001At this time, um, I want to give you a heads up that we will now have an invocation by Mr. Abernathy. Invite you all to join with us or engage in a moment of silent reflection. So, Mr. Abernathy, I'm asking you to do. Let us pray. Lord, we do cast all of our anxiety on you. Grant us inner peace and contentment no matter our individual obstacles. Your your laws are clear and there are before us. Help us to remain faithful. We pray for our staff, our teachers, and our students as they start a new school year. Keep them safe and grant them every success. We pray for the work of this board. Help us and guide us toward successful outcomes. Amen. At this time, uh, we're going to have pledge to the flag, but I
002I've asked Mr. Baker and and I don't know if any of you guys know this or not. You know that he's got a reputation be a real nice guy and give you a real good deal on tires, so to speak. But he was actually a drill sergeant in the US Army, an E7 on top of that. So, I'm asking him to uh have someone in the audience to lead us in the pledge. And I just want to put in a kind word for our for a fellow veteran. And like I say, an E7 in the army, a drill sergeant during the Vietnam era. He's tough as a pine knot. So, be careful. He's not Mik Mild like presents himself. >> We'll all stand. I'd like to call on a real soldier, uh, Mr. Kia Carson
003to lead us in the >> salute to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. >> And Dr. agreed informed me that of course next month the NJOTC from the high school will be back with us. >> Yes sir. >> And at this time item number six on the agenda superintendent Mark. So Dr. Grid I'm going turn it over to you sir. >> All right Chairman Frank ladies and gentlemen of the board appreciate y'all being here tonight out there with us. Uh and for those watching us on television tonight. Uh this is August. August is always exciting with MAI and MEC already back in school last week and the traditional schools ready to go back on
004the 25th. Expect to see our buses on the road and soon enough our activity buses will be rolling for those evening extracurricular activities. We have our first home volleyball game tonight followed by soccer on Wednesday. Our football team is also scrimmaged last Friday at Owen with another game scheduled for this week. The lights are on in the stadium and you can hear the band play all the way down on Highway 70. As we begin a new school year, it's always a good thing when you still handing out recognitions for the work that was done over the last year. Tonight, we're excited to have students from our FBLA club here comp that competed in national competition over the summer and brought home some hardware. Building on last year's momentum is a great way to start a
005school year. We are proud of our students and staff. And I'm here to tell you this board's been busy at work over the summer, too. And we are proud of each of you for your commitment to our students and community. This evening, we also want to give a shout out to our friends from the Operation Backpack. As Miss Melanie Dunham, who leads that up here in our office, uh that group has given out nearly 1,000 backpacks this school year. Tonight, board, we have a resolution on the agenda. This resolution marks the end of the 120day due diligence period to purchase land for a new school. We also have a recommendation to bring to you which we believe is the best architecture firm to lead our project. What we don't have here is a North Carolina
006public school lottery capital grant needed to build the new school. But before you can but before you can even apply for that grant, you must have the land, be shovel ready, be prepared to consolidate, and be in a tier three county. Folks, we check all of those boxes. The next step in this project process is seeking legislative support board. Now is the time to meet with our legislators, share our story, and seek support for our new school. what we saw that happens when McDow County rallies, especially in the aftermath of Helen nearly a year ago. Folks, as a community, if we put the same effort into securing a grant for this new school, there is no doubt in my mind that we will accomplish our goal. That said, each of you here tonight and those
007watching online, now is the time to advocate on behalf of our schools. Finally, tonight, as our students return to the 2025 2026 school year, it is my prayer that we have a a school year filled with student growth, harnessed in safety, and one that we will all be proud to say. That's my school district. That's my hometown. That's where I'm from. And it's great to be a Titan. Thank you. >> Yes, sir. At this time, we're going to ask Miss Mary Finley to come forward and we're going to do some student recognitions. Okay. Well, good evening. It's always a pleasure and a privilege to be back to recognize the great things that our students do. Um, our future business leaders of America attended the FPLA National Leadership Conference that was held in Anaheim, California, June
008the 28th through July the 2nd. The conference drew more than 16,000 students from across the country, showcasing the best in leadership, business skills, and community service. Foothills Community School proudly earned ninth place in the nation for their community service presentation, which highlighted their partnership with the Rose Hill Retirement Communities Alzheimer unit. Throughout the year, chapter members volunteered in the unit's arts and crafts department, working hands-on with the residents to provide creative and meaningful interaction. In addition to their volunteer service, students raised $500 to support the arts and crafts program, ensuring residents that they would have access to the materials and activities that enhance their quality of life. These students are Mary Ruth Blake, Sydney Stafford, and Kayn Macarthur. And they place ninth in the nation, [Applause] and we're very proud of them. And while they're
009coming up, I want to read something else about the Foothills FBA program. So in addition to their top 10 finish, the chapter also earned sixth place nationally in the middle school chapter champion award category. This award recognized overall chapter excellence in leadership, participation, and community engagement. Foothills Community School was the only middle school in North Carolina to earn this award, making us very proud of everything they've done. And this also speaks volumes for the hard work and leadership of Miss Tasha Ramsey and Miss Katie McFarland. Congratulations. [Applause] So next from the West McDow Middle School FA team, Mr. Logan Reese competed in the FLA national competition on Tuesday, July the 1st. He had 30 minutes to take a 50 question objective test in financial literacy. The financial literacy test aims to provide members with the
010opportunity to demonstrate knowledge of competencies and various financial skills. And Logan placed fifth in the nation. So, we're super proud of this as well. And Miss Sarah Wills, who is here, and um Mindy Hutchkins are the adviserss for FLA. And they put a lot of time and effort into this as well this school year. Great job students. We're very proud of you. Thank you. All right. Next up, we have a a unique award. Uh this one is coming to us from a recent conference that we attended. And um the two attendees were Mr. Lloyd Cuthson and Miss Ashley MacArthur. and they're not necessarily here tonight, but they didn't know that McDow County Schools had won an award when they went. We we had no knowledge of that. Um, but while they were at the conference,
011we were recognized. And it was one of those that I felt pretty pretty confident that we wanted to make sure that we recognized uh this accomplishment. And what I'd like to do is I'd like to invite all of our administrators that are here tonight, if you will, please come up. And that's executive cabinet. That's everybody. Please come up. talk to you a little about what this means. [Music] Okay, so let me tell you a little bit about this award. So this year the uh state bureau of investigations has taken over um the department for safer schools for North Carolina. Uh that actually fell under the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction for many many years. Um but during this most recent legislation, it was passed off to the State Bureau of Investigation. Uh they are
012part of the Center for Safer Schools. So, what this award was and and we were the only folks in western North Carolina to receive this and that that speaks volumes. Uh, and I want to talk about this group and and why why we're receiving it. It's called the resilience award and this acknowledges McDow County Schools has shown exceptional resilience in the face of a natural disaster and continue to prior prioritize school safety and student support. So, spec specifically speaking about the damages that happened at Old Fort and um that was what was mentioned in this meeting and how we were able to keep our kids at the front of our thoughts and keep our kids and our families uh moving forward uh and getting our community back on on their feet. And I know we
013didn't it wasn't just us who who were involved in that. That was a whole lot of folks, whole lot of community. Um, but it was one of those things when this got presented, um, you can receive something at a conference and nobody really knows about it. But it is one of those things that I'm proud of it. I'm proud of the work that I saw these administrators do uh, within a day of the hurricane. Uh, I was able to be on the phone with them and see these folks be in our in in here in this office as well as setting up um distribution centers and really working hard to take care of our community. And I'm very proud of you guys and on behalf of State Bureau of Investigation. Uh, this is the resilience
014award and I'm going to ask you guys if we can uh to get a photo with this. Thank you. [Applause] Excuse me. >> At this time, item number nine on the agenda is request address board public comment. And we do have a request from Mr. Chris Wall to address the board. And Mr. Wall, if you will listen just a minute. I know you've heard this, but I I need to explain some things to you. Public comment is a time for the board to hear from folks regarding issues related to the Mcdow County School District. We ask that folks be mindful that we encourage families of small children to attend our meetings and watch our meetings online. We respect the right of speakers to give us their viewpoint on any issues related to the schools. However,
015we do balance those rights with the rights of families of young children. When it comes to public comment, we ask that speakers make their points without making explicit comments. It is not appropriate or permissible for teachers in our schools to read explicit material to young children, and doing so in public comment is not appropriate either. In addition to public comment, the public is welcome to send the board emails through the superintendent. And at this time, uh, I'm we'll entertain a motion to allow Mr. Wall to address the board. So, second. Okay, we have a motion by Mr. McGinness and a second by Mr. Barksdale. Is there any further discussion on request to address the board? Okay, with no further discussion, all those in favor signify by raising your right hand, which is uh unanimous vote.
016Okay. And uh Mr. Wall, if you'll step up there and we have time keep of course, Matt, >> but we appreciate It was uh it was timely uh what just happened as to what I have to say. I'd like to just say I remember just a few days after the flood. I was traveling on Interstate 40 headed west looking at some of the devastation and some of the things that I saw and u whenever I got to Old for I saw what was once a beautiful campus seemingly destroyed thinking we'll never see that beautiful campus again. I have to confess that I was so wrong. It would we would like to thank all those who have worked so hard to make this possible. There has been a great effort to bring this school back to
017what it was. I hesitate to name all the names of those involved for fear of leaving someone out. It seems like it has been so long a time coming. There's a phrase that we read so many times in the word of God that says, "And it came to pass." It is used to say, "What happened is now over." Looking back, I felt as though we would never see our county back to what it what it was before. Some of our county has been scarred severely. Lives have been affected. Property has been wiped out. And those things may take a lifetime to heal, but a lot of it has been restored. And we should celebrate every victory. The reopening of Old for School is one of those victories that we as a county should celebrate. So
018on behalf of Christian Perspective representatives, we would like to present this United States flag of America to Old Fort Elementary School in celebration. This is or this has this excuse me this has and is very time. I am so sorry. This has and is trying times for our area and a lot more to be rebuilt. But we're thankful to say to old Fort School and it came to pass. Thank you so much. [Applause] Good job. What a surprise. Thank you. Uh at this time we were on we're on a beginning journey. her initial uh opportunity to speak with as a member of the board and we welcome Mrs. Amber Loing at this time as our teacher representative. Thank you so much. So, good evening and thank you so much for the opportunity to speak to
019you tonight. I'm Amber Lawing for those of you who don't know me and I will definitely be speaking to you many times this year. Thank you to Miss Battle. Um, tonight may take a few extra minutes because I want to share who I am and what I hope my monthly focus will look like. I promise I won't take up this much time each month. I know you have important matters to discuss and I truly appreciate the chance to share this with you. I'll be looking down at my paper most of the time. It's not because I'm disconnected. This is personal and when I make eye contact, my voice tends to crack and the tears will follow. I'd like to make it through this with a clear voice and a steady heart. Poor Dr. Grit has
020yet to hear me speak without this disclaimer. And since I'll be presenting all throughout the 2025 2026 school year, one of my goals is to make it through at least once without using it. I'm not saying it's likely, but it's a goal. Lowing is my maiden name, and my husband Michael gave up long ago on me changing it to OB. Every time my teaching license renewal rolls around, I say I'll finally make the switch. so I can do all the paperwork at once. But I procrastinate until I'm sure that if Vicki has to send me one more reminder email, she'll come through my computer screen and throttle me. That's when I drop everything and handle it immediately like my life depends on it because it does. Our hum is loud, messy, and overflowing with love.
021Sometimes overwhelming, often challenging, fueled by snack breaks and deep breaths, but always worth it. My oldest, Jacob, graduated this past December from UNCC Wilmington. My sweet gray is gearing up for third grade, and my feral Ava is soon to be in kindergarten at West Marian. She keeps the chaos lively and fully believes she's a princess because her daddy tells her so. It's true. Being a mom has taught me how to multitask, think on my feet, and say things like, "We don't lick the floor, and don't hit your brother with a shovel." Offa with a straight face. Skills like that surprisingly transfer well to teaching. It's funny how often you say similar things to students, no matter their age. I currently teach math 1 through math 3 at McDow Early College, depending on the need. I
022started my teaching career at East Middle back in 2010 2011. I thought I'd retire there and a part of me will always bleed orange. But in 2022 2023, God led me to McDow Early College. The move didn't change who I am at my core. It simply gave me a new place to keep doing the work that means so much to me. That purpose is personal because I know what it feels like to want more, to work for better, and to carry the weight of breaking a family cycle. Often without knowing who's walking beside of you. When you're trying to do that, your village is usually small. But those few people in your corner, they matter more than words can say. That's who I try to be. someone who helps each of my kids see their
023potential and holds on to that belief until they can see it themselves. My students come from all walks of life. Some have faced unimaginable challenges and others have had strong foundations. But I see their worth and love each one of them no matter their story. For many, school isn't just where they learn, it's where they feel seen. Sometimes we're the only steady, dependable presence in their lives. I walk beside my kids through the hard days, step in front of them to protect, fight for, and encourage them when needed, and step behind them with a smiling heart to cheer them on when they're ready to lead. Keeping the watchful, caring eye, Psalms 3, Psalms 32:8 speaks of Being named teacher of the year is something I carry with deep pride. Not because I think I'm the
024most deserving. Honestly, I don't do anything special. I know there are teachers in this county who do so much more than I do. Teacher teachers who are far more deserving than I'll ever be. I'm not out there writing grants, creating new programs, shaping curriculum, influencing policy, or leading big initiatives that reach far beyond the classroom and all other impressive things so many teachers in our county are out there doing. I'm just a math teacher who loves her kids. I work to meet my students right where they are academically. I create teacher tables generated toward secondary math, look for creative ways to reach them, and work to build their confidence. Step by step, I take time to know my students, their personalities, their sense of humor. And in every class, we make jokes. Jokes, teach each
025other, and tease each other in good fun, and fill the room with laughter and memories right beside of our math problems. I do my best to be present with honesty, love, and high expectations inside and outside the classroom. The truth is my students have had a far greater impact on me than I could ever hope to make on them. If this recognition means anything, I hope it represents the kind of teaching that's rooted in relationships, trust, and the simple things that matter. Showing up, being consistent, caring deeply, believing in kids. It's not flashy, but those small, steady things are what changes lives. I still don't know exactly how I want my monthly presentations to look, but I do know this. I want them to be meaningful and to show you the school board and our
026community, the relationship piece of our schools. Each month, I'll end by sharing the voice of a student or former student whose path was changed because of an employee at McDow County Schools. They saw their worth, believed in them, and helped them find a better direction. Tonight I want to shine a light on sweet Miss Cwley as a teacher who has made that kind of lasting difference. Miss Cwley, this is just a small token, a starfish keychain. It may not look like much, but it carries a story that reflects the difference you've made. A story that is true for so many others in our schools. I want to share the words of a former student, someone's whose life changed because you took the time to build a relationship, to show up with heart and to help
027him believe he was capable of more. When I reached out and asked if he would reflect on how you impacted him, he didn't hesitate. These are his words. Without Miss Cwley, I honestly don't know where I'd be. I'm certain I wouldn't be where I am today or have achieved any of the success I found. Her lessons reached far beyond the classroom. She was a true educator who made learning fun and made sure every student knew they were loved. She wasn't the kind of teacher who sent you out in the hallway and left you there. That happened to me a lot before she came. But she stayed and was there for us in ways that matter. Mattered. I've carried the tools she gave me all the way through college and I graduated with honors. Now I'm
028a successful business owner. That's the difference she made. Miss Cwley, you're truly an angel on earth. Wayne T. Third grade, West Elementary School, school year 1991, 1992. Hearing his words brought me back to the story your keychain represents. One morning, a man was walking along a beach covered with thousands of starfish that had washed ashore during the night. Up ahead, someone was gently picking them up one by one and tossing each starfish back into the ocean. "Why are you spending so much energy on this?" the man asked. "There are too many of them to make a difference." "They'll die if they're left in the sun," the person replied without pausing. The man glanced up and the man glanced up and down the endless shoreline. But there are miles of beach and thousands of starfish. You
029can't possibly save them all. What difference could you make? Another starfish was lifted from the sand and sent back into the waves. Smiling, the person said, "I made a difference for that one." Just like in the story, you remind us that it's about showing up for the ones right in front of us. You haven't just saved one. You've lifted so many back into the water. You built trust. You built confidence. You built belonging. And we are better. Our schools, our students, our community, because of you. The starfish is a small reminder. As third grade Wayne said, to let the sun shine on you for every good day and to never forget the big impact you've made and how much it still matters. In the end, it's not just about what we teach. It's about who
030we reach. Every child deserves someone in their corner and a chance to have a fresh start. Not just at the beginning of the school year, but every single day to know there will be people inside who believe in them, see their worth, and will always show up. This is my belief and my commitment. No matter what others think, I will never bend or back down from it. Because that's the kind of influence that leaves a lasting mark. That's the message I'll always show up to tell. Whether it's in a quiet conversation, a hallway chat, a presentation, or one of those small unexpected moments that matter most. I truly appreciate your patience as I took extra time this evening. I'm sure you'll be looking forward to my future presentations being a bit shorter and honestly so
031will I. I'm not exactly the most polished writer or speaker and I definitely don't have the voice for it. I mean, I didn't get best Pee-Wee Herman impression right here as my paper plate award for my kids for nothing. Nonetheless, thank you for listening and again, thank you, Miss Cwley. Miss Crowley. >> Wow. I think they need to get >> Hey Garrett, can you go back to her collage of her picture? I got a question I gota ask. Get your picture. >> Okay. So, me and Cora um dressed up as Ricky and Bobby for Halloween at our school and I forgot which one I was. But then we did the trunk and then she's the one that did it. But I did not have the heart to tell her that. But then look at that
032biggate smile. He got my he got paper award forgate a big beautiful smile. That looks just like a pitching coach that I had. That's why I asked it. >> That was a very good presentation by the way. >> Oh, thank you. Okay, at this time is item number 11 on the agenda, unfinished business. And I see Miss Rampy has stepped up to the podium. So, turn it over to you, ma'am. >> I'm not sure who did the agenda that finance follows the starfish story, but be great. There'll be no tears. Hopefully. Hopefully, no tears. Not today. Anyway, >> uh on the agenda today, uh we are going to talk about two projects that you guys are already aware of, uh that Mr. Mar spoke of previously, and that is the project that was approved through
033the state through the hurricane Helen capital project funds. Uh that was for the PG restoration funds uh for a million dollars. And then we also have $4 million that is for the West uh McDow Middle School uh lower field entrance way and then up through towards the high schools tennis the erosion going down in that area with those funds. Those are uh held at the state and then run through the county. So we will have to approve those as a project where we can draw those funds down. Uh and so we are asking for a motion to approve those projects for us to be able to start drawing the funds down. if there's any questions on those. We did go over in detail that I think that was last month or the month before. >>
034Mr. Chairman, if I may. >> Yes, sir. >> So, I just want to be real clear. Um, we knew we had the funding because there was a letter that was sent to us. What we didn't have was the funding. Uh, so how that worked is they sent that funding to the county. It was placed in a a very old account that the county hadn't used in several years. And um in conversation uh with the folks at the county level um they did indeed say that they had the funding. We were under the impression that it was going to come to us. We weren't sure how it was coming coming. We just knew we had a letter and Mr. Marsh was given uh the directive of of making sure that we had PG back ready to
035go. So we moved ahead uh with that and that's why the cart was a little ahead of the horse. Um wi with or without the funding we had to do what we did at PG. So, I just want to be real clear about why it's coming through that way. Um, I'm also want to be real clear, we're real glad the county found it. And, um, one of the questions that we had along those ways was, um, obviously that's quite a bit of money that's sitting in an account. Um, and typically those accounts are interestbearing. Um, in this situation, Mr. Abernathy, I know that was a question you had during one of our meetings. um that is one of those that the state actually holds that money until it's till it's requested. So at this point
036we hope to be able to request all of those funds. So it will indeed be interest bearing for McDow County. Uh right now the state's doing exactly what I would do. They are holding it. So it's interest bearing for North Carolina. Um so that just wanted to give youall a little heads up on where we were with that. Uh and and answer any questions that y'all might have about those projects. Obviously I can answer them. I know Mr. Marsh is a little more heavily involved in them and can get into the weeds on it if need be, but I just wanted you to know what was going on with that. So, tonight what we are asking is for a recommendation uh for a motion or I'm going to give a recommendation, I guess, for a
037motion uh that we go ahead and improve those projects so we can begin drawing down that money that we've already done quite a bit of work at PG4. So, I know that was if if anybody has any questions. There's a lot of moving parts on that, but I just wanted to be real clear um what we were doing there and and I do fully recommend that we uh move forward with these projects. >> And just another note, if we had received those as a direct, that would have been a budget uh amendment. We would have put that on a budget resolution um because we received the notice directly to us. That was our assumption. uh these funds actually ended up any of the people that have been around a long time in the old ADM
038state ADM funds that we used to get 15 years ago. Um and so that is how they have handled it like the old uh state capital funds that we used to get. >> Okay. At this time u Miss Rampy and of course superintendent request that uh there's a motion on this be a motion and action requested. So at this time I'll open the uh floor for a motion. Chairman Frank, excuse me. As chairman of finance, I'll make a motion to approve the two projects funded by Hurricane Helen capital recovery funds, a million dollars for restoration at Pleasant Gardens Elementary School, and $4 million for erosion control at West McDow Middle School and McDow High School. >> I'll second that, Mr. Chairman. >> Okay. At this time, we have a motion by Mr. Schuford and a
039second by Mr. Baker for the request to McDow County for capital relief funds. Is there any further discussion? With no further discussion, all those in favor signify by raising your right hand, which is unanimous. Okay. And facilities update with Mr. Marsh. >> Yes, sir. Thank you, Miss Rampy. Thank you, board. >> Mr. Marshall, we'll turn it over to you. >> Mr. Chairman, Dr. Gri, members of the board, ladies and gentlemen, again, it's always a pleasure to come before you and talk about where my director is at. As Mrs. Rampy reminded me on her way by Brevity Brevity, so I'll try to keep it brief. Uh, but there's a lot going on that I that I want to make sure you know about with our transportation director, Mr. Thomas staff been assisting with bus allocation uh
040throughout our summer programs, conducting those parts inventories and performing bus inspections and repairs. Uh cleaning the buses will begin this week and ensure that they are ready to hit the roads ahead of school. And uh for the board's information, the the bus that we had ordered, the activity bus that had actually been sitting in the plant, we're just still waiting on them to finish up the final pieces of that and hope to receive that in the next upcoming months. Uh Mr. Garrett Barry Hill is here with us tonight. Him and his staff continue with the process of testing the new temperature sensors that we've ordered for our freezers and coolers. With students out of the building, they continue to move forward with the migration of the remaining schools to their new subnetss. Uh significantly improving
041our network speeds, reliability, and security. They're preparing for the refresh roll out of the Chromebooks for this upcoming year. And we are working together to identify areas uh that need cameras and motion sensors. Uh and I know Mrs. That's something that you and I spoke about this last week, but we're working to get that resolved. Child nutrition, Mr. Haynes and his staff are working hard. This week will conclude the summer meals program that ends on August the 15th. I'm very proud of them and happy to announce that with their hard work they've ensured that we will again be eligible for the C uh which stands for community eligibility program uh which in layman's terms will just simply mean that each student in Medall County schools will be el receive free lunch and breakfast and so
042it's a huge deal for them. We appreciate their efforts. They were also successful in getting the FFE grant which will ensure all elementary students receive a fresh fruit or vegetable three days a week in our schools. In athletics, we've been working with principles and athletic directors to fill coaching vacancies. I spoke to Mr. Subtles about that some this past week uh with qualified candidates and ensure that the required training is complete. I met with ads for the middle and high school and had virtual meetings with MHS ads, fall coaches, and a member of Mrs. Whman's administration to discuss my expectations. We are working together to identify and address needs for each of our programs. As Dr. Grip pointed out earlier tonight, we have an ongoing contest going on at the high school uh in what
043the what I'm sure is being enjoyed, a cooler gymnasium. Thanks to the board for that a couple years ago, but also with a brand new sound system, which if you haven't heard it yet, it's outstanding. Uh fall sports begin in earnest uh with NCHSAA with a home volleyball game, of course, and then practices for traditional schools at the middle school level will begin on the 25th for each one of those middle schools. Schedules are being posted to websites and will be shared on social media. And some of those are already shared today. Uh we had all of elementary and middle school gym floors resurfaced. I'm going to show you a couple pictures of those tonight. If you haven't been able to get around to your schools, they look absolutely fantastic. We're very proud of those.
044Looking forward to playing on them. Um, Mr. Jeff Vaughn continues to do an exceptional job and I really appreciate the board and Dr. Grit support being able to hire him uh and all things that Miss Dow did. The conversion of West McDow Middle School uh with the creation of a self-contained EC classroom will be complete this week. Um the we continue to work with FEMA and local contractors to remove debris as well as make repairs to areas that were damaged by Helen. And the summer painting and floor cleaning programs are ongoing and the schools are looking refreshed. Our pump truck, which I'll show you a picture of in a little bit, um has reached total failure. The new truck will not be delivered until the end of the year, which will mean that Mrs. Rampy
045and I will be working together to contract some of pumping services as required. Uh we are working daily to execute the capital HVAC project. But I wanted to let the board know that um we as we continue to address issues since March. U we have encountered 50 HVAC related issues. Currently we have corrected 34 of them and 15 are categorized as open with one being in a building which we are leasing. And I'm working with the owner to get that resolved. Uh, as we heard a little bit tonight, uh, from our grant funds, I wanted to report to the board that Pleasant Gardens, as you well know, um, is back to being a school of one, Mr. Schuford, and we work to remediate the school, uh, inside and out. The paving and striping of existing
046parking lots and entryways is complete. Uh, performing drainage remediation and making necessary repairs is in progress to the exterior. I'm not satisfied with a couple areas. We're continue to work on those. Pressure washing the exterior of the school is complete. Cleaning the interior of the school is complete. Painting the interior of the school is in progress with only one hallway remaining is is not being completely repainted. Installing new luxury vinyl tile flooring in many of the areas that were damaged is in progress. There's a dumpster in the back of the school that uh is full of some of that refu as it was mentioned earlier tonight. Um and really appreciate the the words that was uh was mentioned. Uh Old Ford Elementary School we know is back open. Uh Mrs. Rampy and I have uh
047worked together to release all the all the funding for Belffor. They are done and out of the way. Veros delivering the last of the materials for furniture this week. Any items that they have delivered have been assembled and moved back into places. The exterior of the grounds, the area of the cor erosion at Mil Creek is done and we're working with FEMA to recover payment for that. Um, volunteers from around the area have graciously assisted the various beautifification projects around campus and I spoke with Miss Ward about that today and thanked her for for her willingness to to answer some of those questions because we had a ton of volunteers uh from around the area was interested uh for our new flag that was given to us tonight. The flag pole in front of the
048school was damaged during Helen. You may remember a new pole is on order and we're working with insurance for repayment of that pole. It'll be replaced upon arrival. Uh our staff has restriped the parking lots and they look wonderful. A concrete pad new metal building will be be placed on site to support the custodian in the performance of his groundkeeping duties. And you may have seen a post that Mrs. Ward posted where some outside entities offered up some materials they donated to the school. And Mrs. Ward is working with Kaboom and the YMCA to procure and install a new playground. Garrett, can we show some pictures? Everybody likes pictures. So this is the the top left and right are Pleasant Gardens Elementary School parking areas. Um after they completely stripped it down to subsurface. Keep
049rolling, Gary. You can see off to the left there, we encountered a once some of that was taken off, we encountered some box strings that had failed. One that was carrying a lot of the weight of the school and pushing on to the adjoining property that goes next door to um Old Fort First Baptist. And we have also had to address that. Keep rolling. Uh this is the front of the school and it shows you some of those new parking areas. And again, they they just look wonderful. You got there in the rain and the water is going where it's supposed to go and the parking lots are looking good. And this was after they've received several inches of rain. So it's it's already working really well. Um I mentioned some of our HVAC wos
050and I wanted to show you that this is some of the things that we're encountering. The left is a filter to a condenser unit that was removed that you can see has untold months, perhaps years of uh blockage. On the right, you can see a condenser pump. This is the primary system mover at Westmond Middle School that had to be taken out and sent off to be milled because the propeller and the excuse me, the impeller and the shaft both had to be milled. It's in process. Go ahead. This is another uh filter that was clogged. So when Mrs. Elliott called to say, "My systems are not working, my AC's not working, her compressors were not able to move and were overheating because they were clogged and weren't able to get air and we didn't
051able to get water." So these are some of the things that we're addressing on a weekly basis as we move forward. Uh I want I talked to Sir Marsh interrupt. >> So those filters haven't been changed in some time. >> No sir. No sir. Um, so top you see a beautifully finished floor at Glenwood. Um, and so you know when I went down I met with Miss Ray, they had a little buckling that was occurring right around center court on the dragon. Um, folks came in and did that and and I went with a water base which in this case a water base I used it to fidelity at the at the wreck department and it cuts down on smell, it dries faster and it lasts just as long. So it looks wonderful. Keep going
052Garrett. So that's a Glenwood there. Look, that patina is really showing through. I had got a chance to walk in some Mr. Baker. That's at West Marian. It looks just beautiful. And then go on down and and there's some more that's showing through at Nebo Elementary. So, uh, all of the elementary schools were done. Uh, the two middle schools were done and and they just look wonderful. I wanted to show this because I wanted to report to the board. Coach Clark is doing exactly what I asked him to do, and that's conduct outreach, get involved at the middle school levels and and start raising uh some future Titans. This was his effort. He contacted me about wanting to give out some safety protection. I got Mrs. Rampy and and the answer was absolutely go for
053it. So, keep rolling. Some smiling kids there on the east. A new set of bleachers that we erected that were to place the antiquated, unsafe ones that were at the high school baseball field. You see two sets there. Here's another one down the softball field. And the last picture is of Coach Clark with the the guys down at West Middle. And so really proud of his efforts there. And all the kids are just thrilled with it. I think that concludes the picture show. Oh, I'm sorry. Yep. One more. I told you failure. When I use the term failure, I mean it. That's failure. That's what failure looks like in a pump truck. There's no patching that. There's no, you know, I don't care what commercial you've seen. you're not going to put, you know, you
054don't patch that. Uh it's unsafe, it's unsanitary. So, obviously, I've ordered them to take it off the road. So, uh yeah, she she gone. So, uh we're going to be waiting patiently on a new set. Nobody was injured. No leakage occurred. U so there you go. Any questions on operational auxiliary and athletics? >> Mr. Marshall. >> Sir, on >> the was there some flooding at Mary Elementary that went on and did we take care of that? There was I heard one of the custodians say something about the hallway. >> Yeah, great question. So, um, sometimes Mr. Subtles I I think I'm trying to say it's like an engineer. some sometimes we we struggle with beautifification and uh design. So, so you know when you when you build you may think, well man, look, we we
055need some mulch here. We need some gravel here and it builds it up a little bit and the unintended consequence is is that it turns water back in another area. Obviously, you know this from being in your business very well, right? So, uh, what we saw there was is that some water was being inadvertently turned back into a, um, basically it was a a landing. It was outside of a classroom and it was coming under the door, sir. Okay. >> So, uh, staff went out there, was notified it notified about it. Staff went out. We feel like we've addressed it. I believe it's going to be a continuing thing. We're going to have to tweak Mr. Subtles. Okay. >> Um, because, you know, it didn't happen overnight. And again, it wasn't anybody did anything wrong.
056God bless. They were trying to make the school look nice and so we just we just got to tweak it a little >> but it wasn't the uh the drainage where Todd Bennett replaced all the sink hole and all that stuff that I cleaned out last time. >> It did not appear to be okay. It didn't appear to be just some high points of some gravel and some other outside stuff. But I mean Okay, >> we'll continue to look at it, sir. >> Yeah, if it is, let me know cuz I would like to help out over there. >> Yeah, 100% 100%. >> Thank you. >> Yes, sir. Thank you. Any other questions? Will there be a schedule put together to check these air conditioning units on a regular basis? >> It's a great question.
057Um, so when I saw that second filter, Mr. Barksdale, I immediately instructed staff prior to the beginning of school to go to every Mcdow County schools facility and check the filters. So from that point, what I believe will happen is is just like with your car, everything will back up in the system. So even if you clean it now, does it mean you don't go back? You're in pretty quick order and do it again. So I've told them to do it in 90 days again. And so we, you know, custodians are working to change out the interior filters, right? That's great. That's air. It has to be able to move, but those are what's causing our system to overheat and trip offline. Ultimately, that damages your system. And if it's not if it's run undetected,
058it it absolutely can destroy a piece of equipment. And I can't look you in and tell you that that's not what's happened over the years. and why we have or have not are not having to replace things now. >> But it's it's definitely something that uh that I've got with Dr. Grid on and I told him that I believe a good preventive maintenance system does not exist and that um it is my intent to create one along with, you know, our our maintenance department, Mr. Vaughn, and um and and try to get that moving. Sir, >> thank you. >> Yes, sir. Okay, Mr. Marshall, we appreciate that. And at this time, we're going to just roll right into our RFQ process, sir. I know you've got a lot to share with the board. Some really
059positive news and and a lot of uh a lot of progress has been made in that area. So, I'm excited to hear from you tonight. >> So, if it pleases the board, Mr. Chairman, I'd like to kind of do this in concert with our um our committee chair for building the grounds and Dr. agit and because I believe that uh it's important that these gentlemen are here heard from as well throughout this process. Just as a reminder for the board u the RFQ process overview, your attorneys wrote the RFQS that that they wanted to have posted. So we posted after their guidance. Um the RFQ uh again request for qualification was posted to our web pages for uh 30 plus days which was what their recommendation was at which point we took it down because
060we had had nine architectural firms submit RFQS. From those nine RFQ submissions, uh we just we simply requested a meeting with uh the building grounds chair and presented all nine of the RFQS that we had been given. And so when when a firm submits those, they basically have they follow everybody follows the same suit. These are cookie cutter presentations that we went through, presented all nine of them to the board. And at during that meeting on the 29th of July, uh the chair and the committee chose three um from from the group of nine. And at that point, I was directed to contact those three firms and set up meetings. And this was this followed the process that Mr. John Henning, our attorney, had recommended. Um we on the 7th of August conducted interviews in
061this room with those firms, Mrs. Rampy, myself, Dr. Grit, and uh the attorney, Mr. John Henning. Uh they were each given 40 minutes to present for their firm and talk about why they would be the best firm for the job. The firms that presented that day were Adams and Associates, Little Diversified Architectural Consulting, mouthful, and Holland and Hammock Architects. At the conclusion of that meeting, Mr. Henning uh reminded the members of the committee uh that they had indeed followed everything that he had given to follow. And Mr. Barksdale. Um, your committee conferred, correct, sir? >> Yes, sir. >> Um, would you like to talk about any about that at all? >> Yes. During the uh buildings ground committee meetings, we reviewed the presentations along with our attorney and after extensive considerations and consultation with Mr.
062Henning and Cam from Camel Cha. We selected Holland Hamri as the most suitable architect for this project. At this time, I'd like to make a motion to approve Holland and Hamri as the architect for the new school project. >> Okay, we have a motion by and this is by action requested on this, but uh Mr. Barkstdale's made a motion to uh accept the proposal by Holland and Ham and I'll entertain a second. >> I'll second. >> Okay. All right. We have a motion by Mr. Barksdale and a second by Mr. Allison. Is there any further discussion concerning the RFQ selection that uh firm was selected at this time? Sir, I do want to point out just a couple of things in this process in this discussion time. One of the other pieces that we will
063need to do is notify our commissioners um of who our selection as a board is. Um and that was one of those that u Mr. Henning shared that with us um in the process. Um and that we have some time to do that obviously. Um, but I did just want to let you know that we will do the first initial step tonight, which is uh approving uh of the RFQ and then the second step of that will be to get on the commissioner's board agenda. I will follow Mr. Hanning's lead and and time on that and really work with him closely to to know when I might need to step out and go up to the commissioner's meeting. Right, Mr. Abernathy? >> Thank you. >> Is there any further discussion? Okay. All those in favor
064of the selection for the architect, signify by raising your right hand. That's a unanimous vote. Take the next. >> Thank you, Mr. Marsha. >> All right. We talked about moving at a at a really rapid pace. I I want to just uh let you know that the the the next thing we're going to talk about and I've got a resolution here prepared by uh Mr. Henning um our attorney and I know Mr. Frank has access to that. He's going to share that with you just in a few minutes. But board, I am I'm incredibly excited about what we're getting ready to talk about. Um to be able to say that we have found and obtained and entered into a due diligence period on property to build a new school. Uh that is the first step
065um in being shovel ready and we have before you tonight the opportunity to really do that. Um I know Miss Elliot I see you back there smiling ear to ear. She she would love a new school and we would love nothing more but to be able to provide uh the students from Marian Elementary and Eastfield Global Magnet School a com a combined school and we do feel like we found some property for it and that's that's the first big step. Um, as you can imagine, um, quite a bit of work's went into that. And, uh, I'm very proud of the work that's that's taken place here. And I appreciate Miss Rampy and your efforts in it, Mr. Marsh and your efforts. And board, I just want to say thank you again, uh, building and grounds
066particular and and finance committee for really coming out and and helping us through this process. These these are a lot of moving parts to get this work done in 120 days. when when we entered into this about April the 28th I think was the final day when the when the board approved it, the commissioners approved it, um 120 days felt like a long time. Um this summer 120 days have felt like we needed another 120 days. But I'm proud to say that what we've got before you tonight is just that we've got a a resolution. Before Mr. Frank reads that resolution. I do want to point out a few things and I wrote this in the weekly review for you as well. Miss Rampy, who has been down this road before and has given us
067very good guidance, um recommended that we increase the amount that we request uh not for the property but for the extra type testing and all the other samples that we ended up doing, which we've already had to take care of those. So now we would uh include that into these finances. So, you will note that the property amount in this resolution is for $1.7 million and the uh total that she was requested was up to $2 million. Mr. Rampy, am I leaving anything out? I think that's very important. And for those of you who were um on the board when uh Old Fort was built, you do I'm sure you remember how how many different title things and all the other pieces that come into play during these as well as attorney fees and all
068the other things that then can be lumped in with the sale of this land. So do want to point that out before I turn it over to Mr. Frank. >> Any questions for Dr. Grip before I read the resolution? Mcdow County Board of Education board resolution authorizing purchase of certain real property. Whereas the McDow County Board of Education here and after the board has entered into contract negotiations to acquire a certain parcel of land located at the intersection of East Court, US Highway 70 and Ridge Road, City of Marion, McDow County, North Carolina. Mcdow County parial ID number of the property is 1712-1822-9046 [Music] consisting of approximately 34.01 01 collectibly the property. Whereas at this regular meeting of April 14, 2025, the board of commissioners for McDow County duly approved the purchase price of 1,700,000.
069The that's the purchase price for the property. Such approval being required by statute prior to acquisition of property for school construction purposes. Whereas the board approved a contract for purchase of the property at its regular meeting of April 28th, 2025, including all terms and conditions agreed to by the board for purchase of the property, among which is included the purchase price. Whereas the board has performed all necessary due diligence investigations of the property by and through its administrators who after consultation with appropriate consultants now advise that the property appears to be suitable for school purposes and recommend acquisition of the property. Whereas services to perform said investigations of the property were incurred at substantial expense to the board expended from currently budgeted funds. additional expenses incurred during acquisition of the property which expenses the board
070finds should be reimbursed through local sales tax funds. Whereas the board desires to clarify the the authority of the board chair, superintendent and finance officer to proceed with acquisition of the property. Now therefore be it resolved by the board as follows. Section one, the board hereby affirms its intent to acquire the property pursuant to the terms of its previously approved contract for the same. Section two, the superintendent, board chair, and finance officer are hereby authorized to execute on behalf of and act as the act of the board and in consultation upon consultation with the board's legal counsel such documents as they shall deem necessary for expedient to the acquisition of the property. Section three. The finance officer is hereby authorized to work with McDow County Finance Director to develop such project accounts and or ordinances
071as she shall deem necessary for expedient to obtain funds sufficient to pay the purchase price and thereafter to expend the purchase price and such other funds from budgeted funds as are required to pay costs of acquisition of the property. Funds drawn down and expended for the purposes authorized by this resolution shall not exceed $2 million. Mr. Chairman, it's an honor and privilege to make a motion to approve the resolution as just presented. >> Mr. Chairman, I'll second that motion. Okay, we have a motion by Mr. Schuford and a second by Mr. Baker to accept the resolution. And uh I uh ask is there any discussion at this point? And if there is no discussion, I'm asking for all those in favor to signify by raising your right hand, which is unanimous. And I'm going to
072read this uh last paragraph. Adopted at the regular meeting of the Mcdow County Board of Education this 11th day of August 2025 upon motion by board member Mr. Schuford seconded by board member Mr. Baker and passed by a vote of nine in favor and zero against. And of course I'll sign it. Dr. Rit will >> Can I say something? I wanted to interject um and I just hesitated uh very supportive of of what we're doing. We had the advantage of seeing the master plan in that in that presentation, how the school sits on the property, how it how it'll be accessed, and and I would just suggest as quickly as we can that the full board see that and have a presentation on it >> because I it I I would be hesitant having not
073seen it to say, "Wait a minute. I want to see how it how it fits and how it looks, but and it looks good." But I think we should do that. >> Yes, sir. >> Uh I I'd just like to say one thing after having read this. I am so touched by what this board has done so quickly. And it's it's all working together to get things done. And this by no means guarantees us a new school, but it sure helps us to uh be in the limelight when it comes time for those state grants to come out. And Lord have mercy, we're we're past due at Marion Elementary and uh Eastfield Global Magnet School for a new school. And uh I just I can't thank the buildings and grounds finance and every person on
074this board for the efforts that you put into and I'm going to tell you uh Mr. Marsh, I certainly do appreciate the efforts that you put into it, especially we had two parcels of land we were looking at and thank goodness everybody did their due diligence and we we selected what we feel like is the very best parcel of land that could be offered us at this time. May I say, Mr. Frank, also that you didn't have a lot of choices in Mcdow County. We think we've got a really good, really good choice, but there's not 30, 40, 50 acres laying around here in Mcdow County that you can build something like that on and we feel blessed to have it. Thank all of you again for all your work. >> I want to say
075thank you to Mr. Abernathy on suggesting that. I love that idea of showing it to the whole board. I wonder too expanding on that. Is there a possibility they could do it in an open session where it's on TV to get people excited about the future of McDow County and maybe some teachers see the plans and bring something to light in an email to us. Have you thought about this in the building or this? Because they're the feet that's walking through the hallways. >> Absolutely. And um we're certainly glad to do any of that. But I will I want to point out that that's just you know very very rough. It could fit here just showing where it would fit and and and simil and simple design. Um but the biggest point was to show
076that it it absolutely fits the property. Um because you know it's fantastic piece of property. Um but just like any other property there's roads and all the other stuff that goes with it. So I don't have any issue with showing that. It may be a while before we're quite to that point. What I can say is um I don't mind. We've got the rendering of that. I don't mind to put that in the weekly review for you guys. Uh so y'all can lay eyes on what we're looking at right now. There's no issue with that at all. Um just knowing that that could change, you know, a little here or there. Um you know, moving forward, especially with as we look at building design like you're talking about. Maybe it's longer on one end or
077longer on the other end or the playgrounds here, but it's just a very rough sketch at this point. Uh simple. Here's the land. Here's GIS simple outlines. So, nothing nothing no architectural full designs or anything, but enough to get you excited for sure. And uh I just I I want to let's let's give this board a round of applause for pulling this off. [Applause] >> I'd like to say I think Dr. Grid is downplaying it a little bit so there's no disappointment. You're not going to be disappointed. It's you know I it's it's going to be good. >> It's going to be short. Great. >> Thank you. Yes, sir. Up next, we've got Miss Dattle, and she's coming to you tonight on our second read uh reading for board policies. Uh there were a lot
078of them. >> Yes, sir. >> A whole lot of them, and we feel like we're in a good place with them. This is the final read tonight and we will ask for um a board approval following this. Now, keep in mind that the that the policy committee, Miss Angela Helms, as chair of that committee, did the work initially, so technically this is the third read. Uh, Mr. Frank. Yes, sir. >> Uh, Mr. Frank, Mr. Abernathy, Dr. Grit, and members of the board, I come tonight with just our final read of our, um, spring policy updates. Again, if you will remember, um, when I presented last month, not only are these our spring policy updates, but they also bring us in 100% compliance with any and all executive orders um, that were issued. So meaning that
079language that needed to be updated is all updated in every policy. So this evening will be the final read and I just wanted to ask if there were any questions for me um as we move forward in this process. All right. I do want to say how appreciative I am of uh Mrs. Helms and our policy committee. um I felt like we had um made some great strides and um through that u looking at these policy updates and I appreciate being able to work with each of you. So thank you >> Ms. Helms. Uh I want to piggy back on what she just said. from a person who came on the board with policies three years behind. Uh this is I'm just so happy that we're staying ahead of the game and more important than
080that I know how you are stickler for policy and I appreciate the job you Thank you. >> Make a motion if you'd like. >> So Mr. Chairman, I make a motion that we accept all policy updates as presented by Mrs. >> We have a motion by Mrs. Helms and a second by Mr. Schuford to accept the uh policy revisions as presented by Mrs. Dattle. Is there any further discussion at this time? With no further discussion, all those in favor signify by raising your right hand, which is a unanimous vote. Just like to thank the committee for their work on that. That was not a little bit of reading. Mr. McGinness, I think we sent you home with a book about this big, and I know there was a lot of policy reading, so we appreciate
081you. Thank you. >> Go ahead. New business. >> Uh, up next, we have new business. And I see Miss Ham's made her way to the podium. This is our federal programs plan and budget. I'll let Miss Hamby talk a little bit about this. This is very routine for what we do every year. >> Yes, sir. Thank you so much, uh, Chairman Frank, members of the board, and Dr. Grit. It is my pleasure to present the 2526 federal program aotments and plans for McDow County Schools. I would like to share the uh proposed budget for this year and the plan overview with you at this time. and those should have been included in your um packet. So the title one, our supplemental funding for our lowincome schools provides a little over $1.7 million. And most of
082this funding is allocated uh to schools, our elementary schools uh for staffing needs above and beyond the current staff aotment, supplemental supplies and materials, professional development, and parent and family engagement. schools this year will receive upon your approval a little over 1.4 million of this year's budget. Um, and we're excited to be able to do that. That comes out to be approximately around $950 per student uh identified um for our elementary schools. Also, at the bottom of the page, you will find a list of our title one districtwide uh instructional initiatives, and that is where those extra funds. We also had some additional carryover funds. We try to hold on to some carryover funds to start us out each year. And so you will see those included uh in that aotment. Next up on your
083list, we have our title two funds. And these funds are used to build systems of support for excellent teaching and leadership. And this year we we received around $236 uh,000. Uh this is down a little bit from last year. Last year we received around 287,000 and so it is a little bit less. Uh but uh with some good planning we were able um we're going to be able to stay the course even uh with uh a little bit less funding this year. Uh this year's funding will focus on developing teacher efficacy, re the reduction in class size and leadership, professional development opportunities uh that are made available to staff and administrators as needed. Also, we have our title three funds and these are used to supplement and support our English learners. We support our ML
084students by providing an ML assistance, supplies and professional development. you. As you can see, this is a small amount of money uh as $44,624, but it is an increase from last year by a few dollars. Uh we allocate funding for our title one set aside each year for our McKenna Vento homeless students, and this year we have allocated $45,000 and these funds support uh case workers and various needs to meet our most atrisisk students. We also have our title four grant uh which is $131,550 and this is up from last year by a little bit. Uh last year we received $129,136. These funds support well-rounded education, safe and healthy learning environments, and we also use these funds to support uh our behavioral supports in the classroom and at schools. Our last allocation that you will
085rece uh see in your packet is our RLIS uh funds and these funds are have not been announced at this time. Uh we're we're continuing to hold on. Uh but at the same time, we uh do have our carryover funds and so this should not be a worry of the board or of the public or for our schools. Um and so uh with some strategic planning we will have enough funding to get through this year even if there were not uh funds to be dropped and then we could look at what our needs are for next year. Um but I will make the board aware as soon as these uh funds become available if and when they do. Uh should the RLIS funds become available, we will use them for student support and academic enrichment
086focused on reach and our day treatment staffing at uh West Marian Elementary. At this time, I would welcome any questions that you have as a board. >> Miss Hamby, I know the title three, it's not a big big pot of money by any means. Do you think that is enough uh for our programs here considering how many uh Latin uh students we have the population or do you have a a target number that should be higher based on the other programs? >> So, we have received an increase. The only thing I would say is remember these are supplemental funds and these are not the funds that do pay for our uh ML staff that is provided by the state. This is in addition. >> Okay. >> And so what we do uh in order to
087meet the students needs uh is that uh at Eastfield I was going to point to Miss Elliot. She's not back there. At Eastfield Glo Global Magnet they do have a high population of ML students and so we provide them with a certified staff and an assistant. And so this is enough funding to support that assistant that we have there uh to support that school. >> And we've filled all of our ESL positions that we left had some vacancies. >> Uh that is correct. So uh we do have we we took a reduction there in that in that area, but at the same time any position that we have has been filled at this point. >> Okay. All right. Thank you. >> Thank you. Thank you, sir. >> And you're requesting a um action that you
088take. >> Yes, sir. So, if there's no other questions, I would request board approval for the 2526 federal plans and budget. >> I'll help you out. >> Hold on. >> Maybe not yet. >> I'm sorry. I >> I want to publicly talk just a few minutes about u what what Miss Ham's done with our with our federal programs. Uh this is particularly important this year where there was a scare on whether some of these funds would drop. Title one we knew was going to drop. uh title three, four, and and the the others that that she mentioned there, including the RLIS, which we're still on on waiting for. What Miss Hamby has done, and I know I wrote about this in my weekly review, but I think it it's important to share with the folks
089out there, too. What Miss Hamby has done has over the years of being in in federal programs now for about 10 years, right? We've talked about that. So over the 10 years, she has made sure that she carries enough over so we operate a year behind. So when all so many other districts were extremely concerned about federal program, we knew we were okay this year. Um so that's why we didn't necessarily hit the panic button because we knew we were in good shape for this upcoming year. So, I just want to publicly acknowledge the work that you've done there to make sure that we're in good shape and just say I as a superintendent, I really appreciate that. >> Mr. Ampy's taught me well. >> Absolutely. So, that makes us uh in a position where
090we're not having to have our hand out in this situation. We're take trying to take care of oursel in that. So, just wanted to point that out. And at this time, M Miss Ham is absolutely right. We would entertain a motion. Mr. Frank, >> do I hear a motion? I'll make the motion that we accept. >> We have a motion by Mr. Subtles and a second by Miss Helms to uh accept the uh federal uh programs plan and budget. Is there any further discussion? All those in favor signify by raising your right hand, which is a unanimous vote. Thank you very much. >> Thank you. I appreciate each and every one of you. Thank you. >> Thank you. >> The next item on the agenda, item 13, is board reports. And I'll start with you,
091Mr. Subtles, with curriculum and instruction. >> We have nothing at this time. I'm just waiting on Miss Hamy's next broad idea that >> it's coming. No. Okay. I'm I'm looking forward to it. So, >> Mr. Burksdale, you've been pretty busy tonight. You have anything additional? Just want to thank everybody for all the meetings and all the walking around we did on properties. There's a lot more to it than what people realize, but I thank all committee. Thank you, >> Mr. Schuford finance. >> Just say a thanks to the board for it approval of the resolution and also the two projects that we discussed earlier. Thank you so much. >> Go ahead on in Head Start if you would. Do you have anything >> going in Head Start if you have? >> Oh, and I do
092not have anything to report on Head Start. They had their um meeting today and I talked with uh Dr. Delaney and u she assures me all is well and and being kind of a outstanding leader. I know it is. So look forward to being uh part of that next meeting. I was not part of it today. >> Miss Helms on policy. Nothing else to report at this time. >> Okay. Uh, Mr. Baker and Mr. McGinness. NJOTC. >> Uh, yes, Mr. Chairman. I'd like to ask Miss Woodman, would you like to say anything about the NJTC camp that we went through and saw? Would you like to >> hear about it? It's >> good practice. It was a phenomenal opportunity for our >> Thank you so much for not talking about the trip down and back.
093>> I was going to say she was an amazing driver. Yeah, even with three people telling her where to go and know she she figured it out. She figured it out. She and uh You have anything, Mr. Janice? >> Yeah. Just in my own defense, I accidentally left out that one turn. So, >> it's surprising we made it. Okay, at this time we'll go to item number 14 on the agenda, which is approval of consent agenda. And uh I want to remind everybody if there's anything in particular you want pull and discuss separate, we'll be happy to do that. And if there isn't, uh we'll I'll entertain a motion to approve the consent agenda as you have it in your packet. >> U Mr. Chairman, Mr. Abanathy was just wondering if it's really safe sixth
094and seventh graders, you know, to go to Washington inest. >> Well, did you want to make the motion, Mr. >> I will just stay safe. >> Okay. We have a motion to approve the consent agenda. Okay. Thank you. We have a second. >> I'll second. Okay. Mr. Body doesn't mean that all anything happened, it all falls back on him. >> It's not Las Vegas. It what happens there doesn't stay there. Okay. >> No, sir. >> Okay. Uh at this time, we have a a motion by Mr. Abernathy and a second by Mr. Subtles on approval of the consent agenda. Is there any further discussion? All those in favor of consent agenda approve uh signify by raising your right hand which is unanimous and we don't need a continuation on close session. >> And at this
095time uh we'll take action on close session items both certified and non-certified. And we're going to do this a little differently tonight. We have uh one position we want to vote on separately. But at this time, I'll entertain a motion for other than the separate item for the certified non-certified motion to accept those personnel considerations. >> I'll make the motion that we accept those considerations. I'll second. >> Okay. Uh for personnel considerations and we have one more separate, but Mr. Subtles makes a motion, Mr. Shuford makes the second. Is there any further discussion? And all those in favor signify by raising your right hand, which is unanimous. And on the other item, let me get my paperwork so I don't miss anything. Okay. On uh appointment or to the assistant superintendent for operations, auxiliary services
096and athletics, which is Mr. Marsh. I'll entertain a motion to approve that at this time. >> I'd like to make a motion to approve that. Second. Okay. Uh, at this time we have a motion u from Mr. Barksdale and a second by Mr. Abernathy to approve Mr. Marsh's appointment to assistant superintendent. Is there any further discussion? With no further discussion, all those in favor signify by raising your right hand. Okay. And all those with oppose all those with opposing view signify by raising your right hand. Okay. Okay. Okay, it is a 72 vote for that position which there is majority carries. And uh the announcements item uh 12 or wait a minute I'm sorry. >> Yeah. Okay. Announcements. No board work session August 25th. That's that's good. Board of Education regular session meeting will be
097September the 8th. And with that being said, I'll enter I'll entertain a motion to adjourn. >> Did you can you repeat that? September 8th. >> Uh on the announcements September 8th, >> I'm sorry, >> 2025. >> I'll entertain a motion to adjourn. >> We have a second. Are you going to stay here a while? >> I'll second. I'm >> all those excuse me is there any further discussion on adjournment? All those in favor signify by raising your right hand which is unanimous at uh looks like about 7:28.