001for being here. I'm going to call our regular December board meeting to order. We are going to open the meeting with our equity statement which Pepe Esabbo is will read. In Asheville City Schools, we are committed to equity and anti-racist policies for all students and staff to learn and thrive. We recognize that our positions come with power, responsibility, and public service for the entire ACS community. We will model our commitment to equity through our practices and decisions. During this meeting, we invite a pause if harm has taken place, a moment to name the harm, and space to practice repair. Thank you. All members of the board are present this evening, and we have a quorum. And at this time, we will stand to do the pledge of allegiance. I pledge of allegiance to the flag
002of the United States of America and >> to the republic >> for which it stands, one nation under God, >> indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Prior to approving our agenda this evening, um, as you all know, there was a request to remove three items from the consent agenda, and those will be moved to the action items. And those are the uh, work session November 3 meeting uh, minutes, the regular meeting minutes from November 10th, and the um, AMS field trip contract. So those will not be on the consent agenda. They will be separate action items. Other than those changes and um I guess a slight modification to the agenda at the end of our meeting today, we will move into close session which is printed on your agenda. But other than that, is
003there a motion to approve the agenda as amended? >> So moved. >> Second. >> All in favor? >> I. >> Any opposed? Okay. The agenda is before us. Um, I will now turn it over to Kim Deck for our good news. Good evening board and Dr. Ferman and everybody who's joining us from home. We have some great news to share for December. First of all, congratulations to the Asheville High School Wind Symphony on their outstanding performance at the North Carolina Music Educators Convention. Chosen as one of the only two high school bands statewide based on top assessment recordings, the group earned this honor for the first time since 1999. The ensemble delivered a 50inute program to a packed audience of band directors from across North Carolina featuring special guest soloist Charlie Vernon, an Asheville High
004School of 1966 graduate and bass trombonus with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. A heartfelt thank you to band director Rodney Workman and his assistant director Joe Figliola for their inspiring leadership. And bravo to our students for their dedication and excellence. They could not join us tonight as they are performing with the Asheville Asheville Symphony Youth Orchestra concert at Asheville High this evening. So when you see those students, please uh give them a huge shout out. The Asheville Middle School community night and open house was a huge success. More than an open house, it celebrated our shared commitment to public education. We were thrilled by the strong turnout, welcoming prospective families, and showcasing what makes middle school special. Grateful thanks to our student guides, our panelists, our community partners, and a big shout out to United Way,
005Fax, AMS staff, and the Asheville City Schools Foundation for making it possible. And you can see from the photos that everybody had a great time. Asheville Middle School recently unveiled their new and improved teachers lounge, the Zen Den. This cozy modern retreat is a dedicated spot for our educate where educators can go to unwind, connect, and recharge. The Zen Den is fully stocked for comfort with two massage chairs, a fully equipped coffee and beverage station, a selection of snacks, a plush couch for relaxation, a plant wall with custom signage, a large dining table and chairs. The special project was made possible by United Way and the Eden Group. Special shout out to AMS staff Kalia Thomaso, Rachel Miller, and Jess Altameir for their incredible interior design skills. We are thrilled to congratulate senior Silsa student
006Sophie Alexander on being named the Western North Carolina runner of the year. This incredible achievement was has put Asheville City Schools cross country on the national map. Sophie continues her spectacular season this Saturday as she competes in the prestigious Brooks Nationals race with the top 10 finishers advancing to the final competition in San Diego. We are immensely proud of Sophie and we will be cheering her on every step of the way and she could not join us this evening. Congratulations to Asheville High student Jay Wilson on their incredible win in the Omni Grove Park in National Gingerbread House competition with their eighth annual entry entitled Santa's Game Night. Entering the competition has been a long-standing tradition for Jay that actually began in Miss May's kindergarten class at Isaac Dixon Elementary School. This delightful holiday project
007has been an annual labor of love for Jay and his sister, who continued the tradition even after they moved out of Asheville, dedicating weekends to crafting um previous favorites like an Asheville scene and a private ship and constantly improving their technique. Jay's victory has been celebrated with an interview in Forbes magazine highlighting our community spirit following Hurricane Helen. Congratulations to Jay and the entire Wilson family and we can't wait to see your gingerbread house at the Grove Park in if you would come up at this time and we'll get a picture of you at the board. Enrollment registration for Asheville City Schools is open for the upcoming 2627 school year. We have several enrollment events and open houses happening at both elementary and secondary schools. Please visit our website for more information for the dates
008and times. And this is a great opportunity for you to follow us at Asheville City Schools on Instagram as well as Asheville City Schools on Facebook. Again, it's a great way to stay connected with not only our district, but with our schools and see all the great things that are happening in Asheville City Schools and in public schools. And that concludes good news for T. Sampler. Thank you, Kim. That's wonderful to see. At this time, we will move to public comment. Um, the board of education greatly appreciates the public's interest in the Asheville City Schools, and we welcome your comments to the board. We ask that you be mindful of the guidelines in policy 2310. A reminder that personnel and student matters are confidential and are not appropriate for public comment. If you have a
009concern about an employee or a student me student matter, please see the superintendent after the meeting. Uh we have one person signed up for a public uh comment and that's Jasmine Eshkar and you will have three minutes. Uh, hi. I am uh Jasmine Ashcar. I'm a fourth grade teacher at Isaac Dixon Elementary School. And I've come here today to talk about the district's response to article 11 or 115 C98.1 of NC session law 84 entitled parent access to library books. As many of us already know, this law requires uh NC board of educations to adopt policies that provide ongoing public access through a searchable web-based catalog to the titles of any library books available at each school, including classroom libraries. It also requires boards to allow parents or guardians of a student to identify any
010library books that may not be borrowed by the student. I've done some legal research and I believe this law violates a number of our students constitutionally protected rights. The First Amendment guarantees freedom of speech which the Supreme Court has interpreted to include the freedom to read, listen to, and receive information. This right is fundamental to an informed citizenry in a democracy. Legal precedent in the Tinker versus De Moines Supreme Court case of 1969 states that neither students nor teachers shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech or expression at the schoolhouse gate. This decision was further upheld in the board of education versus PICO 1982 case when the Supreme Court stated the special characteristics of the school library make that environment especially appropriate for the recognition of such rights. For a fourth grader in a
011public school, the First Amendment protects their right to select a book to read from the available materials in the library or classroom and protects those materials from being removed unless the school can prove one of the following. The book is genuinely not educationally suitable for that group. The book's presence causes a material and substantial disruption to the school environment. Or the book is legally obscene, a very high legal bar that is rarely met by school library books. The first amendment prevents the school from taking away the students right to choose their material based simply on the disagreement of school officials or parents with the ideas the book contains. A key component of the court's decision in the Pico case was that a public school as a state actor cannot remove or restrict access to books
012simply because officials or constituents dislike the ideas or viewpoints contained in those books. A closer examination of NC session law 84 reveals this law has almost nothing to do with educational standards and is primarily an extensive attack on the rights and protections of transgender individuals who reside in the state of North Carolina. In the context of the broader law, the intention behind the public access requirement and the parental restriction of reading materials clause is arguably to allow parents and third party actors to attempt to prevent students from learning about the existence of transgender people. Restricting a student's access to a book because an adult disapproves of the content constit constitutes an unconstitutional content or viewpoint restriction on the students right to read. Uh I understand the board may not be in a position to stand
013in direct opposition to state requirements. Um but I'm disturbed that staff haven't received any support or acknowledgement of the harm the state of North Carolina is demanding we pass on to our students. And I believe that it is the board's responsibility to consider a lawsuit against the state about the unconstitutionality of this law or gather and support a group of interested community members to take action on this threat to our students and their freedom. Thank you for your time. I'm sorry I went a little over. That's okay. Thank you. And you're always welcome to email us additional information. Thanks. Um have a late entry. Carson Bridges. >> Good evening. My name is Carson Bridges and I am a first grade teacher at Claxton, currently serving as the president of the Asheville City Association of Educators.
014I first want to express that I am appreciative of the continued conversations on different ways that we can adequately fund our schools. During the presentation last week, I heard the positives of how changing to a percentage-based model could be beneficial in planning and predictability. How over the past week, I have heard a lot of questions and some concerns from staff and the community. My hope in sharing these with you is that it helps to inform your discussions both as a board and also when you revisit this with county leaders. The first question is why education funding is based on received versus projected revenue. All other budget county budget lines are based on the projected revenue. By basing the educational budget on received revenue, how does this show that we as a community value public education?
015I would love to hear some clarification on the reasoning behind that decision. There are also concerns around the possibility of the county decreasing the tax rate and how that will impact our funding. In a recent video about property tax reevaluation posted by the Bunkham County government, the question, can values increase but taxes still stay the same or go down was asked. The answer given by the property tax assessor was that tax rates are set by local board and we don't know but that is possible. To a lot of people, that is a signal that the county plans to remain revenue neutral or even bring down the tax rate after the revaluation. If our percentage is based on just the property tax and sales tax received and not the general fund, the amount of revenue could
016still be impacted yearly based on the tax rate set by the county commission. There are also concerns around how an increase of only $2 million represents what we actually need to fully fund both our school districts. With the current proposed percentage not even bringing us back to preheline levels or replacing what was cut from our budget, it simply doesn't seem like enough, especially with the current uncertainty around federal funding for EC services. I also have to add that as a union sibling, agreeing to a percentage that Bunkham County Schools has indicated would not be enough is ultimately harmful for all of our students and our community. I know that you are in the beginning stages of these public conversations and I appreciate the ask for community feedback. I am hopeful that we can continue to
017work together to make sure our schools are funded the way they deserve to be. Thank you. >> Thank you, Carson. Is there anyone joining us else otherwise? Okay. Um, thank you both very much for your comments. We greatly appreciate them. At this time, board members, I'm going to turn to the consent agenda. And just so we're clear, what's currently on the consent agenda are the draft minutes of our closed session from October 6th, the minutes from our closed session on November 3rd, the budget expenditure report and budget amendment summary, and the personnel report from December. Is there a motion to approve the consent agenda? >> So moved. >> Second. All those in favor? >> I I >> I. >> Any opposed? The consent agenda passes. Thank you. So, at this time, we'll pick up each
018of the three items that um we mentioned before. So, the first one is the minutes of the work session on November 3rd, 2025. And I will start with Pepe to address his questions um about those minutes. It'll take me a moment to pull that up. >> I'm so sorry. >> It It will take me a moment to pull that up. >> Okay. It appears I need to relaunch the window. My apologies. So, um I had some concerns about item 2.3. Um this is the board information requests. Uh I want to note that I have been pleasantly surprised with um uh progress and related to some of the matters that I had asked about. Um, and I want to thank Dr. Ferman for uh your and the staff's attention to those matters. Um, there is we
019got this wonderful little thing um at the North Carolina School Board Association uh annual meeting. Um there's a section included what should be or a section about what should be included in minutes and it starts off with the minutes should reflect what the board did not what individual members said. Um, I'm looking at this and some of it appears to um question the validity of the questions that I'm asking and like the statement that my request which included up to 8 to 10 detailed questions per contract. Um it would be fair to say 0ero to 10 uh because it varied widely um but there were consistent themes and I also um it calls on me to distill and provide highlevel emails which I also did. Um what uh this section says that um let's see
020um it says that the board agreed that staff should not be directed to spend time answering detailed questions about contracts uh particularly ones that had already been approved. moved. One of the issues that came up was um compliance issues and there I at this point I think it's appropriate to clarify that some consistent themes in my questions led to action on the part of staff to address compliance issues. >> So Pepe, can I clarify for a second though? Do you object to what the minutes reflect we discussed? >> Yes, because right now >> I don't think we discussed them. I mean, I'm trying to get clarity. >> The minutes theoretically should not be what we talked about, but what we decided >> and these aren't decisions that we made. This is a reflection of some
021of the discussion, but it omits other pieces of the discussion such as I was specifically directed during a prior meeting to send my questions to Dr. Furman so that our meeting was shorter and you were at that meeting and and allowed that. So, >> and so I want to clarify. I don't think I'm reading the minutes the same way you are. I hear you say that you feel perhaps some comments were included and others were not. I I hear that. But ultimately this reflects and I recall the meeting the board we I looked around to see if we had consensus that if requests were sent to either the superintendent or the board chair and it felt unduly burdensome that we had permission to say this is not an appropriate use of staff time. So I
022believe a decision was made and that's what these minutes reflect. I understand your I do understand your point of view and I understand that you think perhaps more could have been put in here, but I would like to ask other board members if my recollection is what they recall because I do think we made a decision and that's what's reflected here. >> We also and I put out that this is my process >> and that it is up to the superintendent to determine what she will respond to and what she won't and what she will delegate and what she won't. And this seems to be I am concerned that we had and may have in the future an issue about compliance. And what I don't want to do is have the superintendent's hands tied because
023somebody has raised a compliance issue. >> So your concern is that if your emails are not fully responded to, there's a compliance issue. No, not at all. It's just that it is in the hands of the superintendent to determine how to respond and that outside of a determination by the board, the superintendent's determination should be authoritative and then we can take it up if there is um something that needs to be discussed as a board. And right now it there was an email that you had sent out to me and the board stating that no staff time will be used for any of the issues that I raised prior to the November 3rd meeting. And my concern which I think I expressed at the time is that that ties the hands of the superintendent or
024might be interpreted that way. And the things that I have brought up include com compliance with statute which really is the purview of the superintendent. >> Okay. So I'm going to stop just a minute because again these are minutes of a meeting that already occurred >> and I I'm going to ask other board members to let me know how they recall and whether they think these minutes are accurate. I I think you are saying that you do not like the decision and you're citing understandable reasons for it, but I all I need to know is if these minutes are accurate. >> The minutes do they are they cherrypicked items of conversation? Was there a vote with a decision? These are questions that you should ask. Is there a general agreement, which I think is what
025you're asking. So, let me pause to give other folks just a chance to weigh in in case I'm seeing this differently than others. >> Yeah. I mean, I think these minutes are accurate. I I don't think that the minutes are intended to give a blowby-blow, and I don't think they do that. So, I don't think that it would be appropriate for minutes to say, you know, Amy Ray didn't like this decision because of X, Y, or Z. Um, I think that they it is accurate that all of the when we had this discussion about requests from staff, I think that these bullet points reflect where we landed. I don't read this as cherry-picking specific comments, but rather the what the board chair said that was relevant to the final decision and that's it. I don't
026also I will note that what the North Carolina School Board um association recommends in minutes isn't anything we have to comply with. And so to say now that minutes that were prepared for an earlier meeting are inaccurate because in your opinion they don't comply with something that you all got at a at a board conference after the fact. I don't see why we would change our our minutes in that way. But I also think that this essentially says what was we were agreed to. So I think they're accurate. I do I I appreciate your perspective, Pepe. I see this. It wasn't anything we voted on. There was no formal vote, but it says board members agreed. It the board agreed. It reflects our decisions. And those are simply that if and and I do I
027appreciate that you're sending your questions to Maggie and she's answering them. And all this preserves is that if it's a really lengthy request, you may not get your answers immediately and you may not get all the answers. That's what we decided. What I would like to do at this time is see if there's any other board member who wishes to speak to this and then I think we um are ready to vote on the minutes because I don't think it's helpful to revisit the substance of the minutes. All we need to decide is if the minutes are accurate, if they need revisions. So I would welcome other board members Ready for a vote? >> If there's ready for a vote, is there a motion to approve um excuse me, the minutes of our work session
028on November 3rd, 2025? >> So moved. >> Second. >> All those in favor? >> I. >> Any opposed? >> Nay. >> Okay. Thank you. The eyes have it. At this time, we will take up the minutes for the uh regular board meeting on November 10th. And Pepe, you had asked that these also be pulled from the consent agenda. So, I will let you um have the floor Uh I'll point your attention to item 52. Um there is a statement uh the contract was extended with no overall changes to the compensation package. Um I believe that is inaccurate because there was a major change to the compensation package which was the addition of a um no cause buyout that includes all compensation that would be due through the remainder of the contract term. And I think
029that it would be more accurate to either link to the final document and amendments or to spell out what the amendment changes are or to admit uh with no overall change to the comp um to the compensation package and include that uh buyout um a no cause buyout was added to the contract. So the contract is public information. I mean we can put it out there however you want to. In my estimation compensation is what you are paid for a term of employment and there were no changes to that. There we did add a provision if there was termination for lack of cause. That is true. That is not compensation. It is a buyout clause that is tied to her compensation. So, I don't see that as an issue. I don't see Anna here. So,
030I don't pretend to be an expert, but a buyout clause is not compensation. I don't tell the IRS about it when I pay my income taxes. So, I don't think it's the same thing in my opinion. But, I mean, I'm open to suggestions if folks think this is not clear. >> I agree with your assessment. >> I do too. I agree as well. >> Okay. I I think this is what was said at the meeting. I I understand your point and I think people could look at the contract and if they choose to interpret it differently, I understand that. But I don't think that's an incorrect statement. Just summing this up. Is um is there a motion to approve the minutes from our regular board meeting of November 10th, 2025? >> So moved. >> Second.
031All those in favor? I >> I >> Any opposed? >> Opposed. >> Okay. Thank you. It passes. And at this time, the last action item is the Asheville Middle School Fieldrip contract. And so, Pepe, I will have you speak first to that contract. >> Well, I had asked for the list of contracts. Um, you had sent an email earlier today stating that from from your perspective that moving that contract list would only allow speaking on the um the one contract and not on other contracts. >> And and I appreciate you reminding me about that. I did talk with Anna Gillespie, our attorney, about that. And I think part of the confusion is that and I'm sorry y'all. I'm going back to our um diligent agenda. It which is currently in the consent agenda, but 4.3
032says contractus and it's a hyperlink that you could click. It didn't used to be presented that way and it's my understanding that somewhere along the line it was requested that that hyperlink be added there which I would agree is somewhat confusing because it takes you back to all of it. I think more appropriately 4.3 could have simply said young transportation contract for the AMS field trip because that's the only thing to vote on. I I appreciate the confusion, but the only thing on the consent agenda is voting about the field trip for AMS. If if you have other comments, I know you weren't able to attend last week, but I think it was very appropriate for you to send questions and comments to Maggie as you did, and I think she's getting responses to you.
033But it's tonight is not the time to talk again about the memorandums of understanding and the other contracts. >> Is there an appropriate um time to ask about uh the progress of redacting social security numbers and employer identification numbers or you want to hold that to a different time? >> We learned um I noticed that in your email and we learned that EIN numbers are public information. Um Anna had shared that with us. So the EIN's are not at the same level of social security numbers. >> No, but >> in the statute it includes EIN and social security numbers as protected information. And so I was looking at the North Carolina statute that I had forwarded to you previously, but I've not seen this advice that you're talking about. I I think what would make
034sense to me what's before us tonight is a vote on this particular contract. But I understand your question and I think if it's if you would feel this is an appropriate answer, I could ask Maggie at our next work session when we are again looking at memorandums and contracts and the like to address that. >> Okay. >> And that would be in February. >> No, we have January meetings. >> We have regular scheduled January meetings. Okay. >> Yep, we do. >> That sounds great. Thank you. Yep. >> So, any other questions about the AMS field trip contract? Is there a motion to approve? >> I move that we approve the AMS field trip contract for Young Transportation. >> Second. >> All those in favor? >> I. >> Any opposed? Passes unanimously. Excellent. Okay. Thanks everybody.
035Um, at this time I'm going to turn it over to Maggie for the superintendent report. Um, thank you, Madam Chair. So, this evening I have a few remarks to share with the board. Um, just really two topics this evening um to update the board on the meet, confer, collaborate process and then an update on where we are with strategic planning. Um it's very exciting that the group was able to come to consensus on around two requests that came to us from our teaching staff. Um and two of those were one um related around inclement weather so that all staff have the option to work or teleawwork on inclement weather days. Um however there are some critical staff who just because of the um nature of their job and keeping operations moving that may be called
036to work um and that we are still trying to we have to work out the what that hazard pay would be. But that would be um an an option for the staff who do have to come in on inclement weather days. Also knowing even those critical staff if they it is unsafe for them to come in and drive into their work site that they would not be required to do that. we would not any would never want anyone to risk their safety trying to get to work. Um and then also excited that for optional work days September through May um that all eligible staff um can teleaw work on those optional work days. So exciting that we have some agreements to move forward and support our staff that are most directly um in working with
037our students. I do want to provide an update on strategic plan. I gave you an overview at our last session in November. Um but we've had um some progress. I want to get you um um updated with where we are. So just an overview of our strategic planning timeline um and the phases that we are going through um and we are in phase four and kind of phase three at the same time with the board doing some work on the vision, mission and core values while our um administrative team and um schoolbased teams are working on actually building the plan. Um so in November um we met as a leadership team to start digging into all that data that we collected. Um and we were able to complete a SWAT analysis of that data, identifying
038some focus areas. um and then starting to prioritize of all that data that was in the SWAT analysis what really rises up to be the most impactful um that we feel needs to be addressed as soon as possible as well as forming our leadership teams. Um so just to have you kind of peek into what we did during that session is we had tons and tons of data. We know last year when Dr. Lavender and Miss Kinky reviewed all that data and started to come up with some general findings. It was just it was lots and lots and lots of data. Um, and they went in there, they found some great findings. And what the purpose of the SWAT analysis was was then to take all of that data plus the knowledge that all of
039our leadership team brings to the table about our community, about our school district, about the history, um, and to start organizing that into different areas. So they took all of that data and decided what is a strength, what's an area of weakness, what are some opportunities and what are some threats. Um and then once they did that, they colorcoded all the data as it related to was it addressing student outcomes? Was it data related to our staff and staff um areas pertinent to staff? Was it related to culture and climate? And was it related to facilities and operations? And then we also had some um like if you found something that didn't relate to those four areas, we discussed where those might fit, if we should create another focus area. Um so we stuck with
040those four focus areas. Um and then they broke up into four teams, one for each of those focus areas and started looking at all the strengths and weaknesses that related to student outcomes, threats and opportunities that relate to student outcomes and the same for each of those four areas. Um and started to look at all of those strengths. So if we address this as a weakness, what is the impact that uses res if we can fix that issue that's a weakness, what would the result be as it aligns to student achievement as it aligns to helping us meet our vision and mission and our goals? Um so they were ranking those as well as strengths. So if we capitalize on a certain strength, will that really help us build support and move work forward faster?
041um with opportunities and threats. Um these are external factors. So they spent some time looking at the opportunities and threats and deciding is this an external opportunity that could support and enhance our strengths um or is it a weakness? It's a opportunity that we haven't been really capitalizing on that we really need to start taking advantage of and using those um opportunities. Um, and then threats. Were these things that we really should avoid because of the potential impact and time and energy it may take to address those or are they things that we should really confront and say, "Hey, this is a threat out there in the community in the general kind of um sphere of public education and is this something we should, you know, invest our time in addressing." So, they are finishing
042up their prioritizations of those and that will be reviewed at our next meeting in December, which is just coming up next week. Um the other process that they went through is they um looked at this stakeholder engagement matrix and deciding on all the different types of stakeholders that we have whether it's students, families, community members or schoolbased staff. You know, where do they fit in on this community engagement matrix? Do we consult with them and get their input and send them some feedback? Do we just keep them informed on, hey, here's what's happening. Here's what we're finding. Are they in invited to be um collaborators and be a part of the decision-making process or are there certain staff that we can say look you go we are the expert we know that you're going to
043figure out what works best and we're going to support your actions. Um so they worked on categorizing stakeholders into those different um areas so that we can make sure we're engaging stakeholders um across the district external internal um to help us have a a well-rounded and informed decision as we move forward through this process. Um, so November we completed those steps there, the SWAT analysis, identifying our focus areas. Um, so upcoming in December, we each team will give an update on where they are, what they've come up with. Um, and then we'll take all of that data from those prioritized SWAT analysis. Um, and we'll see are there strategic initiatives that really capture different pieces of that data that we can come up with kind of one big umbrella category. So, one just as a,
044you know, an example would be like we want to create college and career ready cougars and that's going to address our academic outcomes. That could address um getting um students meeting and exceeding our um expectations set forth in the portrait of a scholar. Then they'll start working on drafting objectives. And the other big piece in December that we are going to work on from December through January is taking an inventory of all of our current initiatives. We know we have lots going on across the district in different areas. Um, so the groups will be looking at our different initiatives we currently have in place and deciding, is this stuff we want to keep investing in? Is it worth it or is this something that really we're not getting the results we would like? Um, and
045something we can de-implement um, and take some stuff off of our staff's plate as well. um January we will finalize that strategy map and have a really nice kind of very good overall general picture of what areas we want to address, what our objectives are that we want to accomplish um and what goals we're going to use to measure our progress. And then starting in February and continuing into March, the teams will then say, okay, what are the actual steps that we're going to start to put in place? What are the things we want to do to address what we have said we want to in our strategy map? Um and then we are teed up in April for the teens to come and do an initial presentation to the board um to get your
046feedback on the plan, what we've put in the plan. Um and that'll be at the April work session. If the board is ready in April to approve the plan, we will be ready for that to come before the board for action in April. If not, if the board has some questions and some things for us to take back as teams and review um and consider, we will do that and then bring an updated presentation to the board in May and hopefully action would be taken um at the May uh regular meeting. And if we don't have if we need another round of revisions, we still have June to get that done. Um but really hoping that we can get everything um tied up in a bow and ready to go by the May um regular
047board meeting. Um, and that concludes my comments for this evening. Are there any questions or discussion? >> Where does the facilities planning piece fit into this timeline? >> Yeah, that is one of the four focus areas is facility and operations. And a big piece of the data that they will look at as they make decisions is that feasibility study. So, that's already underway and it will just come in as data that they'll consider as they move forward on what their action plans will be. George, did you have something? Sorry. >> I just want to say thank you. Um, I think that you've you've kept us up to date on the strategic plan, but this was a I appreciate tonight just seeing just being reminded, being anchored to kind of how it's going. I know that
048sometimes you might think we know things, but it's really nice to have a presentation like this just to feel anchored in the process and where we're headed. It's hard to believe we're almost at the midpoint of the school year already. Um, but to to have this road map for the rest of the year feels great. Thank you. Welcome. >> That's good. Well, thank you Maggie for sharing that report. We appreciate it. Um the last thing on our agenda before we um move into closed session is I just have a few board chair remarks and then as you all know those of us that attended the state state school board conference are going to share a little bit. Um I the remarks that I offer each month just are things that I've done and people I've
049talked to that I just want you guys to know about. Um one of them is a brief update about the South French Broad High School marker. um that we talked about I think in October. I apologize whenever um we spoke about that and you all will remember the location of South Branch uh high school, South French Broad High School is on the current AMS site and there's discussion of a marker memorializing that. Um I've talked to Maggie about this. I also reached out to Rita Waters who is the chair of the uh Stevens Lee Alumni Association and she and I have traded emails and are going to catch up about how um we work with that association to get their input and involvement on how we approach this. Um I also reached out um it
050was suggested that the actual Black Cultural Heritage Trail Committee would be a good resource. Um and if you haven't looked at their website, I encourage you to check it out. It's very interesting. I have learned that their markers are mostly funded through TDA and it's a it's a process which doesn't mean it doesn't align with ours but it's not quite as straightforward as I thought. So, um I'll continue those conversations and be back in touch about that. Just wanted you to know. Um, second, I did have a chance to have coffee with um our state house representative for the most of Asheville city, Brian Turner, able to talk about um calendar flexibility and consolidation and nothing, you know, came of it, but it was a good conversation to have to make sure he was aware
051of uh the things that are important to us. Um, just so you all know, Rebecca and I, not often, but occasionally, have calls and meetings with Carson uh, Bridges and Tracy Barrett about MCC matters just as they have questions about the budget and the board. And so those occur periodically. Um, last before the conference, um, if the county, apologies, at our work session, we spoke about the proposed new formula for budget funding. If you wish to go back and listen to the county commissioners, they met last Tuesday. It's at the very end. It's on YouTube. It's at the very end. Um, and they got a lot of information and they seemed agreeable to it. It was interesting. Um my takeaway is that um they believe that our board because they had listened to us talk
052the night before um are uh they appreciated the questions that we're asking um and and the way we're moving forward. Um Bunkham County Schools does not meet until this Thursday. So I will be curious what they are doing. Um I am not positive they live stream their meetings. So I don't know but if I'll talk to Rob Elliot then let you know. All of those groups are continuing to meet. The Bunkham County Commissioners um are moving forward as if this would but be voted on in January. So, we'll talk about it again at our work session in >> I'm sorry, >> as if we'll vote on it in January or they >> I'm I'm not yet clear about that, George. >> And I don't know if it's a three group meeting, board meeting. Um we're
053still waiting on language about the um emergency language. like we're moving forward, but it's not yet completely known where we're going to end up. Um, so I just wanted to offer that to you all. Um, let's see. Last um many of us attended the North Carolina School Board conference last month and it's part of a board member's duties to get continuing ed and we all attended different breakout groups and I thought it would be appropriate for those of us who attended to share with those of you who were not able to attend and others um what we learned. Um and so we have two minutes each. I'm going to hold myself accountable with the timer. I'm gonna go first and then Pepe, I'm just queuing you up. You'll be second and we'll go down the
054line. Um, but let me turn on my timer. I don't actually think I'll take two minutes. Um, I wanted the board members to know I attended this really interesting breakout session on board members social media accounts and the first amendment. And if you have a social media account on which you share information about being a school board member, you heard this plant sale is going on or you want to share this information, just be aware that first amendment rules probably apply to that account even if it's personal. And you cannot block comment. Um, you have to accept the good and the bad. So, just be aware that there are First Amendment um ramifications to your social media accounts. Um I also sat in on the North Carolina High School Athletic Association. As you all know,
055we've gone to eight um I forget what they call them, conferences, and it was fascinating to me. I don't think Derek is here, but there are apparently real issues in sportsmanship across the state. There was a football player I think in High Point who slugged the referee. And so the um NCHSSA um is really struggling both with parents and students about sportsmanship. So that was sort of interesting. Um last two that I went to that were super interesting to me and I'm going to tell Maggie that I've listened to her talk about strategic planning and it's fine. It's not, you know, it's fine. Um, but I sat through a presentation of Orange County schools and one for Martin County schools and it was absolutely amazing to see what a superintendent with a strategic plan and
056a vision who has aligned the board and all the policies on that. Um, Orange County, the fairly new superintendent has um she they had a strategic plan. She came in and she tweaked it. They are all in on doing what they are doing around that. And they have had um underperforming schools that are now high performing schools. they had principal spoken. It was really amazing. And Martin County really focused in on um having an early college and doing some other things to make sure their community knew that they had great programs going on. And anyway, was I am a convert to what a good strategic plan and a good vision can do. Oh, two minutes. >> Okay. Pepe. Uh again, it is um a great opportunity for board members um just as the North Carolina
057Schoolboard Association legal conference that preceded it here in Asheville is a great opportunity for schoolboard members. Um one of the things that I really really appreciate is that we have a certain perspective here in Asheville among our schoolboard members. Uh, our schoolboard members are all Democrats. That's just the lay of the land. And it is interesting to hear the perspectives of other schoolboard members and understand that North Carolina has a lot of uh varying viewpoints. Um, I was uh just coming with my concerns about the uh buyout clause that we had added to the superintendent contract. So, I did ask school board members and superintendent what they do in their district, and there are some ideas that I think we should look at. Um, there were some concerns expressed about the size of the potential
058buyout and other ways to structure it. And so, I'll communicate with board members in the future about those possibilities and with Dr. Ferman. Um and uh the there were it's a mix of sessions that are driven by um school districts or legal assessments and then there are also vendors. Um one of the um vendors that I spoke with I want to connect with our CFO. Um, the North Carolina School Board Association has uh a partnership with a 2% rebate to the North Carolina Schoolboard Association for um sourcing that's prevetted. Um, that representative spoke very highly of source wells that we already use. Um, my time is up. Okay, thank you very much. There were several that I enjoyed but there was two in particular. One was every story counts unlocking the power of your pio.
059But the one that I would like to discuss right now is what the all black rubbing teaches us about the business of life. Uh they talk about the New Zealand all black rugby team that offers valuable lessons in leadership, teamwork and personal growth. Their success and worldwide recognition is built on values such such as humanity, excellence and putting collective purpose over individual gain. It also mentioned about explore key takeaways like uh like the principle that better people make better all blacks and the balance of pride and the values that are amplified by their consistent high performance and attention to even the smallest task counts. So I mean and it was more than just that. It was a packed room and when I went in there, it was I looked at the people that wanted to
060know more about this just like myself and it was interesting and people asked a lot of questions about it. They worked as a team. They they worked together. Um, if you ever want to look it up, uh, you can find it on uh, I think they said you can find it on YouTube or something that explain about the New Zealand black rubber team. Um, besides that, it's a it's a good opportunity every year to go and my time is up. Thank you. >> Yeah, I think the heat >> um I the breakout sessions I thought were were really well done. I think that the what left the most lasting impression on me was the keynote speaker, Dr. Hajj um and his really just personalized account of his journey through education in the North Carolina school
061system and what changed his trajectory to be successful and some of his peers versus other um students. And it was the teacher the teacher that took the time went above and beyond to make him feel that he belonged in the classroom that he could be successful. um even going to the house of one of his peers and talking to the parent and saying your son or your grandson actually will I he will go to college and just that personalized really saying I believe in this student I know they can achieve and that I'm willing as a teacher to do what it takes to help that student take that journey. So that resonated with me. It still resonates with me. Um it's something I've been thinking about um since we've met I'll go. Um I'm going
062to start with what I wanted to end with in case I run out of time, which is that Carson and I um got to be on a panel and talk about meet, confer, collaborate. Um it was a really great opportunity. Um there were probably 15 20 people who came. I think many who had no idea what this even was. So, it felt like a great opportunity to demystify and to bring down any fear people might have about partnerships with teachers associations, which felt great. Um, I was glad we got to do that. I also really enjoyed a session put on by um Charlotte Meckllinburgg schools. They they are using a framework called student outcomes focused governance. It's like they're all in. They have a coach on this. This is not a this is not just
063like somebody's idea. It's a it's they're really into it, but the framework is really wonderful for how they've decided to organize their work so that they are never far from a focus on student outcomes, which I thought was really inspiring. And what they were doing was talking about how they have a process for building partnerships with outside organizations to ensure that it's improving student outcomes, that those things go together. Um, I thought was really cool. Um, the other one that I really liked was Rono Rapids talked about their approach to a centralized system that looks at MTSS, multi-tered systems of support and the it made me think about our policies that we brought in last year on grading on promotion and how MTSS is such an important part of how that will be successful and
064just talking about their ability for a principal on a you know every week to to at a glance see all this information about a student so that it's like in real time and that students are really being caught um in almost before anything's happening um was was really impressive and I liked it and that's it. >> Thank you. Um I also went to a couple of things around the strategic plan. One of which was the North Carolina DPI strategic plan, which was one of Mo Green's big pushes when he first took office was to put the strategic plan together for the entire state and the public school system. Um, and some very interesting things that that came out of that. um some of which we know, but just to reiterate um or like DPI understands
065this and is trying to work with the general assembly on this that when we account for um a state's GDP, we know this, but I like to point it out again that we are 50th in the nation in terms of public school funding when we account for GDP. We are one of the 10 wealthiest states um and we are one of the worst in um providing funding for our public schools. Now, what does that mean for the strategic plan for the state? It's a pretty robust strategic plan. Is it is you know because it's got to um accommodate for the entire state. Is it perfect? Of course not. But they've got eight pillars that you can you can go to the DPI website and look up these pillars um that really to me are very
066student focused. They're very much about uh they're not only student focused but also recognizing the current political reality we live in. And so how are we going to best support the schools given that we don't see a lot of changes coming through the general assembly over the next few years? Um so that was really helpful to see. I also went to that um one um with the woman from Warren County, the principal. And yes, what it means for a principal to have a strategic plan and then for a board to use that strategic plan to help with the evaluation of the superintendent is absolutely critical. And I said this in a previous meeting. I just want to reiterate, Maggie, to you. um and the the real appreciation and understanding that you knew coming in that
067we did not have a strategic plan. Um and what that means for our leader to come in knowing that and then to put the effort that you're putting in to help drive this process and bring us something as a board that we then as an entire community we can say yes this is our shared vision is really powerful and so I appreciate that. Um, I I'm out of time. >> Sorry. Um, thank you everybody for sharing. Um, that is the end of the board chair's report and at this time I'm going to read the statement to move us into close session. Um, oh, I'm so sorry. Let me first uh put everybody's attention to the announcements. You will see early dismissal days, the holiday breaks. Uh we do have both a work session and a
068regular meeting in January and all that is linked in the agenda. Um, so at this time I will entertain a motion for the board of education to enter into a closed session pursuant to general statute 143 31811 for the following purposes. Under subsection A1 to prevent the disclosure of privileged and confidential personnel information pursuant to general statute 115 C 319 321 and under subsection A3 to discuss matters protected by the attorney client privilege. >> So moved. >> Second. >> Okay. All those in favor? I >> I >> So at this time we will move into close session. We will take a five minute break and board members if you'll come back after 5 minutes. Thanks.