001Good evening. This is a regular schedule meeting of the Girden School District Board of Directors. We'll now call the meeting to order. Robbie, can you establish that we have a quorum present? >> We do have. >> Okay. With the quorum present, we'll be able to conduct business. Brother Andrew, could you lead us in word of prayer? We thank you for this chance to uh come together tonight to do the business of this district. We pray that you would give each of us wisdom that you would bless this district and the teachers and administrators and students that it represents guide our conversations. It's in Jesus name we pray. >> Amen. I pledge stand to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible, with
002liberty and justice for all. >> You going to start or you want me to start it? >> A little something special for you all at our elementary press. There you go. >> School board is like the people who run the schools. Yeah. >> I think like they decide who will eat the lunch and stuff. A the school board meeting is like it's like where like a whole bunch of teachers and stuff get together and it talks about schools. >> I think the school board is like a big happy birthday. I think a school board is where it's a management place. It's for multiple schools at once where they can control things and manage stuff from other schools. >> Something that you do math on. Um, feel better or to choose who to hire and who
003to fire. make our school better community. I like I like going outside so much. So my favorite teacher is my death teacher because I love >> stuff around. And what I love about Doris is that Thank you. I like that. >> What I love about my school is what I love about my school is that like the teachers times all these fun things. >> Yeah, of course. >> What I like about school is that we get to learn new things and to go to college. >> The thing I love about our school is I love teachers and stories. >> I love my uncle. There's a lot of great teachers and I love I like how my sister and her children's playing. Nice football. Um because um they teach and I like >> Thank you. Thank
004you. Thank you for your time. Thank you for your commitment. >> Thank you for everything. We appreciate your hard work that you do every day. >> Okay. >> Uh Nick special recognition. >> That was a special y'all were the special recogn recognition this month. >> It's board appreciation month. >> Oh for the next public comments. I don't think we have any of those. Uh now we'll enter in executive session. We have personnel items. Okay, we are done with our executive session. We'll now call the meeting back to order. May want to move on our executive session item. >> Personel package package. Thank you. >> All right, we have a motion and a second. All in favor of that motion say I. All in descent the same sign. That motion passed. The next item is our
005approval of our minutes. Anybody have any questions about our passboard minutes? >> Motion the minute presented. Second. >> Okay, we have a motion and a second. All in favor of that motion say I. >> All in say the same sign. That motion pass. Next item is our financial report. You don't see any things you want to talk about there. Any questions? Rhonda, is there anything you think we need to know that >> we have our money back to that in December? So, um right now our legal balance is a little over million. That should probably be the top that you will see it now while um because county taxes work off a calendar year. our our year is a fiscal year. So, um you'll see right now we are finishing up a county year and
006it looks like we're going to be right at about the 98% collection rate. Um so I don't see us having Last year we had a really big check. I don't see that happening this year. I think we're going to matter of fact we may be over just it it is really close right now. Um and we have they've sent in our report. They're sending it into the state. Um this two little over two million. This will probably be the top that you'll see legal balance. It'll kind of bounce around, but it will start declining over the rest of the year and that is normal. But >> do do you feel comfortable with where our balances are? >> I don't know that I ever feel comfortable, but yes, I feel I feel okay. Yes. Is >>
007there any more questions? Y'all want to move on that? the motion to accept the financial presentation presented. >> Okay, we have a motion and a second. All in favor of that motion say I. All in descent, same sign. That motion pass. Next item is under our business legal finance consent agenda. Mhm. And it is your board training hours and it's just the listing of the training hours that you received last year. You're required to get six hours and I think Robbie, you have two hours to carry forward for this year. So, >> so everybody good for this year? >> Well, it starts over this year. Now, this is 25 or this one's for 25. Now, you'll have to do 26. Just remember our teachers have to get 60 hours. >> Sorry to be 60 I
008mean 60. >> Yes. Yes. >> Yeah. There you go. I sure enough. >> Yeah, that's not going to happen. I can take that. And you just have to make a motion to >> So that on the uh which one are we on the board? >> So board trainy. >> You want to move? >> Yes. I'll make to accept the board training. >> Second. >> We have a motion in a second. All in favor of that motion say I. All in descent. Same sign. That motion passed. >> Okay. The next item is our 2627 calendar. >> Yes. And we had two calendars that we presented to um PPC and then sent to vote by the faculty. And this is the calendar that they voted on for next year. It would put us starting back to school.
009Teachers would start back on the 10th of August and then students would start back on the 17th and it would put us ending um on May. It still puts us ending before Memorial Day. So, >> what's the big change from this year? This this calendar, >> there's not a huge change. Just starting later. >> Okay. >> Because we started a little bit earlier in August falls later. >> Yes. >> Yeah. For 27 because it May 31st. So, yeah. This is voted by teachers and students. Is that how it >> No, it's just the teachers vote on that one. >> But we did get community feedback. Yes. On our calendar and we asked for that back in December. >> Yes, it was December. Um and and the community, you know, really has enjoyed the thorn and
010respect to it. Well, >> yeah. >> And then as far as going forward, most people I've talked to, they just want consistency. >> Kind of know what's expected. They're planned vacations like >> and that's the same for I mean that's always with schools, their calendar. That's what everybody wants to know when when they can plan their vacations. >> I make a motion to accept the 20 Please turn the school calendar as presented. >> We have a motion and a second. All in favor of that motion say I. >> All sent the same sign. That motion pass. The last item under that is our board policy updates. >> Yes. And for the first time in a while we didn't get a super stack of board policy um updates. We have policy 4.4 core, which is updated
011to make sure that students who transfer to another district, they're placed in their grading courses based on their actual academic record rather than where they should be because that's that's something that at the secondary level can affect your graduation rate. But this is geared more towards that third grade promotion. They're trying to keep people from moving kids around to avoid being retained in third grade. So, they're just making it to where they have to be placed where they are academically, not where they are based on their age. >> How do y'all compare homeschooled children? Are they held exactly to that same? >> No. No, they don't have the third grade retention. That's that's strictly based on their atlas. >> Okay. >> And homeschool kids don't take the atlas. So, >> well, how do y'all know
012how to place a child? >> They have to take a a child that comes in that has been homeschooled, that comes into our school is tested for placement. >> Okay. >> Well, I guess that brings up the next question. What have y'all saw? Have y'all s about that? >> Well, we haven't had a lot coming back. >> Haven't had a lot. >> We've just had a few. >> So, that's that's a test for later if the numbers go back up. >> Um, policy 4.45 45 was one that was they just took out because it's for the class of 26. This is the last year for that. So, it's not going to be relevant anymore. And 4.451 is basically changing just taking off the class numbers because this is how it's going to be going forward.
013And then the possession and use of personal electronic devices. There were some that they needed to add a a stipulation to the bell-to-bell no cell because you've got kids who are doing concurrent credit and when they go to log in to their computerized work, they have to do two-step authentication. The only way to do the two-step authentication is to have a message sent to their phone or to their email. So, they have to be able to have their phone so that they can do that two-step authentication. And I can tell you I saw that in act in person when we were doing Henderson's teacher entrance interviews and the kids were going up there to get on the computer to pull up their presentations and one was rendered to tears because she was trying to pull
014her presentation up in Google Slides and she had to do two-step authentication and her phone was dead. So she couldn't get her presentation to pull up. So that is really important for them. Everything is moving to that two-step authentication. So that's just that's one of those asterisk that myself. >> Yeah. That those kids who are doing that concurrent credit in those distance classes need to have be able to have their phone for that purpose. So that's really the only policy changes. >> Um we're voting on those because they're not huge changes. >> Yeah. >> Yes. I take a motion accept changes to the handbook as presented. >> All right, we have a motion in a second. All in favor of that motion say I. >> All in descent, same side. That motion passed. And as
015far as the district data update, that's why you have the testing calendar. >> So just to let us see what types of tests will be going on this spring. Um most of them are already scheduled. We've we've given several over the fall, but the the major assessments are mainly in the spring. Some ones that have been added um has been um preacct um for eighth and ninth grade. That's an optional. A child has the choice to opt in or opt out. And for the preacct for the 10th grade, the state is going to pay for one or the other. So they won't pay for both grades to take each one. So that's, you know, I think right now we're looking at maybe around 26 kids that we're going to issue the preac test to March
01611th. So that's an addition to our testing. Um and then we'll give the ACT exam March 10th and ACT work keys. that's pretty much given fall and spring and that's your um CTE courses and that's for the completer components and then we have ALPA altpa DLM the Atlas interims will be giving winter assessments starting up in February January the end of January this month right last week >> what's our interims for high school year aren't you first no sorry February yeah for February and CES is March. Um and then we'll do um the Atlas summitives and AP exams and I don't think I'm forgetting any K2 atlas that's new this year to us. We've had screeners that we do. Um and then we do a uh fall and a winter and a spring test. So
017lots of testing that goes on this semester. Um, we do have this on our website and then we'll also send this out in our live feed and on Facebook too. So, we'll keep everyone informed of, you know, when tests will be given at certain times. You have any questions on the testing? >> Why Why are there so many? >> Good question. This is what our state requires us to do. Um, now we have the option on the interim tests. We don't have to do some of the interim tests, but of course, why would we not? Because we want to know where our kids stand prior to giving um that summitive exam that we're held accountable for. >> So, um and this is, you know, they they put out a slew of new tests for us.
018What was it about November? About lost my mind when I saw it and I went, "Oh my gosh, what are we going to do? Why are we testing so many things with our kids? Because unfortunately, um we are public school and we are expected to meet certain expectations and this is what we have to comply with with the state. >> The preac and the uh for the nth and tth graders 11. >> So preacct um that is the newer one. they they actually give us options to offer the SAT, PreSAT or the PSAT, the PRAACT and a CLT. Um but we um had no one select those due to the fact that we are you know trying to go down that ACT route. Um and colleges do um look at that ACT still. So, um,
019our kids opted, we, you know, took them through an advisory component with the counselor and she explained all of the tests to them and they chose the preac to go that rout test take >> um, two hours. It's it's actually better. The ACT is a new revised version. So, they're trying to model the preac as that and it it takes just a couple of hours. Um, and we'll do that. We can't give them together and we have to separate them out. If we have ninth graders that are going to take the preac, we have to do, you know, just ninth grade and then we'll do just 10th grade and then of course we have to, you know, give that March 10th one to >> only one take it the optional. >> It is optional and
020the state will pay for one >> in the ninth or 10th month. So >> um they have the option to take another one but it would be at their own cost and um they you know the wonderful thing about this is is we are they have been very flexible with us. There's a certain window that they have open for us to be able to issue these but they did require us the state did require us to offer these tests this spring. So, how does it work? You just pull them out of class for two hours and a separate room >> basically. Yes. >> Yeah. >> And with that, it's really better too with preac because college board >> Oh, >> yeah. >> informed us that we could not give the PSAT to 11th graders to
021qualify for National Merit Scholars if we did not require every sophomore to take it. and and that free just gives them an idea of how that they would perform on that ACT. >> And the ACT has changed because now the science is optional. >> Yes. >> Lots of changes. So, I mean, it's supposed to be for the better for our kids. So, we'll see how that pans out this spring >> through through the through the years like the Atlas test, you know, that's been around for a little while. Do all these testing companies, do they use the same kind of platforms to build this testing or is it all >> Atlas is Arkansas's test. >> They do that. >> They don't give Atlas anywhere else. Atlas is Arkansas's test. That's the one that that our
022state designed for our kids. >> I mean, you would think children need consistency. Yeah. >> Why would you mess with that? >> I don't know. That's why it's so good for us to do the interims because >> they can see what's going >> so they can they can get used to how it's structured. That's another reason why we require our teachers to do the classroom quizzes >> because there's they're set up exactly like pull those questions from the atlas. And it's a wonderful thing for us to have the atlas, you know, for sure because it's our it's Arkansas's test. Um, now we're just all trying to become accustomed to it and and we have we're starting to um we've just got to >> start measuring more of our instructional components with that as well. It's
023all got to mesh. It's all got to blend. Um, so we're still working towards that. risk. >> So, we're going to have fun this Frank. Do you have any questions about this? >> Thank you. >> There's no other questions, future business or board. Next board meeting be the 17th. >> If there's not other questions, we'll move to a jour. I don't have any right now. They're still working on all the plans. I've been in contact with Jody and I've been in contact with French architects and they're working together to get everything hammered out as far as full budget and detailed plan. >> Are they doing that last month? >> Yes, but I have been getting questions from both of them so that they can work on their end of things. And Jody did go over
024and look at the primary school and is working on that number for a demo cost for the primary school. >> So you think it's possible to cut that by next month? >> Um that's the plan is to have it by next month because Jason Hollesclaw will be here next month to talk about finances and the financing that's going to be needed. So hopefully yes, that's the plan. Well, I'm sure going to tell him to be here, Robbie. >> We got a motion opposition to that. Then you second it on