RHS School Board Meeting 6-11-24

001e e e pap research good evening and welcome to the general fund budget public hearing of TR school district for fiscal year 2425 local news media outlets for notified of writing of this agenda for the meeting on Monday June 10th 2024 we will do our Pledge of Allegiance amendment of silence and to start our normal business meeting at 6 o' so stting off would entertain a motion to approve the agenda for the public uh hearing the thank you Miss Cole do I have a second thank you any discussion want to note that this is a public hearing this does not mean that um and sorry pardon the interruption this is not the opportunity for the board to weigh in on the budget that is uh on the agenda regular scheduled meeting this is just a

002hearing so our job as a board is to open the meeting and to close the meeting and at 6 o' so with that said all those in favor of approving the agenda all motion cares s and we have Miss shared with us over uh the phone so uh I'm going to welcome up our CFO Miss Terry Smith um to good evening tonight I am presenting to you for public hearing Rock Hill school's general fund budget for fiscal year 2425 our public hearing notice was advertised in the Rock Hill Rock Hill her May 24th currently the state does not have a state an adopted state budget yet the last update that I received from the um general assembly is that they will return on June 18th to hear and approve the conference Comm report on the

003state budget next year we are anticipating an increase in our revenues of 6.6 million we anticipate a $3.7 million increase in our state allocations that are received directly from the Department of Education there is a $30 million difference in the state aid classrooms allocation and a$ 10.3 million difference in the employer Health allocation between the house and the Senate version of the state budget was they adopt budget the our numbers may very well change because of the adoped budget we anticipate a $2.4 million increase in our state property tax reimbursement most of this increase is for tier three tax relief reimbursement which is the district's portion of the 1 cent sales tax increase from act 388 our largest source of local revenue is property tax revenue this reflects an increase in operating millage of 9.3

004Mills as Allowed by act 388 which if approved will increase the district's total operating millage to 202.5 Mills our projected value of a mill is approximately 363,000 with a collection rate of 99 during the 2324 school year we piloted the community eligibility program districtwide and this program which is also known as C allows the district to provide breakfast and lunch meals to all of our enrolled students at no cost and without collecting free and reduced meal applications this was a huge benefit to our students this year uh the district did serve 198,000 more bills this year as compared to last year and that was a 9% increase so I am excited to report that we will continue um with the districtwide c for this upcoming year as I have mentioned in previous presentations this year

005err funding is coming to an end the district has 57.6 positions that will be transferred to the general fund and the district was able to utilize vacancies to cover half of those Sr positions employer health insurance will be increasing 11.8% the employee portion of the health insurance will remain the same so there will be no change the state is increasing the minimum teacher salary scale and the bus driver salary scale the district will see an increase in the cost of property taxes property insurance workers compensation and school resource officers the district's expenditure budget totals approximately $238 million in order for the district to balance the budget a millage increase is required along with using one-time use of funds of almost $9 million the expenditure budget reflects an increase of 9% over last year so as

006I had mentioned earlier the state has not adopted a budget yet and we will continue to monitor the activity of the state level with anticipation that the general assembly will adopt a state budget the week of June 18th so this concludes our presentation tonight um and I will open it up for any comments or questions I do believe we have one again this is comments and questions from the off my question sort of relates to the large increases in our um in our village over the past two years so I guess I'm going to State a couple of comments and then I have a question so um last year millage was increased by 22 this year 9.3 m is the proposal that's 31.6 Ms over the course of two years that's more than probably the

007last seven eight years prior to that combined and increasing the millage so it it's substantial and the overall budget if with this proposed budget increases from over40 million over the course of two years which again is is very substantial um meanwhile the students in Ro Hill School District the enrollment has gone down over 500 students since 2022 so I I was trying to make sense of it was thinking inflation I know things cost more but inflation peak in 2022 and has been running about 4% since then um increasing the offering budget of Lo School District by 20% over 2 years with slightly decreased enrollment and inflation not to justify it seems out of line what's the explanation for the large increase over a short period of time thank you M over the past few years

008we have added a lot of positions to support our schools and our students last year we've um hired uh 20 some positions for our deans of students to be in the in the classrooms to support those students we also have support that we added for our um office Personnel for the um elementary school so there's been a lot of support that we have U put into our schools to help our students to be successful in their career their education care so as we are trying to one of the other increases is because of aser there was a lot of positions that were added into the erer funds from previous administration and we all know that erer is funding is ending and those positions will have to be absorbed into the general fund questions okay very

009none that concludes the presentation and the public hearing and I would at this point entertain a motion to thinking C do I have a second have second thank Mr M thank you any discussion very none all those in favor all carries stand and we will re me for our regular schedule business meeting at 6 o'ri do you want us to call us back call you back 5 yeah okay I'm gonna hang up on you okay some e e e good evening not quite ready yet good evening and welcome to the June 11 a school board business meeting uh local news media Outlets were notified in writing of this agenda for the meeting on Monday June 10th if you will please join me for the Pledge of Allegiance follow Al to the flag of the United

010States of America and to the stands one nation God indivisible with liy and justice for all thank you please be seated so first up is uh the approval of the meeting agenda do I have a motion to approve I believe motion made by Miss Cole and seconded by Miss Douglas any discussion no none all those in favor I allos motion har 7 so first off we have our recognitions and we're going to start off with the SC NSP Communications award and I'm going to turn it over to Dr thank you very much good evening board CH Vice chair not board members and Dr SMY tonight we honor our Communications and marketing team for their efforts in school communication this team Works tirelessly behind the scenes to make sure our district is lifting up our proudest

011moments and putting our best foot forward the work of this cream is Rock Solid and the South Carolina chapter of the national school Public Relation agency agrees in May the team was awarded five Statewide rewards for excellence for their work in photography videos and newsletters Additionally the annual report was named the best in show for all the district Statewide congratulations to this team Lindsay maek executive director of communications and marketing Serena Williams Senior manager of community engagement Grayson hasool marketing manager Morgan nle Communications content manager and Diana WN Communications and marketing associate congratulations [Applause] thank you so much and congratulations next up we had uh Second Harvest Food Bank of uh Metro donations up the recognitions they will come and join us in August instead because they had a last schedu in so we're going

012to go to introduction of new administrators good evening to our board and to Dr SMY I am the AR chers white principal of Old Point Elementary School and I am thrilled to welcome Karen Reed as our new assistant principal at Old Point Elementary Miss Reed brings a wealth of experience and strong educational background to our school Community she owes an educational specialist degree in school administrative leadership from Cambridge College and a master of education in Reading from winther University additionally she has earned an elementary certification from Queens University and a Bachelor of Science in home economics from South Carolina State University most recently Miss Reed has served as the assistant principal at Barry Hill School in Charlotte North Carolina there she managed instructional support schedules facilitated data team meetings coordinated professional development and conducted teacher

013evaluations under her leadership Barry Hill School saw significant Improvement and student achievement and teacher retention committed to continuously improving learning Miss Reed has engaged in various professional development opportunities that include training on implicit bias and non-violent crisis in intervention she is also also a nationally board certified teacher who was nominated as the teacher of the year at Smithville ele Elementary we are confident that Miss Reed will be a valuable addition to our team and brings dedication expertise and passion for Education please join Jo Us in welcoming [Applause] Miss just a little bit thank you 3 two one perfect thank you and we'd like to shake your hand yeah conat thank you good evening I'm Dr Kimberly odm the proud principal of Rock Hill's first leader me and my househ Independence El El school I have

014the esteemed pleasure of introducing introducing our new assistant principal Mrs Emily hayatt Mrs Hyatt Hills from Chicago Illinois and made her way to South Carolina via a softball scholarship to Lander University after completing her undergraduate studies she came to rock implanted her talents at Independence Elementary School since starting her career at Independence in 2017 she served in various leadership roles while completing her Graduate Studies at the state Flagship University for Administration the University of South Carolina most recently she has served as the dean of student leadership she has received various leadership certifications through Franklin Cy and was instrumental in the success of our leader me implementation at Independence in addition to her the elastic and professional work she is a wife and mother to Chris and CJ respectively she's always thankful for her training received

015in her formative years in particular from her parents and we are glad that her mother is able to join us tonight in person from illino wave your hand please join me in celebrating Mrs Emily Hyatt and this professional Milestone of being named the new assistant principal of Independence [Applause] Elementary em good evening board members good evening my name is Carrie Beth Brown and I'm the new principal at York Road Elementary and I have the honor tonight of presenting Mr Brandon Sanders as the new AP of York Elementary Mr Sanders comes to York Road from the Northwestern High School where he served as the associate band director of bands he has previous experience as an assistant principal in Indian land and 13 years of teaching experience he's earned his bachelor's of music education from winr University

016and holds a masters of Music in music education from Kent State University he also holds and additional masters of artarts in school administration from Garner Webb University the York red family is excited about Mr Sanders joining our family we look forward to his schoolwide impact as we work to create opportunities for yor GR students especially in the area of related arts I'm especially proud to partner with Mr Sanders on our new Journey as principles of yor gr Elementary [Applause] sorryy perfect thank you thank you app good evening Madam chair School Board Dr SMY I'm Dr Marshall principal at saluta Trail Middle School and I am honored to welcome Dr Alfred Williams to our admin team currently Dr Williams served as our dean of student leadership he holds degrees from win University in the University of

017South Carolina Dr Williams has spent the past year getting to know our school families uh parents students and teachers and building strong relationships Dr Williams has also served as an integral part of our mtss process at schoa Trail Dr Williams has had an opportunity to Mentor students and Lead our star program Saluda Trail academic recovery uh as we move forward to the 2425 school year we are happy and elated that Dr Williams is Jo joining us please join me and W thank [Applause] you just a little bit little step perfect okay three two one we got a smile all right three two perfect awesome thank you hi good evening um my gos assistant athletic director at Rocko high school I'm here to introduce you to Isaiah Palmer Isaiah is a two sport U athlete ex

018selling in both football and track back uh as well as in the classroom Isaiah recently won the 5A state championship in pvo with a jump of 16 17 15 um he also is the school record holder and the first whole voter state champion in in school's history additionally he won the city Championship region Championship Upper State Championship as well Isaiah will be attending Clemson University and speaking to him outside I found he wanted to be there since he been 8 years old so he's living a dream and you go joined the tiger track team as a pole voter we want to congratulate Isaiah Palmer on his impressive accomplishments and wish him the best of luck in the future [Applause] perfect 3 2 one 32 perfect thank you congratulations standing I believe that Clans our recognitions

019and uh next up would be citizen participation um in accordance with policy BH uh we allow um our public to come in and sign up at 6:00 to address the board we do have a timer to keep us on track each speaker will get three minutes at lece um for the citizen participation it's important to note that the board does not comment or interact with speakers for our school board policy so with that said I believe that this was handed to me in the order that they were received um but nevertheless uh we're to go through them uh so we're going to start with welcoming uh r Sam McGregor hello my name is Sam McGregor I've been a pastor in York County and now laner County for the past 23 years I live in Rock

020Hill and my two daughters and my son attended Richmond dve and Sullivan and South Point name my oldest daughter is on the banner at at sou Point acknowledging her as valedictorian of her class so we're quite proud of her and and my other two kids as well Rocko schools prepared my kids well um for Life Beyond and what they are accomplishing now in in Pittsburgh and Florence and and Nevada I'm also the son of a former School Board member in Richland County my daddy was the chair of the uh Richland County as it dealt with the struggles of school desegregation in the 1970s in fact he spent one being held hostage by some activists and AR arrived home very early in the morning but in time to get down to the barn and milk cows

021but my dad was also a Dairy Farmer so I have a glimpse of the difficulty of being a Schoolboard member and I have the utmost respect for what you do and the impact that you are seeking to make and make good decisions for our children in our community I truly truly do I prayed about what to share tonight and like many follow followers of Jesus I have turned to the scriptures for such a time as this and I feel led to 1 Corinthians 13 in this chapter the Paul the writer Paul addresses this about love he's not writing to two people get married but to a community that was in distress and conflict he writes love is patient and love is kind love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude love rejoices and

022the truth I ask that tonight indeed you allow love to drive decisions love for each student in Rock Hill School District 3 it's easy to let fear Drive decisions and to join with the crowd that says to bully the students that some may call weird or deviant or Abomination it may even be politically advantageous to join with the crowd that says to bully some students into this submission and to accept what many say should remain the norm but as I turn to the actions of my savior I see someone who stood with the least of these he stood up to the crowd and protected the Samaritan women at the well and taught all of us to love our neighbors as ourselves I ask you tonight to follow this lead and to take into consideration the

023needs of all of our students including the ones who were transgender for it is my understanding that the administration and the faculty of Rocko High have been responding with care and compassion to their trans students our teachers and school administrators and the ones on the front lines they seem to be the ones acting out of love and care and concerned for the least of these I ask you in your decision making to not join with the crow yelling crucify but with the ones who were saying love is kind thank you very [Applause] much ens uh who is speaking on the general fund budget as well as the proposed policy J thank you for the opportunity to speak tonight my name is Robin Owens I've lived in Rock Hill since 1995 I'm a wife and a

024mother of two daughters who graduated from Rock Hill schools I'm a former School Board member I'll address two topics on tonight's agenda first proposed policy jbac and The Limited definition of gender in the proposed policy which directly conflicts with the definition of gender in numerous other Rock Hill School District policies in a quick search of District policies I discovered that the Rock Hill School Board voted to recognize gender identity and defining gender on nine separate occasions between 2016 and 2021 Miss Miller and Miss Zas you voted nine times to identify um gender identity when defining sex Mr Burns and Miss Cherry you voted to adopt policies which recognize gender identity and defining a person's sex four times Miss Cole you voted eight times to recognize gender identity these nine policies include the district statement of

025non-discrimination two student policies one protecting students from harassment intimidation and bullying and one protecting stud students from discrimination and for employment policies related to recruiting hiring equal opportunity non-discrimination and two administrative rules Mr Burns Miss Miller Miss Douglas Miss Cherry and Miss Cole as you're asked by Mr nozel to consider proposed policy jbac I only ask that you remain true to the beliefs that you have affirmed in other votes that each individual has the freedom to choose their own identity and that bullying harassment and discrimination has no place in Rocko School District my second concern is the 202 2425 budget board members if you pass the budget before you tonight you will have voted to increase the school district's budget by $40 million a 20% increase and increase taxes by 31.6 Mills over the past

026two years as a former board member I understand the pressures The Rock Hill School District faces that are created by inadequate State funding the ever increasing needs of the students you serve and the up pressure on salaries created by too few qualified candidates and a tight job market however after last years historic tax increase the largest in the history of the district which was passed unanimously by this board our small business Community cannot take the weight of another significant tax increase please consider other options to balance this year's budget without negatively impacting the local economy thank you also speaking on Poli gbac I never thought I would be one to be reading from my phone during a presentation but here we are hello and thank you for allowing me the opportunity to speak on this

027issue my name is Hope Matthews and I'm a parent in the Rock Hill School District I have a South Point graduate and a student who is currently at South Point High School I also worked in the Rock Hill School District for four years as a middle level science teacher I'm seeking to address two issues with policy jbac evidence and fiscal responsibility in the South Carolina curriculum standards particularly Ela and science standards we teach students to make decisions and arguments based on evidence 21st century competencies also from the South Carolina Department of Education are a set of skills every graduate should have the list includes skills like critical thinking and reasoning that require using evidence education leaders should at the very least be modeling these skills by making policies and decisions based on evidence I don't

028see the evidence that there is a problem that needs to be added by policy especially one that contradicts the board's own policies in my experience teaching in Rock Hill schools when students physically took advantage of other students it happened in the classroom it happened on the bus it happened in any place where the opportunity existed it was not specific or limited to bathrooms and in these incidents that never involved transgender students are there records that demonstrate that there has been a specific problem but evidence is there to support a discriminatory policy when I talk to current High School school high school students about bathroom policies nobody says anything about transgender students yet everybody says something about vaping the resounding response at times students can't even get into the bathroom because the Stalls still of students

029who are vaping according to one dhex survey 21% of high school students use ecigarettes to me that seems like a bigger bathroom issue than a couple of students who want to use the bathroom of their gender once or twice a day in addition to the vaping problem in Rock Hill schools almost 50% of our students are below grade level in Reading 62% are below grade level for math 24% of high school students in South Carolina are using tobacco products we have core content teaching positions that that we haven't been able to fill for the entire school year with so many larger issues that impact all students it seems responsible it seems irresponsible to be spending time and potentially losing funding on a policy that targets less than 1% of our students the priority for our

030limited resources should be addressing issues that make our schools better for all students thank you [Applause] Daniel also speaking oncy jbac on good evening thank you for this opportunity my name is Lacy Daniel I am an educator formerly with The Rock Hill School District a parent of two children within the school district and a founding member of The Rock Hill chapter of P flag I am here tonight to speak against the proposed jbac policy which restricts restroom access for transgender students I urge you to support a policy of inclusivity that ensures the safety dignity and equality of all students in our district as we discuss this crucial issue it is imperative that we base our decisions on facts not fear decisions driven by fear and misinformation can cause significant harm transgender people are among the

031most vulnerable groups in our society according to the movement advancement project 70% of transgender people have reported being denied access verbally harassed or physically assaulted in public restrooms by enacting restrictive policy like the jbac policy we are not protecting anyone rather we are exacerbating the risks and challenges faced by transgender students we must base our decisions on acts and ensure that we are not perpetuating harm through fear-based policies consider the profound impact that inclusive policies have on the mental health and well-being of transgender students Studies have shown that when transgender students are allowed to use restrooms that align with their gender identity there is a significant reduction in anxiety depression and other mental health issues conversely restrictive policies increase the likelihood of the these students experiencing bullying harassment and psychological distress denying access to appropriate

032restrooms forces transgender students into humiliating and harmful situations which no student should endure again the facts clearly show the benefit of inclusive policies over fear-driven restrictions inclusivity benefits everyone schools that Implement inclusive policies report a more positive School climate overall according to data from the movement advancement project inclusive environments lead to lower rates of bullying and discrimination across the student body fostering a culture of respect and understanding by ensuring that transgender students can use the restroom that corresponds with their gender gender identity we are promoting a safe and supportive learning environment for all students I urge Rock Hill School Board to reject the proposed res RVE policy and adopt an inclusive approach that respects and protects all students let us lead with compassion evidence and a commitment to the well-being of every member of our

033school Community let our decisions be guided by facts not fear is uh also speaking on policy JB AC [Music] yes hello good evening Madame chair Bill school board members and superintendent Dr smallzy I'm here to speak on policy jbac first readr tonight I don't believe that this poliy specifically Banning bathroom use is needed widespread for our district from what was written in the congressman's letter to the district it is one student who out of emergent bathroom needs wanted to use the bathroom that fit the gender that they present as simply because the unep single toilet bathroom was too far away in this situation I believe creating an accommodation system for the student to use the unisex bathroom and have a pass system to help the student meet their needs by leaving their previous Class A

034few minutes early and arrive at the dynics class A few minutes late to accommodate travel time this could have easily been solved at the school level but since it's a political Hot Topic here we are instead of putting politics in schools I wish we would just use this energy and resources in securing more unisex bathrooms in high schools and encourage Mental Health Resources to be used to help those you believe and Target trans people to understand the damage they could cause to that person's livelihood we should also focus our attention to teach young men and boys to respect women and not treat them as such objects since the main case against trans people using the bathroom they present as is that heterosexual males would sexually assault or rape females in the bathrooms that is the

035real issue here and we should hold those Predators accountable providing unisex bathrooms will help decrease bullying and may even save a life please consider spending your energy and the district's money on something positive instead of hateful R rhetoric thank you [Applause] thank and followed by Ryan Ste who is also represented good evening Rock Hill School Board my name is Ryan Stevens I'm a father of three amazing crazy kids and a proud gay man I'm against this new policy that is being proposed tonight jbac growing up I will tell you about myself growing up I was always forced to pray away the gay or even I will just grow out of my sexuality into a straight man but that was not the case and thinking about this new policy I can't think of my own experience

036growing up questioning my own sexual identity and sexual orientation so I can sit back and allow this without speaking forward against this I also currently led the initiative within my a major manufacturing company that I'm employed with here in the state of South Carolina for Trans inclusion reviewing this policy I couldn't help but recognize that it wants to out trans students and make those second class second class students multiple Studies have shown that trans students are more likely to attempt suicide not attend school have lower GPA scores all because they do not feel welcome with within their own schools the American uh Medical Association sent out this quote within regarding bathroom um trans bands exclusionary policies require transgender individuals to live one facet of their lives in contradiction with their gender identity such policies threaten

037to exasperate the risk of anxiety and depression low self-esteem engaging in self inous behaviors suicide substance abuse homelessness eating disorders and among other adverse conditions and outcomes signaling out one small group of stud students is acting like bullies and I ask that you don't support this policy thank [Applause] you I believe it's sprz I may have also speaking hello my name is mar I am a rising sixth grader and I will be attending Sol tra middle school next year you all probably you are all probably expecting me to say that I agree with Mr NOS all however I actually strongly dis I would like my classmates and all students to feel safe in every part of my schol this means in my mind that all kids should be able to use the restrooms of their

038choosing to help them through sa thank [Applause] [Music] [Applause] you and I believe that concludes our citizen participation and we're going to move to our sent action agenda which contains uh starting out with minutes from the April 29th May 10th and May 14th uh School Board business meeting followed by the Personnel recommendations so at this point I will entertain a motion to approve the cons agenda as thank you Miss Cole do I have a second I thank you Miss Douglas any discussion very n all those in favor allos motion car that brings us to our action agenda and um first up is the fiscal year 20242 general fund budget um we just had a public hearing on so our CFO Miss T Smith is coming back up be very familiar to majority of people sitting

039Madam chair yes I move to table the reading of the 2024 2025 budget okay do I have a second second thank you um so we have a motion to table made by Mr Noel and we have a second by Mr barns any discussion um so just a few notes on that um we that we do not have final numbers coming in from the state as of yet um which makes it very difficult to make budal predictions um and in addition we received communication from the city today I believe u that they are uh requesting us to repay some tax funds as well as the funding for the SR that they have been providing for us so we will have to um go through and figure out what that's all about so um any further discussion

040very none um all those in favor of tabling the uh budget allos motion Carri 7 Z chair I have additional motion okay pursu to board policy CC entitled administrative organization in gcqa gcq entitled professional staff reduction I make a motion to direct the superintendent to revise the proposed budget and propose a restructured district office organizational chart to the board on or before the end of June so that a revised budget can be established with additional funding directed to our schools and classrooms instead of the district office okay that has been made by Mr do we have a second second thank you Mr burs any discussion I do feel like we need to make some Cuts in this budget um saying exactly where they need to be done I think we need to let the superintendent

041um work on it and give us a a presentation with cuts I think it's going to need to be um kind of across the board I don't think you know we can get it all from from one so would you like to amend it to reflect that or would you like to leave it as is the district off we can amend it to say the district off is in throughout the district okay let's do that let's let's amend it that way um so are you willing to second that Amendment second any further discussion I have a discussion question okay hang on one second let's see if we can move the microphone a little bit I'm getting okay yes ma'am on discussing this amendment and with the budget would it be possible for that to be

042inclusive of not um adding where we will have any tax increase that would affect our certainly I think that not you know I don't know would you like to amend it that way or just sort of make that as a general comment that we need to be cautious about the taxpayers I'll just make it a general comment that this is about the district office I would like to being a general comment um that I made before uh concerning this part of the budget okay thank you um M Cher um so it looks like we have a motion in place uh made by Mr Noel second up by Mr Burns as amended uh with some general feedback at that you know just to take a look at the the overall tax uh Mage increase coming from

043this chairing is there any further discussion not Madam chair I just want to add that I think it's important that we emphasize funding the school level directly so that we can impact students rather than um having our budget go to administrative costs so all in favor I all those motion carries 7 Z so next up uh for those of you who are here in board uh you may remember that we had a presentation under communication from Mr David Lis at the last board meeting and um he uh is the executive director of yor County First Steps uh and he shared that as South carolana legislation requires that each Public School District board located within a particular firststeps partnership coverage area has to appoint one of its employees to serve as a member of the local

044First Step partnership um and the recommendation coming from superintendent as well as from new LK is that uh we reappoint uh Miss cind to Kimmel to be the person from our area to represent R schools so um do I have a motion to uh appoint uh Miss uh Tom Kim to be the District representative to First Steps forth I gladly make that motion thank you do I have a second thank you m any discussion very n all those in favor um I'll oppose motion carries s s and uh we welcome her back in this position of course she's with us anyway in this specific role so following this um we have a series of policies that were up for um first read at the last meeting uh that are now on the extion agenda I

045believe all of no I'm wrong the first one is uh policy jig s safety uh it is second read we do have Mr or Dr wils up here for questions should we need it as well as our uh District yours um do we have any questions on this if not I'll entertain a motion to approve policy JLG so move thank you Mr Burns do I have a second M Lon any discussion very ni all those in favor following that we have um policy jlc DB use of epinephrine Auto ejectors all s for second gred uh do we have any questions for Dr WIS no if so um I will entertain a motion to approve policy jlc DB thank you Miss Cole do I have a second M Lon um any discussion very none all those

046in favor all post were you in favor M so no one motion here 7 Z next up is a series of policies um which we have Miss Morrison here for questions we have them we have IH gied and talented education um any questions regarding this policy very motion to approve thank you Missle second thank you Miss Douglas any discussion very none [Music] next up is policy ik I report cards and progress reports do we have any questions regarding that one if so I'll entertain the motion to approve Mo thank you Mr Burns do I have a second second thank you Miss Cole any discussion bu none all those in favor all oppos motion carries 70 uh next up would be policy ik and its administrative role promotion retention and acceleration of students any questions regarding

047that one uh I like a motion to approve thank you Miss I have a second Lon any discussion very none all those in favor hisory all the post motion cares uh and last but not least would be policy ikf ik f-r graduation requirements do I have any questions that one no uh if so legislative motion to approve so Mo thank you do I have a second second thank you Mr burs any discussion very now all those in [Music] favor all post motion car 7 Z next up is our Communications segment and for policy BH citizen can sign up in advance to speak to the board regarding topics of Interest pertaining to the board thats operations of the school district the board may have follow off comments or questions following these presentations from these speakers which

048makes the segment a little different than your regular public participation you do have to sign up by meeting the Wednesday prior to meeting to face on the agenda policy allows for about 30 minutes um that us a large doet um it is cust for us extend that to five minutes or so per speaker so with that is it acceptable to the board that we give about five or seven minutes per speaker um so with that I'm going to start off with welcoming uh individuals who are representing mentoring matters at your Elementary good evening board chair Miller Vice chair nozel board members Dr schaly and viewing audience you know this year we invited our mentors back into our buildings and grew our programs to up to 40 programs in our schools tonight we'd like to highlight

049one of those fabulous programs at York Road Elementary in partnership with winr University and so we have Professor L Stevens tonight welcome thank you good evening good evening I brought some thank you so um probably about eight years ago our leadership team in the College of Business um had a discussion around getting our students outside the classroom and giving them more hand own experience and so we talked about it in our in our meetings a few times um I kept you know telling my D we need to get these students outside the classroom and start you know programs in the community community service service and so and so forth I had no idea that they were going to ask me to be the leader of teaching that class and so about two years ago um

050uh two three years ago my Dean came to me and asked me could I create a service gring class I started from a blank canvas the lot of research different um program across the country and realize that that um here in yourk County D Rock Hill where I reside there's great need in our community so in my research I found that we have a a really large unhoused population in Rock Hill so the first two years um my students um 40 students in this one particular class um I had eight groups of of five um students and we helped the unhoused population here in in York County um my my true passion is working with with young people kindergarten through college age um and so I was I said well what can we do Beyond

051working with the homeless population in York County and so again um going to a lot of basketball games on campus I realized how great the backtack program was and and and knowing you know imine from church and know Miss Williams which you know um been a friend of mine from South Carolina state days I called them emailed them January of of this year and I said what can we do as a partnership with win through University College of Business particularly my service learning class in Rock School right upstairs we brainstormed about the back to pack program and Mentor matters and when I tell you those young ladies were a delight to work with they were just absolutely fantastic as my battery begins to shut down so um so what we decided to do was um

052my class of now of then 38 students we worked with we decided to do the mentor and matters program with York R elementary school and with Richmond Drive um our first meeting was January this year classes start January of that same year so we didn't have enough time to do all the planning around on both schools so we decided to just work with York R elementary school and when I tell you uh Miss Pat and ser Williams were were so instrumental in helping me get this program going and so once I got to your Road I had a chance to um um meet with Miss how and Miss Ro and they just were fantastic as well and help with this program so what we did twice a month um because our students have class Monday

053and Wednesday so twice a month started late January this this current year they would they would go over to yorro elementary school and Mentor fourth and fifth grade students and um some of my some of my students didn't understand I really didn't have a passion for serving and I love serving so I Tred to instill to them you know serving is just as much about you know giving than you know than rece and everything and so one day in after their very first time going to York Road Elementary School my students fell in love with those fourth and fifth grade students it was so refreshing to see that Young Generation Um having the passion to give and so in that class I don't give exams I I have them do Reflections the first reflection was

054prior to go the York Road and some were saying I don't want to serve I don't have time to serve making all these excuses the second reflection was about their first experience and I was amazed in two short weeks how their attitudes and mentalities have changed around serving so it's actually really cool to see um so again we had two groups about 12 12 students going to York roads they talked to these students about smart goals now you talking about fourth grade and fifth grade kids talking about smart goals that was really impressive to me they played all types of games um I went there every single pretty much every single time my S was there I went there as well and we just sat on the floor I can barely get off the floor

055sometimes but we sat on the floor just had a good time with these you know ask asking questions playing games so on and so forth had a really good time um my students been a lot closer in h students so they talked about being middle school kids talk about being high school kids just great refreshing conversations and they had so much fun I would look around the room I think my students had more fun the kids at York Road so our plan next year this um this coming spring spring of 25 we're going to definitely um work with York Road and um Richmond Drive Elementary School this coming year so again my students love the program Miss how Miss Ro Miss Williams Miss Pat I so appreciate those ladies they were absolutely fantastic the partnership

056with with Rock Hill schools I have three daughters all graduated from Rock Hill schools um we we love Rock Hill schools so so thank you guys so much for being a great partner it was such a joy this past semester work with Rock Hill schools particularly York Ro elementary school thank you so [Applause] much the love and passion that you just have an A to how care these kids thank you for that yeah and next up uh would be Communications uh Maria eloi regarding policy JB AC welcome good evening school board members teachers staff parents and students I stand here tonight to discuss a crucial topic that impacts the future of our community and the growth of our children the importance of fostering an inclusive and respective environment in our schools our schools are more

057than just a place of learning they are the foundation of our community they shape the minds and hearts of our next Generation teaching them not only academic knowledge but also the values of Social and emotional skills such as empathy respect and understanding now I don't have a degree from Brown University or any I Lee College I'm not a doctor or a psychologist however I do have experience in the mental health field and I've been a part of many communities that Foster mental health awareness and suicide I'm a certified peer support specialist here in the state of South Carolina and I've experienced on many levels working with mental health related issues such as PTSD depression addiction and gender identity related issues such as gender dysphoria however I'm not here to speak on those on that as

058a bigger concern which just go hand in hand that has come to light among our schools I'm here to discuss the matter that has raised raised significant concerns among parents parents students staff and Educators the safety and privacy of our high school girls in school in our school bathrooms particularly particularly in the presence of a biological male who identifies as a transgender woman school school should be an environment where every student feels secure and respected especially in the spaces as private and personal as bathrooms resp recent discussions regarding bathroom access have been brought have brought concerns that may have have that may be addressed with sensitive and serious sensitivity and seriousness I've spoken with multiple high school girls who prefer to stay Anonymous expressing apprehension about the potential risks associated with allowing transgender women individuals

059who are born with an XY chromosome at Birth but identify as a female to use the female bathrooms the primary concern that was expressed to me is the safety and comfort of these girls who feel vulnerable in these private spaces I have heard a few state that female bathrooms may have stalls and that they should be safe enough however the Stalls in a female bathroom do not always provide a level of safety and privacy that is necessary they are not foolproof incidents of bullying harassment and even assault can and do occur regardless of having stalls we need to acknowledge these risks and take proactive steps to address them now as Dr Edwards clearly stated in her statement at the previous school board meeting and I quote advocating for transgender girls a very small population close

060quote while I'm here to advocate for those girls who don't just feel uncomfortable and discomfort but generally feel unsafe With Boys in their bathroom I will be a voice for those girls who feel like they can't speak on their own behalf on their own due to being bullied or being called names as transphobic or homophobic I will be a voice for those girls because their safety is valid their feelings are valid and they deserve to be taken seriously being a voice for our girls means standing up for the safety privacy and comfort in their school environment and let me be clear there are many of those multiple in multiple schools who have not felt safe comforted or respected in regard to the situation in conclusion this issue is not about discrimination or exclusion in fact

061there were statements regarding that such accommodations were offered by Dr SMY and the staff there have been accommodations in place for years having a private single-use bathroom that any student can use in this case so they do not feel having a private single used bathroom that any student can use in this case that they do not feel comfortable or safe using in a standard bathroom this helps respect everyone's needs and preferences I believe implementing and enforcing a clear policy is ensuring the safety and respect of all students let us commit to creating an environment where every student feels sec here and valid and valued thank you for your attention and dedication to the and the wellbeing of our students next up would be Miss Amanda Oaks thank you so much for allowing this time and

062allowing us to be here today to speak on this issue um I want to start out with the mission and vision of rco schools um the mission of rockco schools is we will provide all students with a challenging work that ethically not that authentically engages them in the learning process and prepares them for successful Futures the vision we are to build we are building a rock solid foundation education for children to experience success I stand before you this evening in support of the policy jpac as a mom of two students at the Rock in Rock Hill School District this is a matter of safety and privacy for all individuals not just those who identify as transgender allowing transgender transg trans tendered children to use the bathroom of their choice opens the door for potential abuse

063and discomfort for other students allowing these students to use the bathroom of their choice would create a sense of an ease and vulnerability on among students not only students but staff as well just because you identify as something or someone doesn't mean that you are I believe if you open that one door you open many doors up for this policy such as sporting events graduation and recognition Services I know personally that I would not feel safe in these situations furthermore giv the choice can lead to incidents of harassment and assault Predators could and will take advantage of this policy to gain access to vulnerable individuals in a private setting regardless of the bathroom stalls honestly stalls create a number of other safety issues this is a small Pro population of students that are asking to

064have this accommodation while the majority will have to comply my children do not understand the meaning of transgender must last why boys are allow in girls restrooms and vice versa why because I don't feel like this in an age appropriate discussion for my children however the way of the world is pushing this agenda making many parents have this discussion before we ble as aopr as stated above in the mission and vision of roal school district that has nothing to do with the social justice or accommodation of feelings but the education of our children in 2020 we followed the science when it came to the safety our children why are we not following the science today it is important to uphold Traditional Values and Norms when it comes to bathroom usage there are separate facilities for

065male and females for a reason to ensure the safety of everyone baning this practice is a responsible and ethical choice to make in order to maintain a safe and secure and comfort for everyone that's involved I urge you and beg you today to pass this policy because if you do not pass I feel that many parents will have hard decisions to make for the Safety and Security of their children in the thank you so much [Applause] good evening Steve I'm a local Pastor parent and very active volunteer in the rockvill schools uh and I will be speaking for policy JBC the uh student physical privacy policy I appreciate the board giving this opportunity to share tonight and talk about this very important issue um and look forward to next month uh your vote to support

066unanimously this policy it's very important we protect the privacy of our young ladies um with the time taking the time and the potential political resis involved here I appreciate you all stepping up and doing that boys are working too but for all practic practical purposes this policy an urgent need to protect our young ladies the Rocko schools for several of the most recent years reminded us frequently that their highest priori the safety and well-being of our students and faculty I agree safety is a serious concern and this policy provides needed measures for every student in our school to have a sense of safety in one of the most vulnerable places on our campus the boys and girls attending our schools deserve to know that when they enter a restroom or loer room there will not

067be anyone in the opposite sex present in any capacity there's no normal situation in the day when a young lady should come face to face with a boy in the bathroom not while washing her hands adjusting her outfit or even checking her teeth after lunch that brings us to the specific issue at hand I'm grateful that the policy before us takes into account the additional vulnerabilities of students with unique needs you've provided a viable and reasonable accommodation to students who have reasons to be uncomfortable in the boys or girls restrooms I'm aware that some students who are wheelchair bound have medical issues or even eating disorders are able to come to the administration and request access to a single stall restroom this accommodation is also available to any student dealing with gender dorant essentially this

068accommodation is available to any student upon request tonight you'll likely hear from other members of our community which you have who disagree with me these folks believe a student dealing with gender dysphoria should be allowed to use the restroom that they they feel meets their identity there's several questions I'd love to have them answered first question is when was the last time a young lady dealing with gender dysphoria in the Rock Hill schools demanded use of the male restroom I'd like to know when that was number two what measures would they put in place to keep boys from Faking gender dysphoria for the moment in order to gain access to the girls restroom or locker room third who will determine that a child actually has gender dysphoria for the purpose of giving them access to

069the other bathroom please don't leave this to our teachers and administrators to discern the last question I'd asked him I think it's one of the more important which is how much money would each of them be willing to put us put in escrow should a sexual assault take place in one of our schools because we allowed a boy in the girl's bathroom brings me to my last point the legal issue I understand it's possible that the ACLU or others may bring suit against the district should this policy be approved I fine let's spend the money where we need to I don't like the idea of the cost the Press would certainly be interesting the ACLU is the very group that years ago fought hard for the rights of women I find it interesting that today

070they're fighting to remove those rights from women both for their protection like we see in Title Nine and access to sports and other things U but also um the fair opportunities that girls and women now have access to so now they want to give those to men and boys in environments created for women I find that interesting I'd much rather we spend money defending ourselves against an agenda-driven group like this and then pay massive damages to a family we fail to protect Len County of Virginia is being sued for $30 million right now because of an incident related around a sexual assault in what was to be a transgender child attacking a girl in a high school bathroom there's also a current assault case in Oklahoma that is ongoing in closing through my research and

071through our work we understand that one in Four Women report to have been sexually abused in their lifetime the vast majority occurring before the age of 18 I'm thankful for you and for our district to be leaders and doing what you can to reduce this risk on our campus the policy also protects those girls who have already experienced Trauma from a triggering event like having a boy surprise her in the girl's bathroom should the stated accommodations not be sufficient for certain families there's one more accommodation that hasn't been mentioned that is the creation over the last few years by the state of South Carolina and The Rock Hill schools of a fully functioning Online Academy where these families can meet all their educational object objectives from the comfort of their home thank you for leadership

072and most importantly thank you for protecting our young ladies while accommodating the needs of every student to the best of your ability thank [Applause] you next up Miss lean SC good evening my name is lean I used to be a district employee teacher and a coach from 1997 to 2002 and entered early retirement when I became a mom I an active volunteer in Roo schools currently I am proud parent of now three alumni in do schools Rachel in 2020 Carl II in 2022 and Laura just last Friday my many thanks to the seven of you that serve on our school board for the work that you do because of your love for our community you have a difficult job and you have to listen to lots of opinions and I thank you for the tact

073and the grace that you do that well my husband and I have encouraged each of our three children to take advantage of the opportunities this District offered at all levels Elementary Middle high school they were all heavily involved in school activities including Sports leadership opportunities music service clubs travel and ATC courses we've had conversations with each of them regarding this proposal over the last few weeks and here are some of the things we've discussed as a family and that they have shared from their personal experiences in our schools I'm here tonight to support and to support on behalf of my family of five and of many others I'm going to mention this evening policy jbac that ensures that biological females use female restrooms changing rooms locker rooms and have female roommates on overnight school trips

074and also that biological males use male restrooms changing rooms locker rooms and have mail roommates on overnight school trips I fully support the opportunity for students with physical emotional Digestive and psychological struggles to have a single user B option available our youngest daughter currently has a best friend with physical struggles and she uses that accommodation happily our oldest daughter works with students with diverse and special needs and sees how accommodations can be made for students very successfully my youngest daughter Laura and I traveled with a group of Northwestern teachers students and parents last summer on a EUR trip she and I had a discussion about how this proposal would protect female students like herself from having to room with a male on a trip especially out of the country and it also protects male students

075from having to a room with a fale my son wrestled in middle school and we talked about how some of his teammates had the uncomfortable situation where they had to wrestle against a female now this was before female wrestlers had their own classifications and divisions there was concern because those boys are going to have to touch a young woman in an aggressive physical Manner and there would be no honor in meeting her and there would be some level of perceived shame if she beat them we encouraged his teammates to do their best if that situation arose and it did and to wrestle in a manner that they would be proud of when leaving the M it was difficult for those young men on the wrestling team and I see that situation and how it translates

076to the awkwardness and uncomfortable feelings that young ladies would have with a male sharing their restroom their locker room and hotel room my daughters each talked about horrific in a PE locker room in a team locker room where sport that they play and to have to find that they have shared that changing space with a male it would be very vulnerable to change into a uniform the male right there and don't forget that we would occasionally have 14-year-old females sharing a bathroom or a lock of room room with potentionally an 18-year-old male a senior in high school that's the danger of this each of these situations are preventable by adults who are put in positions to protect all students and that is why we must pass this proposal personally I work with athletes and coaches

077in this district and others in our County the female athletes that I regularly see in a new relationship with are already afraid of the quickly eroding athletic freedoms that they currently enjoy they see the day is coming where will intemp to encroach on their ability to compete fairly against other women men competing on women's Playing Fields gives men an unfair advantage and it takes spots that should be reserved for women to compete in their sport allowing men into spaces where women should feel safe to use the restroom change their clothes or sleep at night is the first step and remove the opportunity for women to compete against only women save our Sports sharing my thoughts with you this evening I can tell you that the young ladies I see today more than ever struggle with

078anxiety body image and self worth to put them in situations where they are now vulnerable with the mail only increases their anxieties I plead with each of you to take this first step towards protecting and defending all students by passing this proposal that would require students to facilities including restrooms changing rooms locker rooms and shared overnight spaces based on their biological Suess thank you for your [Applause] time Michelle is next is it okay oh I so sorry yes you correct I my mistake I'm jumping ahead I'm so sorry my apologies m Michelle King also speaking on policy JB thank you so much for having me my name is Michelle King and I am speaking in support of the proposed privacy protection measure um I have a son who's a recent graduate from Rock Hill High

079he graduated in 2024 and my daughter is a rising senior at Rock Hill High we've been students for their entire educational career and I've been an active volunteer for I think 14 years now at Le Count um but because of that I've been able to spend countless of hours with our students at every age group elementary middle and high school um and I can tell you they're a wonderful group of students that are trustworthy that vable they're smart they have a lot of potential and they've been served really well by The Rock Hill School District and by this board so I thank you um my son and my daughter are also real life people they're not agendas or issues or ideas they are individual humans who have real experiences in our schools and it's easy

080to look at the world around us and say well it's changed and those experiences that common when you and I were children and students are not the same experiences that our children are having and while there's some truth to that I would remind you that the vast majority of the experiences that they have really are come and really haven't changed all that much it's tempting to think that the world is a different place now and the same rules don't apply anymore but I would remind you that the vast majority of Rock Hill School District students are currently enjoying the privacy and protection of their dignity that comes along with having gender specific male only and female only restrooms and changing rooms available to them clear use I would also remind you that the common experiences

081that you can remember from your own in your own childhood would inform your decision about what their experience might change to become life Tru can not protect their right to access to these Single Sex spaces I also want to remind you that the worst case scenario is not really the only scenario to consider because there are going to be normal immediate everyday problems and harm for our students students if we were to not protect their rights to these kinds of single gender spaces so I'm just going to ask you to remember think back to your own experiences and I'll share with mine I remember being a 13-year-old girl huddled in the corner of the farthest stall of the girl's bathroom as slowly and quietly as possible opening a feminine hyene product maybe I'm the only

082one that I had that experience I live in Mortal rad that another girl would be able to figure out that I was on that period but in 8th grade went on I realized that all the other girls felt the same way and a solidarity grew between us by the end of that year our shared experience with our unique female bodies made us advocate for one another and get over are here girls would borrow supplies from one another in a time of need girls would check the back of each other's pants at the sinks and make sure nothing was showing that shouldn't be we would trade shirts if someone experienced a protection failure and needed a longer top to cover up the stain we checked to make sure each other's bra straps were't showing we protected

083each other's privacy and dignity I wonder what you remember from back time in your life ladies would you really have been comfortable in the vulnerable state of iMed or partially ENT rest at 13 or 15 or 17 with male students in the bathroom or locker room with you were you ready at those ages to be exposed to mail Mee did you trust 13 or 15 or 17-year-old male students to protect your privacy and your dignity did you trust them to handle with maturity and sensitivity things like feminine hygiene would you feel safe if each one of those male students have a phone with a camera in his pocket and a platform from which he could share any image and caption it any way he wanted it to an audience of literal thousands gentlemen would you

084have really been comfortable in vulnerable state of Being Ned or partially undressed with a biological female 14 and 12 Ines from you similarly disrobing would you have been equipped to handle the pressure of that situation would you have felt like your privacy or your digity will may be ever forcing all of our students to give up the right to a guaranteed male only or female only restroom puts all of our students in a situation where these kinds of experiences are guaranteed to be ones they walk through not the worst case scenario of violence which is definitely possible but every day distraction and harm done by fear because fear is real and fear does matter because girls who are afraid to go to the bathroom spend 45 minutes at their calculus block worrying about whether or

085not they have have AR on their je instead of learning calculus girls who are afraid to go to the bathroom experience physical discomfort that distracts them in their AP biology they adopt avoidance behavior so that they don't put themselves in situations that they know creates vulnerability we must protect them from this because if we don't we reduce the quality of our educational opportunities offered by the district the fear and discomfort itself harms our students even if they are never victims of an act of M it's your obligation to protect them and it's in your power to do so please protect access to all female bathrooms and changing rooms for our PRS and access to all male bathrooms and Chang rooms for our boys remember your own experiences don't let anyone tell you that you don't

086know what's doing for students don't let anyone tell you that you just don't understand you've been there you know some of what these kids you go through and your common sense matters even if everyone around you says the world changing in IND thank [Applause] you up time good evening superintendent small Miller and board members I want to thank you for the opportunity to come and speak to you tonight about the pred student privacy policy I'm a Rock Hill schools volunteer a mom of two Rockhill scho school students and the wife of a 22-year employee of Rock Hill schools and I want to start by thanking you for taking seriously the concerns that brought about this proposed policy I want to thank you Mr nozel for acting swiftly on these concerns to develop a comprehensive policy

087aimed at protecting student privacy as a board you have a very difficult job and that you are tasked with providing a safe learning environment for all students this means that you often have to consider competing viewpoints and look for the solution that does the greatest good for the greatest number of people while minimizing burden on others impacted by your decisions I believe this policy achieves that goal by ensuring that group bathrooms and changing areas are single sex while providing an accommodation for those who prefer not to use single sex group bathrooms this option protects the vulnerable by providing a private and safer space for everyone while I truly do believe that everyone here tonight wants the same thing which is a safe and comfortable learning environment for all students there are differing views on the

088best way to get there tonight I want to speak on behalf of those who aren't here in person but who also support your policy as I do I know from your last meeting that you wanted to hear public input and that each of you have received emails from individuals who have expressed their support of this policy also started an online petition in support of your policy in hopes that I could bring you a report of overwhelming support which I believe I'm able to do in six days the petition garnered 1,25 signatures in addition $888 was paid by supporters who opted to pay to promote this petition to others these supporters are people from right here in our community and from people whose family members attend Rock Hill schools some are students of Rock Hill schools

089it is clear that this is an important issue and I hope that their voice is clearly heard by this board tonight I wanted to share some of the comments that was that were made by petition supporters most comments centered around the importance of protecting all students particularly girls who are understandably very uncomfortable using gr bathrooms changing areas and overnight facilities with students of the opposite sex one parent stated that the safety of children is the top priority as a parent and it's what we expect from educational institutions another said that everyone deserves privacy in these types of spaces and one mom expressed concern about her vulnerable daughter with special needs in Rock Hill schools she stated that she does not want her daughter to share a restroom or changing area with a biological male and

090that all females deserve the same consideration and protection I think we can agree that all of our students are vulnerable in different ways but asking students to be okay with sharing private spaces with groups of the opposite sex is opening up the door to potentially Troublesome and dangerous situations and exposing children to unnecessary fear concern and Trauma our schools are supposed to be safe places for students and I urge you to take action to ensure the safety of all students if you do not adopt this policy I believe it will force students and parents to make tough decisions that will have unwanted consequences such as taking steps to avoiding restroom use opting out of participation in sports creating a backlog at any private single stall restroom facilities because large numbers of students May no longer

091choose to use group restroom facilities and finding alternate educational options in our community such as Charter Schools private schools and homeschooling options and we know that there are many of those options here in our community I want to thank you all for listening to the public on this important issue and I ask that you please show them that their voices were heard tonight by adopting this policy also brought a few copies of the petition if I'm able to leave those with you in case you like to see it [Applause] certainly Maria Ferguson good evening superintendent chairwoman board members my name is Maria Ferguson my husband Niles and I have three children in the district this past year our three kids were three different schools Mount gallon Elementary Dutchman Creek and Northwestern High School our youngest

092our daughter will be entering middle school in the fall I want to Echo my friend Amanda's thanks to the board for all of the work that you guys have put in to get us to this point and I want to thank you for the opportunity to share our my support of the motion at and um since I am well aware that I am speaker eight of nine I'm going to try to get to the point as fast as I can um so I want to go ahead and say that I'm here today because I'm concerned about the safety and well-being of all of our students across the district particularly my 11-year-old daughter as has already been stated this evening you guys have the responsibility of providing safe and comfortable facilities for all of our students

093to use during school hours and during school functions I recognize that this is no small small task based on our diverse student bodies and some of their changing needs tonight as you guys consider what changes or accommodations you need to make to the bathroom and locker room policies the one thing I urge is that you not allow any of these changes to increase the vulnerability of one group of students to meet the needs of another group allowing biological males to use women's bathrooms or locker rooms puts biological women in those facil facilities at risk of emotional or physical harm this accommodation has already caused distress to many young ladies at Rocko high school and it's just not a solution that benefits all students while no policy can eliminate all of the risk in our facilities

094you guys have the power to ensure that our young women including my middle school daughter can change her clothes use the restroom and do so without the risk of being in the presence of a biological man I'm here in support of policy jbac I see the policy as providing clear guidelines on restroom and locker room usage and it does offer a safe and private option for all students according to the policy any student that is unwilling or unable to use a restroom designated by their sex May request to use an alternative facility now I recognize that this solution is not a perfect solution I empathize with the concern that students using these alternative facilities May potentially feel singled out from their peers during my middle school and high school years in rockvill schools as a

095Spanish speaking Puerto Rican student I did my very best to lend in to avoid those feelings of being different or single out and yet those feelings of discomfort couldn't be avoided at all times I believe that the although the jbac policy may not eliminate the potential of that discomfort the discomfort of feeling different I do think it's the best solution to address the issues at hand and keep all of our students safe I urge you to vote Yes on the policy and thank [Music] you next up Missy Thomas also home policy J all right uh just to begin to any of the lgbtq particularly queer trans young people who may be un sound of my voice or who may watch this later I need you to know that you are worthy I need you to

096know that the fears that have been expressed here they do not define who you are and I also need you to know that there are people across the state who will continue to fight for you regardless of what happens within this school district and this policy I am aiming my remarks at the adults in the room today because that's should be making determination okay I'm going to redirect to the adults all right good evening my name is Courtney Thomas my pronouns are she and they and I am here representing the American civil liberties Union of South Carolina yes that ACLU uh it is the opinion of the ACLU of South Carolina that this proposed policy would violate Title 9 and should not be enacted we are aligned in our shared mission of wanting what is

097best for every child in Rock Hill schools I encourage you the adults to act in the best interest of every child in your care you are trustees in your role by definition you are entrusted to make a judgment on how this body's time and money are spent as you consider this policy please ask yourselves is this how I want to spend this District's time is this how I want to spend this District's money I hope to help you answer these questions through my comments today um and I do welcome your questions discriminatory bathroom policies like the one proposed here today are in direct violation of Title 9 which prohibits sex discrimination a recent update to the rule in April of this year clarified even further that title 9 prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation and

098gender identity that means if this policy should go into effect the Rock Hill School District would be subject to law and intervention from the federal government is that how you want to spend your time and money I'll get even more specific we saw a policy like this play out in Virginia Gavin Grim a transgender boy sued his school for discrimination under Title 9 and the equal protection Clause of the Constitution I'll skip to the end because what you need to know is at the fourth Circuit of the US court of appeals our very same circuit ruled in Gavin's favor in fact the Supreme Court even weighed in when they declined to hear the case and affirmed the fourth circuit's decision instead of following the law that school district in Virginia cost Virginia taxpayers $1.3 million

099and six years of legal balance and since you know this body is in budget season I know that's a fun time for y'all I I do want to remind folks here um exactly what's at stake a violation of Title 9 does endanger the federal funding that the school district does depend on just in 2022 this school district received 35.6 million from federal government that amounts to about just over $2,000 per student okay as Educators you should be in the business of Truth and I think is in our best interest to speak clearly and plainly this rule was proposed to fight a cultural War I guarantee you that's not why most of you join this body are you willing to fight a culture War at the expent of not just your time and money but of

100the very children you are charged to protect I don't take the fears of children mindly I don't but I do know that the solution to fear is education when cisgender girls say they feel unsafe in a bathroom with transgender girls our role as the adults in the room is to educate them inform them and prepare them for the real world not to enable their fears by playing in the stereotypes or the political agendas of adults transgender people are not Predators they're going into the bathroom to use the bathroom we are adults again and this is an opportunity for Education not discrimination these fears exist because of messaging young people are exposed to that says they should be afraid but again our job is to educate here's a fact and a sad one the sad fact

101is that transgender children are more likely to be victims of violence than perpetrators of violence that was unfortunately demonstrated just this last week in Minnesota when a transgender student was attacked by six gender boys as she exited the boy's bathroom this resulted in a broken job lost teeth and a compound fracture which led to reconstructive surgery after the incident the student said said I try to use any gender neutral or family restroom options if they're available but when I'm not given that option or when it's tough between my classes I use the men's rest through because it's what makes everyone around me the least amount of uncomfortable and making other people uncomfortable is something that I try not to do it's my worst fear in that statement the student told world that she put her

102own fears second to those around her that's not something we ask of any other student as a product of South Carolina Public Schools I can tell you what I was actually afraid of in high school I was worried about class sizes that didn't allow me to get the time and attention of my already overworked Educators I worried about the very real threat of an active teer I worried about my peers Who were settled with lunch and couldn't eat the same meals I had I wasn't worried about what happened in the bathroom stall next to me in fact I would be embarrassed to be thinking about the person in the stall next to me if you decide to pass this blatantly discriminatory policy I'd like to show you your future the millions of dollars that you

103spend defending this policy it's just the beginning this discrimination would impact every single student teacher and administrator in this District who would enforce this policy how would they enforce it I can't imagine teachers would be interested in potty policing when they're already underpaid and overworked maybe administrators then which vice principal at each school would be assign assigned to cross reference birth certificates and after taxes the policy lends itself to because at its core it is discriminatory and unforce your decision about this policy should be guided by the law and not fear I know a lot of what you heard today it's it's heavy and I don't take that fear lightly but as decision makers for every student in this school district you should follow the law and I know it it it's it's tough you

104know but I don't want you to be swayed by the voices of a few into not following what the law of the United States says okay I encourage you to reject this policy and again I all in your questions thank [Applause] you yes sir are you a lawyer I am not a lawyer but I know you are sir but so you're telling us what the law is I am a person who can read title n and title N I just want I just want to be clear and go on the record are you telling us what the law is I'm telling you that tit line applies to the Rock Hill School District yes I'm telling you that that's you're not that's it that's you're not telling us what the law is it is your job

105to interpret the law however the guidance from the federal government explicitly says how that law should be interpreted and that is you know the role of the Federal Government yes it just sounded like you were telling us what the law was thank you I'd like to Rel in sir like what what are you what are you trying to get at because Title 9 does protect transgender girls I was just simply asking if you were a lawyer because you were telling us what the law was and I just wanted to be I don't need a law degree okay well that's I just yeah so you're not a lawyer no sir I'm not a lawyer are you telling us what the law is okay sure okay thank you sure thank you thank you Qui question yes sir

106just curious uh last year we lost three students due to a transgender trial because um miscommunication and to understand there was know mental health issues for the other kids all three of those kids pack up and left that's about $54,000 that's one teacher what would you recommend us do to keep these kids in these schools and keep them safe I'm sorry could you what was the last year we lost three kids out of salute Trail Middle School due to a transgender child because one child did not know the kid was transgender and thought it was another it was a girl and so therefore mental healthwise for the kid that was confused did did not know that it was a girl it was actually a boy so how do we stop this because I lost three

107kids I $54,000 of funding from the federal government state and the local government so it's about $118,000 for kid here so I lost 54,000 which is approximate what we had a beginning teacher close to it and so how how do you recommend us fix this problem I encourage you to refer to transgender people by their pronouns and not it so we'll start there I do also think it is important to educate these students about their computers so I'm not saying that fear is irrelevant however the decision of a parent to take a student out of a school is not based on the existence of another child you want to talk to his parents I'm more than happy to speak to this anything further that's it for me unless there are questions this say thank you

108thank so next up is our presentation segment um and I probably need to just because of the you audience so clarify that um under our presentations we sometimes have segments that are just a simple presentation as for the board this is also where our policies are up for first read that lives in our document and what that means is that the policy is for representative to the board and then it will be put um out to our school Community for input just like we do every single month we have a series of those policies and as you know tonight we've had a large interest in one of our policies um jbac that is op I going to say this to say but there will be no vote on this tonight this is a first read

109of this policy so um it will go out for public input at after this so uh first up under presentation uh is not a policy it is employee well-being and it say I up here good evening mad shair uh board members and Dr small and community members um I'm here tonight just to introduce uh Miss Brenda young she serves in our HR department as our uh employee well-being manager she is a great resource to our employees just wanted heard to do a short presentation tonight to give you some insights into some of the trends we are seeing uh how we addressing those Trends and and some of the resources that are available to our our employees okay thank you good evening everyone um as Darren said I am coming forth with a brief presentation of

110what our year has been um for the well-being team as the wellbeing branch of HR our ultimate goal we seek to create a healthy work environment for all our employees um research has showed us that the best way and employers to prioritize employee wellbeing see higher retention rates so our goal is to reduce those in the workplace and encourage attention um our being team we oversee a number of federally Med medical mandated Acts including FMLA which is Our Family Medical Leave Act and Ada Americans with Disabilities Act and over the course of this past school year we've seen an increase in Ada requests um leaning towards purchases and accommod ations regarding technology um and work space adjustments so we are paying attention to those Trends and looking to how to approach that in the uncoming

111um school year we also manag the sickle bank which any employees who are enrolled into that program are allowed if they have any catastrophic incidents where they need additional sick leave if they are part of that program they can apply for additional sick time and the sick Le board can make the accommodation or make the approval or of those uh applications um our other incentives that we are focusing on including the employee assistant program that person offers with counseling sessions we are doing a deeper dive to push the incentives that they offer for Life management skills including caregiving we know we have a lot of caregivers within our district um and just child care and other things that you may need during different um transition um throughout the school year so our goal is to

112nurture a workplace culture in climate and these are some of the things we've done this school year in collaboration our primary thing is to bridge collaborations between departments we've done a lot of work with um our benefits department and letting know our employees know that there are built-in he of parts that they may not recognize that they have um also within our um EAP program as well working with mental health with our Wellness spere and things like that this year and we look forward to expanding on that in the uncoming years so looking ahead these are the things that we as a well-being team you can expect from us within the first 90 days of the next school year this is what we're looking to do we've already made contact with many Community Partners and

113other departments to hit the ground running at the beginning of next school year to bring this to fruition and so we just wanted to share a few pictures of some of our events and things that we have done this school year in collaboration with our departments and community members and thankful for all the support that the board and cabinet has given us throughout the school year and if you have any questions just thank you I have have questions um I think this yeah my question is when you go back with the accolades and tell us exactly what they mean FMLA FMLA is Family Medical Leave Act and Ada is the Americans with Disability Act okay and EAP EAP is employee assistant program than you yes ma'am I want to thank you team for all that

114you do I've attended a lot of your celebrations and collaborations and it's great to see our employees um getting to know each other and um you know I love our uh learning to rock programs and all of those things I do have a question in regarding to the sick Leaf Bank okay um now I know that to apply for those hours in the sick Leaf Bank you have to be in it and have given hours but I there's been um some situations in our schools with employees who are not in the sick Lea Bank who have catastrophic illnesses or um family issues and needing the time off and we've had other teachers who are willing to donate their own personal days um and we're told that that could not be done and I was just

115wondering why is there you know um at the moment every employee as they come in as a new hire they have the ability to enroll into the employee um sly Bank um there is an enrollment period each time of year where if you didn't do it initially that you could do it at a later date in time um so to try to keep a structure in the system um to where it's not kind of out of control and where we can manage um things and keep it streamlined for the board to review those applications currently if you're a member of the sick Le bank and you need to apply that's how it's been handled this far um and it's been the best way to keep everything under management and streamline in that way um FMLA

116um is also available to those employees um and we do as much as we can to assist any employees with making sure that they are accommodated or if they need time to work with business services to see what their options are if they not part of checking your head you know so there's no way that anything could happen you know they're not asking for the sick leave bank and I know that some people who are in the sick Leaf Bank you know apply and you know don't get it um these are hours you know that one teacher has a lot of extra hours um there's no way that hours can be be shared among friends yeah that's that's the issue really is um to keep it Equitable and fair um because what could happen is

117there's favor s at school that teachers will donate to and then what about this other teacher who might be new to the family there they don't know the culture yet and then they're forced to ask those teachers will you donate your days to me um it just sets up a bad workplace so to keep it under one roof that is managed is the way to do that legally um I know it seems cruel to that person that's told no but to keep it fair for everybody that's I think that's the best way to go about this thank you thank you well thank you so much for sharing all the [Music] than you next up um really a series of policies um that are all coming from Miss Morrison so make yourself comfortable as you go

118through bcdef and all right the first policy that I'm presenting tonight um is a revision to a curent policy which is ihac which is social studies education and dist District staff we're proposing replacement of the current ihac social studies education with a new model policy that was provided by the South Carolina School boards Association um when you read that uh the the subjects within social studies that are listed are about the same uh there's a slight rewarding of purpose of the teaching of social studies um there's the inclusion of it's important to focus on state standards and um the model policy removes or the revision would actually remove reference to Constitution citizenship day and Veterans Day because it's actually in another policy now so those are the minor changes can I answer any questions about

119the social studies policy shall we proceed so next we have imda which is a policy about patriotic exercises so this is a new policy um and um it really follows along with uh the state superintendent of Education was directed uh by the legislature to require students to observe Patriots Day the week of Constitution Day and patriotism week uh that includes November 11th by holding appropriate ceremonies events and assemblies as well as developing appropriate curricula um gives some guidance around what that might look like and then uh disc really includes that schools must provide time for youth patriotic societies uh to present information to students during the school day and have some guidance related to that uh when you look at the the model policy here the Constitution Day language is the same the Veterans Day

120language is the same it was just simply removed policy and put into this one uh the patriotism weak language is new and the youth patriotic society's language is new but it is also fairly specific in the actual policy and does give a list of appropriate um patriotic societies can I answer any questions or are there any concerns about this one this again is model from school boards Association small correct okay then we have uh for your consideration our proposed policy indb which is flag and mod of displays it's a new policy reflecting new legislation passed and this word um legislature um has added new requirements for schools aimed at increasing patriotic awareness and Civic involvement by displaying National and state models and flags as well as providing access to students by our patri societies that

121was discussed in the last um policy and you can see sort of the requirements of what would need to be displayed in the actual policy can I answer any questions related to this so obviously this is fr gr and it's something we'll move into second grade at a cons meeting uh this policy addresses some specific display do we have those to where we can implement the poliy yes we do we actually ahead and produce plats that have all the required um patriotic information the motos um everything that's actually in this policy and our plan is to go ahead and provide those to principles um most schools have some kind of display but this would give some uniformity across all of our schools and it would be it would it be a good and and uh

122it will look nice and um and it will be consistent with our schools so we have that we have any [Music] questions all right thank you very much actually m m Cherry do you have a question I had a question it was going back so quickly U and it was fing in out but my question was for poliac the social studies education if Miss Morrison uh she can hear you yes I can hear you okay on this policy I know that um there have been some bills passing in the in the U legislature and with the amended part the sections that are at the bottom are they inclusive of the new things that about the legislation right now um the legal references and if so do they be good up for Vie as far as

123or some other place where they can be compared to the policy as it is so M chry what I'm understanding is that you're um curious about how the code of laws and regulations that are cited at the end of the new uh the new model policy or the revised policy how they match up or don't match up uh to the current policy and you want some good explanation of that is that correct I think they be kind of breaking that for I I think I think that's what I heard but I think that what she was also asking for if she could get a comparison between the new and to you put in the hotline where sort of an accompan memo and I I would recommend in addition to that that maybe get get the

124since this is a model policy coming out of school boards Association possibly if if there's some kind of verbage in that policy packet um Regarding why the change was made to include there too okay I will make sure that we do that and we'll inove that I did I get that right Mr yeah that's basically [Music] it thank you all right thank you are there any other concerns right now or questions so I think we're ready for next the next one is um uh just a first read of revisions to ihcf which is a policy that has been existence in the district for quite a while about child care programs the current policy um actually the way that it reads it would require us to provide child care at the middle school level this is

125not something that we've done in practice nor we don't have the funds or staff really to actually do that and so the amendment in here the revision is really about limiting it to Elementary any questions so that brings you to one more yes right all right so the last one is very exciting that comes in part of the board on quite a few occasions and that is our revisions to JJ which is our textbook selection and adoption uh process the only thing that uh we changed to here is again matching to good practice that we already have in the district and so under selection process um it actually uh EXP expands the list of uh staff members that would be involved or potentially involved in a selection process and then everything else Remains the Same

126so um so it was a really minor change to actual practice now Elementary and secondary answer any questions about this one I don't so the last so we say thank you okay thank you next up is jbac good evening thank you all for being here this is the third first read for this policy um the only thing I do want to add is want to reiterate that it is sad that we are here this is common sense and we are going to protect the girls in our schools but I do want the public to know that how much um I appreciate and how hard the administration in rockco high work to to find an acceptable compromise for the student or students and same for you Dr I understand that you also got involved successfully you

127were not able to to arrange compromise and I know for all the accommodations that that were discussed earlier today student just said no so here we are with policy does anybody have any questions I would like to to say a few things in regards to this I truly understand the feelings and points of view that everyone's presented to me and to this board over the past couple of months I want to remind everyone that just because someone's perceptions might be different than our own it doesn't mean they're wrong for having those feelings everyone needs to remember that our district has both a kindness policy and a non-discrimination policy um a lot of the people that I love love differently than I do but it's my job to ensure the well-being of all students in our

128district when my daughter was a freshman she came home upset one day because there was a gay student who didn't like using the girl's locker room because she didn't want to make other students feel uncomfortable my daughter didn't care about the girl's sexuality she was concerned with her feelings and our decisions to help some students we have to consider the effects on other students as Mr bur said we had a situation in a middle school with two students dating the young lady was shocked to discover that the the student she was dating was transgender and this caused issues for both students I've spoken to several teachers and guidance counselors in our district who truly care for transgender students but they're also concerned about all the other students coming to them because they are stressed out

129and concerned about sharing bathrooms not because they're concerned about their safety but more so because they're embarrassed to be sharing those spaces as the one speaker talked young women are shared are embarrassed about sharing the spaces with each other um I'd like to have a presentation by our Administration on what options we've provided for students that are uncomfortable with using our school restrooms and about what other possible options we could offer I have been told that no matter what policies the board puts in place our administ ation will follow the law so we need to make sure that any policies we vote on will be something that our superintendent and our administrators um can support every child deserves to feel safe in the bathroom so the administration does not support bathrooms being separated by biological

130gender then they must provide a private bathroom for students that aren't comfortable with sharing a bathroom with students of a different biological gender our schoolman also do a better job with bullying I still remember the girl that bullied me in fifth and sixth grade and it did have some lasting effects on me but at least there wasn't social media keeping it going throughout the day and night on one of the days that I was at South Point not only did the stud did the teacher allow students that needed to go to the bathroom during class the opportunity to go but they also took a Class B break and I feel this was an excellent opportunity to care for our students and their needs having just six minutes between classes does it give our students time

131to go to the bathroom wash and try to dry their hands with the uh one old hand dryer in there that we have um and I still assert there should be paper towels in all our bathrooms but we'll disc just save that discussion for another day um but I think that we all need to work on coming together and finding ways that are going to make all of our students feel feel comfortable um you know I know that there's a lot of passion here everyone wants what's best for all students and um I know Mr dozel he's he's passionate because he cares about all of the students and we really need to um try and work together and come up with Solutions um because it's not fair to all students um or thank you thank

132you yes I would just like to add uh one thing in looking at the beginning of the policy it says The Rock Hill School Board of trustee believe that all students should feel safe and secure in their learning environment most of the night we've been hearing and talking about girls boys fit the same situation they go through a lot of uncomfortable situations and teasing and P pandemics and what have you so we have to look at the total picture and a lot of time children will do things on purpose like I might tell him I dare you to go in the girl's bathroom he going to run on in there because I'm daring it so we have a lot of things that takes place that's happening and especially with your middle school and your high

133schools and so we should take under consideration the key word we say all not just looking at the girls with transgender at every child when it comes to that and it would be nice if in the high schooling places we had enough time for the teacher to take children out to the restaurant but unfortunately it's not like with Elementary School you can have you have that time but I have experienced a lot and I know adolesence will do try to do just to be part of a group or either be smarter than the next person so we have a lot of things that we need to look at and I feel like this is one thing too that should be under the head of the principles and the assistant principls and teachers in the school

134and resource officers instead of the board dict take what my opion thank you thank you m Douglas we do need to keep all of our students safe we need to have safe secure schools our kids can learn yes Mr yes I would just like to share my concerns to this policy um not just being a trustee but also as a minister and that we should promote love and we are always stressing inclusivity and diversity so we should have in place or put in place diversity and inclusivity training for our students since we're having these problems to help them be prepared in dealing with this type of situation but being inclused wi that we should have uh options available for all of our students not just some but all of our students if we have to

135make accommodations do we make those accommodations as the district has been put it in place to uh have a safe environment for these students to go to if they so choose being a generic bathroom his her family oriented however you want to put the label on it or shower where they can go and be comfortable and be safe um I'm not stressing um so much as singling out but this time a spotlight on a group of students and it is a negative Spotlight and we should be inclusive being considerate assuring all of our students that we are for them and that includes the ones that go through the surgeries their birth certificates are changed if they choose um are now female instead of male or male instead of female so how would that apply in

136this m m Terry repeat the last sentence because you cut off a little bit okay the last sentence was in reference to those students who go through the surgery and the birth certificates are changed to reflect that instead of they're not female or vice versa so that should be taken into consideration as well we shouldn't do the labels we should treat every child as an individual and respect them that's just my concern thank you so so that includes the first policies um a for July meeting date um and um so most of oured bodies um init the summer we often have um the specific usually traditionally have in July with the prose of handle administ um we announce that date at this board meeting but given that we just elected to table the budget um

137you know we will have to come back before June 30th to either pass a new proposed budget or a continue resolution so because of that um Administration with um myself and vice chair has elected not to anoun of July board meeting for the simple reason that we may it and if we [Music] do and we'll revisit that when we revisit conversations so I just wanted you to be aware so um that means that we're moving on to the report of the superint we uh thank you for that flexibility uh I'm sure there's going to be a reason to get together especially season so I do predict that we may need a special call maybe in addition to the to the BU as well or hopefully we can do it at the same time I have

138a couple announcements um we've wrapped up an amazing year here in Rockville schools um I want to thank our community our families and students and staff for growing with us the school year um we put some changes in the classroom as far as our instruction we bolstered our mtss process in our plc's um and we hope to see that com fruition when it comes uh with State Testing and whatnot but our purpose is for every student to grow and we're not just looking at one test score we're looking at that across the board so hopefully that comes to fruition as far as students the 4K enrollment is now open um we can't say this enough to get involved in our schools early uh all research tells us that the earlier you can reach a child

139the better results they have so if your child is turning 4 years old honor before September 1st then it's time for 4K please check our website for the details on how to apply and enroll your soon to be student for families with 5year olds it's time for kindergarten register on our website this is every registered kindergarten student will get to participate in Kinder Camp uh which is if you've never experienced it I I encourage all board members to come take a trip that day it's fun to see the very first impression of a student coming through our doorways any family who has a student returning to Rockville schools in the fall needs to complete our verification process you should have received an email from Communications on May 8th with details we will send two more

140emails this summer if you do not receive a message please reach out to our to your school for assistance can't say this one loud enough we are hiring we're still hiring please join our team 2425 school year log on to touch hard.com to see our openings and apply during June and July the district has updated summer hours our schools and offices will be open to the public from 8 to 4: Monday through Thursday and we will be closed on the 4th of July I'd like to if I could just kind of look back at this year and kind of talk about some celebrations and maybe a little directional where we're going so please if I can indulge next maybe 10 minutes or so it is the superintend microphone this year we worked to inspire confident

141leaders throughout our community and I want to stress the word Community because it's not just about what happens in the schools we have a lot to be proud of and this year we had the honor to connect with thousands of students families and staff members and the community and their support I've heard stories of resilience Pride kindness and great Partnerships and for that I'm so proud of this year's accomplishments so some of the highlights we recognize more than a thousand students for their accomplishments during board meetings from the Seal of B literacy Awards to state championship athletic wins our student achievements truly shined this year and I made a comment to Mr nozel as we celebrated a p vter i don't think there is an ounce of fat on that young man and if you've

142ever seen a pole vault or an action you understand what it takes to get over that bar truly impressive and wish them the best at Clemson we announc we' be the first district in the state to become a leader me school district for those of you who have not visited a school that uses that as the platform of their development I encourage you to do so it's truly amazing to see leaders being developed as early as 5 years old we brought reading to life in partnership with winr for 11002 graders as a English teacher that touches my heart more than I can articulate we held our first ever exceptional student prom for students that may have sensory issues uh this was an amazing event uh where even the parents of these students felt comfortable enough

143to drop their students off in good hands and know that they were safe but they could participate in a prom uh which we think is so important that everybody has the option to do that we hosted the first ever all girls wrestling match in the state and that puts us on the map as far as Athletics we also did a uh an amazing graduation the other day uh some board members participated and we had some of the staff so thank you for those that came uh to a young man who was not comfortable to go through graduation uh with all the people in the noise in activity that that URS um that truly is why we here if you could have seen Daniel and his reaction uh in 92 Dee weather he stood out there

144for probably 45 minutes waiting for all the pump and Circumstance we actually played the music I was uh in my regalia and to hand him that diploma that's really why we're here so I want to thank all those that were part of that event uh and thank Daniel for his hard work you truly deserve that staff some of the things that we like to celebrate uh we Stood Beside our Governor Henry McMaster as he signed the paid parental lead bill into law right here in our district and that's to show we had Miss Young here talking about the wellness uh side of of what we do um and that's the right thing to do for young families so uh we were one of the first to do that we were a role model for the

145state and I'm glad that the governor took note and came here to sign on a bill we celebrated principal Bianca Cher's wife she was awarded the prestigious 2023 iness Tenon B leadership award uh she's truly blooming as a leader and gaining confidence every day we celebrated our own Dr Jones or as some call JJ who represented us at leadership South Carolina as one of the only Educators on that panel uh and he represented us well and actually because of uh his involvement with that group brought more more opportunities for our students especially at South Point High School so we thank you for your leadership Dr Jes we created new opportunities for our staff to connect with Community Resources including home buying incentives and mental health services and you saw that with Miss Young today um

146it's really hard for a young teacher to buy a home and to live in royville schools uh we are taking a trip to see model places that have done teacher Villages or lack of a better term uh so I want to thank Mr Burns for spearing that for us and jumping on that because without that we will lose some amazing Educators we gave three inspiring Educators the classroom of their dreams and we're currently starting Renovations on three more all done through donations from partners that we work with as we uh renovate schools and build new schools hopefully in the future we created new opportunities for our staff to connect with community resources outside mentoring is one of the things that we are proud of that you just heard tonight we obained accreditation from Pia which

147for those in the group just sounds like a statement but it's a it's a tough process I almost said a bad word it's a tough process to make sure that we're doing things correctly and Dr wooks has done a great job coordinating those efforts so we did obtain a 5year accreditation which is so important for us um and we implemented continuous Improvement model in our academics and accountability group in all of our classrooms to hopefully ensure that every student grows and lastly in our community in conjunction with Affinity Health we opened a year-round school-based Community Health Center for our children families and neighbors a lot of the the community members that attend would not typically go to a doctor because they either couldn't afford it or couldn't get Transportation so we bring that opportunity to

148them we welcome new Partnerships including Clemson University called me Mr program and strengthen existing relationships with institutions like Clinton college win University and New York Tech following Co we reopened our doors to mentoring and saw 40 new programs as you heard one of them tonight we awarded more than $4,700 in donated gift cards to our team as appreciation and one of the biggest highlights is our attendance incentive that we do on Fridays just to knowledge teachers and say we see you and thank you for being here for our kids and as we celebrated almost 1,000 graduates last week I was so honored to continue my service as superintendent in this Rock Solid District but I truly appreciated the graduation community and how they respected one another if I can point out all three were exceptional

149uh but I will give a shout out to rockel high they were the last one and typically the last one is the most rambunctious um this year we literally had only two people who chose to be a little selfish the rest of the 400 or 381 381 graduates and their families were amazingly respectful and I want to uh congratulate principal all and that whole community on showing what respect really looks like sir so that concludes uh the regular portion of the meeting we do have an executive session tonight um we are having uh discussions regarding Personnel matters legal matters um as well as the superintendent valuation and reest so I would to take a motion to join the session and after the ex session for those have a second discussion all those in favor hear

150s e for e e e yeah R good evening and welcome back um the Board of Trustees has been meeting an executive session for the purpose of person matter matters to superintendent evaluation and a student appeal request at this point uh I would like take a motion to adjourn the executive session and Recon the Open session so thank you m Cole do I have a second I thank M any discussion very now all those in favor post do I have any motions fortive session yes Madam chair I move that we accept the administration's recommendation for assistant principal of Leslie Elementary School Great thank you do I have a second a second thank you Miss Douglas any discussion very none all those in favor allst motion carries 7 Z do we have any further motions chair

151I move that we haveh hold superintend decision regarding a student appeal and not Grant the request for a hearing thank you um do I have a second second thank you Pete uh any discussion very none all those in favor motion Carri 7 Z mam hang so um do we have any further questions yes Madam chair following the board's completion of its favorable performance evaluation of our superintendent based on our discussion in executive session this evening I move that the board offer the following amendments to Dr sm's employment agreement with the board one that the term of the contract be extended by one year to provide for a termination date of June 30th 2027 thank you so much Mr melon do I have a second second thank Mr no any discussion very none all those in

152favor all opposed motion Carri 7 Z so we did this uh did last year at this time the Board of Trustees this evening has sted the executive session to discuss and complete the performance evaluation of our superintendent Dr schy um an annual evaluation of the superintendent is required by board policy and dr's employment agreement with us in conducting the evaluation the board Drew from areas of focus we developed in last year's evaluation and goals we set for this coming year the board is pleased uh with overall progress of the district has made in several areas over the course of the 2324 school year under Dr schon's leadership we've seen marked improvement in the area of Safety and Security in our schools an area that can truly impact student performance and teacher satisfaction the district also

153has experienced progress in many areas that fall under Human Resources such as recruiting talented professional Educators other points of progress can be seen in furthering community and business Partnerships in advances through the leader and me program and the no cost to taxpayers sunson park construction project all in the all important area of student achievement which is moving the right direction under our strategic PR the ATC facility and program is a large point of focus we continue to feel that Dr schy is an Engaged and compassion leader has continued to Foster re po of organization environment and culture here Rock we of course look forward to improve R in some areas including various aspects of internal external Communications we look forward to seeing a strategic ucation plan to address concerns in the HR area where the

154board bus more efficient and effective operations remained in the area of teacher compensation in the area of leadership the board is expecting to see some increased speed in the decision making and pl process the board welcomes the progress that has been under dr's leadership this past year but are also well aware of the challenges which Le overhead in the coming year in recognition and appreciation for what has been achieved the board will extend his contract dr's contract by one year to June 30th 2027 and with that Dr schy uh is there anything that you would like to add yeah I think I said it best at actually at graduation um honored to serve as superintendent here but we still have a lot of work to do and this coming budget year is going to be

155tough as well so we're looking at how we organize our resources um one thing that I am proud of is the climate I think I I I see a lot of teachers um when I go to schools and talk with them and and I feel that turning the ship a little bit when it comes to the stress that they feel um I I completely agree teacher compensation is one of those things that we have to look at and we we'll try to do everything we can to to put monies towards that um also I'm glad that you you identified some of the highlights uh I want to talk about one of those ATC in particular um when you lose a leader that was as uh amazing as our previous director of that facility people scratch

156their head and they think the sky is falling um but our new director she stepped in and man she's taking this to different heights as well uh in her own way and I'm glad that you recognize that because I think we need to put a more of a focus on ATC and what it means to the district and more opportunities for kids Safety and Security as well our relationship law enforcement out put against anybody's right now um and they put their money with them out this they stand up for us and and they're there as soon as we call them whether it's the sheriff whether it's the the Rocko police and our S ssos as well um with Allied Services so I'm glad you saw those things Sunset Park as well you're going to be

157hearing more about that looking forward to groundbreaking as soon as we can get contract signed when it comes to what actually it's going to cost to implement the whole the whole project uh HR and recruitment that's one thing we talk about a lot as a as a board is how do we how do we track those great teachers those great administrators and how do we keep our great ones um and we got some work to do in that there's a lot of forces out there that are pushing teachers out of uh the classroom we need to remove those hurdles um so again I I appreciate the evaluation I think it was fair and just and honest um I think I have a good team around and we have some holes to fill and and we're

158going to fill those holes and also be more efficient with our resources so thank you for the opportunity well we're looking forward to the next year so with that it is 10:12 I don't believe we have any further motions correct I think the best gift we can give us all is a motion to return awesome thank you Cole do I have a second very affirmative uh any discussion very none all those in favor all oppos motion carries