001Good evening. Thanks everybody for being here on this very cold evening. Um, two of our board members are running late. You'll probably see them come in over the next few minutes, but we're going to go ahead and get started. Um, to call the meeting to order, I'm going to ask Rebecca Styrime to read our equity statement. In Nashville 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 takes place, a moment to name the harm, and space to practice repair. Thank you, Rebecca. We do have a quorum present
002and we do anticipate having the whole board with us shortly. So, I will declare that quorum. And at this time, we will rise for the pledge of allegiance. Go. >> I pledge of allegiance to the flag of the United States of America >> and to the republic >> for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Thank you. Before we begin, I want to do two things. Um, the first is I'm going to ask for a moment of silence for us to remember one of our ACS students, JAMS. He was 16 and he died recently. He will be he will be remembered for his bright smile that could light up any room. He had a natural gift for music, especially the drums, where his talent truly shined. a former
003former football player during youth league. He brought the same energy and spirit to everything he did. Those who knew him best will never forget his kind heart and the way he gave the very best hugs. His presence brought joy and comfort to all around him and he will be deeply missed. Thank you. Next, I am asking for a moment of reflection and gratitude in observance of Veterans Day tomorrow. Our district is proud to employ veterans throughout the district, the high school, the middle school, several of our elementary schools. We are proud to have First Sergeant Jesse Warren, retired United States Marine Corps, serve on this board with us. These veterans serve in our midst as teachers, instructional assistants, classified staff. And tonight, the board says thank you to these individuals for their service to our
004nation. >> Thank you. With that, we will move to our agenda. Is there a motion to approve the agenda? >> So moved. >> Is there a second? >> Second. >> All those in favor of approving the agenda? >> I. >> Thank you. At this time, I'm going to turn it over to Kim Deckant for good news. Good evening board. Come to you with good news on a very chilly night. Um but we have a lot of good things to share. Uh first of all, Asheville City Schools will be honoring Veterans Day tomorrow, Tuesday, November the 11th. And we would like to also acknowledge that this is the 250ear anniversary of the Marine Corps. As a reminder, tomorrow will be a holiday for both students and staff. We want to extend a massive shout out to
005the Asheville Middle School boys soccer team for their conference championship victory. They wrapped up their season last week by defeating AC Reynolds 300 in the conference tournament championship game, making them the first undefeated French Broad Conference CH champs in recent memory, ending a season with a flawless 140 record. This achievement is the true definition of a successful crew. It It wasn't just talent. It was commitment. It was hard work and team support that every player and coach coach Anod and coach CA demonstrated day in and day out leading up to this victory. Congratulations to the team. We're so very proud of you. And if you would come up at this time and be recognized. [applause] [applause] >> [applause] >> Thank you. And I also want to say thank you to the parents and families who
006got all of these students to and from practice and their games. That's a that's a huge commitment as well. Lucius Herring Elementary celebrated a day of music education last month featuring student drumming and a surprise vis visit from local artist Indigo Duza. Music Wheel in partnership with Concord Label Group donated electric guitars, keyboards, and amps to the school recognizing mu music teacher Adam Leco for his innovative use of electronic instruments. Mr. Leco is currently representing Asheville City Schools at the North Carolina Music Educators Association Conference in Winston Salem and couldn't be with us this evening, but when you see him, please give him a huge shout out for securing that donation. Isaac Dixon Elementary students were excited to welcome UNCCA Asheville basketball coach Woody Taylor and players Toy Solomon, Julian Clark, and Jacquel Pal last
007week. The athletes spoke about teamwork, character, and commitment reflecting the core values of Asheville City Schools. We are grateful to UNCC Asheville for their continued partnership and support that enriches our students learning experiences. And you can see the kids had a huge time with um with the visit from the team. Very happy. And this past Saturday, we hosted a district-wide enrollment event at Asheville Middle School where families had the opportunity to learn why Asheville City Schools and public schools are a great choice. We want to thank everyone who came out to support this event, including our staff, community partners, the Asheville Fire Department, and Chartwell's Nutrition Services. Please save the date for the upcoming enrollment events. Um, our schools will be hosting tours and open houses, and these events are a great great way to
008learn about all the amazing teaching and learning happening in our classrooms, preK through 12th grade. So, please make sure you save the dates. It's a great opportunity to visit our schools and learn more about what they have to offer. Several of our schools had fall festivals. Isaac Dixon, Lucius Herring, Hall Fletcher, Asheville Middle School all recently celebrated fall with vibrant community events highlighting hands-on learning and togetherness. Isaac Dixon hosted a dayong fall festival filled with activities like weaving, bread making, ship design, pumpkin carving, a Dewali celebrations while Lucius Herring held its annual garden party party featuring a garden grown harvest dishes in partnership with Feast of Bountiful Cities. Asheville Middle and Hall Fletcher hosted fall carnivals with costumes, games, and outdoor activities. All events brought students, families, and staff together in joyful celebration and gratitude
009for the collaborations that make their school so special. At this time, um, I'm going to, uh, recognize Josh Talent. Since 1926, Home Trust has been serving families and communities across western North Carolina. And for over two decades, Home Trust has been committed to recognizing the Asheville City Schools teacher of the year and principal of the year. We are very fortunate to have this long-standing partnership with Home Trust. At this time, I would like to recognize Josh Talent, a vice president of Home Trust, and also a proud Asheville Sea Schools parent and a Cougar alumni. So, what what better person to come and recognize our teacher of the year and principal of the year. >> Thank you, Kim. Um, good evening. Uh, Home Trust Bank is grateful to be a partner of the Asheville City Schools.
010Um, I am Josh Talent, financial adviser with Home Trust. Um, as the only bank headquartered right here in Asheville, we're proud not only of our continued growth, but our deep commitment to supporting our local schools and community. We truly value our educators, students, and all of those who make Asheville City Schools such a special place. Thank you for everything you do every day to make a difference. And so on behalf of Home Trust, I'm honored to present these awards to Kelly Madkins of Asheville Middle School as teacher of the year and to Carrie Buchanan uh of Hall Fletcher, this year's principal of the year. So congratulations to you both. [applause] [applause] Go up to the front. >> Thanks. And Kelly could not be with us this evening um because of the the weather and so
011we will make sure that she gets this. And um do you care if we take a picture of you holding that check? Okay. [laughter] Right. I'll give that to her. Thank you. I appreciate it. Again, thank you so much for your partnership and thank you um for being an alumni and entrusting your three children with us as well. We appreciate it. And that concludes good news for November. And as always, we want you to be a champion for public schools and uh public education is important. It's the foundation of our democracy. You can follow us and learn about all the amazing things that are happening in Asheville City Schools on Instagram and on Facebook. We encourage you to follow our district and we encourage you to follow our schools. Thank you. Thank you, Kim. At
012this time, we are moving to public comment. Um, guidelines about public comment can be found in the agendas and linked online. The board of education greatly appreciates your interest in the Asheville City Schools District and we welcome your comments to the board. Please be mindful of the following guidelines. Personnel and student matters are confidential and are therefore not appropriate for public comment. If you have a concern about an employee or a student matter, please contact or see the superintendent after the meeting. So, we will start first with um in-person public comment and Kelly Moore Spencer or you all can switch the order if you wanted to. I don't care. This is Christina Shimrock. Okay. All right. Hello. My name is Kelly Moore Spencer. And I'm Christina Shimrock and I'm a parent of a fourth grader.
013Yeah, she's a fourth grader at Claxton and a rising kindergartener. And I'm a mom to a kindergartener and a second grader at Claxton Elementary. I'm also a member of Fax, Families of Asheville City Schools. and we're here today to represent facts, to share the mission and values with the school board and the advocacy we've been doing this fall to celebrate and defend our schools. So, we are a district-wide advocacy group made up of parents and caregivers. Our mission is to celebrate and defend our public schools through advocating for fully funded, just, safe, and exclusive learning and communities for all students. We believe that public education is a public good and that our schools are the heart of our community. We aim to bridge the gap from home to school, school to leadership, and leadership to
014our key decision makers. Our goal is to empower families to proudly choose to attend our public schools. We were a part of the um enrollment event on Saturday >> [snorts] >> um and to have our public school systems be the schools of choice in our community. So we live the mission through our values which are that we are proud of our public schools and seek ways to advocate for their success. Teachers and staff should be able to afford to live where they work. Democracy is not a spectator sport and our collective voice is necessary for standing up for our schools while public education is under attack. Public schools are for all children. It's the community's job to support that mission. And we are thinking beyond our own children. when we support every student in every
015school, we build a stronger community for everyone. So today, we're here to just share a little bit about you, share with you a little bit about what we've been doing this fall and what that's looked like. So for first one is the feasibility study. As the district continues to move through the feasibility study, we as a group dug into the process and data to ensure that the future of ACS is truly a community effort. We believe it's shared responsibility that our schools thrive for our kids. So feasibility studies, utilations, utilization studies, consolidation studies in many ways can bring fear and uncertainty about what those fighting findings might mean for our children's education. [snorts] We also know that within the past 5 years, two schools have been closed at ACS and at Fax, we want to
016support and be a part of the solution. We're very thankful to Dr. Maggie and April Dockery and their responsiveness to our concerns and questions. We look forward to being a part of the community input sessions that will be vital in using the data from the FE feasibility study as decisions will be made. We encourage the board to continue to ask questions about the process, how capacity is determined, and encourage as much public input as possible. Second, we also hosted community listening circles as a way to provide input to ACE about what parents want for their children in ACS. As teachers and staff bring proposals to ACS leadership through the meet, confer, and collaborate process. We hope that we can help establish alignment in the needs of parents, students, and staff because we believe that's where
017our schools will truly live out being the heart of our community. >> Okay, moving right along. Uh we know that the future of ACS is vital on families to continue to choose public schools. And so at Fax, we make sure we have a deep understanding of the harmful policy decisions that are made on the federal level and how they'll affect our kids here. From Department of Education cuts that lead to uncertainty of what funding will look like for our students who might need it most to vouchers that use public tax dollars to fund private and religious schools to the culture wars on education. Fax has been actively supporting ACS in their enrollment events for this fall. From helping to plan and volunteer at the Tuesday CS event this past Saturday to planning the upcoming AMS
018openhouse and tours alongside the foundation and United Way, we identified the needs to focus on families of third through fifth graders as our enrollment data shows a drop in ADM. When it comes to middle school, for our schools to thrive, we need us all. We believe in building a coalition of public school advocates and this is guiding our work. We are helping to organize along ACAE, BCAE, and public school strong for an exceptional children's special education parent meeting for all ACS and BCS parents worried about the future of special education and the vital support our children receive from public schools. Our focus will be on what we can do now locally to support our EC staff and students as well as what we want to ensure is considered in the 2627 budget. This meeting will
019take place next Thursday, November 20th, from 5:00 to 6:30 at the ACA BCA meeting space at the Asheville Malloo. In response to the most recent uh session law 84 requiring school districts to create a public Sorry, this is a lot, but we've been busy districts to create a public book list of classroom and school libraries. We identified where there were gaps and was that five minutes? So sorry. Okay. Uh, thank you. [laughter] Uh, but yes, there we'll submit this, but there's plenty of other things that we did. Um, and thank you for listening to us tonight. And please do email us. We would love to see everything you're up to. Thank you both. I do not see any other in-person comment and we have no virtual comments. So, this concludes our public comment. >> [clears
020throat] >> At this point, excuse me, I turn our attention to the consent agenda that we had last week and these are now um in front of us as consent items. This was uh approving the field trip to China at Ashel High School, draft minutes from prior meetings, policies on second read, and a personnel report. Is there a motion to approve the consent agenda? I move that we approve the consent agenda. >> Second. All those in favor? >> I. >> Any opposed? The consent agenda is passed unanimously. We will move now to our action items. The first of which is the Asheville Police Department contract for our school resource uh officers. And um this has been circulated. I know questions have been emailed and some answers circulated. Um board members, are there any additional questions
021you still have about this contract before we talk about approving it? Is there a motion to approve the contract? >> I move that we uh approve the APD contract. >> Second. All those in favor? >> I. >> Any opposed? The contract passes unanimously and we um appreciate the Asheville Police Department um and all that they do for our district and we are glad to have this contract in place. Next, sorry board, let me get my notes. Um, next we turn to the superintendent contract amendment. In closed session last week, as a confidential personnel matter, this board discussed an amendment to Maggie's employment contract. With this amendment, we are extending her contract, and there are no changes to her overall compensation package. Is there a motion to approve this amendment? >> I move that we approve
022Dr. Furman's contract amendment. Playfully, happily, gratefully. >> Second. >> Is there a second? >> Second. >> A second. Okay. All those in favor of approving the contract amendment, please say I. >> I. >> Any opposed? >> Opposed. >> Uh, the motion still carries. Thank you. And I join Amy in our appreciation of Maggie's leadership. Next, we have the comprehensive district safety plan review. We also discussed this in close session last week. It's a confidential matter for safety reasons. Um, but we've reviewed and discussed this plan. Is there a motion to approve? >> I motion that we approve the district safety plan. >> Second. All those in favor? >> I. >> Any opposed? passes unanimously. Thank you. Um at this time we turn to the audit report. Chairman, board members, Dr. Dr. Ferman, thank you for
023having me here this evening for being able to work on the Asheville City Schools audit and with the staff of Asheville City Schools um on the 2024 2025 audit. Um I will uh kind of start by saying the audit is still in draft form. We're waiting on some documents to be signed by the federal government. Uh at this time no audit firms across the country are able to issue audits of federal funds. So we are hoping uh that that comes out. The only change that we expect to see um that we are aware of as far as the audit is going to be the dates. So we felt it was important to be able to get you all the information of the fund balance and district performance as soon as possible um as as that's
024going to be more meaningful than the date of the issuance of the audit. So that is why it's in draft form, but we're not aware of any changes. Of course, something could come up that we aren't aware of, but we do not anticipate any changes. Uh, this would be our final copy if it could be issued today. Uh, so pleased to re report that, uh, there's an unmodified opinion on the audit. That's the best opinion that the district can receive. So, uh, congratulations. This is a very long-standing opinion for the district's uh, audit report. So, excellent job. uh that goes to showing excellent uh work within the finance department uh and really throughout the district. It's a really a collaborative effort uh from all departments um kind of top to bottom. So, excellent job and
025excellent job on focusing on excellence uh in order to achieve that um required communications to the board significant accounting estimates. Uh these are going to be the estimates that we would see across uh all districts across the state. Um they are estimates that we've seen in the past. The only new one is going to be a sickly liability that is now uh added as a liability in the financial statements. This does not impact fund balance uh or any numbers that the district um is going to rely on as far as spending. This is going to be in a supplementary schedule that it has to get recorded in. Uh again that's the newest standard that will we're saying that was issued for all government audits and we did not identify any misstatements. Uh and we had
026no disagreements or difficulties with management. We ask for a lot of information. Uh the finance staff is exceptionally well put together in getting us that information on a timely basis and in an organized way. So uh we appreciate that uh especially uh from the staff here at Asheville City Schools. Uh looking at the financial information, the fund balance is going to be similar uh to what you might personally have as a savings account. This is going to be the district's savings account uh that could be maintained. The general fund is going to be the one that we would focus primarily on uh for education of students. And that fund balance at the end of the year is about $12.9 million. It increased about 243,000 during the year. The capital outlay fund ended the year with
027about 5.4 million increased about between 1.7 and 1.8 million through the year. One thing to point out with the capital outlay fund is though that funding is going, you know, it it cuts off in the middle of the summer, which is just going to be when a lot of the capital projects are done. Uh we're cutting off at June 30th. So anything completed through June 30th is going to be reported this fiscal year. anything after um will be reported in this 2526 fiscal year going on. Uh and with a hurricane last year uh that definitely disrupted and changed a lot of what would happen through capital projects. Uh other special revenue is going to be primarily uh restricted for grants uh ending fund balance at 4.5 million. Uh looking at restrictions, uh there was approximately
028$2 million um appropriated into the 2025 2026 budget. Other than that, about 10.8 million is available to be able to be spent in future years out of the general fund. Looking at the budget that you all pass as well as amendments throughout the year that are presented to the board, we're pleased to report that uh there were no overages in what the district spent compared to what was um provided and approved by the board. Uh child nutrition um I had touched base with you all earlier in the year. uh the child nutrition cash balances went from about $274,000 to about $61,000. Um that was a variety of reasons, but something to that we would like to have you keep an eye on. Uh if the child nutrition fund were to decrease to zero, the general
029fund would have to help pick up uh the cash balance for the child nutrition fund as that is a required program uh that has to be ran. Um as I mentioned in our previous letter, uh there was a decrease over the last couple of years in federal reimbursement rate for child nutrition. Uh that did increase kind of during COVID to be able to um it it provided for an opportunity for cash balances to accumulate. Um so you'll see uh in a chart that I have later that I've already provided to you all in terms of the increase in cash and then the subsequent decrease as the cash bal as the federal government reduced the reimbursement rate. Uh the state required increased um pay for employees setting uh increasing the minimum wage uh as well as
030the food cost that we've all experienced at home. Uh the child nutrition department has also experienced that. Uh and then you all are aware of um the challenges faced last year with Helen uh that also kind of impacted that uh balance. So, uh, something to be aware of and mindful of, but there are definitely some some factors that went into, uh, that change. Um, in terms of audit findings and question costs, we look at financial statements, we look at internal controls, uh, we look at how federal funds were spent compared to grant agreements and requirements to those federal funds, uh, as well as state funds. We did not identify any findings in either uh within the financial statements, how federal funds were spent or how state funds were spent. Uh so, excellent job. Again, this
031is a collaborative effort that re is re from many different departments. Sometimes uh it may be a quarterly report that's required to be filed that we're going to look at or um making sure students are qualified for a certain program that they're receiving services for. So, excellent job. uh to the finance department as well as other staff in being able to achieve no findings. Again, kind of looking at the total nutrition balances. Um these are the balances over the last uh several years in regards to kind of how they you'll see that they increased during um the increased reimbursement rates from uh that the federal government implemented during COVID. some supplementary information. These are the uh revenues that the district received over the last 10 years. Um the one to kind of pay attention to
032I would say would be the federal revenue. Again, that increased with the ESSER funds. Uh that has decreased and now gone away. Uh so those funds are no longer available, but did provide some additional funds over the last several years. Uh the county funds are going to include capital outlay funds. So you'll see those funds in years where there's major projects that those might expand and be uh larger as well. And as state funds increase um state fund increases are also going to come with increased costs. uh whether it be teacher salaries, whether it be retirement increases, uh hospitalization increases, uh those type of costs are going to come associated with state increases which are then also going to have pressures on the federal and local budgets uh to be able to meet and match
033those. Uh this is a distribution of how funds were spent. Instructional funds are going to be um you know really those with students. I put a the DPI description of instructional and systemwide support on both of those. Systemwide support is going to include things like transportation, bus drivers, fuel costs to get students to school. It's also going to include utilities to be able to keep the light and heat and air on in buildings, uh maintenance, uh and those type of things within the buildings at the schools. And then there's capital outlay other's going to be uh other type of expenses including those payments need that are made to charter schools. That's all I have. Are there any questions? >> Questions board members? >> I had a question if we can go back to the um
034governmental funds. [clears throat] I'm looking at 2016. Um it just looks like there's a lot more county funds in that year particularly. Is that do do those funds include capital outlay? >> Yes, they do. >> Okay. Other questions about the audit? Um we thank you for the presentation and we thank the finance team for all its work. um board, I think we need to vote to approve this. It is in draft, but we anticipate the final will look just like this. And so, I think it's appropriate for us tonight, we vote to receive audit information. And if something changes, I'm sure we will hear and we will revisit this. But understanding that we anticipate this will be the final and the vote is merely to receive this as information. Um, I'm looking for a vote
035to um receive the auction at the auction. Sorry. Audit. >> Yeah. Um, accept or receive. Do you have a preference on the wording? >> I do not. >> Uh, I make a motion to accept the uh um audit draft in its current state. um and to appreciate all of our staff in getting this to this point which is financially healthy it appears. >> Thank you very much. >> Second. [snorts] >> All those in favor? >> I any >> all right unanimously and we greatly appreciate your work and the work of everyone across the district um to bring us this. >> Thank you. Okay, we are going to turn it over to Maggie for her report. >> All right, good evening board members. Um, a few remarks for this evening. Um, I'm going to discuss and
036provide the board an update on our meet, Confer, collaborate process, give you an update on strategic planning, and then just a quick highlight of our best in Asheville event. And before I jump in, you and I think you've noticed over time that we have such amazing pictures and really beautiful graphics. And I just want to shout out Marilie. She is everywhere. [applause] [cheering] Takes she takes such fabulous pictures. Um so thank you Maril Lee for all of your hard work and just putting stuff together in such a dramatic and beautiful way for us to celebrate all the things in Asheville. Appreciate you. Um so meet, confer, collaborate. We had our first meeting. Um it was October 1st when we first met and the ACA half of the meet confer collaborate team came to the table
037with requests to update some and make some changes under three policies. Um and the first one was our inclement weather policy which you know they were very thoughtful of putting that together early so we could start talking about what that might look like. And on this slide it's their requests and then on the next slide I'll kind of share where we are as an admin and then um the response we'll they meet this Wednesday to kind of talk through what they like about our response and what they'll go from there. Um so on inclement weather just kind of a quick high level is they asked that all staff regardless of what they do have the option to work remotely if we have to call an inclement weather day. Um typically what's been happening is um
038like teachers or administrators could work remote or work from home. But if you were a custodian or um an IIA or different some of the different positions, they were told either you have to or hourly staff. They were said either you have to come to work or you have to put in leave or you've got to make up the time. Um so they were asking that every staff member have an option to work from home on those days. um and that any staff who did report, this was their next request, who did report to work on inclement weather days would receive double pay. Um and they also asked that we um change the time when we call for delays or cancellations from 6:00 a.m. to 5:00 a.m. [clears throat] Um the other um big ask
039that they brought was on optional work days. We know our teachers get several optional work days. I think five every year, six every I can't remember the number, but that staff that can perform their work from home have that option to work remotely on those optional work days. And then their third ask was in relation to school visitors. And this request was that during the school hours, so like during a lunch or during planning, that the NCE staff would be able to come in and meet with our um Asheville City School staff members. Um so we discussed this as a admin team and um want to share our appreciation for the meet confer collaborate process. I think it has been very helpful to hear directly from our staff and what they feel is going to
040help them feel better about their jobs, feel more appreciated and what they need. Um and just kind of as a sidebar, there was a massive report that was released about two weeks ago with just overall working conditions for teachers. And we know that it's it's tough to be a teacher. Um it's a hard job. You are really, you know, you're in charge of 30 40 students, you know, in a time frame and that can be taxing. So we understand that and want to try to meet our staff as close to what they were asking for as possible. Um so as we reviewed that, we did agree that all staff should have the option to work remotely on inclement weather days. Um for our hourly staff, we will have some options for them to either complete
041some of the vector trainings, online trainings that they have um on their list. Um we're also going to put together um like a book study so that they can do some learning um and just personalized learning on their own so that every staff member would have that option to work from home. However, we do know that there are some of those essential workers who regardless will have to come to work um in our maintenance team and some staff at our buildings. Um, and what we did agree on is not yet saying double pay, but that they would receive some type of hazard pay to come in and perform their work on those days. Um, and then we did talk at length, could we potentially move the time from 6:00 a.m. to 5:00 after some um,
042good conversations with April and transportation, we just felt like because the weather here can change so rapidly that we wanted to stick with that 6 a.m. call. We always try to call that um weather delays as early as possible, give people a heads up when we anticipate one might be coming. Um and our our goal is to try to call that before 6, but knowing that that's probably not always we didn't want to set an earlier time and then create opportunities for us to call school off when maybe we could have waited a little bit longer to see changes in weather. And just today, April and I were talking about after school programming and you know early on in the morning the you know the resources that she was um getting her information from were
043like yeah it's going to be bad it's going to be bad but then it lightened up later in the day. So um just kind of keeping that time at 6. Um, for optional work days, we also agree that so staff that can complete job related work at home that they can work remotely on those optional teacher work days. But we do have staff that unfortunately the nature of their job is that their day is their day. If you're a custodian or certain other jobs, um, you know, doing optional work day, work at home is not really an option. Um but we agreed that as a staff that can log in online or do work from home um that that would be perfectly acceptable. Um school visitors um we did not agree that NCE staff could
044meet with their teachers or staff or members during the school hours and that really came down to you know we as a school system were paying our staff to work their x number of hours their work during the day. um and that if staff really need to meet with that NCIE that they are going to have to do that outside of working hours doesn't mean or outside of the school hours doesn't mean that the staff won't be able to meet with NCE on campus like they have in the past. It just has to wait until our our school hour either before the stated school hour time or the end of the school hour time. Um so we will come back together with the ACE team this Wednesday. Um I'll be with the board in Greensboro
045for the schoolboard conference. Um but Dr. Deken is going to be my representative. Um and they're going to discuss um what the M the Meet Caper collaborate ACA team is on response. So I met with um Carson Bridges shared with her these were what we were um where we kind of landed on all their asks and um she took that back to their team to talk through that. So we'll see at the meeting on Wednesday what their response was and go from there. Um before I move on, any questions specifically from the board or your kind of take on these where we have said we can come to an agreement on and where we felt like this was somewhere where we could not make some changes. I appreciate the um thoughtfulness because it as I
046was looking at the requests for example any staff who reports to work on inclement res you know receives double pay and of course that would incentivize everybody who could get here to get double pay even if they didn't have to. So your restriction of that to essential workers makes sense to me. Um, and so I I really appreciate that staff worked hard, you know, did went as far as you felt like you could and now we'll see what the collaboration and confer um process yields. But I I appreciate that that this looks at least to me to be a strong effort at meeting the requests and thoughtful. You mentioned uh that the instead of like a double hazard pay that there was some increase in pay. Is that did I hear you correctly? >> The
047proposal came to us from um the ACE team that any staff that reported to work on inclement weather days would get double pay. And so what we came back with and said there are some staff who do have to come to work because of the nature of their job, their um um essential workers, and that they would get a hazard pay. We haven't decided what that would be, but like maybe time and a half or some kind of stipen, but we haven't settled on that amount yet. >> Okay, I appreciate that clarification. >> Board members, other questions? Okay. All right. Um quick update on strategic plan. So um the board has been engaged in working on the mission. Um I have a survey that will go out in the cougar call. Um gathering some feedback
048on those draft mission statements. I'll be able to present that data to the board at our December work session. um kind of brainstorming with Sarah and Rebecca um and some ideas that I've been able to get as I've been researching different strategic planning options is um starting that vision statement work with my student advisory council getting some of their input and then bringing that to the board so that it's had some other input so that you kind of have a starting point um and that instead in January instead of jumping into vision statement we would then work towards developing those core values and then moving into vision statement revisions. Um so that's an update for just kind of the approach to that work that we have on the board um work plan for this year.
049Uh we are starting phase four. Um phase four is like putting all the pieces into place and building the action plan. Um so the first uh group of staff will meet next Wednesday um to start identifying and analyzing all the data that we have and group it into four but no more than five focus areas for us to really identify what we want to accomplish. Um and with that then we'll build what we call a strategy map. And I've got an example to show you here in a second. Um, so that strategy map, it identifies what our focus areas are. It we will craft some overall objectives or long-term outcomes that we want to achieve for each of those focus areas. We'll then identify what are some critical initiatives and resources that we can leverage
050to meet those long-term goals. Um, we'll also take time to look at all of our current initiatives and decide which ones we can deimplement. We always talk about what can we do differently, differently, differently. But to me, it's also very important that we take an audit of all the things we're already doing. And if they're not worth that investment time, we're not getting the results that we want. What can we stop doing instead of always asking our staff to do one more thing? Um, and throughout this process, we have an equitable decision-making tool that each team will be utilizing as they make um decisions to make sure that we're aligning our resources and investment so that each student has that opportunity. they've got the resources to support and support so that every student can achieve
051exceptional outcomes um and meet those five characteristics that we've um identified in our portrait of a scholar. They will build a detailed action plan really specifically looking at next year. So what are those things we want to put in place? What are some things we may need to do some additional study for 202526? And then they'll have a more general outlook for past 202526. um and that we are slated to present that draft plan to the board in April. Um so those teams the phase 4 they have a cycle that they will be going through. Um so we have a focus area leadership team and those are the ones they'll be meeting monthly. Um they'll be reviewing data, analyzing data. I'll be providing training for them on how then they can take their data and
052facilitate their action planning team work. Um it's al also a time for each of those focus area leaders to get feedback and input from the rest of that leadership team. So then we've got action planning teams. So members of the leadership team will be facilitating action planning teams um for the different areas and those action planning teams will be um stakeholders from across the district um students, principles, leaders, it could um definitely students we want to be a part of that parents, community experts. So bringing in during the action planning team is when we'll have greater stakeholder input to review, analyze, and provide input. Um, and then kind of between those two action planning team meetings, there'll be an opportunity for wider community engagement, whether we're holding focus groups to gather information, sending out surveys,
053different ways that we'll collect data um that can then be sent back to the action planning team for their review and see if they need to make any adjustments on their plans based on that feedback. And then that action planning team kind of overview will come back to the focus area leadership team. Um and they will go through those four that cycle about four times at a minimum as we go through the work. Um and they may we may have some additional um opportunities for that based on the feedback that we're getting. But that's kind of the direction that we're moving towards. I did want [snorts] to give the board um what I thought were some exemplary examples of vision statement, mission statement, and core values and then how it links to the strategy map.
054Um so this is an example from Cambridge public schools in Massachusetts where they've got a clear vision statement, they've got their mission statement, and then those orange words around the end are their core values. So they've identified a vision, a mission, and this is the district also that gave me the idea to start with students on the vision statement. Um, so kind of stealing from what they're doing and using that here. And then what you'll see on the strategy map is those core values still encircle the main kind of strategy map for the strategic plan developed in this district. And what they've done is they've developed four objective areas um that will align all the work that they're doing. And then that fir that inner circle are the outcomes that they want to achieve. And
055then on the right hand side are those objective statements but align to what are those initiatives or action steps that they're going to take as a district to accomplish what they have set out um resulting in student achievement. So just to help the board have a visual of why it's important to do the vision, mission, and core values and the importance that that will have on the next steps with our team as we hear your feedback and input and then be able to take that and use it as we um craft our plans. Um and then just wanted to do an overall thank you for the staff who helped out and organized that event on f on Saturday, particularly our fax team. Um really helping get the word out, bringing parents, um helping facilitate that.
056It was an amazing event. Um, I talked to several parents um that have kids at charter schools and a couple that had kids at private schools and I can tell you they were just blown away with what we have to offer. They were like, "I had no idea that this is happening in our public school." And I said, "Yeah, and it's zero dollars." So, um, I think we won over a lot of a lot of people that showed up and we're looking forward to continuing all these enrollment events. Tanya has done a great job organizing and calendaring it um and supporting the principles as they host those events at their local schools. Um and that's all I have for comments for this evening. Is there any questions or followup? >> Maggie, I'd like to um
057I don't know why it just dawn on me tonight, but when [clears throat] when you applied for this position, I assume you knew that we didn't have a strategic plan. Um, and so when we hired you, we knew we didn't have a strategic plan. So I I I I put that in context of of, you know, in a district where we've had to um fight for every dollar. Um, knowing that bringing in, you know, a third party to do a lot of this work would be extremely costly or costly is not quite the word, but you know, um, and so I just want to give my gratitude for what you're, you know, you've taken this on. Um, it's absolutely necessary for our district to have one. I'm sure it's necessary for you as a superintendent
058to have one as well. So, just gratitude for taking this on and doing it so thoughtfully and carefully. Thank you. >> Thank you, Maggie, for keeping us up to date and in the loop. Um the last item on the agenda, I have very brief remarks. Um I also had Thank you to Tanya Pchet um for really an outstanding um enrollment event. I know principles and lots of people helped. Um but every time I turn around, people are talking about how great it is. Um and somebody else mentioned this, but I have heard several people say that Chartwells did an amazing job, which is pretty um cool to hear about. Um, second, I failed to do this last week, so I you all heard this, but I'm going to do it again. I just want folks
059to know that we've been having conversations with the Bunkham County um, representatives of the Bunkham County Commissioners and Bunkham County Schools about funding and how the process will look. Um, so the chairs and vice chairs of the county board of commissioners, Bunkham County Schools, Asheville City Schools, as well as superintendents and county manager have been meeting since July to discuss improvements to the budget process. Those meetings were recently expanded to include Heidi, Tina Thorp, Bunkham County Schools, and the county budget director. Um we all of us met on October 24th and the discussion began to coalesce around a set percentage of the prior year's collected property tax and sales tax revenue. The county proposes that any final agreement be an interlocal agreement to be approved and signed by the individual members of all three boards.
060We're waiting to hear back from the county with a proposal for our consideration. [music] Our board will then have a full discussion of the proposal at an open meeting with an opportunity for public comment to follow and the Bunkham County School Board and the commissioners will be doing the same. So, I just wanted to have said that so everybody knows that's um coming. And the last thing I have is just on that note, Rebecca and Heidi and I met last week with representatives from the ACA to um share the early, you know, sort of rough draft proposal to explain the context, [music] to answer questions, and to seek their input. And it was a really good meeting. And um as we all know, Heidi was in Heidi does a great job of explaining the the
061wider context. And I think the ACA people were really grateful to be able [music] to talk to her and pick her brain about what was good about this. And again, we'll talk more about it, but I just wanted you to know that that had occurred. Um, and apart from just reminding folks that um five of us plus Maggie and um the fantastic Kimberly Jones are all going to the schoolboard conference this week. So, we will have much that we learned there that we will share. Um there are um meeting announcements in your agenda. There is no school tomorrow in observance of Veterans Day. Thank you again to our veterans. And I would entertain a motion to adjurnn. >> So moved. >> Second. >> All those in favor? >> I >> thank you. It is unanimous.
062Please.