001Welcome to the Muscogi County School District. Our vision is to be a beacon of educational [music] excellence where all are known, valued, and inspired. Our mission is to inspire and equip all students to achieve unlimited potential. On behalf of our board of education, thank you for joining us tonight. For the freedom you fought for and the flag you stood for. For the country we cherish and the people we love. For the bravery you showed and the fortitude you held. For the days of dedication and the nights of devotion. For the miles you walked and the skills you learned. For the months of training and the years [music] of service. For the memories you carry, of the battles you saw, for the legacy of your courage and the honor you deserve. When our nation needed you
002most, you answered the call. A deep and unshakable sense of allegiance and responsibility. [music] You were bold. You did not hesitate. And you did not walk away. You were gone for holidays and anniversaries [music] and birthdays because while we were living in peace and freedom, you were fighting for it. Thank you is not enough. We can't repay you, but we will promise [music] to remember. You are the reason we can sing the land of the free and the home of the brave. You are the heroes [music] among us. You are not forgotten. You are the veterans. Heat. Heat. We remember your courage. We honor your sacrifice. And we thank you today. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Good evening and welcome to our regularly scheduled um board meeting November 17, 2025. And this is Columbus, Georgia,
003home of Fort Benning. And we uh recognize and salute our veterans every day around here. So, uh we thank you to the veterans. As the video said, thank you is never could never ever be enough. Um welcome to our meeting. And now we'll pause for our inspiration, Miss McCrae. Yes. In keeping with our um gratitude to our veterans, our inspiration today is a quote by President Barack Obama. It says, "Whenever the world makes you cynical, whenever you seek true humility and true selflessness, look to a veteran." Thank you. >> Thank you so very much. Our pledge of allegiance is next. River Road Elementary School. That principal is Mr. Carlos Jackson. Okay. River Road Eagles. Okay. Can everyone please stand up for the pledge? I pledge algiance to the flag of the United States of America
004and to the republic of which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, and liberty and justice for all. November's word, character word of the month, citizensship. The way you act as a responsible member of the community. Honor showing the gratitude for our veterans, active and service men, men and women and the first responders. >> Introduce yourselves. >> Hi, I'm Danessa Moore. I am the cheerleading coach at Rivero Elementary School. I'm Tracy Spurlock. I am one of the coaches at River Road. >> I'm Carlos Jackson. I'm the principal at River Road. And I would like to take this opportunity to thank everybody and allow us to come out. We anytime there's an opportunity for us to showcase our students, we like to take that opportunity and we greatly appreciate it. Thank you to you young ladies.
005We appreciate it. These are our River Road cheerleaders. [applause] >> I'm going to give them a chance to introduce themselves. Hi, my name is London. I'm Linda Crouch. >> Hi, my name is Erica. >> Hi, my name is Aurora Thomas. Hi, my name is Annayia Williams. >> Hello, my name is Shila Budoo. Hello everyone, my name is Isabella Lander Rosika. >> Hi, my name is Shenor. Hi, my name is Madison Finch. Hi, my name is China Blandon. Hi, my name is Elma Boxley. Hi, my name is Ivy Corbett. Hi, my name is Jayla Williams. >> Hi. Oh, hi. My name is Piper McCarren. [applause] Also, we would like to ask for the parents and supporters to please stand or wave. >> Outstanding. [applause] >> Thank you. We appreciate your support. Thank you. >> Thank you.
006>> Good job. Welcome. Thank you. Thank you for having us. >> Okay. I need a motion to excuse Miss Frey. >> Motion by Mr. Canrell, second by um Dr. Chambers. All in favor, raise your hand. All right. Next, I need a motion to approve the agenda. >> Motion by Dr. Chambers, second by Miss Jackson. All in favor, raise your hand. All right, that passes. All right. Want to welcome all of our visitors, our building leaders, if you would stand so we could thank you. If you're on the leadership team in your building, [applause] if you would also stand. Thank you. We appreciate all that you do. Uh we have our director of our library, Mr. Alan Harkness. Thank you. Director of the museum, Miss Marian Rner. Thank you, ma'am. And I see me, Miss Marquette
007Mcnite. >> And leadership Columbus. Okay. Raise your hand. Leadership Columbus. >> Okay. [applause] All right. And then we have Miss >> Tasha Mormon and Andy Lucer with me also. All right. So, you all are welcome. Thank you so much for joining us. We'll now move on to our district-wide recognitions. Good afternoon. I'm Kimberly Wright, director of communications, and these are our November uh recognitions. So, congratulations to Caleb Marin. On October the 26, 2025 in Atlanta, the American Association of Adapt Ed Sports Programs announced the 2025 Aspire Award recipients. We are proud to recognize one of our own Muscogee Lions, Caleb Marin, who was honored as the 2025 Aspire Award recipient for the wheelchair football athlete of the year, JB. [applause] >> [applause] >> This achievement reflects not only Caleb's outstanding athletic performance, but also his
008dedication, perseverance, and leadership on and off the field. Please join us in congratulating Caleb again on this welldeserved recognition. Congratulations again, [applause] Caleb. Congratulations, Caleb. >> Uh, I just want to thank uh, Msogi County for even having the option to do adapted sports. I know that's not an option a lot of places in America. And so I'm just really really grateful for the opportunity to play sports because that is um an opportunity that a lot of people that are physically disabled are usually denied because it's just not available in their area. Um I would also like to thank my coaches uh Coach Richberg, Coach Ingram, Coach Freeman, Coach Odum. They were all extremely helpful in building my journey up to be the football player I am today. And so uh thank you [applause] Is that
009Coach Richberg? Like Marty Richberg? Oh, okay. [laughter] Coach Richberg. Oh, okay. Coach Richberg, are you here? [laughter] She's not here. Okay. The parents and supporters of Caleb, please stand so we could recognize you as well. >> [applause] >> Thank you so very much for your supporting. Great job. We appreciate the way you represent Miss Gogi County School District. The Helen Ruffen Reading Bowl created by Georgia Educators is the state's original reading competition designed to inspire a love of reading among students. The program offers multiple levels of competition for grades K through 12. Each year, schools and public libraries across Georgia participate in local, regional, and state finals, answering questions based on award nominated books. On Saturday, November the 8th, Whinton Artsam Academy represented Muscogee County School District at the middle Georgia University, competing with top
010two district teams of kindergarten through third grade uh students at both regional and state level. Let's congratulate Winton Arts Academy on placing sec placing second. [cheering] [applause] Good job. >> [applause] >> You can start with yourself. >> Okay. >> Hi, I'm Miss Felli. I teach kindergarten at Whit Arts Academy and I also have the honor of coaching these wonderful kiddos. >> My name is Juliana. I am in third grade. My teacher is Miss Clover. My name is Hannah. I am also in third grade and my teacher is Miss Nolan. >> My name is Malia Ransom and I'm in third grade too and my teacher is Miss Clover. >> My name is Dean and I am in first grade and my teacher is Miss Hester. >> I'm Oliver and and I am in first grade and
011my teacher is Miss Marel. I'm Grace and I am in first grade and my teacher is Miss Maro. >> I am Eevee and I'm in first grade and my teacher is Miss R. >> I'm Miss Martin. I'm lucky enough to get to help coach sometimes. So, >> yeah. [applause] >> And the principal is here, principal Miss Mower. Parents and supporters of these fine scholars, please stand so we can [applause] thank you all so much for your support. [applause] >> Good job. >> Congratulations. >> Oh, Miss Buckner. >> Uh coaches or teachers? >> Coach. >> Now, is that competition? She said the competition was from K through uh fifth grade. >> K through third. So it's it's no kindergarters. It's just first and third. >> Okay. I was just wondering second. Okay. Thank you. >> Thank
012you so much. And also at the regional letter level, we would like to congratulate Lonnie Jackson Academy on winning first place. [applause and cheering] [applause] Lonnie Jackson also earned second place overall in the state. [cheering] [applause] >> Good evening. My name is Harmony Olivia Brown and I'm in Miss Marcus's class second grade and my favorite book is Frostfire. Good evening everyone. My name is KJ Daniel. I'm in Miss Walton, third grade class. And my favorite book is Spec. Good evening. My name is Brenley Martin and my I'm in Miss Powell, class, second grade. And my favorite book is I'm Sorry you Got Mad. >> Good evening. My name is Derek. [applause] Good evening. My name is Derek Tero Massie. I am in Miss Parker's third grade class and my favorite book was Friend Freddy. >>
013Good [laughter] evening. My name is Na Mariah Kong. I'm in Miss Reese's first grade class and my favorite book is The Outside. >> Good evening. My name is Jamar Young Williams. I'm in Miss Watson's class, third grade. And my favorite book is Punella. >> Good evening. My name is Turner Rose Lockart. I'm in Miss Mary's second grade class and my favorite book is That Always Happens Sometimes. Good evening. My name is Lauren Lock Cart and I am in Miss Watton's third grade class and my favorite book is Prunella. Good evening. My name is Ryan Davidson and I'm in Miss Parker's third grade class and my favorite book is also Punella. Outstanding. [applause] [applause] Okay. And with the children, we have I'm Dr. Vines. I'm the proud um assistant principal and coach. And also, Miss Swed
014is another coach. She could not be here today because she is getting ready to have a baby. >> So, we are just so proud of them. The hard work and dedication this year just inspired us every day. Just very very proud. >> And and the principal, Miss Lockard. [applause] [cheering] Now, parents and supporters of these fine scholars, outstanding readers. [applause] Thank you so much for all that you do and encouraging them and supporting them. Thank you so much. Congratulations. >> Respect the trophies, right? Respect the trophies. I now yield to Mr. Corey Neil to present the November Power We Award. Good evening. The November 2025 Power We Award winner is none other than Fran McClendon, school nutrition area manager. Give her a hand as she comes. [applause] [cheering] And the submission reads as such. I
015am proud to nominate Fran McClendon for the power we award. Fran truly embodies what this recognition respects represents. I'm sorry. She shows up every day with a smile, a positive attitude, and a genuine love for what she does. Her energy lifts everyone around her. and her team at Jordan Vocational High School deeply appreciate the care that she shows to each and every one of us. Fran embraces equity and diversity by meeting people where they are. She recognizes each person's unique strengths and shows patience in guiding others at their own pace. Also by helping them build confidence and helping them find success. She holds herself and her team to high standards, leading by example and showing what true dedication looks like. Her commitment to continuous learning and improvement is clear in the way she approaches challenges
016with an open mind and a willingness to grow. Fran is a servant leader at heart and is always offering encouragement. She's an amazing manager who truly is loved by many and is absolutely deserving of this recognition. Again, Fran McClendon, school nutrition. Let us celebrate her. [cheering] >> Congratulations, Miss Fran. [applause] Congratulations, Miss Fran. Would you have a word? >> Good afternoon, everyone. I'm so thankful. School nutrition is my passion and I thank each and every one of my team players. I'm just grateful. Thank everyone. Okay, family and family, friends, supporters, please stand. [applause] Congratulations, Miss Friend. Congratulations again. You got something? >> We have a young man here that would like to um dedicate something to Miss Pat Higley Green. >> Tell me tell them your name and what school. >> My name is Tyson
017Brown. I'm in fifth grade and I go to Lonnie Jackson. >> Oh, and you are my pen pal. I've been sending messages to you and I would like to give you these flowers. >> Thank you. [applause] >> Nice to meet the Nice to put the name with the face. [applause] >> [applause] >> That's great. >> [laughter] >> It's great. [applause] Wow, that was a surprise and I really appreciate communicating with the young man. He's very insightful and he has some wisdom for us as leaders and school board members of what we need to be focused on. So, it's been a nice exchange. Nice exchange. Okay, so um [sighs and gasps] public agenda is next. We have three requests and I will call you or come up in the order that you are on this apparently
018as you signed up. Miss Denise Cambridge, Mr. Leroy Manners, and Clifford Patterson. And while Miss Cambridge is on her way, all I'll read our background and re and rationale. All official meetings of the board shall be open to the press and to the public. However, the board meeting may meet in executive session. Speakers remarks should be directed to the board and shall be limited to five minutes. Citizens are encouraged to address items on the board agenda or to initiate presentations of issues appropriate for schoolboard consideration. If an individual desires to speak, they may contact the superintendent's office to be placed on the agenda. The board meeting or the work session is not the appropriate place to address either criticism of particular employees or individual parent complaints when such complaints have not been first addressed to
019the attention of the appropriate administrator for a resolution. Citizens are encouraged to follow our normal channels to address individual parent complaints or problems. Miss Cambridge, hold on. All right. Yes, ma'am. >> All right. Good evening. So, I didn't bring flowers. I'll have to get a rain check on that. But I brought you me. So, good evening, madam board chair, board members, Dr. Lewis, and cabinet. I can remember standing in this very room when Dr. Lewis hosted a community forum to share his plan to move Mscogi County School District forward. in his very initial assessment and recommendations report titled establishing relationships and leading for 21st century college and career expectations. Yes, I still have it in my email. He closed the evening by asking the room was there any other questions or comments. My youngest daughter
020who at that time was about four or five says says to me I want to say something and raises her hand. I gave her that very mom eye. What is it that you want to say? Surprisingly, Dr. Lewis recognized her hand and she had the microphone before I could even object. Her sweet little voice then introduced herself and says, "I would like to thank everyone for coming out to this evening. This meeting, this meeting, this evening, I can only hang my head." She was already displaying signs of being the child of a PTA parent. That's family engagement. I've shared here before how my parent engagement journey began with the small ask. more like being volunttoed to help around Cassita Road Elementary School to joining the MLK PTA, serving in the local school, the county and
021state level leadership of PTA, and even most recently serving on the state school superintendent parent advisory council. Being afforded opportunities to share my children, your students educational experience by coming alongside teachers, administration, and district personnel, joining in with individual community stakeholders, business partners of the school community is what continues to drive my involvement today. What I've learned over the years is family engagement is not one-sizefitsall. There's levels to this. It's it looks like at elementary school it looks different at elementary school, middle school, and very different at high school. In elementary school, parents are very very visible, attending class parties, reading days, field trips, the like. In middle school, kids start pulling away from you a little bit and engaging more with support from the sidelines where you even have to start relying on super
022uh relying on principles like Dr. Lawrence at Aaron Cone Middle School to find out what's the latest happening with your own student. By high school, engagement could look as simple as late night conversations, managing schedules, or even just being an Uber driver like I was today. There is no right or wrong way to be an engaged parent. There are different levels, different capacities, and different realities. Parents are trying to figure out this education thing, you know, balancing work, home life, and everything in between. Most families are doing the best they can with the time, energy, and resources they have. And that's why I'm excited to talk about the parent cafe lunch and learn on National Family Engagement Day, which is this Thursday. The Columbus Family Connections Office along with the Columbus Literacy Alliance are providing
023a space for families to gather, learn, ask questions, and feel supported in navigating their child's education. These intentional moments strengthen relationships between schools, families, and a broader community. As we continue to recognize family engagement month, I want to encourage us all, schools, district leaders, community partners, and parents to remember that engagement doesn't have to be loud or public. Sometimes it's just showing up. Sometimes it's asking a question. Sometimes it's simply being present. Family engagement is not always captured in attending a single event. It's a culture. It's a partnership. And it's shared responsibility. Thank you for your continued work. and thank you for making space for families to be a part of this journey. My daughter's words still rank true today. Thank you all for being here this evening and thank you for continuing to show
024up for our students and our community. >> Thank you so much, [applause] Miss Cambridge. Miss Cambridge, before you leave the mic, um, first of all, let me say thank you for your engagement and thank you for all you do to keep the public informed with what's going on in the school district and at the city level. So, thank you for doing that. But my question for you is, you said Thursday. Did you give us a time and a place for the lunchon? And is that open to the public? >> It is open to the public, all parents. So, it is 11:30 a.m. on Thursday. It will be at the Citiz Citizen Service Center in the community room. And I'll email you all that flyer as well. >> Okay, sounds good. >> And we can get
025it to Miss Wright, too. >> Okay, sounds good. [laughter] Thank you. >> Thank you all. >> Thank you, Mr. Manners. Thank you so much for joining us. >> How are y'all doing today? All looking real good. Wish my comedy clubs would be this full. Uh my name is Leroy Manners. Uh my daughter is Adeline Manor. She goes to Msoga County School District right there. I'm here not to criticize anyone in particular. I'm just here to criticize the way the procedural things have been done. Now the 14th amendment uh is due process. We all have due process even kids. You know when evidence is asked to be provided up under a magical word based on certain people's aspects right there. That's not right. You know when people have certain emotions certain things right there we don't
026have the kind of money we can't afford to actually do other things. Now due process it's not meant for it's it's meant for everyone. Can we understand and be also correct? You know when we have certain aspects of our life right there when certain people go through certain things in their life you expect that you be able to have the protections available based on the federal and governments. Right? Wrong. When you go through aspects like that, you shouldn't have to have a magical word to be able to produce certain records and certain evidence that you request from the district whenever you're a parent or anything of that sort to be able to defend your daughter uh based on you don't have enough money for a lawyer. Now, you know, pred uh my child lost her
027access, I feel, to uh her education right there. My child was at a 4.0 access. Never been in trouble a day in her life. She's now she's turned around and actually teaching herself on the school because there's nobody there at that school to be able to do her science stuff. Now I'm not asking the board to sit there and criticize me or go in and see any certain part and I'm not criticizing anyone on their aspects. When somebody is um you know sexually assaulted, there should be things stood up and brought about. They should sit there and not wait and sit there and see what comes about in their process. Thank y'all so much. My name is Lero Maners. Y'all have a good day. >> Thank you so much, Mr. Manners >> and Clifford Patterson.
028[clears throat] Good evening, board members. My name is Clifford Patterson. I'm here tonight because a peaceful protest I held outside the Mon Road Library on August the 12th targeting former city manager Isaiah Hugley was followed by what I believe was a retaliatory action made by Muscogi County School District. I parked legally in a political sign with a political sign and joined fellow citizen Toby Stool in a quiet lawful protest. Library staff called the Muscogi County Police Department. Their own incident report confirms police response. Yet, Muscogi County School Police later denied the report existed. Within two weeks, the curb where I was parked was painted yellow. Um, for the first time in 15 years, no other library branches received similar treatment. The purchased order authorized the work was for parking lot striping, but not the painting
029of the curb. Uh, but no striping was done. Photo evidence confirms this. I have it. I received an email from Superintendent Dr. Lewis stating that he and Mr. Alan Harkinness, director of the Chattahuchi Valley Libraries, made this decision without consulting the board. Today, I personally visited every library branch in the system. None had the curves painted. None had signage installed. I even sat for 45 minutes at the other entrance of the main library on Mon Road on an unpainted curb in the same type of situation. No staff approached me, no police were called. The only difference I was not holding a political sign and there was no political event inside. This proves the curb painting was not about safety. It was not part of the district-wide incentive. It was a targeted response to political speech
030and it happened at the facility where partisan political activity was f allowed inside while opposing speech was met with enforcement outside. Given the timing, the contradictions, and the fact that Mr. Hugley has close relatives, the chair of this board, I believe this raises serious concerns about institutional bias, selective enforcement, and viewpoint discrimination. I've submitted a formal legal demand seeking resolution, but I'm not here tonight because this isn't just about me. It's about protecting the right of every citizen to speak without fear of retaliation. I respectfully ask the board to review the full documentation, initiate an independent inquiry, ensure Muscogee County School District policies protect civic expression, and prevent misuse of public resources. Thank you for your time and your service to our community. I do have some papers if everybody, this is for the board
031members if y'all would like to pass them that shows all the stuff. And I welcome y'all to email me and I'll get you all the uh documentation that you need. >> Thank you so much, Mr. Patterson. >> Yes, ma'am. >> Thank you. >> All right, that concludes our public agenda. We are moving into our action agenda. And these two items are ready for us to vote. Right. All right. the revised student policies. Uh JB, sorry, our revised student policies number or policy JBCD, student transfers and withdrawals and JR student records is ready for our approval. Are there any? I need a motion. >> Motion by Dr. Chambers, second by Mr. Cantra. Are there any other questions or discussion? >> We're ready to vote now. All right, Mr. Cantrail is voting yes. All right, that item
032passes. Number two, it showed it had you up um for yes, Mr. Canrell. Item number two, this revision clarifies the common reason that personnel are identified as unassigned and provide a broader policy on the transfer request process. Motion by Dr. Chambers, second by Miss Jackson. Are there any additional questions or concerns? We're ready to vote now. Yes, for Mr. Kentra. All right, that passes. And next is the consent agenda. Um this is where Miss Buckner would normally um remind the audience that we um we have thoroughly uh gone over all the items uh in our work session on last week and we want to assure the public that we do we don't take this business uh lightly. We have fully discussed it and today we're we're basically just voting. >> Thank you so very much.
033Are there any additional um discussion on the items in the consent agenda or do you want to vote on anything separately? >> Motion by Dr. Chambers, second by Miss Buckner. We are ready to vote now. All right, that passes. And as always, we want to thank the citizens for the donations that they've made in support of individual schools and with the Msco County School District collectively. um without that support um things might look a little different at each school, but we certainly appreciate and we can never ever pass up an opportunity to say thank you for the public private partnership. Dr. Lewis, did you want to add anything? >> Uh yes. Uh first of all, I want to wish everyone a happy Thanksgiving. Hope everyone enjoys it. But also keep in mind as we spoke
034this this evening earlier, um our veterans, many of them are away from home serving their country. So we want to just remember them as well. But at this time, um, we had a request from Miss Tillery last month to bring a update on our transportation ongoing concerns. So, I'll make sure we make you aware of that update as well. Thank you. Good evening. I'm Travis Anderson, chief operations officer, and we are here to provide you with an update on transportation. So, the reality that we deal with across the nation is that we have a significant bus driver shortage. The national issue of the bus driver shortage is something that we are not immune to. The number one reason that we see across the nation for the bus driver shortage is low pay. However, Muscoi County
035School District is one of the highest paid districts in the state of Georgia with our hourly rate for bus drivers. So, though that is the number one issue nationwide, for us, and of course, everyone would like to make more money, but for us, our pay rate is higher than most in the state at 19.44 per hour. And as a reminder, we are hiring. So if you are looking for a job, 1944 per hour does make us higher than the living wage for our area. It is a significantly higher than most. The only districts that are higher than us are those in Atlanta metro area or Savannah. So the areas of Georgia that have a much higher cost of living are a little higher than us, but when you take in the cost of living factor,
036we are still one of the highest in the state. So we're very proud of that and how we're able to provide for our bus drivers. We currently have a 23% vacancy rate with our bus drivers. Going to say that again. 23% vacancy rate with our bus drivers. Again, we're hiring. If you know anybody, the impacts of that 23% means that we have longer bus routes than we would like to have. The goal is that no bus route is 75 minutes or shorter. No bus route is longer than 75 minutes. Because of our vacancy rate, we have longer bus routes than we like to have. We have earlier bus stop times. The goal is that no one has a bus stop time before 6:00 a.m. And we are able to meet that with the exception of
037some of our sped bus routes which are doortodoor. And based upon the conversation with those families, we have some elementary sped routes that start before 6:00 a.m. And then of course we have late buses. That is a reality. We have late buses because we have a vacancy. We do not have a subpool. So when someone is absent, we don't have a pool of drivers who are waiting to fill in. So we have significant issues with late buses. the adjustments that we've made over the years to account for our increasing vacancy rate. We adjust how we address magnet and ESOL routes, which are our longest, most complicated routes because they go through the entire district. And so our magnet routes are combined when it can be combined. We are able to combine some of our um
038rainy and Columbus high routes. Those are combined. We're not able to combine per grade level outside of Columbus to rainy because Rainey has middle school and high school. But we are able to combine where necessary. we are able to transport those students and then to their home school and then some of them get on a magnet route from there so they're able to route ride the route that's already in their neighborhood. So we're trying to be very cognizant of how we address those routes because they are our longest and most complicated routes. Inactive stops, we've always done that, but we're being a little more aggressive. And what that means is that an inactive stop is a stop that a student signed up for a bus pass, but they don't ride in a regular basis. Most
039of the time they're car riders, but occasionally they want to ride the bus. And so we have historically allowed some inactive stops to stay on the route a little longer. But because we have a significant vacancy, we have been more aggressive of contacting those families and saying if you're not going to ride on a regular basis, we want to stop going to that stop just because you want to ride on occasionally. And so um that does have an impact on some families, but for the greater good, we are able to be more aggressive with those inactive stops. Field trips, unfortunately, we've had to adjust how we address field trips. So we've created some times in which our schools can do field trips which allow all of our buses to be focused on the morning delivery.
040And so we don't start supporting field trips until after all students have been delivered to school. So elementary has all been already been in school for a couple of hours before we're able to address field trips. So that is a change for us, but it's how we're addressing with our 23% vacancy. And then the ability to support athletics has had to change in order to make sure that we're able to get our students home on time without having long delays or longer delays on campus after the school day ends. Some unavoidable challenges are absenteeism. So our bus drivers get sick just like everybody else and they deserve the right to stay home when they are sick and we want to make sure that we respect their ability to stay home. But that is a challenge
041for us. We know that uh we have an older population with bus drivers and so some things that some of us less seasoned folks may be able to recover from in a day or two may take them a little longer. And so our absentee rate with our bus drivers, we average about 13 absentee absences per day. That is a challenge because we don't have a subpool. It means that we are able we have to find drivers to fill in. That is very difficult. One absent bus driver impacts five to eight bus routes in order to fill in. So we're splitting bus routes. We're doubling up doing as much as we can but one absent bus driver impacts at the low end five at the high end eight bus routes. If we average 13 absentes absences
042per day at the low end that is 65 bus routes that's impacted. At the high end that's 104 impacted every single day because we have bus drivers who are not there for whatever reason. And again, they earn that right to be able to be home and relax and to recover when they're sick or whatever reason they need to have the day off. So, we want to make sure that we respect that route, but it does have an impact to us when they're not there. Some frequently asked questions that we receive from parents and our community members. Why is the bus late? Well, of course, we know that it's late because we have absenteeism. We know that it's late because we have a significant bus driver shortage. However, most of our bus routes arrive to the
043bus stop and to school on time as the bus pass reflects. We're not able to account for those things that are unavoidable like traffic delays, weather delays, those types of things. And we were we're in an accident and you would be surprised how many times our buses are hit as if you can't see this big yellow bus. But we frequently have people run into our buses. And fortunately, because of the way our buses are designed, we don't have injuries. So this afternoon alone, we had two bus accidents. No injuries, but two cars hit two different buses. And so those types of things cause unavoidable delays. and we are working through those as best as possible. Another one is that I live close to the school. Why is my bus ride so long? Well, bus routes
044are bus routes. They're not taxi cabs. So, they're not going directly from your house to the school. The route that they have to take is often very different than what you would take if you were in your car. And so, a lot of times we are trying to avoid buses making left turns unless there's a dedicated traffic control device there. So, if there's not a stoplight there or a stop sign, we don't want that bus to wait to make a left turn. That means that oftentimes you might be right beside the school, but they have to drive all the way around so they can come back to where you are. So, you're on the right side of the road. So, that may not may not make sense for you because like I'm driving by my
045house, but there's a reason for it. And so, we want to make sure that we're doing what's safe and what's logical for a bus, though not be what you would do in a car. Another question we receive a lot is why does the bus arrive 30 minutes before the bell? Well, there's a reason for that. Doors open at high school and middle school 30 minutes before the bell rings and then at the elementary level it is 45 minutes before the bell rings. We take advantage of that time to allow those bus drivers to start driving an additional route. Many times they're doing double routes at that school. So, one stop, one bus may drop off as soon as the door opens at a middle school and then that same bus will go and pick up
046another route for that same school and bring them back. We do that a lot when we have large apartment complexes where one stop can fill up a whole bus. And so, the first route that the driver does will be through a neighborhood to pick up kids. The second one after the drop off, that first route might be to an apartment complex, but fills up that whole bus. So, we take advantage of the door open time, which means some students arrive to campus a little while before the bell rings. Gives opportunity to have breakfast, get themselves together, but you'd be surprised how many complaints we received because they got to class, they got to school early. We would rather them be there early than be there late. Did adjusting the school start times help? The answer
047to that is simply yes. It absolutely did help. If you recall when we had the conversations around adjusting school t start times, we always said that if things remain the same as they were at that point, these are the things we should expect to be able to improve. The reality is things did not remain the same. We've had significant construction projects in our area which have significantly delayed our ability to drive through parts of the city. Um, anyone who drives on Mon Road in the morning knows that traffic has changed drastically in the past year. And so that has a huge impact because many of our schools are located off of Mon Road and that's how the school buses get to them. We also know that our vacancy rate has increased. When we talked about
048adjusting school start times, we were at 19%. We're now at 23% vacancy rate. So that is a huge increase for us and we want to make sure that we take that consideration, but we still have a positive impact. So the impacts to adjusting the school start times, of course, it created a true three- tier system. Though the goal of the school start time adjustment was not about transportation. It was a byproduct. Giving us a three tier system allows us to be able to transport high school, which is our largest attendance route, separate than any other attendance zone. Prior to that, we were transporting high school, which is our largest attendance zones, and elementary at the same time because we really only had a two-tier system. Elementary started and high school started maybe 10 minutes later.
049And so, we didn't have enough time to transport. So, we're transporting both of those at the same time. Now, we have a three- tier system. And if the same conditions existed that we had when we first rolled out school start times, we would see something very different. However, if we had not changed school start times and our current conditions exist, our late bus situation will be far worse than it is now. It also allows our student our high school students have more times in the morning. That does not mean that every single student is able to sleep in right before the bell rings. That's not the reality. There is a bus route that has to happen. Our longest high school bus route is 122 minutes. That's a long time. But if we did not adjust
050the start times, they would be getting up just that much earlier to get in the bus. Right now, our earliest bus route for a high school student starts at 6:46 a.m. That is a long time. That's a long day for them, and that is a reality. However, because we're starting later, their day starts just a little bit later than if we had not adjusted the start times. So we are not seeing the results that we wanted to see. But one of the things that we did, we've stressed that adjusting the school start times, we would have those goals met if things remained the same. Things did not remain the same, unfortunately. So one of the things to remember, we are still hiring. 1944 paid training. Full and part-time positions and sub positions are available. Any
051questions? Are there any questions? >> Miss McCrae? >> Yes. Um, what is the average number of hours for is is a full-time bus driver 40 hours or is it >> So, a full-time bus driver on paper does not have to work 40 hours to be considered full-time. However, because we have such a shortage, our bus drivers are working 40 hours and then some on a regular basis. But to be considered full-time, a bus driver, you only have to work 35 hours to be considered full-time. But we do have some working as many as 40. >> I'm sorry. >> Um yeah. Um the substitute pool, how are they paid? >> The same. If you are a sub driver, you're paid the same as a regular bus driver. So the 1944, >> um you know, one of
052my concerns, and I think I've asked in an email before, is just realizing there are going to be late buses, but trying to prevent it from being the same routes that are always late. [clears throat] Um how does that work? or are we seeing kind of the same students being late every day? >> Yes, the bus routes don't change from day to day. So, the bus routes remain the same. Um, and that's for a number of reasons. It's for consistency for the families and for the students so they know when their bus is coming. And it's also for >> driver, >> I'm sorry. >> I mean, I kind of mean more if that driver is always not there. Do we ever try to move around drivers? [clears throat] >> Is there a route with the
053same vacancy? I think is what you're saying. >> Yeah. That's being impacted more than others. So vacancies simply mean that we don't have a driver for what we would like to have for that route. Because we have a vacancy, what we do is we adjust the routes in general. So it's not as if there's one bus route that doesn't have a driver and no one's driving it. Instead, other bus routes are lengthened. That's why our bus routes are longer than they would like to be because we like to have 75 minutes or shorter, but because we don't, we have longer bus routes. So there isn't a bus route without a driver because of a vacancy and it's just sitting there empty. That's not what happens. >> Is there is there a trend? I don't know
054how it works, but yes. >> Is there a trend of a of a certain route that's >> where the driver is always >> Constantly out. >> They're being or just that it's being impacted where certain students or certain ones are always late to school. >> The answer to that is no. So, what happens is if we have a bus driver that has frequent attendy issues, then they are not assigned to they're not assigned to some of our harder longer routes. So, we would not have a bus driver with attendance issues on a magnet route. It's very difficult to cover a magnet route. We would not have a bus driver with attendance issues on an ESOL route. If a bus driver has attendance issues, they're on our shorter routes that we can easily absorb if they're
055not there. Well, easier to absorb if they're not there. >> Okay. And then this is more, I guess, a city concern, but when you mentioned, you know, that there are some that are really close to the school. I obviously don't mean this for elementary schools, but have we looked in some places for our middle and high school where if we could have some more sidewalk coverage or something that would help some of them get to school by walking? >> So, that is an initiative. >> That is what we used to all do. >> That is an initiative that we have looked at and we've provided to the city as well as our former board member who is now on transportation at the state level and they are working on that. We've identified those schools that
056don't have safe path to travel and so they can increase the sidewalks so they would be able to have a safe path to travel. Um at the high school level, we have a couple of high schools that are in that don't have walk zones because they don't have a safe path to travel and so if we had more um traffic control measures as well as sidewalks, they would be able to have a walk zone. >> I think it would be helpful for us to know that so that we could help maybe contact people um and help in any way we can to support some of that to be done. We can send it what we sent to the city over to you. >> Okay. Thank you. >> No problem. >> Miss Bookner. >> Yeah. My
057question is in regarding to uh particularly high schooling and it may go to Dr. Lewis. >> Say that again. >> I said my uh question is regarding uh high schools particularly and I say it may go to Dr. Louis because I'm uh my question is uh do we uh make allow allowances for students who cons who are consistently getting to school late especially in math and in that language class. So I think at one time we had said I thought I had heard that the math classes were uh or the language classes were later or how are we handling that because for somebody like me who has a huge problem with math if I miss 30 minutes of it every day I got a real big problem. So do we make any allowances for that
058for the academic part? >> Yes we do. >> Yes. ask later on what do we do? >> Yes. >> Okay. >> Well, for example, some schools might move their ILT period, which is their uh remedial period or their instructional period, okay, to like a home room. If you want to think of it like a home room, move that the first 30 minutes. Many of them do that. Some others have maybe moved the PE class to first period or something like that. Not that we don't think PE is important. Just put that out there. But I'm trying to make sure we protect as much instructional time. So, we have made those kind of provisions, tried to I have a question, Travis. When you hiring somebody, they have to have a CDL license to drive a bus.
059Correct. >> They don't have to come to us with a CDL license, but they do have to have a CDL. We provide paid training. >> Okay. If somebody applies for a job, they don't have a CDL. Do we have a training program for these people who are applying for jobs? Do we send them to get a CDO license? >> Yes, we have paid training. It is unlike commercial industry. Sometimes you don't get paid training. We provide paid training for the CDL process. And if you come to us with a CDL, then you just have to have the appropriate endorsements in order to drive a school bus. And we pay we pay for that as well. >> And they're paid the whole time they're going to get a CDL, they're also paid during this time, too.
060>> Yes, they are. They are paid the entire time they're going through training. >> And we train them on the Whitesville Road or they is there a place where we train them to drive the buses? Actually, Mscoe County School District is the training for bus drivers for this entire region. So, we train our bus drivers as well as other county bus drivers. We train them right here. >> Very good. Thank you, sir. >> You're welcome. >> Yes, they pay us to train their bus drivers. [laughter] And I might also just for any employees um we do have a referral bonus fee if for every uh bus driver you recommend that completes the training and completes the required number of hours. So with the holiday season upon us, if you need additional funds, find us some
061additional drivers. It's very it's really important and that's really the only way we're going to solve this problem. We can talk about all the other issues. we can make things better, but until we get more drivers, we're going to continue to have these issue. And it's we're trying to make it the conditions the best it possibly can be in terms of pay uh and they're providing very flexible training, trying to make sure we can do everything as quickly as possible, but still make sure it's also important to remember anytime one of our drivers might be in any kind of an accident or whatever, they have to get retrained. So, that takes them off the road as well. >> So, uh we don't just put people back out in the road unless we feel like they're
062uh safe to do so. So, all these factors go into it, but it is important for everybody to realize that we've got to have more drivers. And I just Pat Frey sent me a video. I don't have time to play it here, but it's an interesting one of the highest ranking FBI uh people had retired about a year or so ago. He's driving a bus and he's doing it absolutely free. He's giving his money back to the district. Not that I'm asking anybody to do that, but he talks about how he sees this as giving back. So, just want to put that out there. We can all do something to help alleviate this problem, but we've got to make sure we get more drivers. That it will be the only way we can solve this
063problem. And not just enough to get the drivers we need. We need that and a sub pool. So, I'll leave it at that. >> Definitely the sub pool with the vacancies or the the absences, I should say. Um, anything else? >> All right. Thank you so very much. And I do have to apologize, Mr. Broadwater left you off the agenda for the public agenda. I I I'm sorry. Board members, indulge. I I know I I saw your head down on your phone and we beg your pardon if you would please while you're here. >> Have mercy. Okay, we'll get it done though. Thank you. And I've I just posted on Facebook. Lord have mercy. >> You didn't give us a chance. >> Okay. >> Went straight to the to the social media. >> Well, I
064Well, well, you know how we are these days, Madam Chair. Okay. Good evening, Madame Chair Hugley Green and Superintendent David Lewis. And greetings to all the board members, administrators, support staff, and every employee of the Muscogee County School District. We the public cannot thank you enough for educating and caring for our most precious resource in our society, our children. I issue a colossal thank you. My name is Marvin Brawwater Senior and I served as the 62nd Georgia State Marshall for the state organization of Omega Sci-Fi Fraternity during the annual meeting this past October. And it is it and it is in that capacity that I address you this evening. I will not use the full five minutes hopefully allotted to me during this presentation as I am here to issue a few thank yous. First
065to the school board, I would like to thank you for approving the William Bill Bryant social action project as we conducted a STEM project for Carver High School and Shaw High School during the 62nd state meeting hosted by the Lambda AOTA chapter of Omega Sci-Fi Fraternity located here in Columbus. Incidentally, as the fraternity celebrates its 114th Founders Day today, it is appropriate for me to wish a happy founders day to every Omega man on around the globe. I am also here to thank the executive director of your career technical and agricultural education division, Dr. Victoria Thomas who was the first in administration to hear the plan as a proposal and approve it. Next, a special thank you to the principles of Carver High School and Shaw High School, Mr. Laoria Day and Dr. Hendrick, respectively,
066along with their administration and staff. The endeavor demonstrated how introducing pollutants to your body now may affect your overall health for years to come. This project might not have been as successful without the efforts of Dr. Sean Lane. If you all remember, he came up I mean, yeah, he came up and presented to you all. He serves as the state organization of Omega Sci-Fi Fraternity STEM chairman. He also facilitated this event. Last, but certainly not least, we give a colossal and stratospheric thank you to Dr. Michael Forte, who was the first person I contacted with this idea. This event was so successful that we would like to conduct a similar event next semester hosted by the Omega Lamplighters of Columbus, Georgia. We would like to open that event to the entire district. We are in
067the preliminary planning phase of gathering information. Now, this event will be at no cost to the district. I will return in January with more details of that event. In closing, thank you for the opportunity to be a part of our next generation lives, assisting them to become more productive citizens. We hope to inspire a few students to consider STEM careers since 75 of the highest paying careers will involve some aspect of STEM in 2032. I thank you and I thank you for not forgetting about me. God bless all of you. >> Well, let Mr. Ber, let me just tell you, I'm gonna take the rest of your minutes. >> Yes, ma'am. to to tell you that I didn't blast you on social media when you didn't show up >> when you were on the agenda
068for our work session. >> See, >> and you didn't even think about it until you saw me. And you reminded me in passing, sir, that you would show up for this meeting. So, I apologize because I forgot. But you are blasting us on social media. the the one >> even though you forgot >> the one the one two [laughter] there are two things good about social media madam chair you can take it down >> and you can amend it very quickly >> well let me just give you a stem let me give you a stem lesson is permanent it [clears throat] never goes away >> right Amen bless you I [laughter] will retract that as soon as I sit down bless you all and thank you all >> thank you Mr. Broward to have a
069happy Thanksgiving. All right, board members, we have an executive session for a legal matter. It's been updated as well as a student appeal. I need a motion to go into executive session. A student appeal. A motion by Miss Buckner, second by Dr. Chambers. All in favor, raise your hand. Wave good night. >> Are we raising our hand? >> Okay. All right. Thank you all. We'll be back.