good evening we'll go ahead and call this meeting for the Cleveland County School Board of March the 10th 2025 to order at this time I'll call on Mr Billy house to lead us in our invocation is Mr House Mr [Applause] House good evening sir everybody he us in prayer almighty God father we come to you and we're so grateful that another day has been given us a day that was filled with many dangers that we didn't see and even those that we saw we're grateful that you have blessed each of us and I realize I've been here tonight has nothing to do with how good we've been but how good you've been to us and as we come God to talk about out the schools business we pray that you'll make us mindful of the precious Commodities that has been placed in our hands we pray thy blessings upon this school board this board of education we pray for each administrator every teacher every staff member that has the responsibility to help Mo Minds to be the best that they can be we pray oh God that you will make us mindful of the fact that we are not here for personal agendas and we would denounce that's any agenda that's their own and I pray that you make us mindful of the fact that there is Judgment in our stand help us to know that we will have to give an account as to how we have treated one another so we pray your blessings tonight as they negotiate the schools business pray that you'll make their minds to be sharp I pray that you will kill everything that's is not like you and open the minds to let them know that even they have a Creator who love each of us so we pray God that you give them guidance give them governance in this evening well we ask it in Jesus name amen amen thank you Mr house for taking the time out of your day to come and do that thank you very much at this time I'll call on Mr Sparling if he would to lead us in our pledge please stand salute sled pledge to the flag of the United States of America to the repic for which it stands one nation under God indivisible with liberty and justice for all all right we have some special recognition tonight at this time I'd ask uh Dr Jason Parker to come forward thank you members of the board we are delighted to share with you some additional Elementary education events that have taken place the first of which is the spelling be we tonight have our district winner Grayson Wells from Cleveland Innovation uh as well as our District spelling be runner up and that's Allison Reed from Burns Middle I think both of their principles are with them tonight too so at this time I'll ask Grayson to come up and as he's coming up to get his certificate from Dr fiser going to let you know that you may notice he has on his uh Regional spelling be shirt because yesterday he was down at the Bank of America Stadium representing our school system and did a phenomenal job representing us down there so let's give a big round of applause to gr then as Grayson's getting some handshakes I'm pleased to also present his dad with a $100 check from the Cleveland County Schools Educational Foundation congratulations good J congratulations [Applause] J don't want time right let's give another round of applause to [Applause] Gray and then again from uh Burns Middle School our District spelling be runner up is Miss Allison Reed Allison come on down and the Cleveland County Schools Educational Foundation is pleased to present to you $50 [Applause] conrat job job congratulations good job [Music] [Applause] to get on the district stage they have to have a school competition and then stand on the district stage over at Shelby Middle School so that is quite the feat for them to be here tonight we're proud of both of you Allison and Grayson moving on with tonight's uh presentation Dr fiser also asked me in advance of our next round of uh of special recognitions tonight to give a brief update about letters so that will take our instructional Spotlight for it this month so as a reminder letters it's not spelled incorrectly that's really how it's spelled it's a two-year commitment for all new and new to kindergarten through fifth grade teachers in Cleveland County Schools the acronym stands for language Essentials for teachers of reading and spelling and it really is an in-depth professional development opportunity designed to help our new to K5 teachers understand the science of reading this two-year series equips teachers with Knowledge and Skills necessary to be more effective at what they do over the course of the two years our participants receive lots of information from uh research based in Neuroscience cognitive psychology as well as in education it's important to note that our letters program here in Cleveland County is not a reading curriculum but it really is built to complement the curricula that you all have for our schools and it helps our our teachers understand the why the what and the how behind what it means to Be an Effective Teacher of reading so over the the two years you can see there are recent Snapshot from our most recent letters session over in the staff development center our participants receive in-depth knowledge on phonological awareness and that is just the understanding and the teaching of the sound structure of language they receive information in phonics which is the systematic instruction of sound and symbol relationships influency so they can become more uh more equipped at preparing students to be accurate expressive and efficient readers vocabulary development really digs into word knowledge and oral language skills for our students reading comprehension again equipping our teachers to prepare students to more effectively understand the text that they read as well well as in writing uh over our wit and wisdom implementation we've learned a lot about writing uh and one of the best things that we say in our department uh is reading is breathing in and writing is breathing out uh as you're in our elementary schools we hope that you will see more and more writing samples around our campuses it's important to note that they spend a lot of time dissecting scar scaros reading rope the top portion there is really based in language comprehension skills that is how we uh utilize wit and wisdom morphine magic in the middle between language com comprehension excuse me and word recognition are our geodes which really helps to students make the transition to become a more fluent reader and then obviously the bottom part of that rope is word recognition which is where we utilize reading Horizons as well as our hegerty curricula the structure of letters we are very proud that here in Cleveland County we are maintaining the inperson sessions a lot of our districts especially in our surrounding area have moved letters completely online and the teachers do not come together physically we believe there is power in collaboration there's power in that group conversation and the group thought to really lead to a deeper application of knowledge they do have online components that they complete asynchronously outside of these live sessions to utilize our time together over in the staff development uh Center more effectively also letters has bridge to practice activities that participants complete on their own time which really helps them to put into practice the things that they are learning some benefits for our teachers again we have more and more diverse Learners coming into our classrooms at the elementary level this two-year professional development series further supports the need to meet uh students on a diverse Spectrum we support our teachers by introducing uh systemic literacy Improvement by really putting in evidence-based best practices and then we just enhance teachers overall understanding of teacher teaching students how to learn to read but the important thing tonight as we move into our next recognition is we could not make letters happen in Cleveland County Schools without our letters local certified facilitators we are blessed to have four ladies on this team that help our department by facilitating our letter session and they do it extremely well the certification that our facilitators have gone through includes rigorous coursework attending training sessions and they also had to pass assessments that demonstrate that they have a Mastery of content in addition to becoming certified they have to have a commitment to maintain ongoing professional development so that they can keep on the Cutting Edge of research when it comes to reading instruction I did go out uh and find a couple of quotes I won't read all of that to you as this presentation is also on board docs but one of our local uh EC teachers here in uh Cleveland County Schools I love kind of Midway down it says I've seen a positive impact on student performance and basic reading skills I had a third grade student read an entire decodable passage for the first time ever his excitement and confidence were so important to her the last sentence there I think really matters for our recognition tonight facilitators what you are doing truly matters one more quote this is from a teacher uh in our system she says that our facilitators have gone above and beyond to help us understand the importance of why the way that we teach is important and this person also says it's so important to have folks from inside Cleveland County Schools lead these professional developments sessions and she appreciates their enthusiasm as they are facilitating these sessions so tonight we are honored and I'll ask these ladies to come on down to recognize Liz Barry Liz is our DPI early literacy specialist ABA Bradley is one of our instructional coaches she is based at Jefferson Elementary Mary Ingram is one of our instructional coaches based at Grover elementary school and then Miss Nicole Ru who is a title one interventionist over at King Mountain Intermediate School we are very appreciative because these training sessions happen after school they're tired the people in the room are tired because they've been working all day but these ladies bring it to life so please join me in in congratulating our local letter Cera [Applause] facil good thanks thank you good job good job thank you thank you good job good job good job good job thank you good job [Applause] [Applause] okay all right this time I'll call on Mr [Music] P board members Dr fiser thank you so much for giving me the opportunity to recognize one of our student athletes tonight uh we have with us three time state champion swimmer Alex Ty singer Alex is a senior from Burns High School as a sophomore she won the state championship in the 50 meter freestyle as a junior Alex won the 50 m and the 100 meter free and this past year as a senior she repeated and won the 50 meter and 100 meter free again three-time state champion uh Alex's parents are Joey and Jenny Ty singer and her coach at at Burns High School Dan macave was here tonight and also I think I saw her grandmother here with us tonight also um lastly Alex has over a four .5 GPA she's ranked in the top five of her class and she'll be attending UNCC Wilmington on academic and swim scholarship she's been an outstanding representative of Cleveland County Schools and it's been my pleasure to know her all of these years congratulations Alex [Applause] she's halfway congratulations congratulations congratulations good job good luck at [Applause] okay at this time I'll entertain a motion to adopt the agenda as presented to you so move Mr Umphrey second Mr Bridges all in favor raise your hand that's nine to zero next is the approval of the minutes with a without objection we'll take 4.01 through 4.06 as one if that's okay with everybody all right do I hear a motion to accept those minutes have a motion to accept those minutes Mr Bridges I hear second Mr umpr all in favor it's nine to zero all right next on the agenda is our committee report Mr Bridges thank you Mr chair the February 26th finance and Personnel committee meeting was called to order by committee chair Aaron Bridges uh Rob McDaniel shared an update on the 2025 2026 budget planning process at this time we have no information from the general assembly related to the budget but we have been told that ncdpi uh did not anticipate employee raises we expect an increase in the State Health Plan premiums we are seeing an increase in the cost of outside services and products at the March committee meeting we will bring a draft 2025 2026 budget for review the committee discussed budget topics and projections Ginger Jackson shared invoices for renewals of two software programs the first invoice is for Frontline Aesop which is our attendance and substitute teacher software in the amount of $4,875 53,5 1989 C since both of these contracts are below 75,000 they do not require board approval and are presented for information only the committee supported renewal of these contracts Mr McDaniel shared an invoice for a replacement for school buses in the amount of $15,557.71 invoice go to the full board for the approval at the March meeting tonight Mr McDaniel shared budget amendment number one for the 2024 2025 budget uh the committee discussed the revisions and changes in funds the committee unanimously supported the budget amendment and recommended it go to the full board for approval at the next meeting however there are likely to be changes before the March meeting due to Federal money coming in so amendments amend amendments Chang then the full board will need to review make motions and vote to approve uh with no new business the meeting was adjourned and the next finance and Personnel committee meeting is scheduled for Wednesday March 26 2025 at 11:45 a.m. thank you Mr Bridges next on the agenda is the school bus replacement that does come from committee uh any discussion time we get some of these school buses replaced people don't realize how much one school bus cost to not in today not in today's world all right all those in favor you raise your hand any opposed that's 9 to zero all right next on the agenda is the budget amendment one I think there may have been a change or two on that since the Personnel committee uh Dr fiser do you or Mr Rob uh want to address that change thank you Mr chairman members of the board uh as Mr Bridges mentioned in his reading of the minutes there was a budget amendment presented at the subcommittee uh there's been some minor changes mostly some Revenue coming in from the state in the federal government so those are the only changes that have been and when those revenues are received or released to us we have to budget those that that would be reflective of the changes that have occurred since me it's always a good thing when we get money yeah all right the original budget amendment was in your packet he's explained to you that basically the only changes are we've received some state and federal federal funding so all in favor of the budget amendment one I need a motion in a second make a motion all right Mr Bridges Mr fiser okay all those in favor that's 90 all right thank you all right Personnel report uh you all had the Personnel reports in your information uh we'll need a motion in a second I'll make a motion Mr Mr Blandon made the motion Mr Bridges second the motion all in favor that's N9 to zero all right safety and operations Mr Sperling February 24th safety and operations committee meeting was called to order by chairman Walter Sperling Rodney borders provided a school safety Grant update we have received 753 th000 for Sr this is less less than the this is less than in the future but we are excited to receive the money we are continuing to wait for the approval of the safety equipment portion of the grant Dr fiser shared information related to The Eagle Scout project by a I think uh I think there's a correction there it's not a Burns High student it's a uh or is it a Burns High student for for CER Elementary okay uh this training or this training will cover tourniquet training and active shooter training for the staff of CER relevant law enforcement and some District staff Mr Sperling asked for agency reports Sergeant Travis Lee shared some updates from the Cleveland County Sheriff's Department Scott Patterson shared a safety update from the district level Dr Fisher shared proposed updates to policy uh 1510 school safety related to threat assessment protocol and processes Dr Jennifer wer and and Chip chers shared the capital projects report the committee reviewed the report and which will be attached to the board's agenda at their March meeting as an information item Dr Wampler shared that maintenance is looking at two major HVAC projects for this summer one is an HVAC unit replacement at Kings Mountain High School on the band in por Hall and the other is h factor control Replacements at Crest Middle both of the projects are in the design phase and will be bid out in the next month and then will come to the board for approval operations is hoping to fund the Crest Middle project in in part using funds from the public school building repair and renovation fund and is submitted is submitting an application to do so Jamie C Courier uh shared a recommendation to to re-extend the milk bid to fet Dairy and food and the food bid to Gordon Food Service for the 2025 2026 school years bid information was shared the bid for pet da is 535,000 $258 78 and the bid for Gordon Food Service is 3, 38,1 15610 the committee discussed the bid process and unanimously supported the recommendation and it will go to the full board for approval in March Miss Courier and Robin Daniel shared the current Child Nutrition procurement plan which will be reviewed as part of an upcoming audit the committee reviewed the plan and supported the plan it will go to the full board for approval in March Brian McCullen requested that the board declare a a list of vehicles for Trans from Transportation as Surplus this list contains 19 vehicles with more than half being DWI seizure seizure Vehicles the committee supported this recommendation and it will go to the full board for approval in march with no new business the meeeting was adjourned the next safety and operations committee meeting is scheduled for Monday March 24th 2025 at 11:45 a.m. thank you Mr Sperling next on the agenda is the approval of the oh yes sir yes uh on uh our operations and things I want to just make sure that we that we're putting our bids out to allow every body to beid that can that wants to be that that we advertise it out there to where the door is open for other people to put bids instead of just a certain few okay instead of just sending emails put it out there advertise it so that we might could get uh you know better prices uh and you know put the competition let the competition roll thank you thank you for your comments uh superintendent I assume you heard Mr blandon's concerns thank you all right anything else for okay all right Child Nutrition and milk food bid uh that came from committee for approval any discussions on that would you explain that Mr chairman of what that bid is how it compares to yes sir about three years ago we put out bids to everyone that does milk at this level uh pet came in with the best bid state law allows us for through four years four years to renegotiate that same price from the time we got that bid until four years which the committee felt that if we rebid it everybody was going to come in higher with today's inflation if you rebid it you have to take the lowest on the rebid so we agreed that pet was probably the lowest it was negotiated 3 years ago after four years we have to re bid it okay so we don't have a choice after four years but considering inflation and everything we didn't think we'd get a better bid than the 5 35,000 so that's where that bid comes from but after next year we have to rebid it so so that is so that means the bid that we've got is the same as it was three years ago yes yes that's correct did that answer your question okay that's right all right thank you sir uh any other questions all right all those in favor that's N9 to zero Child Nutrition procurement plan that also comes from committee uh any questions all those in favor that's 90 can I make a quick comment about that not a question uh I just want to uh uh be transparent to everybody the the full committee got a copy of that that's why there's not a lot of questions right now because everybody has had two weeks to review uh that plan not just to everybody got a right everybody got everybody got a copy of that plan okay all right next is the transportation surplus vehicles uh that came from committee also any discussion on that okay as I think your note stated that you drink and drive in this County there's a good possibility School assistant going to have your car to sell I don't encourage drinking and driving all those in favor that's N9 to zero all right next on the agenda is education programs and policy Miss Sherman okay thank you the February 25th educational programs and policy committee meeting was called to order by chairman Ron unre pauler shared head start January Financial reports a recent policy Council report the final draft of their head start Grant application which is due at the end of March and the Head Start status report the committee supported the Head Start agenda items which will go to the full board for approval at their March meeting Dr Steven Fisher reviewed policy 3450 class rankings which was given to the board for a first read in February and will be up for approval at their March meeting no feedback or changes were reported Dr fiser LED in a review of policies policy 6100 goals and organization of student health Services 6120 student health services 6125 administering medicines to students 6125 as well regulations one two and three related to the administration of medication to students 6127 emergency EpiPen a auto injector devices 6130 automated external defibrillator and 5020 visitors to schools these policies were reviewed as part of the committee's ongoing review of board policy manual and are in the 6000 section which is student service support services no changes were recommended to these policies by the committee Dr Fisher Dr fiser Leah sink and Dr Jennifer Wampler led the committee in a discussion of policy 1510 school safety this policy contains legal updates related to threat assessment protocols and processes after discussion the committee approved changes to the full board for a first read in March and approval in April Dr fiser reviewed the Lead Teacher plan with the committee the plan was originally shared with all board members at their February work session the Lead Teacher model is proposed for traditional high schools and restart elementary schools the committee unanimously supported this plan and recommended that it go to the full board for approval in March Ginger Jackson and Dr Jason Parker shared invoices for renewals of the following instructional programs infrastructure which is canvas reading Horizons in wit and wisdom the renewal the renewal for infrastructure or canvas is $ 36,400 since the renewal is below 75,000 it does not require board approval and is presented for information only the renewal invoice amount for wit and wisdom is 9,478 42 these these are two invoices for approval related to the reading Horizons program Dr Parker explained in detail what is included in each of these invoices the first reading Horizon's invoice for $1 17,1 314 4 and the second for $ 96,2 3658 the reading Horizons and Wht and wisdom renewals require board approval the committee unanimously supported these renewals and they will go to the full board for approval at their next meeting with no additional new business the meeting was adjourned the next educational and policy committee meeting is scheduled for Tuesday March 25th 2025 at 11:45 am thank you Miss Sherman next on the agenda is the Head Start items that does come from a committee there's any questions I have a question yes sir under the uh expense area if you look down about maybe Midway furniture and Equipment capitalized and then furniture and Equipment shows that the budget is 78,79 [Music] $2 uh for the furniture and equipment $934 what kind of equipment on furniture are we look looking at Dr Fisher would you like to address that I don't know specifically I didn't think you would uh Head Start I I don't Mr leford I apologize but I don't know where you're pulling those numbers from I'm pulling it right under the expenses report for uh financial report for Head Start January 2025 and it shows the U uh furniture and Equipment capitalized 78 annual budget $ 78,79 budget well I guess it's still then there I don't think anything's been uh used out of it the other one was 9,343 uh $ 6,189 has been used and $3,153 left I don't know what kind of furniture equipment we're talking about is that in finance and Personnel this came under this he's reading under the head Mr you know those are things that are expended through the Head Start program those are federal Head Start dollars that are allocated for Miss Pet's programs in our head start classes that are administered all all over our district so this whole budget is coming from federal and not state or not local the vast majority of Head Start Head Start dollars would be federal dollars yes sir that's why there's such a great concern if the government shuts down there's a big concern for Head Start because that funding would stop okay okay I'm just wondering what kind of furniture we got I mean I was thinking we had we would keep Xtra on hand as far as in case somebody needed it desk or you're probably reading from a code there Mr leadford that that incompasses a lot and I'm just going off you know what you're reading there but you're probably looking at a code of of funds that could be spending any one of these um object areas so it it may be that they're ordering furniture for 4-year-old um it may be that to ordering new materials for foury olds there's a pretty wide range of of things that could be ordered into those Federal codes from now those are specific questions we really need to dive into Head Start program with those things it also says equipment so I would guess that's computers TVs everything the headstock program they they fund their head start I mean it's it's a it's a self for the most part a self-funded uh initiative with with Ved Head Start program Mr leford if it would be okay with you I'll just have the chair of that to ask the head start next time if they can give you some information on that fine and like I like like it indicated on you know on my Friday updates any questions you have ahead of time uh it's a lot easier to get that person who who deals with that program on a daily basis that that can answer those questions from a fine to detail okay all right good enough all right uh I think I was ready for the vote was all any other questions all right all in favor you have a motion that came from committee Comm oh okay sorry yeah I think that's 90 okay all right next on the agenda is policy 3450 uh this does come from committee uh as approval it is the uh classification new classification class ranks class ranks yes class rankings uh it was on last for first read um so any discussion all those in favor that's N9 to zero all right this next one is policy 1510 this is first read no no action required tonight just to let you know if you need to review that policy and have any questions reach out to Mr umpr he can uh explain the changes to you the next comes from I still didn't get my policy reviewed yet that I requested which one which one the one on student on the visitation did you did you just read the minutes to the meeting it was in the minutes it was in the meetings okay next is uh Lead Teacher plan uh this does come from committee um for approval any questions on that I think we all were given an IND in detail um presentation on what this was at our Retreat so any other questions if not all in favor that's nine to zero all right next is wit and wisdom renewal this also comes from committee any questions on that yes sir yes I'm hearing a lot of people say we need to go back to some old schooling about our accounting and our reading and our uh math and or and the whole nine yards then uh and I'm not throwing off any On Any teacher they're doing the best they can with it but uh uh you know with our low performing and uh we got news from Shelby Daily Star this week it came out that I don't take and I don't like that so but uh we need to we need to make some changes somewhere to to see if we can't make things better uh in our school when you say old school do you me we just need to do I think we need to go back to some doing some old schooling on there kindergarten 1 second and third fourth grade old school and that cursive writing our kids need to know how to sign a check uh when they come move out uh when they graduate and uh by the law there are law in place that they're supposed to be able to do cursive writing when they leave third fourth grade if I'm not mistaken okay thank you all right thank you for your comments um if you find a curriculum that's old school I'd love to hear it I mean 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 okay 1999 98 97 96 95 94 9392 that was a pretty good curriculum I wasn't being smart I'm I was just just just a question so um it are you saying our third graders can't count 1 2 3 4 5 and that's I'm W to go I'm just war no no no no no no no no let's let's not get into that all right thank thank you for your comments all right next uh all right we're at the vote on the wit and wisdom okay all in favor that's 90 all right reading Horizons renewal uh that does come from committee uh any questions on that all right all in favor 90 all right at last meeting I asked Dr fiser if he'd put together resolu solution to support the Starbase uh program that we have I had a opportunity last year year before last to go down to Charlotte with these kids and it was one of the best things to incorporate stem that I've seen so at this time I would ask Dr fiser if he would come up and read that resolution and once that resolution is read if you are if you like it I need a motion in a second and we'll vote on it okay all right Mr Fish Dr Fisher thank thank you Mr chairman members of the board as uh we discussed last month or after last month's meeting uh in the excellent presentation we had with Starbase and the information there uh and many of you saw that today uh when you visited Jefferson you saw the Starbase people uh they on site and they were going to shoot off their Rockets later uh this morning and I'm assuming that went well at their school so upon your direction we have drafted a resolution in support of Starbase and Starbase funding uh you've got to copy that that in your packet and you've uh seen that uh just real quickly whereas the Star based program is highly effective and impactful stem which is science technology Eng engineering and Mathematics initiative designed to engage with students in Hands-On inquiry based learning that promotes critical thinking problem solving and creativity and whereas Starbase has successfully provided fifth grade students especially those from rural and underrepresented communities with the opportunity to explore and gain skills in stem Fields empowering them to consider future careers in these areas and fostering a lifelong interest in learning and whereas the Star based program aligns with Cleveland County School's educational goals of preparing students for success in a rapidly evolving Global Workforce by providing exposure to real world applications of stem Concepts and Technologies and whereas numerous Studies have demonstrated the positive impact of Star based of Star based program on student performance confidence and engagement in stem subjects as well as its ability to increase a representation of diverse groups in science and engineering fields and whereas the continued success of Starbase depends on consistent and sufficient funding to maintain program quality accessibility and expansion to more students across Cleveland counties and whereas the investment in Starbase ensures that Cleveland County students are better prepared to succeed in high school postsecondary education and the workforce supporting both individual student outcomes and the broader goals of Economic Development and innovation in our community and state now therefore be it resolved that the Cleveland County School strongly supports the continued and full funding of the Starbase program to ensure its continued success and expansion in our district and be it further resolved that the Cleveland County Schools recommends the full funding of the Starbase program at the Fe Federal level advocating for sust forain excuse me advocating for sustainable Financial commitment that guarantees the program's longevity and its ability to all St availability to all student students particularly those in underserved and rural areas be it further resolved that Cleveland County Schools encourages State local and federal leaders to prioritize funding for the Star based program and recognize its essential role in fostering the ne next generation of stem leaders and innovators adopted by the Cleveland County Board of Education this 10th day of March 2025 all right y'all have heard the resolution do I hear a motion second Mr Blandon Mr Bridges I'd like to make a statement right there all right discussion okay uh I made a phone call after they were in here and we had a presentation and I was at Jefferson today and they are really doing something great for our schools and the federal government by my understand had stopped and our state picked up for when the federal left off and but they're not going to be able to do it on all on their own they hoping that they're going to send the money down from the feds to help with that so I I I sent a text to our congressman and asked him to push them up there to keep sending money down I i' done it as myself not as a board I done it because that is really doing something you should have seen how the kids were today at Jefferson School with uh with that thing if we get our kids interested in things we need to keep it some way shape or form and so uh I also talked to our representative from this County uh Dar and I think one of the other board members uh sent to our speaker to try to keep that program iner schools and add to it thank you Mr blon all right uh we have a motion in a second all those in favor if You' raise your hand that passes N9 to zero Dr Fisher if you will St right where you're at and give us an update please thank you Mr chairman just a few updates um we did have a wonderful board visit at Jefferson today not only did we see the Star based program we got to see really good reading literacy instruction uh in kindergarten in first grade um it was really neat and coordinated to see uh Dr Parker rep uh recognize our letters trainers and and talk about that today and then it was uh pretty neat to to go ahead and approve uh some of our uh curricular programs uh today uh when you saw those in action this morning so that was really a really neat visit appreciate uh continued support with those School visits uh just a couple of reminders upcoming events uh that are highlighting our calendar uh teaching Excellence award is tomorrow night um at 6:30 to the Grand I hope you've got that on your calendar and planning to 10 um that's always a great evening uh Elementary honors course is March 13th Burns at Burns High School at the auditorium at Burns High School we're excited to expand that um to to to the burns Community this year uh looking forward to a great night um with Elementary honors chorus Friday is a teacher work day and it's K day it's a big day in in the life of our school uh Dr Parker's team uh and our elementary folks are preparing for that um on Friday we do have a robot our robotics competition I appreciate the support of Alamar with that that is Friday March 28th uh we'll have students on campus here all day but the awards are at 1:00 that day um so uh you you will uh being for treat seeing that if you want to come over and see those robot runs during the day you're more than welcome to do that our tired to one parent advisory council meeting is Friday April 4th at 10:00 that's in staff development that will last from about 10: till about 12 lunch is included we invite you to attend that if you'd like um it brings us to April which April 7th is our next board School visit and that's a Township 3 element we'll see uh some really good instruction there at Town 3 that morning and we do have a board meeting many you say well that's not the second Monday we always meet on the second Monday well the second Monday is the beginning of Spring break so uh you see spring break April 14th through 21st uh this year spring break is the week before Easter and we're out Easter Monday um as well so Mr chairman that gets us a a little more than a month out um it's hard to believe we're on Friday I mentioned Friday is teacher work day and K day but Friday is kind of that end of the third nine weeks as we end third nine weeks we come back to school next Monday we'll enter that fourth nine weeks that home stretch for the rest of the school year um and uh be remiss if I didn't just continue to draw your attention to the senior Scholars banquet uh that is the uh big event that the Educational Foundation puts on all year our foundation does a wonderful job of supporting lots of different events including tomorrow night's teaching excellence awards uh but the a Mickey Church scholarships are this year as you know have been moved to $1,000 for a long time it's been $500 a child and those scholarships are increased to $11,000 I appreciate the work of I know some of you are on the Educational Foundation and and that work is is ongoing there so just want to bring attention to that Mr chairman that's my report for tonight okay thank you sir next on the agenda is our public participation uh before we begin Mr Bridges would you please read the rules yes public comment should not address any any specific confidential student or Personnel matter specific concerns related to confidential student or personel matter should be directed to the super artisent design comments must be relevant to matters that are within the authority of the board speakers shall refan from personal attacks or threats directed towards staff elected board members or members of the public speakers shall be courteous in their language and presentation insults profanity use of vulgar language or G gestures or other inappropriate behavior are not allowed the board vests in its chair and presiding officers uh authority to terminate the remarks of any individual when he or she does not adhere to the rules established above any person who willingly interrupts or disturbs a board meeting may be directed to leave the meeting by the Pres presiding officer any person who refuses to leave may be prosecuted for disrupting a public meeting persons appearing before the board are reminded as a point of information uh that the members of the Cleveland County Board of Education are without authority to act independently as individuals and official matters immediate answers are not generally generally possible and must be deferred pending investigation and consideration by the full board thank you Mr Bridges first Speaker I have for tonight is Mr Rob [Applause] [Applause] pal members of the board my name is Rod Powell and I'm here to defend the rights of our students the rights that are being violated by the this board's decision to censor the activism Club at Shelby High School let's get straight to the point a group of students wanted to host a trivia game about lgbtq plus figures in history just a game no different than any other educational activity held by other clubs but instead of treating them fairly this club shut them down calling it indecent since when is learning about history indecent since when it's acknowledging the existence of lgbtq people something to be censored this isn't just wrong this is illegal the equal access Act is clear if one student Club is allowed they all must be treated equally the first amendment guarantees students the right to free speech and free association the board has singled out lgbtq plus topics for suppression and that is discrimination but let's talk about the real harm here when you erase lgbtq plus voices you're telling students our students that their identities don't belong in school that message is cruel and we know where it leads lgbtq students already face higher rates of depression and suicide when they don't feel safe and supported silencing them only makes it worse this board has a choice you can stand on the wrongs side history censoring excluding and harming your own own students or you can uphold the law respect their rights and allow this club to exist without interference students deserve better do the right thing let them speak let them learn let them belong thank you thank you Mr pal next I have Lisa Martin [Applause] hello I'm Lisa Martin I have h four children in the Kings Mountain School District and three of them go to kmms and a couple weeks ago I sent an email to the board with all of my um issues I heard back from Danny Blandon and I appreciate that and I also heard back from Dr Fisher and we met last Thursday and had a conversation at the beginning of the school year I have three kids that are at the middle school and they came back constantly saying it feels like we're going to jail I don't like going to school they constantly would come up with excuses of why they didn't want to go I made a phone call to Mrs Nichols the principal and uh we had a conversation and she seemed like she was on board she was like what else can we do let's try to make this better make it easier for the kids by November I really hadn't seen any improvements I was now hearing that the kids were getting silent bus they were getting silent lunch they were getting uh in trouble uh the strikes for using the bathroom at the lunch hour uh and when they would go into the school in the mornings they sit into the c or into the gym and they can't go find their friends they have to sit in line with the people they walk in with so I tried to uh I went to the school before Thanksgiving and I ended up talking to the two assist principles I felt like they were on board with me they said that there was a group out there that was parents teachers and students and they they were trying to you know communicate throughout the schools I said great I would love to hear about it I have some ideas I never heard from them again I I had two follow-up emails in December and I never heard them again I also went to the school in January and said I wanted to meet with Mrs Nichols she agreed to a meeting I met with her and uh when I showed up to the school she was sick that day no one called me to cancel no one called me to reschedule the sports communication is also terrible I had a son in soccer last year we didn't know if he made the team or not until the day of the first practice they called and said where's your son I said I didn't know he made the team then this year he tried out again and the night before the first practice I was again trying to find out had he made the team I was calling around I talked to the uh a few parents and got in touch with the uh the coach and he didn't make the team this year track is the same way my daughter's in track right now um the lockers were removed at the beginning of this year and I don't really understand that there was no parent input no student input the health issues behind this really scare me the extra weight all day cell phones in their pockets metal detectors were then thrown in there as well no conversation with the parents no one had any input to any of that I just hope that we can work together and get the communication better between the families and the schools so that we all know what's going on from you know the beginning of this to the end because I'm very frustrated thank you thank you Miss Martin next Austin cner hello everyone um my name is is Austin cner um I recognize that during these public from Mars you guys hear a wide list of concerns but today I would like to speak to you about the significance and impact of lgbtqia plus individuals within our society as well as a percentage of students enrolled in both on North Carolina and Cleveland County School System uh this community has made significant contributions to society in various Fields including culture politics entertainment and advocacy individuals within this community have played a pivotal role and shaping the world we live in they produce works that challenge societal norms and explore identity acceptance and The Human Experience members have fought for civil rights advocating for changes and laws and policies for example The Stonewall rights of 1969 which were a pivotal moment in the fight for lgbtq plus rights and help lead the formation of advocacy groups such as the Human Rights Campaign and the land legal fund this activism has influenced broader human rights movements over time more lgbtqi plus individuals has entered politics helping to shape public policies that protect not only the rights of this community but others outside of it this community has also made significant contributions to mental health field specifically in developing support systems for individuals facing challenges related to their sexual orientation and gender identity which might I add is an issue from many individuals here in Cleveland County and no one wants to discuss difficult topics because it would go against a traditional Southern belief and religion it is important to recognize that discussions about these community members and issues that they face are not indecent nor do they pose a threat to our students however I would like to raise the question not for an answer but to provoke thought if it is indecent to discuss sexuality or notable figures in our society that identify with this community is it not also indecent to still in 2025 allow white teachers White staff and white students to use derogatory terms that reference black individuals in lessons and classroom discussions all for the sake of curriculum qualifications um in North Carolina one in five students between middle and high school identify with this community and specifically in Cleveland County alone 99.2% of Youth are between the ages of 13 and 17 that identify as lesbian gay or bisexual with less than 1% identifying as transgender yet this community is notoriously attacked LGBT TQ Community is a part of American History North Carolina history and Cleveland County History yes right here in Cleveland County gay people exists it is imperative that we do not attempt to erase or marginalize this community anymore the mission of this board is to cultivate Excellence by providing student centered exceptional educational experiences a challenge all students by denying the upcoming generation in Cleveland County to Rite to exercise and recognize their knowledge it would be doing them a disservice thank you guys for hearing me out today thank you m [Applause] next I have Ron McCulla good evening board I'm Ron McCollum from londell uh I can't add much more than what rod and uh Austin said but um I spent 20 years in Cleveland County Schools and there was a time not too long ago that we talked about not only queer folk but about black folks about poor folks about the places everybody came from I sponsored some of those clubs for 10 consecutive years I sponsored a violence prevention Club violence is an issue related to these kids too it is whether you believe that at school or in our society you know I heard it mentioned earlier that that violence safety and the sheriff and the current police chief won't agree with me on this but engagement with students and staff is the major deterrent to violence in schools we got one principal sitting on the board I think you'll agree with me so I'm saying that to say and I'm saying this despite the current po uh politics um we have to create a space for folks to belong you're censoring students I was in uh Shelby High 10 years ago I worked for the farmers market they had a a safe space it shallel be high 10 years ago 10 years ago and no one complained Not only was it attended by uh gay lesbian transgender whatever but also their allies so I I want this board to take seriously this is a mental health issue it is a school safety issue it is a community safety issue and finally and this may surprise yall looking across the you got queer folks working in your schools on every level and that may shock you and I and I say that with the fear that now you're going to start having folks have to say as the military used to say don't talk don't tell so please please pay attention for your staff's sake for your students sake and this community sake thank you for your time thank you Mr [Applause] M that's all the public comments that I have it's are Eugie Ross okay sorry about that I apologize come on come on up hello my name is Jenny Ross and I am a graduate of Crest High School as well as a parent and an aunt and a sibling of many CCs students I'm here tonight to publicly voice my support of the activism Club at Shelby High School exercising their free speech by hosting a game Rec recognizing the contributions of lgbtqia plus individuals I was very dismayed and quite honestly ashamed to read the letter from superintendent Fischer characterizing this game as indecent lgbtq plus people not only exist but add value to our society and whether you choose to acknowledge it or not they exist in our schools and add value to the schools as well what is indecent is belittling this entire group of people again including our very own students it is indecent to do the students of CCS a disservice by limiting their ability to discuss the diversity that makes this community Thrive it is also indecent to close schools in the Shelby City Zone with no plan for dealing with the overcrowding it is indecent to entertain removing books about Ruby Bridges from your curriculum because someone called it critical race Theory it is indecent for a board member to post on Facebook that he supports ice raids in our elementary schools I commend the student who has refused to back down and I look forward to seeing her case succeed I'm proud of you I hope in the future Cleveland County Schools will be on the side of liberty and justice as well thank [Applause] you just double checking again I apologize I didn't do that on intentionally all right that's all that I see all right next is public uh board member comments if any board member wants to take a couple minutes and say say something uh please raise your hand miss shman all righty I'll start um first of all I want to say that I thoroughly enjoyed the visit today to Jefferson Elementary it was um amazing as always um I wanted to say I I always notice the minute I walk in the door of a school you can tell immediately what the climate is for the students and the staff and um from the first step in there I think everyone that was able to attend today would agree um I want to commend the principal that it's obvious he is an instructional leader he knows what's going on in his school he's familiar with his students and staff and um it's just amazing to see that happen um I want to thank Dr Parker for the letters overview and um also the facilitators I've had my the opportunity to work with um most of the facilitators that um you have now currently and they are um great and um I know that a lot of these things we put into place the restart initiative the Lead Teacher initiative I'm excited about those things they will make a difference I want to encourage all the teachers across Cleveland County Schools to continue to push forward um there are many many things that take place that a test score does not reveal and but however all of those things go into that student and um I want to encourage this time of year is kind of a hard time of year when Christmas is over and it's a while till spring break but keep pushing forward and believing in your students and um good things will happen you will see success and I'm looking forward to seeing I feel like we'll see some great successes this school year because of the initiatives that are in place and of course the great staff that we have so thank you and we'll I'll just stop with that and I'm I'm I'm proud of everyone and thanks to everyone that came tonight and also spoke thank you m sh I don't mind going next um I guess as I sit here and listen I've received a lot of letters this past week uh emails and uh for those folks I have read them I'm with you I stand behind you I'm a center sitting here saved by grace and I don't mind admitting that for my Lord Jesus Christ last week I spoke about wondering why we didn't have more participation from schools from directors here in the uh board meeting I checked with some of my colleagues that I was on the board with prior and used to we did have uh principles represented at each board meeting when I talked I said that there were we should have more directors or assistant superintendents or Associates I don't know if the camera can pan over this way but we have assistant superintendent Associates and directors sitting here they come just about every board meeting and I was wrong on that I don't mind admitting it if I'm wrong I'll tell you and so I apologize to them if I offended them in any way I do hope we can get more uh we've got a lot of principles out there we've got a lot of assistant principles out there and at as you look at schools why I think it's good to to know what's going on at your board meeting we represent you and that is our responsibility to do what you want and to do what you say not necessarily all the time what we want because you're the ones that give us the guidance so with that Mr chairman I will stop uh I did not get to attend the meeting today I had a conflict or the I'm sorry the uh visit this morning I had a conflict and I could not uh get out of it but uh maybe next time thank you for your comments and and I always say it takes a true man sometimes to apologize and I'm sure the staff appreciate that I appreciate that and I admire you for doing that sir anybody else Mr blon well uh U Miss Martin brought up my name and she did call me and I directed her through the steps to follow the steps to go through and I guess she directed to uh Dr Fisher and uh that anybody that calls me I will tell you the steps to follow my phone is always on cuz I work for everybody in Cleveland County my phone's on 24/7 uh I don't care if you call me at 2:00 the morning I'll probably be awake don't sleep well but uh but I will tell you you have to follow the steps go through the through the guides uh if you tell me what your if you say what you're needing I just send you right on to where you need to go whether it's the transportation whether it's athletic director whether it's Mr borders and then if you're not satisfied you'll end up with uh with our superintendent Dr Fisher and uh but I did have a good visit today at Jefferson uh I like that stars program but uh I like anything that has something to do with our service you know uh I got a fellow a service man sitting over here beside me but when it comes to military that right there will make children think you know at a small age to maybe to get in Roc that is one more fine program that we do have in our school district is Roc and you learn if you don't get it all at home you'll get it in that class cuz we got some pretty stout yes s and no Serv and yes ma'am and no ma'ams in that in that class uh uh Mr Davis uh he is one of the ones at Crest High School and um he they do a marvelous job thank you thank you for your comments Mr blon is that you don't have to say anything I'm just say raise your okay go ahead so um first of all I'd like to congratulate our two students on their spell and be successes uh what what an achievement that's awesome thank you for teachers and and uh helpers that helped them through that process congratulations to their parents uh that shows a lot with the parents uh congratulations and thank you very much to our letters teachers um you are are leading the way and uh so I'd like to say a big thank you not not not as much congratulations as thank you for doing what you're doing um uh so uh Mr Blandon was talking about our RC program uh I uh it's no it's no lie that I support highly our CTE programs but I also really support our our rooc program uh my military background I'm I'll tell you uh getting these uh getting these students involved in a program like that even if they don't go in the military it teaches them values and and worth ethic and problem solving that will last them a lifetime uh so a lot of students think they oh if I go into ROTC I got to go into military you don't but it will it will give you a lot of tools in your toolbox uh like to congratulate Burns High School recently they got an Excellence on their uh help me Dr fiser it's not an inspection it was a uh evaluation uh receip Burns High School evaluation by the the Air Force itself uh they earned an Excellence so congratulations to them um uh I would I I encourage you all to to support that program uh overwhelmingly thank you thank you Mr sparland okay Mr Bridges so I want to start off by telling um all of our teachers and staff um thank you for what you do uh you come coming every day um our teachers do a phenomenal job um I read an article before I came today and it seems there are people and there are outlets in our community that want to tear our schools down and so people don't understand low performing does not mean that our teachers aren't doing their jobs um low performing means that students just aren't performing at test levels from the state that doesn't mean our schools and our teachers aren't working diligently hard um yes we've got nine low performing schools um but those teachers do a great job every day they come in and they give it what they have um and I'm tired of seeing people try to tear our schools down in this community um and our teachers work hard our students come to school every day and they work hard um do we have room to grow absolutely is anything perfect no there's nothing perfect um there's nothing perfect in our community there's nothing perfect in our world education as a whole as in America has declined it's not just in Cleveland County uh co uh happened that took a big effect in in in school and and students lost a year of learning um so I just want people to understand when you read low performing that does not mean that our teachers are not busting it every single day um that does not mean that our students are not learning and they're not growing the growth is there um they're doing phenomenal but it's based off test scores that come from the state um I have students in and in Clen County schools and I tell you uh tests do not define who my kids are um and tests will not def find what cland County Schools is so I want to say thank you to all of our teachers and staff um and and and our board people you know there's a lot of things that we can't control on this school board we listen to concerns um and I think just from the people that are up here I mean we do the best that we can but I just want to say thank you to all of our Educators all of the staff and teachers and and and and just look outside the box just because something says low performing doesn't mean that student or that teacher is not doing what they're supposed to do because they are um we did a school visit today and walking into classrooms the teachers in Cleveland County Schools they give it their all every day they come in and they have difficult situations whether it be a child that's having a bad morning we we saw a student come in he was crying this morning had a bad morning and the teachers have to deal with that on top of teaching our students um so I just want to to say thank you Cleveland County Schools for what you do for my students uh for my kids and for the students in this community thank you thank you Mr Bridges I'll just say this in closing uh kind of piggybacking off of what Mr Bridges just said I I got a call today from someone in the system saying the uh morale with the teachers was very low because of all this negativity uh teachers principls administrators bus drivers anybody involved in the school system stay off Facebook and stay away from the Star they always don't have all the facts exactly right you're going we going always have people that's going to try to destroy this system I don't care if we come up and said every one of them was A+ you're going to still have some negative people that's going to find something wrong that's just how people are that's how humanity is but I hear you I support you you'll never see me on Facebook saying anything negative about our school system I will not I will try to come up with Solutions and address it with these folks up here uh as I always said negativity breathes negativity and positivity breathes positivity and I want to Le End by saying one positive thing I went to Jefferson today and I believe Mr Bridges can agree with me on this they give out these little bees and I put this little bee on one of them little girls in the classroom I was in and you'd have thought I gave her a million dollars the smile on that child's face made my day so I'm going to wear it at least the rest of the night till I get home but that just made my day God bless all of you thank you for coming do I hear a motion to adjourn I heard Mr Sperling and I heard Mr Bridges all in favor