Jan 13, 2025 Board Meeting

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HERE. SUPERINTENDENT WILSON HERE. AND MISS COKER HAS JOINED US IN PERSON. THANK YOU. THE BOARD IS NOW IN OPEN SESSION. THE PURPOSE OF THIS OPEN SESSION IS FOR THE BOARD TO CONSIDER ACTION REGARDING A POTENTIAL CLOSED SESSION, FOR THE BOARD CONSIDERS THIS ACTION. IT NEEDS TO DECIDE WHETHER OR NOT TO PERMIT PUBLIC COMMENT. THE CHAIR WILL ENTERTAIN A MOTION TO WAIVE PUBLIC COMMENT IN ITS ENTIRETY. IN LIGHT OF THE LIMITED NATURE OF THIS OPEN SESSION. MAY I HAVE A MOTION AND A SECOND, PLEASE? MRS. MELISSA AND I MOVE TO WAIVE PUBLIC COMMENT. THIS IS DIANE. I SECOND ALL IN FAVOR. PLEASE SAY YES. YES. YES. ANY OPPOSED? PLEASE SAY NO. THANK YOU. THE

[Closed Session]

THANK YOU. IS THERE A SECOND? I SECOND. THANK YOU. ALL IN FAVOR, PLEASE SAY YES. YES. YES. THERE ARE ANY OPPOSED? PLEASE SAY CALL TO ORDER THIS WORK SESSION OF THE BOARD OF EDUCATION OF HARFORD COUNTY ON JANUARY 13TH, 2025 AT 6:02 P.M. THIS WORK SESSION IS BEING CONDUCTED IN A HYBRID FASHION. MISS ROLLO, PLEASE TAKE A ROLL CALL. MISS ALVAREZ. MISS BRUCE. MISS BRUCE.

YES. HERE. THANK YOU. MRS. KOCHER. HERE. DOCTOR. MUELLER. HERE. MISS PIASECKI. HERE. MISS PERRY. HERE. MR. SEWELL. HERE. MISS STRAUSS. HERE. VICE PRESIDENT. HAHN. PRESENT.

PRESIDENT. PUTIN. HERE. SUPERINTENDENT WILSON. HERE. THIS COMPLETES THE ROLL CALL.

THANK YOU. VICE PRESIDENT HAHN, PLEASE LEAD US IN THE PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE. PLEASE RISE AND JOIN ME IN THE PLEDGE. I PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. AND TO THE REPUBLIC FOR WHICH IT STANDS. ONE NATION UNDER GOD, INDIVISIBLE, WITH LIBERTY AND JUSTICE FOR ALL. OKAY, SO WE'VE GOT FOUR ITEMS ON THIS EVENING'S AGENDA FOR THE WORKING BOARD

[A. Presentation of Harford County Public Schools Dress Code Enforcement, Dr. Paula Stanton, Supervisor of Equity and Cultural Prociency]

WELCOME, DOCTOR STANTON. GOOD EVENING EVERYONE. GOOD EVENING, PRESIDENT BOYNTON. VICE PRESIDENT HAHN. SUPERINTENDENT WILSON, MEMBERS OF THE BOARD TONIGHT. IT'S NOT REALLY A PRESENTATION, BUT I'M GOING TO SHARE SOME FEEDBACK ABOUT DRESS CODE ENFORCEMENT AND HOW THAT'S GOING IN THE SCHOOLS FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF OUR SCHOOL ADMINISTRATORS. A COUPLE OF TEACHERS AND SOME STUDENTS. SO I FIRST WANT TO JUST SHARE THAT WHAT I'M HEARING FROM MOST PEOPLE WHO RESPONDED TO MY QUESTION ABOUT DRESS CODE ENFORCEMENT. DRESS CODE IS BEING ENFORCED WHEN THERE IS AN INFRACTION. STUDENTS ARE BEING TOLD TO CORRECT THE PROBLEM OR ASK TO CORRECT THE PROBLEM, AND GENERALLY THEY COMPLY. STUDENTS ARE SAYING THAT MOST STUDENTS, IF THEY'RE WEARING, FOR EXAMPLE, A SHIRT THAT'S TOO SHORT AND SOMEONE SAYS, HEY, THIS IS A DRESS CODE VIOLATION THAT THEY PUT ON A SWEATER OR JACKET, AND IT'S NOT REALLY A BIG DEAL.

ADMINISTRATORS ARE ALSO SAYING THAT THEY DON'T GET MUCH PUSHBACK ON THAT. AND SO IT HASN'T REALLY BEEN THAT BIG OF A DEAL IN TERMS OF COMPLIANCE. OF COURSE, STUDENTS TRY, YOU KNOW, TRY IT. BUT WHEN THE ADMINISTRATOR SAYS SOMETHING TO THEM, THEY COMPLY. A COUPLE OF THINGS CAME UP MORE OFTEN THAN OTHERS. FOR EXAMPLE, HATS AND HOODS WAS A MAJOR POINT OF DISCUSSION FOR STUDENTS AND FOR ADMINISTRATORS. AND SO WHAT I WHAT I'M HEARING FROM STUDENTS AND STAFF IS THAT HOODS AND HATS ARE BEING ASKED TO BE REMOVED. AND STUDENTS ARE REMOVING THOSE.

THERE'S ONE EXCEPTION. I THINK ONE STUDENT WHO WASN'T WEARING OR WAS CONTINUING TO WEAR A HAT AFTER HE WAS ASKED NOT TO. ACTUALLY, THE PARENT WAS IN FAVOR OF THE STUDENT WEARING A HAT AND CONTACTED THE SCHOOL AND SAID NO. I SAID HE COULD WEAR THE HAT. AND SO, YOU KNOW, THAT WAS AN ISSUE THAT THEY HAD TO DEAL WITH. BUT MOST OFTEN THAN NOT, STUDENTS ARE TAKING THEM OFF. NOW, I WILL SAY, SOME OF THEM SAID THAT STUDENTS ARE TOLD THAT IN THE HALLWAYS MORE OFTEN THAN NOT, AND SO THEY TAKE THEM OFF, BUT THEN THEY MAY PUT THEM BACK ON WHEN THEY GET DOWN THE

[00:05:01]

AND IF SO, I DID A QUICK GOOGLE SEARCH TO JUST LOOK AT TEENAGE FASHION. IT'S HARD TO FIND A SHIRT THAT'S NOT CROPPED. NOWADAYS FOR ANYONE. AND SO I THINK STUDENTS ARE TRYING TO FIGURE OUT, YOU KNOW, WE KNOW THAT WE DON'T WANT THE BELLY BUTTON AND THOSE TYPES OF THINGS SHOWING, BUT THEY'RE HAVING A HARD TIME RECONCILING THAT WITH FASHION TRENDS AND ALSO WITH THE CLOTHING THAT THEIR PARENTS ARE PURCHASING FOR THEM. ONE STUDENT MENTIONED THAT THERE ARE SOME STUDENTS WHO WEAR SHIRTS THAT MAY HAVE VULGAR SAYINGS. THEY DON'T THINK THAT STAFF MEMBERS ARE SEEING THEM BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, THEY DON'T THINK THAT PEOPLE ARE WALKING AROUND READING SHIRTS AND THINGS LIKE THAT, SO THEY MAY GO UNNOTICED. THEY ALSO SHARED SOME CONCERNS ABOUT THE DRESS CODE NOT BEING AS INCLUSIVE. ONE STUDENT SAID THAT IF WE WANT TO KNOW MORE ABOUT HOW OUR STUDENTS FEEL ABOUT DRESS CODE THAN WE SHOULD ASK BEFORE MAKING THESE TYPES OF POLICIES, JUST TO KIND OF UNDERSTAND THEIR IDEAS ABOUT WHAT THEY WANT TO WEAR. THERE WAS ONE OTHER POINT I WANTED TO MAKE. A LOT OF STUDENTS SAID THEY THOUGHT THE DRESS CODE WAS REASONABLE. AND THAT IT JUST ISN'T THAT BIG OF A DEAL IN THEIR SCHOOLS, THAT IT WASN'T KEEPING THEM FROM LEARNING THEY FELT SAFE IN THE SCHOOLS. AND ADMINISTRATORS KIND OF SAID THERE THEY HAVEN'T REALLY DEVIATED FROM WHAT THEY HAD ALREADY BEEN DOING, BECAUSE REMEMBER, OUR DRESS CODE THAT TURNED INTO A POLICY WAS ALREADY IN PLACE PRIOR TO THAT. AND SO SCHOOLS HAD ALREADY BEEN ENFORCING THE SAME DRESS CODE. AND SO THERE WASN'T THIS SENSE THAT, YOU KNOW, THIS HAS TO BE A MAJOR FOCUS FOR THEM AS THEY ARE FOCUSING ON ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT AND SAFETY MORE OFTEN THAN NOT. I THINK THOSE WERE THE MAIN THEMES AROUND THE COMMENTS THAT I RECEIVED. OKAY, THANKS. WE'LL OPEN IT UP FOR. DO YOU HAVE SOMETHING TO ADD? YEAH. SO I WOULD JUST TAKE A MINUTE. SO I KNOW THIS IS, YOU KNOW, A TOPIC OF INTEREST TO THE BOARD. I. SO I THINK, I THINK THERE'S ROOM TO STUDY, BUT I ACTUALLY WOULD RECOMMEND WE GO IN IN A KIND OF A SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT DIRECTION. I'M NOT AWARE OF ANY RESEARCH THAT TIES STRICT ENFORCEMENT OF A TRADITIONAL DRESS CODE TO STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT IN ANY WAY, SHAPE, OR FORM. I HAVEN'T LOOKED VERY CLOSELY, BUT NOTHING'S EVER COME TO MY ATTENTION THAT THAT EXISTS, AND THAT'S SOMETHING WE COULD LOOK FOR TO SEE IF THERE'S ANY LINK THERE. NOW. I SUSPECT IF WE WANTED TO MAKE SORT OF A DRAMATIC DIFFERENCE, I THINK A POSITIVE DIFFERENCE, THAT WOULD GET SOME PUSHBACK THAT WOULD NEED TO BE A STUDY IN A MORE ANALYTICAL, YOU KNOW, FOCUS ON THIS. BUT IF YOU WANT TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE FOR THE CLIMATE AND CULTURE AND THE ENFORCEABILITY AND THE CONSISTENCY AND, YOU KNOW, REDUCE, FOR EXAMPLE, ANY BULLYING OR, YOU KNOW, ANYTHING THAT HAS TO DO WITH WITH DRESS IN GENERAL, I'D BE MORE INCLINED TO SUGGEST SOMETHING THAT LOOKED LIKE A FAIRLY SIMPLE UNIFORM

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DIDN'T WE DO A LOT OF WORK AND FOCUS GROUPS BEFORE THAT EVEN CAME BEHIND THE SCENE TYPE STUFF? YEAH, THAT'S THAT'S PROBABLY HOW I'D SEE IT, THAT WE'D WANT TO DO ALL THAT TO BE ABLE TO BRING TO YOU. HERE'S WHAT AND IT WOULD NEED, LIKE I SAID, FOCUS GROUPS AND SURVEYS.

AND, YOU KNOW, RESEARCHING BEST PRACTICES AROUND THE COUNTRY, LOOKING FOR, YOU KNOW, DOING A LITERATURE REVIEW TO FIND, YOU KNOW, THE RESEARCH ON, YOU KNOW, WHAT DOES IT SAY ABOUT THIS? AGAIN, I'M NOT AWARE OF ANYTHING ABOUT JUST TRADITIONAL DRESS CODES MAKING A DIFFERENCE, BUT I'D BE WILLING TO BET WE'D FIND RESEARCH ABOUT UNIFORMS. SO THE BOARD WOULD NEED TO SIGNAL THAT THIS IS SOMETHING. YEAH, THAT'S A GOOD WORD WOULD BE OF INTEREST, BECAUSE THERE'S NO SENSE IN GOING THROUGH ALL OF THIS IF ULTIMATELY IT'S NOT GOING TO PASS A BOARD VOTE OR

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JUST READ A STAT THAT SAID 15% OF MARYLAND SCHOOLS HAVE UNIFORMS. THAT SEEMS HIGH TO ME.

I'M GUESSING THEY'RE MOSTLY PRIVATE SCHOOLS, PROBABLY. NO, NO, NO, THIS IS PUBLIC. IT'S 15% OF PUBLIC SCHOOLS. IT'S A PUBLIC SCHOOLS AND CHARTER. YEAH. YEAH, BUT BUT NATIONALLY, IT'S ACTUALLY QUITE A HIGH NUMBER. SO I THINK THAT, YOU KNOW, WE'RE NOT GOING TO BE THE FIRST TO LOOK AT THIS. I MEAN, THERE'S PLENTY OF SCHOOL DISTRICTS THAT WE CAN LOOK AT THAT HAVE DONE THIS BEFORE. I WOULD START WITH AND MAYBE THIS IS A TEASER FOR A DIFFERENT CONVERSATION IN A DIFFERENT FORUM, BUT I WOULD SAY WE SHOULD START WITH WHAT'S OUR WHAT'S OUR END GOAL? WHAT IS OUR END GOAL? AND IS THE CURRENT UNIFORM POLICY? IS THE CURRENT DRESS CODE? DRESS CODE POLICY NOT REACHING THAT GOAL? SO I THINK IT'S SOMETHING I PERSONALLY WOULD BE INTERESTED IN TAKING A LOOK AT IT. BUT UNTIL THEN, YOU KNOW, WE DO HAVE A DRESS CODE POLICY WHICH THE BOARD EXPECTS TO BE ENFORCED. I UNDERSTAND IT'S YOU'RE GOING TO GET PUSHBACK. YOU'RE GOING TO GET PUSHBACK ON ANYTHING THAT YOU DO. I UNDERSTAND THERE'S ASPECTS OF IT THAT AREN'T EASY.

I WOULD SAY, YOU KNOW, THE PARENTS NEED THE PARENTS SIGN THE HANDBOOK AND IT'S IN THE HANDBOOK, RIGHT? BUT HOW MANY OF THOSE PARENTS JUST SIGN IT AND DON'T ACTUALLY LOOK AT WHAT THEY'RE READING? SO I THINK THAT WE MIGHT NEED TO DO A LITTLE BIT OF EDUCATION, MAYBE HAVE JILLIAN PRODUCE A, YOU KNOW, JUST A VIDEO OR SOMETHING AND ROLL IT OUT WHEN STUDENTS COME BACK IN SEPTEMBER. AND REGARDING THE MALE FEMALE, YOU KNOW, MALES ARE HESITANT TO, YOU KNOW, THAT'S UNDERSTANDABLE. BUT WHAT 80% OF OUR EDUCATORS ARE FEMALE. SO THERE'S ALWAYS ANOTHER WAY TO APPROACH THAT. WHO WOULD BEAR THE COST OF THE SCHOOL, THE SCHOOL UNIFORMS? I THINK IN MOST CASES IT'S THE STUDENT'S RESPONSIBILITY. I MEAN, THEY PAY FOR THEIR CLOTHES NOW THAT THAT THEY, YOU KNOW, PUT ON THEIR ON THEIR CHILDREN TO SEND TO SCHOOL. BUT I WOULD IMAGINE THAT THERE'S SOME COMPONENT OF SOME POPULATIONS THAT WOULD RECEIVE UNIFORMS FROM TAXPAYERS. IS THAT ACCURATE? I MEAN, AGAIN, I HAVEN'T DONE THIS. MY SIMPLE VISION FOR THIS WOULD BE SOMETHING LIKE, YOU KNOW, KHAKIS, POLO, POSSIBLY A SWEATER IN THE WINTER. RIGHT. YOU KNOW, SOMETHING THAT YOU CAN FIND AT ANY DEPARTMENT STORE YOU CAN FIND AT A VERY DISCOUNTED RATE.

WE CAN PROBABLY FIND WAYS TO SUPPORT IT AS WE NEED TO. BUT I ALSO THINK IT'S ONE OF THOSE THINGS I CAN ENVISION, YOU KNOW, THREE YEARS INTO IT THAT, YOU KNOW, EVERY ELEMENTARY SCHOOL HAS A CLOSET FULL OF HAND-ME-DOWNS THAT, YOU KNOW, AND THAT BECOMES A LITTLE MORE SELF-SUSTAINING THAT WAY, KIND OF IN A WAY. YOU KNOW, UNIFORMS, I KNOW THEY GET PASSED DOWN, LIKE IN SOME PRIVATE SCHOOLS, HAVING THE SKIRT THAT'S BEEN WORN BY FOR SENIORS BEFORE YOU IS COOLER THAN GOING OUT AND GETTING A NEW ONE, EVEN IF YOU CAN AFFORD A NEW ONE. SO, I MEAN, I, YOU KNOW, I THINK IT CAN BE MADE AFFORDABLE. AND I THINK THAT SHOULD BE THE GOAL.

BECAUSE REALLY WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR IS THE CONSISTENCY. AND I WOULD ARGUE THE SIMPLICITY, SOMETHING YOU CAN FIND ANYWHERE. YOU KNOW, I THINK THE ISSUE WITH THAT IS IF YOU'RE LOOKING FOR CONSISTENCY, THEN IT SHOULD BE ACROSS THE BOARD, LIKE A SPECIFIC LIKE CHEAP BRAND OF KHAKIS SPECIFIC POLO, BECAUSE THEN YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE KIDS THAT GET INTO THE WEEDS A LOT WITH. EXACTLY. YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE KIDS THAT HAVE NIKE SOCKS. YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE KIDS THAT HAVE, YOU KNOW, NAME BRAND SHIRTS INSTEAD OF AND THEN YOU'RE STILL GOING TO HAVE THE SAME ISSUE AS YOU WOULD IF THEY WERE JUST WEARING REGULAR CLOTHES, BECAUSE IT'S STILL DIFFERENTIATES BETWEEN CLASS. TO HAVE A STUDENT WEARING, YOU KNOW, AN EXPENSIVE POLO, EXPENSIVE KHAKIS AND EXPENSIVE, YOU KNOW, DO YOU UNDERSTAND WHAT I'M SAYING? NO, I TOTALLY. AND SO THE QUESTION IS THAT OUR GOAL IS, I MEAN, DO WE WANT TO GET IT TO THAT LEVEL? AND I THINK THIS IS ALL WORTH THIS. I MEAN, HOW IMPORTANT IS IT TO GET JUST THE CONSISTENCY? AND AGAIN, YOU KNOW, ENFORCING, YOU KNOW, YOU'RE WITHIN CERTAIN PARAMETERS, RIGHT? MAYBE IT'S LOGO SIZE WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THAT YOU CAN GET BECAUSE WE WANT TO KEEP IT SIMPLE. WE WANT TO KEEP IT, YOU KNOW, POSSIBLY AFFORDABLE FOR SOME. BUT BUT THOSE ARE ALL I THINK THOSE ARE DETAILS THAT WE WOULD HAVE TO CONSIDER ALONG THE WAY IF WE WERE GOING TO MAKE A RECOMMENDATION. I KNOW MANY TIMES AS WELL, THERE'S EITHER AN APPROVED OR MULTIPLE APPROVED VENDORS THAT MAKE THE UNIFORMS. THE SPECIFICATIONS. AND WE'LL SELL IT. AND WHEN THEY'RE MAKING THEM IN BULK AS WELL. SO YOU DRIVE THE PRICING DOWN. AND HONESTLY, YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE SOME KIDS THAT COME TO A SCHOOL PROBABLY WITH A WRINKLED SHIRT AND SOMEBODY WITH A PRESSED SHIRT. SO I MEAN, THERE'S ALWAYS GOING TO BE INCONSISTENCIES THAT, YOU KNOW, YOU CAN'T ACCOUNT FOR. YOU KNOW, IN REGARD BUT TO THAT AND BUT, YOU KNOW, WHEN DOCTOR STANTON WAS TALKING ABOUT THE AVAILABILITY OF, OF FASHION LIKE ESPECIALLY FOR THE YOUNG GIRLS, A LOT OF THE SHIRTS

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YEAH. YEAH. MAKE, YOU KNOW, SIMPLIFY THINGS AND MAKE IT MORE ENFORCEABLE. ALTHOUGH THEY WILL ROLL THE SHIRTS IF, IF, IF WE I THINK STUDENTS WILL TRY TO ROLL THE SHIRTS IF WE DO A, YOU KNOW, A RUBBER BAND. I DON'T KNOW, I DON'T WANT TO GET TO THAT LEVEL OF DETAIL TONIGHT, BUT SASHA, AS A STUDENT, I WAS I SAW HER, I WAS WAITING FOR I MEAN, I DEFINITELY HAVE A FEW IDEAS, AND I KNOW THAT THIS IS SOMETHING THAT'S JUST IN THE AIR AS OF NOW, BUT I DON'T NECESSARILY SEE THIS AS A SOLUTION TO THIS PROBLEM, ESPECIALLY AFTER HEARING WHAT YOU'RE SAYING.

BECAUSE WHAT I'M GETTING FROM THIS AND WHAT I SEE IN THE HALLWAYS IS LIKE, YOU KNOW, IT'S MORE CONCERN OVER THAT INVESTIGATIVE ASPECT, WHERE IT'S THE TEACHERS TELLING STUDENTS, HEY, PULL DOWN YOUR SHIRT, YOU KNOW, BUTTON UP YOUR SHIRT, ALL THAT STUFF. RATHER LESS THAN THE DRESS CODE ITSELF. BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, IF YOU'RE HEARING FROM THE REPORT, THE MAIN FOCUS THAT WE'RE HEARING IS THAT THE HATS. AND SO AND THAT'S NOT NECESSARILY SOMETHING THAT WE'RE GOING TO REMOVE FROM THE DRESS CODE JUST TO SAFETY ISSUES. AND I THINK EVEN WITH SCHOOL UNIFORMS, I COULD SEE A LOT OF PUSHBACK. AND IT ALSO ISN'T GOING TO HELP WITH, YOU KNOW, MAKING SURE THAT THE TEACHERS DON'T STILL HAVE TO ENFORCE THIS BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, AND I DON'T MEAN TO PUT IT ON FEMALES, BUT FOR GIRLS, THEY COULD STILL ROLL UP A SKIRT FOR, YOU KNOW, THEY CAN ALWAYS UNBUTTONED THEIR POLO. AND FOR MEN, YOU KNOW, EVEN IF YOU HAVE A BELT ON, THERE'S STILL THE POSSIBILITY OF SAGGING YOUR PANTS. YOU'RE NOT GOING TO AVOID THIS ALL BY JUST HAVING A UNIFORM IN ITSELF. AND I THINK THE ONE THING THAT STUDENTS ARE REALLY GOING TO FOCUS ON IS THE IDEA AND NOT MY WORDS, BUT JUST STUDENTS WORDS. SCHOOL IS A PRISON, AND SO THEY'RE GOING TO TAKE THIS AS A WAY TO TAKE AWAY THEIR SELF-EXPRESSION THAT A LOT OF STUDENTS VALUE. AND YOU COULD SEE IT AROUND THE HALLWAYS. I HAVE PEOPLE IN MY SCHOOL THAT EXPRESS THEMSELVES THROUGH MAKEUP, AND THEY EXPRESS EXPRESS THEMSELVES THROUGH HOW THEY'RE STYLING THEIR CLOTHES. AND, YOU KNOW, FASHION MAY NOT BE AS IMPORTANT TO ME, BUT I KNOW THERE'S SOME STUDENTS WHO, YOU KNOW, THAT'S THAT'S A PART OF THEIR IDENTITY. AND BY PUTTING THEM ALL IN A UNIFORM CAN TAKE THIS AWAY. SO IF WE WANT OUR STUDENTS TO FEEL COMFORTABLE AT SCHOOL, I THINK THIS, YOU KNOW, PUTTING A UNIFORM IN THERE ISN'T GOING TO HELP BECAUSE ESPECIALLY TOWARDS THAT WINTER TIME WHEN YOU'RE GOING TO SCHOOL, SOMETIMES YOU JUST WANT SOMETHING THAT'S STRETCHY AND ELASTIC, AND NOW YOU'RE IN KHAKIS AND A BUN, MAYBE A TIE IN A BELT. A LOT OF STUDENTS AREN'T NECESSARILY GOING TO ADAPT TO THAT PRETTY QUICKLY, AND JUST LOOKING AT ALL OF THE OTHER ISSUES AT HAND, I DO NOT SEE THIS AS SOMETHING THAT WE SHOULD BE PUTTING ALL OF OUR EFFORT INTO. I THINK IT'S DEFINITELY SOMETHING TO CONSIDER AND CONTINUE TO RECEIVE THAT FEEDBACK, BUT I WOULDN'T EVEN PUT IN THE AIR OF INCORPORATING A UNIFORM AS OF NOW, BECAUSE I THINK EVEN MENTIONING IT, I DON'T KNOW IF STUDENTS WATCH THESE MEETINGS, BUT IF THEY ARE HEARING ABOUT THIS, THEY'RE NOT GOING TO GRASP THE IDEA THAT THIS IS SOMETHING IN THE AIR, A SUGGESTION THEY'RE GOING TO HEAR. THEY WANT US IN UNIFORMS, THEY WANT US IN A POLO. AND THERE THERE'S GOING TO BE PUSHBACK. SO, YOU KNOW, AS DOCTOR BOLSON SAID, I THINK REALLY FOCUSING ON WHAT IS GOING GOOD AS OF NOW, WHICH, YOU KNOW, PHONE POLICY. AND WE'RE WE'RE SEEING THOSE ASPECTS OF WHERE WE'RE GETTING IMPROVEMENT WITHIN OUR STUDENTS PERFORMANCE. THAT'S WHERE OUR EYE, OUR FOCUS SHOULD GO, NOT NECESSARILY IN AREAS THAT THERE IS A LITTLE PUSHBACK, BUT NOT NECESSARILY SO MUCH THAT IT'S ALARMING. WE SO WE DID HAVE SOME STUDENTS, OR AT LEAST ONE STUDENT THAT CAME IN AND VOICED CONCERNS ABOUT THE WAY SOME OF HIS FELLOW CLASSMATES WERE WERE DRESSED AND FELT IT WAS DISTRACTING. AND I REFERRED TO FLORIDA A LOT BECAUSE MY FAMILY'S IN FLORIDA. AND SO TO ADDRESS THE COMMENT ABOUT SELF-EXPRESSION. SO WHAT THEY HAVE AT THE SCHOOLS THAT MY FAMILY MEMBERS GO TO IS THEY HAVE LIKE A DRESS, DRESS DOWN DAY OR WHATEVER, WHERE THEY CAN HAVE AT LEAST ONE DAY A MONTH WHERE THEY CAN DRESS, YOU KNOW, THE WAY THAT THEY, THEY WANT. SO THERE'S SOME, YOU KNOW, FLEXIBILITY FOR, FOR KEEPING THOSE ASPECTS IN. AND LIKE DOCTOR OLSEN SAID, THIS IS NOT SOMETHING THAT WOULD BE, YOU KNOW, DONE IMMEDIATELY. THERE WOULD HAVE TO BE LIKE A STUDY AND STUDENTS WOULD BE A PART OF THAT EFFORT. WHY DON'T WE DO THIS? WHY DON'T WE JUST DO SOME VERY BASIC RESEARCH WITH SOME OF THE SCHOOL SYSTEMS THAT ARE DOING IT, AND MATCH THAT UP

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BRUCE, I MET WITH THE MAYOR AND PRESIDENT OF THE ABERDEEN CITY COUNCIL AFTER HAVING VISITED THE COMMUNITY SCHOOLS. AND DOCTOR WILSON, I KNOW THAT MAYOR MCGRADY SAID HE SPOKE WITH YOU IN REFERENCE TO THE UNIFORM ISSUE. AND HE SAID HE WOULD LIKE TO VOLUNTEER HIS DISTRICT FOR THE ELEMENTARY AND MIDDLE SCHOOLERS TO BE A PILOT. IF YOU DO IMPLEMENT SOME UNIFORM POLIC, BECAUSE HE DOES SUPPORT IT, HIS DISTRICT AND I IN HAVING MET HAVING HIS AREA, HAVING BEEN HE SAID DISTRICT. I REPEATED WHAT HE SAID, HAVING MET WITH SOME OF THE PRINCIPALS. ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE HAVE NOT LOOKED AT IS THE SITUATION IN THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS AND MIDDLE SCHOOLS, WHERE IN A COMMUNITY SCHOOL AND THE PRINCIPALS HAVING TO PURCHASE CLOTHING FOR STUDENTS WHO ARE WHO DON'T HAVE IT. AND I'VE, I'VE ASKED THE CITY COUNCIL AND THEM TO VOLUNTEER MORE WITH THE SCHOOLS TO MEET SOME OF THE NEEDS, PARTICULARLY AS THEY HAVE THE ADULT STUDENTS WHO ARE DISABLED AND THEY HAVE SHORTAGES OF DIAPERS AND CHANGEABLE THINGS, EVEN AT THE KINDERGARTEN AREA. SO HE IS GOING TO WORK ON THAT RESEARCH AND TRY TO GET SOME MORE VOLUNTEERS TO HELP. BUT HE DID SAY HE WOULD BE VERY INTERESTED IN BEING A PILOT FOR UNIFORMS AT THE ELEMENTARY AND MIDDLE SCHOOL. WHILE SHE WAS TALKING, I HAD A THOUGHT THAT MAYBE THIS IS SOMETHING THAT YOU START WITH AN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL SO THAT YOU'RE STARTING IT THERE AND IT PROGRESSES TO MIDDLE AND HIGH SCHOOL, RIGHT? SO YOU'RE USED TO IT. IT'S NOT SOMETHING YOU TAKE CURRENT MIDDLE SCHOOLERS AND HIGH SCHOOL AND JUST CHANGE, RIGHT? IT'S A SLOW IT'S A SLOW START. AND YOU IT'S EXACTLY WHAT I WAS GOING TO SAY. MAYBE IT'S A PHASE IN THAT WE START MAYBE START WITH FIRST GRADE. SECOND GRADE, YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN? LIKE KIND OF BECAUSE THAT WAY THEY'RE USED TO IT. BY THE TIME THEY GET TO MIDDLE AND HIGH SCHOOL, IT'S NOT A DRASTIC CHANGE. IF IT'S A PHASED IN APPROACH. YOU KNOW, THAT'S THAT'S WHY HE SAID THEY WOULD BE WILLING TO BUY IT. OKAY. I ALSO LIKE YOUR POINT DOCTOR BOYNTON ON ON THE COMMUNICATION FOR THE CURRENT DRESS CODE TO HAVING SOME SORT OF COMMUNICATION PUSH OF WHAT'S MAYBE FOR NEXT SCHOOL YEAR IS A GOOD IDEA. I DEFINITELY THINK THAT IT'S ABSOLUTELY ESSENTIAL THAT WE ENFORCE THE POLICIES ACROSS THE BOARD THAT ARE IN EXISTENCE. IT'S JUST A BAND-AID TO COME UP WITH ANOTHER SOLUTION AND STILL HAVE ENFORCEMENT ISSUES. AND I THINK THE COMMUNICATIONS NEED TO EMPHASIZE WHY IT'S IMPORTANT AND WHAT WE'RE HOPING TO ACHIEVE. AND THAT IS CONSISTENCY AND MORE PRIDE IN YOUR SCHOOL. YOU KNOW, MORE CONCENTRATION ON ACADEMICS AND NOT ON BEING DISTRACTED, THINGS LIKE THAT. SO MAYBE IF THE PARENTS GET AN IDEA OF WHY THIS IS IMPORTANT, THEY WOULD HELP ENFORCE IT. I AM CURIOUS AND OBVIOUSLY THIS WILL REQUIRE MORE RESEARCH. BUT THOSE STUDENTS THAT ARE IN THAT SPECIAL NEED GROUP THAT DO COMMONLY HAVE SENSORY ISSUES, DO YOU KNOW OF EXACTLY HOW THIS DRESS CODE ENFORCEMENT WOULD APPLY TO THEM? IF THAT SENSORY ASPECT OF IT MAY BE A LITTLE, I DON'T KNOW, INHIBITING FOR THEM? I HAVE NO CLUE. DID THAT COME UP, DOCTOR STAUNTON? IT DID NOT. NO. OKAY. GOOD QUESTION. MAYBE SOMETHING WE CAN LOOK INTO. SO MAYBE THIS IS SOMETHING FOR YOU ALSO. BUT I'VE TALKED TO SOME OTHER STUDENTS WHO HAVE SAID THAT, LIKE AT THE BEGINNING OF THE YEAR, THE CELL PHONE POLICY WAS VERY STRICTLY ENFORCED, AND NOW TEACHERS ARE GETTING PRETTY LAX ON IT AND IT'S KIND OF GOING AWAY. ARE YOU SEEING THAT ALSO WITH DRESS CODE WITH. WELL, I'M JUST SAYING WITH THE CELL PHONES BECAUSE THAT'S JUST KIND OF THAT'S GOING BACK TO THIS CONSISTENT ENFORCEMENT THAT YEAH, WE STARTED OFF ALL STRICT AND NOW IT'S LIKE GOTTEN VERY LAX. YEAH, I DO SEE IT. IT DOES VARY WITH SOME OF MY CLASSES. AND THAT ALSO DEPENDS ON LIKE THAT CLASS SIZE, BECAUSE I HAVE SOME CLASSES THAT ARE SMALLER. AND IT'S MUCH EASIER FOR THAT TEACHER TO SPREAD THAT MESSAGE ACROSS ALL STUDENTS. AND SO OCCASIONALLY YOU'LL SEE A STUDENT MAYBE TAKE OUT THEIR

[00:35:04]

YOU'RE GOING TO RECEIVE MAYBE A SLIP. IT DOESN'T NECESSARILY ALARM SOME OF THESE STUDENTS, BUT I HAVE SEEN SOME TEACHERS BECOME A LITTLE MORE LENIENT ON THIS THROUGHOUT THE YEAR. AND IT MAY JUST BE BECAUSE THEY'RE THEY'RE FEELING THAT, YOU KNOW, AS THE SCHOOL YEAR GOES ON, THEY SHOULD BE MORE LENIENT. AND THAT THAT GENERALLY HAPPENS WITH ALL ASPECTS OF CLASSROOM BEHAVIORS, LIKE EVEN WHEN IT COMES TO LIKE CLASS WORK THERE IN THE BEGINNING OF THE YEAR, TEACHERS ARE PRETTY STRICT ON NOT COMMUNICATING WHEN YOU'RE DOING DIFFERENT ASSIGNMENTS, BUT THEN LATER IN THE YEAR, THE STUDENTS GET MORE COMFORTABLE. I GUESS THE TEACHER HAS THEIR OWN BURDENS THAT THEY NEED TO TAKE CARE OF, AND THERE IS LESS FOCUS ON ENFORCING THOSE DIFFERENT ASPECTS. WELL, STUDENTS ARE VERY SMART. THEY'RE LIKE, YOU KNOW, THEY'RE LIKE OUR KIDS. THEY KNOW WHAT THE LINE IS, AND THEY GO RIGHT UP TO IT AND THEY PUSH IT AND THAT LINE GETS MOVED. SO AT ONE OF THE RECENT EDUCATOR LISTENING SESSIONS, THEY WERE SAYING THAT THEIR THEIR SPECIFIC SCHOOL HAD TOO MANY WARNINGS IN PLACE BEFORE THEY WERE ALLOWED TO CONFISCATE THE CELL PHONE.

AND THEY KNEW THAT IT WAS, YOU KNOW, WHATEVER IT WAS, THREE WARNINGS. AND SO THEY WOULD GO RIGHT UP TO THE THREE WARNINGS. AND THE EDUCATORS RECOMMENDATION WAS LIKE, THEY KNOW WHAT THE LINE IS, AND THEY GO RIGHT UP TO IT. AND SO, YOU KNOW, THERE NEEDS TO BE PROBABLY SOME MORE ENFORCEMENT AROUND THAT AND FEWER WARNINGS IS MY GUESS. BUT YEAH, WHATEVER WE DO IN TERMS OF POLICY AND AS A BOARD, YOU KNOW, I THINK WE TEND TO ALIGN WITH OUR, OUR THREE BOARD PRIORITIES IS WE NEED TO MAKE IT AS SIMPLE AS CLEAR. AND THE LEAST AMOUNT OF BURDEN ON THE TEACHERS FOR ENFORCEMENT, YOU KNOW, SAY, YOU KNOW, IF WE HAVE PUT A POLICY IN, IN PLACE THAT'S CREATING A BURDEN ON THE TEACHERS AND IT'S TAKING THEM AWAY FROM THEIR PRIMARY MISSION OF TEACHING, THEY'RE NOT GOING TO DO IT. AND RIGHTFULLY SO. THEY SHOULD BE FOCUSED ON THE TEACHING ASPECTS AND THE ACADEMIC ASPECTS. SO I THINK ALL OF OUR POLICIES NEED TO BE, YOU KNOW, NEED TO CONSIDER THAT. I AGREE, AND THERE'S A SIMPLE SOLUTION TO THAT, WHICH MANY SCHOOL SYSTEMS HAVE PUT IN PLACE WITH GREAT SUCCESS. AND THAT IS NO CELL PHONES, PERIOD. I WOULD SAY WE NEED TO WE NEED TO REVISIT THE POLICY AND EXACTLY DO EXACTLY THAT, BAN CELL PHONES ALTOGETHER, BECAUSE THEN IT'S OUT OF THE CLASSROOM. AND I, I'VE GOTTEN A LOT OF POSITIVE FEEDBACK WHERE TEACHERS ARE REALLY EXCITED SAYING THAT IT WAS LIKE THEY WERE TEACHING THEIR FIRST YEAR OF SCHOOL ALL OVER AGAIN, THAT, YOU KNOW, KIDS WERE ACTUALLY PAYING ATTENTION.

AND AGAIN, THIS WAS AT THE BEGINNING OF THE YEAR. SO I, YOU KNOW, GOTTEN FEEDBACK LATER ON.

BUT I CAN IMAGINE THAT IT'S PROBABLY CONSISTENT WITH WHAT SASHA WAS SAYING. IT'S KIND OF GOTTEN A LITTLE LAX. SO IF WE TAKE THEM OUT OF THEIR HANDS ALTOGETHER, YOU KNOW, IT ALLEVIATES THAT ISSUE. I THINK WE SHOULD SEE WHAT'S COMING DOWN IN THE LEGISLATURE THIS SESSION ALSO, BECAUSE THERE ARE SEVERAL DIFFERENT BILLS DEALING WITH CELL PHONES THAT ARE COMING DOWN THE. YEAH, STATEWIDE. SO YOU MIGHT WANT TO WAIT AND KIND OF TAKE A WAIT AND SEE ATTITUDE ON THAT. WE'LL WE'LL HAVE A LISTING OF THE BILLS PRETTY SOON. AND CAROL AND I WERE IN THE LEGISLATIVE MEETING TODAY, I, I DIDN'T HEAR ANYTHING BROUGHT UP CONCERNING CELL PHONES SPECIFICALLY. CAN YOU SPEAK TO THAT? THEY DID. THEY SPOKE ABOUT SEVERAL DIFFERENT BILLS THAT WERE GOING TO BE COMING FORWARD ABOUT CELL PHONES IN SCHOOLS. OKAY. AND YOU GOT ON LATE, THOUGH, DIDN'T YOU? I DID GET ON LATE, SO I MAY HAVE MISSED IT. DO YOU HAVE THE SPECIFIC BILL NUMBERS OR. NO. THEY SAID THAT THEY WOULD BE GIVING THOSE TO US THE NEXT MEETING, WHICH IS THE 27TH. RIGHT. WE'LL SHARE SHARE WITH US IF YOU COULD. YEAH. BECAUSE WE MAY NOT NEED TO DO ANYTHING IF THE STATE TAKES CARE OF IT. AND THAT'S WHAT I'M SAYING. WE MIGHT BE HARD TO GET AND TYPICALLY AND I'M SURE THEY WILL MAEBH DOES PUT ALL OF THE LEGISLATION WHEN THEY HAVE A BILL NUMBER, AND THEY MAY HAVE ALREADY DONE THIS. SO THEY THEY PUT TOGETHER A SHEET AND THEY HAVE IT ON THEIR WEBSITE OF ALL OF THE BILLS THAT ARE ON THE 27TH. YEAH, THAT, THAT ANYTHING THAT'S ASSOCIATED AND THAT'S ON THEIR RADAR, THEY WILL PUT IT UP ON THEIR WEBSITE AND THEY'LL PUT AS IT BECOMES AVAILABLE WHETHER, WHERE, WHERE THEY STAND ON IT. SO, YOU KNOW, SO THEY ARE PRETTY

[00:40:03]

[B. Budget Work Session]

WHAT I WILL SHARE. JEREMY, YOU CAN GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. I WILL WHILE HE'S DOING THAT. JUST TO PUT THIS IN CONTEXT. RIGHT. SO WE DECIDED TO PUT THIS TOGETHER BECAUSE THIS IS REALLY OUR LAST FORMAL OPPORTUNITY TO BOTH GIVE FEEDBACK AND RECEIVE FEEDBACK.

RIGHT? THERE'S BEEN A LOT OF WORK THAT'S BEEN DONE ON THE BUDGET ALREADY. SO WE'RE SORT OF ROUNDING THIRD BASE HERE AS FAR AS THE SUPERINTENDENT'S RECOMMENDATION, WHICH WILL BE FORTHCOMING. RIGHT, RIGHT. AND SO THERE'S BEEN A LOT OF WORK PUT INTO IT. THIS IS OUR FINAL OPPORTUNITY BOARD TO GIVE ANY ADDITIONAL FEEDBACK. AND THEN IN TWO WEEKS IT WILL BE PRESENTED.

THAT'S THE CURRENT JANUARY 27TH CORRECT. YES. GREAT. SO BEFORE I TURN IT OVER, I WANT TO POINT OUT, YOU SEE THE $20 MILLION NUMBER THAT IS NOT INTENDED TO BE THE SUPERINTENDENT'S REQUEST.

THAT IS SIMPLY A SUMMARY OF THE CHANGES IN THAT FIRST COLUMN OF NUMBERS. SO AGAIN, THERE'S A LOT THAT GOES INTO THIS. YOU KNOW, USE THE FUND BALANCE, REDUCE USE OF FUND BALANCE STATE MONIES.

YOU KNOW. SO WE HAVE NOT FINALIZED THE BUDGET. WE WILL HAVE THAT FINALIZED FOR JANUARY 27TH. BUT WE WANTED TO SHOW YOU WHERE WE WERE WITH THE REQUESTS AND REDUCTIONS THAT WE HAVE INCLUDED AS PART OF THE INITIAL PROPOSED BUDGET. GOOD EVENING. SO AS MISS JUDD SAID, THE $20 MILLION REALLY ISN'T THE REQUEST. SO WE STARTED AT 653 MILLION AND WE'RE BASICALLY AT THE BUDGET IS GOING UP $20 MILLION TO 673. BUT YOU HAVE TO REMEMBER THAT IN THAT 653 NUMBER IS THE $30 MILLION OF FUND BALANCE. SO TO HAVE A BALANCED BUDGET, YOUR REVENUES MUST EQUAL YOUR EXPENDITURES. SO WE ARE FORECASTING OR WE ARE PROJECTING $653 MILLION IN EXPENDITURES AND REVENUE FOR FY 25 THE CURRENT YEAR. SO IF YOU SUBTRACT THE 30 MILLION, YOU'RE DOWN TO 623. SO YOU'RE REALLY LOOKING AT A $50 MILLION GAP, THAT $60 MILLION GAP THAT WE HAVE BEEN TALKING ABOUT FOR MONTHS NOW. IF WE THROW IN A LITTLE BIT OF STATE REVENUE THAT WE'RE CROSSING OUR FINGERS AND HOPING FOR, WE GET SOME BAD NEWS THIS WEEK. WE'RE NOT SURE. GOVERNOR GOVERNOR'S COMING OUT WITH HIS BUDGET PROPOSAL ON WEDNESDAY. I BELIEVE WE'LL KNOW A LITTLE BIT MORE THERE AND SOME FUND BALANCE ASSIGNMENT THAT THE BOARD DECIDES IS APPROPRIATE. WE CAN GET DOWN TO MORE LIKE A 30 ISH MILLION DOLLAR ASK TO OUR LOCAL GOVERNMENT. SOME OF THE SOME OF THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THAT 30 AND $60 MILLION ASK ARE THE EMPLOYEE SALARY AND WAGE PACKAG, THAT $20 MILLION THAT DOCTOR OLSON THREW OUT OF KIND OF IS OUR STARTING POINT. BEING IN A TIGHT SITUATION THAT WE ARE, WE'RE GOING THROUGH NEGOTIATIONS, WHICH I CAN'T DIVULGE, BUT WE HAVE SHAVED A LITTLE BIT OFF OF THAT. DOCTOR BOWLES HAS COMMITTED TO REDUCING SYSTEM WIDE BETWEEN 13 AND $15 MILLION. UP THERE YOU CAN SEE WE HAVE $13.4 MILLION REDUCTION.

EXCUSE ME. THAT'S APPROXIMATELY 145 POSITIONS. THAT WOULD BE FROM ALL AREAS OF THE BUDGET.

AND DOCTOR OLSON, I'M SURE YOU'LL PROBABLY ADDRESS THAT AFTER I FINISH SPEAKING HERE.

SOME OF THE ADDITIONS, CURRICULUM, INSTRUCTION AND ASSESSMENT THAT'S REALLY OUR PRE-K, OUR FULL DAY PRE-K PROGRAM THAT IS FUNDED THROUGH THE PRE-K EXPANSION GRANT.

CURRENT YEAR, THOSE TEACHERS AND PARES ROLL INTO THE BUDGET FOR THE FOLLOWING YEAR. WE DO RECEIVE FUNDING FOR THAT THROUGH THE PRE-K FORMULA BLUEPRINT FORMULA, THE FACILITIES AND OPERATIONS. THAT'S ONE ITEM. ELECTRICITY. WE ARE EXPECTING ROUGHLY A 30% INCREASE IN

[00:45:04]

SO OUR CONSULTANTS ARE REALLY GOOD. THEY'RE PROJECTING THIS 2018 TO 24 MONTHS OUT AND THEY'RE USUALLY RIGHT ON THE MONEY. SO UNFORTUNATELY WE'RE LOOKING AT AN INCREASE OF ABOUT 30% INSURANCE AND OTHER FIXED CHARGES. THAT IS OUR RETIREMENT. THAT'S OUR RETIREE HEALTH CARE AND THAT'S OUR ACTIVE EMPLOYEE HEALTH CARE. INCREASES TOTALS JUST OVER 13 MILLION WITH OUR BEST GUESS ESTIMATES CURRENTLY SAFETY AND SECURITY. THOSE ARE THE TEN CELLS THAT YOU APPROVE THIS YEAR THAT ARE NOT FUNDED, THAT INCLUDE THAT IS THE FUNDING FOR THOSE POSITIONS AND ALSO THE MAINTENANCE FEES FOR THE WEAPONS DETECTION SYSTEMS. JUST A LITTLE OVER $1 MILLION IS OUR BEST ESTIMATE FOR THAT IN FY 26. AND THEN THE TRANSPORTATION THAT IS TO SUPPORT THE NEW SPECIAL EDUCATION PROGRAMS AND ALSO THE INCREASE THAT'S ASSOCIATED WITH OUR BUS CONTRACTORS, THEY PAY THEIR DRIVERS BASED OFF OF OUR. DRIVER SCALE. SO WE HAVE TO ADD A LITTLE BIT TO THAT FOR OUR CONTRACTED BUS COMPANIES. WHAT ARE THE ADDITIONAL SPECIAL EDUCATION ASSETS THAT WERE I THOUGHT EVERYTHING WAS BAKED INTO THIS YEAR OR THE UPGRADES THAT WE MADE ON SPECIAL ED? HOW MUCH OF THAT 2.3 MILLION IS TIED TO THE SALARIES? I BELIEVE 1.8 I CAN CHECK FOR YOU, BUT I BELIEVE 1.8 MILLION IS FOR THE CONTRACTED, SO THE DIFFERENCE WOULD BE THE DRIVERS IN ATTENDANCE. THREE PROGRAMS. DOCTOR OLSON, I BELIEVE THREE SPECIAL ED PROGRAMS. I CAN CHECK ON THE LOCATIONS FOR YOU. I JUST HAVE TO PULL IT UP ON MY LAPTOP. I THINK ALREADY IS THE BUS CONTRACTORS. YEAH. DOCTOR BOWLES, DO YOU WANT TO ADDRESS THAT? THAT'S WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT WITH SPECIAL ED OR IS THAT SAVE THAT FOR. YEAH, IT'S KIND OF HARD TO GET INTO DETAILS.

IT'S A LOT. SO I MEAN, JUST TO GIVE A LITTLE MORE CONTEXT TO EVERYTHING, ERIC AND DEBORAH JUST SHARED. ON THE POSITIONS. YOU SEE 145 UP THERE. THAT'S JUST TO GET TO THE LOWER ASK. SO EVERYONE UNDERSTANDS, LIKE THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE'LL ALL HAVE TO BE DONE AS A CONDITION OF ASKING FOR LESS THAN $60 MILLION, RIGHT? THE GOAL HERE IS WE STARTED WITH A $60 MILLION ESTIMATE AS A GAP TO SUSTAIN OUR CURRENT. OPERATIONS. WE NEEDED $60 MILLION. AND OBVIOUSLY WE DON'T SEE COUNTY GOVERNMENT BEING ABLE TO PROVIDE $60 MILLION. AND SO WE HAVE THE INCREASE IN COSTS, WHICH TO SOME DEGREE WE'VE KIND OF ALREADY REDUCED IN SHOWING YOU THIS. BUT WE ALSO HAVE THE $30 MILLION IN FUND BALANCE THAT WE NEED TO COVER. SO AS YOU SEE, PRIOR TO THE SYSTEM WIDE CUTS OF $13.4 MILLION, IF YOU REMOVE THAT, YOU'RE LOOKING AT 34 LIKE A $34 MILLION INCREASE IN OUR COST, WHICH IS ABOUT WHAT WE SAID. WE HAD 30 MILLION OF FUND BALANCE AND 30 MILLION OF NEW COSTS. SO WE'VE BEGUN WORKING ON THOSE. THE BOARD AND YOU RECOMMENDED THE NEGOTIATING PARAMETERS. IT MODIFIED OUR ESTIMATE OF THE SALARY PACKAGE AND BROUGHT THAT DOWN FROM 20 TO WHAT YOU SEE THERE, WHICH IS CLOSER TO 13. I'VE BEGUN WORKING ON THE SYSTEM WIDE REDUCTIONS, WHICH GO FROM THE TOP OF CENTRAL OFFICE TO, YOU KNOW, PRETTY MUCH ALL AREAS OF THE DISTRICT. BUT THEN EVERYTHING ELSE IS COST INCREASES, AS YOU'VE SEEN WITH SPECIAL EDUCATION. WE'RE TO SEED ENROLLMENT THERE. WHAT THE LAWS ABOUT SPECIAL EDUCATION ARE ESSENTIALLY THAT YOU YOU HAVE TO AT LEAST MAINTAIN THE SAME PER PUPIL EXPENDITURE, WHICH MEANS WE CAN'T KEEP THE COST OF SPECIAL EDUCATION FROM GOING UP, BECAUSE IF WE'RE GETTING MORE STUDENTS, IT'S GOING TO COST US MORE. BUT WHAT WE CAN DO IS ATTEMPT TO KEEP THE PER PUPIL COST THE SAME THIS YEAR AS LAST YEAR. AND IT SOUNDS LIKE A GREAT IDEA, BUT IT'S A LOT HARDER THAN IT SOUNDS BECAUSE WITH COSTS GOING UP EVERYWHERE, THE PER PUPIL COST WILL NATURALLY GO UP TOO. AND SO IN ORDER FOR US TO MAINTAIN THAT PER PUPIL COST AT THE SAME AS IN THE CURRENT

[00:50:03]

I MEAN, I DON'T WANT TO BE THE BUT YOU KNOW, I'LL SAY THIS IN WHATEVER GROUP I'M IN THAT'S ONLY GOING TO ACHIEVE ONE THING IN THE STATE OF MARYLAND, WHICH IS IT'S GOING TO INCREASE INCREASE CLASS SIZES IN EVERY DISTRICT THAT TAKES A CUT, BECAUSE SCHOOL SYSTEMS ARE WE DON'T HAVE THE OTHER PLACES. AND I'M GOING TO BE ADVOCATING FOR THAT, YOU KNOW, TO SAY WE'VE PUT THE SUPERINTENDENTS HAVE PUT OTHER THINGS ON THE TABLE THAT WE THINK SHOULD BE ADJUSTMENTS THAT WOULD MAKE THE BLUEPRINT LESS COSTLY, LESS BURDENSOME, AND WOULDN'T HAVE THE SAME DETRIMENTAL EFFECT AS WHAT'S BEEN PROPOSED. AND SO, YOU KNOW, A VERY CLEAR ADVOCACY MESSAGE COMING FROM THE SUPERINTENDENTS, AND I'LL BE PART OF THAT. BUT I DON'T KNOW WHERE IT'S GOING TO LAND. AND SO I'M WORRIED THAT WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO FIND EVEN MORE REDUCTIONS BEFORE THIS IS OVER. EVEN IF THE COUNTY DOES, YOU KNOW, IS ABLE TO FUND US CLOSE TO THE ASK, WHICH I'M EXPECTING. I MEAN, WE RIGHT NOW, WE OUR LAST ESTIMATE WE HAD AT JUST A TOUCH UNDER $30 MILLION.

WE'RE GOING TO KEEP WORKING TO TRY TO GET THAT A LITTLE BIT LOWER SO THAT WE CAN COME UP WITH, WITH A BUDGET THAT IS POSSIBLY SOMETHING THAT'S SUSTAINABLE BOTH FOR US AND FOR HARFORD COUNTY. BUT WITH SINCE WE DON'T KNOW RIGHT NOW WHAT THE STATE'S GOING TO KIND OF GIVE BACK TO US TO WORK THROUGH, I'M CONCERNED THAT WE MAY HAVE TO MAKE ADJUSTMENTS BEFORE WE COME BACK TOGETHER IN 27, BUT THAT'S WHERE WE ARE. AND REALLY, FOR TONIGHT, WHAT I WAS HOPING FOR THIS CONVERSATION IS TO HEAR MORE ABOUT WHERE YOU ARE. I MEAN, I MADE A SORT OF WE HAD A ONE WAY CONVERSATION IN OUR ADMINISTRATIVE SESSION BEFORE THE HOLIDAY, BUT THAT DOESN'T

[00:55:02]

THAT'S THE ROUGH ESTIMATE RIGHT NOW. THAT'S YOU KNOW, BECAUSE PART OF THE GOAL HERE IS TO ELIMINATE ANY SORT OF STRUCTURAL DEFICIT. AND THE BIGGEST DRIVER OF OUR STRUCTURAL DEFICIT IS THE REQUIRED USE OF FUND BALANCE. AND SO, YOU KNOW, MY PROPOSAL AT THIS POINT WOULD BE THAT STEPPING DOWN FROM 30 TO 10 IS A BIG. SO THAT BASICALLY WE NEED TO FIND $20 MILLION OF REDUCTIONS TO COVER THAT STEP DOWN, OR WE NEED ADDITIONAL REVENUE FROM THE COUNTY OR SOME COMBINATION THEREOF. BUT MY HOPE IS WE WOULDN'T GO MUCH BEYOND TEN. AND IT'S NOT SO MUCH BECAUSE I'M WORRIED ABOUT SAVING MONEY FOR THE FUTURE. IT'S MORE BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, WE CAN KEEP USING FUND BALANCE, BUT THAT JUST PUSHES. I MEAN, WE JUST DON'T GET TO A PLACE WHERE OUR BUDGET IS SUSTAINABLE UNTIL WE GET A NUMBER THAT IS CLOSE TO WHAT WE CAN REPRODUCE EVERY YEAR. BECAUSE IN A NORMAL BUDGET YEAR, WE GENERALLY PRODUCE BETWEEN 5 AND $10 MILLION IN SURPLUS BECAUSE WE WORK TO WE WORK HARD TO UNDERSPEND OUR BUDGET BY 1 TO 2%, WHICH USUALLY, YOU KNOW, YOU KNOW, CREATES A LITTLE BIT OF THAT SURPLUS. BUT WE DON'T GENERALLY CREATE MORE THAN, YOU KNOW, 8 TO 10, 12. WE DON'T USUALLY GET THERE IN TERMS OF SURPLUS. AND SO ANYTHING OVER THAT THAT WE'RE USING EVERY YEAR, THAT TO ME IS WHEN WE START GETTING INTO THE REALM OF A STRUCTURAL DEFICIT. AND SO WE NEED TO GET OUR FUND BALANCE. SO THIS YEAR I'D SUGGEST I'D SUGGEST TEN. AND THAT WILL BE THE RECOMMENDATION I BRING FORWARD IN TWO WEEKS.

BUT YOU KNOW, THE NEXT COUPLE OF YEARS, I MEAN, WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO FIND OTHER WAYS TO REDUCE OUR EXPENDITURES IN THE NEXT TWO BUDGETS ALSO. BUT THEN BY THE END OF THAT, BY THE END OF THE NEXT TWO YEARS, I'M HOPING WE'RE AT A PLACE WHERE OUR FUND BALANCE USAGE IS, YOU KNOW, SAY 7 MILLION OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT. 5 TO 7 IS MORE SUSTAINABLE. WE'VE TAKEN A

[01:00:03]

THAT YOU WOULD NEED TO FIND WAYS TO RAISE THE EXCESS REVENUE, BECAUSE WE AREN'T GOING TO BE ABLE TO GET IT FROM THE COUNTY. WE MAY NEED TO GO BACK TO. WELL, WE PROBABLY WILL HAVE TO GO BACK TO CHARGING FOR STUDENTS PARTICIPATION IN SPORTS, THE SPORTS PARTICIPATION FEES. WE WERE ABLE TO GET RID OF THOSE A COUPLE OF YEARS AGO, AND NOW WE'RE LOOKING AT POSSIBLY PUTTING THOSE BACK IN PLACE. SO THOSE TYPES OF THINGS. SO I'M JUST KIND OF STAYING REAL GENERAL HERE. WE EVEN LOOKED AT CHARGING FOR TRANSPORTATION FOR CHILDREN THAT WEREN'T IN SPECIAL EDUCATION. AND PROBABLY THE THING THAT WOULD KEEP US FROM DOING THAT IS THAT IT WOULD CAUSE A TRAFFIC HAZARD AROUND THE SCHOOLS. IF PARENTS HAD TO DRIVE ALL THEIR KIDS, RATHER THAN HAVING THEM TAKE THE BUSSES. BUT THOSE ARE ALL I MEAN, WE REALLY TRIED TO CONSIDER ALL THE DIFFERENT ANGLES OF WAYS THAT WE COULD SAVE MONEY, WAYS WE COULD RAISE REVENUE, THAT THE PEOPLE THAT WERE USING IT WERE THE PEOPLE THAT WERE PAYING FOR IT, AS OPPOSED TO IT COMING OUT OF THE COUNTY BUDGET, BECAUSE WE'VE BEEN TOLD THAT THERE'S NO MONEY THERE. GO AHEAD. TERRY, I'M NOT TRYING TO STEAL ALL THE THUNDER. YEAH. SO WE MET ABOUT NINE TIMES IN DECEMBER AND I ALSO THAT WAS THE FIRST THING I WAS GOING TO SAY. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR HELP AND SUPPORT WITH ALL THAT. AND, AND THE WHOLE STAFF REALLY CAME AND MET WITH US. WE ALSO HAD DIANE AND WADE SEWELL SIT WITH US FOR MOST OF THE MEETINGS. WE'RE WORKING ON A REPORT THAT KIND OF JUST SUMMARIZES ALL THE POSSIBLE POTENTIAL THINGS WE LOOKED AT TO GIVE YOU CONSIDERATIONS AS YOU FINALIZE THE BUDGET. THE FEES WERE A LOT OF THEM. AND, YOU KNOW, WHEN WE SAT TOGETHER, WE TALKED ABOUT, OKAY, WHAT WOULD BE REALLY REALISTIC, WHAT COULD

[01:05:01]

AND, YOU KNOW, MY GOAL WAS JUST TO HAVE A PRODUCT OF THE COMMITTEE THAT OFFICIALLY SUMMARIZED EVERYTHING WE TALKED ABOUT AND GIVES YOU CONSIDERATIONS, A LOT OF THEM I THINK YOU'VE ALREADY PROBABLY DISCUSSED AND INCORPORATED BECAUSE YOU WERE DOING THAT ALL ALONG, WHICH IS GREAT. A COUPLE OF THINGS WE REALLY LIKED WAS LIKE AT SWAN CREEK, LOOKING AT ADDING THE CLASSROOMS THERE WITH HAVING AN OUTSIDE CONTRACTOR COMING IN TO HELP, BECAUSE THAT'S STILL LESS MONEY THAN SENDING A STUDENT TO ANOTHER SCHOOL. SO WE WERE TRYING TO WE'RE TRYING TO LOOK AT EVERY DIFFERENT ANGLE ON WAYS THAT WE COULD SAVE MONEY IN THE SYSTEM.

YEAH, THAT'S A GOOD SUMMARY. ANY QUESTIONS FOR NOW? I MEAN, SHOULD WE YOU KNOW, I THINK I'VE JUST BEEN SENDING THIS OUT TO OUR LITTLE BUDGET REVIEW COMMITTEE. I THINK I SENT YOU A COPY BECAUSE YOU ASKED ABOUT THE STATUS. WADE HAD A LOT OF COMMENTS. WE DON'T HAVE A CONSENSUS. IT'S NOT LIKE WE'RE VOTING ON ANYTHING OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT. IT'S JUST A LIST OF ALL THE POTENTIAL THINGS WE TALKED ABOUT, JUST IDEAS. AND NOT THAT WE'RE SAYING ONE IDEA IS WHAT WE SHOULD DO. WE'RE JUST GIVING YOU ALL THE DIFFERENT IDEAS THAT CAME UP FROM THE DISCUSSIONS THAT WE HAD. EVEN LOOKING AT INCREASING CLASS SIZES. NOT THAT WE WANT TO INCREASE CLASS SIZES, BUT HOW MUCH MONEY THAT WOULD SAVE, HOW MANY FEWER TEACHERS WE WOULD HAVE TO HIRE, LIKE THE QUESTIONS OR THE CHOICES HAVE TO BE MADE. SUMMER SCHOOL, HARFORD GLEN, THE POOLS, THINGS LIKE THAT, THE FEES FOR OUTSIDE USE AND INCREASING THOSE TYPES OF THINGS WHICH EVEN THINGS LIKE INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC FOR FOURTH GRADERS BECAUSE THE COST OF INDIVIDUAL LESSONS FOR KIDS AT THAT AGE WHERE WE COULD JUST START IN FIFTH GRADE INSTEAD OF FOURTH. SO WE DID SOME BACK OF THE ENVELOPE CALCULATIONS, AND WE DID COME UP WITH ABOUT 18 MILLION. BUT AGAIN, THAT'S SO, YOU KNOW, BACK OF THE ENVELOPE, DIANE. SO I KNOW YOUR SUMMARY REPORT HAS BEEN SHARED WITH ME AND WADE, HAS IT BEEN SHARED WITH ALL OF THE BOARD MEMBERS AT THIS POINT? NO. OKAY. SO IT'S JUST THE FOUR OF US THAT HAVE SEEN IT. SO ONE OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS THAT I HAD MADE, BECAUSE WE HAD SOME WE HAVE OTHER ARTIFACTS BESIDES THE MEETINGS, AND I WOULD RECOMMEND THAT WE LOOK AT ALL OF THE ARTIFACTS IN WHOLE, LIKE THE RETREAT THAT WE HAD, LIKE THE AUDIT REPORTS THAT WE'VE RECEIVED FROM LAUREN, YOU KNOW, AS WELL AS I SOME OF THE OTHER THINGS THAT WE MAY AND HAVE A FINAL MEETING TO KIND OF TALK ABOUT, YOU KNOW, LOOK AT WHAT THE RECOMMENDATIONS ARE THAT THAT YOU HAD CONCERNING THE MEETINGS WITH THE STAFF, THE BUDGET MEETING COMMITTEE, BUDGET COMMITTEE, MEETINGS WITH THE STAFF, AND THEN SEE WHETHER OR NOT THERE'S ANY GAPS IN THE DATA. WE CAN HAVE ONE MORE. YOU SAID LAUREN DID AN AUDIT REPORT. LAURA I THINK SHE. LAURA. LAURA. LAURA. LAURA. SORRY. OH, I'M SORRY, I'M SORRY, SORRY ABOUT THAT. YEAH. WHEN YOU SAID LAUREN, I WAS LIKE. I DIDN'T SEE THAT I MEANT LAURA. WELL, I THINK ONE OF THE THINGS ALSO THAT WE EXPLORED THAT I ACTUALLY WOULD RECOMMEND THAT WE DO IS INCREASING SOME OF THE FEES THAT WE CHARGE FOR OUTSIDE USAGE OF OUR BUILDINGS, BECAUSE THAT HAS NOT BEEN CHANGED FOR A WHILE, AND THEY'RE VERY LOW FEES AND I THINK THAT. SO THERE WERE SOME. SO I WENT THROUGH ALL OF THE DATA OF ALL THE DIFFERENT ARTIFACTS, AND THERE WERE SOME CONSISTENCIES IN WHAT WAS RECOMMENDED BY THE COMMITTEE THAT THE BUDGET COMMITTEE AND WHAT WAS TALKED ABOUT BY DOCTOR BOLSON AT THE RETREAT, THAT'S ONE OF THEM, YOU KNOW, INCREASING LOOKING AT THE RENTAL FEES AND LOOKING AT, YOU KNOW, TRYING TO TRYING TO MAKE THEM CONSISTENT WITH WHAT OTHER FACILITIES CHARGE. SO THAT WOULD BE, YOU KNOW, AN AREA WHERE THERE WAS CONSISTENCY. AND SO, YOU KNOW, MY SUGGESTION IS THAT WE GET TOGETHER AGAIN, YOU KNOW, TO KIND OF LOOK AT THOSE THAT THOSE DIFFERENT SETS OF DATA AND RECONCILE THE AREAS OF AGREEMENT AND THE AREAS WHERE, YOU KNOW, BECAUSE THERE WERE MANY THINGS THAT DOCTOR BOLSON TALKED ABOUT AT THE RETREAT THAT I THOUGHT HAD SOME VALUE, THAT WE MAY WANT TO CONSIDER THAT WERE NOT SOMETHING THAT WAS CONSIDERED BY THE BUDGET COMMITTEE THROUGH THE DISCUSSIONS WITH THE STAFF. AND SO AND A LOT OF THOSE DOCTOR BOLSON, YOU KNOW, YOU SAID WOULD REQUIRE STUDIES. SO THE THING IS LIKE SO EVERY TIME WE GET TO THIS POINT, WE'RE LIKE, WELL, WE

[01:10:06]

AND SO, LIKE, HOW DO WE GET THAT INTO THIS BUDGET. DOCTOR POINT MENTIONED THAT ONE TO ME TODAY BECAUSE I KNOW THAT WAS A CONVERSATION YOU HAD HAD. AND SO WE ASKED KATHY TO LOOK, BUT I'M NOT SURE WHAT SHE GOT DONE IN ONE DAY, SO I DID I HAD AN OPPORTUNITY TO TALK TO THE DIRECTOR IN FREDERICK. THEIR BUDGET LINE FOR TRANSPORTATION DOES NOT INCLUDE ANYTHING IN TERMS OF FRINGE BENEFITS, LIKE HEALTH INSURANCE OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT. A COUPLE OF THINGS THAT I THINK ARE INTERESTING, BECAUSE THEY DO HAVE A REPORT THAT JUST CAME OUT FROM THE STATE, AND THEIR NON-DISABLED RIDERSHIP, AND THE MILEAGE IS ACTUALLY A LOT LESS THAN WHERE WE ARE, WHICH IS KIND OF INTERESTING. SO WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT IT, IT'S ABOUT A MILLION MILES THAT THEY'RE NOT TRANSPORTING STUDENTS, AND IT'S ABOUT 1800 STUDENTS. SO LOOKING AT THAT, IT'S ABOUT THREE MILES PER STUDENT PER DAY. IF WE'RE LOOKING AT 180 DAYS, THEIR NON SERVICE AREA IS ACTUALLY 1.34. WE'RE ONLY AT ONE AND A HALF. OUR ISSUE I THINK IS GOING TO BE IF WE WERE TO LOOK AT EXPANDING THE NON SERVICE AREAS. BECAUSE IF YOU LOOK AT THREE MILES A DAY PER STUDENT CAN WE GET TO THAT NUMBER? I DON'T KNOW THAT THAT'S FEASIBLE FOR THE LOCATIONS OF WHERE OUR SCHOOLS ARE RIGHT NOW. WE DID BACK IN 2013 GO THROUGH A REVIEW OF THAT. WE DID MAKE A LOT OF SIGNIFICANT TRANSPORTATION, TRANSPORTATION CHANGES AT THAT POINT. THE OTHER THING THAT FREDERICK DOES NOT HAVE IS THEY DON'T HAVE ANY MAGNET PROGRAMS. SO ALL OF THEIR BUS SERVICE IS REALLY ATTENDANCE AREA DRIVEN. SO THAT IS PRETTY SIGNIFICANT. OBVIOUSLY, THEY'RE SPECIAL NEEDS. THEY'RE STILL DOING NONPUBLIC. I'M NOT SURE WHAT THEIR REGIONAL PROGRAMING LOOKS LIKE. I DIDN'T HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO REALLY DIG THAT DEEP WITH HIM. BUT JUST LOOKING AT THE NUMBERS, WE'RE PRETTY MUCH IN LINE WITH WHAT THEY'RE DOING. IF WE LOOK AT THE MILES THAT WE'RE ACTUALLY DRIVING. SO, YOU KNOW, IN TERMS OF TRYING TO SAVE THERE, IT WOULD REALLY BE A

[01:15:04]

IS WHAT YOU'RE SAYING, RIGHT. AND WE DID LIKE I SAID, WE DID ENTERTAIN A VENDOR AS A PILOT TO SEE IF THAT WOULD WORK TO MEET SOME OF OUR NEEDS. AND IT JUST UNFORTUNATELY DID NOT BE EMBEDDED WITH THE WITH THE EXISTING FLEET VENDOR CONTRACTS THAT WE ALREADY HAVE. SO THE BUSSES THAT ARE GOING DOWN, LIKE IF THERE'S A STUDENT WHO BECOMES DISPLACED, LET'S SAY, AND THEY MOVE TO PENNSYLVANIA AND WE'RE REQUIRED TO TRANSPORT, THAT WOULD ACTUALLY BE ADDED TO THE START OF, LET'S SAY, A BUS ROUTE FOR NORTH HARFORD. SO THAT IS ALREADY IN OUR CURRENT CONTRACTED SERVICE WITH THOSE BUS CONTRACTORS. THEY WOULD THEN SEND THE BUS TO GO GET THE STUDENT. IT MAY MEAN THAT THE DRIVER LEAVES AT 4 A.M. INSTEAD OF 530 TO GO GET THE STUDENT, AND THEN THEY JUST BASICALLY TAG IT ON TO THEIR BUS ROUTE. SO AGAIN, THE LABOR EXPENSE FOR US IS NOT AS SIGNIFICANT BECAUSE WE'RE ALREADY UTILIZING THAT BUS FOR THE MINIMUM REQUIREMENT. SO TO YOUR POINT, WE ARE REALLY ALREADY DOING THAT. IT JUST IS STILL A YELLOW SCHOOL BUS BECAUSE WE DO CURRENTLY TRANSPORT ALL OF OUR STUDENTS IN YELLOW SCHOOL BUSSES, AND SO IS IT A FLAT, FLAT CONTRACT OR IS IT LEVEL OF EFFORT? KIND OF. SO THE CONTRACT THAT WE HAVE WITH THE BUS CONTRACTORS IS A REQUIRED FIVE HOURS AND 55 MILES A DAY. SO IF THEY MOVE THE BUS ON A CONTRACTED DAY, WHICH IS THE 180 SCHOOL DAYS, IT'S FIVE HOURS AND 55 MILES. SO IF WE HAVE ADDITIONAL BEYOND THAT, THEY GET PAID THE RATE PER MILE AND PER HOUR. SO SOME OF THESE IDEAS WE CAN LOOK TO IMPLEMENT THIS BUDGET SEASON, RIGHT, THAT WE'VE DISCUSSED OTHERS. WE WILL BE IN A SIMILAR BOAT YOU KNOW IN A YEAR OR TWO. SO OTHERS MAY BE SORT OF A LONGER TERM APPROACH THAT WE CAN MAYBE DO A STUDY AND THEN SEE IF THERE'S SOMETHING THERE IN THE NEXT YEAR OR THE FOLLOWING YEAR. I KNOW I I'VE LOOKED AT TRANSPORTATION, I KNOW THERE'S BEEN FEES DISCUSSED WHICH WHICH I'M PERSONALLY AGAINST, BUT I HAVEN'T SEEN I THINK THAT WE RUN A PRETTY EFFICIENT OPERATION GIVEN THE COMPLEXITY OF OUR SCHOOL SYSTEM. I WOULD SAY THAT WE SHOULD LOOK AT A STUDY, THOUGH, ON OUTSOURCING THE SPECIAL EDUCATION BUSSES, WHICH WE CURRENTLY HAVE ABOUT 130. I'M NOT SURE IF THAT'S THE RIGHT ANSWER. YEAH, WE HAVE DONE THAT

[01:20:03]

BUT I WOULD DEFEND SPENDING THE EXTRA MONEY ON THE TRANSPORTATION THERE TO SUSTAIN THOSE PROGRAMS. IN FACT, THERE'S A PART OF ME WONDERING IF WE SHOULD, YOU KNOW, GO DEEPER IN OUR OFFERINGS FOR MAGNET PROGRAMS BECAUSE THEY DELIVER SUCH A RETURN ON ENGAGEMENT FOR OUR STUDENTS. AND, YOU KNOW, THE SUCCESS COMING OUT OF THOSE PROGRAMS, I THINK ALL OF THEM, YOU KNOW, SET OUR STUDENTS UP FOR SUCCESS POST HIGH SCHOOL. AND, YOU KNOW, I WOULDN'T WANT TO DO ANYTHING TO HARM THAT. SO TO ME, THAT'S A TRADE OFF THAT WE HAVE TO MAKE. AND I'M LIKE, DOCTOR BOYNTON, I, I DO NOT WANT TO GET IN THE BUSINESS OF STARTING TO CHARGE STUDENTS, BUT I WOULD GO TOWARD SPORT FEES BEFORE I WENT TOWARD CHANGING OUR TRANSPORTATION. OUR MAGNETS, FOR EXAMPLE. SO I ALSO AGREE WITH ERIN. I HAD SPOKEN PREVIOUSLY TO SOME BUS CONTRACTORS THAT WERE INTERESTED BECAUSE RIGHT NOW WE HAVE A PRIVATE HTTPS. DOES ALL OF THE

[01:25:08]

SO OUR HIGH ROADS, OUR ARROW STUDENTS WE ARE USING WHERE WE CAN CONTRACTED SERVICE. ALSO SOME OF OUR FUTURE LINK STUDENTS. SO SOME OF THOSE WORK EXPERIENCE SHUTTLES THAT THEY'RE REQUIRED TO THROUGH THEIR IEP. WE ARE USING CONTRACTED SERVICE FOR THAT CURRENTLY. SO DEFINITELY TAKE A LOOK. AND ONE OF THE FEES THAT I I'VE SPOKEN TO MANY PEOPLE ABOUT IN THE SYSTEM AND FROM MULTIPLE DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVES, I THINK THAT SUMMER SCHOOL FEES SHOULD BE EXTENDED TO FAMILIES. AND THE REASON BEING IS IF CPS IS PAYING THOSE FEES, KIDS DON'T. YOU KNOW, PARENTS DON'T MAKE THE KIDS GET OUT OF BED BECAUSE, HEY, I'M NOT PAYING FOR IT. I MEAN, OKAY, YOU CAN MISS TODAY. IT'S NOT THAT BIG OF A DEAL. SO BASICALLY, BECAUSE WHEN THE PARENTS DON'T PAY FOR IT, THEY DON'T MAKE THE KIDS GO. SO IT'S NOT AS EFFICIENT AS IT WOULD BE IF THE FEES WERE EXTENDED TO THE PARENTS. AND THERE'S SOMETHING WITH BLUEPRINT. IT'S NOT BLUEPRINT. IT'S LIKE WE CAN'T CHARGE FOR CREDIT RECOVERY, BUT WE CAN CHARGE FOR THINGS WE HAD TRADITIONALLY CHARGED FOR. YEAH. SO WE CAN'T. SO IF WE HAVE OTHER SUMMER ENRICHMENT, WE CAN CHARGE FOR THAT. BUT WE CAN'T CHARGE FOR CREDIT RECOVERY. SO LIKE CREDIT RECOVERY SOMEBODY FAILS A CLASS AND THEY NEED TO TAKE IT OVER. BUT DO WE HAVE TO OFFER IN THE SUMMER, CAN THAT BE DONE DURING THE SCHOOL YEAR? THAT I AM NOT SURE. I THINK WE DO IT DURING THE SCHOOL YEAR, BUT IT DOESN'T GET EVERYBODY. JUST A REMINDER, ADDITIONAL OFFERINGS IN THE SUMMER WOULD LIMIT OUR ABILITY FOR ENERGY EFFICIENCY, AND ALSO DOES PUT ADDITIONAL WORK ON THE STAFF. SO I CAN ONLY SPEAK FROM TRANSPORTATION'S PERSPECTIVE AND FACILITIES, AND JUST LOOKING AT WHAT THEY DO IN THE SUMMER TO TRY TO GET READY FOR THE SCHOOL YEAR. SO AS MUCH AS WE'D LIKE TO CHARGE PEOPLE TO COME INTO THE BUILDINGS AND MAYBE FOR OTHER ADDITIONAL PROGRAMS, I JUST WANT TO CAUTION ON THAT, THAT THAT COULD LIMIT SOME OF OUR OTHER OPPORTUNITIES FOR COST SAVINGS. WE GREATLY LIMITED OUR SUMMER PROGRAMS LAST YEAR. I MEAN, YEAH, THE FIRST HIT REALLY CAME LAST YEAR, SO THERE'S NOT A LOT LEFT TO EVEN RECOVER IF, YOU KNOW, UNLESS WE WERE TO START NEW PROGRAMS. BUT AGAIN, WE PROBABLY COULDN'T RECLAIM THE WHOLE COST CHARGING PEOPLE. SO WE PROBABLY TO THE TO THE FACILITY COST AND THINGS OF THAT NATURE. ONE OF THE THINGS THAT CAME UP DURING THE RETREAT WAS POSSIBLY DOING SOME HYBRID THINGS FOR THINGS LIKE SUMMER PROGRAMS OR, YOU KNOW, SOMETHING LIKE THAT, WHERE YOU COULD POSSIBLY LOOK AT A VIRTUAL CAPABILITY FOR MAKEUP CLASSES.

AND I DON'T KNOW IF THAT'S ALLOWED OR, YOU KNOW, BUT SO I GUESS THIS GOES BACK TO MY QUESTION, AND I THINK PRESIDENT POINT AND KIND OF LIKE SAID HERE, WE NEED TO KIND OF MAYBE LOOK AT THIS AND FIGURE OUT WHERE WHERE WE WANT TO KIND OF STUDY THESE DIFFERENT AREAS. AND SO HOW DOES THAT WORK, YOU KNOW, AND DOES IT GO BACK TO THE BUDGET COMMITTEE? DO WE, YOU KNOW, HOW DO WE HAVE IT? WE HAVE A COUPLE OF THINGS THAT ARE THEY'LL BE TIME INTENSIVE, LIKE THE IDEA OF IF WE WERE TO DO ANY OUTSOURCING, WHICH I DO THINK THERE'S MORE SPACE WITHIN OUR BUDGET TO DO DIFFERENT TYPES OF OUTSOURCING. A LOT OF IT'S IN THE OPERATIONS AREA, BUT THE TYPE OF THING THAT, YOU KNOW, YOU KNOW, IS ALREADY KIND OF BEGUN HAVING CONVERSATIONS. WE

[01:30:01]

[01:35:05]

BUT THAT'S MADE IT HARDER FOR US THIS YEAR. SO WE LOOK AT WHAT WE DID LAST YEAR AND WE LOOK AT WHAT WE'RE CONSIDERING THIS YEAR. WE'VE HAD SOME NEW IDEAS THIS YEAR, BUT, YOU KNOW, NONE OF THEM ARE APPEALING. SO THE ONE THING THAT THE BOARD'S BEEN SENSITIVE ABOUT IN THE PAST IS STUDENT TEACHER RATIO AND SORT OF STUDENT FACING POSITIONS. SO OF THE 145, LET'S JUST USE THAT AS AN EXAMPLE. THAT'S GOING TO BE A MIX OF EDUCATORS, SUPPORT STAFF AND ADMINISTRATORS, PROBABLY IN LINE OR PROPORTIONATE TO THE POPULATIONS OF EACH OF THOSE GROUPS. SO WHAT WOULD THAT DO THEN TO ON THE 145 TO AVERAGE CLASSROOM SIZE? IS IT ENOUGH TO EVEN MOVE IT? IT WOULD MOVE IT. I MEAN, WE HAD DONE SOME ANALYSIS OF THIS BEFORE. IT WOULD CHANGE THE AVERAGE BY, I'M GUESSING BETWEEN 1 AND 2 STUDENTS AND THAT, YOU KNOW, AND I KNOW WE CAN'T GET INTO A LOT OF THESE ISSUES. BUT SO THAT WAS ONE OF THE THINGS LIKE WE'RE GOING THROUGH COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AND, AND LIKE, YOU KNOW, SO LIKE WE REALLY CAN'T GET INTO, YOU KNOW, IF THERE'S GOING TO BE WHAT POSITIONS. AND LIKE YOU SAID, IT'LL BE THROUGH ATTRITION OR WHATEVER. BUT SO WHEN WE APPROVED THE BUDGET, LIKE, ARE WE GOING TO BE ABLE TO LIKE SAY, OKAY, YES, BUT WE HAVE TO HAVE THIS CLASS SIZE OR WE HAVE TO, YOU KNOW, SO THAT WE HAVE SOME, SOME SAY OVER KIND OF WHAT THINGS ARE MAINTAINED THAT ARE IN ALIGNMENT WITH OUR THREE TOP PRIORITIES. HISTORICALLY, WE'VE GIVEN THE HIGH LEVEL GUIDANCE AND WE'VE LEFT THE DETAILS TO THE ADMINISTRATION.

AND THERE IS CURRENTLY I DON'T KNOW IF IT'S A PROCEDURE, A THERE IS SOME DOCUMENT WHICH DOES DICTATE CLASS SIZE BY BOTH GRADE AND POPULATION TYPE. SO THAT MIGHT NEED TO BE ADJUSTED.

SO YEAH. YEAH. SO I MEAN FOR, FOR, FOR ME YOU KNOW TO MAKE A DECISION ON THE BUDGET, I WOULD WANT TO KNOW WHAT'S BEING MAINTAINED AND HOW IT'S GOING TO IMPACT OUR ACADEMICS AND AT LEAST BE ABLE TO DO SOME KIND OF, YOU KNOW, I CAN TELL YOU UNEQUIVOCALLY THIS IS GOING TO IMPACT OUR ACADEMICS. I MEAN, THAT'S I WON'T EVEN TRY TO HIDE FROM THAT. WE HAVE NOT BEEN OVERLY GENEROUS IN THE POSITIONS WE'VE CREATED. WE FELT, YOU KNOW, WE SAID GOING INTO THIS, WE FEEL LIKE WE'VE GOTTEN TO A GOOD PLACE, BUT OUR PEOPLE ARE STILL, YOU KNOW, THERE'S ALREADY A BIG BURDEN AND THEY'RE STRUGGLING. I MEAN, WE'VE SEEN NEARLY EVERY ACHIEVEMENT AREA GO IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION. AND FRANKLY, I MEAN, WE HAVE SOME DATA THAT WAS I THINK WE'RE PLANNING TO SHARE IT AT THE NEXT BOARD MEETING ABOUT THERE WERE A NUMBER OF OTHER SORT OF ACHIEVEMENT MEASURES, ONE OF THEM BEING THE STAR RATINGS THAT JUST RECENTLY CAME OUT. WE HAVE SORT OF THE BEST MIX OF STAR RATINGS IN THE STATE. FRANKLY, WE I THINK WE HAVE THE HIGHEST PERCENTAGE OF SCHOOLS THAT ARE WITH A FOUR AND FIVE STAR RATING. AND THAT WAS A CHANGE OVER THIS YEAR WHERE WE SAW THE MOST GROWTH. SO IS SO WE CAN SHOW YOU SOME OF THIS. SO WHERE WE'VE SHOWN THE MOST GROWTH FRANKLY, IS IN THE PLACES WHERE WE'VE MADE INVESTMENTS OF SUPPORT. SOME OF THEM ARE REQUIRED. OUR TITLE ONE SCHOOLS, OUR SCHOOLS THAT ARE IN OUR PRIORITY SCHOOLS, WHICH WAS A LOCAL EFFORT, OUR COMMUNITY SCHOOLS. AND THE LAST ONE IS OUR CI AND I FORGET THE OTHER ACRONYM, BUT THE ONE WHERE THE SCHOOLS HAD SORT OF TARGETED CHALLENGES THAT, YOU KNOW, BY WE HAD STATE FUNDS THAT WE, YOU KNOW, HAD TO FOCUS ON IMPROVEMENT IN THOSE SCHOOLS, ALL OF THOSE SCHOOLS THAT HAD THOSE EXTRA RESOURCES. IT'S NOT SURPRISING, BUT YOU DON'T ALWAYS SEE IT HAPPEN. ALL OF THOSE SCHOOLS OUTPERFORMED THE SCHOOLS THAT WEREN'T IDENTIFIED IN ONE OF THOSE AREAS. SO ON AVERAGE, IN SPECIAL ED PERFORMANCE AND OVER IN MATH AND READING PERFORMANCE, THOSE SCHOOLS IN REDUCTION OF CHRONIC ABSENTEEISM, WHERE WE HAD THE INVESTMENT OF SUPPORTS, THEY MADE A DIFFERENCE. AND THEY MADE A MEASURABLE DIFFERENCE IN TERMS OF IMPROVEMENT IN ALL THE MEASURES WE'RE LOOKING AT. THE PROBLEM IS THIS IS GOING TO CAUSE US TO TAKE OUT, IN SOME CASES, THE SUPPORTS IT'S GOING TO CAUSE US TO TAKE OUT, YOU KNOW, THE PEOPLE WHO ARE HELPING, YOU KNOW, ARE SPENDING TIME WITH OUR STAFF, EITHER THOSE WHO ARE SUPPORTING TEACHERS BECAUSE WE'RE LOOKING AT DO WE TAKE SOMEONE OUT OF A CLASSROOM, OR DO WE TAKE SOMEONE WHO'S NOT IN A CLASSROOM

[01:40:03]

THAT'S $20 MILLION TO WORK WITH. BUT THEN WE'RE CHARGING 20,000 FAMILIES IN HARFORD COUNTY, $1,000 FOR SOMETHING THAT REALLY SHOULD BE FREE FOR THEM. AND SO THAT GETS US TO A PLACE OF MORALLY, ETHICALLY, YOU KNOW, CAN WE LIVE WITH MAKING THAT DECISION? BECAUSE THAT WOULD ALLOW US TO, YOU KNOW, KEEP MORE TEACHERS IN OUR CLASSROOMS AND KEEP MORE SUPPORTS. BUT THAT TAKES US TO A PLACE WHERE NOW WE'RE RELYING ON AND THEN ALL THE NEGATIVE, YOU KNOW, IMPACTS OF HAVING FEWER STUDENTS RIDING BUSSES, HAVING MORE PARENTS DRIVING, PROBABLY INCREASING, YOU KNOW, ATTENDANCE AND, YOU KNOW, CHRONIC ABSENTEEISM ISSUES, YOU KNOW, PROBABLY HAVING SOME STUDENTS WHO JUST AREN'T GETTING THERE AT ALL BECAUSE FOR WHATEVER REASON. SO, I MEAN, THOSE ARE THE TRADE OFFS I THINK WE'RE TALKING ABOUT, BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, A LOT OF THE IDEAS, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT, SOME THINGS HAVE A HUGE IMPACT FOR A MODEST RETURN. I MEAN, MAYBE THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE COULD LOOK INTO ONLY BECAUSE I HEAR A LOT OF PEOPLE IN THE COMMUNITY SAYING THAT THEY WOULD BE WILLING TO PAY EXTRA TAXES TO SUPPORT THE EDUCATION SYSTEM. SO INSTEAD OF RAISING TAXES, CHARGING A FEE FOR BUSSES, I MEAN, IT'S ALL THE SAME AT THE END, I UNDERSTAND, BUT IF PEOPLE ARE WILLING TO PAY INCREASED TAXES, IF WE'RE NOT, YOU KNOW, WE'RE NOT GOING TO HAVE INCREASED TAXES IN THE COUNTY. SO INSTEAD OF THAT, LOOKING AT OTHER OPTIONS BECAUSE PEOPLE ARE WILLING TO PAY THOSE. AND I'M NOT SAYING EVERYONE, OBVIOUSLY PEOPLE THAT CAN'T AFFORD IT, YOU KNOW, THE FARM FAMILIES. HERE'S HOW THE ECONOMICS OF THAT WORK IS. SO ONE THING WE'VE TALKED ABOUT IN NEARLY EVERY COMMUNITY, YOU KNOW, THE BIG PICTURE ECONOMICS, 25% OF FAMILIES HAVE A STUDENT IN THE SCHOOLS. THAT MEANS THREE QUARTERS OF THE FAMILIES DON'T. IF YOU PUT A FEE IN PLACE THAT'S GOING DIRECTLY TO THE FAMILIES WITH KIDS IN THE SCHOOLS, WHICH PROBABLY MAKES SENSE TO A LOT OF PEOPLE. THE CHALLENGE IS, IN ANY GIVEN COMMUNITY, YOUR FAMILIES WITH YOUNG CHILDREN ARE ALSO MOST LIKELY THE FAMILIES WITH THE LOWEST AVERAGE INCOMES, BECAUSE THEY TEND TO BE YOUNGER FAMILIES EARLY IN CAREERS OR AND SO THEIR ABILITY TO PAY MORE IS NOWHERE NEAR WHAT FAMILIES AT THE OTHER END OF THE KIND OF LIFETIME SPECTRUM AND LIFETIME EARNINGS GROUP ARE. SO WHEN YOU DO FEES DIRECTLY TO YOUR FAMILIES, YOUR YOU KNOW, THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A FEE LIKE THIS IS GOING TO HAVE A FAR BIGGER IMPACT ON AN INDIVIDUAL FAMILY THAN IF YOU DID SOMETHING LIKE A TAX WOULD BE INCREMENTAL, BUT IT WOULD COVER A LOT MORE PEOPLE. I MEAN, I'M NOT IN FAVOR OF INCREASING TAXES, BUT I'M SEEING THAT, YOU KNOW, A FEE IS LIKE BIGGER THAN A TAX AND TARGETED AT MORE PEOPLE WHO ARE LESS ABLE TO AFFORD IT. SO IT IT DOES KIND OF PUT YOU IN A DIFFICULT SPOT WHEN YOU'RE THINKING ABOUT THE IMPACT YOU'RE HAVING ON THE FAMILIES YOU'RE SERVING, BUT NOT HAVING THOSE FEES AND HAVING OUR CLASS SIZES INCREASE BY 2 OR 3 STUDENTS IS MORE DETRIMENTAL TO THEIR EDUCATION AS WELL. SO PEOPLE MAY BE WILLING TO PAY THAT. I'M SAYING MAYBE IT'S WORTH A CONVERSATION, HAVING SOME KIND OF SURVEY FIND PEOPLE WILLING TO PAY IT, BUT YOU'RE PROBABLY NOT HEARING FROM THE PEOPLE WHO CAN'T AFFORD IT. THEY'RE NOT GOING TO COME FORWARD AND SAY, I CAN'T AFFORD THAT. YOU KNOW, THAT'S JUST NOT HOW THE INPUT LIKE THAT REALLY WORKS. AND WE AND YOU WON'T KNOW THE IMPACT UNTIL LATER. I MEAN, IT'S A SLIPPERY SLOPE TO, TO GO FROM THE SYSTEM, WHICH IS THE WAY IT WAS DESIGNED, WHICH IS SCHOOL AND EDUCATION IS IMPORTANT TO OUR SOCIETY, AND THEREFORE EVERYONE PITCHES IN TO A, YOU KNOW, USE FOR SERVICE TYPE OF MODEL. RIGHT? YOU KNOW,

[01:45:06]

[01:50:02]

SO WE CAN'T NOT DO THAT. SO I THAT'S WHAT I LEARNED. AGAIN, WE CAN CERTAINLY GO DOWN THE PATH OF DOING AN RFQ AND HAVING PEOPLE COME IN, BUT THAT TAKES TIME TOO. IT TAKES PROCUREMENT'S TIME TO GENERATE SOMETHING LIKE THAT, AND THEN IT TAKES EVERYBODY ELSE'S TIME TO EVALUATE IT AND DETERMINE, YOU KNOW, WHAT THAT WOULD LOOK LIKE. AND BASED ON THESE PEOPLE TELLING ME THAT THEY COULDN'T HELP US, I'M NOT SURE WHERE MANY OF THE BEST IDEAS COME FROM THE FROM THE BOTTOM UP, LIKE THE PEOPLE WHO ARE EVERY DAY. RIGHT. AND SO NOT NECESSARILY FROM THIS BOARDROOM. SO HAVE WE, YOU KNOW, GIVEN EACH EDUCATOR OR EACH PRINCIPAL A PIECE OF PAPER THAT SAYS, YOU KNOW, FIGURE OUT HOW YOU'RE GOING TO CUT 5% AND SEND ME YOUR IDEAS, LIKE, WHAT HAVE WE GOTTEN FROM WE DID A PRETTY EXTENSIVE SURVEY. IT WASN'T EXACTLY LIKE THAT, BUT WE WENT.

THAT WAS ONE OF THE FIRST THINGS WE DID IS WE WENT STRAIGHT TO THE LEADERSHIP. YEAH, WE'VE HAD PEOPLE. I MEAN, THAT WAS PART OF THE WHAT THE BOARD DID AND IDENTIFY, YOU KNOW, HOW YOU WOULD GET TO, YOU KNOW, 60 MILLION OR WHATEVER THAT. SO I KNOW WE DID THAT EXERCISE, BUT YOU DID A VERSION OF THAT WITH THE PRINCIPAL. WE DID IT ACROSS THE SYSTEM IN DIFFERENT AREAS.

AND IT IT WASN'T THERE WEREN'T A LOT OF INDIVIDUAL THINGS. IT WAS A LOT OF MUCH OF THE SAME. SO IT WAS ALL CUT SOMEBODY ELSE'S DEPARTMENT. YEAH. UNFORTUNATELY THAT TENDS TO BE WHAT YOU KNOW, WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE. SO. SO TWO THINGS. ONE WAS THE INSTRUCTION THAT MAE PROVIDES ON BUDGETING AND THEY TALK ABOUT ZERO BASED BUDGETING. YOU KNOW, THEY THEY STATED YOU DON'T HAVE TO DO IT FOR EVERYTHING YOU CAN IF THERE'S CERTAIN AREAS YOU MIGHT THERE MIGHT BE ONE AREA. AND THAT WOULD BE SOMETHING YOU WOULD DO IN AN ANALYSIS. SO WE MAY NEED TO DEFINE WHAT WE'RE REFERRING TO WHEN WE TALK ABOUT ZERO BASED BUDGETING. YOU KNOW IT MAY NOT NEED TO BE AND IT PROBABLY DOESN'T NEED TO BE DONE FOR EVERYTHING THAT WE DO WITHIN THE SCHOOL SYSTEM. BUT THERE MIGHT BE CERTAIN ASPECTS LIKE SAY, MAGNET PROGRAM OR WHATEVER WHERE WE MIGHT NEED, MIGHT WANT TO LOOK AT. ANALYZING THE EXPENDITURES IN THAT AREA AND, AND DO A ZERO BASED BUDGETING TYPE APPROACH TO, YOU KNOW, DETERMINING WHERE WE NEED TO RIGHTSIZE CERTAIN ASPECTS OF OUR ORGANIZATION, WHERE YOU THINK IT COULD ACTUALLY YIELD SOME ACTUAL RESULTS. I DON'T KNOW WHERE THAT WOULD BE, BUT I'LL LEAVE IT TO YOU GUYS TO FIGURE THAT OUT. JUST TWO, TWO THINGS REAL FAST.

[01:55:04]

RIGHT. BUT B THIS IS JUST PART OF THE PROCESS. SO WE'RE GOING TO HAVE MANY MORE OPPORTUNITIES TO MAKE TWEAKS, CHANGES AND TO GIVE FURTHER INPUT. SO WHAT WILL HAPPEN ON THE 27TH, WHICH IS TWO MONDAYS FROM NOW, IS NOT THAT WE'RE VOTING ON ANYTHING, IT'S JUST THAT THE SUPERINTENDENT FINALLY PRESENTS HIS RECOMMENDATIONS TO THE BOARD. NO, THERE'S NO VOTE. AND THEN OVER ABOUT THE NEXT 30 DAYS, AND I DON'T KNOW IF THERE'S A DATE SET FOR IT OR NOT, BUT THE BOARD WILL HOLD ANOTHER BOARD BUDGET INPUT SESSION, WHICH SOMETIMES WE'VE HAD LIKE LOTS OF PEOPLE

[02:00:04]

THAT'S THAT'S WHEN WE IT WILL THAT'S WHEN WE WOULD LIKE TO VOTE ON IT. WE COULD PUSH IT ONE MORE MEETING. I WOULD PREFER NOT TO I'D LIKE TO HEAR FROM CAN WE GET THOSE DATES AGAIN. YEAH.

FEBRUARY. WE GET THE FEBRUARY 10TH WOULD BE IDEALLY THE DATE THAT WE VOTED ON IT. SO BETWEEN THE NEXT BOARD MEETING, WHICH IS JANUARY 27TH AND FEBRUARY 10TH, WE WOULD NEED TO HOLD OUR COMMUNITY INPUT SESSION. I WOULD LIKE TO HEAR FROM BOARD MEMBERS THAT HAVEN'T SPOKEN YET. IF YOU HAVE ANYTHING TO SAY, I'D JUST LIKE TO GIVE EVERYONE THE OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK, INCLUDING OUR VIRTUAL ATTENDEES, AND WE ALSO GET THE DATES, ALL THE DATES THAT HAVE AGAIN, PLEASE.

YES, SURE. THE ONES THAT DEBORAH GAVE US. SO THAT WOULD BE JANUARY 27TH, WHICH IS TWO WEEKS FROM NOW. OUR NEXT BOARD MEETING, THE SUPERINTENDENT WILL PROPOSE THE SUPERINTENDENT'S BUDGET TO THE BOARD. IDEALLY, WE WOULD VOTE ON IT ON FEBRUARY 10TH, AND IF NOT, THEN THE NEXT BOARD MEETING IN LIEU OF A SPECIAL SESSION WOULD BE FEBRUARY. IS IT THE 17TH OR THE 24TH? ONE SECOND, 24TH? FEBRUARY 24TH. SO I'LL SEND IT IN THE EMAIL AS WELL, SO THAT WE'RE ALL ON THE SAME PAGE. AND IT HAS TO BE TO THE COUNTY BY THE 1ST OF MARCH. MARCH 1ST IS A SATURDAY, BUT SO FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 28TH. I CAN'T DO THE THIRD. I DON'T KNOW IF IT'S BEEN THE THIRD IS THE MAYB. DOES ANYBODY KNOW IF WE HAVE A PUBLIC INPUT SESSION ON THE SCHEDULE YET? I DON'T THINK WE DO, BUT WE WILL FIND A DATE LIKE A LISTENING SESSION. NO, A BOARD BUDGET. THE BUDGET SESSION

[02:05:07]

THANKS. GREAT. ANYBODY ELSE I THINK TERRY IS GOING TO SEND THERE'S A LOT OF GOOD STUFF IN HERE THAT I THINK IS WORTH LOOKING THROUGH. I JUST I JUST EMAILED THAT I JUST RECEIVED IT ON FRIDAY. SO I JUST IF, IF THE STAFF HAD RECEIVED IT. OH I JUST SENT IT TO THE WHOLE BOARD. BUT IF YOU WANT TO SEND IT TO THE STAFF, TERRY, THAT'S A GOOD IDEA. OH YEAH. OKAY, ACTUALLY I WAS WAIT, THERE'S BEEN A COUPLE OF THINGS WE EMAILED BACK AND FORTH, AND I THINK YOU, WADE, HAD GIVEN SOME COMMENTS ON THIS. AND CAROL, I DIDN'T KNOW WHETHER YOU WANTED TO OR DIANE, YOU WANTED TO, BUT I WAS KIND OF WAITING TO SEE IF ANYBODY ELSE GAVE COMMENTS. GO AHEAD AND SEND IT OUT. DOESN'T MEAN WE AGREE WITH EVERYTHING, BUT WELL THAT'S IT. YEAH. OKAY. I MEAN, I GUESS I GAVE YOU MY COMMENTS AND THE BIG ONE WAS THE, YOU KNOW, WHETHER OR NOT WE WANTED TO INCLUDE OTHER ARTIFACTS AND MEET A MEET A FINAL TIME BEFORE, YOU KNOW, AND CONSOLIDATE SOME OTHER THINGS IN IT, OR IF IT JUST WANTS TO COVER THE MEETINGS THAT THE COMMITTEE DID. WERE YOU GOING TO GIVE ME SOMETHING TO APPEND TO IT? I DON'T REMEMBER, I WAS TRYING TO I ALREADY I ALREADY DID. YOU DID. OKAY. SO ALL RIGHT. AND THE OTHER THING, DOCTOR POINT YOU BROUGHT UP WHICH WHICH I THINK IS GOOD IS THE THREE YEAR PLAN RIGHT TO START COMING OFF THE FUND BALANCE. HOW DO WE START TO MEET WHAT THE GROWTH OF THE COUNTY IS, IS SOMETHING THAT WOULD SHOW IN GOOD FAITH THAT THAT WE'RE REALLY LOOKING FORWARD TO? YEAH, I THINK THAT'S THAT'S DEFINITELY GOING TO BE KEY. AND YOU KNOW, WHAT WE PRESENT THIS YEAR SHOULD BE YEAR ONE OF THE OF WHAT THAT THREE YEAR PLAN LOOKS LIKE. WELL IT'S YOUR BUDGET THAT YOU'RE PRESENTING. SO WHAT QUESTIONS DO YOU HAVE FOR THE BOARD? I FEEL LIKE I'VE HAD A LOT. IF I GIVE YOU A MEMO, THAT'LL BE A LOT TO WORK WITH AGAIN. I MEAN, I KIND OF HAVE THE BASIC SHAPE OF WHAT YOU'RE GOING TO GET THE NEXT COUPLE OF WEEKS, BUT THERE'S A LOT OF TIME BEFORE THIS ENDS TO, TO MAKE ADJUSTMENTS. AND, YOU KNOW, WE DID HERE TODAY. WE HAD A MEETING TODAY WITH THE COUNTY EXECUTIVE PRELIMINARY ABOUT THE CAPITAL BUDGET. BUT WE HAD A LITTLE TIME AT THE END AND TALKED OPERATING AND THEY SHARED THE THOUGHTS AROUND THE THREE YEAR BUDGET. AND SO WE'LL WE'LL START WORKING. I THINK WE TALKED ABOUT SOME OF THE BROAD BRUSHSTROKES OF THAT. I MEAN, WE'LL WE'RE GOING TO NEED TO SIT DOWN AND FIGURE OUT WHAT THE NUMBERS WOULD LOOK LIKE IF WE'RE SHOOTING FOR SOMETHING THAT THE COUNTY SEEMED COMFORTABLE WITH, AND THEN WE'LL HAVE TO START LAYING OUT A PLAN TO GET THERE.

IT WON'T BE FINALIZED. BUT BUT AGAIN, WE'VE ALREADY TALKED ABOUT SOME OF IT. I MEAN, IF WE'RE CUTTING POSITIONS THIS YEAR, WE'RE NOT GOING TO WANT TO CUT MORE NEXT YEAR. SO WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO BE LOOKING AT THE OTHER THINGS THAT WE TALKED ABOUT. AND THERE'S SOME OTHER LONG TERM THINGS THAT THAT WE CAN ANALYZE. AND SO THAT'LL BE PART OF, YOU KNOW, TRYING TO FIND WAYS TO, YOU KNOW, REDUCE EXPENDITURES IN THE NEXT TWO YEARS SO THAT WE CAN GET TO A PLACE THAT, YOU KNOW, WHERE OUR GROWTH MATCHES OR AT LEAST IS MORE SIMILAR TO THE COUNTY'S GROWTH, WITH THE ACKNOWLEDGMENT THAT THERE ARE A MILLION VARIABLES, MOST NOTABLY, WHAT HAPPENS WITH THE BLUEPRINT AND IF ANYTHING CHANGES. FOR EXAMPLE, I DON'T I DON'T WE'RE

[02:10:04]

EVERYTHING'S ON THE 27TH. AND THEN ALSO THE AAIB STATED THAT THEY WOULD THEIR NEXT, I THINK IT WAS THEIR NEXT MEETING OR ONE OF THE MEETINGS COMING UP MIGHT EVEN BE THIS MONTH. THEIR MEETING WITH THE STATE AS WELL WITH THE WITH THE MARYLAND STATE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION AND HAVING A COMBINED MEETING. SO THE BECAUSE THERE'S SOME THINGS THAT HAVE TO BE CAUGHT THAT ARE COORDINATED AND AN ASPECT OF THAT COMES OUT OF THE MARYLAND STATE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION.

AND THEN THERE'S SOME THINGS THAT ARE LEGISLATIVE, I THINK I THINK ONE THING EVERYBODY HAS AGREED ON IS THEY'D LIKE TO SEE THE THREE YEAR OLD PRE-K HELD OFF FOR A WHILE AND GET THE FOUR YEAR OLD PRE-K RUNNING CORRECT. BUT THAT WASN'T TALKED ABOUT AT THE AT THE AIB, WHICH I WAS HOPING THAT THAT WOULD BE DISCUSSED. AND THEY REALLY DIDN'T DISCUSS THE RECOMMENDATION, ALL OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS THAT WENT FORWARD FROM THE SUPERINTENDENTS. THERE WILL BE OTHER MEETINGS HAPPENING. I'M SURE, I'M SURE. BUT I THINK A LOT OF THEM AND I AND I'M JUST AND I'M NOT, MAYBE I'M TRYING TO READ THEIR MIND OR WHATEVER. I THINK THAT THE THING IS, SOME OF THIS HAS TO COME FROM THE STATE, FROM THE MARYLAND STATE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION, TOO. SO THEY MAY BE WAITING FOR THAT DISCUSSION TO HAPPEN. I DON'T KNOW FOR SURE, BUT THAT'S MY SUSPICION, REALLY. THE BIGGEST THING IS, IS WHO'S LEGISLATION MOVES AND YOU KNOW, SO WHILE ABE DIDN'T IN THEIR MEETING LAST WEEK, DIDN'T TALK ABOUT THE SUPERINTENDENTS RECOMMENDATIONS, YOU KNOW, THE SUPERINTENDENTS ARE WORKING WITH LEGISLATORS.

AND IF WE GET TRACTION, YOU KNOW, THAT'LL, YOU KNOW, IF IT CHANGES IN LEGISLATION THAT'LL CHANGE THE ABE'S CHARGE AND IT WILL CHANGE MSD'S CHARGE. SO THAT'S THE STRATEGY THE SUPERINTENDENTS ARE PURSUING IS TO WORK WITH LEGISLATORS. I MEAN, WE ALSO ARE WORKING WITH MSD AND ABE AND HOPEFULLY THE GOVERNOR AS WELL. BUT, YOU KNOW, WE FEEL LIKE OUR PLAN MAKES BETTER SENSE FOR THE STUDENTS OF MARYLAND IN TERMS OF, YOU KNOW, MAKING ADJUSTMENTS TO, YOU KNOW, KEEP THE INVESTMENTS WHERE WE'RE SEEING A RETURN AND REDUCE THE INVESTMENTS WHERE WE'RE SEEING LESS RETURN. AND SO, YOU KNOW, WE'LL CONTINUE OUR ADVOCACY, HOPEFULLY. AND, YOU KNOW, WE HAVEN'T ACTUALLY GOTTEN TO A PLACE WITH SUPERINTENDENTS WHERE. WE'RE FULLY IN SYNC WITH MAYB, YET WE'RE USUALLY PRETTY CLOSE. AND IT'S NOT THAT WE'RE NOT AGREEING ON A LOT OF IT.

IT'S JUST THAT'S NOT A WE HAVEN'T HAD A CONVERSATION WHERE, YOU KNOW, MAYBE THE SUPERINTENDENTS ARE ALL SORT OF ROWING IN THE SAME DIRECTION. SO THAT IS PART OF WHAT WE'LL NEED TO DO ALSO. AND THAT, I MEAN, TO BE FAIR ALSO, I MEAN, I, YOU KNOW, THAT ONE OF THE BIGGEST ADVOCACY GROUPS FOR THE BLUEPRINT IS THE MARYLAND STRONG SCHOOLS. AND, YOU KNOW, I KNOW THAT THEY SIGNALED SOME INTEREST THAT SOME OF THE THINGS THE SUPERINTENDENTS PUT OUT, THERE ARE THINGS THAT THEY AGREE WITH AND SUPPORT. THERE'S OTHER THINGS THEY DON'T AGREE WITH, AND THERE'S OTHER THINGS THEY WANT MORE CLARITY ON. AND SO AGAIN, IT'S REALLY WHERE HOW THIS ADVOCACY IS GOING TO COME TOGETHER AND WHAT LEGISLATION GETS PASSED. CAN YOU TALK ABOUT THE PLAN THERE. ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT THE. YEAH. THE RECOMMENDATIONS THAT THE THAT THE SUPERINTENDENTS PUT OUT 30 RECOMMENDATIONS. AND ONE FINAL THING ON THE BUDGET, IF EVERYONE COULD WHIP OUT YOUR CALENDAR, PLEASE. SO LET'S JUST PUT THE BUDGET INPUT SESSION ON THE CALENDAR NOW. SO IT WOULD HAVE TO BE AFTER THE 27TH BEFORE FEBRUARY 10TH, WHICH DOESN'T GIVE US A LOT OF TIME. AND THERE'S ALREADY A BUNCH OF STUFF IN THERE. I'M I'M GOING TO MAKE A SUGGESTION AS A STARTING POINT. LET'S SEE IF THIS WORKS. MY SUGGESTION WOULD BE IT WOULD REQUIRE A LISTENING SESSION TO BE MOVED. BUT WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 5TH AND I THINK WE COULD JUST PUSH THE LISTENING SESSION BY ONE WEEK. I HAVE JURY DUTY THAT DAY. I COULD PROBABLY GET THEM. OH, YOU'LL BE DONE BY YET AGAIN. YEAH, YOU'LL. ARE THERE ANY OBJECTIONS TO THAT?

[02:15:03]

SO WE HAD SOME INITIAL PROPOSALS WHICH WHICH WERE SHOT DOWN BECAUSE THERE WERE SOME DISAGREEMENTS. I THINK THE CHALLENGING PART WAS WE WERE WORKING SORT OF IN SMALL GROUPS, AND THE WHOLE BOARD WASN'T REALLY ALL TOGETHER AT ONCE. AND SO THIS GIVES US THE OPPORTUNITY AS A BOARD TO SORT OF TALK ABOUT EVERYTHING AT ONCE AND HOPEFULLY GET ON THE SAME PAGE. IDEALLY,

[C. Presentation on Proposed Changes to the Board Handbook, Dr. Aaron Poynton, Board President]

YEAH. YEAH. SO DIANE LESLIE HAD HER GET THROUGH HER INTRO REAL FAST IS THERE. JUST LAY EVERYTHING ON THE TABLE THEN. OKAY. BOARD MEMBERS. SORRY. I JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE SHE GETS EVERYTHING OUT. WE DISCUSSED THE HANDBOOK LAST TIME AND WE SAID WE WANTED TO HAVE THE HANDBOOK AND APPENDIX E APPROVED AT THE SAME TIME. BECAUSE YOU DON'T WANT TO HAVE LIKE A HANDBOOK WITH AN EMPTY LINK. AND SO ALL THE OTHER APPENDICES YOU'LL SEE IT SAYS LINK TO SUCH AND SUCH LINK TO SUCH AND SUCH WILL. APPENDIX E OVERARCHING COMMITTEE GUIDANCE WOULD BE ONE OF THOSE LINKS. AND SO IT IS NEW. IT IT WAS AGAIN YOU GUYS HAD IT EMAILED A COUPLE OF WEEKS TO A MONTH AGO. AND THE LATEST COPY THAT YOU HAVE IS THE DIANE ALVAREZ EDITS, WHICH DOES INCLUDE WADE'S EDITS. SO DIANE EDITED WADE'S COPY. YOU'VE INCORPORATED ALL OF WADE'S STUFF INTO DIANE'S STUFF. YEAH, I JUST LEFT IT. I DIDN'T EVEN DO ANYTHING. OKAY. OR WADE COMMENTS ARE IN GREEN, MINE ARE IN BLUE, SO THEY'RE COLOR CODED. THIS IS NOT CROSSED OUT. AND THIS IS YEAH, THAT'S A GOOD POINT. SO ALVAREZ IS THE SECOND PARAGRAPH ISN'T CROSSED OUT. BUT IN WADE SECOND PARAGRAPH IT IS CROSSED OUT OKAY. CROSSED OUT ONE. SO IT LOOKS LIKE ALL THE CHANGES WERE INCORPORATED. BUT ANYWAY YOU CAN KEEP GOING AND THEN WE'LL I DID NOT EDIT AFTER I RECEIVED THESE.

SO I WAS JUST GETTING THEM LIKE RECENTLY. SO YEAH. SO WE HAVE TWO VERSIONS. ONE HAS WADE'S EDITS WHICH IS DATED FOR JANUARY 7TH, AND WE HAVE DIANE'S EDITS DATED TODAY. AND SO WE HAVEN'T

[02:20:05]

[02:25:01]

WADE'S COMMENT. SO I DON'T KNOW WHY THAT PARAGRAPH IS NOT CROSSED OFF. IT LOOKS LIKE YOU MOSTLY DID. MAYBE IT'S JUST A GLITCH IN THE WORD PROGRAM THAT HAS HAPPENED TO ME. WELL, I WILL TELL YOU THAT I HAD A LITTLE WHERE I HAD TO. I PUT SOMETHING IN AND I HAD TO. DECLINE AT A CHANGE. AND PERHAPS IT TOOK THAT ONE ALONG WITH IT. BUT IT WAS MY CHANGE. I DIDN'T MEAN TO DECLINE ANY OF HIS CHANGES. SO CONFESSION THERE. SO LET'S TALK ABOUT WHAT THE PURPOSE OF A COMMITTEE IS. YOU KNOW, THE BOARD CAN'T DO EVERYTHING RIGHT. AND SOME PEOPLE HAVE SPECIALIZED AREAS. RIGHT. SO A COMMITTEE IS TO BE IS TO ESTABLISH SO THAT A IT CAN MAKE RECOMMENDATIONS. IT CAN ASSIST THE BOARD IN DOING ITS JOB BY MAKING RECOMMENDATIONS. RIGHT. AND I THINK WE'RE MORE INTERESTED IN WHAT THE RECOMMENDATIONS AND THE OUTCOMES ARE THAN THE ACTUAL PROCESS. RIGHT? I MEAN, I THINK WE SHOULD ESTABLISH A PROCESS. BUT, YOU KNOW, IN THIS CASE HERE, LIKE, YOU DON'T WANT TO MAKE IT OVERLY BURDENSOME EITHER TO WHERE YOU'RE JUST DOING NOTHING BUT PAPERWORK FOR EVERY SINGLE MEETING THAT YOU'RE HAVING. I'D BE MORE INTERESTED IN HAVING SOMETHING LIKE, YOU KNOW, PERIODIC SUMMARIES OR REPORTS TO THE BOARD THAN KNOWING THE MINUTIA OF EVERY SINGLE MEETING, THE DETAILS OF EVERY SINGLE MEETING THAT HAPPENED IN EVERY CONVERSATION, A YEARLY SCHEDULE. WE COULDN'T HAVE DONE THIS WITH A YEARLY SCHEDULE. SO YVONNE PRESENTLY PUTS TOGETHER WHAT SHE KNOWS FOR EACH OF THE EACH OF THE COMMITTEES. AND IF THERE'S A KNOWN SCHEDULE IN ADVANCE, SHE PUTS IT ON THAT SPREADSHEET. SO SHE'S ALREADY CONSOLIDATING THE COMMITTEES AND THE COMMITTEE MEMBERSHIP. AND I MY FEELING AS A BOARD MEMBER IS, IS I DON'T KNOW WHAT'S GOING ON IN THE COMMITTEES, YOU KNOW, AND, AND I YOU KNOW, IT IT IS TOO MUCH FOR EVERYBODY TO, YOU KNOW, TO KNOW WHAT'S GOING ON IN THE COMMITTEES. AND I DON'T THINK THAT IT'S EFFICIENT FOR THE BOARD, THE COMMITTEES TO COME BACK AND BRIEF THE BOARD AT A BUSINESS MEETING, BECAUSE THERE'S OTHER THINGS THAT ARE IMPORTANT. SO THE BOARD MEMBERS AREN'T GOING TO READ THE NOTES OF EVERY SINGLE MEETING. I MEAN, WE'RE INTERESTED IN EXECUTIVE SUMMARIES, AND IT SHOULD BE DONE IN THE PUBLIC, IN MY OPINION.

YOU KNOW, SO IF YOU LOOK AT ALL OF THESE COMMITTEES, RIGHT, THEY ALL HAVE A SPECIFIC PURPOSE.

CALENDAR REVIEW. WE GET BRIEFED WHEN THE CALENDAR GETS PRESENTED, BUDGET REVIEW, WE GET BRIEFED LIKE WE DID TODAY. WHEN THE BUDGET GETS PRESENTED. I DON'T NEED TO KNOW, YOU KNOW, THE 70 MEETINGS THAT YOU HAD. I JUST NEED TO KNOW WHAT YOUR OUTCOME. RIGHT. ACCORDING TO THIS, YOU'D HAVE TO HAVE A YEARLY SCHEDULE OF OUR MEETINGS. AND OUR MEETINGS WERE LITERALLY WHEN PEOPLE WERE AVAILABLE TO MEET WITH US, AND WE DID THEM ALL IN DECEMBER. SO, I MEAN, I UNDERSTAND THE SCHEDULE, THE POINT THAT LIKE, THERE SHOULD BE SOME STRUCTURE AROUND IT AND SOME AWARENESS, BUT I THINK MAYBE WE COULD LOOK AT REPHRASING THIS IN A, IN A DIFFERENT WAY THAT DIDN'T REQUIRE, YOU KNOW, TO WRITE A REPORT AFTER EVERY MEETING. I DO THINK I DON'T KNOW IF IT'S IN HERE, BUT IT SAYS WHEN POSSIBLE FOR THIS, OKAY, I WOULD BE OPEN TO, I THINK, LOOSENING UP THAT TO TRY TO FIND A HAPPY MEDIUM BETWEEN, YOU KNOW, MAKING SURE THAT WE'RE ALL AWARE OF WHAT'S HAPPENING WITHOUT HAVING TO WRITE ALL THESE REPORTS. RIGHT.

IT WASN'T MEANT TO BE PRESCRIPTIVE, AND IT'S NOT MEANT TO BE A REPORT. BUT I ALSO DO WANT TO STATE THAT I THINK IN ORDER FOR US TO MAKE SURE THAT THAT WE'RE EFFICIENT IN THE CONDUCT OF OUR COMMITTEE MEETINGS AND OUR COMMITTEE TASKS AND GETTING THINGS ACCOMPLISHED,

[02:30:04]

DON. YEAH. WELL, LET'S GET SOME MORE INPUT ON THIS FROM OTHER BOARD MEMBERS. IT SAYS THE BOE WILL WILL ESTABLISH PARAMETERS AND SPECIFIC TOPICS. BUT I'M OKAY LOOSENING IT UP AND JUST SAYING THAT, YOU KNOW, BOARD CHAIRS, YOU KNOW, SHOULD GIVE, YOU KNOW, RELEVANT AND TIMELY UPDATES TO THE TO THE BOARD ON MATTERS AS THEY PERTAIN TO, YOU KNOW, ITEMS UP FOR VOTES OR THAT ARE RELEVANT AGENDA TOPICS. AND, YOU KNOW, THE BOARD CAN ALWAYS CALL A CHAIR OF THE COMMITTEE TO GIVE A REPORT WHENEVER NEEDED. AND THE BOARD MEMBERS INDIVIDUALLY WHO SIT ON THE DIFFERENT COMMITTEES, USUALLY INCORPORATE THE WORK THAT THEY'VE DONE ON THE COMMITTEE AND THEIR BOARD MEMBER. COMMENTS. I WOULD DISAGREE WITH THAT. WHAT DO YOU WHAT INFORMATION ARE YOU NOT GETTING FROM A BOARD MEMBER WHO SITS ON A COMMITTEE? WELL, THE LEGISLATIVE COMMITTEE, THERE'S NOT BOARD, THERE'S NOT UPDATES. I MEAN, LIKE WE HAD A LEGISLATIVE COMMITTEE FOR THE BOARD. THE BOARD HAS NOT HAD A LEGISLATIVE COMMITTEE THAT I'M AWARE OF. THE MAY OF THE STATE LEGISLATIVE COMMITTEE IS NOT THE SAME THING, SWEETIE. THAT'S MAY WE'RE TALKING OUR BOARD COMMITTEES. YOU'RE NOT MAKING COMMITTEE RULES FOR MAY. OKAY? I'M JUST GOING TO I'M JUST GOING TO LEAVE IT AT THIS. I THINK IT'S, YOU KNOW, IT'S BEHOOVING UPON THE OUR BOARD TO ENSURE THAT WE ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE EFFICIENCIES OF THE, OF THE COMMITTEE PROCESS AND NOT HAVING SOME KIND OF STRUCTURE AND PROCESS TO FOLLOW CAN CREATE INEFFICIENCIES AND EXPENDITURES OF FUNDS THAT ARE NOT, YOU KNOW, THAT CREATES DON'T COST MONEY. I SEE WHAT SHE'S WHAT SHE'S SAYING. SO AND I AGREE THIS MIGHT, BUT I ALSO AGREE THAT THIS MIGHT BE TOO PRESCRIPTIVE. SOMETIMES IT'S HARD TO KNOW WHAT IS THE RIGHT FORUM. TAKE THE BOOK PROCESS I WAS ON, WHAT WAS THE RIGHT FORUM TO MEET, TO MAKE SURE ALL THE BOARD KNEW WHAT WAS GOING ON. LIKE WHAT ISN'T A BOARD COMMITTEE? IT WASN'T, BUT THAT'S JUST AN EXAMPLE. SO, YOU KNOW, WE DON'T ALWAYS HEAR THE CALENDAR COMMITTEE. I MEAN, WE GET THE OUTPUT. BUT WHAT WAS DISCUSSED, WHAT SOMETIMES IT'S HARD TO KNOW IS THAT SMALL GROUP IS THAT, YOU KNOW, HOW AM I LETTING EVERYONE KNOW WHAT WENT ON. IF THERE'S SOMETHING NOT RIGHT, NOT ALL MEETING IS WORTH IS WORTH. BUT SOMETIMES IT'S LIKE, WHEN AM I SUPPOSED TO BRING THIS UP? SHOULD I SHOOT AN EMAIL TO EVERYBODY? WHAT'S THE OPPORTUNITY? SO THAT COMMITTEE WAS NEVER A BOARD COMMITTEE.

THEY'RE TAKING IT OVER NOW. BUT THAT COMMITTEE WAS A STAFF COMMITTEE, AND GILLIAN LATER WAS IN CHARGE OF IT. THIS IS AN EXAMPLE. I'M JUST WHAT I WANT TO USE AN EXAMPLE OF A BOARD COMMITTEE. I THINK THE POINT IS THAT HAVING INFORMATION TO COME BACK TO THE BOARD SO THAT WE DON'T JUST SEE THE FINAL RESULT, THAT WE'RE INVOLVED IN THE PROCESS. IF WE HAVE QUESTIONS, IF WE HAVE SOME KIND OF, OH, OKAY, WELL, WHY ARE YOU DOING IT THAT WAY? WHAT IS THE PURPOSE LIKE? SO WE HAVE AN UNDERSTANDING AS TO WHY THEY'RE DOING WHAT THEY'RE DOING, WHAT'S HAPPENING. IT ALSO CUTS DOWN ON US ASKING STAFF A LOT OF TIMES BECAUSE WE DON'T ALL SIT ON IT.

OH, I DON'T HAVE TO ASK A STAFF AND USE THEIR TIME. I KNOW MELISSA'S SAT ON THAT. SO MAYBE SHE, YOU KNOW, I COULD TALK TO HER INSTEAD. LIKE THERE'S SOME WAY THERE SHOULD BE A FORUM TO LET THE REST OF THE BOARD MEMBERS KNOW WHAT'S HAPPENING, WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE. I'M NOT SURE, BUT. YEAH. SO WHY DON'T WE. WHY DON'T WE FIGURE OUT WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE? I THINK WE NEED MEETING MINUTES AND AN AGENDA. NO. AND IT'S TOO MUCH. AND I. YOU KNOW, I LIKE THE SMALL GROUPS. I DON'T WANT SMALL GROUPS TAKEN AWAY. BUT THE PROBLEM WITH THE SMALL GROUPS IS WE'RE NOT ALLOWED TO FORM A QUORUM. SO THAT THE PROBLEM THAT I'VE HAD AND STRUGGLED WITH BEING ON THIS BOARD IS THAT WE'RE NOT ALLOWED TO KNOW WHAT ALL OF THE OTHER BOARD MEMBERS THINK AND DISCUSS IT AMONG US. IF WE HAD A PORTAL WHERE WE COULD GO AND SAY, WELL, THIS WAS DISCUSSED AT THAT MEETING, WE DON'T NEED TO DISCUSS IT WITH ANYBODY, EXCEPT FOR MAYBE IF THERE'S A BOARD. MEMBER ASSIGNED. YEAH. LET ME, LET ME, LET ME JUST SAY, HOW'S THIS WORKING OUT? BECAUSE WE HAVEN'T DONE ANY OF THESE. LIKE, I FEEL LIKE THESE WORKING MEETINGS ARE SOMETHING THAT WE NEED TO DO MORE OF, BECAUSE PART OF THE REASON THAT, YOU KNOW, IT'S JUST NOT YOU CAN'T BE FUNCTIONAL IF EVERYONE IS SPEAKING IN SILOS, WHICH IS THE WAY THAT THE LAW

[02:35:04]

THEY'RE EFFICIENT. BUT YOU I THINK YOU WERE NEXT AND THEN YOU I CAN'T REMEMBER. SO, YOU KNOW, YOU BEAT ME TO IT BECAUSE I WAS KIND OF SAYING THAT. I MEAN, IT FEELS LIKE THIS IS I MEAN, JUST LISTENING TO THE CONVERSATION AND I AM REMINDED THAT NONE OF YOU ARE PAID WELL FOR THIS WORK.

AND, YOU KNOW, THAT'S WHY EXAMPLES OF, YOU KNOW, COMMITTEES THAT YOU MIGHT HAVE ATTENDED WHERE WE HAVE STAFF, WHO STAFF THE COMMITTEES AND RUN THAT. BUT AGAIN, I'VE WATCHED SO MANY ITERATIONS OF DIFFERENT TYPES OF WAYS FOR BOARDS TO WORK WITH ADMINISTRATIONS. AND THIS CONVERSATION, TO SOME DEGREE, IS WHY WE EVOLVE TO HAVING PEOPLE BE OBSERVERS, SO YOU CAN TRUST THE PROCESS AND STILL SEE WHAT'S GOING ON. BUT WHAT I THINK IS HAPPENING RIGHT NOW IS YOU HAD TWO PEOPLE WHO DID. THEY COORDINATED A LOT OF CONVERSATIONS AROUND THIS AND OTHERS GOT INVOLVED, BUT YOU DIDN'T HAVE A CHANCE FOR EVERYONE TO COME TOGETHER. AND SO THIS IS A GOOD TIME TO DO THAT. I'M NOT SURE YOU WANT TO PUT PARTICULARLY STRICT RULES FOR HOW YOU MANAGE THAT INFORMATION. LET THIS BE THE PLACE WHERE, I MEAN, IF WE GOT MORE DELIBERATE ABOUT THESE MEETINGS, AND I THINK WE GOT TO A PLACE WHERE WE HAVE HALF BUSINESS MEETINGS AND HALF WORK SESSIONS LIKE THIS. AND WE CAN BE DELIBERATE. I MEAN, ONE THING, I JUST WROTE A NOTE TO DOCTOR BOYNTON TO SAY THIS CONVERSATION IS HARD, PARTLY BECAUSE THERE'S A LOT OF LOADED ISSUES IN HERE THAT PEOPLE DON'T NECESSARILY AGREE WITH, BUT THERE'S A LOT OF OPINIONS. WE COULD GIVE YOU A FACILITATOR TO HELP FOR THIS CONVERSATION, NOT TO BE THE CONTENT EXPERT TO TELL YOU WHAT TO PUT IN HERE, BUT TO FACILITATE THE CONVERSATION SO THAT WE CAN GET THROUGH A SESSION LIKE THIS IF WE KNOW FAR ENOUGH IN ADVANCE AND WE CAN SIT DOWN WITH WHOEVER'S LEADING THE COMMITTEE RATHER THAN DO A LOT OF, YOU KNOW, NOTE TAKING AND SHARING AND STUFF LIKE THAT, THAT WE CAN SAY, OKAY, WE GOT A SENSE OF WHAT THE ISSUES ARE. WE CAN WE HAVE A NUMBER OF PEOPLE IN THE ORGANIZATION WHO COULD JUST SERVE AS THE FACILITATOR FOR THIS CONVERSATION. WE COULD PLAN IT FOR A CERTAIN PERIOD OF TIME. WE COULD DECIDE ON OUTCOMES, YOU KNOW, AND WE WOULD JUST DO THE TECHNICAL SUPPORT OF FACILITATING, NOT TELLING YOU WHAT TO PUT IN YOUR PLAN. AND I THINK IF THAT BECAME A MORE REGULAR PROCESS, THAT THESE CONVERSATIONS WERE FACILITATED, BUT STILL PUBLIC, BECAUSE I AGREE, I THINK THESE CONVERSATIONS ARE RICHER THAN WE'RE ABLE TO DO WHEN WE'RE SITTING UP THERE. WE CAN WORK THROUGH ISSUES. WE CAN'T DISCUSS THINGS AND DO YOU ONLY HEAR THE PERSPECTIVE OF 2 OR 3 PEOPLE, AND BY LAW, YOU CAN'T DO IT ON EMAIL EITHER, FRANKLY. RIGHT? I MEAN, THERE'S SOME WORKAROUNDS AND SOME PEOPLE GET LOOPED IN, BUT I MEAN, YOU REALLY CAN'T DO THAT, YOU KNOW, OUT OF THE, YOU KNOW, PUBLIC EYE. AND SO THIS IS, I THINK, BOTH MORE APPROPRIATE, MORE LEGAL, MORE FUNCTIONAL. BUT WE HAVE TO KIND OF GET TO THAT NEXT STEP. IT WOULD BE GOOD TO FACILITATE THIS BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, YOU HAVE PEOPLE WHO FEEL VERY STRONGLY ABOUT THESE ISSUES, BUT IT'S HARD TO FACILITATE AND BE AN OPINION, BE THE PERSON WITH A STRONG OPINION. RIGHT. SO I THINK IT FEELS LIKE YOU NEED A SOMEWHAT OBJECTIVE FACILITATOR, AND WE CAN WORK WITH YOU TO FIND SOMEONE YOU'RE COMFORTABLE WITH. AND IT COULD BE A DIFFERENT PERSON ON EVERY CONVERSATION. SO AND WE'RE NOT VOTING ON ANYTHING THAT'S SUGGESTION. BUT CAN I JUST SAY LIKE FOR EXAMPLE, IF WE REWORDED, DIANE, YOUR COMMENTS ABOUT THE AGENDA MINUTES AND STUFF, JUST TO SAY INFORMATION WILL BE POSTED EVEN ON THE SHARE DRIVE OR WHATEVER, LIKE, AND IS THAT LEGAL? I MEAN, THAT WAS MY THAT WAS THE QUESTION I WAS GOING TO HAVE. SO WE POST EVERYTHING ON THE SHARED DRIVE AND EVERYBODY SEES IT AND CAN MAKE COMMENTS ON IT. OTHER BOARDS DO DO IT. SO I'VE TALKED TO THE OTHER BOARDS. A LOT OF THEM USE BOARD DOCS. A LOT OF THE OTHER BOARDS WITHIN THE STATE RUN BY MR. ZILKHA, THOUGH AS LONG AS YOU DON'T COMMENT, AS LONG AS THERE'S NO OPEN LIKE FORUM OR COMMENTS, THEN IT'S FINE, BECAUSE IF IT'S A WORKING DOCUMENT, THAT'S WHAT CHANGE IT. WHEN WE WENT TO NSBA, THAT'S WHAT THEY SAID. THEY USED BOARD DOCS, BUT THEY DID NOT ALLOW ANY KIND OF COMMENTS OR ANY KIND OF INPUT OR ANY KIND OF. SO YOU COULD SEE IT, BUT YOU DIDN'T, YOU COULD SEE IT, BUT YOU COULDN'T SEE ANYTHING. RIGHT? SO IF YOU COULD, IF YOU HAD SOMETHING THAT YOU WANTED TO SAY OR CHANGE, THEN YOU WOULD HAVE TO EMAIL THE PRESIDENT OR, YOU KNOW, WHATEVER TO MAKE THAT CHANGE. I'M TRYING TO BE AS EFFICIENT AS POSSIBLE. I THINK THESE MEETINGS ARE VERY EFFICIENT. SO LET'S JUST SAY THIS WE'RE NOT GOING TO SOLVE EVERY PROBLEM TONIGHT, AND WE'RE NOT VOTING ON THIS TONIGHT. WHAT I'D LIKE TO DO IS JUST, YOU KNOW, FOCUS ON THE HANDFUL OF AREAS THAT ARE GOING TO NEED A LITTLE BIT MORE WORK. AND LET'S JUST AGREE THAT EXPECTED OUTCOMES THAT NEEDS TO BE

[02:40:02]

THERE'S AN ADMINISTRATIVE COMMITTEE. WHICH SUPERINTENDENT IS FREE TO SET UP HIS OWN COMMITTEES. RIGHT. CITIZEN ADVISORY COMMITTEES, WHICH ARE WHICH ARE AT LEAST ONE TECHNICALLY. BUT THEN THERE'S A BUNCH THAT. YEAH. AND SO WE JUST PROBABLY NEED SOME MORE CLARITY AROUND WHICH ONES ARE ACTUAL BOARD COMMITTEES AND WHICH ONES WE WANT AS BOARD COMMITTEES. THE OTHER QUESTION I HAD WAS CHAIRS AND MEMBERSHIP. SO IT SAYS ADDITIONALLY, SOME BOARD MEMBERS WILL BE REQUIRED TO HAVE THE FOLLOWING REPRESENTATION STUDENT, PARENT, ETC. SO WHICH COMMITTEES? I KNOW FOR SOME WE'VE BEEN PRESCRIPTIVE I THINK ON MAYBE CURRICULUM. LAST YEAR WE ADDED A STUDENT I BELIEVE. WASN'T THAT RIGHT? I THINK WE SHOULD ADD STUDENT TO. YEAH, BUT BUT THIS IS SUPER. THIS IS VERY VAGUE. IT JUST MY COMMENTS. WHAT'S THAT THE BLUE ARE MY COMMENTS. 00I SEE OKAY. YEAH. SO THAT JUST NEEDS TO BE CLEANED UP AS WELL. SHOULD WE. WE SHOULD SAY WHAT THE MEMBERSHIP SHOULD BE. AND I THINK IT SHOULD SHOULD BE CONSISTENT WITH ALL OF THE.

YEAH. BUT THEY CAN'T BE CONSISTENT BECAUSE THE COMMITTEES ARE SO DIFFERENT. SO ACTUALLY I THINK I PUT A COMMENT EARLIER ON ABOUT AND OR, YOU KNOW, ACTUALLY IT WAS IN THE ORIGINAL DOCUMENT AS WELL THAT THE, THAT THE COMMITTEES WOULD BE FORMED AND CHAIRED BY, YOU KNOW, A PERSON AND THEY WOULD BE SELECTED YEARLY OR HOWEVER THE COMMITTEE DECIDES THAT THEY NEED TO DO THAT. AND THERE WOULD BE SOME, SOME KIND OF DOCUMENT THAT KIND OF GUIDES, THAT COMMITTEE.

AND THAT'S WHERE THAT DECISION WOULD BE MADE. AND USUALLY A COMMITTEE WOULD HAVE SOME KIND OF CHARTER. SOME OF THE COMMITTEES WE HAVE NOW HAVE SOMETHING LIKE A CHARTER, OTHERS DON'T. SO THIS IS AN IDEA OF JUST TRYING TO MAKE IT A LITTLE BIT MORE CONSISTENT AND GET GETTING SOMETHING THAT, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE A BETTER FOCUS IN THE COMMITTEES SO THAT THERE'S NOT ANY LOSS IN IN TIME OF STAFF. AND WE INCREASE EFFICIENCIES. YES. AND THAT THAT WAS LARGELY IN THE, IN THE INTENT OF THIS APPENDIX E TO KIND OF REPLACE THE NEED FOR A CHARTER OR IF SOME COMMITTEE WANTED TO DO A CHARTER, THEY COULD START WITH THE GUIDANCE IN HERE AND EXPAND ON IT IF THEY WANTED TO. BUT YOU'RE RIGHT, MOST OF THE COMMITTEES WE DON'T HAVE CHARTERS. AND THE ONES THAT DID, I TOOK A LOT OF THIS FROM SOME OF THE CHARTER, MAYBE JUST ONE THAT I SAW. I DON'T REMEMBER NOW. IT'S BEEN SO LONG. SO BUT YEAH, THAT WAS THE INTENT TO PUT THAT KIND OF GUIDANCE. SO THERE'S THREE DIFFERENT TYPES OF COMMITTEES. I'M SORRY I MESSED UP EARLIER. IT'S ACTUALLY CITIZEN'S ADVISORY COMMITTEE. THESE ARE ALL BOARD COMMITTEES OF COURSE SUPERINTENDENT CITIZEN STANDING BOARD COMMITTEES AND AD HOC COMMITTEES LIKE THE SAFETY COMMITTEE. WE JUST STOOD UP WAS AN AD HOC COMMITTEE. IT'S NOT A PERMANENT COMMITTEE. IT'S GOT LIMITED TIME AND SCOPE. BUT I THINK WE SHOULD DO FOR BECAUSE THIS IS VERY VAGUE RIGHT HERE AS FAR AS MEMBERSHIP, I THINK WE SHOULD JUST CREATE LIKE EMBED IT IN THIS DOCUMENT LIKE AN EXCEL THAT SAYS THE TYPE OF COMMITTEE OR CITIZEN ADVISORY COMMITTEE. HERE ARE THE DIFFERENT COMMITTEES, HERE ARE THE MEMBERSHIPS FOR EACH COMMITTEES. AND JUST KIND OF LAY IT OUT. IF THEY ARE, IF THEY ALL ARE GOING TO BE DIFFERENT MEMBERSHIPS. I THINK THAT'S WHERE IT STARTED.

WHEN TERRY HAD FIRST TRIED TO PUT SOMETHING TOGETHER AND IT BECAME TOO PRESCRIPTIVE AND THERE WASN'T ENOUGH FLEXIBILITY. SHE HAD TRIED TO DO SOMETHING TO THAT EFFECT, BUT IT JUST BECAME REALLY CONFUSING. SO THIS IS A LOT THIS IS MUCH MORE HIGHER LEVEL AND MORE ABBREVIATED. AND I DO ADMIT, YOU KNOW, I YOU KNOW, WHAT I WROTE IN THERE MIGHT BE A LITTLE BIT TOO PRESCRIPTIVE, TOO PRESCRIPTIVE WITH AGENDAS AND STUFF. BUT I YOU KNOW, WHEN I WORKED, I WAS WE WERE NOT ALLOWED TO HAVE A MEETING UNLESS WE HAD AN AGENDA. IT JUST WAS THE RULE. I THINK THAT THAT DIFFERENT TYPES OF COMMITTEES, I THINK THAT THAT FINAL PARAGRAPH CHAIRS A MEMBERSHIP KIND OF ENCOMPASSES EXACTLY WHAT WE WANT IT TO SAY. BOE WILL APPOINT COMMITTEE CHAIRS ANNUALLY OR AS NEEDED DUE TO VACANCIES. THE BOE, THE BOE WILL REVIEW AND CONFIRM OR UPDATE MEMBERSHIP OF EACH COMMITTEE. SO THE BOARD IS RESPONSIBLE FOR DICTATING OF THESE PEOPLE WHO ARE ON THOSE COMMITTEES. RIGHT. SO THESE ARE PEOPLE THAT AND THEN AGAIN, IF YOU CONTINUE READING, IT SAYS MEMBERS INCLUDE BUT ARE NOT LIMITED TO REPRESENTATION FROM THE FOLLOWING. AND THEN IT JUST LISTS WHO COULD BE ON ONE OF THE COMMITTEES THAT THE BOARD

[02:45:06]

IT'S LISTED UNDER ADDITIONAL. RIGHT. SO THOSE ARE THE ONES THAT YOU WANT TO ADD. BUT I WOULD ARGUE MAYBE YOU DON'T NEED A STUDENT ON EVERY SINGLE ONE. JUST LIKE I DON'T THINK YOU NEED LEGAL IN EVERY ONE I AGREE. SO YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT YOU KNOW, HOW MANY, YOU KNOW, 17 COMMITTEES. YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT EACH COMMITTEE HAVING MULTIPLE MEETINGS. AND THEN WE HAVE WHAT, THREE PEOPLE IN OUR LEGAL DEPARTMENT. YOU EXPECT THEM TO ATTEND ALL THESE MEETINGS. SO I SAID, NOW THAT I DIDN'T SAY THAT THEY WOULD NEED TO ATTEND THE COMMITTEES, BUT I THINK THAT THERE NEEDS TO BE A POINT PERSON THAT THAT COMMITTEE CAN GO TO, YOU KNOW, IF THEY HAVE LEGAL QUESTIONS. AND SOMEBODY ADDED HERE, LEGAL REPRESENTATIVE, THAT'S ME AS A MANDATORY ATTENDEE. I DIDN'T PUT THAT AS A MANDATORY, I THINK, TO RESOLVE IT. WE TAKE FOUR AND FIVE AND MOVE THEM DOWN THE BOTTOM I THINK TO GET ADDITIONALLY, DOCTOR QUINTON, THAT WE NEED TO GO WITH FOLSOM'S RECOMMENDATION TO HAVE A FACILITATOR. ALL RIGHT. HE'S GOING TO FACILITATE IT. WE'RE JUST NOT GOING TO GET THROUGH IT. I GOT A REALLY GOOD PEOPLE HERE, BUT YOU DON'T WANT ME. ALL RIGHT. SO WE AGREE AGAIN WE'RE NOT VOTING ON ANYTHING. THIS IS JUST TO GET ALL THE IDEAS OUT HERE. SO THE FIRST THING THAT WE NEED TO TAKE A LOOK AT IS WHAT SORT OF WHAT'S THE RIGHT LEVEL OF REPORTING AGENDA, ALL THAT STUFF, YOU KNOW, THAT HAS EVERY KEEPS EVERYONE INFORMED, WHICH IS THE MAIN GOAL WITHOUT CREATING TONS OF PAPERWORK. RIGHT? I WOULD ALSO SAY THAT WE COULD JUST PUT IN HERE IF WE'RE GOING TO DO THESE MEETINGS MOVING FORWARD, THAT IF YOU'RE IF YOU'RE SITTING ON A COMMITTEE OR YOU'RE THE CHAIR OF A COMMITTEE OR YOU'RE SITTING ON A COMMITTEE, YOU KNOW, AT THESE SESSIONS HERE, YOU GIVE A FIVE MINUTE UPDATE ON WHAT YOU DID. YEAH, BUT HOW HARD IS IT? I MEAN, I KNOW THAT WHEN I'M AT IT, WHEN I'M AT A MEETING, I TAKE NOTES. IT'S NOT THAT DIFFICULT TO JUST THROW A LITTLE HEADER ON IT AND SAY, I WENT TO THIS MEETING ON THIS DAY. HERE YOU GO. PUT IT IN THE PORTAL, I MEAN IT. YEAH. THAT'S EVEN I THINK IF ANY ARTIFACTS ARE GENERATED FROM THE MEETING, THEY CAN GO ON THE. YEAH.

SHAREPOINT. I MEAN DO WE HAVE I NOTE TAKERS, DO WE HAVE A NOTE TAKING SERVICE? THOSE THINGS ARE AMAZING. THEY'RE TRULY AMAZING. THEY WORK REALLY WELL AND ADD IT TO THE BUDGET. SO WE HAVE WE HAVE TEAMS I MEAN I'M NOT OPPOSED TO SHAREPOINT. WE DON'T HAVE TEAMS. YEAH I GUESS YEAH.

YEAH WE HAVE WE HAVE THE TEAM SET UP THAT THE IT DEPARTMENT DID SET UP FOR THE BOARD, WHICH DIFFERENT DOCUMENTS HAVE BEEN PLACED THERE. SO OKAY. ASIDE FROM THOSE TWO ISSUES AND THE SECOND ISSUE BEING WE JUST NEED TO LOOK AT WHAT MEMBERSHIP ARE THERE ANY OTHER. IT LOOKS LIKE THERE'S MOST OF THE OTHER CHANGES WERE RELATIVELY MINOR. SO HONESTLY I GOT THIS TODAY AND I CAN'T TELL YOU IF THERE'S ANYTHING ELSE. WE GOT LIKE 3 OR 4 DIFFERENT ONES. THEY'VE ALL

[02:50:05]

YES. ABSOLUTELY. THAT'S NOT WHERE I'M TALKING OKAY. SO I'M TALKING ABOUT WHERE I'M I'M LOOKING AT WADE'S VERSION. OKAY. SO INSTEAD OF WHERE HE CROSSED IT OUT WE HAVE WADE'S. YOU HAVE ALTERNATIVE LANGUAGE. RIGHT. AND CAN YOU JUST EMAIL THAT TO US. CAN YOU EMAIL IT OUT. YES I CAN I CAN DO THAT. YEAH OKAY. AND THEN HERE IT SAYS THAT EVERY COMMITTEE HAS TO HAVE A CHARTER UPON FORMATION. AND I'VE GOT TO TELL YOU, TERRY AND I DID NOT SIT DOWN AND WRITE A CHARTER BEFORE WE STARTED THE BUDGET WORK. SO. WHICH ONE ARE YOU LOOKING AT, CAROL? THAT'S RIGHT.

WHERE IT SAYS IT'S BETWEEN PAGES TWO. WHEN YOU TURN TO THREE, WHERE IT SAYS, WHICH SHALL BE DOCUMENTED IN A CHARTER UPON FORMATION. DO YOU SEE THAT? SO EVERY COMMITTEE WOULD HAVE TO FORM A CHARTER AT THE TIME IT WAS FORMED. AND HONESTLY, YOU'D HAVE TO GIVE ME AN EXAMPLE BECAUSE I THINK THAT'S I'M LOOKING ALVAREZ VERSION DIFFERENT. I'M SORRY, I DON'T INCLUDE SHOULD INCLUDE IT AND I WENT THROUGH AND CHECKED IT. IT DOES INCLUDE ALL OF WADE'S COMMENTS, EXCEPT FOR THAT ONE PARAGRAPH ON THE FIRST PAGE. I WASN'T COMPLAINING ABOUT THAT. I WAS JUST SAYING. SO AT THE BOTTOM OF PAGE TWO IN BLUE, IT SAYS, WHICH SHALL BE DOCUMENTED IN A CHARTER UPON FORMATION. OKAY, CAN WE GET. WHICH MEANS THAT EVERY COMMITTEE WOULD HAVE TO FORM A CHARTER UPON OR WE CAN WE CAN, YOU KNOW, YOU DO IT ONCE. RIGHT. AND I THINK THAT'S THAT WAS WHAT I WROTE. THIS IS YEAH, I THINK THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE COULD PROBABLY JUST DO ONCE AND THEN JUST WE HAVE A STANDARD FORMAT FOR A CHARTER. I MEAN, I'VE, I'VE HONESTLY NEVER HAD TO WRITE ONE. I'VE BEEN ON A LOT OF COMMITTEES, BUT I'VE NEVER HAD TO WRITE A CHARTER.

YEAH, I THINK THAT'S A GOVERNMENT THING THAT YOU GUYS HAVE DONE, AND I DIDN'T. AGAIN, TO ME, THIS WAS REPLACING THE NEED FOR A CHARTER BECAUSE IT'S JUST GIVING GUIDANCE ON HOW WE WANT THE COMMITTEES TO OPERATE. I THINK THAT'S ALL WE NEED TO DO. I THINK THIS IS A CHARTER FOR ALL THE COMMITTEES. EXACTLY. DICTATES WHAT EVERYTHING IS REQUIRED ONCE A CHARTER. BUT THE CHARTER FOR A CHARTER. WELL, NO, I DON'T THINK WE NEED A CHARTER. NO. WELL, BUT THAT'S WHAT IT SAYS. OKAY, I, CHARTER WOULD PROVIDE TRANSPARENCY TO THE REST OF THE BOARD MEMBERS AS TO WHY THAT COMMITTEE IS ESTABLISHED. AND IT ONLY NEEDS TO REALLY BE DONE ONCE, AND PERHAPS IT DOESN'T NEED TO BE DONE FOR SOME OF THE AD HOC, SHORT, SHORT TERM COMMITTEES. BUT I DO THINK A CHARTER IS VERY IMPORTANT. COULD WE DO IT BY SEND ME SOME EXAMPLES. WHEN THE PRESIDENT ASSIGNS THE COMMITTEE CHAIR, IT ALSO SAYS, HERE'S THE PURPOSE OF YOUR COMMITTEE. OKAY. BUT THAT'S NOT THE PURPOSE OF YOUR COMMITTEE ISN'T WHAT SHE MEANS BY A CHARTER. I KNOW, BUT I'M JUST SAYING I'LL SEND YOU AN OUTLINE FOR. A FORMAT OF A CHARTER. AND THEN WHY DON'T WE JUST WRITE CHARTERS FOR EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM? WE CAN. YEAH. AND I MEAN, LIKE, LIKE A SHORT AD HOC MIGHT NOT NEED A CHARTER. I MEAN, IT DOESN'T LIKE, LIKE I SAID, THIS IS NOT MEANT TO BE PRESCRIPTIVE, BUT TO PROVIDE SOMETHING THAT, YOU KNOW, GIVES US A LITTLE BIT OF A PROCESS FOR OUR COMMITTEES, YOU KNOW, SO THAT THERE'S MORE FOCUS ON WADE, YOU GOT YOUR HAND UP.

[02:55:03]

[03:00:02]

BUT CLEARLY THERE ARE SOME THINGS THAT JUST NEED TO BE UPDATED BECAUSE THEY'RE OUT OF DATE. RIGHT? THIS HAS NOT BEEN UPDATED IN A LONG TIME. SO AS A BOARD, YOU KNOW, WE CAN FUSS OVER THE LITTLE DETAILS, BUT WE HAVE AN OBLIGATION TO AT LEAST CHANGE THE THINGS THAT ARE FACTUALLY INACCURATE IN HERE BECAUSE THE LAWS HAVE CHANGED. SO THAT'S THE STARTING POINT FOR EVERYTHING ELSE. I'M GOING TO WORK ON APPENDIX E. IF YOU GUYS AREN'T HAPPY WITH WHAT I PUSH OUT, THEN WE'LL THEN WE'LL WE'LL GO TO IMPASSE. NO WE WILL. WE MIGHT HAVE TO WE'LL, WE'LL DO A, WE'LL DO A FACILITATED SESSION. DOES THAT WORK. SURE. THE CHANGES, THE CHANGES TO THE COMMITTEES. IT JUST SEEMED LIKE THE BOARD IS TRYING TO TAKE OVER THE COMMITTEES. AND YOU KNOW, WE DO NOT HAVE THE CAPACITY, EXPERTISE TO, TO DO THAT. SO I MEAN, I THINK THAT, YOU KNOW, THE WAY THE COMMITTEE IS. PERHAPS THERE'S SOME BOARD MEMBERS THAT DON'T LIKE THE OUTCOMES OF THE COMMITTEES. MAYBE THAT'S WHY THERE'S THAT THERE'S THIS MOVE TO TAKE MORE CONTROL. BUT I DON'T AGREE WITH THAT. POSSIBLY. BUT WE HAVE TO REMEMBER THAT THE COMMITTEES ARE ESTABLISHED BY THE BOARD TO HELP THE BOARD DO THEIR JOBS AND MAKE DECISIONS. THAT'S WHAT A COMMITTEE IS FOR. SO EVERYTHING SHOULD BE STRUCTURED AROUND THAT. FORGET CONTROL. AT THE END OF THE DAY, IT COMES TO THE BOARD. YOU DECIDE WHAT TO DO IS THE VOTES THAT ARE ON THE DAIS.

THEY COUNT. BUT YOU CAN'T DO THAT ON AN ISLAND. YOU'VE GOT TO HAVE PEOPLE GIVING YOU INPUT.

YOU'VE GOT TO HAVE THESE COMMITTEES. AND, YOU KNOW, WE JUST NEED TO WE JUST NEED TO GET IT RIGHT. AND THAT WAS ONE OF THE BIGGEST GAPS THAT CAROL AND I NOTED THAT THERE WAS NO CLEAR GUIDANCE TO THE COMMITTEES. SO AT THE BEGINNING OF THE HANDBOOK, I KNOW TERRY HAD ORIGINALLY PUT IN THERE THAT WE WOULD HAVE TO DO A STRATEGIC PLAN EACH YEAR, AND I SUGGESTED THAT SHE CHANGED IT TO AT LEAST THREE YEARS. AND I'M GOING TO TELL YOU, THIS IS WHAT MY FIFTH YEAR ON THE BOARD, I HAVEN'T SEEN ANYBODY MAKE A MOVE TOWARDS DOING A STRATEGIC PLAN YET. AND YET YOU WANTED TO DO ONE EVERY YEAR. I THINK THAT OUR STRATEGIC PLAN WAS COMING UP WITH THOSE THREE TOP PRIORITIES. YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT COMMITTEE STRATEGIC PLANS, RIGHT? NOT YEAH. SHE SAID SHE SHE SAID THAT WE NEEDED TO COME UP WITH A STRATEGIC PLAN EVERY YEAR. NOW THAT MIGHT BE THOSE THOSE THREE THINGS MIGHT BE PART OF A STRATEGIC PLAN. BUT YOU DON'T JUST HAVE THREE GOALS AND SAY THAT'S MY STRATEGIC PLAN. AND WHEN I WHEN YOU GAVE ME THAT COMMENT, WHAT DID I DO? NO, I KNOW YOU CHANGED IT TO THREE YEARS WHEN I SAID THAT I'M NOT.

NO, NO, I'M JUST SAYING. AND MAYBE THREE YEARS WASN'T LONG ENOUGH. MAYBE IT SHOULD BE MORE LIKE FIVE. I HAVE NOT SEEN THAT STRATEGIC PLAN THAT THE FOUR GOALS THAT SEAN HAS WORKED OFF OF CHANGE IN THE ENTIRE TIME I'VE BEEN ON THE BOARD, NOT FROM THIS BOARD OR THE PREVIOUS BOARD. NOBODY CHANGED IT. WELL. AND STRATEGIC OUR STRATEGIC PLANNING COMMITTEE TO START START UP. YEAH I SAID THAT. YEAH. YOU KNOW I SAID THREE BUT MAYBE FIVE. MAYBE WE SHOULD MAKE IT EVEN LONGER. WHAT I'M SAYING THOUGH IS WE HAVEN'T DONE IT AT ALL. I MEAN, YOU KNOW, I HONESTLY THINK A STRATEGIC PLAN COULD BE LIKE A DOCUMENT COULD BE FORMED FOR ALL FOR OUR BOARD AND ALL FUTURE BOARDS, WHERE THE GOALS FOR EACH OF THOSE BOARDS IS MODIFIED AND, YOU KNOW, UPDATED. BUT THAT JUST CREATES ANOTHER DOCUMENT. BUT THE, YOU KNOW, THE BOARD HANDBOOK KIND OF, YOU KNOW, COULD CONTAIN THE STRATEGIC. WE COULD WE COULD ASSUME THE STRATEGIC PLAN WITHIN WITHIN THE, WITHIN THE BOARD HANDBOOK AS WELL. WE PROBABLY HAVE IN HERE STRATEGIC PLANNING COMMITTEE. AND THAT WAS ONE OF THE PREVIOUS COMMITTEES THAT WAS NEVER, YOU KNOW, ACTED ON. AND SO ACTUALLY LAST SUMMER WHEN I WAS KIND OF PUSHING THIS, I WAS HOPING TO GET IT IN PLACE SO THAT THIS SCHOOL YEAR, WE COULD NOW ASSIGN THESE COMMITTEES AND, AND SPONSOR THEM AND STAND THEM UP AND EVERYTHING. OBVIOUSLY, SOME OF THEM ARE ALREADY ONGOING. CALENDAR REVIEW IS ALWAYS HAPPENING. POLICY REVIEW IS ALWAYS HAPPENING. BUT THE STRATEGIC PLANNING. SO WE DID THE BUDGET REVIEW COMMITTEE. SO THAT'S GOOD. SO THERE'S BEEN I THOUGHT WE HAD CONSENSUS ON THE COMMITTEES IS WHAT I'M TRYING TO SAY. IT'S BEEN A LOT OF THINGS THAT HAVEN'T BEEN DONE BECAUSE WE HAD THIS LITTLE THING CALLED COVID GET IN THE WAY, WHETHER IT WAS POLICY UPDATES OR THIS OR WHATEVER, NOW'S OUR TIME TO DO IT. LET'S NOT RUSH THROUGH IT. LET'S MAKE SURE WE DO IT RIGHT, BECAUSE WE KNOW WE NEED TO GET SOME OF THIS STUFF DONE. IT NEEDS TO BE UPDATED. SO IF WE'RE OKAY, WE'RE NOT GOING TO SOLVE THE PROBLEM TONIGHT. IT'S ALREADY GETTING LATE, SO LET'S DO THIS. I UNDERSTAND WHAT SOME OF THE ISSUES ARE. I'LL WORK ON IT. OKAY. I'LL BRING IT BACK TO THE BOARD IN A WEEK OR TWO THROUGH EMAIL. OKAY. SEND ME YOUR FEEDBACK. I'LL WORK WITH

[03:05:04]

NO WE HAD THAT. WE HAD THAT DOCUMENT. NOW I DON'T KNOW WHICH. I'M SORRY I DIDN'T MEAN TO CUT YOU OFF, BUT NO, NO, THE ONE THAT WAS JUST EMAILED OUT HAS ALL OF THE MOST RECENT CHANGES EXCEPT FOR ANYTHING DISCUSSED TONIGHT. SO YOU DID THAT TODAY? MY COMPUTER JUST DIED, SO I DON'T KNOW. I'M GOING TO LOOK AT THIS. I'M GOING TO LOOK UP THE DATE BECAUSE I KNOW I SENT IT TO ME. DIANE SENT APPENDIX E. THAT'S THE MOST RECENT VERSION WITH THAT HAS DIANE AND WADE'S COMMENTS, WITH THE EXCEPTION THAT ONE PARAGRAPH. BUT WHEN YOU SEE THE VERSION THAT SAID WADE'S IN THE SUFFIX OF THE TITLE, THAT'S THE MOST RECENT VERSION WITH THE INPUT, CAN WE ALSO RECEIVE THE. I GUESS WHAT'S INSIDE THAT AS WELL? BECAUSE I WANT TO UNDERSTAND EXACTLY WADE'S POINTS, AND I DON'T THINK I COULD DO SO WITH ALL THE CHANGES. YEAH, I'LL GET IT FOR YOU. I THINK IT'S ON THE WEBSITE. OKAY. IT'S ON THE WEBSITE, BUT I'LL FIND IT. SO THAT'S THE ONE. WADE IS REFERRING SOME DISCUSSION. YEAH.

WE NEED TO HAVE BOTH DOCUMENTS AT THE SESSION. OKAY. WELL WE'LL MAKE SURE WE GET EVERYTHING THERE. WE'LL HAVE TO WORK TO FIND A DATE TO DO IT THOUGH. SPEAKING OF DATES, WHAT? DID WE PUT SOMETHING ON THE CALENDAR? I THINK NEXT MONTH FOR THE BOARD TOUR. YEAH, YEAH. WORD TOUR.

YEAH, YEAH. IT'S NOT. WE'RE NOT CALLING IT A GRATIS TOUR ANYMORE. ACTUALLY, ERIC CAME UP WITH A REALLY COOL NAME. WHAT DID YOU CALL IT? WELL, I. THANK YOU, STEPHANIE. IT'S AN AWESOME NAME FOR BEYOND THE BOARDROOM. CAN YOU TELL US WHAT THAT WHAT WE'RE DOING FOR OUR FIRST ONE? IT'S ACTUALLY A SPIN OFF OF THE GRAND TOURS. I MEAN, BECAUSE YOU REMEMBER THE GRATITUDE THAT WE WOULD DO, WE GO TO THREE SCHOOLS HALF A DAY. THIS IS WHERE WE WOULD JUST PICK ONE SCHOOL AND GO LOOK AT SOME OF THE PROGRAMS. PRINCIPAL WILL HOST US. THEN WE'LL DO LUNCH AND THEN WE'LL GO HOME, BASICALLY. BUT THE CREATIVE GROUP, STEPHANIE WALL, LINDSAY BILODEAU CAME UP WITH THAT NAME BEYOND THE BOARDROOM. AND REALLY IT'S JUST FOCUSING ON, YOU KNOW, WHAT YOU GUYS CAN DO TO SUPPORT THE SCHOOLS. BASICALLY OUTSIDE OF THE BOARDROOM. WHEN IS THAT FIRST 1ST FEBRUARY 25TH, FEBRUARY 25TH. AND THAT'LL BE IN HIGH SCHOOL. OKAY, I GOT IT HERE 10 A.M. RIGHT. OKAY. SO THAT SHOULD BE ON THE CALENDAR. ALL RIGHT. BEFORE WE TURN IT OVER TO THE SUPERINTENDENT FOR SUPERINTENDENT'S REPORT. ANY FINAL QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS FROM THE BOARD? I DO FIND THE STRUCTURE SOMETHING THAT WE SHOULD INCORPORATE A LITTLE BIT MORE OFTEN. SO I'LL BE LOOKING TO DO THAT. NEXT BOARD MEETING WILL BE IN TWO WEEKS. AND SUPERINTENDENT WHAT DO YOU GOT. PAGE. MR. PRESIDENT. YEAH. MR. PRESIDENT CAROL BRUCE ON YOUR AGENDA. YOU HAD THE PATRIOT PROGRAM. SO IS THAT NOT GOING TO BE DISCUSSED OR BROUGHT UP AT THE NEXT BOARD MEETING? NO, THAT'LL BE THAT'LL BE AT THE NEXT BOARD MEETING. YEAH. SO AS YOU KNOW, THERE'S THERE WERE SOME CHANGES THAT WERE MADE TO THE PATRIOT PROGRAM. THE BOARD HAS SPOKEN TO THE ADMINISTRATION. THEY'RE WORKING ON SOME ACTIONSCRIPT, WHICH IS

[03:10:07]

BUT IT ENDED UP REMOVING SOME OF THE POPULAR ASPECTS OF IT, WHICH CAUSED SOME COMMUNITY AND BOARD CONCERN. YEAH. AND SO WE'RE WE'RE LOOKING ABOUT HOW TO EXPAND THE PROGRAM WITH THE INTENT OF MAKING IT MORE INCLUSIVE WITHOUT MAKING IT. SEE, I TOLD YOU, SIRI IS LISTENING TO EVERYTHING. SO ANYWAY, THAT'S, THAT'S THAT'S WHERE WE ARE NOW. YEAH. ANYTHING

[D. Superintendent's Report]

[Future Meetings Review]

[03:15:06]