001reflection. All right. Well, welcome everyone. We've got a lot of the agenda. There's a few people visiting tonight, so we're going to we're going to get right to it. The next thing on the agenda is general information updates. Uh, do the members have anything? I've got one thing, Mr. Chairman. Um, I >> [laughter] >> Um, you know, I don't I think that all of us here are always proud of our schools. Um, but we have just found out that all eight of our high schools have been named AP Schools of Distinction. And so, because of all of our um, fine work we do on our AP tests. So, I just want to say congratulations to all OUR HIGH SCHOOLS. >> [applause] >> NOT TOO BAD. EIGHT OUT OF EIGHT. CONGRATULATIONS, DR. YOUNG. Very excited. You
002seem excited. We're very excited. All right. With that, we're going to get right into our busiest part of the evening, recognitions with Mr. Derek Hershey. Well, good evening. As they are making their way down, we're going to um, go ahead and get started because we've got a lot of people to recognize tonight. Um, my name is Derek Hershey and I am honored to serve as the Associate Superintendent of Human Resources. And it's my pleasure to recognize several outstanding achievements this evening. We begin by recognizing the Forsyth County Teacher Academy Cohort 8 graduates. And to recognize them, I have got with me Ms. Laura Adams. Thank you, Mr. Hershey. Good Good evening. And um, just to introduce myself, I am the coordinator of our Forsyth Teacher Academy. Very proud to coordinate this amazing group. Um, tonight
003we are excited to celebrate our mid-year cohort. This is our inaugural group. And um, these teachers began teaching with us uh, and completed an 18-month program to get certified as teachers. This talented group of educators includes paraprofessionals, substitute teachers, and those that have industry experience. And all of this has been such a valuable asset to our schools and to our students. We're incredibly honored to celebrate them this evening. Superintendent Young and esteemed members of the board, it is my honor to introduce to you the graduates of the Forsyth Teacher Academy cohort eight. As I call your name, please come forward. From Matt Elementary, Miss Rebecca Benefield, certified in special education adaptive curriculum. >> [applause] >> From South Forsyth Middle School, Miss Claudia Gonzalez, certified in Spanish. >> [applause] >> From Chattahoochee Elementary School, Miss Aditi
004Jha, certified in special ed adaptive curriculum. >> [applause] >> From Coal Mountain Elementary School, Miss Carrie Lee Martin, certified in special ed general curriculum. >> [applause] >> From Big Creek Elementary School, Miss Swetha Karthik, certified in special ed adaptive curriculum. And finally, from Denmark High School, Miss Allison McCreary, certified in special ed adaptive curriculum. Let's give all of our graduates one large round of applause. All right. Thank you. All right. Do I have any Before they leave, do I have any family members that are here to celebrate our FTA candidates? Yes, let's give you you guys a big round of applause. Thank you so much. Congratulations. >> [applause] >> We next celebrate the recipient of the best middle school AV program in the nation in film excellence. Uh come on forward, you guys. Under the
005leadership of Greg Walkup, this program has earned national recognition by the Student Television Network. Mr. Walkup and team, are you guys coming forward? It's all right. There's traffic going down 400, too. We can make this work, right? Okay, they're heading in. Congrats to Mr. Walkup and students Acklin and Lochlan named top filmmaker contributors for their creativity and high-quality production work. Great job, GENTLEMEN. >> [applause] [applause] >> WE GOT WE'RE GOOD? NO PICTURES? MICHELLE, you got them? Wonderful, thank you. Next, we recognize the robotics team from South Forsyth Middle School sponsored by Ms. Heidi Maria. These teams were Forsyth conference winners, state champions, and world robotics competitors representing their school and district at a global level. Team D competitors are Arav, Vihan, Cannon, and Vab Vaibhav. Team F competitors are Prasanna, Vihaas, and Krishan. Congratulations to
006all of you. >> [applause] >> Great job. Congratulations. >> [applause] >> Thank you. Great job. >> Yeah. Hold on everybody. Stop the line. Turn around and look at that lady in the back. Ready? 1 2 3 There we go. GREAT JOB. >> [applause] >> GREAT JOB. GREAT JOB. Also from South Forsyth Middle School, we are honored the 2026 state winners of you be you challenge. And from South Middle, we have Priyal, Zoey, Pravala, and Lukya. Congratulations. >> [applause] >> Great job. >> [clears throat] >> Great job. Next from North Forsyth High School, we recognize the state champion gymnastics team led by coaches Kimden, Rodaki, and Andrea Crittenden. COME ON FORWARD. YEP. >> [applause] >> RECOGNIZING STUDENTS CARSON, CATHERINE, LOGAN, ELENA, CAROLINE, MCKENNA, AUDREY, CLAIRE, ELLIE, HANNAH, ADITI, EMMELINE, EMMELINE, GEORGIA, BROOKLYN, and Haley. Congratulations to
007all of you. Come on over. >> [applause] >> Congratulations. Awesome job, guys. Great job. Congrats. Great job. >> Great job, Raiders. >> [applause] >> Okay, we are now recognizing outstanding student achievements at the 2026 Georgia Science and Engineering Fair, starting with the students from Alliance Academy for Innovation under the sponsorship of Caroline Medaris. We honor the following students. Come on down. We honor Satish Uh I'm sorry. Let Yep, we honor Satish, recipient of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineering Award for Materials and Bioengineering. I wonder what that means. >> [laughter] >> And Shorya and Karthik Karthikeya in math, computing, and engineering embedded systems. Congratulations to you, too. >> [applause] >> Great job. >> [applause] [clears throat] >> Next, from Riverwatch Middle School, we honor Meta and Sophia for excellence in life science, plant science.
008Come on forward. Great job. >> [applause] >> NEXT FROM DESANA MIDDLE SCHOOL, additional honorees include Sanvar, Advay, and Adheep in the Thermo Fisher Junior Innovation Innovators category, and Mukund and Sri from Vickery Creek Middle School in Citadel Securities Innovation. >> [applause] >> Damn it, Sri. Which one are you from? Uh from Vickery Middle? Sri? Yes. Yeah, you're good. Come on forward. We now recognize the 2026 GHSA State Champion in Literary Interpretation from Denmark High School, led by Mr. Kirk Grizzle, with students Jade and Madeline. Congratulations. >> [applause] [applause] >> Great job, guys. Next from Lambert High School, we recognize the eSports team state champions, led by coach Jade Lalakus. Student competitors are John, Alan, Zoran, Chase, and Brian. Congratulations to all of you. Great job. Great job. >> [applause] [snorts] [laughter] >> I think Mr.
009Grimes had a hard time holding that that hook'em horn up there. You did a great job, Mr. Grimes. Yeah, that's good. We now recognize the SkillsUSA state champions from Alliance Academy for Innovation led by Mike Argro, Barry Phillips, and Stephanie Pickens. Great job. >> [applause] >> I'M ON FORWARD, YEAH. GREAT JOB. Great job. Okay, we're s- Yeah, keep them coming, guys. Keep them coming. >> [applause] >> Great job. You must be DECA. How do you think I knew that? We also are excited to recognize our DECA state champions from Alliance Academy for Innovation led by Joan Irwin for hospitality services, Arnica and Annika, and buying and mercha- merchandising team decision, Kaylin and Ida. CONGRATULATIONS. >> [applause] >> GREAT JOB. CONGRATULATIONS. We also recognize from Alliance Alliance Academy for Innovation >> [snorts] >> our HOSA HOSA
010state champions led by Greg Ederly, Janice Kokovar, and Julie Smith. We have Anar, Zaina, Monish, Shreyans, Sanvi, Manasi, Akshara, Supreetha, Sharvi, and Samhita. Congratulations. >> [applause] >> And [clears throat] also from Alliance, we have a theme here, don't we, guys? Our FBLA state champions led by Michael Hall, Jonathan Willy, and Christopher Webb. We have Hansika, Sahasra, Keshav, Danish, Ganesh, Shree, Neha, and Sneha. Congratulations to all of you. >> [applause] >> And surprise, surprise, we recognize the First Robotics state champions from Alliance Academy for Innovation led by Darren Ray Reiger? Did I get that right? Reiger? Okay. Recipients of the First Peachtree District Impact Award with students Natesh, Malar, and Brinley. Congratulations. >> [applause] >> All right, guys. So, >> Can I log in and see if there's any awards for anybody else or Um well,
011I'm about to announce another school's state championship. So, I'm excited to recognize GHSA swim state champions from South Forsyth High School led by coach Aaron Loggins. We honor the boys 400 freestyle relay team, Oliver, Colston, Henry, and Andrew. >> [applause] >> And also, I Can I say this, too? Cuz they might be in this picture that Oliver uh recognize Oliver as a state champion in the 200-yard and 500-yard freestyle. Great job. >> [applause] >> My shine, my eyes. All right, and now moving over to elementary school. We recognize Science Olympiad state champions from Shiloh Point Elementary, our sharks, led by Ms. Misty Neimuth and Gina Standridge. We honor a lot of students. Come on forward, guys. Great job to all of you. Congratulations. >> [applause] >> Wow, awesome job. Great job, guys. Proud of you.
012You know, I used to be a shark. Did you know that? I used to be a shark. I love the sharks. Great job, you guys. So proud of you. >> Don't squeeze in. Give everybody your time, parents. Zoom in. >> [laughter] >> All right. Now, we're going to look all the way in the back, right here. Lady in the pink. Top shark. All right, guys. Congratulations, guys. GREAT JOB, SHARKS. >> [applause] >> I SHOULD HAVE TAUGHT THE I should have taught the board members how to do the Shiloh shark. It's called fins up. Fins up. That's right. Fins up, Miss Beach. Fins up. >> [snorts] >> Okay, we're going to give them a minute to clear. But, while we're doing that, if I could have Miss Crystal Brooks from the Transportation Department come on forward.
013You're going to stand right here. And I'm going to I'm going to talk about you for a second, if you're okay. Miss Bro- I'll give a speech. I got it. Uh-oh. They're They're They're try- They I think they're trying to make you nervous. Well, we are proud to recognize Miss Crystal Brooks from the Transportation Department as our employee of the month. Here are just a few comments shared by her colleagues. Crystal always goes above and beyond and greets everyone with a smile. She is devoted, builds strong relationships, and is always willing to help. She trains new drivers and consistently demonstrates leadership and teamwork. She brings experience and is always ready to assist wherever is needed. And she leads by example and leaves a lasting impression on her students. These comments just reflect the impact Crystal
014has on those around her each day. Please join us in congratulating Ms. Crystal Brooks, our employee of the month. >> [applause] >> CONGRATULATIONS. DO WE HAVE ANY FAMILY OR FRIENDS, CO-WORKERS? I had a feeling you guys might be Mr. Satterfield's in the back. Great job. Congratulations, Crystal. All right. I think that concludes all of our all of our recognitions. It is now time to turn it over for our superior spotlight for Mr. Jordan Littemore and team to come on forward. Great job, everybody. Look. You can use either one. Just talk close to it. Juan, you're first. You're just You're starting off. Just right here by the microphone. >> [snorts] >> Juan, you can start when you're ready. Good evening, members of the board, Superintendent Mitch Young, and guests. We are students from Elementary School and
015tonight we want to share our story. A few years ago, um, our school data was heading in the wrong direction. From 2020 to 2022, our scores were kind of nose diving. And unfortunately for Mr. Livermore, that happened right when he came principal. So technically, we blamed him. >> [laughter] >> At first we thought, "Wow, this guy shows up and everything starts going downhill." But then something changed. Before we talk about that, we want you to understand who we are. Elementary is probably the coolest school in the district because we are a true melting pot. Our students come from all different backgrounds, cultures, languages, and experiences. That And that's what makes our school so special. That means we have lots of needs, but also means we have lots of strength. Back then, school was fun. We
016liked our teachers, we worked hard, but honestly, we didn't really know what we were aiming for. We didn't really understand our goals, we didn't know what we needed to improve on, and our parents did not know what was going on. Everybody was working hard, but for what? Then in 2023, Mr. Livermore started coming. You mean busting in the classrooms like the Kool-Aid Man on a mission? >> [laughter] >> And we thought, "Here he comes again causing chaos." But actually, he was coming in with a real purpose. He started showing us exactly how our school was performing, then he gave us our individual data folders. And honestly, it did not look great. But for the first time, we actually understood where we were, where we needed to go, and what growth looked like. He explained that
017we represent ourselves, our teachers, our families, our school, and most importantly, his job evaluation. >> [laughter] >> That part really stuck with us. Then he made our parents come in for data talks, too. That changed everything. Now, after every assessment, he comes back again and again and again. He is completely obsessed with growth. And somehow that made us start believing that we could actually improve. Superintendent Young, Mr. Livermore also promised us that when we become a Title I Distinguished School, that you and Governor Brian Kemp are going to arrive at our school in a helicopter, and we're all going to party like rockstars. We just wanted to publicly ask, is that actually true? Cuz Mr. Livermore does tend to exaggerate. >> [laughter] >> Tonight, we want to show you a sample data talk. Thank you
018for believing in students like us. Find your people. They're going to come up with you all. I'm sorry. They'll they'll quickly just introduce themselves to you. Go find a friend. Do- Dorian's a nice guy. Take him. >> [clears throat] >> Yeah, some will have two, but it's fine. All right, guys. I'll start and they'll kind of settle in. So, what they said, our data was headed down just like the plane in the picture. And I actually went to each classroom. This started about 3 years ago, and we have continued that because it has been so successful for us, but we go into the classrooms and we actually show the kids the data of the school. We even show them the CCRPI report and we tell them what that means. And this is just one of
019the many graphs we kind of show them, but you see right kind of after COVID we had a drop, but we continued to drop even when we were back from COVID. We still were not moving back up in the right direction. So they would see this data and then they were even able to log in to IC and see their own milestone data. And now that we have i-Ready, what you're looking at tonight is their i-Ready data. But you see, we started the talks in 2023 and our data in reading and math really did significantly move up each and every year. The green graph shows our progress score from CCRPI, which is out of 100. The first year it was a 92. You typically will have a high score one year, a lower score the
020next year, but you see for 3 years in a row we have kept that score in the 90s and the last one actually being a 96 cuz the kids continued to progress. And we've talked to the kids, "Every year you do better actually makes me more nervous because the next year is going to be that much harder from that new baseline that you have given us cuz we started in the back of the pack, but we have moved way up and now we have the possibility of falling forward or falling backwards and we want to continue to fall forward." So then, this is what you're seeing on theirs and they're going to explain this to you. They take i-Ready three times a year and that first little bar with the line is their first score
021on the test in the fall. So after the fall, we come and we show them this, we explain where they are. Then they take take the test in December, they then take it again in March. So, this is their result from August to March. That solid black line that says typical, which they'll show you, is where you're supposed to get to on the last day of school. So, if they've gotten there, they've gotten to the target by March, not the last day of school. So, they're already ahead of schedule. So, if they hit that typical line in reading, they get one star sticker. That dotted line is what they call stretch growth. That's going above and beyond growth expectations, again by the end of the year, not by March. But, if they've already hit it
022like the example up at top, that is incredible. They would get two superstar stickers cuz they've outdone themselves twice in that, just like this student um in the graph on reading. Then they get the math, and it's the exact same thing. And this student in math hit the typical line, so he would get a star for that. He is super super close to the stretch line, but not quite there, so he would not get the star there. But, we explain, do not give up. We continue to grow, but we don't know how to grow if we don't know where we are. So, after each assessment, they see their graph, how far their graph has grown, and how much further do we need to go. So, that is what you see on the first page. The
023second page is really neat. So, what i-Ready will do after that third assessment, it will project how well they are supposed to do on the milestones. And when we looked at our projected proficiency this year, we needed about 20 students to do better in ELA, and about 20 students to do better in math than what they were projected to meet our goal. So, what I actually do is they go in there and you see that black line that goes straight across. That is where they're projected to go. And the the purple on the bottom, it would be a level one on the milestone, they'll show you that. The pink would be a level two. Light blue is a level three is what we're shooting for. Level three is a dark. So, if you see in
024my example, we're in the pink. This guy is at a level two, but this guy is very interesting to me because he is so close to a level three. So, if he would put in a little bit more work, focus a little bit more on the test, give the next three weeks all he's got, he could actually bump up and go from a two to a three, and he could be one of those 20 students who beats the odds, so we beat our goal. This student on the other one, he has a level three, but he's so close to a level four. So, this just helps them see where they're predicted to be, and can I beat my score? And we have a lot of kids who will come up to us and say, "I'm
025going to get you that three." Or, "I'm going to get you that four." cuz they see how close they are. So, we can't wait to get the results from Milestones back. We hope to get math and science back and able to share with them before the end of the year cuz we'd like to show them, "Did you beat the projection or did you not beat the projection?" But, they know exactly where they are, where they need to go, and it has just been so cool to see how much effort they put forth now, and how seriously they take the test and preparing for the test, because they get that there's a real score that comes out of that, and that how they think they said they represent themselves and the school, and it's just phenomenal
026how these kids have helped the school grow so much. And guys, that is our presentation for the night, but take a minute to hang out with your student and I will wait I will come by and give you your superstar sticker if your kid earned it. So wait a minute. Let's see James. Now look, you hit the target there. Yeah. You hit two targets there. Look at those. Look at those. Exactly. Look at that. Look at these things. One there. Two there. Two left on the first. You can hit that target, but you didn't hit that one. Which one is it? Not yet. It's coming back. He's the one who said that probably. Yeah, >> [laughter] >> you did good. Now look, what about the other ones? You got 20. Look at that weakness. That's
027it. One more shot. I don't want to give it to you your first one. Hey, congratulations. Yeah. >> [laughter] >> High five if you got them. How much you going to give? >> [laughter] [laughter] >> Guys, thank you all so much for having US TONIGHT. YEAH. >> [applause] >> THANK YOU. >> [clears throat] >> THANK YOU. THANK YOU, MR. LIVERMORE AND COMPANY. We got two stars. Not three. I got three. Oh, okay. I have seven. >> [laughter] >> I have seven. We win. That means you cheated. YOU CAN ONLY >> [laughter] >> I HAVE TWO GIRLS. YEAH, you probably won't get seven if you got two girls. All right, guys. That was great. Thank you, guys. We're proud of you. You guys are doing great. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Livermore. And those charts are
028a lot more exciting than the ones that Larry will be sharing later. >> [laughter] >> They got color and everything. I I like it. >> And Larry doesn't give any stars out at all. No, he doesn't. >> [laughter] >> I think he should get a star. Can Can I just make a serious comment? Just Are you suggesting our comments are not serious? >> No, no, no, I just I'm just to add [clears throat] a little extra serious, but the fact that you guys own your learning. We We talk about that and have talked about that in education for so many years that when students own their learning then it's not something to be afraid of or intimidated by, but but as the young lady Ashton said to me like she knows what her goals are.
029She knows what to shoot for now. And that is tremendous. So So, hats off Jordan, your team, and to the teachers and students. That That That's what it is. It's all about student ownership. Great job. And I think I did hear Dr. Young say that he was open to the helicopter and uh I am. I don't know that Governor Kemp will still be flying around the helicopter. Uh cuz he's about to retire, but >> to fund that. But we'll see. Yeah. Well, you're on record now. I'm happy to do it. >> [laughter] >> All right, thanks, guys. Appreciate it. We're going to go ahead and take a short recess before we enter the business portion of the agenda. So, if you've got better things to do, this is a good time to go do it.
030All right, we are going to resume our program here. Next item on the agenda is public participation on agenda items. I believe we do not have anyone officially signed up. Correct. But, we're going to um make a accommodation for Mr. Krishan and we're going to allow him to move his speaking to this portion of the agenda. uh middle, so In celebration of Mother's Day Mother's Day, I'd like to give thanks to all the mothers out there, even though some mothers are more imperfect than others, including my own mother. As a society, we have given motherhood a short shrift for all too long. For example, the infamous Roe v. Wade decision, which became the law of the land less than 6 months before I was born, led us to lionize women who were willing to kill
031their own children as a sacrifice to their cubicle careers and to pity those that chose motherhood. I remember in particular a high school friend, a charming and intelligent young woman who stunned all of us by proclaiming that her top priority after high school was to get married and start a family. She could have been a doctor or a lawyer or an astronaut or any number of white-collar jobs with benefits and a sweet paycheck. And those choices would have given her power, pride, and social status. But her focus on family made her strange and unusual in a Roe v. Wade world. If you had a choice, why wouldn't you choose the greatness of a career rather than the drudgery of a housewife? Long ago, the Lane Furniture Company produced hope chests that young women and their
032mothers would stock with household essentials in preparation for marriage and a family. This tradition made clear the moral obligations of women. To maintain civilization, every woman needs to bear 2.1 children. And for every woman who chooses not to meet their moral obligation or is unable to for reasons outside of her control, some other woman needs to make up the difference. Pro-family messaging in our schools is there, but scarce. Early childhood development classes that map directly onto motherhood skills, for example. But most talk about motherhood is only around Mother's Day, and that's usually only to do some art project to give to your mom, not to imagine what it takes to prepare for becoming a mother yourself. Of course, we don't want to encourage mere motherhood so much that we incentivize unwed teen pregnancy. Motherhood and
033marriage are a package deal, and as important as it is to socialize young women into understanding their moral obligations to civilization, it is just as important to socialize young men into understanding their moral obligations to civilization, which includes protecting, providing for, and honoring a wife and family. For many, these claims will resonate because they match their personal religious faith. Indeed, religious institutions have been the sole keepers of this moral flame for all too long. But I'm reaching these conclusions as an atheist, born and raised in a Christian country and benefiting from the bounty of Western civilization. And if our children don't learn their moral obligations, it is that much harder for them to fulfill them. And so I humbly ask school board to look at adding more pro-marriage and pro-family activities and messaging in the
034classroom. Besides celebrating alumni who come back to work in Forsyth County after graduating from Forsyth County schools, we should celebrate those alumni who choose to become just mothers and start families in Forsyth County, bringing forth the next generation of civilization that we have been so blessed to enjoy. And so on that note, thank you very much for your time and the exception, and I would love to buy lunch for anyone >> [clears throat] >> who disagrees with me. Thanks, guys. Thank you, Mr. Gresham. All right, that brings us to item nine, the consent agenda. Have the members received all the documents in the agenda? All right, and then I'll seek a motion to approve the consent agenda. Motion by Mr. Usherwood, second by Mr. Grimes. Any discussion, comments? No? I'll take the vote then. All
035in favor? Unanimous. All right. Next, item 10, presentation and discussion items. My personal favorite time of the night, best charts. Mr. Larry Hamilton. First up is the revised timeline for the FY27 budget. Good evening. We're going to re-talk the 27 budget timeline based on delay in the bud- Governor not signed the budget till today. He officially signed it and also the Senate bill 33 being passed, which is causing the tax advisors in most counties state of Georgia to revise how they're going to produce the reports for us. So, we're still waiting here back from them today. Hopefully, the QB numbers will come out tomorrow. So, we were supposed to talk back on March 17th about the initial budget timeline and we did. Um and that pretty much did not work. So, now we here on
036May 12th again to talk about it updated. The proposal is to give you guys a presentation on May 26th meeting for the budget presentation at 5:00 p.m. And then I have the first two both budget millage hearing hearings on June 9th, 8:30 a.m., 9:15 a.m. And then on June 16th to have the other two millage meetings, one in the morning, one in the evening at 7:00 and then the second budget and then on 23rd come back and approve the budget. That's proposed. Uh we still you know >> Again, again the millage is going to be contingent though on our our friends at the tax assessor's office. Um and um So, so please stay tuned on that, but that this is this is what we're starting with what we're restarting with at this point. Any questions?
037Questions for you. Well, I guess we'll see cuz we're we're depending on a whole bunch of other people that are not in this room, so um >> Correct. we'll see how it how it all pans out, but >> Thank you, Mr. Hamill. Next up is the financial report. Good evening. Tonight we're going to talk about the April 2026 financial reports. And as always, we keep board goal five in mind, operational excellence, when we talk about financials. So, we started the month off with about $263 million, and we're down to about 219. Um this month, the reason that the first month was going to be a little bit higher than what we normally were expecting is cuz this is the month that we paid out that supplement that the governor approved uh for the 10-plus million
038dollars, and then we added the extra funds on top of that to make it for everybody. So, that'll be affecting this month's financials. When we look at cash position and fund balance position as compared to last year, you'll see that last month we pretty much got back to where they we were last year, but because of those extra payments we did this month and the cash we paid out, we've dropped below where we were this time last uh last year with April, both in cash position and fund balance position. When we look at the actual revenue, we'll see we brought in about 33 uh {point} nine million dollars. Currently, we're sitting at about 89.56% uh collections. This time last year, we were 89.92, so we're about half a percentage point behind collections right now. Um
039we still have outstanding about five million dollars on ad valorem tax at 98.47. Previous years, we've been in excess of 99%, almost 99 and a half. Um one thing we have to look forward to is I had a talk with Mr. Mayfield at the tax commissioner's office. He said we will get all the money. It's just a matter of timing right now in terms of when it comes in. Uh we do have a big bill dropping, uh some big utilities coming in. And there's quite a few apartment complex and real estate real estate properties that haven't paid yet for this time of the year. So, we're waiting to see when those drop. Any questions on revenue? So, we look at it compared to previous years, you'll see that we are slightly behind. We'll put the
040graph chart. Uh and we have been pretty much behind almost all year long, especially in November. Um again, the largest uh this time of year, the largest percentage of what we collect is uh QB funds and followed by some of the tax funds like title ad valorem. Um as you can see here, I mean, this is how close it is. You're less than a half a percentage point difference. So, we've been pretty much, you know, on par where we need to be through the month of April, but you know, when you talk half a percentage, that could be 3 and 1/2 million dollar difference, 4 million dollar difference, just how large the uh the budget is set up for this year. Now, we will look at the expenses year to date. We can see we're
041about 70, almost 79 million dollars in expenses. Again, there is an additional funds in there for the uh supplement payout. We're at 83.85% in terms of payout. This time last year, uh we were 83.13. So, you can see there were about half a percent ahead on the expenditures this time of year to date. So, with half a percent on the revenue, half a percent on expenses, that's about a 1% uh difference between the two. You can see the ex- Here again, you can see the difference where every month we've been pretty much running a little bit ahead on the expenditures uh for compared to last year. Um instructions again is usually the largest percentage of what we pay out. It was followed closely by M&O and student transportation. And here's just the actual expenditures. You
042can show where again, it's almost dead on because the difference is less than half a percent. And then when we pull up the reserve amounts, you'll notice that we actually are behind the budget a little bit based on the reserve amounts that we spent this year. Now when we look at debt service cash analysis through the month of April, you can see that we're about $11.5 million on debt on debt service. And this time last year we only had about $768,000. So we've done a better job of making sure we had funds in that account. Uh currently SPLOST is about uh 4.8 and we had about 10.9 last year. On the special revenue funds, um based on where we are this time of the year, the activity is normal in terms of both of what
043the revenue coming in versus expenses going out. On capital projects and school food service accounts, based on cash balance this time of year, we were about 26 last year uh for capital projects and about 20.6 on school food. Uh school food did have a deficit built into their budget, that's why it's a little bit lower. On capital projects, we are spending money pretty fast when it comes to SPLOST 6. So we'll keep an eye on that going forward between now and December. On investment summary, we have about 130.5 $130.5 million in general fund. This time last year we had about 160. That $30 The $30 difference ties into the reserve funds we spent this year and a little bit of the deficit that looks like we're going to be building to the budget at the
044end of the year end based on expenses and revenue. Currently we have about 60 million in school food services. We had about the same amount last year. Uh and SPLOST 6 has uh 4 million versus 10.9 last year. Good news is we had a good month of collections for SPLOST at almost $5.6 million. Um we were predicting about 5.3 to 5.4, so we're a little bit ahead schedule. Hopefully that continues the rest of the next several months as we close out SPLOST six. And the ending balance for the elementary schools uh was 5.3 last year, about 4.9. The activity is normal for this time of the year. In the middle schools, we have about $2 million versus $2 million last year. And high schools have about seven versus seven last year. And again, the activity
045is normal for this time of the year. In terms of the difference [clears throat] in the balances, there hasn't been much change. Uh it's gone up and down by 1% for each of the areas. And that is the financial statement for April 2026. Any questions, please? Questions? Thank you, Mr. Hamel. All right. That brings us to item 11 on the agenda, action items. Uh first up, Mr. Derek Hershey. Policy GAK-1, criminal background check. Good evening. Last month, I presented proposed revisions to policy GAK-1, criminal background check. Uh it's been updated based on legal counsel's recommendations. And since the time I presented, I do not believe, Ms. Mayo, that we've had any feedback from our public. Okay. Uh do you guys have any questions on the updated changes to the policy? Questions? Okay. So, at this
046time, I respectfully request Dr. Young make a motion to approve the recommended updates to policy GAK. Uh thanks, Derek. I recommend for board approval policy GAK-1, criminal background checks. Is there a motion to approve policy GAK-1, criminal background check as amended? Make a motion to approve policy GAK-1, criminal background check as amended. Second. Motion by Mr. Grimes, second by Mrs. Hoyce. Any questions, comments? Nope. Well, I'll take the vote then. All in favor? Unanimous. Thank you, Mr. Hershey. My pleasure. Thank you. Next item is 2026-2027 code of conduct update with Mr. Todd Shirley and Dr. Joshua Lowe. Good [clears throat] evening. Uh just want to um start off by saying that we are not recommending um or bringing the code of conduct forward tonight to recommend adoption, but to table for 1 month to allow
047us a little bit of additional time for review uh to allow us a little bit of different a little bit extra time to get with our legal team to make sure everything is is locked up tight, and also to give you guys time uh to continue to review. As always with the code of conduct, we have a process in place. We start in about November, December sending emails out to principals to get with their LSCs to provide any type of recommendation that they would have from the LSCs uh or from uh parents that have provided uh feedback to them uh or their own admin team and staff, and we collect those for a couple of months, and then we start the process of review. We have in the last few years received very little feedback,
048if any, uh from LSCs on changes um in the code of conduct. So, what you see is a lot of editing, uh some changes in staffing, um I'll slide down. Um Again, everything in yellow is new additions. Everything that's strikethrough, we are eliminating. The bullying definition, uh please understand that we did not do that in school safety. That was actually entered by our legal team. We allow our legal team to enter uh a little bit more sensitive information like that so that we will be uh lockstep under the law. So they have struck out the bullying definition was old one and installed the new one. Not a lot of really deep changes. They did add some cyberbullying wording in there as well since we are inundated with that at this point. We did add under
049alcohol and drugs consuming because that has a tendency to be a problem and is questioned every once in a while. Academic dishonesty, the use of AI tools. Again, we are experiencing some difficulties with that as well. And And that one there in particular where it says use of AI tools, I think that needs to be amended to say misuse. We can add AI tools just We can do that. Yep, no problem. Nope, not a problem at all. Miss Suzy, would you jot that information down? Yep. Okay, the dress and grooming code Dr. Lowe took the lead on and I believe with some board members took the lead on revamping our dress and grooming code. I don't know if you want to explain the process you guys used. >> Yeah, just just briefly and um certainly
050with understanding you never get an agreement when you're dealing with 50,000 plus students. Everybody agrees on something such as the dress code, but we were very intentional along with some of you being involved on different committees. Thank you for that to have voice of school leaders, people in this building, but but I believe equally or more importantly we also went through our advisory to include student voice, parent voice, and teacher voice for feedback. Sort of looking at the existing dress and grooming code and looking at the adjustments based off of what we believe perhaps were was um, you know, just putting some procedures back in place um, post pandemic just where kids are are dressed to come to school and what's viewed as an as an appropriate manner and um, we are sharing this tonight
051as part of this because we do want our principals and our and our school leaders to be able to communicate information out to their communities in the coming um, days and weeks to give families that may buy school clothes for next year time to to be sure they're in in and um, compliance with expectations and um, and to give us chances to, you know, take any questions. I do know Dr. Dugan's working on communication strategies um, now and he's going to be working with principals on that. Okay. >> And I would I would just say to that point and and I want to say thank you to to everybody that worked on that, board members, principals, students, parents and and Josh did a great job leading that effort. But just like we saw with Coming
052Elementary tonight, when [clears throat] kids know the expectations, they can meet them. When the expectations aren't clear, um, you you have confusion and you have opinions that that go in and and the efforts that you guys made on this was really to be clear and clear as kind. So, ultimately, I think this is really good work. Um, again, you see a a couple another large area of strike through and reinsert um, um, items involving bullying. Again, that was done by our legal team and just reiterate our legal team will have one final uh, one final say and look through the code of conduct before we do ask for adoption next month. The distraction-free policy, we literally just took out the old and inserted the new that that you guys helped us create. Uh, that is
053a simple copy and paste. >> And and point of clarification on that because there the the legislature did take that up this year while we expanded uh, from what they had originally which was K8 this year of our own initiative, our own accord, we we extended that to to be K-12. The legislature has now passed a law that that will go through 12th grade. They may have some different language, but the point that I want to make sure that we're on the record is that their new one does not kick in until 27-28. Um and so that's why we won't be amending or or fixing our code of conduct at this point. As that goes to 27-28, I I would venture a guess that the next year there might be more tweaks or more adjustments
054to that. And so I think it's it's wise for us to follow what we put in until that's all clarified. I I think so, too, based on the fact that we've built all the discipline around around that as well. So, uh that is going to be our recommendation um next month with any amendments that uh that we would receive or recommendations that we would receive between now and then. So, I'll recommend that we table this for 1 month for review. Questions, comments? I got a a few things. So, I I agree with you on the language about the use of AI tools. I I don't think we want to discourage the use of AI tools, but encourage the proper use of AI tools. So, I I would like to see that expanded Absolutely. >> sense.
055Um on the dress code, this has been a a months-long process that was quite robust. We we had two committees which two with two board members, bunch of principals, staff, and um lot of candid discussion, lots of back and forth, lots of uh consideration on enforcement and, you know, how how these things affect, you know, the the learning environment. Um I think this is a good a good step forward. I believe this is going to be accompanied by some type of visual aids. Yes. Um Ms. Begnaud and um also working in conjunction with some some of the um SEAL team have worked on some visuals to share out and and really have a nice handout for people to have a visual to kind of give them guidance. Okay. And then this was also paired up
056with some changes to the staff dress code policy as well. So it's not just students, it's a heightened expectation on the staff side as well as on the student side. Yes, sir. And and the plan is to share start sharing that with built principles so they can communicate that with staff during post planning and so forth. But that'll go in employee handbooks, not specific to the code of conduct. Yeah, there there's nothing in there that that will be changing before we bring this back to you next month. Um So we want to go ahead and make sure our principals are are armed with this information so they can start prepping their communities, both teachers and and families. And and I've already checked with our printer. We are good to wait for another month. We don't
057print 55,000 copies anymore. So we're we're in good shape there. Okay. All right. If there's nothing else from the board, I'll go ahead and seek a motion to lay this on the table until our next regular meeting. I'll make a motion. Motion by Mrs. Hoy, second by Mr. Sherwood. All in favor? Unanimous. Thank you, gentlemen. Next up is item 13, points of information. Did the members receive all the documents? Questions, comments, concerns? Additions? Short story? No. All right. Item 14. No, 13. Item 13, public participation on agenda items. We had one speaker who we allowed to move up, so I believe that's it for that item. And with that, I'll seek a motion to adjourn. Motion by Mrs. Hoy, second by Mr. Grimes. All in favor? Unanimous. Thank you, everyone. Number Have a good night.