* This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting. [00:00:02] OKAY. [Call to Order] THE BEAUFORT COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION IS CONVENING AT THE DISTRICT EDUCATIONAL SERVICES MEDIA CENTER. TODAY IS OCTOBER THE SIXTH, 2026. THE TIME IS 5:00 PM IT WILL BE AVAILABLE THROUGH HYBRID VIDEO CONFERENCING AND WILL BE BROADCAST BY THE COUNTY CHANNEL IN ACCORDANCE WITH NEW SAFETY AND SECURITY GUIDELINES. BAGS, BACKPACKS AND PURSES ARE PROHIBITED BY THE PUBLIC AT BEAUFORT COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION MEETINGS. REQUEST TO PARTICIPATE IN PUBLIC COMMENTS VIA PHONE WILL BE ACCEPTED ELECTRONICALLY. YOU CAN FIND THE BBOE PUBLIC COMMENT FORM ON OUR WEBSITE AT HTTPS FORD SLASH SLASH TRIPLE W BEAUFORT SNET SLASH ABOUT US SLASH BOARD OF SLASH ED SLASH PUBLIC COMMENTS, PLEASE SIGN UP USING THE PUBLIC COMMENT FORM 24 HOURS FROM THE DAY OF THE MEETING. REQUESTERS WILL RECEIVE A PHONE CALL DURING THEIR RESPECT TO PUBLIC FORUM TIME AND SHOULD BE READY TO SPEAK. YOU MAY ADDRESS THE BOARD FOR A MAXIMUM OF THREE MINUTES ON ISSUES WITHIN THE BOARD'S DOMAIN. THE FORUM WILL BE LIMITED TO 30 MINUTES. CITIZENS DESIRING TO PARTICIPATE IN PERSON MUST FILL OUT A PUBLIC COMMENT CARD THAT CAN BE OBTAINED FROM THE BOARD CLERK UPON ARRIVAL. REQUEST FOR THE SECOND PUBLIC COMMENTS WILL BE IN THE SAME MANNER AS ABOVE. THE SECOND PUBLIC COMMENTS WILL TAKE PLACE PRIOR TO ADJOURNMENT NO LATER THAN 9:00 PM THE SECOND FORUM WILL BE LIMITED TO 15 MINUTES IN THE EVENT BOARD HAS NOT FINISHED ADDRESSING ALL ITEMS LISTED ON THE OCTOBER 6TH, 2026 AGENDA. THE BOARD WILL RECONVENE AT 5:00 PM ON OCTOBER THE SEVENTH, 2026, THE NEXT BUSINESS DAY TO FINISH THE AGENDA ITEMS. AND WITH THAT, WE CALL THE MEETING TO ORDER. IS THERE A MOTION FOR [Approval of Agenda ] APPROVAL OF THE AGENDA, MR. CHAIR? I MOVE THAT THE POLICY COMMITTEE REPORT AND THE MOTIONS COMING FROM THE COMMITTEE BE REMOVED AS WELL AS OE 17 ADMINISTRATIVE TECHNOLOGY UNDER BOARD BUSINESS ACTION FROM THIS AGENDA. I'LL SECOND THAT MOTION. OKAY. IT'S BEEN PROPERLY MOTIONED. AND SECOND CALL FOR THE VOTE. ALL IN FAVOR, SAY AYE. NO, I'D LIKE TO SPEAK, PLEASE. YES, MA'AM. MM-HMM . SO I JUST THINK THE PUBLIC SHOULD KNOW THE REASON THE POLICY, UH, UH, ITEM IS BEING REMOVED IS THAT THE DOCUMENTS HAVE NOT BEEN UPDATED, UH, WITH THE LATEST, UH, WORK BY THE COMMITTEE. AND THE OE 17 IS BEING, UH, REMOVED BECAUSE, UH, IT NEEDS FURTHER WORK. SO I HAVE SUBMITTED A FEW AGENDA TOPICS SINCE I WAS REELECTED FIVE MONTHS AGO, AND NONE HAVE APPEARED ON ANY OF THE POSTED AGENDAS. LEGAL OPINIONS ARE BEING SOUGHT AND PAID FOR WITH BOARD FUNDS WITHOUT THE NECESSARY APPROVAL OF THE FULL BOARD AS REQUIRED IN POLICY. GC FOUR. THIS IS NOT GOOD GOVERNANCE AND FULL BOARD HAS A BOARD, HAS A FIDUCIARY DUTY TO ADDRESS THIS ISSUE. CHAIRMAN DALLAS. AT WHICH MEETING WILL THIS BE AN AGENDA ITEM? AS I HAVE REQUESTED, SINCE IT IS NOT LISTED ON TONIGHT'S AGENDA? UH, EXCUSE ME. UH, CHAIRMAN, IS THAT GERMANE TO THE MOTION THAT WAS MADE? I DON'T THINK THAT THE LAST PART OF IT WAS GERMANE TO THE MOTION. I THINK THE FIRST PART OF IT WAS IN TERMS OF THE UNDERSTANDING THE, UH, REASONABLE FORCE NOT TO MOVE THE, TO MOVE FROM THE, MOVE THE ITEMS OFF THE AGENDA. THAT WOULD BE, UH, I THAT WOULD BE APPROPRIATE. BUT I THINK THE LAST PART OF THAT IS NOT GERMANE TO WHAT? TO, TO THE MOTION THAT WAS MADE RIGHT NOW. OKAY. I THINK YOUR POINT IS WORTH DISCUSSION. I'D LIKE TO ACTUALLY MOVE IT TO A LATER POINT IN THE MEETING AND GO FORWARD WITH THE APPROVAL OF THE AGENDA AND WE'LL ADD YOUR POINT. WELL, YOU CAN'T DO THAT , YOU KNOW, BECAUSE IT'S, IT'S NOT A, IT'S NOT A EXIGENT. I'M JUST ASKING YOU WHEN ARE YOU GONNA PUT IT ON THE AGENDA? NOTHING OF MINE HAS BEEN PUT ON THE AGENDA. OKAY. WHEN IS THIS TOPIC APPEARING ON THE AGENDA? THAT'S WHAT I'M ASKING. LET ME ANSWER YOUR QUESTIONS IN DETAIL. YOU HAVE POSED THAT WITHOUT VALIDATION IN SEVERAL DIFFERENT MEETINGS. THE FIRST ONE OCCURRED AT THE COMBINED BEAUFORT COUNTY COUNCIL AND SCHOOL BOARD SESSION WHERE YOU ACCUSED ME OF NOT FOLLOWING PROTOCOLS. I HAVE SUBMITTED THREE LEGALLY VETTED OPINIONS THAT WHAT WE'RE DOING IS CORRECT. NOW, LET ME HOP TO THE POINT YOU ARE RAISING YOUR ITEMS AND OTHER ITEMS HAVE BEEN SCHEDULED FOR THE WORK SESSION. I DO NOT RECALL WHICH ONES, BUT THE AGENDA SETTING GROUP TOOK A VERY STRENUOUS EFFORT TO MAKE SURE THOSE THINGS THAT HAVE REPEATEDLY COME UP ARE BEING ADDRESSED. LET ME MAKE A THIRD POINT. THE CHAIR MYSELF IS THE ONE WHO SAID, WE HAVE THIS PROBLEM OF ALL DIFFERENT MEMBERS OF THE BOARD FIND SELECT PARTS OF THE POLICY MANUAL, SAY THIS IS HOW IT SHOULD BE. WHEN WE ACTUALLY GO BACK, WE SEE THAT THERE MAY HAVE BEEN [00:05:01] A MOTION THAT HAS OVER SUPERSEDED THAT. SO THE REASON THAT I WANTED TO TAKE AND AND NOMINATED YOU TO BE ON THE POLICY COMMITTEE BECAUSE OF YOUR BACKGROUND, IS TO DO A THOROUGH BACKGROUND REVIEW OF THE ENTIRE POLICY MANUAL, WHICH AS YOU CAN SEE FOR WHAT'S COMING FORWARD, YOU PARTICIPATED IN THOSE. YOU SEE THAT THERE'S A TREMENDOUS AMOUNT OF WORK THAT'S BEING DONE. SO IT'S A VERY METHODICAL WAY. I'M SORRY THAT YOU FEEL THE NEED TO DISRUPT THIS PART PARTICULAR PROGRESSION TO RAISE YOUR POINT, YOUR POINT'S BEEN COUNTER, UH, UH, ANSWERED. YOU COULD HAVE COME TO ME AT ANY TIME AND SAID, WHERE DOES THIS STAND? YOU DIDN'T, SIR. THAT'S NOT THE PROCESS FOR PUTTING THINGS ON THE AGENDA WITH ALL DUE RESPECT. AND I'M GONNA ANSWER. FIRST OF ALL, I'VE BEEN ON THE BOARD, UH, NOW FIVE MONTHS, AS I SAID, AND THERE'S BEEN NO JOINT, UH, UH, BOARD, UH, SIC MEETING, NO JOINT BOARD, COUNTY COUNCIL MEETING. SO WHATEVER YOU'RE REFERENCING, I DON'T KNOW. THE SECOND THING IS THIS AGENDA TOPIC THAT I, IS MY MOST RECENT TOPIC SUBMISSION, AND IT WAS DONE IN PUBLIC AT THE LAST AGENDA AT THE LAST, EXCUSE ME, BOARD MEETING UNDER AGENDA TOPICS. YOU STILL HAVE NOT ANSWERED MY QUESTION. WHEN WILL THIS TOPIC APPEAR ON A BOARD AGENDA? WHICH AGENDA? THAT'S ALL I'M ASKING. NOTHING MORE. WELL, YOU ASK IT IN A VERY PEJORATIVE WAY, IN MY HUMBLE OPINION. SO I'M JUST GEARING IT BACK TO YOU THE WAY YOU ASKED THE QUESTION. I SAID THAT THERE'S A PROCESS. TH THE TWO OF THOSE THREE OPINIONS DEALT WITH HOW WE HAVE MIGRATED FROM HAVING A SINGLE CHAIR DECIDE WHAT, ALONG WITH THE SUPERINTENDENT, WHAT GOES ON THE BOARD, YOU DO YOUR PERIOD. HOW MANY PEOPLE WERE INVOLVED IN THAT AT THAT POINT IN TIME? SO THAT'S A RHETORICAL QUESTION, BUT WHAT WE'VE DONE IS WE HAVE ACTUALLY FOLLOWED THE LEGAL GUIDANCE. WE'VE ENSURED THERE'S NO VIOLATION OF FOIA, NO VIOLATION OF ANY OTHER RULES. SO TO YOUR ANSWER, YOUR QUESTION, YOUR PARTICULAR POINT IS IN THE PROCESS, AND I THINK IT MIGHT BE, I'M NOT SURE, BUT THE AGENDA SETTING GROUP CAPTURES THAT EVERY MONTH. AND YOU SEE MR. NA DO THAT. YOU SPEAK WITH MR. DAY. YOU ON THE POLICY COMMITTEE? DID YOU BRING IT UP THEN? DID YOU BRING YOUR QUESTION? I'M NOT, I'M NOT BRINGING UP AN ITEM FOR THE POLICY COMMITTEE, SIR. WITH ALL DUE RESPECT, THIS WAS SUBMITTED FOR THE BOARD AS A WHOLE AT THE LAST MEETING. ALL I WANNA KNOW IS WHEN WILL IT BE ON THE BOARD'S AGENDA? THAT'S WHAT I'M ASKING, SIR. MR. CHAIRMAN AND DR. GOWA, I, I APPRECIATE YOUR CONVERSATION, BUT I THINK THAT Y'ALL PART, YOUR, YOUR, YOUR CONVERSATION IS OUT OF ORDER BECAUSE OF THE FACT THAT IT'S NOT GERMANE TO THE, TO THE MOTION ON THE FLOOR. AND I THINK THAT WE HAVE A, WE HAVE, WE HAVE AGENDA THAT WE NEED TO STICK BY RIGHT NOW AT THIS POINT IN TIME. I JUST DON'T THINK THAT WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT IS GERMANE TO, TO THE SUBJECT. UM, WE, WE'VE MADE THE COMMENT, I THINK IT'S TIME FOR US TO TAKE A VOTE CALL, SO YOU WON'T ANSWER. THAT'S THE BOTTOM LINE. OKAY. I'VE ALREADY THANK YOU. NO, YOU DIDN'T. YOU CAN DEFINE IT, BUT I'VE ALREADY ANSWERED, AND I'M NOT YOUR CHILD NOT GONNA CONTINUE ANSWERING QUESTIONS THAT YOU COULD HAVE ASKED IN PERSON AND BEFORE THEN. THAT'S WHAT THAT IS. MS. BOATRIGHT HANDS UP AS WELL. WHOSE HAND? MS. BOATWRIGHT? MS. BOATWRIGHT. THANK. THANK YOU, CHAIRMAN. THANK YOU CHAIRMAN. UM, SORRY. ARE YOU GUYS HEARING AN ECHO ON YOUR END? OKAY. IT'S JUST ME. UM, IT'S ACTUALLY GERMAINE BECAUSE THE AGENDA HAS NOT YET BEEN APPROVED. AND I BELIEVE THAT DR. GUS'S COMMENTS WERE, UH, IN REFERENCE TO APPROVING OF THE AGENDA AND RAISING THE CONCERN THAT THE ITEMS SHE'S REQUESTED ON THE AGENDA. SO I DO THINK IT'S A GERMANE DISCUSSION. I ALSO CONCUR WITH HER ASSESSMENT THAT THE LAST AGENDA ITEM ABOUT THE LEGAL OPINIONS NEEDS TO BE HANDLED QUICKLY BECAUSE THAT IS A GOVERNANCE ISSUE. WE NEED TO KNOW AS PER POLICY, GENERALLY SPEAKING AND PAST PRACTICES, IF THE BOARD CHAIR IS GOING TO GET A LEGAL OPINION OR HIRE A CONSULTANT OR HIRE A LAWYER, IT NEEDS TO BE DONE WITH THE FULL BOARD. SINCE THAT WASN'T DONE, I DO THINK THAT THERE IS AN URGENCY TO GETTING IN FRONT OF THE FULL BOARD WHAT THOSE ILLEGAL OPINIONS ARE. I, I'VE HEARD YOU SAY THAT THERE WERE THREE THAT HAVE BEEN PROVIDED. I THINK I'M AWARE OF TWO, AND I'M NOT CERTAIN WHAT THE SUM TOTAL OF THOSE LEGAL OPINIONS ARE. SO FOR ME, I THINK IT IS VERY IMPORTANT THAT WE GET THE, UH, LEGAL OPINIONS TO THE FULL BOARD VIA EMAIL AS SOON AS POSSIBLE SO THAT WE KNOW WHAT THOSE LEGAL OPINIONS ARE. AND THEN AS FAR AS AN AGENDA ITEM, I THINK WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT HOW THE BOARD AS A WHOLE, UH, THROUGH BOARD ACTION PROCURES LEGAL AGREEMENT GOING FORWARD. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. UH, MR. CHAIRMAN? YES, SIR. MM-HMM . UH, MRS. BOATRIGHT, I WANT TO BRING TO YOUR ATTENTION AND AS, AS WELL AS TO THE BOARD, IS THAT I REMEMBER A TIME AGO WHERE I JUST BROUGHT THIS SAME, THIS SAME, UH, TOPIC, AND I WAS RULED OUTTA ORDER. AND I WANNA SAY IT WAS ALSO BY YOU TWO AS WELL. AND, AND I, AND I, AND I, I DON'T SAY THAT I'M, THAT I'M SURE, BUT I JUST WANNA KNOW WHERE'S THE SAME ENERGY THAT WE'RE PUTTING INTO, TO, INTO STOPPING THE MEETING RIGHT NOW. WHEN I, WHEN I CALLED FOR THE SAME QUESTION MONTHS [00:10:01] AGO, AND I WAS TOLD BASICALLY, CRY A RIVER UP THE PADDLE WITHOUT A BOAT. SO FOR US TO SIT HERE TONIGHT AND TO DO THIS TYPE OF BEHAVIOR, NOT ONLY IS IT, I THINK IT WAS, IS IT INAPPROPRIATE TO HAVE PERSONAL ATTACKS? I THINK IT'S JUST VERY OUTTA ORDER. AND IT'S, AND, AND IT, AND IT, IT'S JUST, IT, IT'S UNNECESSARY BECAUSE AS HE STATED, THERE HAVE BEEN TIMES WHERE I'VE SEEN YOU AND HIM HAVE TALKED. THERE HAVE TIMES WHERE I'VE SEEN HIM, HIM AND HIM AND OTHER COLLEAGUES HAVE TALKED. SO IT'S, IT IS NOT AS THOUGH THAT THAT CONVERSATION COULD HAVE NOT HAVE HAPPENED, WHERE IN TIMES WHEN I'VE BEEN ON THE BOARD AND I HAVE NOT BEEN ABLE TO TALK TO SOMEONE WHO SAT IN THAT CHAIR. SO I THINK THAT, THAT WE SHOULD, WE'RE GONNA BE ABOUT SENDING ABOUT STUDENTS TONIGHT, THEN WE NEED TO GO AHEAD AND DO THAT AND WAY AND MOVE FORWARD. BUT TO SIT HERE AND TO GO BACK AND FORTH AND TO TREAT BOARD MEMBERS A CERTAIN TYPE OF WAY IN THE PUBLIC EYES OR ANY OR WITHOUT PUBLIC EYES ISN'T INAPPROPRIATE. AND IT IS HIGHLY INEFFECTIVE TO OUR BOTTOM LINE. THANK YOU. OKAY. SO IT HAS BEEN PROPERLY MOTIONED AND SECOND, AND COMMENTS HAVE BEEN MADE. IS THERE A CALL FOR THE VOTE? YES, SIR. ALRIGHT. ALL. AND YOU HAVE A MOTION YOU SAY TO MAKE? I ALREADY MADE IT. I ALREADY MADE IT. OKAY. ALL IN FAVOR OF THE MOTION AS PROPOSED. RAISE YOUR RIGHT HANDS AND SAY, AYE. AYE. AYE. OPPOSED? OPPOSED. OKAY. ONLINE VOTE, RIGHT? OPPOSED. OKAY. A I. OKAY, SO THAT'S FIVE SEVEN. HOW MANY? FIVE TWO. 5 2 5. OKAY. FIVE TWO. THE MOTION PASSES. CONTINUE. THANK YOU, MR. SMITH AGI. OKAY. WE [Pledge of Allegiance, Moment of Silence, Statement of Media Notification ] NOW WROTE TO A PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE CALLED BY HOME IN FIVE OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. AND TO THE REPUBLIC FOR WHICH IT STANDS, ONE NATION UNDERGO INDIVISIBLE WITH LIBERTY AND JUSTICE FOR ALL. OKAY. THANK. HAS THE MEDIA BEEN NOTIFIED? YES, SIR. AND OUR [First Public Comments] FIRST PUBLIC COMMENT IS, MR. MILLER. FIRST OF ALL, MILLER, MAYBE CLOSER TO YOUR MOUTH ON THE AGENDA TONIGHT, IS THE SUPERINTENDENT'S, UH, UNDER THE SUPERINTENDENT'S REPORTS THAT THERE'S AN AREA ON MENTORING. AND I'D LIKE TO SPEAK TO THAT. WHAT I'M LOOKING FOR IS A COMPLETE UNDERSTANDING OF HOW MENTORING NEW TEACHERS OCCURS. I SUSPECT I WILL BE HEARING THAT MOST OF WHAT IS DONE IS CLASSROOM MAINTENANCE, LIKE HOW TO HANDLE DISCIPLINARY THINGS, THAT, THAT TYPE OF THING. BUT IF A TEACHER, A NEW TEACHER, IS DEFICIT IN THEIR, WHAT THEY'RE TRYING TO TEACH, HOW DO WE MENTOR THAT? AND SPECIFICALLY, I'LL GO TO BAND, AS YOU WOULD MIGHT EXPECT, WE HAVE IN THE MIDDLE SCHOOLS AN EXAMPLE THAT A BAND DIRECTOR WAS A, HAD BEEN A ELEMENTARY TEACHER FOR OVER 20 YEARS. SHE WAS ASSIGNED TO BE A MIDDLE SCHOOL BAND DIRECTOR. SHE DIDN'T KNOW WHAT TO DO. SHE DIDN'T HAVE A BACKGROUND, REALLY, THAT'S SUFFICIENT. SHE HERSELF STARTED TAKING, UM, CLARINET LESSONS. SHE VOLUN FOUND VOLUNTEERS TO COME IN [00:15:01] WITH WOODWINDS AND WITH BRASS. THE BRASS PERSON COULDN'T MAKE IT UNTIL AFTER SCHOOL, SO STUDENTS NEEDED TO STAY. I CHECKED WITH HER ABOUT SIX WEEKS LATER. SHE HAD QUIT TAKING HER BAND OR HER CLARINET LESSONS, AND THE VOLUNTEERS HAD FALLEN OUT. THAT WAS A, I THINK THIS THE START OF THE FOURTH YEAR. I HAVE OBSERVED HER IN CPA CONCERT PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENTS. SHE NEEDS HELP DIRECTING. WE ALSO HAVE HIRED, UH, MIDDLE SCHOOL BAND DIRECTOR WHOSE RESUME SAYS 16 YEARS OF GIVING PRIVATE PIANO LESSONS. AND THAT'S HIS EXPERIENCE. IT, WE NEED MENTORING TO HELP THESE PEOPLE ALONG SO THAT THEY CAN PRODUCE ADEQUATE MIDDLE SCHOOL BAND. SO WE DON'T HOLD UP THE HIGH SCHOOL WHEN THEY GET THE HIGH SCHOOL. THANK YOU MUCH. THANK YOU, SIR. OKAY. NO FURTHER COMMENTS. MOVING ON TO THE [Chair’s Report ] CHAIR'S REPORT. WANTED TO SHARE SOME REALLY HIGH ENERGY, POSITIVE ENERGY THINGS THAT HAVE TRANSPIRED OVER THE LAST, UH, SINCE THE LAST MEETING. ONE, THERE HAS BEEN A CELEBRATION OF THE TEACHERS OF THE YEAR, AND THAT IS A PARTICULARLY MOTIVATING, UH, EVENT TAKES PLACE AT THE, UH, MARITIME CENTER RIGHT OFF OF CHESHIRE, CHE, SEA RIVER, UH, MARITIME CENTER THERE. AND WE HAD A FULL TURNOUT. THE CANDIDATES FROM EACH OF THE SCHOOLS AND WHAT HAVE YOU, UH, GET TO TAKE A PICTURE TOGETHER. SO THEY MEMORIALIZE THE ONES THAT WERE NOMINATED BY THEIR SCHOOLS, WHICH IS ALSO IS A VERY POSITIVE OUTCOME. AND THAT IS, UH, OPPORTUNITY TO SIT AND CHAT AND HEAR SOME REALLY AMAZING SUCCESS STORIES THAT OUR TEACHERS DO. AND HOW THEY REALLY DO FOCUS ON ENSURING THAT THE KIDS FEEL VERY MUCH ENGAGED, INVOLVED, AND MOVING FROM TABLE TO TABLE. IT'S A LEARNING PROCESS TO ACTUALLY BE ABLE TO HEAR SOME OF THE SUCCESS STORIES THAT THEY HAVE DEVELOPED OVER THE TIME TERMS OF THEIR CAREERS AND THEY IMPART TO OTHERS. BUT THEN ABOUT TWO WEEKS LATER, WE HAD A SIMILAR EVENT CALLED THE STAFF SUPPORT STAFF PERSON OF THE YEAR HELD AT THE SAME LOCATION. AND THAT PARTICULAR GROUP ARE THE PEOPLE WHO REALLY DO A LOT OF THE WORK THAT MANY OF US ARE NOT AWARE OF. THEY STABILIZE THE ORGANIZATION. THEY ENSURE THAT THINGS GET DONE ON TIME. A LOT OF TIMES THE PEOPLE THAT ARE IN LEADERSHIP ROLES ARE MOVING FROM ONE PLACE TO ANOTHER. THAT PARTICULAR GROUP OF SUPPORT STAFF PROFESSIONALS MAKE SURE THINGS RUN CONTINUOUSLY. SO THEY TOO WERE RECOGNIZED DURING, UH, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT, UM, WE DID DURING THAT PARTICULAR SESSION WAS WE NOTED THAT THERE ARE FOUR WORDS CHARACTERISTICS THAT THOSE SUPPORT STAFF PEOPLE ARE REALLY KNOWN FOR. AND I WOULD LOVE TO SHARE THOSE WITH YOU. UH, THEY'RE VERY SIMPLE, VERY SIMPLE. UH, AND, BUT, UM, IN THE, IN THE INTEREST OF BREVITY OF TIME, I LIKE TO MOVE TO THE NEXT ONE, WHICH IS, THERE ARE LOTS OF ENGAGING SUCCESS STORIES. ONE OF THEM IS THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS PERFORMANCE BY THE DISTRICT. AND YOU'VE SEEN IT SHARED BY OUR PUBLIC COMMUNICATIONS GROUP. WE'VE ACHIEVED THE HIGHEST SCORE THAT THE DISTRICT EVER HAS. ANOTHER OPPORTUNITY IS THAT, UH, WE'VE HAD BOARD MEMBERS ABLE TO FACILITATE AT STATE CONVENTIONS. UH, SOME OF THE THINGS THAT THIS PARTICULAR DISTRICT HAS BEEN ABLE TO REALLY BE VERY PROFICIENT IN AND BECOME RECOGNIZED IN ONE OF THOSE IS HOW THE REFERENDUM HAVE BEEN CONDUCTED. UH, COLONEL GUY DID THAT. IT WAS EXTREMELY WELL RECEIVED. IT WAS FULLY ATTENDED. THE ROOM WAS PACKED, AND THAT WAS VERY MUCH INTERESTING, UH, TO COLLEAGUES AT THE STATE LEVEL. AND THEN WE'VE HAD BOARD MEMBERS FACILITATE TWO OF THE REGIONAL ADVOCACY, WHICH IS WHERE ALL THE DISTRICTS IN A PARTICULAR REGION GET TOGETHER. AND IT'S A SIT DOWN SESSION. AND WE TALK ABOUT A SINGULAR TOPIC. THE TOPIC WAS HOW DO WE LOBBY, HOW DO WE BECOME MORE EFFECTIVE AS A POLITICAL ENTITY, NONPARTISAN, BUT A POLITICAL ENTITY ENGAGING OUR LEADERS. AND TWO OF THOSE HAVE BEEN FACILITATED. YOU'RE GOING TO HEAR ABOUT SOME OF THE TREMENDOUS THINGS ACHIEVED BY FINANCE, BY [00:20:01] OPS, AND BY POLICY. UM, WE CHARTED THE POLICY BECAUSE WE WANTED TO MAKE SURE WE GIVE EVERYBODY A CLEAN STARTING POINT, HAVING A POLICY MANUAL THAT SOME USE, AND THEN OTHERS DON'T. LET'S GET ALL OF US ON THE SAME PAGE THAT IS BEING DONE. IT'S BEING LED BY VICTOR NAY, MY COLLEAGUE, DR. GU IS A MEMBER, UH, AS IS DR. CARR. SO WE WANT TO GET THROUGH THAT. IT TAKES A TREMENDOUS AMOUNT OF DISCIPLINE. IT'S A HUGE TASK, BUT IT'S ONE THAT I PERSONALLY FAIL IN MOST LARGE ORGANIZATIONS. YOU GO THROUGH, YOU MAKE SURE WE ALL ARE READING FROM THE SAME BOOK, SO TO SPEAK. ONE OF THE THINGS THE DISTRICT IS REALLY PROFICIENT IN, AND I, AND AS I'VE COMPARED OUR DISTRICT WITH OTHERS, THAT IS COMMUNITY OUTREACH. WE HAVE PROGRAMS. WHEN I TELL PEOPLE WHAT THEY ARE, SOME OF THEM, THEY'RE FLABBERGASTED. ONE IN PARTICULAR IS PARENTS AS TEACHERS. THOSE OF YOU IN THE AUDIENCE, HOW MANY OF YOU HAVE HEARD OF THAT PARTICULAR PROGRAM? PARENTS AS TEACHER? COULD YOU RAISE YOUR HAND? OKAY. THAT TEACHER IS SOMETHING I FOUND PROFOUNDLY AMAZING. WE ACTUALLY HIRE TEACHERS TO GO INTO THE HOME WHERE KIDS ARE AND ENGAGE THE PARENTS AND HELP THE PARENTS BECOME A BETTER TEACHER TO THEIR CHILDREN. AND I'VE LEARNED STATISTICALLY THAT BIRTH TO FIVE IS ONE OF THE MOST CRITICAL PLATFORMS FOR DEVELOPING ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE AND INTEREST. SO THAT'S ONE OF THE PROGRAMS I WANTED TO SHARE. UH, MANY OF US SEE THE BUILDINGS THAT WE'VE CREATED THAT OUR OP, SUPERB OPERATIONS AND OTHER GROUPS HAVE DEVELOPED AND WHAT HAVE YOU. THEY SEE THE HARD ASSETS THAT WE ARE BRINGING UP FROM THE GROUND TO GIVE BETTER PLATFORMS FOR LEARNING. WHAT THEY DON'T SEE IS THE HUMAN TALENT THAT'S INVOLVED. THOSE TEACHERS IN THE CLASSROOMS AND WHERE YOU ARE ABLE TO VISIT AND A TEACHER STRONGLY ENCOURAGE THAT YOU DO. SO, SOME OF THE MOST PROFOUND RELATIONSHIPS ARE BETWEEN TEACHER AND STUDENT, WHERE THAT STUDENT BELIEVES IN THAT TEACHER AND THAT TEACHER BELIEVES IN THAT STUDENT. AND SO THAT IS THE CHAIR'S REPORT FOR THIS EVENING. BUT THERE'S SOME GREAT THINGS HAPPENING, AND WE JUST WANTED TO SHARE THAT WITH THE PUBLIC WRIT LARGE IN TERMS OF [Board Business Action] BOARD BUSINESS ACTION. UH, I THINK THAT WAS A, A MOTION. WAS THERE A MOTION TO REMOVE OE 17? YES. MM-HMM . OKAY. SO WE'VE DONE THIS. ALRIGHT, NOW WE GO FORWARD TO [Committee Reports] COMMITTEE REPORTS. COLONEL GEIER. THANK YOU, MR. CHAIRMAN. THE FINANCE COMMITTEE MET SEPTEMBER 28TH, AND WE HAD THE FOLLOWING DISCUSSION AREAS. UH, WE RECEIVED A BUDGET STATUS, UH, REPORT, UH, FOR THE BOARD'S BUDGET. AND WE ARE WELL WITHIN NORMAL SPENDING TRENDS. WE HAD A EXCELLENT PRESENTATION BY THE NUTRITION GROUP, AND I FELT VERY IMPORTANT THAT IT WAS VERY IMPORTANT TO HAVE THIS PRESENTATION GIVEN TO THE FULL BOARD. SO, MS. CROSBY, COULD YOU COME UP AND INTRODUCE, UH, MR. MOONEY? YES, SIR. GOOD EVENING. GOOD EVENING. GOOD EVENING. UH, I'M WALTER MOONEY OF THE NUTRITION GROUP. THE GENERAL MANAGER IS HERE THIS EVENING, UH, AND WAS GOING TO GO OVER, UH, THE PRESENT TO YOU, THE GROCERIES TO GO PROGRAM FOR, UM, THIS SUMMER. UM, MR. BERTA GREEN AS WELL IS HERE, AND SHE'S, UH, INSTRUMENTAL TO THE OPERATIONS OF THE NUTRITION PROGRAM. AND, UH, I'M EXCITED TO, UH, ALLOW THEM TO SHARE THIS PRESENTATION WITH YOU THIS EVENING. IT'S A VERY POSITIVE, VERY UPLIFTING, UH, PROGRAM THAT WE HAD THIS YEAR AND HAD HUGE SUCCESS. SO WITH THAT, I'LL TURN IT OVER TO THEM. GOOD EVENING, MR. CHAIRMAN, MEMBERS OF THE BOARD, DR. RODRIGUEZ. UM, MY NAME IS WALTER MOONY. I AM THE GENERAL MANAGER FOR FOOD SERVICE HERE IN BEAUFORT COUNTY SCHOOLS. AND I DID WANT TO SHARE A QUICK PRESENTATION THAT, UH, WE PRESENTED TO THE FINANCE COMMITTEE. UH, COLONEL GEIER WAS NICE ENOUGH TO HAVE ME COME PRESENT THIS TO YOU AND JUST GIVE YOU A LITTLE RUNDOWN OF WHAT WE DID OVER THE SUMMER. SO, GROCERIES TO GO IS A NEW PROGRAM FOR US, UM, FOR THE SUMMERTIME. UH, OBVIOUSLY ONCE SCHOOL IS OUT, UM, WE'RE NOT FEEDING AS MANY KIDS. SO THE USDA HAS MULTIPLE PROGRAMS AVAILABLE, UH, THAT WE CAN TAP INTO TO BE ABLE TO ACCESS AS MUCH, UH, OF THOSE STUDENTS AS POSSIBLE. OVER THE SUMMERTIME. OBVIOUSLY WE HAVE, YOU KNOW, THE BOYS AND GIRLS CLUB THAT WE FEED, UM, OFFSITE PROGRAMS, OUR SUMMER READING PROGRAMS AND ALL THAT KIND OF STUFF WHERE WE'RE OBVIOUSLY FEEDING KIDS, BUT WE WANT TO BE ABLE TO DIG DEEPER INTO THAT BIGGER, BIGGER INTO THE COMMUNITY, THE FAMILIES THAT NEED, NEED THOSE NUTRITIOUS MEALS OVER THE SUMMER. SO THAT'S WHERE WE CAME UP. UM, WE ACTUALLY GOT THE IDEA FROM ANOTHER COUNTY, UNION COUNTY. UH, WE PICKED THE BRAINS OF THE DIRECTOR THERE TO SEE MUCH SMALLER, UH, SCALE, OBVIOUSLY, BUT WE WANTED TO SCALE THAT UP AND SEE IF WE COULD MAKE THAT WORK HERE IN BEAUFORT COUNTY. [00:25:01] SO, UH, OPERATIONAL WISE, OBVIOUSLY THE NUTRITION GROUP TOOK ON THAT ROLE. WE HAVE DISTRICT EMPLOYEES IN OUR OFFICE THAT WE TREAT AS OUR FAMILY AS WELL. AND THEY WERE A HUGE PART OF THAT SUCCESS OF HOW WE, YOU KNOW, BUILT THIS UP AND, AND MADE IT A SUCCESSFUL STORY. SO, TO EXPAND THAT, I'M A LITTLE, LITTLE BIT HOW WE, THE OUTREACH OF THAT PROGRAM. SO WE HAD MULTIPLE SITES, UH, WHERE FAMILIES COULD PICK UP, UH, SEVEN DAYS WORTH OF BREAKFAST AND SEVEN DAYS WORTH OF LUNCH. UH, BUCKINGHAM LANDING, UH, RIGHT THERE AT THE, UH, HILTON HEAD BRIDGE, UH, ST. GREGORY THE GREAT, WE HAD A SPOT THEN WE USED, UH, THE BUFORD COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT HERE, UH, MAY RIVER HIGH SCHOOL, UH, ST. HELENA ELEMENTARY, WELL BRANCH MIDDLE SCHOOL, AND OKEE ELEMENTARY. WERE ALL PICKUP SITES FOR THE SUMMERTIME FEEDING. NOW, THE BIGGEST PART THAT MADE THIS A HUGE SUCCESS WAS OUR OUTREACH, UH, WITH COMMUNITY VOLUNTEERS, UM, INDIVIDUAL VOLUNTEERS. WE HAD, UH, VOLUNTEERS FROM THE MILITARY BASES. UH, SECOND HELPINGS WAS A HUGE HELP FOR US. YOU KNOW, THEY WERE, UM, THEY SUPPLIED REFRIGERATION TRUCKS FOR US, FOR OUR OFFSITE OPERATIONS WHEN WE WEREN'T OUTTA SCHOOL. IT'S VERY HOT IN THE SUMMERTIME, SO WE GOTTA KEEP ALL THESE TEMPERATURES IN LINE. UH, SO THEY, THEY WERE HUGE. THEN WE HAD VOLUNTEERS COMING IN FROM, FROM TEACHERS TO STUDENT, INDIVIDUALS TO, UH, DISTRICT EMPLOYEES WERE OUT THERE HELPING US. WE DID TWO DAYS WORTH OF PICKUPS. SO WE DID A 12 TO ONE, OR 12 TO TWO PICKUP ON ONE DAY, AND THEN WE DID AN EVENING PICKUP FROM FOUR TO SIX. SO THEY GIVE FAMILIES OPTIONS TO WHEN THEY COULD PICK UP, UH, THE DIFFERENT, UH, UH, ITEMS AND ALL THAT KIND OF STUFF. SO, GOING INTO EXACTLY HOW WE, UM, YOU KNOW, KIND OF PACKED THAT UP. SO WE HAD TO START THIS EARLY, PROBABLY ABOUT TWO MONTHS BEFOREHAND. UH, WE HAD ALREADY COME UP WITH A MENU, THE FOUR WEEK ROTATION MENU, WHAT WE WERE GONNA SERVE. AND WE ALREADY STARTED PACKING UP ITEMS THAT WERE LIKE FROZEN PRODUCTS, LIKE SAY THE CHICKEN PATTIES OR THE, THE, THE PEAS AND STUFF LIKE THAT. SO WE HAD ALL OF OUR EMPLOYEES STILL IN THE SCHOOLS WORKING. SO WE STARTED PACKING THOSE INTO INDIVIDUAL INDIVIDUAL BAGS. UH, USED FOR THE SUMMER PROGRAM GOING, YOU KNOW, A LITTLE BIT FURTHER INTO THAT, UM, WE CAME UP WITH RECIPES THAT WE COULD GIVE TO THE PARENTS. SO WHEN THEY CAME AND PICK UP THE FOOD, THEY WOULD HAVE FULL RECIPES, UH, FOR THE WHOLE WEEK, WHAT THEY COULD DO, WHAT THEY COULD SIT DOWN WITH THEIR KIDS AND ACTUALLY GO THROUGH AND THEY COULD HELP COOK AND REHEAT THE MEALS AND ALL THAT KIND OF STUFF. SO, UM, THERE WAS SOME HELPFUL HINTS ON THERE, OBVIOUSLY STORAGE INFORMATION, PROPER COOKING TEMPERATURES, ET CETERA, ET CETERA. AND WE WERE ALWAYS AVAILABLE, OBVIOUSLY, THROUGH EMAIL OR PHONE IF THEY HAD ANY QUESTIONS ON THAT. SO, BUT THEN THE DISTRIBUTION PART OF IT. SO WE CAME TO A POINT WHERE, YOU KNOW, WE WERE GETTING, I THINK THE DISTRICT OFFICE HAD ALMOST 400 PICKUPS A DAY, UH, FROM 400 DIFFERENT MEALS BEING SERVED AT EACH, EACH LOCATION. THIS IS ONE PARTICULAR FAMILY THAT WAS AT, UH, MAY RIVER HIGH SCHOOL. THEY WERE THERE EACH DAY, EACH, WE HAD TWICE A WEEK. WE DID IT FOR EIGHT WEEKS THIS YEAR. UH, THE FAMILY WAS THERE, UH, THE FATHER WAS ACTUALLY A TEACHER IN ONE OF THE SCHOOLS, AND THEY MADE IT A FAMILY EVENT. UM, AND IT WAS GOOD TO SEE THAT HELPING HAND COMING OUT TO HELP US THERE. SO, AGAIN, A SHOUT OUT TO, UH, ALL THE PEOPLE THAT HELPED OUT. OBVIOUSLY THE SCHOOL DISTRICT AND THE NUTRITION GROUP WERE OUR, YOU KNOW, THE MAIN FOCUS. BUT WE GOT FROM THE AIR STATION FROM PARIS ISLAND, WE GOT MANY VOLUNTEERS. UM, I LEARNED A LOT ABOUT ALL THEIR VOLUNTEER HOURS THAT THEY HAVE TO HAVE AND ALL THAT. SO THAT WAS GOOD TO HAVE. UH, THE COUNTY OBVIOUSLY LET US USE BUCKINGHAM LANDING, UH, OUT THERE BY THE BRIDGE. SECOND HELPINGS WAS A GREAT HELP, AGAIN WITH THE REFRIGERATED TRUCK. AND THEY ALSO, UH, SAID GREGORY AS WELL. SECOND HELPINGS OFF OF ALSO OFFERED SNACKS. SO THEY ADDED SNACKS TO OUR PACKAGE. STUFF THAT WE CAN'T DO DUE TO USD REGULATIONS. UM, BUT COMING FROM AN OUTSIDE ORGANIZATION, WE WERE ABLE TO ADD EXTRA SNACKS IN THERE AS WELL. SO PROGRAM IMPACT, THAT'S THE BIG THING THAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR. SO THIS IS FEEDING OUTSIDE OF OUR, ALL OF OUR PROGRAMS. SO NOT COUNTING THE BOYS AND GIRLS CLUBS, SUMMER SCHOOLS AND ALL THAT. IN 2025, WE DID INDIVIDUAL MEALS THAT THEY HAD TO PICK UP EVERY DAY. THEY'D PICK UP A BREAKFAST AND A LUNCH, BUT THEY HAD TO COME TO A LOCATION EVERY DAY. 1373 MEALS, STUDENT SERVED TOTAL OR SO TOTAL MEALS, 7,709, OR THAT WAS FOR 26. SO YOU CAN SEE THE JUMP THERE FOR 25 FOR THE TOTAL INCREASE IN MEAL SERVED, YOU KNOW, ROUGHLY TWENTY EIGHT HUNDRED AND TWENTY FIVE, ALMOST 108,000 THIS YEAR. AND WE JUST PLAN ON TO BUILD EVEN MORE ON TOP OF THAT PROGRAM. SO, HUGE, HUGE SUCCESS THERE. AND IF YOU WANNA LOOK AT THE TOTAL IMPACT ON TOTAL NUMBERS, UH, JUST FOR JUNE AND JULY, UH, FROM 2025 TO 26, YOU KNOW, 20, 21,000 FOR JUNE THIS YEAR, 70, 77,000, JULY 27 UP TO 76 THIS YEAR. SO A TOTAL OF A HUNDRED FIFTY THREE, A HUNDRED FIFTY 4,000 MEALS SERVED THIS YEAR, UH, COMPARED TO 48,000 LAST YEAR. AND IT'S JUST SOMETHING WE'RE GONNA KEEP ON BUILDING, UH, MOVING FORWARD. YOU KNOW, WE LEARNED, LEARNED SOME LESSONS. WE FIGURED OUT WHAT THEY LIKED, WHAT THEY DIDN'T LIKE TIME WISE. UH, MORE COMMUNICATIONS, UM, YOU KNOW, [00:30:01] USDA SPECIFIES WHERE WE CAN HAVE THESE LOCATIONS. I WISH WE COULD PUT 'EM, BUT IT HAS TO BE A RULE ZONE. IT HAS TO BE WITHIN THEIR LITTLE MAP AREAS AND ALL THAT STUFF. THEN IT HAS TO MAKE SENSE FOR US, OBVIOUSLY, LOGISTICALLY AND ALL THAT KIND OF STUFF. SO WE ARE OBVIOUSLY GONNA CONTINUE THIS PROGRAM AND LOOK FORWARD TO THE SUPPORT WE HAVE. LIKE NEXT YEAR. WE GOT A LOT OF FEEDBACK FROM, UH, PARENTS THAT CAME. , CAN YOU SPEAK INTO THE MIC? SO, OH, I'M SORRY. OH, YOU'RE FINE, YOU'RE FINE. YES, MA'AM. WE DID A SURVEY AND, UM, FOR EVERYONE THAT PARTICIPATED IN SIGNING UP FOR THE PROGRAM, AND WE GOT A LOT OF FEEDBACK FROM THEM TELLING US WHAT A WONDERFUL JOB AND WHAT A WONDERFUL, UM, GIFT THAT WE GAVE THEM, UM, BECAUSE OF THE FACT OF IT HAPPENED DURING THE TIME WHEN THE PRICES FOR FOOD WAS GOING UP. SO WE WERE ABLE TO HELP IMPACT A LOT OF FAMILIES WITH THAT. AND I'M NOT GONNA TELL YOU IT WASN'T HOT, BECAUSE IT WAS VERY HOT OUT THERE, , BUT OUR STAFF WAS TREMENDOUS. THEY WERE GREAT COMING OUT, SUPPORTING IT, AND JUST BEING REAL FRIENDLY AND ENGAGING TO EVERY PARENT THAT CAME THROUGH AND PICK UP A MEAL. I'D LIKE TO MAKE A COMMENT, UH, MR. CHAIRMAN. YES, SIR. THIS INITIATIVE CAME FROM OUR CONTRACTOR. THIS IS WHERE IT CAME FROM. THIS INCREASE WAS THEIR ISSUE. THEY MADE IT HAPPEN. THEY WENT ABOVE AND BEYOND, AND I THINK THEY NEED TO BE CONGRATULATED PUBLICLY AND THE PUBLIC SHOULD KNOW THAT YOU DID ALL THIS. SO CONGRATULATIONS. UH, ALSO, UH, ALSO, DON'T YOU HAVE SOMEBODY ELSE PUT Y IN THE BACK RIGHT THERE? ISHA, WHY DON'T YOU COME? WHY DON'T YOU COME ON. SO, SO WE GONNA GRADUATE. WE GONNA GRADUATE. WE GATHER EVERYBODY. WE HAVE, WE HAVE EIGHT DIRECTORS. UH, ISHA IS ONE OF OUR DIRECTORS HERE THIS EVENING WITH US. SO YES, THEY, THEY DID A VERY, A VERY, AN EXCELLENT JOB. AND ANOTHER THING I DIDN'T ADD TO THAT AS WELL WAS THE EMPLOYEES THAT WE WERE ABLE TO KEEP ON OVER THE SUMMER BECAUSE OF THIS PROGRAM. SO WE KNOW 30 EMPLOYEES ON TOP OF WHAT WE NORMALLY HAVE TO FURLOUGH OVER THE SUMMERTIME. SO, SO WE CREATED JOBS AS WELL OVER THE SUMMER. YEAH, WE, WE SURE DID. JOURNAL IS OKAY IF WE GIVE THE ENTIRE OH, YES, ABSOLUTELY. THANK, I HAVE ONE QUESTION, IF I MAY. NO ONE ELSE HAVE A QUESTION. UM, THIS IS SUCH A PHENOMENAL OPPORTUNITY TO USE SOME TYPE OF MECHANISM. AND I SAW YOUR MATERIALS, THEY'RE VERY HANDED TO PASS OUT. ARE WE PASSING OUT ANY THAT SOMEONE WHO BENEFITS FROM THIS TAKES IT BACK INTO THEIR HOME OR INTO THEIR COMMUNITY? AND IT SHOWS NOT ONLY THE SCHOOL DISTRICT, BUT ALL OF THE SUPPORT MECHANISMS THAT ARE PARTNERING WITH YOU AND WITH US. SO, UH, THIS WAS WIDELY COMMUNICATED WITH OUR PARENTS, UH, THROUGH THE PARENT SQUARE, UH, APPLICATION. AND, UH, SO IT WAS IN OUR, IN OUR HOMES THROUGH THE PARENT NEWSLETTERS, UH, AND CONSTANT COMMUNICATION THAT WAY. UM, AND I WANNA MENTION ALSO, UH, AND NOT ONLY DID TNG HELP, YOU KNOW, THE, THE LOGISTICS OF IT, WE HAD, UH, STAFFING FROM THAT, OUR FOOD SERVICE EMPLOYEES OF THE SCHOOL DISTRICT AS WELL, WHO PARTICIPATED IN DEVELOPING THIS PLAN FOR OUR SCHOOL DISTRICT AS WELL. AND ALL OF THE MEALS WERE USDA, UH, REIMBURSABLE. SO, YEAH, NO, THE COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT, UM, DID HAVE A VERY GOOD TIME WORKING WITH THESE FOLKS. THEY WERE LOVELY. UM, BUT WE JUST WANNA SAY TOO, LIKE DR. RODRIGUEZ TALKED ABOUT THIS EVERY PLACE THAT HE WENT, WE HAD MEDIA, UM, OUTREACH ON THIS. THERE WERE NEWS INTERVIEWS AND WE, UM, IT WAS NEWS ARTICLES, THINGS LIKE THAT AS WELL. AND WE PUSHED IT OUT REPEATEDLY ON SOCIAL MEDIA TOO. SO IT, IT, WE DID PUSH THE WORD OUT. IT, IT WAS IMPORTANT TO PUSH IT OUT BEYOND JUST PARENTS SQUARE BECAUSE, UH, THIS PROGRAM SERVES, UH, NOT JUST BEAUFORT COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT STUDENTS, BUT IT SERVED, UH, 18 AND UNDER, I BELIEVE, IN THE COMMUNITY, UH, COMMUNITY WIDE. SO, UM, IF YOU JUST USE PARENT SQUARE, THEN JUST OUR STUDENTS HEAR ABOUT IT. BUT WHEN YOU USE ALL THESE AVENUES, THEN ALL OF A SUDDEN IT'S A BROADER AUDIENCE, WHICH IS WHAT YOU'RE TRYING TO REACH THROUGH THAT PROGRAM. SO THEY'RE A WONDERFUL JOB. FANTASTIC. YES, SIR. AND I WAS GOING TO SAY, I, I, I THOUGHT, I THOUGHT THAT WAS BECAUSE I REMEMBER, UH, I REMEMBER COMMUNICATION SCAN SENDING THE, UM, SENDING THE MESSAGE OUT, AND I, I SHARE A LOT OF TIMES WITH THE DISTRICT PUT OUT, AND I REMEMBER SOMEONE SAID, ARE YOU SURE IT WAS A 18 UNDER? I SAID, I, I IMAGINE SO. SO I WASN'T SURE THAT IT WAS, THAT THIS WAS THE ACTUAL THING THAT, THAT WE WERE TALKING ABOUT. SO, YEAH, NO, ACTUALLY I, WE DO A, AM I NOT IN MY SPECIFICALLY AREA OF DISTRICT THREE? WE DEFINITELY APPRECIATE WHAT THE DISTRICT DID AND THE HARD WORK THAT [00:35:01] Y'ALL HAVE DONE, AND WE CONTINUE TO LOOK FORWARD TO IT. HOPEFULLY THIS YEAR, I GUESS WE CAN MAYBE CAN SERVE MAYBE 200,000 MORE, MORE PEOPLE THIS, THIS SUMMER OR, OR MORE, BECAUSE THEY WILL, THEY WILL BE, THEY WILL BE LOOKING. SO I APPRECIATE THAT AS WELL. JOB WELL DONE TO, TO Y'ALL AND AS WELL AS COMMUNICATIONS AND, AND, AND, AND EVERYONE WHO WAS, WHO WAS INVOLVED IN MAKING THIS INITIATIVE HAPPEN. THANK YOU. THANK YOU ALL. OKAY, MR. CHAIRMAN, I'M GONNA PRESS ON, UH, UH, THE COMMITTEE TOOK A LOOK AT THE, UH, TRANSPARENCY, UH, REPORT. UM, WE FOUND THAT, UH, UH, THAT WAS REVIEWED AT, UH, SOME DETAIL. WE DID FIND, UH, CONTINUING ISSUES WITH, UH, BUFORD JASPER WATER AND SEWER AUTHORITY HERE AT THE DISTRICT OFFICE. UH, THEY GOT A WATER LEAK, AND OUR BILL IS, UH, RESULTING IN THAT. AND, UH, IT'S BEING HANDLED. SO, UH, A FINANCIAL TRANSPARENCY REPORT DONE. WE ALSO HAD A FOCUSED REVIEW AND WE FOCUSED, UH, THIS, UH, MONTH ON GROUNDS MAINTENANCE, UH, SPENDING ON GROUNDS MAINTENANCE INCREASED 17.8% IN THE LAST, UH, THREE YEARS. AND THIS HAS TO DO PRIMARILY BECAUSE OF, UH, ADJUSTMENTS IN THE COST OF DOING THAT KIND OF BUSINESS IN LABOR AND IN MATERIALS TO KEEP OUR FIELDS SAFE AND, UH, AND UP TO STANDARDS. I ASKED THE, UH, COMMITTEE, UH, TO GO BACK AND TAKE A LOOK AND GIVE US SOME HISTORICAL REVIEWS TO SEE HOW MUCH MONEY WE SAVE BY HAVING, UH, ARTIFICIAL TURF FIELDS IN OUR HIGH SCHOOLS COMPARED TO WHAT WE WERE SPENDING BEFORE THEY HAD ARTIFICIAL, TO SEE WHAT KIND OF COST BENEFIT, UH, WE GET FROM THAT. AND LOOKS AT POSSIBILITY OF EXPANDING THAT TO PRACTICE FIELDS IF THE COST BENEFIT, UH, SHOWS APPROPRIATE, UH, AMOUNT OF, UH, SAVINGS. WE ALSO TOOK A LOOK AT THE FOURTH QUARTER UNAUDITED FINANCIAL REPORT. MS. CROSBY, PLEASE COME TO THIS PODIUM. I'M GONNA HAVE HER GIVE YOU SOME DATA ABOUT THE CLOSEOUT, AND THEN I HAVE SOME COMMENTS, UH, TO MAKE ABOUT IT. PLEASE, MS. CROSBY, TELL US ABOUT HOW WE CLOSED OUT THE YEAR. I'LL BE HAPPY TO THANK YOU. SO OUR, UM, AN AUDITED, UH, LOCAL PROPERTY TAX REVENUES ARE, UH, REPORTING IN AT 99.8% OF THE BUDGET. AND SO WITH, UH, IN TERMS OF THE MAGNITUDE OF THIS, UH, THE TAX REVENUES THAT WERE BUDGETED WERE $239 MILLION. UH, OUR ACTUAL COLLECTIONS, OUR ACTUAL REVENUES RECEIVED WERE $400,000 SHORT OF THAT, WHICH IS 0.18% ACCURACY OF, OF, UH, OFF OF THE 90 OR THE FULL $235 MILLION. SO PROBABLY ONE OF THE CLOSEST WE'VE BEEN IN TERMS OF BUDGET PROJECTIONS. UH, AND IT'S, UM, IN TERMS OF OUR PROJECTIONS, WE'RE LOOKING AT THREE YEAR AVERAGES, AND WE'RE LOOKING AT ANY, ANY ANOMALIES YEARS WITH ANOMALIES. AND REALLY IT IS AN EDUCATED GUESS, UH, TO, UH, DETECT OR PROJECT WHAT THAT AMOUNT WILL BE. AND YOU DON'T KNOW FOR CERTAIN UNTIL THE END OF SEPTEMBER OF THE FOLLOWING YEAR, THE YEAR FOLLOWING THE CLOSE OF THE, YOUR FINANCIAL STATEMENTS. UM, SO WE'RE VERY PLEASED WITH THAT. UM, THE ACCURACY OF THAT REPORTING ON THE REVENUE SIDE. UM, SO ON THE EXPENDITURE SIDE, UH, WE SPENT, UH, 97.9%, WHICH IS RIGHT AT ROUNDED TO 98% OF THE BUDGET, $377 MILLION TOTAL BUDGET, UH, PRIOR YEAR SPENDING WAS 99.3%. UM, THIS REPRESENTS UNDERSPENDING OF ABOUT 7.8 MILLION. UH, THOSE FUNDS DO ALL ROLL TO THE FUND BALANCE, WHICH THEN IMPROVES OUR FUND BALANCE SITUATION TO 22.3% FROM, UH, 20% IN THE PRIOR YEAR. SO, UH, WE DO HAVE, UH, 82 DAYS OF OPERATIONS BUILT INTO THE FUND BALANCE. AND THAT IS CRITICALLY IMPORTANT TO HAVE. AND THAT NUMBER IS AS OF JUNE 30TH, 2026. AND KEEP IN MIND THAT, UH, THAT IS A VALUE. UH, THE SAVINGS ACCOUNT OR THE, THE RESERVES THAT WE HAVE AT JUNE 30TH, THOSE HAVE TO FUND TEACHER SALARIES, STAFFING SALARIES, AND ALL THE OPERATIONS OF THE DISTRICT UNTIL TAX REVENUES ARE, BEGIN TO COME BACK AND BE RECEIVED IN DECEMBER. SO THOSE HAVE TO, EVEN THOUGH WE HAVE AN 82 $80 MILLION, UH, FUND BALANCE OF JUNE 30TH, WE DO NOT RECEIVE SIGNIFICANT AMOUNTS OF REVENUES AGAIN UNTIL DECEMBER. SO [00:40:01] WE HAVE TO GO ABOUT ALMOST SIX MONTHS WITHOUT RECEIVING REVENUE. UM, SO THAT IS VERY CRITICAL TO ENSURE THAT WE DO NOT HAVE TO BORROW FUNDS, UH, IN THE FORM OF A TAX ANTICIPATION NOTE, UH, WHICH WE HAVEN'T HAD TO DO IN A FEW YEARS AFTER MANY YEARS OF DOING THAT. AND SO IT'S FORTUNATE NOT TO HAVE TO BORROW MONEY TO, UH, AND PAY THE COSTS ASSOCIATED WITH THAT. UM, SO, UM, OVERALL THE POSITION IS VERY HEALTHY AND VERY GOOD FOR LEADING US INTO THE NEW YEAR. AND, UH, THAT CONCLUDES MY SUMMARY. OKAY. I'D LIKE TO, MR. CHAIRMAN, I'D LIKE TO PUT THIS IN PERSPECTIVE. THIS IS THE EIGHTH TIME I HAVE LOOKED AT A CLOSEOUT, AND THIS IS THE BEST TIME TO, UH, THAT I CAN TELL YOU THAT I'VE SEEN THIS IS, THIS IS IN FINANCE. IT'S CALLED THE GOLDILOCKS ZONE. AND GOLDILOCK SAYS THAT YOU DON'T HAVE TOO MUCH REVENUE AS AT THE PORRIDGE IS TOO HOT, OR YOU DON'T HAVE ENOUGH REVENUE, AND YOU HAVE MORE EXPENDITURE THAN THE PORRIDGE IS TOO COLD. IF THE PORRIDGE IS JUST RIGHT, THAT'S GOLDILOCKS ZONE. THAT'S WHAT GOLDILOCKS LOOKS FOR. AND THIS IS THE FIRST TIME THAT I HAVE SEEN WE ACHIEVED GOLDILOCKS. AND I HAVE TO TELL YOU THAT HE, SHE JUST TOLD US WHY. BUT I'M GONNA TELL YOU HOW AND HOW IS VERY, VERY DIFFICULT. OUR DEBT SERVICE, WE MANAGE DEBT SERVICE. DEBT SERVICE IS RELATIVELY EASY BECAUSE IT'S ONLY ONE SOURCE OF INCOME AND EVERY TAXPAYER PAYS IT. IT'S VERY DIFFICULT TO KEEP THE MILLAGE THE SAME. AND, AND THAT IS DIRECTLY A RESULT OF OUR, UH, FINANCIAL ADVISOR AND OUR OVERSIGHT BY OUR CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER. SO THAT'S PRETTY EASY TO GET THAT PART OF THE, THE BUDGET. WHAT'S REALLY DIFFICULT IS THE OPERATIONAL BUDGET, BECAUSE THAT COMES FROM THREE DIFFERENT SOURCES. LOCAL TAXES, BUSINESS TAXES, IT COMES FROM STATE, AND IT COMES FROM FEDERAL AND THE STATE. WE DON'T HEAR ABOUT THE STATE ON WHAT'S BEEN PASSED BY THE GOVERNMENT UNTIL VERY LATE IN THE BUDGET PROCESS. SO WE HAVE TO CONTINUALLY KEEP TRACK OF BUDGET BILLS AT THE STATE LEVEL SO THAT SHE CAN MAKE HER PROJECTION. AND THEN YOU'VE GOT THE TAX, THE LOCAL REVENUE WE GET OPERATIONS COMES FROM 6% MONEY, 6% MONEY. IT COMES FROM BUSINESSES AND IT COMES FROM PROPERTY OWNERS WHO RENT THEIR PROPERTY FOR PEOPLE THAT HAVE APARTMENTS, RENTAL PROPERTIES AND SO ON, THEY PAY 6%. PRIMARY HOMEOWNERS DO NOT PAY OPERATIONAL TAX. NOW, THE PROBLEM IS, THE PROBLEM IS THAT IT CHANGES WHO'S PAYING 6% AND WHO'S PAYING 4%. IT CHANGES EVERY YEAR. THAT'S WHY MS. CROSBY SAYS SHE LOOKS AT HISTORY AND MAKES A PROJECTION. BUT THAT'S NOT THE ONLY PROJECTION. THE ONLY OTHER VARIABLE IN THAT IS A HOMESTEAD EXEMPTION. AND THE HOMESTEAD EXEMPTION COMES OUT WHEN YOU TURN 65 YEARS OLD. NO ONE CALLS YOU AND SAYS, CONGRATULATIONS, YOU'RE 65 AND YOU ARE ELIGIBLE TO HAVE THE ASSESSED VALUE OF YOUR PROPERTY REDUCED FOR THE HOMESTEAD ACT. YOU HAVE TO GO INTO THE TREASURER'S OFFICE AND APPLY FOR IT. SO THAT'S SERENDIPITY WHEN YOU FIGURE IT OUT. AND WHEN THEY COME IN, THAT'S ANOTHER VARIABLE THAT SHE HAS TO TAKE IN ACCOUNT. YOU ALSO HAVE TO TAKE THE ACCOUNT WHEN WE HAVE BILLS PASSED BY THE LEGISLATURE THAT GIVE APARTMENT OWNERS A BONUS, A, A, A, UH, ESCAPE ZONE, THAT THEY DON'T HAVE TO PAY ANY PROPERTY TAX IF THEY HAVE A CERTAIN NUMBER OF AFFORDABLE HOUSING IN THAT YOU DON'T KNOW THAT UNTIL THE TAX BILL IS SUBMITTED BY THE PROPERTY OWNER. SO TO HAVE HER COME UP AND HER TEAM COME UP WITH A PROJECTION THAT CLOSE, AND THEN, OH, BY THE WAY, AND THEN THIS MAN MONITORS THAT EXPENDITURES TO KEEP THE EXPENDITURES UNDER CONTROL. AND THAT IS NO EASY TOPIC EITHER, BECAUSE THINGS COME UP THAT HE HAS TO MAKE DECISIONS ON. SO I THINK THAT WE [00:45:01] ARE VERY, VERY FORTUNATE AND THAT WE HAVE A TEAM THAT GIVES US THIS KIND OF PERFORMANCE. UM, AND SO I THINK, UH, KUDOS TO YOU, KUDOS TO YOUR TEAM AND TO WHAT YOU DO. 'CAUSE IT'S APPRECIATED. AND I WANNA MAKE SURE THE PUBLIC UNDERSTANDS THAT WE ARE MANAGING THEIR FUNDS IN A SPECIFIC AND DIRECT AND APPROPRIATE AND PROFESSIONAL MANNER. SO, THANK YOU. THANK YOU, SIR. I DO FEEL A LITTLE PRESSURE FOR THIS COMING YEAR THOUGH, , MAKE SURE MY ACCURACY LEVEL IS, IS SIMILAR. SO THANK YOU. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. APPRECIATE IT. NEXT, NEXT ITEM IS, YES, SIR, MAY, MAY I JUST SAY ONE, ONE COMMENT. I WAS FORTUNATE ENOUGH THAT I WAS FORTUNATE ENOUGH TO SPEND SOME TIME WITH THE COLONEL AT ONE OF THESE, UM, THE SUPPORT STAFF AND WHAT HE JUST SAID, HE WAS VERY LAUDATORY ABOUT THE SAME GROUP OF PEOPLE. SO I MEAN, HE WAS PASSIONATE ABOUT IT. HE WAS SPECIFIC ABOUT WHAT HAS OCCURRED TO ENABLE US TO GET TO THIS GOLDILOCK ZONE. AND SO I WAS VERY HAPPY TO SEE HIM SHARE THAT. UH, A LOT OF TIMES THAT TYPE OF EFFORT IS NOT SHARED. SO CAN YOU ALL JOIN US IN GIVING THEM A ROUND OF APPLAUSE ONE MORE TIME? WE HAVE MORE GOOD NEWS. , THE MINORITY WOMEN BUSINESS ENTERPRISE REPORT. MS. CROSBY, WOULD YOU TELL US ABOUT THAT, PLEASE? YES, SIR. UH, AS PART OF BOARD POLICY OE 6.2, UH, THE DISTRICT REPORTS EVERY SIX MONTHS ON A SEMI-ANNUAL PROGRESS OF ITS EFFORTS TO MEET THE BOARD'S GOAL AND THE STATE'S REQUIRED GOAL OF 10% OF THE CONTROLLABLE BUDGET TO BE SPENT ON MINORITY BUSINESS OWNED AND WOMEN OWNED BUSINESS CONTRACTS AND IN PROCUREMENT AND SUPPLIES. UM, IN ADDITION TO THAT, UH, I'M SUBMITTING TO YOU A LIST ALSO OF THE SOLE SOURCE AND EMERGENCY PROCUREMENTS IN THIS REPORT FOR THE SECOND HALF OF THE FISCAL YEAR, 20 25, 26. SO THAT THIS IS FOR THE JANUARY 1ST THROUGH JUNE 30TH, 2026, OUR TOTAL, TOTAL CONTROLLABLE BUDGET. SO THESE ARE AREAS THAT WE HAVE CONTROL OVER OFFERING BIDS AND CON UH, BIDS AND, UH, FOR SERVICES AND CONTRACTS, UH, AS OPPOSED TO THINGS LIKE UTILITIES, WHICH WE DO NOT HAVE AN OPTION TO BID FOR. UM, SO WE WERE, UH, DELIGHTED TO SEE THAT WE HAD SPENT, UM, 18.9 OR BASICALLY $19 MILLION OR 13, RIGHT AT 14% OF THE CONTROL BUDGET ON BOTH CERTIFIED AND NON-CERTIFIED WOMEN, MINORITY WOMEN BUSINESS ENTERPRISES. THIS IS THE THIRD REPORTING CYCLE IN A ROW THAT WE HAVE EXCEEDED THAT 10% BUDGET AS REQUIRED BY THE STATE. UH, ALTHOUGH WE'RE STILL WORKING ON TRYING TO GET AS MANY FOLKS CERTIFIED AS POSSIBLE, IT IS A VERY EXTENSIVE AND DILIGENT, UH, PROCESS. MANY FOLKS DON'T AN INVASIVE, I WOULD SAY, PROCESS FOR THE VENDORS TO GO THROUGH. SO WE DO CAPTURE BOTH CERTIFIED AND NON-CERTIFIED. AND, UH, SO WE WERE, I'M VERY HAPPY TO SAY THAT WE'VE MET, UH, OR EXCEEDED THAT GOAL FOR THE LAST THREE REPORTING CYCLES. THAT CONCLUDES MY REPORT. ANY QUESTIONS? UH, NO. UH, I DO HAVE A COMMENT ON THAT, THAT THAT'S DEFINITELY SOMETHING THAT I'VE, I'VE BEEN PUSHING AND I DEFINITELY APPRECIATE YOU MS. CROSBY, 'CAUSE I KNOW THE, THE, UH, HOW TOUGH THAT HAS BEEN FOR YOU AND YOUR STAFF TO MAKE SURE THAT IT HAPPENS AND THAT THE BOARD MADE A, A WHILE BACK, I REMINDED EVERYONE, THE BOARD MADE A, A, UH, BOLD AND, UH, A, A STANCE TO, I KNOW THEY, THEY WERE SAYING THAT WE NO LONGER HAVE TO GIVE THE MINORITY REPORTS, BUT THE BOARD SAID THAT WE WILL CONTINUE TO GIVE THEM. SO I APPLAUD YOU, YOUR STAFF AND EVERYONE ELSE FOR, UH, BEING A TEAM PLAYER WITH, ALONG WITH THE SCHOOL BOARD AND FOR BEING ABLE TO CONTINUE TO BRING THAT AND MAKE SURE THAT WE GETTING THE WORK DONE. YES. THANK YOU. OKAY. AND CONSTRUCTION IS A MAJOR PART OF THAT. UH, WHEN OUR CONSTRUCTION IS HIGH, IT HELPS US TO MEET THOSE GOALS. AND OUR, UH, DISTRICT STAFF AND FACILITIES AND OPERATIONS IN CONJUNCTION PARTNERSHIP WITH THE HUIE, UM, TURNER, TOWNSEND HUIE ORGANIZATION HELPS TO, UH, GET OUT THE WORD FOR THESE ORGANIZATIONS AND HELPS TO HELP, HELPS US TO MEET THESE GOALS. OKAY. UH, NEXT ITEM, UH, MS. CROSBY, I'M GONNA, UH, START OFF BY, UH, SAYING THAT THIS IS A MUNICIPAL ADVISOR AGREEMENT, AND I WANNA MAKE A MOTION. AND THEN, UH, IF WE WILL HAVE A YOU TO GIVE A, UH, A OVERVIEW AND WE'LL HAVE A DISCUSSION. AND I BELIEVE, UH, MS. BOATWRIGHT HAD SOME QUESTIONS THAT, UH, SHE SENT ONLINE ON THIS. SO THE MOTION FOLLOWS, I MOVE THAT THE BOARD OF EDUCATION AUTHORIZED THE EXECUTION OF A CONTRACT BETWEEN BEAUFORT COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT AND COMPASS MUNICIPAL ADVISORS, LLC FOR FINANCIAL ADVISORY SERVICES. [00:50:02] SECOND, MS. CROSBY, WOULD YOU GIVE US A BRIEFING? YES, SIR. UM, I'M GONNA START BY JUST TALKING ABOUT THE DIFFERENCES IN, UM, WELL, UH, LET ME GIVE YOU A SUMMARY FIRST AND THEN I'LL PROVIDE THE DIFFERENCES. UM, SO COMPASS MUNICIPAL ADVISORS IS OUR CURRENT VENDOR WHO PROVIDES FINANCIAL ADVISORY SERVICES FOR THE SCHOOL DISTRICT. UM, THEY MANAGE BORROWING, BOND ISSUANCES, DEBT MANAGEMENT, REFINANCINGS, CAPITAL FINANCING MATTERS, INCLUDING FOR SCHOOL CONSTRUCTION, RENOVATIONS, EQUIPMENT PURCHASES, AND ANY REFINANCING OF EXISTING DEBT. ONE OF THE REAS MAIN REASONS WHY WE'RE BRINGING THIS CONTRACT FORWARD IS THAT COMPASS MUNICIPAL ADVISORS HAS BECOME A SUBSIDIARY OF WILL WILLAN FINANCIAL SERVICES. SO THAT IS ONE MAJOR THING THAT WE WANTED TO MAKE SURE WE DISCLOSED. UM, THE AGREEMENT REFLECTS THIS NEW B UH, BUSINESS AGREEMENT, AND IT CONTINUES TO THE DISTRICT'S ACCESS TO THAT EXPERT GUIDANCE THAT WE HAVE BEEN USED TO, UM, AND BENEFITED FROM IN ALL OF THE TRANSACTIONS. SO THERE REALLY WILL BE NO MAJOR CHANGE IN THE WAY THAT WE INTERACT. THE REPORTING THAT WE RECEIVE, ALL OF THOSE THINGS WILL CONTINUE TO BE THE SAME. UM, SO THEY CONTINUE TO EVALUATE FINANCING OPTIONS, STRUCTURING BOND ISSUES, ASSISTING WITH CREDIT RATINGS, COORDINATING WITH BOND COUNCIL AND UNDERWRITERS, UM, PREPARING DOCUMENTS AND SO ON, UH, EVALUATING BIDS AND ALSO, UH, ASSISTING US WITH ANY FINANCIAL MATTERS THAT WE NEED. UM, SO THE MAIN DIFFERENCES, UM, WELL FIRST OF ALL, THE, THE BOND ISSUANCE FEES THAT ARE CHARGED BY THE FINANCIAL ADVISOR ARE NOT CHANGING THE STRUCTURE OF THOSE, UH, THE BOND AMOUNTS AND THE FEES. THEY ARE BASED ON A PER THOUSAND DOLLARS OF BOND ISSUES. WE DO PLAN ON AT LEAST TWO BOND ISSUES IN THE COMING YEAR. WE JUST HAD ONE, AN 8% BOND ISSUE, AND WE WILL HAVE ANOTHER THAT'S THE, UH, ANOTHER REFERENDUM BOND ISSUE IN THE EARLY PART OF NEXT CALENDAR YEAR. SO THESE ARE PERCENTAGE OR A, UH, OR PER EVERY THOUSAND DOLLARS OF THOSE BOND ISSUANCES. UH, WE WILL INCUR THE FEE HERE, WHICH I DO EXPECT TO BE VERY, VERY SIMILAR TO THE FEES OF THE CURRENT YEAR. SO THESE, THE STRUCTURE OF THIS, UH, THE PAY STRUCTURE IS IDENTICAL TO THE CURRENT CONTRACT. UM, SO IN ADDITION TO THAT, UM, TO THAT FEE STRUCTURE, UM, THERE WILL BE AN ADDED HOURLY RATE PROVISION FOR ANY FOR DISTRICT NEEDS. IF THE DISTRICT NEEDS THE ASSISTANT OF THE FINANCIAL ADVISOR FOR MATTERS SUCH AS TIFFS, TAX INCREMENT FINANCING, UH, THE MCIP AGREEMENTS, THAT ANY THAT MAY COME UP AS NEEDED, UH, ANY OTHER ASSESSMENTS OR AN AN ANALYSIS THAT NEEDS TO BE DONE. UH, ALSO MCPS TS AND FEE IN LIEU OF AGREEMENTS. SO THOSE THINGS HAVE COMPLEX FINANCIAL, UH, CALCULATIONS THAT WILL NEED TO BE FORMED. AND HAVING AN, UH, FINANCIAL ANALYSTS TO BE ABLE TO LOOK AT THOSE AND HAVE EXPERIENCE WITH OTHER SCHOOL DISTRICTS TO BE ABLE TO LOOK FOR THE, UM, HOTSPOTS WHERE THINGS WHERE THAT NEED TO BE BROUGHT TO OUR ATTENTION OR POTENTIAL FLAWS AND PROJECTIONS OF THIS, OF THE, OF THE OUTSIDERS THAT ARE PROVIDING INFORMATION TO US. AND SO THAT'S VERY IMPORTANT TO BE ABLE TO HAVE THAT KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE. UM, THIS INCLUDES AN HOURLY RATE FOR, UH, THAT, THAT SERVICE. AND ADDITIONALLY, UM, THERE WOULD BE AN A FEE FOR ANY REBATE AND ARBITRAGE SERVICES AS WELL. UH, ARBITRAGE IS, UH, A COMPLEX, AGAIN, A COMPLEX CALCULATION, UM, THAT HAS TO DO WITH THE BOND INTEREST RATES, UH, THE INTEREST RATES THAT WE'RE EARNING WHEN WE INVEST OUR BOND MONIES VERSUS THE INTEREST RATES THAT WE'RE PAYING ON OUR BONDS. AND SO IF WE'RE EARNING A PROFIT BETWEEN THOSE TWO SETS OF INTEREST RATES, THOSE INTERESTS, THAT PROFIT IS TAXABLE TO THE IRS. AND SO WE MUST HAVE A, A PAYMENT IF, IF THERE ISN'T SUFFICIENT SPENDING TIMELY ENOUGH TO WARRANT, UH, THE CALCULATION, THE REQUIREMENTS OF THE IRS THAT WE MAY HAVE TO PAY A LIABILITY OR A TAX PAYMENT TO THE IRS. SO, UM, SO THAT IS A, AGAIN, YOU KNOW, I TRY TO SIMPLIFY THAT AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE. IT'S TAKEN ME 20 YEARS TO UNDERSTAND IT MYSELF. SO , I'M NOT GONNA GO INTO A LOT OF DETAILS BUT THAT, SO AS YOU CAN SEE, WE DO NEED, UH, EXPERTS ON HAND TO BE ABLE TO HELP US WITH THOSE CALCULATIONS. SO WITH THAT, UM, THAT IS THE MAJORITY. OTHER THAN THAT, THE CONTRACTS WOULD REMAIN THE SAME. UH, THIS WOULD BE A FIVE-YEAR CONTRACT EXPIRING IN JUNE 30TH, 2031. UM, AND I'LL BE HAPPY TO TAKE ANY QUESTIONS YOU MAY HAVE. OH, RIGHT. DID [00:55:01] I HEAR? YES. UM, THANK YOU, TANYA. YES, I, UH, VERY MUCH SUPPORT HAVING US CONTINUE WITH COMPASS MUNICIPAL, MUNICIPAL ADVISORS. THERE HAVE BEEN EXCELLENT. SO, JUST A, A FEW QUESTIONS FOR CLARIFICATION. SO ARE THERE O OTHER FEES OTHER THAN WHAT YOU'VE MENTIONED ON TOP OF THIS, AND BY WHAT, WHAT I'M DRIVING AT, LIKE WHEN WE HAD A LOBBYIST, THERE'D BE FEES FOR TRAVEL, UH, MEALS, OVERNIGHTS, THAT KIND OF STUFF. IS, IS THAT ON TOP OF THIS OR NO? NO, THERE ARE NO ADDITIONAL FEE THERE IF THERE ARE ANY. UM, THERE, THERE ARE NOT ANY TRAVEL AND ANY ADDITIONAL FEES SUCH AS THAT? NO. AND THAT WOULD BE THE CASE ALSO FOR THE, UM, THE, UH, 400 PER HOUR IF THEY'RE WORKING ON THOSE OTHER THINGS? THAT'S CORRECT. OKAY. MM-HMM . YEP. THAT'S, THAT WAS JUST WANTED THAT CLARIFIED. THANK YOU. MM-HMM . THANK YOU, DR. GLASS, MS. BOATWRIGHT. THANK YOU CHAIRMAN. UM, AND THANK YOU, MS. CROSBY. I CONCUR. I HAVE BEEN VERY HAPPY, UH, WITH BRIAN NERRICK AND HIS TEAM AT COMPASS. SO I HAVE NO CONCERNS ABOUT CONTINUING ON WITH THAT. MY QUESTION WAS JUST WHEN YOU TRANSFER ASSETS TO A DIFFERENT, OR NOT ASSETS, BUT WHEN YOU TRANSFER, UM, BUSINESSES TO A DIFFERENT FINANCIAL ARRANGEMENT, I WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT WE WEREN'T ADDING ANY FEES OR UPPING OUR PERCENTAGES ON THAT. UM, I DID LOOK AND SEE THAT THE LANGUAGE, AS I UNDERSTAND IT, WITH THE CONFLICT OF INTEREST IS VERY SPECIFIC TO COMPASS. SO I'M ASSUMING THAT, IS IT WILFRED? I DON'T HAVE IT IN FRONT OF ME. UM, THE NEW COMPANY THEN HAS THE SAME, UH, STATEMENTS ON CONFLICT OF INTEREST. IS IT WFS WILFORD SOMETHING IN SOMETHING? SO THE MUNICIPAL ADVISORY CONTRACTS IN GENERAL, IT'S WALDEN FINANCIAL SERVICES. THANK YOU. ? I DON'T KNOW. I CAN REMEMBER THE LETTERS, BUT NOT THE ACTUAL, OKAY, SO GO AHEAD. SORRY. MS. CROSBY, UM, IN THE WORLD OF FINANCIAL ADVISORY SERVICES, THEY HAVE SOME VERY STRICT RULES, UH, GOVERNED BY THE SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION THAT THEY CANNOT HAVE CONFLICTS OF INTEREST. SO THEY HAVE TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY ARE REPRESENTING THE BEST INTERESTS OF THE CLIENT AND NOT THEMSELVES, BASICALLY. MM-HMM . RIGHT. SO IT IS, UH, SO TO SEE CONFLICT OF INTEREST PO UH, LANGUAGE IN A FINANCIAL ADVISORY CONTRACT IS REASSURING AND, AND VERY, UH, REASONABLE. I RECENTLY, UM, CONTACTED A FINANCIAL ADVISOR AND THEY, THEY HAVE SOME VERY STRICT REGULATIONS IN THEIR WORLD, UH, GOVERNED BY THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT. SO, UM, SO I, I DON'T KNOW WHAT, UH, WILL DAN, BUT OUR, OUR CONTRACT IS STILL WITH COMPASS MUNICIPAL. OKAY. AND THEY WILL ACT THE SAME. AND SO IT, WE WON'T HAVE A SEPARATE CONTRACT WITH WILL DAN. PERFECT. THAT JUST CLARIFIES THAT. THANK YOU SO MUCH. QUESTION MR. SMITH. UM, MY QUESTION IS, I, I REMEMBER A COUPLE YEARS AGO WHEN WE WENT BACK TO THIS COMPANY WHEN WE HAD SWITCHED AND I, UM, HOW LONG, UM, HOW LONG HAVE WE HAD THIS COMPANY? IT'S BEEN ALMOST FIVE YEARS. THIS IS THIS, WE'RE IN YEAR FIVE OF A FIVE YEAR CONTRACT. OKAY. AND PRIOR TO, HOW LONG DID WE HAVE THE, WE HAVE BEFORE THAT, UM, WE DID NOT HAVE THEM FOR A YEAR AND A HALF. RIGHT. AND PRIOR TO THAT, I CAN'T SPEAK. I WASN'T IN THE CURRENT POSITION. IT WAS SEVERAL YEARS PRIOR TO THAT. OKAY. AND, AND, AND MY ONLY, MY ONLY CONCERN, I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THAT I KNOW THEY SAY SOMETIMES IT'S GOOD FOR YOU TO SWITCH COMPANIES JUST FOR, UM, FOR, FOR BA FOR, FOR, FOR BALANCE. AND I JUST, UM, JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THAT THIS NOT, THIS IS NOT NOTHING THAT WE HAVE TO SHOP, RIGHT? WE HAVE TO SHOP AROUND ON IT. IS IT, UM, IT IS EXEMPT, UH, IN THE PROCUREMENT CODE AS A FINANCIAL ADVISORY SERVICE. SO IT HAS AN EXEMPT PROCUREMENT EXEMPTION AND DOES NOT REQUIRE TO GO OUT FOR BID. 'CAUSE IT IS A VERY SPECIALIZED SERVICE THAT THE SCHOOL DISTRICT, UH, PROVIDES OR THAT THE COMPANY PROVIDES. AND THAT WE NEED, UM, JUST AS MANY OTHER EXEMPTIONS EXIST AS WELL, UM, THROUGHOUT THAT, THAT ARE APPROVED BY THE BOARD. BUT IT DOES REQUIRE BOARD APPROVAL, UH, JUST AS AN ARCHITECT OR AN ENGINEER OR CON GENERAL CONTRACTOR WOULD REQUIRE. SO THAT IS A, AN EXTRA PROTECTION WITH THE BOARD TO, UM, UH, OVER, YOU KNOW, MAKING SURE THAT WE'RE GETTING THE BEST, UH, QUALITY SERVICES POSSIBLE. OKAY. AND, AND THIS CONTRACT IS FOR HOW, HOW MANY YEARS AGAIN? FIVE YEARS. FIVE. ANOTHER FIVE YEARS, YES. AND IT, UH, THERE ARE, UH, UH, TERMINATION AGREEMENTS, IF THERE'S ANY, AN AGREEMENT, ANYTHING IN, IF THERE IS A REASON FOR EITHER PARTY TO TERMINATE THE AGREEMENT, JUST IT NEEDS SOMETHING IN WRITING WITHIN 30 DAYS OF THE WRITTEN NOTICE. AWESOME. THANK YOU MS. CROSBY. MM-HMM . ANY FURTHER QUESTIONS FROM BOARD MEMBERS? OKAY. THERE'S BEEN A MOTION SECONDED. CALL. READY TO CALL FOR THE VOTE. ALL IN FAVOR? RAISE YOUR RIGHT HAND AND SAY AYE. AYE. LINE A. AYE. THANK YOU, MS. HAY. [01:00:03] MS. BOATWRIGHT. MS. MR. GORDON. SORRY. BOATRIGHT. I, I COULDN'T FIND MY, MY ZOOM HAD MINIMIZED BOATRIGHT EYE. YOU'RE WELCOME TO CLOSE. ALRIGHT. THANK YOU MS. BOATWRIGHT. PASTOR GORDON. OKAY, SO WE GOT THE VOTE. SURE. THAT, UH, THAT CONCLUDES THE FINANCE REPORT. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. CURRENT, OH, I HAVE A QUESTION ABOUT FINANCE. UM, CUR, UH, CURRENT GUY. YOU, ME, YOU MENTIONED A WHILE BACK, UH, MR. GUYER, ABOUT, ABOUT THE PRACTICE FIELDS, UM, UH, ABOUT THE PRACTICE FIELD. I WAS WONDERING, UM, YOU SAID THE COST OF IT. COULD WE ALSO FIGURE OUT IS THAT, WILL THAT BE TAKEN, TAKEN AWAY IN TERMS OF UNDERSTAND HAVING A PRACTICE FIELD IS GOOD, COULD BE GOOD, BUT ARE, IS ANYONE LOSING ANY WORK BEHIND THAT? BECAUSE IT, BECAUSE IT IS ONE THING JUST TO, FOR IT TO BE A CHEAPER COST IN TERMS OF, UH, UPKEEPING, BUT ALSO WHAT WE RUN INTO TAKING AWAY, UM, JO JOBS ON THAT, THAT THAT IS WHEN THEY BRING YOU THAT REPORT BACK, I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW, UH, BECAUSE I KNOW THAT PEOPLE DO CUT GRASS AND WHAT, WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE. OR ARE WE, ARE WE LOSING ANY EMPLOYEES AT THIS DISTRICT? I'LL WORK WITH ING AND WE'LL BRING BACK SOMETHING TO THE FINANCE COMMITTEE ON THE NEXT MEETING. UH, I THINK THE THIRD MONDAY IN OCTOBER. THANK YOU. I APPRECIATE THAT. YES, SIR. THANK YOU. OKAY. THANK YOU. SPEAKING OF OPERATIONS, OH, FINANCE. FINANCE YOURSELF. NEXT ITEM, POLICY WE REMOVED FROM THE AGENDA. AND NEXT ITEM OUR RESULTS, OPERATIONS, OPERATIONS. FIRST, I'M NEXT. UM, THE OPERATIONS, UH, COMMITTEE MET ON SEPTEMBER 30TH AND TO, UM, REVIEW THE, UH, STUDENT REASSIGNMENT OPTIONS. AND WE HAVE A MOTION COMING OUT OF THAT MEETING. UM, VICE CHAIR, UM, CARR, DR. CARR. I SEE THAT, UH, THERE'S A TYPO HERE BECAUSE IT WAS THE COMMITTEE AGREED TO, TO, GOT IT. , THANK YOU. YES. ON THE AGENDA IT SAYS TWO B. IT'S SUPPOSED TO BE TWO A. YEP. SO, AND THE MOTION IS CORRECT. UM, THE MOTION, I MOVE THAT THE BOARD OF EDUCATION APPROVE STUDENT REASSIGNMENT OPTION TWO A PLUS THE GAS COIN BLUFF COMMUNITY GOING TO BLUFFTON HIGH SCHOOL, AND THAT WE FURTHER APPROVE GRANDFATHERING FOR CURRENT K 12 STUDENTS TO COMPLETE THE LIFE OF THE GRADE SPAN AT THAT SCHOOL. SECOND. OKAY. PROPERLY MOTION AND SECOND. ANY COMMENTS? OF COURSE. YES, SIR. UM, THIS WAS A VERY, UH, STRATEGIC AND, AND IN TEDIOUS TASK. UM, I WOULD JUST DEFINITELY LIKE TO START OUT BY, BY THINKING THE, UM, STAFF, BECAUSE THE AMOUNT OF HOURS IN THE, SOME OF THE, UH, , THE INTER INTERACTIONS AND, AND, AND THEN SOME OF THE UNDERGOING OF THIS HAD WAS, WAS, WAS, WAS KIND OF TOUGH. AND I WAS A LOT OF THOSE MEETINGS AND, UM, I, I, I WATCHED SOME OF IT AND I WAS PRESENT FOR, FOR, FOR MAJORITY OF, OF IT. AND, UM, I JUST WANNA SAY THAT THEY, THEY DID A WONDERFUL JOB, BUT ALSO, UH, AT, AT THE, ONE OF, AT THE MEETING AT ERTI, THE STAFF WAS ASKED TO GO BACK INTO, DO A, A SURVEY, AND AT THE LAST MEETING THEY GAVE US A SURVEY RESULTS. SO, UH, I KNOW IT'S TIME. SOMETIMES THE PUBLIC MAY, MAY GET HALF OF THE STORY, SO I JUST WANT TO, THEY, WE COULD HAVE THEM TO BRING THE RESULTS SO THAT SURVEY UP OR SO, SO THAT, SO THAT IT IS NOT, IT IS BEING NOTED IN THIS MEETING BEFORE WE TAKE THIS VOTE. UM, BECAUSE SOMETIMES PEOPLE COME BACK, THEY SAY THAT, THAT THE BOARD DIDN'T, UH, THAT THEY DIDN'T SUPPORT WHAT, WHAT, WHAT, WHAT, UM, WHAT INFORMATION THEY, THEY, THEY SENT IN. SO WE COULD JUST GET THAT. I WOULD DEFINITELY BE APPRECIATED AND I WOULD FEEL, UH, A HUNDRED PERCENT MORE SUPPORTIVE IN THAT AND THAT AND, UH, AND, AND DOING THAT. YES, MA'AM. THANK YOU. OKAY. THANK YOU FOR THAT. OH, ARE WE ON? I THINK THAT'S GOOD. OKAY. GOOD. ROBIN, DO YOU HAVE THAT PRESENTATION TO PULL UP THAT WE SHARED? THERE WE GO. SO, AND JUST A REMINDER, WE STARTED THAT, LIKE YOU SAID, WE STARTED THIS PROCESS 18 MONTHS AGO. YES, MA'AM. UM, BACK IN APRIL OF, UH, 2025. UM, AND HERE WE ARE AT THE END OF THAT TIMELINE THAT Y'ALL ARE VERY FAMILIAR WITH LOOKING AT NOW, . UM, BUT THOSE RESULTS, WE PUT OUT A SURVEY AFTER YOU ALL MET, UH, THE OPERATIONS COMMITTEE MET ON SEPTEMBER THE EIGHTH. WE PUT OUT A SURVEY. WE CLOSED THAT SURVEY, UH, SEPTEMBER 21ST. SO WE HAD TWO WEEKS OF SURVEYS. [01:05:01] AND THE RESULTS WERE THAT MOST OF THE 500 RESPONDENTS, ALMOST 500 RESPONDENTS, UM, WE'RE PARENTS. SO WE'RE GETTING GOOD FEEDBACK THERE. UM, MAJORITY WERE ELEMENTARY, UM, PARENTS. AND THEN THERE WERE SIMILAR NUMBERS FROM MIDDLE AND HIGH IN THE RESPONDENTS. AND THEN WE ASKED THE QUESTION, UM, BASICALLY, WHICH DO YOU PREFER THE OPTION TWO OR TWO A? AND OVERWHELMINGLY THE RESULTS WERE THE OPTION TWO A BY 75%. AND THEN WE, UM, SUMMARIZED SOME OF THOSE, UM, RESULTS, WHY THEY WANTED A PREFERRED OPTION OVER THE OTHER. UM, AND YOU CAN SEE THOSE HERE. OPTION TWO WAS, UH, KIND OF KEEPING THE HIGH SCHOOL ASSIGNMENTS TOGETHER, MAINTAINING FRIENDSHIPS AND ACTIVITIES AND SCHOOL CONNECTIONS, WHICH WE WOULD EXPECT. UM, THEY FELT LIKE TWO PRESERVED FEEDER PATTERNS AVOIDED MOVING STUDENTS TO BLUFF AND HIGH SUPPORTED, MORE CONTINUITY BETWEEN THE MIDDLE AND HIGH. AND THEN JUST SOME OVERALL CONCERNS ABOUT WHAT TWO A SHIFTED IN TERMS OF OVERCROWDING. BUT AGAIN, THE TWO A RESULTS, AGAIN, 75% CHOOSING THIS OPTION. UM, THE REASONS WERE IT BETTER BALANCED ENROLLMENTS AND CAPACITIES ACROSS ELEMENTARY, MIDDLE, AND HIGH SCHOOLS. AND IT KEPT OCT ELEMENTARY VIABLE PRESERVING THOSE STAFFING THE RESOURCES SCHOOL CULTURE. UM, IT REDUCED THE OVERCROWDING AT SCHOOLS SUCH AS MAY RIVER HIGH, MCCRACKEN AND PRICHARD ELEMENTARY SCHOOL. IT MINIMIZED THE DISRUPTION TO THE STUDENTS. IT CREATED LOGICAL ATTENDANCE BOUNDARIES, REDUCED TRANSPORTATION TIME AND TRAFFIC IMPACTS, AND KEPT NEIGHBORHOODS TOGETHER. THOSE ARE GREAT RESULTS. PLEASED WITH THOSE. AND THEN YOU ALL HAD GREAT DISCUSSIONS, UM, ON THOSE OPTIONS AT THE, UM, OPERATIONS COMMITTEE. I DON'T KNOW HOW MUCH MORE DETAIL YOU WANT ME TO GO IN, BUT THAT'S KIND OF THE SUMMARY FOR THOSE, UH, SURVEY RESULTS. LISTEN, I REALLY APPRECIATE YOU AND THE STAFF AND THE WORK THAT YOU PUT IN THIS NO, NO FLUFF, HONESTLY. AND THAT'S WHY I JUST, I JUST WANTED FOR THE RECORD TO REFLECT AND I APPRECIATE WHAT YOU PRESENTED. AWESOME JOB ON THAT REALLY, REALLY 'CAUSE FOR YOU. Y'ALL DEFINITELY PUT TIME INTO THAT. APPRECIATE THAT. APPRECIATE THAT. YES, MA'AM. OKAY. YES, SIR. YEP. OKAY. VOTE. ALRIGHT. UH, THEN PROPERLY MOTION AND SECOND. ALL IN FAVOR? AYE. AYE. OPPOSED LINE VOTE, RIGHT. AYE. THANK YOU MS. BOW. HEY. AYE. THANK YOU MS. HAY. I DON'T SEE PASTOR GORDON THERE. I, PASTOR GORDON. OKAY. THAT'S IT. ALRIGHT. GOT IT. THAT CONCLUDES MY REPORT. OKAY. UH, THE NEXT ONE IS RESULTS. DR. YOU CHAIRMAN DOWS, IT'S, UH, YES. UM, JUST, UH, TO BE THINKING AHEAD. UH, WE'VE GOT THE BAND HERE THAT'S READY TO GO, BUT I, BUT WE'VE, I, I DON'T ANTICIPATE THIS RESULTS, UH, COMMITTEE, UH, GOING VERY EXTENSIVE. SO IF WE, IF WE, AS SOON AS WE COMPLETE THAT, IF WE CAN JUST SHIFT AND LET OUR, UM, BAND AND THEN OUR STUDENT, UH, OUR, UH, STUDENT RECOGNITION, UH, TAKE PLACE AND THEN CONTINUE WITH THE AGENDA. WOULD IT BE EVEN BETTER IF WE GO WITH NOW? I THINK, I THINK WE CAN, I THINK WE SHOULD BE ABLE TO GO THROUGH THIS ONE AND KNOCK IT OUT. OKAY. THANK YOU. MS. HAY, ARE YOU GONNA MAKE THE MOTION? I HAVE IT. UM, YES. ONE SECOND. I DIDN'T KNOW IF HE WANTED A RUNDOWN OR IF YOU JUST WANTED TO DIVE RIGHT INTO THE MOTION. YOU CAN SAY IT SINCE YOU'RE IN THE ROOM, IF THAT WORKS BEST. I, I'D BE GLAD TO READ IT. I WAS GONNA SAY, WHY DON'T WE SHOW THAT TIMELINE FROM RESULTS OR, BECAUSE THAT'S HOW WE GOT TO THIS, RIGHT? OR CORRECT. YEAH, JUST SEE, UM, UM, THE, SO DO YOU HAVE THAT TIMELINE? YEAH. OKAY. SHE'S DISPLAYING IT RIGHT THERE. SHE'S PULLING UP. YEAH. THERE WE GO. YEP. MS. HAY, DO YOU WANNA SPEAK TO THE MOTION? I MEAN, THE TIMELINE, IT'S ON THE, IT'S ON THE SCREEN. YEP. ABSOLUTELY. CAN, UM, IT IS TOO SMALL FOR ME TO READ ON THE PHONE ON MY SCREEN, BUT I'LL READ FROM HERE. SO THE PROPOSAL IS, UM, THAT [01:10:01] WE WOULD HAVE THIS MEETING TONIGHT AND APPROVE OR DENY THE MOTION THAT WAS UNANIMOUSLY APPROVED BY THE RESULTS COMMITTEE LAST FRIDAY. UM, THE STUDENT TEST SCORES SHOULD BE INCOMING ON EITHER OCTOBER 12TH OR 15TH. THE 15TH, WHICH WAS THE BEST GUESSTIMATE, IF YOU WILL. UM, AND THEN ON THE 22ND OF OCTOBER, THE SUPERINTENDENT WILL GIVE THE BOARD HIS ANNUAL WORK BOOKLET THAT HE GIVES US EVERY YEAR. IT WILL BE DONE ELECTRONICALLY AS IT WAS DONE LAST YEAR. AND HE GIVES US THE EVALUATION TOOL ACCOMPANYING THAT, UM, ANNUAL WORK BOOKLET. UH, THEN WE WOULD HAVE FIVE BUSINESS DAYS. EACH BOARD MEMBER WOULD HAVE FIVE BUSINESS DAYS TO COMPLETE THEIR EVALUATION TOOL, WHICH ENDS UP BEING SEVEN DAYS TOTAL BECAUSE IT STRADDLES A WEEKEND. UM, AND THEN OCTOBER 29TH IS THE PROPOSED DUE DATE FOR ALL EVALUATIONS WITH THE PROPOSED, UM, SPECIAL CALLED EXECUTIVE SESSION TO FINALIZE THE EVALUATION BEING NOVEMBER 5TH AT 5:00 PM. HOWEVER, I WAS PLANNING ON WORKING WITH DR. RODRIGUEZ, UM, POSSIBLY CHAIR, UM, CHAIRMAN DALLAS, AND THEN POSSIBLY ALSO MRS. CROSBY TO COMPILE THE RESULTS THE DAY BEFORE THAT NOVEMBER 5TH MEETING. SO NOVEMBER 4TH WOULD BE THE COMPILATION DAY. AND WE JUST WANTED TO, SO FOR ME TO SUM THIS ALL UP, THE GOAL, THE END GOAL WAS THAT LAST YEAR'S, UM, TIMELINE WASN'T VERY TIGHT AND EFFICIENT, AND THAT WAS NO FAULT OF ANYONE AT THE DISTRICT OR ON THE BOARD. IT WAS THAT WE, THERE WAS A DELAY IN US GETTING THE STATE'S TESTING RESULTS. SO NOW WE'RE JUST TRYING TO MAKE SURE THAT WE GET THIS, UM, COMPILED AND ALL PUT TOGETHER IN A TIMELY FASHION, BOTH FOR THE SUPERINTENDENT, FOR OUR CONSTITUENTS AND EVERYONE INVOLVED. GREAT. MM-HMM . YES. ANY QUESTIONS? YOU READY? QUESTIONS? SO, UH, WHEN DID WE DO THIS LAST YEAR? I WONDER, MRS. CUSHEN BERRY, CAN YOU LOOK AT THE SCHEDULE? I WANNA SAY, FROM MY RECOLLECTION, THIS DIDN'T END UP BEING COMPLETED UNTIL DECEMBER, WHICH WAS AN ANOMALY. IT DOESN'T USUALLY FUNCTION THAT WAY. IT WAS BECAUSE, IF I REMEMBER CORRECTLY, WE DID NOT GET THE TESTING RESULTS BACK UNTIL PERHAPS NOVEMBER. THERE WAS A, THERE WAS A DELAY IN THE RELEASE OF STATE TEST SCORES RIGHT. LAST YEAR. AND, AND THAT PUSHED THE PROCESS OUT, UM, I ALMOST WANNA SAY IN INTO JANUARY OR FEBRUARY WHEN IT WAS COMPLETED. RIGHT. AND, AND, AND I, AND I DO REMEMBER THAT. I, I REMEMBER ACTUALLY, I REMEMBER THAT, BUT I REMEMBER LAST YEAR WHEN I MADE THIS MM-HMM. WHEN I, WHEN I WAS, WHEN I, WHEN I INQUIRED ABOUT IT, IT WAS THOUGH, UH, I WAS SPEAKING, UM, AS THOUGH, WHEN, WHEN I MENTIONED IT, THAT, THAT, UM, WE WOULD NORMALLY DO THE, THE SUPERINTENDENT EVALUATION IN OCTOBER, SOME PEOPLE GOT AMNESIA AND IT WAS ACTING LIKE I, LIKE, I, LIKE, I WAS A, LIKE, I DIDN'T KNOW WHAT I WAS TALKING ABOUT. AND, AND YOU KNOW, I I I, I'M NOT TRYING TO BE CONFRONTATIONAL, BUT, YOU KNOW, WE BRING UP THINGS AND IT, IT, IT IS JUST, YOU KNOW, IT'S WHEN WE GO AROUND POINTING FINGERS, WE JUST HAVE TO BE CAREFUL HOW WE'RE POINTING FINGERS BECAUSE I WAS, I REMEMBER BEING ATTACKED ABOUT BRINGING THIS UP AND MAKING IT LOOK LIKE I DIDN'T KNOW I WAS TALKING ABOUT LAST YEAR. I JUST WANNA BRING THAT UP AND, AND, AND, AND, AND PUT PUT THAT OUT THERE THAT THIS IS THE CORRECT TIME. AND I APPRECIATE Y'ALL, I APPRECIATE US DOING IT. AND I DO, AND I DO UNDERSTAND THAT THINGS, THINGS DO HAPPEN AND THAT WE DIDN'T HAVE THE RESULTS. AND THAT'S NOTHING TO DR. RODRIGUEZ, BUT JUST TO COLLEAGUES, HOW WE TREAT PEOPLE. IT DOES MATTER. THANK YOU. UM, IF, IF I COULD JUST TAG ON JUST FOR A POINT OF CLARITY, LAST YEAR, YOU ARE ABSOLUTELY CORRECT. THE STATE WAS VERY LATE IN GETTING THE DATA TO THE SUPERINTENDENT, AND WE FLEXED TO ENSURE THAT HE HAD AMPLE TIME TO LOOK AT IT AND PROPERLY, UM, MAKE HIS DECISIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS AS DID THE, UH, BOARD MEMBERS. SO, UM, WHAT I PARTICULARLY LIKED ABOUT THE RESULTS COMMITTEE THIS YEAR IS THE FIVE DAY REQUIREMENT FOR BOARD MEMBERS TO RECEIVE IT, REVIEW IT, MULL IT OVER AND GET IT BACK IN. I THINK THAT LENDS A, A CULTURE OF EFFICIENCY THAT'S VERY IMPORTANT. AND SO THEN WE CAN, THE BOARD CAN MOVE ON TO OTHER THINGS. SO THAT'S JUST AN ASIDE FROM WHERE I SIT. THANK YOU. WRIGHT STANDS UP, MS. BOATRIGHT. THANK YOU. UM, I DO HAVE ONE QUESTION. WE HAVE THIS WHOLE PROCESS WHERE WE HAND DELIVER ALL THESE THINGS AND, AND THAT IS, YOU KNOW, HAS ROBIN AND, AND OTHER DISTRICTS DRAFT DRIVING ALL OVER THE, OVER BEAUFORT [01:15:01] COUNTY? UM, IT'S HARD FOR ME. I, BECAUSE I CAN'T DRIVE IT BACK IN THE MIDDLE OF A WORKDAY OVER TO, UH, DROP IT OFF AT THE COUNTY OFFICE. SO IT'S ALWAYS KIND OF A CHALLENGE. IS THAT STILL NECESSARY THAT EVERYTHING BE HAND DELIVERED OR IS THERE A WAY TO DO PART OF IT BY, LIKE, YOU CAN DELIVER THE BOOKLET BY HAND, BUT I CAN SUBMIT THE RESULTS ELECTRONICALLY AND WE CONSIDER THAT JUST 'CAUSE IT'S ALWAYS SORT OF A, A DISASTER. UM, TRYING TO GET ALL THAT BACK TOGETHER. YEAH. THE BOOKLET LIKE LAST YEAR, UH, WILL BE DONE ELECTRONICALLY. OKAY. UH, THAT'S, THAT'S ELECTRONIC. UM, I DIDN'T, WE HAVE TO HAVE IT DELIVERED. I REMEMBER BEING DELIVERED NOT LAST YEAR. OKAY. NOT LAST YEAR. IT WAS PRIOR YEARS. THAT'S CORRECT. YEAH. LAST YEAR THE BOOKLET WAS, UH, WAS ELECTRONIC. UM, PERFECT. SO WHAT WAS DELIVERY, BECAUSE I REMEMBER, UH, THE YOUNG WOMAN COMING OUT TO MY OFFICE, I THINK WHAT WAS MAY HAVE BEEN PICKED UP WAS THE, THE TOOL THAT YOU USED TO, TO REVIEW IT AND EVALUATE. RIGHT. WELL, MY, MY, MY QUESTION WILL BE TO MRS. CEN BERRY, UH, IS, IS THAT ANY PROBLEM WITH, WITH Y WITH THE, WITH THE, WITH THE CURRENT PROCESS THAT WE HAVE THERE? ANY, IS THERE ANY ISSUE WITH, WITH THE, WITH WHAT WE CURRENTLY HAVE RIGHT NOW, I, MRS. CUSH BERRY KNOWS IS THEY DON'T THINK THAT THERE'S ANY PROBLEM THAT I DON'T THINK THAT, I THINK WHAT WE'RE DOING IS, IS WORKING. SO IF IT'S NOT BROKEN, THEN I DON'T THINK WE NEED TO FIX IT. I WOULD SUGGEST THAT YOU GIVE ME, UH, UH, SOME TIME TO SEE, UH, UH, WITH RESPECT TO THE, THE, THE COLLECTION OF THE TOOL AFTER IT'S REVIEWED TO SEE IF, UH, IF THERE'S A, A FEASIBLE WAY TO SECURELY DO IT. AND IF NOT, YEAH. THEN I THINK, UH, YOU KNOW, WE MAY HAVE TO BE, UH, DOING IT THE WAY, THE WAY WE'VE COLLECTED THE, THE RESULTS WE DID DISCUSS ABOUT DOING IT ALL ELECTRONICALLY. PERFECT. WE DID. YEP. IF FEASIBLE. YEP. AND THERE MAY BE SOME FACTORS, UH, AROUND THAT. YEAH, THAT'S FAIR. I JUST, YEAH, IT IS, IT IS BURDENSOME. E EVERYBODY DON'T LIKE IT ELECTRONICALLY BECAUSE I, I THINK LAST YEAR I BELIEVE I, I, I REQUESTED A BOOK AND I STILL HAD MINDS. UM, UM, I HAD, I, I STILL HAD MINDS MY, MY PAPER BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, EVERYONE DOESN'T LIKE TO LOOK ON A LAPTOP OR LIKE TO DO THAT. SOME PEOPLE LIKE TO ACTUALLY HAVE, HAVE THEIR HABIT PAPER IN HAND IN TURN. SO I HAD MINES, UH, I HAD MINES DONE REGULARLY LAST NIGHT, LAST YEAR. SO I, I DIDN'T HAVE ELECTRONICS. SO I, I I THINK THAT MIGHT, I THINK THAT MIGHT CHANGE. AND I, I WOULD STILL PREFER THAT MECHANISM VERSUS THE ELECTRONIC. IF, IF THAT'S NO SCREEN, WELL, THE PROBLEM'S GONNA BE, UH, THE TURNAROUND TIME ON THE TIGHT TIMELINE. UM, I CAN, I CAN, I CAN PRODUCE IT QUICKLY, ELECTRONICALLY, UH, BECAUSE I CAN, I CAN TAKE UP TO THE LAST DATE, DATE TO BUILD IT AS I NEED TIME. UH, IF I, UH, IF I HAVE TO GO OUT TO A PRINT SHOP, UH, TO GET IT, TO GET ANY ONE OF THEM, 11 OF THEM, YOU KNOW, PRINTED, THAT WOULD BE THAT, THAT MAY NOT FIT THE TIMELINE. AND I THINK IT'S PERFECTLY EASY IF THERE'S A NON, IF, IF YOU HAVE AN ELECTRONIC VERSION, YOU CAN ALWAYS PRINT IT OUT. ROBIN CAN PRINT IT OUT AND HAVE YOU COME PICK IT UP AT THE OFFICE. BUT THERE HAS, YOU KNOW, I THINK THERE'S WAYS TO MAKE EVERYBODY, UH, WORK BEST IF IT CAN BE DONE ELECTRONICALLY FOR THOSE OF US AN HOUR AWAY FROM THE DISTRICT AND WHO WORK DURING THE DAY, I TEND TO DO A LOT OF THIS KIND OF WORK AFTER HOURS. SO IT'D BE MUCH MORE CONVENIENT FOR ME IF POSSIBLE, IF NOT POSSIBLE. I UNDERSTAND. I'M JUST THROWING THAT OUT THERE. I GUESS. ANY, ANY OTHER COMMENTS? UM, I GUESS MY CONCERN IS THE SECURITY OF THE INFORMATION AND ELECTRONICALLY. I THINK IT CAN BE GUARDED AND I THINK THAT'S CRITICALLY IMPORTANT. SO IF THERE'S A WAY THAT IT CAN BE DONE ELECTRONICALLY, I WOULD TEND TO SAY THAT THAT IS PROBABLY A BETTER WAY IN TERMS OF US MEETING TIGHT TIMELINES, WHICH ARE ADMIRABLE TIMELINES. NO, GO AHEAD. I WAS GONNA READ. I'M READY. I WAS GONNA READ THEM. OH, OKAY. ALL RIGHT. UH, I MOVED THAT THE BOARD OF EDUCATION REQUIRE A TIMEFRAME OF FIVE BUSINESS DAYS FOR EACH BOARD MEMBER TO COMPLETE AND RETURN THE SUPERINTENDENT'S EVALUATION. I'LL SECOND. THERE'S MORE TO IT. OKAY. AND EVALUATION PAUSE RECEIVED AFTER THE DESIGNATED TIMEFRAME OF FIVE BUSINESS DAYS WILL BE VOID. THE DEADLINE IS AT THE END OF THE DAY AT 11:59 PM THE MOTION IS GOING INTO EFFECT IMMEDIATELY FOR THE 20. FOR 2026 AND ALL YEARS PROCEEDING. I'LL SECOND. OKAY. IT'S BEEN PROPERLY MOTIONED. AND SECOND. ALL IN FAVOR? RAISE YOUR RIGHT HANDS AND [01:20:01] SAY AYE. AYE. AYE. OPPOSED? VOTE RIGHT EYE. PASTOR GORDON. AYE. THANK YOU. ALRIGHT. LOOKS LIKE IT PASSES UNANIMOUSLY. YEAH, NO, THAT'S IT. IS MS. HAY STILL ON THERE? DID SHE, DID SHE I AM. I WAS JUST GONNA SAY THANK YOU TO EVERYONE AND THAT WE ARE, UM, LOOKING AT A FEW OTHER ITEMS AND HOPING TO HAVE ANOTHER MEETING, AND I'M HOPEFUL FOR NOVEMBER. SO, AND WE DO WANNA SEE IT DONE ELECTRONICALLY, OR AT LEAST AVAILABLE TO ALL ELECTRONICALLY, UM, TO HELP AS OUR TRAFFIC TENDS TO INCREASE IN THIS AREA. OKAY. SO LET'S PASS US IN, IN EFFECT. THANK YOU. OKAY. YEAH. UM, [Student Performance] CHAIRMAN DALLAS, UM, WE HAVE BEFORE US, ROBERT SMALLS LEADERSHIP ACADEMY'S, UH, GENERAL SYMPHONIC BAND PERFORMING, UH, FOR YOU THIS EVENING. AND SO I WANT TO GIVE THEM THE FLOOR IF THEY WANT TO COME FORWARD. THANK YOU BOARD, UH, DR. RODRIGUEZ, SENIOR STAFF. UH, I HUMBLY COME BEFORE YOU TO, UH, PRESENT TO YOU THE SECOND BEST BAND IN THE COUNTY, ACCORDING TO THE BRADLEY TERRANCE BAND ASSESSMENT. AND, UH, I WILL TELL YOU, THEY'VE BEEN WORKING EXTREMELY HARD. UH, I AM SO PROUD OF THEM. A FEW YEARS AGO, I WAS CONCERNED ABOUT OUR NUMBERS FEEDING INTO BATTERY CREEK AND SHOWING WHAT THEY CAN DO. I'M NOT CONCERNED ANYMORE, AND YOU'RE GONNA BE BLOWN AWAY. I DO WANT TO TAKE A MINUTE TO SAY THANK YOU VERY MUCH TO, UH, WE HAVE THREE PARENTS THAT ARE ASSISTING US. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. IT TAKES A VILLAGE AND I'M EXTREMELY HAPPY THAT YOU'RE PART OF OUR VILLAGE. REALLY APPRECIATE YOU. I ALSO WANNA THANK, UH, MS. WALTON, IF YOU CAN SEE ME AROUND THIS. UH, MS. WALTON, THANK YOU FOR, UH, THANK YOU FOR INTRODUCING ME TO MR. JOHNSON. MR. JOHNSON DRIVES FROM SAVANNAH EVERY DAY TO BE ABLE TO INSTRUCT OUR KIDS. UH, HE IS OUTSTANDING. AND WITHOUT FURTHER ADO, THEY WILL DO TWO SONGS. ONE IS BLACK MOON MARCH. IF YOU FEEL LIKE DANCING AND IT'S APPROPRIATE, FEEL FREE. UH, AND GHOSTBUSTERS, WE ALL KNOW THAT ONE, SO YOU'LL PROBABLY JUMP IN ON THAT ONE. WITHOUT FURTHER ADO, HERE COMES THE ROBERT SMALLS LEADERSHIP ACADEMY GENERALS BAND. OKAY. [01:26:03] UH, WELL THANK YOU TO THE, UH, BUFORD COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT FOR HAVING US HERE. UM, WE HAVE BEEN WORKING VERY HARD, UM, TO PRESENT THIS PERFORMANCE TO YOU, UM, AND WE'RE GLAD THAT WE HOPE THAT YOU ENJOYED IT. UM, IF YOU HAVE ANY TIME, UM, OCTOBER THE 21ST, WE'RE DOING A FALL CONCERT AT THE SCHOOL, UH, WHICH IS FEATURING THOSE TWO SELECTIONS AND ALONG WITH ONE OTHER. UH, AND WE'RE ALSO PLANNING TO DO A, UH, CAROL WINDS TRIP FOR OUR BAND AT THE END OF THE YEAR, SOMETIME IN THE SPRING. UM, SO WE ARE GLAD TO, UM, PRESENT THIS TO YOU, AND WE HOPE TO SOMETIME BE BACK SOON, SO MAYBE. SO. THANK YOU SO MUCH. [Points of Celebration ] BOARD MEMBERS, UH, THIS EVENING. IN THE NEXT SEGMENT, WHICH IS POINTS OF CELEBRATION, WE HAVE THE AUGUST STUDENT OF THE MONTH, AND TONIGHT WE'RE CELEBRATING AUGUST STUDENT OF THE MONTH FOR NORTHERN BEAUFORT COUNTY, AUGUST. CHARACTER TRAIT WHERE FRIENDSHIP AND KINDNESS FRIENDSHIP IS DEFINED AS THE EMOTIONS OR CONDUCT OF FRIENDS, THE STATE OF BEING FRIENDS. KINDNESS IS DEFINED AS THE QUALITY OF BEING FRIENDLY, GENEROUS, AND CONSIDERATE. THE AUGUST STUDENT OF THE MONTH FOR NORTHERN BEAUFORT COUNTY IS JUSTICE SMALL, A FOURTH GRADER AT ST. HELENA ISLAND ELEMENTARY SCHOOL. AND HERE TO INTRODUCE JUSTICE IS PRINCIPAL CONSTANCE GOODWIN LEWIS. GOOD EVENING EVERYONE. GOOD EVENING. HOW ARE YOU? . I BET YOU DON'T GET ASKED THAT VERY MUCH. . I'M GLAD TO HEAR THAT YOU'RE DOING WELL. I WOULD LIKE TO TELL YOU JUST A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THIS BEAUTIFUL YOUNG LADY THAT IS STANDING BESIDE ME. SO I'M GOING TO READ, IF YOU WOULD BEAR WITH ME, WHAT HER TEACHER WROTE ABOUT HER, UM, THAT WAS VOTED UPON AND ALLOWED HER TO RECEIVE THIS VERY DISTINCT HONOR. HER TEACHER SAYS THAT JUSTICE CONSISTENTLY DEMONSTRATES KINDNESS THROUGH HER WILLINGNESS TO HELP OTHERS, HER THOUGHT AND HER THOUGHTFUL ACTIONS. DURING THE FIRST WEEK OF SCHOOL, SHE HANDMADE BRACELETS FOR HER TEACHER AND EVERY STUDENT IN HER CLASSROOM. THIS SHOWED HER GIFT OF MAKING HER CLASSMATES FEEL SPECIAL, WELCOMED, AND INCLUDED. SHE IS ALWAYS WILLING TO LEND A HELPING HAND AND SHOWS GENUINE CARE FOR ALL OF THOSE AROUND HER. IF A PEER IS STRUGGLING TO UNDERSTAND AN ACTIVITY OR ASSIGNMENT, SHE IS ALWAYS WILLING TO EXPLAIN THINGS TO THEM [01:30:01] AND TO HELP. JUSTICE IS CARING, GENEROUS, AND SUPPORTIVE TOWARDS OTHERS. SHE MAKES AN EFFORT TO INCLUDE OTHERS AND HELPS TO CREATE A POSITIVE AND WELCOMING ENVIRONMENT. HER WILLINGNESS TO SHARE HER TALENTS HELPS HER PEERS AND SHOWS THOUGHTFULNESS TOWARDS EVERYONE, WHICH MAKES HER A WONDERFUL EXAMPLE OF WHAT IT MEANS TO DEMONSTRATE KINDNESS AND FRIENDSHIP. WOULD YOU LIKE TO SAY SOMETHING? THANK YOU. SAYS THANK YOU AND JUSTICE PANTHER. PRIDE ISLAND Y. ISLAND Y . I WOULD LIKE TO ASK, UH, JUSTICE FAMILY TO COME UP AND JOIN US FOR, UH, FOR A QUICK PHOTO. OKAY. THAT, UH, CONCLUDES OUR POINTS OF CELEBRATION THIS EVENING AND MOVES [Superintendent’s Report ] US INTO THE SUPERINTENDENT'S REPORT. UH, SO ONE OF THE THINGS, UH, WE HAVE, UH, TWO ITEMS ON THE SUPERINTENDENT'S REPORT. ONE IS AROUND GOAL NUMBER TWO, WHICH IS HIGHLY QUALIFIED TEACHERS AND ADMINISTRATORS, AND WE'LL BEGIN THERE THIS EVENING. THE SECOND ONE IS GOAL THREE AROUND FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY. SO WE START WITH GOAL NUMBER TWO, HIGHLY QUALIFIED TEACHERS AND ADMINISTRATORS. IN ORDER TO MAKE THAT HAPPEN, IT'S, UH, REALLY IMPORTANT THAT WE NOT ONLY HIRE GOOD TALENT, BUT WE DEVELOP AND SUPPORT THE TALENT THAT WE HIRE. AND, AND THIS IS A TEAM THAT IS DEDICATED FROM, UH, THE DISTRICT STAFF, FROM OUR HR DIVISION, UH, THAT FOCUSES THEIR WORK AS MENTORS, SUPPORTING EDUCATORS. AND SO I'M GONNA ASK MS. WALTON TO COME FORWARD. TELL US A LITTLE BIT ABOUT OUR TEAM. UH, WE HAVE A HOST OF EXPERIENCES THAT ARE A PART OF THE MEMBERSHIP OF THIS TEAM THAT'S ACROSS OUR DISTRICT, SUPPORTING TEACHERS EVERY SINGLE DAY. THANK YOU. GOOD AFTERNOON, BOARD. GOOD AFTERNOON. I MUST TELL YOU, WHEN WE WALKED IN THE ROOM, DR. RODRIGUEZ SAID, ALICE, 29 PEOPLE. I SAID, NO. 32 ACTUALLY. IT'S JUST THE MENTORING TEAM. GUYS, COME ON UP. , DON'T GET FEARFUL. WE ARE NOT GONNA BE HERE ALL NIGHT. UH, BUT WE DO WANT TO SHARE WITH YOU SOMETHING THAT I BELIEVE PEOPLE SEE AS ABSTRACT. AND THAT IS HOW DO YOU SUPPORT TEACHERS? WHAT GOES INTO IT? A LOT OF TIMES YOU MIGHT THINK YOU GO INTO THE CLASSROOM AND YOU GIVE THEM, SHOW THEM WHERE THEIR COPYING ROOM IS. YOU MAKE SURE THEY HAVE MARKERS, BUT IT'S MUCH MORE THAN THAT. AND WHAT WE'RE GONNA DO FOR YOU TONIGHT IS TO TAMPER DOWN A TWO DAY TRAINING INTO ABOUT 15 TO 20 MINUTES SO THAT YOU CAN UNDERSTAND WHAT THEY DO. YOU HAVE IN FRONT OF YOU, EX ADMINISTRATORS, EX TEACHERS, AND THEY ALL HAVE THE TWO INGREDIENTS THAT GO INTO MAKING A PERFECT MENTOR THAT SUPPORT TEACHERS IN A MEANINGFUL WAY. AND THAT IS, THEY UNDERSTAND HUMAN BEHAVIOR, THEY HAVE THE PASSION FOR SEEING TEACHERS GROW. SO I'M GONNA TURN IT OVER TO THEM AND LET THEM DO THE TALKING. THEY CAN TELL YOU BETTER THAN I DO CAN WHAT THEY DO. GOOD EVENING, SUPERINTENDENT BOARD MEMBERS, AND THE, UH, UH, CABINET. I AM SANJAY LEACH AND I AM THE DIRECTOR OF EDUCATOR QUALITY. AND I WORK WITH THIS WONDERFUL, WONDERFUL GROUP. TODAY, WE WANT TO TALK TO YOU ABOUT EXACTLY WHAT WE DO AND HOW WE COME UP WITH WHAT WE DO IN OUR DAILY WORK. I WANNA INTRODUCE THE TEAM. I'LL START WITH [01:35:01] OUR COORDINATOR OF EDUCATOR DEVELOPMENT, ANGELA ELONE. WHERE IS SHE? THERE? SHE IS AND ALSO SHE STARTED OUR LEAD PROGRAM, WHICH I IS OUR VERY OWN ALTERNATIVE PATHWAY PROGRAM THAT SHE'LL GO INTO. MORE DETAILS ABOUT HER AND MS. KIMBERLY STANZI, KIMBERLY OLA, DR. BETH BENIA, MS. CRYSTAL COLEMAN, KAIA GILBERT, MICHELLE FORD, LISA DEAN, KYRA HARTLEY. AND THAT IS OUR TEAM OF MENTORS. THEY STARTED OUT, UM, MENTORING, UM, WHERE WE WERE DIVIDED. UH, LAST YEAR WHEN WE STARTED THE LEAP A COUPLE YEARS AGO, WE HAD SOME LEAP MENTORS, BUT WE, THIS YEAR WE COMBINED AND WE NOW HAVE SPLIT IT ALL. AND SO OUR TEACH OUR MENTORS NOT ONLY WORK WITH OUR INDUCTION TEACHERS, BUT THEY ALSO WORK WITH OUR LEAD CANDIDATES AS WELL. AND AGAIN, WE'LL GET INTO MORE DETAIL ABOUT THAT TODAY. WE WANT TO HELP YOU TO UNDERSTAND THE NEEDS OF OUR TEACHERS, OUR BEGINNING TEACHERS, AND WHAT WE LOOK AT TO DETERMINE HOW WE SUPPORT THEM. UM, WE DETERMINE SUPPORT FOR OUR NEW TEACHERS BASED ON SOME ESSENTIAL AREAS THAT WE'LL GO INTO DETAIL ABOUT WITH THE PHASES OF A TEACHER. AND WE ALSO EXPLAIN THE PURPOSE AND STRUCTURE OF OUR INDUCTION AND MENTORING AND LEAP PROGRAM, UM, THAT WE HAVE HERE IN BEAUFORT COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT. THE PROGRAM STARTED IN 2006, AND IT STARTED WITH DR. DONNA SMITH IN HER CLASSROOM WHERE SHE WAS WORKING WITH TEACHERS ON HER OWN. AND OF COURSE, MS. WALTON FOUND OUT ABOUT IT AND BROUGHT HER IN AND SAID, HEY, HOW CAN WE DO THIS ACROSS THE DISTRICT? THERE WAS ONLY TWO MENTORS AT THAT TIME IN 2006. IT HAS EXPANDED FROM 2006 TO CURRENT DAY OF NINE MENTORS ALSO, UM, THE BUILDING MENTORS THAT THEY HAD IN THE ACTUAL BUILDING TO SUPPORT THEM. IT WAS ALSO THOSE TWO. NOW WE'VE TRAINED OVER 700 BUILDING MENTORS. THE BUILDING MENTORS ALSO SUPPORT THE WORK OF OUR NEW TEACHERS IN THE BUILDING. THE TRAINING FOR THESE NEW TEACHERS STARTED OUT AS A THREE HOUR MONTHLY AFTERSCHOOL, UH, SESSION WITH THE NEW TEACHERS. THAT HAS NOW EVOLVED TO FOUR IN-PERSON FULL DAY TRAINING SESSIONS HERE AT THE DISTRICT OFFICE FOR OUR INDUCTION TEACHERS. AND IT HAS GOTTEN A LOT OF POSITIVE FEEDBACK AS A RESULT OF THEM BEING ABLE TO COME HERE FOR A FULL DAY AND RECEIVE TRAINING. AND THAT TRAINING IS BASED ON NEEDS THAT WE'VE IDENTIFIED IN WORKING WITH THEM. THE, UM, SUPPORT HAS ALSO BEEN FOR THE TRAINING HAS ALSO BEEN BASED ON FEEDBACK THAT THEY'VE GIVEN US. THEY'VE ALSO TOLD US, HEY, I NEED HELP IN THIS AREA. AND SO WE BUILD A TRAINING AROUND THAT AS WELL. SO WHY ARE WE HERE? HOW ARE WE HERE? WE WOULD NOT NEED BOARD MEMBERS. WE WOULD NOT NEED A SCHOOL DISTRICT. WE WOULD NOT NEED, UH, SCHOOL BUILDINGS IF WE DIDN'T HAVE TEACHERS. SO WE START OFF WITH RECRUITING THE BEST. WE GO OUT TO OUR UNIVERSITIES, COLLEGES, JOB FAIRS, AND WE RECRUIT THE BEST. WE THEN PUT THOSE NAMES IN THOSE APPLICATIONS BEFORE OUR PRINCIPALS WHO THEN CREATE A TEAM TO INTERVIEW AND SELECT THOSE GREAT EDUCATORS. WE THEN GO THROUGH THE, UH, ONBOARDING PROCESS THROUGH THE HR DEPARTMENT. WE ONBOARD THOSE NEW TEACHERS, AND WE HAVE NEW OR HIGHER ORIENTATION FOR THOSE TEACHERS. AND THEN OUR GOAL IS NOT ONLY TO RECRUIT THEM, TO GET THEM HERE, BUT OUR GOAL IS TO RETAIN THEM. AND THAT'S WHERE WE COME IN. WE WORK VERY HARD TO RETAIN OUR TEACHERS. IT, THEY'LL TELL YOU THAT IT'S NOT A DIFFICULT TASK AS THEY SHOW YOU THE PHASES THAT THESE TEACHERS GO THROUGH. IT'S NOT, IT'S, IT'S, IT'S NOT AN EASY TASK. I'M SORRY. IT'S NOT AN EASY TASK. THERE ARE SOME WHO COME AUTOMATIC ROCK STARS. THERE ARE SOME WHO COME AND THEY ARE SCARED TO DEATH. SO WE'LL GO THROUGH THOSE PHASES. I'M GOING TO NOW TURN IT OVER TO THE, UH, MENTORS AND LET THEM TELL YOU MORE IN DETAIL. GOOD EVENING. BEFORE WE BEGIN, UM, WITH OUR FULL PRESENTATION, WE WOULD LIKE YOU TO ALL PARTICIPATE IN A VERY BRIEF ACTIVITY. OKAY? SO IF YOU HAVE A NOTE CARD IN FRONT OF YOU AND WE PASSED IT AROUND THE ROOM, WE GAVE YOU A NOTE CARD AND A PEN. AND WHAT I'D LIKE YOU TO DO IS JUST FOR ONE MOMENT, VISUALIZE THE WATER'S EDGE. I'M NOT GIVING YOU ANY MORE DESCRIPTION THAN THAT. JUST VISUALIZE THE WATER'S EDGE. AND FOR THE NEXT 45 TO 60 SECONDS, PLEASE DRAW OR SKETCH ON YOUR NOTE CARD, THE WATER'S EDGE, WHATEVER THAT MEANS TO YOU. [01:40:30] WE WILL FINISH UP IN ABOUT 10 SECONDS. AND JUST BY A SHOW OF HANDS, WHO DREW A RIVER FOR YOUR WATER'S EDGE? DID ANYBODY DRAW A RIVER? WHO DREW A LAKE? DID ANYONE DRAW A LAKE? HOW ABOUT THE MARSH, THE OCEAN? EXCELLENT. ANY OTHER WATER THAT YOU DREW? DID ANYBODY DRAW SOMETHING DIFFERENT? THAT'S THE POINT. THE POINT IS THAT WE ALL COME WITH A DIFFERENT WATER'S EDGE. I MAY HAVE DRAWN KIG BEACH. YOU MAY HAVE DRAWN HUNTING BEACH. YOU MAY HAVE DRAWN CO RIVER. WE ALL HAVE A DIFFERENT WATERS EDGE BECAUSE WE ALL COME WITH DIFFERENT BACKGROUNDS AND EXPERIENCES. THE PURPOSE OF OUR PROGRAM IS TO MEET TEACHERS AT THEIR WATERS EDGE. OUR NEW TEACHERS COME WITH A VARIETY OF BACKGROUNDS AND EXPERIENCES, AND WE AS MENTORS SUPPORT THAT WE MEET THEM WHEREVER THEY ARE. BUT THEN WE BUILD THEM HERE BECAUSE THEY'RE IN BEAUFORT COUNTY. SO WHAT WE DO IS PROVIDE ALL OF THE SOCIAL, EMOTIONAL, PHYSICAL AND INSTRUCTIONAL SUPPORT THEY NEED OVER OUR TWO YEAR PROGRAM SO THAT THEY ARE CONFIDENT AND CAPABLE TO BEST SERVE THEIR STUDENTS. GOOD EVENING. UM, AS YOU SAW, YOU CAN GO BACK TO BARBIE. I KNOW SHE'S A FAN OF FAVORITE. UM, WE WANT YOU TO STOP AND THINK ABOUT YOUR FIRST TIME WHEN YOU STARTED YOUR JOB. THINK ABOUT THE FIRST THREE MONTHS WHEN YOU STARTED YOUR JOB. NOW, PUT INTO PERSPECTIVE AS TEACHERS. AS YOU SEE BARBIE IN AUGUST. THEY ARE EXCITED. THEY CAN'T WAIT TO GET IN THE CLASSROOM. THEY HAVE PINTEREST IDEAS, TIKTOK IDEAS. THEY BOUGHT THE CUTEST LUNCHBOX. THEN SEPTEMBER COMES AROUND. BARBIE'S NOT LOOKING AS GREAT. SHE'S GOT HER HAIR BACK. SHE'S NOT FIXING, YOU KNOW, SHE'S NOT LOOKING AS TOP NOTCH AS SHE WAS IN AUGUST, BECAUSE THINGS ARE STARTING TO OCCUR IN THE SCHOOL SYSTEM. NOW. SHE'S GOT CURRICULUM CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT. COME OCTOBER, SHE IS DEPLETED. OKAY? SHE'S LOOKING REALLY ROUGH NOW BECAUSE SHE'S HAD PARENT CONFERENCES, CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT, DISTRICT ASSESSMENTS. SO WE WANT YOU TO STOP AND THINK RIGHT NOW. WE ARE IN THE NOW, RIGHT NOW WITH OUR TEACHERS IN OCTOBER AND WHAT THEY'RE FEELING. SO WHAT WE'RE GONNA DO RIGHT NOW IS THE DISTRICT MENTORS IS GONNA ACTUALLY WALK YOU THROUGH THE FIVE PHASES OF THE FIRST YEAR TEACHER. AND ONE THING I DO WANNA SHARE TODAY IS BECAUSE YOU SAW DR. LEACH SAID 20 YEARS AGO IN 2006, THIS PROGRAM STARTED INDUCTION. I AM A PRODUCT OF BEAUFORT COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT. I STARTED HERE IN THAT FIRST YEAR IN 2006 IN THE INDUCTION PROGRAM. I WAS A PROUD SPECIAL ED TEACHER FOR 13 YEARS HERE. AND I LOVE THIS PROGRAM SO MUCH AND BELIEVED IN IT THAT I ACTUALLY BECAME A DISTRICT MENTOR. SO IT CAME FULL CIRCLE FOR ME. SO WE'RE GONNA WALK YOU THROUGH NOW, THE FIRST YEAR PHASES OF TEACHERS. LET'S SEE. OH, I DID, YES. ALL RIGHT. NORMALLY WE HAVE MUSIC WITH IT, BUT I'M NOT SURE IF IT'S WORKING TONIGHT. THAT'S ALL RIGHT. WE DON'T NEED IT. OKAY. YOU'RE HI. HI. HI. GUESS WHAT? I GOT A JOB. I'M WORKING AT BEAUFORT COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT, AND I HAVE THE CUTEST CLASSROOM PASTEL FLOWERS. EVERYTHING IS PASTEL FLOWERS. IT'S GOING TO BE THE BEST YEAR. AND MY KIDS SO CUTE. UGH. OH, MAN. I KNOW MY WORKDAY IS EIGHT TO FOUR, BUT IT SEEMS LIKE IF I DON'T GET HERE EARLY AND STAY LATE, I'M NEVER GONNA KEEP UP WITH THIS GRADING. AND EVERY TIME I TURN AROUND, THERE'S SOME KIND OF DUTY. I GOT LUNCH, DUTY, HALL DUTY, UM, CAR RIDE OF DUTY. I JUST, I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO, BUT I'M GONNA TRY TO HANG IN THERE. OH MY WORD. I'VE GOTTA GET UP AND I'VE GOTTA DO THIS AGAIN. I'VE GOTTA BE THERE FOR THESE KIDS, BUT THEY DON'T UNDERSTAND, AND I'M STRUGGLING GETTING THEM TO UNDERSTAND. AND THEN I'M GONNA GET AN OBSERVATION AND THE PRINCIPAL'S GONNA SEE THAT THEY DON'T KNOW WHAT I'M TRYING TO TEACH THEM. THIS IS A STRUGGLE, AND I HONESTLY DON'T KNOW IF I'M CUT OUT FOR THIS. AND IT'S ONLY TUESDAY. . OH, I'M SO EXCITED. I JUST GOT BACK FROM WINTER BREAK. I WENT HOME, [01:45:01] HAD MY MAMA'S GOOD COOKING, GOT TO HANG OUT WITH SOME OF MY FRIENDS. I SURVIVED THE FIRST 90 DAYS OF TEACHING, AND I'M SO EXCITED. 'CAUSE ONLY 67 DAYS UNTIL THE HERITAGE . OH MY GOODNESS. I HAVE THE EOC SCORES COMING UP. I HOPE THEY DON'T PUT ME ON A PLAN. I CANNOT BE ON A PLAN. MY MENTOR HAS COACHED ME. I KNOW WHAT I NEED TO DO NEXT YEAR. I KNOW THAT I AM READY FOR PROGRESS LEARNING. I KNOW THAT MY KIDS CAN BE SUCCESSFUL ON THE EOCI AM GOING TO STUDY THAT 4.0 RUBRIC. I AM GOING TO BE SUCCESSFUL. I KNOW MY KIDS CAN DO GREAT. WOW. NOW I GET TO LOOK FORWARD TO NEXT YEAR. I LEARNED SO MUCH THIS YEAR, HAD SOME STRUGGLES TOO, BUT I LEARNED SO MUCH. I DID A CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT PLAN FOR MY KIDS. THEY MADE SO MANY GAINS, BOTH ACADEMICALLY AND PERSONALLY. WOW, I'M SO EXCITED FOR NEXT YEAR. I WONDER WHAT MY STUDENTS WILL BE, WHO WILL THEY BE? BUT FIRST, FIRST COMES SUMMER. SO WHAT WE JUST SHOWED EVERYONE IS JUST THE PHASES THAT OUR TEACHERS GO THROUGH IN THEIR FIRST YEAR. AND IF YOU TAKE A LOOK AT THE CHART THAT WE HAVE, IT'S PROBABLY FAMILIAR TO MOST OF YOU, AND WE MIGHT KNOW IT AS AN IMPLEMENTATION DIP. WHEN YOU START SOMETHING AT THE BEGINNING, YOU'RE VERY EXCITED. YOU WANNA JUST DO THE BEST YOU CAN. YOU WANNA DO EVERYTHING. AND THEN REALITY SETS IN AND WE KIND OF GET TO THE BOTTOM. AND THAT'S WHERE WE'RE ON THE FLOOR, NOT GETTING UP OUT OF BED. BUT THEN WE PICK OURSELVES UP AND WE START SEEING THAT WE CAN DO THE THINGS THAT WE NEED TO DO. AND AS MENTORS, THE VERY IMPORTANT PIECE THAT WE DO IS WE LOOK AT OUR TEACHERS AND WE LOOK AT WHAT PHASE THEY'RE IN. THEY MIGHT NOT ALL BE AT THE SAME PHASE AT THE SAME TIME, BUT WE LOOK AT OUR TEACHERS AND FROM THAT, WE DETERMINE HOW ARE WE GOING TO BEST MEET THEIR NEEDS. AND WE WANT THEM TO BE COMPETENT. WE WANT THEM TO BE SUCCESSFUL, AND WE WANT THEM TO COME BACK. AND WE WANT THEM TO COME BACK BECAUSE THAT BENEFITS US AS THE, AS THE SCHOOL. IT BENEFITS OUR CHILDREN. AND THAT'S WHY WE'RE ALL HERE. AND IT BENEFITS US AS AN ENTIRE DISTRICT. AND IT HELPS IN SO MANY WAYS. SO IF WE CAN FIND OUT WHERE THEY'RE AT AND WE DO WHAT WE NEED TO DO TO MEET THEM, THEY'RE GONNA BE SUCCESSFUL. AND WE LOOK AT THREE DIFFERENT NEEDS WHEN WE'RE LOOKING AT OUR TEACHERS TO DETERMINE WHAT WE'RE GONNA DO. SO I'M GONNA PASS IT OVER TO KYRA TO TALK ABOUT THOSE NEEDS. THANK YOU. SO MOST TEACHER NEEDS CAN FALL UNDER ONE OF THREE CATEGORIES. THEY CAN FALL UNDER SOCIAL EMOTIONAL NEEDS. THEY CAN FALL UNDER THE PHYSICAL, OR SOMETIMES WE CALL THEM PRACTICAL NEEDS. THAT'S THAT BUILDING SUPPORT. OR THEY CAN FALL UNDER INSTRUCTIONAL NEEDS. AND AS MENTORS, WE ARE TRAINED AND WE TRAIN THE BUILDING MENTORS AS WELL. WE ALSO TRAIN, UM, ADMINISTRATORS ON THIS. WE ARE TRAINED TO IDENTIFY WHAT NEED OUR TEACHER HAS IN THAT MOMENT. AND WE ALSO EXPLAIN THAT OFTENTIMES THEY MIGHT HAVE MORE THAN ONE OF THESE NEEDS AT THE SAME TIME. AND IT'S A HIERARCHY JUST LIKE IT IS FOR OUR STUDENTS. SO WE COME IN, WE ASSESS, WE TRIAGE, WE ADDRESS SOCIAL EMOTIONAL NEEDS SO THAT WE CAN THEN ADDRESS THE PHYSICAL NEEDS. WE CAN GET YOU TO THAT COPIER. WE CAN GET YOU PRINTED SO THAT WE CAN THEN ADDRESS THOSE INSTRUCTIONAL NEEDS AND PROVIDE THAT SUPPORT. BECAUSE AGAIN, WE WANNA BUILD CAPACITY AND RETAIN EFFECTIVE QUALITY TEACHERS. WE WANTED TO TELL YOU A LITTLE BIT ABOUT HOW WE ORGANIZE THIS PROGRAM. EACH OF THESE DISTRICT MENTORS OVER HERE IS ASSIGNED A CASELOAD OF SOMEWHERE BETWEEN 20 TO 25 OF OUR INDUCTION TEACHERS. SO THOSE ARE TEACHERS IN THEIR FIRST AND SECOND YEARS, SOMETIMES THIRD YEAR. IF THE PRINCIPAL THINKS THAT THEY NEED AN ADDITIONAL YEAR OF SUPPORT IN THAT TIME, WE GO SEE THEM ON A WEEKLY BASIS. WE ARE IN THEIR CLASSROOMS WITH THEM AND AGAIN, MEETING THE NEEDS THAT THEY HAVE. SO IF THEY NEED TO WORK ON SITTING DOWN AND PLANNING A LESSON, THAT'S WHAT WE WORK ON. IF THEY NEED TO WORK ON, UH, CO-TEACHING A CLASS SO THAT THEY CAN SEE SOME OF THAT MODELING, THAT'S WHAT WE WORK ON WITH THEM. OUR GOAL REALLY IS TO MEET WHATEVER THOSE NEEDS ARE FOR THOSE TEACHERS INDIVIDUALLY. IN ADDITION TO THAT, THEY COME TO US DURING THE YEAR FOR THOSE FULL DAY SEMINARS. AND AT THAT TIME, WE, UH, HAVE A LITTLE BIT OF TIME IN OUR WHOLE GROUP WITH ALL OF THE INDUCTION TEACHERS, WHICH GIVES THEM A REALLY GREAT OPPORTUNITY TO NETWORK WITH OTHER TEACHERS IN THE DISTRICT THAT MAY BE TEACHING SIMILAR SUBJECTS TO THEM OR HAVE A SIMILAR FRAME OF MIND THAT THEY HAVE. UM, BUT IN ADDITION TO THAT, WE ALSO BREAK OUT INTO SMALLER GROUPS WHERE WE ADDRESS SPECIFIC NEEDS SUCH AS [01:50:01] ELEMENTARY, UH, MIDDLE SCHOOL RELATED ARTS. SO THEY'RE GETTING SOME MORE SPECIFIC INFORMATION AND TALK ABOUT WAYS THAT THEY CAN APPLY THESE DIFFERENT THINGS THAT THEY'RE LEARNING WITHIN THEIR CLASSROOMS. THROUGH ALL OF THIS, WE REALLY FOCUS ON ADJUSTING OUR PROGRAM CONSTANTLY BASED ON DATA THAT WE RECEIVE AND FEEDBACK. SO WE SURVEY OUR TEACHERS EVERY MONTH TO GET SOME INFORMATION ABOUT HOW THEY'RE FEELING, WHAT THEY'RE STRUGGLING WITH, WHAT'S BEING SUCCESSFUL. WE ALSO SURVEY THEM AT THE END OF EVERY ONE OF THOSE SEMINAR DAYS SO THAT WE CAN FIND OUT HOW EFFECTIVE THOSE SESSIONS WERE FOR THEM AND WHAT FUTURE TOPICS THEY MIGHT NEED. WE ALSO HAVE AN INDUCTION ADVISORY COUNCIL AT THE END OF THE YEAR WHERE WE HAVE ALL STAKEHOLDERS REPRESENTED. SO WE HAVE, UH, INDUCTION TEACHERS, WE HAVE BUILDING MENTORS, WE HAVE PRINCIPALS AND ADEPT LIAISONS THAT ARE ALL PART OF THAT TEAM. AND WE SIT TOGETHER TO REFLECT ON THE PROGRAM AND WHAT CHANGES NEED TO BE MADE. AS A RESULT, THE VAST MAJORITY OF OUR INDUCTION TEACHERS, 93% RATED THEIR INDUCTION EXPERIENCE AS EITHER SUCCESSFUL OR VERY SUCCESSFUL. SO WE BELIEVE THAT THIS IS ALL HAVING A VERY POSITIVE IMPACT ON OUR TEACHERS, AND THAT'S KEEPING THEM IN BEAUFORT COUNTY. SO LET'S TAKE A A LOOK AT SOME OF THE WAYS THAT TEACHERS ARE COMING INTO THE FIELD. UM, SOME ARE COMING TO US AS TRADITIONALLY PREPARED, MEANING THAT THEY WENT TO SCHOOL TO BECOME A TEACHER, BUT SEVERAL OF THEM NOW ARE COMING THROUGH ALTERNATIVE PATHWAY PROGRAMS. OKAY. UM, SARAH DATA FROM 2024 TO 2025 SHOWED THAT THERE WERE LESS THAN 2000 GRADUATES WITH EDUCATION DEGREES IN SOUTH CAROLINA, LESS THAN 2000. AND IN THAT SAME YEAR, THERE WERE 7,500 TEACHER DEPARTURES FROM SOUTH CAROLINA. SO WE GAINED 2000 EDUCATORS AND WE LOST 7,500. SO THAT'S A GAP OF OVER 5,000 EDUCATORS, RIGHT? 5,000 VACANCIES THAT WE NEED TO FILL ACROSS SOUTH CAROLINA. AND SOME OF THE WAYS THAT WE HAVE FIGURED OUT HOW TO FILL THOSE GAPS ARE THROUGH ALTERNATIVE PATH PROGRAMS. ALL RIGHT, SO HERE ARE SOME OF THE TYPES OF PROGRAMS THAT YOU MAY COME ACROSS. WE HAVE PACE, UM, TEACHERS FOR TOMORROW, KATE DIRECT, CAROLINA CAP. THESE ARE ALL VARIATIONS OF ALTERNATIVE PATHWAYS THAT TEACHERS CAN USE TO ENTER THE FIELD. OKAY? ONE OF THOSE PATHWAYS IS OUR LEAP PROGRAM, AND THAT IS OUR LOW COUNTRY EDUCATOR ALTERNATIVE PATHWAY. THAT IS BEAUFORT COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT'S VERY OWN ALTERNATIVE PATHWAY TO CERTIFICATION. WE ARE STARTING OUR THIRD YEAR IN THAT PROGRAM. AND IN THAT TIME, IT HAS GROWN FROM STARTING WITH SIX TEACHERS IN OUR FIRST COHORT. AND WE HAVE A TOTAL NOW ACROSS THOSE THREE COHORTS OF 40 TEACHERS IN THE PROGRAM THIS YEAR. ONE OF THEM BY CHANCE WAS MR. JOHNSON, WHO WAS THE BAND DIRECTOR UP HERE. HE STARTED LAST YEAR. UM, AFTER STUDENTS HAD STARTED FOR THE YEAR, HE FILLED ONE OF THOSE LATE VACANCY SPOTS, UM, AS A LEAP TEACHER. UM, KIM IS GONNA TALK TO YOU A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT LEAP TEACHERS IN JUST A MINUTE. UM, BUT YOU MAY HAVE ALSO HEARD OF THE STATE'S NEW PROGRAM FOR NON-CERTIFIED TEACHER PILOT PROGRAM. SO WE WANTED TO TELL YOU A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THAT. WE HAVE ONE TEACHER RIGHT NOW IN THE DISTRICT THAT WE'VE HIRED THROUGH THAT PROGRAM. UM, AND WE WILL SEE HOW THAT GROWS OVER TIME AS MORE PEOPLE HEAR ABOUT IT AND BECOME INTERESTED IN IT. UM, BUT JUST WANT YOU TO KNOW WITH THAT PROGRAM THAT THOSE TEACHERS ENTERING, THEY DO NEED TO HAVE A BACHELOR'S DEGREE AND THEY NEED TO HAVE THAT IN THE CONTENT AREA THAT THEY ARE TEACHING. BEFOR COUNTY IS OPTED TO PARTICIPATE AT THE SECONDARY LEVEL WITH THIS PROGRAM. SO THEY DO HAVE THAT CONTENT AREA KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERTISE. THEY ALSO NEED TO HAVE FIVE YEARS POST-SECONDARY WORK EXPERIENCE. SO THEY ARE COMING TO US WITH THAT CONTENT AREA EXPERTISE. AND OUR JOB IS TO MAKE SURE THAT THEIR STUDENTS GET QUALITY INSTRUCTION JUST LIKE ANYBODY ELSE WHO IS COMING INTO THE CLASSROOM. SO WE PROVIDE THEM WITH THE SAME SUPPORT THAT WE DO FOR OUR LEAP TEACHERS AND OTHER INDUCTION TEACHERS WHERE THEY ARE GETTING MENTORING IN THE CLASSROOM EVERY SINGLE WEEK. THEY ARE GETTING THE INDUCTION SEMINARS, THEY ARE GETTING SOME AFTERSCHOOL SESSIONS ONCE A MONTH SO THAT THEY ARE GETTING ALL OF THAT SUPPORT IN ORDER TO BE MOST SUCCESSFUL AND ENSURE THAT THEIR STUDENTS ARE GETTING THAT QUALITY EDUCATION. UM, TO TALK ABOUT OUR LEAP PROGRAM, THIS IS VERY SPECIFIC TO BEFOR COUNTY. WE HAVE CREATED THIS ON OUR OWN, AND WE ARE GOING INTO YEAR THREE. IT IS AN ALTERNATIVE PATHWAY WHERE TEACHERS CAN, UM, FULFILL A PIPELINE SO THEY CAN GET THEIR CERTIFICATION, UM, THROUGH SOUTH CAROLINA. OUR VERY FIRST YEAR WE HAD SIX PARTICIPANTS, AND THIS YEAR WE SUCCESSFULLY ONBOARDED 18, UM, THROUGHOUT BEAUFORT COUNTY. 19 OF OUR SCHOOLS HAS HIRED, UM, LEAP TEACHERS. [01:55:02] WHAT WE DO TO HELP SUPPORT OUR LEAP TEACHERS AND MAKE THEM GROW AND SO THEY CAN GAIN THEIR CERTIFICATE IS DURING THEIR YEARS WITH US. WE GIVE THEM EXTRA SUPPORT AND EXTRA PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT THAT IS GIVEN THROUGH ALL OF OUR DISTRICT MENTORS. OVER THE SUMMER. THEY COME TO US FOR THREE MANDATORY TRAINING DAYS, WHERE WE FOCUS ON LESSON PLANNING, CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT, AND STUDENT-CENTERED TEACHING THROUGHOUT THE SCHOOL YEAR. WE WORK CLOSELY WITH THESE LEAP TEACHERS AND THE DISTRICT MENTORS AS A PARTNER. THEY COME TO OUR SEMINARS AND THEY ALSO MUST PARTICIPATE IN ONE MONTHLY ZOOM SESSIONS EACH MONTH WHERE WE FOCUS ON THEIR CURRENT NEEDS. THIS PROGRAM IS TO ENSURE THAT OUR LEAP TEACHERS ARE GAINING STRONG PEDAGOGY AND ARE SUPPORTED BY OUR MENTORS THROUGHOUT THE FIRST YEAR OF LEAP. GOING ON WITH THIS PROGRAM, WE ARE NOW IN OUR THIRD YEAR. AND LEAP IS IMPORTANT TO BEAUFORT COUNTY BECAUSE IT IS FILLING OUR CRITICAL STAFFING NEEDS. SOME EXAMPLES ARE 47% OF OUR LEAP HIRES FILL HIGH NEEDS AREAS. THESE AREAS ARE OUR MATH, OUR SCIENCE, AND OUR SPECIAL ED PROGRAMS. SO THESE TEACHERS ARE COMING TO US AND THEY QUALIFY FOR THESE CONTENT AREAS BECAUSE THEY HAVE A BACHELOR'S DEGREE AND THEY PASS THEIR PRACTICE EXAMS. 53% OF THESE TEACHERS ARE LATE HIRES, SO THEY ARE FILLING THE BUILDING VACANCIES THAT ARE OCCURRING RIGHT BEFORE SCHOOL, AT THE BEGINNING OF SCHOOL, AND EVEN WITHIN THE FIRST COUPLE WEEKS OF SCHOOL, WE'RE ABLE TO GET THEM IN THE CLASSROOM. SO OUR TE OUR STUDENTS CAN BE EDUCATED. WE ARE NOTICING THAT SOME OF OUR CANDIDATES ARE ACTUALLY COMING TO US THROUGH PARAPROFESSIONALS WITHIN OUR BUILDINGS ALREADY. THIS IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT BECAUSE WHEN THEY ENTER THE PROGRAM, THEY UNDERSTAND THE IMPORTANCE AND KNOWLEDGE OF THE NEEDS THAT YOU FIND IN A SPECIAL ED CLASSROOM. LAST BUT NOT LEAST IS THE, IN ORDER TO BE A LEAD TEACHER, THEY MUST APPLY FOR A POSITION AND BE INTERVIEWED BY THE BUILDING PRINCIPALS. SO THEY ARE EARNING THESE POSITIONS JUST LIKE ANY OTHER CANDIDATE WOULD. AND TO CONCLUDE, UH, MY ROLE, I WORK VERY CLOSELY WITH THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTORS AND WITH THE OTHER, UM, THE, THE DEPARTMENTS IN THE DISTRICT OFFICE TO MAKE SURE THAT WHAT WE DO IS ALIGNED TO WHAT THE DISTRICT IS EXPECTING. I WORK VERY CO WE WORK VERY CLOSELY WITH THE PRINCIPALS. I MEET WITH THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTORS AT THE END OF EVERY MONTH TO GIVE THEM A REPORT TO GO OVER THE SURVEY RESULTS WITH THEM AND GIVE THEM ANY INFORMATION THAT THEY MAY NEED TO KNOW TO INFORM THEIR PRINCIPALS OF ANY TYPE OF TRAINING THAT THEY NEED TO DO IN THEIR BUILDING TO BETTER HELP AND SUPPORT THEIR INDUCTION TEACHERS. THIS IS A PICTURE OF SOME OF THE THINGS THAT THEY, THE PRINCIPALS HAVE ACCESS TO AND THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTORS, THEY HAVE ACCESS TO THE SUPPORT PLAN THAT EVERY SCHOOL HAS TO, UH, SUPPORT THE INDUCTION TEACHERS. THEY HAVE, THERE'S A CHECKLIST IN THE, UM, DOC, THE GOOGLE DRIVE THAT THEY'RE ABLE TO GO INTO AND LOOK TO SEE, UH, WHAT THE SCHOOL SHOULD BE DOING TO SUPPORT THESE TEACHERS. THEY ALSO HAVE BUILDING MENTOR CHECKLISTS. THE BUILDING MENTORS ALSO PROVIDE SUPPORT, AND WE HAVE A CHECKLIST IN THERE'S OF THE THINGS THAT THEY'RE SUPPOSED TO DO WITH THE INDUCTION TEACHERS. WE ALSO HAVE A LIST OF WHAT THE INDUCTION TEACHERS NEED TO DO IN THERE, SO THE PRINCIPALS ARE AWARE TO KIND OF PROD THEM ON, HEY, MAKE SURE YOU'RE GETTING THIS DONE, GETTING THAT DONE. AND THEN WE ALSO HAVE, UM, THE DOCUMENTATION LOG OF EVERY TIME ONE OF OUR INDUCTION, UH, ONE OF OUR MENTORS GO INTO A BUILDING, THEY LOG GOING INTO THAT BUILDING, WHAT TEACHER THEY SAW, WHAT SUPPORT THEY PROVIDED, AND ANY NOTES THAT THEY HAVE ON THEIR VISIT. SO THE PRINCIPALS HAVE ACCESS TO THIS, AND IT IS TO, LIKE I SAID, TO COLLABORATE WITH EVERYONE SO THAT OUR WORK IS NOT SEPARATE FROM ANYTHING THAT IS ALREADY BEING DONE IN THE BUILDING. AND THAT CONCLUDES OUR PRESENTATION. IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, WE'LL DO THE BEST THAT WE CAN TO ADDRESS THE QUESTIONS THAT YOU MAY HAVE. YOUR HONOR, GAR, I AM BLOWN AWAY. THIS IS ABSOLUTELY OUTSTANDING. I HAD, I KNEW WE HAD A PROGRAM, BUT I DID NOT KNOW THE SCOPE AND I DID NOT KNOW THE PERSONALITIES OF THOSE, UH, THAT ARE RUNNING THIS PROGRAM. THIS, THIS BROUGHT ME DEJA VU AS A MENTORING AND A BRAND NEW SECOND LIEUTENANT AND, AND, AND MENTORING A, A CA A BRAND NEW ARMY CAPTAIN BEFORE HE GOES INTO COMMAND. THE SAME KIND OF PROCESS, BUT YOU ARE DOING IT IN A MUCH, MUCH WIDER SCOPE. [02:00:02] THIS IS AMAZING. UH, MY GOD, I'M BLOWN AWAY. DR. GU? YES. THANK YOU TO ALL FOR YOUR PRESENTATION. AND IT'S NICE TO, TO KNOW THE MORE DETAILS OF REALLY HOW THIS IS DONE. I THINK, UH, ONE OF THE IMPORTANT, OR I HAVE A COUPLE COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS. SO ONE THING IS, I KNOW THE STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA REQUIRES JUST ONE YEAR OF MENTORING FOR NEW TEACHERS. ISN'T THAT CORRECT? YES. THAT AS YOU HEAR, WE GO WELL ABOVE AND BEYOND EXACTLY WHAT THE STATE IS REQUIRING. AND THAT'S WHAT I THINK THE PUBLIC NEEDS TO KNOW, THAT WE ARE DOUBLING THAT IN SOME CASES, TRIPLING THAT TO THREE YEARS. CORRECT. SO DOES THE, SO IS YOUR PROGRAM OF MENTORING, DOES IT HAVE TO BE APPROVED BY THE STATE? UH, THAT WAS ONE OF THE THINGS I WAS SORT OF CURIOUS ABOUT. UM, YES. IT HAS TO BE APPROVED. THE DISTRICT HAS TO SUBMIT AN ADEPT PLAN, WHICH INCLUDES MENTORING. SO IT DOES HAVE TO BE APPROVED, AND IT DOES HAVE TO BE MODELED AFTER THE STATE MODEL. SO WE JUST EXPAND HOURS. YEAH, THE STATE HAS A REQUIREMENT. YOU CAN DO THE BARE MINIMUM, BUT THEY WILL LET YOU GO AS FAR AS YOU WANT TO REACH THE SKY, AND WE OPT TO GO A LITTLE BIT FURTHER THAN THE MINIMUM. YEAH. AND I CAN'T IMAGINE THAT THIS DOESN'T, UM, JUST REALLY IMPROVE THE TEACHING, UH, IN THE DISTRICT. IF YOU START, START, YOU KNOW, WHEN YOU WALK IN THE DOOR IN A NEW TEACHER AND, UH, YOU KNOW, ARE, LEARN THIS SKILLSET THAT'S, YOU KNOW, NOT NECESSARILY, THEY DON'T INHERENTLY KNOW, EVEN THOUGH THEY'RE AN EDUCATION MAJOR OR WHATEVER THEY WERE IN MAJOR OR WHATEVER THEY WERE IN COLLEGE, JUST SEEMS LIKE IT WOULD BE SO BENEFICIAL. AND AS I THINK DR. LEACH MENTIONED, WE, YOU KNOW, WE WANNA, UH, RECRUIT THE VERY BEST , BUT WE GOTTA RETAIN 'EM. AND THIS, I CAN'T, I JUST CAN'T SEE HOW THIS WOULD NOT REALLY HELP WITH RETENTION BECAUSE, WELL, I THINK IT IS HELPING, I THINK OUR NUMBERS SHOW THAT IT IS HELPING, BUT I THINK, YOU KNOW, COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES, YOU KNOW, THEY DO A GREAT JOB, YOU KNOW, PREPARING PEOPLE FOR EDUCATION. BUT WHEN YOU GET IN THAT CLASSROOM, RIGHT, IT'S A WHOLE NOTHER DAY. RIGHT? AND, AND I THINK THAT'S WHAT'S SPECIAL ABOUT THIS GROUP IS THEY KNOW, THEY UNDERSTAND IT. THEY'VE BEEN THERE, THEY'VE DONE IT, THEY'VE HAD THAT WHOLE OTHER DAY AFTER COMING OUT OF COLLEGE AND, AND, AND THEY'RE PREPARED AND READY TO SUPPORT. BUT THEN THERE'S THE OTHER GROUP, YOU HEAR THEM TALK A LOT ABOUT, UH, ALTERNATIVE PATHWAY TO, UH, INTO THE CLASSROOM. RIGHT? AND I THINK THAT'S REALLY AN IMPORTANT PIECE BECAUSE AS FEWER PEOPLE ENTER COLLEGES OF EDUCATION, UH, IN ORDER TO PREPARE TO BE EDUCATORS AND PREPARE TO BE TEACHERS, RIGHT? UH, THERE ARE DIFFERENT OPPORTUNITIES TO BRING IN PEOPLE FROM OTHER PROFESSIONS INTO THE FIELD OF EDUCATION WHO COME WITH, UH, VERY STRONG CONTENT KNOWLEDGE, RIGHT? AND WE TEACH 'EM HOW TO TEACH, RIGHT? AND HOW TO IMPART THAT STRONG CONTENT KNOWLEDGE THAT THEY HAVE, RIGHT? AND SO I THINK THAT THAT'S A REALLY IMPORTANT PIECE BECAUSE THAT IS AN AVENUE THAT SCHOOL DISTRICTS HAVE TO LEVERAGE, RIGHT? AS, AS YOU HAVE CRITICAL SHORTAGES ACROSS THE COUNTRY, AS YOU HAVE FEWER PEOPLE GOING INTO THE FIELD OF EDUCATION, UH, SHRINKING NUMBER OF GRADUATES OUT OF COLLEGES OF EDUCATION. AND ONE THING THAT I'VE NOTICED OVER THE YEARS IS THAT, UH, AS THE ECONOMY EBBS AND FLOWS, RIGHT, A LOT OF TIMES AS ECONOMIES DIP, PEOPLE ARE LOOKING FOR OPPORTUNITIES IN OTHER AREAS AND THEY FIND OPPORTUNITIES OFTENTIMES FROM OTHER FIELDS AND OTHER AREAS WHEN YOU HAVE THAT, THAT DIP IN, IN, IN AN ECONOMIC CYCLE, AND THEN THEY FALL IN LOVE WITH IT AND THEY STAY RIGHT AS LONG AS THE SUPPORT IS THE RIGHT SUPPORT. BECAUSE, BECAUSE YOU IMAGINE WHAT SOMEBODY WHO'S GOING INTO EDUCATION WHO WENT TO PREPARE, SPENT FOUR YEARS AT A UNIVERSITY, HAS THAT BACKGROUND, RIGHT? UNDERSTANDS THE ART AND SCIENCE OF TEACHING COMES INTO THE PROFESSION AND THEY GO THROUGH THESE CYCLES YOU JUST WITNESSED, RIGHT? UM, UH, THEY MIGHT BE A LITTLE BETTER EQUIPPED BECAUSE THEY KIND OF KNOW A LITTLE BIT ABOUT IT, UH, AND THEY HAVE THAT SUPPORT TO GET PAST IT. BUT SOMEBODY WHO'S BEEN OUT IN ANOTHER FIELD DOING SOMETHING ELSE, AND THEY COME INTO THIS FIELD AND, UM, THEY HAVE ALL THE CONTENT KNOWLEDGE IN THE WORLD, BUT IF, BUT, BUT UNDERSTANDING HOW TO TEACH, RIGHT? UM, THAT'S ANOTHER BALL GAME AND IT'S A LOT HARDER, UH, I THINK FOR THEM SOMETIMES TO, UM, TO, TO MOVE THROUGH THOSE PHASES, RIGHT? AND THAT SUPPORT THAT THEY PROVIDE AND THAT THEY COACH THE MENTORS IN BUILDINGS ON HOW TO PROVIDE RIGHT IS, IS, UH, PRICELESS. SO ONE OF THE THINGS THAT, UM, IS A PERK FOR COMING TO BEAUFORT COUNTY IS OUR INDUCTION AND MENTORING PROGRAM. THE RECRUITERS WILL TELL YOU THAT WHEN PROSPECTIVE [02:05:01] TEACHERS COME TO THEIR BOOTH, ONE OF THE FIRST QUESTIONS THEY ASK IS, WHAT KIND OF SUPPORT DO YOU PROVIDE? UM, WHERE THEY DON'T NECESSARILY ASK HOW MUCH I'M GONNA GET PAID. THEY WANT TO KNOW HOW ARE YOU GONNA SUPPORT ME? SO THAT IS ON TAB NOW, NEVER USED TO BE. THANK YOU. UH, I WON'T GO INTO GREAT DETAIL ON HOW LONG AGO IT WAS. I WAS A FIRST YEAR TEACHER, , UH, BUT I'VE BEEN AROUND IT FOR A LONG TIME AND HAVE BEEN IN TEACHER EDUCATION FOR A LONG TIME AND KNOW HOW IMPORTANT IT IS TO ADDRESS THE PEDAGOGICAL CONTENT KNOWLEDGE THAT THEY OFTEN LACK WHEN THEY WALK IN THE DOOR. SO, UM, FABULOUS PROGRAM. I COULDN'T BE MORE SUPPORTIVE OF WHAT YOU ALL DO AND HOW YOU DO IT, AND I'M GONNA LEARN MORE ABOUT IT. THANKS. YOU'RE WELCOME TO COME TO OUR TWO DAY TRAINING . OKAY, MR. SUMIT SMITH, I HAVE A CO I HAVE A COUPLE QUESTIONS. UH, IN, IN, IN TERMS OF THE, IN, IN TERMS OF THE MENTOR PROGRAM, WHAT, WHERE DO YOU, HOW DO Y'ALL DO Y'ALL, HOW DO Y'ALL INCLUDE THE, THE MENTAL HEALTH, MENTAL HEALTH COMPONENT IN THAT? THAT'S ONE OF THE, THAT'S ONE OF THE, THAT'S PART OF THE MODEL. THE COACHING MODEL IS TO ALSO DO THEIR SOCIAL EMOTIONAL. AND WHEN THEY LOOK, THE PRINCIPALS CAN LOOK ON THAT CHART. AND ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE CHANGED IS IF, WHEN, WHEN A MENTOR GOES IN THE BUILDING TO CHECK ON THEIR INDUCTION TEACHER, IF THAT INDUCTION TEACHER EXPRESSES ANY KIND OF SOCIAL EMOTIONAL CONCERNS, WE'LL PUT SOCIAL EMOTIONAL S SLASH E TEACHER. THAT MEANS THAT THAT TEACHER INITIATED THE CONVERSATION. AND THEN WE ALSO, THEY WILL ACTUALLY ASK THEM ABOUT THEIR SOCIAL EMOTIONAL, AND SO THEY'LL PUT WHEN THE MENTOR INITIATES IT. AND WE ARE PAYING CLOSE ATTENTION TO THAT BECAUSE IF THE SAME TEACHER INITIATES THAT CONVERSATION SEVERAL TIMES FOR A VISIT, THEN THAT'S WHEN THEY'LL LET US KNOW. AND THEN THAT'S WHEN I WILL POSSIBLY SAY, HEY, WE NEED, HAVE THEY TALKED TO THEIR PRINCIPAL AND WE'LL TALK TO THE ED AND KIND OF, YOU KNOW, DO AN ALIGNMENT WITH MAKING SURE THEY GET THE SUPPORT THAT THEY NEED. YES. UM, THAT'S A GREAT QUESTION, AND IT'S SOMETHING THAT WE ALL KNOW IS TOP TIER IMPORTANCE. UM, SO ONE THING WE DO IS, AS MENTORS, WE'RE TRAINED TO ADDRESS THAT FIRST AND FOREMOST WHEN WE WALK INTO OUR TEACHER'S CLASSROOM. SO IF I HAD GONE IN, WE HAD SCHEDULED AN OBSERVATION, BUT I SEE THAT THEY'RE HAVING A BREAKDOWN, THEY'RE CRYING, THEY'RE UPSET, I'M ADDRESSING THAT FIRST BECAUSE THAT NEEDS TO BE TAKEN CARE OF BEFORE WE CAN DO ANYTHING ELSE. IT'S JUST LIKE WITH OUR STUDENTS ALSO, AT THOSE MONTHLY SURVEYS THAT WE DISCUSS, WE DO A, A SOCIAL EMOTIONAL CHECK-IN FOR THE TEACHERS. SO THEY HAVE AN OPTION WHERE THEY CAN CHECK IN SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL WELLBEING AND LET US KNOW HOW THEY'RE FEELING. THERE'S AN OPTION IF THEY FEEL LIKE THEY NEED TO TALK TO SOMEBODY. AND THEN, UM, OUR COORDINATORS AND DIRECTORS WILL SEND, IF OUR TEACHERS HAVE ANY OF THOSE COMMENTS, THEY'LL SEND THEM TO US. WE'LL GO BOOTS ON THE GROUND AS SOON AS POSSIBLE, GO CHECK IN ON THEM PERSONALLY. THANK THAT. OKAY, PERFECT. AND ALSO, THANK YOU FOR THAT QUESTION BECAUSE OUR NEXT SEMINAR IS COMING UP IN OCTOBER, AND THAT IS ACTUALLY ONE THING THAT WE ACTUALLY GO OVER IS SOCIAL EMOTIONAL AND ALSO WHAT BEAUFORT COUNTY HAS TO OFFER, UM, THAT THEY HAVE AVAILABLE THOSE RESOURCES TO THEM AS WELL, THAT WE WALK THEM THROUGH THAT PROCESS AS WELL, IF THEY DO NEED THAT LITTLE EXTRA SUPPORT. THANK YOU. AND I, AND I APPRECIATE, I APPRECIATE THAT INFORMATION BECAUSE WALKING INTO, UM, A GROUP OF PEOPLE WAS TALKING WITH THEM, UH, PROBABLY ABOUT, ABOUT, MAYBE ABOUT TWO WEEKS AGO, AND THEIR QUESTION WAS, HOW DO YOU SUPPORT TEACHERS IN, IN THE ASSOCI, UH, WITH THE EMOTIONAL, UH, SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL OR, OR ISSUES THEY MAY BE HAVING IN TERMS OF DEALING WITH STUDENTS? I SAW MY, I BELIEVE I SAID THAT WE HAVE SEVERAL PROGRAM PROGRAM, RIGHT? BECAUSE I REMEMBER WHEN MRS. UH, SWEAT ATKINS, UH, BOUGHT THE PROGRAM BEFORE, UH, UH, SEVERAL YEARS AGO. AND IN TERMS OF US WHEN, DURING COVID TIME OR WHEN WE HAD, I THINK IT WAS SOMETHING HEALTHCARE, SOMETHING, I, I, WHAT WAS THE NAME OF IT? HERO? HELLO? HEROES. THERE YOU GO. RIGHT? YEAH, RIGHT. THE HEROES. AND SO I TOLD THEM THAT WE DO OFF OF THAT, AND THEY WERE LIKE, WELL, HOW DO YOU, HOW DO YOU, HOW DO YOU IMPLEMENT THAT WITH, UH, NEW TEACHERS WHO MAY BE HAVING, I SAID, I'M NOT SURE, BUT IT'S DONE. SO THAT'S, THAT'S WHY THIS WAS A GREAT SEGUE FOR ME TO ASK THAT QUESTION, UH, PUBLICLY, BUT ALSO TO, TO GET A, A CLEAR UNDERSTANDING OF THAT. AND, AND, AND, AND HOW, AND HOW ABOUT CULTURE H HOW, HOW DO YOU, AS, HOW DO YOU, HOW DO YOU, UM, WHAT'S THAT PROCESS? UH, YEAH, SO WE, WE ALWAYS MAKE SURE THAT WHEN WE TEACH OUR TEACHERS AND OUR STUDENTS, WE ACTUALLY WALK THEM THROUGH ALL THE DIVERSITIES BECAUSE WE WANNA MAKE SURE, JUST LIKE WE'RE PROVIDING THEM DIFFERENTIATED SUPPORT, THAT THEY'RE ALSO PROVIDING DIFFERENTIATED SUPPORT AS WELL TO THEIR STUDENTS, THEIR SCHOOLS, THEIR CULTURES. WE WALK THEM THROUGH, WE TELL 'EM TO LOOK AT THE SCHOOL SUPPORT CARD AHEAD OF TIME AS ALONG WITH THE STANDARDS. SO THEY ARE BUILDING THAT, UH, CULTURAL SUPPORT AS WELL. [02:10:02] YOU WAS GONNA SAY, SO, SO COMING FROM A PREVIOUS ADMINISTRATOR, WE OFTEN WORK WITH OUR TEACHERS. IT IS SOMEONE ASSIGNED IN THEIR BUILDING TO LEAD OUR INDUCTION PERSONNEL. AND SO AS A PART OF THAT PIECE, WE'RE ASKING THEM AND ENCOURAGE THEM TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY ARE TEACHING THE CULTURE IN THEIR BUILDING, BECAUSE WE STEP IN, WE STEP OUT, BUT THE TEACHERS REALLY NEED TO KNOW WHAT'S HAPPENING IN THEIR BUILDING. SO THOSE TEACHERS SHOULD BE MEETING WITH THEIR ADMINISTRATOR OR WHOEVER'S ASSIGNED TO INDUCTION TO ADDRESS THOSE NEEDS. SO IT IS ALIGNED. REMEMBER, WE HAVE THE MENTORS IN THE BUILDING AND YOU HAVE US. SO THERE'S CERTAIN THINGS THAT WE TAP OUT AND WE MAKE SURE THAT THE BUILDING IS HANDLING. AND I DO, AND I DEFINITELY APPRECIATE EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU BECAUSE I, IT WAS A COUPLE YEARS AGO WHERE, WHERE WE HAD, THEY, THEY HAD A PROCEDURE, UH, THEY HAD A, IT WAS, IT WAS A, I THINK IT WAS A, IT WAS, IT WAS CALLED ROUNDS, I THINK. WHERE, WHERE, WHERE WE GO IN, WE GOING AND WE MET, UM, I GOT TO DO IT AT ROBERT. I THINK IT WAS AT WELL BRANCH, WELL BRANCH MIDDLE SCHOOL, WHERE INSTRUCTIONAL REVIEW. RIGHT, RIGHT. AND WE WENT AND DO AN INSTRUCTIONAL REVIEW. AND HOW YOU GET TO BASICALLY GO IN AND SEE HOW YOU HELP TEACHERS CORRECT. AND UNDERSTAND DIFFERENT THINGS THAT THEY MAY NOT BE ABLE TO SEE. AND TO PUT THIS HERE INHERITED TOGETHER. WE SHOULD, THIS SHOULD, THIS SHOULD BE A UNIVERSITY. WE SHOULD, WE SHOULDN'T BE MISSING ANY PIECES. SO I DEFINITELY APPRECIATE EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU FOR WHAT YOU DO. AND, UH, THANK, THANKS FOR HELPING ME PUT THINGS IN PERSPECTIVE THIS AFTERNOON. AND JUST ONE LAST THING, 'CAUSE IT IS SO IMPORTANT, BUT REMEMBERING CULTURE, DIVERSITY, ALL OF THOSE PIECES THAT WE TEACH OUR TEACHERS. WHEN YOU HAVE YOUR CHILDREN IN THE CLASSROOM, ALL YOUR CHILDREN CAN LEARN. RIGHT. AND WE TREAT THEM ALL AS THEY CAN LEARN. IS IT GONNA LOOK A LITTLE DIFFERENT IN SOME CASES? YEAH. AND OUR TEACHER'S GOING TO HAVE TO DIFFERENTIATE AND MODEL AND DO DIFFERENT THINGS TO HELP THOSE STUDENTS LEARN. YES. AND THAT, AND REALLY IN ESSENCE, IS WHAT, AS MENTORS, WE DO, WE EXPECT ALL OF OUR TEACHERS TO BE ABLE TO TEACH AND DO THE BEST THAT THEY POSSIBLY CAN. AND THAT'S OUR CHARGE. BUT EVERYBODY'S GONNA GET THERE AT A DIFFERENT LEVEL. SO WE DIFFERENTIATE, WE MODEL, WE TALK, WE DO ALL OF THESE DIFFERENT PIECES TO GET THEM WHERE THEY NEED TO. JUST AS WE HOPE THE TEACHERS SEE THAT, THAT WE'RE GONNA TEACH THEM TO BE ABLE TO DO WITH THEIR OWN STUDENTS AND MEET THOSE GOALS AND PASS THOSE TESTS AND, AND THAT SORT OF THING. SO, YOU KNOW, WE KIND OF ARE DOING THE SAME THING THAT THE TEACHERS ARE DOING IN THE CLASSROOM FOR THEIR STUDENTS. WE'RE DOING THAT FOR OUR TEACHERS. WELL, IT WAS NO SHOT. WAS NO QUESTION ABOUT WHAT YOU JUST SAID. WHEN, UM, WHEN Y'ALL INTRODUCED YOURSELF. I THINK I HEARD TWO, TWO SPREADER, TWO, UH, SPECIAL ED TEACHERS. SO WHEN I, WHEN I HEARD THEM, I NOTICED SOME, DEFINITELY SOME DIFFERENT TEACHING GOING ON BECAUSE THEY DON'T EXPECT STUDENTS BEING, BEING, BEING ONE. I KNOW THAT, THAT WE ALL DEFINITELY LEARN DIFFERENT. SO YOU, SO THERE'S DEFINITELY HAVE TO BE SOME, SOME DIFFERENT TYPE OF TRAINING TO, UH, REACH EVERY REACH NEED OF EVERY KID. THANK YOU. ONLINE COLLEAGUES. UH, ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS, MS. HAY? OR I ALSO SUGGEST I'M HERE. SORRY. YES, MA'AM. ANY QUESTIONS? MS. HAY OR COMMENTS? MS. BOATRIGHT? MS. BOATWRIGHT. OH, MS. BOATWRIGHT. SURE. UM, I THINK MY COLLEAGUES HAVE COVERED IT WELL. I THINK THIS IS A GOOD PROGRAM. I THINK THAT EVERYTHING, EVERY PROFESSION NOW COULD USE A LITTLE LESS TIME IN THE PEDAGOGY AND MORE TIME ACTUALLY IN THE CLASSROOM WHERE THE RUBBER MEETS THE ROAD. I THINK THAT'S THE CRUX OF RETAINING TEACHERS. SO I THINK IT'S GREAT THAT THERE IS A MENTORSHIP PROGRAM. TO ME, THIS IS KIND OF ALMOST LIKE A RESIDENCY PROGRAM AFTER YOU GRADUATE FROM MEDICAL SCHOOL, YOU KNOW, A WHOLE LOT, BUT YOU STILL HAVE TO GET IN THERE AND, AND, UH, YOU KNOW, WORK WITH LIVE PATIENTS AND LIVE SURGERIES AND THAT, THAT CAN BE QUITE A HILL TO CLIMB. SO I THINK IT, THAT'S THAT. IT'S A GREAT IDEA. I THINK ALSO, UM, WHAT THE COLLEGES SHOULD DO MORE OF, POTENTIALLY, AND WHAT I HOPE WE'RE DOING THROUGH THIS MENTORSHIP PROGRAM IS I, YOU KNOW, I HAVE PEOPLE ASK ME IF I WOULD LIKE TO BE A TEACHER, BECAUSE I DO A LOT OF COACHING AND, AND ENJOY WORKING WITH KIDS AND ALWAYS HAVE, UM, MY COMMENTS WERE, I WOULDN'T, I WOULD DO GREAT WITH 30 KIDS THAT WANTED TO BE THERE AND WANTED TO LEARN WHAT I WAS TEACHING THEM. IT'S A LOT MORE CHALLENGING WHEN THERE'S DISRUPTIVE KIDS AND THAT KIDS THAT HAVE A LOT OF THINGS THEY'RE DEALING WITH, WITH OUTSIDE OF SCHOOL. AND SO I THINK THE IDEALISM OF EDUCATION THAT YOU'RE JUST GONNA COME IN AND IMPART KNOWLEDGE TO A WELL-BEHAVED GROUP OF KIDS SURROUNDED BY PASTEL FLOWERS. IT'S A NICE IMAGE. BUT I DO THINK IT'S IMPORTANT THAT WE EASE PEOPLE INTO THE REALITY OF TEACHING, WHICH IS YOU'RE, UH, YOU KNOW, THE FRONT DOOR FOR A LOT OF KIDS AND, AND, AND THEIR CONTACT WITH, UH, THE EDUCATION SYSTEM AND, AND HOW YOU CAN HELP THEM IN A VARIETY OF WAYS. SO I DO THINK THAT HAVING THIS EXTRA, UM, BOOTS ON THE GROUND SUPPORTIVE ENVIRONMENT IS CRITICALLY IMPORTANT. AND I HOPE THAT HOW [02:15:01] YOU HANDLE, UH, CLASSROOM CONTROL, CLASSROOM DISCIPLINE. SOME TEACHERS JUST HAVE IT. I DON'T I WOULD BE TERRIBLE AT CLASSROOM CONTROL, UM, AND THAT, BUT I DO THINK THAT'S A SKILL YOU CAN LEARN. AND I THINK HAVING, UH, EXPERIENCED EDUCATORS TO LEARN FROM IS A GREAT IDEA. SO THANK YOU FOR DOING ALL OF THIS. THANK YOU, MS. BOATWRIGHT. PASTOR GORDON, ARE YOU THERE? SO IT LOOKS LIKE HE'S NOT, SO I WOULD JUST LIKE TO SAY, COMING FROM AN INDUSTRY WHERE YOU ARE GIVEN A NEW JOB AND YOU SHOW UP ON MONDAY, AND YOU EXPECT IT TO REALLY IN INCULCATE IT VERY QUICKLY LEARN AND CAN BECOME PROFICIENT. I SO ADMIRE THIS PROGRAM. IT IS SO ESSENTIAL. AND I THINK THERE'S A LOT OF ECONOMY OF PRODUCTION BY INVESTING IN YOUR PEOPLE EARLY ON, RATHER THAN ONCE THEY HIT THE ROAD AND HIT THE ROADBLOCK AND THEY'RE STRUGGLING. IT'S TOO, QUITE OFTEN IT'S TOO LATE AND YOU CAN NEVER RECAPTURE THEIR ENTHUSIASM. SO TO THE DISTRICT FOR THE CREATION OF THIS PROGRAM, EXPANDING ON THE MODEL THAT THE STATE HAS, UH, THIS IS VERY IMPRESSIVE. I AM SO DELIGHTED TO LEARN ABOUT IT. AND HOPEFULLY WE CAN FIGURE OUT A WAY TO INFORM MORE PEOPLE WHO HAVE KIDS, BUT THOSE KIDS DON'T COME TO US SO THAT THEIR TEACHING FAMILY MEMBERS KNOW. THIS IS A VERY INVITING INSTITUTION TO COME AND START YOUR TEACHING CAREER. I WAS AT THE GYM THIS MORNING AND A GUY CAME IN WITH CAROLINA STUFF ON, AND I'M LIKE, I'VE NEVER SEEN SOMEBODY LIKE THAT. RIGHT? AND HIS TEACHER WAS HIS, HIS WIFE WAS AN EX-TEACHER. AND I SAID, WELL, LISTEN, SCHOOL DISTRICT, ARE YOU INTERESTED? SO WE HA WE'RE GOING TO HAVE THAT CONVERSATION TO FOLLOW UP ON, BUT THIS WILL BE, THIS PRESENTATION WILL BE, IF IT'S O OKAY, BE ONE DOCUMENT I WILL DEFINITELY SHARE WITH HIM AND HIS WIFE AND SEE WHAT HAPPENS. SO THANK YOU ALL. THANK YOU. THANK YOU ALL VERY MUCH, AND A WONDERFUL JOB THIS EVENING, AND APPRECIATE YOU SHOWCASING YOUR WORK FOR, UH, FOR EVERYBODY TONIGHT. NEXT, NEXT ITEM, UM, IS ABOUT GOAL THREE, WHICH IS FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY. I'M GONNA INVITE MS. CROSBY UP. UM, AND THIS IS REALLY A TESTAMENT TO HER AND HER ENTIRE TEAM AND THE GREAT WORK THAT THEY DO. SO, MS. CROSBY? YES. GOOD EVENING ONCE AGAIN. UH, JUST WANTED TO MAKE SURE THE BOARD IS INFORMED. WE RECENTLY, ALTHOUGH IT TOOK, UH, A FEW MONTHS, IT'S BEEN SEVERAL MONTHS SINCE OUR, UH, FISCAL YEAR END, JUNE 30TH, 2025, UH, ANNUAL FINANCIAL REPORT. UH, BUT THE SCHOOL DISTRICT HAS BEEN AWARDED A PRESTIGIOUS AWARD FROM THE GOVERNMENT FINANCE OFFICERS ASSOCIATION. AND IT IS CALLED THE CERTIFICATE ACHIEVEMENT, CERTIFICATE OF ACHIEVEMENT FOR EXCELLENCE IN FINANCIAL REPORTING. UH, AND THAT, AGAIN, IS BY THE GOVERNMENT FINANCE OFFICERS ASSOCIATION OF THE UNITED STATES AND CANADA. AND, UH, THIS IS, UH, ONE OF THE HIGHEST RECOGNITIONS THAT WE CAN RECEIVE FOR OUR FINANCIAL REPORT. IT ESTABLISHES THAT WE ARE TRANSPARENT TO OUR STAKEHOLDERS. WE ARE ACCOUNTABLE, WE'RE TRANSPARENT, UH, OR WE'RE RESPONSIBLE STEWARD OF TAXPAYER DOLLARS. AND THAT IS REALLY, REALLY IMPORTANT FOR THE WORK THAT WE'RE DOING, UM, BOTH WITH OUR CAPITAL PROGRAM AND OUR OPERATING BUDGET, AND MAKING SURE THAT OUR COMMUNITY MEMBERS, UM, ARE AND STAKEHOLDERS ARE ALL, UH, IN, UH, TRUSTING WHAT WE ARE DOING AND THAT IT IS, UH, WE'RE BEING RESPONSIBLE WITH, WITH THEIR DOLLARS. SO I'M PROUD TO ANNOUNCE THAT WE HAVE, UH, WE'RE RECOGNIZED FOR THIS ACHIEVEMENT. UH, WE ARE CURRENTLY WORKING ON OUR FISCAL YEAR AND JUNE 30, 20, 26, AUDITED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS, WHICH YOU'RE DUE IN DECEMBER. AND, UH, DO EXPECT THAT WE WOULD RECEIVE THAT, UH, APPLY FOR IT AND HOPEFULLY RECEIVE THAT AGAIN, UH, NEXT YEAR. AND IN CLOSING, I'M GONNA SAY THAT I'M PROUD TO SAY EVEN MORE, UH, UH, IMPORTANTLY THAN JUST RECEIVING THE AWARD. WE HAVE RECEIVED IT FOR 36 CONSECUTIVE YEARS. HMM. SO WELL BEFORE MY TIME HERE IN THE DISTRICT. BUT IT IS MY, UH, GOAL AND, AND MY JOB TO ENSURE THAT WE CONTINUE TO GET IT EVERY YEAR. SO THANK YOU. HAVE A GOOD EVENING. THANK YOU, MR. YOU, MR. CROSBY. FANTASTIC. WELL, WELL DONE. CONGRATULATIONS. MOVING RIGHT ALONG. UH, BARRING [Consent Agenda ] ANY, UH, OBJECTION. IS THERE A MOTION FOR APPROVAL OF THE CONSENT AGENDA? I MOVE. WE, I MOVE, WE APPROVE THE CONSENT AGENDA. I'LL SECOND, I'LL SECOND THAT MOTION. I THINK DR. COWA GOT YOU. IT DON'T MATTER. MATTER. YOU WERE CLOSED. CLOSE MATTER. UM, PROPERLY MOTION. AND SECOND. [02:20:01] ALL IN FAVOR SAY AYE. A AYE. OPPOSED LINE OR VOTE? EITHER WAY. PASTOR GORDON IYE. K AYE MS. BOATWRIGHT. OKAY. UM, WE HAVE AFFIRMATIVE. OKAY. OKAY. ALRIGHT. THANK YOU. MOVING. RIGHT. OH, NEXT [Future Agenda Topics] ITEM. UM, DR. GU WANNA MAKE SURE WE CAPTURE YOURS AGAIN PLEASE? FUTURE AGENDA TOPIC. SO THIS IS THE ONE THAT I MENTIONED AT THE, AT THE LAST MEETING. MM-HMM . THIS WOULD BE AN EXECUTIVE SESSION ITEM. AND IT WOULD BE US FROM JANUARY 1ST, 2026 TO PRESENT ALL, UH, OPIN LEGAL OPINIONS THAT HAVE BEEN, BEEN OBTAINED USING BOARD FUNDS AND, UH, ALL TO INCLUDE ALL LETTERS OF ENGAGEMENT OR AGREEMENT OR WHATEVER YOU'VE SIGNED WITH THE ATTORNEY AND, UH, THEIR OPINIONS AND ALL BILLING STATEMENTS. OKAY. THAT ONE DEFINITELY HAS BEEN ALREADY AND IT'S BEING WORKED. SO AT A FUTURE MEETING, YOU WILL GET THE, UH, RESULTS OF THAT VERY QUICKLY. THANK YOU FOR THAT. ANY OTHERS? MR. SMITH? YEAH. ACTUALLY A, A WHILE AGO I ASKED FOR ALL, UM, UM, I CAN GO AHEAD AND ASK. I WANNA TAG ON TO WHAT SHE WANTS AS WELL. UH, LET ME ALSO, I, I WAS ASKING FOR ALL, UM, ALL LEGAL FEES FOR THE DISTRICT THAT WE, THAT WE PAID, UH, FOR THE, FOR THE LAST FIVE YEARS ABOUT THAT. UH, LET'S SEE WHAT WE, WHAT WE'VE RAN, RAN FOR THE LAST FIVE YEARS. UH, I'VE ASKED FOR THAT AS WELL, UM, IN TERMS OF LEGAL FEES. AND THEN ALSO ANOTHER ONE I HAVE TOO. UH, WE CAN START EARLY. I WOULD LIKE TO ALSO, UH, UH, TALK ABOUT RAISES FOR, UH, UNCERTIFIED STAFF, BUS DRIVERS AND COACHES ABOUT WORKING. START WORKING TO GIVE THEM A, GIVE THEM, GIVE THEM A RAISE AS WELL. YEAH. WE CAN ALSO, I THINK THE EARLIER WE START WORKING ON THAT, THAT WOULD BE, UH, MORE EFFICIENT. OKAY. GOT THAT ONE AS WELL. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. ANY OTHERS ONLINE? NONE FOR ME. THANK YOU, MS. MS. BOATWRIGHT. I'M GOOD. IT IS PASTOR GORDON. I'M GOOD. THANK YOU. PASTOR GORDON. MS. HAY, I'M ALL SET. THANK YOU. THANK YOU, MA'AM. OKAY. MOVING RIGHT ALONG. ANNOUNCEMENTS. OKAY. SEEING NO ANNOUNCEMENT. SECOND [Second Public Comments] PUBLIC COMMENTS, MR. MILLER. SURE. YOU GOT ANNOUNCEMENTS IS BREAST IS BREAST CANCER. UH, MOUTH. WE WANNA, WE, WE, WE, WE, WE DEFINITELY WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE, UH, JUST SUPPORT ALL OUR FAMILIES AND ANYONE WHO WE MAY HAVE THAT MAY BE WORKING IN DISTRICT. AND WE MAY HAVE SOME HEALTH AND THEM DON'T TELL ANYONE, BUT WE DEFINITELY SUPPORT EVERYONE. UM, I SHOULD HAVE WORN MY PINK TONIGHT. I WAS IN A RUSH. UH, GRABBED THE, GRABBED MY OTHER BLAZER. BLAZER AND THEN, AND I HAD MY TIE ON THERE. BUT, UH, WE DEFINITELY DO SUPPORT, STILL SUPPORT SUPPORT THEM. AND I DO HAVE MY PIN ON. BUT YEAH, WE DEFINITELY SUPPORT EVERYONE AND ENCOURAGE EVERYONE TO WEAR PINK SO THAT WE CAN SUPPORT, SHOW, UH, OUR, OUR SUPPORT. YEAH, I DIDN'T BOB MY HEAD THIS YEAR, BUT MAYBE TO COME. . THANK Y'ALL. . THANK YOU. ALRIGHT. WITH THAT, UM, WE CAN, WE CAN SEE IT. YEAH. THANK YOU AGAIN. I, UH, WOULD LIKE TO FOLLOW UP WITH WHAT I TALKED ABOUT LAST BOARD MEETING, UH, THE USS CALIFORNIA BAN THAT WAS INSTRUMENTAL IN, UH, DECODING AND, AND TURNING THE BATTLE, UH, IN THE PACIFIC AROUND BECAUSE OF THEIR EXTRA KNOWLEDGE OF BEING ABLE TO, UH, FROM, FROM THEIR BAND EXPERIENCE, BEING ABLE TO DECODE AND, AND UNDERSTAND WHAT SYMBOLS MEAN. UH, I LIKE TO FOLLOW THAT UP WITH A LITTLE PERSONAL STANDPOINT. I, MYSELF FEEL LIKE I HAD A EXCELLENT MUSIC EDUCATION BACKGROUND, EVEN THOUGH I WENT TO A SCHOOL OF, UH, MY HIGH SCHOOL WAS A TOTAL FOUR YEARS, [02:25:01] 175 STUDENTS. BUT WE HAD AN EXCELLENT PROGRAM AND I FEEL LIKE I BENEFITED GREATLY NOT AS A MUS, JUST AS A MUSICIAN, BECAUSE I DIDN'T BECOME A MUSICIAN. I BECAME AN ANALYST, UH, IN THOSE DAYS. IT WAS BEFORE WE HAD PERSONAL COMPUTERS. I, MYSELF, IN MY WORK, HAD ACCESS TO A, WHAT WE CALL THEN TIME SHARING, BUT NOW YOU CALL TIME SHARING SOMETHING TO DO WITH REAL ESTATE, BUT TIME SHARING THEN WAS SHARING A COMPUTER. THE COMPUTERS DIDN'T HAVE A SCREEN. THEY JUST TYPED 80 CHARACTERS ON A PIECE OF PAPER AND THEN ROLLED UP. AND ANOTHER, YOU HAD TO VISUALIZE WHAT YOU WERE DOING. THE PROGRAM I LEARNED WAS MUCH LIKE A SPREADSHEET THAT MS. CROSBY WOULD USE ROSE AND COLUMNS. BUT, UH, AS MS. CROSBY PROBABLY DOES, HAS TO GO INTO A THIRD DIMENSION. LIKE, UH, LET'S SAY YOU MIGHT HAVE ACROSS THE BOARD, UH, MONTHLY DOWN CATEGORIES OF EXPENSES. THIRD DIMENSION MIGHT BE SCHOOLS, A FOURTH DIMENSION MIGHT BE YEARS OF HISTORY. I HAD TO VISUALIZE THAT AND I COULD DO, FOUND THAT I CREATED A WAY THAT I COULD THINK IT THROUGH AND I WORKED ON SPREADSHEETS THAT YOU WOULD CALL NOW FIVE DIMENSIONAL. AND I ATTRIBUTED THAT TO MY MUSIC BACKGROUND. THANK YOU. I'M OVER TIME. OKAY. MR. MILLER, YOU HAVE A SECOND ONE THAT YOU NO, THAT THIRD, THAT, THAT WAS THE FIRST, UH, I COMMENTED, UH, THE VERY FIRST COMMENT OR THE, I'M SORRY. THERE ARE THREE HERE. THERE WAS, THAT'S AN, THAT'S THERE'S NOT AN ERROR. IF I COULD THOUGH, I WOULD COMMENT ON WHAT ABOUT THEM? THIS IS THE SAME. OKAY. YOU'RE DONE. YOU, YOUR, YOUR EXPLANATION BE PARDON? YOU'RE DONE. OKAY. THANK YOU. I'M DONE IN A LOT OF WAYS. . NO, NO, NO, NO, NO. NOT AT ALL MY FRIEND. THANK YOU MUCH. OKAY. [Executive Session ] WITH THAT, UH, IS THERE A MOTION TO GO INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION? YES, MR. CHAIR. UH, I MOVE THAT WE GO INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION FOR THE FOLLOWING REASONS. EMPLOYMENT MATTER, UH, PERSONNEL RATIFICATION REPORT PURSUANT TO SOUTH CAROLINA CODE ANNOTATED SECTION 30 DASH FOUR DASH 70 A ONE. RECEIPT OF LEGAL ADVICE RELATED TO INSURANCE REQUIREMENTS COVERED BY THE ATTORNEY-CLIENT PRIVILEGE PURSUANT TO SOUTH CAROLINA CODE ANNOTATED SECTION 30 DASH FOUR DASH 70 A TWO. AND RECEIPT OF LEGAL ADVICE RELATED TO PENDING LEGAL CLAIM AND SETTLED LEGAL CLAIM COVERED BY THE ATTORNEY-CLIENT PRIVILEGE PURSUANT TO SOUTH CAROLINA CODE ANNOTATED SECTION 30 DASH FOUR DASH 70 A TWO. SECONDED. OKAY. PROPERLY MOTION. AND SECOND. ALL IN FAVOR OF I HAVE A, I HAVE A QUESTION. MM-HMM . UM, WHO WILL BE ADVISING US IN THESE LEGAL MATTERS THAT WE HAVE? BECAUSE WE KNOW WE HAVE SEVERAL OF 'EM TONIGHT. WE HAVE, UM, MS. CARTILAGE, WE HAVE, UM, MEMBERS FROM THE SCHOOL BOARD'S, INSURANCE TRUST, UM, AND WE HAVE, UM, OTHER DISTRICT STAFF THAT MAY BE AVAILABLE AS PART OF THAT CONVERSATION. OKAY. OKAY. THANK YOU. YEP. MOTION MADE. NO. YEAH. I WAS JUST GONNA, WE'RE READY TO VOTE. EXCUSE ME. OH, I'M WITH YOU . ALL IN FAVOR? RAISE YOUR RIGHT HANDS AND SAY YES. AYE. AYE. ALRIGHT. ONLINE VOTE, RIGHT. AYE. OFFICER GORDON AYE. THANK YOU. HEY. AYE. THANK YOU MA'AM. ALRIGHT. OH, OKAY. OH, YOU HAVE TO DO IT . [Action as Necessary or Appropriate Regarding Matters Discussed in Executive Session] UM, I MOVE THAT THE BOARD OF EDUCATION APPROVE THE SUPERINTENDENT'S [02:30:01] RECOMMENDATION FOR THE EMPLOYMENT LISTED ON SEPTEMBER 1ST, 2026 TO SEPTEMBER 30, 20, 26. PERSONNEL RATIFICATION REPORT SECONDED. MOTION, PROPERLY. MOTION. AND SECOND. ALL HERE IN FAVOR? RAISE YOUR RIGHT HAND AND SAY AYE. AYE. AYE. LINE VOTE. RIGHT. AYE. AYE. PASS GORDON. AYE. THANK YOU SIR. ALRIGHT. PASSES. OKAY. UM, MOTION FOR ADJOURNMENT. UNANIM. * 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.