testing one two testing one two testing testing one two testing one two remember there's going to be a delay testing one two testing one two y'all ready we live [Music] all right guys live in line i'd like to call this meeting to order uh at this time um I will read um the message for close session i ask that someone gives a motion to enter into close session the board will enter to close session in accordance with GS143-318.1186 to discuss personnel matters gs143-318.11 A3 for attorney client privileges and GS143-318.11 A1 to prevent the disclosure of information that is privileged or confidential pursuant to state or federal law or not consider a public record within chapter 132 of the North Carolina General Statutes at this time I entertain a motion to Second motion made by Mr de we got a second second by Dr phillips all in favor show by sign i we going to the guidance right here for food and [Music] This [Music] sunshine sunshine i'll have you in the house [Music] excuse [Music] me all right like to call this meet to order like to welcome you guys out to the April 1st um 2025 school board of education school board of education meeting um can everybody hear me yes no all right oh somebody said no but I heard Okay at this time like we we return back to the open session at this time we ask everyone to stand for a moment of silence and then we'll have pledge of allegiance led by Mr derek okay behind flag behind to the right i pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for it stands one nation indivisible with liberty and justice for [Music] all thank you all for coming out we got big crowd here tonight great recognition and for some others um as we plan to follow the agenda at this time um I think we have under um approval of agenda but at this time we want to um have a amendment for a couple of well a motion mr chair I'd like to take a motion to remove the uh bus information off of board of education uh section D consolidated stops to remove that from tonight and to add a close sessions of the board journal and Mr chair I would like to uh pull um just a couple of items off of the consent um the um the walk-in uh well the the oven item number C uh uh-huh and uh the item number E the contracted services EC contracted services and um just one um quick thing about the item B on the board meeting schedule item B under consent so it's B C and E thank you okay so board members you heard that we have a motion to remove um the bus stops off the agenda as well as add a close session on the end and pull off consent for and we're going um uh B under consent B 2526 board meet schedule CO Alex Senior High School and EC contract speech services um and we will put those under I guess moving under the consent from them we'll add that on the board of education [Music] um under on E subit for board of education for the um the items off the at this time can I get a um a motion to approve the amended agenda all in favor show by the signs I or you it's on electronic okay uh Just count me yes i'm not going to gra the only piece of that being approved by both was was removing the consolidated stops and having it closed right is it everybody's on the motion motion pass motion carried it all right okay at this time we need a motion to approve uh minutes so it's my understanding that was going to make some adjustments to that bring those back to you next meeting okay all right that Okay so there's been some adjustment that I made all right okay at this time we have superintendent report [Music] i hear about this it's a great day to be a Yellow Jacket we are super excited to be at the Lexington Senior High School and it's so great to see so many of our student athletes and their families here this evening later in our agenda we're going to have the opportunity to recognize all of their hard work and the support and leadership from our coaching staff as well as from their families board members I have a few updates that I want to share with you this evening we're going to talk about athletics our family reunion event jacket drive and some of our upcoming community events i don't want to steal all of the thunder that I know our board members are going to share when they talk about our student athletes but I am just so excited and proud of our yellow jackets lily Irving has made a college commitment to Mount Olive and we are super proud of her she's also a member of the prestigious 1,000 point club our baseball team has displayed exceptional teamwork and resilience securing a victory over Parkland 32-21 our our women's soccer team remains undefeated in our conference with a record of two to zero they continue to impress with standout performances by Angela Foso scoring 14 goals so far this season our men's tennis team is doing a fantastic job they had a 9 to0 victory over North Rowan High School and come out and support our softball team for their home opener this Friday at 4:30 p.m last week we had our family reunion event we are super excited that Lexington Senior High School hosted that event we had engaging activities games music we had some giveaways we had food and it was just a great opportunity for our community to come together we want to thank our community our school administrators and our families for coming out to share we are looking forward to next year's event and thank you we had well over 110 people that joined our family reunion event if you haven't already I want to encourage you to take an opportunity to watch the February edition of Jacket Job the superintendent's monthly beat this episode highlights the strong connections and passion of learning within our district featuring stories of student success community partnerships innovative programs shaping the future of our schools you can check out that episode by using the QR code that's on the screen or by visiting the news section on our website at www.leexs.org to all of our folks in the audience and the millions of folks that are sitting at home in Lexington and abroad watching I really really really want to encourage you to join us for our community leader school engagement series we have had several school visits in the past this year we are intentionally making sure that we have the opportunity to share all of the academic work that's happening all of the wonderful student activities that are happening and we're going to share with you any ways that we might need your help as a community member we had our first one this week at Lexington Senior High School we want to thank our community members for coming you also have the opportunity to have a wonderful lunch and we had a great time in our cafeteria here at Lexington Senior High School our next event is Tuesday April 8th and it will be at Pickicket Elementary all of them are from 10 to 12 you will see an opportunity for you to RSVP so that we know that you're coming but just in case you don't want to commit right now don't you worry you can show up to any of the events we are going to welcome you and you will be part of that particular day we also are going to be hosting our spring faith-based meeting that will be this Thursday from 9 to 11:00 and it will be at our city schools administrative building so right across the parking lot we would love for any of our faith-based leaders to make sure that they come if our pastors are unable to attend please send a designate a deacon a deaconess or an associate pastor we will provide a light breakfast april is the opportunity for recognition we have four big events that are happening in April next week we will be honoring our assistant principles the leadership of our assistant principles is integral to our schools their guidance provides lots of support not only to our principles but most importantly to our babies volunteer appreciation week is April 19th through the 25th and we just want to say thank you to all of our volunteers and we have lots of other opportunities for you to continue to volunteer throughout the year we are getting ready for our end of the year assessment season so if there are any volunteers that want to serve as proctors please don't hesitate to reach out to any of our principles or their schools we would love to have you at any of our schools also April is school library month we celebrate the role of our media specialists really fostering the love of reading and supporting literacy and finally we have administrative professionals day we could not do any of our work without the most beautiful talented energetic administrative professionals across our district we would not be able to do our work we thank them that day is April 22nd we always make sure that we show these next two slides i really want to make sure that you have some time to make sure that you stay connected any event any update any announcement you will get it before anyone else you will immediately get a text message you can also keep up with all of the things that you may have missed so if you missed our family reunion you can go to our Instagram page or you can go to X and you will automatically see those pictures and events so that you can make sure that you stay connected with us we also want to make sure that you stay connected to the Where's the Bus app so that you are aware where your babies are as they're coming to school and coming home thank you so much i'll turn it back over to to your wall [Applause] [Music] okay thank you for that dr just want to in regards to updates on sports i know that uh track um track and field there um changed the um track um from Thomasville to Lexington here on Thursday starting at 4:30 so it'll be here at at the school at 4:30 so it'll be Lexington Thomasville and South Davidson is that correct so just want to make you aware of that come out and support our um track team all right okay next we have Spotlight on people and programs and we have the be somebody award presented by Leó trying to make sure we get a good picture and I get all of the Dr brit do I get one of these this is right here right here right here right here [Music] so I have the pleasure of recognizing Savannah Alman almond are you here from Southwest coach softball coach softball oh that's good we need her getting ready on the field so let's let's honor her if you want to meet someone who embodies this award look no further savannah goes above and beyond in all that she does she approaches our families and students with such love and kindness she's always thorough in her work and able to explain all of that she does to our parents that she works with she's a big advocate for students and works hard to help them out however she can simply the best so we are recognizing Savannah and we'll make sure that she gets this [Applause] i'll give it to you [Music] then our next uh be somebody um person was nominated by Jordan Moore to um someone at Southwest Elementary School which they nominated uh Dr kendra White for the be somebody award dr white came into the school as a friendly face ready to help but quickly became a part of Southwest family her heart for this school and job is evident in everything she does she shows up each day with a smile each student is treated with patience and kindness she is constantly going above and beyond to help any way as she can we are so lucky to have her as part of Southwest family um Dr light you please pose for the picture [Music] okay so just in case y'all see me leaning back like Fat Joe they got they gave me a broke seat so I don't know why I'm going to keep it in there so Hold me up all right okay so all right so at this time um we going to have uh our athletic recognitions [Music] [Music] good afternoon everybody what a year our electric senior high school student athletes have had boy I've had a great year my enjoying it all we also here to recognize two wrestlers when I call your name if I say please [Music] please Dawson he was had he had a 4113 this year was voted to the allconerence team and was a NCSAA regional and state wrestling qualifier so let's give it up for D okay who's my hand [Music] m come up sweetheart uh he was 20 529 this year and was named the CCC wrestler of the year he qualified for both the NCHSAA regional and state wrestling meets and finished fifth great overall at the NCHSAA state championship uh Leviathan all right I got it right hosted second record for wins 180 pins 136 and is the only wrestler chosen to the allconerence team all four years he competed at Lex High School in 22 23 he was also named the conference co- wrestler of the year his coach is Michael B thanks for that Dr verale all right we are super excited to recognize two outstanding runners from this year's women's cross country team please come to the front when your name is called jordan Lindsay jordan performed outstanding this year and earned all conference recognitions she also qualified for the NCHSAA cross country regionals where she placed high enough to be invited to the NC HSAA cross country state championship for the picture the lighting's not great angela Foso angela Angela had a fantastic year earning all conference recognition she qualified for the NCHSAA cross country regionals where she placed high enough to qualify for the NCHSAA state championship congratulations you have congratulations [Music] good evening i'm thrilled to honor the outstanding achievements of seven swimmers on their LSH men's swimming team first of all if you're a swim parent or grandparent do we have any of those here all right well do they still have those wonderful 5:30 a.m practices every chlorine is the breakfast of champions so okay if you would please come forward as I call your name first we have Seth Linder Max Oonnell Namir Le Ian McDaniel and Jerry Basquez who were named all conference and qualify for the NCSAA regional swim let's make sure they pose for the picture yes perhaps you can invite their coach up perhaps you can invite their coach up oh come on up come on [Applause] okay lennox French all conference is here baseball oh okay good levi Lind all conference and qualified for the NCHSAA regional swim meet um and qualify for the NCSA state championships in Nebraska [Music] [Music] and our coaches we've already met Elizabeth O'N so congratulations to our LSH men's swimming team we all know that real athletes don't wear shoes okay we got a couple more is Anthony Re no ru is Ruiz Mont sorry malachi B no jerry Bane over tennis okay lennox French max [Applause] so it is my honor privilege to recognize women's basketball team i am extremely proud of these young ladies the Lexus Singer High School women's basketball team achieved tremendous success this year the team finished with an overall record of 2025 and a perfect 10-0 in conference games under the leadership of head coach Robert Haristen assistant coaches Tyrone Terry and Lorie Hope the team captured both the regular season conference championship and the conference tournament championship this is the first time in program history that our women's teams have won both the regular season championship and the conference tournament championship so let's give a round of applause at this time we'd like to invite Lex Singer High School women's basketball team to the front so we can recognize them please come as I say your names jordan Jayla Cow michaela Bobo isabella Henderson Kayla Allen Malia Johnson Deny your hope Angela Foso [Applause] head coach Robert Haristen assistant coaches start my hope managers names Michelle Rivera team mom Cassandra Lockhart please join me in a round of applause for Lexi High School women's basketball former Lady Yellow Jack has also received individual awards this year jordan Dear Michaela Bobo Lilia Johnson and Lily Irvin all named all conference team last but not least I have Lily Irvin certificate so please come up Miss Lily lily also was named Central Carolina Conference Player of the Year and scored 1,000 points this year so congratulations once again let's give it up for our women's basketball great so proud of you [Music] what you think all right [Music] Okay um I think that's it all right this [Music] time we need uh we at the point of consent so I let them leave [Music] bye guys [Music] [Music] [Music] here we go all right at this time we um we had our consent agenda um we need a a motion to approve our consent agenda motion made by Dr phillips do we have a second second second by Miss Hinkle um yeah was electron [Music] Motion carried all right um now we at appearance by citizens um we do have a few people here for appearance by citizen before anyone comes up i call up anyone i will read out um the statement in regards to that time for expression is limited to three minutes per speaker complaints about the performance of names of school personnel implementation of board policy specific education programs and school facilities should be submitted initially for response to the school official responsible for the program or facility or to the superintendent no response will be given by the members of the board to the comments made during public expression following times allotted for the public discretion the board will resume its public agenda and no further comments will be entertained from the audience um at this time we'll just go in order i just ask that you when you come up to state your name and your address and first we have up is Jennifer Lee is the countdown uh good evening it's me again Jennifer Ley mother of three of which two are current Lexington City School students at the last board meeting held a month ago Wednesday March the 5th I addressed asking who paid for their building and grounds committee meeting that was held upon a country club at 4:00 in the afternoon of Tuesday February the 18th and I told you it was my taxpayer dollars had a problem with it but if it was those uh people that were trying to woo you then I didn't have a problem with it after meeting I asked multiple members of the board if they knew the answer they did not um I just got my answer this evening it was partially my taxpayer dollars that paid for that i I do take issue with that and um I think that our our taxpayer dollars need to go to other things like this school building it needs to be raised to the ground and redone um a second thing that I would like to speak of is the inconsistencies of meeting times and locations um from what I understand the booster which is the athletic boosters boosters haven't met since January i was trying to find out where I could attend such a meeting and they said that there hasn't again I don't know 100% but the information I was given was they haven't met since January um the FTO for the high school here I asked about that uh they're supposed to meet Oh gosh was it the second Tuesday or third Tuesday first Tuesday is board meeting and second Tuesday second Tuesday is booster uh FU at the high school was supposed to be third Tuesday uh I did not get the answers to whether they were going to meet this month or not um the middle school FTO is consistent in their meeting times and that is done on Google meets if you anyone wants to know about that one um I'm concerned about teachers leaving our district there are some fabulous educators in the district i feel like the board needs to do some kind of survey because you have all their contact information to ask them why they're leaving i have some information but again I think you should investigate that yourself curious about the be somebody awards how do we nominate someone for that because I would like to nominate someone um for that and I would like to say thank you to Miss Wilson at Lexington Middle School uh because that's how I knew that the board meeting had been changed was her wonderful post on class dojo she keeps us informed thank you thank you um Michael McKay uh honorable members of school board administrators and respective faculty thank you for allowing me the opportunity to speak my name is Michael McKay i'm here representing the wrestling program at Lexction Senior High School we are grateful for the support we've already received from the school community but today I stand before you again two years again I'm sorry two years removed with another request for not only improvement to the safety and success our athletes but also fostering pride discipline and a sense of ownership among all among all those involved in the sport as you know our wrestling program has seen impressive growth in the recent years attracting more students than ever this is testing the hard work of our athletes coaches and community commitment to the development of young men and women however despite our success we face a significant challenge that impacts both safety of our students and the effectiveness of our practice a lack of dedicated space to train and compete currently we are forced to share the fieldhouse while I understand the value of shared resources this arrangement simply isn't working for wrestling we do not have enough room to practice safely or properly the space is usually cramped and crowded due to the size of our program the compromise this compromises the safety of our athletes especially when it comes to technique that requires space and precision such as take down throws and conditioning um beyond safety a dedicated room provides something even more valuable to our program pride and ownership with athletes having a space that is their own instills a sense of responsibility commitment to their sport they become invested in the space the team and the culture of wrestling it fosters a deeper bond among teammates encourages discipline and motivates athletes to push themselves further a wrestling room is more than just a practice space it's a place for athletes to come together share the challenges and victories and build lasting sense of community our program is growing and with that growth comes the need for appropriate resources dedicated wrestling room will allow us to better serve our athletes attract more students to the sport and take our program to the next level this will also help level the playing field for our students as many county schools have a dedicated wrestling room to use we can train with the confidence that we have a space that meets the unique needs of our sports with proper equipment ample space our athletes will have the tools they need to succeed not just locally at the regional and state level as well i come to you again asking for room inside the school building to be the wrestling room or at the minimum a 1600 foot building built for us to help with the continued success of our men and women's program in closing I ask that you consider this request just not as a need for space but as an investment in the future of our athletes and our school providing a dedicated wrestling room will ensure that our students are able to train safely as athletes and develop pride in the program it allows us to continue to build a culture of excellence both on and off the mat thank you for your time your consideration and your ongoing sports and your ongoing support of our students and their success [Applause] thank you all right and next we have Lauren Harbre [Music] good evening board members i am Dr lauren Hargrave i'm here today to discuss the fact that Lexington City Schools has failed to uphold key legal protections for students and families violating federal laws that can lead to complaints investigations and legal action let's start with the most glaring issues a fur violation an IEP related email was sent to the wrong parenting confidentiality was the affected family notified was staff retrained likely not i could have reported this to the US Department of Education iep testing pressure a parent was urged to have their child evaluated for an IEP without proper data or interventions violating IDA section 504 and ADA rather than escalating this to the Office of Civil Rights I ensured proper MTSS supports and my nonprofit provided tutoring and after three months the student never needed special education services what they really needed was a great teacher one they had but who has since left because you all can't seem to keep good teachers a fake violation one student's IEP evaluation deadline was missed while another wasn't receiving required services these are legal violations but instead of referring parents to an attorney or reporting it myself I work with the special education director to resolve the issues despite these ongoing failures and many others the administration failed to meet with me quarterly as agreed neglecting an opportunity to monitor and prevent these issues instead of taking accountability you ignored it let's be clear rejecting the support I provided was wasn't about the district not needing my services the need is obvious you just didn't want them from me despite the fact that my expertise has repeatedly helped resolve issues and prevent further consequences to clarify my nonprofit offers free services to help families navigate the system my business provides paid services to help schools stay compliant and ensure students get what they deserve and while I understand that everyone is doing their best with the capacity they have leadership must recognize when more support is needed ignoring these issues doesn't make them go away it puts students at risk and the uh the district in jeopardy next time instead of dismissing me reconsider or perhaps when a lawsuit finally lands on your desk my value will become clearer and the famous words of Nanny McY when you need me but don't want me then I will stay when you want me but don't need me then I have to go thank you thank you all right next we have on agenda policies um first we have aid of 4,000 M yes uh I just said okay okay um so um the uh policy committee we met on March the 17th um and we discussed one second here so the policy and HR committee uh our meeting was held March the se uh 17th uh during that meeting uh we uh discussed the policy uh the 4000s um we also went over the file updates um at that time um and David um I'm going to just mention some of the things and then any corrections or addins um also um the the there's policies that are first read uh reads for uh the board uh at this meeting tonight uh four of those uh policies uh were asked uh by uh to be held back for additional time uh to review or either for the staff to uh uh revise um those um should I go ahead and name those four policies um in the memo I think on each of these sections A B and C their memo kind of outlines which ones are held back or just for first three yes so um I I'll just say the the forward that's held back policy uh 43 um 4302R um has to do with uh authorized reasonable force by uh school personnel policies 4318 use of the wireless uh communication devices policy 4342 student searching and policy 4700 is a student uh records again the remainder of those 4,000 uh policies um are for the board's uh first read review and first uh read um I would like to say that um uh Dave you going to mention the policy 3.3 right no okay that's still a committee working through that okay yes we are it's going to go come back to us we talked about it but it's going to come back to us um and of course um there were uh two other policies that was um held for for additional staff review um policy 2302 um and policy number 5022 uh 2302 remote participation at the board meetings and the um um policy the 5022 so um board members you have uh as I stated the remainder of the policies uh before you for the first read um committee members did I leave anything out did you hear anything say i said it all right okay David no I think that's accurate and it looks like as far as what the committee is bringing forward is the um 4,000 I guess what's listed in the memo is 4,000A series um is what's up for approval this evening if I'm understanding the recommendation of the committee yes we said 4333 400A uh policy series okay anyone have any questions in regards to the uh policy is there anything on there we need to move on tonight no David it's just the first read just the first read okay 400 400A we need to move correct me if I'm wrong but that one was up for your vote tonight the rest of them are up for your anniversary and then there are a few that staff is still all right so does anybody have any question in regards to 4,000 before I ask for a motion to All right so no further questions let me get a motion to um accept and approve the 408 um NS NC uh SBA policy series so I move that um uh policy uh 40A um policy series uh be approved by the board motion made by Miss Mr mcduffin have a second second second by Miss Hathaway and going through devices right all right all right policies motion carried thank you for that all right this time city council meeting do we have anybody to come to the meeting anybody on the new sign up or anything or Okay well next we have business and finance color good evening good evening good evening good evening good evening thank you your financial report for this evening includes the teacher compensation supplements were paid in the March payroll we received our funding for our safety grant which was for $250,000 we are required to spend the funds by June 30th of 2024 or the funds will revert back to the state i mean 25 I'm sorry 25 i'm sorry just that was a test um the funds will be managed to ensure that all expenditures are um spent within the grant guidelines we are requesting a budget committee meeting um within the next two weeks we hope Mrs hunt will be reaching out to the committee to schedule a date and time we did receive seven copier contract proposals we will be reviewing the proposals to have a recommendation hopefully to the board in our May meeting we have posted the RFP for the beverage vendor the deadline to submit any proposals would be April 30th 2025 are there any questions anybody any that it Yes sir thank you thank you i appreciate what I did with my thing but okay so next we at the board of education uh we have what snider Electric Y good evening it's good to be back in Lexington and um still seeing a lot of similar faces right on the school board i think there's five of the seven school board members were here when we started our partnership uh about five years ago and so excited to provide the annual update on the savings and the performance of the project so we're now three years into uh the actual savings and um my goal is to give you a quick refresher why we started our partnership if I can get the PDF to move awesome um so the school board approved our partnership in June of 2020 uh we began construction across the entire school district making a number of facility upgrades uh and completed at the end of the summer of 2021 uh that is when the guarantee for our energy savings began was August of 2021 and it's a 19-year partnership so we're here guaranteeing our annual savings to you each and every year for the next 19 years we also provide a lot of annual services to Tim and his team um and so I wanted to give you all an overview on uh year 3's performance so um over on the left side I want to give a quick overview of all the different scope measures that we did in Lexington City Schools um we converted the entire school district interior and exterior to LED lighting we also replaced five boilers across the schools um so really large piece of equipment responsible for heating um at I believe every school except for Charles England um we did some variable frequency drives on a couple pieces of equipment we replaced a chiller over at South Lexington um that wasn't functional at the time replaced a cooling tower at Southwest Elementary School um that was really really noisy distracting kids in the learning environment so we got a new piece of equipment out there um replace some domestic hot water heaters uh air handler units and then um we did some some building automation system optimization um to help drive savings in the school district and so you can see what we guaranteed for year three was $247,160 and we really were a lot closer this year than we have been in past years so $248,161 um just about $1,000 over the guarantee um the reason for that is our annual savings guarantee goes up each year because we expect your utility rates to go up each year um Lex Lexington City Schools over the last three years really hasn't had a whole lot of increases in utility costs uh from a a rate perspective right and so what that means is our savings guarantee is going up but your rates are staying the same and so um we're getting closer and closer to that guarantee line uh you can see over on the top right of the screen um you guys were about 4,000 positive in year 1 and year two now we're at that thousand mark so we're excited you're meeting guarantee you're about $9,000 um dollars over guarantee through three years however we're really keeping a close watch on your rates um to see if you have any rate hikes in this upcoming year because our guarantee is going to continue to go up and if you don't reach it um that's where that guarantee comes in place is we have to actually write you a check if you're short um in year four or any year through year 19 um to make up that difference so I made sure to note kind of your electric utility rates and gas rates down there in the bottom right any questions on savings performance so Graham yep okay i remember the very first conversation day when you talked about you know that you know us um having that money left over and saved yep okay and we have that money left over and save right yeah yeah yeah so where where's that where's that money going be used for D yeah so your your total guaranteed number there you can see for year one year two year three that is paying retroactively for the project so the original project cost was 3.87 million and Lexington City Schools didn't have the funding to do any of that work so uh you're actually able to use guaranteed savings to repay for the project and so uh all that that total guaranteed line that matches your payments on an annual basis um anything that's above and beyond is is sitting in your local current expense to be able to use um you also had that uh during the construction period you guys had I think over $50,000 of immediate positive cash flow because we got the lighting done early it wasn't going towards we're paying for the project so um yeah it's been there in your utility account okay so it's that's that overage okay okay so I don't know if it's a Graham question or if it's a Miss Jones question so that money is is there in that account right it was yeah it was each year um so it wouldn't Miss McDuffy it wouldn't necessarily be quote sitting in an account um the savings that we have um approved through using um going through this project um the utilities are in a budget line so what we would anticipate is that let's say we anticipated spending $100,000 on our utilities this year we would hope that by by participating in this energy project let's say we we save $20,000 so our expense line item we would spend 80,000 but we would have an excess of 20,000 um that's just to put it in in a simple simple way hopefully that that helps you to understand it does does that does that make sense so we'll say kudos to you doing something thank you yes all right so I wanted to share too just the impact on the environment that the project has had um to date the amount of energy that's been saved in the school district is the equivalent of charging over 417 million cell phones uh planting over 3,800 acres of trees um 392 homes energy use for an entire year or removing uh 695 cars from the road so really substantial impact that you've had from a sustainability perspective as well but happy to answer any other questions just really appreciate the partnership uh Tim and I are presenting on our partnership with Lexington City Schools at the PEK conference next week so um excited to get some more eyes on the success that you'all have had any further questions for Grant thank you what you do we have a policy and human resources committee report so that's the same yeah it's the same what I just Okay all right okay that Okay all right next we have the uh strategic plan 20 24 29 whole child focus on culture you want me to Mr jones good evening Board of Education it's my pleasure to talk to you tonight about our uh strategic plan whole child whole child focus and culture tonight I have with me uh Miss Evelyn Foster our director of safety and Miss April Thompson who's our senior director of student services and career and technical education you'll have to forgive me my eyes are going bad so sorry let me see so our whole child focus and culture our goal is to ensure school is a safe and engaging space where students can build positive selfidentity and feel that they belong we had two distinct goals by through 2029 we will see a 5% increase each year in students reporting that they feel school is safe and engaging and an engaging space where they feel like they belong second goal is by June 2029 we will decrease the number of students who are chronically absent from school from 34.5% to 22.5% okay Miss Foster thank you M jones i appreciate the introduction um so the first strategy under this goal was to strengthen district safety by implementing uh school emergency response plan each site conducting conducting facility risk assessments formulating standard crisis response protocols and establishing an instant command structure so we did this by first establishing the ERP which is emergency response plan um we also sent all of our principles and our assistant principles to ICS 100 and IC700 um so they have a basic understanding and knowledge of the instant command structure also we develop and standardize the crisis response protocol through I love you guys foundation and the prepare model miss Thompson thank you Miss Foster our second goal was to adopt and implement a comprehensive mental health uh wellness program for our employees and improve their overall mental health and their well-being and productivity uh this year we've established the wellness Wednesdays with Dr kim Britz Group and the wellness Wednesdays include um little surprises for its staff members and they're recognized on a district email and they can come and pick up um nice prizes from our local community sponsors we also hosted the annual the first annual uh Lexon City Schools wellness day on February 17th during that time staff members were able to go get their blood pressure check they were over um they also received um yoga uh lessons along with YMCA gift cards and things like that Zumba lessons just to really help them engage in the community and then take care of themselves and our employee assistance program is also available for all staff members with the employee assistance program sponsored by our HR department staff members are able to call and get special help if needed uh for mental health life work balance questions or problems uh financial assistance um and planning if they need it and this is available to them 24/7 365 days a year if they should there's a 1-800 number to call for three available sessions to initially get started um we're going to also what our goal three our strategy three was provide all schoolbased staff with the annual trainings they need for social emotional health and recognizing wellness and school safety as well so our our achievements thus far our staff members our schoolbased staff members are required the following training for the upcoming school year uh which we started back in August our youth mental health first aid along with suicide prevention substance abuse teenage dating violence child abuse and prevention and sex trafficking prevention as well so our staff members were provided that training to really uh work with our mental health um school initiatives so staff members have until June 30th to complete all their all their um upcoming vector trainings and that's done online once we get through the first six trainings our next year plan is a lot it's a lot lighter for staff members who have already completed the three plus hour trainings online and um our goal for was increase the um student and family access to mental health support so right now uh we're excited to partner with our safety team to look at other options for our students to have um counseling and therapeutic support with their families we currently refer students to uh our local agencies but we're looking forward to working with Miss Foster's team and increasing our number of student health providers potentially for the upcoming school year goal F strategy five create a positive school culture that celebrates school attendance and provides early interventions to address attendance barriers so with that we created the Lex and City Schools attendance plan for students in grades K through K through 13 we wanted to make sure that our principles had the average daily attendance for their school along with the students that had perfect attendance or missed less than one one school day per academic month and so with that our students are recognized you may have seen some of the pictures online uh for students being recognized as student of the month uh I'm sorry uh their attendance uh for the month and uh perfect attendance as well throughout the quarters uh this program was also financially supported by Lexon City Schools so each school was able to increase their um opportunities to celebrate their students at their school along with providing prizes um and incentives there so I saw a great video today from a principal that was really talking to their students about coming to school and the importance of doing so to finish out the school year strong so our last strategy strategy six was provide staff and schools with support and resources designed to reduce the instances of misconduct improve deescalation strategies for employees and ensure fairness and consistency and disciplinary actions so what we've done so far is we've developed resources and support resources and support systems to reduce misconduct and improve deescalation deescalation strategies via CPI training which is crisis prevention intervention training all EC teachers uh have been trained on CPI and our administrators are next i think that's right dr horton worked with Miss Thompson and Miss Foster to make sure that our EC staff was fully trained we were going to have two trainers that trained the trainer so that we can come back and make sure that our entire staff in in Lexon City Schools is trained we continue to use use and train our educa our staff on educators handbook which goes directly into power school lets us know the discipline and 100% of our student services teams have completed the training for youth and mental health and wellness which is a big that's a big accomplishment for our student services team our next steps we're exploring options to support and expand our current therapeutic options for students we really want to work with the community to expand those to expand opportunities for students to be able to access mental health supports and we were awarded most recently $50,000 grant to support mental health therapy for students and training staff as a portion of the safety grant for 202526 academic year [Music] so and that is that is the result of the efforts of Miss Thompson and Miss Foster because they have worked really hard to make sure our infrastructure for safety including mental health wellness is strong questions um the whole child focus and culture that's awesome that that hits the heart that is awesome i did have just um just a few questions when you talked about the um the ICS 700 or whatever yes ma'am the ICS and 700 107 could could you explain what that is yes so it's it's a instant it's a training uh that teaches uh schoolbased staff instant command structure so what they will be doing in the in the midst of correctly yes ma'am so you have to understand what the structure is who's going to be in the command when do you when is this is your position of when is when the law enforcement comes in who changes command then also the funding piece that comes into it which is really important to us because then we have to figure out how our funds match the city's funds the people who are responding so that's what they they attended okay awesome thank you yes ma'am um and I wanted to ask uh you about the the uh you know the staff training that everybody the six staff training that everybody is required to do by June yes ma'am so um what about the new staff that comes in yes ma'am um Dr carol and I work together with the um overall training this is a required training for all staff members in North Carolina and so as new staff members come come in they are loaded into our program so we can we get to see the overall progress every month for our staff members in our city school so if you're new you also get the training you're required to take on the training you start like 2026 you start now you start now this year if I came in in March I would still be required to start working on my um overall training okay and that state how it's part of the mental health overall state program okay okay yeah we use vector as our our main model okay so you can actually see whenever new uh staff is brought on where they are in the process yes we can and we get a monthly report Dr carol and I get a monthly report at our percentage of you know staff members completing the online trainings yeah that's awesome and they also get reminder emails when they're falling behind in training okay awesome awesome that's that's awesome and also um just wanted to ask the the progress since you started uh the incentive for the student attendance so since you started that what what's the progress that you have seen well we're going to make sure we share the numbers as as we finish up the academic year but I think our first year it's about awareness is making sure students understand the wise of coming to school why it's important um what they should you know things that they can do with their friends um improving their test scores for including improving their overall academic outcomes so we're in the early phases our students are excited about you know toward it's getting toward the end of the year so they're excited about opportunities that their schools have provided to them our teachers and um support staff members have been very creative in coming up with incentives at the school level to incentivize and really reward their kids with behaviors they want to see absolutely thank you thank you any other questions great job on mental health services thank you very much thank you um thank thank you for that presentation so you don't mind call for a a five minute reset call this meeting back to order all right where we left off at i think we were at um under board of education we took that off so we we at where we pulled off the consent items right yeah and I didn't have all so we'll start with um the meeting the meetings 2025 2026 board meeting schedule board members um in your folder what you or your board packet you will see the recommendation for staff for the 202526 board meeting schedule the board meetings fall on the first Tuesday of every month per your policy with three recommendations from staff the leg excuse me the July date is moved due to the holiday July 4th it is the board's pleasure to know that staff would be working during that holiday to plan for your board meeting the January date is moved to winter break staff would need to work during the holiday the winter break i'm sorry if if the if you keep the January date then um so it's our recommendation is January 13th that is the second Tuesday if you would like for it to be it's in your board packet under the consent agenda right oh because this was the item Miss McDuffy pulled from cent oh I'm sorry that's my fault totally no no oh this was the item that was pulled from consent was that the pleasure of the board yes and finally the April date was moved due to spring break spring break is April 6th through the 10th so if you were to have your meeting during the first Tuesday we would need to require staff to work over spring break or if it's the board pleasure you could just require me to work and I'd be more than happy to be here just let me know i have a question about the November one meetings we have four I believe members who are up for reelection this year and it looks as though the November meeting is on election that's why I asked that it be pulled off the consent for that very reason for what reason i mean but the polls don't close until 7 and I remember when I ran I was at the polls until they closed so would you all you all not want to Mhm because the reason why I know that yeah well the reason why I asked the reason why I asked for it to be pulled was that very reason Kathy and um because we have moved um several of the other board meeting dates because of uh you know certain events that's taking place i'm pulled i asked you to be pulled because of that very reason that's a major that's a major event not just because of the school board but there's other elections going on that day and on November 4th and we are moving board meetings for other events on several other months so um I um I think it's important um for especially for those who are involved not just involved in the election um but for those who actually volunteer and so forth so that's why I approved it um so I I I mean at any any point I mean I guess if I mean you guys want to go with a suggested date and they can go ahead and work on that in regards to the the date the following the following Tuesday that's a holiday right the following Tuesday is is a holiday it's November 11th um however it's Veterans Day yes ma'am okay and that it's it's on a Tuesday i thought it was I thought it was always on a Monday okay it's always on November 11th whatever day oh okay well can it be moved to November the 5th that Wednesday if that's not a holiday or anything yeah it can be moved to November 5th anybody have any reservation in regards to that any objections uh so so we're we're moving to ask us to move the November board date well excuse me the July board date the November board date and April board oh and January that's your answer right [Music] no it's a two year yeah two for a year [Music] okay board members just just to clarify because I I I don't want there to I want to make sure everyone's on their own page last month in your board meeting folder we provided you this schedule yeah with these dates so that you would have the opportunity to review them we did not hear any feedback from any of our board members the dates that are on this schedule some of them to clarify from Mr horton's question are not the first Tuesday of the month so we are not asking for you to move anything it is staff's recommendation to approve I think based on the conversation your meeting schedule with the change of November 4th going to November 5th and then once staff were to approve that then we would post and publicize this as our regular meeting schedule for 2526 so everyone would know what our regular meeting schedule is and then if there are other changes then we have to go through the public meetings notice process to change those meetings if it is the board's pleasure to move the the recommended dates that I that we have here so for example if it's the board's pleasure for us to move the July date to the week of July 4th know that as as the board that is that is your pleasure and then staff will adjust um for your pleasure um the January date is of you talking yes sir okay i think you're fine with the you just want the the November date so yeah you guys got the the calendar in regards to what um what what this administrator is asking only thing that um did anybody have any questions in regards to that other than other than the 5th I mean the November date question okay like to adjust so are you so y'all good with switching the November 4th to November the 5th for that Wednesday that's the only thing we we address other than that we're going based on what what the um admin team has uh brought to us or suggested for board uh meet dates all right so how do I need to do this fifth thing just vote and with the amended I mean with the date okay yeah make a motion you mean so we need to make a motion to well we had voted on so we can just all of it with then there's the fifth being the November meeting all right so we need a motion to call in one vote should be two you're making this really complicated no it's not no I mean just we just simplified it just we need to I mean let's go i mean we can vote with the um the dates for the um so we need a a motion so I we need a motion to accept the dates as presented on the um board meeting schedule with the amended um November date changing to um November the 5th that's that's it right oh you you made it sure oh I say sure oh motion made by Dr phillips second by Miss McDuffy all we going electronic are we How do you vote miss McDuffy yes miss Hathaway dr phillips yes miss Hanko yes miss Deborah no mr horton yes all right yes all right motion carries all right next we [Music] have Hold on we got one second okay okay yes okay next we got to come by the oven purchase um just um you know just for um transparency transparency um so the oven at the high school um is basically what is it um something that needed to be replaced i know it was like 33 420 24 I'm sure that's probably what they run um is that um like bad condition so one of the things that and I know Miss Brown is here we're so excited that she had the opportunity to provide our our meal for us this evening it has been the intention of our child nutrition department to make sure that all of our school cafeterias have the most upto-date equipment and currently Lexington Senior High School does not have this combi oven i think many of us would like to have this oven in our home this is the kind of oven that will do steam and convection and bake we want to make sure that we have these modes so it means that um we can make sure that as we are getting fresh um food coming in that it doesn't always have to be frozen so it means that the preparedness is different and easier for our child nutrition staff and it means that all of our child nutrition cafeterias will have the most upgraded equipment and we do have the funding for it so that is why that um Miss Brown made that recommendation and she's here um this evening she was trying to make sure that the food was packed up but u Miss Brown is more than willing to answer any other questions if you have okay just I I just wanted to get know I know we were going to vote on it or whatever and I just wanted to hear more about it before it is staff recommendation that um the board would approve this purchase this comes out of child nutrition yes yeah they have thank you and the food was good we need a motion on that right Dave yes all right motion to approve the combo oven please so I move um to approve the uh funds for the oven purchase um the comi ovens two comi ovens all right so we got a motion for the um to approve the oven we have a second second second by Dr phillips uh we'll vote by Miss McDuffy i um Miss Hathaway yes dr phillips yes miss Hinkle yes miss Verdale yes mr yes and yes for myself motion carries thank you all right okay next we have we was pulled off uh EC contracted services freezer oh I'm sorry was it walk-in freezer well that pull that yeah I didn't pull that one okay it's about like the company okay all right all right ec contracted services yes so just just wanted um um just some more information as far as that one again that one's like the 60 it's a contract um service about 6750 an hour um just wanted to know I I'm with EC hey Mr horton i know with EC um this is a needed position and like um the the we don't we probably don't have teachers that already do this within our system and and we got Dr gordon which I'm so sorry what' you say Dr i I spoke on top of people i didn't mean to no you are fine what were you saying so one of the things that's really important when you think about our students that have the IEPs the individual education plans often times in those IEPs we need to provide related services so that can be speech physical therapy or occupational therapy this is a particularly for our speech and this will ensure that those students that have speech services as part of their IEP that we can make sure that we can provide those speech services through this particular contract provider you'll see on the cover memo we've indicated the rate of pay and we have identified through funding um with Miss Jones and Dr important that we do have dollars that can make sure that we follow through on this contract and it means that we will not have to if we have someone that can provide those speech services we will not have to provide compensatory education if students do not have the services that are indicated in their IEP okay and Dr court may have something to add or he's here to answer any questions that you may have yeah um did you have Mr wilson um the the uh one of the questions I know is close to the end of the year we just got two months so um this contract is just for the next couple of months right now this contract is through the end of the academic year please know that we do have some students um that based on their IEPs do have extended school year and it is important that we make sure that anytime there's something that is identified at the IEP that we have staff that can provide it especially those related services because those are services in addition to any academic services that you might be providing in the classroom so it's not just for April May and that's it and it possibly could be for the summer that's right we don't because we've had vacancies in this one school we have several schools but provided we have for this one school what they're going to do is contract with it to the end of year and possibly the summer do makeup services oh okay okay okay okay okay okay that's that was my qu I wrote it down right here so that's why Thank you so it is the recommendation from staff that the board approved this contract so our students can have the services that are indicated in their IEP any other questions can I make a motion yes motion so I move um that the crystal clearar speech and language services um be approved we have a second second a motion made by Miss McDuffy second by Miss Haway we'll vote by Miss McDuffy i miss Haway yes dr phillips yes miss Hingle miss Verell yes mr hoy yes and myself yes all right motion carries is that it all right all right so next we have um personnel we need a motion to approve personnel recommend we have We did yes we did have personel recommendation so move motion made by Dr phillips second by Miss Derell and we going to the advice right everything good [Music] motion carried all right okay so we did amend our agenda to go back into code session so let me read before I ask for a motion the board will enter to close code session in accordance to with GS143-318.1186 to discuss personnel matters gs143-318.1183 for attorney client privileges gs143.318- I mean.11A1 to prevent the disclosure of information that is privileged or confidential pursuant to the state or federal law or not consider a public record within chapter 132 of the North Carolina General Statutes at this time I ask for a motion to go into close session so move motion made by Miss Verdale do we have a second second second by Miss Hway all in favor just by sign huh okay go ahead yeah let me open it got to get home to his family all right um back in order We're just going to um um yeah Dr hard is going to introduce the new SO officer O'Brien she is the new SRO i fired her tonight cuz she didn't give me her M take that out and have um she had a very good first day was taking a visit all of our elementary schools as well so because our middle school and high school SRO's also support our elementary schools so we are excited to have her and when when you're around please make sure to stop in and say hello to her at the middle school sure thank you introduce the man oh absolutely it's our board attorney board member Miss Angela McDuffy board member Miss Lisa Haway board member Dr phillips board member vice chair chair Dr wall board member Miss Kathy board member Miss Deborah Berell board member Mr deon and Melissa who keeps everyone in the world straight jack welcome sweetheart that's a little trampoline you'll find out I'm clown why you telling me what okay can I get a motion to uh ajourn no so move a second by Miss Hathaway all in favor sign so Melissa