001[Music] [Applause] [Music] Board of Education me now comes to order my apologies for starting a little late this morning please rise for the invocation oh god we pray to administer that which is just in all educational policies being ever mindful of your guidance stirs to action with love wisdom and understanding welcome to the meeting of the Board of Education this meeting is being televised live on a ACPs TV and live streamed on the Internet general information and protocols for the meeting are posted on the sign by the doorway as you entered the room so please make sure you read those if you have not already mr. granite and mr. Rhinehart are not able to be here this morning item 2.03 is approval of the minutes so moved any discussion all right all those in favor
002okay motion passes 6 6 0 all right item 2.0 for mr. Gilliland thank you madam president I moved to add to the agenda item 5.00 2017-18 Board of Education meeting dates item 2.05 as recognitions and there are none today item 2.06 miss Sasso today we recognize a professional who plays a vital role in our school system serving as a link between students parents staff and the community she provides a valuable service to students who are struggling with academic success and overall well-being and to teachers who benefit from her guidance in working with their students Claudette Robinson Blackwell social worker and MacArthur middle school demonstrate a high degree of professionalism in her daily interactions with all those who live she touches Claudette consistently maintains a professional and positive approach while helping other staff members focus on
003positive aspects and solutions for students she's a leader on her trauma team responses modeling for others have to respond in a calm and supportive way even in a crisis situation Claudette is a skilled communicator because of her ways in connecting and working effectively with staff Claudette was chosen from among nearly hundred psychologists and social workers to be a crisis prevention training for our county furthermore her department chair at McArthur notes that Claudette is the first person that she wants to have with her when there is a difficult parent or student meeting Claudette's work is as effective with students as it is with adults providing counseling and trauma support to schools where they have experienced a student death or other tragedy she uses intervention method to deescalate children reduce aggression and violence and maintain safety of
004the crisis student and others she also conducts both individual and group counseling with students working on such topics as anger management social skills and improving behavior Claudette is an active member of school teams that are focused on promoting positive changes and growth including the PB is team the behavior support team and the student support team she's also a member of the kindness committee in support of the superintendent's b-nice campaign Claudette is continuously taking a new volunteer and charitable projects such harvest for the hungry backpack Buddies and the gloves and hats campaign she also serves at her as her school volunteer coordinator soliciting parent volunteers and spent time screening and training them Claudette Robinson Blackwell you play an integral role in promoting the health and welfare of the MacArthur middle school family your interpersonal and professional
005skills make you a great communicator and as a member of a select group of highly qualified professionals chosen to train other staff countywide in these techniques are of the many reasons you have been chosen educator of the month for December 2017 the board commends you and thanks you for all you do for Anne Arundel County Public Schools congratulations [Applause] okay how did weaken I thought it to be here today what did they tell you well coming to speak about our County's backpack Buddies program so I was talking to my husband about that program and my supervisor and my supervisor supervisor about the works that are in place in my building so you got me mr. whitey I'm here and I want to thank my family for being here and I want to get first give
006on it to God for such an honor I don't consider this work this is just what I do I'm very passionate about the work that I do for the students and families and I thank you all for seeing the talents in me I come to work ready to go every day I have a lot of time to think about what I'm going to do and my 45-minute commute to work every day and it's what great joy that I bring to the job every day so it's truly an honor and a gift to receive [Applause] members of your family we're here with you I will first I want to start with okay she can't remember your name let me try and connect you all it's all about connections right so we tell us to do this
007how we persevere and build character and grit so a little bit about my own personal story and how I'm standing before you today my journey to Maryland began in 1981 when I lost my own mother to breast cancer so my beautiful sister took on the reins of raising me and to the woman that you see before me and you know that you can't do that without a strong man that stands beside you so I had the privilege of being raised by a man of great character no-nonsense go to school get your grades and bring home an attitude of gratitude and they're both here today so Matt McMullen please stand [Applause] so they raised me and as always keeping me grounded and focused and he's responsible for my nice outfit but really he is like the
008backbone of what I do to kind of push and pull and we we just got married two years ago so great honor and privilege to have my mother-in-law Alice blackwell [Applause] always keeping me inspired and freed up as I go into the buildings and in the community so thank you all for being here today is here he is going nonstop in the building buzzing here buzzy they're buzzing everywhere as you all know and he's here I guess he's a part of this great honor the work that goes into running the building and seeing that the students families and staff are attended to so I just want to thank you for all that you all see in me every day my family staff members team members thank you all so much I appreciate it we would
009like to present you with this certificate thank you and spell with your names so that you can use it when it's necessary [Applause] [Music] intermission we'll be taking pictures with you and all your family too so don't alright item 2.07 is Employee of the Month and has Oh mr. Gilliland Thank You Madame president today we recognize an employee and our school system whose work ethic reminds us of the song no one does it better because frankly no one does his job better than James summon custodian at Corcoran middle school [Laughter] [Applause] mr. summon begins each day at 6 am placing cones out on the parking lot to assist with traffic rain or shine he then thoroughly goes through the building making sure everything is ready for a smooth school day for both teachers and students
010whenever there is a problem that needs his attention James always goes above and beyond to get the problem resolved he takes pride in his work knowing that the appearance of the school is his responsibility James is unfailingly courteous and professional to everyone with whom he interacts he strives for excellence in all tasks big and small and keeps working until things are completed to perfection James follows through on our requests no matter how trivial they might seem in response to anything asked of him with willingness and maximum effort he exemplifies the high standard of customer service that a ACPs asks of its employees and always sets a positive professional tone in his interactions with others mr. Solomon's contributions to the positive environment at Corcoran don't stop with his meticulous care of the facility he interacts with
011students in a number of ways he has an amazing role model and mentor for the students at Corcoran one can hear him every day telling students to do their best and stay positive and a strong piece of advice he gives to students are your actions or how others perceive you administrators at the school have told us that some students say that they are trying to do better in school because of mr. Solomon James Salman you are a perfect example of whatever of the whatever it takes approach that helps make work in a safe supportive positive environment for students staff and families if anyone were to receive an award for a positive attitude it would be you your constant smile positive attitude and happy demeanor are contagious the Corcoran family feels lucky to have you on
012its team so on behalf of the Board of Education the students teachers and staff of the Anne Arundel County Public Schools we are pleased to recognize you as the Employee of the Month for December 2017 congratulations [Applause] [Music] no surprise yes what did you believe you were here for today to move furniture [Applause] so no uh no back-breaking work today i but who we saw a few people came in you like to introduce me this is my wife in the back rosin settlement from the great we do have a citation for you there's the the speech I just gave that's there for you as well and the Bellas and grave so [Applause] alright item 2.08 is volunteer of the month miss Cole throughout ACPs all of our schools are fortunate to have members of their
013community who devote their time to our students but some schools are truly privileged to have a volunteer that continuously exceeds all our expectations our December volunteer of the month has engaged all aspects of Sunset elementary school and has successfully welcomed and encouraged other parents to become involved in school as well this effort has significantly increased staff and community involvement in the school this month the board is honored to recognize miss Erin Bell PTA president and devoted member of Sunset elementary community as volunteer of the month as Laura Espinosa assistant principal stated mrs. Bell has been an asset to Sunset elementary school and since her child enrolled she has jumped in to supporting our parents teachers and students by serving as an officer on the PTA board first as vice president and currently as president mrs.
014Bell works tirelessly to ensure that families and members of Sunset elementary community are involved with the ongoings of the school through a monthly newsletter as well as a newly remodeled social media page has miss candida st. John said Erin's enthusiasm for the entire school community is evident she works hard to achieve the mission and vision of Sunset Elementary and ACPs MS Bell also strives to communicate effectively and be a positive role model to all in the community mrs. Bell embodies teamwork and commitment to the school community says Tony Carr school principal his car also says that mrs. Bell has been actively involved in planning and providing innovative programs and activities for the entire school community she has successfully organized a variety of PTA events to increase active family involvement at our school notably she is
015high supporter of teachers and staff at her school and recognizes their dedication in the education of students one example that is truly outstanding is the father-daughter dance that was held this winter for the first time at sunset Elementary from the red carpet or at the front door farce for each of the girls in fairytale decoration mrs. Bell led a team of volunteers to bring her vision to life the event was such a success that even the DJ posted about it on social media saying that no other gig could compare to it and expressed that he was humbled and proud to be a part of it as Miss Espinoza said Miss Bell has set a vision of partnership between the community and school and through her positive and kind words and effective actions has built confidence
016in our school community and has been a catalyst to increase parent participation as well as staff involvement miss Belle thank you for your exemplary volunteer work to benefit the students staff and family of Senza elementary school would you please come forward and with great appreciation I would like to present you with a volunteer certificate and Belle to you [Applause] and how do they trick you to come here today boring PYP represented in who's come here to support you today my husband and my friend with the PTA we've friends outside the item 2.09 is school and community highlights miss chordal at mrs. Homer miss Nellie and I had the opportunity to go visit the International Education or Welcome Center located at the Phoenix Academy what about a week ago and we were just so impressed by
017the staff and the lobby was full of folks who had been displaced from Hurricane Maria and they were coming in and getting welcomed and and situated here at ACPs were just grateful that we have that Center available now mr. Gilliland I would just like to say I had the privilege of visiting the Faust student artwork exhibition which was held at the Maryland House of Delegates building this past Monday I could not stay for the entire event but I was able to tour the gallery that they had staged at the start of the event and the winner of the event was Elizabeth Kiley of Smyrna Park High School and her piece was called Gramps which I thought was just amazing but it really was a testament to the great creativity of our students statewide and you
018know certainly very special for a ACPs to have one of its own when the state award and be presented by first lady Yumi Hogan missin Ali I attended the scholarship for scholars meeting and this this group Board of Trustees was established many many years ago by former superintendent dr. ed Anderson to use the state funds that can't come to us through the state and it is it is over the years the group has provided over in excess of three million dollars in scholarships to Anne Arundel County public and private students and so it has really made a huge difference for our students Debbie Hardy who is the executive assistant announced her resignation this morning she's been working with scholarship for scholars for 17 years and she will as Greg Stuyvesant one of the board of
019trustees members said she will be very difficult if not impossible to replace I also want to thank the Board of Trustees this volunteer group and I want to commend South River High School as from our high schools who had the most applicants for scholarships they had over 76 applicant 76 applicants in 2017 and 57 received scholarships so this is a commendation for the counselors and the people who really let the students know I know the Board of Trustees goes out and and I want to you know encourage all guidance counselors in their in their schools to let the students know get this information out because these scholarships are invaluable there's one worth $6,000 which was the ed Anderson scholarship so they are excellent wonderful scholarships I also want to commend Anne Arundel County retired school
020personnel each year they give $12,000 to this organization to provide scholarships for students who are pursuing a degree in education and I think this is a remarkable way that I retired teachers they do a lot and that people don't even realize I'm one so I know what they do but anyway but they do a lot but this is one thing that I don't think is really maybe people don't know about but they do provide these scholarships for these worthy students so thank you very much scholarship for scholars for all that you do and thank you to the guidance counselor's for from making sure that the students are aware of this opportunities thank you I want to echo what mr. Gilliland said we're talking about that great creativity and talent of our students in the county
021this past weekend I had the pleasure of attending an original play at Annapolis High School lost in Narnia this was a play written by a student directed by a student everything was student-run and very ambitious and it really was a great opportunity for the kids and a and a really fine result for it so really enjoyed that and I know all of our schools across County just do amazing drama artwork and so as we get into places and concert season I encourage everyone to go to your local school and check it out even beginning strings concerts because someday they will someday they will be seniors and they will sound better so item 2.10 is the CAC report morning Melanie Tiger tear the CAC we continue to meet the second Monday of each month 7:00 to
0229:00 p.m. here in the boardroom like last year we won't meet in December because of the busyness of the month and to let our subcommittees get started so our next meeting will be Monday 8th January we will have mats danske I saw him over there present the budget to us which is just in time for the public hearings and workshops so that's good timing to have that in January he's been gracious enough to do that the last few years and it's really one of our favorite meetings of the year I feel like we learned so much at that budget meeting so thank you for your willingness to do that we also appreciate dr. aloud his visit in October where he presented the strategic plan to us which of course is before the board today we've
023got a really great committee this year those board members that have made it to meetings have seen we have really engaged members and they're eager to disseminate information on behalf of the board and the county and to filter feedback back in an effort to help get the word out next week Kelly prunella our Vice Chair and I will be doing a parent connect cable TV interview with Teresa Tudor so we will be filming that and I don't know exactly when it will be coming out but watch for that so we hope to get some information out about the CAC that way as well common issues we've heard about this year won't be a surprise to anyone in this room we do still continue to hear about the school calendar in school hours overcrowding in schools
024is a hot topic now social and emotional wellness of students I'll get to more of that in a minute but it was really great to see one of our social workers we recognized this morning and that's addressing some of the things that we're hearing about and then transportation we do appreciate the board and the staffs willingness to work with us on answering questions so as you know we have sent specific questions both to people in the staff and the board and have gotten very helpful answers that we've been able to get back to the community and we appreciate that as you'll see from the list of subcommittees some of these are things that we will work on so we have finalized our committees for the year just last week we have populated all of those
025and there are five the first one is a continuing committee from last year that has been renamed slightly with a focus partially based on the strategic plan and conversation with dr. alato that we are focusing on social emotional wellness of students so we have a core of committee members that are experts in mental health life skills preparations high risk student populations and so we're hoping to learn more about the services provided by the school to help get the word out to the community about those programs to identify clusters specific best practices so that we can share those with other clusters and then perhaps identify any gaps if they exist in services so to that end we did have the Director of Student Services who I see back there he came out to our November meeting
026and which was really helpful to to educate all of our committee and to help that subcommittee get started our second committee is focused on we don't really quite know what to name it but school overcrowding and Community Development relationships so both of our mister Gilliland and mrs. Hummer and when you came that was an area of interest as as all of us know we have many new students and and having the staff to follow has been a challenge for multiple reasons so the board and staff have helped us already to learn about how the community development process in the county has allowed an increase in student populations and that's contributed to overcrowding in some areas so what our committee wants to do is to help educate the community about how that happens with respect to
027community development and then advocate for the school system as appropriate to ameliorate those impacts related to that or third committee is a little bit broader is based on advocacy in general so related to school overcrowding but a little bit broader we have many members who are just really eager to work with our community to advocate for our schools and so we're trying to figure out ways to do that we're aware that by CAC policy we are limited in how we can lobby on issues and we'll work carefully with Teresa and the board to make sure we follow all of those policy guidelines and the vision isn't to lobby per se but to really mobilize community stakeholders to help advocate for our schools that's really the vision of that of that committee and then our last
028two the fourth one is on college and career readiness really focusing on the great programs that exist throughout our County already and to help disseminate those best practices and our experience with the CAC will find one high school cluster does some really neat things with respect to college and career readiness and we're just hoping to maybe collate those and help get the word out and and you the resources already provided by the school system and make sure that those are that word about those are getting out and then finally we have a long-standing Committee on equity we will continue that work the focus isn't set specifically yet they will get with the equity office which has had some changes over the last few months and personnel we want to make sure that our focus is
029in line with that office and with with the board as well so we definitely would appreciate input on items of interest from the board as well so our committee work is just getting started like I said we just finalized those on 1 December so we'll be getting started on that and then look forward to updating you in the coming months on on what we find thank you thank you item 2.1 one is the PTA report Wow I was I was also in shock I'm congratulation misspelled thank you for making the PTA what it is I hope people will follow your lead and that you will be a great example and I would love to talk to you about maybe you know joining us here at the AAC PTA you know we always need great leaders
030like you to continue to promote the pts as you can see it's a great addition to the school so thank you very much I'm so happy I was here this morning okay so that makes me my leeway even easier so audits are done every school if they still need any help we are here to help just send us an email and we'll respond as soon as possible we also encourage all PTA s to please file with the IRS as we want to continue to maintain their status we don't want to lose that please reach out I try my best to answer all emails as fast as I can and if not we do have a meeting next Tuesday here at this building at 5:30 and I will be here even if nobody else shows up
031and if you need any help I can help you out also the Maryland PTA is very gracious has been having a lot of trainings for our treasures audits treasures so we do have one tonight and it's a webinar so you can be in your PJs and one on the 14th so no excuse to my treasures and PTAs who are listening to please take it seriously because we do benefit a lot as a school having PTAs as our example miss Belle of course other schools that I am very proud of listening and hearing and seeing on their Twitter pages and Facebook the wonderful work they do for our children every day so I encourage them to continue to do that and that they know that I am very grateful to be up here representing them so
032thank you very much that's all my updates thank you okay we're now gonna take a short break so that we can have photos taken with our employee volunteer and educators of the month so if all those folks would head to the lobby and we'll be back here in about ten minutes [Music] okay we're gonna start back up can you hear me now nope oh there we go thank you miss Howell all right we will now move on to public comment anyone wishing to speak on an item not on today's agenda may offer testimony during this public comment portion of the meeting speakers are allotted three minutes each and may not allocate their time to others a tone will sound when time has expired the board asks that comments remain civil and appropriate for the various
033audiences that may be watching or viewing this meeting student specific and personnel matters are confidential and cannot be discussed in this forum it is not the board's general practice to engage and question an answer session with speakers for the record please give your name before speaking and handouts should be given to the board assistant so first Tracy Henderson Jimmie Arbogast Janet Taff and that will be the first batch good morning thank you for welcome my name is Tristan and of stuff I'm apart my mother of John side mr. school I have I have a question you know consign of students will finish school districts for America number one rioters destroyed it our testers do not know what covered on the tax was coming home from school okay I have noticed from school you know and
034the tests it was crying confused the man look math car and I know that okay change the grade that's confused to the parents okay right now I want to know the scale I have noticed that it was 59% and the waiting but the napa snake and the mass and stance and I know that this district had tried to improve that's custom for this killer and I feel like okay we aspired yes it started home and when they school with the different spell I noticed that you know I'm not trying to spark the testing cause we're aspired do not know what carpets on the test okay and the touch right now confusing the kid because if they're gonna learn new way of mail we want to know the the formula the new way of math and
035how we couldn't work with my children at home to teach them without it shouldn't come home we'll see like I said the starting up the review for the started for the cast some of the teachers are not on giving the students that information to bring home this is why I'm addressing the board because dr. need to be Chinese because now I know that the old gray scales is okay 899 a oh not on big you know be okay your fake wants to do the quiet that way we would like to know that way okay with them change them and telling us the other way or it's confused we want to know what I shied proving reading and math and where they you know address you know I want to address that option two minutes nothing
036that's why I'm here you know because without me that neurons oh well it's covered on the test just like for example the teacher gave but this kid this testing this come from Department is custom wear that do y'all a store on shade okay now the question is top of the answer to the question is not related to the question they've been out and I feel like that stop the need to be done stop the need to be fist you know something need to be fist on that they need to do something about that because I noticed that in the test books that my stride had brought home the hell you like improper words when I stay in proper work okay like I'm America okay I'm of African American okay but there are using the Devourer
037term our history or car like they found that they're trying to say that we are slave okay I don't like the way they user because it's it's not taught in school and school because that's no better in school you know because they use that word like slave or use the n-word in school with the big I think them do it you know it up pushing the child is to become abilities you know miss Henderson I'm thank you the time's up dr. our lotto here translate miss Anderson thank you for coming in would you do me a favor and meet with our assistant superintendent for curriculum instruction so she can talk one-on-one with you about what your concerns are yeah thank you thank you thank you all right good morning members of council I'm Jim Harvey
038gasps I think some of you already know me by now I've been in a news couple of times I'm hauling some sand it's going on southern high school I'm the father of a transgender student who was targeted earlier this month actually last month by a group of bullies calling themselves confederate lives matter well this may have been the highlight that made the news I assure you this wasn't the first incident and certainly wasn't the last incident of bullying and targeting against transgender children in my school I will admit that my initial Jeannie jerk reaction was to blame southern high school and looking at it now I know that wasn't the case moving forward I want to acknowledge first at the board members some board members did actually email me and respond to my emails when
039I first brought up my concerns I believe that the school board itself is the one notified the police and that's what started the initial investigation I also want to highlight that I was contacted on the 30th of November by the original superintendent for the southern cluster to which I did reply and I expressed some of my concerns about change in policy I've yet to hear from him the Maryland Attorney General his office for civil rights reached out to again the school board state school board and the regionals and the county school board who in turn I did reach was contacted by the deputy superintendent for students yesterday afternoon and she wants to set up a meeting discuss changes at Southern High School my goal is not to change southern high school I admit southern high
040school just one factor moved forward I want to encourage the school system as a whole to set by the true policies true guidelines that is universal throughout our school I look at our school system arundel high schools probably good example of principal and staff taking the lead Technol reins on how to protect these transgender children meet high school is another good example however I believe the administration at both the middle and high school levels don't know how to treat transgenders because they don't have a clear guidance they don't have their left and right boundaries realize the LGBT community especially transgender community transcend race sex religion even Republican Democrat whatever they are out there these kids are the silent the silent ones they're going to school every day they don't want to highlight themselves they don't
041want to be targeted they don't want to show that they were born in one section and they are definitely another sex they want to go about their lives however they are day by day ever-growing being targeted for hatred for physical abuse for physical violence and in some cases of rape however I believe the school systems and the schools themselves should be that seat that neutral place for these kids to go educate themselves go and do good things and also be able to confide with their teachers and staff that there is something going on but at home both in school or both in a public and I'm asking for change there are two good support groups in this state PFLAG a maryland and glisten that be more unhappy they're both nonprofits that would be more than
042happy to come in here and help educate this board members and staff of the schools on how to treat and respect these transgender children I'm not asking for big change I'm certainly not asking you to accept my child in his decisions by asking you to protect the children and to help educate these children mr. Abhi's thank you for coming in and I know that as you said you've met with school staff and I know that you recently as early yesterday wasn't we're in contact with our deputy superintendent miss Jack's I know you're setting up a meeting I don't know that you are aware that we were if I'm not mistaken the first school system in the state to develop guidelines to support transgender students I am and those are those are guidelines that we that
043we could say are dynamic meaning we need to change them and improve them and get better as we learn more and better ways to support our students so if you've not had a chance to review those please do and then you can help us provide and certainly in the meeting and I know that mrs. Jackson asks you yesterday for specifics what are some of those specific things that we can get better at and not just supporting your son I know you're advocating for all of our transgender students so if you can help us with those specifics those are dynamic while they're written down and they're posted on our website and we made them very public and we've started and we started when we developed those guidelines we started professional development for our teachers and administrators
044and we're going to continue to do that but they are dynamic we to learn more from students from parents from others we've been in contact with a number of the other support groups listen and others so that we can learn more and improve our guidelines so I look forward to learning more about the conversation you have at the school with our deputy superintendent thank you so thank you for your continued support thank you I have been a resident of Traci's Landing for thirty years I live in a tight-knit community with great neighbors who have children at Southern my children are grown and my daughter is a fourth grade teacher in Chicago she shares much information meet with me about anti-bullying and I've been there and helped her set up her classroom and signs are everywhere
045and there's no tolerance for bullying I am here to support the Arbogast family I have not met them until today their son has been the victim of harassment and bullying at Southern I know about this through the Capitol newspaper I have been in contact with MS core black who encouraged me to come and speak out if I felt comfortable this is not my thing that I typically do but I'm happy to be here and and let you know that the community does care about this child and all children at Southern and other schools mrs. Kaur burlock told me about the investigation but I do not fully understand the privacy laws protecting the perpetrators but it appears there is silence as to the consequences of the actions towards the victim if parents are to talk to
046their children at Southern as suggested in the letter that was sent home after the article appeared in the paper and I want to highlight that was after the article appeared in the paper the parents were asked to talk to their children and what do they tell their children at southern what are the consequences if something is done rather than just talking to them they need to know what's gonna happen if you do something you bully you spit on somebody you disrespect them my background is health care specifically dental care and I am big on prevention what is being done to prevent future harassment such such as the attack on Ryan Arbogast everyone should feel safe at school and I hope that some of the things you're talking about I learned a lot this morning about
047what has happened with the transgender situation but what I'm looking at is more in the way of prevention so this doesn't continue to happen not just taking this one incident but I certainly support them and their son totally but I would like to know what's going on and it seems that because of these privacy laws and rules that we don't get that information I printed out this thing that's the policy from the Board of Education of Anne Arundel County about student records and I had some questions when I looked at this because it's talking about it reminds me of the HIPAA information I'm familiar with in health care that we all have to sign but what this talks about and what at one point under this section D make available to parent legal guardian or
048eligible student who would be Ryan in conferences with appropriate school personnel and to make these records available so I don't know why the information is withheld I know it has to do with the age and all that and I certainly don't know the law about it but I was just printing this out to familiarize myself with it so I appreciate your time and all that you do thank you dr. Elanna thank you and thank you for supporting being here and supporting the our bagasse we have a Student Code of Conduct and maybe we can that's posted on our website maybe we can share that with you so that okay perfect all right so you're well aware so there are consequences we don't identify students and consequences publicly those are things those are private like we
049would go with like we looking to protect all of our students both the victims and the perpetrators and so that's not information but but there are consequences the schools take those seriously and all in all cases and follow the Student Code of Conduct and contact the police when necessary thank you Thank You mr. alright the next group is Patricia Mathis Priscilla Smith pilot Earl Smith Randy Williams and Mike Shay good morning I'm Patricia Mathis I live in Annapolis and I'm a retired teacher I'm here today to ask you to speak out against the construction of a cell tower at Shadyside Elementary the International Agency for research on cancer classified RF radiation as a possible human carcinogen in 2011 since then the National Toxicology program study found exposure to wireless radiation increase the prevalence of malignant
050heart and brain cancers in rodents and so in 2016 the American Academy of Pediatrics issued recommendations to reduce cellphone cellphone exposures just recently Maryland became the first day to respond to the new US study linking Wireless radiation to cancer the Maryland state children's environmental health and protection Advisory Council issued recommendations to reduce radiofrequency radiation to students in classrooms to as low as reasonably possible the council cited the recent US National Toxicology program findings of increased match of increased malign cancers in animals as well as children's unique vulnerability to the radiation while several countries already have such protective measures Maryland is the first state to have a state body issue protective recommendations so why is this school board not responding to the Maryland children's environmental health and protection council's call to reduce RF exposure to children
051in schools instead you're adding more by endorsing a tower near the playground isn't it the job of the school board to consider the issues brought before it aren't you supposed to help us fix the problems instead when we talk about this issue you just say we don't agree how could you not at least consider the possibility that you might be making a mistake in the face of all of the studies and organizations who are citing the dangers and risks in November 2014 in a unanimous decision the mayor and city council of Greenbelt Maryland sent a letter to Prince George's County administration opposing the construction of cell towers on school properties in the city the mayor said it's basically a way of raising money and that's not the way to raise money cell phone company there
052could be a serious financial risk to putting up a tower on school grounds what liability insurance does the board and department have cellphone companies are informing their shareholders that there's a financial risk due to health issues one example crown castle company wrote in the 216 annual report to its shareholders quote the potential connection between our radiofrequency emissions and certain negative health effects including some forms of cancer has been the subject of substantial study by the scientific community in recent years we cannot guarantee that claims relating to RF emissions will not arise in the future or that the results of such studies will not be adverse to us input thank you thank you miss Mathis okay I don't have to do anything huh okay my name is Priscilla Smith from Shadyside my family neighbors and I
053have been coming here for the past few months speaking out against the proposed cell tower at Shadyside elementary school and we've presented numerous current medical studies and clear community opposition I'm here again because unfortunately this board has yet to do anything to help us and the decision is still in your hands your response to our concern so far have been that you don't share our concerns on the other hand you have have you actually have a full-time employee dedicated to helping milestone put towers on school grounds who do you work for milestone or the public the American Academy of pediatric has changed their official recommendations for RF exposure on their website they recommend that the US government tighten wireless exposure limits and that the public reduce children's exposure to cell phone tower radiation the American
054Academy of Pediatrics states that children are not little adults and they're disproportionately impacted by all environmental exposures including RF radiation they continue to state that current FCC standards do not account for the unique vulnerabilities specific to children and that it is essential that any new standards should be based on protecting of youngest and most vulnerable populations to ensure that they are safeguarded throughout their lifetimes in fact our very own Maryland State Advisory Council on children's environmental health and protection issued recommendations to reduce radiofrequency radiation to students in classrooms to as low as reasonably possible but as you can see school districts are not acting on these expert Public Health recommendations why not if you do not share my concerns then you are also saying that you do not share the concerns of the American Academy
055in Pediatrics or the Maryland State Advisory Council on children's environmental health and protection putting a cell tower on school grounds directly violates the mission of your board to protect children and violates the trust of the children you're working for in no way can you comply with the clear recommendations of the American Academy of Pediatrics to reduce children's RF exposure and continue to put cell towers on school grounds in Maryland I'm asking you to reevaluate and cancel those deals you have with milestone and Len forcus and stop putting cell towers on school grounds in Maryland please thank you thank you Miss Smith my name is pilot Earl Smith and I live in Shadyside I want to know why you are putting cell towers at schools I live right next to Shadyside elementary school I am a
056kid that will be forced to live under a cell tower nobody asked me if that was okay if medical doctors are telling you to reduce radiation for children then why are you not listening living next to a school should be the safest place to grow up what are you doing to help me thank you pilot hi I'm Randy Williams and I just gave you a handout of a letter from a doctor um a Martha Herbert dr. Martha Herbert is a pediatric neurologist and a neuroscientist she's at the Massachusetts General Hospital and on the faculty of the Harvard School of Medicine she wrote a paper to review literature looking for a potential link between electromagnetic frequencies and autism spectrum disorders in a letter to the Los Angeles United a Unified School District she in 2013 she
057wrote the following and that's all in the paper I'm just giving you some quotes there are thousands of papers that have accumulated over decades and are now accumulating at an increased an accelerated pace as our ability to measure impact becomes more sensitive that document the document excuse me that document adverse health and neurological impacts of EMF EMF from wireless Wi-Fi and cell towers can exert a disorganizing effect on the ability to learn and remember and can also be destabilizing to the immune and metabolic functions those were her quotes that are in the the letter that I gave you so please review this letter she said she stated 550 citations of studies that were done in her document she wrote a study 60 page document reviewing the cases but please review this because this basically tells
058us that there is absolute definite scientific studies out there that tell us that cell path cell towers are not safe and increasing the wireless capacity of our classrooms is extremely dangerous and while we're looking at that I know they're putting an addition onto Shadyside elementary school and since I'm on the PTO and I really care about the children maybe we can just look at hardwiring those classes and not adding any more Wi-Fi to a school that doesn't need it thank you very much thank you miss Williams Mike Shea and I'd like to speak to the process and transparency the senior manager of the school system would know the process and would know that he was not accurate when he promised our community an up or down vote this last September the senior manager of your
059planning knew that our written questions for milestone were never answered even after he repeatedly asked milestone for them to answer our written questions the senior managing manager planning new milestones required public meeting account was not accurate in a representation of what happened he was there it was billed as a community informational meeting and still the community's questions are not answered these are the exact reasons Prince George's County dismissed milestone from doing business in Prince George's County but for our Anne Arundel County School Board this is business as usual you've aligned yourself with milestone a company that's thrown out of Prince George's County for reasons that you continued to ignore and defend the majority of the Anne Arundel County School Board is on the wrong side of safety for our children the wrong side of history
060the wrong side of process and the wrong side of transparency you've overworked you've over reached the system on behalf of milestone for no direct benefit to students and by most educated accounts endangered their health you've also dodged accountability by not voting in front of the public I'd like to give you an update on our community and parents being locked out of the PTO and now closed out some of the Anne Arundel County school board administration has claimed dependents independence from the PTO there is plenty of written and implied relationship that exists we've talked in the past about the lockout of our parents with the assistance of the school board the school principal in Shadyside I will share with you that the locked-out has now turned to close down the Executive Board of the PTA voted
061unanimously to disregard the requests of 12 new members to create a standing committee on health and safety the principal is a member of the executive committee this was an important and reasonable request by the parents that wish to focus and work on the most important issue for our children parents expect and assume this issue of health and safety is being addressed by the PTO and it is not it is being shunned Thank You mr. Shea CJ mu Shaw and Keena are my guests am I saying that correctly is it Kenan Kenan I didn't is it is it kina it is kina thank [Music] I didn't start okay great thank you so much for having me here today my name is CJ mu Shah and I live in Mayo Maryland I'm here to talk about the
062cyber bullying and physical bullying taking place at southern just as a community member and advocate of equality there has been quite a lot of violence going on and a number of folks from the community have spoken up and reached out and offered support to the school to the County Council and now to the school board and we're really happy to have your ear the Gay Straight Alliance at Southern High School has also spoken up and asked for the opportunity to speak before the student body and humanize some of the aspects that other students may have trouble relating to you or not have a lot of exposure to unfortunately that request pretty simple request was denied and I don't want to single out southern because we're all a community and nobody should be left alone and
063that's either the school or the board or the actual individuals targeted are doing the targeting this is something we work on as a unit the students targeted and the students who are doing the targeting are really voicing a need for our guidance as a community at a minimum some basic anti-bullying education would be a wonderful way to start really a wonderful way to start and there's a lot of resources available to us after Crofton elementary school experienced a traumatizing hate crime incident at their school the community government and local churches student body everybody came together and a show of loving kindness for the students in school and folks that use the facilities from that effort kindness grows here nonprofit has been developed and also offers some really amazing anti-bullying workshops in the community the principal
064at Crofton is having that workshop take place at the school the workshop was developed based on extensive social service and experience supporting youth and young adult psychology and wellness and I think it would be a great place for Southern to start as well and something easy that they could kind of take advantage of that's already going on in the community thank you thank you miss Michelle hi my name is kina Arbogast you heard from my husband Jamie previously my son is Ryan he is a transgender student at Southern High School he's been a victim of both in-person bullying cyber bullying physical threats among other things unfortunately in our community I'm here today to ask you guys to step up both the guidelines on transgender students as one they are not sufficient they do not meet
065the needs of the students and also to ask that they're implementing be completed unfortunately many of the staff members we have come across are both not aware of the guidelines participate existing and the ones who are aware that they exist don't know either what they say what they mean or how to actually execute what they say from a safety standpoint a my my understanding of the guidelines there's really not anything in there that protects these LGBTQ students although I know that our students fall under title nine and I don't see anything written in the guidelines that refers to that I know that's something important that historically has protected you know children on sex discrimination however I don't see in the guidelines anything referred to that thinks I sent you thank you so that's my pool
066at title nine as far as the staff the guidelines the staff needs training as far as LGBT concerns as far as what their students are experiencing what what it means to be that student and what they experience in their school environment what their needs are from the teachers from the staff from a safety standpoint is is my biggest concern right now is that these students are not being protected you know again because the the staff those teachers don't understand the guidelines and also because the guidelines do not have safety safety you know safety codes written within them safety zones one of the things for that should be in the guidelines which some schools such as Arundel high school have is something called safety zones which for any student is a place where they can go
067and they can be removed from a bullying situation regardless of the reason for the bullying I think that covers that as far as the training for that as my husband said earlier there's wonderful resources when within the community one of them being PFLAG another one being glisten so if you could take the time and help us get those those resources and that training in order to keep all of our children safe thank you thank you mr. Arbogast is there any other public comment okay to item 4.01 which is an information to action item do I have a motion to move this from information to action always favor doctor a lot of your recommendation yes ma'am I recommend that the Board of Education approved the contract for professional engineering design and construction administration services for the
068parking lot and bus loop expansion at a Rundle middle school are there any board questions or comments any public comment all those in favor motion passes okay item 5.00 is the 2017 2018 Board of Education meeting dates mr. Gilliland thank you madam president I move that the Board of Education general session on January 24th 2018 scheduled for 10:00 a.m. be changed to an evening meeting beginning at 7 p.m. are there any board comments miss Corder lack my only concern with switching it today I know that I personally can't be here at that evening meeting I can be here with the day meeting and mr. Reinhart and mr. crane and I aren't here to weigh in so if by chance they're not available either we would be down to a five person meeting which means everybody
069would have to vote and unanimously for anything that we're trying to pass I understand we won't have our newest board member until February so that's my only concern about the switch musasa public to basically know that the consideration of the board to change it to an evening meeting it's because most of it is budget and even though it has been public already that the budget has discussed at that meeting we would be making some type of decisions so that they are no actually it's not that it will not be that it's not the budget meeting we will prior to that in the two weeks prior to that we will have two public budget hearings and a public budget workshop but the 24th January 24th meeting will not be to vote on the budget we simply
070would like to move it to an evening meeting because we try each month to have a day meeting and evening meeting to reach more people and the previa meeting of the month is a day meeting so this would be for that so it would not be a budget meeting there will be other business going on but we won't be voting on the budget at night okay okay any other comments all right all those in favor opposed okay motion passes five one item five point zero one is administrative personnel appointments doctor a lot of your recommendation yes ma'am I recommended the personnel listen on the attached sheets be promoted and or appointed so move okay are there any questions or comments okay all those in favor motion passes six zero item five point zero two is
071personnel dr. Otto your recommendation yes ma'am I recommend the board approve the actions as stipulated on the attached sheets okay are there any board questions or comments all those in favor motion passes six zero item 5.03 is an information item policy and we have a lot of policy today go for it miss Ortiz second readings good morning for the record Jeanette words he is legislative and policy council so we have item 5.0 three is board membership policy be a a it's on second reading I did want to point out that at the last when this was this policy was on first reading it was requested that I insert sunset language to make it clear that after a certain date different provisions of the policy would go into effect without the board having to take action
072and just to give a little bit of background on that BAA is being amended as a result of new state law which will ultimately create a fully elected school board so that has caused us to have to update some of our board policies and this one on board membership so you will see on the bottom of the first page here under position item two I added it's similar to what the General Assembly does with sunset language I had to tweak it a little bit which basically says that the policy language will remain effective until December 2nd 2018 and then at the end of that would no further action by the board the new policy language will take effect and that follows on the second page I on the second page where it says the composition
073of the board shall change beginning December 3rd at such time the board will move toward a composition so the of seven nonpartisan elected members that will move forward language because it won't be a full elected board as of December 3rd I think that moved toward cup encompasses exactly and so I was trying to wear that in the way even though the law says we now have a fully elected school board you know as of June 1st when it went into effect that's not technically accurate because the first elections are into that 2018 and then we will have three more elections in 2022 so it's not until 2022 that we will truly have a fully elected school board so I put it I put that language moving towards the fully elected school board just to kind
074of address that that some will be elected but some will still have been and they're appointed okay positions are there any other board questions or comments and this was a second reading of this will come before us for votes the next meeting yes correct all right item five point zero four so policy Bab board powers and duties again was this was not affected as far as having to do any sunset language and the change here was some stylistic changes but specifically in their position there was reference to the education article of the Maryland Code however because we're now moving towards an elected school board we are also under the election articles so I just um put in accordance with state law just to be accurate but that's in effect once it goes there's no future
075effective date on this particular policy are there any board questions or comments any public comment okay that's one will be coming back to us next month yeah next meeting correct item 5.05 so policy be be appointment call picking qualifications in term of office this is similar to be a a in that some provisions take effect now once the board finalizes improves the policy changes and then other provisions will take effect December 2nd 2018 so if you see on page 3 of 7 of the policy at the bottom item 5 I inserted the same sunset language that I inserted in passi be a there any board questions or comments any public comment will see this back for a third reading yes miss meeting item five point zero six this is Posse BFA board policy dissemination I
076don't have to make any additional changes to this one so again it's just updating how we disseminate our policies and regulations to the public okay any board questions or comments any public comments okay see it back here next meeting yes correct item five point zero seven so this is a student fund raise they make sure I have the right one student fundraising policy ke and this was just updating policy that was very dated and just reorganizing it I mean updating it to current practices aren't there any board questions or comments any public comment and so far none of these that have received any public comment when Petra direct yeah all right we'll see this from back next meeting meeting yes thank you item five point zero eight so this is a DJ funding proposals grants
077and special requests you may recall I'm at the last meeting on first reading I explained that we have currently four different standalone policies dealing with substantially similar things so a group of us met to determine the most efficient way to have this information out there for the public and so policies DJ a DJ b and d JC were consolidated into new policy DJ and the accompanying regulations were consolidated into the DJ are a regulation are there any board questions or comments any public comment okay we'll see it back next meeting item five point zero nine okay so cuz this is policy Kady visitors to the schools I know there were some questions and clarifications that were requested of this policy on first reading so you will know under the purpose on page one of the
078policy I inserted language to make it clear that we are dealing with school visitors during the school day I also included or other bona fide school activities that is language as we used in the education article in state law I know there was a concern expressed of you know what if it's an activity that's happening outside of the normal school days for that I think will encompass everything we need it she makes it clear this is for school regular school functions and those were the that was the only I did the same for the regulation as well my apologies on the purpose of page one of the regulation I inserted the same language just to clarify that are there any questions or comments on this pause any public comment all right there was no way
079I'm sorry miss a so I want to go back to the word shall was it basically pinpointed anywhere that for us shout is must yes so I spoke to Tyson about this and I know that the board has discussed you know what terms should be used to indicate that something is required and so what was determined prior to my arriving at a a CPS and what is consistent with state law drafting is that shell is a must in a requirement there are instances in state law which must is used if it's something like you must be sort of for the election the school board the new elected school board you must be a resident of Anne Arundel County to to run for you know the elected school board but other than that it's very limited
080when the state uses must shell is is what is used and may is just optional and may not is really shall not so that's so I did speak to Tyson about that per your request Smith Sasso and he did agree that we are using the proper language and we've been consistent throughout our policies and regulations and in the older policies and regulations that I come across where Shou is not being used I've updated it so that we are consistent because we don't want inconsistencies as that could create questions as to our true intent so it is known that our intent for shot is a must it's a requirement yes yes and that is used in state law and regulation drafting as well and state law I actually created my own little drafting manual to help
081me draft and I've put that in their definition of what shallot and then the state has a drafting manual and it explicitly states what Xiao means what may means and what must mean thank you welcome and I just wanted to say there was one public comment on the KD and it was just someone believed it was either reading specialist as of one of the school staff just asking about the the provision in the regulation where it states that you know on page two of three item six that parents who wish to create an audio recording of a meeting with school personnel would have to request permission of the school principal and she was just asking for clarification of that and I was able to answer her question she was satisfied with my answers all right
082let's see this one back at the next meeting all right item 5.10 so this takes us back to these are rescinding of policies and they relate to policy DJ and as we've done in the past you may recall we did it with materials of instruction over the summer of policy I H we're because we work in solid reading policies and regulations into one new policy regulation the other policies that have now been sort of transferred over are no longer needed so once the board approves the final version of policy GJ at that time I would ask that you also vote to rescind policies DJ a DJ B and DJ see as they were they will be incorporated into policy DJ are there any board questions or comments any public comment all right I'll see that
083one back on the 20th yes item 5.1 one okay so we have Posse iih quarterly assessments at the division of curriculum instruction office of school performance division of studies and programs and instructional data division are bringing Posse iih quarterly assessments before you for first reading this policy was last revised on November 4th 2015 the updated policy removes the language regarding waiver of the quarterly assessment in the fourth marking period and keeps this process in the regulation where truly belongs the regulation has been updated to allow only seniors who are an AP or IB courses to take an eye and take an eye AP or IB exam the option to waive the quarterly assessment in the forth of marking period this change will would take effect in the 2018 2019 school year the policy will be
084posted on our website for 30 days for public comment and we can answer any questions you may have mr. Gilliam thank you my question is not necessarily about the changes for the policy but just within the policy there and I know it's in the Reg as well the comment about superintendents designee allows the farm students to not have to pay for AP or IB exams is is there a way that that's done you know with some discretion or you know something that's discreet so that it's not widely known you know so that students can do that without fear of others knowing yes the answer is yes that is done discreetly through the counselor's office and the administrators there any other questions or comments any public comment all right so we'll see this one back and
085after the 30-day pilot just 30-day period and that was a lot for you today thank you thank you very much all right item 5.1 chu is an action item maryland Open Meetings Act trainee designation mr. Gilliland thank you madam president I move that the board named Julie Hummer Stacy core black and Colin Reinhardt as official Maryland open meeting act designee zuv the Board of Education of Anne Arundel County are there any board comments on this this is a new provision of the law and once board members have received training they can then be designated as the designee and mr. black mr. Rhinehart and I all completed the training so that's why it is now coming before you and so all those in favor motion passes six sorry my mic was off doctor a lot of
086your recommendation yes ma'am I recommend board approval of these courses beginning with the 2017-2018 school year alright and I believe that we do not have so are there any board questions or comments regarding these new courses any public comments all right all those in favor all right motion passes six zero okay item 5.1 for is an information action item do I have a motion to move this from information to action second doctor a lot Oh your recommendation yes ma'am I recommend board approval of the brock bridge Elementary School deed and deed of easement and are there any board questions or comments well I have one this is just in a little sliver of the corner of the property is that correct yes ma'am for the record I'll check no chief operating officer one of the
087slivers is so little it's 0.012 acres I believe so it's it's a corner it's a street corner is there any public comment so all those in favor motion passes 6 0 alright item 5.15 is this superintendents recommendations on redistricting this is an information item and we have a divided to your recommendation person ok presentation we have a presentation good morning president Hummer vice president Gillian members of the board and dr. alato for the record I'm Lisa seaman Crawford Director of Facilities and with me is Greg Stewart senior manager of planning and Alex acknowledge in accordance with board policy JEA in regulation J AOR a the superintendent is required to submit to the board his recommendation for redistricting no later than the first board meeting in December the board will review the superintendent's recommendation along with
088any board member proposal and by the end of January determine which option or options will go forward to a public hearing at the board meeting following the public hearing but no later than April 30th the board shall make an announcement make and announce its decision in public session there are two redistricting proposals in your packet the first is an option to alleviate projected overcrowding at MacArthur middle school due to continued enrollment growth this option is proposed to go into effect in the 2018 2019 school year the second proposal is following the completion of George Cromwell elementary school renovation in addition moving the kindergarten students currently attending Ferndale Early Education Center back to George Cromwell Elementary George Cromwell will return to a K through 5 facility pre-k students at Hilltop would then be re-signed to Ferndale
089early education center relieving the overcrowded at Hilltop elementary school and this proposal will go into effect for the 2020 and 2021 school year and mr. Stewart will provide a little more details on the proposals before you good morning Greg Stewart for the record if you turn to the beginning a packet you'll see two colored maps that is the the current middle school boundaries for Mead middle and MacArthur and Maryland City the catchment area for the Maryland City elementary school currently goes to McArthur middle and what we're trying to do is basically unify that area if you look on exhibit two basically makes that area in the Maryland City Community as one to all go into one middle school so we're basically balancing it from the enrollment projections and we're also geographically making the whole place
090you unified so that's the general redistricting it's again the Maryland City entire catchment area into from McArthur to me mental there are two other pieces in that there are is a grandfathering option for those rising seventh graders they'd be given the option isn't really main it at MacArthur middle if they choose and the second part of that is the because MacArthur is a IB program middle years those students that are currently enrolled as a sixth grader in that program they would be given preference to continue in that system and that's that's the other recommendation for this and again there's summary you'll see the Committee's recommendation also I'd like to thank the committee they did you know a lot of work in the to basically two different meetings that we had and also my staff Scott
091Schuler and mark Lucas helped them put together some of the exhibits and background for it the other redistricting is the we flipped forward a little bit is the Ferndale it's actually three schools involved is the Ferndale Early Education Center and as Lisa mentioned moving the ones George Cromwell which is currently under construction is to move those students back in the 2020 school year and once we do that we'll actually be able to programmatically move the pre-k students from hilltop down to Ferndale which helps hilltop out and the other part of this there is a small area at the if you look at the map kind of back in the in your packet you'll see a map there is a small area in the bottom that currently it represents not currently nine students and those students
092actually walk to George Cromwell but in order to walk through the action they walk through the hilltop attendant zone then have to cross over the overpass of 97 to get there and the idea is to incorporate that into the hilltop district and that way it would be all inclusive our transportation division has gone out to the site there is a crossing guard that goes over well an avenue and they felt it was a safe route to school and it would improve that situation those students that are living there there is also a provision for a grandfathering for those rising fourth graders and the only difference again if you read the Committee's recommendation there is we have a slightly different recommendation than they had they were saying all the people that currently live in those homes
093would continue to go to George Cromwell but if somebody moved in a new family moved in or somebody who just started school they would actually have to go to hilltop and we didn't think that was an appropriate we thought if organ every district we need to move them all at the same time and with that won't take any questions when TF mr. Gilliland thank you madam president and thank you for this in in broad terms I like what I see i I just had a couple of questions that I think are within the scope or are charged with this but hopefully the clarification will help and this page isn't numbered but it's I guess we'll call it Exhibit one within the the Ferndale Cromwell Hilltop packet the color map and this little patch of blow
094the overlooked area that's within the the hilltop boundaries I'm just from a logistical perspective and again I know that's not necessarily within today's charge but can't we do something better with that I just I just feel like the buses are you know going all the way over here and then going all the way back over there whereas you know we've got northglenn that that appears at least on the map to be a stone's throw and then certainly you know it's within the hilltop area adjacent to the North Glen area an overlook is just way the heck over there so I guess just getting some clarification on that certainly I'll check no chief operating officer so we're gonna take a look a more comprehensive approach to that we've got the Richard Henry Lee school that you
095can see just at the bottom element of that page and some other capital improvements that are in the works or contemplated so the charge of this committee specifically was with respect to our capital improvement program at Cromwell but we're gonna peel that onion layer back a little bit further and take a look at the entire area as you know that when we are going about the process also of establishing the old mill areas once we begin bifurcating those areas and - that's gonna create a lot of domino effect so you are correct there's a lot of sort of historical cleanup that has to occur but it's a little bit of a right time right place and I think we have planned to address that and in many other these small little technical anomalies or adjustments
096that have sort of manifested themselves over the years and then the second part just to hilltop in particular and again I the numbers that that are here certainly are trending in the right direction but I just think of hilltop and you know certainly from you know the conversations I've had with the prior principal I don't know the the current principal there at least have not met with her since she moved from from northglenn but I just think of you know yes we're within we're below capacity we're at ninety three point two percent projected in 2022 but then six hundred thirty students at Hilltop elementary is still a lot of students at that school in particular and I'm just hoping that if if there's a way some shifting can occur as part of a broader conversation
097later that's going to alleviate hilltop and we fully intend to do exactly that awesome thank you all right are there any other questions or questions or comments so are there any public comments all right so the board will review this recommendation and along with any board member proposals and determine no later than the end of January which option will go forward to a public hearing on redistricting so thank you for all your work on this item 5.16 is the 2017 to 2022 strategic plan this is an information to action item do I have a motion to move this from information to action okay all those in favor okay doctor a lot of your recommendation yes ma'am I recommended the board approve our strategic plan for an Rome County Public Schools perd from for 2017 to
0982022 second okay and we have a presentation it's very short presentation for the record my name is Maureen McMahon I'm for academics and strategic initiatives and I'd like to ask my colleagues to introduce themselves hello Monique Jackson deputy superintendent for student and school support good morning Jason Dykstra executive director of instructional data so as you know for approximately the last 18 months we've been working on the plan with our internal stakeholders and our community at large so at this point in time we had the plan open for two weeks and we received 56 public comments over the two-week period of time approximately 40% of which came from internal stakeholders and 60% from outside stakeholders we took all of the comments that we received when we read them multiple times and the plan has been changed
099to in multiple places to add detail to answer some ambiguities that were brought up and it's more robust at this time one of the biggest things that was brought up by multiple stakeholders was in some ways what happens next right in other words they brought up the notion of where are we going how do we do the next steps although that was asked many different ways that was that was really a piece of it and you'll see now on many pieces of the plan where we we talk about a strategic plan toolkit for both our schools on our offices and that was always in the plan it can't be built until after the plan is approved but the the notion we recognize that schools and offices are gonna need support with the plan and so
100that will end up having to live on this website as well to support all the stakeholders and achieving what's presented here so with that I know my colleagues and I will take any questions you may have masasa I basically read all of the comments and it really surprised me how many negative comments are in here you said you have revised the plan and personally today if we're gonna take a vote I will vote no because I would like to see all of their revised things that have happened because after reading it I mean I underlined yellow after yellow what was negative and I would like to see what was revised to basically take into consideration what was discussed in the negative mr. Korbell I I just I had some questions were like a wordsmithing I
101had my English professor hat on and as we've talked less is more sometimes so I'm I'm wondering we have these five values and to me to four of them could be condensed down to two so I'm just trying to understand why they were split into five from the way I read the values value number to all means all is the value and that including in that is that we value diversity we want to nurture it you want to celebrate it but we also want to make sure everybody feels welcome so I'm wondering if we can have one value that's essentially all means all and explain it with the text that's in value one in two then my my second thing I see is that our second value is that we want to make sure our
102students are prepared for college career community how we go about doing that is part of value for obviously we're gonna do it in the classroom but we also want to do it outside the classroom so can we combine those two in one value that we value preparing students for college career and community and then value five is fine that's the community engagement psi that's totally totally get that the value that I feel like is missing from here is more on the corporate side which I know that stakeholders aren't always thinking about we're all talking about people and the touchy-feely stuff but we're a billion dollar corporation and I think we value here at a ACPs running it efficiently like I think that's a value of our school system and I I think we do it
103well not everybody agrees but I'd like to see that as a value that we value having an efficiently run corporation essentially you know efficient use of our resources our times our talents our treasures so that's sort of where the kind of revisions I would like to see if we're going to revise anything I think everything's here and I think it's great I just wonder if we can sort of condense it down dr. Arata certainly I know there other there are other board comments but I'll just jump in at this point I think the the the values that stand before you that have been published up to this point are direct result of all of the community input so both internal and external and it was made very clear by our stakeholders that these were important
104values we did discuss internally should we combine so your suggestion is certainly one that we talked about but we thought we thought it was most important to have them separated that there is we want to make sure that diversity is not lost among other things they all means all and that making sure people are welcome this really rose to the top this was something that was very important to our stakeholders and this is 18 months worth of work we were out doing as you well know and you as a board participated yourself in workshops in our forums at the high schools in surveys and the like and so we felt was important as a team that these five that that that the community see the values that they brought forward and discussed so if the
105board wants to combine those we certainly can do that it's in the end it's your plan but if that's the if that's the direction of this board then I'm going to suggest that we not vote on today and you give us time I'm gonna need more feedback this is the appropriate form to do it publicly I would say it's not time to vote on it if the board wants to make some changes but we felt strongly that coming from the public these values are what rose to the top and I want to be very clear that the public sees what they discussed in the plan that it's not hidden and certainly something like diversity I don't want I don't want undermines as important as it is to be woven into something else I want it
106to be a very clear and distinct piece of what we're doing because it's elevating all of our students and eliminating all of our gaps that's our key the interesting thing business that's a it's something we do well I appreciate that comment I think it's something we do well as a school system we manage over a billion dollar budget and I think we've got we're well recognized internal practices that are recognized each and every year through Matt's danske and his team by state and national groups of our ability to manage our budgets um this was not something that rose up to the top of one of the values and it may be because our stakeholders see that we do it well maybe that's the reason it didn't but again if the board wants us to include
107something so that there are some data points that we can follow and celebrate if you will I think that's what I'm hearing misses core block again that's something we can incorporate but again I would say give us time then this is not the day to vote on it if this is what the board wants to move and it will be your discussion again here publicly we're glad to move forward that and have some discussions and get some more input but then today would not be the day to to make that vote musasa yes I would like to ask the committee basically when they since you have stated that you have basically taken into consideration some of the things that they requested you know as you incorporate those if you would just because their major areas
108that they have touched and commented on negatively if when you include that you know you say tell us back you know because of these comments we have addressed them and we are solving them this this way I want the public when they made the comment to feel we answered their comment by doing this well I'll say we the comments I think what was the total number 56 and and keeping in mind that 56 and you say the majority of them are negative we had hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of people involved in this it was very important to me and to this team that this was out publicly and this was gonna be a strategic plan built by this board and the public we serve and so I think it speaks volumes that while many
109of them may have been negative in that common we had hundreds and hundreds of people that that submitted and they see this plan they see what their comments were in this plan there will be some negative comments I assure you that we're not going to be able to address and that we will not move forward with and I don't think the board would support that either so I don't know that we're gonna be able to address every single one of them to the satisfaction of people we will certainly rest assured this is sasso members of the board we will consider them and look at them but I don't believe that every negative comment or suggestion will be able to incorporate into our plan that's why I said they're in general areas because you said about
110could we then suffice it for them and we will not be able to satisfy everybody no you know whatever it happens to be teachers was one of them you know so you address it you know it was solved by putting this here thank you dr. Lowe second meeting in January oh shoot mr. Gilliam thank you madam president in a moment I'm going to make a motion but just a couple of comments to start and first I agree with mrs. Kaur black I think in your English hat you were saying word consolidation I don't want to twist your words in economics we call it efficiency so we're we're in the same spot but I also agree wholeheartedly with her about the the business component to the strategic plan because while I do think we do a
111great job you know there's always room for improvement and I do believe in showcasing the the greatness that exists here and and certainly that that business and operational component is is a true testament to the leadership not just of dr. our motto but I think mister scheck Nova Chand and his entire team and where we can showcase the good and look at the ways to change quote a former superintendent who noted the book good to great you know the Collins book quite often and I think as we move from great to whatever is beyond great III think it's just good to have that there for a couple of reasons and and I do think that as we have a a new high school on the horizon and and then an additional high school on the
112further horizon over the next decade there's going to be a lot of money that this board will be accountable to the public on managing well and with with that accountability of the board certainly there's the accountability to the superintendent and and then obviously the accountability to the senior staff as we look at the old mill project it's no secret and I'll say the B word I mean we're looking at a billion dollar project I think when we consider what what is all entailed there high school high schools on down a billion dollars and that's a huge undertaking and and so when I think we look at this five-year plan we're staging I think the biggest growth that this school system has seen on the capital budget side in decades so III think there's room to
113have that that value at it so I do thank mrs. Kaur black for for that one question I was going to ask and and you know maybe this is just semantics but I certainly trust your judgment the strategic plan should it remain 2017 2022 or should it be 2018 2023 that was gonna that was something I was gonna bring up if if we are not gonna if the board is not gonna vote today and you're gonna push this into January February when ever you want us to come back and continue this conversation if we've done some work our plan will have sunsetted at the end of December so what I would suggest is that the board after your conversation is finished that someone make a motion for us to continue to operate under the current
114strategic plan until a new strategic plan is adopted if that makes sense in whatever words you choose so Madam President if I may two motions one is that we table the vote on the strategic plan until the first meeting in January if we can talk a little bit about that first meeting in January I don't know if that's going to give us much time we're going to be going into the winter break and I'm gonna want to make sure that any language changes or additions or major changes I guess that we're sharing with the public and we're getting it out there so that makes sense I think we're going into a winter break and I'm not sure people be available I don't believe so no matter and we also having budget presentation at that time
115and we don't want everything to get lost okay do I public comment is it okay to me it's a Madam President I move that we table this vote until the first meeting in February which February 7th 2018 second okay are there any board comments on this motion is there any public comment on this mission yes my name is Victoria Calhoun I'm here as a parent but I am also the president of the Jessup Elementary School PTA I have thirty years of military service strategic planning and the like the term strategy is Mis applied often and it has been in this case this so-called plan before you today is not a strategy document but some sort of marketing ploy that has been to be levied on the citizens of these of this county and wastes valuable
116educational time of the kids currently attending Anne Arundel County public schools there is a tendency to use the term strategy as a general term for concepts or ideas of a direction in which to proceed as was done in this case but good strategies are the domain of senior leaders they use them to drive organizations to higher levels of achievement and outcomes as ms core black and miss Mott miss also excuse me if I mispronounced your names had mentioned this document which was created for you is really some sort of website I had asked for a hard copy of the document and it was not provided to me this is the second meeting on this subject I have been to the format of the meetings were horrible and you have been horribly bit and been misled
117in the conversations today about how those meetings were conducted and how the public was participation was solicited this document that was cur this website that was created has no ends no ways no means to achieve the required goal that every child actually meet or exceed the necessary standards to be the best that they can be in their lives or chosen profession religious and philosophical teachings direct people to stay away from forward people twisting words from their true meaning and whose total intent is deceit is to deceive people in that and their conduct is not straightforward in their dealings I said I had asked for a copy of this plan one was never ever provided the this posting on this website was the first time public comment had been taken in any sort of written I
118had gone to the meetings and I had actually provided some comments within the format of those meetings which was terrible I am I told you I'm standing here today as a parent that there are real issues that need to be addressed in this plan that were brought up to both this board many times and to the curling Commission and that have not been addressed I think your idea to table this issue is absolutely correct I would like a popper tunity to input my ideas to this plan in a collaborative website other parents had asked to be able to actually provide content to the plan and I am willing to do that to help the community get ends ways and means to actually fill the gap and I had provided documentation to the curling Commission on
119how to address the budget issues and so to the business end I do believe there are ways to get after the major issues that we possess here today and I do recommend that you table it and get real public input thank you thank you I we've got a vote on the thing so I do want to say I appreciate all the work and that the input that has gone into this and I think what you're hearing is that the board just wants some more time to digest and give and give our feedback on this so I'm in support of this motion as well so if there's no further board comments all those in favor of tabling the vote for this until February 7th okay motion passes mr. Gilliland thank you again madam president given that
120motion having passed I now move to keep the current plan in effect until the vote occurs on the new plan there's any board questions or comments on that motion any public comment okay all those in favor ok these current strategic plan will continue in place until February 7th thank you all very much this has been incredible amount of work thank you item 6.01 is a review item award of contracts are there any board questions or comments on this item any public comment okay that oh I'm sorry miss a so I just have a question it has to do with the underground fuel storage tanks probably a question for Alex yeah ALX around how many underground tanks do we have just a guesstimate and are they in compliance with the EPA you know they're not leaking
121we don't have any problems with them sure I'll check no chief operating officer so probably on the order of about half of our schools or serviced by underground fuel oil storage tanks simply because the natural gas supply the pipe natural gas supply Ennis County does not reach many many areas of large swaths of County don't even have the opportunity to to have natural gas service be available where that opportunity exists or continue to migrate in that manner but as a result of that we are left with the only option being these underground storage tanks so the answer to your question directly is yes and this is part of the contract that allows us so they do have to have maintenance inspections that are done on them cathodic protection has to be re-evaluated the various components
122of it the overspill buckets the caps etc on them are inspected and maintained by us and an Maryland Department of Environment also externally validates those tanks as well so there's essentially three sets of eyes on them our own staff set of eyes our contractors set of eyes and then the Maryland State Department of Environment sets of eyes on them and one of those tests we test the ground underneath to make sure they're not leaking they're actually no we we do not test the ground underneath of the tank there's other ways to identify whether a tank is leaking to ground in and around the tank is tested in general once the tank is being removed out of service so as part of the removal process you to tank be replaced or should a tank be removed
123such that we can switch over to natural gas service at that time that's when the ground is tested but that is the way to test for a leak is not to dig underneath it a tank and test of soil there's other methodologies that are used to do that okay thank you any other question for questions all right Thank You mr. Scheck Novak's all right that concludes the the agenda for today the next Board of Education meeting is Wednesday December 20th at 7 p.m. the next board policy committee meeting is Wednesday December 13th at 1:00 p.m. and then export budget committee meeting is Wednesday December 20th at 5 p.m. and mr. Gilliland or consider matters that relate to the negotiations those in favour meeting is adjourned [Music] [Applause] [Music]