NHCS Board of Ed. Regular Meeting | June 4, 2024

001e e e Okay I uh will'll call the June 4th regular board meeting to order uh Welcome to our meeting uh we are glad you are here before we begin we'd like to share a few reminders please keep the aisles clear during our meeting to allow members of the school system and the sheriff's department to be able to move about also except for when honoring the flag and our opening prayer and when participating in the called audience please remain seated during our meeting we hope to have a productive and efficient meeting and your help is greatly appreciated thank you very much uh at this point Miss Buie would you please call the role good afternoon Pete wildor present Melissa Mason here Jesse Barnhart here Pat Bradford I am here Stephanie crille here H mcmanis and

002Stephanie Walker is M Walker on remotely okay all right well board members thank you for being here this evening at this point I would entertain a motion to approve the agenda so moved is there a second second all any discussion all in favor please signify by saying I I all opposed passes 5 Z five yes that's correct um I am going to read all this because there's some very uh very important Stu so bear with me for just a moment please uh our invitation this evening will be given by Sam Nolan member of the Pastoral uh staff at Port City Community Church remotely the hogard uh High School njrc Color Guard unit will Pro provide the presentation of colors and is under the direction of Commander David Everett and staff sergeant um Richard gal gardo

003excuse me uh princip princial Chris Madden and finally our national anthem will be done by the cottington elementary chorus will provide the national anthem under the direction of Dr Amanda hope music teacher and principal Pamela bigs cottington chorus has been invited to perform in the Opera Wilmington's production of Tusa this summer July 19th 21st 26th and 28th are the dates additionally students Kira fanan and Sarah dwire were selected to participate in the North Carolina elementary honors chorus and more importantly the O A National Children's Chorus these children are performing in the in Chicago were excuse me were performing in Chicago back in March when the other singers were recognized for honors core so it will be a wonderful few minutes at this point we will uh have our invitation hello my name is Sam noan

004and I am on staff at P City Community church and I'm going to be leading us in a beginning prayer for today to byow your heads lifing Lord we just thank you for today Father we thank you for a chance to be in mistake Lord for this meeting today and for these people that are in attendance father God we thank you for an opportunity to just serve students and families in new H County God we give this meaning to you we just pray for just wisdom to discern which choices need to be made Lord and which things to go after for the health of our schools and the health of our teachers father God we just thank you that we get to do this every day Lord we get to serve families and our city

005Lord God we just thank you for this morning we pray this in Jesus name amen at the Twilight last leing sh and bright [Music] star rock the sing through the night that our flag was still [Music] oh for the of the and the of the pr [Music] [Applause] now we've asked uh Miss Mason to lead us in the pledge 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 order [Applause] and I'm going to ask you if you would introduce your your grou good evening my name is Dr Amanda Hoke and I am the music teacher at cottington elementary school and I'm so excited to introduce the fourth and fifth grade choir at cottington

006elementary so I'm going to hand the mic over they'll just say their first and last names and pass it hi I'm hi I'm Fiona Adams mine May Davidson Lilia dare Thompson Tenley Smith whan Shephard Mars merock Samuel bah kisi Bush Josephine James Owen favro Banks fallis IA Ki Roads Quinn Martin Sarah DWI kather Marine Sophia Presley Elena Fox Edie Davis Paul gagy elen King jenevie Banks Samuel Lewis kindall Moore Alexis th Amelia McAdams Kieran Cannon Nicholas Williams Adam Eva Ellery Clark Luc lamp Eloise Carr Sophie Ford and I forgot to introduce ER Hoke who's joining me this evening would you please join me as we give him one more round of [Applause] applause thank you very much and now I'm going to ask our Junior Roc gentlemen to introduce themselves my name is k anden

007ow and Sam I'm colar Commander um so I'm in charge of this business and um yeah it's fun hello I'm Cadet P1 Conor mcalli Cadet ensen Mark Evans I'm Cadet Zachary Brooks P2 app thank you all thank you very much thank you all for being here tonight that's it me over home all right thank you all for again for being here this evening um at this point I would uh entertain a motion to approve the minutes I know we had some changes today I will make that motion to approve the minutes is there a second I'll second okay all is there any discussion Miss Crill yes um on the May the 7th May regular board meeting minutes um there is no reflection in the minutes that defined that we even talked about an emergency situation

008was occurring in our area and they do not reflect that I raised the issue that we were violating board policies um specifically policy 2330 and 2410 so I respectfully ask that we get some verbage in there so that anybody who doesn't watch the Youtube video can read in our minutes and know what we discussed M Bradford um and I would bring your attention mention to oh golly um one two 3 4 five six seven or eight um this is going to be under x 16 policy 7300 and policy 3200 um on the right hand side of the page I just want to bring your attention to um board member Pat Bradford's moves to continue with present legal representation Vogal Law Firm that's at the top of that parag at the bottom it says Miss krabble

009inquires if Mr vogle would be willing to continue his Legal Services we all know that he said he would be honored and um Miss Crable asked if we needed to vote on Mr vogle to continue his Legal Services Mr Vogal confirm the motion could be voted on can be voted on and you called for the votes but I just want to make sure that everyone remembers that's what happened last month so we don't get confused in what we do today let's go back to M cille's first motion or or or Corrections can you repeat those please yeah thank you policy in policy 7300 and 3200 the minutes do not reflect that these changes were only temporary due to an emergency situation that was never locally defined nor do they reflect Stephanie crille issue that was

010raised that we were violating board policies to do so specifically policies 23 30 board agendas and 2400 new policy development and Mr Wilbur yes ma'am if you look at the top of that uh policy 7300 and 20 3200 on the same side of the page it says board member Pat Bradford moves to temporarily adopt it's it is mentioned there that's not what I'm saying what I'm saying is we we did not Define the emergency situ situation to a local situation and it does not reflect my insistence which led to the private consultation with the board chair um about we were violating board policies so miss um Bradford is right in that she did say temporary and I did reflect that um in my comments here okay so You' just like to add uh verbage saying

011that you had said that it was not uh that was never defined with the temporary I I want yeah I would like the verbiage to reflect I would like the mines to reflect that we declared um this a temporary policy change based on an emergency that was never defined locally and that my issues were not reflected in the fact that I thought we were violating board policies Mr chair may I suggest we move this off the agenda for today and redo it for next month that's a good idea can we do that no because I don't know what we're going to discuss we've all watched the video and and we all remember the recess where you and I went and had a private conversation and came back we asked Mr vogle again to say why

012these policies were not being violated and it that is not reflected anywhere so I would like for us to approve those with those additions I don't think we need to go back and stew over it again but if that's the only way to do it I guess we can but I I don't you can you define exactly what you'd like to have added verb I okay I did okay the the minutes do not reflect that the changes were only temporary due to an emergency situation that was never locally defined nor do they reflect Stephanie krael raised the issues that we were violating two other board policies to do so speciic specifically policy 2330 board agendas and 2410 new policy development well why don't we take a vote on that so all in favor of adding

013that verbage uh please signify by saying I Mr chair if I may I don't know that there was a second oh it wasn't a motion it was a correction yes it was just a correction to the minutes there's not a motion needed Mr chair I would object I I did State a reason for the emergency so I would object to that language Miss Bradford I am not disput Mr chair I am not thank you for the Poo M we have a point of order yes ma'am she's telling me to shut up is what she she is she's speaking right I am not I am not did you roll on the of order I feel that that is uh not uh applicable at this time go ahead I am not disputing the fact that it was

014temporary we all agreed to that but what I'm saying is that we made this temporary change and but we did not state what the local emergency was and I want that in because all we stated was that a flag came down um at Chapel Hill and touched the ground which are you know they're not local to us so that but we didn't we didn't put anything in there that we had a pretty robust discussion on that that's all I want noted is that we had a robust discussion about the the emergency situation okay and that I raised issues with we were possibly violating two policies and I just wanted that reflected okay and M Bradford you said that you didn't make a mention of the what the yeah yes I did and and I would

015say let's move this to next month we can hash this out we have a very robust meeting tonight and every minute counts okay I'm fine I'm fine with that okay well we will move that policy on to ass me that uh those notes back on to next month's meeting so can we go ahead and vote on the other two uh they're in front of us please I motion that we accept the special board meeting and the agenda review that uh 5:30 and 529 is there a second second any discussion if all in favor please signify by saying I I all opposed passes 5 Z just double checking Miss Walker still not on she's not okay thank you all right um we are moving on to recognitions good evening thank you for having me and we're

016excited to share um quite a few wonderful recognitions uh today first up is Christa Jones Christa Jones knows that her job as cafeteria manager at College Park Elementary is so much more than meal planning and budgeting and managing staff it's about being a touch point of care and warmth for a child who might not otherwise get that each day it's about nourishment from the inside out she takes so much pride in the whole child approach to her job that it will bring her to tears just to talk about it she takes so much pride that her work shines bright not just at the local level but throughout the state where she has been recognized as the finest Child Nutrition manager in North Carolina tonight tonight we get to recognize yeah tonight we get to recognize

017Miss Jones for her dedication to Children's well-being and for creating a space of warmth community and positivity Christa Jones Child Nutrition manager of the year for North Carolina congratulations [Applause] all right our next honores will travel to Washington DC this summer to compete in the National History Day competitions we are recognizing them for their accomplishments as Scholars and researchers but we also want to acknowledge how much these young people understand that our history is not our past that our present is is defined by our triumphs and our tragedies that our connection to Our Roots that our appreciation for diverse perspectives and experiences that our ability to recognize the challenges from our past make us stronger and better able to be resilient and lead into a better future congratulations to all of our National History Day

018winners please hold your applause until all have come forward first is Holly Shelter Middle School students Olivia Stettler and Zapora tunnage who earned some in incredible honors in addition to taking home first place in the junior group exhibit their project on the 1898 Wilmington racially motivated coup and Massacre won the HG Jones North Carolina history award from the state archives and it will be displayed at the Smithsonian museum in Washington DC Olivia and Zapora will have the opportunity to spend an entire day at the Smithsonian sharing information with the public about their project and get a behind the scenes tour of the museum and its artifacts and joining them in DC for the National History Day competition will be Hannah Davis Leo bzma Sophia Cino William King from New Hanover High School um Scott McFarland

019from Isaac bear early college and Abigail Blair and Lyla varnum from the international school at Gregory you may all come forward congratulations [Applause] all right um 60 years ago the Wilmington k W's Club began a scholarship program for New Hanover County School students who would attend UNCW and later Cape Fear Community College since then they've given more than $200,000 to local students pursuing their educational dreams since 1920 the kowas Club of Wilmington has supported children in our community through their efforts to educate combat poverty and support inclusivity and we are incredibly grateful to have them as Community Partners and for their six Decades of scholarship support which has had last impact on our community and its Future Leaders so there's a representative from the kuas club come on forward thank you so much wonderful [Applause]

020hogard high school student Kish Mishra has made volunteering a pivotal part of his life for years he earned his Eagle Scout badge and through that process distributed hundreds of safety kits to New Hanover County School students he's also volunteered for hundreds of hours at the Novant Children's Hospital among other commitments and last month Kish was awarded the Congressional bronze medal from representative David Rouser an exceptional honor that celebrates his commitment to personal development community service and Leadership this prestigious award reflects his dedication perseverance and outstanding achievements and we're incredibly proud not only of his hard work and determination but also of his commitment to giving back to his community and the children in it congratulations [Applause] all right uh cashmere James of new han High School is not only the fastest young person in North

021Carolina to run the 400 meter dash he's the fastest to do it since many of us uh present company excluded were born last month he broke the North Carolina state record last set in 1983 he ran that distance a quarter of a mile in just 46.2 seconds what we always say about student athletes is that their accomplishments are not just a reflection of their physical Talent it's about their perseverance their grit and their commitment to bettering themselves and showing up for the people who believed in them cashmir attributed his victory to his aunt who was there for him his coach and his teammates and he said the junior year he realized quote I just wasn't fast enough and I worked hard to get faster congratulations to cashmir for bringing this incredible title home to new

022H County and for all it took for you to earn it please come forward to accept your recognition all right too fast for us our Career and Technical education students and teachers are doing extraordinary work that is preparing our future Community leaders to excel in a huge variety of fields and trads recently students from Ashley high school and Wilmington Early College High School received recognition for their efforts with a Statewide award that qualified them to compete at the national level this summer so first we have students from the future Business Leaders of America the mission of the F FBLA is to inspire and prepare students to become community-minded Business Leaders in in a global Society through relevant career preparation and Leadership experiences our fbaa students will be competing at Nationals in Orlando this summer and

023we are incredibly proud of them um we're also going to welcome uh three students who earned Statewide recognition um to join them so we have from wax Caroline Santo Kaylee Jones Jacob Brown Jada dorsy Evelyn Tanner Aaliyah Bland and Zoe huterer come on forward [Applause] we heard them coming in with all their medals clanging [Applause] and then from Ashley high school we have drew Piner and Lucas Pard either both of you are here [Applause] [Music] [Applause] and then next we have members of the family career and Community leaders of America or FCCLA from Ashley High School who have qualified for national competition in Seattle this June and the mission of the FCCLA is to promote personal growth and leadership development through family and consumer Sciences education so congratulations to Ashley students who will compete be

024competing in the following events we have Autumn Fifer Jaden Le leardo and Ashley Thompson um competing in interpersonal communication skills [Applause] conratulations [Applause] last and certainly not least we have our educators of the year we say often how proud We Are of the exceptional teachers in our district but it isn't often that we have the opportunity to give them their flowers in a public setting last month we laid it on pretty thick with our educator of the Year celebrations we followed up our surprise School visits with an educator of the Year banquet at the Brooklyn art center and lots of prizes and publicity but we want to add to it now and what I I'd like to do tonight is acknowledge that these fine Educators and the thousands of others they represent are doing the

025work the rest of us are amplifying the work or administering the work or creating policies that dict that dictate the work but our educators are doing it they're sitting at desks with kids who are nearing a breakthrough in reading or math they're partnering with parents to give students all the wraparound support they need they are instructional experts in every tool in every toolbox and they're building new toolbx boxes along the way to get kids not only to where they need to be but farther along than they knew they could go and they're really damn good at it so congratulations to our educators of the year and more than that thank you for the work you do and we continue to do on behalf of the children in our community so please come forward to accept

026your recognitions we have Brent Hall our y Brent Hall our principal Vier Sydney our elementary educator of the Year Latasha mat Howard our Middle School educator of the year and Hannah Moon our high school and overall educator of the year [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] good evening I am here tonight to um present to you our Excellence exemplified classified employees Awards and they are indeed doing the work as well um we have some nice little new Haner County merch for them in a gift bag but I think more important um there's a very generous gift card um that we award these nominees with and that wouldn't be possible without Mark I who are our administrator of our flexible benefits so I do want to definitely give them a shout out um for the very generous gift

027card that is included tonight and we have these two recipients here that'll be very happy to get that so with that can I invite Miss Lesean white up here and be accompanied by her principal so miss white is a teacher assistant at Gregory um and these are the words written by her um the person who nominated her so miss white is a beacon of light and committed educator for the students at Gregory she currently runs small intervention groups and works with the students in ISS she is a consumate professional who practices what she preaches and has been doing so at Gregory for over 20 years she does not expect anything that she isn't willing to demonstrate with her own own actions or words and I believe this is why she is so highly respected she

028maintains high expectations of students and she provides a sense of safety security and calm for the students and staff at Gregory her heart is here for the students and staff to thrive so thank you very much and [Applause] [Music] congratulations with mom in there too and I think her mom is here too so w you guys come on up she's coming up too never too old to have your mom [Applause] [Laughter] here yeah do them first [Applause] [Music] all right next we have Mr Ryan Callahan and he is the custodial manager at tras you want to come on up here all [Music] right Mr Callahan has a proven track record of a inspections and is evident in his pride in keeping our building safe clean and inviting for our students staff and Community Mr cahan

029continues to inspire and Lead his crew and doesn't let anything keep him from ensuring the building is ready for students to learn and teachers to teach daily his behind the-scenes work directly impacts our community's overall well-being and provides our students with the best opportunity to succeed because of his strong sense of pride in his work the county has continued to ask for our school to be a professional development site and professional development for other custodians as the cleanliness of our building is a model for the county Mr Callahan's work is essential because learning can best occur when the building a safe clean and organized so thank you very much Mr Callahan [Applause] [Music] oh yeah more oh more Family come on down come on come on [Laughter] [Applause] at this point I'd like to bring

030forward uh our student voice uh folks as they will share with us so come on up guys good to see you thank you for being here welcome welcome thank you good afternoon board members it is an honor to be able to speak with you all today and today is a little Bittersweet for me and miles since it is our last time speaking in front of you as new Haner County students we will be graduating on Friday which is super exciting um s and Bon also wanted to be here but unfortunately he's out of town um but all our words Echo his sentiments as well um today our team wanted to take some time to reflect on how far we've come and what we've Le learned as the first year of the student ambassador team is

031coming to a close a couple of years ago as we were writing the student voice policy our vision was to create a team of students that would be able to collaborate directly with the board to share their perspectives with decision makers as the greatest stakeholders in our education there were already some great groups in place like the student engagement teams and the superintendent student advisory Council but we saw a need for student voices to be more present at the district level and I think it's safe to say our vision has come to life it has been beautiful to watch watch the first ever student ambassador team composed of 30 middle and high school students develop into confident leaders and share their perspectives and hopes of making our education even brighter for the next generation of

032new han County students the students on our team have gained skills in public speaking listening to different perspectives researching writing and have learned so much about the behind the scenes of our education system it has been beautiful to watch each of the student ambassadors work hard to speak up passionately passionately about different areas of their education where they want to see change and also the areas they are appreciative of one of the highlights of the year was watching L Lucy Titus a sixth grader from Noble Middle School um speak with such confidence in Poise at one of the board meetings a couple of months ago if you remember that um this year we have specifically spoken up about our perspectives on new policy changes support for our AIG coordinators in the midst of budget cuts

033and potential changes to the disparities in the class rank system Molly matys one of our new leaders spearheaded a meeting last week with Dr fasen and Miss Barnum about what policy changes would look like and they had a productive discussion that led to an idea of even taking the issue of class rank to the state level we are super excited about continuing the discussion on class Rank and looking at some real tangible Solutions with the people that can make real change we also had the opportunity to collaborate with the communications division by creating a video series highlighting each of the different high schools each week um in addition we had a very successful closing Summit a couple of weeks ago where we brain stormed how to improve as a team next year and celebrated our

034accomplishments we are especially grateful for Malcolm Johnson and the communications division for helping the event be so successful none of this would have been possible without you the Board of Education members um the people that sacrifice so much to benefit students your job is certainly not an easy one and we are so incredibly grateful for how you have truly supported us and listen to us and will continue to listen to us from the bottom of our hearts we are so thankful for all that you do for us thank you for being patient with us as we have been working through trial and error to make our vision of this team come to life personally I am so grateful for each of you this experience for the past few years has been life-changing for me and

035many others I have learned more from this experience than any other classroom or extracurricular activity I have been involved in I and all the others on our team have learned how to compromise collaborate listen um learn and just so much the list goes on and on um thank you so much for how you have poured into me and every new han County student you have truly shaped us all into the people we are today and the people we are becoming now it is my great honor to introduce to you the new student ambassador leadership team for the 2024 2025 school year you have seen each of these students before as they have spoken about different topics at board meetings over the past few months and they are all incredible leaders I am so confident that

036they will lead our new team of student ambassadors with wisdom and humility and I can't wait to see you all at they will accomplish it is a team of six Rising High School seniors and their names are apara dilala Molly matys chrish Mishra lilan rmel Maya Roseboro and TAA tun most of them are here today and we'll now introduce themselves to you hi everyone my name is a parly Paula and I'll be a senior at hogard next year and I look forward to continue collaborating with you all for the past 2 years student voice has been such a valuable leadership opportunity that has helped me grow personally and introduce me to so many New Perspectives I can't wait being I can't wait to keep being involved in this incredible initiative and I look forward to

037working with you next year good afternoon everyone hope you're not too tired of me yet my name is chrish Mishra and I will also be a senior at jonty hogard high school I'm beyond grateful and excited to work alongside such dedicated passionate individuals aiming to further our mission through additional collaboration and Outreach Outreach over the past year I have learned so much through voicing my concerns in front of you and researching vast topics impacting our County I look forward to helping represent and Elevate the voice of our students through this leadership role specifically I hope to continue to facilitate discussion regarding new han County's budget to help increase the allocation of funding for higher faculty pay including but not limited to positions such as custodians cafeteria managers counselors AIG coordinators and teachers thank thank you

038happy summer o I'm always so tall for this but happy summer everyone my name is Lillian Rumple and I will be a senior at new hand High School this upcoming year it has been such an honor to have this opportunity to represent each of our high schools over the past school year and collaborate with my fellow ambassadors on addressing the discrepancies within our school communities I'm so excited to not only continue this passion in my senior year but also to have the opportunity to allow other students to express the perspectives through the platform that student ambassador gives thank you as always good afternoon board members my name is Maya rosebro I'm a rising senior at Isaac bear Early College in the north CL School of Science and Mathematics I'm thrilled and enthusiastic to form part

039of this leadership team in order to keep continuing and uplifting student voices in our County I'm extremely excited to continue leading dialogue and discussion about class Rank and policy 7 73 3200 thank you so much for your time and I look forward to collaborating with you good afternoon board members um my name is t tun I will be a senior at Laney High School um I've been a part of student voice since the beginning of it and I have learned so much and I've have grown as a student but also as a human being with collaborating with people and adults and learning from you and taking criticism and you know having conversations that will impact not only our team but the whole you know students of new Hamber County Schools um even though we will

040miss our seniors you know this next year I believe our work is going to be very impactful and I am very excited to learn more from you and to hear more about you know how you guys feel about what our what our work is doing and what we're going to do in the future so thank you guys all right uh I'm miles um I was a yeah miles folck uh I am was a senior leader this year for student voices and as I go into student voice retirement I want to reminisce and just you know thank you guys for your collaboration with us and how you worked with us um for teaching us so much uh I know I personally um learned a lot I've grown I've made some really close friends that I hope

041I know for the rest of my life I'm Cassidy and somon especially uh and as I go into retirement uh for this stage of My Life um we'd like to present you guys with some cards and some pictures to uh just you know submit this moment in history so if I could approach the stand approach we're good come on up thank you sweetie year thank you awesome thank you thank you I'm put it right here thank you thank you so much and we didn't get you anything Miss beam we also have a card in a um framed picture for you because you have been just so amazing supporting us in so many ways we couldn't have done this without you so [Applause] thank um really quickly I also just want to really emphasize um our

042gratitude for Cassidy smon and Miles without them this initiative would not have elevated to where it is today and give us the opportunity to really expand on issues we feel really passionate about so without them and their guidance this past year none of this would have gone to where any any of us have dreamed so Cassidy and I have known each other since fifth sixth grade and seeing her accomplish so many means a lot to me so I'm incred incredibly proud of you Cassidy I would have said this about Salon but he's not here um and um miles I'm also very proud of you too thank you thank you great job and we'll miss our seniors that's for sure best of luck in your futures thank you very much uh at this time it's my

043pleasure to bring forth uh Miss Kesha Williams dean of students at hog high school and to present on the behalf of teacher ofo glad to have you here thank you so much for being here good afternoon good evening to you all thank you to Dr F and to the board for the opportunity to speak take these off to speak this afternoon again my name is Kesha Williams and I have the honor and the pleasure of serving as the dean of students at hogard High School um this is my this will be my ninth year in new han County Schools I love working here I started at JC row at the alternative school and have been blessed to move forward into the dean role and so a lot of what I learned in at at row

044I've carried over to hogri in my Dean position and so when I was uh asked to speak this afternoon um by Elizabeth Felts who I met through the emerging leaders program she said well I don't know if you would like to do it since you're not a teacher anymore and I said well I'm always a teacher um that will never change and so I would love to stand here and Advocate on behalf of the teachers and speak this afternoon so I am also a product of new Hover County Schools um started in 1982 at Pine Valley Elementary um but I did not finish here I moved away we moved to Gaston County and I finished my education there and then I went on to um start teaching in Charlotte meckling BG schools and it was

045there that um we used data to drive instruction I worked at Title One schools until I moved to hogard every school that I worked at was a title one school and so huge about turning around those numbers and getting in there and not just looking at the numbers but pushing beyond the paper and seeing the kids for who they could be not just the numbers that were on the paper so um with that we did a lot of digging within our building within the county within the region we did professional development and this is where I learned the power of learning aligning the data to pushing our students beyond what we see and I was reminded of this like I said I'm a product of new H County schools and I was reminded of this

046in a conversation not too long ago with my sixth grade teacher my math teacher who is also my sorority sister and she talked about how as our group was coming in she had a very low number of students of color who were going to be in her advanced math class and so she said she went and advocated and said just give me some students who can be pushed we can look beyond the paper and use that data to use to push these students into these Advanced courses and so um she did just that she had us in those classes and and as I thought back about what I was going to say tonight I thought about her decision and how that impacted me as a learner because I could have just been in a regular

047class and I could have I would have been successful but what she did for me was she pushed me beyond my comfort zone and so from that point forward I have learned to push myself beyond the comfort zone she didn't see me as just a number she saw me as Kesha a hardworking student High achiever who was successful um and so I take a lot of that with me and the other teachers who have poured to me over the years and I take that as a dean of students at hogard and this year I was tasked with two different um uh two more jobs not only the dean to handle to assist with discipline but also to be the graduation coach and to be the ntss coordinator both of those positions require a lot of

048dat data digging all day basically looking at the numbers looking at where our children are tracking seeing where we can intervene and be successful with our students and so I push my students looking at the data and then I get to know my students they come in my office all day every day and sometimes not sometimes that's not true every day a lot of my work happens after school because I pour so much into them I want them to be successful beyond what we see um and so we created interventions that support students who have not mastered content or who have Behavior struggles so we again I use a lot of what I learned at row um using those interventions that we use there and I pour them to the students at the bigger schools

049we have brought in this year mentors to work with students every week we have staff members who have gone above and beyond to support students during our flex period and with after school tutoring um we have seen so much growth in these students not just academically but socially they have begun to um be more interactive and speak to one another I've had students tell me you know I now want to be participate more in school whereas I was a reluctant learner and I kind of sat in the background now they want to be active they want to be seen they want to be a part of of what the other students are doing like some of the other students who just left the podium one of my favorites chish um and doing great things throughout

050the building next year we will start with data and so we have already started to look at the data for the students who are in the building now who are on the bubble is what we're calling it those who can with some more intervention and some more love and some more TLC and support get over that and get into those advant courses so that they can push beyond their comfort zones we will use the data to make reasonable and rational decisions about the educational needs of our students we will use our Lexile and quantile numbers along with the curriculum uh to create lessons that are engaging and match the needs of the students and create success with them so although I'm no longer in the classroom I am always a teacher and I'm always an

051advocate for teachers and I'm always an advocate for the students and I love the fact that I get to be a on between Administration teachers parents support staff and the students um to make sure that everybody's talking to each other so that we know what's going on in every area of the school and my goal next year is also to incorporate more of that professional development so that they that more staff members can learn how to push beyond the paper and see the students um and encourage them to move a little bit beyond their comfort zones thank you much you have any questions Mr crille I just wanted to thank you for the multitasking that goes on in your day um and for I wrote jotted down push the students beyond their comfort zone and

052we all need to remember that you know adults and student like so thank you thank you for doing that absolutely I I also want to Echo that thank you so much for doing multiple things and uh with a smile on your face and getting it done so thank you so much for all you do thank you thank you moving on we will have the superintendent report Dr F we have a lot to celebrate as we close out yet another year this week another school year this week tomorrow is the last day of Traditional School year and the remainder of our graduates and graduations will take place this week we have celebrated ctec WX Isaac bear and TP ya graduations this week we continue to celebrate with career Readiness Academy at Mosley Laney Ashley hogard and

053new Hur High School graduations congratulations to all of our 2024 graduates we celebrated each school's 2425 educator of the year as well as the three principal nominees with the banquet at the Brooklyn Art Center we announced the elementary middle and high school educator of the year and the overall educator of the year as well as principal of the Year congratulations to all we also help the Wilmington kaanis Club celebrate their 21 or 61st um year celebrating scholarships for students attending UNCW on May 15 I got the opportunity to attend the state principal of the Year banquet in carry um and we want to say congratulations again to Christian May um for being the regional super superintendent Regional principal of the year last week we held our annual retirement banquet and honored close to 1,700 years

054of experience retiring this year we can't thank those individuals enough for their years of dedication hard work and service to new han County Schools we had the opportunity to show off our model classrooms at Mason Burl and Anderson to the North Carolina Department of Instruction on May 29th ncdpi is interested in helping us grow and pilot A literacy model classroom we have had an extremely exciting year for school sports Ashley's boys ba baseball and girls soccer team played in the state championship this last week congratulations to our players and coaches for achieving at that level that concludes my thank you Dr F and we'll carry on now with our call audience Miss Mason thank you all for being here and for participating in um local government let's start off with Anakin Garrick all right um

055am I good to start all right sweet hi thank you for having me tonight um I is Anakin Garrick and I'm proud to say that I'm the product of new Handover County scho system I attended Pine Valley Elementary School rolling middle school and graduated from John T hogard High School in 2017 um I'm grateful for the education and the foundation in which these schools gave me I thrived in English I struggled in math and I found the love for my future college degree and career in my elective Sports Marketing class another program that's really stuck with me is family and sexual education the information I received from the fifth grade to the e8th grade is information I continue to use to this day the family and sexual education program is designed to equip students with

056the information and resources to help them navigate not only the phys IAL aspects of life but cognitive emotional and social aspects of Life covering a wide array of topics such as body changes that associated with puy um interpersonal relationships consent STI Anatomy sexual violence contraceptions pregnancy and Health Resources and so so much more sex education gives young people age appropriate medically accurate and culturally relevant um information and answers to their questions about sex and relationships with um without being shamed or judged I only have two minutes with you today so I leave you with this teenage years can be trickly I sure would not go back um uh parents I know you don't want to hear this but they're growing up and it's inevitable that one day they will run across a situation in which

057the family and sexual education program will have covered so why not provide them with a program that will prepare them for their future knowledge is power in order to make good decisions one must be informed therefore I believe that the students of New Hanover County Schools deserve the right to be taught comprehensive sexual education in order to achieve positive outcomes for themselves and their partners and their Community thank you for your time thank you Tim mer Tim [Music] [Applause] Merck good evening hello again Tim Merck from Carolina beach and here we are again uh me talking about governance me talking about the appropriate role of the school board you talking about books that scare you youu taking away freedoms you inserting homophobia and racial intolerance into our classrooms you are in violation of policy 7205

058section B standards of professional conduct number 26 employees shall ensure dignity and non-discrimination in schools by not compelling students teachers administrators or other employees to affirm or profess belief in the concepts that F any individual solely by solely by virtue of his or her race or sex should feel discomfort guilt anguish or any other form of psychological distress you see by taking away books by taking away flags that reflect the lived experiences of children of color or lgbtq plus children you are causing them distress you are causing them discomfort by denying them inclusion by making them feel different my question is what is the protocol when a board member is in violation of their own restrictive punitive and puritanical policies Miss Barnhart what credentials have you attained Superior to those of the North Carolina School

059Library Association none okay then your opinions fall into the realm of political activism sometimes you say things sometimes you say things that uh you say political activism doesn't belong in our schools so here you are it would seem you're being ens snared by your own policies of intolerance oh what a tangled web you weave when first you practice to deceive Lyla vnum and Abigail [Applause] Blair good evening my name is lla vnum and this is my friend and Abigail Blair we are sixth graders at the International School of Gregory we were excited to be invited tonight to this meeting tonight to be recognized for our National History Day accomplishments but we are also excited to be here because we want to speak about an issue under consideration battle the books we participated in a battle

060of the books competition for the first time this school year we had a great experience and we enjoyed every book we read even though we did not read every book on the list we were able to choose the books from the Battle of the books list that most appealed to us and our parents one of my personal favorites was a book called salt to the Sea this book was eye openening and gave us a different perspective of World War II I even shared the book with my mom after loving it so much we would also like to point out that without intellectual freedom to research and learn about 1898 provided to us by our teachers we could not have completed our National History Day film and we wouldn't be heading to Washington DC next week

061to represent newer County schools in the state of North Carolina we are grateful for the North Carolina School library media Association and our coaches for providing us with this opportunity and we hope that we and all new Handover County School students will continue to have this opportunity and while we're disappointed that we feel we have to defend our right to read books we hope you'll take our thoughts into consideration and that you'll support the continuation of Battle of the books thank you David [Applause] Perry uh good evening as the old proverb says the road to how is paved with good intentions back in the 2010s our Republican General Assembly had the good intention of trying to pass the emergency Powers Act to give our governor sufficient resources and power to deal with a temporary emergency

062situation but unfortunately much of the law was vague subject to lots of different interpretations and just ambiguous and then when Co came around in 2020 Governor Cooper used that ambiguity to reain down tyranny on all of our state for almost 2 years now this was not our general assembly's intention but it was the result nonetheless and you are in a similar situation with your policies tonight you have the good intention of wanting to avoid having teachers using signs and flags and other displays in order to indoctrinate our children I agree with that we should be encouraging our children to become independent critical thinkers but the policy revisions are vague and ambiguous and in my mind still leave open the possibility that you could censor this the First Amendment rights of our students I say please

063just bring it back to your policy committee and do it right um in closing you know when I get on the school board one of my main priorities is to make sure that my grandson Lucas and all of our children and grandchildren get a high quality education but there is a priority above that and that's to ensure that the constitutional rights of every parent and child in our school district is respected and never infringed upon thank you Angela KY happy pride month and celebration of juneth just words until you put action behind them performative posts and deflections especially when used a mislead and then deleted are not helpful this board has changed word the words Equity to engagement dissolved our student Equity teams canceled our Equity Summit and funneled the money to celebrate only a

064select group of students who won't challenge them ignore the authentic student voice and made it a campaign slogan you implemented Petty policies to micromanage teachers on visual classroom displays ban books and Attack Battle of the books you target our family life education program to destroy what doesn't even belong to you in the Fidelity of an evidencebased program that has shown drastic positive outcomes simply because it's title n compliant and inclusive to L lgbtq students you promote guns and bullying claiming to care about safety while comparing seal and appropriate expression of emotions to devilish behavior and shoving your own sadistic version of religion down our throats through more theatrics on that topic you failed to ever address our unsafe schools and ask the question of why children feel the need to bring weapons to school for

065protection could it be the prison culture you created you're responsible for the self harm and mental health issues of students because of the hatred you spew to children who don't fit in your box you tell yourself that none of this is your fault because you weren't here during the actual sexual assaults are not responsible yet your complacency and failure to act has cost the lives of victims in their family but maybe your denial helps you sleep at night a quick reminder you cannot revise the federal law that's Title Nine and June marks the deadline to uphold the settlement in the first round of sexual assault victims we accompanied them and handed them the mic last year to remind you of you intentionally what you put them through for 5 years of protecting pedophiles not one

066of you acknowledged them the contempt charges are pending more sexual assault and EC cases will be open and you'll continue to argue about your unethical and underqualified choices for litigation at our [Applause] expense [Music] [Applause] [Music] Karen we have this unshakable hope firm and secure as an anchor for the soul I pray the Lord answer and deliver you from all Danger the name of the god of Jacob set you safely on high and Supernatural help be sent from his Sanctuary may he support you from Zion's Fortress and remember every gift you have given him May Yahweh give you every desire of your heart and carry out your every plan as you go to battle when you succeed we will celebrate and Shout for Joy God will answer your prayers and we will praise him Yahweh

067brings Victory to his anointed ones giving them all they ask for our deliverance cry will be heard in his holy Heaven by his mighty hand Miracles will manifest through his saving strength some find their strength in their weapons and wisdom but our Miracle Deliverance can never be won by men our boast is in Yahweh Our God who makes us strong and gives us victory our enemies will not Prevail they will only collapse and defeat while we Rise Up full of Courage praising the king of kings and Lord of lords for he empowers us to seize what has already been established ahead of time an unshakable hope holding us to God himself I declare in jesus' name the children of New Hanover County know their god-given identity as lightbearers to the the world devastating the kingdom

068of darkness releasing God's glory turning America back to its original intent as declared at Cape Henry in please Christina Mercier there are a lot of people speaking on ble of the books tonight so I won't spend all my time on the topic however I did want to say when a parent has an issue with a book the first step is to speak to the school did this happen and if not why if you don't want your child reading a book you speak to the source and don't make a mountain out of a mole hill there are two quotes from ban this book that resonated with me that you should consider Banning a book is an act of ignorance refusal to engage with differing opinions and nobody has the right to tell you what books you

069can't can't read except your parents what I really want to talk about tonight is the importance of educated and trained Family Life teachers many years ago when I was in school the person who gave the worst information about human reproduction was my biology teacher my small conservative North Carolina county had an amazing sex head program back in the early 1980s that started with learning the correct names for all body parts and then progressed to the biology of reproduction we also covered sexually transmitted diseases and birth control topics very important in the early days of the AIDS epidemic I didn't realize until I was in college bi in college biology how comprehensive my reproductive education had been my professor gave our class A preest and most people got one or two questions correct and I got

07018 of 20 yet my sophomore year high school same school system I was in biology and my class had reached the reproductive unit in the book imagine my surprise when my teacher started lecturing about the time of the month when a woman is most fertile he stated that the days before her menal menstrual cycle were her most fertile days I knew it was wrong we'd been told for years that a woman is fertile when she ovulated which is usually in the middle of her cycle I raised my hand and challenged him he was an adult married and had two children how could he believe this of course he didn't accept what I said and I knew further discussion was feudal to this day almost 40 years later this his misinformation bothers me I'd always hop

071no one relied on his statement and got pregnant because of it but it's an example of why willing and train instructors are so important thank Family Life your time thank you Jennifer [Applause] tuer hello I'm Jennifer Tucker and I have actually taught in the Family Life Education Program for the last 24 years 41 years ago this program was built by the school board according to policy 3540 which has always given parents the choice of selecting a medically accurate curriculum no matter the choice they make it will be taught by a highly trained teacher and will align with their family values the current proposal to make the four Family Life Educators full-time Health teachers will effectively eliminate the entire program it is unsustainable to meet the requirements of the board policy under this new restructuring this

072proposal also completely eliminates the fifth grade growth and changes classes this year 94% of families have opted into the fifth grade program 94% how can we possibly cut this since this program was board approved decades ago new hver County's teen pregnancy and STI rates have stayed well below the state and National averages the cost of eliminating this program will be shouldered by the parents and the community Miss badford at the last board meeting you said that you would rather be preventive than reactive that is exactly what this program does Dr fa I've taught your your daughter Mr wildbore your children have opted into our programming and your wife as our supervisor help make the program more accessible to parents in the middle schools Miss crille you've always been a fierce supporter of family life education

073but we know you can't fight this dismantling alone please find a way to keep Family Life Education programming operating as it was intended by giving parents the choice they want and deserve our team is open to discuss Solutions with you at any time thank you for your time and consideration Jennifer [Music] [Applause] was hello I teach history at the University of North Carolina Wilmington history like almost all aspects of Life requires critical thinking skills this is a skill that's provably harder to cultivate in a world of digital engagement and Rapid distractions and I've seen students struggle more and more to determine what is valid evidence for a broader claim to examine statements for their truth and validity One Way young people which those young scholars of History are great examples of learn to think deeply

074is by reading a diverse array of books with age appropriate content which cannot realistically be defined as not including anything would rather they never have to deal with we underestimate our children ages 9 10 10 11 12 and up when we think that they are so weak that they will immediately be inspired to run away or to Buck all of the familial values just because a character in one book behaves in a way may be unfamiliar to them and we seriously discount our own parenting as well that's what we're here for I have two boys finishing second and sixth grade my older son has always been an eager reader with a strong preference for fantasy and sci-fi he has benefited enormously from participating in the battle of the books for three years now he's a

075pretty competitive kid and this competition has challenged him to expand the sorts of books he reads introducing him to new favorite authors from there he's read about historical topics that I don't think he would have otherwise you know he doesn't want to be a historian because his mom is um he's learned about American heroes of Pearl Harbor World War II 91 and more he's incre increased his critical thinking skills which helps spur a stronger interest in science and math he knows reading books doesn't just teach kids how to read books it teaches them how to be healthfully curious and to solve big problems problems they will have to have in the adult world please don't deprive my seven-year-old of that opportunity by eliminating an optional thank you valuable program [Music] [Applause] [Music] in 2013 Colorado

076updated their requirements for teaching sex ed in schools sex ed is not mandated in Colorado and in districts that offer it it is an opt-out program however in the districts that offer sex ed it must be comprehensive most school districts start in the fifth grade it must include medically accurate culturally sensitive information based on science it must include accurate information on the human reproductive system with the students being taught the accurate names and functions of the respective body parts it must teach about PR methods to prevent unintended pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases including HIV AIDS it must include information about absence all FDA approved forms of contraception and be taught in a cohesive integrated and objective manner so youth are empowered to make decisions based on their individual needs beliefs and values it may not

077emphasize abstinence as the primary or sole method of contraception the program may not exclude the health needs of lesbian gay bisexual or transgender individuals the program must include how to communicate consent recognize withdrawal of consent and understand the age of consent these sound like bad ideas information that our children should not not be exposed to well in the 5 years after the law went into effect the abortion and birth rates among 15 to 19 year olds dropped by 57% doesn't that make the Family Life program sound like a good [Applause] idea Sandy Isles [Music] [Applause] fear represses Faith fear holds back our boldness to believe and to love it separates us from God it's so pervasive the Bible says do not be afraid 365 times so I ask why are you leading in fear and

078not from a place of Faith most decisions this board has made are rooted in fear you're afraid of transgender students so you pass policy 3620 you're afraid of the book stamped so you banned it you're afraid of what teachers might teach so you passed policy 7205 you're afraid of lgbtq plus students so you manufactured an emergency now you're afraid of Battle of the books that your child might read something you disagree with why is it because you're afraid to have a conversation with your child that you will not be able to defend your values that you lack parenting skills my family refuses to carry the weight of your fear I'm not afraid I have confidence when I talk to my child about ideas that challenge our worldview I have confidence I can teach them I

079have confidence in my parenting and I have faith that my children will be okay I'm not afraid because my faith is built on Truth a foundation that cannot be shattered your fear exposes your shaky foundation and your lack of faith do not be afraid for I Am With You the Lord God says to obey this command you must release your fear give up control and lean into Faith the Pharisees couldn't do it so just like you they made more rules and restricted rights like you their power their desire for power and control was their Idol so much so they rejected Jesus will you continue leading in fear like the Pharisees or will you lean into faith and lead with knowledge truth love and understanding do not be afraid do not push your bigoted and hateful

080fears onto us happy Pride lead with love y Hernandez Yolanda Hernandez Veronica mclen Brown yes we did call youa good evening it's been more than a year since Miss Farnum gave a presentation on on uh suspension data at a board meeting are some of you afraid of the the numbers as of April of this school year 43% of five six and seven year olds who have been kicked out of school have been black children even though they represent only 177% of the school population and 67% of five six and seven year olds who have been suspended have been special education children even though they represent only 133% of the school population our special ed children are probably the neediest children and when they misbehave they need more support not no support they should not they

081should not represent 2third of the kindergarten first and second grade out of school suspensions and what kind of improvements in these numbers can yout can we anticipate next year well with fewer teachers teacher assistants counselors and social workers probably none some of you are failing our children by dismantling public school education in New Hanover County the fact is we need more Educators to keep our children learning and thriving in school demand funding uh demand the funding our children need and Rive short-term suspension 4351 if principles are in fact calling K through2 parents then put it in a policy thank you Veronica sers with laoren [Applause] brown at the April 23 2024 policy committee meeting Miss Mason and Miss Bradford described a discussion they had with Elementary principles about calling a parent of a 56 and

0827y olds before a decision is made to suspend a child Miss Mason reported that quote principles are already contacting parents they have constant contact with parents Miss Bradford said quote we got a wealth of information from them and when they were done I was convinced they are doing this that's remarkable news but one has to wonder why it took 12 months for the principls to finally speak up love our children originally asked the school board to revise short-term suspension policy 4351 so that principales and k2's parents would have a discussion before a determination was made to suspend a child on April 18 2023 no one thought to ask the principles about it for 365 days or maybe they weren't all calling parents until recently in any event we're thrilled that the elementary principles fully support

083the practice now it's time for the policy committee to do their job because no principal is obligated to make a call if there's no policy princip principles are relieved of the duty to make the call if there's no policy add the sentence principles will call K2 parents after the investigation is over and before they make a decision to suspend five six or seven year olds to policy 431 do your job serve our children Sadler Lawrence [Applause] Selby hello my name is Sadler Selby and I'm completing my first year at New Hanover High School as a nth grader Battle of the books has been a wonderful constant in my life and has boosted my confidence and academic mindset has gifted me with Incredible peers and teachers and most importantly has enriched my life with really great

084books I want to take this opportunity to discuss empathy and ignorance and how reading affects both I am a one person with one life experience in a world of many people with many different life experiences unlike mine now I could choose to draw a line in the same that encompasses me and people who live akin to me attempting to block others out due to fear or misunderstanding or I can try to learn more about others lived experiences to understand what they're going through and better myself in the process one way to do that is by reading when reading I learn more about the real world experiences emotions and situations of others often when participating in Bob I read books I would have never even heard of if they hadn't been on the list those books

085the books I believe will be uninteresting or eventful often turn out to be the most thought-provoking and interesting books and I learn from them more than the generic famous author fantasy book I look forward to reading the most empathy is something that is learned not gifted and through Reading we can learn not to run away from others and Retreat to our own little corner but step out of that corner and open our eyes to the bright diverse and interesting world around us Battle of the books has been around in various forms for over a hundred years and has been incredible for so many people it is completely voluntary and you do not have to read every single book if you feel goes against your values and opinions there is an incredibly strenuous selection process and

086even though it is an outside organization AP beta math counts and many other club/ groups in new Haner County are as well so instead of choosing to only think about your life experience choose to think of all of the life experiences of the students in this County whose lives could be bettered by this program thank you Theodor I in sixth grade and I'm a student at willston middle school and I've always love to compete in battle of the books I've competed in this exciting event ever since I was old enough and love the books selected for it it helped me discover some great new books and authors a good portion of these I have reread and recommend for people like my brother who is in second grade and can't wait to join Battle of the

087books one of my absolute favorites was on the list from when I was in fourth grade called ban this book by Alan Gratz Allan Gratz is one of my favorite authors of all time and also wrote many other books that made the list in other years like the league of seven from last year the reason I like ban this book is because it is about a character who loves to read just like me she is faced with a challenge when someone starts Banning books for ridiculous reasons in the end the main character and her friends come up with a plan to thwart the antagonist and protect their reading rights some say that books like this are inappropriate for children like myself I personally don't agree with that but if some parents do not wish for

088their child to compete in battle of the books they can choose not to sign the permission slip required to compete instead of trying to ruin the fun for everyone [Applause] [Music] M Glendora Mullins Glendora Mullins so she's thank you Natasha too good evening Biden's Department of Education has recently released a revised Title 9 rule that expands the definition of sex discrimination to include various factors as sex stereotypes sexual orientation and gender ideology the new title 9 regulations jeopard Iz student safety and privacy destroys fairness in women's sports is unconstitutional eliminates du process compels spe and strips parents of their fundamental right to raise their children and direct the upbringing of their child including decisions regarding their education their medical care morality and religion I implore all board members to recognize the potential impact of this

089revision and remember that school districts are not obligated to align their policies with the new regulations at this time Biden's Title 9 would require schools treat students who suffer or claim to suffer from gender dysphoria as though they were the opposite sex that male students who identify as a female must be allowed access to facilities designated for females like bathrooms locker rooms and to participate in women's sports and organizations teachers and students must refer to a gender Dort Child by his or her preferred pronoun or alternative name and there are no formal documentation that would be required to affirm this the gender identity other Title Nine repercussions could include when a female student opposes having a male on a team or in an organization that is intended for females only or who feels uncomfortable sharing

090a locker room with a male the female in opposition may now not only incur social stigma but also the possibility of legal repercussions for her school team and organizations allow me to remind you no child is born in the wrong body body boys and girls are perfect as they are gender ideology is a cult and has no place in school thank you Barbara gerl Barbara gerl good evening do you all remember September 1st 2023 that that's when four members of the board of education did not trust the professional Judgment of Ashley High School's lead K through2 social studies teacher lead K 6 through 12 English language arts teacher lead K through five teacher teacher of the year high school principal of the year and Lead media coordinator as well as the district's lead media coordinator

091teacher of the year principal of the Year Elementary English language arts specialist so social studies and World Language curriculum specialist secondary English Language Art specialist director of curriculum and instruction and the assistant superintendent of technology and digital learning the board voted four to three on that date to ban the book stamped later later they even update some policies related to that now the same four board members do not trust the professional Judgment of teachers and principles as to what they can display in school last month they started updating a policy about that but these same board members trust principles when they say they are calling parents of five six and seven year olds before they decide to spend suspend a child both there's no need to update the short-term suspension policy 4351 you only trust

092the subject matter experts when it fits your narrative revise policy 4351 and please don't be Hypocrites k [Music] [Applause] r hi I'm am Holly wiggley and I'm here to show support for the Family Life program in Newan County this program has been in existence for over 40 years family life is a comprehensive sexual health education program taught by highly trained teachers with this program parents have provided a choice of how they want their children's in grades 5 through eight to learn about physical emotional and social changes of puberty and Adolescence this program is well respected in the community and has won many awards my daughter is in the fifth grade and came home from her lessons with so much knowledge and without a fear to talk to me about what she learned she raved about

093how the teachers made the lesson so interesting the teachers who lead these lessons are experts who are familiar with working with children during this important time of transition in their lives the teachers are able to use their expertise to teach this important subject matter in a manner that ensures no one is embarrassed for my daughter this was especially important because it took out all the Jitters she had about puberty and being a woman it is imperative that these lessons continue to occur in the manner that in in the same manner and continue to be taught by these same knowledgeable teachers in the future instead of relying on PE teachers who are already spread thin to add the additional weight of this curriculum we should continue to utilize the same program that has been super successful

094so for so many years Peter rwi Peter [Applause] Rit when the school board writes or revises and then adopts a policy or regulation who's responsible for monitoring the implementation of it whose job is it to report back to you on the effectiveness of the new or revised policies and regulations and who's responsible for putting those reports on the agenda and inviting the subject matter experts to speak publicly about them on November 1st 2022 regulation 4302 on the rules for the use of seclusion and restraint in schools was revived to include the following sentence as of the 2023 24 school year rooms designed specifically for seclusion will no longer be operational for seclusion so this past school year there were no seclusion rooms great um there used to be hundreds of seclusions annually so how is

095dangerous Behavior being addressed now are you hiring more teachers teaching assistants counselors social workers and behavioral specialists are strategies from the lives in the balance training being used and how exactly are you counting students who have been secluded in a space that is not a seclusion room there was a time recently when most people were unaware of the existence of seclusion rooms please add seclusion rooms to next month's agenda and give us an update on how well the revised regulation is working thank you lorata stockhouse the last time Miss Barnum was invited to give a presentation about out of school suspension at a school board meeting was May 2 2023 during the 2021-22 school year under the old short-term suspension policy where five six and seveny old children could still be kicked out of school

096for minor infra actions such as showing disrespect or as well as for serious offenses there was a total of 74 out of school suspensions in kindergarten through second grade only three of those suspensions were for serious offenses two were for fighting and one was for an assault on a student without a weapon this school year as of April there where our youngest Learners can only be kicked out for serious offenses such as an assault there has been 83 kindergarten to second grade out of school suspension data from the for the next two months most likely will bring that number even higher but for now three serious suspension offenses versus 83 serious offenses that's an increase of a whopping 2,666 7% is if that is not an emergency situation I don't know what is the policy

097is not working why is there so many more serious offenses Miss Bradford please invite Miss VOR to share the in school and out of school suspension data from this school year at the next board meeting please revise short-term suspension policy 4351 by putting and writing what what the elementary principles say they are doing thank you Harmony [Applause] SP good evening my name is harmony Speer and I am a rising sixth grader at NCS I'm a regular kid rib jeans and all I am here to talk about my experience with the battle of the books I have very fond memories of the past two years reading books and chatting with Miss Lori Schwarz my school librarian at Battle of the books Battle of the books helped me pick books off the shells that I never would

098have thought to read I love having competition from other schools and enjoy reading different genres and styles that are in the battle of the books list students should be able to read about difficult topics and ask questions about these topics shamelessly this should encourage students to learn more about the world around them and Spark their interest in other books with similar genres and topics I feel strongly that we are not being forced to read books you get to pick and choose from the list and if the title is not for you just pick another book for Pete sake we have the option to join and I am glad I chose to do so the battle of the books generates confidence by having a ston score the winning point of a match by answering in which

099book does a character say I am currently unpacking an order of two burritos and one plate of Veggie nachos hold the sour cream the student replies not if I can help it by Caroline Ma where else can you get that unique confidence today I still read and reread the books I have loved I am proud to receive a certificate of completion for the battle of the books and unfortunately I was not comfortable to bring it today because I was afraid I'd lose it and it might be my last one thank you for your time [Music] [Applause] ladies and gentlemen and board members as a parent I strongly advocate for the fundamental right to guide and nurture our children according to our beliefs and values it is our sacred responsibility to instill in them the principles

100and knowledge we deem appropriate for their development when it comes to sensitive topics such as gender identity I firmly believe that it is the role of parents not Educators to engage in these discussions with our children while Educators play a vital role in shaping young minds they must respect the boundaries of Parental Authority every child is unique and their upbringing should reflect the values and beliefs of their family by respecting parental Authority on such matters Educators can foster an environment that focuses on academic development of our children furthermore allowing parents not Educators to address these topics ensures that they can tailor the conversation to their child's individual needs and level of understanding this personalized approach promotes open communication and strengthens the bond between a parent and their child in conclusion I firmly believe that educators

101should refrain from discussing topics related to gender identity with our children instead let us uphold The crucial role of parents in guiding and shaping the lives of our children thank you Adel M mree last month when advocating for the Family Life program I became prepared with a practice speech today's a bit more off the cuff as I see how our efforts have progressed and the feedback from those who misunderstand misrepresent and do not value the distinguished Family Life program and all it offers to support our community's children and parents I'm here with a heavier heart than last month this is compounded by the new attack of the battle of the books when presented with a frustrating and somewhat infuriating situation I always make a conscious choice to come from a place of curiosity and that's

102where I am now asking the questions particularly of the bees Miss bees Miss Bradford and Miss Barnhart and your supporters what happened to you what happened in your homes growing up what happens in your homes now what could possibly occur to have you be so terrified to have a difficult conversation or teaching moment with your children or grandchildren what could have have occurred for you to be so afraid of these conversations that instead of opting out a voluntary programs for your families it appears to be your ultimate goal to take them away from all to even recommend silencing the student voice my children will Thrive as our family values difficult conversations as we know diversity equity and inclusion provides a brighter life growth and a well-rounded understanding for all I am concerned about one thing

103my daughter who just performed our national anthem that ends with liberty and justice for all is a mini me she stands up to bullies and she stands up for what is right as a tested by parents who have thanked us for her strength and presence and the protection of their children in the past by your continued choice of censorship and Sheltering of her community's children how many bullies coming from a place of ignorance are you creating bullies that she will find the need to stand up to in the future get comfortable with the tough conversations as you are here for all of us thank [Music] you one olski last call for Ren olski my name is rolski and I'm here to talk about the restrictions and bands that are being put on by all the

104books I am a junior a rising Junior at Wilmington early college and I have been competing in battle the books for 5 years I also created the petition that has been circulating around the state for supporting Battle of the books this school board this school board has talked about beginning to implement Implement rules restricting books that are put on the two read list this movement would will go as far as to ban the competition in the count in the county and instead make a local version this means that no state comp this means that there will be no state competition a feature loved by the participants if it is restricted it would cause the book choosing duty to be moved away from Educators and Librarians this would cause the purge of diverse experiences and situations

105that would be shared through these books the competition is an important part of supporting reading to kids of all ages is also important to to exposing kids to experiences in people of all backgrounds this is beneficial to nurturing a child's empathy and emotional development especially to those that are less fortunate than them it would also move the responsibility of creating this competition to the teachers and Librarians of the schools these duties include finding funding and creating over 1,000 questions for the books and finding a location and judges for the competition and also Supply dozens of copies of each book to each School this would be on top of the works and duties these staff members already have this means that these tasks may not be done at all this would take away the competition for

106many children who may have loved participating before thank you for your time and can I give you and this concludes our call to audience all right thank you to all everyone who participated in the call the audience board members we need a 5 minute break yes okay uh we'll take a 5 minute break please be back on the DI at 6:50 thank you e e e sh okay if we can get board members back on the DI please board members back to the Das 233 three okay we need all board members back please it is that time we can go ahead and start up we have a long meeting ahead of us all right we do have on and here we go sorry you're all right you're good all right we'll carry on um I

107do want to make sure I'm correct d is correct right Mr cville do what you're kind of the key person on this one we're going to uh policy consensus is next and we I thought consensus was next I just said that oh sorry oh I'm sorry consensus items consens consensus items I'm looking at it reading it wrong sorry but it the we need to pull off correct yes I need to be pulled off of D okay so I will make a motion that we accept all the items with the exception of D is there a second second first and second any discussion yeah I oh okay go ahead so we had a rather robust discussion at AG genda review about all of the contracts with this um I didn't have a problem with any of

108them but I'm just wondering if we need to somehow go back in address those we had some questions that were out there um that we were going to get some answers on um one of those was the um and and I'm not saying to pull them off I'm just asking the questions we um the the travel tracker software and we had questions about the um dragonfly Athletics I'm fine but I didn't I just didn't want us to move on without having um those contract things resolved so any other board member would like to chime in then or not I'm good is any other board member have a concern about dragonfly or any other ones that Miss I me Mr chair yes ma'am with with that Miss barnham said she would put it in the board

109memo as far as the leveling to um being in that so that was where my concern came from it was fine very good all right we have a first and second any other discussion if if not all in favor of accepting all except for D we signify by saying I I I all opposed passes 1 3 4 5 5 z uh and now uh I also make a motion we accept D um is there a second second any discussion and again on this one we'll have one we'll only have four votes uh all in favor of accepting D please signify by saying I I I all opposed again at this time pass is 40 we'll move down to our next bit of business which is policy policy consensus and uh Miss Mason um the polic

110up um there are three that are from ncsba updates there's also um some forms that we have finalized um and so I would make a motion to accept the policy is there a second a second first and second discussion Mr crille yes I would like to pull off 2300 2310 and 2335 okay could you say that again yeah I I I got 2230 I'll go slow 3 3200 7300 7300 2230 2230 2310 and 2335 five okay six I count one two 3 four five six correct yes sir okay all right uh I will entertain a motion to oh wait a minute I'm sorry add one more the the universal application form okay all right I would make a motion to well you've already made a motion to accept the others um so let's vote on

111that and then we'll take the individual policies so all with the exception of the 1 2 3 4 5 six7 now policies all in favor of accepting those policies or approving those policies please signify by saying I I I all opposed okay that passes uh 5 Z we'll start with 3,200 um Mr W if I could suggest that we just kind of go in numerical order I think that would be um I think my comments on on the okay so by my Reckoning here we would start with 2230 then correct yes so 2230 is board committees the um the this was passed before we um decided officially I guess or we didn't decide but we didn't put in the SA committee and the three sub committees so we the policy committee needs to look at

112that and um come up with descriptions and the memberships and um all that kind of good stuff so I think that that one should go back to policy because we have a standing committee that we've created that is not um reflected in here any other discussion it's Mr chair yes ma'am M Bradford I disagree um I looked at that when we were doing this on month ago and ad hoc committees don't go on there um and and the Safety Committee doesn't really need to be on there either um I'm I'm sorry I don't know what ad hoc means I mean what ad hoc committee are you talking about well we have little ad hocs under safety no those are subcommittees if you go back and listen they're subcommittees Mr chair I'm just going to let

113you have to make that decision okay well why don't we vote on it I think that's the most appropriate thing to do okay so may um so let's go ahead and get a motion from you first I would like to put add to policy 2230 um Safety Committee so it would be understanding committees so it would be number seven it wouldn't be seven it would it would slip in um as number four and then change the numbers um if we're going to keep it in alphabetical order so three would be policy four would be Safety Committee um five would be the student scholarship six would be um Title 9 right right on down okay is there a second to add Safety Committee to policy 2230 I think it makes sense so I I'll second it

114uh any other discussion Mr chair yes ma'am I thought the motion was to send it back to policy to add this or are we going going to add the description on the DI here tonight my motion was to send it back to policy so that the policy committee can do the work that it's been charged and not to try and create policy from the DI okay and I we have a first and second on that any other discussion Miss bu would you please call the role M Bradford no Miss Crill yes Miss Barnhart yes Miss Mason yes and Mr wbore yes okay so that passes we'll send that policy back to that'll be policy 2230 going back to the policy committee uh numerically our next policy would be mror can we just move into the

115universal form because that kind of follows right along with that sure go ahead okay so the the form that is presented um is were in the red um insertions were mine and I appreciate the fact that we passed that in policy um but again in there we need to put in safety committees um at the very bottom where it says board standing committees um so in in the box that was vacated by Equity diversity and inclusion um we can put safety committees in there okay so you making a motion to just do that or to send it back to safety uh ex me I get you help me out team the um we've already decided that it's a board standing committee so if it's a board standing committee then I think we could just put

116it in right here um if the if we feel like the policy committee is not going to call it a standing committee um then that that mean I don't I don't want it to keep going back and forth the I'm okay with just sticking it in but um if we're not even in agreement that it's a standing committee then um the whole thing should go back to the committee to be handled at the same time M thank you I would be in favor of approving this now and then when the policy committee updates policy 2230 and and giving that description to go ahead and update the universal application as needed but these updates are needed and so I would feel better updating it now and then when policy picks this up to also pick it

117up Miss Mason my understanding and I can be corrected if I'm wrong is that this is an interest form for the community to participate and as it stands right now the Safety Committee that we have established only consists of the seven board members would we need to add it to this if indeed it is only the seven board members that are part of it Mr so I I guess and I thought about that um Miss Mason and my thoughts were did we want to exclude the parent and Community component where we're talking about school safety when everybody in the audience um and in the community is invested in school safety there are some things and since we are have to meet openly in public about most of the conversations with the safety then we wouldn't

118be talking about um safety issues that um we don't want the general public to know because of you we don't want bad guys you know learning our in kind of thing so um I am in favor of allowing parents to sit on safety committees and um so that's why I think it we we should just go ahead and put it in but it's up to I guess the policy committee is going to have to decide if they so that we can recommend to the whole board M Bradford I would agree with Miss Mason um as we created this I never envisioned it to be um open for application to the public I can't say down the road I wouldn't be in favor of that but I haven't thought about it so I'm not going to

119issue an opinion um so to doing it on the fly right now is not comfortable for me at all and and I'm fine with that we the policy committee can look at them both together at the same time I mean that's my thoughts and I and I'm going to speak up I think that Miss uh fart's idea of you know pushing this forward and then if the when and if the policy committee because I think policy committee should be the one to to discuss that and and that's their job and then bring it back to the whole board um so I think maybe we can put uh approve the universal app and then just as it if it does change and we do add that in um I would personally every policy committee uh that

120I ever sat with uh at school level we always had parents involved so I don't I don't think that's a bad idea at all um but I don't think we need to hold up the uh Universal uh committee interest form uh so I would be in favor of um moving it moving it forward and then updating it as needed so is that a motion I make that motion second okay um any other discussion if not all in favor of moving the universal app forward please signify by saying I I all opposed okay passes 5- z um next one we had by number was 2300 Mr crille um yes sir so board meetings um looking in here um the in item 3 c um Miss Mason and I were were pretty close on what our thoughts

121were um on that the only other words that I wanted to suggest adding in to letter C would be um in line two where it says the purpose of providing for the purpose of providing the board and the public with further information blah blah blah I would like to insert for reviewing the upcoming regular board meeting agenda because that's what the agenda review is all about um and then you know and and then continuing on with um her suggested wording okay so could you say that one more in where it says scheduled for the purpose of and write there reviewing the upcoming regular board meeting agenda and submit those you know insert those words and then it would continue and providing the board and the public with further information so I just wanted to submit

122those words and I think that one could probably be done right here because that's pretty easy we send it back to policy is there a second I'll take that as a motion Mr crille yeah okay is there a second I mean it makes sense to me so I will second that uh further discussion on it okay Miss spy would you call the role please miss Bradford yes Miss crille yes Miss barnhard yes Mr W deore yes and Miss Mason yes okay so that will be added um so let's take that one before we go any further uh sorry which one was that 2300 so with the amended uh wording on 2300 uh I make a motion I have more are you on that 2300 the same one yes sir okay I'm sorry um so in

1233A and 3E um when it says at least 48 Hours um so I'm assuming then with 48 hours notice that we won't have meetings on Tuesdays otherwise that would require Miss Buie or um Miss kadetsky to issue stuff on Sunday when that is not one of their work days yes M barard just it says at least 48 hours notice so that is not going to mandate it'd be done on Sunday but to say at least 48 would be at least Sunday so before the early Friday would be appropriate as well I'm having a real hard time with that that with the 48 with the 48 hours for A Tuesday meeting because we all know how we get and we all know that Miss buoy works a lot of extra hours and we don't want to

124have it in policy that we're that if we don't get it done by Friday then she has to have it done over over the weekend so I would you like to make a recommendation yes the I would I would say I don't know why we're doing 48 hours and why and I miss the I missed the discussion again that Miss um Bradford and Miss Mason had with the senior staff on what is wrong with two business days 48 hours is two business days I I I the discussion M badford it is my understanding it is my understanding that this was language that was suggested by staff which is why I voted for it I attended the meeting and I voted for it that's why we have a policy meeting and rewriting policy on the de

125is something that some board members complain about exhaustively so which we just did last think that we need to rewrite every single policy from the policy meeting this was recommended by staff see a lot of eyes down to their desk so if that's what they want I I'm not going to push it because that's just ridiculous to to fight over something so minuscule okay so then I will entertain a motion to accept policy 23 2300 and I'll second that all in favor please signify by saying I I I all the amended uh all opposed passes 5 Z next we will have 2310 crille yes sir so in letter a and this really applies to the last policy too but I I got out in line in my things when we're talking about we typically um

126it is in letter a um in the blue which is typically one week prior to the regular board meeting for to place items on the agenda so it was the same in 2300 we'll generally occur that these meetings have special have specific times when we have when we and the public have to submit information um and if we're saying typically and generally that means there's no schedule and that we don't know um we might know of date changes but the public doesn't know of those date changes so I think we should take out typically and um and say one week like in the previous policy board meetings 2300 interim meetings regular board meetings are on the first Tuesday interim meetings are on the third T third Tuesday and it appears that our agenda reviews usually

127are on the 4th Tuesday so I think that we should be specific so that everybody knows when the dates are for submitting things to beond the agenda and if we say typically and generally that's not so you're saying just to remove the word typically yes just make sure that clearing so that's easy enough make that motion yep okay is there a second hearing none the motion to approve the policy as written okay second okay all in favor of approving 2310 please signify by saying I I all opposed no that passes 1 2 3 4 to one next we have policy 2335 crille yes so let me pull that up so um the in the title where I mean in the the SEC in the second line where it says regular and interim board meetings and

128agenda review meetings um suggest that we take out the board meetings so would be regular interim and agenda review meeting so that we are not repeating and then also um it looks as if on this one too we've taken out the business days so again we're um we're counting days um we're counting weekends as days um in there and then um I would also like to see in that last paragraph somewhere that it say says notice must be given to board members if supporting materials change the um I it has happened it happens every single meeting that we have that you prepare for the meeting ahead of time go off on your day you get here and and things have changed and we don't get any notification that's happening um I look like an idiot

129every single time because I prepare early and then things have changed so I I don't like that and I don't think it's appropriate and I'm going to stop us for just a moment uh we have reached our time limit on this so I would entertain a motion to continue to add maybe five more minutes to this discussion so I'll make that motion I'll second that motion all in favor of adding five minutes to the discussion of these I think we have one two three policies left please signify or signify by saying I I I all opposed no okay so that passes 4 one we'll give it an additional 5 minutes okay Mr crra you finish your if we could just strike out the word me meetings on 2335 then this board can just have at

130it and change all they want that's fine with me okay so uh the motion is to go to change the wording to regular and interim U take out the word meetings after board right chair just a a clarification the and is already struck I know that okay I'm not talking about that I'm talking about board and agenda review meetings all in favor of that was there second I think there was I'll second it all in favor please see by by saying I I all opposed I 5 Z all right so we have 2335 all in favor of accepting it with the new wording please signify by saying I I all opposed okay that passes going it's 23 3200 okay so that one I continue to believe that um we passed those erroneously there was no

131emergency other than pride month was on its way coming um so maybe that was the emergency that we couldn't Define but um the other thing is I believe that we are vague on the word displays and we heard someone from our call the audience talk about that Miss Barnhart made when she sent us an email says the differences between flags and displays what classifies a display and we never really got to what that means um it does it mean social media apparently it does because we've had an issue about that this week so I think that we need to be more clear on that and also with both of those policies I don't think we need them at all because in the policy committee meeting we added about 15 more thing I shouldn't say 15

132we added about seven more things um into that policy that are already covered in other policies the only thing that was not covered in those policies were references to um lgbtq or um other um other protected classes um of my of minority classes so I don't even think that we need this policy there was no emergency we've now added all these things that are already in 5210 but what we didn't take into account was the um student organizations they they aren't listed and policy 5210 says they are allowed um we didn't put in their parent support organizations and policy 5210 says that they are allowed um and and back on 3620 extracurricular activities it says that students can post information about their events and so those weren't put in we didn't put in trade schools

133we didn't put in military um we didn't put in seasonal Decor or bulletin board um information all of these and we didn't put in regular art we put in student artwork but if a teacher wants to have a a nice calming picture of the ocean that apparently is not allowed so I I am just so opposed to this and then and one last thing and a teacher sent me pardon me one minute one one last thing and a teacher sent me information about um in the eth grade curricula one of the things they have to discuss is looking at a broad opportunity of EV events that are happening in their um in their world which would mean civil rights kinds of things and um lgbtq kind of things and you know um all of those

134kind of things so M Bradford Mr chair I move that we approve policy code 3200 selection of instructional materials C2 last paragraph striking three items strike number one other nations strike other two family photos strike number three Student Art otherwise I move to pass the policy as it's written with those three strikeouts okay is there a second I'll second first and second we are out of time comment on that one of our board members just said creating policy on the dis so we have two people here who are not Mr chair I call the question excuse me I am talking I'm allowed to interrupt I called the question and we are out of time for this so miss Bo you please call the role Miss Bradford yes Miss crille no Miss Bart yes Mr wildor

135yes and Miss Mason yes and that passes shockingly Mr PR Bill order and finally we're at 7300 yes ma'am we're out of time policy 7300 staff responsibilities I move to pass a policy striking three items pass our five minutes Mr a I have on second we have a point of order Other Nation strike family f uh excuse me Mr Bradford we have a point of order go ahead you said five more minutes and then you just told me we were out of time so we need to hold off on 7300 till next one next time okay Mr chair I have a point to if I may yes sir we've been going about uh amending the uh policies that were presented and then doing a vote on the overall policy as amended you didn't do that

136on the very last one if you want to do that now okay uh so let let's go ahead and vote on the last policy which was 3200 uh I thought we did but I me maybe we didn't okay um all in favor of that policy please signify by saying I I I all opposed no okay that passes 4 to1 um again we are at the end of our time but we do have 7,300 in front of us we can make a motion we move on and do that at the next meeting okay we have a motion to postpone the discussion of 7300 to our next meeting next regular meeting is there a second if not I would entertain a motion to extend time so we can discuss 7300 is there such a motion Mr chairman

137I move that we extend time for 1 minute okay we have first and second any other discussion if not all in favor of extending time for 1 minute to vote on 7300 please signify by saying I I I all opposed no pass is forwarded one yes ma'am I move that we pass policies 3200 selection of instru 7300 oh sorry 7300 staff responsibilities um striking three items um or phrases under letter A I strike out other nations strike out family photos strike out Student Art otherwise I move to pass it as written with those three strikeouts is there a second second first and second could we read the things that she struck out again just so everybody takes in the full of this m raford would you please reread those happy to other nations Family Photos

138St pleas okay your first and second um she needs to read them all I ask her to read them I'm sorry she did but I I I stopped so go ahead please would you reread them please certainly other nations Family Photos St art okay can I have a point of clarification please so what are we going to do about when we are having discussions in our classrooms about other Nations and what are we going to do about Forest Hills Global Elementary School and Gregory international school at Gregory quiet please so if we strike those out then that means those teachers are pretty hamst struck um on hamstring or whatever the word is um on being able to deliver their curriculum and it also will be in violation perhaps of the NIS evaluation tool where teachers

139have to be able to put those kinds of things up to be welcoming including in their classrooms all please okay um that's a good question Miss buy would you please call the role no answer to the question we were out of time quiet please miss Bo please call the rooll Miss Bradford yes Miss kille no no Miss barnhard yes Mr wbore no and Miss Mason yes passes three to two who were the three oh who never thank you never mind I can count all right um I believe that's the quiet down please thank you very much we'll continue on uh next we have our Head Start Grant unfortunately we did not receive the update from um the federal government so we cannot at this time proceed so we do not have anything to share okay

140so um we're going to have to postpone that okay okay thank you very much moving on to Legal Services um Miss uh um CRA you were the one that brought this for us um yes sir I would like to make a motion that we hire the Crossley um Coler Macintosh Coler Hanley and eids LLC Law Firm effective July 1st 2024 second first and a second motion Bill barart okay uh discussion Mr chair I move to amend that motion in adding Crosley mcar Collier at all to join the Vogal Law Firm on our legal team as our forward- facing board attorneys and maintaining our other law firms the rate should be the same across across the board I believe that's $255 an hour we're paying now for the top the top tier there okay there's amendment

141is there a second hearing none we'll go back to the original motion um to uh extend uh or to hes thank you for getting me straight C the Crosley Macintosh colier Hanley and eids uh Law Firm any other discussion to provide legal services for the board and the district effective July 1st 2024 okay Miss Mason I'm not sure permission wise what I need to do but I'm just curious last month when we had this discussion it was vem vem opposed by um individuals because it was stated that this particular Law Firm was unqualified so I'm just wondering if there's any further information that I didn't get um that changed the minds of individuals on the board M like I mean I didn't change my vote so I haven't voted yet so okay if not let's

142uh move forward with the the count um please Mr CH I do have one point of discuss please go ahead I'd like to clarify because on their um on their bid they were open to negotiation so one of the things that I would like for us to consider is negotiating the terms and just just in that thought um I think Miss suton may have reached out to them I was asked to reach out and just confirm that the um rates that were provided in The Proposal were still um current and they provided some new information to me earlier today um the new partner rate is 250 um the associates rate is 175 an hour and then the paralal 125 so that is L what was the paralal I'm sorry sorry what was the pargal 125

143okay thank you okay we have a motion and second in front of us uh Miss buy would you please call the rooll M Bradford no Miss greyville yes Miss Barnhart yes Mr wbore yes and Miss Mason no he that passes 32 all right next on our list is number two the vocal Law Firm Mr willor yes M graille um I move that we eliminate the discussion on this one since we're not using Vogal Law Firm we don't need to waste our time on um talking about his his contract or his rates okay there's a motion to eliminate number two from our discussion is there a second on that I'll second that okay we have a first and second further discussion Mr chairman Miss Bradford if excuse me you look at the minutes on this day

144last month I made a motion that passed 4 to three to continue with the Vogal Law Firm so it wasn't continue for 5 minutes it wasn't continue until a board member to decides to object the next time it certainly looks to me like one board member is trying to reverse a decision that we made last month and currently the Vogal Law Firm is our law firm and there was no end dat on what the motion was that passed 43 um and so they continue as our attorney so taking it off the agenda um is not the right move to make all right any other discussion okay hearing none uh we do have a motion and second in front of us to remove the local law firm uh discussion from from today um and I guess

145effectively that would end that um discussion on the new contract because I think there's at least two different contracts uh in front of us from the the Vogal Law Firm Mr chair yes sir mat please um it was the will of the board at the last board meeting to continue with our Law Firm that motion passed and so it's the superintendent's role and the chair's role to effectuate the will of the board shortly after that meeting our firm presented uh Miss Sutton with a contract for the chair to sign on behalf of the board to keep our firm on as the board ordered um so frankly uh the only step left is for the chair to sign the contract as presented in order to effectuate the will of the board as pasted last board meeting

146M graville so um thank you for your comments Mr vogo but you're not a member of this board so they don't count as far as in a voting capacity um I did go back specifically and listen to the meeting and it said we will continue with the contract and the contract ends on June the 30th so that there can't be anything more clear than that um if you submitted if any of our clients or people that we hire um submit contracts because they want to then um you know that does that's not how we operate so I just wanted to make that clear is I did listen um to that conversation and it said that we would continue the contract and Mr Vogel even said you can vote if you want and you said okay

147let's just vote we didn't even have to vote on that because it was obvious that um we continue the contract until the contract ends and we didn't have another legal council so I I take issue with um a part a vendor who's nobody else is here to represent themselves and that he gets to um think that he can make that that motion or make that insertion into our discussion Mr chair Miss Bradford I strenuously disagree with my colleague's opinion it is erroneous I did not say contract I said continue she is mist Shen okay well so we have the motion we have in front of us right now is to remove the discussion of the Vogal law firm uh from T from today's discussion I think we probably my own personal opinion at this was

148we probably should iron this out one way or the other not just remove it because if we remove it it still leaves it out in this area is you know what what what have we said what have we not said so I think we need to Define that as a board today uh what we I will withdraw that motion to remove it and um then I would make a motion that we discontinue our contract um with Vogal Law Firm that expires on June the 30th okay so there's a motion to end end the contract with vogle on June the 30th as we already have in place okay is there a second I'll second that okay first second discussion of a motion to to end vocal Law Firm contract on June 30th hearing no discussion uh

149Miss buy please call the role Miss Bradford no Miss Crill yes Miss Barnhart yes Miss wbore yes and Miss Mason no pass is 3 to two moving forward we have the syn law firm um re revision again there was a um oversight that did not have all the parts we needed into in that contract I'll make a motion that we accept the new revised contract is there a second okay so second barnhard discussion Mr chairman bar uh M Bradford excuse me um this latest version of the sync agreement um the first one had for special education and related Services Under legal services this one does not um it does have it mentioned in the title but the first one did and also second question did we get the insurance policies for Mr sink that were

150promised we did and did you get um copies of them I did thank you um I would think that you'd want to put what was the one of the things in the first contract um for special education and related Services put that back in it was left out when I did a side by side comparison between the three versions that we have from them the um Rome contract was uploaded so we had this discussion during agenda review and so the new contract is out there now if you look now that verbage is in that legal services paragraph I downloaded this one at 2:00 yeah it was uploaded after that we realized it hadn't been replaced so they have it on the screen now um um it's not in ours um if you Mr chair I'd

151like to amend I move I move to amend your motion okay to take the term back from March 12th to 2024 to December 31st 2025 to end December 31st 2024 okay there's a motion to amend is there a second second second okay okay discussion on that motion okay we'll vote on the toian of yeah I just want to say no I don't think that we need to do that at this point in time Miss uh buy please call this is on the amendment only miss buy please call the RO Miss Bradford yes Miss krael no Miss barnhard no Mr wior no and Miss Mason yes that amendment is defeated back to the original motion Miss buy please call the rooll Mr I need to have that repeated because I'm still not clear on what we're

152taking out basically all we added in was that the we have added the insurance section in there basically is that correct um please tell me I'm right this is the same contract that we went over at Agenda review except the first paragraph added the clarification that it was only for special education purposes that wasn't included um during the gender review it wasn't in paragraph okay that's what I thought thank you okay Miss buy Miss Bradford no Miss kill yes Miss Barnhart yes Mr wbore yes and Miss Mason no pass is 3 to two Okay caring on next we have the perner spru contract not sure why that's here but but M crille I believe you brought that for oh yeah the only reason I asked for that one um not to discuss um what's in

153it I mean not to discuss you know keeping it but just to um I was kind of honoring um Miss Bradford's concept of making sure that our um that our contracts with our Legal Services were pretty much the same and um I'm I'm okay with this with this contract okay that was the only point was for pointed information anyone else want to discuss that if not we will Mr chairman ma'am um so we have a brand new contract from pointer scroll to continue them out for this is the same okay all right sorry um all right actually Mr chair I I I make a motion that we just let that contract expire and I'll second that motion second is Mason so that motion so let me pull it I pull it up then we discuss

154it one second please so it is through June 2024 so it is fit or it is ready to be expire so you're saying to to expire let it expire on June 2024 yes sir all right okay so then I have a comment yes why do we have I didn't pay close enough attention why would we have one of our EC company legal firms expire in 18 months and the other one that we did on the exact same day expire I don't understand how that happened Miss Mason because we didn't get the contract from syn Law Firm until about 10 minutes before we voted on and people did not get the opportunity to read through and see that time frame then I'd like to amend then I would like to make a motion I only brought

155it Forward well she's already got a motion on the table I'm sorry the motion is to to get rid of them to to let uh the June 30th date SP now you can amend that but we got yes I would like to amend that okay that we um amend their contract to match that of the scene yes okay is there a second he none all right we have a motion and second to allow per sprules contract that ends on June 30th 2024 to end any other discussion if not miss buoy please call the rooll Miss Bradford yes Miss kille no Miss Barnhart yes Mr bore yes and Miss Mason yes that passes okay Miss Sutton you are up with the budget amendment so in front of you is a resolution um that will allow us

156to continue operating as you know we do we do not have a current budget in place we're waiting to hear back um funding from the county um and also some State funding and so this resolution would allow us to continue operations at a reduced level compared to this year um until we actually have that budget in place requesting the board's approval I'll make a let's let's have the motion first and then we can have discussion I'll make a motion we accept the uh interim uh budget resolution as provided is there a second second first and second any questions Miss Bradford has this changed at all since we saw you last week not thank you any other discussion questions not all in favor of accepting the interim budget resolution please signify by saying I I all

157opposed pass is 5 Z thank you you Mr chairman yes ma'am I would like to take the unusual step of making a motion that going forward when staff change a policy they put the Tim stamp right in the title of the policy when it goes into our system and then if you change it in the 48 hours before we have a meeting you send an email to all of us because I checked it at to something and it had changed after that so it's very challenging for us to know what you've done and to know what we're looking at and we prepare for what we're looking at and then you've changed it so I'd like to have a time stamp on on when it's put in here it would say this one would say 2024

1582025 interim budget you know original you know or whatever ver version one so if there's a version four or five we know it instantly when we look this is too confusing yes go ahead um we can't add items to the agenda without having a super majority so I would like to take a vote on having this directive voted on okay let's uh so the the directive uh from Miss Bradford first off is there a second I'll second okay now uh we do need a super majority to add that under new business um Miss buy please call the role Miss Bradford yes Miss crille no Miss Barnhart sure sure Mr wildor yes and Miss Mason yes okay so we can discuss it as we have uh 1 two 3 4 what was the vote four to

159one 1 two 4 to one we made the super okay the comment yes ma'am I made this exact request when we were talking about policy 23 whatever it was for um um let me find it so I don't give the wrong one for advanced delivery of materials 2335 thank you and so I did not get a second on that I didn't even we didn't even discuss it so it really is kind of interesting to me that when one board member suggests it oh no we can't even possibly think that but when The Other Board member suggests it then it is an dire emergency again no I can say what I want one of order go ahead um we are supposed to refrain oop sorry we are supposed to refrain debate must be confined to the

160merits of the pending question speakers must address the remarks to the chair maintain a courteous tone and especially in reference to any divulgence of appear opinion avoid interjecting a personal note into the debate that you the chair rules that the point of order is well taken so let's go ahead and I you know I think both of you from what I'm hearing both of you are in agreement with this it's just a matter of who said it at the right time I apologize that miss crille you didn't feel like it was at the right time um and if I didn't vote for that I do apologize to you Miss buy would you please call the rooll on this we don't doy we don't do staff that's yeah but um I yeah actually a good point

161yeah uh he brings up the point about that the policies he we do not we do the policies they don't do the policies so maybe no no it this isn't this isn't the policies this is things like contracts um and budget amendments things that we look at through our computer all week long and prepare for it and um particularly the night before particularly the day of we're looking at what the attachments are those would be you know um we documents as an attachment when you save that attachment you just save as and you put a Tim stamp on it um and it makes it very helpful to know that we're looking at the original or the second version or the third version or the 13th version because time and time again we have had these

162mistakes um and just for clarification I ran this request into the chairman earlier in the week and he suggested we move it to the policy committee and I'm not willing to wait that long right now because it's happened again tonight and it's very frustrating to do this job with that continuing to happen to us time and time again Mr Mr chair Wayne yes yes sir man I suggest that there be a motion articulated I think the only motion that we heard was to add it to the agenda which passed okay I motion but I make motion that I move that we add a timestamp in the last last week of preparation to any attachments that are going to be on our screens that you have updated you put a timestamp on it and then you

163let us know I have changed this policy it's one email to all of us I've changed this attachment it has changed please look at it so that we're prepared when we get here and is there a second second okay Miss Bron is that a possibility why please okay is possible okay all right any other discussion Miss Crill where is this new directive going to land is it going to be in policy is it a procedure that Dr fa has to um manage is it a procedure that the board chair has to go in um and commit to looking at every time um before we vote on a directive then we need to know where it's going to land and who is responsible for that Dr F thank you Mr chairman I just have one I

164I do not think that the notification part is needed personally um I do understand from the procedural side adding a timestamp because we we know where all of our documents to be found and so looking at an updated document I think where the frustration from colleagues has been is when it changes and when you think you're looking at the same one because it's so close just having that time stamp I think would do that I don't think a notification to the board is given otherwise we're probably going to get like I don't know at least 15 emails just from senior staff prior to meeting and I don't think that's necessary I understand where the procedural frustration is coming from my colleagues and so I don't think that this personally would land in policy because I

165believe this is a procedure that could be simply added minus the notification part that's my sense my only question is so that the board would since this is I guess we use this as a working meeting Miss buoy in um assembly where would it show up because once you lock it then they're not able to put anything in and so you have to unlock it for them to be able to put something in so how does that what would that procedure look like um thank you Dr F I would need to confer with my repres representative from assembly to see if there is a timestamp option um currently I'm not aware of one however I can reach out to my rep that supports this with assembly to see if there is a timestamp option or

166if there's like a a timeline tracker and um lots of times you know it's a simple remove the one version and upload the next version so it's really not a full upload of the entire agenda item it's more of just a change out of the attachment or an update to the content of the item so I will need to confer with my assembly rep to see if there is an option that we can monit well that there is a um a monitoring system of the times that we um revise or update the agenda items um Mr I was not meaning a technical timestamp that you have to go in for example tonight or today at some point during the day um under Legal Services item three it changed and somebody put uh saved as you

167know it's what do in word you save as revise sync law contract and then the date was on it I'm just asking that you show us that you've revised something so that we don't have to go back and read every single attachment in our board Bo packet you know the hour before a board meeting and that's somebody did this I don't know who um we didn't get any notice so if you weren't you know constantly looking at it you wouldn't have known but at least when we got here we'd see the word revised um and that's helpful um I find in my work I Revis documents a lot if I put revised and I put the date I revised it somebody can look and see when I revised it and know if they've looked at

168that one and it keeps us from confu confusing documents ments because in this last month or two we have had some serious document confusion and I really don't want to go forward with any more of that okay we have a motion and second in front of us miss barnhard Mr chair the last point of discussion on this I feel like the directive would be better knowing that Miss buy does use symbl as our communication device I think that she should research that it because I believe this is a procedural thing to do that so that we can have a better process in place so me personally I am cannot support this as the motion is presented only because I think right now the directive is to direct staff to create a better solution um but

169I think we have to get a little bit more clarity on what the feasibility is because we're using this interface and I think that if it's something that is a very simple fix to do otherwise it would be a different procedure that he would have to direct the staff to do as far as moving forward so Miss blue would you please call the rooll again this is U Miss Bradford's motion to timestamp any changes and to email everyone before doing or after doing it Miss Bradford yes Miss Crill no Miss Barnhart no Mr wildbore no and Miss Mason yes that's defeated we will carry on with our close session at this point um I will entertain a motion to go into close session pursuing to General statute 143 31811 for the following purpose to consult

170with an attorney uh in order to preserve the attorney client privilege between the attorney and the board and to consider the qualifications competence performance character Fitness and conditions of appointment or conditions of initial employment of an individual employed or considered for employment with the school system or to hear or investigate complaint charge grievance by or against any individual employee is there such a motion so moved is there a second I'll make the second all in favor please signify by saying I I I all opposed we are on close session please uh be there by 7:55 e e e all that it says is that all righty moment to reset I'm just about to I got to get back on here all right just wait one second here for Miss Mason to join us all right

171board members we're back in Open Session and we have in front of us the uh policy excuse me the Personnel report is there a motion so moved move to accept okay is there a second second second any discussion if not all in favor please signify by saying I I all opposed s is 5 Z anyone have any quick corespondence hearing none yeah I have oh Mr crell I just um would like to make note that you recognize um all of our students all of our staff um in this month of June during Friday month okay thank you all right uh continue on with announcements uh the turnaround task force will meet uh Wednesday June 12th 20124 in the Board of Education Center at at 12: p.m. and the policy will meet on Tuesday June 18th

172at 10:00 a.m. at the Board of Education Center the public uh general public will have an option to view remotely on the new County Schools tv YouTube and again as was mentioned before we uh congratulate all the retirees as well as all of the uh graduates this week so uh and and in past week so uh at this point I think the last order of business is to adjourn is there a motion to adjourn rejourn a motion is there a second second okay all in favor put singy by saying I I I all opposed we are adjourned thank you board members