2026-1-20 Work Session

001All righty. All right. Good afternoon everyone. We are going to call our January 20 January 20th work session to order. And the first item on uh the agenda is the curriculum procurement process from academics. So we'll welcome Dr. Hill and Dr. Well, Drs. Hill and King and Mr. Johnson. Dr. Johnson, excuse me. Good afternoon you all. >> Yes. testing. >> Fantastic. There it is. >> Okay. We want to bring this presentation regarding our curriculum procurement process. Today's presentation will be an overview, an update on the district's curriculum review and procurement process. Our team has in fact engaged in a reflective review of this process. drawing on that input and practices from other large school districts to identify opportunities for enhancement. Thank you, Lisa. to the process. Today, we will share highlights of how that reflection

002has in fact strengthened our approach to instructional alignment, stakeholder engagement, and long-term planning. When we examine our desired outcomes, we want to review what we have established as our procurement process. Then in fact clarify the impact of where we are in alignment to DPI's standards revision timeline. revisit and define our district strategic approach for our 2025 2027 installation FLA phase 4 English language arts and then share the process for gap analysis resource review and align with any curriculum procurement process professional learning this work is about coherence ensuring that curriculum standards assess assessment and professional learning are all in alignment and intentionally with that alignment. Our goal is to make sure that our process supports strong instruction while being thoughtful about capacity of our stakeholders at the building level, the timing and also sustainability. Dr. Dr.

003King is going to lead us now in those pieces so we can examine this process even further. >> Good afternoon and thank you for good afternoon and thank you for the opportunity to share with you. The curriculum procurement process is grounded in our board policy as well as our strategic plan. There's an emphasis on standard alignment, equity, stakeholder engagement, as well as our fiscal responsibility. The enhancements we're going to share today strengthen how consistently these expectations are applied across content areas. The learning model is our framework for teaching and learning. So when we talk about curriculum procurement, we often think about textbooks or software, but truly we are talking about the instructional core. Our focus right now is ensuring that our teachers have the tools to facilitate the standards aligned instruction you see in this

004model. Sometimes that requires a new product but often it requires better alignment of what we already have. Therefore the learning model serves as our instructional anchor and decision filter whether we adop adapt existing resources supplement current materials or consider new ones. This ensures that classroom practice, instructional rigor, and student learning needs remain the driving force behind our decisions. As part of this work, we we reflected on prior curriculum implementation experiences. Key lessons emerged in that reflection. The need for clearer communication, stronger alignment to long-term budget planning, sufficient planning, vendor engagement, adjustment time to those new standards for our students and staff, as well as how we integrate technology. These lessons helped shape a process that better supports our schools and avoids rushed or fragmented implementation. Those lessons also directly inform the enhancements to our curriculum

005review and procurement process that our district has. Enhancements include stronger strategic alignment, expanded educator and stakeholder engagement, additional opportunities such as road shows and vendor presentations, and improved long-term planning tied to the DPI timelines as well as our budget priorities. Together, these changes improve transparency and instructional coherence across our district. Now, we're going to transition to the overview of the district's curriculum review and procurement process. Again, this is an existing process that we have had that has been enhanced, not replaced to improve clarity, consistency, and transparency. This slide details the most critical update which is from the department of instruction and it impacts our process and the information on our standards review and the re revision timeline that you may remember from last year. DPI has shifted to a model that gives a school district

006a 2-year installation window to prepare for new standards. Our curriculum procurement process begins when the state of board of education releases new or revised standards. Once these standards are adopted, our district's curriculum committee springs into action. The process is organized into six phases beginning with the needs assessment and culminating with ongoing implementation and review. Across all the phases, there are clear guard rails. No phase advances without evidence. Stakeholder input occurs throughout and professional learning is embedded rather than added later. Just a couple of details if we look at the phases more closely. For example, phase 0 focuses on strategic planning and budget assessment where we gather data, explore curriculum options, and align educational goals with our resources. Phase one, that's where we identify our instructional priorities and engage our educators, students, and parents. We also

007assess the effectiveness of our current curriculum. So, I just wanted to give you a little bit of some um detail about that. And let's dig a little deeper. I shared with you that DPI has an updated um revision standards revision timeline. As you can see on this slide, um it says January 2026 to June 2027. Last week, our state um board did approve ELA standards. So, it is now time for us, our district, our committee to spring into action using our six phases so that we can determine how we're going to make sure that our teachers are ready to implement the new standards in ELA come July 2027. I also would like to point out at this point that you just heard me say that the new timeline gives you two years but for ELA

008we have a year and a half and then the other content areas there will be two full years. So with this slide, there's a timeline illustrating the process and key activities we will undertake in response to the revised ELA standards. We're only starting with it first because it's the first one in our sequence and I want to be able to just share with you how we're going to align with the process. So using ELA as the example, we're going to start ear now. We're going to establish clarity by confirming what our instructional priorities that are tied to the revised standards, what they are. We're going to set up what our budget parameters are, and we as a committee will define what the non-negotiables are with meeting those new standards. We then will conduct a deep

009review of the revised ELA standards so that we can identify what major shifts exist. Later in the spring, early summer, we're going to complete a comprehensive needs assessment using all our data sources. We're going to have resource audits as well as input opportunities for our essential partners. But we are going to identify, we'll close it up with identifying clear gaps that exist and what options um are required to fill them and what those cost estimates could be. Continuing in the summer and fall, we will have a representative um from the committee. They're going to lead our structure reviews. We're going to have our committee community engagement and then we also will have targeted field testing so that we can understand and see what the real classroom evidence is. Late 2026, later this year, late part,

010this is when we're going to synthesize and look at the tradeoffs. We're going to examine those and we're going to look at any findings that we have so that we can develop a re recommendation that is both standards aligned as well as aligned fiscally. Then in the spring of 2027 that is when we focus on P professional learning and making sure that there is a readiness to launch our implementation of the new ELA standards. In addition with the professional learning, we're going to also establish our monitoring before as well as during and after the transition. How we're going to know that we're meeting the needs of our teachers and any adjustments that we may have in order to ensure they have the full support that they need. But the key takeaway that I want to

011share is that this timeline, these activities reflect a deliberate educatordriven process that's going to ensure any ELA decision that we bring to you as the board is evidence-based. It will be standards aligned and it will be implementation ready. thinking about our next steps at this point because I share that the ELA standards have been approved. Our um next step is the district will focus on that needs assessment. We're going to look at our internal capacity building and planning for the standards. This phase will allow us to ensure the readiness, clarify our priorities, instructional priorities and prepare for that effective implementation. Any further recommendations again will be grounded in evidence, instructional need, and implementation readiness. So in closing, this work, this process reflects the district's commitment to thoughtful planning, instructional coherence, and responsible stewardship of our

012resources. So, we as a team appreciate your attentiveness and we'll like to open it up to any questions or comments you may have for us. >> Thank you, uh, doctors Hill and King for providing the board with this overview, um, of this process and also being very transparent to the public so they can understand how these changes will be taking place. So, I'll open up to questions. Um, I'll start with Vice Chair Hershey. >> Thank you, Chair. Thank you, Chair Swanson. So, you talked about the funding and we just had a funding exercise in our budget committee meeting. Can you talk about where the funding comes from, what the funding covers, because you mentioned professional development as well on top of whatever needs to be purchased. And then I think my second question would be

013all things being equal, how much if we're ever switching curriculum, how much of an improvement do you need to see from studies that say it's worthwhile to actually make that switch from the academic side of it? I hope that makes sense. So there is a textbook aotment that comes from DPI and so therefore those are certain parameters in which we have to guide those decisions and looking at what we're going to be able to negotiate to make sure that we're covering for all of our district needs. When we look at those curriculum standards or what drive our instruction, we have several resources from the state as also from ED reports that give us a synopsis of how those curriculum are in fact in alignment with the standards. And so those are ready resources in order

014for us to really and truly use those resources as we move through that process. But we just want to make sure that we're being very transparent to give all of our stakeholders a voice and from their perspective and a review of those materials. But we do have certain parameters guided by what is given to us from the department of public instruction in order to guide those decisions. >> And Mr. Hers, I do want to add to that um um message that Dr. he shared that I think the important question is why do we switch uh and that's very important and all of that is going to be based on uh the type of changes in um in curriculum standards at the state uh how effective the the current curriculum is in meeting that and ultimately

015when we make a change what does that mean for teachers to have to learn a new curriculum or a new process and so those are all the things that that go into it um I'll just to be honest that uh budgeting is also a huge part of that because we recognize that if we make a change that's usually going to come with a cost. Uh and so it is about making sure that we properly vetted any new curriculum and how it aligns with the state standards and then looking at the ultimate impact on what it's going to take to implement that curriculum. I think the biggest piece is regardless of what change we make in terms of switching or staying, it is how we monitor how it's being implemented in schools. And so, u appreciate

016that question. Uh, but we do want people to know that it is a process that we go through. >> Dr. Thank you. Um, um, I was just kind of looking through that that chart. So, I assume that for the most part it's an 8-year cycle uh for the every different curriculum to be reviewed. Correct. >> Correct. >> Except for the ELA which was uh I guess truncated. Um and then um the I see that the full implementation and the state assessment happens on that same academic year. So I mean I'm assuming that all implementation should be done by the beginning of that academic year. Correct. >> For a new resource >> um for example for ELA >> full for implementation is 2728 >> academic year. So I'm assuming that everything should be in place by

017that academic year to be ready for the state the the assessment. Correct. >> Correct. That is correct. >> Okay. Um and in um in what um in in what part of the process do you engage with the community for feedback? Um and and is there a um way to I guess my my analogy is you know you don't throw away the baby with bath water. Um how is there a possibility of picking and choosing things that we can keep for um and and which are still good um and then introducing new things that are needed because of the modification of the curriculum standards. Um just you know for the sake of cost you know uh looking at you know do we need to reintroduce a new a new way of doing things and then incurring

018the the cost of it can we do it in a more cost-effective way. Thank you. >> And so Dr. in as as you will see outlined in those phases and we're looking at phase three where we have the decision- making and approval. We will have um structures in which all stakeholder groups will be able to give their input regarding this and those things in which we're in the process right now looking at how our students are in fact performing and what are those things that are in fact working. So therefore that becomes part of the discussion of how our children are in fact doing with the current resources and how our teachers are feeling with their implementation. So it's a continuous process of looking at those items that we need to examine as we move

019this process forward. >> If I may Dr. Hill. I do want to point out um in phase one that is where we are first seeking during our needs assessment that we are seeking input on what we currently have in place and then we'll also have another input opportunity in phase two during the research and evaluation. So just wanted to add that little bit more um about those expanded opportunities that we have for our essential partners. more survey. >> Yes. >> So, Dr. Ing, um, excuse me. Um, and I'll stop interjecting at some point. Um but um I know this is critical to the selection process in terms of making sure uh that we have uh an effective way uh for teachers to give feedback, for parents to give feedback and and ultimately what we want

020to make sure that comes out of this process is that when we select the curriculum uh that everybody agrees that we know it can be effective. And so I would imagine in the medical field uh there may be some processes or equipment that you all may slightly differ upon, but then there going to be some things that you all agree this is the wrong way to to treat high blood pressure. And so what we want to make sure is that when we go through this process that um there may be one group that likes curriculum A versus curriculum B. But when we give a good transparent way for them to share that both groups can whoever may have a difference of opinion can say that while I prefer curriculum B if we don't choose it

021then we're okay with implementing A but at least there's been a transparent way for us to share. But if we recognize that C is a very bad curriculum and we don't really listen to the impact input or the feedback from anyone and then we have C and it ends up being a debacle and then that really falls back on us. Uh so I again think it's the right question. Uh Mr. Hers, I do want to go back to the funding piece just very quickly. Um I know the finance department is going to pull up some numbers for us, but it really is in multiple places. So there is uh the state textbook funding that we get uh but is also heavily supported by local funds as well uh and then in some instances there will

022be uh federal funding such as title one that may provide additional supplemental material but we'll get a breakdown of that for you. >> Thank you. >> All right, Miss Rice, we'll recognize you for your questions. >> Good evening everyone. Uh I just had a very brief question. Um and and I've heard what we've shared about our curriculum. Just a curious question around when you're engaging stakeholders or when you're making your decisions around the curriculum. Is there any thought to the curriculums that we've seen work um with some of our partners? Is there any thought to either incorporating that within our regular structured classes or even using those curriculums if they align with what the new uh DPI requirements might be? >> Yes, ma'am. Miss Rice, and please know the forefront of everything is that the

023standards are what drive the instruction. And so therefore, those pieces will always be taken into consideration as we're looking at what has worked, what needs to be modified, and what we may want to look in a different direction for. But the bottom line is standards are what drive our instruction. >> Thank you. >> All right, we'll come around this side. We'll start with u Miss Edmonds. >> Thank you. Um, [clears throat] so my question is also related to funding but a different question. So DPI understands that this has fiscal implications for districts and DPI apparently just shared with the North Carolina Association of School Business Officers about the state's impending fiscal cliff. So, has there have you all heard from DPI any kind of pause or concern that they understand that districts are going to

024be in trouble here shortly with finances? and are they taking that into consideration as they implement these new standards that require districts to make purchases, spend resources in order to comply with them. Miss Evans, we have our updated meeting at the end of this month of January. So, I'm going to be paying very close attention to what it is because we're all in that same category and how we're trying to adapt to the fiscal cliff. and then implement these revisions of standards. So therefore, it's a balance that we're going to have to make sure that we're considering and we should receive those updates. I have a scheduled meeting at the end of this month. Yes, ma'am. >> All right, Miss Gordon. >> Thank you. Um, thank you, Dr. Hill and Dr. King. Um, I can

025definitely appreciate that at the very first slide it says educator driven approach. [laughter] I just want to throw that plug in there. Um, with that in mind, um, you made mention to, um, a committee and you said the committee will decide what our non-negotiables are. Can you tell me who exactly is on that committee? >> Um, we have in our process, our manual, we've identified, of course, um, key um, leaders at the district level, leaders within within the schools. We've even broke down with a process to work with our area superintendent so they can work with principles to identify representation within their school building. There will be one large district team, but then of course committees of that team as well, but we were very diligent with being very inclusive in that work. followup. >>

026Um, how common is it for like instructional coaches and just classroom teachers? How common is it for them to be a part of the committee >> in um enhancing our process? That is a area that we were more intentional about where connecting where there would be representation from all schools where they have someone who has a voice in that committee. So we we were very intentional about that process of who would give us from the very beginning. Well, we could have a kickoff. Here are what this new standards are. Here's the process that we would use. Um that they would be informed and be able to know when they get to have voice choice. Um what's coming next, what to expect. >> Okay. Thank you. >> You're so welcome. >> We'll go uh Mr. Hagerty

027and then Dr. Job. >> All right. Thank you, Sheriff Swanson. Hello. Hello. >> So, I have a question and then I I do want to share uh what I will call a cautionary tale in terms of some feedback. Um I'm curious about the development of the curriculum. I remember a presentation from Dr. Wilson Norman and Mr. Cook before Dr. Hill, you would come to this position talking about um the ELA curriculum, EL education being homegrown, you know, for teachers and by teachers and the importance of getting feedback from those teachers um to develop a product to develop a curriculum aligned with the state standards, but that was kind of you based on that input here in Wake County. from where you are going forward today, do you see yourselves following a similar path or is

028it something that you think you would take a different approach? >> Mr. Hager, that's a very good question. And so what we're in the process right now looking at how our students are in fact progressing and how our teachers are feeling with actually implementing. So all of that is really and truly going to have to be infold into this process to see what exactly I guess is on the menu for moving forward. But what we have to stress is our students are going to be assessed on the standards. And so therefore, how can we ensure that that is what is our driving force to make sure that our pacing guides, our assessment, and the core instructional materials and supplemental materials are in fact addressing what the standard is calling for our students to show mastery

029of. >> You want to add anything? That was good. >> Anything Dr. King? Okay. >> Thank you. All right. And I I appreciate that. I I really do. I think the challenge is that there are a lot of different ways different ways to approach the standards and then what's going to be, you know, the most effective for our teachers to deliver that content and for our students to learn the content. And so then just briefly, Mr. Share I I I want to share a cautionary tale because it predates the rest of the board members. But when it comes to public input and engagement, you know, sometimes the input that we receive is not always, I'll say, representative. And those that are tasked with providing an opinion on say a particular curriculum product or provider may

030be doing so with just a limited view of what they get in a very small information session compared to the feedback they might be getting from professional educators or longtime experts. And in particular, many in the room are familiar with, even if you weren't necessarily in your specific roles today, in 2017 2018, we adopted a new math curriculum. And in the process of adopting that curriculum, there was a public engagement process. And in that process, staff identified two different products for teaching higher level mathematics. There was one product which was provided for by a more established and I would argue reputable company but it was very dry, very academic as academic stuff might tend to be. And then there was a newer product that was regarded as more exciting and the staff recommendation originally was

031for the more traditional product. But after rounds of public engagement, taking the product out to the public, and this is a story we've seen repeated, whether it was in the Music Man or The Simpsons buying into a Montreal, the showmanship of the flashy new product won out. And it was right after that decision that was made that I came to the board and we had two years of difficulty and negative feedback from parents, from staff, from teachers surrounding that product. and our professional staff had to devote a tremendous amount of time to additional professional development, working with staff to try to find accommodations for students that couldn't necessarily follow the curriculum at was as it was provided and the curriculum provider couldn't support all of the needs of the students we have here in Wake

032County. some who may not learn from videos for example or or other ways that the instruction was being delivered. And so I just the the input is very very important. But I just would caution everyone based on this experience that you know hearing you know do you like me do you not like me check A check B you know you need a more thorough and evaluative process and it can't just be which which product comes out as the most popular which one addresses a trend you know I think we really need to rely on our experts and it can be experts here it can be advisor from other states and other districts, from other systems maybe that have used different curriculum tools and what their experience has been. Um, but I just don't wish on

033anyone, professional staff, yourselves, this board, our families, and our public a process similar to what we went through before. Thank you. >> So, so, um, Mr. Mr. Hagard, I do want to add to that statement that uh that is the key piece that it is about making sure that uh we have some basic safeguards that are in place that say that a curriculum has to meet certain standards. Now normally DPI will give you a lot of feedback on that. There are some other organizations uh that can do the same thing but it is about making sure that whatever we select it focuses on the core but then there's also uh some portion that talks about the supplemental for when the core does when a student does not respond to the core but uh that is

034traditionally um um an issue that districts have had to face across the state that um is it something that people like uh and there has not been an opportunity or a chance to do vetting by the professionals. Now, uh and teachers are certainly a part of that because they are on the ground, but you also have curriculum um uh specialists and people that have um a lot of specifically designed uh obtained um abilities in that area. And so that's what we want to make sure that we safeguard. Uh and so Wake experienced it x number of years ago. We're going to count on that experience from those that were here. Uh but I've seen it in other places as well. And so that I think is is the big part that we want to prevent.

035So we appreciate that. >> Dr. Joe, >> um looking Thank you for being here. Um looking at the uh phase the needs assessment we have so much data coming in all the time from students and assessments and how could you expand a bit upon which data you're going to be looking at and how you are some of the processes you're going to use to narrow down um how you're going to identify the gaps that need to be filled if we do need a new curriculum. So, um, yes, with the needs assessment, our, um, we spent really all of last school year with examining our system, our manual. Um, and one of the pieces that we wanted to make sure we put in place were templates and rubrics that were vetted, um, that were researchbased to

036help us identify what we currently have, where the gaps with the standards exist. Um, then what do we do about meeting those gaps that were aligned with research? So, we were very purposeful in identifying those pieces. >> Hershey Just a a few follow-ups kind of piggybacking on a couple of my colleagues. You mentioned non-negotiables. Aside from the curriculum needing to cover the standards, what are examples of non-negotiables? >> When we look at non-negotiables, we have instructional frameworks that are researchbased with those instructional strategies. And so therefore that's a non-negotiable that for ELA there is a particular framework in which we want our students and their teachers to engage in from whole group instruction, direct instruction to small groupoup instruction to identify prescriptive learning gaps and to address those needs. So that is a an example

037of a non-negotiable and the evidence that we have seen when that core curriculum is in fact followed and implemented with fidelity and when those products for learning plans non-negotiables assessment we are seeing the progress for our students and therefore they're going to be some non-negotiables in dealing with how ELA English language arts is in fact delivered within that particular balanced literacy framework. >> That's extremely helpful. Thank you for that. To kind of piggyback on Miss Edmond's question, which I think was an excellent question, and maybe this is also for Dr. Taylor, do we have the opportunity to give feedback? I mean, I I don't know how significant a change could be in the standards. And do we have an opportunity to provide feedback if it's going to be a minimal change that is would otherwise

038be incredibly costly to school districts to say I I guess I don't know how DPI makes their decision and then if we have because you guys are on the ground and doing the work and how you're able to provide feedback to DPI to Miss Edmond's point which is in incredibly valid and super important right now is a small change could cost us a lot of money >> and I think it also gets to Dr. Ing's point which is are there opportunities to just add a little bit versus a whole new curriculum. But I'm just wondering what feedback we're able to provide because I know you said you're getting you have the meeting later but I want us to be giving them feedback as well which I I think was kind of the genesis of question.

039>> Yeah. So so we do have uh multiple opportunities to give uh feedback to DPI. Uh I know they do that um many times on a regional basis. Uh Dr. King, you may be able to talk about that from your perspective when you were at DPI. Uh and so there are opportunities that we do get to to give feedback. The other thing that I'll add is that while they may make standards change, uh changes uh a district doesn't necessarily have to switch. uh you could keep using the same curriculum and and keep purchasing um the consumables that you need, but ultimately what you come to is if there have been substantial changes in the in the standards, does this curriculum still meet that? And now does that require that we go through a change? And

040um you know many years in the past um a lot of this was based on uh textbooks and so textbooks had the standards and that's where you saw districts received a tremendous amount of money for textbooks to purchase those that were aligned with the standards. Uh and so in that regards um again they can make changes but you don't necessarily have to change your curriculum but if you stay with it then you may end up having a curriculum that doesn't meet the majority of the standards that the state provides. The other piece and um we we got about $4.8 million uh from the state for uh textbook and uh and digital purposes and they're still going to pull up and and let me know what the total amount is. They let me know what the

041local piece was. uh and so um you know the other piece is uh also selecting the curriculum is to go back to I think uh Dr. Joe's question uh part of it that it is about looking at the data uh from a curriculum provider and saying uh well what does your data show uh in terms of students being able to to meet these standards where it's being used also examining where our students are not meeting standards and if it aligns up with that um uh and making sure that curriculum also aligns with the state standards. Uh and and the last piece is that and I think we all know that uh whenever something new comes along, every curriculum provider will say that they meet the state standards simply by I think it was researchbased was

042the big thing 20 years ago. Everybody put that on there whether it met it or not. Uh and so I think those things are all part of the non-negotiable that we look at. uh how much funding do we get from the state and how much of a of a large or small pivot we can make or have to make. But I'll let you Dr. King add your experience from DPI as well. >> Yes, the draft that the state board chose was a draft four of the ELA standards. Um there were multiple opportunities. Um they have district committees and those district committees they put out surveys. We for um we received the surveys for um our staff as well as our community to participate in. We put those on our website so they can have um

043input and then that information is used by DPI to make adjustments to what each revision, if you will, each draft um of those standards that are being developed are. Um, even as late as this past September before the timeline, the revision timeline was completely updated, there were was an opportunity for across the state, the chief academic officers to get into small groups to have another look at where the ELA standards were and any last feedback. I don't know if it was the last, but additional feedback, but DPI really went above and beyond. I've been away now almost two years and the level of detail and active engagement of trying to get over and over and over again input on the standards that they were going to um ask for state approval on was really heavily

044involved and we are very appreciative to DPI for not having ELA and math revisions in the same year and so therefore that really and truly is taxing on the district and so we really and truly appreciate them listening to us to have those not in the same cycle. Great. >> So, I just have a couple of comments and questions kind of follow up on some of the discussion that's been held um or that we've had thus far. Um and just following up on what uh Mr. Hegger had shared. learning from the past. Can we kind of talk about how our new regional model will ensure that we don't, you know, necessarily fall down that pathway of presenting, you know, uh, materials that may, you know, attract some families or give them the green light and

045and vice versa. Can you talk about how that model is helping with the this this process? The transparency, Chair Swanson, with our regional model, it really and truly gives us an opportunity to see what is working on the front lines boots to the ground so we can make sure that we're really and truly seeing what is being implemented, coaching those teachers on their practices, and then providing support in a very timely, frequency, as needed manner as we're going through that. So therefore, you have the support that's right there in order to give them what support they need in a very timely manner. in a timely manner. >> And then I know when I've been out of the classroom couple of years now, um, and you know, professional learning teams, PLC's was an opportunity. Is that

046going to be another driving force where I know you can include all I don't know how many English ELA teachers we have, but how will that information be synthesized down to those PLTs to get back into the school building so that information can flow on both ends? and that will be a component of that implementation plan. So therefore, as a large district, we have to look at those resources and those different avenues of how we're going to give that much needed support. So that becomes in partnership with our office of professional learning so that we can look at and what the vendor in fact can provide for us, but we have some non-negotiables of what we want to ask in order to meet those needs. coupled with learning walks, coupled with that on the ground

047training, PLC implementation, coaching, all of that will encompass the implementation support for our teachers, >> right? And I should have clarified the PLC is a professional learning teams that Yes, I'm sorry. Takes place. Sorry, I'm used to spitting those acronyms out as well. So, um, but no, this has been very helpful. I'll And thank you for answering those questions. Are there any other questions or comments as it relates to our procurement process? All right, hearing none, thank you all and we look forward to the updates as this moves forward. Thank you. >> Thank you. Thank you. >> All right, we will now turn to Mr. Strickland and Miss Lawrence to discuss the child nutrition services as it relates to our angel fund. All right. Good afternoon. >> Good afternoon. >> Yes, sir. >> Good afternoon.

048Thank you all for allowing us the opportunity to come and u share this information with you all today. Um I'll point out not in the slide deck but uh this discussion today about the CNS charge policy update and where we go with that is part of our strategic alignment with priority three operational effectiveness and most of the stuff in operations falls under AIM 20 which is efficient sustainable which is a key word today with the conversation that we're going to have in um of operational systems. So, um, we have Miss Lawrence here and and Miss Moore didn't choose to sit up here with us. That's okay. She's our business manager for CNS and the numbers person. Um, and Miss Lawrence is going to talk through um, conversations that we've been having for some time regarding

049our charge policy for meals. We talked about this some time ago in the last few years. And at that time although we have a policy in place it was the sentiment we felt like from the board that uh we needed to be as gracious as we could with the implementation of that policy in terms of feeding students and and so we have done that but at the same time we're having to face the financial realities of where we are with CNS and where we could potentially end up uh being. So with that being said, we wanted to bring this update to you all. Uh reinforce that um we do have some challenges both perceived and real in terms of unpaid meal charges and that we we really need to to to go back to following

050the policy with rigor and with fidelity and making sure that we can get to the end of the year uh without a large amount of unpaid meal balances. And with that, I'll turn it over to Miss Lawrence. Um, good afternoon board and Dr. Taylor. Um, thanks for having us here today. Um, I want to talk about um, the CNS charge policy. Um, there were a couple of handouts that I provided for you all that I'll kind of refer to throughout the presentation. A copy of the current board policy 622, which is the outline of our actual process. um a negative balance Q&A which is kind of answering some questions that we frequently get asked about how we communicate to parents um in the community and then the angel fund balance update um because we have

051the angel fund that kind of helps um cover some of the negative charge balances and so you can see the amount of money that we're bringing in on a monthly basis and up to year-to-ate numbers. So the >> slide four please. >> Slide four. I'm sorry. Should I >> Yes. >> I'm sorry. So, um, all right. So, a summary of what the actual board policy says is that a students, um, that don't have money on their accounts, they are allowed to charge negative balances for breakfast and lunch up to three consecutive days. They don't have to be in the same period, but just three days total to that dollar amount. Um, students that get to that amount, after that point, they receive an alternative meal. It also states that the superintendent shall not use school

052nutrition funds to offset the cost of these negative charge balances. That is not necessarily a board rule. That is a USDA federal guideline. And so we are not allowed to clear negative debt with the school nutrition funds. And then the US USDA basically decides that. And so the board policy like I said is attached inside of assembly for you all to review. So currently in the according to the policy we provide alternative meal an alternative meal which is an unlimited fruits and vegetables and a water for students that is actually what is listed in the process. Um the cost of that is about $1.34. That doesn't include the things to like put it on the plate, the fork, the napkin, those kind of that's just the food item. Um and so I wanted to share

053that with you so you can see what it costs. In the past, the district does support us because we do have students that fall into that negative realm. About $46,000 a year they cover in negative charge balances. The concern that we have moving forward is that that amount is growing. And because school nutrition can't cover that debt, the money to cover that gap between what the district already budgets to cover and support school nutrition in this process. So to date, we have a negative balance total for the district of $152,000. Um 100 $152,17053. That amount grows daily. It also changes daily because we do have parents that pay off their negative balances, but it goes up and down, back and forth. Um currently, in order to address that, we have an angel fund. It is

054a district-wide angel fund. And the way it works is that parents, community members, organizations donate to a master pot. And then we take that money and we spread it amongst all schools evenly to help keep the fund b to keep the negative balances down. What's happening right now is that amount is out superseding what we can actually cover in the amount of how many students are actually using the negative growing their negative account balances. Um to date, um if we keep at the same rate, I estimate that we'll be at over $250,000 in the negative by the end of the school year by that June 30th closing date. And so that is the concern that we want to try to prevent us from being at that level of negative debt. >> Miss Lawrence, if I

055can Yes. >> clarify really quick. That's if we do not follow the policy. >> Correct. >> Okay. So right now we are not technically following the actual board policy. What's happening is students come in, they get up to the 3 days and then after that 3-day mark they continue to build up a negative balance and then we use the angel fund to cover that gap. We don't actually cover those first 3 days. We still look at the parent to cover that. But what's happening, you have some people who are not covering that plus the additional amount because the angel fund can only cover a fraction of it. And so one of the handouts that you all have is how much money we collect in angel fund per month. Um and so you can see the

056difference. Um this particular school year we haven't collected the same amount as we did last year. We do have two larger donors that typically give us funds but then we have some sporadic donations from community members, churches, parents, PTAs, those kinds of things. So, one of the things that we want to review is just making sure that the community is aware of why we're making this change. Um, why we're trying to implement the actual current board policy. We're not creating anything new. We're not changing any rules. We're just going back to what the board had already previously agreed upon. Um the goal is to allow time for parents to be communicated with to understand the process if they need to fill out a free and reduced lunch application maybe because they haven't to answer questions

057so that we can move forward and enforce the actual policy that is in place. Our goal is to enforce this in about a month. Um, February 17th is the the suggested date and that goes because it gives us a month as a district to communicate to parents, but also it gives time for me to communicate with principles, teachers, um, my staff to make sure that the process is implemented in a smooth way. So, does anyone have any questions? I think that's majority. >> Great. Great. Well, thank you uh Miss Lawrence for sharing this and I know this was presented to the vice chair and I um and we thought it was important to share it with the entire board to give some dialogue and feedback um about how and you know the steps to move

058forward with this because again I think the outstanding projected balance um is alarming and also knowing that we have to ensure that all kids can eat so teaching and learning can take place. So, I'll just start around the table to see if there's any comments or questions. Miss Cfield, >> thank you. Um, I just wanted to go if we could um speak on slide four. I know that we had brought this up and I believe it was last year that we were talking about am I on the right side? The three when they exceed the three days. Mhm. >> It says that we are providing vegetables, fruit, and milk. >> Vegetables, fruit, and water >> and water. So, we did not go I thought we were when we discussed this last time, I thought we

059were providing a finding a way to provide a protein. >> No. So, Oh, go ahead. >> Oh, sorry. >> I just don't see how kids can survive on vegetables and water when they don't have I'd rather you skip the vegetables and give the protein. I I believe what we did is that we had directed the staff not to follow the current policy in order to avoid what some were calling like the the meal of shame, right? And so there's a policy on the books and if I interpret staff's request, they're asking permission to go back and enforce the policy as an alternative to the direction that we gave them. But because what we directed them to do is creating a large correct deficit. >> That is that is absolutely correct. >> Okay. So then slide

060four is actually >> Yes. And that that is an error. >> That's where the 153 came from. >> Correct. And so the even the estimated amount that the board currently or the district currently budgets for to support us, it was built off knowing that they would have to provide the unlimited fruits and vegetables in the water. And so that was kind of like a roundabout amount that they kind of do every year. So like this past year they cleared that because that's in the budget. So we're at 152 right now and we could be at you said 250 by the end of the year. >> That's the estimate at I'm thinking at a minimum. >> And how much have we received so far this year for angel funds? >> That's in the doc in assembly.

061It's a handout. Um, it is more donations. >> I have them all open. >> 87,000. >> Okay. >> 87,45130. >> That's correct. >> Okay. So, you're this presentation. We're asking for us to go back to policy to the vegetables and the water. >> Correct. we're not it's not necessarily focusing on the alternative meal definition. It's really just to go back to the policy to make sure that we're enforcing what was already on the books. >> So to clarify on slide >> five, it says one fruit, two vegetables, and a milk. So, it's unlimited fruits and vegetables, but I had in order to give you a cost estimate, I just made that estimate because most kids are going to pick up like a full cup of vegetables and a fruit, but it is unlimited. So, the

062cost could change. So, if they were to keep going back, it would increase, but most kids typically aren't going to go back that many times, but that is definitely an option if they need to. So, so to kind of follow up on um Chair Swanson, I know you said water, but on the slide it does say milk. >> Yes, that was an error. >> Okay. So, it should be water. >> The policy currently says water. >> Okay. Okay. Vice Hershey. [snorts] Um, so what would be the cost if we had them allowed them to have the main meal versus the sides? >> So the meals are planned daily and there's not necessarily a set cost every day. So an example would be if I serve a white m chicken breast sandwich on one day, that's

063a more expensive meal than me serving a hot dog. So it would vary. So, I wouldn't be able to give you an exact, but I could tell you, for instance, if I did a turkey sandwich, it would be $3.14. Um, if they did a pizza meal, it would be $3.7. And if we did a cheese sandwich, it would be $2.80. >> I thought we had at some point a peanut butter sandwich, peanut butter and jelly sandwich or something that was part of the alternative meal. >> Not that I know of. Now, we do have Crustables on our menu, but Crustables aren't as um affordable as traditional peanut butter and jelly. And then also be mindful that we do serve peanut butter in our schools, but when you start getting into like your elementary kids, there

064are some allergy concerns also with that. So, we do have processes in place, but peanut butter is not necessarily the first choice, >> right? So, I I have a pro I I cannot just do one fruit and two vegetables and water. I think we are going to get rightfully skewered by the public on that. >> How are we not able to I mean if you I know it's complicated but a loaf of bread and a jar of something at a store can make a whole lot of food for not much money. >> Grilled cheese, >> right? I mean you can make a lot for a dollar per meal. So, where is our creativity to be able to provide more than a fruit and two vegetables and water? And I'm not putting the blame on you

065or anybody else. And I and I know it would require work on our end, more work for our staff, but you know, it was almost one thing when it was milk and not water because there's sub substance to milk. I don't know how we explain this to and I do I do want to recognize too that clearly there are some people taking advantage of the fact that we are paying and not charging and that's problematic and I encourage those people to please do your part and that's why we're even having the conversation here because there are people that could be paying and that are not >> and so we have to call that out and that's clear by the evidence of the cost this year versus past years. I do want to be mindful that

066we don't need need to do this as a public shaming because we also I just want to make sure that we're not we're being delicate because the fact that >> I am being delicate >> Mr. Vice Chair let me >> I was I was not done but go ahead. >> I will cuz I do have the gavvel sir. So, okay. >> So, let's just I get that this is a very delicate and and I get that. I get it. >> But what I wanted to caution is saying that we cannot use the opportunity to potentially shame folks for not covering males because again, we don't understand folks situation, but we also understand that CNS is a additional business as well. And so, just make sure that we're being very delicate of the two was the

067only thing I was trying to get out. >> I am not shaming anyone who has legitimate problems. I'm talking about people who are knowingly manipulating the system and I think the facts bear that out and staff has talked about that. But getting back to the main point is how do we provide them something? Because if they go with a fruit and a vegetable and water, what are they doing? I mean, some of them are getting fed at 10:00 a.m. or 11:00 a.m. and they have three more hours. What's the impact of our on our grades and our school systems and on our teachers that have to deal with that? So, so, so what I would say is that um if [clears throat] if a kid if a student is not properly nourished, uh then we

068know that's going to have an impact on learning and and you know, I'd be the first one to tell you that. Uh uh I do want to remind everyone that uh a student that does not pay, they actually get the first three meals, which is the full meal. Uh so it's not saying that if you don't have funding day one, you don't get anything. And so I do know that the intent of the board um it's been almost two years was to say that we don't want to put kids in a position to where uh they're not able to get a full meal as they're going through this. And we also knew and understood that we had an angel fund that was now um I think had gotten a little more traction and we were

069getting more funding. And so we were hoping that was a way to sort of balance that off. Uh but when we look at the trends and the numbers, we know that before when we had three regular meals and then the alternate meal, our district cost was about $40,000 for unpaid balances. Uh but with that change, it's kind of put us in a position to where um um whether someone is taking advantage or not taking advantage, it's kind of put us in a fiscal position to where uh by not doing anything and and not enforcing the policy, that number is going to continue to grow. Uh and that's what we wanted to do is to make sure we had uh good clear understanding from the board as to what the implications are. So that's what I

070wanted to share. I also wanted to remind everyone that when a family is experienced a hard time, no matter what day of the school year, it could be the last day, the first day, the middle after Christmas, they are welcome to complete a free and reduced lunch application and they can get benefits at any point. And so we don't decide those guidelines. USDA does, but those opportunities for families who are struggling are always there throughout the school year. So I just want to make sure everybody remembers that part as well. >> Thank you, Miss Rice. and then we'll go to uh Mr. Hickerty and then Dr. Joe. >> Thank you. I um I appreciate the diligence that um CNS is always trying to bring to the table around this situation. I have just just about

071two or three questions. Um, one I was curious about what have we done outside of just angel fumes from my last conversation on last year around the same issue that we around the table believe that students should be fed regardless. Um so I was curious to what did the department or whomever may be responsible for those particular areas um or we as a board what did we do besides just angel fund or talked about it one time last year that got all this amazing attention for the need. But what do we do to uh connect with deeper partners to just constantly raise funds for this particular situation? That's question one. >> So we have um continued community partners with the people that we had relationships with and we do have regular meetings trying to talk

072about how we're going to raise funds. Um, but part of the issue is that between like staff running their schools and things like that, we don't have anybody that's completely dedicated to raise funds for school nutrition. And so that has been a challenge for our department is to have somebody who has the time to focus on that work. >> I understand that. That that that can be a that's a fair answer. Um, did did we build any new partners in the process? I heard you speak about our current partners. Did we build any new any new partners or get our new partners to probably reach out I mean our current partners to reach out to me old partners? So I know that um one of our partners for children's partners she does a good job

073in trying to build other relationships and that's sometimes how we end up getting more money from that organization because we have meetings with her on a regular um to help us grow. Um, and then we also have community members that make smaller donations. The thing is is they aren't large enough to cover where the gap is growing. >> Okay. Thank you. Um, Chair Swanson, my other question is, um, are we addressing hunger as more of a compliance issue or as a core barrier to student success? I'm just curious, you know, um, for me, hunger is not necessarily a behavior problem. It's more of a learning barrier. And I've heard my colleagues kind of talk about that a little bit. So, I'm able to being at home, I'm able to sit here and write my thoughts

074out a little bit um and stay stay direct. But, um we had the same conversation last year and I'm just curious that um we've heard um vice chair speak about um the you know the importance what are the uh what are the effects if you know students don't eat. We heard our superintendent respond to that that there are effects. So, I'm just curious at what point um as we as a board uh make this a non-negotiable factor and it's not something that comes back to our table every year that we're committed to making sure uh children eat because we know uh the research and we know the historic uh challenges behind when children are not able to eat. And the last thing I'll say, Chair Swanson, is in reference to my former colleague uh Monica

075Johnson Hustler, um to Miss um Tiffany's, uh response about I keep hearing us say as a whole, fill out the free and reduced lunch form. Um we know that there are dignity uh challenges around that and I asked last year and I'll ask again this year. What will we do to focus more on instead of asking about free and reduced lunch, but how are we going to continue to talk about nutrition as a whole and make it appealing? Um, and then kind of create a dynamic around where everybody fills out the form regardless their economic background just so that we can have the data as a whole. And so I just want to remind people um in the spirit of Miss Monica Johnson Hustler as she said my mama didn't fill out that form even

076though we may have needed it and so I don't want us to lose sight of that and that's all I have sponsor. Thank you. >> Thank you. >> No well I shouldn't >> except >> Oh okay. Well I know one of the things because as we prepare for next school year and some of the changes that are going to be implemented based off the big beautiful bill. Some of the things I do plan to do this spring is to go out and speak at some of the community um events um so that I am basically in front of our audience to explain why they need to um fill out an application, the importance of it because one of our concerns is that we might lose participation next year if some of these things get implemented.

077And so that is some of the things that we are doing. And then of course our applications are available online. Um, of course, paper copies. We send paper copies out to schools. And so, we do plan to do some more community engagement around free and reduce and why it's important for people to fill out the the forms. >> And and Mr. Chair, I'll add that um uh when I go out to schools, I see some very innovative work that people are doing to um to make school uh lunch um u more inclusive. we've seen second chance programs that take place. So I think schools are really doing the work of helping everybody to understand why uh school nutrition can help solve a lot of problems. Uh now the bad side to that is that when

078they recognize that and more people participate which is what we want uh it also puts us in the position where those that participate may choose not to pay. Uh so it's it's kind of a double-edged sword if you will. Uh but I think um what I've seen schools are doing a really good job in helping people to understand the benefits of being a part of the school nutrition program. So I did want to share that. >> Thank you. >> Miss Rice, I see your hand is Did you have a followup? >> I do. I apologize. I just I just just want to ask to make sure that um are we unintentionally um disciplining poverty instead of addressing a need? And so I'm sorry. I'm passionate about this particular challenge. I understand we do have budget

079concerns. Um but I just know where we are right now in Wake County um amongst the most vulnerable students. And if I can be transparent and honest, if we were to look at the data possibly within those students, you would find that a great deal of my students in district 4 may be greatly impacted. um with being able to uh only eat a fruit uh or of water um to sustain them considering they may not get anything when they get home in some cases, not all. >> Thank you. Uh we'll go Mr. Heaggerty, Dr. Joe, Miss Gordon follow-ups and then Miss Edmonds and then I'll do follow-ups. All right. Thank you, Chair Swanson. Um, first I do want to thank you all for the work that you've done. I know that you came into a

080very challenging situation and you all have worked hard to try to address these problems and I appreciate you bringing the problems to us now rather than waiting till the end of the year when there is a large deficit and then trying to, you know, figure out what we do in a crisis situation. Um, I also want to thank the four children partnership, the BAPS charities, and those that have made significant donations to the angel fund in working with these groups. A lot of them seem committed to continued support. Um, I know that Sheriff Swanson, Miss Edmonds, and I have been to one of their fundraisers, actually two fundraisers, both the fund run and the the Christmas event. And I think that together we can identify other potential partners that might want to fund this work.

081I also want to uh acknowledge the AJ Fletcher Foundation who I believe also made a generous donation to this work as well. Um but while that philanthropy is important, as we've seen, we still have a deficit. And you know, we just came out of a budget and finance meeting where we identified a number of essential programs that are not required by the state, but that require local funds or other funding that's not significant. and and we know that for every service and program we want to provide, we do have to find funding for it. And so I do want to and with all due respect, I want to um readress a question Mr. Hershey had and then maybe provide an answer for him, which was Mr. Hershey had asked if we had any sort of

082estimate on what it might cost to continue to follow our current practice of providing a full meal rather than the alternative meal. And my suggestion while acknowledging that dayto-day the individual meal price varies is it looks like we have a year of data as it looks like. >> Yeah, we have a year of data that shows what that deficit is and it looks like it's about $250,000. So, it would seem that if we wanted to continue our direction, which is different than the policy, we'd need to come up with 150 to $250,000 from, you know, our operating funds in order to cover that deficit. Now, I say operating funds, if we could find that in other private philanthropy, that could pay for it. if we could find that and reduce costs somewhere, we could do

083that. But it seems to me, and if I'm wrong, let me know. But it seems to me that that's really the target that we're looking for. And so I think we've heard from the majority of the board that providing these kids a meal more substantial than the meal described in the policy is the desire of the board. And I say that in full recognition of the challenge and being able to pay for it. So then I think the challenge falls back on us to then figure out how we can pay for it. And then ultimately if we can pay for it and it's sustainable, we need to change that policy to bring it into alignment with what we've stated we should do versus having a policy that's in conflict with what we say is the

084right thing to do. So, our options, and you know, I appreciate folks have s thrown out some ideas and suggested some stuff I hadn't thought of, but it seems to me our options are to follow the policy, which I think you're hearing some feedback that that's not where a lot of board members would like to go. we can fund the deficit somehow finding a corresponding cut from some other program in the operating budget and then reallocating those funds to this very important student need. This won't be popular, but we could increase lunch prices for those who can pay knowing that the current lunch prices do not cover the cost of the meals. We in doing so we may have more students that need the free lunch. But if we have more students of affluence that

085can cover that cost that's a potential option just as finding a way to sell more meals or more of those additional items that you know we sell to generate profits. If there was a way to do that we could put more money into the program. There's some other ideas you know something that Mr. Hershey had championed with the share program. I know that in my district we were this is the one from toward uh zero waste. >> Yes. >> With the food reclamation. My district in district 7 wasn't one that had participated in the program but we had speakers come out there. Many of the PTAs, many of the principles were very excited and so they have added the program. And so the fact that you could have fresh food that's available to students throughout

086the day may be something that can help supplement and make sure that those kids, especially those ones that are eating at like 9:45 or 10 in the morning, can get something later in the afternoon. Is there some radical change that we need to address? I've asked this before. If our current CNS system with its federal guidelines is restrictive to the point that we just can't cover costs, do we need to look at other alternative systems that maybe other districts around the state are pursuing with private prep kitchens or, you know, ways to bring the private sector in. You know, we frequently have people come up and offer to Mr. Ris's point about partnerships, people that want to help, but they're often scared off by the red tape and what those FDA regulations are. You know,

087the state government has a program for farm-to-table meals that no one can participate in because it doesn't meet the FDA regs, right? And I think our own state lawmakers see this frustration and maybe they could help us in this regard. Um, so if we want to do what we're currently doing, which is in violation of the policy, I think all of us are incumbent on finding a way to pay for it. Um, that's my main point. And I just do want to add about the free and reduced lunch form again to another point that was raised. I've carried it around for months and I just finally recycled it. So, I don't have my prop, but if you look at that form, I mean, y'all, it really is like a tax form and not one of

088the eases either. You know, it's intimidating. I think it can scare people off. And if there was a way we could collect that information in a way that was more familyfriendly, more approachable, you know, even just larger type, right, and some spacing, it might be a longer form, but it might be more inviting to people. and you know we can we can market it in a way that's more of an opportunity to include people than it is to exclude people. Um I think those would all be good ideas. So thank you. Thank you Mr. Chair. >> Thank you Dr. Drew. >> I thank you very much for coming and I absolutely understand the issue here. Um I have a couple of clarifying questions though. when you say that you communicate to parents uh when they've

089reached the three-day mark, what does that communication look like? >> So on I think it is two to three days out of the week, we send an email, we do a call out. Um managers also send a list to um school administrators with a list of students who may be in a negative so that they can maybe communicate to those parents or sometimes they may not respond to our managers. Um, some of our managers also use the app Talking Points because sometimes parents respond to texts quicker. Um, and then we also have some staff members in central office that will call parents to kind of just reach out to kind of lighten the load of the managers in the schools to have like a phone conversation. >> All right. And when they when you do

090email them or or that kind of thing, do you attach the free and reduced lunch form to it? >> Julie, do they get the Yes, they do. >> Okay. All right. because I'm wondering if what u Mr. Heard was talking about is a could help with some of those barriers like if we had the social workers you know reach out more um and you know offer like if the form was pre-filled out with you know a lot of the information or you know if there was some way to make it more accessible and easy. the so the the goal of communicating to the principal is actually for part of what you said is actually for them to reach out to the social worker in some some cases to maybe figure out maybe why the parent

091isn't submitting the application cuz maybe they're having some challenges that as a manager we may not know about >> right >> um as far as preill it's it is very income tax like it is very specific to the family because it's really verification of income so it's it's address how many kids live in your family and you you know, your earnings and then there's a a spot where we don't verify everybody, but they have to submit it like IRS documents cuz we verify verify a random sample. Okay? >> And so we have to be able to like pull from that part of it, too. So that's kind of why it's it's not, you know, we can't really prefill it if that makes sense. The easiest thing we do now is we do have people that

092answer phones like all the time, answer questions. We train our managers on how to answer questions. It's online. they can do it from their cell phone because most people nowadays have a cell phone. So, I think being digital is probably the best way that we respond to make it as easy for parents as possible to respond. I wonder how aware people are of what the income requirement is for free juice lunch too because there might be a good population out there that is like I'm not even going to bother with this cuz we there's no way we qualify when really they could. So, I cannot tell them what they need to put on the application, but it is public information that they can Google and research to see if that makes sense. On the letter

093that we send out, typically they list the reduced rates because it's kind of pre-sent to us from the state level >> and then parents fill out according to their actual income. >> Yeah. And I guess my other my other question is more towards the beefing up the angel fund because I can see there's less in there, you know, even though we're only halfway through the year, there's less than there was last year. But >> uh because we had like in my district >> almost every school did a food drive or a food bank or something like that. If this was if if we made the schools >> if we gave the schools almost permission to be more public about this issue, >> then maybe they would be raising money for this more than a food

094bank. And you know, if they were helping their own community, that might be a way to go as well. >> Correct. And and there are some principles and PTAs who actually do that. like there um are even departments within Wake County that for Christmas instead of doing gifts, they gave donations to the angel fund. So, some of them are very active in that way. So, it definitely would be um a welcome thing. >> Okay. Thank you. >> No problem, >> Miss Gordon. >> Thank you. Um uh before I ask my question, um I did want to say that um and you know we keep we keep bringing this up but how you all have done a phenomenal job with communicating on social media like I'm seeing the post on my social media like I try

095to share it um like it. I think it's going to take the effort of the board as a whole to continue to elevate the information around um around CNS and you know what you all are trying to communicate around nutrition around you know menus for the week um but I also wanted to say um and I think this question has been asked in a variety of different ways but what non-traditional resources or remedies have we explored um I know Mr. Hagerty has um suggested several of them, but when I when I say like non-traditional, I'm thinking of um like have we specifically looked at communities that are being that are being most affected by this? And have we explored community um organizations that are in that community that are willing to lend help? I'm not

096specific to certain communities, but I also want to make sure that we all understand that like if you were to look at that balance. Um, and I actually broke down the numbers before this meeting, 85% of that balance are from our paid kids. And so I want to make sure we understand that too. I think our needy kids are actually their needs are being met, right? >> And so you have that other gap. And so even if we go out to the community, I feel like I would want to make sure that we're going to them for the right reasons, if that makes sense. And I'm not saying we can't help everybody, but I do think we need to be aware of who who is actually really using this those dollars or whatever, but we

097definitely can look at other comm other other opportunities to get help and support for sure. And those are great suggestions. So, point of clarity. >> Um, so you're saying that this is primarily coming from families that traditionally pay that traditionally play pay and do not have a free and reduced lunch application that qualifies them for free or reduced. Okay. And then one more question about the form. I can say as a parent, the form is just embarrassing. It's like Mr. Hagerty said and and I don't even know if that is, you know, really up to us, but it is as a as a mom that's it's embarrassing to fill out and have to turn in. Um it I know we we have discussed it becoming digitally so it can be filled out you know in

098you know the comfort of your own home with um so you have some of that um um what's the word I'm looking for? Um >> privacy. Thank you. um what has been done to kind of move the form digitally and h is that even in our Yes. So we currently do most of our forms digitally. >> Oh, okay. >> Yeah. And and that's actually better for the parent and the family. >> Okay. Because the turnaround time is so much quicker. So when we were processing applications by hand, literally we're looking at every sheet of paper, checking lines. digital. We literally pull up, we have a system that populates it and all the names. We go in, we click, we look at it real quick. It kind of knows what our numbers are pre-installed and we

099can say approved. Like literally seconds. It really changes the game on how fast we can turn around the application and we do use those resources. So, the issue is that people are just not filling them out digitally. Well, I I would say not filling them out period. I want to say digitally cuz we do still take paper applications. >> Okay. >> Um and I don't know because I say 85% of students that are on the negative list technically are paid. I don't know what percentage of those maybe just didn't bother. You know, would they really qualify? I don't know that. And I can't make them fill out application. You know, we can offer it and those kinds of things. >> Okay. Thank you. No problem. >> Miss Lawrence, I do want to ask one question.

100I'm not sure this I've uh text uh Chief B a little bit. He may not see the message, but uh are do we now have the capability in Infinite Campus to collect the uh the free and reduced lunch information? I'm not sure if we can or not. Do you guys know? >> Um I don't know, but we use a separate system from a company called H Heartland. And how it works is we pre-scan in and enter all the information. And when it comes into us, it's it can read what the parent whether it's paper or not and it compares it for us. So it's not they're both great systems if that makes sense. I've used Infinite Campus. I have they both do the same thing I guess is what I'm saying. >> Did you have

101>> I'm sorry. One more question on the the the form itself. Is it visible from the main website? >> I would have to check. >> I would just suggest that it's >> I'm not sure. It I think is we I'm not sure how many clicks it is to get, but if it needs to be quicker, I'm sure we can talk to communications about moving it quicker and then we do send out flyers and QR codes and >> all those kind of things as well. Okay. Thank you, >> Miss Edmonds. >> Thank you. I have several questions, but I and I am watching the time so I'll be quick. So, the form, do we have control over that form? We could we edit it at all? Okay. >> I edited So, I edit a little bit,

102but I can't edit the whole thing if that makes sense. Sure. I mean, I would imagine >> like Yeah. Like I'm required to have certain parts on there statement, all these different things. And that's why you see so many words on one page. It's because I'm trying to figure out how to piece together everything that's required. >> Thank you. Um, and I I'm not looking for you to answer this, but I just I am a little um it's difficult for me to hear what I feel like you're saying of who's using up these funds or who's not paying because we know that um you know cost of living has gone up, cost of insurance has gone up and so I'm I'm hesitant for us to I'd be very interested to hear how you're making that

103determination, but not right this minute. >> Okay. >> I'm I'm just putting out there that I've got a lot of concern about how um how you know that uh clearly we can't, you know, philanthropy our way out of it. Um I was thinking just beyond the angel funds um and it was mentioned that we do have the zero waste, you know, but those are not hardly in even a quarter of our schools, let alone all of them. Um and some food some schools have food pantries that are run by the students, you know, or community groups. We've got backpack buddies, you know. So there's we have all of this and yet, you know, we really we need our state and federal governments to adopt universal school meals, period. I know that's not within our purview,

104but I did want to raise that this has been something that um our commissioners have traditionally really supported us on. Um, you know, I know when Matt Calabria was on the board, um, he and Jessica Holmes, Commissioner Holmes worked really hard to get, uh, some universal breakfast at some of our schools. um you know and it so I just think we need to you know raise community awareness in addition with our um uh commissioners and and I don't you know perhaps just uh in um maybe encourage that conversation on for them as well and then I really appreciate uh Chair Hagerty what you said I think this is this is a basic human right um and I really don't care who's trying to eat at school. If we've got kids that want a school meal,

105they should get one. And so I I think I'm in favor. Um it would it the money does have to come from somewhere, but this is a a basic human right and we should um find the money as hard as that will be because I know it's not just sitting out there somewhere. I understand it will come from some other line item. Um, but I think that it's just the right thing to do. Thank you. >> So, I know that we are at time, but I I guess it's the will of the board to continue as currently. And if you all can bring an update at the end of the year to let us know, I think that would be where we are. And if folks are interested in participating and helping, I think that

106works. But, um, thank you for bringing this to us. And um we will now go to our recommendation to turn year round schools into using changing the date for year- round schools to be consistent with our traditional schools of being a teacher workday. So welcome uh Mr. Carrosa and Miss uh Anderson Pal. You >> go first. Can I jump right in? we so we are recommending um to add a day out for students on March 3rd, 2026 which would number one align with all other calendars which are out that day. Um it's an election day as you know we make calendars two years in advance. When we made this calendar, we did not have options for remote instruction [snorts] and we were having to do EOG test readministration at the end of the year. So

107we had put two bank days at the end of the year for that. So given six bank days in total that taking two away only left four for year round. So that year that committee opted not to put a teacher work day on March 3rd. However, now that we have remote instruction options and um we don't have to do a readministration after the school year um so we can look at something different. So now we're recommending March 3rd be closed for students. It still would be a day of work for teachers um to align with all of the other calendars in the district. >> Great. Thank you for bringing this to us. I know it was um I wouldn't say last minute, but I I think we were able to jump on this as quickly

108due to some emails from families who have kids in year round and trying to be consistent and also being mindful of the safety concerns with having some of our schools being election utilized for election days and so we want to be mindful of that. So I see Miss Edmonds hand so I'll recognize you Miss Edmonds. >> Thank you so much. Um just when I saw this on the agenda, I just was thinking, okay, here we are with all this buzz about a winter storm that's coming this weekend. Um that could potentially, you know, impact um but your point about the remote learning days which we save till the very last possible I I am sure you've thought about this also. So can you reaffir or can you affirm that you are not worried about the

109need for weather banked? >> I'm always worried [laughter] >> I'm going to New York and I'm always worried about options for weather makeup especially for year round um because when we run out of options we look at Saturdays to make that instructional time up and we certainly want to avoid that. Um, last Friday I wasn't worried. Today I'm a little more worried with the impending weather, but um, I think with the use of I think there a couple of tracks that still have three bank days. I think one has one bank day, but with the remote instruction, hopefully that will balance out. Fingers crossed. >> Historically, Multitrack year round has had the least amount of bank time available. So while we talk about bank days, there are several other you know banked hours that we

110could translate into a particular day. But you know the weather it has been the last several years it's been tough to predict >> and the state does provide us to have at least 5 days of remote learning and traditionally the district has not done that since the pandemic. So we do have those options as well so we don't have to utilize s you know Saturday schools or whatnot. So, this item will be uh on the agenda for action because we're making a change and I think as we move forward um we haven't done the 28 count. We have done the 28. >> We have done the 27m we have done the 26 27 year round. I will be bringing that back because we no longer need those bank dates at the end. Okay. And then

111I will be bringing 26 27 early college calendars because we have not approved those. And then I will bring 2728. Oh my god. Am I traditional modified and year round? All of those will come end of February, beginning of March. >> Okay. And if there's ways so we don't have to keep, you know, modifying and uh calendars if we could utilize when we know that there's primaries and general elections and our board of elections are utilizing our schools just so we're being consistent if we can bank those days in there to the best of our ability >> and now that we have more opportunities, we can do that moving forward on year round. >> Great. Thank you. Are there any other questions or concerns? >> All right. Thank you and we look forward to this

112being on the action item. >> Excellent. Thank you so much. Thank you. So, our last uh item on the agenda is not on your agenda, but I had a note to remember this. Uh Dr. Taylor's going to share with us about the Council of Great City Schools. >> Thank you, Mr. Chair, for giving me the opportunity to just quickly share with the board. Uh as we move forward, we are going to be engaging with the council of great city schools. Uh as you know, we are the 14th largest district uh in the nation. Uh but one of the issues that we face is when we meet with district within the state uh we are not necessarily having the same kind of issues and problems. Uh uh at this point u um Wake County um Meckllinburgg

113County is the only one that's of comparable size to Wake County. Uh and so this will give us access to a network of uh of urban leaders that deal with problems that are similar to ours. Uh also those experts that deal with policy issues and legislation and regulations. many of the things that we're dealing with as as a large and growing district. Uh [snorts] there's also u uh some technical assistance that they can give to school boards uh in the work that you do. Um and certainly uh the leadership support for the school district uh and the opportunity to engage in in job alike uh positions where our staff can be able to engage with them. And so if I think about uh a person who administers a large program here, uh they may not

114necessarily have the same issues as someone who is in a Washington county or a um you know Jones County. And so just wanted to share that with the board uh that we've done uh considerable uh vetting with this organization. Um and there are actually a number of other districts in the state that are a part. So just wanted to share that with you. We will be bringing back additional information as we increase the engagement. So, thank you, Mr. Ch. >> Thank you. Are there any questions from the board? All right. I'm looking at the time. We have eight minutes. I'm wondering is it >> No, we don't have time. >> So, we'll just stand adjourn until we'll call the work session. Uh we'll end the work session and we'll stand adjourn until the 5:30 meeting.

115Thank you.