001e e everybody we usually start with public comments at all of our meetings we have two speakers tonight I'd like to go ahead and read the directions for public comment before we bring our speakers up the following are the rules for public comment stated in board policy 2310 speakers will be limited to three minutes per person there will be a timer set up and we will alert you when your time has expired I would like to remind you that the board members generally will not respond to public comment except to request clarification once the speaker's name is called they will approach the podium and state their issue the following are not permissible topics for public comment matters involving specific personel employees of the Board of Education including employment conditions or complaints about specific employees complaints
002about an employees should be directed to our HR office matters involving specific students in the school system including student disciplinary disciplinary matters and obscene or vogar language will not be tolerated nor will condu conduct or language that disrupts a meeting or interferes with the board's ability to carry out its work as board chairman I may immediately terminate any comments which violate these rules and the first person we have for public comment is Gerard Morrison good evening Gerard welcome backk good evening Mr chair School Board staff always good to see you all happy Black History Month everybody um today I wanted to make sure we reflect on those who have helped this manifest where we are today so came to mind about Macy McQueen the first black woman elected to the school board my street Charlotte
003Street beloved Charlotte Street Mac McAn first black elected to the school board and to the County Commissioners JW mask senior and Junior who served during the segregation over all the school systems Allan Mass senior who was also in that capacity under a principal Co mom is actually here tonight it's her first time she moved back to the area so it's her first time in uh here and we got a another guy who's coming right behind me he's new to the area but he's serious about the community so want to welcome but also the digs HS Reverend HS digs this Tillman Mr James Han Mrs Han all these folks help let me know when it's 30 seconds please Cory you got the timer right there oh high tech go Rich County showing out today that's what
004I'm talking about progress um Pine Street School rosenwall schools East Hamlet School Capital Highway School Hoffman um Mineral Springs make sure that these histories do not just go on deaf ears it's a lot more may not hit it all today but want folks with nothing else to be provoke and say what happened help us research some and not just the kids of the day that the older ones we need to make sure we research and we know thyself and thy history and on that my home room teacher she's in a senior living facility now miss Dolores foreman and uh she Miss Trudy wat because they dealt a lot with me I didn't know I was a math star but and Coach Mitchell would they made me learn it so math always been a thing to
005me so the Arts is the manifestation of stem but on Black History Month just want make sure these names and the public if y'all don't mind we can yell out some names with me that you all can remember at this time whether they're living or uh passed on any names everybody else wants to say I remember rever Moody he was one of our custodians for 30 years Charles Moody yeah has passed away and Bunny Lee wall other Mary Fowler yes Amy sh Fuller sh ENT graduate aie Pride about 10 seconds there we go you got something too man come on come on Cory you got it Mr Dupri Miss Ruth Watkins Dr JC Mr JC Watkins quick Pete Peterson Bobby little yes time's up thank thank you Mr chairman thank you all for participating some
006really great people great great had opportunity to work with a lot of them Mr ladimore ladimir yes sir lir ladimir yes yes retired Marine I moved uh to Richmond County here about two years ago and I see a lot of changes kind of happening so I wanted to keep it real quick I'm not want to kind of draw on I kind of prepare what I want to say um this is talking about diversity um diversity equity and inclusion these are not just buzzword everyone uh they are principles that have transformed workplaces schools and communities for the better and who has benefited from all this all of us employees with diverse backgrounds have gained access to opportunities that were once not reached or Out Of Reach for them leading to Innovation and economic growth which this
007County definitely needs women and people of color have broken barriers in Industries where they were historically kind of depressed and not allowed to have access to Veterans and individuals with disabilities and even uh the lgbtq community have found work where the workplace has gotten better for them and they're judged on their talents and not on their differences but the benefits don't stop here business with businesses and communities and school systems with strong diversity inclusion initiatives see higher performance and profitability schools with inclusive environments produce well-rounded culturally competent graduates and society as a whole becomes stronger and everyone has a seat at the table so I want to make sure that I understand a lot of things are changing and we like to when you hear the the acronym Dei is almost like a buzzword and
008I want to put emphasis behind it diversity Equity inclusion those are the things that have shaped me as a well-rounded person I grew up in a country town with cattle but I also played rugby for Clemson University but I also went to the Marine Corps I also go snowing in Aspen I'm a very well-rounded person because of the people I completely surround myself so I can empathize with different groups and I can maybe not understand everything but I can at least have a ground group understanding of what you're trying to overcome so to not be inclusive to everyone not to not have women included to not have African-Americans included to not to have white men included as well in these conversations you're only selling yourself short thank you lmer thank you very much and thank
009you for your service to this country well welcome to the February 11th 2025 school board meeting the board declares there is a quorum present of board members for this meeting will the board please come to order Mr E I will turn it over to you you join me in a moment of silence thank you if you face the FL flag please pledge to the flag of the United States of America and to the for stands one nation God indivisible withy and justice for all thank you thank you Mr tman Mr eth board members you have the open minutes from the January 14th and the January 28th work session are there any changes needed to those minutes I'll make a motion make a motion by Mr ethd to approve those minutes second second by Mr Mason
010any discussion all approved by saying I I all opposed they are approved thank you Dr phell are there any changes to the agenda no sir there are no changes okay great so under the consent of the board we will approve the agenda and we are moving right along we'll go to our business part of the meeting and we will call on M chairman Whitley Jer go down first good evening chairman SFI Dr frell and members of the board I'm excited to introduce our inspiring Excellence Award winners for tonight and we will start with Richmond Early College High School with principal Joy Harrison thank you Cameron good evening chairman members of the board Dr frell um thank you for having me tonight first I would like to recognize Miss Sandra McDonald she's the school counselor at
011Richmond early college and she is been chosen by her colleagues for the inspiring Excellence award in recognition of her unwavering dedication to Student Success she's in her 18th year with Richmond County schools and this is her eighth year as the counselor at reach Mrs McDonald is known for her compassion and caring nature and she goes above and beyond to support students in both their academic and personal growth she serves as the adviser for the fellowship of Christian students club and fosters a strong sense of community and Leadership additionally Mrs mcdonal plays a crucial role in guiding seniors through the college application and scholarship process ensuring that every student has the resources and encouragement they need to achieve their goals Richmond early college is certainly a better place because Mrs McDonald is on our team Mrs
012McDonald [Applause] than also chosen by our colleagues for the inspiring Excellence award is Miss Butler this is due to her exceptional dedication and service at Richmond Early College with 19 years experience in Richmond County Schools including 17 years at reach she is truly a jack of all trades although she is technically our bookkeeper and the data manager her daily roles Encompass Technology support student scheduling the student nurse attendance clerk Supply and ordering and so much more all of these things make her an invaluable part of the school Miss Butler is also known for building strong trusting relationships with both students and parents and she takes the time to know every student by name as the face of the front office she is a constant source of support and positiv positivity at reach and we are
013so blessed to have her [Applause] and next up from West dring Camp Elementary School we have Miss Joy Watson good evening chairman Dr frell and members of the board our outstanding teacher assistant award goes to miss ritaa Woodard her exceptional contributions at West Rockingham are through dedicated service outstanding support to our students staff and Community she provides invaluable one-on-one attention to students requiring additional academic support help helping them build the confidence and Achieve and their successful goals maintain detailed records for students behavior shown remarkable flexibility and adapting to the different teaching styles and classroom needs across multiple settings from prek to fifth grade created and prepared educational materials to enhance the lesson Effectiveness and student understanding also when we go and talk about our student support she consistently offers the patient nurturing support to students
014facing academic and emotional challenges some morning Miss Woodard comes in and she's a teacher assistant and then she covers the class and then she's our nurse by the afternoon attending the front office um so she helps in multiple ways and is always there in the evening for any volunteer um events that we may have and now we recognize Miss r [Applause] our next excellent award goes to Tammy loer she teaches first grade she is distinguished accom accomplishments R um she's Innovative teaching methods with unwavering dedication to our school She's created an exclusive classroom environment where every student feels valued empowered to reach their full potential she's implemented Creative Learning strategies and Blended this traditional teaching methods with steam making learning both engaging and effective maintain outstanding communication with parents and creates a collaborative partnership and
015enhances the Student Success overall she initiates cross-curricular projects that bring learning to life and meaningful connections across those subjects her impact on Student Success is Achieve remarkable student growth in both academic performance and their social emotional development she inspires the love of learning every day and it this extends beyond the classroom she Fosters critical thinking skills and problem solving abilities to prepare students for their future academic challenges have [Applause] now you have some special recognition I do have very special recognition um so tonight we wanted to take a moment to honor one of our very own um one of our school board members Mr Ronald tman was recently awarded the badge of Excellence by the North Carolina department Department of Public Safety um it's the Department's highest honor which is given to people who make
016outstanding contributions across the state into their Community Mr Tillman was selected in the category of public service and volunteerism and I'm going to share the definition for that category it's described as honoring individuals who make significant contributions through their involvement in community and public service project driven purely by commitment to serve without expectation of reward or recognition I believe everybody in this room will agree that that is a perfect definition of Mr ronal tman much like the peers who nominated you for this award every single one of us are honored to serve with you we appreciate everything you do thank you for your service to Rich M County schools and being an advocate for our students youall want a picture R not get out Rd you want all the Perfect all right one two three
017very good thank you guys [Applause] yes chairman safield Dr phoh members of the board I'm happy to recognize our MLK sa and poster contest winners uh the Richmond County Martin Luther King Jr celebration Foundation sponsored is annual M Junior ESS and poster contest in collaboration with Richmond County Public Schools this year our students submitted essays and posters to reflect the following theme Mission possible protecting freedom justice and democracy I can't say enough positive words about the um quality of the submissions this year some of them are um exhibited um in our reception area um of the central office um thanks to our teachers and the leadership of art teach teacher Mentor Karen good um for for these wonderful wonderful submissions um on January 20th two students were recognized at the MLK Jr um celebration lunch
018in for winning first place in the poster and essay contest um our first place poster winner is Brian berera he's an eighth grader in Hamlet middle school and um this is his artwork right here um displayed in front of us he did a wonderful job want him to come up recognize him congratulations Brian I believe his family's here his principal's here as him to come up we hope Brian will let us keep it for a while um we're going to put it back on our wall in the reception area but uh he did a beautiful job very very sure yes thank you and now it's my pleasure to recognize our first place essay winner she's a nth grade student at reach um Early College um Adrienne South Hall we want her to come up and
019to um read her [Applause] essay um hello imagine living in a well I'm sorry Mission possible imagine living in a world where you can't speak your mind where your rights are ignored and you have no control over your own life thus the world Martin Luther King Jr fought to change he dreamed of a world of freedom justice and democracy and his letter from that birmingh hel jail cell brings out the power of that dream it's a call to action a reminder that ideals aren't just lofty words but the very Foundation of a better future a future we all have in hand in building what does freedom truly mean to you it's not just about physical freedom but the freedom to think your own thoughts express your own ideas and make your own choices King understood
020this deeply freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor but it must be dep demanded by the oppressed he wrote Freedom isn't a gift it's something we must fight for Challenge and justice for and demand as a right King's fight for civil right was a fight for this very Freedom the freedom to be ourselves and reach our full potentials Justice is about fairness and equality for everyone it's about a society where everyone has the same opportunities and is treated with dignity and respect King's powerful words Injustice anywhere is a threat to Justice anywhere reminds us that Injustice against one person diminishes us all we can't SP stand by and watch Injustice happen we have to speak up stand up and fight for what's right King's vision of a just World requires us to be active
021participants challenging democracy and fighting for equality democracy is a tool we use to build a society based on freedom and Justice it gives us a voice a way to participate in decisions that shape our life it allows us to hold our leaders accountable and push for a positive change King understood that democracy is essential for protecting our freedoms and ensuring justice for all but democracy isn't a spectator sport it requires us to get involved we have to vote speak out and organize to make sure our voices are heard and our TR our government truly represents the people King's dream of a just and equable a society depends on a vibrant and participatory democracy King's Legacy is a constant reminder that the fight for freedom justice and democracy is a journey not a destination it takes
022constant vigilance courage and commitment to Build a Better World for ourselves and for generations to come his words and actions challenge us to ask ourself what are we what am I doing to protect these essential values how am I contributing to a more just and Equitable Society the answers to these questions will determine the future we build together [Applause] thank you [Applause] that is the conclusion of our recognition so if everybody's GNA move might might be the time to move now because we'll go through it pretty quick thank you Mr Ingram and Miss Whitley for the recog special recognitions tonight so are we G are we still going to do Farm Bureau uh Miss Regina ybe yes is that right ybe ybe right um so good evening chairman saterfield Dr frell and members of the
023board um on behalf of Greg Norton uh we would like to just acknowledge and give you some updates on some things coming out of the CTE World um so we have Regina and we have Mark here Regina is going to talk about her Farm Bureau grant that she has secured for our students and Mark Bell is going to talk about Esports at Richmond senior so I'm G let you go first good evening good evening thank you for inviting me um I am at El middle school and we're piloting the E30 program which is doing touching on career Explorations and a lot of different careers for our students uh I am a business um all of my experien is in business so this year with my eighth graders we are doing plant systems animal systems and
024sustainable agriculture um Farm Bureau has a classroom program and so I wrote the Grant and with the $500 we've got a greenhouse some shelving for our Greenhouse a whole envelope full of different seeds and we have some carrots sprouting in a hydroponic um thing with water that we already had from the CTE program and we've got some cabbage plants coming up in little bathroom Dixie cups that are going to go in our um Greenhouse soon and we've got some uh cabbage and some cilantro that the students are going to get to take home with them and hopefully we'll have some produce for them to get to take home with them too um and I have since written the grant found out that my sixth grade teachers in science they actually put plant leaves into the
025microscopes for the kids to look at in the science program so hopefully the Farm Bureau Grant will have the plant that have leaves to help our sixth graders and spread this across our whole school that way thank you thank you so [Applause] much Mr chair ma'am members of the board Dr frell community and other staff my name is Mark Bell I'm a proud CTE teacher at Richmond senior I teach the graphic arts I talk a lot so I wrote some notes down and they know I talk a lot I'm here incredibly proud to share the remarkable achieve of Richmond senior's uh first ever Esports team during the inaugural season we began an ambitious Endeavor thanks to uh Mr Ingram over here listen to me talk and stuff like that quickly transformed into a story of
026dedication teamwork and impressive skills of more than a dozen students who are doing something that they loved while representing Richmond senior high school and the county despite being one of the only large schools with no gaming lab the Raider team made significant impact in the Esports Community North Carolina competing against established teams from across the state they not only held their own but soar to finish third place only behind Cedar Ridge and North ano High School in the entire State against a whole bunch of great schools that have established Esports programs they did this feat uh it speaks of talent passion and hard work of our students um our students demonstrated resilience creativity determination utilizing the individual strengths to come together as a team with little adult supervision their bill to adapt learn and Excel
027in a highly competitive environment despite having to practice and compete on personal devices and makeshift devices at home um this is a testament to their commitment and to the sport and to uh each other and I do have two students with me I have Mr William bis and I have javanni Steele this gentleman right here he was our team captain he did everything he got to talk to the adults he had to talk to the state you know as we before we're one uh game away from going to state championships in Charlotte so just an incredible Testament what we can do because for us uh being from this type of County we give not everybody could wear the Raider diamond on a uniform but we give them another Raider Diamond playing e Sports they did
028a great job so that's I just wanted to just recognize these two students and uh his mom's Tiffany's here too so she's proud and can you get a couple pictures with them sure can yeah yeah because he's are two great kids CU if it wasn't for the parents you know supporting because this is something new you're walking up you want me to take a picture you're walking up there with I thought you wanted me to be no oh no it's okay yes you were there go ahead it's the rules yeah we yeah there you go every time one two three okay one more right one two three perfect thank you congratulations Mr Johnson good evening how are you sir good evening I'm good standing up right after last night so that's a good thing good
029game my good win last night thank you coach coach pedig did a good job so Bo flying solo tonight for various reasons so I'll be I'll be pretty brief we don't have to stand up and take any pictures we're going to recognize uh two teams and one individual athletically the uh Hamlet Middle School I still want to say junior high a lot of times cross country team won the conference Championship this year so you know good accomplishment for them the cheerleaders at the high school let's see if I can get this right without without having in front of me it's a ton twister the North Carolina High School Athletic Association for a division one one co-ed non tumbling state championship I think that's correct quite the accomplishment for them we recognized them recently at a
030game and then individually Kamari Morgan great young man great football player played East West game he also recently won the conference in wrestling at his weight class and he'll be competing in regionals this weekend and has a very legitimate chance to win state championship he's lost one match this year and that was to the defending state champion so hopefully he'll uh he'll get on the road the next few weeks B that makees us all proud told you to be brief that's all I got tonight hey coach could you give me could you give me that cheerleading division let me go let me go get my phone out real quick James I did want to tell you that the athletic facilities at the high school are looking tremendous you know I know it's a lot of
031work to to keep on doing that but the soccer field you know the football field even though it's no football right now the baseball field and what Coach Brown is doing out there it looks gorgeous and of course the practice field in softball field and it's just so kudos to the staff out there say that's 99% of our coaches but probably 100% that's I'll be honest the Field Works not my area of expertise and those guys do a good job anytime Dr Carter asked to meet about a field I I I'm bringing Brad or I'm bringing Eric or I'm bringing Chris or or whoever it is with me to make sure I don't I don't mess something up so those guys do a great job well thank you thank you James where are those Regional
032wrestling's o green level high school y put me on the spot with the questions green level I want to say car but could be Apex I get green level and green I get green level and Green Hope a little mixed up sometimes um this is just regionals this is regionals you're start you're going to start asking me a lot of questions about wrestling and I'm going to give you a wrong answer still learning some of them I I would know the difference I I stab just wild I'll guess I think the top four will qualify for state in each region I could be wrong right there so but I think he's got a very legitimate shot to to make the state um overall there's eight wrestlers I think competing this weekend it was six to
033eight or's some stuff with qualification and seeding go on and then uh I think coach will be expecting maybe two to three to advance to the states Mari also being one of them it is carry North Carolina that's what the internet can do for you every once while you get a guess right thank you James thank you good even oh yeah good for him eventually eventually we get all of our people in on the same page we have a sign cereem been a little adventurous here lately see uh reschedule the board meeting conversation with Dr Smith good evening chairman saterfield Dr frell and members of the board it has come to our attention that our Arts Al live programs in March are scheduled for a Tuesday afternoon that is also a board meeting um this
034event lasts from 3:00 to 7 and so um with the art showcase first and then they have a six o'clock band performance um and it is a districtwide event uh which means all schools will be represented and so typically you know we invite District leadership because it is a district event um this date was set last year before we moved our uh board meetings to the second Tuesday and so it was a complete oversight um nothing short of just a complete oversight so because this is a districtwide event we wanted to bring it to you all and to your attention in case you wanted to move that board meeting night um again it begins at 3 with the art showcase the band performances begin at 6 um so just wanted to bring that to your
035attention in case you wanted to consider moving that Monday the 10th at five o'clock fa motion second second by m Orby any discussion Eva are you okay with that all in favor by saying I all opposed thank you is mve to the 10th thank you Dr Smith Dr Smith you are up again with school calendar okay so good evening if you all remember last year uh we surveyed all staff to find out specific needs and wants for the academic calendar for this school year um it asks for more teacher work days specifically at the end of every grading period both parent teacher conference days to be full days and more site-based PD this school Year's calendar for 2425 meets all of those requ Quest so in order to create more work days we just simply
036extended the instructional uh minutes to ensure that we still met calendar law okay for this year our Tac teacher advisory Council met in late fall to discuss possible calendar options for the 2526 school year that again included requests from our previous meetings with them survey data as well as any changes that might need to happen for the 2526 school year calendar uh we provided the TAC teacher advisory Council three options um that met the specific requirements or requests that um each member discussed with their individual school so those options included requests like more teacher work days um at the end of each grading period two full day parent teacher conference days they asked that our spring parent teacher conference today be moved a little earlier in the spring semester uh there was requests for our
037calendar to end by Memorial Day as do o other districts semester one ending before Christmas break just like the early college and breaking up the usual long stretch from February to March where there are very few breaks so those were the requests that we got this year from tac and they discussed this with their schools so our teacher advisory Council took back the information had conversations um based on that feedback we brought them to two options and you have those before you in board dos and we gave those to you um last month so based on those two options we went back and resurveyed High School staff um and talked to the high school principls um specifically about option two um and to get some discussion going about the shortened first semester and uh the
038feedback from those administrators and speaking with their staff uh was that this would be okay to send to the all district for a final vote so as you guys see in board docs the calendar was sent to rcsl staff two weeks ago and we had 525 staff members vote of those 525 we had 75% choose option two um and you all have the specifics outlined for each option um and this is an action item so we will need board approval to move forward with adopting option two as our 2526 school year calendar any discussion or questions I have a question sure and I'm fine with what they have done okay I think the teachers should kind of own the calendar as much as the administrators but I do have a question about the six required
039and three optional work days at the end of the year and what is the plan for schools on those days after kids are out that's a lot of time that's almost two weeks so what is going to happen are they going to St is going staff development are you can do summer school why the teachers are there so we don't have to afford that money extra money or is it going to be cleanup days because all schools need cleanup days and all that so is there a plan in place or are you going to put a plan in place yes because I can't see doing nine days without a plan yeah absolutely we discussed with administrators about uh well they brought to us the idea of um professional a lot of professional development on the
040front end and professional development on the back end because they don't like it throughout the year they want teacher work days throughout the school year um and have more PD on the front and the back end certainly um we will need to speak with Finance about summer school and how how that can operate on those work days um as far as people getting paid because um I just need to talk with Finance about that as far as the EOG remediation Camp yeah they well they would get paid their regular salary they wouldn't get paid extra because you can't get paid twice and we have to we actually have to um trade some days out because already right now with our calendar so that will be a conversation with Finance um worst case scenario if we
041cannot do the summer school during those days we would offer PD trainings um we would absolutely make a plan and would you share that plan with us absolutely so you have it like a year and a half you have a year to do that yes yes I just don't want nothing to be done I was a principal I was a teacher I knew all the ins and outs yep I was just say Kate I'm glad to see that in option two that for the first semester we're going to end that before going into um Christmas or going into the new year I think that was something that the board has the last couple years that was something that we was wanting to get in place yes sir and so I I do like that I
042think that's beneficial to our kids to our staff to go and get everything done before we go into Christmas break it also aligns with the Early College absolutely y anything else Mr chairman I make a motion um to accept the recommendation of option two for the traditional calendar as well as the reach Early College uh calendar as proposed so I have a motion to accept both calendars as presented do I have a second motion I second Mr bwin Seconds it is there any further is there any further discussion all all in favor by saying by saying I all opposed thank you Dr Smith and you will make sure you will get that staff development calendar to us next year that's my jam is that your jam that's my jam now a favorite thing the Richmond
043Senior High new curriculum courses yeah so for the 25 26 school year Richmond senior has requested to add a few new courses um for their curriculum guide and so those include the Freshman experience introduction to AI principles of informational technology and then several new PE courses athletic management and lifetime Sports um and so this is an action item and we'll need approval from you all Mr res makes a motion to accept the uh new courses as presented second by Mr Mason lifetime Sports was a class when when I was in high school so we're bringing it back bringing it back yes any other discussion all in favor by saying I all opposed thank you thank you eate with Miss Katherine Bendell good evening chairman saterfield Dr frell and members of the board Richmond County Schools
044is implementing a bus Wi-Fi program to enhance Student Connect con activity at Richmond senior high school as a part of the digital Equity Grant awarded to the district which facilitated the distribution of laptops to Richmond senior high school students in the fall this initiative aims to extend internet access beyond the school environment to further support digital learning to achieve this the district um solicited proposals for Wi-Fi services for up to 65 buses allowing for flexibility in quantities as needed contracts will be awarded for a three-year term with any additional buses added during the contract period co- terminating with the original agreement proposals were evaluated based on an industry standards in alignment with the district's specifications the procurement was conducted in accordance with eate requirements and four bids were received following a comprehensive evaluation using a
045scoring rubric lock step otherwise known as bridg Tech emerged as a highest ranked vendor as has been selected by the contract for the contract with board approval the district will move forward with the implementation of this project beginning with the installation of Wi-Fi on 17 buses so my question is to you do you have any questions first of all and secondly will there be any dead spots with this will there be any what dead spots no so the way that it's set up is um with with the um lock step the way that they have set up so that based on the providers whether it's AT&T Verizon those those areas wherever there's a dead spot with one company it'll pick up with another um company so there should not be any dead spots so the
046fire all the firewalls are still in place as far as with our security yes yes they didn't have that when when Co was here where it would pick up one but it it was just one thing and it wouldn't pick up like an at or Verizon right the advancing technology is unbelievable now yes so they have dual um where you can pick up where One Falls the other one will pick up um yes with those modems but we did have it on the buses prior to no no we didn't I'm saying where we were where I was we had it on buses and it was it was hard very hard because we didn't have the technology the technology has grown with Co so we would put it on 17 buses it will be for 17
047buses yes and then the the possibility that if we ever wanted to extend it to other buses within our district we could um but right now it's 17 buses or what is um at the Richmond Senior High School but there's about 65 in the district so we'll do 17 yes so Catherine you're saying we're just going to put it on the high school buses yes yes so as part of you remember um I came back in the fall and was telling you about how we were um we got the grant to provide um um I'm sorry devices for Richmond Senor right um and so in part of that Grant one of the requirements was to make sure that we were able to um provide internet for students beyond the classroom day and so one of
048those things is to provide them other ways and so as they travel on the bus home this would be another option to do that as well as provide hotpots if people needed hotpots and things like that because it was a digital divide Grant where um we wanted to have not only internet and device usage at school but also let them have it at home and so this is part of that this is just a question um I know back when we were with Co you know we sent buses I guess that had hot spots on have we thought about like I know in some areas of the county some kids might not have access to Internet have there been any thought about maybe trying to move buses around and be in a certain area for
049certain amount of time so that families can get on the hot spot I mean we definitely could be open to that that's something that we would just need to discuss as a district if that's something that um we wanted to look into with with the capability of having hotpots um this right here um then um I me we have the capability if that's something that we want to choose to do in our district and that's something that um does the bus have to be on for the internet to be working because that was the same problem we had when we did this during covid is that the bus had to be on so we actually paid bus drivers during the day to sit on their bus with it going so families could come right which
050you know that with Co money too so yeah I mean it definitely will be hooked into our buses you know to work so I think that the bus would have to be on I'm just assuming that right and you know you don't like to assume right any other questions this is just regular school buses not activity right regular school buses and again I mean right now we're just trying it out with the 17 High School school buses but it's something that in the future if we want to extend that that I mean there is a possibility of doing that that's why I tried to write it for up to 65 buses which is our total count of buses currently in the district so you need a motion for us to yes Mr es makes a
051motion to approve the uh the internet on buses through e rate yes only e rate yes got a second by Mr tman any discussion all in favor by saying I I all opposed thank you and when you find out that answer about the buses would have to be on just for our information because people will probably want to ask us yeah Mr tman brought up a good thing so maybe let Dr frell know when he can put it in his Friday update sometime okay sure thank you thank you Mr King construction updates are you okay good even chairman saterfield Dr frell and members of the board uh starting with Fab Heights for the capital project uh update uh so we're really just down to a few punch list items we're trying to finish up there
052the uh canopy that was up that was taken down for construction uh that ties the the building into the the new gym has been re reinstalled um the uh storm boxes and all the um storm piping will be flushed out to get any sediment and um anything that may have gotten in it during the construction that'll be all cleaned out in the next couple weeks so that that building is very close to uh being finally complete any questions on Fairview does that does that owning tie in aesthetically pretty well to the new building the owning as far as it looks yes sir yes sir I I believe it does yeah that was not complete when we were there for the building dedication but it is it has been done since any other questions about Fairview
053all right moving to mental Springs again just a few punch list items to finish up um the uh storm boxes and and all the piping there will be also flushed out next few weeks uh the service road um began this this past Monday the creu showed back up so we had a utility pole that was in the way of the designed service road so they wanted about $10,000 to shift the road about 10 ft North and so after some going back and forth I had the utility pole removed for $400 so you know we just kind of compromised and didn't you didn't really Road didn't have to be shifted so we just felt like it was better just to move the pole so that should take that process process should take about two weeks they're
054also um brought in some top soil around the the new building and um seeding and straw that and just kind of tying everything in and getting everything cleaned up so that'll take about two weeks any questions on mental Springs all right moving to the high school so U heating and air Electrical Plumbing sprinklers the roof trim all that's kind of being uh you just work worked on daily um making good progress with that interior interior metal studs uh the ceilings and walls that are that are studed up um those those are going in place U drywall and ceilings for the bathrooms uh that's been installed uh block filler on the concrete block um in interior walls started being applied yesterday all the like fixtures interior doors uh hardware plumbing fixtures all those have been delivered
055to the site um the uh washer and dryer that uh the county is uh appropriated some money for we're in the process of securing the the washer and dryer for the new laundry room uh the weight room flooring and the equipment has been ordered I talked to Mr dson today uh we're looking at late April to have that installed in a new um weight room down in in in the bottom of the existing gym so that project's coming along pretty good too any questions on high school did you ever figure out the problem with the painting because I know they came back and tried it a second time and it still didn't work yeah there was um the the spot that we we tested was 10 foot x 10 foot and there was plywood there
056was metal uh door frame and door there was uh concrete block there was was uh pre-cast concrete there was several different materials there which was a good spot to test it on several different things so the second adhesion test passed on everything except the pre-cast concrete for some reason so the uh when I met with the U paint reps from Sheron Williams we went back and looked U having to go back and sand it with a little more abrasive like a 60 grit paper to just fortunately that's a very small portion of the total area so they are trying to work work out a schedu and dat to get that complete get it reworked anybody have any questions questions the high school so we do have one change order for this this month and I
057discussed this earlier with with Dr frell we're waiting on signature from mutter but I'll just briefly discuss it with you so there were three items uh one for the high school was to add uh Power for the uh power divider in the gym it's like a curtain that'll roll up and down we had to add power for that and we had to had some locations for intercoms after we got to looking at the plans building there we decided there was a few other locations that needed intercoms for that total is $6,185 uh next change of order for U the high school was for the automatic flush um toilets on the second floor we had to add the wiring or the electrical for that that was $1,479 28 the third and final one was is actually
058a credit um early on in the project we thought we were going to have to Abate some um asbestos flooring in the edge of the band room under the carpet to put a different type of flooring in if you just remove the carpet you can put it back you don't have to bait it but we were going to put a different flooring in so we didn't end up doing that so that was $3,542 that would be credited back to our allowance so the net change order is $7,595 and 477 any questions in the in the original plan for the high school where you have the curtain it was always going to be an electric curtain is that correct for the new gym yeah no yeah for the new gym was is an electric curtain or
059is it just a pole curtain no it's a divider it goes it's electric divider yes sir so just asking why wouldn't the architect put the electricity in if they know it's going to be an electric divider yeah I when it came up I asked the same question and and we've had a couple of items that we are making not of we're working with our attorney just to keep those things um you know noted and we we'll try to negotiate that at the end but that's on them I I mean I I would think and if they're listening they should know that's on them any other questions all the the bathrooms like the same way as Fe hikes where you just walk into the bathroom lights come off yes sir okay yeah that was a code
060thing uh energy code um occupany sensor come in and then it has a motion sensor so as long as somebody's in there I don't I don't know what the time is but I asked the same question if you were to go in there and use the restroom if you were in there two minutes would it would you be in the dark and it doesn't work that way I I think it actually has I'm not sure but it that shouldn't be a problem it hadn't been a problem at Fairview we have the same thing there and these funds come out contingency funds correct yes sir appreciate all the work you're doing I know it's busy time right now yes sir thank you thank you anybody need a break we can break for a couple seconds or
061continue on what's that okay all right U Mr Ingram again policy approvals jery safield Dr phell members of the board and board docs you have a list of policies presented last month for review this being the conclusion of the 30-day review period I would like to present these policies for adoption 4040 7310 uh staff student relations 4120 domicile or residence requirements 43 29731 bullying and harassing Behavior prohibited 5022 registered sex offenders Mr chairman I'll make a motion to approve the policies as presented have a motion to approve the policies do I have a second second second by Miss Orby any discussion all in favor by saying I all opposed thank you chairman safield Dr phell members of the board and board docs you have a list of policies that I would like to present for
06230-day review 6430 purchasing requirements for equipment materials and supplies 6450 purchase of services 7650 employee travel and other expense and reimbursement 8305 Federal grant Administration 9125 participation by minority businesses we need to have Jenny make a cake the first time you you don't have to come up here with new policies every month okay celebration we'll work on that so no cake right no cake this much you see did five of them right there and you also have your field trips in board dos thank you all right thank you board comments I'll start us out okay uh a lot of us got to attend the Richmond Senior High football banquet that was amazing thank you to coach Jensen and uh and Mr Johnson for putting that on did an excellent job food was great what I
063was most impressed with at that banquet that that it was as much about academics as it was Athletics the GPA of these student athletes was absolutely mindblowing so kudos to everyone out there for all of that uh secondly I did have a chance to go do a a walk through at LJ Bell you know with it being the topic of uh potential replacement I called Miss Norwood and she she obliged and was able to get me in and do a walk through there's a lot of work to be done there and I know that Fairview is the same so I would encourage everyone if you haven't been in go take a look because it's these buildings have some age on them and I would love to see this board put something in place going forward
064and I don't mean for the next two years I mean for the next 50 years where we're really paying attention to these buildings because they're aging they are that's all I have well I have I hadn't planned to say this but listening to Mr um Morrison and Mr Vladimir I would like to recognize my um Katherine Blackwolf she was my um I did my student teaching under her she was an amazing educator and she taught all three of my children in first grade so um anyhow when they were talking and I thought and when he said remember I thought first one that um popped in my mind and I should have said her name out loud but um Miss Blackwell was certainly a strong advocate for education and she not only shaped helped shape my
065career she helped shape my life but um She'll always have a special place but I hope I hope all of you were blessed to know um Miss black but I also want to give a u short report on the um Education Foundation meeting today remember our um um shoot is April the 4th and the um they gave a report today on the um empowering um educator group grants every school participate and I think participated in their meeting tomorrow to um decide which person from each school will get one and we'll get a report from that but um I hope that stirred some good interest and um lots of um good communication and all from our Educators and to let them know how much we appreciate um what they do each and every day and that
066we're um behind them and are there to help them but anyhow look forward to hearing 15 names called out um one from each um school after tomorrow don't forget April 4th put that on your calendar thank you Bobby S yeah Mr chairman I just uh uh Echo the same comments that um Scotty had mentioned about the football team I was impressed with those U academic grades more than anything and so that really says says a lot about um the co and and and the kids and the work they put into it not just on the field but in that classroom so I I I appreciate you mentioning that then the other thing I just um wanted to just you know something to kind of think about because I've had several parents have reached out to
067me and have asked about like when kids are exempt from exams why are they considered absent it's still showing as if they're absent on their uh transcript or their report card is there any way that we can kind of like maybe do some kind of coding a special coding for those kids because I mean looking at it I mean it looks like the kid is is missing school so I said that I would uh bring it up at a meeting uh at our at our meeting the count discuss or see what's what's going on with that but I think something we need to come up with some kind of plan or something to to make sure that those kids that are exempt are not although penalized is showing on that transcript as if they're absent
068and so if a person is looking at it you assume the kid is absent so something to think about um and um also had and this is just something to think about I know um talked to a couple of uh custodial staff they was kind of talking about like I guess how they you know do the floors during the summer and things like that and they were saying it would be good if they could have like some kind of like training I don't know if if we do trainings with our classified staff those folks to um kind of make sure everybody's a breast of um how the floors and all that stuff is done I just think there you know you guys may do this but there needs to be you know conversations whenever we're
069meeting and having those discussion with those folks to make sure everybody's on the same page I think that's something that's really really important then lastly just want to thank you all the board y'all really surprised me with that special recognition even know that's so thank you superintendent thank you board members um I've said this to many people I don't walk around and broadcas what I do I just do it because that's who I am and I love what I do and I'm passionate about it but I really appreciate you guys and your recognition of me um during this time it's it's like my wife has said to me um you got to learn to let people just praise you and embrace you and that's something I'm trying to work on but I do thank you
070all um for that and so that really meant a lot we were proud of you very proud and also proud of you being the um Grand Marshal of that was great weekend of Celebration Dr frell going back to what he was saying about the um counted absence if they come is there what do they what would they do in that classroom while the other students are taking the exam exam I mean do they have something plan I don't know just it's a it's a million dollar question cannot if you are not at school schoolers do not tell students not to come too if they don't have to take an exam so if they I just can they not come and and and then leave well but they're absent for the portion of the day they
071have four they take tenants four times at the high school for each block so and just because of Jerry knows and Daryl know when I was at the high school parents would call me during exam time and say no my child's coming to school so the teachers would have to prepare something for those students and they would be in a certain part of the school because part of the school was under locking key with testing because don't forget we had what 11 EO eoc's at that time and you still have it so yes there they can come to school if they want absolutely um what has happened is I think that the it is misunderstood that are exempt from the exam not well I think there needs to be a clear conversation with the students
072and with the families and the parents because that's not what what you know because ABS yeah because you know I one have have one and if I if I know that that's the case he'll be in school and and we just have to figure out somewhere you know for my thing is long as the kids have some you know I don't want them just being at school with unsupervised nothing to do because then that's when kids going to get in trouble so we need to just make sure there's things in place to make sure these kids are where they need to be you know maybe there's something we can come up with with some alter alternative activities that would encourage them to do better on the exam so that we'd have more doing that to
073be ex but you know able to work around that all started probably 30 years ago when Mr Robertson did that because grades were poor at the high school so he made it where if you had an A in the class now J tell me that's been a long time a certain number of absences under three absences or two absences you were ex exempt from your exam that that's that's exactly what it was thank you so and just a matter of a year a semester attendance became great kids didn't want to take the exam we just I guess the thing we just need to make sure parents are aware of this because if they're calling then they're concerned about their child's absence and I could even answer because and I'm a boys you know what I'm
074saying so I'm like I had forgotten because I don't think my CH in the years we to be Gary how about you let me uh well we we we had a planning session that we didn't have since the last board so and I think people really need to know that we just don't come to a board meeting sometimes we have other things going on that we're trying to work out to make Richmond County Schools better uh I had uh on the 28th of of uh January we had a Shaq meeting student health advisory Council and best was able to come it's so interesting to know the number of people that are Cooperative cooperatively working with Richmond County Schools to make things happen for students and that's that's one of the good things and Dr Wendy
075Jordan has has a great thing going there because there are other people in the state that are looking at Richmond County because we've had it going so long um I had Levi mirinda I think is how his name is mirinda that's correct uh he invited me over one day he said I want you to come just for five minutes to watch the uh the band play the star spangle banner and they they played it before the girls game and they play it before the boys game and that particular day I think there was uh maybe 10 people and one of the 10 people playing was the the uh the band director Levi playing a clarinet but it's it's amazing how good they are after just a short period of time being in band and that
076again that's feeders for Richmond senior high school so it's a good positive thing and I uh I went to the spelling be on the I think it was the 31st and uh it's a shame but it's also a positive thing that we have Google you know because nowadays when I remember when I was in school in elementary school back in the 60s actually maybe in the 50s um you you had you had to learn how to spell words because you had 10 words a week you had to learn to spell the word correctly out loud and also on paper and then you also had to write a sentence with it but nowadays if you don't know the word you just say what's how to spell how do you spell this word Google and it pops
077on the screen for it so that's something that's happening you know how to spell it or you couldn't WR it down uh and and I and I told U you know Brad s us out of thing is so uh Scotty and Ronald I've already said this but how how really good the football banquet was to uh tell everybody because you felt a comaraderie there that sometimes you don't feel it was a good camaraderie thank you jary just a few things um I'm reading to two students over at LJ Bell on Monday mornings and it's one of the funnest things I do during the week um Trinity and Melissa are sweet little first graders and they're just lovely kids and they're doing really well and I thoroughly enjoy that program that they're doing there I think
078Miss Orby started that program so kudos to you because that's really a good program um I did walk the school as well it is an old school but you know something that custodian and that School needs to be commended because it is clean and really nice floors are gorgeous so they do the best they can with it also the floors that you were talking about I know um Mr Ingram there's somebody you can bring in here to train the custodians or that's Mr that's Dr that's Dr Carter yeah you can bring somebody in to train them um there's companies out there that you buy supplies from that have people to come Sandra used to come Sandra that's her name Sandra she was here not long ago yeah that's great good but again football banquet was
079great and we I appreciate what they're doing there so thanks to all the board members for their comments anybody else Dr frell um well I'll start out by since um we've been doing some shoutouts for uh Richmond County Educators um I want to um one that did not get mentioned that um I think should be mentioned because you know he he did a lot for me coming into this job and that's Mr Dennis quck you know he did um he did a lot to keep things where they needed to be between the lines when you all were doing a superintendent search and he's been available to me and I know he's a very quiet humble man and probably would not want any recognition but he certainly um did a lot of good things here over
080the years for both adults and students so um just give him a quick shout out um we have tonight at 700 p.m at the Cole we have an outstanding black history program that Arthur Gillum and some of them have worked really really hard on um if you did not get a chance to go to that last year it was outstanding and I anticipate it being that way um again tonight it starts again at 7 pm at the Cole Auditorium so I'll be heading over there after our meeting um and then we are honoring on Friday the 14th of February in fville we're going to going to honor um Miss Jenny Lee who is our teacher of the year from East Rockingham Elementary School and our principal of the Year miss is Angel May from Mineral
081Springs they'll be going with me to the Sand Hills uh reca meeting to be recognized and honored so just wanted to um also give a little shout out to those two excellent Educators and that's all I have thank you Dr frell need a motion to go into close session under North County General statute 1433 38 11 A3 and six got a motion by tide for one for do for Mr Mason Mr bwin and second by Mr bwin is there any discussion okay all in favor by saying I opposed we are now en closed session e e e s has two schol at time administ cont as am Mr chairman I make a motion to approve the Personnel report as presented with the amended contract have a first by Mr bow and second by Mr Tillman
082any conversation all in favor by saying I all opposed Personnel report is approved okay so we will need now to go back into closed session under North Carolina General statute um 143 3181 A3 and six do I have a motion so Move Motion by m b and second by Mr E all in favor by saying I opposed all we are back in close session