April 1, 2025 Board Meeting

001to the Georgetown County School Board meeting for Tuesday, April 1st, 2025. Thank you all for joining us today. At this time, I ask everyone who's able to please stand for the pledge of allegiance and remain standing for a moment of silence. 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. Amen. At this time, we have public comments. I have a few cards here on hand. Uh please remember that um the board will not hear public comments. You have a limit of three minutes per person. And the first card that I have is Miss Christine Roberts. Good evening. Thank you guys for letting me come speak tonight. Uh my name is Christine Roberts. I've

002come before you a few months back about my son Carson Roberts who is in kindergarten at Wakma High I mean Walk Elementary and with him having dyslexia and starting help with the Orton Gillingham training process for our district. I think want to thank you guys for taking that seriously and Dr. Dr. Giles and I had met and she immediately was easy to work with and wanted to hear more and we got a plan in place for the three-year plan um that's now at the state. Hopefully, it will pass the Senate and the House and then get the governor's signing on it and we can move forward with our statewide program as well as just our district. Um, but I know that tonight is a big deal with Childfind. And um, I just wanted to speak

003a little bit about the backup on that and to say how important Childfind is and why. My child was in preschool at St. Peters and he had started to have speech problems and couldn't pick out letters and he wasn't progressing. So they ended up having him serviced and checked into and because of that we found him in speech and we got him started with some help early on because we had teachers that paid attention and they were trained to do that. Not every school is set up that way. If you don't have child find in place, we lose these students and because of that we're going further and further in our state and especially in our district. if we talk to parents who I have here tonight. And I have a list of um five

004moms that have reached out that have written all of you letters that couldn't be here tonight because unfortunately the board meetings are on Tuesday night and in Georgetown County that's when sports are. So the majority of our parents the timing of this is not ideal for any parent to come speak and be able to communicate you their frustrations or their needs that they want met. Um, so with that being said, I have since I've spoken in this before, the student teacher ratio is so high with our students to the teachers in special needs. And because of that, I'm asking for more money to be poured into our district from our state too to give the district more help so we can get more teachers in um the classroom with our students because the numbers are

005so high. Um, the resource teachers are over overworked, underpaid. They don't even get a lunch break anymore. Um, I know that my resource teacher that's doing it for my son doesn't have even time to eat. Um, I've been working alongside with Senator Goldfinch with a lot of things at the state trying to help our district and I'm hoping that that still progresses and we can be in um, meetings together to be able to talk through how we can help in getting the word out so we can get more help for our district. Um, with the IEP process, I think it'd be almost important if we had a parent advocate in those because there's so many people that go to the IEP meetings and they get to be so much verbiage and nobody understands them. So

006maybe if we could work on something like that so when parents go into IEP meetings, they don't feel overwhelmed. And um and then also I just wanted to make sure that we had whatever funds that we had that it could be transparent so we could know with what money our district does have so we can understand where that money does go and if we can get help for our teachers more. Thank you for listening. Thank you ma'am. Next we have is Julia Badget. Good evening. Thank you for allowing me to stand here today on behalf of Wakama Elementary School's PTO. My name is Julia Badget. I have a kindergarter at Wakama Elementary. I also have a fourth grader and sixth grader at Wakama Intermediate. Um I'm here to represent the PTO tonight. The PTO is

007requesting the district support in playground improvements for the school. In approximately the last 10 years or more, the PTO has funded almost every, if not every improvement to the playground. We have purchased playground equipment for the school's front playground, back playground, and kindergarten playground. Per South Carolina state statutes, schools are required to provide elementary students with the equivalent of 30 minutes of physical activity each day. Additionally, the district shall make every effort to ensure that schools in the district have age appropriate equipment. The state legislature in intended that the districts within the state be the one responsible for providing playground equipment, not the PTO's for individual schools. The PTO is requesting that the school board provide assistance in making this happen. In 2022, the back playground at our school was relocated from its former location

008due to the construction of Waverly Park. The previous location was shaded and therefore allowed for a reprieve for the students on hot, sunny days. The new location for the playground is in direct sunlight and the playground is completely sanded. The move was not within the school's control, but yet the students are the ones suffering due to the relocation. Students start school earlier with the change in the school calendar, which means that recess occurs during some of the hottest times of the year. The back playground provides no shade for the students except for a small pavilion that cannot fit many students. The students need shade. It is a safety concern for all students. Also, they cannot even exercise their full recess time due to state mandates for heat indexes and shade requirements. The Sandy Base also

009provides for a muddy area after rain. We're requesting that the district purchase and install a shade for the back playground. In addition, Wakamount Elementary School is one of the largest elementary schools in the district. We have approximately 550 students. Due to the large size, students are required to utilize an area known as the Dolphin Garden for recess. There's not enough space for all students in the current playground locations. The dolphin garden, which was also paid for by PTO, was intended to be an outdoor class, but unfortunately cannot be used as the same. There's an area near the back playground which can be transformed into another playground area for students. However, it needs equipment. We're requesting that the PTI that the district also provide playground equipment for this new area as well. The PTO is more

010than happy to assist in funding some of these improvements, but we feel as though it is not our sole responsibility to take care of the playground needs for the school. We're the ones who have taken on the burden of the playground improvements for the school over the years. We request that the district adheres to the South Carolina state statutes and do their part in improving the playgrounds by purchasing and installing a shade for the back playground and purchasing new playground equipment for the new play area for Wakama Elementary School. Thank you, ma'am. Right on time. Yes. Yes. Yes. Okay. Next we have is it Casey Lewis. Good evening Dr. Guiles, Chairman Moore, and the members of the board. Thank you for taking the time to hear me today. As a parent of a child in

011our school district, I am here to advocate for better support and resources for families in rural rural areas, specifically improved access to special education services. My daughter Charlie was born with a chromosomal deletion and Turner syndrome. From the beginning, we were unsure how she would grow and develop. Uh she has a a diagnosed global developmental delay and while she has made incredible progress, she requires specialized services. Our local school, Pleasant Hill, does not have a special education program. This means I now face the challenge of getting two children to two different schools 30 minutes apart. For any family, this would be difficult. But for Charlie, it's especially hard. She struggles with change, and if you were to meet her, you would quickly see how much her big sister means to her. In our small community,

012nearly everyone knows Charlie. Her siblings, her cousins, and even the staff at the school know her. That sense of familiarity and stability is crucial for her well-being and development. Charlie has been in speech therapy since she was a year old. She speaks very little and those that don't interact with her on a daily basis often struggle to understand her. She needs the specialized support that our district provides, but the logistics of accessing it should not come at such a high emotional and practical cost. Many families in our district face the same issues. For rural children, receiving special education services often means traveling for 30 minutes each way. And putting my child on a bus for an hour every day who does not stay in a car seat or behave like normal children do. That's not

013really an acceptable option. The stress and the time lost in transit take away from the very purpose that these services are supposed to do, which is to help the children thrive academically, socially, and emotionally. I urge you to prioritize funding and resources to expand social and special education services within our local schools. No child should have to sacrifice their sense of belonging or endure exhausting commutes just to access the support that they need. Thank you for your time and your consideration. And the children are our future. Thank you. Yes, they are. Thank you very much. Last, we have Mr. William Gaskins. I didn't know which one was going to come up. Uh me. Um and thank you, Vice Chanc Vice Chairman Walker. Pardon, I've almost said vice chancellor. That was a judge on my court.

014Um thank you uh Vice Chairman Walker, Dr. Dr. Giles again for inviting me to speak at the academic scholars program that immediately preceded this. Um, now I'm coming before you to speak on behalf of the Rebecca C. Parsons Foundation regarding the Black River Educational Initiative at Andrews High School. A few weeks ago, I had the privilege of participating in an advisory group comprised of board members, school district personnel, South Carolina parks, recreation, and tourism representatives, and members of the nonprofit community like myself regarding the excellent program that Miss Mahon has spearheaded as a visionary for the Andrews community. in doing research about this critical potential career pathway was drawn particularly to data from the US Bureau of Economic Analysis that the ecoourism industry in South Carolina in 2023 employed 86,000 people with an average salary

015of around $50,000 per year. With the coming Black River State Park, it is imperative that we provide our students with career education pathways that match this opportunity. I want to reiterate you tonight like I did in that advisory group meeting and like I have to our school district leadership that the Rebecca C. Parson's Foundation stands ready, willing, and able to be a community partner in this initiative. Since December 2023, the foundation has contributed $105,000 to efforts related to the Black River State Park Initiative, including $15,000 to the school district uh to fund the exploratory work done so far on this Black River educational initiative, including the trip to uh trip to Virginia Beach to see that wonderful pro program that they have built there. At the advisory group meeting, uh, Miss Johnson of the board

016and Dr. Guiles uh, asked Miss Mahon to prepare a budget for the Black River Educational Initiative and another small group to solicit community-based partners to be financial partners. Uh, since May of 2024, I have been communicating with district personnel that the Parsons Foundation wants to see this happen and is willing to be part of that community support. I look forward to continuing to work with the school district, uh, the board, school district personnel, and our other community partners in making this happen. Thank you so much. Thank you, Mr. Gatsby. [Music] Okay. Next, we have approval of the minutes from the March 18th meeting. May I have a motion to approve the minutes as presented? So move. Second. It's been proven and second. Minutes has passed. All right. Next, we have the adoption of tonight's agenda.

017You've seen the agenda. Uh may I have a motion to approve the agenda as presented? So moved. Second. It's been second and adopted. Okay. Next thing is information items. Uh first we have an update on child fine program presented by Miss Tabitha Strickland. Mhm. You got to vote. You got to go back and vote on these. We can't before she goes. Hold on. What are we going to vote on um on on the motion? Yeah, we didn't. Okay. Okay. Okay, we're going to go back and uh approve the minutes again with a [Music] vote. Should I let it be known by eyes? I I eyes have it. It's been approved. Okay. Now we can go through. You want to do that, too? Okay. All right. We're going to do the same thing with All right,

018guys. Just bear with me on my first run out the gate. We're good. You're fine. I think you're right now. We're going to uh vote on the the adoption of the agenda. Let it be known by saying I I eyes have it. It's been approved. Now we can move forward, Miss Tabitha. Okay, great. Thank you so much. Good evening, Superintendent Guiles, Chairman, members of the board, community, and um families here this evening. Thank you so much for the opportunity to speak to you this evening and a special thank you for um the request to speak to you about Childfind. Um I am always excited to talk about the amazing work that's happening in our office of special services and tonight I'm honored at highlighting a very important program that we have in our office of

019special services. It is critical. It actually plays a very critical role in identifying our children with disabilities and supports for those children and their families here in Georgetown County School District. So with that, I'm going to start with the requirements. So our Individuals with Disabilities Education Act requires us or public school districts to identify, locate, and evaluate all children with disabilities from the ages of 3 to 21. Uh this is your part B of IDA. Part C is baby net. They take care of ages birth through three and then we pick them up from there. It is a continuous process. Um there are awareness activities that go along with it. Screenings. We do regular screenings here in our schools as well as our head start programs. And we also process referrals. Those referrals can come

020from anyone who knows the child. It can come from parents, guardians, health care providers, community agencies, child care programs. They can also come from parents and guardians of preschool children or school age children that are in our non-public schools here in Georgetown County. So, what does that referral process look like? So, the way it starts is we do have an online referral form. And let me back up just a second. So in our schools, we still are obligated to find our children who may have disabilities and that referral process is really left to the schools to operate to find those children and to identify and provide services at the school. Typically for our ages 3 to five, those that are not in our public schools here in Georgetown County, this is the process that we

021follow the we call this the child fine clinic or our child child fine program. It starts with a office. It starts with a referral. Um, we have an online form now that can be completed by anyone who knows the child. From there, our office contacts the parent and then we schedule an appointment for our ch child find clinic for that parent or that guardian or that caregiver to come in with their child. During that call, we also ask that the parent give us consent to get some information from those that are currently serving that child. So, this might be their daycare teacher. it might be a health care provider. Um, we also ask that they fill out a social developmental history report so we can also collect that information. In addition to that, we ask

022others that serve that child to give us more information. So, we're busy collecting all this information to kind of paint a picture of what we know about this child based on the referral. we know that something has been identified that we might need to fill a need. From there, we have a referral evaluation planning team that is scheduled to come together. It's a multid-disciplinary team. And then the parent and the child show up at our clinic. When they show up, our lead nurse will screen them for hearing and vision so we can make sure we can rule that out as a possibility that might be impacting their success of what they're trying to do, whether it's in their schools or in their community. From there, we sometimes have to do some more screening while the

023child is with us. And sometimes that might be play-based, it might just be observations. But within our clinic, we have set up a warm, welcoming atmosphere that actually allows for us to to conduct some of that screening on site before we sit down as a team. Once we finish those screenings, we come together. We put it all in one document and then we bring the team together to review that information. The team members and the parent or the guardian review all of this information to see this whole child. And then we determine is there any missing pieces? Are there assessments that we need to do to really find out information that's going to help us see this whole child and what needs might need to be put in place or might need to figure out

024to determine if they do have a disability and require special education. So once the parent signs the consent for those evaluations, we have 60 days to do those evaluations. Once the evaluation is done, we bring that team back together. We determine eligibility and if the child is eligible under IDEIDA, then we write an IEP, which is an individualized education program that is made to meet the needs of the child and leverage that child's strengths to help them improve and be successful in what they do. So, who is on our child find clinic? We have a multidisciplinary team to make sure that we have the lens of all the experts that serve our children or our youngest learners. So we have our lead psychologist, our school psychologist that leads the way. We have a special education

025teacher, a general education teacher, an LEA representative, an occupational therapist, a physical therapist, a speech language pathologist, and in some cases whenever we suspect a child with autism, we have our board certified behavior analysts at the table. We have these clinics every Wednesday right down the hall. Um, we have four children that come through on every Wednesday that we essentially go through this process for. So, you might ask, well, how many children do you see in a year? I'm going to get there. We do look at the disabilities. What disabilities are we looking at? We're looking at children who may have autism, deaf blindness, developmental delay, emotional disability, hearing impairment, intellectual disability, multiple disabilities, other health impairment, orthopedic impairment, specific learning disability, speech language impairment, traumatic brain injury, and visual impairment. These are the 13

026categories that we can identify a child as having a disability under IDA. And essentially what we're saying is not only do they have a disability, but they also required specially designed instruction. Meaning we've got to pick up where Jenna is leaving off. Essentially, the three primary disabilities that we identify the most whenever children come through child are our children with autism, children with developmental delay, and our children with spec or speech language impairment. So over the course of the five years, here's some data that I'd like to share with you so you have an idea or a picture of kind of our projections and what they're looking like. In the blue, these are the students who were referred to Childfind and we evaluated. In the red are the students who actually qualified that we wrote

027IEPs for. So you see 2020 2021 that was kind of COVID. Some were in, some were out, some were scared of what was going on in the world. So we did not have that many that year. You can see 2122 it went up significantly came down a little bit on 22 23 and then shot up in 23 24 which would have been our children that were born during that co year um hitting that 3-year mark and um that would have been primarily some of those children. This year we are projected to hit about 150 total referrals by the end of the school year. Currently we have 129 I would say um 50% you know parent guardian um and others that show or provide care to young learners and then we have um probably about 50ish%

028coming from our baby net. The child find clinic is more than just an evaluation process. It is the beginning of a long meaningful relationship between families and Georgetown County School District. Sometimes this relationship can span 15 years, in some cases 18 years. That's why we work really hard to set the stage early with warmth, with clarity, and with a genuine sense of welcome and support. From that first phone call to that first meeting, we strive to ensure families feel heard, understood, and that they're part of a team that cares about their child's success. Because this isn't just a process, it's a promise. It's a promise that their child will be seen, that their voices will be heard, and that every voice matters, and every family will have a partner with us. Thank you so much

029for your time, your support, and your commitment to our children with disabilities and their family. At this time, I will entertain any questions that you might have. Yeah, I have a couple questions. Um, you had mentioned the uh start of getting enrolled in this is an online form. Yes, sir. Can you give us that website or? Sure. It is on our um I can send it to you. It's on our GCSD website and I'll be able to get that to you. Okay. And the second question, you'd mentioned ages 3 to five. And I feel like it's so important that we start identifying children with special needs early. So, I applaud that age group. Um the kids that aren't in school, I guess, would be like three and four. Then they start preschool and kindergarten. Yes,

030sir. So, so the kids that aren't in school will still meet at your clinic. Yes, sir. And that clinic is located where? Here. It's located here. Yep. Yep. Right down the hall. Awesome. If you go down the hall towards the special services conference room, you'll see on the right it says child find clinic. Did you say every Wednesday? Yes, sir. Every Wednesday. Mhm. And sometimes more. Sometimes we've had to add a couple of dates. Thank you. I know Robert touched on this a little bit about how do parents find you that are aren't a part of the school district already? Um, I did a brief search on the website to see if I could find it. I couldn't find it. Robert didn't know about it. How are how are people in the community that aren't

031a part even a part of the school system have no one to ask in the school system? How are they finding you? Well, we have various awareness activities. Um, most of our health care providers, our pediatricians, we have a very positive relationship with them and so they know about our child find referral process. Um and I apologize um for you not being able to find it on our website. Um that is something we definitely need to attend to and that needs to be um addressed in regard I mean we promote um within our schools within our private daycarees. Um, our service providers are constantly out and about um, sharing and observing and making their own referrals whenever they may see somebody that needs some help or needs to be identified. And approximately how long does

032it take, would you say, from first contact when a parent first contacts you to actually the a determination of the eligibility? Sure. I don't know that exact time frame, but I'm happy to get it to you. I'd appreciate that. and um excuse me and obviously this can be a costly process. Um are any of the costs being offset such as are we building billing medaid or private insurance if if they have that available? I'm not for sure that answer, but I'm happy to get it to you as well. Okay. Um and then another question I had was if a parent disagrees with with the services being offered by the district, do they have a right to request independent testing? They do. They do. Yes. Yeah. If they if and it's not the services, it's if

033they don't agree with the evaluation. So if they don't agree with the evaluation, then they do under IDA, they do have the right to request an independent educational evaluation and which would be on the cost of the district to provide. Okay. Are do you feel like the district is able to keep up with the demand of the amount of children that are calling and needing to be tested? I think every year we reassess and we make sure we have the resources in place that we need to meet the needs of our children. Okay, perfect. Miss Baxley, I I'll assist. Miss Strickland has been humble with that answer. I think what we have noticed is an increase and and awareness um and and them being able to get out to these awareness points and places to

034where we have had an increase in referrals. So maybe not necessarily there is an increase in students with disabilities but I do feel that our department has been doing a better job of getting information out and moments like this we need to take advantage of. So those that are aware we ask that you share. Um word of mouth definitely is a good good uh advertisement as well. Yeah absolutely. I know uh several parents are very confused on when you first find out that your children may need extra help. It can be a confusing time. We don't know who to ask or even what questions to ask. So to have maybe a road map in place would be really wonderful. I know that there are other websites that um you can go on and it'll kind

035of give you, you know, if if you're if you need help with this, call this number. This is the process. I think that some type of a a road map in addition to what's on the website form would be really helpful for parents and I think a lot of them hesitate. Well, I'm not sure if my child needs this yet. Um this, you know, just to really explain what it is and how important it is that we are doing this at the earliest age possible is so important. Yes, ma'am. Yeah, I agree with you 100%. Thank you for that feedback. And I've got one more question. Uh you had mentioned four four students every Wednesday. Is that what you said? Four? Yes, sir. We schedule four every week. And so I would assume that those

036students are rotated every four weeks or two weeks. Is it four different students? Help me out with the four only four children. So the referral process because sometimes we have to do the screening and we have to do some of the evaluations on the site. A lot of our evaluations happen when they come to the clinic. So we do have to a lot for that time to happen even though the meeting might not last that long. So, we start at 8:30 in the morning and our last Childfind clinic wraps up around 2:30, 3ish. Um, and it's for students based on the referrals whenever we get in. Meaning, um, our preschool or early childhood specialists will schedule based on when the referral comes in. Gotcha. And so she'll schedule the four and then you know the

037next week it would be based on the next referrals that came in and she'll schedule those four and then so forth and so on. Does that help? It does. So so the Wednesday is the evaluations. Yes sir. The Wednesday and my last question I think this is an awesome program is what can we do to help you increase this program to be better? Oh that is a nice question. That is a loaded question. It is. I'm like, can I get more time? It's a good question. It is a great question and I'd love to be able to put something to you in writing. Please do that. Can I have one? And what time does that start on Wednesdays? 8:30, you said? Yeah, around 8:30. Yes, sir. Okay. Thank you. I have a question. I noticed

038that, you know, naturally the number has increased and if we're only dealing with four every Wednesday as I'm saying this, so some of these kids may come in and they might not get evaluation for a long time. And so therefore, their parents are sitting here waiting for months, weeks, possibly a year before they get evaluated. And that's a big concern for the parent because that time lost is precious in trying to get these kids to where they need to be. Mhm. So that's where we need to be able to speed all this up because there I mean the numbers speak for themselves. So, I think we need to figure out how we can speed this up and what you need to increase that um preparation because of the increase in the children that we're seeing

039cuz as children are growing, we're missing every day is a valuable day in their lives and we've only got a short period of time to make that impact. I think sorry, I'm sorry. I think it's a point of just clarification. Wednesday is not necessarily the only part of the complete evaluation. W the Wednesday uh evaluation is only a point on the process. So while we would love certainly to be able to have u multiple days of uh serving the students on the Wednesday, it's important to recognize that these individuals that are serving them on Wednesdays are also working on paperwork process. Um the things that were denoted on slide five that includes the screenings um the hearing and vision by the nurse. So there are several components but the Wednesday child find clinic itself is

040only one part or one component of the process. Yes ma'am. Yep. I concur. Yeah. There is the there kind of the before the Wednesday that happens on the screening and collecting information at the Wednesday and then there's more additional information that happens after the Wednesday and then we come back together in with the child. Ma'am, from the say that from the very beginning of the process to where the child has gotten an evaluation and then the plan is put in place about how long does that take? I think it's a great question. Miss Baxley asked it. I'm I'm going to look into it because I think it's a great question. My personal experience it was nine months. I did I did hear an ad on the radio today for first fivec.org or is trial find

041associated with that and that's the first time I'd heard heard of it. Say it maybe. It's called I think it was first fivec.org referring to I guess 5-year-olds. I didn't know if we were associated it or if maybe we could we're not associated with it but we definitely on that as a you know as a resource. Yeah. Mhm. So I personally can attest to uh the struggle sometimes to get the valuations, you know, and um I know that at a previous conference that we had, I actually spoke to some of the legislature and I asked them how do we have our state uh vi to bring in, you know, we're supporting and I 100% agree with supporting teachers, but with some of our uh lower staffing and psychologists and different things for schools as a

042state, how can we work on bringing qualified psychologists to South Carolina because even in the private sector, you know, it's 6 months to a year typically for an evaluation and some of these children desperately need it and so I thank you for what you're doing. Uh I do believe that it is a highly needed service for our children. Uh we are looking at, you know, social impacts from CO that we're having to deal with that we didn't have to deal with before. Um and we're looking at different you know things but it is very important that we do make sure that we support this uh in every way shape and form because every day that goes by that a child does not get evaluated they are left behind and it is an excellent resource. Um

043but I do have a question. Uh we are focusing a lot in this conversation on the younger children. Uh, does your clinic also do it for children who maybe fell between the cracks, uh, who are older, who need services that maybe were not evaluated at a younger age, uh, for example, sometimes maybe fifth graders, dyslexia, uh, that was not previously identified. Uh, does your service offer them for all age groups? So, that's a great question. And if they are in our Georgetown County School District public schools, it is the schools that respond to that referral. Okay. If you would just allow me to acknowledge members of our special services department um who may be here this afternoon or this evening and those that are watching. It is a job that is very important as as

044indicated by this conversation and we all are very passionate about all of our students but especially those students that are in need of special services. So just allow us to say thank you to those staff members and also uh typically we don't do this but I do salute those who are here in support of our special services department and in support of the efforts needed and the efforts we are taking to improve. So thank you for all you're doing as well. Thank you. Thank you. Oh thank you. Thank you so much. Okay, next we have Mr. Frederick Coins will provide an overview of the new math standards roll [Music] out as Mr. Coins comes um we ask Mr. coins as well as members of our academics and student services team who have been very heavily

045involved with our math our new math standards that have been adopted at the state department level um with implementation and what we'll have this a or this evening is a timeline as well as a little bit deeper into the information regarding what it will look like and the reasoning for some of the decisions that have been made coins and miss Sawyer Thank you, Dr. G. Um, Vice Chairman Walker, board members, Dr. GS again, um, members of the audience, it is a pleasure to, um, share with you what we have done so far this year and what we will be doing for the remainder of this year and into next year in regards to our textbook um, adoption process. Many of you were at the last board meeting when we formally um presented what the adoption

046request is going to be for um this um district for the upcoming school year and that will be voted upon later in this meeting. But what I wanted to share with you is that we have taken an concerted effort to make sure that we are aligning our curriculum with our standards. Which means that we did a thorough job in investigating the resources that were available to us in multiple forms from multiple companies and we made the best effort or best selection for this district. So that didn't just stop with the selection that also continue with the processes that we have in place to make sure that our teachers are um aligning the standards with the resource. So teachers have already began to look at the um standards, the math standards, because just as a reminder,

047we teach standards, not a textbook. So I want you to remember that we teach standards, not a textbook. The textbook that we will be adopting or you will be voting on tonight is a resource that will help us with those standards. So in order to help us in that process, what the teachers have already done or began doing earlier this year is looking at those standards and unpacking those standards. And that work will continue on into the spring. It's already continuing and it will continue in this summer as well. And it will move into next year as well. So we can be ready for our um spring assessments and our end of course assessments as well. before you just have an infographic of the process. What we're doing in the spring, what we're doing this

048summer, what will happen in August, and what the end result is going to be is our students are going to be prepared for ELC and spring assessments on next year. Miss Sawya is going to come before you because the math progression has changed a little bit and many people may not know this or what the changes are going to be at the middle and high level. So, she's going to come up and share what those changes are with you. Thank you, Mr. Coins. Good evening, board. Um, I'm Mary Sawyer. I'm the secondary district coach uh for Georgetown County School District. Um, in December of 2023, the South Carolina Department of Ed adopted the new math standards. They are titled the 2025 math standards because they will roll out to all of our schools in 2025

049and be actively assessed in that year. Um they have been providing us with regular guidance updates, informal docu uh formal documents, vertical alignments, horizontal alignments, crosswalks, all kinds of good information that they have provided to us including doing professional development. They were actually just here in this very boardroom uh earlier in March and we had a two-day training with the with the state department. Um the things that are going to change is that students in high school are going to begin their progression with geometry rather than algebra 1. That is one of the big shifts that's happening next year. Um we have three current courses that are going to be phased out over the next few years. Next year, foundations of algebra and probability and statistics will no longer be offerings through the state department.

050Intermediate algebra will be extended to the 2627 school year. However, we are not offering foundations this year. So, we will actually not need intermediate moving forward. Um, our statistics portion for the probability statistics course has been really divided up. So, part of that course has been moved and kind of added into our geometry course. So, geometry is now called geometry with statistics. Algebra 2 is now algebra 2 with probability. Um they also have given us a new pathway towards graduation that includes three new courses. These three new courses statistical modeling would be a postalgebra 2 selection for students. Applications and modeling would be a alternative to algebra 2 course pathway and reasoning and mathematics would be along with the applications and modeling and the state department has given a infographic for you um that has

051all of this lined out. So if you have any questions about that I'm happy to answer anything I can answer. that graphic is in uh the course catalog that was provided for you all on the very last page. Matter of fact, 82. So you could find it there. Um and just to reiterate what Miss Sawyer and what Mr. Coins have said, there has been a concerted effort um to ensure that our teaching and learning is at par for where we need to be as these new standards are rolling out. So we again thank you for your leadership with that and for uh stepping up to the plate for that. We know that this will be new for everyone. And one point that we did not add but that's important to note is that our counselors

052are being made aware so that they can usher our students through the IGP. That's the individual graduation plan and ensure that they have the correct courses as they metriculate and uh move forward through their high school years. a question. Are all these uh courses are they based on this Palmetto math project? Are they all aligned with that or only partly aligned with the Palmetto math project? Right. Um I I can't speak directly to the alignment with So the Palmetto math project is a component of helping our students to improve um in their math. So that is skills as well as standards. So when we do look at alignment, they will align. But it's important to note again that the skills as well as the content areas or the standards work together for our palmetto um

053math project. Thank you. [Music] Thank you. Okay. Next, we'll move to action items. First on the agenda is the personnel list presented by Mr. Scott Batten and Mr. Richard Neil. The administration recommends approval of the personnel list as presented. And I have a motion to approve. So moved. Second. It's been approved and second. Let it be known by saying I. Mr. Walker, I have a comment. Sure. Go ahead, Miss Patty. Please. When I looked at the personnel list and I realized that we had a $2 million borrow last year in order to fund some of the positions that are on that list and to make our budget make the the amount of budget that we had in addition to the millillage that we raised in order to fund the things that we funded. Those positions

054that we borrowed the $2 million to fund are in tonight's personnel list. I certainly want to make it known that I understand those positions are very important positions, but in our district, we've lost a large number of students and our money isn't going to be the same without the $2 million borrowed that we had last year. Now, we may get extra money, but we have automatically put those positions in our budget. Let's be transparent. Those are in our budget for moving forward, which were a number of 18. That's a lot of positions in a budget that we borrowed $2 million from our fund balance last year to fund. While I am not prepared to say that we don't pass that particular list of employees, I do want us to take a deep dive as a

055board with where the money for those $2 million went, how we're going to sustain it with fewer students, and how we're going to move forward because we've got to have complete transparency before we do the budget. All right. And I just share, it's not that I question the need, but I question that we have not approved the positions except in that money. And now they're back in the money, but we've got to find money if we want that to move forward. And the people who were here with us last year do know that we worried all year about how we were going to fund those positions if we're honest moving forward without that extra money. So that's a comment but a request for a deep dive into looking at our budgets and seeing actually where

056we are before we move into what we're doing for the current and upcoming school year. Last board meeting, we had a request for a tremendous amount of positions. Tonight, I heard lots of people talking about the child fund and the different positions. In order to increase those, we have to have many more positions. And let's be honest, we can't spend a dollar but one place. So, I I really want a deep dive into the budget and an understanding and where we're actually focusing our dollars as we move forward. But to realize that those positions and the $2 million are carried forward in this budget tonight. That's just a true statement. Yes, ma'am. We will work towards um providing transparency certainly in that. Um, as we looked into it, uh, a review of last school year,

057certainly we realized that when the budget was approved, um, all positions were approved at that time. But certainly moving forward, um, our team, our human resources team, our business services team have really been having some hard and difficult conversations because everyone's request that has been made is valiant. It's important um and it's a need. Each each request certainly can be validated, but we understand um that we have to be very cognizant of where we can put this money in order to best serve our students. So, we'll definitely be prepared um in the next few weeks as we further draft and build the budget to share that information. Thank you. I'd also like to make the comment that we not only need to look in to the teaching area, but we have a tremendous amount of

058staff administrative as well as others that we take a deep dive into that budget each area so that we can get as much money and and back to the school the the schools themselves. And we need to review every area to make sure that we're running as efficiently as we possibly can. noted. Yes, ma'am. Okay, it's it's been second. Uh, can I get a vote of yay? It's been second for the personnel list. Can I get a vote? Uh, yes. And I I I Okay, it's been eyes have it. It's been passed. Yes. Okay. All right. Next, we have the middle and high school course catalog presented by Dr. Barono. The administration recommends approval of the course catalog as repres as presented. May I have a motion to approve? So moved. Second. Okay, it's been

059motioned and second. Can I get a vote of yay or nay? Yes. I I Okay. Uh eyes eyes have it. It's been passed. Next item 2025 textbook adoption presented by Mr. Frederick Cohens. The administration recommends approval of the textbook adoption as presented. May I have a motion to approve? So moved. Second. It's been moved and second. May I have votes of yay or nay? I be known by saying yes or nay. Yay. Yeah. Yay. All right. I see nobody's hands. Okay, eyes have it and it's been approved. Maybe I'll go with eyes. Okay. All right. We now have a safety committee. We'll move on to safety committee. And uh this is from Chairman Keith Moore. I'm speaking as Mr. Moore tonight. And he comes to us with this and he says, "As we have previously

060discussed, there are no standing committees of the board. This allows the board to receive the same information, explore options, and make decisions together. Over the last couple of meetings, there has has been a discussion of creating a safety committee and I ask that it be added to the this evening agenda. Prior to discussing the information of the safety committee, I would like to review key points from policy BCE board committees. The board may perform a committee may form a committee of itself in order to study and work on special projects that may require considerable study and discussion. The function of the special committees has to be factf finding deliberate and adverse advisory and shall be considered dissolved upon given a final report or at the end of two months unless granted an extension by the

061chair. A meeting of any committee of the board is open to the public in accordance with the South Carolina Freedom of Action Information Act and proper public notice has to be given and minutes will be recorded. The floor is now open for discussion. Yeah, let me say this. uh uh Vice Chairman Walker. So, we formed this committee a year or so ago um shortly after the uh shooting in Valde, Texas. I think it was just to make sure that our school systems were safe for our teachers and our students and and what we found was was maybe we weren't doing the best job in the world. So, a committee was formed and out of that committee um it was just a lot of things came out of that committee. Our schools I feel are a

062whole lot saf safer now. We've got uh metal detectors at all entrances. Uh we've been able to put on some additional um SRO type folks um school monitors we'll call them. So I think we've made some leaps and bounds on the safety and security of our children. Um, it's been about a year and a half since that program was put in place with the new monitors, the metal detectors, and um, I feel like this committee is very important just to go back and see where we're at, where we've came, and where we need to go, and to address some other things that, uh, that concern safety and security. So, um, obviously y'all know I'm an advocate for security and safety and, um, we've taken big big steps. I think we can take bigger steps. So,

063um I just wanted to share the purpose of this committee um and why we're forming it. I would like to make a question. Yep. I'm sorry. Um I just I just want to clarify. Okay. So, you you want to meet just to go over things from our from our safety people. I mean, you just want to update. I can answer something for me. Um, what I was going to say was whenever we were at the conference in Atlanta, I had the benefit of having an amazing session with uh, his name is John McDonald. He actually was there at Coline High School and he had some very effective principles of uh, being proactive instead of reactive. And I think that we just need to make sure that as a community and as a school district for

064any type of crisis that we are well rehearsed and prepared. So that's one thing that I would like to do is to stay focused on the main goal which is ensuring that cuz we have made improvements in our schools and I think it's amazing to continue that process. You know perfection is not everything but as Mr. McDonald said the children are our most precious asset. So to have just a few, you know, weeks of being able to discuss things to make sure that our board, our superintendent, our administration, and everyone are, you know, following policies and if there's something that we need to tweak or if we have to look at funding to see if there's anything that we need to sort of take an extra look at, uh, that as a board together, we

065can re-evaluate and take a look. Because in management, just like with everything, you have to go back and see if it's working and then you re-evaluate and you adjust and you change if need be. So that's one reason why I was vouching for is to make sure we can do a re-evaluate or re-evaluation just to see where we're at. Robert, you might mention who on the board is going to serve on that committee. Um, I would rather just interject before you get I'm not going to say names. Um so what what I'm taking just to um bring that together what you said Miss Border is that the purpose of this committee then and I guess this is where you all would need to agree um because it has to be a specific purpose of um

066forming this committee. It can't just be to um speak blanketly about uh safety concerns. But what I'm hearing is this would be a focus for or a review on proactive measures in crisis management situations. Absolutely. To review polic Yes. Yes. To review policies and procedures for proactive measures. Proactive measures of crisis management. So I I have one question. uh how often would this this committee meet and what what do they do duties as far as do I just we we meet and go into school every day or we we we schedule meetings with different schools and visit uh I I just want to know you know how we operating here. Yes. cuz you know I I I'm one that's not I don't agree with the the tactic of showing up and the intimidation thing. Yeah.

067You know I I want things to be done in a orderly manner that everybody knows what's happening cuz you know we don't the last thing we want to do is uh I think I think we we we trying to hold employees here and retention re you know retention is important. So, uh, you don't want to make folks feel like you're micromanaging and looking at every move they make. Uh, because you know what? We all had a job and we all been through something. So, let's just keep in mind when we do these things that we we be, you know, right with our employees. Absolutely. I guess my question is if we are going to get this information as a board and I read very firmly on there that we can be a committee of the

068board then I don't think it needs to be a singled out committee because I think every member of this board is dedicated to safety and security and I think for everybody to get the information at the same time is very important rather than little pockets of information. So I I don't understand why we wouldn't just meet as a board and if we have questions or we want presentations from the folks who are the forefront of our security or the administrators at our schools or whomever we want to be involved in giving us that information certainly through Dr. GS that we wouldn't all just get that in a discussion format as a committee of the board. Yeah. So, I think that problem with not having committees could be solved if we had workshops, which we do

069not, by the way. Um, I don't understand why we're arguing over the security of our students at a board meeting. I think this committee can be effective. I think it's important. I don't think we need to argue about a security committee because let me tell you, the buck stops here. We are elected officials and we have the responsibility to make sure our kids are safe. So, I'm going to go back to we need a security and safety committee because there's been some issues that we need to address. Well, if we need to address them, I think we need to address them as a committee of the board so that everybody is aware of those situations so that if there are situations that we need to address, we certainly can do that. Uh the one thing

070that Mr. Walters and I were discussing, just as a reminder, it can be a committee of the whole. It does not have to be a committee of just three or four. It can be a committee of the whole if that's what the board so chooses to do. Right. Yeah. And I don't have a problem with that. The reason we formed committees before was because we were told to discuss stuff up here well two nights a month uh for a couple hours is not enough to take care of the security and safety of our kids. So if we want to do and again I'm going to promote I've already emailed the superintendent about uh workshops. We currently do not have a workshop. We can say the second meeting of the month is a workshop, but it's

071never been a workshop. So, if we want to include that, Miss Patty, at our workshops, let's move forward to having a workshop so we can talk about these things as a board and then we won't need committees. But right now, we meet two times a month for two hours, 48 hours a year to run a school district. Committees are effective, but if you guys want to do workshops and everybody be included in the security and safety of our children, I'm all for it. So, let's move to maybe not committee, but let's move to forming a workshop, not a board meeting to talk as a group about security and safety for our kids. And Mr. Cox, we did do a workshop format before. Let me share with you. We put tables in down on the floor

072and we did those of you who were here at that point know we put the tables on the floor and did a workshop format. And our second meeting of the month that meeting was set apart because we had things that were coming for votes that we had never discussed. And so that second meeting of the month was to discuss those items before they became something for us to vote on. Certainly security is something that we work with our administration to discuss to be sure that we're all on the same page in order to deliver it across our district. And I agree with you, very important. There's not anything any more important than security and our academic progress for our students. And so, yes sir. But I do think everybody would want to be a part

073of seeing that security in our school is absolutely at top. I do have a suggestion and uh one of those is well actually it's more or less a question. I would like to confirm because reading this it does say that the committee itself has to basically be in the public and I don't want to do anything you know incorrectly. I want to be transparent, but there will be some things with the security and safety of our schools that does qualify to go in executive session because we may not want everybody to under to know what exactly we have as our policies for our safety and committee and certain things. So, you're correct. Um, there are certain measures when we speak with security personnel that have to be a part of the executive session. So we

074are allowed to move into executive session. Now as I hear everyone I I again I respect and I don't contend that security is number one and safety and prior is a priority of all of our students. Now what I might suggest and again this this is up for the discussion point at this time. Um we certainly can make this a part understanding that our second board meeting is a work session. It may not be a workshop. We certainly can consider adding measures such as this if it is the will of the board for it to be a part of the entire board meeting. Um we can certainly consider that if it is not your will to have a committee. So you still have both options that would need to be called to a motion and

075approved. I would prefer the meeting of all of us if we do the work session. We can call it a workshop, work session, but um I would like to and that way we're all together. We can all have our discussions. Like right now we're we're we're talking we're discussing. We're not arguing. We're just This feels like a workshop. This feels like a workshop, right? Exactly. And that's what we want to do for all of us to be here. We all have we all can hear. Yes. I agree. Uh and I like for us to be unified with it. uh in 8 years here I've heard the word safety more times than I have in 8 years in the last 3 months. So uh yeah we need to work together with that. I would also like

076to say one more thing as well. Typically the function of a committee they cannot make decisions on their own and it has to be presented to the board. Right. And so my concern is and I value all of us because as a board together that's how we function. But whenever it comes to some things are we all going to be able if we have two months are we all going to be able to meet as many times as it takes to get done and get the information that we need to look at it for how if we're looking at adding a workshop or adding a meeting. We're looking at meeting twice in the I don't think we're adding a we're talking about adding a meeting. I think would just re-evaluate the format of the meeting.

077Am I am I right with that? That's correct. Okay. Considering the format and you're considering just adding anformational item where discussion would be called to a motion and if there is a specific thing um for example you all stated a re re-evaluation of proactive measures. Our safety committee Mr. Walters, Mr. Stucky those involved would be able to present and there would be a discussion amongst the board. It would not be called for a vote unless it's an action item. Right. It would just be information. It is it is multiple measures that can be but I will say like you said Miss Border um the committee as per policy you have two months certainly it says unless granted an extension by the chair but it would be for a specific factf finding measure whereas what I'm

078hearing more of is you all want to know more and how can we do more and how can you all be more involved to ensure that everything we are doing is at par. And another thing uh Dr. Giles that we're looking for as a board is we're looking for security and safety across the board. Consistent security and safety model policy at all schools. We don't want one school doing one thing and another school doing the other. And that's happening. I'm just going to tell you that's happening. So I agree with this committee there that we do not have a consistent Yeah. So, so I think this about the school system. I think this discussion on safety and security at a workshop is fine with me. We just need to do it. Are we saying that

079from now for the next two months that every first meeting of the board on Tuesday is going to be a workshop on security? I think it's build as the second meeting of the month, right? be the second meeting of the month and we would addformational items as requested to discuss topics involved with safety and security. But that would only be part of that board meeting. Correct. That would not be the focus of the entire board meeting. We still have business of the board. And I just bring this to your attention as a reminder that it is budget building season. So um consider that we will be having additional moments where we need you to come and meet with us to discuss um matters of the budget over the course of April, May and June before

080it is approved. So that's just bringing into consideration as well. That's that is a huge priority and considering time. Um I just want to bring that to your attention or bring it back to your attention. I just wonder if that's not going to be a bit unwieldy trying to when I think about the workshops we have had separate we've had a long time to discuss. It's been two three hours where we've spent on a topic and I think this topic is important enough that we need to spend that kind of time and a lot of it wasn't just people presenting it was it was a lot of discussion of what people had seen and so forth and I I'm kind of thinking that [Music] might the committees had to report back to the board. Mhm.

081They had to what we're finding those reports came back to the board and I just think the committee had a lot more flexibility in terms of time to meet, amount of time to meet, who was going to be involved and I I'm just I guess it I just feel like having this whole board trying to meet on a topic like this fitting it in to a normal board meeting is going to be very unwieldy and ineffective. I agree. That's why I recommended having a committee. I know. I don't agree. I think the majority of this board is for a committee. So, if Keith wants to take a vote, we can take a vote later, but I can guarantee you the majority of this board, let me tell you something. We would not have metal detectors

082in our schools today if it had not been because we got a committee to research security in our schools. And four days after that committee, a 9 millimeter showed up at Carver's Bay Middle School. So, is it important that we have committees to look at security? It is very important. I will say this, too. We've had a number of committees. We had a committee on discipline and it worked. We had a committee on security and they worked. They worked. They were effective. Good policies that we put in place, new policies based on that individual committee work. And I think we had three or four board members on the committee and we had other people from back involved and it was very effective. And those were long conversations and then parts of that committee went off

083and worked separately to put stuff together and bring back to the committee. I just I think anyway I've said my piece. I just think it's a mistake to try to do that in a board meeting. All right. Um, could we call this uh motion or do we want to table this or is this something we want to vote on tonight? We can table I think we go ahead with our chairman's recommendation to form a security committee and vote on it. I think we need more discussion about it. Okay. Well, I call for a motion. I am going to say one thing though. This is the third time since I've been here that we have discussed having a security committee. And I don't understand why it's so difficult to get one established. It's been since December

084and it's been brought up. This is now the third time. So, I would just like to point that out. I would like to add um I I make a motion that we we got we got another move on. I have brought up the safety committee as well a couple of times and I've asked for what did that saf the previous safety committee do? I'm seeing here that there should be a final report. What was done? What was the final report? What where are we at? Where's the starting point for the next one? I I've yet to see that. So, I would just encourage that the next committee be transparent and make that final report public as well. I'll add that after that committee, the policy was revised to have this specific information. So there have

085been matters that have been addressed as far as policy and forming committee. So that actual component may not be specific in terms of what has happened. And I I know my team is ready to talk and they want to take this forward, but I think it's more important that you all determine whether you want to call this to a motion to um approve uh having a committee in which the purpose would be to review or re-evaluate proactive measures um concerning safety and security or next motions of of what would be next. But first moving forward. All right. Yes. All right. The administration recommends approval of the safety committee for the purpose as presented. May I have a motion to approve? So move. So move. Second. Okay. Second. All right. It's been second. Um I have

086vote by eyes. [Applause] I can I get a raise hands? Can I get a raise of hand? Go ahead. All right, I got it. All right, it's been pro uh it's been uh approved. We got six knee. Okay, any All right, we have two. I'm not anti I'm not anti-committee. I just think we should all be the committee. I think we should be one. That's called a workshop cuz I'm about safety too. Remember I' I worked at these schools for years. I'm all about safety for children. And I am also not against I am not against safety and I don't think that any of us have a sinister idea about what safety is. I just think that everybody needs to be on the same page. So, how about we present to the board with our

087next meeting after we have our first meeting together about what our outline is going to be for our committee and we will keep everyone fully involved each meeting and report. You will have to do that prior to in other words there will have to be an agenda. It would have to be specific to what the committee is. Again, um as per policy as I'm reading now, the function of the special committee would be factf finding, deliberative and advisory. But keep in mind it's not legislative or administrative. Um and then you after the two months or that extension of time, the committee is absolved. So it's not a continuation of the committee. I agree. Okay. Okay. Uh the last Dr. GS as a part of the motion tonight, we do need to establish when that final

088report will be presented the the two-month date as well as make sure that everybody's clear on the um formation of the committee and who is going to be a part of that committee. Yeah, I would like for our chairman to make that decision on who is on the committee by way of phone calls. Okay. Keep just keep in mind as we we we are in in in appropriation of what can be done by phone calls. um we would still need to be public in terms of who is invited and who is a member of the committee. And also if if the vote is for the board to have this committee, the effective date would be today post two uh months or and I keep saying or it says unless granted an extension by chair. Yeah.

089So 2 months from April 1 would be the the end of that committee period unless granted approval in which that would have to be a part of an agenda as well. Okay. June one, right? All right. June 1st. Clear Christie. June 1 keeps it clean. April one until June 1. Our next meeting, our first meeting in June would be on June the 3. Uh June 1 is actually a Sunday. So I would say the first two the next working day would be June the 3rd. The third would be a final report as it says upon giving a final report or at the end of two months. So we would expect a report at that time. That'll work. Um okay. And then we will have to set these meetings so that they're public notice. Correct. Yes,

090we would go ahead and we got we've got a a fine timeline here to make sure that we get everybody in line so that the committee has time to get organized the times to meet. We will work with you along with Miss Fort as secretary and Miss um Kibler as executive director of compliance and communication to ensure media and all public are aware of when the meeting. How much time do they do we have to give prior to a meeting? I just my question was okay before you ask the question you want to answer about foyer and notice of meetings. So you've got to give at least 48 hours notice of the meetings and that would be with an agenda. Um they're also recognized that some of the topics around safety um cannot be discussed

091in open session. So there are certain topics and I'm gonna ask Mr. Walters to come up just to kind of share that that have to be discussed only in executive session. So when you have that special committee meeting, you could go into executive session for part of that, but I was going to get Mr. Walters to share those specific reasons. Thank you, Mr. Vice Chairman, board members. So, and I think this came up in our earlier presentation that some of the members had some questions that we didn't want to answer in a public forum because they fall under some of the exemptions of the Freedom of Information Act that uh should not be publicly released. So, uh some of those things would have to do with the type of equipment we use, the techniques we

092use, the investigative procedures that we use. uh we really shouldn't be getting in individual cases because those could potentially come to you on appeal. But uh anything that the questions of uh specifics to do with safety or security as regard to those main things uh investigative procedures, equipment we use and the processes uh really should be in executive session. And so regardless of the form in which you choose to have these meetings, you will probably need to put an executive session on that agenda so that we can have a more free conversation and I can more and Mr. Stucky can more fully answer your questions. Okay. Yeah. Does the 60 days begin with the first meeting or tonight? The committee shall be dissolved upon giving the final report or at the end of two months

093unless granted an extension. So the formation of the committee begins as you are approving it. Okay. What we're saying is the extension would be at the next formidable time which is June 3rd. That would be the first meeting in June. Okay. And the committee has to provide an agenda for that meeting and a report is due on the first meeting of June. Provide the report but not the agenda. Okay. The agendas will need to be provided as each meeting happens of the committee. That's what I'm meaning. Yes, ma'am. Okay. This success. [Music] Well, we need to determine who's going to be on that committee tonight. I think Robert, you were first asked to be on there, so I knew you'd be there. Uh, are we going to go by vote? You can just give a

094give a collective list the names and then bring it to a vote. Okay. All right. Let me get some people that's interested. Are you interested? I'm interested. Okay. Men, I'm interested with that. I'm interested. Yeah. Mr. Vice Chairman, I think it's it's very important that any committee that that we establish, whether it's discipline, academic, security, that our chairman is always on that board. Always. Absolutely. So, I would I would make a motion that our fourth member be our chairman, Keith Moore. Agreed. Just keep in mind, everyone can be a part of the committee. We just still have to abide by what FOYA and all of our um compliance guidelines are because it's public. You public that was not you going to be a part of the committee? I'm interested. Okay. But you Kathy be part

095of the committee. Oh no. I can't do that. I got a job. You voted out. All right. You're working later. I would love to but get in the way of money. No, not me. Keith. All right. Okay. The safety committee will be made made up of Miss Border, Mr. Robert Cox, Miss Mr. Keith Moore, Miss Alen Johnson, and Scott Deborah. Got to make a motion. That's a motion. I'm going to make a motion that I got a comment. That's a quorum. I do I do want I do want our fourth member to be our chairman. Okay. So, uh we're going to have to vote on the other committee, Mr. Cox. Uh you can because these are going to be publicized special committees and you could have a committee of the whole meaning that all of

096you could be on there. You can h you can choose to have five. These are going to be announced committee meetings. They're going to have agendas. They're going to have minutes at them. Wonderful. Then I'm okay with Scott and then make sure we include Keith. That should be five unless somebody else wants to serve. Yeah. Just call it to a motion. Okay. Well, I'll bring to a motion. uh that we uh accept the five members for the committee safety committee. Can I get a motion? So move. Second. It's been moved in second. Uh can we get a vote by eyes? Eyes and raise hands. We raise a hand, please. Okay. All right. knees. Yes. Okay. When they're public, I don't see I I have to be honest with you and I and it's fine with

097me, but I'll be honest with you. When you have a public meeting and everybody can be a part of a public meeting, it it's very difficult to say we're going to and we're going to have a quorum of our board already together. I can't make that make sense, but it's fine. I understand. All right. Okay. Eyes have it. It's been approved. All right. You done, Miss Kiba? You're good. All right. We're going to go to the next room. Yeah. All right. The next item on the agenda is a reg resignation of the board member, Miss Christy Baxter. The board recommends approval of Christy Bax's Baxley's resignation effective April 9th, 2025 as present. May I have a motion to approve? So move. It's been moved. Second. Why do you want to second you? I really been

098moved and second comments. Okay. Um been moved in and second. I get a vote by eyes. I I Nobody want to let you go? Well, eyes have it. Any knees? No, but that's not Eyes have it. It's been approved. Uh Miss Mley, uh it's been really good working with you and I look forward to the next what two weeks do we have? Yes, sir. Yes, ma'am. uh didn't really get to know you really good but uh the time we spent was really good and uh we wish you well and wherever you go from here whatever your endeavors are I appreciate thank you and I would like to say the same working with you has been wonderful and she has provided a lot of insight to a lot of things that has helped our board and

099I hope that she continues to work with us as uh in the next stage of whatever it is because she did bring a lot to light and I appreciate all the work she's done. Thank you. Okay, I second that. I'll second that. Yeah, I second that. Thank you all. Okay, now it's time for board and superintendent comments. at this time. Are there any comments from any board members? I got some positive comments. I saw some good stuff lately. Waka High School, Anastasia was amazing, y'all. And you know how I feel about the arts, but and we've got some programs coming up this weekend. Uh Georgetown Middle School, I think, is Thursday and Friday. Their school musical. Andrews High School is Friday and Saturday. Um, we have such talented children that a lot of times, and

100you know, I love my sports too, but a lot of times they're overlooked because we're so into the sports, but those kids on that stage who are singing their hearts out to maybe 30 people show up is sad, but they're going to put their all in there. Um, but Wakamal was amazing. Our arts superintendent art awards, fantastic, talented children. So, that's all I'm just excited about all that. Were you talking about all of our great kids and tonight was great too with all our smart kids. We're good. Was that a shot at me would see me at the games and whatnot in the track meets? Uh I'm you come pick me up. No, but I um really I uh when you talk about two meetings a month with all these programs you're talking about that

101we all go to, we do a lot more than just two board meetings a month. And uh you know, yeah, to me sports is the most unifying thing there is that brings everybody together. Uh and the academic awards are great, too. Okay. But uh I'm I'm with Randy there. Anybody else? They don't know. I'm a baseball nut. Yeah, I got Go ahead. Any other sports, I don't care what it is. Everything that our children do whether it's music, arts, athletics, all keep those children occupied. They give them learning experiences. They learn how to persevere. They learn how to uh you know have goals in life and they are appreciated cuz all this artwork is fantastic and every child is different in what their unique qualities are and I am so proud of each one of

102them and sometimes we have to dig deep to find out where they are because they're there we just don't always see them but they learn a lot as in athletics they learn buddy you got to lose and you can be humbled, but then you persevere and you and and the same thing with anything else. Everybody's got to grow into their own. And I'm very proud of that because I did watch I think it was a musical where this young lady and she wasn't that old was pouring it out, buddy. And she could sing and you would not have believed it. I was just blown away at her professionalism at that age. So all of the all of the activities that our children do besides the academics helps them grow into the academics because they've got

103to succeed there to succeed later. Yeah. I've got a quick comment. I received a call today about 4:30 that Mr. Keith Moore, our chairman, wouldn't be here. So I immediately called Randy and said, "Randy, we got a problem. You're going to have to step up to the plate." So uh Randy did a great job tonight. I I appreciate it, Randy. It was unexpected. He only had 30 minutes to prepare where our chairman has sometimes a week. So Randy, we applaud you tonight for stepping in for Keith and doing a great job. Well, you know what they say about the guy on the bench, you got to be ready to step up. So, let's go. Thank you. I have a comment. Understood. See, I would say now I'm sorry, Miss Bax. Um, so I ran to

104be on the board for a lot of reasons, but two of two things are very close to my heart. One is safety, which so I'm so glad that you all are moving forward with that. And um, the other is special resources. And so I just want to want to kind of reiterate and thank uh, Tabitha Strickland for coming and presenting to us all. I think it was a good learning learning experience for everybody to see where we're at with that. And also, you know, I I encourage you to keep up with that and find out more and how we can support that and how we can do better. Um, until we're not putting children on buses for 30 minutes each way that can't communicate, we have work to do. And um, I also have several

105emails from parents that will also like to v to voice their opinion about it that I'll be forwarding to everybody for you. and anything that I can do to to help with that or, you know, ideas. I got ideas. I got solutions. I've, you know, I've been there. I've been through it and there's definitely um definitely a need for improvement. I know that the the work that they're doing is incredibly important and I thank them for what they're doing, but I also know that it's a very difficult job and there's a lot of kids that were missing and we need to figure out how to implement a program or how to get the word out there because a lot of parents don't know about it. Um, you know, I I made a joke once that

106I think it's called child find because the child has to be old enough to find it on their own. Um, I know it took me two years to find the program. So, um, I think we really needed need to look into shining a light in that area of our district because it it's so important and it's it carries with the child and to catch the children early on, like we said, is so important. Every day that goes by is we're missing out and it should not take 9 months to go through the process. So, I encourage you all to move forward with that and I'll be here to cheer you on and support you any way that I can. Thank you. Good. I would like to actually say um you know, I I appreciate being

107able to go out to Atlanta. I think that was uh one of the best conferences that I've ever been to. It was actually life-changing. And since I went on taxpayer money, I made sure to bring back as much information as I could. So, we met some incredible people. Uh we were able to have a keynote speaker of Leila Ali. We were able to meet different people. For example, John McDonald. Uh we were able to exchange information and share ideas from people who were top throughout uh districts throughout their state from across the country. Um I was able to learn about understanding the school budget. Uh we I would highly recommend uh that all of us on the board uh read the book called the essential five written by John McDonald who emphasizes the most important

108five minutes of a crisis, five hours, 5 days which can lead to five years. So that way as a board and as administrative staff as we try to work to be proactive uh we can be responsive instead of reactive if that time ever was to come. Uh so I appreciate everyone for you know helping us go out to Atlanta. It was different to have to leave my children and my dogs and my cats but I tried to bring back and u you know as much information and to learn and to grow so that way I can share it with all of you. Uh I hope next time maybe we can actually have more people attend because that was the best conference. Um it was grueling. There was a lot of learning and a lot of

109breakout sessions. But uh it was an amazing time. So I want to thank everyone on the board and uh everyone in our community for giving us that opportunity to go. All right. I have one more comment. I want to thank Dr. guiles for just having so much grace and patience with me and um I feel like this was a really great growing experience and I and I thank you for that. Thank you. Okay, it's kind of a superintendent comment, Dr. G. All right, deep breath. Thank you all um for the passion that you all exhibit for every component of education. Um there were a lot of athletic references about stepping up to the plate and being on able to come off the bench, but um you know some bench players are are on a piano

110or something like that. So I say that to say our students are talented in every area and please know that we respect and appreciate every aspect of their talent regardless of which area it may be in. Um, so a huge salute to the arts, the athletics, and to the academic components. I also want to uh this wasn't necessarily in my comments, but I feel the need to say that just because we are referencing safety and security does not mean that we don't have a top-notch department or leader. So, thank you Mr. Walters, Mr. Stucky, Mr. Barber and I know I'm missing somebody. Miss Sonia Creel, everybody that is a member of the safety department because safety is 24/7. It is nonstop. But um I was getting my phone because I just saved a quote and

111it says, "If you keep practicing for perfection, you will achieve excellence." So while we may not be there at perfection, we know that all of the passion that was exuded tonight is about a pursuit of excellence. So it is not a knock on our current efforts or the strides that have been made in Georgetown County School District safety department. So thank you for all y'all do on a daily basis as our speed up. Thursday, April 3rd will be the final meeting for our superintendent advisory council. Um, just keep in note that our first meeting is for support staff members. Our second meeting of the day is with our students and our last meeting of the evening is with parents. Friday, April 4th, we will host Area 9 Special Olympics at Georgetown High School's Thomas L.

112Smith Stadium. So, we encourage each of you to attend. Right now the weather looks like it's going to be beautiful. Warm but beautiful. So we encourage you to attend if you can. Also the tomorrow, no Thursday is par profofessional appreciation day. So we salute our par profofessionals school librarian appreciation day. Our media specialists their day is Friday. We appreciate them. And next week is assistant principles week. So we salute our assistant principles. And finally, um, before our next board members meeting, excuse me, we will recognize all volunteer of the year during a special lunchon on April 11th in which you all will be invited as well. So, we have a lot going on and I appreciate your visibility and presence at each of the events as well as the calls and the conversations about what's

113happening positively within our district as well as areas where we need to improve. Again, we're chasing perfection knowing that we will be excellent. So, thank you for all you do and again, thank you as always to team GCSD. Thank you, Dr. Gaus. Um, we do have an executive session on our list tonight. Um, may I have a motion to enter into executive session? So, move. Second. It's been moved and [Music] second. Everybody ready? Known by saying I I All right, let's go.