[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]
ON THINGS. OBVIOUSLY, WE'VE BEEN DISCUSSING THIS, THROUGHOUT THE YEAR, BUT MORE THAN LIKELY, I THINK FOR PURPOSES OF TODAY, WE CAN ASSUME FOR PLANNING PURPOSES AND FOR BOARD PURPOSES, WE CAN ASSUME RIGHT NOW IT'S PROBABLY SAFE TO SAY THAT THE BUDGET THAT IS IN FRONT OF THE COUNTY COUNCIL WILL PROBABLY BE THE BUDGET THAT PASSES, MAYBE PLUS OR MINUS A LITTLE BIT. RIGHT. SO OUR JOB TODAY IS TO HAVE A DISCUSSION COLLABORATIVE DISCUSSION, ON WHAT TYPE OF BUDGET WE WANT TO PUT BEFORE THE BOARD AND WHAT THE BOARD MEMBERS PRIORITIES ARE. AND AND NOT WAIT UNTIL THE LAST MINUTE, ESPECIALLY SINCE WE KNOW THE BUDGET IS UNLIKELY TO CHANGE SIGNIFICANTLY, NOT WAIT UNTIL THE LAST MINUTE TO TRY TO RESHUFFLE THE DECK. OKAY SO SOME THINGS MIGHT CHANGE A LITTLE BIT HERE AND THERE. AND I THINK THAT THAT'S FINE. YOU KNOW WE CAN ADJUST ON THE FLY MICRO CHANGES MAY BE IN THE MIDDLE OF JUNE BUT WE SHOULDN'T BE BACK TO THE DRAWING BOARD IN THE MIDDLE OF JUNE. SO MY GOAL HERE TODAY IS TO TRY TO GET US TO A PLACE WHERE WHERE WE'VE GOT A GOOD DISCUSSION AND THE BOARD MEMBERS CAN COME TO SOME KIND OF A CONSENSUS PIECE TO GET US TO LIKE 80 OR 90% OF WHERE WE NEED TO BE. OBVIOUSLY WE'RE MISSING SOME BOARD MEMBERS AND THEIR INPUT IS GOING TO BE IMPORTANT. AND THERE MIGHT BE SOME THINGS THAT HAPPEN AT THIS BOARD MEETING THAT PROMPT OTHER QUESTIONS OR CHANGE PEOPLE'S MINDS ON DIFFERENT THINGS. SO, YOU KNOW, THERE ARE SOME TOUGH DECISIONS THAT THE BOARD WILL HAVE TO MAKE POTENTIALLY, AND YOUR INPUT ON WHERE THE BOARD DECIDES TO PUT MONEY AND WHERE IT DECIDES TO POTENTIALLY NOT PUT MONEY IS VERY IMPORTANT TO THE BOARD. YOU KNOW, WE'VE HELD A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT LISTENING SESSIONS, SO WE'VE GOTTEN SOME COMMUNITY FEEDBACK. AND THE SUPERINTENDENT HAS HELD HIS OWN LISTENING SESSIONS. SO HE'S GOT A SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT SET OF FEEDBACK AS WE LOOK AT WHAT WE'RE GOING TO DO NEXT YEAR. I WOULD LIKE THE BOARD MEMBERS TO KEEP IN MIND THAT ALTHOUGH EVERYONE HAS A SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT VERSIONS OF WHAT'S IMPORTANT TO THEM, WHAT ARE THEIR SACRED COWS, THOSE SORTS OF THINGS. RIGHT IT'S IMPORTANT TO REMEMBER THAT ANYTHING THAT'S PUT FORTH NEEDS TO BE VOTED ON BY THE BOARD AND NEEDS TO PASS. 
          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]
WE'LL GET INTO THE EXACT DETAILS IN JUST A MOMENT, BECAUSE WE'RE CARRYING A FUND BALANCE INTEREST RATES ARE HIGH, SO WE'RE RECEIVING INTEREST INCOME. OKAY. THAT'S, YOU KNOW, MONEY FOR MONEY WORKING FOR OUR MONEY, AND SO I'VE ASKED OKAY, WE'LL PUT THAT ON THERE AS WELL AS THE STARTING POINT. SO I BELIEVE WHAT WE'RE ABOUT TO SEE HERE IS A STARTING POINT FOR DISCUSSION THAT STARTS WITH A BUDGET USING ABOUT 36 MILLION OF OUR FUND BALANCE, WHICH WOULD LEAVE ABOUT 13 MILLION. I THINK IF MY MATH IS RIGHT, LEFT AN UNRESTRICTED FUND BALANCE, AND THIS IS ONE OF THE THRESHOLD QUESTIONS THAT WE NEED TO FIGURE OUT TODAY, HOW MUCH IS AN APPROPRIATE FUND BALANCE TO USE FOR NEXT YEAR'S OPERATIONS, AND HOW MUCH IS AN APPROPRIATE FUND BALANCE TO KEEP IN RESERVE. AND I BELIEVE, CORRECT ME IF I'M WRONG, MISS JUDD, BUT I BELIEVE THAT THAT 13 MILLION ALSO INCLUDES SORT OF EXCLUDES THE 5 MILLION THAT NOW IS OVER IN FOR HEALTH CARE THAT THE BOARD JUST MOVED OVER ON MONDAY RIGHT. I'M GOING TO REPHRASE I THINK I KNOW. YEAH. 
          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]
YEAR. THANK YOU. YEP. THANK YOU. READY YEP. ALL RIGHT. SO WE'VE PREPARED A PRESENTATION THAT SHOWS THE FIRST COLUMNS IS THE BOARD'S ORIGINAL PROPOSED BUDGET THAT WENT TO THE COUNTY. SO ALL OF THE NUMBERS IN THAT COLUMN AS WE GO THROUGH THE PRESENTATION ARE REFLECTIVE OF WHAT THE BOARD APPROVED. THEN WE HAVE AN ADDITIONS AND A REDUCTIONS COLUMN. AND THEN THE FINAL RECOMMENDATION. SO IF THERE'S NOTHING IN THE ADDITIONS AND REDUCTION COLUMN IT'S REMAINED THE SAME. OUR PROPOSAL RIGHT NOW IS THE SAME AS WHAT THE BOARD APPROVED IN FEBRUARY TO MOVE FORWARD TO THE COUNTY. IF THERE'S A CHANGE, WE WILL ADDRESS THAT. OKAY. ANY QUESTIONS TO START WITH THAT? I JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE WE'RE ALL ON THE SAME PAGE. ALL RIGHT. SO, LINE ITEM ONE IS THE ESTIMATED WAGE PACKAGE. AND TYPICALLY AT THE END OF THE YEAR WE GO THROUGH AND RECALCULATE EVERYTHING BASED ON WHERE WE ARE , THE FINAL ESTIMATED COST OF EVERYTHING IN THE APPROVED WAGE PACKAGE AND MAKE AN ADJUSTMENT THERE. SO THAT REALLY IS JUST AN ADJUSTMENT TO THE FINAL COST OF WHAT WE BELIEVE THE WAGE PACKAGE IS. AS OF RIGHT NOW. SO THAT $2 MILLION IS THAT ESTIMATED REDUCTION, NO CHANGES TO THE WAGE PACKAGE THAT WAS RATIFIED ON MONDAY EVENING. SO LINE ITEM. YES. IS THE ADJUSTMENT BASED ON, KIND OF REVISED UPDATE INFORMATION, OR IS IT BASED ON A CHANGE OF STAFFING LEVEL OF NUMBERS OF PEOPLE THAT HAD TO GET THE PULL UP AND STUFF? SURE. SO THE BOARD OF EDUCATION APPROVED PARAMETERS IN NOVEMBER TO NEGOTIATE, AND THAT WAS WHAT THE ORIGINAL $17.6 MILLION WAS BASED ON. WHAT THE ASSOCIATION'S AGREED TO, AS WELL AS SOME ADJUSTMENTS TO THE NATIONAL BOARD CERTIFICATION. WE HAD INFORMATION THAT WE WERE GOING TO HAVE 60 OR 60 INITIAL NBC TEACHERS IN DECEMBER. WE ACTUALLY HAD 49. SO THERE'S A LITTLE BIT OF AN ADJUSTMENT THERE. WE HAD THE RENEWALS IN THERE, BUT I'D BE ACCOUNTABILITY IMPLEMENTATION BOARD SAID THAT DOESN'T GO INTO EFFECT UNTIL 2026 FOR FY 26. SO THAT WAS A SMALL REDUCTION AS WELL. BUT THAT $15.372 MILLION INCLUDES EVERYTHING THAT THE BOARD APPROVED AND THAT THE ASSOCIATIONS AGREED TO, AND THAT THE, NEGOTIATION OR THE. BOARD RATIFIED. YES. THANK YOU. THE AGREEMENTS BASED ON THE CURRENT NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES WE HAVE NOW, CORRECT? YES OKAY. ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU. YEP. ALL RIGHT. LINES TWO AND THREE, ARE TWO POSITIONS THAT WE ARE REMOVING FROM THE BUDGET, PROPOSING TO REMOVE FROM THE BUDGET LINE FIVE IS A REDUCTION IN PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT OVERALL. SO THERE'S A 20% REDUCTION THERE. THAT WAS SOMETHING THAT, YOU KNOW, WE LOOKED BACK AT AND DECIDED THAT WE WOULD REDUCE USE THE AMOUNT OF PD IN THE BUDGET AND BRING THAT DOWN SO THAT WE'RE NOT IT'S NOT PART OF OUR BASE AT THIS POINT. THE FOLLOWING SCREEN IS OUR ED SERVICES. YOU CAN LOOK AT THE SIGHT BASED SUBSTITUTES. WE CALL THEM THE ESSER SUBS. WE HAVE REMOVED ALL OF THAT FROM THE ASK SUMMER PROGRAMS, WHICH WE'VE TALKED ABOUT. WE'VE REMOVED THAT INTERVENTION COSTS. 
          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]
THAT HAVE NOT BEEN ADJUSTED THE LAST SEVERAL YEARS FOR COLAS, AND THINGS THAT ADJUSTED IN THE WAGE PACKAGE. SO WE'RE PAYING HIGHER RATES FOR SOME OF THESE, EXTRA PAY ITEMS. BUT WE DIDN'T HAVE THE BUDGET TO COVER THE ADDITIONAL INCREASE. SO YOU'LL SEE SOME LINE ITEMS HERE WHERE WE'VE TRIED TO ADD BACK SOME MONEY. SO $50,000, NOT A LOT OF MONEY, BUT WE WANT TO TRY TO GET IT AS WHOLE AS POSSIBLE BECAUSE WE KNOW WITHOUT ADDING THE INFLATIONARY INCREASES TO THIS BUDGET, THAT WE REALLY SHOULD BE TO COVER COSTS. WE DON'T WANT TO BE ANY TIGHTER, AND WE NEED THE BUDGET TO BE SUFFICIENT FOR THOSE LINE ITEMS THAT WERE CONFIDENT WE WILL USE. SO WE'VE IN FACILITIES, WE HAVE REMOVED THREE OF THOSE LINE ITEMS, IT'S NOT THAT WE DON'T THINK WE NEED IT, BUT WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO TRY TO COVER THAT WITH WHAT WE HAVE, SO IT WAS A WAY TO SAVE $350,000. SO WE INCLUDED THOSE AS REDUCTIONS AS LINE 23, THE CAREER COUNSELING SPECIALIST POSITION. WE ARE PROPOSING TO TRANSFER THAT TO OUR TALENT PATHWAYS MONEY, WHICH IS RESTRICTED MONEY SO THAT WE CAN CONTINUE TO HAVE THOSE SERVICES. AS THE PAYROLL COORDINATOR, WE ARE PROPOSING TO MOVE THAT TO THE ORACLE PROJECT BECAUSE WE NEED THAT POSITION TO GET US THROUGH THE ORACLE PROJECT, FOR SURE. THE INSURANCE AND OTHER FIXED CHARGES, THE LINES 28 AND 29, IF WE LOOK AT THOSE FIRST, WE, THOSE ARE ADJUSTMENTS. SO WHEN WE GET THE FINAL ESTIMATES OF OUR COSTS FOR NEXT YEAR, WE'RE EITHER UP OR DOWN. UNFORTUNATELY, THIS YEAR THEY WENT UP. SO WE HAVE TO ADD THAT BACK IN SO THAT WE MAKE SURE WE HAVE A SUFFICIENT BUDGET FOR PROPERTY INSURANCE AND GL INSURANCE. WE DID LOOK AT THE DENTAL INSURANCE BUDGET. WE DO BELIEVE THERE IS SOME, CAPACITY IN THE BUDGET THAT WE DON'T NEED TO INCREASE IT. SO WE'RE REMOVING THAT, LITTLE CONCERNING ABOUT THAT BECAUSE IT'S ALWAYS GOOD TO HAVE A LITTLE BIT OF CUSHION IN OUR HEALTH INSURANCE, DENTAL INSURANCE. BUT WE CAN DO THAT. SO THAT REALLY OFFSETS THOSE TWO ITEMS. THE OTHER ITEM THAT WE'VE INCLUDED IS THE OPEB FUNDING LINE THAT WE HAVE. SO YEARS AGO WE HAD A FUNDING SOURCE TO SEND MONEY TO THE OPEB TRUST. THAT'S OTHER POST-EMPLOYMENT BENEFITS. SO WE HAD MEDICARE PART D SUBSIDIES THAT WE RECEIVED BACK FOR OUR RETIREES WHO WERE RECEIVING, MEDICARE PART D, WE WOULD GET THAT SUBSIDY BACK BECAUSE WE ACTUALLY HAD THAT FUNDED IN OUR HEALTH INSURANCE. WHEN WE GOT THAT MONEY EACH YEAR, WE WOULD COME BEFORE THE BOARD IN THE SPRING AND SAY, WE HAVE THIS MONEY. IT WASN'T BUDGETED, SO WE'RE PROPOSING TO SEND IT OVER TO THE OPEB TRUST AND FUND THAT TRUST WITH A SMALL AMOUNT OF MONEY. WHEN THE INSURANCE CHANGED SEVERAL YEARS AGO FOR OUR RETIREES, THAT SUBSIDY WENT AWAY BECAUSE ALL EVERYTHING IS INCLUDED IN THE PLANS THAT OUR RETIREES HAVE. SO WE ADDED WITH SOME OF THE SAVINGS THAT WE HAD FROM MAKING THAT SWITCH. WE ADDED THIS OPEB FUNDING LINE SO THAT IT WAS ALREADY BUDGETED EVERY YEAR, AND WE COULD AUTOMATICALLY SEND THOSE FUNDS OVER TO THE TRUST. IT'S IMPORTANT FROM AN ACTUARIAL STANDPOINT, THAT WE HAVE A STEADY FUNDING STREAM, IT WILL AFFECT THE LIABILITY ON THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AT THE END OF THE YEAR BY NOT HAVING SOMETHING DEDICATED. IT'S NOT SIGNIFICANT BECAUSE THE LIABILITY IS SO LARGE, SO NOT HAVING IT ISN'T GOING TO CHANGE THE OUTCOME OF THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS. THAT GREATLY TO SUBSTITUTE FOR THAT MISSING FUNDING LINE. IF WE HAVE A SURPLUS IN THE HEALTH CARE EACH YEAR, THAT WOULD BE AN APPROPRIATE USE OF THAT SURPLUS. 
          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]
THROUGH AND IDENTIFIED SAVINGS SO THAT WE DIDN'T HAVE TO HAVE THIS LINE IN THE BUDGET. SO WE WERE ABLE TO REMOVE THE $700,000 FROM THE BUDGET, THE SCHOOL SAFETY LIAISON, WE ARE RECOMMENDING TO REMOVE ONE POSITION FROM SCHOOL SAFETY LIAISONS AS. AND THEN THESE THIS IS VERY DIFFICULT TO HAVE TO READ. SO THESE ARE THE SPECIAL EDUCATION CHANGES. SO NOT A LOT THE ITEMS THAT ARE SHADED THERE AGAIN IT'S BY GROUP. WE HAVE AN EARLY LEARNERS PROGRAM THE STRIVE PROGRAM AND THE CLASSROOM SUPPORT PROGRAM. THOSE ARE FULLY STAFFED NEW PROGRAMS. SO WITHOUT THE STAFFING THE PROGRAMS CAN'T RUN. SO WE'VE NOT ADJUSTED THOSE BECAUSE WE FEEL IT'S IMPORTANT TO INCLUDE THOSE IN THE BUDGET. IF WE DIDN'T EDUCATE THESE STUDENTS, THEY WOULD BE PLACED NONPUBLIC. SO WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE PLACES FOR THE STUDENTS. WE DO HAVE AN ADJUSTMENT UP TOP TO MEDICAL ASSISTANCE FOR 2.4 MILLION. SO WE WOULD BE MOVING, I'M SORRY, 2.4 FTES. WE WOULD BE MOVING THOSE POSITIONS OVER TO MA FUNDS. THE ORIGINAL PROPOSED REQUEST OF 35.4 POSITIONS, THAT IS 100% OFFSET WITH REVENUE SO INCLUDED IN OUR STATE NUMBER IS REVENUE THAT WE ARE INCLUDING TO BUDGET IN THE OPERATING BUDGET. SO WE HAD TO BRING THE POSITIONS OVER TO OFFSET THAT. THAT WAS PART OF THE ORIGINAL PROPOSED BUDGET. AND THEN WE HAVE ADDITIONAL INCREASES FOR HOMESCHOOL SUBSTITUTES. YEAH, HOMESCHOOL SUBSTITUTES. AND, THE OTHER LINE, SUMMER SCHOOL. YEAH. RIGHT. SO THIS GOES BACK TO THE SAME THING, THE 50,000. WE TALKED ABOUT THE INCREASE. WE'RE ADJUSTING LINE ITEMS FOR NOT HAVING THE APPROPRIATE BUDGET COSTED AT THE CURRENT SALARIES IN THOSE LINES. SO WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE BUDGETS APPROPRIATE FOR THAT STUDENT SERVICES LINE 55. WE HAVE FUNDING SECURED OUTSIDE THE OPERATING BUDGET FOR THAT. SO WE CAN REMOVE THAT FOR THIS YEAR. SCHOOL NURSES TRANSFERRED FROM GRANT FUNDING. ONE POSITION WE WILL NOT BE TRANSFERRING FROM GRANT FUNDING. THERAPEUTIC COUNSELOR FROM GRANT FUNDING. THE SAME. WE WILL NOT BE TRANSFERRING THAT POSITION TO PSYCHOLOGICAL SERVICES. WE ARE REMOVING THAT SMALL INCREASE OF 19,000. THE PUPIL PERSONNEL WORKER WERE PROPOSING TO MOVE THAT TO CONCENTRATION OF POVERTY, MONEY WHICH IS RESTRICTED FUNDS THAT THE STATE DOES PROVIDE SCHOOL PSYCHOLOGISTS REDUCING THAT BY ONE AND THEN HOME AND HOSPITAL SALARIES AND NURSING SUBSTITUTES. AGAIN SALARY ADJUSTMENT LINES FOR THOSE PARTICULAR LINE ITEMS IN THE BUDGET. AND WE HAVE 4.4 SCHOOL NURSES THAT WE ARE PROPOSING TO TRANSFER FOR THE SCHOOLS IDENTIFIED, TWO CONCENTRATION OF POVERTY FUNDS. SO THEY WILL NOT BE FUNDED BY THE OPERATING BUDGET. THEY WOULD BE FUNDED BY CONCENTRATION OF POVERTY. NO CHANGES TO THE SWAN CREEK AREA TRANSPORTATION. WE'RE REMOVING A SMALL INCREASE OF $25,000 THAT WAS PROPOSED. THERE ADMIN SUPPORT COORDINATOR. WE WILL HAVE A VACANCY JULY 1ST. WE'RE PROPOSING TO REMOVE THAT FROM THE BUDGET. AND ANOTHER ADMIN SUPPORT SPECIALIST. THE SAME THING. WE'RE PROPOSING TO REMOVE THAT FROM THE BUDGET JULY 1ST AS WELL. SO THAT BRINGS THE TOTAL ADDITIONS TO THE BUDGET OF ALMOST $3 MILLION AND TOTAL REDUCTIONS, $10.6 DOLLARS. THE REVENUES AGAIN YOU CAN SEE THE LOCAL REVENUE UNCHANGED FROM FY 24. THE CHANGE IN THE STATE REVENUE. THAT DOES REFLECT ABOUT A HALF $1 MILLION. THE STATE ACTUALLY REDUCED OUR REVENUE THIS YEAR. SO WE HAVE TO REFLECT THAT IN THERE. THAT INCLUDES THE REDUCTION TO THE STATE REVENUE WITH THE FINAL NUMBERS THAT WE RECEIVED AND THEN THE OTHER REVENUE WE ARE INCREASING BY A MILLION FOR THE INTEREST REVENUE , BECAUSE WE'VE RECEIVED MORE IN INTEREST REVENUE THE LAST COUPLE OF YEARS, WE'RE INCREASING THAT BUDGET. WE HAVE TO BE VERY CAREFUL WITH WHAT WE INCREASE BECAUSE AS RATES DO FALL AND WE AREN'T RECEIVING THAT INTEREST REVENUE LIKE WE ARE RIGHT NOW, WE WON'T HAVE THAT INCOME. SO WE WOULD HAVE TO IN ORDER TO BRING THE BUDGET BACK DOWN, WE WOULD HAVE TO CUT WHAT WE INCREASE SOMEWHERE ELSE IN THE BUDGET. SO IF WE INCREASE THE BUDGET TOO HIGH, WE RUN THE RISK OF HAVING TO CUT OTHER OPERATIONAL EXPENSES IN ORDER TO REMOVE THE FUNDING. LATER SO WE CAN INCREASE IT HERE. I THINK IT'S BETTER TO HAVE UNEXPECTED REVENUE COME IN THAT ISN'T REALLY ALLOCATED ANYWHERE. WE CAN DECIDE WHAT TO DO WITH IT AT THAT TIME OR IT FALLS TO FUND BALANCE. BUT WE FELT THAT WE COULD INCREASE IT A LITTLE BIT. CAN I TAKE A SECOND TO EXPLAIN THAT? YEAH. YES. THAT'S FINE. SO THIS WAS ONE THAT TOOK ME NOW TWO YEARS TO GET MY HEAD AROUND. SO I THOUGHT I WOULD TRY TO EXPLAIN THIS IN CIVILIAN TERMS ALSO, SO, SO OBVIOUSLY INTEREST REVENUE GOES UP AND DOWN IN THE 
          [00:30:03]
LAST FEW YEARS BECAUSE INTEREST RATES HAVE BEEN HIGHER. WE'RE SEEING MORE INTEREST REVENUE. 
          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]
WENT WITH THIS PROPOSAL HERE, WE WOULD USE ABOUT ALMOST 37 MILLION OF FUND BALANCE. AND THE REMAINING UNRESTRICTED FUND BALANCE WOULD BE ABOUT 14 MILLION. APPROXIMATELY 17 1718. 
          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]
CONCENTRATION OF POVERTY IS VERY SPECIFIC ON WHAT POSITIONS CAN BE THERE. THEY'RE BASICALLY SUPPORT POSITIONS FOR BEHAVIOR. WE TRY TO LOOK AT, ADJUSTING SOME OF OUR OPERATING FUND AND TEACHING CLASSROOM TEACHING POSITIONS ON THE CONCENTRATION OF MONEY. WE WERE FLAT OUT TOLD, NO, IT'S GOT TO BE EXTRA SUPPORT FOR THOSE STAFF AND STUDENTS AND COMMUNITY RELATED. AND THEN TO YOUR POINT, TERRY, WE'RE USING ALL OF THE CONCENTRATION OF POVERTY MONEY THAT WE, THAT WE GET. ALL RIGHT, IT'S JUST A MATTER OF NOW, WE WERE ABLE TO ALLOCATE A PORTION TO ONE OF THE. YEAH SO THE WEIGHT CONCENTRATION OF POVERTY WORKS IS IT'S BASED ON YOUR FREE AND REDUCED MEALS RATE. IT STARTED AT 80. SO IF YOU WERE 80% ABOVE, YOU GOT IN IN FY 20 I THINK FOR 21 YOU GET A YOU GET A PERSONNEL GRANT FOR TWO YEARS. YOU GET YOU HIRE A COMMUNITY SCHOOL SPECIALIST, WHICH IS REQUIRED. AND THEN YOU CAN HAVE ANOTHER POSITION ON THAT FUNDING, WHICH IS ABOUT $275,000, ANY LEFTOVER FUNDS ARE TO BE USED ON WRAPAROUND SERVICES. SO SERVICES FOR THE STUDENTS, IT COULD BE A LOT OF DIFFERENT THINGS. IT COULD BE FIELD TRIPS, IT COULD BE DENTAL, HAVE A DENTIST COME IN AND DO ALL KINDS OF DIFFERENT THINGS THAT ARE SPELLED OUT. IN YEAR THREE, YOU START TO GET A PER PUPIL ALLOCATION. THE PER PUPIL ALLOCATION PHASES IN OVER 6 OR 7 YEARS. IT STARTS AT 16, BUT THEY TAKE THE BASE AMOUNT TIMES YOUR FARMS RATE TIMES 16. 
          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]
FAIR OBSERVATION? YOU LOOK AT THE BOTTOM LINE POINT IN THE 47.3 MILLION THAT'S UP ON THE SCREEN. THAT WAS THE ORIGINAL PROPOSED REQUEST OUT TO THE COUNTY. THE TOTAL INCREASE, I SHOULD SAY. AND THEN YOU FACTOR IN THE STATE REVENUE THAT WE GOT THE ADDITIONAL INTEREST INCOME. 
          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]
THANK YOU FOR THAT CONTEXT, WHILE WE'RE ON THE TOPIC OF BLUEPRINT, ONE THING THAT HAS COME UP, I KNOW MISS KOCHER HAD SOME QUESTIONS ABOUT THIS IS THERE ANYTHING IN HERE, THAT WE'RE DOING OVER AND ABOVE? WHAT IS REQUIRED BY THE BLUEPRINT? THAT WE MIGHT BE ABLE TO EITHER DELAY OR PUSH OUT, ESPECIALLY PRE-K. I DID SEND BACK MY ANALYSIS OF THAT BY PILLAR, BASED ON THE QUESTIONS RECEIVED ABOUT WHAT WE'RE DOING ABOVE AND BEYOND AND IN GENERAL, THERE ARE PLACES WHERE WE ARE NOT YET EVEN MEETING WHAT WE HAVE TO DO, AND THAT BASED ON THE, THE PACE OF WHAT WE'RE DOING, WE WON'T NECESSARILY MEET OUR GOALS. SO I CAN GO PILLAR BY PILLAR AND TALK ABOUT IT, WHERE'S THE BIGGEST COST DRIVER? IS IT THE PRE-K? RIGHT NOW OR THE BIGGEST COST DRIVER, I MEAN, ISN'T IT ALWAYS, LIKE, FOR NEXT YEAR SALARIES? I MEAN, FOR EVERYTHING. YEAH, BECAUSE THAT'S LIKE THE CAREER LADDER IS GOING TO BE IMPLEMENTED, BUT IN TERMS OF PRE-K THAT RIGHT NOW WE'RE BEING FUNDED THROUGH A PRE-K EXPANSION, GRANTS AND THE LONG TERM COSTS FOR THAT ARE REALLY OUR CAPITAL COSTS AS WELL. IN ORDER TO PROVIDE THAT EXPANSION. 
          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]
KNOW, THE PROGRAMS WE HAVE, WE'VE EXPANDED OVER TIME. AND THE NUMBER OF KIDS NEEDING THAT'S NOT A BLUEPRINT. THAT'S NOT A BLUEPRINT THING. THAT'S US MEETING THE NEEDS OF OUR SPECIAL ED POPULATION. WHEN YOU FIND MORE, ELIGIBLE. SO THAT WOULD HAVE GROWN WHETHER THE BLUEPRINT EXISTED OR NOT. BECAUSE IF YOU HAVE MORE ELIGIBLE THREE YEAR OLDS, WE'RE REQUIRED BY LAW TO SERVE THEM. AND THEY HAVE TO BE SERVED IN AN ENVIRONMENT WITH NON-DISABLED PEERS, WHICH IS WHY THAT WE ARE THAT'S WHY WE PUT THE ADVERTISEMENT OUT THERE TO SAY, IF YOU HAVE A THREE YEAR OLD WHO YOU WANT TO HAVE A PRE-K, BUT AGAIN, THAT'S SOMETHING WE'VE DONE EVERY YEAR. 
          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]
ENROLLMENT IN MAY. SCHOOL DOESN'T START TILL SEPTEMBER, YOU KNOW, SO TO SOME DEGREE WE ARE LOOKING AT TRENDS TO DETERMINE HOW WE'RE GOING TO MOVE TEACHERS AROUND THE BEST THAT WE CAN. I MEAN, THERE ARE GOING TO BE SOME SCHOOLS WHEN SCHOOL STARTS THAT THEY ARE SLIGHTLY OVER THE CAP. BUT THAT'S NOT BECAUSE WE INTENDED IT THAT WAY. IT'S BECAUSE MORE STUDENTS CAME IN THE LAST MONTH OR TWO THAT WE COULDN'T PREDICT. BUT YOU COULD ALSO HAVE HAVE LEFT A TEACHER OR LEFT A STAFFING THE SAME WHERE YOU WERE MAYBE ONE STUDENT OVER THE CAP AND YOU COULDN'T MOVE ANOTHER TEACHER IN THERE BECAUSE THEN YOU'RE GOING TO DROP WAY BELOW, AND THEN TWO STUDENTS DROP OUT AND NOW YOU'RE WITHIN THE CAP. YEAH THIS IS SO THIS IS THE TYPE OF CHALLENGE THAT HAPPENS EVERY YEAR WITH STAFFING. AND ONE OF THE THINGS WE HAVEN'T DONE HERE, BUT IS A REGULAR PRACTICE BECAUSE I'VE DONE IT IN THE OTHER TWO DISTRICTS WHERE I WORK, IS JUST WHAT ERIC DESCRIBED. IF YOU'RE ANTICIPATING NEEDING FOUR TEACHERS AND FOURTH GRADE, BUT THEN AT THE END YOU REALLY ONLY HAVE ENOUGH STUDENTS TO. YOU COULD DO IT WITH THREE AND MANY PLACES. IT'S A REGULAR PRACTICE, SORT OF. IN EARLY SEPTEMBER, TO HOLD THAT TEACHER AND MOVE THEM SOMEWHERE ELSE WHERE YOU NEED THEM MORE, BUT THAT'S HUGELY DISRUPTIVE, RIGHT? AND TO DO IT DURING THE SCHOOL YEAR. SO WE DO ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING WE CAN TO AVOID PULLING TEACHERS, EVEN IF ENROLLMENT DOESN'T COME IN AS ANTICIPATED. BUT THAT LEAVES US REALLY TIGHT AND THERE WAS AN EXAMPLE LAST YEAR THAT YOU HEARD A GREAT DEAL ABOUT ABOUT GREEN. 
          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]
INTO A REAL PERSON. AND SO SHE HANGS ON TO THOSE AS LONG AS SHE CAN. BUT WE'RE ALWAYS PLAYING THIS GAME OF, IF I WAIT TOO LONG, AM I GOING TO BE ABLE TO FIND A CANDIDATE? BECAUSE THAT'S THE OTHER REALITY WE CONFRONT. SO LIKE I SAID, ART, SCIENCE, CRYSTAL BALL, DOCTOR MAC, YOU'VE HAD YOUR HAND UP FOR A WHILE, SO GO AHEAD. THAT'S OKAY. I WAS JUST GOING TO GIVE A REAL LIFE EXAMPLE. WE CAN USE RIVERSIDE ELEMENTARY AS AN EXAMPLE, RIGHT NOW, WHEN WE STARTED THE STAFFING PROCESS, I THINK WE GAVE RIVERSIDE ONE TEACHER LAST YEAR, EARLIER THIS YEAR, WE GAVE THEM ONE TEACHER. WE KNOW THAT THERE'S A COMMUNITY THAT'S BEING BUILT ON 152. SO THEN WE GAVE THEM ANOTHER TEACHER A COUPLE WEEKS LATER. THEN MR. HAMILTON REACHED OUT AND SAID, A STREET OPENED UP AND I HAD FIVE STUDENTS SHOW UP. I THINK THIS WEEK WE GAVE HIM A THIRD TEACHER, A THIRD TEACHER. SO THAT'S HOW IT WORKS. SO I IF I HAVE MY NINE, THESE REAL LIFE SCENARIOS ARE PLAYING OUT. THEY REACH OUT TO ME, MARY AND HER TEAM. WE MEET REGULARLY AND THEN WE'RE ABLE TO MAKE THOSE DECISIONS, AND WE'RE ABLE TO MAKE THEM EARLY ENOUGH SO THAT IT'S NOT WAITING UNTIL AUGUST SO THAT WE HAVE STAFFING WHERE THEY NEED TO BE. SO I JUST WANTED TO KIND OF PUT A SPECIFIC SCHOOL TO IT, JUST SO THAT YOU COULD SEE HOW THAT ALLOCATION WORKS WELL, AND ALL THE GROWTH THAT WE'RE HAPPENING THAT HAPPENING IN THE COUNTY NOW, THAT'S PROBABLY HAPPENING MORE FREQUENTLY. AND YOU'RE PROBABLY GETTING STUDENTS THAT EVEN THE FIRST WEEK OF SCHOOL THAT ARE REGISTERING RIGHT IN DIFFERENT SCHOOLS. SO IT'S A CHALLENGING JOB. THE CHURCH CREEK AREA IS ANOTHER ONE. THAT HUGE COMMUNITY BEING BUILT ON. 543 THOSE KIDS ARE ARE , ZONED FOR CHURCH CREEK. THAT'S ANOTHER ONE THAT WE'RE WATCHING BECAUSE THEY'RE VERY CLOSE TO THE CAPS RIGHT NOW. THE COUNTY DOESN'T GIVE US ADDITIONAL FUNDING WHEN THEY ALLOW BUILDING OF LARGE APARTMENT COMPLEXES, LARGE TOWNHOUSE AND SINGLE HOMES. WE DON'T GET ADDITIONAL FUNDING FOR TEACHERS THAT WE'RE GOING TO NEED TO EDUCATE THOSE KIDS. THAT'S RIGHT. WE ONLY GET THE IMPACT FEE, RIGHT? WELL, AND IN THEORY, YOU GET YOU GET PROPERTY TAXES AND INCOME TAXES. 
          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]
WERE TO TRY TO GO MUCH DEEPER INTO IF WE DECIDED THAT WE DIDN'T WANT TO SPEND 36 MILLION IN FUND BALANCE, WE'D HAVE TO OPEN THAT CONVERSATION, AND THAT'S AND THAT'S A CONVERSATION. I DON'T THINK ANYONE AROUND THIS TABLE, WE WANT TO PROTECT THOSE CLASSROOMS . AND THE OTHER THING THAT I'VE SAID, VERY IMPORTANTLY IS WE CAN'T LOSE SIGHT OF THE FACT THAT BECAUSE OF THE TEACHER SHORTAGE, WE HAVE MANY MORE CONDITIONAL TEACHERS AND MANY MORE NON TENURED TEACHERS IN OUR BUILDINGS THAT NEED SUPPORT LIKE NEVER BEFORE. AND YOU KNOW, THE SUPPORTS FOR TEACHERS ARE IN SOME WAYS JUST AS IMPORTANT IF NOT MORE IMPORTANT THAN THE ACTUAL NUMBER OF TEACHERS FACING STUDENTS. AND SO I JUST USE THIS AS MY OPPORTUNITY TO GET THAT OUT THERE ON THE TABLE. OKAY. ON ON THAT NOTE, THE COFFEE'S RUNNING THROUGH ME. SO I LIKE TO PROPOSE A TEN MINUTE BREAK. AND WHEN WE COME BACK, I'D LIKE TO HEAR FROM THE BOARD MEMBERS THAT HAVE NOT SPOKEN YET. MAKE SURE EVERYBODY'S, YOU KNOW, GOTTEN. YES, YES. GO FOR IT. SO THE 30 POSITIONS THAT YOU MOVED OR YOU DECIDE, YOU KNOW, OR SO YOU KNOW RECENTLY THAT'S A MIX OF EITHER VACANCIES OR RETIREMENTS. AND THERE'S NOT, YOU KNOW, ACTUALLY LOST TEACHING FTES. IS THAT RIGHT? OKAY. WHAT YOU SEE IN THE BUDGET IS THE ONES WHO MOVE FROM GRANTS, BECAUSE THAT WAS THE THING AT THE BEGINNING. SO THE 12 AND THE 21 ON LINE SIX AND SEVEN ARE THOSE WERE POSITIONS ASSIGNED TO GRANTS THAT WERE MOVING INTO OPERATING. SO THAT'S WHY IT LOOKS LIKE AN INCREASE. 
          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]
POSITION BEING CUT, WHICH MEANS THAT THEIR CLASS SIZES AND THE SAME THING KIND OF HAPPENED IN NORTH HARFORD A COUPLE OF YEARS AGO WHEN MY SON WAS THERE, WHEN WE HAD POSITIONS, CUTS, THE THEY HAD FOUR INITIALLY, FOUR GYM TEACHERS, ONE OF THEM PASSED AWAY. ONE OF THEM THEN RESIGNED. 
          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]
ANYTHING ELSE YOU WANT TO SAY? NO. OKAY ALL RIGHT. WHAT ABOUT OTHERS? JUST JUMP IN. WELL I DON'T I'M NOT COMFORTABLE WITH HOW MUCH FUND BALANCE WE'RE USING, BUT THAT SAID, I'M NOT SURE WHERE WE CAN GET MONEY FROM , YOU KNOW, LOOKING AT SOME OF THE NUMBERS AND RESPONSES TO THE QUESTIONS, I GUESS ONE THING WITH THAT AT A HIGH LEVEL, WHAT ARE THE THERE'S A LOT OF INCREASES IN CERTAIN AREAS, LIKE THERE'S A THE TECHNOLOGY AREA, THERE'S APPLICATIONS, APPLICATION DEVELOPMENT, THAT REALLY JUMPS UP, AND EXPENDITURES. SO WHAT ARE THE BIG COST DRIVERS IN TERMS OF, OF CURRICULUM AREA WAS ALSO ANOTHER AREA, THAT HAD, WENT PRETTY HIGH , SO WHAT ARE THE BIG COST DRIVERS THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT FORECASTING INTO NEXT YEAR, IN TERMS OF CURRICULUM, IN TERMS OF TECHNOLOGY, THAT'S REALLY THAT YOU KNOW, WE CAN MAYBE RELOOK AT IF, IF WE HAVEN'T, I'M SURE WE HAVE RELOOKED AT SOME OF IT, BUT WHAT ARE THE BIG THINGS THAT ARE ARE DRIVING THE INCREASES IN COSTS? SO PART OF, THE ORACLE PROJECT AND THE UNDERTAKING THAT WE STARTED, WHAT, LAST JANUARY, JANUARY OF 2023, WE MADE A DECISION ON, BECAUSE THE WAY THAT OUR BUDGET WAS STRUCTURED AS, AS CURRENT WAS LIMITED, WE WANTED TO PROVIDE ADDITIONAL TRANSPARENCY TO THE SCHOOL SYSTEM, TO THE STAKEHOLDERS, THAT RELY ON THE SCHOOL SYSTEM. 
          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]
CURRICULUM LOCATIONS OR THE VARIOUS SUBJECT AREAS UNDER CURRICULUM. BECAUSE THAT'S WHERE THAT THAT'S WHERE WE HAVE ALL OF OUR TEACHERS, SO IT IT'S THIS TRANSITION FROM LAWSON INTO ORACLE THAT I THINK IS CAUSING A LOT OF CONFUSION, BUT THAT IS WE ANTICIPATED THAT. BUT I FIRMLY BELIEVE THAT OUR GOALS TO PROVIDE ADDITIONAL TRANSPARENCY, TO PROVIDE ADDITIONAL CAPABILITIES TO TRACK AND TO SHOW HOW MUCH THESE DIFFERENT THINGS COST IS, IS GOING TO OUTWEIGH THAT. BUT IT'S SORT OF A LONG TERM INVESTMENT IN THAT SENSE. AND I, I HOPE MY, MY RAMBLING RESPONSE HELPED TO CLARIFY. SO IN SUMMARY, WE'RE GETTING FINER GRANULARITY. AND WE WE'VE DEVELOPED, POCKETS POTS OF MONEY THAT WE'RE ABLE TO REPORT ON. YES. YES MA'AM. AND SO THAT THE MONEY THAT WE SEE WITH THE APPLICATION DEVELOPMENT IS TO CREATE THAT CAPABILITY. 
          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]
REPRESENTATIVE MANNER OVER THE LAST FEW YEARS. AND AGAIN, THAT'S NOT SOMETHING THAT'S CLEAR TO PEOPLE EITHER, BECAUSE I KNOW WHEN WE START LOOKING FOR CUTS, THE FIRST PLACE EVERYONE LOOKS IS IN CENTRAL SERVICES BECAUSE THEY DON'T WANT TO TOUCH SCHOOLS, WHICH I COMPLETELY UNDERSTAND. BUT AT THE SAME TIME, AT SCALE THAT'S BEEN SHRINKING. AND ONE COULD ARGUE WITH THE BURDEN OF THE BLUEPRINT, WHICH IS OBVIOUSLY HUGELY BUREAUCRATIC. IT ADDS A WHOLE BUNCH OF NEW RESPONSIBILITIES TO CENTRAL OFFICE WITHOUT ADDING MUCH AT THIS POINT TO SCHOOLS IN SOME CASES, AND THEN, YOU KNOW, ANOTHER EXPANDED ANOTHER WHEN YOU LOOK AT OUR AGING BUILDINGS, BECAUSE WE'VE BEEN UNDERFUNDED FOR, YOU KNOW, CAPITAL FOREVER, YOU KNOW, THE RESPONSIBILITIES FOR JUST MANAGING, YOU KNOW, MAINTAINING THESE BUILDINGS GOES UP EVERY YEAR AS THE BUILDINGS KEEP AGING. AND WE'RE NOT GETTING NEW ONES AT THE RATE WE NEED THEM. THESE ARE THE TYPES OF THINGS WHERE OUR COST AND OUR BURDEN IS GOING UP. BUT WE'RE STILL KEEPING COSTS FLAT. OR, LIKE I SAID, INCREMENTALLY GOING DOWN COMPARED TO THE REST OF DISTRICT. SO YOU KNOW, THIS IS ONE OF THE REALITIES WE CONFRONT IN THE BUDGET, BECAUSE EVERY YEAR WHEN WE START LOOKING FOR EFFICIENCIES, THE EYES ALWAYS FOCUS ON THE SAME SPOT, BUT, YOU KNOW, THIS ISN'T ABOUT BEING OVERLY PROTECTIVE TO ONE PART OF THE ORGANIZATION OVER ANOTHER. 
          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]
AGAIN, UNLESS I MISSED SOMETHING GOING THROUGH HERE, WE HAVEN'T REALLY DIPPED INTO THOSE AND BUT THE BUT THAT'S SOMETHING THAT AT THE STATE LEVEL, I FEEL LIKE WE'VE BEEN GETTING MORE ATTENTION ON. RIGHT. THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE'VE BEEN ADVOCATING STATEWIDE TO SAY THESE REALLY ARE AT RISK BECAUSE THEY'RE NOT IN THE BLUEPRINT. AND SO I THINK KEEPING THAT NARRATIVE GOING SO THAT THE STATE DECISION MAKERS WAS, YOU KNOW, HAD THAT OFF IN FUTURE YEARS, BUT RIGHT NOW. YOU KNOW, THE CHANGES THAT WE HAVE IN HERE, WE FEEL WE FEEL PRETTY COMFORTABLE WITH WE KNOW WE'RE GOING TO BE TIGHTENING A BUNCH OF PLACES, BUT WE HAVEN'T REALLY CUT DEEPLY INTO THOSE STUDENT FACING SERVICES AND ACTIVITIES THAT, I'M FEARFUL WILL HAVE TO KEEP PUTTING ON THE TABLE EVERY YEAR UNTIL WE GET THIS. SINCE YOU PUT THIS BUDGET TOGETHER NOW, TAKING INTO CONSIDERATION THE CONVERSATIONS WE'VE HAD OVER THE PAST TWO HOURS, ARE THERE ANY ADJUSTMENTS THAT YOU WOULD MAKE TO THE BUDGET TOP OF MIND THAT WOULD FURTHER SUPPORT THE BOARD'S OBJECTIVES? NOTHING'S COMING TO MIND RIGHT NOW. I MEAN, WE WE'VE REVISITED WE REVISITED ALMOST DAILY THESE DAYS, AND, YOU KNOW, WE DEFINITELY, LIKE I SAID, THE WORK THAT MR. HENNIGAN HAS DONE TO HELP US, YOU KNOW. BETTER LEVERAGE THE CONCENTRATION OF POVERTY FUNDS, I THINK WAS A DIFFERENCE MAKER IN THE LAST FEW MONTHS, BUT AGAIN, FROM THE BEGINNING, WE'VE BEEN WE'VE BEEN I MEAN, WE'VE BEEN WORKING ON THIS SINCE JULY ONE OF 2023, AND WE REVISITED EVERY WEEK. AND SO, YOU KNOW, THIS RIGHT NOW IS, IS WHAT I WOULD PUT ON THE TABLE, KNOWING THAT WE HAVE A LOT OF ADVOCACY TO DO IN THE NEXT EIGHT MONTHS. OKAY SO WE'LL CONTINUE, I GUESS MOVING DOWN THIS WAY IF YOU HAVE NOTHING ELSE TO ADD. AND THEN WE'LL JUST KIND OF HEAD OFF ON ALL THE BOARD MEMBERS HERE. AND THE THRESHOLD QUESTION IS, DO YOU FEEL THAT THIS IS AN APPROPRIATE MIX OF FUND BALANCE AND CUTS THAT ARE OPTIMAL AND SUPPORT THE BOARD'S OBJECTIVES? YES. MISS KOCHER OKAY. YEAH. ALL RIGHT, MISS KOCHER, WE'RE GETTING THERE, I DON'T QUITE FEEL COMFORTABLE WITH USING ALMOST TWO THIRDS OF THE FUND BALANCE AND LEAVING 17 OR 18. IF WE'RE MEETING 20, I FEEL COMFORTABLE, I THINK THERE'S A COUPLE THINGS WE MAYBE HAVEN'T LOOKED AT, FOR EXAMPLE, THE READING CURRICULUM KEEPS GETTING PUNTED. YOU KNOW, AND NOT FUNDED. THAT'S A CONCERN. WE CAN KICK THE CAN DOWN THE ROAD ON THAT. I'D LIKE TO SEE THAT RESPOND TO THAT REAL QUICK. SO AND I. READING AND MATH ARE IN THE EXACT SAME BOAT RIGHT NOW. 
          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]
AT THAT. WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO TURN IN A PLAN. BUT ONE OF THE THINGS THEY'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT, AND THIS IS A TREND THAT'S OCCURRED IN OTHER STATES. SO WE THINK THIS IS WHAT THE MST IS LOOKING AT IS TRANSITIONING FROM THE TRADITIONAL MATH COURSES ALGEBRA, GEOMETRY, ALGEBRA TWO THREE, CALCULUS, CALCULUS, YOU KNOW, STATISTICS TO AN APPROACH THAT MAY BE MORE INTEGRATED, WHERE YOU'RE GETTING ELEMENTS OF EACH OF THOSE EACH YEAR THAT'S HAPPENED IN OTHER STATES. THERE'S BEEN SOME EVIDENCE THAT IT'S BEEN A GOOD SHIFT. BUT OBVIOUSLY MATH IS ONE OF THOSE THINGS. THERE'S A LOT OF RESISTANCE TO IT. AND I WANT TO MAKE SURE BEFORE WE MAKE ANY MAJOR SHIFTS OR ANY MAJOR COMMITMENTS TO A NEW CURRICULUM, THAT WE KNOW WHERE THAT'S GOING. 
          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]
ENGLISH THOUGH, THE MAIN CONCERN. I KNOW WE JUST DID SOMETHING FOR MATH. YOU KNOW, WHEN YOU BUDGET FOR A CURRICULUM , IT'S NOT GOING TO BE BOUGHT. THE FIRST DAY. YOU MIGHT NOT BUY IT UNTIL THE END OF THIS YEAR WHEN YOU KNOW WHAT THE MSD IS DOING, AND THEN IT TAKES ANOTHER, WHAT, SIX MONTHS TO A YEAR TO TRAIN IT AND IMPLEMENT IT. SO IF WE DON'T BUDGET FOR A READING CURRICULUM THIS YEAR IN FY 25, WE KICK THAT CAN TO 26. YOU'RE NOT GOING TO GET IT INTO SCHOOLS TILL 28. TERRY, I GOT A NOTE FROM IT THAT YOU COULD SPEAK INTO THE MIC. THEY'RE JUST HAVING TROUBLE PICKING YOU UP. I'M SORRY, I'M SORRY. I'M NOT SURE YOU HAVE TO REPEAT THE QUESTION, BUT JUST MOVING FORWARD. MAKE SENSE IF THERE'S A TAIL, RIGHT? NO. YOU BUDGET IT TO WHEN YOU. YEAH. WHAT YOU'RE SAYING DOES MAKE AND I THINK THAT THE CONCERN THAT. YEAH IF WE ACTUALLY HAVE TO BUY A CURRICULUM. YES WE'VE WHAT WE'VE SAID AS MANY TIMES THE COST IS GOING TO GO UP DRAMATICALLY BECAUSE RIGHT NOW FOR DEVELOPMENT, IT'S STILL OR DEVELOPMENT IT'S RIGHT, BUT AGAIN, WHAT WE'VE DONE AND I THINK WE'VE DONE THIS EFFECTIVELY IS WE'VE ENHANCED AND ENHANCED AND WE'VE TRAINED AND WE'VE TRAINED AND THAT'S WHY YOU'RE SEEING THE RESULTS AGAIN, OUTPACING THE STATE BECAUSE THEY'RE GETTING THE ELEMENTS THEY NEED. SO IT MAY NOT BE A BRAND NEW ADOPTION OF A WHOLE NEW CURRICULUM. THAT MAY NOT BE WHAT WE NEED TO DO. AND SO YES, WOULD IT BE GOOD? I MEAN, THERE'S MANY AREAS IN THIS BUDGET WHERE IT WOULD BE GOOD TO BUDGET MORE TO, TO, TO DO THOSE THINGS. BUT I FEEL CONFIDENT THAT WE CAN YIELD THE IMPROVEMENTS IN THESE AREAS WE'RE SEEING. AND WE PROBABLY WILL HAVE TO INCREASE THAT. AND THAT MAY BE AN ASK THAT GOES INTO NEXT YEAR. BUT RUNNING RIGHT NOW, IT'S A IT'S A OBVIOUSLY BE A TOTAL SHOT IN THE DARK, NOT KNOWING IF WE'RE GOING TO NEED TO BUY A $6 MILLION CURRICULUM. BUT WE CAN EXPECT THE COST OF THAT TO GO UP, AND WE CAN EXPECT A CHANGE IN, MATH. NOW. RIGHT NOW, WE'RE PAYING A LOT FOR A MATH CURRICULUM. SO THAT CHANGE, YOU KNOW, THE DOLLAR AMOUNT. I ALSO HAVE A THEORY THAT THE COST OF CURRICULUM IS GOING TO LEVEL OUT AFTER THIS YEAR. I THINK WE SAW HUGE INCREASES IN JUST ABOUT EVERY CURRICULUM PRODUCT, BECAUSE I THINK THE CURRICULUM COMPANIES KNEW THAT THIS WAS THE LAST YEAR TO GET A HOLD OF ALL THE FEDERAL MONEY. AND I THINK THOSE INCREASES THAT THEY'VE PUT IN PLACE ARE GOING TO START HARMING THEM IN THEIR BUSINESS MODEL. AND I'M AGAIN, BEING OVERLY OPTIMISTIC, BUT I'M HOPING THESE COSTS LEVEL OUT A LITTLE BIT, THAT THIS WAS A BIG BUMP SO THEY COULD GET GET A HOLD OF AS MUCH OF THE FEDERAL MONEY AS POSSIBLE. BUT NOW THAT THAT'S GONE AND EVERY DISTRICT'S MAKING CUTS, THEY'RE GOING TO HAVE TO FIND A WAY TO MAKE THEMSELVES MORE COMPETITIVE. OKAY. TWO OTHER JUST MINOR POINTS. I DO THINK WE COULD HAVE SOME EFFICIENCIES IN THE DUAL ENROLLMENT. LOOKS LIKE WE'RE MAXING THAT, AND IF YOU GO TO PAGE 45 OF THE BUDGET. BOOK I'M NOT SURE, EVERYONE HAS A COPY OF THAT. SO IF YOU COULD JUST, SAY THAT REFERENCE OUT. OKAY. BECAUSE WE HAVE IT. IT'S NOT MINE. THAT'S ON LINE, YOU KNOW, JUST I JUST IN, YOU KNOW, DESIRE TO JUST GET EVERYTHING ON THE TABLE THAT THAT I HAVE THE CONCERNS IS, YOU KNOW, IF YOU LOOK AT THE NUMBER OF FTES IN THE SCHOOL SYSTEM OVER TIME FROM FY 12 TO NOW, YOU KNOW, THERE'S A LOT OF DISCUSSIONS. MR. WE'VE HAD THESE DISCUSSIONS BEFORE THAT WE NEED TO RECOVER BECAUSE THERE WAS A LOT OF CUTS UP UNTIL FY 21. BUT SINCE FY 21, THE GROWTH IN OUR NUMBER OF FTES IS SIGNIFICANT. AND SO A LOT OF THAT IS WE ADDED DIRECTORS, WE ADDED LAYERS IN CENTRAL OFFICE WHICH ARE HIGH SALARY POSITIONS AND REALITY OR PERCEPTION. 
          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]
STUDENTS WHO OTHERWISE WOULDN'T BE ABLE TO ACCESS THOSE COURSES, IS ACCESSING COLLEGE COURSES FULLY ALIGNED WITH NORTHSTAR, WHICH WAS OUR INITIATIVE BEFORE, AND IT IS ACTUALLY A REFLECTION OF REALLY IMPORTANT GROWTH. BUT I THINK IT'S MOST IMPORTANT. IT'S A REFLECTION OF GROWTH FOR STUDENTS WHO WOULDN'T OTHERWISE BE ABLE TO ACCESS THOSE. IF WE WERE TO GO TO THE MINIMUM EXPECTATIONS OF THE AIB RIGHT NOW AND ONLY FUND THE STUDENTS WHO ARE ALREADY CCR, REALLY WHAT WE'D BE DOING IS CUTTING OFF ACCESS IN MOST CASES TO THE STUDENTS WHO NEED THOSE COURSES FUNDED THE MOST. ARE THE STUDENTS WHO ARE CCR UNFORTUNATE ? THE DATA SORT OF PLAYS OUT THIS WAY MORE OFTEN. ARE YOUR KIDS WHO ARE COMING FROM, SORT OF MORE COMFORTABLE BACKGROUNDS AND. RIGHT, I MEAN, THEY'RE THE ONES WHO WERE PAYING FOR THE COURSES TO BEGIN WITH IN A LOT OF CASES. SO CHOOSING TO GO TO THE MINIMUM STANDARD ON THAT, I THINK WOULD WE WOULD SEE VERY CLEAR ACCESS AND OPPORTUNITY LOSSES THAT WE'VE GAINED OVER THE LAST FEW YEARS. AND I WOULD ARGUE THAT WAS THAT THE IMPROVEMENTS WE'VE SEEN IN DUAL ENROLLMENT ARE AMONG THE GREATEST BENEFITS THIS COUNTY HAS YIELDED FROM THE BLUEPRINT WORK OF JUST ABOUT ANYTHING WE'VE DONE. AND SO THAT WOULD KIND OF IMMEDIATELY TURN US IN THE WRONG DIRECTION ON THAT. IF YOU'RE JUST LOOKING FOR A FROM A STUDENT OUTCOMES AND ACCESS AND OUTCOMES PERSPECTIVE. AND SO OF ALL THE THINGS IN THE BUDGET. THIS IS MY OWN PERSONAL BELIEF. THAT'S ONE OF THE THINGS WE SHOULD BE PROTECTING MORE THAN ANYTHING IS MAKING SURE THAT THOSE STUDENTS WHO WOULDN'T OTHERWISE BE ABLE TO ACCESS TO THE MOMENT, CONTINUE TO HAVE THAT OPPORTUNITY, WE DID PUT SOME, SOME BOUNDARIES IN PLACE TO, TO REDUCE THE GROWTH OF THIS. AND THAT WAS THE IDEA OF GOING FROM UNLIMITED, WHICH WE'VE DONE THE LAST FEW YEARS DOWN TO FIVE PER YEAR. AND I KNOW THE STATE JUST RECENTLY, AFTER WE DECIDED OUR FIVE, THIS IS AGAIN US GETTING AHEAD OF THE STATE AFTER WE DECIDED ON FIVE. YOU KNOW, THE STATE CAME OUT WITH THIS LIMIT GOING DOWN TO FOUR FOR DUAL ENROLLMENT. AND SO, I MEAN, WE COULD REVISIT THAT. BUT THE REASON FOR THE FIVE IS THAT WHEN WE FIRST ROLLED OUT NORTHSTAR, THE PREMISE OF NORTHSTAR, AND WE TALKED ABOUT THIS FROM THE VERY BEGINNING, THE GOAL, MY STATED GOAL AT THE TIME, AND THIS IS WE TALKED ABOUT THIS WITH THE COLLEGE, WAS THAT STUDENTS, WHILE IN HIGH SCHOOL WOULD HAVE ACCESS TO ONE FULL YEAR OF COLLEGE COURSES WHILE THEY'RE IN HIGH SCHOOL. IN OTHER WORDS, IF YOU WERE JUST A BASIC DUAL ENROLLMENT STUDENT AND IN THE WAY AND AGAIN, THIS IS ALL SORT OF INFORMAL CALCULATIONS, BUT TRADITIONALLY A SEMESTER IN COLLEGE IS 15 CREDITS. AND SO WE'RE SAYING YOU CAN EARN 15 CREDITS OVER A YEAR. SO AS A JUNIOR IN HIGH SCHOOL AND A SENIOR IN HIGH SCHOOL, IF YOU CAN GET 15 COLLEGE CREDITS EACH YEAR, YOU FINISH HIGH SCHOOL WITH A WITH ONE YEAR OF COLLEGE BEHIND YOU, SHORTHAND, WE CAN CALL THAT A 25% DISCOUNT TO PARENTS WOULD. NOW DON'T NEED TO PAY FOR YOU KNOW THOSE STUDENTS TO DO FOUR FULL YEARS OF A BACHELOR'S DEGREE, AND SO THAT'S THE REASON FOR FIVE OVER FOUR. AGAIN, IT'S A SORT OF AN INFORMAL DECISION HERE. IT'S ALIGNED WITH NORTH NORTHSTAR, BUT BUT THAT'S THE THINKING BEHIND IT. SO IF THE BOARD WANTS TO REVISIT THAT, I MEAN, THAT NUMBER I'M A LITTLE BIT OPEN TO. 
          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]
CCR. AND IN MANY CASES, THOSE MIGHT BE KIDS WHO WE DON'T WANT TO, KEEP FROM HAVING THESE OPPORTUNITIES. SO YEAH, IT IS IT IS AN AREA WHERE TECHNICALLY WE COULD WE COULD, YOU KNOW, SLOW THINGS DOWN, BUT AGAIN, I HAVE GREAT CONCERNS JUST FROM AN ACADEMIC PERSPECTIVE. IT'S JUST ANOTHER AREA WHERE WE'RE REALLY SERVING THE KIDS AT THE END OF ONE END OF THE SPECTRUM. AND THEN YOU HAVE THE PRE-K AND OTHER BLUEPRINT THINGS AT THE EARLY END OF THE SPECTRUM, AND THE 80% IN THE MIDDLE ARE LESS FOCUSED. AND THAT'S MY CONCERN. I THINK I'D LIKE TO MOVE TOWARD BUDGET THAT REALLY FOCUS MORE ON IMPROVING MATH AND READING SKILLS FOR, FOR, YOU KNOW, KINDERGARTEN THROUGH 10TH GRADE ESPECIALLY. I'D ARGUE WE'RE DOING A LOT TO DO THAT. I'M HAPPY TO. IT SOUNDED LIKE IT SOUNDED LIKE IT. YEAH GOTCHA, IF WE DID GO FROM 5 TO 4, WHAT'S THE FINANCIAL IMPLICATION ON THAT? WHAT'S THE REDUCTION? YEAH, I DON'T KNOW. I DON'T KNOW HOW MANY STUDENTS ARE EVEN DOING THAT MANY. IT'S NOT A NOT A HUGE NUMBER. OKAY. YEAH. IF YOU COULD JUST LET IT BECAUSE THE PROGRAM'S GROWING AS WELL AS KIDS ARE TAKING THESE DUAL ENROLLMENT COURSES AND BEING SUCCESSFUL LIKE WE'VE WE'VE JUMPED UP IN NUMBERS. SO I CAN SAY THAT THIS YEAR, BASED ON THE STUDENT SCHEDULES, 73% OF OUR 12TH GRADERS ATTEND SCHOOL PART TIME BECAUSE THEY'RE EITHER INVOLVED IN DUAL ENROLLMENT APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAMS OR OTHER WORK EXPERIENCE OPPORTUNITIES. OKAY. SO IT IS AND THAT HAS GROWN FROM SEVERAL YEARS AGO, I BELIEVE IT WAS UNDER 50. SO IT IS IT IS REALLY GROWN OVER THE LAST SEVERAL YEARS. JOSH DO WE HAVE A WAY TO CALCULATE HOW MANY CREDITS THE STUDENTS HAVE TAKEN TO SEE HOW MANY HAVE EVEN TAKEN FIVE TO SEE WHAT TYPE OF SAVINGS THERE COULD BE? WE WOULD HAVE TO RELY. SO, A TWO PART ANSWER TO THAT. THE FIRST PART, WE COULD LOOK BACK AND SEE, THIS, THIS CURRENT YEAR AS, WHAT THE STUDENTS HAVE TAKEN. BUT THEN THE SECOND PART OF THAT TO TRY TO APPLY THAT TO FY 25, IT ALMOST DEPENDS ENTIRELY UPON THE STUDENTS ENROLLMENT TO HARTFORD COMMUNITY COLLEGE OR OR WHEREVER ELSE THEY'RE ATTENDING, AND ENROLLMENT FOR THE SPRING SEMESTER, HASN'T EVEN HAPPENED YET, NOT ALL ENROLLMENTS FOR THE FALL SEMESTER. NEXT YEAR HAVE HAPPENED. SO IT WOULD BE IT WOULD BE RATHER DIFFICULT TO TRY TO PREDICT, BUT WE COULD GO BACK AND RETRO RETROSPECTIVELY LOOK TO DETERMINE WHAT THAT WOULD BE. DOCTOR PAULSON IS THE FOR THAT THE STATE SAYS, IS THAT JUST GUIDANCE OR IS THAT IT'S JUST GUIDANCE? NO. WELL, BASICALLY WHAT THEY DID IS THEY GAVE US PERMISSION TO GO DOWN TO A MINIMUM OF FOUR. ANY DISTRICT CAN GO BEYOND THAT. BUT, AND SO THEY SAID THEIR EXPECTATION IS THAT WE'RE PAYING FOR AT LEAST FOUR IF STUDENTS ARE ASKING FOR THAT. SO WE'RE RIGHT NOW WE'RE ONE CLASS PER STUDENT OVER WHAT THE STATE RECOMMENDS. YEAH. AND I SUSPECT THAT'S I DON'T KNOW HOW MANY STUDENTS WE HAVE DOING THAT MANY. SO I DO SUSPECT THAT WOULD BE A VERY INCREMENTAL CHANGE, BUT BASED ON WHAT I'VE SEEN IN THE PAST FROM FROM HARTFORD COMMUNITY COLLEGE, THAT POPULATION OF STUDENTS IS VERY, VERY SMALL WHO ARE ACTUALLY TAKING MORE THAN FOUR, MORE THAN FOUR IN A YEAR. OKAY. DOES THE STATE REQUIRE IT IN 10TH, 11TH AND 12TH GRADE? WHY NOT JUST 12TH GRADE? YOU IT'S IF THEY ARE CCR, CCR. SO WE HAVE A SMALL NUMBER OF LOWER GRADE OR NON 10TH GRADERS. YEAH. AND MORE CCR BUT THE MAJORITY IS 11. MR. SEWELL HAD HIS HAND UP FOLLOWED BY NISSAN. YEAH. SO GREAT DISCUSSION. AND YOU KNOW FOR THE LOOKING AT THE SMALL NUMBER OF STUDENTS THAT MIGHT TAKE FIVE, COURSES IN A YEAR, I THINK ONE THING WE NEED TO KIND OF STEP BACK AND, AND LOOK AT THIS FROM A BIGGER PICTURE IS THAT, YOU KNOW, THAT FUNDING THAT WE USE TO SUPPORT THESE STUDENTS GOES TO OUR COMMUNITY COLLEGE, YOU KNOW, THE VAST MAJORITY IS OUR COMMUNITY COLLEGE. SO YOU KNOW, WE ARE SUPPORTING OUR COMMUNITY COLLEGE, IN THAT WAY, WHICH, YOU KNOW, I THINK IS A IS A VERY BENEFICIAL THING FOR OUR COUNTY IN GENERAL, SO I THINK NOT ONLY ARE WE SUPPORTING THE STUDENTS, BUT WE'RE SUPPORTING THE COLLEGE. THANK YOU. MISS ON. OH, SORRY. DO YOU HAVE SOMETHING YOU JUST WANTED TO ALSO ADD IN THAT THE CCR MONEY IS SOMETHING THAT IS A SPECIFIC BUCKET OF MONEY AS WELL, THAT HAS A STATE AND LOCAL 
          [02:00:03]
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
          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]
THAT HAS ITS OWN VALUE. EVEN IF THESE OTHER THINGS DON'T, DON'T PLAY OUT. SO I NEVER WANT TO LOSE SIGHT OF THAT, THAT JUST BECAUSE SOMEONE DOESN'T GET CREDIT FOR AN AP COURSE, THEY TOOK THEY TOOK THAT COURSE THAT SUCCEEDED. THEY LEARNED A GREAT DEAL IN THERE THEY WOULDN'T HAVE OTHERWISE LEARNED. AND SO THAT'S THAT'S PART OF THIS UNDERLYING IT. SO I'M NOT DISPUTING THAT THE EXPERIENCE IS RIGHT. OH NO. YEAH. IF WE'RE PAYING FOR FOUR COLLEGE COURSES AND THEY'RE GETTING CREDIT FOR ONE, THAT'S KIND OF A WASTE OF MONEY AT THIS POINT. LIKE IF WE'RE PAYING FOR FOUR AND YOU'RE ONLY ABLE TO TRANSFER ONE OF THOSE TO A COLLEGE OF YOUR CHOICE, LIKE, WHAT IS THE PERCENTAGE OF STUDENTS THAT ARE GOING FROM OUR HIGH SCHOOLS TO HCC DIRECTLY, WHERE THOSE CREDITS ARE TRANSFERRED? AND WE CAN USE THOSE WELL, BUT LET'S BE CLEAR. 
          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]
THAT AGAIN, WE'RE ALL GOING TO NEED TO GET BETTER AT. BUT THERE'S A CLEAR PATHWAY, I THINK, TO GETTING BETTER, EVEN JUST EDUCATION ABOUT THESE THINGS IS SOMETHING WE CAN IMPROVE FOR SURE. SO I DO HAVE SOS THIS YEAR. AND THIS IS TO JOSH'S POINT. THIS IS HCC DATA, NOT OUR DATA. SO, BUT 86% OF OUR STUDENTS TOOK TWO CLASSES OR LESS WITH 56% OF THEM TOOK ONE CLASS FOR THREE CREDITS, AND SO IF WE LOOK AT FOUR CLASSES IN A YEAR, ANECDOTALLY, I KNOW A LOT OF OUR SENIORS DON'T TAKE CLASSES THEIR SPRING IN THE SPRING OF THEIR SENIOR YEAR FOR A MYRIAD OF REASONS, SO THAT 86% JUMPS INTO PROBABLY TO THE MID 90S OF OUR STUDENTS THAT ARE TAKING FOUR CLASSES OR LESS IN A GIVEN YEAR. AND THAT'S, AGAIN, THAT'S THIS FALL'S DATA. SO VERY RECENT. ALL RIGHT. SO LET'S KEEP THIS FOCUSED ON THE QUESTION. SO WHAT I'M HEARING IS THAT IF WE WENT FROM 5 TO 4, WE WOULD SAVE PENNIES. SO CAN WE MOVE ON FROM THIS. ALL RIGHT. LET'S KEEP, MISS COKER BACK TO YOU. IF YOU HAD MORE. I THINK THE SECOND PART OF YOUR QUESTION WAS HEADQUARTERS, YEAH, YOU KNOW, BASED ON THE INFORMATION THAT YOU'VE BEEN GIVING US LATELY, ROLLING THAT ALL UP, YOU KNOW, I RECOGNIZE THAT THE COSTS HAVE BEEN, YOU KNOW, PARSED DIFFERENTLY, IF YOU WILL, AND THAT THE SALARY AND WAGE BENEFIT INCREASES AND SO FORTH ARE NOW IN EACH DEPARTMENT, BUT THERE'S ALSO BEEN INCREASES. AND LIKE, FOR EXAMPLE, SINCE FY 21, WE'VE ADDED APPROXIMATELY 28 POSITIONS OF DIRECTOR SUPERVISORS, ASSISTANT SUPERVISORS AND SPECIALISTS. AND THERE WAS A LOT OF GROWTH THERE. NOW, I KNOW SOME OF THOSE WERE TRANSFERS AND OTHER THINGS, BUT AGAIN, IT IS A LOT OF PEOPLE AND REALITY OR PERCEPTION. I TRUST THAT YOUR MANAGEMENT IS GREAT. SO I MEAN THAT'S FAIR BECAUSE IT IS HEAVY IN THE KEEP REFERENCING REALITY AND PERCEPTION. SO WE'VE MY UNDERSTANDING SINCE 2020, WE'VE ADDED ABOUT $2.2 MILLION WORTH OF POSITIONS, FROM THE I THINK MARY PRODUCED THIS LIST A WHILE BACK. IT WAS ABOUT 15 TOTAL POSITIONS ARE GOING BACK A WAYS, BUT WHAT POSITIONS ARE YOU TALKING TO? CENTRAL OFFICE. SO CENTRAL OFFICE LEADERS. SO WE SO BUT THIS WAS THIS WAS THE POINT I MADE EARLIER ONE. WE HAVE ADDED POSITIONS. SO CENTRAL OFFICE HAS INCREASED OVER THE LAST FIVE YEARS. BUT THOSE INCREASES THOSE HAVE BEEN AT A SLOWER RATE ON AVERAGE THAN THE REST OF THE DISTRICT. AND SO IF YOU THINK EVEN IF YOU THINK OF CENTRAL OFFICE AS BEING THE PLACE THAT MANAGES ALL THE OTHER POSITIONS, WHILE WE'VE ADDED POSITIONS EVERYWHERE ELSE IN THE DISTRICT, WE'VE ADDED MORE AND SO THE AMOUNT OF WORK THE CENTRAL OFFICE NEEDS TO DO TO MANAGE THOSE HAS GONE UP, WHILE THOSE DISTRICTS HAVE NOT GROWN. AND SO BUT AGAIN, THIS IS PREMISE OF THERE'S A PERCEPTION OUT THERE. FRANKLY I BELIEVE THAT'S A BIG PART OF I MEAN, THESE CONVERSATIONS ARE TO HELP MANAGE PERCEPTION. WHAT THE BOARD SHARES IN PUBLIC. WHEN PEOPLE ASK QUESTIONS, I MEAN, YOU ARE ON THE FRONT LINES OF MANAGING PERCEPTIONS. AND SO WHEN WE SHARE THE REALITY OF WHAT'S GOING ON, IT'S LIKE IF SOMEONE LOOKS IN THE BUDGET BOOK AND IS LIKE THE CONVERSATION WE HAD TODAY AND SEES, OH MY GOSH, THERE'S A WHOLE LOT MORE MONEY ASSIGNED TO THIS CATEGORY THAT WASN'T EVEN THERE BEFORE. NOW YOU'RE ARMED WITH INFORMATION TO SAY THAT WASN'T AN INCREASE IN THAT AREA. THAT WAS JUST NEVER REPORTING IT. NEXT YEAR IT SHOULD BE EASIER BECAUSE PEOPLE WILL BE MORE MORE OF AN APPLES TO APPLES COMPARISON. BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, THIS IS THE FIRST YEAR OF SHOWING OUR FUNDS THAT WAY, AGAIN, WITH POSITIONS IS THERE IS A AN INDICATION OF THESE 28 POSITIONS? I THINK THE TOTAL SINCE 2020 IS ABOUT 15 POSITIONS, IS THAT THE NUMBER THAT. YEAH, IT'S 15 POSITIONS. SO IF YOU HAD 28, THERE WERE ADDITIONAL 13 THAT WERE CONVERTED FROM OTHER PLACES WHERE WE ELIMINATED A POSITION TO CREATE ONE. RIGHT, BUT BUT AGAIN, IN THE SAME TIME OF, OF ADDING THOSE 15 POSITIONS, WE'VE ADDED, HOW MANY HUNDREDS IN OTHER PARTS OF THE DISTRICT. SO, I MEAN, YOU CAN THINK OF IT A BUNCH OF DIFFERENT WAYS. AGAIN, THE PERCENTAGE OF CENTRAL OFFICE HAS GONE DOWN OVER TIME IN THE SAME TIME FRAME YOU'RE LOOKING AT, EVEN THOUGH WE'VE ADDED POSITIONS. JUST THINK ABOUT ANY SORT OF BUSINESS MODEL WHEN YOU'RE THINKING ABOUT SUPERVISION, HOW MANY DIRECT REPORTS SHOULD A PERSON HAVE? IF WE'VE ADDED HUNDREDS OF POSITIONS IN OPERATIONAL AREAS IN SCHOOLS IN THAT YOU NEED PEOPLE MANAGING THOSE, THAT COUPLED WITH THE FACT OVER THE SAME TIME PERIOD WE'VE ADDED THE BLUEPRINT, WHICH IN ITS ROLLOUT PHASE IS NEARLY I MEAN, THE SIGNIFICANT BURDEN OF THE BLUEPRINT IS FALLING ON PEOPLE RIGHT AT THIS TABLE TO MANAGE AND DO THINGS THAT GO ABOVE AND BEYOND WHAT WAS IN THEIR JOB DESCRIPTION FIVE YEARS AGO. AND SO THEIR DUTIES HAVE ALL GONE UP UNDER THE BLUEPRINT WITH VERY LITTLE GROWTH IN ANY CAPACITY TO 
          [02:15:06]
MANAGE IT. AND IF WE WANT HIGH QUALITY PLANS, WE NEED PEOPLE DOING THAT TO. AND SO WE'VE CONTAINED AND THE GROWTH AND I WOULD I WOULD THINK EVERYONE AROUND THE TABLE CAN TALK ABOUT HOW THEY'RE, RESPONSIBILITIES HAVE INCREASED IN THE LAST FEW YEARS WITHOUT GETTING A LOT MORE PEOPLE TO HELP THEM, BUT THAT IS, AGAIN, I KNOW THE PERCEPTION IS OUT THERE, BUT I'VE NEVER GONE INTO A BUDGET SEASON WHERE THERE WEREN'T PEOPLE SAYING THAT, OH, THOSE BLOATED CENTRAL OFFICES. BUT AGAIN, YOU COULD IF, YOU KNOW, MSD HASN'T PRODUCED THE SAME COMPARISON DATA IN A COUPLE OF YEARS. BUT I'LL GO BACK AND BECAUSE I'M GUESSING WE'RE PRETTY CLOSE TO, YOU KNOW, WE HAD THE LOWEST EXPENDITURE PER PUPIL IN CENTRAL OFFICE OF ANY DISTRICT IN MARYLAND, AND I'D BE WILLING TO BET IF WE'RE NOT THE LOWEST WE'RE IN THE BOTTOM 2 OR 3 STILL. AND THAT HAS REMAINED CONSISTENT OVER TIME. AND SO, SO AND AGAIN ALL THAT AND YOU KNOW, GOING THROUGH A PANDEMIC, GETTING THE BLUEPRINT, YOU KNOW, ALL THIS OTHER GROWTH THAT WE'VE SEEN, BECAUSE THERE HAS BEEN A HISTORIC INFUSION OF FUNDING INTO OUR SCHOOLS, DOESN'T FEEL LIKE IT BECAUSE WE'RE SITTING HERE TRYING TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO CUT A BUDGET. BUT THERE HAS BEEN A HISTORIC INFUSION OF FUNDING, MOSTLY FROM THE STATE. IF YOU LOOK AT THE INCREASES WE'VE GOTTEN FROM THE STATE IN THE LAST FEW YEARS, IT'S SIGNIFICANT. BUT BUT YET WE'VE DONE THAT AND KEPT GROWTH OF CENTRAL OFFICE BELOW THE GROWTH EVERYWHERE ELSE. AND SO THAT IS A STORY. IT'S NOT A NARRATIVE YOU HEAR OFTEN. IT'S THE REALITY OF OUR NUMBERS. AND WE DO RELY ON ON THOSE WHO HAVE A MORE SOPHISTICATED UNDERSTANDING OF THIS BUDGET AND THIS SCHOOL SYSTEM TO HELP PEOPLE REALIZE THAT, YOU KNOW, THIS CRISIS OF BUREAUCRATIC BLOAT IN THE CENTRAL OFFICE IS NOT WHAT PEOPLE THINK IT IS. SO AND THAT'S ACTUALLY WHY I ASKED DETAILED QUESTIONS, BECAUSE I WANT TO BE ABLE TO ANSWER AND SAY, NO, IT'S NOT THIS. I APPRECIATE IT. IT'S WARRANTED. YOU KNOW, IT'S THE CHART THAT YOU REFER TO IN THE BUDGET BOOK WHEN YOU WERE SENT OVER THAT LIST OF QUESTIONS TO BE ANSWERED , YOU SENT BACK SOME ATTACHMENTS. THERE'S AN ATTACHMENT THAT GOES YEAR BY YEAR. SO WHERE YOU'RE SHOWING THE CURVE GOING UP, THERE'S A CHART THAT GIVES YOU YEAR BY YEAR. AND THEN WITHIN THAT YEAR WHY ALL THOSE POSITIONS WERE ADDED OR WHERE THEY WERE ADDED. SO IF YOU LOOK AT THAT CHART IN TOTAL, THIS ONE, YOU KNOW, IT WAS SENT IN IN AN EMAIL, OKAY. I CAN'T SEE WHAT YOU GOT. SO I PRINTED OUT EVERYTHING POSITION IT, POSITION CHANGES BY PROGRAM AND IT GOES FROM 21 TO 25. AND YES, I DIDN'T DO IN THAT CHART. I DIDN'T GIVE YOU THE OVERALL SUMMARY FROM 21 TO 25, BUT IF YOU LOOK AT THAT AND THIS IS GRANT AND OPERATING POSITIONS, OF A TOTAL OF 557 POSITIONS JUST IN SPECIAL, IN SPECIAL ED, OUR REGULAR PROGRAM AND OUR STUDENT SERVICES, THAT'S 519 OF THOSE POSITIONS. JUST THAT THAT DOESN'T COUNT THE INCREASE IN TRANSPORTATION OF 40 DRIVERS AND ATTENDANTS FOR THE EXPANSION OF OUR PROGRAMS. SO THAT CHART, IF YOU LOOK AT IT CLOSELY, WILL WHITTLE DOWN EXACTLY WHERE ALL THOSE POSITIONS WENT, CAME FROM AND WHY THEY GOT THERE. IF THEY WERE A GRANT TRANSFER, IF THEY WOULD REPROGRAM YOUR POSITION. SO I THINK IT MAKES IT A REALLOCATION. I THINK IT MAKES IT A LITTLE CLEARER, WHEN YOU LOOK AT IT IN DETAIL AND I HAVE BEEN, I GUESS WHEN I SEE LISTS OF EMPLOYEES ADDED AND THERE'S LIKE, I DON'T KNOW, 20 SOME ADMIN SUPPORT SPECIALISTS, THINGS LIKE THAT, I WOULD HAVE TO LIKE, RECONCILE ALL THOSE. I WOULD BE HAPPY TO LOOK AT THAT IN DETAIL AND SHOW YOU EXPLAINED EXACTLY WHAT YOU'RE LOOKING AT. 
          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]
THEIR STRESS, YOU KNOW, LARGE CLASS SIZES, HAVING LOTS OF DISCIPLINE PROBLEMS IN ONE CLASS WITH LARGER CLASS SIZES IS STRESSFUL FOR TEACHERS. SO, YOU KNOW, PART OF OUR GOALS AS FAR AS THE SCHOOL ENVIRONMENT, PRIORITY NUMBER TWO IS TO PRESERVE AND IMPROVE THAT ENVIRONMENT FOR TEACHERS SO WE CAN RETAIN OUR TEACHERS. AND SO I'M NOT JUST UP HERE SAYING CLASS SIZE IS FOR CLASS SIZE SAKE. I'M REALLY THINKING OF THE TEACHERS IN THE BIG PICTURE. SO YOU KNOW, MAYBE NEXT YEAR AS WE GET A BUDGET COMMITTEE REESTABLISHED AND REALLY DO A BUDGET PLAN FOR NEXT YEAR. THOSE ARE THE KINDS OF CONSIDERATIONS THAT WE NEED TO, YES. TEACHER RAISES. YES PARAS, YOU KNOW, THE RAISES. WE STRUGGLED WITH THE NEGOTIATIONS THIS YEAR. AND, YOU KNOW, WE'RE BARE BONES IN THOSE AREAS, BUT YET WE'RE EXTRA IN, SAY, SOME OTHER AREAS AND SO DISAGREE AT ALL. I MEAN, THAT'S THE KIND OF FOCUS THAT I'D LIKE TO SEE GOING FORWARD. THAT'S ALL I'LL SAY. WELL, AND THAT'S BEEN SO ONE OF AND I HAVE A COUPLE ASSOCIATION PEOPLE IN THE ROOM, BUT ONE OF THE, THAT'S KIND OF BACK TO MY, MY STANDARD ONE LINER ABOUT THE BUDGET. YOU CAN PAY MORE PEOPLE OR YOU CAN PAY PEOPLE MORE. OUR NEGOTIATIONS HAVE PRIORITIZED THE SALARY PACKAGE FIRST, WHICH IS ABOUT PAYING PEOPLE MORE, AND THEY HAVEN'T BEEN BECAUSE WE'VE BEEN KIND OF TIGHT. THEY HAVEN'T BEEN SUPER GENEROUS. I'M NOT SAYING THAT, YOU KNOW, WE LEANED WAY INTO PAYING MORE. WE'VE HAD TO BECAUSE OF THE BLUEPRINT. BUT KEEPING UP WITH THAT $60,000 MINIMUM, WHICH IS THE TARGET WE NEED TO GET TO, EVEN THOUGH OUR NEIGHBOR'S GETTING THERE EARLY AHEAD OF US, WE ALSO HAVE TO DEAL WITH OUR COMPETITIVENESS REGIONALLY, THAT'S REALLY LIMITED. OUR ABILITY TO ADD THE NUMBER OF POSITIONS WE'D LIKE TO ADD TO MAKE THIS CLASS SIZES MORE COMPETITIVE. AND SO, YES, WE WOULD VERY MUCH LIKE TO HAVE THAT CONVERSATION, BUT REFERENCING SOMETHING THAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT EARLIER, SOME OF THE BLUEPRINT CONVERSATIONS THIS YEAR. BECAUSE IF YOU RECALL FROM THE SLIDE, YOU KNOW, THINGS THAT AREN'T PROTECTED IN THE BLUEPRINT, THE VERY BIGGEST AND MOST EXPENSIVE ONE NOT PROTECTED IN THE BLUEPRINT IS CLASS SIZE. 
          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]
THAT WE DO IT ON THE ENTIRE BUDGET, BUT THERE ARE CERTAIN AREAS OF THE BLUEPRINT. THAT I THINK, MIGHT MAKE DOING A ZERO BASED BUDGETING, A GOOD APPROACH. AND THAT WOULD BE LIKE THE EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION AREA, WE'VE HAD WE HAVE SOME THINGS IN PLACE ON THE DUTY CENTERS, AND I DON'T KNOW HOW MUCH OF THAT, WOULD BE EFFECTIVE BY, YOU KNOW, THE BLUEPRINT REQUIREMENTS. ALSO, THE COUNSELING AREA, THERE WERE SOME PASSED THROUGH MONEY THAT GOES TO, SWIN TO HELP IN COUNSELING, AND IT SEEMS LIKE SOME WHAT I'VE SEEN FROM THE, MEMORANDUM OF AGREEMENT IS THAT, WE'RE JUST KIND OF ADDING ON COUNSELING REQUIREMENTS. I'M NOT SURE THAT WAS THE INTENT OF BLUEPRINT. I'M NOT SURE THAT I TRULY UNDERSTAND WHAT THE INTENT OF BLUEPRINT IS IN IN THE COUNSELING AREA AND WHY THEY HAD THAT PASS THROUGH, REQUIREMENT OF THE MONEY, BUT THAT DO YOU WANT TO. YES. SO THAT, I THINK SOMETHING THAT OFTEN GETS CONFUSED IS THE WORD COUNSELING, WHICH IS ONE REASON WHY WE CALL OUR PROGRAM WITH SWIN A CAREER COACHING PROGRAM, AND THE PEOPLE WHO WERE HIRED AS PART OF OUR PROGRAM ARE CALLED COACHES BECAUSE WHAT THEY ARE PROVIDING AT OUR SCHOOLS AND WHAT THE BLUEPRINT REQUIRES THEM AND US TO PROVIDE TOGETHER, IS VERY DISTINCTLY DIFFERENT THAN WHAT WE DO IN SCHOOL COUNSELING. SO THESE ARE NOT SCHOOL COUNSELORS. THESE ARE CAREER COACHES. AND THE CAREER COACHES ARE CHARGED WITH WORKING IN OUR MIDDLES AND OUR HIGH SCHOOLS, WITH, SUPPORT STUDENTS AND CAREER EXPLORATION. CAREER SKILLS, CAREER COACHING. AND WE'RE UTILIZING THE VARIOUS I MEAN, YOU'VE HEARD AT THE BOARD MEETINGS, THE SOFTWARES FOR THINGS THAT WE'RE USING FOR CAREER AND IT'S VERY, VERY SPECIFIC ON CAREER COACHING. AND WE'RE ACTUALLY NOT ALLOWED TO USE THAT MONEY ON PROGRAMS, ON THE TYPE OF COUNSELING THAT WE TYPICALLY PROVIDE, AND IT'S VERY SPECIFIC. AND THIS ALL CAME AS A RESULT OF SOME VERY STRONG STATE LEADERS WHO FEEL VERY PASSIONATELY THAT THE WORKFORCE INVESTMENT BOARDS, WHICH FOR US IS SWIN, HAVE A PULSE ON THE NEEDS OF CAREERS IN A WAY THAT THEY COULD PROVIDE KIND OF SYNERGY AND SERVICES FOR OUR STUDENTS THAT WE COULDN'T NECESSARILY PROVIDE. AND SO THAT MONEY WAS REQUIRED FOR US TO WORK THROUGH A WAY TO WORK WITH OUR WORKFORCE, INVESTMENT BOARDS, FOR THEM TO PROVIDE VERY SPECIFIC SERVICES FOR CAREER. SO IT DOESN'T IT DOESN'T IT DOESN'T CHANGE WHAT WE DO FOR SCHOOL, FOR CAREER, FOR SCHOOL COUNSELING OR CAREER COUNSELING SCHOOL COUNSELING. OKAY. YEAH THINGS I'M SURE HAVE CHANGED SINCE I WENT TO SCHOOL BECAUSE IT WAS A LONG TIME AGO, BUT THAT'S ACTUALLY WHAT OUR COUNSELING OFFICE DID WAS TRY TO ALIGN US WITH, CAREERS THAT WERE IN NEED AND IN THE COMMUNITY, SO I DO THINK THE REQUIREMENTS OF SCHOOL COUNSELORS IS DRASTICALLY CHANGED IN TERMS OF WHAT WE PROVIDE OUR STUDENTS AND MR. YEAH, AND I WOULD ADD ONE THING TO SORT OF PARALLEL WITH DOCTOR OLSON SPOKE ABOUT EARLIER WITH OUR CENTRAL OFFICE IN COMPARISON TO THE STATE, OUR STUDENT SERVICES IS STUDENT TO STAFF RATIO IS ONE OF THE WORST IN THE STATE AS WELL, AND SO WHEN WE LOOK AT THE CAREER COACHING THAT'S HAPPENING IN MIDDLE AND HIGH SCHOOLS, AND WE HAVE SOME HIGH SCHOOLS WITH A 1 TO 450 RATIO, FOR STUDENT COUNSELORS, TO COUNSELORS, TO STUDENTS. SO, IT'S NOT AS IF THESE COACHES ARE TAKING A THIRD OF THEIR JOB AWAY FROM THEM. THEY'RE SUPPLEMENTING THEIR WORK, AND I WOULD I WOULD VENTURE TO SAY THAT EVEN WITHOUT THE CAREER COACHES, MOST OF THEM ARE STRETCHED TOO THIN AS IT IS. OKAY. THANK YOU, AND THEN THE OTHER, I JUST WANTED TO TOUCH A LITTLE BIT ON THE DUAL ENROLLMENT. I KNOW THAT THERE WAS A THERE'S AT LEAST ONE CASE WHERE, THE, THE COLLEGE COURSES DID NOT ALIGN WITH OUR MATH PROGRAM, AND THE COLLEGE COURSE WAS ACTUALLY, A LESSER REQUIREMENT AND DIDN'T SATISFY, SOME OF THE REQUIREMENTS. SO I KNOW DOCTOR OLSON, YOU HAD MENTIONED, THAT IF WE PUT THE STUDENTS IN A DUAL ENROLLMENT STATUS THAT WE THEN WOULD NOT HAVE TO WE WOULD NOT BE REQUIRED TO EDUCATE THEM IN SCHOOL, SO I DON'T KNOW WHOSE RESPONSIBILITY IT IS TO LOOK AT THE CLASSES THAT WE DO OFFER, AS DUAL ENROLLMENT, POSSIBILITIES FOR THE STUDENT, BUT, YOU KNOW, IF, IF THE, IF THE IDEA IS WE'RE NOT GOING TO HAVE TO EDUCATE THEM, THEN PROBABLY NEED TO, YOU KNOW, MAYBE TAKE A LOOK AT MAKING SURE 
          [02:30:02]
THAT THE CLASSES SATISFY OUR REQUIREMENTS AS WELL. YEAH, I, WE STILL HAVE TO EDUCATE THEM. 
          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]
TRACK OF THEM BECAUSE WE HAD TO REPORT ON THEM HOW MUCH WE WERE SPENDING ON THEM AND SO FORTH. 
          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]
INSTRUCTIONAL COSTS COMPRISE CHARGES THAT DIRECTLY OR ADJUNCTS DEAL WITH TEACHING STUDENTS IN A NON SPECIAL EDUCATION SETTING, BUT ARE NOT INCLUDED IN THE COST OF AN INSTRUCTIONAL TEXTBOOKS OR SUPPLIES. SO THAT'S AN MSDE CATEGORY. THIS CAN INCLUDE DIRECT CLASSROOM INSTRUCTION, COMPUTER ASSISTED INSTRUCTION, ONLINE INSTRUCTION, AND OTHER SETTINGS WHERE STUDENTS ARE INSTRUCTED SUCH AS HOME OR HOSPITAL. THIS CAN ALSO INCLUDE INTERSCHOLASTIC ATHLETICS AND STUDENT ACTIVITIES. EXAMPLES OF THE TYPES OF COSTS IN THIS CATEGORY ARE INSTRUCTIONAL EQUIPMENT AND COMPUTERS. CONTRACTED INSTRUCTION, COPIER AND MACHINE RENTAL CONSULTANTS. TESTING SERVICES. OTHER CHARGES, TRAVEL AND CONFERENCES, AND PROFESSIONAL DUES. AND THEN, THE TEXTBOOKS AND CLASSROOM SUPPLIES . IT WAS A VERY MINIMAL INCREASE FROM 21 UNTIL 25, AND I KNOW, LIKE TEACHERS PAY OUT OF POCKET A LOT OF TIMES FOR THINGS THAT THEY NEED IN THEIR CLASSROOMS. AND I JUST FEEL LIKE THERE ARE I UNDERSTAND THE NEED AND THE WANT TO INCREASE THE AMOUNT OF PROGRAMS THAT WE'RE OFFERING, I THINK THAT IT'S VERY IMPORTANT TO, TO, YOU KNOW, FUNDING WISE, TAKE ALL OF THOSE THINGS INTO CONSIDERATION WHEN WE'RE LOOKING AT EXPANDING PROGRAMS BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, I FEEL LIKE WE NEED TO FULLY FUND THE PROGRAMS THAT WE CURRENTLY HAVE AND INCREASE OUR, SALARIES FOR THE EMPLOYEES THAT WE CURRENTLY HAVE FOR EXTENDING, YOU KNOW, OFFERING NEW PROGRAMS AND THAT KIND OF THING, LIKE FOR THE SPANISH IMMERSION PROGRAM THAT, YOU KNOW, WE'RE JUST NOW PILOTING, YOU KNOW, THERE'S DIFFERENT THINGS. WHILE IT WOULD BE GREAT TO OFFER THAT, I MEAN, I JUST FEEL LIKE SOME OF THE THINGS WE KIND OF HAVE TO REFOCUS WITH WHAT WE CURRENTLY HAVE INSTEAD OF EXPANDING. AND AGAIN, IF EVERYTHING WAS FULLY FUNDED AND WE DIDN'T HAVE ANY ISSUES WITH, YOU KNOW, SALARIES, ABSOLUTELY. LET'S EXTEND EVERYTHING THAT WE'RE OFFERING BECAUSE WHO WOULDN'T WANT TO DO THOSE THINGS? WELL, THE IMMERSION WON'T HAVE ANY SIGNIFICANT IMPACT ON OUR BUDGET BECAUSE THE START UP COSTS ARE WHAT GENERALLY COST YOU IN IMMERSION. AND SO IN THE START UP, COSTS ARE COVERED BY THE GRANT THAT WE GOT FROM THE THAT WAS A DODEA GRANT. SO THAT COVERS ANY REAL COST OF ADDING THAT PROGRAM, BECAUSE THEN OPERATING IT IN AN ONGOING WAY, IT'S JUST LIKE OPERATING ANY OTHER CLASSROOM. WE'RE SERVING STUDENTS WHO WOULD OTHERWISE BE IN A TRADITIONAL SECOND GRADE CLASSROOM. WE'RE PAYING THE SAME AMOUNT TO EDUCATE THEM IN IN THE DUAL LANGUAGE IMMERSION CLASSROOM, SO THAT IT'S THE START UP COSTS. IT'S EQUIPPING THE CLASSROOM WITH ALL BOOKS IN THE TARGET LANGUAGE AND THE TRAINING FOR THE TEACHERS AND THOSE SORTS OF THINGS. BUT THAT'S WHAT THE GRANTS COVERING. SO YOU KNOW, GRANTS ARE PARTICULARLY USEFUL IF YOU CAN COVER THE START UP COSTS BUT THEN NOT HAVE TO. YOU KNOW, NOT HAVE TO CARRY, YOU KNOW, ONGOING COSTS FORWARD. AND THAT'S WHAT THIS GRANT DOES. IT ALLOWS US TO COVER THE START UP. BUT THEN OUR ONGOING COSTS ARE ASSUMED IN OUR REGULAR BUDGET, WHICH IS NO DIFFERENT FROM. SO THAT'S NOT ONE THAT'S GOING TO INCREASE OUR OBLIGATION ANYWHERE. BUT DON'T WE HAVE TO HIRE ADDITIONAL SPANISH TEACHERS BECAUSE WE'RE TAKING THEM FROM OTHER PROGRAMS TO FILL THE NEED AT THIS? IT'S NOT ADDITIONAL TEACHERS. IT'S AGAIN, THIS IS REPURPOSING. SO IF YOU HAVE 100 STUDENTS IN KINDERGARTEN AND SO YOU HAVE LET'S JUST MAKE THE MATH EASY. YOU HAVE FIVE TEACHERS. SO LET'S SAY WE HAVE 20 PER CLASS. WE TRY TO GO LOWER THAN THAT. BUT YOU HAVE FIVE TEACHERS WHO ARE TEACHING KINDERGARTEN NOW. 40 KIDS ARE DOING IMMERSION. TWO OF THOSE FIVE ARE NOW TEACHING IMMERSION, BUT IT'S NOT LIKE YOU NOW HAVE FIVE OTHER KINDERGARTEN TEACHERS PLUS TWO IMMERSION. 
          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]
ABOUT 60 KIDS TO SIGN UP. THEY HAVE 30 OR 31 INTERESTED IN IMMERSION. SO RIGHT NOW YOU KNOW, THEY'LL BE ON, HE SAID. THEY NORMALLY GET ABOUT 100 THERE. SO IF IMMERSION ONLY HAS 15 KIDS PER CLASS AND THE OTHER CLASSES ARE LARGER, THAT'S AN ISSUE. AND THERE'S THE POSSIBILITY OF THAT HAPPENING. AND IT GETS PARTICULARLY CHALLENGING IN LATER YEARS. IF YOU LOSE KIDS AND YOU DON'T PUT KIDS IN TO REPLACE THEM. SO THERE'S ALWAYS A CHANCE THAT IF YOU HAVE, YOU KNOW, BUT IT COULD GO EITHER WAY. IF YOU HAVE 65 KIDS WHO AREN'T REGULAR AND 35 WHO WANT IMMERSION, YEAH, THOSE IMMERSION CLASSES NOW ARE GOING TO BE SMALLER. BUT IF YOU GET THE OTHER WAY, YOU GET 45 KIDS WHO WANT IMMERSION AND, YOU KNOW, 55 WHO WANT REGULAR ED, THEN YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE LARGER IMMERSION CLASSES AND THE AVERAGE CLASS SIZE IN YOUR OTHER CLASSES JUST WENT DOWN. SO IT COULD GO EITHER WAY, BUT THE POINT IS, IT DOESN'T AUTOMATICALLY OR NECESSARILY INCREASE ANY COSTS ANYWHERE. IT'S JUST DOING SOMETHING DIFFERENT, IF THAT MAKES SENSE. YES, IT DOES, BUT I STILL HAVE THAT SAME CONCERN. AND I KNOW THAT WAS ONE EXAMPLE, RIGHT, IT WAS JUST ONE OF THE FIRST THINGS THAT CAME UP. BUT I BUT I THINK WHEN YOU LOOK AT SORT OF THE OTHER, INSTRUCTIONAL COSTS, IT'S AGAIN, THE SAME BLUEPRINT, THE $2.2 MILLION THAT ERIC REFERENCED THAT WASN'T SOMETHING WE HAD A CHOICE IN. I MEAN, THAT MONEY WAS GIVEN TO US AS NEW MONEY. IT WASN'T MONEY WE HAD IN OUR BUDGET BEFORE IT WAS GIVEN TO US EXPRESSLY FOR THAT PURPOSE, JUST TO PASS RIGHT THROUGH US. SO IT LOOKS LIKE OUR OTHER INSTRUCTIONAL COSTS WENT UP BY 2.2 MILLION, WHEN REALLY WHAT HAPPENED IS THE STATE SAID, WE'RE GIVING YOU THIS AND YOU NEED TO DO THIS WITH IT, AND SO WHILE IT LOOKED LIKE AN INCREASE, IT LOOKED LIKE AN ADDITION OF SOMETHING. I MEAN, IT WAS AN ADDITION, BUT IT WAS AN ADDITION THAT WE WERE MAKING A DECISION ABOUT. AND I DON'T THINK YOU'RE GOING TO FIND TOO MANY NEW THINGS WE'RE DOING IN THIS BUDGET. WE'VE KIND OF BEEN SAYING FROM THE BEGINNING THAT THIS BUDGET, WE'RE REALLY TRYING TO KEEP THE SAME LEVEL OF SERVICES, YOU KNOW, KNOWING THAT WE NEED MORE MONEY TO DO THE SAME STUFF. AND SO I JUST THINK THAT THE PICTURE THAT YOU DESCRIBED OF WE NEED TO FOCUS ON THE THINGS WE'VE BEEN DOING. I THINK WE'RE IN AGREEMENT. I THINK THAT'S WHAT WE'RE DOING. IT'S JUST THINGS ARE COSTING MORE AND, AND, AND BUT THERE'S OTHER THINGS LIKE THE BLUEPRINT DOES THROW SOME CRAZY THINGS IN THE WORKS AND THE CHANGING HOW WE REPORT THE FUNDS AGAIN, OVER TIME IT WILL BE BETTER. BUT RIGHT NOW THAT'S ALSO CONFUSING. 
          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]
WOULD MEAN IS, IF WE'RE LOOKING AT THE NUMBERS WE TALKED ABOUT TODAY, WE'RE KIND OF STILL CLOSE TO THAT $36.6 MILLION IS WHAT WE MIGHT NEED TO EXPEND IN FUND BALANCE. IF IF ALL OR SOME PORTION OF THIS 10 MILLION COMES IN, IT WOULD BE SPENDING FUND BALANCE BY WHATEVER THAT AMOUNT IS. YEAH SO WHERE I WAS GOING THANK YOU FOR THAT TIMELY INFORMATION. SO WHAT I WAS GOING TO SUGGEST THE BOARD CONSIDER IS THAT WE DON'T KNOW WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN OVER THE NEXT COUPLE OF WEEKS, BUT HOWEVER, THE CARDS PLAY OUT, IF THERE IS, AN INCREASE IN OUR FUNDING. SO LET'S JUST CALL THIS THE PEG IN THE SAND OR WHATEVER I CALLED IT EARLIER. RIGHT. IF THERE IS AN INCREASE IN FUNDING, IT GOES TO THE FUND BALANCE. BLESS YOU. THEN IT GOES TO REPLENISH THE FUND BALANCE. IF THEY'RE USING THE FUND BALANCING THE FUND BALANCE ASSIGN. YES THANK YOU. 
          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]
AGAIN, THIS IS MIDDLE AND HIGH SCHOOL. SO WE'RE TALKING ABOUT ROUGHLY 20 SCHOOLS, OVER A THOUSAND MEMBERS ACROSS THOSE SCHOOLS PARTICIPATE, AND WHAT THEY REQUIRE IS PRETTY MINIMAL, BUT I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT AS A BOARD AND AS A SCHOOL SYSTEM THAT WE SHOW THESE STUDENTS IN THIS ORGANIZATION SUPPORT IT, THAT WE FULLY BACK WHAT THEY DO AND WHAT THEY REPRESENT IN THIS SCHOOL SYSTEM. AND THE ONLY WAY THAT WE CAN DO IT IS TO PROVIDE A LINE ITEM WHICH COVERS THEIR EXPENSES. BECAUSE SOME OF THESE STUDENTS, YOU KNOW, WELL, RIGHT NOW, THERE'S DIFFERENT FUNDING SOURCES, BUT FOR SOME OF THE EXPENSES, THE STUDENTS HAVE TO COME OUT OF POCKET FOR, NOT ALL STUDENTS CAN AFFORD THAT, OF COURSE. SO IT DOES IMPACT EQUITY AND PARTICIPATION, IN THAT REGARD. SO WHAT WE'RE LOOKING AT HERE IS OR WHAT I'M GOING TO SUGGEST IS THAT WE FUND, THEM SO THAT THEY CAN HAVE THEIR MEETINGS, WHICH IS ROUGHLY FIVE A YEAR, AND WHAT HAPPENS IS WE ACTUALLY USE COUNTY BUSSES TO GO TO THE DIFFERENT SCHOOLS AROUND THE COUNTY TO THEN, YOU KNOW, TRANSPORT THE STUDENTS THAT ARE PARTICIPATING TO IT, TO ONE SPECIFIC HOST SCHOOL, THAT'S HAVING THESE MEETINGS, THEY ALSO HAVE A, FALL LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE, THERE IS A CONVENTION, THAT THEY PARTICIPATE IN, AND TO SUPPORT THESE THOUSAND PLUS STUDENTS, PLUS THEIR SPONSORS, AND, FOR, FOR, YOU KNOW, 200 STUDENTS TO GO TO THESE MEETINGS, TO FULLY FUND THEM. WE'RE LOOKING AT $60,000 FOR OVER A THOUSAND STUDENTS, 200 GOING TO THE MEETINGS, SO I WOULD LIKE THAT TO BE ADDED TO THIS BUDGET, TO, TO SHOW THAT SUPPORT AND THEN FROM, FROM HERE ON OUT, THERE'S A LINE ITEM FOR EACH CLASS THAT THIS SCHOOL SYSTEM WILL SUPPORT THEM. NOW WE DO THIS FOR OTHER, AREAS IN THE SCHOOLS. FOR INSTANCE, ATHLETICS, WE PROVIDE TRANSPORTATION FOR ALL ATHLETICS, STUDENTS NEED TO GO TO OTHER SCHOOLS TO COMPETE. WE PROVIDE THAT. MY QUESTION IS, WHY WOULD WE NOT PROVIDE THAT FOR EACH CLASS? OTHER SCHOOL SYSTEMS DO THIS, INCLUDING CARROLL COUNTY, FREDERICK COUNTY, AND BALTIMORE COUNTY. 
          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]
RIGHT NOW THEY'RE ASSUMED BY THOSE ENTITIES, AND I KIND OF GET WHERE YOU'RE GOING WITH, YOU KNOW, THIS VERSUS ATHLETICS VERSUS OTHER THINGS, BUT THAT'S, THAT'S I THINK THE CONVERSATION ON THE TABLE. BUT AGAIN, JUST, YOU KNOW, TODAY AS THE DATE IS COMPLETELY ANSWERED, BUT WE CAN LOOK AT IT THAT THAT'S AN EXCELLENT POINT. AND I BRING UP SPECIFICALLY BECAUSE I JUST I'M AWARE OF IT, I'M AWARE OF THIS. WHAT I WOULD CONSIDER A DEFICIT, YOU KNOW, I WOULD ENTITY THAT PRODUCES OUR STUDENTS FOR. ABSOLUTELY. THAT WAS MY NEXT MY NEXT POINT. THAT'S WHERE OUR STUDENT MEMBER COMES FROM. SO CAN I ASK JUST A QUESTION ABOUT THAT VERY QUICKLY, IF IT'S EASILY, WE PAY FOR TRANSPORTATION, I THOUGHT THAT IT CAME OUT OF, LIKE, THE BAND'S FUNDS FOR THEM TO PAY FOR TRANSPORTATION, TO LIKE DIFFERENT COMPETITIONS, TO THE PARADES THEY ACTUALLY GET PAID TO PARTICIPATE IN THE PARADES AND STUFF LIKE THAT. NO. WHAT WE PAY FOR THE TRANSPORTATION, I BELIEVE, TO STATES AND THERE'S A TRANSPORTATION LINE FOR MUSIC. 
          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.