001Are we on? We'll give a minute for everything to start. There we go. All right. Good evening everyone. Today is Tuesday, August the 5th, 2025. It is 5:30 p.m. and we are calling this regular meeting of the Wake County Board of Education to order. I want to welcome those of you that are watching at home and those of you who are here in person. The Wake County Board of Education meetings are conducted for the official business of the Wake County Public School System. The public is cordially invited to attend our board meetings to observe the board as it conducts its official business. Persons who willfully interrupt, disrupt, or cause disturbances at an official meeting may be directed to leave by the presiding officer. Members of the audience should show respect for the other speakers by
002refraining from loud comments or any other disruptions. Disruptions by any person or persons of a public meeting will be subject to action in accordance with North Carolina General Statute 143 31817. All right. So I do see everyone is here. We are ready to begin. We have a quorum. So I'd ask all of you that are able to stand please join us for the pledge of allegiance. I aliance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. >> All right. Thank you everyone. So, as usual, the first item on our agenda is consideration and adoption of the meeting agenda. At this time, I'll entertain any motions. >> So, move, Mr. Sure. >> Vice Chair Swanson has put
003forward a motion to adopt the meeting agenda. I heard a second from Miss Rice unless there's any discussion or debate. All in favor of adoption of the meeting agenda, please say I. >> I. >> Any opposed? All right, the meeting agenda has officially been adopted. So, we will turn to the first item on tonight's agenda, which is our public comment period. public comment as you know um speakers we would who were speaking on items on the agenda do have priority over those who are speaking off agenda. We also give priority to students but we don't have any students speaking for us here tonight. Most of them are on spring break though we do or summer break um but we do have some year- round schools that are active but there are no students here tonight.
004So um we will be going through that priority system. All attendees that are not speaking are asked to remain seated. Only one person may speak at the podium um at a time. Concerns related to personnel issues or student matters may be addressed through applicable WCPSS personnel policies, the grievance policy and other applicable policies in the interest of maintaining civility and decorum. Speakers are encouraged there to encouraged to address their comments up here to the board, not to each others, not to the audience. Um again we ask for courtesy and respect you know uh speakers must refrain from personal attacks and insults directed at other speakers. The board member members of the general public please remain at the podium during your speaking time. Any materials you wish to share with the board can be handed to
005our board attorney Mr. Malone here at the end of the table and do that either before your speak before you begin speaking or after you begin speaking and that won't take out that won't count against any of your time. Um, I mentioned time speakers may speak for up to three minutes. Please note the microphones at the podium are adjustable. Go ahead and get adjust them to a comfortable lo, a comfortable level. Uh, when you're beginning to speak, your time will begin once you begin to speak. You'll see a green light come on to let you know that the time has begun. When you hear an audible tone or see that light turn yellow, it means that you have 30 seconds remaining in your time. When your speaking time is up, you'll see a red light
006and you'll hear a second audible tone. At that time, we will call the next speaker up to speak. Please again respect the time limit. Please respect the other people that are coming to speak tonight. It takes a lot of courage to get up and make a public speech before a body. And we just ask for courtesy and respect from everyone involved. So, with that, we will go to our onaggenda speakers. Our first speaker tonight will be Let's see. Mr. Joseph Deon who'll be followed by Mr. John Blog. Policy 4040 section C1C states that employees must report if they witness behavior by another employee that has the appearance of impropriy whether or not it may have a valid purpose. That needs to be much more specific because very often employees do not report boundary crossing or
007grooming behavior. They worry they don't have proof of abuse. They are afraid of wrongly accusing someone, especially a fellow teacher, and causing tension with other staff and the principal. Bystanders have remained silent over and over again in cases of abuse that could have been prevented, as documented by Professor Carol Shakeshaft in the references I provided last meeting. Not only do employees not need proof before reporting suspect behavior, they should not attempt to get proof of of abuse because that could mess up a law enforcement investigation. Special expertise is required to interview child or adolescent victims. This needs to be noted in 4040 and 4240. Boundary crossing is not necessarily criminal and may be completely innocent, but it can lead to criminal abuse. This is the stage at which intervention can prevent abuse from happening. Intervention
008can range from a simple reminder of appropriate behavior followed by increased supervision up to termination for serious violation of policy whether or not it it is criminal. If a preliminary inquiry by a principal ends with just a reminder, it should still be recorded in the employees file so that future principles or title N officers can see if the behavior persists or a pattern develops. According to Shakeshaft, many abusers did not go into teaching with with bad intention, but they were opportunistic and were tempted into it. Guard rails in rigorously enforced policies and simple warnings can be a deterrence. I can think of a dozen common boundary crossing behaviors that need to be explicitly prohibited in policy 4040. More on that next time. Thank you. Good evening. >> Thank you. Mr. Dayton, is Mr. Bailock here?
009>> Not yet. >> Don't see him. Okay. If he comes in before uh public comment is done, we'll just add him to the end of the queue. All right. For the off agenda speakers, we'll start first with Jamie Boost. will be followed by Katie White. >> I'm here before you as a parent, PTA member, and teacher at Pleasant Union Elementary to advocate against the proposed calendar change that you heard earlier this afternoon. In 2014, my family moved to Wake County and I began working at pee specifically because of the year- round schedule. Now that I have children, they attend and will attend pee because our school's excellent and my family is not unique. The community and culture that we've spent decades cultivating is unlike any other that I've been a part of. When staff retire
010from our building, it's due to years of service or family relocation. Our reputation surpasses us as people and shows up in our school ratings and our test scores. We have and have had teachers, administrators, and staff that drive over an hour and across multiple other school districts to arrive at pee each morning because we are a gem within Wake County Public Schools. As seen in other schools that made the transition from year round to traditional, this is going to fundamentally change our school culture. Staff and families will leave not by choice, but because many of our staff members will lose months of pay, and our entire staff will experience pay schedule changes, making immediate and long-term financial impacts and possibly affecting upcoming retirements. For staff, staying will not make sense financially, and relocating schools not
011affected by this recommendation will be a burden and a hardship that may drive more teachers away from our profession. Families who rely on the flexibility of our schedule and the dedication of our incredible staff will leave for more stable schools, possibly leaving our district altogether as our pee demographic will more than likely choose private or charter schools over calendar alignment. We do not want this change. The recommended calendar change was presented as a way to save financially for our school district. Losing highly qualified staff and multiple families is not the solution. One possible suggestion is to consider schools with a lower enrollment than pee. According to the W article published this morning, both Heritage Elementary and Heritage Middle are sitting at around 70% enrollment. This is over 10% less than enrolled at pee and North
012Forest Pines, affecting far less folks in the proposed plan. Another solution with financial gains would be to choose a single track 4 calendar for the pee family. There must be a more efficient way to save money. Again, we do not want this change. Finally, Dr. Inger, families and a lot of our staff members live and vote within District 3. Please hear our voices and support your constituents as we ask you to allow us the option and the choice of a year- round calendar. Please vote in favor of keeping a year- round calendar and oppose the recommendation of changing our school to traditional in the 2728 school year. Please encourage your colleagues to do the same and stand for us. Represent us, our families, our students, and our teachers and staff. Thank you. >> Thank you.
013Our next speaker will be Katie White, who will be followed by Becky Lu Hops. >> Good evening. My name is Katie White and I'm a parent and PTA member at North Forest Pines Elementary. I have two boys at the school. My family chose North Forest Pines for its year- round calendar and for its strong reputation and our experience at the school has been phenomenal. A great great staff, wonderful people there. Uh the year- round calendar has been a tremendous benefit in our opinion. The pattern of nine weeks in, three weeks out reduces burnout in students and teachers and spreads our child care costs across the year instead of concentrating them in the summer. And I know that we're not the only family who faces that. I have participated in the thought exchange in the Google
014meets call about the calendar change and I have spoken to many members of the school community about the change as well. Through these conversations, I've heard my concerns echoed. Um people don't want to change to a traditional calendar. We specifically applied for a calendar transfer to be able to go to year- round school and it has it has been a blessing for our family. I'm concerned that if the board switches North Forest Pines to a traditional year calendar, the school community will lose not only the benefits of the year- round calendar, but also many of the families such as my own who selected the school for the year- round calendar and many of its wonderful staff members who prefer to teach on a year- round schedule. I respectfully urge the board to maintain the North
015Forest Pines calendar as it is or to switch to a single track year- round schedule if I I understand that that probably saves some money compared to multittrack uh to allow families in the community to continue to choose the schedule that works best for their families and their students. And finally, I ask, if the board switches North Forest Pines to a year-round schedule, will my family and families like mine have public options to transfer to a year- round school, or will or will we be forced to find a better match for our needs in an area charter school or a private private school? Thank you so much for your time. >> Thank you. Uh, now we hear from Becky Luhas. Hi, I'm Becky Lou Hobbs and I've had children in Wake County schools since 2012.
016On July 29th, the North Carolina legislature voted to override governor's veto of HB 805, choosing to protect the rights and safety of women and children. This bill codifies President Trump's executive order from earlier this year. It's astonishing that we need legislation like this. But for years, several members of this board have made decisions that put children at risk and have ignored biological reality. As you should be aware, HB 805 directly affects Wake County schools. First, under HB 805, North Carolina law now clearly recognizes two sexes, male and female. Sex and gender are not interchangeable terms. Yet, when reviewing Wake County policies, many use gender as a substitute for sex. This is neither legally accurate nor biologically sound. So I ask, what are you doing to bring the policies into compliance with the new law? Second,
017library books now not only applies to materials in school libraries, but all print and non-print resources in classrooms. The law requires that all library books must be listed in the online catalog, clearly accessible from the homepage of each school's website. It also gives parents the rights to identify library books their child may not borrow. Currently, none of the Wake County schools have a link in their online catalog on their or their homepage. So, when will the online catalog links be added to each school's homepage? What is the plan for ensuring classroom library books are included in the catalog because they're not now? How are classroom materials being identified within this catalog system? and what process is in place to honor a parent's request to restrict their child from from checking out certain library books. And
018third, HB 805 requires that schools provide advanced notice to parents on any specific classroom discussion, activity, or assigned reading. It guarantees that students must be excused from these if a parent objects on a religious grounds. Yet, while current policy allows for objections, it fails in a couple ways. It does not require that a parent receives advanced notice about these materials in the first place, but it gives the district 10 to 30 days to respond when a complaint happens. So, this policy does not comply with HB 805. So, when will this be corrected and what steps are being taken to bring it into compliance immediately? So, Wake County schools must comply with the law, not ignore it. HB 805 is not optional. It's binding, effective, and enforceable. Parents expect transparency, accountability, and respect for biological reality
019and religious freedom. I urge the board to take action to revise policies and update systems immediately and comply with the North Carolina law. Thank you. >> Thank you. And that will conclude our public comment period. The next item on our meeting agenda tonight is consideration and adoption of items on the consent agenda. Is there a motion at this time? >> Mr. Chair, I move uh the adoption of the consent agenda. >> We have a motion from Vice Chair Swanson, a second from Miss Rice. All in favor of adoption of the items on the consent agenda, please say I. >> I. >> Any opposed? >> All right, the motion passes and those items will be adopted. At this point, um we have concluded our meeting agenda. We have only information items, comments from our superintendent, Dr.
020Robert Taylor, and then comments from the board. Dr. Taylor. Thank you, Mr. Chair, and good evening to you all. I want to extend our sincere thanks to the BAPS Charities for their generous and com uh commitment to our students. Uh in May, BAPS held his annual walk- run event here in Wake County and chose to dedicate this year's fundraiser to our angel fund, which helped students who don't have enough money to purchase their school meals. Thanks to that dedication uh of the volunteers and supporters, they raised nearly $18,000 to help make sure no child goes hungry during the school day. Uh this is a meaningful contribution to a very real need in our schools. We're also grateful to the many parents and community members who continue to ask how can they help. Uh, and there
021are two simple ways that you can contribute. Donate leftover funds from a student meal account or make a one-time or recurring donation. So, you can visit wcpss.net/angelfund to learn more about how you can support students in need. Every gift, large or small, helps ensure our students are wellfed and ready to learn. Um, so we're truly thankful for this latest example of the generous support we receive from our community. And I'll also like to say congratulations to Shannon Lowry, an eighth grade English and social studies educator at Wake Young Women's Leadership Academy for receiving the fullbrite teacher exchange award for the 2526 cycle from the US Department of State and the Fulbright foreign scholarship board. Uh this honor awarded by the US Department of State at the Fulbright uh scholarship board recognizes her commitment to global
022education and cultural exchange. She joins a distinguished cohorts of approximately 400 US educators and administrators who will engage in meaningful international collaboration through the fullbrite teacher exchange. On top of this honor, she is also it is also worth noting that Mr. Lowry had 100% proficiency with her students on this year's eighth grade reading EOGs. I'm going to say that again. Mrs. Lowry students had 100% proficiency. I think that is outstanding. It is clear that she is truly a remarkable educator. Congratulations, Mrs. Lowry, on this exceptional honor. That's Miss Larry. I think I married her in my comments, not Mrs. Uh lastly, I'm excited to share that we've launched a new monthly newsletter called Community Connections designed to keep our community informed, engaged, and connected uh to the work happenings across our district. Uh some of
023you may have received information about this new endeavor last week. Uh so whether you're a nonprofit partner, faith-based leader, uh elected official, or simply someone who cares deeply about public education, this newsletter is for you. Uh each issue uh includes highlights of key district priorities such as early childhood readiness, social emotional learning and workforce development. It also features partnership opportunities, school success stories, and upcoming community events. This is our way of opening the door a little wider to share what's happening in our schools and how our system support learning for every student. We know people are busy and there are many de uh demands for your time and attention, but we hope folks will take a moment to subscribe, stay informed, and stay engaged. When our community understands how public education works, they're better equipped
024to support us in the essential work of making sure every child in Wake County has the chain has the chance to reach their full potential. And I'll say this again that it is about making sure that our public fully understands how public education works because we recognize that's still um um not clear to a lot of our constituents. So we're going to work on that. Uh so you can sign up at wcpss.net/collections. And Mr. Chair, I'll end my comments there. >> All right. Thank you, Superintendent Taylor. We'll uh go around the table. We'll start with Miss Evans. >> Thank you, Chair. Um, I actually the only thing I wanted to comment on tonight was to extend um my deepest condolences to the community of Westlake Elementary. Um, it's been widely reported there was a very
025serious boating accident over the weekend and we lost a student at Westlake Elementary and one of their staff members was um severely injured. So, I'm holding them close to my heart and I know that all of you are as well. and I I just wanted to acknowledge that um and send them just all the love and support that we can. Thank you, chair. >> Thank you, Miss Edmonds. Dr. Ring. >> Hi, good evening. Um uh first I would like to welcome back the students in my year- round schools uh who started back in July. Um I'm kind of late doing this because I was on vacation uh over July. As you can see, I'm still on vacation. I don't have my jacket on. Um, and our our traditional calendar school students will be starting school
026later this month. So, I guess I'm still celebrating with them uh in the vacation mode. Um, um, I would like to thank all the folks who have emailed me and the other board members regarding the calendar conversion uh, proposals for Pleasant Union and North Forest Pines. Um these are both schools in my district three and I certainly have vested interest in hearing their voices um from the parents. Um and it's always difficult to face the possibility of completely upending your family's routine and this kind of change certainly is a big change. Um I also understand that that different children have different learning styles and therefore different challenges when faced with a long breaks from school. Um and um you know some pref prefers a continuous summer break um while others prefer to have um the
027learning to take place kind of year round. Uh so I certainly empathize with that. I also empathize with the plight of having to find child care during those breaks especially if it's like a you know the year round the three-week break that's what do you do with that time? Uh so it's uh hard for many parents to to um um uh go through that but you know people have dealt with it and and going and changing that to a different um model is certainly uh going to cause a lot of um uh confusion for everyone. Um and I also understand you know logistically you know challenging um what the schools have to face also financially what what the schools you know what our system is facing so I get all that and you know I
028don't take my role in making that decision lightly um and uh you know we had a um work session today and heard a lot about it um and I am you know in strong support for keeping the a some kind of format for year- round calendar. Um, and having a single track year round is a viable compromise. Um, but of course I'm only one person on the board. So, um, we will have to have a decision in September 2nd and, um, you know, I'm, um, I'm a big, uh, supporter of, uh, year-round schools. Uh I think um you know I um uh you know we we have another school in our uh system in in district 3 brassfield that I am going to strongly advocate to keep that multitrack year round as much as long
029as we can because you know it is it is a um a viable um uh uh option for many parents, many families. So uh that's what I'm uh I will be advocating for. So thank you very much. >> Thank you Dr. Mr. Hershey. >> Thank you. Um, thank you for coming and I see you too. Thank you for being here. It means a lot when you all reach out to us and we do I I'm just going to speak for me. I pay attention. Uh, I am in agreement with Dr. Yang on and I thank you for being open to a compromise and talking about the track four option. I think that really shows your commitment to the work you do in the school system and your families and having an understanding of what you
030know we have to do as board members. So, I really appreciate that and I hope you hang out for I'll try to be fast and we'll get done. And if you hang out for a little bit, I'd love to come out and just chat with you all for a little bit. Um, but thank you. Uh, okay. So my other comments, I want to welcome back our modified calendar schools and our leadership academy students who begin tomorrow and they start their partnership with Shaw University uh for the first year which is very exciting. Um I'm going to do something a little little different but you guys know me so I can uh I can do that. I want to welcome back uh some of the charter school students and the private school students who will be
031starting in the next week, week and a half. Um, I'd love to be welcoming welcoming back our traditional calendar students on a calendar of our choosing. It's it's really odd that they uh that these charter schools, you know, they get public money, of course, and now the private schools get public money and they're able to operate on whatever calendar they choose. And yet public schools, uh, Wake County public school system is not just like the other public school systems. It's really, really, uh, bizarre to me. I I do want to thank the uh um North Carolina General Assembly House that has consistently been advocating and passing uh calendar flexibility for us. Um I hope someday our state gets there. That would be a very welcome uh change for public schools. Um, I want to give
032a shout out to uh our students and our director of art education, Jeremy Tucker, for their performance in Hadestown Teen Edition. Um, it was at it's playing actually or they have three more shows at Raleigh Little Theater. It was amazing. Uh, the students were incredible in their performance. They have a show Friday and Saturday at 8:00 p.m. It's I think it's like 10 bucks for a ticket and they have a matinea on Sunday at 3, I think. I really encourage you to get out there and support them. Um it's just another I always like to point out because you know people like to take shot at our students. So I like to uplift our students and just point out that uh we have some really amazing students throughout. Um, lastly, I hope I have it
033here real quick. I probably don't have it out. Oh, we had a wonderful presentation on um from Chief Luton on uh the upcoming 50th anniversary of the merger of our school system. And I just found it so interesting that 50 years ago in early uh 1975 wake uh the school systems um about a million dollars was withheld from the office of civil rights because we had not integrated. And 50 years later we have had money cut from grants because we talk about diversity and inclusion. And so I just want people to sit on that and and you know, is that the direction we really want to go in over the 50 years? Feels like we're going a little backwards, but uh we'll work through it because we are Wake County Public Schools and we are
034an excellent public school system. And again, thank you all for being here. I look forward to chatting with you in a little bit. >> Thank you, Mr. Hershey. Miss Gordon, >> good evening. It always seems so blue. Um, I first want to start my comments off by um by welcoming our uh modified calendar and our year- round students um back to um a new school year. It always I think I I posted today about it always makes me miss the classroom when I see all of the back to school stuff. Um so I want I want to start my comments off with that. Um this morning I had an opportunity to spend some time with the tools for school um initiative led by Wake Ed partnership. And just as um a little you know information
035um over $916 each year in Wake County public schools alone. That is the amount of money that teachers are spending to make their classrooms welcoming spaces for our students. um over $1,600 um each year is spent by educators in North Carolina on the same thing. Um so it was really it was a really fun event this morning and I got to hang out with some beginning teachers. Today was the beginning teacher day. Um met amazing beginning teachers and we had fun. Um I want to end my board comments with um you know echoing everything that Dr. Ing and um Mr. Hershey has have said um I want to thank uh North Forest Pines and um PUE and the the the families um the staff. Thank you all for your for your emails. Um I the
036emails that I that I received I emailed back and my sentiment is the same. You know, I'm a educator, a former classroom teacher that comes from a year- round calendar and I currently have a child who is thriving in a year- round calendar. So, I know both sides and I I feel your sentiments and I just want to I want to put it out to the board. You know, we talk a lot about protecting our staff mental well-being and this is one of the ways that we can support them in that. Um, and so I too support, you know, Dr. Ing and his efforts. Um, and I thank you for being willing to, um, give us an alternative solution. So, thank you. >> Thank you, Miss Gordon. Coming around the table, we'll go to Miss
037Rice. >> All right. Excited to see everyone this evening. I have minimal comments. Okay. So, I'll make it very quick. Um um families of district 4 can join me with talking with T Rice every Monday virtually on Zoom to discuss educational wellness with Q&A. Um it's been very lively discussions over the past couple of months. Been enjoying that. Um you can always visit tshibarice.org under the contact us for the link. Um and finally, the eighth dimension of wellness focus today is financial wellness chosen number five uh by my colleague um on tonight. And so I just want to remind families to set a back to school budget and stick to it. Why does it matter? School expenses can add up quickly. Supplies clothes, extracurricular fees. A clear budget prevents overspending and reduces reduces financial stress.
038And how do you do it? You just make a list of essential items before you shop. Use digital tools or apps to track the spending and allocate funds for um musthaves first, then plan um for extras later. And then the second tip I just want to give you is take advantage of discounts and free resources. And why it matters is because leveraging available resources stretches your dollars further. Um, and how do you do that? You can shop during tax-free weekends or use store coupons. I remember we used to have those tax-free weekends um a few years ago, but I leave that alone. Um, look for I'm sorry. Um, look for community back to school drives. We've had a lot of those going on so far this school year. um or school-based supply programs and you
039can consider gently used items for uniforms or um technology through um local swap groups. Um that's all it has for me so that everybody has some good financial wellness and have a positive and productive day. >> Thank you. Well, next we go to Miss Caulfield. >> Hello everybody. I hope everyone is enjoying their summer and welcome back to some of our year-round students and families and staff. Um we had to wish Dr. Savage in district 1 well in his retirement in June. And we now welcome Serita Smith to District 1. I look forward to working with her in our District 1 schools. I wanted to express my deepest sympathies um and prayers to the families and friends that were affected by the tragedy over the weekend. I think our communications department, Miss Luton, shared some
040resources that may help the families navigate through such a difficult and crazy time. Um, please reach out if you need any of those resources. Everyone processes this grief differently, so you may find some of this helpful. Um, that is, you know, some everybody as far as processing that's the students, the families, and the staff as well. One thing um that this newly arranged agenda, how we how we go through it, we do the public comment first. Um it actually helps us kind of listen. So sometimes we might be able to address some of the things that are said more directly and more immediate. So I did want to thank all the families who came out today and who sent the emails and participated in the engagement sessions. I want you to know that we really
041value your input. We're listening to you. We are families that have children as well. So, we really do understand the impact that it has not only to our teachers and staff, but also to our families. Um, I hear you as a family member myself. Um, I experienced firsthand the benefits of year round and what that meant to my family. So, I do hear you and understand. Um, one thing that I did want to point out, um, is the comparison with Heritage Elementary and Heritage Middle School because their percentages do visually look like they are lower. Um, but I wanted to clarify the point that Mr. Carzo made uh, pointing out that high growth area in Wake Forest. So, that might be something that um, you might not necessarily and it's just the point to that
042to that there's a lot of high growth in Wake Forest. We went from when I moved to Wake Forest like 20 years ago, we used to joke about copperheads. Now all we talk about is apartments and and traffic. The growth there is just incredible the numbers that have grown and the growth that is coming down the pike. So one thing that Mr. Carzo did mention was that the growth in those particular areas are not actually the forecast is not as thick as it is in some of the other areas that we might see those numbers. So that's just for clarity to understand some of the numbers. Um that is not dismissing what we hear from you as to some of the benefits that it helps with the family and the staff. So I just wanted
043you to consider that um as as an explanation to understand those numbers a little bit better. Um but we do hear you the con the conversations are going to continue. So thank you for coming out and for sharing. Another um thing I wanted to talk about is we see a lot of movement in the general assembly that is affecting us here at the school at the school district. Um I'd love for the general assembly to include clear wording in some of the aspects. They have helped provide clarity. Um but some of it is not actually clear enough that it helps us define some of these lines including political organizations that could seep content into our schools. We've heard somebody come up and speak about one of the new bills that was just passed, but it's
044not exactly clear that it creates that it doesn't create a workaround around some of these laws and it does not actually always seem clear. My problem with the grants is that everyone thinks it's free money. There is zero followup on what and actually what comes into our schools once we accept this grant funds. And sometimes it's really great things that come in through these grants. We have some organizations that donate a lot of money and a lot of resources that really do help our children and could be shared with some of our other schools. That's not always the case. The underlying problem is what is coming before our children and our families. For example, um, and I've brought this one up before. sometimes it is reclassified instead of curriculum as a classroom activity. So, I
045wish that that was actually written into the general assembly statutes that they're trying that they would like us to follow and also into our policies because the classroom activity versus curriculum could look very different. And the end result is that we are still exposing our children to confusing political agendas without the consent of the parents or questioning when the parents actually really need to be notified of when it's happening. because they are notified of the curriculum but it may not necessarily be an activi an act activity that they were aware of. So for me taking funds from organizations that promote political biases and activism is not what what we send our children for and that is why I said no to the consent items and that is all I have for today. >> All right.
046Thank you Miss Caulfield, Miss Mafy. Thank you, Chair Heaggerty, and thank you to our teachers and year-round parents who came here on a school night. Um, a belated welcome to our year round um, schools and our modified schools. Um, for our Pleasant Plains Cardinals and our Rex Road Royals who are new in District 8, um, they got off to a great start and have successfully done their first trackout. So I think Miss Gordon we would say opening is complete for now. >> For now. Um beginning of the school year always brings up to me um memories of parents sitting in the school that I taught at anxiously awaiting to hear from our principal and administration on the expectations for the year whether they were new coming into kindergarten or a different grade level. And as
047I had purchased school supplies and two of my kids are switching to new levels of um one's going the baby's going to middle school. The baby's going to middle school. Um I'm not ready for this one. And you know the middle child going to high school um made me really reflect on the things that she used to tell her families. And so as I've been using them as my own mantra as a parent, I thought I would share them out. School is a safe place for students to fail and learn from failure. Don't lie for your child. We won't believe every story from home if you won't believe every story you hear from school. And school is a partnership between parents and our teachers. And that last part is so true. And I think many
048times we lose sight of that. Uh and so I hope as we go into that school year, just as these things have re-ressesonated with me, they re resonate with our parents and our staff as we move into this new school year um and soon walk into the 50th anniversary of this district. So thank you. >> Thank you, Miss Mafy. Vice Chair Swanson. >> Thank you, Chair Herity. And I also want to thank the families that are here today that for your advocacy and thank you for your advocacy. And I too join you, Dr. Ing, and in your advocacy as well in supporting some form of a year round and following your leading, your judgment uh with this. So, thank you, Dr. Ing. Um, I had the opportunity to participate with the, uh, North Carolina Child
049Youth Advisory Council with our former dean of the board, uh, Representative, uh, Monica Johnson Hustler. Um, and I served on a policy review panel with some students who took an issue that, um, we're all discussing about mental health. And they were tasked with creating and implementing a statewide policy. And so I thought it was very important for those young voices, those high school students that are taking an issue and finding ways to challenge to to meet the moment and and bring some um uh solutions to this challenge. So it was very um it the students were 12 students from across the state bringing their perspective and their goal was to pilot this within three um schools throughout the country throughout the state looking at other schools that have challenged that have faced this challenge. And
050so I I really want to just give voice to that because when we allow our students to lead they are the ones that are able to help uh come up with some great solutions in partnership like Miss Mafia has just referenced. So, just want to give a kudos to those students for their work. And there was a couple of Wake County students that were part of this council. And so, I want to thank the NC Child um organization for their for really centering those young voices and to their director of community engagement that brought us all together. Uh Kelvin Stallings. Um the keynote speakers that were there were also uh Wake County District Judge um Kevin Boxberger. We had um Representative Sarah Crawford, Representative Phil Rubin also gave some um keynotes to them about how
051advocacy and why advocacy is so important. So you all that are here tonight are also standing in that gap, not just advocating for yourself, but for other students and families as well. And so I just want to thank you for that. Um, and I would not I also wanted to just bring to awareness and thank Miss uh Nancy Haywood who is organizing yet again another community cleanup at um Kerry High School this Saturday from 8 until 12. So if you have not if you have something to do and you want to get out there and help beautify the school, join me and some others. Um you don't have to have any experience. Wear your not so Sunday best clothes. um and help you know beautify our community because our school community plays a key role
052in our um they they're a part of our communities and it was another piece I was going to lift up but I am going to charge it to my head and not my heart and I want to say Dr. You talked about not having ties. I think you and the chair and I might want to be careful before we end up on segment about the tie scandals of not wearing ties. So looked at Miss um so yes. So we may be on that segment about that, but I just thought, you know, we're still enjoying the summer break and whatnot. So welcome back to all of our families and look forward to um engaging with everyone. >> Thank you, Vice Chair Swanson. And you know, the sad thing is I actually brought a tie and then
053didn't put forgot to put it on today. So, been one of those days. Um, thank you all for your wonderful comments. You all hit on many of the items I was going to hit on. I don't want to be redundant. I do want to mention three things really quickly. One, I had a fantastic opportunity to participate in what we hope will be an annual tradition. And for some of you, I invited you along. I didn't get any takers, but at 12:01 a.m. >> on July 30th, we kicked off um cross country season here in Wake County Public Schools at Panther Creek at their field, at their stadium with Coach Scrugs coming in, really doing a lot of good things with that program. It was great to see so many young men and women excited getting
054together with their teammates trying out for the team and uh taking part in a really exciting tradition. It brought a lot of camaraderie, a lot of uh community. The boosters are out there. It was a great event. I'm still maybe buzzing a little bit off the caffeine to stay up that late, but it was a great event and um just please encourage all of your student athletes, no matter what sport they are in. Um, Miss Gordon, thank you for mentioning the tools for schools program. This is a wonderful program that um we have in our community thanks to Wake, you know, the Wake partnership. For anyone who's interested in the program again, you can find the tools for schools store at 1816 Capitol Boulevard. I know it's open now. It not open now. It was
055open today. Um, it will be open I know Thursday and Thursday we'll have some special volunteers out there including a couple people around this table. So if you didn't get a chance to talk to anybody at during the public comment but you want to catch them, you might be able to catch them at the tools for school store in addition to being able to pick up some wonderful school supplies. Uh we do want to thank all of our wonderful partners at Wake Partnership and all of the people that have donated. Uh you can donate at locations around Wake County. You can bring it directly to the store, any Staples location in Wake County. Staples is a proud partner of the program. They have a lot of good supplies there and they will collect any supplies
056that you bring in from outside, you know, or purchase there and donate those to the program as well. Um finally, you heard Mr. Hershey refer to it and then some other comments coming around the table. We are excited. Um, we will be celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Wake County public school system. And you know, we've had public schools in Wake County longer than 50 years. But for those who don't know the history, this was the beginning. This was the the consolidation of our county schools and our city schools into the school system that we have today. This came at a time that was an important moment in history and we want to make sure that we celebrate this 50th anniversary with all of the due uh pomp and circumstance that it deserves to appreciate
057the history that we have look at our situation today and help map out the direction where we want to go. And I thought as we get started, I I wanted to share this comment, this quote with you from someone who was involved, who is actually the board of education chair in 1976 when this took place. Merging the Raleigh and Wake County school systems was not an easy thing to do, but it was the right thing to do. We worked to create a school system that would serve as a foundation to a proud unified community, and we succeeded. The community should be extremely proud that we were able to integrate and merge the school system in an uncomfortable climate and we never lost a single day of school because of protest or violence. Many have de
058devoted their careers and their lives to helping this system succeed. Much has been accomplished and there is more yet to do. My hope is that the efforts of the past will light the path for those who are willing to build, and this was at the 30th anniversary, the next 30 years of the Wake County Public School System legacy now and into the future. That was from our former North Carolina senator and county commissioner, uh, Vernon Malone, who was the 1976 board of education chair, speaking at the 30th anniversary of the system. I'm proud to have been able to serve as the chair as we move into this 50th anniversary. I hope all of you around the table recognize your place in history and what we can do moving forward to work together to keep the
059Wake County school county school system a wonderful and thriving system in the future. Thank you all very much. That will conclude our board comments and at this time I'll entertain a motion. >> Mr. Chair, I uh move the approval of the HR recommendations. >> Second. We have a motion to approve the HR recommendations that were reviewed in closed session um from Vice Chair Swanson, second by Miss Mafy. All in favor of adoption of the recommendations. >> I. >> Any opposed? All right. The recommendations have been adopted. I'll entertain further motions. >> Mr. Chair, I move that we return to close session. >> Second. >> We have a motion from Vice Chair Swanson and a second from Miss Rice to return to closed session. All in favor of the motion, please say I. >> I. >>
060Any opposed? All right, we will take a recess and we will rejourn in close or sorry, we'll reconvene in closed session. Thank you.