001I hereby declare the opening of the special meeting of the school board on July 28, 2026. Let's ask Mrs. Guilford to say a word of prayer. Let us bow our heads in prayer. Thank you , God, for this day. We ask that You guide this gathering and direct our thoughts. Thank you to all the staff and students of Milton City Schools. Dear Heavenly Father, we ask that in everything we do today, we think of children and put them first. In the name of Jesus we pray. Amen. Amen. Please stand for the oath. 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. OK. Is there a motion to approve the agenda and the proposed
002changes to it? Madam Chair, may I make a motion to approve the agenda and the proposed changes to it? Is there anyone who will support? I support. Are there any questions or discussions? Who is "for" ? By. By. Who is "against"? The proposal is accepted. OK. Is there a proposal to approve a service agreement for the child nutrition program? Madam Chair, I move that we approve the service agreement for the child nutrition program. Is there anyone who will support? I support. Are there any questions or discussions? Who is "for" ? By. Who is "against"? The proposal is accepted. Is there a motion to approve the purchase of computers for Dothan Tech? Madam Chair, I move that we approve the purchase of computers for Dothan Tech. Is there anyone who will support? I support. Are there
003any questions or discussions? Who is "for" ? By. Who is "against"? The proposal is accepted. Proposal to approve virtual reality learning tools. Madam Chair, I move to approve virtual reality learning tools. Is there anyone who will support? I support. Are there any questions or discussions? Who is "for" ? By. Who is "against"? The proposal is accepted. Is there a proposal to approve early literacy certification training for preschool educators at the Dothan City Early Learning Center and Fain Elementary School? Madam Chair, I propose to approve the certification in early literacy, "Fundamentals of a Scientific Approach to Reading." OK. Are there any questions or discussions? Who is "for"? By. Who is "against"? The proposal is accepted. Is there a proposal to approve the renewal of the Sofo subscription? Madam Chair, I propose to approve the renewal of
004Sofo's subscription. Is there anyone who will support? I support. Are there any questions or discussions? Who is "in favor" , Madam Chair? Oh, I have a question about that. Can anyone give us a little more information on this ? This is a significant amount. I thought you would be ready. Okay . What questions do you have about this? I will do my best to answer them . Could you give us a general overview of what it is ? This is a considerable amount of money. So when people see on the agenda where the $579,000 went , we will have a significant share. Yes. Yes. These are a lot of services that this will provide for city schools. SPOS is the company we use for antivirus or work protection on all computers, about 1300 devices, Windows
005computers, as well as on our servers. This is also the company we use for our firewalls and filtering. We've invested heavily in this, and essentially this update just ensures that we continue these services, but adds a few extras. We currently do not have cyber insurance, and this would allow us to address one of the points that has prevented us from obtaining such insurance in the past. That's where the MDR part comes in, and it's really the only change or addition to what we had before. This simply leads to the contracts expiring at the same time. We will only be able to place one purchase order each year. What is the term of this contract for these services? How long? Oh, that covers us until 2030. OK. Thank you. Before, everything was put together in parts,
006you know, with a few things added here and there. This provides reliable coverage until 2030, and then we will consider other options or continue this again. OK. Thank you. Please. Are there any other discussions? Who is for it? By. Who is against? The decision has been made. Is there a proposal to approve early buyout of financial technologies? Madam Chair, I propose to approve the early redemption of finances, technology, equipment, and services. Is there anyone who supports this proposal? I support. Are there any discussions? Yes, sir. Did you want to say something, sir? Overall, to be clear, the bottom line is that the board has already approved two agreements that we have with First American Equipment Finance. One of them was in the middle of last year regarding a county- wide network upgrade , as it
007was a significant amount of money. This was structured as a kind of payment plan. This is the easiest way to understand it. We own the equipment from start to finish. We simply make payments for it. Um, that will pay off the debt for the remaining three years. We have already paid for the first year. This covers the second and third years. And the other part concerned the old antivirus. So this was sold again on three-year terms. A large amount of money to be found. Therefore, it was divided into three years to make it easier for us to manage the budget. So, this closes out all the debt and allows us to use the funds we have next year for other needs of the district. Are there any other discussions? Good. Who is "for"? By. Who
008is "against"? The proposal is accepted. Is there a proposal to approve TNG Consulting to provide consulting services under Section 9? Madam Chair, I move that TNG Consulting be approved to provide consulting services under Section 9. Is there a second person in support? Good. Are there any discussions? Good. Excuse me, thank you, Madam Chair. Um , I'm a little confused about item 11. Um, and I'm going to ask our attorney, um, please, to give us the correct procedure for bringing up a matter that wasn't taken up at the previous meeting. Was it rejected, was it not voted on, or was it adopted? Did they vote "against"? Was it defeated in the vote? Was there a draw? It didn't get, it did n't get enough votes for adoption. It did not reach the majority. It did not
009reach the majority. But was there a "no" vote? I think you can come back to this question. I can check that. But there was neither "for" nor " against". I would like to know this before we...before I vote, because as far as I know, there is a procedure that should be used to bring up for discussion something that did not pass at the previous meeting. But it was not rejected. I'll figure it out . Good. Just so that it is recorded in the minutes, what you say. Just to have it on the record, since you...What are you saying? Hey, Dustin, I'll just take a look and check. I have a computer. I'll try to find it quickly. It seems to be item 38.3 in Robert's rules of procedure . Do you want me to wait?
010Wait. Well, I don't want to vote for it now. I want to see if Dustin can explain this to us . Good. Can we move this item on the agenda and come back to it later? Maybe he's looking for information now. So we will continue. I...we can do...I want to hear his explanation. Of course. What did you just... What did you say, Dustin? I didn't hear you. When you get there, look at Robert's Rules of Order 4412 and 38.32, Madam Chair, can I make a motion to move item 11 to a time after we return from closed session to give our lawyer time to find the procedure? Is there a second opinion? OK. Everyone in favor of moving item 11 until we return from closed session. By. Everyone is against it. We just carry it.
011OK. So, the proposal is accepted. No, you had three votes. Yes. Okay, then we'll wait. Isn't this a proposal that has already been put forward for discussion? Madam Chair, I know we can't continue. We can't continue. Madam Chair, I propose a short recess to give the lawyer time to find an answer to this question. Is there a second opinion? I support. Who is for it? By. Again, most don't. So , we're still in discussion, right? And so, yes, we're in a discussion that we would actually rather just waste everyone's time instead of moving forward with the agenda, everyone just sitting here pressuring him to come up with a quick answer. Well, actually, this isn't the first time this question has come up. This was already at the previous council meeting, so it should have already
012been clarified. That's what it is. So he's wasting time, not us. We still don't have an answer. So, we're all waiting for something we can change. We are waiting for an answer to a question that was previously asked to the council's lawyer, and he has done so. Wait further. Let's keep waiting. Here's what Robert's rules say: A rejected proposal , including one that fails to pass a tie, can be returned for consideration in one of two main ways. Proposal for revision. A member who voted on the winning side (or, in the event of a tie, any member) because the proposal was not passed may request a review of the vote in accordance with the rules. A motion for revision should normally be made at the same meeting or at the next regular meeting. The second
013way is to make a new proposal at the next meeting , since a tie results in the proposal being rejected, not a final decision in favor. The same item can simply be reintroduced as a new motion at any subsequent regular or special council meeting. The Alabama Attorney General has clearly affirmed that a board, as an advisory body, such as a board of education, has the right to review a vote as many times as necessary to achieve the desired result. This event is being reviewed and is considered a new event. The Attorney General also noted that a tie vote nullifies the previous action. Your question should be reviewed again by the Attorney General. OK. So, if we don't approve it, we'll have to start teaching without Title IX. That's right. OK. And so, uh, for our
014council attorney, I think the second part of that question, I might have missed it. Uh, do we need three votes today? Are three votes a majority or four? That was the issue that, uh, Ms. Hendricks raised. This was at a previous meeting, which was never clarified. Do we need a majority of the quorum or a majority of the council? We just want to get clarification from you. Well, that will be a clarification from the Attorney General. So, this will be based on current statute and guidance from the attorney general, the next steps govern the return to the previous tie vote in Alabama education. The board must ensure that the issue is properly placed on the agenda for the next one to be presented properly. A council member may raise the issue or a motion to
015reconsider the previous vote may be made in accordance with council rules. The Council adopted the proposal for the adoption procedure under 1611-5. There is no statutory limit on the number of times a matter may be reviewed. Uh, Dustin, uh, if a motion for reconsideration needs to be made, when is it done? This goes back to points one and two from the attorney general. A member who voted on the winning side, or in this case in a tie, may make a motion for reconsideration under Robert's rules. A motion for revision should normally be made at the same meeting or at the next regular meeting. lawyer. So, Madam Chair, yes, ma'am. It seems to me that the proposal to revise the eh should have been made at the beginning of our meeting. Am I right? It doesn't
016have to be at the beginning. At the next scheduled meeting. Yes. Just during the meeting or at the next regular meeting. But you have to make a revision before it just appears on the agenda, and it just appeared. It can't just appear on the agenda. It has to be, uh, the proposal has to be made by, as you say, the winning party, or there was no winning party. Uh, even if it wasn't the winning side, it has to be included, it can't just appear on the agenda. Isn't that right? must ensure that the issue is properly placed on the agenda . Right. That's right. And this was not the case. It just appeared on the agenda. I don't know if this came up before or if you did it. I don't [ know] the agenda.
017This is the superintendent's recommendation, and that's what came up on the agenda. Um, besides, we already voted to approve this agenda. So , we unanimously voted to adopt the agenda with this issue. Well, if you voted to adopt the agenda, then it's on the agenda. Right. Yes. I disagree. And this was published 7 days before this meeting . Right. Doctor, let me ask you. We need your explanations. Good. What is the question? What are we talking about? So did you put it on the agenda or... I did, and as it was said, um, the agenda was approved by the board. So it looks like this: just to make it clear to the audience, we need Title N services during the school year while other issues are being addressed . Um, training will begin before our
018next council meeting. That's why this question is here. Good. So, when, when was the date of the next meeting? Does anyone know? Was it on the 16th? What was that date? I'll look at my calendar for the next meeting. Good. Repeat again. July 14. What day is it today? July 28. So, did we miss it? Can anyone answer? We missed it. Did you miss something? It was, uh, she said it was June. June 14. July 14. Wait a minute. July 14. And today is, uh, July 28th. You said it first appeared, but on June 29th, when it ...well. So, June 29th was the day it appeared. But you can still break it. next meeting. There are two ways to do this. One is a motion for reconsideration, a new motion at the hearing. We didn't
019have a petition. Robert's Rules of Procedure 388 state: A basic motion that has been made but not adopted may generally be revived at the next session, provided it has been finally decided and is not pending , postponed, referred to committee, or otherwise under the control of the meeting. you are correct in saying that the denied motion goes back to the recent meeting this motion for reconsideration the next meeting is the third. Good. So, who is raising this issue on...well. New motion at the next meeting , who is violating it? That's what I'm talking about. We can't continue to do things this way when it's not the right way if we're going to stick to... this is the next meeting. This is the definition of the word " next". This means a new motion at the
020next meeting . This is the next meeting. This is on the agenda. We voted unanimously to adopt this agenda, and now we must move forward and vote on it. If there are any other objections to this company, TNG Consulting, for providing services under Article 9, please share them with us. Um, if there's anything we should know about. Well, I think we'll have to put everything we're talking about on the record, and we can, and we'll have to resolve it somehow, and that will be the right way. We ca n't just make up rules like we're playing a game of homemade cards. Miss Guilford, we are following the rules as advised by our attorney. We follow the rules. This is what we are trying to achieve from our lawyer. And he said we follow the rules.
021You put it on the agenda and approved it on time. New motion at the next meeting . It may be reintroduced as a new motion at the next regular or special council meeting. The Attorney General clearly confirmed that the board, and therefore the Board of Education, may review a vote as many times as necessary to achieve the desired result, and that a measure being reviewed is treated as a new event. Any questions regarding this should be addressed with Steve Marshall. I am guided only by the opinion of the Attorney General. So we follow the rules according to the position of the Attorney General. OK. And regarding the motion, we had a question about the majority. If you look at Robert Skillfield, page 441, it states that a majority vote means more than half the votes
022of the persons legally entitled to vote, excluding those who abstained or cast a blank ballot. Um, it also says a majority vote cast by the members present, and that's under Robert's Rules, page 441. I, I can tell you what Alabama law and the Attorney General's opinion say. OK. Under Alabama law, a council member who was absent during the vote may later be deemed by the attorney general to be a new event if the case is reviewed. All members entitled to vote may vote on the next consideration of the same matter duly submitted to the council. This principle applies to state councils and municipal councils. An absent member must be physically present at the review meeting , must participate in the collective discussion, and may use the materials from the initial review to inform his or
023her vote. So, if you weren't there , you could vote. So we just need a majority of those present. OK. Does anyone have any other discussions? Good. Who is "for"? Who is "against"? The petition is accepted. I will refrain from this. OK. Sorry. I refrain from doing this because I, I don't think it's right. So, I'm going to hold off. And I would like to ask a question. Scott, were you here at the last meeting? At that meeting? No, ma'am. I was not at the last meeting. OK. We should take this into account at that meeting as well. But that doesn't matter. It doesn't matter. He can vote because it's a new event. Ha? He can vote on this to the Attorney General, because it is a new event. I thought we were putting the
024kids first today, sir. I thought we were putting children first today . Our students, something is not like this. And in addition to putting the kids first, you can put the kids first and ensure that every board member understands proper protocol so that we don't have illegal decisions that have been approved that we have to overturn. It sounded good. Thank you for your words. She is absolutely right. If the Attorney General is a new opinion, then any question you have about this should be addressed. Miss Hendricks, could you please note that I am also abstaining? Thank you. Is there a proposal to approve the 2627 Spectre Care contract? Madam Chair, I move that we approve contract 2627 Spectre Care. Is there a second person who will support? I support. Are there any discussions? Everyone "in
025favor"? By. Everyone is "against". The decision has been made. Personnel agenda. Good evening. Okay, we have one takedown today. This is I6. Okay , we have two corrections to the previous action. Six refusals. Release 16. Additional appointments one. Additional or temporary employment . 13. Reassignment. Two translations. Six conditional assignments 13 assignments 43 and a team contract review one. Is there a motion to approve the personnel agenda with the I6 removal? Madam Chair, I move that the personnel agenda be approved with the deletion of I6. Is there a second person who will support? Are there any discussions? Everyone "in favor"? By. Everyone "against"? The decision has been made. Um, Miss Walker, you want to talk to us about Okay, good evening. Um, I sent you an email and some information in a board update recently, um,
026about a vacancy that we have in our department, um, and another vacancy that we've had for a while, and now we have, um, uh , three vacancies. So, um, I asked, um, to, um, recommend that the board approve the new Payroll Specialist job description presented by the Superintendent. Do you want me to go into any details or something? Good. Is it everyone? OK. Is there a proposal to approve the job description of a payroll specialist? I am proposing to approve the job description of the payroll specialist. Is there anyone who will support? I support. Are there any discussions? Who is for it? By. Who is against? The proposal is accepted. Thank you. Is there a motion to approve the underwriter disclosure letter from Joe Jolly and Company so that they can begin issuing the Dothan
027City Schools Series 2026 Special School Tax Warrants? I make a motion to approve the underwriter disclosure letter from Joe Jolly and Company and authorize them to commence the issuance of the Dothan City Schools Series 2026 Special School Tax Warrants. Is there anyone who will support? I support. Are there any discussions? I would like to invite Matt Parker to the podium to answer any questions from the council before the final vote. Congratulations. Good evening. So, you want me to just give you a quick report? Good. So, last night I received a completed preliminary formal statement from bond advisor Kane Burnett. This is the document we use to go to market and set a price for a new release to raise funds for your improvements. I filed this this morning and have also pre- contacted the insurance
028companies and Moody's, who will assign an investment grade rating to the new issue. We currently have an A+ rating on our three previous releases. Given your 2025 financial report and the structure of the new issue, I think we will maintain our A+ rating from Moody's. But we need to do a conference call, and I sent them all the updated information, the charts, the previous official statement, the audits for the last three years, and hopefully in the coming weeks we will have our call with Stephanie and Moody's, where they will assign the new rating and affirm the rating for the three previous issues. Once we get that, we will get a quote for insurance on the new release and I will be able to set a price for the new release, hopefully the third week of
029August. This shifts our schedule a bit. As far as I understand, we already have a special meeting scheduled for September 1st. So if Moody's gives me a rating in the next two weeks or so, I think we can make it to September first. I will get back to you with the final figures for your approval and then we will close the new issue probably the second week of September and the funds will be available for your projects. Does anyone have any questions? I have a question. Uh, as I recall , we're asking you to issue approximately $11 million in bonds. Is that correct? Yes. And if we need a smaller amount, can we reduce it? Yes, you can. OK. Good. So I'll, uh, talk to Stephanie and tell her we've got everything set up. We
030have a rating. We have insurance. Everything is ready and I will call to confirm the amount of new funds you need. You can change the amount up or down before we evaluate the new issue. I expect it to be within the next two to three weeks. So, yeah, you just say that day, "Matt, we need this much ." And one more question: just so everyone in the room knows, this funding is needed to expand Carver MSC. What is the maturity of these bonds? I know we've discussed this at previous council meetings, but how long do we have to pay off this debt? The repayment term is 14 years. Of course. Thank you. And this is a very short period of time. This is a very tight debt service schedule for a system of this size.
031And that's very good. Are there any more questions? There are no questions, but I have a proposal for discussion, Madam Chair. Since these agenda items , 14 and 15, are related—I mean, 14 is about approving the payment for the Carver MSC expansion, and 15 is about voting to approve the drawings—I would like to move on to discussing the Carver MSC expansion, because it's all related. So, uh, I'd like to start with a short thesis. I believe the public deserves to know not only how each of us votes, but also why. One of the goals of open discussion is to understand the rationale for our decisions. I know that this council, in its very first meetings , when it was formed, voted to eliminate the agenda by consent, which essentially means: instead of grouping agenda items,
032let's discuss each one. You know, the main argument for us was transparency. So, I think for this discussion and its implications, I would like to ask my colleagues to provide a justification , a reason for their vote, because I believe the public deserves to hear it. So, I want to quickly address a few misconceptions about this proposal. This is not a criticism of our current high school. Our current high school employs quality educators. They really do a great job, despite, you know, not the best conditions. So this is not a criticism of the current high school. Second, Carver MST is not a school that serves only one group of students . I looked at the demographic data. At Carver MST, 42% of students are African American, 40% are white, 12% are of other races, and
0335% are Asian. Besides, this is not a story about rich and poor. More than half of its students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunches. I will repeat that. More than half of the students are eligible for free or reduced lunches, making it a Title I school in recent years. So I wanted to start with that, and I'll start with my own rationale. I definitely support this recommendation. One of my responsibilities as a council member is to listen to the families I represent. And recently , I made a post on Facebook last week. But believe me, five or six years ago, when I was the president of the parent committee, this is what I constantly heard from most families. So this is not just a one-week experiment for me . I get this information all
034the time. You know , kudos to Carver MST, Mr. Payne and the staff. They did an incredible job. This school is a national "Blue Ribbon" school. If you don't know, that means they are in the top 1% not in the state, but in the country. So from my perspective, this is a way to give our parents another high school option. Not saying our current high school is bad, just providing another choice. And I think that's exactly what our parents would want. Okay, we need to wrap up this agenda item. Do I ... We have had all the discussions for approval. No, we don't. So, I asked the other board members to provide justification for their votes. Of course, I can't force anyone, you know, we're all adults here. But I specifically ask that the reasons
035for your vote be explained to the public. And since you asked for it, I'd like to...I'll go first. Uh-huh. I want to clarify my vote. I haven't said what it will be yet, but I'm going to refine it. If this is passed, I hope we are not creating a private school within the public education system. because it promotes segregation. Again, I want to say: if this is approved. And I'm not saying now what my vote will be, but if this passes, I want to make it clear that I hope we are not creating—some of you may understand what I mean, some of you may not—that we are not creating a private school in our public education system, because that creates segregation. And this, as you know, led to this. OK. Does anyone else want to
036speak? I think I'll postpone the main discussion until the next question, but I also want to say that I agree with both of you. Um, and this question is not simple, given the predicament our system found itself in earlier. The crucial point for my support of this—and I also have reservations, which we'll talk about when we get to this part—is that I asked Dr. Aska about the number of children who leave the Dothan City School System after sixth grade at Carver. Carver students who are leaving, and that's about, you said 60%, Dr. Asku? approximately 50-60%. This varies. We lose 50–60% of our Carver sixth grade students when they graduate from Carver. So we need to be able to keep these kids in the system. My children attended Carver. I have, uh, kids who have gone
037through DPA, and kids who are in there now, and they've had a great experience at DPA. So, uh, you know, first of all, I would invite the kids who are going, the families who are going, to try DPA for a year. I think you will be pleasantly surprised. My children love this school. Um, but that was a defining moment for me: We have to do something to keep these kids in our school system. So, what you both said, um, I agree with both of you. Anyone else? OK. This will just allow him to move on. Right. And we are trying to bring that back. It just allows us to not waste time. Right. OK. Good. So, regarding the proposal to approve the underwriter's disclosure letter. Who is " for"? Everyone. Does everyone want to speak?
038I did n't hear anything. I'm fine. I'm fine. OK. You all said everything I said Okay. Good. Good. Who is for it? By. Against. Who is against? The proposal is accepted. Good. Next: is there a proposal to approve the final drawings from SS SNL for the Carver MST expansion, and the preparation and placement of a corresponding bid package? I invite Mr. Raleigh Price to the podium. Good evening everyone. Thank you for your time. Raleigh Price, SSNL Architecture Office. I'll try not to waste time, I'll tell you quickly so that you understand the essence of the project, and then we can go back to the details if necessary. So, to orient everyone: here's an overview of the campus area as it currently stands. We plan to expand into the upper left corner of the site to
039minimize the impact on other areas, especially the playgrounds in the upper right . This is what it looks like. You see, this creates a new building site with all the classrooms, as well as a separate drop-off point for seventh and eighth grade students. They enter through separate secure entrances, separated from the rest of the students, who are currently entering from the south side of the site. There is also a small parking lot in the upper left corner for faculty, staff, and visitors. If you look closer, a total of 13 new classes will be created. Five of them are for seventh grade, five are for eighth grade, and three are for electives. Large block in the upper left corner. Oh. Let's go back a moment. Did I do that? Maybe I messed something up. Can I
040go back? Thank you. I won't touch the buttons anymore. The large block in the upper left corner is a multifunctional space. It will serve as a dining room for all students. Other activities will also be held there , for example, the school orchestra will be based there. There are also warehouses located next to it . If you look in more detail, here's what the new entrance looks like for seventh and eighth grade students. It will also serve as a secure entrance lobby and administrative offices for staff in this area. You can see here a separate restroom for staff, a secure lobby for visitor access control , and a conference room—a meeting space that can be used for many other events. This is just a visualization of what one of the offices in this building might
041look like. Again , I won't bore you with the details about the furniture, which we are still working on, it is just decorated in the school's color scheme. This is what this conference room will look like. This room gets a lot of pleasant natural light. Again, there are many options for using this space for the needs of the entire school. When you start looking at a classroom, you will see three different layout options for how you can place furniture there. I'm showing this just to emphasize that these are extremely flexible spaces. No matter what furniture configuration a teacher chooses, it can be set up for anything from group learning to individual testing in each of these areas. Here are some visualizations of what it looks like. This would be in a large group learning format.
042And this is a transition to a more individual setting or testing format. But here 's what it looks like from another perspective. Again, all of these rooms have plenty of natural light. I believe these will be very pleasant environments that will be conducive to learning . Moving on to the multi-purpose room, I will show you three different layout options. Again , to emphasize that it is multifunctional . This particular configuration demonstrates a variety of seating options for students. This allows for 128 seats for simultaneous dining in this space. And this shows how you can organize an assembly hall—it has 156 seats. And if you set up a space for a music group, that's over 40 seats around the podium. This is just a brief overview of how the food delivery line works in this facility.
043This is a one- way entry and exit system. All of this was coordinated with the nutrition program staff and in accordance with state requirements. And here are some visualizations of what it would look like in a general meeting setup. And this is in a more traditional dining room format for socializing. And here it is in the version for music lessons. So , the idea behind all these projects is a high level of flexibility that ensures value for money. OK. And finally, let's take a look at the exterior. This is what the exterior of the building looks like. Of course, it will overlook a residential area. We tried to combine it with the existing brick color palette. It is a warm, inviting space, not too large or massive, but more akin to a residential development. As
044I mentioned, given the surrounding buildings, this is a side view. Here we kept the brick elements but added some metal panels for interest to diversify the wall. And this is the view from the outside looking north from the multifunctional space. You see a glass wall that opens into a multi-purpose dining room. And it flows naturally from that space. This area already exists on campus with a focus on agronomy, STEM, and all related areas. So we wanted to highlight this feature. We decided that this could become additional space or outdoor classrooms. Again, flexibility is key. We have tried to provide a variety of uses over the years in our design. And finally, let's move on to the budget. Last time we looked at a fairly general conceptual assessment of the entire project. As you can see,
045we have conducted a very thorough and detailed cost calculation, similar to what a contractor does during a tender opening. I provided this for the record, but I won't bore you with all the details of the cost of drywall or paint. Finally, for those who can't see the lines below, our estimated total construction cost is 7.9 million . These are what we call direct costs. And there are also so- called indirect costs, which include furniture. Your approvals, permits, professional design fees, services—it's all included here. This adds up to the total cost of the project. So you see that your total investment is 9.5 million . This is about half a million dollars less than the last time we reported on the project status, thanks to the fact that we were able to delve deeper into the
046details and think things through better. So, again, I went through this very quickly. I understand that. I said a lot of words very quickly. So I'm willing to come back to any of these points if you have any questions. Okay, first we need a draft solution before we move on to the discussion. Is there an offer? Madam Chair, I move that the expansion and conceptual drawings for the Carver School of Mathematics, Science, and Technology be approved. Is there anyone who supports? I support. OK. Are there any discussions? I just want to clarify for the board that as we move forward, there are two things in this proposal . The first is the drawing, and the second is the preparation for the bidding. So, to be completely clear, we will have expenses. So even if the
047council later decides that we don't want to do it, the costs will already be there. I just want to make this absolutely clear. And I probably should have mentioned this earlier. Sorry for missing it, but I want to touch on the schedule and implementation timelines, focusing on readiness for the next school year. We are now approaching 95% documentation completion. We expect the documents to be fully ready around August 17th. We will share them with local contractors for competitive bidding. This process will take about a month. And around September 10th, we will open the bids. Then it will take about another month to process all contracts in order to begin construction in early October. Thus, construction will be completed by July 2027. You will then have a month to properly move into the premises before classes
048start in August 2027. I'm sorry I forgot to mention this earlier . Are there any other questions for discussion? Good. So, a few comments I would like to share. Um, to build, it costs $460 per foot, he reported. All in all, with furniture and everything else, we're at $605 per foot. I will vote against this because of the high cost. The market rate I am familiar with is nowhere near $320 per square foot. Similar projects that I know of that have been implemented here in the last year or two cost much less, around $200. I don't understand how we came up with 460 for construction and how we ended up with 605. I don't understand why we pay a contractor to install furniture when our maintenance department could do it . Um, I do n't...
049The expenses are completely out of line. I support Carver in answering this question sooner. Yes, I'm all for it , but not at that price. Does anyone else want me to comment on this? Um, a few notes on that, and Scott, make sure I did n't miss anything you broke. As for the construction costs themselves , as you said, we are targeting a figure of around $460 per square foot of direct costs. Our historical data on what we see across the state for this type of construction. This is quite true . In fact, we may even be slightly below some of the averages we are seeing. We often see figures of $485 to $520 per square foot for this level of construction. For reference, most of our figures for a remodel of this scale and
050quality are typically around $285 for the repairs alone . I would be happy to share this information, just the historical data we have, if it helps in understanding the process. Again, we are always open and willing to show where we get these numbers from. So, to rebut that part of what you said before you go on to the next one, I know we in Dothan City Schools are very familiar with these prices, but if you're talking about statewide comparisons , we have examples right here in Houston County, and I want to share them with everyone. This is recent history in our own district. Vicksburg, they built their gym. This is a gym. Buffets, restrooms, everything else. That's a lot of expensive equipment in one building. $240 per square foot with all the buffets. That is
051, with all the finishing touches, everything is included in this amount. Rehoboth, they did an expansion, 24 rooms. They made two laboratories. They renovated the dining room. Last year they were $212 per square foot. I think it was last year, or a little earlier. They're building a two-story wing with an elevator in Vicksburg right now, and they're getting 311. It's the most expensive project they've ever had—311 per square foot. Each of these indicators included all unforeseen costs. Hey, all the furniture , everything is turnkey. Well, we stopped at 460, and then we add the rest. We have 605. So, I'm the general contractor. Me, I'm qualified to build this. So I understand a little bit about this. I've been through this with a previous council where no one listened to me, and here we are
052again. It's not my money, but I'm on this council to take care of public funds. And this is madness. This is crazy money. Yes. To comment on some of these numbers, you have a good selection there. Certain types of projects have economies of scale. Larger facilities, such as a gym. We recently built an 80,000 square foot facility in Enterprise for $30 million. It came out closer to 300 due to economies of scale. There aren't many walls and partitions. You also gave examples of other facilities, which were classrooms. I don't want to ignore this in any way . But we treat these calculations as a contract estimate . I don't have a magic bullet, that's for sure. We have a good reputation among all local contractors , and we encourage competition—that's the most important thing. Well,
053by the way, we only received one application each time, right? I remember going to one inspection of the facility, and only a group from Andalusia came. They receive five project applications each time, and only one applicant comes to us for review . So why do we put out expensive projects that don't get bids and end up going to the same group every time? I don't understand this. Dr. Askew, I don't know if you can explain that, because I thought we just said we were opening a tender. Did I miss something? Well, it's not ready for tender yet. He must prepare tender documentation. OK. And then it will be a project. Yes, it's about the past. I'm just expressing concerns about past spending. And obviously, when we don't have five companies competing for a project, we
054pay a lot of money. It seems like that was the case with the last two big projects, and I don't want that to happen again . Now we have a new leader. I hoped this would all be in the past, but here we are again. So, Madam Chair, I would also like to join this discussion. I understand Mr. Childers' position. I just want to give a few examples, and I hope I'll be allowed to voice them: in 2024, in Dothan City Schools, we completed classrooms in two schools. We did this at Highlands Elementary School and Celine Love . They were much smaller than these. Highlands—it's about 5,100 square feet for 2 million. That's about $385 per square foot. Celine Love had about the same experience. Almost $400 per square foot, and it was realized. I
055want to remind everyone present: we all understand—we go to grocery stores, we buy cars, different things—that the country is currently in an inflationary environment. So if we postpone it and postpone it for a year, then what costs 9.5 million now could cost 14 million a year later. Nobody has a magic bullet. Mr. Childers made valid points that are worth noting, but I would like us to keep this in mind. The inflationary environment we are in means that 9.5 million today could turn into 14 million in a year. Good. Are there any other questions for discussion? Okay . Everyone who is "in favor" well. Well, I mean, we could put it off. We could put this issue on hold while we work on it. I don't mind postponement. I'm not saying we can't achieve it, I'm
056just saying it's not that way. I need to stop this and build. This is what I have to do at this price . So, I believe we have a proposal under consideration. And yes, yes, we have. We must vote. We must vote. And I will say this: this postponement can sometimes be just a stalling tactic . I don't want to speak for anyone's intentions. I don't know what anyone has in mind, but we've already discussed tight deadlines to make it not to this school year, which starts next week, but to the next one. So, in my opinion , we are procrastinating. We are delaying the process. Costs are constantly rising as we speak. Good. Everyone who is "for" what exactly? Postponement or vote? Voting. So, "for ". Everyone who is "in favor"? Did you say
057"everyone who is against"? I said "everyone who is in favor" . We said yes. By. Good. Everyone who is against. OK. So this vote simply canceled it, not postponed it. Are you making a motion to postpone this? No, we could postpone. We just voted. We did it. Move it. Good. Is there a proposal to approve a phased reconfiguration of Carver MST from its current grade structure to a 3rd through 8th grade school? Yes, I think it's related, unless it just went away. I mean, it's the same thing . Well, okay. I need a motion to move to a closed session. So, we leave this issue on the agenda, right? This is pointless. So what's the difference? I am completely confused at this point. OK. Number 16 is reconfiguration. OK. So please someone explain how this
058is different from what was just rejected. I am lost. Explain. What was rejected was the building, the price for the building. Plans, that's what was rejected. Not a reconfiguration. We can still reconfigure. So, for clarity for the board, number 16, the reconfiguration would allow us to populate the building with seventh graders next school year on the current schedule. But at this point it's really pointless because the plans have been rejected. We can always go back to reconfiguration, but in my opinion, voting for it now without approved plans will not do any good. Technically, you can still move forward with the plan. We have a planning problem that we have to overcome, but with the actual agenda for creating this school, we still can, there are a lot of pieces there. We can still vote to
059move this forward. If we reconfigure the school , it is not a compromise. So, the next step would be to appeal to the state. And then they will give us permission to do so. And if we don't have a building to occupy, as I don't know, as we say, nobody has a crystal ball to know how long it's going to take , then we find ourselves in a kind of limbo . We can always bring this issue back. Better than this. Yes. Yes. It's not something that's relevant right now if we're not ready to move forward with the building that we need to move with. OK. So, this isn't going anywhere. So, I agree with that. Right. We can bring it back. OK. Good. Is there a proposal to move to a closed session? Madam
060Chair, may I move a recess for a closed session to discuss the trial? Is there anyone who supports? I support. Who is "for"? By. Who is "against"? The proposal is accepted. Only three. Where? Sorry . Everyone was in favor of moving to a closed session, and we had three votes. OK. And now everyone who is "against." The proposal is accepted. Okay, we'll be back in a minute. How are you doing? Amen. Good. Is there a proposal to end and, uh, return to the regular meeting ? Madam Chair, I propose to return to the regular meeting . Is there anyone who supports? Good. Are there any discussions? Who is "for"? By. Who is "against"? Scott . Good. So, we are back to the regular meeting . No decisions were made at the closed meeting because we
061did not have a quorum. Uh, the only thing that was discussed was personnel issues. OK. So, new things. Uh, on Tuesday, August 18, 2026, we have another school board meeting. Is there a motion to close the meeting? Madam Chair, I propose to close the meeting. Is there anyone who supports? Are there any discussions? Who is "for" ? By. By. Who is "against"? The proposal is accepted. OK. See you later. Good night. You Squeeze.