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SO WE WILL BEGIN THE, UH, SEPTEMBER THE 18TH MEETING OF THE BEAUFORT COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION'S FINANCE COMMITTEE MEETING WILL BE LIVE STREAM ON THE SCHOOL BOARD'S YOUTUBE CHANNEL.UH, IT TO SPEAK DURING THE FINANCE COMMITTEE.
PUBLIC COMMENTS, PLEASE SIGN UP.
YOU CAN FIND THE BOARD OF EDUCATION PUBLIC COMMENT FORM ON OUR WEBSITE, HTTPS CODE SLASH SLASH WW DOT BEAUFORT SCHOOLS.NET/ABOUT US SLASH BOARD OF ED SLASH PUBLIC COMMENTS.
YOU RECEIVE A PHONE CALL DURING THE PUBLIC COMMENTS WHERE YOU'LL BE ABLE TO SPEAK AND ADDRESS THE COMMITTEE FOR A MAXIMUM THREE MINUTES ON ISSUES WITHIN THE COMMITTEE'S DOMAIN.
CITIZENS DESIRING TO PARTICIPATE IN PERSON MUST FILL OUT A PUBLIC COMMENT CARD THAT CAN BE OBTAINED FROM THE BOARD CLERK UPON ARRIVAL.
SO WITH THAT, UH, WE'LL CALL THE MEETING TO ORDER.
IS THERE A MOTION FOR APPROVAL OF THE AGENDA? SO MOVED.
AND I SECOND, UNLESS MS. BOATRIGHT IS ON.
NO, ONLY MS. GORDON CAN SHE COMES ON.
PASS UNANIMOUSLY, IF YOU WILL JOIN FOR PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE.
I PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND TO THE REPUBLIC FOR RICHARD SANDS, ONE NATION UNDER THE GOD INDIVISIBLE WITH LIBERTY AND JUSTICE FOR ALL IN THE ABSENCE OF OUR COLLEAGUE, MR. NE.
UH, STATEMENT OF MEDIA NOTIFICATION.
UH, THEY HAVE PUBLIC COMMENTS.
WE HAVE, UH, MR. MILLER, THANK YOU AGAIN FOR THIS OPPORTUNITY.
UM, I JUST HAVE WANNA DESCRIBE A SITUATION.
I DON'T HAVE, UH, SOLUTION, I DON'T EVEN BEGIN TO SAY I KNOW ALL THE PARAMETERS THAT MAKE IT, BUT YOU, THE BOARD AND THE FINANCE COMMITTEE HAS CREATED TWO NEW POSITIONS IN THE AREA OF, OF, UH, ART.
UH, THEY WERE, IF, IF IT'S AT LEAST POSSIBLE IN THE FUTURE FOR THESE TYPE OF THINGS, IT WOULD BE NICE IF THEY COULD BE FILLED OR ANNOUNCED TOWARD THE END OF THE PRIOR SCHOOL YEAR AS OPPOSED TO THE BEGINNING OF A NEW SCHOOL YEAR.
AND THE REASON I SAY THAT IS THE ANNOUNCEMENT, YOU DON'T GET, UH, ALL POTENTIAL CANDIDATES, I'LL SAY BOTH IN THE DISTRICT AND FROM OUTSIDE THE DISTRICT, HAVE PROBABLY ALREADY TAKEN POSITIONS AND MADE SITU.
UH, YOU KNOW, AND THE CASE OF THESE TWO POSITIONS, UH, MATTHEW BRENNER WAS TAKEN, WAS GIVEN THE POSITION OF DIRECTOR OF FINE ARTS.
UH, HE WAS AND IS THE BAND DIRECTOR AT BEAUFORT HIGH.
SO WHEN HE TOOK THE POSITION, HE'S HAVING TO SPLIT TWO AR AREAS.
AND IN FACT, HE'S KIND OF HAVING TO THE ONE AREA, HE GOES A HALF, HALF A DAY TO BLUFF AND BAND AND A HALF A DAY HERE.
BUT EVEN THAT IS DIVIDED INTO THE COORDINATOR OF FINE, UH, COORDINATOR OF VISUAL ARTS AND THE COORDINATOR OF PERFORMING ARTS.
SO, AND AT THIS POINT, THE BEST I CAN DETERMINE FROM LOOKING AT, UH, I'M GONNA RUN REALLY SHORT ON TIME.
UH, NOT ALL THOSE POSITIONS ARE FILLED YET.
THE, THEY AREN'T, I DON'T SEE ANYTHING POSTED.
UH, I SUSPECT THERE'S HESITANCY ON POTENTIAL CANDIDATES COMING IN, UH, THERE HESITANCY
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ON PRINCIPLES TO RELEASE THEM.AND IT KIND OF CREATES A SITUATION.
OKAY, WE HAVE THE MINUTES OF THE, UM, COMMITTEE MEETING FROM AUGUST 14TH.
IS THERE A MOTION TO APPROVE? SO MOVED.
MS. GORDON, DO YOU SECOND? OKAY, I'LL SECOND MS. ALL IN FAVOR SAY AYE.
UM, THIS IS THE BOARD MONTHLY BUDGET REPORT, UH, AS OF YEAR TO DATE, AS OF SEPTEMBER 11TH, 2025.
UM, AT WHICH POINT WE RAN THIS REPORT AND IT SHOWS THE, UH, ORIGINAL AND REVISED BUDGETS WERE IDENTICAL AND YEAR TO DATE SPENDING, AS WELL AS THE ENCUMBRANCES ALONG WITH THE AVAILABLE BUDGET.
UM, SO, UH, WE ARE AT OVERALL AT A 13%, UH, SPENDING AMOUNT AS OF THIS POINT IN THE YEAR, WHICH IS TYPICAL.
UM, THIS WILL PICK UP AS, UM, EXPENSES AND, UH, INVOICES COME THROUGH.
UM, PRIMARILY THE LARGEST, UH, SPENDING ITEM WE HAVE IS THE ORGANIZATION MEMBERSHIP AND DUES, WHICH IS THE THIRD.
FROM THE BOTTOM FROM PAGE TWO.
TYPICALLY, THAT IS A ONE-TIME PAYMENT PER YEAR DUE.
ITS CASA DUES, UH, OR SCHOOL BOARD ASSOCIATION DUES.
UH, AND THAT INCLUDES PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND THE, OUR ADMINISTRATIVE REGULATION REPOSITORY ON OUR WEBSITE.
SO, UM, OTHER THAN THAT, VERY LITTLE, UH, OTHER THAN SOME TRAVEL, UM, BOARD MEMBER TRAVEL AND STAFF TRAVEL, UH, IS ON THIS.
SO VERY LITTLE TO DISCUSS AT THIS POINT DURING THE YEAR.
SO I'LL OPEN IT UP TO ANY COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS IN THAT AREA.
ANY QUESTIONS FROM THE COMMITTEE MEMBERS? I DO NOT HAVE ANY.
MS. GORDON, I DO NOT HAVE ANY.
ANY OTHER BOARD? THAT'S IT FOR BOARD MEMBERS.
UM, LEAH FRAZIER AND WILLIAM SMITH.
MR. SMITH OR MS. FRAZIER? NO QUESTIONS FROM ME.
MR. SMITH? NO, I DON'T HAVE ANY QUESTIONS RIGHT NOW.
ON THE, UH, THIS IS THE JULY, 2025 TRANSPARENCY REPORT.
UM, THERE IS A NUMBER, THIS IS THE TRADITIONAL TRANSPARENCY REPORT AND THE ONE THAT GOES ON THE WEBSITE.
AND WE'LL CONTINUE TO DO THAT INTO PERPETUITY.
SO, UH, WITH ANY SPECIFIC QUESTIONS, I'LL BE HAP HAPPY TO TAKE THOSE AND ME AND MY TEAM WILL, UH, RESPOND ACCORDINGLY.
UM, MS. HAY? NO, I DON'T HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ON THAT REPORT.
MS. GORDON, I'M IMPRESSED WITH THE 114 PAGES, BUT I DO NOT HAVE ANY QUESTIONS.
MS. MS. GORDON, I MEAN, MS. FRAZIER? NO, I DON'T HAVE ANY QUESTIONS.
MR. SMITH, I DON'T HAVE ANY QUESTIONS.
SO ONE OF THE THINGS I DID WHEN I LOOKED THROUGH IT IS THAT, UM, THIS IS A GOOD REPORT AND I'M GLAD YOU'RE RETAINING IT SO WE CAN ACTUALLY GO THROUGH IT.
I'VE LEARNED TO ACTUALLY GO IN AND USE DILIGENT TO ACTUALLY MARK UP THE DIGITAL COPY.
UM, AND I FOUND THAT VERY BENEFICIAL.
NO ONE IMPRESSED WITH I
SO MY COLLEAGUES HAVE PROMISED TO HELP ME LEARN HOW TO PRINT IT OUT SO I CAN SEE WHAT I'VE ACTUALLY, BUT ONE OF THE THINGS IS, AS YOU GO THROUGH THE NEW WAY OF, UM,
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CONSOLIDATING AND REPORTING, WHICH IS A SUMMARY OF PROCESS, PROJECT MAKES, IS HIS NAME OF IT, UH, SIT.SO I THINK THAT'S GONNA TAKE A LOT OF IT.
BUT ONE OF THE THINGS I LIKED DOING WAS I WOULD HAVE A CUTOFF AMOUNT AND ANYTHING ABOVE THAT CUTOFF AMOUNT I'LL LOOK AT AND LOOK TO DRILL DEEPER.
AND, UM, SO I ALWAYS FOUND THAT VERY BENEFICIAL.
'CAUSE I THINK PRO, WHAT DO YOU CALL IT, SYSTEM? SMARTSHEET.
SMARTSHEET, THERE'S SO MANY OF THEM.
BUT, UM, YOU KNOW, I, I'M REALLY INTERESTED, AND COLONEL GUYER ASKED THIS A FEW YEARS AGO, AND I'VE NEVER FORGOTTEN IT.
HIS QUESTION WAS, ARE WE HANDLING IT SO WE WOULD IDENTIFY EVEN THE SMALL VARIANCES WITHOUT BEARING THE HUMAN? THE SYSTEM SHOULD BE ABLE TO DO THAT.
AND SO THE OTHER THING IS, UM, CAN WE, AND ONE OF THE SYSTEMS, ONE OF THE REPORTS, IS IT A WAY TO LOOK AT IT EVEN MORE GROUPING BY SCHOOL? YES.
SO WE LOOKING AT BY SCHOOL, BUT, UM, THE EASIEST WAYS TO LOOK AT IT IS BY SEGMENTS THAT ALREADY EXIST HERE.
UM, SO BY AN ACCOUNT, A PIECE OF AN, AN ACCOUNT NUMBER BY THE TITLE OR PROGRAM BY THE VENDOR, BY THE SCHOOL LOCATION, THAT SORT OF THINGS.
THERE'RE ALREADY SEGMENTS THAT EXIST.
SOME OF, SOME THINGS COULD BE ASKED FOR THAT COULD CROSS MULTIPLE SEGMENTS SO THAT THOSE, LIKE A CONSULTANTS, FOR EXAMPLE, COULD CROSS, COULD TAKE MULTI, COULD TAKE AN ANALYSIS OF WHICH SEGMENTS OF THE ACCOUNT NUMBER WOULD THAT BE, AND THEN HAVE TO BUILD A SEPARATE REPORT ON TO PULL OUT THOSE THAT WE BELIEVE ARE CONSULTANTS.
THERE MAY BE SOME THAT WE FIND THAT AREN'T A REALLY, A CONSULTANT, BUT HAPPEN TO BE CODED TO THAT ACCOUNT NUMBER MM-HMM
UM, BUT IT WOULD GENERALLY PULL BASIS BASIC INFORMATION.
SO THERE ARE WAYS THAT THE SYSTEM, MS. MS YER AND I SPOKE THIS MORNING, AND, UH, THERE ARE WAYS, IF WE ARE LIMITING TO CERTAIN SEGMENTS THAT WE COULD BUILD A REPORT.
IT WOULD, UM, AND SORT IT, IT MIGHT JUST TAKE A FEW HOURS TO BUILD THE STRUCTURE OR THE TEMPLATE OF THE DOCUMENT.
CARLY, YOU RA YOU RAISED THAT TWO YEARS AGO.
DO YOU HAVE ANY CONTINUING COMMENTS OR INSIGHTS? SO IT'S, IT'S SO COMPLEX AND IT IS NOT A PREDICTIVE CYCLE, UH, BECAUSE BILLING IS NOT, UH, ALWAYS IN A PREDICTIVE CYCLE.
UM, SO IT'S VERY, IT'S VERY DIFFICULT TO TAKE SOMETHING CO VERY COMPLEX AND MAKE IT INTO SOMETHING VERY SIMPLE.
AND AT A FIRST GLANCE TO TAKE A LOOK AT THE VALUE OF GOING THROUGH THIS, UM, KINDA LINE BY LINE AND IS, AND, AND THIS IS WHERE AI WOULD HAVE TO COME IN, IS YOU WOULD SET PARAMETERS OF VARIANCES AS YOU MENTIONED, BUT, BUT ALSO CONFLICTS.
FOR EXAMPLE, UH, WHEN, WHEN WE'D SEE SOMETHING IN ONE SCHOOL THAT IS WAY OUTTA WHACK AND, AND WATER BILLS WERE, UH, IT WOULD COME UP EVERY NOW AND THEN BECAUSE WE'D HAVE A FLOOD OR WHATEVER, AND YOU'D SEE THE, THE WATER BILL, THEN YOU WOULD CROSSCHECK THAT WITH THE MAINTENANCE AND, AND THAT PUTTING THAT KIND OF THING TOGETHER, THERE'S NO WAY SHORT OF AN AI.
AND THEN YOU WOULD, YOU WOULD HAVE TO DEVELOP THE ALGORITHMS, UH, FOR THAT AI, UH, TO, TO LOOK AT IT.
UM, AND FRANKLY, IT, IT WAS FIVE AND SIX YEARS OF LOOKING AT THIS THAT ALLOWED ME TO KIND OF ZERO IN ON THINGS THAT POPPED UP.
WELL, YOU KNOW, THAT'S WHAT YOU GOTTA PUT IN FOR AI TO, TO DO, TO DO THAT KIND OF THING.
AND THAT, THAT REALLY TAKES THE COMMITTEE AND THE, UH, YOUR, YOUR SHOP TO LOOK FOR THOSE ALGORITHMS THAT WILL IMMEDIATELY PING YOU TO SAY, WHOOPS, WHAT'S THIS ONE ABOUT? BUT I DON'T KNOW, OTHER THAN, OTHER THAN GOING LINE BY LINE TO, TO BE ABLE TO DO THAT.
AND, AND IT TAKES A, AN INORDINATE AMOUNT OF TIME.
AND, AND AGAIN, IT'S NOT EVERY MONTH IS DIFFERENT.
IT'S, IT'S NOT A, IT'S NOT THE SAME GROUPINGS EVERY MONTH.
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SO, UM, BUT IT'S EXTREMELY VALUABLE TO HAVE, UH, FIRST OF ALL OVERSIGHT.AND, AND SECONDLY, TO GET QUESTIONS, BECAUSE OFTENTIMES WE HAVE BUILDING PROBLEMS. YOU KNOW, WE HAVE, WE HAVE ADDRESS PROBLEMS, WE HAVE TITLE PROBLEMS AND SO ON THAT, THAT POP UP.
UH, AND AGAIN, YOU REAR YOU RAISED THAT LIKE TWO YEARS AGO THAT WAS FORGOTTEN.
THAT, UM, CFO CROSBY, DOES THE DILIGENT HAVE THAT AI CAPABILITY? I DON'T, I'M NOT AWARE OF IT DOES.
SO ONE OF THE THINGS MIGHT BE A TRAINING SESSION.
I THINK YOU, YOU'VE, MS. CUSHING BERG, YOU'VE WORKED WITH DILIGENT AND THEY PROVIDE TRAINING FOR US.
BUT THAT'S WHAT I THINK WHAT YOU'RE ASKING FOR MIGHT BE SOMETHING SEPARATE.
CAN I, AS SOMEBODY WHO UNDERSTANDS AI FOR ONE SECOND, SAY ONE THING? YEAH.
MS. MS. HAY, JUST WAIT ONE MINUTE.
UH, SHE TEES YOU UP AND I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE I GIVE YOU FULL STAGE WHEN IT YEP, NO WORRIES.
UH, YOU AND I TALKED ABOUT SOMETHING YOU DISCOVERED THAT HAD AN AI CAPABILITY.
UM, IT MIGHT BE BETTER TO DISCUSS IT AFTER OR ALREADY AT NO PROBLEM.
THE END OF OUR, UM, NEW TRANSPARENCY REPORT.
SO I'M, WE'RE READY TO, OR PREPARED TO DISCUSS THAT DURING THAT SEGMENT.
IF, IF YOU WANNA GO AHEAD AND MOVE THROUGH THE CONSOLIDATED REPORTS AND THEN WE CAN FINE WITH THAT, HAVE A FULL DISCUSSION ON THAT ONE.
MS. HAY, AS A RESIDENT EXPERT ON AI, ABSOLUTELY.
DEFINITELY, DEFINITELY NOT AN EXPERT, BUT LEARNING THROUGH FAMILY MEMBERS WHO ARE IN THIS REALM FOR THEIR BUSINESS.
UM, AND IT BUILDS OFF OF WHAT COLONEL GEIER WAS SAYING AND SUGGESTING IS MM-HMM
WHAT WILL ACTUALLY HAPPEN ONCE WE HAVE AN AG, AN AI PROGRAM TO IMPLEMENT, OR IF DILIGENT WERE TO ADD AI TO THEIR SERVICES, WOULD BE THAT WE WOULD BE UPLOADING, OR THEY WOULD BE UPLOADING, WE COULD TELL THEM THE WINDOW OF DOCUMENTATION THAT MRS. CROSBY AND HER TEAM HAVE ALREADY SUPPLIED.
AND THAT WOULD GET UPLOADED INTO THE DATABASE TO THEN GIVE THE AI THE HISTORY OF THESE REPORTS THAT IT THEN CRAWLS THROUGH TO CREATE THE ALGORITHM TO GIVE US THE INFORMATION WE'RE ASKING IT FOR.
SO FOR EXAMPLE, AS YOU WERE SAYING, YOU HAVE, UM, YOU HAVE NUMBER MARKERS.
LIKE I'LL LOOK THROUGH THE REPORT, WHAT'S ABOVE 50 GRAND THAT'S GONNA TICK MY INTEREST.
RIGHT? BUT THEN NOT ONLY THAT, WHAT ARE THE VENDORS, THAT'S HOW I LIKE TO LOOK AT IT TOO.
WHAT ARE THE VENDORS THAT ARE ALL OF A SUDDEN JUMPING OFF THE PAGE AT ME, LIKE I DON'T SEE THAT YEAR OVER YEAR AS I'VE SAT ON THE FINANCE COMMITTEE.
LIKE, THAT ONE DOESN'T LOOK NORMAL TO ME.
SO THEN I DIG INTO THAT, WHY THIS EXPENSE? WHERE DOES IT COME FROM? YOU KNOW, IS IT PART OF, IS IT THE SISTER COMPANY OF ANOTHER COMPANY THAT WE UTILIZE FOR A DIFFERENT SERVICE? BUT AGAIN, THE AI MODELS WILL BE ABLE TO TELL US THAT ONCE WE HAVE SOMETHING OF THAT SORT TO UTILIZE.
SO IT WILL BE HELPFUL TO US, AND I LOOK FORWARD TO WHAT MRS. CROSBY'S GONNA SHARE WITH US FURTHER DOWN THE LINE.
BUT I JUST WANTED TO SAY IT WILL BE SOMETHING WE WILL JUST NEED TO UPLOAD THE INFORMATION INTO.
IT'S NOT GOING TO NECESSARILY CREATE A HUGE HEADACHE FOR PART PARTS OF OUR TEAM.
SO WE, UH, WE WE'RE VERY COMFORTABLE WITH YOU DO, UH, DOING THAT AND HELPING US.
ONE OF THE THINGS THAT, UM, REALLY WANT TO MAKE SURE IS IT DOESN'T INCREASE THE WORKLOAD, BUT USING AI, MS UH, BOATWRIGHT AND THE TECHNOLOGY COMMITTEE YESTERDAY HAD A REAL GOOD DISCUSSION ABOUT A SURVEY THEY'RE CREATING.
AND SO AS THEY REACH OUT AND DEVELOP THAT SURVEY, I THINK THE FINANCE GROUP, YOU SHOULD, YOU HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO REALLY GIVE SPECIFIC REQUESTS THAT WILL ENABLE GREATER DRILL DOWN ABILITY, BUT NOT INCREASE THE WORKLOAD ON OUR STAFF.
SO WE'LL TEE THAT UP AND MS. HAY, UH, SHOULD BE A, UH, PART OF THAT AS WELL.
THAT OKAY WITH YOU, MS. HAY? WE'RE GONNA TAKE THAT AS A YES.
ANY OTHERS? DID, UH OH, MR. SMITH COMMENT, SIR? UH, I'M GONNA, WELL, WELL, ONLY THING I'LL SAY IS AT THIS POINT IN TIME THAT I DO AGREE WITH, UH, MR. WITH, WITH MR. GUYER.
BUT I, I, ONE THING I WILL SAY TOO,
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I THINK IT'S MORE ALSO UPON THE HISTORY OF UNDERSTANDING THE FINANCE COMMITTEE AND WHAT, WHERE WE'VE COME FROM AS A DISTRICT, WHY THE PROTOCOLS WERE PUT IN THAT WERE PUT IN.I THINK THAT THAT'S THE, THAT'S A MORE, UH, UNDERSTANDING OF WHY WE ARE, WHY, WHY WE ARE PARTICULARLY ON SEEING THINGS THE WAY WE, WE, WE, WE WE CURRENTLY HAVE.
JUST ENJOYING THE CONVERSATION.
UH, COLONEL GUY, ANYTHING ELSE? ANY GAPS AS FAR AS, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE HAVE TO ALWAYS LOOK AT TEMPTATIONS AND, AND WHEN YOU LOOK AT OUR AMAZON EXPENDITURES AND OUR STAPLES EXPENDITURES, THOSE ARE, THOSE ARE WAYS WHERE YOU REALLY GOTTA KEEP AN EYE OUT ON WHAT'S BEING PURCHASED BY WHO AND WHEN, BECAUSE THAT'S WHERE YOU, YOU GET THESE SMALL LITTLE PIECES OF FRAUD, WASTE, AND ABUSE THAT IF YOU DON'T CATCH 'EM RIGHT AWAY, BECOME LARGE PIECES OF FRAUD, WASTE, AND ABUSE.
AND, AND THAT'S, I SPENT A LOT OF TIME GOING AND LOOKING AT ALL THE STAPLES AND ALL THE AMAZON THINGS, SEEING WHAT SCHOOLS ARE BUYING 'EM, AND YOU TRY TO FIGURE OUT WHAT THE PRODUCT IS.
'CAUSE YOU CAN BUY ANYTHING ON AMAZON AND SOME THINGS YOU, WE HAVE NO BUSINESS BUYING ON AMAZON.
SO THAT'S, THAT'S MY CONCERN ABOUT THIS IS, IS I, I WANT OUR PEOPLE THAT MAKE THESE PURCHASES KNOWING THAT IF I DO SOMETHING GOOFY, I'M GONNA, I'M GONNA BE CAUGHT.
I JUST WANNA TAKE AWAY TEMPTATION.
SO WE DON'T HAVE PEOPLE MAKING WRONG DECISIONS.
IN RESPONSE TO THAT, UM, PROCUREMENT IS, IS THE GATEKEEPER OF EVERY PURCHASE IN THE, WHETHER IT'S ON AMAZON OR STAPLES OR ANY OTHER VENDOR.
SO ALL 10,000 PER MONTH TRANSACTIONS GO THROUGH MS. ER'S OFFICE.
AND OUR FOLKS LOOK VERY CAREFULLY AT THOSE THINGS, BUT WE ALSO HAVE A POLICY, AN INTERNAL PROCEDURE.
UM, AND WHEN, WHEN MS. CA, MS. SENIOR HAS AN OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK, UM, SHE CAN TELL YOU MORE ABOUT OUR POLICIES OF, UH, REQUIRING OUR STAFF TO USE STATE APPROVED VENDORS, VENDORS THAT ARE ALREADY ON CONTRACT FIRST.
IT, UNLESS IF THAT IS NOT AVAILABLE, IF THE PRODUCT IS NOT AVAILABLE, THEN WE GO TO AMAZON OR IF IT'S MUCH CHEAPER PRICE.
SO IF WE COULD JUSTIFY THAT IT'S A MUCH LOWER COST OR THAT IT'S NOT ON STATE CONTRACT, THEN EXCEPTIONS WE ALLOW THEM TO USE THOSE SERVICES.
SO AS YOU CAN SEE, WE HAVE THOUSANDS OF TRANSACTIONS A MONTH MM-HMM
UM, AND SO THERE'S A WIDE VOLUME.
SO THERE DO STILL APPEARS TO BE A LOT, BUT THAT'S BECAUSE THERE'S SUCH A LARGE VOLUME IN OUR DISTRICT.
WE HAVE, UM, SO WE DO HAVE RESTRICTIONS ON THAT.
AND OUR BOOKKEEPERS ARE TRAINED, UM, QUITE REGULARLY EVERY MONTH WE HAVE A MEETING WITH BOOKKEEPERS, UM, AND SOMETIMES EVEN MORE OFTEN THAN THAT ON WHAT THEIR, UH, PURCHASING HABITS SHOULD LOOK LIKE.
SO IS THAT SOMETHING THAT, UM, AS, AS THE TECHNOLOGY COMMITTEE MOVES FORWARD, THAT FINANCE MIGHT, COULD INPUT THAT TO SEE IF THEY CAN DEVELOP ALGORITHMS TO ACTUALLY IDENTIFY THOSE ANOMALIES? 'CAUSE WHEN I LOOKED AT THE REPORT THIS MONTH, THE NUMBER OF STAPLES TO THE COLONELS POINT IS, IS REALLY NUMBER OF ACCOUNTS AND STAPLES IS ON STATE CONTRACT.
AND THAT'S WHY THAT IS OUR GO-TO VENDOR.
IT WOULD BE, WE WOULD GO TO AMAZON IF, IF THE PRICE WAS LESS EXPENSIVE THAN STAPLES.
SO, UM, WE JUST CONSIDER THE, AND MAKE SURE THAT OUR BOOKKEEPERS WHO ARE PROVIDING, UM, SHOPPING FOR CERTAIN CER UH, PRODUCTS ARE LOOKING MULTIPLE PLACES AND GETTING THE BEST DOLLAR.
BUT, UH, CERTAINLY WE WANT THEM TO LOOK AT STATE CONTRACT FIRST.
SO, AND FOR YOUR TEAM, PLEASE DON'T ACCEPT THIS LINE OF QUESTIONING AS ANY LACK OF FAITH IN WHAT'S ALREADY OCCURRING THAT YOU FOLKS DO A SUPERB JOB TO RELAY THAT TO THAT.
UM, IS THAT, THAT'S IT FOR THE BOARD MONTHLY BUDGET REPORT, IS THAT CORRECT? AND THE, AND THE TRANSPARENCY, I THINK THE CONSOLIDATED A HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS REPORT.
UM, SO THE NEXT TWO REPORTS ARE THE A HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS REPORTS AS REQUIRED BY FOR POLICY.
UM, A FEW YEARS AGO WE DID A CONSOLIDATED REPORT, UM,
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TO MAKE A LITTLE MORE CONCISE TWO PAGES.UM, AND SO THERE ARE, UM, YOU KNOW, GOING, THESE ARE, THIS IS A COMPARISON OF JULY, 2025 TO JULY, 2024.
AND THE TERMS, UH, RATIONALE FOR MAJOR VARIANCES AS WELL AS THE TERMS OF PAYMENT, WHETHER IT'S MONTHLY, QUARTERLY, RECURRING PAYMENTS FROM THAT PARTICULAR VENDOR AND SO ON.
UM, SO MANY OF THE MAJOR, MOST OF THE MAJOR VARIANCES HERE ARE GOING TO BE YOUR CONSTRUCTION VENDORS.
THEY MAY HAVE HAD, UH, SERVICES, CONSTRUCTION SERVICES THIS YEAR, BUT NOT LAST YEAR, SUCH AS AJAX BUILDING COMPANIES STICKS OUT HERE.
INTERSTATE PREMIER SERVICES IS ONE OF OUR NEW CUSTODIAL VENDORS WE DID NOT HAVE LAST YEAR.
THAT'S ABOUT MIDWAY DOWN THROUGH THE, THROUGH THE LIST.
THAT IS A NEW CUSTODIAL VENDOR.
UH, LOW COUNTRY AIR SOLUTIONS IS A, IS A CONTRACTOR FOR HVAC SERVICES.
THAT IS AN ADDITIONAL CONTRACTOR THIS YEAR, BUT ABOVE AND BEYOND OUR NORMAL MAINTENANCE CONTRACT TO HELP WITH THE HVAC, UH, REPAIRS, UM, FOR THE DISTRICT.
AND AGAIN, THESE FOR THE MONTH OF THESE WERE SERVICES, UH, NO PAY BILLS PAID IN THE MONTH OF JULY.
SO THAT WOULD'VE BEEN IN THE SUMMER MONTHS.
UM, PAYMENTS AND THE SERVICES, UM, LET'S SEE, WE'LL SEE PBA INSURANCE FOR FINANCE.
WE, EVERY YEAR WE HAVE TWO PAYMENTS THAT GO TWO MONTHS PAYMENTS IN THE MONTH OF JULY.
UM, UH, WE MUST HAVE PAID ONE IN ONE FISCAL YEAR AND ONE IN, OR ONE IN ONE MONTH, ONE IN THE NEXT MONTH IN, IN LAST YEAR.
SO WE PAY A PREMIUM AND AN ADVANCED PREMIUM LAST, UH, EACH YEAR.
UH, LAST YEAR THE ADVANCED PREMIUM WAS MOST LIKELY PAID EITHER JUST BARELY IN JUNE OR JUST BARELY IN AUGUST.
SO THE MONTH, UH, JUST SLIGHTLY, IT DIFFERED SLIGHTLY BY A MONTH.
UM, BUT THAT PAYMENT WAS CERTAINLY MADE EACH YEAR TWICE.
SHORELINE IS THE COMPANY THAT IS WORKING ON THE CONSTRUCTION FOR MULTIPLE SITES, INCLUDING THE DISTRICT OFFICE TECHNOLOGY CENTER, WHICH JUST RAMPED UP THIS YEAR.
SO THAT IS A NEW CONSTRUCTION CONTRACTOR THAT WE'RE DOING BUSINESS WITH RECENTLY THAT WE DID NOT DO LAST YEAR.
SO, UM, AND THE BUD GROUP, AGAIN, THAT IS ANOTHER CUSTODIAL VENDOR THAT WAS NOT ON, ON OUR TEAM LAST YEAR.
SO WITH THAT, I'LL BE HAPPY TO TAKE ANY QUESTIONS.
MS. GORDON, ANY QUESTIONS? UH, YES.
UH, FIRST THANK YOU, UH, FOR THE SPINE REPORT AND THE QUESTIONS AND MS. HAY AND ALL THE COMMENTS THAT WERE MADE.
UM, WE TALKED ABOUT THE CONSULTANTS AND, UH, WE PAID THEM THROUGH THIS SERVICE AS WELL, I BELIEVE.
IS THERE A WAY THAT WE CAN MAKE SURE THAT, UH, THERE'S NO NEPOTISM OR IS THAT OKAY NOW TO DO THAT? UH, SO IF A CONSULTANT COMES IN AND, AND DOES SOME CONSULTING WORK THAT THEY'RE NOT RELATED TO ME OR TO, UH, YOU KNOW, FOR INSTANCE, RGAS OR SOMEONE, OR IS THAT OKAY? NOW THAT THEY ARE, I JUST DON'T KNOW THE PARAMETERS, BUT, UH, I, I THINK THIS IS A FINE REPORT AND A GREAT USE OF THE TECHNOLOGY AS WE MOVE FORWARD AND, UH, JUST MAKING SURE THAT WE CONTINUE DOTTING OUR I'S AND CROSSING OUR T'S.
WOULD YOU LIKE TO ANSWER THAT MS. SENIOR? I THINK YOU DEAL WITH A LOT OF CONTRACTS.
SO, UM, POLICY STATES THAT NO EMPLOYEE CAN SERVE THE DISTRICT IN A CONTRACT FEE AND AN EMPLOYMENT PASS CAPACITY.
AND PROCUREMENT WORKS CLOSELY, UM, WITH LORI MOCK, UM, THE FINANCE, UM, OR DIRECTOR OF FINANCE
SO WE MAKE SURE THAT THAT'S NOT A CONFLICT AS WELL.
UM, WE DO WHEN CONTRACTS COME THROUGH THE PROCUREMENT OFFICE, UM, IF WE CAN, BECAUSE IT'S NOT ALWAYS CLEAR.
WE KNOW THAT BUFORT IS A VERY CLOSE KNIT COMMUNITY.
UM, THERE ARE A LOT OF FAMILIES HERE COMING BACK GENERATION, UM, IF WE DO OUR BEST TO MAKE SURE THAT NO ONE IS RELATED DIRECTLY TO THE SCHOOL THAT THE SERVICE IS BEING PERFORMED AT MM-HMM
BUT UNLESS WE ARE TOLD, WE WOULD NOT KNOW IMMEDIATELY.
SO WE DO OUR BEST TO MITIGATE ALL OF THAT.
SO FAR, WE'VE BEEN PRETTY SUCCESSFUL.
UM, BUT I CAN'T SAY THAT IT COMPLETELY WOULDN'T HAPPEN IF PEOPLE HAVE DIFFERENT LAST NAMES OR DIFFERENT ADDRESSES.
WE DON'T KNOW WHERE PEOPLE LIVE,
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SO, BUT WE DO HAVE OUR POLICIES IN PLACE TO MAKE SURE THAT DEFINITELY NO EMPLOYEES ARE ALSO BEING PAID AS CONTRACTORS AS WELL WITH THEIR OWN PERSONAL BUSINESSES WITH PCSD.MS. HAY, UM, MS. HAYES AND BOTH MS. FRAZIER BOTH SAY THEY DON'T HAVE ANY QUESTIONS.
MR. SMITH? UH, NO, I DON'T HAVE ANY QUESTIONS AT THIS TIME, BUT I DEFINITELY DO AGREE WITH MR. GORDON.
COLONEL, ANY COMMENTS, INSIGHTS? UH, UM, AGAIN, WHAT WE'RE LOOKING AT IS REALLY TRYING TO THINK OF WHAT POTENTIALLY COULD GO WRONG AND HAVE A CONVERSATION AND IDENTIFY POTENTIAL PREVENTATIVE MEASURES.
SO DOING A GOOD JOB, YOU UNDERSTAND HOW TOUGH IT IS IN PROCUREMENT THROUGH ACTUALLY SCREEN ALL OF THAT.
WOULD THERE BE VALUE IN ASKING THE SOUTH CAROLINA ETHICS COMMISSION TO SPEAK WITH OUR COLLEAGUES AND ASK THEM IF THEY HACK BY YOU? OKAY.
UH, OR THE SU OR THE, UH, SUPERINTENDENT, NO MATTER, RIGHT? MM-HMM
BUT JUST SO THAT WE CAN SAY WE ACTUALLY ELEVATE TO THE HIGHEST LEVEL IN STATE GOVERNMENT AND DO YOU HAVE ANY BEST PRACTICES THAT MIGHT APPLY TO US? MM-HMM
AND THEN I THINK SINCE YOU CANNOT SCREEN EVERY PERSON IN THE EVERY SECOND TERTIARY CONNECTION THAT SHOWS WE'VE ACTUALLY MADE A STRONG EFFORT TO BE PREVENTATIVE, DOES, HOW DOES THAT SOUND TO THE GROUP? MS. GORDON? MS. HAY, HOW DO YOU SOUND? HOW DO YOU, UH, LIKE THAT? UH, JUST RAISING THAT QUESTION, THAT'S FINE WITH ME, MS. GORDON.
OH, THAT'S FINE WITH ME AS WELL.
MR. SMITH, UH, WHAT WAS THE QUESTION AGAIN? SO, SINCE WE ARE LOOKING AT HOW TO PREVENT, UH, SOMETHING THAT HAS NOT OCCURRED THROUGH OUR KNOWLEDGE, BUT, UH, TRYING TO MAKE SURE WE ARE TAKING PREVENTATIVE STEPS, EXPLORATORY, UH, JUST TO ENGAGE, UH, THE SOUTH CAROLINA ETHICS COMMISSION AND ASK THEM IF THEY HAVE BEST PRACTICES THAT THEY WOULD LIKE TO SHARE WITH US.
SO THAT GOING FORWARD A YEAR, TWO, THREE YEARS FROM NOW, THAT WOULD BE ONE OF THE STEPS THAT WE WOULD HAVE TAKEN THAT SAYS, YES, THIS GROUP ACTUALLY TRIED.
EVEN THOUGH THOSE THINGS IS, YOU KNOW, THE PROBABILITY IS YOU MAY HAVE A SMALL BREACH AT SOME POINT, SO IT WOULD JUST BE A CONVERSATION IF YOU WANNA TALK TO THEM.
TWO PEOPLE THAT ARE PHENOMENAL THERE, AND WHENEVER I GOT AN ISSUE, I CALL 'EM, SAY, HEY, CAN I DO THIS? AND THAT'S AARON AND MARTHA AND THEY'RE A PATIENT AND THEY WILL GIVE CA CAVEATS.
AND WHAT YOU LOOK FOR, UM, MS. SENIOR'S POSITION, MY OWN BOARD MEMBERS AS WELL AS DR.
RODRIGUEZ'S POSITION, ALL HAVE ETHICS REQUIREMENTS THAT WE WOULD HAVE TO DISCLOSE IF WE WERE RELATED TO A VENDOR, PARTICULARLY IN THE PROCUREMENT DEPARTMENT WHO'S HELPING TO, TO SECURE VENDORS.
UM, SO WE WOULD ALL HAVE TO DISCLOSE OR, UM, IF THAT INFORMATION AND, UH, IN THE EVENT THAT A CONTRACTOR DID BUSINESS WITH US OR AN EMPLOYEE, UM, WAS RELATED TO US IN SOME WAY.
SO THAT IS SOMETHING THAT WE ARE REQUIRED TO DO, BUT, UM, WE'LL LOOK DEEPER AND ASK SOME QUESTIONS.
MAYBE THERE'S A POLICY OR SOMETHING THAT WE COULD INCORPORATE INTO EXISTING PRACTICES THAT WE HAVE.
SO I FORGOT TO MENTION, I GUESS WHEN I WAS THINKING, I WAS THINKING SMALL DOLLAR CONTRACTS LIKE CONSULTANTS ON THE R-F-P-I-F-B SIDE, THE SEALED BIDS THAT WE HAVE TO DO OF EX EXPENDITURES THAT ARE GONNA COST MORE THAN A HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS.
WE REQUIRE ANY OF OUR COMMITTEE MEMBERS OR ANYBODY WHO IS GOING TO PARTICIPATE IN THE SELECTION PROCESS.
SO SIGN A CONFIDENTIALITY AND A CONFLICT OF INTEREST FORM.
SO THEY ACTUALLY HAVE TO SIGN A DOCUMENT THAT SAYS, I HAVE NO CONFLICT OF INTEREST, NO ONE THAT I KNOW WORKS FOR THIS COMPANY.
SO OUR MAJOR CONTRACTS THAT IS IN PLACE, AND THAT PUSHES THE ACCOUNTABILITY BACK ON THEM TO BE TRUTHFUL.
THOSE ARE FOR THOSE MAKING DECISIONS ABOUT WHETHER TO GO WITH THE VENDOR OR NOT, BUT NOT NECESSARILY WITH THE STAFF AT THE SCHOOLS WHO ARE, WOULD BE WORKING, YOU KNOW, WHERE THE CONTRACTOR MAY BE WORKING AT.
SO WE DON'T HAVE ANYTHING IN LINE THERE, BUT DEFINITELY AT THE DECISION LEVEL THERE IS, UM, THERE ARE PROCESSES IN PLACE, BUT, AND, AND I'M NOT, I DON'T QUESTION THOSE AT ALL.
UH, I HOPE IT DOESN'T SOUND, IT IS REALLY ABOUT BEING PROACTIVE.
UH, AND IF A HUNDRED PERCENT SOMETHING WERE TO HAPPEN, WE'D BE ABLE TO SAY WE WENT THIS EXTRA STEP OR TWO.
I, I SEE HEADS NODDING OVER THERE.
[00:35:01]
IS THE DETAILED REPORT, WHICH HAS BASICALLY THE SAME INFORMATION, JUST HAS MORE PAGES OF DETAIL, 114 EIGHT PAGES ON THIS ONESO, UM, JUST WANNA PRESENT THAT IN THAT, UH, OFFER AN OPPORTUNITY FOR ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS ON THAT ONE.
UM, COMMITTEE MEMBERS, EITHER OF YOU HAVE QUESTIONS, COMMENTS, INSIGHTS? NO, SIR, I DID NOT.
MS. HAY, FROM AN AI PERSPECTIVE, YOU'RE HEARING THIS CONVERSATION, SO PLEASE FEEL FREE TO WEIGH IN AND CONSIDER, AND YOU CAN, UH, UH, UH, OPINE TODAY OR YOU CAN SEND SOMETHING AND, AND SO THAT WE CAN CAPTURE THAT TOO, MS. CROSBY.
ALL RIGHT, NEXT REPORT IS THE, UH, TRANSPARENCY ANALYTICS REPORT.
UH, THIS IS THE NEW VERSION OF THAT WOULD, UM, ENHANCE THE READER'S ABILITY TO VISUALIZE, UM, MAJOR VARIANCES THAT WOULD ULTIMATELY REPLACE THE DETAILED A HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS REPORTS YOU SEE IN THAT WE'VE JUST SEEN PREVIOUSLY.
IN ADDITION TO OTHER ANALYSIS OF, UH, SPENDING BY FUND, BY CATEGORY, UH, AND CAN BE ANALYZED IN MANY DIFFERENT WAYS, VARIOUS, VARIOUS, UH, GROUPINGS, UH, PROGRAM, PROGRAMMATIC GROUPINGS.
UM, SO I WANNA START BY SAYING THAT, UM, MS. HAY MENTIONED SOMETHING EARLIER THAT WE, THIS IS BUILT THROUGH THESE, UH, ANALYTICS ARE BUILT THROUGH SMARTSHEETS.
SMARTSHEET HAS AN AI COMPONENT TO IT.
UH, AND WE DO LOAD, UM, I'VE JUST CONFIRMED THIS YEAR.
UM, THE WAY IT'S THIS DATA IS CAPTURED AND, AND, UM, STRUCTURED IN DIFFERENT GRAPHICS IS THAT WE LOAD UPLOAD THE JULY, 2024 TRANSPARENCY REPORT, AND WE UPLOAD THE JULY, 2025 TRANSPARENCY REPORT INTO THE DATABASE AND THEN BUILT A TEMPLATE OF, UH, VARIOUS GRAPHICS THAT WE ARE INTERESTED IN USING.
AND OUR WHOLE TEAM THAT YOU SEE HERE TODAY, ALL OF OUR DIRECTORS, UH, WHETHER GRANTS, BUDGET, PROCUREMENT, UH, INTERNAL CONTROLS, GENERAL FINANCE, WE ALL CAME TOGETHER AND PICKED THE REPORTS YOU'RE SEEING HERE TODAY AS WHAT WE BELIEVE THE MOST VALUABLE, UM, FOR THIS COMMITTEE.
UM, IT STILL MEETS THE REQUIREMENTS OF THE BOARD'S POLICY TO HAVE A HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS REPORT.
SO THERE'S NO VOTE REQUIRED TO USE THIS.
IT IS MORE OF A CONSENSUS THAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR TO REPLACE THE, UH, OTHER REPORTS.
BUT WE ALSO, MOST IMPORTANTLY, IS AT THE END, THE VERY LAST PAGE ON PAGE SIX, PROVIDE YOU A LINK TO THE 114 PAGE REPORT FROM THIS DOCUMENT.
SO YOU CAN ACTUALLY SCROLL TO THE SIX PAGE, CLICK HERE AND GO STRAIGHT TO THE WEBSITE WHERE THIS 114 PAGE REPORT IS IT THAT RESIDES UNDER MONTHLY TRANSPARENCY.
AND THEN WHATEVER MONTH YOU'RE LOOK OR YEAR YOU'RE LOOKING FOR, SO WE'RE IN FISCAL YEAR 26TH, AND THEN JULY OF 2025 IS THE TRANSPARENCY REPORT.
SO THAT WILL DOWNLOAD UP AT THE TOP RIGHT HAND CORNER, YOU'LL SEE A, UM, DROPDOWN.
AND IF IT GOES AWAY, THEN YOU WOULD CLICK SCROLL OVER THERE TO, UH, UP TOP ABOVE IN THE TOOLBAR UP A LITTLE MORE TO THE RIGHT, RIGHT THERE IS YOUR DOWNLOAD BUTTON.
SO THAT GIVES YOU DOWNLOADS, OR YOU COULD CLICK DOWNLOADS THERE, CLICK THAT AND THAT FILE, CLICK ON THE FILE.
IT'S AN EXCEL SPREADSHEET, AND THAT IS YOUR TRANSPARENCY REPORT.
SO IT DOWNLOADS, IT, PUTS IT UP IN THE TOP, AND YOU CLICK ON DOWNLOADS AND IT WILL POP UP.
AND THE ENTIRE REPORT IN EXCEL SPREADSHEET WILL, WILL BE CREATED.
SO, UM, THIS COULD THEN BE SAVED IN LET'S ALREADY SAVED IN YOUR DOWNLOADS FOLDER, AND YOU COULD GO INTO AI AND UPLOAD THIS FILE JUST, AND SAY WHATEVER YOU WANT SEARCH ON, PROVIDE A LIST OF, UM, A LIST OF VENDORS OR CONSULTANTS OR, UM, CONTRACTORS OR WHATEVER YOU WANTED TO, AND IT WOULD PROVIDE, SUMMARIZE A LIST FOR YOU.
SO, UM, AND I'LL TALK A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT THAT, BUT, BUT, UH, WELL, I GUESS I'LL GO AHEAD AND MENTION, WE ARE GOING TO ACTUALLY MEET WITH THE INSTRUCTIONAL TECHNOLOGY TEAM AND WHO REGULARLY TRAIN FOLKS ON AI AND COORDINATE WITH THEM TO SET A MEETING UP A DATE AND TIME THAT WORKS FOR THE BOARD,
[00:40:01]
UM, AND PROVIDE SOME TRAINING AND IT WILL BEGIN AT THE BASICS AND MOVE TO SOMETHING MORE, A LITTLE MORE COMPLICATED, LIKE UPLOADING A FILE OF AN, OF SOME KIND FOR YOU.SO, UH, ROBIN AND I HAVE ALREADY TALKED THIS MORNING, AND WE'RE GONNA GET WITH MS, UH, BECK ON VARS, COLLEEN, AND, UM, TO SET SOMETHING UP TO START, START AT THE START SIMPLE AND THEN MOVE YOU TO SOMETHING A LITTLE MORE COMPLEX.
SO WE'LL, WE'LL BE IN TOUCH VERY SOON ON A DATE AND TIME OR SOME OPTIONS ON DATES AND TIMES FOR YOU.
YOU NOTICE I CAN'T STOP, SO I KNOW YOU'RE EXCITED
SO, UM, BUT WITH THAT, I'M GONNA TURN IT OVER TO MS. YER WHO IS, UH, THE AUTHOR OF THIS DOCUMENT, AND WE'LL GO THROUGH THIS, UH, SIX PAGE REPORT INSTEAD OF A HUNDRED 14TH, AND IT'LL PULL OUT, IT, IT COVERS POLICY, BUT YET PROVIDES SOME OF THE, UM, YOU KNOW, VARIANCES THAT YOU'RE LOOKING FOR.
I'M VERY EXCITED ABOUT THIS REPORT.
UM, THIS, UH, WAS A, A COLLABORATIVE EFFORT BETWEEN SOMEONE WHO WAS VERY FAMILIAR WITH SMARTSHEETS, MR. NICK FLOWERS, TO HELP ME BUILD THE FOUNDATION FOR THIS.
UM, AND AS WE'VE ALREADY ESTABLISHED, IN ORDER TO ALLOW AN AI FUNCTION TO WORK PROPERLY, TO PRODUCE WHAT THE FINANCE COMMITTEE IS LOOKING FOR AND WHAT THE COMMUNITY IS LOOKING FOR, EVEN WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR, WE, WE HAD TO BUILD A FOUNDATION OF TANGIBLE PARAMETERS IN ORDER FOR AI TO BE ABLE TO DO WHAT IT NEEDED TO DO.
SO, UM, EVERYTHING THAT MS. CROSBY HAS DESCRIBED TO YOU FROM EXPLAINING THE HUNDRED PAY REPORT TO, UM, THE DIFFERENT VARIANCES IS ALL WRAPPED UP IN THIS REPORT ITSELF.
SO WE STARTED THE BEGINNING OF THE EXECUTIVE SUMMARY TALKING ABOUT, UM, THAT THE FINANCE DEPARTMENT, WE ARE VERY PLEASED TO PRESENT THIS, BY THE WAY, AND I MEAN THAT WHOLEHEARTEDLY, UM, AS AN EXECUTIVE SUMMARY TO IDENTIFY EXPENDITURES FOR JULY.
AND WE ARE INCLUDING COMPARATIVE DATA FROM JULY, 2024.
IT INCLUDES AN ANALYSIS OF MAJOR SPENDING AREAS THAT PROVIDES VISUALIZATION VISUALIZATIONS TO ENHANCE UNDERSTANDING OF FINANCIAL ALLOCATIONS ACROSS FOUR PROGRAMS AND SERVICES.
BUT WITH THAT, AND THAT WAS IMPORTANT TO INCORPORATE A SECTION ON RESPONSIBILITY, BECAUSE TRANSPARENCY IS OUR RESPONSIBILITY AS PART OF THE FINANCE DEPARTMENT.
IT'S, UM, NOT ONLY FOR INTERNAL ACCOUNTABILITY, ACCOUNTABILITY, BUT ALSO TO BUILD TRUST WITH STAKEHOLDERS AND THE BROADER COMMUNITY BY PROVIDING CLEAR, ACCESSIBLE SUMMARIES OF EXPENDITURES AND HIGHLIGHTING TRENDS OVER TIME.
THAT WAS IMPORTANT TO ME BECAUSE IT IS VERY OVERWHELMING TO LOOK AT THIS TRANSPARENCY REPORT FOR SOMEONE WHO'S NEVER SEEN IT BEFORE.
UM, AND YOU SEE THE AMOUNT EXPENDITURES THAT WE HAVE MONTHLY AND PEOPLE ASK, WELL, WHY, WHY ARE WE BUYING THAT MUCH? OR WHY ARE WE SEEING THOSE THINGS IF, IF YOU'RE NOT FAMILIAR WITH HOW LARGE OF A
SO PER OE SIX, WE ARE REQUIRED TO PROVIDE A LIST OF A HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS CONTRACTS, WHICH IS USUALLY CONNECTED TO THE 14 PAGE A HUNDRED K REPORT.
UM, AS YOU CAN SEE, WE KEPT IT IN THE SMALL SECTION ON THE FRONT OF THE COVER SHEET MEETING THAT REQUIREMENT.
THEN, UM, THE GRAPHS THAT MS. CROSBY SAID, AS WE SELECTED AS DIRECTORS IN OUR MEETING TO GIVE THE MOST, UH, BENEFICIAL INFORMATION.
THE FIRST ONE IS EXPENDITURES BY FUND.
UM, AND THEN KEY HIGHLIGHTS LOCATED AT THE BOTTOM.
SO GENTLE AND CAPITAL FUNDS FOR THE PRIMARY FUNDS USED FOR JULY 20, 20, 20 25.
EXPENDITURES AND SPECIAL REVENUE SPENDING DECLINED DUE TO CLOSING OUT OF THE FISCAL YEAR.
SO A SIMPLE EXPLANATION EXPLAINING THE DIFFERENCE IN THE VARIANCE OF SPENDING, ESPECIALLY IN JULY, UM, IS ALL CAPTURED HERE ON THIS PAGE.
THE NEXT ONE IS THE TOP 25 EXPENDITURES BY CATEGORY.
THIS, AGAIN, HAS KEY HIGHLIGHTS LISTED AT THE BOTTOM.
THE TOP 25 EXPENDITURE AREAS INCLUDED CONSTRUCTION, TECHNOLOGY, SOFTWARE PURCHASES, REPAIRS, AND CLEANING SERVICES AS EXPECTED DURING THE SUMMER MONTHS.
UM, MS. CROSBY BROUGHT THAT TO MY ATTENTION AS WELL.
'CAUSE IN PROCUREMENT, I DON'T ALWAYS SEE THAT FROM THAT I SEE THE DIFFERENCES, BUT CAPITALIZING ON THE FACT THAT IT WAS SUMMER, THESE ARE THINGS, MAJOR THINGS THAT TAKE PLACE IN THE SUMMERTIME, WHICH IS ALSO HELPS US EDUCATE THE READER OF THIS REPORT.
UM, FUNDING WAS ALLOCATED TO SUPPORT STUDENTS MAINTAIN FACILITIES AND ENHANCE TECHNOLO TECHNOLOGICAL INFRASTRUCTURE.
THE NEXT VISUAL IS THE TOP 10 EXPENDITURES BY PROGRAM.
SO SPENDING COVERED 10, 10 KEY CATEGORIES ALIGNED WITH DISTRICT PRIORITIES DURING THE SUMMER, THOSE BIGGEST PRIORITIES BEING FACILITIES, ACQUISITION AND CONSTRUCTION, OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE TECHNOLOGY AND DATA PROCESSING.
AND THEN PAYMENTS TO PUBLIC CHARTER
[00:45:01]
SCHOOLS AREAS INCLUDED CONSTRUCTION TECHNOLOGY AND SOFTWARE PURCHASES, REPAIRS AND MAINTENANCE OPERATIONS AS EXPECTED, AGAIN DURING THE SUMMER MONTHS.THE LAST IS ANOTHER REQUIREMENT OF THE A HUNDRED K.
SO HERE IS WHERE WE HAVE THE COMPARISON OF JULY OF 2024 IN JULY OF 2025 THAT WE'VE USED SMARTSHEETS TO OVERLAP THE TWO TO SHOW THE VARIANCES IN THE A HUNDRED K UM, VENDORS.
SO AGAIN, YOU CAN AUTOMATICALLY JUST PICTURE, YOU CAN SEE THEM, THEY POP RIGHT OUT AT YOU.
YOU DON'T HAVE TO READ THE TWO PAGE REPORT TO FIND OUT WHERE THE VARIANCES IS.
AND THEN WE USE THE AI FUNCTION TO TAKE THOSE DIFFERENT, UM, REPORTS AND PUT THEM TOGETHER TO PRODUCE A SUMMARY OF MAJOR VARIANCES FOR OURSELVES.
SO WHILE I MAY SEE A MAJOR VARIANCE WHILE I'M GOING DOWN ONE LINE, I LOOK AWAY AND I MAY MISALIGN WHEN I'M GOING THROUGH, IT'S THE HUMAN ERROR FACTOR.
THIS KEEPS THAT HUMAN ERROR FACTOR AWAY FROM THIS REPORT AS LONG AS I'M INPUTTING THIS TRANSPARENCY REPORT AS IS.
SO THE DATA THAT YOU'RE GETTING IN THIS REPORT IS THE SAME DATA THAT YOU'RE SEEING WHEN YOU CLICK THAT LINK ON THE BACK PAGE THAT SAYS YOU CAN GET THE TRANSPARENCY REPORT HERE.
I TAKE THAT DATA, PUT IT INTO SMARTSHEETS, AND IT PRODUCES THIS.
AGAIN, REMOVING THAT HUMAN ERROR ELEMENT OF CREATING AND MANUALLY MAKING NEW SPREADSHEETS ARE MANUALLY MAKING NEW CHARTS.
UM, AND I WAS REALLY HAPPY WITH HOW THE SUMMARY OF THE MAJOR VARIANCES CAME OUT BECAUSE HERE IT EXPLAINS EVERY VARIANCE THAT WE HAVE, WHY WE PAID IT A MONTH BEFORE, OR WHY WE PAID ADVANCED PREMIUMS OR WE DIDN'T HAVE CONTRACTORS THEN.
AND THEN ALSO CATEGORIZED ALL OF THE VARIANCES SO THAT YOU COULD SEE FROM NEW CONTRACTS AND SERVICES, AREAS OF SIGNIFICANT INCREASES, AND THEN OTHER DIFFERENCES WITH AN EXPLANATION AS WELL.
UM, MS. HAY, SORRY, MY UNMUTE WASN'T UNMUTING ME.
UM, JUST, I LOVE THIS REPORT, I LOVE EVERYTHING ABOUT IT.
IT'S MUCH SIMPLER TO LOOK AT AND I LOVE THE ABILITIES TO DRILL DOWN ON INFORMATION.
SO THANK YOU FOR MOVING FORWARD AND ACCOMPLISHING EXACTLY WHAT WE'VE ASKED YOU FOR.
LET'S MOVE FORWARD TO MS. FRAZIER.
MS. GORDON, IF YOU HEAR US, WE'LL COME BACK TO YOU, MA'AM.
MS. FRAZIER, I ECHO THE SENTIMENTS.
THE REPORT WAS SO EASY TO GO THROUGH.
MY EYES AREN'T CROSSED AT THE MOMENT.
UH, ACTUALLY I WOULD, UH, UM, I WOULD LIKE TO, UH, TAKE, UH, A STEP BACK TO, UH, THE LA SOMETHING THAT SHE SAID IN THE LAST, UM, IN HER LAST, UH, PRESENTATION.
I WAS ONLINE AND I COULDN'T, UH, I I WAS, I DIDN'T WANT IT TO DISTURB.
I WANTED TO BRING IT TO MY ATTENTION.
WHEN I GOT BACK IN, I, WHEN I GOT IN, UH, SHE SAID, UM, THAT, OR SOMEONE SAID THAT WHEN, WHEN, WHEN THEY WERE TALKING ABOUT THE, ABOUT THE, THE QUESTION YOU ASKED ME ABOUT THE, ABOUT GOING TO, I MEAN ABOUT SENDING IT TO THE, UH, ETHICS, ETHICS ETHICS COMMISSION.
AND THEN SHE, UH, THEN, THEN, UH, SOMEONE SAID THAT WE WERE ALL, THAT WE WERE, THAT CERTAIN ONES, ONES OF US WERE HELD TO, UH, A EXTENT OF LETTING PEOPLE KNOW IF WE WERE KIN OR SOMETHING.
BUT THAT, I'M GLAD YOU SAID THAT BECAUSE THAT BRINGS UP SOMETHING I BROUGHT ALONG.
I I I, I'VE HAR ON A LONG TIME AGO, WHEN WE, WHEN WE HAVE THESE, UM, CONTRACTORS OR THESE VENDORS, IF THE BOARD DON'T KNOW WHO THE VENDORS ARE AND, AND WHEN WE ARE CONTINUOUSLY MOVING THESE THINGS FORWARD, THEN WE, WE TO, TO SOME DEGREE, WE, WE COULD, WE COULD BE AT RISK OURSELVES BECAUSE WE APPROVE THESE CONTRACTORS AND WE DON'T KNOW WHO THESE VENDORS ARE.
I MEAN, FROM, FROM TIME TO TIME.
AND, AND, AND IN TERMS OF, UM, YEAH, I MAY, OUR SCHOOL MAY HIRE SOMEONE AND, AND, AND IF WE ARE NOT CAREFUL, IF WE, WE DON'T LOOK, OR, OR IF IT'S NOT ON THAT, ON THAT SHEET, BECAUSE I'VE ASKED FOR INFORMATION, I'VE KIND OF SAID, WELL, YEAH, BE SPECIFIC.
AND THEN, THEN YOU SAY, WELL, THERE'S SO MANY VENDORS.
WELL, IF YOU GONNA, IF THE STAFF TELL ME THERE'S SO MANY, SO MANY VENDORS, THEN HOW CAN I BE HELD? I I'M STILL BEING HELD, I'M STILL BEING HELD ACCOUNTABLE.
THAT, SO THE, MY QUESTION BECOMES TO, TO TO, TO, TO THIS COMMITTEE
[00:50:01]
AND TO THE STAFF.IS THAT FAIR TO ME? BECAUSE THAT BROUGHT, I'M GLAD, I'M GLAD THAT YOU BROUGHT UP, BECAUSE THAT BROUGHT UP A A GOOD POINT.
IF, IF I'M, IF I'M HELD TO THE STANDARD THAT IF, IF, IF, IF, IF I'M, IF I, IF I'M OKAYING MONEY AND SAYING, YES, HIRE THIS VENDOR, AND I DON'T KNOW ABOUT THIS VENDOR, BUT THIS VENDOR IS KIDDING ME, OR, OR ME, THIS VENDOR CAN HAVE SOMETHING GOING ON, THEN THAT PUT, THAT PUT, THAT PUTS ME IN, IN HARM'S WAY.
AND I, AND I HAVE A CONCERN, I HAVE CONCERN ABOUT THAT.
YOU SAY SOMETHING MS. HAY IS TYPING IN THAT WE'RE NO LONGER ON TOPIC.
SO WE, WE, WE HEAR YOU, MS. HAY, BUT IT IS A TOPIC IN TERMS OF IT'S CONTRACTUAL AND IT'S VENDORS AND IT'S RELATED TO PURCHASING.
SO, UH, YOUR, NO, YOUR COMMENT IS REGISTERED, BUT WE'RE GONNA PROCEED DOWN THIS.
SO, UH, LET'S NOW HAVE THE TOTALLY TRANSPARENT CONVERSATION.
SO WHEN I WAS WORKING, AND I KNOW PEOPLE GET SICK OF HEARING ABOUT WHAT I DID WHEN I WAS WORKING, BUT FOR 33 COUNTRIES IN AFRICA, MIDDLE EAST, PAKISTAN, AND EUROPE, I WAS RESPONSIBLE FOR SARBANES OXLEY, RIBICOFF, ANTI BOYCOTT AMENDMENT, AMENDMENT DENIED PARTIES LIST, FOREIGN CORRUPT PRACTICES ACT, AND ALL TAX APPLICATIONS, SUBMISSIONS, PURCHASING IN 33 COUNTRIES.
SO TO YOUR QUESTION OF OUR, OUR ACCOUNTABILITY, OUR ACCOUNTABILITY IS TO DO WHAT HAS OCCURRED HERE TODAY, WHICH IS TO ASK QUESTIONS OF THE EXPERTS, EXPERTS TEE UP THAT WE AS A COLLECTIVE ARE CONCERNED AND WE ARE NOT JUST STANDING BY, WE'RE ASKING THE APPROPRIATE QUESTIONS, THEY GO OFF.
AND SO REACHING OUT TO SOUTH CAROLINA ETHICS IS WHAT I DID WITH THE US GOVERNMENTS AND THE LOCAL GOVERNMENTS.
SO THAT MEANS WE HAVE A MODEL OF GOVERNANCE WHERE WE DON'T REALLY GET INTO SOME OF THE DETAILS BECAUSE WE NEED TO STAY UP DETACHED SO WE CAN ADJUDICATE IF IT COMES TO US, TO YOUR POINT.
SO THAT'S THE PROTECTION THAT WE HAVE.
SO THE METHOD WE'RE TRYING TO, UH, USE HERE TODAY AND, AND IN THE PAST IS TO MAKE SURE WE'RE ASKING THE APPROPRIATE QUESTIONS, THE EXPERTS, UH, AND WE ABIDE BY LAW REACH OUT FOR SUPPORT FROM THE ESTABLISHED ORGANIZATION'S ETHICS OR, UM, THE GOVERNMENT, UH, THAT HANDLE THAT.
SO THAT'S LEGITIMATE QUESTION.
BUT THAT IS, THAT'S THE WAY WE NEED TO HANDLE IT.
OTHERWISE WE START, IF WE BREACH THE BOUNDARY OF GOING IN AND TRYING TO MANAGE THE DETAILS, NOW ACCOUNTABILITY CAN COME TO US BECAUSE IF YOU KNOW ABOUT IT BEYOND YOUR APPROPRIATE ROLE, THEN ALL OF A SUDDEN THE INDIVIDUAL BECOMES POSSIBLY TARGET.
SO, UH, GREAT QUESTION, BUT THE, WE THINK THE WAY WE'RE DOING IT WITH THEM TAKING IT BACK IS, IS GOING TO PROTECT ALL OF US.
UH, ANYBODY ELSE HAVE A QUESTION OUT THERE? YES, SIR.
THIS IS HOW YOU MANAGE AS A BOARD OF TRUSTEES, A $370 MILLION A YEAR OPERATION.
THIS, THIS IS WHAT WE NEED BECAUSE THIS WILL TELL US WHERE WE NEED TO DIG IN AND ASK FOR THE STAFF TO GIVE US THE INFORMATION.
SO OUR SCOPE IS SO WIDE AND, AND REMEMBER, WE'RE THE BIGGEST BUSINESS IN THIS COUNTY.
THIS, THIS IS NOT, THIS IS NOT, UH, YOU KNOW, PEAS AND CARROTS HERE.
THIS, THIS IS, THIS IS A BIG DEAL AND THIS IS WHAT A VERY DIVERSE, UH, BOARD OF TRUSTEES NEEDS.
IT, IT GIVES US THE SCOPE OF WHERE WE'RE AT.
AND, AND I, WHEN I LOOK AT THIS AND I LOOK AT, UH, PEBA INSURANCE FINANCE GOING UP LIKE THAT, AND I'LL SAY, OKAY, WHAT, WHAT'S GOING? AND YOU MENTIONED THAT ALREADY, BUT I WOULD'VE BEEN ABLE TO ASK THAT QUESTION AT THE VERY START AND WE WOULD'VE NOT HAD GOING INTO ALL THE PAGES.
TH TH THIS IS, THIS IS WONDERFUL, THIS IS GOOD WORK, THIS IS VERY VALUABLE, GOOD WORK.
AND I, I HOPE WE CONTINUE TO DO THIS AND KEEP, KEEP LOOKING FOR WAYS TO SHOW US, ESPECIALLY YOU, YOU'RE THE ONES THAT ARE GONNA FIND OUT FIRST WHEN YOU HAVE A QUESTION.
AND, AND SO ONE OF THE THINGS THE BOARD DOESN'T LIKE IS TO BE SURPRISED.
AND SO YOU CAN GIVE IT TO US THIS WAY.
SAY, OOPS, LOOK AT THAT SPIKE, AND THEN YOU'RE READY TO SAY, THIS IS WHAT'S HAPPENING.
[00:55:01]
ANYTHING ELSE ON THAT? NO, JUST FINAL REMARKS.THIS, UH, THE SMARTSHEETS SOFTWARE ISOLATES THE DATA THAT WE PUT IN IT AND ANALYZES WHAT WE GIVE IT.
IF YOU'RE PUTTING THE TRANSPARENCY REPORT INTO COPILOT OR CHAT GPT, WE'RE NOT CONTROLLING THAT THE RESULTS THAT ARE COMING BACK.
SO THERE ARE SOME LIMITATIONS TO PROVIDING IT INTO ANOTHER FORMAT AND JUST STRAIGHT INTO AI RATHER THAN HAVING THE CONTROLS OF A DATABASE THAT WE'RE USING INTERNALLY.
SO I LIKE THAT, UH, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE THAT CONTROL AND OVER THE DATA, BUT AS YOU'RE, AS YOU'RE PLAYING WITH AI AND SEEKING IT, THERE ARE LIMITATIONS OF ACCURACY AND YOU NEVER REALLY KNOW WHAT YOU'RE GETTING.
YOU KNOW, IT COULD, THE DATA COULD BE SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT THAN, UM, THAN WHAT WE'RE PROVIDING.
SO, UH, JUST WANTED TO MAKE THAT NOTE.
UM, BUT WE'RE VERY HAPPY WITH THIS.
UH, MS. SINGER CAME UP WITH THIS IDEA.
MS. PHILLIPS BEGAN WITH THE IDEAS OF THE HEAT MAPS AND THAT SORT OF THING.
UM, SO THE TEAM AND THEN THE TEAM HAVING INPUT ON THE LANGUAGE, THE WORDING, WHICH GRAPHS TO ACTUALLY CHOOSE FOR THIS, THIS COMMITTEE.
UM, YOU KNOW, WE CAN ALWAYS CREATE ANOTHER ONE IF, IF, UH, IF WE FEEL LIKE WE DO THAT UHHUH FEEL LIKE, UM, IT'S VALUABLE TO THIS COMMITTEE, BUT I'M EXTREMELY EXCITED ABOUT IT.
DIDN'T EVEN KNOW THIS WAS AN OPTION, BUT IT'S A RESOURCE WE'LL PROBABLY BE USING A LOT MORE IN THE FUTURE.
SO, SO, UM, AGAIN, WE, WE RELY ON YOU AND YOUR SUPERB TEAM TO DEVELOP WAYS THAT WILL PROTECT US.
SO, AND, AND, AND LASTLY, UH, TOO, I, I LOOKED UP SMARTSHEETS YESTERDAY, UM, AND IT, THERE WAS AN ARTICLE THAT SAYS, SMARTSHEET'S NEW AI TOOLS ANSWER QUERIES, VISUALIZE DATA.
SO THEY'RE CONSTANTLY ENHANCING THIS SOFTWARE TO, TO BE ABLE TO DO MORE WITH AI.
WHERE IT IS RIGHT NOW IS ALL WE'RE GONNA GET.
THEY'RE GONNA BE MORE FEATURES AND MORE OPTIONS FOR US TO USE IT IN DIFFERENT WAYS, UH, GOING FORWARD.
SO THOSE, YOU KNOW, AS AI EVOLVES AND, AND A COUPLE OF POINTS, IF I MAY TAG ONTO THAT.
I DON'T, I THINK MR. SMITH WAS IN TRANSIT FROM GOING DIGITAL TO COMING IN, SO HE MAY NOT HAVE HEARD THAT YOU'VE ALSO DISCUSSED TRAINING YES.
FOR THE BOARD MEMBERS SO THAT WE CAN MANIPULATE, NOT MANIPULATE, WE CAN EXECUTE ON THIS AND, AND WE WILL HAVE THAT TYPE OF SECURITY THAT HE'S SEEKING.
I JUST HAVE ONE QUICK QUESTION AND IT'S BY NO MEANS, UM, I CAN'T THINK OF THE WORD I'M LOOKING FOR TO DEPLETE THE EFFORTS THAT THE TEAM HAS ALREADY PUT IN.
IT'S JUST A CURIOSITY QUESTION.
UM, IF I HEARD CORRECTLY, YOU HAD UPLOADED YEARS 2024 AND 2025, AND I JUST WAS CURIOUS IF THERE WAS A REASON WE DIDN'T UPLOAD PRIOR YEARS TO 2024.
I WONDERED IF IT WAS, I DON'T KNOW, DUE TO DIFFERENT DATA STRUCTURE OR SOMETHING IN PRIOR YEARS.
I'M SURE THERE'S A REASON, AND I ONLY ASK BECAUSE THE AI, AS SHE WAS STATING, UM, YOU KNOW, YOU CAN'T GO PUT THIS IN CHAT GPT OR ANYTHING ELSE BECAUSE IT DOESN'T UNDERSTAND OUR DISTRICT AND IT'S MODEL THEN VENDORS AND SO ON AND SO FORTH.
UM, BUT I DO KNOW THAT THE MORE YOU FEED IT, THE MORE ACCURATE AND POINTED IT BECOMES.
SO I WAS JUST CURIOUS IF THERE WAS A REASON WE HADN'T FED IT PRIOR YEAR'S DATA TO 2024.
UM, WE WERE REALLY TRYING TO REPLICATE THE CURRENT A HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS REPORT.
SO WE UPLOADED THE DATA THAT WE WERE PROVIDING IN THE DETAILED REPORTS, WHICH ONLY INCLUDED THOSE TWO YEARS.
SO FOR THE LAST COUPLE SEVERAL YEARS, WE'VE ONLY BEEN COMPARING THOSE TWO YEARS.
BUT I MEAN, IT'S POSSIBLE TO UPLOAD THE TH A THIRD YEAR IN THAT AND DO A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS AS WELL.
SO WE WERE JUST KIND OF FOLLOWING WITH THE PRACTICES OF THE LAST SEVERAL YEARS ON THE CONSOLIDATED OR THE A HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS REPORTS.
BUT IT'S, IT'S POSSIBLE TO ADD ANOTHER HERE.
WE, WE COULD NO, THAT'S PERFECT.
I JUST WANTED TO ASK THE QUESTION.
THANK YOU MS. A, THE, THE HARDEST PART ABOUT USING AI IS AI KNOWING THE WHY.
SO AI IS NOT BUILT WITHIN OUR ERP SYSTEM TO SAY, WELL, THE BB AND T OR NOT THE, THE PBA PREMIUMS WERE PAID AT THE BEGINNING OF THIS MONTH, BUT AT THE END OF THE LAST MONTH, LAST YEAR, DEPENDING ON THE AP CYCLE.
SO THAT IS STILL INFORMATION THAT WE HAVE TO DIG AND FIND WHERE WE MANUALLY HAVE TO GO LOOK BECAUSE AI DOESN'T UNDERSTAND THE WHY OF SOMETHING.
[01:00:01]
THAT WE HAD AN EMERGENCY WATER MAIN BREAK.UM, SO WE HAVE TO STILL FIND THAT INFORMATION AND THEN INPUT IT IN AND GIVE IT THE BASICS OF IT SO THEN IT CAN PRODUCE THE VARIANCES FOR US.
SO, UM, WE COULD ABSOLUTELY ADD MORE YEARS.
UM, I DON'T SEE WHY WE COULDN'T, BUT AGAIN, MAJOR VARIANCES, WE WOULD STILL HAVE TO GO LOOKING FOR THAT.
IT IDENTIFIES THE NUMBER IN THE VARIANCES, BUT THE WHY WE STILL HAVE TO LOOK FOR, THAT'S SOMETHING AI CANNOT PRODUCE FOR US YET.
SO LET ME JUST ASK YOU, MAY I ASK? YEP.
UM, SO THEN IT SOUNDS LIKE FOR ECONOMY OF OUR RESOURCES, HUMAN RESOURCES AND TALENT, WE STICK WITH THE TWO CURRENT YEARS AND AS WE GO FORWARD, IT WILL BE OUR DATA, RIGHT? WOULDN'T BE AI DATA, ANYTHING LIKE THAT, RIGHT? RIGHT.
SO THEN THAT PROTECTS THE INTEGRITY OF WHAT YOU WOULD BE COMPARING OVER HERE WITH.
SO JULY OF 2026, STARTING AT THE BEGINNING OF FY 27, IF WE THEN START THE THIRD YEAR AT THAT TIME, THEN IT IS THE SAME EXACT DA DATA THAT YOU'VE ALREADY SEEN AND THEN, THEN, YOU KNOW, IT'S ALMOST LIKE AN INTERNAL CONTROL THAT THE DATA HAS NOT BEEN CHANGED BECAUSE THEN YOU HAVE THE ABILITY TO GO BACK AND LOOK AND COMPARE IT YOURSELF WITH REPORTS THAT HAVE ALREADY BEEN AVAILABLE TO YOU SO THAT IT WOULD BE LAYERED ON TOP OF DATA THAT'S ALREADY BEEN PRESENTED TO THE BOARD AND IS OUR SECURE DATA.
SO MS. HAY, UH, IF YOU HEARD THAT EXPLANATION, WHAT WHAT YOU'RE RECOMMENDING IS THAT WE PROCEED WITH TWO YEARS THIS YEAR, ADD A THIRD YEAR NEXT YEAR IN, IN JULY.
YOU CAN HAVE YEAR OVER YEAR COMPARATIVES GOING BACK INCLUSIVE OF THE THREE YEARS.
IS THAT OKAY, MA'AM? YES, ABSOLUTELY.
THAT'S WHY THE MINUTE SHE EXPLAINED IT INITIALLY, I UNDERSTOOD WHAT, YOU KNOW, WHY SHE DIDN'T.
UM, IT, LIKE I SAID, IT WAS MORE JUST A QUESTION OF CURIOSITY BECAUSE THE MORE INFORMATION FOR OUR AI MODEL THE BETTER.
SO I, I FIGURED THEY HAD AN EXPLANATION FOR IT.
I JUST WANTED TO ASK THE QUESTION, SO THANK YOU.
ALRIGHT, ANYTHING ELSE ON? OKAY, NEXT ITEM.
THE NEXT ITEM IS THE QUARTERLY FINANCIAL REPORT.
UH, FOR THE FOURTH, FOURTH QUARTER OF 2025.
IT'S A FINANCE, THIS IS A FINANCIAL SUMMARY AND NOT A DE AS DETAILED AS THE OTHER THREE REPORTS YOU'VE RECEIVED THROUGHOUT THE YEAR.
UM, WELL ONE IS, ONE, IT'S NOT AUDITED YET, SO IT'S AN UNAUDITED VERSION.
IT IS AS OF, UH, BASICALLY LAST THURSDAY'S INFORMATION.
UM, SO OUR AMOUNTS HAD NOT EVEN BEEN SENT OR TRIAL BALANCE HAD NOT EVEN BEEN SENT TO THE AUDITORS UNTIL, UM, THIS MONDAY.
SO, UH, THERE ARE A FEW TRANSACTIONS THAT WE WILL HAVE THAT WILL ALTER THESE, UM, FROM A RELATIVELY MINOR.
WE BELIEVE, UH, WE'VE MADE A FEW PROJECTIONS WITHIN THIS OF, OF, FOR EXAMPLE, UM, DELINQUENT TAX REVENUE THAT WILL BE ACCRUED BACK.
SO THERE'S SOME MINOR CHANGES, BUT WE BELIEVE WE'VE ACCOUNTED FOR THE MAJORITY OF THOSE.
UH, AND THE SECOND THING IS TIMING.
WE ARE VERY BUSY TRYING TO CLOSE THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS OF THE YEAR ON THESE FINANCIALS TO GET THEM TO THE AUDITORS.
SO WE'RE LOOKING SIT ON TIME, UH, AND DO AN EXTENSIVE REPORT AT THIS TIME OF YEAR.
BUT WE DID PROVIDE ONE AT A SUMMARY LEVEL.
SO, UM, OVERALL THINGS ARE LOOKING VERY GOOD FOR THE SCHOOL DISTRICT.
UM, OUR TOTAL REVENUES RECEIVED ARE ESTIMATED A HUNDRED 0.6%.
LAST YEAR OUR REVENUES WERE 104.7.
SO LAST YEAR OUR REVENUES WERE MUCH LARGER THAN OUR, UM, UH, UH, BUDGET OR PROJECTIONS THIS YEAR WERE RIGHT ON TARGET.
UM, SO SOMEHOW THAT, UH, MIRACULOUSLY HAPPENED TO BE PROBABLY WITHIN, UM, A COUPLE HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS OF OUR PROJECTIONS ON A $220 MILLION TAX REVENUE BASIS.
UM, THAT'S LOCAL TAX REVENUES, $359 MILLION OVERALL, UM, WERE THE PROJECTIONS AND WE CAME IN 0.6% OFF OF THAT, SO THAT'S REALLY SOMETHING TO BE EXCITED ABOUT AS WELL.
UH, LOCAL TAX PROJECTIONS PRIMARILY, UH, ARE THE PRIMARY SOURCE ABOUT TWO THIRDS OF THE BUDGET.
AND WE CAME IN AT A HUNDRED 0.4% PRIOR YEAR COLLECTIONS WERE 106%.
UM, SO TAX COLLECTIONS OF 221, UM, WERE GREATER THAN THE BUDGET BY ABOUT $1 MILLION FOR JUNE OF JUNE 30TH, 2025.
UM, SO WE, LIKE I SAID, WE, OUR JULY AND AUGUST TAXES HAVE TO BE ACCRUED BACK, SO WE'RE STILL WAITING ON THE AUGUST TAX REVENUES, WHICH GENERALLY COME TO US IN THE REPORTS FROM THE TREASURER'S OFFICE AT THE END OF
[01:05:01]
SEPTEMBER.AND WE HAVE NOT SEEN THOSE YET, UH, THIS MONTH.
UM, TAX REVENUES, UH, EXCUSE ME, STATE REVENUES ARE ESTIMATED AT NINE 8% PER OUR YEAR WAS 102.8, SO WE'RE COMING A LITTLE UNDER BUDGET, UH, IN THE STATE REVENUE AREA THIS YEAR.
UH, THE LARGEST DIFFERENCE WAS THE MAJOR POT UP CALLED STATE AID TO CLASSROOMS. THERE'S GENERALLY ABOUT $55 MILLION IN THAT POT.
UM, IT WAS, UH, WE'RE RECEIVING ABOUT $3 MILLION LESS THAN LAST YEAR.
UM, SCHOOL BUS DRIVER SALARY PAYMENTS CAME IN ABOUT 700, ALMOST 800,000 MORE THAN PROJECTED.
UM, BELIEVE THAT THOSE, UM, WE PROBABLY BUDGETED IN, IN, IN AN OPPOSITE AREA FOR BUS DRIVERS.
BUT, UM, THE ACTUALS CAME IN, UM, IN THAT CATEGORY DUE TO BUS DRIVER INCREASES IN PAY THIS YEAR.
UM, FEDERAL REVENUE COLLECTIONS FINISHED HIGHER THAN PROJECTED FEDERAL IMPACT AID AND E-RATE FUNDS PRIMARILY MAKE UP THAT SOURCE E-RATE WAS THE MAJORITY OF THE INCREASE IN THAT AREA.
SO OUR E-RATE REIMBURSEMENT FROM THE FCC, UM, WE'RE PENDING COMING, CAME IN STRONG THIS YEAR.
SO OVERALL REVENUES ARE IN, IN GREAT SHAPE.
EXPENDITURES, UH, TOTAL SPENDING IS AT 99.3% OF THE $159 MILLION BUDGET.
UH, LAST YEAR WAS ALMOST IDENTICAL AT THIS POINT IN THE YEAR.
THIS REPRESENTS AN UNDERSPENDING OF, UH, 2.4 MILLION, UH, DOLLARS.
AND, UH, BY THE END OF THE FOURTH QUARTER, INSTRUCTIONAL SPENDING WAS ABOUT 97.8%.
THAT IS, UM, 98% OF THE ANNUAL BUDGET.
SO, UH, WE SPENT, OUR INSTRUCTIONAL SPENDING WAS A LITTLE LOWER.
THAT IS, UH, MOST OF THE TEACHERS AND TEACHER SALARIES ARE IN THOSE CATEGORIES.
UM, SUPPORT PROGRAMS AND TRANSFERS A LITTLE HIGHER THAN LAST YEAR, RIGHT AT 98% VERSUS 96 AND A HALF.
AND CHARTER PAYMENTS ARE, ARE, ARE CATEGORIZED IN THIS AREA CALLED INTERGOVERNMENTAL TRANSFERS.
UM, AND THEN, UM, WE HAVE YOUR CHART A AND THAT LISTS THE ACTIVITIES COMPARED TO THE BUDGET AND TO THE PRIOR YEAR.
UM, 20 24, 25 BUDGET WAS $359.2 MILLION.
UM, WE DID PROJECT EXPENDITURES TO BE, UH, A LITTLE LOWER THAN THAT.
THE UNAUDITED ACTUALS SHOW AN UNDERSPENDING OF $6.9 MILLION, UH, FOR THIS YEAR.
SO OVERALL, UM, IN, UH, EXCUSE ME, SEVEN, EIGHT, $8 MILLION.
BUT OUR REVENUES ARE ALSO, UH, 1 MILLION OVERALL UNDER BUDGET.
SO THE NET OF THE TWO IS $6.9 MILLION THAT WE EXPECT TO ADD TO THE FUND BALANCE.
SO I KNOW THAT'S A LOT OF COMPLICATED, BUT BASICALLY WE'RE UNDERSPENDING IN THE EXPENDITURE AREA.
WE WERE COMING UNDER, UNDER PROJECTION IN THE REVENUE AS WELL.
AND THE TWO NET TOGETHER TO ABOUT A $7 MILLION INCREASE IN FUND BALANCE.
NOW, WE TALKED LAST YEAR, OUR, OUR ORIGINAL FUND BALANCE WAS 21%, UH, UH, 20 WE, EXCUSE ME, WE ENDED UP AT 20.1%.
UH, WE TALKED LAST TIME, UH, ABOUT A TRANSFER TO CAPITAL PROJECTS FUND, AND THERE WAS INTEREST IN THE MEMBERSHIP OF THIS COMMITTEE TO, INSTEAD OF MOVING A, AN AMOUNT TO THE CAPITAL PROJECTS FUND TO SAVE FOR OTHER PURPOSES, THERE WAS AN INTEREST IN TAKING OUR FUND BALANCE UP FROM 20% TO 21%.
WELL, THIS PROJECTED ACTUAL NOW SITS AT 21%, SO THERE IS NO NEED TO MOVE MONEY TO THE CAPITAL PROJECTS FUND.
SO I DO NOT HAVE A RECOMMENDATION TODAY FOR YOU TO MOVE ANYTHING, ANYWHERE IT, THIS FALLS EXACTLY IN LINE WITH THE WISHES THAT I BELIEVE THIS COMMITTEE HAD.
SO, UM, THAT'S WHERE WE SIT WITH A FEW MODIFICATIONS.
THERE WILL BE A FEW CHANGES IN GENERAL ENTRIES THAT WE HAVE TO MAKE BEFORE THE FINAL AUDIT IS DUE ON DECEMBER 1ST.
BUT I SAY MY RECOMMENDATION IS EVERYTHING STAYS IN THE, IN THE GENERAL FUND FUND BALANCE.
SO THAT WOULD MOVE OUR FUND BALANCE FROM 72.2 MILLION TO A PROJECTED $79 MILLION.
UM, AS OUR BUDGET GROWS, THE NEED FOR RESERVES WILL GROW AS WELL.
[01:10:02]
BEST PRACTICES, UH, WE WOULD BE AT, UH, 77 DAYS OF OPERATIONS.WHAT THAT MEANS IS IF THE, UH, A MAJOR EVENT, WEATHER EVENT OR OTHER EVENT OCCURRED, HOW LONG COULD YOU PAY THE BILLS WITHOUT HAVING ANY REVENUE SOURCES COMING IN? WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO USE WHAT'S IN THE BANK TO PAY TO CONTINUE TO PAY STAFF IF WE DID NOT OPERATE TO KEEP THEM HERE, KEEP THEM IN TOWN OR, OR CLOSE BY SO THAT THEY RETURN EVENTUALLY? THAT'S 77 DAYS.
THE MINIMUM WE, OUR POLICY STATES IS 60 DAYS.
SO, UM, IT PLACES US IN A BETTER POSITION TO ADDRESS, UH, A NATURAL DISASTER AND CONTINUE OPERATIONS AS NOR AS NORMAL AS POSSIBLE.
UM, SO, AND, AND THIS ALSO FOLLOWS OUR POLICY TO CONTINUE TO NOT HAVE TO, UH, NEED A CHECKS ANTICIPATION NOTE.
AND IT ONLY, UH, HELPS IN REINFORCE OUR CREDIT RATING BEING AT ITS LEVEL, CURRENT LEVEL OF A A, A ONE AND, UH, AA.
SO, UH, WITH THAT, I WILL, AND I, UH, SORRY, THERE ARE A FEW OTHER DETAILS SCHEDULES BEHIND THIS.
THE FIRST ONE IS REVENUES ONLY.
UM, THE SECOND IS REVENUES AND EXPENDITURES FOR THE GENERAL FUND.
FIRST ONE, THE FIRST TWO ARE GENERAL FUND ONLY.
SO THESE TWO REPORTS KIND OF REINFORCE THE, TO THE SUMMARY OF WHAT I JUST, UH, DISCUSSED FOR YOU.
AND THEN THE LAST PAGE OF THE REPORT PROVIDES ALL FUNDS OF THE DISTRICT.
UM, SO WHEN WE SAY THAT WE MANAGE A SEVEN, ABOUT A $750 MILLION OPERATION, THESE ARE EVERY FUND THAT WE MANAGE.
UM, AND EACH ONE, THERE'S AN EXPERT IN EVERY AREA OF THESE REPORTS ON OUR TEAM, SOME MANAGING MULTIPLE AREAS, UM, THAT WE ARE ZERO IN ON AND KNOW ALL THE RESTRICTIONS THAT EACH EACH OF THESE AREAS REQUIRE.
SO, UM, I'LL END WITH THAT AND OPEN UP TO ANY QUESTIONS YOU MAY HAVE OR COMMENTS, MS. GORDON.
UH, NO QUESTIONS AT THIS TIME, BUT I, I WOULD LIKE TO, UH, CONGRATULATE THE, UH, FINANCE COMMITTEE ON THEIR REPORTING AND
HELLO, CAN YOU HEAR ME? YES, MA'AM.
AND I JUST WANT TO THANK THEM, AND THAT'S BEEN A GREAT REPORT AND, UH, THE QUESTIONS FROM THE COMMITTEES, UH, MEMBERS HAVE BEEN GREAT AS WELL AND THE RESPONSES.
SO CONTINUE, UH, DOING WHAT YOU DO AND APPRECIATE IT.
I ECHO MS. GORDON'S SENTIMENTS AND I DON'T HAVE ANY QUESTIONS AT THIS TIME.
MS. UH, FRAZIER SAYS, NO COMMENTS.
UM, THAT'S IT FOR EVERYBODY'S PHONE.
COLONEL GUY, UH, IN THE NEWS TODAY THAT, UH, CHARLESTON AND GREENVILLE GOT THEIR CREDIT RATING.
DO YOU KNOW, DO YOU KNOW HOW THEY MANAGED TO DO THAT? I DO NOT.
IT'S AA UM, AA ONE AND AA PLUS FOR SO STANDARD EMPLOYERS, RIGHT? I UPGRADED THEM TO AA PLUS, UM, CHARLESTON'S ECONOMY, HAVING STAYED THERE ALL WEEKEND IS BOOMING.
UH, MASSIVE GROWTH, MASSIVE, UH, CONSTRUCTION, MASSIVE INDUSTRY.
SO MY THOUGHTS ARE THAT THOSE FACTORS ARE LEADING INTO THEIRS AND SOME OF WHICH WE DO NOT HAVE IN DUE FOR THE INDUSTRY PIECE.
UH, WE MAY HAVE A LOT OF GROWTH, BUT, UM, I WILL, I CAN EXPLORE THAT AND TALK TO THE, I VISITED, UH, CHARLESTON COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT OFFICE LAST, UH, ABOUT TWO WEEKS AGO.
UM, SO I HAVE A GOOD RELATIONSHIP, UH, WITH STAFF.
I CAN CERTAINLY CALL AND TALK TO THEM ABOUT HOW THEY DID IT.
YEAH, I, I THINK, UH, OBVIOUSLY WE CAN'T MATCH THE REVENUE, UH, ON A PER CAPITA BASIS BECAUSE OF THE INDUSTRY THERE, BUT I, I JUST NEED TO KNOW IF WE HAD, IF THEY HAVE ANY TRICKS THAT, AND, AND YOU KNOW WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT.
AND, AND SO WE CAN FIND OUT AND, AND ALSO WE CAN TALK WITH OUR FINANCIAL ADVISOR AND SAY, WHAT WOULD IT TAKE FOR US TO GET AA PLUS RIGHT? AS WELL FROM STANDARD FOUR.
SO, AND, AND WE ALSO NEED TO TALK TO
[01:15:01]
BRIAN ABOUT, UH, I DON'T WANT TO COMPETE FOR OUR BOND ISSUES AT THE SAME TIME THAT GREENVILLE AND, UH, CHARLESTON COMPETE, RIGHT? I, I DON'T WANT OUR STUFF HITTING THE MARKET THE SAME TIME, SO WE GOTTA MAKE SURE, BECAUSE I, I USED TO NOT CARE BECAUSE WE HAD THE SAME, UH, BOND COUNT, UH, RATING, BUT NOW I CARE.SO YOU NEED TO TALK TO BRIAN, RIGHT? WELL, WE, WE, WE HAD A REFUNDING, UM, YES, PAST WEEK, RIGHT? AND WE ARE GOING TO HAVE $1.5 MILLION OF SAVINGS.
UH, AT 1.6 MILLION OF SAVINGS AS A RESULT OF A 2.71% NET, UH, NET INTEREST RATE.
WE WERE THE BIGGEST BOND IN THE MARKET ON THAT DAY IN THE COUNTRY.
$35 MILLION REFINANCING OF A BOND OF A 2015 BOND.
WE WERE THE BIGGEST ONE ON THE MARKET, AND WE WERE ABLE TO GIVE VERY COMPETITIVE RATE.
SO, UM, I THINK OUR FINANCIAL ADVISOR, I'M SURE HE'LL, HE'S AWARE OF THE OTHER ISSUES THAT ARE, UH, AROUND ON THAT DATE.
AND SO AMY STRATEGIZES VERY WELL TO PLACE THIS ON THE RIGHT DAY AND RIGHT TIMING.
SO, UM, AND, AND, AND LOOKS VERY CLOSELY AT WHAT THE FED IS DOING WHEN, WHEN THE JOBS REPORT IS COMING OUT, WHEN WHAT THE, UM, HEAD OF THE FEDERAL RESERVE AND SO ON.
SO WE'LL CONTINUE TO PUSH, PUSH IN THAT AREA TO SEE IF WE CAN, UH, ENHANCE OUR, OUR RATING.
THE OTHER COMMENT, UH, MR. CHAIR, IS THAT, UH, I STRONGLY BELIEVE THAT IN THE, UH, FIRST QUARTER OF 20, UH, IN 2026, WE'RE GONNA SEE INFLATION.
AND, AND THAT'S WHY HAVING THAT, UH, FUND BALANCE UP AN EXTRA PERCENT MAY SERVE US WELL.
'CAUSE I, I, I REALLY SEE THAT THE, THE TARIFF ISSUE IS GONNA HIT START HITTING HARD ABOUT THAT TIME.
IT'S ALWAYS A LAG WHEN POLICIES ARE SET, WHEN IMPACT HITS, UH, THE ECONOMY.
SO, UH, I, I'M REALLY GLAD TO SEE THAT, UH, FUND BALANCE GO UP ABOUT A, A PERCENTAGE POINT.
MY ONLY CAUTION IS THAT IT JUST, IT MAKES THINGS A LITTLE HARDER TO CONTINUE TO ACHIEVE AND STAY AT THAT PERCENTAGE.
SO WE'LL NEED TO INCREASE UNDERSTAND IN THE FUTURE TO MAINTAIN THAT LEVEL.
SO, UM, THAT'S JUST SOMETHING TO LOOK AT IN ORDER TO ACHIEVE THAT NUM OF THAT PERCENTAGE.
THE AMOUNT WE'LL NEED TO MOVE, MOVE WITH IT LEADING INDICATORS IS THE REAL ESTATE MARKET, BECAUSE FRANKLY, WE ARE GETTING THIS EXTRA REVENUE FROM HOUSES THAT WERE APPRAISED AT 200,000 THAT SELL FOR 400,000.
AND THAT'S AS LONG AS THAT REAL ESTATE MARKET STAYS AT LEAST CONSISTENT, WE, WE WILL CONTINUE TO GET REVENUES IN, IN, IN ADDITION TO WHAT WE HAD EXPECTED FOR THE SAME MILLAGE RATE.
SO THAT'S, THAT'S OUR LEADING INDICATOR IS IF WE SEE THE REAL ESTATE MARKET TANK LOOKOUT.
OKAY, NICK, UM, THE VERB JOB ON THAT, AND, UM, GLAD THAT THE COMMITTEE HAD THE CONVERSATION ABOUT GOING TO 21%.
I'M GLAD THAT THROUGH ALL YOUR WORKED OUT
UM, THERE'S SOME SIMILARITIES BETWEEN THE 1920S AND THE 2020S IN TERMS OF ECONOMIC RISK.
AND WE ALL KNOW WHAT HAPPENED FROM 19 TO THE DEPRESSION THROUGH THE COLONEL FORMS, WHATEVER THAT'S WERE.
FINAL REPORT IS THE MINORITY WOMEN OWNED BUSINESS ENTERPRISE REPORT THROUGH, UM, SO JUNE 30TH, 2025.
MS.
THIS IS THE MINORITY WOMEN, UM, OWNED THIS ENTERPRISE.
THE REPORT THAT WE ARE REQUIRED TO REPORT THE BOARD SEMI-ANNUALLY, UM, AS POOR BOARD FOR BOARD, ARE HARD TODAY,
UM, THE DISTRICT MUST REPORT EVERY SIX MONTHS ON THE SEMI-ANNUAL PROGRESS OF ITS EFFORTS TO MEET THE BOARD'S GOAL OF 10% OF THE CONTROLLABLE BUDGETS SPENT ON MINORITY BUSINESS OWNED OF CONTRACTS, PROCUREMENT, AND SUPPLIES.
SO, UH, AGAIN, JANUARY 1ST, JUNE 30TH OF THIS PAST YEAR, THE FUNDS EXPENDED THE TOTAL CONTROLLABLE BUDGET, UM, SIX MONTH FIGURE WAS 147,450,000, $50.
OUR GOAL, ESTABLISHED GOAL FOR MWEE UTILIZATION IS 10% OF THE CONTROLLABLE BUDGET, WHICH WOULD BE $14,745,005.
[01:20:04]
AND THE TOTAL DOLLARS EXPENDED TO CERTIFIED WAS $4,844,275 AND 59 CENTS.SO THERE WAS 3.29% OF THE CONTROLLABLE BUDGET FOR NON-CERTIFIED MINORITY WOMEN BUSINESS ENTERPRISE 15,955,003 AND 11, $311 AND 71 CENTS, WHICH WAS 10.82% OF THE CONTROLLABLE BUDGET.
AND THEN THE TOTAL DOLLARS EXTENDED COMBINED FOR ALL MINORITY WOMEN BUSINESS ENTERPRISES WAS 20,799,508 $7 AND 30 CENTS, WHICH WAS 14 POINT 11 OR 14.11% OF THE CONTROL BUDGET.
THE NUMBER OF SOLICITATIONS ISSUED DURING THE SIX MONTH PERIOD WAS 17.
AND ONE OF THOSE WAS, I'M SORRY, IT'S 1817 WAS FOR GOODS AND SERVICES, ONE WAS FOR CONSTRUCTION AND RENOVATION.
WE HAD COVID CERTIFIED MINORITY WOMEN BUSINESS ENTERPRISE SPLITTING THOSE CERTIFIED, UM, MINORITY WOMEN BUSINESS ENTERPRISES INTO A MINORITY AND WOMEN OWNED CATEGORY.
$95,765 AND 42 CENTS MADE UP THE MINORITY EXPENDITURES WHILE FOUR $4,748,510 AND 17 CENTS AND OWNED BUSINESSES.
AND AGAIN, THOSE WERE CERTIFIED.
SO, UM, OUT OF THE SIX MONTH WE DID BUSINESS WITH SIX CERTIFIED MINORITY WOMEN, BUSINESS ENTERPRISE, UM, OWNED COMPANIES.
UM, SO WE DO ENCOURAGE NON-CERTIFIED MWBES TO BECOME CERTIFIED, UM, TO HELP MEET THAT TARGET 10% FOR CERTIFIED.
WE DO THAT BY, UM, GIVING THEM THE INFORMATION READILY AVAILABLE ON THE WEBSITE.
UH, WE HAVE SEMI-ANNUAL VENDOR CONFERENCES, UH, HUIE, CBRE, HUIE PER CONTRACTOR, I'M SORRY, TURNER TOWNS AND HEARING NOW REACHES OUT AND ALSO DOES A GREAT JOB OF MAKING SURE, UM, THAT THE SUBCONTRACTOR EVENTS, SO THE VISUAL, UM, USAGE PERCENTAGE VERSUS OUR ACTUAL GOALS, WE DID MEET THAT 10% WITH THE COMBINATION OF CERTIFIED AND NON-CERTIFIED, UH, FOR THE SEMI-ANNUAL REPORT WITH THAT 14.11% SENT.
UM, AND THEN AGAIN, IN OUR CONFI CONSCIOUS EFFORTS TO ACQUIRE MORE MINORITY AND WOMEN OWNED BUSINESSES, WE PLACE AD AND LOCAL NEWSPAPERS, WE REACH OUT, UM, AS MUCH AS WE CAN BY STRENGTHENING OUR COMMUNITY RELATIONS, UM, HAVING PRETTY MUCH AN OPEN DOOR POLICY WITH VENDORS ANSWERING COLD CALLS FROM VENDORS, UM, EVERYTHING THAT WE COULD POSSIBLY DO TO TRY AND INCREASE THAT EVEN MORE.
UH, THIS YEAR FOR THE SIX MONTH PERIOD FROM JANUARY TO JULY, WE HAD THREE SOLE SOURCES THAT WAS NORTH AMERICAN LEARNING INSTITUTE, WHICH WAS, UM, BULLYING PREVENTION, UM, CURRICULUM THAT THEY PURCHASED LAB AIDS, WHICH WAS, UM, S-E-P-U-P LEARNING MATERIALS FOR HILTON HEAD HIGH SCHOOL, AND THEN VRC, UM, WHICH WAS OUR DISTRICT, UH, DIGITIZATION OF STUDENT RECORDS.
UM, THEY ALREADY HOLD ALL OF OUR RECORDS AND THEN WE HAD NO EMERGENCY PROCUREMENT REPORT DURING THAT PERIOD AS WELL.
UM, I THINK LAST TIME WE STARTED MS. GORDON.
UH, I'M SORRY, WHAT DID YOU SAY, MA'AM? I DON'T HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, SIR.
MS. GORDON, WE'LL COME BACK TO YOU IF THAT'S OKAY.
AND, UM, IS MR. SMITH THE ONLY BOARD, BOARD MEMBER? IS ANYONE ELSE? OH, MS. FRAZIER, SHE SAID NO.
I LOVE THE INITIATIVE, MR. SMITH.
UH, MY, MY, MY, UH, QUESTION WOULD'VE BE, WELL, I WAS FIRST BY SAYING I APPRECIATE THE REPORT.
UM, HOW WAS, HOW WAS THIS IN A MEETING A COUPLE WEEKS AGO? WE WERE TALKING ABOUT MINORITIES AND MINORITY WOMEN, UM, CONTRACTS AND, UM, HOW, HOW THEY'RE NOT REALLY SOLD MUCH KIND OF ACTUALLY MINORITY.
UM, SO I WOULD KIND OF LIKE TO POSSIBLY SEE THIS CON UH, THIS INFORMATION BROKE DOWN IN TERMS OF, UH, OF, UH, OF, UH, BLACKS WHITE, UH, IN, IN TERMS OF, UH, MINORITY UNDERSTANDING WHO'S REALLY THE MINORITY, HOW THE CONTRACTS ARE REALLY BROKEN DOWN, UM, TO WHO THE CONTRACTORS ARE GOING ARE GOING TO.
BECAUSE TECHNICALLY SPEAKING, A A A CAUCASIAN WOMAN, A WHITE WOMAN COULD BE, SHE COULD BE A MINORITY, YOU KNOW, A AS AS, AS WELL AS, UH, UH, A PERSON, A PERSON OF, UH, OF, OF, OF COLOR.
[01:25:01]
UNDERSTANDING WHO, WHO, WHO, WHO'S GETTING THE RESOURCES AND THE, AND THE SERVICES, UH, OR, OR, OR BENEFITING FROM, FROM THESE MINORITY CONTRACTS BECAUSE, UM, IT, IT, IT, IT, IT IS, IT IS JUST, UH, CONCERN OF UNDERSTANDING TO BE ABLE TO DIGEST WHAT WE'RE REALLY ASKING FOR AND WHAT WE'RE REALLY GETTING IN, IN, IN, IN TERMS OF IT NOT, AND NOT SAYING THAT YOU'RE NOT DELIVERING THE, THE, THE PART THAT WE ASKING FOR, BUT A BREAKDOWN TO DIGEST AND REALLY UNDERSTAND IT TO WHERE, WHAT, WHAT THE INFORMATION REALLY IS THAT WAY THAT, THAT WE'RE GETTING IN TERMS, IN TERMS OF, UH, GENDER, SEX, AND RACE.I HAVE THE, UM, BUT THE BREAKDOWN IS REQUIRED WITH CERTIFIED WHEN THEY REGISTER WITH S-C-D-O-T OR THEY REGISTER WITH THE S-M-B-C-C, WHICH IS THE SMALL, UM, BUSINESS, UM, INITIATIVE THROUGH THE STATE.
UM, SO THEY CAN GIVE ME THE BREAKDOWN THERE BECAUSE THEY'RE ASSIGNED, UM, A NUMBER PER SE TO FOR WHAT CATEGORY, WHICH IS WHAT THREE REPRESENTS FOR US.
WE HAD THE MINORITY AND THE WOMEN, AND I WAS ABLE TO SPLIT THE BY MY PROCUREMENT LAW DOES NOT HAVE TO DISCLOSE THAT INFORMATION.
HOWEVER, WE ARE AWARE, AND WE ASK THEM TO AT LEAST DISCLOSE WHETHER OR NOT IT'S WOMAN OR MINORITY.
AND I DO HAVE THAT INFORMATION BROKEN DOWN IN SPLIT IN BETWEEN.
BUT THAT INFORMATION, WHY IT IS NOT PROVIDED IN THIS REPORT, 'CAUSE THAT INFORMATION IS GIVEN TO US BY CONTRACTORS FOR THE SUBCONTRACTORS, AND THEY ARE ELECTING AND IDENTIFYING AS MINORITY AND WOMEN OWNED BUSINESSES.
SO THERE IS NO CONCRETE, I CAN'T SAY LIKE DEFINITE THAT IT, WHAT THEY REPRESENTATION IS WHEN THEY SUPPLY THAT DATA.
SO I FEEL LIKE PUTTING IT IN THIS REPORT WOULD NOT, THERE'S NOTHING FULL PROOF FOR IT, IF YOU KNOW WHAT I'M TRYING TO SAY.
SO THEY DO HAVE THAT INFORMATION SPLIT.
SO, SO BASICALLY YOU'RE SAYING THAT THERE, THERE'S NO EVIDENCE, NO CONCRETE EVIDENCE THAT, THAT, THAT THE, LET ME FINISH.
THERE'S NO CONCRETE EVIDENCE THAT, THAT WE KNOW EXACTLY WHO THE, WHO, WHO, WHO WE ACTUALLY GIVING THESE CONTRACTS TO.
SO I CAN'T PUT THE DATA THAT I DON'T HAVE THROUGH A REGISTERED DATABASE.
IN THE REPORT, I HAVE WHAT THEY'VE ELECTED AS PART OF THEIR DOCUMENTATION THAT THEY'VE SENT WITH US, WHETHER THEY'RE WOMEN OR MINORITY BUSINESSES, BUT HAVING IT ACTUALLY REGISTERED WITH THE STATE, I DON'T HAVE THAT INFORMATION 'CAUSE THEY'RE NOT CERTIFIED.
I ONLY HAVE THE, UM, REPRESENTATION FROM THE CERTIFIED THAT ARE BROKE DOWN THROUGH THE STATE.
SO, SO THEN MY QUESTION WOULD BE WHAT, WHAT, WHAT STATE LAW IS STOPPING US FROM ASKING THOSE QUESTIONS? WELL, WE CAN ASK THE QUESTIONS, BUT, UM, IT, BY LAW, THEY DON'T HAVE TO PROVIDE IT.
IT'S NOT A REQUIREMENT FOR THEM TO DO BUSINESS WITH US.
THEY PROVIDE US WITH THE INFORMATION, BUT TO BE CERTIFIED, THEN THEY HAVE TO PROVIDE THAT TO THE STATE.
THAT'S A REQUIREMENT FOR THEM TO BE ELECTED AS CERTIFIED.
SO SO TO BE CERTIFIED, THEY WOULD'VE, THAT THEY WOULD'VE TO ANSWER THOSE QUESTIONS THAT I'M ASKING? YES, SIR.
BUT I MEAN, I, I, I STILL STAND WHY I STAND.
I MEAN, AS IN TERMS OF, I, MY QUESTION IS STILL, STILL IS STILL THE SAME.
IF THE STATE ASK THAT THIS TO BE CERTIFIED, THEN I DON'T SEE ANYTHING WRONG WITH US ASKING THEM THAT, EVEN IF THEY UN CERTIFIED.
BECAUSE IF THE STATE CAN DO IT, WHY CAN'T WE DO, WE'RE ENTITY TRYING TO UNDERSTAND WHO, WHO, WHO, WHO, WHO WE GIVING RESOURCES TO AND UNDERSTAND WHO, WHO'S, WHO'S, WHO'S BENEFITING FROM OUR SERVICES AND HOW WE, HOW ARE WE BEING, UH, HOW, HOW, HOW, HOW, HOW ARE WE, HOW WE'RE SPENDING OUR MONEY A ACROSS THIS, UH, COMMUNITY.
AND THOSE, AND THEN THOSE QUESTIONS COME TO ME QUITE OFTEN.
AND LIKE I SAID, I WAS IN A MEETING THAT WAS KIND OF PULLED INTO THAT, THAT WERE ASKING ME HOW, UM, YOU KNOW, WHAT, WHAT, HOW ARE WE BENEFITING AND HOW ARE WE TRACKING OUR RESOURCES AND HOW ARE WE DOING, UH, BEING, HOW ARE WE MARKETING OURSELVES TO BE FAIR ACROSS? AND I REMEMBER THIS WAS A, LIKE I TOLD HIM THIS WAS SOMETHING THAT WE HAD MOVED OUR NUMBERS AND WE HAVE DONE IT BEFORE.
AND WHEN THOSE SPECIFICALLY QUESTIONS HAD CAME TO ME, I QUITE FRANKLY, CONNECTION, I WOULDN'T TRADE, TRADE TRUTHFULLY SAID I WOULD, I WOULDN'T SHOW, BUT I KNOW MINORITIES.
AND THAT'S WHEN THAT WE WENT INTO THE DISCUSSION OF WHAT MINORITIES, WHAT THAT REALLY CONSISTS OF.
SO THAT'S, THAT'S JUST TO BRING, TO BRING IT WHERE I'M ASKING WHAT I'M ASKING.
SO AS I UNDERSTAND IT, AND I'VE SEEN IT BEFORE, ALRIGHT, SINCE THE NON-CERTIFIED RESPONSES ARE ELECTIVE MM-HMM
THEY'RE NOT, BASICALLY THEY'RE NOT, THEY'RE NOT CERTIFIED, NOT CERTIFIED TO GO IN THERE.
THIS IS CERTIFIED AND ARE NON-CERTIFIED.
AND THE ONLY WAY TO PRESENT THE DATA WITH IS ACTUALLY, UM, I WOULD SAY CONCRETE FROM THE STATE.
THE STATE IS VETTED, CERTIFIED IS TO SPLIT THE MINORITY IN THE WOMEN-OWNED BUSINESS.
WE SPLIT IT ON OUR END WHEN THEY ELECT TO GIVE US THE INFORMATION.
NOW, IF THEY COME TO US AND SAY THEY'RE A MINORITY WOMEN BUSINESS, WE SAY THREE WOMEN OWNED OR MINORITY, AND THEY GIVE US THE INFORMATION, BUT IF THEY JUST SAY, NO, I'M JUST ONE OF THESE, WE SAY, WELL, YOU'RE NOT GETTING ON THE LIST.
SO, UM, BUT IT'S ALSO SUPPLIED TO US THROUGH OUR CONTRACTORS AND OUR SUBCONTRACTORS.
NON-CERTIFIED ALSO IS OUTTA STATE.
THESE ARE OUR SAVANNAH COMPANIES COMING IN FROM ATLANTA, PEOPLE COMING IN FROM NORTH CAROLINA.
THEY'RE CERTIFIED IN OTHER STATES, BUT I CAN'T RECOGNIZE THEM IN
[01:30:01]
THE CERTIFIED CATEGORY BECAUSE SOUTH CAROLINA PROCUREMENT LAW STATES THEY HAVE TO BE SOUTH CAROLINA CERTIFIED.SO I GUESS ONE OF THE, UM, UM, QUESTIONS, AND I UNDERSTAND THE COMPLEXITY OF WHAT YOU'RE DEALING WITH YES SIR.
UM, IS, DO YOU KNOW DOLORES DECOSTA? DOES THAT NAME RING A BELL? SHE USED TO HEAD UP THE SOUTH CAROLINA MINORITY AND WOMEN'S BUSINESS.
AND SO SHE SPOKE AT THE HISPANIC BUSINESS CAUCUS LAST YEAR, AS DID SUPERINTENDENT RODRIGUEZ.
AND SO SHE HAS SEVERAL DIFFERENT, UH, DEPARTMENTS UNDER HER MM-HMM
AND THAT MAY BE AGAIN, JUST LIKE REACHING OUT TO THIS ETHICS.
SO IT SHOWS WE ARE, WE'RE MAKING THAT EFFORT TO PER ABOVE AND WHAT ABOVE AND BEYOND THE GOOD WORK THAT YOU'RE DOING NOW TO ACTUALLY SEE IF SHE CAN HELP OR IF SHE'S LEFT THAT ROAD IN HER, HER DESIGNEE.
THE OTHER THING IS, I KNOW FOR A FACT THAT, UM, SOME MINORITY WOMEN BUSINESSES THAT HAVE INDEPENDENT BUSINESSES MM-HMM
DON'T WANNA GO THROUGH THE PROCESS.
AND SO I DON'T KNOW HOW YOU GET AROUND THAT UNLESS YOU'RE GOING TO, YOU KNOW, SOME, MAYBE THERE'S SOME MECHANISM AT THE STATE LEVEL.
I THINK THE ACOSTA'S, UH, ROLE DOES THAT SHE ACTUALLY INSTRUCTS BUSINESSES.
SO WE'VE WORKED WITH MINORITY, UM, BUSINESSES WHO ACTUALLY HELP OTHER MINORITY BUSINESSES BECOME CERTIFIED.
UM, AND THE SAME BARRIER THAT WE KEEP RUNNING INTO, IS IT THE COST TO BECOME CERTIFIED? BECAUSE YOU HAVE TO HAVE AUDITED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND YOU HAVE TO GO THROUGH THIS VERY COMPLEX PROCESS TO BECOME CERTIFIED.
AND IT'S, AND IT, AND IT IS THE CONVERSATION WE REVISIT BECAUSE AS DENISE WOULD SAY, WHEN YOU KNOW BETTER, YOU DO BETTER.
AND WE'RE ALWAYS LOOKING TO EDUCATE OURSELVES ON HOW TO BECOME BETTER, PUTTING THE INFORMATION OUT THERE, BUT IT'S THE WILL OF THE BUSINESSES WILLING TO BECOME CERTIFIED.
SO EVEN THE VENDOR EVENTS THAT WE HAD, WE INVITED, UM, ANOTHER MINORITY VENDOR THAT HELPS MINORITY, UM, BUSINESSES BECOME CERTIFIED.
AND THE MINUTE THAT THERE IS A TASK TO OPEN BOOKS OR TO GIVE INFORMATION, UM, THAT BARRIER GOES BACK UP.
SO, UM, IT'S A SCARY PROCESS FOR SOME PEOPLE, BUT, UM, BUT ALWAYS OPEN TO SUGGESTIONS ON HOW WE CAN ENGAGE EVEN BETTER WITH THE COMMUNITY.
COMPLETELY OPEN TO THAT A HUNDRED PERCENT ALL THE TIME.
CAN I TAG ON TO THAT THEN? NO.
UM, AS A BOARD MEMBER, I'M CERTAINLY ALREADY, AND I KNOW MANY OF THE BOARD MEMBERS ARE HOLDING NUMEROUS MEETINGS WITH CONSTITUENTS AND GROUPS THAT ASK US TO SPEAK.
SO, UH, IF, IF, IF THERE CAN BE A SHORT BRIEFING THAT WE CAN GIVE AS WE GO ABOUT, OR MAYBE EVEN INCLUDE A PAGE IN THE COMMUNITY REPORT THAT'S COMING OUT 2025 SAYING THAT THE SCHOOL DISTRICT IS SOLICITING SMALL BUSINESSES, ET CETERA, ET CETERA, UH, AND SEE IF THAT HELPS GENERATE ANY INTEREST.
A LOT OF TIMES THIS ONE-ON-ONE INTERPERSONAL NETWORKING CAN, CAN HELP SUPPLEMENT ALL THE GOOD WORK THAT YOU AND YOU AND THE FINANCE GROUP ARE DOING.
I WOULD ALSO, UM, ENCOURAGE THAT, UM, WITH THE OPERATIONS COMMITTEE TOO, SINCE THEY WORK SO CLOSELY WITH OUR REALLY LARGE CONTRACTOR THAT DOES A LOT OF OUR SUBCONTRACTING, WHICH MAKES UP THE MAJORITY, UM, OF OUR SMALL BUSINESSES THAT COME TO DO WORK WITH US THAT ARE MINORITY AND WOMEN OWNED.
UM, THAT THEY ARE A GREAT RESOURCES THAT AS WELL, GETTING THAT INFORMATION OUT THERE TO THE SMALLER BUSINESSES ABOUT OUR LARGER CONTRACTORS THAT WE HAVE THAT SUBCONTRACT OUT, ESPECIALLY WITH CONSTRUCTION.
SO THE TWO IS THAT OKAY, MS. SWELL? OKAY.
UH, COLONEL GUY, ANY, BECAUSE YOU'VE GOT A LOT OF EXPERIENCE HERE.
THIS, THIS IS A, A VERY DIFFICULT SUBJECT.
UM, THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT, UH, YOU HAVE TO BE CERTIFIED AND DISCOUNT.
IN OTHER WORDS, IF YOUR BID COMES IN CAN COME IN AS MUCH AS 15% HIGHER AND YOU COULD STILL GET THE CONTRACT OVER A NON-MINORITY OWNED BUSINESS, THAT'S, THAT'S 15%.
AND IT IS, IT'S ALSO THAT WAY IN THE STATE OF, UH, WASHINGTON THAT, UH, MINORITY AND WOMEN BUSINESS HAVE AN ADVANTAGE.
STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA DOES NOT HAVE THAT.
SHE IS OUT THERE TRAINING MINORITY BUSINESSES HOW TO GET CERTIFIED.
'CAUSE GETTING CERTIFIED IS A HUGE ADVANTAGE.
AND FRANKLY, I DON'T TRUST OUR PRIME CONTRACTS REALLY DIG INTO THEIR SUBCONTRACTORS THAT THEY ARE IN FACT MINORITY OWNED.
[01:35:01]
YOU KNOW, A, A SUB, A PRIME CONTRACTOR'S GONNA TAKE THE SUB'S WORD THAT THEY ARE, AND THERE'S NOTHING LEGALLY THAT WE CAN DO TO ENFORCE THEM TO CONFIRM, BUT I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT THAT WE SHOULD HAVE, MAKE SURE IN OUR CONTRACTING BASIS THAT WE ASK THEM TO PROVIDE INFORMATION ON THEIR SUBS.SO THEY'RE REQUIRED TO PROVIDE WITH THEIR PAY APPLICATIONS AND ALL THE SUBS THAT THEY HAVE, AND ALSO WHEN THEY ARE SUBMITTING INFORMATION TO ME ON THEIR SUBCONTRACTORS, IF THEY ARE CERTIFIED, THEY HAVE TO OH, CERTIFIED ALL OF THAT.
AND WITH THEIR NON-CERTIFIED, SOMETIMES THEY'LL THROW LOCAL BUSINESSES ON THERE AND WE REMOVE THEM FROM THE LIST BECAUSE LOCAL DOES NOT QUALIFY FOR MINORITY OR REVENUE.
SO WE DO VET THAT WHEN THAT INFORMATION COMES IN TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE NOT INFLATING THIS.
AND THAT IS ALSO WHY THE STATE HAS MADE IT TO WHERE THE GOAL IS THE CERTIFIED GOAL.
NOT BECAUSE IF NON-CERTIFIED, WE COULD ALL MEET THE GOAL ALL THE TIME.
SO THAT'S WHY WE SHOW YOU THE BREAKDOWN OF CERTIFIED AND NON-CERTIFIED TO SHOW YOU WHERE WE'RE AT ON OUR CERTIFIED LEVEL.
BUT EVEN, YOU KNOW, EVEN WHEN YOU HAVE STRONG, UM, PROTOCOLS MM-HMM
I, I KNOW IN THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT, THERE'S, THERE'S A, A TRIBE IN, UH, MONTANA, THAT'S ALL THEY DO IS COME IN AND SIGN ON THE LINE WHEN THEY INCORPORATE THAT THEY ARE THE OWNER, THEY AREN'T OWNING NOTHING BUT IT ON THE PAPERWORK.
THIS, YOU KNOW, NATIVE AMERICAN, UH, PERSON IS LISTED AS THE OWNER.
AND SO, YOU KNOW, THERE, THIS IS A VERY DIFFICULT THING, UH, TO, UH, KEEP TRACK OF AND AS LONG AS WE, AND CAUSE OUR PRIMES TO GIVE US THE INFORMATION ON THEIR SUBS AND, AND I THINK, I THINK IT WOULD BEHOOVE US TO DO A CHECK, YOU KNOW, NOT EVERYONE, BUT BUT AT RANDOM TO SEE WHAT WE CAN FIND OUT.
AND, AND I MEAN WE CAN GOOGLE IT.
I MEAN IT IS NOT, NOT LIKE, HEY, YOU HAVE TO GET AN INVESTIGATOR, BUT YOU COULD GOOGLE IT AND, AND FIND, SEE IF THEY HAVE A, A WEBPAGE AND, AND TAKE A LOOK AT THE WHO, WHO IT IS AND WHERE THEY LIVE AND WHERE THE FUN AND THEY GOT THEIR PICTURE IN THERE.
YOU KNOW, I-I-I-I-I WANT US TO BE GOOD STEWARDS AND I WANT US TO GIVE JOBS TO OUR LOCAL, ESPECIALLY OUR LOCAL MINORITY, UH, BUSINESSES.
BUT I UNDERSTAND THE BUSINESS LICENSES AND THE BONDING AND THE INSURANCE AND EVERYTHING ELSE IS ALSO AN IMPEDIMENT.
AND THE ETHICS IMPLICATIONS ARE TOO.
'CAUSE PROCUREMENT DOESN'T ALLOW US TO GIVE ANY KIND OF PREFERENCE EXACTLY.
OR MINORITY OR EVEN VETERAN OWNED BUSINESSES THAT, THAT'S, THAT, THAT'S YOU'RE HERE, BUT THAT'S CORRECT.
UM, IT'S, IT'S A, IT'S A BALANCING ACT WITH, WITH REACHING OUT AND GETTING WHAT WE NEED, BUT ALSO MEETING THE ETHICS AND, AND UM, PORTION OF THE PROCUREMENT AS WELL.
SO, BUT AGAIN, ALWAYS OPEN TO IT.
I WILL WORK WITH TURNING, UH, TURNER TOWNS IN TO ALSO MAKING SURE THAT WE'RE DOING THE SPOT CHECKS TO VET.
UM, I GO IN AND I CHECK ANYWAY, BUT MAKING SURE THAT INFORMATION'S COMING IN.
WE'RE DOING IT TWOFOLD ON BOTH SIDES.
UH, AND, AND I'M SORRY, GO AHEAD AND, AND I WILL MENTION IT TO MR. VARGAS TOO.
NEXT TIME I SEE HIM SAYING IF WE'RE GONNA BE CHECKING.
AND THEN THERE CAN BE A NARRATIVE MAYBE WITH MISS DR.
BRODER ON HOW WE ARE, YOU KNOW, THAT I CAN TAKE OUT ANOTHER BOARD MEMBERS THAT THEY ARE SO, SO INCLINED.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS FROM ANY OF THE BOARD MEMBER? UH, MS. HAY, MS. GORDON, COLONEL GUIDE? NO, I DON'T HAVE ANY QUESTIONS.
ALL RIGHT, MS. FRAZIER? NO QUESTIONS.
MR. UH, COLONEL BOY WHO GUYER GOD IGHT
OKAY, ANYTHING ELSE? UH, FUTURE AGENDA TOPIC, MA'AM? UM, WELL, WE'LL BE BRINGING THE NEW TRANSPARENCY REPORTS.
[01:40:01]
IT WILL BE NO LONGER NEW, BUT IT WILL BE THE TRANSPARENCY REPORT.
UM, AT THIS TIME I DON'T HAVE ANY FURTHER FUTURE TOPICS, BUT I'M SURE THERE WILL BE OTHERS THAT COME UP BETWEEN NOW AND IT WE'LL PROB UM, WE'LL DO A BOND UPDATE BECAUSE WE'LL HAVE THE REFUNDING, UM, OR THAT THAT ALREADY HAD ALREADY OCCURRED, 0.71% SO WE WON'T HAVE BOND UPDATES.
SO AT THIS TIME, I DON'T KNOW OF ANY OTHER TOPICS, BUT I'M SURE I'LL LOOK BACK AT LAST YEAR AND SEE WHAT, WHAT WE'RE DOING AT THIS POINT.
BUT WE ARE HEAVILY IN THE AUDIT THIS TIME AT THIS TIME OF YEAR.
HOPEFULLY WHAT I FIND WON'T BE A WHOLE LOT FOR THE NEXT MEETING
UNDERSTAND TOTALLY SAFE SAYS SHE HAS NO, UH, FUTURE TOPICS.
ALRIGHT, WELL I GUESS FOR THE GOOD OF THE ORDER, WE CAN ADJOURN.
AND THANKS EVERYBODY FOR YOUR CANDID INPUT AND GUIDANCE FROM HAVING ADAM CROSBY, YOU AND YOUR TEAM.