001She doesn't have It is 4:30. I'm going to call the December 8th meeting to order. Can I get a motion to approve the agenda? >> I move that we approve the agenda. >> Second. All those in favor? >> I have a question. >> Yes, ma'am. Um, so I I'm apologize. I feel like I have to. Um, so at our last meeting, we passed a motion to defer item F until we could get some legal questions answered. >> So, and I don't know if our attorneys around, but I guess my question is the way that this is worded, can we still get the legal advice that we sought to get last time? Uh, Attorney Riser is uh prepared to speak to how this is worded in the question. There's some scope that I think is privileged
002to executive session, but he's prepared to address it under the way it's worded today. We asked him the same question. >> Okay. So, the way this is worded allows us to ask the questions that we had last time >> and he will uh he is prepared to keep us within frame of that. Now, if that question is not answered and it is not allowed to be answered by Foyer, we would have to come back and notice it correctly. >> Okay. >> All right. We have a motion. It's been properly second. All those way. >> Sorry. Um, I would I would like to move that we defer item 19, discussion regarding A&E services for middle school athletic fields in Irmo High School and Dutch Fork High School Press Box and scoreboard until we have resolution of
003item 3F and until the school board has been able to have a strategic session on our goals for capital planning. >> A second. >> Okay. So, I I I'm just suggesting that we wait to do this because it feels somewhat I mean, last time we got slides showing all the scoreboards. It feels like it's kind of dependent on um on 3F and we've just learned we may not be able to take action on 3F. And also more importantly, when we had the budget workshop, the lady talked about how important it is before you start talking about spending individual amounts for capital that you have a plan in place with your top, I believe she said five priorities. And you know, we've had reports of HVAC issues and um roofs leaking. Um, we don't even know.
004I don't know. Maybe everybody else does, but we had the McMillan Pasden Smith report with all the findings and I don't know which items are left to be addressed. So, I just think we should wait to talk about this. Um, be advised, you're not asking to approve the matter. You're asking to discuss A&E only. Uh, there will be no way to determine if you defer it until all of strategic planning is done. We will not know how much this will be this would cost. Uh we were asked to do a study. We're returning back with the information of the study. So to defer this would further delay not only the results of the study but it would also ensure that you do not have a cost. Again uh the board would have to approve to
005move forward with it. Uh we're not even in the position to discuss whatever the costs are. So uh for that reason the administration um so that we are prepared to talk about this all capital at the same time uh we would need to have architectural engineering services so we even know if this is feasible >> um so I have a question so we're we are not able to get estimates from um without actually issuing an RFP >> we would need a solicitation any services to all you have is schematics. We've done that. Um but a schematic design does not tell us the cost of estimates. We would need full architectural drawings to determine if this is something logical that we can we or feasible that we can do. So we're we're and this is what
006the discussion item is is is is to be about. Um, I think that's why it's important to kind of hear it and uh so the community can hear uh what we're actually discussing. But it's only the A&E services uh that we'll be moving forward with to determine if this project is even feasible. >> These are things that have been brought to the administration to address. Uh we're trying to address it, but discussion is helpful for not only us but for the uh community to hear what entails in this feasibility plan. So follow-up question, how did we get estimates for the bond referendum? Because we didn't issue any A&E before we did that. >> Uh that is uh that's not correct. We uh went forward if you remember uh before the referendum was approved. Uh we
007commissioned architectural engineering studies uh before and there was a lot of discussion of we should not move in that case but that allowed us to get the best estimates uh for those. So, a lot of those projects in the referendum move forward uh without. Now, I wish we could have done more of those before the referendum. Uh that's why we're kind of delayed on Dutch Fork Elementary and some of those projects, but a lot of those projects went forward with architectural engineering so that we can get the best case estimates uh to move forward in putting together the referendum. Uh this is a very robust plan uh that requires a lot of moving parts and uh it would be I think um irresponsible of us to put it on a a schematic team or or
008conceptual team to try to figure out what schematic costs would be. >> So before the bond referendum, I know we got A&E on the additions, I believe, to the the two elementary schools and on the changes to Dutch Fork Elementary because of the the road widening. Um, did we get A&E services on um the new district office or the um changes the new Dutch Fork Elementary? >> We did uh A&E services and all those things related to the resoning. All of those were approved for for A&E. uh for everything else uh in terms of the uh referendum, those estimates came from architectural drawings that we commissioned through the district. But again, uh, and and I'll say this, I think it's unfair to say that we could with the scope, and that's why I want to
009discuss this, with the scope in which we're asking to do with all of these fields, to think that for $10,000, somebody is going to give us a full rendering of what those costs would be. we would be sitting four months behind schedule without any options because we don't really have um we don't have any any options. Our drawings as you will see tonight uh when we present what actually comes through are very different from what uh we delivered. Um and that's why when you do a bond referendum you say this is what it could look like. You don't say this is what it is because uh those uh conceptual drawings are nowhere near the concept of the schematics and they're definitely not anywhere near the construction documents. Allan, does that make sense? Yes, please. So
010whenever we engage with a firm, just keep in mind it's broken down into percentages. They'll go through they'll do a conceptual they'll go through schematics and then they'll do CDs and then project management phase of a project. So let's just say if we were to get you we uh move forward with with a any project we go in and you might use up 40% maybe 50% of the overall project initially and the rest of it may sit on the shelf somewhere until it's time to to find funding or whatever else it may be. So you can go through the different phases through the conceptual, the schematic design and even to into the the construction documents. You don't even have to go that far into it um if if you know if the funding is not
011there, but at least you will you know you can get it to a certain point to where you can actually put it park it on a shelf because we know that like let's say we're building a building. We know we have to have that said building whatever else it may be. And if the money is not there at that point in time, we can always park it on a on, you know, on a shelf somewhere for later on for down the road use. So, um, yeah, we it it comes in phases like that. >> Anybody else? >> All right, we have, um, a motion on the floor to amend the agenda. It's been properly second. All those in favor of Miss Huddle's motion to defer um discussion item 19 discussion of regarding any services for
012middle school athletics and Armo High and Dutch Rock High. All those opposed and the motion carries um 3 to two. So we will defer um item 19 That takes us back to the original motion on the floor. All those um in favor of the motion to approve the agenda and the motion carries 5 to zero. Can I get a motion to enter into executive session? >> I move that we enter into executive session to consider the following selected employment items exhibit Action. Selected employment items exhibit B information only. Legal advice regarding board policy GB EB staffed conduct. Exhibit C. Legal advice regarding proprietary security business license application pursuant to SC code sections 59-9-275 and 40-18-60. Exhibit D. Contractual matter regarding supplement study. Exhibit E. Contractual matter regarding Chapen High School Eagle Booster Club exe exhibit
013F and legal advice regarding CA number 323- CV-02156- MGL >> second all in favor and the motion carries 5 to zero we'll journ for executive session It is 6 o'clock. Good evening. I'm going to call the regular scheduled board meeting to order. I want to thank you all for being with us tonight. It's always nice when we have a full house um from the community. I'd like to open up the meeting with the invocation and pledge from Trusty Huddle. >> Let us pray. Dear Lord, as we enter the Christmas holidays, please be with every student, parent, teacher, and staff member. Please keep us safe and bless us with the gift of joy. Please help us to slow down and take in the little things. A child's squeal of delight, a beautiful evening sunset, a grandparents
014hug. Please help us to recognize this can also be a hard time of the year for some people, especially those who have lost a loved one. Please be with anyone who is hurting and let your love be a source of comfort. Thank you for all the blessings you have given us. Thank you for the gifts of faith and the new beginning that Christmas gives us. Amen. >> Please rise for the pledge of allegiance. States. Would the school board members please join me up front for the schoolboard spotlight? All right, Madame Chair, members of the board, Dr. Ross, good evening. So glad to be with you tonight and um celebrate some exciting things around the district. The first thing I want to share with you tonight is that the students in the agricultural education program here
015at the center have once again gifted you with um fresh poinsettias this year that they have been growing here in the greenhouse since August. The students along with their teacher Mr. Kevin socks are selling the plants this week uh started today um and the proceeds benefit the cent's future farmers of America chapter. So um thank you to them. I don't think they are with us tonight. No, but we do thank them very much. Also tonight, um, we want to have a special recognition. Back on October 31st, which seems like a really long time ago, our district celebrated the Dutch Fork Imo football game at Irmo High School. This was a long- aaited game that would determine the region champion and our district safety team played a pivotal role in making sure that the game went
016smoothly. They started early and collaborated with many different groups including the Lexington and Richland County Sheriff's Departments, the South Carolina Highway Patrol, and the South Carolina Department of Transportation. They went through the process of having a road closed to um protect the pedestrian traffic. and they even coordinated a security sweep of the stadium prior to the game to ensure safety for for everyone who was there. Um the fact that the event went off without a hitch is testament to their hard work and preparation and we are happy to be able to publicly recognize and thank them tonight for their hard work. So at this time I would like to acknowledge safety officers Wise and Gibson. Officer Ko could not be here with us tonight. And chief of stu student services and planning, Dr. Michael Harris.
017two. One, two, three. So, we'll share the mic with um Mr. Amanda Taylor tonight by surprise and that is that because in addition to the safety officer and the work that they have uh certainly uh did with on that October 31st with a number of different persons throughout the community. uh we wanted to add at least one more group to that that were certainly a integral part of what uh the communication to our neighbors and throughout the district and that is our communications department. They're often not recognized in times like this but tonight the safety office and student services in the planning wanted to recognize the communications office led by our very own Miss Amanda Taylor Miss Sharon Lo Mr. Barrett Isbo, Miss Laura Makoving, Miss Courtney Morbido, Miss Sandra Love, and Miss Diane Dulan.
018Thank you to our communications office for all the work that they did to ensure that as well. Okay, on the count of three. One, two, three. Okay. Thank you very much for that. That was unexpected and and I much prefer being [laughter] on this side of the recognition, but thank you. I appreciate it on behalf of of everyone in our office. And while you're settling back in, I do want to share just a couple more quick things. Uh the Dutch High School Beta Club has been named a national Beta School of Merit. This honor is awarded to schools whose beta clubs demonstrate outstanding achievement in academics, leadership, character, and service. We are very proud of these students. They have a huge group there um and their adviser, Miss Kelly Extramm. They do a lot of
019great work for the community and uh we're so happy to see them be recognized for that. So, congratulations to them. And then to finish tonight, um we're going to recognize these groups at a later time, but we can't not mention our championship teams tonight. Chapen High School Varsity Cheer won the 5A Division 2 Competitive Cheer Championship, its 19th state title. Dutch Fork High School won the 5A Division 1 Football Championship, its 10th. and Irmo High School was the 5A division 2 football runnerup this year. So, we are so proud of all of these teams. We are thankful for their coaches who lead them so well and for the student athletes themselves who represent their schools with sportsmanship and dedication. So, um congratulations everyone. At this time, I'll turn it over to Dr. Ross for the
020superintendence report. Uh, thank you, Miss Taylor. Wonderful recognitions uh as we conclude the fall season. Thanks to all our fall coaches and fall athletes uh for uh their work. And uh we're now moving into winter winter performances from our orchestras and band and coral programs. And so uh again, thank you to all those that uh make that possible. We're a district daily asking three critical questions. Why do we do this work? How do we accomplish that why? And then what are our outcomes? Our why is that we love and grow our students? Our [clears throat] mission is to be focused on academic, social, emotional growth and development. And we measure that through our strategic plan. 165 action steps towards 24 strategies moving to push four performance goals to two objectives that every student feels loved
021in our schools and every student has demonstrated academic growth in our schools. We measure this through our strategic plan. Each week we are looking at the progress of our students uh as they move through our our school year trying to ensure that all of these students are on track to cross uh the stage on time. Uh you can see we measure this. This allows us to pivot our practice to ensure that we know the stories behind all the names uh so that we can uh cross those bridges uh help students with bridges to cross over the obstacles uh to their success. uh we are always focused on the academic achievement. There will not be a meeting where we not talk about the academic achievement of our students. Uh our job if we were to take
022the measures of uh we take the SE ready uh right now uh this is the fall projection of those who would be on grade level versus off grade level for English and math from elementary and middle school. Um if we break this down u just looking at um how this looks in terms of achievement bands this is uh what you would see for third grade uh from last year's map spring. As we look at measures of academic progress is important to note and an accountability would tell you so is academics that the norms are changing and norms are shifting uh with the norms we had last spring are different from what we have this fall. This is at the hands of our teachers right now. You can see those students that are above the 80th
023percentile. This is what's called norm reference. I'm comparing this student to students like them across the country and you can see the amount of students on these achievement bands. If you're a teacher in a classroom, you may have all of these bands in one classroom. How do you work with those ste uh to to think that there's one book or one uh lesson that works for all students is not representative of the reality. This is just for the critical third grade. So, we're working very hard. I point your attention to the amount of students in third grade we have below the 21st percentile. see the challenge ahead of our teachers as we look at this reference in terms of if you're at the 25th percentile that puts you at uh over a year behind grade
024level. If you're at the fifth percentile that puts you 2.2 years behind grade level. These are the challenges that we have ahead of us and our teachers are working very hard. Academics is going to present to you a request uh that we have to try to strengthen this. But uh to think that every student comes in at the same level is not representative of the reality of our teachers. And we thank our community our board to come together to understand uh the challenges that we have. Uh when a student is 1.8 or or one and a half years behind grade level, uh it takes a lot of work, a lot of energy to move them up. So you're seeing bars, but principles and teachers, they see faces. And uh we want to make sure that
025we have for all of those young boys and girls the resources to get them into the green and the blue. If we look at our fall achievement bands uh you can see this is a district look elementary uh and uh in middle school again uh if you're in the red if you're below that 21st percentile that's over a year behind. So if I'm in the seventh grade and I'm over behind a year in reading and I need to get to the eighth grade reading level at the end, that teacher essentially is making up two years in one year. And so again, [clears throat] those are why those supports are increasingly important uh uh for us. We use this data to not only us have tiered support for our our students but also to see how
026we can support our teachers as they take on classrooms with these varying levels. Here's uh the same for math but I think there are opportunities to celebrate. While we may focus ourselves below that 21st percentile just know nationally you have about 20% in each band. So if you look nationally with 20% of each band, they call them quentiles. Look at the amount of students we have in the fall already uh that are above the 80th percentile. And that just shows the work and academic achievement of a lot of our students uh in and our teachers and their performance. I will say this, we're going to hear from schools tonight that talk about growth. And it's important to know that uh how this uh accountability report measures growth. And instead of um using a lot of
027uh terms, I'm going to use a picture uh that came from our accountability director, Miss Audrey Black. When we talk about growth, we must outgrow students like us from the prior year. That's called value added growth model. This is a a norm reference growth is different from what's called criterion reference growth. So our students can grow, but if they don't grow uh more than students like them, it's almost a penalty to the school. If they grow just like students like them, there is no plus to that school. Our students must outgrow students like them across the nation in order for it to count uh for extra points. That's what's above our teachers. So taking a student who is at that lower level and outgrowing students like them across the nation, that's the challenge that we
028have before us. So when we ask that um to be focused on growth uh it's a lot of pressure on our schools and on our teachers to not only make growth but outgrow your peers who performed just like you in the pri prior year. How do we do this? It is through multi-tier support services. We must have a layered approach uh for our our students. We're going to be focusing on tier two and I want to thank Miss McCasco and her team that work diligently uh to provide these targeted u uh supports and interventions um that we will [clears throat] discuss later on tonight. It is with this that we'll do the operation transformation. It's more than reszoning. It's about showing children that we can move them from I can't to I can. So, with
029that, we'll move on to our uh chief financial officer, Miss Heather Tucker, to discuss our September monthly financials. Miss Tucker. [clears throat] >> Thank you, Dr. Ross. Good evening, Madam Chair, members of the board. Tonight, we have for you our September monthly financial report. To start off, we have our revenue summary. And if you look at the local sources of revenue, um compared to we were at this Compared to where we were at this time last year, we were relatively on track with our local sources. Our ad valorum taxes are a little bit down um from this time last year to this time this year, but our vehicle taxes are up. Our delinquent taxes are down. Our interest on investments are down, but a lot of that is just timing of when we start getting
030taxes. We really don't start to see our local tax revenue until January. So, this is just people prepaying or paying taxes ahead of time or vehicle taxes as those come in. Um, our state sources again are right on track. We get those uh monthly allocations from our state aid to classroom from the state department of education and that is essentially right on track. Um, although we're about a half a percentage off where we were last year um dollar figure, we are about right on track with our revenues. Um, and we also have not received our Medicaid reimbursement to this point. Um again that's just a timing issue and so um so those should all shake out in the next few months. Um our next is our expenditures. Um so while we are right on track
031with revenue, our expenditure as you can see we are a little over where we were last year. Typically at this time in the year we are right around 16% through our budget. This year we're at about 19%. Um we had raises to teacher salaries so our salaries and fringe have gone up. we will see another bump in our fringe cost as we see the um the health insurance go up in January. Um one of the lines that I wanted to bring your attention to is contractual services, the support and community services. We have seen so many needs for additional support services this year that were not budgeted um in order to serve the needs of some of our students that have additional needs that the district can't provide. So, we've had to contract those out.
032we have had to pay additional to bring in additional staff through contractual services whether that's through psychology um speech therapist or outsourcing services that the district cannot provide for students. So we have seen a a dramatic increase in that um and I think Dr. Ross will talk to this talk about this a little bit when we talk about our budget adjustment. Um we've seen a decrease in students but when you look at our our ADM our ADM has not gone down. So that means that we have lost more gened students but have have had more students that have had higher needs. And so we're seeing that on the contractual services side. We're seeing those needs that we're having to outsource resources. And so that's one where area where we have seen a huge increase this
033year over prior years. Um the other line that's um over where we were last year is um in equipment and support and community services. That is where the board um voted to approve our land purchases. So the land purchases for Broad River Road, Kerly, and the um all the land purchases for the new Dutch Fork Elementary. Right now we have that in fund balance. That is something that through this year as we look at our budget, we can always move that to our bond funds, but we couldn't go the other way. So if the board voted to do that from bond funds, we couldn't rein that back in and do it out of fund balance. So right now we have it out of fund balance. And so as we progress through our budget year, we
034can always journal that, entry that into a a bond purchase. But for right now, that is a million dollars that falls in the support and community services line that that may or may not stay there as we work through the budget this year. Um but so we are over on expenditures. That is something I am um monitoring very closely as we move throughout the year. Um a lot of the uh contractual expenditures, those are we pay for the contractual services upfront. So we will not see those expenditures kind of throughout the year. We're paying a one time to start. So we saw those as the year started off in September for the school year. So we will see that large increase in September, but we should see that fall off as the year goes on.
035So um with that said, I will stand for any questions on the revenue expenditures for September. >> Do we have any questions for Miss Tucker? Miss Huddle. Um you mentioned the additional contractual services for um special needs when um when the state adjusts their funding um they still use weighted pupil units. So what is the do you remember what the weighted pupil unit is for special ed or 2.6? Okay. So we >> 1.6 or is it >> with the with the one? >> Okay. So a typical child would be one and special needs would be 2.6. So even if our expenses do go up there, we should be getting additional state funds. >> We are getting additional state funds, but this the from what we've seen one because we didn't budget for them because they're
036they're over and above what we've had in the past. Um we've had three um just off the top of my head that are $30,000 a pop for the services that we need for certain students. Um and so those are things that we did not budget for because we don't know those until the year starts. until those teams get together and say these are the plans. Um so that is something that we are struggling with because we are seeing more and more of those just looking at past years we do get the additional funding but what we have seen is that additional funding is not covering the cost of the the the cost of the district. So it's covering a portion of it. Um sometimes it might be half but we are still putting up the
037additional. So >> anybody else? >> All right. Thank you Miss Tucker. >> Thank you so much. U please be advised that for on July 1st, 2026, uh we are reszoning and I want to make sure that uh we continue to stress uh our resoning plan. Our resoning map is released. Uh we have a new map that will take effect July 1, 2026. We're in the preparation phases of that now. Um, if you want to know how resoning impacts you, uh, please go to our website. You can put your address in. We're going to be sending out additional mailers. We know that we're going to have to do multiple rounds of it. Uh, I think as information comes out, there's a lot of information that comes to our families. And so, the closer we get to
038an event, the more interest it picks up. Uh but uh I want families to know that if you're reszoned, we have options. Uh I think the biggest one is something called preferred choice. And I Harris, correct me if I get anything wrong here, but uh preferred choice. So for those families who have been resoneed, uh pending that uh room back at their the school that they were from, uh they can apply to go back to those schools that they were resone from, but transportation is necessary for that. Uh there have been a few families uh specifically in the Valentine and I will say um to the board and to our community, Valentine Elementary School is the most impacted school in this resoning process. Uh as we essentially put a school that was in Dutch Fork
039zone in Chapen's attendance zone, that school was most impacted. We had students in that community that lost res out of elementary and middle school. elementary and middle school. And those families met with us um and we together created uh preferred pathways. This allows pending uh the room at those schools to go back to their elementary and middle school. Uh and so this is a true community partnership to work with those uh uh those families there. Uh and so if you'd like to know more about our resoning, go to our website. Uh you can find information on the 2024 bond referendum information or the 2627 school year zoning information. The resources are there. You can also watch our lunch and learns. Uh we if you can't ever attend a lunch and learn live, they're on our
040website recorded uh where you can get information on resoning as well as magnet and choice options uh that are there as well. Uh speaking of magnet and choice, we have 17 magnet programs. Uh I'm going to ask Miss Sarah Willlet to just bear with me as I go through her slides here, but she's available to talk magnet to you as much as you want. Uh but uh all of our programs receive interest um uh and uh the awards and recognition are amazing and we ask that you go through our magnet of choice website to learn more about the 17 magnets that are at our 12 sites in the school. But I think it's important to understand the calendar that you have. This is not a first come first serve where the you have to sign
041up and whoever signs up first gets in first. Um uh you do need to sign up for choice and magnet options uh by um noon 12 pm on Wednesday January 28th. I'm looking at Sarah now Miss Wheeler Wednesday January 28th 2026 by noon. Uh and again that lottery system is not first come first serve. So if I signed up before that on January 28th at 11:59, I have just as much opportunity for selection as someone who did it on the first day. Is that correct? And so um the lottery and final selections, we need that uh so that we can start assigning families as we get ready for uh the following year. As you know, registration must take place. We must make sure that we have the students in the right locations so that the
042staffing can follow student staffing follows students. And so we want to make sure that we do this early enough to get the students located in their schools. Uh we just heard about the needs of special ed students. We want to make sure that those teachers um that Miss McCascal has is ready is is prepared to be in place uh so that they can start working on those cortile scores to to help those students. And then um all families, we ask that you accept or decline your magnet or choice placement by noon on February the 10th. These are important, but all of these are located on our website. We'll continue to push it out. Um uh as we go through uh again application window is not first come first serve. Uh we just need you to
043submit that application before noon on January 28th. Um and we had our first fair well attended u and I'm very proud that the word is out the applications are coming in. Dr. Harris's office the the phones are ringing. So we really appreciate your responsiveness. But please visit our frequently asked questions on magnet and choice at leers5.orgchoice and you'll have tons of information on on the the magnet and choice fast facts. Um what are we doing for students in a resonant? We learned a lot as a a purple star district uh about military families and what they and what they go through and moving and planning and really students going to follow the the adults. uh if we're prepared and uh we're in position to explain uh what we're doing to orient to have welcome sessions
044for our new students um then that helps in the transition process. So all schools will have welcome orientations for new students and families by May 2026. Um we try to work with u not splitting up neighborhoods in our resoning and uh but as always uh we're a district that cares with love and so mental wellness teams. If any parent, any student needs mental wellness teams, we're here uh to support in that endeavor. So, uh before I move forward, um back in the last year, we had a two-year calendar uh that will talk about how the staffing uh goes with uh the resoning because as we move students first, we must then move staff uh to follow. And so, um in our staffing report, uh as our chief of human resources, Dr. Tamara Turner comes to
045the lectern. I want to remind the board that over a year and a half ago, we had this calendar that would outline how we would move forward with the transitions for staffing. We are a month early u because of the hard work in human resources to get this done. Uh and so um with that, I will turn it over to Dr. Turner to talk about uh the preliminary staffing uh that we do with the restructuring and resoning for 2026 27 school year. Dr. Turner. >> Good evening, Madam Chair, members of the board, and Dr. Ross. As Dr. Ross mentioned, one of our commitments as we move to the 2627 resoning is to keep in mind our employees. We committed to keep them informed of preliminary staffing locations. Here to assist me tonight is Mrs. Melanie
046Cohen, our coordinator of professional staff. She'll present um some of the data that we've collected, how we're using the data, as well as next steps. Mrs. Cohen. >> Good evening, Dr. Ross and uh Chairman Snipes and board members. Thank you for this opportunity to talk with you about the diff district staffing update. Um Dr. Ross set clear expectations for us for how we would determine staffing assignments. You can see that uh we have a lot of data that was used to determine what staff were actually needed at each school. Of course, what drives those staffing assignments is the enrollment projections which we received from the office of student services and planning. We also considered the special areas and the program needs that were needed for each campus, including athletics, elective courses, interventionists, special education teachers,
047um programs, and anything specific to each school that we wanted to make sure to maintain those as much as possible. We also considered our feeder school attendance patterns. In uh May of 2025, all contracted staff were sent a survey. Um the survey data was what we used to to make those placement decisions. That was the determiner for what how we made placements. Um the survey had a lot of information that we asked from our teachers. In fact, it was 48 columns on a spreadsheet. So it's a lot of information including their preferences for location, grade level, position. We asked what was more important, their their location or their position. considerations for the staff members children um their experience, their certifications, their endorsements. We wanted to ensure a diverse um experience across grade levels. So we
048asked about experience um their we considered the open positions that were available at each school. We asked about their proximity to work location, family relationships within the district and we um as accepted requests from teachers and assistants who wanted to remain together. We also received uh requests for certain teachers who may have been teameing together to be able to remain together. The survey again was sent out May 16th. It closed June 30th. Um after that we uh in the fall we determined uh we just really reflected and and realized how much we rely on our teachers on a letter of agreement and how much value uh and and we need those to staff our schools. So we sent out a u survey for teachers on a letter of agreement that was sent out September 8th
049with a due date of September 19th. At the end of that um we had from certified teacher responses 595 surveys from LOA teacher responses that was 54 surveys were returned and remember this is for um elementary and middle schools. High schools were not included in this staff realignment project. Um and then we had 78 teachers who were offered a survey but did not return a survey. There we go. So when we take and we want to look at the data, we really wanted to see how did where people wound up match with what their preferences were. And so in front of you, you can see when we talk about a match, we said we had 97.7% match in elementary. What that means is they got one or more of their first choices, location, position, or
050grade level. And we'll break that down more in a minute. If you look at the blue part on this specific graph, you'll see that we had 2.3% I think it's 12 teachers um did not submit a survey, but they did have a change to their assignment. So when we talk about those that did not submit surveys, those were folks who were new to district 5 this year. So only we those surveys were collected last year. So just so you know that piece of it. Um let's break that down a little bit. For elementary um we have oh gosh I can't see that right now. 55.1% were an exact match. 55.1% of our elementary folks landed exactly where they wanted to be with grade level, location, position. We had 12.5% who did turn in a survey
051and they did get one or more of their first place. Typically that's a change in grade level is what it is. Um then we had uh 30% of that which was 152 people who were offered a survey but did not turn it in. Um and some of the new folks as well. They didn't submit a survey but they uh did not have a change to their current assignment. So they're right where they are this year. And then of course that same 12 who did not submit a survey um but did have one change. So middle school let's look at the same thing and the explanations are the same. We had an 87.6% match across middle schools. That means they got one or more of their first choice assignments. We had 31 or 11.6% that did
052not submit a survey but did have a change. They had the opportunity to submit. did not do so. But there is a change typically in a grade level is what their change is. This one we did have some folks who only got a second or third match. They did not have any first choice match. Um and typically what that meant was that they were they did not request where they were at all on their survey and they ended up back where they were. So there was not it's not a significant change. We didn't take them and place them in someplace completely different. We just maintained where they were. So, if we look at that and break that down as well, we had a 47.6% match. That means they matched everything um for middle schools. So,
053we're happy about that. We had uh 61 teachers or 22.8% who turned in a survey and got one or more of their first choice. Typically, they they may have gotten their first choice of location and uh subject, but maybe not grade level. They may be moving to a different grade level. 46 uh folks or 17.2% 2% did not return in a survey and they had no change. We had 31 or 11.6% did not um turn in a survey had one change and then of course that same two which is a just a small little fragments two folks who um have already given that explanation for. So when we look at that all together our elementary we had a 97.6% of our teachers got at least one of their first choices. Middle 88.4% 4%. These are
054some things that we've already done. We've met with our content coordinators so that they could review not only the allocations, but to ensure that those staff um were were balanced across the district. That's been shared with the allocations were shared with principles. On November 5th, rosters were given to principles with to include names and certification areas. Those were kept confidential. Um on November 19th, um principles were directed to in to direct any concerns they had about allocations, certifications, things like that to the office of academics where uh by December 3rd. Those have been uh resolved and there's a final review with um principles uh on Wednesday of this week and then the preliminary notifications of assignments go out on December 17th. Thank you. >> Thank you, Miss Cohen, for sharing that comprehensive overview of all
055the work that's happened behind the scenes. Um, while I'm here tonight, I do want to thank all of the individuals that have helped mine all that data. Tremendous amount of data, and it wasn't an effort done just by the Office of Human Resources. Lots of support, input, and collaboration with the Office of Academics at the school levels. teachers even taken the time to provide input. So, it's truly been a collaborative effort. So, as Miss Cohen mentioned, we've collected the data, we've mined that data, we've tried to make sense of the data. Um, next steps for us, we're looking forward to next week providing information to teachers to let them know this is what the assignment, preliminary assignment, um, will be. If you notice the last slide up here, this falls into um, what we typically
056do each year anyway. Um so the purple is what was a little bit different because of the reasonzoning and it was the preliminary uh data collection but now this becomes to look very normal for us. What typically happens is we open the transfer windows to teachers in January of every year anyway. So next week, any individual that gets a staffing assignment and they'd like to pursue a different opportunity in the district, they can do as we've always done. And we have an opportunity to first allow our internal teachers to shop within the district for different placements. That'll begin um in January. Um they will receive their tentative specific grade um content um that they're teaching a little later in March, April. So they'll know the preliminary location, but we really need to get another round
057of student projections before we nail out um the tentative content and grade assignments. So that information is forthcoming in March, April. Um and all of this before contracts are issued. So hopefully our faculty will feel very um informed and up to date as we complete this process. And with that, Dr. Ross, we stand for questions. >> Do we have any questions for Dr. Turner? All right. Thank you so much, Dr. Sher. >> And last in our superintendent report is our operations quarterly. And I'll for our chief operating officer, Dr. Duro Gary, to come forward with that report. >> Thank you, Dr. Ross, Madam Chair, members of the board. Um, coming to me is director of facilities, Mr. Alan Knots. We're going to share our quality and construction update. We've got construction going on in every
058phase of the district from Dutch for tormo to chaping whether it's in the design process or the construction phase all across the system that's going on. We provide a lot of information in your packet to show you exactly what's going on and we even have some guests with with us today that Mr. Nas is going to present as he does his part of the presentation. Good evening, Madame Chair, Dr. Ross, and members of the board. Um, this is an exciting time here within the district. Behind me, I have a small army of of AR architects and engineers that are going to come u you talk about their projects that they're currently working on. The first two are uh Lake Murray Elementary and Chapen Elementary. And uh with us we have Justin Lucas with GMC U
059Architects. Talk about it. So as you see here, we have the the two fly reviews uh with our drone of the of the two schools. And you can, you know, see from the from the Yeah. From the photos, we're making a ve a lot of progress. This project is moving very, very fast. Here we have the before and after of Chapen, the Chapen Elementary Edition. You can see originally we had the eight portables in the back of the school and then where the um we we relocated six of the portables and then the new wing on the right hand side. And here's just some conceptual renderings we had early on within the project that show a classroom and then um I guess the L part of the wing as you would walk up the hill
060to the u over to the playground area. Here we have Lake Murray the Lake Murray um edition. Same thing. You can see where we had portables and then where we have removed portables to add in the new structure. Uh at some point after we get everything built, then we'll go back look at pulling those portables out if they need to continue using them from storage. They they will have that that that capability here. Again, we're showing renderings of the school u the courtyard area of the school and then a one of the classrooms. Now I'm going to turn the um the presentation over to um Doug Frasier, Elliot Davis, and Justin Hip with JHS to go over the um the Dutch Elementary project. >> Uh good evening. Thank you for the opportunity. My name is
061Doug Frasier. I'm president of JHS Architecture. We're thrilled to be here, but I'm not going to try to pull wool over your eyes. These two guys are going to make the presentation. They're the ones leading the design and production effort and they know the most about the facility well well down in however far down you want to go. So guys first thank you sir there we go. Uh so the heart of our design concept is the X plan. The Xplan offers long uninterrupted sight lines for safety and security. It provides clear and intuitive way finding for all the grade levels and it provides organizational clarity by having academic wings around a central hub. This is a proven framework we've used in several schools across the state and within your district as well. Our project site
062is along Haulingshed Road just about less than 10 minutes from the district offices. Uh it's a heavily wooded site around some existing residential neighborhoods. On the site itself, the explan helps to subdivide and orient uh pedestrian circulation routes. Uh bus, cars, and pedestrians are all separated into separate circulation zones around the site. With Dutch Fork being a academy for environmental sciences, we knew that uh environmental stewardship was going to be a key consideration in the site planning. So to the northern portion of the site, we preserve an existing stream. We also utilize the existing site terrain for water shedding and to provide natural barriers as well as view corridors along the site. Along the western edge of the site, we have a dedicated bus loop um and dedicated bus entry into the uh main building
063along that central spine and connects to the central uh hub. We also around the bus loop have uh centralized parking that supports after hours activities. Just to the north of the bus loop is the dedicated service unloading and loading zone. And then circling around from that space around the entire facility is required fire access and maintenance. So continuing on the complete separation from the bus uh bus loop and bus traffic, we have the main entrance which is accessed through vehicular loop um that extends from Holland shed road. line with Dust Drive. Um, this has 2,700 ft of stacking distance which is essentially um gets parking off of the public row on Holland shed road. We also have the loop geometry which encourages a predictable single direction traffic flow. Um the main entrance is set back
064about 400 ft from um Holland shed road so that there's um safe pedestrian movement into the central hub and there's visitor parking as well in the in the main uh vehicular loop with about 160 spaces. As we look to the east um this area of the site addresses the play fields, structure play areas and outdoor and structural zones. Open sight lines allow the staff to oversee multiple outdoor spaces. Uh direct access to the public u to the multi-purpose fields. Connected auto loops. It connects auto the auto loops to the fire access around the perimeter of the building. We use grading strategies um that minimize the need for heavy ramps and retaining walls in this portion of the site here. And storm water zones in this area create natural buffers and long-term outdoor environmental spaces. Now
065we're going to kind of focus on the building proper. We feel that it's right size for 550 students. Um we have incorporated design with opportunities for future growth which we will speak towards later. The total building area right now is under just under 90,000 square feet. There are 42 instructional spaces across the school and 26 classrooms uh dedicated to from 4K to fifth grade. As we zoom in a little further, the Rotunda is the organizational um heart of the school. All major circulation routes converge here. Pro it provides access to wings uh the media center and collaboration zones throughout the facility and that it offers enhanced visibility, safety, and student supervision. And this creates a sense of strong uh community at the sense of uh at the center of the building. Next, we're looking at
066the um 4K kindergarten and first grade classroom wing. This has adjacency to the auto and bus dropoff zones for short travel distance for younger students. uh direct access to secure early childhood area. Classroom wings maintain a high visibility uh for supervision and there are also work rooms and interventional spaces centrally located within this wing. [snorts] The the east wing um host the second and third grade neighborhood clusters and they're situated on either side of that classroom wing. Um the CL these spaces are designed as a transitional zone between the lower and upper grades and has a close proximity to the outdoor play and multi-purpose field with clear sight lines uh back to the rotunda. And this here is our north wing. Um it houses the fourth and fifth grade neighborhood classrooms. Uh expanded support spaces
067for older students, clear sight lines back to the rotunda. And this actually the advantages of this this wing are they're oriented towards the stream corridor and the play fields as well. It has strong outdoor learning connections. The west wing of the building houses a lot of our specialty classrooms including those for art, science, and music. It also includes areas for special education services. Additionally, in the west wing, we have the multi-purpose activity area and the cafeteria. These two spaces are subdivided by a central retractable partition that allows these spaces to be opened up together into one large gathering space that supports the entire student population. With this proximity to the bus drive and direct access, this allows this section to be cordoned off for after hours activities in the school. In order to maintain cost
068control and to provide flexibility for either immediate expansion to the building program or for future growth, we've divided the building into two add alternate components. The first you see here would be 10 additional classrooms that are dispersed among the north, east, and south wings. These would supplement the existing grade levels. The second ad alternate component is in the blue is the 12,000 square foot auditorium. This design would have 539 seats with eight wheelchair spaces. The fan-shaped design allows for accessibility and close proximity to the presentation platform. As you can see, both these kind of integrate seamlessly into the overall building X plan. To take a look at what the building might actually look like, we have some exterior renderings here. We use a kind of nature inspired materiality with earth tones. Here you see the
069south uh portion of the building with the vehicular circular loop in the foreground which has direct access to the central hub with the active wings springing forth. In the background you see that preserved natural area. This is the access along the bus entry in the bus loop. To the right you have that secured play area off the 4K through first grade wing. On the left side of the screen, you have that west wing that has that multi-purpose and cafeteria space that becomes the larger cafeterium gathering area. As it relates to the classrooms, they all exceed 700 square ft and contain built-in storage. Um, plenty of with 8 by8 windows. You have plenty of natural daylighting as well. The fourth grade through second grade classrooms have um restrooms contained within the classroom and the upper grades
070have uh group restrooms that have a um centralized handashing station for hygiene and to reduce uh conflicts associated with the restroom. Um yeah, then we have now we have the um the hallway here which you can tell um you can see the clear story that we have that allows ample natural light into the space. Um there are four corridors throughout and this creates collaboration zones within the corridor space. You know now we're looking at the gym area. We had talked about this space having a part dividable partition. Um that would be maybe in your foreground. So once that partition is led back, this space has the double volume which has the ability to house all of these students um within that space. Now we have a fly through that kind of tells that story as
071well. Heat. Heat. That's And since we have a um several things to review, do we have any questions for the Dutch work Elementary Project? >> Miss Huddle, I have a lot, but I'll take my turn. Um I noticed um I travel a fair amount and I noticed like in the upstate some of the newer elementary schools are being built with pitched roofs rather than flat roofs. So I was wondering like um did that was that considered as a possibility for this school and if so why are we doing the [snorts] flat roof as opposed to a pitch roof? >> I know you one of the things that we looked at was we wanted to bring a lot of sunlight into the into the building from multiple angles. Um but I can I'll let the architect
072speak to that. I will say we we did consider that. We surely did. Um to be blunt, it adds a lot of cost, if you will. Um >> has anybody ever looked at the long-term costs like over a 20 or 30 year horizon? Is a pitch roof less expensive in the long run? >> It's the structure that supports that roof. Also the additional space that's required for the mechanical units typic typically are positioned on the on the roof and the decision was made at least for the time being that the flat roof with the equipment on the roof uh HVAC equipment on the roof was our better choice for the project. >> Mr. them. >> These are kind of like the outdoor questions um that I've heard when I visit schools [clears throat] on the
073playgrounds. What is the play surface going to be or is it going to be the artificial turf or some sort of like mulch substrate? >> So, as a district, I believe we have moved to a artificial turf um fall surface um and you'll see in later on this this evening some of the things that we've done throughout the district. So, we moving away from any kind of mulch type of surface. >> Okay. And then while we're in this phase, especially with uh little guys um playground area, is it a sun sale an option, some sort of shaded areas? Because that's a big deal with teachers that are out there waiting and playing. A lot of them will group up against the buildings in the shade. And is that something that we can add at this
074point or >> it could be something that could be added? We're trying to make sure that all all playgrounds [snorts] um at at every level has some sort of shade shade sale. >> And last thing, I've just noticed in the parking lot, this may be different, but um a lot of our schools, they have the the grass islands, and it's difficult for our maintenance and and landscaping folks to come in and do the the grass cutting when all the cars are parked all the way over. Is there an option to turn those into just plant beds with a a mulch or straw or are we set on grass? Is it cheaper to do that? >> I would think it's probably cheaper just overall throughout the year just to have grass, but I mean those are
075those are things that that can be looked at. >> Thank you, Miss Hod. >> Um I was that it said on one of the slides um 550 students and 26 classrooms. Did I did I get that right? Okay. So that's like 21 students per class, but that's assuming that every class is filled where we let teachers plan in their classrooms. So I guess I'm asking is this is the capacity really 550 students or is it less? I I want to say that the the that capacity is that there's overall maximum capacity if if it was at 100%. >> Okay. So, and the district. >> So, in other words, if the teachers didn't do planning in their classrooms, I guess I'm trying to figure out the math because this this keeps coming up all the I
076mean, I've been on the board for five years and we're always talking about how much room we have and there's kind of and this is our issue, not yours, but we really need to kind of define what capacity is. So, I guess I'm just trying to make sure. I mean, if push came to shove, could we really put 550 kids in this school as as it's as it was as it's designed? >> Yes. As I'm hearing Yes. Okay. Um I was also curious on the slide um it said add alternate at auditorium. So, it does include the auditorium we saw or it does not. So if we go back to the um go back to this slide right here, [snorts] you can see that we have a cafetorium um but we also wanted to look
077as an adult if we decide to accept um you know to have an actual auditorium and then um and that's what you you see the the actual auditorium piece and then just to um in the event that if we ever needed additional space have an adult for additional classrooms um those are things that do not have to be accepted as you um as you go through the um you know through the numbers and through this whole bidding process. You don't have to accept those. Um but we wanted to at least look to see what it would be. And the beauty of this design and layout is down the road, let's say 10 years down the road, we get a massive influx of students and then we have to add additional stu classrooms. We have that
078ability. So I also saw where several times it said four add alternate classrooms. So that's the same thing. Yes. Right. So the construction on this is was um construction manager at risk, right? >> No, it's bid design. >> Okay, good. And then um I was also curious about the um it's the the kindergarten design, by the way. I think looks really cool. I was wondering for like special ed, special needs, and this may be a Dr. Ross question is do we need something similar to that or you know because I think um I'm also concerned it's beautiful but we have a lot of water right there too. So I'm you know where would special ed be and what have we designed [clears throat] to kind of make sure that we don't we keep our kids
079secure? I think a lot of our elements um are required for inclusivity uh especially ADA and things of that nature, but I'll let the architect speak to that >> in terms of access of playground space to students with special needs. Um every playground space is is accessible in compliance ADA criteria. Uh so there's there's no vertical >> Yeah. [clears throat] And I may not have made my question clear. I I was just curious like do we have designated um just like we have designated space for kindergarten and a safe playground so that they can't wander into the parking lot. Um do we have something a designated space in here for special need for self-contained and um also in and probably an addition for all kids. How are we going to make the water safe? >>
080So the I'm sorry. >> Yeah. Go ahead. Correct me if I'm wrong. They want the access to the uh I guess the stream line is um uh through retention ponds. No one should have access to a retention pond. That's correct. The other thing is that stream is really dry. Um it is not. It is presented as flowing water, but it's really a dry creek. In the event of there's accessible water. If you notice above and below the development, there are houses there. So the stream doesn't magically start in the middle. It it's a it's a drive, but that's there for our water. I think the biggest part is for the environmental cluster studies of of um we do it in a high school. They do a cluster analysis of of the um of foilage, trees,
081brush, all of those things. also want to say that I think uh office of civil rights uh really outlines our responsibility in terms of um inclusion of students with special needs. So it would be um a violation of the officer rights to have just a area just for someone with special needs. So that's why the inclusivity is so important there. Um but um there are what's called kind of adaptive spaces that you may see at the park. Um and uh we are prepared to discuss that on another agenda item. But again, you're the architect, so I just wonder if you can speak to anything I've missed. >> We we do have several um and you see in this wing, we have several classrooms dedicated to multicategory special service needs. We also within the central portion
082of the building have a dedicated sensory room for those kind of services. We have dedicated physical and occupational therapy rooms as well. So when we talk about 42 different types of instructional spaces, these other types of spaces are involved beyond the 26 dedicated classrooms we were discussing earlier. And this isn't a question, but a request. I don't think this was in the online board packet. And I've had somebody ask if we'll be adding it this presentation. Yes. To the online board packet >> after um the presentations are made to the board. They'll be available to the public. Anybody else before we continue? All right. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you very much. >> Okay. And now on to uh Armo High School and uh updates within the school. I'm just going to briefly touch on
083um where we are within the the the new wing replacement. I think we're about 85% complete. Um the school is coming along real well. I don't have any photos in this in this presentation. That'll come during um another presentation just due to the sheer volume of slides, but the the school is looking fantastic. Um and um it's it's um it's shaping up. It looks really really good. So, um, we have, um, Clint Riddle and Tyler McKenzie from LS3P here to go over the new student center. [clears throat] Uh, thank you, Dr. Ross, um, board chair Snipes and board for having us here tonight. We're really excited to, um, show the progress, the design progress of this next phase of Hermo High School, um, which includes the, uh, new student activities center and the cafeteria. So,
084as you can see on the site plan, um the uh building addition in gold, it um it will be built as an addition to the uh existing or the um academic and um administration building that's currently under construction um that Allan just shared with you. Um we really worked hard to make sure that that this building um in the master plan was in the right place on the campus. So you can see um as we've developed this um we've really focused on circulation to this building. Um you can connect on all three floors of that building under construction to this new cafeteria wing. Um we've also looked at outdoor spaces for students. So as we go through and look at these images, you'll see that in addition to the indoor dining spaces, there are outdoor
085dining spaces u much as they have now that are are going to be really nice spaces for those students. Um, as you know, we've been working very aggressively through the design phase of this project. Um, LS3P, our engineers, um, the staff at at the district, as well as Edcon, the CM at risk contractor. Um, now that we've, um, you know that we're starting to begin construction of this new phase. We'll be shifting gears to uh working on design of of the next phase of this project, which will be renovating the existing dining room at Hermo High School into the student um business incubator space and then moving on into design of of whatever um demolition may occur of the um old east wing building. Jumping to the floor plans, you can see um that we're
086doing work on three levels, as I mentioned, to connect to that um east wing replacement building under construction. um really focusing on circulation because this is a very large dining room. This dining room would serve 700 students at a time. Uh basically allowing for two seings on the campus and that means a lot of students moving through the building at once. So um as we mentioned we have circulation on all three levels. The circulation is outdoors um from the lower level of the um academic and administration administration building under construction um up a social stair into the dining room. There's also an elevator there for ADA um circulation. The uh the main level of of this new building uh building addition connects to the second level of the um building under construction. So you can
087see how you would move there from that building through a connector. And then the uh upper level, the third level connects into our upper level of the uh the new addition. Um you can see here in yellow the uh very large um dining room space set up as a a food court style uh dining room. um in addition to the red space which is the kitchen and the kind of green space which is a central receiving component that is very much lacking on the Irmo campus right now a place to bring in deliveries to the building. The blue spaces that you see on each floor are the uh student center spaces. So these are designed to be very flexible spaces to accommodate a number of of uses. um whatever student center uses um you know
088may evolve over time um for for the campus um potentially student amenity spaces, meeting spaces, conference room spaces. Um these these rooms are really designed with maximum flexibility. There's also operable partitions that allow these smaller spaces to open to larger spaces depending on needs. And then the uh uppermost level you see there is uh what's referred to as the senior loft. So at Hermo High School, they've had a tradition of having upper mezzanine dining level um that will be carried on into this building here. So uh we'll continue through the images and and my colleague Tyler McKenzie will share you some kind of exciting images of uh both the exterior and interior of this building. So So we'll go through this uh kind of quick, but first off, the first image is um uh the
089view of the building from WCOT Road. You can see the bridge connector there. um and how this connects to the existing building that's currently under construction. Going next, you can see the motto wall as we're calling it with um Hermo High School's motto. This is um as you're approaching uh coming down the bridge connector uh into the main floor of the dining room. Here you see um as you continue into the dining room uh looking back at the serving lines there and then the um branded panels above that. Just another view of the main dining area kind of from the other side of the the big room there. Here you can see our monumental uh stair that connects the senior dining loft down to the main um level of the dining area. And then here
090uh the next few images are uh of the senior dining loft area that um has some of the student activity center spaces um adjacent to it and also looks down into the main dining area. And this is from the other end at that senior dining loft. And then this is uh one image of a potential layout of the student activity center spaces. Um this is with uh one of those operable partition walls um pulled apart as to make the space uh twice as large. And then this is from the interior side of the campus looking um back at the building uh at the uh outdoor dining patio and outdoor dining stair that takes you from the first floor of the academic building up to the main floor of the uh dining portion. And just like
091um with Dutch work Elementary um if y'all have any stand for any further questions for the new remote expansion. >> Do we have any questions? >> Mr. >> Yes, sir. In the um the plan demo, is there any uh plans to recapture any parking that was lost from the the large parking lot that was there before? >> That is something we are evaluating as we go through the design process. >> Miss Huddle, >> um I think you mentioned 700 dining. Is that um total including the senior? >> Uh yes. >> Okay. So roughly how much of it the senior? A fourth. >> Yeah, about a fourth of it. probably a little bit more but I say that in the sense that you can seat more than 700 but we designed it such that 700 very
092comfortably can be seated indoors there's a there's a mix of dining so it's not your typical linear [snorts] table layout there's a mix of dining styles in the space so um you know style seating round tables it's not a very seating layout So, we're trying to, you know, more more modern approach >> and we actually looked at a lot of um yeah, we went to the school when days that it rained and we just saw how many students were packed in there, no seating, and so we just wanted to make sure that the students had a comfortable comfortable place to to empty. >> Mr. Bum. [snorts] >> I may have asked this question about the the new addition as well, but with all the windows, is there sort any sort of um tint that y'all
093are doing or special UV protection to kind of help with the heat and everything? >> We're looking at various films and stuff of that nature. And then if you look at this slide right here, I know it may be kind of hard to see, but we have or we are incorporating some sun sales in into the dining the exterior dining area. >> All right. Thank you. >> Okay. >> Now, we're on to the professional development and admin building. Please keep in mind this is a conceptual rendering. Um we we were working through this with uh with our architect um to to make sure that we're meeting the needs of the district. Here we have um a design as you're in the parking lot, the front area, and you're walking up to um um to the
094building. Here's another rendering here. Uh as you look at this right here, you'll see kind [snorts] of like two sections, and we'll dive in this further. You have one section which is the board area which is the the first building with with looks like it's like six tall windows. That's for the for the board meeting um spaces. And then you have um another area which is the professional development. And that kind of will allow us to split things up in the event that we decided to rent a space out for a convention or something along those lines. We're not having folks come into the district office and then it's kind of segmented that way. And you can see that from the overall uh floor the floor plan you can see the the upper the upper
095yellow area. Um it's that is the professional development site or section where you can um you know you can split that up. You can have it into a large conference area. A lot of breakout spaces for that. And then toward the toward this the lower end of the of the drawing you'll see where we have the the boardroom. um and the executive conference room. And then if you move over to the uh the west, you'll see some administrative offices. And then you'll see um it's hard for me to see that student services and can't see what the blue is. Academics. So um you know th those two departments kind of go hand in hand. So they will have their own individual suites. >> [snorts] >> Then as you move upstairs, we have uh finance, human
096resources, and communication. And then the superintendent their their office area. So here's a a site plan of [snorts] what the what the site could look like. Um you know, with a lot of input from district office staff. Um we I know that we have a lot of folks that at lunchtime they want to go walk cir walk laps around the campus. So here we have a actual walking path um which would be like a turf path not concrete um that will allow people to kind of get out and get some exercise. Um we're also looking at having a courtyard in the middle of the facility, a secure courtyard in case somebody wanted to go outside and have lunch. Um we have ample parking. Um, if you look at the parking area, the the the back
097section of the parking would be for a lot of this um the district office staff. And then as it kind of kind of goes down closer toward Dutch Fork Road, those are parking spots for for board members so you can quickly get in the building and out of the building from board meetings. Um, and then we also have we're we're working through the logistics of getting access to the private road that's by it's owned by the the developer that owns the Walmart. And then we'll have additional overflow parking into the existing building. Now, we're going to take a look at the auditorium for Chapen High School. So, we we looked at several different options for this. I know early on we were um wanting to place the auditorium in that little middle section with the
098school where we it's kind of um it's it's got some outdoor seating. Um in the right there the uh right across from that faculty parking lot. Uh unfortunately due to the the the topo of that and just how how hard it would be to build a structure that would also allow daylight in because you have windows on each classroom. It just it it didn't make sense for us to you continue that path. So um we looked at at a place to get it closer to the fine arts department and we were able to kind of plug and play this into the side of the building. Uh this gives us a couple additional options of of adding additional driveway that I know the school has mentioned that they would like to see to have access like
099a full loop access um from there in it also retains the car rider drop off line. We're still early in development of this project. We do have a a layout that we're looking at and this is um you know what we're leaning towards. It comes with a um um you know with with a new entrance that brings you into the into the actual auditorium. Um it u provides one of the I guess a state-of-the-art sound system and light light systems because we're trying to get something that is robust because we want the school to be able to have productions and have good sound equipment in their um in their facility. Uh this will also allow this design allows for retractable seating for a portion of the seats because right now when the when the um
100uh they're kind of landlocked in the school. So if they want to do something else whether it be um you know some kind of SAT studying or or or or doing um a multitude of things, they have to move it up in the cafeteria and then that you know trying to feed students that can kind of be a conflict. So, this right here will allow us to retract the seats and have the footage that they would need to go do other things in that space, but then still have the fixed seating and um you know, for that for that space. So, we still have some programming that we're having to work out. Um but um but from what what I'm hearing that we're going to have is it's going to be extremely nice and uh
101I just wanted to make sure that we had a really good robust you know light and and sound system for that facility >> and I stand for any further questions. >> Um on that chapen what are you aiming for as far as seeing capacity? I think the capacity is about 500 somewhere in that in that area. >> Um, and then if you can go back a couple of slides right there. >> So, is that the area that was part of the last edition? It's got like a curved front now where this where you're proposing putting it. Is it is it curved? >> It's from the orchestra window. It's a big curve, but your your point it's not a straight line either. The orchestra window. >> So this that would that wall would be removed and
102this would >> that wall would be part of the hallway. Now that would be the correct me if I'm wrong. That's the internal view of that hallway. Correct. >> I would have to I'd have to look at I'm not >> If you go to the next slide and essentially this area is curved is what? Okay. >> Question. [snorts] It's not a huge robust curve, but it's it's this wall. >> It's got a curve to it. Okay. >> So, everything in the in the dark blue or purple here would be new or just the auditorium. >> I think everything in the purple is going to be new. That's um or repurposed for for the auditorium. >> Okay. And if you don't mind going back a couple slides, keep going. Okay. So, what are the the So,
103I get the the the building on the far left is the new building. What are these other like gray shapes that look like buildings? >> Um, so we have the the existing district office. >> That's what that is. >> This is the existing district office right here. We they did not show removing of these portables, but those portables would go away. this section here would go away and then we would have the existing district office to repurpose. Um, yeah, they do have a loading dock. We do receive lots of shipments and we currently do not have a way to receive shipments. >> That was the question I was going to ask is because I I remember at one time we were talking about um maybe even converting Palmetto Woods or somewhere else into a kind
104of a maintenance area. [snorts] So, are we going to get that with this This was not a part of the um of the of the bond referendum. Um but I think at some point this is what we need to to visit is to convert this right here into operations center that has like a and I say that loosely because we have a need for a um a [snorts] excuse me a uh a true data center [clears throat] right now. We have a small metal conx box right here that we had to frame a new roof on top of. And it is very very small. Like you could fit me and then maybe half of me in there. It's it's very tight um in that one space. But but at this day and age with all
105the um everything that we've kind of been through over the last six months, we need a true um hardened data center that that houses this equipment because if we're housing the data and and you know utilizing that we need we need a space to put it and we need the generator we need those things. So by utilizing this right here for future use that gives us that opportunity to do so. >> Do we have any other questions? >> Yes sir. Um, with the auditorium chap, is there a plan for a crossover space behind the stage? >> You said a crossover >> crossover to get from one side of the stage to the other behind the actual stage. I >> believe that's what this right here is. >> I'm learning a lot about auditoriums and theater.
106I know Dr. Hampton um needed some assistance several weeks ago and I um came in on Saturday or Sunday. I don't remember what day it was. to to assist and um I'm learning a lot about that and in just the theater productions and I just I know that you know one thing I do want to reiterate is is that we are going to make sure that we get really good stuff. Um I I know there's some um some educ some of our teachers that are concerned that we may go on the low end of equipment, but I want to make sure that we get the best that we can get for for our students. One more quick question. Um, on the new professional development and administration building, there was a slide that showed where there
107would be a boardroom. Um, is that going to be able to hold kind of the entire of a regular board [snorts] meeting like we can in this room or are we going to begin having board meetings in that room? So, this room right here, um, the architect who designed this building [snorts] also designed another district office in the Midlands. [clears throat] I think this holds up to maybe 200 people um at a time. U, it also is set up to where everything's pre-wired. So right now, you know, you see a lot of stuff around us. And then behind the scenes, as soon as everyone leaves, a lot of our folks in our IT department, they'll stay way after the meeting to get everything wrapped up and buttoned up and and and and before they go
108home. This right here will allow us to leave everything in place. So when the meeting's over, everyone gets to go all go home at the same time. But also, it it makes sure that our sound system, all the technology, and everything else is in place. So we're not having to set up and test. we just, you know, were able to kind of flip a switch and roll with it. Um, this also, this build right here also allows us to have an um an executive conference room right here, right off the the boardroom. Um, and then it allows for that easy access and then all board members could exit here to their vehicle. So, it just kind of keeps it in a nice little compartment. Um, one thing I do like about this layout, and I've
109seen this in other districts, and we're working through this [clears throat] is there is an access point to where you can bring folks in. Let's just say if there's a hearing, let's say, I'm going to use my son for example, if there was a hearing with him, he could come in through this back the the back entrance in a sense and not not have to be, you know, presented publicly. Um, you know, you could bring them in, have the hearing, and and everything. with all that business stuff would happen from the back of the district office and it provides some more security too. >> All right. Thank you so much for everything you're doing, Alan. >> Yes, ma'am. >> I just had some a couple questions for Dr. Ross on the earlier um on the
110preferred choice and preferred pathways. How My children are grown so I don't have to go through this process. But if I'll just use an example. Um I think some people got redistricked from Pineywoods. I'm sorry from Chapen Elementary to Pineywoods. Um I don't think Pineywood's on there anymore as a school of choice, right? It's not out there on the software. Or is it still? I might have picked a bad example. I guess my example is if your child got moved and the old school is not a choice normally a choice school if it's not out there as a choice school. Are they still able to use that process to apply for preferred choice or do they have to use a different process? >> Actually all of our schools are available for choice with exceptional valentine.
111So there's and we we we've been working directly with our magnet office to secure and assure that families have that opportunity to apply for in order to stay at the school at the schools in which they prefer to stay in. Uh so all of our schools are open except for Valentine. If there's an issue or question they can either contact my office or the magnet office to ensure they have opportunity to apply. >> Okay. Um the other question I had is is there any thoughts of tweaking it just a little bit at all in that like I think we got um two emails from two separate people who um are like it looked to me like lived near downtown Chapen that wanted to stay at Chapen Elementary. But I mean are you guys looking at
112that to see you know because I get what they're saying. making that um coming back off Ax Ferry is not fun. Is that anything you guys are looking at? >> Absolutely. Thank you for that. I had an opportunity to talk with those those families and we've been able to work through those scenarios and uh but absolutely to your question. Those are the kind of things that we do look at and pay close attention to. I certainly understand their question and we were able to work through that. >> I believe the um you the students from the future farmers of America came in so we want to circle back and um highlight them before we move forward. >> Yes ma'am. Thank you for the opportunity. Um I do want to welcome our students from the FFA
113here at the center. We did um acknowledge the beautiful poinsettias that you guys have gifted to the board of trustees and just want to appreciate you for that and thank you. They are beautiful and I think Dr. You can start without That one. >> All right. Thank you so much. >> Madam Chair, that concludes the superintendent's report. >> Thank you, Dr. Ross. Um, that moves us to the approval of the minutes from the November 10th board meeting. Do I have a motion? >> I move that we approve the minutes of the November 10th, 2025 board meeting. >> Second. >> All those in favor? And the motion carries 5 to zero. Can I get a motion to approve the amendments from the special call meeting on November 21st? >> I move that we approve the minutes
114of the the November 21st, 2025 special called meeting. >> Second. >> All those in favor? And the motion carries five to zero. That moves us to public participation. The board welcomes and encourages public participation. We respectfully ask that you adhere to the procedures provided in board policy behings. Your comments should be limited to three minutes and must remain on either the topic noted on your signin form or a listed agenda item. Questions asked during public participation will be handled in accordance with board policy BEDH. Miss Taylor. >> Thank you, Madam Chair. Odessa Hilton is here to speak about making the nest a permanent program at Irma Middle School. >> Good evening, Dr. Ross, board members, and the families and communities of Lex Lexington Richland School District 5. My name is Odessa Hilton and I'm here
115to speak on behalf of the Nest, a school within a school at Irma Middle School. The Nest provides a uniquely supportive learning environment where educators can deliver focused small groupoup instruction and create meaningful personalized learning experiences. Within the Nest, teachers are able to celebrate students strengths, provide targeted instructions to address academic challenges, and facilitate weekly goal setting to support continuous improvement. Our mission is to help every student not only meet but surpass their personal academic goals. The nest was established in February 2022 to in response to a communitywide communitywide call to enhance safe safety and support the students and the staff at Ir Dr. Ross, excuse me, emphasized the need for a dedicated environment designed to better serve students with significant needs. His vision included wraparound services focused on mental health, behavioral support, small class
116settings, increased supervision, and restorative practices, all within a well ststructured and caring learning and caring learning space. In 2025, the nest is thriving at Irma Middle School. Though it is no longer a place in place at Irma High School, our program has evolved from a disciplinary model into a successful interventionbased academic setting that supports students with multiple academic and behavioral needs. And what did this mean? This means our our system works m with multiple with students of multiple academic and behavioral needs. What does this also mean? This also means that the nest is not an optional program. This is a vital component of student success at Arman Middle School. Each year, the uncertainty of the surrounding future of the nest is always at hand. We kindly ask that the board members formulize and secure the
117nest as a permanent academic program within Irma Middle School. If there is still doubt, the NES has transformed from a program designed to address discipline concerns into a model of academic and behavioral success, benefiting not only students, but also their families and the school community. In many instances, our program has outperformed the general population of students. with map data measure of academic progress the results that is produced three times a year August December and and March demonstrates clear and consistent growth over the last four years we have shown growth the last year has been 75% increase in math 79 78.9% in ELA with 50 students the year before 53% in math 60% in ELA with 71 students and also So I am Odessa Hilden. I'm a dedicated math teacher over 33 years 33 years of
118experience and I have profoundly I am happy to be a part of of the nest since his inception four years ago. Thank you very much. >> Thank you Miss Odessa. >> Thomas Moore is here to speak about the Dutch fork press box. Good evening, uh, board members, the faculty, staff, and everyone else here. Uh, my name is Thomas Moore. I've had the fortune opportunity to be the voice of the now 10 time state champions of Dutch Fork Silver Foxes for the last eight years. Uh, being part of that program has been a thrilling and amazing opportunity offered by the touchdown Dutch Fork Touchdown Club. I would like to offer a brief background on my experiences in football and in the media. I have play I have played coached been a part of sports radio for
119over 40 years including spending five years on the air with ESPN radio and which also involve filling in for John Kate on his national show several times. I was also served as an on air personality and producer for several shows including Friday night high school football game broadcast for 1075 the game. I believe I have possess a tremendous understanding of not only the effective game day announcing but also the crucial elements needed for everexpanding media broadcasts for games. My connection to Dutch fort began after two years announcing at Riverbluff High School. not trying to equate um my close friend Benji Norton who I had known for 25 plus years uh recommended me to announce for the silver foxes of silver foxes and since my daughter was attending Dutch Fork at the time I happily accepted
120the offer this is a need for an expansion to the press box while I've been in many press boxes over the years including the high schools I must respectfully ask that the current Dutch fork Presbach facility does not match the talent on the field or the legendary coach that actually leads them on the field. Um the limited space creates several challenges including media and producer constraints. Uh media partners and producers are currently exposed to the elements with compromises which compromises uh broadcast quality and operational security. future media growth as Dutch Fork looks to add more potential media broadcasting within itself in the future and current extreme small space makes that ex that expanding coverage almost impossible. And also thinking of the other schools that come to the facility, subpar coaching conditions. Some of the teams
121that come visit us, they actually have to be on the roof to help do what they do out in the elements and such like that. Well, I ask that we seize on the opportunity to grow the media options for Dutch Fork by allowing us to have a larger professional space. This provide our fans with a true premium fan experience while simultaneously supporting our current and future media partners. We thank I thank you for considering this crucial investment and in the future of visibility and professionalism of the Silver Fox program. Thank you. >> Thank you, Thomas. >> Casey Estridge is here to speak about middle school field upgrades. Good evening, uh, Dr. Ross and Madam Chair. Uh, Miss Odessa, I would like for you to come address our team because I think you could carry their
122attention any day, anytime. Thank you for that. Um, I came kind of misguided. Uh, I was kind to beg for facilities, but as I understand it, the referendum's already been passed. Uh, so what I really would like to offer is my input as to what's needed there. Um, I've had three kids go through the school district. I've been a coach. I started the very first B team baseball team at Dutch Fork in 11, I think it was. Um, I was gone for a while with other opportunities and I came back last year. Um, our middle school, we practice at the middle school and it's frankly not very safe. Um we we've got some money in the booster club to uh get it to where we can practice and that's really all we need. Uh we
123play our games currently at the varsity field, but we we don't get to practice there. Uh we're practicing on a substandard uh practice facility and it is at times dangerous. There are certain things we can't do because of the safety issues. Um the kids have to dress, they have to leave the middle school and go dress at the high school and then come back. Uh so it's just really not convenient and I think [clears throat] our input input as coaches is needed uh to spend the money where it should be spent. Um priority is the field itself uh where it's going to be safe and it could be multi-purpose for other uh sports. Um I know that the football, lacrosse, any of the other spring sports could use it. Um, currently the football team has
124access to three fields and uh I would say right now that the baseball program which fields three teams uh only has maybe basically a field and a half and one batting cage. Um so I think uh getting input from us as coaches would go a long way in really um you utilizing the space that we have and we have a good idea of what we can do with it. Um that way we can include other sports more freely. Uh with a artificial surface which I saw on a rendering would be great. Uh as we could have fewer rained out practices. Uh the uh baseball is kind of quirky. You get if you get so much rain you're done for the day. Uh in other sports not so much. But with a turface uh facility, we
125could eliminate mispractices. Um and future phases down the road, maybe we could implement gameplay at the middle school with fencing and uh appropriate fencing and locker rooms and such. And uh I highly encourage y'all to let us give the input needed to get this structure going. That's all I have. Thank you. >> Thank you, Casey. Tara Safet is here to speak about the Dutch High School stadium press box. Kind of feels at home being in here with these fellas tonight, ladies. Good evening, madame chair uh and board members and Dr. Ross. My name is Tara Safe and I am a district retiree, a D5 parent, and treasurer of the current Dutch Fork High School Touchdown Club. I'm here tonight to ask for your support in funding a new practical and safe press box for the
126Dutch Fork High School stadium. One that meets the operational needs of our coaches, students, and staff, and reflects the excellence of a football program that consistently brings home championship trophies. Our current press box no longer meets the demands of a modern athletic program. Coaches, both home and visiting, need larger dedicated rooms that allow them to effectively communicate, strategize, and manage their teams on game day. A proper clock room, audio room, and video room are essential for smooth game operations. These are not extras. These are basic tools required for accurate timing, clear communication, and high quality game film. We need a scoreboard room that integrates audio and video so that our staff operating this equipment can do their jobs safely and efficiently. Another gap is a lack of restroom access in the press box. While it
127may seem simple, it's a basic necessity for staff who spends hours preparing for and managing each event. One of the greatest concerns is the safety of our filming crew. Right now, students and staff, both home and visitor, climb a ladder and stand outdoors on the roof and all weather conditions, rain, heat, winds, and protected only by a railing. This is not acceptable. We need an indoor filming space accessible by stairs that allows them to produce the quality footage our coaches rely on while ensuring their safety, their comfort, and ability to focus on their work. I want to be clear, I'm not asking for luxury amenities. This is not a request for a sponsor lounge or a catering suite. This is a request for functional, safe, properly equipped space that meets the standards of a program
128known for its excellence. Our athletes and coaches perform at a championship level. The infrastructure supports them should meet that standard as well. Investing in a new press box is not just about comfort. It's about safety, operational efficiency, and giving our students and staff the tools they need to continue succeeding. I respectfully ask that you expedite funding for this muchneeded upgrade to the Dutch Fork High School Stadium, home of your current 5A division 1 state champions. >> Thank you, Tara. >> Kelly Erenss is here to speak about funds for sports fields. >> Good evening everyone. I'm tag teaming with my former high school teammate and college roommate Casey Esters here. So, um here to speak on the baseball middle field, middle school field and really the benefits that can provide the athletes uh of the middle
129school, but also I think the general purpose for a multi-purpose field. Uh I know there's a lot of money and it can be spent different areas and I want everybody to get what they want. Uh but as we said, we'd love to have a uh some input into what can go on there because it's a very unique environment where the outfield part is and the uh ability to have a covered hitting area andor bullpens andor other things would be really important. So the structure allows this age group, which that's the most important age group from development and we can attract them with nicer facilities. will attract more players and more prospects that we can develop. So the goal for us would be work with these coaches which we're all old guys. I'm volunteering my time
130as well as our staff I think might be the oldest baseball staff in the state. And uh it starts with these seven sixth, seventh and eighth graders as far as what they're able to achieve uh at that time and how that is parlayed in their later years. It's the critical point of investment of development and to have turf and or have some of the resources we'd love to have at our disposal to be able to educate and motivate these players, these athletes would be an incredible opportunity. So, we would hope you would consider our input and also consider any little detail that you could provide us with to improve that program. Thank you. >> Thank you. Our final participant tonight is Kim Wartz to speak about the Dutch press box. Good evening. Uh my name
131is Kim WZ. I'm the past president of the Dutch Fork Touchdown Club, a parent and community member, and I thank you for this opportunity to speak. I want to start by expressing our appreciation for the proposal to fund press box improvements to Dutch Fork and Hermo high schools. This support means a lot to our parents, athletes, and coaches, and it's long overdue. There's two significant concerns I'd like to address. First is the funding disparity. Two years ago, Chapen High School received $8 million for a new press box and made major stadium upgrades. Tonight, Dutch Fork and Irmo are proposed to receive half of that. We are grateful for this in investment, but the disparity is glaring. Since Chapen received that amount of money for their stadium upgrades, then Dutch Fork and Armo should receive the
132same level of support. My second concern is timelines for improvement. In 2022, Dutch Fork's turf was removed in June and not replaced until September, well after Chapen and most practiced on a field already in poor conditions and even in the parking lot when the rain flooded our practice areas. We played all our home games away at Irmo and Chapen Stadiums, not returning to our stadium until the nationally televised St. Francis game in September. In contrast, when Chapen Stadium was under construction, the process was scheduled so that their teams continued playing at home without interruption. Both of these points highlight the need for consistency and fairness in how funding and timelines are managed across our district. All students deserve safe fun safe and functional athletic facilities. I propose a practical solution. Since this funding comes from
133the 8% money available each year, let's fully fund one school this year and the other next year. This approach keeps the district financially responsible while ensuring equal treatment for all schools. In closing, we truly appreciate the investment being discussed tonight. Since the district allocated $8 million to Chapen, we ask that you do the same for Dutch Fork and Irmo, demonstrating a commitment to fairness across the district. Lastly, congratulations to our district for having Dutch Fork and Irmo competing for 5A Division One and Division 2 state championships. Everyone should be proud. A special congratulations to Dutch Fork for their monumental achievement in winning their 10th state championship, their fourth in a row, and for bringing positive attention and making history for Lexington, Richland 5, and Dutch Fork. Thank you. >> Thank you, Ken. That moves us
134to the action agenda with first up action is necessary or appropriate on matters discussed in executive session. Do I have any motions? >> I move that we approve selected employment items per exhibit A. >> Second. >> All in favor? And the motion carries five to zero. Um, I move to authorize the superintendent to submit a proprietary security license application pursuant to uh SC code sections 59-19-275 and 40-18-60 to the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division. >> Second. All in favor? And the motion carries 5 to zero. Do I have another motion? >> I'll make a motion to um approve the contractual matter regarding the supplement study. >> Oh, that's not I'm sorry. Thank you. The administration was seeking a motion on Chapen High School booster club contractual matter. >> All right. Make a motion to approve
135the contractual matter regarding the Chapen High School Eagle Booster Club. >> Second. >> Um before we vote, um I just want to make a comment. Um this item. We've heard a lot from people tonight about fairness and equity. And I'm not saying that I don't think that this is a good idea. I just think that we have a lot of dominoes in place. And I'm going to vote no. Not no ever. Just no. I think we need to look at this holistically before we set a domino in motion and and cause fairness um potentially cause fairness issues. Do we have any other comments before I call for vote? Okay. All those in in favor? All opposed? And the motion um fails three to two. That moves us um to number 14, approval of the continuous
136improvement plan for Harvest West Elementary and Irma High School. Mr. Cascco Good evening board, Madame Chair. Um, you know, whenever we have school report cards, there are things that always are highlighted that are positive and then there are things or numbers that show up that don't necessarily um play out the way that we want them to always play out and they don't always look like what what we want them to look like. And so we have um two schools tonight that are going to explain that to you and just talk about the positive things that are happening at our schools. And although we may have a a underperforming status for two schools, they are definitely not underperforming schools. And I just want to be the one to say that upfront and to talk about the
137how supportive and how proud I am of the things that are happening in their buildings. So, I want them to know that upfront and to know that what they're about to do and to talk to you about their school is appreciated. Um, so I'm going to turn it over to Dr. Turner from Harvest and West first. Good evening, U. Madame Chair, board members, Dr. Ross, executive staff, happy Monday. My name is Thomas Turnham, the proud principal of Harson West Elementary School gifted and talent development mandate. I appreciate the opportunity to speak tonight. Um, I'm here to share a turnaround plan based on the fact that our recent report card has dipped to a below average status. While the data shows areas that require urgent attention, it also shows something just as important. I feel like
138that's promise, that's potential, uh, and that is the foundation for meaningful growth. To be clear, our faculty and staff are not only capable, they are committed, skilled, and deeply invested in our student success. Each day, our students show enthusiasm, grit, and a genuine desire to learn. They have the potential to achieve at high levels, and we will ensure that they are supported every step of the way. If you would allow me, I would like to start by sharing a few successes at Harbison West. I'll keep right on going and we'll catch up on the presentation. One of our greatest indicators of strength is the high level of satisfaction that students and parents have with our learning environment. This tells us that the families trust the work happening in our classrooms and that the students feel
139supported in our building. We also continue to see strong satisfaction in our school home relationships. This reflects open communication, respect, and the collaborative culture we've built with our families. Despite the challenges identified in our school report card, our academic achievement rating remains good. This is a clear signal that we have strong instructional practices in place and a solid academic foundation to build upon. Lastly, our teacher retention rate is 90.5% which is pro which is approximately an 8% increase from the previous year. Even with these positive measures in place, there's still room to grow. As you may know, the primary assessment used for the elementary school report card rating is SC ready. However, when looking at the data that helps us measure the growth of our students, we traditionally use MAP testing results. On this chart
140you're looking at, we see the median conditional growth percentile. The goal here is to keep our our median conditional growth percentile as high as possible. Unfortunately, the spring conditional growth percentile has declined in reading and math for the past two years. And to a degree, this forecast the result that we were that we saw on our report card, specifically in the area of student progress. As principal, I take this measure personally because the higher the growth percentile for our school means the more growth students have made over the course of the year. Also, as principal, I understand and acknowledge that this measure is below standard and is precisely why our three overarching goals for the year for our turnaround plan follows up to professional development for teachers and ELA map growth for students. Collectively, these
141three will contribute to an improved SC ready report card rating for the school among other strategic initiatives. Just because we want better academic outcomes for all of our students, it's not going to magically happen. We have to take our hopes and desires for academic performance and place them into action. One reason why I am confident that we will turn around this year comes from the preparation and strategic thinking from our instructional leadership team. As previously mentioned, we did have a few forecasted data points going to the last spring that led us to believe that there were academic shortcomings on the horizon. Therefore, some of the changes that we have in place and are thriving right now currently in our building date back to last school year. For example, we wrote out teacher-led interest committees. Teacherled
142interest committees are small groups of teachers who work together to plan, problem solve, and make decisions about different areas of our school. Teachers had a chance to sign up for the committee that they served on, but all the outcomes and strategic plans created in those committees are currently in place right now at Harson West. Another highlight of preparation for this school year dates back to the summer. Our instructional leadership team convened for one full day in June. and to reflect on the previous year's data. During this time, we also identified strengths and areas that we would like to improve, but also and more importantly to chart a path forward for this upcoming school year. However, as proactive and as well intended as we attempt to be for the coming school year, we did not have
143the current school report card to plan from. The SE rated data showed us that we were rated as below average or unsatisfactory in the area of student progress, multilingual learners, preparing for success, and climate. As a result of these ratings of these lagging indicators of performance, the PowerPoint outlines four areas that we want to take improvement on in order to improve each of these indicators. To strengthen both ELA and math outcomes, we're implementing a variety of strategic actions designed to directly support students and empower teachers. First, our instructional leadership team is preparing to pull small groups for intensive intervention support. These small groups will address specific skill gaps and accelerate growth in our tested grade levels. Additionally, to reinforce this work, we are moving in a direction of providing targeted professional development that equips teachers
144with high impact strategies in literacy, comprehension, and math problem solving. To assist with this professional development, we are leaning into the district coordinators for reading, math, and science. This time will be used to unpack upcoming standards and dig into areas that students need to support based on multiple data points. Furthermore, I reallocated a portion of our title one funds in an effort to acquire an additional support person in the area of reading intervention. Having an additional support interventionist will allow us to deliver more intensive researchbased supports and strategies to students who need it the most. Our instructional coaches will continue to guide teachers through consistent planning sessions that will strengthen our lesson design and ensure standards alignment to support rigorous instruction across all classrooms. We will continue to enrich our classroom instruction with supplementary technology
145tools such as my path and fluency fight to further personalize their learning for each student. Finally, pending board approval, we plan to offer after school tutoring in both reading and math. This additional layer of small groupoup support will extend beyond learning from the school day. And to help us reinforce these critical skills to strengthen our school climate, ensure students feel continue to feel safe, supported, and engaged, we're implementing a series of additional target in uh targeted initiatives. I previously referenced what we are doing with the teacherled interest committees that started last spring. In addition to that, this year we have weekly triage meetings to support behavioral, social, emotional needs to proactively work to help students who need this assistance the most. Finally, our student advisory council known as the hero chitchat is working towards improving
146the social emotional status of our school through respectful communication, positive behavior supports, and peer generated alternative solutions. I am committed to ensure that students continue to have a meaningful role in shaping the future and now of our current school environment. For our multilingual learners, we look to strengthen the academic progress of those students. We're introducing Flashlight 360. This is a district currently in the program now, but now offered to all ML students through Title One funding. I'm looking to have a subscription to allow each of our ML students access to this program. Flashlight 360 will allow students to participate, I'm sorry, to practice their speaking and listening skills as a tool to continue developing their language acqu acquisition, ensuring that this decision are data informed and directly benefit the learning environment, but also giving this
147progress updated annually to the teacher. Additionally, we will begin dedicating PD time for teachers of ML students. This ensures educators are equipped with researchbased strategies to support language development, promote inclusion, and drive academic growth. Lastly, for science, we're looking into some test prep items that will expose our students to the rigor question types and assess their overall knowledge to test performance that will provide an opportunity for our teachers to meet the district science coordinator and ensure that every student has protected science time. That way, we can consistent time working towards science. As I look to close my presentation, there are more key takeaways from a moment like this. When I reflect on where we are as a school based on this report card rating, there's a quote that captures the spirit of how Harson West
148is banding together to ensure we accomplish this task together. The quote states that the true measure of a person is not where they stand at times of con, excuse me, is where they stand in time of comfort and convenience. A true measure of a person is where they stand in times of challenge or controversy. Our report card has indeed issued a challenge for our entire school. But it's moments like these that I firmly believe that Harvest and West will show our true character, dedication, and resiliency as we continue to work together. With the commitment of our teachers, the potential of our students, and the support of this board, we are standing firmly in this moment, ready to implement the strategies that will improve our academic outcomes, strengthen our school climate, and ensure that every student
149has the opportunity to thrive. Together we will not only meet this challenge, we will exceed it. If you will allow me one small indulgence, I would like to uh acknowledge Harbison West. Any Harvest West staff members that came. We have representatives from our SIC. We have our assistant principal. We have our teacher of the year. We have our uh support employee of the year and our math coach. Um, a huge shout out to the grit behind our teachers that continue to band together and work through times like this. Um, a huge shout out to our SIC, uh, who listened through our school improvement plan, our turnaround plan, and gave some excellent feedback. Um, and last but not least, shout out to the instructional leadership team that has continued to hold firm to believe in the
150vision for what we believe to be possible. If we have any students that are watching this tonight, please go to bed because we have map testing tomorrow. So, with that, I will yield my time back to the board for any potential questions. [snorts] >> Thank you so much, Mr. Turner. Do we have any questions? Miss Huddle. Um, I did have a question about letters. Um, I've heard from some teachers that that training has been phenomenal, but I've also heard from some that um, we're taught differently that change is hard. Um, and so I'm going to kind of curious like what are we doing at your school or even um, districtwide to make sure that um, that program is actually being followed through on? So you get the the teachers get the training but that they're
151able to really um continue to to teach um that way. >> Yes ma'am. Great question. So I think it starts with us doing it together. Um it is a little new for some teachers they have exposure in it and some teachers they don't. Uh but considering it's coming at a time when we're already implementing some different things. We are in the stride of the year with additional responsibilities. The biggest thing is us continue to go at it together. We have a phenomenal reading coach. Huge shout out to Miss Joanna Neil. Miss Neil is leading our school in um kind of unpacking that slowly but ensuring that that we're implementing it with fidelity but also making sure that it sticks into the ELA framework that we have for the year. So is it a challenge? Yes,
152it is. But as we slowly kind of unpack it, we're seeing phenomenal results within the building. >> And and I had a follow-up question and I may get the name of the program wrong. Um, I went to a recognition at 7 Oaks where some teachers participated in a strategic compensation pilot program. Um, do we have any teachers that are part of that program from Harvest and West? >> No, ma'am, not at this time. >> Okay. And I so I was just curious and this might be a Miss McCascal question, but if there was anything that those teachers at Seven Oaks um learned or you know discovered that could be shared with the other elementary schools, including Harvest and West. >> Dr. Turner could could also respond to this, but in our instructional rounds, we actually
153have schools that are paired together um that are observing within schools and with so we are doing that. So we are sharing with each other already. That's a part of of their common planning times that they have together and then they go into each other's schools and observe classrooms and talk about the instruction that they're seeing and what's happening. So that that is happening. >> I just want to say real quick when I visited um recently really um engaged students. They were advocating for things that they they felt important to me. Um they were, you know, really excited. Yeah. Got a great environment there. Everybody's bought in. So I just say keep up the good work and y'all gonna do great. >> That's right. >> Dr. Turner, I'm probably in your school more than you
154would maybe care to have a board member there, but not as a as a parent instead of a board member. And um I just want to congratulate you on a staff that of teachers that meet children where they are. I've seen that firsthand many times. um your enrichment clusters are making an exciting difference in those children's lives. They I hear about it all the time at home. Um and congratulations for seeing some of those warning signs even before maybe you got the school report card and having some of those initiatives. I think hopefully your interventionists will help um and um if you the math tutors that you're asking for also make a big difference. So thank you for your work. >> All right. Thank you so much. So now I'll um introduce Dr. Hampton um
155from Armo High School um to talk about Armo High School and the great things happening there. Good evening set up. Good evening, Madam Chair, members of the board, Dr. Ross. Um, tonight I want to talk a little bit about Irmo High School's performance. Um, we have we have been here before, so I want to give you an update not only of what we've done last year, what we will be doing this year, but that way for us to have a comprehensive view of what we are doing and what we will continue to do. Before I get started on our road mapap to discuss not only our progress, our challenges, um I want to give just a quick shout out to those who um always support us. It's always good to have people in in the
156building who will do whatever it is you need done. So um behind me tonight, want to give a huge shout out to our PTSO. They stay ready um anytime we need them. They show up. PTSO, you can raise your hand. Then we've got our um instructional coach in the house and then two of our assistant principles. So, just wanted to go ahead and thank them for all of their hard work. Um Irma High School is like a combination of James Brown and Michael Jackson. We're always working hard night and day. All right. So, I'd like to start with something I call our growing strengths. We have two areas that are consistently showing up um in in good ways. Could they be better? Absolutely. But have they shifted? No, they haven't. So, if you look um
157at the screen first, I want to start with our college and career readiness. Over the past three years, we've um consistently maintained a good rating. Um here at Irmmo High School, in my head, we have Operation Get Good. Operation get good for everything. We get good that sets our foundation and we can move from there. But college and career readiness is a testament to the hard work not only of our teachers but our school counseling team to include our career development facilitator, our CTE teachers um and the staff in preparing students for life after high school whether that means college career or military. So if you look here um we are seeing continuing growth behind starting at the 2022 school year. Um for us what we look for is a number of different things. Not
158only our college and career readiness percentages but our number of completers our students who are going through our CTE programs and how they are um completing those four uh courses um that then allows them to be completers. So in 2022 2023 school year we had 115 23 24 we had 140. Um in 2425 we had 208. So we're really focusing on what students need in order to become completers. Um and this progress notes to a number of different improvements. Um we have highly highly highly revamped our individual graduation plan process. Our school counseling department. Um when you have an IGP at Irmmo High School, we get down to all of the things. Nothing is left on the We we ensure that our students know from 9th grade to 12th grade what is it that they
159like to do? Um and then we have a post-secary plan. What is that going to look like? Um we also focus on monitoring. So we've got to monitor that IGP as students are going along. Let's say I'm a business major and then I really don't do so well in marketing. We've got to have some conversations on what does that shift look like. Our school counselors do a very good job of of supporting those efforts along with our along with our business teachers. Then we also take a really deep deep dive into what can our students get for their credentials or for their certificates. So if I'm in, you know, all these courses, what certificate am I going to be getting at the end of this that matters and that matters and we have to have
160those conversations very early on. So we have um created a number of different ways for that to happen. We talk about it um not only in our IGP meetings, but in our student focus meetings. Um at Irmmo High School, every administrator is partnered with a school counselor. And twice a month they meet and we call it student focus. And we have a student focus. There's lots of different things that happen in that. But one of the components is ensuring that the student is ready to graduate. Graduation doesn't just start in the ninth grade. I mean, excuse me, in the 12th grade cohort. It starts in the ninth grade. Really starts in the eighth grade. So, we've got to have those conversations and what does that look like? We then take those conversations into our graduation
161rate team meetings. We meet monthly. Um, we go through all of our seniors, who's who needs what, what classes, what grades. Um, we even talk about behavior. Are there things going on in classrooms, in hallways, at home that we need to assist? Um, and together with these efforts, our goal is to move high school forward as as far as it relates to college and career readiness. Um because we also need all of you. We also need our parents. We need our PTSO. We need our SIC to know exactly what um college and career readiness looks like and what it is. We have a number of different events um that we host on campus to not only raise awareness, but also for our students to participate and be a part of. So um here we've got
162a quick picture of um our college application day. Our students participated um in that. And then the other picture there is our ed op day where we have about 60 different colleges come from all over for our students to be able to to participate and see what what they may be interested in. All right. Second graduation rate. We have one primary goal at Irmo High School and I believe you all have heard me say this before and if you haven't here goes. Um, at Irmmo High School, we believe that 100% of our students will graduate with a high school diploma or credential and a post-secary plan. We say that everywhere. Our staff knows it. Our students hear it at all their class meetings. They know the expectation is to graduate in four four in and
163out. Um, so that is where we start. We've made some improvements of how we um assess and support our graduation rate. Moving uh from an average in 2022 and sustaining that in 2023 and then even now um reflects our efforts on monitoring student progress weekly. Engaging families and providing targeted interventions for students um at risk of not graduating. When I say weekly, I mean weekly. Our school counselors every Wednesday um have a fairly thorough spreadsheet and they sit and go through their entire case load. So that way at the end of the week we are able to calculate which students um are on track, which students are not on track and then we put those into our student focus sessions. So it's a it's a cycle of who needs what, where, and when. And it
164starts um in those conversations. Now, if you have not heard me say this, while we are still we have room for improvement, especially since my expectation for our graduation rate is 80% or greater. Um, you can ask my staff the number of times I've practically fallen out in staff meetings to say we have got to get to 80%. What does that look like? Um, those metrics shift daily and for us that daily can be fairly drastic sometimes. Um, so just to give you a little bit of a snippet, couple weeks ago, we had three students enroll. Three students enrolled. Two as juniors, one is a senior. One senior coming from somewhere else across the state with 10 credits. 10. How many you need to graduate? 24. Okay. 24 and a half. That's a struggle. So
165high school now has to get that student caught up. That's a whole lot of catching up to do in less than six months. Then for the students that enrolled who are juniors, yes, we have a little time, but that's a lot of work that has to happen between that junior year and senior year for them to get caught up and be in the right portion of the cohort. So the shifts happen daily. Um for us, as you all know, our enrollment shifts, um we probably now are our withdrawal rate is slowing. Um, that's a huge celebration for us. One, because it allows us to maintain some culture and consistency in our building. If I've got a hundred students out and 100 students in, holding culture is tough. So, we've got to find ways in order
166to capture our students each and every day. So, part of that looks like having class meetings. We have class meetings once a month for every class. Um, we get together. There's a number of different things we do. We share things that the freshman need to know, that the sophomores need to be informed about, that juniors need to be informed about. Right now for juniors, we're are heavy into what is your senior year going to look like? We have to prepare now. Have you signed up for your SAT or your ACT? What are your grades looking like? Have you did you really have a deep conversation with your school counselor in your IGP meeting? So, our shift happens um fairly quickly, but I want you all to know that we focus heavily on these things listed
167here. On our four-year cohort, we keep a very tight list. Um for the first time, for the very first time, we are below 20 with fewer than 20 students unlocated in our senior graduating cohort. Right now, we've got 16. That's huge for us. We have never had that few ever, ever. And I attribute that to a number of different things. One, our staff being tapped into our students. Um, our students being tapped into one another because if I ask this student, they're going to say, "H, you know, she went to such and such school. Thank you so much. Let me send them a request." So, we've got to keep in contact with who and where and when. We take that very seriously. Um, a portion of our success this year is a number of two
168things. One, graduation alliance. we have leaned on them heavily um to help us locate students. We had a very firm list um at the beginning of the school year. So, we sent that list over to Mabinet and we've been working diligently with them to get our students um either found or found and into a setting that can best support them. That has been huge. Another is just the communication of our graduation rate team. They work very well together in deciding who can we contact, is there a previous contact that we can reach out to, whose house do we need to go to to do a home visit. So, our social worker um is very very uh involved in helping us find students to ensure that we're keeping them and keeping everyone informed of what is
169happening for that particular year. The next is our um student focus teams looking at credit recovery. If a student gets behind, we have a plan for how they can then catch up. Our school counselors do a phenomenal job of that. So that way we stay in contact with what needs to happen and who needs to be a part of that. And then again that stakeholder communication. You will not believe how many parents, grandparents will call us and say, "Hey, my granddaughter, my grandson needs this. We want to be sure that we're all on the same page." That is a tremendous help to be able to have built that communication. Um, I would not have been able to say that, you know, five years ago that we had folks outside of our building assisting us and
170ensuring that all of our students are on the right path. So, together with these efforts, we're focusing very heavily on on the graduation rate. Um, this year we missed the mark just shy. And when I tell you, accountability is probably sick of me um for calling and asking and we're gonna find, can we find one more? Is somebody missing? Sure, we got it right. Um, but our goal every year is 80% or better. Next area that I'm really proud of and it's listed as an opportunity for growth um are multilingual learners. We last year and if I remember um here we discussed the purchase of Flashlight 360. We were looking into it about this time last year. We um received a demo and we worked through that and then we purchased this summer. When I
171tell you flashlight has been transformational in our um MLO classrooms, it is working all ends that sometimes we did not see. Last year uh one of our assistant principles um Jessica Mars worked very heavily with our instructional coach Lauren Gar and we took some serious deep dives into our MLL program. Who needed what? Where were they? And how can we ensure that students are either exiting the program and then we can support them or if we have students who are and if you know anything about the scaling students who may be a newcomer to the English language um from whatever their mother tongue may be. We then work them through um getting from a one to a two or two to a three or three to a four. Last year we were able to exit
17217 students from our MLO program. We took a deep look who needs what, how can we support them? So those students were working on flashlight and then we also did some some uh pull out and worked with them in different areas. So those students are now considered um itinerate where they're not enrolled in the class. We just see them occasionally and we check in on them to determine what they need and how they're being successful. Another way that we took um a different approach to MLL was to put our students together. Currently we have so we pivoted in our practice a little bit. Currently we have 24 different languages spoken at Irma High School. 24. It's a lot to figure out in one space particularly if those languages um don't have some of the same
173connectors. You know we can get a little bit of if we've got we can connect that to some others. We've got Arabic. We can connect that to Pashto. Pashto can connect to a couple others. So with that, our teacher is sort of all over the place with how we support students. So what we did within our courses um to support um the students and teachers, we then put students together. So if our students I've got five students who teach u speak PTO and everyone's taking biology, we're going to put you in the same biology class and support that teacher teach teacher with the language and um a teacher assistant. So we've got someone working with those students and following them around um to to provide that support. Does it work in all the classes? No.
174But for the ones that we needed the most, yes. um it's an effective practice to put them together um and then that way the teachers got some support and then the students are working together collectively to get uh whatever it may we may need. One of the pieces that um we really worked on was using uh Magic School AI. Magic School AI has like a little bit of translation in there and that's been effective. We also used it at the front desk. That's been really helpful um as families come in for us to be able to translate. So, with our our multilingual learners, um this is an area that I really do think that we're we're figuring it out. Um I would like to thank the office of academics. We were able to attend the
175Tesaw conference um last month and we learned tons of different uh strategies, classroom strategies and some more information about the WE to access assessment and exactly how we can support students and what that looks like. Um because we don't really dig into that one often. we can tell you all the components of the SAT and the ACT, but can we tell you the components of the WEDA access to be able to support our MLL students? Um, so it's very thankful to be able to do that. This year, if you take a look at the very bottom of the screen there, the number of students taking um the proficiency test this year is 63. Um, that's probably the lowest we've had in a long time. So, I really do believe that gives us an opportunity to
176get focused and for those 63 students to be successful in either growth or testing out of the program. And then here's just a screenshot of what flashlight looks like where we're working on fluency, grammar, um interpretation, pronunciation, vocabulary. Um the students, we work on this often um in class and it gives them an opportunity to kind of go through um in connecting uh all the things MLL we also have a social contract um in that space um to go along with our capturing kids hearts so that our students know that yes we are working on language we're also working on some of those other pieces of social emotional learning as well here are the two doozies you ready okay here are two that um we've got work to do. However, that work has to be
177extremely strategic. So, I'm going go through it a little bit at a time. So, for our academic achievement area, and let me go, I'm g go back really quickly. If you look at academic achievement, um 22 23 we're below average. Last year, um excuse me, you're before average and this year unsatisfactory. I wanted to be sure I clarified that unsatisfactory piece. It is not unsatisfactory because of the achievement. It's unsatisfactory because of the participation. So participation in the EOC, it's 95%. 95% of the students who are supposed to take the test, no problem. Anything under 95% you get a point reduction. So that point reduction resulted in a rating reduction. So I wanted to be clear about about that. All right. So if you look here um a couple things that we are doing now
178moving forward as we as we take a a bit of a pivot looking at our professional learning communities um in English 2 and this year we do not have algebra 1. Algebra 1 is is we're changing the way the math alignment goes. So we will have algebra one next school year but not this one. Um so that column is kind of is what it until we pick up for the 26 27 school year. But right now, we're sort of doing a little bit of a turn um for our PLC's where we are our English P English 2 teachers are going to have their own PLC. We're working with our content coordinator, our academic interventionist, as well as our instructional coach, and working with those English two teachers, not only on their summitive assessments, but also
179some common lessons and some common formative assessments. That way, we can align ourselves. The interesting thing about all of our EOCC's is that um there's really not a practice assessment. There's no practice EOC full test available out there. you kind of have to piece it together. Um, so in collaboration with our our coordinators and office of academics, we are going to be working this month and next month with working with those PLC's um so that we can get aligned and put together our own sort of benchmarks so that we know what the students know and are able to do and progress monitor prior to the EOC. A part of that um is also offering um some content recovery and then for those who are going to need it some credit recovery. Then if we go
180to the very same thing for biology and US history um biology working on the um graphing graphing is a huge piece that we've got to work with students on as well as the science and engineering practices. If you look at the shift there um for those scores and this is the one thing I I want you to know a D passes the class but a D does not make it onto the EOC. Okay. C or better. So, that's a little little discrepancy that sometimes folks don't know about. So, we want to be sure that we're very open and honest about what that looks like. Um for us for this coming school year, our average is 45%. You may want to you may say, "Well, Hampton, that's a little low." The um state average is what
181we're going to chase. state average right now for biology and US history is running about 45 46%. Um so that is what we're going to go for for right now. We'll get there and then we'll begin to figure out our our steps and then exceed those areas. And again with the same we'll be looking at um working specifically with our biology PLC and our US history PLC's in order to align ourselves part of um I know there's discussion. Uh, one thing that would that would be very helpful, um, some tutoring, working on some tutoring with our students specifically in those areas, um, either during the day or after school. Um, that would be absolutely helpful. That's one thing that we are most certainly looking into to be able to support our students not only in
182biology and US history, but in other content areas as well. And as always, if you haven't heard me say, atmo High School, we believe that in ourselves, our future lives because we do our best every day on purpose. And this plan is purposeful, not only for um our area of need, but for all of our students. And that concludes my presentation. I stand for any questions. Do >> we have any questions for Hampton? Miss Huddle? >> Um Dr. Hampton, you um touched on it, but I'm not sure that people appreciated the gravity of that five points. Um because I I was looking at the SC ready and I was like these scores are all about the same or even slightly better. What happened? And it was that participation. So I guess my question is um
183sort of locking up all the students, what is what can you what are y'all planning to do to try to get the participation rate up this year? Yes, ma'am. Good question. And thank you for calling that out. That five points is huge. Um for participation, here's what we um we plan to do. Um going to get everybody as many people trained um to administer the EOC. Um when we looked at the number of students who were our participation gap happened, there are a couple things that that popped up. Um students who are not in the building, whether it's homebound, um they may be at the return academy, they might be in five, some other setting. We've got to a handle on where those students are and to be able to inform them of when it
184is, who's going to test them, and how that's going to going to look. Um, so we'll get some more folks trained to be able to go to homes if necessary with the appropriate measures in place from the office of accountability. Um, but then also for our let's say student is absent on the day that the assessment is given, we've got to do a clearer job of you missed this day. this is when the test is. If you miss this day, then this is when the test is. And only give so much time to that. Um because that window is short. It's the last few days of school and we've really got to to hustle to get that done. So between being sure that we can capture the students and if that means going to houses,
185calling parents, um scheduling some assessments back to back where you come in and you take two today, that way we don't lose them in transition. Um and then also having more people trained in order to give that assessment. So that way we don't have um you know 50 kids and three people trying to give those assessments. That's >> um I mean it's really unfortunate because anybody that looks at that report card sees that I think it was the academic achievement as unsatisfactory. But it's only because y'all just barely missed having 95% of the kids take it. So it's just I wish they would change that or make it more obvious. you have to like go to the rules and everything to figure out what happened. >> Um the other question I have is just um
186does dual enrollment affect any of these measures at all, graduation rate or or anything? Would increasing dual enrollment um make any effect at all >> for the EOCC's? No, ma'am. >> Okay. But even any anything else, graduation rate or >> graduation rate potentially? Um >> because I'm wondering why like it's just sad to me that um I know part of it that a lot large part of it is kids that have moved away, but it's just I get it. I mean I wasn't like a huge fan of high school myself, but I just feel like these kids, some of them don't feel like there's a point to getting that degree maybe. And if we could get them some college credit, I don't know, but I'm just wondering if there's any way that more dual enrollment
187or different classes of dual enrollment might help keep kids more interested. >> And if that doesn't matter, you know, you're the the the expert. Tell me it doesn't matter. [laughter] >> Um, no, it doesn't matter. But for a graduation rate, now if students are not successful then because of how the courses are scheduled then it could impact graduation rate. But for the most part um for us we've been very successful with dual enrollment. We probably had the most in the district for the longest. Um, I think our students see it as an opportunity to almost like a gateway to whatever it is they want to do to reduce the the cost of of college and then to also have some credits under their belt if they're planning on going to a fouryear right away. So,
188it kind of gives depending on what their path is, whether it's two year or four year um each individual student is is unique. >> Anybody else want to spin? >> So, it was a question about the multilingual I know remote cluster has a higher percentage um than most of the district. So are we to the point where we need to do full classes of groups of multilingual or is it working with the kind of smaller cohorts or groups of the different languages? >> Good question. Um for right now it is working with the smaller groups um because we're able to put like language together. Um what I realized at the conference at the Tesaw conference that we attended that we are really unique in in um our number of languages. Um if you look at
189some of the the districts around us there may be a high concentration of one language maybe various dialects in that one language but not as many different languages as we have. So right now the the smaller works well um because we're able for students to um to work together and then to be able to ask questions in their mother tongue um and be able to receive that back from from their teacher. I think it helps just to keep it smaller for right now. Now, >> is it is it the same grade um or y'all kind of mixing them depending on the language? >> No sir, they are Yeah, it's >> okay. >> All over all content areas. Yeah. And then some some of our biggest issues come into um your noncore whether it's an elective
190or um some of the courses where we might have one student here, one student there. But we've been really intentional to at least have a buddy with them um or someone close by that can be able to provide that support. >> All right. Thank you, Dr. Hampton. >> Thank you so much. All right. Do I have um a motion on the floor to approve the Continuous improvement plan. >> I move that we approve the continuous improvement plan for Harvest and West Elementary School and for Irmo High School. >> Second. >> All those in favor? And the motion carries 5 to zero. That moves us to 15 on the action agenda. Approval of locally local board approve locally board approved courses lab courses to pair with AP courses. Do I have a motion? I move that
191we approve locally the locally approved board >> is the I can't that's a mouthful I'm gonna start over I move that we approve the board the lab courses to pair with AP courses per exhibit I and J >> has second >> do we have any discussion >> or questions I'd like just to hear about because I was a little confused. So, >> so you want to hear about both courses. >> It was the I um that was the literature one I believe, right? Let me look at it and make sure. >> Yes. >> Yeah. Yes. >> So, what these courses will do, it's a paired course that goes along with the AP course. And so, it's like a lab course for AP. So it gives you some additional time to work with the students within
192their writing. Um really digging into some of the inquiry pieces and parts of that so that then it prepares them to go into the um laying or lit class. And so with the course catalog, the state has one course that's already in the course catalog from the state, but it doesn't allow us to have the same lab for laying and for lit. So, so this way this would allow us to have a separate lab for each of those AP courses. >> And are those taken at the same time or before they take the AP course? >> Depends on how the course how the course is set up within the school. Sometimes it's taken as a as a paired course. So, it's taken at the same time. sometime if it's going if the school has chosen
193to do like a 4x4 schedule, they might take the lab in the fall and then they would take the actual AP course in the spring. So, it just sort of depends on how the scheduling of the school works >> and it's graded, right? Yes, it is. And is it graded on the same scale as the AP class? >> Yes, it's an honors level course. Okay. >> That's why the framework is included. >> So, honors have fewer points in AP, right? Or not? Um, this is an honors level. An AP would be It still is the same level of of grading though. >> The weight of the grade is different. >> Oh, you're talking about the waiting. I'm sorry. That's what I meant. I'm sorry. The waiting. Yes. It's different. >> So, this has the same
194weight as AP or the same weight as >> this is an honors. So, this would be an honors level course. >> Okay. >> AP is only through the AP institute that we can give the AP waiting. >> Okay. Um, and you would expect the same the students would go on to take the if they take it first, but they don't have to, right? I mean, if they took this and didn't think they wanted to take the AP, they wouldn't have to take the >> It's hard to say you have to take it. >> It's expected. >> It's It's highly encouraged that you would take it. >> Okay. >> It's highly encouraged. >> Do we have any other questions or comments? All right. We have a motion on the floor. It's been properly second. All those
195in favor? And the motion carries 5 to zero. That takes us to number 16 on the action agenda. Second and final reading of proposed revisions to board policy K public concerns and complaints. Do I have a motion? >> I'll move that we approve second and final reading of proposed revisions to board policy K public concerns and complaints. >> Second. Madam Chair, I'd like to make a movement. >> Okay. >> I would like to amend the approved or I'd like to amend the policy proposed policy to remove the underlying section. Anyone who defames a district staff member and damages a person's professional reputation whether before students or any third party may be subject to legal action brought by a staff member. >> Second. >> And just to explain, I believe under existing laws that's that's covered.
196This seems redundant and we definitely don't want to have a chilling effect on parents and and staff members and the community reaching out and making concerns and complaints. >> Do we have other questions or comments? Um I there was a lot on our agenda last time and I didn't get a chance to look at this as deeply last time as I did this time. But I um I think that the first of all I agree with Mr. Bayum and I got I put it out there for people to because this is really for the public. This is the public's policy. This is the parents policy. um to see what they thought. And I a lot of people I had comments and a lot of people and I had some phone calls that felt like that
197that was a kind of well duh, anybody can sue anybody for um defamation. And that putting it in the policy did have a chilling effect that it um it felt like it was designed to get people not um to file a complaint. And so I I would agree with Mr. them or suggest that the wording be a little different. I I looked at some other schoolboard policies and you know they had some wording to the effect that um you know you you should not make any um I can't remember the exact wording but basically you should not make any um rude um type comments in your complaint. Um, so anyway, I just kind of wanted to add that I've heard from a number of people that felt like that should be removed. >> All right,
198we have a motion on the floor and it's been properly second. All those in favor um to the amendment to the motion brought forth by Mr. Bum. All right, all opposed. And the motion carries four to one. Um, Miss Snipes, I'm going to make a amended motion that I move that we hold a third third and final reading on this um to give us a chance to um look at some other other things um that I'll spell out if my if I get seconded. >> Second. >> Um okay. So, the reason I'm suggesting a third is to give us a little bit more time to look at it. The um the original policy has a purpose and it says to establish the board's vision for receiving and handling public complaints, but the new SCSBA model
199policy doesn't include that purpose. In fact, it doesn't even address um what the board should do if we receive complaints. So, I feel like that needs to be added um to the policy. The other thing is I think this SCSBA model policy is a little bit old because it has a section where it it says that there are other policies for non-discrimination, equal opportunity, etc. But it doesn't say that there's another policy for library materials and instructional materials. And I think that also um needs to be added. So, um, that's the reason for my motion is to give us one more chance to look at this to see if there ought to be anything added to it. I would [clears throat] um ask that if if we do look at that we make sure we
200distinguish between the regulatory obligations we have under um uh the state department of education with instructional materials and the community's uh obligation we have under cons the concerns complaints and grievances those are two separate definitions and policies Uh, I will go back and say that um I I I disagree. I don't think it's obvious that uh employees can defend themselves if they're liable or slandered. And I think uh the policy is for the public, but the employees are also the public. And I think there should be language in there uh for due process for all all people involved. I think once you put one party above another party, you've created inequities. And so I think uh I really disagree that removing language that protects all parties involved is is effective. So whether it's chilling or
201not, I think when we ask people to come to the mic, we remind them of their responsibility uh to protect uh employees, to protect the names up here. I think we should do the same when we're taking complaints from the public. They don't have to be parents. They can be anyone. And so I believe that we protect our our employees. We protect our our um those that uh are parents who are making complaints and must have some language. Um we cannot assume that it's obvious that employees have protections. That's not what they report to us uh when they feel that they're being retaliated against. >> All right. Um Miss You do have a motion. We have a motion on the floor for me, right, to um do a third um reading on this that has
202been brought forth and properly second. All those in favor? And the motion carries out to zero. That moves us to um approval to change the June 22 >> point of order. I think we still actually have to vote on the original motion. So, it's it's it will be a third. I mean, but just for everybody's benefit, it mean because we voted for a third reading even if we approved the second reading, it's not over. >> I for I'm sorry, I forgot about the original um motion in the midst of the two amendments. Um so, back to the original motion. All those in favor And the motion carries 5 to zero. That moves us to the last item on the action agenda. Approval to change the June 22nd 26 meeting to June 2926 to accommodate um
203the SCASA conference as I believe Dr. Ross and a number of the executive staff will be out or in attendance. I move that we change the June 22nd, 2026 board meeting to June 29th, 2026 to accommodate the SCA I3 conference. >> Second. >> All in favor? And the motion carries five to zero. That moves us um to the discussion agenda. Um first up is discussion of proposed revisions to board policy GB staff conduct. Dr. Turner. >> Good evening again, Madam Chair, members of the board, and Dr. Ross. The board has been presented with revisions to board policy GBE, staff conduct. Recommended revisions to this board policy will update the current policy outlining expectations for staff conduct. The revisions include references to several board policies directly applicable to staff conduct as well as some relevant case
204law. Tonight's discussion, the administration stands prepared to welcome any feedback that the board would like to present to assist us in refining the policy to best serve organizational and lead legal requirements. I move that we Oh, >> no, >> it's discussion. >> It's just discussion. So, I just need to know if we have any questions, thoughts, um, or feedback on the proposed or any revisions as it's presented right now. All right. Thank you. All right, that moves us to 20. Discussion of the 2526 general fund budget amendments. Uh, thank you, Madam Chair. We are discussing our budget amendments. Uh, we hope to bring action on these at our January meeting. Um, this amendment to our current budget uh includes three items that we'll go over. Um the first one is a million dollars for our
205tier 2 academic event interventions. Miss McCow will bring that uh project. Um you heard a lot of the references to it today and the continuous improvement plans. The second one the board has asked us about items with behavioral expectations and improving level one behavioral misconduct in our schools. So Dr. Harris would bring the expectation coaches and then the last uh will be Dr. Gary uh as he discusses uh the need for us to have a robust um defense system for our our network uh through uh the funding of a coordinator of technology position. So at this time I'll turn the lect turn the floor over and lectern to uh our chief academics officer miss. >> Good evening again. Um I'm happy to present this proposal tonight to you to talk a little bit about the
206wishes of tier 2. Um you all have asked a lot about what can we do and what are what could what what are the big possibilities of what what can happen and so this is a proposal for that. When we look at what the state has said to get at least 75% at or above grade level that's a big feat for us to do. So we have to think about that. we think about our strategic plan goals of everything that we have in our current strategic plan and one that we're about to write as well. And then you've seen the MTSS um pyramid as well. Tier one is what we do every day in in our classrooms. Tier two is where we really are targeting specific interventions. And all of these things happen within the
207school day, but there's only so much time during the school day of what we can do. And our schools are doing, as you've heard, they're doing a lot and they're doing a really nice job of that. So, what we're proposing is an afterchool targeted intervention for tier 2. And within that, um, there's a lot of moving parts to this. So, I'm going to talk a little bit about it and then if you have questions, we'll certainly answer those. But for elementary and intermediate school, we're looking at three days a week of after school tutoring. Um 3 to 4 o'lock. Sixth grade is two days Monday, Wednesday. We're looking at the sixth, seventh, and eighth grade a little differently simply because of afterchool activities that will interfere um and and lots of ways of getting students
208involved in that. So that's the purpose behind why there's a little difference in days there. Um, we've talked with ICRC. There's a partnership there because, as you know, there's um there's an issue with child care. Um, all parents may not be able to pick up their child at 4:00, but then transportation's not available at 4:00 because we're transporting our middle and high school students home between 4 and 5:00. So, we can't have buses to pick them up at 4:00. And so we may need some time for students to be in afterchool care until the buses can pick them up at five o'clock. And ICRC has will is willing to partner with us on that um with the sites to be able to provide that care for us. Um so that's part of the um proposal.
209the schools that have their own school base that ICRC is not a part of, we would then be able to pay the schools the same money that we would pay ICRC to actually provide that trans that that school care as well. And so there's um three schools that have their own school, Armo Middle School, River Springs, and H Corley. There's four schools if I include the middle school. There's and then um Dutch Fork Elementary School. So there's there's four total that have their own school after school program. ICRCA also has a program at Crooked Creek that Chapen Intermediate would be able to participate because they can walk over to Crooked Creek. So all schools end up being served in that way. Crossroads actually will be able to go to Hero Middle School. So just trying
210to figure all of the pieces and parts out and lots of partnerships with our community there. Um, middle school is two days a week, again, 3:45 to 4:45. Um, not needing the after school care because then the bus transportation would be able to pick them up at that point. Um, high school targeting students who have a grade of 65 or below in a content area and having some flexibility here. This is where we would have two teachers per content area per high school. But there's a lot of discussion around athletics, things like that that are happening at the after school for for high school students. So some flexibility that we may be able to do that 4:45 you 3:45 to 4:45 for stiff for some students but then we may actually have a virtual component
211say 6 or 7 o'clock in the evening for some tutoring for students um so that we can make sure that we're we're targeting all students and can meet the needs and schedules of all students. So trying to be as creative as we can with that. um high school EOCC courses six weeks prior to those EOCC courses trying to have some study sessions for students that are struggling in that to really target EOC but then also in all to make sure that we're covering all students and on all levels of students doing the same type of thing for AP testing as well um to have some AP um study sessions prior to the AP test. Again, transportation being provided as needed in in those areas as well. Counseling, you'll see this is a little different. Um
212really allotting each school for elementary and intermediate 20 sessions. So 21-hour sessions um so that schools can develop those sessions based on the needs of of their school. So they might decide I need to have a parent university or I might need to have some small groupoup sessions or whatever that might be for that school. The proposal is built in for 20 sessions per school at the elementary and intermediate level. They get to make those decisions of what that looks like. um high schools, we put 30 sessions in um because there's lots of other lots lots more students and lots more ways that they would um be be able to meet the needs of their students. Mental health and social work really wraps into all of that. So really partnering with Dr. Harris's team and
213figuring out how they wrap into these sessions. And so we added additional sessions knowing that really they're going to collaborate with the counselors, but still that's part of the proposal so that they have extra time in there to be able to do that so that there's they're they're being paid. And we talk about pay, it's put in there for $60 per session. Um, we typically pay our teachers $40 an hour whenever they're working directly with students. What we don't pay is for them to be planned to to plan for those sessions. And so what this does is it gives them 30 minutes of planning. So $60 is giving them the 30 minutes of planning for that one-hour session. That's where the $60 is coming from. So it's half of the 40 for the planning because
214they may not do the planning. They might not stay extra 30 minutes right then and there, but sometime in the day they've got to do the planning. So that means that they're giving up maybe some of their regular time to be able to plan and I think it's important that we acknowledge that for teachers. Um this is also built in is some ASUS services for special ed. What we're not what we're finding is that we are not having teachers to be able to um sign up to do this for students that are we have to provide these services for currently that is at $25 an hour. teachers aren't aren't willing to do that because they get paid $40 an hour for typical tutoring. Um, and this is tutoring. And so we've built that into this
215service at at again the $60 um per session rate. So it's 30 minutes of planning, an hour session at $40 an hour. Um, so that is there. And then you've got two slides with all of my tried to dump my brain into where everything came from. Um, but I wanted to be transparent so that you could see it as well and hopefully you could understand where all the numbers are coming from and why it's there. It definitely is an estimate. All of our numbers for elementary and middle school came from fall map testing. So, we are now in the midst of winter map testing. So, we'll get more accurate numbers now. Um, the numbers of teachers that we need are large. Um, I actually just had a conversation with a company that um provide some
216tutors um that are college degrees students. They're not necessarily um certified teachers, but they're college students that are willing to do tutoring um through this agency. So that if we don't get enough teachers, that might be an avenue that we can go to to furnish um this. Still looking into it. It's a new company, so something that I just need to do a little more research into, but I'm certainly looking into how to make it possible. So, that's a lot in a little bit of time, but I'm happy to answer questions. >> Do we have any questions for Miss McCascal? Miss Hod, she didn't, you know, she didn't even look at me. She knew I had a question. >> I saw you. >> She has ESP. Um, when would this start? So, if it's approved
217on January the 12th, we hope to start by the end of January. >> Okay. And um so is this one on one or is there a ratio? It's all oneonone. >> We're hoping to do no more than five students in a small group setting. So that's why the numbers of teachers are higher than than you would than than we would like necessarily, but we need that many. But so we're to try to keep it five to one. >> And um like would you guys what kind of data would you track to know what worked and what maybe didn't work? So that's something we've talked a lot about. MAP is going to be a key piece for us to look at. So at this point we would start with their winter map score sort of as
218the baseline for us. We will have MAP again in March. And so we would look at at that to kind of see what kind of growth in a a matter of about six weeks, what kind of growth is there? What did we do? Did it work? And then we we can actually at March use that to say, do we continue with what we're doing there? Do we change it a little bit? Because testing doesn't happen until May. So that would give us a good benchmark. Certainly, you always have those formative assessments that that teachers are doing as well. But for our baseline would be the MAP and then ultimately SC ready for those students as well. >> So did I understand correctly you um for the students that have like the transportation gap and you
219said you're going to partner with ICRC, would the district be paying for that care? Okay. >> Yes. >> Awesome. So that's where you'll see um I think it's like the third line down on this slide you'll see an ICRC link and that's just where they broke down by school. What they did was they based it on about 20 students per school that might need this service to give us this um if we go much over 20 it's going to tax them in terms of their staffing. So hopefully that's going to be enough, but if not, they're willing to talk with us and see what they can do. >> And you're going to use the schools that already have existing after school programs. You're going to use those the in-house. And then what about retired teachers?
220This is something we can tap into for possible >> once this is po once it's posted. We certainly could use retired teachers. Yes. >> Thank you. Anybody else? Miss Huddle, >> I just want to thank you. I know this is probably a ton of work and um I think it's just a phenomenal idea and just appreciate all the work you put into it. >> I love the plan, Miss McCascal. >> I I specifically asked for you to please dream big and this is fantastic. >> Thank you. >> All right. >> Thank you. >> Good evening again. And um at several intervals over the course of the year, we have had conversations and discussions uh here in board meetings uh exchanges of emails so forth in reference to behaviors or reports, conversations or concerns that parents
221and community may have had reference to behaviors in our schools. And while there are a number of different ways in which we can address that, we believe we believe that uh the addition of expectation coaches primarily in our secondary schools will be advantageous. Um here on the slide you have from existing um um uh existing job description if you will for some of the expectation coaches that started several years ago in our title one schools. And I'm not um read that information, but I do think it's important and I want to highlight this one thing in particular. While there are a number of different things that we would expect uh an expectation coach to do and that they currently do in terms of building relationships with students, um building relationships with staff as well as
222our parents. I think what is integral is is is the fact that they are providing really behavior coaching and opportunities to reinforce behaviors uh and behavior expectation with students. And this is not just uh uh uh in terms of a pull out from classrooms when there's misbehavior. But we're talking about those those primarily those level one offenses that we hear so much about or we've heard about here recently. uh like targets, cutting class or uh inappropriate behaviors and uh dress codes and uh classroom disruptions, maybe even horseplay, for example. Those are examples of level one violations that occur that uh administrators uh don't always have the uh most appropriate time uh in which to address on the spot. Whereas expectation coaches would have opportunity because they're in the hallways, they're in and out of restrooms,
223they're in cafeterias, they are in uh outside during uh break time and uh commons areas as well as before and after lunch and before and after school. They're ser they're across the campus um in touch and in tune with students. And I think we believe that the addition of at least eight of those um expectation coaches that we can disperse primarily again in our secondary schools of middle and high school would be advantageous to us and they would come before you with that recommendation under >> question. Yes. >> Yeah. on the um allocation of the expectation coaches. Um I guess how is that decided? Because I've visited almost every school and there's some that would like at least one and um you know do they just have to request that or is it based off
224some sort of you know you know numbers? Yeah, we'll certainly look at, you're right, there are some that might have one, but we have several that don't have any at all. And uh so we want to you play pay close attention to that, but also we'll take a look at the data as well and let that drive us. With anything, I think data speaks to us in terms of where there might be a high volume of let's just say targets or cutting classes. So that would be valuable to us to determine where uh we would best need to to place these expectation coaches. And I I'll share with you too where and when possible if if if at all possible. Uh we certainly like to to um see how we can uh uh give them
225at least some facetime. I'm going to use that kind of loosely, but some facetime at our lower levels to just kind of build those relationships at that level as well. I think we can we might be able to find opportunities in which to do that. >> Anybody else? >> All right. Thank you, Dr. Harris. >> Thank you. Dr. Gary, >> good evening again. Um, coordinator of technology. This this position is something that was recommended to us after our data security breach um this summer. They said you need a person that um consistently watches your network that is has 24 24-hour surveillance of your network and we just don't have the current staff to do that. So in addition to watching our network, he serves on the um state task force or sled meets twice a
226month with them by professional development to our staff and is just another layer to make sure the infrastructure network that we have rebuilt is being monitored and can watch it and get eyes on it in event that something occurs. >> Any questions for Dr. Gary? All right. Thank you. Right. So with [clears throat] that, let's look kind of at a timeline for implementation of these. Um, so Miss Tucker, if there's just anything uh you kind of want to outline from this timeline, the question is when could we uh move forward on this? >> Thank you, Dr. Ross. Um the state has said that based on our 45th day, we should know a number. Hopefully before Christmas break they will give us that information. But we won't see that actual reduction and our monthly state aid
227the classroom until our January payment which would not be until January around the 22nd. Um but if we know that number prior to December, we can begin that discussion at our first board meeting in January, which would be January 12th. Um knowing what that adjustment would be based off of. So we could have our discussion at that point based on what our shade to classroom adjustment is going to look like from the state department of education based on our 45th day. >> So again that would bring us to uh basically we we need to get these uh amendments in place as soon as possible with action and um as you hear once we get uh the approval from the board to use these funds uh then we can start the process of uh posting the
228positions, going through the the process that we need through for human resources to get these uh initiatives in place for our students. Um so again, those three items that we would like to add to the budget, uh through an amendment is the tier 2 academic interventions, uh the eight expectation coaches for behavioral misconduct issues and for uh network security. So concludes our presentation on that. >> Miss Huddle, >> um are those dollar amounts um just what would be required for the remainder of this budget year or is that a recurring annual amount? >> This this is a fund balance one-time expenditure would have to be uh put in the budget as we go through for the next year. Right. So um when we look at these next time could we get what the annual operating
229would also be in addition to what Okay thank you that moves us to the discussion of the 2627 budget calendar and state aid classrooms exhibit. Uh thank you, Madam Chair. This will go very quickly. I just wanted to make sure that we're aware that we have to do a 2026 27 budget and uh that process starts with us being in line with the calendar. And so uh as a result, you have uh before you the calendar that we have used to put the budget together. Our operating budget is um very dynamic and requires a lot of input. uh you see all the levels and the different inputs that we use as we move through this. So uh we're now in January as we start moving through uh strategic planning discussions and uh finishing the legislative
230uh agenda. We uh we need to start thinking about our budget for next year. Uh just be advised that uh our revenue always is going to determine our expenses. The majority of our funs come from the state. Our job is to pour that picture into the jar uh to take care of our expenses and whatever is left over becomes reserved. Uh but there are changes to the state. I know there's a lot of focus uh on local uh but we need to put just as much uh focus into state revenues because it is dynamic. Uh it has changed. I believe a lot of people still think that we're funded per pupil. We need to end that conversation. We are no longer per pupil. So counting students and thinking that we get an amount per student,
231that is over with. We're now uh in proportionality. Uh it's about weights. It's about weight and your tax base. We need to look at the weight of the students and not the number of students. We need to look at the weight of the students and not the number of students. And I have to say that over and over because that determines our state funding. and 64% of what we have to pay is going to come from the weight of the students and this proportionality to the rest of the state. Uh already not every student is weighted the same. Students are weighted differently based on where they attend. A student can attend a traditional school is weighted at a 1.0. They move to a charter brick and mortar, they're weighted at a 2.25. It's not the
232number of students, it's the weight of the students uh that determines our ability uh to receive funding. Uh as a result, here are the weights uh that our students are classified by. Um and you can see uh through proviso 1.3 which uh funds uh us in state a classroom. These weights are very important. uh students in poverty with the add-on weights, limited English proficiency, just gifted and talented and academic assistance. These are all the weights here. We talked about students with disabilities at a weight of 2.6. Um but there has been a um required in a new proviso last I'm sorry provisor last year provisor 1.3 to review changing these matters and uh office of physical affairs revenue physical affairs uh has presented to the general assembly changes under proviso 1.3 these changes will change
233the weights again again it's not the number of students is the weight of the students and so the weights are being changed or proposed to be changed. Uh and we will the proposal is to remove weights like limited English proficiency, remove gifted and talented and remove the academic assistance weights. By removing those they will increase the base weight to uh from 1.0 to 1.1. Now when I do an average of 2.15.15 divided by three I don't get 0.1. So already we are lower in weights because of the removal of this uh as outlined in the recommendation to uh the general assembly. If the general assembly adopts this, we are lower in weights of students than we were last year. It's not the number of students, it's the weight of the students. We are now This
234is the time as general assembly gets prepared to go back in to to really talk about how this impacts us our traditional school districts because we start to lose weights. Here's the equation simplified. We would need another three hours madam chair to go through this. So I will not uh but I will pay I want you to pay attention. It's the weight of the student not the number of students. It's the weight of the students not the number of students. And if you look at step five, the weight of the students becomes reduced. Uh the state will take 25% uh weight away from us and move that to a charter school. So it started out as a 1.0 and then at best it goes to a 75. So all of our weights for all of
235our students are immediately reduced to 75. It's not the number of students, it's the weight of the students. I'll say this over and over again. People get sick of me, but they keep telling me about the number of students. It's the weight of the students. That number then is multiplied what's called an index of taxpaying ability. That means districts that have a higher tax base, regardless if you want to tax it or not, you will lose more of that waiting. Your students will weigh less. the higher your tax base is, the lower your tax base, your students weigh more. The higher your tax base, your students weigh less. And it's the weight of the students, not the number of students. So, because we have I think I don't know where we are in the index
236of taxpaying ability. I know the uh preliminary just came out. Um we are one of the districts I think we're in the top 20 of 74 districts in terms of index of taxpaying abil That means our students will weigh less when multiplied by this this uh formula. And so this is what the proviso is is sharing. There's more that we want to do. We talked about a lot of positions. We talked about a lot of programs. 64% of our funds come from the state and our students will weigh less. Um where do those funds come from? It is important as we look at our budget calendar that we do not wait until May to start figuring out uh these pieces when we can advocate now. So here are the losers and winners. Uh and if
237you look at the 73 districts in the state, if you're going above the line, you're a winner and to that magnitude. If you're below the line, you're a loser and to that magnitude. That's less than the original five. That's what last year's. It's not the number of students, it's the weight of the students. And because of that, we're losing funds. If the weights decrease this year with the revision polo, uh the magnitude will go further down. And so you can see um how this plays out. It's important that we're aware uh of the new funding formula uh the provisal that's being proposed and have some type of advocacy uh for our programs um or else and I've asked uh what if our local board is not with autonomy is not willing to tax uh to
238make up for the weight loss that we have for students. So that's not what the formula cares about. It's your ability to tax. It's not um your willingness to tax. And so um it's a shift uh from that. We're now finding out that there's recommendations that our healthc care premiums go through this waiting as well as some other cost uh that will make the magnitude of loss even deeper uh for the upcoming year. So again, uh I ask that uh we uh take heed of our budget calendar uh that we have a budget workshop in February where we need to know the direction of the board. Uh it will be futile for us to present a budget and then get to May and June and that's when we learn the direction of the board. we
239must plan together because we will not have the uh access funds uh to miss because the weight of the students uh is being reduced. Uh so uh with that um I wanted to put this budget calendar uh for our review uh and then for eventual adoption so that we can move forward with planning for the operational budget for 2026 27. So that concludes my report on the budget calendar. >> Do we have questions? >> Um Dr. Ross, can you go back to the slide that um shows the ch the proposed changes in 1.3? Yeah. Um so what is when it says removes charter brick and mortar weights from the traditional funding formula, how will that work if this was to pass? >> If this was to pass and Please correct me when I'm wrong. Uh
240I would have to go to this slide to show you. If you look at slide um number four um uh number four on this graph here, this pot of money um that is where they'll be removed from the uh larger pot and they will uh they will take their waitings or their numbers or their ADM out of that pot. So it gives the charter uh schools the brick and mortar their own pot of funds to uh have their have their aotment from their allocation. Right now they feed through our current system and that's why you have uh this piece because if you look at the end those last three >> they actually get more than they already do now. >> Yes. >> Okay. And my follow-up question is um school districts are allowed to have
241charter schools, right? If if a school district has a charter school, are there any in that line or are those really kind of unheard of? >> School districts can try. We try. >> Okay. >> We haven't seen any success. what we see here, um the U South Carolina has its own charter district and so um so you have the South Carolina charter uh district uh then followed by that that bar in the middle is Erskin and then Limestone. Those are the three authorizers for charters uh within the uh within the state of South Carolina. Um, I'm maybe asking an unfair question to put yourself in their mind, but I mean, what is the rationale you've heard? Is it because they don't get local taxes, or is it because they don't get capital funding through the
242local taxes? And what's the rationale that's been used to to say why charter schools should get more money per pupil or per weighted pupil? Yeah, I mean it's very obvious in the um from the the I think all of the from the proviso to the recommendation from the revenue of physical affairs office that because they don't have the ability to tax local that uh they will now get an increased share from uh local uh uh students. So, because they don't have the ability to do a local tax for operations, um their um their bonding and debt service is different. That's a that's a whole another clinic there. But because for operations, they don't have the ability to tax local, then uh the weight of the local student is reduced to go to that charter student.
243>> Anybody else? All right. Thank you. That takes us to the final item on our discussion agenda. The discussion of board requests for administration to pull information for the possibility of providing child care a few several board meeting back the board asked us to explore the feasibility of having childcare services on campus. So Mr. Knots, myself, we have been in consultation with DSS, Skisbit, um, legal, and other districts in the Midlands that have pursued or had conversations about having a 4K or a childcare facility on campus. And, um, what we have gathered were just things things to consider. Um, staffing, DSS has specific guidelines that we that we must follow. I'll go to that next slide and come back. This is a staffing guidelines based on the number of age group students we would like
244to have in the class. One to five from birth to one year, three to four, one through 12. If there's a combination of students or kids in the classroom, we would go with the lowest ratio. So if we had um four two year two and six four years old, our staffing will be one one to six. So for the purpose of this presentation, let's say we birth to one year staffing is one to five. If we have a class of 15 youth between one to four, we need at least three adults in that classroom and a daycare a director, a daycare director. So four for every class we attempt to staff. We want to do it just from a um a FD standpoint. Something to consider. Um facilities must be in compliance with all local,
245state, and building codes. The process from DSS when we reached out there's an application process. If we wanted to pursue this u we attend an orientation they give us an application packet we submit the application we submit it to DSS's main fire chief with the designs of the facility we would like to implement if it is want to go at river springs we show architect for river springs goes to the fire marshal he gives back recommendations and we are we are assigned a childcare licensed um worker to work with us and guide us through the process so that's the process um funding to design areas to meet these requirements We have looked at um all facilities. We thought if we pursue this, it would be best to look at elementary school. They are mo most
246easily adaptable to the child for age of a child care. Um spoke to principles of all elementary schools. We had two schools identify that they do have at least one class on campus where it is for a 4K or 5K that is vacant. A 4K or 5K class with a restroom. Those classrooms still need additional upfitting to come in come into play which will require architecture work submitting those plans um to get approval. Um internal versus outsourcing. DSS told us we can as a district have our own daycare and we could run it run by district 5 or we could choose to outsource it have a vendor come on campus and run that. And again with skiisvic that's why we involved insurance that becomes an additional cost because even though they campus they have a
247certificate of liability we still at some point we're the bigger hand. So it could um could have some additional cost with that but that is an option. Um operations associated with operation costs. Um there will be there's there's the feeding. How will kids be fed? Whether or not parents bring food or we feed them to our student nutrition office. How is that stuff kept at room temperature? refrigerator during the day. Um, we have cribs. Depending on age, we might have to have cribs on campus and they meet certain requirements. We just can't get a a commercial crib. There certain requirements that we'll have to follow. Um, the maintenance cost, just the additional cost with having um 12 or 15 students on campus, child care, all everything in the room where a child's hand or mouth
248may touch must be cleaned daily. You're talking about additional cost of time for our custodians, um, stretching them thin. just additional things to guide or start um this conversation. So I stand for any questions or to help facilitate this discussion. >> Mr. Hering, >> are you able to tell us what schools you identified as possible non-committal, but like where was it even possible? River Springs and Oakpoint Elementary were the only schools that said they had a vacant classroom that served 4K 5K where there was already a restroom in the facility, but there would have to be some adaptions in those those cases as well. >> I was really hoping it was some of those elementary schools that are already being remodeled, but no such. >> We were hoping that too, and that they were not
249one of >> that would be too easy, right, Miss Huddle? Um, do we know of andor did you talk to any other public school districts in the state that do this? >> We talked to two within 75 miles that have pursued it, but at this time it put it on hold because of cost, because of potential liability issues, but we're still reaching out to others. So, we talked to you within a 75 mile radius that asked not to be mentioned. >> Okay, fair enough. Anybody else for the preliminary conversation? >> All right. Thanks, Dr. G. >> Thank you. >> I move that we adjourn. >> Second. >> And the motion carries five to zero. Y'all have a good night and a merry Christmas.