001Mhm. >> Mhm. >> Good evening and welcome to the April 14th business meeting of the Roanoke School Board. Local news media outlets were notified in writing of the agenda for this meeting on Monday, April 13th. Um first, if you will join me for the Pledge of Allegiance followed by a moment of silence. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Thank Thank you. Please be seated. First up is our approval of the agenda. Um do I have a motion to approve as as presented? So moved. Thank you, Mr. Nozzle. Do I have a second? Second. Thank you, Ms. Hutchinson. Any discussion? Hearing none, all those in favor, say aye. Aye. Aye. All
002opposed? Motion carries 7-0. First up on the agenda is an executive session that will last approximately until 6:00. And under this executive session, we are um talking about personnel matters, hirings, as well as discussion of employee contract recommendations, and a discussion of administrative recommendations. At this point, I will entertain a motion to adjourn the open session and enter the executive session for these matters. So moved. Um Thank you, Ms. Daniel. Do I have a second? Second. Thank you, Ms. >> Second. Thank you, Mr. Nozzle. Uh Any discussion? Hearing none, all those in favor? All opposed? Motion carries 7-0. >> Mhm. >> Good evening, and welcome back to the business meeting of the Rock Hill School Board. We have been meeting in executive session for purposes of personnel matters, hirings, and legal matters, and intergovernmental agreement
003update and legal advice on the city. [clears throat] This point, um, I would like to entertain a motion to adjourn the executive session and reconvene the open session. So moved. Thank you, Mr. Burns. Do I have a second? Second. >> [clears throat] >> Uh, thank you, Mr. Hudson. Any discussion? Hearing none, all those in favor? Aye. All opposed? Motion carries 7-0. Do I have any motions coming out of the executive session? Madam Chair, I move to approve the superintendent's recommendation for the position of executive director of human resources. Thank you. Do I have a second on that one? Second. Uh, thank you, Mr. Nessel. Any discussion? Hearing none, all those in favor? Aye. All opposed? Motion carries 7-0. Do I have any further recommend- or motions coming out of executive session? Madam Chair, I move
004to approve the superintendent's recommendation for the approval of 1,145 certified contract renewals for the 20- 2026-2027 school year. Thank you, Mr. Daniel. And do I have a second? Second. Uh, thank you. Thank you, Mr. Nessel. Any discussion? Hearing none, all those in favor? Aye. All opposed? Motion carries 7-0. Does that conclude the motions coming out of executive session? I believe it does. So, with that, I'm going to turn it over to, you, I believe, for our recognitions. We're actually Yes, I'd like to first call up, um, Principal Jackie Pernitsky, principal of Solomon Middle School, for the first recognition. Good evening, everyone. Um I am here to recognize Coach Lindsey Walker. Coach Walker has been recognized as the state South Carolina Athletic Administrative Association AD of the Year for middle school. So, WE ARE VERY PROUD.
005>> [applause] >> DO A FEW. LET'S GIVE HER ANOTHER ROUND OF APPLAUSE. >> [applause] >> Every year we're incredibly thankful for the Palmetto Council Scouting America as they celebrate uh some of our fantastic educators. Uh and I have the distinct pleasure of introducing Ms. Megan McMahon, uh who is going to come up and introduce this year's winner of the Albert K. Fretwell Outstanding Educator Award. Welcome. Good evening. Thank you for allowing the Palmetto Council to be here this evening. My name's Maggie, and I'm the director of operations for the Palmetto Council. I'm honored to be here to present this year's Albert K. Fretwell Outstanding Educator Award to a deserving educator from the Rock Hill School District. We don't have any Scouts here tonight because they all meet on Tuesday nights. So, here we are. However,
006if you know anything about Scouting, you know that in the we teach our Scouts to be trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean, and reverent. Rock Hill Schools provide a high-quality program to all of your students, and we are pleased that every year we get to partner with you to also provide our Scouting program to your students. Last year alone, your students completed 10,500 service hours with the Palmetto Council across the Rock Hill community. While our volunteer leaders are instrumental, it is the educators who are the most important in our youth's lives because they make a large impact. They instill the character that you see in Scouts in all children today. The Albert K. Frontwell Outstanding Educator Award was established in 2016 to recognize those who exemplify strong character and inspire
007students to do the same. Dr. Frontwell, he was our second Scout Executive for Scouting America nationally, and was a renowned Columbia University professor who championed the role of extracurricular activities, whatever they may be, into being programs to help shape successful leaders of the future. Tonight, we are proud to recognize a teacher from Ebenezer Elementary School who has dedicated herself to inspiring students every day. Ms. Lena Burris, will you please join us up front and we can give her a ROUND OF APPLAUSE. >> [applause] [applause] >> NOMINATED BY HER SUPERVISOR, it is said that Ms. Burris has been selected for this year's recipient for her exceptional dedication to her students and to the school community. She consistently goes above and beyond building meaningful relationships, encouraging growth, and leading by example every day. So, on behalf of
008Scouting America, we have a couple of things we would like to give you today. Wait. Oh, I'm sorry. We have a certificate for you. Thank you. And we also have a medal and a pin that you can take and hang up or wear it if you want to be fancy. And then I believe the school district also has a certificate certificate for you as well. Again, thank you so much. We look forward to continuing our partnership with Rock Hill schools in the fall, and we are very appreciative for everything y'all do for our students. Thank you. Thank you. >> [applause] [laughter] >> Congratulations. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you all. >> [snorts] >> SO, NOW I WILL TURN IT OVER TO DR. WHO is going to introduce some of our new administrators. Welcome up. Thank
009you, Madam Chair, members of the board. I'm so excited to introduce this group. This group of accomplished educators and leaders is going to help elevate our district to the next level. Their reputations precede them, and so while they are new in new positions starting next school year, they are familiar faces. So, they are going to just do incredible work with the newly formed elementary assistant superintendent team and secondary assistant superintendent teams. And so, with that, when I say your name, I'm going to say something I'm going to brag about you a little bit. And while I'm bragging about you, walk up. Okay? Starting with Dr. Nakia Barnes. Currently, Dr. Nakia Barnes um leads Sunset Park Center for Accelerated Studies. She has led the school, a Title One school, to earn National Blue Ribbon status, which
010is one of the highest honors in public education in the United States of America. She previously served as principal and assistant principal at Mount Holly Elementary. She has deep roots in our district, including her work as an assistant principal at York Road Elementary. Congratulations, DR. BARNES. >> [applause] [applause] >> NEXT UP, WE HAVE DR. KATIE BARBER, UM soon-to-be executive director of instruction on the elementary leadership team. Um Dr. Barber joined our district in 2021 as executive director of elementary instruction. Prior to that, she served as an elementary school principal and a middle school principal in Richland School District, too. Some of her many accomplishments were leading um an elementary her elementary school to be recognized as a certified nationally nationally certified demonstration school by Magnet Schools of America. She also earned the Palmetto Silver Award
011from the South Carolina Department of Education for significant student growth. As a middle school principal, she led the school to earn National AVID Demonstration School recognition by increasing the number of eighth grade students taking Algebra 1, and also earned the Palmetto Silver Award. Congratulations, Dr. Carter. >> [applause] >> Next up, Mr. Jacob Marine, please join us up here with your new team. Um Mr. Marine has led two of our elementary schools, currently Oak Dale Elementary. Prior to that, he was principal at Mount Gallant. At Oak Dale, a also Title 1 school, he strategically utilized funding to improve student outcomes. And under his leadership, Oak Dale's school report card rating increased over three consecutive years, and the student progress indicator improved from below average to good. He has also significantly strengthened teacher retention, school climate and
012culture, and increased parent engagement. Welcome aboard, Dr. Mr. Marine. >> [applause] >> And I think I maybe keep stumbling over the Dr. Marine because who knows, maybe that's in your future. Right? Let's always stretch ourselves. Next, we will start off with the secondary executive director team, starting with Dr. Carlos Grant. He will be joining us as executive director of leadership for our secondary schools for next school year. Currently, he serves as the executive director of alternative programs in the Rock Hill schools. He previously served as a high school principal in Greenville County schools, where he led Wade Hampton High School to earn a top 10 ranking in South Carolina by U.S. News and World Report for, get this, five consecutive years. During his tenure, the percentage of students earning a score of three or higher
013on AP exams increased significantly. He also served as executive director of middle schools in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, where he led an increase in reading proficiency from 32% to nearly 88% in 1 year. Welcome aboard, Dr. Grant. Next, we have Ms. Alicia Johnson. She'll be joining our secondary team as executive director of instruction. Since joining the Rock Hill Schools team in 2023, Ms. Johnson has led multiple innovative initiatives, including the launch of the district's first middle college high school, and has expanded dual enrollment partnerships with local colleges, and is looking towards many, many more opportunities for kids to graduate with a diploma in one hand and something else in the other. Previously, she has served as a principal at two high schools and one middle school, both in Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools. One of those high schools was
014the 18th lowest-performing school in the state, and in 4 years, she led that school to become a school of excellence. She also increased the graduation rate from 78% to 87%. She began her career as a math teacher, bringing a strong instructional foundation to her leadership. Welcome aboard in a new role, Ms. Johnson. >> [applause] >> By no means least, I'm proud to introduce Mr. Aaron Clark. Mr. Clark will be serving as executive director of the secondary service team. He has served as principal at Mount Gallant Elementary for the past 5 years, where he improved the school's report card reading from below average to good. Prior to that, he was assistant principal at Slender Trail Middle School and also served in Kentucky as a teacher, assistant principal, and principal. While leading an elementary school there, he
015improved its rating from two stars to four stars, achieving distinguished status. Additionally, he has spent significant time teaching in high school, so experience at all three levels. Welcome aboard, Mr. Clark. So, as you can see, this team brings incredible and very experienced, great success, and a fantastic track record, um which is exactly what we needed to take us to the next level. So, welcome aboard, everybody. Now, let's go get pictures. >> [snorts] >> You. One, two, three. >> [snorts] >> Say one. Awesome. Thank you. CONGRATULATIONS. >> [applause] >> I BELIEVE THAT CONCLUDES OUR recognitions for the evening. Next up is citizen participation. According to policy B E D H, the board allows the public to address the board in 3-minute segments regarding an item that is currently listed on the agenda. I do [clears throat]
016have a series here in front of me. I do not believe that they are necessarily agenda items, but given the the fact that we have such a large crowd on the same topic and that they can be loosely connected to one agenda item, I believe that we it's in our best interest to let the sign-up speakers have their 3 minutes. So, with that said, I am going to call up speakers in the order that the requests were received, and I ask that all maintain the 3-minute speech limit. Um, also, in addition, note that the board is always interested in hearing the the comments and questions, but will not respond during citizen participation. So, with that said, I'm going to welcome up Mr. John Black, who's representing himself. Welcome. Uh, good evening, board. Um, Madam Chair,
017Mrs. Eller, appreciate that. Um, uh, in effort of saving everybody here a lot of time, so I don't go off on a major tangent, I'm going to pretty much read what I prepared so I can kind of keep it under 3 minutes, if that's okay. Should be well under that 3 minutes, so. Um, good evening. My name is John Black, as you said. I live at 1773 Farrior Drive, Rock Hill, South Carolina. I'm a product of Rock Hill schools and a graduate of Northwestern. I've had two daughters graduated from Northwestern. One was student Victoria. Um I have a son that will be graduating this year. Uh I also have one daughter that's in the Rock Hill schools. Um but, you know, whether we send her keep her in public schools or send her to Northwestern
018is still up for debate at this point in time. Um I'd like to speak about the real value of team sports. Uh on the field kill kids learn responsibility, accountability, and how to handle both winning and failure in ways no classroom can teach. These lessons build real character. I agree with the need of parents get to get more involved and have a real say in what our kids are being taught in the school versus a woke bureaucratic agenda administration going unchecked. That is healthy. But, when it comes to sports, too many parents turn into helicopter parents. Every preseason coaches hold a preseason meeting laying [clears throat] out the clear steps of handling any situation. This is actually codified in the district's own complaint policy. We certainly can get that point to you. Um no one
019No one of those steps involves sending anonymous emails. Nine times out of 10, if a parent would simply just ask their own kids, their kids already know why things unfolded the way that they have. When parents complain because they don't get their way or they think their child is being treated unfairly, they rob the kids of the very lessons that sports is meant to teach them. Punishing a coach over an anonymous email complaint threatening his livelihood flips justice upside down. He's treated as being guilty until he has proven his innocence instead of the other way around. Um that's not what we should be teaching our children. The word on the complaint is is dealing with hazing or harassment or some failure to report uh to the administration in an immediate basis. Um that is according
020to district policy. Well, as the players have confirmed, there was no incident of hazing or harassment. Over 6 weeks ago when this alleged incident took place, no complaint of or of hazing or harassment was brought to the coach's attention. So, with no complaint brought to the coach's attention at the time, how was he to report the incident per district policy at the time? He didn't have a crystal ball. He didn't know that the parent was going to come any parent was going to complain anonymously 6 weeks later. Um because of uh you know parent parent being upset over his kid being benched for quitting on the team. School board administrators, you know, I think you need to stay in your lane. We all know what happens when we get out of our lane make a
021decision that's putting the district in legal jeopardy. It doesn't end well. And it wastes a lot of taxpayer's money. And it certainly is not in the best interest of the kids. So, let coaches coach. Parents support. Let the kids learn real accountability on the field. That's how we should build strong character within turning sports into a political battleground with some using their political power and influence for personal gain. So, I appreciate you letting me talk. I don't know if I kept it under 3 minutes. So, thank you. THANK YOU, SIR. >> [applause] >> NEXT UP, MR. BRIAN Dease uh representing the community and I believe same topic. Welcome. Ma'am chair, we need to ask him to please speak in the mic. I'm I'm sorry, I couldn't hear him. Yes, sir. Can I get Can you
022hear me? >> Thank you. Great. Fantastic. Welcome. Good evening, board. Dr. Elder, unlike the circumstances that has brought us here tonight, and I >> [clears throat] >> I will not stand in front of you anonymously. I am Brian Dease. I've been a member of this school district for over 25 years. Although my children have come through this district. Standing behind me and sitting in the back are all my friends and family who's been part of this community for many years. As a 29-year retired military veteran, I place a high value on accountability, professionalism, and effective leadership. I stand before you tonight as I feel this district and this board and the leadership in this room needs to improve in some of these areas. I have what I have watched transpire over the last 2 years
023or more is downright embarrassing and unacceptable for a community as well as we are here. As our society has continued to go down a dark path, we are weaponizing disgruntled parents with the ability to ruin coaches, teachers, and other key administrators needed in our child's lives. All because parents don't agree with the handling of key issues, punishments, playing time, homework, any other decisions made by people of authority that they don't think is in favor of their kids. We need to start adhering to our own district policies and procedures. According to the policy on complaints, it's defined as a disagreement involving athletic issues in which individuals or group of individuals believe that there is injustice to be done. >> [clears throat] >> The The perceived injustice is a result of lack of athletic policy, a perceived
024unfairness, or the policy or deviation from the policy. The purpose of this procedure is to settle athletic complaints at the level that's close as possible to the point of origin. The current The current has two levels. Level one, discussion with the coach. You don't come to a conclusion, step two, you go to athletic director. Step three, you go to the principal. If you do not get action or you're not satisfied, then there's level two. Step one, the decision of the principal does not resolve the complaint, then the complaining party may appeal to the appropriate assistant superintendent, and they will convey a hearing if requested. If that doesn't work, step two of level two, the assistant superintendent does not resolve the complaint, then the complaining party may appeal to the superintendent. And I personally watched Stow
025the last two years or more of the athletic department at Northwestern High School go through some tough times, specifically the baseball program. These boys behind me sitting in the rear, who I love every one of them, they have had two coaches in the last three months. That has to be an eyesore, and it has to bring into the attention of you guys. That has to be a real problem. Lastly, I would like to discuss the current situation as it sits. I'm displeased with how I've been treated orally. Time's [snorts] up. Okay. Anybody would like to finish reading this for me, please? >> [laughter] >> Can I have another minute, ma'am? I I have to follow the rules so everybody gets the same. Uh but, I would however encourage you to leave your red-state statement, and
026I can make sure that each board member gets a copy of it as well as the superintendent. Thank you. I challenge this board to be guided by the community. Follow the procedures, follow the policy. No one is exempt, no matter what position you hold. Thank you. >> [applause] >> NEXT UP IS MR. Gibson on the same subject, I believe. Come on. Thank you. >> [snorts] >> I might ramble a little bit, so so bear with me. I had something wrote down, but I decided to change it. Thank y'all for having me today, but um I heard some good news that someone came to their common sense and let the coach stay. So, I want to address the boys and tell them I'm proud of y'all. The way y'all stood up for y'all coach. But, you
027got to realize you got to be disciplined and give the coach maximum effort now. Cuz people will be looking and waiting for y'all to fail now. So, you got to you got to finish the deal. And to the board >> [applause] >> I'm I'm a son of a teacher. My mom started teaching before integration. Times were different back then. She raised me a certain way. You can't do it now, they say. I don't believe in that. But, um this should have never gotten this far. It's it's it's really ridiculous. I don't know who to blame, but it's I talked to my human resources people at my job and my manager. I told them the exact situation. He was baffled. I work at one of the biggest cast iron foundries in the in the nation. And
028he couldn't believe that this guy is over pranked by some some teenagers. It's bad. I wouldn't come here and I didn't give my name cuz I was afraid of retaliation. I'm I'm going to be honest with you. Cuz I got a I got a eighth grade son. He plays on the JV. And it's because of coach Giro. I didn't want him to do it, but he instilled confidence in me that he trusted my son. That is a key position. There's two other eighth graders playing on the JV. Because they need him. My son's at baseball hitting right now cuz he's trying to maintain what he has. That parent who complained, maybe they should put their child in extra lessons or or make him work harder. Cuz this is about playing time and not getting your
029way. That's what that was about. It wasn't about I I guess it I guess it was easy to make a decision like that because of maybe the team's record. But if these kids went through two coaches, you don't know what they're dealing with emotionally. You you put this guy under a lot of pressure. And I would see him at the field on Sundays uh off days I'm working with my kid. And I he would come up to me. And I would say, "Hey, you you ready for this week? Excited about it?" He said, "Yeah. See, but I can't get any sleep cuz all I'm thinking about is how to make the kids better." So, take some of this pressure off you, administrators, teachers, uh uh whoever. Stop worrying about lawsuits. And have these people's back.
030Have their back. That's all you got to do. It's It's real simple. You're already getting sued by people, so it won't matter. Have their back. THANK YOU. >> [applause] >> SORRY. UM NEXT UP, I'LL WAIT FOR MY MOM Lonnie Harvey, Mr. Lonnie Harvey, on the introduction of the new administrators. Representing stakeholders of Rock Hill. Good evening. Uh I'm here to talk about probably the same issue that I've been talking about for the last four decades, and that is the hiring practices of the school board. Particularly your human resource person. There has never been a human resource professional human resource person here since 1984. And there wasn't a professional human resource person then. The closest you came was Gina, and she wasn't qualified or able to sit for a SPHR, which is a senior professional human
031resources, which you expect a director or manager to be able to do. She was preparing for a PHR, which is a professional human resource person. I asked you for information that you could very easily send to me on an Excel spreadsheet. I've yet to receive it. I've yet to be told that I will receive it. I've asked you to to send me uh your employees by race and gender, their salaries. I want a list of everybody who was whose contract was not uh renewed by race and salary. I want to know who I How did you get your last two positions as a human resource senior CEO? Did you use a uh a firm for it? Were they a search firm? Were they a headhunter? How were they paid? Were they paid a flat fee
032or a percentage of first salary? You told me that Dr. you told me that you did a national search >> [snorts] >> for human resource director and found out that there was one not only here, but right here in the school. I would challenge you to find another employer this size that would hire this person as the top person in your human resource department. Absolutely not. Just like I would ask any of my clients, they wouldn't want to hire someone of that size. I'd say something like What would it What would it be if we were trying to hire them at Lance? If they can't be a supervisor at Lance, they shouldn't be a supervisor at another organization of this size. Now, I asked for some information. I have I think it's reasonable. And I
033want that information. I was told that it would cost about $3,000 that I would have to pay and put up 25% in order to get it. This is information that the citizens of Rocky Hill School District is entitled to. I want that information and I want it in a timely fashion. Thank you. >> [applause] >> Mr. Black, uh it looks like I have a second speaking request for you. Oh, it's John Black Jr. I am sorry. Welcome up the other John Black. Uh good evening good evening, ladies and gentlemen, board and Dr. Eller. Um my name is John Black and I'm currently enrolled as a senior at North Gaston High School. I'm here to represent the the baseball program. Uh I'm going to date back a couple years ago, probably around my sophomore year. Um
034there had have been lots of problems within the program between parent complaints and and and whatnot. And I had been calling probably four meetings, and this is not just me, I'm speaking for the team. The team has been calling for multiple surveys, multiple uh solo interviews on whether did a coach say this, did a coach say that? Was the coach too hard on this one kid? And it and it went on for so long, it it drove our last coach out. The coach left at the end of this season. And that was kind of swept under the rug. And he always preaches about the small leagues. That started off being a the most a small league with no structure and not much support for our program. Now dated to probably before spring break, so 2
035weeks ago, our current head coach was put on administrative leave uh over some allegations that are were not true. And uh sorry. The allegations that were not true, and we had to face the consequences for that. Um we mainly why I'm here today is to speak about the shirts that we have made. Right here. They say accountability. That's what something that our coach always preached. And doing with the doing of the suspension of our coach and the previous ongoing political stuff which between our program, we decided to stand up and make a change for our coach. I'm a senior I'm a senior and as the other seniors we kind of decided that the rest of the season is kind of irrelevant, that no matter the record, no matter what, we care about making a change
036for the program. Um I want to come back like multiple people Dr. Sparks and Rocky that have multiple people that have been around this Northwestern program for a really long time. I want to be able to come back in 30 years and provide and support and help the kids, and I don't want to see this program fall. There's no backbone support for us and all the kids feel that we have no support system other than our coaches. Um and that being said, with the small league, it it's flooded. Um there's a reason probably why six other coaches when our coach got fired that they didn't want to accept the job. There's an insanely amount of no support between us as players and it it it it's driving the program down and that's why we're here
037today to hold not only our team accountable, our players, our coaches, the parents within the program, but the school board, our athletic department and all the higher-ups that are involved to hold themselves accountable. Um we forfeited our game um last night against Rockwall High who's a biggest rival in town and because we wanted to stand up for the cause. Um they told us that we cannot wear these shirts um portraying a message that I mean a a very valid and respectful message. Um one thing that we preach at Rockwall Western is torch and I want to focus on two of those letters and what they represent. One of them is ownership and one of them is C. Um the O stands for ownership, the C stands for community. Ownership is pretty much accountability, holding people
038accountable, taking ownership for your actions and and being straightforward with people. Um and community is the last thing I want to talk about that we represent is we all came together and this is the best idea that we could have without quitting, without letting you go fight, but to support our program and the younger kids behind us. Thank you. Thank you. >> [applause] [applause] >> DR. ALVEY, WOULD YOU LIKE TO address Madam Chair, if I may, I know that in policy for policy the board does not respond to public comment. However, I believe that I have the privilege to do so. You do. Okay, so first of all, I'd like to thank our students for coming tonight. Thank you Trojans. I spoke to you just for a minute before the meeting, but I always think
039that it's positive for students to learn to advocate, and so thank you for being here. Parents and staff, I'm glad that you're here as well. I am aware that there was a supposed to be meeting of the Rock Hill High School I'm sorry, the Northwestern High School baseball team tonight at 6:00 p.m. to announce that coach was reinstated at noon. And so, I do WANT YOU TO >> [applause] >> AND SO, I DO WANT YOU TO LEAVE KNOWING THAT because that is what that is what the topic of this evening's meeting at the high school was. So, thank you for being here. Thank you for being part of the process. I will take all of your thoughts and comments under consideration as we move forward. My hope for the team is that you will move
040forward from these last few days. We attempted to resolve the situation as quickly as possible. Unfortunately, the timing of spring break spread it out much longer than we wanted to. Fact of the matter is we got it resolved in two and a half business days, even though spring break was in the middle. So, my hope for you is that you will move ahead, that you will continue to push each other and push yourselves to the highest level of excellence both on the field and in the classroom. So, thank you for being here. Thank you. So, next up at Secondly, um Obviously, I'm not going to take a position on what he speaking about. I just want to say thank you to the students. Student advocacy, you're learning a very valuable civil civic lesson here. So,
041thank you. Thank you to that. And I hope that your advocacy will continue into college or wherever you go in life. And until this is how civic discourse should take place. So, to the students, thank you all for coming and thank you for standing up for something whether we agree or disagree. I appreciate you coming. I [snorts] think we can all sign off on that. We're proud of the students. >> [applause] >> So, with that, we're now going to move over to our consent action agenda. And under our consent action agenda, we have a few items. We have minutes from the March 24th board business meeting as well as the work session. And we have some personnel recommendations. Do I have a motion to approve the consent action agenda? So moved. >> [clears throat] >>
042Thank you, Mr. Nozal. Do I have a second? Second. Thank you, Ms. Daniel. Any discussion? Hearing none, all those in favor. All opposed. Motion carries 7-0. We're going to take just a few seconds of pause because we have some directors that are leaving. So, next up is our action agenda. And we are getting an annual update of the district strategic renewal plan. And I am going to welcome up again. Uh this is Alicia Johnson, who is the executive director of secondary education, together with Dr. Katie Barber, the executive director of elementary education. And they are addressing goal one. Welcome up. Good evening, Chair Miller, Vice Chair Hutchinson, board members, Dr. Elder, and members of our community. I'm Katie Barber, and I serve as the executive director of elementary education. I'm Alicia Johnson. I serve as
043the executive director of secondary education. And we are here to present the annual update for the district's strategic plan. And this does highlight board goal one to deliver academic excellence to ignite every student's highest potential. So, this five-year strategic plan was approved by the school board on January 9th of 2024, and we are in year two of the five-year strategic plan. District and school renewal plans are set for five years, and goals are progress monitored incrementally over those five years. There are two plans that we facilitate and monitor, the district renewal plan and the school renewal plan. These three areas are part of each plan. So, for example, a middle school will monitor student achievement of 6th through 8th graders in ELA and math for their specific school, but at the district level, we will
044monitor the achievement of all 6th through 8th graders for ELA and math for student achievement. >> [clears throat] >> The school renewal plan requires schools to do annual review of their performance goals. Based on their performance, they do an annual review assessment, and they determine how the district can provide additional support for them. This slide shows the components of the district and the school renewal plans. The data reflected in this presentation are from the spring 2025 South Carolina Ready results for grades 3 through 8 and the high school EOC results, as well as two additional areas that are measured in the school report card, which are graduation rate and college and career readiness. In the district renewal plan, climate goals are made up of these three domains. Students and staff receive specific questions around these
045areas that count towards accountability. And the teacher administrator quality component is made up of these two domains. And this is 2025 data from grades 3, 4, and 5, and it shows that we did exceed our projection in 2025 for all three grade levels of students that achieved met or exceeded on SC Ready in ELA. When we look at the percentage of students who met or exceeded on SC Ready math, you will notice that grade three exceeded our projection. However, as I shared with you in the data presentation that I gave you in the fall, as early as fourth grade, our students are not meeting those projections, and math continues to be an urgent area of focus for us. For grades 6 through 8 in ELA, our 2029 goal is 63.2% of students scoring meets or
046exceeds expectations on the SC Ready assessment. On the 2025 South Carolina Ready assessment, we exceeded our projection for grades 6 and 7, and we met our projection for grade 8. For math, our 2029 goal is 65.9% of students scoring meets [clears throat] or exceeds. For the 2025 school year, we did not meet any of our projections. To address the math area, we have a focus on utilizing the state vetted materials, known as high-quality instructional materials, HQIM. For math, this is our This is our i-Ready. We're also utilizing Zearn, which is a standards-aligned instructional platform that meets students where they are. The support is adjusted based on student responses. And then our math strategies is working with schools on a daily basis, attending PLC meetings, coaching teachers, and helping them with instructional plans and remediation opportunities.
047>> [snorts] >> This slide shows our 2029 goals for each of the EOC areas, the end-of-course state exams. Our goal is based on the percentage of students that score a C or higher. So this slide shows that we exceeded our 2025 projection in algebra, in US history. We were slightly below our English two projection and our biology This next slide shows that our graduation goal for the 2029 year is 95% of students graduating on time. This slide shows that we did not meet our 2025 projection. The state provides a climate survey to our students in grades 3 through 8. And as I said, specific questions count towards accountability. An example of the questions that the students might see on the survey asked might include, I feel safe at my school before school or I feel
048safe at my school after school. We certainly do not want our students to disagree with any of the statements that include safety. This continues to be our priority. As you [clears throat] will see from the actual results, there was a slight increase in the student perception of safety. There are many strategies that our safety department and student services has put in place to address biggest areas. These include an increase in cameras, an upgrade in cameras, school site bullying plans, active assailant exercises, scheduled hall sweeps to help with the recovery of contraband, as well as secured entry systems and weather monitoring stations. And certainly strong partnerships with law enforcement, fire, and EMS contribute to that perception of student safety. This slide shows that we exceeded our projection of the percentage of students who are responding favorably
049to the survey. Dr. Barber shared earlier that our goal is to decrease the percentage of students who disagree with the statements on the survey. This teacher perception The teacher perception of safety is just under our projection. We want to continue to decrease this number by working with our school principals and safety department on initiatives that are already in place. This includes the installation of additional cameras, as well as the new implementation of the discipline matrix. This slide shows that we exceeded our projection of the percentage of teachers who are responding favorably to the survey for grades 9 through 12. Again, it is our goal to decrease the percentage of teachers who disagree with the statements provided on the survey. When we focus on teacher administrator quality in our annual update, the baseline in 2023 for
050recruitment strategies that were utilized was 53% and an annual survey used to collect data for our district renewal plan in 2025, 70% of the recruitment strategies that our HR department offer were utilized this past year as reported by principals. These included, but not limited to participation in the district recruitment fair, university recruitment fairs, sharing of resumes of candidates with other hiring managers, winter intern and mentor touch points, as well as teacher cadet engagement. When principals were surveyed about the retention efforts, they reported using 90% of the retention strategies that were offered by our HR department. Some of those strategies included individualized professional development, maintaining high expectations for all of their teachers, growth plans to improve performance, celebration of teacher accomplishments, recognition of interns and mentors, and social media highlights of their school. So, this slide
051shows our next steps. When a school renewal plan is submitted, it undergoes a district level review, so we'll be reviewing those for accuracy before submitting them to the South Carolina Department of Education for their review. And then, we are aware that we need to make some updates um to the strategic plan, and we have that on our list to do this summer. Any questions? I believe it's Daniel. Can I go? Okay. Wasn't sure if Dr. Belton was going to jump in. I have a few questions, uh wonders, comments. I will try to stay in my school board lane versus my educator lane, but they do go back to that. If we could go back at all to the school safety. Um I just have some wonders. Um I have experienced the survey from the 3
052to 8 grade level. Um is it safe to assume that the questions on the safety survey are exactly the same for high school for 9 through 12 or are they worded differently? Have any idea? I believe a copy of the questions were provided um during the small group session. I don't I don't think I don't think they were. No. Okay. Uh I guess where I'm going with this is that's a drastic difference between your 3 through 8. Not yours. Not yours. But the responses um the 3 through 8 safety right versus if we go to the high school, the 9 through 12. And then the percentage changes quite a bit, doesn't it? Mhm. No. Okay, wait a second. Keep going to the next. This one is for the students. Um Teacher. Let's teacher. I'm sorry.
053I did not clarify that. In my head I was thinking that one. Okay. There is a drastic difference in that and I'm just wondering I believe the questions are the same, but I'm just wondering if we does the district see an itemized list by question so we can address where 3 through 8 teachers are feeling that they do not perceive their safe at school or are you just given a percentage overall from the state this is how the response was? We do have the questions and we can provide those questions to you on a handout. I don't Okay. I was just wondering why and how we were able to address that drastic percentage difference between the three through eight and the nine through 12 percentages on how teachers perceive their students in school. That's all.
054I wasn't looking for an exact answer today, but that is for me it feels like a large percentage difference. Um and then one, if we can go back to math or elementary. If you have the answer to this, I understand you will be millionaires because this is really more of a wonder. Um I am going to speak a bit from my educator point of view at this point. Third grade is the first year that those students take that test. I got a third grader at home that's stressing out currently, but we see where their percentages are, correct? I also understand that third graders are still eager to please and they want to perform on this test, right? So, 56% was our actual. My wonder is why does that drop off happen in fourth grade? Because
055And we all know this, but once that drop off starts, when you flip to your middle school screen, it's very difficult to catch that up. And in regards to the emails that I receive, I will acknowledge the ones I'm going to receive after the board meeting before every board meeting, it's very difficult to catch this up and we know this, but what Anybody have ideas what we're looking at? I mean, I understand you would be millionaires, but I do have to put this out there and acknowledge the data that's what every school, most school districts are going through, but what happens from third grade to fourth grade that then we continue to lose traction. We know that we have to focus on those foundational skills. We have to make sure we have strong mathematicians in
056K12 to carry that projection forward beyond third grade. We know that we cannot pull materials those manipulatives away from students too soon and we want to continue we have a our new I-Ready program and we are focusing on that high-quality instructional material with high fidelity. And to be clear, I'm not asking teachers to do more work. That is not Thank you. They're out there doing the hard work. I just That's my wonder. Yeah. Make sure we're working into that. Thank you. Anyone else? I mean I would have a lot. Wait. Dr. Bolton, you have the mic. I don't know if I have a question or a statement and I don't even know which one of you to direct it to but I I noticed that I-Ready has been mentioned several times and even mentioned in
057this last resort um your last response. Um and there districts around South Carolina that are abandoning abandoning I-Ready and there are a lot of educational articles out there that are basically debunking I-Ready and it's basically saying that students can simply click through it. They can AI the answers, get the answers and move through. And so I guess what my question is because it has been brought up lots of times and even while I was sitting here I just quickly Google like am I just making this up and I wasn't. I I Googled it quickly and man there's a whole list of reputable sources that um is talking about I-Ready. So I guess what my question is is have we looked at some of this and why is Rock Hill still with I-Ready? What is our
058justification for still going down this I-Ready path if I-Ready is something that many districts in our state are abandoning and across the country are abandoning? Why are we still doing it? I-Ready was adopted by the state and so that is one of the That's the platform that we selected because this is our first year with i-Ready. You know, I have a follow-up then. Are we in some type of legal, contractual, financial obligation that we have to continue um certainly as one of the platforms, but there's no requirement. And I guess what I'm asking is is what is the justification for the requirement? And if we are Are we Are we as a district in some type of contractual or legal obligation to continue with i-Ready, particularly when just across the country, it's just, you know,
059it's proving not to be what it is. Why Rock Hill? That's I guess what I'm asking. And part of this new renewal plan? I don't have the answer regarding the contract, but I can find that out for you. Thank you. Yes, and Dr. Ellis >> [cough and clears throat] >> Doctor, if I may. Dr. Bowden, I think that you bring a very good question forward, and really what it comes down to is there's no materials and no programs that will fix a math problem. The only thing I'm sorry. The only The only thing to fix a math problem is excellent teaching. And so we know that our teachers do a really good job. They work really, really hard. But kids Kids are learning in different ways. And so we need to adjust our teaching practices
060to the students that we have so that we're able to accelerate their learning in the way that they deserve and that they're capable of performing. And this is my last comment, and I know you haven't heard me say this my You haven't heard me say this Dr. Ellis since you've been here, but I think there are one or two of us here on the board who said that I would love us to get back to the basics. Just solid, hardcore teaching in the classroom without the computers, without i-Ready, without those things, and and and just teach. Second, get technology out of our classes as much as we can. Especially at the lower levels. Does anybody else have any comments or questions for the team? If not, I will entertain a motion to approve the district
061strategic renewal plan annual update. So moved. Thank you, Mr. Nozal. I'll second. Thank you, Ms. Daniel. Any discussion? I do have a question. Is are we are we approving the renewal plan? Just Okay, I I guess what I'm trying to figure out is does it come back to us before it goes to the state or what we approve tonight goes to the state? What we approve tonight goes to the state. You've already approved the plan, so what you're approving is just the update. The plan was I'm saying, but the update has to go we have to send the update to the state. Correct. So, what we're voting for tonight is this update to go to the state. I have questions about this this this already. I can't support that with I ready. Any [snorts] other
062or would you like to respond? If I may, Madam Chair. Um Dr. Fulton, that I ready the programs are not an actual part of the plan is my understanding. Correct. So, it is just the targets and the numerical goals. And so, that was what was approved, I believe, last spring at last spring's board meeting last spring. So, this is just this is not data that you haven't seen before. You've seen it in some way before. You've either seen it in the fall data presentations, um the middle column, the actual column, the projected, and the by 2029 were in the um that was approved last year. Okay. So, none of this is new. So, let me just ask you just so I have complete clarity on what I'm voting on. When we send our renewal plan
063down and we're saying by 2029, we're trying to get to 65.6 in grade three, uh what is that? Math. We don't have to put in our plan how we're going to get there and one of the tools we're going to use is i-Ready? We do put strategies in there, but i-Ready is not a part of like it doesn't have to be part of the plan. We're just talking about strategies. So, it could be utilizing high-quality instructional materials with fidelity. Doesn't necessarily have to be i-Ready. So, okay. So, we're not naming specific programs to approve. >> have to name specific programs to approve. No, we don't have and I'm I'm a lawyer, so I know we plan where I know we don't have to do it. What I'm asking is are we doing it? We are
064going to say utilizing HQIMs with fidelity. So, whatever those HQIMs are, um we want the teachers to use those with fidelity. Thank you. I believe our assistant superintendent, Dr. Dickey, um Yes, and I'll be sure to follow up with everyone afterwards, but just wanted to provide some points of clarity. i-Ready is both a formative assessment tool, which I think that's probably what you're speaking of, and i-Ready is also uh textbook adoption. So, both our elementary schools as well as our secondary schools have adopted i-Ready as their math high-quality instructional material. That is separate from the formative assessment tool. >> Correct. Now, this year, because this was our first year of math implementation, we were able to see both sides of that. Um but our district will be making a decision on what our district approved
065formative assessment tool will be. We have used NWEA MAP for probably a little over 20 years. So, MAP is on the approved list, Beacon is on the approved list, i-Ready is on the approved list. So, that decision has not yet been made. So, I do want to clarify that we are not currently using i-Ready as our district formative assessment. We are currently using MAP. i-Ready is the math textbook adoption for our elementary and secondary schools. Thank you. You're welcome. And the formative assessment is exactly what I was talking about. Thank you. >> what's been in the news. That's exactly what's been in the news. Yes, thank you. So, if that concludes the discussion, just a review that we have in motion to approve the district strategic renewal plan annual update made by Mr. Newsome and
066seconded by Ms. Daniel. If that concludes the discussion, uh all those in favor? I. All opposed? Motion to 7-0. Thank you. Next up is communications. We do not have any tonight, which brings us down to presentations. And uh that means I am welcoming back the same ladies again, Ms. Alicia Johnson, secondary director of secondary ed, and Dr. Katie Barber, secondary director of elementary ed. This time they're talking about program options under our presentation. Good evening, everyone. This presentation provides an overview of our program options, formerly known as school of choice. Uh but before we get started, I wanted to give a huge thank you to Dr. Ryder, um Ms. Lisa Sedona, and Ms. Shayna Elkins um for their help with the application process and the monitoring that get requires to um to do our program
067options. This next slide shows our board goal, which is goal four, aligned to this presentation. This goal is to elevate Rock Hill schools to be the proud first choice for students, families, and employees. >> [snorts] >> And we promoted learn where you live because all of our schools in Rock Hill provide quality education for our students. We market our schools by providing opportunities for families to visit schools through scheduled open houses. [clears throat] Our communications team also provided videos showcasing each school. Families seeking a theme-based opportunity to nurture the talents, the interests, and skills of their students could apply for a program option school. Our students are assigned to schools based on where they live. Again, families could apply for a program option school to provide their students with a different Admission is based on
068successful completion of an application, program availability, and seat capacity. Transportation is provided to all students with the exception of the 3K Montessori program. This next board policy provides parameters for program options enrollment. It states that we reserve the right to limit the enrollment by grade level or by program based on staffing needs and the funding requirements for the program. This next slide shows the program options that are available in Rock Hill schools separated by level. So, the ones at the top are the elementary school choices, the ones in the middle are middle school choices, and then the ones at the bottom are high school choices. Okay, this shows our program option timeline for this year. Beginning in January, we focused on creating awareness and access. Our communications department shared program videos and our schools hosted
069tours. The application window opened in late February and closed in mid-March, followed by family notifications on March 23rd. From there, families had a defined window to accept their seat and then any remaining openings were made available through a second application opportunity that opened yesterday. The entire process will conclude in May in early May, ensuring that all seats are finalized well before the end of the school year, which was a principal request. This year we are utilizing a new program options platform. This is called SchoolMint and for our viewing audience, the SchoolMint link can be found on our district website. As a reminder to all of our families, students must be registered first in FinalForms and you have to create a SchoolMint account for you and your child before completing the application for program options within
070SchoolMint. By the numbers. So, currently, we have approximately 14% of our student enrollment served through program options. The initial lottery application window, we received 555 program option applications from 392 students. That number varies because some students selected a first choice and a second choice while others did not. We did create a program options email address to enhance customer service. We wanted to make sure that we were able to filter emails to the right person very swiftly and we did that processing more than 500 applica- 500 emails since January. Um since we opened and updated the second application lottery yesterday, we now have 493 students that have applied with 675 applications as of this morning. So, I'm going to give you by the numbers for each school. And as I share these charts, please know that
071this data is reflective as of March 31st. Waitlists are very very fluid and as soon as a family declines a seat, the School Mint program platform will pull a student up from the waitlist. So, 100% of Cherry Park Elementary is filled through our program options. The Cherry Park French program option welcomes any kindergarten and first grade students who reside in Rock Hill. When a student has an interest to participate in this program as a second, third, fourth, or fifth grade student, a language proficiency assessment is required of them. Similarly, the Cherry Park Spanish program option welcomes any kindergarten and first grade students who reside in Rock Hill. And when a student has an interest to participate beyond first grade, then a language proficiency assessment is required. And for our Spanish program at this time, there
072is a small waitlist for kindergarten and first grade. So, you are familiar, you have seen these charts in the facility assessment before. This is important to paint a picture for you of where kids are across our district. Um because Cherry Park does not have a specific attendance zone, this chart shows approximately how many students come from each of our other attendance zones across the district to attend and participate in the Cherry Park program options. Ebenezer Montessori. Ebenezer is made up of two programs. Montessori is a multi-age program that welcomes our 3K students through second grade, and these students are in multi-age classrooms, and they matriculate through the grade levels. Um this Students in our 3K and 4K program Montessori do pay a tuition, and any student that participates in Montessori does so through the program
073option process. This includes students that might live in the Ebenezer attendance zone. This program also has a wait list at this time. Ebenezer Inquiry As opposed to Cherry Park, Ebenezer Inquiry program um and other elementary program options serve students that live in the school zone, and then the remaining seats are open for program option students. Currently, the Ebenezer Inquiry program welcomes 55 students in grades 3 through 5 from across the district that do not live in the attendance zone. And this chart shows that data. Ebenezer's total enrollment, as well as where students live from across the district that either attend the Montessori program or the Inquiry program. Northside is a school of the arts, and [snorts] seats for this program option are limited because it's the school's desire to prioritize those seats for students that
074do live in the school zone. And again, the chart that you seen before from the facility assessment just shows the number of students that currently are enrolled in Northside, and those students that live outside of the Northside school zone and attend Northside. When we look at our STEAM program at Oak Dale Elementary, there are a few students wait listed in the second and third grade at Oak Dale at this time. And the same chart number of students that are 10 are STEAM program option at Oak Dale from across the district. Sunset Park is our accelerated studies program. This provides a gifted and talented endorsed educator for all students in kindergarten through fifth grade. There are no students wait listed at this time as they will welcome many many students in their new building in 26-27.
075And this chart demonstrates the number of students that attend Sunset Park from outside of the Sunset Park attendance zone. This next slide starts our middle school options. So, this is the information for STEAM, the STEAM program at Saluda Trail. So, you can see that there are not any students wait listed for the STEAM program at Saluda Trail. This is Sullivan. Sullivan offers two programs, International Baccalaureate and dual language immersion. So, for the International Baccalaureate program, these are the numbers for that program. There are no students on the wait list there. And then dual language immersion, these are the students for the dual language immersion program for Sullivan. From this slide it's important to note that the students from Sherry Park directly feed to the dual language immersion program at Sullivan. So, these numbers do not
076show that direct feed. Here, this is by the numbers and this shows you all of the schools and shows you the number of students that attend in the zone, attend in their particular um school attendance zone, live in the attendance zone, but attend out. Attend another school other than the school that they are assigned to. This This one starts the high school option. So, for Rock Hill High School, they offer two programs as well. So, Rock Hill offers the International Baccalaureate program, but they offer the diploma program only. So, for 9th and 10th grade, there isn't a program that's offered, but the diploma program starts in the 11th grade. So, 11th and 12th grade. So, you have students who attend Sullivan Middle Years program, and then there's not an option for them in 9th and
07710th, and it picks back up with the diploma program in the 11th grade. South Point is the STEAM option for high school. These are the numbers, the seats available for STEAM for South Point. There are any students on the waitlist there. And then, this is by the numbers for the high school. So, it shows you the students that live inside the particular attendance zone, but attend schools outside of your attendance zone. Questions? I believe that I have one. I'm sorry. Just a quick question about the International Baccalaureate program Baccalaureate program at Sullivan. If a student is at Sullivan and they're in the IB program, and there's no 9th and 10th grade option, how would they and they don't live in the zone for like Rock Hill High? Is there a way for them to like
078[snorts] continue on to Rock Hill so they can pick it back up in 11th grade? You may not know the answer to that question. I just that came in my mind. They have to apply um to to pick the program back up in the 11th grade um because in the past, there was no no guarantee that they're going to actually pick the program up, so they don't feed directly from Sullivan to Rock Hill High for 9th grade. Look, there isn't anything in ninth and tenth grade for that, so they might have to go to another school for two years and then go to Rock Hill. That's exactly how it works. They go to another school and then they apply for the lottery for eleventh grade for the the whole program. Okay, thank you. You're welcome.
079Mr. Burns. I'm just curious, you may not have the numbers, but what exactly are we spending on IB a year in training and everything else? I do not have that information, but we can get that for you. Okay, and how many kids do we have in it? I can get that to you. Accurate number of students. So, one thing to know when we give you this information, there are students who are full diploma candidate students in the program, that means all of their courses are IB, but we also have students who have the option of just taking one or two IB courses. So, they could take an IB history course, they could take an IB English course without fully being in the program. Thank you. You're welcome. I'll provide all of those for you. Miss
080Miss Dawson, um will you go back a couple of slides to your dual enrollment for sixth through eighth grade? And I guess what my question is um right here. So, a child a student could enter the So, we have 57 seats available and that's 57 in addition to all the other seats that are taken from the children who are who are naturally matriculating from Cherry Park. So, 57 seats available, one has been filled now, and so theoretically 56 additional children could enter the dual language immersion program, but I assume they would have to test into the program some type of proficiency test. Okay, so either English or Spanish they could enter at the sixth grade with a proficiency test. >> Yes, they have to take that proficiency test. And my last um thing is not
081a statement, it's more of it's not a question, it's more of a statement and I I certainly don't want to put words in Mr. Burns' mouth, but now having two children that have gone through, I hope that our district will and I'll just be the one to say it, will take a serious look at this International Baccalaureate program cuz I am not sure that we are getting our bang for our buck. We can't be certainly it's a great program for children academically, but I can tell you as a parent it doesn't have the value once you get to the collegiate level as the AP program has and the dual language dual credit courses have and we spend a an entire ton of money on this. So certainly for the children who are currently in the
08211th and 12th grade, I would not want to pull that rug from under them, but I would hope that we as a board will ask our superintendent, certainly I'm just one member, but I would hope we as a board sometime in the near future will ask our superintendent to take a real strong look at this International Baccalaureate program. Is this something that that we are really benefiting from as a district? And to follow up the request that was made by Mr. Morrison, Dr. Belton regarding that financial data, I would like that information regarding the cost of the IB program, also to give the trajectory over five years as far as recertification, cuz I know that as we have different programs going through the certification process, there's a significant cost attached to that too. So if
083we can get that data as well to get a clearer picture of the long-range cost program, that would be helpful. Thank you, Madam Chair. I appreciate you asking for that. Yes. I have a request then as we're looking at program options um and just having data, would it be possible or could you share with the board some historical data about these numbers with the the programs? You know, you say you have how many seats are filled this year, but I don't just want to look at one year. I'd like to consider, you know, a few years previous. Can we just see an overall Is it Are you able to pull those numbers? It may be difficult. We'll try because we have a new platform and in the past we were using PowerSchool and it's it
084was kind of not a good option for us to use for this platform, but we can try and see what we can pull together. Let me just ask a question. We would know how many or at least the state could tell us how many IB diplomas we issued annually. So, wouldn't that be a I mean, maybe I'm oversimplifying it, but we know how many IB diplomas we've issued over the last 5 years. >> Yeah, our IB coordinator We have an IB coordinator at Rock Hill High School that can give us that information. >> Okay. Yes. All right. I think that would But I think I thought she was talking about all the programs. >> programs. >> Oh, all the programs. I'm sorry. It may be a really huge ask. I just like to see trends.
085And I think, you know, on that notion I I I I think we all recognize that when we are asking for in-depth data like this, there is not an expectation that that is an already lost tomorrow morning. We understand that it's going to take some time to, you you know, for the teams to assemble all of the this for us for but we would like it as we go through obviously the budget process at some point. Thank you. I think that that concludes this segment and we may have more questions later down the road, but we say thank you to both of you. Um and all everyone else is involved in the process. So, next up under presentations is uh Mr. Kevin Madden who is our CMO who is here to talk about Goal 2
086which is our salary history look back as we have at Acosta. So, welcome, Kevin. Thank you, Chair Miller, uh Mr. Hutchinson, the rest of the board, especially Dr. Hood over there. I'm thinking about 11 or 12 years ago I was giving a presentation I walked around and Ms. Miller told me to stand behind the podium. So, I'm going to do a job trying to do that here tonight. This process started last fall, okay? And so, when I came in here looking at this from the outside, you know, looking at the salary history out of expectation of what to see. I'm looking at your bonuses in the past, so I want to sort of keep that in mind as I go through this presentation with y'all. The goal is to understand the history behind the current
087salary scales, how we got where we're at. Where our current salary scales are at, looking at compression, we'll talk about that towards the end. One thing that we picked up on that we need to address immediately in the the upcoming budget, and then comparing the salary history across all classes. Now, again, sort of my mindset when I looked at this and I read this report before I get to the next slide, we found out immediately we couldn't It was hard to pull the data as to what we did for races first classes, so we had HR select a sample of representative employees, and we used those samples to get the information you're going to see in the next slide, and you'll see there's a lot going on. And reviewing your budgets from the outside looking
088in, this is not necessarily what I've expected to have seen, and I suspect it's not what y'all have expected. And the goal going forward when y'all do any type of compensation, the goal would be that it's transparent, and there's some logic behind what you see in these classes. And looking at this, I can't attest to why, where, or how all this was done, but we want to make sure going forward that when compensation is given to employees, the actual what happens is what the board's expecting to happen. And ideally, that's tied to something. So, you know, this is a lot of numbers all over the place. My key takeaway from this is the lack of transparency and the strategic vision that we hope [clears throat] to see going forward. Okay, getting into this again, looking
089at how it was done in the past, what we learned from this. Again, going forward, we want to make sure we're thoughtful in how we do compensation, and that the when we tell you we're going through a budget process, this is what we're doing with employees, the actual results match the board's expectation. That's one of my key takeaways. Something that we picked up on going through this looking at the various classes, our vice principals are not in a position to wait to have some time to get that just done. We need to have some funding in the upcoming budget, probably somewhere in the tune of about $200,000 to adjust the vice principal salaries where they need to be. It's out of whack and that cannot wait for the last bullet, which is a class and
090comp study to be done. One thing we want to do is we want to make sure we're taking care of our employees and they're where they need to be. And right now we've got a lot of questions and we want to bring a professional in this fall and have them look at all the various classes and see what we can do to make sure our structures are proper. And we need all these classes, skills. We want to make sure a professional looks at this and advises us so we can work with the board to make sure we have the best structure for employees possible going forward. All of that said, questions, comments? Thanks. Yes, ma'am. >> Going back one slide, I know that you identified um assistant principals, you know, definitely needs to be a
091key area and I definitely agree with that. But I noticed um there was also another group that we talked about. Um I believe we talked about our and I know my small group our um our maintenance. Yes, ma'am. There's some other areas that we have some concerns about. Maintenance is definitely one of those. The vice principals, that's a situation where Absolutely. >> We can't wait. No. And we'll present you that information for in the budget. We're going to we're going to be fixing that issue in the budget immediately. There are other areas that we definitely believe we have issues with, problems with, but we want to be very thoughtful about that and not knee-jerk reaction. We're going to make sure we follow the process through everything we do. And so that's why we're going to
092hire a professional to come in and look at this comprehensively from top to bottom and make sure everybody's where they need to be. And then we make sure that going forward in upcoming budgets, [snorts] we keep people where they need to be. And the best way to do this is to make sure that y'all and the governing body understand how our compensation employees and where they're at. And you know, I couldn't defend this. I'm not sure how this came to be. I think the overall structure, it needs a serious tweak and that's where the class and comp studies need to come into play. But to your point, Ms. Archer, there certainly are other areas that we've identified that are red flags that we want to drill down into. We hope to get those addressed not
093in the upcoming budget, but we'll go through stuff this fall to fix that for the budget after that we've we're where we need to be. We can't have situations where we're constantly having people turn over and leave and go to other areas. It's a free market. People come and go as they as what serves them best. So, that's the ultimate goal as well, too. We want to make sure we have employees where they need to be. The families and students that fill our schools are our number one asset to the district, but right after that is going to be our employees. They're the ones taking care of the children and doing the job of the district. And that's the teachers in the classroom as well as all the support staff that helps us. So, very
094important and again, not just bus drivers, but we're going to look at everything. Thank you. >> Thank you for that question. Anything else? Just a general comment to Dr. Elger and to you and your team that I really truly appreciate the transparency and thoughtfulness through the process. And I look forward to seeing more of the same as we go through this budget process. Thank you, Chairwoman. Mr. Mann, may I just ask as we're moving forward, I'm guessing in the budgeting process, like I see the word manager up there. And obviously we in education, we know what a you know, a teacher is. We know what a teacher assistant is, but I'm not sure I know what a manager is or what does support one means, support two, support three, support four, support five, support associate.
095So, those are just terms frankly that that just not familiar with and I don't and I guess if I got an example or maybe if the public even got an example of what one of those positions is, it probably would help with some of the transparency. What would be better can we put up a cheat sheet that gives those examples that decodifies it? I I think we could. But I'm my focus right now really is simplifying this. You know, we we have a our job classifications are easier to follow and they make more sense just intuitively when you're looking at Say that again. I can't tell you what most of those positions are or I don't have them here right now myself. I just have to be honest with you. But again, we go through
096this this fall. My ultimate goal is when we're presenting the not the budget that you're going to see in May but a year from then that we can go through something that everybody understands whether it be the seven of y'all and the public. We want everybody to understand what we're doing and why we're doing and how we're doing it. And there's that's just there's some thought and vision behind it. Thank you, sir. Sounds great. Um, Stahli? I do have a question um for the sake of transparency and then also being a voice of the public if you can go back to all their numbers for Yes, ma'am. Um, I think I know these answers but I'm going to put the question out there because it was asked to me. Do any of these positions listed
097on this chart involve people at the district office? Yes, ma'am. Okay. So then and I'm not trying to be a lawyer with leading questions. I really am asking what the public has asked me. So then when we look at the 25-26 percentage change does this do those percentage changes involve anybody's salaries that were changed due to reorganization? Does that question make sense? Are you talking about the the realignment that was recently done? Um, last year there was a reorg that we did last budget season. Um, and I'm just wondering if salaries were changed due to job titles changing. I'll give you the best answer I can with that. There very well might have been, but again, this was not We didn't have hundreds of employees because of the way things They've moved around a lot
098over this time period in the district. So, we chose our representative samples. And I can't tell you definitively those samples would have included that or would not have included that. But, there's certainly then when you look particularly at '23, '24, there was a lot of things moving around. And then not done with as much thought as we would like to do going forward. It's just been blown away like that. So, things moved around as you know, we went through a little period of instability. Again, I think the goal going forward is we're going to have some stability and much more thoughtful decision making, particularly around compensation and staffing. Okay. Thank you. Yes, ma'am. Thank you very much for the question. Okay. So, we say thank you to everyone involved in that process and look forward
099to more to come. With this, I'm going to turn it over to Dr. Feldman for the report of the superintendent. Superintendent. I can't even talk tonight. [snorts] Uh, and during my absence And thank you, Madam Chair. Members of the board, I'll be the talking head up here short under the podium. Uh, just a few announcements. Um, first of all, I hope everybody had a restful and enjoyable spring break. Um, we are entering that crazy and very busy final stretch of the year. We are committed to just foot on the gas every day. We don't stop until the last bell rings. And I know that people start to get tired towards the end of the year, but I just want to encourage everybody we don't slow down. Our kids need us to the very last bell,
100to the very last day. Uh, we do have proms this Saturday, April 18th. Of course, we are encouraging our students to celebrate responsibly, make positive choices, and make wonderful memories uh with these very special events. As a reminder, graduation is scheduled for June 1st. We look forward to celebrating our this important milestone with our students and our families. The program options lottery, this was discussed briefly before, has reopened for the programs that continue to have openings. Um families are encouraged to review opportunities, apply if they feel like it's a good fit for their family. We have our second budget round table coming up for the public at Saluda Trail Middle School on Monday, April 20th at 6:30 p.m. We did hold our first um at Dutchman Creek the week before spring break. Uh we do
101welcome community participation. I know this is new to have community meetings around the budget, and so it may take a little while to take hold, but I think that having that transparency and that opportunity for public engagement is very important. I'm committed to that um no matter how many people show up. And this time we hope that we have a great turnout. Next board meeting is Tuesday, April 28th, and as always, will be live streamed on Facebook and our website. Thank you so much. Thank you. Uh so next up is operating future business. Uh I want to remind the community, we're letting the community know, and remind the board that the you if you monitor when we have board meetings, that seeing a meeting notification or a notification to the media going out for tomorrow,
102we do not have a board meeting. We are, however, going to be touring Sunset Park, our soon-to-be open school, and since we may have more than three board members there at the same time, we will notify media, but I just want to clarify that this is by no means a board meeting. There will be no agenda, no actions taken, no discussion. All we're doing is enjoying uh a tour of uh the Sunset Park building. So, wanted to just let that out there. Any other comments? >> Yes, I had a question. >> Yes. Um so, I I I mentioned this in the executive session about, you know, we were talking about our Kensington Action Agenda and some of the personnel questions. Um and I know that we have a a part of our annual renewal plan,
103we give climate survey of like our teachers and our students. But, I would like to know if there's a way or a mechanism for us to have climate surveys for our district office staff and our staff that don't actually work as teachers. If there's a mechanism, independent mechanism, for us to be able to review the climate across the district. Um again, I you know, I I raised the concern um and uh I would just like to know how our staff that that's not necessarily our student facing feel about where we are in our direction in Rockville schools. Again, independent of human resources, but something that we can maybe hire an independent agency to do that for us. Um that could either be a board joint uh initiative or it could be something that the board
104enforce. We have done >> [cough] >> historically something similar, but it was facilitated and and uh don't quote me on this, but I want to say it's like 10 or 12 years ago. It was facilitated with a partner university that designed some of the the instrument surveys, so to speak. And there's absolutely nothing that would inhibit us either as a board to you you know, instruct the superintendent to design something or for the superintendent and and the board to do it together. I I don't know that we necessarily need to be the individual uh administrators. I think it's too big of a task and I think that it probably, in order for accuracy, needs to be removed from us as a board, if that makes sense. But, there's nothing that says that we can't do
105this. Absolutely. Well, I'd like to add that to future business to talk about. So, what we can do is do that before the end of the year. Yeah. Um so, before everybody [clears throat] leaves for the summer, I'd like to get a pulse check of how our administrative office staff and how our like again our non-student basing staff members feel about the direction of our school district and where we're going. Right. So, what we can do is put it on as a more in-depth discussion item for for the next board meeting and then you know, that will allow the superintendent to gather some more information about what what avenues we have. So, we'll put that on the agenda for the next meeting. Okay, thank you. And you can include teachers and we can include teachers
106if they want to be, but yes, thank you. Madam Chair, I do have one issue that I just want to say this that we have prided ourselves on the board and I frankly think we've done a really, really good job. Um really good job and not that the boards prior to our getting on last November were not doing a good job, but I know the school board that I have sat on has done a great job with with with transparency and I think we have been trying to be open in meetings and I know at least as best I can, I have tried to explain things where where the public can understand them cuz sometimes we as educators and as board members, we speak in a language that people would do not understand. Um I
107have been in a private conversation and I am going to point out Mr. Harvey cuz he's the person who filed the FOIA request that I think is extremely important to this community and I'm just I just want to say my position as a board member, as an independent board member, more importantly as a taxpayer and as a citizen, when we have the community asking for information, they should get the information that's not legally protected and no citizen should have to pay $3,000 for any information. And so, I'm just saying as an independent board member, I don't think that we as a board or as a district should be fighting with members of the community about taxpayers dollars, how taxpayers dollars are spent, where taxpayer payer dollars are spent. And so, I would hope that our
108district um will move with all due speed to get the information unless we have a lawyer telling us that it's it's it's legally protected. If it's public information, and there is I've done FOIA requests on Rock Hill schools, and I've never paid a dime. I've done FOIA requests on districts across the state. I've never paid a dime. And so, I would hope that that's not something that we are starting to do, particularly to the tune of $3,000. Yes, please. Thank you, Madam Thank you, Madam Chair. Um um member Belton, um as you know, FOIAs have certain timelines that we abide by, and we do abide by the timelines. We have received FOIAs. We are in process of responding to them um within the bounds of the law, and um as you know, public agencies can
109request fees because there is fees involved in preparing the information. However, we are in negotiation um when a very extensive FOIA comes in requiring many hours of work and legal consultation, um we are absolutely happy to negotiate on how much that costs, and I believe that process is underway. So, thank you for your question. Um It Yes, sir. This is kind of uh Mr. Madison will be pretty much directed to you. I would like to know how much exactly we spend on technology per year, especially K-5, what we spend uh you know, repairing broken devices and everything else. Just kind of take a look at that. So, I think as we are entering the budget process, there may be more questions that come about from board members that we may not be thinking about right
110now. So, my recommendation to all of you is to please send those to Dr. Elder and Mr. Madden so that they have the questions as soon as possible and that will also allow them to gather the information for us to have it you know at at a quicker space. If that Because I think to Mr. Burns your point, at some point here in the next one or two board meetings, we're going to be voting on the budget. Is that accurate? If if you remember, I think we were presented with a timeline for for that and and the vote, if you remember, has to go through you know, we're going to have some presentation and then there has to be the public notice and the public hearing. So, we do have months before the actual presentation.
111Yes. That's That's Thank you. Okay. So, with that, if there's nothing else, we do not have a second executive session. That should have been left off there. Uh I would like to change the motion to adjourn tonight's meeting. Motion to adjourn. Thank you. Are we staying here tonight? Uh do you have a second? Second. Thank you, Mr. Rozell. Any discussion? Bring on all those in favor. All opposed? Motion carried 7-0. Fine. >> Hey.