I'm going call to meeting the order it's 5:30 we're going to go ahead and call to meeting the order and uh 1.2 uh Mr Hudson's got the mission statement bord County Schools will provide quality educational programs and services to ensure student academic and Vocational success 1.3 Mrs Walker's got the Pledge of Allegiance and moment of silence I do and before I do that if there is an empty chair beside you behind you in front of you raise your hand so people walking in will know there's an empty seat once you do that if you'll stand and remove your hat if you have one on please I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands one nation under God indivisible with liy and justice for all please remain standing for a moment of silence you may be seated 2.1 uh the boards have the agenda we need to approve of the agenda Mr chairman yes just uh one item I hope I can make it short your mic's not on oh sorry about that one item in the uh the March 6th agenda item 10 just a a little we're on the approval of the agend agenda oh sorry y sorry second all right all in favor say I I all opposed all right now 3.1 all right now we're here um March 6 item 10 which is dealing with uh let's see concerning the school health advisory Council not a big deal it's just just um that's you too a little clarification to make it more correct um I remember when and nothing about about the actual revisions I'm cool with that um but when I asked the question about who the school board member on the school health advisory Council was at that time the answer was no and then later in another meeting I was provided with the um the roster and it turned out there was one on there was going to say anything but um but anyway you know I don't see anything that says you can't have more than one but and I'm still cool with it with being on there um just um want some just fix the factual part of of of the of the minutes on that and uh other than that that that's really the only thing for that but other than that I would like a um kind of a briefing to understand how this Council works for these revisions and all if I'm going to be a council member I don't want just to be a name on a a sheet otherwi you know I want to know what I'm doing right motion to approve is um I have something as well on um on the Beford County School Board meeting article 9 it says that it was a unanimous vote for um passing the Distribution on March 19th is that right which one are you March 6th March 6 yes and that was not a unanimous vote okay I voted against it all right thank you can I get a motion to approve with the corrections so move second all in favor say I I all oppos all right uh 4.1 March Carri Ted uh director of student services Dr termain Young and this month is self-discipline good evening everyone self-discipline demonstrating hard work and commitment to purpose and being in proper control of your words actions impulses and desires first up from Chaka Wendy primary school we have Caleb Jones Caleb has amazed me from day one of this school year he has already met his AR goal of 70 points and even exceeded his goal by 33 points in addition to this he has moved up a level in Lexia pass 38 lessons and already reading with 100% accuracy pass 38 lessons in math with 100% accuracy and on the highest lesson ad mission one of zern in just 5 weeks of school obviously it goes without explaining why chose Caleb for the character trait of self-discipline each morning at 7:30 he comes in unpacks his book bag completes his schoolwork and then diligently Works to complete his goals all of this happening while still maintaining all AIDS in all subject areas each week he is determined to make all things happen and doesn't let anything or anyone interfere with his ability to do do so congratulations kale from BFF Elementary we have NAA sherad Moore self-discipline is a challenging trait to exhibit at any age but especially as a fifth grader Navea has shown great self-control at school while sitting in class during lessons and activities she models self-control for her peers for example she sits at a table of boys who were quite chatty she always reminds them to pay attention in her own quiet way without disrupting or tattling these gentle reminders are usually given after she practice turning or tuning them out during class time NAA has a strong desire to learn and to be the best student that she can be this is evident in the way she practices self-control in the classroom and around the school campus she values her classmates while she also strives to do what is right even when no one is looking it is an honor for the fifth grade team at bath to nominate her to be recognized for her outstanding practice of self-discipline each day from Eastern Elementary we have Turner Overman Turner all right I am honored to nominate Turner for the self-discipline trait he consistently demonstrate self-discipline in the classroom and Beyond he is a dedicated student who works hard to achieve his goals put forth that the best effort controls himself and behave behaves Turner is also a great leader and team player he leads by example encouraging and supporting his classmates while fostering a positive and collaborative environment his enthusiasm for learning shines especially when working on stem projects where his curiosity and problem solving skills truly stand out through his commitment to hard work leadership and teamwork he exemplifies the qualities of self-discipline he is a role model for his years and I'm confident he will continue to inspire others with his dedication and positive attitude from Early College High School we have Andrea aifi Andrea is a freshman at uh buer County early college high school that has maintained self-discipline throughout the school year she is determined to achieve success and continues to focus on achieving her goals even when she is absent she sends all of her teachers emails notifying them of her absences and always ask what she can complete at home she completes the majority of her makeup assignments before returning to school after every single absence she is organized and takes accountability for her own learning she has taken college classes as a freshman and is consistently maintaining an a average in her classes she is an advocate for a peers and a leader both in and out the [Applause] classroom chaky Middle School we have Sariah Whitney Sarah works tirelessly to be the best person she can be she is dedicated to her Pursuits of Athletics and academics she puts in the time and effort necessary to be successful she is driven by incompass with a focus on her goals she is a remark remarkable young lady with an amazing future ahead of her from John Cotton Taylor we have Avery McIntyre a sex an example a great example for peers by following classroom rules and procedures without needing to be reminded to do so her respectful Behavior contributes to a positive learning environment additionally she takes responsibility for her learning by taking the initiative to seek help when needed and demonstrates a strong commitment to improving her skills in reading and math even when faced with challenging tasks she remains determined and does not give up easily she approaches difficult difficulties with a positive attitude and a willingness to try again her dedication and hard work not only benefits herself but also inspires others in the [Applause] classroom from John small we have darari Chapman darari always diligent with completing work and getting work done he knows the importance of getting this work done and prioritizing work over doing things that are more fun even when he would rather be doing other things things he makes sure that his assignments are completed first he listens in class volunteers answers participates in class and tries hard to avoid distractions while in class this school year he has grown shown great progress in showing self-discipline with behaviors if he is frustrated he thinks before speaking or responding and does not react impulsively he has consistently shown improvements in his daily habits and decision making he has done a great job controlling emotions and using strategies to be the best version of himself or seek consistence if needed he does a great job making responsible choices even when nobody is watching he sets personal goals for himself and wants to do better if he has not done as well as he had hoped he would do in a daily performance both academically and functionally his progress with self-discipline helps him succeed and sets a great example for his classmates he is doing a great [Applause] job from Northeast Elementary we have Sophia Bernal yeah Sophia was selected from amongst her peers because of the Independent Drive she has for academic Excellence strong social awareness excellent communication skills goal oriented and results oriented she has Express uh impressed me as a self-disciplined student because she started a band a year behind her peers and has the self-discipline to work harder than her classmates she is one of the best students I teach and one of the best young musicians in middle school she has has high academic standards and great communication skills I have witnessed her peer mentor and helping other students with academic Concepts to further further their understanding of Court Concepts sopia is a definition of self-discipline and self-determination because she strives to maintain High academic standards by keeping up with deadlines and exceeding expectations in the classroom I've observed her working on music that is not formally assigned but helped develop key skills to be a better musician that is the definition of self-discipline in the eyes of a musician great [Applause] job from north side we have Trinity O'Neal I remember Trinity she was my old stud I honored to write this for Miss Trinity O'Neal a senior at Northside High School I've had the privilege of knowing Trinity since she was a small child and throughout the years she has consistently demonstrated remble self-discipline determination and a strong work ethic during the time at North Side I observed her excelling in multiple areas both academically and athletically she has been an active member of our cheerleading team while also competing in soccer and track Trinity's ability to balance her demanding schedule is truly commendable in addition to her academic and athletic commitments she works multiple jobs and selflessly dedicates her time helping her grandmother and Young Brother Daly this semester alone she has taken college courses alongside her High School classes is finishing the cheer season and contributing to the School Musical despite her many responsibilities she continues to demonstrate resilience leadership and a positive attitude she she is an ex shining example of self-discipline and perseverance her ability to manage academics extracurricular activities work and family responsibilities speaks volumes about her character and commitment to success I have no doubt she will continue to thrive in all her future endeavors great job PS Jones we have Julio benavente Julio is a quiet and respectful young man who embodies the spirit of hard work and self-discipline as a member of the honor role he has shown an unwavering commitment to his academic Pursuits his ability to manage his time effectively and prioritize his responsibilities has allowed him to excel in his studies a testament to his resilience and dedication was evident when he faced the unfortunate loss of a close family member shortly after Christmas during this difficult time he missed a week of school upon his return He approached his studies with remarkable determination he worked diligently to make up for the Miss assignments and effectively caught up with his classmates this experience not only highlighted his strong work ethic but also his ability to persevere in the face of adversity I believe his character academic achievements and commitment to self-discipline will make him an asset to our community I'm confident that he will continue to to Excel and contribute positively to any environment he is a part of from Southside we have Jaylen Lee jaylen's self-discipline is evident in its strong work ethic creative projects such as this beautiful African mass and well-crafted Native American house in world history and his confident class presentations he approaches challenges with determination and always brings a positive attitude uplifting those around him as a role model to his peers he leads by example balancing academics Athletics and character with Grace So for his commitment to self-discipline every day I strongly recommend him to represent our school from s SW Snowden we have Isaiah Bullock [Applause] all right lastly Washington High School we have Jasmine I just wanted to say a word about is he's attention had some personal losses a number of them and one immediately we just should put him in our in our thoughts and prayers I think and he's doing a great job with me on all right thank Washington High School we have Jaz Jasmine Figaroa Gutierrez Jasmine works very hard to earn all A's and B's in her classes even with college classes and her course load she still manages her time to play Four Sports now that's self-discipline we are honored to have Jasmine represent our pack my turn yeah you can hang that up all right all right ladies and gentlemen it's my honor to actually bring attention to Dr Tain young Dr Young has been with us for many years now first as a principal at Northeast Elementary School and more recently as our director of student services and you can clearly see he doing a great job with our youth Dr Young was recently completed the aspiring superintendence program for the North Carolina School super tenant association so can you join me in recognizing Dr [Applause] all right keth follow that one in the middle stand so hot off the press this afternoon he don't know we're going to do this so uh our own Dr Cheesman this afternoon has been named Southeast Regional school system superintendent of the [Applause] year your turn God thank you thank you this monthly uh recognition highlights the outstanding student athletes who have demonstrated exceptional dedication sportsmanship and performance in the classroom as as well as on the field or court so as I call your name and read a little bit about you please come forward and get your medal from Southside our female athlete of the month is senior Lily McAn l lily is a three- sport athlete playing volleyball basketball and softball Lily's efforts and play were a huge part of the girls basketball team making the playoffs in softball she has hit the ground running despite limited practice time because the basketball Lily has started the softball season by Leading the team with seven hits including a triple and a Grand Slam in the first two games lill leads by example and makes everyone around her better to go along with being a great athlete Lily's is a excellent student as well she currently has a GPA of 3.5 and has uh recently signed to play softball for the Mid-Atlantic Christian University Mustangs next year woo our male athlete month for Southside is Austin Gerard I don't think he's here all right for North Side our female athlete of the month for is sophomore Sophie Barry I think they are playing in softball tonight actually get SP our male athlete of the month for north side is Junior Malachi Moore Malachi is an exemplary student athlete known for his dedication and work ethic actively participating in football and basketball he demonstrates remarkable commitment to both his athletic and academic Pursuits recently Malachi achieved a career high performance by scoring His Thousand thousandth point in the first round of the High School playoffs vers versus North dupan his continuous growth in the classroom is equally impressive as he sets and reaches new goals in academics with his strong work ethic and focus Malachi is po poised for a bright future not only in athletics but also in academic Endeavors at Northside High School congratulations from Washington our female athletic uh month is sophomore Santi small Santi demonstrates what a model student athlete should be on and off the field as a soccer player she is always ready to play in whatever position she needs for the benefit of the team as a Defender she reads her fellow players as well as the other team to move in the position she needs and often Saves the Day by doing so as an offenseive player Santi will surprise the opposing team with her speed and movement on the field to put the ball in the back of the net Santi is polite and shows good sports SP but is very competitive and strives to push her her and her teammates to win and last the M athlete for washingon is Junior Jackson Harding and they do have a baseball game tonight sir congratulations thank you and that ends um the public recognition for the night um if any of y'all parents and kids want to sneak out before we go to public comment that's up to you are you're welcome to stay or you're welcome to go have dinner congratulations to everybody yeah congratulations yeah I'll reach out to her I'm just giving them all a little time to get out pretty girl ready all righty I think everybody's uh left and and finding the seat that uh that we were at I think does everybody have a seat now all righty we're going to go on with the meeting at 5.1 public comment we got four people that signed up and Dr Cheesman welcome to the bo for County Board of Education meeting uh your presence is welcomed and encouraged by the board we invite comments during the public comment section of the board meeting this time is set aside for the board to hear comments on programs policies and procedures the board typically will not respond to nor take any immediate action on the concern Express but please be assured that the board takes all comments under appropriate advisement in order to conduct the meeting in an orderly and efficient manner the following guidelines have been established persons wishing to speak should have already registered prior to the board meeting by listing their name address telephone number and topic to be addressed to maximize participation comments will be limited to three minutes per speaker yielding time to another speaker will not be permitted a maximum of four speakers will be allowed to speak on any one item the chairman will invite speakers to the podium in the order of which they are registered comments must be issue oriented complaints against any singular employee will not be heard in public session those wishing to leave a written statement may do so uh to place with the meeting minutes public participation is limited to the public comment section so that the board May deliberate important decisions without distraction or interference all righty first on the list tonight was uh Mr Ray lry on topic agendas evening Ray hi Mr Larry I want to talk about agendas a little bit tonight the Boer County North Carina School Board publishes its agenda for their board meetings three to four days prior to scheduled meetings the agendas are published on the BCS website while informative they are not complete there are no attachments available to the public the attachments are viewable by the board members as they have more access than the public voters and taxpayers who do not why is this the BCS polic code 2330 States the following in the second paragraph each board member will receive a copy of the proposed agenda 3 days prior to the meeting and the proposed agenda will be available for public inspection and or distribution when it is it is distributed to the board members this is not entirely complete or accurate if the general public voters and taxpayers had access to the details perhaps they would be informed sufficiently to contact their District board members to offer comments or questions they may even be inspired to attend the scheduled board meetings to observe or comment on the board's Collective and individual comments and actions the policy code 2340 States the following to the extent not provided for in the following procedures and to the extent that the reference does not conflict with the spirit of these rules the board shall refer to suggested rules of procedure for small local government boards by a Fleming Bell II for unresolved procedural issues questions the reference has been updated and is now titled suggested procedural rules for local appointed boards the preference in this publication indicates that addresses changes in regulations com combin some items and is applicable to appointed and elected boards the author of this updated version are Trey Allen III associate Justice North Carolina Supreme Court and a Fleming Bell II from section five of this booklet public inspection the draft agenda and agenda packets except for the materials not subject to inspection or copying under the public records law shall be available to the public when it is or they are ready to be circulated to members the buer County Board of Commissioners publish agendas for their scheduled meetings the agenda packets are included often the agenda packets or attachments exceed 200 pages of information related to the listed agenda items which are typically less than Pages the public voters and taxpayers should expect no less from our elected School Board they can change this in two meetings they just need the support from their voters to do so contact your local Schoolboard representatives and ask them to support this issue thank you thank you R thank you uh next up is Megan bolz uh Snowden School s Snowden good evening Megan how are you doing good good evening members of the board my name is Megan bolz and this is going to be hard I the middle school science teacher the middle school science teacher at Snowden and I'm speaking out today to advocate for the children and families of s SW Snowden I understand that the board is making tough decisions and I respect the challenges of managing the Count's budget however I would like to respectfully raise a point for consider consideration regarding the distance that the board members are expressing concerns about because it highlights a critical issue that impacts our students every day if the distance is too far for board members members to travel to tour our classrooms and speak to the school Community then surely it is too far to ask our children to travel daily bus rides for Rural students are not just a simple inconvenience they are long exhausting and have real impact on the physical and mental well-being of our kids longer bus rides reduce the time available for homework extracurricular activities and family time and will have increased stress levels for our children we know that small rural schools like ours provide a unique and important environment they Foster strong relationships between students teachers and the community and often result in better academic outcomes because students have more individualized attention and support research shows that children in small schools tend to have higher attendance better behavior and Greater Community engagement closing our schools and busting children further will not only strip them of these benefits but will also create a burden on families who already face many challenges the emotional toll the added time on buses and the potential for decreased academic success should not be underestimated I ask you that you reconsider the impact of this decision on the children of s SW snowa these kids are the future of their community and they deserve the opportunity to learn and grow in an environment that is close to their home where they feel safe supported and valued thank you thank you mean [Applause] next up uh David Hudson curriculum hi David David evening I spoke out against the savis curriculum at the school board meeting on February 21st 2023 however it defies logic that after more than 2 years we still don't have an approved social studies curriculum in bord County teachers are creating their own lesson plans utilizing information they find on the internet and other sources but without an approved curriculum to use as a benchmark this leaves room for many issues to arise because we don't know what our students are being taught or if the curriculum complies with BCS curriculum policy one case in point one of my children was being taught a lesson where the information being taught in class was wrong wrong they spoke up in class to the teacher that what was being taught was incorrect my child knew this and stated so to the teacher because they had been to the location where the historical event took place had seen it with their own eyes and knew that what was being taught was incorrect the teacher responded that indeed my child was correct but that was how the teacher was required to teach it so that makes me wonder what is being taught and why is there still no approved curriculum apparently the decision was made to table the adoption of the savis curriculum for a later date this most likely happened because a superintendent got egg on his face for trying to push through a woke curriculum with a weak school board and Reed more public outc you cannot name a name School Board in general there's only one superintendent that's fine it was probably tabled for a later date when the public wasn't watching but unfortunately the decision was made to give up the search completely in order to pursue finding a science curriculum this whole Fiasco is just another example of why doge is needed in public education bureaucracy administrative staff bureaucracy at the county state and federal levels has grown by 88% since 2000 in the same period student and teacher levels have only grown by 8% that means bureaucracy and education has grown at an excessively higher rate than the folks doing the actual educating in classrooms and students being tall we have also seen a continuing decline in school and student performance scores during the same time period that tells me that the bureaucracy has broken and needs much necessary reform the issues with our County curriculum selection process are perfect case in point if the Boer County administrative staff is incapable of choosing more than one curriculum at a time why do you actually doing it appears to me that most of the public and the public that the bureaucrats at the county level this week's School Board are incompetent at best or at worst don't actually care about the education our children receive it is way past time for all of you to do your job furthermore it is way past time for this incompetent School Board to hold the superintendent accountable and provide the oversight and Leadership the people of bofer County expect from you you are failing our teachers our citizens and most importantly our students shame on you all shame on you you next one up is uh Bradley Cannon uh on S SW snow that was a lot um hey Bradley how are you I'm well um my name is Bradley Canon I'm the music teacher at s SW Snowden um thank you for this opportunity just to speak um I'm also up here to advocate for S SW Snowden there's been a lot of speculation concerning whether or not the school would remain open or whether or not it would Clos um I want to really highlight that this is something that is much larger than just the students but what happens to S SW Snowden is ultimately going to affect the town of Aurora overall um over the last few years as a native of Aurora I've seen how our town has taken a lot of heavy blows we lost our grocery store which has forced us to have to travel anywhere between 25 to 30 minutes just to have access to Fresh groceries um we watched as our Medical Center ended up closing as well which meant that a lot of our seniors had to travel great distances just to receive health care so recently we've had a lot of winds um they have approved that a health center would actually be reopened in Aurora and there are talks that there are freshh groceries that are being brought to Aurora as far as like a store location but I feel like the main thing that would really kill the momentum would be is is if our school were to close at this moment so I really want to petition everyone to really consider allowing Aurora or S SW Snowden to remain open because this is the thing that's going to help US expand and rebuild our town there's been a lot of hopelessness um there's a lot of fear going on there's a lot of questions but I'm really believing that we are able to bounce back from a lot of what we're dealing with and we need the help of the board so we're trusting your wisdom we're looking to you for your leadership and we're just asking that you would consider allowing Snowden to stay open thank you thank you brother [Applause] now we're going to go on to the discussion non action uh Vicki Hamill's on the way up for Vi you Pros uh preap pre-apprenticeship program Miss Hamill uh sorry y good evening Miss samil how are you good evening good evening I brought a friend with me tonight he's a good friend to have around yeah and we have uh we have some really great news to share with you um let's see about a year ago I had a member of the community contact me and say hey there's this wonderful thing happening in pit County Schools called trades formers it's a pre-apprenticeship program that allows students in their junior year to begin working with the company they sign with them like they would if they were getting a scholarship to a college and there's press behind it and and great things that go along with it these students move into an apprenticeship program and they're guaranteed a job with the company that they start off with as a junior in high school so modelin electric and Enlighten llc's um Logan modlin came to me and said said hey I don't know anything about public schools I was homeschooled but I know that y'all do great things with working with the community college so Sarah Watson and I set out on a journey to try to make that happen and a year later Meredith Dixon who's in she's with us here Meredith wave thank you Meredith had a conversation with Travis Stevenson who's sitting to my left and they said something about this happening and he said oh wow I was on I was a founding member On The Board of Trade formers but I'm no longer affiliated with anymore I would love to help with that can I call Vicky Hamill so um here to tell you more about what we are doing with this um industry based nonprofit that is working with bord County schools and bccc to make great things happen for kids I introduce to you now Travis Stevenson Don't Clap I thought you were gonna do a lot more than that but um I do appreciate the invitation I apologize for my dress I worked parttime for Dr make piece at uh CMS Athletics um when Meredith and I met I was having lunch with Ros and Grimes one day and these organic conversations that that sometimes just come from nowhere end up in amazing um when amazing things happen um back up a years I do have to talk about trade SWS a little bit to tell you how we made the decisions on founding Boos and where we're going from here it was a very specific trade-based pre-apprenticeship program where pit electric I was CEO of it at the time uh and a couple of other HVAC companies were super focused on trades licensed trades Plumbing electrical mechanical that kind of stuff um it worked very well there there are a lot of significant or larger trades based companies in pit County um and it really just worked for that County the schools and the way that pck County uh the P Community College was involved when we started the conversation here trying to replicate really or base what Bo Pros is off that model uh we ended up going to the end and reverse engineering it a little bit because the greater Washington bford County area um doesn't have the sustainable companies that FOC focus on trades like we did in pit County so what we did with our conversation Sarah Watson's another name she's not here tonight she is our contact at the community college we decided to look at what we thought were sustainable companies in the Boer County area that had the right kind of career opportunities for our high school students not just a job there are plenty of jobs we hope they get filled you know for the companies that need to hire people here uh but we wanted sustainable companies with career opportunities for our high school kids so we started with the companies and came out with a hit list of 12 to 15 companies um and then we sat down with Sarah and said what certification programs do you currently offer at the community college that pair with these industry Partners whether it's welding CNC Machining process manufacturing boat building so we took the list of companies and we took the list of certification programs and just drew simple lines um and that's what when we decided what we wanted Bo Pros to be which is well will be 501c3 um we're in the process of getting that completed right now once we got to that point my small involvement here on the industry side was Happ knowing a lot of those folks that were CEOs or owners of the those companies uh we started pitching them the concept of and this is Bo Pros working with the counselors at the three high schools for now identifying students that are participating hopefully in some type of curriculum that shows they're interested in these kind of potential careers of of you know the certifications we're talking about um so we talked to them their junior year which starts next week is our initial kickoff meeting with students and our Private Industry Partners so we meet we tell them about the companies we tell them about the program we have a follow-up meeting with those that then choose to apply and want to be considered for a Bo proos pre- apprentiship um spot with one of the companies during that meeting we'll have like a I call it speed dating I don't know what else to call it the companies will be around the students will be able to move and talk and do quick interviews learning more about the company telling them a little bit about themselves uh then there's a selection where our industry Partners will probably in year one only pick one student um and it's a little bit of a um feels like the NBA draft or whatever when we have to talk about kids and ones people won't um but out of the gates our industry Partners is picking more than one is probably too much it is a startup for us here even though we have a decent background um so then we'll we'll pick a kid or place a kid a student with an industry partner who will then have a summer job between their Junior and senior years and then uh which is a way for them to get their feet on the ground the employer to know more about them them to get a better feel of what's going on with that company uh when they go back to school for their senior year they will be taking a spring and a fall class either whether they're join enrolled at Community College it'll be part of their certification program that they're working towards and then when they get that head start their senior year with some more courses towards that certification under their belt they'll graduate and then be employed by our industry partner we will continue to track them um as they start their employment and and continue their certification program and that's where Sarah at the college would continue to have a a hand on them at that point where Vicki is more of the high school liaison and again on the industry side but that's it is engagement summer job senior year certification continuing to work on that be employed with one of our partners and still be a boat Pro until they finish their certification but um that said quickly but I felt like I talked a long time for us um our vision is when we started talking about it this year we were going to wait and start it next year but we lose like 18 months uh so we're fast-tracking it with four Partners modeling's one uh mjm's another one for boat building uh Carver and Oakridge which are on the welding CNC machinist kind of path um they're all four committed they'll be presenting to high school students next week at the community college and by next year I guess or think we'll have 8 to 10 Partners um and then when you replacing 8 to 10 students a year by year three year four we grow the number of kids will have impacted to 4050 and it kind of just really rolls at this point Transformers in pig county has had probably 120 to 130 students passed through the program a lot of them are gainfully employed with partners and when I say gainfully I'll give you an example of we took two students from um connley I think it was eight years ago and they came they came into an electrical company strapped on tools went in the field and worked electrical work continuing to take classes at pck Community College and uh seven eight years later one is a project manager one is an estimator and not to hurt anybody's feelings um those positions pay 70 to $110,000 in the electrical field um and there are other other opportunities similar for welders machinists those kind of things we want to do a better job of not only making sure they're aware of the jobs here so they don't have to go to Greenville or leave our County to have a great career and then lay out a path that makes it really easy for them to start while they're in high school and work straight into a sustainable career with a sustainable bord County company I'll follow that up with a little bit of information about how our startup funds came to be um bfor County Economic Development was given a grant and had some monies they needed to expend so they've given us $1,500 to get started with our marketing we have employed our former Pio Kristen riddle to do some of our marketing for us and take care of all of our social media and billboards to get the word out we'll spend some of the money also on um merchandise for the students we'll get one of those big things that they can stand in front of to take their pictures that says Bo Pros with the logo logo on it but um we're branding this as something that students can buy into as a membership we you are a Bo proo we're holding you to a higher standard we are giving you an opportunity you're signing on for something important you're signing on for something um to help you be successful and that's um that's really powerful our morning rotary thank you uh is she Alicia vosberg um they have also agreed to sponsor Boos for $500 a year and all of the partners that we have that have spoken of will give a minimum of $500 per year to pay for any of the marketing any of the expenses and once again this this will be a 50 uh 501c3 nonprofit that is not associated with bord County Schools is just working in cooperation with bord County Schools so I want to make make sure that we are very transparent about funding and make sure that we were very transparent about how we're working with students and what we're doing because I know you're going to hear about this it was important to come to you tonight and give you some information and that wraps up what we have to say I'm going to pass out a little information sheet as you're calling on the next person Vicki um yes sir well this the students that are working on these certifications will they get their training uh through the CTE program or will it be through the Community College some of the some of the training will be through CTE and some of it will be through the Community College it depends on what level they're going to we have um levels one and two of welding in the schools but we do not have um the advanced welding that they may need we don't we don't weld stainless steel at bford County Schools but we will be doing so or they may be doing so in the business that they're going to work for so that will require additional classes at the community college and we hope that each and every one of the students that are involved in this program will also take the time to complete an associates degree so that they have even more opportunity to be successful and if they choose to do so while they're still employed by their employer those um costs of Education will be covered by the North Carolina apprenticeship program and the businesses that they work for okay it's a it's a win-win for B County for the businesses and thank you for Travis and uh Vicky for helping spad this up because we're keeping them here and employees absolutely that's our goal thank you thank you for what you're doing moving on to 6.2 discussion no action uh syy funding uh local funding request you have an attachment Dr ches um board this is the document in the format um that we presented to you before this is just to bring it back to your attention May 20th is the actual commissioner budget meeting for everyone in attendance to know um and we've left it as four columns for for you to make decisions around whether you just want to keep it four columns or in fact give it to your County Commissioners as one column but for those in the audience it breaks it down around current funding needs um based off of Staffing positions based off of hospitalization potential state raises teacher assistant supplements FICA property insurance increases and utility increases and so in short I just wanted again bring it to you in case you have questions or you'd like uh Miss Potts and I to make change to the document but we don't need to actually have you vote on this until May and it's not due to the county manager by law until May 15th go ahead Donald Dr Cheesman uh May 20th you'll be presenting uh this budget to our budget to the County Commissioners is that correct uh typically I answer questions that the County Commissioners have it's not necessarily a full-blown presentation as we've already had a midar on February 11th um but in short just like previous years of which I think you may have attended I stand and answer questions as presented and if there are highlights that the board would like me to bring to their attention then I try to do that as well and they'll have this document oh yes well they'll have the document that the board approves this has not been approved yet and you still have time to tweak have conversations tweak it make decisions talk to your constituents employees all that good stuff thank you anybody else got any question thank you all right moving on down the agenda uh 6.3 uh Washington Elementary School update Dr Cheesman that attachment uh real fast on the far wall underneath the television uh We've updated one of our site based photos and you're welcome to take a look at that before you leave today Andor in the future as it will hang there and you'll see the red markings are the timeline that wimco and height Associates believe that in or around that time those specific areas of school construction should be happening um and with that timeline we're currently remain on times for the doors to open in August of 2026 so we're very excited about that the handout board that you have in front of you is the required annual report by General statute 115 C- 54614 that says owner before April 1st of each year that a needs based Public School Capital fund Grant recipient shall submit to the state an annual report for the preceding year which we have done that you'll see the signatures of your board chair and your county commissioner chair and we have according to miss pots have received notification that the state has received it and has accepted it as presented so the purpose of me bringing it to your attention is just to check off the fact that it's been done by April 1st thank you anybody got any questions of school all right moving on down 6.4 uh policy 3100 curriculum adoption timeline is uh asked to bring back to this meeting and we got Chief academic officer Dr Norris Parker and crew or just you hold to be a crew okay good uh board you have the uh the policy that we've all read multiple times good evening um as chairman Allan just mentioned we are bringing um a series of proposed curriculum adoption timelines to your attention um as a part of this process I have um one of my team members here Mrs Amanda Atwell Peters as well as two of our esteem principles Dr Kelly MP and Mrs Alicia fosberg um in the process of of creating these timelines several staff members including several principles will consulted so um the next slide we're going to talk about some terms got and Mrs at PR will handle that okay good evening um Dr Parker is going to go through the curriculum adoption timeline with timeline with you and as he's speaking you will see the terms that you see on the screen um used a lot during his presentation so I wanted to provide some clarification for you um you'll see the term full curriculum Council used part of the full curriculum Council includes a parent um from each school um or a retired teacher representative central office administrators teachers School administrators and all of those are representing various grade levels within each school there are two curriculum Council subcommittees that he will refer to the admin team which includes central office administrators School administrators and full-time School instructional coaches our leadership team as a part of the curriculum council is determined by the principal of the school building and we have equal representation from each School those are licensed certified teacher leaders that are on the leadership team all of these committees are um approved by Dr Cheeseman who will then be taking the councils to the board for your approval so what you see now is um the first proposed timeline uh it is label science and in your handout um we were able to tag the next two slides together on a piece of Ledger Paper so you can read them back to back but I'm going to walk you through the process step by step so the first step is the superintendent would bring the full care Council to you uh for approval before any work would start the next thing we would do is we would send surveys um to the and post a public survey on the website for the C for the um public at large so they can weigh in and for teachers as well and we would tally all that information uh before we move on to the next step which is our curriculum counsil team um would look at all the different curriculums that are um being proposed and on that question uh set that we are have drafted there is a um a question that allows an open-ended question where if there's a curriculum they want to suggest that would be a part of the selection process so the admin team which Mrs uh M atw Peters referred to earlier the admin team will take all those curriculums evaluate them according to a rubric and then bore them down to at least five curriculums for evaluation before that process moves forward the next uh process is the curriculum Council and parents will intend all vendor presentations and evaluate the curriculums as presented by those by those uh vendors next uh after evaluating the vendors teachers will teach sample lessons um and evaluate these materials and then the leadership team which was referred to earlier will vote on the top three in rank order the next part of this process is that will go to the schools School levels for their scrutiny as well because all teacher voices are important so the top three choices are presented to the school level and then after um a presentation of all of these curriculums the teachers will then give their top three um in terms of curriculums uh that they want after that we'll tabulate those and in the current um curriculum adoption process according to grad span k56 8 and 912 um the current process process requires that we have to have at least 50% consensus among gr bans in order to get some consensus with uh The Chosen curriculum so after the admin team reviews um they have discussion and feedback and then we will then send those top three choices as required by policy 3100 to the board for your consideration after um if you approve uh one of those curriculums then we will order those materials from The Chosen vendor the will begin the teacher professional development process and then we would start later on in the school year of course when new teachers arrive Andor hired um their professional development process and continue to train um of course on this on this chosen curriculum throughout the year now on the next page and the next two slides same processes same steps different starting and end dates and so what we've given you for the next slides is the social studies process and timeline the first option and this is the first of two options the first option is if we begin the social studies process in January 2027 whereas the science will start in January 26 that is option one once again this is all proposed so once again the the different steps are exactly the same except they will end Jan January 2027 and end in December 2027 and this is the staggered start this is with the social studies process would start in the middle of the science process and that was start in January of 20126 okay so once again the steps are identical the science was start the science would start in 2025 and then it would start in in 2026 okay and then this is an overlap slide that basically kind of gives a p a pictorial story of how each curriculum would um overlap in terms of beginning and end times and in your handout we've actually able to stack comparisons between doing a a consecutive curriculum adoption process with science and social soci studies and then doing a concurrent one with science and social [Music] studies so in the social study slide going back we did find the typo just then um so it was 20 it goes from December 2027 to January 2028 and December 28 sorry about that you have any questions this is on the second page yes sir so if you look at the second page yes sir okay um could I ask a question you got done okay just getting this for the first time this evening it's uh want to make sure I understand um are you proposing this tonight for us it's a non action item Don well I'm just saying to look at and think about are you saying that that you that your team is considering uh the combination of science and social studies at the same time is that what some of what I'm seeing here uh so to to be clear as instructed by the board um and based Oni conversation um what you what you saw was first it was science because as the previously discussed it's a tested subject then there's a two-pronged option you can start social studies at the at toward the end of the science adoption or you can vote or you can choose and this is not a voting option tonight you can start it in the toward the middle of it so it's a pretty much a two option um PR um option to be presented to you yes sir yeah my concern is that you know I just feel like we need to get something going for our students who are getting ready to graduate uh not that we can help that at this moment but to get something as soon as possible for our students in a an approved structured social studies uh curriculum that our students can receive science is a tested subject and um Miss understand that uh Miss volberg sit here uh two weeks ago and uh discussed how she was having to put together science to get science scores up all the time what what is what's your thoughts on a so the thing about an adoption and it it's been in this district for a while now and we've been through several adoptions and the time it takes is tremendous um plus if you see we they were following what for and ask them to do about Gathering the community members but y'all have to vote on those community members so we you now we're going to put this off because we're not voting on this so that timeline still probably going to have to go back then y'all want to look at the list of community members and then vote um we have teachers that teach science and ass St at the same time there's not enough Personnel to to adopt something to two curriculums at the same time I just don't know how that can Poss POS L be done um and done well it can be done but done well um it it put strain on our teacher leadership I mean you know every teacher is not cut out to adopt I mean I don't know y'all do realize you're having to hire teachers that aren't certified teachers are not people aren't going to scoring teachers the the group is decreasing it's dwindling down um there's also a lack of eion between curriculums and leaders in the building when you're doing two at a time we need science I mean I I know so much about science right now because I have been studying science because that book is from 201 six five so during the snow and ice days I had that book and I was comparing it and it wasn't even covering everything that was in those standards I mean you have an eighth grad rep PS James has she told you how much I'm going in for science yes I'm in there I'm in there all the time um they get emails from me at 4:00 in the morning I tell them just ignore it because I can't sleep because I'm being judged on being a d school with teachers who are in you know we look at I looked at their Evis um but they don't have anything to use I mean they they've got new standards we we went um we met with Miss Dr M Pie's science teacher this summer Mr chessen because they did really well we went and observed Melissa buit from Bath she's amazing we work with Megan bolz from Snowden the one science teacher they have she's been a lifesaver Megan are you still here or she leave uh do you remember we did a big old Zoom meeting during the um was it the snow or the ice and then we had our teachers I mean it's just so there there's a lot of things that are being done that I mean and that's after hours because during the day is a busy day a busy day can you speak can you speak to professional respond you know and Miss fosberg we appreciate so much what you do we know how hard the teachers work I really do and especially you you're a great teacher principal teacher and principal and um but I just feel like we should try to make an extra effort whether we whether we try to blend uh associal studies as Dr Parker was uh showing us here maybe uh that we should make a an extra effort to try and get something uh in a structured way that's approved by the Department of Public Instruction for our students U yeah an adoption process that that uh that is approved by DPI not just something that the teacher are pulling off the inter internet so things that I'm pulling off are from off the internet I use the um there's a science Hub and I can send that to you guys but it's a support document and it gives you the proficiencies to demonstrate proficiencies with the vocabulary that goes from the National Science teaching Association that we are aligned with and we had a wonderful PD that our teachers did that they went was it fight siiz fight siiz science it was about incorporating the science and engineering standards into daily practice that's part of the new standards I mean we we've got to have something and what well I I was going to say this adoption process is really important I think in order to maintain the Integrity of this entire process teachers need to know what they're looking at and they need time to immerse themselves in each curriculum so they can make informative deis we don't want to give them a book and look through it for a few weeks they need to go in they need to teach the lessons they need to look at all of the resources because these are expensive and I feel like we would not be fiscally responsible if we did not give them the right amount of time to do this um teachers want to be experts they that is what makes teachers great they Pride themselves in being experts content and if we stretch them too thin or we move this too fast they will feel frustrated and the students will feel that and I understand you you guys are are doing science and it's tested too so I do understand that Gary's got a question I I may be mistaken but I'm I'm thinking that a large part of uh your your curriculum teams or your leadership teams uh do they spend a lot of time actually comparing the the textbooks to the DPI standards oh yes they I mean they write out their own is that what spend the majority of their time doing I don't I don't understand your question I'm just I'm trying to figure out where the the bulk of the the time might be spent is it is it is it taking months uh for your teachers to actually do they have to go through and actually check off the standards make sure on each case for each one of the for each one of the curriculums for each one of the actually the proposed vendors oh yeah there's a process for that that's yes sir there's a rubric that the teachers will use the curriculum Council will use when they are evaluating curriculums and the top priority is to ensure that there's alignment with our North Carolina State Standards so you have to go through those curriculums um you know with a fine tooth comb to make sure that it does additionally um in order to effectively Implement a curriculum it takes about four to six months of front-loading professional development ahead of time before the actual school year starts and then you're talking an entire school year year one is an entire year of professional development too so that is that may explain some un that may help you understand um why it would be very difficult to do two at the same time um when you have teachers that are teaching science and teachers that are teaching social studies at the same time the amount of days that they would it it would probably increase the amount of days that they would have to be taken out of the classroom and away from their students it would double that which is not in the best interest of kids um and additionally if they're trying to learn to at the same time it it would be very difficult for them to effectively um evaluate and Implement and be able to provide feedback on two curriculums at the same time um and we want to make sure that we do it's it's not impossible but in order to do it well there probably needs to be some time in between the implementation of one and the implementation of another especially for elementary and middle school aged children teachers G Gary Gary had it first okay uh the um I know that probably uh We've we've taken a look uh spent a lot of time different people uh looking at Social studes just for example I'm going to just use that as an example and DPI has a a list of of um I guess uh I don't know if it's the Publishers or something the books curriculum that are preapproved uh and I'm not taking anything away from the time needed to get fam me and and all that but um I I'm looking at from St I don't want to stretch this out too far uh we've got books that you said we're that we're using that are 20 years old and so um I don't want to stretch this out it's too long but by using some of the preapproved vendors or looking at people like that uh do you think there's any way to to to draw that process in so that's a question that you would need to ask them but I do have two examples I want to share um I do a midyear pulse check every mid year like right after Christmas and on my pulse check I always make it open-ended because I can't stand a survey where you just get the mark partial in place not in place that's that's just a joke of a survey in my opinion so it's either in place or it's not and then I want feedback and that's required and one of the feedback items was having um it wasn't because of a adopting social studies or science it was just of having programs it would be nice to be able to explore the programs before using the program so you're comfortable that's one example the second example and I think Lauren Johnson's here and ly weddingon when I was at chak primary and we were adop in math and this was before L there are only a few faces that were here and we had a whole different curriculum team on it um we chose our math do zus was part of it and we use that math program I got really tight with that math lady that we wanted her program and she gave us access to everything and we used that for a nine weeks before we made any kind of decisions correct that that uh that allows you to look at the resources that the company provides to explore and I mean get a lot of materials when you adopt something you don't just get one textbook anymore and and the pieces that are in each program are endless there's parent portals student portals you got to teach the students how to log in um there's ESL materials there's all differentiated instruction for higher students for lower students then there's usually texts and at and sometimes you don't buy all the things that come with it the assessment piece it's all different but it is so critical to launch a new initiative correctly Carolyn I think Donal was Don Donald was next and then Carolyn then I'll get you go questions for Dr Parker yes sir Dr Parker sir uh how long when you brought Savage to us how long was that adoption process that you went through before you brought that to us how long was that period so when I joined Buford County schools in the summer of 2022 that process was well underway so it was already underway yes sir I got it 12 months yeah 12 okay it went from January to December and I wait I asked the board to wait until the new board members came on and then we presented it to you in January so it was 12 months of all the work that they did and the design is after the board makes a decision is to purchase and have six months between actually receiving that purchase but also to be able to have our professional Educators use it be trained in it become familiar with it and a lot of that is you know during their off hours and potentially even in the summer and try to pay them in the summer to be able to do some of that work that's why the timeline is pretty long it's the intensity after the adoption of still working a full-time job and then working on an adoption for a curriculum that's coming in the future so 12 months M Walker not not to mention budg M Walker is next um I don't have a question I just have a comment we have a lot of principles and assistant principles and teachers in this room and I think there comes a time when we have to put our trust in you you're in the trenches every day with your students uh you know what's working and what isn't now we have to offer guidance that's our job But ultimately I am not a principal nor am I a teacher um and the last thing I would want to do would be to for I am from a family of teachers and I've been told many many times that it's nearly impossible to adopt and learn two curriculums if you are a dual teacher if you teach music and math if you teach science and art if you teach English and social studies am I right yeah um you cannot put but so much on a teacher and expect the outcome that everybody in this room wants to see and when you don't get that outcome whose fault is it oh we're going to put it on the teacher or or on the principal not on those of us that expected them to work 12 hours a day at the school and then at home and on a committee so I want us to just be very aware of what we're our expectations are but let's be fair there to these teachers that are doing this every day to the principles that are leading the building and I appreciate everything y'all are doing I really I truly do and I know it's hard and I think the other piece is when teachers when they don't feel prepared to teach a lesson the students know it they feel it and end up being the ones impacted our students are so much smarter than we give them credit for they know when it's you're having a bad day they know when you're frustrated like you know when they're frustrated so there's some of that we can eliminate just by taking the proper steps and and doing it the right way Danel just kind inter one thing Dr Parker I want to say thank you to yourself and your team for preparing this and bringing it to us I actually asked you if this could be done at the same time and your response was Sir anything is possible um since that conversation I have talked with some Educators I'm not in a classroom every day and to kind of go on what Miss Walker said she stole my thunder a little bit but um there there is a tremendous amount that goes on in the classroom and I have asked some of these Educators about the possibility of adopting two curriculums at the same time simultaneously as you stated tonight science social studies goes hand inand in in a lot of our classrooms um and I think it's important that we all need to remember as Miss fber alluded to she's she's being judged based on the performance of her school well the teaching must go on regardless of what this board says we want two curriculum adoption processes going on at the same time but at the end of the day that end result is what our students really get out of out of that teaching from that educator you're asking these Educators to take this adoption process on to continue to teach in the classroom and contrary to what some believe our Educators do work uh they are tremendously busy in the classroom um so I appreciate what what you guys have done you've actually made this very clear and I understand now where this process would be tremendously hard to adopt to at the same time Mr Mr Williams is n sure I got to just want to say this this uh CU I've had discussions with administrators and teachers too believe it or not I actually go in schools um in carollyn to build off of something you said but take a Different Twist to it when you were saying our students are smarter than we give them credit for I want everybody out there to hear this our teachers also smarter than some people give them credit for absolutely our teachers are trained to know what the North Carolina Standards are they know what they are because they went to school they're trained to know what they are so when so I'm backing up we can take the discussion forward about one curriculum two that's for later far as I'm concerned I'm talking about was G excuse me on today lessons that are being pulled by our teachers today meet North Carolina Standards they know what to pull so saying that we don't know what is being taught in our classrooms is completely inaccurate you two are some of our top administrators too do you not know what's being taught in your school no exactly that's the point I'm making I'm sure our administrators know what is being taught in the schools so we can move forward these discussions but hear it very clear I for one board member know that our teachers are smart enough to know what to teach okay I didn't go to school to be a teacher I'm in marketing you teach I'll sell it okay we'll do it that way Gary Gary uh Terry I I don't know that I completely agree with everything you're saying we don't we have that but what part don't you agree with okay hold on we're we're most people think about this these curriculum selections as as getting new textbooks and upto-date textbooks and what's covered in the material and uh the resources that are available but we also know that there the teach teers out there are going to be pulling from whatever resource they can supplemental teacher supplemental material to to assist them and to add to and to emphasize certain things and if we if we think that it's just as simple as getting new textbooks it's not but it's also not it's also a a Monumental task I know you say you know what you're what is being taught in your schools but if you've got U 12 teachers in C science and and social studies in your school teaching and each one of them might be pulling supplemental material from different locations are you sure you know what is being told I can answer that um so yes because they do common planning and they have to turn in their plans so and then we go in their classrooms and their their objectives and their I can statements have to be on the board and pretty much you're I you come and we can walk and you're going to see the same thing in their rooms it's it's going to be and I will tell you this too our our teachers are very collaborative across the district and so you know our social studies teachers they're talking to each other if they can't find a material or a resource that they feel is right for the students um they they follow the standards we go to different schools and we observe teachers and and we just pull from each others so miss miss fber how many sits um and I have okay so it's really odd there so there's three so there's three eighth grade teachers that teach now before I got there science was only taught one semester in eth grade hence look at scores right um so last year year we we moved and did something a little different and gave them an extra nine weeks um I didn't get the outcome I wanted to get so this year we had our three social studies teachers plann the lessons for 8th grade so they could focus on science because science is tested um and that's how we've been doing it and then we give them the the they and they're you know they didn't have to worry about the planning of it Donald Alig good is an amazing social studies teacher um Elizabeth Bennett came back from retirement and then we have a young man Zachary tomson that we got from Pennsylvania so he's a a beginning teacher so he has to have a lot of support and but Mr Ali good got with our instructional coach Shannon Kaine and they planned what eighth grade social studies would teach to help them so we could focus on science and um I mean I'm having the very handson with science because we need to move the needle and now this year we're teaching it four year with the social studies combined and then I use my um three social studies teachers and my so see you had three sixth grade teachers right and they were teaching science and social studies up until this year and this time this year what we did was we took our social studes teachers and they teach sixth grade social studies and seventh grade social studies and then I took those sixth grade teachers who can only teach up to sixth grade because they're case six so they can't teach Beyond sixth grade because they don't have the license for that Mr D tell you more about that I try it's very knowledgeable in that area um they teach the science for sixth and seventh grade and another thing we're doing is collaborating they weren't collaborating like those science they have to collaborate you know they have to know what what should your sixth and seventh grade science be doing to get ready for eth grade to mesh it all together so it's not just looking at eighth grade standards it's also looking at the sixth and seventh and and what they're getting from fifth because really the fifth grade assessment that they take the standardized test it's that's more seventh grade like tight stuff so you really I mean it it's not just cut and dry but we got to get scores up I mean the pressure's on we feel it but your teachers do know what each other are doing I mean absolutely I know that I'm looking at several teach principls here I know have grade level uh planning every week they're not going on Google pulling down what's com up oh gosh no but just respond back to Gary for a second I mean I understood what you're saying and maybe you misunderstood me I said that all of our teachers know the standards and they know how to get to the standards you and I may go to Greenville I may take Highway 33 you take two four we both get the Greenville and the teachers know what the standards are to teach and I know I'm looking at I can't see everybody out there because you're behind each other but I'm looking at three or four principles that I would bet my life knows what's going on in their schools and the rest of you do too I just can't see uh they they know what's being taught in the schools but I'm not saying we don't need to go with a you know formal curriculum it's just going to take a while but I just wanted everybody to understand until that 12-month process ends we're not just throwing students away because people don't know what they're doing these teachers know exactly what they're doing well and and one one other thing as a the second year in a middle school I mean I was at a learning cve I you know learning their curriculum um so I would want to be at both adoption processes so I can learn as I as we go that would be hard I mean and I know I have assistant principles but you know I want to be there too yeah good one okay two two uh of the principls here and and I every one of the principles and teachers that I here have great admiration for and you know you the statement that you just made was that we're trying to get the the the grades up trying to get the grades up you know the fact of it is we we should be focusing a lot of to a big extent on educating the children oh well I say that because that's what we okay so let me let me ask a coup follow-up question uh and I could get this information from Dr Parker or anything else but when is science started and what grade is science started uh instruction kindergarten kindergarten kindergarten they are science they start science what about social studies or Civics kindergartenart okay that's good yes sir because I think you have to you know 12 years I know 12 years of of Reading Writing and arithmetic is great in 12 years of Science and uh Civics and social you know and history is great also but that's what I wanted to hear yeah and like in kindergarten it's really about communities um goods and services and just neighborhoods you you start out small and then you go more playable okay and I will say too some of our greatest meetings are our vertical alignment meetings where you know our fifth through eighth grade content teachers all meet and they hold each other accountable to teach those standards because they need to get them ready for the next year correct correct all right Donald I would just like to end by saying this we appreciate you all your teachers we know that you're very smart I want to um let Dr Parker know that we appreciate him and all the hard work your team is doing too but I would just like to end by saying I would appreciate uh as soon as you can to get an adoption An approved adoption process going for social studies because I believe it is that important for our students and just picking and choosing or whatever and I know you're getting by by doing that but I just feel like we need something soon uh more structured for our students Carolyn um I have thanked the principls and the teachers and I am real sorry we still have students in this room and we have a lot of parents and grandparents I want to thank you all too because it takes all of us it really does I know some of you parents in here and grandparents and and aunts and uncles and neighbors you're you're saying did you do your homework what was your homework let me see your homework so it's not just our Educators because you parents are the very first Educators these children ever see so I appreciate you all too and I'm sorry I didn't thank you earlier anybody else thank you'all very much for all this and we'll see you back next month thank you moving on to the action items uh 7.1 Cola bid roll over Miss uh kin is on the way to the mic she was ready to go board you got a attachment normal year stuff go ahead good evening everybody thank you very much I'm just going to take a couple of minutes of your time um on a very non-emotional subject food thank you um just a quick request please of approval to for me to roll over my food bids for next year Cisco is my main grocery purveyor R&H is my produce pyor and mayola is our milk supplier um I would like to roll over the bids that we have for this year Cisco is holding my case fee at $4.50 nice I managed to negotiate R&H produce at to go down 5 cents a case every penny helps you know um mayola needs to put in a cost of living adjustment and there is a small increase with them this year um we are still holding less than our neighboring counties and we do all use mayola I'm recommending roll over because if we go out to bid the prices will increase Don M car the value of the bid is what I see here is that the value so there's 750,000 that's approximately how much I spend with Cisco okay so that's what we're asking the board no no no no I'm just asking you to approve my beard um School nutrition is independent of the money um Associated only if I mess up do I have to come to you and ask for money so it's not very career enhancing for me so I try very hard not to do that thank you thank you appr all in favor say I all oppose thank you thank you very much shortest I know thank you I was on a threaten a promise from the back row 7.2 uh OT plus contract Miss Gibbs uh we got an attachment and normal yearly addition I think is this correct and I'm going to try to be short of Miss curvy good evening everybody exactly attach you have our um both County Schools uh contract with OT plus and I am asking for a dner to the contract first of all these are all paid by EC fund so it's is not from the board and we need to continue to provide services for these students so we're at the point where we need to do the addendum and again this is um mandatory if it's um dedicated on the IEP so we have to provide these services so I'm just asking addend to the contract so we can finish out the school year motion to approve second all in favor say I all oppos all right might beat Miss C you might have beat [Music] miss all right Miss Hamill you're back up again set 7.3 fir Truck Sale Miss Hamill Vicky ham Vicky oh there she go she's she's behind the pole back there I can't see her good luck Miss haml you're under you're under pressure always you guys like to give me a hard time understand but um what we currently have at this time is a a fire engine that's not being utilized by our Public Safety and firefighting Academy at um Southside High School it was donated to us many years ago at the beginning of this Academy it is housed by chak Wendy fire department they have been very kind and gracious to um keep that in good working order and it is a sellable item it is not being used by our school system we don't have anywhere to store it and Shaka Wy fire department has asked us if we would move it and in order to move it we have to make sure that we move it to a place where it can be utilized and taken good care of and we don't have that facility available and at this time I'd like your permission to put it on inse of deals and allow that money to go back into our um firefighting Public Safety CTE funds motion to approve second all in favor say I we got multiple all opposed all [Music] [Applause] right 7.4 fy2 budget amendment Miss pots got on Detachment I don't know if I can top that y'all so I'll try real quick so here's your budget amendment and this is the first one for this year um this is through the end of February so it's through February 28th um I'm going to hit the highlights for you because most of you are familiar with this but for my new members um the First Column is your beginning budget that was approved back in the fall before you were put on the board and then the next column is our adjustments which usually consist of any kind of additional allotments or income that we've taken in and then you will see what is our now amended budget so that's how this reads um with fund one of course the change the revenue also point out the revenue is at top and your expenses are at the bottom so if you see a 3100 or 4,000 those are your Revenue codes um so fund one would be if of course any kind of adjustment we have with our allotment from the state this is DPI so we have been fortunate we have taken in and been allotted additional funds from DPI so you see those adjustments on fund two of course we have no additional income that has come in on that on fund three is our federal funds and again that is additional allotments that have come in through our federal funds and then on fund four is our Capital um so what you're going to see is the 4 42,000 is our new school buses and then the $250,000 is the money we received to purchase the land for um Eastern Elementary or Washington Elementary and then we have no change in Child Nutrition on fund eight um we have two things there and one is um our new health Academy and ECU intern is what you're seeing there and other than that um we balance our revenues and our expenses balance anybody got any questions I got a one question if you don't mind okay chrisy on Capital outlay fund four yes sir uh we're showing that spent a691 th000 from the fund balance is this from fund 8 oh no sir that's your Capital fund that's U your Capital fund so when you have have capital projects that were open last year and we finished out the fiscal year and those projects had not been completed it rolls over and we complete those projects during this fiscal year so that those funds have always been in the capital funds uh yes sir so it so it's a good question so the fund balance that you're going to see in each one of these fund Source like fund One Fund 8 fund two the fund balance is allocated in each one of them on this amendment okay is that okay that's fine does that help that's fine I had just I had also asked Christie for some detail on a couple of these general ledger I mean well I'm still going back to my business world but uh PRC 5800 and 6500 uh the combination of those two is over 20% of our spending and uh I was asking her about some information on the breakdown of those uh that's that's a big chunk of spending and I would just I'm going to talk to her individually and if anybody else wants to to join me but I I want a little clear understanding that's probably one of our biggest categories or rollups as we call it uh in our whole budget scheme it's uh it was uh 20% of the total over 20% of the total can you tell me those numbers again I'm sorry can you tell me the PRC numbers again uh 5800 and 6500 and and so those come from local grants right well there th those prcs are used in every fund so so you don't mean just in fund eight you mean across all funds across all funds I'm looking at uh uh at the total dollars spent where there are large numbers and just make making sure that we all have an understanding sure of of where these funds go yeah so in fund 8 Mr Carlton to get back to you the 6,500 in fund 8 I know you had said before the meeting that that looked large I just want to point out that 600,000 of that figure is the fuel expense that I put in fund dat I budgeted in case our state funds and our local funds was not enough to cover the fuel expense for our um yellow school buses so I know that was one you'd asked before meeting um so 600,000 of that 628 is fuel that we budgeted for okay if that's helpful to you I hope so yes like I say it's just like I say those two um two those two categories amount to over 20 20% of our spending and I just want to make sure we all have a clear understanding of of where those funds are going can we so 6,500 is usually our operating expenses which would be things like our utilities facilities Transportation things of this nature do we ever have any of those left over you do sometimes yes sir and I hope you will in fund a for sure but yes sir so that's how you get a fund balance so any funds that are left in your two or left in your eight or your Capital at the end of this fiscal year we roll it over into the new year and that's what we call fund balance yeah we may need some extra money right right board so can I get a motion to approve to approve may may I make one more comment real quick the reason why looking at large balances like that is that you know uh we're seeing these big numbers in some of these categories and we're also also seeing on the other side of the the scheme that we're uh uh having to look at cuts on teachers and and uh instructional staff and different things and we have to be we have to look at those large dollar items carefully to make sure that if we're being diligent about what we're spending in those large dollar amounts uh could it possibly be better utilized in instructional services do I have a second second all right all in favor say I I all opposed all right uh 7.5 s 25 technology Capital request Miss Amber so I have two things listed on the agenda um the first one I'd like to request their approval for Capital and local funds for technology per purchase this includes the purchase of Staff laptops and student Chromebooks um as you can see on your handout we've got two different amounts that as a total are $397,900 District Capital project that requires approval and these are capital funds requested for Southside High School which is to replace their football stadium sound and speaker system and that's $3,454 66 all budgeted is them yep all right can I ask one more question I'm I'm sorry I'm being such a pain but uh what percent of the uh of these um uh Pro books uh Chromebooks what percentage are replaced do you replace like a third of them every year um we not really I can't give you a percentage I can give you closer numbers but I don't I don't want to say that without going and looking at them before I gave you an answer okay we do we do new do new purchases each year um we kind of go off of what has been expired and what is no longer going to be um updated especially for Chrome glook both what's the useful life on most of these she do both of them Google's given us six years but that doesn't that doesn't typically go that far it also depends on if it's an elementary middle or high school um any more questions PW go ahead yeah did we say that the Southside High School AUD audio sound system was already allocated do we say that both of these are budgeted items both of these are capital budgeted items and I get a motion to approve move to approve second all in favor say I I all right so you need you're up for 7.62 is that right or did you do them both Amber I did them both all right do you need two motions in one you're good all right 7.7 um s SW Snowden Dr Cheesman all right it's so board in our most recent Personnel meeting we discussed um in the potential position movement of employees across the district based off of you know funding forecast and just to remind people since 1999 to the current time you had about 7,438 students on the 10day count uh this year you had just just over 5,400 students PRC 001 which is a state allotment for paid teacher positions in the state in the fall of 2019 you had 298 and this year in the fall of 2024 you had 251 and we are now projected and correct me Miss Pots if I'm incorrect that for next year the state intends to grab 6.89 away from you as well so looking over six years you have a potential loss of 53.2 n state funded teacher positions which is aligned to the overall ADM for your District and so those in the audience who may not know the state of North Carolina funds teacher position based off a total number students in the district not total number of students in a school and so through that then the board if they don't have enough State funds then has to use other funding such as Federal funding Title One and also your local expense dollars through your local County Commissioners and to that since the fall of 2020 to the fall of 2024 which would be school year 25 which you're sitting in now based off of what you've requested in your local funding for need not wish but need to what you've actually been granted in local funding is about a $ 6.52 five million deficit and so in fact you have gaps now over time you've been able to utilize some of your Esser funding but this is not Esser related your Esser funds closed out previous and those positions had closed out as well um so in short you're starting to look at the totality of the district which I'm I'm projecting professionally projecting that in the fall of 27 beginning at 28 uh just based on graduation rates being greater than birth rates being also total number of students in the county that you actually educate with far more choices now that I would project in the fall of 2027 that you may dip under 5,000 total students um prek through grade 13 to some degree so to that I'm looking at your budget which I presented earlier just for your review again but in conversation talking about how to best utilize um you know Personnel in the district but also the quality of Education that we can provide in different places which brings me to Snowden so Snowden Elementary School and no superintendent ever wants to make such a recommendation but in the opportunity to best educate a child looking at the totality of fiscal impact versus the totality of State teacher funded positions versus what your forecast may be in order to receive County funding I'm respectfully asking the board to consider the downward trend of Snowden Elementary School with 122 students this year projected to be roughly 108 next year and potentially close to under 100 within a year or two after why is that significant after if you dip below 100 students the state of North Carolina no longer pays for the principal position which would then again come out of your local funds not just the salary but all things included benefits healthc care all of that so looking at the education opportunity for students and the Staffing of the school and recognizing from last year to this year every single grade level dipped in student enrollment for example kindergarten at 17 last year dipped to 13 first graders this year 16 first graders dipped to 14 and and you have the information in front of you to look at those Trends most recently this year I had to close prek um because we had a kindergarten vacancy and a prek vacancy and I only had one uh certified person to be in that role and under state of North Carolina I'm obligated to look at k12 and so in that regard we moved the teacher position to kindergarten and closed out the prek not a decision I felt good about nor still feel good about but something to do to sustain the school so in short I've looked at the facility evaluation so this is not a request based on the facility I've looked at the capacity it's not a request based on the capacity I've looked at school membership of where we can educate students and truly utilize cost effective and high quality Personnel I've looked at our school um organization as a whole the cost of the operation what it might look like for transportation and school scheduling in terms of do we move bell times to actually help with student transportation um in terms of alternate uses for the facility I would suggest none at the time and lean on your efforts for that uh the effect of diversity I look at how our students all students are impacted by this and also what quality education that they would receive and of course the governmental planning around how this works but you're also up against a timeline because the state of North Carolina funds based on July 1 through June 30th not January 1 through December 31st and so in the closing procedures of Snowden Elementary School I'm asking the board to make a tentative decision to close Snowden Elementary School and allow students of Snowden Elementary School SCH to transition to chaki primary school and CH middle school for school year 26 all right board y'all got any questions I've got a comment go ahead uh I can't support that that path and I can tell you why a lot of us in this community that have lived here we we know how things were in Richland Township we also know how things are now at this time we're dealing with how things will be and that's an important thing to think about I don't think is it is appropriate for me to implement actions that will affect the future of Richland Township negatively further back in 1999 when we were approaching the Southside High School merger people had concerns about the distances many of the Richland Township students would travel then generally at that time I remember I was a Community member then generally people uh determined that it would be all right for high school age students but they would and and and this was the consensus back then but that we would never do that with young children Now 26 years later here we are proposing that very thing looking at straight line distances involved in this and when I say straight line distances these are the you know the the small numbers because a bus route or a where you are in a community can vary so we're talking about numbers that are at least 35 miles from chakin to Hickory Point 34 miles from chakin to Jarvis Landing 34 miles to Indian Island Road 33 mies to South Creek 31 mies to Campbell Creek and that can vary a great deal as to where you are in the crbl creek creek area uh 28 miles to Royal 27 miles to adaa 26 miles to Aurora even Edward bonon small Prescot core Point Crystal Beach and Neville Creek are at least 20 to 25 miles away outside of Richland Township affected H households outside of the township like but still on the bus route put it in context um townships like little Egypt Ms point and Cox's Crossroads are still at least 15 to to 18 miles from Chaka win because of this and a variety of other factors I cannot support the B County School proposal to abandon Richland Township all right anybody else got any question say I do I I I I look at Snowden and I see a community and if anyone knows anything about me I love bfer County and to just abandon what it feels like and I really do not want them to feel feel that way you know um we do have the data Dr Tasman thank you we we see what everything is um we know that we can put them in a in a higher grade school by by transporting them but it's I mean I just feel like we should give them a chance to see if there's any other organizational resolutions that they can come up with to help their school and their organization and help us keep them on board um because I mean we're talking about home life and small kids kids and just working with prek and working with DSS I don't think anybody on this board understands what that could mean for that part of buffer County anybody else go ahead Donald I'm almost afraid to speak I think the two things that I'm most concerned about is the quality of Education that we've seen from St statistics from that school I feel it would be better to um provide a better quality of Education from the schools that I think we're looking at possibly that they would go to and in addition to um from what we're understanding too um this would save a lot of staff and other teacher positions getting cut so those are the two main decisions that I'm concerned about the quality of the education and the saving of teachers and staff I would like to address and go I am I am I've been so torn about this and Charles I've been so torn about this but I have my convictions too that that I believe in and and those are two strong ones for me me so um I guess that's what I've got to say Donald I mean Charles you I'm sorry I'm looking at Donald looking at you go yes like Across the Universe um I know um a lot said about Snowden and the scores and all but and as the whole board knows Snowden in the last two years has raised their school scor um seven points um that's that's old news for us you probably know it too out there but um beyond that it has to be said that it's a shame some of this was alluded to from other comments tonight it's a shame that more of us have not experienced the efforts of the school Improvement team at Snowden I've seen it it's both impressive and commendable what they are doing particularly this year the staff is working well beyond the Call of Duty and student here's the where is exciting to me because I've I've worked in this myself with them the students have bought in and that is a beautiful thing to see for an educator so there's a lot of potential there and I'm not ready to give up yet anybody got anything up go Terry sure I want to ask some questions about the numbers to make sure I understand what I'm looking at are you are you looking at pull up if you've got on your sheets um let me see enrollment Trends I got it right here I'm talking to Dr cheese okay sure because I want to ask him let me it's sideways right now let me turn it around so I can see it so when I look at 2020 uh 23 24 yes what I'm looking at is a file that goes from 20178 up the current but let's just like last couple of years so when I look at a 2023 2024 just pick one pick third grade uh it shows a 20 yes sir this year a 15 yes sir am I correct yes sir okay because your last year's third grade would be this year's fourth grade yes sir so So based on that and I'm showing only eight in kindergarten this year so everything moves up one you know one grade level next year every wherever you're at now I'm assuming everybody moves up uh so when you show that we have currently this shows eighth grade having 18 that's a month two of the year right right well because we haven't got the end of the year yet but typically looking at all the others it it changes somewhat but the trends are still there yes sir and I'm I'm basing what I'm getting to see on Trends yes sir so as the 18 will move out we're assuming they will be on to the ninth grade and southide head up to Southside or wherever they end up going yes sir and all the numbers switch a grade So when you say that you have a projection of 107 was that was 1078 would would it hurt you feelings if I said I disagree with you no sir you've disagreed with me in the past and probably in the future uh because the way this I'm looking at this you have if if I'm looking in other words this grade last year doesn't go to this grade this grade goes to that grade this grade goes to that grade and when I look at the numbers I'm going to just start low and first grade or kindergarten we went from 17 to 13 yes sir then the next grade you went from from 16 to 14 yes sir 21 to 14 yes sir 20 to 15 18 to 10 17 to 15 13 to 12 21 to 18 every single grade level drop so every single grade level is you're losing yes sir so when you look at where you're at at this point in time here was 119 to 122 which is kind of where we've been at if you've experienced the same trends that this sheet shows that we've experienced from 1 two 3 four five six seven eight years yes sir it's it's really not um and I'm not advocating closing your school I'm just giving I'm giving you facts it's you you're talking about something here that really dangerously CL is you're out of is out of your control correct you're not you're not suggesting closing the school for whatever reasons this this school's closing itself because you're getting ready to fall below a 100 there's no doubt you're not going to be able I'm just saying is there something we need to do because there's no way you're going to sustain the numbers that you're even talking about you're not going to be at 107 because you're not just it's not just that you're losing a higher grade and there and there's not as many new students enrolling into school they're dropping out all across grade levels yes sir am I seeing that right yes sir but you're still going to stick with your figure of 107 uh in the moment because I'm because I'm just trying decide you know where we going from here and the only way I can go from here is to have real facts in front of me and this just doesn't it's dangerous this doesn't add up it's dangerously close to a 100 meaning that if I just take 18 eth graders that are promoted out of the school right and your eight kindergarten kids are moving up that's a difference of 10 in of itself so that's where I'm coming up with the 108 so if you're looking at a percentage of natural attrition coming out over the trends then yes you're dangerously close to 100 the point I'm saying you can't just take that 18 are leaving and Eight's moving in the and take 10 out because this has shown eight years of every grade level losing two three kids two three kids during this course of the year that alone will put you well below a 100 yes and you also have 61 students who are domiciled in the area who attend charter school right and so to that you would expect more expansion in the charter school especially with the voucher program the state of North Carolina is looking which they have just increased drastically yes sir so those kids aren't coming back to you you're going to well that's what I that's what I believe these kids here are going to each grade level where we lose two and three and four they're probably going to those schools so I'm just all I would say and not to disagree with you but when you're asking us to base a decision based on 107 if you look at the trends this at best you're going to be down at 90 you're going to be well below the state level and then what what would be our you know what would be our recourse at that point because I think that where we're headed is you're not headed at 107 you're heading below 100 so what's our recourse then you would have to pay for the principal position out of your own local funds we we can't we don't even have enough funds to pay all our teachers and you are currently saying I don't know if people know but you're you're currently using local funds to pay other administrative staff down there to support it okay and and that's a situation that our our family and our parents and teachers don't understand that that is in Snowden um and you know it's it's almost like it's inevitable but it's heartbreaking it is it is heartbreaking and it is it's the hardest decision that I think we've had I know I've only been on the board since December but I can't I can't remember another decision that was this complicated but there is a there is a hope in putting children in a higher scored um classroom uh having more friends I mean there's other things that that can benefit the children as well it's just it's a hard decision d man' that's what public comments so com that's just the way a meeting yeah Donal I had one thing I was gonna say but it it lost me or asked but it lost me uh the other thing is um would it make any difference uh going to the C would it make any difference um I mean we're voting on this tonight would it have any impact to to wait on the county commissioner uh funding request would that have help in any way we numbers this is a tentative decision for him to go for do to charge Dr Cheesman with exploring exploring the closure of Snowden to come back with a bus bus riding plan with the whole plan right it's my understanding we're not voting to close Snowden tonight if if we vote that way that's not what's being said because I may end up voting if someone makes the motion to do that tonight to give him I want you to go get me more facts together can I I just want you go get the facts and bring me more things back yes sir can I do you mind if I jump in real sir and then we'll go to all right so um the board has been provided the school closing procedures relating to the public schools of North Carolina dated January 2019th all board members have received the so in short in order to close a public school in North Carolina the board must be provided the information of which they have received they must make a tentative decision yes or no and that tentative decision is essentially to close the school but under General statute 115 c-72 it will require local Board of Education to then hold public hearings prior to the closing of school that's what you're voting on meaning if you say yes then I set up those hearings I go to their community you may go with me but in short the hearings are provide information answer questions establish um you know any type of criteria to work with people also to talk about the reactions and their opinions and to bring that data back to you as a board that doesn't happen in a week it happens usually over a month month and a half and so two your question I can answer your county commissioner's budget meeting is May 20th right and so this process will be if you vote Yes tonight would be coming to closure towards that date before or after but on the other side of that is if you voted no tonight then you need to absolutely come up with another fiscal solution right so understand that in even uh May 20th they don't V vote on their budget until June June uh also the County Commissioners don't there even though our budget request presentation is May 20th they don't vote until June for their budget car okay I just want to make a making sure I'll get my rounds okay I just want to make a comment uh this is um a heartbreaking situation I uh I grew up in a community like this I had U 16 people in my class when I graduated and uh not only that but my father was the principal so this is tough but what we have to be concerned about is the quality of Education that these students deserve and I think we can justify that by moving them into uh schools that can provide them uh more programs more services and more teachers to service them that's it did did anybody else on the list that it Daniel's Nick yeah I I just wanted to make sure that everybody in the audience here understands this is a tentative decision if if we move to do so and vote to approve tonight to start looking at different options um there are several of you in the crowd that have have shared your concerns tonight I think each and every one of us share those concerns it's with a heavy heart that we even have to have this conversation but um if we do move to have those tentative this tentative decision it will open up opportunity for Community forms for each and every one of you to come out bring your children bring your community members to Advocate and and to communicate with the superintendent as well as board members um how you guys feel about it just as you've done here tonight so we totally understand the these are really hard decisions we're facing um but it it comes down to um to data that we can see and obviously we have to take into consideration each and everything so just make sure that you do understand there will be opportunity for you to speak to this board as well well as a superintendent about your concerns and how you feel so I'd like to add add something uh this that's true this is a tenative decision and there will be other hearings but just don't lose sight of the fact that this tenative decision is the first step of a required process for closing a school I agree go ahead I want to go after you can I go yeah sorry go that's okay um first of all this young man that teaches music has won my heart because he's homegrown okay thank you and you haven't heard him sing yet guys agree I have a feeling he's as good at singing as he is as teaching singing um I'm going be real honest with with all of you that have come tonight from the Aurora Richlands Edward Community I used to tell my husband that if he took me down there and put me out of the car I didn't think I could find my way back because there's so much more land down there than what I was used to with that said I have been physically ill all day thinking about this because you are an important part of bfort County your students are your families are I don't want us to rush into this I don't want us to make a quick decision we need to do the proper steps and the very first step is going to be to listen to you y as Miss Davis said and many others uh if you can bring us a solution that we don't have I'm all ears but I don't think you can increase your population down there that's a that's a problem you don't have the students can you get some of those many students that left to come back just what was it two or three years ago you had 180 some students they're all and and now you've lost 70 of them 183 um why I I don't have that answer but what I do want to do is I want us to be fair to you I want us to be fair to your students but we also have to consider all the ramifications of spending the money it would take to keep your school open when we know that we can also provide a wonderful education and I'm going to keep this young man whatever we do I want him to stay with us um but just please give us time to work through what we have to do and you will be given the ones that said they wanted to speak please make sure you're the first ones to speak we will have a for in your community you don't have to drive to Washington we'll come down there uh but let's be respectful of each other in the process and and that's all I ask and I thank you all so much for coming Miss Booth is up you got it you got it's off now all right you got it okay okay I just want to say that uh and while we're going through this I would like to have you all our to consider the one thing or the two things if you have a school that you don't have students in then you don't have to worry about teachers if you have a school that you don't have teachers in you don't have nobody teach your school to teach your students okay my concern is making sure that these [Music] students have a school that they can go in as Carson at as carollyn has said and get an education kids don't know they don't even know why you call close the school they don't know what the meaning of closing the school all they know they'll put out those yeah so this is the one thing and I understand you may be talking with them but they still they're children so there's so there's so much that they don't understand you know so the the one thing that I want you to do is just consider what has been said as far as the school a possibility a possibility we have not said that we was closing it yet okay it's a possibility that it may have to be closed but if if this takes place then it's going to be because we are concerned about your children your the students of that school and the teachers the staff okay we don't have anything against you guys my heart bleed because I know I mean you might not believe me but that's not that's not important either I know how I feel about it okay so we want to make sure that the children are taking care of okay love you all and I pray that something will happen that will draw your attention to what we're trying to say okay thank you Mr Williams sure I just got one more thing I want to say and I'm going to come to you with a question but you know how I am I might talk two minutes before I get to the question um I'm just trying to find a way to make this work so you know sure it's emotional I have daughters that taught in that school so I I got ties of that school but when I'm I'm just trying to look at these numbers and it just doesn't work out I still think now go back to the piece I said earlier because I'm going to bring up something that hasn't even been said yet I still believe your 107 is too high much too high it's it's going to be at least 100 or below 100 but here's another thing and the board did not do this so I I want to make sure everybody understands this I'm what I'm holding here is a transfer sheet that I well that the board requested as a whole and we get this that shows students moving from schools to school within the county actually I have a number here that moved outside the county but let's just focus on in the county and we don't go down and pass out transfer sheets and tell people to do this Snowden School the school year we're currently in the Snowden School transferred nine students to Chaka primary school this school year as of when this was done you could have had one or two more so those were students that you lost to Chaka it's not just prek though I'm I'm not finished yet it's not just preap am I correct in saying that we had as many as maybe 20 additional transfer request yes that we did not honor so you can even go ahead and say I forgot forget the nine I'll give you to prek if that's what you want to say but there were as many as 20 I heard a number as high as 25 but as many as 20 transfer requests by parents asking to transfer their kids to other County Schools mostly Chaka went I won't say all but mostly that we didn't honor if those had been honored this year you would have already dropped that school would have already dropped below 100 so my question to the board is we allow transfers from other schools into bath yeah we and and I got it right here I can tell you exactly what I was going to say the same thing and that was the point that was the point I'm not making I'm not trying to be negative I'm just throwing it out there for you so you have this information so if the board does come down or superintendent you'll have this to talk to and you can even talk to your parents about transferring those kids out cuz we didn't do that uh and it wasn't just prek there's a whole bunch of people that want to transfer to our other schools I'm can't tell you why but I'm just saying we allow students to transfer I know on here I'm going just use bath because that's a you know it's a high number that transfers into bath there's a high a number that transfers into primary from the Washington area so there students transferring back and forth and we allow those and I've heard several of our board members speak in the past in support of and parents and parents of having school choice if you believe in that how can you allow some students from some schools to transfer but not honor the request of Snowden parents that sends us transfers and they want their kids to transfer did we hold I'm not saying we did it could have been a fact at the time that there wasn't room into school could have been different reason good question why did we that's what I'm asking I'm saying the same thing if there's room to transfer why are we holding off on these parents that want to transfer and allowing others the state of North Carolina has class siiz law for kindergarten grade one grade two and grade three so in short if a student is attempting or family is attempting to transfer student into a different school and the capacity has been reached and say for example in kindergarten if the capacity is 18 by law and you might even be able to waiver by 3 to 21 if a 22nd child shows up then by law you as a board has to provide an additional teacher and that is why at times you may walk through a school and think why why are there 11 kids in each one of these classrooms and I have two teachers well class siiz law forces you to have that well at the circumstance when it happens the receiving principal must make a decision and at times I even supersede that decision based off of Trends is that in fact if they're already capped and you don't have a candidate to be the teacher and you don't have the funding from the state to be the teacher as as you know given an example of 53 state funded positions that you've lost or will be losing then in fact you have to deny them moving across so why bath has 65 moving into it uh CPS had 49 moving into it in short some of those are upper level where class siiz law does not exist but my point was okay go ahe uh well my idea here is playing with these numbers if 25 is the uh potential transfer number that we would we'd be looking at and say they did what about the other 97 which don't have that option I mean they they're on their own right and and and I'm not I wasn't going to get into the class size because I knew that I know we have 18s 16s I know there's numbers we can't exceed unless we get a um waiver and then usually the waiver is only what two or three two or three students my my point was that out of a school of 19 or so this year that you have 20 parents that want to move their kids and that's not us doing that I'm just saying I mean I'm not this is not me yes or no this is me just throwing all the facts out here on the floor that are going to have to be looked at when whatever decision you make you make but you currently already have a large part of your school that wants to transfer out this is on the board on the docket as an action item for ATT tenative uh to S to charge Dr Cheesman with starting the process uh with coming back to the board uh with a with plan and going down and holding um informational meetings call for the question there's no call for the question there's no motion on the floor oh there's no motion I'm sorry make a motion huh make a motion yeah did you make the motion I'm making a motion all right got a motion got a second I'll second all right got a motion in a second all in favor say I I I all oppose no no all right 78 field trip approval Dr Cheesman North Side High School boys Golf pinards North Carolina May 10th through the 13th uh nine male students three male adult chaper activity bus Northside High School CTE skills USA state competition in Greens Sparrow April 9th through the 11th Bath Elementary School Science Olympiad competition at North Carolina State University April 25th through the 26th in Washington High School jrtc yearly summer camp University of South Carolina June 15th through June 20th and at that um opportunity Cadets are housed in the dorms with necessary sha rooms um so in short I'm asking you to approve those as present motion to approve all in favor say I I all opposed to I move that we go into close session for General statutes 143 318 11a to prevent disclosure of confidential Personnel files under General statutes 115c 321 second all in favor I all all right close