001Okay, pastor. >> Good evening, Miss H. would you open us with prayer, please? >> Heavenly Father, this evening we invoke lift higher name. We ask that you just dwell among us this evening. Lord this evening for those who may be going through sad hours of bereiement. Help them to realize Lord that weeping may endure for a night but there is some joy that comes in the morning. Heavenly father we ask that you go to war torn lands everywhere. We al speak a word of peace and there will be peace. Heavenly father this evening help us to do it your way. Help us to do your will. Lord, we ask that you continue to strengthen the v children and own prayer but for the uttermost parts of our hearts. We just for this beautiful day that
002you have given us and we hope rejoice and that you have been glad in it and it's as we count it all done this evening. Amen. >> Callers County School Board of Trustees meeting to order. Is there a motion to adopt the proposed agenda? Properly motioned by Miss Autumn, second by Mr. Reeves. All those in favor, let be known by saying I. >> I. >> That's unanimous. Is there a motion to adopt the consent agenda? >> Second. >> Properly motioned by Dr. King, second by Mr. Jean. All those in favor, let be known by saying I. I. Yes. Right. Okay. >> I'm going to bring this up now. In our finance facility meeting, we discussed supplements added for cross country and this is part of the consent agenda. Uh added um budget budget money to
003the consent agenda as budgeted supplements, positions. Don't we vote on that individually? I mean, as a >> We can we can either do it as part of consent or pull it out if y'all would like to. Yes, sir. >> Well, I just want to be clear on it because I knew it was discussed, but um you're adding positions and supplements and I'm I'm not I'll vote for it. I'm not saying I wouldn't vote for it, but I want to make it clear what we're doing. We just don't put it in consent agenda because you could just basically way this is read you could just put anybody give anybody a raise and put it in consent agenda and it's done. >> So do you board discussing it at all? >> It was the way it's done
004it. >> No, it was it is currently placed in the consent agenda. If you want to >> and then discuss if we can do that. Well, if I need to pull it out, I like to discuss it just because I have a question about something in the in the >> You want to go ahead and ask the question now? >> Well, whenever it's appropriate, just tell me we're on the consent agenda and it's a part of the consumer agenda. Is that the way it is or would you need to pull it out? because it reads um the cross and I I'll vote for it, but it reads cross country is the only only u uh the only sport that um does not have assistant coaches and uh I know we got compete and they don't
005have assistant coaches either. So I would add that if we're going to add supplements if we're going to have a discussion on it. We have strength coaches that compete in competition and [snorts] other areas, but the lug off is the only one that's asked for this. >> Okay. So, >> you see what I'm trying to say, >> uh, coach. What we'll do, um, we're going to pull that out of the consent agenda, and when we get down to the, uh, chairman's report, then we will, uh, discuss it at >> that. Be fine. That's all I want to do is ask that question. >> All right. >> So, the rest of we're going to vote on the remaining consent agenda. >> Correct. Okay. >> Yes. >> Okay. Thank you. >> All right. So, the motion uh
006Yes. >> I'm sorry, Mr. Chairman. Go ahead. I I was I was going to follow up um with a motion that we would pull the athletic supplements from the consent agenda. >> Yes. I >> further discussion. >> If >> you'll need a motion to do that, correct? >> Yes. Right. Uh I had made a chairman's decision to just pull it and then bring it back. But you can make a motion for it if >> I would I >> Okay, go ahead. >> Um because it is dealing with personnel and with uh money. >> Okay. >> Um in particular, I make a motion that our athletic supplements that are in the consent agenda um that portion of it be pulled for further discussion in this meeting to be voted on later. >> Profer motion and second.
007All those in favor be known by saying I. >> I. those that oppose. And it is done. Back to our original motion, a motion to adopt the consent agenda. Uh is there any further discussion? >> The motion is as amended. Correct. Sorry. >> Correct. >> Thank you. >> All those that are in favor, let it be known by saying I. >> Those opposed. And it is done. We want to thank everyone for gathering this evening. U we want to move down to recognition [music] and celebration. Dr. Good. >> Yes. We're going to recognize uh some students and staff tonight. So, Mr. Chair, if you wouldn't mind meeting me out front. >> Dr. Smith, Dr. Goodwin, board. We'll start our recognitions tonight by recognizing several outstanding students. First, we recognize three students in our district who
008have been named national merit semi finalists in first annual national merit scholarship. Please come forward when I call your name. From Luggen, Angela Newton, Isabella Scott. and from North. [applause] These academically talented high schoolers have the opportunity to continue in the competition for nearly 7,000 National Merit Scholarships worth more than $26 million that will be offered next spring. To be considered for the National Merit Scholarship Award, semi-finalists must fulfill several requirements to advance to the finalist level of the competition. To become a finalist, semi-finalist and a high school official must submit a detailed scholarship application, providing information about the semi-finalist academic record, participating in school and community activities, demonstrating li leadership abilities, employment, and honors and awards received. A semi-finalist must be must have an outstanding academic record throughout high school, be endorsed and recommended
009by the high school official, write an essay, and earn the appropriate SAT or ACT scores that confirm the students earlier performance on the qualifying test. Finalists will be not notified in February. About 95% of semi- finalists will qualify as finalists and approximately half of the finalists will win the National Merit Scholarship, earning the title of a merit scholar. Please join me in congratulating these amazing students. [applause] Mr. Brandom, if you'd like to come up here too, you can come up or not. >> [laughter] >> He moved. >> [laughter] >> all sides. >> Congratulations. [applause] [cheering] >> Next, we Hill Elementary for once again receiving the distinguished arts program grant. Will Angie Lawson and Marquita Barber please come forward. This year, the bullpups were awarded $12,600 for their creative pause bullpup students explore the arts program.
010Pine Tree Hill will use the arts grant to f to allow first, second, and third graders to work with a dance and theater artist in residents. The residencies will end with a culminating performance for parents in the school community. Fourth grade students will work with a local metal sculptor, Bob Doster, to design and create a metal sculpture using handprints that will be on permanent display in the school's outdoor garden area. Instruments will also be purchased for the music room and four teachers from Pine Tree Hill will be able to attend the South Carolina Art Teachers Institutes as a way to participate in professional development in arts integration. Congratulations and thank you for your hard work to provide these unique learning experiences for your students. [applause] >> Next, we will recognize Dobby's Mill Elementary School for
011receiving an arts enhancement program grant. Will Helen Walker and Sharon Lewis from Doby's Mill Elementary please come forward? Betsy Long was unable to attend tonight, but it was also a big part of this grant. Doby's Mill is a longtime recipient of this grant. This year, their inspiring future artist program will enable the student the school to bring in artists and residents for theater and dance. The Bailey Players will be working their entire third grade and third grade teachers to present The Jungle Book to parents in our community and our second grade students. This fall, plans are also in place for dance artists and residents Andrea Govier from the Freed School of Dance to work with the entire student body to inspire, plan, design, and create a variety of creative dance movement techniques. Congratulations and thank
012you. [applause] Our [laughter] next recognition goes to North Central Middle School. Will school librarian Jennifer Gibson, library assistant Monica Adams, and North Central Middle principal Chad Dixon please come forward. We're excited to announce that North Central Middle School has received an educational Holocaust trunk from the South Carolina Council on the Holocaust. North Central Middle was chosen by the South Carolina Council on the Holocaust to receive the trunk containing over a thousand dollars worth of books and materials rated to the related to the Holocaust. It is the first school in the state that has been selected as the recipient of a trunk to be per to permanently remain at the school for use with the students. School librarian Jennifer Gibson reserved the traveling trunk starting in 2022 and each year since making North Central Middle School
013the first middle school eligible to apply for its own permanent trunk which was delivered to them on September the 15th. Thank you for your for all you do to work to provide North Central Middle School with quality resources to use with your students. Congratulations. Yeah, that that was cold. >> Next, I would like to ask director of intervention and enrichment Matia Goodwin to come forward res representing the academics department. We're thrilled to announce that Kershaw County School District has been awarded a $431,765 grant through the Stronger Connections Grant. This grant represents a significant investment in our students, schools, and community and comes at a critical time. Nearly twothirds of our students are classified as economically disadvantaged. In addition, we're seizing seeing rising numbers of multilingual learners, students impacted by trauma, and those experiencing mental health
014challenges in housing instability. The Stronger Connections grant will allow us to expand and sustain coordinated, evidence-based, multi-tered system of supports to meet these needs. This grant is a testament to the hard work of our district staff, community partners, and leadership who continue to pri prioritize student well-being. The Stronger Connections Grant will help us move forward with urgency and purpose to ensure that every student in Kershaw County School District feels safe, supported, and prepared to succeed. Please join me in congratulating Miss Goodwin for her hard work on this grant. [applause] >> [laughter] [laughter] >> And just so y'all know, it does say Dan joins Matia for a photograph. [laughter] I didn't just go rogue on you. >> [clears throat] >> Uh, our final recognition tonight goes to school board member David Roberts. Mr. Roberts is being
015recognized for reaching a new milestone in the South Carolina School Boards Association Association's Boardmanships Institute. Established in uh 1982, the Boardsmanship Institute offers a year-round training curriculum focused on leadership skills for board members on state and national educational issues. Board members are recognized for reaching each of the six levels with a certificate and a pen. Tonight, we are recognizing Mr. Roberts for earning level one in the program. Please join me in thanking him for his dedication to continuous learning, hard work, and unwavering support of our students and staff. [applause] Don't sail. Our next item. Oh, new business board policy review. Good evening, Dr. Smith, Dr. Goodwin, members of the board. Tonight, I'm bringing you two policies with revisions for your information. These policies are GCLE and GCLE, and they're related to providing unencumbered time for
016school nurses. These changes are being made to provo 1.111 titled school nurse unencumbered time which was passed in this year's general appropriations act. The proviso instructed the department of education to work with school districts to incorporate where practical school nurses into the statewide unencumbered time policy outlining pen penalties and exceptions to the unencumbered time requirements. Coordinator of Nursing Services, Elizabeth Starling, has already made all of our school leadership aware of this new proviso and they are working with school nurses to incorporate this change into their schedules. Thankfully, we have nursing assistants in each of our nursing offices, which makes this um simpler for us to um implement into our district. And so, they've already started this. And um I'll be happy to take any questions. Yes, Dr. King. >> Just a logistical question and she
017knows I have the utmost respect for her back there and the job she does. Are we fully staffed with our nurses right now? >> We will be. Yes. After tonight's meeting >> any other questions for >> Thank you. Under the chairman's report, we we shift the supplement down up under there. I want to ask the board uh with Ray not being here. Do we want to and I'm not sure if anyone's uh if you're prepared to answer the questions if we want to pull this off the agenda until our next meeting so Ray can answer any questions that we may have >> if so coaches has mentioned strength as well might be another discussion >> so sorry but one more time >> what I was saying because >> what you said I was >> okay
018>> I'm sorry what I said you know coach mentioned the strength uh coaches as well. So it probably probably might need for Mr. Ferris to do a little more due diligence. We can discuss that too, right? >> Yeah, that you know there may be some other areas I just want to ask questions on. And uh it also um the request said that they had to pay for assistant coaches out of their supplements, I mean out of their accounts, cross country accounts. And my question was, another question was how do they make money in cross country because they they don't charge tickets unless they just out. And so I wanted to see that uh if where the money goes into their account because they said they had to pay for some some help in out of
019their account according to the policy that I'm reading according to the memo that we're so I just want to ask some questions about it to be clear. may be some other areas, but I do know that we we have competition in strength training and strength competition and there's only one coach there that that I I'm aware of that handles that. So, there may be some other assistant areas that we need to discuss is what I was trying to say. Am making sense? >> Yes. Uhhuh. >> Okay. That's what I was trying to do before we just went through supplements. >> Okay. So what so with that being said, coach, then what we will do and the questions that you have, can we u submit those to Ray, but let's pull this off the agenda for
020tonight because no one is able to answer the questions and then we'll put it back on the agenda at the next board meeting. >> Yes, sir. That's what I was trying to get some clarification on. >> If I could get a motion to do such. >> Mr. Chairman, I I'll make a motion uh to table this particular item >> right >> until our uh uh till we're able to get Mr. Ferris to a meeting in the very near future to uh answer questions. >> Okay. >> Second. >> It's been promptly [music] motioned and second. Any more discussion hearing? None. All in favor known by saying I. I oppose and it's done. Dr. Good one. Leadership. >> Yes. Um, we had hoped to bring you the state school report cards tonight. That had been on our
021tentative uh list of things to do, but as you know from the memo I sent you, that that has now been delayed at least until the first week of November. Um, [clears throat] I will say that that it has been a a breath of fresh air that the uh state department has really concentrated on getting those accurate. Uh, there have been years where those came out and we found corrections later and they said, "Well, we'll correct it." But nobody ever goes back and looks. And so, um, we we, you know, it we're not really complaining that they're taking a little extra time on due diligence. uh we they they do have a lot of new people in that office and uh they're recreating the wheel in some some respects. So, uh we'll do that. But
022we actually had on our later agenda to bring you the uh chronic absenteeism up through the first quarter and remind you of our efforts there. That is a real push from the EOC this year. Uh the education oversight committee is trying to improve uh attendance and reduce chronic absenteeism. So, uh, we asked Mr. Matthews if he'd give you a quick update. You've seen some of this information before, but just as a quick refresher in where we are now. >> All right. Uh, and I believe you have this data with you, but just to remind you what chronic absenteeism, uh, you take the number of days that a school has been in session. So, we've been in session for about 50 days now. So if you have been absent for 10% of those days, so 50%
02310% would be five. If you've been absent for five of those days for any reason, you're considered to be chronically absent. So it might be easier at this point in time in the year for a student to be considered chronically absent than at the end of the year when you've been in school 180 days. If you've been in school 180 days, then you would need to have missed 18 days over the course of the year, minimally, at least uh 18 days to be considered chronically absent. And again, the reason for the absence is irrelevant. It doesn't matter if you were sick. It doesn't matter if you were on a field trip. It doesn't matter what it was, why you were absent. If you were absent more than that spec specified number of days, then you're
024considered to be chronically absent. Uh I've included uh the statistics for the past few years. You can see that in 20 and 22 23 we were about 20.7% chronically absent. We went up in 2324 to 21.1%. down uh uh in 2425 to 19%. Those are for the whole year. And currently at this point in time in the year, we're sitting at 13.3, which you is pretty good considering where we are in the year. And again, that you would have only needed to be absent 5 days to be considered chronically absent. So that is that's a positive. The negative is what's happening in the next few months. The next few months are cold and flu season. And so when that happens, we obviously have more students who who are ill and cannot attend school for whatever
025reason. Um why it's important, anytime you're absent from school, that's lost instructional time. The best substitute, the best homebound teacher we we can get is a poor substitute for the classroom instruction that you receive when the student is is sitting in front of you. I had a boss one time who said, "You can't teach them if they're not here." And that's very true. We We need them to be here. So, I gave you an example. Uh if Kershaw County School District had 10,000 students, and that's a little bit of an underestimate, and we had a chronically absent absenteeism rate of 19%. Which was about what it was last year. Then 19% of 10,000 students is, 1900 students. Okay? 1,900 students were chronically absent, give or take a little bit last year. So that means those,
0261900 students missed at least 18 days. Some of them may have missed more than 18 days, but at least 18 days. So, 1900 time 18 gives us 34,200 lost days of instruction. you know, at at six hours in an instructional day, that equates to right right around 205 200 hours, 205,200 hours of lost instruction. That's not good. We we need to do better and and that has been a focus of ours for the past few years. Um, schools across our district have been offered and continued uh to prioritize attendance by offering a wide range of incentives from monthly celebrations and pizza parties and competitions to entries and prize drawings to be sure that people understand that we value attendance. This is a topic of conversation in our uh data huddles. We talk about this every
027every quarter with our principles uh so they're aware you know we always say inspect what you expect. So we talk about it we want to know we want to know what you're doing. That's a topic of conversations but it's also been a topic of conversation as Dr. Goodwin said with the education oversight committee. September was uh attendance uh matters month for the state of South Carolina and they have offered uh access to several different uh programs for us through the National Dropout Prevention Center uh and uh through attendance works. Again, we make this a priority. So, that being said, what questions do you have? >> Yes. I'm not sure if you've looked at this, but um so so far this year in the first quarter, we're at 13.3%. >> Yes, ma'am. >> How does that
028compare to the first quarter of the previous years? >> Last year we were at a oddly enough I have that information. Uh we we were at uh a little over 16 last year. We're at 16.0% 0% for first that comparing apples to apples, you know, the first time frame. So about the same. Uh historically, uh over time, our elementary schools do a better job with attendance than our middle schools. Um some of that could be said to the fact that our elementary school students can't provide their own transportation. So uh you know, mom and daddy put them in the car, put them on the bus, and bring them to school. uh not so much in the high schools. Uh that that becomes a little bit more problematic in high schools. >> Yes, ma'am. >> Yes.
029>> And I know you kind of summed it up in a nutshell, but I'm going to ask the question directly. So the based on what you just said, the the numbers that are the worst, I guess is the way to put that that where we see the most chronic absenteeism is in our high schools, not in elementary. >> Yeah. Yes, sir. And I would also say it's regional. We we see a little bit uh worse attendance in in our north central area than we do. And that can probably be attributed to some geography. That is our largest geographical area that they cover and that sometimes travel becomes problematic. >> Thank you. >> Yes sir. >> Thank you. >> Yes sir. Is there a motion to go into executive session to discuss resignation retirement of certified
030and classified personnel, employment of certified and classified personnel and assignment changes and transfer of certified and classified personnel and superintendent preliminary evaluation proper motion by Miss Autumn, second by Coach Blackman. Any discussion hearing? None. All in favor be known by saying I. Sorry. Is there a motion to reconvene to open session? >> Properly motion by Ms. Furnish, second by Mr. Jean. All those in favor that be known by saying I >> I oppos. In executive session we discuss resignation and retirement of certified and classified personnel, employment of certified and classified personnel, assignment change and transfers of certified and classified personnel and superintendent preliminary evaluation. Is there a motion to accept the administration recommendation concerning employment matters? >> Proper motion by Dr. King, second by Mr. Roberts. All those in favor has been known by saying
031I >> I have a motion to turn it by turning closer with prayer. >> Motion by Miss Furnace, second by Mr. Cameron. All those in favor has been no by saying I >> I. >> Heavenly Father, we thank you this evening and as but never before your divine presence. We ask that you dispatch your angels and guide us all safely back home and help us when we get there. And we give you all the honor and glory that is through you and we count it done. Amen.