Berkeley County School District Board Meeting - November 15, 2022

001good afternoon ladies and gentlemen welcome to the Berkeley County Board of Education meeting this Tuesday November 15 2022. I call the meeting to order I declare a quorum of members are present and the media has been notified first thing on the agenda is the swearing-in of the new board members I'll turn it over to Miss Katie Tanner at this time foreign superintendent Jackson board members and all of you who joined us this evening at this time we will have the oath administered to elected board members would senator Larry Graham's please come forward [Music] with the following board members please move to the front of the day as along with any guests board member Matt McQuillen board member Joe Baker and board member Kathy Littleton [Music] um if you would oh if you would please raise

002your right hand and repeat after me I do solemnly swear that I am duly qualified according to the Constitution of this state to exercise the duties of the office to which I've been elected and that I will to the best of my ability discharge the duties thereof and preserve protect and defend the constitution of this state and of the United States so help me God congratulations [Applause] [Music] thank you Senator Grooms nail with Attorney John O Williams please come forward and the following board members please move to the front of the Deus along with any guests board member Sally Wofford board member Michael Ramsey and board member Jimmy Henson [Music] foreign and repeat after me I do solemnly swear that I am duly qualified according to the Constitution of this state to exercise the duties

003of the office to which I have been elected decided and that I will to the best of my ability discharge the duties thereof and preserve protect and defend the constitution of this state and of the United States so help me God congratulations [Applause] thank you Mr Williams nail would judge Deborah Littlejohn please come forward and would board member Yvonne Bradley and board member Crystal wigfall please move to the front of the Deus along with any guests to it if you'll raise your right hand and repeat after me please I do solemnly swear firm that I'm duly qualified according to the Constitution of this state and exercise the duties of the office to which I had been elected and that I will to the best of my ability discharge the duties thereof and Preserve protect and

004defend the constitution of this state and of United States so help me God congratulations Lee thank you judge Littlejohn and that concludes this portion of the agenda all right the next item is the approval of the agenda do we have a motion to approve tonight's agenda so we do we have a second sure I make a motion to amend the agenda as follows move agenda item 14 election of board offices officers to agenda item 1D second so we have an amendment to the agenda by Mr McQuillan and that is to move the election of board officers 14. what did you say 1D immediately following this motion the approval of the agenda one do you well One D is the approval of the minutes yet to move it to agenda item 1D so approval of the

005amendance will be item one e hasn't been do you have a motion in a second on the table I understand that all the questions thank you for the clarification we have a motion to move agenda item 14 to item 1D and we have a second uh Mr McQuillen made the motion this little Littleton or Mr Ramsey Mr Ramsey made the second so all in favor of adding this to the agenda please respond by saying aye aye any opposed nay [Music] motion carries we will now call the question all in favor of moving the agenda item 14 to 1 D respond by saying aye aye aye all opposed nay motion carries so the approval of the agenda we have made the amendment and we are now the moving from 14 to 1 D which is the

006election of board officers I'll entertain a motion for the uh for the board officers we question all the amend on the amendment we amended it he did it I did call the question okay got it I I if I'm wrong please miss parliamentarian he did the second one to approve the agenda I thought I did it properly under Robert's Rules excellent all right go ahead sorry Mr Ramsey no worries Mr chair I made the motion for the following slate of officers and for these officers to assume the duties immediately following this vote Mr Mac McQuillan as chair miss Sally Wofford as Vice chair Mr Michael Ramsey as secretary second we have a motion and a second for the appointment of Mr McQuillan as the chair who is Wofford as the vice chair and Mr Ramsey

007as the secretary are there any other motions are there any other nominations hearing them we'll call the question all in favor of this slate of officers please respond by saying aye aye all opposed nay nay motion carries above I will not I will abstain so the uh the vote was 6-2 so Mr McQuillan you may take your seat I'm fine sitting here until after executive session but I appreciate that the first item um or the next item on the agenda is a motion to approve the minutes from the October 25th 2022 board meeting do we have a motion to approve business second we have a motion and a second a motion by Mr Ramsey a second by Miss Littleton is there any discussion hearing none I'll call the question all in favor of approving the

008minutes please respond by saying aye any opposed the eyes have it by a vote of nine to zero I will next entertain a motion to enter into executive sessions second we have a motion by Mr Ramsey a second by Mr Henson is there any discussion the stated purpose of executive session are as follows discussion and evaluation employment assignment demotion discipline or release of an employee as needed legal update regarding pending threatened or potential claim or of other matters covered by the attorney-client privilege or claim of other matters covered by the attorney client privilege there are two student attendance appeals and six expulsion Appeals is there any discussion hearing none I'll call the question all in favor please respond by saying hi hi the eyes have it by vote of nine to zero we are now

009in executive session return to regular session so moved second we have a motion by Mr Walker a sec or Miss Wofford a second by Mr Henson is there any discussion hearing none I'll call the question all in favor please respond by saying aye aye any opposed the motion carries by a vote of nine to zero we are now in regular session the next item is the Pledge of Allegiance and a moment of silence please stand I pledge allegiance of the United States one nation under God indivisible with liberty and justice for all thank you please be seated [Music] tonight ladies and gentlemen we have a special treat please join me in welcoming the Berkeley Elementary School drummers principal Kelly Gabriel and led by Miss rasa Rusty hold on raciopo there we go [Music] [Applause] [Music]

010foreign [Music] thank you [Music] foreign [Music] thank you [Music] thank you [Music] foreign [Music] [Applause] thank you [Applause] y'all did awesome thank y'all for coming [Music] pretty cool [Music] the next item on the agenda is citizen comments before we begin citizen comments we have 22 citizen comments tonight and so we're going to limit the time to one minute per speaker in order to conduct the meeting in an orderly and efficient manner we ask that you honor the following guidelines stakeholder comments are welcome and encouraged however the board will not take immediate action on public comments at this meeting a person wishing to address the board must register prior to the meeting comments must be regarding programs policies or procedures comments regarding complaints against employees other than District level Executives or references to students other than

011the child of the speaker will not be heard in public session groups addressing the same topic should select one speaker again comments will be limited to one minute per speaker the board share reserves the right to allot additional time or halt public comments that do not adhere to these guidelines the first public comment is Miss Lynette Duggins I'm speaking on teacher supply closet support of superintendent Jackson s please come forward [Music] one minute boss we've got 22 um respect in our staff tonight I'm sorry yes I represent training teach Supply class this is my Board member Miss Chapman and Mr Nelson we would just like to say that our superintendent Jackson has supported teacher supply closet for over five years under my Administration he was a member and Treasurer and we value him very well

012thank you one minute [Applause] the next speaker is it thank you the next speaker is James McLeod please come forward to the podium Mr McCloud going once going twice gone Kathleen Lowe is Kathleen Lowe here yes ma'am please come forward to the podium good evening my name is Kathleen Lowe I'm the high school physics teacher over at Hanahan High School and I'm the Berkeley County Education Association president and this evening I'd like to talk to you first congratulating all the board members of their return and those that are new um that we really right now even though the election is over we really need to move forward and prioritize what needs to be done and when I need everyone to focus on is that we are in a teacher shortage 140 teacher openings right now

013in Berkeley County many high schools elementary schools and middle schools are missing science math and English teachers I think it's important that although we have many resolutions that will be current occurring this evening to show what a priority is is to put our students first and make sure that quality teachers are available for all of them I appreciate your time [Applause] the next speaker is miss Ann conder okay [Music] thank you congratulations to all of you and this is what I'm going to challenge you to do finally be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes for our struggle is not against flesh and blood but against the rulers against the authorities against the powers of

014this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the Heavenly realms therefore put on the full armor of God so that when the day of evil comes you may be able to stand your ground and after you have done everything to stand stand firm then with the belt of Truth buckled around your waist with a breastplate of righteousness in place and with your feet fitted with the Readiness that comes from the gospel of peace in addition to all this take up the shield of faith in which you can extinguish the flaming arrows of the evil one Miss Connor your time has expired himself thank you thank you [Applause] our next speaker this evening is Mr Tori leifridge good evening Mr lifers good evening superintendent Jackson chairman Whitley I mean I'm sorry I kid

015I kid I kid I definitely respect the chair chairman mcquilling and to the rest of the board um I'm standing tonight because our Hope was election does do have consequences and Our Hope was we would finally have a return to sustaining a focus on curriculum and supporting our faculty and administrators and uh we know that that this seems to be a quick return to 2016 and I'm I'm pressing upon you speaking to my representative Mr Baker I do not know you personally had a chance to sit with your wife through the election she tells me that you're a strong person of faith I don't pay attention to scriptures that are read that when have an opportunity are never fulfilled because that means nothing that's just in two words but I challenge you to break away

016from the core be your own person and put forward this right CRT if CRT does not exist why in the world will we have a resolution to ban it that's just a slippery so that we can stop teaching critical history like redlining like uh ratio gerrymanding and things like that that's history that's not CRT thank you [Applause] the next speaker this evening is Miss Christy Dixon good evening chairman of Cullen superintendent Jackson board members congratulations on all of your wins I know they were hard-fought wins and you deserve the seat that you sit in I come here today also with a Bible story um a genuine one though because I feel through the election process a lot of things were torn down and I think this is a time of rebuilding I'm reminded of a

017story in Nehemiah where the walls around the city had been torn down but the people came out and they rebuilt the walls right there where they were and I think that's what we have to do for Berkeley County you all are going to be leading us and as the head goes so does the tail and I look forward to the good things I think you will do thank you the next speaker is Miss Heather Hickman foreign I just want to plead for our children um when we send them to school and they eat food in the lunchroom we serve them clean healthy food I want them to have clean healthy books in their libraries we pay for the books that are purchased we do not have access to those book lists we do not have

018access to a list of the school the books that ends up on our libraries we need help there I know y'all have a plan to address some of what is in our schools some of it is adult content and I'm just here to say we support you all in getting that out of the schools I am not on a Witch Hunt I am not here to chase down who purchased those books but to find out how we can get transparency and accountability thank you all for what you do [Applause] the next speaker is Miss Alana Lewis [Music] hi I'm the librarian at Sangaree middle and the secondary lead librarian in the district and on behalf of Berkeley County Librarians I would love to welcome you to the board bcsd is blessed with Librarians that transform

019teaching and learning we are have master's degrees and K-12 certification and have specialized training in evaluating and purchasing books in order to build a library connection collection that meets the needs of our community and state curricula there has been an abundance of misinformation and hyperbolic statements and political rhetoric about what is in our libraries but I can assure you BCS libraries do not contain porn and CRT we have board approved policies that we follow When selecting materials ifb daa and we also have a reconsideration policy knba that allows people to challenge specific books for their own child so I would ask that you follow the board policies that are also in place I don't think we need an additional committee on top of that and I would remind you that in the Supreme Court case

020Island Trees versus Pico the core held that school boards cannot remove instructional materials simply because they disagree with the point of viewer content I would invite you to visit any of our school libraries and see what's actually happening where we transform learning thank you thank you the next speaker is Miss Cindy Fisk hi thank you board members chair McQuillen and superintendent Jackson for always listening to the public every meeting I know that all of you take in consideration um what the public says before you make a decision tonight I'm asking you to consider my question what is your definition of critical race Theory will there be a list of historical topics given to teachers that are considered permissible to teach in the classroom and also align with the South Carolina State Standards I've had many

021teachers reach out to me in the last day and what you may Define is critical race Theory may not actually be considered as actual critical race Theory thank you thank you the next speaker this evening is Mr Paul Bowers [Laughter] around them hello Paul Bowers I live in North Charleston I send my kids to Charleston County Public Schools but I came out tonight because the attacks on the full teaching of history and on the acknowledgment of gay lesbian and transgender people are happening across our state and across our country and you are about to participate in it tonight the folks with moms for Liberty the folks in right-wing activist circles are coming for us today the same way they did in the McCarthy era they stand in the same ignominious tradition of book Banning of

022seeing boogeyman around every corner the same folks who so many years ago would have said secret Communists are around every corner are now going to tell you they're a secret critical race Theory there is secret pornography being smuggled into our schools no matter how you define it no matter how much you treat them in good faith they will not stop and they will attack teachers and you will lose more teachers and you can't afford to do that [Applause] the next speaker this evening is Miss Kimberly Clark foreign good evening board thank you for allowing us to speak my name is Kimberly Clark I am a social studies and English teacher at Hanahan Middle School here in the district um and I just wanted to speak about not so much why we um don't need to

023spend our energy um effort in trying to ban critical race Theory which is something that is not being taught in our classrooms as a social studies teacher for the past 10 years in South Carolina I can attest that it is not part of our standards but what is running green print within our classrooms is the unspoken messages that we send to our students of color that we send to our students that are not Christian and that we send to our students that are not straight by the authors that we choose to include within our English curriculums the poems non-fiction stories as well as the stories that are presented within our social studies curriculum and within our social studies textbooks we automatically tell a number of our students without actually saying it that their experiences are

024not valued that they are people are not valued and that their voice is not important and as profession journals of Education when we deal with children that is not setting them up for Success within our within the real confines of their world if they can experience real problems in our world than our other students can learn about it thank you Miss Clark [Applause] the next speaker is Darian Jones [Music] oh there he is good evening I'm Darian Jones and I serve as a senior pastor of Moncks Corner AME Church this isn't about me it is about the children we serve but just a short note I graduated from both Morehouse College and Yale University and at both institutions critical race theory was a fundamental part of my education and I didn't leave hating conservative voices

025I left with a more informed opinion and a more informed and expressed idea of race relations and power dynamics both in America and in the world as a pastor of Moncks Corner AME we have a wealth of Educators and students in our congregation and I'm here to advocate for the children and the families a part of my congregation to understand the Nuance of our church its physical makeup its parishioners and its history within this community you must have some level of Engagement with critical race Theory understanding the points like the fact that our church has been on the same property since 1886 requires an understanding of critical race Theory to understand that we are an AME Church the African Methodist Episcopal Church requires time is expired I'm sorry thank you thank you the next speaker

026is Leticia Vaughn good evening superintendent Jackson and chair McQuillen thank you for allowing me to speak my name is Leticia Vaughn and I am a member of the protruth Coalition which has membership across the state of South Carolina I'm here to speak about the CRT resolution that is on your board agenda my question is similar to other questions how are we defining critical race Theory as a previous Public School educator District leader I understand that CRT is not part of any K-12 curriculum or approved State Standards if this is the case then why is this part of any discussion instead of focusing on manufactured issues that are non-existent we should be focusing on ensuring all children are achieving at high levels closing the opportunity gaps between black white and Hispanic students ensuring all children have

027access to a high quality teacher in the midst of a teacher shortage and making sure all children have have access to a curriculum that is reflective of their experiences and background and finally making sure the teaching force is representative of the students that they serve thank you the next the next speaker is Miss Sharina Haynes foreign good evening my name is Serena Haynes I am a resident of District Five and I will be giving remarks on behalf of the Goose Creek NAACP where I serve as president today we celebrate historically high levels of diversity in our schools yet structural racism and racial disparities have never been more pronounced yet instead of addressing these deep rooted issues head-on many want to spend their time trying to discredit CRT based on Fantastical misconceptions and lies to be

028clear Postman terms the NAACP will be on the offense for justice and education for all marginalized students we will fight harmful agendas and we will work to make sure that every student can benefit from a rigorous education that is honest about our past adapts to our diversity and Roots out racism whether it's structural implicit or interpersonal only then can we create the future we all deserve I do want to take some time to thank superintendent Jackson each of the school board members his administration including Dr Tiffany Richardson who has served as in-house counsel for the district with her expertise in educational law for leading a bold effort to address the pressing needs of our district thank you [Applause] the next speaker is Miss Shirley Martin good evening when I came tonight there were a few

029things I wanted to discuss but after listening to the Litany of things that you're dealing with all I can say is that I am very grateful that you have a passionate knowledgeable leader at the helm of this District because you've got serious problems you've got serious concerns you've got serious communication issues but you've also got a serious leader please let's not minimize his importance [Applause] the next speaker is Miss Tracy Hughes since I have a minute I'll hurry up and get right to the point everything I wanted to say has already been said I served I'm a U.S army combat veteran and I served for 22 years in the military and I am so disappointed in how we treat our children we all fought we fought for equality for Freedom the rights of every one

030of us in this room including our children let us not forget what that was all about let us not forget and thank you for the great leader that you have in charge here because he is an awesome man of God and that's what we need on the top [Music] [Applause] foreign Scott Brown [Music] thank you all for the opportunity to speak I'm Cleo I'm from the creek and I'm a former employee of Berkeley County Schools before white nationalist strategist Stephen Bannon made it a CRT a part of a national strategy to get just regular white citizens to participate in their agenda to divert public funds to private schools I doubt if any of us had really heard of CRT since it wasn't anything in the schools the problem is that since none of these discussions

031uses the actual definition of CRT activists have the opportunity to sweep all sorts of things under the rug and to ignore complete and accurate history my time can't be out on the first paragraph [Applause] the next speaker is Mr Brandon fish [Music] good evening and congratulations on being elected to the Berkeley County School Board I'm here tonight proudly representing the Charleston Jewish Federation we are a non-profit that functions as the Hub of the Jewish community of the Low Country which includes 12 000 Jewish residents part of the work I'm here to express our concern and opposition to book bands and bans on what is being referred to as CRT in other counties around the country these vaguely worded bands have had an impact on the teaching of the Holocaust and its important lessons learning about

032the Holocaust and other dark chapters in our history including slavery Jim Crow and their enduring impacts on our society is crucial in ensuring that these historic mistakes are never repeated it is also critically important that our diverse student bodies see themselves reflected in their coursework and are adequately prepared for the diverse workplaces and universities that they will enter as adults lastly we just want to express our faith in the professionalism of our local school administrators teachers and School District employees and remind this board that South Carolina is facing an unprecedented teacher shortage a problem which can only be exacerbated by curricular censorship and the furthering of the narrative that teachers are indoctrinating our students please reject this band the next speaker is Miss natanya Miller good evening my name isn't Tanya Miller and I'm also

033here from the Charleston Jewish Federation I'm also here as the granddaughter of a holocaust Survivor as an organization our Federation along with federations across South Carolina and the United States have a goal of combating anti-Semitism and hate in all forms and we do this through education one of the pillars of our Federation is through Member Program for Holocaust Education and genocide awareness through this program we bring speakers into schools survivors second generation third generation to share their family stories learning about the Holocaust and its lessons of unchecked anti-Semitism and racism is one of the best ways to ensure that genocides and other such atrocities never happen again this learning is not always comfortable and can in fact be difficult for those with backgrounds connected to both victims and perpetrators but even so learning about these

034atrocities at an age-appropriate manner is critical for all of our students the next speaker is Marcus McDonald my name is Mark McDonald I'm substitute teacher and a youth Advocate I'm gonna get right into it I know a lot of people might and vote the name of MLK when they speak in Arguments for this band but I'll tell you a little bit about them and I'm going to give you a quote from him he said in 1967 less than a year before he was assassinated that it must be said that white people are not putting in a similar mass effort to re-educate themselves of their racial ignorance it is an aspect of their sense of superiority that the white people of America believe that they have so little to learn loose and easy language about equality

035resonates resolutions about Brotherhood and pleasantry of the ear but for the Negro there's a credibility that he cannot let go he remembers that with each modest Advance white people promptly raise the argument that the Negro has come far enough each step forward accents their every prison tendency for backlash this bill is a backlash it's a backlash to black students it's a backlash to Black Educators and we will remember Martin Luther King's word we will remember that Thomas monk who this city is named after was a slave trader who tortured and branded his enslaved Africans and we will remember this and I will remember all the school board who vote for this and prioritize comfortability over the lived experiences of seventeen thousand Black and Latino students in your District thank you thank you sir the next

036speaker is Miss Brittany Gary yeah Brittany here [Music] good evening teachers have lost a great deal over the last three years the one thing that we gained was a superintendent who was willing to listen to teachers willing to allow us to create and chose to see an opportunity Gap rather than simply seeing just a learning Gap with so much being inconsistent in our district I'd like to ask for board members to step back from the political for just a moment and model for us as teachers the bcsd work and life skills and what it means to collaborate communicate and walk together through the challenges we share I challenge you to collaborate and model the work and life skills with our superintendent teachers and District Personnel to identify our needs and challenges and not assume that

037you know what those are as teachers we've been required to show data that we are working with our students and that we're looking for Solutions together as a board you must hold yourselves to the same standards as you are holding us data that shows you're working for what's best for our students and my kids the way you choose to collaborate and communicate with one another's board members is demonstrating to all of us how you will communicate Kate and collaborate with us our superintendent our teachers our students and stakeholders whatever is true whatever is Noble whatever is right whatever is pure admirable whatever is excellent please do those things [Applause] okay our final speaker our final speaker this evening is Dr Chris Hanley chairman McQuillen board members Mr Jackson they look great up there I'm really

038happy to see you all there I know you've been attacked quite a bit this evening and that's okay I know at least the six of you on the left I know you very well I know I know your character Pastor liferidge I think you know me I'm a youth minister in the area I know these six very well and as we communicated through the campaign I will tell you that most of our communication sounded more like Bible study and prayer requests than it did like a a political campaign so I assure you these are wonderful Christian people so wow you're going to really impugn the character of someone and tell them that they're not a Christian that's ooh all right well I'll tell you the the fact that I know you all will be led

039by the holy spirit gives me great comfort and I will tell you the same thing that I told yeah thank you excuse me I will tell you the same thing that I told Ms Bradley on the night of him I congratulated her and then I told her yes sir sir and then after I congratulated her I told her I stand ready to assist you in any way that I can all right please call me if you need anything his own I missed Dr Hanley he is correct he did call me he congratulated me and he said he would work hand in hand with me but I need all of you to work hand in hand with us tonight is not a night that I am a Christian I am so sorry I asked Pastor Drayton

040didn't realize that was him to speak to me because what we're about to do in this session ladies and gentlemen you are being fooled by these sex [Applause] it is so unbelievable how this is going and we voted for these people you did all right you touched the time see he wants to shut me up but my sister knows we run an orderly meeting here baby Anna talked about the full armor Pastor Drayton I'm gonna keep that armor Tonight I'm Gonna Keep it tonight the next agenda item is actions required from executive session we have several of those this evening we will first start with student attendance and expulsion Appeals the in the matter of student number one and two on attendance appeals I move that we denied the appeals second we have a motion

041and a second is there any discussion hearing none I'll call the question all in favor of denying the attendance appeals of students numbers one and two please say aye aye any opposed nay the eyes have it by vote of eight to one do we have a motion for student number one in the expulsion appeals Mr chairman I move that we approve the um appeal for student number one and have them go to the alternative school second we have a motion and a second is there any discussion hearing none I'll call the question all in favor of approving student number one's appeal and assigning that student to the alternative school please say hi hi any opposed no eyes have it by vote of eight to one do we have a motion in the expulsion appeal of

042student number two Mr chair I move that we also approve the appeal for student number two and have him go to the alternative school second we have a motion in a second is there any discussion hearing then I'll call the question all in favor of granting the expulsion appeal of student number two and assigning the child to the alternative school please respond by saying aye aye any opposed no eyes have it by a vote of eight to one matter of student number three I move that we Grant the expulsion appeal and assign the child to the alternative school do we have a second second we have a motion a second is there any discussion hearing none I'll call the question all in favor please respond by saying aye aye any opposed no they all right

043let's do a roll call vote if you voted no raise your hand all right the eyes have it by a vote of six three five four excuse me the the next uh motion is the expulsion appeal of student number four do we have a motion Mr chair I move that we deny the appeal and the student remain where he is second we have a motion a second is there any discussion hearing none I'll call the question all in favor of denying the appeal of student number four and allowing that child to remain at the school where he is currently attending please say aye hi any opposed nay the eyes have it by a vote of eight to one do we have a motion in the matter of student number is it six or five five

044Mr chair I move that we deny the appeal for student number five second we have a motion in a second is there any discussion hearing none I'll call the question all in favor please respond by saying aye aye any opposed eyes have it by a vote of nine to zero in the matter of student number six I move that we Grant the appeal and allow the child to attend the alternative school do we have a second we have a motion and a second is there any discussion hearing none I'll call the question all in favor please respond by saying aye aye aye are there any opposed no no the motion carries eight or excuse me six to two all right we have some other items um out of executive session miss Littleton you are recognized

045Mr chairman I make a motion to terminate the employment of Dr Tiffany Richardson as a in-house general counsel for Berkeley County School District wow and retain Services no we're gonna we're gonna maintain order in this meeting and retain the services of Mr Brandon Gaskins effective immediately as discussed discuss the session all right listen up we're going to be respectful during this meeting you may disagree with our votes but I'd ask that you please be professional in calm what kind of example are you setting for our kids disrupting no we're going to be responsible and we're not going to be disruptive of this meeting all right Miss Littleton can you please repeat your motion yeah let me repeat my mission yes please Mr chairman I make a motion to terminate the employment of Dr Tiffany Richardson

046as in-house general counsel for Berkeley County School District and retain the services of Mr Brandon Gaskins effective immediately as discussed in executive session we have a motion and a second is there any discussion yes discussion yes on what grounds are the uh Mr Bradley you're recognizing I'm asking the question of the person who made the motion the person who made the motion made the motion for a reason I'd like to know what it is what is what what is the cause I'm recognizing Miss Bradley you can ask that question if you'd like what is the cause Dr Richardson is being removed terminated I'm not going to discuss Personnel matters and exactly and okay the board policy needs to be revised amended to give reason why you're terminating someone as Berkeley County we're looking for teachers

047to come in we're looking for other employees to come in I know where are you going to terminate somebody without giving a reason teachers want to come but if I hear in the street that you're terminating your Council and house counsel and to bring previous Council back to the back to the district yes previous Council who bills us at 275 225 per hour now you mean to tell me you give up a set fee for some money Miss Ashley you would know how much it is to pay that makes no absolutely no sense to a common person like me walking in off the street Money Matters to Bear I'd like to know what the fee is for Mr Gaskins for I'm assuming he's still with more Van Allen he is yes sir the last time

048I I had occasion to discuss the fees his fee was 375 dollars per hour now that um that is part-time we're not talking about an in-house general counsel who is full-time employee at 145 000 a year let me let me just show you something [Music] those are invoices front and back for legal fees the total 1.6 million dollars at a cost per month on average of 25 946.84 from the past legal fees the legal fees that Dr Richardson receives at 145 per year is 11 666 dollars a difference of fourteen thousand dollars a month ladies and gentlemen so we're talking about physical accountability if we're talking no I am not finished you're not going to stop me individuals ran on a platform of fiscal conservatism we've got a motion a second to call the question

049is there so you're you're all in favor and there was a lawsuit Mr chair there's a motion or Mr bear there's a motion and a second to call the question all in favor of calling the question please respond by saying aye all right let me see y'all we need to be quiet he came here the eyes so there's a motion and a second there's a motion and a second time in between the motion before the second there's a motion and a second to call the questions all in favor of calling the question please respond by saying I I all opposed you're right we'll Now call the question all in favor of Miss littleton's motion please respond by saying aye aye any opposed the vote the motion carries six to three [Applause] watch what's the next

050motion watch the motion listen carefully you are have been sandbagged I make permission to terminate the employment of Mr Dion Jackson the superintendent of the Berkeley County School District effective immediately do we have a second thank you we have a motion and a second is there any discussion it is discussion I'd like to know who who made the second oh okay we have a motion a second is there any discussion yes Earth discussion absolutely okay Mr Barry absolutely I'd like to know the justification and the rationale reasoning for firing an individual who just was proficient in his first annual congratulations what's the reason Mr chairman you made the motion what's the reason why are we terminating his employment Mr bear I'm not going to discuss Personnel matters okay well we're going to continue the discussion

051then because I'm not going to let it go [Applause] [Music] is there any any further discussion I believe that do I have the full Mr chairman yes sir okay I believe the reasoning is because of what uh I've Been Told is a unconstitutional unlawful contract because Mr Jackson contract is a multi-year contract and it is for a super majority in this case six individuals that have to terminate his employment as opposed to sometimes the simple majority that's in his contract some people are believing that this is unconstitutional I want to read into the record because this came up when Mr Jackson's original contract the contract was signed and executed by me the question is is Mr Jackson's contract unconstitutional and unlawful let me read you a legal opinion from Andrea white from White and story

052who practice only only education law which she's done for 34 years pay attention Dear Mr Barrow I'm writing to follow up our phone conversation on yesterday in which you ask that I provide my opinion whether the Berkeley County School District Board of Trustees May lawfully enter into a contract with a prospective superintendent where the contract contains a provision requiring that a quote super majority end quote of the board vote till unilaterally terminate the contract as we discussed over the past 33 years this was written last year I have represented public school districts across the state of South Carolina and in that capacity have been involved in drafting superintendent contracts on many occasions I can unequivocally say that it is common practice for a board and a superintendent to enter into a contract where the contract

053provides that in order to terminate the contract for no cause which is the unilateral termination provision a super majority of the board must act the practice developed to protect a board as well as a superintendent from those situations where the loss of one trustee in an election cycle I am aware of one District where the superintendent's contract may be unilaterally terminated by a simple majority but in my opinion that is an anomaly as I understand that an attorney currently working with your board has provided his opinion that a super majority requirement violates South Carolina law in particular South Carolina code 59 15 30. I have reviewed that statute and do not believe it impacts the ability of the board to enter into a County Board of Education excuse me a contract containing the super majority

054Clause section 5915 30 States quote a majority of the members of the County Board of Education shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of the business of the board end quote the statute merely defines a quorum and does not address the board's ability to enter into a contract requiring a super majority for a certain action by the board I would also note that only a simple majority of the board is required to approve a contract containing that provision finally I have done research and have found no cases in South Carolina circuit court or appellate court that addresses this issue should a case such exist I have been aware I would have been made aware of that based upon the nature of my practice cases from other jurisdictions touching on this issue would have no presidential

055value in South Carolina particularly where the case does not involve the right of a school board to enter into a contract containing a super majority Clause but the applicability of the particular zoning ordinance I trust this information is helpful and then also let me just add I got another verbal legal opinion from a well-respected attorney David Duff who concurs with this assessment so I do not believe that the reason why I think this board is getting ready to terminate the superintendent I do not think it's unconstitutional that is the contract and in fact I think this is a political Witch Hunt on their part [Applause] all right we have a motion in a second all in favor please respond by saying aye aye any opposed the motion carries six to three Mr Henson you are

056now recognized thank you as a new board member Mr Henson is a part of the six-member team Dr Hanley just referred to we I was not notified of any of these resolutions or or recommendations it is unbelievable that on the first night of a new board that such things would come up here I make [Music] I make a motion to name Anthony Dixon wow um Mr chairman I make a motion to name Anthony Dixon as a new superintendent of Berkeley County School District effective immediately in order that Mr Dixon be immediately successfully given this mid-year transition I further moved to authorize Dr Dixon to immediately hire a new Deputy superintendent Chief academic officer and to further restructure and reassign his cabinet with no further board action second we have a motion to name Dr Anthony

057Dixon as the new superintendent of Berkeley County School District effective immediately in order that Dr Dixon be immediately successful given this mid-year transition and the further move to authorize Dr Dixon to immediately hire a deputy superintendent Chief academic officer and to further restructure and redesign his cabinet with no further board action needed is there any discussion absolutely there's a discussion could y'all close those doors okay so uh let me get this straight when Mr Jackson requested additional administrative assistance there was a outcry from members of this board and individuals in the community that said it was unnecessary that we were going to get top heavy and now which we do not have a deputy superintendent now we're going to hire one we're going to add to it when last year it was too much I

058don't understand this so Dr Dixon left and he is now in Charleston County why if if the board in evidently the new members that were sworn in tonight evidently had some inkling as to what was going to occur I wonder if there was any clandestine meetings prior to this meeting that they were privy to what was going on Mr Baker can ask those questions later I don't know but I will say this this is a travesty this is a travesty if the superintendent is being terminated for what cause what cause and let me just also say that this is unbelievable to me if we're going to terminate not me if they're going to terminate the superintendent why not have a superintendent search why why bring somebody back that may be on their side and just

059be all politically upright and you know I respect the people who made some comments tonight but this is a sham this is a political hit job from and this reminds me of 2016 only worse it's a it's an absolute travesty and I'm upset and I am absolutely embarrassed to be on this board I will tell you I'm at the end of the day look we need to respectfully disagree and set good examples for our folks but listen listen well I true I I I I I the reason I will give you the basis for my reason I know Anthony Dixon I know Anthony Dixon I know Dion Jackson will do a good job I know Dion Jackson he was the chief he was the head academic officer I truly believe that he will be best

060for our teachers and children in this District which is why I'm voting for him no because I sat with him because of his focus on academics and my experience with him as the principal of Philip Simmons high school at Kane high school and various others I You can disagree with me but I'm telling you I truly do believe that he will be best for our children and our teachers in this District now you uh Mr Mr chairman you you told us that you were going to have someone explain the reasoning for Mr Jackson's termination I'd like to hear that I'd like to hear the rationale the reasoning because you you promised we're on this motion now sir say again we're on Mr Dixon's motion now Dr Dixon's motion you've already hired Brandon Gaskins is that

061correct you indicated that he would be giving us an explanation did you not if he is our attorney I would like an explanation as well Mr Jackson is being terminated he will get an explanation from the attorney well where is he I don't believe Mr Gaskins is here this evening oh okay so there's no justification there's no reasoning for terminating the superintendent because you said we would hear tonight the reasoning you said that and I'm holding you to it in public arena for you to embarrass yourself sorry then so what is it we have what's the reason we have a motion in a second all in favor please respond by saying aye aye any opposed oh yeah I oppose it vehemently and the new members of this board I'm ashamed of you for listening to

062this foolishness motion passes six to one are there any other motions associated with the executive session I do not believe so the next item on the agenda is temporary committee assignments if a quorum is not present and so let me um let's figure this out so the chair the committee on academics and Innovation Miss Littleton that's your committee who's on that committee with you you and Michael is that the only thing nobody else knew needs to be added so Michael and Kathy will currently serve on that committee the committee on finance and capital PL planning Mr Barrow and I are both here and then the committee on human resources are there any members that are on the human resources committee present I do not believe so so the temporary committee assignment oh Sally is yeah

063so I will appoint Sally as chair temporarily of the human resources committee and also have um Jimmy Henson and Joe Baker serve on that committee with her as well these are just temporary committee assignments so all right well at this time we'll now recess for committee meetings Miss Littleton the academics and Innovation committee Mr chairman the committee on academics Innovation met earlier this evening and on recommendation of the committee no this is your actual committee meeting this is your committee meeting the actual committee meeting yes I'm sorry a little [Music] calling the committee on academics Innovation to order I declare this is a quorum of committee members present and that the media has been given proper renew to pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act we have a motion to approve the agenda I made

064the motion second you have a motion in a second any discussion all in favor say aye aye against nay commotion passes first item on the agenda is a head start budget expenditure report for September 2022 Head Start credit report for September 2022 and prospective new hires what's the pleasure of the committee I make your motion to approve Head Start expenditures report for September 2022 Head Start credit report for September 2022 and prospective new hires second we have a motion and a second all in favor say aye aye I'm sorry any discussion all in favor say aye aye against nay motion passes second item on the agenda is Administrative rule J icd-a-r student Behavior code second reading what is the pleasure of the committee I made the motion to approve the second reading of administrative rule

065jicda-r student Behavior code AS presented second we have a motion and a second any discussion all in favor say aye aye against nay motions approved thank you is that this one yeah I'm getting to it sorry Jimmy's voting on this committee too I'm gonna have Sally and Joe just be on the next one for the meeting minutes the third item on the agenda is a 2022 2023 local board approved Innovative courses second reading Miss Heather Taylor you're recognized [Music] or chair Littleton members of the board the South Carolina activity coding system requires that the board approve Innovative and locally board approved courses annually instructional activities that are currently offered in schools but are not listed in table one of the activity coding system must receive local board approval foreign can earn only an elective credit

066for a locally designed elective approved course all courses are highlighted in yellow need local board approval these would be the unified PE as well as the Future Ready course thank you very much how's the committee I made the motion to approve the proposed 2022-2023 local board approved and Innovative courses as provided second we have a motion in a second any discussion all in favor say aye aye aye against nay the eyes have it this time we'll entertain a motion to adjoin the committee so the financing Capital planning committee can begin I make the motion to adjourn second we have a motion in a second any discussion all in favor say aye aye I put his name emotions passed I'm calling the committee on finance and capital planning to order I declare that was with Mr

067Barrow and myself there's a quorum of committee members present note that the media has been given proper notice pursuing the Freedom of Information Act do we have a motion to approve tonight's agenda second we have a motion the second is there any discussion hearing none I'll call the question all in favor please respond by saying aye aye motion carries the agenda is approved the first agenda item is out of state travel Ms Smith you are recognized chairman McQuillan board members Administration is requesting approval of out-of-state travel as presented [Music] yes ma'am Administration is requesting approval of out-of-state travel as presented so move do we have a second we have a motion to Second all in favor please respond by saying aye aye out of state travel is approved the second agenda item is fpb 666-2022-23

068design provide and install metal canopies Miss Smith you're recognized thank you I would like to ask Marcy abrahamson to join me for the next three items on the agenda thank you thank you good evening chairman mcclinland members of the board tonight we present to you fixed price bid number 666-223 for the design for the design provision and installation of medical metal canopies this is a bid that was conducted to secure qualified Fabricators and contractors to provide TurnKey metal canopies and walkway covers for facilities throughout the district the maximum fixed price was set at 55 dollars per square foot the initial contract term will be for one year with the option to renew for four additional one-year terms the recommended awardee provided pricing at forty nine dollars per square foot and as the incumbent on the

069district's previous contract for these structures the awardee is east coast TMV LLC for an estimated annual contract value of 784 thousand dollars and an estimated five-year contract value of 4 million moved approved second we have a motion a second is there any discussion hearing none I'll call the question all in favor please respond by saying aye aye eyes have it third agenda item please um this is um an invitation for bid for train HVAC or quick equipment it's ifb number 667-223 this was con bid was conducted to secure a reliable source to provide the district's standard HVAC equipment the recommended and awardee is our incumbent on the district's previous contract for these this equipment the initial term will be for one year with the option to renew for one well with the option to renew

070for four additional one-year terms the um awardee is trained U.S Incorporated for an estimated annual contract value of three hundred thousand dollars and an estimate a five-year contract value of 1.5 million dollars approved second we have a motion a second is there any discussion hearing none I'll call the question all in favor please respond by saying aye aye aye eyes have it the fourth agenda item is RFP 668 2022 2023 Moving services um this request for proposal was conducted to establish a term contract for moving services to support the district's facilities Department with large moving projects the initial term will be for one year with the option to renew for four additional one-year terms this contract will be used on an as needed basis with the highest ranked offer being top priority maintenance services LLC

071with an estimated annual contract value of twenty thousand dollars and an estimated five-year contract value of a hundred thousand it's approved second we have a motion a second is there any discussion hearing none I'll call the question all in favor please respond by saying aye aye eyes have it at this time I will um entertain a motion to adjourn we'll move second we have a motion a second to adjourn is there any discussion hearing that I'll call a question all in favor please respond by saying aye aye we are now adjourned so that the human resources committee which will be made up of Ms Sally Wofford Mr Joe Baker and Mr Von Bradley can begin thank you I call the human resources committee to order I declare our Quorum is present and the media has

072been notified I'll now entertain a motion to approve the agenda motion second if there's a motion by Mr Baker a second by Walter to approve the agenda is there any discussion hearing none will call the question all in favor please respond by saying aye I opposed nay the eyes have it three zero the item on the agenda is the amendment of the board policy ba first reading essentially the the change to the policy ba is to change the committee names since the penny passed there's interest in making a capital only committee so one committee will be capital and then finance and Human Resources will be together so that's the proposed change of the amendment of board policy ba is that the only change to the policy what about the one that refers to what we

073talked about earlier um the attorney and clarifying how they can be released so that this first reading that's the only plan policy that again Mr McQuillen as as board chair you did not send out any information to anyone other well I didn't receive any information so at this point I'm going to say no to that I'm not going to go along with that um Amendment for board policy even though it's a simple thing title change but I think we should be informed if if I'm on this committee um I should have been notified ahead of time but this is just a temporary committee assignment well then we saw each other earlier tonight Mr McQuillan we've been with each other since five six o'clock it's been sitting next to each other Mr McQuillen since six o'clock

074you have not said anything I moved to approve the amendment of board policy ba first reading we're out of order I moved to approve the amendment of the board policy ba first reading is there a second second Mr Baker Mr Hanley they've provided that information to us this weekend over email see no the district to the district did to everyone okay so the City you get your information Mr Baker where did you get your information this isn't appropriate no it is appropriate he just said he got it did you get it on board docs so you got I I did not okay so how did you get it you were not a member 's changing the policy you were not a member until you sworn the oath of office tonight I'll be happy to how

075did you have access to this information I believe it came from Dion Jackson he emailed me in order to get prepared he's not present too no he has in order to get prepared for the meeting he emailed the superintendent asked to send the meeting packet and he did he did there's nothing wrong with it Mr Von Bradley could have done the same thing first reading the change is tonight it didn't come across from Mr Jackson we're speaking specifically about the amendment of board policy ba first reading that's the a the policy I read had 12 to 13 statements board policy B.A okay and you picked out one particular statement in reference to the penny sales tax that was just approved so my question is sure I'll go along with that however there are other policies

076that I need to would like to see amended in that group so Mr mcquilla from this point on I will also send you a statement of concern in reference to those board policies so they can be amended at the next meeting or the following meeting since this one didn't come across I had no idea what it was which one of the 13 policies we were talking about that's my clarification it'll be we'll read it from the commitment you'll read it four times so there'll be adequate time to make adjustments have you called for any discussion okay so I want to ask for some discussion on this because ba policy ba stipulates the positioning of the board members uh and to this date until tonight there was no at large so policy ba needs to be

077amended to include the at-large positioning on the board okay that's a good that's a good construction well Miss Bradley I understand your comments too and this is first reading so we can address those at second reading before it goes to the full board for a vote yeah and the third sentence in there has nine members and now as we know it's now eight correct no it hasn't that large eight single member districts one at large but it needs to be changed where it worded correctly so then as I said the one she picked out is in reference to the penny sales tax we'll go ahead and take care of that tonight but moving forward we need to look at all those policies and make changes adjustments revision as we go through [Music] sure that I

078will end up as the chair of this committee but I've written down all your comments to to pass I have no doubt probably will there's just really no reason to be rude I know there's just no really no reason to be rude all in favor please respond by saying aye aye opposed nay the eyes have it three zero we'll now entertain a motion to adjourn so moved is there a second second any discussion hearing none we'll we'll call the question all in favor please respond by saying aye aye opposed nay the eyes have it we are adjourned all right the next giant item on the agenda after returning from the recess from committees are the reports from standing committees first a report from the committee on academic academics and Innovation Miss Kathy Littleton you're recognized

079yes Mr chairman the committee on academics and Innovation met earlier this evening on recommendation of the committee I moved to approve the Head Start budget expenditure report for September 2022 Head Start credit report for September 2022 and prospective new hires we have a recommendation from committee so no second is required is there any discussion all in favor please respond by saying aye any opposed you guys have it by a vote of eight to zero also a recommendation of the committee and we have to approve the second reading of the administrative role jicda-r student Behavior code we have a motion a recommendation from committee so no second is required is there any discussion I have a question uh what were the Amendments or changes to the student Behavior code because there were several meetings that they

080were bantering about different changes and I'd like to know where they are for the Public's consideration um they should have been in your board docs but um so the Public's consideration and so basically it um it adds the fact that parents will be involved in any interaction with their child having to do with discipline it talks about um if there is a meeting between a counselor and um if a there's a meeting with a child for um disciplined reason then a counselor will be involved with that that it won't be done by teachers or sros it'll be done by the council itself primarily the changes I believe there's still a law on the books in South Carolina called in loco parentis basically saying that the adults in the building are in the place of their

081parents not to say not to say that parents should not be involved they absolutely should but there are some considerations here every time you speak to a child or a counselor speaks to a child they're going to be required to call the parent is that what you're saying that is not what I'm saying that's not well tell me what you're saying that's what that's what I gleaned from it and that's not what's written in the policy it is if there is a formal meeting held to the child a parent to be there if the parent wants to be there if a parent chooses not to be there that is their right absolutely that's correct and I'm all for Parental involvement but I'm not for it if it if it in hinges upon the administration and

082the school's ability to run the building effectively every time you speak to a child you don't have to get permission to call a parent that's all I'm saying but I don't think the policy says that is what she said well I'm glad to hear that okay there's any further discussion on administrative jidca hearing none I'll call the question all in favor please respond by saying aye aye any opposed eyeshadow by vote of eight to zero also on recommendation of the committee I moved to approve the proposed 20 22 proved in Innovative courses as provided we have a recommendation from a committee so no second is required is there any discussion hearing none I'll call the question all in favor please respond by saying aye aye any opposed eyes have it by a vote of eight

083to zero Mr chairman that concludes my report thank you the committee on finance and capital planning met earlier this evening and on recommendation of the committee I moved to approve the out-of-state travel as presented we have a recommendation from committee no second is required is there any discussion hearing Donald call the question all in favor please respond by saying aye aye any opposed eyes have it by a vote of eight to zero also in recommendation of the committee I moved to approve the award of fpb 666 2022-2023 to East Coast TMV LLC for the design provision and installation of metal canopies for an initial contract term of one year for an estimated value of 784 thousand dollars with the option to renew for four additional one-year terms with a potential contract value of four million

084dollars we have a recommendation from committee so no second is required is there any discussion hearing and I'll call the question all in favor please respond by saying aye aye any opposed eyes have it by a vote of a to zero also in recommendation of the committee I moved to approve the award of ifb 667 2022 2023 to train us Incorporated for HVAC equipment for an initial contract term of one year for an estimated value of three hundred thousand dollars with the option to renew for four additional one-year terms with a potential contract value of one million five hundred thousand dollars we have a recommendation from committee so no second is required is there any discussion hearing none I'll call the question all in favor please respond by saying hi aye any opposed eyes have

085it by a vote of age zero also on recommendation of the committee I moved to approve the award of RFP 668 2022-2023 the top priority maintenance service LLC for moving services for an initial contract term of one year for an estimated value of twenty thousand dollars with the option to renew for four additional one-year terms with a potential contract value of one hundred thousand dollars we have a recommendation from committee so no second is required is there any discussion hearing none um I'll call it a question all in favor please respond by saying hi hi any opposed eyes have it by a vote of eight to zero that concludes my report next Miss Wofford is the committee on human resources Mr chairman the committee on human resources met earlier this evening and on recommendation of

086the committee I moved to approve the amendment of board policy ba first reading as presented we have a recommendation from committee so no second is required is there any discussion hearing none I'll call the question all in favor please respond by saying aye aye any opposed eyes have it by a vote of eight to zero so they conclude your report I'm sorry yes Mr chairman that concludes my report all right the next agenda item is the board resolutions and the first resolution is item 11a which is resolution to direct Finance staff to work with trustees on a property tax decrease proposal in light of the passage of the one cent sales tax for schools Mr Ramsey you are recognized Mr chairman given the passage of the one cent Sales Tax and Revenue that it will

087consistently generate year to year I moved to direct Finance staff to work with the chairman of finance committee to be named the committee on finance and human resources on a property tax decrease proposed regarding the County's significant Debt Service millage leveraged on Berkeley County Citizens and the district's failure to lower mileage as promised to the voters from previous Bond issuances second we have a motion in a second is there any discussion yes we're talking about Debt Service millage not general fund Village Debt Service millage yes guess the Ramsey what's what the motion is it for Debt Service millage reduction or general fund millage reduction you should never ask a question if you don't know the answer it's uh yeah it's Debt Service millage Leverage that's correct I'll read the motion again it says it says

088given the passage of the one cent sales tax and the revenue that it will consistently generate year to year the motion is to direct Finance staff to work with the chairman of the finance committee to rename the committee on finance and human resources on a property tax decrease proposal regarding the County's significant Debt Service millage leverage on Berkeley County Citizens and the district's failure to lower millage as promised to voters from previous Bond issuances so the motion is to direct Finance staff to work with the chairman of that committee to propose um let's see to work with staff to propose a property tax decrease that's what the motion on the table is the resolution says to work with trustees that includes all members of the board does it not I'll make a motion to amend

089Mr Ramses motion to include board trustees do I have a second second all right we've got a motion to amend include that the finance staff will will submit the proposal to the board trustees um and there's a motion to amend on the table all in favor please respond by System another question just let's do this first and I'll recognize you all in favor please respond by saying hi hi and it was part of the disc of a discussion I have not finished my discussion I've revised though to include trustees prayer comment carry on yes this is something that uh I do not disagree with in fact I agree with it wholeheartedly however I believe we need to be wise and prudent in making sure that we don't reduce The Debt Service millage to a degree

090that is going to create a problem making sure that the seven year capital projects plan is completed that is something that concerns me because I know that the board's desire to to eliminate a large percentage of the debt millage immediately or in the near future I don't think that's wise fiscally because we tout ourselves as fiscally conservative we need to make sure that the penny sales tax is going to satisfy the paying of all of those of all of those buildings that we've approved in the capital projects plan I would support an initial five mil reduction and then after the revenue starts coming in determine how much if any more Revenue needs to be reduced you cannot you cannot emphasize enough you know let me revert back to something we did two years ago three

091years ago there was a there was a there was a move a foot we had to reduce the millage by three meals because of re-assessment the board at that time reduced it not three mils but 12 mils which created a serious debt problem for this board and for the district we went Way Beyond what we should have done initially and that's a fact we only had to do it by three meals we did it by 12. so all I'm saying is let's learn from our past history and make sure that we do it fiscally conservatively and responsibly to make sure that we can build those buildings and then take a look at how much tax reduction we can do for our citizens yeah I believe that when I read it that this is a process

092not a determination right now and that we're going to trust in our finance group to be able to guide us through that foreign any further discussion all right all in favor of Mr Ramsey's motion please respond by Mr Ramsey's motion as amended please respond by saying aye aye aye any opposed motion carries by a vote of eight to zero the next agenda item is a resolution to disallow the teaching of critical race theory in any form in the Berkeley County School District I make a motion that teaching of critical race theory in any form in the Berkeley County School District be permanently disallowed second we have a motion and a second is there any discussion there's some discussion here because as I recall last year year before uh the then superintendent of Education Molly Spearman

093made a comment that the state department of education does not teach any of their standards in the CRT critical race Theory and it I don't really know if there's a need for this resolution for two reasons number one is really not defined for me because I don't know exactly what it entails what it allows to be taught what it does not allow to be taught I do not want a policy that constricts teachers and and makes them vulnerable to be criticized chastened and disciplined for something that they may or may not know what they're supposed to be teaching I think that's commonsensical does anybody want to hear a teacher to be disciplined for teaching something that they were not told they should not teach I don't so if we pass this I need to know

094well it looks like it's going to be passed but the question is what actually can be and cannot be taught because that's if I'm in a classroom and I was in a classroom for 11 years I needed to know what I can and can't do if you put something out there no critical race Theory and it's up to some bureaucrat or board member or a principal to say you're violating it it has to be in writing as to what they're violating does that make sense ladies and gentlemen it's just it's just common sense [Applause] thank you Mr Barron I agree I have a definition here of critical race Theory and I think what we can do is based on this board's motion assuming it passes to create a policy that sort of spells this out

095so the teachers do have clear Direction the definition I have is critical race theory is a perspective on Modern Life a world view that believes all events and ideas around us in politics education entertainment and the media the workplace and Beyond must be explained in terms of racial identities under critical race Theory every political idea election textbook movie news report work environment and local concern cannot be judged according to Effectiveness quality or accuracy but according to whether minority individuals and issues are afforded more influence in everyday life even George Washington Abraham Lincoln and the U.S Constitution itself are subject to being canceled out of American culture such as being removed from the names of public schools for failing to live up to the standard set under the critical race theory that said I do agree

096with you sir that we if this motion passes we ought to set for are they policy that provides guidelines for our teachers as to what the critical race theory is and what can and cannot be taught I'd like to have one other question answered by any board member or any member of the cabinet uh do we know of any any school or any teacher or anybody in this District that is teaching critical race Theory at this time got an email last week about it again I got an email last week about I get I get emails from parents occasionally that will say this was taught to my child who approved this uh okay so again my question is what is acceptable and what is not acceptable parents views vary because of the mores and the

097training and the upbringing of individuals and their families they have different thought processes about what is and what is not acceptable which is why I'm suggesting if this part if this motion passes that we provide specific guidance and a policy on this issue that's not good enough for me I'm gonna have to I'm gonna have to vote against this one and I'd like to um just state that I do believe that history should be taught okay and I I heard I heard what you said um I don't want to stop our educators however I don't want children to me CRT is a law that it's taught in law schools it's a theory that's way over their heads and we're breaking it down not only as a board but we're breaking it down for children trying

098and and there is a division um I believe it's important that children know their history and the history of the children sitting next to them but I think that we don't need to add the emotional component to it or the guilt component to it or it's I absolutely agree it is emotional it's emotional for everybody in this room so I I'm just saying I'm not against teaching history yeah I want to specify that too we had the gentleman that spoke about the Holocaust in teaching history and another gentleman that spoke about Jim Crow laws in the history of South I do believe that that history should be taught I'm not we're not opposed to that we think that that should be taught but there are certain forms of the critical race theory that are being

099taught in our classes that is inappropriate and it isn't age-appropriate for our children which is why we want it set forth challenge if a parent does not like the books that are currently in the library or the curriculum there's already a policy in place because it I currently happen all right we're going to call it a meeting back to order I get emails I'm telling you I get emails regularly from parents about this the current policy we have is not effective [Music] ma'am you ma'am that's not appropriate ma'am if you if you did this you all right let's move to call the question is there any further discussion from board members Mr McCurley and I I respectfully uh understand your position that we need some more clarity uh but at the present time I'm not

100satisfied that we're going to get that Clarity to the degree that I think will protect our employees so I'm going to vote no okay all right I'll Now call the question all in favor of the motion please respond by saying aye aye any opposed no motion passes by a vote of six to two all right the next agenda item is the resolution to establish a committee to evaluate appropriate guidelines for the evaluation of materials of inappropriate sexual pornographic content in the Berkeley County School District so moved sorry we've got a motion do we have a second second we have a motion a second is there any discussion yes okay so a committee is is fine it doesn't say who is going to be comprised of it needs to be comprised of Administrators teachers Librarians parents

101and perhaps even a member of the of the board what I yeah what I Envision is that board members send suggested either committee makeup or particular individuals that they would like to serve on that committee I will consider those and make appointments for board approval and a vote at the next meeting or or a following meeting but this motion is simply simply to create a committee but even now we need to invite those members of those groups that I've specified as being eligible to be on the committee because what concerns me is that we're gonna we're gonna say yes we need a committee but who's going to be able to come come on it needs to be defined a committee made up of Administrators teachers Librarians parents board members okay yeah and what I'm saying

102is I welcome board feedback on that and if you give want to give me a potential makeup of the committee and yes and you want to nominate particular individuals for the committee we'll consider that and vote on that in another meeting no we cannot change the resolution to include those titles now so when I vote on it I know it will be comprised of school librarians reading teachers administrators board members I'll have that those titles ready those titles in my mind so I'll come up with names to go along Ms Bradley you can make an amendment to that you can you can make an amendment to the resolution to include that amend the resolution to include school librarians reading teachers administrators all grade levels as well as um board members parents I think just in

103the interest of time rather than rattling all stuff we ought to give this some thought discuss it as a board at the next meeting once we get the com the committee passed then we can vote on the Frameworks and the individuals she made an amendment she made a motion for us okay I'll second it all right there's a motion and a second to amend the policy is there any discussion of the amendment I'm a no vote on this I think we just need more time to consider it before we determine rather than just throwing out names of people Mr Barry do you have a problem with that what you said but just doing a little bit later where we can get the right people involved that's what I'm asking for but this is putting this

104in place without those particular individuals involved so you before this is finalized you want to have a committee established already no I don't want individuals you want someone to vote on the committee makeup tonight the makeup including the parents teachers Librarians principals and maybe even a board member or two I don't see a problem I think it's just obvious common sense that when you say you're going to have a committee who in the world is going to comprise membership in the committee I agree that we have a vote on that I just say I think we ought to think about it and vote on it another meeting about it to put it on here as it is so that says there's a thought process already in motion all we're asking is that you include titles

105to include those individuals so when you go back you will have those titles and you'll get a better grouping of individuals on the committee that's not do you not think it would be wise to think about it more because you've listed reading coaches teachers board members and parents is there anyone else that you may have left off that may additional time may be helpful that's all I'm saying well then you would include additional members as needed or as necessary so I may put a parent there who after two sessions can't attend anymore so therefore I go to my list and I pull up one that's next put them on the list in the committee group I just think what time are you gonna call the question on this particular the question on the table is

106whether we amend it to include the specific titles of who Miss Bradley your school librarians okay your reading teachers coaches you said your parents your administrators Your Community member 102. principles parents who else did you say you got librarian reading teachers and coaches principals parents board members members maybe two okay Mr Henson might like to read and Mr Ramsey may have time to read Mr bacon may be a reader you know Miss Littleton may be a reader to anybody else I think that'll do mental health counselors that would be great too teach a foreign person that's not someone you said before that's why I'm saying I think it makes sense for us to think about this so you got Librarians reading teacher coaches principals parents board members and teacher forum mental health Mental Health but

107if you get one from each group Glory people with a cross-section of ideas any other categories of committee members that that I can agree with that list of people I think that's we talk about um learning laws so maybe the mental health as you say would be great in that process yeah mental health teacher Forum board members parents principals reading teacher coaches and a librarian I still think it makes sense for us to maybe think about this a little bit more make sure we're not leaving anybody off but because this would be an important committee so all in favor of adding of the amendment that is proposed by Miss Bradley please respond by saying aye any opposed nay for the vote all right let me see the hands on that one so the motion to

108amend passes so the motion currently on the table is the creation of the committee with Miss Bradley's Amendment for librarian reading teacher coaches principals parents board members teacher forum and mental health professionals all in favor of the amended motion please respond by saying aye aye motion passes by a vote of eight to zero all right bear with me one second the next agenda item is the superintendent's report and while we are very excited to hear from Mr Dixon he will be doing his report at the next meeting for board chair updates the board runs on a committee structure under policy ba and it's my pleasure to act as chairman as my first act as chairman to appoint the following committee persons Miss Kathy Littleton will remain as chair of the academics and Innovation committee joining

109Kathy on this committee will be Mr Barrow and myself Dr Jimmy Hinson will chair the finance and capital planning committee and once policy ba is amended will be the capital planning committee joining Dr Henson on this committee will be Miss Yvonne Bradley and Mr Joe Baker Mr Ramsey will chair the human resources committee and once policy ba is amended will serve as the finance and Human Resources chairman joining Mr Ramsey will be Dr Crystal wigfall and miss Sally Wofford may I ask a question yes ma'am we're all new yes Ma'am why would you put all new people on finance just a question I I have a thought but let me hear what your pattern your thinking was so finances actually moving to Human Resources so that committee will be Mr Ramsey Miss Wofford and Miss

110wigfall Capital planning which yeah doctor would fall Capital planning will be Dr Henson Miss Bradley so I wrote down Finance so it's not financing it's currently finance and capital planning but the policy Amendment we made tonight to ba if that passes third reading will be changed to just the capital planning committee and again my comment my question is Mr Henson Mr Baker and I are all three new why not put someone who has some experience and Finance on the committee just a question so that that committee that committee going forward will be Capital planning not Finance okay and so let me so let me explain that okay go ahead he's a he's a general contractor he's worked in maintenance before he's a construction engineer you've been on the school board before and overseeing schools getting

111built I think all of y'all I think all of y'all have experience which is well you asked the question I gave you my answer all right thank you sir all right and then the next uh announcement I'll make is the new board orientation which is required for all new board members is scheduled for February 16th um in Hilton Head and that is an important Workshop to attend so each board member ought to um calendar that February 16th 2023 and we'll get you some more information on that the final agenda item for tonight is a motion to adjourn do we have a motion so move second we have a motion by Miss Wofford a second by Miss Littleton to adjourn any discussion discussion why did I get this information on legislative advocacy if we're not going

112to talk about it is anyone no one going from you talking about from the School Board Association I'm not sure I can't read that small writers yeah that's in our board packet I do not let me see let me find it I think that was just a see no it's um this thing here I got too much paper up here I'm not even sure what's going to be I think it's just an announcement that's right that's another um event from the South Carolina School Board Association that's the delegate assembly um which is on Thursday December 1st yeah and we've got a we've got a meeting you're welcome to it yeah I got it right here y'all are welcome to attend that too if you'd like that's a good point though thank you Miss Bradley is

113there any further discussion all right I'll now entertain the motion to adjourn all in favor please respond by saying aye aye any opposed we are adjourned