001So, it's a good to recognize a few today and to start with we've got Bright Adventures Pre-K, Nova Ash. >> [snorts] >> This is Nova Ash and her teachers recommended her for this award and I have Miss Penny's words for you. So, Miss Penny says, "Nova consistently demonstrates what it means to give her very best each day in the classroom. She approaches every activity with a positive attitude, works hard to complete tasks carefully, and always puts forth her best effort. She is kind and willing to help others wherever needed. Nova is also an excellent listener who follows directions responsibly and sets a wonderful example for others. We chose Nova for this award because of her hard work, caring attitude, and dedication to always doing her best and then some. Congratulations, Nova." >> Up next is
002East Elementary and Alora Corbin. >> [laughter] [crying] >> All right. Hey, everybody. I'm Whitney Davis. I teach kindergarten at East Elementary. This is Kinsley Chambers, my co-teacher, and we've had the um good fortune to have Alora with us this year and she has really proven to be student of the month consistently over and over every month. And we felt like it was fitting to have her be our last one that we picked for the year. Um, Alora is all the things you want to see in all of your students. She's kind, she's thoughtful, she's helpful, she's very intentional with her um words and actions. She's a little bit spunky, but I would have it no other way. Uh keeps our our classroom alive and um uh keeps me and Ms. Kinsley on our toes for
003sure, but we're very proud of her and she's the kind of kid that you say if you had a whole classroom of Aloras, you'd have it made and that's definitely the way we feel and that's why we picked Alora Corbin as our student OF THE MONTH. >> WE HAVE ANOTHER STUDENT FROM EAST ELEMENTARY, [screaming] Cadence Burger. >> I have the honor of recognizing Ms. Cadence Burger for her hard work and persistence at East Elementary this year. She set out to grow in reading and in math and set good goals for herself. And let me tell you she did not disappoint. Um every day I can count on her to bring energy and just an eagerness to learn to every single lesson that is unmatched. And her end of year scores showed outstanding growth. And she
004probably thought I was crazy when I cried after her reading test because I was just so proud of her. So, um I am proud of your determination and your hard work and congratulations to you, sweet girl. >> UP NEXT IS LEVI LITTLEJOHN, also from East Elementary. Levi, sorry. >> So, I have the privilege of recognizing Levi. Is And this is from Miss Cope. Levi is one of the most helpful students she has ever seen. She is part of the Man of Food Bank team and was just approved to be a flag team captain when she reaches fifth grade. She helps on a daily basis by getting copies and anything else I might need. She is also a great student. She takes her time on assignments and assessments. She follows directions and helps other students who
005need help. She loves to write and has written several stories. She's also an amazing artist. Levi is an all-around great student and that is why I've chosen her to be the student OF THE MONTH. >> ALSO FROM EAST ELEMENTARY IS Avery Jones. >> [applause] >> Hi, I'm Miss Harrison and it's my honor to present Avery Jones as the May student of the month. Avery works hard every day. She completes all of her assignments and is always ready for the next task. She recently completed her fast fact fluency test with a 100% accuracy for both addition and subtraction. She walks through the door every morning with a positive attitude and a smile on her face. Avery is always thoughtful, dependable, and one of my little shadows. Her big heart is evident in how she treats her
006classmates with kindness and respect. It is truly a joy to have Avery in my class and I'm so proud of you. >> SOPHIA YOUNGBIRD, ALSO FROM EAST ELEMENTARY. So again, I'm going to present Sophia. This is from Miss Karnes' fourth grade class. It is my honor and pleasure to recognize Sophia Youngbird for her outstanding hard work and leadership. She also has a very positive attitude throughout this entire school year. I have seen her blossom this year. It has truly been an amazing thing to see. Sophia consistently demonstrates responsibility, kindness, and a strong commitment to doing their best in everything she does. She leads by example, encourages others, and helps create a positive classroom environment each day. Their dedication, respectfulness, and her willingness to help others makes her not only an excellent student, but also a
007role model to her peers. She is constantly surrounded by friends, proof that her kindness and compassion are noticed by others. Ms. Carnes is very proud of all she has accomplished and believes she will have a very bright future. >> [applause] >> Up next, West Elementary, Timmy Timmy Sherrill. >> [applause] >> This is Timmy Sherrill. He is our Best and Brightest award winner for this month. Timmy is an exceptional third-grade student at West Elementary who consistently goes above and beyond in every aspect of the classroom. He has a genuine love for learning, always putting forth the best effort, and eagerly ready to take on new challenges. He is kind, dependable friend to everyone. He's always making others feel included, supported, and valued. He is the first to offer a helping hand, whether it's assisting a classmate
008with schoolwork or simply cheering someone up with his caring nature. I also asked his teacher, Ms. Brown, to write something about him as well, and this is what his teacher, Ms. Brown, says. I could honestly go on and on about the kind of student Timmy is. He is kind, helpful, respectful, energetic, and just an all-around great kid. But I want to share a small story that speaks to the kind of kid Timmy is. At our school, Mr. Holden does some upper-grade um things with kiddos, and they make glitter bottles. And Ms. Brown's class had to wait a little bit of time to make theirs because of scheduling conflicts and stuff Mr. Holden couldn't quite always get around to doing theirs. But when it finally came their turn, instead of Timmy making one for himself, he
009made one for Ms. Brown. That truly shows his heart and the wonderful person that he is. He is truly our best and then some and he has been such a pleasure to have in my class THIS YEAR. >> [applause] >> NEXT WE'LL BE PRESENTING TO KOBE COOK FROM West Elementary. >> Good evening. [clears throat] I'm Ray Black. I'm Kobe's fifth grade math teacher. Kobe is a student that comes to school every day prepared. He works hard. You think of best and then some. He is somebody that's constantly trying to prove himself. He cares about assignments. He cares about staying on task. He cares about his grades. And if I can say also, I think a lot of that comes from the strong partnership also at home because the parents have been on top of this
010in the very beginning. We had a good good relationship this year. Kobe started this year slightly below grade level, not much. Uh but this month he finished his end of year uh diagnostics for i-Ready and he grew 33 points. Went right through his stretch growth. He has solid green mid-level green across the board i-Ready and as of last week, week and a half ago, he is now on i-Ready sixth grade math level. So, congratulations. Great job. >> [applause] >> SO, IF I HAVE ONE COMPLAINT, it's that his dad jokes are always better than mine. >> [crying] >> Next from Swain Middle School, Dakota Johnson. >> [applause] [snorts] >> All right, I've got my main man Dakota Johnson here. Dakota is a seventh grade student who I think truly embodies what it means to give our
011best and then some. He is one of the most compassionate students I've ever known. He shows kindness every day, empathy, and respect to everyone around him. Dakota approaches each day with a positive attitude. I don't think Dakota has had a bad day um [clears throat] since I've known him. And if he does, he doesn't let anybody else see it. Um his character and work ethic have recently earned him a place on our middle school leadership team where he continues to inspire and motivate his peers. Dakota leads by example, demonstrating integrity, responsibility, and a genuine care for others. I'm incredibly proud of the young man that Dakota is. With his strong values and heart for people, there is no doubt that whatever Dakota's path takes him, he will make a positive impact wherever he lands. Uh
012one quick story, just before uh I got here, um Miss uh Trish at the pre-K was sharing with me that Dakota uh he's one of our pre-K helpers. He goes down every day to help at our pre-K. Um Mr. Ronnie, the custodian, was out one day last week and Dakota took it upon himself. He saw some supplies and he stocked Mr. Ronnie's closet for him um without being asked or anything like that. So, that's the kind of guy he is. So, incredibly proud of him. Congratulations, sir. >> [crying] [applause] >> And our last award tonight is for Swain County High School, Madison Blankenship. >> [applause] >> I'm Coach Ian Roper. It's my honor to present Madison Blankenship tonight. I think I was the first Swain County High School person to meet Madison and her sister
013Addison as they came late in their eighth grade year for a tour of the school as they were getting ready to come to Swain County. And when we gave that tour, Addison was a a full head higher taller than Madison, but she's not anymore. Addison's about caught her. [clears throat] Madison is a A honor roll student. Um she is a leader in our school and a leader in the classroom. She's a leader on our athletic teams. Starts with the basketball team. Is a standout on the soccer team. And this past Friday qualified for state in shot put and discus where she's ranked second in the state in shot put, sixth in the state in discus. And she runs the opening leg of our 4 by 400 relay in 63 seconds. I bet she's the only
014one with that combination in track and field in the state of North Carolina. But as good as good of a student as she is, as good of an athlete as she is, even better person. And she makes Swain County High School our best in the state. >> That completes us on that. >> Those those are all of our best in the state awards. [clears throat] We urge you to stay. It's going to be real exciting meeting. But if you would like to skedaddle, that is just fine and we'll give you a moment to do that. But if you want to hang around, feel free to do that, too. Last exit. See Mr. Treadway, he's going to stay. He's trying to get out of town. >> Hey. >> I so wanted to say when he had
015the best best jet dad jokes, I was going to say he's got the best dad joke about it. >> Goes to him. I I was wondering how he got so tall. >> I need to call you. I think you were. seniors She was with Yeah. She was gone with Lisa, my sister. She's never not there. So I'm No, no, it's No, it's totally fine. I just want to make sure she was okay. Yeah, you go to visit and then it's Yeah. Yeah. So just if you ever know she's not going to be there, just let me know. It's totally fine. >> Everybody showed up >> It's all Yeah. I'm just glad he's okay. Now you know you're good. Yes, thanks. >> I'll let them get out the door and we'll start. >> Yes. >> All
016right, if everybody will stand, pledge allegiance. >> I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. >> Let's pray. Gracious heavenly Father, Lord God, we bow in worthy here before you this evening, Father, thanking you for for this day, God. We thank you, God, for all these students, God, that are giving their best and then some, Father. God, we just thank you for our school and our school system. Lord, I thank you for all our teachers and administration, dear heavenly Father, Lord God. I ask your blessings and leadership and guidance in our school, Father. May you be everybody pleased with all the decisions that's made. Your name we pray. Amen. >> Amen. It's
0175:16. We'll call our meeting to order. I know we have some amendments to the agenda. Dr. Sutton, we need to add 10 and 11 to the consent agenda. And then we would like to add an H after G in discussion. And we would also like to move move our public comment >> from the comment to close session. >> from the close session to after action. >> I make [snorts] a move to approve the minutes with those adjustments. >> Second. >> All in favor, raise your right hand. Unanimous. Agenda is passed. Uh Do I have a motion to approve the consent agenda? >> Motion. >> Second. >> All in favor, raise your right hand. Moved. So, we will move on to public comment. Do we have anybody for public comment now? No public comment. All right,
018we'll move right on into discussion. Turn it over to Dr. Sutton. >> All right, so I'm excited to start something new each month. I wanted to do a superintendent's update with just some things that I've I've seen and as I visit schools. And then also I've asked the directors as they come to present to you that if there's anything that is changing or there's an opportunity to educate you and the community that's watching that we're going to start sharing it on a presentation throughout. So we've worked on a presentation. We'll see how smoothly this goes and I'm I'm really excited about the updates. First we just wrapped up last week with our teacher appreciation week and staff appreciation and really want to just shout out our amazing staff. I had an opportunity today to to
019sit in on five interviews as we try to select who will represent Swain County as their teacher of the year and to hear those folks passion and commitment to our students is refreshing and it's why we do this work. And so I just want to shout out our teachers tonight. As I got the opportunity to visit some schools early on, I know public schools take a little bit of hit because they they claim we don't teach some history and and some of the American history in particular. But what I found was a first grade classroom. The teacher reading from the Declaration of Independence and these first graders having a discussion about our forefathers and the effort and work that went into creating our Declaration. Again, this is first graders. Those same first graders was learning
020about George Washington as he navigated the Delaware River. And so as a as an offshoot of that, they had to write about a time that they were brave. And so, in the bottom right picture is a a student's work sample uh describing when uh Tom he was brave. Um and then when the top right is some photos from um Rich Harvey's classroom uh with the lighthouses of North Carolina learning some North Carolina history. Uh these are just some brief examples of the amazing work that our educators do uh and what they're doing to pour into our students. And I just want to just want to thank them today um and tonight recognize them and their hard work. Um next was the senior walk. High school did an amazing job pulling that off. And this is
021the accumulation of all of our teachers' hard work uh as we're preparing to send our students off into the workforce uh to career and technical uh to four-year universities and to the military. Uh it's it's a lot of of hard work uh both from parents, students, and staff to reach this major life milestone. And so, uh just want to congratulate those seniors as we near our June 4th and um Swain Academy's graduation date is uh Saturday the 30th May 30th. So, as we approach those seniors' graduation dates, that's a lot of hard work uh that's gone into that. So, I want to thank them. Uh next, I've invited Cindy to talk just briefly uh about our career fair. Uh want to share out shout out the work that has gone into this. And I would
022like to thank the community. Many of these are entrepreneurs. They work for themselves uh that gave their time to be here uh to share career opportunities. Uh we also uh had a had a just a wonderful civics lesson uh as part of that from one of our own board members. Uh I actually had to hang around and listen to him talk uh about the pro judicial process. So, I really appreciate all of those folks giving time to represent career paths that our kids our students can consider and I would let um Cindy talk more. >> [snorts] >> Thank you Dr. Sutton. Thank you board for this opportunity. We're blessed to have the support of our businesses and school communities to launch our first annual career conference at Swain High on Tuesday, May 5th. Dr. Sutton
023did ask me to be brief, so I made notes cuz I'm really passionate about this, y'all. Could go on for a long time. So, we had over 60 professionals representing over 30 employers and covering a wide range of career fields who donated their time to talk with our students. 26 of our presenters were Swain High graduates. >> Wow. >> We're working hard to break those myths that you have to leave home to get a good job or that graduation from a small public high school limits you in any way. It doesn't. This event included many professionals who firmly refuted these myths. As you can see from the list of employers, students had the opportunity to learn about careers from a broad range of fields and with a full range of education and training requirements from
024high school graduates going on to on-the-job training, community college diplomas and degrees, as well as pathways requiring bachelor's or professional degrees. Our business partners included local, regional, national, and international employers. Students were able to get up close and personal with millions of dollars of equipment and Moose the dog who helped with the veterinary medicine session. It was a great day of hands-on learning and personal connections with professionals. Oops, went went too far. Um, you may ask what exactly is a career conference. Um, the second page you have shows the schedule. Unlike a traditional arena-style career fair in the gym, we asked students to register their interest in advance and then we created a personalized schedule for each student based on their interests and which professionals were able to attend this year's event. So, you can
025see they get practice as well moving between sessions with a schedule. We gave them some guidance about professional expectations and some grace because things happen and people um have last-minute emergencies and we had to switch schedules and we want our students to understand that's life. It doesn't just happen to them, it happens to us as adults, too. And we roll with it with uh through it with grace. So, as with all new projects, we do have room to grow, but we're off to a great start. And although I have the honor of being the spokesperson, as Dr. Sutton said, these things don't happen alone. So, thank you again to our um individuals, our businesses, our community, and our students, faculty, and staff who said yes to taking on this event and making it great. So,
026I am pleased to share this and thank you again for the opportunity, Dr. Sutton, and look forward to second annual and more to follow after that. >> Thank you. >> It was a great day. I was glad to be part of that and see all the different careers. >> I should have done the teacher thing and asked if I had questions. Sorry, I'm excited about the band concert. You can Thank you. >> Thank you all very much. Thank you all very much. >> Uh next I wanted to thank Mr. Carson, Mr. Deels, Mr. Burdette, and then Mr. Kirkland from the Board of Commissioners. We were able to spend a full day in our facilities walking around looking at needs, looking at areas that we could address quickly, and areas that are going to take sustained
027planning to address. We've already been began discussions on summer and just the daily maintenance. And look forward to presenting to you Tommy Mr. Deels is going to present later on um our capital outlay needs, but we also at some point in time will be presenting a long-term facilities need update. So I appreciate all of y'all doing that and taking time out of your day to join visit us. And then last for my me right now, I just wanted to thank our student services, our school nurses, social workers, and counselors for the work they do. I wanted to highlight them because I recently got to meet I had the opportunity to meet with our school nurses. You know that we are short one one nurse right now and trying to navigate staffing all of our schools
028appropriately. And I think one of the things that I I value and want to do is listening to our educators and the ideas that they had and because of those discussions we Barbara Ms. Need was able to amend how we're staffing all of our schools to get us through the school year. But that was a joint effort and then later our school nurses bringing their thoughts and ideas to the table and I really appreciate them and their forward thinking to take care of our students. And that that is all of the student superintendent update. I appreciate y'all letting me add that in. >> Thank you. Thank you. >> Very good. >> Next part of our discussion is school nutrition. >> Good evening. I am um here today um to request that you approve my bids
029that are left open. Um I've got the food and supply bid with US Foods. It's the same as last year. This is just my first year to be able to renew that. Um school nutrition is allowed to renew it for 4 years after the original bid. Um I have the Coca-Cola bid um for the beverages and my chemical bid is Correction Enterprises. It's all the same as last year. Any questions on those? >> You said the same as last year. >> They are. >> Pricing and everything is >> So um like the food bid, the food can fluctuate, but I have a fixed uh price on my per case fee, so they can't go up on that. Um the food can fluctuate, but it's the same price that the distributor gets it from the manufacturer.
030>> Is there a reason we're not in the with Far West Co-op in the chemical part? >> When I started with the school, um they just done the beverage and the um food and supplies. So, I'm not sure. >> We wouldn't better ourselves by being in that. >> Um probably not. Like um really our chemicals, it's a very low amount that we purchase every year. It's super low. And Correctional Enterprises is really um North Carolina correctional uh system, and it's pretty cheap stuff. >> Anybody else? Thank you. >> I'm I'm also going to request that you approve to reestablish the district's community eligibility provision rate at 97.86% for the next four-year cycle. This will be providing financial stability and reimbursement opportunity for the district as shown on the slide. Swain County Schools has experienced significant
031growth in the CEP eligibility over the past several years. In 2022, we were at 49.27% and through the increase with direct certifications and identified student percentages, the reimbursement rate steadily increased up to 100% last year. Um This year it has decreased slightly to 97.86% but that's still super strong. The slight downturn in the reimbursement rate is primarily due to the changes in the direct certification numbers. The district lost 118 um direct certified students and only 87 students overall. Um so that's just saying several students came off of Medicaid and SNAP. So um because of the CMP reimbursement is based on the percentage directly certified students compared to the total enrollment, the reduction in the identified students caused the reimbursement percentage to decrease even though overall enrollment remained relatively the same. Sorry, I read that twice.
032>> The re-establishing rate, um, CP cycle now allows the district to secure the strong reimbursement percentage for the next 4 years rather than risk further fluctuations in the annual eligibility data. It also protects the financial stability of the school system while continuing to provide breakfast and lunch meals to all students. Um, on this side I have shown like if I On the left-hand side, if I stay at the 100% that I'm at now, um, the difference of what I would be getting from 100% and then I would keep that for 3 years and then possibly go to 85% or lose CP altogether. Um, that's just hypothetical. I really don't know what the percentages will be next year or in the next 6 years. Um, so on the right-hand side, if I go ahead and take
033the 98% and lock it in for 4 years, I'll be $20,000 off of the 100% each year for 4 years. And then I showed the 85% being the same. So it's really a difference of $100,000 for the next 6 years of what I would be receiving. And that's if all the same number students eat or if the reimbursement stays the same, and we know both of those will fluctuate. >> So it's rolling the dice. Is you either say you can stay at the yearly rate and risk whether or not you get 100% reimbursement or you lock yourself in at 98% and fluctuation is irrelevant. >> Yes. >> Okay. >> Um, the only thing that would fluctuate is how many students would eat. But my my reimbursement rate would stay the same. >> Would stay the
034same no matter >> Yes, sir. >> Okay. >> [snorts] >> How many years have we been doing this? >> Um >> Three or four years? >> I started Um I think it's been 3 years now. Cuz it's started >> kind of got better every year. I mean, it seems like. >> Got better every year until this coming year. Um we started out at 86%. And this just allows us a little stability knowing what we'll be receiving. Um the $100,000 difference just for a few numbers is 21,000 lunches. Or 18 and 1/2 days worth of lunches for our students. Um or it's two and a half employees with benefits. That's what it it equates to my program to keep that $100,000 in there. Um I did do a couple more figures. And if we decrease at
035the rate of 118 um certified students and only 86 um enrolled members um in one more year, it'll drop to 91% and then in the next year, it'll be down to 83%. So, that would be lower than what I really showed as the 85%. >> [snorts] >> So, if we drop to 85%, the difference in the reimbursement rate and the cost that we would pay is 183,000. >> Um so, instead of my reimbursement being at the full 100%, I'd be losing 183,000 in reimbursement. >> A year. >> And if you do the four-year enrollment, it's 80,000 roughly, a little bit more, give or take 90 some thousand. Four years. >> Okay. >> What's your recommendation? >> I recommend that we go ahead and roll it to the 97.86% and stick with it for 4 years.
036And if for some reason if next year we go back to 100% I can reestablish again. If it goes back up. Every year I pull these numbers in April and we can >> So we lock them in in 4 years but not necessarily us if we wish to change. Can we swing it Billy? Okay. >> So on the CEP plan uh school nutrition has not requested any local funds. >> Okay. Okay. So that's definitely better than it was 3 years ago for sure on that front. May I ask any questions? Sure. >> I had one going back to the food and beverage contracts. So if if we lock those in does that does that also mean that the the the meals we'll be serving for the next 4 years will be the same as well
037as what they've been past 4 years or will we have any flexibility in what we're serving or >> So school nutrition is a part of North Carolina procurement alliance and they do all the bid documents for us and they actually go out and get all of the food that's on our bid. Um and I think this year they said they put 30 new items and I'm sure how many they removed. And it may be the same type of item but a different brand. Or a little bit different something that may help meet our guidelines in our sodium or our fat content. Or our calories. >> May I ask? Thank you. >> Thank you. >> [snorts] >> You may be excused. >> I'd like to look at >> Budget amendments. >> So, for the budget amendments,
038um you should have a year-to-date budget to actual in front of you. And then the next sheet just kind of outlines the amendments. Um the main points is that we received $3,900 in fuel contingency from the state fund for all the gas price increases. Um we also received $484 for IDEA federal grant. And then there's a decrease in special revenue due to pre-K tuition and reversion in our NASA grant. And that's an overall decrease of $50,974. Um and the next approval I need is for um our insurance renewal with North Carolina School Board Trust. We've been with them for [snorts] over a decade and this year they're offering a 5% credit if we participate in multiple funds. So, if we continue with our auto um in this one, we'll get that 5% credit. >> Milly,
039you said that was the North Carolina School Board Trust? >> Yes. >> Okay. >> Any questions? >> Anybody? >> Before you sit down, thank you for your I said it publicly in the joint meeting, but thank you for your exhaustive work >> Absolutely. >> on our joint meeting. Thought it was great, fantastic. We want to thank all the board. I know we uh had lots of meetings and lots of discussion and definitely Dr. Sutton uh for his work and hopefully we'll see the good in that. >> I hope so, too. >> So, thank you again. >> Thank you, ma'am. Beginning teacher plan? Yep, she covered both of those. >> Beginning teacher plan. >> [snorts] >> Thank you. Good evening. Um I'm coming to you to ask for approval of our beginning teacher plan and we've
040not had to do this the last 3 years, but there's new uh board policy and when the board policy changes, our plan has to change. Um and so, I'm just going to go over the changes and then give you some highlights of what we're doing. You had the whole plan in front of you, I think uh in your packet. >> [clears throat] >> So, make this work down here. Um the first change that they added to the state plan was to have a documented process for identifying and verifying all BTs and it had to be addressed through two different surveys. One went to the BTs and one went to the BT principals. BTs beginning teacher. Um and so, that is something we'd not done from the state before, so they had to develop those surveys
041and those did go out just recently to all all those participants. Um we do a a local survey each year for those teachers so that I know how to better serve them, but we've never done the the um state one before, so we added that into our plan. And the other thing was uh to plan for implement implementing a sound BT induction pro program. This is something we've always done um and it's with our orientation. And so we'd already met that, but I did add some specific wording in the plan so I meet that goal. Um so within the plan, there's five different standards and get down to it. There we go. So the first standard there is systematic support for high-quality induction programs. Um so it's including every teacher who has um that is
042a beginning teacher for 3 years. And we we've always done that, too. So we don't have to had had to worry about that. Um and making sure that they have a strong start. We do an orientation for 5 days. They're only required to do 3 days, but we do 5 days for our teachers. Um we make sure they have mentors and they have a protected workload. If they choose extra duties like coaching and things like that, they have to sign a waiver for that um in order to be able to participate. Um standard two, mentor selection. We make sure that we are um selecting high-quality and proven mentors. They have to have a proficiency rate on their evaluation or above um and make sure that their eval scores are um showing that that they are
043being um high-quality in the in instruction in the classrooms. We do uh mentor training. I bring them in um at the beginning of the year all our mentors um and make sure that they understand how to, you know, work with the I I've developed a whole guide book for them of things to do with their mentors and how how to uh how to help them and assist them and then make sure that they can get all the paperwork filled out that goes along with that. We do provide a small stipend for our mentors so that for the extra work. Not every place does that, but we do that. Um standard three, that's it. Um mentoring for instructional excellence. Uh we focus on that instruction and student success and we uh, make sure that our mentors
044and BTs have plenty of time to meet. Um, we try to get them on the same grade level. That's not always possible. So, sometimes we have to make some uh, adjustments or um, me or one of the coaches will go in and cover so that they can go over and observe them or go observe somewhere together. Um, just to just to make it work. We just do the best we can. Sometimes we're limited in in what we can do. Standard four, beginning teacher professional development. All our teachers, every teacher, no matter no matter if they're a beginning teacher or not, they do that individualized professional development plan at the beginning of the year. And so, we're differentiating what those teachers need based upon what they want to be learning about as well as principal recommendation
045or coach recommendation. Um, and of course we do that for our BTs, too. And then, I meet monthly with our BTs. Um, BT ones come in every month. BTs two, year two and year three, they come in about three times a year, four times a year depending on what's going on. Um, and I make sure that we're covering kind of right on time and um, instruction with them um, to help them throughout the year. And then, unit five, or or excuse me, standard five, formative assessment and uh, of the candidates and the program. They get many more observations than our teachers who have been over there for have been through the program already. Um, not only are they getting observations by their uh, principals, but also they get a peer observation. Um, their mentors observe
046them and give feedback. And we've been doing a lot of work with our coaches this year, our instructional coaches, and putting um, them in coaching cycles so that that coach is working with them for 6 weeks at a time and then maybe maybe more if they need it. Maybe on a different topic. But we've been working really hard to get all that. And so and then using data to improve the program. Again, I've always used our district survey, but now we'll be able to use the state surveys, too. Any questions about that? >> Do we have enough mentors at each school or do you have to do the the cross school? >> We we've had we've not had to do the cross school unless it was something like maybe PE or where they have a
047singleton subject, but most time it there it is at their school. We do have to double up on mentors sometimes having two BTs. Just to make sure. But um we're trying to get our get some more people qualified to be mentors and encouraging some of our teachers that are of that 10-year, 11-year, 12-year, um they've been here long enough that they can start mentoring and so encourage them to get trained so they'll be able to step up. >> I thought I might ask you that were teachers that are are retired, they can serve as mentors? >> They can. They can. And we've not really accessed that. We've not really had to access that except for at East Elementary, Mike did bring in some retired teachers this year. Not as an official mentor as far as
048they didn't get paid. >> [laughter] >> But they came in voluntarily and helped us uh support some of our BTs. So. Any other questions? So I'll just ask that you approve that tonight, please. >> Thank you. Next up. >> Thank you, Mayor. >> Capital outlay. >> Yes. >> Mr. Davis. >> Mr. Tad. >> Guys, I'll get one of these. I'll go with the time keeper. in my back. Pain on it. I see one with gray lines on it. They didn't give you a color copy. >> It's not that big a deal. I mean, I can spray paint it green. I've got some crayons. >> All right. Well, pretty well self-explanatory of what we're intending to do with our capital outlay budget this year. Each one of these projects is listed in here by the school.
049For instance, there's only one thing that we're trying to get really done at the high school right now in this particular capital capital outlay budget because of inside this budget we need to get the parking area below the baseball at the baseball field. It's just currently gravel trying to get it paved and trying to pave the ramp coming up towards the school where the kids will be able to walk on a hard surface up and down through there. We feel like that's something that would be a benefit. At the middle school, painting the seventh grade classrooms, a leaf blower, portable vacuums because they go to multiple buildings, HVAC replacement at the pre-K. Moving away from the original system that came with us, we can't get parts for that system anymore. And we are moving the
050split systems, trying to put splits in those classrooms in order to be able to keep them heated and cooled sufficiently without having to chase down parts that don't exist. Or to have to order from Texas, one thing or another like that, and not knowing about turnaround times. At pre-K also, one of the huge things that we have to do is because they have a certification that goes through NC pre-K and that kind of stuff. We have to buy lots and lots of rubber mulch for the fall zones on their playground that they use every day. So, those are the types of things we're including in there for pre-K. At East, we've got a storage room sewer repair thing that's below the cafeteria we're having to take care of. We're trying to do a bathroom remodel
051or we're intending to do a bathroom remodel for one bathroom section at a time at each east and west both. Uh the one we're wanting to start with is one that sees the most traffic and that's the ones next to the gym and the public sees it the most and so our plan is to redo the flooring and redo the fixtures and put some stuff in there to get ourselves uh back going. I mean it's been in there since uh they opened in the fall of '91. So, they've it's time for a remodel. Um try to put a new playground there in town is put a new playground behind the uh school at East. Uh we're planning on putting about $50,000 into that and that number could change a little bit just depending on if
052we would find uh that we can that we can afford to do a permanent surface underneath that for fall zones rather than having to go to the mulch route, which is something that we are looking at. Um paint for the walls. We got some We try to repaint a little bit as we go in the places that get picked the most that see the most traffic. We're trying to get those painted. We're going to get those painted this year. Um at West, bathroom upgrades the same same place. Um solar replacement same thing. These are mirror These are the same building. It's just it's the same problem in both places. And uh parking lot restripe at West. And uh we're doing some furniture replacement out there too. The furniture in those buildings has been there for
053a long time also and so we're trying to replace those as funds become available. And so we're trying to do a classroom or so at a time. Uh paint touch-up for walls, ramps, handrails, one thing and another uh about $5,000 in there for that. Um sounds like a lot, but when you start to spread that out over the amount of space that we're talking about, it's really not a lot. Um painting three rooms for $4,000 is really not uh at the academy is is a good deal too. That's uh that mean that you frees us up. Uh carpet in two rooms in the offices of 14,254 29. Uh floor tarps with a rack for athletics. And that's when they put the tarps down on the gym floor to save the floor from the chairs and
054things whenever we have uh public things in there like when we have a all of our groups in there and put the check tables out, it's tough on the floor finish. And so we put those tarps down to save the floor. And so we're going to get some of those with racks because we catch a lot of heat also from uh fire marshal one thing and another about having things down to where we can't get around in there. And so we're looking for storage solutions for other things also. But that's one thing that uh we're that we're getting after right now. And also uh we had from athletics also, we had a sound system that was donated to us by an individual that lives over on Deep Creek. And all we're having to do is
055supply some infrastructure updates, which is power and a uh concrete pad for some parts of it to sit on, and some mass for some speakers to be mounted on and one thing and another. Which is a drop in the bucket compared to what the rest of this cost. And it's going to cost us about $10,000 to support supply the infrastructure to be able to put that donation to use. And that's a great deal for us. Uh Says Billy Goat down there. If you don't know what that is, it's a thing that sucks up leaves, chops them up, and throws them in the back of a dump truck. Particularly of interest at the middle school because the middle school sees a tremendous amount of leaves. And if they if we don't do something different than what
056we're doing, we'll see the same leaf five times. So, we've got to we've got to do that. And that's one thing we can do to address it. And we also need a tractor because I think our newest one is about an '08 model. And we're just trying to replace things as they're aging out. And uh this one that we're looking at is somewhere in the 50 to 60 horsepower range. And we're trying to get something that we can use for saters and other things like that that will be uh will be more will be better for us in the long run cuz we we just start the point in the life span of our equipment that we're going to have to address some changes. Uh the total for all of our capital outlay projects at
057the schools throughout the county on the capital outlay budget is around $320,625.88. Now that will probably come down a little bit because of the things that you see that are nice round numbers typically we overshoot. I'm not going to say that's going to necessarily be the case but typically we try to overshoot put more down than we think we're going to need and so that number you generally descends rather than ascends. Uh that uh And the next thing is the repair and renovation fund projects which is lottery money from the state. We plan on a couple of things that were big ticket items to put that on that so that we could do things with our capital outlay money that would affect the schools more broadly. Uh fine arts roof replacement which is something that
058is necessary on our buildings at the high school they're all flat roofs and so it's basically a big tarp laying on top of a concrete building with some drains made in it and so they leak after they get some age on them and it's tough on them UV sunshine is hard on them. It's uh and it's been there since that building was open and I think it was about '01. Is that about right? >> Somewhere around that so we're going to replace the roof up there on that particular portion of the high school with the intent of doing the rest of the high school as soon as we can but we know that we have an HVAC need looming and we don't want to replace the roof and then go up on the roof to
059replace rooftop units and destroy the roof that we've just put down. So we're having to stage this and we realize that that's just something we're going to have to do and so we get a company out here generally Bonnets is the name of the company, and they come out, and they find the leaks for us, and they patch it because it's harder on those flat roofs like that than just what you'd think to find it cuz it'll get down in the concrete then, and then it can run anywhere, you don't But they have means of finding it that we don't. Uh but the middle school roof replacement on the seventh and eighth grade building, it is actually a pitched roof, and it's been up there for a long time, and it's time to replace it.
060And the bus garage roof, you can drive past there and take a look at that. The tabs are in pretty rough shape. It's time to replace it, and that's just the cost of doing business. We're planning on getting that from a repair renovation project money from the state that's associated with the lottery for $197,975 for that section, and altogether about $518,600 worth of capital fund things that we plan on getting done in the next fiscal year. >> Tommy, have we ever considered looking at steps from when we were talking about the baseball field, I mean anything, steps from up there down? >> We have, and we talked about that the other day. I don't know what we'd have to do in terms of the angle. >> Mhm. >> Because it's pretty doggone steep. We'd have
061to look at how we could do that about putting it in the bank and back up. We've talked about that as a part of what we do, and it may be something that we add on. But the one thing that what we've got priced currently is just simply replacing that walking ramp that they have now with a paved walking ramp and paving that whole thing at the bottom. >> And what about the I noticed this year the uh like the little deck that they shoot from for the Ruendevil Network. I don't know if you guys have thought about that, but that one the steps are getting pretty >> That's something absolutely we can look at, and hope and that's not anything a project that size that typically you have to put on capital outlay, so
062we can do that in general maintenance budget. >> Okay. >> Yeah, I think that's something we can look at in that. I'll make a note. Crows Nest. >> Tommy, are these things we'll probably perform in-house or is there any of this stuff that we can sub out? >> Almost all of this will will vast majority of this will be subbed out at least to some level. >> Okay. >> Yeah, almost all of it. Now, like we won't the parking lot restripe, we won't sub that out. That's something that we'll do because it just it doesn't take enough time to justify to do it. And but most all the work that's in this in terms of carpeting and the painting where um we're we're we're painting that. >> at the painting and specifically if you you
063put them all together and it's enough to >> to justify >> Yeah. >> So, yeah, we're we we're there's some of that the touch-up paints which when it says touch-up generally that's something that we handle in-house, but as large-scale paint like hallways, ramps, those types of things they're all subbed. >> [clears throat] >> Tommy, like on the playground there at East you got 14,000 PTOs. Is PTOs supplying 14,000 of that? >> That would be an addition. It's it would amaze you to find out how much playgrounds cost. It would amaze you. I mean 50,000 is not a very high number. >> I think you have a certification >> install and to and to work or fix. Yeah, you do. So, that's one of those things that we have to we have to sub that out.
064And it costs you basically if you have $25,000 worth of playground that you're going to buy, that's how much it's going to cost you to get it installed also. It's very expensive. >> [clears throat] >> Anybody else? >> Question. >> One thing [snorts] that I noticed is getting pretty significant wear on it is the sign at Eastdale Elementary. >> Yes. >> Drive by it every day. I see it and I'm like, one side looks fine. This must just be where the sun hits it the most and wears it out. But that was something I thought, you know, eventually if we I know that's not a that's a cosmetic thing, but it's something that people care about. >> it all it all adds up and it counts. And those were given to us as Theodore Green
065signs. Yeah, those were given to us to begin with. So, that's but we we do have to address those things. It's like it's like we say before, you know, our best and then some. It needs to reflect what we want and how we want to how we want our our ourselves to be viewed. So, we need to address that. >> Anybody else? >> Thank you. Thank you. >> Cameras in the classroom. >> Yes, sir. >> Sir, so I'd like to discuss the cameras in the classroom. Um if if I think if we move [snorts] forward and consider these, what I would propose that we do is form a committee. Um I think we already have two of you that are on a policy committee. Um them, you, um teacher, and maybe a an administrator to
066start drafting a policy and use the next 2 months to sort of try to start mapping out what a policy would look like, all the questions and things we would need in it, work with our lawyer, and then in July do the potential first reading for consideration um with the follow-up, you know, later as we take um we could do a public comment section on that to get feedback on it before we look at a final proposed policy to decide, yes, this is what we want to do, or no, we're we're not going to install cameras. But that's that's what I would like to to suggest that we do to move forward with considering the cameras in the classrooms. >> Right now, I know that's me and you, Mr. Arrington. >> Yeah. >> Can you
067do that? Can you do that? >> Sure. >> So, I will schedule time with you and and some other folks to be on that committee so we can start drafting a potential policy for a first reading in July. >> Okay. Unless one of y'all y'all want >> I'm good. Okay. All right. Well, you had it H for a middle school construction. >> Yes. So, I had a great meeting with LS3P, uh the town, and Nate, and discussed [snorts] the middle school project. It sounds like the water can come from Jordan Road. LS3P right now is working on what is going to have to pressurize that using the current water infrastructure for the town, and what we will need to do to provide fire suppression. That's the question. What is going to have to be done
068to provide fire suppression. And that would be coming in on the west side of the the campus. The uh >> Franklin Grove Road, yes, side of that. And then also additionally, sewer coming out of that. That looks like a significant project to update sewer lines coming out of that west side of the property. Uh to the sewer septic system the sewer system, town system. Um but there is plans for that. You voted about $50,000 of the 3 million HUD, [snorts] which I've emailed to get more information about the HUD grant cuz it sounds like there's still quite a bit of question about that. Um I had representatives office email me back today said they would put me in touch with HUD to make sure I've not missed any communications so we can look at the
069requirements for that grant that is coming to us. But there was a question about using $50,000 to look at surveying for water from Fontana Road. Now it sounds like that money needs to be moved to look at the septic system sewer system coming from the facility the new middle school construction to the town wastewater management. >> So we probably won't need a second water tower now is what I'm >> No. Would not be required I think long-term. It is it would benefit us to have that but it sounds like the Jordan Road with the right components will run a fire suppression. It may require us to put a tank on the property. It may require some hydro-hydraulic systems to help increase pressure and flow rate but the they're working on that Nate and LS3P now.
070>> Oh this is time sensitive so that's where we need to be concentrating on. >> Yes and yes it is time it would be time sensitive and then the $50,000 instead of surveying the water from the my school down looking at surveying what would need to be done for septic. >> And then all of that is on site isn't it? A lot of that survey for the sewer would be on site. >> It would be off the middle school site down through town. Nate has >> Substation probably. >> Yeah to the substation. Yes. >> We talked about that too. Go ahead Kevin sorry. >> Well I'm anxious to hear about the parameters of the grant cuz I don't want to just get in a situation where the $3 million is for water. And it's so
071specific that we get ourselves in a bind paying for sewer and we've lost out on the $3 million in water. It's like I want to make sure that that's not so specific that it can't go to something else. Um cuz if we're getting that money, we need to do something with the water even if [snorts] it's putting a tank up as a as a fail-safe or a new tank to replace the old one at the high school. Something needs to be done uh with that money so we don't don't lose it. The understanding of the water or the the three grant >> [clears throat] >> was that it was for sewer and water infrastructure. And not geared to any I want I want to see exactly what's in there. Uh and what it says. Part
072of the meeting was was our law school lawyer was there and he had some questions around it. There was some concerns about just with some HUD grants, there's sometimes commitments and specific things that have to be met and we want to look at the grant to see just what is this $3 million going to be able to do to help address water and sewer infrastructure to the middle school site. >> Okay. >> And I think we also on that on the sewer topic is the $50,000 that we're going to designate for that study from the middle school site off of the Franklin Grove site all the way to the pump station. That will entail if we can uh budget within that $3 million to complete that versus changing from $875,000 worth of sewer line and
073nine manholes to a 2-in force main or or whatever the case may be and LS3P is definitely on board with that on it saying, "All right, look, this is the money we have available. We're This is our budget. So, this is what we're This is how we're going to have to design this. So, I think all that's pretty good right now. >> Yes. >> Start with. >> Uh the the water uh additional water towers is a long-term goal of the town, but it's going to take a lot. They're they're waiting on hearing back from a grant, and even once they hear back from the grant, if they get that, it's still substantially a long time out before that will become a reality. So, we're if we're going to move forward with construction, we're going to
074need sewer and water more quickly than that uh project will be able to meet our needs. >> [clears throat] [snorts] >> The other thing about the middle school construction is there's a meeting this Thursday at 2:30 to discuss precast and utilities. Uh if we are going to move forward with precast and start meeting the construction deadlines, uh that needs to go off to bid and design uh sooner than later. She said that's about an 11-month uh turnaround to do that. Um so, it is time that we have to start looking at moving forward with this project and and uh deciding if our budget's set and we want to try to work with what we've got. Uh so, if one of you or two of couple of you want to join the Thursday 2:30, we can
075meet here at my office. >> The last time we met, I think they said precast was definitely an option. >> Yes, precast and it will save us some money. Yeah. >> And time. >> Time and money. But it's it's about 11-month process to start getting this scheduled to come in. >> Right. >> 2:30 this Thursday, yes, sir. >> If you're not busy, I'll go. >> No, I can do that. Yeah. >> Yeah, Lisa, in case you'll be there. >> Anything else? >> That is all of the discussion items I have, sir. >> All right, moving on to action. >> Yes, so first action is I recommend the Swain County Board of Education approve of personnel and minutes from April 13th and April 30th meetings. >> So moved. >> Motion do I have a second? >>
076Second. All in favor raise your right hand. Five approved. >> Before we get to that second one, just one one other question on the um on the nutrition thing. So we talked about some of the stuff Macon County was doing in trying to maybe replicate some of that here. If if we lock in these bids, is that going to you know, mitigate our ability to do that? Or do you think we can still >> I think the food that's being served is similar in both places. Um I know that he Macon County is no longer on our using the same supplier. >> So it's not necessarily the same supplier. Um they're no longer with the Far West Co-op. So he sent it out for the again this year. And um I don't know who responded
077to him. Um but I expect you I suppose it will probably be He's still part of the North Carolina criminal lines. So that would be the same bid package that we have. The same items. You might get a lower cost uh case bid. >> So the my next question would be is how time sensitive our approval of those bids? I mean, if we had to delay another week to troubleshoot a couple things or find out more, would it hurt us or do you need >> So I would probably have to pull away from the Far West Co-op to go get new bids. And that would be the dump truck bid. >> Okay. Is the bid an annual thing? >> Yes. >> Okay. So if we do it now, we've got time to look at alternatives
078for next year if that's something we wish to do. Okay. What what districts are in the Far West Alliance? >> We've got um Jackson County, Graham County, Clay County, Cherokee County. Macon County pulled out this year cuz they wanted a lower per case fee. >> As I think knowing two of those counties, I think they're still with the current bid that we have and the vendors that we're using, there is some opportunity to address some menu uh expansion and looking different because Jack- uh Jackson County and and Cherokee County are are both using our same providers. >> Okay. >> [snorts] >> Okay, next one is I recommend that Swain County Board of Education approve the food school nutrition food and supply bid rollover. >> So moved. >> Got a motion, second. >> Second. >> Got
079a second. All in favor, raise your right hand. All approved. >> All right. Next one is I recommend that Swain County Board of Education approve the school nutrition chemical bid rollover. >> So moved. >> Second. Second. All in favor, raise your right hand. >> I recommend that the Swain County Board of Education approve the school nutrition beverage bid rollover. >> Motion. >> Second. >> All in favor, raise your right hand. Carried. >> I recommend that the Swain County Board of Education approve the CEP rate renewal. >> And was that the rate at the lock-in? >> 97. >> The 97, okay. I just wanted to clarify that. >> Um motion. >> Got a motion? >> Second. All in favor, raise your right hand. Carried. >> I recommend that the Swain County Board of Education approve the
080budget amendments as presented. >> So moved. >> Second. >> All in favor, raise your right hand. Carried. >> I recommend that the Swain County Board of Education approve the EOGL renewal. >> Motion. >> Got a motion, got a second? >> Second. All in favor, raise your right hand. >> I recommend that the Swain County Board of Education approve the beginning teacher plan. >> Motion. >> Second. >> Got a second? All in favor, raise your right hand. Everybody that approves, raise your right hand. >> [clears throat] >> All right, do we have a motion to go into closed session? >> I'll get that on the motion. >> I'll make a motion. >> Are you going to do it again? >> No, you can. I'll make a motion for the Board of Education to go into closed
081session pursuant to General Statute 143-318-111 under subsection A1 and 5 to prevent disclosure disclosure of privileged or confidential information. >> Got a motion, we'll get a second. >> Second. >> All in favor, stand up. >> And we'll adjourn in closed session. >> adjourn in closed session. >> Yes. >> We've got one. No. We've got one. If somebody doesn't sign that, we're out by May the 8th. Need to date it or not.