[A. Presentation of Quarterly Financial Report for the Period Ending December 31, 2024, Ms. Deborah Judd, Assistant Superintendent for Business Services]

CONSENT AGENDA. AND THERE ARE NO VOTING ITEMS ON THE AGENDA THIS EVENING EITHER. SO WE'RE GOING TO START WITH A PRESENTATION ITEM A IS QUARTERLY FINANCIAL REPORT FOR THE PERIOD ENDING DECEMBER 31ST, 2024. I THINK WE WERE ACTUALLY SUPPOSED TO HAVE THIS BEFORE WE MOVED IT A LITTLE BIT. RIGHT. SO IT'S USUALLY THE IT IS. OKAY. DEBORAH JUDD, ASSISTANT SUPERINTENDENT FOR BUSINESS SERVICES. WELCOME. THANK YOU. I AM PRESENTING THE QUARTERLY FINANCIALS AS OF DECEMBER 31ST. THERE IS A PROJECTION INCLUDED IN THIS FOR OUR REVENUES AND EXPENDITURES. I WILL NOTE THAT IT DOES NOT INCLUDE THE IMPACT OF THE SNOW THAT WE'VE HAD SINCE JANUARY 1ST. SO WE'D HAVE TO PULL ALL OF THAT PAYROLL TOGETHER. AND SO IT'S NOT IN THIS. SO THAT WILL UNFORTUNATELY NEGATIVELY AFFECT THIS A LITTLE BIT. OH THAT'S AWFULLY SMALL. I'M GOING TO USE MY OWN SLIDE. OKAY. SO THIS SHOWS THE PROJECTION OF OUR REVENUES. WE HAVE ABOUT 4.9 MILLION ANTICIPATED HIGHER THAN BUDGET FOR THE YEAR. THAT IS MAINLY DUE TO INTEREST REVENUE AND ALSO FOR $3 MILLION THAT THE COUNTY GOVERNMENT SENT FROM OUR RATE STABILIZATION FUND RELATED TO OUR SETTLEMENT WITH CAREFIRST. SO THAT 4.9 MILLION IS ADDITIONAL REVENUE WE HAD NOT BUDGETED. OUR EXPENDITURES, UNFORTUNATELY, FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE I'VE BEEN HERE, ARE PROJECTED TO BE OVER WHAT WE BUDGETED BY $1.9 MILLION. SO THAT IS MAINLY DUE TO SPECIAL EDUCATION AND SPECIFICALLY OUR NONPUBLIC PLACEMENTS, AND THEN ALSO DUE TO THE TEXTBOOK PURCHASE THAT WAS RECENTLY APPROVED. WHICH WE DID NOT HAVE ENOUGH BUDGETED FOR. IN

[00:05:04]

TEXTBOOKS. AND THAT'S THAT'S A RECURRING CHALLENGE FOR US. WE DO NOT HAVE ENOUGH IN OUR OPERATING BUDGET FOR TEXTBOOKS. IT HAS HISTORICALLY BEEN IN CAPITAL, AND WE HAVE NOT RECEIVED CAPITAL FUNDING IN SEVERAL YEARS FOR THAT. SO THAT'S A CHALLENGE THAT WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO ADDRESS. IN THE NEXT SEVERAL YEARS. SO THE GOOD NEWS IS WITH THE IF WE HAVE A SHORTFALL, AS LONG AS IT'S NOT OVER THE $4.9 MILLION THAT WE HAVE, SURPLUS IN REVENUES WILL BE ABLE TO COME BACK TO THE BOARD AS TO APPROPRIATE SOME OF THAT REVENUE IN MAY IN ORDER TO OFFSET THAT NEGATIVE. WE CANNOT BE OVERSPENT IN ANY ONE OF THOSE STATE CATEGORIES. SO ANY CHANGE TO THAT, WE CAME LAST YEAR FOR THE CATEGORY TRANSFER. SO THIS COULD BE SIMILAR. WE MAY HAVE TO DO SOME TRANSFERS, BUT MOST LIKELY WE'LL BE APPROPRIATING ADDITIONAL REVENUE. IN ORDER TO COVER THAT LOSS ON THE EXPENDITURES. THIS IS A DETAIL OF OUR OTHER REVENUE. AGAIN WE HAVE A VARIANCE RIGHT NOW OF ABOUT $4 MILLION. MOST OF THAT IS ATTRIBUTABLE TO THE RATE STABILIZATION REFUND THAT WE'VE HAD. NOTHING ELSE REALLY HERE TO DISCUSS IN PARTICULAR, FUND BALANCE. OUR FAVORITE TOPIC. SO WE ENDED THE SCHOOL YEAR 24. SO JUNE 30TH, 2024. WE HAD A FUND BALANCE OF ABOUT 26 MILLION. SO WITH OUR PROJECTED EXCESS OF REVENUES OVER EXPENDITURES OF 3 MILLION, THAT BRINGS US TO 29 MILLION UNASSIGNED. THAT DOES NOT INCLUDE WHAT THIS BOARD APPROVED. LAST MEETING FOR THE $10 MILLION APPROPRIATION OF FUND BALANCE TO BALANCE OUR BUDGET. SO IF WE INCLUDED THAT, WE WOULD BE DOWN TO $19 MILLION FOR FUND BALANCE. SO EVERYTHING ELSE THAT'S THERE, WE HAVE THE OBVIOUSLY THE 30 MILLION THAT'S INCLUDED IN THE BUDGET THIS YEAR IS SHOWN HERE, AS WELL AS SOME ADDITIONAL ASSIGNMENTS THAT WE HAVE FOR VARIOUS CONTINGENCIES.

SO THAT IS REALLY THE END OF MY PRESENTATION. I'M HAPPY TO TAKE ANY QUESTIONS IF YOU HAVE THEM.

GREAT. THANK YOU. I KNOW WE'VE TALKED ABOUT THIS BEFORE, BUT EXCUSE MY SHORT TERM MEMORY.

WHAT WHAT IS A CORRECT FUND BALANCE? WHAT SHOULD WE HAVE IN FUND BALANCE FOR AN ORGANIZATION WITH THIS SIZE BUDGET? IT ALL DEPENDS ON WHAT YOU READ. THERE'S A LOT OF. DOCUMENTATION OUT THERE. SOME WILL SAY 10%. THIS IS ABOUT 4.5% OF OUR BUDGET. SO IT'S ON THE LOW SIDE.

IT'S CERTAINLY HIGHER THAN WHAT WE TYPICALLY SEE. BUT WE'RE STILL RIGHT NOW WE STILL HAVE FUNDS IN HERE THAT HAVE INCREASED OUR FUND BALANCE DUE TO THE FEDERAL FUNDS THAT WE RECEIVED. WE WERE ABLE TO CHARGE THINGS TO THE FEDERAL FUNDS THAT WOULD HAVE GONE TO THE OPERATING BUDGET. SO WE WERE ABLE TO SAVE MONEY. WE ALSO HAD ADDITIONAL SETTLEMENTS FROM RATE STABILIZATION THAT INCREASED THAT NUMBER AND CERTAINLY SOME SAVINGS DURING COVID AS WELL WITH THE CLOSURE THAT WE HAD. SO IT'S HIGH RIGHT NOW GIVEN OUR FINANCIAL SITUATION. I DON'T FEEL IT'S TOO HIGH BECAUSE THERE ARE ALL KINDS. AGAIN, YOU SEE OUR BUDGET, IT IS EXTREMELY TIGHT FOR THIS YEAR. IT COULD GET TIGHTER DEPENDING ON WHAT HAPPENS BETWEEN NOW AND THE END OF THE YEAR. SO THIS IS WHAT FUND BALANCE IS FOR. SO I GUESS WHERE MY CONCERN COMES IN IS EVERY YEAR WE GET MORE AND MORE STUDENTS IN SPECIAL EDUCATION. CORRECT. AND THOSE ARE MOST EXPENSIVE STUDENTS. I MEAN, THAT'S THEIR FAULT, BUT THEIR MOST EXPENSIVE STUDENTS, AS WE CONTINUE TO INCREASE THAT NUMBER, OUR FUND BALANCE IS GOING TO KEEP GOING DOWN. IF WE ARE NOT ABLE TO INCREASE THAT BUDGET IN SPECIAL EDUCATION, THEN THAT'S CORRECT. WE WOULD HAVE TO FIND THE MONEY ELSEWHERE. SO IDEALLY, WHEN WE SEE A PATTERN OF INCREASED COSTS AND NOT ENOUGH BUDGET, YOU PROPOSE IN YOUR BUDGET TO INCREASE THOSE LINE ITEMS SO THAT YOU HAVE THE FUNDS AVAILABLE. WE'RE REALLY NOT IN A SITUATION TO DO THAT RIGHT NOW.

AND IN ADDITION, THE STATE HAS A PROPOSAL TO SHIFT MORE OF THE SPECIAL EDUCATION COSTS TO US.

SO IT'S YEAH. SO WE'RE WE'RE IN UNEASY TIMES RIGHT NOW. OKAY. THANK YOU. YEP. SO WE ACTUALLY JUST HAD WE GOT SOME GUIDANCE FROM MATT STANSKI. DID YOU SEE THAT? I'M NOT SEEING THAT TODAY.

SO THE LEGISLATURE HAS BEEN TALKING FUND BALANCE A BIT LATELY BECAUSE THEY'RE LOOKING AT SCHOOL SYSTEM FUND BALANCES AND QUESTIONING WHY SOME ARE LARGER THAN OTHERS. SO AS SUPERINTENDENTS WE HAVE SOME TALKING POINTS ON THIS. AND SO I'LL JUST READ THE ONE LINE THAT

[00:10:02]

WAS INCLUDED IN THE GOVERNMENT FINANCE OFFICERS ASSOCIATION. GFOA RECOMMENDS THAT GOVERNMENTS, INCLUDING SCHOOL DISTRICTS, MAINTAIN AN UNRESTRICTED FUND BALANCE UNDER GENERAL FUND OF NO LESS THAN TWO MONTHS OF REGULAR GENERAL FUND OPERATING REVENUES OR REGULAR GENERAL FUND OPERATING EXPENDITURES. THIS IS ROUGHLY EQUIVALENT TO ABOUT 16.7% OF ANNUAL OPERATING EXPENDITURES. WHERE ARE WE? FOUR AND A HALF, RIGHT? SO WHILE THAT IS ONE ORGANIZATION, IT'S A RESPECTED ORGANIZATION. I DON'T THINK WE HAVE ANY SCHOOL SYSTEMS IN THE STATE WHO ARE EVEN CLOSE TO THAT. SO AND I KNOW THERE ARE VARYING OPINIONS ON THIS, BUT THAT'S ONE. WAS THAT FROM AGAIN G O A GOVERNMENT FINANCE OFFICERS ASSOCIATION. THAT IS THE ORGANIZATION THAT WE RECEIVE THE AWARD FOR EACH YEAR FOR OUR AUDIT. SO WHAT ABOUT THE COUNTY? DOES THE COUNTY RECEIVE FROM THE SAME ONE? YES, THE SAME ONE. OKAY. WELL, BECAUSE I KNOW THAT WE LIKE TO CELEBRATE THAT WE LIKE TO CELEBRATE THEM WHEN THEY CELEBRATE US. GOT IT. QUICK QUESTION. THE SLIDE THAT GIVES THE, YOU KNOW, DETAILED OF THE STATE CATEGORIES FOR ACTUAL TO DATE AND PROJECTED TO END. THAT ONE WOULD THE PERCENT TOTAL TO ACTUAL FOR MOST OF THOSE ARE THEY SPACED EVENLY OVER THE YEAR. AND SO WOULD YOU EXPECT, YOU KNOW, 30% BY NOW OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT? IS THAT AS A GENERAL RULE? YES. BUT IT DOESN'T EXACTLY FIT THAT WAY FOR SOME OF THOSE CATEGORIES. FOR INSTANCE, INSTRUCTIONAL SALARIES. WE DON'T START PAYING THOSE UNTIL SEPTEMBER. SO THEY'RE ALWAYS A LITTLE BIT BEHIND, YOU KNOW, THE QUARTER END. SO THEY'RE A LITTLE BIT LOWER THAN THE OTHERS. SOMETHING LIKE TEXTBOOKS OTHER INSTRUCTIONAL COSTS. THERE'S A LOT OF SOFTWARE COSTS AND THINGS THAT WE FRONTLOAD. SO THERE MAY BE CONTRACTS THAT WE SIGN OUR LEASE FOR A DEVICES. YOU KNOW, WE SIGN THAT AT THE BEGINNING OF THE YEAR. WE MAKE THOSE PAYMENTS. SO THOSE ARE FRONT LOADED AND THOSE LINE ITEMS AND CATEGORIES, THEY CAN TEND TO BE MUCH HIGHER THAN WHERE YOU WOULD EXPECT TO BE AT 50%, YOU KNOW, AS OF DECEMBER. ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU. ARE THERE ANY OF THOSE ELEMENTS THAT LOOK LIKE IT SAYS STUDENT PERSONNEL SERVICES ONLY 0.6 SPENT. IN OTHER WORDS, IS SOMETHING GOING TO COME BACK AND BITE US BECAUSE IT'S BEEN UNDER SPENT UNTIL NOW. AND THEN THE REST OF THE EXPENSE IS REALLY GOING TO KICK IN IN THE SECOND HALF OF THE YEAR. YEAH. LET ME LOOK AT MY LIKE OTHER INSTRUCTIONAL COSTS, WE'RE ONLY JUST 2.6% SPENT VERSUS HOW THE 13 MILLION OKAY. I JUST WONDER IF THERE'S OTHER INSTRUCTIONAL COSTS. I'M SORRY. WHICH ONE WERE YOU? OTHER INSTRUCTIONAL COSTS? ABOUT 12342.6 2.6% VERSUS 13,000,000% TO TOTAL. OKAY. SO YOU WANT THE COLUMN TO THE LEFT.

THAT PERCENT TO TOTAL IS OF THE ACTUAL IN TOTAL. SO THE ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS OF THE TOTAL BUDGET. SO THE 53.7 IS WHAT WE'VE SPENT TO DATE FOR ADMINISTRATION. I'M SORRY I'M LOOKING AT THE WRONG COLUMN OKAY. THANK YOU. INSTRUCTIONAL SALARIES IS 40%. SO THOSE THOSE NUMBERS ARE ARE PRETTY GOOD. YEAH. BUT THE OTHER ONES ARE THE PERCENT BASICALLY TO THE BUDGET OR THE ACTUAL SPEND. SO ADMINISTRATION 2.6%. YES. THANK YOU. OKAY. ANY OTHER QUESTIONS ON BUDGET. OKAY. ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. I'M SORRY. ON SLIDE EIGHT. FOR FOOD SERVICES FUND EXPENDITURES FOR FISCAL YEAR 25, FURNITURE AND EQUIPMENT IS ABOVE 250%. COULD YOU EXPLAIN LIKE WHAT THAT WAS FOR? SO FOOD AND NUTRITION ALSO HAD AN INCREASE IN FUND BALANCE OVER COVID. AND THEY THEY HAVE TO USE THAT FOR WHAT SPECIFICALLY PERTAINS TO FOOD NUTRITION. SO THEY HAVE DONE QUITE A BIT OF REFURBISHMENT AND REPLACEMENT OF SOME OF THEIR EQUIPMENT. SO SOME THINGS IN THE KITCHENS, FREEZERS, THINGS LIKE THAT THAT HAS TO BE CHARGED TO EQUIPMENT, IT CAN'T GO TO FUND BALANCE. SO IT LOOKS LIKE IT'S OVERSPENT. I CAN GET YOU THE DETAILS OF EXACTLY WHAT THEY'VE BOUGHT, BUT THEY'VE THEY I THINK THEY HAD TO BUY A NEW REFRIGERATOR TRUCK. IT'S CONSISTENT. AND THEN ALL OF A SUDDEN IT WAS. YEAH. IT WAS.

YEAH. SO THEY ACTUALLY ARE RECEIVING SOME DIRECTION TO PLAN TO SPEND DOWN THAT FUND BALANCE AS WELL. SO IT REALLY WILL GO BACK INTO THE KITCHENS. DO THEY HAVE A SEPARATE FUND BALANCE THEN. YES. WE CAN'T TOUCH THEIRS AND THEY CAN'T TOUCH OURS UNLESS THE BOARD VOTED TO ALLOCATE SOMETHING TO THEM, WHICH WE HAVE NEVER BEEN IN A SITUATION TO DO AND WE HOPE NOT TO. OKAY. THANK

[B. State Education Legislation Update, Dr. Carol Mueller, Board Member]

[00:15:01]

YOU. SO WE'LL SEE YOU BACK IN MAYBE MAY FOR THIS QUARTER OKAY. GREAT. THANK YOU. YEP. OKAY.

MOVING ON TO ITEM B STATE EDUCATION LEGISLATIVE UPDATE. LIKE TO ASK DOCTOR MUELLER TO GIVE US AN UPDATE ON THIS. OBVIOUSLY THERE'S A LOT GOING ON IN SESSION IN ANNAPOLIS RIGHT NOW. AND HAPPY TO GET AN UPDATE. SO THIS IS FOR ME THE MARYLAND ASSOCIATION OF BOARDS OF EDUCATION. AND I ASKED THE GENTLEMAN IN THE BACK THERE TO HELP ME BY TAKING US TO THE MAB WEBSITE, BECAUSE IT'S ALL LISTED OUT THERE. AND AS YOU CLICK ON THE ADVOCACY CENTER, JUST GIVE ME A SECOND TO CATCH UP WITH YOU. I SEE YOU'RE AHEAD OF ME. OKAY. WHEN YOU GET TO THE LEGISLATIVE SESSION WHERE IT SAYS 2025 AND THEN SCROLL DOWN, IT STARTS WITH MAIN PRIORITY LEGISLATION AS OF 217, 2025. SO THAT'S JUST THE LAST TIME IT WAS UPDATED. IT SHOULD BE UPDATED AGAIN THIS WEEK BECAUSE WE JUST HAD A MEETING TODAY. SO WHAT IT SHOWS YOU OKAY. WHAT IT SHOWS YOU IS THAT THERE ARE 11 BILLS THAT THEY HAVE TARGETED AS PRIORITY LEGISLATION. AND AS YOU SCROLL DOWN YOU'LL SEE THE COLUMNS THERE WHERE IT TALKS ABOUT WHICH ONES THEY SUPPORT, WHICH ONES THEY ARE MONITORING AND WHICH ONES THEY OPPOSE. SO I WILL TELL YOU RIGHT NOW, MAB IS AGAINST ANYTHING THAT'S GOING TO TAKE AWAY LOCAL CONTROL. THEY'RE TRYING TO KEEP THE BOARDS, EACH BOARD TO HAVE THEIR OWN LOCAL CONTROL, SO THEY DON'T WANT THE STATE COMING IN. FOR EXAMPLE, THERE'S SEVERAL CELL PHONE POLICY BILLS OUT THERE RIGHT NOW. THEY WANT THE LOCAL BOARD TO BE ABLE TO DECIDE HOW THEY'RE GOING TO HANDLE THAT. THE MONITOR IS THEY'RE JUST WATCHING TO SEE WHAT'S GOING ON. AND THEN THERE'S THREE BILLS THAT THEY ARE ACTIVELY SUPPORTING, THE BILLS THAT WE HAVE PER ISSUE SCHOOL FUNDING. THERE'S FOR EDUCATION. GENERAL IS THREE. NO NOTABLE EDUCATION IS TWO PARENT TEACHERS AND STAFF IS TWO. AND STUDENT BENEFITS IS ONE. SO AS WE GO DOWN LET'S TAKE A LOOK AT THESE BILLS. MARYLAND HOUSE BILL 1436 IS PUBLIC SCHOOL CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS AND FUNDING INFLATIONARY ADJUSTMENTS. AND OF COURSE THEY'RE SUPPORTING THAT. THAT IS SO WE GET ADJUSTMENTS IN THE AMOUNT OF FUNDING BASED ON INFLATION RATHER THAN KEEPING IT STATIC. SENATE BILL 552 IS HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATION REQUIREMENTS.

AND THIS ONE THERE, THERE'S A LOT OF BACK AND FORTH ON IT, BECAUSE IT'S SAYING THAT IN ORDER TO GRADUATE, A STUDENT HAS TO COMPLETE A FAFSA. BUT DOES THE STUDENT NOT GRADUATE BECAUSE THEIR PARENTS DIDN'T FILE INCOME TAXES? DOES THE STUDENT NOT GRADUATE EVEN THOUGH THEY'VE MET ALL THE REQUIREMENTS BECAUSE THEY MIGHT BE THEIR FAMILY MIGHT BE ILLEGAL? YOU KNOW, WHAT IS THE WHAT TYPE OF BARRIERS ARE WE SETTING UP TO GRADUATION? BY REQUIRING THE STUDENTS TO FILL OUT A FAFSA, AND NOT EVERY STUDENT IS GOING TO GO TO COLLEGE, SO THEY MIGHT NOT NEED TO FILL OUT A FAFSA. THEN WE HAVE HOUSE BILL 1378. AND THIS IS TO PUT A TIME LIMITATION ON ALL THE SEXUAL ABUSE CLAIMS AGAINST THE STATE. YOU KNOW, RIGHT NOW IT'S OPEN THAT IF SOMEBODY COMES AND SUES US AND SAYS THAT THEY WERE SEXUALLY ABUSED BACK IN 1960, WHERE WE HAVE NO RECORDS AND NOTHING ABOUT IT, THIS IS SAYING THAT THE THEY HAVE A WINDOW TO FILE IN THE FILE FOR THE WINDOW FOR THEM TO FILE WOULD BE JANUARY 1ST OF 2026. SO IT DOESN'T GO ON FOREVER SO THAT THERE'S AN END TO IT. AND THEN WOULD IT REVERT BACK TO THE STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS THAT WAS IN PLACE PRIOR TO THERE? I DON'T KNOW, BUT THEY THEY'RE JUST SAYING LIKE YOU CATCH UP, YOU CAN'T THEY DON'T WANT PEOPLE TO CONTINUALLY COME BACK AT US FROM SO MANY YEARS AGO THAT NOBODY CAN. YEAH. I DON'T KNOW WHETHER BUT THEY THEY'RE PUTTING ON THE OPEN ENDED RIGHT NOW. THEY'RE PUTTING A LIMIT ON THE 2026. THEN WE HAVE THE EXCELLENCE IN MARYLAND PUBLIC SCHOOLS ACT THAT THEY'RE MONITORING. THAT'S HOUSE BILL 504, ALTERING THE DEFINITIONS OF TARGET PER PUPIL FOUNDATION AMOUNT. SO THEY ARE DEFINITELY AGAINST ANY CHANGES, ANYTHING THAT'S GOING TO ALTER THE SOURCE OF FUNDS ON THE FOUNDATION OF AMOUNT. THEN WE HAVE OKAY. SO NOW WE'RE WE'RE CROSS-LINKING. SO THIS IS THE SAME AS THE SENATE BILL WE LOOKED AT WITH THE FAFSA FORM. THE SENATE BILL 427 IS ALSO ABOUT THE FOUNDATION AMOUNT. SO AGAIN THEY'RE MONITORING THAT. ARREST FOR REPORTABLE OFFENSES, ALTERING CERTAIN PROVISIONS

[00:20:03]

RELATING TO THE PROVISION OF NOTIFICATION TO SCHOOL PERSONNEL OF THE ARREST OF A STUDENT FOR CERTAIN REPORTABLE OFFENSE, AND REQUIRING THE DEPARTMENT OF JUVENILE SOCIAL SERVICES TO THE STATE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION TO DEVELOP AN OPERATIONAL PROTOCOL TO GUIDE THE TRANSMISSION OF REPORTABLE OFFENSE INFORMATION, WHICH IS SOMETHING THAT'S VERY IMPORTANT TO US. AND THEN WE HAVE THE HOUSE BILL. 1015 PUBLIC AND CHARTER SCHOOLS START TIME FOR INSTRUCTION. NOW, THE REASON THAT IT'S BEING OPPOSED BY ME IS NOT THAT THEY'RE AGAINST SCHOOL STARTING EARLIER. THERE'S A LOT OF SCIENCE OUT THERE SAYING OR STARTING LATER, A LOT OF SCIENCE OUT THERE SAYING THAT HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS ESPECIALLY WILL DO BETTER WITH THE LATER START TIME. IT'S GOING BACK TO THAT.

EACH BOARD OF EDUCATION SHOULD HAVE LOCAL CONTROL. IT SHOULD NOT BE A STATE LAW. AGAIN, WE HAVE SENATE BILL 899. EXCUSE ME, I SCROLL HIGH SCHOOL CLASS RANKINGS. SO THIS IS INTERESTING BECAUSE I GUESS A LOT OF DISTRICTS, A LOT OF LET'S SAY 4 OR 5 OF THE 24 DISTRICTS IN IN THE STATE DO NOT DO CLASS RANKING ANYMORE. THEY DON'T HAVE, YOU KNOW, YOUR FIRST IN THE CLASS, YOUR SECOND IN THE CLASS. AND THIS IS SAYING THAT IF YOU HAVE A CERTAIN CLASS OF RANKING, THAT YOU'RE GUARANTEED ADMISSION INTO THE STATE SCHOOL SYSTEM FOR HIGHER EDUCATION.

THERE'S A LOT OF TALK ABOUT THAT BECAUSE THERE'S WAYS TO PLAY THE SYSTEM ON THAT. THERE'S WAYS TO CHANGE YOUR RANKING BY TAKING CERTAIN COURSES TO GET YOUR RANKING UP HIGHER, CERTAIN AP COURSES AND ALL THAT. AND NOT EVERYBODY HAS THOSE SAME OPPORTUNITIES. BUT ESPECIALLY CONSIDER THIS WOULD GO FOR HOME SCHOOLED STUDENTS, HOME SCHOOLED STUDENTS. A LOT OF TIMES IT WILL BE SIGNED OFF ON THE DADS, THE SUPERINTENDENT AND THE MOTHER IS THE PRINCIPAL OR WHATEVER. AND SO YEAH, YOUR FIRST IN YOUR CLASS BECAUSE SO THERE'S A LOT OF THINGS THAT ARE WRONG WITH THIS BILL. SO RIGHT NOW WE'RE JUST MONITORING IT. THEN WE HAVE AGAIN ALTERATIONS ON THE BLUEPRINT FOR MARYLAND'S FUTURE. THIS IS SENATE BILL 852, REPEALING THE CAREER COUNSELING PROGRAM. REMEMBER ALL THE TALK WE HAD ABOUT EVERY STUDENT, EVERY SINGLE STUDENT, THE KINDERGARTEN, WHATEVER THE CAREER COUNSELING PROGRAM, WE HAVE TO GIVE $62 PER STUDENT FOR IT. AND IT ONLY AFFECTS MIDDLE AND HIGH SCHOOL AND SCHOOL DISTRICTS DO NOT FEEL LIKE THEY'RE GETTING THEIR MONEY'S WORTH OUT OF IT. AND SO THEY'D LIKE TO CHANGE THAT. AND THEN SENATE BILL 355, WE'VE ALL HEARD ABOUT THE FAMILY AND MEDICAL LEAVE INSURANCE PROGRAM. THEY WANT TO DELAY THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THAT PROGRAM AND MAYBE IS SUPPORTING THAT. SO AND AGAIN, THIS WEBSITE IS THERE AND AVAILABLE FOR YOU TO WATCH AS WE GO THROUGH THE SESSION AS THINGS CHANGE. BUT IT'S A REALLY NICE SET UP. AND I KNOW IF YOU CONTINUE DOWN TO WHERE THE ORANGE BAR IS ON TOP, THESE ARE ALL THE BILLS, NOT JUST THE ONES THAT THAT WE'RE FOCUSING ON, BUT THESE ARE ALL THE BILLS. AND SO YOU CAN LOOK AT THEM, YOU CAN FIND OUT WHO THE SPONSOR WAS, WHAT THE MAIN POSITION IS ON IT. THIS WAS IN THE HOUSE AND WITHDRAWN BY THE SPONSOR. SO YOU CAN JUST GO DOWN. YOU CAN CLICK ON IT AND READ THE ENTIRE BILL. YOU CAN SEE WHO PUT IT IN. SO IT'S KIND OF NICE. AND THERE'S 14 PAGES OF THIS. THAT'S WHY I DON'T PRINT IT OFF AND HAND IT OUT TO YOU. BUT I THINK IT'S A GOOD RESOURCE FOR YOU TO BE ABLE TO CHECK OUT EVERYTHING THAT'S GOING ON IN THE STATE LEGISLATURE RIGHT NOW. THANK YOU. CAROL. OF THE HUNDREDS OF BILLS, MOST OF THEM WILL PROBABLY NOT MAKE IT THROUGH, BUT OF THE ONES THAT MAY CHOSE, ANY IDEA AS TO WHETHER OR NOT THE ONES SPECIFICALLY THAT THEY'RE SUPPORTING OR NOT HAVE A LIKELIHOOD OF PASSING, AND IS THERE A GENERAL SENTIMENT TALKED ABOUT THAT? I KNOW TERRY BROUGHT UP TODAY. TERRY'S MY ALTERNATE ON THE COMMITTEE SHE BROUGHT UP TODAY, HOUSE BILL 161. AND THAT'S THE ONE ABOUT THE FAMILY LIFE PORTION OF THE HEALTH CURRICULUM AND ALL THAT PASSED THE HOUSE, BUT NOT THE IT'S RIGHT. AND EVERY YEAR IT'S BEEN THREE YEARS. EVERY YEAR IT PASSES THE HOUSE AND NOT THE SENATE. SO THAT'S WHY MAYBE NOT EVEN PARTICULARLY WORRIED ABOUT IT, BECAUSE THEY DON'T EXPECT IT TO PASS THE SENATE AGAIN THIS YEAR. SO THERE ARE OTHER BILLS OUT THERE LIKE THAT THAT YOU CAN BY ANY MEANS JUST GO THROUGH AND TAKE A LOOK AT THEM AND IT'LL TELL YOU WHERE THEY ARE RIGHT NOW. RIGHT. TERRY HAS THE CO-CHAIR. DO YOU HAVE ANYTHING TO ADD? YEAH. THAT JUST CO MEMBER NOT CO MEMBER. SORRY. YEAH. ON THAT HOUSE BILL 161.

THAT'S THE ONE THAT TAKES AWAY PARENT'S RIGHTS TO OPT OUT. SO JUST BECAUSE IT HAS NOT YET PASSED THE SENATE I WOULD STILL SUGGEST THAT PEOPLE WRITE IN OH DID I NOT HEAR I WANT TO MAKE SURE EVERYONE CAN BE HEARD. I WOULD DEFINITELY IF YOU HAVE AN OPINION ON THAT, I WOULD

[00:25:02]

DEFINITELY WRITE TO YOUR STATE SENATOR AND GET YOUR OPINION HEARD, BECAUSE THAT'S AN IMPORTANT ONE. THEY WERE OPPOSED TO RIGHT TO TEACH HOUSE BILL 773. AND I THOUGHT THAT WAS SOMETHING THAT, FROM A SAFETY STANDPOINT, WAS SUPPORTED BY A LOT OF PEOPLE. SO 773 ONE OF THEIR PRIORITIES THAT WASN'T OKAY. YEAH, THERE'S THAT, BUT IT'S NOT. IT'S THEY'RE OPPOSED BUT IT'S NOT A PRIORITY. YEAH, THEY OPPOSED IT BECAUSE THEY SAID IT MATCHED ONE OF THEIR FALL RESOLUTIONS BUT WAS ALL THAT WAS GIVEN. I'LL ASK MORE ABOUT THAT. BUT AGAIN, IF THERE'S A BILL ON THERE AND IF ANYBODY NEEDS ANY INFORMATION ABOUT WRITING YOUR STATE SENATOR, EMAIL ME AND I'LL BE GLAD TO SEND IT OUT, BECAUSE IT'S TOUGH TO SORT THROUGH THIS WHOLE BIG THING. YEAH, IT'S HUGE, BUT THERE'S A LOT THAT MAYBE THEY'RE NOT WORRIED ABOUT THAT YOU MIGHT HAVE AN OPINION ON. SO, YOU KNOW, PLEASE LOOK INTO IT IF YOU HAVE, YOU KNOW, WANT TO GET YOUR VOICE HEARD. BUT BUT I ACTUALLY THINK THAT THIS IS JUST AN AWESOME RESOURCE FOR EVERYONE THAT YOU CAN GO ON THERE AND LOOK UP ALL THE DIFFERENT BILLS THAT ARE BEING DISCUSSED RIGHT NOW. YEAH, I WAS ON THE ON THE COMMITTEE AS A CO MEMBER LAST YEAR, AND WHEN THE BILLS WERE INTRODUCED, THERE WERE VOTES TAKEN BY THE COMMITTEE MEMBERS FROM AROUND THE STATE. AND I WAS JUST WONDERING IF ANY OF THE POSITIONS THAT MAY HAVE IF WE HAVE ANY DISSENT, DISSENTING POSITIONS OR IF WE TOOK A DISSENTING POSITION FROM WHAT MABE'S POSITION WAS? WELL, THERE'S ONLY BEEN LIKE MAYBE FIVE THAT THEY'VE TAKEN A VOTE ON. THIS IS NOT SOMETHING THAT A LOT OF PEOPLE HAVE TAKEN, THAT THERE'S NOT A LOT OF BILLS THEY VOTED ON. I THINK THERE WAS ONE THAT THE SEATBELTS ON THE BUSSES, I OPPOSED IT, BUT I OPPOSED IT BECAUSE OF THE COST OF GETTING ALL THE SCHOOL BUS. NOT BECAUSE I THINK SEATBELTS ARE A BAD IDEA, BUT IT'S THE IT WAS THE TIMELINE AND THE AND THE SAYING THAT WE HAD TO GET THE SEATBELTS INTO THE BUSSES RIGHT AWAY. SO I DID OPPOSE IT AND THEY SUPPORTED IT WITH AMENDMENTS. AND WE CAN SUPPORT OR OPPOSE SOMETHING NOT BASED ON THE IDEA, BUT BASED ON THE FACT THAT, YOU KNOW, IS THIS SOMETHING THE STATE SHOULD BE LEGISLATING VERSUS, YOU KNOW, LOCAL CONTROL, WHICH MAY TENDS TO HAVE A, WELL, MAYBE, DEFINITELY, MAYBE OPPOSE ANYTHING THAT'S TAKING AWAY THE LOCAL CONTROL? YOU KNOW, IT DOESN'T MEAN THAT IT'S A BAD IDEA. IT JUST MEANS THEY WANT YOU TO HAVE THE SAY RATHER THAN THE STATE TELLING US WHAT TO DO.

SO IN THE 279 BILLS THAT ARE LISTED IN THAT ROLL DOWN 14 PAGE THING WHERE THEY TOOK A POSITION, THEY WERE NOT ALL VOTED ON BY THE COMMITTEE MEMBERS. NO, THEY WEREN'T. SOME OF THEM WERE BASED. THEY WERE JUST BASED AGAINST THEIR PROCLAMATIONS. SO IF THEY ALREADY HAVE A RESOLUTION OUT SAYING THAT THEY HAVE A CERTAIN STAND ON SOMETHING, THEY'RE NOT GOING TO TAKE A VOTE FROM THE LEGISLATIVE COMMITTEE BECAUSE THEY ALREADY HAVE FROM THE ENTIRE MAY CONSTITUENCY WHAT THEIR OPINION ON IT. IT'S LIKE A DEFAULT POSITION, BASICALLY.

YEAH. RIGHT. SO AND THEN SASHA WAS IN ANNAPOLIS TODAY ACTUALLY MEETING WITH HER LEGISLATORS AS PART OF SOME OF THE WORK THAT SHE'S DOING. SO WOULD YOU LIKE TO SAY ANYTHING ABOUT WHAT YOU'RE WORKING ON? YEAH, ABSOLUTELY. SO TODAY THERE IS THE AMERICAN AMERICAN YOUTH ASSOCIATION. AND OUR STATE, MARYLAND, HAS RECENTLY DEVELOPED ONE FOR US, AS THEY'VE SEEN THE BENEFITS THAT THEY'VE HAD IN CALIFORNIA TO WHERE THEY BROUGHT IT TO A POSITION WHERE THEY COULD ACTUALLY PASS A BILL. SO THIS HAS BEEN SOMETHING THAT HAS BEEN IMPLEMENTED FOR ABOUT TWO YEARS NOW. AND TODAY WAS THEIR FIRST ADVOCACY DAY THAT WAS HELD IN PERSON. SO A LOT OF STUDENTS HAVE COME AND ARRIVED AND THEY WERE GOING AROUND THE HOUSE AND THE SENATE, AND THEY HAD THIS OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK TO A LOT OF THEIR LEGISLATORS AND EVEN SENATORS. AND WE HAVE, I BELIEVE, LIKE SIX REPRESENTATIVES FROM HARFORD COUNTY. ONE OF THEM IS FROM ABERDEEN, AND I BELIEVE THE REST ARE FROM EDGEWOOD. SO ULTIMATELY, I HOPE THAT WE WOULD HAVE MORE STUDENT ENGAGEMENT THROUGH HARFORD COUNTY. BUT I JUST BELIEVE IT WASN'T PROPERLY ADVERTISED BECAUSE IT'S A NEW STRUCTURE HAPPENING. AND BECAUSE OF THAT, THERE IS IT'S MUCH EASIER TO GET ON A COMMITTEE OR GET INVOLVED BECAUSE IT'S RUNNING APPLICATIONS, AND ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS TELL THEM THAT YOU'RE INTERESTED AND THEY WILL TAKE YOU. THERE'S NOT MUCH OF A VETTING PROCESS AS OF NOW AS THEY'RE JUST TRYING TO GROW THE ORGANIZATION, BUT MORE INTO THE ADVOCACY DAY. SO OUR REGIONAL STUDENT GOVERNMENT IS HOSTING AN ADVOCACY DAY. I BELIEVE IT'S THIS THURSDAY. AND SO THAT'S WHEN WE'RE GOING TO GET STUDENTS IN HARFORD COUNTY TO COME AND SPEAK, TO HAVE A SIMILAR EXPERIENCE WHERE THEY'RE SPEAKING TO THEIR LEGISLATORS.

AND WE ARE KIND OF CRAFTING DIFFERENT COMMITTEES DEPENDING ON THE TOPICS OF THE BILLS. AND SIMILARLY WITH THE AIR, THAT'S WHAT STUDENTS DID. AND SO FOR MY PERSONAL EXPERIENCE, I WAS WITH SENATOR FELDMAN AND WE SUBMITTED QUESTIONS, AND WE HAD DIFFERENT REPRESENTATIVES WHO WOULD BE THE ONES FACILITATING THE CONVERSATIONS. I WAS A CO-FACILITATOR AND A FEW OF THE

[00:30:03]

THINGS THAT WE FOUND WITH SENATOR FELDMAN WAS ANTI-BIAS TRAINING AND EDUCATION. THAT WAS A BILL THAT THERE WAS SUPPORT AGAINST, AND A LOT OF STUDENTS WERE CURIOUS OF HOW THOSE ANTI-BIAS TRAININGS THAT WERE MANDATORY FOR TEACHERS AND STAFF, HOW THAT WOULD IMPACT THOSE DAY TO DAY ACTIVITIES SO STUDENTS CAN HAVE MORE OPINION ON EXACTLY THE RESULTS, RATHER THAN JUST STATING WE HAVE ANTI-BIAS. THEN THERE WAS THE FUNDING FOR THE BLUEPRINT FOR MARYLAND'S FUTURE, AND A LOT OF THAT WAS, AGAIN, UNDERSTANDING THOSE BUDGET CONSTRAINTS. AND A LOT OF STUDENTS HAD QUITE SOME FEW THINGS TO SAY EXACTLY AS THEY GET MORE INVOLVED WITH THEIR OWN SCHOOL AND SEEING HOW BLUEPRINT HAS LED TO A LOT OF LIMITATIONS. AND ONE OF THE MAIN THINGS WAS WHAT WAS THE IMPACT WITH ASSESSMENT AND THE CHANGES THAT IT MIGHT HAVE ON LOW INCOME STUDENTS. AND THEN LASTLY, THERE WAS ALSO TWO DIFFERENT ONES. SO THERE'S ONE FOR SUPPORT WITH EDUCATORS. AND THAT WAS REGARDING MARYLAND STATE EDUCATION ASSOCIATION. AND WITH THAT, THERE WAS A PLEA TO IMPROVE THE NUMBER OF TRAINED TEACHERS AND RESOURCES AVAILABLE IN MARYLAND. AND SO STUDENTS WERE WONDERING WAS WHAT POLICIES ARE BEING DEVELOPED ALREADY THAT ALLEVIATE THE TEACHER SHORTAGE, WHILE ALSO MAKING SURE THAT THOSE CLASSROOMS ARE EQUIPPED WITH ENHANCED LEARNING. AND THEN LASTLY, A HOT TOPIC WAS CELL PHONE USAGE IN SCHOOLS. SO SENATE BILL 29, THAT WAS THE DISCUSSION OF THOSE MOBILE PHONES AND THE RESTRICTION AND THE IDEA OF PHONE FREE SCHOOLS. AND KIND OF, AS CAROL MUELLER WAS SAYING ABOUT LIKE HAVING CONTROL AT THE STATE LEVEL. THERE HAS BEEN A FEW BACK AND FORTH WITH STUDENTS AND EVEN LEGISLATORS ABOUT WHERE WE WANT TO STANCE ON THIS, BECAUSE THERE THERE IS A TREMENDOUS SUPPORT FOR PHONE FREE SCHOOL. HOWEVER, THERE'S PROBABLY EQUAL AMOUNT OF BACKLASH COMING FROM THAT AS WELL. BUT WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO SEE IS WHAT IS THAT EXPECTATION OF THE PROGRAM IN TERMS OF THAT STUDENT ENGAGEMENT AND LEARNING, SO WE CAN PROPERLY ASSESS WHAT THE RESULTS WOULD BE. AND THEN THERE WAS ONE LAST THING THAT STUDENTS BROUGHT UP, AND THIS IS SOMETHING I'M NOT AS FAMILIAR WITH, BUT LEGACY ADMISSION POLICIES. SO THAT'S SOMETHING THAT HAS BEEN A CONCERN WITH STUDENTS AND FAMILIES THROUGHOUT MARYLAND, AS LEGACY ADMISSIONS HAS BEEN SOMETHING THAT A LOT OF PEOPLE ARE CONCERNED OF, ESPECIALLY WHEN WE'RE TALKING ABOUT EQUITY FOR THAT APPLICATION PROCESS. SO THEY'RE SEEING IF MARYLAND IS GOING TO BE MOVED FORWARD TOWARDS FORBIDDING THAT PRACTICE. AND HOW WOULD THAT CHANGE THE LANDSCAPE OF DIVERSITY IN COLLEGE ADMISSIONS, ESPECIALLY IN MARYLAND? ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU. LOTS GOING ON THERE. OF COURSE. AND THIS IS GOING TO BE A BIT OF A SEGUE TO BLUEPRINT. BUT ALSO LAST WEEK DOCTOR PAULSON TESTIFIED I FORGET THE HOUSE BILL NUMBER BUT RELATED TO BLUEPRINT. AND I SENT HIS TESTIMONY BULLET POINTS BOARD. BUT WAS THERE ANYTHING THAT YOU WANTED TO SAY ABOUT THE HEARING ITSELF OR YOUR OR YOUR TESTIMONY? WE HAD. WE ACTUALLY HAD TEN SUPERINTENDENTS TESTIFY, WHICH IS I DON'T THINK THAT'S EVER HAPPENED BEFORE QUITE LIKE THAT. I DON'T KNOW HOW IT'S GOING TO SHAKE OUT. WE HAD, I THINK, SOME VERY SIGNIFICANT CONCERNS WITH THE GOVERNOR'S BUDGET BILL, AND OUR TESTIMONY WAS CONNECTED TO THAT. MY PART OF THE TESTIMONY WAS ABOUT THE FOUNDATION CALCULATION OF THE BLUEPRINT FUNDING, AND THAT THAT PARTICULAR PART OF THE TESTIMONY, I THINK, GOT A LOT OF ATTENTION AMONG THE LEGISLATORS. WE HAD A NUMBER OF QUESTIONS, AND I'M HOPING THAT IT'S SOMETHING THAT THE STATE WILL CONTINUE TO LOOK AT, BECAUSE I DO THINK IT IS ONE OF THE GREATEST CHALLENGES WE HAVE IN MEETING THE BLUEPRINT REQUIREMENTS. AND SO WE'LL SEE WHERE THAT GOES NEXT. BUT THERE'S A LOT MORE TO HAPPEN WITH THE GOVERNOR'S BUDGET HERE. AND AS YOU'VE HEARD, WE'VE SUMMARIZED THIS BEFORE. BUT, YOU KNOW, THE BIGGER CONCERN IS THAT THE GOVERNOR, THE STATE SUPERINTENDENT AND THE AIB HAVE ESSENTIALLY SUPPORTED EACH OTHER IN THE SENSE OF CUTTING INTO THE FOUNDATION FORMULA AND REMOVING THE COLLABORATIVE TIME ELEMENT. AND THE SUPERINTENDENTS ARE UNANIMOUS IN THEIR OPPOSITION TO

[C. Blueprint Changes Update, Ms. Katie Ridgway, Chief of Staff]

THIS SITUATION. SO WE'LL WE'LL SEE HOW THAT SHAKES OUT IN THE LEGISLATURE. THANK YOU. THEN LET'S MOVE ON THEN. GOOD SEGWAY INTO ITEM C KATIE RIDGEWAY, CHIEF OF STAFF UPDATE ON BLUEPRINT CHANGES. EVERYONE SHOULD HAVE A DOCUMENT IN FRONT OF THEM THAT'S GETTING PASSED AROUND IF YOU DON'T, LET ME KNOW. GOOD EVENING. YES, AND FOR ANYONE FOLLOWING US ONLINE, THIS DOCUMENT IS ALSO AVAILABLE IN THE AGENDA AS AN ARTIFACT. SO IN ORDER TO PROVIDE YOUR UPDATE THIS EVENING, I'D LIKE TO GO THROUGH PILLAR BY PILLAR BECAUSE THAT'S JUST THE EASIEST WAY TO ORGANIZE IT AND START WITH PILLAR ONE, WHICH IS EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION, WHICH, AS

[00:35:02]

YOU KNOW, IS ABOUT THE EXPANSION OF PRE-K. SO RIGHT NOW IS FOCUSING OUR EFFORTS TO ENSURE THAT TIER ONE. SO THOSE ARE OUR STUDENTS WHO ARE EXPERIENCING POVERTY. FOUR YEAR OLDS HAVE ACCESS TO PRE-K IN THEIR AREA. AND WE ARE ALSO FOCUSING OUR EFFORTS IN SUPPORTING PRIVATE PROVIDERS WHO ARE SEEKING TO PARTICIPATE IN THE BLUEPRINT. THE BLUEPRINT GOALS, IF YOU REMEMBER, ARE TO HAVE NEARLY ALL THREE AND FOUR YEAR OLDS OR FOUR YEAR OLDS AND A LOT OF THREE YEAR OLDS HAVE ACCESS TO HIGH QUALITY PRE-K AND TO ENSURE THAT WE DO NEED OUR PRIVATE PROVIDERS TO PARTICIPATE IN THE BLUEPRINT TO PROVIDE ENOUGH SEATS FOR ALL OF THOSE STUDENTS PARTICIPATE.

SO THOSE ARE WHY THOSE ARE OUR TWO FOCUS POINTS. HC CURRENTLY HAS 800 PUBLIC PRE-K SEATS, AND WE HAVE 38 PRIVATE PROVIDER PRE-K SEATS. SO THAT NUMBER 38 SEATS ARE PROVIDERS SEATS. GOT IT. YES. WHICH IS ACTUALLY A LOT COMPARED TO WHERE WE BEGAN. AND THAT IS THROUGH THE WORK OF OUR EARLY CHILDHOOD TEAM, AS WELL AS A COLLABORATION WITH THE FAMILY CHILD CARE ALLIANCE, AND AS WELL AS ONE DAYCARE CENTER OR PRE-K CENTER. EXCUSE ME. AND THAT IS A NUMBER WE HAVE ABOUT TWO I WROTE I GOT THIS OUT AROUND 2800 KINDERGARTEN STUDENTS EACH YEAR. SO THAT JUST HELPS YOU PUT IN PERSPECTIVE THE NUMBER OF PRE-K STUDENTS THAT WE HAVE. THOSE ARE FOR FOUR YEAR OLDS. ALL OF THE PRE-K PROGRAMS HAVE ACHIEVED THE HIGHEST RATINGS OF EXCELS LEVEL FIVE AND ARE ACCREDITED BY MSDE, WHICH IS SOMETHING SEPARATE THAT OUR OTHER CLASSROOMS, KINDERGARTEN AND ABOVE DO NOT HAVE TO ACCOMPLISH THAT SOMETHING JUST FOR PRE-K AS A BLUEPRINT REQUIREMENT. LAST YEAR, HC LAUNCHED A PILOT REGISTRATION PROGRAM THAT'S ONLINE FOR PRE-K, AND THIS YEAR IT WILL BE OPEN UP TO ALL FOR THIS COMING REGISTRATION PERIOD. SO YOU'RE USED TO SEEING REGISTRATION INFORMATION ONLINE, BUT THIS WILL BE THE FIRST YEAR THAT WE HAVE IT OPEN TO ALL. FOR PRE-K. IT IS A LITTLE MORE COMPLICATED AND DIFFERENT BECAUSE OF HOW WE ADMIT STUDENTS, AND WE HAVE TO UNDERSTAND IF THEY'RE TIER ONE OR TIER TWO. WE HAVE TO UNDERSTAND THEIR INCOME LEVEL, WHICH IS NOT SOMETHING THAT WE HAVE TO DO FOR OTHER STUDENTS.

AND SO IT'S A DIFFERENT PROCESS AND IT'S TAKEN SOME TIME, BUT WE ARE MEETING THAT REQUIREMENT OF THE BLUEPRINT. ULTIMATELY, WITH REGARD TO THIS PILLAR AND ALL THE LEGISLATION THAT COULD COME ACROSS IN ANNAPOLIS, WE SUPPORT ANY LEGISLATION THAT MAKES IT MORE ACCESSIBLE FOR OUR PRIVATE PROVIDERS TO PARTICIPATE IN THE BLUEPRINT, BECAUSE WE BELIEVE WE NEED THEM IN ORDER TO MEET THOSE GOALS, AS WE DO NOT HAVE THE SPACE OR AND RESOURCES OR BANDWIDTH NECESSARILY, TO PROVIDE ALL OF THAT SPACE FOR OUR PRE-K STUDENTS. AND IT SUPPORTS THE BUSINESS AND LIVELIHOOD OF OUR PRIVATE PRE-K PROVIDERS WITHIN THE COUNTY. ALL RIGHT. DO YOU WANT TO STOP FOR QUESTIONS? YEAH, WE'LL STOP AT EACH PILLAR, IF THAT'S OKAY, AND JUST ASK QUESTIONS. TRY TO KEEP IT SHORT. I HAVE JUST ONE ON. SO IF A IF A STUDENT IS, YOU KNOW, AS IT PUSHES DOWN TO PRE-K, IF A STUDENT MEETS THE CRITERIA, IS IT IS IT STILL OPTIONAL FOR THEM TO DO THE OPTIONAL DOES IT EVER BECOME MANDATORY AT ANY POINT IT HAS THAT IS NOT IN THE BLUEPRINT FOR IT TO BE MANDATORY. AND THEN OF THOSE THAT QUALIFY, SAY TIER ONE FOUR YEAR OLDS, DO WE HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT PERCENT ARE ACTUALLY TAKING ADVANTAGE OF IT AS A PERCENTAGE OF WHO'S ELIGIBLE? ELIGIBLE? WELL, IT'S REALLY HARD TO KNOW WHAT THE FAMILIES WE DON'T KNOW. RIGHT. SO IF YOU HAVE A FAMILY THAT HAS A FOUR YEAR OLD AND THEY'RE NOT IN OUR BUILDINGS AT ALL AND WE DON'T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT THEM, WE DON'T KNOW IF THEY'RE NOT ACCESSING OUR PRE-K. RIGHT. BUT WE DO KNOW THAT OF THE PERCENTAGE OF FAMILIES THAT DO APPLY FOR PRE-K, THE MAJORITY OF THEM ARE TIER ONE. AND WE PLACE ALL OF THOSE STUDENTS FIRST, AND WE TRY TO PLACE THEM FIRST IN THEIR CLOSEST HOME SCHOOL, AND THEN WE GO OUT FROM THERE. IF THERE'S NO MORE SPACES THERE, IF A SCHOOL HAS SPACES IN A TIER ONE STUDENT AND ANOTHER SCHOOL DOESN'T HAVE A SPOT, THEN WE CAN MOVE THEM AND PUT THEM IN THAT SPOT. IT'S ONLY AFTER THEN DO WE FILL IT WITH STUDENTS WHO MIGHT NOT BE TIER ONE. AND AT THIS POINT, BASED ON THE STUDENTS APPLYING LAST YEAR, WE WERE ABLE TO PLACE ALL THE ONES THAT APPLIED WHO WERE TIER ONE. BUT OF COURSE, THAT DOESN'T MEAN THAT ALL TIER ONE STUDENTS TOOK ADVANTAGE OF IT. THAT ALSO MEANS THAT THERE MIGHT BE A NEIGHBORHOOD OR A SCHOOL THAT DOESN'T HAVE A PRE-K, AND THE FAMILY DIDN'T WANT TO SEND THEM ON THE BUS FOR 30 MINUTES TO A DIFFERENT SCHOOL. AND SO WE CAN'T NECESSARILY KNOW THAT EXACT FIGURE, BUT WE KNOW THAT

[00:40:04]

WE STILL HAVE MORE TIER ONE STUDENTS TO SERVE. AND ESPECIALLY WE KNOW THAT WE STILL HAVE TWO ONE STUDENTS TO SERVE IN THEIR NEIGHBORHOOD. BUT WE FEEL LIKE WE ARE DOING SLOW AND STEADY PROGRESS IN MAKING SURE THAT THOSE STUDENTS ARE SERVED. BUT THAT IS WHERE OUR EFFORTS ARE FOCUSED ON. SO THE BLUEPRINT ALSO REQUIRES THAT WE ARE WORKING TOWARDS THREE YEAR OLDS, AND THAT WE ARE WORKING TOWARDS HAVING OPEN SEATS FOR BEYOND THE TIER ONE. AND RIGHT NOW THAT IS NOT OUR OUR FOCUS AND OUR EFFORT. OKAY, I JUST HAVE ONE QUESTION. THE STUDENTS, IF WE'RE NOT ABLE TO PLACE THEM IN OUR PUBLIC SEATS, DO WE HAVE ANY FINANCIAL OBLIGATIONS TO PRIVATE LIKE WE DO WITH THE WITH THE OTHER GRADES, WHEN WE HAVE TO HAVE TO PLACE STUDENTS INTO A PRIVATE? IT'S NOT LIKE SPECIAL EDUCATION WHERE WE HAVE TO PLACE THEM INTO A PRIVATE SETTING. AND WE DON'T HAVE ANY FINANCIAL OBLIGATIONS FOR THAT. NO. BUT IN THE NEW ONLINE SYSTEM, A FAMILY WILL BE ABLE TO CHOOSE TO TRY TO GET A SEAT AT A PRIVATE PROVIDER. BUT SINCE WE ONLY HAVE 38 SEATS, THEY'RE LIKELY OPTION IS TO CHOOSE ONE OF OUR OUR SPOTS. YEAH. COULD YOU SAY A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT WHAT TYPE OF SUPPORT WE PROVIDE TO THE PRIVATE PROVIDERS? YES. AND NOW I THINK I GOT IT. HEATHER, I'M LOOKING AT YOU JUST TO MAKE SURE YOU'RE THERE. SO WE DO HAVE SPECIALISTS IN OUR CURRICULUM OFFICE WHO SUPPORT OUR PRE-K EXPANSION, WHETHER IT'S FOR OUR OWN PUBLIC EXPANSION, BUT ALSO TO SUPPORT THE PRIVATE PROVIDERS. THOSE SPECIALISTS PROVIDE PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT FOR PRIVATE PROVIDERS. THEY HELP THEM WITH THEIR PAPERWORK, AND THEY HELP THEM WITH THE KIND OF ONEROUS PROCESSES THAT EXIST TO BECOME ACCREDITED BY MSDE AND TO ACHIEVE THEIR EXCELS RATINGS. IT'S A PRETTY HEFTY CUSTOMER SERVICE, BUT WE SEE THAT THAT HAS A LONG TERM VALUE IN SUPPORTING OUR PRIVATE, LOCAL PRIVATE PROVIDERS SO THAT OUR STUDENTS CAN HAVE ACCESS TO THAT HIGH QUALITY CARE. AND IS THERE ANY OTHER COUNTY RESOURCES THAT WOULD HELP THESE PEOPLE GET TO BE PRIVATE PROVIDERS? LAST YEAR'S LEGISLATION REQUIRED THAT MSDE CREATE SORT OF HUBS OR CREATE SUPPORT FOR OUR LOCAL PRIVATE PROVIDERS, AND I HAVE NOT SEEN HOW THAT TRANSLATES OR HOW THAT IS HAPPENING. WE DO CONTINUE TO PUSH FOR MORE SUPPORT FROM THE STATE TO PROVIDE THAT. THE COUNTY GOVERNMENT HAS ENGAGED WITH US, ESPECIALLY A LOT LAST YEAR, IN TRYING TO COME UP WITH IDEAS OF WAYS TO SUPPORT OUR PRIVATE PROVIDERS, BUT ULTIMATELY, THE THINGS THAT ARE INHIBITING OUR PRIVATE PROVIDERS FROM PARTICIPATING REALLY LIE AT THE STATE LEVEL OF CONTROL. AND SO THAT'S WHERE WE FOCUS OUR EFFORTS ON TRYING TO IMPROVE THEIR SUPPORTS TO PARTICIPATE. ARE THESE MOSTLY PEOPLE IN THEIR HOMES OR ARE THEY DAYCARE CENTERS? BOTH. WITHIN OUR PRIVATE PROVIDERS, WE HAVE ONE CENTER, SO IT'S ABOUT 20 SEATS AND THE REST ARE IN THEIR HOMES. ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU. OKAY. ALL RIGHT. OKAY. IF THERE'S NOTHING ELSE, WE'LL MOVE ON TO TWO. OKAY, GREAT. ALL RIGHT, SO YOU'VE HEARD DOCTOR BOLSON TALK ABOUT IT. HE'S TALKED ABOUT IT AT A COUPLE MEETINGS. YOU'VE HEARD DOCTOR MUELLER TALK ABOUT IT IN THE LEGISLATION AND THE EDUCATION AND THE EXCELLENCE FOR EDUCATION ACT. AND I KNOW SOME OF YOU HAVE BEEN IN SOME OF THE MEETINGS. I KNOW MISS ALVAREZ ATTENDED THE AIB OR LISTENED IN ON THE AIB MEETING WHERE COLLABORATIVE TIME WAS PAUSED.

AND I REMEMBER WHEN THE AIB PAUSED THAT COLLABORATIVE TIME, I WAS LIKE, OH, THIS IS A BIG DEAL. AND I REMEMBER TALKING TO MISS ALVAREZ AND SAYING, WHAT JUST HAPPENED? LIKE THAT DIDN'T SEEM LIKE A LEGISLATIVE MEETING, AND THAT'S BECAUSE IT'S SUCH A SPECIFIC PART OF THE LAW, AND IT'S SO NUANCED IN TERMS OF WHAT THAT REQUIREMENT EVEN MEANS AND WHAT IT MEANS TO PAUSE IT. AND SO WE'VE SAID IT, BUT I THINK IT'S STILL IMPORTANT TO SAY IT, BECAUSE THIS IS SOMETHING THAT WHEN YOU READ IT IN THE MEDIA OR YOU HEAR IT, IT'S NOT ALWAYS CLEAR ON WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT. SO THE COLLABORATIVE TIME IS PART OF THE CAREER LADDER, AND IT WAS SUPPOSED TO START NEXT YEAR IN AN EIGHT YEAR PHASE-IN. AND OVER EIGHT YEARS WE WERE SUPPOSED INNOVATIVE, DIFFERENT WAYS TO MAKE SURE THAT TEACHERS WERE IN FRONT OF STUDENTS FOR 60% OF THEIR TIME, AND THE OTHER 40% OF THEIR TIME WAS IN PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT. LOOKING, SPENDING TIME LOOKING AT STUDENT DATA, DOING SMALL GROUP INSTRUCTION OR INDIVIDUALIZED INSTRUCTION, HAVING PERSONAL PLANNING TIME, AND HAVING COLLABORATIVE PLANNING TIME. THE WORD COLLABORATIVE PLANNING TIME IS REALLY A MISNOMER. THAT 40% WAS A LOT OF THE OTHER THINGS THAT

[00:45:06]

TEACHERS DO. AND SO OVER EIGHT YEARS WE WERE TRYING TO. SO IT'S BASICALLY A LOT OF YOUR TEACHERS, ESPECIALLY IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, TEACH IN FRONT OF STUDENTS FOR MORE THAN 60% OF THEIR TIME. AND SO TO GET THERE, WE WOULD HAVE TO FIND INSTRUCTIONAL WAYS TO EITHER TO CHANGE THAT PERCENTAGE. AND THERE'S DIFFERENT WAYS YOU CAN DO THAT. THERE'S CHANGING HOW YOU DO YOUR SCHOOL DAY. THERE'S CHANGING YOUR STAFFING MODELS, WHICH MIGHT BE ADDING STAFF. YOU COULD CHANGE YOUR CALENDAR AND ADD MORE DAYS INTO THE INTO YOUR CALENDAR SO THAT TEACHERS HAVE MORE DAYS FOR PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT, COLLABORATION, YOU KNOW, ALL OF THOSE TYPES OF THINGS. THERE'S A LOT OF DIFFERENT WAYS TO DO IT, BUT THE AIB AND THE GOVERNOR HAS SAID THAT BECAUSE IT MIGHT REQUIRE MORE TEACHERS AND WE'RE IN A TEACHER SHORTAGE, IT'S AN OPPORTUNE TIME TO PAUSE IT. WE DISAGREE WITH THIS CHARACTERIZATION THAT THERE ARE, YOU KNOW, THE BLUEPRINT HAS REQUIRED US TO INNOVATE AND DO MORE WITH LESS. AND WE BELIEVE WE COULD CONTINUE TO DO THAT TO PROVIDE THIS LEVEL OF, OF CHANGE FOR OUR, OUR TEACHERS. AND TO DO THAT, THOUGH THE OPPORTUNITY THAT PRESENTED ITSELF WAS THAT THERE'S $163 IN OUR FOUNDATION FORMULA FOR NEXT YEAR THAT WAS SUPPOSED TO HELP US BEGIN BUILDING THAT. SO WHATEVER MONEY THAT WE WERE USING, IT COULD BE PART OF OUR RETENTION OF OUR HIGH QUALIFIED TEACHERS OR SMALL GROUP INSTRUCTION OR TUTORING OR WHATEVER IT IS. IT DIDN'T SAY HOW WE HAD TO USE IT, BUT THAT'S WHY IT WAS FACTORED IN TO THE LAW. AND THAT IS $163 PER STUDENT THAT WE HAVE INCLUDED IN OUR BUDGET, BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT'S IN THE LAW TO INCLUDE IN OUR BUDGET. SO IF THIS PART OF THE LAW IS FOLLOWED THROUGH WITH IN TERMS OF THE BUDGET REDUCTION, IT WOULD BE ABOUT $5 MILLION IN COSTS AND REDUCING OUR STATE REVENUE. SO IF WE PUT THAT IN TERMS OF TEACHERS, THAT'S ABOUT 50 TEACHERS. SO WE OPPOSE THIS PROPOSAL, AND WE BELIEVE THAT AN EIGHT YEAR PHASE IN CAN TAKE EIGHT YEARS TO DO, AND THAT WE NEED TO BE ABLE TO GET STARTED. AND WE DON'T WANT TO BE WEIGHED DOWN AS WE TRY TO CROSS THE ENGLISH CHANNEL, WHICH IS A BIT OF A JOKE, BECAUSE THE AIB OFTEN REFERS TO THE BLUEPRINT AS ALL OF US TRYING TO CROSS THE ENGLISH CHANNEL, AND WE DON'T WANT TO TURN AROUND TOO SOON BECAUSE WE'RE GOING TO MAKE IT IF WE JUST KEEP SWIMMING. AND TO USE THAT ANALOGY, WE DON'T WANT TO BE WEIGHED DOWN WHILE WE'RE TRYING TO SWIM, AND SOMETHING LIKE THIS WOULD WEIGH IT DOWN. SO THAT WAS A LONG EXPLANATION OF THAT. BUT IT'S VERY IMPORTANT AND SOMETHING THAT WE FEEL VERY STRONGLY ABOUT. SO THINGS THAT ARE UPCOMING THAT HAVE NOT BEEN PAUSED, THAT ARE REQUIRED IS THIS SPRING, WE HAVE TO NEGOTIATE LEVEL FOUR POSITIONS ON THE CAREER LADDER. SO CURRENTLY OUR CAREER LADDER HAS LEVELS ONE THROUGH THREE. AND LEVELS FOUR IS WHERE YOU BEGIN TO GET INTO TEACHER LEADER TYPE POSITIONS. SO THESE WOULD BE POSITIONS THAT WE MIGHT HAVE THAT ARE COULD HAVE ELEMENTS OF OUR SPECIALISTS OR ELEMENTS OF OUR COACHES OR ELEMENTS OF THE LEADERS THAT WE HAVE IN OUR BUILDING. THEY ARE REQUIRED TO TEACH A PORTION OF THE TIME AND PROVIDE THAT LEADERSHIP AND OTHER PORTION OF THE TIME THAT DOES HAVE TO BE NEGOTIATED THIS SPRING, AND IT IS DUE TO THE AIB BY JULY 1ST. SO JUST AS A NOTE, IN TERMS OF OUR PROGRESS TO GET ONTO THE CAREER LADDER AS A BIG PORTION OF THE CAREER LADDER, YOU HAVE TO HAVE YOUR NATIONAL BOARD CERTIFICATION. RIGHT NOW, THE WE HAD NATIONAL BOARDS, YOU FIND OUT IN DECEMBER, AND IF YOU'VE PASSED AND YOU'VE YOU'VE GOTTEN CERTIFIED. AND SO WITH OUR NEW NUMBERS IN, WE HAVE 190 NATIONAL BOARD CERTIFIED TEACHERS, AND WE HAVE 170 TEACHERS WHO ARE PURSUING THAT CERTIFICATION. THOSE ARE MY UPDATES ON A RECORD HIGH BECAUSE OF THE CHANGES IN COMPENSATION. YES, ABSOLUTELY. SO IT SAYS THE AIB HAS PAUSED THE COLLABORATIVE TIME AND THE GOVERNOR'S BUDGET SUGGESTS PAUSING IT. WHERE'S THE AUTHORITY LIE? SO THE COLLABORATIVE TIME PORTION IS THE REQUIREMENT. IT'S KIND OF SEPARATE FROM THE MONEY. SO THE AIB HELD A MEETING, A SPECIAL MEETING AND VOTED TO PAUSE THE REQUIREMENT. THEY HAD THE AUTHORITY TO DO IT, BUT THEY DON'T HAVE THE AUTHORITY TO CHANGE OUR MONEY. AND THE MONEY IS WHAT'S IN LEGISLATION TO IN ORDER TO HAVE THE GOVERNOR'S BUDGET GO THROUGH. SO, I MEAN, IT'S KIND OF A I MEAN, LOOSE AUTHORITY ISN'T THE RIGHT WORD.

IT'S ONE OF THOSE THAT THEY CAN EASILY UNDO IT. AND THEY HAVE EVEN STARTED USING LANGUAGE THAT SAYS THAT THEY DIDN'T REALIZE WHAT THEY WERE DOING, AND THEY DON'T SUPPORT A CHANGE TO THE

[00:50:01]

FOUNDATION. AND IT'S LIKE, WELL, IF YOU DON'T SUPPORT A CHANGE TO THE FOUNDATION, THEN WHY DID YOU DO THIS? BUT THAT THOSE TYPES OF THINGS ARE STARTING TO HAPPEN AND WE COULD SEE SOME CHANGES FROM THE AIB. AFTER ALL OF THIS SHAKES OUT, THERE'S A BILL I DON'T KNOW IF YOU IF YOU'RE FAMILIAR WITH IT, CAROL, BUT THERE'S A BILL ALSO IN THE IN THE HOUSE, I BELIEVE ON CHANGING THE FOUNDATION. YEAH, YEAH. SO YEAH. AND THAT'S THAT'S WHAT OH DOCTOR OLSON WAS ONE. I THINK I'LL LOOK IT UP AND SEND IT TO YOU BECAUSE THEY'RE CROSS-FILED. THEY'RE IN BOTH. THEY'RE BOTH THE HOUSE AND THE SENATE. AND THAT IS WHAT DOCTOR OLSON AND HIS COLLEAGUES TESTIFIED ON LAST WEEK. AND THEN DO WE THINK THERE'S GOING TO BE ANY CHANGES TO NBC? I KNOW THAT'S BEEN ON THE NOT THAT I'M AWARE OF. OKAY. WE WOULD WE WOULD SUPPORT, YOU KNOW, IF I WERE TO PUT IN THE THINGS THAT WE WOULD WE WOULD SUPPORT HAVING LOCAL FLEXIBILITY ON WHAT QUALIFICATIONS WOULD.

REQUIRE AN INCENTIVE TO ENSURE THAT WE HAVE HIGH QUALITY STAFF IN ALL OF OUR BUILDINGS.

NATIONAL BOARD CERTIFIED CERTIFICATION HAS A LOT OF MERIT, BUT WE ALSO THINK THAT THERE ARE OTHER THINGS THAT HAVE A LOT OF MERIT AS WELL, SUCH AS HAVING OUR SPECIAL EDUCATORS WHO ARE CERTIFIED IN SPECIAL ED, STAY IN SPECIAL ED, AND NOT TEACH IN OTHER AREAS, OR EVEN SOME OF THE REALLY RIGOROUS READING SCIENCE OF READING CERTIFICATIONS THAT YOU CAN GET NOW. IT WOULD BE GREAT TO BE ABLE TO INCENTIVIZE THINGS LIKE THAT. SO JUST SO. HB 1245, ONE OF THE MORE RECENTLY DROPPED BILLS IS ONE THAT WAS INCORPORATES A LOT OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS THE SUPERINTENDENTS MADE. AND SO WHILE WE DIDN'T WRITE THE BILL, OUR TEAM COLLABORATED ON IT. AND SO IN THERE WE DO HAVE RECOMMENDATIONS RELATED TO NATIONAL BOARD CERTIFICATION, THE MOST SIGNIFICANT ONE, BECAUSE MOST DISTRICTS HAVE REALLY DONE A LOT OF NEGOTIATING AROUND NBCT. SO WE WEREN'T TRYING TO UNDO THAT. BUT THE NEXT THING THAT'S HITTING WITH NATIONAL BOARD CERTIFICATION IS THE RENEWALS. AND THE WAY IT CURRENTLY SITS IN LAW IS EACH RENEWAL IS AN ADDITIONAL $8,000, WHICH MEANS THAT IF YOU HAVE 10,000 THAT YOU'RE ALREADY GETTING FOR NBC AND YOU HAVE TO BE A LOW PERFORMING SCHOOL, YOU HAVE THE 7000. SO NOW YOU HAVE A 17,000 ADDITION TO YOUR BASE SALARY AFTER YOU'VE RENEWED.

ONCE YOU GET EIGHT MORE ON TOP OF THAT. SO IN THE RENEWAL PERIOD IS FOR HOW LONG? FIVE YEARS. WHEN THE LAW AND THE SECOND RENEWAL IS ANOTHER 8000, RIGHT. YEAH. AND DOES IT EVER DOES IT EVER CAP OUT. YEAH. I DON'T REMEMBER WHERE IT CAPS OUT. BUT IF YOU'RE A NEW TEACHER AND YOU GET NBC CERTIFIED, YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE A GREAT CAREER IF YOU KEEP GETTING REAUTHORIZED. YEAH. ASSUMING THAT THIS THIS ALL STAYS IN PLACE. SO THERE'S A THERE'S BASICALLY A SO THE SUPERINTENDENTS HAVE ASKED FOR TWO THINGS. WE'VE ASKED FOR AN ANALYSIS OF THE IMPACT OF THE NBC STIPENDS. SO WE REALLY JUST WANT AN EVALUATION OF IT. IS IT IS IT YIELDING OR IS IT LIKELY TO YIELD THE RETURN ON INVESTMENT WE SEEK. AND OUR OUR ASSERTION IS IT'S BEEN A GOOD THING, BUT IT'S A LOT OF MONEY FOR MONEY WE CAN'T USE FOR OTHER THINGS. RIGHT. AND THEN THE SECOND THING AS I MENTIONED, IS REDUCING THE OVERALL IMPACT, BECAUSE WHEN YOU THINK OF PRETTY MUCH EVERY OTHER CERTIFICATION SOMEONE GETS WHEN YOU RECERTIFY, THAT ALLOWS YOU TO KEEP YOUR JOB, YOU DON'T GET PAID MORE FOR GETTING RECERTIFIED EVERY TIME.

SO IT'S A LITTLE DIFFERENT FROM, YOU KNOW, THIS THIS IS DIFFERENT. NOW, I UNDERSTAND THE IDEA WAS TO INCREASE THE OVERALL EARNING POTENTIAL FOR TEACHERS. BUT AGAIN, WE HAVE SO MANY OTHER THINGS IN THE BLUEPRINT THAT WE NEED TO SEE ACHIEVED. THIS JUST ISN'T THE HIGHEST IN THE STATE.

ONLY GIVES US A PORTION. I THINK IT WAS LIKE 5000 OF THE WELL THE ALL THE NBC. I MEAN OUR UNDERSTANDING SO THAT WE WOULD GET THE SAME SO WE GET ABOUT 50% THAT'S LIKE 45 TO 50% FROM THE STATE. AND THEN WE COVER THE REST. SO IN ANY CASE, WE'D STILL PROBABLY BE GETTING THAT HALF, BUT THE OTHER HALF WE'D HAVE TO FIND LOCALLY. AND AS IF, YOU KNOW, IF WE'RE NOT GROWING IN THAT AREA, THAT THEN MEANS WE'RE CUTTING INTO OTHER THINGS WE'RE DOING, WHICH WE'RE ALREADY EXPERIENCING. SO IS ANY IS ANYBODY TAKING A STANCE ON THIS TO SAY, LOOK, WE NEED TO CAP THE RENEWALS OR THERE NEEDS TO BE CHANGES THAT IT'S IN IT'S IN WHAT DID I SAY? 1245 HB 1245 WHAT IS IT SAY SPECIFICALLY IN THAT ONE? DO YOU KNOW IT'S A LONG BILL? NO, I MEAN, RELATED TO THE NBC. I MEAN, DOES IT REMOVE DOES IT PHASE IT IN. DOES IT REMOVE. NO, IT IT CUTS IN HALF THE RENEWAL. SO WE'RE SUGGESTING TO CUT IN HALF THAT RENEWAL AMOUNT BUT STILL IN PERPETUITY. BUT STILL EVERY. YEAH I THINK IT'S UP TO A CERTAIN NUMBER OF RENEWALS. I DON'T REMEMBER WHAT THE WHAT THE ORIGINAL LAW SAYS. I THINK THERE'S A CERTAIN NUMBER OF

[00:55:02]

RENEWALS THAT LIKE THREE OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT, BUT AGAIN, THE, THE OTHER SORT OF NOT COSTLY AT THIS POINT, BUT I THINK MORE MEANINGFUL IS IT THIS NEEDS TO BE EVALUATED. OF ALL THE ELEMENTS THAT ARE OUT THERE, THERE'S GOOD THAT THE DISTRICTS ARE YIELDING FROM THE THIS MOVEMENT TOWARD MORE NATIONALLY BOARD CERTIFIED TEACHERS. BUT WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE OVERALL COST OF THE BLUEPRINT, THIS IS A HUGELY EXPENSIVE ELEMENT. AND WHAT I'VE BEEN ARGUING IS. YOU KNOW, THIS THIS IS GOING UP TO THIS COULD POSSIBLY BE, YOU KNOW, FOR AFTER TWO RENEWALS, THIS PERSON COULD HAVE LIKE A $35,000 PER YEAR ADDITIONAL STIPEND ON THEIR SALARY. AND AS I'VE SAID MANY TIMES, STIPENDS FOR KEEPING TEACHERS IN HIGH POVERTY SCHOOLS AND THEY DON'T NEED TO BE $35,000 WOULD MAKE A SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE TO THE ACHIEVEMENT IN THOSE SCHOOLS, BECAUSE ONE OF THE THINGS WE HAVE BEEN LEARNING IS, YOU KNOW, YOU REDUCE TEACHER TURNOVER IN THE BUILDINGS, A MORE STABLE STAFF IS GOING TO YIELD BETTER RESULTS FOR STUDENTS. SO THAT'S ONE. THE OTHER ONE WE'VE TALKED ABOUT IS SPECIAL EDUCATION. AGAIN, WE HAVE CERTIFIED SPECIAL EDUCATORS WHO ARE NOT IN SPECIAL EDUCATION CLASSROOMS BECAUSE THEY'RE DULY CERTIFIED. THEY CAN TEACH IN REGULAR EDUCATION. BUT IF THERE WERE A STIPEND TO KEEP THEM IN SPECIAL EDUCATION CLASSROOMS, FRANKLY, THAT'S WHERE WE HAVE THE HIGHEST PERCENTAGE OF TRADITIONAL TEACHERS RIGHT NOW. SO AGAIN, IT WOULDN'T HAVE TO BE A $35,000 ADDITION TO KEEP SOMEONE IN OR TO KEEP SOME PEOPLE IN SPECIAL ED, OTHERS. THE POINT BEING, FOR MODEST AMOUNTS OF INCENTIVE PAY TO STAY IN PLACE, I THINK WE COULD YIELD FAR MORE MEASURABLE RESULTS IN TERMS OF STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT. IF WE WEREN'T SPENDING ALL THAT MONEY ON NBC. AND JUST OUT OF CURIOSITY, DO STIPENDS COUNT TOWARDS PENSION FORMULAS? DOES THIS. YEAH. SO THIS IT'S NOT ACTUALLY A STIPEND. IT'S AN INCENTIVE. SO IT GOES ON TOP OF THEIR PAY. AND SO IT DOES COUNT TOWARDS PENSION OKAY. AND SO THAT THAT'S KIND OF A NUANCE THAT YEAH IT WASN'T USING THE ACCURATE LANGUAGE.

IT'S IMPORTANT BECAUSE YOU KNOW NOW YOU ALSO HAVE IN THE GOVERNOR'S PROPOSAL TO SHIFT SOME OF THIS, YOU KNOW, YOU'RE RAISING THE TEACHER SALARIES AND YOU'RE RAISING THE INCENTIVES.

AND SO NOW THE PENSION COST IS COSTING MORE. IT'S COSTING MORE. AND SO NOW THEY'RE TRYING TO SHIFT THAT BACK TO US. SO NOT ONLY ARE WE, YOU KNOW, PAYING THE HIGHER SALARIES, PAYING THE INCENTIVES, HAVING MORE THAN THAT, BUT THEN EXPECTED TO THEN ALSO ABSORB THAT IN THE PENSION.

AND I DON'T DON'T DON'T THINK THAT THAT WAS EVER CONTEMPLATED WHEN THE BLUEPRINT WAS CREATED.

YOU PROBABLY HAVEN'T EVEN RUN THOSE NUMBERS YET, HAVE YOU? YEAH. WELL, IT JUST KEEPS COMPOUNDING. YEAH. YOU KNOW. YEAH. AND IT'S THE FIRST MAINTENANCE OF NBC IS 8000, SECOND IS SEVEN, THIRD IS SIX. AND THEY DON'T MENTION ANY. SO IT'S JUST THOSE THREE. YEAH. BUT STILL SEVEN SIX. THAT'S THE BILL THAT IT WOULD BE CHANGED TO KNOW WHAT IT WOULD BE CHANGED TO. OH THAT'S THAT'S THE ORIGINAL. WHAT WOULD BE CHANGED TO IS THEY HAVE 4000, 4003 THOUSAND AND BUT IS IT 3000. DOES THAT KEEP ADDING ON AS WELL. OR IS THAT. NO THAT IT'S JUST IT'S JUST FOR THE FIRST THREE. OKAY. DOCTOR, YOU MENTIONED ASKING FOR THE STUDY OF THE IMPACTS. ARE YOU ALSO GOING TO ASK FOR OR DID YOU ABOUT THE AFFORDABILITY, THE IMPACTS ON THE BUDGET OF THESE STIPENDS? SO WE THE SPECIFIC REQUESTS BECAUSE THERE'S ALREADY THEY'RE PLANNING TO REVISIT ALL OF THIS, BUT I DON'T HAVE A GREAT DEAL OF CONFIDENCE IN THE SPECIFICITY AND TELLING THE STORY. IT NEEDS TO. SO WE ASKED FOR VERY SPECIFIC THINGS, NBC BEING ONE OF THEM WE'VE ASKED FOR, AND IT'S AN ANALYSIS OF SPECIAL EDUCATION ADEQUACY. AND WE'VE ALSO ASKED FOR ANALYSIS OF THE FOUNDATION FORMULA. AND THOSE ARE THE THREE. YOU'VE HEARD ME TALK ABOUT ALL THREE OF THOSE A LOT. SO, YOU KNOW, THOSE WERE SPECIFICALLY WHAT WE ASKED FOR. BUT THE I THINK AN OVERALL AFFORDABILITY OF THE BLUEPRINT IS WOULD BE GREAT, I THINK. BUT I DON'T KNOW IF THEY'RE GOING TO COVER ALL THE DETAILS. BUT THESE THOSE ARE THOSE ARE JUST WHAT WE ASKED FOR. IT DOESN'T MEAN THEY WOULDN'T DO THE WHOLE THING. ALL RIGHT. ARE WE READY? YEAH. PILLAR THREE. ALL RIGHT. LOTS OF STUFF GOING ON. I'M ACTUALLY GOING TO START WITH THE SECOND BULLET. JUST BECAUSE IT'S FUN TO BE POSITIVE AFTER WE TALKED ABOUT SO MANY CHALLENGES, THAT PILLAR THREE, WHICH IS OUR COLLEGE AND CAREER READINESS PILLAR, CONTINUES TO BE THE AREA WHERE OUR OUTCOMES ARE ALL HEADING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION AND WHERE WE ARE LEADING THE STATE, AND A LOT OF OUR OUTCOMES FOR THE BENEFIT OF STUDENTS THAT IT'S SO EASY TO SUPPORT THE WORK THAT THIS GROUP IS DOING BECAUSE THEY'RE DOING SO MANY WONDERFUL THINGS FOR STUDENTS. AND OUR SUCCESSFUL COMPLETION OF COLLEGE

[01:00:01]

LEVEL COURSES IS ON THE RISE, OUR APPRENTICESHIPS IS ON OUR RISE, AND WE ARE LEADING THE STATE IN THAT REGARD. OUR NUMBER OF STUDENTS ACHIEVING INDUSTRY RECOGNIZED CREDENTIALS, FOLLOWING CTE PATHWAYS, ALL OF THAT CONTINUES TO INCREASE. AND WE'RE REALLY PROUD OF ALL OF THAT WORK AND REALLY PROUD OF THE ETHOS OF BEING CAREER DRIVEN FOR OUR STUDENTS SO THAT STUDENTS, WHETHER THEY ARE GOING TO COLLEGE OR STRAIGHT TO CAREER, ALL HAVE THE TOOLS THAT THAT THEY ARE SET UP FOR SUCCESS AND HAVE DEMONSTRATED THAT THEY ARE READY TO ACCOMPLISH THAT.

AND SO THAT'S JUST SOMETHING I WANTED TO TAKE THIS MOMENT TO SAY, BECAUSE THERE'S SO MANY PEOPLE IN THE CURRICULUM OFFICES AND IN ED SERVICES AND IN THE SCHOOLS, THE PRINCIPALS, THE TEACHERS, THAT IS A LOT OF PEOPLE FOCUSED ON THAT WORK. AND IT'S REALLY IMPRESSIVE WHAT WHAT HAS BEEN TRANSFORMED OVER THE LAST COUPLE OF YEARS. SO WITH THAT, ALL OF THIS RESTS ON A DEFINITION THAT THE MARYLAND STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION HAS JURISDICTION OVER ABOUT WHAT IS COLLEGE AND CAREER READINESS. WHEN THE BLUEPRINT FIRST STARTED, WE HAD ONE DEFINITION THAT WAS VERY SPECIFIC. GOSH, I'VE EVEN FORGOTTEN THE SPECIFICS OF THAT BECAUSE WE'VE ALREADY MOVED ON TO THE NEXT DEFINITION. AND THAT DEFINITION, WE SAW SOME IMPROVEMENT AS IT HAS OPTIONS OF PASSING M-CAT OR ALSO BEING SUCCESSFUL IN SOME OF YOUR CLASSWORK. AND NOW, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE HAD ADVOCATED FOR FERVENTLY, AND I HAD GIVEN A TESTIMONY AT AN MSDE STATE BOARD MEETING ABOUT THIS, IS TRYING TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE INCLUDING CAREER OPTIONS IN THE DEFINITION OF COLLEGE AND CAREER SO THAT IT WASN'T JUST A COLLEGE PREP STANDARD, BUT THAT IT INCLUDED CAREER. WELL, INTERESTINGLY ENOUGH, IT'S KIND OF SURPRISED ALL OF US BECAUSE WE DIDN'T REALIZE THIS WAS COMING. BUT MSDE RECENTLY RELEASED A PROPOSED REVISION TO THEIR CCR STANDARD, AND IT'S WORTH LOOKING AT BECAUSE IT'S VERY DETAILED AND IT HAS A LOT OF DIFFERENT OPTIONS. IT'S INTERESTING. IT'LL BE INTERESTING TO SEE WHERE IT LANDS, BUT IT EXPANDS THE MEASURES FOR STUDENTS TO ACHIEVE CCR. IN PRINCIPLE, THAT'S GREAT, BUT IN IT'S THE DEVIL'S IN THE DETAILS ALWAYS. AND WHAT THOSE PROVISIONS ARE AND HOW COMPLICATED IT IS FOR OUR FAMILIES AND ALL OF THOSE TYPES OF THINGS, IS SOMETHING THAT WE ARE LOOKING AT AND PROVIDING FEEDBACK ON. SO THE REVISED STANDARDS INCLUDE SOME OPTIONS LIKE YOUR SAT ACT SCORES. IT INCLUDES SUCCESSFUL COMPLETION OF TWO DUAL ENROLLMENT COURSES. IT ALSO INCLUDES EARNING AN INDUSTRY RECOGNIZED CREDENTIAL. SO WE AGREE THAT SOME OF THESE BENCHMARKS DO SHOW COLLEGE AND CAREER READINESS. BUT WE STILL HAVE CONCERNS. THESE DON'T ALIGN WITH GRADUATION REQUIREMENTS.

AND WE KNOW THAT THE CCR STANDARD AS IT IS NOW, IS ALREADY A CONFUSION POINT FOR OUR FAMILIES, AND IT WOULD CONTINUE TO BE. IT IS ALSO INTERESTING THAT A LOT OF THE NEW OPTIONS FOR STUDENTS TO ACHIEVE COLLEGE AND CAREER READINESS WOULD BE AFTER THE 10TH GRADE. AND THE GOALS OF THE BLUEPRINT ARE IS THAT YOU ACHIEVE COLLEGE AND CAREER READINESS BEFORE THE 10TH GRADE. AND SO BECAUSE OF THAT, WE HAVE LOTS OF QUESTIONS AND WE'VE SUBMITTED FEEDBACK TO MSDE. IT'S ALMOST TWO AND A HALF, THREE PAGES OF FEEDBACK ABOUT EACH ONE OF THOSE PROVISIONS, ASKING QUESTIONS, SEEKING MORE INFORMATION, AND REALLY STATING, YOU KNOW, THE CONCERNS OR THE POSITIVES WE HAVE ABOUT EACH ONE. SO WE'VE MET AS A GROUP OF ABOUT 20 OR SO OF THE EXPERTS AT HCPS TO HELP PROVIDE THAT FEEDBACK. I'M HAPPY TO PROVIDE IT TO ALL OF YOU, AS I CAN SEND THAT AS A SEPARATE ARTIFACT IF YOU WOULD LIKE, BUT IT IS SOMETHING THAT WILL BE THAT WILL. I'M SURE WE WILL HEAR PUBLIC COMMENT. THERE'S A STATE BOARD MEETING TOMORROW. I'M SURE IT WILL BE ON THAT, BUT THE FEEDBACK DEADLINE FOR THIS NEW CCR PROVISION IS WEDNESDAY. A COUPLE OF REASONS THIS MATTERS TO ALL OF US. ONE, IT IMPACTS FUNDING ALWAYS, RIGHT? SO WE GET PER PUPIL FUNDING FOR STUDENTS WHO MEET COLLEGE AND CAREER READINESS. SO THAT FUNDING IS THE FUNDING WE USE FOR THINGS LIKE DUAL ENROLLMENT AND OTHER A LOT OF THESE OPTIONS AND HAVING MORE WAYS FOR STUDENTS TO REACH CCR SO WE CAN GET THAT FUNDING IS GREAT, BUT IT ALSO CAUSES A LOT OF QUESTIONS ON IF YOU'RE RECEIVING IT IN THE 12TH GRADE, YOU KNOW, HOW IS THAT HELPING WITH THE FUNDING FOR THE THINGS THAT YOU NEED AND THINGS LIKE THAT? AND THAT'S IT. THAT'S MY THAT'S MY UPDATE FOR PILLAR THREE. OKAY. ANY QUESTIONS ON

[01:05:05]

THAT? OKAY. FOR ALL RIGHT. SO AS A REMINDER PILLAR FOUR IS THE PORTION OF THE BLUEPRINT THAT PROVIDES ADDITIONAL SUPPORTS EITHER FOR FUNDING OR REQUIREMENTS FOR STUDENTS WHO ARE EITHER EXPERIENCING POVERTY, EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS, EXPERIENCING DISABILITIES, OR NEEDING SPECIAL EDUCATION SERVICES REQUIRING. SERVICES RELATED TO BEING AN ENGLISH LEARNER, AS WELL AS STUDENTS WHO HAVE BEHAVIORAL OR MENTAL HEALTH NEEDS. SO YOU'RE REALLY LOOKING AT A LOT OF STUDENTS WHO REQUIRE ADDITIONAL SUPPORT SO THAT THEY ARE READY TO LEARN AND ABLE TO ACCESS THE LEARNING ENVIRONMENT IN WHICH WE WANT TO HELP THEM SUCCEED. SO A COUPLE THINGS THAT ARE GOING ON IN THE AREA OF STUDENT SUPPORTS. YOU'VE HEARD OUR FOCUS ON SPECIAL EDUCATION.

AS A PERSONAL NOTE, IF WE COULD GET SPECIAL EDUCATION FUNDING RIGHT, A LOT OF OUR OTHER BLUEPRINT FUNDING WOULD NOT BE AS MUCH OF A CHALLENGE BECAUSE OF HOW MUCH MONEY WE SPEND ON SPECIAL EDUCATION AND HOW THAT KIND OF TAKES AWAY FROM OUR ABILITY TO DO OTHER THINGS. NOW, OF COURSE, WE WANT TO DO RIGHT BY ALL OF OUR STUDENTS. SO WHAT WE ARE LOOKING AT IS A WAY TO LOOK AT OUR RESOURCE ALLOCATIONS AND PROGRAM EFFICIENCIES. WE WANT TO MAKE SURE WE'RE MEETING THE NEEDS OF ALL OF OUR STUDENTS, BUT WE WANT TO REDUCE OUR BUREAUCRACY AND REDUCE THE THINGS THAT MIGHT MAKE IT MORE EXPENSIVE FOR US TO DO THAT. AND THAT IS SOMETHING THAT WE ARE LOOKING AT A LOT FOR THIS YEAR. BUT YOU WILL CONTINUE TO SEE THAT NEXT YEAR AS THIS WILL BE A MULTI YEAR EXPERIENCE FOR US AS WE TRY TO FIND A WAY TO BOTH REDUCE OUR OWN EXPENSES, BUT ALSO ADVOCATE FOR WHAT WE NEED AT THE STATE AS WELL AS THE FEDERAL LEVEL. SO THAT'S ONE AREA IT IS IN THE GOVERNOR'S BILL, AND THAT IS THE PORTION, ONE OF THE PORTIONS OF THAT BILL THAT WE SUPPORT TO HAVE A STUDY ON SPECIAL EDUCATION FUNDING, AND WE DO SUPPORT THAT. YES.

OKAY. I JUST HAD A QUESTION. OUR SPECIAL EDUCATION COSTS HAVE CONTINUALLY GONE UP, AND THE NUMBERS OF STUDENTS THAT WE HAVE THAT ARE DEFINED AS NEEDING SPECIAL ED SERVICES. IS THAT BECAUSE THE DEFINITION KEEPS EXPANDING OR THAT PEOPLE ARE JUST BECOMING MORE SPECIAL? IT'S NOT A ONE ANSWER TYPE QUESTION, BUT THERE ARE A LOT OF FACTORS SOCIETAL THAT THAT IMPACT THAT.

BUT WE ARE SEEING A GROWING NUMBER OF STUDENTS WHO MEET THAT DEFINITION, AND WE'RE WORKING TOWARDS MAKING SURE WE PROVIDE THEIR SERVICES, AS THAT DEFINITION STATES, STABLE, I THINK SO, I THINK SO, YEAH. YEAH. SO, FOR EXAMPLE, LIKE AUTISM IS ON THE RISE AND BUT THAT'S YOU KNOW, AND THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE SUPPORT OUR STUDENTS WITH THROUGH DEPENDING ON THE LEVEL OF AUTISM, THROUGH SPECIALIZED CLASSROOM OR IN A GENERAL EDUCATION SETTING OR IN A PRIVATE PLACEMENT, DEPENDING ON THE LEVEL OF NEEDS THAT THAT STUDENT HAS. ONE OF THE BIG THINGS OF DRIVING THAT COST REALLY IS THOSE PRIVATE PLACEMENTS. THAT'S THE MOST ONE OF THE MOST EXPENSIVE WAYS. AND THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT. ON HOW TO PARTNER WITH OUR LOCAL PROVIDERS ON HAVING AS MANY SEATS AS POSSIBLE SO THAT WE'RE NOT DRIVING TO BALTIMORE CITY OR OTHER PLACES, AND THAT WE ARE TRYING TO LOOK AT THE COST OF THOSE PRIVATE PLACEMENTS, TO SEE HOW WE CAN MIRROR THE COST OF WHAT IT WOULD BE IF WE WERE SERVICING THAT STUDENT. THANK YOU. YOU'RE WELCOME. WHEN WILL WE KNOW MORE ABOUT THE PAUSE IN COMMUNITY SCHOOLS FUNDING? I WAS ABOUT TO GET TO THAT ONE. SO COMMUNITY SCHOOLS. SO THE GOVERNOR'S PROPOSED LEGISLATION INCLUDES A PAUSE IN COMMUNITY SCHOOLS FUNDING, AS WELL AS AN ALLOWANCE FOR USE OF FUNDING FOR LEADERSHIP NEEDS. WE'RE MONITORING THIS CLOSELY. THE PAUSE IN COMMUNITY SCHOOL FUNDING IS NOT FOR NEXT YEAR. IT'S FOR THE YEAR AFTER, AND IT'S FOR TWO YEARS. SO THE COMMUNITY SCHOOL FUNDING, THE WAY IT'S PROPOSED IN THE LEGISLATION WOULD CONTINUE AS PLANNED FOR NEXT YEAR, BUT IT WOULD PAUSE THE YEAR AFTER THAT THAT WE WILL WE WON'T KNOW WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN WITH THAT UNTIL THE LEGISLATION GOES THROUGH ITS COURSE, AND WE CAN TELL WHAT'S GOING TO END UP STAYING IN THAT BILL AND WHAT'S NOT. IT IS A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF MONEY. AND SO I DO THINK IT IS POTENTIAL THAT THIS WILL GO THROUGH. BUT THIS IS ALSO A HIGH ADVOCACY AREA. AND WHEN LISTENING TO THE TESTIMONY IN ANNAPOLIS LAST WEEK, YOU HAD STUDENTS TESTIFYING ABOUT THIS. YOU HAD COMMUNITY ADVOCATES TESTIFYING. AND REALLY. COMING IN PASSIONATELY THAT THIS FUNDING IS DOING POSITIVE THINGS

[01:10:09]

FOR THEIR COMMUNITY, AND THEY DON'T WANT IT PAUSED. WHAT WOULD BE THE LEADERSHIP NEEDS THAT? SO RIGHT NOW, RIGHT NOW, COMMUNITY SCHOOLS FUNDS GO DIRECTLY TO THE COMMUNITIES SCHOOLS. AND WE ARE NOT ABLE TO USE THOSE FUNDS TO HAVE SOMEONE SUPPORT THOSE SCHOOLS FROM A LEADERSHIP PERSPECTIVE, LIKE A COORDINATOR. SO WE'RE NOT ALLOWED TO HAVE SOMEONE COORDINATE ALL OF THAT MONEY OR THOSE THOSE ACTIVITIES OF ALL OF THOSE SCHOOLS. WITH THAT FUNDING, WE WOULD HAVE TO USE OUR OWN OPERATION BUDGET FUNDING IN ORDER TO PROVIDE THAT SUPPORT. SINCE IT IS I THINK WE'RE AT 15, 16 SCHOOLS. 15, 15 SCHOOLS, SIX. THAT'S A LOT OF COMMUNITY SCHOOLS RECEIVING A LOT OF FUNDING THAT WE WOULD LOVE TO BE ABLE TO HELP GIVE THEM SERVICES SO THAT THEIR COMMUNITY SCHOOL SPECIALISTS CAN SPEND THE TIME IN PROVIDING THOSE SERVICES TO THE COMMUNITY AND SPEND LESS TIME ON THE BUREAUCRACY OF THE PAPERWORK AND THE COORDINATING AND THE THINGS THAT WE COULD SUPPORT THEM WITH. BUT WE DO NOT HAVE A POSITION IN OUR OPERATING BUDGET TO SUPPORT THEM, AND WE WOULD SUPPORT THIS PART OF THE BILL BECAUSE IT WOULD ALLOW US TO USE SOME OF THAT FUNDS TO PROVIDE THAT SUPPORT, AND IT WOULD NOT TOUCH THE OPERATING BUDGET. SO IT WOULD NOT BE AT THE EXPENSE OF SOMETHING ELSE THAT WE ARE DOING. ALL RIGHT. THANKS. YOU'RE WELCOME. ALL RIGHT. LAST AND NOT GOING TO BLAST THE LAST OF THE PILLARS. SO A COUPLE OF THINGS IN THIS PILLAR. THERE'S A LOT OF THE WHO'S WHO IS AIB AND WHAT CAN THE AIB DO AND WHAT DOES MSD DO. AND YOU KNOW, WHAT'S ALL THE COMPLIANCE AND THE PAPERWORK AND THE REPORTING? WHEN I WAS THINKING ABOUT UPDATES FOR YOU, ONE OF THE THINGS I THOUGHT ABOUT IS THAT IN THE LAST COUPLE YEARS, WE HAD A BLUEPRINT IMPLEMENTATION PLAN THIS YEAR THAT WAS NOT REQUIRED OF US. SO OUR CURRENT BLUEPRINT IMPLEMENTATION PLAN IS THE ONE THAT WE DEVELOPED LAST YEAR.

WHAT WE ARE REQUIRED TO FOCUS ON AND ONE OF THE BIG ELEMENTS. AND I'M GLAD TO HAVE DEBORAH HERE IN CASE SHE WANTS TO JUMP IN ON ANY OF THIS, IS THE BLUEPRINT REQUIREMENT THAT 75% OF THE PER PUPIL FUNDING FOLLOWS THE STUDENT, THAT IT IS BEEN GIVEN TO US FOR. SO, FOR EXAMPLE, IF WE HAVE A STUDENT WHO'S AN ENGLISH LEARNER AND WE GET A PER PUPIL AMOUNT FOR THAT STUDENT, WE HAVE TO SHOW HOW THAT MONEY IS FOLLOWING THE STUDENT IN ORDER TO MEET THAT REQUIREMENT WE HAVE, WE'RE REQUIRED TO SUBMIT A BUDGET BY LOCATION TO MSD AND THEN REPORT ACTUAL EXPENDITURES TO MSD MONTHLY TO SHOW THAT THAT'S HOW WE ARE SPENDING OUR MONEY. AND THAT ALL STARTED LAST SUMMER. THE AIB AGAIN, THE ACCOUNTABILITY IMPLEMENTATION BOARD, THEY RECEIVE THIS DATA FOR THE FIRST TIME IN DECEMBER AND WILL BE ANALYZING IT AND LOOKING AT IT TO SEE HOW WELL WE ARE COMPLYING OR FOR WHATEVER RECOMMENDATIONS OR USES THAT THEY SO CHOOSE. BUT THIS YEAR IS A BASELINE YEAR. WE'RE EXPECTED TO ACHIEVE 50% COMPLIANCE BY FY 26. WE DON'T REALLY KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS. 50% COMPLIANCE, I MEAN, IS THAT 50% OF THE MONEY NEEDS TO BE USED, RIGHT? OR 50% OF THE SCHOOLS. WE'LL SEE. WE'LL SEE HOW IT IT PLAYS OUT. BUT FULL COMPLIANCE IS REQUIRED. BY FY 27. WE ARE EXPECTED TO BE ON TRACK TO MEET THAT REQUIREMENT, THAT REQUIREMENT. AND IN MANY AREAS WE ALREADY MEET THAT REQUIREMENT. MOST LEAS THROUGHOUT THE STATE HAVE WORK TO DO ON AREAS SUCH AS ENGLISH LEARNERS AND HOW WE'RE SPENDING OUR MONEY IN THAT WAY, AND THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT. BUT WE FEEL CONFIDENT THAT WE'RE ON A PATH TO MEET THAT REQUIREMENT. SO THAT'S THE PART OF THE BILL THAT I THOUGHT WAS MOST IMPORTANT TO MAKE SURE YOU KNEW WAS HAPPENING, IN CASE YOU SEE ANYTHING ABOUT IT. SO ANY QUESTIONS WITH THAT. YOU CAN LOOK THAT WAY. ANY QUESTIONS ON FIVE OR ANYTHING ELSE THAT WAS DISCUSSED THIS EVENING, ANY OF THE ANY OF THE OTHER FOUR? OBVIOUSLY THERE'S A LOT THAT'S A LOT OF WHEELS IN MOTION. RIGHT. SO JUST KEEP US UP TO DATE AS THINGS CHANGE. YES. WELL THANK YOU. OKAY. THANK YOU. WAIT. IF YOU'RE OKAY WITH IT, LET'S. CAN

[E. Presentation of Secondary Reading, English, and Language Arts Program, Dr. Dyann Mack, Deputy Superintendent for Instruction, Ms. Heather Kutcher, Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction, Instruction, and Assessment, Ms. Kristine Scarry, Supervisor of English/Language Arts, and Ms. Annmarie Steltzer, Assistant Supervisor of English/Language Arts Secondary RELA Program Presentation]

WE COME BACK TO YOU? I WANT TO JUST GET LET'S GET THEM OUT OF HERE. WE CAN MOVE ON. WE'LL COME BACK TO D. LET'S MOVE ON TO E! PRESENTATION ON SECONDARY READING ENGLISH AND LANGUAGE ARTS PROGRAM. I'D LIKE TO WELCOME DOCTOR DIANE MACK WITH HER NEW TITLE, DEPUTY SUPERINTENDENT FOR INSTRUCTION. AND IF YOU COULD INTRODUCE YOUR YOUR TEAM AS WELL. GOOD AFTERNOON. GOOD EVENING. WE HAVE MRS. HEATHER KUTSCHER HERE. SHE IS THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR FOR

[01:15:02]