August 12, 2025, Board of Education Meeting

001All right, we will call this meeting to order at 10:07 p.m. We will start with a roll call for the record. I am the chair, Carmen Soulson, and I am present. When I call your name, please indicate if you are present. >> All right. Vice Chair Uts, >> present. >> Board member Anderson, >> present. Board member Hearnen >> present. >> Board member Johnson Davis >> present. >> Thank you. The first item on the agenda is executive sess session. Do I have a motion to move into executive session for the purpose of discussing land, legal, and personnel matters? >> So move. >> Board member UTS makes the motion. Is there a second? >> Second. >> Member Johnson Davis seconds the motion. Is there any discussion? Hearing none. All those in favor. The chair votes I. Any

002oppose? The motion carries unanimously. Do I have a motion to move to exit executive session for the purpose of discussing land, legal, and personal matters where no votes were taken? >> Motion. >> Board member Hearnen makes a motion. Is there a second? >> Second. >> Board member seconds the motion. Is there any discussion? >> Hearing none. All those in favor? >> I. >> Chair votes I. Any opposed? None opposed. The motion carries unanimously. Right. We'll now call this pre-work session to order at 2:39 p.m. Thank you for joining us today for our board of education pre-work session. Our board meeting cadence allows board members to prepare for upcoming regular meetings through pre-work sessions. These sessions are typically more casual and are primarily for information gathering. No formal votes will be taken. We will begin our

003pre-work session with our book study, Modernday Strategies for Community Engagement: How to Effectively Build Bridges Between People and the Bottom Line. All right. So, I um will start off with discussion. Um I was responsible for reading the preface, the introduction, and chapter one. Um it's a pretty easy read. Um the preface begins with um the author Mara Rumbling explaining why she named her consulting business the hummingbird firm. She describes the hummingbirds are agile and can navigate changing conditions um conditions. So she said that her hummingbird firm modeled this approach after hummingbird's ability um different situations. Um, in the introduction, Brley shared her background and how she went from being a math major at Spellelman to seeking um um she was a math major at Spellelman seeking to participate in a dual degree program at Georgia

004Tech. Um she went on to become a sociology major and then went to law school. Um and then after that she became an environmental justice attorney. Um after working on several projects with the Environmental Protection Agency, Romley decided to take what she had learned um to start the Hummingbird firm, which specializes in community engagement and facilitation, strategic planning, and strategic communications with a specialization in the environmental and transportation industry. Um during chapter one, she lays the foundation for understanding community engagement. Um Brumley begins by explaining the purpose of community engagement where she states is to both better mobilize a group of people to achieve long-term and resilient outcomes, processes, relationships, discourse, decision making, and or implementation. According to Romy, the key to effective communication is trust. Romney states that challenges arise when people don't have

005a good understanding of what community engagement is, how essential it is throughout the lifespan of a project. Um, she goes on to say that community engagement often happens too late in the process of implementing a project. Um, and that often results in backlash and rejection of the project. Um terms like involvement and outreach she states are often used interchangeably um with engagement but Romney states that these terms are not the same because they have different methodologies and goals. Key to engagement is building relationships and choosing consultants who have the expertise in that discipline. Um at the end of the chapter she presented a case study on Proctor Creek in Atlanta. Um, okay. Hans is familiar with that and I love to hear what you know about that. I wish he had given more details about

006the process that they went through. It was just kind of generalized like I was wondering well who started this, why did they start it? Well, we know she does talk about some of the challenges that they were having in terms of toxins and >> things like that in the water, but like who initiated the project and what were the steps that they had taken to bring in the different stakeholders in that community. Um, I think it's probably a good example and I'd love to hear what you know about that. Um, but I just wish he had um given us a little more information to see, you know, how community engagement really worked in that scenario scenario. Um, so I would love to hear what you want to share and then I'll put out to the

007rest of the board. Um, there are two questions I'd like for you all to respond to. Um, what is the one thing you found most interesting from the reading and what is one thing that you would like to explore um, further related to community engagement? >> Uh, yes. So, Proctor Creek is I forget the distance of it, but it's on the west side of the the city. It's one of the original main watersheds in Atlanta. It was largely paved over in a number of areas. And the part that was green was highly toxic. A lot of runoff and some pretty awful like for years Atlanta had a combined sewer storm water issue and Proctor Peak was one of the creeks that received a lot of the sewage overflow and so it was it was very

008toxic and it was sort of behind nobody really knew about it and certainly nobody was thinking about it as an amenity within the city. um they tried to approach it I think so this is a this is probably a decade or more so my memory is a little on some of the details but I do remember post beltline so belt line had already kind of broken ground a lot of community interest and engagement around the belt line and some of the things that were done with the belt line where they were being built in predominantly affluent and white areas as an amenity for those areas because it was attempted to bring some of that thinking to Proctor Creek and it face planted because Proctor Creek was principally through uh some of the black communities. And

009so I I believe she very much helped the city engage in a way that was like culturally and community relevant, able to bring the people that had historically been ignored to the table. Like there was a uh a lot of of of high value to be totally honest. As I was reading some of this chapter, I I feel like I could make a fair bit of use of her to be entirely honest. Um, one of the just one last thought just to leave us with a little bit of a giggle. Uh, the name Hummingbird. I I've also named some businesses after hummingbird. Uh, and I think a lot of people tend to think of them as very cute, beautiful, flashy, fastmoving birds, but they also are far and away the most aggressive birds that are

010out there. They're very, very forward. And so there's actually an element of that that I thought was was also sort of >> like the assertiveness necessary to be successful. Thank you. >> Anybody want to respond to one of those questions? What you found most interesting from the reading? Um andor what is one thing you'd like to explore further? >> Yeah, if if it's okay though, I had read it before that and so um you know I often read to try to find out what I individually um could do differently or better or what we as a group could. And so we the trust thing was key to me. um the emphasis on collaboration. So reading about Rock Creek I thought was um I would have liked more but I liked the idea that people that

011are living in this community are actually working um in and with what's happening. And so you know I kind of landed on two things. Um, I think to Hans's point, um, with the ECLC or anything we're doing, um, I thought of the budget community meeting that we had in March and compared it to the community meeting we had in April. I think we do a really good job when, um, people are sharing their feelings and we're giving people dignity. I think we can do a much better job with the information we share when we're looking at the the financial organizational stuff for lack of a better word. Um, I know she's fighted specifically when language is intimidating. And again, I go back to like, hey, you know, you've got all these different terminologies, a 280

012page budget book. How can we foster that goodwill and communicate that information clearly in all situations? And then the only other thing I'll add, but oh no, I'll save this for later. Public, I'm good. Um I think one thing that stood out here is where she says community engagement can be complex, emotional and labor intensive. Um such as time and funding. I think some part of the time and the funding part may be a little um contrary to maybe what we um believe. I think maybe if we we think that if we just keep providing opportunities to engage with community, if we keep repeating the information, maybe at some point um we'll make that connection. But um that part's out to me that there's complexities to it. And a lot of times when um sometimes

013things don't when we don't make those connections with people, it's probably because there's emotions on both ends, ours and community members. Um and that there's a lot of layers to the onion there. And maybe sometimes maybe even now with this ECLC project, maybe we're in over our heads um and that maybe with some of these um abilities to make connections with community members um or with stakeholders or to get to kind of build those bridges. Maybe you do need a third party um somebody who is doesn't have force in the race to help facilitate that. Um so Otherwise, it does give the impression that you're ram riditing a project through. You're only engaging people at points in time, but maybe you do need a a facilitator. >> Yeah, I circled a lot of the stuff

014about how expensive I think true community engagement is. And I find that um people we have in CSD dedicated to communication do an excellent job. But like if you compare it to some other school districts in the metro area or some other we're we're trying to do it understaffed. We're trying to do it is overengaged and underinformed and like on the chief and then weirdly it's like I I'll find the people complaining about a lack of engagement. It's like you know it's very popular with our current president like people will be like well look at this tweet and then look at this one from six months ago or whatever. And like I kind of, you know, was like, well, look at this email. And then look at this one from six months ago. It says

015we have too many people in the home, you know, like in the office. We have too many people, you know, not in the classroom. And it's like, well, who do you think those people are? Um, and I looked it up and I I got to 13 people I could find that work in communication in APS. Um, that's a lot. And I and that was just like a quick Google search this morning when I was finishing up the book. recommend this is like I think it's an overwhelming and daunting task. I'll be interested to see what the recommendation is other than it being like a hire someone else to do it which may maybe that is the answer but um I don't know cost down then kind of broke it up too >> else highlighted um

016I especially like the point that they made about how people will tend to do a PowerPoint presentation and then kind of check off the box um and So, um I think Dr. Filton, you talked about like labor intensive. Um I personally do a lot of canvasing in my free time. It's one of my favorite things to do. And I think something like that is um probably one of the most personal ways you can engage with someone is onetoone conversations. And I think that could be an interesting avenue um for something. >> Yeah, I'm just piggyback off of that. I think, you know, part of part of the board chair's job is one of my favorite parts is to answer people's emails. Um, and every now and then I'll get a reply back from somebody and

017it'll actually like turn into a conversation. We'll go back and forth and usually once I get about two replies I offer to meet with them in person. Um, and I would say when that happens about 20% of the time they take me up on it. Um, and it is I think the quickness information even I think once or twice I've actually like I can think of once I've actually made a pretty decent friend out of it. Um, somebody I didn't know at all. Um, but it took time. >> Um, like we had to coordinate when I was off of work, when they were off of >> I could have been spending with my kids or they could have been spending with theirs. So, it does um it does take time. Um, >> and I I

018would also say that there there's a two-way street element of it. It's not just in those one-on-one conversations that we're trying to convince them of what the facts are that we have at our disposal. It's us being willing to hear and adapt our perspective based on the feedback that is provided. And I think that email is a pretty poor substitute for a face to face conversation in those continuous. >> Can I share one other thing? I'm thinking specifically of the comments about costs. I keep going back to the case study and I realize she summarized it more than um you know kind of walk through the details but I think the part about pooling efforts so you know I would argue with really no experience in this although when I was campaigning I walked around

019all of Decator talking to people um perhaps we can look at ways where we don't have to spend more money and if we're engaging more of our resour resources in our community, then you know, sure, we may not have the 13 that APS has, but we might have some pretty powerful uh support systems already existing here. >> I um really kind of agree on what everyone said. I I circled a lot of different parts in the book. One of the things she listed is the real challenge when there is a lack of understanding about what community engagement is and its importance throughout the lifpan of a project. um and I know we have all talked about the early learning center in this conversation but for the early learning center itself um I was hired and

020was the early learning center was already on the table. So being here for two years now, a little over two years, embarking upon upon this third, the lack of understanding throughout the lifpan of the project rang so true because this did not just start, you know, when I came because it was already, you know, a part of the strategic plan that was developed prior to my arrival, which I know did come from a year-long engagement with the community and in my onboarding here into CFC. just to piggy back on um well folks a couple folks have mentioned the ECLC um and I was thinking maybe it may not be too late have bring in a third party >> because I was thinking about like when when have I seen community engagement done well and I

021was thinking when we did our superintendent search I thought GSBA'sertise wasn't valuable in that process >> and all of the ways that they helped us to engage community. Um, as I was saying, you know, that probably is helpful um to have an expert. I thought it worked well during that process. >> Any other comments? up on home part. >> Thank you, Dr. Johnson Davis. Next uh month, board member up will facilitate chapter 2. Uh Dr. Whitaker, please introduce the next item. >> Thank you, Chair Stalton. The next item is a discussion regarding our board and superintendent communication norms for the 2025 2026 school year. We all have a copy of the norms in front of us. Mrs. Lynch, chief of staff, will capture responses to the following questions and I know board this is something

022we do every year. Um, but when you are looking at the norms, is there anything that needs to be clarified? What might I critique about the document? meaning yourself um the strengths and the weaknesses of the document and then what corrections if any are needed. So um go ahead and and let's dive into those questions. I can start if anyone um in the constituent requests and issues um I I still feel like we are not meeting the mark. Um I agree with you Hans that email often doesn't feel good but we're not doing it consistently. That's just a fact. Um and >> do you mean email consistent? say here that um board generals will maintain a common automatic reply to emails that come to their district email address. Um agreeing as a group that we

023are replying to each email because I have not seen that happen >> that happens automatically. >> Okay. So then are we satisfied that automatic reply then does because I don't see it. So, what does that automatic reply say when so and so emails to find out about such and such? Because I I haven't seen the automatic reply. I've seen um Dr. Whitaker when you reply or someone on your staff or Carmen when you've replied. >> Yeah. >> But I've never seen an automatic reply. So the automatic reply goes to every constituent that sends an email to boardcdicater.net and actually Mr. Melton is going to come up because he is our IT chief and he will walk you through not take me and say what it is he's trying to tell me but come on up

024and say it and uh speak through that process from an IT perspective because that is what happens. Hey, so what happens is anyone who is not on the board distribution list will automatically get an auto reply back whether they're an employee or a non CSB account and that message is deep breath. Thank you for contacting the city schools of Decator School Board. Hearing from members of our community is of great importance to the board. Each school board member reviews and reads all emails sent by our stakeholders. Georgia law governs school boards and they cannot intervene in the day-to-day administrative operations of the school district, including direct staff and personnel matters. If you are writing to us with a concern about district operations, your message will be forwarded to the dis to the school or district

025administrator who can best address your concerns. The board has also adopted a set of norms that govern our local communication protocols. These include one, emails to individual board members are shared with the entire board. Two, issues and concerns received by the board and or individual members will be referred to the superintendent. Three, board members will follow the chain of command educating, instructing, and encouraging others to do the same. Four, the board chair will reply to emails from constituents sent to all members of the board. That reply will include the superintendent and other board members on the thread and inform the constituent that the superintendent or their designate will respond to the inquiry/ request. Five, direct all stakeholders questions, input or discussion to the superintendent who will communicate them as needed to go ahead. Yeah, just

026to follow up, I guess then maybe this is something for us to talk about later with public comment or in the larger conversation of community engagement. So, it sounds like we're meeting the need of responding to the email, right? And letting the individual know um to whom the email will be sent, but as a body then is there anything that we want to consider and how we track this stuff? because right now I feel like it's a series of emails. Um I know we talked about this briefly with the student representative last year. Um since I believe the student representative doesn't get the emails. Am I correct? So is there anything that we want to adjust about email since it is a modern-day form of communication um that constituents, students um are using. So, what

027is it that you're proposing? What do you want to see? >> I don't know what I'm proposing, but I know what I don't like and I don't like the feeling that people have spent time and I'm just not sure how we as a body address that. So, most of the time when we get emails from constituents, if it's if it's a day-to-day matter, like if they're asking a question about curricula, they're asking a question about buses or something, then um usually Dr. Whitaker will respond. I won't say anything. if it sometimes what I have seen is that sometimes people will take her out and they'll just like paste our individual emails in there and then when that happens and I can tell that it's a they actually need Mr. Adams and I will copy Dr.

028Whitaker and then tell her that she in turn needs to forward them on to the right person. they won't get the answer from me but then she will have to just take it from there if we I think what you sometimes in my experience and you know she Jana was a board chair too a lot of times we get bunches of emails that have similar content um and then sometimes and we I think we talked about this in another board meeting like you know how do we respond to that uh you know in order for me to reply within 48 hours sometimes it may be a similar reply. So, you know, if it's the same content and people send backtoback emails and I get a hundred within a day, sure, >> you know, I will

029it may be a similar reply. I I think and maybe it's not for the norm and again as we move forward this year looking at community engagement there's a big difference between an email of an operational nature or say 23 emails that I think have come in you know regarding again the ECLC or the capital plan and so that seems to be moving into an area that is more than just an operational thing and so again maybe it's not to be written to our norms but what do do with that? >> I'm not aware of a platform we have right now or a way in which we say, "Hey, 23 people contacted us. Not the form email, >> but >> well, I mean, in those cases, I I think I I can't think of anyone

030that Dr. Sultan hasn't responded to, right? Like I mean, that's that's the kind those are some of the responses that she's talking about." It it does strike me. So I I there's a I think a difference between not having an effective response >> versus not having visibility into an effective response. And I'm sympathetic to that. Right. It looks like it looks like at least from what I'm hearing, we do actually do a lot of response here. A lot of this happens in a way that we don't see there's not a response. And so I don't know. I don't want to create a giant rubric sympathetic to the fact that like yeah sitting on the side I'm not being the board chair. A lot of stuff is happening behind the scenes that we don't see and

031we don't know whether those constituents were actually taken care of and so that we end up maybe with an impression that they they weren't when in fact it actually sounds like they are being taken care of. I don't I don't have a solution for how to get more visibility into that. But what I what I would be loathed to do is try to working right now in order to get visibility into it. Maybe I don't I don't actually know. Let me open it to the rest of the board. But I mean, do you see what I'm saying? >> I kind of do, but I think maybe I haven't been clear and maybe I'm conflating when we talk about the public comment survey later, right? But ultimately, it sounds like we do have a system in

032place, and I appreciate knowing that there's an automatic reply. That's important, right? That someone is getting that reply. Um, but I think what I'm talking more about is how we're using the knowledge that we collectively have of um the questions or the concerns that are being shared when they're not operational in nature or when they can help us with community engagement. And so, like I said, I agree with you. I don't think we need to just like write more in here. I do think we need to discuss the student rep though. I mean, are we still leaving it the way we've had it where the student rep does not get access to the emails >> and we >> So, I think that's two different things, but I think how we how we use information gathered

033from emails is probably not the discussion item for the norm. Um, we can discuss whether or not we I think we talked about that in the past what we want to do with the students. Um but yeah >> there are issues with sharing it right. >> So boardcdater.net we do not share that information with student board rep when I send an email to boardcdater.net. Um, traditionally I copy both the board student representative as well as the apprentice based upon the sensitivity of the matter. And that's because I do I need to have a filter of what puts the district at risk from a personnel and legal standpoint. And so not all communications that go to the five of you who are elected by adults do the other do the students have access to >> I

034was just going to say I feel like when a email comes to all the board even when it's operations like I've we've been copied on I mean we've got replies from Mr. Adams from you know teachers Mrs. cruel like you know thank you and we're on we'll set up a meeting and blah blah blah. So we have we have Yeah. Okay. Um, and so I don't know where this falls and maybe it's under constituent requests and issues, but if I've had separate conversations, um, when we receive a request for a board member to say and attend a meeting with say, you know, city commissioners or whatever, what will be the norm around how it's decided who will attend? in the meeting. >> Yeah, I think I think we do actually need a norm around that

035just given given our experience recently. Uh I think um I think it is reasonable that uh if a board member if a board member is needed to be present at uh well in this case, let's just be explicit. In this case, we're talking about me serving on the city charter of commission. Um, I think it is reasonable for an appointment like that to end up coming to the full board for a, you know, like if if it's something that the the chair has been asked to provide, maybe we set up a norm or a rubric where the chair says, "Hey, this is my suggestion. I've been asked for this. This is what I'm thinking. Do you guys concur?" And that gives us the odd. It's not a vote. It's basically just a consensus for us

036to know and to be and for us to be able to weigh in on it. >> Yeah. And and so and I'm, you know, I'm fine if it's if it's always the chair and the vice chair. I just want to be clear on what the process is. And then I think it should also be a norm that there's a a report back to all of the board on what was discussed in the meeting. >> I I 100% agree. Right. I mean for the record I feel like a part of the job of being appointed on something like that representing the board is a requirement that that feedback comes back. But but I think it's reasonable to put that as a norm just so it's documented. >> So it sounds like this should be probably governance

037roles and responsibilities maybe. >> Yeah, that that sounds right to me. Yes, because it's it what we're talking about potentially is when a board member is asked to um be a part of a larger body. Um you know in this case timing July 3rd I think I when I received it I immediately talked and the the the email request of me specifically spoke to Dr. Whitaker can you talk to the board chair? Um, and I think from there, uh, it kind of just, >> yeah, >> it was >> the city made the request of us, >> which is the way the city commission works and and I think for our purposes, we should go ahead and just put in place a norm that laid out how we would we would do that. I think in

038I think maybe what it should say is it should give the board chair some ability to in a situation like that ask somebody and be able to give a name quickly um because that did have a oneweek turnaround um as opposed to um you know if you have a month and you can you know bring it before everybody um >> uh it's also different you know different meetings are different they may be all set up differently you know if it's you um you know you you know everybody is invited to a city commission meeting then that might be different than if you know they need um a name for somebody within a week. I I think so I think it is reasonable to delineate >> when the whoever the appointee off the board is >>

039is fulfillicitly representing the perspective of the board then it is probably reasonable that I don't I I hear what you're saying like quick responses is necessary but I I would also want to see a norm that says the rest of the board has to be informed and given opportunity to weigh in like like silence is acceptance basically, but also like the the rule should be in >> the report back. >> I I just don't think it would take that long to to >> um to fix somebody. >> It would take it would take a week. >> I think that's just a couple quick, five quick phone calls >> to see um >> or email. I think it's really, you know, as a volunteer, we're gonna have a should have another request from DEF, we typically

040have the board representative. Um, and so in the past, it has been, hey, DF needs to represent from the board, you know, who wants to volunteer. In the past, you volunteer. And so, um, I think those I'm hesitant to, um, give that authority to the board chair because it can start to get really tricky on the board chair's authority when >> how would you like it worded? >> I think that the when we receive a request that goes out to the entire board and then we ask for volunteers who would like to And if then there's no volunteers, which sometimes happens, then >> I think it is reasonable for the board chair to make a recommendation that the rest of the board can choose to agree or disagree with. I think that's okay as a

041product. I mean, would that be all right to say, hey, I'm thinking, here's my thinking here. What do you think? And it gives us the opportunity to say, not comfortable with that. In fact, actually, I'd be really interested in that position. I think that could keep though that could harbor some kind of some bad feelings. I think >> yeah, I agree. >> You know, then I don't want you to think I don't you know >> I already think that >> I I think I don't know. Have we had a time when there was no volunteer? >> I just don't remember that. >> Well, I also think in some I don't know in in this position there's probably things that come up that I'm not a good fit for. um either because I don't have the

042time or it's not my area of expertise um Tracy may be a better fit. Um and if uh if it if that came along and um Dr. Whitick was like I think Tracy is a good fit for this I wouldn't be offended by it. Um, so I don't know if that I think I think the way Honda has ordered is good. >> Whatever the case may be, the board chair brings it back, but the board chair does have maybe some capacity to make a recommendation. Um, and because some things are just going to be better fits. Um, >> but I guess but it it leads it to the subjective >> and everybody has the ability to like you said to say okay. >> Yeah. I just don't want us to be in a position where

043we are arguing against why one person should not represent versus another if someone is willing to volunteer. >> Yeah. And I I I wouldn't want to marginalize anyone either. And so like I was looking at the policy that we have for the board chair and it specifically says that the board can delegate responsibilities, right? And so I wonder if there's something to clarify here because I one this has been enlightening to me, right? As long as I've been on the board, it was an I didn't know any of this until I think Jenny you pointed it out recently. And so I I appreciate that some of us are going to have certain skill set sets and things are going to be better fits, but I think it's important we all know about it. We all

044have the opportunity and then therefore even if someone's a better fit, other people can still be involved um if nothing else to learn more about that particular facet of >> um board work that may not have been known. So there's an appointed individual that I respect. Why don't why don't we phrase it this way that the first request is for volunteers >> with a deadline like I need to hear by the business today or whatever and if if a volunteer is does not emerge from that process then the board chair can say okay now we're going to volunt the right person do you guys have any issues with that hopefully obviously in the chair you would have hadation with that person but But so so request for volunteers with an expiration date and then a

045recommendation of an individual what they speak now or forever hold your peace and then does that make sense? That way it kind of kills two bird with one stone. >> Yeah. >> You get all that >> I think so. So underneath the government or the governance rules and responsibilities, we're going to get a word smmith just a little bit, but if a BOE member is needed in their official capacity as a B member to serve as a representative or to be appointed to a larger body or committee, um the chair will seek volunteers for that position. However, in the instance that no volunteer identifies him or hers themselves, they shall seek they shall make a recommendation and seek consensus from the board. Um and the appointee will report back to the board on information shared.

046>> Yeah, I I almost think the second part is its own separate norm. Yeah, I think it's its own separate norm because I think that might be one might want to be expounded upon as we learn more about it and get familiar with it. Doesn't speak to what we do if there are multiple volunteers that lead to a position. >> J just to ask out of curiosity, is it standard for the board to meet with anyone that requests a meeting or is there like a protocol for who is like given a time or not? That's a good question. Historically, we if someone said they want to meet ourselves available based on our schedule. >> Yeah. >> Y is there a I mean I think it's a good question. Is there a concern that somebody would

047>> totally curious I don't know that you have to feel obligated and if you have concerns then I would definitely share that. >> Yeah Whitaker. No, I don't have >> um I did actually have a norm I had a question about though um which is the first bullet on page five. Um and it's positive and productive relationships between board members and principles, teachers and school staff are valued and encouraged. Um I was wondering like what kind of communication goes out to faculty and staff about um how they can interact with board members and like where does that line get drawn between you know like an employer relationship is kind of addressed here u >> may I ask a followup to your question >> no actually if you can finish question >> was it really a

048clarification I'm Sorry. >> Okay, >> Dr. Whitaker, is there a communication that goes out to staff is your question. We know what our norm is, but >> no, communication does not go out to staff on on that. What staff does know is that um there is a chain of command i.e. that if they have a question, the first person you see is your supervisor, which would be for the majority of our employees, the teacher, I mean, the teacher would or staff member is asking the principal. Um, and then from there, principles will seek clarification from anyone else who is a district staff member that would help them solve that issue. Um from a governance perspective, board members are are present at things that um are on. So districtwide events such as opening day, such as

049retirement, such as um lots of different things uh state of the schools, things like that. But yeah, >> you know though, actually it it raises it. We Sorry, let me put in place a policy for whistleblowers recently, right? And and so I am wondering if the the reason for that is that you know 99% of the time it's fine to raise the question to your immediate supervisor but there are sometimes issues that need to be pulled out of the chain of commands that that is what's a whistleblower policy is for >> and I wonder if when a whistleblower issue is raised whether that we should be informed. as a as a norm, right? Like whether we should know about it. I feel like we we probably should, right? >> Yes. So, that would be one

050something that would that's highlighted one in the employee handbook. Yeah. And then two, that's one of the reasons why we have someone that's works with investigations that's completely impartial to human resources um or any other body. And that entity, that position really is identified in job and description that they will directly come to the board of any type of whistleblower type of information. That's in their duties and responsibilities. >> But should we make that a norm for us as well that we just expect to hear of that? I mean, that would also I don't want to create overwork, but that would be a thing that we would want to know. >> Well, that's more an administrative task or isn't It's on No, you should you it's in there and it's in their employee handbook and

051they are one of the things that every employee has to sign off on at the beginning of the year. So that is in there, but we can make it more explicit if you'd like. The re the reason why I think it belongs in the norms as well is because the reality is board members new board members like like there's some there's some institutional knowledge that we have that we put a whistle lower policy in place but I am not sure a new board member would necessarily know that that's in place and so just being explicit in the norms for the board members to also know that that exists is not an unhelpful thing. >> Okay. I think what I was thinking and when I heard the question was less of um a staff member or

052a teacher emailing the board about a a work incident like my room's too hot, right? >> I was thinking more of the cater kind of maybe not being unique, but we have I'm thinking of a public comment survey, right? The majority of people that responded were parents, but we also had this kind of interesting parent slash staff member. And so that's what I immediately thought of when you were asking because you could have an employee but they might be expressing a concern that's not of an operational nature. It's simply >> as a resident of CSD and I think that can be weird. >> So what would you want to what what is >> I don't know that was just a question I thought of when I heard the question about staff contacting us. You know

053I I guess it sounds like maybe common sense, but I'm not sure everyone understands that if you're contacting you're a resident educator and you're an employee, you'd be letting people know. I assume that you're contacting as a resident, not as an employee. You're not contacting the board about your work life, you're contacting, but those types of issues, I guess, as a parent, you follow the chain of command. >> Oh, I think so. >> Yeah. If even if you were a teacher, you follow the chain of command with teacher principal. >> Well, that's what I was saying. I don't think I'm talking about um concerns of an operational nature, but just feedback. And so that's what I wondered when asked about employees getting the communication. Um chain of command sounds perfect. >> Okay. Did you guys

054get that result? Any other Okay. Any other questions about the boards? We're just about five minutes over. >> The only thing I would bring up is the question that was raised but not addressed about whether or not there are multiple volunteers back in the initial discussion. multiple volunteers for the same meeting, volunteer position, etc., etc. >> I mean, I I I feel like at some point the relationships on the board work that out. Like, I would be cautious about trying to overprescribe and just allow us if two people volunteer, then the two people have the conversation and increase that. So, I think that's reasonable. >> Yeah. I want to sorry I just want to add to that about um you know keying me on in on emails is that I think there is value in

055mapping being in your discretion and I just want to encourage you all that if you feel like there's context I'm missing that you should personally feel free to reach out to >> I do have one question talking about the whistleblower policy would that be in policies that board members will receive notice notification about >> but I I don't know that that yeah >> we can put it on the policy review revision for this year. >> Dr. Whitaker uh Miss Blanch shall remain. Yes, she will. Because during our June board meeting, a discussion began regarding the order of the board meeting and where public comment should be. As a result of the conversation, staff created a survey and sent it to families via our district newsletter, social media channels, and website postings. Results of the survey

056are listed actually on this next slide. Um key considerations for the board are that moving public comment earlier which would be say after the chair comments makes timing less predictable due to differing durations of each month each month's pre-work and work sessions. Moving public comment earlier might increase accessibility for some but decrease it for others. While keeping public comment at the end does not offer the public the opportunity to comment on items that would be voted upon during consent or other portions of the meeting. How does the board desire to move forward? I got to say that I found the 42 responses and thank you for the 42 I think it was at last check um people that actually wrote comments and suggestions more helpful for me than simply the global number of people who

057wanted it earlier. Uh maybe I inferred incorrectly, but I felt like what I was seeing in the commentary was effectively if I speak at the beginning of the meeting, then you board have to entertain what I've said before you make decisions. And so to me that is far more important, no disrespect to the many people that want it earlier, um than the timing of the meeting. Um, if the timing of the meeting is going to allow more people to speak, that's great. Um, but I read more that I want to know that you're listening to what I'm saying and I want to know that it's some way. So, that's my take on the public comment um survey. >> So, from that, did you gather that we should change the time or leave it anchored at

058the 6:30 time? If we want to listen to the 80% who want it earlier, then we should make it earlier. But I'd rather listen more to what I really heard repeated, which is I want to understand more, right? I want to know that if I'm sharing stuff, you know, this is my summary, but I want to know not just it's being listened to, but perhaps how it's being used. >> So, in terms of the time, where do you based on that information, where do you think we should place it? >> I mean, The other thing if it matters that people put in the commentary because I'm not answering your questions rightly because I'm not sure if people and I'm sorry for anyone who voted for the earlier time. I hope I don't sound like you

059don't know what you were deciding. Um but there was absolute recognition that doing it earlier would not make it perhaps as accessible for some people. Um there was also I think recognition that if we do it earlier it might be harder um to maintain. So with that I would rather keep the later time I'm sorry um but focus more on how we are using public comments. I'm I'm also I mean be able to I want to be able to hear their comments before we take votes, but I am concerned about moving it earlier and that being a barrier to folks who are still at work um and the fact that the time could fluctuate. I don't know clear that based on how many things we have on the agenda that time could fluctuate between say

0604:30 and 5:30 maybe >> which would you know 4:30 I would say most folks are probably still on the clock and I don't know if people you know people and may I don't know if we communicated that well with that that time could fluctuate >> um earlier times would be better because it would allow us to hear them but you know it could it could I think be a barrier for most community members. >> Yeah. It might end up sending a skew as to what perspectives we get. Yes. Right. because and so that's the in my mind that actually is the worst outcome that we accidentally bias what we we hear and we start making decisions based upon what we're hearing but we've actually constrained it to only one subset of the population that actually

061can make it like that that would be the worst outcome. Um, so I I I there is not an answer that solves everyone's concern and so given the competing interests I array of perspectives at a fixed time when most people can get there is more important and so I would prefer to keep it where it is. >> Yeah, I think I think this I I was difficult to make heads and tails of the survey at all. an end of 94 when you have you know a population of just students it's like several thousand I mean this is like not generalizable at all this is just such a small number but >> I mean 80% of that 94 which is an overwhelming majority did want it shifted to the beginning for whatever that's worth um so

062but I think it's just difficult to I thought this survey was very difficult to interpret and even within that a lot of them um only 10% % have even spoken at public comment. Um, so I think it's just a difficult survey to interpret the the data from, but I agree it's it's it's a lot of pluses and minuses to both. Um, additionally, a lot of the time when people come and speak on public public comment, they're not speaking on matters which are voting matters. Um, they're coming to speak on things they want us to hear about. Um but I agree I agree with uh board member Uts is we do have a small number of people who come and speak. It would drive the discussion. So we could when you know you call for a

063motion you call for discussion you could say well this is what we heard during public comment and the discussion may change. Um but I I think this I thought I thought this was very difficult to draw a conclusion from with such a small number. ask one other question and it's just making sure I understand. Um, ironically, I was doing paper cleaning and found a 2014 letter from a school board after I spoke. Um, and I love the fact that it detailed what I'd spoken about. I could talk about some of the other details that came to life eight years later. Do we what do we do for the people that do come to speak? Do we send a letter? Do we send an email? Do we characterize um the topics that are discussed? Well, it's

064my understanding that administration follows. >> Yeah. Okay. Yeah. So, depending upon the content, they will hear from the said cabinet member. If it's a student matter, it's more than likely uh deputy superintendent um Karen Newton Scott. Um but all those that sign that speak at public comment, they hear from and they're followed up with. Now, understand the cat county has more staff to do all of the individual type of sending letters and you we have one person who supports everyone up here. Yeah, sounds like we want to leave it like it is. >> Well, I was thinking is it possible to rearrange some things, but that would push the time back later if we if we kept public comment at 6:30 and then push comments and board um board chair I mean chair comments and

065superintendent comments. after that. But are so are you thinking that the board comments and the chair's comments would be amended to include the commentary on the So So basically rather than making comments, they're basically in live responding to the >> Wait, no, maybe I >> We want them to be able to hear I I want them to be able to hear for his comments, the chair's comments and the superintendent's comments and then make public comment and then we vote on consent. That's the It would be the earlier option. Yeah. >> Which is which where it's where >> but if it say we if we kept public comment at 6:30 then we move the consent items after that. Well, consent items, consent agenda is different than when you hear a presentation and then take a vote.

066So, the consent agenda is really on the consent is and that's mainly your personnel, your your >> you know all of your contracts and things like that. Are we are we always taking a vote after a presentation? >> You if it's in the board meeting, >> which is typically what would be your your budget conversation. >> One more question back to the 42 comments. Um because we specifically ask people to provide suggestions. So what are we going to do with the suggestions? So we're we're deciding on >> We're talking about them right now. >> Yeah. This is what this is what we're doing. Yeah. >> But but it seems like what we're really doing is just choosing the time and that's what the survey was about, >> right? But if you if they did move

067to earlier in the meeting, then it may drive some of that vote discussion because I like when I make a motion, I always ask, is there any discussion, right? So then you could say yes and you could actually incorporate what someone said into that discussion item, whatever the motion was. Right? Um, so that's kind of some of the that's some of what we're discussing here. But I think that's what um board member Johnson Davis was saying is is there a way to make it a little bit more anchored so that the time isn't moving all over the place because right now the time is set at 6:30, but if you moved it to maybe where it was after the chair's comments and the superintendent comments, it may be a little it's still going to be

068fluid, but it may be a little closer to that 5:00 hour maybe, but it's still going to move forward. because your vote is also on policy as well. So, >> but then you would hear before you voted. >> Can we do both? >> Well, how Yeah. How? Describe how meeting starting. We'll open it up for any pertinent public comments. We would like you if you are making public comments time restricted to issues will be discussed at tonight's board meeting. >> All right. Hearing none, we'll move on to the start of the rest of the board meeting. the the challenge there is again that it heavily biases it towards the people that can make the middle of the day conversation, right? And and that that's where I I would >> do it twice, right? >> Yeah.

069Then at 6:30 they can show up and talk still, >> but we've already made the vote at that point, right? So So any discussion that we're having will be off the subset of people that were able to make it earlier, not like, >> do you see what I mean? like our our conversation about public input would be only from the subset of people that are able to >> can I I kind of disagree there because I thought one of the reasons for our DOI um is that effectively when we are going to vote on things we've already looked at this multiple times. >> Yeah. And so if we are in fact doing a good job on the communication end then often, not always, I can't guarantee it always. Um it turns out to James' point

070because James that's actually what I had thought about. Um, while we may still have it skewed in the rare case that we are voting on something that people didn't know about the month before, but most of the time are we not voting on things that people have already seen. So policies, for example, have a first read and a second read. So that typically would have a one month shelf life. The budget, for example, is something that we are mapping out all year. So if if I were to start looking at things that we're voting on that people are often commenting on, I'm not convinced without the data that there's a one month turnaround. So therefore, the 6:30 people unfortunately may be talking about what we're voting on next month and then our 1230 people who

071can get here still get to speak before we vote. >> But that's the whole my whole point is the 1230 people that can get here are a limited subset and we're actually not hearing from the whole community and we might be introducing bias around availability and that's what I want to make sure that we are cautious about. Hey, Mia has Mia has has made a great suggestion. So, she's saying like tonight, we know this could fluctuate, but if the chair's report ends at 6, then we move public comment right under chair's report at six and then vote on consent items of policy. >> But we would have already voted on items that are preconent, right? So it it happens to be in this particular agenda. We're not voting up here and we're just doing consent.

072But I think that if things like budget are not going to be down here like we're going to have a discussion about budget up here. Do you see what I'm saying? >> Yeah. I guess but can we push those things down? >> That that was so in my key considerations for the board that moving p public comment earlier i.e. after chair comment makes timing less predictable due to the differing durations of the month's pre-work and the work session meaning what we're doing right now what we are about to do it's going to fluctuate when we actually start which is what you said before >> what are other ways we can collect feedback >> I think that's well that's not necessarily that's What Tracy keeps saying is that it's we can we can keep collecting they'll

073keep speaking but the question is how do we actively incorporate what they said into our discussion >> prior to a vote >> like this survey the administration has shared the results of the survey and so we we are considering that >> yes I mean that that is what we are doing right now is incorporating people here here I wonder if so the tension that we're fundamentally grappling with is either a fixed time that people know to show up so that they're able to speak or a fluctuating time that might be difficult for some people to get to in time before we take a vote. >> It needs to be a fixed time. So after say after five >> and so and so the the what I think one of the ways we can attempt to

074do this is let's just give it a shot, right? >> Let's try it. Let's like make the adjustment. Let's say public to to to Jana and Nia's point. Okay, we're going to go ahead and have public comment. We're going to say public comment happens at 5 every board meeting, not 6:30. And then any substantive votes that we have will happen after that public comment at 5. You have to understand though that public comment might be pushed to 5:30 or it might be pushed to six. It's going to depend on what else happens in the meeting that might fluctuate those times. then maybe we give that a shot. >> And and I think we also encourage use of surveys on topics. >> Yes. >> And email um that we would take all of that into consideration

075>> uh prior to a vote. >> I you know I I love surveys. I'm a big fan of surveys. But I think if you go back one slide, I think this made it this is an example of how if we don't get a good return, this can actually make it more confusing. So I I I mean I I love surveys. I think they're great, but I think we just have to reconcile that against what happens if people don't fill the survey out, then this is just not generalizable. >> This is just one this is just one opportunity to give your feedback. >> But you know, we we pubbed it. We put it out there. We put Yeah. We put it out on socials, but you know, even in my day job, surveys are tough. Um,

076so I, you know, I just I just, you know, just for the collective, it sometimes an example of how it's actually in addition to public comment, we can do surveys, but we just have to understand that. >> And to that end, I think I agree with the person who said something to the effect of what each problem are you trying to solve? And so just to end this to me um it's less about the time and more about listening to what people were um asking and suggesting you know and so to your point I think Jenna about how are we using the commentary. So therefore, I think what I got from this is that um you know, I agree it's a small sample, but the 94 people that did take the survey and the 42

077that did write it, you know, basically want to know that we've entertained the questions and the concerns they share before we vote on something. That's what I took away from >> I think it's both. So, so then the question might be do you keep an open repository where the community can tell you based upon the agenda and based upon the board management oversight plan the schedule this is what I think about the topic and it remains open it's date stamped it's timestamped it remains open. And so if everyone wants to, you know, if you have a lot of constituents that want to tell you something about a topic, they can prior to and then you would just like you did in this case look at the Looker Studio, which is the dashboard program that provides

078you with the information and you have it directly. You you all are gonna >> create create a open creative >> create an open form where people could insert their public comments. You would have a place where you could go dates and things like that so that you would be able to see what the public is saying as you prepare for board meetings and have their input electronically and then still have you know of course people can still come speak but at least that would give them a chance prior to the meeting to >> beyond just email. >> Yeah. And then then you can keep it at 6:30 but still be able to engage and hear from the community how they would like to provide that information to you. Does that does how does that feel?

079Then it said it remains at 6:30, but at the same time, you're able to have a repository of feedback from the community prior to and in preparation for said vote for me. >> I think it, you know, a campaign around we want to hear your voices, remind us about this repository, >> you know, public comment at this time. This is not your only opportunity in your meetings. I I mean like >> yeah I think that goes along with this conversation that the board is having as its focus for the year which is how do we uh as the title says modernday strategy for community engagement. It's this is another way. How does that feel? a try. >> Reasonable compromise. >> Absolutely. >> Got it. >> Y >> got it. >> All right. >> Okay. Thank

080you, Mrs. Lynch and Dr. Whitaker. We will leave public comment at 6:30 and we will immediately begin having an open repository of live public comments that we will be able to read prior to the board meeting starts. Did I summarize that correctly? >> Yes. >> Okay. Thank you. Miss Martin will we'll make that a little more that. Okay. Thank you board members for the discussion. There being no further business, this pre-work session is adjourned at 3:46 p.m. and we will go straight into work session. Right. >> Okay. We will now call this work session to order at 3:47 p.m. Thank you for joining us today for our monthly work session. Dr. Whitaker, please introduce the first presentation. >> Thank you, Chair Sultan. I would like to call on Deputy Superintendent Karen Newton Scott to provide

081the opening of school presentation. Good afternoon board chair docs sultan vice chair esteemed board members student board representative botra and superintendent Dr. Jima Whitaker. There's something powerful about starting a new school year. It's more than fresh notebooks, new rosters, and clean classrooms. Is the sense of possibility. A chance to reset, reconnect, and recommmit ourselves to the work that matters most. Creating learning environments where every student can thrive. The energy was undeniable as we prepared for the 2526 school year. Across the district, our teams came together with focus and commitment, working not just to be ready on paper, but to be prepared to support every student personally, emotionally, and academically. The work has been intentional, and the spirit behind it is inspired. The essence of our district's strategic plan is captured in the phrase all indicator.

082It's a shared commitment to all having a role in ensuring every student feels seen, supported, and challenged to grow. It reflects our belief that equity, excellence, and opportunity must be available to all, not just some. Underneath the bold commitment are three quiet, powerful words that ground our work. Learn, teach, and lead. To learn is to stay curious, open, and willing to grow. To teach is more than delivering lessons. It's about knowing what to teach, how to teach it well, and who our students truly are. as clarity and care to take responsibility for creating this is whether you're leading a classroom, a team, a school, or a district, it's about using your influence to make things better for kids. These works have shaped our work over the summer and how we prepared for the 256. This

083summer, we kicked off our professional learning with a clear focus building the that truly support school success. We began with crucial conversations where districts and school leaders hone their skills for navigating tough high stakes or emotionally charged discussions. We also prioritize safety and security by reviewing current protocols and sharing strategies strengthen emergency response, facility readiness, and the overall well-being of students and staff. During our legislative update sessions, we explored new laws impacting school operations, staffing, and instruction. As a part of our ongoing commitment to the whole child approach, teams receive updated training on child sign responsibilities under IDA, appropriate responses to threats or self harm, and the implementation of positive behavioral supports aligned with MTSS. All with a continued emphasis on supporting the social and emotional well-being of all. Teach to support strong aligned instruction

084across our schools. Teachers and instructional leaders spent this summer focusing on what we teach and who we're teaching because understanding our learners is essential to shaping how we teach. Educators engaged in training on the new Georgia ELA standards, exploring the instructional shift and updated resources that will guide our work moving forward. Staff also received CSD's curriculum resources and assessments which were built to ensure consistent standards aligned instruction and assessment across all grades and schools. We continue to offer nononsense nurturer framework to for our incoming staff and use it as an ongoing tool to strengthen student engagement, build meaningful relationships, and support effective classroom routines. And to help prepare students for academic success in life beyond school, we introduced our future readiness curriculum to grades 6 through 12 to support students social and emotional needs while

085developing critical thinking, collaboration, and essential life skills. And last but not least, lead. Our leadership teams spent time this summer laying the groundwork for focused plans to guide the year ahead. School leaders reviewed their school data, including demographic, academic, and perception data to define clear goals and identify key challenges. Using this information, they began developing 90-day plans with practical steps that can be implemented early in the school year. These plans also anticipate potential barriers, outline needed resources, and establish ways to monitor progress. As the work continues, teachers will provide input on high lever actions to help ensure alignment and impact with a shared understanding of our student outcome goals. Everyone, administrators, coaches, teachers, and staff is poised to help lead in their role and move us forward together. And then there was the back to

086school bash. This annual event brought together students, families, and staff to celebrate the new school year. It served as a community building activity and an opportunity to connect families with resources. Thanks to the generosity of our families and partners this school year, we raised over $10,000 to provide free services to students and for event expenses. We also served nearly 600 students, providing them with free school supplies, health resources, food and funfield activity that set the tone for a strong year ahead. Over 40 vendors and community partners joined us, including Decap Public Health, which offered free immunizations and local barbers from Barber's Heart, who provided free haircuts. Families also enjoyed a taste of CSD featuring exciting new items from our school nutrition program. Thanks to strong partnerships and generous support, the bash continues to be a

087cornerstone of equity, access, and celebration schools of welcoming students back with everything they need to succeed. This leads us to opening day. All district employees came together for our opening for our official opening day event set the tone for the year ahead. The day included messages from district leadership recognitions and a powerful call to action aligned with our theme learn. We were inspired by guest speaker David Garcia, who shared his experiences as both a student and an educator, reminding us of the impact we have every day. Dr. Whitaker followed with a heartfelt message to the district, grounding us in purpose and possibility. And of course, we wrapped it all up with some fun and friendly competition with this year's spirit stick, proudly claimed by the spirited Fairmont School Ball. The first day of school always

088brings a special kind of energy. Is a time when students and families come together after a summer or fresh start. Some of our youngest learners lit up with excitement as they rode the big yellow school bus for the very first time. Our upper elementary students came in confident and ready to lead, showing how much they've grown. And our middle and high school up with friends, reconnecting with teachers, and stepping into the new school year. It was one of those days that remind us why we love what we do. The excitement of a new year, the fresh start it offers, and the opportunity we have to support our learning and their success. Students at Decar High School and Deacon Middle School began the year with new weapon detection systems, an important step in keeping our campuses

089safe. As with any new process, the first couple of days brought some longer wait times, but our students, staff, and families showed patience and teamwork both times. School leaders quickly fine-tuned the system, adding entry points and adjusting screening times. And by the fifth day, students were moving through swiftly and in their seats before the first fail. This start reflects our shared commitment to both safety and learning. As we kick off the school year, it is also a good time to check in on where we stand with student enrollment. Currently, we have 5,437 students enrolled across BSD, including our youngest learners in the zero to three program. Three of our grade bands are over their projected enrollment. At the 912 level, we are over about 84 students. At the 68 level, about 34 and the upper

090elementary level, around five students. The rest of our schools are either right on target or slightly below projection. Of course, not all students, so we expect these numbers to shift slightly. However, this is a difference of about 114 students from August. We'll have a clear picture of our actual enrollment after the first 10 days of school. Tomorrow marks the 10th day. In the meantime, this information continues to help us plan ahead and make sure we're ready to support every student from day one. I want to express our appreciation to all staff who worked tirelessly this summer to ensure that we are ready to begin the school year strong. From the professional development and facility preparation to curriculum alignment and leadership planning, this work reflects our commitment to excellence and to every student in the City

091Schools of Decay. I'm happy to answer any questions that you may have. I >> think I know the answer to this. I'm sorry. But when we're I understand like we have FT when we're looking at enrollment those are the numbers of the students currently on the roles. >> Yes. >> Um and that includes all students courtesy tuition and other thank you. >> Um and that I'm sorry that 113 is that college height and Frasier? >> No that's only college height. >> Only college height. Thank you. So then all of that 0ero to3 and prek the 266 kids 26 kids kids total 0 to3 and prek that is all >> correct >> Frasier has 59 >> so then now I'm why isn't Frasier included in the student enrollment >> because Frasier is a All right. So

092then these are school enrollments and so we don't predict or um predict enrollment for Frasier in the same way you do for the school. So it serves as a part of the career tech program in early childhood learning and not necessarily building. >> And then I have one more question that may not be able to be answered right now. um do we look at um pockets or concentrations of courtesy tuition because I believe our enrollment for courtesy tuition students is up this year. So I'm just wondering if we know does that just kind of fall across all numbers or do they concentrate in different enrollment pockets? Does that make sense? >> Kind of. So, if I'm a high school teacher and I don't live in Decar, but my high school daughter is going to Decar,

093that's an enrollment, right? >> Um, so I just wondered if we get that breakdown of what the courtesy tuition numbers look like according to the 03 prek, etc., or will we get that at some point? >> Um, it's probably something we can provide for you, but um, we don't take a >> Okay, thank you. Well, I can't overstate how valuable it was to have a few extra days of pre-planning. The spirit of learn, teach, lead as our motto was evident throughout the opening of school. Students returned very much full of excitement. Teachers were energized and our leaders are poised for great accomplishments this year. We are ready to make this a truly exceptional year. >> Thank you, Mrs. Newton Scott. As a parent of a Beacon Hill Middle School student, I noticed how much smoother

094the arrival became over the course of the week. To our students and families, thank you for your patience and to our principles. Thank you for your consistent daily communication. Dr. Whitaker, please introduce the next item. >> Thank you, Chair Sultan. I would like to call on Mrs. Dena Walker to provide the annual state of human resources. Our chief of HR. >> Good afternoon. Board chair Dr. Ten, vice chairs, esteemed members of the board, our student representative Vatra, and the superintendent Dr. Gina Whit. I am pleased to present the annual state of human resources report to focus on our strategic accelerator cultivating and retaining high quality professionals. This presentation highlight the current demographics of our CSB staff, our FY206 new hires and the work accomplished by the human resources department over the past year while identifying

095key areas for future directly with our strategic plan. as we demonstrate how we establish a high quality life cycle that attracts, develops, promotes, retains, and celebrates all employees. Human resources is dedicated to attracting, supporting, and retaining exceptional educators and staff. From the first interaction with a potential candidate to long-term development to to a retirement recognition hire approach fosters a workplace culture that values every employee and drives student success. This commitment is delivered through creative and inclusive retent recruitment strategies, meaningful professional development opportunities, recognition and rewards for dedication and impact and innovative retention efforts that promote belonging and engagement. Together, these efforts help sustain a positive organizational culture. So, hire to retire is not just a slogan, it's a systematic approach. The human resources team is comprised of six dedicated members which includes the human resources

096director who joined in January of 2025, three coordinators, one part-time HR specialist who joined the team in a in April of this year and myself the chief human resources officer. We are also supported by two part-time contractors who focus on staff evaluations and university partnerships. I am pleased to say that our two newest members add to our diverse expertise and have local school experience. In FY25, our department focused on investing key milestones that include competitive compensation for all of that. And I am grateful to the board for approving the recent level setting salary increas increases for pair professionals, professional specialists, nurses, directors, and coordinators. These adjustments range from 4% to 13%. With pair professionals receiving the highest increases, this investment in strengthens our ability to retain talent while promoting financial stability for our employees. We

097continue to strengthen our comprehensive professional learning system through collaboration with the professional learning and teaching and learning department. One of our most recent successful partnerships was during our new hire orientation where our teams worked seamlessly to ensure every employee was effective effectively onboarded and gained clear understanding of the critical role of curriculum instruction and assessment. Much of this work was guided by UVA's in instructional framework and new hires received a 100 stipen per day for participants. We are also committed to establishing a clear career pathway and support for all employee groups. 12 of our newly hired CSC teachers advance through our internal pathway program. This success highlights how our career pathways not only support professional growth but it strengthens our retention by investing in talent already in the district. And lastly, for the first time,

098we offer tuition incentives as part of the holistic approach to talent development and retention. We support our career advancement for our classified staff by offering a one-time 2,00 uh tuition incentives toward initial teacher certification. This is in addition to the gifted cohort uh endorsement cohort that is one of our most impactful that is designed to enhance instructional capacity and improve student outcome. student outcomes. Participants receive a onetime 2000 sip on completion. I am proud to highlight some of the impactful work that we accomplished in the FY25. Beyond man managing district-wide staffing, we launched our first CSD future educator signing day to celebrate our first year inspiring teachers. We hope that Agnes Scott interns with a focus on district leadership and implemented signings and retention bonuses for our adaptive special education teachers which was made possible

099through the support of this board. We also successfully hosted and participated in multiple job fairs, improved teacher retention, and notably were fully staffed to welcome students on the first day of school. These achievements represent just a few of the meaningful strides our team has made in strengthening the district's human capital. Here are the new hires by the numbers for FY26 school year. We are proud to share that all certified staff across the district fully staff. We welcomed over just 50 new certified and classified employees. a notable decrease from the previous year and a clear refle reflection of the district's successful retention efforts. Among our new hires, 78.8 identify as female, 21.2 identify as male, 53.8 are class are certified, while 46.2 are classified. This strong balance and reduced hiring underscores our positive impact of our

100retention strategies particularly in maintaining a stable and experienced teaching workforce. The positive engagement efforts are evident in our FY26 new hires and transfer. We have they have shared thoughtful and insightful reflections about their experiences as members of the 2526 new hire class. At this time welcome a few of our staff who have joined me today to share their CSV experience as new and returning. So I would ask first one Mr. Hold five. >> Good afternoon everyone. >> Afternoon >> and thank you for having me. I feel very honored to be here. Like Dina said, my name is Jose Fes and I'm a proud Navy veteran. My journey began after graduating from the United States Naval Academy followed by 15 years in the Navy. I earned my NBA and spent more than a decade. Three years

101ago, I got laid off. However, I knew I had more to give, but I didn't know where yet. One day, after my usual run through the neighborhood I live next door, I passed the Wilson Center. Something told me to turn around and go in. Sweaty, out of breath. I asked the front desk, "Are you hiring substitute teachers?" Moments later, crazy came out and listened to my story. Said, "Today might be your lucky day. We're hiring a stellar sub at Glenwood Elementary School." I interviewed with Dr. groceries on Tuesday and had the job by Friday. Following summer, Britney reached out to me again. Would you be willing to move to the high school? Tell her absolutely another chapter my story. This year I got promoted to safety and security. Great promotion, great job, great team. His

102journey began with one fearless step through that door downstairs and one act of kindness from Britain. He was a shining light that day. He truly puts human in By being fearless, I've been able to give back to this community, this country that I love. >> Thank you. >> We'll hear from Hello, my name is Kaza Harmon. I'm originally from New York and I moved here in 2001. I have over 10 years of teaching experience and I love seeing the students faces light up when they succeed. My journey hasn't always been smooth. I I even considered leaving teaching for management. But even in management, I found myself teaching high school students. Eventually, I returned to education as a substitute for APS and later the city school of the cater recommended by my mentor. I especially enjoyed

103subing at fave and tally where the teachers began requesting me by name, something I had never experienced before. While subbing at fave, I accepted a long-term fourth grade position. I loved the students and they loved me. When that ended, Principal Lynn Hansen asked me to take another long-term role, this time in special education. I said yes, willing to take any classes needed, and it turned out to be an amazing experience. The more I worked here, the more I felt at home. Instructional coaches encouraged me to apply full-time. I did. And here I am, a proud third grade teacher at faith, surrounded by caring, supportive staff who constantly check in and lift each other up. I found my home here, and this is where I plan to retire. Thank you. >> Afternoon. My name is Lori

104Kiss and I am a special ed teacher at Tally Street Elementary. Sorry, I didn't bring my blue fan at all about really. Um, there are moments in life when you realize that where you're meant to be isn't a new place at all, but a place that you've been all along. For me, that place is previously I left to explore new opportunities and to grow. And I'm grateful for those experiences and for the lessons I learned from those experiences. They shaped me, challenged me, made me a better educator. But no matter where I went, a part of me always felt like I was searching for something that I had already found. Thought about the unique sense of community here. the way teachers, parents, school administrators rally around students, thought about the moments in the hallway, the

105shared laughter in the staff room, and the unwavering belief that every single child can succeed. This district has a heart and soul unlike any other. It's a place where I don't have a job, I have a call. Over the past 13 years, I've seen City Schools of Decar grow and change in many ways. It is my hope that we continue to hold fast to the core belief that great education is built on respect and trust. When we value teachers as the professionals they are and trust them to innovate and lead in their classrooms, we empower them to do their best work. This in turn creates an environment where students flourish because a supported respected teacher is an effective one. Returning here feels like coming home. It's a privilege to share my values and my passion

106for education. Thank you. Thank you all for sharing your experiences, your CSD experience with us today. The successful hiring of 27 new teachers and other classified staff who are all ready to begin on day one was made possible through strong collaboration with our our school principles. Their commitment to timely vetting of qualified candidates and leveraging our student teacher pipeline was truly commendable. We're proud to highlight a few key recruitment achievements that deserve celebration. As previously stated, 12 of our new hires came through our own grow your own pipeline, including pair professionals who are now certified teachers, substitutes who completed their teacher preparation courses with our university partners, and classified staff promoted into new roles. 10 of our first hires were identified at our own shop fair, showcasing our power to hosting intentional local recruitment events.

107Two of our student teachers transitioned into full testament to our investment in cultivating and cultivating high quality educators from within. and six of our new hires are graduates of Decator High School, reflecting our commitment to building a homegrown educator workforce. As of today, City Schools of Decator employing 881 staff members. Our overall workforce is is composed of approximately 47.9 white and 50 and 46.3 black employees across all job categories. of our 432 classroom teachers, the racial composition shift and 24.6 identified as black. We recognize this gap and we have taken intentional steps to increase it to strengthen diversity among our educators and support staff. We have expanded recruitment efforts to additional historically black uh university colleges and universities. Established three new memorandums of understanding with H.B.CU be used to to support student teacher placement and

108other support roles and continues our diversity hiring policies to ensure inclusive and equitable practices. Additionally, we continue to foster a culture of belonging through engagement opportunities with organizations such as the National Alliance of Black School Educators as well as the local Georgia chapter in which our current administration is involved. This reflects our ongoing commitment to ensuring that every staff member feels seen, valued, and supported in CS. The human resources department has made intentional and sustained efforts to increase staff retention with an emphasis on retaining our teachers. Our most notable and impactful initiatives include ongoing commitment to competitive compensation made possible through the diligence and support of this board. Recruitment and retention bonuses of our adaptive special education teachers and pair professionals. Tuition reimbursement to eliminate financial barriers to classified or classified staff pursuing their initial

109teacher certification. Annual nonsense nurturer training for classroom management strategies. literacy BT3 and an expanded teacher induction program tailored to meet the individual needs of new educators. These strategic efforts have contributed to the anticipated 5% up claim and our teacher retention rate compared to last year based upon internal district analysis. While the Georgia Department of Education has not released their official FY2025 retention data, we're optimistic that our results will align with this positive trend. It is also important to note the nuances nuances in retention data. For example, when a teacher transitions to a new role within the district, such as administration or support services, the state no longer classifies them as a retained teacher. This often causes an unvalued retention rate on the state public dashboard despite the educator retaining with the district. Despite our best

110efforts, there's always some levels of employee separation whether voluntary or involuntary. However, we are encouraged by significant by the significant reduction of staff attrition or turnover over the past year. In FY24, nearly 90 teachers left the district, including 29 who departed before the end of the year. In contrast, FY20 for FY25, we saw a substantial improvement with only 39 teachers exiting and just four. This is a significant achievement and worthy of celebration. Our goal is to continue building on this progress. For context, as from a national vantage point, Mercer's 2025 workforce turnover survey shows that the national average voluntary turnover rate is between 10 to 15 across industries. CSD's rate is about 10% matching the lower end of this range which means we're keeping pace with the national benchmark and it's a strong outcome especially

111given the national nation retention. So to bring it back locally and to better understand the reasons behind staff separation we partner with upbeat to administer external exit surveys. This process ensures fidelity and objectivity. Their interactive dashboard provides us and enable us to analyze trends by schools, compare our results with the national benchmark of approximately 2,000 teachers. Among those who exited the district in FY25, several key areas of strength emerged. More than 80% of our teachers stated these factors did not contribute to their decision to leave the district, which includes class size, employee benefits, and classroom management support. These areas scored higher than the national average, showing that our district are working well compared to the trends of a district. However, when looking at areas of growth, the top reasons that did contribute to teacher departures

112were satisfaction with school level leadership and limited input to schoolwide decisions. Both of these factors saw an increase in less favorable responses. Low pay continued to be a factor, although there were 16 there was a 16% increase in positive responses reflecting the impact of the most recent board approved salary increase. Understanding this data gives us the opportunity to share key findings not only with the board but also gives the executive director of schools and school principles. It also allows us to establish a systematic feedback process that elevates teacher and staff voice at both the district and school level or school levels in all survey data. Through this collaborative approach, we will clearly communicate expectations gather meaningful input and proactively address areas of concern. While our strategic accelerators and this represents the how the steps on

113how we are taking and making moves toward full implementation and success. This key new uh initiatives includes launching a teacher wellness series focused on promoting work life harmony supported by community partnerships. Conducting state interview youth to gain insight not just when employees leave but to understand and support those who choose to stay with our district. relevant professional learning opportunities for our staff and a new pending uh agreement that will provide trade professional trade certifications for this ensures every employee has a pathway for growth and development within our district. Lastly, I would like to highlight how human resources continues to align with our strategic plan to cultivate and retain highquality professions across the district. Our ongoing efforts include compensation reform to ensure competitive and inequitable pay, expansion of our university partnerships, including a new collaboration with

114Georgia State University uh principal academy which supports not only instructional leadership cohorts but also organizational leaders in our support department. The exploration of a district six bank which is outlined in our fiveear strategic plan. And lastly, compliance with our newly enacted legislative mandates impacting HR policies and practices. Our commitment to HR excellence remains strong and we are proud to pro to progress as we are making making sure that we support, grow, and retain our valuable staff. This includes the state of human resources and I am now available to answer any question. Dr. Walker, who were the um the new HBC partnerships? What schools were those? >> Absolutely. It was Alb State, it was Fort Valley State, and it was Clark Atlanta. >> Go first. >> Thank you. You know, I've been talking about teacher retention,

115so um kudos. >> I do, as usual, have some questions. Um, if you could go back to the slide with the comparison slide six. So, we have our FY26 new hires by the numbers and we have our FY25 new hire numbers. >> And, you know, I I'm thinking of the community engagement here too. um and information that's there. So to be clear, certified staff can be teachers, administrators, directors, coordinators, etc. Okay? And so correct my math, but um when I'm looking at 53.8 or 54% of the 52 hires, then that's about 28 >> of the uh the new hires. Yeah, it's actually 27. 27. Perfect. Okay. And then I do the same math with 111 from FY25. Uh 74% of 111 maybe 82. The reason I'm asking, I think you answered this. I just want

116to clarify. So FY24, we had 90 teachers leave, but we hired 82 certified staff. So we had 90 teachers leave. We hired 82 staff. That may be 82 teachers, but it may be 78 teachers. And then for the 52 there, I think I heard 39 teachers left. So, kudos. We had fewer teachers leave last year. Um, and then we hire 28 certified staff. So, is the teacher retention affected at all by teachers just leaving? either because we've eliminated a program or uh retirement or we're just not hiring as many teachers because we don't need them. I guess I'm just trying to figure out that discrepancy. Lost 90, hired 82 certified, lost 39, hired 28 certified. So, from where I'm sitting, we have fewer teachers this year than we did last year and the previous year

117just based on the hiring numbers. >> Exactly. And when we're looking at that, we look at our enrollment. There may be, you know, at at the school level, maybe we're collapsing and fighting, but we make sure that we retain the teachers and move them throughout the district in order to retain it. So we may not need it because their position may not be or the classroom there. >> Thank you. >> So that that what we're saying is we're not eliminating teacher positions. There is a natural attrition that is occurring and we don't have to backfill some of those positions. Okay, I just want to be clear. >> Additionally, when you have grow your own, they're not going to be new hires because they are coming from within the organization moving to role of teacher. So

118when you have 12 that are in a grow your own, you know. >> Okay. And then um on slide nine just to I think what I'm seeing for our FY26 classroom teachers um we have 19.2% with a bachelor's and 3.2 with a provisional waiver. So it's about 20ome%. When we go to the tuition assistance that we're offering right now we are offering that solely to classified staff. So, uh, any of our teachers or certified staff with a bachelor's or provisional would not get that kind of tuition assistance to move into the mast's or the specialist. >> Yes, this particular initiative is for our initial certification. However, with our university partners, we have agreements with them because we have a program that they can get their master's degree and they get scholarships within because of our

119our partnership. Thank you. Last question. Um, so I look at slide 11 with the areas of strength and opportunity and then I look at slide 12, the how. Um, so I guess I really have two questions for the last one. One, what is the teacher wellness? >> Absolutely. This is a new initiative. I believe we discussed a little bit last year about work life balance. So the mindset that okay if you are here most of your day why not support you in other ways while you're here and out in the community. those committee uh making those comm uh relationships with the community, offering discounts, offering suggestions to make sure that you're you know relaxing yourself and just making yourself you know like Miss said a home. Um and so just making sure those initiatives are

120in place with that well. So, it's almost going to be like a monthly kind of uh communication from human resources and giving you just suggestions to make sure your work life balance is there. And then I love the staff stay interviewed. The friend had told me about those two years ago. So, are all staff interviewed or is this after a survey it turns out that these are staff that are considering leaving or I don't know. Maybe we don't need to know right now. We can move on. >> Yeah. But I also this is the perfect time to ask because as we go into our evaluation everyone has a pre-conference and so getting to know your staff is making sure that you have that conversation why did you know and and learning your staff and looking

121at the trajectory and what their goals are. So all of that is part of that interview and it could be followed up by any conversation that they have at that point. >> Thank you. had a quick anecdote about Mr. Feice if I could share with everybody. This is uh this is so great. My littlest >> who is um >> chatty, somewhat precocious uh assertive young lady at where she gets that from. Um we were out at breakfast and uh she had had Mr. Feice the stellar sub at London and Mr. Fees walked in to have himself some breakfast and she proceeded to crash his breakfast. And as a somewhat mortified dad, I was like, "I'm so sorry. It'd be good." And he was like, "Absolutely not. It is perfectly fine." He sat and had breakfast

122with a little first grader jawing at him the entire time. Gracious. It was really wonderful to see that that in our school. I just I wanted to share that with everyone. Well, I was going to add that recruitment and retention are important concepts for our hire to retire experience. I'm pleased to note that we have reduced the number of new hires in half, noting our grow our own pipeline programs really as a strength. It has been a pleasure connecting with our new hires during the pre-planning period and I look forward to their continued success in the City Schools of Decater. >> Thank you, Mrs. Walker. Thank you, staff, for your perspective. Little misty there. >> It's always good to hear how our staff proceeds perceives our offerings. I look forward to hearing more about the

123teacher wellness series. Dr. Whitaker, please introduce the next presentation. >> Thank you, Sher Sultan. I would like to call on Mr. Jarvis Adams, chief operations officer team from Goodwin Mills and Kaywood and virtually our chief financial officer, Dr. Lita Broom, to provide an update on the comprehensive capital improvement plan where we will seek guidance from you as a board. Good afternoon board chair so Dr. Sultan vice chair us board members and student representative and superintendent Dr. with it. Tonight, we'll provide an update on the comprehensive capital improvement plan, which consists of four interdependent projects designed to strengthen our district's instructional, operational, and community capacity. This update will cover our progress to date, a potential design pivot for one of the projects within the plant and the associated financial considerations. We have set the board for

124all questions to the end of the presentation as your guidance is critical. The early childhood learning center is part of the coordinated package along with the cater high school expansion and additional improvements. We are joined this evening by Jeff Prime from Extension Program Management, our longtime construction consultant at City Schools of Decay. also by GMC, our architecture partner represented by Sean Hamlin, educator practice leader design parish construction, our construction manager at risk that is Mike Gunnan and he's our project director and Clay Mercer is the director of pre-construction projects. The purpose of today's discussion is to share where we are in the process, present an optional design pivot for your consideration, and receive your direction so that we can maintain the momentum necessary to keep the full plan on schedule. The comprehensive capital improvement plan

125is a tightly connected set of projects. Progress on one directly impacts the timeline and success of the others. The early childhood learning center is not an isolated field. It's the first domino that enables other key moves including the Kar High School expansion and capital improvement. At this stage, schematic design and community engagement have been completed for the ECLC indicator high school projects. The public facilities authority has approved the bond requirement for the plan current scope and we have developed a schedule that keeps all projects moving in sequence. As a result of today's discussion, we will know whether to proceed with the current design or pivot to an expanded option which will directly influence construction cost and the overall delivery timeline for the entire plan. The comprehensive capital improvement plan is design is designed to advance

126all four strategic accelerators. Student success in all areas. Facilities that support high quality learning, arts, and athletics. Equity and access. Locating the ECLC in the heart of the Kar housing authority community. Removing transportation barriers for our youngest learners. A thriving workforce, upgraded spaces for career, technical and agriculture education, fine arts and athletics to support staff excellence, organizational effectiveness and excellence. A coordinated sustainable approach to capital investment that maximize resources. The four dominoes are designed and sequence to work together as a single district-wide solution. Community input has been an important part of this project from its earliest stages. As you know, I was out there in the early stages, but I have done my homework and you have a check a chance to check my research skills. This timeline provides an overview of the steps that

127have been taken and opportunities that have been provided for stakeholder feedback. In May 2017, City Schools of Decagga purchased a West Trinity property from the Decada Housing Authority for $4.6 million to be used educational purposes. The district began exploring multiple uses for the property with the first concept being a new early childhood learning center to help address to help address disparities and access for families living within the Decada housing authority. Limited transportation options made it difficult for some families to fully access College Heights. The new ECLC would not replace College Heights, but would place an early learning center in the heart of the housing authority community. Other concepts discussed for new elementary school, a decade of high school extension, and additional instructional spaces. In August of 2019, Tapestry Upper Elementary opened, reducing the immediate need

128for a new elementary school on the site. In early 2020, the CO 19 pandemic paused all major planning. In March of 2023, after a year of community engagement led by the Georgia School Boards Association, the board adopted the all indicated strategic plan reaffirm the new the need for a new early childhood learning center. Later in March, Dr. Jim Whitaker was announced as a sole finalist for the superintendent with the charge of advance with a charge to advance the ETLC project. August the 24, GMC conducted two series of path began conducting two series of path community engagement sessions gathering input that informs schematic designs for both the ECLC and Decada high school renovations. Since October 2024, City Schools of Decada has engaged the city of Decada commissioners, officials, and broader community to share progress and collect

129feedback. In August 2025, the strategic design efforts continue to refine the ECLC plan alongside other interconnected projects in the comprehensive capital improvement plan. Throughout this process, feedback has been sought. Designs have been shaped by that input and the project has remained aligned with the goals of our strategic plan. At this time, we would invite our partners from GMC Architects to present both the current ECLC design and the proposed pivot option. Represent GMC this evening are Sean Hamlin, education practice leader and architect Alam architecture designer. Following their presentation, chief financial officer Dr. Lenita Brun will will outline the financial impact um the financial implications of each option. You'll be attending this virtually. After Dr. Groom speaks, I'll return to the podium. >> Hi, my name is Phil. Thank you for having me here today. Okay. As

130mentioned in the previous slide, the early childhood learning center will provide high quality early learning that will close academic achievement gaps. This project will have the capacity support early learners as well as additional learning opportunities for the teaching and early childhood education career pathway. Today we will start by discussing how we got to where we are now. Breaking down the early engagement with CSD and the community to the RFP for design services, conceptual design, schematic design and so forth. We will then go over what the design at the moment is and an initial look at a potential twotory type concept. We also want to touch base on another capital improvement effort, the renovation and addition, the Decatur High School, followed by a brief project timeline looking ahead at what is next. Our journey with the

131city schools of Decator began with PATH, which is an abbreviation for our project approach theory. Path is a collaborative process between the architect and initial stakeholders to understand the drivers that facilitate the the design of a pro project. The initial stakeholders were selected by the board of education. Stakeholders included DHA community staff, Frasier Center staff, College Heights families and staff, Downtown Decar Neighborhood Association members, Children's Healthcare of Atlanta, Decatur Education Foundation, a city commissioner, CTA students and staff, PCT CSSE staff, parents, and teachers. The path process consisted of an initial survey for all past attendees followed by two in-person sessions. Path one, understand and manifest, understand and validate occurred in August of last year where we started with an online questionnaire to understand priorities and needs for this new early learning center. From there, we

132built seven per first principles and participated in a hands-on activity where you can red dot and green dot images that do or do not support these principles for the ECLC. After this and some homework for GMC, task two occurred in September of last year where we finalized our vision statement as well as participant architectural priorities. Horizontal masking to allow for natural daylighting, parking to be tucked away from the main street, green space to be maintained along Commerce Drive, and outdoor play to be safe from busy roads. AMC completed the PAT deliverables and presented to the public on October 15, 2024. After PAST, CSC issued a proposal for design services in October. through the selection process. GMC was awarded and received a notice to proceed in December of last year and then provided a conceptual design

133in January of this year. Parish joined our design team as a semar construction manager at risk at the same time as schematic design for the project was completed. This process included various meetings with the city of Decatur to ensure our compliance with building code and emergency access. Design development was completed in July. This process included bi-weekly meetings with the city schools educator and parish construction group. During this time, we had learned of zoning ordinances to be aware of. After initial meetings with planning and zoning and development authorities, we were asked to be removed from the city commission hearings. After further meetings with city commission and board of education, there was a consensus to focus on maximizing green space without impacting programmatic needs. This resulted in an initial site concept that is currently under review. This

134update aims to reallocate certain program spaces resulting in a partial two-story building. The goal that will be achieved through this change is to create adequate green space for public use as well as decrease the frontage along West Place. Since October, there has been continuing public communication efforts provided by City Schools educators, such as listening sessions with superintendent Dr. Whitaker, advisory council meetings, the planning commission hearing, and downtown Decator authority hearings, board meetings, the back to school bash, as well as a new website that is live and frequently updated with many answered FAQs. Going into this design, this site plan shows in green all of the green space surrounding the building footprint, which embraces the street edge of downtown Decator. The plan is to give access to the community for a passive green space, but first

135and foremost prioritize the safety of the children. The rendering below the site shows a design intent referencing materials that are to be used. After discussions with the city of Decatur and city arborists, we plan to relocate, plant and tree street ordinance and streetscape requirements, widen street and sidewalks and preserve DHA parking. We have spoken with the Decatur housing authority, city of Decar police, and the city's fire marshal regarding the site plan and have received their input. There will be approximately 50 parking spots for parents and staff, a wide drop off lane, and a separate loading zone for food service. For the city ordinance, this building is pursuing lead silver certification. We will continue to explore imple implementing best practices that include working with the roof design to allow for solar panels, permeable pavers to allow

136for rain water to permeate the ground and prevent heat from collecting on the ground. Bio and bio retention which serves as an educational tool but also an opportunity to introduce native plants on child development. The project envisions an inclusive, accessible, safe, and sustainable campus. This design will embrace community diversity and foster a sense of belonging and well-being for all children, families, caregivers, and educators while adhering to early learning standards and requirements. The building orients around a courtyard space that is accessible from all classrooms, incorporating play into their daily life as part of their most important developmental years. The space incorporates multi-purpose rooms and observation rooms for an unobtrusive educational experience for Decar High School students who are in the early childhood education caregiving CTA pathways. The nine site offices include admin, director, instructional coach, nurse,

137bookkeeper, security, conference space, and one currently undesated. There are also seven student support offices that fulfill needs such as social workers, psychologists, psychologists, and DBA staff. These are located by the cafeteria which are to be used by the staff who are currently working in houses owned by the district. The process of design has followed a heavy emphasis on the green space located on CSD property. The total site property is 2.87 87 acres or roughly 125,000 square feet. The estimated appreciated value of this land is around $6 million. The process began back in 2017 with an early design that took up the entire site when GMC got involved and after the past process ended, we were at 24% green space. Through meetings with the city and stakeholders to shrink the building, it was brought up to

13832%. At the most recent design at design development, the green space left to the public is now at 40.9%. Now in the following slides, you will see a series of progress data on how we are able to achieve 47% of green space. This design to date provides about 40 40.9% of the site to public green space. The project will be giving sites the proper streetscape requirements as well as for a six-foot road widening along electric avenue all while maintaining existing green space and tree canopy along the eastern portion of the site. After further meetings with leaders of the city commission and board of education, there was a consensus to focus on maximizing green space without impacting programmatic needs. The goal is to provide a minimum of 45 to 49% of the site for green space.

139Through some reorganizing and shifting of the footprint, this proposed site concept provides approximately 4 to 7% of the site for public green space. If we were to include the road widening on Electric Avenue and the additional streetscape needs of downtown Decar, that total rings up to 67%. This is achieved by reorganizing program and adding a second story to the building. This new partial two-story building will still provide the same programmatic needs as the original design. Additionally, internal on-site parking will be decreased by more than half and reallocated to along West Trinity Place. Seen here is an overall project schedule. From left to right, it reads the different stages of the design and construction process. In red is the original design for ECLC, Early Childhood Learning Center, with a red line demarcating the time to reconsider

140the needs on the site. In green is a projected timeline of design for an updated twostory design should it be the direction to move forward in. Once again, realize that this red dotted line shifts further out if a redesign is a path forward. For the capital improvement effort at Decar High School, we were once again engaged to provide past services focusing on the needs of athletics, performing, and visual arts and the CCA programs. The construction of the early childhood learning center creates a domino effect for Decar High School. With the daycare and early childhood education pathway shifting to the ETLC, it opens up the opportunity to renovate the Fraser Center. This will be given to CTE additional and existing. This is a part of a larger domino effect because the spaces indicator high school can

141be reallocated. Additionally, as a part of this domino, there will be the construction of an auxiliary gym and a fine arts addition to create adequate space for band and theater needs, as well as provide athletic facilities and multi-purpose spaces for all programs at DHS. One thing that we learned from this path process was that Decar High School is thriving in all of their capacities and just needs space to excel further. This project is a three-phase design. The render seen here show the proposed proposed auxiliary gym which will be a phase one. GMC entered into the pass process after feedback given in the CSC January community meeting. Community members that were involved in DHS PAT were robotics, athletics, and fine arts families and boosters. Decator performs, the DHS principal, CTAE director, the DHS athletic assistant director,

142the DHS band director, and multiple teachers and coaches indicator. The structure was very similar to path from ECLC. Path one, understand and validate where we completed an in-person questionnaire, period of three first principles and architectural visioning. After this tab two is where we were able to manifest from our first principle what is a priority, how it is laid out on site and how much space is needed. GMC completed the path deliverables and presented to the public on May 23rd, 2025. DMC also walked through Decatur High School on May 7th of this year along with key CSE staff and high school personnel. In our tour of DHS 5A school, we were able to see the capabilities of the gymnasium and the various activities and scheduling conflicts that occur in the singular space. We also walked through

143the PAC performing arts center areas that served PTA programs including ROC, woodworking, design and technology programs. A conclusion that and this tour was the lack of space in all of these programs and a need to serve the talent that Gator High School could provide. In the final path breakdown of spaces, we developed a three-phase design here on the left. is an overall summary and on the right a list of programs that is serving immediate needs and the domino effect of the creation of the early childhood learning center. The timing of these phases in dominoes is to be determined but the goal is to address the needs of athletics and performing and visual arts. Domino number two includes potential impacts on programs like physical therapy, band classroom, flexbox theater, tech theater classroom, and culinary kitchen. Domino

1443 includes potential creation of a healthcare science lab, as well as a business development and marketing classroom. Domino number four includes potential addition of a workroom, multi-purpose lab, and maker space, as well as a robotic field. At this time, I would like to turn it over to Dr. Olivia Broom, chief finan financial officer of City School of >> Thank you, Miss Alam. Good evening, board chair, Dr. Sultan, vice chairs, esteemed members of the board, student representative Batan Batra, and superintendent Dr. Whitaker. At the last board update on the comprehensive capital improvement plan at the June 10th board meeting, the board of education unanimously voted for a resolution authorizing the district to proceed with financing for the comprehensive capital improvement project through bonds issued by the PFA. On July 30th and August 5th, the superintendent, staff,

145financial advisor, and bond council presented at the PFA work session. The members of the PFA committee unanimously voted to approve the resolution of intent on August 5th. The PFA adopted a resolution of intent which indicates its willingness to issue the bonds for the benefit of the district in order to consummate the transaction. Option A for Domino one was presented to the PFA committee. As discussed previously, option A is for a one-story ECLC building. The approximated cost of option one is $35 million. Option B for Domino number one is a twostory building. The approximate cost of option two is $43 million. The fiscal impact of option A on onetory building is approximately 2.3 million annually over a 30-year period at an interest rate of 5.16%. The interest rate is subject to change if we add in

146the district's existing debt, the 2014 COPS 2020 installment sale agreement, the 2020 funds, and the lease of the maintenance facility. The annual debt payment amount is approximately $4.5 million for the next seven years and decreases after that as existing debt is paid off. The fiscal impact of option B, twostory building, is approximately 2.8 million annually over a 30-year period at an interest rate of 5.14%. The interest rate is subject to change. If we add in the district's ex existing debt as discussed on the previous slide, the annual debt payment amount is approximately $5 million for the next seven years and decreases after that as existing debt is paid off. Over the last few years, we have averaged approximately $7 million annually in splice proceeds. Option A, annual payment of $4.5 million, which is inclusive of

147all district debt, will leave a splice balance of $2.5 million to cover the district's capital costs associated with textbooks, technology, and facilities. Option B, annual payment of $5 million, which is inclusive of all district debt, will leave a splice balance of $2 million to cover the district's capital costs associated with textbooks, technology, and facilities. Funding considerations include repayment through SLAS, which means that projects budgeted in SPLAS may need to be reallocated to the general fund. Reallocating funds to the general funds will place the district in a position of either increasing the RI millage rate or reducing the district cost or a combination of both. The district has assets that could be sold for one-time revenue of approximately $1 million $2 million. Net market tax credit is a gap financing approach for a nonrefundable tax credit

148intended to encourage private capital investment in eligible economically distressed lowincome communities. NMTC's are allocated by the community development financial institution fund a bureau within the US department of the treasury under a competitive application process. Investors who make qualified equity investments reduce their federal income tax liability by claiming the credit. NMTC's does not typically fund an entire project. They provide a maximum of 20% of the project financing, often in the form of low interest debt that is forgiven within seven years. This project is NMTC eligible due to the location of the proposed ECLC site and Decatur High School. The district will apply for all applicable federal and state grants. Next, chief operating officer, Mr. Adams, will go over public engagement. >> Hello again. This is the point of the presentation where we connect comprehensive capital improvement

149plan with the all indicator strategic plan. The next two slides will outline a summary of key considerations for the board as we look at our options. The upcoming opportunities for community input and engagement. This will help us see how our capital priorities align with our strategic accelerators we have committed to while also ensuring that both the board and the community are well informed and engaged in the progress. As we look at the next steps of the early childhood learning center with there are several factors for the board to consider. Option A, the one story design, it keeps our timeline intact, allowing us to break ground as early as November or December of this year. It locked in guaranteed maximum price for Paris construction by October. This option positions us to open the building for the

150start of the 2728 school year. This is the last year of the all indicated strategic plan. Option B offers a design pivot that increases the green space on the site by an estimated 6%. However, that change will increase construction cost and design cost require longer design phase and push groundbreaking and guaranteed maximum price negotiations into April of that will delay the opening of the new facility until the fall of 2028 beyond the allin decada strategic plan. Both options meet the educational goals of the project, but they differ significantly in budget impact, schedule, and scope. As we move forward, whether on our current plan, on our current path or with the adjustments, community engagement remain an essential part of the process. We have several avenues already in place. CSD early learning email address for ongoing questions

151is early learning cdiccater.net. We also have project FAQs and updates are available on the district website. If you look at the screen, this is the link into our FAQs based on our website and it is updated very often. Regular board of education meetings and work sessions occur on the second Tuesday of each month. Community meetings dedicated to this project. The first one is Wednesday, August 27th, 6:30 to 8:00 p.m. Kada Housing Authority Community Resource Center. The next meeting is Monday, September 15th from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m. at Beacon Hill Middle School. These will be opportun opportunities to share clear information, answer questions, and gather input. Your guidance tonight will help us walk into those meetings with a unified message and a clear next step. Today, we're not asking for a decision. The board has already

152approved moving forward with option A through the resolution of resolution to seek financing. What we are asking is your guidance based on the updated information and the alternative we have presented on whether to stay the course or explore the pivot. We recognize that green space is an important consideration for our community and we have worked to balance that value with our core mission of delivering high quality learning environments for our students. The plan the plan we choose will set the pace for the entire capital program and our project partners GMC Parish Construction and essential program management are here with us today to support any questions you may have. So now I simply want to hear your thoughts on which approach positions us best to serve our students. Whether we continue with the plan that is

153ready to go or explore the alternative. Both are on the table and your guidance will help us keep moving forward with clarity and confidence. And I open up the floor to discussion. I'd like to clarify one thing and I'm sorry because I'm the newest board member um and when it comes to something of this magnitude this would have been especially new for me and so I want to go back to the June 10th meeting um and this resolution of the financing we discussed that as a board and executive session. Is that correct? I think I just heard that what we're doing right now is we're not discussing >> that's what we're discussing. >> Okay. So then the other way I'd like to ask the question is did we put out any financing methodologies to the

154public before an option? So you're right. I'm so sorry because I know we can't um so I guess the better way to frame my question is we're looking at historical timelines, right? And I'll be completely honest. Um I am so frustrated and sad um that we are where we are right now and I so appreciate the work that everyone's done, but I hear too many questions. And so I just want to make sure that I understand the facts. June 10th is when we decided how the capital plan would be funded. Is that correct? I don't I think the PFA conversation happens. I actually beyond talking about Splast, I don't think we have had a public conversation about how the entire tax is going to be financed. >> And I just wanted to get that clear

155because I think what I heard is because of that June 10th meeting, we are now deciding between A and B. I just want to make sure I'm correct about that. No, I think the Jun's meeting what we signed and voted on was to allow Dr. Whitaker to explore the PFA. >> Explore. Thank you. And so that's where I'm so confused because and again I'm sorry if I should know this. So to explore the PFA does explore mean get it? Because I think explore explore summer vacation option. We might go to the mountains or we might go to the beach. >> If if I'm not mistaken, before we issue bonds, we will still have to vote, right? We are not in a position to be able to issue bonds unless this body agrees to issue them.

156Okay? >> We know that we have a mechanism by which we can't issue them via the PFA. >> But incurring this debt has not passed the vote of this body yet. >> Okay. >> And that was just one funding option, >> right? Okay. So then I guess to move back I don't know why we so option B I think I just learned about yesterday um I believe it came into um creation in process was it last week correct me if I'm wrong >> so even that is a real struggle for me when we started today's board session talking about public comment right and the time at which we have public comment so when we're making consequential decisions, we can do that um in an informed way that honors what the public is asking and saying.

157So, are we really talking more about the questions and the concerns we have regarding option A or B or we are expected by the end of this meeting before public comment to say whether we support option A or B? So, it's my understanding that we are taking what we the feedback we've gotten from the community up to this point >> and including what was um comments that were made during public comment at the PFA meeting. Um, and so I know that um board uh chair um Sultan and board vice chair um have met with um representatives from the um city commission, right? And so there are some concerns there as well. I'm asking and so I want to get clarification on their concerns um based on what Miss Lam shared that different city agencies approved

158the initial design but I think what I've heard is there's some poll that the initial design is in violation of >> specific Well, I think a couple things. Um, board member Anderson and you can we can discuss any of these options, any parts of the design. You also have the benefit of having all of the experts here. You have the construction and the design folks here who could answer any of the questions that you have about the logistics of the design, what it means, what it means for the traffic, what it means for the green space, all those things. So um to answer your question directly um I think you have two options here. One that goes up on the percentage of green space. Um so that was also a point of feedback that we

159got from some of the community members um along the way was that we didn't have enough green space. So we had gone up and up and up, but even at the initial design option one, was that enough? And that was some of the feedback or concern from some of the city commissioners. Was was it enough green space? Was the design stretching too far curb to curb? And was there a way to perhaps maximize that city that community accessible green space? So here is another option. Vice Sheriffs, did you >> Yeah, I I want to be really really clear because it isn't actually just about green space. In fact, in fact, I think the feedback that we received from the city wasn't principally about green space. It was principally about non-pedestrian massing along Trinity. There are

160for any develop development that happens downtown either setbacks that were required or ingress egress access in different uses. We will, I believe, have to get a variance in order to be able to build this building. So, we will be back in front of city commissioners. We will be back in front of the city and we will be back in front of the public seeking approval for whatever design we're taking forward visav permits because it is going to require the city to override code requirements in order for this building to be built. the 400 linear feet or whatever it was in design A that provides a nonaccessible brick wall facing the public on Trinity was a real point of contention. We lessen that, right? And so that was the impetus for trying to think through some

161other designs. I do know and what I find frustrating is that the feedback around that contiguous wall and the feedback around the parking was brought to the process by city commissioners on multiple occasions and not incorporated into the design. So, so you do have an issue going back to the city and saying, "Let's go ahead and move forward with design one where we didn't incorporate your feedback. We didn't actually listen to what you asked. We didn't adjust anything that we said for, but now go ahead and give us all of the variances that we need in order to build this while we have effectively ignored the input that you gave us." I am also I just want to be really really clear the feedback that I've heard through this path process is and this is

162not just from city commissioners this is from other people in the community is that a lot of the feedback actually didn't end up in the design and I know commissioners are feeling a little railroaded about this honestly I am feeling a little railroaded by this I found out through Decaterish that design 2 was a 40% increase in on. I should not have been surprised by it. I should not have found out that way. None of us should have found out from a newspaper that this building design two was going to be a 40% increase in cost. So, so I think that there are legitimate concerns. I think that there are, frankly, let me be blunt. I think that there are a number of non legitimate concerns that I've heard that get raised. But there are

163we have to acknowledge that there are legitimate concerns that have been raised around the process and the design and in particular around the funding. I know um Dr. Johnson Davis, one of the concerns that you have is around the cost and the impact of the cost and the cost impact in the community >> on the second design now, right? Because we just got surprised by a 40% increase. So, so I'll be blunt. I don't love either design. >> And may I Well, I know I because I I started with a question and so I feel like we have given the community and our stakeholders lots of opportunities to give feedback. And I think folks can be disappointed about all of that feedback not not being put into that initial design, but I don't feel like

164we have ignored folks. And my my question initially was about when those walkthroughs happened, were were you all aware that there was some code violations in terms of >> it's not a crude violation in any scenario. Building a building like this in that location is going to require a variance, right? I mean, that's just the way that that is, right? And so it's not it's not this building isn't in code violation. It's form of a variant that will require approval by city commission. >> Okay. So, that's just part of the process, but we there's concern that the city will not give us those variances because we don't have enough green space >> because we have a 400 foot wall of inaccessible pedestrian frontage along Trinity. I I mean, I can't speak for how their votes

165are going to go. I don't want I don't want to project what the concern was. And so so this second design does this second design alleviate the wall. >> It takes a third of it or a quarter of it off. Yes. >> I don't know. I I would prefer to go with the initial design. I I feel like those green folks who are advocating for green space want no ETLC and I don't think that this additional 6% is going to convince the pro green space um stakeholders that you know oh c you know they're not going to be on our side and to me overwhelmingly the feedback that I've seen in emails and what I've uh heard about what was expressed at the PFA meeting has been about the cost. They think that 35 million

166is too much. And so I can't imagine that we're going to gain any more folk, any more supporters with 47%. And I just think that >> 43 million you mean 47. >> I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm looking at green percentage of green space. >> 43 million. Yes. And so um you know we have been talking about this since 2017 as a school system um through you know past two administration. Um now we finally have an opportunity to do this. Um I I you know I wish I I was not aware of the second design. Well when um Dr. Sen shared that she was going to be she called me to share that she was going to be meeting city commissioners and that there was going to be conversation. I didn't know, you know, that this

167was going to be an actual second option. Um, but I I'd like for us to move forward. I like for us to keep our timeline. I I think that it's difficult to incorporate everybody's um feedback into into this design. I mean, we're trying to address the needs of our most vulnerable students. We're trying to address this achievement gap. Um, and so I just don't think that 6% of increased green space is worth, you know, this additional cost of what, $8 million and a and and a delay. And who knows how much it's gonna cost by then with you know Paris and you know where will we be? I just so I think I think two things I don't I don't disagree with any of your points. Um I think that to Hans's point some of

168the feedback that we've gotten that I think that the team has tried to incorporate into that second design. Um, I did communicate to every board member that we would have to make some adjustments based on a couple of points of feedback. Some of it was the green space that has been a pain point for the community. How much could we maximize? I'm not here to uh say one way or the next how much is too much or too little, but it has been a point of a pain point. Um, so this second design, which is just for your consideration, is just to maximize as much green space as we could. As for member UTS also mentioned, some of the issue that some of the commissioners have is with the structural design of the building with

169that first design. That's just for your consideration. Um, not that um not that I'm here to sway you one way or the next. Um but after um after we had a conversation with them after opening day I I called each of you and told you that um they did have some concerns and that we would have to consider another option and this is the option that you have here. Can I also point out that that we keep saying things like community input, but the there has been no conversation with the community since design A was complete and we're saying community input meetings in this fall that it appears that those are happening after we make a decision about the direction they're going. So what is the input that we're actually seeking and what are the

170changes that we would make into the design at that point because wouldn't that also cost us multi-millions of dollars to make a change? >> Well, at what point do we stop and say this is the design? >> Well, I think that >> may I to your point Hans um that's exactly where I landed when I started with the frustration. I believe what I've learned and please correct me if I'm wrong is just for example with the zoning issue that had it gone differently there would have been public comment um but because it didn't there wasn't public comment so I went to the PSA meeting last week and it was very informative for me and Jana I appreciate that we've given information but I keep looking at the modernday uh strategies for community engagement that we're

171focusing ing on this year. And to your point, Hans, often this interaction is attempted after decisions are made. Um, if the engagement builds relationships to facilitate an exchange of information, I just don't think we've done a very good job on that. Um, this first of all, if we're going to look at the timeline, um, I'm hearing 2017 and it sounds like many people knew that. Um, Dr. Whitaker, I know you rolled on in March 2023. I was elected in November 2023. I had my board training in December 23 and then I started serving in January 24. The first time I heard about this was August of last year. Um facilities were arranged for me to tour and the college hype facility or wasn't one of them. Um I believe as strongly in early childhood education

172as everyone up here does. But what I've struggled to do is get the information that I could provide to someone to explain why for example proximity is necessary because of the transportation barrier despite the fact that people can see a parking lot with cars or at first the numbers. So I believe we started with 67 and then we moved to 50. Then we talk about weight list and I believe at the TFA meeting we were told that there are five DHA children currently on the weight list for Frraasier Center but yet our priority is for our low-income children. So then how do we have any students much less five on the weight list for Fraser Center and then we have legacy and I know when at our October meeting with the city commissioners we talked

173about the range of places where there is affordable housing need. Um I I want to feel good about this and right now I just don't feel like enough people understand what we're doing. But are you are you are you interested in building are you interested in spending the money to build it right now if you had all that information? >> I I think it's hard for me to answer because I started asking these questions last year and it's very frustrating that some of the information we get has been helpful but then you have to piece it together. Like I was looking at our website because I do so appreciate that we have that website but I don't understand the way it's written the priorities. So, I think it says team mom, low-income families, CSD employees,

174but then like the greater CSD area. So, are we telling people that we're building this our most vulnerable children living in these areas, but it turns out that really BSD area is out. I don't even know what the greater CSD enrollment area means. Is that still even within CSD? >> It's the whole community, right? Like so so the built the school if it's built this way that's a whole separate conversation to have but let's presume that it is built this way the 150 capacity >> not be filled like there aren't enough people in DHA to take all 150 of those slots and so the broader community will have the opportunity to have their kids placed there. I mean when we talk about numbers right we have a K2 school system with 50 kids in each

175age cohort right so 700 I think it was 800 kids total or something I the numbers roughly so we have about 800 kids being served by five schools and we have something like 1,200 kids that are zero to four being served by one school that has 260 kids in it. So, so there's clearly substantial demand for for this and I have no doubt that there is a substantial and significant need to education for the kids that are in uh the DHA. So, so in terms of wanting to I'm sold on uh I'm not sold on the design. I'm not sold on the the uh the actual conversation about getting input from the community and and and getting input from commissioners who have to eventually approve it. I think that there is a significant amount of

176conversation that we are just beginning. Granted, we are just starting this conversation, but there is a significant conversation about rightsizing the system so that we're actually deploying capital in the most efficient way. So, so you know, I would be without question in support of design number two if it had a dimminimous impact in cost. But finding out today that it's a 40% increase in cost, I just that's that's a whole lot for me to to absorb all in one time to provide you direction. I certainly do not want to increase this cost by 40%. Neither do I want a 400 foot wall along the pedestrian access for Trinity. >> Yeah, I I I have the same I have the I I'm torn between these two designs. I think it's um >> I think the issue

177on the table for me is not necessarily the necessity of this of this project at all. I feel like we have gone back and forth multiple times about enrollment projections. I feel like the team has provided that data multiple times. I also think I've said this publicly multiple times. I have I have had the pleasure of visiting the Frasier Center where those kids you where we have three infant rooms in the size of one child's room. Um which those uh staff members love those kids. They're they take great care of them, but they are at capacity. Um, and if we do not even find a plan for what we're going to do with those children, um, I would love to hear another viable option because that center is at capacity. Um, so I feel like

178that's not the issue. Um, I do think also to um, both of my colleagues points here, we do have to partner with our our our city commissioners in this. Um, they are going to hold we have to hold hands through this. So, we have to come up with some process that works. Um, I don't love how much more this is going to run the bill up, but there are um some structural and design problems to correct. I also um don't love the fact that some of the feedback we got was that this some of these very direct points came up in the past process. Um, and for whatever reason, we weren't there. we were not a part of the past process, but they feel like those concerns were not validated or heard. The other question

179I want to um throw out there, maybe this may be a carry question, is the issue of zoning has come up multiple times. Um is properly zoned or improperly zoned. um and if that is going to delay this process or delay their packet. Um or maybe I don't know if maybe that's a a question for the team, but um I I think that that has come up multiple times where people feel like perhaps um that could cause a delay or if that's something we need to address. So to be clear, it can be zoned under either designation E2 or institutional. City schools of Decatur does not determine zoning. The city of Decatur determines zoning. City schools of Decatur follows the zoning required by the city um which in this case was done. So there is

180no nothing illegal about the zoning for this project. Happy to defer to anyone else who'd like to speak on that. As to the timeline, I am not the one to speak on how it would impact. >> What is the function of the wall? >> I will go back to a floor plan. I hope Okay. In plan north, what you see is a joged wall running from left to right where that blue room is. That's our media center. What this wall provides is security. We have classrooms leading straight into the courtyard which follows our early learning center media uh request. um as well as code and egress requirements and that corridor through our design process was decided to be used as kind of a double barrier. So in that way we have a busy street west

181place and we would not like to allow intruders or outsiders to be able to see inside classrooms, view inside classrooms or intrude inside classrooms. >> That was my something. So now with the twostory >> option, what happens is just the the wall is not as long. >> Yeah, >> correct. >> That's right. >> It's not that curved like curb to curb sort of >> rights issue. Our classrooms have to remain on level one. What would go upstairs are the multi-purpose rooms. I would, you know, if we're not all on the same page about these options and it seems as though the city would need to come to some understanding with the city, have an open meeting with the city. um because a lot of the things I'm I'm just learning about as we've been discussing

182these two options in terms of what their concerns are and I'm just wondering, you know, if there's a way in this conversation that we can try to work out some of these issues and not have the increased cost of $8 million. >> I'd certainly support that. May ask one followup because I'm kind of confused. So I mean to the point I think how you were making about reading this indicator is it was in June reading about the zoning um meeting first alerted to the 16 offices that I think now are described as you know um seven there and nine there. And you know, one person flat out said to me, "That feels like an extension of the central." And then I read a slide about funding mechanisms that in addition to the PSA or sloths

183could be an increased mill rate and then actually reducing staff. And so I'm just trying to reconcile those two things. So, we're going to build a building, multi-purpose space and classrooms, but at the same time plan around the fact that we're going to reduce staff >> just to be very clear, the funding thing was that one of the ways you can pay for it when you get the bond >> that occur within the district to cover the 0.8 eight mills that option A would require to do both Domino one and two. >> As we cut people, you cost, you can rely on splats funds. You could at the end of the day charge 58 extra dollars a year to every half a month to every two point home in the case. That would cover it,

184you know. Um, but you wouldn't do that because then there's plenty of other options to do it. So, it just lists this. And then I saw the office complaint as well. It's just like I kind of it's just eye opening that buildings need offices including offices for nurses and psychologist. So, thank you for presenting that and kind of going through it. It was funny. I recently walked through tally and realized how many offices they have there. It's taken up a giant chunk, but it it takes a lot of stuff to do it. Can I ask a couple logistical questions? How many square feet is 6% of that site? So that's what we're really talking about in terms of more green space. So I wanted to know if anyone knew >> we could probably get it

185from the >> right. Yeah. 20,000 almost 21,000 square feet. >> Oh, no. Two two locations. So it's 21 plus >> Yeah. >> This is a previous 8252 at the bottom. >> Yeah. 11,000 at the bottom. So that's about 30,000 >> plus 20,000. So about 25,000. >> So 6%'s about a $20,000 more square footage of green space is what we're talking about here. >> Yeah. Okay. >> I also, if we could take a real quick look at slide 26, I just want to be very clear about a couple of things on the on the numbers. So not Okay, not my notes are wrong. Maybe where do we look at the the Oh, yeah. No, no, this is right. This is right. So, we talk about the annual repayment dominoes. You know, a $7 million splash, four

186and a half would be required for option one and five would be required for option two. How much current debt service is in splash now? >> Dr. Broom, Dr. Broom, can you answer that question? >> I can. 2.3 million. about two.3 million. >> About two. >> And how much other existing debt service is there outside of SPL? >> That's it. It's included. So basically there's $3 million that would have to be either reallocated to general fund basically. >> So So what we're what we're saying is it's not $4.5 new million dollars. It's there's $2.5 million already in there and it would be another $2 million under option A and it would be another $2.5 million under option B. Is that correct? >> No, $2.5 million is the balance after we put all the debt together,

187the new debt and the existing debt. So then you have 2.5 million. >> Yeah, you have 2.5 million left in to cover textbooks. No, no, no. That's not that's not that's not my question. We're we're saying that that current debt service in Splat is about two and a half million, not including any of the new >> Let's go with two. If if we could go back a few slides, like if someone could click back. Okay, here. >> There. Is that it? Yeah. 24 right here. So you see you have your existing debt in the first four columns and then you have your new money and then you have the >> okay so $2 million and about two and a half. Okay, so we're talking about option A is an incremental two and a half million

188in supply and option B is an incremental $3 million. Right? So, so in terms of debt service, the overall cost of accommodating the city is half a million dollars a year basically. Or in millillage terms, it's a quarter of a mill, maybe a little bit less. About $500,000 is the annual options. Um, and and we're not talking about $4.5 million incremental or $5 million incremental. We're talking about really 2.5 million incremental versus 3 million incremental. And so option option A is8 of a mill and option B is basically 1 mil in cost per year that we would have to figure out and I am certainly not suggesting that we raise the taxes by a mill. I am merely using that as a mathematical calculation for what it's worth um between those two options. Okay, that

189was that was the question that I was trying to understand. There was one thing on slide 26 about sale of other properties as not being recurring revenue. I just want to be clear that it it's possible that we structured in a way that it would be recurring revenue and so those options are also on the table and I guess everything is still on the table. >> Okay. the um just I'm sorry did I the other question that comes up that is probably the biggest um kind of uh argument against this project as a whole is the declining enrollment which I think um is probably a Dr. Wick or or Mr. Adams question um could you discuss what would happen to list at either College Heights or the FRA we entertain the possibility of moving the

190pre the six or four pre-K classes out of College Heights back to their neighborhood schools. >> Would that shift um what uh you would do with this potential building, the educational space, and how many prek classrooms you're planning on putting here? kind of what that dynamic would do to your potential projections >> um in in terms of how many children you think you would need over the next maybe one to three years. Yeah. So, if you move the prek classrooms from what would be currently college height and put them all into their general regular schools, uh there's a couple things to consider. one uh it's going to free up maybe 30 spots. Reason being there are only three classrooms that are actually inside the building of College Heights. So the other prek classrooms are in

191portables and you would not put a zero to three child in a portable. One piece. Second piece, if you move the classrooms to the other schools, prek is well, the city of Decar who operates animal crackers does not provide afterare and is not credentialed to provide afterare for prek students. So all prek children would not have afterare. Currently prek children have afterare because they are at location i.e. College Heights that offers that. So all of the students is going to free up potentially 30 sites 30 seats because you're only talking about putting zero to three children inside the physical building. You wouldn't put zero to three out in portables. It's a little different because of their age development. the the 30 students you're talking about the 30 kids are based on numbers at college heights

192right now. >> No, based on the fact that you're talking potentially uh one toddler three, one toddler two is looking at the actual age of the students in the classrooms that are available. It's three classrooms and what would be that teacher to student ratio in a zero to3 space is only going to give you 30 30 seats. >> Okay. Oh, you I'm just kind of trying to figure out where we where we're going to go next here. >> Go. >> Um, and looking at the emails that we've been receiving since the TFA meeting, I would say overwhelmingly like there may have been two or three people who at the bottom mentioned Greenspace. All of those emails and there have been a gazillion have been about the cost of this and not wanting this to happen

193now. It's not been about green space. There was a a green space movement >> but when we decided that we were going to build this and I think the green space advocates realized that we were not going to leave that a green that movement was about leaving it a green space. I know that from what you all shared that, you know, some of the city commission want more green space, but it has been in in the feedback that I've read, it's been a no building, leave a green space argument. And now it's a this is too much money to to do this now. This is not the time. And so I'm just like, are we done getting ready to consider increasing the cost, you know, because because a few folks want some more green space

194and I don't know if we are at risk of the city commission not giving us the variances that we need to get this built. And I guess that's a different question. But I I I kind of feel like Should this be put on the agenda for should there be an amendment to the agenda for us to vote on whether we want to move forward with A or B and then and then whether you know we need to hold a public meeting with the city. But I just, you know, I'm just kind of like we we're going to do this. And so I don't know how we I mean, if nothing else, we're reading the gazillion emails in addition to the public comments, in addition to the community meetings and all the other ways that we

195have engaged the community. I just don't know how we're going to make everyone happy >> when there are some folks who don't want this to exist at all. >> Yeah. If I could respond to that though because I feel like I've also seen a good number of emails and I know I've heard from people who want more reasonable explanations. Don't just tell me it right. So if we do >> okay so for one you know we've seen the enrollment numbers but if we were planning on opening in 2027 at zero through three then the three year olds in 2027 are already how old? One. the two-year-olds. And so I think it's reasonable to be able to tell people these are the 60 babies, these are the 603 year olds that we have right here and

196we've talked to their families having I I'm not hearing people that are opposed to this just because they're opposed to it. But I also think people are asking really reasonable questions about the money. And so you want to vote for us tonight, fine. But I feel like there's a little more we can synthesize and especially since we know that the PFA requested those two community meetings and we already have them on the agenda. Um, and I do agree though that green space is not the only thing I've heard of, although it is important. I >> I just I think that we have not had community input since the drawings were done. >> Full stop. We have not had community input since the drawings were done. and and and I I we keep saying community input

197based on this, but the reason why there were so many people at the TFA meeting was because that was literally the first time the community had an opportunity to speak p to power and decision makers about it, right? And and we I mean we have had community meetings talking about it, but we didn't have drawings. We didn't have cost estimates. We didn't have uh some of these other things. I I would absolutely spend the $22 million to build this. Now, >> I think the other thing >> I feel like we I'm sorry. I'm sorry, Dr. I. I just I I I do think they make the complaint that we see these drawings and we don't have any opportunity to provide input and then we say we're doing these community input meetings later this year, but

198that's we've already made the decisions, right? I mean, that that's where I'm struggling a little bit. Well, >> I think the other thing too is we committed to having these capital project meetings almost quarterly. Um, and then we got past the design coming out, but now the cadence probably needs to pick up. So, it probably needs to be a standing agenda item. Um and maybe in some of those times to um you know to what member Johnson Davis said, maybe some of those times the city needs to be brought in um depending on what the question is, but it probably needs to be like a report back every single month and that will give it give folks an opportunity to come in for public comment. We had a lengthy discussion about at what point in

199the day that will be, but uh maybe that will give people the opportunity to hear at a regular inter interval where the team is at and maybe that was where we could probably improve is over the past several months that hasn't been updated cadence. >> I just wonder how you know what point do we will we finalize a a design? I mean, you know, you could we could be presenting pictures to the community forever. >> So, that's I guess that's a question for us. Do we feel like I think or that's a question for Dr. Adams and I guess for us, do we need to design between these two today? >> So, um can I say something? Um thank you so much for for your feedback. I do regret that we were not able to

200share the drawings in April. at Westchester as planned with the architecture team, project management, and the new chief operations officer because if we might remember and recall in April, the city schools of Decar was having a different conversation at the community And I regret that both Mr. Hamlin and Flock stood in the back of Westchester for two and a half hours and Parish. Yes. stood in the back of Westchester for two and a half hours and was not able to present to the community the drawings at that point because they were there, the community was engaged, they were present, but it was a different topic. I also regret that this second design created essentially soon after opening day which was only in the last two weeks at the behest of vice chair and chair was

201shared back to vice chair and chair with the cost by the architecture team. I regret that wasn't a an open forum. That was something that I was asked to do as superintendent. >> With respect, Dr. Whitaker, with respect, Dr. Whitaker, the $8 million price tag, I found out indicatorish. And so I appreciate what you are saying, but I want to make sure that we are transparently clear about the last number that I had heard was like a 10% 2 and a half maybe $3 million impact and we were sharpening our pencils on that. >> Yeah. >> So it the we we do need to acknowledge all of us >> all of us need to acknowledge and I actually include city commissioners in this conversation. All of us need to acknowledge where this process could have

202been done better. >> I I I agree. >> We need to engage more with the community. We need to have what would be the agenda that we said we would have because I thank all of the partners whether they're here today, city commission, us as a governance team so that we can bring about what is necessary to close the achievement gap for the children here indicator. there. So, we are like way after schedule and we have a graduation of graduates, summer graduates. Maybe they went to the restroom. So, uh Chair Sultan, uh would you like to recess and come back and you want to set a time? >> Yes. So, I guess the question is, um do you need us to uh give you direction on where to go with these I think we need

203to give them some direction as to what to do with these one or two designs. Um either we tell them to because it does affect their timeline. >> May I have one of our architects go in and maybe provide some more clarity on? >> Yes, absolutely. So um in our meeting in the city commission hearing we were met with four conditions. One transparency, two frontage at Western Place, three parking and four traffic studies. All of these have been met and we've sent a response letter back to the city and I'll respond to them here as well. Transparency has been increased by increasing the amount of glazing along West Trinity Place and Electric Avenue. There is a minimum of 40% along Electric Avenue and 25% along Western Place. Parking has been reduced along on site and

204the traffic study has begun and we are to expect results in the next four four six weeks. In the frontage we were told yes correct that the 400 ft length is uh longer than allowed in the zoning. And we confirmed that pushing and pulling the facade along that 400 ft can alleviate some of that uh like of course we are unsure of what ruling of variances may be needed but again this is a city ordinance and it is not a code requirement. >> Code we are has >> code refers to building code line of things that make your building uh imperative to operate. ordinances are in downtown Decada. We're in the uh pedestrian and downtown district. So therefore, we have to we're embracing the streetscape. We're embracing the corners. We're trying to adhere to as

205many of those be as good neighbor as possible for that. So that's the intent of that, you know, um sustainability ordinance is a requirement that we're adhering to, but it's not a building code. So therefore, we're following all the building codes and we're trying our best to follow all the other ordinances. Um that, you know, part of the reason why we were asked to withdraw from the city commission meeting, we met with planning and zoning committee and after we met with the development authority was that it was brought to our attention through the attorneys from the city and the school district in meetings. basically says that a school district does not have to comply with the local ordinances as long as you're still complying with the building code. That's what was conveyed to us. So,

206from our standpoint, still going to work and be, you know, try to make sure that the building adheres and be as the best neighbor as possible for the city. Um but also focusing on the building code and the safety and security of the students. >> Are those changes in the first those those things that you said have been changed? So that in the first rendition or the >> everything but the 400 foot. >> So the changes were made in our most recent design in option A. >> Option A. >> Yeah. Everything except for the 400 foot in option A. >> Correct. And so, and so, uh, I mean, I'll be blunt. I'm a I'm a I would say go ahead with, I'm not speaking for all board members. I'm just expressing my perspective, but I

207would say go ahead with option A if you address the 400 foot concern by the city and don't incur an additional $8 million to do so. >> May I ask a question? I love that you said good neighbor because I've been thinking so much about this. my >> um the the traffic and I've been asking about it since last August as well. So from what I understand is there requirements that you have when you're building to look at the traffic around the building. But you know I'm just thinking logically if there are 57 parking spaces and then there are 150 children going there then you're looking at 200 additional cars. Yeah. I don't live downtown. I live in Oakus, but I hate traveling through here in a car. And so, you know, again, back to

208the good neighbor, I still don't understand what the increased cars look like. And so, I'm I I'm not comfortable with either option right now. I want to hear more from people and I want more of our information synthesized. So, that's where I stand. >> But you you said that this traffic study had been done had it been approved by the city or had been >> So, a transportation study, the data collection has been ation study for the city of Decar not only includes car traffic, it also includes pedestrian traffic as well. So those are things that we have to take in account. We're doing we've already done the data collection had to be done during school. The DOT would not recognize a transportation study done when school was not in session. So in in in

209those regards, they're doing the they've done the data collection. Now they're doing the analysis. And there's some other requirements because there's also some recent developments that have been announced with um apartments or hotels that are coming that we also have to analysis of our tra of our transportation center. >> And then also Electric Avenue heard you say you hate traveling that way because it's so narrow. >> Yeah. >> And one of the things that we're doing is widening that street. So, not only can the parking this on both sides of the street, but two-way traffic will be able to flow uninterrupted. Right now, you typically pull over and wait for somebody passes by. That will be eliminated. That was a result of part of our initial discussions with the city with Angela Threadgill and her

210department people of just again trying to understand Electric Avenue. When you turn down the street right here up until tuning way, it's a pretty throatated access point. >> By giving six extra feet to make that an accessible street as well as still give you off the street or street parking not impacting that is, you know, it's it's part of that access. We already knew that was the best thing to do. We also know that we're going to have to make pedestrian um access points right here at West Trinity and Electric. So create a safer traffic situation for all the walkers and pedestrian activity there and at that and then that kind of activity as well as how do we go and interact with the bike lane too. >> I think my I think we should

211proceed with option A. I think um I don't I don't agree with the fact that everybody that's reached out on behalf of green space doesn't want the property built. I don't think they're all that extreme. I think some are um really interested in coming to a compromise, but I think now the onus is on us to um communicate that, you know, there's we we can't have it both ways. If we try to get to 50% or greater green space, the cost just is too much for the for it's too much for us to bear. Um I also think I I I also don't love how this is continuing to push you back and push you back and push you back. Um, so I think we we should proceed with with option A and then I

212think maybe we need to be creative about what we're doing with that wall there. Um, and then I think have a regular meeting cadence where your team reports back. We have the opportunity to have discussion to look at the plans including what's going on at the high school. This is just one part of it, right? Um, and that way, um, we can make sure that we stay on top of these on top of these details. I I I remember exactly what Dr. Whitaker is talking about when those plans were supposed to be revealed in April and they didn't happen. Um, and it was unfortunate, but you know, here we are. But I I think I think this cost is going to be too much with that with the second plan. >> Agreed. Dr. Sen, Vice

213Judge, board members, I appreciate your discussion. Very very light. Appreciate you. >> Board, thank you for providing the necessary guidance um for us to move forward. >> Okay. >> And yes, >> thank you. Okay. Thank you, Dr. Broom, the GMC team. Thank you. Um and Mr. Adams, the dominoes in this presentation will provide meaningful programming for students from cradle to career. We're going to take a brief brief recess turn at 6:03. A brief recess. Thank you. >> Now call this meeting to order at 6:14 p.m. I ask that you silence all cell phones at this time. We will now begin with a moment of silence followed by the pledge of allegiance. At this time, I ask that everyone join me in a moment of silence request. >> Thank you. Now, I ask that all who

214are able please stand for the pledge of allegiance. >> I pledge algiance 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. >> Our mission is to inspire and enable student growth through meaningful and engaging learning experiences supported by highly qualified and caring educators in a safe and inviting environment. board. Uh, based upon timing of the work session, is there a recommendation to amend the agenda to move items from the work session to the regular board meeting? >> I I move that we move the policy priorities and the first read of policy priorities to the end of the board session. >> Thank you. Board member Herden makes the motion. Is there a second? >> Second. >> Board

215member seconds the motion. Is there any discussion? >> Hearing none. All those in favor? Chair votes I. Any opposed? None. The motion carries unanimously. Uh board members, are there any revisions to tonight's uh agenda? None. Okay. So, do we have a motion to approve today's amended agenda? >> Thank you. Board member Hearnen makes the motion. Is there a second? >> Second. >> Board member seconds the motion. Is there any discussion? >> Hearing none. All those in favor? >> Chair votes I. Any opposed? The motion carries unanimously. Our next agenda item is the approval of the minutes from previous board meetings. Uh do I have a motion to approve June's regular board millage rate hearings 1 through three and June's special called meeting minutes? >> So move. >> Board member Johnson Davis makes the motion. Is

216there a second? >> Second. >> Board member Hearnen seconds. Is there any discussion? >> Hearing none. All those in favor? The chair votes I. Any opposed? >> The motion carries unanimously. All right, Dr. Whitaker, I see we have some people who have joined us. Do we have any recognitions tonight? >> Yes, Chair Sultan. To facilitate tonight's recognitions, I would like to call on Deputy Superintendent Karen Scott. >> Thank you, board chair Dr. Sultan, Vice Chair, members of the board, and superintendent Dr. Gina Whitaker. This evening, I'm pleased to present three recognitions honoring members of the teaching and learning department, communications, and last but not least, two DHS graduates. First, we'll start with Stacy Foster. Sty, come on up. At the June, clap for at the June 25th. 2025 math crown hosted by the Georgia Department

217of Education. Stacy Foster was honored as the professional learning superstar in mathematics. This prestigious award recognizes her exceptional service, leadership, and impact as a mathematics educator. Stacy was nominated by the instructional coaches of city schools of Decator for her dedication to supporting teacher growth and improving mathematics instruction across the district. We are so proud to recognize Stacy Foster for this outstanding achievement and her continued commitment to excellence in education. City Schools of Decator Communications Department was created in 2023 by Superintendent Whitaker. As part of the all indicator strategic priority, it focuses on streamlining, professionalizing, and enhancing two-way districtwide communication. We are proud to share that our communications team earned multiple 2025 National School Public Relations Association awards in publications and digital media recognizing excellence in publications, newsletters, videos, podcasts, websites and social media. These honors

218place CSD among national leaders in school communication with top entries earning awards of excellence. Honorable mention based on quality, impact and innovation. Earned the following awards. newsletter award of excellence which is the highest honor for the CSC weekly podcast award of merit for CSC words with Dr. Whitaker podcast and website honorable mentions for CSD's newly redesigned website. The CSD team is comprised of chief communications officer MCL Art Munda, Courtney Bernett, Sydney Dupri, and Eris Hart. Please give them a round of applause. Last but not least, have two Decada High School graduates. of proudly celebrate Aisha Huntley and Navia Strickland Owens. Two outstanding graduates whose hard work and dedication have paved the way for bright futures of Ed. We commend their achievements and wish them continued success in all that they pursue. First up, we have

219Gabia Owens has exciting plans for her future. She intends to attend Georgia Southern University where she will major in animal science with the goal of becoming a veterinarian. Alongside her major, Zavia plans to pursue a minor in culinary arts, combining her love for animals and cooking. Congratulations. >> Aisha Hley is working in the field of natural hair to earn a living. With her skills and dedication, she is building a promising career that provides a great source of income, financial stability, and opportunities for growth. Congratulations Aisha. At this time we'd like to invite our board members down to take a with our graduate and our honores for this evening. Families if you would like to also grab a picture come on up. Excuse me. I'll take the baby. >> She was checking you out. Hello. >>

220Are you from pink? >> Congratulations. Congratulations. Got one more. One more. I just >> in the middle. >> Haven't got healed on. Congratulations. >> Yeah. >> Sorry. >> Yeah, I'm sure they did. >> Okay. >> Yeah. Individual. >> Individual. Okay, you're good. Congratulations. >> Turn from right to left to signify with your director. We'll do that. One, two, three. There are a couple leaders of our school. So with both of our new building principles, please come up and make who is the new proud interim principal at Beacon Hill Middle School. And we have new principal at Glenwood. So Eagles, winner of elementary school. >> Thank you. Welcome. Yeah. >> All right. Yeah. And you can you can you can start it up with me. So tell me which speakers are here and then we'll I'll

221just start with number two because >> Yeah. All right. We'll now move to public comment. The following information is included in the board policy manual and members of the public also acknowledge this information when they sign up to speak. This serves as a reminder for all speakers and members of the audience. The opportunity to address the board during public comment is limited to district parents, students, residents, employees, businesses, and organizations. Persons wishing to address the board during public comment must sign up by 5:30 p.m. and in doing so will be asked to state their connection to CSD andor the city educator to allow time for the board's other business. Public comment will ordinarily be limited to one hour or 20 speakers at the board's discretion. The public comment period may be extended for a specified

222amount of time or a specific number of additional speakers. The time limit for all speakers will be three minutes. Person speaking during public comment will not be permitted to yield the floor or transfer unused time to other speakers. Comments during public comment should be addressed to the board as a body and not to any individual board members. At the chair or chair's discretion, persons violating this policy may be asked to step down. Speakers should be courteous and professional. Speakers are not to list complaints about specific personnel or individuals connected to the district in public session. The board strictly prohibits abusive language, threats, comments, jeers, applause, or shouts from the floor. Disruptive persons will be asked to leave the meeting room. The chair may terminate public comments that are profane, vulgar, defamatory, or disruptive. If at

223any public comments begin to verge into areas of hate speech or defam defamation, I will have to ask the speaker to end their comments. Speakers may not address confidential student or personnel matters, but may submit such concerns to the superintendent in writing. Members of the board will not address persons presenting public comment or speak to the substance of any comments made during public comment. Instead, a member of the administrative team will allow will follow up with person speaking at the board meeting. Dr. Whitaker, will you please call our first speaker? >> Yes, the first speaker is Rachel Ger. Good evening, chair, vice chair of the board and board members and superintendent. Um, thank you all again. Sorry, I'm sorry. My name is Rachel Gerbin. Did I say my Okay. And I'm a CSC parent. Um,

224thank you all again for everything that you do. I know this is not a thankless job and it's hard and none of these decisions are easy. My comments are based about on the um early childhood learning center. I'm one of the people that um believe very strongly in early childhood education. My mother and grandma with this many times who are both early childhood educators. um my children benefited from what college has to offer and I definitely feel like it should be something that every child who wants to be there can take advantage of. What I think I'm concerned about is the cost. Sort of like you said, um it's unclear to me how it's sustainable now or long term um for a lot of different reasons. And I was there for the financial presentation at

225CFA. I still was left with questions. I think to the point that Hans made earlier, um, we have gotten bits and pieces of this information. I'm a fairly active parent that engaged in a lot of different things, including a past session, but I didn't know the overall cost. I didn't know that the projects that we were working on um that they would be I didn't know anything about the drawing, the timing, or any of that until fairly recently. And learning that has made me ask a lot of other questions. um while some have been answered or responded to, they haven't we haven't we have a history of just saving an answer, not really helping people, you know, bring people along to where we need them to be. So, for example, when I asked about prek

226classes, I was first told at the TSA meeting that um there is no space in the schools to move the prek classes um because we have Spanish classrooms, we have classrooms, we have sensory rooms. So, what what I would I mean I had follow-up questions, but our discussion was before that was presented. So, um I don't understand and and now today I'm told that even if we looked at Maryland 3, which is only 16 children, but I think I thought there were 16 children for class. So, I just feel like some of the answers could use a little bit more um explanation to help bring us along. We don't work every day in the system. We only know what we know and that's based on the information that we can gather, find, remember from when

227our children were at college height. Um, in order for this to be successful, the community has to understand it and support it. And right now, for the people that even know what's happening, it doesn't feel like there's an overwhelming. I hate to rush forward with something that the community isn't behind. Thank you. The next person is Christa Sobin. >> Good evening. Um, chairman Dr. Soulen, Vice Chair Boots, um, student representative Batra, estate board, Dr. Whitaker. Um, I am Chris Stoman. I have two children at Kater High. I'm very involved in PTSA boosters, but I speak to you today in my capacity as PSA chair. Um, I would like to clarify one thing just for the community. Um, I think it is slightly inaccurate to say that the PSA approved the scope of the project. I

228think what is more accurate is how Dr. Broom described it, which is all we can do is validate that CSV has a plan to pay back the money. It's not our decision. It's whether it's the right thing to do or any of that. we we are simply charged with and has CSC demonstrated the ability that they can pay back the money. Um so I just want to make that very clear. Uh and but as part of that I think that it is fair to say and I'm here really representing what happened at some of the TFA boards uh board meetings. Um, I believe that the first time the real impact of the financial decision of this plan was presented to the community in any kind of meaningful way was at the July 30th work session

229between the the CFA and the city schools educator and Dr. Kern her team did a great job of explaining that along with our other partners. Um and then we had a meeting where there was um public input made available and I just feel a responsibility as the PFA chair to share a summary of some of what was presented to us because really we weren't the right body to bring that information to and I think some of it has been shared with you but I again just feel a responsibility. Um in advance for our meeting on August 5th, 23 emails were submitted. 22 of the 23 explicitly opposed the funding and had concerns about the funding tax rates going up, taxes going up, property taxes going up, and the operational impact um of the building. Some

230of the concerns were just around um declining enrollment, rising property taxes, the economic uncertainty in which we unfortunately find ourselves, and the feeling that there are current programs and existing staff that are underfunded. Um, some residents just as Miss Gurvin said, needing a discussion of why this new facility is needed. There's been a request for transparency in the process, which I give credit. I do believe that that is being addressed by the community meetings that are being held, and I thank you for that, Mr. Adams, for the update earlier tonight. Um, but at the end of the day, I think the community I believe everybody can support early childhood learning. I think we just need to better understand why. And I feel like this you all are the ones who are going to decide if

231this is a good use of taxpayer funds. But a lot of the taxpaying citizens are very concerned from what's been shared with us from our PFA perspective about this outlay and how it's going to be handled and how it's going to affect future budget. So, thank you for your time and I do appreciate what you all do. Thank you. The next speaker is Andrea Morgan. Okay. The next speaker is John Morgan. really hard to speak about a parent of two kids in the state schools and I just um kind of like what Hans was saying earlier I just didn't know much about the details of this and I feel like we're going to be spending a lot of money on something that we I went back through the minutes for year by January and I

232heard I didn't see much about this this I would like for us to know more about and like the whole community because that's what people were saying at the um meeting. They weren't saying hey we're against this we don't want early childhood education you know they were saying is it feels like the cart's being put before the horse and like this is moving along and we haven't had much input for about and we're going to spend a lot of money in a time that's super uncertain. I mean, I think one of my concerns is property taxes are high. Everybody near us works for the CDC and it's like property taxes are really high as you know and then people are losing their jobs and it's um so those kind of things made me really nervous.

233I know it's improved or the plan was set forth in 2023, but things have changed a lot since I think I think what I want to happen is just to slow things down and to give community more input, which it sounds like it's going to happen. >> Thanks. And the final person is a Zoom participant. Uh, Mr. Melton, you have Joan uh, Short. >> Okay, great. >> Yes, thank Okay, there you are. >> Yes, thank you. I couldn't recognize myself before because chat was disabled. Um, thank you. Um, I applaud the objective. Oh, I'm sorry. My name is Joan Short and I live at 152 Feld. Um, I applaud the objectives of the ECLC and the high school improvements, but I have concerns about the proposed building for early child care education. And I would

234like to address three of those briefly. Uh, first is finances. As others have said, I wonder if it is fiscally responsible to make major capital improvements when enrollment is declining and there is uncertainty in the US economy. Declining enrollment will mean fewer funds from the state. Um when will the increased operate where will the increased operating funds come from when I understand that the existing buildings are not as well maintained as they should be? My school taxes have gone up an average of 7 and a half% over the past 10 years. That's way above inflation every year. Decatur already has a reputation for high taxes and I hear people talk all the time about moving because of them. If home prices start to drop because of a recession or because more decor houses are go

235onto the market, we may find ourselves with financial commitments that we cannot meet when the tax base drops. Dr. Whitaker said that taxes could be raised because there is plenty of room between the current 20.3 mills and the allowed maximum of 25 but can and should are two different things. This continued budget growth with at multiples of the inflation rate cannot go on. My second topic is alternatives. 500 fewer students in the system must have freed up some space. I understand that remodeling um to repurpose existing spaces can be expensive too, but it does not come with the increased operating and maintenance expenses of adding additional structures that we will have to care for for years going on. I would love to see a full financial analysis of options considered before long-term commitments are made

236with taxpayers money. Finally, I wonder if daycare should be our priority when all the four-year-olds in the community have not been provided prek. Should we focus first on expanding the oversubscribed prek program? Let's make sure that we have quality early childhood education for the large portion of our four-year-olds. First, prek integrated into the existing primary schools would put place prek throughout the community. I understand that the location of college heights is an issue for many lowerincome parents. A second prek location will help but will not solve this problem. I thank you members of the board for your time and commitment to this job and for your consideration of my comments today. Thank you. >> Thank you. >> That concludes the members who have signed up, members of our community. >> We would like to thank

237all the speakers for taking the time to be here tonight. As board members, it is important for us to hear the concerns from our communities. We will take your comments into consideration. Uh Dr. Whitaker, please introduce the next item. It would be the superintendence report. Okay. Uh, one, welcome back. So, I want to officially welcome back our students, our staff, our families back to school. I must start by thanking our dedicated staff who worked tirelessly over the summer last few weeks to prepare our schools and classrooms for this upcoming school year. Our teachers, our support staff and administrative staff have also participated in training to ensure physical and emotional safety and positive outcomes for every student in City Schools of Decar at this time. And we did already um publicly introduce our two new principles.

238Um went ahead and did that so that they could go because we got a little bit behind schedule. But we are pleased to welcome Mr. Bill Howard to CSD as the new principal of Glenwood Elementary School. With over 18 years of educational experience, Mr. Howard has a strong background in fostering rigorous academic environments and community partnerships. He has worked as a teacher, school administrator, and district leader, beginning his career as a high school dean of students before moving to elementary education. Most recently, he was a district fine arts coordinator in Illinois, supporting 20 campuses. So, welcome, Mr. Howard. I equally am happy to introduce Miss Alexis Glenn to the new interim principal at Beacon Hill Middle School. Miss Glenn has previously been an assistant principal at Beacon Hill from 2017 to 2022 and most recently

239served as CSD's director of assessment and accountability for all K12 schools. Miss Glenn has previously held administrative positions at the middle at a middle school and high school in Florida and she is known around CSD as a very familiar face, trusted administrator among all stakeholders, especially our students. Welcome, Miss Glenn. We look forward to their leadership and wish them a very successful year. Just as staff prepared to return for our students, this governance team also attended trainings and worked together to determine our board management oversight process for the year, otherwise known as the The purpose of the is to provide transparency to the public regarding upcoming board presentations, budget, and policy calendars. It also includes our community meetings and board retreats. The BMOP aligns with the strategic accelerators of the all indicator 5-year strategic plan.

240This document is available on the board of education's web page on the CSD website and insembly for the public's review. One week prior to the reopening of schools on July 31st, CSC held a backtochool bash at Decatur High School. We collaborated with Decar Housing Authority, the Decatur Education Foundation and Communities and Schools serving over 600 students that afternoon. Our felt our heartfelt thanks to the organizations many and sponsors who contributed to making this school community event a success. Our top sponsor at the difference makers level was RB communications. The Davis Boseman Law Firm was our achiever sponsor level and we had six sponsors at the believers level. Quest Orthodontics, Barber's Heart, Flowerell Behavioral Health, Decap Public Health, Delta Community Credit Union, and Walmart. I also want to thank board member Dr. Johnson Davis and so

241and State Representative Omorei Crawford for attending and contributing to the event success. In addition to the variety um of great district and community resources, several services were also provided such as immunization, sports physicals, haircuts, and more. CSC also hope hosted opening day for all staff and board members to come together after the summer break to get energized and motivated. We received our charge for an amazing new school year. Thanks to the district's partnership with the Decar Education Foundation and its generous donations, we were able to give away school supplies and backs and backpacks at the bash. While also at opening day, DEF sponsored recognitions for staff who went above and beyond last year for our students. And they also sponsor a very scrumptious lunch. I think Dr. Johnson Davis loves that part. So, thank you

242so much Megan Barardi and to dees the bash and the opening day continue to be examples of what it means to be allin for the students and families indicator. Now that the school year is officially underway, we begin with the results of the much anticipated 202425 Georgia Milestone Assessment System, which were released last Friday by the Georgia Department of Education. GMAS results include social studies, science, math, and English language arts, otherwise known as ELA assessment. This year, we are proud to announce that City Schools of Decar showed significant achievement across all grade levels, exceeding state and metro resent area in every grade band and grade level. When looking at the percent of students who score as proficient or disting distinguished or proficient and distinguished learners, CSD ranked number one in the state for third, fifth,

243sixth, seventh, and eighth grade for ELA and among the top five statewide in American literature. returning to or surpassing prepandemic levels and math grades 3 through 8. Grades three through eight, CSD ranked among the top four districts in the state with every grade level performing at or above prepandemic levels. The district also achieved top performance in the metro for grades 3 through 7 and secured a spot in the top three for 8th grade math and algebra. This strong foundation paves the way for even more remarkable progress in our targeted subgroup. Proficiency for black students has surpassed prepandemic out and math in grades three, four, five, six, seven, and eight. Specifically, black students in 8th grade scored an impressive 30 percentage points higher in math in spring of 2025 compared to 2019, which is pre- pandemic.

244When I began in CSV in July of 2023, the board of education charged me to focus on literacy interventions and closing the achievement gap between our black student subgroup and their peers. In just two years, we've moved the ball forward by becoming the school system with the highest proficiency rate in the state in literacy for all grade levels except for one. That work is not easy. That work takes teachers who have not only learned about the science of reading but also implemented it. The work takes teachers who have focused on standardsbased tier one instruction. It takes teachers who are now implementing evidence-based interventions that are built on the science of reading foundations such as health. The work takes leaders inspecting what they expect. The work takes a district leadership that knows what conditions need to

245be for those outcomes to be a reality and sustained. And we are not done. We still have a ways to go. But the overall student outcomes overall student outcomes of students in the city schools of the crater are greater than their preandemic greater than when I walk through the doors of CSD. If we could do this when we have students beginning in kindergarten, imagine what we would be able to do if we had them from birth. What if we could establish a learn and earn apprenticeship that certifies students and student teachers in the science of reading? That's our high school students. What if it would be for us to ensure our high school students are college and career future ready by aligning our K through2 CTA pathways to the city schools of Decar and the

246city of Decar workforce development needs. These are not simply whatifs. They are the essential or the innovative features of the CSD charter contract with the Department of Education. The gains in ELA and the advancement in math showcase the district's success in delivering a comprehensive high quality academic experience. The August 2025 back to school words with Dr. Whitaker podcast will feature Deputy Superintendent Karen Newton Scott and Assistant Superintendent of Teaching and Learning Jennifer Burton, where we will share more about the journey to reading proficiency in CSD. At the upcoming board retreat on Tuesday the 19th, we will delve deeply into these outcomes as well as our uh scores from last spring for AP and IB. This year we will continue to utilize our all indicator strategic plan as our guide to supporting positive outcomes for every

247student. Our primary focus areas will include addressing our students academic needs, enhancing safety measures in light of this year's legislation at the state, and executing a comprehensive capital improvement plan. The latter has been discussed extensively throughout the community. As we navigate the changing landscape of public education, more than ever, we must embrace the true meaning of all. Since 2017, CSC has worked to make good on its purchase agreement with the Decatur Housing Authority to use the property adjacent to where we are sitting right now for educational purposes. While the plans for this facility have continued to evolve over the past eight years, last week's approval of the resolution of intent regarding the financing in conjunction with the public facilities authority has positioned CSV well to meet the academic and aspective needs of all of our

248students from cradle to career. That completes my report. >> Thank you. On behalf of the board, we are pleased to welcome back our student community for the 2025 2026 academic year. We share in the excitement of this new beginning and eagerly anticipate the enriching experiences ahead for our students and staff. We are now in the second full week of the school year and I want to applaud Dr. Whitaker, the executive team, and the administration for an impressive start. In the past week, they have successfully implemented enhanced board approved safety protocols across the district with new visitor management systems in all of our schools and new weapon detection systems at Beacon Hill Indicator High School. While we anticipated delays during the first few days of school, the new weapon detection system provided an additional layer to

249this year's openings. I want to commend the school principal, safety and security staff, and all the staff and students for their patience and perseverance. By the fifth day of school, all students were screened and in school at the scheduled bell time. Of course, I must also mention the approval of the bond resolution by the city of Decar's public facilities authority. Upon final approval by this board, this bond will enable us to move forward with a comprehensive capital improvement plan to enhance learning opportunities for our current and future students from cradle to career. The district's website has been updated to reflect uh the public discussions that have been held to date about the new early learning center and capital improvements plan to enhance athletics, performing arts, and CTA pro programming. Two additional public meetings have been

250scheduled. The first meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, August 27th, 6:30 to 8:00 p.m. at the Decatur Housing Authority Community Center. The second meeting is our previously scheduled two-way community board meeting on September 15th from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m. at Beacon Hill Middle School. Again, congratulations to Dr. Whitaker and thank you for your leadership and diligence in executing the deliverables of our five-year all indicator strategic plan. During today's pre-work session, we began the book study of modern-day strategies for community engagement by Macar Rumley. The board collectively chose this book because of our shared commitment to improving engagement with the community. The public is invited to read along with us as we pursue the vision of of a governance system, school board, and superintendent working working together as a cohesive unified team with a common vision for

251ensuring positive outcomes for students and the school district. We also discussed our board communication and working norms. Our pre-work session ended with a review and discussion of community feedback we received about the timing of public comments at monthly board meetings. public comment portion of our board. A monthly board meeting should remain at 6:30 p.m. In addition, a repository will be created where community members are invited to submit their public comments on an ongoing basis. Board members will receive these comments regularly, including before monthly board meetings so that comments can be considered before any board action is taken in our meetings. Following the pre-work session, we began our work session with highlights of our successful school opening from Deputy Superintendent Karen Newton Scott. We then heard human resources updates from Chief of Human Resources Adena Walker.

252It was exciting to learn about the continued decrease in staff vacancies this year and that we are 100% staffed in the critical roles of teachers signifying our strides in meeting our five-year strategic accelerator of building and retaining high quality professionals from hire to retire. Finally, the board provided guidance to the team regarding our capital improvements which are being planned next week. The board Dr. Dr. Whitaker and her executive team will convene for our board retreat on Tuesday, August 19th from 10:30 to 4 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. in the hospitality suite at Deucator High School. In addition to receiving training on ethics and the annual charter system training, the board will dive deeply into the data from the 2023 2024 Georgia school climate survey, the 2024 2025 Georgia milestones, as well as AP concludes my

253remarks for this evening. Board members, do any of you have any thoughts that you wish to this? >> If I may. >> So, um I I did want to take a second and uh acknowledge and thank the superintendent for um some of the results that we're seeing. Uh this has been a tough two years and and I think when I was on your podcast, one of the things that we talked about was, you know, we we ripped out our literacy programs from the root and imple and you know implemented science of reading. We have revamped our grading. We have adopted fully standardsbased learning. We rebuilt MTSS. I mean this is just a handful of things that we've been doing all at the same time. And I know teachers found that much change painful. I know

254parents found that much change painful. And we were at a point where I think it's most dangerous where we had incurred the maximum amount of pain to make the changes but had not actually seen the results in the data yet. what we are beginning to see now that the milestone scores, the GMAT, some of the things that we're seeing is is actually the needle moving and it's showing that it it's working and that what we set out to do is actually happening for the students and that has been your leadership. It's been your vision and it's been really the burden that you've carried. uh we obviously are thrilled to support you in it, but uh we can't thank you enough for some of the incredible data that we're starting to see as a as a

255result of the of the changes that you and your staff have made. >> I could echo that and then also um give a shout out to the teachers. You're working every day with the students to get these outcomes. That's awesome. And to the students because we test students a lot and a lot and a lot. And so, thank you for um not only taking the test seriously, but doing well on them. >> And then I just wanted to shout out the um staff and community stakeholders that put on the back to school bash. It was so much fun and it was just so well organized. I mean, I talked about it a lot. the family and friends. It was like the one-stop shop being able to get immunizations and school supplies, um, haircut. Um, it

256was just I just I was so well organized. And then the opening day was the most fun I've had at the opening day. Great. >> I mean, the the the thought and energy that the schools put into their chants and dances and fans and everything, it was so exciting. And um so and it and a rare I like the you know little bit of changes we made in terms of the staff recognition. You know, we started a certain year instead of it didn't take as long. >> We were in a little schedule this time, right? And so it was it was just a lot of fun >> to point out that Dr. Johnson Davis suggested that the board themselves do a cheer next year conveniently after she'll be on I I'd be remiss if I

257didn't comment. I'd love to hear Miss's thoughts. Um thank you to our students at the high school and middle school for showing a lot of resiliency with the new safety >> protocol. my own daughter at the end of the first day, referred to it as TSA, DHS. Um, and then Tracy, I want to thank you for constantly reminding us that your own school went through those. You were like, "Oh, it'll take a week and it'll be good." And then the data kind of supported that, but we don't like being inconvenience, but teenagers definitely don't like being inconvenient, uh, is my brief, but it it's getting better. Um, and then what happened at Emory on Friday with a shooter. Um, at least for me personally, um, it's always scary and was next to an office where

258many of my friends work and where my office used to be and >> just a reminder that that safety is important and it's out there and continue to talk to your kids about guns and um, Decator High School students, thank you for your flexibility all that and thank you uh, Nia. >> How was it? I would love to hear your thought, not to put you on the spot, which I've said I would never do. >> I was looking for the question in there, but um you know, I think we'll be doing a lot of adjusting. Um I do want to shout out my mom who was at CC when it was happening. Um so all the daycare kids got out. So I know we're in really unprecedented times. Um, and so our heart goes out

259to this community who a lot, like you said, a lot um, our community members are at CDC. So, I hope everyone's feeling warm, feeling really appreciated. Um, as far as safety, um, you know, my, um, my got flagged this morning, but um, you know, I just I I love the enthusiasm this has gone at with safety. And I would also like to see um that enthus enthusiasm at um them into our counseling and to our teachers um and how we're taking care of students holistically. But um I appreciate these changes and I'm excited to see how it continues to come. >> Anybody else? Okay, we will now move to the consent agenda items which include monthly items such as financial, nutrition, and personnel report. The first agend uh the first item includes a report. There

260will be a motion to accept the consent agenda in totality. Dr. Whitaker, do we have a monthly financial report? >> Yes, Chair Stalton. Dr. Lonita Broom is virtual. um she can provide the uh monthly financial report. >> Good evening. The May and June 2025 financial reports are located in the assembly agenda. The finance department operates based on the the district's four strategic accelerators with a specific focus on accelerator 4, organizational effectiveness and excellence through financial transparency. for general funds. As of June 2025, the district collected 97% of the budgeted revenue and expended 96% of the budgeted expenditures. The final numbers for June are preliminary and subject to change as we close out fiscal year 2025 and after the completion of the fiscal year 25 audit and adjustments. June's preliminary revenue collections and expenditures bring the

261district's total general fund revenue collections to approximately $100 million and total general fund expenditures to approximately $12 million. The $1.8 million deficit is normal at this time of the year and has been deducted from the fund balance. The preliminary endofear fund balance is approximately $17.4 million. However, this number will change as the finance department closes out fiscal year 25 and post approvals. At the end of September, the board will be presented with a preliminary unodudited update on the fiscal year 25 endofear fund balance. Revenue for capital funds collection for June. As of June 30th, 2025, expenditures exceed revenue by approximately $500,000. Revenue for Splice is based on a 1 cent collection from Decap County sales. Splash 7 is approximately 20% or 1.6 million less than what was initially allocated. Revenues came in approximately 378,000 less

262than the 7 million budgeted. The preliminary endofear fund balance for capital is approximately $4 million. Grant funds consist of federal, state, and local grants. As of June 30th, 2025, the district has received a total of approximately $2.6 million in grant revenue, and it spended approximately $3.5 million. The majority of the district grants are reimbursements, meaning funds must be spent before reimburseed. All grants are budget neutral. The finance department has submitted reimbursement requests and closed out all grants with an expiration of June 30th, 2025. Reimbursement revenue is still being received and will be posted in fiscal year for fiscal year 2025. School nutrition revenue as of June 2025 was approximately $2.7 million and expenditures were $3 million. The 389,000 deficit of revenue has been deducted from the fund balance. School nutrition's preliminary endofear fund balance is

263approximately $1 million. I will be happy to respond to any questions you may have and I apologize I said splice 7 instead of sply six. Thank you. >> Thank you Dr. Broom. Are there any questions or comments from the board? one above those school nutrition. So we needed to take 300,000 pay for school nutrition. Is that what I heard? >> Dr. Broom, were you able to hear the question? >> I could hear the question. Yes. Those funds came from school nutrition fund balance. Correct. Because the expenditures exceeded the revenue. >> So the the $1 million fund balance, those funds have already been deducted from that amount. >> Okay. Thank you. >> You're welcome. Any other any other questions? >> Why is the why do we have four months in the black for looking back at

2642025? Um is that just more meals purchased in particular months or is there something else happening in nutrition? >> Let's go back to that slide. School nutrition slide please. >> And you said why do we have 4 million in the black? Those were um surpluses. That's when we received more revenue than expenditures. >> Okay. So, so essentially just more meals were purchased in those months. >> Correct. Yeah. They operated at a a gain those months. >> Okay. Well, actually to James's question, is that are those dollars representing meals being purchased or is that representing parents putting money on their kids' meal cards and then spending from it over future months? Do you know what I'm saying? >> No, those the numbers actually represent revenue that we received for meal purchases plus any federal reimbursements we

265received also. Got it. >> Okay. Okay. Thank you. >> You're welcome. And then Dr. Prim, I had a question for you that I mentioned last time we spoke about SPLAST funds. I know that we've got another SPL coming up that I'm excited to all that sort of stuff. Can you just repeat those numbers on how much SLAST is down based on projected for me? >> Yes, if we could go to the splice side slide, please. So basically um for SPLAS, let me pull it up. I can't see it on here. For SPLAS, in the referendum, we were allocated $8 million annually. That's how much we should receive. But here, I can't really see, but you guys can see the bottom the uh revenue is less than 7 million. Yes, 6.6 million. And so we are

266coming in low with some loss and that's >> legitimately. >> Do we know the cause of that or do we have a have we heard back from the cab county if they share that or >> I have put in a question to DIC county and have not heard back. Um again it's a collection of that one cent sales tax. So, I don't know if sales are low and we are not receiving that because the sales are low, but um I have a call into the county. >> Okay. That that that was really it because as as Hansion to say, that's a pretty that's a pretty substantial amount less than what the the vote was for. So, >> absolutely. >> I I would love I mean, just putting this out to the board and to the

267community, I would love to advocate with our lobbyists and state reps about revisiting whether Amazon ought to be paying some of these. My understanding is that they are Oh, I thought that they were not. I was they were not and then I was told that they are that it's unclear how that money is then dispersed. >> Right. We should be receiving money from online. >> Yeah. Okay. Mhm. >> You may have heard it from me because I did believe that to be true and I was previously told that that was true but then dark broom looked into it for me and um we're supposed to get sales tax from Amazon not be and that's the reason why it's coming down or it's unclear. Okay. So, so I've reached a level where we have inquired cap

268county are they also down >> 20%. I have reached out to the financial officer at county schools and he said that his numbers were not down. So that's interesting. >> Okay. Can let's I just let's bump up the priority on figuring this out because that's a giant chunk of money right there that >> Yes. that we desperately need. >> And that that was all my questions. Thank you. >> Any other questions? All right. Um, thank you, Dr. Broom. Um, this item is on to consent. >> Sheriff Sultan, may I read the recommendation? >> Yes, please. >> I recommend that the City Schools of Decar Board of Education approve the consent agenda items 1 through eight. >> Do I have a motion to approve the consent agenda items 1 through eight? >> Board member H. Hearnden

269makes the motion. Is there a second? Second. >> Uh board member seconds a motion. Is there any discussion? >> I have two questions. One for the um the personnel report. If I read it correctly, we have the hired um certified staff and then we have the hired classified staff and the separated classified staff. Is there a reason we don't have the separated certified staff? that was part of um report and I that was just memorialized there but I have to add it to the July record because they roll off payroll in June. >> Sure. So we did didn't have it in July. >> And then um to the project manager, I just want to make sure I understand this. Um so this is this an additional project manager for the ECLC Ascension I think. >>

270Ascension Ascension project management has been in involved in the project already. It's that person that gentleman that was right there. >> And then so what it's basically saying though is effectively keep going at that price. If it goes over that price then come back. Okay. Thank you. >> Yep. >> Any further discussion? >> All those in favor? >> Chair votes I. Any opposed? >> This motion carries unanimously. Moving on to policy. Dr. Whitaker. >> Thank you, Chair Sultan. I would like to call on Mrs. Amanda Lynch, chief of staff to present a few things. uh two items from our work session as well as what was already planned in our board meeting regular agenda. >> I normally talk fast, but I'll try to talk just a little bit faster today for you all. But good

271evening again, board chair Dr. Sultan, vice chair, esteemed members of the board, student representative Botra, and superintendent Dr. Gimma Whitaker. As the board of education, you serve as the governing body that establishes the policies to be implemented in the operation of our schools here in CSD. You are all familiar with me standing in front of you monthly at board meetings to present new policies being considered for adoption or current policies being considered for revisions. For the purposes of this first presentation, however, I will provide an overview of the work you have accomplished as a board around policy as well as the plan for policy for this the 2025 2026 school year. The 2025 2026 policy plan advances our strategic accelerator on organizational effectiveness and excellence. Policy is one vehicle by which we can ensure this

272effectiveness and excellence. I'd like to start by highlighting the policy work that has been done. Last school year, the board adopted 30 policies. 17 of these were new policies and 13 were revisions to existing policies. There are three additional policies that were initiated last school year and are in the policy process for possible adoption tonight. This is a notable increase from the 2023 2024 school year when 13 policies were adopted. codes. Policy codes for which policies were tackled are included and organized from greatest to leadest least when considering the number of policies adopted in each code. For example, you can see that 10 J policies, which is policy category students were adopted and four of these were new policies and six. For those who are interested in more detail, this slide lists each of the

273policies that were adopted that were adopted in reverse chronological order. New policies are indicated by bold text while revised policies are indicated by italicized text. This is evidence of the board's commitment to ensuring effective policy is in place. Last year, we introduced a policy plan whereby the various policy codes were assigned a month in which we would introduce these policies during pre-work. This bucketing of policy codes by month was done strategically. We spaced out heavier lists and also considered our three-month policy adoption cycle and its timing within the school year. While there were times when policies had to be considered outside the planned month, often due to legal reasons, this plan was largely honored and provided a predictable schedule for board members, staff, and the community. It is recommended that the same policy timeline be

274implemented again for the 2025 2026 school year. The final decision on whether to adhere to the same policy timeline will be subject to work done by the board of education during a future retreat. Dedicated time will be given to the board to identify any policy priorities by exploring our community values. Of course, policies for board consideration are also identified in other ways such as one, new or changing laws or regulations. Here you will see a list of policies that may need revisions based on previous legislative sessions. Depending on the specific legislation, some of these may be introduced at a time other than indicated on the policy timeline. two, policies identified by CSC staff or legal counsel in the course of policy reviews and/or daily operations and three emerging needs. Finally, we recognize the need for

275ongoing policy maintenance. Therefore, I will introduce a new strategy to be implemented to make sure no policy goes too long without being considered for review. We plan to introduce a two-year strategy beginning in the 2025 2026 school year to ensure that no policy has gone longer than four years without being reviewed. As you may recall, the board's current policy manual in alignment with the policy code is relatively new, having begun in the 2022 2023 school year when all mandatory policies were put in place. Therefore, our oldest current policies are from the 2022 2023 school year. Currently, we have 30 policies that have a last review date in assembly from July 2022 to November 2020 2022. We will review each of these policies during the 2526 school year. This does not mean they will all be

276revised. It just means they will be targeted for review to see if revisions might be necessary next year. the same review action will be taken for the remaining policies that were adopted between December 2022 and May 2023 and do not have a more recent last review date. By doing this, we will then be able to establish a regular cadence by the 2027 2028 school year of intentionally considering all policies that have not been for four years. Here I have provided the current list of policies that were last reviewed in the 2022 2023 school year. Please note that the number of policies of the last review date from this school year will likely decrease as some of these policies may be revised during our regular policy development cycles. This list will also be examined during the

277board policies work during the upcoming retreat to identify any that may be needed to be accelerated for revisions. I look forward to continuing to support the board with their work as policymakers and trust this plan provides you with an effective strategy for creating and revising CSD policies. Are there any questions? I have one and maybe we'll be talking about this in September. When I'm looking at the policy timeline on page five, I see facilities management which I think we had last year too for April. And given the fact that we're talking about facilities and the capital plan, I'm just confused why I think when I looked at our policies, the only facilities policy we have is naming. So, wouldn't we want to move facilities management up if we're looking at assessing and building new facilities?

278Sure, we could absolutely look at moving that up certain codes. >> You're asking to move facilities that the one in April for >> Well, I think because that timeline is the same one we got last year. And so if we look at the 30 policies we looked at last year, I don't think any have to do with facilities. I believe right now the only policy we have about facilities is the naming of facilities. So if we are looking so much at facilities then it just seems logical that we would want to move facilities management um and all those policies up. I can't think of why we wouldn't. >> Yeah. Correct. So one of we could and one of the things that you that I presented is making sure that we hear from you as a

279board any like appetite based on community values or things for certain policies that you would want to see developed this year. And so if I'm hearing from the board that there's um potentially an appetite for some development of policy around facilities management, then that would be to me kind of step one. What might be some of the policies? What do you want at the policy level? What policy codes exist? And of course, we could make adjustments as necessary to the calendar um if that were appropriate for advancing the work. >> Or did I I'm sorry. Did I misunderstand for April business management is the category of policy we'd be looking at, right? Yes. So there's different So these are just bucketed. So it gives us a predictable way to tackle policy to introduce in pre-work.

280So if there was a reason why we needed something in a code, we could either yes relocate that code to a different month or introduce a policy that's out of code because there is a need to do so out of out of the proposed calendar. >> Yeah, I don't mind a focus on facilities management. I'm just not sure why it needs to be accelerated. I I I feel like we can deal with it in April. I guess because I thought we were looking at building new facilities as well as assessing facilities. >> Yeah, but that won't happen by April. >> Okay. I mean, I prefer to move it up since we never got to it last April. But if no one else wants to, that's fine. And it's not necessarily that we didn't get to

281it. It's that there weren't any identified policies at the time that needed to be developed either by legal or by staff or by the board or, you know, it didn't um rise to the surface of the need for development. Thank you. >> Any other questions? >> Thank you, Mrs. Lynch. Creating policy is one of the key responsibilities of school boards in Georgia. Since I joined the board in 2021, we have made significant progress in this area, yet there is still important work ahead as we see. Uh, Miss Lynch, please proceed to the next presentation, one for policy for first read. >> All right. Good afternoon again. Today we have one policy on the agenda for work session. This is policy ISVG, internet accessible use. Policies presented typically in work session are being presented for first

282read. If approved for first read, they will be available for public comment through assembly. Stakeholders can access any policies open for public comment on the right hand side of the assembly homepage. Assembly is linked on our CSSE website under the board. Revisions to policy ISBG, internet accessible use, were shared at the June pre-work session in response to House Bill 351 from the 2024 legislative session that needed to be in place by October 1st at the policy level. Since the June meeting, the Georgia School Boards Association, GSDA, has released a model policy which was used to make some minor additional revisions. Together, the provoke the proposed provisions address the statute that requires boards of education to adopt policies that are reasonably designed to prevent and prohibit students from accessing dangerous materials online to have procedures for

283implementing and consequences for violating such policies and to establish procedures to address parent complaints. Relatedly, and as shared in June, the accompanying regulation ISBGR1 was updated ahead by staff before the start of the 2025 2026 school year as part of our annual review process of our handbooks, regulations, and other documents. May I read the recommendations? Yes, please. The reles of Decator Board of Education accept policy ISBG, internet accessible use for first read. Do I have a motion to approve the recommendation of policy ISBG internet acceptable use for first read? >> So moved. >> Board member Johnson Davis makes the motion. Is there a second? >> Second. >> Board member seconds a motion. Is there any discussion? >> Is the SEIPA CIPA is that the state law is that the finding this kind of thing? So

284it's just like harmful to minors as defined in SEIPA and you know >> the Children's Internet Protection Act of 2000 is do you know off the top of your head? >> Federal just want to make sure that that's you know looked over that that's how we want to define that stuff whenever we're in procedure was a previous previous comment. We're going to define it by referencing a law. Let's make sure it's >> law of the land and easy to understand. Later it says we're going to provide them with uh provide parents andor students I think it says and students. Yeah. Uh eight is like x I I a copy of this policy. Well that do you know if that will include by by way of procedure like um what is included in harmful or is

285or is it are we literally providing them just a copy of this policy because if I got this I would just throw it in the trash but if I got >> something that told me be honest. But if I got something that told me like don't do this on the internet, uh I'd probably make my kid read it and sign it. >> Yeah. I I know that we have technology use agreements and information as far as that's concerned. I'm going to look over my shoulder at my colleague, Mr. Melton, real quickly um and he'll be best able to address that. On the one hand, it would be very daunting task to say the least to try to enumerate all the things not to do on the internet, >> right? >> However, the technology use requirements

286which is IFBGR1, the implementation regulation is included both in the employee handbook and in the students uh K12 family handbook. Okay. >> And it's about three to four pages. It is um compelling and fairly exhaustive prescribing and prescribing behavior that fits within what is appropriate in use of the CST technology resources. >> Thank you. >> Any further discussion? Okay. >> Um all those in favor? >> I chair votes I. Any opposed? The motion carries unanimously. Uh we encourage the public to review the policy posted on assembly. Mrs. Lynch, uh please proceed to the next presentation. Three policies for second read. All right. Tonight we have three policies for second read action. Each of these policies are revisions to existing policies in response to recent legislation. These policies are G A R employee leave and absences,

287JB student attendance and JCG A bullying policy. G A RH employee leave and absences was avail was presented in June for first read and has been available for public comment through assembly. No public comment was received. There have been no changes made to the version presented in June. May I read the recommendation? >> Yes, please. It is recommended the city schools educator board of education approve policy G A employee leave and absences for action. >> Do I have a motion to approve the recommendation to approve policy J A employee leave and absences for action? >> G A R H. >> Yes. >> G A R H. >> Moved on the G A. >> Okay. Board member Hearnen makes a motion. Is there a second? >> Second. >> Board member seconds a motion. Is there any

288discussion? Hearing none. All those in favor? I chair votes I. Any opposed? The motion carries unanimously. >> Is policy JB student attendance. It was presented in June for first read and has been available for public comment through assembly. We did receive public comment on this policy and has been shared with the board. The public comments received were focused on excusing absences for specialized extracurricular activities and or sports. Our current policy states in bullet 8 under excused absences quote any other absence not explicitly defined in this policy but deemed to have merit based on circumstances as determined by the superintendent or his or her design end quote. This language allows for additional excused absences. However, we recognize the need to develop an accompanying regulation that can address the public feedback and ensure consistent application across our

289schools. There was also one additional res revision made to the policy in further response to legislation. This was an addition specifying that students taking tests and physical exams for military service in the US armed forces and national guard shall be counted as present. May I read the recommendation? >> Yes, please. >> It is recommended the City Schools of Decator Board of Education approve policy JB, student attendance for action. Do I have a motion to approve the recommendation to approve policy JB student attendance for action? So move. >> Member Johnson Davis makes a motion. Is there a second? >> Second. >> Board member Hearnen seconds a motion. Is there any discussion? >> Hearing none. All those in favor? >> I votes I. Any opposed? >> The motion carries unanimously. >> Finally, we have policy J CG

290A Bene. This policy was presented in June for first read and has been available for public comment through assembly. No public comment was received and there have been no changes made to the version presented in June. May I read the recommendation? >> Yes, please. >> It is recommended the City Schools of Decator Board of Education approve policy JCG A Bullying for action. Do I have a motion to approve the recommendation to approve policy JD A bullying for action? Uh, so moved JCG A D I believe. I see the typo on the bulletin or was it a typo on >> I have J C B A G. >> Yep, that's what I got. And but >> that's correct. I was it was my misspeak. It's J C D A G bullying. Thank you for the clarification.

291>> So moved. >> And board member makes a motion. Is there a second? >> I'll second it. Uh, board member H. Hearnden seconds the motion. Is there any discussion? >> Ju, just very quickly, this one was also based on legislation. That was it. >> Any further discussion? Hearing none. All those in favor? I >> chairs I. Any opposed? >> The motion carries unanimously. Okay. >> All right. We now move on to future dates. The board will host our first uh board retreat of the school year on August 19th from 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. in the Decatur High School Hospitality Suite. Topics include training on ethics and the annual charter system training. The board will dive deeply into the data from the 2023 2024 Georgia school climate survey, the 2024 2025 Georgia milestones and ACNIB

292data. Two public meetings have been scheduled. The first meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, August 27th from 6:30 to 8:00 PM at the Decatur Housing Authority Community Center. The second meeting is our previously scheduled two-way community board meeting on September 15th from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m. at Beacon Hill Middle School. Finally, our next board meeting will be held here at the Wilson Center on September 9th, 2025. There being no further business, this meeting is adjourned at 7:35