001Miss Helen, would you open us? >> Yes. Our thought for today is from 1 Corinthians the 14th chapter selected verse 33. For God is not a God of confusion but of peace. Let us pray. Holy Spirit, be present in our time of need as we go about the business of the day that we might focus on the right thing. Thank you for your selfless love which give us life. Grant us your blessings and response to our every need. We ask that you also bless those in that give their time and effort to keep the vineyard working for the right reason. We ask your blessing of armed forces as they keep us safe and secure. remember our men and women who suffer from hidden wounds. Lord in your mercy, here our prayers. Amen. >> Call the
002Kersaw County School Board of Trustees meeting to order for May 5th, 2026. Is there a motion to accept the adopt the proposed agenda? >> Second. >> Properly motioned by Dr. King, second by Miss Furnest. All those in favor, let it be known by saying I. >> I. Those opposed. It's unanimous. Is there a motion to adopt the consent agenda? >> Move. >> Second. >> Properly. Motion by Mr. Cameron, second by Miss Runlet. All in favor, let it be known by saying I. >> I. >> Those opposed. And it's done. Want to thank everyone for gathering this evening and those that are online with us. That moves us down to our public forum. We have Miss Yolanda S to sign up as a parent. Uh child's education and civil right if you would come at this
003time. >> Okay. Thank you. Seat is right here. information instructions, >> but they not necessarily. Okay. >> While you're getting set, if you would allow me to go over the uh the guidelines. >> Yes, sir. And we will in short during public form the board will listen to the public comment and not comment on on public comment. It is an opportunity for members of the public to share information with the board. It is not a time for debate with or questions and answers from the board. It is time for the board to receive input. It is not a time for board response. We have gathered all the other information. So you may begin and you have five minutes. >> Okay. So my name is Yolanda Sumpter and um I wanted to introduce myself to the
004board and I debated as to whether or not you know I should come this evening as I had been anticipating to come for the past seven or eight months. And so um I spoke with my educational consultant. I said, "Well, do you think I should come?" And she said, "Yeah, you should go." So, I quickly got dressed and I'm now here. What I want to say to you, um, I relocated from Los Angeles, California, and I am retired disabled. I am, my background is I'm retired as a vice president in banking. I taught in the middle school industry as well as business courses to adults. Um, I adopted three children. Three children that came from the system. And these childrens came from unimaginable circumstances, right? And those children were given to us so that we
005could take care of them. And that would mean Kershaw County School District, Los Angeles, California. And what I can say about Los Angeles is they took care of their children. So um I was contacted by my son's teacher, Mrs. Sharbon. My son's name is Logan Sumpter and she said, "Miss Sumpter, I have concerns about Logan's academic um the way that he's presenting in the classroom." She took the necessary steps to get some initial assessments done. There were issues that were found and so we moved into an IEP process. Within that IEP process, over the course of several months, Logan was denied services hands um at all. unequivocably denied. Okay. Um I've now learned that that's not lawful. So the background to this is is that again I am disabled and so when I would come
006to school in the morning, I would pull in and I would park in the handicap space and I was told something, you can't park there. You can't park there. And that was a violation of my civil rights. Um, I chose to not walk up with my children. I wanted to be able to walk them in, but because of my condition, I wasn't able. And I think that you could see very clearly getting out of my chair after being seated for 5 to 10 minutes, my body changes. I am losing my ability to walk. And so that was hard for me when you told me I couldn't park in the handicap space. I'm a young woman and to be losing my ability to walk and that upset me and I was hurt and we have fought
007I have fought that battle over two years now. And so last but not least on my last attempt to park which I believe was on August 20th I was told that I could not park there. Um the police came along with the lead administrator of the school and when I tried to enter the school with my children, I was told that I could not enter and that if I made any attempts to enter with them that my children would no longer be allowed to be served within the Kershaw County School District. Well, my feet paused because I'm disabled and how would I get them to Colombia to and from every day? That hurt. So, I'm sure that more information will be gathered on this. Nonetheless, due to those ill feelings, I think that had a
008lot to do with why my son was treated the way that he was. Um, he was denied at many different levels. And as a parent, I moved forward. I don't know how much minute many minutes I have, but just let me get this piece out. As a parent, I moved forward and I hired my own team, a psychologist, a speech pathologist. I had family connections, a child advocate. I brought in an educational consultant. And it was only then that with that team I was ever even listened to at the school. The results have shown that he has dyslexia and right now he's being re-evaluated for disgraphia learning written expression. Logan has a report from the therapy place out of Colombia. He was denied occupational services here at Kershaw County. I just saw the report, the
009piece that I wouldn't necessarily see as a parent because you don't the medical stuff. And what the lady said was, "Logan presents with I believe it was a large amount or gross deficiency in fine motor and occupational abilities. So how and this child had viral encphilitis, swelling on the brain that caused him to have these disabilities. There there's been a fight for four years. M >> I'm one minute I brought him >> I'm going to give you some more time if you would just pause for a moment. >> Yes sir. >> Because the time have expired so I'm going to ask the board if they would allow the time to be extended for 5 minutes >> so that we be consistent with the policy if you would allow. >> Yes sir. Thank you. >> So
010the time have expired. I want to ask the board will we extend the time for five minutes and that's yes if you would do so please. properly motioned by Dr. King second by Miss Romlet. All in favor let no by saying I. Will you continue please? >> Yes. Give me just one minute. Um let's see. Probably can't give me a second. I wanted to set my timer so I'd have an answer as well. So this is a course of four years. So when I decided that I was going to relocate here from Los Angeles, I lived in South Central, which is an area where wellto-do blacks lived, poor blacks, Latino, it was a mixture. Economically, you lived in certain places and areas. So once I decided I was going to relocate here and build a
011house, where am I going to send my children and it was I was told that this was my zone school district and the school. I immediately in March, I'm sorry, in February of 2022 put together a packet for my son indicating what the issues were and what the needs were. I got push back. I then went to his pediatrician and I asked for an extensive letter to be written about my son's case. And he wrote that letter. He even addressed it to the school district. I presented that material and I was told you must bring Logan here for us to assess him or else he will not be able to attend our school. You have to be a resident. you need to pay taxes. I put Logan on a plane and I flew here and
012I spent about $2,500 just bringing him here to be seen and to be accommodated by Kershaw County. I have all the documentation and with that and that type of information under child fine and IDA, Logan should have been picked up then, but I didn't know. So you go on to once I realized that there was a problem, I started working on it and putting the pieces in place. My family has a lot of challenges. My health has declined tremendously since I've been here. And I am asking God to le to let me live because the doctors already know what will be on my death certificate. Let me raise these children. I owe them that. Adopting them from the system as babies. So in bringing him here, he should have been picked up then. That didn't
013happen. time went on, the ball got dropped. So, as I continued and once I knew what was going on and with his teacher, we began a crusade. And what I'm going to say to you is this. If the teacher comes forward, it seems to me that the rest of the team will come forward. And what I can share from you is that I've not been able to be heard. I am hurt. I am disappointed. I am going to be losing my house because I can't I don't know that I can remain here and I can't afford to buy a new house simply because I said the school I've got to lose everything because I want the best for my child. So I continued to fight and fight and fight and the number one reason that
014he was denied services was based on attendance. Logan has a medical condition that is very sensitive and that is very private as I am concerned. A course of three pediatricians said that he needs to remain at home when he's sick. And that's what I've been doing since he was 16 months old. I didn't know that that would be used against me. So, you can't deny a child services based on that, but I didn't know that. Now, I know I am equipped with all of the information that I need. I have I want to share with you. I have spoken to the USC law team and department that have assisted me. I have an educational consultant who is now a lawyer. I have got other team members and we now know that some things should have
015taken place that didn't. All I last I want to say is coming here to this district office, this place is locked down like Fort Knox. You can't speak to anybody. It's hard to see anybody. and I wanted to talk to someone and the only real reason to be heard and I would just ask that you feel for me investigate talk to the team and then come back and talk to me and then let's decide how this should have gone and just know that legally I am protecting myself and it should not have come to that but I am willing to talk. >> Thank you. And thank you chaplain for the words from 1 Corinthians chapter 13:14 that softened my heart. Our next next item on our agenda is community out eligibility renewal update. >> Mr.
016Chair, members of the board, I'm going to pinch it for Misha Lawyer tonight. Um seems she has a senior in high school who has some events going on. I can't imagine why that, you know, kept her away tonight. But, uh, no, I I told her I'd be happy to pinch hit for her since, uh, I think y'all know that the community eligibility program is near and dear to my heart. And back in July 1st of 2023, you'll recall that we, uh, began the community eligibility program here in uh, Kersaw County, which provides free breakfast and lunch at no charge for all students. And when we were approved for that, it was for a 4-year period running to June 30th, 2027. Uh last month when I was at the state superintendent's meeting, um Ellen Weaver commented
017to us that we probably all should consider going ahead and renewing our application for community eligibility a year in advance because of a number of calculations and laws that are being changed at the federal level as far as Medicaid and how you get to the the calculation for community eligibility. You'll recall that basically what happens is they take your poverty index based on Medicaid and other performance indicators. They use a multiplying factor of 1.6 and then that determines what your percentage is instead of how many applications you took up for free and reduced lunch. Um when we did our calculation on April 1st of 2023, we had 57.33. So when you uh put the multiplier on there, that put it at 91.72% was our calculation that year of free and 8.27 full pay, which the
018program then pays for. You'll notice on your second page on the memo that you have a a calculation each year going back to when we were 36%. We obviously made a big push to to increase those percentages and uh got up to 57 back when we initially certified which put us at that 91.73. We did drop down the second year but you'll notice now in the fourth year we're at 56.58 which puts us in a a situation of 90.53. Um we have already done our calculation for the coming period. Uh in fact um that had to be done on April 1st and our percentage is um going to drop slightly but not nearly to the point that we won't be able to sustain the program. What we need from you tonight is approval to complete
019the application process based on these numbers and um that will get us uh four more years of community eligibility uh criteria meeting the criteria. So um would ask if you would please consider that as a recommendation. >> Is there a motion to accept the administration recommendation? >> Properly motioned by Dr. King, second by Mr. Cameron. Is there any discussion? >> Question. >> I'm I'm sorry. Um motion has been properly second. All those in favor let it be known by saying I. >> Okay. That's unanimous. Miss uh Yolanda, someone will be in touch with you. We cannot take questions according to our guidelines, but someone will be in contact with you. >> Okay. >> Yes. You're welcome. I'm the chairman's report. I want to thank those in whom have signed up for the law conference and
020anyone that's still planning on going. If you would uh get in touch with Wendy and I'll be following up with you, Wendy, because I think we have to go a day or so early. At this time, that moves us down to superintendent report. >> Okay. As Mr. Willard comes forward. Um, I do have a few things that I want to just touch on, but if he'll come on and get settled in. Uh, you're probably very aware that this is teacher appreciation week this week. And, uh, we certainly want to recognize our incredible educators and all that they do, especially this time of year when they're going through all of the state testing and all. This is a really hard time to be a teacher. And, uh, we we thank them for what they do. You
021know, there's no doubt they go above and beyond to inspire our children and support our students and we would not be able to do anything without them. They are the heart and soul of what we do. And um we certainly have a great group and I can tell you without divulging all of my information that already the uh results are being shown as positive from their hard work this year. Um, if you've seen the sign out in front of the building, I hope you've seen the sign, but uh, you know, it's a simple message, but it's what we what we really believe. And if you haven't read it, it says, "Thank you, KS uh, KCSD teachers for everything that you do." And boy, do we appreciate all that they do for all of our children.
022I also wanted to mention that uh graduation information is uh we've shared with you before but wanted to share publicly that Lugof Elgen High School will be on Thursday night May 21st at 7:30. Camden High will be Friday, May 22nd at 9:00 a.m. and North Central High will be Friday evening at 7:30 on the 22nd. Um, you know, we we've used to always do all three graduations on Saturday morning. Then COVID came along and we staggered them and then we had gone back to what had been done 2019 and prior. But we got some community feedback as well as some of you had shared feedback about possibly splitting those back up. So that and it really became important this year because we have a parent who has a child at two different high schools that
023are both graduating this year which is a little unusual but we definitely didn't want a parent to have to choose between two graduations. So we've done that. Couple that with Lugaf Elgen High School's graduating class is the largest in history and we want to do everything we can to keep it outside where it's easy to uh for for students to have their family members there. So obviously we're going Thursday night. If it rains Thursday night, we'll postpone to Friday morning. If it rains Friday morning, we'll postpone to Friday evening, which gives us three really good windows to to get in Lugaf Elgen High School's graduation outside. Um, you know, our goal with with Lugoff is to do everything possible to have it outside. Same with Camden. There's a schedule for Friday morning. We do have
024the window where we can go Friday evening if we need to. And again, the bigger schools, uh, Mr. Brandham has assured us on North Central that on Friday night that if he needs to move inside that they they have their plan in place and can do that. But, uh, we we do partner with a professional production company to record the graduation. It's not live streamed because we've had issues, you know, trying to live stream from outside, but uh, those high quality videos will be within 48 hours they'll be available to families. So, we have that. And then finally, before I let Mr. Willard get started, um you probably are aware now because some things have gone public that Kelly Services will not be our subprovider as of the end of the school year and a
025company called ESS will be our provider. This kind of jumped the gun a little bit by Kelly because the u the pro protest period doesn't end until tomorrow. So, it really is not official yet, but basically they've made it official by going ahead and notifying their sub, you know, their staff that they'll not be the provider any further. Uh, both Kelly and ASS were the two uh finalists. There were quite a number of respondents to the RFP. We had extended the RFP as many years as we were allowed to. So, just like we had to do with custodial services earlier this year, it was time uh they both came in. I will say this that the uh the bill rate from both Kelly's proposal and from ESS's proposal were both less than we had been
026receiving the past years that we've been under Kelly. So no matter what we were going to see a decrease in the bill rate by by either vendor. So that's good for budget things. Um ESS will begin the onboarding almost immediately when we get out of school to have people ready in place for uh next year. They really work the same way the model that they have. Uh I'm looking at Miss Soul, if I recall, they'll have a on-site person just like we had with Mr. Curtis Price who will be in our building. Then they have field reps also. Uh it the the the structure will look just the same. It'll just be a different company that we'll be dealing with. So, um, uh, our current subs have already received information from us going ahead and
027letting them know that ESS will be reaching out to, uh, to onboard them. And the the email from Kelly has also gone out letting them know that, you know, they'll be closing out as the school year ends. Mr. Chair, if there are any questions on any of those three things, I'm willing to try to field them. And if not, we'll let Mr. Willard talk the good stuff. >> Mr. Willard. >> All right, Mr. Chairman, members of the board, Dr. Goodwin, good evening. So, tonight's presentation on the 2627 budget is our last briefing uh before we get into our readings of the budget to get that wrapped up as we go into the next year. And uh we'll talk about those dates as we get to the end. But tonight is just basically some more information
028uh leading up to that. Um still not a lot we can add. We'll talk about a couple of numbers this evening. Uh but we are not making any recommendations nor should anything we talk about this evening be taken as recommendations to carry into the May 19th meeting. Um, but we will be bringing lots of explanation, lots of material and I expect that presentation to take a little bit more time as we get into that on the 19th. So on the firstformational slide um just just reiterate a few things about the current state budget um and the state aid to classrooms formula um does a does primarily one thing. So at this point the primary influence uh on the budget is going to be the mandates and how they are funded. Um while we do anticipate
029and we will need to have other cost increases across the budget for other things uh the driving force is the mandates and the the money that goes into salary schedules and people. Um that is our largest cost across the district. Um what what is uncertain is how much of those are funded or unfunded at this point in time and how we have to deal with those. Um but again talking when we talk about salaries and fringe costs those will likely be the the most expensive uh changes to the budget. Um so the state aid to classrooms uh formula um the the biggest thing in there is the addressing of the teacher salary schedule the minimum salary schedule as normal. And just to reiterate to you this is held through held true through every phase of
030the budget cycle where they are implementing a $2,000 increase to the starting pay. So, moving that up to 50,500 and they are adding $2,000 to each sale of the teacher minimum schedule. Again, I'll just reiterate to you that the average per pupil funding increased a little bit to that average of $6,023 per pupil. Again, under the proportionate share formula, that doesn't mean quite as much as it used to because we are held at bay based on our size of district, our growth, and our change in in population compared to everybody else in the state. And then we get our little piece of the pie when we are funded. However, we are funded at a benchmark for teachers and that continues to be at the master's step 12 uh sale plus the fringe cost estimated fringe
031cost and you can see that dollar figure there that is utilized in the formula. So, couple of other things in the state budget uh that that apply just statewide, not necessarily only to us, but the state health plan through SCPA. Uh it is also held true through each phase of the budget cycle this year that for the first time in a long time, there is neither an employer or an employee premium increase. So, what that means is employees continue to pay the same amount percentage-wise um or dollar-wise, excuse me, of their portion of the plan and the district pays the same on our portion of the plan. Those fringe costs, however, please realize they will rise because salaries go up because our matches and what we pay are based on percentages. So, we will have
032increased cost. it will not stay the same. The other thing we have to remember is that the fringe calculations or the fringe implementation when a change is made is on a calendar year. So when it is passed through the state budget, it does not take effect until January 1st and then last 12 months. So really you only have six months worth of change in a fiscal year. So, what we will have to do is make sure we look back and and make sure we captured that last six months of the of of the fiscal year cost going into next year. So, we'll make sure that we're in good shape there. Uh the other thing that is in the current uh version of the state budget is a 2% increase for state employees. um that doesn't
033have impacts on us other than it is a good reference for us and typically that translates into what is done for the bus driver minimum increase uh through the state legislation that does affect us. So we just want you to know that that is the percentage right now. So let's talk about a couple of of uh overall numbers this evening. uh and we wanted to simplify these as best we can right now and we will expand those a little bit more as we get into the first reading of the budget. So we wanted to look at those mandated expenditure increases in the sense that if we did those as they are fully in legislation for the mandates covering teachers and transportation. We are working on this budget with the assumption that all employees will receive
034some type of cost of living adjustment and a step as long as they're eligible, they've worked enough days in the current year, etc. Um whether that be due to mandates or that be due to discretionary decisions that we make as we go through the budget. However, it's important for us to note that we may have to reconsider some of those as we get through the budget process based on affordability and just looking at our fiscal well-being going forward. Uh but we we want to do all that we can. So, uh again, we're not talking about recommendations this evening, but we will uh certainly be in communication with you over the next uh you know, month or so as we get a budget wrapped up. So if we were to and and I say that because
035just to keep in mind that we are ahead of the state minimums in both of the cases of teachers and bus drivers. So we we do uh take pride in being ahead of those minimum schedules at this point. Uh but if we look at the the group of mandated expenditures, if we were to fully load those into our system, $2,000 increase along with a step, we would be looking at a cost of over $2.9 million, just short of $3 million. If we look at the non-mandated, the discretionary increases that we have done the past couple of years uh and we kind of stay in line with what we have done for all those non-certified non-bus driver employees implementing a cost of living adjustment as well as a step we would be looking at an approximate
036cost of about $740,000. So we put those together comes up to be about 3.7 million just when we look at personnel cost and investing in the assets of people that we have. So as we go through the budget process, please keep in mind that we will be looking at these other things uh that we'll be bringing to you very quickly. Uh we'll be looking at staffing. Uh continue to look at that. make sure we've got personnel in the correct areas. Um, and I know Dr. Goodwin has spoken with you all about um, you know, steps that we need to take in light of our enrollment reduction. U, but we'll continue to look at those, make sure that we all have everything in place. Utility cost, um, something we have to look at every year and
037that could come with significant increases to the budget. uh supply needs and that goes especially for the instructional areas but also for our operational um areas of the district u technology needs. Uh the good thing about our technology is we've been able to pay for a lot of those things out of capital money but not everything fits there. So we may have some needs in the general fund to look at some increases there. And then obviously everybody's dealing with rising cost on operations. So, we're going to have to take a close look at things like repair and maintenance, uh, you know, things that go into our facilities, etc. So, we will continue to look at those and we'll bring those to you, uh, as we get into the readings. So, um, talk about revenue for
038a few minutes without getting into too much information. Um, it's really a simple story unfortunately, uh, as things are. Um, but as we've mentioned, uh, one of the downfalls of the formula, it it takes away our ability to project and estimate and bring you things ahead of time. Um we used to be able to do that when we received a base student cost um uh according to the number of students we had but now under the proportionate share model uh we do not know any information until every district in the state is calculated and then that is broken out into a large spreadsheet and we know how how much of the pie we get. So um what we experienced this year u with the 45 45th day adjustment is we we would have never projected
039that our revenue would have gone back to nearly the or closer to the 24 25 funding levels. Uh but that is in essence what happened. Uh we had no way to project if that would happen. So when we look at revenue and we are given nearly 1.6 $6 million increase in funding for 2627. What we have to realize that that is on the new actual base that we were reset to at the 45th day adjustment and that is not an increase to our current budget level. So when we look at that $1.6 million increase, that is virtually a net zero increase over what we approved for the budget coming into this year. Um, and I'll talk about that a little bit more um on on a on a further slide. Um, Senate projections have not
040come out, but the Senate has finished their debate. There is no help on the revenue uh from the uh Senate debates um and the passage of their budget. One thing that we can identify in dollars is the tier three uh funding increase for next year of about $675,000. Uh it's very helpful. that is money that comes to us in lie of the tax revenue that we lose from the 4% owner occupied properties. Um the issue is is that tier three money has never been readjusted for inflation over time. It that calculation has stayed the same ever since act 388 came into existence. So it does pale in comparison to what we could be receiving. Um so that's just a simple look at the main drivers of the expenditures and what we will be looking at
041on the revenue uh as we get closer to first reading. Um but we wanted to share before we wrap up a few reminders and some noteworthy things. Um you know we even though we don't expect a lot of change from legislation uh in the next few days um you know there could be issues with other provisos not related to K12 education funding that could hold up the whole budget. So a continuing resolution is still a possibility. um salary infringe projections, they're always going to fluctuate because we have to take people out of the system that may be leaving, bring in new hires. So that will fluctuate even through the second reading of the budget. Um human resources will be collecting contracts that have been sent out uh no later than May 10th. Um so things
042will fluctuate based on contracts returned and not returned. Um, again, due to those partially funded mandates that we've talked about, um, and some really some unfunded things that come to us through the formula and the fact that our our state and and federal revenue streams are are relatively fixed. um we we would go ahead and put you on notice and warn you that that when we present a budget reading, we do anticipate the need for a budget or excuse me, a fund balance transfer or some type of capital transfer back to general fund to balance. So don't be surprised with that. And then our presentation uh may change slightly uh because of the midyear uh funding adjustments and because of the way the formula has manifested as as it is. We may need to change
043how our starting point looks a little bit when we bring you that presentation, but we will arrive at the same end that we normally do. Um and obviously we'll continue to review non-salary accounts as well for needs. Um, as far as legislation, we wanted to put these out in front of you. I think all of you have heard about these uh the past few weeks, months. Um, but the paid parental leave is one that we still uh try to fight. We've talked about that in this room a good bit. Um, but just keep an eye on that. You know, that paid parental leave is not an additional cost. I want to be clear. It's not an additional cost with the person who is actually on leave. But the two costs that do apply to that,
044one is financial where we have to acquire a substitute to cover that class. But the other cost is instructional and we've talked about it. That is a third of the instructional year. So it is a huge impact and that continues to be our story. Uh we will just have to see how this one unfolds. um the PE bill, physical education, which uh greatly increased the number of hours that were required, uh it's going to put us in a real bind based on resources and space. Uh not only us, but districts across the state. Um we we do hope that we've gotten a small win on that one where that has been pushed out, gotten delayed, and is going to at least give us some chance for some more uh discussion. And then the panic alert
045systems um which I I think we all see uh the benefits of of implementation like that um but it's being very forced. Um the timeline is unclear but as we've gone through the sessions it seems to get uh moved up and up and up as opposed to further away. Um, and they they keep coming up with the idea of, well, let's let's just allow districts to use the uh school safety money. Well, here's the real short story of that. School safety money is only a pot of $20 million statewide. We have benefited from that money for years and we receive about $250 to $300,000 a year which goes towards things like camera systems, access controls, anything that will bolster the safety of our facilities. Unfortunately, that would only represent about a third of the cost
046of a panic alert system districtwide. So, that's really not an option because there'll be so many districts statewide that would not benefit from any of that money because there's just not enough to go around. The other part of the language that's real concerning is it says fund from funds appropriated to the department. What that suggests is basically the state department figures out a way to put the money to the districts out of what we've already allocated you. and we know that that's already not enough to go around for the other things we've discussed. So, it spreads that pot even more thin. So, we it's unclear, but uh just stay tuned on that one. And just to wrap up, we're providing you with the final few days of the legislative calendar. Um we it is moving
047into the House, too. It's back with them. We'll see if it if anything gets concurred there or if it goes to conference committee. And if that flows into next week, uh we hope that we will get delivery to the governor um on time so that we at least have answers um about any vetos and we we at least have a hope that we're not going to be going under a continuing resolution. And then the last page is just our calendar. As I mentioned, uh we will plan on doing first reading on May 19th with the hope of doing the final reading, second and final reading of the budget on June 2nd. So with that, I'll be happy to try answering any questions that you all may have this evening. >> Dr. King. >> Thank you,
048Mr. Will, for the comprehensive work that you do. As as I always say, it's obviously beyond the scope of what I could handle, but I so you're appreciated. Regarding the three legislative items you mentioned, um do you happen to know the status of those in the legislature? right now and uh and the reason I ask is I certainly want to make not just as a legislative liaison but as a board member and a part of this unit to express my opinions with our local local delegation if it will help right >> think it will a lot of times it does so do you happen to know the state status of those at this point >> so I I think Dr. a good one and I may may join up on answering that question. Uh the
049the one that I can speak about is the um right away is actually the uh the PE bill. Um because of of how that that transpired, uh we feel like at this point it's possibly been pushed out to 2028 2829 maybe or 2728 at least um is what I'm hearing. uh which gives us good amount of time for discussion. You know, some things could change that during committees. Uh but we are hopeful on that one. Um as if I could comment on >> Dr. Add on that. Yes. >> Yeah. Um Senator Graham actually put his name on the bill and held it up while we were able to do some negotiating. I've got to give a shout out to our whole team, uh especially Becky Bean taking point on it. we were able to offer
050some wording for amendments and we were basically able to get the bill back to what it already was. We we basically were able to do that. Um it's not that we're against physical education. It's uh got to do with it would have cost us uh seven FTEEs to implement the bill as written. Not only that, but it would have also been a space issue. Plus, we would have been in a situation where with our related arts, what do you give up? The bill says you can't give up art, the the arts. So, you can't give up music and art. So, do you give up STEM? Do you you know what what do you give up? Um, so that became the question. So, um, hats off to, uh, Senator Graham for buying us some time so
051that we could work. Like I say, Becky and all of her tentacles that she has that reach out to different districts were able to get some some good compromised language. We were able to get the schoolboard association on board, the administrators association on board, and we're able to to come to sort of an agreement with the teacher organizations is what we were able to do. And and I think on the other two bills um from from what information I have, they are still moving forward. Those who are behind those bills are still pressing those uh timelines and they are shorter rather than longer. Um so if they reach the finish line and there is agreement for these to go into a conference committee setting, then we're not sure where they will fall. Um >> just
052wonder to finish up, Mr. Chair, if like the paid parental thing, we we like you said, we've discussed that openly as a board. Um if that if that were to transpire, you know, obviously that's a you know, that that's going to be difficult for districts to handle. Do you think there would be a possibility as we kind of um discussed earlier of school districts being I don't want to say exempt but separated from that as opposed to the rest of the state sector so to speak. Um it it it appears that it is being convoluted enough that uh we we feel like that we would be included unfortunately in this with state agencies. That that's my feeling right now. One of the Senate education leaders though has indicated that he will put his name on
053it to to stop it for for this session so that there can be further discussion. So, we're hopeful that will be the case. He's indicated that publicly. Uh Becky briefed me on that yesterday that he had had come out publicly and said he would slow it down. >> That's good to hear. Other questions? >> Thank you. >> All right. Thank you, >> Mr. Chair. It's that time of year. Um, I mentioned graduation earlier and I forgot my other stack over here. Um, just want to remind you of a couple of things that are coming up that you may want to attend. Thursday, uh, here in this room, the future educator signing day will be down here at 5:00 if you've never been. It's a really nice ceremony and doesn't last very long, but but it's
054a good way to support folks who've made a commitment to go into education that are leaving us as seniors. Next, we have the retirement ceremony, Tuesday, May 12th at 6 p.m. We had it in this room last year, and it was a little crowded, so we're going to go over to uh WTC to have it, but it'll be the same format as it was last year where each honore gets to sit with their guest uh at a table. So, uh little little more intimate uh sort of setting. And then um we also have in your package the uh cosmetology uh graduation announcement for Monday, May 18th. Uh it's at 1:00. Uh I think it had to be moved because of some obligations, other obligations of the students in the morning. And um I think they
055had to do the same thing with the CNA uh uh program also that we let you know about last time. Uh the reason it's at one o'clock is because those kids have things like AP exams and other things coming up. So they're quite busy and just wanted to include as many students as possible. So a very very very busy time of year. Um hit the ones you can. We understand when you can't make it, but uh they they do do appreciate your support when you have the opportunity. Mr. Chair, I think I that's all my remarks. >> Thank you. Is there a motion to go into executive session to discuss resignation, retirement of certified and classified personnel, employment of certified and classified personnel and assignment changes and transfer of certified and classified personnel properly? Motion
056by Mr. Roberts, second by Miss Furnace. All those in favor have been known by raise your right hand and that's unanimous. motion to convene to open session properly. Motion by Miss Furn, second by Miss Runlet. All those in favor be known by saying I. >> I. >> Those opposed unanimous. In executive session, we discussed resation, retirement of certified and classified personnel, employment of certified and classified personnel and assignment changes and transfer of certified and classified personnel. Is there a motion to accept administration recommendation concerning employment matters properly motion by Dr. King second by Miss Hley? >> All those in favor be known by saying I. >> Is there a motion to adjurnn? Motion by Coach Blackman, second by Mr. Roberts. All those to the post. All those in favor right