Board of Education Meeting 3-3-25

001good I'd like to call the meeting to order and welcome the o' can I have alleg to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands one nation under God indivisible with liy and justice for Alla who second all in favor iOS motion carries next on the agenda is fully transfer SL hearing yes ma'am uh we have H one request for a hearing in Clos session can I have a um motion um to go into executive session under uh code 6-9 a-4 uh for a reduction of contract and transfer hearing so move second second all favor now tobr e for e e e um 6m portion of our agenda which is now quar 7 so next on the agenda is recognitions early early Academy Elementary mascot right good

002evening superintendent sax president long president power members of the board I'm here to present our newest winners of for the for the Lio design contest for the new Falling Waters Elementary School and Inwood Early Learning Academy um just like we did over the summer with the other two uh new builds we gave this assignment to students all um over the winter break and we asked them to draw a design that would be used as inspiration for the new school logos um and I have here with me our winners so can I please ask Annabelle Harold and kayb crra would you all come forward please and type squeeze okay so Annabelle your Annabelle hi so this is Annabelle Harold she Drew Our Winning design of the um for the new Inwood Early Learning Academy can we

003get that up from the screen thank you this is her design just she Incorporated the little apples oh yep there it is so this is Annabelle's design she Incorporated the little apples which is what they picked as the mascot and also if you notice in the background there are some stars back there um which pay H much to the current andwood primary school and then if you C to the next one please um by the way Annabelle is in fourth grade at mil Creek inter me if I didn't say that um Falling Waters Elementary School the winner is Kayla crra she's a junior at Spring Mills High School she Incorporated the bluebird which is the mascot that the community picked as well as paid homage to the current um colors of the spring Ms campus

004since that'll be the theater pattern um so both of these logos will be sent off to James Ramsey where graphic designer is there will help uh create the permanent logo for the new school and they will take um inspiration from their designs so congratulations ladies I really appreciate your um efforts and your artistic talents continue on one more note I just want to say um this is this was something that is near and dear to me because I grew up in berley County I was also a Berkeley County School's graduate I grew up in a time period when there were a lot of schools being built Community had GR so much about 25 years ago um and I remember as a kid when I saw this community come together um to make enormous investments in

005our education just like we're doing right now and and that you're doing right now for our future Generations um this is a way for our students to be a part of the building process and also showcase their talents as artists um and even though um that this community does continue to grow our schools remain small Titan of families and these designs are of history that will be forever dra these future building so thank you very much superintendent's coin of Excellence because you look oh she's excited did you see that my goodness and this is the superintendent's point for going above and beyond and you know what I am so proud of is that we have these logos that are going to carry on for generations of students so congratulations I'm so proud of you both

006we are we're all so proud we have one more recognition if you can just hang this only be like few more minutes and then we'll take some photos just rock and would there sure whereever how I just get started many surprise so I'm going to describe the person for the AC award have some flash cards for everyone there you go so about this person A is for adaptable this teacher embodies this trait she makes it work no matter what success is always her fate B is for beloved this teacher is loved by all students staff and families because she she is such a doll she is for calm collected and cool never flustered always off spoken this teacher is truly truly a jeel promise I practi this D is for dedicated loyal devoted and true

007this educator exemplifies commitment to inward primary and our whole crew e is for engaging her lessons always are well planned and executed her instructions is always above par F is for friendly a smile always on her face she welcomes all who enter and makes our school a better place G is forgin she is so natural and pure her heart her heart is made of gold this we know for sure H is for hardworking she is tireless in her Endeavors her work ethic is unmatched she works and works forever eyes for Innovative always a student always learning for more knowledge and Innovation her heart is always yearning Jay is for joyful her heart shines bright with cheer she Delights all she meets she really is a deer pay is for kind generous thoughtful and sweet a

008more compassionate and gentle person you will never meet L is For Loving unconditional care she gives for her young her heart for her kids is so big enough Praises can never be sung in is for masterful a true master of her craft is she teaching is her calling a talented educator sure always be in is for nurturing to her little flock she tends giving them all they need to grow so they bloom and Blossom as friends O is for organized everything in its place all planned out and executed to te all with a smile upon her face p is her passionate and everything she does you see it her teaching her learning her care for her students it's what makes her such a hit Q is for quintessential the perfect embodiment the ultimate the ideal

009she's a superb example of a teacher she's absolutely the real deal ours were resourceful searching and working until she finds a solution she work TIR tirelessly to get what she needs to have a positive resolution s is for sincere she grows genuine concern and care to her students and her colleagues and to the people everywhere T is for talented her abilities are so natural you see her knowledge put into action is a spectac spectacular sight to see and us as for understanding she recognizes the respects each and everyone she's patient kind and full of grace she treats her students like daughters and sons be is her valuable she's an integral part of our team we love her so very much it hold her in the highest esteem W is for welcoming she makes everyone feel

010like they belong in her classroom and in our school she ensures everyone gets along X is for exceptional fantastic Sensational First Rate marvelous incredible subb superb is she she really is amazing and great why is for youthful playful and curious with lots of energy paired with those kindergarten kiddos she loves it's the perfect Synergy Z is for zealous she's passionate about kids and learning her work with her kindergarten kiddos is what keeps her fire burning known as Joanna to her colleagues her Littles call her Mrs kanee we call her outstanding and worthy of every Accolade she gains a caring educator she's always been deserving of what you Acclaim we congratulate Miss Joanna K she's the March e Award winner we Proclaim pict yeah oh we'll do it later set the side don't break it absolutely

011can you give me a hug congratulations okay this is TR superintend super um I don't have any P or any flash I do have a quote I talked with Mr earlier today got one awesome quote he said kindergarten is her passion kindergarten is certain thing period and we also like to present a collection of ABC books since that's you know got to get inspiration for your poem somewhere right there you gu we have some books for you and flowers and congratulations welld deserved well earned and I hope we surprised you you did yes SE today and I felt just like I hadn't left there in the hallway real quick princip are here for with students i' like to invite the principles also they're here I like a St picture I got I got staff here

012we have we have staff meeting sounds if your staff just want to be on De bre through the door be okay perf we back [Music] h e e e what e e e this is our citizens Forum portion of our meeting uh there a few just a few ground rules I to tell you about um please do not reference any student or staff member no profanity or comments think comments just to make sure and just to remind you that the board members cannot respond to your concerned and you'll have three minutes and Mrs Miss Manel will be finding me so um Chase Shipley here and I'm sorry did you say we're not allowed to speak about any students or can't address them by name okay stand said you can't address anyone by name employee as

013well okay Coach yes my name is CH I'm a student at Spring High School I'm here to express my strong support of our head coach uh he holds all of our players accountable he taught us to be disciplined on and off the court this is my first scene it's my first season at Spring no I have a whole bunch of college coaches interested in me now with this program coach samples has developed me and as a student and athlete he is the most dedicated and influential coach I've ever had coach samples has shown dedication and commitment to our team he is a great coach Mentor teacher and positive role model for each of us his guidance goes beyond the basketb court my teamm and myself were wored and carry the burden of him not being

014able to finish the season with us his leadership is important to our team and success we ask that you please consider the positive impact coach simples has had on our lives and our team's progression we believe he should be able to finish the journey that started at the beginning of the season and compete for needs to Stacy that correct AM station St I'm sorry um just as a reminder um any any names need you need to keep it more generalized so please refrain from saying anybody's names if you're saying Mr my name is sta from um my son is a senior and basketball player at springless high school and I stand before you as a concerned parent and Community member deeply troubled by the events that unfolded surrounding our beloved springless basketball team first and

015foremost I want to emphasize that the well-being of our students should always be the top priority it is disheartening to see the concerns of parents and students have not been addressed by those in positions of authority this is unacceptable the lack of communication only serves to deepen The Divide and perpetuate feelings of frustration and Injustice we have witnessed a troubling pattern of unfair treatment towards Spring Mills compared to other schools despite footage sorry this really hard I've been dealing with you got Russian of unfair treatment for spring M compared to other school despite footage and reports of unacceptable behavior from opposing teams it is our coach and players who face disproportionate consequences this double standard is not only unjust but undermines the Integrity of our basketball team and the values we strive to uphold unacceptable

016are on and off the court including latent racism and unfair treatment particularly during the events at Green Brier the Springhill Hedgesville game the Morgantown games and the championship game last season was witnessed by many all of this was reported the lack of consequences for these actions only perpetuates a culture of Injustice and inequality our students deserve to feel safe and supported the decision to place coach I'm sorry decision to place the head coach on leave is not only unfair but detrimental to the team his absence is felt Deep by the players who look up to him and rely on his guidance with the state championship on the horizon let me tell you these boys that work so hard son work so hard for years but with the championship on the horizon the timing of this

017decision could not be more damaging our team deserves to have their Leader by their side supporting them as they start to achieve their in goal their head coach has been more than just a coach to these children he has been a mentor and unwavering source of support his dedication to the team and to each individual player is unparalleled he has consistently gone above and beyond ensuring his players not only Exel on the court but also their academic Pursuits under his leadership you can finish that sentence your time that's three minutes so you can finish that sentence okay um I guess I'll just I just I would just like my fin sent I just urge you to reconsider this decision and to recognize the profound impact their coach has on a Spring Mills Community our team

018needs him back and we stand United in our support for the immediate reinstatement Jan Anderson I have two sons on the spring noes high school basketball team um I'm concerned primarily with the way that this punishment on their head coach is taking place um it's been over a month exactly to to the day I believe that no one is aware of what's going on and I know that this punishment shouldn't be even an issue because all of the allegations that were made were completely false and it's all about what someone said and there's no proof to back it up so we're sitting here and the only people that are really being punished are the kids for a long [Music] time my son who probably feels that this man is responsible for him going to a

019D1 school this man couldn't come to his because over nothing it's heartbreaking when you can't answer this but all that I want to know is when is it going to be over when when do we put this and make this about the kids versus trying to set an example when it doesn't need to be what needed to be done was Berkeley County Public Schools stand behind their coaches their schools and most most importantly these kids because this is their everything they get the grades there's nothing on any of these kids records not one of them on this entire team that would suggest that they would be even potentially able to do this but did we look at that before we jumped and just shut everything down and that's all I had thank you hello my

020name is Maximus Anderson I'm a fouryear captain in both football and basketball member of the leadership class and will be committed to a division University of play football as FL I'm here tonight to speak on behalf of my head coach uh my head coach has done so much for me he cares about me and as a athlete and as a person and student he goes above and beyond for not only his players but other students in the building and his love by his students his players and his peers in the school samples has helped shape me into the man and ath I've become he taught me how to be unselfish and also to serve my community he goes above and beyond for his players he took me to my first football camp as a freshman

021to help get College Scout Scouts o and in a sport he didn't even coach he's unselfish and what's the best for me to be successful in everything I do I choose the type of person my head co is who he wants his players to be and this trip wasn't even a close drive he spent his Saturday driving me four hours to get better which many coaches would do samples is is also works really works really hard and spends countless hours to make our team better his passion is to get us to a four-year college to play the sport we love he is instilled what it takes to get there part what it takes to get there hard work being discipline and dedication he has not only changed me for the better he's also changed the

022basketball program in the school he's one of the main driving forces that help change the culture of Spring's high school and there seems to be a lot of people outside our community who don't know us that keep attacking our schooling programs already taken so much away from me and our teams in my senior senior year of Athletics and it's so heartbreaking first are record in football was question and now a coach a mentor a second father it hurts not only me but my team it it it's taking the fun out of my sport it's super hard trying to stay locked in working hard every day to do good in school to serve a community with a smile on my face when one of the people that help get us where we are today is not

023here with us putting the work in with us samples has sorry head coach our head coach has been he every step of the way but couldn't even come to my son which really hurt me a really big thing hopefully we get to end my me and my teammates season the right way we asking the board to reate our c and let us finish the season the way we want with our friends families and and our coach thank you can you say it for me P Stu a PO a champ thank you good evening board members and thank you for being here today my name is Kista of poku a champong my son is a junior on the Spring Mills Polie basketball team I stand before you to address some deeply concerning issues surrounding our beloved

024Spring Mills High School Community these are not just isolated incidents they are systemic problems that are affecting our students families coaches and the Integrity of our school as a whole first and foremost the lack of communication from our superiors is unacceptable when concerns are raised by families team members or the community silence is not an answer since coach coach was placed our head coach was placed on administrative leave with pay on February 3rd parents players and community members have requested to meet with members of the board and have repeatedly been met with silence on February 21st 2025 a represent ative of the Board of Education came to Spring Mills High School unannounced and proceeded to conduct interviews with seniors without parental knowledge Andor consent this is just another example of lack of communication leadership requires

025transparency accountability engagement and equality by not responding or addressing these concerns We are failing to uphold the trust that we place in our leaders we deserve an ERS dialogue and action another troubling issue is the spread of false allegations on social media targeting our players parents and coaches these stories often fueled by misinformation or damaging reputations and creating a toxic environment for our students our coaches parents and our community as a whole let me be clear the athletes of the Spring Mills boys basketball team nor have Coach samples been investigated for any criminal wrongdoing sorry I said his name I apologize despite all the rumors being spread throughout the community yet they are being tried in the court of public opinion which is unfair and completely unjust my son has been on over 30 trips

026during his time with the Spring Mills boys basketball team all under the supervision of Coach samples there have never been any concerns regarding their safety or lack of supervision coach samples is very communicative with parents and consistently provides a detailed itinerary prior to each trip we must remember that behind every post or rumor is a real person a student who is working hard on and off the court to succeed and a coach who has dedicated his or herself to helping student athletes succeed one of the most puzzling aspects of this situation is the treatment of our head coach while he is allowed to teach special education a role that requires immense trust and responsibility he has been barred from having any form of contact we W for try to wrap it off okay um I

027guess the last thing I would like to say is if there are legitimate concerns regarding our head coach where's the corrective action plan and the opportunity for Change and growth thank you from your page and probably have that written in there but please refrain from names if possible uh so just to go read they said I've been with coach for four years and have had the best high school experience any athlete can ask for for high school athlete um coach does nothing but care for us and it's the hardest working coach I personally ever been around he spends half or more of his days woring about our games just to make sure we are winning always make sure they're good not only on but off the court so for him to go through this and

028people bringing him down about rumors that just aren't true at all is um sad to see and not having him I think affects our team in various ways um and I think samp deserves to finish after the season with us and finish what he has started here for our school and Community thank you Arc and I've been involved with the spring EXC athletic department for the last nine years I've helped out with num Sports and activities at Spring Mills I have known and spent a great deal of time with the coach and Men playing basketball for the last six years at springhills coach always has a smell for everyone that he sees he is always helping people in so many ways as a teacher and a coach I've seen coach take a team from last

029place in this area to the number one team in the state of West Virginia two years in a row the coach puts his heart and soul in a coach he hiss amazing young men at Spring Mills he eats sleeps and breathes the game of basketball which he loves with a passion he helps these young men succeed in playing to the best of their ability at all times he is also teaching these young men that you are not only representing Spring Mills on the court but also when they are off of the court I have seen him when the team was at their worst and now at their best I have seen him lose his cool in the court but really cool has in at times and I have seen him at his best on the

030court the one thing that I see at all times is how he shows these young men that you need to have respect for each other and other people I have been around Sports my entire life and I have never seen a team and a coach that have this much mutual respect and dedication for each other coach goes out of his way to make sure that these young men are given every opportunity to practice play and enjoy the sport that they love I feel that anyone who gets the opportunity to spend some time with coach and his team would see that they are more like a family than a team he runs a tight ship when it comes to practices and how these young men act when they're in public coach sees these kids as if

031they are Zen children coach has had his entire family and they have all given so much support to the school and the team over the last six years his entire family comes and supports these young men just as much as he does and the team by traveling to all summer tournaments and all during the season over the last four years going to the games and watching these young men grow mature and to the men that they are today has been a true honor and blessing I know that if coach were to not be allowed to return to the team I believe that it would be a great loss for the school and the students to not have him there in the future there are so many young lives out there that are really looking forward

032to being part of the cinal family and say that they are going to play on your coach spring mons so I hope that you reconsider and bring him back as soon as possible because these kids need help and so as the community thank good evening my name is Michael pck um I've been a public school teacher since 1973 and during my involvement in all those years I've had the pleasure of observing and engaging in many many different School environments and tonight I rise in support of the coach uh basketball at Spring bills High School from March of 22 until June of 23 I worked as a pre teacher at Spring Hills High School it's a position my daughter holds right now and I was amazed by the willingness of the senior high students and teachers

033to assist and participate with our four-year-olds among the many who made us feel welcome was the varsity basketball coach seemed highly unlikely to me but coach frequently assisted Us in unlocking facilities procuring equipment he always offered the prees a high five and encouraging word when meeting in the hallways and in the unlikely course of events the prek teacher and the senior high varsity coach became acqu acquainted and friendly I began attending basketball games and became a real supporter I've developed a real passion for Spring Mills basketball program this season I volunteered as the PA announcer at home games as all of you know not all educators are cast from the same mold the coach is unique yet highly highly effective I'm impressed by the instructional opportunities the coach seizes to teach both basketball and life

034this past summer I had a by chance encounter with coach and I was excited to discuss the upcoming season but he wanted to express his excitement about the academic progress of some of these players he's worked hard to expose his players to higher educational opportunities he speaks of his players and students as if they were his own children I've witnessed from a close perspective a coach a teacher a mentor I've watched him instruct guide advis and protect students in a most admirable manner coach is a Unique Piece in a well-developed culture at Spring Mills High School the suspension status that the Spring Mills B bball program has experienced during the past four weeks has been a learning opportunity for everybody going forward coach needs to be reinstated as head coach with the support of this

035entire Community to compete with what is a very very special basketball and educational program and I thank you [Music] did I miss you I haven't spoke yet okay well I was thinking that um you were Chase so I went on down the sheet but you're fine go ahead yeah I did I did byass you and not sorry no no worri that's fine fell members of the Board of Education thank you for the opportunity to address you today my name is Christy Shipley and my son a student athlete in Springs High School I am here to express my profound concern regarding a heavy ongoing matter that our student athletes are dealing with on Monday February the 3rd a few members from this board along with the ad and the principal made a few ill-considered decisions that

036have created a deeply troubling situation that has affected and will continue to affect our student athletes families and the community we love the Injustice our team is facing has caused lingering emotional distress and mental anguish for many every day is a consistent reminder of the assured rumors accusing our student athletes of being criminals and the absence of our head coach these players who have put their Blood Sweat and Tears into the game of basketball are no longer allowed to speak to their coach who is who is also a teacher at their school their loyalty is something he earned and worked hard for Imagine one day you were told you could no longer talk to someone you've loved and looked up to for years my son was one of the students that was suspended after what

037took place at the Green Brier I'd like you to hear our version my son and his teammates were exiting the court during halftime same exact way they exited the court the game prior the day prior my son was approached from the side by an unidentified African-American gentle gentleman the unidentified gentleman placed both of his hands on my son's Jersey from the side I saw saw this with my own two eyes but thought he must know the student athlete my son surely No Stranger should be laying hands on a child they don't know I was wrong I failed my son I should have I should have addressed the gentleman to determine what his intentions were my son also African-American was accused of being racist and was denied the opportunity to explain and apologize to this gentleman

038the student was suspended for one game for saying a word that is used casually in his culture my son is dealing not only with being labeled as a racist but is dealing with the emotional stress and guilt for his coach being suspended on February 17th 2025 my student athlete and myself requested a meeting with you Dr saxs I staying here before you today on March 3rd 2025 with you and I both knowing this meeting has yet to be scheduled my family and I stay in the same Hotel as the team I'm playing out of town I have not missed a game home or away I am provided with an itinerary of every away game just as I and the rest of the parents were provided with one from the green bar trip and I have

039copies if you'd like to see them I have visited the green BR Resort several times in the past three years but this experience was a little distant in a way that maybe not everyone would even be able to notice when I said I was affiliated with Spring Mills you think go the end paragraph Yes ma'am I can thank you I felt like the group was targeted we had a Target on our back I and many others are of the opinion that the head coach is a quality mentor and Coach we know that our boys need a clear mind heading into States and that can only be achieved by this board reinstating the head coach to his rightful position as their head coach thank you for your good evening ladies and gentlemen of the board and

040thank you for the opportunity to speak my name is Andrew Edon I currently served as the assistant varsity basketball coach for the spring bills boys team and as a social studies teacher in the school I've coached basketball for 24 years including 15 at the high school level and I've taught for 18 years I have on two occasions had the privilege of serving as a member of the board of directors of a youth basketball organization and I've been involved with decisions about whether or not a coach should remain in his poster or not I first met the head coach when we had uh supervision Duty in the gym together um this fall before I was even on the coaching staff I was immediately struck by how much work he was putting into his basketball program um

041he spent a considerable portion of his summer taking the team to events all over the country um giving them an opportunity to travel also an opportunity to play against tot Notch competition and the opportunity to play in front of college coaches potentially opening up opportunities to play at the next level and get financial aid um I've also been impressed with the relationships he's clearly built with the players um even though he's clearly the adult authority figure in the relationships they feel comfortable coming to him with problems seeking advice and conf finding but he has no problem uh addressing misbehavior or issuing consequences um once I joined the staff I was impressed with how detailed and prepared he was for every practice game there were thorough scouting reports thorough practice plans um and I think that's

042a good model for the students that if you want to be successful at something you need to put time into it finally I hope you'll take into consideration that the people that will be most affected by coach sample's remaining head coach are here tonight and they all want him reinstated thank you happy evening [Music] good evening members of the board county community my name is TAA tricki and I'm the aunt of a player on the team I travel weekly from Frederick Maryland to watch my nephew and his team compete I'm here to speak on behalf of reinstating the head coach to the sidelines of the Spring Mills boys high school Arc basketball team his absence has not only been felt by his players but it has been felt by the parents and fans who appreciate

043his enthusiasm his drive and his coaching for excellence on and off the court I have had the opportunity to witness the coach over the years and have heard the slander that has been said about him in a community that is supposed to uplift guide and support him I do not I did not understand where the stigma misguided anger and dislike around the head coach came from what I witnessed was a coach who holds his team accountable expects the best from his players and guid his team to be the best versions of themselves he expects his team to compete at a high level and he prepares them to compete at the Next Level under the head coach's leadership I have personally witnessed my nephew mentally athletically but most importantly academically since the suspension of the head

044coach I have witnessed the mental anguish these players have gone through a community that is supposed to Foster positive relationships and support their students and student athletes took to social media to assassinate their character the character of not only the head coach but the players as well insinuating that they were predators racist and bullies and somehow other famous things they've managed to continue to show up and perform on the court and in the classroom and that's all because of the mental toughness that the head coach instills into student athletes the head coach's leadership is what the current team needs now and what the upcoming Varsity players will need in the future in closing I reiterate my support for reinstating the head coach to the boys barsy basketball team silence thank you for your time thank

045you thank you you're welcome to St I have a copy of what I read see the lady than next on the agenda items stakeholder surve yes ma'am thank you very much um we have um the one of the parts of my plan was to make sure that we took inventory of the feedback from our stakeholders as being our parents uh our students our staff members across P County um to get their input on what it is that we do well and where do we have room for improvement and so we um uh asked for the assistance of Handover research who has an expertise in conducting these types of uh Community stakeholder surveys um to get input and I think what's most important is that um this is an outside perspective there's no lens of looking

046at it one way or the other this is if I could be if I could be blunt just the facts uh based upon the input from our stakeholders and so I'm very pleased to be able to provide this information and I often tell people you know it's uh it's important to hear about the good things that we do but it's also sometimes more important to hear the things that are hard to hear and you're going to hear a little bit about that I think here short so we have some guests With Us online um we have representatives from hover research that are going to present this information to the excuse me to the board you'll also see that in the agenda that was shared there is a link uh to the um overarching results but

047they're going to dig a Little Deeper for us and provide context behind the survey I also want to make sure that it's clear that after the board sees these results um we will be sharing these with u our community we'll have a landing page on our website and then we'll be sharing it with our staff so they can see the results that we have that are truly going to drive our strategic planning moving forward so with that being said I'm going to turn it over to our representatives from Handover I don't think U is it is it Julie or who's with us today jie yeah Dr hi can you hear me okay I can yes okay yeah this is Julie shenfield and I'm joined by Melanie flaxer and also Dr Matt regon um I cannot

048I'm glad that y'all can hear me I can't turn video on so just know that we're all here um and yes we're excited to walk through this survey we appreciate the time um we're done take about 10 to 15 minutes to go through our findings and then open it up for questions at the end but but if you have any major questions that you want to ask uh before that point feel free to stop me okay um yeah so if you can go to the next yeah thank you um so yeah I'm gonna quickly do introductions as I noted my name is Julie shenfield I'm the relationship director here at Handover um so my main role is just make sure that the district is maximizing the partnership with us as noted I have two other

049colleagues on the call one is Melanie flaxer she serves as the content director so she is really leading the custom research work we're doing for the district and then we also have Dr Matt regon who supports more in the background and works kind of to support Melanie and the rest of our team with serving all of our members across the country um what I want to do is just I will give a brief overview of Handover just so those of you that are not familiar with Handover can have an idea of what we do and then I'll pass it over to Melanie and Matt who are really going to walk through the key findings and recommendations that we got from the survey thank you um so like I said we are a custom research firm

050this slide right here shows all the services we have available to our members we work with Public Schools State Department of Ed and educational service agencies so with our partnership with Berkeley we're able to do kind of that first wheel that's on there along with that last wheel so the Research Services we have what we call a mixed methodology approach so the district has access to a research queue and we can support the key initiatives of the district through different types of research including surveys um secondary reports so best practices benchmarking reports research summaries we also have a quantitative team that can do um an analysis of any data that the district has and then we also have qualitative so they can do focus groups and in-depth interviews as well through the partnership with Handover

051you all also the the leadership team has access to Handover digital so this is where we deliver our research work that we're doing but the district also gets to benefit from the research work we're doing with members across the country so this allows them access to syndicator reports that we've done so while they are getting some custom targeted research for your specific needs you can benefit from uh what others in the um country are doing um and then we have two oh sorry y yeah I just wanted to chime in and let U the board know that you know when we think about the services that we receive it's not just the survey um and of course the digital library but um we're we're actually working on several different research projects so that when we

052think about how we deliver services in the classroom whether it be behaviors in prek or interventions for our students that what we are looking at and what we have access to is best practice and what is research what is proven by research and if it does not exist then they help us actually conduct the research in order to get the information so they can also look at efficacy type uh work so for example um if we have a program out in in our schools like um uh the the cook Center or uh how well we're implementing I ready orl uh we can have Fidelity studies also done to see the effectiveness as well as the feedback from our our stakeholder so I just wanted to share that and in fact one of the things that

053I'm going to be looking forward to sharing with Mr Murphy here very shortly is some of the research uh that they've been able to collect on grade retention um and how other schools have handle grade Redemption because I think and I'll be honest with you um I I think that there was some good information that I was surprised to see uh but I think it'll be enlightening for the for everybody so that's the kind of work that having them at our our fingertips is so beneficial I'll be anxious to yeah so I I'll be they they actually did a custom research que for us for that and um so I'll be happy to share that with you all here shortly so I just wanted to give you some context there Julie so I appreciate you

054let me interrupt for a second no that was great context thank you Dr saxs I really appreciate that and yes so the survey is just one project that we've done using our survey team um so Melanie he'll be talking in a moment she really works with our team of researchers we have over 200 researchers at Handover um and her goal is to work with the different research teams to ensure that we are meeting the research objectives develop the research question questions and just overall make sure that we are targeting what the district is looking for um and we obviously have time for the district to give us feedback on any projects as we're working through these to really make sure that we're meeting your needs Melanie I'll pass it over to you hi everyone as

055Julie said my name is Melanie and I'm looking forward to sharing your survey results today so on this very first page here we give an overview of the search questions and your survey sample and some respondent qualifications so the questions we were trying to answer in this survey are how do community members perceive Berkeley County Berkeley County Schools Academic Program what are the common perceptions of operational aspects of the district such as communication technology food service and transportation how do community members view Berkeley County Schools overall what actions do they think Berkeley County Schools could be taking to best serve the community so we're really covering a lot of overall themes here that's designed to give you an overarching picture of perceptions of the district while also giving you some really specific actionable items of

056where you might want to focus improvements in the future and I also just wanted to highlight for you that 2249 respondents took the survey in our experience that's actually quite a large sample and demonstrates really active participation on the part of your community um and before I go on to now go through your the key findings and recommendations from the survey I just wanted to tell you that I'm going to go through the presentation it should only take me about 10 minutes and then when I'm done I'm happy to go back to any of the slides you want to see again and answer any questions you all might have so to start with our key findings in the area of academic environment we found that your community members um which and when I say community

057m MERS I'm referring to parents to students to staff and to members of your community so overall your district is perceived as having a positive academic environment as having many resources for students like extracurricular activities electives and advanced courses and additionally most of your students report feeling prepared for class and supported by your teachers um these these numbers 60% or higher of respondents and 79% or higher students are really positive outcomes that we don't often see across districts that we work with um and also this these because we're synthesizing a lot of information these charts on the right will not represent everything that I'm reporting out um but I tried to pick out one really usually positive bright spot or one thing to work on and so this just shows how your um how your

058stakeholders viewed extra curric activities and opportunities to pursue interests outside of their academics and so on and so forth um so for errors yeah I apologize I just I think it's also important to note that this is just a summary of the full report so that the that there is a much more detailed report that board members you have access to this is just summarizing some components of it and the community will have access not to not only the summary but the full report itself as well so I just wanted to share that yeah that you'll get it this evening I'll make sure you get it this evening and then we'll we'll be sharing it with the public tomorrow yeah thanks yeah thanks for clarifying that Ryan this was a very robust survey and so

059what we're trying to do here is to really tease out those main themes to give you all an overall picture of our findings so in terms of areas of growth for academic environment we found that while students feel that there are a lot of extracurricular activities and advanced courses they are Desiring more Career and Technical courses um ask for a more rigorous curriculum and also desire for their lessons to have more connections to real life and in addition to this students report feeling um like they would want to be recognized more for their achievements and also would like to feel more comfortable seeking help from teachers and so moving along here to our next theme our next theme is safety respondents by and large feel safe at school they feel safe going to and from

060school and at school sponsored events and a very low percentage of students only 10% report feeling pressur to engage in substance use while on school property in terms of areas of growth for safety generally speaking when breaking our findings down by participant group students felt less safe compared to staff and parents with 14 to 22% of students expressing concerns about safety at school event bullying online harassment and in addition to this when asked about substance use um less than half report that they speak to adults regularly about substance use so while they feel very low pressure to engage in substance use they're also not actively being educated about it um well does that mean do that mean that they weren't educated about it at home also yeah that's that's including um at home and at

061school and and the specific question asked if they had talked to adults about it two times a year or more so there's also a chance that's happening in school but that's that's the way the question was phrased in the survey and so moving along to parent engagement parents really feel that brookley County Schools creates a welcoming environment for them and also share that students have access to Internet and to digal advices at home devices at home in order to get their work done and fewer parents report that schools actively seek their input in decisionmaking and 83% of parents also desire more resources to support students reading math and social emotional development so so to summarize parents overall have a very positive view of Berkeley County Schools and are seeking this more um is this more

062input into decision making and ALS are seeking to have these resources to support their students in terms of communication most parents report receiving communication through school-based platforms like schoology or email and this aligns with their preferred methods of communication so to clarify this a little bit there were two different questions structured similarly about communication and one was asking parents how they receive communication and the other was asking parents how they refer how they prefer to receive communication and both had very similar results which shows us that parents are receiving Communication in a way that aligns with their preferences and we just wanted to note that when we were ranking parent preferences that social media newsletters mail and websites were less desired forms of communication among parents in terms of professional development the majority of staff

063so 58% feel that there are enough professional development opportunities available to them but only 39% of Staff report that professional learning is high quality and 24 report that it is personalized to their needs and so moving along here I'm going to read through some recommendations that our team made based on your survey findings and once I read through these I'm happy to go back back and answer any questions about any of the slides or about what we recommend for you all so to start off we recommend that you review the current structure and content of your professional development opportunities since we found that both teachers and administrators Express concerns about the quality of the professional learning and we recommend that you review your current offerings and seek further input from staff to address their most

064pressing professional learning needs and then related to this recommendation on professional learning we also encourage you all to train your teachers to build trusting relationships with students as a part of your new professional learning offerings so while as you saw students believe they can do well oh I'm sorry I clicked the eror by accident while students believe that teachers think they can do well in school they seem to desire more recognition from teachers and they seem to feel less comfortable going to teachers if they have a problem so we think think that it might benefit teachers and students to grow that trusting relationship with each other and so we recommend that you all conduct in-depth interviews with students to better understand the kinds of supports they're Desiring from teachers to further engage in their education

065and then lastly we recommend that you all raise awareness of your school safety programs and practices on campus to help reduce instances of bullying and harassment among students so for example you all can consider including information about bullying prevention training and insight into how the district monitors and response to these incidents in school communication and this is just meant to help your stakeholders understand the supports who already have in place so they're better able to access them so I'm going to pause and let everybody have a moment to process all the information I just shared and then I'm happy to answer any questions you all have um curious to know how many actual people received the invite to participate in the survey do we have like a a number of how many folks received this

066I think it said read like participated families and was also posted on our website and social media for community so just over 10% actually responded that's not great well how um was a survey sent out through what schoology or what that what no it was sent out as an InTouch message okay would you several times yeah because I did see it what Melanie what do you find is normally the response rate on these types of surveys we I would say that 10% is usually about what we see um this is we still consider this to be a fairly strong response rate and a and a representative sample for you all I'm also curious Dr Matt regone if you have any thoughts on that yeah hi everybody good evening thanks for the time tonight um as

067uh Julie had mentioned I'm the senior director for uh content research here at Handover I have a little bit more visibility into what we do uh with surveys like this and um when we see when we see a number like 2,000 we get very excited it's a very robust sample we I think uh districts really expect you know somewhere in the uh in the range of 45 50% um which is really a very very high expectation and typically unrealistic you're not going to get that many people responding uh to a survey of this nature and when we're looking at it from a methodological point of view we really only need about 350 450 respondents of any particular group to really get a sense of the trend that we want to see anything more than that

068you're the trend doesn't really move uh you know the percentages might move a little bit but we're really getting um we think a very very good sense of what people think uh about the questions that we're asking hey Matt um this is Ryan saaks um I do believe that when we look at the uh respondents that the number of Staff members was quite high as well can you can you flush that out for the board members as to exactly how many staff members responded sure about how many staff do you have it's right around yeah it's close to 4,000 okay so you've got a quarter of your staff you have 1,086 was the end size for your staff so again very very robust you have 996 were School staff and uh 90 were District staff

069go out to service well yeah that's including service 90 District staff to be bus drivers itinerant folks or what I just want to be sure could you go back to slide number six absolutely hey everyone last year we uh we invested in model schools and everybody was running around H rer rer rer and I see that am I reading it correctly that R curriculum was one of our weak points yes um yes 40 44 to 45% of your students identified your curriculum as rigorous in the survey okay and the the category right above that enough Career and Technical courses did they identify the grade levels that this should be offered in or was it just a general we should be doing more career [Music] CTI we are certainly able to break down these results for

070you by grade level so we can send you that information after the presentation um and we also when comparing student and staff responses staff were more likely to view courses as rigorous than students taking the survey but students don't or this or the parents don't oh and I again you know I think it's important here is that this is you know these are their perceptions and so we have to be able to take inventory that that individuals perceptions are their reality and if students are for whatever reason aren't feeling like the curriculum is rigorous or that it has those real life lessons then we need to think about that and think about you know and and maybe and I think even there's a recommendation um that was provided by Handover which is maybe we need

071to dig deeper into that to see what that looks like well and you pull in with the the one slide where it actually says that few parents report that schools seek their input in decision- making I'm wondering if there's a tie between that because if teach if parents are thinking that they're not involved they're not going to necessarily understand what teachers how teachers are are creating their lesson plans how how they're deciding certain things that would occur in the classroom for teaching and rigor but at the same time they're also watching their kids and they know what they did when they were their age so I think that there's some comparisons here that that I think we need to have more conversations with parents to connect well and I I would also say that um

072I think that the the brief that we will have from CLI will uh probably uh shed some more light on this as well oh perfect I think I think we're seeing there's an alignment of perception that is going to drive our our planning moving forward and our strategic um intentionality behind curriculum adoption and professional development and support and embedded support that is sustainable in our schools um and again that support that is support for the teacher support for our school instructional leaders School support for our support staff um and and that's where we have to be in direct alignment is to focus on those things how many parents responded to the survey 40% I'm checking that right now you have uh 893 parents and uh 46 community members I'm not sure if that's included in

073parents but that's the survey respond correct regarding what Melissa was say to trying to get parents involved in the conversation is key factor there I mean how how do we go about that we we do about everything that we can to try to get parents involved in conversation um but you saw from the survey results I think we saw the survey results actually play out in our citizens form tonight I'm going to I'm going to say it out loud you saw how many people show up about an extra extracurricular activity but yet when it comes to things like the math curriculum adoption or you know books that are in schools or whatever whatever put whatever Topic in there when it comes to learning in rigor there is either nobody that shows up or a very

074select few that do the same ones and it's the same ones all the time so the the I think I think it goes back to you know what are we doing are we do we need to send out a blast to everybody it says hey look we've got the board meeting coming up and take a look I mean they like text messages so why don't we blast it send out the the link in an in um BCS in touch um that says here's the next board meeting I mean I'm I'm just trying to think of ways that we can create a little bit more togetherness here well but the getting the getting the um parents involved this to me is not making ensuring that they come to the board meeting getting the parents started is

075is getting them involved on the school level agreed but from the boardroom to the classroom is what is what we're trying to do so they need to understand that some of the decisions we're making at at the board level is impacting that school level and I don't know how many people watch online I don't know they can say one of the things that I've actually been thinking about is um go ahead Micha what I was say is that I think that that there's you know when you think about from the boardrooms the classroom I think that one of the things that we could do and I've been I've been sort of flushing this out is that we could do to a summary that is available on our website it's not minutes but a couple highlights

076of what the board considered and heard from and sort of like a little summary report from the board meeting that goes out and everybody can have access to um I think we want to be cautious of how often we push that out on people's devices because we don't want to get up to where they choose to ignore certain things either we don't want to be busy but I think we can have a landing page where here's a summary and we can share it out um but I also think that the feedback that we're hearing from our our families as it relates to feeling involved is things like maybe um better ways that we can Engage The Perk for example and making sure that it's not just for special education that it's more for districtwide and

077that the perk type uh system is not just here at the at the center but we actually go out to the community and we we go out and we are at open houses and that that we are having more of a presence around the resources to help your child or here we have this going on in the school district that's coming up and we want to make you aware of it I think that there's a little bit better um Outreach that we can reflect on but again I think it also may be something that maybe we need to have a a stakeholder group of parents that that can and this could be one of the research cues it's already part of our contract where they give us ideas of how we could do better you

078know so I'm sorry go ahead yeah earlier I think the gentleman said or the ladies said that if you get a samp you're 400 or something you begin seeing the you begin seeing the pattern and I think that we have a good solid survey here and we shouldn't dismiss the results because of you know we don't have 20,000 respond but u i I've done surveys before and once you had a certain number of calculations you just see the pattern re reoccurring in a greater just at a number um so I I I wouldn't want us to dismiss these results it's not being sufficient you my question for the uh people is we hear a lot about this one and then the 1,86 staff development I saw on page seven I think it is uh you're

079talking about safety but uh did you U talk about the uh staff uh concerns or lack of concerns about uh the discipline in the school system two to our authors this Melanie did you hear that um Ryan I don't recall that we focus on discipline in this survey we did ask a few questions about perceptions of you know uh behavior I'm looking through some of the questions here there is a uh less agreement on um that uh that behavior or misbehaviors are treated fairly um you know treated equitably those kinds of things I'm trying to find the exact question but I remember the last time I read through it there's there's and if you ask students of course you know if things are fair you're going to get you're going to get a pretty low

080response as compared to teachers for example um seek input so let me come up with a couple of those for you in in just a few minutes as soon as I'm done scanning here but uh you your sense of that is correct there's a little less agreement in uh in in how schools uh treat behaviors that also may be something that I that there was a couple followups that um with the full report and everything if if uh Julie if you could send me U any additional items that that Thomas or Melanie fleshes out to give the board some more more details um as well as the full report then I can forward that onto the board members this evening yeah yeah we can do that thank Mr M yeah I I have two quick

081questions um how many questions were on the survey as well as if you saw a drop off like how many questions and did you see um dram dramatic drop in responses yes do do you mean did people stop taking the surway halfway through is that what you're asking like what like what what question number did they start dropping off that you saw because I'm um with that software that platform you can see that so generally generally speaking um our survey team goes through a data cleaning process where we will eliminate um incomplete survey from our data so that what you have here is again a pretty robust sample of people who took the whole survey there there might be certain um scenarios where we might where the team might decide to include a survey that

082was only half filled out but generally speaking we we go our team goes through a data cleaning process so that we we avoid that happening essentially yeah I agree I think we can go back to our survey team and ask him that specific question um and see if they know if they can look at uh some of the actual um responses as they're getting them uh but we typically uh do as melan said look which is uh we want we want people that are going to pay attention the whole time for the survey uh it it the does anybody have the number of questions I think there's it's pretty long survey for uh for a survey uh that we typically do but you know again with over 2,000 responses we do not see a problem

083with the length of the survey or the attention that was paid to it it's a very robust response but you don't know how right off of bat how many questions were on the survey Melanie do you have that up I don't have that up yeah I can pull it up I was um my apology see I was trying to keep my my screen clean to just have this one um this one thing up but I I will grab that for you and just moment I do know when we were briefing with them on the the length of the survey we also wanted to make sure that you how much time it took and we really wanted to make sure it took 10 minutes or less we didn't really want people to have to be feeling

084like they in for 20 or minutes you're right they'll get burned out like oh sorry you go ahead you go ahead it a different question yeah go ahead Thomas all right guess my second question is um likely likelihood um to recommend our district the question is How likely are you to recommend berley County Schools to other parents colleagues and community members um there's a like that trctor amount is a very large percentage how how like how much of a grain of Sal would you take the rest of the survey with that result um and just your professional opinion how to dissect that to the rest of the survey well oh you go ahead Matt I would say that we don't usually ask that question so I don't really I can't really answer that in the

085context of what other districts might say to that question um it's always uh difficult to compare um a question like that uh and and we advise districts to really take a look at that number um uh in the context of of just your District so I mean it's not uh it's not an overwhelmingly positive number I guess is is it's not positive at all really it's it's really uh something to take a look at but also as Dr sax has mentioned this is uh perception um is is reality uh to those that are giving their perceptions uh surveys typically not typically surveys just give you perception they tell you the what they kind of describe what's happening they don't tell you why so I would take that metric as a point of um a point

086from which you can ask additional questions so if they're saying that they they're they're they're a detractor if we're seeing that there's a large number of detractors we really want to know why uh and then we also want to see that number over time as well so if you're a detractor are you a temporary detractor were you a detractor just when you were taking the survey have you changed your mind so it's really just a static uh question um but it gives us a sense of what we should ask uh next does that an your question yes yeah thank you color U on page nine of your your slides you're talking about communication we uh filed into our school calendar parent teacher conferences yet one of the common concerns I hear is the parents of

087the kids are doing well show up and the on you need to see on and I see here inperson meetings 18% bur County schools at what excuse me for my IGN but is that a pointment or what no that's that's an app on the okay okay well I'm just I'm just wondering if we we should approach contacting parents in a different way than what we're doing with the scheduling of conferences as such I know that would be a big big change in policy but but I think we voiced that during one of our other meetings the idea of is that now more of a because of both parents working maybe having two different jobs different schedules than than what is available is that more of an Antiquated concept to do and should we be thinking

088more um proactively about how our community needs to contact be be contacted yeah well being contacted it's one thing but then actually sitting down with this child's teacher and having actual contact with them I think it's needed parents don't do that know and I mean they might be able to do that virtual or and I think maybe that's something that we need to have a conversation about because there's many parents who have expressed they can't get there to the you know um parent teacher nights or or whatever because of working or um other other pools that have them um in life babysitting or something like that well doctor's appointments I mean you know if we're we're we're doing doing anything that's that's on a um day where stud aren't necessarily in the building or or

089whatever that doesn't necessarily mean the parents are doing nothing with their kids they could be scheduling I know I did this I scheduled all the dentist appointments on those days and I mean you find other things to to fill that so how how then do you explain that the parents that are really concerned show up um I'm not saying that that's every single one I'm saying that we probably have a decent percentage of folks that probably would I think some of these things that um we might be able to eliminate that we're not successful and parents participating we have people who go to parent teacher conferences who don't even have a conference they're just putting in the time because that's tonight U because who goes who goes to meet the librarian so I wanted to

090Circle back to Dr Murphy or Mr Murphy's question about uh discipline so you had asked about that uh we asked uh a couple of questions about that it starts with uh students at my school uh follow school rules respect each other take responsibility for actions so the and then there was one about uh work through Problems by talking instead of fighting all of those were fairly low so the agreement for following school rules is only 18% um respecting each other is 20% uh taking responsibility for their actions is 16% and working through problems instead of fighting is 17% so those are um fairly low numbers compared to the other agreements that we get throughout the rest of the survey were those same kinds of questions asked to staff about discipline so let's look at it

091by group and Dr sex we will send you this specific part of the it's in the data supplement that we sent you but we'll send you it uh specifically so you have it at the ready let's see uh for staff we only ask that uh those questions to students well that these are Big questions for staff that can be something that again you know there there's always follow-up opportunities that we can we can do um and if that would be something that the board would like us to consider with Handover um again as it relates to maybe I we even talked about doing a workshop on Behavior contracts and those type of things but it might be something that we could look at uh to provide board the board some additional information and um one

092of the nice things is that depending upon the responses they may also be able to take a look at what other school districts have done um with similar results and try to try to see improvement too so that could be a future project that we have with Handover possibly these are also a question that appears in the school climate surveys that we do that is correct other questions oh I did have one um on page eight it says 83% of parents Desir more resources to support reading math and social emotional um there probably wasn't a question but was there any indication as to the type of resources or just resources in general yeah that was a more general question um and I think that asking about the types of resources could be really interesting um

093one thing we did add ask we actually did provide um a fairly General list and parents most desired information about students skills such as their strengths and weaknesses and more information about what they're learning in school and then right kind of in the middle of that were online resources and educational games and mathematical problems they could work on together but the two big ones for math were information about students skills and what they're currently learning in school in terms of reading um it was actually very similar except for the thing parents most wanted to know was information about what students are learning in school and then they wanted to know the strength strengths and weaknesses of their students um learning and you actually we actually see a lot of um desire for social emotional resources

094as well so they wanted support with helping their students with self-management self-awareness relationship skills and responsible decision- making questions the one the one question about the parents wanting for input about making key decisions um a lot of parents may not be aware that they can make comments on the policies which are put out which Drive our key decisions so I I don't know how how you do that that would be one way of responding to that weera well I think it's on the policy I agree with you but I'm just saying that that's that's the input thank you all right I think that concludes um our report um as again board members uh I want to thank Matt and Melanie and Julie uh for all of their collaboration with Bern County Schools um this again

095this information will be used to help Drive our strategic plan and our intentional efforts moving into next school year and preparation for um summer planning and and so on and so forth um I also want to share that this will be made available to the the public on our website uh tomorrow correct Carla yes um where will we people be able to find it um it will be on the superintendent we'll send out a message with a link to it but it'll be on the superintendent so we'll be sharing that with everyone and then of course the additional information that Matt and uh Melanie were flushing out with some of your questions uh we'll send that to you you've got the full report already uh Jess already sent that to you but we'll make sure

096you get some of that additional information as well if there's any desire to dig a Little Deeper work to have some follow-up tyes uh work then please let me know and we'll work through that thank you so thank you uh Handover team we appreciate you thank you yeah thank you all it's great presenting have a good evening you too thanks Mr Tyson have your updates for you The hedville Early Learning Academy is the first one uh at that particular site all of the Footers are complete all of the underlab plumbing is complete and they are currently in progress of laying the block foundation and this week they're going to start poting the slabs as they progress from across the uh to to the different wings so that's that's the H Early Learning Academy for U

097next one is uh Tomahawk I believe and on that one the of course the phase one is complete students are occupying that space the portable has been demoed I took a picture of where the portable once was more and they are currently working on that building pad making sure that site is ready so they can proceed with the footings and the um the project project is on schedule to be complete G uh the next one is the martinburg Band Room Edition uh that is a picture from the interior of the new band room and the um basically all of the steel joist are complete the decking is complete and right now they're starting to install the interior block walls of that band room where there are some restrooms in that space and then in the

098auditorium they are still working on the Demolition and initially we were not going to remove as much plaster as we were thinking but above a l of the uh the old plaster um there's no way to access the wiring and other different things and so um we had a fire marshal inspected an electrical inspection and basically we must proceed by removing the plaster so I'm going to be coming back to you with some pricing on that um but there's really no way around it in order to access the old electrical and to upgrade it as it should be so right now they're in the process of you might remember underneath the balcony part is all plaster and that is currently where they've started removing plaster I of course will keep you updated as we know

099more but that was um an unexpected uh setback because of there was no way to access the electrical upgrades that were necessary so so that's what's happening at orang with theur the area above the stage the structure well that I'm just worried about what they're suspending things from there the structure is good the issue is they there's no way to access um all the the old wiring and the wiring has to be upgraded whenever we're into this renovation and so they they were hoping that they could um basically find a way of of doing that renovation without removing the plaster um but apparently there's there's no way around it so the plaster is going to have to come out well I know the old latus type of plaster they do they do it replace with

100dyall uh I'm going to give you more information they're going to provide it The Architects are going to provide us with some options but it's likely that it will be more of an industrial look above the uh the ceiling right now and then they would install um what they're referring to as clouds a cloud system of lowered drop ceiling and lightings that are kind of align throughout uh but you but everything would probably be painted black in order to to blend in and so they're going to provide us with some options I'll certainly have more details as we move forward but right now we're waiting to hear back from The Architects on what they some of their recommendations are there uh the next one is spring Wheels Press Box um everything in that project will

101be complete it will be a fully functional Press Box supposedly as of March the 20th um however you might remember last time I talked to you about the the complication with the stair systems and that's still a little bit of a complication they have been submitted for fabrication um however it's likely that even though everything in the Press Box and the surrounding concrete slabs will be complete by March 20th the stair system will not quite be ready so uh unfortunately that's not ideal because their first game for both softball and baseball is March 21st um that still be able to have the game we're not going to interfere with that there I don't know have to get some appr so unless something amazing happens and the the seel Fabricators get these steps done that is

102the Del with Spring Mills Press Box everything will be complete except for the the stairs uh and then the last one Mountain Ridge Primary is currently been advertised for bid the pre-bid meeting is on March the 12th the bid opening is March 26th and of course I'll keep you posted uh as whenever all these details play out and you know when construction will begin great and then I have one last thing which I do not have a slide to represent and last time I was here we talked about the tennis courts and so you asked me to get some more information and so I'm still in the process of getting some more information uh basically I want to confirm that the current location is a suitable site so I'm going to be back uh hopefully

103next meeting with information on that and then also o you asked if I could U maybe have an estimate on an asphalt uh tennis court system so I'll be back with some information on that as well so we can decide you know what what you think is best what you recommend so that's your tenis discor update for Muslim in high school any questions thanks all right thank you can I have a motion to um prove the consent agenda as presented move second second all in favor well I have a question quickly on 8.7 it's the policy it's going out I just want to ask one question uh the students must pay the tuition I'm on page to line 46 the student must pay tuition to the college and university to get the credit uh some

104in the past I think I've heard that there scholarships or something or okay that's all I'm and it's a lot it's a minimal price I know it's only $25 an hour but I mean there's some KS that can't even come up with $75 and I was just wondering if they're capable actually there there SC thank youc I'm ready to all in favor I I oppos motion carries action items personel actions good evening president long Dr saaks members of the board the Personnel actions dated for today Monday March 3rd 2025 are as follows uh we begin with our coaching actions and there's 19 appointments here six of those are paid and 13 are unpaid coaches we have four coaches resig just a quick is the person that we had a hearing tonight on the list that's

105another part it's not part of this no talking about from public comment public comment no um four coaching resignations uh one correction of previous resignation with the effective date uh five Healthcare appointments five individual ual requesting new leave of absences we have a 17th appointment we're giving a planning period and one person revising the start date of their appointment we had two professional employees resign then we then begin with six professional uh retirements and we know that many of these have 20 uh almost 30 but we do have one individual online 40 with 41 years of experience reti iring uh this year uh moving on to the service Personnel we have three new appointments uh Four midday appointments that'll be done through time sheets when needed uh we have three change of assignments uh staying

106in their current locations uh we did lose one individual to an accident uh on our service side we have five uh resignations of service personnel one resignation from a midday run and we have four service Personnel announcing their retirement as well we have one service transfer one individual resending their transfer for next school year U with the state put rules are no longer wishing to move uh and then one upgrade of a service personnel with the class title we have 20 new substitute service appoint appointments one person resending their appointment and chose not to join us what individual remove from The Substitute service list and five resignation from substitute service and then we have nine new substitute teachers to appoint uh one removal from The Substitute Teacher list and one person resigning for a total

107of 106 Professional Service substitute and coaching Personnel actions all dated for day today Monday March the 3rd 2025 with the superintendent's recommendation questions for after school L 105 Shephard residency sub Street te we probably told us this before is that somebody who's going to graduate that is someone that's in their uh final year of the program at Shephard University so as as part of their student teaching uh The Residency program they're allowed after so many weeks to substitute in that classroom or in the School uh so many days within their placement there so they're allowed to earn some money while they're student teaching so they're covering classroom for if needed why isn't this a regular practice because the their programs had to be approved from the Department of itent for them to do that that

108be recommended by the school to do it as well so this isn't the first year we no it's not the first year we do this we're losing a lot pictures with staff and you see a lot this evening here as well because today was the deadlines are announc for the $500 bonus for early notification U so I do not believe we received any after this was put out today that would affect the state course we have one more that will be coming to you the next agenda but it does not necessarily have to go to the state for their approval so you'll see that on the next agenda can I have a motion to accept the Personnel actions dated today second second all in favor iOS motion thank you thank you Dr sex discussion and

109possible action on reorganization trans of reorganization one yes ma'am thank you madam president board members um you know this is always a challenging uh time but I think that one of the things that has been you know at the core of what I've tried to accomplish over the last eight months is to take inventory of where we're successful and um where uh we have room to improve and I must say that I've been U very impressed with um the knowledge and skill that we have here in Berkeley County with all of our our folks and so uh in in uh presenting you this information uh this is not um a reflection upon the skill or the hard work that our folks do but it's about getting everybody complete alignment so if you would humor me

110for a second I'd like to give a little analogy um I'd like for you to imagine if you will um an orchestra and separate soloists perhaps playing violins trumpets and horns and perhaps even some drums imagine walking into a grand Concert Hall eager to hear the world class Orchestra perform as the conductor raises the Baton you expect a harmonious masterpiece but instead something strange happens each musician begins playing their own song the violinists uh is performing Beethoven the trumpeter is playing jazz and the percussionist is pounding away to a marching tun it's chaos not because they aren't talented but because they're not they're not working together under a shared Vision now imagine the same Orchestra with a strong conductor leading the way the musicians are still experts in their own right but now they are

111aligned following the same tempo playing from the same sheet of music the result a powerful unified performance that captivates the audience and achieves its true purpose creating something greater than the sum of its parts right now our district leadership uh has has operated in what I think is more like these separate soloists than a unified Orchestra each department is talented and capable but because they have worked in silos we've lost the efficiency collaboration that is necessary and I think sometimes shared Purpose By restructuring our leadership shifting from multiple assistant superintendents working at times independently to a cohesive leadership team under two defined Deputy superintendents as well as direct reports of executive directors we become that well orchestrated Symphony this change is not about cutting players it's about aligning our talents so that every note every

112decision and every action contributes to one shared Mission supporting our students staff and schools in the most effective way possible our students our teachers our families deserve an orchestra that plays in harmony not competing solists this restructuring ensures that every part of our leadership team is working in sync leading to better decisions stronger support for schools and ultimately greater Student Success uh board members I have shared with you uh the the reorganization charge uh that is here um and so if you reflect upon it you'll see that there are two distinct division the deputy superintendent of instruction leadership services and I've also provided you a draft job description you could that U you could review as well as well as the the deputy superintendent of operations um the reorganization of um of these offices and

113these divisions um if approved we would have uh a posting for an executive director of special education an executive director of people Services an executive director of organizational development and student learning experiences and an executive director of Human Resources in addition um you'll also note that um the additional responsibilities of our of these two Deputy superintendent positions I believe um warrant um a differentiation of that of an assistant superintendent to a deputy superintendent on the index of 6 instead of 0.5 um the uh executive director salaries um are I believe it's Point uh four what is it 35 currently 35 uh currently so um there is a there is a cost savings to um this as well but it is it is more about for this phase because there's two phases this is phase one

114that I'm asking you to approve this evening this phase is really more about getting people in direct alignment uh going in the same direction and having two differentiated sides of the house that can communicate and streamline services to our schools to our instructional leaders and to our classrooms um and I think that this is a step in the right direction for for our first phase I do want to recognize that phase two um while it is going to be a little bit more of a a normal normalized uh uh Staffing time where we have to be able to look at different things with class size and so on and so forth but I do anticipate phase two also having some um uh reorganization of other district office folks that um consolidate some some positions but

115they are all being done with the vision of again this cohesive all in alignment and and improving the collaboration between um both specific offices and departments within the structure that we have so uh I did I do did want to bring that up um to summarize if if you would permit me um again I think that this change is necessary because it's going to break down the leadership silos that I think we we've had to align instructional operational leadership going increase the responsiveness to our schools providing direct specialized support going to improve the collaboration across departments eliminating isolated decision- making which I don't think is intentional I just think under the current structure that is has been what has occurred over time and it will also create clear reporting lines um I think it's also

116important to to to to point out that um the expected outcomes here of this restructuring plan is a stronger more responsive leadership to support schools increased operational efficiency and it reduces redundancies and it improves communication decision making at all levels I also believe that it is has a more streamlined and strategic resource allocation um which again will save money um and will put more money into our schools and it does provide I think a greater accountability for district leadership as well as the support that we provide to our schools so um there again I just wanted to um provide you a summary of what I believe that this restructuring plan will accomplish again I've provided to you the draft uh job descriptions if approved this evening we'll be prepared to post those um and I

117intend to um you know cast a wide net so that we can make sure that we get the best applicants for our Deputy super positions I know that we have some very capable people right here in our own District um and I look forward to those hopefully those people applying but we also want to make sure we're getting the very very best that we can to provide leadership in Berkeley County and uh so we want to be able to see what's also available so again I appreciate your your consideration and I'll be happy to answer any questions questions for Dr man I I went through a whole stack of poster notes you only get four all right well I I'll take a few and then I'll stop let other people okay I I do have

118a question about on your chart first U I want to point out that the phase one super organization uh the superintendent did point out that the Board of Education oh yes thank you sir this chart did cut that off I I had that in the I think my uh title overlaid the the the next blue but at the very top there is yeah you see it right there digal vers have it yes so I apologize but yes board of education is at the top okay and I and I I know that you gave us the job descriptions of the four executive directors and you didn't do the director of Safety and Security I'm just questioning whether we need a director of Safety and Security I know whether that person be under the Maintenance and Facilities

119but that's that's just one question I I know safety is a big a big issue in schools today but I'm just wondering do we have to be right now under Services yeah yeah right now that that well right now safety is under people's services and it's a absorbed I think responsibility um one of the reasons that I'm I'm considering at a director of Safety and Security is because we also want to make sure that we have people that are able to directly uh supervise our um safety officers in our in our schools um that have I think that that law enforcement background um and we're obviously expanding you know my my goal is to expand safety officers into our um intermediate schools in into next year of course that's something I have to bring to

120the board for approval um and so I think having someone who is the liaison with First Responders is uh helping uh make sure that the supervision and the training and the support of our school safety officers is in place as well as uh making sure that those uh safety audits are being conducted which currently are happening through our people service coordinators um that's one of the reasons but I'm happy to continue to think about that um there may be several different ways for us to look at that for sure okay um on each of the six uh job descriptions what does flsa mean fa labored Standard Act pardon fa labored Standard Act okay and they're very exempt because they're management correct okay um also um we are on the State Board of Education has put

121us on watch list for some schools how will this reorganization direct some of those deficiencies that they're um being cited right I I don't expect an answer now I'm just thinking that there should be some correlation where this this uh flow chart will address some of those problems well I I think it's a great question I would like to have an opportunity to answer that um I think if you look at um the the realignment of the staff if if you're think about specifically under instructional leadership services that division um is the the individuals that are within it um specifically our our current executive director of elementary schools and our executive director of secondary schools have more autonomy um and and oversight responsibility than I think they've ever had before um in addition being able

122to have uh someone who can as a deputy align not just the work of what's going on in schools but Federal programs especially the office of EXE the of organizational development student learning experiences to be able to ensure that the culture within our those schools is being addressed the professional development within those schools is being addressed and that those all those things are being aligned under the this the Strategic plan of our school district but the expectations that we established from the division of instructional leadership is going to be extremely important and so to answer your question it's about aligning the the the supports as opposed to having them so siloed that I think has probably been a contributing factor not the only Factor but a contributing factor to where those schools weren't being appropriately

123supported in the [Music] past we I know that this is Phase One and uh we were talking earlier today about how many executive directors do we there now and you'll be giv us I I took this list and you can just use that this list yeah if you look at the if you look at this uh this this document here that is the to totality of executive directors also just so you're so all of the ones that are blue on this chart here that is the totality of executive directors that we have in the school district um that are in blue you'll see there's uh I think two directors two directors that are listed there the rest are executive I'm sorry three directors the rest are executive directors that we have prior to the board's

124consideration this evening the school district has had one two 34 uh six uh executive directors in the school district um I'm asking to realign the five assistant superintendents um from five assistant superintendents to two deputies and then to to make sure that those offices still have uh executive leadership through the executive director position but but that is but looking at that that report you have uh Mr Murphy I do expect there'll be some consolidation of positions as well in Phase to which we have been working through with our staffing plans and we been in dialogue um I also want to say it's very important because I know how much anxiety that these um Personnel seasons can create for our staff um that we will be going out I've talked to our personnel office we will

125be going out um at the at the at the appropriate time uh which I think will be in uh what two weeks is that about two or three weeks and we will be meeting individually with each person that's impacted um this is not going to be something where something just shows up in the mail we're going to have a conversation with them we're going to make sure that they understand what their options are and what opportunities We Believe will exist so that they can be making their own you know they can be thinking about their own plans as well um I will tell you that we know that we have um you know shortages across the county and in classrooms and and uh different different places for support um it's it's not about you know

126really it's about getting it's about putting the right people in the right place and it's about making sure that we're is efficient and um as stewardly with taxpayer dollars as we can in order to still operate and provide a world class education for our students okay uh just just clean up I'm sure was in the meure but under your two Deputy superintendent you have part of their duties of working I see working with developing the agenda and I'm trying to find it the board agenda yes sir I just want to make sure that the board of President is that that that is that is actually correct it's because from their division they have to submit items that Jess can approve but um the board president and I always review the agenda together and if there's

127something that the board president is not comfortable with then we'll remove it these are usually items like contracts and and things like that though okay but I just want to make sure that in the job prescription uh we don't see we see the statute being the law being oh yes absolutely yeah yeah I going to shut up and save my rest my questions for after other people thank you thank you sir pointed it out you started Michael question the addition of one of the um Point number three with the position creation can you give a brief summary of what the direct executive director of organization development the learning experiences as the overview is very all over the place the overview in the job descript yeah yeah sure it's very um and it seems like it

128is a creation of position as try to structure this this is actually a um to the executive director of organizational development student learning experience is really um the creation of a department that is going to marry several other other functions that we are absorbing that we are taking off of some assistant super assistant superintendent plates already it's going to have a heavy influ influence of professional development um and aligning like the work of our aims so while the executive directors uh will have specific responsibilities for supporting our schools our aims would provide support to new teachers or permanent Subs would be under organizational development um we've also we've also had a heavy influence of of work with um different um activities around social emotional learning with our students um and supports with um our our

129psychologists and our counseling departments so that would fall within the operational development um and student learning experiences um I can also say that we've been doing a lot of work with our student learning ad student advisory Council um as well as some other student learning groups that we've had in the school district we have had um a diversity Council um with our within our St with our student bodies I Envision that um that those organizations of making sure we have opportunities for student input are going to continue and that's going to be the work of of this office um is to make sure that student voices are heard within the school district so that we can make sure we're meeting their needs um and so I think that there are some things that have again

130been done in several different offices that we're trying to post into this office of oral development student experiences I don't know if I've been able to answer that question but high level without reading it to you that would be how I would explain it do do you think it should be a director position or could it be split into B2 coordinator positions to be more efficient I think that based upon my my plan of who will end up reporting to this office um there will be other dire s that that would report to this so for example we have a director of counseling that would already be reporting to this person so youd be very difficult I think to have a director reporting to another director um I think that um we think about this

131i' have to without share without I gotta I have to be very careful because there's a phase two so hang on one second well to answer his question about better to have two coordinators and you have two positions that you're paying fixed cost for well yeah so answer that question I think if you were to have two coordinators it's obvious going to cost you more than an executive director or just one coordinator or or just one I would also say that but but I also want to make sure that that under the restructuring plan there would be already two directors and two assistant directors that will be assigned under the executive director of organizational development and student learning experience um so um and they and they would also have just so you're aware um one

1321 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 13 direct reports um within again this is through this is uh from um professional learning um academic counseling uh attendance and treny and virtual school um would all report under this under this department so it's more it's not necessarily creating additional positions underneath that it's just realigning where what what department they fall in okay okay that is that that is also right because the other thing that I think is important to not is that some of the offices um of assistant superintendants those positions are becoming executive directors because they're going to have some responsibilities pulled and so those some of those pulled responsibilities like um like attendance and preny of um attendance workers uh treny division diversion Specialists mckin Bento folks those

133will all fall in into here instead of pupil services and because obviously the pupil Services assistant superintendent you know that position is being eliminated the executive director position is going to be created if approved but the responsibilities would be less than as a system superintendent I I suggest that we get through this pH one first I still have questions okay I'm just telling you what I suggest I suggest that we get through phase one and then as these executive director positions um to us with dog descriptions and we already have those then we'll have more Define questions and well I have a question ask good uh in reading the the first paragraph for the organizational development and student learning experiences there is one part of that first paragraph that I'm I'm going to come right

134out and say that I'm a little concerned about and I've got a lot of reservations for um and it is surrounding the resort of Justice programs we've had this conversation before where restorative justice in and of itself is not necessarily A Bad Thing the problem is implementation and the Fidelity of its use and my concern is that we we've already seen um whether it's it's here and there in our district or potentially in other places throughout um that there become power imbalances victims are forced to sit down with with um perpetrators um to try and do mediation they're not comfortable to do so there's a lack of boundaries and standards so my concern is is that we're we're putting in the words restorative justice programs and we have no idea what that looks like um

135I'm I'm we have a a setting in which we've got a lot of um youth that are in our schools that that are have behaviors that I'm concerned that that we are um going to continue going down a road that is going to be called into question especially with recent orders um by um our by well for lack of a better word by the president of the United States as well as then our governor of the the state of West Virginia so I'm just concerned that we are very strategic very minded that restorative justice programs does start to go into that vein that they have classified um and that we we need to be very particular about how that's being done implemented the Fidelity of its use all that well and for the rest of

136the board where what section are I am looking at the exact uh the the draft job description of the executive director organizational development and student learning experiences within the first paragraph at the very end it says that the the RO ensures instructional excellence and continuous Improv in teaching and learning by overseeing districtwide professional development student services restorative justice programs and curriculum consultation yeah so I let me I first of all that's a I think it's a good question um one of the intent that I had in developing these uh job descriptions is taking some of what we are currently doing within several of our Departments of which one of them is the restorative justice Pro restor of Justice uh program we have in place and being able to make sure that that if it's effective

137then we're going to continue it I'm not against uh not including this in the in the job description I think that the other thing we could do is um we could also make sure because I agree we do not want to do anything that is going to be um and of course I I don't look at restorative justice programs in my and this just my perception of what I know about it to being anything that's related to um Dei and and I think that if there is a perception that that is what it is then I need to flesh that out it's the power and balance that exists that's there so it brings in that Equitable piece that everybody's trying to stay on that same playing field and that it it actually does an inversion

138of and when it's not applied correctly this is where I'm talking about the the Fidelity of it I'm not talking about the concept or the idea of I'm talking about the implementation the Fidelity of it there's this power and balance that starts to exist between the student and staff where the staff then becomes more like the student and this and this and um the student then becomes staff they're the ones that dictate the role of the classroom they're the ones that are dictating how things are played out in the schools and I think we need to be very careful about how we're doing that because as much as I would like to make sure that all of our students walk away with a very good education well-rounded and great experiences and all of them are

139then afforded the opportunity to go into to whatever career that they would like right I want that but at the same time I don't want there to be the power imbalance that starts to occur and that is where you will start to see some of the programs that are associated with the diversity equity and inclusion start to come into play and people have in some cases wrongly Associated the two but they are associated to ignore that that that is is wrong whether it's right or wrong that it has been Associated it is associated so that's where I'm I want to make sure that we're not introducing something that could guide us down a path where that's a concern one by our constituents but also by the the Federal Department of Education or our State Department

140of Education or our our um our governor um we know that he is um very strong in his stance and we also know that the attorney general has also made his statements clear that this is this is um I just I want to be very very careful how we approach this uh I absolutely I respect everything you're saying and I don't disagree one of the things that I could do um in order to if the board was to consider approving um this job description or any of these other ones is I can put that that specific activity on hold and seek clarification and oh absolutely not I'm sorry what absolutely not leave it the way it is I I'm really getting frustrated because I'm tired of why do we have to tiptoe around racist I'm

141sorry it's we're not tiptoeing we're not okay let's have problem because not arguing when terms are used because some people don't understand what they are they automatically oh we can't do that we have we've had history class for years do you know how many times in in various schools they taught that slavery wasn't a part of civil war that that's history class somebody can teach history wrong we can't teach history in in schools anymore because some people are doing it wrong we need to focus on what's doing what's best for our students not on this terminology that some people have Twisted into something that is anti-white and that's what I did I told you I gave you a good example of the power and balance that affects our students and our staff I gave that

142as an example we see it already now demon we see it already now that plays out we see teachers that are scared to say a word because the moment that they do they know that the power then lies with the student we also know that teachers yes it is it promotes promotes the power IM balance that's what I'm trying to explain to you it promotes that whether we like it or not there's no it's a clear Association about how about we just ask somebody in the room that J I hear you I'm saying the Fidelity across the across all of them time out time out I suggest that we get an interpretation from legal where we're where we need to go next all right so I have a different question okay um Mr sex um

143was there any were these uh the chart and the job descriptions was there any input from any senior staff me member on the or chart or the job descriptions um I did have Jason Kowski um help me with the deputy positions and several the executive director positions I did not have anybody from HR assist with the executive director of human resour ources any any area that there could be a conflict I made sure I avoided but it was Jason that I that I had helped me with some of the other executive directors as well as the deputy positions okay and you mentioned earlier um that we will be going out who's the Wii the Wii is HR so um Dr schoolly Mr Kowski Karen Hensel um I don't if there's anybody else that you have

144on your team that will be going out to visit those effective staff members depending upon my schedule I do plan on being able to assist with that because it it will take you know several days but that's the team that would be going out to have those conversations with um impacted staff as well as their their principles that would be there to meet with them which has been somewhat of the procedure before well yeah the only reason I asked it because because of this reor and some of the people that are going to be affected are actually some of the people that are going going to be going out so that's that yeah well actually the impact so the so the first reorg uh phase one everybody has already received their letter for transfer and

145that's what you're actually voting on potentially this evening any additional staff um well there definitely could be people that have been put on transfer that would be going out to provide the same context absolutely yes yeah ask another question how about Whispering at my ear go ahead go ahead no no no no go ahead well okay um under the deputy superintendent of operations I I question and before I raise the question I want to go back to the Handover report yes sir and the Handover report on page 10 ask this question the school-based professional learning days are designed to meet my needs as an educator and we only had a 24% uh agreement on that question on the job description on page four it has the deputy superintendent of operations page four um provide supervisor

146leadership for workforce planning recruitment selection placement and professional development of staff I want to make sure which section P human resour okay I question whether the um this superintendent of operation should be doing professional development this just means oversight to make sure that their department so they're going to have executive directors of Maintenance of Transportation of food service reporting to them that they have high quality professional development support plans for their their their their offices and their departments okay well I just think that we I can clarify that yeah we need to make sure that the deputy superintendent instruction leadership Services is focused on professional development of your instructional people if it's buried in there I to it but I it may be in I'm sorry can you repeat that I well I think that

147professional development for instructional people employees should be under the deputy superintendent of instruction leadership it absolutely should and it should be I I it is I'm wondering if this is where we're getting into more of the nitt where the silos come into play where there's the communication between those departments that are under the instructional piece they'll have that communication with human resources so that the files for our our teachers and our other staff accurately reflect the training that they've received well that's what Dr s just said yeah well he's he's saying that the professional development of instruction people is is tied in with the superintendent of instruction I believe yeah yes I just want to clarify the the bullet point you're referencing here is the leadership for workforce planning recruitment selection placement of and Prof

148professional development for staff that is within the division of operations the same would exist for the deputy of instructional leadership and and and we will actually have an office that is responsible for making sure that they're helping organize those professional development opportunities the next question um this um I guess the question I'm having is um with this reorg that would no longer be an office of equity and inclusion I guess that would be wrapped into the organizational development student learning experiences like some of those those similar things um I'm wondering if the work of the equity including Department that was just trying to get on their feet will be lost in this reor because when the position was first created they had a specific uh framework and agenda and then over the years more and

149more got added to that group where their task got sort of watered down and distracted and I'm just wondering if it may it ordered down even more especially with executive orders and um this misinformation that's that's out there people more will get ordered down and they won't be as as focused well I think that probably the the best I want to go back to the uh job the actual job description if you will but um there's a statement if you look at the second paragraph it says by integrating key learning principles into professional development curriculum planning and student services this role strengthens the district's commitment to fostering a learning environment where all students can Thrive and I think that that actually is what meets the the uh requirements of the executive orders and I also

150think that it's the right thing to do is is that we want to be able to focus on what where all students can Thrive regardless of um socioeconomic status regardless of race um ethnicity um we want to be able to make sure that all of our our student groups can Thrive and sometimes that may mean that if we identify a certain certain subgroup of students that are missing out on these opportunities for whatever reason maybe it's because of discipline maybe it's because of uh access to advanced placement classes then we have a responsibility to a fix that and I think that this um this structure will ensure that all students can be successful and that all students have access to um programs where they can Thrive I I think it's and that's why I think

151that the student learning experiences component of this job description is so important because getting feedback from students on their perceptions of their learning specifically as we look at different subgroups is going to be very very important to ensuring that we're doing a good job in meeting the needs of all students in Berkeley County um I do understand your your your question but I think that that's really how how I plan to make sure that this position addresses that um and um if you I think if you further um looking at imple implementing Innovative learning models um to enhance School attendance close achievement gaps and drive systemic School Improvement again that's for all students not just focusing on one group over another one thing Mr Right is upon but I'm looking at it you same way

152but a different approach is that on our general assessment test we have the subgroups identified and Berkeley County has the largest Diversified uh community in the state we have 30% of our 70% of our students are white 30% are either Hispanic multi-racial black or Asian and so our subgroups are identified so if we're not taking care of these subgroups and trying to White wor which I see happening in this country and in this state we're trying to whiteash all of our students and then we're going to fail those subgroups if we're not keeping the track to what we're trying to do and that and that's that's just a comment and I I and I will be held accountable if we don't address these subgroups because they're broken out in the test results I I agree

153I think that anytime that we're um analyzing student performance data um behavioral data um social emotional learning data you know we we have to be able to look at where our areas of weaknesses are and if the weaknesses are in specific subgroups we do have a responsibility to to uh fles those things out identify root causes and come up with systems where uh and processes where those students can't be successful it's it's a it's a it's a moral responsibility we also got to remember sometimes it's the the uh some of those subgroups are not succeeding because maybe our staff is not trained to reach them so that's again goes back to professional development and things like that so so um not always just that particular sub groups different sub groups even socioeconomic groups as well

154you don't live in the neighborhood or don't live in the area where your students live make it harder to uh connect with them other questions yeah I'll point out again with u when we first talked about the reorganization um I thought it was reducing headcount of EX directors that was my interpretation in the first place and we're taking away now we're taking proposing to take away assistant superintendent put him in as directors um and adding five positions taking what two away add five that's in this first phase there is uh the net gain of one uh because there was the five assistant superintendent one resigned they retired I apologize um and then those different offices that those assistant superintendent represented um all but instruction tnl um will have if approved executive directors so on phase

155one there is a net gain but in phase two there will be a net loss so what I'm asking for approval tonight is and and one of the things that we we could do if if it would provide more comfort for the board is at this phase you could you could look at the the two deputies get those positions in place and if you wanted to look at the other ones but the problem is is that that um these individuals are going on transfer and there may be the desire to apply for these jobs and if they apply and are successful um granted we're going to be looking at all the qualified candidates but if they were successful it would prevent other uh bumps somewhere else because of senority um so I do anticipate there

156being a net loss of District Administrative positions at the outset of phase one and phase two but phase one there is a net gain because of the creation of two deputies and then the um four executive directors well so my plan is still to is to reduce yeah but in this first initial phase it's to get the right it's to get the right puzzle pieces in order that I can go ahead and do the second phase for me it would been like nice to know what like phase two looked like to see like underneath what that looks like as I mean the past four years have been on the board everyone says top heavy top heavy top then we're adding more executive directors it's not a good B right in my eyes um that's just

157my opinion obviously I'm one board member well I wish I could share share phase two with you the problem is that because it's the consolid it will have the consolidation of positions those employees that are affected by a uh transfer have the right to hearing before the board before you consider what that restructuring plan for phase two looks like that that just just like this first phase where um you know uh you all needed to be able to see what it was going to look like but affected affected employees would have the right to a uh to a hearing before the board phase two where there could be where there's going to be consolidation of positions those employees have a right to be heard by the board before you have the the full picture or

158even giving me the blessing to say yes you yes you can consolidate these two positions I support that because that person or or people have the right to a hearing for you to hear their side before you make that decision so I wish I could share that with you trust me I wish we we could do that but we also want to be very careful as we look at reorganization that we're um following the the Cod process within because this looks just looks like this now doesn't mean that it from here down it could absolutely stay that but um if you're depending on where we get with transfers yes and and and actually I'll be honest with you depending upon I mean there there is a chance that depending upon on um how positions are

159filled there may be some positions that because those people have moved that we don't have to fill other positions also that that could also that could also present an opportunity as well I think it's hard because we have we have code where we have to do things in a certain order and that's the that's the rub um we need information but we can't get information until people notified and when people are notified they have the opportunity to do hearing which is great but the only problem is we really haven't got the information yet um we were able to figure that out um and and we are but it's it's this um it's a delicate balance that has to be done and um and it does all fall into place I've seen it many many times

160where it starts it starts at the top and then it and I think and I think um the I think Dr sax has some experience with this previously that there's you know um I I think that shows that he's there there is a plan there's a method to the Badness if you will um and I think we I think it's hard to see everything all up front I think we need to get through phase one first yeah and then we can cont AG as the transfer letters go go so forth for the next phe that we can see just a question to you Dr SE following up what power we have a deadline what may the 1st we have to do all of this yeah May 1 and we hope to well May 1st is

161the time we have to have it finalized yes and of course that also includes the employees timelines for requesting hearings and everything transfer letters the next batch goes out in a couple weeks other questions um I'll be I'll be quite honest with you I think if this would help is is that um I understand the anxiety and I want to be able to be transparent with you uh without violating any due process for phase two I estimate um somewhere between a net loss of District level positions of somewhere between six and eight that hopefully gives you some food for thought I haven't violated any any any individuals due process rights but when it comes to consolidation of positions and reorganization um it's probably in the neighborhood of 6 to8 positions and that's that's that's that's

162districtwide that's not just you know it's not uh that that is not school based that is not school School base that is just District L but I want to share that with you that is my that is where we are and some of those things s be fleshed out but that hopefully gives you an idea of what my intentions are are to again reduce some of those administrative costs um the topheavy perceptions that exist I I recognize that and that's one of the things I've been trying to Endeavor in this reorganization while also making sure that we're very streamlined um we want to be sleek and straight that's what I'm working toward have another question I'm not sure if anybody else remembers didn't we have um a group come and Outside Agency come in and

163look at our staing and we were compreh compreh compar to Bas the same size as us compar comparable b b we were very close so if they didn't according to them we weren't really top 10 I'm say we don't have according to areas with our student population and right right Justin yeah that came out the compensation stud that Dr Murphy did we're either at or even Below in most of the comparable school districts of our size but given the area which we're in it's not SE that's okay that's I thought what was that that's why um understand the public perceptionist but the reality is that we're possibly not going that much over um that they think but you know perception and sometimes people jealousy and well it's important that as I I have taken a

164look at this is that I made sure that we can still you know as we try to get a little sleeker um is that we can still be effective because I think there gets to be a point where you you cut so much now I really I think we're trying to take a scalpel uh while we scalpel as opposed to you know something like a like an axe um is taking a scalpel um to uh PR if you will I think that that's an analogy that that I'll be honest with you I've used in my um different avenues that when I think about re reorganizing or restructuring or looking at Personnel is sometimes I think we have to look at how we prune and what we also know living here in Berkeley County this analogy

165I think holds true with the apple orchards and such is when you prune it can produce greater fruit and that's what that's that's exactly what we're trying to accomplish as well Wonder [Music] Miss Miss par Miss Long work oning a FAL survey I I just Bol one of the things that came up the survey was princi with been shock they wanted was who you asked they knew who they ask they get the answer they went somebody else just seem like they just had to go from here to here here any other question so Madame President board members um I am recommending approval of the central office reorganization and transfers of reorganization phase one and I a motion to accept the transfers and position Creations for phase one I would like to um make a motion

166that um is what Dr Sax said but um with the um desire to to change the um executive director um position for the uh I'm going to get the exact word in here organizational development and student learning experiences with the removal of the wording restorative practices from the job description I I um we have the motion first and then offer amendments to the motion okay she made the motion somebody s I'll make the motion to she made the mo well she she I made it with an amend to to then pull to P second motion okay so second okay I want to make sure I clarify I apologize the motion was to have the language removed and if there's a second then that's going to be the motion it's not it's not the intent of

167what Mr Murphy I think was want correct I think I think the the desire is to move that we we um approve this um recommendation that you've provided to us and then we make the amendment okay so I move to make the to to approve what Dr saxs has provided to us for phase one yeah I'll second in fav that I make a motion to amend you have to do it that to to to for the executive director of organiz organizational development and student learning experiences on the job description to remove the warning uh restorative practices is there a second so all in favor to of the amended motion I I all all we're all looking at you when you said all you said all four we said yes all oppose no no do we

168don't know what you voted did you vot you said nay yes okay the motion fails yes yes and then now we only need to V on the original on original motion however uh can there be some discussion I the the motion discussion was earlier to have Dr sack get an opinion on I know I'm I'm just making I'm I'm doing what politicians do evidently which is making I'm pushing I get it and I can show you I put up many links to link that that that show from education institutions and other other organizations that show that Dei and restorative practices are linked together for for Mr R's preview um but I I will I will digress well um I would like for Dr sax to okay from Miss cool so do we need to make

169a motion for that well act well let me make a suggestion if um if you all approve the the current motion what I will endeavor to do is before we post that position we will clarification from legal and my my question is is if legal gives us the go ahead or gives a suggestion of how to how to address the concerns I can go ahead and make those changes myself if you want to if you want me to do that if you want me to come back to the board it would just mean that I would not be able to post that specific position until the board meets again and can approve it I would like for you toing back I would too well the thing is there wouldn't be U the only thing that

170because we voted no to change the language the only they wouldn't be um asking the attorneys to change the language it would just be is this okay yeah yes that is correct that is that's another way to look at it I I I think that we need to be very specific when we ask the question we need to ask the question does restorative practices in any way align itself with diversity equity and inclusion and then in turn violates the the um executive order that the governor has issued as well as the President of the United States in his executive order would may may I ask a clarifying question yes under this uh this uh suggestion would it be appropriate so that we're not holding up to potential of postings that if the if legal says

171that this violates that the restorative uh practices would violate the um uh executive orders of the president of the state um any or any state policy then we would remove it and I could I could post that post that job description if they were to say it does not we leave it in and I still post it I I think I think that works and we would be able to we would also be able to have any kind of legal opinion should it ever be questioned that would allow us to move forward and that's my concern absolutely exective orders yeah because it's restorative justice programs and that's rest and and it's I mean I've got articles out the wazo for it so like it I will make sure that be violating something pretty much simple

172whatever whatever um interpretation we get from school um you [Music] ging vot we we need to V we need to vote on the phe one can I have a motion to approve the superintendent's U phase one we did that we did that yeah we just need to do y or n yeah that's what I'm asking you all in favor I I oppose uh four to one okay people can confuse somebody well it it's also 9:34 at night how about that before um oh I'm sorry for announcements superintendent announcements thank you madam president goad Dan for me this week is National School breakfast week and we are uh we know our cafeteria staff Love Theme fun more than anyone as you can see in the pictures of our awesome staff they'll be clued in to theme

173to a theme and promoting the benefits and importance of having a healthy breakfast especially before a day of learning so clue in is the breakfast theme this week um so we want to get everyone involved that we can that's going to be March 3rd through the 7th 2025 we have some awesome uh Food Service staff and we appreciate what they do and we also appreciate how fun they can make going through the the lunch line or the breakfast line so uh we also want to recognize our main Department uh for maintenance appreciation day which is tomorrow March 4th they play a vital role in keeping uh I apologize by I think my Southern West Virginia was coming out there they play a vital role um uh in keeping our facilities safe and looking great and

174I can tell you I I just appreciate everything that they do and so uh if you're out there in Virtual land and you see one of our dedicated maintenance folks thank them for working behind the scenes to keep our schools operational clean and en um we also have another recognition which is um our social workers uh uh this week we want to thank give them a shout out for National School social worker week the our social workers wear so many hats and handle each one with great each one of our students with great care as they support our students and just a myriad of ways so thank you to our school social workers um read Across America day uh with us today and I want to thank Miss cley's kindergarten class at Creek um who

175had some awesome socks uh I don't know if there's a oh you can see that picture right there those are our socks unfortunately mine were pretty boring they were just the traditional black socks that Ryan Sachs usually wears on a daily basis occasionally I spice it up and wear gray but um I've never been into the the designer uh socks I was impressed that we had some people wearing I ready socks which was pretty cool um I also want to thank Miss bucy's prek class and miss 's kindergarten class at Jared toown um as well as Miss Luciano's second grade class at tus Aurora for having me as a reader today um it was a a great day to be with our students and to read some um Dr Seuss books I'll have to second

176that with hes class school yeah so um sorry to I know it's awesome well it's okay but you know I think it took a lot of people today I want to thank all the volunteer the volunteer readers we had all of senior leadership went out uh and was reading in our schools today the book I read was is it I don't want to be a rabbit or no that's not right uh it's hard bunny it's hard to be a bunny and so in my class uh classes we were able to talk about what bears say what birds say what possums and beavers say what possums and beavers do I asked him what do beavers doing it you know and of course all the people do this it was so cute they were just so cute

177um but they were they were exceptional and um I hate to say it I apologize and I don't mean to throw shade anywhere but it was the best part of my day board members I hope it was yes um the Board of Education are you saying something about the no sir um but it was it was it was so nice um we uh also have our Board of Education self appraisal survey that it's that time of year again the link should be in your inbox that was sent this morning from Miss Manuel uh so please give Jess a heads up once you completed the survey so we can make sure everyone is answered and we get those results to the state in a timely manner you did M ex I did mine too so is

178there an award for the last person I don't know but's doing it right now doing it now uh we also want to um we want to um operation recognition we mentioned this at our last meeting but we have more details now we'll be recognizing Mr Thomas at our April 7th Board of Education meeting with a small ceremony to present him with his diploma so martinburg high school staff as well as the jrgc will be helping us to make sure that this event is special for Mr Thomas um I also want to advise the board that I have been working with Mr keeker um in our transportation department um you know we've had some I don't have a slide on this so I do apologize olze but we have you know obviously we continue to try

179to um outfit our transportation department with um hiring bus drivers and getting bus drivers on boarded but also routes um and then of course you know we have um a lot of contracted Services we provide for transportation um and so I have asked for him and our purchasing department to put an out an RFP uh for a full Transportation audit and so I wanted to advise the Bo on this is that this is something that I'm I'm asking um for us to look into um so that RFP would include uh the way I Envision it um is a transportation audit that looks at our routing looks at our software look looks at our onboarding um looks at how we Contract Services but also it's very important to me that we get input from our bus

180drivers we get input from obviously our our transportation leadership but I also want to be able to get um input from some of our schools as well as our families that are our rout serve um and there are a number of uh entities out there that do this type of work all across the country and looking at Transportation efficiency um and and they would also look at how our state reimbursement Works to maximize our reimbursement dollars so I wanted to out of the spirit of transparency make you aware that we are we have put an RFP out uh because I think this would be something important and so it'll probably be something you see in the future um as we look at making sure that our transportation department is operating at um the fullest extent

181possible I know we have again a lot of people working very hard in the transportation department but sometimes you need an outside perspective to give you some ideas of how you can improve uh Madam president board members that concludes my update um we will see you on March 17 or 12 we do yes that'll be a workshop that'll be a budget Workshop as well okay um next on the agenda is pending litigation I have a motion to go in executive session under uh West Virginia code 6-9 a-4b uh to discuss um a matter of course of case cc-2 d uh 2019 c-89 move second all in favor Mo will we be voting staff have there is there is the possibility of vote but that'll be there'll be something so the suggestion is you go in

182for this item come out and either say there's no action or present the action they go back in for the second which may or may not have e e e back uh we we are resuming from executive session and I think Dr SX has a recommendation yes Madam president um I'm recommending um approval of the dismissal um proposed in the litigation in matter of case cc- 2-2019 c-89 which is Consolidated with cc- 02-2019 d93 and cc- 02-2019 d114 and and um when that you said you're making a I'm making a recommendation for uh approval approval of the you use the word dismissal you're talking about dismissal of yes why I want to make sure you're dismissal the agreement the agreement for dismissal all in favor of we got to go a move we have to

183have somebody mooving second yes so move second second all in favor I oppos motion carries okay now um we need a motion to go back into executive session under um West Virginia code 6-9 4- two to discuss pending litigation move second second all in [Music] favor will not e for