ABOUT HOW THE VOTING WAS HAPPENING. SO, UM, OPTION TWO WAS NEITHER A PARENT OR A TEACHER'S FAVORITE? A PARENT. MS. PARENT. IT WAS A PARENT. PARENT. OKAY. I THINK YOU HAVE, YOU HAVE, OKAY. NO. OKAY. ALRIGHT, MS. AYE. SO THAT'S 10, 10 AND ONE ABSTENTION. OKAY. THANK YOU. MOTION CARRIES. WE HAVE MOTION FOR THE NEXT YEAR, YEAR. I MOVE FOR THE BOARD OF EDUCATION. ADOPTED 2027. 2028. ACADEMIC CALENDAR, OPTION TWO. SECOND. SECONDED. SECONDED FROM MS. HAY AND A DISCUSSION. YOU HAVE A QUESTION YOU SAID, YOU SAID FOR, YOU SAID FOR THE, UH, 2027. 20 20 27. 2028. OKAY, THAT'S OPTION TWO. YEAH, I JUST HAVE ONE QUESTION. OKAY, GO AHEAD. MR. WHICH, UH, WHICH, UH, OH, SORRY, WHICH, UM, THE BULLET MISSED FOR OPTION TWO WAS PARENTS, SIR. OKAY. OPTION THREE WAS ADMINISTRATORS, OPTION ONE WAS TEACHERS. ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? LISTEN, I'M GONNA, I'M GONNA CALL THE ROLL HERE. EXCUSE GETS TOO CONFUSING. SO WE HAVE A MOTION TO TAKE OPTION TWO, TWO. THE 27 20 EIGHTH. MM-HMM . SCHOOL YEAR. DISTRICT ONE. MS. UH, PASTOR GORDON, HOW DO YOU VOTE? ALRIGHT. UH, DISTRICT TWO, MS. GORDON, HOW DO YOU VOTE? ABSTAINED. ABSTAINED. OKAY. UH, DISTRICT THREE, MR. SMITH. A I A. OKAY. UM, MR. FOUR. MYSELF. YAY. MR. NAY? YES. YAY. YES. UH, MR. SMALL. YES. YES. MR. CARR? YES. DR. CARR. SORRY. UH, MR. DALLAS? YES. YES. MS. FRAZIER? YES. YES. MS. HAY? YES. YES. AND MS. BOATRIGHT? YES. MOTION CARRIES WITH ONE ABSTENTION, ONE ABSENT, AND ONE ABSTENTION ABSENT. ONE AB ONE ABSENT ABSTENTION? YES. OKAY. WHAT ELSE YOU NEED? I WOULD SAY LOTTERY NUMBERS. COME BACK TO US WITH A GRADUATION. YES, SIR. AND, OKAY. AND IT, THE PURVIEW OF THE BOARD, WE COULD DESIGN IT. I DIDN'T, I JUST FOR YOU TO KNOW THAT WHEN WE DID THIS PRIOR, IT WAS A DRAFT AND SOME SCHOOLS ACTUALLY UTILIZED THE ONE THAT WASN'T APPROVED. SO THAT'S WHY WE DIDN'T PUT IT IN. I WANTED TO SHARE THAT. WE HAD, WE HAD SOME CLEANING UP TO DO, BUT WHAT ELSE DO WE NEED? SOMETHING HAD MIDDLE SCHOOL. WE BRING FORWARD YOU YOUR, YOUR OPPORTUNITY TO WAIT A MAKE DAY FOR THEM. IF WE RECALL, WE HAD A ELECTRICAL SITUATION AT THE SCHOOL. SO YOU HAVE TWO MOTIONS IN FRONT OF YOU. ONE, AND YOU HAVE THE POWER WITHIN AMONGST EACH OF YOU TO WAIVE BACK OR TO SAY, WE HAVE A MAKE, UH, MR. CHAIRMAN, I MOVE THAT THE BOARD OF EDUCATION APPROVE THE 20 24, 20 25 CALENDAR MODIFICATION TO REFLECT MAY 30, 20, 25. UM, OH, WAIVE. I'M SORRY, LET DO THAT AGAIN. MOVED TO THE BOARD OF EDUCATION AS PER SOUTH CAROLINA CODE 1976 AS AMENDED. SECTION 59 DASH ONE DASH 4 25. [01:35:01] WAIVE HAVING A MAKE DAY FOR HILTON HEAD. OKAY. WHATEVER IT IS, I WANT THEM NOT TO HAVE TO GO TO SCHOOL. WAIT SECOND. IS IT? YEAH. WAIVE HAVING THE MAKEUP DAY. OKAY. WAIT. SO I MAKE SURE THAT WAS OKAY FOR HILTON HEAD MIDDLE SCHOOL FOR THE MISSED ACADEMIC DAY OF APRIL 23RD, 2025 DUE TO A POWER OUTAGE. SECOND. SECOND, MR. NICK, ANY DISCUSSION? ALL THOSE FAVOR IN FAVOR? AYE. AYE. MS. HAY? AYE. MOTION CARRIES. THANK YOU BOARD MEMBERS FOR MAKING YOU APPRECIATE IT. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. UH, NEXT ITEM ON THE SUPERINTENDENT'S REPORT IS UNDER FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY, AND IT IS FFY 25 26 PROPOSED BUDGET AGAIN. GO AHEAD, MS. ALL RIGHT. GOOD EVENING, ONCE AGAIN. UM, THIS EVENING WE'RE GONNA BRING YOU, WE'RE BRINGING FORWARD A, AN ABBREVIATED, UH, PRESENTATION COMPARED TO APRIL 25TH. WE HAD AT THE WORK SESSION, WE HAD A ROBUST, UH, CONVERSATION. UM, BUT THIS TIME, UH, ALTHOUGH THE PRESENTATION IS RELATIVELY, UM, MODEST, THE HANDOUTS HAVE GROWN. SO , UM, LAST TIME WE HAD A SMALLER NUMBER OF HANDOUTS. NOW YOU CAN DISREGARD THE FIRST SET OF HANDOUTS BECAUSE THE SECOND SET OF 25 PAGES INCLUDES ALL THAT. WERE IN THE FIRST ONE AND SOME MORE DE AND A LOT MORE DETAILS FOR YOUR REVIEW THIS, THIS EVENING AND MOVING FORWARD. SO WE ARE NOT REQUESTING A VOTE TODAY. UH, SO THIS IS FOR DISCUSSION, UH, FOR INFORMATION. UH, AND WE HAVE, UH, UM, A LEGISLATIVE UPDATE AND IMPORTANT ONE COMING FORWARD THAT JUST CAME OUT AS WE WERE SITTING IN OUR CHAIRS OVER HERE. SO, UM, THAT IS GOOD NEWS. AND, UH, SO THIS EVENING, UH, JUST WANTED TO, A COUPLE OF THINGS HAVE HAPPENED SINCE OUR LAST MEETING. WE HAD, UH, TWO BUDGET FORUMS LAST WEEK, BUFORD HIGH SCHOOL LEFT IN HIGH SCHOOL, AND SOME GREAT CONVERSATION, UH, WITH THE COMMUNITY MEMBERS. UM, SO WE'LL BE PROVIDING A LITTLE BIT OF HIGHLIGHTS ON THAT. UM, PROVIDING A FEW UPDATES FOR YOU AND JUST GIVING ANOTHER OPPORTUNITY FOR MORE DISCUSSION AS WE MOVE THROUGH THE PRESENTATION. SO, UH, THE, JUST THE, TO HIT THE HIGHLIGHTS OF THIS BUDGET, UH, AND WE HAVE SOME EXTRA DOCUMENTS FOR YOU TO BE ABLE TO SHARE WITH COMMUNITY MEMBERS THAT HIT THOSE HIGHLIGHTS AS WELL. AND I'LL, I'LL MENTION THOSE A LITTLE LATER. UH, BUT FIRST OF ALL, WE, UH, WE, IT'S VERY IMPORTANT THAT WE ALIGN OUR BUDGET PRIORITIES WITH THE STRATEGIC PLAN. UH, OUR STAFF MEMBERS ARE ON THE STRATEGIC PLANNING COMMITTEE. UH, SO OUR BUDGET FOLKS ARE A STEP IN, RIGHT IN STEP WITH ALIGN, ALIGNING WITH THE STRATEGIC PLAN. $14 MILLION OF THIS BUDGET, UH, OVER 80% WAS INVESTMENT IN EMPLOYEE COMPENSATION. THIS IS BOTH TEACHER SALARIES AND SUPPORT STAFF AND ALL IN BETWEEN. UH, SO THAT IS THE LARGEST ASSET FOR US, UH, THAT WE INVESTED IN. AND THAT IS OUR EMPLOYEES. UM, THE STARTING TEACHER SALARY. WE'VE HIT A TARGET, UH, WHICH WAS OUR GOAL OF $60,000. AND, UH, THAT WOULD EXCEED, THAT WOULD BE THE STARTING TEACHER SALARY FOR A BACHELOR'S DEGREE. AND THIS HAS SLIGHTLY EXCEEDED THE PROJECTED NATIONAL AVERAGE TEACHER SALARY. SO NOT JUST, WE'RE NOT JUST LOOKING. UH, AND, AND IT WAS A COMMENT MADE BY ONE OF OUR, UH, COMMUNITY MEMBERS IS WHY ARE YOU LOOKING JUST AT SOUTH CAROLINA? COMPARING YOURSELF TO CHARLESTON, WHO'S, YOU KNOW, PROBABLY GONNA BE NUMBER ONE. BUT WHAT ABOUT LOOKING AT YOURSELF NATIONALLY? SO WE DID SOME WORK THIS WEEK. LOOKED AT A SOURCE FROM, UH, NATIONAL EDUCATION ASSOCIATION NEA.ORG, AND COMPARED OURSELVES WITH THE, UM, PAST, UH, THE DOCUMENTED, UM, AVERAGE TEACHER SALARIES AND AVERAGE TEACHER STARTING SALARIES AND HAVE JUST SLIGHTLY OR, UM, EXCEEDED THOSE PROJECTED SALARIES FOR THIS COMING BUDGET YEAR. SO WE ARE IN A GOOD PLACE, UH, I BELIEVE, UM, AND THE OPERATIONAL INCREASES THAT WE HAVE ARE FOR, UH, PRIMARILY CONTRACTUAL. SO WE HAVE A LOT OF MAJOR CONTRACTS THAT WE OUTSOURCE, MAINTENANCE, CUSTODIAL, TRASH DISPOSAL, VARIOUS CONTRACTS LIKE THAT, THOSE SERVICE CONTRACTS THAT WE HAVE SEEN, THE LABOR COSTS INCREASE AND THE NEED FOR THAT, UM, THOSE BUDGET ITEMS TO INCREASE AS WELL. UM, AND FINALLY, THIS BUDGET IS A 5% INCREASE OVER THE FISCAL YEAR, 2025. UH, IT IS LOWER THAN EITHER OF THE TWO PRIOR YEARS PERCENTAGE INCREASES. IT WAS, UH, BIG LEAGUE 12% TWO YEARS AGO, AND 7% LAST YEAR. UH, IT IS A SMALLER INCREASE, UM, BUT IT, IT IS ALSO, UH, IT IS A $17.8 MILLION [01:40:02] INCREASE ON A $377 MILLION BUDGET. UH, SO THE PRIOR MEETING SUMMARY, UM, JUST BRIEFLY GO THROUGH SOME OF THESE. UM, AND I'LL HAVE SOME MORE DETAILS ON THE TEACHERS, UH, AND SUPPORT STAFF CONVERSATION ON THE NEXT SLIDE. BUT, UH, BASICALLY, UH, SOME OF THE FEEDBACK WE RECEIVED LAST WEEK, WHAT WAS THAT? ALTHOUGH WE'RE MAKING HUGE STRIDES IN TEACHER SALARIES AND, UM, AND SUPPORT STAFF AS WELL, THEY FELT THAT WE WEREN'T QUITE DOING ENOUGH. THEY WANTED TO BE MORE COMPETITIVE NATIONALLY. UM, SO I WAS PLEASANTLY SURPRISED TO, TO HEAR HOW ENCOURAGED THEY WERE TO, UH, BE PUSHING US TO DO EVEN MORE. UM, AND SO TO REALLY MAKING OURSELVES COMPETITIVE, UM, NOT JUST IN, THROUGHOUT THE STATE OR THE SOUTHEAST REGION, BUT ON A NATIONAL LEVEL. SO IT'S VERY ENCOURAGING TO HAVE THEIR SUPPORT, UH, ON THIS TOPIC, WHICH IS, UH, PRIMARILY THE LARGEST INCREASE IN OUR BUDGET. UM, AND SO, UH, EXPANSION OF PROGRAMS WAS MENTIONED, UH, UP THROUGH, UM, PRE-K PROGRAMS, UH, ACADEMIC FINE ARTS, UH, ACROSS THE BOARD, UM, STUDENT ADVISORY, UM, MEETINGS WITH, UH, STUDENTS ALSO LENDED TO THE NEED FOR MORE PROGRAMS, MORE CLUBS, MORE THINGS FOR THEM TO CHOOSE FROM AND PARTICIPATE IN. UM, AND SO THEY WERE ALSO SOME FEEDBACK THAT WEREN'T AS POSITIVE, BUT IT WAS GOOD FEEDBACK FOR US TO HEAR THINGS THAT THEY WANTED IMPROVED, UM, UH, MEAL PORTION SIZES, MORE OPTIONS, UM, A VARIOUS ISSUES, UH, UH, THROUGHOUT THE SCHOOLS THAT, UH, STUDENTS, UH, MENTIONED. AND PARENTS, UH, WERE ABLE TO VOICE THEIR CONCERNS AND WE WERE ABLE TO LISTEN AND, UH, REASSURE THEM THAT WE WERE ABLE TO COMMUNICATE THOSE CONCERNS BACK TO OUR, OUR LEADERS AND, UH, THOSE THAT ARE ACCOUNTABLE FOR THE VARIOUS AREAS. SO IT WAS, UH, GREAT, UH, FEEDBACK. AND ONE OF THE FINAL ONES, THEY WANTED MORE SUCCESS STORIES, NOT JUST IN ATHLETICS, UM, AND, BUT MAYBE IN THE ARTS OR ROTC AND THE VARIOUS AREAS LIKE THAT AS WELL. SO THOSE ARE IMPORTANT. UM, THINGS THAT WE TOOK IN, TOOK TO HEART AND WERE PASSING ALONG TO OUR COUNTERPARTS AND OUR STAFF TO MAKE SURE THAT, UH, WE'RE LOOKING TO SEE WHAT ELSE WE CAN DO TO IMPROVE THOSE AREAS. SO AGAIN, COMPETITIVE TEACHER SALARIES IS OUR, REALLY OUR NUMBER ONE PRIORITY HERE. UH, OR ONE OF THE TOP THREE PRIORITIES THAT WE'VE ESTABLISHED FOR THIS YEAR. $4,000 INCREASE TO EACH SALE OF THE TEACHER'S SALARY SCHEDULE. UH, THE, UH, CERTIFIED STEPS FROM ZERO TO FIVE. SO WE'RE ON A STEP SCHEDULE FOR TEACHER SALARIES, ZERO TO 28 CURRENTLY. AND, UH, WE WOULD COLLAPSE STEP ZERO TO FIVE, AND THEY WOULD ALL BE 60,000, $87. UM, IN ADDITION TO THAT, I, I FAILED TO NOTE THAT, OH NO, IT DIDN'T. IT'S ON THE LAST BULLET POINT, SO I'LL GET THERE IN JUST A MOMENT. SURE. UH, 3% COST OF LIVING FOR CLASSIFIED PROFESSIONAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE EMPLOYEES. THEY WOULD ALSO RECEIVE A STEP INCREASE. UM, AND SO, UH, THAT WOULD BE MORE THE STEP INCREASE FOR BOTH TEACHERS AND CLASSIFIED PROFESSIONAL AND ALL EMPLOYEES IS APPROXIMATELY 1.5% AVERAGE IF THERE'S DIFFERENT AREAS OF THE SCALE THAT ARE A LITTLE MORE, A LITTLE LESS, BUT, SO, UH, THE 3% WOULD BE CLOSER TO 4.5% ONCE THAT STEP WAS GIVEN AS WELL. UH, SO WE DO HAVE A, UH, MAX STEP INCREASE FROM 28 TO 30 STEPS THAT ARE PROPOSED FOR ALL EMPLOYEE TYPES. AND THE LOCALITY SUPPLEMENT, THIS IS THE ONE I WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT I MENTIONED, BUT THE LOCALITY SUPPLEMENT HAS BEEN IN PLACE FOR SEVERAL, ALMOST 10 YEARS. UH, IT BEGAN AS A, AS A SUPPLEMENT TO HELP WITH THE COST OF LIVING IN OUR AREA. UM, AND RIGHT NOW IT IS A $1,500 SUPPLEMENT FOR ALL FOR ELIGIBLE EMPLOYEES, MOSTLY FULL-TIME EMPLOYEES, BOTH CERTIFIED AND CLASSIFIED PROFESSIONAL. UH, THEY'RE GIVEN IN TWO INSTALLMENTS THROUGH THE YEAR THAT WOULD CONTINUE IN THIS BUDGET. SO, UM, THE SUPPLEMENT AS WELL AS THE SPECIAL EDUCATION CLASSROOM TEACHER SUPPLEMENT OF 6% WOULD ALSO, UM, CONTINUE. SO SOME OF THE THINGS AS I MOVE THROUGH THE BUDGET PROCESS AND THINK ABOUT WAYS THAT WE CAN IMPROVE THE PROCESS NEXT YEAR, I THINK NEXT YEAR I'M GONNA SHOW A MULTI-YEAR VIEW OF WHAT WE'VE DONE LAST YEAR IN THE LAST COUPLE OF YEARS, AND HOW WE'RE PROGRESSING INTO THE NEXT, INTO THE FUTURE. AND THOSE ARE TWO OF THE WAYS THAT, TWO OF THE THINGS THAT WE'VE DONE TO DO THAT. SO I THINK THAT WOULD BE SOMETHING VERY INTERESTING AND [01:45:01] AND ENLIGHTENING FOR US TO LOOK AT NEXT YEAR OR THE NEXT MEETING PERHAPS. UM, SO, UH, FIRST YEAR TEACHER SALARY WOULD, THIS IS KIND OF A BREAKDOWN OF HOW WE WOULD GET TO THE 60,000. OUR STAFF ARE CURRENTLY AT 2050 1066. WE GO UP $4,000. THAT'S ABOVE THE TEACH OF THE STATE MANDATED RATE OF 1500. WE'RE GOING, WE'RE PROPOSING TO GO TO 4,000, UH, AND PROPOSING TO ALSO COLLAPSE THE STEPS. SO OUR ZERO TO FIVE TEACHERS WOULD ALL MOVE TO $60,000, UH, NEXT YEAR. ONE OF THE MAIN QUESTIONS I'VE RECEIVED IS THAT WHAT WOULD HAPPEN NEXT YEAR? OKAY, NEXT YEAR, THEY WON'T HAVE A STEP TO MOVE TO IF YOU'RE AT ZERO. BUT YOU WOULD RECEIVE ANY COST OF LIVING INCREASE THAT WAS GIVEN TO ALL TEACHERS. SO IF WE RECEIVED A THOUSAND DOLLARS TEACHER SALARY INCREASE FOR TEACHERS NEXT YEAR, THEY WOULD RECEIVE THAT, UH, THEY WOULD MOVE UP TO A STEP ONE. BUT THERE WOULD BE NO VALUE FROM FOR THE STEPS IN THE ZERO TO FIVE RANGE. BUT THAT VALUE IS BEING FRONT LOADED THIS YEAR. SO THIS IS THE FUN PART. LEGISLATIVE UPDATE, . SO THE SENATE HAS PASSED ITS VERSION OF THE BUDGET. IT'S MOVED BACK TO THE HOUSE, WHICH THEY CALL HOUSE TWO, UH, FOR A SECOND REVIEW. SINCE THIS LEGISLATIVE BODY INITIATED BILL, UM, NO MATERIAL CHANGES ARE EXPECTED, UH, IN STATE REVENUE, BUT THERE ARE SOME SLIGHT ONES THAT ARE BEING, ARE GOING TO BE PROJECTED. UM, AND THE PROJECTION OF FINAL FUNDING FOR THE STATE IS EXPECTED IN MID-JUNE, HOPEFULLY BEFORE THAT. UM, SO I BELIEVE THE SESSIONS CLOSE ON THURSDAY AT FIVE O'CLOCK, I BELIEVE. AND SO THINGS WILL BE FINAL AND THEN THEY'LL GO TO THE GOVERNOR FOR APPROVAL OR VETOES OR WHATEVER THAT MAY BE. HOPEFULLY THAT WILL BE AN APPROVAL. UM, TWO MAIN THINGS. UH, ONE IS WE RECEIVED A MILLAGE CAP. UM, TODAY WE RECEIVED OUR MILLAGE CAP, AND IT'S A LITTLE LOWER THAN WE HAD PROJECTED, BUT STILL HAVE PLENTY OF ROOM FOR A MILLAGE INCREASE, IF THAT IS THE BOARD'S DESIRE. UH, SO WE HAVE, UM, THE INCREASE AVAILABLE IS 5.3 MILS. WE HAVE BANKED 20 MILS. UM, AND SO THEREFORE WE HAVE 25.8 MILS AVAILABLE. THIS IS NOT IN YOUR PRESENTATION 'CAUSE IT WAS HOT OFF THE PRESS. I'LL PROVIDE IT NEXT, NEXT MONTH. UH, THE NEXT PRESENTATION ON MAY 20TH. UM, SO THIS PROPOSAL USES 4.3 MILLS AND, UH, WE WILL LOSE 0.4 MILLS 'CAUSE THERE'S A THREE YEAR LOOK BACK AND YOU CAN BANK THOSE MILLS AND SO ON. UM, SO WE, IT HAS NO IMPACT ON THIS PRESENTATION. OUR PROPOSAL, WE HAVE PLENTY OF AVAILABLE MILLAGE TO BE ABLE TO WORK WELL WITHIN THE MEANS OF THE BANKED MILLAGE. OKAY, SO I I I WASN'T SURE WE WERE GONNA DISCUSS THIS TONIGHT, BUT I'M MAKING AN EXECUTIVE DECISION THAT, UH, SO THERE HAVE BEEN SOME RECENT, UM, INFORMATION ABOUT, UH, STATE REVENUES AND THE STATE FUNDING FORMULA OR STATE AIDED CLASSROOMS, UH, IN THAT FORMULA. THIS YEAR, BUFORD COUNTY LOST $2.9 MILLION IN STATE AIDED CLASSROOMS REVENUE. NOW WE DO HAVE, HAVE A, IN LIGHT OF, UH, OF ENROLLMENT DECLINE, THAT IS A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF MONEY TO LOSE, ESPECIALLY WHEN THE STATE IS INCREASING TEACHER SALARIES. UM, SO WHAT WE ARE, WE HAVE BEEN CONCERNED ABOUT IT. AND THEN WE WERE ALERTED JUST LAST WEEK, I THINK I RECEIVED INFORMATION ON TUESDAY, DR. RODRIGUEZ ON WEDNESDAY, ABOUT A POTENTIAL STRUCTURAL FLAW, WHICH YOU ALL HEARD ABOUT AT THE JOINT MEETING ON TUESDAY WITH COUNTY COUNCIL. AND THE FUNDING FLAW, UH, DISPROPORTIONATELY PROVIDES THE NEW FUNDING THAT, THAT THE STATE IS PUTTING IN OF $112 MILLION INTO EDUCATION AND DISPROPORTIONATELY PROVIDING MORE MONEY TO STATE SPONSORED CHARTER SCHOOLS THAT WOULD BE NOT DISTRICT SPONSORED, BUT STATE SPONSORED CHARTER SCHOOLS, UM, THAN, AS OPPOSED TO TRADITIONAL SCHOOL DISTRICTS SUCH AS OURS. AND SO, UH, THIS ALL CAME TO LIGHT VERY QUICKLY. AND, UM, OUR REPRESENTATIVES AT THIS SCAA, WHICH IS THE SOUTH CAROLINA ASSOCIATION OF SCHOOL ADMINISTRATORS, THE SCHOOL BUSINESS OFFICIALS AND THE SCHOOL BOARD ASSOCIATION ALL GOT INVOLVED AND CONTACTED THEIR LEGISLATORS. AND I'M HAPPY TO ANNOUNCE THAT IT WORKED. SO THEY RECOMMENDED TWO PROPOSALS. ONE WAS A TEMPORARY SOLUTION, UM, AND THE TEMPORARY SOLUTION WAS TO, UH, THE, THE MAIN PIECE OF THE PROBLEM WAS THAT WE WERE CALCULATING, UH, THEY WERE PROVIDING MORE WEIGHTED PUPIL UNITS FOR CHARTER, FOR STATE FUNDED PAR CHARTER SCHOOLS [01:50:01] THAN RE UH, TRADITIONAL SCHOOL DISTRICTS AS A, AS A TEMPORARY SOLUTION. THEY HAVE REDUCED THAT, UH, WEIGHTING BY THREE TENTHS, UH, 36 CENTS, UH, AT 36 WEIGHTS AND OR 0.36. SO THE WEIGHT IS 0.65, IT WILL MOVE TO 0.36. UM, FOR US, THAT MEANS ABOUT $291,000 COMING BACK. SO IT HAS A VERY MINIMAL IMPACT. BUT THE PERMANENT PART OF THE BILL, WHICH WAS ALSO APPROVED, ESTABLISHES A TASK FORCE OF PEOPLE TO RESEARCH THE ISSUE AND MAKE SURE THAT A PERMANENT SOLUTION IS PUT IN PLACE BEFORE NEXT BUDGET YEAR. SO, ALTHOUGH IT'S NOT GONNA HELP US CONSIDERABLY, WE DID DRAW ATTENTION TO IT, THE STATE DID. UM, AND PEOPLE THROUGHOUT THE STATE, UH, CAME OUT IN DROVES TO CONTACT THE LEGISLATORS AND WERE ABLE TO SUCCESSFULLY GET THAT AMENDMENT PASSED TO, PROVIDES A 1.3 OF THE BUDGET BILL. SO IT IS A WIN, JUST NOT A HUGE AMOUNT OF MONEY. BUT WE DID MAKE SOME PROGRESS TODAY, SO JUST WANTED TO MAKE SURE YOU WERE AWARE OF THAT UPDATE. SO, UH, YOU MAY, THERE WAS AN EMAIL COMING OUT FROM DEBBIE ELMORE, AND WE'LL MAKE SURE THAT EACH OF YOU HAVE THAT, UH, UH, UPDATE AS WELL. SO I JUST READ IT AS I WAS SITTING OVER HERE, UM, DURING THE MEETING. AND LASTLY, UH, I JUST WANNA POINT OUT A FEW OF THE HANDOUTS THAT WE'VE GIVEN. UM, I'M REALLY PROUD OF ONE PARTICULAR ONE AND OUR VERY OWN, MOLLY MERCADO HAS PROVIDED A ONE PAGE VISUAL, UM, THAT HAS, IS BEEN VERY EFFECTIVE FOR US. WE'VE HANDED IT OUT TO OUR PUBLIC FORUMS. IT IS IN, UH, IT IS ON PAGE FOUR OF YOUR HANDOUT, AND I BELIEVE, UH, I CAN EMAIL THAT TO EACH OF YOU AND MAKE SURE THAT YOU HAVE THAT AND YOU CAN FORWARD ON TO YOUR CONSTITUENTS OR ANYONE YOU WOULD LIKE. UM, SO ALSO IN YOUR BOOK IS A, YOUR HANDOUTS PAGE FIVE. IT IS A COMPREHENSIVE BUDGET, UH, THAT IS GOING TO BE ALL FUNDING SOURCES OF THE SCHOOL DISTRICT. I THINK THERE WAS A QUESTION ON THAT LAST YEAR OR LAST TIME. WHERE'S TITLE ONE? WHERE'S SPECIAL REVENUE? THEY'RE IN OTHER POTS. UH, THE OPERATING BUDGET IS HERE, BUT THE SPECIAL REVENUE PLANS TITLE ONE, AND THOSE ARE IN A SEPARATE FUNDING SOURCE. UH, FUND ACCOUNTING IS, IS IN OUR GOVERNMENTAL WORLD, AND THAT IS OUR LIVES. UM, SO THAT IS THERE FOR YOU TO SEE AND SOME OTHER SUMMARIES OF THE GENERAL FUND AND WHERE THINGS COME AND GO. UM, AND EXPLANATIONS, DETAILED EXPLANATIONS OF MAJOR INCREASES AND DECREASES. AND THEN, UM, LINE ITEM DETAILS, UH, IN OUR PROGRAMMATIC AREAS IN PAGES 15 THROUGH 17. SO THERE'S A LOT FOR YOU TO DIGEST. I'M NOT GONNA GO THROUGH ANY PARTICULAR DETAILS OF THAT THIS EVENING. BUT, UH, LOTS FOR YOU TO BE ABLE TO REACH INTO AND ASK ANY QUESTIONS. AND WE HAVE SOME FOOTNOTES THAT PROVIDE EXPLANATIONS OF HOW THOSE THINGS MIGHT HAVE INCREASED OR DECREASED AND WHY. AND THEN FINALLY, A FIVE YEAR BUDGET PROJECTION, WHICH IS ALSO REQUIRED IN OUR BOARD POLICIES. UH, SO WE'VE GOT SOME PROJECTIONS AND THOSE BUILD IN OPERATING COSTS FOR STARTING SCHOOLS, UH, IN, OUT A COUPLE OF YEARS IN FY 28, FOR EXAMPLE, MAIN RIVER ELEMENTARY AND THEN BEYOND. SO THERE ARE SOME STARTUP COSTS FOR OPERATIONS, UH, OF NEW SCHOOLS AS WE TRANSITION, UH, SOME OF OUR SCHOOLS IN THE LOUGHTON AREA. AND SO WITH THAT, I'LL BE HAPPY TO TAKE ANY COMMENTS TO QUESTIONS YOU MAY HAVE. MR. DO? YES. UH, JUST WANT TO CONGRATULATE THE TEAM FOR ALL THE EFFORTS THAT WERE PUT INTO, NOT ONLY THE BUDGET PROCESS, BUT ALSO THE NEW STATE, UH, EIGHT CLASSROOMS MM-HMM . I THINK WHAT THAT SHOWS PARTICULARLY, PARTICULARLY THE PEOPLE THAT ARE SITTING IN THE AUDIENCE AND, AND HEARING THIS, THERE ARE 700,000 PEOPLES IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS IN THE STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA. SO THAT TELLS YOU HOW LARGE OF A MOBILIZED FORCE AND HOW EFFECTIVE THEY CAN BE WHEN THERE IS SOMETHING THAT REALLY, THEY ARE CLEARLY INFORMED 'EM. AND I THINK THIS WAS ONE OF THE, THE, UH, EFFORTS THAT I WAS TRULY IMPRESSED WITH. I MADE FIVE CALLS LAST NIGHT. I DIDN'T HEAR FROM ALL FOUR OF THEM, ALL FIVE OF THEM, BUT ONE DID. AND IT IS, I THINK IT'S JUST A, A WAKE UP CALL THAT PUBLIC SCHOOLS HAVE A TREMENDOUS FORCE OUT THERE. AND WE TAKE EVERY STUDENT AND EVERY FAMILY, AND THAT'S VERY VALUABLE TO OUR STATE IN TERMS OF THAT EFFECT ON THE QUALITY AND THE HEALTH OF OUR SOCIETY. SO THANKS EVERYBODY. RAM. YEAH, I THINK, UM, YOU KNOW, I TOO HAD SEVERAL PHONE CALLS ON, ON, ON THE ISSUE YESTERDAY, BUT I THINK, UH, THERE'S [01:55:01] A, A LOT REMAINS TO BE DONE RIGHT IN THIS CONVERSATION. I MEAN, UH, YOUR TRADITIONAL PUBLIC SCHOOLS SERVE 93% OF, UH, OF THE STUDENTS ENROLLED IN THE STATE. AND CURRENTLY CHARTERS REPRESENT ABOUT 7%. ALRIGHT? SO THE PROPORTIONALITY IS A SIGNIFICANT FACTOR, AND I THINK THE MORE AWARENESS THAT WE DRAW TO IT, I THINK THE, UH, UH, EVEN THOUGH, UH, IN OUR END WE'RE GETTING SOME OF THAT BACK AND NOT, NOT, NOT A HUGE SHARE OF IT, WE'RE GETTING SOME OF IT BACK. I THINK THE, THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A TASK FORCE TO REVIEW THAT FUNDING FORMULA SO THAT THOSE THINGS CAN BE CORRECTED AND PROPORTIONALITY COULD BE MORE APPROPRIATE, UH, UH, AS WE MOVE FORWARD, WILL BE A HELPFUL PIECE. DR. RODRIGUEZ, DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA OF THE MAKEUP OF THIS TASK FORCE? NO, SIR. I AM SITTING HERE WITH YOU AND, UH, HEARING THE NEWS HOT OFF THE PRESS AT THE SAME TIME YOU HEARD IT , BUT THAT'S IMPORTANT TOO, MR. SMITH. UM, YEAH. WELL, I HAVE SOMETHING, UH, A LITTLE DIFFERENT. UH, THERE WAS A QUESTION THAT I ASKED LAST TIME, UM, UH, ABOUT THE, UH, ABOUT THE BUDGET. UH, DO WE HAVE THAT INFORMATION ABOUT THE, UH, ABOUT THE, UH, SECURITY, ABOUT THE, UH, IN, IN TERMS, IN TERMS OF, UH, WHERE WAS THAT AT ON THIS BUDGET? I HAVE NO UPDATES ON THE SECU, UH, SCHOOL RESOURCE OFFICERS AT THIS TIME. UH, YEAH, WHAT, WHAT MY QUESTION WAS, UH, ON, ON THIS BUDGET, I DIDN'T SEE WHERE WE WERE ALLOCATING, UH, SEPARATE MONEY IN TERMS OF, UH, UH, SEE, I CAN SEE C-C-C-S-O, UM, THE, UM, ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS OFFICERS, UH, SCHOOLS, SCHOOLS OFFICERS WATCHING WHERE THE GOVERNMENT CAME, CAME FORTH, UM, SAY, UH, ASKING OF COURSE TO ASK LEGISLATORS TO CONTINUE TO, TO CONTINUE TO FUND THOSE, UH, ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS. AND, UM, I JUST, I'M JUST EVEN IN THE, IN CLOSING AND CERTIFY THE BUDGET, I'M DEFINITELY GONNA BE LOOKING FOR THAT IN TERMS OF, UM, WHERE, WHERE, WHERE, WHERE THAT'S GONNA PUT US AT, BECAUSE THAT WILL STILL BE A LOT OF FUNDING AS WELL. UM, I CAN TELL YOU, UM, THE, THERE THERE WERE, THERE WERE A FEW SCHOOLS THAT DON'T HAVE A SPECIFIC SRO ALLOCATED. INSTEAD WE HAVE, UH, UM, THE SECURITY SECURITY ORDER PROGRAM THAT WE HAVE IN PLACE TO COVER THOSE SCHOOLS. UM, I CAN TELL YOU THAT, UM, THEIR, THEIR REQUESTS FOR THOSE HAVE BEEN MADE. THEY'VE BEEN RECEIVED. UM, AND I THINK WE'RE REALLY WAITING TO SEE WHAT THE FINAL, UM, UH, YOU KNOW, BUDGET IS THAT, THAT THE GOVERNOR APPROVES OR WHATEVER TO SEE WHAT ACTUALLY THEN COMES BACK TO SCHOOL DISTRICTS WHO MADE REQUESTS. 'CAUSE THAT'S, THOSE ARE FUNDED, UH, AT THE STATE LEVEL AND THEN, AND THEY SEND THE MONEY TO SCHOOL DISTRICTS WHO MAKE REQUESTS FOR THOSE POSITIONS. AND, AND OKAY. I MEAN, I GUESS I, UH, YOU KNOW, I GUESS, I GUESS I GUESS WHO WE WOULD HAVE THAT ANSWER BEFORE THE, BEFORE THIS BUDGET IS CERTIFIED, CORRECT? UM, I, I HOPE SO. I DON'T, I DON'T, I DON'T CONTROL WHAT, WHAT THE STATE LEGISLATIVE CHAIRS OR, OR THE GOVERNOR SIGNS. RIGHT. UM, I CAN TELL YOU WE'VE MADE THE REQUEST, THE REQUEST HAS BEEN RECEIVED, AND THE APPROPRIATIONS ACT IS, WAS AT THE TIME OF THIS WAS STILL PENDING IN THE LEGISLATURE. I'M NOT SURE IF THAT'S ALREADY FINISHED OR NOT, BUT, UH, BUT, UM, STATEWIDE, I THINK THERE WERE 177 SROS OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT STILL MISSING FROM, FROM WHAT THE, THE, THE GOAL THAT THAT, THAT THEY HANDLE IT. SO, UH, THAT'S, THAT'S WHAT I UNDERSTAND. SO OUR REQUESTS ARE IN, RIGHT. THEY'VE RECEIVED THEM. RIGHT. AND NOW IT'S A MATTER OF WHETHER THEY FUND THEM OR THEY DON'T FUND IT. THAT'S, THAT'S THE, THE AND, AND, AND, AND, AND, AND ALL DUE RESPECT, I HEAR THAT, BUT IN, IN TERMS OF, OF GOOD, UH, OF GOOD, UH, BEING GOOD STEWARDS OF PEOPLE'S, UH, OF GOOD PEOPLE'S MONEY, UH, JUST, UH, I I I'M LOOKING FOR A, A, UH, I DON'T SAY A SAFE SPACE, BUT A, A A MORE OF SOMEONE MAY SAY, UM, OF BEING A, A GOOD STUDENT IN TERMS OF SAYING, WELL, THE GOVERNOR HAS ALREADY CAME FORWARD AND SAY, LOOK, HEY, THE, THEY'RE SAYING, THE LEGISLATORS HAVE SAID AT THIS POINT IN TIME, THEY'RE NOT FUNDING IT. THAT'S THE BOTTOM LINE. YOU CAN CALL 'EM AND SEE IF THEY'RE GONNA FUND IT AGAIN. SO THEREFORE, MY QUESTION THEN BECOMES, WHEN DOES, WHEN DOES THE, WHEN DOES THAT CLICK IN? AND THEN ALSO HAVE WE ALLOCATED THE MONEY FOR THAT? SO WHEN THAT DOESN'T CLICK IN, THEN WE ALREADY HAVE, WE, WE ALREADY SAY LOOK AT, HEY, THAT, THAT THAT DOESN'T AFFECT US, THAT CLICKS OFF AND WE CLICK ON, AND [02:00:01] WE HAVE PEOPLE MOVING IN, IN THE, IN THOSE SCHOOLS AND, AND, AND BASICALLY IT'S LIKE THEY NOT, AND, AND NOTHING EVER CHANGED. THAT'S IN TERMS, IN TERMS OF WE'VE ALREADY ALLOCATED THAT MONEY IN THIS BUDGET FOR THAT. SO IF SO, IF THAT DOES HAPPEN, THAT'S, THAT'S WHAT I'M LOOKING FOR. I'M LOOKING FOR THAT, THAT YEAH, YOU'RE, YOU'RE, YOU'RE, WHAT YOU'RE LOOKING FOR IS AN ANSWER THAT'S NOT MINE TO GIVE. RIGHT. BECAUSE I'M NOT, I'M NOT THE GOVERNOR. I'M NOT THE LEGISLATURE, BUT WHAT I CAN TELL YOU IS THAT WE HAVE ALLOCATED TO CONTINUE THE PROGRAM WE CURRENTLY HAVE, SO THAT THOSE SCHOOLS ARE COVERED IN THE MANNER THAT THEY'RE COVERED UNTIL THAT POINT IN WHICH THEY DO FUND IT. AND WE CAN THEN TURN AROUND AND, UH, AND, AND, UH, UH, YOU KNOW, WORK WITH OUR LAW ENFORCEMENT PARTNER TO MAKE SURE THEY HIRE WHO THEY NEED TO FILL THAT SRO SPOT. OKAY. THAT'S ANSWER I WAS LOOKING FOR THE, THAT, AND WE DO HAVE THE MONEY ALLOCATED FOR, FOR ARMED SECURITY ORDERS, RIGHT. OR ARMED SECURITY GUARD. OKAY. WELL, OKAY. SO THAT, THAT'S WHAT I'M LOOKING, THAT'S WHAT I'M LOOKING FOR IN, IN THIS, IN THIS BUDGET. WE DO HAVE THE MONEY ALLOCATED YES. ALLOCATED TO, TO CLICK IN YES. TO CONTINUE WHAT WE'RE DOING. THANK YOU. THAT'S OKAY. DOES THAT HELP? YES, THAT YES. YEAH, THAT I CAN TELL YOU. OKAY. THAT I CAN TELL YOU. OKAY. THANK YOU. UM, THANK YOU MS. . UM, AND ALSO TO ALL OF YOU WHO ARE HERE TONIGHT, THANK YOU. BUT TO MS. CROSBY AND HER TEAM AGAIN, UH, THE REPORTS THAT YOU, YOU GIVE US THE UPDATES THAT YOU GIVE US, UM, THE MONETARY FIGURES, THE FINANCIAL, UM, FORMS THAT YOU HAVE GOTTEN AND, AND THINGS THAT WE NEED TO MAKE OUR OPERATION HERE WORK. UH, I APPRECIATED IT. I APPRECIATE YOU, YOU AND YOUR TEAM. UM, ONE THING ABOUT THE MONEY, IF THE MONEY'S GOOD, WE'RE GOOD OKAY. AND SAY THAT AGAIN. OKAY. ONE THING ABOUT THE MONEY, IF THE MONEY'S GOOD, WE ARE GOOD. AND SO I APPRECIATE, SERIOUSLY, UH, IT IS NOT AN EASY TASK, I KNOW, BUT, UH, I DO APPRECIATE ALL THAT YOU DO AND THE INFORMATION THAT YOU GIVE US AND, UH, AND UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT IS GOING ON IN THIS FINANCIAL BUSINESS OF SCHOOL. SO THANK YOU. MM-HMM. MR. NA. THANK YOU, MR. CHAIR. SO THIS IS MY THIRD YEAR DOING THIS. SO IN THE LATEST EPISODE OF WHAT MR. NA UNDERSTANDS, UM, . SO WE GET CAPPED A MILLAGE EVERY YEAR. SO WHO, WHO SETS THAT CAP? UH, SOUTH CAROLINA DEPARTMENT OF REVENUE FISCAL AFFAIRS THROUGH, IT'S BASED ON CPI AND GROWTH. SO CENSUS DATA AND INFLATION. AND IF WE DON'T MAX OUT THAT CAP, WE CAN BANK THE MILLS. YES. EXCEPT FOR THE THIRD YEAR BACK. IF YOU DON'T, IF YOU DON'T USE THE OLDEST YEAR, YOU'LL LOSE IT. AND WE'RE USING 4.43 OR RECOMMENDING TO USE 4.3 MILS OF THE 4.7, SO WE LOSE FOUR TENTHS OF A MIL. GOTCHA. IF I UNDERSTAND, IF I UNDERSTAND FROM HISTORICAL REFERENCE, WE TRY TO NOT GO MUCH BEYOND INFLATION EVERY YEAR, UH, IS WHAT I UNDERSTAND SO FAR. UH, BUT CURRENTLY WE HAVE 20 MILS BANK THAT WE COULD USE THAT WE'RE NOT USING. THAT'S CORRECT. UH, SO I, I DID A LITTLE BIT, UH, I, THAT'S THOSE, THAT'S THE END OF MY QUESTIONS. UM, BUT I DID A LITTLE BIT OF, UH, RESEARCH ON MILLS FOR THE DISTRICTS ACROSS THE STATE. UM, THERE ARE ONLY FOUR DISTRICTS WITH A MILLAGE SMALLER. THERE ARE 28 DISTRICTS THAT HAVE A MILLAGE OVER 200, AND THERE ARE EIGHT DISTRICTS THAT HAVE A MILLAGE TWICE OUR SIZE. UH, SO I COMMEND YOU FOR KEEPING OUR MILLAGE DOWN. UH, AND JUST WANTED TO SAY, UH, THANKS FOR BEING A GENIUS WHEN IT COMES TO THIS STUFF. SO THE MILLAGE ISN'T THE SAME ACROSS THE COUNTIES. UH, I APPRECIATE THAT. UM, ARE DUE TO OUR ASSESSED VALUES IN BEFORD COUNTY, WE HAVE A RELATIVELY HIGH, UH, ASSESSED VALUE, UH, AND MILL VALUE COMPARED TO OTHER DISTRICTS ACROSS THE STATE, NOT THE LARGEST CHARLESTON AND SOME OTHERS. BUT, UM, SO THAT LENDS TO THE NUMBER OF MILLS NOT HAVING TO GO UP AS MUCH. UM, MANY OF MY COUNTERPARTS ACROSS THE STATE ARE RAISING 20 MILLS HERE, 20 MILS THERE. I THINK , I THINK FORT MILL, UH, SEVEN IN DORCHESTER TWO ARE REQUESTING, UH, SO LOOK MUCH LARGER NUMBERS THAT I'M HEARING WHEN I TALK TO MY COUNTERPARTS. THANK YOU SO MUCH QUESTIONS, DR. HONOR, THAT CONCLUDES OUR SUPERINTENDENT'S REPORT. THANK, THANK YOU VERY MUCH. THANK YOU. NEXT ITEM [Consent Agenda] ON THE AGENDA IS, UH, CONSENT AGENDA. DO I HAVE A MOTION TO APPROVE THAT? YOU SAID THE AGENDA? SO SECOND. SECONDED. SECONDED. ANY DISCUSSION? YOU HEARING NONE? ALL THOSE IN FAVOR STATE BY SAYING AYE. AYE. MS. HAY? AYE. MOTION CARRIES. NEXT ITEM ON THE AGENDA IS FUTURE AGENDA TOPICS. ANY FUTURE AGENDA TOPICS? [02:05:03] HEARING NONE. OH, DO YOU HAVE AN ANNOUNCEMENT? [Announcements] YOU HAVE AN ANNOUNCEMENT. GO AHEAD. OH, UM, I JUST WANNA SAY THAT THIS IS NURSES WEEK, SO TO ALL OF OUR SCHOOL NURSES, I HOPE YOU'RE HAVING A GREAT NURSES WEEK AND APPRECIATE ALL YOU DO FOR OUR STUDENTS. HMM. YEAH, I HAVE AN ANNOUNCEMENT, BUT, UH, MR. , , YOU WOULD'VE DONE IT BETTER TOO. I SHOULD HAVE HELD OFF ANY OTHER ANNOUNCEMENT. RIGHT. NEXT ITEM ON THE AGENDA [Second Public Comments ] IS SECOND PUBLIC COMMENTS. MR. FIRST, UH, COMMENT IS FROM MR. JIM MILLER. SUBJECT IS BAND AND, UH, M YES, MIKE SET UP DOWN THERE. THANK YOU ALL FOR MEMBERS, ET CETERA. I WAS GOING TO COMMENT THOROUGHLY ON, UH, SOLO AND ENSEMBLES THIS PAST WEEKEND WAS THE SOUTH CAROLINA'S, UM, BAND, THE DIRECTORS ASSOCIATION, UM, WHERE STUDENTS GO AND HAVE OUR JUDGE ON THEIR SOS THIS IS ONE OF THE FOUR L ONE THAT MR. HAY DEFERRED TO. I HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO GO WITH THEM. UH, IT'S AN INTERESTING PROCESS. UH, STUDENTS INDIVIDUALLY GO TO A JUDGE AND BY, SO THE BAND TEACHER, NOBODY ELSE IS THERE EXCEPT MAYBE A ADMINISTRATIVE PERSON THAT'S DEALING WITH, UH, GIVING THE JUDGE THE RIGHT MUSIC TO JUDGE, ET CETERA. AND, UH, IT'S VERY INTERESTING AND REWARDING SITUATION, SEEING THAT STUDENTS GET THEIR REWARD, UH, GRADE, BRING IT BACK TO THEIR TEACHER, ET CETERA. AND I WAS GOING TO THEREFORE EXPAND AND SAY I WAS ABLE TO SEE, UH, THE LAST OF THESE FOUR ELEMENTS AND GO INTO THE OVERALL PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENT THAT MR. NA, UH, REFERRED TO AND IS VERY REWARDING. MY ONLY COMMENT IS THAT ONLY TWO HIGH SCHOOLS OUT OF THE SIXTH PARTICIPATING AND NONE OF THE EIGHT, UH, MIDDLE SCHOOLS. UH, THERE IS ONE OTHER ELEMENT OF THESE FOUR THAT THE SOUTH CAROLINA BAND DIRECTORS ASSOCIATIONS, UH, ELEMENTS THAT THEY RECOMMEND, THOSE ARE THE FOUR THAT GO INTO THE OPA. THE OTHER IS THEY HAVE CONTESTS FOR, UM, JAZZ BANDS. YOU AND 58. OKAY? YOU FOLKS, SOME OF YOU FOLKS BACK IN FEBRUARY WENT TO MYRTLE BEACH AND, UH, THE BOARD STATE BOARD ASSOCIATION MEETING WAS HELD THERE, AS I RECALL. AND WE HEARD A JAZZ BAND FROM SOUTH FLORENCE. UH, IT IS A VERY, IT IS DIFFERENT WAY TO GET OUT THAT KIND OF A BAND GETS OUT TO A DIFFERENT AUDIENCE OF, OF PEOPLE IN THE STATE OR, OR YOUR CONSISTENCY. FOR EXAMPLE, THEY MIGHT PLAY AT, UH, FOR 30 MINUTES BEFORE THE OPENING OF A ROTARY MEETING. THEY MIGHT PLAY AT A, UH, KICKOFF BANQUET FOR UNITED WAY, JUST AS THE AUDIENCE IS, IS KIND OF DURING THE SOCIAL HOUR, I'LL PUT IT THAT WAY. AND THIS IS KIND OF A NEXT STEP IN MUSIC EDUCATION. UH, WE HAVE ONE SCHOOL, UH, [02:10:01] BOSTON HIGH HAS STARTED A JAZZ BAND THIS YEAR. UH, THERE WITH, THEY DID NOT GO TO ANY CONTESTS. I THINK THEY WOULD LIKE TO GO NEXT YEAR, BUT THEY WOULD LIKE THE BOARD TO KNOW THAT IF YOU KNOW OF ONE OF THESE SITUATIONS THAT, UH, THEY COULD PLAY AT, THEY WOULD BE GLAD AND COME AND KIND OF GET TO CONSTITUENTS THAT ARE OTHER THAN JUST THE PARENTS OF THE THANK YOU. THANK YOU, SIR. OH, AND BY THE WAY, THE VERY REWARDING SEEING THESE KIDS GET THIS CBA OR NEXT. UH, NEXT SPEAKER IS, UH, MARY FOSTER TO TALK ABOUT THE TEACHER, UH, APPRECIATION AND PRIDE STICKERS. GOOD EVENING. I AM MARY FOSTER. I'M AN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL TEACHER BY TRAINING, AND I CURRENTLY OPERATE A LICENSED PRESCHOOL FROM MY HOME. I ALSO SERVED ON THE CHARTER COMMITTEE THAT OPENED THE FIRST CHARTER SCHOOL IN BUFORD COUNTY, RIVERVIEW CHARTER SCHOOL MORE THAN 15 YEARS AGO. AND I'M PROUD TO SERVE ON THE BOARD OF FAB FAMILIES AGAINST BOOK BANDS, WHICH IS AN ALL VOLUNTEER ORGANIZATION THAT ADVOCATES FOR INTELLECTUAL FREEDOM CHAMPIONS, TEACHERS AND LIBRARIANS, AND PROMOTE SOCIALLY JUST AND EQUITABLE PUBLIC EDUCATION. ALL OF THIS IS TO SAY I AM COMMITTED TO THE IMPORTANCE OF EDUCATION AND THE SIGNIFICANT ROLE THAT QUALITY EDUCATORS PLAY IN OUR SCHOOLS. IT'S NATIONAL TEACHER APPRECIATION WEEK, AND I WANNA EXPRESS MY GRATITUDE FOR AND APPRECIATION OF ALL THE EDUCATORS HERE IN BEAVER COUNTY. I THINK I CAN SPEAK FOR ALL THE MEMBERS OF FAB, MANY OF WHOM ARE BEHIND ME TONIGHT WHEN I SAY THAT WE ARE SO GRATEFUL FOR THE WORK THAT TEACHERS DO. I ALSO CAME TONIGHT TO SHARE MY CONCERNS ABOUT THE RECENT NEWS STORY INDICATING THAT SOME STAFF AT SOME OF OUR HIGH SCHOOLS WERE TOLD TO REMOVE ANY STICKERS OR SIGNS FROM THEIR CLASSROOMS THAT SHOWED SUPPORT FOR THE LGBTQ PLUS COMMUNITY. AS A CAREER EDUCATOR, I CERTAINLY UNDERSTAND THAT WE AS TEACHERS ARE NOT TO FORCE OUR OPINIONS OR VIEWPOINTS ON STUDENTS, BUT IN MY MIND, DISPLAYING A SIGN OR STICKER THAT INDICATES YOUR SUPPORT FOR THE LGBTQ PLUS COMMUNITY IS NOT FORCING VIEWS OR IDEOLOGIES ANY MORE THAN WEARING INFLUENCE AND T-SHIRT OR DRINKING FROM A GANG COP COFFEE MUG. THOUGH SOME FOLKS MAY NOT FULLY UNDERSTAND OR SUPPORT THE LGBTQ PLUS COMMUNITY, THAT COMMUNITY EXISTS AND OUR SCHOOLS SERVE STUDENTS AND FAMILIES THAT ARE PART OF IT. I URGE YOU TO RECONSIDER THIS DECISION. PLEASE ALLOW TEACHERS WHO CHOOSE TO DO SO TO LET THE LGBTQ PLUS COMMUNITY KNOW THEY ARE SEEN SAFE AND WELCOMED. THE PRESENCE OF THESE STICKERS OR SIGNS DOES NO HARM TO STUDENTS WHO DON'T IDENTIFY AS PART OF THE LGBTQ PLUS COMMUNITY, BUT THEY CAN MAKE ALL THE DIFFERENCE TO THOSE STUDENTS WHO DO. I WANT TO REMIND YOU THAT AS OUR STICKERS TONIGHT, SAY BCSD SERVES ALL STUDENTS. THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME AND FOR YOUR COMMITMENT TO ALL THE STUDENTS, FAMILIES AND TEACHERS THAT MAKE UP THE BEAUFORT COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT. THANK YOU. NEXT SPEAKER IS, UH, JANET GOULD, AND HER TOPIC IS TEACHER APPRECIATION. WELL, I GET TO GO SECOND, I GUESS. HI, I'M JANET GOULD AND I AM YOUR REPRESENTATIVE FROM THE OBSERVER CORPS OF THE LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS AND ERS. AND I'M HERE TO REITERATE OUR SUPPORT FROM THE TEACHERS AND STAFF WHO SHOW UP EVERY DAY DOING THE HARDEST AND MOST IMPORTANT JOB OF ALL. SO THANK YOU TO THEM AND TO YOU FOR ALL THE GOOD WORK THAT'S BEING DONE. THANK YOU. NEXT SPEAKER IS, UH, THOMAS ASO, AND HIS TOPIC IS REMOVAL OF PRIDE STICKERS AND FLAGS. HI, THANK YOU FOR ALLOWING ME TO SPEAK. UM, BEFORE CALLING BEAUFORT MY HOME, I SERVED FOR 24 YEARS ON THE SCHOOL BOARD. SO IN THAT CAPACITY, I WANT TO THANK YOU ALL FOR THE WORK YOU DO, STARTING THE CHILDREN WITH BUFORD COUNTY AND LOOKING OUT FOR THEIR BEST INTEREST. I ALSO WAS A CLASSROOM TEACHER FOR 33 YEARS. IN THAT TIME, I CHOSE TO HAVE A STICKER ON MY DOOR, NOT TO SUPPORT AN IDEOLOGY, NOT TO TRY TO CONVINCE ANYONE, BUT TO JUST ALLOW STUDENTS TO KNOW THERE WAS A SAFE SPACE TO COME INTO MY ROOM. AND THEY NEEDED IT AND THEY NEEDED IT. [02:15:01] AND I HAVE LISTENED TO STUDENTS, THAT'S ALL THEY NEEDED WAS TO KNOW THAT THEY WERE NOT DIFFERENT. THEY WERE NOT ALONE, THAT PEOPLE WOULD SUPPORT THEM BECAUSE THEY HEARD FROM OTHER PEOPLE AND FROM THEMSELVES THAT WHILE THEY WERE COMING TO TERMS WITH WHO THEY WERE, THEY FELT LIKE SOMETHING WAS WRONG BECAUSE THEY WEREN'T ACTING LIKE EVERYBODY ELSE. I APOLOGIZE, I'LL GET EMOTIONAL BECAUSE THIS PAST WEEK I JUST READ PASSING WITH ONE OF MY STUDENTS WHO TOOK HIS LIFE. AND SO I'M CARRYING THAT WITH ME AS WELL. UM, I COUNSEL THAT STUDENT. I TALKED TO HIS PARENTS AS WELL. AND STILL, SOMETIMES IT'S NOT ENOUGH. SO THE IDEA OF ISOLATING THESE STUDENTS FURTHER AND HAVING THEM GO THROUGH A SCHOOL DAY THINKING THAT IN SOME WAYS THEY'RE ALONE IS DISHEARTENING. AND IT IS ACTUALLY VERY UPSETTING TO ME AND IT CONCERNS ME MORE BECAUSE I ALSO WATCH THE STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION REMOVING BOOKS THAT THEY CAN LOOK AT AND SEE THERE'S SOMEBODY WHO FEELS THE SAME WAY THAT I FEEL. SO WE'RE TAKING ALL THOSE RESOURCES AWAY FROM THESE FOUR CHILDREN, AND WE'RE GONNA LET THEM GO THROUGH THE DAY FEELING ALONE. AND AS I LISTENED TO IT SAID IN TWO PLACES, I THINK MR. DALLAS SAID, WE TAKE 93% OF STUDENTS, AND THAT MEANS WE HAVE ALL KINDS OF STUDENTS. WELL, THE L LGBTQ PLUS COMMUNITY IS PART OF THAT 93% ALL STUDENTS. I ALSO LISTEN TO THE NEED FOR AND, AND SUPPORT FOR SROS TO CREATE A SAFE SPACE. THOSE SAME STUDENTS NEED A SAFE, A SAFE SPACE. I URGE YOU TO LET TEACHERS BE THAT SAFE SPACE. NEXT, UH, SPEAKER IS, UM, MYRA VELASCO, MY AND YOUR, YOUR TOPIC IS REMOVAL OF GATE PRIDE, STICKERS AND STUDENT SUPPORT. YEAH, I AM A CAREER SOCIAL WORKER. I'VE BEEN A SOCIAL WORKER FOR PROBABLY 30 PLUS YEARS. I SPENT THE LAST 20 YEARS IN A JUNIOR, SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL DISTRICT. UM, I ALWAYS HAD, UH, A LITTLE RAINBOW PART ON MY OFFICE DOOR, PROBABLY NO BIGGER THAN THIS. UM, IT WASN'T A BIG SIGN. I DIDN'T ADVERTISE. I DIDN'T CROSS CROSS LOCK TIES, DON'T RECRUIT JUST SIMPLY A SIGN FOR A VULNERABLE POPULATION THAT MY ROOM WAS A SAFE PLACE TO BE. I CAN TELL YOU IN 20 YEARS, HAD COUNTLESS KIDS COME TO ME FOR ALL KINDS OF REASONS, INCLUDING KIDS WHO IDENTIFY AS LGBTQ PLUS OR WERE AT LEAST QUESTIONING THEIR OWN IDENTITY. IF THESE WERE KIDS WHO FELT VERY, VERY ISOLATED, THEY FELT ISOLATED IN SCHOOL. AND I CAN TELL YOU JUNIOR HIGH, WE DON'T REMEMBER AS A VERY ROUGH PLACE, YOU KNOW, GETS A LITTLE BIT BETTER THAN FACEBOOK WITH JUNIOR HIGH. THOSE KIDS ARE REALLY STRUGGLING WITH THEIR IDENTITY. THOSE STRUGGLING WITH THEIR SEXUAL IDENTITY, THEY NEED TO BE HEARD. AND SO MANY OF THESE KIDS, I DON'T KNOW IF THEY CAME IN BECAUSE THEY SAW MY LITTLE RAINBOW HEART OR THEY HEARD FROM SOMEONE ELSE THAT MY ROOM WAS A PLACE TO BE, BUT THEY WOULD FIND ME. THESE WERE KIDS WHO FELT SOMETIMES OSTRACIZED IN SCHOOL. MANY OF 'EM AT HOME FELT VERY MISUNDERSTOOD, DID NOT KNOW HOW TO TALK TO THEIR PARENTS. AND AGAIN, I JUST LISTENED. YOU KNOW, I DIDN'T GIVE THEM ADVICE, I JUST LISTENED. KIDS WHO IDENTIFY AS L-G-B-T-Q WHO, WHO ARE QUESTIONING THEIR IDENTITY, ARE FAR MORE LIKELY TO SUFFER FROM ANXIETY AND DEPRESSION. THEY'RE FAR MORE LIKELY TO HAVE SELF INTEREST BEHAVIORS, SUICIDAL IDEATIONS, AND UNFORTUNATELY SUICIDE ATTEMPTS, AS MY HUSBAND SAID, AND AND FAMILY AS WELL. PARENTS BOTH WORKED IN OUR DISTRICT. SO IT'S REALLY ROUGH. YOU KNOW, THE KIDS NEED BOTH OF THE PARENTS. UM, AND UNFORTUNATELY SOMETIMES THAT DOES HAPPEN. IT WAS A KID IN A LOT OF PAIN, JUST COULD NOT TAKE IT ANYMORE. UM, SOCIAL WORKER CREDO CALLS UPON US TO DO MANY, MANY THINGS. MOST OF ALL IS TO DO NO HARM. SO AS A SOCIAL WORKER, I'M TELLING YOU, I WILL NEVER TAKE DOWN MY, MY GLUE STICKER. UM, I WOULD CALL UPON YOU THOUGH YOU'RE NOT SOCIAL WORKERS, YOU'RE ADMINISTRATORS AND YOUR BOARD MEMBERS TO ALSO CONSIDER DOING NO HARM. AND TO LEAVE THIS VERY SIMPLE SYMBOL UP, ANXIETY AND DEPRESSION IS ONLY GONNA GO UP. YOU CAN TAKE 'EM DOWN AND THESE KIDS DON'T HAVE ANYWHERE TO GO. IT'S $55,000 GAG. BILL WILL PROBABLY GO UP, YOU KNOW, BECAUSE THEY'RE NOT GONNA HAVE THE SAFETY NET. SO IT'S JUST A SIMPLE LITTLE THING. LET THOSE WHO WANT TO HAVE 'EM LEAVE THAT LITTLE TINY SYMBOL OF SUPPORT AND LET'S ALL SAVE SOME LIVES. THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME, YOUR COMPASSION AND YOUR CONSIDERATION. UM, AND I LEAVE. [02:20:13] I'M HI, UH, THIS IS ROBIN. I'M CALLING YOU FOR PUBLIC COMMENTS. UM, I'M GOING TO PUT YOU ON SPEAKER. PLEASE GIVE YOUR FIRST AND LAST NAME AND YOU'LL HAVE THREE MINUTES. ARE YOU READY? GO AHEAD. UM, OVER THE, OF THE LAST 18 MONTHS, SEVERAL, I THINK THREE HIGH RANKING SCHOOL DISTRICT OFFICIALS HAVE DISCLOSED MY CHILD'S PRIVATE INFORMATION VIA REQUEST AND EMAILS THAT WERE GIVEN OUT TO THE MEDIA. I JUST MAKE ALSO TRAINING FOR EVERYONE IN THE DISTRICT. THANKS. HAVE A GOOD NIGHT. THANK YOU. OKAY. WE HAVE COMPLETED OUR AGENDA. SO WITHOUT OBJECTION, I WILL ADJOURN WITH UNANIMOUS CONSENT. THANK, THANK YOU. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. THANK YOU FOR COMING. THANKS FOR WATCHING BC TV. TOTAL SOLAR ECLIPSES ARE A RARE, ASTRONOMICAL EVENT, AND IT IS A SPECIAL TREAT IF YOU HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO OBSERVE ONE. SOLAR ECLIPSES OCCUR ABOUT TWO TO THREE TIMES PER YEAR. BUT TOTAL SOLAR ECLIPSES ONLY OCCUR ABOUT EVERY 18 MONTHS. AND SINCE THEY'RE ONLY VISIBLE FROM A SMALL AREA ON THE EARTH, THE FREQUENCY OF SOLAR ECLIPSES AT ANY GIVEN PLACE IS QUITE RARE. ON AVERAGE, A PARTICULAR LOCATION WILL EXPERIENCE A TOTAL SOLAR ECLIPSE ABOUT ONCE EVERY FOUR CENTURIES. THE PREVIOUS TIME ANY PART OF THE CONTINENTAL UNITED STATES EXPERIENCED A TOTAL SOLAR ECLIPSE WAS IN 1979. AND THE PREVIOUS TIME A TOTAL SOLAR ECLIPSE SWEPT ACROSS THE ENTIRE COUNTRY WAS 1918. THAT'S WHY THE TOTAL SOLAR ECLIPSE OF 2017 IS CALLED THE GREAT AMERICAN NECKLACES. EVERY SINGLE PERSON IN THE CONTINENTAL UNITED STATES EXPERIENCES AT LEAST A PARTIAL ECLIPSE, AND MOST OF THE COUNTRY IS WITHIN A DAY'S DRIVE OF THE PATH OF TOTALITY. LUCKY FOR US HERE IN THE LOW COUNTRY, THE TOTAL SOLAR ECLIPSE IS RIGHT HERE IN OUR OWN BACKYARD. THE FACT THAT SOLAR ECLIPSES EVEN OCCUR AT ALL IS SOMEWHAT SERENDIPITOUS. IT TURNS OUT THAT ALTHOUGH THE SUN IS ABOUT 400 TIMES LARGER THAN THE MOON, THE SUN IS ALSO ABOUT 400 TIMES FURTHER AWAY FROM EARTH. SO THE SUN AND MOON APPEAR TO BE JUST ABOUT THE SAME SIZE IN THE SKY WHEN CONDITIONS ARE RIGHT. THIS ALLOWS THE MOON TO JUST COVER UP THE SUN AND CAST A SHADOW ON THE EARTH. AND ECLIPSES WON'T HAPPEN HERE FOREVER. THE MOON IS ACTUALLY MOVING JUST A FEW CENTIMETERS AWAY FROM THE EARTH EVERY YEAR. SO AT SOME POINT IN THE DISTANT FUTURE, IT'LL BE TOO FAR AWAY FROM US TO APPEAR TO COVER UP THE SUN. AND TOTAL SOLAR ECLIPSES [02:25:01] WILL CEASE TO OCCUR. SOLAR ECLIPSES OCCUR WHEN THE MOON IS IN THE NEW PHASE AND WHEN THE EARTH, MOON AND SUN LINE UP JUST RIGHT SO THAT THE SHADOW OF THE MOON FALLS ON THE FACE OF THE EARTH. SO LET'S MODEL HOW THIS HAPPENS. THIS BALL IS GOING TO REPRESENT THE EARTH. IT'S ABOUT ONE INCH IN DIAMETER, AND THE EARTH IS ABOUT FOUR MOON DIAMETERS. SO ON OUR SCALE, THE MOON IS ABOUT ONE QUARTER INCH. YOU CAN FIT 30 EARTHS IN BETWEEN THE EARTH AND THE MOON. SO IF THE EARTH IS ONE INCH, THAT MEANS THAT THE MOON AND THE EARTH ARE GOING TO BE 30 INCHES APART. SO WHEN WE LINE THEM UP JUST RIGHT, YOU'LL NOTICE THAT THE MOON IS IN THE NEW PHASE. SO THE SUN IS SHINING ON THE MOON, BUT WE ARE SEEING THE DARK SIDE FROM THE EARTH OVER HERE. WHEN WE LINE UP JUST RIGHT, THE SHADOW OF THE MOON FALLS ON THE FACE OF THE EARTH. AND THE PEOPLE IN THAT LITTLE BIT OF SHADOW ARE SEEING A SOLAR ECLIPSE. THESE ARE NOT THE SUN. THEY LOOK, THEY'RE YELLOW, BUT THESE ARE THE MOON. WHAT IS HAPPENING FOR THE PEOPLE RIGHT IN THERE UNDER THAT SHADOW SNOW. IT'S NIGHT IN THE WATER. HEY GUYS, SSE GOOD SOUTH AMERICA. SO IF WE HAVE A NEW MOON EVERY MONTH, WHY DON'T WE HAVE AN ECLIPSE EVERY SINGLE MONTH? AND WE'RE GONNA USE THIS DEMONSTRATION TO SHOW WHY THAT DOESN'T HAPPEN. UH, THE BEACH BALL IS THE SUN AND THE STRING IS THE PLANE OF THE EARTH REVOLUTION AROUND THE SUN. THE, THE EARTH'S REVOLUTION AROUND THE SUN IS AT A SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT ANGLE THAN THE PLANE OF THE MOON'S REVOLUTION AROUND THE EARTH. SO IF THE EARTH IS GOING AROUND ON THE STRING, THE HULA HOOP IS ABOUT FIVE DEGREES DIFFERENT. AND SO ONLY ON OCCASION DO THE TWO PLANES INTERSECT, AND WE HAVE AN ECLIPSE DURING THE NEW MOON. A SOLAR ECLIPSE GOES THROUGH STAGES STARTING WITH FIRST CONTACT. THE FIRST TIME THE EDGE OF THE MOON'S DISC BEGINS TO CROSS IN FRONT OF THE SUN. AS THE ECLIPSE PROCEEDS, MORE OF THE SUN'S DISC IS OBSCURED. AND JUST BEFORE TOTALITY, BRIGHT RAYS OF LIGHT CALLED BAILEY'S BEADS APPEAR TO SHOOT OUT FROM THE EDGES OF THE MOON SHADOW. THE VERY LAST FLASH OF LIGHT BEFORE THE SUN'S DISC IS TOTALLY OBSCURED. IT'S CALLED THE DIAMOND RING FLASH. DURING TOTALITY, THERE'S A DRAMATIC CHANGE IN THE ENVIRONMENT. THE SKY GOES DARK AS IF IT IS NIGHTTIME STARS AND PLANETS BECOME VISIBLE ALONG WITH THE SUN'S OUTER ATMOSPHERE, WHICH IS CALLED THE CORONA. THE AIR TEMPERATURE DROPS, AND EVEN ANIMAL BEHAVIOR CHANGES. AS ANIMALS BECOME CONFUSED, THAT NIGHT HAS FALLEN. IF YOU GUYS ARE GONNA LOOK AT THE ECLIPSE, YOU HAVE TO USE THESE SPECIAL GLASSES. I PUT THEM OVER YOUR EYES, TURN AND LOOK AT THE SUN. TURN AWAY. TAKE THEM OFF. OKAY. WOW. LOOK AT THAT THING. ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT CONSIDERATIONS FOR WATCHING A SOLAR ECLIPSE IS EYE SAFETY. THE ONLY PART OF THE ECLIPSE THAT IS SAFE TO VIEW WITHOUT SPECIAL EYE PROTECTION IS TOTALITY. DURING THE PARTIAL PHS, YOU MUST USE SPECIAL ECLIPSE GLASSES, WHICH ARE CERTIFIED FOR SAFE DIRECT VIEWING OF THE SUN. OR YOU CAN PROJECT AN IMAGE OF THE SUN ONTO A SURFACE USING A PINHOLE VIEWER LIKE THIS ONE. ANY OPTICS SUCH AS BINOCULARS, TELESCOPES, OR CAMERAS MUST BE FITTED WITH SPECIAL SOLAR FILTERS ON THE APERTURE. DO NOT LOOK THROUGH ANY DEVICE THAT IS NOT FITTED WITH A FILTER. EVEN IF YOU'RE WEARING YOUR ECLIPSE GLASSES, A SOLAR ECLIPSE IS A RARE AND SPECIAL EVENT. SO BE SURE TO BE PREPARED IF YOU HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO OBSERVE ONE. * 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.