001e minut welcome Tov regular we are glad you are here before I begin I would like to share a few reminders please keep the eye clear during our meeting to allow members of the school system and Sheriff's Department to be able to move about also accept when honoring our flag our opening prayer and uh when participating in called audience please remain seated during our meeting we hope to have a great and productive and efficient meeting and your help is greatly appreciated uh at this point um M buly would you please call the role good evening Pete wbore present Pat Bradford I am here jie barard here Stephanie Kil here Melissa Mason here he mcmanis yes ma'am and Stephanie Walker here board members thank you for being here at this point I would uh entertain a
002motion to approve the agenda so moved we have a motion is there a second second we have a first and second any discussion if not all in favor please signify by saying I I all oppos please say uh signify by also saying I that passes 70 at this time we will have our invocation our invitation will be given this evening by Morning Star Fellowship Pastor Travis Newton and he will be doing that uh remotely yes this is Travis Newton I'm the pastor of Morning Star Fellowship and I'm calling to give the prayer for the school board tonight Father in heaven we thank you for the love that you have for us and Lord I pray for your spirit to help all those who are here to make decisions concerning the children and their education Lord
003please teach us all as it says in Psalms 912 to number our days that we may present to you a heart of wisdom knowing that each will one day leave this life and give an account to you for all of our Lives I pray for the fear of the Lord which is the beginning of wisdom that we would make righteous decisions in view of Our Father in Heaven who's watching us right now and Lord you said in Mark 10:14 to allow the children to come to you and Lord you said to not forbid them for the kingdom of God belongs to these and you also warned us Lord in Matthew 18:6 you warned us that whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in you to stumble it would be better for him to
004have a heavy M Stone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the Sea Lord knowing these things that we're going to give an account to you for how we lead these children and what we do with them and that you are indeed watching Lord I pray that your spirit would fall on this counsil and they would do what's right in your sight knowing that every decision they make they will give an account before the god of heaven and so Lord having uh seen these things I pray for your help and your grace upon each one of them that you would give them your heart for your kids and that they would do what is right in your sight and we pray this in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ
005amen this evening the new han County Army Junior Roc Color Guard unit will be providing the the presentation of colors is under the direction of Captain Lance Gaither and First Sergeant David redwine principal Philip suton and our uh national anthem will be sung by Mrs Hannah James chorus teacher at new han high school and she will be uh singing that for us [Music] oh say can you see by the dawn's early light what so proud we at the Twilight last gleaming who brought stripes and bright stars through the peral fight or the rots we watched were so gallantly streaming and the roet red glare the bombs bursting in air gave proof through the night that our flag was still there oh s does that star spangled B wave or the land of the free and
006the home of the [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] brave we ask board member excuse me Vice chair pat Bradford to lead us in the pledge I pledge algi 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 thank you very much if we could get the color guard to come on back we' just love to have them introduce themselves you may be seated thank you do you want me to go first hello um my name is Hannah James and I'm the choir director at New Hanover High School I've had the pleasure of teaching there for the past six years um and our Color Guard is with us tonight as well if you guys ince my name is Isaiah
007Allen and um I'm CET Sergeant at new H High School hello I'm Lieutenant Colonel sheets from New Hanover High School I'm the Battalion commander of our school I'm first sergeant Allan Haley Allen of new high school yeah okay um I'm corpal Williams from new hille high school thank you all for being here today you did a great job thank you so much would you like to speak you're good thank you sir for being here thank you our next order of business is the approval of the minutes do I hear a motion so moved we have a motion is there a second second is there any discussion no discussion all in favor please signify by saying I I all opposed car carries 70 at this point we will invite our student voice members up so if
008you'd like to come on up and join us thank you all for being here this evening we certainly do appreciate it wow group's growing I love it good afternoon board members um it's great to be here today with our some members of our newly selected student ambassador team so this is just like about a fourth of the group but um yeah we just had our kickoff Summit last or last Tuesday and if you go to the next slide you'll see lots of fun pictures from it um we had a we have a total of 41 members of our student ambassador team and we had um over 30 of our students attend the summit um we had a great time just it was on Halloween so we we did a little celebrating too had some candy
009um played some fun games and um we provided time for everyone to review our norms for our group and to make updates um we had such a positive turnout that some of our nudest members were eager to speak today so we are going to hear from some of them about just talking about um the different things we brainstormed at our kickoff Summit kind of our vision for the year um and what we started thinking about so I'm going to invite Satie and Ava to first introduce yourselves and talk a little bit about okay hi my name is Ava this is Sadie um so just want to start out by talking about what we did at our last Summit we played a lot of fun games and stuff but we also brainstormed ideas as to what
010we could Implement in our school systems to make it better and what's not really working right now but also what is working so if you'll go to the next slide some of the things that are currently working are responsive leadership so a lot of the teachers and principles in the schools they're very active in listening to what the students have to say and what we want them to do and the relationships we have are very um connecting with each other and it's very good um also resource availability so a lot of students who don't really have things at home that's not you know the only thing that has been working um up-to-date technology like smartboards tablets Interactive Learning and enrichment in like opportunities and Equipment um inside and outside of the classroom um so extracurriculars
011clubs summer programs internships they're all things that us as students we really appreciate what's going on um if you go to the next slide uh some of the things that we talked about that weren't really working most of the things that kept coming up were the AIG program accessibilities so a lot of students that have like through elementary school and middle school they have been in the AIG program so they just stay in them and the students that weren't in the AIG programs they didn't really get the opportunity to get into them and so that's something that we've come up with ideas to make it more known that these opportunities are available for students who may not have been in them previously we've also had some issues with the EOC testing not really the test
012themselves but how a lot of students have been required to go into school and sit in an empty classroom for a couple hours with no instruction and nothing to do and it feels like not very productive for a lot of students um hi I'm stie so one of the proposed solutions that we are pretty excited about is um our district y communication Hub which is the direct um which is directly the adults priorities of commun communication um it's pretty much just an official unofficial kind of guide to how to exactly do high school um often times there are many great opportunities that many students don't get the information of or that get unnoticed by schools and students um at our last Summit we had a few students discuss how they didn't know they had access
013to many AP classes or any other opportunities um and one student also mentioned how this disproportionately um affected minority groups um our student Le guide would have specific advice for classes Sports social life um as well as links to already established information hubs such as AIG email list and acts as streamline Avenue for all students of to reference uh we have some great ideas that I'd say um are pretty great ideas what we want to accomplish as a team of students collaborating with staff and other Educators but we are still in very in our brainstorming stages and so we are pretty excited to see how all these ideas pretty much develop yeah so thank you for that um we were super excited to to have this opportunity to finally start talking about some of the
014issues and proposed Solutions and we've just I know Cassie and I especially been really working hard to get to this point so thank you for all your effort and helping us get here so far we want to thank the board members Communications division Mr Johnson and everyone who really helped our Summit be a success um and we can't wait to continue collaborating with you and to see the amazing things our group will accomplish this year we're honored to have this space to be able to work with you we look forward to coming back next month with more people and more ideas and further collaboration so thank you yeah I was just going to say this last slide just shows uh we had everyone right on a sticky note just uh what they were excited about
015so um we just have some of those there um just some really great positive energy um students feeling just very valued and heard and like we can really make a difference in our education um so yeah we we just one of those ideas we talked about was potentially working on a student communication Hub which was what um stie was talking about so we have a lot of ideas and we're just in the early brainstorming stages of that um and the kickoff Summit was a great way to start that to start getting our ideas flowing so we're really excited about this opportunity um and what the new year will bring M I really enjoyed watching all in action apprciate the opport ask questions over left off your issue here one of heard and yeah he spoke
016us be one of my neighbors so I want you know that'll be brought up in the December meeting M graville yeah I just wanted to um congratulate you I thought the the event you know went you know very seamlessly and um I enjoyed interacting with the different tables and um got lucky number 13 you know for for my person to chat with me the um one thing when I was listening to and you were talking about your representation I didn't quite pick up or maybe I was talking when I shouldn't have been um when um do you have on your Ambassador team here a good cross-section of students from all of our high schools and all of our middle schools is every school represented yes so we actually um we have all except no one
017applied from Gregory so that's the one that we don't but we are hoping to um reach out to them and see if any students want to get involved or at least be in conversations with us but other than that we have students from every school represented and all the specialty high schools as well great thank you very good Miss Walker I'll keep it brief I just want to say um I got I got to the got to attend as well and I I just want to pay a very high compliment to you guys it's the student leader too here um I thought the energy was really high and I think that you guys conducted the meeting very well in a very you know orderly way and um I enjoyed just hanging out with students and
018hearing what they had to say so that's what it's all about so I just wanted to pay you high compliment thank you Mr Walker and I want to thank each and every one of you for being here today and we look forward to the group continuing and and also the group expanding so thank you so much for all your hard work thank you have a great after [Applause] at this time I'd like to invite uh Taylor Henderson a math teacher who is the new hanur high school teacher of the year a math teacher in The Rise program and they uh will speak on behalf of teacher voice so glad to have you here today thank you for coming yeah thank you for having me um good evening members of the school board my name is
019Taylor Henderson and I'm a general education math teacher teacher at new hover High School where I'm currently serving as the 2023 nhhs teacher of the year my teaching passions include connecting with students Innovative instruction and providing all students with experiences and opportunities outside the classroom where they can learn grow and make discoveries I'd like to thank you all for this platform and also to my colleague Abby Nobles for being a champion for the teacher Spotlight and I am honored to have this opportunity to share I'm a teacher who loves North Carolina loves Wilmington and I love teaching at new Handover High School there are some incredible things happening at new Handover such as our CTE resource Fair the honor Service Learning Wildcat community resource Fair our stay program our math 1 cohort is working extremely
020hard to increase our EOC scores students love our fire tech program our parent support has increased astronomically and they have been supporting our school and teachers so well and The Rise program today I am here to share about how the rise team and I have been creative problem solvers and how I have utilized my expertise from alternative schools school to drive pedagogy and decisions for EC students with intense academic and behavior needs slide two please as a Native American girl who grew up in Charlotte earned my bachelor's and Masters at Chapel Hill and after teaching in multiple School settings from large public high schools a small private Christian School and alternative high schools and teaching the gamut of academic levels from foundations of math to AP Chemistry there is one question that never leaves me
021how do we Propel our most disenfranchised Learners to success and can we teach them in a way that restores their dignity and enables them to feel like assets to their school community and the world staff at new Handover High School were also asking this question due to their previous model where EC intense Behavior suppor or IBS students were not engaged or served well academically data shows that the previous IBS model um was not serving students well with only 36% of IBS students passing math 1 and English one and students were spending 153 days of the school year suspended there was a clear need for change in The Rise program on average 87% of students pass math one and 75% of students pass English one and that day suspended number has dropped to 78 days next
022slide please rise stands for relationships that Inspire student empowerment and is an Intervention Program supporting EC Future Ready course of study students with intense behavior and academic needs in a small setting slide our mission is to empower students to know that they are seen and have Advocates that fight for their personal and academic growth we team teach so that students receive robust cross-curricular education with rigor and high levels of support and we push into the local community to increase their social skills enhance student engagement and provide opportunities for students to see their future selves we are providing EC students with opportunities that they weren't getting in other settings we believe that student empowerment comes from fostering relationships understanding stories an inspiring hope slide there are currently 50 students in The Rise program at new Handover
023High School the rise team which consists of two EC teachers an ecta and two content Area Teachers works together to deliver Future Ready course of study math and English curriculum with targeted emotional social and academic learning activities embedded that are aimed at developing the skills necessary to build healthy relationships deal with adversity and allow for increased focus in academic success we do so in smaller class sizes that are providing EC Services as well as Future Ready course of study co-taught year-long courses where students receive two credits in one course next slide please one of the biggest benefits is that Weekly students in The Rise program have the opportunity to work with Community Partners where they are truly building relationships that Inspire and Empower them for example our sro's admin team school counselors social workers the
024what clinic and school-based support all contribute to building positive relationships we also partner with organizations outside our school like Channel by live o Bank the UNCW Men's Basketball team our local fire department the North Carolina Aquarium preed spoke rehab kids making it Kate beir Museum and the many other organizations that you see listed here in Rise we also use use a growth model to structure our curriculum students in ninth grade learn School skills and how to be a student 10th grade 10th grade students learn career skills and they participate in community resiliency model training through the resiliency task force in 11th grade they focus on life skills and preparing to be independent Learners and future oriented students and in 12th grade they will Mentor younger rise students and Empower them to see their future selves
025in order to understand the impact that this program is having on students we chose to study two strands of data first we were comparing data such as suspensions attendance and graduation rates from IBS students in the previous model to students in rise and second we're looking at where students were before the Rise program versus during rise in terms of their math 1 EOC scores grades Behavior incidents attendance and in the future their graduation rates next slide please not only do we look at suspensions but Behavior incidents overall and we see a 46% decrease in Behavior incidents after being in rise for one year and an additional 37% decrease by the time they're in Rise 10 and an additional 50% decrease in Behavior incidents in their third year next slide in the interest of time I
026have summarized more of the data here rise students on average score 6.4 points higher on their math 1 EOC than their projected evos score with some students earning 25 to 35 points of growth that's 87% of our students showing growth on their math 1 EOC The Rise program is not perfect we do see a 37% increase in absences between their 8th and 10th grade years I'd like to take a moment to point out that the trend that we see is that students attend their rise classes but then skip their other classes and so we're still problem solving how to um increase their attendance grades are also very individual and the trend we are seeing is a dip in grades in nth grade and then an increase in 10th Grade among all of these measurable data
027points there are also the tiny momentto moment victories happening they not always easy the relationships I have with my students are fulfilling once they see they can trust me and I will advocate for them sing with them play my ukulele to help them calm down let them take a walk to deescalate oh I'm sorry there's a bug on my sorry listen to their stories sorry about that they start to show growth socially emotionally and academically hearing I love you Miss Henderson makes the hard days easier others have started to take notice of the beauty and growth occurring in their eyes program and not only have we been asked to partner with IBS programs here in our district but my team and I have had the opportunity to present at the national Dropout prevention conference 3
028weeks ago as well as the North Carolina DPI second 72nd conference on exceptional children two weeks ago as a champion for inclusion and Student Success regardless of their background or experience I wanted to Showcase to you how my colleagues and I have worked tirelessly to create a program that is growing students and demonstrating the idea that all Learners have the potential to succeed I'd like to leave you with some quotes for my students in The Rise program you feel powerful like you're wanted or needed or something that's how the Rise program makes you feel I haven't gotten in trouble as much because I have settled down being in the Rise program I realize I becoming a better person and I am successful before I was in The Rise program I would just suffer in silence
029but the Rise program has taught me how to speak up thank you thank you before you leave I just want to see if uh any board I I want to start by saying thank you for being here first off thank you for what you do each and every day I mean this is this is awesome this is better than good this is this is awesome this is what we need throughout the county so I I do appreciate you I appreciate you being a leader uh in your school in the county um other board members Mr mcmanis what else can the board do to he that is a great question um I would love to have the Rise program added as a specialty program that's offered here um especially since you know we're talking about it
030with other school districts and they're kind of inquiring um what is this specialty program that you guys are offering I would love to have it added as a specialty program since we already have it at new Handover high school and looking to add it at some other schools as well yeah I just wanted to um let folks know that when um when she was awarded her teacher of the year she wasn't with everybody else so we had to do it separately and um I got the honor of going to do that and watching her face light up but watching her students face light up that their teacher had been selected was really just kind of worth that whole you know the whole thing that you do so thank you very much and thank you on
031behalf of all the students that um are becoming better people thank you thank you very much thank you so much for being [Applause] here at this time we will continue on with our recognition uh recognitions and uh introductions Cardella good evening everybody I'm s Cardella I am the new Handover County Schools Chief Communications officer and I do have the privilege tonight to announce the recognitions we're going to start with the superintendent and Board of Education artist Awards so I get the honor of recognizing some of the most talented young artists in our community whose work was selected by our superintendent and our Board of Education to be displayed here in the Board of Ed Center and in our district office these artists have not only produced outstanding pieces but have also embarked on a journey
032of self-discovery and artistic growth I've had the opportunity to get an up close look at these pieces and these student skills and artistic voice are honestly awe inspiring whether the artist is a third grade or getting ready to graduate their dedication to their craft is evident in every stroke of the brush or line drawn in every shade of color chosen with the encouragement of their dedicated art teachers they are pushing their boundaries and exploring the depths of their creativ excuse me creativity we hope this is just the beginning of their artistic journey and that they can carry this forward to a future filled with Innovation inspiration and the creation of more masterpieces like these we are going to welcome these students to take a photo with the individual who selected their work first the students
033whose work was selected by Dr fa Raja Brown of Castle haes Elementary with art teacher Margaret clear that well you can show all of us too so yeah we can [Applause] remember Raj Brown everybody Bella Dello of bellany elementary with art teacher kemy [Applause] bis Mr cardello oh he did come get your picture taken mateline Hester of Murray middle school with art teacher Lori [Applause] Patterson bana Rivera of hogard high school with our teacher Anne [Applause] Sinclair all right now the uh students whose work was selected by board members Zion black of wesboro elementary with our teacher Stephanie mu duer Zion's work was selected by board member Josie [Applause] barnhard Jasmine Hicks of Laney High School with art teacher Kendall Owings Jasmine's work was selected by board member Stephanie [Applause] Walker [Applause] Tucker Ray of
034Roland GCE middle school with art teacher Jeff Jennifer caps Tucker's work was selected by board member Pat [Applause] Bradford [Applause] Amaya Stallings of Rachel Freeman School of Engineering with art teacher Marsha Revels Amaya's work was selected by board member Stephanie [Applause] Kel Jude Watkins of Murray middle school with our teacher Lori patteron Jude's work was selected by board member Melissa Mason Isabella warila of Roland Grace middle school with our teacher Jennifer caps Isabella's work was selected by board member Hugh [Applause] mcmanis Riley wood of Ashley high school with arts teacher Shannon carrian Riley's work was selected by board chair Pete [Applause] wildor congratulations again to all and thank you for sharing your talent and vision with us next recognition is Gregory Williston cross country team they here and Marie Pierce okay amme Pierce tells students
035that she coaches on The Willison Gregory cross country team that is about more than just running and she means she started the program at the school when she began teaching there in 2017 and cross country wasn't a middle school sport since then she has coached them to everything from 5Ks to Countrywide championships but what she celebrates most is their leadership confidence and willingness to uplift and support each other recently the girls Willis and Gregory team finished out their season with their second second consecutive countywide championship and an undefeated record for this year an accomplished Runner herself earlier this year am qualified for the 2024 US Olympic trials in the marathon event but she teaches her students that it's not always the fastest teammates that make the huge difference these accomplished young Runners are learning the
036importance of pushing through fatigue and adversity when the going gets tough they are showing us the victory often goes to those who persevere we hope these lessons of endurance and consistency will serve as a foundation for their future endeavors reminding them that determination they can conquer any challenge congratulations to coach Pierce and the Williston Gregory Champion cross country team undefeated middle School honors chorus our next recognition recipients just returned from a weekend in Winston Salem performing with the Statewide Middle School honors chorus just 175 students from the entire state of North Carolina are selected for this prestigious chorus and our district had four students participate Elijah gon and Colton leak of Myrtle Grove Middle School and Ruth a Adams and Trayvon Spicer of H Holly I'm sorry Holly Shelter Middle School these talented young singers
037worked with the nationally acclaimed conductor and performed at the Statewide Convention of music teachers so you know that was a tough crowd but as with any performance the real work was in the preparation the voice is an instrument and though some of us are blessed with While others like me have a version with a few strings missing it takes incredible Focus patience and dedication to hone that instrument we know how hard these students worked and how many times they must have practiced that same audition song until they met their own high standards we are proud that these students talents have transcended local boundaries and gained Statewide recognition but we are prouder still of the passion and dedic they've shown in their Pursuit congratulations to our Middle School honors chorus [Applause] Representatives okay hopefully I get
038this name right uh Karen Viola and Marcy mckines mckines I hope I said that right finance division okay so next I'd like to welcome Karen Viola and Mar mckinin or it says Marcy mckenic of the finance division to receive recognition for their certificate of achievement from the government Finance Officers Association are they here today come on up come on who's how do you say that mcinish okay mcinish it's probably the only time I'm going to say it right this is the highest form of recognition in the area of governmental accounting and financial reporting it's been brought to my attention that our finance division wins this award pretty much every year but that doesn't diminish its importance it actually just reinforces what we know about our finance leaders and staff they operate with a spirit of
039disclosure clearly communicating the district's Financial story and a way that stakeholders can understand they demonstrate remarkable Proficiency in handling taxpayers dollars and being good stewards of our community resources and their meticulous attention to detail and transparency sets a high standard for accountability and integrity that ripples out to every division in school in our district this award not only acknowledges Karen and Marcy's outstanding accomplishments but also serves as an inspiration to all public sector Finance professions to continue striving for excellence in their vital role of safeguarding and wisely managing our public finances congratulations to you both sorry about the name Moren hill come on up here Morin I had the privilege of being there when the State Department of Public Instruction recently surprised literacy specialist Moren Hill along with Dr fa and Dr fac with the
040the state's first champion of change award New Hanover County Schools received this award for our extraordinary and comprehensive efforts to improve student literacy as our 5K literacy curriculum specialist Moren received special recognition for leading the implementation of a new curriculum in science-based teaching method in a remarks at the event maren was KCK quick to give all the credit to the classroom te teachers doing the everyday work which is a testament to the kind of leader she is but she also spoke passionately about her belief that literacy is not only just an educational tool but a fundamental human right when you are literate she said you are empowered to navigate the world with knowledge and confidence maren's vision and commitment have helped improve literacy instruction in the district and raise test scores but perhaps more more
041importantly she is playing the long game through the many ways that Moren Fosters a love of reading in our district ensures that teachers and students have quality literacy resources and advocates for those who need it she makes sure that students are going out into the world empowered to do and be whatever they chose her work is a testament to the belief that every student regardless of their background deserves the opportunity to unlock their full potential through the the gift of literacy congratulations [Applause] Moren good evening good evening as always we would love to appreciate and welcome every single new employee but we would like to showcase for you our new administrators for the month and we have several um three of the first of which are internal candidates moving up and the other three are
042coming over from other counties so to start off with let's introduce Jana Lennon Jana if you can come up please now you may know Janna as the Director of our College Road Early Childhood Center but now she is now the principal at Mary C Williams so congratulations thank you thank you for the opportunity I have served my whole career with new Haner County Schools since 1994 and um I just appreciate this next step in my educational Journey thank [Applause] you she was a 11 in 1994 but okay all right next up taking her place as the Director of college early Road Childhood Center is Michelle Manis Michelle can you come on up Michelle most recently was the assistant principal at Cotton Elementary School and she was gracious enough to shift over for us so Michelle
043thank you good evening I'm blessed to be back at where I was hired not too many years ago by Dr Holland as my first job in new han County schools and I hope to see all of you where our beginnings of learning start all our littlest Learners are ready to go um please stop by next up is someone you know well already our new director of communication Outreach is Christina beam who's worked in communication in other school districts and most recently has been here with us so Christina where'd you go hi thank you I have spent my whole career communicating about public education I feel really passionately about it um but I wanted to take a moment just to give a shout out to my team whom all of you know very well but um
044we are all really committed to success in new Haner County Schools we have kids in these schools we have spouses who teach in these schools we have alumni from these schools on our team and it's really neat tonight to follow the student voice and staff voice and recognitions because that's what it's all about and we really strive to be partners with our staff students and community and to help share the good things happening in our schools so we're excited to move forward thank you next up on the docket uh Mr Mortenson are you here Jeremy there you are I I didn't have a chance to see you earlier Mr mortson is a new assistant principal for us he's most recently been in Leland but has also been in in California can uh Canada and Australia
045so welcome we're glad to have you good evening distinguished board members I just want to first of all thank you and the district for allowing me this opportunity to serve new new Hover County schools and more specifically our students as an assistant principal not only am I an educator but I'm also the father of a son who graduated from Ashley High School in 2021 and um I really take pride in this community and I look forward to serving it so thank you next up is a a old not an old face a face we have seen before sorry Aaron Rady started her work as an elementary teacher of Forest Hills most recently has been an assistant principal at topsel high school is now joining us at Masonboro so Aaron R good evening members of the
046board just want to thank you again for giving me the opportunity to come back home um a mom of two kids who attend Masonboro and a mom of a five-month-old who hopefully will attend as well so thank you so much I'm excited to get [Applause] started and last but not least is the newest assistant principal at Williston Middle School Mr Jeffrey Swanson jeffre you come on down Mr Swanson has taught history and psychology in alamance's Brunswick and Craven County and most recently has been a principal and assistant principal in Pender County so glad to have you thank you thank you for the opportunity and just I see a lot of familiar faces which is always good and I'm really excited and thrilled to be a part of the solutions that we're going to find at
047Willison working with Miss McDonald I've been with her for three days and the love that they've showed me already has been been outstanding so I'm excited to continue the work awesome all right it'll be a double dose of me tonight if gentlemen if you'd like to join me back down here again we talked about some amazing students earlier but we would be remissed not to talk about some amazing staff members if you didn't know about 50% of our population of of uh employees are classified folks who work every day to ensure that our instructional program and the continuity of our daily operations happens throughout the division we really want to recognize two employees for their outstanding service to the school system first off if Miss Pamela B bosmer oh I'm almost had it BMA borma
048where are you come on down bring your principal with you come on and Pam is the treasurer at trass middle school and this is what they have said about you she is truly Irreplaceable since she started she's been one of the biggest impacts on consistency collaboration and teamwork in our district she is part of our office staff and does anything to ensure the school's operations are stable ensur students and staff are set up for Success she spends a lot of time helping staff with leave money other personal matters and handles this with respect confidentiality and fairness she never hesitates to step in and help out and she's also the notary at the school attends sporting events supports technology needs and is a backup nurse and is so much more and any who works in a
049school front office knows that you wear a whole lot of hats every day in addition to her impact at the school level she is one of the go-to treasurers in the district she's currently a mentor for many new treasurers and Pamela also continues to connect with her for collaboration the work she does on a daily basis sets the stage for Student Success and she is here every day with a smile on her face so thank you very [Applause] much wait we can hear you all right last but not least i' also like to call up Mr Graham Radford uh and his principal from Anderson Elementary [Applause] Mr Radford is the type of figure that every child needs in their lives he consistently goes above and beyond what could have been expected for any teacher assistant
050the relationships he builds are long lasting and the same students who look to him for help tying shoes in kindergarten now share their concerns about moving to middle school next year in a world where so many things are constantly changing and unknown for some of our students Mr Radford is a constant reliable source of peace our school is a better place because of him he builds strong relationships he's a leader in the classroom and jumps into every situation with a positive attitude from leading small groups of students to working one-on-one with a student with significant challenges Mr Radford does it with Grace ease and skill uh he's incredible asset new H County Schools is impact we felt for years to [Applause] come and in closing what some of you may not know is we get
051nominations throughout the the quarter for employees that we want to recognize so we had so many this quarter that we will be sending out the recommendations the nominations and the things that were said to all the employees that received the nomination because we can only recognize a couple but there have been tons and tons that have come in so thank you everyone for the work that you [Applause] do [Music] super leadership wi Wilmington class of 2024 education Day presentation um was a couple weeks ago and I had the privilege of speaking with the leadership Wilmington class of 2024 about our strategic plan goals challenges and opportunities we shared a short presentation of an engaging dialogue with those leaders they also had an to visit our schools which was amazing um the other part is you
052were able to witness um Morin and that was where we received the champion for change award and this was the first in the state in our district received the highest award and so we were um most impressed with the literacy um work that we're doing here in our district if you've noticed anything on our website you'll notice that hogard was named um ESPN honoral high school for Special Olympics um hoger has been named the ESPN honoral High School for the Southeast region of the United States for its work as a special Olympic unified Champion School the school's work on inclusion and collaboration among students with and without disabilities has made hoger a place where every student can experience the joy of participation and teamwork the schools work on inclusion and collaboration among students with and
053without disabilities is made higher the place where um that said that again um anchoring Talent this is unique I had the opportunity to go to um um luminous station and I think that was last week and we were there for a panel and that was probably one of the one of the biggest highlights that we got to do and that was where we were sitting there with other individuals throughout the community who were hiring U managers and so the panel featured industry leaders from Healthcare technology Manu manufacturing Talent pipeline collaboratives along with educational leaders of course from K12 Community College and the university we shared experiences strategies and best practices for attracting retaining and developing top talent in our community during the swimmington chambers hosted event and so the chamber hosted the event we got
054to share and they were there asking questions so it was a phenomenal event and we look forward to um other things come out there and we were able to um make connections with some of our students and they're actually asking for intern so that's a a positive note there um the electric bus roll out was unique so if you again got to see anything you follow us on social media you got to see um an electric bus yes it's no diesel fuel it's um electric yeah new hanberg County um we unveiled the the all electric bus now this bus not was um funded through the Volkswagen mitigation plan and it was um part of a phase one of the plan for school bus replacement and of course I asked for more but I guess we'll
055have to wait for more grants to come through so it did not affect anything in our budget uh the bus is scheduled to be in use next month but does not have a specific route it will be used throughout the county to determine where it can be used efficiently if a bus was to be purchased without the use of Grants this would be near $450,000 while the electric bus won't be in use until December drivers will get the chance to test it out and provide valuable feedback the new an County School Board stands to benefit from parts of the 23 state budget at new han County Schools $210,000 for high impact tutoring at low performing schools3 million for an artificial intelligent pilot program aimed at implementing a school safety system with with AI technology the
056budget also included um Advanced teaching roles programs so we were very successful in this state's um budget roll out and we look forward for more to come thank you so much that's my report thank you Dr F and it was Lumina Hotel the Lumina Hotel yes yeah yes okay good evening to all first as we enter November I would like to send a final huge thank you for all you do each and every day to our principles we have a wonderful hardworking group of leaders in our principles and it's of often a thankless job but our schools would not function without these Heroes so thank you to all our principles again I was privileged to see many of our schools in action this month and one school I stopped by was Blair Elementary School it
057was there that our system received High accolades for our academic achievements from the North Carolina Department of instructions uh we heard uh just a moment ago about uh Miss Hill champion of change congratulations going out to miss Hill Dr fa Dr fa Dr DeWalt the whole curriculum Department as well as each and every teacher principal faculty member and student a huge honor for you all I attended the CTE advisory council meeting at Ashley high school and was blown away by the outpouring of support from our business Community for our schools I look forward to our future in this area we were also given the opportunity to tour whenn Park Elementary and hogard high school where we shared a roundt discussion with a group of smart hardworking and wonderful students I want to take a moment
058to thank everyone involved in giving us this opportunity I want to thank everyone who participated in our most recent Town Hall the focus uh was supporting our schools and we sure did he a lot of ways that we can improve we are currently scheduling a meeting to take a deep dive look into the feedback from both of our Town Hall meetings I was also joined by two other board of education members and our Attorneys at the NC SBA law conference there was much to learn and I will share that on several topics we had thoroughly uh been uh educated before but there were a lot again there was a lot to learn uh it was encouraging throughout the time it was also very good to be able to network with other board members from around
059the state I would like to take this uh opportunity to thank all our veterans and active service members if you are a veteran or in active service please stand at this point to be recognized do we have any with [Applause] us if you would please remain standing and also if you are a family member or a relative of a veteran or active service man or woman please join them please [Applause] thank you it is a family affair uh and I do I really do appreciate uh everyone that puts their their heart on the line each and every day I'd like to take just a moment to uh thank one other uh very important group um which is our First Responders in law enforcement who also Daily like our members of the armed services put their
060lives on the line to protect us so let's give them a round of applause too if we [Applause] could I attended many of the graduations in the past few years and future members of the armed forces are always recognized for their service and for their courage we may have graduates from New hanur County Schools In Harm's Way right now in the Middle East or near the Ukraine so please uh pray for their safety and for the Peace of Israel and Ukraine last ask for those of you who live in the area that has voting ending tomorrow I would encourage you to get out and to vote it is a wonderful right that we have thank you at this time we will begin with our call to audience good evening um we have the regular signups
061we have two people that came in three people that came in that signed up at the door um it's light night tonight most of you know the drill your names are on the board you don't have to to wait for me we're going to start with Miss stack house and um we appreciate your comments good evening policy 4341 States School Employees are expected as part of their schools student behavior management plan to identify strategies that involve parents at a minimum the plan must provide for inviting parents to conferences Whenever there is a serious violation that may result in removing the student from his or her reg regular educational environment for any extended period of time does this not apply to the right of a parent to participate in the discussion with the principal before aor
062a determination is made to give an out of school suspension to a five six or seveny old child why is this not included in policy 4351 if the parent is permitted to participate the discussion could be on the phone over Zoom or in person most importantly the principal still has the final say kids belong in school where they can learn and strive in school is where they learn to read the public has a right to know what progress is being made with the Strategic plan to operate safe and supportive learning environments a report from Miss vnum is long overdue please stop fighting among yourselves and concentrate on the nonpartisan needs of the students teachers staff facilities and environment thank [Applause] you lesie posie good evening do you know what a puppet is a puppet can
063be a toy that a child can control with strings a puppet is also a person who is controlled by the leader or Puppet Master puppets controlled by the Puppet Master do not think for themselves they do what they're told this might include writing policies simply to remove words like Equity diversity and inclusion these are bad words because they show that all students must receive the individualized education they are entitled to and that costs the Puppet Master money puppets spend hours discussing if a single book should be removed from a single classroom puppets ignore laws such as Title 9 that are intended to create equity and protect children they ignore Supreme Court decisions that require separation of church and state in government B they ignore programs created to give teachers better tools to work with their
064students they make plans to eliminate books and curriculum because the Puppet Master says it is harmful for children to be exposed to a wide range of ideas your job as members of the board of education is to be sure that our children have a complete well-rounded education that will prepare them for life in the real world limiting the ideas they are exposed to will leave them totally unprepared to do anything other than what they are told they will not be able to think for themselves but maybe that's what the Puppet Master wants Karen [Music] O I've been listening to love our children's request to revise the short-term suspension policy 4351 for the past few months they want the policy to give five six and seven-year-old children the right to have a parent participate in the
065discussion with the principal before a determination is made to give them an outof school suspension seems like a very reasonable request so what's the problem they're only talking about five six and seven-year-old children little kids make mistakes or they act out impulsively from stress trauma not enough sleep or food or they don't have the words to express themselves there must be an adult they can work with in in a different space to continue their learning in School parent involvement is a good thing right so what's wrong with a parent being able to talk to a principal about the child's behavior before there is a punishment and the final decision still belongs to the principle no one is suggesting taking that away from them you're in action on this policy speaks volumes you don't seem to
066be supporting young kids learning you don't seem to uh be supporting building relationships with parents of these vulnerable kids and you are overprotective of a system that disproportionately punishes black special education children thank you you're out of time it's shameful keep our kids in school advise policy 4351 BR up Owen Alfred I can't see the bord is at me my glasses good evening esteemed Board of Education members in New Hanover County Schools I'm Owen alred a junior at new Handover high school and I'm a School meals for all North Carolina Ambassador as a School meals forall Ambassador we believe that no child should go hungry in North Carolina and that every child in every Public School in North Carolina should have access to breakfast and lunch at school at no cost to their families no
067cost School meals are an investment in academic performance and School meals are an investment in our economy we are excited about our upcoming School meals for all action weekend on December 1st through 2nd here in New Hanover County on Friday December 1st we are hosting a School meals for all paint and act at 5:00 p.m. at the holiday in Resort on Lumina Drive each of you are cordially invited as a VIP guest also please support us on Saturday December 2nd for our 5K run at the rille beach park the race starts at 9:00 a.m. thank you for this opportunity to share and we are looking forward to your support with the school meals for all NC ambassadors thank you thank you Kimberly mcguy [Applause] Murphy good evening our educational system consist of students from various
068walks of life they consist of general education students exceptional children academically and intellectually gifted students and multilanguage Learners tonight I would like to invoke your attention to our special population students special population students are identified as students who require specialized consideration and their educational plan to be academically successful all students are considered general education students and provided with core instruction although many students are successful with this approach there is a small percentage of students who require specialized support and instruction Beyond core instruction there is a disparity of support for our special population students non-english speaking students are expected to academically perform as their English speaking peers although they receive inadequate support exceptional children have accommodations written in their IEPs but often times are poorly implemented due to lack of personnel lastly our AIG students are
069often stereotyped as not needing support because they are intelligent or academically gifted thus receiving minimal support to help challenge their intelligence and giftedness I admonish the county to consider and focus on the need for additional resources for our racial population students and reflect on these questions what can we do as a county to increase services in these areas how can we better allocate funds to support specialized programs for our special population students and how special population students are prioritized in the order of importance to the board I am Dr Kimberly McDuffy Murphy I am an educator for Education thank you George vasset as an education chair for the NAACP I have long I have stood before this board on numerous occasions over the past 10 years with the hope that as reasonable and educ ated
070members of our community you would agree with the overwhelming educational research with regard to suspensions to put it simply they just don't work they don't help our students change their behaviors and they don't improve School climate when a student is suspended not only does he or she lose valuable educational time they become more alienated from school suspensions don't solve the issues that led to the problematic behaviors and many cases they exacerbate them we saw a glimmer of hope when at the urging of love our children the school board changed its policy for very young children however based on the most recent data that I've seen it appears the policy change hasn't always reached down to the school level the NAACP raises its objection to unjustified use of suspension for any and all children but we
071also note that the new han County Schools have a long long history of suspending black students at a much higher rate than white students the county schools are under Federal sanctions because of this our experience in the last few months with cases our parent Advocates have worked on is that resorting to suspension to deal with inappropriate behavior is on the rise again in particular again with regard to black students this combined with the Banning of the book stamped and the apparent moves to eliminate the goal of equity in board policy seem to indicate that our school system is becoming less and less welcoming to students of color the NAACP pledges to continue the fight for equity in our schools by all means available to us thank you Christina [Applause] Mercier I'm here tonight to ask
072you to prepare for the future not long ago you all heard a presentation that said New Hanover County Schools will need multiple new schools in order to keep Pace with the growing population in the county I understand there are multiple moving Parts with funding new schools and you alone are not in charge but you as the representatives of the school system have control and what you do now will impact schools in the county whether you're still on the board in 5 years or not since you've taken office a number of you have have pushed individual pet projects and beliefs that have angered or alienated a lot of residents yet you along with the County Commissioners will soon be asking these people to willingly pay more in taxes to fund more schools if people don't like
073your actions it will be hard to convince them to invest their money I'm calling on you to start tonight in reframing how you speak about the schools and teachers especially when addressing the public essentially you all need to be the biggest cheerleaders for our schools teach teing has never been an easy job and it's only gotten more difficult post lockdown it's not time for a Witch Hunt over minutia it's time for compassion and realism for example it's often published that the average class size is 23 or around there I don't know one middle or high school class that's that small it's details like this you need to address no one wants their child or grandchild in an overcrowded class again you must be a cheerleader you must be a positive advocate for change let the
074public public know what's working in our schools and what needs to happen to keep the schools safe for everyone new han county is rapidly growing we need more schools now and not in 10 or 15 years and we need to build these schools before the county runs out of usable land which is a real possibility we need the public to understand the importance of funding public education and school buildings and we need them to trust you all as elected officials who are part of that process what you do or don't do now will have an impact forever please ask act to secure New Hanover County School's future thank you Mr Bellamy how y'all doing today I'm here in support of our love our children um why is the school system so hard on kids um
075what I'm about to read is not a poem really but it's about true facts um why is us why is the school system so hard on kids uh kids always do something stupid and they are always sorry sorry for what they did you guys should know you were kids kids do stupid things kids are very emotional some kids have ADHD some kids have other hidden problems some kids are lonely so suspending them without their mom or dad present do not solve them and can cause other problems because when the kid is afraid they need some type of special Aid so this system so if this system pay more attention to that one kid millions and millions of kids in the system they could save I am I am support of um I am here in
076support of policy 4351 and I think uh you guys can turn this around thank you very much Janette Kosar you skip she's not coming um Janette koshar good evening I'm a retired researcher and University Professor re researchers have a saying in God we trust everybody else must bring data I have been attending school board meetings for a year now and have seen no evidence that you are following School Board policies to only suspend students who violate policies 4325 4331 and 4333 in the 2022 2023 school year only 13 of the 71 out of school suspensions for kindergarteners to second graders fell under these policies therefore the latest data indicate 58 students that's 82% were suspended instead for inappropriate or aggressive behavior that are best handled by school-based behavioral professionals whose jobs are to provide services
077to strengthen and facilitate the educational process by identifying and removing barriers to learning while promoting Student Success and unable to find anywhere on the New Hanover County Schools website um that was labeled inappropriate behavior is best handled by susp sus suspending these young children today you have not produced evidence to the contrary so I ask is there no one who who holds you accountable for following your own policies in the school board's policy gold you are mandated to acquire reliable information that will enable you to make the best possible decisions about educational programs love our children has been advocating to change uh short-term suspension policy 4351 for a long time do you wonder why you have never heard a single speaker demand that a young child not be allowed to have a parent talk to
078a principal before their child is suspended I'm curious why is that CER good evening my name is Crawford Anderson I'm a junior at hogard High School in 2000 Malcolm Gladwell wrote The Tipping Point to explore ideas that small actions can have significant consequences this is an evidence that my school hogard as activities of unfocused students lead to the degradation of our school bathrooms and other essential facilities the tolerance of inappropriate wall drawings and vaping without consequences has created an environment where such behaviors become commonplace stealing a paper towel dispenser to clog a toilet and shutting down an entire bathroom serves as an indication of deeper underlying issues that demand attention the repercussions of these disruptive behaviors go beyond the surface actions if left unattended these in incidents can escalate leading to more severe occurrences like
079conflicts or threats against the school for students like myself the constant need to navigate these disturbances impedes personal growth and academic Focus we must proactively address these Minor infractions by sending students who break the rules to in school suspension and making ISS a punishment and not a place to hang out on on phones or take naps which it is currently students should be incentivized not to graffiti on the Stalls curse at teachers or vape on school grounds because of the possibility of severe consequences addressing Petty incidents like these and fostering a safer and more conducive environment for Learning and personal development is essential I urg the board to take these matters seriously and take decisive policy action on another note it was great to see the school board and the superintendent at hoger the other
080day viewing the classrooms especially my apan classrooms great to see you guys and I'm happy to see that you guys are taking a personal interest of at the school and seeing what it's like on the ground thank you and have a good evening thank you Alicia Ogen Deli good evening my name is Aliso gelli I'm with love our children organization November 10th marks the 125th observance of the womenon massacre in 1898 a day where more than 2,000 heavily armed white supremacists killed Untold hundreds of black citizens and overthrew the government tragically the stain of 1898 Massacre continues to this day there are 12 felling schools in New Hanover County and almost all of them a majority black student populations the school district has sanctioned has been sanctioned by the federal individuals with Disability Act for
081the past six shares for significantly disproportionality out of school suspension for black special education students at 4.5 times the rate of their pairs in September a book about history of racism was banned by four to three votes of the school board this past year 63% of out of school suspension for four for five six and seven year olds were black students even though they represent 16% of student population 125 years have passed and we can't get the majority of school board to consider revising shortterm suspension policy 4351 to give five six and seven year old children the right to have a parent participate in the discussion with the principle before determination is made to kick the child out of school a child that most likely is black four of you continue to stay in our
082community shame on you thank you Lany Cooper Laney Cooper all right so wide good evening my name is malan Cooper and I'm here to advocate for love our children believe it or not I was a child not so long ago uh I did not grow up in New Hanover County thank God I did grow up in New York City where when you think about education it's it's really issues nationally but since I'm living in this area I have to speak towards the area in which I live in uh I will say that in school I was suspended a couple of times in school and for me it made me the person that I am it made me very outspoken it made me want to be who I am today although I don't have any children
083I speak on behalf of children because more than anything what hurts me is to see board members who sit on on a board who were elected here to help children and they don't do anything to help children they do the very opposite they allow for these suspensions to go on knowing month after month predominantly that the children who are suspended in these schools are black who look just like me my hope is for all of them to grow up and to speak out Against Racism to be bold enough to confront it to stand face to face and look it in the eye and say that this is wrong and supporting this policy it it doesn't make any sense not only are you harming black children you're harming some of your own too because if you
084don't have any truth in you you don't have any love in you and what are you really representative of so I just say to the new Handover County Board of Education to do the right thing if you have any morals make some choices that are going to lift this burden of unjust from all of our children children that's it thank you all right Peter rwit Peter Young students who are suspended are as much as 10 times more likely to drop out of high school experience academic failure and face incarceration ation than those who are not that research was cited 7 years ago by the US Department of Health and Human Services office on early childhood development one of the researchers noted that suspension is at odds with teaching the social and behavioral skills that many
085young children lack he said quote we would never send a child home because that child was struggling at Reading we would never send a child home if that child was struggling with math why would we send a child home for struggling with social emotional skills that was seven years ago and yet New Hanover County continues to kick five six and seven year olds out of school short-term suspension policy 4351 currently says that a student does not have the right to have a parent or other representative present at the informal pre-suspension hearing knowing the harm that suspensions can cause our youngest Learners love our children is asking that five six and seven-year-old children have the right to have a parent or other representative participate in the discussion with the principle before a determination is made to
086suspend a child revise policy 4351 let the parents ask the principal why would we send a child home for struggling with social emotional skills why indeed thank you thank you is Gail Major's here I don't see her is Gail major here Valerie Noel she's not coming tonight Veronica muren Brown policy 1010 board authorities and duties states that one of your significant duties is to provide every student with the opportunity to receive a sound basic education the foundation of that education arts in our preschools and elementary schools your strategic plan states that you want to increase the number of pre students meeting or exceeding age expectations and to increase the percentage of students reading at or above grade level in third grade kicking our youngest Learners kicking our young youngest Learners out of school that's nothing
087to fulfill your duties or your strategic plan love our children is again asking that you revisit short-term suspension policy 4351 and give five six and seveny old children the right to have a parent participate in the discussion with the principal before a determination is made to kick the kid out of school if a parent chooses to talk with the principal they can review the Positive Behavior Support or Alternatives that have been used with the child which will help ensure that out of school suspension is only is only used as a last resort change the policy make a decision that supports parent involvement logic and the belief that every student deserves the opportunity to receive a sound basic education do your job do what's best for our parents and our youngest Learners thank you thank you
088Judy Justice I'm Judy Justice by the way okay at the most recent meeting of the newly formed turnaround task force 11 teachers spoke on the problems they face as a result board member Stephanie Walker stated we've got work to do and I think that supporting our staff is the most important thing that we do most people would agree with her but the problem is is that the new an County School Board is not supporting them in October of 2021 the staff was starting to leave in record numbers and there there was a general morale problem I was on the school board at the time and called for a climate and cultural task force to get to the bottom of the problem most of the other board members resisted the idea but we did agree to
089do a climate survey when we finally gave one in December 80% of the certified staff responded only 28 of that percent of that staff said they felt valued the biggest complaints were overwork lack of planning time too many meetings and training not enough pay not enough Subs not enough support for students emotional challenges and having the superintendent repeatedly blame teachers for student failures I could not get the other board members to agree to a task force until May then that task force only met twice because Dr Burns who was placed in charge by Dr false LED it fall fall by the wayside in November 2022 new board members were elected but our staff is still leaving in record numbers in October of 2020 right after the superintendent started only 26 staff members left by September
090of 20122 84 left that month in June of 2023 87 left this is under our wa your watch we have the resources in this County because of the money from the hospital sale and the wealth of new han County to pay our staff decent and improved working conditions yet you do not fight for that money you extended the contract of a superintendent who has been major factor into low morale and horrible working condition conditions hold him accountable for his actions hold yourself accountable for your actions if you want our students to succeed start supporting our staff thank you chair Clark our nation was founded on a Biblical worldview truth is non-negotiable Jesus says you will know the truth and the truth will set you free I am the way the truth and the life my
091word is truth I am the Living Word truth is found in here remain in me and I will remain in you for a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me I am the vine you are the branches those who remain in me will will produce much fruit apart from me you can do nothing let my love nourish your heart if you keep my commands you will live in my love love each other deeply I pray for each of you in this room truth Shining Light guides you in your choices and decisions the revelation of the word makes your pathway clear and you are empowered to live every moment in the light of God's ways then you will be standing firm like
092a flourishing tree planted by God's design deeply rooted by the Brooks of bliss bearing fruit in every season of your life never dry never fainting ever blessed ever prosperous the Lord bless you and keep you the Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace in Jesus name thank you Nan Kevin our nation was founded by deists of religious freedom and separation of church and state just want to open with that thank you for taking the time to do what you do every day civil servants are vital to a healthy democracy politicians are another story as I mentioned in my recent email a single book removal cost Harris County Texas $30,000 one book 220 Personnel hours I recently submitted a
093public records request to find out how much employee time and money has been spent on the removal of stamped it's an important question to the Republicans on the board true Republicans are fiscal conservatives why are you prepared to dump tax dollars into a funding the implementation of these policies with no end in sight I encourage you not to move forward with any policy in regard to book bands curriculum review or policy 70205 until you've done this research on what the process has cost the school district in tax dollars up until now and how you plan to navigate the financial burden once you move forward the language is so vague in policy 7205 there are so many ways that can be interpreted for example at Roland GCE Middle School they have mile Mondays my daughter goes
094there boys are expected to run a mile in under 8 minutes while girls are expected to run a mile in 10 this seems to be in direct violation of policy 7205 Z number one number three number six and number 10 holding boys to a higher standard makes it harder for them to succeed and implies girls are inherently slower due to some sort of physical characteristics that they are somehow less than boys boys and girls are physically different yep it's a hard truth and that's okay it's okay for our children to learn and engage with hard truths racism and sexism and how it has shaped America's past and present is a hard truth I should know as I am the descendant of colonists here in North Carolina and brutal slavers in Georgia I don't appreciate Mrs
095Gates's attempt to censor my history as an American I'm not raising white snowflakes my girls are tough and I want them to learn the impact of white supremacy and the hard truth of History so they can do better if policy 7205 passes like Mrs Gates I will make it my personal mission find creative ways to keep your employees SW and blow all kinds of tax dollars Katie Gates good evening number two in the board's strategic plan priorities for 2023 is student safety and wellness and I'm concerned for the safety of our students in the context of current events I ask you to take seriously the threat of marxist ideas reading materials structures and paradigms new han County Schools may be adopting that promote anti-American anti-family anti-god anti- capitalistic ideas these Concepts ceps breed division oppression
096hatred and disrespect since humanistic and relativistic worldviews have replaced morality virtue and the judeo-christian perspective our country has faltered and as shared in CTA many students are more depressed less disciplined and less motivated they seek identity in the wrong places it seems schools spend more time and money managing emotional and diversity culture then teaching academics the value of hard work overcoming and embracing our god-given liberties the enemy is within kids are being raised on anti-racist Concepts promoting Division and animosity against anyone who doesn't adopt their Viewpoint with 75 copies of ibx kend's books in new han County schools libraries many students have been exposed to propaganda and divisive inflammatory rhetoric your staff embraced the Ala recommendations the American Library Association Emily drabinsky the president of the Ala is a self-proclaimed Marxist lesbian who believes libraries
097should in form about and promote activism and you wonder why parents aren't satisfied with just letting teachers and Librarians do their job when students read books like stamped that promote communist figures BLM and activism it wouldn't be surprising to see protests and hateful rhetoric arise in our schools as it has around the world and on college campuses BLM and many colleges college students have embraced Hamas and Palestine whose mandates seek to eliminate Israel and the United States through violence are we prepared for the possibility of civil Discord in our own schools thank you thank you that can cludes our call to audience thank you yes have to get more alternates work all right one two three all right board members if you would make your way back please it is uh 45 we'll start with
0984 or five or six all right superintendent back to all right we're going to go ahead and start we have uh our audience if we could have you guys seated please audience if we get to have you seated please thank you and we want to go ahead and keep two our time as much as we can uh next uh item of business is okay guys thank you uh next item of business is our consensus items uh we will be pulling uh item g off uh of the consensus if we could have a motion to pass the rest everything except for item G Mr chairman yes ma'am I move that we pass everything on the consensus agenda except for item G okay we have a second second we have a first and second any discussion if
099not uh all in favor of uh accepting or passing all the items except for letter G be signify by saying I I I 1 two three four five six that passes six and uh zero uh we will have one board member sit out on G uh do I have a motion to accept item G so moved is there a second second first and second any discussion all in favor of item G please signify by saying I I I all opposed that passes 5 Z carrying on next we have policy consensus um we have 20 minutes allotted for this Mr when is the appropriate time to one right and the only reason I'm doing that it's it's because I had a chance to look at it and there was a couple technical things I needed to
100okay now perfect time to pull let me grab my pen I'm sorry I didn't hear thaty 362 policy which one 3620 yes sir okay so Miss Walker pulls 3620 so I'll let you be the first to talk on that okay is there anything else that we want to pull off of the policy consensus M crille policy 2310 public participation at board meetings 3310 and ask Miss crel anything else okay so if we can move ahead and then we'll come back to those two so if we can uh entertain a motion to accept policies 2300 is that right yeah 2300 and 3460 um is there such a motion so move is there a second I'll second that first and second any discussion all in favor of passing those two policies please signify by saying I I
101I all opposed that passes back to 7even to zero we have two to discuss Miss Walker you were first with policy 3620 Miss Miss Walker okay thank you um well I just just I'd um looked i' clicked on some of the Links at the bottom um there are some changes obviously that were made I think that that was in line with I guess a new bill that was passed and it is not referenced at the bottom as far as legal is concerned and I I think we it should be um I think because I basically cross reference I looked at the new additions which are basically Part B underneath the number one and there's a big segment I think that was picked up straight from the law and I don't see a reference to that
102at the bottom um uh also there is a link down here that goes to Nowhere or at least a page is not found and then um I was really had a question about State Board of Education policy excp 000000 I could not find that anywhere so it's really kind of just more technical things I know I'm pretty sure that this these additions are based on a new law so I just want to make sure we're putting it in our policy properly okay not that I agree with them Miss barart are you are you on you like to speak to that or would you rather have Mr Vogel speak to that I mean I'm happy to let Mr vogle jump in but Miss Walker is correct in saying the alignment is with um the fairness and
103women's sports act the verbiage of that and that's what it reflects here I'm sorry did you hear that CU I could she said that um it it was the the text was lifted from The Women In fairness Sports act but it's referenced in here at all because I I know it's not board words this is legal words so I just want to make sure it's in our policy okay M barnhard can can we um add that in somehow we need to add that in so that we have that reference Mr vogle do you want to speak to that yes we can add that in um the law is session law 2023-24 c-12 and then in parentheses 23 so we can reference that at the bottom of the policy okay so do we want to delay
104this for a month and let that be done or do we want to move forward on it I mean there's a couple other things there's a link right here as well the athletic middle and Junior High School athletic manual that when I click on it it doesn't it takes you to Nowhere or it takes you to oh wait there it is it was not it was not doing it for me last time it was going page not found so that might be okay let me check it again make [Music] sure yeah it does now okay and then the last thing was e so scratch that one looks like it's working for me here on this um but then there's excp 0000 there's no link to that and I could not find a reference for that
105so I don't know where exactly you located at the very bottom it says State Board of Education policy excp 0000 I don't no if that's just three lines from the bottom of theard I don't know what that is Mr chair I think we can't click on it because it's a PDF because if you if you hover over it it doesn't allow you to even get there but the other ones the other ones work but that one doesn't so we just need to fix the link exp excp it doesn't do anything for me either do you want me to clarify that exp the um excp d00 is the state board policy for um the collection of policies governing services for students with disabilities and so it's on the State Board board policy manual is there a
106way we could get that fixed though as far as being able to address that okay yes Mr chairman I move that we uh adopt policy 3620 with two changes or two additions to correct these um what's the word here things that are not quite there the women's sports and spell out the law and the general assembly um The General assembly um statute that the attorney mentioned I wrote it down if I need to say it out and then um reference the excp with the State Board policy um so that it's it can be it can be found but have the staff do that and then just um update it yep okay so we have a motions or a second I'll second it okay we have a first and a second any further discussion Miss crille
107yeah I don't think I heard Miss Bradford refer to the language that we inserted in um letter A where it says and have not obtained a high school diploma She only mentioned the fairness and women sports act unless I misunderstood so section A she's discussing um I don't think she did I think I'm saying let's let's pass this fixing the two things that Miss Walker um mentioned Mr chairman okay it would be with that pass it as presented yes here okay okay any further discussion he's got something Mr mcis and I know I think it speaks to it but to say it a little louder everyone has to be extremely careful when students are given a nonstate curriculum written class and some kids are allowed that so you have to be extremely careful so that
108you don't end up find at the end of athletic season that they were ineligible and that's happened to a couple of our surrounding schools yes it has I cost one state championship so coach signs off have elect director signs off and the principal signs off so they're three different checkpoints for that we do allow some kids to take nonstate curriculum written classes I think one out of so many allow two you're ineligible but I'm not the Living Word St be very careful of yes sir yes sir so we might well pay attention to that if you could okay so we have a motion in front of us and a second any other discussion uh Miss buy would you call the rooll on this this is to pass it with the corrections that Miss Walker had
109requested uh as repres uh as presented besides that Miss Barnhart yes Miss Walker y Mr wior yes Mr mcmanis yes Miss Bradford yes Miss kill yes and Miss Mason yes okay that passes 70 uh our second policy we pulled off was uh by the request of Miss crille 20 uh 2310 um yes Mr crille I'll let you speak thank you um so in letter B in the first sentence um each month we are striking out um we are proposing to strike out the first part of at least one scheduled board meeting um I do not believe that that is a good idea that that if if if we take that out it lets us put it wherever we want and although it may seem good to us it is not good to our community the
110people that come here to speak they shouldn't have to um wait till the end of the meeting um unless they are specifically told um in advance and um I think we've all talked about it a lot that that we want to have their their commentary before we start voting um And discussing items so my my I would like to make a motion that we leave those words in okay so you're talking about uh under B first part of in in it says each month the first part of it's in red and it's struck out I make a motion to leave those words in okay thing here all right so we have a motion is there a second I'll second it Miss Mason seconds that sorry about that as all right we have first and second
111is there a further discussion so we're talking about under public comment uh each month the first part of Mr CR makes a motion and Miss Mason makes a second discussion Miss Mason um I just wanted to kind of explain why for me um I want to be respectful of the time of our community members um um and leaving it where it is allows them to know when to come um all the time then we don't have to make any announcements it's a consistent time um and if it's too late there may be some people who don't want to participate and that would limit the community's ability to express their concerns to us and thus limit their free speech okay I think I heard uh Miss Barnhart barnhard do you want to speak yes sir um
112part of this was from the suggestions from the ad hoc committee as well as whenever we were ramping the agenda policy to be a suggestion so this would allow that flexibility for you as the chairperson to set the agenda how you would um the other conversation that I think was brought up in the subcommittee and policy meeting was that looking at the surrounding meetings that we see with County Commissioners and city council and the towns of Rights things like that their public comment period is at zerve for the end and I reached out to kind of get why that was happening one their meetings are a lot shorter than ours and so we've talked about streamlining the process and what it looks like so to mimic successful meetings makes sense in my head um but
113the reason behind it is they re here do the work and so allowing that public comment period is absolutely very important to me we still have the longest public comment period that in the surrounding area however this would allow us to do the work of our board put our bet best foot forward at beginning of the meeting here from the public at large so this is not having this um struck through do not mean have to put it at the second half of the meeting it allows for that flexibility of us to try to continue to streamline meeting processes I didn't understand most of that oh it's hard to understand I think she said that my understanding was it was flexibility it gives the chairperson uh flexibility to uh and also it helps to have
114um the um you know us be fresh at the beginning of the meeting instead of you know after an hour Miss Walker thank you um I I agree um with fellow board members regarding the expectation of it being in the first part I also agree with the notion that we want to hear from them before we make decisions so I would probably I would like to keep that part in there for those both those reasons but also to to respect the the public who come and speak to us on a regular basis okay M Bradford then Mr MCM um I would agree with Miss Barnhart um we had months of ad hoc committee discussions on how to make our meetings more professional more streamlined and we couldn't even try to move the bus move the
115call to audience to another place because it's set in policy so we said in the policy committee that if we struck that we'd have the flexibility of perhaps trying it once and see if it worked we had three or four people that did not show up tonight we were under our normal um we allowed an hour um we only Ed 39 minutes of that hour tonight my goal is to have more people speak not less and um who knows it may actually be possible that the public would prefer it to be a littleit later a little bit I don't know but by having this in policy we can't even try it and that I believe was the the point um to speak to the fact that people would have to be told in advance of
116course they'd be told in advance they get a notice that says you know congratulations you've you've won the lottery you get to speak and it would tell you what you know approximately what time that was going to be in the meeting so I can't imagine that that um I can't imagine that it would be a huge burden on the public at all Mr MCM we' never had less people just I just don't want I could see both sides I want to take away the fact that the audience knows exactly what we're going to have we have to have great Communications change waiting um I get what being Al I just well and I'm going to speak and then I'll let Miss Mason speak uh but you know I've always been Advocate to hear from folks
117and and I really have that's why we have the town hall we've done these other different things um you know and I definitely think this might be looked at maybe just perceived as um you know as a way to cut down on the number of people and we definitely don't want to do at least I don't I can I can't speak verybody at this point but I can definitely speak for I think the vast majority of us want to hear that's why we have Town Halls a lot of other counties don't have those that's why M grael has mentioned you know several times that you know a lot of the other counties I think Brunswick and Pander both spend a half hour we spend twice as much time so um anyway I I definitely think
118we do want to hear from folks you know in in that Miss Mason I have to um respectfully disagree with some of the other board members um a lot of the community that is coming out are parents they're teachers and if they are parents and they have younger children expecting them to sign up and either stay with their children find a sitter pay for a sitter um and and come at a later time isn't super dis isn't super respectful of their time um additionally we have teachers that we're asking to come and sign up and depending on the length of our meetings if it's at the the end we are then asking them to arrive on time and get ready for school the next day it's not being respectful of their time either okay we
119have yes M graille yeah I just wanted to um add two things that I forgot before so you can take a look at the room right now um the room is pretty dead you know pretty didn't mean that room is pretty sparse um with attendees um we have tried before to break our call to the audience into two segments one you speak in the beginning if you're on the agenda you speak at the end if you're not if if we don't have an agenda item and at it kind of um didn't force but it it allowed many people to be dist truthful on how they signed up you know and very creative in their topic but the one that really concerns me most is that we just passed a policy um 2300 that said our
120board meetings will get over with in four hours and let's say that we're going over and we're going to cut our meeting off at at four hours like we all just agreed to then what's going to get cut but our community voice and so um that that is my biggest concern is that we are really not listening to the people that you know that we're allowing an hour to talk um so we may as well give them the hour at the beginning and if they choose to listen to the whole board meeting or watch it at home later they can but they're here to um and then I guess the point would be too when would they come to sign up like if they didn't make the lottery would they come at 5:00 to sign
121up or would they have to come back at like 8:00 you know to sign up you know to be on that list because how do they know you know who didn't show up so those are the two more concerns of mine all right Miss bu would you call the role please I'm sorry U so M cille's motion is to if you look on page 2310 under B each mon each month the part that's in red would be reinserted so the the uh yeah each month the first part of at least one regularly etc etc m crra i mean me Miss buoy Miss Barnhart no Miss Walker yes Mr wbore yes Mr mcmanis yes Miss Bradford no Miss CR Bill yes and Miss Mason yes so Mr Kell's motion to reinsert those letters passes uh 5
122to2 okay so we are back to the point where we need the whole um policy to be passed is there such a motion the amended policy I make a motion that we pass policy 23 the amended policy 2310 okay we have a first is there a second second second second Mr mcmanis your first and second any further discussion if not all in favor please so ma'am Mr chairman um just for clarity I believe that brings it back to what we have currently in policy so I don't believe we need a motion on this I think that we do I I was thinking about it as you were putting it up for a vote and I don't think we need another motion I think that a motion was made to approve the policy removing the proposed
123revision and that motion just passed 5 to2 I think we're finished okay we will carry on then all right that sorry second here all right our next piece of business is policies for second reading that up uh we have two policies 58 uh me 5008 and 7305 is there any discussion if not EXC me is there any motion is there a motion to pass these two policies um Mr chairman I move that we pass them both as amended by with the red that we see here okay as uh amended I'll second that is there any discussion if not all in favor please signify by saying I I I all opposed Carri 70 new business traditional calendars that would be Dr fa I leave coming forth good evening so I good to see I am bringing
124forth um two calendars for you um from the calendar committee the calendar for 2425 and the calendar for 2526 the calendar committee met and would like your approval on um these two calendars and I'll take any questions or the board members who are on the calendar committee can also address those questions I would like to if if if this is okay I'd like to ask for the members of the the board that are on the calendar committee to speak to it also Mr mcmanis M Walker um would you mind we had I think I've said this before I'll say quickly we had a great meeting uh great representation and every single individual from any school who had a question they got an answer and in most almost every single time we worked it out and
125I was really excited about the cohesiveness of this group uh not only for one for two years hoping the legislature will change the starting date but so we can get exams up first semester but it was a wonderful group I mean they they talk with each other no one lost here cool it was really a good exhibition of how we should behave and I would do business so I think it was great thank you Mr MCM Miss Walker I will Echo um I almost felt like it was a fluke I'm like the meeting went so well I was almost like is this real like it really did and I think the reason that we worked together to get the the folks on there on the committee that we wanted was to hear from a very
126group of people and we could get you know real world kind of advice because Mr M and I we're not down we're not in the classroom every day and so it was you know I think we let we didn't really talk that much at all I think we listened and if we if people had questions I will add one thing though that that not about the calar committee because it was it was great but um I am still frustrated that we do not have calendar flexibility and I just want to say that out loud because I know as a board we sent a resolution to Raleigh and um I just want to say that we deserve to have calendar flexibility we're not asking for the moon and stars we're asking for a week um if
127that and all we want is to be able to let our students be able to take their exams before Christmas and so I just wanted to have to say that out loud because I think um I think it's going to come up again and hopefully it will and hopefully we'll we'll get it on a legislative you know agenda soon thank you m Walker I think we all agree with you 100% on that and thank you Mr MCM for your your kind words Miss crille so um since the agenda review um I had several people reach out um if we're looking at the traditional calendar for 2425 where we have um Friday November the 1st off which would be like the one like a teacher work day um the concern for um several parents was we're
128off on Friday we come back to school on Monday and then we're off again on Tuesday so you know is it possible to move that teacher workday to the following Monday I I don't know that was that was that got brought up several times so I thought I would just mention it yeah so so I um our teacher work days are basically centered around um the end of the grading period and I'm trying to see um the end of the grading period is the 31st so you couldn't move it um to the following week because that is a time where the teachers are doing the grades so report cars can get out come come out um so the biggest change with that is always been around that that kind of time frame the biggest change
129is instead of Halloween itself being the day for teacher work day um Educators felt like the day after the candy goes out is when they should have the work day but um that is based on the teacher work days are based on in the grading period you will know the only time that is really not in the first semester is um we actually put in a parent conference teacher workday we have heard from parents and we've heard from teachers we want to collaborate and talk but we don't have time um for that so you'll notice that the calendar committee added a date in October for parent and teacher conferences okay there other questions one more sorry and um I didn't even listen to the calendar committee so you know the um was I'm sure there
130was discussion on matching up of the spring breaks of Cape Fear Community College with um with this spring break cuz some of the the students that are in those classes they don't get a break at all because they got to go to they have to show up to you know their school on cap feir Community College day of spring break and then on our Spring Break um they still have to go to capir Community College classes so you we actually um um U Mr Guffy and myself have been we were working even before the calendar committee convene we sent something out to the calendar committee committee and share with them what um cfcc's um spring break was and ask if we would want to consider that it is just so early I mean it we
131get in school and then it would be time for spring break CU they if I remember correctly are right there like the first week of March and it was just too early for us to consider um and but I mean I shouldn't say consider because the calendar committee did look at it they just felt that it was not feasible for us but keep in mind we are working with cfcc and we work with them to outline those courses that are heavily taken by our students to make sure we can do some flexibility of scheduling with that and do that staggered start so we are definitely collaborating with them on that okay Bradford um I was a little concerned tonight with our student voice their Solutions and ideas the last one was academic calendar optimization adjust
132test schedules to allow end of semester exams before major breaks the same concern that we've had over and over so what happens if we pass a two-year calendar and we get a break at at in Raleigh um you know where is there flexibility once we pass a two-year calendar yes the board can always come back sorry go ahead sir go ahead we we call another Mee we change yeah exactly the board can always come back and do that and and Dr fa how many students were a part of the calendar committee we had um solicited four students and all high school students we actually had one or two who showed up okay we are now over our five minutes so um can I hear do I hear a motion to approve our two our twoyear
133calendars I moovly approve the twoyear Calenders we have a motion is there a second Mr MCM seconds any additional discussion if not please uh sign all that are uh agree with that please signify by saying I I I all all opposed passes 70 thank you Dr fa thank you next we have uh Title Nine committee Miss Crill okay I'll thank you Mr chair so um the I was only able to give like just a little cursory talk last time but so I have um more prepared notes tonight um the first my first meeting of the title 9 committee was on August the 12th 2019 and that was only the second meeting um of the of the official committee um I was the PTA council rep at that time at that meeting Jerell Lewis was hired
134um he no his his hire was announced and his first day was September 11th 2019 Lisa Eep was the first chair of the committee Stephanie Adams was was the second chair and I was the third um the Comm the committee was formed not with any political slant or along any party lines rather it was formed to address um an impending crisis in our district and to protect our students immediately subcommittees were formed um what one being policy and procedures two uh and under policies and procedures was Athletics with a focus on equity and a Athletics in compliance with Title 9 as it related to any club inter mural or inter Scholastic Athletics um within new Hanner County Schools um also in that we needed policies on academics um making sure that our programs were equal
135opportunity and that we had um policies on sexual and gender-based harassment that was um Mr Lewis's number one priority um when he arrived here um second subcommittee was education where we focused on education and programming in the schools related to Title 9 topics um content development and the delivery platforms um the third oh so under education we had to um we have to educate staff students parents and the board of education so with staff they do um Vector training we've set up that whole um program through HR where modules are assigned um their attendance and performance is tracked um that we also have in-person training um every other year on different Title 9 related topics um including like prevention of sexual abuse and human trafficking um although those are not Title Nine you know issues
136um students were had the opportunity to take classes like um bringing in the bystander and shifting boundaries in Middle School um provided by our um Community Partners and we have had um back then we didn't have many but now we are having parent you new nights um there's and actually there's one coming up um on November the 16th I think is the day or 15th and the board of education has had training um to be an app pellet hearing um organization um if you recall I have asked over the suggested over the past year that um our board takes some of these trainings and we keep in or dismissing it and not doing any more training for us um the third component was resources focusing on collecting data to find out what we don't know
137and and analyzing it to find out what we can do about it we provide education and and providing education and resources to community stakeholders with related Title 9 topics so we use our Community Partners as resources and as Educators and co- Educators we use use State and National organizations for guidance and we use federal the federal government US Department of Justice civil rights Division division US Department of Education Office of civil rights and the um where was the last one sorry I forgot that one the um Department of Education already said that one okay so that is what how we we were formed um the the committee met every year you know for um since 2019 the last meeting um and and all the minutes of those meetings um should be posted online um I
138found a couple of them and um Crystal was our was our liaison back then um for the title N9 committee that's where I I went back and looked at my notes so um she you know she might have more minutes that that maybe didn't get posted but our last meeting um was on February in February of 201 22 and that is when we reviewed the survey results um we rolled out the survey in October of 2021 and then reviewed those results um with the board in 2022 um what I put at your desk um you'll see the um Mr Lewis did give us a an update it's the one that has new han County on the top um the dated May the 26 2022 Mr Lewis gave us an update on the review of the
139title 9 program from 21 2021 to 2022 school year talking about the highlights of um what we had done um the an example I'll just read them out loud the title n office responded to 219 reports of sexual or gender-based harassment um we released a climate a title 9 climate survey we performed numerous Title 9 staff trainings we implemented preferred names um request procedure for power school and conduct a title 9 Athletics audit um so all of this was done based on the current administration's um rulings which um that at the time was the was up through the the Trump Administration but this um so my proposal is that um motion no no the I'm not making a pro proposal yet okay the the proposal to um disband the title 9 committee is not taken
140lightly is the fact that we have an established Department we we put we hired a title n coordinator we hired a title N9 investigator we have an HR investigator that can work in tandem with the title 9 investigator and the work that we set out to do with this committee um all the things that we set out have been done and if you we were even you know quoted as saying um when we when we settled our our case that we were we were quoted as we were going to continue our efforts in new han County Schools to be a model for proactive prevention efforts strong policies and procedures for student safety and a culture of vigilance with our department I believe that we're doing that and um we don't need a committee to do
141that much of the work that now um that our Title 9 department is involved with re is about um you know employees making reports students making reports and a committee um doesn't need to be hearing all of those informations just to remind you we have about two minutes left okay okay um so to ask questions the um yeah but you have to have the the background and if you're going to cut me off then we're going to cut me off and we'll we'll roll it on but you have to have the background so I have a question Mr chairman can I finish please we'll give you another 30 seconds the um so some of the other things that have come up in this is that um oh now I've lost my turn of thought go
142ahead and ask your question Miss barnhard I forgot oh I remember what it was okay so um Dr fa had said um in our meeting that most other school districts do not have a title n committee and the reason being is because they have Title Nine departments and you don't need a committee to do our work and if you to do this work if you go back up and look at what it says is that we will work with the the committee works with the superintendent the titon coordinator and the staff and to ensure that students are not denied equal access to to educational programming and opportunities on the basis of sex and we do have to add um if we're going to keep it and um sexual and gender-based harassment so I'm gonna have
143good because we've allowed 10 minutes we I'd like to make a motion to extend my time please okay we have a motion to extend M cral or the discussion time is there second second first and second any have further discussion on that all in favor of giving another five minutes to this discussion I think we should give another 10 minutes so that we can have time to ask questions I don't think we're going to need questions okay then five five is fine five minutes okay five minutes all in favor of extending this discussion for five minutes please signify by saying well miss buy would you call the rooll please miss Barnhart yes Miss Walker yes Mr wbore yes Mr mcmanis yes Miss Bradford yes Miss crel yes and Miss Mason all right yes okay so
144the last thing I want to add before we open the for the discussion is from our board policy 2330 it said the the board will organize and chair standing committees for the purpose of conducting thorough deliberations and investigations of issues and informing and recommending action to the board as appropriate so by the very nature of our us being a board we cannot we cannot investigate we cannot deliberate we cannot offer suggestions on anything dealing with students or staff the only thing we would be because um then we wouldn't be able to have hearings so um it's I believe it's in our best interest to let the title 9 work be conducted by the title 9 Department thank you ma'am uh Miss barnhard thank you Mr chairman my question really became after Dr fa's comment from
145the agenda review and I sent an email to the committee members asking this of the full details of the things that this committee implemented um by approval of the other other board and how they align with the current regulations in regards to Title 9 and I also take point with my fellow committee members during the agenda review that we need to have consistent updates and so with those two things I don't feel like I have the answers of what exactly um the list of things that this committee did and we changed in the district and so I'd like to see that detailed list and if Miss crille and Miss Mason can work together to get that but with that being said I feel like this it' be most appropriate to postpone this discussion to next
146month so we can all get that information and see where that lies and make sure that it's in alignment with where we should be in title with Title 9 all right thank you Mr Walker thank you Mr chair um I don't really feel comfortable getting rid of this committee um totally and detaching it from the board I'm I still believe we should be part of the title n discussion and Reporting um and we have like I said we had a climate survey done that we haven't followed up on that showed that we had some climate issues but also um we had an audit as well that we've not had a follow up on um and we need regular updates on the laws and and and I think we still need to have a little bit
147of oversight not that we need to control anything necessarily but I think we still need to be attached to it in some ways and I don't know what the solution is perhaps we can make it an advisory committee instead or something like that where you know we just we're there just to hear and report back but it but I don't think I don't feel comfortable getting rid at least getting rid of it totally so that's why thank you Miss Walker Miss Mason um I agree with what um several of my fellow board members have said um I think it's important that we do have that continued uh accountability that continued transparency um and I would really like to establish a any and all Title 9 legislative updates reports protocol practices to be presented to the
148board um whether in public or if there is private information that needs to be shared in closed session um and I would like to see that in the very least quarterly um I I I believe that would provide that transparency that connection still to and would allow for the board to still know what's going on we are the ones that are um making policies so we need to know what's going on within our schools and we need to go know what's going on legislatively with this particular issue thank you Miss Mason M Bradford Mr chairman I don't understand why this is so sudden we just heard about it I just heard about it last Monday it feels rushed um I move I make a motion I move that we postpone this discussion to the work
149session that we have scheduled so that we can talk about about it rather than just have it as an actionable item or hear another presentation on it I I I make a motion to move it to the work session is there there's a motion is there a second second give us a first and a second further discussion M crille okay a couple points is that we don't have a scheduled work session and we already decided on three topics one got added into what my proposal was so we're looking at like a 4-Hour Work session now if we really want to give this um Credence I do want to um the and I and maybe I wasn't clear when I was showing you this report from Jerell um I would think that an annual report would
150be sufficient for us that is what um some of our colleagues in the um university world do to their um Board of Trustees I'm not saying we take our eye off but at the at last year's ncsba fall law conference um Elizabeth Troutman from Brooks and Pierce who is one of the experts in this field um said that was reminded us of what um our board responsibilities are in Title 9 one was to adopt policies defining the different types of harassment that are prohibited we've done it modify policies with changes in the law we've done it and we're waiting to hear um of any new ones we are very on the ball on CH on changing our policies and support training on the different definitions we also have a responsibility to invest in equal in
151um inv in equal opportunities and ask our outside funders perhaps to um help us with programming and things like that we are supposed to have all of our training materials must be available on the website they are notice of nisp nondiscrimination must be on our website and included our title N9 committee is doing that identification of a title N9 coordinator and methods for contacting must be readily available and on the website they are people must be able to find information on how to file a complaint ethics 360 is right up there um we have recordkeeping notices and um adopt policies procedures refer people to policies training for the title 9 investigators decision makers coordinators facilitators um of informal resolution which we do so all I'm saying is that we and this hasn't been sudden and
152if anybody is surprised that we haven't had a title n committee then why haven't you asked um since you've been on the board um for that so my the um I would like to make a counter motion that we decide I actually you know what I'm not so we have a motion in a second to bring this to our we are start as I said before we're still trying to find a date uh we've put out I put out I think about 10 dates and we have not found a date we can all meet but we will try to get that done soon as possible but Mr McMahon is actually has asked for one of the the other items to be taken off of that so we just have Roberts Rules of Order just to
153clarify Robert's Rules of Order and the feedback uh to be discussed will be taking the other piece of information that was on there and moving that to our December meeting so motion we have in front of us right now uh is Miss Bradford's motion to uh move this discussion to uh our uh work session which we're going to get as soon as we possibly can uh we have a second uh Miss um buy would you please call the role on this Miss Barnhart yes Miss Walker yes Mr wildor yes Mr mcmanis yes Miss Bradford yes Miss cille no and Miss Mason no so that passes 5 to2 so we will move that to that uh our next item for discussion is soil and water committee we've allotted 10 minutes for this Miss barnhard thank you
154Mr chairman um I'll start off I'll make a motion to allow the Board of Education to Liaison positions with the soil and water committee um okay and I make a motion to do that I'll second that we have a first and a second discussion so her motion was to uh have two oil um Soil and Water committee leaz on as uh we had as was discussed with us last meeting Mr chair yes ma'am um I know it's hard to hear and I apologize but I did send the detail of what that would entail I went back and forth with Drew Harrison about the expectations and stuff so I forward that to all board members so they're aware of what that would look like okay so M Barnhart makes the motion Miss Bradford seconds it is
155there a discussion Mr mcmanis tell me the advantage of two or any well it's Miss Brad Miss barnhart's motion so miss Barnhart why to sure when I was discussing with Miss Harrison we discussed how the change over in our board and so to have two people be able to articulate it Mr mcmanis and so when people roll off just like with the CTE Council I think the more people that we have included um will help amplify and grow that relationship in our community so she was open to suggestions as far as numbers so if you don't want to see it be too one could be absolutely something that we decide as a board or more than that but felt like two was a solid representation okay Miss Walker thank you um well I'm a little
156disadvantage because we didn't really get this information till really late and also at our agenda review we didn't get the information that that discussed the the duties and the time commitment and everything like that I'm not against having relationships with you know outside agencies but um the ones that we currently have right now which are legion and also parks and Gardens are they're under the county statute so that allows you know board members to be on them this one is is a state one and I was looking at their website and I mean the the email talks about submitting resumés and things like that like in my opinion soil and water is on the ballot Just Like Schoolboard is on the ballot and I don't I feel like it's it feels like it's a pointed
157position that really even though it doesn't have vot you know you're not you're not allowed to be counted as a vote it still doesn't feel like right to kind of be on a a body that is an elected body I mean I don't know if that makes sense or not but like I'm I'm I'm feeling we should have more discussion about this and you know another board had made a point about even talking to the Cooperative Extension folks um that also do stuff with our County so I would like to talk about this a little bit more before we make this decision um it's it seems like it's very very involved you know you have to have a resume on on board I mean I don't know I just and then we had that discussion
158also about um you know the gardens which I'm definitely not against Gardens at all um but at the same times we had talked with staff about them having Champions at each school I don't want to I don't want to be responsible for thrusting things on schools where you know there's nobody that's going to be in charge of them and that that just adds to the burden of staff so that's my two s on it thank you Miss Walker Miss Mason I'll get you um my question I guess would be if there are applications is that then something that the board chair appoints or is that something that Soil and Water decides I'll bring that back to miss Barnhart Miss Barnhart you understanding sure um yeah and I I I thought that was made clear in
159the email so my apologies for that but um what would happen in the process that I was discussing with Miss Harrison would be just like the chairperson's elected of our board every December they would appoint two individuals to this liaison position and just basically essentially say these are the two appointments and then Soil and Water would have to quote accept them um because that is their process and Miss Walker referenced to that but it would not be an application per se it would still just how our board operates it's an appointment by the chairperson so it would operate in that manner and then the soil and water W will officially accept yeah I share Miss Walker's concern about the an elected official being put on another elected official's board so I wanted to ask um
160our legal counsel what um his thoughts were or if he could do some more research for us is that appropriate I don't have any immediate response to that but that's something I'd be happy to look into for you I have another hand up over here Mason let me correct what I said before um it says on this that New Hanover County Soil and Water would hold resumés um if there are resumés that have to be turned in it appears to be a an application type process at least based off of what I'm reading here um how do we do we I guess my question is if the chair appoints two individuals do those individuals then have to write a resume to sub to Soil and Water Bradford I don't understand why we wouldn't want two
161people from this border I don't want to go um but why we wouldn't want more interaction with soil and water it can only benefit our school children and that's what we're here for I I don't understand the push back and then I think it was just last month we had uh a Schoolboard member say they wanted to be appointed to this board bam we did it like that it was over in an N second so I don't I don't understand the hesitation it can only help our children to have two Schoolboard members serve on another board that's going to benefit the the district M crille yes so um two points to that is that um first of all we heard that from two of our um senior staff that they were were didn't want us
162to commit oursel to something that we couldn't deliver on and also saying that they would do whatever we said so I'm just having a hard time with us being on any board and then directing our staff because of what we heard on that um I also brought up and I asked you know you to cons consider us allowing a presentation from the North Carolina Cooperative Extension because they also work in our school district and they have an advisory Council where um we can that they would invite us to be on without a resume um Dave Spencer was on that and I believe he still is um just as a community partner member of that committee so they they do um they also do training in our school and they also do field trips in our
163school so um I would like to see us if we're going to go the work session route to allow us to hear from The Cooperative Extension which is also part of the soils and water um and it doesn't have so many requirements and it's not an elected official applying to be on another elected board so um I'd like to make a modification to miss Bradford's motion is that we postpone this discussion until a work session or to another meeting okay so we have so you want to to amend I want to amend the motion that we that we postpone this discussion just like we did Title 9 to another um opportunity okay there's a motion to uh postpone yes that's right word postpone this is there a second I'll second that you have a first
164and a second is there additional discussion about postponing this discussion Mr mcmanis 30 seconds probably Mr Anderson can Mr Anderson answer if we need this or how important this is because he's the one who deals with soil and water more than anybody with building well I it's really a school decision um there's been some schools that have participated in some of the programs I think the more appropriate question is does it fit academically uh instruct Al with what we're doing um and if it does then and schools choose to do it then we'll support it okay Mr 57 seconds yes ma'am and then Mr cral and we'll finish um we'll discuss the first I just don't understand why it has to be a non-exclusive thing why we couldn't also explore the Cooperative Extension to me
165it seems like as long as we have board members that are interested in doing something that that we would we just pointed or we just said that we would send one of our school board members to the north con Schoolboard Association that will then write the policies that they send us that say these are you have to do this we suggest you do this or or whatever to this discussion point of order to make that motion point of order here it's not germine to this discussion um and I will rule on that point of order uh I think that is a good point so I will uh understand that we are at of time so we have a motion in front of us right now and a second to and that's the amendment from M
166Crill to delay this discussion um Miss buoy and again this is here we go um is to delay this to either the um meeting for the um what you call it thank you yes that that meeting or to a later meeting Mr chair I I'm not sure I heard a a definite time in the motion it seemed like it was a to postpone indefinitely because there wasn't a specific time that was in the motion to to when it would be postponed would you like to verify your motion do you want to do it to to the work session or to later regular meeting Miss barnhard said that this doesn't even get um looked at until January so I would like to postpone to a work session to the beginning of the new year okay so
167that's the motion to postpone this uh discussion to a work session beginning of the new year uh we first and second uh Miss Buie would you please call the role Miss Barnhart now Miss Walker yes Mr wior no Mr mcmanis yes Miss Bradford no Miss Crill yes and Miss Mason no so that is defeated 43 put us back to our main motion which is to uh to nominate or to have two positions to a lay assign position to the U Soil and Water Miss bu would you please call the role Mr wbor I'd like to make a motion on top of that that we reduce it to one board member and not two okay there's a motion to amendment to uh reduce that to from two to one is there a second I'll second that
168Miss Walker seconds um Miss buy since we are out of time Miss buy would you please call the rooll on that sorry to bother you that it Miss Barnhart no Miss Walker yes Mr wbore no Mr mcmanis yes Miss Bradford no Miss crille yes and Miss Mason no again that's defeated four to three goes back to the motion to have two positions uh two L on positions uh nominated to The Soil and Water Miss buy would you please call the rooll Miss barnhard yes Miss Walker yes Mr wbore yes Mr mcmanis yes M Bradford yes Miss Crill no Miss Mason yes that passes six to one very good do we have any correspondents hearing none we will care do that yeah sure if you have something to share I was invited to meet with some
169parents in the principal's office at new H High School a few months ago to talk about new a high school uh Focus point to facilities in new H High School are not even in the same ballpark parking lot County or state compared to some of the newer high schools for instance well all of them but particularly Ashley um and I do believe that an attractive school like an attractive house or whatever attracts people and makes people feel better about their surroundings and therefore I think it makes them do a better job uh I was invited to a meeting just a few days ago and I met with a county commissioner uh well Ben David Mr zapple uh the mayor and the two parents from new hille high school again about this the reason I bring
170it up is that I think that we need to discuss pushing our local government to have a bond referendum as soon as possible in 2024 to redo new hanville High School the school is2 years old it is not inviting let's be honest it does not have the facilities of other schools we need to address that because it'll still take a long time once we address it so I want to say it publicly and thank you we need to do that and the overall majority of that community of the committee meeting agreed yes and and I'll actually be meeting probably with the same group Wednesday they've invited me so I'll be meeting with that same group need to say need to get out there thank you sir M Walker and then M Bradford well I would
171just add oh well I have something to add but also to this you guys are on the vond committee sir yeah I was just looking at the Committees I was like Mr mcmah and Mr on the V commit so I'll just be brief I just um say a couple weeks ago I had the honor to give the mission moment speech at the recent Food Bank fundraiser fundraiser for Chef's Table um it really was a discussion on um food insecurity and how it has many different faes and I got to share a story that really wasn't easy to share but it was very much worth doing because we were in a room full of very generous people um for a very generous cause and I I hope that everybody continues to um support the food bank
172before lots of reasons not just for you know our students but also maybe staff and other folks we might not know thank you m Walker M Radford I would like to Echo Mr mcmanus' sentiments and we have scheduled a finance committee meeting for December 4 10 a.m. and that is the number one topic on our list is our schools the infrastructure overcrowding it's the number one thing on our list so if you have an interest in that please come okay I'm going to carry on I had yes I'm sorry I so um I had the opportunity to um attend the out of Darkness walk at New Hanover High School um a couple hundred people were there and um all of the speakers spoke very highly of the programs that we have um at new Hanner
173high school and within New Hanover County schools that helping our students deal with um mental trauma and mental health issues so I wanted to you know thank you um Miss Barnum and and your whole department with that um I also um attended the fall law conference with um Mr wi deor and Miss Barnhart um and that we got a lot of really good information from there and um looking forward to getting some more information from them you um on some upcoming legislation about the graduation stuff um graduation requirements the um also too just wanted to remind that we agreed to um talk about getting something written from the ad hoc committee about how we're going to do our next agenda review um so that we have guidelines because I I felt that the um the
174agenda review last time some of us weren't as prepared as others to make presentations because we weren't didn't know we were required to so um I would just like to see that before our agenda review meeting thank you ma'am any other hands I'm going to carry on with announcements um these are provided uh the equity and diversity inclusion committee will meet on Wednesday November 8 at 5:00 p.m. in the Board of Education Center the seating capacity for all these meetings is 150 the general public will have an uh option to view remotely on the nhcs uh YouTube TV YouTube legislative committee will meet on as just mentioned on Thursday November 9th at 11:00 a.m. uh that is at the new han County Administrative building which is located at 6410 Carolina Beach Road the audience capacity
175for that is 10 uh the policy committee will be meeting on Tuesday November 21st at 10:00 in the Board of Education uh Center we've already discussed the the uh general public will have the option to re to view remotely uh on the new han county TV YouTube Board of Education will hold the agenda meeting as Miss Crable just mentioned that will be Tuesday November 28th at 2 pm uh Board of Education Center uh and again the board of educ the general public will have the option to review to view remotely uh and finally the finance committee will meet on Monday December 4th 2023 10 a.m. Board of Education Center the general public will have the option to view remotely uh at this point we do need a closed session so I will read this really
176quickly um I would like to entertain a motion to go to close session pursuant on General statutes 143 3181 for the following purpose to prevent disclosure of information is privileged or confidential pursuant to uh General statute 115c 402 and now considered a public record within the meeting of chapter 132 of General statutes to consult with the attorney in order to preserve the attorney client privilege between the attorney and the board including in respect to uh LH vers new Haner County Board of Education and to consider qualifications confidence performance character Fitness and conditions of appointment and conditions of initial appointment of an individual employed or considered for employ with the school system or to hear investigate a complaint charge grievance or by any against any individual employee we hear such a motion so move we have
177a second I'll second that all in favor of going into close session please signify by saying I I all opposed that passes 70 we are on close session board members we have about three minutes to get in there pleasee I allow for a quick announcement second second first and second any discussion not We All oppos Passes 6 to um the announcement is yeah is she on oh she vinge St [Music] tring move second I'll