001Good evening everyone. Go ahead and call this meeting to order. Uh Jacksonville North Pilaski School District will be a model district where every learner is valued and empowered to become a successful contributing member of society. It's our mission to foster a culture of ownership and accountability through partnerships yet create multiple pathways for success. Mr. Moore, would you please call the RO? >> Colonel Smith. >> Daniel Gray >> here. Ava Coleman >> present. >> Jim Moore, present. Ron McDaniel, >> present. >> Dana >> here. Lauren Martin >> here. >> Lauren Walker >> here. >> All right. If you all would join me as we stand for a moment of silence followed by the pledge. >> Absolutely. >> Please join me in the pledge of allegiance. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of
002America and to the republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. [clears throat] >> All right. Good evening everyone. First uh item we have is a special presentation 2627 JMS schedule proposal presentation. Dr. Eller. >> Yes. Good evening everyone. I'm going to ask Dr. Janice Walker, our assistant superintendent, to come and present our team who will present this proposal to you and you should have handouts at your seat. >> I will be joined tonight by Mrs. Biggs, the principal of Jacksonville Middle School, and Mrs. Ricky Noble. >> Is that microphone on, Miss Dr.? >> So, it's Mrs. Biggs and the principal at Jacksonville Middle. And it will also be Mr. Good evening [snorts] everyone. Um stated my name is Gail BS. I am the principal at Jacksonville
003Middle School. Um one of the things that we want um for our scholars whether they are in elementary, middle school or high school is a pathway to success. So one of the ways we uh looked at doing that at the middle school was to streamline the process and give vertical alignment to the existing uh academic offerings. So we have our steam academy. So if you look at the the the strength the screen uh you see that is science, technology, engineering, arts and math. So that is our um going to be our focus. One of the things that we encounter is because we have over 900 scholars in our school and narrow hallways is that there are incidents that happen. So we have devised a plan as you will see that will will will um address
004those uh that particular situation and this is just some data that was pulled by um the CNI team through Mr. Smith uh that pertains to that. What we are proposing is true teaming. And so scholars would be in cohorts or clusters or teams, however you want to phrase it, but uh they will uh in each the first floor, which is our sixth grade floor, there will be approximately two and a half um cohorts that are there. It's five classroom, four core, and one CTE that will be clustered together. those scholars will simply rotate between those five classes um and with the exception of when they go to physical education or PE um art or band or coral otherwise they will operate within that cluster and what this does it it addresses that hallway uh congestion.
005It also addresses the the u things that are encountered as far as bathroom time. we can better schedule that according to whatever team or cluster that they're in. This is the same setup for uh the second floor which is our 78 floor. And um what we've done is that seventh grade will have that same setup. Five classrooms, four core, one CTE. Same thing for eighth grade and they will have uh two and a partial cluster. These are the house teams that we're proposing and in sixth grade they will either be assigned to a team that's called voltage, lightning or shield. And so that is just to delineate those teams. It is not that lightning or voltage get something that the others don't. They all get the same pretty, you know, setup as far as their
006CTE offerings, their activity, and their elective offerings. And the way it's set up now, if I enter sixth grade in voltage, then when I enter seventh grade, I'm still going to be on voltage T unless there's certain circumstances. Nothing is in stone, but unless there are certain extenduating circumstances, we figure that would be the smoothest transition. This kind of shows you the the house teams and the offerings that each house team will get. And that is it reflects your uh core core your CTE activity and elected. This particular um plan no one loses their job. No positions are eliminated u from the current uh setup that we have. Um we uh looked up everybody's lensure and so if um if what they are currently teaching is not slated to be taught next year their lensure
007provides opportunity for them to teach something else and so nobody is you know being displaced. This is the accelerated house team. I will say that um those of us who have been here for a while Miss Medaf this was brainchild for of hers that she wanted that accelerated uh team to um or accelerated pathway for scholars that are high performing and they are uh interested in pursuing um post-secary opportunities that could lead to an um associates degree. And so I'm going to let Miss Noble speak to that a little bit. >> Good evening. >> So yes, we are working on getting together to have an option for our higher performing students to earn an associates by the end of their high school career. Um, but that's where they need to start in middle school to
008prepare them for that. Um, we also know a lot of our higher performing students historically have left the district between fifth and sixth grade. So hopefully this allegates some of that as well. Um, our accelerated house team, this is what their offerings will look like. The goal is by eighth grade that they would have a credit for English one, algebra one, and physical science and then that would lead them into our associates pathway, which this is a very rough draft on what we're working on. Um, but that's our goal. That way they could start in middle school but end with an associates degree. So this is um the the setup as far as the number of minutes for each area. There it will be an 80 minute class period. Within those 80 minutes the first
00950 minutes is content and the last 30 is intervention. So that what what that does [crying] is it provides the opportunity for scholars to get that intervention from that content teacher. So if I need intervention in ELA or English then my English teacher is providing that particular intervention. The same thing is true for math and for science. That's what the 8m minute period provides for this is just the offerings. The um activities would be PE u music and art. The electives AVID GT seminar band choir piano and athletics. This is a draft of what this the schedule would look like as far as the blocks uh or the the time frames in which they would uh move and they would meet in with with that five uh classroom cluster. Um much of that would be
010done um without a bail. These are um CTE focused. That's where we get our steam. The steam is embedded in that and those CTE classes are in a direct alignment with what the the high school offers in theirmies and so everything would be seamless from middle school to high school. This uh is a diagram that kind of shows you how what we're offering in middle school align and feeds into what they are offering at uh at the high school. questions, comments, considerations. >> Thank you very much. Questions from the board? >> I do have one question. So, if a scholar is in maybe one or two accelerated classes, but not all four accelerated classes, what would that look like as a sixth grader if they would they still be in that accelerated pod or would
011they be how would that work? As of right now, we're looking at having them all accelerated. Those are some options that we're looking at how we work that out just our goal. We're going to keep them together for them. >> Okay. Thank you. >> Any other questions? >> So, what type of associates degree are we looking for them to be graduating with? >> General studies. >> Okay. >> Yes, sir. Is that is that still with Palasky Tech or is it with >> No, sir. It' be through Flanders Smith. >> Flers Smith. Okay. >> Any other questions? >> All right. Thank you very much. Appreciate it. >> I would just like to acknowledge the fact that when Mrs. was assigned to Jacksonville Middle School. She truly had a vision of how we could in well advance
012and enhance some of those opportunities for our scholars. She worked closely with the curriculum team under direction of Dr. Peard. And I forgot to mention that Mrs. Nova wears many hats. She's over steam and >> GT. So she wears a lot of hats. [cough] I just wanted [clears throat] to acknowledge the curriculum team and all of the hard work that went into revamping this whole middle school concept. So, thank you curriculum team and thank you board for allowing us the autonomy to look at ways that we can enhance educational opportunities for our scholars. >> Thank you so much. >> That concludes all the special presentations. >> All right, Miss Chisa, you have a signup sheet for me? Thank you, man. Appreciate it. >> All right. Uh, the board will now open up public comment period.
013Uh, in accordance with Arkansas law, members of the public who reside in the district or parents of or guardians of students, district employees are invited to address the board. Uh, each speaker will be allowed three minutes. Please direct all comments to the board as a whole. The board will listen respectfully but will not engage in dialogue or debate during this time. We welcome all viewpoints including criticism, however, disruptive behavior, profanity, threats, refusal to uh follow time limits will not be permitted. If a speaker becomes disruptive, I may issue a warning and end a comment for that person. Thank you for your cooperation and your participation in this meeting. That being said, our first speaker this evening is Miss Maria Hegwood. >> And if you if you could adjust the mic and just speak into it
014to make sure everybody can hear you. >> Can everyone hear me? >> Yes, ma'am. Thank you. >> Hear me? >> Okay. Good evening to the board. My name is Maria Haywood. I am a mother to a student at Bayu Meadow Elementary. I stand before you today because I am a parent who believes that safety and transparency transparency are not options for a school district. They are the bare minimum requirements. When I moved my son to this district, I did so with the hope that he would be safe and supported. However, that hope was shaken when I learned that a serious safety threat involving a staff member was kept from parents for two whole entire months. That's unacceptable and we don't understand how that even happens. We are not here to litigate personnel files tonight. We
015are here to talk about policy. When a district waits 60 days to notify mothers and fathers that their children may have been at risk, that is a failure of leadership and a failure of trust. Silence is not a safety strategy. The demand I am asking the board tonight to commit to a formal parental notification policy. We need a rule that guarantees parents will be notified of any staff related safety incident or arrest within 24 hours, not 60 days. As we look toward the 2026 school year and implementation of the Learns Act, our district is at a crossroad. We have schools in this community that are struggling with C and D ratings in Arkansas. We cannot expect parents to keep their children in these seats if we cannot even guarantee that we will tell them the
016truth when things go wrong. I recently turned 35 and I decided that I can no longer sit in the audience and hope for change. I am jumping into the political process because my son deserves better and every child in Jacksonville, Arkansas deserves better. I look forward to your response regarding a new notification policy and we will be at the state board education meeting this Thursday too to ensure that the rules being made in lit rock reflect the transparency we need here at home and I really thank you for giving me a chance to say that. >> Thank you Miss Appreciate that. >> All right, next I've got Miss Teresa Cook. Mrs. Seresa Cook. >> My apologies. >> We're here because this board, every single one of you, have failed the families at Bayu Meadow Elementary
017in the worst possible way and then tried to hide behind with silence. We already know about the custodian that was arrested. We know you waited in an improper amount of time to let us know. We know you just sent a measly email, a vague email long after administrators revealed the surveillance footage. Let's be clear, this was not a minor delay. It was a failure of transparency, a failure of communication, and a failure to put the children first like I'm sure you would want yours. And yet, here we stand. When incidents involving children's safety occur, parents must be informed immediately, not weeks later, with a single unclear email. That delay has made us feel abandoned. and made us feel like protecting your reputations was somehow more important than protecting our children. The superintendent statement to uh
018the parent coalition's demands does not answer for your decisions as a board. You are the board. You are accountable to this community. You're accountable to us. You work for us. You're the ones elected to ensure that laws are followed, policies are enforced, and that families are respected. By choosing silence in the face of a crisis involving alleged abuse, you have destroyed trust. You've denied families the dignity of cander. You've shown that in this district, institutional convenience matters more than child safety. Parents didn't come here tonight to ask nicely. They came here because your inaction hurt real children and devastated our families. We came here because silence in the face of harm is not leadership. It's not about avoiding embarrassment. It's about accountability. And when accountability is absent, when leadership fails so completely, the only ethical
019response is to step aside. For the children harmed, for the families betrayed, for the community that deserves better, this board, every single one of you should resign. Thank you. >> [applause] >> Thank you, Miss Cook, Mrs. Cook, uh, Miss Christian Sinclair. Good evening. I'm here tonight on behalf of the Parent Action Coalition and the families of the Jacksonville North School District. We're now into 2026 and yet our community is still reeling from the events that unfolded between October and December of 2025. The facts remain undeniable. This board knew about the investigation of October 16th and they didn't tell any of the parents except for the three victims initially initially until December 5th of 2025. During that critical period, there was a total failure to implement any immediate transparent policy change. This doesn't protect our scholars
020from future harm. This timeline doesn't suggest a simple communication. It indicates a clear intent to conceal, a pattern of continued negligence, and a direct rejection of your primary duty to protect our children. Can you state for the record that this disclosure after 59 days was a proactive choice by the district and not the result of a parent foyer request? The glaring absence of any efforts to implement basic policy change paints a very frightening story and everyone should hear this point and take it to heart. This board never planned to tell the public about this sexual abuse. They just did it. Sorry. Give me just a second. The cover up was clearly a calculated and willful act by the board and it was done at the expense of our children. The parent action coalition submitted a
021formal list of demands with a deadline of December 31st, 2025 for a formal response and specific policy implementation. That deadline passed with no communication and no accountability from this leadership. Because you have failed to provide the transparency the district deserves. And because your inaction has compromised the safety of every student in your care, we can no longer trust any of your leadership. None of you. The time for apologies and empty promises has passed. To restore the integrity of our schools and begin the long process of healing for the victims and their families, we demand that the entire board resign immediately. We will not stop until this district is led by individuals who prioritize the safety of our children over the protection of their own reputations. [applause] >> Thank you, Miss Sinclair. Uh, next I've got
022Miss Brandy Elders. [clears throat] >> Good evening. Reading this on behalf of the parent action coalition. [clears throat] What happened at Bay Elementary was not just criminal misconduct by one individual. It was a prolonged systemic failure of leadership and it unfolded over weeks while parents were intentionally kept in the dark. From early October through early December, families unknowingly sent their children back into that building every single day. Every single day, parents were denied the information they needed to protect their children. You denied them that. And during that time, additional victims were not being actively identified. Since this information became public in December, more than five additional victims have been identified. That alone demonstrates the harm caused by silence. What makes this even more disturbing is how parents finally learned the truth. Information was not proactively
023shared. It was released only after a member of the community filed a Freedom of Information Act. Not by y'all. Based on this timeline, I believe sincerely and firmly that had the Freedom of Information Act request not been filed, parents would not have been notified at all. Nothing in the board's actions suggest urgency, transparency, or intent to inform families outside the pressure. This was not a communication delay. This was not confusion. This was a choice. We teach our children this. A choice to manage information instead of share it. a choice to delay transparency in a child's safety crisis. A choice that prioritized institutional control over parental rights. And this incident does not stand alone. This board has already faced documented concerns related to governance and oversight, including ethical questions involving conflicts of interest and state audit
024funding, citing serious failures in financial controls and accountability. When those issues are viewed alongside the handling of this incident, a clear pattern emerges. Leadership is not defined by who made the original decision. Leadership is defined by who spoke up, who intervened, who acted when it became clear parents were being excluded from critical safety information. None of that happened. No public disengagement, no independent outreach to families, no urgency that matched the gravity of what had occurred. Silence in the face of harm is not neutral. It is enabling. For these reasons, we are formally calling for the immediate resignation of the entire Jacksonville North Clappy School Board. Our children deserve protection in October. Our parents deserve the truth in October. And waiting until December only after a Freedom of Information Act request is not leadership. It is
025reckless abandonment. [applause] Thank you, Miss Elders. Uh, next I've got >> [clears throat] >> Audrey backer Patrick Aer sorry >> my name is Audrey Bunker I'm here on behalf of the >> coalition action coalition I agree with them >> I just wanted to say that it's a shame that all of you consider allow this it's absolutely crazy this is My first year having a kid and a sister. I was a kid with this sister not too long ago. Two years ago. You know who my mother is? Miss Christian. That is my mother. This is not a new problem. Y'all have been known to make mistakes like this multiple times. >> I was in the district. I was failed by y'all multiple times by your own staff because y'all can't even do a background check. That's
026crazy because when I go to work, I go on AR Courts Connect, which is free, >> and I look up everybody I work with because I'm so scared of everything. That's not weakness or anything. You can't tell me you can't afford that. You can't afford basic needs. That's great. Thank you. [applause] There's Jessica Cox. I don't know if this has done anyone any good, but um hello, my name is Jessica Cox and um there's actually only one thing that I wanted to point out um just publicly because I think that there's been some some clarification that's not taking place. So, um, at the previous meeting, I mentioned about a, uh, non-redaptive police report that was given to me by a staff member within the district. Um, since then, um, we've had the email come out,
027uh, talking about all of the comments and going back through those. And one of the things that was mentioned in the email was how there was no way that a parent had received the nonredacted police report during the video footage review. Okay, so I spoke up about this um and I saw an email today addressing the conversation I had previously. Um so one thing that I want to point out is the email states itself that we received just today before the meeting. The school district did not provide police reports to the victim's families during meetings to review the footage. Okay, it is exactly the opposite. On October 21st, I went to the security director's office and received a police report from two employees within that office during video footage review. So, aside from all things,
028I think the biggest thing that we're facing right now is a transparency issue. Um, and a lot of things have gotten twisted around. And I just wanted to be clear that, um, I wasn't even asking that a new email was sent out or anyone was taking ownership. The fact of the matter is this is about children and releasing that non-redactive police report is against their privacy as minors. Okay? So, what I'm saying is, yes, I did receive it from a staff member. Yes, it was from a system computer within Jacksonville High School printed from that device on October 21st and it did happen when we came to the video footage review. So, I think what I'm confused on is why it's being said in the email that it wasn't during the video review and that
029there's no possible way I could have received it from someone. My copy doesn't even look the same. So, I do appreciate that the email was sent out trying to, you know, touch on those subjects and to and to maybe take a little bit of the accountability, but I see now that it was really just let's reward it, but we still won't tell the truth. >> Okay? So, if we're going to start with transparency here, we can't change what we've done, but going forward, that comes with honesty. >> That email isn't honest. And once again, you've sent out an email with this much information that really requires this much. And I think it is fair that people know that yeah, someone within the school district actually did screw up. Okay? And that I know that's not
030the main focus of this, but again, if you're going to fix things, fix them in house or wherever they start and keep honesty going forward. Thank you. >> [applause] >> Thank you, Miss Cox. Zachary Cole. >> All right. Good evening, B evening everybody. I feel tonight presents a really grand opportunity for us going forward and in light with the school district eyes of the state right on the school district to enhance all of our security. Uh Dr. O I did send you an email I don't get a chance to review it regards cameras we talked about that briefly at the site um I was looking at some things and it is information. [clears throat] Some of my money has been put forward by property taxes. There are $10 million worth of revenue that's yet to
031be spent. So, this presents a really big opportunity for us to upgrade our servers. I feel like we need to add a server at each school. That way, it would be immediate access to pull up indefinite amounts of time of camera footage. This will also enhance the ability for our security staff to use more cameras. They will also be able to enhance our ability as a school district to get incorporate better security cameras as well to the point where we have, you know, as opposed to a small amount of volume of activity in a certain window of the camera versus a high amount. And yes, that will look at different in every school. But if you see something in the camera detection based on definitions, that will greatly improve our opportunities going forward to catch
032anything that's suspicious. But on the flip side of this, we also got to think about this. When any student or personnel or parent goes into an office of any school building, I've been at my immediate myself, okay? I go see my son at school. There's been some things that I've talked about with the security guy there and it really disturbs me that it feels like certain camera angles do not catch adequate amounts of viewing area and on top of that I feel like we need more computer screens to cover all of our cameras in the school. Yes, I understand that cost money, but a data server with Windows Server 2025 is $5,000 [clears throat] per server. I guess that's a very small cost considering we have $10 million worth of available mounts because we talk
033about maybe a total about $50,000 $60,000 plus upgrading all of our cameras, which I know cost money for that. But here's the thing, you get what you pay for. And I feel this is our opportunity with the state looking at us. I've talked with all the people at the state legislative level and they were saying there's federal grants that were given to the state from to you guys that was passed on. So they're saying they cannot give any more funding in that direction. But if you were to make an appeal to say the board of education or somewhere within the higher ed department. >> Thank you Mr. Cole. >> If I make you just finish the style. >> Thank you sir. Your time's up. >> Mr. Grant. Here's a thing. I understand you may not
034go. >> Sir, your time is up. >> Please take your seat. >> We heard you. Thank Thank you very much. Your time is up. >> Dr. >> No, sir. I'm running the meeting. Your time is up. Please take your seat. >> I'll have you escorted out if you won't take your seat. >> Okay, Dr. Gray, but here's the thing. We all are watching. >> Mr. Aland Robinson. Mr. C, you shouldn't have to do their job for them. That investigation and so forth should have been started a while back to increase the service. >> Please address the board, Miss Robinson. >> Hey, board. Good evening. I'll be direct. Parents submitted concerns and demands to this board three separate times. Three times you receive clear documented communication and three times she chose not to respond. Not a
035clarification, not an acknowledgement, not a single direct answer from the people elected to govern this district. Dr. O, thank you for your acknowledgement of the emails. Your silence wasn't scheduling. It wasn't for you and it wasn't confusion. It was a decision just like all the decisions you made to ignore your constituents. And that that decision has consequences because when a board ignores its constituents three times, it breaks trust. When a board refuses to address its own governance failures, it loses legitimacy. And when the board cannot fulfill the basic responsibility of responding to the public honestly, consistently immediately, especially when it's an emergency, it forfeits the moral authority to continue leading. So let me be clear. We are calling for the immediate resignation of every member of this board. Now, I know sometimes you guys mock
036us, laugh at us, especially when we're up here speaking or about to speak on camera. So, I don't think this is a laughing matter. And if you refuse to resign, then tonight's executive session must confront the reality you've avoided. the conversation about removing your own leadership. But understand this, even if you reshuffle your seats, we're not stopping. We're organized. We are mobilized. And we are unrelenting parent action coalition. >> We will inform every family, every voter, every business in this community about the role each of you played collectively and individually. And we will use every lawful, civic, and economic tool available to us. Many of you are business owners. Ever heard of the word boycott? This district belongs to the public >> and we are done being ignored. [applause] >> Thank you, M. Robinson. >>
037Miss McCoy, Miss Tikica McCoy, were you signing in to be signed in at the meeting? You want to speak? Miss McCoy. >> No. >> All right. Next person I have in is >> what's on. >> Leah Watson. My apologies. Good evening board. Can everybody hear me? >> Yes, ma'am. >> My name is Leah Wson. I'm a home homeowner and taxpayer here in Jacksonville and I'm the parent of four young children. One of my pre one of my children previously attended Homer Atkins and my family remains deeply invested in the health and future of JMPSD. I'm here tonight because trust in the community has been damaged. Trust is not broken by hard decisions alone. It's broken when concerns go unanswered and accountability feels absent. When families speak up and receive silence, it sends a message whether
038intentional or not. As a concerned parent community member, my initial question coming here was simple about the board's plan to repair the damaged relationship with the families you serve. But [snorts] I think I think that vote We all want strong schools, supported educators and students who thrive. That requires partnership and partnership requires trust. I hope that you all are able to figure out a solution tonight to reconcile how this district, this community is supposed to regain trust in the school system, especially with all the options that we have now when it comes to schooling our children. think you all should really consider what your next move is. Thank you. [applause] >> All right, that is everyone that has signed up for public comment. So that will close the public comment period. The next item we've
039got is legal update. And I think Mr. Richardson, I don't think you have anything to share with us at this time. Is that correct? >> Facilities update. I don't think we have anything on facilities updator, do we? So, >> no, it can wait till the superintendent's report. >> Okay. Well, that brings us to superintendent report. >> Good evening, everyone. Uh, just a few things. Um, we did put an RFP out for a marketing and brokerage services for the Dupri property located on Gregory. Uh, that uh handout has been provided for you with the Haway Group. Uh, both we only received two proposals back. Uh both were pretty uh outstanding proposals. Uh but my proposal to you or recommendation is to go with Hathaway uh group uh just based on the additional services that they you
040or history that they've had with school districts and and this type of property with it being reszoned. And so um I wanted to bring that before you as well uh so that uh if you have any questions you can uh ask them. Any questions or thoughts on that? Proposal. >> Yes. >> So move. >> Second. Got a motion and a second to enter into a market agreement with the halfway group for the property on the old Warren Dupree side basically with 10 acres. >> All any other discussion or questions? All those in favor say I. >> Any opposed? >> All right, that passes unanimously. Anything else? >> Yes. Um we just FYI, we've had three legal transfers for the month of December. Um the district uh has started to utilize district admin along with some
041of our community partners have started to uh make revisions to a lot of our documents that we uh utilize in our school districts such as our crisis crisis management plan uh to address the situation that we've been uh we've been discussing uh tonight so that all of our staff members licensed and classified know exactly what steps to follow. We've also through a suggestion of the uh parent group to uh started working on a draft training manual um so that we could use that each year not just to train our uh staff members but also train our parents and all of our volunteers. And so that leads me to uh another request. If possible, if we could schedule the board uh would schedule a work session so we could one uh share the crisis crisis management
042plan update with you, but also the training manual uh draft and then also address uh the rest of the concerns that have been brought forth uh through email and uh in person meetings. So I wanted to present that to you. >> Yeah. Uh so talked about doing a workshop. Is there um maybe time in the next couple of weeks to be able to do that? Um >> Mondays again, >> uh Monday the 12th. >> We can do it on the We don't have to do it on Monday night, but You got sir >> on the 12th. >> Is there ball games or anything? Y'all good? >> 13. Okay. >> I want I I see some of our friends from CPC here too. I've been in discussions with them and like to ask them to come
043to that workshop if they were available. I know you had reached out to somebody at the Department of Ed possibly. We have and uh speaking of CPC uh the uh Jennifer and team were one of the teams that helped us draft uh review the draft of the training manual. So I think it would be great to have them. >> Um and some of the input we received at Biomeda on the 11th. I think that stuff is was very productive and again I think it's just it's important for us to get together. Uh the only time we can talk as a board is in a meeting, public meeting. If we reply to all to an email that is a violation of FOI, Arkansas FOI laws. We all go to training. We know the rules and one
044board member does not speak for the whole board and the only time we can do that get together is speak in a public meeting uh and and meet in an open session. Uh so that's why when you when you may not get a reply to all to when you're demanding a a response from the board, it's because we're not meeting in public. We can't reply to all. That is a violation of FOYA laws. So, um, and I was gonna kind of I know there's some comments that some of the board members wanted to make, but I I just think it's a good time for us to, uh, possibly go over what the role of a school board member is in the state of Arkansas. It's our job to set policies. We set goals and direction.
045We hire, evaluate, support, and fire the superintendent. That's the only person we have the authority to hire and and to have direct um oversight of. It's Dr. Ow's job and the administration to handle the employees. It's Dr. Owa's job and the district to handle day-to-day decisions. Uh we have financial oversight of the district. We act collectively as a board. Not we don't have any individual authority alone to act as an individual board member. I'm the president of the school board. But that means I get to conduct this meeting. That that's all of the extra powers I get to do is get to be up here and talk more than than the other board members. I'm sure they they relish that. Um >> question, >> but we we participate in required training and you know, we're
046all parents. We're all citizens here and every one of these board members cares about this community and these kids. Okay? We're not perfect. We don't make mist We make mistakes. And I want to say right now that that I have the complete trust and faith in in Dr. OA. I appreciate we have a tremendous superintendent. We've been under some fire. Yes, we've made some mistakes. We've been out to Bayameda. We've we've asked for input. We hear that input. We care. And we're going to make some We're going to have some serious discussions, but it has to be done appropriately. Has to be done in open meetings. And we're doing that. We are doing that. Um, and I was going to say that for later. Uh, are there any other board members that want to say
047anything? I just [clears throat] my heart just aches. Um we we definitely hear you. Like I apologize that we cannot respond the way that the public would like for us to respond, but we do have those legal boundaries when it comes to when y'all are calling or texting or see us in the grocery store. It's just certain things that we talk about in executive session that I mean anything in executive session we just cannot talk about outside of there. But I do want you to know that this board does care. We care. I care. Um we have listened to your concerns. We are doing actions. Um like I told somebody who commented today, today is my first time like tonight was going to be my first time seeing everybody. Um, so you better believe that
048we will be having conversations in executive session to make sure that we can move forward and we have this work session. Um, so I'm looking forward to the changes that we're going to be u moving to in the next couple of weeks. >> Mr. Mc, >> my turn. >> Uh, I just want to say that I have enjoyed the 10 years this journey has taken me to with this school district. We detached from the Blask County School District in uh 2014 approved by the Arkansas State Board of Education and under the uh approval of the federal judge that was uh uh overseeing our case. And it's been a great journey. Uh this board uh these members here care about the uh young people in this community or we wouldn't be up here. And as far
049as uh uh me, I plan on uh hopefully being reelected in March so I can, God willing, to finish that four-year term and and do what what I can to help the uh community and the young people to succeed. And that's all I got to say. >> Thank you, sir. >> Anybody else? Not to put anybody on the spot or anything. Okay. Um, next item I've got on our agenda is the consent agenda. We've got the minutes of the December 8th, uh, the special meeting on the 11th. We have our assistant superintendence report and our financial report. Is there anything there that needs to be pulled out for discussion? If not, I would entertain a motion to approve as presented. >> So moved. >> Second. >> All those in favor? >> I. >> Any opposed?
050That passes unanimously. Next, we've got student disciplinary actions. I don't believe we have any contested hearings. >> Correct. >> So, we have one uncontested. Correct. That correct? And that is in our iPad on your iPad. Make a motion to approve the superintendent's recommendation. >> Second. >> Got a motion in a second. All those in favor say I. >> I. >> Any opposed? That passes unanimously. All right. Uh, next item we've got is personnel. Um any discussion on personnel will need to be held in executive session. So we do need to have some discussion there. So we will move into executive session. >> I'm sorry. Let's we're back call a meeting back into open session. We do have an addendum before us that needs to be added to the agenda. The addendum is for personnel. Uh
051do I hear a motion to add this? >> Second. >> Motion and a second. All those in favor? >> I. >> Any opposed? All right. This addendum is added. Now we will move into executive session for discussion on first. All right, we are back in calls back into order into regular session. Uh we've got some personnel recommendations before us with the addendum that was added. Do I hear a motion on that? >> So move second. >> Got a motion in a second. All those in favor say I. >> I. Any opposed? >> All right. And then also on personnel, do I hear any other motions? >> Make a motion to extend Dr. O's contract for one additional year to the maximum allowable of three years. >> Okay. I second that motion. We've got a motion
052in a second to extend Dr. Ow's contract to the maximum allowable of three years. Appreciate the job you do, sir. We're very thankful to have you. U any other comments, questions? All those in favor say I. >> I. >> Any opposed? Passes unanimously. All right, sir. Uh that's all I got. Any other comments before we turn it over to Mr. McDaniel? >> Make a motion we adjourn. All right, we are adjourned. Now, I forgot to real quick, we've got uh community literacy night on the 12th of February, uh Black History Month celebration at Jacksonville High School, Thursday, February 26th. And also, we have the uh workshop next Tuesday night at 6 PM here in the cafeteria. Thank you.