* 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. [00:00:11] I'D LIKE TO CALL A MEETING, UH, TO ORDER, UH, THE, UH, AGENDA SETTING MEETING. UH, THE FIRST ITEM ON THE, UH, AGENDA IS, UH, APPROVAL OF THE AGENDA. DO I HAVE A MOTION TO APPROVE THE AGENDA? SO MOVED. SECOND . THAT'S RIGHT. IT'S BEEN MOVED AND SECONDED. ANY DISCUSSION? HEARING NONE. ALL THOSE IN FAVOR SIGNIFY BY SAYING AYE. AYE. AYE. AYE. AYE. MOTION CARRIES. NEXT ITEM IS THE PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE. I PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE TO APPLY OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND TO THE REPUBLIC FOR WHICH IT STANDS. ONE NATION, AND JUSTICE FOR ALL. THANK YOU. HAS THE MEDIA BEEN NOTIFIED, ROBIN? YES, SIR. ALL RIGHT. NEXT ITEM IS THE APPROVAL OF THE MAY 7TH, 2025 COMMITTEE MEETING. MINUTES. DO I HAVE A MOTION TO, UH, APPROVE THE MINUTES? SO MOVED. SECOND. ANY DISCUSSION? I'M ABSTAINING 'CAUSE I MISSED THE WHOLE MEETING. SO I IMAGINE THESE MINUTES ARE VERY, VERY SHORT. VERY BRIEF . OKAY. UH, ALL THOSE IN FAVOR SIGNIFY BY SAYING AYE. AYE. AYE. AND MOTION CARRIES. THANK YOU. NOW THE SETTING OF THE JUNE 10TH, 2025 BOARD MEETING AGENDA. AND WE HAVE THE NORMAL BOILERPLATE UP ON TOP. AND THIS IS GOING TO BE HELD AT, UH, THE DISTRICT OFFICE. AND IN THE EXECUTIVE SESSION WE HAVE EMPLOYMENT MATTER, PERSONAL RATIFICATION REPORT, A CMR FOR RIVERVIEW CHARTER SCHOOL, GYM, AND THE BLUFFTON CAREER AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION. WE HAVE THE BLUFFTON CAMPUS, 2023 REFERENDUM UPGRADES AND WILL BRANCH EARLY COLLEGE HIGH SCHOOL REFERENDUM UPGRADES. UH, DR. RODRIGUEZ, YOU GOT ANYTHING ELSE? YES. UH, JUST FOR CLARITY ON THE, UH, BLUFFTON CAMPUS 2023 REFERENDUM UPGRADES. UH, THAT IS WHEN IT SAYS BLUFFTON CAMPUS, UNDERSTAND THIS IS, UH, THE BLUFFTON HIGH SCHOOL, H MCCRACKEN MIDDLE SCHOOL, BLUFFTON ELEMENTARY, AND BLUFFTON ELEMENTARY, ECC. IT'S ALL THE SCHOOLS ON THAT SUPER CAMPUS. AND THIS IS, UH, THIS IS, UH, TECHNOLOGY, UH, SAFETY AND SECURITY. ANY QUESTIONS? AND THEN, THEN IT'S THEN FOR WILL BRANCH EARLY COLLEGE HIGH SCHOOL. IT'S THE SAME TECHNOLOGY, SAFETY AND SECURITY MEASURES, BUT IT DOES NOT INCLUDE THE MIDDLE SCHOOL AND THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL. 'CAUSE THOSE ARE ON DIFFERENT LOCATIONS. SO ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS? NONE. RAVIN. LOOKS GOOD HERE. OKAY. AT, UH, THAT'LL BE, SO I THINK A FIVE O'CLOCK, UH, CALL TO ORDER IS PROBABLY APPROPRIATE, SO WE'LL KEEP IT AT FIVE O'CLOCK WITH, UH, PUBLIC SESSION STARTING AT SIX. AND THEN WE HAVE ANY ACTIONS AS NECESSARY APPROVE THE AGENDA, PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE, POINTS OF CELEBRATION, MAY STUDENT OF THE MONTH. ANYTHING ELSE? NOT AT THE MOMENT. I BELIEVE THAT'S, WE GOT A LOT OF THAT DONE AT THE LAST MEETING. YEAH, THERE MIGHT BE. THERE MIGHT BE MORE, BUT AT THE MOMENT THAT'S ALL WE HAVE. KRISTEN SAID. OKAY. FIRST PUBLIC COMMENTS CHAIR REPORT. THEN WE HAVE A ACADEMIC COMMITTEE. AND THE ACADEMIC COMMITTEE, UH, WE DIDN'T HAVE A, A REPORT LAST TIME, SO I, I WAS AT THE ACADEMIC COMMITTEE AND, AND I WILL HAVE A REPORT THIS TIME. I'M SURE THAT SEEMS TO BE THE ONLY COMMITTEE REPORTS. UH, NO, YOU SHOULD BE GETTING SOMETHING OUT OF OPERATIONS. OKAY. JUNE 3RD, THEY'VE GOT ANOTHER MEETING ON THE 8%. RIGHT? IT'S JUNE 5TH AND YOU'RE CORRECT. OKAY. SO WE'RE GONNA ADD OPERATIONS. YEAH. CAN I TAKE A MOMENT TO ASK AT THIS POINT, MR. CHAIRMAN, WHERE WE ARE? I THINK WE NEED TO BE SETTING UP THE RESULTS COMMITTEE. WE NEED TO ACTIVATE THE RESULTS COMMITTEE, RIGHT? WE'RE GETTING INTO YES. WE OKAY. YES. YES, WE DO. AND I'VE, I'VE TALKED TO, UH, DR. CARR ABOUT THAT. I PLAN TO, UH, UH, TALK TO HE AND THE REST OF THE BOARD MEMBERS DURING, ARE WAITING AROUND TO GO ON STAGE, UH, IN THE NEXT SIX, SIX DAYS OR SO. OKAY, GOOD. YEAH, I JUST POPPED INTO MY HEAD. I WAS LIKE, OOH, WE GOTTA GET ON THAT. YEAH. OH, ABSOLUTELY. ABSOLUTELY. [00:05:01] OKAY. YES, SIR. MR. CHAIR. UM, MS. CUSHEN BARRY, UM, DO WE HAVE A, UM, MEETING OF LEGISLATIVE BEFORE THE BOARD MEETING? UM, SORRY ABOUT THAT. NO, IT'S THE DAY AFTER. YEAH. OKAY. UM, AND IT'S ON THE 11TH. IT'S SCHEDULED FOR THE 11TH. OKAY. AND THEN, UM, I WOULD LIKE TO BE ABLE TO BRING SOMETHING FORWARD FROM FINANCE. UH, WE MAY OR MAY NOT HAVE A MEETING, BUT THERE MAY BE A GENERAL UPDATE. THERE'S SOME THINGS THAT ARE GOING ON VERSUS THE FIRST MEETINGS AND WHAT HAVE YOU. SO MIGHT BE GOOD TO HAVE THAT AS WELL. OKAY. FINANCE ALSO MEETS AGAIN ON THE 12TH. SO DO YOU WANT ME TO PUT, UM, A COMMITTEE REPORT FOR FINANCE FOR ON THIS MEETING OR FOR THE NEXT MEETING? JUST IN YEAH, I'LL, IF IT'S OKAY WITH THE SUPERINTENDENT AND, AND THOSE ON, ON, ON, UH, ON THIS CALL. JUST AN UPDATE. UH, THERE MAY BE SOME THINGS THAT WE CAN GIVE SO THAT, UM, WE DON'T HAVE TO WAIT ANOTHER TWO WEEKS TO GIVE A, A MORE GOTCHA UPDATE, IF THAT'S OKAY. YES. GREAT. MY SUGGESTION WOULD BE THAT, UH, THE CHAIR DO THAT THROUGH THE CHAIR REPORT THOUGH, BECAUSE IF YOU DON'T HAVE A COMMITTEE MEETING, IT'S NOT REALLY A COMMITTEE MEETING UPDATE. IT MIGHT BE SOMETHING THAT THE CHAIR COULD UPDATE, YOU KNOW, THIS VIA MATERIALS YOU HAVE PROVIDED OR YOU COULD PROVIDE DURING THE CHAIR REPORT OR BOARD BUSINESS ACTION. YEAH, PROBABLY. I JUST WANNA LIST AS A COMMITTEE REPORT. THAT'S PROBABLY, UH, A GOOD SUGGESTION AND LET'S DO IT THAT WAY. UH, AND BASICALLY, UH, CARLTON IS, I'LL JUST SAY IN THE CHAIR'S REPORT, UH, FINANCE UPDATE, AND YOU, OR, AND TANYA CAN, CAN DO THAT. IS THAT ALL RIGHT? UH, YEAH. SO I THINK WHAT I HEARD IS YOU'LL INTRODUCE IT AND WE MAY COMMENT AFTER. YEAH, EXACTLY. OH, YEAH, YEAH. I'M FINE WITH THAT. UH, OUTTA CURIOSITY, ARE WE TALKING ABOUT AN UPDATE ON THE BUDGET PROCESS OR SOMETHING DIFFERENT AROUND FINANCE? SO POTENTIALLY SOMETHING DIFFERENT? UH, WE HAVE THE CONVERSATION WITH, UH, RIVERVIEW CHARTER SCHOOL. YES. DON'T KNOW IF ANYTHING'S GONNA BE MOVING FORWARD ON THAT, BUT JUST SORT OF A PLACEHOLDER SO THAT, UH, FINANCE IS, WE'RE KEEPING PEOPLE UPDATED. YES, SIR. OKAY. THAT SOUNDS GOOD. CAN WE MOVE ON? UH, HOW ABOUT TO THE SUPERINTENDENT'S REPORT? UH, TWO ITEMS ON THE SUPERINTENDENT REPORT. UM, ONE IS LOCAL BOARD APPROVED COURSES. UM, THIS IS TALKED ABOUT, I THINK, IN ACADEMIC COMMITTEE, BUT WE'RE GONNA GIVE THE REPORT THROUGH THE SUPERINTENDENT'S REPORT AND, UH, I'M SURE SHE'LL HAVE OTHER THINGS TO MENTION IN THE COMMITTEE, BUT THE ACTUAL REPORT ON THIS WILL COME THROUGH SUPERINTENDENT'S REPORT. AND THEN, AND THERE WAS AN ACTION, I, THERE WAS AN ACTION ITEM ON THAT. SO, UH, UH, ACADEMICS DID A MOTION. DO YOU WANT ME TO WRITE THE MOTION ON HERE OR JUST LET IT COME THROUGH THE SUPERINTENDENT'S REPORT? I'M, I'M AGNOSTIC TO THAT. YOU CAN DO IT. OKAY. YOU CAN PUT IT ON THERE, OR YOU CAN, OR YOU CAN, UH, HOWEVER, WHATEVER MAKES SENSE COMFORTABLE WITH. UH, AND THEN UNDER FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY, JUST TO BUDGET UPDATE, UH, GIVEN THE FACT THAT THERE'S A MEETING TONIGHT WITH COUNTY COUNCIL AND, UH, UH, THERE'LL BE AN UPDATE FOR THE BOARD, UH, AT THAT JUNCTURE ON JUNE 10TH, THERE IS AN ADDITIONAL ITEM, UH, UH, BUT I DECIDED TO PUT IT UNDER BOARD BUSINESS, WHICH IS, UH, ACE. YOU CAN SEE THAT ON THERE. AND, AND THIS ACE ITEM HAS TO DO WITH JASPER COUNTY, UH, JUST RECENTLY APPROVING, UH, A, A, A SUM OF MONEY FOR ACE. AND SO, UM, SO TANYA HAS SOME STEPS THAT SHE HAS TO GO THROUGH IN ORDER TO, UH, WHERE, WHERE THAT, WHERE THAT, THOSE, WHERE THOSE DOLLARS ARE HELD. AND THEN OUR BOARD HAS TO TAKE AN ACTION TO, UH, CONTRIBUTE A LIKEWISE AMOUNT SO WE CAN GET SOME OF THE WORK STARTED. YEP. OKAY. ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT THAT? NONE HERE. NOPE. OKAY. NEXT ITEM'S CONSENT AGENDA AND WITH A JOINT, UH, SCHOOL BOARD AND, UH, SIC MEETING MINUTES, THE MAY 6TH MINUTES AND THE MAY 20TH MINUTES. ANYTHING ELSE FOR THE CONSENT AGENDA? NOT CURRENTLY. OKAY. HOW ABOUT FOR FUTURE AGENDA TOPICS? I'M SURE WE'LL HAVE SOME AND ANNOUNCEMENTS, I'M SURE WE'LL HAVE. YES, GO AHEAD. UNDER THE REVIEW TECHNOLOGY, THE STARGATE, WHICH IS, IS SORT OF BEEN RENAMED, BUT THERE'S STILL AN UNDERLYING EMPHASIS ON THAT. ONE OF THE THINGS TO TAKE A LOOK AT IS, UM, AT, AT SOME POINT WHEN THAT [00:10:01] CONVERSATION TAKES PLACE, AN OVERALL VIEW OF HOW CAN WE LEVERAGE TECHNOLOGY TO HELP OUR PROCESSES BECOME MORE EFFICIENT. UM, EVERYBODY'S WORKING HARD, UH, WITH TREMENDOUS WORKLOADS. UM, AND I KNOW WE HAVE A LOT OF TALENT ON THE BOARD, MS. BOATRIGHT AND OTHERS, MR. CHOAN, WHAT HAVE YOU TO LOOK AT IT. HOW CAN WE MAKE IT, UH, WORK EASIER, UH, FOR OUR PEOPLE? SO YOU WANT A SET, YOU WANT THAT REVIEW, YOU WANT THAT HERE, OR YOU WANT A DIFFERENT TOPIC? I'M, I'M FINE TO INCLUDE IT UNDER THE, UM, STARGATE TOPIC, UH, AT WHATEVER TIME THAT DISCUSSION IS APPROPRIATE. BUT A LONG TERM, LIKE 12 MONTHS OUT, LOOKING AT STRATEGICALLY HOW DO WE, YOU KNOW, COM BASICALLY MAYBE LOOK AT SOME CONSOLIDATION OF PROCESSES AS WELL AS AUTOMATION, STANDARDIZATION, THOSE TYPES OF THINGS. MS. BOATWRIGHT, AND JUST REFERRING TO YOU BECAUSE YOU HEAD UP THE TECHNOLOGY COMMITTEE, ANY THOUGHTS YOU MAY HAVE ON THAT OR GUIDANCE? YEAH, I MEAN THERE IS, IT'S A SUCH A BROAD TOPIC, AND I COMPLETELY AGREE. TO ME, IT IS SUCH A PRESSING ISSUE. BUT THERE ARE A COUPLE OF THINGS. ONE, HOW DO WE BREAK IT DOWN INTO BITE-SIZED PIECES, RIGHT? AND SO I HAD TALKED TO MR. SHOHAN RECENTLY JUST STARTING WITH, UM, AND THIS IS SORT OF A, I'LL TELL YOU KIND OF WHERE TECHNOLOGY'S THINKING. FIRST OF ALL, WE DON'T HAVE LIKE A CIO. MARK IS A CTO TECHNOLOGY OFFICER. SO HIS CONCERNS ARE VERY MUCH NETWORK SECURITY, HARDWARE, YOU KNOW, INFRASTRUCTURE. UM, WE HAVE SOME, UH, SOFTWARE AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY PEOPLE IN DEPARTMENTS, YOU KNOW, THAT ARE DEPARTMENT SPECIFIC. AND WE HAVE A COUPLE THAT ARE MORE OVERSIGHT RELATED, UM, IN ISD. BUT I DON'T THINK WE'VE REALLY GOT THE STRUCTURE, UM, TO HAVE THESE COMPREHENSIVE ARGUMENT, UH, NOT ARGUMENTS, DISCUSSIONS. I THINK WE SHOULD. UH, BUT THE OTHER THING IS TRYING TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO ATTACK IT. SO I TALKED TO DR. UH, MR. SHOHAN ABOUT JUST EVEN OUR POLICY PORTAL ON OUR WEBSITE IS VERY, UH, OUTDATED AND NOT USER FRIENDLY. AND SO IF YOU'RE A PARENT TRYING TO ACCESS THE AR THAT, YOU KNOW, DICTATES YOUR CHILDREN'S EXPECTED BEHAVIORS, IT CAN BE REALLY CHALLENGING TO FIND. AND I DID MY OWN LITTLE BIT OF RESEARCH AND YOU, ONE THING I TALKED TO MR. JOHAN WAS ABOUT, YOU LOOK AT LIKE ORI COUNTY, THEY'VE GOT CUSTOM DESIGNED APPS. I DON'T KNOW WHAT, UM, PLATFORM THEY'RE USING. UM, BUT I THINK THAT WHAT WE CURRENTLY HAVE, WHICH IS BOARD POLICY.NET, THOSE ARE, THAT WAS PUT IN PLACE LIKE, I DON'T KNOW, ROBIN, YOU MIGHT HAVE THE DATE. I WOULD GUESS SOMEWHERE IN THE 10 TO 15 YEARS AGO. MM-HMM . PROBABLY MORE LIKE 15 YEARS AGO REALM. AND MOST OF THE BIGGER SCHOOL DISTRICTS HAVE UPGRADED. WE ARE STILL SORT OF ALIGNED WITH KERSHAW COUNTY AND ALLENDALE AND THE SMALLER DISTRICTS THAT HAVE NOT TAKEN AN INITIATIVE. SO I THINK THE DISCREPANCY BETWEEN WHAT YOU SEE AT A RICHLAND ONE, UH, ORIE COUNTY, CHARLESTON AND WHAT THEY'RE DOING WITH TECHNOLOGY AND KIND OF WHAT BEAUFORT COUNTY'S DOING, WE NEED TO CATCH UP AND, AND MOVE THAT DIRECTION. AND I MEAN, GET OFF PAPER, ELECTRONIC CHECKS, HR SHOULD BE COMPLETELY AUTOMATED AND IN A DATABASE, ET CETERA, ET CETERA. I JUST DON'T KNOW HOW TO START HAVING THOSE CONVERSATIONS, YOU KNOW, WHERE TO, WHERE THE, WHERE THE ENTRY POINT IS. SO I AM DEFINITELY LOOKING FOR SOME GUIDANCE ON HOW TO START PUSHING FOR THAT. 'CAUSE I DO THINK THAT THAT'S SOMETHING WE NEED TO DO. THAT WAS A LOT OF, OF, UH, MY PERSONAL THOUGHTS THERE. I'M SHARING WITH Y'ALL. SO IS THIS A ENTERPRISE SOFTWARE YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT? YEAH, YOU KNOW, ENTERPRISE SOFTWARE ALSO IS KIND OF, IT'S DATA PLATFORMS. YEAH. GETTING DATA ORGANIZED, GETTING RID OF PAPER PROCESSES, AUTOMATION, DATA INTEGRATION, SOFTWARE UTILIZATION, ALL THOSE THINGS. JUST BASIC MODERNIZATION. WE ARE FOR SURE HAVE FALLEN BEHIND OTHER COMPARABLY SIZED DISTRICTS. YEP. SOUNDS LIKE WE'RE HAVING A MEETING ON, ON THIS. SO WE MIGHT WANNA, IF THIS IS A TOPIC, WE MIGHT WANT TO TAKE IT UP AND, UH, MOVE FORWARD WITH IT. WELL, THE QUESTION IS HOW DO YOU MAKE IT A TOPIC? SO THAT'S, THAT'S SORT OF WHAT'S THE STARTING POINT. THAT'S THE WHOLE THING AT, AT, AT THIS POINT. I THINK EITHER YOU SENT IT TO, UH, YOU SENT, YOU SENT IT TO, UM, THE TECHNOLOGY COMMITTEE OR, OR, OR EVEN YOU, YOU SENT IT TO ONE OF THE COMMITTEES AND, AND, AND, AND, AND, AND START THE CONVERSATION AND GET IT VETTED. WHETHER IT'S TECHNOLOGY OR REV, IT'S ACADEMICS. BUT I BELIEVE THAT, THAT, THAT, THAT THOSE WOULD BE THE APPROPRIATE, UH, COMMITTEES TO SEND IT TO. OKAY. UH, IN, IN ANY CASE, THIS NEEDS TO BE AT A WORK SESSION BECAUSE THIS IS A, UH, COMPLEX THING AND WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO HAVE SOME, UH, EXTENDED TALK ABOUT IT. WHEN'S OUR NEXT WORK SESSION? UH, ROBIN, AUGUST, AUGUST 22ND IN AUGUST. THINK IS THAT INGRID AND, AND CARLTON? IS THAT AN APPROPRIATE TIME TO DO THAT? [00:15:01] UH, IF IT, I THINK IT'S A VERY APPROPRIATE TIME AND, UM, FROM WHAT MY PERSPECTIVE IS TO JUST BEGIN TO HAVE THE CONVERSATION SO PEOPLE KNOW THAT WE'RE WILLING TO TAKE A LOOK AT THIS LONG TERM, INVEST IN TECHNOLOGY LONG TERM, AND MAKE JOBS EASIER. UH, SO THE ORGANIZATION BECOMES MORE EFFICIENT. EVERYWHERE I LOOK, PEOPLE ARE WORKING EXTREMELY HARD, NO QUESTION ABOUT THAT. AND SO JUST INFORMING THE ORGANIZATION, HEY, WE'RE MAYBE A YEAR OUT BEFORE ANY REAL HARD LIFTING OCCURS, BUT AT LEAST HAVING THAT CONVERSATION SO PEOPLE CAN SORT OF FLIP THEIR MINDSETS THAT WE ARE TRYING TO, UH, IMPROVE THE EFFICIENCIES. WELL, AND WHAT I'M WITH, UH, WITH REGARD TO AGENDA SETTING, I THINK THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE IS YOU CAN HAVE A CONVERSATION, WHICH WE'VE HAD ABOUT THE NEED TO MODERNIZE, BUT IF YOU DON'T HAVE A SPECIFIC SORT OF AGENDA ITEM, YOU KNOW, YOU CAN'T JUST TALK ABOUT, WE WANT TO IMPROVE EDUCATION IN SCHOOLS, YOU NEED TO TALK ABOUT, YOU KNOW, TEXTBOOKS AND TEST SCORES AND THOSE DIFFERENT THINGS. I GOTTA FIND SOME WAYS. SO IF Y'ALL HAVE SUGGESTIONS ON WAYS THAT WE CAN START TO, UH, TAKING A BITE OF THIS ELEPHANT I UP FOR YEAH, I THINK, I THINK WE'RE GONNA NEED TO, UH, BEFORE THE WORK, WELL BEFORE THE WORK SESSION STARTS, PROBABLY IN THE NEXT NEXT MONTH, WE'RE GONNA NEED TO KINDA SIT DOWN WITH A WORKING GROUP TO, UH, CHEW THIS OUT A LITTLE BIT SO WE CAN PUT IT INTO BITE-SIZED, UH, SEGMENTS. SOUNDS GOOD. OKAY. ALRIGHT. UH, MS. UH, ELSE WE HAVE ON HERE, WE HAVE LEAH AND YOU HAVE WILLIAM ON. OKAY. UH, MR. SMITH, DO YOU HAVE ANYTHING ELSE THAT YOU WANT WOULD, WOULD LIKE TO ADD TO, UH, FUTURE AGENDA TOPICS AT THIS POINT? NO, IT'S LONG. IT'S BEEN ENOUGH ALREADY? YEAH. OKAY. UM, MS. FRAZIER, HOW ABOUT YOU? NO, SIR. NOT AT THE MOMENT. OKAY. ALL RIGHT. AND THEN WE'LL HAVE A SECOND PUBLIC COMMENTS AND WE'LL HAVE ADJOURNMENT. UH, SAME, SAME KIND OF WORDAGE FOR THE ADJOURNMENT. ANYTHING ELSE? ANY ALIBIS, ANYTHING THAT SOMEBODY WOULD LIKE TO BRING UP ABOUT IT? THE AGENDA SETTING FOR THIS NEXT BOARD MEETING? NOTHING HERE. I'M GOOD. OKAY. WELL THEN, UH, WITH UNANIMOUS CONSENT, UH, WE'LL ADJOURN THE MEETING. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. * 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.