001for e e e all right everyone good evening it is Tuesday August 20th 2024 we are calling our uh meeting of the Wake County Board of Education to order it is 5:42 I want to welcome those of you who are watching at home and those of you who are here in person W County Board of Education meetings are conducted for the official business of the school system public is cordially invited to attend board meetings to observe the board as it conducts its official business disruptions by any persons or persons of a public meeting will be subject to action in accordance with North Carolina General statute 143 318 D 17 I note that we do have all of our members today we do have a quorum and so I'd like to ask everyone who's able to
002rise as we recite the Pledge of Allegiance ALG to the of the United States of America and to the Republic for stands one nation under God indivisible with liy and justice for all all right so now in our first meeting following some recent policy changes we will uh we have a new meeting agenda order so the first item that we have today is the approval of our meeting agenda board chair I'd like to um request that we move um or add an action item okay there's a motion from Miss Coffield to add an action agenda item can you dis can you tell me the item and where on the agenda you would like to add it um I would like to put it in action and to discuss the title line changes in light of
003the new Supreme Court decision that affects that it could have on us okay does has everyone heard oops and has everyone everyone heard and does everyone understand the motion is there a second okay we have a second from Dr ring is there any discussion so is this where we discuss it or I'm waiting for every this this this is just a discussion about the motion okay so if anyone had any questions or discussion about the motion if not we will take a vote okay so I just wanted to explain that the reason that I was asking it if if I could do that now and I just wanted to make a motion to the board um that we consider having a topic or consider repealing our last update to the title Title 9 policy to
004hold off until the courts is settled and stand with the 26 other states that are doing so in light of the changes that the Supreme Court had rolled on okay thank you Miss Coffield is there any other discussion um what I would like to do as the chair is I respect where you're coming from and I appreciate you letting me know about the motion just before the meeting for a discussion like that I would like board me board members to have adequate time to prepare so that we can have a full discussion and so I'm going to vote no on the motion but I understand why you brought it and that's not to rule out a future conversation all right is there any other discussion or debate Dr in um yeah I mean I think
005um just in light of I mean it's constantly changing and so I mean what what we discussed today may even change again um in the next time we have a discussion so I think um um we do need to kind of look at whether um um set setting something static a policy that's static in the midst of a continuing changing um environment is wise so that's something that I just wanted to throw out there I appreciate that all right any further discussion all right all in favor of amending our meeting agenda to add the action item that Miss Coffield described on Title 9 please signify by saying I any opposed nay all right I believe the motion failed but uh thank you and we can discuss bringing up the topic on the agenda after the
006meeting okay all right thank you Miss Coffield at this point in time we do still have a meeting agenda pending is there a motion from the board so moved second I have a motion from Vice chair Johnson Hustler and a second for Mr Swanson all in favor of adoption of the meeting agenda signify by saying I I any opposed all right the agenda has passed and we will proceed so now under our new meeting agenda schedule we go to our information items and public comment period today we have no information items or special recognitions brought to the board so we'll go straight into public comment as we do each time I'm going to go through our policy regarding public comment speakers commenting on items on the night's agenda will be heard before speakers commenting on
007other topics all other speakers will be heard in order of sign up only the person speaking at the podium will be able to stand again all all attendees that are not speaking we ask to remain seated members of the public are welcome to offer comments and criticism directed at the substantive ideas actions or procedures of the board and individual board members the laws and policies of North Carolina provide that issues or concerns involving individual personnel and individual student matters are confidential and therefore not appropriate for comment public comment settings these those offering comments to the board including students may discuss items and issues of General concern now if you do have concerns related to Personnel issues or individual student matters these may be addressed through applicable wcpss Personnel the grievance policies or their applicable policies
008and if it is a time-sensitive issue hopefully we can direct you to a staff member here who can talk to you and hear hear from you directly in the interest of maintaining Civility and de Quorum speakers are encouraged to address their comments to the Board of Education those of us up at this table and must refrain from personal attacks and insults directed at the board IND individual board members staff and specifically other speakers and members of the general public please remain at the podium uh during your speaking time and any materials you wish to share to the board can be given to our board attorney Mr Malone here at the end of the table either before or after your comments and that will not cut into your time during public comment you may speak for
009up to three minutes the microphones are adjustable go ahead and adjust them before you get started that your time will not start until until you begin speaking then when you do begin speaking you'll see the green light at the podium illuminate you'll then have 3 minutes when you see a yellow light and you hear the first audible tone that your that your notice that you've got 30 seconds remaining um the next time you see a light when it turns red you'll hear another a second audible tone that is when your time is up and the next speaker is going to be called to the podium speakers are asked to respect the time limit and to speak for No More Than 3 minutes and you may choose to speak for less time so um the other
010thing I did not say in that regarding our policy is that by our new newly amended policy we give students a priority to speak first we do have uh one student here today uh Rowan Bido and so I'll call Rowan up and then we have no off agenda well sorry then uh Rowan will be followed by Margaret belel good evening today I want to talk about mental health and bullying something that the board says is very important to them I want to further address something I've mentioned in passing which is my experience with bullying as well as admin at Willow Spring High School to be quite Frank calling it bullying is an understatement I have been the victim of verbal physical and sexual harassment and assault I have in fact been a victim of terrorism
011which is defined by Britannica as the calculated use of violence to create a general climate of fear and thereby bring about a particularl political objective terrorism at its is the use of threat or the use or threat of violence to inflict fear and further compel people to conform I started at that school just a few days before Thanksgiving break and every day since day one I've had issues people calling me slurs taking pictures of me threatening to kill me recording me in the bathroom throwing bananas at me asking if they can solicit sex from me trying to grab me and kiss me actually grabbing me throwing things at me spitting on me hitting me with their tray in the middle of the lunch line Etc and I reported almost every single one of those incidents
012I think they had to start printing out more incident sheets because of me I rarely heard anything back aside from soand so was given a verbal warning there was an incident near the end of school year where I was physically assaulted I was in the lunch line and somebody stepped out of line came up from behind me and hit me with their tray assault is defined as the act of causing physical harm or unwanted physical contact or in some cases the threat or attempt to do so however I was told by an admin at my school that it was plainly and simply not assault and that labeling it as such makes the word lose its meaning before making a report of this incident I texted my mom and asked her what I should do she
013told me to go to the SRO because assault is handled by police so I went to the front office and asked the receptionist if I could speak to the SRO she said they're all busy right now but you can talk to admin and she asked what it was regarding to which I replied that I needed to report being assaulted and she was adamant that I just speak to admin I approached the first admin I saw explained the situation and was asked if maybe the guy just had a crush on me so I found a different admin who told me to go to student services and write a report later that day my mom told me that she had notified FIP police about the incident and Our Hope was that they'd take it from there moments
014later I was called to the admin's office she told me that she reviewed the camera footage which she also showed to me she told me that she had spoken to my Mom and explained the situation and then she told me that my report was inaccurate she said I exaggerated but that she wasn't upset because she understands that I'm just hyp sensitive I explained to her that I wasn't exaggerating and that this situation fell under the definition of assault as stated in NC statute 1433 but I was again told that I wasn't that it wasn't assault and that I overstated in my report she also told me that every admin reviewed the footage and agreed with her once I decided to agree and say I exaggerated she let me leave interestingly she only communicated HED with
015my mom after that conversation which is against policy and the law if I'm not mistaken so the guy who hit me got off scott free and I got off with IM intimidation fear and a Severe loss of trust in admin all of this happened under Title 9 before the changes so I'm hoping that the modifications can help in the encounters I know I'll experience this year and maybe I can finally feel protected at school thank you and I have some things for you all right thank you next up we'll hear from Margaret Belo and oops excuse me one second I lost my list here I had two different lists here we go uh Miss Belo will be followed by Joselyn pce hello good evening to the superintendent and school board members as a parent of
016mostly older children um I've had the privilege of watching my kids grow into thoughtful compassionate and independent people I've also had the responsibility of guiding them through a world that is isn't always fair or just and that's why I'm here today to speak in support of the new title 9 rules and to advocate for the protection of all of our students without exception I'll begin by clearing up a common misconception uh the vast majority of the new title N9 rules have nothing to do with transgender rights these updates are designed to clarify and strengthen how existing title N9 claims should be handled they include important measures to assist affected parties select clear requirements for employee notification and outline the duties of title N9 coordinators they also establish set grievance procedures and ensure the protection of
017personal personally identifiable information these are administrative improvements that make our schools safer and more Equitable for everyone especially in colleges where we have a Rape Crisis epidemic the new rules go further by addressing critical areas that have long needed attention they strengthen protections for pregnant and postpartum students and employees requiring access to lactation spaces and reasonable accommodations like restroom breaks for pregnant students they also offer more support for student parents ensuring that our schools accommodate the unique challenges these students face in addition these rules allow foster parents and other a authorized caregivers to legally represent minors making sure that our most vulnerable students have the advocacy they need quite importantly these rules prohibit schools from retaliating against students who file title n complaints creating a safer environment for everyone to speak out against discrimination I'm
018deeply concerned by the way some have used the issue of transgender rights to undermine these important protections the reality is is that attacking trans youth does nothing to address the real problems facing women and girls in fact it distracts from the work that still needs to be done every student no matter their identity should be able to learn in a safe inclusive and Equitable environment every young person deserves the opportunity to access a public education without fear of discrimination because of who they are we don't all have to agree on every issue and I certainly don't expect us to my own children and I don't see eye to eye on everything and we advocate for different positions sometimes but what we do agree on is the right of every person to hold their own beliefs
019and have those beliefs respected part of parenting kids is teaching them to think critically to question and yes to sometimes disagree but Above All I've tried to instill in them the understanding that no one deserves to be treated unfairly simply because they're different this is not a conversation about transgender rights it's about who we can and cannot discriminate against on the basis of sex why should we discriminate against anyone who is it okay to bully who is it okay to discriminate against the answer should be simple no one until we can as a society accept that no one truly means no one we will continue to need explicit explanations and protections like those provided by new title 9 in the United States we've needed constitutional amendments to ban slavery indenture servitude to eliminate racial discrimination
020and voting and to secure voting rights regardless of sex we have had to historically explicitly Define who is entitled to equality all right thank you our next speaker is Joselyn peace followed by Joseph Deon good evening oh hey good evening sorry a little bit nervous uh seclusion is the most dangerous and ineffective tool you can give an educator it is meant for serious emergencies experts say it is most often used for non-compliance with staff demands disruption punishment or program requirements just like some way County Employees informed me and dozens of wake specialed parents have also told me was their experience wake has a problem to solve with its restraint and seclusion and also a sneaky thing called time out this is a seclusion room I get it right this is a seclusion room seclusion is
021the involuntary confinement of a student alone in a room or an area in which the student is prevented from from leaving this is an extreme procedure with serious risks and should be rare according to experts and the US Department of Education and Department of Justice in Wake County seclusion rooms like this have been referred to as timeout the calm down room the quiet room and the Rainbow Room these are actual timeout rooms calm down rooms and rainbow rooms timeout is a voluntary behavioral support Strate stry where the student is temporarily separated from the learning activity for the purpose of calming the space needs to be appropriate for the purpose of calming being alone in a closet is not calming for anyone an empty closet is not a support strategy it is imperative that you create
022a policy for seclusion that clearly defines and separates seclusion from timeout there should be no confusion over whether a child is experiencing a calming timeout or a life-altering seclusion District should never be able to incorrectly classify seclusions as timeouts in order to report avoid reporting to parents or federal authorities if it's involuntary it's seclusion if restraint was used on the child to get to the room it's seclusion that comes directly from the trial lawyers at the United States Department of of Justice this is not a sensory room this is not a chill out room this is trauma what would you think if you were told that your child spent time in the rainbow room would you know to get them help you cannot and should not use the same room and the same terms for
023seclusion and time out change policy 4302 ban seclusion at least in elementary schools you don't need it and change the culture of restraint and seclusion in Wake County every single person in front of me is a problem solver you would not be here if you weren't we can do better thank you thank you our next speaker is Joseph Deon and Mr Deon will be followed by Robin Livingston good evening uh at the last meeting Mr Hershey decried how a female boxer at the Olympics was labeled as transgender when she was not apparently she has a rare genetic anomaly known as a developmental sex disorder or interex condition I totally agree such persons should be treated with uh sensitivity and and respect um but I I think it's highly insensitive disrespectful and in inappropriate to use
024their condition which they have from nature to justify transgenderism because that involves a profound alteration of nature Mr Hershey didn't say that but um interex is often wrongly included in lgbtqia A+ meanwhile the opening ceremony at the Olympics featured a drag queen mockery of of The Last Supper I don't see how one group attacking another could be shown in the name of inclusion it immediately reminded me of the French Revolution when a prostitute was Seated on the altar in notredam Cathedral and hailed as the goddess of of reason that was followed by the murder of thousands of priests lay people and even religious sisters during the reign of terror a genocide of 200,000 men women and children was committed in the Von region when people resisted closing their churches soon Napoleon became dictator our our
025history curriculum should include a comparison of the French and the American Revolution in France leading intellectuals like voler relentlessly mocked religion whereas leaders of the American Revolution valued religion for inculcating the virtues that were necessary for a people to govern themselves a key biblical principle was the practice of impartial Justice balanced with Mercy another was ruled by consent of the government of the Govern Liberty in the in the French Revolution meant freedom to do whatever you want while in America Liberty was Freedom with responsibility to others and finally slavery was first abolished in Christian cultures that pondered the implications of rational human nature created in the image of God in particular the inalienable rights listed in the Declaration of Independence thank thank you thank you Mr dayon our next speaker is Robin Livingston and uh
026Robin will be followed by Nicole Bal good evening um I've got a junior at wake Young Men's Leadership Academy and I primarily came up here to thank Mr Hershey for all the work that he did um they started school on the 8th 7th I'm not sure anyway um and started college classes last Thursday and it has gone by so well uh for him and I assume for others um for I I know most of you probably know uh a lot of us parents went through a lot of anxiety from about March on and um Mr Hershey uh had Zoom calls with us and was just very transparent about the process um if he didn't know something he got the answer um or he told us what the process was going to be to get the
027answer and um we just all really really appreciated his openness his his transparency his willingness to be honest about it when there was a problem um I did ask some people on a group meet if they wanted to share some comments I've got a few um so one person I won't do names um since anyway one said um they wanted to let you know just how amazing and transparent you were making yourself available to any and all throughout the whole process one said um that the fact that you were honest throughout the process willing to see the process to the end offered and received a variety of solutions and gave families a PL platform to be heard even if information wasn't always shared in the most loving and kind and respectful or level-headed manner In
028the Heat of the Moment you gave them space for families to voice what they needed and ensured there was a direction to keep us moving toward our goal um that person has a 10th grader so they were they weren't even really directly affected by the changes um yet um and then one of them was appreciative of the fact that you kind of explained the relationship between DPI and the legislature and gave us a direction and where to go um so we really appreciate uh everything and I just the staff at the acmy as well amazing job that they did doing the uh transition and they get to do it again so they've got a lot of work ahead of them but um I think we're all in really good hands so I appreciate it thank
029you so much thank you our next speaker is Nicole Baldridge and Nicole will be followed by Natalie Wood hi um Nicole Baldridge I am a proud parent of a student at Apex Friendship High School and a former teacher of 14 years um three of those years in Wake County and the rest of those in California before I moved here um I want to talk about two things one thank you so much for all that you have done to increase teacher supplement in weight County I know that our staff appreciate it however as you know it's it's not enough um I've talked to several teachers who because of where they are on the pay scale of years if they are 15 or more years they're not really seeing an increase in pay because pay is frozen
030and that includes the supplement um and then because of cost of insurance they're actually making less money their take-home pay is less this year than it was last year for some of them it's $96 less take-home than it was last year and with inflation being over 3% that's even more of an actual pay cut that they are experiencing I know many teachers are working three or more jobs just to make ends meet this means that they're not spending or able to spend the time that they need on their students I know that teachers an incredibly nanding job it is one that we are passionate about it is one that we love we care for our students deeply and we take that home with us this includes lesson planning this includes going to the store and
031buying the things that our students need out of our own money um I was a science teacher this meant I went and I bought supplies for doing Labs I taught high school and many of those labs I funded out of my pocket um if we wanted to do something which I made it a goal to do a lab every week I bought those things I brought them in if a student needed a pen or a pencil and we didn't have it and they couldn't get it I got it for them there are resources available but it's not enough and I am encourag you I'm here to encourage you if you have not already as a board to sign the letter that Charlotte meberg Schools Board of Education is sending to the legislator to encourage the
032NC General Assembly to increase teacher pay across the board because as We Know you can only do so much and you've done it and you've reached out to the County Commission and we appreciate that but we need the legislature to do something too we need them to move um the budget that they passed in 2023 is not enough and you know that I preaching to the choir it's not enough it's not enough for teacher pay it's not enough for for bus drivers it's it's just not enough um so I encourage you if you have not already as a board to sign that letter so that there will be more people on that letter and I had other things but we only have 22 seconds so thank you thank you Miss Baldridge our final speaker tonight
033is Natalie Wood good evening Miss Wood good evening how are you doing well thank you um I come before you tonight regarding a matter of school transfer of my son Isaiah Gil I received a letter from Mr ambero from the Wake County school assignment stating that recently the office of Student Assignment was informed and confirmed that I was not domiciled in Wake County and as a result of the information our office has gathered Josiah and Nathan and they will be withdrawn from the Wake County Public Schools at the end of the school year please make arrangements to enroll your child in your county of residence for the 2425 school year my first concern is that my son has been out of school since July 8th of 2024 he is on track two at Holly Grove
034Middle School this means he has been denied a right to an education because the office of student assignment has got me into this cycle of asking for paperwork and poor communication they have not been concerned about my child's education because the later the letter stated they were informed and confirmed I became suspicious especially because I am a whistleblower with the North Carolina Department of Justice also I never got a chance to explain why he was there there was no due process most importantly it was never written that Isaiah would be reassigned I want to introduce Isaiah to the Wake County board members he is the most important reason why I am here I need for Isaiah to be back in school and Isaiah needs to be back in school he has missed out on so
035much of his education from July up until today Isaiah is a 13-year-old 8th grade student at Hol grve Middle School Isaiah is not your average child who is into phones and games he his interest is in music and he has done excellent receiving the Excellence and band award he scored a three in math and a four in ela on his eogs he is an honor rooll student and he presents no disciplinary problems I want to to and deser and I want to see Isaiah back and he deserves to be back in school Isaiah is going to be famous one day because he is a gifted musician I don't want him missing opportunities to be great my ass to the board is to give him grace and mercy this is Isaiah's last year at Holly Grove
036Middle School my ask to the board would be to please allow him to complete this school year I Isaiah does not want to miss his jazz band audition which is August 21st and 22nd which is tomorrow and Thursday he has had a lot of anxiety around this it would be cruel and heartless to deny him the opportunity that he has worked so hard for please allow him to stay to finish his last year so he can move on all right thank you Miss W all right that concludes our public comment period and so now what we'll do is we will go to our superintendent Dr Robert Taylor for his comments this evening thank you Mr chair and good evening to you all I'd like to start by congratulating the semifinalist for principal and assistant principal
037of the year uh this year there are a total of 36 semifinalists divided into four categories Elementary School principles Elementary School assistant principes secondary principles and secondary school assistant principles each category has one semifinalist from each of the nine areas of our district full list of the semifinalist can be found on the the Wake County Public Schools team Facebook page we will announce five principls and five assistant principles as finalists on Friday and the chair will have to make that decision that is a joke finest will submit a portfolio then a committee of principles and assistant principles will visit each School site finalists also will be interviewed by a panel that includes past winners the 2024 principal of the year and assistant principal of the year will be named on October the 3D so please
038mark your calendars it goes without saying that passionate and effective School leaders are integral to Student Success they set the tone at their schools by creating positive uplifting learning environments and they work hard supporting students families and staff whenever the need arises these semifinalists embody all of these ideals and more so my congratulations to them and my thanks to all of our outstanding School leaders next I'm pleased to announce that our Child Nutrition service team has landed a $250,000 USDA Grant uh to implement yes yes to implement a new fresh fruit and vegetable program at seven of our schools the fresh fruits and veget veggies will be served to all enrolled students in their classrooms on select school days each week the goal is to introduce students to fresh fruits and vegetables including new and
039different varieties and to increase overall acceptance and consumption of fresh unprocessed produce the majority of the offerings will consist of items that students may not be familiar with or have a chance to eat often such as sugar snap peas red pepper slices mango pemons and star fruit uh when we are able we provide locally grown produce as well the participating schools are Avery's Barrow Elementary Carver Elementary East Gunner Elementary Fox Road Magnet Elementary lead M Elementary milbrook Magnet Elementary and wolon Elementary we know that proper nutrition is essential to keeping students alert focused and ready to learn uh my thanks to everyone who put in the effort to secure funds for this unique program that will promote healthy choices for thousands of students and I'll just add that um our board has done an outstanding
040job to support uh School nutrition efforts and we continue in that work finally I'd like to recognize 16 of our magnet schools for achieving the high honor of national certification by magnet schools of America the certification process includes a rigorous evaluation that determines how weal schools meet the standards associated with msa's five pillars of magnet schools which are diversity Innovative curriculum and professional development academic Excellence leadership and family and Community Partnerships four schools met the criteria to be named National Certified schools Fuller Magnet Elementary Lincoln Heights Magnet Elementary Martin Magnet middle and the Wake Young Men's Leadership Academy 12 schools exceeded that criteria to be named National Certified demonstration schools Carol Magnet Middle Fox Road Magnet Elementary green Magnet Elementary Kingswood Magnet Elementary North wake College and Career Academy Overland Magnet Middle Rey Creek Magnet
041Middle Underwood Magnet Elementary Vernon Malone College and Career Academy Wake Early College of health and science Washington Magnet Elementary and West milbrook magnet mle uh certifications last for four years uh these schools join 25 other Wake County magnet schools that have previously obtained certification this is just the latest reminder that our magnet schools are a national model of Excellence our magnet programs continue to find new and Innovative curricula to meet the evolving needs of our students and the job market while promoting diverse student populations so special thanks to uh Joshua hunter from our office of magnet and curriculum enhancement programs for guiding these schools through the rigorous application process and to the administrators and magnet coordinators at each of these newly certified schools so again congratulations on this richly deserved honor and Mr chair that
042will end my comments all right thank you Dr Taylor uh board members if you look around the table you should see a flyer with North Carolina School boards Association news on it I wanted to draw that to your attention this is another training and professional development opportunity we have U available through the association this is the leadership education and development training their lead training program I know that several of us have attended this in the past I think everyone who has attended it has spoken well of it that was very uh um worthwhile you of our time and a very good use of the program for you know we all have continuing education requirements uh each year and so if you have not fulfilled those requirements I wanted to draw this uh opportunity to your
043attention as a as an affordable local option um and just encourage you to consider checking it out so thank you everybody it's good to be back at this table the last time we met as a board was actually at the County Commission table where we had our joint meeting with the Wake County Commissioners um I know being on a Monday night we didn't have we had some professional op some professional conflicts for some of our board members but thanks to everyone who came and participated we had good discussions about sustainability joint uh goals and targets around sustainability goals for our schools we talked about school security um a lot of areas of cooperation with the county in those areas and then uh we talked a lot I think our primary topic was was our Child
044Nutrition program and interest in the county in work that we can do there so um I just want to take a minute to acknowledge our County Commissioner partners and this Spirit of cooperation we really are lucky when you look at districts around the state and some of the very combative relationships they might have at the very least non-cooperative relationships I think here when we can all get around the table together even if we're not bringing an agenda item or anything to vote on just be able to talk about these issues discuss them in an open Forum I think that's a good way to get things done um I know some of you um I'm not going to talk about the ribbon cutting at Woods Creek but I was happy to be there coming up we
045open a new elementary school and we had another opportunity um had to participate in Mr Swanson works with several of our other local elected officials state legislators County Commissioners to do a series of town hall halls and uh he was unable to attend this last one I had to substitute for him but it was a fascinating program on affordable housing in our community and one of the things that um really struck me is that when our County and our Municipal staff are looking at issues of home prices and affordability in their towns and in Wake County they look at you know all of our residents and they particularly p out examples of first year teachers in Wake County and bus drivers two positions you know we're working hard to recruit and to fill so I
046wanted to share these numbers with you um I don't believe the town hall was recorded so but if we could get these slides like from the staff they would be excellent I think you would all appreciate them a firste certified weight County teacher makes about $ 57,98811 using the federal funding formulas for an affordable housing cost monthly housing cost would be about $1,427 so anything above that would be outside of affordable housing all right so you're looking at housing you could get for that rental price um or then if you take it out to what a mortgage payment would be under current interest rates what a purchase price would be so if you look at $1,427 a month rent in carry that's only 24% of the open available units 210 and all of carry if
047you look at Wake County as a whole there's 16 there's 1671 units but again only 24% of those units on the market are affordable to our first year teachers if you wanted to buy a home and start you know uh building equity in a property there are currently zero properties on the market in carry at a purchase price of $200,000 there is 1% of the available properties on the Raleigh Market sorry the Wake County Market 81 properties countywide and they are not located anywhere near kry or Morrisville or Apex or any of those Western Wake towns similarly for a bus driver average starting salary 42 thou or starting salary 42744 if you take that out for interest rates for a purchase price you're looking at having about $150,000 home would be what you could afford
048with it with a typical monthly mortgage payment can you guess how many units two rental units and all of carry at that rate 119 units in all of Wake County and again you all know even with our vacancies we have a lot more than 119 bus drivers for a purchase price no property in Wake County listed at below $150,000 66 properties in all of Wake County and you're really getting out on the fringes in unincorporated areas to find those so when we look at issues like teacher recruitment bus driver recruitment supporting our staff we look at the salaries for staff and the the cost of living that drives a lot of people out of Wake County you know even though we don't do a lot directly around the issue of affordable housing it affects all
049of us it affects our staff and it affects the services we can provide to our students so I just wanted to share that thank you so going around the table next we'll go to Vice chair Johnson husta thank you very much I certainly Echo the NC lead training if people can attend um and again congratulations to both our principals and assistant principes um for their nominations good luck Mr chair it is as you know a duty um one that we look forward to doing though um and also congratulations to our magnet schools as you noted um I only have one additional thing which I will also um let Miss edmans I'm sure she'll bring up is um I think the one there's several things I'm proud of on the board but one of my favorite
050is the kindergarten kickoff which I was really to trying to squeeze it in on Saturday but I made it because my favorite part is watching the kiddos do two things one learn how to go through the lunch line but the second is the the bus stop and I always remind parents when I when they're I stay at the bus stop and say now remember you also have to tell them you won't be riding the bus with them because parents are able to get on our buses so thank you to all of wcpss Staff who was there um our spec ad Services um our magnet office our CNS which I always learn something about Child Nutrition when I'm there um um and um we had a lot of Partners libraries were there Elon Elon churo was
051there so it really is a great opportunity for our parents but more importantly um for the little people and um we did Miss um I'd be remiss if I didn't say because they've become like family to me um former School Board member now commissioner wat's um youngest son will be entering kindergarten and so she let me know while she was there that all the kindergarteners were upcoming kindergarteners were having a meltdown I went before the Meltdown um cuz they were still fun and having a great time and listing the schools that they were going to attend um so I also enjoyed the kids trying to find their school name if they knew their school name so thank you to marbles for being a great partner but more importantly thank you to all of our staff
052who don't always get recognized for the weekends that they do work to ensure that our community is well aware of the resources um again we know that our Educators don't just um work when we see them in the building their work is continuous as we often hear when people come to this Podium but it is also is a reminder when we see them in action all day on a Saturday so thank you thank you we'll next go to Mr Hershey uh thank you um let me start by saying I did not know anyone was going to mention my name at uh public comments and I appreciate them both um a clarification question did you say the um semi the principal and assistant principal of the year are is that listed on Facebook currently was that
053any public it's not but we can't get that on our website like I would just like to encourage us to like front and center that on our website as and drive traffic to our website I think that's always a positive um and I would actually encourage some thought into when we have when especially when you have comment like this is finding a way to have your comments on um the website so people who missed this can revisit them or take a look look at them because it's a lot to absorb and to listen to and sometimes it's just easier to read them and you're always giving us a ton of great information and giving the public a lot of great information absolutely so a couple points um I I want to say that I love
054the new um agenda format because it allows me to look up the seclusion policy 4302 and see that we had not re visited it wasn't re it was revised last October 3rd 2017 um and so I know I as a board member would love some information just kind of on what we're doing on that front if there's the possibility of uh either small group discussions to so we can get information on it as parents have been bringing this to us um at the last couple of board meetings um a couple of important notes uh next Tuesday um the the entire facilities committee um that consists of members on this team that have really been uh beating the drum on HVAC and so I want to give them all credit and next Tuesday we're going to
055have the entire facilities meeting will be on HVAC uh and we're going to get a lot of updates a lot of information about um different systems that are going to be replaced I know it impacts a lot of our schools across the county um that's and as far as reaching out and making sure this information gets out um I would like us also to think about how do we share the information that we are provided at committee meetings um I I'm going to give a shout out to uh my colleague Mr Swanson in a minute on the student achievement work that he's had in his committee and um uplift some of that and and the eyeballs on those committees are I mean last the numbers I saw last week on YouTube were about 120 people
056who saw this saw the presentation and we have some amazing work going on in student achievement with academics and I want to make sure we are centering that um I do want to give a quick shout out to the leadership uh Academy staff uh and Cedric Williams area superintendent and uh principal King and principal Walker and uh they've done a terrific job they are the ones who really deserve all the credit um lastly along the lines of um lifting up my colleague Mr Swanson and the the work that they've been doing for um student achievement I want to highlight one of the items and it was uh that Dr Wilson Norman and her team have been working on um it is the Early Learning alignment Summit which is supporting transitions from prek to kindergarten it's
057the first of its kind in Wake County um it's they're going to expand it next year and build on it these are the type of um this is the type of work that I see as potential big game changers because as our superintendent has has talked to us about um it's so vital that we are investing in prek uh not just what we can do because we really need the state to make that big investment into prek but starting to align uh and support transitions from prek not just the pre pre classes we have but then reaching out to um other prek centers throughout our County and working on that I just think it long term it's going to show tremendous results and uh that's the kind of work that we are doing that we're
058not always centering um enough for the public to see and I want to make sure that we are elevating it and and I want to give my colleague again Mr Swanson all the credit for for bringing this to us and making sure we're getting it and now we need to make sure we do a better job of getting it out there for the public in a in a in a way in a better way than we're doing right now and those are my comments thank you right thank you Mr Hershey Dr ring thank you and uh Dr Taylor um just so you know I've actually tried out all those fruits that you've mentioned including the star fruit um so uh that's it's great that the kids will be able to try out those things um
059but first of all I want to uh thank all the folks from the Divine n who came out to our last Community engage engagement committee meeting last week um it was a personally a good opportunity for me to learn about the history um of the national pan helenic Council and to hear from each of the nine historically black fraternities and sororities that make up the divine nine um and it was very encouraging to hear the level of volunteerism and the community engagement that have been there for many many years um and um you know to help out the African-American Community um and I I learned that many of our staff here are part of that so um and um but I can certainly let our colleagues here uh speak more on it uh but what
060I was wanted to kind of point out is it's it was a very productive meeting also because uh we were able to connect them with our Community Partnership mapping initiative um which is a new project to compile a database of Community Partners um so if you are a part of or you know of a nonprofit organization religious organization or private Foundation that would be uh like to be added to the database um uh that would be a a great asset um please search for Community Partnerships on the wcpss website um so we are really hoping for great things from creating some Synergy uh uh in our efforts to help our students um speaking of community engagement um this past weekend I had the opportunity to attend the Lo Foundation second annual back to school launch
061party um in addition to having free food and school supplies for for the children uh the children had a chance to play with the in the giant inflatable slide and bouncy castle while the parents had a chance to visit with some of the community organizations I personally had an opportunity to chat with some um parents there uh while they were eating um and um it was it was a kind of a hot day but uh I think everybody had a great time uh so I want to thank uh the John Lock foundation for that great event um lastly um please continue to keep uh John uh Walter in your thoughts and prayers um I had mentioned him last time at a board meeting um and if you uh remember uh John sustained a traumatic brain
062injury shortly after graduating from Wakefield High School um this past May um he's had some miraculous improvements in the past nine weeks um he's still at wake Med at this time um Mom and Dad are eager for John to proceed to the next step in his recovery and to receive some much needed Rehabilitation um he still has a long ways to go though um so there's a GoFundMe page that's already been set up to help Mom and Dad to pay for all the medical bills that will be coming um to donate uh you can go to the GoFundMe website and search for support John's miraculous recovery Journey and from that page you can also go to his Caring Bridge page so you can check out his latest um updates on his conditions and as of
063today I searched um they had uh reached $544,000 um uh in uh funds raised they actually have exceeded their $50,000 goal from last time I checked and they have um now raised the goal to $100,000 and and I think that that's they're going to need every bit of it um to help with defraying the cost of the medical care so please continue to pray for his recovery and please consider a monetary donation to help this family out thank you thank you Dr Ring Miss Edmonds thank you um what well Miss Johnson Hustler had to step out I think she had to anyway but it's funny that she mentioned the agencies that were at the kickoff to kindergarten that are complimentary to mine none of mine are the same so she and I were there I
064was there in the morning we didn't see each other but that partnership with marbles and this event the kickoff to kindergarten is incredible and I I didn't ask how many years we've been doing it I know it's been going on you know some a n a number of years this was my first time attending and I it was just great and so um as she said I also want to shout out um our special education services team was there we had uh folks from um smart start we had people from the family academy uh that we have here in White County public schools there was um representatives from the North Carolina 529 plan about saving for College Wake Med was there um you know enhancing what our own Child Nutrition Services team was doing the
065north car um yeah the North Carolina Health and Human Services Department was there I mean it was just um and then I think I've got Girl Scouts under here and just all of these materials I I told them I was going to try to hold them up and fan them out but these were all available for families in addition to the staff that was there to talk with families and so just a tremendous amount of helpful resources as families are sending their little ones to school for the first time and um I'm really glad I got to be there I uh Dr Taylor thank you for mentioning the magnet um Awards uh I wanted to shout out Vernon Malone College and Career Academy and Washington Magnet Elementary School both both in District 5 for getting
066the demonstration distinction from the magnet schools of America and I want to shout out um principal Lacy peckam at Middle Creek uh Amanda bosov at Athens Drive and Julie seon at cols as three of the finalists for the uh principal of the Year Awards I'm excited to watch that process play out and finally uh I just want to give a special shout out to Swift Creek Elementary as they start New Year in a swing space over in Garner so um we are rebuilding that school which is a great thing but being in a swing space is is always a challenge has a has special challenges and I just wanted to give them um some a special shout out and wish them a great school year I know that the staff there will make it a
067great school year despite the location um being a little different thank you thank you miss edmans miss m thank you chair Hagerty um uh last week no two weeks ago um Dr Taylor and director of the Arts Jeremy Tucker and I were able to go to lkin Road Middle School um where we got a tour of the school and got to see how it's working and I just want to give a shout out to Miss Hannah and the lightning team for allowing us to view their space and thank you Dr Taylor for coming and seeing the magic of our yearound middle schools um we've been saying this at our policy committee but just a reminder we have a new time at 10:00 a.m. um and so that will be again available on our streaming Channel
068both live and archived and then um a big shout out to principal hedis uh AP Patterson and the Woods Creek Elementary School um Community for their ripping cutting on Friday I'm so glad that so many board members were able to come our chair came on his birthday um even to come and see the magic um that was going there and they are the Wizards so they are full of magic and they are motivated with Attitude they're grounded they are important and they are collaborators and that is their magical mindsets that they have so it really is Magic to see a school that's been open for a month um begin and they are already a community and and moving through it and so with that I'll say a quick welcome back next week to our traditional
069calendar schools get your sleeps in and enjoy your last week of vacation I know my youngest will thank you Miss mafy we hope the parents and the students get some sleep before that we'll come back around over here to miss rice good evening everybody last week I had the privilege of attending back to school rallies in District 4 I was honored to attend en low alumni coach lavel moton of lavel cares Foundation hosted at the Wake County Boys and Girls Club on Raleigh Boulevard coach moton served over 1200 weight County students with backed school supplies bounce houses and summer treats this was the 15th year of this back to um backpack giveaway during the rallies I also met a current Rising 11th grade in low high school student um Matthew neelson and his proud parents
070um who is part of the evolv mentoring led by tulipe omay evolv mentoring's James Balwin book club is producing dynamic student authors uh Matthew wrote restore the heart um I don't know if my picture is here I'm missing my picture with there we go yes I'm excited so um Matthew neelson um and his parents um are part of the evolved mentoring led by tulipe omaya evolved mentoring Jame Balwin book club is producing dynamic student authors Matthew wrote restore the heart I purchased and received a signed copy of this graphic novel these students took the lead in creating an incredible story that also addressed issues facing their everyday lives like bullying this book can be used as a social emotional learning tool to help youth unpack and discuss their feelings about difficult subjects Matthew is one
071of the multiple student authors and Evol evolves Jame Ballwin book club inside the book are the bios of our newly published you young authors so please consider purchasing restore the heart from Amazon to support these amazing Wake County students um unfortunately I left my copy at home with my 11th grader um for his weekly read for his weekly book read but I was really excited to meet this young man and his family doing Dynamic things at enll high school um so this leads me to our eight Dimensions of Wellness Focus today intellectual wellness as we prepare for our traditional students to return for the 2425 school year on intellectual wellness tip for the students and staff is to schedule regular learning breaks throughout the day these breaks can involve activities like reading a chapter of
072a book listening to an educational podcast or even engaging in a creative hobby that stimulates the Mind by dedicating time to activities that challenge the brain individuals can enhance their cognitive abilities reduce stress and maintain a healthy balance between work and personal growth use these tips to improve your intellectual wellness to have a positive and productive day Miss rice raising the game president of the AV club much appreciated kudos to you Miss Coffield before you begin I need to ask everybody's Indulgence for just one second okay I was going to do it all right I just noticed that and wanted to get that fixed before the end of the meeting so all right so now you were correctly identified but unfortunately I didn't get your name tag in time but we did get Miss coffields
073replace there all right apologies for disruption but anytime you're ready thank you um I had hoped that we could have a conversation um because the topic I think it's a topic that um deserves our time and our consideration but since it didn't happen I hope that we can discuss it in the next meeting with more detail um but I had asked for it to for us to be able to speak about that and discuss either a possible repeal um for the updates on Title 9 change or to hold off off until the co the courts had settled it because we now have 26 States and 62 of our schools so far and that's still ongoing there's so much that's changing um and there are people that are still trying to join and into that fight
074against these title n changes the Supreme Court just ruled in favor of not allowing Biden Administration to overturn the enjoyment and agreed that there was constitutional value in the injunction therefore preventing schools from enforcing the new rule so there's plenty to discuss so that I I hope that we would be able to bring that back and have that conversation about since the Supreme Court had that ruling what does that mean for us and what does that look like going forward I would also like to ask the board that we put on the calendar conversation that discusses how we can incorporate the safety and privacy through either single stall bathrooms or implementing separate rooms for private for privacy reasons for those students that are identifying as trans and see seeking privacy or safe spaces as we
075heard from our families no one should be discriminated against nor bullied but putting these things in place to have these safe spaces can be a solution so that they experience no harm I feel that we need to have a real conversation about how to make that happen if the objective if the objective is safe and safe and private spaces all students should have that and we should not sacrifice one safety over another we can do both if the goal is safety and safe spaces there are ways that we can provide these students with either bathrooms and ways that we can provide either separate overnight stay rooms just changing areas something that gives them and allows them to have that safe and private space and I'll repeat my concern that this policy does not in fact
076protect trans students it does open the doors to put biological girls and trans students In Harm's Way we need to have a conversation to find these spaces for both trans and for both girls and we should and could do both um there's a couple of dates that are coming up for in District One our board advisory meeting our first one is coming up on September 23rd and we will have the honor of Dr Tor joining us to talk about his first year with us and his plan for Wake County going forward um I also wanted to mention that um we have some other some other activities that are coming up in our district mental health has many faces it could be depression or anxiety it could be temporary or ongoing it can be unclear and
077affects everyone around us mental health also means well-being and finding ways to achieve your goals as we continue to seek many ways to connect our community to conquer the challenges around mental he Health whether it be our family a student or staff we need to continue to find ways to spread this awareness to support each other and find ways to heal there's many s resources and I'm glad to see our communities and towns are coming together to find many ways to battle mental health and to get organizations and community members to partner with our schools we did hear about the great Community involvement from the divine nine it was great to hear about that um as Dr in had had mentioned there were organizations reaching out to our facilities committee meeting I mean from our
078facilities committee meeting regarding our Angel funds and inquiring how they could help marbles partnered with our kindergarten and Saturday I was able to meet um some great families through the John Lock Foundation they had the school supply giveaway they gave away backp backpacks that were filled with school supplies to get our students ready for the year ahead and I met a lot of young students that were very excited to start school it's a great way to engage and partner with our community members and I'm glad that we are hearing a lot of different ways that that could happen in District 1 there are two events that are coming up in Wake Forest September 28th from 1: to 4:00 p.m. at the Renaissance Center they are having a mental Wellness fair and in Wendell on September
07921st the communities at the Wendel Community Center between 10: and 2 they are having a community event called Wendell Whole Health Resource and family fund day that is also on a Saturday and finally I would like to wish all those Traditional School families a happy and successful New Year starting next week thank you Miss Coffield and you know I was so excited that I was going to be the first one to announce my BAC meeting this year and I completely overlooked it so I I appreciate the reminder I can't claim first but district 7 will also have our first BAC member BAC meeting on um Wednesday September 4th at Austin Ridge Elementary School so thank you for that reminder thought I was going to get in there first but I missed my opportunity Mr Swanson
080thank you see I planned my BAC meetings for the year but just didn't announce them or the schools yet so that'll be coming soon but it will not be in September um thank you uh Mr chair for subbing in for me on at the Western Wake Town Hall um I will do my due diligence to get those slides uh to the board and to the community um and great that I I think it's just important for us and when we started having these Town Halls we wanted to highlight the relationships and the uh interlocking work that the county commissioner plays the state legislature and the board because all of our work connects and so I have to give a great um great uh thank you to uh Senator Adcock and commissioner Stallings um for their
081partnership and uh and continuing these so we will continue these uh in the months ahead so let me get back to my prepared remarks uh I also want to thank my rotary club the carry rotary club for hosting a very successful book batch uh for parents and for K through five students to get the opportunity to grab a book and read a book uh before the school year kicked off and so we had some outstanding special readers uh which included our uh Wake County principal of the Year miss Wiston Pierce our teacher of the year Mr uh Ryan uh bergli I'm sure I just butchered his name so please forgive me um couple of electeds councilwoman um Jennifer uh Roberts from the Cary Town Council our mayor TJ collie uh representative Maria Sania and um
082Mr Allan Hal who is a well-known Storyteller and we had a very special special guest which was uh Kanan officer Clyde and Carrie Police Department Corporal Brad Fletcher which it was extremely hard to follow those two um you never read after a a dog has come because you've lost all of their attention um and so really want to thank all those volunteers who helped collect the books and a special thank you to Dr Hendrick um and former former principal of of uh Green Hope and former board member uh Bill Fletcher for their advocacy and and passion for literature and making sure that our kids are able to read um and I also want to say a welcome back to all of of our traditional Educators who started this week uh the school year is getting
083ready to kick off so I wish you all the best um and to our students and and families and also to our first year teachers just want to thank you for stepping up and stepping into this new role and I'm sure as a former beginning teacher I understand the the challenges and the nervousness that goes with it but the best advice that I've received from a a a great teacher was to just be yourself and build those relationships and everything else falls into place so don't worry about all the nonsense that comes along with it everything will fall in play but but put your relationships with your students first build with those relationships and families and everything comes together and lastly I will just say uh Mr Hershey um thank you and I also just
084want to thank uh Dr Wilson Norman and her team for really being intentional and and all those folks in the district office um that shows every day that we take academics seriously um we understand and we know that this work is important um every CH every child every student despite their area code despite where they come from has the ability to learn and can learn and so our um we have some great things planned for this upcoming student achievement and you know really just to show that yes we are pushing the needle forward on proficiency uh and we're pushing back on those those misinformation that we are not taking this stuff seriously um because we are and so just stay tuned and I'm sure we are going to be be leveling up as a district
085and Miss rice has leveled us up in our comments so um that just reminds me to take more photos when I'm out in the community so I can do uh slideshows as well so thank you and thank you and um those are all my comments great thank you Mr Swanson um one thing also miss Co Miss Coffield had mentioned that did come out of our joint meeting was talking about the angel funds and you remember we had a good discussion about this for those that don't know um we have our free and reduced lunch program but sometimes there children that come to school that don't have money that either aren't part of the program or have them qualified with the program but still have need or are still hungry and what can we do to
086help feed those children in those needs and so many schools have or I think all schools may have Angel fund accounts some are funded more robustly than others and one of the things that we've been working on has been trying to get as you mentioned like U you know donations from the community so that particularly where schools have used all of their funds and those funds are empty that we can accept more private donations there's a lot of charitable organizations that are interested in supporting that work um we may not have an update at this meeting but I can promise that by our next meeting we will have an update for everyone with just confirming that number confirming its operational and then any additional information that might be helpful to members of the community who
087are interested in helping out those kids that may not have um a hot meal for breakfast or for lunch Dr Taylor did you have anything to add to that I think uh Mark Strickland has something he wants to share so [Music] Mark so the the plane is rolling on the runway uh uh you know we just had this conversation in Earnest last week at the county commissioner join meeting and so I just got off the phone with Paula Deluca and we've had a lot of interest um a lot of people have have reached out and are interested in participating but again this is just starting to roll out so um I I don't have any figures to report as as you all would like to hear right now but I can say that not only
088through the efforts last week and the conversations that took place at that meeting uh we've had other opportunities to talk with other Community Partners and Paula is working that as well and we fully believe that this will be fruitful and in in short order so I wish I had some numbers but that's hot off the press you know Mr Strickland for it not being an agenda topic you have performed admirably so thank you so much thank you for the update and we do we we do look forward to hearing more about this I think it is a priority we've all identified on the board Miss Coffield and he ran away but I just wanted to say um just we've talked about you know consistency and communication and we we say those words a lot but
089this really shows I mean it's great news that you've had a lot of interest from our uh County Commissioner and we've we've talked about it in facilities and then the commissioner's meeting and that's really awesome that that many people are reaching out each time that we talk to them we're getting better news coming back from it and I just think it's just uh it just shows how great and the power of communication getting out to those people are so that's awesome to hear that more people are interested all right so at that point at this point on our agenda um we turn to our business agenda which is very very brief um we have our consent agenda before us do we have a motion Mr Swanson Mr chair I move that we adopt the uh
090agenda um I also like to include the HR um pieces in there as well if that's the appropriate time for that or we can do that um we could either um because we've concluded our Clos close session business so we could just to present you with some options we could do one motion to adopt the consent the items on the consent agenda or we could have a motion to adopt the items on the consent agenda and also to approve the HR U recommendations and appointments that were reviewed in closed session I'm looking at Mr Malone so it's up to you it's at your discre second option all right second so we have a combined option from Mr Swanson that was seconded in record time by Mr Hershey to approve the items on our consent agenda
091and everyone sees those and then also to approve the HR recommendations and appointments and those items that um were presented in closed session we have a prop we have a we have a motion has been properly moved and seconded all in favor of adoption of the consent agenda items and the HR recommendations signify by saying I I any opposed all right those items have been adopted well now you know this would be the a point in time where if we'd had additional public comment you know beyond the time limit we would have that now uh then we would move to close session which we do not have so Mr Hershey do you have a motion do we have any settlements announcement and settlements yes thank you Mr Hershey all right here just pass that down
092to S I'm um we have four announcements tonight um in the matter of KR by parent or Guardian drb Wake County Board of Education 24 EDC 01130 um the petitioner agreed to release all claims against the board that were brought or could have been brought pursuant to the Ida and North Carolina special education statutes and in exchange for non-monetary terms and payment of up to $ 38,9 in HRV weight County Board of Education CV n um um this is a student map that was resolved prior to the fing of an actual complaint for nonmonetary terms and includes a dismissal and release of all claims that could have been brought in ah bu and through her mother RP via the Wake County Board of Education 24 EDC 0119 the board entered into a settlement agreement with
093ah buing through her mother in the amount of $1,274 in other non-monetary terms and in Cooper tackier General Contracting Company V Wake County V the county of wake the Wake County Board of Education in the Wake County Public School System 24 CV 8745 the board entered into a settlement agreement with Cooper taia in the amount of $62,500 back but before we adjourn that's it all right then Mr Hershey we have a motion to adjourn is there a second second from Miss mfy all in favor of adjournment please signify by saying I I any opposed all right the meeting is adjourned thank you everybody e