May 23, 2024 Budget Work Session

[Budget Work Session on May 23, 2024. ]

[00:00:06]

CALL TO ORDER. THIS BUDGET WORKING SESSION OF THE BOARD OF EDUCATION OF HERKIMER COUNTY ON MAY 23RD, 2024 AT 9:05 A.M. THIS WORK SESSION IS BEING CONDUCTED IN A HYBRID FASHION. MISS RULLO, PLEASE TAKE ROLL CALL. MISS ALVAREZ. PRESENT. MISS BRUCE. I MEAN, THIS MORNING. YES DOCTOR.

MILLER DOCTOR MILLER. SHE MIGHT JOIN LATER. SHE'S HERE. OH. SHE IS OKAY. MISS PERRY. HERE. MR. SEWELL. HERE MISS STRAUSS. MISS STRAUSS IS ABSENT THIS EVENING. MISS SABIROVA. MISS SABIROVA IS ABSENT. VICE PRESIDENT HAHN, PRESIDENT. PRESIDENT BOYNTON HERE. SUPERINTENDENT PAULSEN HERE. THIS COMPLETES THE ROLL CALL. ALL RIGHT, SO I THINK THAT'S IT FOR THE FORMALITIES. A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT TODAY. SO GOOD MORNING, EVERYONE. JUST A REMINDER, THIS IS AN UNUSUAL SORT OF FORMAT HERE. IT'S GOING TO BE A WORKING SESSION, BUT IT IS OPEN TO THE PUBLIC. AND WE'VE GOT AT LEAST TWO DEDICATED MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC BACK THERE, WE MIGHT SEE SOME OTHER FOLKS COME IN ALSO, THIS IS GOING TO BE RECORDED. AND IS IT LIVE STREAMED AS WELL? IT IS, YES. BEING LIVE STREAMED AND WILL BE RECORDED LATER. SO THIS IS AN OPEN MEETING, BEFORE I DO MY INTRODUCTORY COMMENTS, I ACTUALLY SEE A FEW PEOPLE HERE THAT I DON'T SEE ON A VERY REGULAR BASIS, AND SO I MIGHT NOT BE THE ONLY ONE THAT DOESN'T RECOGNIZE EVERY FACE. SO IF WE DON'T MIND, WE'LL JUST START WITH A BRIEF INTRODUCTION OF, WHO YOU ARE AND SORT OF WHAT YOUR ROLE IS. AND THEN ONE INTERESTING THING ABOUT YOU THAT. NO, I'M JUST KIDDING. ALL RIGHT. SO WE'LL START OVER HERE. WE'LL GO THIS WAY. THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF STUDENT SUPPORT SERVICES. GOOD MORNING EVERYBODY. NATALEE HOLLOWAY, DIRECTOR OF MIDDLE SCHOOL INNOVATION. GOOD MORNING, KATIE RIDGEWAY, DIRECTOR OF STRATEGIC INITIATIVES. GOOD MORNING.

HEATHER CACHO, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF CURRICULUM, INSTRUCTION AND ASSESSMENT KHADIJAH BEARD, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF FACILITIES. GOOD MORNING. CORNEL BROWN, ASSISTANT SUPERINTENDENT FOR OPERATIONS. GOOD MORNING, JILLIAN, LATER, MANAGER OF COMMUNICATIONS. GOOD MORNING, PETER CARPENTER, DIRECTOR OF ORGANIZATIONAL DEVELOPMENT. GOOD MORNING, DIANE MACK, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR FOR ELEMENTARY EDUCATION. GOOD MORNING. I AM JOSH STENGER AND I AM A BUDGET ANALYST. GOOD MORNING, MARIANNE AND BUDGET ANALYST ERIC CLARK, DIRECTOR OF BUDGET PROJECTS SERVICES SUPERINTENDENT. GOOD MORNING. ASSISTANT SUPERINTENDENT.

ME YEAH, JUST. AND I HAVE A BOARD MEMBER CARING FOR ME. GOOD MORNING. GOOD MORNING, DIANE ALVAREZ, BOARD MEMBER. GOOD MORNING, MELISSA HAHN, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE BOARD. AND AARON POINTON, BOARD MEMBER AND PRESIDENT. AND WHO DO WE HAVE ONLINE? JUST SO THAT WE CAN WE KNOW WHO'S HERE. WE HAVE DOCTOR CAROL MILLER. GOOD MORNING, FOLKS. DREW MOORE, OFFICE OF TECHNOLOGY. JUST THOSE GREAT. OKAY. IF ANYBODY COMES IN OR LEAVES ONLINE, JUST LET US KNOW THAT AS WELL. JUST FOR SITUATIONAL AWARENESS. OKAY GOOD. SO WE'RE GOING TO GO AHEAD AND GET STARTED. JUST A COUPLE OF INTRODUCTORY SORT OF COMMENTS ABOUT WHERE WE ARE ON THE BUDGET, AS YOU KNOW, THE BOARD A COUPLE OF MONTHS AGO PASSED THE SUPERINTENDENT'S BUDGET, WHICH WENT TO THE COUNTY EXECUTIVE AND DUE FOR A VARIETY OF REASONS, LARGELY, SURPLUS THE FUND BALANCE AT PROBABLY HISTORIC LEVELS AND SOME RECEIPTS THAT CAME IN ON THE INCOME SIDE OF THE HOUSE, IT CAME IN LOWER THAN EXPECTED IN THE AGGREGATE AMOUNT OF 13 MILLION IS WHAT WE WERE TOLD. THE COUNTY EXECUTIVE DECIDED TO FLAT FUND US, MEANING THAT CURRENTLY THE BUDGET FROM THE COUNTY EXECUTIVE IS THE SAME EXACT FUNDING THAT THE SCHOOL SYSTEMS RECEIVED FROM THE LOCAL PORTION LAST YEAR, THIS YEAR. OKAY, SO RIGHT NOW IT'S AT THE COUNTY COUNCIL AND THERE'S A WHOLE BUNCH OF, YOU KNOW, POLITICAL THINGS GOING ON UP THERE. BUT THE WRITING ON THE WALL IS, IS THAT WE MAY NOT RECEIVE THE BUDGET BACK FROM THE COUNTY COUNCIL UNTIL VERY LATE IN THE BUDGET PROCESS. THEY HAVE A DEADLINE, I BELIEVE, OF JUNE 11TH. IS THAT CORRECT? THAT'S JUNE 15TH. OKAY. YEAH. SO THE SO, YOU KNOW, MORE THAN LIKELY IT COULD BE JUNE 11TH, BUT COULD GO AS FAR AS THE 15TH. AND OUR FISCAL YEAR STARTS THE 1ST OF JULY. SO YOU CAN SEE THE PROBLEM IN THAT. RIGHT. AND SO THE POINT OF THIS MEETING IS TO SORT OF GET A LITTLE BIT OF A HEAD START

[00:05:04]

OKAY. SO THERE MIGHT BE SOME COMPROMISES THAT NEED TO BE MADE. THERE MIGHT BE SOME LACK OF BETTER TERMS. YOU KNOW, HORSE TRADING THAT NEEDS TO HAPPEN. BUT WE NEED TO MAINTAIN SOME LEVEL OF FLEXIBILITY SO THAT WE HAVE A BUDGET THAT CAN BE PASSED BY A MAJORITY OF THE BOARD. THE OTHER THING I'LL ASK EVERYONE TO KEEP IN MIND IS A COUPLE OF WEEKS AGO, THE BOARD MET AT A RETREAT AND WE CAME UP WITH OUR PRIORITIES FOR NEXT YEAR. AND SO I WOULD LIKE FOR EVERYONE TO KEEP THE CONVERSATION, FOCUSED AROUND THESE PRIORITIES FOR NEXT YEAR. OKAY. SO I THINK THAT IF IT FALLS INTO ONE CATEGORY, WHICH IS IT'S ONE OF THESE PRIORITIES, OR, AND THIS IS WHERE MAYBE WE'LL, YOU KNOW, RELY ON ON KATIE AND KIMBERLY. IT'S REQUIRED BY LAW. RIGHT. THE THINGS THAT WE ABSOLUTELY HAVE TO FUND, BECAUSE IT'S REQUIRED BY LAW. THEY FALL INTO THE MUST HAVE CATEGORY IF IT'S NOT REQUIRED BY LAW. AND IT DOESN'T NECESSARILY FALL INTO ONE OF THESE THREE BOARD PRIORITIES, WE'RE GOING TO PUT IT IN THE NICE TO HAVE CATEGORY. AND THOSE THINGS CAN BE CAN BE, RANKED THE THREE PRIORITIES THAT THE BOARD UNILATERALLY AGREED ON LAST MONTH WAS, ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT, WITH A FOCUS ON MATH AND READING, LANGUAGE ARTS, IMPROVED SCHOOL ENVIRONMENT WITH AN EMPHASIS ON ATTENDANCE AND SAFETY, AND THIRD, INCREASED COMMUNITY AND PARENT GUARDIAN TRUST THROUGH PARTNERSHIPS AND TRANSPARENCY. SO THOSE ARE THE THREE BOARD PRIORITIES. SO WITH ALL OF THIS IN MIND, WE HAD TO HAVE A STARTING POINT TO START THE DISCUSSION. SO I'VE ASKED THE SUPERINTENDENT TO PREPARE A STARTING POINT WHICH WILL BE SORT OF KICKING THINGS OFF THAT LOOKS AT IT, USING A HAS THESE PRIORITIES IN MIND, BUT B THE INITIAL REQUEST WAS TO DO A STARTING POINT THAT USES 31 MILLION OF THE FUND BALANCE.

OKAY. FROM THE TIME I SENT THAT REQUEST TO NOW, WE FOUND OUT THAT WE ACTUALLY HAVE SOME EXTRA INTEREST INCOME TO THE TUNE OF ABOUT 5 MILLION, I THINK, OR SOMEWHERE AROUND THERE. RIGHT.

[00:10:03]

OKAY SO THE 13 MILLION DOES NOT INCLUDE ADDING THAT FIVE BACK. SO WHEN YOU SAY 36 LET'S START WITH 49 MILLION. WAS OUR UNASSIGNED FUND BALANCE PROPOSED , WHICH INCLUDED THE USE OF 5 MILLION, WHICH WAS THE BOARD'S ORIGINAL PROPOSED BUDGET. SO IF YOU ADD THAT 5 MILLION BACK, LET'S ASSUME NOTHING IS ASSIGNED FOR FUND BALANCE RIGHT NOW FOR FY 25. SO IF YOU ADD THAT 5 MILLION BACK FOR 54 MILLION, GOT IT. SO TECHNICALLY IF WE USE 36 MILLION WE'D BE DOWN TO 18 MILLION OKAY. UNASSIGNED. GOT IT. OKAY THANK YOU FOR THAT CLARIFICATION. WE'LL GET INTO THOSE DETAILS IN A MOMENT. SO I GUESS WITH ALL OF THAT IN MIND, ARE WE ARE WE CLEAR WITH WHAT TODAY'S OBJECTIVES ARE AND WHAT THE PROCESS IS GOING TO BE, OR ARE THERE ANY QUESTIONS? YES EVERYBODY. GOOD. THE FINAL THING I'LL SAY IS IN A FORUM LIKE THIS, JUST KEEP IN MIND THAT YOU'RE YOU'RE IN PUBLIC, WELL, IT'S, YOU KNOW, IT'S BEING RECORDED, BUT I ENCOURAGE EVERYONE TO SPEAK FREELY. OKAY. IF I HAVEN'T HEARD FROM YOU BY THE END OF THE MEETING, I'M MORE THAN LIKELY GOING TO CALL ON YOU AND GET YOUR THOUGHTS. OKAY, SO I WANT EVERYONE TO PARTICIPATE.

THIS IS A GROUP ENDEAVOR. SO WITH ALL THAT IN MIND, I'LL HAND IT OVER TO DEBORAH JONES. THANKS A LOT. ALL RIGHT. OH, SINCE WE'RE NOT PRESENTING THIS, WE ARE GOING TO PRESENT. I WAS GOING TO SAY, IF NOT, THEN IT NEEDS TO BE HANDED OUT TO MEMBERS. IF ANYBODY WANTS A HARD COPY, WE DO HAVE A FEW. RAISE YOUR HANDS. WE CAN WIN A HARD COPY BACK THERE. ALL RIGHT.

GOOD. YEAH. YOU WANT TO PASS IT DOWN? JEREMY, THE SCREEN ISN'T DISPLAYING. CAN WE POSSIBLY GET THAT ONE? SO, POINT OF ORDER, SINCE WE'RE IN A DIFFERENT FORMAT HERE, LIKE, I JUST RAISED MY HAND, FOR INSTANCE, I HAD SOMETHING TO SAY, HOW HOW SHOULD WE GO ABOUT GETTING YOUR ATTENTION? JUST RAISE YOUR HAND, OKAY? IF I DON'T SEE YOU, I JUST BOUGHT IN. THERE YOU GO. GO AHEAD. YEAH. SO, WITH THIS CONVERSATION, YOU KNOW, GREAT. GREAT, LEAD OFF TO START THIS CONVERSATION TODAY, DOCTOR BOYNTON, BUT WHEN WE TALK ABOUT FUND BALANCE, YOU KNOW, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THE OPERATING BUDGET FUND BALANCE, I THINK ONE THING THAT WE NEED TO, BE AWARE OF IS, AND TAKE INTO CONSIDERATION IS THAT THAT OPERATING FUND BALANCE EVERY YEAR, A PIECE OF THAT IS USUALLY ASSIGNED TO CAPITAL PROJECTS. RIGHT? SO, BECAUSE WE ARE NOT FUNDED FOR ALL THE CAPITAL PROJECTS THAT WE NEED TO ON A YEARLY BASIS. SO IT'S A LITTLE LAST MINUTE, BUT I'M CURIOUS, ON AVERAGE, MAYBE THE LAST FIVE YEARS OR SO, HOW MUCH OF OUR UNASSIGNED OPERATING BUDGET HAVE WE ASSIGNED TO CAPITAL PROJECTS TOWARDS THE END OF THE YEAR, LIKE, IS IT MAYBE LAST YEAR IT WAS. I CAN'T REMEMBER WHAT LAST YEAR WAS. MAYBE IT WAS 10 MILLION OR 20 LAST YEAR 20 MILLION. THAT WAS A RECORD HIGH. WE'VE NEVER DONE THAT MUCH. I MEAN, USUALLY IT'S A FEW MILLION. I THINK THE YEAR BEFORE MIGHT HAVE BEEN 5.3. YEAH SO IT'S SEVERAL MILLION THAT WE'VE DONE THE LAST SEVERAL YEARS. PRIOR TO THAT, WE TYPICALLY DIDN'T HAVE THE FUND BALANCE. SO WE DID NOT DO THOSE TRANSFERS. SO IT'S JUST BEEN IN THE LAST FEW YEARS, BUT IT HAS ALLOWED US TO MOVE FORWARD WITH SOME OF OUR CAPITAL PROJECTS THAT OTHERWISE WE WOULDN'T HAVE BEEN ABLE TO DO. YOU'RE CORRECT. YEAH. THAT'S RIGHT. AND THEN SO LOOK, SO I THINK WE SHOULD LOOK, YOU KNOW, BACKWARDS TO SEE WHAT WE'VE, WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO DO WITH OUR FUND BALANCES OVER THE LAST FEW YEARS. BUT ALSO WE NEED TO LOOK FORWARDS TO SEE WHAT THE NEEDS ARE OF OUR SCHOOL SYSTEM, FROM A CAPITAL SIDE THAT WE JUST SIMPLY WEREN'T FUNDED SO THAT WE CAN, YOU KNOW, FIGURE OUT REALLY WHAT WE CAN AFFORD TO ASSIGN FROM FUND BALANCE FOR OPERATING THIS

[00:15:01]

WE'RE REMOVING THAT. WE HAVE SOME FLOATING CLERICAL POSITIONS THAT SUPPORTED OUR SCHOOLS. THEY HAVE BEEN VACANT. SO WE ARE REMOVING THEM FROM THE BUDGET. WE WON'T BE ABLE TO PROVIDE THAT SERVICE. WE HAD A VACANT TEN MONTH CLERICAL POSITION AT SWAN CREEK. WE'RE GOING TO REMOVE THAT FROM THE BUDGET. THE REGULAR PROGRAM SUBSTITUTES. SO OUR SUBSTITUTE LINE HAS BEEN VERY TIGHT THE LAST SEVERAL YEARS. AND IF YOU RECALL FROM MONDAY EVENING, PART OF OUR CATEGORY TRANSFERS INCLUDED PUTTING MONEY INTO INSTRUCTIONAL SALARIES. A LARGE PART OF THAT TIGHTNESS IN THAT CATEGORY IS SUBSTITUTES. SO NOT ONLY DO WE NEED TO REPLENISH THE SUBSTITUTE LINE TO TRY TO GET TO BREAK EVEN GOING FORWARD, WE ADDED ADDITIONAL MONEY IN THERE HOPING THAT WE CAN RECOVER SOME OF THE SITE BASED SUBSTITUTE FUNDS IN THAT LINE ITEM. SO I DON'T 2 MILLION DOESN'T PUT US COMPLETELY BACK TO WHERE THE SITE BASED SUBSTITUTES ARE, BUT IT GIVES US SOME FLEXIBILITY THERE. SO THAT'S SOMETHING THAT, WE WANTED TO TRY TO ADDRESS.

CAREER IN TECH SUBSTITUTES $50,000. THERE'S A FEW LINE ITEMS ON HERE. SO AT THE END OF THE YEAR, WE ALWAYS GO BACK AND LOOK AT WHAT DO WE NEED TO TWEAK, WHAT ESTIMATES HAVE COME IN THAT WE NEED TO ADJUST FOR. YOU'LL SEE SOME OF THAT IN HERE. THERE WE HAD SEVERAL LINE ITEMS IN OUR BUDGET THAT WERE SUBSTITUTE LINE ITEMS OR ADDITIONAL SALARY LINE ITEMS

[00:20:01]

SO IF THERE'S FUNDS DEPOSITED INTO THE RATE STABILIZATION THAT WE CAN WITHDRAW, WE CAME BEFORE YOU AND SAID WE WANT TO ASSIGN 5 MILLION AT A HEALTH HEALTH CALL, MAYBE NEXT YEAR IF WE HAVE A SURPLUS, WE COULD COME FORWARD AND SAY, YOU KNOW WHAT, WE WANT TO SEND 2 MILLION OVER TO OPEB FOR THAT PURPOSE SO WE COULD FIND WAYS TO FUND THAT. AGAIN, NOT NONE OF THIS IS IDEAL, BUT WE CAN REMOVE THAT AND FIND ALTERNATE WAYS. THE BOTTOM LINE IS WE'RE NOT GETTING FUNDING TO FUND THE OPEB TRUST. SO SHOULD THAT BE IN THE BUDGET OR NOT? LOOKING AT INTERSCHOLASTIC ATHLETICS AND STUDENT ACTIVITIES, FOR THE ATHLETIC TRAINERS WE ARE PROPOSING, IF WE WANT TO KEEP THAT CONTRACT, WE NEED TO ADD $300,000 TO THE BUDGET IN ORDER TO FULLY FUND IT. CERTAINLY, THERE'S WAYS TO IF WE COULD ELIMINATE IT AND SAVE $200,000, WE COULD ALSO ADJUST SERVICES TO ALTER THE COST OF THAT. BUT IN ORDER TO FULLY FUND THE CONTRACT, WE WOULD NEED TO ADD $300,000 TO THE BUDGET. UNDER TECHNOLOGY, WE'VE REDUCED LINES 34 AND 35.

THAT'S REALLY FROM LINE 34 IS AE RECEIVE FINAL PRICING. SO WE WERE ABLE TO REDUCE IT BY $98,000. AND THEN FOR INSTRUCTIONAL SOFTWARE, HEATHER KUTCHER AND HER TEAM WENT

[00:25:03]

[00:30:03]

THE TROUBLE IS IT GOES UP AND DOWN. AND SO WE HAVE A CHOICE. WE CAN CLAIM IT AS REVENUE BECAUSE IT'S BECAUSE WE ACTUALLY HAVE MORE MONEY COMING IN FOR INTEREST. BUT THE TROUBLE IS IF WE CLAIM IT AS REVENUE IN OUR OPERATING BUDGET, WHICH IS MOSTLY MADE UP OF RECURRING THINGS, THEN IN THE FUTURE, IF INTEREST RATES DROP, WE ACTUALLY HAVE TO GO BACK AND CUT THE OPERATING BUDGET TO MAKE UP FOR THAT. SO YOU REALLY HAVE TWO CHOICES. YOU EITHER RECOGNIZE IT AS REVENUE BECAUSE, AS AARON SAID, WE HAD ABOUT $5 MILLION IN INTEREST REVENUE THIS YEAR.

PREVIOUS TO THAT, YOU'RE GOING BACK A FEW YEARS. WE NORMALLY GOT, YOU KNOW, UNDER A MILLION.

YEAH, WE WERE IN 28,000, 7000, I MEAN, RIGHT. SO RIGHT NOW IT LOOKS LIKE WE'RE GETTING A LOT MORE MONEY COMING IN FOR INTEREST, THE TROUBLE IS, IF RATES START TO GO BACK DOWN, WHICH WE'RE EXPECTING, WE COULD GO BACK TO THIS PLACE WHERE THAT $5 MILLION SORT OF GOES AWAY. SO WE HAVE A CHOICE. WE RECOGNIZE IT AS REVENUE OR WE JUST LET IT GO STRAIGHT TO FUND BALANCE, SO IF WE KEEP IT, IF WE KEEP WHAT WE RECOGNIZE LOWER, THEN WE'RE THEN WE DON'T HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT CUTTING IN THE FUTURE IF IT COMES IN. BUT IF WE GO IN AND CLAIM IT ALL, IF IT GOES DOWN, IF WE IF WE BUDGET IT AND BASICALLY SAY THAT. SO RIGHT NOW , NOW WE ARE RECOGNIZING A TOTAL OF WHAT, 2 MILLION? OKAY. SO WE GOT FIVE THIS YEAR. SO WHAT THAT MEANS IS SO IT LOOKS LIKE WE'RE GETTING 2 MILLION MORE IN REVENUE THAN WE NORMALLY GET. AND THAT'S FROM THE INTEREST.

THERE'S STILL 3 MILLION. WE RECEIVED IN INTEREST THAT WERE BASICALLY SAYING WE'RE JUST LETTING THAT ROLL TO FUND BALANCE, OKAY. OR THAT'S CONTRIBUTING TO OUR SURPLUS, WHICH IS I PUT THAT IN QUOTES BECAUSE OUR SURPLUS IS A WHOLE OTHER THING, SO THAT'S WHY IT'S SORT OF IT'S JUST A BUDGETING DECISION. SO WE WANTED YOU GUYS TO KIND OF UNDERSTAND HOW THAT EBBS AND FLOWS. SO BECAUSE WE DON'T WANT IT TO LOOK LIKE WE'RE HIDING REVENUE, WHICH IS WHAT IT COULD LOOK LIKE IF WE DIDN'T CLAIM ALL 5 MILLION. BUT AT THE SAME TIME, WE DON'T WANT TO BE TOO AGGRESSIVE AND RECOGNIZING IT ALL BECAUSE WE DON'T WANT TO BE IN A PLACE WHERE WE HAVE TO CUT $3 MILLION OR $4 MILLION OR WHATEVER IN THE FUTURE, IF THAT INTEREST STARTS GOING DOWN, DOES THAT HELP MAKE SENSE A LITTLE BIT? SO IS YOUR RECOMMENDATION TO RECOGNIZE SOME OF IT AS REVENUE AND THEN PUT THE REST IN THE FUND. SO YEAH WE'RE YEAH WE'RE YEAH WE'RE UPPING WHAT WE'RE RECOGNIZING FROM 1 TO 2, WHICH MEANS WE'RE SO WE DID ONE LAST YEAR 1 MILLION. WE RECOGNIZED LAST YEAR WHEN IT WENT FROM ALMOST NOTHING UP TO 2 MILLION. SO LAST YEAR WE GOT $2 MILLION IN INTEREST REVENUE. THIS YEAR WE GOT FIVE. SO WE'RE RECOGNIZING IN THE BUDGET, WE'RE BUDGETING 2 MILLION TOTAL OF INTEREST REVENUE. BUT THAT MEANS THERE'S STILL THREE MORE COMING IN THAT'S GOING TO HELP US GO TO OUR SURPLUS. BUT JUST SO YOU UNDERSTAND WHAT'S HAPPENING THERE, THERE'S JUST ONE MORE THING. YOU EARN INTEREST BASED ON THE BALANCE IN THE BANK AND THE INTEREST RATE. WE HAVE A HISTORICALLY HIGH FUND BALANCE, SO WE'RE EARNING A HIGHER INTEREST RATE ON A BIGGER POT OF MONEY. AS THAT MONEY GETS SPENT AS WE ALLOCATE IT, IF WE SPEND HALF OUR FUND BALANCE AND THERE'S ONLY HALF IN THERE TO EARN INTEREST ON, YOU'RE GOING TO EARN HALF THE INTEREST. SO THAT'S WE HAVE TO BE CAREFUL WITH THAT BEFORE WE GO INTO QUESTIONS. ARE YOU COMPLETE WITH YOUR PRESENTATION? YEAH OKAY. LET'S JUST FINISH THE PRESENT.

YEAH I THINK THERE'S 1 OR 2 MORE SLIDES AND THEN WE'LL GO INTO QUESTIONS. ALL RIGHT. SO IF YOU LOOK AT THE FUND BALANCE LINE HERE, IT'S SHOWING THAT WE'RE USING NOTHING FOR FUND BALANCE.

THIS IS FOR DEMONSTRATION ONLY TO SHOW YOU THE GAP BETWEEN THE REVENUE. THAT'S LISTED HERE, THE $617 MILLION AND THE EXPENDITURES THAT WE JUST WALKED THROUGH. SO THAT DIFFERENCE IS 36, ALMOST $37 MILLION. SO YOU SEE THE BUDGET AT THE TOP OF 614 MILLION. AND THEN ROLLING DOWN TO THE ADJUSTED BUDGET WITH THE BASE BUDGET ADJUSTMENTS THAT WE HAVE THE 39 MILLION. SO WE HAVE A DIFFERENCE OF 36.6. SO THIS IS JUST A SUMMARY SLIDE OF ALL THE DIFFERENT AREAS THAT WE WENT THROUGH ON THE PREVIOUS SLIDES, SO THAT WE CAN LOOK AT THE UNRESTRICTED 24 BUDGET. ANY ADDITIONS AND SUBTRACTIONS. AND THEN YOU GET TO THE $36.7 MILLION GAP OKAY. SO BEFORE WE OPEN IT FOR QUESTIONS I WANT TO PUT A STAKE IN THE GROUND RIGHT HERE. OKAY AND SO WE'RE GOING TO CALL THIS HCP. AS YOU KNOW REVISED PROPOSAL. RIGHT. SO IF WE COME BACK TO SOMETHING THIS IS WHAT WE'LL CALL IT. AND I JUST WANT TO SOME SUMMARIZE IT TO MAKE SURE I UNDERSTAND IT.

RIGHT. AND JUST FOR CLARITY. ALL RIGHT. SO EVERYTHING THAT YOU JUST, PRESENT IT AND THANK YOU FOR PUTTING THAT TOGETHER BRINGS THE BOARD'S UNRESTRICT ED PROPOSAL TO ABOUT $653 MILLION, RIGHT NOW. THAT INCLUDES. 36, ALMOST 37 MILLION OF THE 54 IN FUND BALANCE. IS IT OF THE 54 WE WERE TO FUND THAT GAP WITH FUND BALANCE, THAT WOULD BE CORRECT. OKAY. OF THE OF THE 54. SO IF WE

[00:35:06]

YEAH, BETWEEN 17 AND 18. SO I GOT TO ADD THAT BACK IN. OKAY. SO 1717 AND 18 OKAY. SO LET'S PUT THE STAKE IN THE GROUND RIGHT HERE OKAY. SO THAT'S 653 MILLION USING ALMOST 36 MILLION WHICH WOULD LEAD IN THE FUND BALANCE 17 TO 18 MILLION. RIGHT. OR DO I HAVE THAT RIGHT. AND IS EVERYBODY CLEAR WITH WITH WHERE WE ARE RIGHT NOW OKAY. GREAT. WITH THAT STAKE IN THE GROUND WE'LL OPEN IT UP FOR QUESTIONS RELATED TO YOUR PRESENTATION. I THINK DIANE HAD A QUESTION AND WE'VE HAD A QUESTION. I JUST I HAD A QUESTION ABOUT, WHAT THE FUND BALANCE INTEREST WAS BASED ON WHAT PERCENTAGE, AND THE AMOUNT LIKE WHAT WERE YOUR ASSUMPTIONS WHEN YOU CAME UP WITH THE 2 MILLION? WE LOOK AT ACTUAL RESULTS AT THE TIME AND THEN A TREND. SO WE'RE LOOKING AT RAW DOLLARS AND WE'RE NOT CALCULATING BASED OFF THE ACTUAL RATE BECAUSE AGAIN, THE BALANCE HAS CHANGED. SO WE'RE LOOKING AT WHAT HAVE WE RECEIVED. MONEY IN THE BANK HAS BEEN RELATIVELY CONSISTENT. SO IF RATES REMAIN CONSISTENT THE REVENUE WOULD REMAIN CONSISTENT. SO THAT'S WE'VE BEEN LOOKING AT HISTORY. OKAY I CAN'T SEE ALL HANDS. SO YOU CAN JUST GO AHEAD AND JUMP IN. YEP. SO, THE USE OF THE $2 MILLION OR I SHOULD SAY THE REC RECOGNIZE USING 2 MILLION OF INTEREST REVENUE THIS YEAR IS ACTUALLY FAIRLY AGGRESSIVE ON OUR PART. I WOULD I WOULD CHARACTERIZE IT AND NOT NECESSARILY A CONSERVATIVE CORRECT APPROACH, TO, TO BASICALLY FREE UP MORE FUNDS TO, TO PLUG THIS GAP, SO I APPRECIATE THAT. THAT'S THAT'S REALLY THE STRATEGY OR, OR THE PERSPECTIVE THAT WE'RE TAKING ON THIS, AND, YOU KNOW, I WOULD AGREE TO LEAVE AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE AS UNRECOGNIZED AND JUST, YOU KNOW, GO TO FUND BALANCE BECAUSE NO DOUBT WE'RE GOING TO NEED IT EITHER FOR CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS OR NEXT YEAR FOR OPERATING. SO AGAIN, JUST TO TRY TO ILLUSTRATE THIS, IF THE WHAT WE RECOGNIZE IS AN INTEREST REVENUE, LET'S SAY WE DON'T INCLUDE THAT 1 MILLION, WE PUT IN FOR THIS YEAR. AND WE SAY WE'RE JUST RECOGNIZING 1 MILLION, RIGHT. WHICH IS WHAT WE DID LAST YEAR, WHICH IS WHAT.

YEAH THEN OUR FUND BALANCE GOES UP TO 55. ALL RIGHT. AND SO IT JUST MAKES IT LOOK LIKE WE'RE USING MORE FUND BALANCE. YOU KNOW. SO IT'S ALL SO THIS IS TRULY A JUDGMENT CALL ABOUT HOW YOU WANT TO PRESENT IT TO THE WORLD. IT DOESN'T CHANGE. YOU KNOW WHAT WE'RE USING OR NOT USING. AND SO YOU KNOW SO AGAIN THAT'S MORE A JUDGMENT CALL. BUT THE REASON I WANTED TO EXPLAIN IT FURTHER IS IT COULD GO EITHER WAY. AND I'M NOT SURE WHAT THE BEST WAY TO GO IS, YOU KNOW, MORE MORE CONSERVATIVE MEANS WE'RE RECOGNIZING LESS, BUT IT MEANS IT LOOKS LIKE WE'RE USING EVEN MORE FUND BALANCE. SO THAT'S THE THING THAT WE WANT PEOPLE TO UNDERSTAND THAT, IT'S REALLY A JUDGMENT CALL AND HOW IT LOOKS TO THE WORLD, BUT IT DOESN'T REALLY CHANGE THE FLOW OF MONEY A WHOLE LOT, SOME OF THESE POSITIONS THAT ARE BEING MOVED TO OTHER DEPARTMENTS, LIKE SAY, I THINK WHAT HEALTH, HEALTH AND, WELL, HEALTH WAS. RIGHT. SO LIKE, DID WE AGREE TO THAT, LIKE IN PERPETUITY OR FOR A YEAR LIKE, IS THIS GOING TO BE A PROBLEM NEXT YEAR FOR SOME OF THESE POSITIONS? LIKE DO YOU WANT TO ADDRESS THAT POSITION HAS BEEN FUNDED BY THE HEALTH DEPARTMENT SINCE ITS INCEPTION. SO THIS WOULD BE THE DISCUSSION THAT WE HAVE WITH THEM.

COMMISSIONER BUT THAT'S JUST THAT ONE POSITION. BUT GENERALLY ANYTHING THAT'S BEING MOVED ARE WE LOOKING TO POTENTIALLY MOVE IT, YOU KNOW, PERMANENTLY. IS THAT THE GOAL? I MEAN IT DEPENDS HOW IT'S BEING FUNDED. SO THEY'RE BEING FUNDED BY SEVERAL DIFFERENT. SO THE CONCENTRATION OF POVERTY DOLLARS, THOSE ARE RECURRING DOLLARS WHILE THEY'RE IN A RESTRICTED ACCOUNT, THEY COME INTO US RESTRICTED FROM THE STATE, SO WE DON'T EXPECT THOSE TO BE SORT OF HAVE TO BE REVISITED IN THE FUTURE BECAUSE THAT'S MONEY. NOT ONLY IS THAT RECURRING MONEY, BUT THE CONCENTRATION OF POVERTY DOLLARS FOR THE SCHOOLS THAT RECEIVE IT. WE'RE EXPECTING THEM TO GROW, RIGHT? PROBABLY TO DOUBLE OVER THE NEXT FEW YEARS. SO THE ONES THAT ARE MOVING TO CONCENTRATION OF POVERTY, I DON'T HAVE CONCERNS ABOUT US FUNDING IN THE FUTURE. THE HEALTH DEPARTMENT ONE IS DIFFERENT AND THAT ONE'S YEAR BY YEAR WITH THE HEALTH DEPARTMENT. BUT YOU KNOW, THEY'VE AGREED TO DO ANOTHER YEAR. SO THAT IS WHEN WE WILL HAVE TO DISCUSS NEXT YEAR.

THE QUESTION RELATED TO THAT, HAVE WE LOOKED AT OTHER POSITIONS THAT COULD POSSIBLY BE TRANSFERRED TO, YOU KNOW, THE COP FUNDS OR OTHER RESTRICTED FUNDS? OH, YEAH. WE SCOURED.

THAT'S BEEN MR. HANNIGAN'S WORK FOR THE LAST MONTH OR SO, BUT YEAH. ABSOLUTELY. YEAH. THE

[00:40:01]

SO THE HIGHER FARMS RATE ARE GOING TO GET MORE PER PUPIL EACH YEAR. BUT THEY ALSO GET MORE IN EVERY ADDITIONAL YEAR BECAUSE YOU GO FROM 16 TO 30 2 TO 46 AND YOU EVENTUALLY GET TO 100. OUR LARGEST OR OUR HIGHEST POVERTY SCHOOLS RIGHT NOW ARE AT 55% PHASE IN. SO THEY'RE GOING TO BASICALLY DOUBLE THEIR PER PUPIL AMOUNT, THE TWO LARGEST. BUT WHAT 700 AND 707? I THINK THEY GOT THE SHEEP ARE PROJECTED TO GET FOR FY 25. SO THEY HAVE $1.4 MILLION ONCE IT'S PHASED IN. SO DOES THAT MEAN OUR AMOUNT OF MONEY AVAILABLE TO US FROM THAT SOURCE IS INCREASING OVER TIME, BECAUSE THE PER PUPIL FUNDING GOES UP? YES. IT'S NOT EATING MORE AWAY FROM OUR OTHER BUDGET.

NO. IT'S NO THAT'S A STRAIGHT INCREASE FROM THE STATE. IT'S A SEPARATE, FUNDING SOURCE THAT WAS PUT IN WITH BLUEPRINT. AND THAT'S NOT ONE IN THE BLUEPRINT THAT REQUIRES A LOCAL MATCH.

MANY OF THE THINGS IN THE BLUEPRINT DO, BUT THAT'S ONE THAT'S FULLY FUNDED BY THE STATE REVENUE. AND 100% OF THOSE FUNDS HAVE TO BE SPENT AT THAT SCHOOL. THAT'S LIKE TO MAKE AN OBSERVATION. I WANT TO SEE IF I'M RIGHT HERE IN THIS OBSERVATION. SO, YOU KNOW, I ALWAYS THOUGHT COMING INTO THIS THAT THE IDEAL SOLUTION WOULD BE A MIX OF USING, A BOTH CUTS IN THE RIGHT PLACES THAT, YOU KNOW, SUPPORT THE BOARD'S PRIORITIES. AND USING FUND BALANCE. RIGHT.

SO ON THE SURFACE HERE, IT LOOKS LIKE THE FUND BALANCE USES THE 37. AND IT LOOKS LIKE ON THE SURFACE THAT THE CUTS ARE THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN 37 AND 39, ALMOST 40. RIGHT. ONE COULD PROBABLY PRESUME THAT BECAUSE RIGHT. BECAUSE 40 MILLION IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE CUTS AND THE ADDITIONS. 39.7 MILLION, RIGHT. SO ON SLIDE 11, I'M SORRY IF YOU COULD GO TO SLIDE 11, SO THAT SO WHAT YOU'RE PROPOSING, WHICH ARE BOTH THE, THE ADDITIONS AND THE SUBTRACTION COME TO 39,000,039.7 MILLION ADJUSTED ADJUSTED. RIGHT. OKAY. SO ONE COULD LOOK AT THIS AND THEY COULD SAY, WELL, YOU KNOW YOU DIDN'T REALLY CUT ENOUGH. YOU ONLY CUT, YOU KNOW, POTENTIALLY A COUPLE MILLION BECAUSE YOU'RE ASKING FOR 30, ALMOST 37 MILLION FROM THE FUND BALANCE. RIGHT? SO IF YOU GO INTO THIS BUT I'D LIKE TO POINT OUT HERE THAT THAT'S NOT THE CASE. WHAT IT APPEARS TO BE ON THE SURFACE, BECAUSE THINGS IN THE IN THIS LINE ITEM HERE, IT'S NOT NUMBERED. BUT I'LL TRY TO GO THROUGH IT. RIGHT. INSURANCE AND OTHER FIXED CHARGES. WE DON'T HAVE AN OPTION THERE. LIKE WE HAVE TO PAY THAT. SO THAT 5.2 MILLION THAT WE HAVE TO PAY, THERE IS ACTUALLY 5.2 MILLION THAT YOU CUT FROM SOMEWHERE. IS THAT RIGHT? YEAH. IF YOU GO UP TO SLIDE NINE, WHAT YOU WOULD SEE IS WE'VE CUT $10.6 MILLION WORTH OF SERVICES AND THINGS BECAUSE SOME OF IT IS YOU HAD TO CUT SOMEWHERE, AND THAT'S NOT NECESSARILY REFLECTED ON HERE.

IT'S KIND OF BURIED IN HERE. BUT I WANT TO POINT THAT OUT. SO TAKE SPECIAL EDUCATION. RIGHT.

LIKE WE HAVE TO FUND SPECIAL EDUCATION BECAUSE OUR SPECIAL EDUCATION POPULATION IS INCREASING. AND THE ALTERNATIVE IS TO OUTSOURCE THEM, WHICH WILL ULTIMATELY COST YOU MORE IN THE LONG RUN. RIGHT? BUT BECAUSE OUR SPECIAL EDUCATION POPULATION IS INCREASING AND WE HAVE TO SERVICE THOSE STUDENTS, WE'RE ADDING 8 MILLION HERE. BUT WE HAD TO FIND IT TO CUT SOMEWHERE ELSE. SO ON THE SURFACE HERE, IF YOU LOOK AT IT, ONE COULD LOOK AT THIS AND JUST QUICKLY SAY, WELL, YOU'RE ONLY CUTTING 2 TO $3 MILLION, BUT THAT'S NOT THE CASE AT ALL. IS THAT IS THAT A

[00:45:01]

WE'RE NOW RECOGNIZING WE'RE DOWN TO 39.7. SO WHAT'S THAT DIFFERENCE? SO I GUESS THE POINT HERE IS, IS THAT IT'S NOT WE'RE USING 37 FROM FUND BALANCE. AND WE'RE CUTTING 2 OR 3. THE CUTS ARE ACTUALLY MUCH DEEPER THAN THAT. I THINK WHAT YOU'RE SAYING IS INITIALLY WE ADDED ALL OF THE SPECIAL EDUCATION PROGRAMS IN BECAUSE OF THE NEED FOR THAT BY DOING THAT AND RECOGNIZE WHERE WE WERE WITH THE BUDGET, WE COULDN'T ADD ANYTHING ELSE AND OTHER THINGS HAD TO GO BY THE WAYSIDE, RIGHT, IF YOU WILL, IN ORDER TO FUND THOSE. SO THERE WERE THINGS THAT WERE NOT ADDED TO THE BUDGET OR NOT INCREASED BECAUSE OF THAT. SO I THINK THAT'S WHERE YOU'RE GETTING EVEN DEEPER AND IT'S ABSOLUTELY NOT. AND I JUST WANTED TO POINT THAT OUT BECAUSE I DON'T THINK IT'S OBVIOUS, IF YOU LOOK AT THIS, THAT THOSE CUTS ARE ACTUALLY IN THERE. AND SO I DO THINK THAT WHAT YOU PRESENTED, AT LEAST ON THE SURFACE, IS A BLEND OF USE OF FUND BALANCE AND CUTS THAT I THINK IS A IS APPROPRIATE IN THIS CASE. MY CONCERN IS, IS THIS IS A PLAY THAT WE CAN RUN ONCE, RIGHT, RIGHT, RIGHT. AND NOBODY HAS A CRYSTAL BALL. SO WE DON'T KNOW. WE CAN SIT HERE AND TRY TO GUESS WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN TO THE ECONOMY. WE CAN TRY TO GUESS WHAT THE COUNTY COUNCIL AND COUNTY EXECUTIVE ARE GOING TO DO. BUT, YOU KNOW, THERE'S NO GUARANTEE THAT WE RUN THIS PLAY AGAIN NEXT YEAR. SO WE HAVE A DECISION TO MAKE. IS THIS THE RIGHT BLEND OF CUTS AND FUND BALANCE, OR DO WE NEED TO ADJUST BASED ON AN UNCERTAIN FUTURE? AND THAT'S THE QUESTION HERE BOARD MEMBERS. SO I WOULD I WOULD ADD ONE OTHER THING IS THAT WE DO HAVE A LITTLE BIT OF A PERFECT STORM THIS YEAR. THERE'S NO QUESTION WE NEED TO SEE BETTER SUPPORT FROM THIS COUNTY. AND THAT THAT NEEDS TO BE DISCUSSED. WELL, THIS BUT THIS IS ALSO AND THIS HAS BEEN SOMETHING THAT'S BEEN DISCUSSED AT THE STATE A LITTLE BIT. THE WAY THE BLUEPRINT FUNDING ROLLS OUT, THEY HAD A SCHEDULE FOR HOW MUCH THINGS WILL GROW EACH YEAR. AND THIS COINCIDENTALLY, IS THE YEAR THAT THE FUNDING FROM THE STATE IS GROWING THE LEAST OF ANY YEAR IN THE SCHEDULE OF THE BLUEPRINT. SO WE ARE EXPECTING TO SEE MORE REVENUE FROM THE STATE NEXT YEAR, LIKE A GREATER INCREASE FROM THE STATE NEXT YEAR THAT WE THAT WE GOT THIS YEAR. SO THAT IS ONE THING THAT PROVIDES A LITTLE BIT OF HOPE. NOW, IN SOME CASES, THAT REVENUE COMES WITH A MATCH AND WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO DEAL WITH THAT. BUT ANOTHER THING IS LIKE THE CONCENTRATION OF POVERTY AND STUFF LIKE THAT, IT DOESN'T REQUIRE A MATCH. SO I'M EXPECTING TO SEE MORE STATE REVENUE NEXT YEAR. I'M ALSO, AGAIN, I'M NOT TRYING TO BE OVERLY OPTIMISTIC, BUT AS WE SAID, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE TWO MAJOR THINGS PUTTING PRESSURE ON OUR BUDGET. I BELIEVE ONE IS THE NEW REQUIREMENTS FROM THE BLUEPRINT, BECAUSE I BELIEVE THE FINANCIAL CALCULATIONS OF THE BLUEPRINT AREN'T ADEQUATELY DONE. WE'VE TALKED QUITE A BIT ABOUT THAT. THE OTHER IS THE STAGNATED FUNDING FROM THE COUNTY, WHICH IS IMPOSSIBLE DURING A TIME OF, YOU KNOW, UNPRECEDENTED REVENUE INCREASES IN THE LAST FEW DECADES OR NOT REDUCED INTEREST COSTS, YOU KNOW, IT COST INCREASES IN THE LAST FEW DECADES. SO THOSE TWO THINGS AT STATE LEVEL, FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER SINCE THE BLUEPRINT STARTED, THE KEY LEADERSHIP AT THE STATE IS HAVING CONVERSATIONS, RECOGNIZING THAT THE FUNDING IS KIND OF HITTING A WALL. AND SO I'M BEGINNING TO SEE EVIDENCE THAT THERE ARE TRULY LOOKING AT THE ISSUES WE'VE BEEN RAISING.

YOU KNOW, SO PUTTING MESSAGING OUT THERE ABOUT, YOU KNOW, THE CHALLENGES TO THE BLUEPRINT FUNDING, IT IS STARTING TO ACTUALLY GET PEOPLE'S ATTENTION. SO I'M HOPEFUL THAT THAT'S GOING TO CONTINUE. AND THERE WILL BE SOME MORE COMMON SENSE APPROACHES TO HOW THE FUNDING GOES FORWARD AND SOME RECOGNITION OF THE FACT THAT EVERY DISTRICT IN THE STATE IS STRUGGLING WITH THEIR LOCAL FUNDING. EVEN THE PLACES THAT AREN'T BEING FUNDED THIS YEAR.

SO THOSE ARE THE TWO SORT OF BRIGHT SPOTS I'M LOOKING TO, TO SAY OUR CIRCUMSTANCES WON'T BE AS DIRE NEXT YEAR, BUT WE STILL HAVE A HUGE CHALLENGE LOCALLY AND WE NEED TO MAKE SURE PEOPLE GET THAT. SO WITH THAT, WHAT YOU'RE SAYING, I'M KIND OF SAYING THIS ALL TO SOME DEGREE TO SUPPORT WHAT YOU'RE SUGGESTING, THAT THIS IS THE YEAR TO RUN THIS PLACE. WE CAN ONLY RUN ONCE. THAT'S A TRUE STATEMENT. BUT THERE ARE SOME HOPEFUL SIGNS TO SAY NEXT YEAR.

WE NOT GOING TO HAVE AN EASY YEAR, BUT IT MIGHT NOT BE AS DIRE AS YOU KNOW. THANK YOU.

[00:50:03]

AND SO RIGHT NOW, THE PACE WE'RE MOVING FOR EXPANDING PRE-K IS NOT NECESSARILY GOING TO GET US THE SEATS THAT WE NEED TO COMPLY WITH THE LAW, WHICH IS WHY WE REALLY NEED THE PRIVATE PROVIDERS TO JOIN IN SO THAT WE COULD MEET THAT, FOR ELEVATING EDUCATORS, WE'RE MEETING ALL THE REQUIREMENTS THAT WE NEED TO MEET. WE FINISHED OUR NEGOTIATIONS. NATIONAL BOARD.

YOU'VE HEARD THINGS TALKED ABOUT THAT, WE'RE THE RENEWAL OF NATIONAL BOARD WILL BE THE NEXT YEAR. WE'RE MEETING WHAT WE NEED TO DO WITH THAT FOR COLLEGE AND CAREER READINESS, THERE ARE AREAS THAT WE'RE NOT YET MEETING, AND, WITH REGARDS TO ADVANCED PLACEMENT AND SOME OTHER THINGS, BUT THE PACE THAT WE HAVE TO GET TO. SO, FOR EXAMPLE, THE APPRENTICESHIPS, THE GOAL IS THAT WE HAVE TO HAVE 45% OF OUR STUDENTS THAT, HAVE EXPERIENCED APPRENTICESHIPS. AND EVEN THOUGH WE'RE DOING FANTASTIC THINGS, THERE, AND WE HAVE HAD MASSIVE GROWTH, WE STILL NEED TO INVEST IN ALL OF THAT FOR US TO MEET THOSE GOALS. SO EVERYTHING THAT WE'RE DOING IN CCR IS, IS LEADING US TO MEET THAT THAT TIMELINE. WHEN YOU WHEN YOU SAY MEET, DO YOU MEAN MEET THE STATE LIKE, STATUTORY REQUIREMENT OR MEET THE PLAN THAT WE SUBMITTED TO THE STATE, WHICH WAS A STATE STATUTORY REQUIREMENT. AND THEN FOR THE STUDENT SUPPORTS A LARGE AMOUNT OF THE WORK IN THAT AREA IS NOT NECESSARILY FUNDED DIRECTLY TO US OR THROUGH THE OPERATING BUDGET. SO WE'VE TALKED A LOT ABOUT CONCENTRATION OF POVERTY, COMMUNITY SCHOOLS. THAT'S SEPARATE. IT'S DIRECT FUNDING, THERE IS MONEY WITHIN THE BLUEPRINT FOR A CONSORTIUM OF BEHAVIORAL HEALTH SERVICES. THAT MONEY DOES NOT PASS THROUGH US. AND SO THERE IS NOTHING IDENTIFIABLE IN THAT PARTICULAR AREA THAT IS, EXCEEDING WHAT WE NEED TO DO. AND THEN IN THE LAST PILLAR FOR FOUNDATION, ONE OF THE THINGS WE HAVE TO START WORKING TOWARDS IS THE 75% FUNDING, GETTING, ATTRIBUTED TO THE SCHOOL. AND THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE HAVE TO WORK TOWARDS.

THAT IS NOT SOMETHING WE'RE EXCEEDING. RIGHT NOW. ONE OF THE ONLY AREAS WE'RE EXCEEDING WHAT WE'RE DOING IS FOR SPECIAL ED, WHERE WE ARE, YOU KNOW, WE'RE FAR AND AWAY MEETING THAT 75.

BUT THAT'S NOT SOMETHING WE'RE GOING TO STOP DOING. SO THERE ISN'T ANYTHING DIRECT THAT WE ARE DOING THAT IS ABOVE AND BEYOND. IN SUMMARY, I CAN'T SHAKE YOU DOWN FOR ANYTHING. AND THERE'S NOTHING. THERE'S YES, YES AND YES. AND THE SUB ELEMENTS IN EACH PILLAR, AND A LOT OF THEM GO WITH THOSE ERRORS THROUGH FY 32. SO I UNDERSTAND YOU ARE FACING RAMP, BUT IF YOU DELAYED THIS YEAR LIKE FOR EXAMPLE THREE YEAR OLDS, THEY TAKE A NAP AFTER YOUR BASIC THREE DAY CARE IS ONE WAY TO LOOK AT IT. OKAY, BUT IF YOU DELAY THAT, YOU JUST HAVE TO RAMP MORE NEXT YEAR WHEN THE FUNDING MAY BE SO. SO LET ME JUST LET ME GO BACK. WE'VE ANSWERED THE THREE YEAR OLD QUESTION. WE ARE NOT GROWING ANYTHING WITH THREE YEAR OLDS.

WHAT WE'RE DOING FOR THREE YEAR OLDS IS SOMETHING WE'VE BEEN DOING FOR YEARS, BECAUSE IT'S A LEGAL REQUIREMENT IN OUR SPECIAL ED PROGRAM, THERE WAS NO EXPANSION OF THREE YEAR OLDS THIS YEAR, AND, AND THAT'S ALSO SOMETHING WE CAN'T STOP BECAUSE WE HAVE TO HAVE THE NON-DISABLED THREE YEAR OLDS IN OUR LEARNING TOGETHER PROGRAM, WHICH AGAIN, WE'VE DONE FOR MANY YEARS.

BECAUSE OF THE SPECIAL ED REQUIREMENT THAT THAT THE STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES WHO COME INTO THE THREE YEAR OLD PROGRAM HAVE TO BE IN AN ENVIRONMENT WITH NON-DISABLED PEERS AND SO THAT'S REALLY A LEGAL REQUIREMENT, FOR THE SPECIAL ED FUNDING, BECAUSE IF WE DON'T HAVE THOSE THREE YEAR OLDS IN, THAT PUTS US IN JEOPARDY OF BEING OUT OF COMPLIANCE WITH SPECIAL EDUCATION. SO THAT'S NOT A SLIGHT ISSUE, RIGHT? WHAT'S THAT? YES, WE'RE EXPANDING. RIGHT. BECAUSE OF THE NUMBER OF CHILDREN THAT ARE REQUIRED. YOU

[00:55:05]

SO OKAY. AND THAT'S OKAY. I HAVE ANOTHER QUESTION ABOUT THAT. I WOULD SAY THAT JUST GOES BACK TO THE OVERARCHING COST OF INCREASING SPECIAL EDUCATION POPULATION, WHICH WE HAVE TO THAT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH BLUEPRINT, RIGHT? IT'S WHAT I'M HEARING. OKAY. THE FOUR YEAR OLD FULL DAY PRE-K IS THE BLUEPRINT. EVENTUALLY, SOMEWHERE DOWN THE LINE, WE WILL HAVE FULL DAY, THREE YEAR OLD PRE-K THAT'S REQUIRED BY THE BLUEPRINT. BUT THOSE THINGS MAY CHANGE. I MEAN, THAT'S THE OH YEAH, THEY MAY CHANGE. THAT'S WHY I SAY SOMEWHERE IN THE FUTURE WE MAY, BUT THERE'S NOTHING IN THERE'S NOTHING IN NEXT YEAR'S BUDGET FOR THAT. THERE'S NOTHING EVEN FOR NEXT YEAR OLD FULL DAY PRE-K YET. OKAY. SO JUST LIKE SPECIAL EDUCATION STUDENTS ARE, YOU KNOW, THEY GO THROUGH 21, THEY START AT THREE, RIGHT. AND WE HAVE TO THAT'S LIKE STATE LAW THAT FOR THOSE STUDENTS THAT WE HAVE TO DO THAT. SO JUST TO SUMMARIZE, WE'RE NOT DOING ANYTHING OVER AND ABOVE WHAT'S REQUIRED BY STATE LAW REGARDING BLUEPRINT. AND WE'RE NOT STARTING THE FOUR YEAR OLD, PRE-K NEXT YEAR. WE DO HAVE FOUR YEAR OLDS, BUT FOR SPECIAL EDUCATION AND IN CERTAIN IN CERTAIN POPULATIONS. NO, WE HAVE FOUR YEAR OLDS, YOU MEAN THREE YEAR OLDS? THREE YEAR OLDS. SORRY. THREE YEAR OLDS. YES. YES, YES. OKAY THANK YOU. WHAT ABOUT DUAL ENROLLMENT, THOUGH? I THINK THE STATE REQUIREMENT IS FOR COURSES. WE'RE DOING FIVE AND THERE'S DECISIONS THERE AS FAR AS WHETHER YOU ALLOW A DUAL ENROLLMENT IN 10TH, 11TH, 12TH GRADE OR JUST 12TH GRADE, JUST FARMS, THINGS LIKE THAT. ARE WE, YOU KNOW, A LITTLE YOU KNOW, WE'RE GENEROUS IN THAT AREA. I MEAN, AGAIN, EVERYBODY'S DOING A GREAT JOB. NOBODY WANTS TO CUT ANYTHING. BUT WE HAVE A DECISION TO MAKE. AND THERE'S AT LEAST 33 TEACHER CUTS THAT I SEE HERE. 12 ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, 21 IN SECOND SCHOOL. OKAY LET'S HOLD ON. I THINK THAT'S A THAT'S A DISPUTED POSITION. CUTS NO, NO, WE REVISED THAT. WE HAVE THE SAME NUMBER OF FTES WE HAVE AT THE SAME OR MORE FTES IN THIS BUDGET THAN WE HAD TWO LINE SIX AND SEVEN. AND ONE IS READING THAT.

SO THIS IS ED SERVICES. THERE ARE NO THE TEACHER POSITIONS. IF YOU LOOK ON THE SCREEN THERE'S NO POSITION CUTS THERE. THE FIRST COLUMN THE FIRST COLUMN IS THE PROPOSED POSITIVE NUMBERS.

AND THOSE ARE ALL CARRYING FORWARD TO THE FINAL RECOMMENDATION. I CAN RELAX NOW OKAY OKAY. SO YOU SOME OF THE ORIGINAL THINGS WE TALKED ABOUT INITIALLY THE INITIALLY WE HAD SOME REDUCTIONS IN THERE, BUT THOSE WERE REMOVED. AND THOSE 12 AND 21 CARRY OVER TO THE FINAL RECOMMENDATION. AND SO I THINK WHAT YOU WHAT YOU HEAR SOMETIMES IN THE COMMUNITY OF PEOPLE SAYING, YOU KNOW, HEY, I WAS APPROACHED TODAY BY MY PRINCIPAL, WHERE'S BEN, WHERE'S BEN? OH, THERE YOU ARE. SORRY, YOU KNOW, SAYING, HEY, YOU KNOW, YOUR POSITION MIGHT, YOU KNOW, NOT MIGHT NOT BE HERE NEXT YEAR. THAT'S A LITTLE BIT OF, LIKE, SHUFFLING OF THE DECK. IT DOESN'T MEAN THAT THE ALLOCATION OF RESOURCES, REALLOCATION OF RESOURCES, WHICH IS SOMETHING THAT HAPPENS EVERY YEAR AS THE POPULATION CHANGES AND THE NEEDS CHANGE OF EACH INDIVIDUAL SCHOOL. SO WHAT THEY WERE ESSENTIALLY SAYING IS NOT THAT YOU'RE GOING TO BE ON THE STREETS NEXT YEAR, BUT, HEY, WHATEVER JOB YOU'RE DOING HERE, WE MAY NOT NEED YOU HERE NEXT YEAR. YOU MIGHT NEED TO GO TO A DIFFERENT SCHOOL OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT, RIGHT? YEAH. CORRECT.

AND I UNDERSTAND THAT. AND FOR HIGH SCHOOL THAT'S PROBABLY SHIFTS THAT HAPPEN. BUT IN ELEMENTARY IF YOU'RE LOSING A FOURTH GRADE CLASS OR A FIFTH GRADE CLASS AND YOUR CLASS SIZE WAS ALREADY OVER, OUR CAP, WHAT DO WE DO IN CLASS SIZE AND DO WE KNOW THAT YET? WELL, WE WOULD NEVER TAKE A TEACHER FROM A SCHOOL WHERE THE CLASS SIZE WAS ALREADY OVER THE CAP. IF WE TAKE IT, IF A POSITION IS BEING MOVED, IT'S BECAUSE THEY HAD ROOM UNDER THEIR CAP TO RAISE THEIR CLASS SIZE LEVEL AND STILL KEEP THEM WITHIN WHAT WE THOUGHT WAS APPROPRIATE CLASSES, AND THAT'S USUALLY DUE, LIKE, DOCTOR COYNE SAID, TO SHIFTING OF ENROLLMENT AT DIFFERENT SCHOOLS.

I MEAN, WE WOULD NEVER TAKE A TEACHER AND CAUSE THAT SCHOOL TO GO OVER THEIR CAP AT THE TIME THE DECISION WAS MADE. SO ONE OF THE THINGS THIS BOARD IS PARTICULARLY SENSITIVE. I'M SORRY. WELL, CAN YOU WHEN YOU SAY WE'RE OVER, WHAT? CAN YOU GIVE ME AN EXAMPLE? NO, I CAN'T GIVE IT. OKAY. WELL, BECAUSE THERE WE DO NOT PURPOSELY FORCE ANY, ANY CLASS SIZE IN ANY ELEMENTARY SCHOOL OVER THE CAP. NOW YOU HAVE TO UNDERSTAND, YOU KNOW, WE'RE LOOKING AT

[01:00:02]

I MEAN, YOU ALL GOT LETTERS FOR MONTHS. YOU MAY STILL BE GETTING LETTERS FROM THE KINDERGARTEN TEACHER HERE, RIGHT? YEAH. BECAUSE THEY HAD ONE OF THESE SITUATIONS WHERE THE ENROLLMENT WAS LOOKING LOW. WE HAD A CHOICE. THE FOURTH GRADE AND KINDERGARTEN WERE BOTH KIND OF POSSIBLY GOING TO BE OVER OR UNDER, AND WE HAD TO CHOOSE WHETHER WE WENT WITH INVESTING THE TEACHER IN FOURTH AND PULLING FROM KINDERGARTEN OR INVESTING THE TEACHER IN KINDERGARTEN PULLING FOURTH. WELL KINDERGARTEN WENT OVER AND THE END. AND AT THAT BY THAT POINT, BECAUSE WE ALWAYS TRY TO HANG ON TO A FEW TEACHERS. SO YOU HEARD ABOUT US MAKING ADJUSTMENTS OF TEACHERS IN THE LAST FEW WEEKS. YOU KNOW, WHERE WE PULLED TEACHERS, WE PULLED SOME SCHOOLS THAT YOU'RE LOSING A TEACHER. WHAT THAT MEANS IS DOCTOR MAC HAS A COUPLE TEACHERS WHO ARE NOT YET ASSIGNED AND AS WE SEE ENROLLMENT HAPPEN, SHE THEN IS CONSTANTLY WATCHING WEEKLY. SHE'S KEEPING TRACK OF WHAT THE ENROLLMENTS ARE IN THOSE SCHOOLS SO SHE CAN TAKE THAT TEACHER POSITION THAT WE PULLED FROM ONE OF THE SCHOOLS AND ASSIGN IT WHERE THE ENROLLMENTS COMING IN. THE TROUBLE IS, IN A REALLY TIGHT BUDGET, WE'RE NEVER ABLE TO LEAVE HER WITH ENOUGH TEACHERS TO COVER ALL THE PLACES. AND SO THEN WE GET TO AUGUST OR SEPTEMBER, AND WE'RE HAVING QUESTIONS ABOUT SHOULD WE OVERSPEND THE BUDGET IN ORDER TO FILL THAT GAP IN A SCHOOL WHERE IT'S JUST WENT OVER A LITTLE BIT. AND SO LAST YEAR, OUR DECISION AND I KNOW YOU REMEMBER, YOU MAY REMEMBER THIS ALL HAPPENED LAST YEAR. WE SAID, OKAY, WE'RE GOING TO OVERSPEND, BUT WE'RE NOT GOING TO DO IT IN TEACHERS. WE'RE GOING TO ADD PARAEDUCATOR TO PROVIDE MORE SUPPORT. BUT THE CLASS SIZE AVERAGE IS STILL GOING TO BE FINE. SO WE HAVE A LOT OF OPTIONS TO ADDRESS THESE KIND OF SHIFTING THINGS. BUT IT'S LIKE AGAIN, IT'S PART ART, PART SCIENCE AND IT'S PART, YOU KNOW, CRYSTAL BALL. AND THAT'S KIND OF WHAT MARY DOES. AND THE OTHER THING YOU HAVE TO REMEMBER IS WE CAN'T HOLD ON TO TEACHING POSITIONS TOO LONG. AND BEN WILL ATTEST TO THE FACT THAT IF WE'RE IN AUGUST RELEASING A TEACHER, MORE THAN LIKELY WE'RE NOT GOING BE ABLE TO HIRE THEM. THERE AREN'T GOING TO BE ANY TEACHERS OUT THERE. SO A LOT OF THE DECISIONS WE MAKE HAVE TO BE MADE EARLY IN ORDER TO THE BEST, TO HAVE THE BEST CHANCE OF SECURING A QUALIFIED TEACHER FOR THE CLASSROOM. YEAH BECAUSE THOSE HOLD BACK TEACHERS WILL MOST LIKELY BE VACANCIES, AND THEY'RE ASSIGNED. IF YOU DON'T ASSIGN THEM TO MIDDLE AUGUST, ALL THE HIGH, ALL THE, YOU KNOW, THE GOOD CANDIDATES, THE GREAT CANDIDATES HAVE ALREADY TAKEN. SO IF THEY'RE UNASSIGNED, THEY KNOW AND THEY'RE LOOKING FOR A JOB. NO, THERE ARE NO SPECIFIC PEOPLE ATTACHED TO THOSE UNASSIGNED. THESE ARE VACANT POSITIONS. PEOPLE ARE SHIFTED AROUND. AND WE HAVE SO MANY POSITIONS VACANT JUST FROM NORMAL ATTRITION. YES, FROM NORMAL ATTRITION. AND THEN WE ADD BACK A POSITION THAT IS VACANT TO A SCHOOL WHERE WE SEE THE NEED IS THERE. SO THERE IS NO ONE OUT THERE WAITING FOR A JOB. YOU KNOW, THESE ARE VACANCIES THAT WE HAVE TO HIRE FOR. JUST LIKE I EXPLAINED. LIKE I SAID, WE TELL DOCTOR MAC, YOU GET I MEAN, THIS THIS IS MORE NECESSARY IN ELEMENTARY BECAUSE THE CLASS CAPS ARE SO TIGHT. IT'S DIFFERENT IN SECONDARY. SO DOCTOR MAC IS TOTALLY OKAY, RIGHT? WHAT DID YOU HAVE THIS YEAR TO BEGIN WITH? EIGHT POSITIONS. YEAH, NINE, NINE POSITIONS. AND SO THEY WEREN'T PEOPLE. THEY WERE FTES THAT WERE ASSIGNED TO HER ON PAPER. RIGHT.

TO SAY THAT, AS WE KNOW WHAT THE ENROLLMENT IS GOING TO LOOK LIKE IN A SCHOOL, WE WILL YOU CAN SAY, OKAY, EMERSON ELEMENTARY LOOKS LIKE THEY'RE GOING OVER IN THIRD GRADE. AND DOCTOR MAC TELLS MR. RICHARDSON, OKAY, WE NEED TO RELEASE THAT AND TRY TO FIND ME A THIRD GRADE TEACHER FOR EMERSON. AND SO IT'S KIND OF RELEASING THAT ON PAPER POSITION AND GIVING IT TO H.R. TO TURN IT

[01:05:05]

BUT THAT'S RECOGNIZED. ONE OF THE THINGS YOU'LL ALSO SEE IS WE DID OUR KINDERGARTEN REGISTRATION VERY EARLY THIS YEAR BECAUSE WE ANTICIPATE ANTICIPATED HAVING THE STAFFING CHALLENGE IN THIS BUDGET CHALLENGE. AND SO NOW WHAT WE'RE STARTING TO SEE IS WHERE K KINDERGARTEN STUDENTS AREN'T SHOWING UP. THERE ARE SOME COMMUNITIES THAT AREN'T GROWING.

SO WE'RE SEEING THAT TREND DROP DOWN WHERE. SO THERE MAY BE A SCHOOL THAT TRADITIONALLY HAD FIVE KINDERGARTNERS. WELL, IF THERE AREN'T KINDERGARTNERS IN THAT PARTICULAR SCHOOL DISTRICT, WE MAY PULL THAT TEACHER BECAUSE THEY DON'T NEED FIVE, THEY MAY ONLY NEED FOUR. AND THEN WE'LL BE ABLE TO MOVE THAT TEACHER TO SOMEWHERE ELSE THAT ALIGNS WITH WHAT DOCTOR BOLSON WAS SAYING.

WE'RE TRYING TO MAKE THOSE DECISIONS AS EARLY AS POSSIBLE, SO THAT WE'RE NOT SAYING ON AUGUST FIRST, WOW, THIS SCHOOL HAS FIVE KINDERGARTNERS, BUT WE ONLY NEED 2 OR 3. AND THEN WE'RE MAKING THAT SHIFT LATE IN THE PROCESS. SO I WOULD BE MORE THAN HAPPY TO YOU KNOW, JUST HAVE FURTHER DISCUSSION ABOUT THIS IF YOU'RE INTERESTED. SO WE ARE GETTING INTO THE WEEDS. I'M SORRY, JUST A LITTLE BIT. I JUST WANTED TO COME BACK TO A MAIN POINT AND PROVIDE SOME CONTEXT.

I THINK PART OF THE REASON WHY THIS IS IMPORTANT TO THE BOARD IS BECAUSE IT IS A PRIORITY TO MAINTAIN AN, THE CLASS SIZE THAT WE HAVE, IF NOT IMPROVE THE CLASS SIZE. SO I WANT TO GO BACK TO SOMETHING THAT DOCTOR BOLSON JUST SAID TO MAKE SURE I UNDERSTAND IT. THE NUMBER OF FTE CLASSROOM FACING POSITIONS DOES NOT CHANGE IN THIS BUDGET SO FAR. OKAY. AND SO IT'S FAIR TO SAY THAT ON AVERAGE WITH THIS BUDGET ON AVERAGE, CLASSROOM SIZE WILL REMAIN THE SAME, ASSUMING WE DON'T SEE UNUSUAL. SURE. AND ACTUALLY IF AND ACTUALLY AND ACTUALLY I'LL KIND OF GO THAT A LITTLE BIT FURTHER. IF WE DON'T HAVE SIGNIFICANT ENROLLMENT, BUT, YOU KNOW, POP UP AT THE LAST MINUTE ENROLLMENTS ACTUALLY SLIGHTLY DOWN. SO AVERAGE CLASSROOM SIZE, IF YOU CARRY IT OUT TO THE THIRD OR FOURTH DECIMAL PLACE, ACTUALLY DECREASES GOING DEEP INTO THE. YEAH. BUT I'M JUST SAYING OKAY, I'M JUST SAYING BUT BUT LET'S JUST LET'S JUST ALL AGREE THAT WITH THIS BUDGET ON AVERAGE, AS LONG AS THERE'S NOT A SIGNIFICANT INCREASE AT THE END OF THE YEAR, THAT, YOU KNOW, TO BRING IT TO THE BOARD'S PRIMARY CONCERN, AVERAGE CLASSROOM SIZE DOES NOT CHANGE. YOU RECALL MY INITIAL BUDGET. WE WERE TRYING TO CLOSE THIS WHOLE GAP WITHOUT USING FUND BALANCE OR A SIGNIFICANT PORTION OF IT. WE'D HAVE TO START LOOKING AT CLASS SIZE BECAUSE THAT'S WHERE THE LARGEST DOLLAR AMOUNTS ARE. BUT WHAT YOU HAVE IN THIS PRESENTATION TODAY DOESN'T AFFECT THE NUMBER OF TEACHERS FACING OUR STUDENTS, RIGHT? DOESN'T REALLY INCREASE IT. I DON'T KNOW IF WE WERE UP ONE. I MEAN, IN THE SPECIAL ED AREAS WHERE WE'RE GROWING THOSE PROGRAMS, YOU'RE SEEING AN INCREASE OF FTE TO DEAL WITH THOSE STUDENTS, TO SUPPORT THOSE STUDENTS, BUT IT IT DEFINITELY DOESN'T DECREASE THE OVERALL NUMBER. SO DESPITE, YOU KNOW, HEARING ABOUT PEOPLE GETTING PULLED, THEY'RE JUST GETTING PULLED AND TO MOVE SOMEWHERE ELSE. SO WE'RE NOT, YOU KNOW, CHANGING THOSE, AND SO IF WE

[01:10:04]

RIGHT. BUT WE HAD THEM IN OUR BUILDINGS. WE JUST DON'T HAVE THE GRANT MONEY ANYMORE. THE OTHER POSITIONS THAT YOU HEARD. YES WE YOU KNOW, BEN, WHAT'S OUR NUMBER OF VACANCIES RIGHT NOW BASED ON RETIREMENTS? DO YOU FILLED A BUNCH? WELL, WE FILLED ABOUT 80 AT THIS POINT. AND AT LAST CHECK WE'VE PROBABLY GOT AROUND ROUGHLY 80 VACANCIES. SO 160 RESIGNATIONS AND RETIREMENTS THAT HAS BEEN WORKING THROUGH. SO THEY'RE HALFWAY THROUGH THAT LIST RIGHT NOW, SO THAT'S KIND OF A DIFFERENT SET OF NUMBERS FOR YOU. BUT AGAIN, IT'S NOT CHANGING THE OVERALL NUMBER OF FTES WE HAVE IN CLASSROOMS. THAT'S JUST WE HAVE TO FILL VACANCIES. WHAT YOU HAVE IN FRONT OF YOU ARE THE REALLOCATIONS. THOSE ARE THE REALLOCATIONS. I LIKE, JUST FOR EXAMPLE, I'M SORRY TO PROLONG THIS. TOM BELLOW MIDDLE SCHOOL IS LOSING AN ELA TEACHER, YOU KNOW, THAT'S A KEY AREA. READING IS OUR HIGHEST PRIORITY TO IMPROVE ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT. SO I JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT I UNDERSTAND YOU'RE SAYING THAT THAT'S BECAUSE THEIR ENROLLMENT IS DOWN. THEY DON'T NEED THAT TEACHER. I THINK MISS HOLLOWAY COULD ANSWER THAT QUESTION. MISS COKER, I COULD I COULD SPEAK TO THAT A LITTLE BIT. JUST BEING PREVIOUS PRINCIPAL THERE, A FEW YEARS BACK, WE HAD WE HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO LOOK AT SOME REDISTRICTING, WE HAD A CONSULTANT COME IN AND WORK WITH MANY GROUPS, BECAUSE WE WERE SO OVER CAPACITY, AT ONE POINT WE READ 118% CAPACITY. THE YEAR BEFORE I LEFT, WE WERE AT 1350 STUDENTS WHEN THE REALLOCATION OF STUDENTS TOOK PLACE AND MOVED TO FALLSTON MIDDLE SCHOOL TO BALANCE THAT COMPONENT. THAT IS WHERE THE ADJUSTMENT IS BEING MADE, BECAUSE NOW BEL AIR MIDDLE SCHOOL IS NO LONGER AT A 118, AND SO THAT THAT THAT PARTICULAR STAFF COULD BE, COULD BE SHIFTED TO FALSE, NOT SPECIFICALLY THAT SCHOOL, BUT THAT'S WHERE THE BALANCE COMES IN BECAUSE NOW WE. BEL AIR MIDDLE SCHOOL HAS 250 LESS STUDENTS THAN THEY DID, THE YEAR WE WERE SO OVER CAPACITY AND CROWDED, IF THAT MAKES SENSE. IT DOES. HOW LONG AGO WAS THAT? TWO YEARS AGO. TWO YEARS AGO. SO FALLSTON MIDDLE. THIS IS ONLY THE SECOND YEAR THAT THEY HAVE RECEIVED, THROUGH THE REDISTRICTING PROCESS, I BELIEVE 150 TO 200 ADDITIONAL STUDENTS TO OFFSET THAT, THE OVERCROWDED. OKAY. ALL RIGHT. AND THEN, MISS HAHN HAS A QUESTION RELATED TO THIS. SO WE'LL DO ONE MORE BEFORE THE BREAK. OKAY. SO MY QUESTION IS THAT I KNOW WE'RE SAYING THAT THERE ARE NO CUTS, BUT IN THE CHART I'M NOT SURE EVERYBODY HAS THE SAME CHART THAT WE HAVE. THAT DOCTOR DAVIS SENT THE OTHER DAY ON TUESDAY, IT BASICALLY SHOWS US WHICH POSITIONS WERE CUT FROM WHICH SCHOOLS. SO, FOR INSTANCE, BEL AIR HIGH SCHOOL LOST TWO POSITIONS, I KNOW THAT THEY'RE NOT ACTUAL TEACHERS, BUT THEY ARE POSITIONS THAT WERE LOST FROM THAT SCHOOL, RESULTING IN INCREASED CLASS SIZES FOR THOSE POSITIONS THAT WERE BEING CUT. SO, FOR INSTANCE, BEL AIR HIGH SCHOOL LOST TWO TEACHERS POSITIONS FOR TECH ED AND BUSINESS, THEREFORE RESULTING IN THOSE CLASSES TO INCREASE IN CLASS SIZE BECAUSE THERE'S NO LONGER AN ADDITIONAL TEACHER TO TEACH THOSE SPECIFIC THINGS AND THEN SAME THING FOR HARFORD TECH. THEY LOST P IN SCIENCE, THEREFORE RESULTING IN A P

[01:15:04]

AND EVERY TIME THOSE POSITION, YOU KNOW, ONE OF THOSE POSITIONS WERE CUT, IT RESULTED IN, YOU KNOW, NOW NORTH HARFORD HAS EIGHT GYM CLASSES OF 50 KIDS, SO THIS IS KIND OF THE SAME THING, YOU KNOW? SO NOW AT HARFORD TECH, THEY'RE GOING TO HAVE 50 KIDS IN A GYM CLASS AND 50 KIDS IN NOT SCIENCE, OBVIOUSLY, BUT I'M JUST SAYING THE POSITIONS THAT WE'RE CUTTING ARE RESULTING IN INCREASED CLASS SIZES IN THESE SCHOOLS THAT THEY'RE BEING CUT BECAUSE INSTEAD OF HAVING, SAY, 100 TEACHER POSITIONS WERE, THEN IF WE'RE CUTTING TWO FOR BEL AIR, IF WE'RE CUTTING TWO, THEN WE'RE GOING TO HAVE 98. SO WE'RE STILL SHORT TWO TEACHER POSITIONS AT THESE SPECIFIC SCHOOLS. SO AGAIN, THE WORD CUT IS INACCURATE BECAUSE THOSE ARE POSITIONS WE'RE MOVING ELSEWHERE IN THE DISTRICT. AND THE CHALLENGE HERE IS WE HAVE 38,000 STUDENTS. AND WE HAVE TO LOOK ACROSS THE ENTIRE DISTRICT AND ALLOCATE POSITIONS AND THE BEST WAY POSSIBLE. AND THAT'S ALWAYS GOING TO MEAN PULLING FROM ONE PLACE TO GO TO ANOTHER PLACE. WE ADD LOTS OF NEW POSITIONS, SO YOU CAN GO ONE POSITION AT A TIME, BUT WE STILL HAVE TO LOOK AT THIS BIG PICTURE OF, AGAIN, THE FACT THAT WE HAVE X NUMBER OF TEACHERS TO WORK WITH AND WE HAVE AGAIN, 38,000 STUDENTS WHO WE HAVE TO SPREAD THOSE TEACHERS OUT AMONG. SO EVERY SINGLE YEAR WE'RE GOING TO BE MAKING SHIFTS LIKE THIS. WE'VE DONE IT LESS AND LAST COUPLE OF YEARS BECAUSE WE'VE HAD SORT OF THIS HOLD HARMLESS. BUT WHEN YOU DO WHEN YOU'RE DOING THAT WITHOUT ADDING POSITIONS, THERE'S PLACES WHERE THE ENROLLMENTS GOING UP, UP, UP AND YOU'RE NOT MOVING ANYONE TO HELP THEM. AND THAT'S WHAT THIS REALLOCATION IS FOR. NOW, FULL DISCLOSURE, PART OF THIS REALLOCATION IS MOVING SOME POSITIONS FROM ONE SUBJECT TO ANOTHER, ACTUALLY, KATIE JUST PROVIDED ME A CHART TO SHOW HOW WE'RE NOT JUST A LITTLE BIT UNDER ENROLLED IN ESL. WE'RE UNDER ENROLLED BY A FUNCTION OF, LIKE, 12 TIMES, NOT UNDER ENROLLED. WE'RE UNDER INVESTING. YOU KNOW, WE'RE SUPPOSED TO BE SPENDING AS MUCH, WE'RE SPENDING THIS MUCH. AND SO PART OF WHAT WE'RE DOING WITH SOME OF THESE POSITIONS IS CONVERTING THEM TO ESOL POSITIONS, BECAUSE THAT'S SOMETHING WE'RE GOING TO GET DINGED ON IN THE NEXT COUPLE OF YEARS IN THE BLUEPRINT, BUT ALSO JUST ON A PURELY ACADEMIC PERSPECTIVE, THOSE STUDENTS ARE MASSIVELY UNDERSERVED IN THIS DISTRICT, AND SO, YES, WE MIGHT BE MAKING CLASSES LARGER IN SOME PLACES, BUT IT'S TO ADDRESS ESSENTIALLY EVEN GREATER NEEDS IN OTHER PLACES. AND THAT'S ALWAYS PART OF THIS. SO YOU CAN GO ONE CASE AT A TIME. AND I WOULD ARGUE, I MEAN, THAT THE BOARD IS THE BOARD'S RESPONSIBILITY IS TO APPROVE A BUDGET. AND IN THAT BUDGET, YOU'RE LOOKING AT A LINE ITEM FOR TEACHERS, BIG PICTURE MACRO.

SO JUST UNDER 3000 TEACHERS, THE ADMINISTRATION'S ROLE IS TO ASSIGN THOSE TEACHERS. AND SO WHILE YOU HAVE A LIST OF MOVES THAT WE'VE MADE IN A WAY THAT DOESN'T REALLY AFFECT THE BUDGET , BECAUSE THE BUDGET IS HOW MANY TEACHERS DO WE HAVE? AND THEN WE HAVE THE RESPONSIBILITY OF SAYING WHERE THEY'RE GOING TO GO , NOW, IF THE BOARD WANTED US TO ADD TEACHERS, WE'D NEED TO SECURE THE FUNDING TO BE ABLE TO SUPPORT THAT. SO KIND OF GETTING INTO THE WEEDS ON THIS MOVE VERSUS THIS MOVE, THAT REALLY IS AN OPERATIONAL THING THAT RESTS ENTIRELY WITH THE ADMINISTRATION , BUT AGAIN, THE BOARD DOES HAVE TO DECIDE IF THEY WANT TO INCREASE OR DECREASE THE TEACHER LINE. THEN WE'VE GOT TO FIGURE OUT HOW WE OFFSET THAT. SO THAT'S KIND OF WHAT THAT'S ABOUT. ALL RIGHT. LET'S GO AHEAD AND TAKE TEN. IF EVERYBODY CAN BE BACK IN TEN MINUTES.

WE'RE GOING TO GO AHEAD AND KICK OFF, PART TWO, LATE MORNING SESSION, SO I THINK WE'VE HAD SOME GOOD DISCUSSION, SO FAR, I WOULD LIKE TO HEAR, ESPECIALLY FROM SOME OF THE BOARD MEMBERS THAT HAVEN'T SPOKEN OR HAVEN'T SPOKEN MUCH YET, AS WE KICK OFF THE SECOND SESSION AND, YOU KNOW, WE CAN I'D LIKE TO STAY AWAY FROM, YOU KNOW, SORT OF MICRO THINGS IN THE BUDGET AND KEEP IT HIGH LEVEL. I'D LIKE TO RETURN BACK TO THAT STEAK THAT I PUT IN THE GROUND ABOUT AN HOUR AGO. AND I'LL POSE THIS QUESTION TO THE BOARD MEMBERS IN GENERAL. DO YOU FEEL THAT THE MIX OF CUTS AND USE OF FUND BALANCE IS APPROPRIATE? YES. OKAY WOMAN A FEW WORDS TODAY. YOU WANT TO

[01:20:04]

SO WE DECIDED TO, TO ADD MORE, WE DECIDED TO BREAK OUT ALL OF THE DEPARTMENTS WITHIN CENTRAL OFFICE AND SORT OF RESTRUCTURE OUR, THE DEPARTMENTS THAT WE HAD WITHIN THE BUDGET, WITHIN THE SCHOOLS, SO PART OF THAT WAS WE DECIDED, YOU KNOW, WE CURRENTLY ONLY HAVE SEVERAL, CAREER, AREAS BROKEN OUT IN OUR BUDGET. I BELIEVE THAT SCIENCE AND PHYS ED . SO WHAT WE DECIDED TO DO WAS SAY, HEY, THESE ARE BROKEN OUT. WHY DON'T WE BREAK OUT THE REST OF THE SUBJECT AREAS UNDER CURRICULUM INTO THEIR OWN AREA SO THAT WE COULD TRACK AND REPORT ON WHAT THOSE CURRICULUM AREAS COST. SO WE DID THAT. WE ALSO DID THAT FOR CENTRAL OFFICE. SO PREVIOUSLY LET'S SAY TO USE HUMAN RESOURCES AS AN EXAMPLE, WE WOULD BUDGET A BIG POT OF MONEY UNDER HUMAN RESOURCES. WELL NOW WE ARE SAYING IT'S NOT JUST HUMAN RESOURCES AS THE OVERALL DEPARTMENT. IT'S HR IS IT'S TALENT MANAGEMENT. WANT, TO BREAK OUT ALL OF THE CENTRAL OFFICE OFFICES AND, AND WHAT THOSE THINGS COST. SO I THINK WHAT IS VERY CONFUSING AND, YOU KNOW, WE ANTICIPATED THAT THIS WAS GOING TO BE CONFUSING BECAUSE WE HAD TO PREPARE THE BUDGET USING LAWSON FOR THIS NEXT FISCAL YEAR. WHILE WE WERE IMPLEMENTING ORACLE. WE HAVE THE OLD STRUCTURE AND NOW WE ARE MOVING FORWARD TO THE NEW STRUCTURE THAT INCLUDES ALL OF THE CENTRAL OFFICE OFFICES, ALL OF THE CURRICULUM AREAS, SO THAT'S WHY IT MAY LOOK LIKE CERTAIN AREAS ARE INCREASING, BUT OTHER AREAS ARE ALSO DECREASING. SO I'LL GIVE YOU AN EXAMPLE, ONE OF THE BIGGEST COSTS IN THE SCHOOL SYSTEM ARE FIXED CHARGES. SO YOU KNOW, IF I MAKE A SALARY, MY COST IS NOT JUST MY SALARY. IT'S THE HEALTH INSURANCE, IT'S THE DENTAL INSURANCE, IT'S THE LIFE INSURANCE. IT'S ALL OF THOSE ADDITIONAL THINGS THAT THE SCHOOL SYSTEM PAYS FOR. NOW, PREVIOUSLY WE BUDGETED ALL OF THAT UNDER HUMAN RESOURCES. SO THAT WAS WHAT ABOUT $150 MILLION IN FY 24, WE HAVE NOW BROKEN THAT OUT SO THAT THE COST WELL ORACLE HAS ALLOWED US TO BREAK THAT OUT AND ACTUALLY HAVE THOSE COSTS FOLLOW THE EMPLOYEE TO WHERE THEY'RE ACTUALLY WORKING. SO THERE WAS BASICALLY A REDISTRIBUTION OF ABOUT $150 MILLION ACROSS THE SCHOOL SYSTEM INTO THE VARIOUS CENTRAL OFFICE OFFICES. AND INTO THE VARIOUS

[01:25:04]

IT'S NOT TO CREATE THE CAPABILITY, IT'S THAT THAT MONEY MOVED FROM, THE OFFICE OF TECHNOLOGY AND MISS ALLEN, MISS FIXED CHARGES ARE YOU LOOKING AT THE BOARD OF EDUCATION'S PROPOSED BUDGET? WHEN YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT THE APPLICATIONS DEVELOPMENT PAGE 140. NO I'M ACTUALLY LOOKING AT, AN EMAIL THAT WE GOT, WHICH WAS IT'S LABELED EXPENDITURE EXPENDITURES OF FUNDS. AND I BELIEVE IT WAS UNDER STANDING WHERE I'M GETTING MY INFORMATION FROM. SO IT SHOWS, WHAT WE SPENT IN FY 2024 AND WHAT WE SPENT IN FY 2025. IN IN ALL THE DIFFERENT CATEGORIES.

AND THERE ARE A LOT OF LARGE INCREASES, BUT THERE'S CATEGORIES THAT WERE ADDED WHICH. SO IT'S NOT A CHANGE IN SPENDING. IT'S ONLY A CHANGE IN HOW WE'RE REPORTING IT. SO NONE OF THOSE AREAS SAW BIG INCREASES IN FUNDING. ALL WE DID IS RECOGNIZE THE TRUE COST THAT THOSE AREAS ARE COSTING US. SO WE'RE JUST SHOWING IT DIFFERENTLY. SO IT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH LIKE MORE MONEY FLOWING TO THAT AREA TO DO ADDITIONAL WORK. ALL IT IS, IS WE'RE NOW ABLE TO REPORT IT. SO YOU CAN SEE HOW MUCH IS DEDICATED TO THAT WHICH WE HAVEN'T BEEN ABLE TO DO IN THE PAST. SO APPLICATIONS DEVELOPMENT IS AS JOSH SAYING, IT'S AN OFFICE WITHIN TECHNOLOGY . SO BEFORE YOU WOULD HAVE THE SALARIES FOR TECHNOLOGY IN ONE POCKET HR, YOU HAD SALARIES FOR HR IN ONE POCKET. SO TALENT ACQUISITION IS A DEPARTMENT.

IT'S ALWAYS BEEN THERE IN HR. SO NOW THAT'S BROKEN OUT. APPLICATIONS DEVELOPMENT HAS ALWAYS BEEN IN IT. IT'S NOW BROKEN OUT. AND THE SALARIES AND BENEFITS ASSOCIATED WITH THAT ARE FOLLOWING IT. SO IF YOU LOOK AT THE DETAIL OF ALL OF THOSE ALLOCATIONS, YOU'LL SEE OVER $100 MILLION REDUCTION IN IN HUMAN RESOURCES WHERE WE'RE TAKING THAT $100 MILLION AND SPREADING IT OUT OVER ALL OF THOSE OTHER DEPARTMENTS. SO IT WASHES. IT'S NOT AN INCREASE TO THE BUDGET. IT'S JUST SHOWING THESE ARE THE PEOPLE WE HAVE THERE. AND THIS IS THE FULL BURDEN COST OF THOSE PEOPLE IN THOSE AREAS. WHEREAS BEFORE YOU HAD THE SALARIES, BUT THE BENEFITS WERE OVER HERE, SO IT WASN'T. IT'S MORE ACCURATE, IT'S MORE TRANSPARENT AND IT COMPARABILITY BETWEEN PRIOR YEARS AND FY 25 IS NOT GREAT. WE KIND OF SAID THAT WHEN WE WENT INTO ORACLE, WE KNEW THAT WAS GOING TO HAPPEN. SO WE'VE GOT TO BRIDGE THAT GAP TO GET THE COMPARABILITY. AND WE WILL YOU KNOW, AFTER A COUPLE OF YEARS WE'LL SEE IT. BUT IN TOTAL THOSE COSTS AREN'T RISING UNLESS IT'S AN INCREASE IN BENEFIT COST, WHICH WE DO HAVE THIS YEAR. SO THOSE NUMBERS HAVE INCREASED. SO JUST BIG PICTURE ON THIS BECAUSE I ASKED DEBORAH TO RECAP IT. AND WE WE'VE TALKED ABOUT THE GENERAL NUMBER WE USE IS OUR ADMIN COSTS ARE 3. RIGHT. AND THE ADMIN PART OF THE BUDGET. BUT I ASKED HER TO GO BACK AND LOOK I SAID IS THAT CHANGING? IS THAT, YOU KNOW, IN THE LAST FOUR YEARS, FIVE YEARS, I THINK WE LOOKED ACROSS MULTIPLE THE THAT 3% HAS GONE FROM 3% TO 2.9 TO 2.8. I THINK YOU SAW IN ONE OF OUR LATEST REPORTS THAT EVEN THOUGH IT'S LOOKING LIKE THESE INCREASES, THAT REALLY IS THE SAME EXPENDITURE WE'VE DONE ALL ALONG. WE'RE JUST REPORTING IT DIFFERENTLY. SO WE CAN MAKE IT MORE GRANULAR. BUT IF YOU LOOK AT THE TREND OF CENTRAL OFFICE, YES, OUR COSTS HAVE INCREASED OVER TIME, BUT THEY'VE INCREASED AT A SLOWER RATE THAN WHAT'S GOING OUT INTO THE SCHOOLS. SO WHILE YOU CAN FIND INCREASES IN CENTRAL OFFICE, BECAUSE WE'VE HAD SOME BUT RELATIVE TO THE REST OF THE DISTRICT, THERE'S THEY'RE AT A LOWER RATE AND THUS THE PERCENTAGE OF CENTRAL OFFICE HAS ACTUALLY SHRUNK IN A

[01:30:08]

IT'S JUST HELPING PEOPLE UNDERSTAND THE BIG PICTURE OF WHAT WE DO WITH. JUST SO WE UNDERSTAND THE BOARD HAS AN, COMPLETE PICTURE OF WHAT AN FTE, COST. WHAT'S THE WHAT'S THE FULL BURDEN MULTIPLIER LIKE 1.31.4? ANY TIME TIMES THEIR SALARY. YEAH. FOR FIXED. YEAH. IT DEPENDS BECAUSE IF YOU HAVE A CUSTODIAN THAT STARTS AT 32,000 AND THEY HAVE FULL FAMILY ON AVERAGE 28,000, IT COULD BE ALMOST BE OVER 100. THE AVERAGE IS PROBABLY ABOUT 30, 35. OKAY.

I THINK WE USED I'D LIKE TO BRING IT BACK TO, AS WE HEARD FROM ONE BOARD MEMBER, ANY OTHER BOARD MEMBER COMMENTS ABOUT WHETHER THE CURRENT MIX OF CUTS AND FUND BALANCE AT THE HIGH LEVEL IS APPROPRIATE? I THINK IF WE CAN AGREE ON THAT, THEN WE CAN, YOU KNOW, POTENTIALLY TALK ABOUT OTHER ISSUES. BUT BELOW THAT, BUT AT THE HIGHEST LEVEL, DO WE FEEL LIKE THIS IS A GOOD USE OF CUTS THAT SUPPORT OUR PRIORITIES AND USE OF FUND BALANCE THAT FUNDS NEXT YEAR'S OPERATIONS WHILE STILL KEEPING A SUFFICIENT RESERVE? SO ACTUALLY, I, WE HAVEN'T HEARD FROM DOCTOR MUELLER AND I DON'T KNOW IF SHE'S STILL ON. I THINK SHE, SHE LOGGED OFF FOR, FOR ABOUT AN HOUR. OKAY. SO DOCTOR MUELLER, WE DON'T WANT TO PUT YOU ON THE SPOT, BUT, I DON'T KNOW HOW MUCH YOU MISSED, BUT WOULD YOU LIKE TO CHIME IN, NO, BECAUSE I JUST GOT BACK ON, LIKE, TEN MINUTES AGO, SO I REALLY DON'T KNOW EXACTLY WHERE YOU'RE AT. I'M JUST LISTENING RIGHT NOW. WE'LL CIRCLE BACK TO YOU AT THE VERY END. THEN I'M HAPPY TO TEE OFF THAT. SO, YOU KNOW, AS, AS A BOARD, YOU KNOW, WITH THE PRIORITIES THAT WE HAVE AND WHAT WE'RE TASKED WITH, WHAT THE SCHOOL SYSTEM HAS PUT IN FRONT OF US LOOKS LIKE THE BEST USE OF RESOURCES THAT WE CAN POSSIBLY HAVE WHILE STILL MAINTAINING THOSE PRIORITIES OF ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE. YOU KNOW, SAFETY.

WHAT WAS THE OTHER ONE? READING, TRANSPARENCY, ENGAGEMENT. YEAH. ALL THOSE GREAT THINGS. SO, YOU KNOW, THEY'VE WORKED REALLY HARD TO WHITTLE AWAY AT THINGS, YOU KNOW, THROUGHOUT THE SYSTEM TO, TO CUT WHAT WE COULD AND THEN, OF COURSE, WE HAD TO ADD A FEW THINGS BACK JUST FROM REQUIREMENTS, TO ME, THIS SEEMS LIKE, YOU KNOW, THE BEST. YOU KNOW, THIS IS THE CURRENT STATE OF THE ART. YOU KNOW, THAT THAT WE HAVE SO, DOCTOR OLSEN, WHEN YOU WERE DOING YOUR TOWN HALLS AND YOU PUT UP, I'LL CALL IT THE SCARY LIST OF CUTS. YOU KNOW, POOLS, YOU KNOW HARFORD, GLEN, MUSIC, SPORTS, ALL OF THAT. HOW MUCH OF THOSE CUTS, STUCK IN THIS THIS PROPOSED BUDGET? YEAH.

SO FAR, WE HAVEN'T HAD TO DIP INTO THIS VARIOUS DARLINGTON HARPER GLEN MUSIC, SPORTS. YEAH.

I MEAN, WE'VE DEFINITELY TAKEN WE'VE GONE AS FAR AS SOME OF THE POSITIONS IN CENTRAL OFFICE.

AGAIN IT'S A PRETTY MODEST NUMBER, A LOT OF WHAT YOU'RE SEEING HERE ARE CHANGES TO THE CONCENTRATION, POVERTY THAT REALLY IN TERMS OF POSITION CHANGES, THAT WAS. BUT YOU KNOW, I THINK WE'RE GOING TO BE ABLE TO HANG ON TO THOSE AS WE SAID, THE SCARY LIST. WE WE HAVEN'T

[01:35:01]

MSDE IS LOOKING TO MAKE, I THINK, DRAMATIC CHANGES IN BOTH PLACES, AND SO I'LL TAKE A SECOND ON EACH. I KNOW YOU DIDN'T ASK ABOUT MATH, BUT I'LL TOUCH ON THAT TOO, BECAUSE I.

THAT MAY BE THE NEXT QUESTION YOU WERE COMING WITH, SO AS WE SAID. READING HAS HAS BEEN AN IMPORTANT THING. AND, YOU KNOW, AND WE LEANED IN, WE WERE KIND OF AHEAD OF THE BIG CONVERSATION AT THE STATE WHEN WE LEANED IN WITH THE UNITS OF STUDY A FEW YEARS AGO. I STILL BELIEVE THAT THAT DECISION THAT THE WORK WE'VE DONE AND THE TRAINING WE'VE DONE AND THE UNITS OF STUDY IS WHAT LED TO US HAVING THE SECOND HIGHEST GROWTH IN THE STATE, NOT BECAUSE OF THE CURRICULUM SO MUCH AS THE TRAINING THAT CAME WITH IT. I THINK HOW YOU IMPLEMENT A CURRICULUM AND HOW YOU TRAIN PEOPLE AND EVERYTHING WE'VE DONE TO ENHANCE IT, TO ENSURE WE WERE FULLY ALIGNED WITH SCIENCE AND READING, WHICH WE ARE, HAS BEEN THE UNDERLYING REASON WE'VE MADE PROGRESS NOW. IS IT THE PERFECT CURRICULUM? ABSOLUTELY NOT. AND DO I SEE US CHANGING OVER THE NEXT FEW YEARS? ABSOLUTELY BUT I DON'T KNOW WHETHER IT WILL BE A WHOLESALE CHANGE TO ANOTHER BRAND NAME CURRICULUM OR, OR BECAUSE WHAT I DON'T KNOW IS WHAT THE STATE'S GOING TO SAY.

HERE IS WHAT YOU NEED TO DO. BUT I DO KNOW THAT'S COMING. MOST LIKELY WITHIN THE NEXT YEAR, I WOULD SAY A FEW MONTHS, BUT AND THE THING IS, WHAT I DON'T WANT TO DO IS PUT US IN A PLACE WHERE WE MAKE A HUGE INVESTMENT IN ANOTHER PRODUCT THAT MAY BE OUT OF LINE WITH WHERE THE STATE'S GOING. SO NOW IN MATH, THERE'S A POTENTIAL FOR AN EVEN GREATER SHIFT, BECAUSE. RIGHT. AND I STILL THINK LANGUAGE ARTS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT THING FOR US TO STAY FOCUSED ON. I DON'T WANT TO GET DISTRACTED AND ALL OF A SUDDEN SAY, OUR OUR TOP PRIORITY IS MATH. WE NEED TO DO BETTER IN MATH. THERE'S ZERO QUESTION ABOUT THAT. I ABSOLUTELY AGREE. BUT AGAIN, THE STATE'S LOOKING

[01:40:03]

AND HERE'S SO ONE OF THE BIG THINGS THAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN, AND THIS IS WHY WE HAVE TO BE SO CAUTIOUS NOT TO GET AHEAD OF OURSELVES ON THE MATH PIECE. THERE'S WORK WE CAN DO TO IMPROVE OUR MATH PERFORMANCE. ACTUALLY, MSD HAS ROLLED OUT A GREAT DEAL OF TRAINING. WE'VE HAD TEACHERS INVOLVED IN IT. WE'RE, YOU KNOW, TO HELP STRENGTHEN MATH INSTRUCTION IN.

SO WE'RE ENGAGING IN ALL THAT TRAINING. BUT WHAT WE'RE NOT DOING IS MAKING A BIG INVESTMENT IN A NEW CURRICULUM BECAUSE AS IF THIS INTEGRATED MATH BECOMES A THING THAT THE STATE STARTS PURSUING, WE'RE GOING TO NEED A CURRICULUM THAT'S ALIGNED WITH THAT, AND BECAUSE WHAT THE STATE REALLY WANTS TO DO IS THEY'RE KICKING OFF AN INITIATIVE TO CHANGE ALL THE STATE TESTS. SO MOVING THE WHOLE STATE TO A NEW CURRICULUM SHOULD BE THE FIRST STEP IN THAT LOGICALLY, THAT THEY GET THE CURRICULUM RIGHT AND THEN THEY DO ASSESSMENTS THAT ARE ALIGNED WITH IT. THE ASSESSMENTS ARE THE THING THEY REALLY WANT TO MOVE QUICKLY, BUT THEY CAN'T DO IT UNTIL THEY GET CURRICULUM. AND SO WE'RE IN A PLACE WHERE I THINK WE'RE GOING TO SEE CHANGES HAPPENING FAIRLY QUICKLY. AND IT'S NOT GOING TO DO US ANY GOOD TO GET SIX MONTHS AHEAD OF THEM IN THE WRONG DIRECTION. AND SO THAT'S WHY, YOU KNOW, ENVISION CAME BACK TO YOU FOR ANOTHER YEAR BECAUSE WE NEED TO HAVE A CURRICULUM FOR THEM. AND CHANGING COURSE IS NOT JUST A FUNCTION OF BUYING A NEW PRODUCT, BECAUSE THE TRAINING THAT GOES INTO THAT FOR STAFF IS IMMENSE. THEY NEED A LONG RAMP TO DO THAT. SO UNFORTUNATELY THIS YEAR, BECAUSE OF THE CHANGE IN ADMINISTRATION AT THE STATE, WE'RE KIND OF IN TIME BUYING MODE. BUT OUR PEOPLE ARE ENGAGING IN ALL THE TRAINING.

THEY'RE PROVIDING. YOU KNOW, THERE'S A LOT MORE COMING OUT ABOUT READING. I FULLY EXPECT AND READING. WE'RE GOING TO OUTPERFORM THE STATE AGAIN. I DON'T KNOW IF WE'LL BE SECOND IN TERMS OF GROWTH, BUT OF COURSE, WE'RE NOT GOING TO KNOW UNTIL THE END OF THE SUMMER. BUT I SEE A LOT OF GOOD HAPPENING THERE. ONE LAST DETAIL ON THIS, IS. FROM THE MATH PERFORMANCE AREA, THERE'S A REALLY CLEAR EXAMPLE OF THIS IN SOME OF OUR SCHOOLS AND SOME OF OUR SCHOOLS THAT HAVE EXPERIENCED THE MOST TEACHER TURNOVER, WHICH WE HAVE NOW IDENTIFIED AS PRIORITY SCHOOLS. AND WE'VE DONE THINGS TO TRY TO REDUCE THE TEACHER TURNOVER. SO I WON'T CALL OUT A SPECIFIC SCHOOL. BUT IF YOU'RE IN A SCHOOL THAT'S EXPERIENCED A GREAT DEAL OF TURNOVER, IT'S POSSIBLE TO GO THROUGH MIDDLE SCHOOL AND IF YOU'RE LUCKY, HAVE A CERTIFIED MATH TEACHER. ONCE MATH IS ONE OF THOSE SHORTAGE AREAS BECAUSE OF THE TEACHER SHORTAGE, BECAUSE OF OUR NEED TO HIRE ADDITIONAL LIKE SO MANY MORE CONDITIONAL TEACHERS, WE HAVE SCHOOLS WITHOUT ENOUGH PEOPLE CERTIFIED IN THESE CORE AREAS BECAUSE THEY'RE NOT OUT THERE. AND SO THAT'S WHEN I TALK ABOUT HOW WE SUPPORT TEACHERS, SO THE TALENT PATHWAYS WORK, THE SUPPORT WORK THAT WHAT WE'RE DOING WITH COACHES AND TEACHER SPECIALISTS, WE'VE NEVER HAD AN URGENCY THIS GREAT BEFORE AROUND THOSE CONTENT AREAS. AND I WOULD ARGUE THAT PART OF THE REASON IT'S GETTING MORE CHALLENGING TO GET TO RESULTS IN PARTICULARLY MATHEMATICS, IS BECAUSE YOU'RE HAVING A HARDER TIME FINDING CERTIFIED TEACHERS THERE, AND THAT THE STUDENTS IN THE SCHOOLS WHO NEED THE BEST TEACHERS AT THIS POINT, WE DON'T HAVE A STRUCTURE TO. WE'VE DONE SOME THINGS TO REDUCE THE TURNOVER, AND THAT'S ALL OF OUR TALENT PATHWAYS WORK. THAT'S OUR PRIORITY. SCHOOLS WORK THAT IS ALL AIMED AT REDUCING THE TURNOVER SO WE CAN GET BETTER TEACHERS IN FRONT OF, YOU KNOW, MORE QUALIFIED, MORE EXPERIENCED TEACHERS IN FRONT OF THE STUDENTS WHO NEED IT. THE MOST, BUT THAT IS A HUGE CONSIDERATION . AND EVERYTHING WE'VE BEEN DOING TO TRY TO IMPROVE THE PERFORMANCE. SO ALL OF THESE THINGS ARE PART OF THE PLAN. BUT BUT THE PAUSING OF THE CURRICULUM IS REALLY ABOUT LOGISTICS AND GIVING MSD TIME FOR THIS NEW ADMINISTRATION GET THEIR THEIR SEA LEGS UNDER THEM AND START COMING OUT SO THAT WE'RE ALIGNED WITH THEM, NOT SORT OF PUSHING AGAINST THEM AS HAS HAPPENED TO US IN LANGUAGE ARTS. SO WE'RE TRYING TO NOT MAKE THAT MISTAKE AGAIN. OKAY. THANK YOU. I KNOW THAT WAS A LOT. YEAH. JUST LOOKING AT

[01:45:03]

THERE'S A PERCEPTION THAT THERE'S BEEN A LOT OF CENTRAL OFFICE GROWTH OVER THAT TIME PERIOD. AFTER WE'VE ALREADY RECOVERED TO THE POINT WHERE IT NEEDED. SO I JUST YOU KNOW, I KNOW THAT'S A PERCEPTION. AND ONE OF OUR OUR THIRD PRIORITY IS TO BE TRANSPARENT AND ACCOUNTABLE TO THE COMMUNITY. AND SO THERE'S THE PERCEPTION OUT THERE OF THE CENTRAL OFFICE GROWTH SINCE FY 22. MISS COKER, LET'S BREAK THOSE INTO TWO DIFFERENT TOPICS BECAUSE THEY'RE DISTINCT. SO LET'S LET'S YEAH LET'S START WITH DUAL ENROLLMENT. SO YOUR PROPOSED BUDGET HAS NO CHANGES IN DUAL ENROLLMENT WHICH. SO I'LL JUST QUICKLY ON DUAL ENROLLMENT. IS A LITTLE SCHIZOPHRENIA FROM THE AIB. YOU KNOW, BECAUSE. YOU KNOW, ONE YEAR THEY SAID YOU HAVE TO PAY FOR EVERYBODY AND THAT'S THE PRACTICE WE STARTED. AND THEN THEY SAID, YOU KNOW, FOR THIS YEAR, OH, YOU ONLY HAVE TO PAY FOR THE STUDENTS WHO ARE CAREER AND COLLEGE READY. THAT'S CONCERNING BECAUSE IN TERMS OF SO IF YOU JUST SAY THIS NOT BLUEPRINT, THIS IS JUST STUDENT OUTCOMES. THE FACT THAT WE HAVE MORE STUDENTS ACCESSING COLLEGE COURSES, THE FACT THAT WE HAVE

[01:50:02]

BUT I THINK, YOU KNOW, DECIDING NOT TO PAY THE NON CCR STUDENTS FOR ACCESS, JUST SORT OF ETHICALLY AND EDUCATIONALLY I HAVE I HAVE REALLY GREAT CONCERNS ABOUT ROLLING THAT BACK OR SLOWING THAT DOWN. WOULDN'T THOSE KIDS ALSO BE IN FARMS AND THERE'S FAFSA AND OTHER SCHOLARSHIP THINGS THAT THEY CAN TRY TO ACCESS TO FARMS? WE PAY? YES, FARMS WE PAY. BUT YOU HAVE A LOT OF KIDS IN THE MIDDLE, BUT THERE'S NO OTHER SCHOLARSHIPS. FAFSA DOESN'T APPLY TO THE HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS. THERE'S NO OTHER FUNDING. YOU KNOW, ALL THE COLLEGE SCHOLARSHIPS PAY FOR TRADITIONAL COLLEGE STUDENTS. SO NONE OF THEIR FINANCIAL AID APPLIES TO OUR OUR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS EITHER. SO THERE REALLY IS NO OTHER RECOURSE FOR THEM TO HAVE THAT DONE, YOU KNOW, AND I DON'T. SO AND THE THING IS, THE STUDENTS WHO ARE CAUGHT UP IN THIS, IT'S A WHOLE RANGE OF KIDS. I MEAN, YOU HEARD MISS STRAUSS SAY, YOU KNOW, SHE'S ASKED THIS QUESTION, BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, A STUDENT WHO SHE WHO'S NEAR AND DEAR TO HER IS SOMEONE WHO WE FUNDED KIND OF ABOVE THE MINIMUM, RIGHT? WHO IS SOMEONE WHO JUST MISSED BEING CCR, AND WE COULD PROBABLY GO THROUGH AND FIND A LOT OF STUDENTS WHO ARE GOOD, STRONG, SOLID STUDENTS, BUT THEY'RE NOT

[01:55:03]

[02:00:03]

ONE THING THAT WE'VE SORT OF PUSHED FOR AND I THINK THIS IS SOMETHING THAT COULD CONTINUE TO EVOLVE UNDER THE BLUEPRINT, IS ARTICULATION AGREEMENTS FOR AT LEAST IN-STATE COLLEGES. SO IN NORTH CAROLINA, WE WERE ACTUALLY AHEAD OF THE GAME ON THIS. AND WHAT THAT MEANT WAS THERE WAS AN AGREEMENT BETWEEN K12 AND THE COMMUNITY COLLEGES THAT ANY COURSES THEY TOOK THAT WERE DUAL ENROLLMENT LIKE THIS, THEY'D GET THE CREDIT FOR. AND IT WAS VERY CLEAR WHAT YOU COULD GET CREDIT FOR. AND THEN THE COMMUNITY COLLEGE HAD A RELATIONSHIP WITH THE UNIVERSITIES. IF A STUDENT TOOK ENGLISH, ONE IN THE COMMUNITY COLLEGE, EVERY UNIVERSITY IN NORTH CAROLINA WOULD ACKNOWLEDGE THAT. IT'S JUST, WELL, THERE ISN'T A STATEWIDE ARTICULATION AGREEMENT. IT'S LIKE SCHOOL BY SCHOOL. AND IT'S VERY IT'S KIND OF ARBITRARY. SO THERE ARE SOME COURSES WHERE THERE'S A MUCH HIGHER LIKELIHOOD THAT THAT WILL TRANSFER TO AN IN-STATE. AND THEN WHAT HAPPENS OUT OF STATE. IT'S A LITTLE HARDER, SO THESE ARE ALL THINGS THAT PARENTS NEED TO BE AWARE OF. SO THE BIGGER ISSUE IS MORE WHAT WE CAN DO TO EDUCATE PARENTS TO BE AWARE OF THOSE TYPE OF THINGS, BECAUSE THAT MAY NOT BE SOMETHING WE EVER GET TO FIX ENTIRELY. BUT WE CAN POINT THEM TO THE BETTER OPTIONS IN THE COLLEGE, SO AS WE'VE GROWN, WHAT'S HAPPENING WITH HCC, IT'S BEEN KIND OF FAST AND FURIOUS, AND OBVIOUSLY THE GROWTH HAS BEEN VERY QUICK. BUT AS WE CONTINUE TO LEARN AND AGAIN, THIS IS REALLY THE WE'VE HAD DUAL ENROLLMENT FOR A WHILE, BUT IT'S REALLY STARTED RAMPING UP IN THE LAST FIVE YEARS. SO WE'RE BEGINNING TO SEE NOW THE GRADUATES COMING OUT AND THEN WHAT'S HAPPENING. YOU KNOW, WHERE ARE THEY GOING WITH THOSE.

SO YOU HAVE KIND OF ANECDOTAL STORIES ABOUT THAT. AND WE'RE GOING TO NEED MORE OF THOSE ANECDOTAL STORIES TO UNDERSTAND WHERE THIS IS THE PROBLEM, SO WE CAN REFINE HOW WE'RE ADVISING THE KIDS, SO THERE IS AN ISSUE THERE THAT NEEDS TO BE ADDRESSED. BUT, BUT EVEN IN THE AP THING AND I'LL JUST SAY THIS LAST THING I KNOW, THERE'S KIND OF BEEN A RAMBLING ANSWER, EVEN IN THE AP SITUATION, GETTING COLLEGE CREDIT IS ONE BENEFIT FROM IT. THERE'S YOU KNOW, IF THEY GET UNIVERSITY CREDIT AFTER TAKING AP. YEAH, THAT MIGHT SAVE THE PARENTS SOME MONEY. AND I JUST SAID, YOU KNOW, THEY GET A WHOLE YEAR OF HCC COURSES THAT MIGHT SAVE THEM 25. BUT THE EXPERIENCE OF DOING THAT AP COURSE, THE EXPERIENCE OF DOING IB, THE EXPERIENCE OF DOING COLLEGE COURSE, THEY'RE DEMONSTRATING THEY CAN DO COLLEGE LEVEL WORK WHILE IN HIGH SCHOOL. JUST THAT EXPERIENCE IS BENEFICIAL IF THERE'S NO OTHER COMPENSATION THAT COMES FROM IT.

JUST HAVING THAT RIGOR, EDUCATIONAL EXPERIENCE BENEFITS THE STUDENTS DOWN THE ROAD, SO

[02:05:01]

IT'S NOT SO MUCH A WASTE OF MONEY. AND JOSH CAN PROBABLY ANSWER THIS QUESTION BETTER THAN ANYBODY IF THEY'RE NOT TAKING IF THEY'RE TAKING A COLLEGE COURSE AND THEY'RE NOT TAKING A COURSE WITH US, THE COST OF THAT COLLEGE COURSE AND THE COST OF US EDUCATING THEM IN ONE OF OUR CLASSROOMS IS FAIRLY COMPARABLE. SO THEY'RE GETTING THIS EDUCATIONAL EXPERIENCE. YES.

IT'S BEING PAID FOR DIFFERENTLY BECAUSE THE MONEY'S GOING TO THE COLLEGE AND THEY'RE DOING THE EDUCATING, NOT US. BUT I WOULDN'T CALL IT BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, IF THEY WERE TAKING HONORS ENGLISH 11, THEY WEREN'T GETTING COLLEGE CREDIT FOR THAT. BUT NOW THEY'RE TAKING, YOU KNOW, ENGLISH ONE AT, AT HCC. SO EVEN IF THEY DON'T GET ENGLISH, ONE IF THEY GO OFF TO BE AN ENGLISH MAJOR AT COLLEGE PARK, THEY'RE STILL GETTING THE HIGH SCHOOL CREDIT FOR IT. AND THEY HAD THE EXPERIENCE OF DOING COLLEGE LEVEL WORK WHILE IN HIGH SCHOOL. SO IT'S NOT A WASTE OF MONEY, AND IT'S NOT NECESSARILY COSTING US MORE TO DO THAT. IT'S A DIFFERENT PLACE IN OUR BUDGET.

BUT OVER TIME, YES, THIS WILL IMPACT THE OVERALL NUMBER OF, YOU KNOW, TEACHERS WE HAVE IN OUR HIGH SCHOOLS, AND I KNOW THAT'S SOMETHING THAT SOME PEOPLE ARE CONCERNED ABOUT, BUT WHAT WE SEE NOW WITH JOSH SAYING THAT WE HAVE THIS MANY SENIORS WHO ARE OFF DOING NOTHING, SO THEY'RE GETTING AN EDUCATION. THEY'RE JUST GETTING IT DIFFERENTLY. AND THE COST IS NOT DRAMATICALLY DIFFERENT FROM WHAT IT COSTS US TO EDUCATE THEM NOW. AND I DO THINK THIS IS A MODEL THAT IS EVOLVING ACROSS THE COUNTRY. AND AGAIN, PEOPLE WILL HAVE OPINIONS ABOUT WHETHER IT'S A GOOD MODEL. I THINK IT'S PARTICULARLY GOOD BECAUSE STUDENTS SHOWING US THEY CAN SUCCEED IN COLLEGE LEVEL WORK BEFORE LEAVING HIGH SCHOOL GIVES ME A MUCH GREATER SENSE OF CONFIDENCE THAT WHEN THEY DO GO TO COLLEGE, IF THAT'S THEIR CHOICE, THEY'RE GOING TO BE SUCCESSFUL. THEY'RE AND SO THESE ARE ALL THE THINGS THAT KIND OF PLAY INTO THIS. BUT I WOULDN'T SAY THERE'S A WASTE OF MONEY NOW . BUT IF THE CONVERSATION BETWEEN PARENTS AND COUNSELORS, BOTH OUR COUNSELORS AND HCC COUNSELORS, WE CAN CONTINUE TO REFINE THE GUIDANCE WE GIVE THEM. SO THAT IF THE GOAL IS BECAUSE FOR SOME FAMILIES IT IS JUST ABOUT THE EXPERIENCE. BUT FOR MANY, IT'S GOING TO BE COST AVOIDANCE. WHEN THEY GO TO START PAYING FOR COLLEGE THAT THEY NEED. YOU KNOW, WE WILL NEED THEY WILL NEED TO PAY A LITTLE MORE ATTENTION TO WHAT ARE THE PLACES WHERE YOU'RE GOING TO SORT OF YIELD THE GREATEST RETURN ON INVESTMENT OR BANG FOR THE BUCK, LIKE, BECAUSE WE KNOW SOME COURSES ARE MORE LIKELY TO GET CREDIT AT THE COLLEGE THAN OTHERS. AND OVER TIME, WE'RE GOING TO CONTINUE TO GET BETTER AT THAT. THEY'RE GOING TO GET BETTER AT IT, AND WE SHOULD BE ABLE TO HELP PARENTS. YOU KNOW, MAKE BETTER DECISIONS. CAN I ADD SOMETHING TO THAT REAL QUICK? YOU KNOW, MELISSA, YOU WERE ASKING ABOUT ARTICULATION AGREEMENTS. AND I WAS AT THE COLLEGE FOR 12 YEARS. THEY'RE ALL LISTED ONLINE. SO IF YOU KNOW YOU WANT TO DO THIS MAJOR, THIS COLLEGE, YOU CAN LOOK AND YOU CAN SEE EXACTLY WHICH HCC CLASS WILL TRANSFER TO THAT, WITH MY EXPERIENCES WITH MY SON, THEY GRADUATED A COUPLE OF YEARS AGO AND, YOU KNOW, COMMUNITY MEMBERS THAT I'VE TALKED TO ABOUT IT THAT WAS NOT CLEARLY STATED. THEY DIDN'T REALIZE THAT THAT WAS A SITUATION UNTIL THEY WERE APPLYING TO COLLEGES AND REALIZED, OH, THIS ISN'T GOING TO TRANSFER. SO THAT'S WHAT IT'S A IT'S A BIG IT'S AN ISSUE THAT I OVERSEE. SO THEY WERE UNINFORMED. ABSOLUTELY. WELL, I WOULD ALSO SAY THAT, YOU KNOW, WHEN YOU PICK A CLASS, AS YOU KNOW, AN 11TH OR 12TH GRADER RIGHT AT THE BEGINNING OF THE YEAR, YOU MAY NOT KNOW WHAT COLLEGE YOU'RE GOING TO GO TO. YOU MAY NOT KNOW I DIDN'T DECIDE MY MAJOR UNTIL, YOU KNOW, HALFWAY THROUGH COLLEGE. RIGHT. AND SO BUT THERE IS A WEBSITE, THE ARTS WEBSITE, AND IT'S COMPLICATED BECAUSE IT'S A PATCHWORK OF AGREEMENTS WHERE YOU CAN PLUG IN YOUR MAJOR, THE PARTICIPATING INSTITUTION, THE COURSE EQUIVALENCIES, THE RECOMMENDED TRANSFER PROGRAMS, AND IT WILL SPELL IT ALL OUT. BUT I JUST DON'T THINK PEOPLE YOU KNOW KNOW THAT FAR IN ADVANCE. AND YOU MAY TAKE A CLASS. AND THEN A YEAR OR TWO LATER, YOU DECIDE TO GO TO A DIFFERENT INSTITUTION AND YOU DO NOT TRANSFER. SO THE QUESTION PLAYERS MIGHT NEED TO DO A BETTER. YES. YEAH, WE CAN TAKE A LOOK. YEAH. WE'LL ALL NEED TO GET BETTER AT THAT. BECAUSE AGAIN, THIS MOVES SO QUICKLY AND GROWN SO QUICKLY. THAT'S AN AREA

[02:10:02]

[02:15:06]

IF IT WAS A CONVERSION OR WHATEVER. BUT YOU KNOW, DOCTOR GHOLSON'S RIGHT. THE NUMBER FOR CENTRAL OFFICE IS NOT IT'S NOT 28. OKAY. WELL, I'LL ASK YOU OFFLINE. MAYBE TO HELP ME GET MY ELEVATOR SPEECH ON THAT. HOW ABOUT THAT? OKAY. AND OUR ELEVATOR SPEECHES FOR ANY OF US WOULD BE FARTHER AHEAD. I NEED SOME MORE ELEVATOR SPEECHES, TOO . YEAH. SO, MISS COKER, IF I WERE TO SUMMARIZE WHERE YOU ARE ON THIS, TO THE BACK TO THE THRESHOLD QUESTION OF CUTS VERSUS FUND BALANCE, YOU THINK WE'RE IN THE BALLPARK, BUT YOU'RE UNCOMFORTABLE WITH THE AMOUNT OF FUND BALANCE THAT WE'RE USING. DO YOU THINK IT'S SLIGHTLY TOO HIGH? I THINK WE COULD SQUEEZE ANOTHER COUPLE MILLION OUT AND USE A LITTLE LESS FUND BALANCE. OKAY YOU DO YOU HAVE ANY MORE QUESTIONS OR. I JUST ONE MORE COMMENT ON ON SERVING THE 80. I KNOW THE BLUEPRINT, YOU KNOW, IS DRIVING US. BUT THE CLASS SIZE IS NOT JUST FOR THE READING AND MATH INCREASING PERFORMANCE. ALTHOUGH WE NEED TO DO THAT. I REALLY DON'T THINK WE'VE DONE THAT ENOUGH YET. I THINK WE NEED TO FOCUS ON THAT, BUT IT'S ALSO TO RETAIN OUR TEACHERS AND REDUCE

[02:20:02]

AND I DO THINK THAT'S SOMETHING THAT THE AIB, LEADERSHIP HAS LEARNED A LESSON ON THIS YEAR.

AND I THINK KATIE'S SMILING BECAUSE SHE'S VERY AWARE OF HOW MUCH THEY'VE LEARNED ABOUT THAT, BECAUSE THE LEADERSHIP THERE WAS KIND OF CAVALIER IN SAYING THAT, YOU KNOW, CLASS SIZE ISN'T REALLY SOMETHING WE NEED TO WORRY TOO MUCH ABOUT. BUT THEY JUST THEY GOT A REALITY CHECK THIS YEAR AND SO I'M HOPING THERE IS SOME PRODUCTIVE CONVERSATION AT THE STATE ABOUT REALLY BECAUSE WE HAVE NO GUIDANCE. YOU KNOW, THEY'RE THE ONLY PLACE YOU FIND IN GUIDANCE FROM MSD OR AIB OR ANYWHERE IN CLASS SIZES IS IN THE CONSTRUCTION. WHEN MISSY VALENTINO SITS HERE AND SAYS, HERE'S HOW WE PLAN FOR A BUILDING, AND SHE SAYS, THIS IS WHAT WE PLAN FOR EACH BUILDING BASED ON THE STATE SPECS, THAT HAS TARGET CLASS SIZES LIMITED OR LISTED, MSD DOESN'T HAVE TARGET CLASS SIZES, AIB DOESN'T HAVE TARGET CLASS SIZES. SO WE KIND OF HAVE THE WILD WEST OF THAT IN THE STATE. AND I THINK IT WOULD BE GOOD IF THERE WOULD BE MORE CONVERSATION ABOUT WHAT THEY BELIEVE CLASS SIZE SHOULD BE. THAT WAY. WE HAVE A LINE TO COMPARE OURSELVES TO. SO I AGREE WITH YOU 100. THAT'S AN AREA BECAUSE YEAH, FOR TEACHER RETENTION, I WOULD SAY THAT IN ADDITION TO CLASS SIZE, THE SUPPORT FOR TEACHERS IS EQUALLY IMPORTANT. AND I DON'T WANT TO LOSE SIGHT OF THAT, BUT, YOU KNOW, I MEAN, YOU'RE ABSOLUTELY ON POINT WITH THAT. OKAY. THANKS. OKAY THANK YOU. SO MOVING ON TO SALARIES. YEP FIRST I WANT TO COMMEND EVERYBODY FOR THE EFFORT THAT EVERYBODY PUT IN TO ANSWERING OUR QUESTIONS AND PUTTING THIS TOGETHER BECAUSE THIS IS A I FEEL MUCH MORE COMFORTABLE WITH THIS THAN WHAT WE HEARD PREVIOUSLY, THE, THE FIRST MEETING WE HAD AFTER THE BUDGET NUMBERS CAME OUT FROM THE COUNTY WAS REALLY SCARY, SO THIS IS MUCH BETTER. THAT SAID, I'M NOT REAL COMFORTABLE WITH HOW MUCH MONEY WE'RE GOING TO BE, WHERE WE'RE SUGGESTING USE OUT OF FUND BALANCE, AND THERE ARE CERTAIN AREAS THAT I WOULD LIKE US TO TAKE A LOOK AT A LOOK AT. IF NOT IN NEXT YEAR'S BUDGET, BUT IN GOING FORWARD. AND ONE OF THEM IS, PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT AREA, I'VE MENTIONED A FEW TIMES ON THE DAIS OF TRYING TO LOOK AT DOING TRAIN THE TRAINERS KIND OF APPROACH, I DON'T KNOW THAT THAT WOULD BE POSSIBLE IN ALL AREAS, DUE TO, YOU KNOW, COPYRIGHT OR THINGS LIKE THAT, BUT IF WE COULD, YOU KNOW, LOOK AT, AT THAT AREA AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND USE MORE, IN-HOUSE ASSETS, YOU KNOW, THAT MIGHT BE AN AREA THAT WE MIGHT BE ABLE TO SAVE SOME COST ON, THE NEXT THING, I'VE MENTIONED BEFORE IS ZERO BASED BUDGETING. I'M NOT SUGGESTING

[02:25:06]

[02:30:02]

IT'S JUST IT'S A IN SOME CASES IT'S A SHIFT, I THINK THAT'S ONE WHERE WE'D NEED TO SEE THE SPECIFICS BECAUSE, I MEAN, THERE'S OTHER DETAILS. YOU KNOW, OUR STUDENTS, STATE LAW THAT REQUIRED TO PASS 22 CREDITS WHILE IN HIGH SCHOOL TO GRADUATE AND THAT THOSE ARE HIGH SCHOOL CREDITS, NOT COLLEGE CREDITS. VERY DIFFERENT CALCULATION, HARFORD COUNTY, WE REQUIRE THEM TO HAVE 26 TO GRADUATE. THEY CAN DO UP TO 32. SO THERE'S ACTUALLY A LOT OF ROOM. SO THE IDEA THAT, YOU KNOW, EVERY STUDENT HAS COURSES, THEY DON'T NEED TO GRADUATE. SO, YOU KNOW, POSSIBLY TAKING A COURSE. SO NOT KNOWING WHAT THE CIRCUMSTANCE OF THAT ONE WAS, IF IT WAS A COURSE THAT YOU MIGHT VIEW AS ENRICHMENT JUST TO STRENGTHEN THE STUDENT'S SKILLS WHERE THEY DIDN'T HAVE THEM AND IT WASN'T SOMETHING THAT WAS OFFERED. SO WHILE IT MIGHT NOT HAVE GIVEN THEM HIGH SCHOOL CREDIT BECAUSE NOT EVERY COURSE THEY TAKE AT HCC IS DUAL CREDIT, SOME JUST GIVE COLLEGE CREDIT, SOME JUST GIVE HIGH SCHOOL, YOU KNOW, OR SOME GIVE BOTH. AND SO KNOWING WHAT IS BEING SIGNED UP FOR AND BUT THIS IS KIND OF BACK TO MISS HANS SAYING THAT LIKE HELPING PEOPLE UNDERSTAND ALL THE IMPLICATIONS OF THE COURSES AND HOW TO, YOU KNOW, IF THEY'RE LOOKING TO MAXIMIZE, YOU KNOW, ALL THE CREDITS, THE HIGH SCHOOL CREDITS AND THE COLLEGE CREDITS. THESE ARE ALL THINGS THAT WE CAN HELP PEOPLE TALK THROUGH, BUT THAT COURSE YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT IS SOMETHING THAT I PROBABLY NEED TO LOOK AT. THE SPECIFIC CASE TO SEE IF THERE'S SOMETHING THAT NEEDS TO BE FIXED OR IF THIS IS, YOU KNOW, A CORNER CASE, I'M SURE, AND PROBABLY DOESN'T HAPPEN THAT OFTEN. I WOULD HOPE. BUT, YOU KNOW, ALGEBRA DIDN'T SATISFY THE ALGEBRA REQUIREMENT FOR RIGHT, FOR THE HIGH SCHOOL. AND THEY AND THEY WERE KIND OF EXPECTING IT TO AND THEN THEY BUT IT DID SATISFY THE COLLEGE REQUIREMENT. SO GOT IT. SO, YEAH . YEAH, WE'VE DONE WORK WITH THEM TO MAKE SURE THAT, YOU KNOW, BUT BUT AGAIN WE HAVE SOME SORT OF SPECIFIC ANSWERS AS TO WHAT, WHICH ONE, WHICH COURSES TO GIVE OUR DUAL CREDIT AND WHICH ONES DON'T. AND THAT'S PROBABLY ONE THAT CLEARLY GOT THAT WAS NOT WHAT THE PARENTS WERE EXPECTING. AND I DON'T KNOW HOW CLEAR THAT WAS IN ADVANCE, I GUESS. OKAY, OKAY, AND, YOU KNOW, THAT'S THAT'S ALL I HAVE.

I'M LIKE I SAID, I JUST WANT TO THANK EVERYBODY FOR PARTICIPATION AND ANSWERING THE QUESTIONS. I KNOW A LOT OF US, YOU KNOW, IT WAS A LOT OF WORK. AND WE APPRECIATE IT. THANK YOU.

DOCTOR MUELLER HAS NO QUESTIONS AT THIS TIME, BUT I CAN BRIEF YOU AFTERWARDS. I APOLOGIZE FOR NOT GETTING HERE SOONER. AND WE'RE DRIVING ON HARFORD ROAD. AND AS YOU KNOW, I WAS GOING IN AND OUT EVEN WHILE I WAS LISTENING TO EVERYTHING. SO I APOLOGIZE FOR THAT. BUT, WE DID NOT MAKE ANY CUTS WITH THE ATHLETICS OR ANYTHING. NO. OKAY THAT'S THAT'S REALLY THE OTHER THINGS ARE JUST KIND OF LIKE. YEAH. LITTLE ADJUSTMENTS. ABSOLUTELY. IN FACT, ON WHAT I CALL THE SCARY LIST THAT WAS PROPOSED AT SO NONE, NONE OF THOSE, NONE OF THOSE ARE MADE IN AND WE'RE STILL ABLE TO MAINTAIN AVERAGE CLASSROOM SIZE. I AM I AM JUST REALLY HAPPY THAT YOU DID NOT CONSIDER CUTTING THE MIDDLE SCHOOL SPORTS, BECAUSE I'VE HEARD WONDER WHEN YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT IMPROVING SCHOOL ENVIRONMENT AND SUCH. I'VE HEARD GREAT THINGS ABOUT WHAT THAT'S DONE, AND I DO THINK THAT THAT PLAYS TO ONE OF THE BOARD'S PRIORITIES OF ATTENDANCE. RIGHT.

WELL, THAT'S WHAT I'M SAYING. IT'S THE SCHOOL ENVIRONMENT. AND ATTENDANCE. ABSOLUTELY. THAT SO THANK YOU, MISS HAHN, AGAIN, I WANT TO MIRROR WHAT DIANE SAID AND THANKED EVERYBODY. WE REALLY APPRECIATE YOUR HARD WORK AND DEDICATION, ANSWERING ALL OF OUR QUESTIONS AND EVERYTHING, AND I ALSO WANT TO, YOU KNOW, SAY I AM IN THE SAME BOAT AS TERRY, I FEEL LIKE I'M NOT QUITE THERE YET. I STILL HAVE SOME QUESTIONS, I WOULD LIKE TO TAKE PART IN THE, LIKE THE CONVERSATION THAT YOU AND TERRY, YOU KNOW THAT YOU SAID YOU COULD PROVIDE, I DO HAVE A COUPLE QUESTIONS ABOUT THE BUDGET REQUESTS. I'M NOT SURE. I JUST NEED SOME KIND OF SOME CLARIFICATION, I'M ON PAGE TWO, AND I'M JUST CURIOUS, THE REASONING, LIKE, WHY DID WE TAKE THE SUBSTITUTES FROM ESSER GRANT FUNDING AND THEN JUST ROLL IT INTO REGULAR PROGRAM SUBSTITUTES AND CAREER TECH SUBSTITUTES? SO THE CAREER TECH SUBSTITUTES IS JUST A DOLLAR ADJUSTMENT. SO IT'S NOT REALLY THAT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH ESSER. WE'RE TAKING OUR SUBSTITUTE LINES AND INCREASING THEM BECAUSE THE BUDGETS HAVE BEEN INSIGNIFICANT OR NOT SUFFICIENT THANK YOU.

INSIGNIFICANT. THE BUDGETS ARE INSIGNIFICANT TO THE DOLLAR WISE . THEY NEED TO HAVE MORE MONEY IN THEM TO PAY THE PEOPLE THAT WE'RE USING AS SUBS IN THOSE LINES. SO THE BUDGETS HAVE BEEN DEFICIENT. SO THAT'S WHAT THOSE CHANGES ARE. ESSER SUBS. WE INITIATED THAT SO WE COULD KEEP

[02:35:04]

THAT'S GOING GOING AWAY. SO WE REALLY DON'T NEED TO DIFFERENTIATE BETWEEN OUR SUBS.

THEY ARE OUR SUBSTITUTES. NOW WE MAY CHOOSE TO PAY SUBSTITUTES DIFFERENTLY IF WE USE THEM IN THE SAME MANNER THAT WE'VE USED ESSER SUBS, MAYBE THEY'RE PAID AT A HIGHER RATE. A LONG TERM SUB MAY BE PAID AT A DIFFERENT RATE THAN A DAILY SUB. SO ALL OF THOSE WILL BE HOUSED IN ONE BUDGET. SO WE'VE WE HAD TO INCREASE JUST LIKE THE CAREER TECH SUBS. WE HAD TO INCREASE THE GENERAL SUBSTITUTE LINE BECAUSE IT HAS NOT BEEN SUFFICIENT FOR THE SPENDING WE'VE BEEN DOING OUT OF THAT LINE. WE'VE HAD A HIGHER NEED OF SUBS, SO WE NEEDED TO INCREASE THAT. AND THEN WE ALSO ADDED MORE. IT'S ABOUT A MILLION THAT WE DID TO INCREASE THE BASE, AND THEN A MILLION OF THE ESSER PORTION BACK IN. COULD WE USE MORE? ABSOLUTELY AGAIN WHAT'S THE TRADE OFF TO DO THAT? I ACTUALLY CAN CONTRIBUTE A LITTLE MORE TO THAT. SO WE'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT WE'D LOVE TO SUSTAIN THE SUBS AS WE AS WE HAD THEM BECAUSE, I MEAN, THE FEEDBACK ON THEIR SERVICE AND WHAT THEY'VE CONTRIBUTED TO SCHOOLS HAS BEEN FANTASTIC. WE, OF COURSE, DON'T HAVE THE FUNDING SOURCE FOR THAT. BUT BUT IN MOST CASES, THOSE ESSER SUBS WERE WORKING AS SUBS ALMOST EVERY DAY. SO THERE'S STILL A SUB COST THERE. AND SO OUR PLAN IS TO LOOK AND SEE IF I THINK WE WHAT I WHAT I'M HOPING WE'RE GOING TO DO IS LOOK AT THE SCHOOLS THAT HAD THE GREATEST CHALLENGES FILLING SUB REQUESTS EVERY DAY AND MAYBE ROLL OUT AT A MUCH SMALLER SCALE AS OURSELVES, AT LEAST TO THOSE ESSER SUBS WE'RE GOING TO NEED TO RENAME THEM TO NOW THAT THAT'S GONE. BUT SIGHT BASE IS SOMETHING WE NEED A NEW NAME SITE BASED DOESN'T CATCH YOU THAT WE'RE GOING TO NEED A NEW NAME, BUT I I'D LIKE TO KEEP THAT MODEL, PARTICULARLY IN THE SCHOOLS THAT HAVE TROUBLE FILLING THE SUB ROLES EVERY DAY.

AND SO WE'RE GOING TO LOOK AT THAT, I JUST DON'T KNOW THE FINAL SHAPE AND HOW MANY IT'S GOING TO TAKE. BUT AS DEBORAH JUST EXPLAINED, THEY'RE ALL SUBSTITUTES. BUT PRESSING THAT SUB NEED. AND SO THAT'S JUST ANOTHER WAY FOR US TO DO IT. BUT YEAH, IT WASN'T REALLY MOVING FROM ONE PLACE TO THE OTHER BECAUSE MY CONCERN IS EVEN WITH A $2 MILLION, WE'RE NOT GOING TO HAVE ENOUGH, BUT BUT THAT'S, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE TO LOOK AT IT AGAIN NEXT YEAR TOO. WELL, AND THAT'S WHY I WAS ASKING, BECAUSE I KNOW THE VALUE THAT THEY BROUGHT TO THE SCHOOLS. THERE ARE SO MANY PEOPLE SAYING HOW BENEFICIAL IT WAS TO HAVE SOMEONE READILY AVAILABLE, YOU KNOW, ALL THE TIME. SO THAT'S WHY I CRINGED EVERY TIME WE LOOKED AT THAT LINE. BUT KNOWING THAT WE NOW INCREASE THE REGULAR SUB LINE, I FEEL WE HAVE A LITTLE FLEXIBILITY, YOU KNOW, BECAUSE AGAIN, IF SOMEONE'S BEING USED EVERY DAY, EVEN THOUGH THEY'RE IN THAT SCHOOL, WE PAY LONG TERM SUBS A LITTLE BIT MORE. SO THAT MIGHT COST US INCREMENTALLY MORE. BUT TO HAVE THE SECURITY OF KNOWING THERE'S A SUB THERE EVERY DAY YOU NEED IT IS HUGE FOR PARTICULARLY THOSE SCHOOLS THAT HAVE THE GREATEST ISSUES WITH NEEDING SUBS OR HAVING CHALLENGES FINDING THEM. SO YEAH, I EVEN IF THEY WEREN'T ACTUALLY NEEDED TO SUBSTITUTE IN A CLASSROOM, THEY WERE WITH THE SPECIAL NEEDS KIDS OR THEY WERE, YOU KNOW, FILLING IN WHEREVER IT WAS NECESSARY. I DON'T THINK ANYONE EVER GOT BORED. YEAH. YEAH. RIGHT SO JUST A FEW OTHER QUESTIONS, OTHER INSTRUCTIONAL COSTS IN OUR BUDGET. WHAT ARE THOSE, JUST BECAUSE SINCE 2021, IN, IT INCREASED ABOUT $9 MILLION. AND I'M JUST CURIOUS WHAT THOSE OTHER INSTRUCTIONAL COSTS ARE.

AND THEN CONTRACTED SERVICES IS THIS THE SAME KIND OF THING? IT INCREASED ABOUT $8 MILLION FROM 2021 UNTIL NOW. SO I'M JUST CURIOUS WHAT THOSE, CATEGORIES ENTAIL. I THINK THAT WAS ANSWERED IN THE QUESTIONS THAT WE SENT BACK. SO LET'S JUST GIVE IT A SECOND TO LOOK AND SEE WHAT WE PUT IN THE ANSWER. AND THEN IF WE DON'T MAKE SURE IT'S THE SAME. AS OTHER INSTRUCTIONAL COSTS. SO FROM FROM 23 TO 24 MELISSA WAS THE MONEY THAT WE HAD TO TRANSFER TO SOME KIND OF WORKFORCE NETWORK. HE ACTUALLY WE KEPT THE REVENUE IN THE FOUNDATION PROGRAM BECAUSE THAT'S HOW IT CAME IN FROM THE STATE. AND WE EXPENSED IT UNDER OTHER INSTRUCTIONAL COSTS. SO THAT'S AN ACTUAL A TRANSFER OF THOSE FUNDS TO SUPPLEMENT WORKFORCE NETWORK. THAT OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD. THAT'S THE FIRST 2.2 MILLION. AND WHO WAS THE WHAT WERE THE OTHER OTHER INSTRUCTIONAL. WAS THAT THE ONLY ONE OR ARE YOU, CONTRACTED SERVICES? ANYTHING ELSE? A BIG PART OF CONTRACT SERVICES IS BUSSES, RIGHT. THAT'S THE INCREASED COST FOR TRANSPORTATION. SO AS JOSH ANSWERED THAT ONE OKAY. JUMP ON IT. SO OTHER INSTRUCTIONAL COSTS, I, I PROVIDED THE ANSWER TO THAT QUESTION. AND I'LL JUST GO AHEAD AND READ IT, OTHER

[02:40:02]

IT'S JUST TWO OF THEM ARE DOING IMMERSION, THE OTHER THREE ARE DOING TRADITIONAL. SO IT DOESN'T CHANGE THE OVERALL COST. THEY'RE JUST DOING SOMETHING DIFFERENTLY. WITH THAT TIME WITH THOSE STUDENTS, THEY'RE GETTING A DIFFERENT PROGRAM. BUT YOU'RE EDUCATING FIVE CLASSES WORTH OF STUDENTS IN KINDERGARTEN. BUT BY DOING THAT, DIDN'T YOU JUST INCREASE THE THREE CLASS SIZES BY REMOVING TWO OF THOSE TEACHERS AND PUTTING THEM, REPURPOSING THEM TO A DIFFERENT NO, BECAUSE AGAIN, WE DIDN'T ADD 40 KIDS TO DO IMMERSION. WE'RE DOING 40 KIDS FROM WITHIN THAT SCHOOL. SO IF THERE'S 100 KIDS TOTAL RIGHT NOW, YOU HAVE FIVE CLASSES OF KINDERGARTEN, ALL HAVING THE TRADITIONAL EXPERIENCE DOING THE IMMERSION MEANS TWO CLASSES OF THOSE KIDS.

SO 40 KIDS AND I TALKED TO MR. GREENBAUM LAST NIGHT, ACTUALLY AT EMERSON, AND HE SAID THEY'RE LOOKING TO DO TWO CLASSES. THEY'RE LOOKING IN KINDERGARTEN. THEY'RE WAITING ON KINDERGARTEN ENROLLMENTS. SO FAR, MORE THAN 50% OF THE KIDS WHO HAVE ENROLLED IN KINDERGARTEN AT EMERSON ARE INTERESTED IN DUAL LANGUAGE SPANISH IMMERSION. SO THEY HAVE LIKE ABOUT AGAIN,

[02:45:03]

AND YOU CAN LOOK. SO WHAT WE SHARED AT THE BEGINNING OF THIS TODAY SHOWS ALL THE INCREASES TO THE BUDGET. SO YOU COULD GO BACK TO ANY OF OUR BUDGET BOOKS AND SEE THAT EXACT SAME FORMAT OF THE DOCUMENTS AND SEE WHAT WE'VE ADDED. AND WE CAN CERTAINLY GO THROUGH THAT AND WALK YOU THROUGH. AND YOU KNOW, THE, THE COST THAT YOU'RE THE CONTRACTED SERVICES, BUS COSTS, YOU KNOW, THE CONTRACTS WITH OUR BUS. YOU SEE THAT IN EVERY BUDGET EVERY YEAR THOSE INCREASES GOING UP.

AND WE CAN WALK YOU THROUGH WHERE THOSE LINE ITEMS ACTUALLY RESIDE IN THE BUDGET, IF THAT HELPS. SO THE INCREASES CANNOT OCCUR UNLESS THEY'RE WITHIN THAT FORMAT THAT THE BOARD IS APPROVING EACH YEAR. OKAY THANK YOU. OKAY. SO WHEN WE STARTED THIS MEETING, THE GOAL WAS TO HAVE AN OPEN DISCUSSION, GET A LOT OF PEOPLE ON THE SAME PAGE, FIND SOME COMMON UNDERSTANDING.

I THINK THAT WE'VE WE'VE ACHIEVED THAT. THE GOAL WAS NOT TO GET TO 100, BUT TO GET TO 80 TO 90. AND I THINK THAT SO FAR WE'VE WE'VE GOTTEN THERE. SO I'M PRETTY HAPPY WITH THE SUCCESS THAT THE PROGRESS THAT WE'VE MADE TODAY. LIKE MISS COKER. HOWEVER, I AM A LITTLE BIT CONCERNED ABOUT, THE USE OF THE FUND BALANCE. IT DOESN'T PUT US IN A GREAT POSITION FOR NEXT YEAR. AND, YOU KNOW, AS LONG AS EVERYBODY RECOGNIZES THAT THIS IS A PLAY THAT WE CANNOT REPEAT AND THE FUTURE IS UNCERTAIN, THERE'S POTENTIALLY SOME ROSY THINGS NEXT YEAR WITH STATE FUNDING AND THINGS LIKE THAT, BUT NOBODY WILL KNOW UNTIL NEXT YEAR. YES. CAN I ADD ONE THING? BECAUSE THIS JUST CAME IN IN THE LAST HOUR, SAMANTHA HARRIS, THAT'D BE GOOD NEWS. MAYBE, IT'S MORE OF A MAYBE, BUT SAMANTHA HARRIS, WHO'S MR. VINCENTI'S ASSISTANT, SENT US A COPY OF THE LETTER THAT SHE PROVIDED TO THAT MR. VINCENTE, THE COUNCIL, BECAUSE IT'S SIGNED BY PAT VICENTE AND TONY GIORDANO. SO IT WAS SIGNED BY THE LEADERSHIP OF COUNCIL. THIS IS A LETTER THEY SENT TO THE COUNTY EXECUTIVE, TODAY. AND SO THEY'RE ASKING FOR CHANGES, BUT SPECIFIC TO OUR REQUEST, THEY'VE SENT A LETTER ASKING THE COUNTY EXECUTIVE TO INCREASE OUR OPERATING FUNDING BY $10 MILLION. SO THAT'S THE ASK THAT WENT OVER TO THE COUNTY EXECUTIVE. AGAIN, THE COUNTY EXECUTIVE HAS TO RESPOND. WE DON'T KNOW WHAT'S GOING TO COME OF THIS, BUT, YOU KNOW, SO THAT

[02:50:04]

IF THERE IS A DECREASE IN FUNDING THAT WE DO NOT DIG FURTHER INTO THE FUND BALANCE, BUT THAT IF THERE IS A DECREASE IN FUNDING THAT IT COMES FROM FURTHER CUTS. BUT FOCUSED ON THE THREE BOARD PRIORITIES, ANY STATUTORY REQUIREMENTS OR AT THIS POINT, THE ONLY WAY IS IF THE STATE RECONCILES LOWER. BUT I MEAN, THE STATE, THE COUNTY CAN'T GIVE US LESS. I'M JUST LAYING ALL DIFFERENT SCENARIOS OUT. YEAH, BUT BUT YES, WE WOULD HAVE TO REVISIT INTEREST.

INTEREST RATES WENT TO ZERO TOMORROW AND THEN WE HAVE TO TAKE THE BILLION. YEAH SO THERE'S LIKE NOBODY CAN PREDICT THE FUTURE. IT'S UNLIKELY. BUT IF IT WERE TO HAPPEN I DON'T WANT TO GO FURTHER INTO THE FUND . SO I WOULD SAY WE COME BACK AND WE LOOK AT AREAS THAT WE CAN CUT, BUT FOCUSED ON THE THREE BOARD PRIORITIES ANY STATUTORY REQUIREMENTS AND MAINTAINING AVERAGE CLASSROOM SIZE SORT OF STAY, KEEP THE EYE FOCUSED ON THAT. I THINK THAT WE'RE EMERGING TOWARDS A CONSENSUS THAT THE BOARD WILL BE ABLE TO VOTE ON AT SOME POINT, PROBABLY, YOU KNOW, NEXT MONTH. SO I WOULD ASK OF TWO THINGS. ONE, THAT THE STAFF CONTINUE TO REMAIN ACCOMMODATING TO ANY QUESTIONS THAT BOARD MEMBERS MAY HAVE BETWEEN NOW AND THEN. AND TWO, THAT THE SUPERINTENDENT CONTINUES TO PUT THE FINAL TOUCHES ON THIS BUDGET AND MAKES ANY NECESSARY PRELIMINARY, CHANGES TO BE ABLE TO REDUCE ANY CALL IT MID TO LATE JUNE, DISRUPT FOR IMPLEMENTING THE BUDGET, IF THAT MAKES SENSE. ABSOLUTELY AND TO PIGGYBACK ON THAT, WE REALLY DO ASK THAT YOU COME IN AND TALK TO US. MISS COKER, WE HAD A GOOD CONVERSATION. I THINK, YESTERDAY. SOMETIMES THE CONVERSATION IS BETTER TO EXPLAIN WHAT IT IS YOU'RE LOOKING AT. THIS IS ALL VERY COMPLICATED, YOU KNOW? I MEAN, I THINK MANY TIMES WE LEARN NEW THINGS, YOU KNOW, EVERY YEAR GOING THROUGH THIS PROCESS. SO I KNOW I DO, SO COME IN, ASK THE QUESTIONS AND IT IS CONFUSING TO SEE. IT LOOKS LIKE THERE'S THESE LARGE SWINGS AND CHANGES. BUT IF YOU CAN I THINK MARY KIND OF SAID THIS EARLIER. IF YOU SAY, WHY DID THIS GO UP? IF WE CAN TRACK YOU THROUGH WHAT HAPPENED AND EXPLAIN THE TRANSFERS OR THE ADDITIONS OR THE SUBTRACTIONS OR WHAT HAPPENED, AND IT MAY MAKE MORE SENSE. SO AND THAT'S A LOT EASIER TO DO ONE ON ONE, FACE TO FACE AS OPPOSED TO I MEAN, THE QUESTIONS YOU SUBMITTED ARE GREAT. WE RESPONDED TO THEM. YOU HAVE THAT. IT'S ALSO A LOT TO GO THROUGH. AND THERE'S STILL PROBABLY FURTHER EXPLANATION THAT, YOU KNOW, ANY OF YOU MAY WANT OR REQUIRE. OKAY ARE THERE ANY OTHER ALIBIS, ANY QUESTIONS COMMENTS. ANYBODY BEEN BITING YOUR TONGUE FOR THE PAST COUPLE HOURS? YOU GOT SOMETHING TO SAY? YES, SIR. OF COURSE. SO IF I MAY, HAVEN'T HAD A CHANCE TO BRING THIS UP IN ANY OTHER BOARD MEETING AND ANY OTHER FORUM, BUT WHAT I WOULD ASK THAT WE CONSIDER AS A BOARD AND THAT THE ADMINISTRATION CONSIDERS, THAT WE ADD A LINE ITEM TO OUR BUDGET SPECIFICALLY TO SUPPORT THE HARFORD COUNTY REGIONAL ASSOCIATION OF STUDENT COUNCILS.

SO CURRENTLY H CREST, IS NOT FUNDED BY THE SCHOOL SYSTEM, THEY PREVIOUSLY RELIED ON SOME GRANT FUNDING FROM KOVID, WHICH IS NOW LONG EXPIRED, TO FUND THEIR OPERATIONS. SO WHAT ARE THEIR OPERATIONS? THEY TO MEET IN PERSON AND JUST TO PAINT THE PICTURE FOR EVERYONE? BECAUSE I DON'T KNOW IF EVERYONE HAS THE KNOWLEDGE OF THIS, JUST YESTERDAY THEY HELD THEIR LAST MEETING OF THE YEAR, WHICH WAS THEIR ELECTIONS FOR NEXT YEAR, WHERE THEY ELECTED, THEIR PRESIDENT, VICE PRESIDENT, SECOND VICE PRESIDENT AND TREASURER FOR NEXT YEAR. AND H CREST, AS THEY'RE KNOWN, THEY ARE ARE THE CULMINATION OF ALL THE STUDENT GOVERNMENTS IN HTTPS, SO THESE ARE OUR FUTURE LEADERS. THESE ARE THE STUDENTS THAT STEPPED UP, TO BECOME LEADERS, IN, IN OUR SCHOOL SYSTEM, TO TAKE BACK INFORMATION TO THEIR SCHOOL COMMUNITIES. AND

[02:55:01]

IT'S JUST A SMALL LIST, SO I WOULD ASK THAT WE ADD THAT TODAY TO THIS BUDGET. THANK YOU, MR. SEWELL. I THINK IT'S A WORTHWHILE CONSIDERATION. I WOULD ASK THE SUPERINTENDENT TO TAKE A LOOK AT IF THAT'S POSSIBLE WITH EVERYTHING WE JUST DISCUSSED, AND THE BOARD WILL MAKE A DECISION ON THAT. ON THE FINAL VOTE. SO, ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? WOULD THAT ALL BE TRANSPORTATION? NO. SO WHAT I'M SUGGESTING IS THAT WE COVER, TRANSPORTATION. WE ALSO COVER THEIR, COSTS FOR MEMBERSHIP. AND WHICH IS $30 PER STUDENT, THERE'S ALSO A CONVENTION THAT THEY GO TO, I THOSE ARE THE FEES I'M TALKING ABOUT. SO THIS ACTUALLY WOULDN'T BE WOULDN'T COVER EVERYTHING THAT THEY NEED. SO FOR INSTANCE, WHEN THEY GO TO THE CONVENTION, THEY WOULD STILL NEED TO FUNDRAISE FOR HOTEL STAYS THAT THAT TYPE OF THING. WE WOULDN'T. I'M NOT SUGGESTING WE COVER THAT, I THINK FUNDRAISING IS A PART OF THIS. I THINK IT'S AN IMPORTANT PART.

BUT I THINK THAT WE NEED TO JUST FUND THE BARE MINIMUM, WHICH IS SIMPLY THEIR TRANSPORTATION AND THEN REGISTRATION FEES, THAT TYPE OF THING. SO THE ONE ONE THING I WOULD ASK YOU TO CONSIDER BEFORE WE COME, SO WE WILL SEND YOUR DETAILS TO MR. CLARK AND WE CAN LOOK AT THAT. I THINK ONE OF THE BIGGEST THINGS TO CONSIDER IS, WHAT DISTINGUISHES AND THIS ISN'T A DISCUSSION NOW, BUT WHAT DISTINGUISHES THIS FROM MANY OF THE OTHER ACTIVITIES. FOR EXAMPLE, THE ENVIROTHON TEAM THAT TRAVELED TO CANADA, THE, WHAT'S THE BAG GROUP, FUTURE FARMERS THAT HAVE DONE, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE A LOT OF STUDENT ACTIVITIES THAT BANDS THAT GO WELL, WE PAY FOR THEM. WELL, NO, WE DON'T PAY FOR THEM TO GO TO FLORIDA. WE PAY FOR THEM TO TRAVEL IN THE STATE. BUT WHEN THEY COMPETE. YEAH, RIGHT. AND SO IT'S JUST ONE OF THOSE THINGS. IT'S LIKE THIS IS A MOVING OF THE LINE. AND WHAT JUSTIFIES MOVING THIS LINE AND WHERE IT LANDS AND WHERE WE CUT IT OFF. SO, I MEAN, I THINK YOU DEFINITELY MAKE A COMPELLING CASE, BUT WE HAVE TO. SO IT MAY BE WE NEED TO BRING BACK. SO THESE ARE ALL THE ACTIVITIES THAT GO ON AND WE KNOW THERE'S COSTS FOR THEM. WE DON'T HAVE TO WHAT ALL THOSE COSTS ARE BECAUSE

[03:00:04]

THERE'S A TRANSPORTATION LINE FOR MUSIC. SO THERE'S SOME THINGS TO COVER. BUT SOME OF THOSE LIKE THINGS THAT THEY OPT INTO, THEY MAY FUNDRAISE FOR. SO THERE IS THERE'S A DISTINCTION THERE. GOTCHA, SO IF WE JUST ADDED IF WE WERE JUST TALKING ABOUT MAYBE ADDING TRANSPORTATION FOR ADDRESS, I DON'T KNOW, INSTEAD OF ALL OF THOSE OTHER ASSOCIATED FEES OF THEM, THEY HAVE TO WE'LL NEED TO LOOK AT THOSE FEES. AND I THINK WE'LL NEED TO UNDERSTAND LIKE THE OTHER ENTITIES, BECAUSE AGAIN, THAT'S THE ONE THAT HE'S SORT OF AWARE OF AND CONNECTED TO AND ENGAGED WITH, AND IT DOES HAVE A CONNECTION TO THE WORK OF THE BOARD. CLEARLY BUT WE ALSO HAVE MANY OTHER EQUALLY WORTHY THINGS THAT OUR KIDS ENGAGE IN. THAT WOULD BE NICE TO BE ABLE TO SUPPORT. SO OKAY. THE NEXT BOARD MEETING WILL BE ON MONDAY, JUNE 10TH, 2024 AT 6 P.M. THIS MEETING IS ADJOURNED

* This transcript was compiled from uncorrected Closed Captioning.