May 13, 2025, Board of Education Meeting

001Yes, sir. We will now call this meeting to order at 12:30 p.m. We'll start with a roll call for the record. I am Vice Chair Hansitz and I am present. When I call out your name, please indicate if you are present. Uh, chair Dr. Sultan board member uh Dr. Sultan is not present. Board member Anderson present. Uh board member H. Hearnden present. Board member Johnson Davis present. Thank you. The first item on the agenda is executive session. Do I have a motion to move into executive session for the purpose of discussing legal, land, and personnel matters? I move. Board member Anderson. Second. Board member Johnson Davis seconds the motion. Any discussion? All those in favor, please say I. I. Motion carries unanimously. That's it. Are we? We're ready. Okay. All right. Do I have a

002motion to move to exit executive session for the purpose of discussing land, legal, and personnel matters where no votes were taken? Some move. Dr. Board member Johnson Davis makes a motion. Is there a second? A second. Member H. Hearnen seconds the motion. Any discussion? All those in favor? I uh motion carries unanimously. At this time, the board will recess to host the legislative session wrap up. We will now call this pre-work session to order at 2:42 p.m. Thank you for joining us today. 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 pre-work session with our book study the governance core. Chapters eight and

003nine governance tools and new pathways are our reading for this month. Nia, student board apprentice will facilitate our discussion. Hi guys, welcome back to social. Okay. Um, so there's two chapters today, so I figured we could do our discussion for one first and then Can you hear me? Yes. Pull it down. Okay. Oh, I understand. Okay. Um, okay. So, chapter 8 is interesting and it discusses for success um as a board like the board handbook and the board calendar all things that um except for the handbook I think we're doing pretty well notice was missing is the tool of public input. Um so, one idea that they talk about at the very beginning of the chapter is being purposeful. Um so, My first question is, how can we be more purposeful as a board when

004it comes to soliciting public feedback and implementing it, staying accountable to it? So, um, I can start and then we can go, [Music] um, my gosh, left to right, right to left. Um, and so, um, one of the things that stands out to me is accessibility. Um if you want people to give input, as many people as possible to give input, you have to make as many make it possible for as many people. Um so even one thing like our changing board meeting time can be really for um you know students or people that aren't familiar with like symbols um to get a hold of. It's easier to say like second Tuesday of every month at 4:30 at 6. Um, so you know, a lot of school boards across the state have that standardized. So

005that would be one thing that I think could be interesting interesting looking into. Um, and then um, accountability. We've had some really brave student speakers come and speak to us recently and I think it's important that we're following up with them. Um, in my experience, I know a couple people that have spoken and haven't really received followup to my knowledge. Um, so those are things that are interesting to me. for the next six. Do you understand or anyone who feels comfortable? Yeah, I'll start. Thank you. All right. So, I just have to admit for the final time for this book read, I am still reading the older version and I apologize for that. Um, so, uh, it still has the governance tools chapter, right? Um, but what I read that I thought maybe matches what

006you're talking about is something called a discussion meeting. And at first when I read about it, I thought, "Oh, this is cool. This is our community um input meeting or community session meetings." But I I think the part that made this discussion meeting different was the fact that it was not agenda driven. And so I thought there were some really interesting discussions of how obviously there are laws, right, and regulations that govern how many people are in attendance and what constitutes a meeting and what needs to be there. Um, but when you asked about getting input, the discussion meeting was the first thing I thought about. it appears that it's a um I'll say lower pressure because the other part I think about with input is I'm learning that I think some people are more

007hesitant to share their questions. Um and so I think there is the providing the forum but I think there's also then providing the space where people um of all kind of stakeholder types feel comfortable doing it. So, but I really like the idea of the discussion meeting and I'd love for us to maybe talk more about that at some point. Thank you. What would it look like? I'm just asking um and not just of you actually. Yeah. Of you as well. What would it look like? Um and and so uh former previous uh community input meeting aside, I mean there are some special topics and this is a special case, but in in general, I think at least in terms of having an open conversation with the community as you described, we've done this generally

008in some of those community input meetings. There's a little bit of agenda just to provide a framework for the conversation, but it does end up being quite a free flowing conversation. What I interpreted this section about a discussion was amongst ourselves, right? Like an open conversation where we either debate or discuss or absorb information or have a frank conversation as as fellow board members with each other in front of the of the of the public. and and perhaps at the end of that meeting or dur you know there's obviously some controls that have to be put in place but soliciting input over the course of that right and that that's how I interpreted this session that's how I interpret it also that it was more an opportunity for the board to have a more informal

009discussion without an agenda um you still have an opportunity for public feedback that because it's an open meeting you still have to provide that space for uh public comment, but it was a I thought it was a more of an informal conversation among uh board members. Um I looked at it as a retreat. So, a retreat with because a retreat is more time one, but you can I mean I've known retreats to be multi-day um for boards. Uh literally um I think I was at a training I don't know if it was with um Mr. H. Hearnen or Dr. Sultan where Muscogee County said they do like three days. Was that what they use? Mhm. They said three days in the beginning of the year. Three days. And so I it allows for more interaction

010and open discussion. So um can I answer try to answer your question, hun? Yes, sir. So I was thinking it's a combination. So um yeah, it does come to community meetings. I do worry at times though that we're giving like if if we were to count up time, does our agenda include more information than time for people to share? And of course, you know, some of that's going to be organic. I think what I'm thinking of is something that looks more like the Q&A that we had at Oakhurst, um, but allows for more of the board to be talking. So, if anyone remembers the Q&A at Oak, I thought it was a pretty cool last session where it was anything from, you know, do we uh what's the deal with textbooks versus online curriculum and

011how does, you know, the club do the funding? And so it just it seemed to be um a neat way to hear questions on the spot and and allow us to have a the the reason why I push back is probably too strong of a statement, but the retreat I didn't feel is really capturing I think the intent of what the chapter was discussing just because it really impacted me. page 163, that final paragraph where it was talking about the public meeting in the p the public meeting in the public. This is what happens when you have open unscripted board conversations. Um, but where at the end of the discussion, a board watcher came to the podium. I feel like I got to actually see the sausage get made, you know, and effectively like and

012that's I think what some of the public is asking for. Not necessarily. I'll be honest. I don't know that it's necessarily the public always asking that they give us in input that we then respond to. Sometimes it's allow us to see you come to a decision like allow us to witness that debate and that discussion. I think I mean even though these are highly agenda driven I think our last budget discussion I think our discussion on the equity policies I think those are good examples of us sort of having that debate in a public forum which is would like more of that. Yeah, I agree. Yeah. I mean, it is interesting the number of people that come up to me and tell me what I think. The number of people who come up to me

013and tell me what I think as a school board member and it goes all the way back to co and I'm like, I don't certainly never said anything like that and I have no idea where that thought came from, but you know, I don't correct them. Um, in many ways if a public discussion did that, I don't know. People like having bad guys, too, though. Um, I'm intrigued by that. I had a neighbor that emailed Carmen right when she gave on the board that was like, "Well, obviously I can't talk to James about X because we all know how he feels." She responds, which means that James is the strongest advocate in favor of what you have just emailed me of any human being I've ever met in my life. And you're like, "Oh, I

014had no idea." Like, where did that come from? And then I've had other people are like, "Well, we know you don't agree with that on the budget." And I'm like, "What?" So, so is that are you suggesting that it's an opportunity for us to have more of these free flowing conversations where your perspectives on things get out or are you concerned? I'm as neutral as a human being. I see the positives of both, right? Like like obviously personally there would probably be some good for me to just speak up and be like, "Well, this is how I feel on some things." But I to be totally honest, I'm fine with with with not as well. It's like I I'm going to do and make decisions that are best for the kids. And if I'm identified

015as a boogeyman for people that is in the exact opposite of my personal beliefs, I'm okay with that, too. Um, but maybe the latter is the right the first is the right answer. Maybe the having the public conversations would be good. I did get a little anxious about it in terms of there not being very many guard rails. Like I the agenda for me kind of keeps us focused. Yeah. And it feels like without an agenda like the conversation could just really go a lot of different directions. Yeah. Um I I just I wondered how you have this discussion and not have some type of like point of reference in terms of of a topic. Um, is it possible to incorporate it like during pre-work or something where it's like let's do a book study

016and then let's talk about like a hot topic issue? I think that's a good idea. I I mean I I do think to the extent that I don't think the public is asking for us to just have a random conversation and I don't think necessarily we're comfortable with just having a random conversation. But to the extent that it is directed because it is an item of interest within the community and amongst ourselves, I think that's a a really good idea. And I think yeah, I thought as well about the guard rails or just the idea that, you know, I could be asked a question that I haven't even entertained. Um so I don't know why I thought you know so far you know serving on the board or working as a teacher I think there's

017an awareness that while I can have my own feelings I am still speaking in my capacity as a board member and so you know I'd be perfectly fine saying I'm sorry I'm not sure I can answer that right now you know so and I so I think for me those kind of guard rails were more of the awareness that if it's something I haven't thought about I have a responsibility have to think about it before I give some kind of extemporaneous response to this think of it. But that's different from moving all the way over here as well. And and I I would probably add to that the level of preparation for a board meeting. the public does not necessarily know how for a topic um to just come and just speak and not have

018any idea. I mean, I I have to I work I live that quite often because people ask me all the time about a lot of different things of whether or not it's top of mind for me at the moment um or something that I need to look more into. So, the idea that the board would have the two-way conversation with a Q&A built because the two-way conversation or community meeting, it's not like it's um very old. It's only been here for a year and a half and we've done it a little differently every time. And that's what's the beauty of this work is to say based upon where we are in time with topics of what's top of mind, let's create the venue and the opportunity for that two-way conversation so it could be one

019productive as well as two having the community to learn what your thoughts are on things and and that I will also probably say as well The purpose of the community team meeting is not for me to share my thoughts. Um, it's the board's conversation to come from behind here because public comment is typically when you're provided information but and you can't say anything but now you can have that conversation. Can the second part too? I think you were starting with the students that. So what is our process with that? The dependent upon topic the purpose the per a person from the exe from cabinet will reach out to the child. So very rarely is it ever me. That's why they say a member of the administration. It is not me. Then I guess the question

020I have is did the students feel as if hey I came to speak and I know you heard me right I'm speaking at the microphone and then I get a response and then what I mean currently and I definitely should have followed up with these people but that's currently I haven't heard that they've received problem and I haven't seen that reflected in board meetings um but I right now. Yeah. And and what I will say is providing feedback does not necessarily mean that there would be a change of implementation. Say for example, weapons detection system. Weapons detection system was something that was adopted by this board as an allocation of resource. Now you can speak to me about that or speak to the board about that. But now it's been board adopted and we can

021talk about the change management. We can talk about the ways in which we are going to implement but it specifically around weapons detection. The amount of feedback that was received by the administration for in preparation for the safety summit which was shared with this board, it was overwhelming that there needs to be a weapons detection system and there was quite a bit of conversation at our February retreat specifically on safety. Well, I wonder if that was um for a number at this point is that you know like knowledge is currency and people are operating off of the information that they know and that's usually the information less information than you guys have and usually less information that you even give them. So I wonder if there or like if someone made public comment about weapons

022detection if there could then be a follow-up that's like welcome to X Y and Z thing explaining why we made this decision. watch this discussion meeting we had something like and and and I am looking at the executive staff member behind you that actually has an email of that type of followup. Beautiful. Great. I did not. Yes. How do we how how do we combat your sentence? I haven't heard that they've heard back. So I assume that they haven't heard back. I No, no, no. You're not. But but you said it right. Like and and I think that that is throughout the community, right? Like I didn't hear I didn't overhear the member of cabinet calling that student. I'm going to assume they didn't. So what I'm interested as a student rep over the next

023year is like how do we combat that? Because I heard something that I really liked as a suggestion which is like publicly saying like hey by the way a student spoke last meeting and I just wanted you to know these are what we did. Like is that enough? So people don't like listen to the pre I mean like we get the report on how many log in. It's like four people listening to the whole pre-work session and and that and people can come back and watch it later. So it's just like does it get them word out? Does it does it how do you get the word out to that? Because you're right and and I'm not I love the sentence because it is an accurate sentence, right? Like like I didn't hear so I'm

024going to assume they didn't hear and I'm upset about that. Um and there only two options. Either I'm wrong or they failed. So we need to come up with ways. So, I think you're absolutely right, but we're telling people we didn't fail. We did provide feedback. Um, and then you and then what Dr. Whitaker just said is just sort of like and then oftentimes the call back is like, "Yeah, we're not doing that, but like the information point like people are going to be upset if they're saying doesn't happen." But being upset and not hearing back are two different things, right? And so like and we can we can combat the first one very easily. But are are you also asking because I think there's a difference between I'm asking for something that um I'm

025being told can't happen, right? Yeah. I want I don't know chocolate sandwiches and I'm sorry we're not serving this. Right. But is there a second layer to this which is one I'm hearing that people need to know what has happened so they know the right things not what they filled in. Right. But the second has been is there some agency that students are looking for beyond getting a response. I think I guess this is a manifestation of that me. Yeah. Yeah, I think I'm already assigning you work and that's not my, you know, expectation. But if there is then a platform where besides the public speaking which I very much agree with, you know, is there a way that at the following board meeting we can capture the fact that we heard this, we listened

026to you here and this happened, but then is it something like a a monthly or whatever is appropriate for you if students want to kind of check in? Whoa. Okay. Two things come to mind is one like in my head where we're going with the discussion meeting is like if weapons detection is something that the community cares about then we incorporate that into the agenda where we have like that um um Mr. Mountain like I even had concerns about weapons detection and Mr. mountain has been a fantastic or even anything that I try to talk about. He does like he's always like me I'm willing to sit down like 30 minutes with you and like hash this out completely like we should be on the same page. Um even if we agree to disagree has

027made me feel like it's like somewhat collaborative and I'm being heard. So if there's any way we can replicate that feeling um again yeah you're right. No idea. real quick. So I am uninformed here. And another thing I will say is anytime anyone from executive cabinet or or I will say the Wilson Center is supporting directly to a student, it never feels like the same as the person who is at the local school. And so it is our job to make sure that those at the school are fully knowledgeable and able to support. But if it if it is something escalated to this room, then yes, a member of the administrative team will reach out. But it's never going to feel the same just because that's why they're there. All right. One one last thing

028that I wanted to to say on that and this isn't necessarily at all directed at the students that have provided feedback about weapons detection. But one of the things I think we as a board were particularly proud of um there was a group of students that came to us from with a perspective on how to do a better job of recycling waste. And rather than come to us with a problem saying, "Y'all won't recycle rice very well. You need to figure out how to do this better." They actually came with a solution, not a problem, they came with a solution, which we have ultimately implemented. I want to say it's at Beacon Hill now, right? And so we've got this at Beacon Hill and I believe, I don't want to sign anybody up for additional

029work, but I believe we're looking at expanding it into some of the other schools. We're looking at it. Yes, we're exploring it. And so, but this is a great example of where they had identified a problem, didn't come to us just pointing out a problem, but actually came to us with a suggestion and a solution, which we were able to act on. And I thought that was a another great way for the community to engage. Something like purely reactionary though, like the problem is the initiative and that's going to happen at times. I I don't and that's why I was trying to be careful not to say this is about weapons detection. Sometimes there are going to be purely reactionary things, but to the extent that there is something that you're passionate about that you

030want to see the board engage on, identifying a solution as opposed to identifying a problem is a is a very effective way to go about it. So, can I ask a follow-up to that because that's immediately what I thought of. I thought of the students who spoke to us last year. I thought of the young man who spoke about lunch at the Westchester community meeting and then I thought of the board feedback where it appeared to be a student who also mentioned lunch. So, Um, how did we get that out there? Like, hey kids, you came, we heard you, and now we're doing this. How did we share that? Yeah, we we did. Um, one, yeah, one, I think I put it in for the public in my superintendent comments. Um, I know that when

031we actually met with the students, when I say we, this is the royal we, it's not me, but staff did meet with the students on multiple times. So, um, if a student comes and with uh with a concern, we're extremely responsive. Um, and if a person comes to public comment, more than likely there is a reach out for by someone on staff. Thank you. Um, so I think the central idea here um was about, you know, time has always changed, so governance should change. It should be an evolving thing. Um, but then it kind of lists a bunch of I think kind of halfbaked um, examples of this without really pointing to any like details or like guidance or anything like that. Um, so but it did elicit a lot of stuff in me. So

032I guess this can just be a general thought discussion. Um, so I wanted to say my initial impressions and then you guys can respond to that or introduce anything. Um so the first one was um it's quote on the first page young people being both the beneficiaries and agents of transformation. Um you know the hat big legacy of building community activists and leaders. Um and I think that encouraging that civic engagement is also what solves the problem with public insight is that if we are raising people to voice their concerns and they they will do that. Um, another interesting thing to me was number six, um, which talked about how education should be holistic and it shouldn't just be education, it can also be community care and mental health and wellness. Um, and so I

033just talked to Miss Holtz and she was talking about um, FRS and um, how we were thinking about how like, you know, having those connections with teachers and with adults in your school makes you a better learner. Like you feel safer. If you feel lost, you have a place to go. You don't just like step out. Um, so that's really important to me. Um, and then it talks about postcoid, but once again doesn't actually say like what the central issue is or any example or anything. Um, but I was just reading that new article from the New York magazine about um AI and colleges and I had this sinking feeling of like, oh god, like I'm going to go to colleges I want to learn and everyone else is going to be like chat gpting

034their way through it. And I I know Sophia can probably relate to this, but like really big problem um at the high school too. Like I'm genuinely worried. Even my teachers talk about it how people just aren't writing good essays anymore and aren't growing in their writing over the year. Um I'm actually I'm sure you can relate to that the most um or trends you've seen in your classroom. So I think that this district could take more proactive action when it comes to AI because it's a really big problem at our hands. Um, so then they kind of end on this random section about how like let's embrace AI. Again, no guidance or actual implementation. Um, I I love humans. I think that we do good work. So, I'm sure there's a place for AI.

035Um, I wish it was a little bit more specific. Um, and then I also thought it was odd that it ends on this weird self- congratulatory note of like this book isn't a routine second edition. So, I just thought that was a weird way to end it. Um, like it could have been like a just like pat on the back. So, um, okay. So, now I will turn it over to AI. I think it was in our Georgia school board magazine this month and in all fairness, I almost threw it because I I agree. Um, we need to pay attention to, you know, how our students are thinking, how they're interacting, how they can formulate a thought, um, before I think we pretend that they're ready to actually use AI in, you know, functional essay

036writing mode. Um, so yeah, thank you for asking about that. But specific like to this chapter and again the older edition um one of the things that I really liked um was the reminder of being a model of civic leadership and I think mostly because you know we see what's happening in our nation we can see what's happening you know in our state and I have so valued the fact that even when we may not personally agree um I think we need to listen to each other um and I think we need to respect each other and I think that's the only way really our students and our community benefit. So, um that was I think the most important part for me. Thank you. I like a good hyperbolic good governance key to survival of

037the planet paragraph. I highlighted it was kind of cool. It it just feels like they rewrote it and we're like we're postco. It's important to have hope. Yeah. Like a Marvel movie. It is. It's good. I'll read it right here. The overriding proposition is not that good governance is something that is just good to have, but it is essential. It is the means to an end. Prosperity for all against the backdrop of a threat to our existence as a species and a planet. I didn't write that. Yeah. I don't know what y'all are doing today, but I'm saving the planet. Um, you mean I' I've offered a few criticisms of this book along the way. I think it's safe to say. Um, I'm happy to be closing it. I think that that I think uh,

038board member Anderson summed it up pretty well to the extent that getting along and having the structures in place so that we can productively disagree and still get along so that we are here to serve the kids and we're successful in that is exactly that's I think a great way of framing it. Well, I love that you facilitated this last discussion. I thought it gave us a lot to think about and to consider um as we prepare for next school year um and joining the governance state. So, thank you. Great job. Thanks. Okay. Thank you. Thank you, Nia. We we look forward to your swearing in tonight. Next month, we will discuss our book studies for next year. It would be helpful if you could send recommendations to Dr. Whitaker so that she can compile

039a list of options. Dr. Whitaker, would you please introduce the next item? Yes. Thank you, Vice Chairs. I would like to call on Mrs. Amanda Lynch, chief of staff, to present one policy for feedback. Good afternoon, Vice Chairs, esteemed members of the board, student representatives, and superintendent Dr. Whitaker. Today we have one policy on the agenda for pre-work. As a reminder to the public, policies that are presented during pre-work are new business on which we are seeking board input. These policies are being presented as initial drafts. They're being shared to gather board input and feedback that can be reflected in drafting or revising future versions. The policies being presented today is a revision to the existing policy JCD AG bullying. Revisions are necessary because the statute now limits cyber bullying to acts that originated on

040campus or through school equipment. The revisions are being presented today so that the changes can go into effect for the 2025 2026 school year, including applicable updates to the student code of conduct. At this time, I'd welcome any board the changes are I've already said that they're mostly because of the statute update. So at this time I'd welcome any board input on the proposed revision the policy JCD AG bullying. So I do have one question. The the bit in green um that so it's you know you've got your paragraph then the defining of bullying with a lit enumerated act and then the term applies to you see where I am? Yes. Okay. So it says it originates on school property or involves the use of schools equipment. Um, so if a student were to be

041using their own phone on school property, where does that fall? That would originate on school property. I'm looking at my legal team to make sure this language came directly from the state statute and that's what's changed, which is why it's part of the red line version that you receive. Um, and then just throwing it out there. So students take Chromebook home or is it the Chromebooks they have here? Okay. Sorry. Um so they take the device home and it's a school device if it's off school property but it's a school device that still applies. Correct. Okay. And then assuming they're in the Google classroom on their parents computer off the school property because it's still school related. Okay. Thank you. Other discussion ordinance? No. Okay. Well, thank you, Miss Lynch. We look forward to the

042conversation next month and our work session on this policy and any others that require revision due to new laws signed. Thank you board members again for the discussion. There being no further business, this pre-work session is adjourned at 3:16 p.m. We will return for the work in five minutes 3:21 p.m. Thank you. Thank you for joining us today for our monthly work session. Dr. Whitaker, please introduce the first presentation. Thank you, Vice Chair Us. I would like to call on Mrs. Karen Newton Scott to provide the end of schools year update. Good afternoon vice chair board members, student representative Delena and Superintendent Dr. Dma Whitaker. The transformation of a caterpillar into a butterfly is a powerful symbol of what it means to grow. Not just in form, but in purpose. The caterpillar lives a full

043and successful life on the ground. But it is not until it enters the chrysalis that it begins the profound work of becoming something entirely new. Our schools are much like that caterpillar. We have built strong foundations where students thrive in academics, arts, and athletics and where inclusivity and excellence shape our culture. But like the caterpillar, we are being called to something more. The next stage of our journey requires us to embrace transformation, to rethink, to reimagine, and to push beyond what we've known in order to become what we are meant to be for all students. As we move through this transformational process, we must remember that growth takes time and true change often happens beneath the surface. Just as the caterpillar can't rush its emergence, we must we too must trust in the journey even

044when progress feels slow or uncertain. To guide us through this transformation, schools typically create long-term action plans that span a year or more. This year, however, we shifted to 90-day cycles focusing on short-term strategies with high impact. Why 90 days? It's a practical window where we can plan, execute, and see meaningful progress without losing momentum. This approach gives us the space to set clear steps, have regular check-ins, and ensure accountability during this process. problems of practice, areas in need of improvement, or those not yet fully supporting stronger student outcomes. They clarif underlying. This resulted in a clear actionable plan that highlighted barriers, identified necessary resources, and mapped out the supports needed to achieve a meaningful achieve meaningful progress in just 90 days. This process of identifying problems of practice sparked a focused transformation in our

045schools. This transformation is what we call the big rock. Two key areas emerged. Delivering highquality instruction and conducting regular observations with meaningful feedback for teachers. These priorities became the foundation of our transformation guiding the most impactful work happening in our schools. They also serve as a compass for how district staff align supporting resources ensuring we stay on course to drive and sustain lasting change. With the the big rocks identified and a 90-day plan in place, we launched our transformational work starting with a focus on high quality instruction. Together, we defined highquality instruction, conducted school walkthroughs, brief strengths and areas of growth, provided professional learning on datadriven decision making, and established followup for accountability. These efforts have laid the groundwork for sustained instructional transformation across our schools. As a result of this focused work, all indicators

046of high quality tier one instruction showed measurable growth from fall to spring. Highlights include an 18 incre 18% increase in classrooms with learning targets aligned to the rigor of the standard, a 24% increase in the use of engagement strategies, a 25% increase in learning tasks meeting the rigor of the standard. While these gains reflect meaningful progress in our instructional transformation, we continue to work to eliminate inconsistency and frequency. So key areas for continued growth include criteria for success that are clear and accessible, the use of probing questions that require learners to think critically and different instructional strategies used to address individual learning needs. The second big rock was consistent substantive feedback. Also in a a critical element of our ongoing transformation. Research by John Hattie highlights that timely, specific, and actionable teacher feedback is one

047of the most significant drivers of student achievement. Therefore, to drive this transformation, we focused on providing teachers with frequent non-evaluative feedback and meaningful support by developing a system of feedback, increasing the frequency of classroom visits and instructional walkthroughs. Using clear criteria to guide observation and deliver focused byte-size feedback to teachers. Using the see it, name it, do it protocol for instructional coaching. and establishing systems to track feedback and ensure followup uh followup for continuous improvement. In addition to classroom visits, we expanded our effort by holding focus groups with both teachers and students. These conversations provided us with deeper insight into what truly supports student learning in this transformational process. Teachers expressed appreciation for the star diagnostic data which helps group students for targeted small groupoup instruction. They appreciated the use of planning time PLC's and

048data discussions. Though still inconsistent, it shows a collective effort toward a shared focus on student success. And last but not least, when time and study hall was appreciated as builtin structures that exist for reteing and support. Students shared that they feel teachers are kind, helpful, and supportive, especially when facing emotional or academic challenges. They find the reward systems like PBIS group tickets, Eagle Bucks, and class reward charts motivating and clearly understood. and they also appreciate the variety of extracurricular activities including clubs and we also asked teachers and students what additional support is needed to strengthen our schools. Teachers highlighted the need for more time training and clarity around instruction especially in using data tools like STAR and more targeted support for both gifted and students in need of extra support. They also expressed the desire

049for additional strategies to increase positive and productive behaviors within the classroom. Students emphasized the value of engaging and well-rounded learning experiences. They asked for more time in subjects like social studies, STEM, art, and Spanish, as well as hands-on projects. Beyond academics, they desired improved facilities, more unstructured time like fun Fridays, a later start time, more lunch options, and stronger relationships grounded in mutual respect. We we've also taken important steps to transform how we report student progress to families. So, we launched the K5 and 612 surveys to gather feedback from staff, students, and families. For K5, there were 190 responses to the survey, and for 612, 531 responses. Over half of the respondents for each survey were parents. The survey data reveals that both reveals both strengths and opportunities for growth in the K5 grading and

050reporting system. Relative strengths based upon a one to five scale includes the overall understanding of the grading structure, familiarity with performance level level descriptors and consistent use of infinite campus to enter or view grades. While these are relative strengths, they are also clear concerns. There's a desire to better understand the difference between a three and a four and for teacher comments or narratives on report cards to provide context beyond just numbers. Additionally, alternating grading in science and social studies creates uncertainty about how we arrive at reporting on student performance. Recurring suggestions asked for clear, more frequent communication about grading practices, student progress, and performance expectations. The survey data for grades 6 through 12 reveals several strengths alongside areas of improvement. A key strength across stakeholders is the overall understanding of how and when students receive

051grades. um the weight categories that are used for grading and people understood the how to use infinite campus to input or access grades. However, several concerns were also raised. Stakeholders noted inconsistent opportunities for retakes across classrooms and expressed dissatisfaction with Infinite Campus platforms usability. There are several comments advocating for the addition of plus grades to the grading scale as well as an emphasized need for improved and ongoing communication not just at the start of the year but throughout strengthening clarity and transparency in grading and reporting. The last area with the lowest rating was how well students and families understood the scoring that occurred for my criteria and DP courses. While the recent survey reflected several comments in support of retaining plus grades, it's important to recognize that this practice is not widely used by area

052districts or many colleges and universities. This alignment of our current system to the metro area and national colleges and universities ensures that our students grades are not only clearly understood but are also fairly evaluated across the region and applying to postsecary. So what's next? We are committed to continuing our support for instructional leadership both locally and in partnership with UVA to strengthen teaching and learning across all grade levels. We're committed to supporting student success by providing ACT and SAT preparation as well as PSAT exposure and support starting in 8th grade. We will also maintain the one goal program at Decada High School, ensuring students are equipped for postsecary success. In we will maintain a prek through 12 instructional innovative practices that meets the needs of all students. Our work to improve grading and reporting will

053also continue. We will begin pre-work to shift from year-long grading to semester grading. Now that we've will also discontinue assigning a grade to each standard in grades 6 through 12. We will also continue to work with leaders and teachers to increase consistency and implementing the retake guidance and providing ongoing information and communication with families. Finally, we will begin the accredititation process as we strive for continuous growth and transformation across the district. Every step we take refining our practices, deepening our support for students, and strengthening our culture is part of the work happening inside of the prior. When we emerge from this transformation, we won't just be different. We'll be stronger, more unified, and better prepared to achieve excellence for all of our learners. Happy to answer. I've got a few. I think I have two

054and one just for confirmation. Um, I noticed in the budget feedback, one person asked about apple roots and you know, I can see that and thank you. were starting off with a PSAT for eighth grade. And so, am I correct? Apple reads is basically like um industry standard for students to get that ACTS SAT prep which would help them be college ready. Absolutely. Okay. Thank you. Um second, I don't know if this is for all of us, but lunch keeps coming up and so um what are we going to do with lunch? And then third, I noticed and I just wondered where it fit in the the what's going well and I believe the teachers were talking about the PLC and time, but then um what else is needed more time? So where does time

055fit into what's next? Yeah, I don't know. Time is always the tough thing to find. Um we are looking at creative ways and scheduling so that we can create structures for teachers but it's an ongoing process to really find the time that his desire we could never have enough but we keep trying to find more time and for lunch I'll leave that to Jarvis in the loving March campaign he's he's launching he talked a little bit about it last month. Thank you. Um, so on slide number six, if we could quickly look at that. Um, this isn't necessarily for questions for today. Just next time we take a look at some of this information, I would be interested. Um, the trend information is great. 18% increase, 24% increase. But it's also helpful to know off

056what baseline, right? So is it 50% of the classrooms intervening this or is it 5% of the classrooms inter so kind of understanding where we are uh would be helpful. I second the question on lunch that is uh as a father the number one piece of feedback I get from my own kids. Um but I know that that those presentations will be coming and that work is is ongoing. Um slide 10 and 11. did want to just emphasize because I have heard this come up a couple times in the community around the plus grades. Uh slide 11, none of those systems use plus grades. Is that the correct way to interpret that? Nobody has that little inflator on the plus grade. That is correct. So, it's really important. I just want to say this clearly

057for the community. We certainly I I'm going to speak to my vote on this point and deeply skeptical of being in support of any great inflationary standard that we might put in place. I know that we had issues around that and I don't see any benefit of going back to that. We need to look like our peers on this because ultimately it does harm our students if we have a reputation in the colleges and the folks that are evaluating us that we overrade and that we over benefit. And so I uh with this information and with what I have seen from where we've come, I'm certainly not in favor of in favor of looking at plus grading. Is that where it's going to be? No, you said flavor. So I said there's lunch on your

058mind. Exactly. Right. In favor. Yes. And I think just so there are two things from what I understand and please fill in anything that standard grading practice. So for our students who are applying to schools, they're competing if you will applying along with other students earning A B C D. Um, I get nervous about using the word grade inflation. I I like the idea that we are um adopting the standards that the other schools that our students are competing with is the only way to explain it. Um, using I do appreciate that we're looking more closely so our students understand how they can be successful and especially for students who we're all creatures of habit. So, my understanding is that students who were used to earning a plus grade are um perhaps struggling to adjust

059to a situation in which an 80 to an 89 just equals a B. And so, I really like the fact that we're going to look at more consistent retake um more consistent and the two semester grading that I think would answer to the student who was saying, "Hey, I want my B+." because now at least there's a possibility for improvement. Thank you. Well, thank you Miss Scott. Dr. Whitaker. So, one thing I would love to uh reiterate or for everyone. So, this year we had two big rocks. One tier one instruction and the second one was observation and feedback. That's the beginning of the transformational work. Next year, we're going to add in data informed teacher collaboration and planning. So, what does that mean? That means that bingo card on that free space on the

060bingo card interoperable data system they must be fully here because if we're going to add that to a focus for our school system we must do it. And then secondly, this summer we will look at everything that we're doing around the frequency of reporting to the transcript specifically around grading. So that is one of the things that we have heard and we are going to be able to work on that from a regulation standpoint. And of course um Mr. Adams is right there. So, he's going to give you a brief update on where he is with the loving lunch or taste of CSD and the remainder of his time that he's been working on lunch. Good afternoon. So, update on lunch. We have looked at every lunch program at every school. So, what we currently

061see is some some hangups in the K2 was taking last so long try to get to the understanding of why why students are eating lunch and we we see we we've identified some things we haven't come up with the full solution so I don't want to share what what we're proposing right now and then in the other schools we've seen the flow of much as well talk with our cafeteria managers I'll have a upcoming meeting with all cafeteria staff right before school lets out uh for the summer just so I can hear their input as well. You but the good is you have a dedicated staff that wants to do well and wants to serve much. We just have noticed it just yet. So we're going to continue to assess it. I've gone out to

062Drew Charter has some similar problems that we're having. We still have to visit Okone has a very similar demographic to city of Kater. They've been able to move off of general fund budget self sustainable but they had to get very creative and it took time to get we sit down with them over the summer understand we spoken to every PTSA is tomorrow night so I I speak to Oakurst Beacon Hill every time we want to meet with Beacon Hill we have a board meeting I have not made Beacon Hill what's going to happen we're going to kick We got a survey for schools out to let parents and students kind of get their input. We do a taste of city schools educator where we have the back to school batch that give everyone opportunity to

063see the portion sizes our main meals taste look at the price if it's a good deal and if we need to make any last minute amendments from the survey we receive citiz. Is it on the agenda for a a formal update on on this? It will be on the back to school um in August. So in August when we have back to school, it will include all of that. Yeah. Thank you. Thank you for the just in time response. Uh vice chairs, I would like to call on Mrs. Francis Hull, assistant superintendent of student support services to provide the endofear update. Good afternoon, Vice Chair Good, esteemed members of the board, student board representative Delena, and superintendent Dr. Whitaker. The work of student support services is grounded in the district's second strategic accelerator, building and

064sustaining an engaging and inclusive culture. At the heart of this work is our commitment to ensuring that every student feels safe, seen, safe, and supported. Tonight's presentation highlights key areas of focus, recent data, and the collaboration efforts driving our work forward. We have rebranded our SEAL framework to being future readiness skills or FRS. It is now called I previewed for you earlier because we are focused on the skills that all students need upon their graduation. As you may know, research has proven that mastery of the social is more predictive to future job success than academics alone. So regardless of whether they are headed to college, career, or the military, every student needs to be prepared with the five core skills of awareness, self-management, responsible decision making, and relationship building. The design phase of our newly

065branded F FRS framework and the launch of the theory of action would not have been successful without a lot of collaboration from our students, staff, and community. From the time of the completion of the needs assessment to this moment, the process has been intentionally uplifting student voice and engaging all stakeholders. Student influence is what I am the most proud of from the elementary to secondary student council groups influencing the development of the vision and goals as well as the drafting of the actual standards. um Sophia and Nia getting to preview one of the videos in the wayfinder curriculum during our onetoone and um even a little later tonight you will hear from two of our members of our elementary and one member from two members of the elementary council on their influence and their involvement

066on this work. My team is also grateful for all of the adults who have given us valuable feedback and encouragement through their engagement during the council meetings and community input sessions. I'm grateful for the district leaders, teachers, and support team members from every school who participated in the program selection process. Overwhelmingly, we heard great support for tier one instruction of social and emotional skills for all students from all stakeholders. We are excited to capitalize on this momentum as we scale the framework districtwide with professional learning for 612 teachers during pre-planning and then as well as launching into the K5 space in the spring of next year. Started reviewing the RS framework because direct instruction on the five core skills is needed today more than ever. Let's keep these vital skills in mind as I review

067the end of the year data on student discipline. This slide presents a monthly overview of student discipline data related to inschool suspension of school suspension OSS. The graph on the left provides a breakdowns and OSS incidents last year. The graph on the right provides a breakdown of total incidents this year between the beginning of the year and April. The key highlights are that 92% of students had zero referrals. 31 students, which is less than 2% of our student population, had three or more incidents this school year. and approximately 8% of students had at least one incident. These numbers reflect that there is progress in how schools are implementing a more proactive, restorative, and supportive approach. The data on this slide includes completed state reportable referrals and excludes ISS incidents for half a day or less

068which are not state reportable. But previously you requested more information about the half a day or less. This slide shows the number of incidents at each school and you also see the total number of half a day students half a day or or less IS students. Indeed, breakout breaking out the data in this way helps us to understand the trends that may not be captured in state reportable data, but they are still critical for school climates. And we continue to monitor and provide you with this breakdown. We will continue to monitor and provide you with these breakdowns during our annual update. Again, based on your feedback, we have included the referrals by behavior fight by school. At Beacon Hill, the data indicates that fighting is the most frequently reported behavior this year. This trend highlights

069the ongoing need for comprehensive social and emotional support aimed at improving students self-regulation, conflict resolution, and deescalation, as well as interpersonal skills. In response, Beacon Hill is strengthening its support by addressing the underlying factors contributing to these behaviors in order to reduce the need for exclusionary discipline. Some of the strategies that are being integrated are deescalation strategies, restorative practices to repair harm, foster accountability, and rebuild relationships. trauma-informed practices as well as wraparound services that address the needs in the school and out of the school which are impacting behaviors. And next year, the teachers will implement our newly selected evidence-based FRS program to support the development of student um skills in the area of collaboration, emotional intelligence, and responsible decision making. This graph represents the be the referrals by behavior reported at beginner high school this

070year. Skipping is the most frequently reported behavior followed by schoolwide disruption and insubordination. Connecting to what Mrs. Newton Scott presented earlier, the importance of high quality tier one instruction that is engaging to all learners cannot be overstated. When students feel connected to their learning and see the relevance in the classroom, they are more likely to attend, participate, engage positively. In short, students who are actively learning have clarity on their long-term goals and have a plan to reach graduation are not usually chronically skipping unless they're seniors. Of course, our department is collaborating with Deca with the Decatur High School administration to develop a plan that addresses skipping. As you can see on the slide, the partnership will focus on similar strategies to those being used at Beacon Hill Middle School. Both schools have the goal of

071creating and incentivizing a more positive and connected pool climate for all. On this for an overview related to reducing ISS and OSS for our focus populations, specifically black students and students with disabilities or SWD. While CSC did not meet this discipline reduction goal this year, it is important to view the data within the broader context of student population changes and overall trends among black students. the total number of ISS and year. However, that occurred alongside with a decrease in the overall enrollment with approximately 1,117 black students enrolled this year compared to the 1,193 last year. The rate of incident shifted from about one in every five students to roughly one in every four. For students with disabilities, the number of incidents also increased slightly while the population remained stable. The rate moved from about one

0725.5 students to approximately 1 in5. Although these changes reflect a rise in reported incidents, they also offer valuable insight into the areas where schools can deepen and strengthen support as well as refine strategies. In addition to student specific factors, it is also important to acknowledge that the impact of the impact of the broader school climate and safety concerns. For example, the incident at Appalachi High School at the beginning of this school year. Research tells us that in the aftermath of such a highprofile violent incident, schools often see a temporary surge in discipline referrals as educators and administrators respond to heightened concerns around safety and order. We continue to use the behavior assessment system for children third edition behavioral and emotional screening system. The bath three best always enough. While the results of this universal screener

073cannot be 100% correlated to the discipline data or to how social and emotional challenges manifest in individual students. The back three best gives us another pool of data that tools can use to quickly identify students who may be experiencing behavioral or emotional challenges that could impact their learning and development. Participation rates on the bas remain consistently high demonstrating strong school and staff engagement in this important work. We also note that we do not see spikes in the number of students in the extremely elevated risk range. This student specific data enables the school team to proactively identify students in need of additional support and to deliver timely interventions that promote overall student well-being and success. It also helps us as district leaders to better understand and identifying programming needs within our schools. Unlike the provision of

074ongoing small group or small group individual or small group mental health related therapy where informed consent is required. Participation in the BAS three best does not require parental consent. However, parents are offered the opportunity to opt out. This is because the bas is CSD behavior and emotional universal screener regarding informed consent. CSC implement that because it is a long-standing best practice per multiple code of ethics in the field and we also are striving to be in compliance with the Georgia parent bill of rights law which mandates that parents be fully informed as to the education and services of their minor children. We note that while our data does not indicate a trend, we have also heard feedback from some parents of color that are hesitant to participate in some of these activities as it might

075identify or label their child and they may decide to opt out. This spring, 2,332 students took the bath free in grades 3, 4, 6, 7, 9, and 10. This slide shows the highlights of how our school has cont our schools have continued implementing positive behavioral intervention supports for PBIS. The implementation of PBIS has been yet another way to ensure that support for all students is embedded in daily school practices. Data from the spring 2025 walkthroughs indicate that 39% of students are showing increased awareness in their schoolwide behavioral expectations and 29% of staff are showing increased awareness in how they are um reinforcing of those expectations. These gains reflect that there are cultural shifts taking place within CSD schools as they are beginning to align behavior supports with our broader goals of whole child development. PBIS

076efforts are not isolated initiatives. They are being integrated with academic behavior and wellness strategies to ensure that every student is set up for success and to transition us as a district to Georgia MTSS next year. And so in September, I shared with you that we would begin the work of transitioning the Decatur High School student center from a wraparound center to a true community school model. The community school model is an evidence-based strategy that is intended to bring students, families, and communities together to set specific goals tailored to their local context. Schools that have been transformed into community schools see a positive impact on attendance, school climate and culture, family and community engagement, academic achievement, graduation rates, and college readiness. Right now, there are about 5,000 community schools across the country and they are creating

077solutions for addressing inequities for students and their families. based on comprehensive needs assessment. The mix of offerings can vary, but some of the most common services and supports include medical, dental, and mental health services, tutoring or other academic supports, and resources for families such as parent education classes, job training and placement services, housing assistance, and nutrition programs. The needs assessment for Decar High School Student Center will begin in the fall. We are excited that Decator High School with the technical assistance and support from MREA has made a lot of progress in this endeavor and this slide highlights the key actions that have occurred so far this year during the foundational pre-work phase. The pre-work focuses primarily on shared foundational understandings around purpose, process, roles and resp. In the fall, Decator High School will move into

078phases one and two of this journey, which will include listening and learning, analyzing needs, and determining priorities with the broader community. The these phases will begin when the four pillar teams are officially launched. And just for review, the four pillar themes are integrated student support, expanded and enriched learning time and opportunities, active family and community engagement, and collaborative leadership and practices. Cannot move forward without a friendly reminder that community school model strategy is not the same as communities in schools or CIS. Communities in schools is an organization and dropout prevention strategy that is impacting all students at four CSD schools at Tally Beacon Hill and Decar High School. CIS provides case lo to 169 students. However, all students at those schools and Claremont benefit from the schoolwide support related to school and district improvement goals.

079Case load support is provided to students who do not already have a case load support via a program such as an IEP. This means that 169 students who were not already supported now have support. The staff are also experiencing support. CSD has invested a considerable amount of money in this partnership with CIS. And as you may recall from my presentation in February, CSD has invested 195,000. The total impact of the investment back into CSD is $335,348. So in short, for every $1 that CSD invests in CIS programming, an additional $1.72 is invested back to CSD in the partner donations and additional emergency assistance. Thank you Ford and Dr. Whitaker for your time and your continued support of our work. Your commitment to student success is what really makes these um initiatives possible. I welcome your

080questions and feedback. Could we look really quickly at slide number eight? No, I'm sorry, four. Slide number four. And so the beginning surge where we saw discipline um numbers much higher than we've seen in the prior year. Our hypothesis is around that student fact that that is a typical response that you see on on discipline in the in the schools. Yes sir. Okay. But the idea I mean in looking at this data it looks very much like it's going in the wrong direction and I just want to make sure that that we we have a hypothesis about it and that we're we we're engaging on it and I know it's been the will of this board to see these numbers come down to some time. Yes. Okay. Um flight seven had said that there's 183

081schoolwide disruption incidents. Wouldn't that imply that there's roughly one that day? I just wanted to ask what what what how is that impacting in the schools? Am I am I right in that? So one in 183 school ridewide disruption events. That's basically 183 days of school, right? I mean isn't that one incident a day? I mean it could be but Oh, I'm sorry. I'm sorry. No, I mean you was just going to surmise that I don't know. was a hot day and a lunch, B lunch, C lunch, the three incidents. So, I understand what you're thinking and I certainly would like to know more about it, but I think you can have multiple schoolwide disruptions in the same day. Hopefully, that's not happening often. Also, more than one student responsible. So, you could have 20

082students. Oh, in a single event. All right. Almost certainly. That's I think what we're Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. That help. of my children. Okay. Yeah. No, no, I got it. I got it. Okay. That that's helpful. Thank you. It's still a lie. Yes, it's a lie. That's a That's a lie. Uh and then and then lastly, not there's no question here. This is just I think for future consideration when we talk about CIS, we do know which students are receiving these services. Ultimately, the whole point of us engaging CIS is to see better outcomes for those students. So, I think it would be interesting. Obviously, we can't talk about student specific data, but looking at aggregate performance of the students that are being served by CES before, during, and after their service, I think

083would be a good metric for us to to see just to rate the performance of that program. Yeah, I appreciate Oh, I'm sorry. I feel it. No, I was just going to say yes. So, uh, in February, we we plan to give that information again. So basically on an annual basis you would provide an update on a program because that's I think what I was wondering. So looking at this I um and I appreciate the distinction between community school model and communities in school but yeah I want to see how these things are intersecting and is there a way to know then the results. So, community school, I believe we're doing some new things with MTSS so that we can see what this data looks like in conjunction with those initiatives or programs if that's

084at all possible. I think I'm just extending your question. Okay. All right. Um, go to the last slide, please. So, I wanted to um and thank you for one the the rebranding of uh what would be considered social emotional learning or SEAL. I know when we uh first began that conversation, many people said to me, um well, what is that? What is that? Well, NIA has already started to say future ready skills. what these are the skills that we want students to be able to demonstrate when they engage in the real world. So that would they're going off to college, whether they're going off to career or going off into military service. And so the slide that you see here is actually from that February communities and school presentation. So the data on the right

085is the emergency assistance for needs that CSD city schools educator cannot meet which hinders student outcomes. Food, housing, and utilities in just the first semester of this school year totaled over $15,000. For our community, one that values equity. If a student does not have a place to live, their utilities are turned off or food in the house, how can we then expect that they've come ready to learn? Student support services end of the year update reflects CSD's efforts to ensure all students are safe and seen so that they can ultimately be successful. So thank you Miss Hul. I know there's been concern regarding uh CIS uh and their impact on the district and although it was not a part of the presentation, it is on consent agenda tonight. So thank you for the clarification uh

086on the programming and the return on investment uh as we also launched the community school model. Dr. Whitaker, please introduce the next presentation. Yes, Vice, I would like to call on Mrs. is Amanda Lynch, chief of staff, who will present one policy for first read. Good afternoon once again, vice chair, esteemed members of the board, super or student representatives and superintendent Dr. Jiva Whitaker. Today we have one policy on the agenda for work session, policy EBD, safety. This policy is being presented for first read. If approved for first read, it 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 CSD website under the board of education. Policy EVB safety was presented last month

087during pre-work for discussion. There were no recommendations made during this time. The version being presented for first read tonight reflects only one minor edit. This edit was to correct the official code of Georgia annotated or OCGA citation in the policy. No other changes were made to the version that was presented last month. May I read the recommendation? Yes, please. The recommendation being made is that the City School of Decar Board of Education accept policy EBB safety for first read. Do I have a motion to approve the recommendation of policy EBB safety for first read? So move. Uh, board member Hearnen makes the motion. Uh, do I have a second? Second. Board member Johnson Davis seconds the motion. Any discussion? All in favor, please say I. I. The motion carries unanimously. Uh, thank you, Miss Lynch.

088Thank you, Dr. Whitaker. We encourage the public to review the policy posted on Simly. There being no further business, this work session is adjourned at 4:09 p.m. We will recess and return at 4:15 to begin our regular board meeting. At 4:15 p.m., we ask that you silence all cell phones at this time. We will 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 silent reflection. Now I ask all who are able to please stand for the pledge of allegiance. Pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Our mission is to inspire and enable student growth through meaningful

089and engaging learning experiences supported by highly qualified and caring educators in a safe and inviting environment. Board members, are there any revisions to tonight's board meeting agenda? Do I have a motion to approve today's agenda? I'll move to approve tonight's agenda. Uh, board member Johnson Davis makes the motion. Is there a second? Second. Board member Harden seconds the motion. Any discussion? All in favor, please say I. I. The motion carries unanimously. Our next agenda item is the approval of minutes from the previous board meetings. Do I have a motion to approve April's regular board meeting and April's special call meeting minutes? So move. Board member Ashton makes a motion. Any sec? May I have a second? A second. Board member Herden seconds the motion. Any discussion? All those in favor? I. The motion carries unanimously.

090Dr. Whitaker, please introduce the next item. Vice Chair UT, I would like to call on Sophie D. Elena, the 2024 2025 student board representative to conduct the swearing in of our 2025 2026 student representative, Nia Vatra. I state your name. I, Nia Bashra, have been duly elected to the position of the student board of education representative. Have been duly elected to the position of the student board of education represent. Do solemnly swear Do solemnly swear that I will execute the duties of the position that I will execute the duties of the position to the best of my ability. to the best of my ability. That I am a resident of the state of Georgia. That I am a resident of the state of Georgia. Decap County and the city of Decatur. The Cap County and

091the city of Decar. That I'm a student enrolled in the Decatur High School in Decar High School of the City Schools of Decator. I am a student enrolled in Decator High School of the City Schools of Decator. That I am otherwise qualified to hold the office this office according to the board of education regulations. That I am otherwise qualified to hold this office according to the board of education. that I will do my best to represent the interests of my fellow students of my fellow students of the city schools of Decator. I will do my best to honor the interest of my fellow students of city school. And that I will support the Constitution of the United States and of Georgia and the laws related. That I will support the Constitution of the United States

092of the United States and of Georgia and of Georgia and the laws related and laws related. Yay. [Applause] board members. I know. I'm extremely pr proud of Sophie Deena, not only for her completion of high school with admissions to Georgia Tech, state champion in track, and all around great human, but also extremely proud of her serving as the first in the state of Georgia as an official student representing the board of education. I wish you all the best as you continue to represent CSD in your postsecary endeavors. Nia and Zoe. Is Zoe here? I I don't see right there. Stand up. Zoe, go ahead. Stand. Stand for a second. Zoe, we're going to introduce you. Nia and Zoe. Nia Sam, please welcome. I know that you are more than ready to amplify the voices of

093the students here in the city schools of Decar for the community. Most recently on the on my podcast, I had a sitdown conversation with these two pioneers right here, Nia and Sophie. So, please check it out. Board members, board members, do you have any comments to share? I just want to thank Sophie um and congratulate you. Thank you for your courage and your willingness to serve um in this historic role and I just want to wish you the best of luck um at Georgia Tech. I second all of that. It's been a real honor serving with you up here. Uh it's been an honor being grilled by both of you uh about the goings on of the board and um I one of the proudest things that I think uh I feel like I've participated

094in on this board is ensuring that we had student representatives here. So it's it's a genuine honor. Yeah. I I both of you I've worked with teenagers longer than you've been living and I really think being a teenager today is difficult and so kudos um to your ability to do this while still do school and everything else well. So thank you. I read about a month ago now that the 800 meter which is your specialty is uh basically human torture. They created it where you can't sprint that far, you can't go slow and the test people. And so it doesn't surprise me that someone who chooses to do that for fun would put themselves out there to represent students. And it takes a lot of bravery. And as we've talked with getting for future students

095to step up, it's tough. Uh but you did it. You pushed yourself out there and uh stretched yourself and we appreciate it and the community is better for it. Welcome, Nia. Absolutely. So, uh, I'd actually like to ask the public now to take a moment and look at the screen. [Music] We're we're going to email copies of that to all your teachers at your contact. Uh Dr. Whitaker, I see some people have joined us. Do we have recognitions tonight? Yes, Vice Chair. To facilitate tonight's rec uh recognitions, I would like to call on Deputy Superintendent Mrs. Karen Newton Scott. Thank you, Vice Chair, De Members of the Board, and Superintendent Dr. Whitaker. This evening, I'm pleased to present four recognitions. First, we will honor our John Lewis award winners. Next, we will honor Oak staff

096and students. And last but not least, our valictorian and saludiatoran for the graduating school class of 2025. To those being recognized before taking your seat, please be staged along the wall to my left, your right, for a group photo with the board. Following all recognition, we will begin tonight with the John Lewis award recognition. Thank you to Dr. Banks, our principles, and all who serve on the committee to select tonight's honores. Your hard work is appreciated. Congressman John R. Lewis was a legend of the civil rights movement, a 1963 march on Washington leader termed Democratic Congressman representing Georgia. In his final address to the nation, Congressman Lewis reminded us to help build a beloved community, a country and a world society of peace within itself. He fully understood that democracy is not a state but

097an act and that building a beloved democratic community requires profound personal and professional sacrifice. So he urged us all to say something, do something, to get in trouble, good trouble, necessary trouble, so we can redeem the souls of America. Thus, the purpose of our John Lewis Good Trouble Award is to take a moment to say we see you and thank you to those among us who rise above and beyond the everyday work we do towards making sure all means all in CSD. To share a few words, we have a representative from the John R. Lewis Legacy Institute who happens to be one of our beloved parents, Mr. Gary Low. are here. Please come forward. Okay, we'll we'll proceed. If he shows before we finish, we'll have a few words. Okay, Dr. Banks, please come forward

098to present the awards to each honore. When I call each honor's name and share just a little of what their nominators said about them, I ask that you come forward to receive your award and remain up front until all honores have been acknowledged and we will take pictures at the end. Okay. Stacy was awarded the John Lewis award because she served in various roles. classroom teacher, intervention teacher, school instructional coach, and district math coach coordinator. In each of her roles, she has shown a commitment to equitable education guided by a focus on the well-being of all children. Let's give a round of applause [Applause] for Whitney D. Rosa. Whitney works at Claremont Elementary as a media specialist. Whitney is awarded Claremont's John Lewis Award because she supports academic growth and has created an inclusive, welcoming

099space where all student voices are heard and valued. Whitney D. Rosa, Deborah Harrington. Deborah works at Glenwood Elementary as a special education care professional. Deborah is awarded the John Lewis Award for Glenwood because she is deeply committed to supporting all students in her care, particularly the students she works with in the adaptive special education classroom. Deborah [Applause] Harrington. Debbie Lester. Debbie worked at Oakhurst Elementary School as an EIP teacher and is awarded Oakhurst Don Lewis award because she goes above and beyond every day with every ounce of who she is to fight for what is best for students. Debbie [Applause] Lester Henry works at Westchester Elementary as an assistant principal. So Tanya is awarded Westchester's John Lewis Award because Westchester students look at and one who is positive no matter the circumstances. He is understanding

100of all that students go [Applause] through. Eddie works at Winona Park Elementary as an assistant principal. Eddie is awarded Winona's John Lewis Award because he always goes the extra mile and takes the additional step with students and parents of underserved students. Eddie [Applause] Johnson Megan Ferguson Megan works at Fifth Avenue upper elementary as an assistant principal. She is awarded FA John Lewis award because she is a constant voice and advocate for doing the right work for all students. Thank [Applause] you. Next, we have a duo, Kelly Nichols and Miss Latifa Lo. Kelly and Latifa both work at Tally Street Upper Elementary School as a team of assistant principles. Their team was awarded the John Lewis award because they do not have difficult conversations that support that support students and promote equity. Kelly and [Applause] Latifa,

101Penny Hickory. Penny works as a special education teacher at Beacon Hill Middle School. She is selected for the John Lewis Award because she worked tirelessly to ensure equitable equitable student experiences. She took the special education gate a few years ago simply because she saw a need for a special education math teacher at Middle School and she filled that need. Annie Vicky, Stephanie Bra. Anthony worked at Decar High School as a science teacher. She is selected for the John Lewis Award because she has led several initiatives to create a safe and welcoming place for all students at Kada High. As we Stephanie [Applause] Brady. As we consider the powerful work of these nominees, selecting only one overall representative for City Schools of Decar was extremely difficult. However, our nominees work doesn't just speak for itself. It

102shouts John Lewis the Trouble Award winner of the year is Stacy [Applause] Ber would like to say congratulations all of you step towards Dr. We will get a photo at Congratulations [Music] [Applause] again. Next up for recognition is Oak Elementary School triplet. Please join us up front. Annually, EL education calls on partnering schools to stretch their hearts towards their community and world on better world day. E has made the call bigger this year by extending our focus to implementing better world week. A caring group of Oaker students and staff has come together to make the 20242 better world week a success. This committed crew developed a plan for the schoolwide community service project to help those in need. Create a plan to collect those in need. Created a plan to collect donated items and raise

103funds. Finally worked together to find a community partner to receive the project items. The Oakhurst Better World Lead Committee has raised enough money and received enough items from our school community to create over 200 bags of hope. These bags were distributed to a local for unhoused members of our community. The bags contain socks, toiletries, and snack items. Join me in recognizing the student representatives for this initiative. Up first, we have Felix Robinson. Paul Ry, Oscar Gilligan, Claire [Applause] Layman, I Nora [Applause] Pelker, Isaac [Applause] Finch, Ella [Music] [Applause] Champion, Zamari Blia Rollins. Representatives were also supported by Oaker. Staff members, please come forward. Gail Hartwick, Anna Thori, Dela Kemp, Stacy Kenner, Alan Scott, Amy Miner, Linda Carter, and Sophia Wilder. Jesse is so grateful for the thoughtful way you all have worked to give back.

104Thank you so much. Thank you. Okay, next we will honor our validictorian and saludiatoran for the class of 2025. principal. Please join me. We are excited to celebrate and announce the remarkable achievements of our class of 2025 valadictorian and saludiatoran. The validictorian and saludiatoran students earned the highest and second highest grade point averages at Decatur High School. These outstanding students consistently exemplify academic excellence and dedication. We proudly recognize Renato Deloso as the valadictorian of this year's graduation. [Applause] Ronaldo is also an ID diploma program candidate. Next year he will be attending the Georgia Institute of Technology and president of the Decar High School Tech Club. He rebranded the organization and organized the inaugural inaugur inaugural STEM fair attracting over 150 attendees and 50 competitors. His ability to engage others and foster collaboration has significantly enhanced

105the club's v visibility and success. He actively mentor younger students in coding, leading lessons in Python and robotics programming at various events. Congratulations to [Applause] you. Next up is our saludiatoran, Emma Spain. Emma is also an program candidate. Her passion for science and music demonstrates her unique ability to integrate her logical and creative side. She excels in science while being a dedicated violinist, bringing fresh perspective to both fields. Next year, she will be attending the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Please join us in congratulating both Ronaldo and Emma on their incredible [Applause] achievements. Your hard work and perseverance as well as your commitment to excellence have earned you this high honor and set the benchmark for your peers and future classes at Decar High School. At this time, we invite our board members and Dr. front

106to join us for photograph. Thank you. Okay. And then step this way down. Hey, heat. Congratulations. Absolutely. Yeah, they're gonna No, you can come back now. Well, and no, y'all are going to take a picture with Sophie for the president. Okay. Um, yeah, that's right. That's fine. Yeah. Yeah. No. Yeah, that's fine. Leave the mic over here. All right. Okay. They have they'll have to move. Okay. Or you can move it back over here. No. No. Navigate. All right. Thank you, Mrs. Newton Scott. We look forward to recognizing and celebrating our retirees later tonight. Dr. Whitaker, do you have a superintendent report? Yes, Vice Chair UTS. And good evening, City Schools of Decar, and welcome back. Tonight, I have the pleasure of recognizing my 2024 2025 superintendent advisory council. their feedback and engagement throughout very

107much appreciative appreciated and invaluable in informing my service to the Decatur community. First, thank you to all of the members of the advisory councils who accepted my invitation to come to this evening recognition. Please stand and remain standing when I reference your advisory council. Members of the teacher advisory council, please stand. Members of the system charter leadership team, otherwise known as the SCT, please stand. Members of the support staff advisory, please stand. Members of the PTO, PTA, DEES, booster indicator performance advisory, please stand. And now to my favorite advisories. I am a little partial. With members of the 6, 12, and kindergarten through fifth grade advisory councils, please stand. Also, I must pause to thank the parents of the student advisory council for supporting their participation this year. Board, these individuals that you see standing

108in front of you have advised me on a monthly basis. Each advisory would readily say hot topics is the most helpful portion of the agenda. Yes. [Applause] I thank each and every one of you. But at this time, I would like to call on Reese Hartley and Amaly Quintana on participation in the advisory council and what they have influenced as a result. There's a microphone here, guys. We're going to have you stand over there. They're like, "Okay, now which one's going to go first? My name is I'm going to speak about how the students have impacted the superintendent student council the student code concept the early learning center district budget future writing scheme and safar that there will be four charts and checklist the resources section of the code of conduct next year because of

109my recommendations at a point during one of our meetings we spoke from the K5 early learning center a voted for some play groups that could be used in the center. It is amazing to think that the center will have an indoor play thanks to the information I provide during our school. In October of 2024, Dr. Whitaker introduced us to the district's budget for the 2024 2025 school year. We talked about taking money during that meeting Dr. facilitated a tour of the Wilton camp board and answered questions for the students about the overall central office operations of the Wilson Center. In April 2025, we also talked about the the draft of the 2025 2026 school year. Students were asked to draw or write as appropriate about the five core future readiness skills and help students demonstrate

110those in the classroom, in the school, or in the community. We reviewed student safety summit and student achievement and student achievement data also known as CCRP. I noticed the difference in achievement data by some group. The students were given a list of questions for the use of this parent. I would like to give thanks to Miss Hull and Dr. Whitaker for giving me the chance to speak on behalf of the superintendent student council this wonderful afternoon. I've enjoyed my time on the superintendent student council this school year. Thank you for the opportunity and thank you everyone for listening. My name is Emily first off when I was in the third grade. My mom made an appointment. I wanted to ask her questions about leadership and how to hand I explained to Dr. Whitaker that I

111had applied and not selected. Dr. Whitaker took the time to explain to me what would look good on my application for this year. I had a lot to include if I wanted. I stuck in her and I got in. I couldn't believe. I remember feeling nervous and excited before the first week. In the monthly meetings, we learned about budget, social emotional learning, and how safety plans and about safety plans that stop you. I like your learning and share my ideas on how to make our schools a habit better each day. Students really do have voice and that can influence the individuals of the district by being on the school being the ideas. My feedback helps to shape the vision and goals for understanding. I cannot wait to start getting lessons on self-awareness, social awareness and

112self management and responsible. I know that strengthening these skills will help me become a strong leader like Dr. from Dr. Whitaker. I'm learning how to be kind, be and she's so nice. When I found out she was the only female superintendent of color in my childhood, I thought she was great for being motivated. She's a living show me how to make change happen. I want to grow up and be like, I want to be a person who can make things better for all people like having a woman in no effect. So when you speak up on the Supreme Court, don't be scared to say that's not fair. Thank you, Dr. Ch. Forget [Applause] I did see other 612 advisory members come in. So 612 advisory members, please stand. And I saw some of more of

113you come in Ezra. Yes. As also a parent of a high schooler, I know how busy your schedules are. So I am very grateful that you could accommodate this recognition. Uh these advisory members, all of them, but especially our students are our truth tellers. So once again, I appreciate our monthly engagements and look forward to meeting your successors in the fall. All right. And another parent just came in from Beacon Hill. Yes, cuz uh we met earlier today. PTO. So this month we join the American Nurses Association in celebrating our incredible school nurses who understand the link between health and learning to make a positive difference for students every day. In addition to the ending of another school year, May is the month we celebrate the importance of principles and I see multiple of them

114in the room as well. from birth to high school and all the work they do for the betterment of our schools, including all students and staff. CSD also joins the state of Georgia in celebrating our teachers. Teacher Appreciation Week was May 5th through 9th. We honor and recognize the dedication of our teachers in upholding high expectations and delivering exceptional education experiences. Their creativity, commitment, and unwavering support for our students are the foundation of our district's success. Our students thrive due to their passion and profound influence. Each day they inspire students to achieve and reach their greatest potential. Last week I sent a message to our teachers expressing appreciation on behalf of the entire CSD community. Together we will ensure equitable outcomes for all students. Also, City Schools of Decar is one of many school districts

115that have signed on to the appropriations request of the Southern Education Foundation. SCES funding for the training and advisory services program, formerly known as Degregation Assistance Centers, has been terminated. SCE drafted a formal appropriations request of the 119th Congress. appropriations committee to continue to maintain the level of funding for the training and advisory services in in fiscal year FY26 appropriations labor health and human services and education and related agencies. This bill is known as the LL LHS. Over the last five fiscal cycles, the equity assistance centers, the EAC program, their official program name under the training and advisory services has been funded annually at $6.6 million to help bring resolution to our nation's existing school desegregation cases. Thank you board for allowing CSD to sign on as City Schools of Decar has benefited from SCES

116training as I am a racial a racial equity leadership network fellow otherwise known as REIN and we will host at no cost a fellow the Southern Education Leadership Initiative fellow this summer from Spellman, we are just a few days away from culminating from the culminating event and the pinnacle of every school year. This Friday, we look forward to cheering on all of our graduating seniors. You met two of them today in the class of 2025 at their commencement ceremony at Georgia State University. We send our heartfelt congratulations to all of them and their families on the on this milestone achievement. Finally, while I have issued a challenge for all of us to finish this school year strong, mental health awareness month reminds us of the vital role of mental health in our overall health and

117well-being. Mental health truly matters. Please be aware of the support and the resources are available to our students and our staff in overcoming challenges and successfully cross this school year's finish line. In honor of National Mental Health Awareness Month, the Division of Student Support Services is excited to host a parent workshop to empower our parents and guardians with tools to increase their awareness of mental health and student wellness. The workshop will take place here at the Wilson Center tomorrow at 5:00 p.m. Registration is required because dinner is included. And I think I we had another parent walk in when I was the back row. Yes, please stand and be recognized on this another student and parents that have served in the advisory capacity. So, thank you. That completes my report. Thank you, Dr. Whitaker. So,

118good evening. On behalf of the City Schools of Decar Board of Education, I appreciate your in-person and online presence for our May board meeting. Our board chair, Dr. Carmen Sultan, is unable to be here today, so I am presiding over today's meeting and reading the chair's remarks. Our August 2024 board meeting at the beginning of the school year marked a significant and historic occasion for the city schools of Decar and for the state of Georgia. During that meeting, we officially welcomed Decar High School senior Sophie Deena as the first student representative on the board of education in the state. Additionally, we acknowledge this year's student board of representation representative apprentice Miaatra who shadowed Sophie in preparation for serving as the student board representative next year. Having a student serve on the board of education was

119an innovation that was envisioned early in this administration in collaboration with the board. Student representation on the board is an objective that truly advances our strategic accelerator, building and sustaining an engaging and inclusive culture. Engaging the student body and seeking its input and feedback regarding the district's educational programs and activities advances our efforts to amplify student voice and is vital to achieving the vision, mission, and strategic plan. Today, we thank Sophie for her leadership and contributions this year. Again, it's been a genuine pleasure and honor to serve with you. We congratulate you on being a graduate of the class of 2025 and wish you the best as you continue to soar at Georgia Tech next year. Board members, please join me down front for a presentation and a picture. So, on behalf of the board

120of education fairly, please accept this plaque as a signifier of our appreciation of our time serving on the board with you. Thank you. As we say farewell to Sophie, we welcome Nia as the new student board of education representative. Nia took her oath of office today. We look forward to gaining from your insights and perspectives and to serving with you in the upcoming year. We also welcome Zoe Smith, a rising junior at Decater High this year, who will work alongside Mia in preparation the school are on the board next year. Uh Mia and Zoe, please stand. [Applause] During the pre-work session, we resumed our book story book study on the governance core. The board is committed to professional development that focuses on improving student achievement and organizational effectiveness, and this book exemplifies this belief. We

121also received a first draft of a policy relating to student bullying. The work session included two presentations including endofear updates on the state of schools and student support services. The work session ended with the board accepting a policy. During a regular meeting, we will vote on the fisc year 26 tenative mill rate and the fisc year 26 final budget. All board of education meeting presentations are available on the district's website in simply. As always, we join the administration in recognizing this month's celebrations. I want to add that in May, we also join the national celebrations of the heritage, experiences, and contributions of Asian-American and Pacific Islanders and Jewish Americans throughout history. As a school district, we remain committed to cultivating inclusive environments where every student is seen, heard, and successful. There are just under two

122weeks left until the end of this school year. I encourage families in the community to check the school newsletters via the CSD weekly to stay informed about upcoming events and activities. But first, we look forward to joining the administration and families in celebrating our DHS class of 2025 this Friday, May 16th. Our graduation exercise serves as the pinnacle and culmination of every school year. Congratulations to all of our graduating seniors. As I conclude, I would like to highlight a few important dates for the public. The next board retreat is scheduled for Tuesday, May 20th, 2025 from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. at Agnes Scott. The next board meeting will be Tuesday, June 10th, 2025. This concludes my remarks for this evening. Board members, do any of you have thoughts to share? Okay, Dr. Whitaker, please

123introduce the next item. Vice Chair Us, I would like to call on Dr. Lonita Broom, chief financial officer, to present the FY26 mill rate for a tenative approval. Good evening, Vice Chair US, members of the board, student representative Delena, Superintendent, Dr. W. A mill rate is the property tax rate used by school districts to fund education law. It is expressed as a number of meals per $1,000 of assessed property value. A set property value is 50% of the fair market value of the property. A meal is equivalent to $1 per $1,000 of a set day. So if the mill rate is 20 meals, you will pay $20 in taxes for every 1,00 day. Revenue from local property taxes is the largest source of revenue for the district and accounts for 59% of the district's revenue

124for the proposed fiscal year 26 budget. The millage rate is voted on and approved annually by local governing bodies such as county commissioners and school boards. Although the budget is aligned directly with all four of the strategic accelerators, the budget falls under strategic accelerator for organizational effectiveness and excellence through financial transparency. The budget process is ongoing. However, the official fiscal year 26 budget adoption process began in September with a review of the budget timeline. Since that time, budget discussions have taken place each month. The budget timeline was adopted in October along with a review and discussion of fiscal year 25 school allotment guidelines. In November, budget parameters and priorities which serve as a guide to building the budget were discussed in addition to a review of the fiscal year 24 budget and actual expenditures. At

125November's board retreat, discussions continued on the school aotment guidelines and the board was presented with the fiscal year 25 salary and benefit comparison to other metro Atlanta districts. In December, the board approved the midyear budget amendment and approved the school a lotment guidelines and budget parameters and priorities. The external auditors presented a clean fiscal year 24 audit to the board and checked. Each month this fiscal year, the board and community have been presented with various financial reports on our funds. Additionally, presentations by the tax commissioner's office in indicators of the city manager were presented in February. A five-year financial review and the fiscal year 26 preliminary draft number one was also presented in February. In March, the board was presented with a summary of how federal, state, and funds were used and the preliminary budget

126for federal, state, and slot funds. General funds preliminary budget draft number two was also presented in March. A community meeting with an open dialogue for questions and answers was held in March. Last month, the board tentatively adopted the tenative budget followed by a community meeting with open dialogue. Last week on May 8th, two public virtual budget hearings were held. This evening, the board will tentatively approve the military. Based on the receipt of revenue and spending patterns yearto date, the end of year fiscal year 25 projection is that re local property taxes are projected to come in at approximately $2.9 million more than budgeted due to an unexpected receipt of $3.9 million in April. This amount is drastically larger than any amount received in previous years. The largest amount received for past collections in April in

127the last 5 years was 821,000 in fiscal year 21. The increase was due to an adjustment from Dicab County government for transfer and intangible tax dating back to October 2023. The mill rate the county applied during that time was incorrect for Decator's distribution share. Other local revenue is trending low and K12 tuition payment. Traditionally, we have tuition paying students with new property owners under contract. However, we have just had a few short-term tuition paying students this fiscal year. Other mis miscellaneous revenue such as surplus sales and facility rentals are also coming in slightly less than in previous years. The state issues of midterm QPE aotment and state revenue has been reduced by $167,000 primarily to decline in enrollment. Additionally, the state approved the fisc year 25 term budget amendment and the district was allocated the

128one-time safety and security grant of $21,635 per K12 school, which is a total of $194,715. The expenditures associated with this grant are budgeted in fiscal year 26. So the revenue will follow in the form of an increase at fiscal year 25 ending fund balance and fiscal year 26 beginning fund balance. Overall revenue is projected to come in approximately 2.2 millions more $2 million more or 2% more than projected. The additional revenue will increase fiscal year 25 ending funds balance which in turn will increase the fiscal year 26 beginning fund balance based on spending patterns and vacant positions throughout the year. It is projected that approximately $2 million or 2% of expenditures may be under spent in expenditures. If the projections were to be correct, the fiscal year 25 ended fund balance as shown in the

129bottom table to the right highlighted in yellow would increase from $16.5 million to approximately $20.8 million. Again, these are projections and subject to change. However, I am pretty confident that the projections are close to where we will end school year 25. So to develop a more realistic budget closer to where we think we will end this year, we will use fiscal year 25 projected ending fund balance of $20.8 million as the beginning fund balance for fiscal year 26 as shown highlighted in the top box in yellow. The board adopted a preliminary mill rate of 20.8 20.80 at April's board meeting. At that time we were using a net tax percent increase of 5%. As a projection for local profit taxes grow since April we have received a preliminary digest and the actual net tax% increase

130is 8.79%. And looking at local property taxes under the column titled major revenue sources the difference between a 20.80 millage rate and a 20.30 30 millish rate is an additional $1.6 million for a millage rate of 20.80. So when you look at the table on the bottom right highlighted in blue is the difference between revenues and expenditures with a 20.8 mill rate and a 20.30 mill rate. A mill rate of 20.80 80 will require $1.5 million to be deducted from the fund balance and this will leave an ending fund balance of $19 million. Policy P policy DCL specifies that the fund balance should be between 4 and 15%. A mill rate of 20.80 with a projected fund balance of 20.8 8 million gives a 17% fund balance percentage which is 2% higher than the maximum

131fund balance percentage of 15%. For millage rate of 2030 total expenditures exceed total revenue by $3 million which will be deducted from the projected beginning fund balance of $20.8 million leaving the ending fund balance of $17.7 million or 15%. The superintendent's recommendation is to maintain the current millage rate of 20.30 which complies with board policy DC that defines a millage rate between 4 and 15%. A mill rate of 20.30 30 will result in an increase of $481 annually for a property value at $600,000 or $80 annually per $100,000 of property value. Although we are not increasing taxes, the tax digest growth in real property of 7.89% before exemptions result in an increase in property taxes. The military is a percentage of your property value. Therefore, if the mill rate remains the same and property values

132increase, this will yield increased taxes and additional revenue for the district. If the mill rate is increased to 20.80 million at $600,000, this will yield an annual profit tax increase of $642 or 107 per 100,000 of profit tax. This slide shows the five-year history of tax levy for the school district for fiscal year 25. At the end of the table, there are two columns. One labeled milit rate 20.30 and the second labeled milit rate 20.80. Highlighted in green at the bottom is the net tax percent increase. Also at the bottom of the table is the net MO taxes levit which shows the amount of estimated revenue generated from a 20.30 mill rate and a 20.80 mill rate. To the right highlighted in green is the percent change from fiscal year 24 to fiscal year. Overall

133there's a digest growth of 7.77% prior to exemption. exemptions have decreased slightly by 1.10. This slide shows the historical trend of the millage rate from 2016 to present and also shows the millage rate at 20.80 and 2030 for fiscal year 26. In the last 10 years, the mill rate was 18.66 66 at the lowest from 2016 to 2019 and 21 at the highest in 2022 and 2023. Fiscal year 26 current proposed mill rate is 20.80. The me recommended mil mill rate is 20.30. The mill rate fluctuates based on the economy and needs of the district. Some of the budget highlights for fiscal year 26 include fund in unmandated insurance and TRS increases, salary increases, investment in safety and security, increased revenue from tuition for non-resident students in grades K through five, a fund balance between

134four and 15%, life insurance for full-time employees, siphons and signing bonuses for special education teachers and pair professionals. Three schoolbased student safety associates for schools, three schoolbased student outcome support positions for schools, a reduction of one central office position, and the addition of one one-year term executive director position for succession planning in the deputy superintendent's office, contracted services for the city of Decada police department to provide three school resource officers, instructional reserve for preK through 12th rate. The fiscal year 26 budget is directly aligned with the board budget priorities. This table identifies each strategic accelerator, the fiscal year 26 board budget priorities, and the fiscal year 26 budget alignment. Investments in organizational effectiveness and excellence include rebates for district purchasing cards, Chick-fil-A grant for professional development, and a transparent modified zerobased budgeting. Every operational request

135had to be discussed and justified. Investments in cultivating and retaining quality professionals include maintaining a competitive compensation structure and tuition incentive through the expansion of the university pathway for staff. Investments in building and sustaining and engaging an inclusive culture include increased school interest security, enhanced crisis response system, and a continuation of the partnership with communities and schools. Investments in student success in all areas include six school-based positions allocated to the schools for safety and security and equitable outcome support at the elementary level. Refresh of 612 student devices, summer school for grades 3 through 12 and an after school tutoring and after school tutoring for grades 3 through 8 and support the ACT SAT prep. This list is not all inclusive and will definitely have a positive impact on all students. Next steps for the fiscal

136year 26 budget. Final approval of the budget immediately after this presentation. Mill rate hearings on June 12th. one at 9:00 a.m., the second at 6:15 p.m., and the third meeting on June 20th at 6:00 p.m., followed by the final adoption of the property tax military at 6:30 p.m. The budget book will be printed and available for public review by August 20th, 2025. The budget feedback link is also an option for providing feedback. The link can be scanned using this barcode and is located on the district's main and finance web pages. I will be happy to provide response to questions. Clarify one thing. The mill rate 20.3 versus 20.8 at 20.3 we would be generating roughly 1.6 million. I just want to make sure.3 as far as local um with the 20.8 8 it would be

13765.7 with the 20.3 it would be 64 point well each mill is basically 3 million and so a half a mill the half a mill between 20.3 and 20.8 is about 1.5 ballpark. Can can we look at Oh, I'm sorry. Any other comments? Can we look at the the 26 um budget with the projected ending fund balance? The year? Yes, I think this one there. Okay. Uh and so I think it's it's important to point out that at 20.3 we are still anticipating deficit budgeting up to the tune of about $3.1 million. The difference I think between last board meeting and this board meeting where we we voted to increase to 20.8 made was that we hadn't realized or we had not received these final numbers from the state as well as digest growth and

138some of the other things that are there. Um the one thing that gives me comfort stepping back from the original uh 20.8 made uh and returning to the 20.3 is that uh it does look like there is some amount of uh additional budget each year to the tune of somewhere between two and $3 million that tends to roll over every year into the the fund balance. Okay. Um, I greatly look forward to getting the ERP system in place to where we can budget down tight enough to not have those dollars floating around in the budget. And so effectively what we're saying in this budget is that that $3 million isn't really deficit budgeting because there is some cushion of dollars in the budget that we just cannot budget precisely enough to get to. Right? So

139over this next year when when the community hears us talk about um the ERP and data systems, what we're really talking about is a finance system and an HR system that talk to each other so that we're not having to do calculations across. We're not doing things in Excel anymore. Uh and that we can budget tight enough to know that there's those extra dollars in this budget. So I am personally I'm very comfortable coming back to the 20.3 where we were before and and adopting this as proposed. Other board members any comments comfortable? I I will the let me channel in or Hans uh community members that slide right there the 15% that's by law and policy as Paul large as our budget deficit could be so as I've had conversations on the last few

140weeks about you know deficit spending which you do want to avoid definition needed to pop up to 17 so we needed to erase 2% just to be legal from this budget and the 20.8 only really came up because uh you are correct. Adding annually repeating large expenditures is scary. That's much different than saying hiring one person. Thank you for the part about the central office. That is a one-time thing. Well, that doesn't have to to bottle it. And hopefully we can continue to make cuts, continue to be an efficient uh school system and stay at the 15 while continuing to prioritize things next year like more raises for teachers and staff and additional improvements to health care offerings etc. and the priority of the board. So thank you Dr. B for putting it together. But

141I just like we can't we can't go above 15. So really like I think 20.3 is almost like we either need to change the policy or we got to be okay with 20.3. There's not an in between. That's correct. Is it legal or is it just policy? It's policy and it's encouraged to not go above. Okay. I know whenever we get audited they fuss if we're above 15, but I didn't I didn't think there's anyone from telling us you have to be at 15, but that hasn't been longterm policy indicator. I guess I'll just say one thing. Thank you for this. Um because you know last time I did not like the 208 um and tell me if my math is wrong here but I believe 4% raise for teachers would be at the cost

142about a million and a half. I was looking back at some earlier budget stuff. Um so that's salary. Yeah. So thank you for that only. Yeah. So now are we voting for the millery that we'll get there? Yeah. Vice Chair, may I read the recommendation? Yes, please. It is recommended that the City Schools of Decar Board of Education tenatively approve the millage rate of 20.30 for maintenance and operations. Do I have a motion to tenatively approve the millage rate of 20.3 for maintenance and operations? So moved. Uh board member Hearnen makes a motion. Do I have a second? Second. Board member Anderson uh seconds the motion. Any discussion? All in favor? I I uh the motion carries unanimously. Uh Dr. Whitaker, please introduce the next item. Vice Chair and Dr. Lonita Broom, Chief Financial Officer

143will remain to present the FY 26 final budget for approval. And again, per Georgia Code Title 20, school districts are legally required to adopt an annual budget. The budget must be adopted by the governing body, which is the board of education, before the start of the new fiscal year, which begins on July 1st. So, the budget is aligned directly with all four of the strategic accelerators. The budget accelerator number four, organizational effectiveness and excellence through The budget process is ongoing. However, the official fiscal year 26 budget adoption process began in September and continued monthly with discussions on various budget topics including the budget timeline through aotment guidelines, budget parameters and priorities and salary and benefit comparison to other metro Atlanta districts. internal stakeholders such as the financial auditor, the tax commissioner representative and the city

144of Decator manager presented to the board community meetings with open dialogue and the budget feedback link gave the community an opportunity to be heard and prior to voting on the final fiscal year 26 budget. The district conducted two public budget hearings for an opportunity for the community to provide feedback on the budget prior to final approval. This evening, the board will vote on the final fiscal year 26 budget. The board approves four budgets. Special revenue funds is the first of the four budgets the board approved. The special revenue budget consists of grant funds. Grant funds are received primarily from the federal and state government. The district is anticipating a minimum of approximately $2.8 million in grant funds. The district receives state funds from the lottery for prek and federal funds for a variety of grants

145including title jc and purchase. Grant funds can only be used for the specific purpose that they were awarded and are budget neutral in that expenditures equal revenue. When expenditures exceed revenue, the general fund supplements the difference as shown by the $216,10 listed on the transfer end of the prepaid program. The school nutrition budget is the second of the four budgets. Fiscal year 26 expenditures are approximately $4 million. The projected revenue is approximately $3.4 million. Which means to balance the budget, the general fund will supplement the school nutrition budget by $728,500. The school nutrition program is required to have a fund balance equivalent to a minimum of three months of operating expenditures. The school nutrition budget will be utilized to fund personnel, salaries, and benefits and operational costs for the school nutrition program. Capital funds are

146and slots is the third of the four budgets. The board approved capital funds consists of slot funds received from the 1 cent sales tax for local purchases in Decap County. Total expenditures for fiscal year 26 for sloth are approximately $9 million. Total revenue is anticipated at $11.5 million which consists of $7 million from slot 6 proceeds, $120,000 from interest and approximately $4.4 million from fiscal year 25 and in fund balance from proceeds is projected to be approximately $2.4 million. Fly funds can only be used for capital projects, textbooks and band instruments. block fund cannot be used for personnel salaries and benefits. The fourth and final budget is the general fund. The general fund is the largest and primary operating budget for the district. The budget consists of both salary, benefits and operational costs. The budget

147is presented by function which is the format required for state submission. A description of each function code is attached to this presentation in the append. This slide is a snapshot of the current fiscal year 25 expenditures as of May 1st, 2025. The district has received 88% of the budgeted revenue due largely to receiving 103% of local property tax revenue. Local property taxes are trending higher than in previous years due to the district receiving $3.9 million in local taxes in the month of April. In the last five years, the the district has received an average $97,000 in April. As a result of the large receipt of property taxes, there's a surplus of $1.89 million in local property taxes shown in red under the balance column. The large increase is due to an adjustment from Decap County

148government for transfer and intangible tax dating back to October 2023. The millage rate the county applied during that time was incorrect but Decator's distribution share. The district has expended 76% of budgeted expenditures which is normal for this time of the year. Last year this time the district had expended 74% of the budgeted expenditures. So revenue is trending in high and expenditures are trending within the range of previous years. Based on where we were as of May 1st and the receipt of revenue and spending patterns year to date, the end of year fiscal year 25 projection is that revenue will come in more than budget. Local profit taxes are projected to come in 5% above budget at a surplus of approximately $2.9 million more than budgeted due to the unexpected receipt of taxes. Other local include

149miscellaneous locally generated revenue such as tuition for EC facility rental surplus sales at the house tax etc. and this is trending about 6% less than projected. Overall revenue is projected to come in approximately 2.2 million more or 2% more than projected. The additional revenue will increase fiscal year 25 ending fund balance which in turn will increase the fiscal year 26 beginning fund balances. If the projections were to be correct, the fiscal year 25 ended fund balance as shown in the bottom table to the right highlighted in yellow would increase from $16.5 million to approximately $20.8 million. So to develop a more realistic budget closer to where we think we will end this year, we would use a fiscal year 25 projected ending fund balance of $20.8 $8 million at the beginning fund balance for fiscal

150year 26 as shown highlighted in the top box in yellow. At last month's meetings, the board approved a tenative budget based on a 5% tax digest growth and a 20.80 mill rate. The column labeled tenative is the budget the board approved at acres board meeting. The column labeled final is the final fiscal year 26 budget that is recommended by the superintendent. The difference in the revenue between the tenative budget and the final budget includes an increase of 764,215 in local property taxes. The tenative budget was built on a 5% net tax percent increase from 25 and a half millage rate increase. The actual net tax percent increase was 8.79% which accounts for the increase of 764,215 in local property tax. Other local revenue budget amount remains the same. Tuition for non-resident K5 students is built

151into the budget at a projected amount of $350,000. As of today, we have 40 applications under review, which totals $315,320. The deadline for submitting an application is on the 15th of this month. The state has approved the $125 per member per month increase in half benefits for certified employees and the $35 per member per month increase and half benefit for non-certified employees. The state has increased funding by $49,280 to cover certified employers reported on the certified personnel information report, also referred to as CPI. Although the state budget was solidified on Friday evening, the breakdown of the budget and its impact on the district has not been provided at this time. It is likely that the breakdown of the budget will be provided this week. Overall revenue has increased from the tenative budget to the final

152budget by approximately $1.17 million or 1% as shown highlighted in yellow on the total total revenue row. Expenditures have increased by $1.2 million or 1% to account for the increase in cost for the district's contribution to employees health benefits. All expenditures increases from the tenative budget to the final budget are for increases in state health benefits. So we start off fiscal year 26 with our projected fund balance of $20.8 million. If you will recall, this is where we project to end fiscal year 2025. For the tenative budget, the difference between total revenue and total expenditures highlighted in yellow under the tenative column is approximately 3.1 million highlighted in blue on the small table to the bottom right. With the increase in the final recommended budgets revenue and the increase in expenditures, the amount required to

153balance the final fiscal year 26 budget is $35,764 more and is now $3.15 million. After deducting the funds from the fund balance, the ending fund balance for both the tenative and final budget is within the 15 to 16% range. This slide shows the five-year projection for the general fund based on the recommended final year 2026 budget presented on the previous slide. For revenue, the multi-year assumes a millish rate of 20.330 for all five years. For fiscal year 27 through 30, a conservative tax digest growth of 5%, a 2% growth in other local and a 2% growth in QBE is assumed. Although enrollment is projected to decline, QBE revenue is likely to increase based on various factors such as certification, new hires, transfers, and the addition of health benefits. But expenditures, allet one-time expenses have been

154removed from fiscal year 27. And fiscal year 27 through fiscal year 30 assumes a 3% growth in it in person. This is the fund balance multi-year based on the total revenues and expenditures on the previous slide which are the first two rows on this slide. The difference between the revenue and expenditures highlighted in yellow is the amount that is required to be deducted or added to the fund balance. Red indicates the amount required to be subtracted from the fund balance to balance the budget. Whenever funds are deducted from the fund balance to balance the budget, this is considered deficit budget. Fiscal year 26 is a deficit budget. However, we need to deduct from the fund balance to reduce the fund balance percentage which ideally should be not be over 15% per board policy DCL. This

155year 27 shows a deficit budget of $91,772. As we build this year 27 budget, we will utilize a zerobased budgeting process where all operational and personnel requests will be reviewed for cost efficiency. We do not anticipate a deficit budget for fiscal year 2000. fiscal year 28 through fiscal year 29 and 30 show it balance budget. This slide shows the historical trend of the military rate from 2017 to present and shows the military at 2030 for fiscal year 26. This slide lists the four budgets the board oversees and is under consideration for approval. The budget provides a transparent accounting of how public funds are collected and used, allowing the community and taxpayers to see how their money is being managed. Budget highlights pretty much the same stuff. I want to go over again. Okay. And these

156are again the um shows that the budget is aligned with the strategic accelerator. What's the plan? Next step, three public virtual military hearings with the first one scheduled for 9:00 a.m. and 6:15 p.m. on June 12th and the third meeting on June 20th at 6 p.m. followed by the final adoption of the property tax mill rate at 6:30 p.m. The budget book will be printed and available for public review by August 20th, 2025. Budget feedback link. I have received over 100 feedback. So, thank you to the community for that needed. Sorry, I want to make sure I'm not misreading slide 13. So, it says 2026 2027 the multi-year. Um, no, I'm sorry. Mine's slide 13. It's the fund balance multi-year. Yeah. So for 2027 is that not I'm sorry I'm old when my contact nine

157isn't that a deficit for 2027. It is it's a deficit right now based on those assumptions but after we do the zerobased budgeting we don't anticipate. Okay. Thank you for that. And and just to be just to be clear on a a hundred plus million dollarund almost $115 million budget less than a million dollar overunder is actually effectively zero. Well, I mean that that's it's safe to call it at that. Um I did I don't want to interrupt your time. I did have a question about this. Um so as we look at this and we're the deficit that we're dealing with right now is closing. I think part of what that closing is predicated upon is the tighter ability to budget with ERPs and and the better systems in place. Uh we are assuming through

158these future years a 3% growth in in costs um because you use the term a balanced budget in future years. We're actually starting to um you know the word that I want to use we are we are not budget deficit not budget add that's what I'm trying to come up with uh so I just want to um set expectations that if this forecast holds true we're going to be talking about reducing millillage as as we get into these into these future years. The other thing that I want to um make clear to the public because I've heard this question come up a couple of times, how are our costs going up if our enrollment is going down? Right? This is a common question that comes up and I I just want to be clear with

159the community. Enrollment is going down quite slowly, right? A percent or two a year, I think, are the numbers. I mean, a whole minute of that, but that's about correct. uh which is vastly outstripped by inflationary costs, right? We have a percent or two increased costs just due to health insurance alone this year, right? And so when you start taking a look at fuel and you start taking a look at all the other things that we're we're dealing with, uh those other costs are growing considerably faster. On top of that, you're and and so consequently, your general cost of living uh increases that you should be offering employees are going to be outstripping the cost the reduction in enrollment. So, so that's a just to mathematically explain to the public while we are seeing fewer

160students it is a very small reduction in the number of students much smaller than typical cross size. So for the foreseeable future, our system will continue to get more expensive, not at less expensive, even though we have fewer students coming through. Absolutely. Um that was it for the comments that I had. Okay. If you could uh avoid using 2030 on scales without warning me, that'd be great. That's my first comment. My second comment is uh I really appreciate you going through the work and and projecting this out with payraises for the 20 uh 2029 2030 the 3% increase include a annual 3% increase to the salary scale for staff. So that's kind of already an assumption there as well. Correct. Okay. Vice chair may I read the recommendation? Yes. All right. This is a lengthy

161one. It is recommended that the city schools of Decar board of education approve the fiscal year 2025 2026 proposed budget in the total appropriation amounts as presented including budgeted salary schedules. General Fund 1111,858,374. School nutrition fund 4,115,534. School special revenue fund 2,786,25 and capital fund $9,99,955. The total appropriations amount for all funds is 127,859,888. Do I have a motion to approve the fiscal year 2026 final budget with total approach appropriations amount for all funds at 127,859,888? [Music] So, move. Uh, board member Johnson Davis makes the motion. Do I have a second? A second. Board member Hearnen seconds the motion. Any discussion? Do I get to talk? Do we I can never remember this and I'm sorry. Do we get to talk before or after we vote? Well, now now is the time to talk to.

162Okay. Yeah. I I appreciate so much of this and um all I can say is the following. I uh love hearing from the public. I love learning from all of you. Um, but I still think we could have provided more budget feedback to the public. Um, and I've been asking for that. I learned so much from people's questions. Hans, I appreciate the fact that there's a percentage um, when we're looking at declining enrollment, but the fact is each year it has been declining. Um, I think it's about 155 students between last March and this March, and those are QBE dollars. And so what I'm really struggling with is the question that I have read more than any other which is elaborating on yours. If our student enrollment is going down and we are also losing

163um classroom teachers, right? Then how is it that out of classroom positions are increasing in those salaries? Um one of the notes in our book was to depersonalize this. And so I've worked with phenomenal people in our cabinet and in various central office positions. Um but this is no more personal than it was when we had to eliminate positions in the school-based um building. And I think the final thing is I heard from people real concern about the ECLC. And so this may be an illogical comparison and I'd love for all of you to correct it for me. But if I'm sitting there knowing that I'm going to have my house and all of its bills this year, then how will any general fund consequences of the ECLC next year be factored in? And I

164understand the ECLC, I do not want to confuse anyone, is not in this budget. Um, but at the same time, I've just heard um questions that I don't feel like I can fully answer and yet there are lots of good things about this budget. So, I appreciate that. Thank you. Earlier we filed central office positions that are going away. Well, we saw central office at other positions that that are going away. And um my other question to you is what you said you would like to see us provide more feedback. What would that look like? Well, so what I've been asking for, which is we do this budget feedback, but we do it in a way where each individual who provides a question or a concern or a suggestion is put in a document that

165we get to see. And then I think Dr. Broom is the person who replies. And so one of the things I've been asking is why can't the public see the public's feedback knowing that we would have to of course adjust for um you know personnel issues or operational things. Um, I appreciated reading questions from teachers in this budget feedback. And can you just clarify why it would be important for everyone outside of the board to see all of the other feedback after we've taken out the personal information because one, I think we learn from each other the same way that we wanted to listen to feedback at the community meetings. Um, two, I think sometimes someone asking a question gives us and if we if other people get to see the questions, then those can

166kind of be clarified. So, I just don't know why we wouldn't want to share it. I don't think we're keeping it secret. I want to be very clear and I do appreciate that there are responses, but I continue to see questions asking why is this happening? Last question. Sure. Is it possible that they don't like the answers that we're giving? I think that's that is that is also possible cuz it's poss I think questions have been answered but folks don't always like the answers that they're given. I think that's two different things. If there is a response because it kind of it's kind of leading folks to believe that they're not getting responses, but they are getting responses. They just don't like the answers. And I guess some folks don't like the way that we

167are proceeding based on that information. I I guess we could say that. Yeah. Well, I mean like for example the the early childhood learning center, we've been very clear we are moving forward uh in in design. There is no part of it that's in this particular budget. It is going to be an incurred expense in future budgets. We are projecting what those future expenses are and and we have had several public meetings and we are going to be having public meetings about it. And so I I mean to Dr. Johnson Davis's we're hearing when we hear continued questions about that are people that are questioning whether we should not whether they understand if we are doing it or not. No, I I mean I know personally I'm not conf with should we do it with

168the questions of how we're funding it. I I think those are two separate arenas. So I apologize if if there where can someone go to see the projections for the ECL funding now or is that what you said Hans I may have misunderstood. Yeah I mean we we have all the way through 2030 you know board member Hearnden stress about seeing the number 2030 up there. I I mean I think it's important to note that that there is difference but like these projections are going to be quite different. We've had public conversations. We've already talked public conversations about um over this next year the the the need to have a conversation about the footprint of our elementary schools. Right? We don't have firm nature of a forecast as opposed to a definitive statement. But any

169conversation that we have around what the footprint of our schools looks like in the future, projected out to the future, is fundamentally a separate conversation from this budget. The budget that we have in front of us today is not incurring any savings from altering a a footprint of elementary schools. It is not incurring any costs from the addition of an ECLC. Uh and so um I I guess it is a I guess my question again following a little bit of what Dr. Johnson Davis is saying is exactly what alternate communication should we have around these answers that we have been publicly providing multiple times to to to change your perspective on this. Okay. So I think one I so appreciated the um organizational chart that was in the superintendent's report I think two um meetings

170ago you know at the same time I have painstakingly gone through the new budget book which I love to try to see if I can answer some of these questions. So do we have an increase or a decrease in the central office staff? I appreciate that right now we're having a reduction in one central office position. At the same time, we're adding succession training. So, no, I that that's not clear. Okay. The total net change from what was presented months ago to now is minus one in central office. So, that's the minus one from the organizational chart presentation. Yes. Okay, thank you. And then I think there are questions sometimes again I I want to be very clear there are lots of good things happening. Um but at the same time you people are asking

171about the number of white fleet in the community meetings. Um when we are at I saw one person in the budget feedback and again I don't know because all I get to see is what they had that said they never got the salaries. Um now they could be lying right they could have forgotten it. Um, when we're presenting the salaries, we're talking about minimum 3% or minimum 4%. I'm I'm sorry, but we we went we went from whitefleet to to these are questions that people have asked about. So, okay. So, the I'm sorry, these are questions that people have asked. I think there's always been the policy too that folks could always email central office staff to get clarification on information that we've presented in our board meetings. And I and I and I think

172that that would because we hear that we've been hearing that often a lot that people are asking you these questions and I think it would be helpful if you could direct them to the folks in central office who could I'm sorry I'm talking specifically about the budget questions. I think we were told we got a hundred. I think at the budget hearing earlier this week we were told 80. So I'm not talking about people that have approached me individually. I'm talking directly about the questions I've been reading in the budget feedback that we've been given. Sorry, Dr. Broom has applied to each question to that person. But what she's saying is she wants every question to then just be publicized like we got this question from Bob on Winway about this. We would absolutely have

173to anonymize anything that came in. I don't think there's any way for us to publish any identifying information. And I and I would imagine we I think what we had spoken about was a summary of what those questions were that came if yes. Yes. And Dr. Broom speaks to all of those as she presents the budget. For each one of the slides that have been presented, she does speak to those questions. The budget highlight slide specifically was created to answer a lot of the questions that were specific to the budget, specific to personnel in comparison to FY25 to FY26. and I do appreciate that. Thank you. Uh okay, further discussions. Okay, so uh all those in favor, please say I. I. I. Any opposed? The motion carries. Un. Sorry, me. You're opposed. You are opposed.

174Okay. So, the motion carries uh vote three to one. uh board. We will now move to the consent agenda items which include monthly items such as financial nutrition and personnel reports. The first item includes a report. There will be a motion to accept the consent agenda in totality. Dr. Whitaker, we have a monthly financial report. Yes, vice chair. Dr. Lonita Broom will present the monthly financial report. to these gifts. The March 2025 financial reports and definitions of function codes are located in the assembly. The finance department operates based on the district's four strategic accelerators with a specific focus on accelerator 4 organizational effectiveness and excellence through financial transparency. The general fund budget is 107,27,871. As of March, the district collected 81% or approximately $84 million of the budgeted revenue year to date, which is in

175line with the percentage that was collected this time last year. Approximately $5 million was collected for the month of March, which brings revenue in line last year's time. revenue anticipated the year the district has expended 65% of the overall budget or approximately $69 million year to date for the month of March expenses equated to approximately $8 million. There is a deficit of approximately $4 million which has been deducted from the fund balance which is normal for this time of the year. The general fund fund balance as of March 31st, 2025 was approximately $35 million, which includes the beginning fund balance of approximately $19 million. The fund balance last year at this time was also $34 million. Please note that the fund balance was to decrease as expenditures. large revenue for capital and debt funds consisted

176of approximately $563,000 from earnings on investments and losses collection. Expenditures are normal for this time of the year and the $125,828 surplus was added to the fund balance which is approximately $5 million in March. Fiscal year 25 anticipated expenditures for capital is approximately $12.7 million. Special revenue funds are grant funds including federal and state grants not budgeted in the general fund. The district has collected 57% of the anticipated fiscal year 25 grants and expended 52%. School nutrition revenues are coming in less than projected and expenditures are trending slightly higher than this time last year. The approximately $38,000 deficit from March decreased school food nutrition fund balance to approximately $1.7 million. Last year, this time the school nutrition fund balance was approximately $2.1 million. I will be happy to respond clarification as needed. Vice Chair, may

177I read the recommendation? Yes, please. I recommend the City Schools of Decater Board of Education approve the consent agenda items 1 through 5. Do I have a motion to approve the consent agenda items one to five? Uh board member Hearn makes the motion. Do I have a second? Second. Board member Anderson seconds the motion. Any discussion? All those in favor? I. The motion carries unanimously. Thank you, Dr. group busy tonight. Moving on to policy, Dr. Whitaker. Yes. Thank you, Vice Chair UTS. I would like to call on Mrs. Amanda Lynch, chief of staff, to present two policies for second read action. Good evening once again, Vice Chair UTS, esteemed members of the board, student representative Delena, and superintendent Dr. Jima Whitaker. Tonight, we have two policies for second rate action. JDC school admissions and JDCB

178non-resident students. First is JBC school admissions. This policy is an existing policy. It was presented last month for first read and has been available for public comment through assembly. No public comment was received on policy JBC and no changes been made to the version presented last month. May I read the recommendation? Yes, please. It is recommended the city pools indicator board of education approve policy JBC school admissions for action. Do I have a motion to approve the recommendation to approve policy JBC admissions for action? So move. I'm sorry. Uh board member Johnson Davis makes the motion. May I have a second? Second. Board member Anderson seconds the motion. Any discussion? All those in favor say I. I. The motion carries unanimously. Second is policy JBCB non-resident students. This policy was presented last month for first

179read. We did receive one anonymous comment through public comment in in simply this stakeholder referred to senior tax incentives and questioned whether non-resident paid tuition might encourage young families to move outside of the city and rather pay to send their students to CSD. Because paid tuition is subject to availability and subject to a lottery. Families who moved out of the district would not have any guarantee of enrollment for their children in the CSD school. There are several minor revisions that were made to the version presented last month. These changes did not change the content of the policy. Instead, they provide additional clarity to the policy such as by including additional specificity in the language of a non-resident child. May I read the recommendation? Yes, please. It is recommended the city school of Decator Board of

180Education approve policy JBCB non-resident students for action. Do I have a motion to approve the recommendation to approve policy JBC non-resident tuition for action? Some move. Board member Hearnen makes the motion. Do I have a second? Second. Board member Anderson seconds the motion. Any discussion? All those in favor, please say I. Hi. The motion carries unanimously. Uh, vice chairs, when we approved the minutes earlier, we did not approve the May budget hearing. So, I would like to amend that uh actual um recommendation. Okay. It's very It was very early on today in the board meeting, but the board meeting original um original minute was do I have an do I have a motion to approve April's regular board and April's special call meeting minutes? I would love to add to that May's budget hearings as

181well. Uh okay. And so it go get my script so that I can make sure that we are right on this. Keep going up up again. There we go. Okay. So I'll reread the recommendations. All right. So board members, are there any revisions to tonight's board meeting agenda? Oh, no, no. I'm sorry. The uh that would be approval of minutes from previous board meetings. Yes. So, do we have a motion to approve April's regular board, April's special called as well as the May budget hearings? So, move. Do I have a second? Second. Uh, any discussion? All those in favor, please say I. I. Motion carries unanimously. All right. Now we can reset the public. All right. And so public comment will begin at 6:30 per the agenda. So until 6:30 we are in reco. Right.

182So, we are going to come out of recess and move back into the meeting at 6:30 p.m. So, 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 arrest 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 of Decar. 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

183extended for a specified amount of time or a specific number of additional speakers. The time limit for all speakers will be three minutes. Persons 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 chairs or vice chair's discretion. Persons violating his policy may be asked to step down. Speakers should remain speakers should be courteous and professional. Speakers are not to list complaints about specific personnel or individuals connected with the district in a 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

184that are profane, vulgar, defamatory, or disruptive. If any speaker comments begin to verge into areas of hate speech, or 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 during public comment or speak to the substance of any comments made during public comment. Instead, a member of the administrative team will follow up with persons speaking at the board meeting. Dr. Whitaker, will you please call our first speaker? Uh the first speaker is Adeline Pinley. Is this person present? No. Okay. Moving to the second person listed, Reyes Lee. Good evening, Mr. This is board of educations and I am Reyes Lee, graduating senior of theater high

185school. And earlier this week I did have the privilege of meeting with the director and chief of security and technology Mr. James Brown and Mr. East Melton. Through them I received clarity about the checkpoint installments about through the metal detectors as well as the agreement of authority between the SRO's administration. However, it further emphasized the other factor that can compromise school climate and school safety the administration itself and how the priority is not given towards the student. Last year, I received my first suspension and the official statement released from the school was that I had threatened and put my hands on a teacher. That was far from the truth and a further investigation wasn't conducted that would have been the end of my high school career. Earlier in April, my little sister FA was intimidated

186by the principal to admin to admit that she was threatening to put another student in danger when in actuality she was defending herself while simultaneously and cleverly connecting with her Latino heritage in order to diffuse the situation. I am going to need to ask you not to reference individuals specifically. Okay. I appreciate that this is a someone known to you but we are going to be strict on that point. Is that the end? No, no, you may continue. You may continue your comment. I'll see I'll see. You said in our in our previous meeting when I come here, M Dr. Whitaker, you said that it's important to establish an ecosystem that can make students. However, however, we are unable to provide that foundation that can give students trusted adults in the building when the administration

187is disconnected from what the students really need. Our disciplinary system is inadequate and does not and does not do provide anything productive to improve student behavior. There's a lack of resources to help children with lower learning abilities and or with psychological issues. A school standard is strict and unforgiving towards even some of the brightest students who acted who act out of line. And regardless of the immeasurable amount of work that most teachers have done to connect with students on an interpersonal level, the state of the current school system and the implementation of the security incentives is going to remove all of that work. It is going to sever that trust that those students have built upon those teachers is the foundation of that. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. The next speaker is Dr. Tena

188Sn. Hello, I'm Dr. Ken Sims. I've been a member of this community for 12 years and have three children in CSC schools. I'm also a physician at Grady Hospital, a professor of medicine at More Health School of Medicine, and the author of Diversity is not a dirty word. I share this to underscore that I'm con I've committed my life to advocating advocating for marginalized populations. I'm here to offer my perspective on the DEI conversation. As a community, we are passionate about many things from DEI to cheese sandwiches. And I'm proud to live in a place where so many parents voice support for DEI policies. Thank you. But I'm also concerned that some don't recognize this central truth. It is not the policy that matters as much as the work done by real people in real

189time. Black parents prioritize action and outcomes over policy language. Remember the outrage and policy responses after George Floyd was killed. Many of those efforts looked great on paper but resulted in little actual change. That's why I value commitment and intentionality over policy alone. The leaders here, our board and our superintendent are committed to doing the work. I trust them because I've seen their focus on ensuring that all of our children receive an excellent education. It's shortsighted to assume that without a DEI policy, we aren't committed to serving all children. Too often we're distracted by policy and symbolic gestures. But the question is simply what's actually being done. I don't care what it's called. You can call it magical fairy dust for all I care as long as it works. It's not the policy, it's the

190people. Personally, I've seen policies implemented by Dr. Whitaker that have benefited my children. They weren't labeled CI policies. They were rooted in sound pedagogy meant for all learners. And because my black children are a part of that all, they also benefited. It's important that we recognize the expertise of our current board and superintendent. And I realize I am guilty of not knowing my superintendent. So I joined any self-respecting professor of medicine with join 2025. And I asked Chad DPT. And I found a long list of reasons to be confident in her leadership. Honestly, they had me at her major African-American studies at UT who spends nearly $100,000 a year on an African-American studies degree without being deeply committed to equity and inclusion. And let's be clear, the depth of her accomplishments and experience is vast

191far beyond DEI. But the lens through which she leads reflects a deep and personal commitment to ensuring that all children, including those in historically marginalized communities, have access to the opportunities that education provides. We can either support our leaders or sabotage them. The danger to our school system and our children isn't from outside forces. It's from within. Publicity stops and the ashes do nothing to advance student success. Education is clearly under attack. Let's not put our schools in the crosshairs of an administration that doesn't value education. Let our educators focus on educating, not on fighting political battles. We need leaders to keep the main thing the main thing. Yes, as a community, we must stay engaged. We must ask questions. We must challenge decisions. But then support the people you elected. Trust the people they

192hired. My hope is this. That our community, whether you're blue, red, left, right, commit to supporting the people doing the work. Let us use our collective privilege, our voices, our resources to protect our children, our school system, our leaders so they can thrive even in the face of the chaos that will surround us for the next three years. So with all sincerity, I thank the board and Dr. Whitaker for your continued service and commitment. Thank you. Yes. All right. We would like to thank all of 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. Dr. Whitaker, please introduce the next item. Vice Chair UT, I would like to call on Mrs. Adena

193Walker to recognize our retirees for the 2024 2025 school year. We've had a lot of use and movement today. [Laughter] Good evening, Vice Chairs, esteemed members of the board, student representative Delena, and Superintendent Dr. Ste. We are proud to honor and celebrate 13 exceptional individuals retiring from our district this year. Representing a wide range of roles, including teachers, nutrition staff, administrative business support, and pair professionals. These dedicated professionals have collectively contributed 225 years of service to our school. From nurturing our youngest learners to guiding students toward graduation, their work has shaped every level of our district. Their passion, dedication, and care have made lasting differences in the lives of countless students and colleagues. We deeply are grateful for their service and wish them happiness and fulfillment in the next chapter of their lives. So, as

194I call your name, please come forward to receive your retirement gift. Miss Valerie Henderson, school food nutrition worker. Beacon Hill. Miss Valerie Jackson, register Beacon Hills. It can be a middle. Miss Xavia Russell, bookkeeper, Beacon Hill Middle School. Miss Marjorie Van Vanzen, teacher, Beacon Hill Middle School. Miss Brenda Griggs, child care provider assistant, College Heights Early Childhood Learning [Applause] Center. Miss Vivian Dawson, media clerk, Fifth Avenue Upper Elementary. Miss Karen Smith, media specialist, Fifth Avenue Elementary. Ann Gil, teacher, Glennwood [Applause] Elementary. Mr. Charles Dawson, hair professional, Oakhurst Elementary. Miss Glenda Carter, Parrofessional, Oakhurst Elementary. Miss Alvon Scott, teacher, Oak [Applause] Elementary, Miss Dana Work, teacher, Westchester Elementary. And last but not least, Miss Heidi Watley, director of DVA. I just have you for all of our retirees. Can you please return to the front for

195a picture with our [Music] Yeah, you're right. retirees and your guests and everyone that's in attendance, you will can proceed down to the uh reception and this is where your supervisor and your principal will say remarks about your tenure at your school. Thank you. The last thing Thank you. [Music] Last two seconds. [Music] All right. The board will host our final board retreat of the school year on May 20th, 10:00 am to 2 pm at Agnes Scott. Topics will include our strategic plan, all indicator, and the role of the school board in accreditation as we welcome a representative from Cognia. Finally, our next board meeting will be held here at the Wilson Center on June 10th. There being no further business, this meeting is adjourned at 6:47 p.m.