001I did that on purpose. I wasn't sure how to say that name. So. There we go. >> Yeah, look over there at that camera. It's all right there. How about THAT FOR VARIETY? >> [applause] >> JAEGER DILLS. Jaeger Dills. So, this is my friend Jaeger. And I nominated Jaeger for this award tonight. Um I have got to know Jaeger since he was two when his big brother came to school and he has always been very well spoken and very outgoing and I love that about him. So, this is what I said. I selected Jaeger for our Best and Then Some award because Jaeger gives his all throughout his school day. Every single morning he comes in and greets me with, "Good morning, Ms. Trisha." And then he continues on to his room to meet and
002exceed the expectations of his teachers. Not only does Jaeger work hard to listen, follow directions, and finish his work, but he's always a good friend to others. Jaeger notices when his classmates are feeling down and need somebody to sit with them or to cheer them up. He takes initiative to help or get a teacher when help is needed and he always helps me find my coffee cup when I sit it down in his classroom. It's a thing. Um I'm thankful that Jaeger's part of our school community. Congratulations, Jaeger. Let's give it up for JAEGER AGAIN, PLEASE. SO, I'M GOING TO TRY TO PRONOUNCE THIS ONE CORRECTLY. ELLORA, is that right? Or Elora Corbin? Not here tonight? Then we'll move on. How about Remy Height from East Elementary? I am honored to present uh Remy Height
003with Student of the Month award. Uh Remy is a remarkable student who demonstrates great character every single day. He's a great student both in academics and how he behaves. He's an honor to have in my class. Um Remy is a friend to everyone in the classroom. Um the best example of this is we had a new student come in our classroom and immediately Remy was the one to volunteer to show him what's up at our school. And uh he's a really great friend to kid who didn't have any friends. So, I'm just proud of him for doing that. Um I am He finishes his school work on time and he puts his best effort forth. I truly appreciate everything that he does in class. I'm honored to have him in my room and I'm very
004proud of the young man he is. >> [applause] [applause] >> DIEGO DE LA Cruz Echevarria. >> [crying] [crying] >> Ms. Abbott is here to support Diego, too, but Charlie's a little upset. >> [laughter] >> So, this is Diego. Um he switches classes. We share him in fifth grade. The other teachers couldn't be here. Um but we all wrote something about him. So, Diego is a wonderful choice for Student of the Month. He is kind to everyone he meets and consistently shows what it means to be a good friend. Diego's positive attitude and bright smile make a difference in our school each day. He is also incredibly reliable, taking pride in his job, helping in the cafeteria, and always following through on what is asked of him. Diego's hard work, kindness, and joyful spirit truly set
005him apart and we are proud to recognize him for this well-deserved honor. >> [applause] >> A.J. Watson, are you here this evening? We'll try to catch you the next time then. How about from West Elementary, Damon Hampton? Come on, Damon. >> [clears throat] >> All right, this is Damon. He's in first grade at West in Ms. Bradley's class. Damon has worked so hard this year in the regular ed classroom and always comes in ready to work whether he's coming in for math or reading groups. His willingness to attempt hard things daily is much appreciated and we are so proud of him for all his hard work this year. Way to go, Damon. From Swain Middle School, Shane Jones. >> [laughter] >> All right, I have Shane Jones with me and I chose you this month,
006Shane. Okay, so Shane is a remarkable sixth grade student who brings a positive attitude and a bright smile to each school day and just every day. His great personality shines through in the way that he interacts with others and how he consistently works hard to be his very best self. Shane's uplifting spirit truly makes a difference and spreads good weather throughout our school. I'm so proud of him and the positivity he shares with everyone around him. CONGRATULATIONS, SIR. >> [applause] >> FROM THE HIGH SCHOOL IS AVA Booth here tonight? We're here today to honor a truly exceptional student, Ava Booth. Ava approaches her education with profound respect. She has maintained perfect attendance this semester, always arriving early to settle in home room before study and begin uh even before the day begins. In the classroom,
007Ava is a quiet leader. She knows exactly when to share her voice and just as importantly when to step back and allow others to take the lead. Because of this collaborative spirit, she is highly sought after by her classmates during group work. Academically, Ava has a very high GPA and is particularly gifted in English. She consistently offers insightful comments that elevate the learning experience for everyone in the room. Her attention to detail, writing ability, and use of language are advanced well beyond her grade level. Just recently, our head teacher, Ms. Allman, shared with me that a student had completely blown the top off a very challenging freshman English preparatory exam. That student was Ava. Her remarkable ability to make complex inferences distinguished her at the highest level. For all these reasons and more, it is
008an absolute privilege to recognize Ava Booth with this our Best and Then Some award. GOOD JOB. >> [applause] [cheering] >> NOW, I'M GOING TO TRY TO PRONOUNCE THIS LAST name and if I do it incorrectly, would somebody please correct me? Lara Areiza. Did I say that correctly? Well, that's just a one in a shot, one in a million shot. >> [snorts] >> It's my privilege to recognize Laura Areiza this evening. She is a responsible, respectful, and wonderful hardworking student, but she doesn't limit her excellence to our classrooms. Uh she has also spent countless hours the last two years. Uh Laura's a sophomore, y'all. Countless hours studying college textbooks to compete in the respiratory therapy competition at the HOSA Future Healthcare Professionals um student technical organization. In addition to her textbook study, Laura, with the support
009of her family, has gone countless times to Sylva to work with the college instructors and learn clinical skills. She placed eighth in the state this year, which that deserves a ROUND OF APPLAUSE. >> [applause] >> THAT IS NOTEWORTHY, OF COURSE, but what really inspired me and cheered me and just um after a very difficult competition, one of her fellow competitors was in tears. Laura put aside her stress and she comforted that competitor, shared snacks, talked to with her, uplifted her, and that is truly our best and then some. THANK YOU, LAURA. >> [applause] >> I'LL COME UP AND GET THE PICTURE. WE HAVE ONE more and I'm not sure that she's able to be here tonight. I could be wrong. Jolie Stevens. I think that Jolie is a participant in soccer. Am I correct? And
010I would imagine that's what she's doing. We'll keep trying to get up with her. Dr. Sutton, that might be one of your first tasks. All right. Yes, sir. Now, we have a group that we want to to recognize. Miss Miss Williams-Landing, is this all-state, all-district, all-everything? Okay. Whenever band students begin to progress and improve their skill set, um they have the opportunity to compete against all the other students on the same instrument at particular levels. This is This is not unlike um athletics where you end up with with people being all-conference and and all-state. Uh the the difference is these students don't get those recognitions because of just coach recognition or because of stats. They have to go compete. They get a one-shot competition. And and if you go in and you you lose your
011cool, you've lost your chance. Um Swain County High School has two sets of students. Uh one is a subset of the other. Are there any math teachers in here? Aren't you I was really good at that. Subset, get that? Anyway. >> [snorts] >> Never mind, you don't get my humor. Um we have all-district students and then we have all-state students, which means they are in the top tier in all of North Carolina. So, Miss Williams-Landing and I guess that guy back there, Mr. Sale, I'm not sure. Um might be going to come up here and uh they're going to introduce these students to all of you and to everyone else for recognition. >> [snorts] >> Contrary to popular belief of Mark Sale, um middle school students are involved in this, too. Um not just high
012school, just so you know. >> [laughter] >> Um Thanks. So, anyway, uh as as he was describing, you know, these students got to compete at all-district and just to put it in perspective a little bit more, we don't have classifications. We don't There's no charter or public, there's no private It's everything. It's every student that's in a band program Western North Carolina these guys were competing against. This year, 1,200 students auditioned across Western North Carolina for a place in this band and we had a record number of students from Swain County make it this year, we had 13. Uh and that's huge, so that deserves a round of APPLAUSE AS WELL. >> [applause] >> UH SO, FROM THE MIDDLE SCHOOL TONIGHT, WE have one person here, the rest are track meets and didn't have rides
013and things like this, but this is Sarah Smith. She made it on saxophone, SO CONGRATULATIONS, SARAH. >> [applause] >> THE UH THE OTHER MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENTS WHO PLACED IN THE band were Frank Carrasco, Maya Hyde, Ernest Locust, and Joy Guest. So, congratulations to them as well. >> [applause] >> Our high school students, Isabel Barker on clarinet. Deshawn I said for you to know who you are. Deshawn Correll on percussion. >> [applause] >> Lucas Dickens on trumpet. Tommy Dickens on clarinet. Joseph Dimeny on trombone. Caitlin McMahan on trombone. Abraham Palmer on bari sax. And Adam Shine on baritone. >> [applause] >> Just so that you know, students who place in the top seats can qualify for all-state. So, guys, this is out of 15 counties. A lot of people don't know how this works. 15 counties,
014not 15 schools, 15 counties. Abraham Palmer placed first chair bari, Adam placed second chair baritone, and Tommy placed second chair clarinet. They were eligible for all-state. And so, Tommy will travel in 3 weeks to UNCG to represent us for Swain County for all-state. So, way to GO, TOMMY. JUST TO BRAG ON THEM, OUR BAND PROGRAM in Swain County is the only 1A athletics dept to confirm this this afternoon, the only 1A or 2A school in what our Western District, made up of 15 counties, that have this many students qualify for all-district and all-state. I also would like to brag that we also tied some 3A and 4A schools. So, this to me speaks to the grit, the determination, and just the work ethic that our band students have. So, we want to thank you. We
015want to thank our band boosters and thank the school systems for supporting and seeing why this program matters. And thank you guys for being our best AND THEN SOME. >> [applause] [applause] >> I MEANT NO DISRESPECT TO THE MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENTS, only only the middle school band director. >> [laughter] >> And and lest anybody think that I called them to come up here, Miss Williams called me and said that she wanted to do that. We would love We would love to have all-conference, all-state athletes come to these. And I think again, Dr. Sutton, that would be a great way to expand on this. Um if you want to do that, now you're on the hook, though. Okay? Those are all of our awards for tonight. If you would like to move us into uh Would
016you like to tell them about all-state? Oh, okay. Cody wants to make sure that you know that if you don't want to stay for the rest of the meeting, you don't have to. May 5th. Yep. What time? 8:00 May 5th at the high school. All right, thank you. That'll be fun. Yes, sir. Thank you. Stand for the pledge and prayer. 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. Bow your heads. Kind and most gracious heavenly Father, thank you for allowing us to gather together once again. Dear heavenly Father, we ask for your your guidance, your understanding as we make decisions for Swain County schools. We want to thank you for the opportunity
017for allowing us to gather together once again. Dear heavenly Father, we pray for those that are sick and afflicted and for those that have uh problems and stresses that only you understand, dear heavenly Father. We ask that you be with them and bless them and be with all of us in everything that we do. For it's in your precious son's name that we pray. Amen. Amen. Thank you. Uh we call the meeting to order at >> Correct time. 5:26. 5:26. Uh are there any amendments that need to be made to the uh agenda? There there are no amendments. I just would like to draw your attention to the fact that in the consent agenda, it has March 20th names on there. You gave provisional um approval [snorts] of those already, but we need to make
018sure that those are in a public session for approval. All of those are included in the consent agenda along with all of the minutes. And all of the personnel that come for today as well. Okay? I have a motion to accept the agenda. So moved. Second. All in favor, raise your right hand. Okay. Uh Do we have a motion to accept the consent agenda? So moved. So. All in favor. Okay. All right. I guess we move to the any public comment. We have no public comment tonight. Okay. Well, right here I'm going to take just a moment. This is Mr. Sales' last official board member or superintendent of Swain County Schools. And we sure appreciate you, Mr. Sales, for all you've done. Thank you. Served 38 years all together in Swain County Schools. 30 as
019a teacher, administrator, and eight as our superintendent. Done a great job and we sure appreciate him. So, let's give HIM A HAND. >> [applause] >> QUITE A TRACK [snorts] RECORD. UH ARE WE GOING TO NEED TO GO INTO closed session? I don't have a reason to unless you all do. Okay. Okay. So, we'll move on to discussion then, Mr. The first item on discussion is um a detailed design update from LS3P and also from Vannoy Construction. Um there are multiple phases in a construction project where these groups come together and they present to you what and the public what they have put together. And each stage gives an up- another opportunity to refine and even apply something called value engineering, which means we can't really afford that, so we need to look at these pieces
020again. We've already gone through the schematic design piece. Uh we've now moved to the to the detailed design. Just because you look at these numbers tonight or you see what's on the screen or you hear what Emily and and her colleagues tell you, that that doesn't need to become an assumption as a final product. The final product is not until everything is gone out to bid, has come back, and you all agree that this is the final price that you're going to play- pay. It's called the GMP, okay? Will- you'll be looking at that- did you hear me? I can't even get out of a worker's mindset. You will be looking at that um hopefully, Lord willing, in September. That's the goal, maybe October, all right? Um now, I want to give you just just
021a hint of an idea on this. I've had some conversations with other superintendents, and I believe that Brandon was in one of these meetings with us, and we were talking with Dana Ayers out of Jackson County, who are also in the middle of a construction project. Um and as they were talking about the various stages of design and construction planning and development, the con- the conversation turned to, "So, what does it mean that construction has started?" That's an important deadline on this. Uh the the grant requires that you either have construction started, whatever that definition is, by um October the 7th of this year, because it's 2 years after you get the grant, okay? Um or else you have to apply for an extension. Jackson County has already applied for an extension, because they weren't
022as far along as as Swain County was when this started. They didn't even have land. Uh so, they've applied for them and given an extension. But in the in the conversation about what does start construction mean, um as long as we are under contract and moving in the right direction, particularly with Vannoy, then we have started construction. That's what I have been told by Nathan Mauney, who is in charge of facilities and planning at DPI right now, all right? So, so Dr. Sutton, as you move forward on this, that's one of the things to keep in mind. October 7th is a critical deadline, but I really think in a lot of ways we've already hit that deadline. Okay? After that, I don't know of a deadline for when you have to complete construction. Okay? I
023think that it's pretty much open-ended, isn't that right, Emily? And I would encourage you as my on my last meeting that we not delay too long, because the longer you wait, the more it costs. Always true, all right? And with the current state of economy and and the political um thoughts that are happening across the country right now and across the world, I can't guarantee you that 6 months down the road we're not going to see $6 gas prices. Okay? I don't know. None of us do. Uh so, we have to y'all have to balance. Do you wait? Do you move? How do we make this happen? Okay? Really, really critical that you move with haste, but also that you move wisely, all right? And with all of that pontification, Miss Kite, would you come
024and talk to us where we where we are on uh detailed design? Yes. And I'm going to not do all the talking. All of these um folks with me will do some of the talking in this presentation, but um we're really very excited to be here today um to present this sort of next milestone in the design of the new middle school project. Um this does mark the end of the design development phase, as Mark explained, um and it will include everything from the design up- >> Mhm. >> validate some of the numbers that you see on the screen that are estimates like your furniture budget, um, instructional technology. We can now work with a lot more specificity with furniture vendors and things like that to validate that budget. And it's possible that some of
025those numbers will change. You'll see some additional contingency in the green there. That's the, um, that's the risk management that we still do at this phase when we're not completely finished to make sure that we do have a little bit of breathing room in there for you to make good decisions. You'll also see that 5% construction contingency at the bottom of that. That would be a construction contingency that you would carry through construction of the project, um, as your, uh, your tool for risk management if we we encounter unforeseen conditions during construction. Um, would be that. So, that'll be some of the work that we do as part of of construction documents would be to start to put some real numbers to those things in green to help us really nail down exactly what those
026soft costs are going to be, um, and how it might impact the bottom line of this budget. So, we have as much predictability as we can have, uh, to a date in the future with some geopolitical volatility that it does impact the construction markets. Um, [snorts] but we we think we've got the right team to be able to keep keep uh, helping you manage risk and to give us some predictability as the best we can. Um at the end of construction documents. It's a lot of words and so I'm happy to answer any questions. Dr. Sutton, I know we've not had a lot of opportunity to to meet yet, um but in the coming weeks I hope we get a chance to sit down and work in more detail and go through everything with you
027and um and kind of get you up to speed on the design and looking at the floor plans and all those all those things as well. So. I I Can I ask a question? >> Sure. I think the only question is you went through the floor plans is like what's the capacity of the cafeteria? Yep. Um and then what what's the capacity of a classroom? Like what what are these Um so we have designed for uh student enrollment of 500 with a core capacity of 600. So that's tracking a good bit above the current enrollment for the middle school. Um we typically would uh size the capacity of our cafeterias and things a little bit more than that because they're hard to add on to later. We can add more classrooms typically. All of our
028classrooms, regular core classrooms, are 850 square feet, um which is in that DPI recommended um size for classrooms. It's also bigger than the majority of the classrooms at the current middle school. Um there so in the very beginning of the process we um we did validate what DPI says we should have in terms of square footage, that $100,000 or 100,000 square foot target is tracking right with the DPI guidelines. Um for that as well. Mhm. And I'll say it for that they've done a great job of keeping this building efficient. So in other words, stacking the classroom is very helpful. They've hit the square footage targets to keep this thing in line cuz that efficiency just helps the cost. Helps keep things down. So. Did that answer your question or do you want more detail?
029No, no, that's good. Mhm. That's good. You have any other questions? No, we'll We'll dig in. Yeah. Yeah, we can dig into it in in way more detail than anyone in this room probably has time for today. Um but if there's no other questions, we certainly appreciate the opportunity to work with y'all and um are really excited to kind of round the bend and get get ourselves on the home stretch. Um Yes. This multi-colored sheet, none of these are included in the cost. That would be in addition to the cost that you've seen. So that we we pulled those line items out because in some cases there's some choices there for you to make um and for us to just have some transparency on what those things might cost us on bid day. Mhm. Any
030questions from the board right now? So Emily has asked that uh they receive some type of feedback either for the approval to move forward to the next step or or other questions within a week. That's what we did last time. Yep. Uh we can we can make that work probably. Uh I can be in touch with each one of you for questions at towards the end of the week so that'll give you time to to think about this and and have some conversations if you want to. All right? Uh I think there are a couple of pieces that we need to go ahead and we need we need to look at very fairly seriously. Uh one of them is uh and this is April. In March I came and asked for approval to uh allow
031Emily's team to uh begin looking at some survey for water and sewer. And I think at that time uh the projected cost of that and correct me if I'm wrong, Emily, the projected cost was about $50,000 what you were asking for us to allot. Yeah, and that would just get the that would advance the ball in um the due diligence necessary to proceed forward with the design of the new municipal water system which we know is a little bit bigger conversation. Um but this is work that really needs to be done at the start of any any design project whether it's undertaken by our project and by you as board or the town of of Bryson City. This would all be work that would need to happen regardless. Yeah, on that I just think we
032need to specify what we want to survey, what we want to get first. >> Yeah. And that does include that that cost associated does include a little bit of the early planning to understand where a water tank might need to go, where its location is, and to validate um some of the high level work that the town has already done in showing the routes of things and stuff like that. So there'd be a a bit of research piece and a little bit of kind of preliminary um dis- discussions and study on the especially the location of the tank um before we would do any actual surveying of the site. I think and I think that element which I've heard y'all talk about some already could be included in this. So the town is recommending to
033go here, some of you are recommending that they look at other sites as well. Um this would give a third party an opportunity to look at that and then have a conversation about that. >> Yep. Uh I was Michelle, I was just looking at this that you'd sent out the survey. No. Stuff like the sewer where it says uh survey the route proposed by the town to go from the west side of the middle school site to the south side. I mean that's got to be done. Mhm. You know that before we can even start construction I think. So that that would need to be surveyed for sure. Yeah. The route from the high school to the east side of the new municipal, that would depend where it starts depends on where the water comes
034in. Yes. Yes. And that the water side is um the more time consuming and more there's more complexity in designing the water system than there is the sewer. So that's really probably the the bigger lift in terms of the amount of time it takes um and the cost associated with that. The sewer is the much easier of the two solutions. The route and the extension of the sewer system from our site to the new lift station at the river is much shorter also and I think there's a lot more clarity on what needs to happen there from the town's perspective in terms of their their uh identifying of a route that that needs to take. Um and so there is a lot there's there are more questions on the water side to answer before we're
035really ready to survey an exact route of things um including the the location of the tank. So that's probably the more detailed effort of the two. Um and the most critical in terms of the timeline. What do you think, Casey? I'm watching the wheels turn. Just on our local municipalities and how we're going to get these utilities routed. It's going to be challenging. Well, I I believe that that's the second piece that I would that we really need to pursue and that is uh we need to sit down together. And I know that I have had some conversation uh with local officials and that they they are very willing to sit down but we need to do that uh and come away with a collaborative approach. Uh From what I understand there is a willingness
036to work but there are some limits from the town particularly where funding is concerned and I understand their position on that. Uh but again, that needs to be uh at least a two-way if not a three-part uh conversation between us, the town, and I believe the commissioners as well. Uh cuz there's going to have to be collaboration from all groups. Now the the good thing is in my opinion, there has been the promise of some money from the federal level that can help take care of some of this cost. Um and I believe that the survey that we're talking about could could come out of that cost. However, we have to remember that that funding is not released and I don't see it being released for another 8 to 10 months. All right? Which means
037that cost would have to come from a different account and then be reimbursed somehow. All right? Uh my suggestion would be that we go ahead as a school system and we we put that money into the survey with the understanding that it comes out whenever that money drops from the federal government. Okay? But we don't have that in writing yet. Uh I had intended to have that interlocal agreement for in your hands today. If you recall that Ashley was sitting here, no, she was sitting there and she was taking notes and sharing them with John Henning from CSN Law or Campbell Shatley. Uh John's father passed away. Mhm. And that has put him behind a little bit. So they have now shifted that project to another person in their office. Uh and I expect to
038see something within the week for that. All right? And I believe that we could we could say we need you to put that in there. If that's what you want me to do. Okay, I believe that's a good good process for moving forward. Everyone's going to have to agree on that interlocal agreement though at some point cuz all groups are going to have to vote on it and approve it. Okay? Uh one of the things I was going to ask for you to do tonight is to look at your calendars before we leave and to set it give me three or four dates when we could sit down with some people and start having these conversations with preferably within the next couple of weeks. Uh cuz I would I would like to continue to be
039a part be a part of the process if possible to help work this out. I would like to. I've got a a tremendous emotional and mental mental investment in this now and time investment. All right? However, I also know that April the 30th is coming. All right? Uh and and we'll just leave that sitting where it is. And Brandon needs to be part of that also because he's going to have to carry the the weight of of guidance and recommendation for you all. Um that'll be his [clears throat] job to to carry. Um so if before we leave, if we could please get three or four dates not only for that, but excuse me for as a for a parenthetic. All right? Aren't you Aren't you impressed with my vocabulary? Uh Nobody will brag on
040my math. At least give me credit for something. >> [laughter] >> Um We also need to schedule a meeting with the commissioners in the next 2 weeks to discuss budget. I've already had a meeting conversation with both the chair and the vice chair. And they are very willing to sit down soon and talk about that. My calendar is open in the evenings. I think Brandon's calendar is largely open in the evenings. Um yeah, I think that's what you told me. >> Yes, sir. A while back. Uh so, let's get some dates, all right? And And RL, I would ask how would you like to move forward with the survey? Would you like for for uh Wait, Trim and LSP, three LS3P Mhm. them um to put together a detailed description, detailed, of what's going to
041come out of this with a projected cost, okay? Knowing that that projected cost might change. But not going above that without without further approval. Yeah. Yeah. I'd like to see, you know, what we need to survey and then maybe after that collaborate maybe with the town and more than the commissioner that may not be there. Cuz I'm pretty sure that you all could pull that off in the next I don't know, 18 hours. Yeah. I And we may have it. I would There's been a good bit of email correspondence back and forth. I think the only variable will be if there is some nuance once we go through and kind of vet the the the proposed routes and the route of the tank if the sewer or if the survey scope changes, we can do
042a kind of a worst case and then would only kind of get up to that line if we can survey less for some reason or whatever, we can do that as well. But there'll be a little bit of research and due diligence to do before we start surveying anything. I think we'll need to have that before we place something in the interlocal agreement about the funding. People are going to want to know where it's going. Yeah. >> All right. So, we want to be transparent about that with all governing bodies and the community about where the funding's going. Yeah. And I think our recommendation would be that really the town I think has done a good bit of studying on what's needed and that what's best for the town in terms of the water system
043improvements is also best for your project. And so, I think there is um there's a everybody is can be on the same boat pretty easily just from a purely design perspective. It is what's best for the town and what's best for the the project at the same time cuz it keeps you from having to have those improved similar improvements on your campus that over the long run you wouldn't need um into the future that become sort of a maintenance burden for you. Um and so, I think that there there's a solution out there that is in everybody's best interest that um that is to best interest of this project as well. Do we need that interlocal agreement before we meet with them? Or do we need to have that in hand? >> I can push
044I can push for that as as hard as I can push, okay? An interlocal agreement is a little more difficult sometimes to to construct than perhaps a proposal for surveying because they've already had an opportunity to think about that. But I could certainly get on the phone um with Ashley Leonard uh if it probably tonight after she gets done with her board meeting or or early in the morning and see if we if we can get a deadline on that and hopefully get it by the end of the week. That's what I would like. Now, understand RL that that interlocal agreement is going to go through stages of change. Cuz somebody you you know people are going to say I want something else and don't like You understand the process, all right? But at least
045you'll have it in your hand to work from. Um so, would you like for me to I'll have a conversation with her. Uh or get LS3P and Venoy Wait, Trim to get us a a detailed summary of what is needs to be surveyed and cost. And my goal will be to have all of that in your hand by the end of this week. Okay? All right? Uh and I know that they can do that. That's a That could be a tight deadline for Campbell Shatley, all right? And then we could schedule a meeting next week or the following with with the town and also with the commissioners. I would I would try to move like the the meeting, the discussion part of that, I would advocate try to do that sooner rather than later just
046because a lot of the the meat that's going to go into that interlocal agreement may come from those discussions. >> Uh so, to me you know, it's kind of like let's make the handshake deal so we can put it in in writing and then make it official later. So, what I'm hearing from you then, Casey, is uh let's get together with town now. Right. You cuz there's no real precursor to that. I mean, we could meet tomorrow in theory. >> Sure. Start Start having those discussions. Sure. What do you think? Sorry. I thought you were finished. No, go ahead. And And you have your draft like what you already wanted in or you were going to ask for up front from the meeting with Ashley. So, I do I do agree that you could take
047your already your desires, the board's desires for this interlocal agreement to start discussion back and forth and collaborating on what's best for both entities. Well, we we have some some high-level understanding of what the town is going to be looking for also. Okay. All right? So, we could go ahead and get that to to Campbell Shatley uh and work from there. Okay? So, would you like for me to to get in touch with with Sam and get us a meeting posthaste, all right? All right? Yeah. And meanwhile, do you want to go ahead and get the detailed uh description of what the survey will entail with the opportunity to approve that? Yeah. Okay? Is that all right? >> sense. Fair enough? Yep. Okay? So, the sooner that I get that, the sooner that I'll get
048it to the board. I'll get us a meeting tomorrow and I'll push I'll push Campbell Shatley as hard as I can on that. And then I think we're moving forward. I believe what you'll see is momentum beginning to gain at that point. Yeah. Okay? All right? >> Yep. Any other Any other thoughts or questions? Day-wise, March 21st through 23rd, I'm out. Got you. I'll be in Boise for a couple days. No problem. We'll schedule that for the 23rd. You said through No, I'm just I can't I can't do the 21st through the 23rd. Through the 23rd? Yeah, I'll I'll I'll leave morning of the 21st, be back afternoon of the 23rd. Then I'm going to do my best to at least get a sit-down uh with a couple Yeah. this week. Yeah. All right? I've
049got bandwidth this week. Okay. Fair enough? Mhm. All right? Anything else? Thank you, Emily. Um Thank you, TJ, Jim, and Jamie. The The only problem I had tonight, the only problem, really, is that we got to do something about what TJ's wearing. >> [laughter] >> He did not come on brands today, did he? Jim did a much better job. He He is wearing [laughter] difficult colors to swallow because that's close to Smokey Mountain colors. Uh-oh. You're in trouble now. >> [laughter] >> That's right. I can vouch for that. So, so then I mean, uh Jim, I think that you need to help him dress appropriately like you are. >> [laughter] >> I'll take that responsibility. Thank you all very much. [laughter] Thank you, guys. Y'all have a good evening. Yep. All right. Thank you. Um
050moving right on. If it's okay with y'all, um Michelle was coming to talk about uh nutrition updated bids. Good afternoon. Um I am here to ask for approval on uh updated uh procurement plan. Um I've not updated it since 2018 and the USDA has updated micro-purchasing thresholds to 15,000 this year. And that's just to I need it for my software program. To update it to um get my bid on it. >> So, the the federal government up up from 3,500 to 15. They actually upped it from 10,000. Okay. >> Um and I've not updated it to the 10,000. I just went with the stayed with the 3,500 um cuz I really didn't need it at the moment. And And I need For clarification, that allows you and and other folks to make the decisions of
051smaller things like it says the micro procurement uh without having to go through the formal three-bid process. This just says, "Hey, we need this small thing right here and we need to get it now." >> Yes, sir. >> Yes. Okay. That makes sense. And we we can do that at the the school system level as well. I believe it's up to $30,000 if I'm not mistaken. Uh at superintendent approval. >> All right. Uh beyond that, there has to be multiple bids. And then when you hit 90,000, it's got to go to a formal approach. Okay. Yeah, that makes sense. That's pretty well the limit Yes. >> for USDA across the state. Yes, for school nutrition. Okay. Is that in this document that you're asking for approval? Yes, sir. >> It is? Okay. It is. Um
052that document is a template from DPI and it's the same one we had in 2018 except for the $15,000. That's the way it read. I just want to make sure I understood that. Yes, sir. Okay. Anything else that you need the board to understand tonight? That's it for the procurement plan. Okay. So, do you need for them to also um approve the milk bid? Yes, sir. Is there anything else in the procurement plan that you need to speak to tonight? No. Okay. Could we talk Could we hear about the milk bid, please? Thank you. >> Yes. So, as you may recall that I did send everything out for a formal bid last year and with that formal bid, I am able to renew it for another 4 years and this will be my first year
053renewing my milk bid. Um with DFA Dairy. I'll ask [snorts] for your approval on that. So, when you when you renew Did I interrupt you? I was I think you're fixing to ask the exact same question. >> you renew, are you renewing 1 year? Is it an annual renewal or is it a one-time approval for the next 4 years? It's an annual renewal. Okay. So, I'll come back every year for approval of my bids. That was my question. So, she Michelle is asking to have the same bid for the next budget year. Yes, sir. Okay. All right. Okay. Do you need the board to know anything else? I'm I'm not trying to push you. I'm sorry. >> No. No, you're fine. Okay. Questions? Is this the same bid that we had last year? Last year,
054okay. Do when we when you put out the bids was it last year or whenever? Did you How many responses from companies did you get? For milk? One. >> One. Mhm. So, you go with this one or you go with that one? >> same. You know, that's that's that's the state of competition for districts to the west particularly that are small. Okay, it's just the way it is. And that's the same bid Almond Far West So, the milk bid is Swain County on their own. Um my food bid and my um Coca-Cola bid is with the Far West co-op. That's what I was talking about. Okay. So, um hopefully I'll have the numbers back by next month's meeting and I'll be able to come with that one. Okay. Anything else, Michelle? That is all unless
055you have any questions. Okay. Again, let's talk about colors and Andrews. Just saying. >> [laughter] >> Mark thought he'd wear your shirt tonight. Um there is not a school that I know of that has a has this color. Same It's um >> [clears throat] >> and and I'm wearing this to make my face look more healthy. Um the next on the agenda, the next conversation has to do with cameras in the classroom. Uh after the last board meeting, I um created a survey to go to the administrators in the county and you have the results of that. I think it's interesting that their concerns are very much the same concerns that were presented by by you you and some of the central office administrators as well. Um as uh fortune would have it today, uh
056the North Carolina School Board Association sent a series of spring policy updates. We get those twice a year. About 7. All right. I have two notebooks downstairs for you to work from. Um and one of them is video and audio recordings which I gave to you all. Um I will tell you that uh this is a a first draft from School Board Association and that's the first page of my work this afternoon. This has not been um approved or gone over by Campbell Shatley. Okay? Uh I have sent it to Ashley today and I assume that Campbell Shatley will look through this themselves. I don't bring policies to you from the State School Board Association until they have gone through Campbell Shatley's firm. All right? Because they understand where we're we're living. Um I would
057recommend that before you take any real formal steps forward with placing cameras in classrooms, that we get a solid policy in place to work from to cover and explain exactly what we're going to do. Okay? Casey, I gave that I think that to you this afternoon. Okay. That doesn't mean that you can't uh continue to consider what the cost will be. Although I want to go back to what I said, I'm not concerned about the cost. If you stick to just the EC classrooms, I don't think it's going to be exorbitant. As Karen Cook has said, if you decide to move beyond that in any way, we need to look at a different system because of the cost. But that doesn't mean that you necessarily throw the baby out with the bathwater. Okay? Um Casey
058has suggested Can I Can I share your suggestion from this afternoon? Is that Yeah. I don't want to put you in a bad place. Casey has suggested that the board uh schedule a time to speak with EC teachers yourselves and get their concerns and their thoughts. I also think it would be a good idea that Dr. Sutton be in that meet that meeting uh if you want to do that but because he's coming from an EC background and understands the dilemmas. Um I know that Dr. Sutton also um is interested in the the the legalities of when something becomes if I'm not mistaken you said a student record. That wasn't that your thought last time? >> Yeah, that's what we we spoke about a student record. Okay. Now, that part of that is covered in
059this policy but not totally. Not totally, okay? So, if I were to give you a recommendation, it would be between now and May that these all of these items get checked off and then you have a conversation here as well about that. Now, we have a Lexie and and I know a community member who are very concerned about this. I need to be very up front and frank with you about timing on this, okay? Because of the complexities of the issue, I can't guarantee that this is going to happen by the end of this year. This school year. I just don't know that it's possible. There are too many pieces that have to be put into place. All right? Because you're talking about some some really detailed guidance that will protect not only the students
060and families but also the school system, too. We've got to put all that together. But I think that there is a better projection that if the board decides that they want to do this, that they could have this in place by the start of the next school year. Okay? All right? I just don't want you to or any of the other families to think that we're not listening and that we're we're unsympathetic. We are. We care. I think you know that. I think you know that I care. And so, I'm asking for you to let the board continue to work the process through and you continue to work with us. Is that fair enough? That's the first time I've ever spoken to somebody in during a board meeting from the audience. But I feel like
061that that you merit that today. All right? And I'm glad that you're here. Thank you. Okay. So, can we get those pieces in place? Totally. And then you all have a further discussion next time and let's get a meeting set with EC teachers. Is there anything else, Casey? Again, I see wheels turning. No, you're good. Okay. I just want to make sure I'm understanding. Is this a new policy or is this being Okay, this is a brand new policy and so anything that we would create would come kind of under this? I would I would suggest that that you use it as a template. Okay. Um there is I looked through several school systems today and there is not a policy 7325 in any of their books. >> Okay. I even looked in places I
062tried to look in Macon County because I've heard that they have cameras. They don't have their policy manual online and whenever Lavonda got in touch with them, they said they didn't have any documentation. They don't have policies. Okay. I looked It's new ground for everybody. Yes. It really is new ground. >> Yeah. New territory. And one thing I I read even just on here is you would even want to make sure that you are communicating it through all of your student handbooks and your website and so even just knowing that piece has to go into it. Do we have to update all of those things as well? >> That's true. >> I didn't even think about that. You have to give everyone fair opportunity to know that they may be under a level of of
063watch careful surveillance. Okay? Um I believe that that is their right. Yeah. So, we would use this kind of as our our starting ground. That's what I see. It's a starting point. Okay. That's I looked for um Burke County. Burke County doesn't put their policies online. Um I I don't think they do. I looked for Iredell-Statesville. I couldn't find it there because I've heard that they have. Um this is this is new territory. I was just thinking another issue that might be a real issue if if I had a child in there and you [snorts] had, you know, I wouldn't my child video. It's That's what happens. >> require permission. I got my Or there has to at least be notification that that's happening and then there have to be appropriate controls in place so
064that that video doesn't place the privacy rights of that student particularly under FERPA at at um in a bad place. Okay? That's the difficulty of this. Okay? Anything else on that? I'll put those pieces in place with Dr. Sutton. We meet on Thursday and we'll get a meeting. Is there anything else, sir? Not this Thursday we won't. We won't? No. Okay, but we need to get together anyway. We'll talk about that. No, I'm sorry. I'm sorry, it's next Thursday. I'm going next Thursday. Okay. I think we we're on the books for Yeah, this week. Okay. We meet weekly. Um just so that uh I can help him understand how big fire hose can be. And um then uh he asked me questions and I want to tell you that Dr. Sutton has some good ideas
065that he's going to put in place. And I'm excited for him. I'm excited for you. And I have less reservation of turning loose now. I appreciate that. >> [snorts] >> Okay. Miss Who are you? Katrina. Miss Treadway. I'm sorry. >> [laughter] >> Good evening. In the summer in the summer of last year, you guys approved our AIG plan and we turned that into the state and then they sent back some recommendations. And so I we had very few recommendations that we had to update, but you can I think you got a copy of the updates that I put in there. So on standard four, you can see there the difference. I had to elaborate a little bit on some different points. So I talked about some professional development we were going to use and some
066strategies we're going to use in the classroom. And I also added in about our implementation of the instructional coaches back into the classroom because I hadn't put that in before. And that we would be working on a comprehensive AIG professional development plan for all staff. So we're addressing the needs of those kids that are learning at a different level in in all our classes. So that's that's going to be coming with that. For standard six, you really have already approved the what you approved and what you saw is already in there. It just didn't make it to the platform and DPI nicely said that that was a technical issue, but it was really a user error which was me. So I'm just asking you to approve these updates so I can get this taken care
067of and and we'll be approved. You are requesting a complete formal approval on this with a vote, right? I'm sorry, say that again. You are requesting a vote of approval on this, right? >> updates, yes sir. Okay. Anybody have any questions for Katrina? And you're saying the majority of them were already approved updates, they just didn't >> They were. I just wanted to be transparent that didn't make it to the platform and that's probably my fault. Yeah, we've already looked at these, I think, haven't we? What? We've already looked at these, haven't we? Except for on standard four, I did change those a little bit to meet their their suggestions. But yes, you have seen all the standards and Would you like some more time to look this through, Cody? I'm I'm just looking over
068it. Okay. Any other questions for Katrina Turbyfill? I did my homework today. Thank you. The last piece are our budget amendments that Millie sent to you a couple of weeks ago. She offered you the opportunity to have conversation with her if you needed any explanation. I will give you what explanation I [snorts] can on this. The bottom line is there is an increase in funding availability at all levels for various reasons. From the the state level CTE has been able to convert some of their their salary allocation to to purchase items and that is legal. It happens every single year. Whenever they have months of employment that are left, they'll convert that into a different fund source [snorts] and uh and they'll use it from there. Also, you'll notice that we got some contingency money
069to replace a bus engine. We were thankful for that because we had already replaced it and we were going to take that out of local in order to do that because it had to be replaced. All right, but that came through. I'll tell you also that I saw today Dennis, correct me if I'm wrong on this, but I believe that the state is is opening up some contingency money for fuel. Yes. Yeah. Which which you know, will get you will buy you a tank of gas, but um once again, you didn't get my humor, did you? $3,900 tank of gas. Anyhow. I'm not going to try anymore. Uh I got it, board. Oh, thank you. >> [laughter] >> It just wasn't funny, is that what you're saying? Okay, I get it. All right. Okay. Uh
070So anyhow, that's good to know particularly with with the price of fuel. Diesel fuel, by the way, is on contract. It's not it doesn't fluctuate like you will see at the pumps downtown. However, I think that you will see the next at the next contract approval there will be a cost increase that the state will have to address. Okay? Federal grants, some extra funding has come in. You can see those numbers there. It's not outstanding or overwhelming, but there is some special revenue. We've had some funding come in on that. The only place where there was not an increase was PRC 644 and that is a shift for after school cost to go into some federal programs. And if you need to know exactly what that means, you'll have to ask Millie because I don't
071know exactly where that went or what what that went to. Okay? Do you know that one? I do not. All right. When you look at the budget actual, you'll notice that we're about we're a little more than 75% through the school year and our percentages are right in line with that in most places if not below. Which is an excellent an excellent opportunity to have. That means at the end of the year there could very well be some balance remaining, which is fine as long as it's not in a fund source that you have to revert. All right? If it's something that we can roll over from year to year, it's always a blessing and a benefit. Okay? That's all that I know to tell you on that. Do you have any questions? Please say
072no. Good. All right. I will ask you for approval on that. And with that, RL, those are all of the discussion items unless there's something else that I've missed. Okay, so I guess we'll move into action items. All right. Then I could I please recommend that the Swain County Board of Education approve the consent agenda that includes personnel and the minutes from March 10th and March 20 2026 meetings. Have a motion. Second. >> [snorts] >> So moved, second. All in favor. Okay. I also recommend that the Swain County Board of Education approve the school nutrition procurement plan as presented by Michelle. So moved. Second. All in favor. I recommend that the Swain County Board of Education approve the milk bid roll over for one year. So moved. Second. All in favor. I recommend that the
073Swain County Board of Education approve the AIG plan with the changes that Katrina presented. Motion. Second. All in favor. I recommend that the Swain County Board of Education approve the budget amendments as I tried to present, but Millie has given to you. So moved. Second. All in favor. They seem to. >> [snorts] >> You have all kinds of calendar events to look at there. Please don't forget that graduation is June the 4th. Eric, what time does that start? I had somebody ask me the other day. Do you know? Did you say 7:30? 6:30. 7:30. Okay, thank you. All right. It is hot and and that gives it a chance to cool down. And maybe if there are any showers we can miss them as long as they keep the sprinkler system turned off this year.
074Uh I don't know of anything else that needs to be spoken about. The next meeting is May the 11th. Yes, sir. We'll talk after. Okay. All right. May the 11th, which is my dad's birthday. Um other than that I think that takes care of everything for the April business meeting. Okay. Motion to adjourn. So moved. Second. Second. All in favor. We adjourn. Very good.