* 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. WE'LL CALL THIS MEETING ONE THIRTY TWO. [00:00:01] ACTUALLY, WE'LL CALL THE MEETING TO ORDER, AND IF YOU'LL JOIN ME WITH THE PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE, IT WILL BE APPRECIATED. I PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND TO THE REPUBLIC FOR WHICH IT STANDS, ONE NATION UNDER GOD, INDIVISIBLE, WITH LIBERTY AND JUSTICE FOR ALL. OKAY, IS THERE A MOTION FOR APPROVAL OF THE AGENDA? SO MOVED. SECOND. ALL IN FAVOR SAY AYE. AYE. A. AYE. THANK YOU MS. HAY, MADAM CUSHING. BARRY, ARE THERE ANY PUBLIC COMMENTS? NO, SIR. OKAY. ALRIGHT. ITEM NUMBER TWO. IS THERE A RECOMMENDATION MOTION FOR APPROVAL OF THE OCTOBER 9TH, 2025 COMMITTEE MEETING? MINUTES. SO MOVE SECOND. ALL IN FAVOR SAY AYE. AYE. A. AYE. THANK YOU, MS. HAY. OKAY. MOVING RIGHT ALONG. MADAM CFO, BOARD OF EDUCATION MONTHLY BUDGET REPORT. WILL YOU BE HANDLING THAT, MA'AM? YES, SIR. OKAY. IT'S ALL YOURS. ALL RIGHT. SO, UH, IN YOUR PACKET IS A, UH, REPORT AS OF THE, AS OF OCTOBER 31ST, 2025. UM, THIS IS THE STANDARD REPORT, UH, OF THE BOARD OF EDUCATION, UH, BUDGET VERSUS ACTUALS THROUGH THE END OF THE LAST MONTH. UM, AND THE ONLY NOTABLE ITEM REALLY, UH, I WOULD SAY IS THE, AGAIN, THE ORGANIZATION MEMBERSHIP AND DUES ON PAGE THREE, WHICH IS $50,000, 50,000. UH, AND THAT IS A ONCE, ONCE PER YEAR PAYMENT, UH, TO THE SCHOOL BOARD ASSOCIATION. IT'S FOR MEMBERSHIP DUES, PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT TRAINING, UH, AND AN ONLINE PORTAL FOR THE BOARD OF ED AND DISTRICT POLICIES. SO IT, IT IS THE PORTAL THAT HOLDS ALL OF OUR POLICIES ON THE WEBSITE. UH, SO I, OTHER THAN THAT, THERE, UH, EVERYTHING ELSE IS IN LINE, UH, WITH PRIOR YEARS AND WITH THE BUDGET, SO I'LL BE HAPPY TO TAKE ANY QUESTIONS YOU MAY HAVE. ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS? INSIGHTS, MS. HAY? NOT AT THIS TIME. OKAY. MADAM. CFOI, UM, WOULD JUST LIKE TO SPEAK TO THE ORGANIZATIONAL MEMBERSHIP DUES. UM, YES, WITH MEMBERSHIP ON THE 16 MEMBER, UH, BOARD FOR THE SOUTH CAROLINA SCHOOL BOARD ASSOCIATION, I THINK THE DISTRICT DISTRICT HAS BEGUN TO RECEIVE EVEN MORE VALUE FOR THAT MEMBERSHIP. UM, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT HAS OCCURRED IS LEARNING FROM OTHER DISTRICTS. UH, AS PART OF MY ROLE AS A REGIONAL DIRECTOR FOR REGION ONE, UM, I'M GOING TO PLACES INTERACTING WITH OTHER SUPERINTENDENTS AND BILLBOARD CHAIRS AND BOARDS, AND LOOKING AT HOW TO BEST IMPORT THOSE TYPES OF AHAS, MOMENTS THAT I SEE BACK IN SHARE WITH THE SCHOOL DISTRICT. SO THAT'S ONE OF THE THINGS THAT HAS ALREADY OCCURRED. UH, WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO ALSO, THROUGH THE LEGISLATIVE COMMITTEE AND THE BOARD, AND ALSO WITH COLONEL GUYER GOING TO COLUMBIA TO MAKE A PRESENTATION APPROVAL FOR ONE OF THE, UH, RESOLUTIONS THAT WILL BE CONSIDERED AT THE DECEMBER 6TH, SEVENTH ADVOCACY MEETING. UH, SO THAT'S, UH, SOMETHING THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, I THINK WE COLLECTIVELY CAN BE PROUD OF IN EXCHANGE FOR THE MEMBERSHIP FEE. UM, THE SECOND THING, WE'VE BEGUN REGIONAL ADVOCACY MEETINGS. WE HAD ONE LAST YEAR AT, UH, WILL BRANCH MIDDLE SCHOOL, WHICH WAS VERY INSIGHTFUL AND THANKS TO THOSE MEMBERS FROM JASPER AND BEAUFORT AND OTHER COUNTIES THAT ATTENDED THAT. UH, AND THAT HAS ENABLED US TO ACTUALLY, UH, AT THIS MOST RECENT REGIONAL ADVOCACY MEETING IN WALTERBORO, WHERE MR. NAY PARTICIPATED AND ATTENDED, COLONEL GUYER PARTICIPATED AND ATTENDED, AND COLONEL GUYER WAS ABLE TO SHARE HOW BEAUFORT COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT HAS BEEN ABLE TO WIN TWO REFERENDA, UH, WITH I THINK 69 AND THEN 72% PASSAGE, WHERE PREVIOUSLY THEY HAD, UH, WE HAD FAILED ON TWO WITH LESS THAN 30% APPROVAL RATING. UH, AND, UH, COLONEL GEIER, UM, HAS BEEN, HE, WE'VE SUBMITTED FOR HIM TO BE APPROVED, AND IT [00:05:01] SEEMS ABSOLUTELY VERY IMMINENT THAT HE WILL BE ONE OF THE PRESENTERS AT THE UPCOMING, UH, ADVOCACY, UM, AND DELEGATE ASSEMBLY THAT WILL BE TAKING PLACE IN DECEMBER. THE OTHER THING THAT BECOMES AVAILABLE TO US IS THAT, UM, THERE ARE BEST PRACTICES THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT IMPORTING AND TRYING TO CONNECT. AND SUCH AS THE, SOME OF YOU, HOPEFULLY EVERYONE'S HEARD ABOUT OUR EMERGING EFFORT IN TERMS OF SYNCHRONIZING WITH SAVANNAH RIVER NUCLEAR SOLUTIONS ABOUT SOME OF THE TECHNOLOGICAL PROGRAMS THAT THEY HAVE. THEY'VE BEEN CONNECTED WITH THE, UH, INSTRUCTIONAL SERVICES DEPARTMENT THROUGH THE SUPERINTENDENT. SO A LOT OF THINGS ARE BEGINNING TO HAPPEN AS A RESULT OF SOME OF THESE RELATIONSHIPS, AND I JUST WANTED EVERYONE TO, TO, TO HAVE INSIGHTS TO THAT. SO I'LL STAND DOWN AND ASK IF THERE ARE ANY OTHER COMMENTS ON THE, WHAT'S BEEN COVERED SO FAR. HEARING NONE, MAY WE PROCEED, MADAM CFO? YES, SIR. UH, THE NEXT ITEM IS THE TRANSPARENCY REPORT FOR THE MONTH OF SEPTEMBER, 2025. UH, THIS IS THE NEW, UH, CONSOLIDATED REPORT, UH, WITH A LINK TO THE, UH, ORIGINAL REPORT THAT IS ON OUR WEBSITE. AND SO, UH, THIS, WE'RE PLEASED TO PRESENT THIS REPORT, IDENTIFYING EXPENDITURES, UH, AND ACTUALLY ON A COMPARATIVE BASIS WITH THAT, THOSE OF, UH, EXPENDITURES IN SEPTEMBER, 2024. UM, SO WE HAVE SOME MAJOR ANALYSIS OF MAJOR SPENDING AREAS AND VISUALIZATIONS TO ENHANCE THE UNDERSTANDING OF SOME OF THE FINANCIAL DATA AND SERVICES. UM, SO WE ARE, UH, PROVIDING A LIST OF CONTRACTS FIRST, UM, AS REQUIRED BY OPERATIONAL EXPECTATION. SIX. A LIST OF CONTRACTS OF, UH, A HUNDRED THOUSAND AND UP ARE COMPLETED IN SEPTEMBER. UH, THERE ARE SIX ITEMS LISTED. UM, FOUR OF THEM ARE, ARE, EXCUSE ME, THREE OF THEM ARE CONSTRUCTION RELATED WITH THOMPSON TURNER. THE BUDD GROUP IS CUSTODIAL INTERSTATE, PREMIER IS CUSTODIAL, AND A BM INDUSTRIAL IS ALSO CUSTODIAL, I BELIEVE AS WELL. YES. UM, THAT ONE, WELL ACTUALLY, THAT, UH, IF IT'S A CONTRACT RENEWAL, IT WOULD BE CUSTODIAL, YES. AND SO THE NEXT SLIDE IS A GRAPHIC OF EXPENDITURES BY FUND AND AS USUAL, UM, IN THE RE RECENT TERM, UM, CAPITAL PROJECTS ARE AT, UH, THE HIGHEST LEVEL OF SPENDING OF ANY FUND IN THE DISTRICT. AND THAT'S 12.4 MILLION. THAT'S DUE TO THE 2023 REFERENDUM, FINISHING OUT THE 2019 REFERENDUM AND THE ONGOING 8% PROJECTS. UM, THE GENERAL FUND IS, COMES IN A CLOSE SECOND WITH $10 MILLION OF SPENDING. AND THIS IS IN OUR BUDGET, UH, BASED ON, UH, BUDGETARY SPENDING, UH, OF A TOTAL BUDGET OF ABOUT 377 MILLION THIS FOR THIS YEAR. AND THEN, AS USUAL, OUR FEDERAL AND STATE REVENUES COMING IN, UM, WITH SOME SMALL GRANT ALLOCATIONS AND THEN FOOD SERVICE, UM, ALLOCATIONS, UM, THERE AS WELL, UH, A LITTLE BIT OF STUDENT ACTIVITIES AND A SMALL SPATTERING OF OTHER SMALLER FUNDING SOURCES THAT THE DISTRICT HAS. SO, UM, AGAIN, GENERAL AND CAPITAL, WHERE THE PRIMARY EXPENDITURES AND SPECIAL REVENUE DECLINED THIS, THIS YEAR AS COMPARED TO THE PRIOR YEAR BECAUSE OF THE SUNSET OF ESSER FUNDS IN THE PREVIOUS YEAR. SO WE HAD, UM, IN THE FIRST QUARTER LAST YEAR, WE HAD ESSER. WE WERE FINALIZING OUR SPENDING IN ESSER FUNDS, AND THEN THOSE ENDED BY THE FIRST END OF THE FIRST QUARTER. SO, UM, SO COMPARATIVELY THAT WILL DECLINE ON THE NEXT SLIDE. WE'RE, UH, ON TOP 25 EXPENDITURES BY CATEGORY OF THE TRANSPARENCY REPORT. UM, SO BUILDING AND FINISHES IS, UH, INCLUDES THE TOP, UH, AMOUNT OF CONSTRUCTION OR, OR SPENDING. IT INCLUDES CONSTRUCTION, HVAC REPAIRS. UM, THERE WERE SOME, UM, UH, ENERGY COSTS IN THERE AS WELL. UH, SO I'M SORRY, BUILDING AND FINISHES IS SEPARATE FROM HVAC. THEN WE HAVE FOOD SERVICES, UH, WHICH ISN'T APPROXIMATELY THE AMOUNT WE SPEND EVERY YEAR, EVERY MONTH, UM, ABOUT A MILLION DOLLARS IN, UH, UH, SALARIES, WAGES, [00:10:01] AND THE CONTRACTED SERVICES. UM, TRANSITS ARE JUST TRANSFERS IN BETWEEN FUNDS. UH, ENERGY IS, UH, ABOUT ABOUT A MILLION AND SO ON. SO THERE'S A NUMBER OF ITEMS THERE. YOU'LL SEE, UM, MOST OF THEM ARE STANDARD, UH, EXPENDITURES FOR THE DISTRICT ON A MONTHLY BASIS. AND THEN THE NEXT SLIDE IS OUR, THE NEXT VISUALIZATION IS THE TOP 10 PROGRAM EXPENDITURES, UH, UH, AS WE HAD IN THE PRIOR MONTH. FACILITIES ACQUISITION AND CONSTRUCTION, OR BUILDING AND FINISHES IS THE FIR IS THE MAIN CATEGORY OF, UH, SPENDING AT 12.4 MILLION. UM, AND NEXT IN LINE IS THE OPERATIONS AND MAINTENANCE CATEGORY. SO THAT WOULD INCLUDE, UM, CUSTODIAL, FOOD SERVICE, TECHNOLOGY, UM, ALL OF THOSE, UM, MAINTENANCE AS WELL. AND THOSE, SO THE MAJOR SERVICES, MANY OF WHICH ARE CONTRACTED OUT FOR THE DISTRICT. THEN FOOD IS THE NEXT, UM, AREA. UM, AND THEN PAYMENTS TO THE CHARTER SCHOOL ARE IN THE, THE MEDIUM BLUE COLOR, ABOUT 973,000 PER MONTH TECHNOLOGY, AND THEN SECURITY IMPROVEMENT INSTRUCTION. AND THEN YOU HAVE INSTRUCTIONAL PROGRAMS WITH, UM, THOSE ARE PARTI, UH, SPECIFICALLY SUPPLIES AND MATERIALS. SO NON-SALARY RELATED ACCOUNT ARE IN THE BOTTOM THERE. SO, OKAY. THE FINAL GRAPH IS THE EXPENDITURES THAT EXCEEDED A HUNDRED THOUSAND, AND THERE ARE A COUPLE OF PEAKS IN THOSE. UM, AND THAT WOULD BE SOME LARGE SPENDING, BUT THE SPENDING IS TYPICALLY IN THOSE THREE AREAS THE SAME EACH YEAR. IT'S PEAKING, UM, INCON CONSTRUCTION, UM, PA INSURANCE, WHICH WE'RE GONNA TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT LATER. AND THOMPSON TURNER CONSTRUCTION. SO TWO OF THE, UM, TWO, THE HIGHEST TWO OF THOSE ARE CONSTRUCTION CONTRACTORS, UH, WORKING ON REFERENDUM PROJECTS AT THIS TIME. UH, NOT MUCH FLUCTUATION BETWEEN YEARS, UM, BUT TYPICALLY ANY FLUCTUATION IS DUE TO TIMING OF PAYMENT OR POTENTIALLY ANOTHER FACTOR, WHICH I THINK WE'LL TALK ABOUT JUST IN, IN JUST A FEW MINUTES. MM-HMM . OKAY. I'LL STOP THERE FOR A MOMENT, OR I'LL PAUSE. AND, UH, OR, UM, MS. HAY, MS. HAY, YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, COMMENTS, OR INSIGHTS, MA'AM? NO. WELL, I DIDN'T KNOW WHEN YOU WANTED US TO DISCUSS THE DRILLING DOWN PORTION, MADAM. CFO, I'M READY IF YOU ARE. . OKAY. SO ONE OF THE AREAS AS I WAS LOOKING AT THIS REPORT, UM, ON PAGE, I'M GONNA TAKE IT BACK SORT OF TO THE BEGINNING. ON PAGE TWO, WE SEE THAT THE GENERAL FUND AND THE CAPITAL FUNDS ARE CLEARLY WHERE OUR LARGEST SPENDS ARE. SO THAT CATCHES PEOPLE'S ATTENTION WHEN THEY'RE, YOU KNOW, SIFTING THROUGH THIS INFORMATION. THEN, YOU KNOW, WE LOOK AT PAGE THREE, WHICH MRS. CROSBY'S ALREADY TALKED ABOUT, AND IT COMBED THROUGH PAGE FOUR. BUT THEN I WAS INTRIGUED BY THE GRAPH ON PAGE, ACTUALLY, SO IT'S SHOWING UP FOR ME AS PAGE FIVE, BUT I BELIEVE IT'S YOUR SLIDE SIX. UM, THIS ONE THAT YOU'RE CURRENTLY ON RIGHT THERE, ABOVE ROBIN, PLEASE THAT ONE. UM, BECAUSE IT SHOWS UP IN THE DECK FOR ME AS FIVE, BUT THEN THERE'S A SIX IN THE BOTTOM LEFT HAND CORNER. BUT REGARDLESS, UM, SO WE SEE THAT CONSTRUCTION OBVIOUSLY HAS THE LARGEST SPEND. UM, AND THEN AFTER THAT, AGAIN, IT'S THOMPSON TURNER CONSTRUCTION, AND I ALSO WAS CAUGHT BY PBA INSURANCE, WHICH IS WHY MS. CROSBY ALLUDED TO THAT WE WERE GONNA DISCUSS THAT FURTHER BECAUSE THE PBA INSURANCE IS ACTUALLY ONE OF OUR LARGER ITEMS AT 2.5 MILLION PER YEAR, WHICH IT STAYS PRETTY STEADY BETWEEN 2024 AND 2025. SO THAT WAS OF INTEREST TO ME BECAUSE, UM, THE NUMBERS ARE SO CLOSE YEAR OVER YEAR. AND THEN I JUST WANTED TO SAY FOR PUBLIC CONSUMPTION PURPOSES, IF SOMEONE WERE TO BE COMBING THROUGH THIS DATA AND HAVING QUESTIONS THAT PERHAPS THEY COULDN'T FIND ON THE DISTRICT SIDE, OR MAYBE THEY DIDN'T WANNA BOTHER ANYONE EMAILING, BECAUSE I KNOW A LOT OF [00:15:01] CONSTITUENTS AND PARENTS FEEL THAT WAY, LIKE THEY'RE NOT SURE WHO TO REACH OUT TO, TO ASK QUESTIONS. UM, I DID A FUN LITTLE EXPERIMENT AND PULLED UP CHAT GPT FOR FUN, BUT MICROSOFT ALSO HAS ITS VERSION OF AI AND SO ON AND SO FORTH. BUT OUT OF CURIOSITY, I ASKED AI MODELS, WHERE DOES THE FUNDING FOR PVA INSURANCE COME FROM IN THE STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA, WHICH IT RETURNED THE CORRECT ANSWER. IT COMES FROM OUR GENERAL FUND. BUT EVEN IF YOU DID NOT KNOW THAT, AND YOU HAD BEEN CURIOUS, THIS IS WHY I WENT BACK TO PAGE OR REFERENCED PAGE THREE, WAS THAT IF YOU'RE EVER CURIOUS AS A CONSTITUENT, A PARENT, ANYTHING, A GRANDPARENT, UM, AS TO WHAT THOSE FUNDS COVER, FOR EXAMPLE, THE GENERAL AND THE CAPITAL FUNDS, IF YOU PUT IN AN AI MODEL, REGARDLESS, PICK YOUR FAVORITE, AND YOU ASK THE QUESTION PROPERLY WITH ALL THE GIVEN INFORMATION, FOR EXAMPLE, IN THE STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA, WHAT IS COVERED BY THE GENERAL FUND FOR A SCHOOL DISTRICT, IT WILL GIVE YOU A COMPLETE RUNDOWN OF COSTS THAT CAN FALL INTO THAT POT OF MONEY. SAME IS TRUE OF A CAPITAL FUND. SO FOR EXAMPLE, IF YOU'RE CURIOUS, HEY, WE'RE SPENDING $2.5 MILLION A YEAR ON PBA INSURANCE, WHAT FUND DOES THAT TYPICALLY COME OUT OF IN THE STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA? UM, YOU CAN PUT THAT INTO AN AI MODEL AS WELL, AND IT COMES RIGHT BACK WITH THE PROPER, AND IT'S ALWAYS, IT'S ALWAYS GOOD TO CROSS REFERENCE, RIGHT, YOUR INFORMATION THAT YOU'RE GETTING FROM AI. BUT IN THIS, UH, SPECIFIC INSTANCE, IT WAS COMPLETELY ACCURATE. SO I FOUND ALL OF THAT INTERESTING, AND I KNOW MS. CROSBY HAS MORE TO SAY ON THIS BECAUSE SHE AND I HAD A DISCUSSION ABOUT IT. SO I'LL TURN IT BACK OVER. MADAM, CFO, WOULD YOU LIKE TO OPINE ON, UH, WHAT'S BEEN SAID, UH, THE INSIGHTS GAINED AND THE COLLABORATION? YES, SIR. UM, YES. UM, SO THE HIGHLIGHTED CATEGORY, SO, UH, THE BOARD AT THE LAST MEETING, UM, REQUESTED TO HIGHLIGHT ONE PARTICULAR AREA OF SPENDING. AND, UM, I, UH, MS. HAY AND I HAD A CONVERSATION. SHE, UH, UH, REQUESTED, YOU KNOW, WHAT, HOW SHOULD WE GO ABOUT THAT? AND SO WE SUGGESTED TO TAKE THE PREVIOUS MONTHS OR THE CURRENT MONTHS TRANSPARENCY REPORT THAT WE'RE PRO PROVIDING TODAY, TAKE SOME ITEM THAT HAS SOME KIND OF NOTABLE, UM, YOU KNOW, UH, DIFFERENCE. SAY IT HAS A HIGH LEVEL OF SPENDING, OR IT HAS A BIG CHANGE FROM LAST YEAR OR SOMETHING, OR SOMETHING OF THAT EFFECT. SO PBA INSURANCE, HEALTH INSURANCE STUCK OUT IN THIS REPORT. SO WE HIGHLIGHTED THAT TODAY AND PROVIDED SOME INFORMATION FOR YOU. UM, AND WE'RE CALLING IT A, I'M GONNA CALL THIS A FOCUS REVIEW. I THINK WE, UH, THAT WAS A TA ITEM THAT WAS, UM, TAGGED AS THAT FOR, BY MS. YER WHO HELPED PREPARE THIS REPORT. UM, AND SO IF I MAY JUST GO QUICKLY TO THE GRAPH THAT'S AT THE SECOND, THE PAGE OF THE, UH, THE PBA EXPENDITURE, WHICH IS ANOTHER DOCUMENT, A SEPARATE DOCUMENT THAT I SENT THE BOARD AND THE COMMITTEE, UM, TO, YEAH, IT IS A, IT'S A, UH, MULTI-PAGE. THIS TITLE IS FOCUS REVIEW DASH PBA EXPENDITURES. RIGHT? SO, UM, JUST I'LL TALK FOR A MOMENT WHILE MS. MS. CUSH BERRY IS BRINGING THAT UP. OKAY. UM, SO PPA STANDS FOR THE PUBLIC EMPLOYEE BENEFITS ADMINISTRATION. IT'S A STATE AGENCY THAT MANAGES INSURANCE AND RETIREMENT PLANS FOR SOUTH CAROLINA, SOUTH CAROLINA RETIREMENT SYSTEM FOR THE PUBLIC WORKFORCE, INCLUDING EMPLOYEES OF PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICTS. AND IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE STATE'S PUBLIC EMPLOYERS, PA HELPS TO ENSURE THAT PUBLIC EMPLOYERS, LIKE SCHOOL DISTRICTS CAN OFFER THEIR EMPLOYEES AFFORDABLE INSURANCE COVERAGE AND IS EQUITABLE TO ALL STAKEHOLDERS. SO I THINK THAT WAS SOMETHING VERY CURRENT KIND OF IN THE MINDS OF EVERYONE RIGHT NOW, UH, WITH THINGS LOOMING IN, IN THE POLITICAL NATURE THAT, UM, A LOT ABOUT AFFORDABLE INSURANCE. SO THIS IS SOMETHING THAT PROVIDES EMPLOYEES OF SCHOOL DISTRICTS A VERY AFFORDABLE, COST EFFECTIVE, UM, MEASURE WHERE WE, UH, PAY A PORTION OF THE PREMIUM AND THEN THE SCHOOL DISTRICT MATCHES. WE AS INDIVIDUAL EMPLOYEES PAY A PREMIUM, AND THEN THE SCHOOL DISTRICT MATCHES, UH, AND THOSE IN, UM, THAT MATCH AMOUNT DOES TYPICALLY INCREASE [00:20:01] EACH YEAR. AND SO, UM, SO TODAY WE'RE NOT TALKING ABOUT RETIREMENT, JUST TALKING ABOUT HEALTH INSURANCE, BUT, UM, BUT JUST KNOW THAT PVA MANAGES BOTH PROGRAMS FOR THE DISTRICT. UM, SO ALTHOUGH GENERAL FUND IS THE PRIMARY FUND OF FUNDING SOURCE FOR HEALTH INSURANCE, IT IS NOT ENTIRELY THE FUNDING SOURCE BECAUSE IT, OUR HEALTH INSURANCE FOLLOWS THE EXPENDITURES FOLLOW THE EMPLOYEE AND THEIR FUNDING SOURCE. SO 92% OF OUR EXPENDITURES ARE PAID FROM THE GENERAL FUND, BUT ABOUT 8% FOLLOW THE EMPLOYEES WHO ARE PAID WITH IDEA TITLE ONE AND OTHER SPECIAL REVENUE FUNDS AS WELL. SO, UM, JUST WANNA MAKE A NOTE THAT A SMALL, SO THE, THE EXPENDITURE FOLLOWS THE EMPLOYEE AND THEIR FUNDING SOURCE. UM, THE AVERAGE PREMIUM INCREASE FOR 25 26 WAS 19.8%. SO THAT WAS A PRETTY SIZABLE INCREASE. UM, BUT INCREASES, FORTUNATELY DON'T TAKE EFFECT FOR US UNTIL JANUARY. SO WE HAVE HALF A YEAR TO CONTINUE ON WITH THE BUDGET OF ONE OF THE INCREASE FROM THE PRIOR YEAR OR JUST AS FLAT FROM THE SPRING TO THE FALL. AND THEN, BUT WE DO HAVE TO BUDGET FOR HALF OF ANY KNOWN INCREASES THAT WILL START, UM, AND TAKE EFFECT IN JANUARY. SO FOR THAT, WE TYPICALLY CUT THEM IN HALF, UM, THAT PERCENTAGE OF INCREASE, AND THAT IS WHAT WE APPLY TO JANUARY AND APPLY TO THE BUDGET TO INCREASE FOR THE NEXT YEAR. SO THAT'S JUST SOME BACKGROUND KNOWLEDGE AS WE PREPARE, YOU KNOW, GETTING READY TO START WITH NEXT YEAR, THE NEXT YEAR'S BUDGET, UH, THAT'S ONE OF THE BUDGETING TOOLS THAT WE USE TO MAKE SURE WE'RE, UH, BUDGETING ACCURATELY. AND EXPENDITURES. I'VE NOTED, UM, FOR THE LAST THREE YEARS IN 24 FY FISCAL YEAR 24, I ENDED, WE WERE $22.7 MILLION. FY 25 IS 24.4 MILLION, AND FY 26 WAS 26.3 MILLION. THIS IS THE BUDGETED AMOUNT, UH, BECAUSE THE ACTUALS WON'T, UM, YOU KNOW, OR MAY LAG BEHIND A MONTH OR SO. AND SO WE ACTUALLY HAD A 7.8% INCREASE FROM YEAR TO YEAR, UH, IN THE BUDGETARY NUMBER. SO, UM, AND, AND ALSO NOTABLE THIS, WE CHOSE THIS NUMBER. IT ALSO, BECAUSE IT IS ONE OF THE LARGEST EXPENDITURES IN THIS BUDGET, 26 MILLION OF 377 MILLION IS 7% OF THE ENTIRE BUDGET. SO IT IS A PRETTY SIGNIFICANT COST TO THE DISTRICT, UM, THAT WE PAY FOR THE BENEFIT OF OUR EMPLOYEES, AND, AND IT'S A GREAT BENEFIT. UM, SO, UM, THEN WE HAVE A GRAPH THAT ILLUSTRATES THE PAYMENTS OVER THE LAST TWO YEARS, AND WE HIGHLIGHT NORMAL FLUCTUATIONS THAT, AND THOSE FLUCTUATIONS RESULT IN SEVERAL THINGS. IT COULD BE A BILLING CYCLE CHANGE, IT COULD BE A CHANGE IN A STAFFING LEVELS, UH, OR ADJUSTMENT AND BENEFIT PLANS. SO THOSE ARE EBBING, EBBING AND FLOWING ALL YEAR LONG AS PEOPLE COME AND GO TO FROM THE DISTRICT. UM, AND NOTABLY, TRENDS OFTEN OCCUR HIGH PAYMENTS AT THE START OF THE SCHOOL YEAR. UM, SO AS YOU CAN SEE FROM THE GRAPH, UM, FIRST OF ALL, YOU SEE JANUARY THERE, SO JANUARY IS, UH, DIFFERENT IN 25 VERSUS 26, 24, EXCUSE ME, IN THE PRIOR YEAR BECAUSE WE HAPPENED TO HAVE MADE A PAYMENT ON JANUARY 3RD AND ONE ON JANUARY 25TH. SO THE FEBRUARY PAYMENT WAS PAID ONE DAY INTO JANUARY, SO IT WILL SHOW ON THE GRAPHIC THAT IT DOUBLED UP, AND YOU'LL SEE IT FALL BACK DOWN IN FEBRUARY. SO OTHER THAN IF IT HAD BEEN MADE ONE DAY LATER, THESE WOULD'VE BEEN EQUAL ON BOTH MONTHS, UM, RELATIVELY STEADY, UM, FOR THOSE THROUGH JUNE. AND THEN JUNE, THERE IS NO, UM, WE DO NOT WITHHOLD HEALTH INSURANCE IN THE MONTH OF JUNE BECAUSE WE TAKE DIVIDE PREMIUMS OVER 24 PAYCHECKS, WHICH END IN MAY. SO THEREFORE THERE IS NO JUNE UH, EXPENDITURE THAT IS, UH, BOOKED IN OUR FINANCIAL STATEMENTS. UM, BUT THAT WE CATCH UP IN JULY, ACTUALLY. OH, AND THE REASON FOR THAT, UH, THE PA THERE'S NO PAYMENT IN JUNE IS BECAUSE WE PREPAY EVERY YEAR. AND YOU SEE THAT IN THE JULY PAYMENT HERE, IT'S DOUBLE WHAT IT NORMALLY IS BECAUSE WE MAKE THE JULY PAYMENT AND WE PAY THE JUNE PA, WE MUST, WE ARE REQUIRED BY PBA TO [00:25:01] PAY A PREPAID JUNE, 2026 PAYMENT AS WELL. SO WE'RE MAKING ONE PAYMENT AND THEN IN ADVANCE OF THE FOLLOWING JUNE EACH YEAR. SO, UM, THAT IS A REQUIREMENT OF, OF THEIR, UM, OF THE PBA ORGANIZATION. SO, UM, THAT JUST BRINGS SOME HIGHLIGHTS INTO ONE OF THE MOST, UH, THE HIGHEST LEVEL, UH, OF EXPENDITURES THAT WE HAVE IN THE DISTRICT AND PROVIDES JUST SOME IN-DEPTH INFORMATION AND SOME GRAPHIC ANALYSIS OF THAT. SO, UH, I'M GONNA STOP THERE AND SEE IF YOU ALL HAVE ANY QUESTIONS. UH, MS. BERRY, I AM SORT OF, UH, QUITE A AWAY FROM MY CAMERA ON MY LAPTOP, SO I CAN'T, ARE OTHER BOARD MEMBERS THERE? UH, DR. UM, COLONEL GUY IS HERE. OKAY. ALRIGHT. SO MS. HAY, YOU HAVE ANY COMMENTS? AND THEN WE'LL INQUIRE COLONEL GUYER AND ANY OTHER BOARD MEMBERS THAT ARE THERE, MS. FRAZIER? I DON'T ALSO HAVE ANY COMMENTS. OKAY. DID YOU SAY, UM, MS. FRAZIER IS HERE. SHE IS ALSO ONLINE. MS. FRAZIER, YOU HAVE ANY, UH, COMMENTS, QUESTIONS, OR INSIGHTS? MA'AM? NO COMMENTS. NO COMMENTS, COMMENTS. COLONEL GEIER, WELCOME. THANK YOU. UH, THIS IS FANTASTIC. THIS IS EXACTLY THE INTENT THAT I BELIEVE YOU AS A CHAIR ASKED FOR, TO GO IN AND LOOK AT THE SPECIFICS, DRILL DOWN IN ONE PARTICULAR HIGH IMPACT AREA. AND, AND, AND I HAD NO IDEA THAT THE FUNDING WENT IN, IN THIS KIND OF A CYCLE. VERY, VERY INFORMATIVE. AND THIS IS ALSO SOMETHING THAT WE SHOULD MAKE SURE THAT OUR EMPLOYEES UNDERSTAND THAT THE BENEFIT THAT THEY GET FROM THIS, WHEN, WHEN YOU GO INTO THE REGULAR LABOR MARKET AND YOU NEGOTIATE FOR YOUR SALARY, YOU ARE VERY SELDOM GOING TO FIND ANY KIND OF EXPENSE IN THAT SALARY FOR HEALTHCARE AND OTHERS. THEY, THEY MAY MATCH SOMEWHAT MOST OF THE TIME FOR RETIREMENT AND SO ON. THEY JUST SAY, IF YOU, WE'LL GIVE YOU UP TO A $2,000, $4,000 MATCHING, AND THAT'S IT. IF YOU DON'T MATCH IT, IF YOU ONLY MATCH IT WITH A THOUSAND, WE ONLY GIVE YOU A THOUSAND. AND THEY'LL THEN ALSO GIVE YOU DIFFERENT HEALTH PLANS WITH DIFFERENT KINDS OF EXEMPTIONS AND SO ON. SO WHAT WE PROVIDE OUR EMPLOYEES IS NOT THE SAME AS WHAT THE NORMAL JOB MARKET IMPLY, UH, APPLIES TO THEIR EMPLOYEES. AND SO, WHILE WE HAVE A BASE PAY OF 60, UH, THOUSAND DOLLARS FOR OUR BRAND NEW TEACHERS, WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE FULL IMPACT OF WHAT THE DISTRICT PAYS TO THEM, FOR THEM, IT'S IN THE $90,000 RANGE. AND A COUPLE YEARS AGO, ALICE WALTON PUBLISHED THAT OUT TO ALL THE EMPLOYEES SHOWING THAT WE NEED TO DO THAT EVERY YEAR BECAUSE WE NEED TO SHOW THAT. AND, AND THIS, FOR A BOARD MEMBER TO SEE HOW THIS GOES, IS, IS ABSOLUTELY SUPERB BECAUSE I, YOU KNOW, I'VE BEEN ON HERE SEVEN YEARS IN THIS COMMITTEE. I HAD NO IDEA OF THE BALANCING ACT THAT THE DISTRICT, UH, FINANCE OFFICE HAS TO DO TO MAINTAIN THIS PROGRAM. AND IT IS IN FACT A BALANCING ACT TO SEE WHEN YOU TAKE THESE PAYMENTS OUT AT THE RIGHT TIME FOR THE RIGHT REASONS. SO, UH, I WANNA SAY KUDOS BOTH TO THE FINANCE DEPARTMENT, BUT ALSO TO THE CHAIR SAYING, LET'S, LET'S DRILL DOWN ON ONE TOPIC EVERY MONTH, AND YOU PICK THE RIGHT ONE FOR THE FIRST ONE. AND I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO NEXT MONTH'S. MR. SMITH IS ALSO, HELLO? MR. SMITH IS THERE IN THE ROOM? NO, HE'S ONLINE. OKAY. MR. SMITH, YOU HAVE ANY COMMENTS? INSIGHTS, SIR? HE IS MUTED. OKAY. UM, I, I'D LIKE TO, TO TO, TO FOLLOW UP ON, [00:30:01] UH, THE CHAIR SLASH COLONEL'S, UH, COMMENTS. UH, ONE OF THE THINGS I LEARNED IN THE PRIOR COMMITTEE WITH HIM IS HOW HE DRILLED DOWN, UH, HAVING ALWAYS REVIEWED FINANCIAL REPORTS, THAT WAS THE WAY HE DRILLS WAS VERY NEW. AND SO THIS IS AN EXTENSION OF HIS METHODOLOGY, WHICH ALWAYS WAS ABLE TO HIGHLIGHT AREAS THAT MAY WANT TO TAKE A LOOK AT. AND SO I'D ALSO LIKE TO COMPLIMENT, UM, MS. MS. HAY FOR COMING IN AND VOLUNTEERING TO BE THE FIRST ONE OUT OF THE BLOCK, SO TO SPEAK, AND TAKING THIS PARTICULAR AREA ON IN CONJUNCTION AND AGREEMENT WITH OUR MADAM CFO. UH, AND I ALSO AGREE WITH THE COLONEL IN TERMS OF HOW DO WE PACKAGE THAT. SO WHAT I TOOK DOWN AS AN ACTION ITEM IS, UH, WOULD LIKE THE FINANCE COMMITTEE TO CONFER WITH, UH, MS. WALTON AND SEE IF WE CAN GET AN UPDATE ON THE COST VALUE PRESENTATION OF THE PBA AND HOW THAT MIGHT COMPARE VERY SIMILAR TO WHAT YOU DID WITH OPERATIONS WHEN WE WERE LOOKING AT CONTRACTOR AND IN OR OUT, AND THE BENEFITS THAT ACCRUED TO THOSE TWO DIFFERENT OPTIONS. THAT WAS VERY INFORMATIVE. THE, UH, SECOND UH, ACTION ITEM I'D LIKE TO REQUEST IF POSSIBLE, IS, UH, IF OUR CFO AND HER TEAM AND MS. HAY WILL CREATE A TUTORIAL ABOUT HOW SHE ACTUALLY DRILLED DOWN WITH MULTIPLE OPTIONS OF AI PLATFORM, SO THE PEOPLE KNOW WE'RE NOT PREJUDICIAL TO ANYONE, UH, AND SHOW HOW SHE WAS ABLE TO UN UNEARTH, UH, INFORMATION AS WELL AND THE METHODOLOGY THAT SHE USED, BECAUSE WE ARE GOING TO WANT OTHER COMMITTEE MEMBERS AND BOARD MEMBERS TO ALSO STEP UP AND VOLUNTEER TO TAKE ON A PARTICULAR TOPIC BECAUSE THAT'S SORT OF LEARNING AND AS THE TECHNOPHOBE IN THE WHOLE DISTRICT, UH, I'LL HAVE TO TRY TO CATCH UP WITH EVERYONE ELSE, BUT IF THAT'S OKAY WITH THE PEOPLE NAMED, UH, WE'LL, WE'LL ARCHIVE THAT AS AN ACTION ITEM. COMMENTS. HEARING NONE, UH, MADAM CFO, IS THAT OKAY WITH YOU, MA'AM? YES, SIR. MS. HAY, YOU OKAY WITH YOU MA'AM? YES, SIR. OUTSTANDING. WELL DONE. ALRIGHT, ON THE DOCUMENT ITSELF, ON PAGE EIGHT, UH, OF THE DOCUMENT THAT WE JUST COVERED UNDER OTHER NOTABLE VENDORS I LOOKED AT C-D-W-L-L-C AND CULINARY DEPOT, UH, BUT I ALSO LOOKED AT, UM, A NOTABLE DECREASE REFLECTING SUBSTITUTE BILLING FOR AUGUST AND SEPTEMBER. SO DOES THE FACT THAT WE HAD MORE OF OUR TEACHER POSITIONS FILLED, IS THAT A PART OF THAT SEEMS LIKE IT WOULD BE THE INVERSE. I'M JUST TRYING TO UNDERSTAND, I GUESS WE PAID LESS FOR SUBSTITUTE TEACHERS. IS THAT IT? UM, SO, UM, WE, IF YOU RECALL THIS YEAR, WE MOVED, THIS IS, UH, SUBSTITUTE TEACHERS. THAT'S THE EXPENDITURE OF THE VENDOR FOR, AND, AND IT'S OTHERWISE KNOWN AS ESS MM-HMM . UM, AND SO, UH, THIS YEAR AS YOU RECALL, WE MOVED, UH, THE FULL-TIME EMPLOYEES, TEACHER ASSISTANTS BACK IN-HOUSE, AND THEY ARE NOW PAID ON SALARIES AND BENEFITS AND NO LONGER PAID THROUGH OUR CONTRACTOR. SO THAT IS PROBABLY THE MOST NOTABLE AND DECREASE, UH, REASON FOR THE DECREASE THAT WE HAVE IS THAT I, I THINK IT WAS ALMOST 200, 200 EMPLOYEES THAT WE'RE, UH, ONBOARDED, UM, THIS IN THE SUMMER FOR THIS SCHOOL YEAR THAT WERE OUR TEACHER ASSISTANT SPECIAL EDUCATION ASSISTANTS AND SO ON. OKAY. ANY OTHER QUESTIONS, COMMENTS FROM COMMITTEE MEMBERS OR BOARD MEMBERS? OKAY. HEARING NONE. LET ME JUST, IF I MAY CLARIFY MY, MY HUMBLE REQUEST TO MS UH, UH, CFO CROSBY AND MS. HAY, UM, IF YOU CAN WORK TOGETHER TO CREATE THAT TUTORIAL AND WHAT WAS UNCOVERED HERE THROUGH THE DRILL DOWN, UH, AT A FUTURE BOARD MEETING, WE'D LIKE TO SHARE YOUR EFFORTS AND THE OUTPUT. SO, UH, THAT DESERVES RECOGNITION. UH, AND SO THEN WE'LL HAVE ANOTHER COMMITTEE MEMBER, HOPEFULLY NEXT MONTH WE'LL WORK WITH THE CFO TO CHOOSE A TOPIC AND WE'LL, WE'LL ACCEPT THE LEARNING THAT OCCURS FROM THAT, THAT [00:35:01] PARTNERSHIP, IF THAT'S OKAY WITH BOTH MS. HAY AND MRS. UH CROSBY. IS THAT GOOD? SURE. OKAY. SOUNDS GOOD. ALRIGHT, MADAM, CFO DEFERRING TO YOU, MA'AM. MOVING AHEAD. UM, THE NEXT ITEM IS THE FIRST QUARTER FINANCIAL REPORT FOR FISCAL YEAR 26. UM, SO ALTHOUGH WE'RE, I, I DIDN'T MENTION, BUT WE ARE RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF, RIGHT AT THE END OF OUR AUDIT PERIOD. UM, SO WE'RE FRANTICALLY WORKING ON FINISHING THAT UP BY HOPEFULLY NEXT, UM, MONDAY OR TUESDAY. SO, UM, THAT HAS BEEN OUR FOCUS THIS WEEK, BUT THE FIRST QUARTER, UH, IS ALSO UNDERWAY AND HAS COMPLETED AS OF SEPTEMBER 30TH. UM, SO LOCAL PROPERTY TAX COLLECTIONS ARE, UM, RIGHT, UH, AT, ON THE MARK OR THE REPORT AT 5.5 MILLION, JUST A LITTLE DOWN FROM THE PRIOR YEAR, BUT WE DID HAVE, UM, UM, WE HAD AN INCREASE LAST YEAR. SO STATE REVENUES ARE $15.8 MILLION OR 11.7%, SLIGHTLY DOWN FROM 12% IN THE PRIOR YEAR DUE TO DECREASED ENROLLMENT. UH, EX EXPENDITURES, UH, AS OF THE END OF THE QUARTER ARE 66 MILLION, OR ABOUT 17.6% IN THE PRIOR YEAR, UH, SIX OF THE BUDGET AND ALMOST RIGHT ON THE MARK WITH PRIOR YEAR EXPENDITURES. UM, SALARIES AND BENEFITS ARE REDUCED IN SOME AREAS, IF YOU MAY HAVE LOOKED AT THE DETAILS. UM, I SAW THERE WERE SOME DECLINES FROM ONE YEAR TO THE NEXT AND ENROLLMENT AND I MEAN SALARIES. AND THE REASON FOR THAT, THERE WAS ONLY FIVE PAYDAYS IN THE, THAT WERE, UH, EXPENDED IN FISCAL YEAR 26. THE VERY FIRST PAYCHECK IN JULY WAS ACTUALLY HAD A PAY PERIOD ENDING IN JUNE. SO WE ACCRUED THAT FIRST PAYROLL OF THE QUARTER BACK. SO WE ONLY HAVE FIVE PAYCHECKS INSTEAD OF THE NORMAL SIX. UM, SO FROM THE ACCOUNTING PERSPECTIVE, THAT'S, UM, SOMETHING THAT WE DEAL WITH EACH YEAR. UM, WE SHOULD NOT HAVE THAT IN ANY FUTURE QUARTERS, UH, GOING FORWARD, UM, FOR THE FISCAL YEAR. UM, SO THAT YOU MAY SEE HAVE BEEN NOTICED SOME SLIGHT DECLINES IN THE, IN SALARIES BENEFITS WHEN WE WOULD'VE NORMALLY HAD AN INCREASE BECAUSE OF PAY INCREASES. UM, ALSO SPECIAL REVENUE FUNDS. UM, WE, LAST YEAR, IN THE FIRST QUARTER, WE WERE FINALIZING OUR EXPENDITURES FOR THE ESSER PROGRAM, ESSER ESSER FUNDS, SO THAT WE HAD OUR LAST, UH, SET OF SPEND EXPENDITURES IN THE FIRST QUARTER OF LAST YEAR. AND THEN EVERYTHING WAS CLAIMED AND WE FINISHED. SO THIS YEAR, AS WE COMPARE, OUR SPENDING, UM, IS A LITTLE LOWER AS A RESULT OF THAT. AND ALSO WE HAD SOME CHANGES IN THE MSAP GRANT PROGRAM. WE HAVE, UH, A SECOND PROGRAM THIS YEAR ON THE SOUTH SIDE OF THE COUNTY. AND SO WE, UH, HAVE ADDITIONAL EXPENDITURES THERE. UH, LOOK AND DEBT SERVICE FUND, WE HAVE PROPERTY TAX COLLECTIONS, UM, THAT ARE, UH, WELL, $2.1 MILLION. SO AS YOU CAN SEE, 2.1 IS RELATIVELY VERY SMALL AT THIS TIME OF YEAR. UM, THAT WILL PICK UP IN DECEMBER. UM, CAPITAL PROJECTS WE HAVE, UH, THE 2019 PROJECTS ARE 99.8% ENCUMBERED. THERE'S JUST A FEW MINOR THINGS AND AS, UM, AS SOME OF THE AMENDMENTS AND, AND, UH, THE CONTRACTS ARE CLOSING, SOME DOLLARS ARE COMING BACK AND, UH, WE'RE ABLE TO, THE BOARD WAS ABLE TO DO, UM, THE METAL DETECTORS WITH THE USE OF SOME OF THOSE FUNDS AS WELL. UM, REFERENDUM PROJECTS FOR 2023 ARE 42% PAID AND ENCUMBERED AS OF THE END OF SEPTEMBER. AND, UH, THAT CONCLUDES THE SUMMARY OF THE REPORT. UM, WE STILL HOPE IN THE FUTURE TO MAKE THIS, UM, REPORT AS A LITTLE SIMPLER AND EASIER TO FOLLOW, MAYBE SOME MORE GRAPHIC REPRESENTATIONS. UM, BUT, YOU KNOW, UM, TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE RIGHT NOW WITH OTHER PROJECTS, UH, SUCH AS THE AUDIT. SO, UH, THAT WILL BE A FUTURE PROJECT FOR US THAT WE LOOK FORWARD TO. WITH THAT, I'D BE HAPPY TO TAKE ANY QUESTIONS. MS. HAY? I DO NOT HAVE ANY. THANK YOU. UM, MS. FRAZIER? [00:40:09] WELL, MS. FRAZIER IS HOPEFULLY UNM, MIGHTY UNMUTING HERS, UH, I SEE. MR. SMITH, DO YOU HAVE ANY COMMENTS OR INSIGHTS, SIR? UH, NO. I JUST THANK, THANK YOU FOR THE, UH, FOR THE INFORMATION AND, UH, THIS WAS DEFINITELY HELPFUL. THANK YOU. THAT'S IT. THANK YOU, SIR. COLONEL GEIER? YES, SIR. COULD YOU TURN TO, UH, PAGE 23, PLEASE? YEP. PROVINCE. SCROLLING UP NOW. THERE IT IS. THIS IS A BIRD IN MY SADDLE. IT HAS BEEN FOR YEARS. STUDENT ACTIVITIES FUND BALANCE. THIS IS FUNDS COLLECTED, UH, BY THE SCHOOLS GENERALLY FROM, UH, CONCESSION STANDS, FUNDRAISING AND OTHER THINGS. AND WE STILL HAVE HILTON HIGH HEAD HIGH SCHOOL WITH $579,938. AND YOU GO DOWN TO BLUFFTON, IT'S, UH, 498,000 MAY RIVER 300 AND, UH, 32,000 BEAUFORT HIGH 233 WHALE BRANCH, 98,000 AND BATTERY CREEK, 70,000. NOW THEY USE THIS MONEY, UH, FOR THE STUDENTS FOR PROGRAMS OR, UH, UNIFORMS AND OTHER THINGS. AND I'VE SAID THIS A NUMBER OF TIMES, I HAVE A REAL PROBLEM WITH THAT KIND OF BALANCES BEING HANDLED OR BEING SET THERE, JUST GATHERING INTEREST AND NOT PROVIDING TO STUDENTS, ESPECIALLY IN OUR TWO SCHOOLS, HILTON HEAD HIGH SCHOOL AND BLUFFTON HIGH SCHOOL. YOU CAN'T TELL ME THAT. I CAN'T GO DOWN TO THAT SCHOOL AND ASK THOSE STUDENTS, WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE THAT YOU DON'T HAVE? AND I'M SURE THEY COULD TELL ME, AND I DON'T UNDERSTAND WHY DUE SCHOOLS ARE CARRYING BALANCES LIKE THAT. THEY'RE NOT GETTING PAID INTEREST. THE DISTRICT IS, BUT YOU DON'T SEE IT. SO I ASKED LAST QUARTER ABOUT HAVING THAT BEING BROUGHT UP TO THEM, AND I DON'T SEE ANY DIFFERENCE. WELL, I'M GONNA BE TALKING TO THE FULL BOARD ABOUT THIS AND MAYBE WE NEED TO BE A LITTLE MORE SPECIFIC, SPEND IT OR LOSE IT, AND WE CAN, WE CAN GIVE IT TO OTHER SCHOOLS THAT DON'T HAVE THAT KIND OF BALANCE FOR THEIR NEEDS BECAUSE OBVIOUSLY THEY'VE BEEN TAKING CARE OF THEIR STUDENTS BETTER THAN HILTON HEAD AND BLUFF AND HIGH. SO AGAIN, THIS IS A BUR UNDER MY SADDLE AND I'M NOT SEEING ANYTHING HAPPENING. SO, END OF EDITORIAL COMMENTS. ANY ANY OTHER COMMENTS AND ANY OTHER COMMENTS? UH, I HAVE SOME, UH, COMMENT CURRENTLY, IF YOU HEARD ME CHUCKLE WHEN YOU SAID PAGE 23, BECAUSE I HIGHLIGHTED THAT ONE AS WELL. BUT I'LL DEFER TO OTHER COMMENTS THAT PEOPLE MAY HAVE, UH, BEFORE I WEIGH IN, IF THAT'S OKAY. MR. SMITH HAS HIS HAND. GO AHEAD, MR. SMITH. UH, ONE OF MY QUESTIONS WOULD BE, WOULD, UH, BE WHAT ALL CAN THIS MONEY BE SPENT ON, BECAUSE THIS HAS DEFINITELY HAVE BEEN A, A CONVERSATION THAT HAS TAKEN PLACE FOR, FOR SEVERAL YEARS NOW. WHAT ALL IF IF, UH, IF SOMEONE COULD TELL US, SO MS. CROSBY COULD TELL US WHAT ALL THIS MONEY COULD BE SPENT ON, AND I, I JUST DON'T WANNA, I, I HAVE AN IDEA, BUT I JUST DON'T WANT TO ASSUME THAT I'M RIGHT. COULD YOU, COULD YOU ENLIGHTEN ME A LITTLE BIT AND TELL US WHAT THIS COULD, UH, MONEY COULD BE SPENT ON? YES, SIR. UM, SO THESE FUNDS ARE IN VERY SPECIFIC CATEGORIES, AND THEY'RE, UH, STANDARDIZED ACROSS THE HIGH SCHOOLS, MIDDLE SCHOOLS, ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS, OF COURSE, AN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL WILL NOT HAVE THE SAME ACCOUNTS THAT A HIGH SCHOOL WOULD. SO IN, IN A HIGH SCHOOL IN PARTICULAR, WHICH THIS IS MOSTLY, AND THAT BALANCES ARE HIGHER IN THE HIGH SCHOOLS, UH, WOULD BE EVERY CLUB IN THE SCHOOL WOULD HAVE AN INDIVIDUAL ACCOUNT. THE ATHLETIC DIRECTOR WOULD HAVE AN ACCOUNT, ANY FUNDRAISING FROM ANY SPORT, ANY SPORT WILL HAVE ITS OWN ACCOUNT, OR ITS SPECIFIC FUNDRAISING GOING TO THAT. UH, ATHLETIC DIRECTORS WOULD SPEND FUNDS ON GAME, UH, OFFICIALS OR ANY SUPPORT FOR ANY OF THE TEAMS WITH REGARD [00:45:01] TO UNIFORMS OR EXTRA WARMUPS OR EQUIPMENT, EXTRA SOFTBALLS, BASEBALLS, FOOTBALLS, ANY OF THOSE TYPES OF THINGS. UM, THERE IS ALSO FUNDING FOR INSTRUCTIONAL CLUBS OR GROUPS LIKE, UM, LIKE FBLA OR DECA OR ANY OF THE INSTRUCTIONAL TYPE GROUPS, UM, CLUBS THAT THE SCHOOL WOULD HAVE, UM, RENTALS. UH, IF A SCHOOL HAS A PERFORMING ARTS CENTER, THEY WOULD HAVE THE REVENUE COMING IN GENERATED AT THE GATE WOULD GO INTO A PERFORMING ARTS CENTER THAT WOULD BE USED FOR LIGHTING REPLACEMENTS, OTHER, UH, EFFECTS, UH, THAT THE, THE SCHOOL NEEDS, UH, IN THAT PARTICULAR AREA. SO THEY'RE REALLY DESIGNATED FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE FOR THE MOST PART. THEN, UH, THEN THERE ARE SOME THAT ARE NOT AS SPECIFIC, UM, TO, AS TO THE LEVEL, TO THE AREA OF SPENDING. SO THEY'RE MORE GENERIC, LIKE PARKING FEES, UM, TECH, UH, THE TECHNOLOGY USAGE FEES COME IN AND GO OUT TO THE DISTRICT LEVEL, SO THOSE DON'T STAY THERE. UM, BUT THERE MAY BE, UH, TEXTBOOK LOST TEXTBOOK FEES AND THAT SORT OF THING. SO SOME CAN BE MOVED AROUND. OTHERS ARE REALLY RESTRICTED FOR THE, YOU WOULDN'T WANNA TAKE THE CHEERLEADING MONEY AND HAND IT TO THE FOOTBALL TEAM, THAT SORT OF THING. BUT YOU COULD TAKE INTEREST, INCOME OR RENTALS AND USE THOSE FOR OTHER NEEDS OF THE SCHOOL. SO, UM, THAT'S IN A NUTSHELL WHAT THE USE OF THE FUNDS IS FOR. THANK YOU. UH, AND, AND SO BASICALLY, EVEN THOUGH IT, IT MAY GIVE US A LARGE AMOUNT, SOME OF THIS MONEY COULD BE EARMARKED FOR CERTAIN THINGS, IF I'M UNDERSTANDING YOU CORRECTLY AS WELL. YEAH. SO EVEN, EVEN THEY MAY HAVE 300 SOMETHING ODD THOUSAND DOLLARS IN THERE. UH, THE FOOTBALL TEAM COULD HAVE EARMARKED A HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS TOWARDS THEM OR CERTAIN, UH, HIGHER, HOWEVER THAT MAY LOOK. IS THAT CORRECT? THEY COULD HAVE SOMETHING EARMARKED. FOR EXAMPLE, THEY MAY HAVE A NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP COMING UP, LIKE A, A COMPETITION, I'M SORRY, STATE OR, OR NATIONAL COMPETITION. SO A GROUP LIKE DECA COULD BE GOING SAVING UP AND FUNDRAISING FOR THAT. UM, CHEERLEADING MAY BE GOING TO A COMPETITION AND SO ON. THERE COULD BE THINGS THAT ARE SPECIFIC TO THAT GROUP THAT ARE ALREADY EARMARKED FOR PARTICULAR PURPOSES. THERE ARE OTHERS THAT MAY NOT BE. AND THOSE ARE, THOSE ARE THE AREAS COULD TARGET, UH, TO, UH, THE SPIN DOWN PROGRAM WITH THE SCHOOLS. THANK YOU, MR. CHAIRMAN. ALRIGHT. THANK YOU, SIR. UM, MRS. FRAZIER NOTED, UH, RAISED HER HAND AND THEN MS. HAY RAISED HER HAND. UH, MS. FRAZIER, DO YOU WANNA STATE WHAT YOUR REQUEST, YOUR QUESTION WAS, MA'AM, SHE HAS IN THE COMMENTS, COULD THIS COMMENT BE ADDED TO THE AGENDA FOR A DISCUSSION DURING THE WORK SESSION NEXT FRIDAY? NO, NO, I CAN'T. I DON'T HAVE ENOUGH TIME TO DO THAT ON THE, I CAN'T MANAGE THAT. SOUNDS GOOD. WELL, NOT EVEN JUST FOR US TO HAVE A DISCUSSION TO REMEMBER TO ASK FOR, BECAUSE EVERY TIME WE HAVE THIS MEETING AND SEE IT, THE SAME QUESTION COMES UP. SO WE NEED TO PUT IT ON THE BACK OF OUR MINDS TO SAY WE NEED TO DELVE IN DEEPER FOR THIS SO IT DOESN'T COME UP EVERY MEETING. YEAH. SO IT WILL BE CAPTURED IN THE, UH, COMMENTS FROM THIS MEETING. AND AS YOU, UH, HOPEFULLY PEOPLE HAVE NOTED, UM, WE, WE TRY TO BE VERY DILIGENT ABOUT ADDRESSING ISSUES SEQUENTIALLY AS THEY ARE, THEY ARE RAISED AND MM-HMM . THE DRILL DOWN IS A, IS AN EXAMPLE OF THAT. SO YOUR, YOUR, YOUR CONCERN IS NOTED AND WE'LL BE HONORED. AND, AND CAN WE, SO CAN WE ADD IT TO FUTURE TOPICS WHEN THAT COMES UP? YEAH, WHENEVER THAT COMES UP, ABSOLUTELY. THANK YOU. I'VE ADDED FOR, FOR FUTURE TOPICS FOR THE GENERAL BOARD. AWESOME. THANK YOU. SUPERB, UH, MS. HAY? YES, MA'AM. YES, SIR. MY OTHER QUESTION, WHICH IS SIMILAR IN THE TOTAL DRILL DOWN THEME OF TODAY'S MEETING, IF YOU WILL, IS ASKING MS. CROSBY IF WE ARE GIVEN, AS SHE WAS GIVING ALL THOSE GREAT EXAMPLES, LIKE, YOU DON'T WANNA TAKE MONEY FROM A CHEERLEADING SQUAD AND GIVE IT TO THE FOOTBALL TEAM, SO ON AND SO FORTH. I WAS CURIOUS IF THE SCHOOLS ARE REQUIRED TO REPORT TO THE DISTRICT, UM, AKA LIKE MRS. CROSBY'S DEPARTMENT, UM, WHERE THOSE FUNDS SIT, BECAUSE IN THE CHAT I HAD OFFERED, YOU KNOW, I'LL CALL, UM, THE PRINCIPAL OF HILTON HEAD HIGH SCHOOL RIGHT AFTER THIS, BUT I'M JUST CURIOUS IF WE HAVE ANY INSIGHT INTO WHERE THE BULK OF THAT MONEY IS SITTING, BECAUSE IT COULD BE, YOU KNOW, 20 DIFFERENT CLUBS OR ENTITIES WITH SMALL AMOUNTS THAT JUST ADD UP TO A LARGER AMOUNT. THEY COULD HAVE GOALS IN MIND THAT THEY'RE WORKING TOWARD FINANCIALLY TO SPEND SOMETHING [00:50:01] ON, BUT THEY HAVEN'T HIT THOSE GOALS YET. UM, YOU KNOW, IF THERE'S A PIECE OF EQUIPMENT THEY NEED OR SOMETHING. UM, I'M JUST CURIOUS BECAUSE IT WOULD BE INTERESTING IF 90% OF THOSE FUNDS IS SITTING WITH ONE CLUB TEAM, CLASS GRADE, SO ON AND SO FORTH. UM, I'D JUST BE A LITTLE MORE CURIOUS ABOUT THE MAKEUP OF WHERE THOSE FUNDS SIT INSTEAD OF GOING AT A USE IT OR LOSE IT, WHICH I COMPLETELY UNDERSTAND THE MINDSET OF AS WELL, BECAUSE WE DON'T WANT MONEY JUST SITTING AROUND. HOWEVER, LIKE I SAID, I'M JUST CURIOUS IF WE HAVE ANY MORE INSIGHT SO WE KNOW, UH, WHY IT COULD BE SITTING THERE. THANK YOU. VERY GOOD POINT. UM, MADAM, CFO, UM, WHAT, WHAT WOULD BE YOUR RECOMMENDATION WHEN TO SEQUENCE THIS AND HOW TO POSSIBLY DO ANOTHER DRILL DOWN? UM, I DON'T KNOW IF MS. HAY WOULD BE WILLING TO, UM, STEP UP AGAIN, BUT, UH, SOME COMMITTEE MEMBER AND POTENTIALLY BOARD MEMBER MIGHT BE INTERESTED IN HELPING DO THIS. UM, BUT WE DON'T WANT TO COMPROMISE THE AUDIT AT THIS POINT IN TIME. SO HOW MUCH TIME WOULD YOU NEED TO COMPLETE THE AUDIT AND THEN HOPEFULLY TEE THIS UP, NOT HOPEFULLY, AND WE WILL RE HUMBLY REQUEST YOU TEE THIS UP SO THAT WE CAN, UM, SEE WHAT OPTIONS THERE ARE WITH DEFINITION AS TO WHAT ARE THE CONSTRAINTS ON THE UTILIZATION OF THOSE DOLLARS, UM, BY GROUP OR BY, YOU KNOW, SUB-ORGANIZATION WITHIN THE SCHOOL. ARE THEY MOVABLE? THOSE TYPES OF THINGS THAT MOVABLE AT BOARD DISCRETION OR WHAT HAVE YOU, UH, OR ENCOURAGEMENT TO THE SUPERINTENDENT TO COME UP WITH SOMETHING THAT, UH, MIGHT HELP PRODUCE MORE UPSIDE FOR THE SCHOOL DISTRICT. AND YOU CAN TAKE YOUR TIME TO THINK ABOUT THAT, BUT IF YOU HAVE A TOP OF YOUR MIND, UH, REPLY RIGHT THERE, WE'RE OPEN TO THAT AS WELL, MA'AM. OKAY. I DO HAVE A REPLY. UM, I'VE ACTUALLY BEEN WORKING ON THIS QUITE A LOT, UM, BUT I'M NOT TO THE POINT THAT I, UH, NEED TO BE, BUT I, IT'S DUE TO OTHER WORKLOAD CONSTRAINTS. SO I HAVE PERSONALLY SPOKEN WITH SEVERAL OF THE HIGH SCHOOL PRINCIPALS, AS HAS DR. RODRIGUEZ ABOUT THIS VERY TOPIC BECAUSE I BROUGHT THIS REPORT TO THE SENIOR STAFF ABOUT TWO WEEKS AGO AND LET EVERYONE ON SENIOR STAFF SEE VISIBLY WHAT THE BALANCES OF OUR SCHOOLS ARE. SO THAT HAS BEEN COMMUNICATED AND SCHOOL AND THE SENIOR STAFF MEMBER ARE WELL AWARE SO THAT IF THINGS ARE REQUESTED, FOR EXAMPLE, A NEW PIECE OF EQUIPMENT AT A SCHOOL, WE COULD SAY, NO, YOU HAVE THE FUNDING TO PAY FOR IT YOURSELVES. UM, SO, UM, SO INSTEAD OF ADDITIONAL THINGS, REQUESTS COMING INTO THE DISTRICT OFFICE FOR US FINDING, UH, OTHER SOURCES OF FUNDS FOR, THEY CAN FUND THESE THINGS THEMSELVES. AND IT'S VERY IMPORTANT FOR PARTICULARLY THE FACILITIES OFFICE TO KNOW THAT THESE FUNDS ARE HERE AND CAN BE UTILIZED AND THOSE SHOULD BE USED FIRST. UM, SO WE'VE HAD CONVERSATIONS, I HAVE PHYSICALLY SHOWED THIS REPORT TO MR. SHERICK AT HILTON HIGH SCHOOL ON TUESDAY NIGHT AT THE BOARD MEETING AND LET HIM KNOW THAT, UH, THIS IS SOMETHING THAT'S, UH, VERY, UM, UH, VERY PASSIONATELY TALKED ABOUT AT THE BOARD MEETINGS, AND THAT HE, UH, NEEDS TO PREPARE A SPEND DOWN PLAN. UH, AND I HAVE ACTUALLY GONE ON AI AND CREATED A REQUEST OF, TO THE PRINCIPLES TO HOW TO SPEND DOWN THE FUNDS. AND I HAVE MONITORED THE VALUES IN EACH OF THE MAJOR, EACH OF THE CATEGORIES IN EVERY ONE OF THE, AT LEAST FIVE OF THESE SCHOOLS, ANY THAT ARE OVER $200,000 TO SEE WHAT AREAS. AND THEY'RE ALL DIFFERENT. SOME HAVE IT IN PARKING FEES, SOME HAVE IT IN OTHER AREAS, AND IT'S SOMETHING THAT WE CAN LOOK AT, BUT IT IS UNIQUE TO THE SCHOOL. SO THERE'S BEEN AN ENORMOUS AMOUNT OF WORK DONE, BUT I HAVE NOT DELIVERED THE LETTER BECAUSE I WANTED TO SPEAK IN PERSON WITH THE PRINCIPALS TO HELP THEM UNDERSTAND WHY THEY'RE GETTING A LETTER AND TO WHY THAT WE'RE THEY'RE BEING ASKED TO DO WHAT AND THAT IT IS, UH, UH, AN ISSUE. AND WE NEED TO BE ABLE TO BRING DOWN THE BALANCES TO A LEVEL AND NOT CONTINUE TO ACCUMULATE THEM. SO WHAT I NEED IS JUST TIME TO GET PAST THE AUDIT. I NEED TIME TO PREPARE THAT LETTER, DELIVER IT TO THE PRINCIPALS, AND GET THOSE PLANS BACK AND, AND HAVE THEM BEGIN TO SPEND. AND I CAN CERTAINLY UPDATE THE BOARD ONCE I'M DONE MY [00:55:01] PART, UH, OF, OF AT LEAST DELIVERING THE LETTERS. UH, AND THEN, BUT I HAVE WILL HAVE TO MONITOR EVERY, UH, READ, READ EVERYONE, UH, AGREE TO THE, THE CHANGES THAT THEY'RE MAKING, AND THEN ACTUALLY MONITOR THEIR ACTIONS TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY'RE SPENDING DOWN. SO FOR ME, UM, I NEED A LITTLE BIT OF TIME FROM THE BOARD TO BE ABLE TO DO THOSE THINGS AND, AND FOLLOW THROUGH WITH THAT. MY WORKLOAD HASN'T YET ALLOWED ME TO DO THE LAST, SO, UM, I DO RECOGNIZE THE ISSUE AND, UH, AND HAVE ACTED ON IT. I JUST, UM, IT DOESN'T REFLECT IN THE BALANCES TODAY. SO I'LL, I'LL STOP THERE. IF, IF I COULD OPINE VERY HUMBLY, MA'AM, UM, I THINK YOU'VE DONE A HECK OF A LOT OF WORK ON IT. UH, FOR THOSE WHO MAY BE WONDERING, I HAD NO CONVERSATION WITH HER ON THIS TOPIC. UH, THIS HAS BEEN HER OWN INITIATIVE AND DRIVE AND SENSE OF FAIRNESS AND MORE EFFICIENT USE OF OUR ASSETS, PARTICULARLY, UH, CASH. UH, AND SO KUDOS TO YOU AND YOUR TEAM FOR DOING THAT, UH, AS THAT CONVERSATION GOES FORWARD. UH, TO MS. FRAZIER'S POINT, I THINK BRINGING IT BACK TO THIS FINANCIAL COMMITTEE, AS YOU HAVE SPOKEN ABOUT MADAME CFO WILL BE VERY BENEFICIAL. UH, THE COLONEL HAS BEEN RAISING THIS FOR SOME TIME, SO I THINK THERE, THERE'S A LOT, LOT OF INTEREST ON HOW CAN WE BETTER UTILIZE THESE RESOURCES. WHEN I ACTUALLY LOOKED AT THIS REPORT, I LOOKED DOWN AT J JJ DAVIS EARLY LEARNING CENTER, AND I'LL COMBINE THAT ONE AND I'M HAVING TROUBLE SEEING IT, BUT I THINK IT SAVES $180. IS THAT CORRECT? YES. OKAY. SO IT HAS $180 AND IF THERE'S ANYTHING I'VE LEARNED ON THIS BOARD IN THE LAST THREE YEARS, IT IS HOW IMPORTANT BRAIN DEVELOPMENT IS IN THOSE EARLY STAGES. AND I THINK THAT WOULD BE A PLACE WHERE HOPEFULLY THERE CAN BE SOME CONSIDERATION OF MAYBE CAPPING HOW MUCH A SCHOOL MIGHT HAVE BE ABLE TO ACCUMULATE, AND THEN THE DISTRICT OR THE BOARD THROUGH AN OE OR A RESULT, BEGINS TO ASK THE ADMINISTRATION HOW CAN THEY MOVE IT SO THAT WE ARE A 33 SCHOOL COLLECTIVE RATHER THAN INDIVIDUAL SHIP SAILING IN DIFFERENT WAYS. WE RESPECT WHAT THEY HAVE TO DO FOR THEIR PARTICULAR SCHOOL, LOVE THAT DECENTRALIZED AUTHORITY, BUT WITH IT COMES ACCOUNTABILITY. AND SO THAT MAY BE A WAY OF MOVING FORWARD. SO FROM WHERE I SIT, IF THE GROUP AGREES, WE WILL TEE THIS UP ONCE MADAM CFO COMES BACK AND SAYS, I'M NOW READY TO DEVOTE TIME TO THIS. UM, AND, AND SO WE CAN MOVE IT FORWARD. IS THERE SUPPORT FOR THAT? IS THERE OPPOSITION TO THAT? YOU DEFINITELY HAVE SUPPORT FOR THAT. AND IF SHE NEEDS ANY HELP OR LIKE A SUBCOMMITTEE FORMED, I'M ALL FOR THAT AS WELL. FANTASTIC. OKAY. WELL, MADAM, CFO, IF YOU ARE, OKAY, YOU, YOU ESTABLISH THE TIMELINE, YOU HAVE ONE VOLUNTEER AND, UM, MS. FRAZIER, YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE A HIGH BAR MA'AM IF, UH, MADAM CFO AGREES, UH, BECAUSE MRS. UM, HAY HAS, HAS REALLY, YOU KNOW, JUMPED IN AND DONE IT. SO YOU ARE CAPABLE IMPROVING IN THAT AREA AS WELL. SO THANK YOU MA'AM. AND I'M WILLING TO HELP OUT AS WELL IN ANY WAY I CAN AS WELL. ABSOLUTELY. OKAY, MADAM. CFO, YOU HAVE A SECOND AND I'M SURE THERE'LL BE OTHERS. ALRIGHT, MS. CROSBY, ANYTHING ELSE ON THIS PARTICULAR REPORT, MA'AM? NO, SIR. WELL DONE. I MIGHT ADD, I THINK EVERYBODY SHARES THAT POINT OF VIEW. ALRIGHT, MOVING RIGHT ALONG. OKAY. WE HAVE SEVERAL, UM, 1, 2, 3, 4 ADMINISTRATIVE RULES FOR YOU TODAY. UM, AS I STARTED THESE, THEY JUST KEPT SNOWBALLING AND ADDING MORE , MORE CHANGES TO EXISTING ONES AND ADDING NEW, UH, OES THAT ARE, UH, ADMINISTRATIVE RULES THAT NEEDED, NEEDED SOME UPDATING. SO THE FIRST ONE IS PUBLIC GIFTS AND DONATIONS TO SCHOOLS. IT'S, UM, E SIX OF OUR ADMINISTRATIVE RULES. UM, WHEN GOING THROUGH, UM, WAS READING OVER AN ADMINISTRATIVE RULE AND REALIZED THAT THIS ONE IN PARTICULAR DID NOT ALIGN WITH ANOTHER ONE AND IT DID NOT ALIGN EITHER WITH OUR EXISTING PRACTICES. SO THIS IS [01:00:01] A SUPERINTENDENT'S EXPECTATION OF THE BASIC STRUCTURE FOR DONATIONS AND HOW THEY'RE APPROVED EITHER BY PUBLIC OR PRIVATE PEOPLE AND ENTITIES THAT ARE DONATING TO THE SCHOOL DISTRICT. UM, YOU WOULD SEE THESE ULTIMATELY AS A BOARD APPROVAL IF THEY WERE TO GO OVER $5,000. UM, OEOS SEVEN AND DISTRICT PROCEDURES BOTH HAVE A DIFFERENT WORDING THAN THIS CURRENT, UM, ADMINISTRATIVE RULE. UM, IT HAS THAT, IT CURRENTLY STATES THAT IT WOULD, OKAY, SO THE ADDITI IT, ONE IT ADDED ADDS THE NON-DISCRIMINATION CLAUSE AS PROVIDED BY LEGAL COUNSEL. AND TWO, IT CHANGES THE ITEM THREE POINT C DUTIES OF THE SUPERINTENDENT TO ALIGN WITH OS SEVEN. UM, AND CURRENT PRACTICE, THE REGULATION SHOULD STATE THAT THE SUPERINTENDENT OR HIS DESIGNEE MUST APPROVE DONATIONS OF 1000 OR MORE AND THE BOARD APPROVES DONATIONS OF 5,000 OR MORE. CURRENTLY IT ONLY STATES THAT THE SUPERINTENDENT APPROVES A THOUSAND OR MORE AND THEN IT DOESN'T GO ANY FURTHER THAN THAT. SO IT DOESN'T ALIGN WITH CURRENT PRACTICE OR THE BOARD'S, UM, OS SEVEN. SO THIS IS A MINOR REVISION, BUT IT JUST ALIGNS EVERYTHING AND BRINGS US INTO COMPLIANCE WITH OUR ADMINISTRATIVE RULES. SO WITH THAT, I'LL OFFER ANY COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS. MS. HAY? I DON'T HAVE ANY AT THIS TIME. THANK YOU. UH, MS. FRAZIER. MR. SMITH? NONE AT THE MOMENT. OKAY. THANK YOU MA'AM. MR. SMITH? UH, NOT AT THE MOMENT. THANK YOU. OKAY, THANK YOU. UM, MS. CROSBY, I DON'T KNOW IF THIS IS ONE I RE I WENT THROUGH ALL FOUR OF THEM AND ONE OF THESE, UH, UH, DOCUMENTS, IT NOTES A CHANGE FROM THE CFO HAVING SOME AUTHORITY OVER THIS TO THE, UH, UH, DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS. IS THIS THE DOCUMENT? 'CAUSE I'M HAVING A LITTLE CHALLENGE SEEING IT. IT, THIS ONE, UM, STATED THAT THE SUPERINTENDENT SHALL APPROVE ALL GIFTS, GRANTS, AND DONATIONS OF 1000 AND MORE, BUT LESS THAN 5,000, BUT IT DOESN'T LIST THAT THE BOARD MUST APPROVE 5,000 OR MORE. UM, SO THIS DOESN'T HAVE ANYTHING TO DO WITH THE CHIEF OF OPERATIONS? YES, MM-HMM . UM, IT ONLY, UH, BUT IT EXCLUDES THE BOARD'S AUTHORITY TO PROVE THOSE GIFTS OVER 5,000. AND THAT EXCLUSION IS CORRECTED IN THE OTHER DOCUMENT THAT YOU REFERRED TO? YES. UM, THIS I HAVE STRIKE THROUGH DOCUMENT. YES, IT IS CORRECT IN OS SEVEN, CORRECT, BUT IT'S NOT CORRECT IN E SIX AND I'M NOT SURE THAT IT NEEDS TO BE IN BOTH, BUT I I, AS LONG AS IT'S THERE, IT NEEDS TO BE ACCURATE. OKAY. SO I GUESS THE QUESTION I AM, I'M SORT OF, UM, MUDDLING OVER IS IF THERE'S NOTHING ABOVE THE SUPERINTENDENT FOR THE CURRENT 5,000, UM, COULD THAT CONCEIVABLY BE AUTHORIZING A, A DONATION OF UP TO A MILLION WITHOUT BOARD OVERSIGHT? NO. WHAT THIS DOES IS PROVIDES THE SUPERINTENDENT OR HIS DESIGNEE, WHICH IS ME, TO APPROVE ANYTHING OVER $1,000. SO WE WILL SEE ANYTHING 5,000 AND OVER A MILLION AND OVER EVERYTHING. WE WILL, WE SEE ALL OF IT AND AS SOON AS WE APPROVE IT AND SEE THAT IT'S OVER 5,000 AND IMMEDIATELY GOES TO MS. CUSH BERRY TO GO ON THE BOARD AGENDA. OKAY. THAT'S WHAT I WANTED TO HEAR. IS THAT, UH, ALSO TRUE FOR THE OTHER THREE DOCUMENTS, THAT LEVEL OF ESCALATION? UM, THE OTHER THREE DOCUMENTS, I'M NOT SURE EXACTLY WHAT YOU'RE REFERRING TO, BUT, UM OKAY. THE, I THOUGHT THERE WAS ONE THAT ACTUALLY THE CFO WAS O WAS REDLINED AND THE CHIEF OPERATIONS OFFICER WAS INPUTTED. THAT IS OS SEVEN. THAT WILL BE NEXT ON THE AGENDA. OKAY. ALRIGHT. I I, I STAND DOWN. SO SEPARATE. NO PROBLEM MA'AM. THANK YOU. OKAY, SO THIS IS FOR INFORMATION ONLY. UM, OKAY. ADMINISTRATIVE CHANGE OF DISTRICT POLICIES. UM, SO WE, IT DOESN'T REQUIRE ANY BOARD PROOF, BUT UM, IT JUST ALIGNS WITH LAUREN'S CURRENT PRACTICES. OKAY. SO JUST MY OPINION, UM, THE, THE CHIEF OPER, NO, NO, NOTHING AGAINST OUR CURRENT PERSON BECAUSE HE IS STELLAR. UH, NO QUESTION [01:05:01] ABOUT ETHICS, INTEGRITY OR ANY OF THAT. JUST THE OPTICS OF CHANGING FROM THE PERSON WHO HANDLES THE CASH AND BASICALLY ENSURES THAT THE FINANCIAL PROTOCOLS ARE IN PLACE AND ARE VERY TIGHT. THAT PERSON NO LONGER PROVIDES THAT LEVEL OF OVERSIGHT IN OS SEVEN. SO THAT'S, THAT'S MY CONCERN. I THINK THAT'S ON OS SEVEN, SO WE'LL WE CAN TALK ABOUT THAT ONE NOW. YEP. OKAY. SO, UM, OS SEVEN, UM, IS ESTABLISHES THE SUPERINTENDENT'S EXPECTATION OF THE BASIC STRUCTURE FOR SEEKING SOURCES OF REVENUE FOR THE SCHOOL DISTRICT, UM, PARTICULARLY, UH, IN THE REALM OF MODIFYING FACILITIES AND THAT SORT OF THING. SO WE HAVE A, AN ADDITION OF A NON-DISCRIMINATION CLAUSE. AND THE SECOND CHANGE IS DESIGNATING THE CHIEF OPERATIONS OFFICER, THE AUTHORITY TO REVIEW AND APPROVE BUILDING MODIFICATION REQUESTS PRIOR TO ANY FUNDRAISING EFFORTS OR COMMENCEMENT OF WORK. AND THREE, ESTABLISHING THAT ALL FUNDRAISING EFFORTS ONLINE MUST BE APPROVED BY THE PRINCIPAL IN ADVANCE AND THAT ELECTRONIC RA RAISING PLATFORMS MUST BE APPROVED BY THE DISTRICT. SO ONE IS THE, UH, THE FIRST CHANGE IS THE NON-DISCRIMINATION CLAUSE, WHICH IS UNI. UH, THE SAME FOR ALL THE THING THE, UH, ITEM OR SECTION YOU ARE MENTIONING IS IN ITEM, IT'S THE NEW SECTION FIVE, WHICH IS CALLED MODIFICATION OR CONSTRUCTION OF FACILITIES THROUGH USE OF PRIVATE FUNDS. CURRENTLY, THE POLICY REQUIRES THE BOARD TO REVIEW AND APPROVE MODIFICATION REQUESTS FOR CONSTRUCTION AT SCHOOLS. SO, BUT THE PRACTICES THAT THOSE REQUESTS COME THROUGH THE CHIEF OPERATIONS OFFICER CURRENTLY, AND THAT IS WHAT WE'VE DONE FOR YEARS. BUT THIS POLICY STATES THAT THE BOARD WILL REVIEW THOSE, UH, REQUESTS, WHICH COME QUITE FREQUENTLY. MIGHT I ADD? UM, AND SO THIS ALSO, IT SAYS, UNLESS THE NOW CHIEF OPERATION OFFICER SPECIFICALLY AGREES IN ADVANCE, THE PROJECTS MUST ADHERE TO CERTAIN REQUIREMENTS LIKE BEING FULLY FUNDED WITHOUT THE US UM, UH, BCSD FUNDS BE FULLY FUNDED PRIOR TO THE COMMENCEMENT OF WORK AND BE IN FULL COMPLIANCE WITH RULES, REGULATIONS, AND POLICY OF THE DISTRICT AND OSF. SO THAT'S WHAT YOU WERE REFERRING TO. UM, SO THIS IS SAYING THAT, UM, MR. TING'S OFFICE, HE, MR. OTTING WOULD BE RESPONSIBLE FOR APPROVING ANY BUILDING MODIFICATIONS, UM, TO A BUILDING, UM, AND IN ADVANCE OF THE WORK, AND THAT HE WOULD HAVE THE AUTHORITY TO APPROVE IT OR DENY IT, UM, BASED ON FUNDING, UH, PLACEMENT, UH, MAYBE ONGOING MAINTENANCE COSTS THAT WOULD BE INVOLVED IN SOMETHING AND, AND SO ON. UM, IF, IF I, UH, IS, MAY I OPINE NOW? YES. OKAY. SO I DON'T HEAR ANY LIMITS ON THE MAGNITUDE OF THAT GIFT. AND IF SOMEONE'S GOING TO GIVE, LET'S SAY A MILLION DOLLARS, I EVEN THOUGH THERE'S A LOT OF PHILANTHROPY OUT THERE, I THINK A LOT OF TIMES THIS WOULD EXPOSE THE DISTRICT TO A GAP WHERE PEOPLE COULD QUESTION IF PEOPLE WERE BUYING OUR SCHOOLS A PORTION OF THE PHYSICAL PROPERTY. AND DOES THAT SORT OF REDUCE THAT EQUITABLE OWNERSHIP BY THE CITIZENRY? SO THIS IS WHAT CAUGHT MY ATTENTION AND MY PERSONAL OPINION IS JUST ONE OF 11 IS THAT THIS IS ONE THAT I THINK NEEDS TO HAVE A LITTLE BIT MORE CONTROL OVER OUR PHYSICAL ASSETS. YES, SIR. UM, SO THIS ONE REALLY, IT ALIGNS WITH E UH, ADMINISTRATIVE RULE E SIX BECAUSE IF THERE WERE, FOR EXAMPLE, A $500,000 SCOREBOARD THAT WAS GOING TO BE DONATED TO A SCHOOL AND, UM, THERE WAS A GROUP THAT WAS FUNDING IT, THAT DONATION WOULD HAVE TO COME BEFORE THE BOARD, BUT COMES TO THE SUPERINTENDENT OR HIS DESIGNEE FIRST. AND IF THAT DE AMOUNT IS OVER $5,000, IT WOULD GO TO THE BOARD. SO THIS AN AMOUNT, UH, UH, A PHYSICAL ASSET THAT WOULD BE DONATED WOULD HAVE TO COME BEFORE THE BOARD, NOT ONLY IN MONETARY, BUT IN, UM, DONATIONS, BUT IN, UH, THE VALUE [01:10:01] OF AN ASSET WOULD ALSO HAVE TO COME BEFORE THE BOARD. UM, AND, AND IT'S, THE BOARD HAS SEEN, WE HAD ONE OF THOSE A COUPLE OF YEARS AGO. UM, AND THEN ONCE THAT FUNDING IS APPROVED, THEN THE MODIFICATION TO THE FACILITY OR THE GROUNDS COULD OCCUR WITH APPROVAL OF THE CHIEF OPERATIONS OFFICER ONCE THE FUNDING HAS GONE THROUGH APPROVAL OF THE BOARD. SO I THINK, I FEEL THAT WE HAVE A SAFEGUARD IN THAT WE HAVE BOTH APPROVALS THAT MUST TAKE PLACE IF A PHYSICAL ASSET IS DONATED TO A SCHOOL DISTRICT. UM, BUT I, UM, I'LL YIELD TO THE, THE, THE CHAIR AND THE MEMBERSHIP TO, UH, DISCUSS IF WE NEED TO MODIFY THIS IN ANY WAY. BUT I THINK THAT WORKED VERY WELL WITH THE SCOREBOARD AT BATTERY CREEK HIGH SCHOOL, AS AN EXAMPLE. UH, WE DID NOT MOVE FORWARD WITH APPROVAL. IN FACT, THE CHIEF OPERATIONS OFFICER HALTED IT BEFORE UNTIL THAT, UM, APPROVAL WAS MADE BY THE BOARD BECAUSE THERE ARE ONGOING MAINTENANCE COSTS, WHICH WERE CONCERNS OF THE BOARD, UM, AND, UH, AS FAR AS ELECTRICITY AND ONGOING MAINTENANCE AND THAT SORT OF THING. SO, UM, THERE WERE OTHER ELEMENTS INVOLVING THAT KIND OF ASSET. SO I CAN UNDERSTAND YOUR CONCERNS. UM, I THINK THOSE TWO HAVE TO ALIGN TOGETHER AS WE GO FORWARD WITH, UM, YOU KNOW, ANYTHING OVER A THOUSAND OR $5,000. SO, OKAY. THEN, UH, IF I MAY JUST, UH, UH, SUBMIT ONE LAST QUESTION. DO, SHOULD WE HAVE ANY TYPE OF LANGUAGE THAT SAVES THE DONOR RELINQUISH HIS CONTROL OF THE ASSET THAT THEY FUNDED? IS THAT CLEAR? AND WHAT'S CURRENTLY WRITTEN IN, UM, ITEM FIVE C FOUR, IT SAYS OWNERSHIP CONTROL, UM, UNLESS THE CHIEF OPERATIONS OFFICER SPECIFICALLY AGREE AGREES IN ADVANCE SUCH PROJECTS MUST ADHERE TO THE FOLLOWING, PROVIDE THE BCSD WITH FULL AND COMPLETE OWNERSHIP AND CONTROL OF THE RESULT OF THE MODIFICATION AND CONSTRUCTION. OKAY. ALRIGHT. SO I THINK WE'VE COVERED THAT. UM, WHAT, UH, WHAT WE COULD DO IS TO REFERENCE, OH, UH, E SIX AND THAT THE FUNDING WOULD HAVE TO HAVE APPROVAL 40. MAJOR CONSTRUCTION WAS DONE. ANYTHING OVER $5,000, THAT WILL MAKE ME FEEL A LOT MORE COMFORTABLE. OKAY. AND ANY OTHER COMMENTS, GUIDANCE QUESTIONS? OKAY. MOVING RIGHT ALONG MADAM. CFO OKAY. OS 11 INVENTORY. UH, THIS WAS SUBMITTED BY MS. MATSON WHO WAS NOT ABLE TO BE HERE TODAY, UH, REGARDING INVENTORY. UM, AND, UH, SHE IS VERY IN TUNE WITH FEDERAL PROGRAMS AND NEEDED NEEDS, OFTEN NEEDS, UH, JUST SLIGHT MODIFICATIONS TO OUR POLICIES TO MAKE SURE WE'RE ALIGNED WITH FEDERAL AND STATE POLICIES. UM, SO WE'RE UPDATING OISE OS 11 TO CORRESPOND WITH THE SOUTH CAROLINA STATE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION'S PROCEDURES FOR KEEPING INVENTORY ON ITEMS PAID WITH FEDERAL FUNDS. SO THERE ARE VERY STRICT REQUIREMENTS FOR, UH, ITEMS PAID. I THINK THAT'S OVER $250, UH, WITH FEDERAL FUNDING. SO THEY HAVE TO KEEP SEPARATE INVENTORIES FOR EVEN VERY SMALL ITEMS. THIS PROCESS IS IN ADDITION TO THE DISTRICT'S FIXED ASSET PROCESS, WE HAVE OUR OWN POLICIES IN THE FINANCE POLICIES AND PROCEDURES MANUAL, UH, AND ONLY APPLIES TO THE FOLLOWING CRI CRITERIA IF IT'S PURCHASED WITH A FEDERAL FUND, NOT JUST TITLE ONE, IT COULD BE IDEA OR ANY OTHER PERKINS, ANY OTHER FEDERAL FUND. UM, ITEM HAS A LIFE EXPECTANCY GREATER THAN ONE YEAR, AND THE ITEM COST IS OVER THE STATE'S THRESHOLD AMOUNT, WHICH IS CURRENTLY, UH, UPDATED FROM $200 TO $2,500. IT APPLIES TO TECHNOLOGY ITEMS SUCH AS TABLETS, LAPTOPS, AND PRINTERS THAT ARE BELOW THE THRESHOLD. SO NOT ONLY THOSE ITEMS THAT ARE 2,500, BUT LAPTOPS AND TABLETS AND ELECTRONIC ITEMS MUST BE INCLUDED AS WELL, WHICH THE DISTRICT KEEPS AN INVENTORY IN. UM, WHAT'S FORMALLY CALLED DESTINY SOFTWARE. UM, THAT WOULD BE, UM, [01:15:01] WE HAVE AN INVENTORY SYSTEM OF TAGGING IN THAT SYSTEM TO TRACK, UH, ALL OF THOSE DEVICES, WHICH ARE CONSIDERED TO BE SOME OF THE MORE AT RISK ASSETS THAT WE HAVE BECAUSE THEY'RE SMALL, THEY'RE VA, AND HAVE A LOT OF VALUE. SO, UM, THIS OS JUST ADDS THE NON-DISCRIMINATION CLAUSE, BUT ALSO, UM, JUST MODIFIES THE LAST PARAGRAPH AND TO INCLUDE THAT, UH, PHYSICAL INVENTORY LISTING MUST BE MAINTAINED FOR NON CONSUMABLE ITEMS, HAVING ONE MORE THAN ONE YEAR OF LIFE EXPECTANCY AND ARE PURCHASED WITH FEDERAL FUNDS THAT EXCEED THE SDE APPROVED COST THRESHOLD. AND IT STATES THAT THE TABLETS AND MONITORS AND ELECTRONIC DEVICES, UH, MUST BE INCLUDED EVEN IF THEY FALL BELOW THAT $2,500 THRESHOLD. SO THAT LANGUAGE JUST NEEDED TO BE INSERTED INTO THIS ADMINISTRATIVE RULE SO THAT WE'RE IN COMPLIANCE WITH THE STATE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION'S REQUIREMENTS. AND, UM, I'LL BE HAPPY TO TAKE ANY QUESTIONS, ANY QUESTIONS, COMMENTS, INSIGHTS? I HAVE NONE MA'AM. UH, NO VOTE REQUIRED ON THAT. IT IS, UM, UH, FOR INFORMATION ONLY. SO WE'LL, WE'LL UPDATE THAT AND THEN IF YOU'RE READY TO MOVE ON, WE'LL MOVE TO SS 42. I AM, IF THE REST OF THE TEAM IS ABSOLUTELY OKAY. SOUNDS GOOD. MOVE ON. THANK YOU, MS. HAY. ALL RIGHT. UNLIKE THE OTHER, THE PREVIOUS ADMINISTRATIVE RULES, THIS ONE IS A LITTLE DIFFERENT. UM, THIS IS ACTUALLY THE WELLNESS POLICY FOR THE SCHOOL DISTRICT, WHICH YOU HAVE SEEN BEFORE. MM-HMM . UH, WE ACTUALLY APPROVED IT IN JUNE WITH SOME MODIFICATIONS. THE STATE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION CAME BACK WITH ADDITIONAL CHANGES, UM, WHICH I DIDN'T QUITE UNDERSTAND, BUT I REACHED OUT TO A COLLEAGUE IN FORT MILL, A DIRECTOR OF NUTRITION, AND SHE DIRECTED ME, ME TO THE, THEIR DIRECTOR OF NUTRITION. UM, AND SHE HELPED ME TO DESIGN, UH, TO, TO AUTHOR THIS, MAKE MODIFICATIONS IN OUR POLICY THAT COMPLIED WITH THE STATE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION. UM, SO THIS POLICY IS ACTUALLY REQUIRED TO BE APPROVED BY THE BOARD. SO THE, AND I, AND I'M KIND OF DRAW A PARALLEL BETWEEN THIS AND THE MBE MU, UM, UTILIZATION PLAN, THE MINORITY WOMEN BUSINESS ENTERPRISE IS AN ADMINISTRATIVE RULE, BUT IT DOES REQUIRE, IT DOES REQUIRE BOARD APPROVAL FROM THE PROCUREMENT CODE. SO SORT OF LIKE THAT, THIS IS AN ADMINISTRATIVE RULE, WHICH IS A DISTRICT POLICY, BUT IT IS REQUIRED BY THE STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICE OF HEALTH AND NUTRITION TO BE APPROVED BY THE BOARD, WHICH WE HAVE NOT DONE BEFORE. SO WE MOVED FORWARD WITH MODIFICATIONS, BUT NEVER HAD APPROVED THE POLICY. SO, UM, AND, AND BY THE WAY, FOOD, ER SCHOOL NUTRITION HAS THE MOST BUREAUCRATIC POLICIES AND PROCEDURES OF ANY FUNDING SOURCE THAT WE DEAL WITH. AND IT IS NOW DUE TO CEP, THE COMMUNITY ELIGIBILITY PROGRAM. IT IS ALMOST ENTIRELY FEDERALLY FUNDED, AND THAT'S PROBABLY WHY. YEAH. UH, SO JUST WANT TO HIGHLIGHT, I HAVE ABOUT, UM, SEVEN AREAS THAT WERE MODIFIED. A COUPLE OF THEM ARE THE SAME IN THAT THERE WERE REFERENCES TO, UM, WELL, FIRST OF ALL, I'LL START WITH THE FIRST ONE. THE FIRST CHANGE RELATES TO, UH, FOUR POINT H. AND THIS WAS ACTUALLY BROUGHT UP BY MY, OUR, UM, SCHOOL DIETICIAN DISTRICT DIETICIAN FOR THE NUTRITION GROUP. AND OUR PE COORDINATOR, EMILY GRAY AND COLLEEN WARE, THEY WENT TO A SEMINAR AND INDICATED THAT DISTRICTS WERE ADDING LANGUAGE TO PROHIBIT UBER EATS AND OTHER DELIVERY SERVICES FOR FOOD TO COME DURING LUNCH AND, AND MEAL PERIODS. SO THEY FELT LIKE IT WAS IMPORTANT THAT WE ADD LANGUAGE TO PROHIBIT, UH, DELIVERY SERVICES FOR THE PURPOSES OF OBTAINING LUNCH OR, OR BREAKFAST IN THE SCHOOL DISTRICT. SO IN SECTION FOUR POINT H, YOU'LL SEE, UM, SOME WORDING ADDED TO, UM, INCLUDE THAT THERE WOULD BE NO, UM, UH, THEY WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO RECEIVE FOOD, UH, FOOD DELIVERY. AND THAT'S ON PAGE TWO IN BLUE. OKAY. SO THE, UM, NEXT SECTION, [01:20:02] UH, RELATES TO IT IS FOUR J ONE THAT IS ON PAGE TWO. THE BOTTOM OF PAGE TWO, WE REMOVED A REFERENCE BASED ON STATE DEPARTMENT REQUESTS TO REFERENCE STANDARDS FOR FOOD MADE AVAILABLE BUT NOT SOLD. SO THAT WOULD BE LIKE, UM, THE SMART SNACKS IN SCHOOLS. IT, IT RELATES TO THE SMART SNACKS IN SCHOOLS. WE ALREADY HAVE A STANDARD FOR THAT, AND THAT'S REQUESTING THAT WE'RE NOT BRINGING CUPCAKES FOR EVERY CHILD'S BIRTHDAY. THOSE ARE PROVIDED, BUT THEY'RE NOT ACTUALLY SOLD, THEY'RE GIVEN FOR FREE OR, UM, AND THAT THEY, THE STATE, UM, THE US DEPARTMENT OF EDU UH, AGRICULTURE'S REQUIREMENTS ARE THAT WE OFFER SCHOOL, UH, SNACKS THAT ARE SMART SNACK COMPLIANT. AND SO WE, SO WE CAN, WE DON'T NEED THE REFERENCES TO ANYTHING RELATING TO FOODS SOLE A AVAIL MADE AVAILABLE BUT NOT SOLD BECAUSE WE HAVE SS 42 E, WHICH DETAILS ALL OF THAT IN THE SMART SNACK STANDARDS. SO THIS JUST REMOVES, UM, ADDITIONAL DUPLICATE LANGUAGE THAT IS UNNECESSARY. UM, IN SECTION THREE, UM, WE NEEDED TO CLARIFY THAT THE FIVE FUNDRAISERS THAT WE'RE EXEMPTING PER YEAR PER SCHOOL, UM, THAT DON'T HAVE TO MEET THOSE SMART SNACK COMPLIANCE ARE ACTUALLY ONE DAY BENCH FUNDRAISERS. THEY'RE NOT ALL YEAR LONG, YOU KNOW, LIKE A MONTH LONG FUNDRAISER OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT. SO WE HAD TO BE MORE SPECIFIC ON THAT. UH, AND THEN AGAIN, IN NUMBER FOUR, IT'S BASICALLY THE SAME THING AS ITEM NUMBER TWO. WE HAD TO REMOVE REFERENCES TO FOOD SERVED, NOT, BUT NOT SOLD. THEN NUMBER FIVE, UM, WE HAD LANGUAGE IN THE POLICY THAT REFERENCE THAT WE WOULD SEND HOME PAPER MENUS THAT HAS NOT OCCURRED IN YEARS. AND SO THEY'RE ALL ELECTRONIC NOW. WE HAVE AN APP BASIS, SO WE MOVED, CHANGED THIS SECTION OF THE POLICY TO REFLECT THAT NOTIFICATIONS WOULD BE MADE THROUGH THE WEBSITE AS WELL AS, UM, THROUGH OUR DIGITAL DINING APP, UH, WHICH IS CALLED NUTRA SLICE. SO BOTH, UM, SO NOTIFICATIONS FOR, UM, SORRY, I WAS, I THINK I WAS SKIPPING AHEAD A LITTLE BIT. NO, THAT WAS NUMBER SIX. THE PAPER MENUS WERE ON ITEM NUMBER SIX. ITEM NUMBER FIVE WAS TO MODIFY THIS TO STATE THAT THE NOTIFICATIONS OF ANY WELLNESS COMMITTEE MEETINGS OR OTHER MAJOR CHANGES WOULD BE MO NOTIFIED ON THE STATE WEBSITE AND THROUGH PO PUBLIC SOCIAL MEDIA. SO, UM, THAT, THOSE ARE ALL OF THE CHANGES, UM, THAT ARE IN THIS POLICY. UM, I WANTED TO GIVE A FEW UPDATES ON THE WELLNESS PROGRAM, BUT I'M GONNA STOP THERE AND PAUSE TO ASK IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ON THOSE CHANGES FIRST, MS. HAY? I DO NOT. SHE EXPLAINED THEM VERY WELL. THANK YOU, MRS. PER MS. FRAZIER. UM, JUST A QUESTION ABOUT THE FUNDRAISING. THE CHANGES ARE YOU CAN ONLY FUNDRAISE FOR A DAY AND YOU CANNOT SELL FOOD PRODUCTS, OR DID I MISUNDER MISUNDERSTAND, UM, THE FUNDRAISER, UM, THE EXEMPT FUNDRAISERS ARE THAT IF YOU ARE SELLING FOOD TO FUNDRAISE, FOR EXAMPLE, CHOCOLATE OR DONUTS, UM, THAT YOU CANNOT HAVE, YOU CANNOT DO IT ALL WEEK, FIVE, FIVE DAYS A WEEK. IT WOULD BE A ONE DAY FUNDRAISER THAT WOULD BE ELIGIBLE TO BE EXEMPT FROM THE SMART SNACK REQUIREMENTS. OH BOY. BECAUSE FUNDRAISING WITH DONUTS AND THINGS LIKE THAT, THEY NORMALLY ADVERTISE AND GET SALES OVER A LONG PERIOD OF TIME. 'CAUSE JUST DOING IT FROM ONE DAY, I COULD SEE DISTRIBUTION IN THE ONE DAY. YES. THE, IT IS THE DISTRIBUTION, IT'S THE, IT IS THE PART ABOUT THE STUDENTS CONSUMING THE DONUT DURING LUNCH AND NOT ALLOWING THAT CONSUMPTION TO HAPPEN EVERY SIX DAY, BUT TO HAPPEN ONE DAY. SO THE, THE COLLECTION OF THE FUNDS COULD BE OVER MULTIPLE DAYS, BUT THE DISTRIBUTION DOWN TO ONE. OKAY. GOTCHA. OKAY. ANY OTHERS QUESTIONS COMMENT? MR. SMITH? DID YOU SAY SOMETHING? NO, I WAS GONNA SAY I'VE DEFINITELY HAD, UH, SOME PARENTS HAVE REACHED OUT ABOUT OUR FOOD PROGRAM [01:25:01] AND DIFFERENT THINGS THAT, UH, THAT PROBABLY WOULD BE SOMETHING GOOD TO DISCUSS, UH, SOON, SOON, SOONER LATER AS WELL. OKAY. UH, FOOD NUTRITION IS ON THE FEBRUARY OE SCHEDULE. THANK YOU. MR. CHAIRMAN. YES. IS COLONEL GUY THERE, THERE WAS A, UH, NOTIFICATION TODAY ABOUT A VENDOR AT SHANKLIN ELEMENTARY, UH, BEING TOLD THAT HE COULD NO, NO LONGER PROVIDE YOU, I ASSUME THAT THIS COMES OUT OF THIS, UH, REGULATION. DID YOU, ARE YOU, ARE YOU, UH, AWARE OF THAT? I'M NOT AWARE OF THAT. UM, THEY ARE REQUIRED TO, UM, REQUEST, UH, AN EXEMPTION FOR A FUNDRAISER. SO IF THEY HAVE SAY A FOOD TRUCK OR SOMETHING COME ONE DAY, THEN THEY HAVE TO HAVE A ONE DAY EXEMPTION FOR THAT, UM, TO BE EXEMPT SO THAT THEY'RE NOT SERVING THAT. I, I DON'T KNOW IF THAT'S WHAT IT'S ABOUT. HOW, I GUESS THE, UH, HOW WOULD WE FOLLOW UP ON THAT MADAM CROP? CFO? WOULD THAT, NOW IS THAT A FOOD RELATED VENDOR? IT'S, IT DOESN'T SAY THAT. IT DOESN'T SEEM TO SAY THAT. SO I'LL FOLLOW UP ON THAT WITH THE PRINCIPAL. THANK YOU, MS. YEAH, MS. RIVERA, I'LL CALL MS. RIVERA. THANK YOU, MA'AM. ANY OTHER COMMENTS? UM, I DID WANNA, UM, JUST GIVE YOU SOME PROGRAM UPDATES ON THE WELLNESS PROGRAM. UM, WE HAVE MA'AM, UM, WE REQUESTED A WELLNESS CHAMPION BE IDENTIFIED FOR EACH SCHOOL. SO WE HAVE A LIST OF THOSE AT THE DISTRICT OFFICE. UM, WELLNESS ACTIVITIES ARE ACTIVELY BEING TRACKED AND COMMUNICATED BY SCHOOLS. UM, WE HAVE, I PERSONALLY UPDATED THE WEBSITE. IT WAS OUTDATED. UM, SO IT, THE SCHOOL NUTRITION WEBSITE THAT RELATE AND, AND ALL THE WELLNESS POLICY INFORMATION IS THERE THAT HAS BEEN UPDATED. AND THE DISTRICT DASH, THERE'S A SECTION CALLED, UH, NUTRITION AND FITNESS. THE DISTRICT DASH 5K IS SCHEDULED, UH, IS ON THAT WEBSITE AND IS SCHEDULED FOR MAY 9TH AT COLIGNY BEACH. HILTON HEAD ISLAND REGISTRATION IS OPEN AND AVAILABLE ON THAT WEBSITE, AND IT'S, IF YOU WANNA CLICK HERE ON THE LINK THERE, UM, THE, FROM THE, THIS REPORT WILL TAKE YOU JUST DIRECTLY TO THAT. AND THAT IS ONE WELLNESS INITIATIVE THAT WE ARE LOOKING TO ADD AND EVERY SCHOOL DISTRICT WILL BE, UH, EVERY SCHOOL IN THE DISTRICT WILL BE ABLE TO BENEFIT FROM THAT. SO WE'RE MAKING SOME HEADWAY ON WELLNESS, MAKING SOME EFFORT REALLY, UH, FOCUSING IN OUR EFFORTS ON VARIOUS THINGS AND, UM, REALLY PUSHING THAT AT THE SCHOOL LEVELS. AND I'M LOOKING AT SOME THINGS AT THE DISTRICT OFFICE LEVEL AS WELL. SO, UM, JUST, THAT'S ALL I HAVE. I HAVE A, I HAVE A RECOMMENDED MOTION AT THE BOTTOM OF THE REPORT. MM-HMM . UM, FOR POTENTIAL, UM, UH, FOR THE BOARD'S IF THOUGH IT'S PLEASURE. MS. HAY, IF YOU ARE IN AGREEMENT, WOULD YOU, UM, MOVE ON THE RECOMMENDED MOTION, MA'AM? YES SIR. DO I NEED TO READ IT? YES MA'AM. I WILL READ IT. THE, OH, HOLD ON MY SCREEN JUST MOVED. THERE WE GO. I MOVE THAT THE FINANCE COMMITTEE RECOMMEND TO THE FULL BOARD THE APPROVAL OF THE BEAUFORT COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT WELLNESS POLICY SS DASH 42 AS PRESENTED. OKAY. PROPERLY MOVED. ALL IN FAVOR SAY AYE. AYE. OH, DO YOU NEED TO SECOND IT? OH YEAH, I DO NEED TO SECOND, SORRY, I SECOND IT. . THAT'S OKAY. ALL IN FAVOR? AYE. AYE. PASSES UNANIMOUSLY. WELL DONE, WELL DONE MS. CROSBY AND YOUR TEAM. THANK YOU MS. HAY. ANY OTHER COMMENTS? UH, ANY OTHER ITEMS, MS. CROSS? UM, JUST FUTURE TOPICS. OKAY. UM, I DO HAVE A FEW. UM, SO, UH, IN ADDITION TO THE BOARD OF ED BUDGET, WE'LL HAVE THE TRANSPARENCY REPORT. UM, WE WILL HAVE THE, UM, UH, AN AUDIT PRESENTATION AT THE NEXT FINANCE COMMITTEE MEETING. UM, AND THAT IS IN ACCORDANCE WITH OE 6.1 THROUGH 6.8. WE WILL HAVE A COST CENTER REPORT AS WE DID LAST DECEMBER AS WELL. SO WE'LL DO THAT FOR FISCAL YEAR 25. AND, UM, WE HAVE OS 18 THAT WE NEED TO UPDATE AND I BELIEVE WE'RE GOING TO BRING A PROPOSED BUDGET CALENDAR TO THAT MEETING AS WELL. SO WE ALREADY HAVE A FULL AGENDA BEFORE WE EVEN START AND AN AUDIT IN THE INTERIM. YES. [01:30:02] AND I'D LIKE TO, UM, ASK IF WE CAN MOVE THE FINANCE COMMITTEE. SO OUR BOARD MEETING IN DECEMBER IS DECEMBER 9TH, AND OUR REGULARLY SCHEDULED FINANCE COMMITTEE WOULD MEET ON THE 11TH. SO I'M PROPOSING THAT WE MOVE THE MEETING TO THE FOURTH, IF THAT IS OKAY. THAT WOULD BE THE THURSDAY PRIOR TO AT ONE, AT, UH, ONE 30 MS. CROSBY, DOES THAT GIVE YOU AND YOUR TEAM ENOUGH, UM, SPACE TO CAPTURE ALL THE MONTH END DATA OF THE PRIOR MONTH? I THINK SO. WE'LL DO OUR BEST . OKAY. THAT MEANS THE DOCUMENTS WILL DO BE DUE THE DAY AFTER WE GET BACK FROM THANKSGIVING, SO, OKAY. IS THAT TOO MUCH COMPRESSION? IF, IF, IF IT IS, I'LL DROP A FEW ITEMS OFF AND PUSH 'EM TO THE NEXT MONTH. MS. HAY, ARE YOU OKAY WITH THAT? ABSOLUTELY. I WAS JUST THINKING I WAS GOING TO ASK MS. CROSBY IF AN EXTRA DAY HELPED IF WE WERE TO DO IT FRIDAY INSTEAD OF, I THINK FRIDAY'S THE, YEAH, FRIDAY THE FIFTH INSTEAD OF THE FOURTH. I DIDN'T KNOW IF AN EXTRA DAY WOULD HELP. AND ALSO JUST LET YOU KNOW THAT FRIDAY THE FIFTH AND THE SIXTH BOARD MEMBERS ARE LEAVING TO HEAD TO CHARLESTON FOR THE LEGISLATIVE, UM, DELEGATION. THAT'S RIGHT. IN CHARLESTON. OKAY. SO MS. CROSBY, WHAT WORKS BEST FOR YOU AND YOUR TEAM IN TERMS OF ACCURACY AND COMPLETENESS OF THE DOCUMENTS? 100 TO FIFTH AT ONE. UM, I'D RATHER JUST KEEP IT ON THE FOURTH AND WE'LL BRING, IF THERE ARE ANY ITEMS THAT WE CAN'T GET TO, WE WILL SHIP THEM TO THE NEXT MEETING. YEAH. OKAY. EVERYBODY OKAY WITH THAT, MS. HAY? I THINK YOU'RE ALRIGHT. ANYONE ELSE HAVE ANY CONCERNS ABOUT THAT? HEARING? NONE. IS THERE ANY OTHER PRESENTATION, MS. CROSBY? NO, SIR. ANY COMMENTS FOR THE GOOD OF THE ORDER FROM ANYONE ELSE? OKAY, IT IS 3 0 4. AND SO WITH THAT, UH, WE WILL ADJOURN AND THANKS EVERYBODY FOR YOUR THANK YOU ALL AND PREPARATION. * 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.