001Yeah. Yeah. Oh yeah. All right. Where is Miss Rice? All right. Well, I'm gonna go ahead and get started. All right. Good evening, everyone. Um, I was going to say take your seats. Everyone's seated. Awesome. Uh, good afternoon. Today is Tuesday, April the 8th at, uh, 5:35 p.m. We're calling to order this regular meeting of the Wake County Board of Education. I want to welcome those of you who are watching at home and those who have joined us here in person. Wake County Board of Education meetings are conducted for the purpose of carrying on the official business of the school system. The public is cordially invited to attend 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
002to leave by the presiding officer. Members of the audience should show respect for the speakers by refraining from loud comments and other disruptions. Takes a lot of courage to come out and speak before a group. Even if whether you agree or disagree, please don't do anything disruptive that could, you know, unsettle or disrupt someone who is taking the time to come up and address us. um disruptions by any person or persons of a public meeting will be subject to action in accordance with North Carolina General Statute 143 31817. So we do have a quorum present. So, what I'd like to do is if you are able, please stand and join us as we recite the pledge of allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands.
003One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. So, as always, the first item on our agenda is consideration and approval of a meeting agenda. Do I have a motion? Mr. Vice Chair Swanson. Mr. Chair, I would like to amend the agenda. Yes, sir. I would like to include the HR the recommendations for the HR um the recommendations for HR on the agenda. All right. And where would we like do you want me to do those first or you want to put them at the end of the business session? we can put them at at the beginning or wherever more appropriate. All right. So, let's do that. Let's add um approval of the administrative uh appointments. And there is a motion from Mr. Hershey to amend the agenda to add that agenda item.
004I'm sorry, a second to the motion to Vice Chair Swanson's motion from Mr. Hershey. All right. All in favor of amending the agenda, please signify by saying I. Any opposed? All right. The agenda has been amended. Now we need a vote in favor of adoption of the agenda. Is there a said motion? Motion to approve the agenda as amended. Motion from Miss Mafy. Is there a second? Second from Vice Chair Swanson. All in favor of approving the amended agenda, please say I. Any opposed? All right. The agenda has been adopted and we will move to the first order of business which is the public hearing on the superintendent's proposed 2025 2026 budget. Now the public hearing is very similar to our public comment except the most important item is that for the public hearing you
005may speak up to two minutes. Please note if especially if you are here for the first time the microphones up here are adjustable. When you begin speaking, the green light on the podium will uh begin and your time will begin. As you speak, you will at some point hear a another audible tone. You'll see a yellow light. That means you have 30 seconds left. Please conclude your remarks. When you hear the tone a second time and you see the red light, your time has concluded and we will call the next speaker up to the podium. Please respect the time limits because that will allow all speakers to have the same amount of time and get everyone through here and back home in a in a decent hour. All right. Um after after the public hearing,
006we will move to the public you public comment portion here. It's very similar except you will have up to three minutes. Tonight, what we'll do is after the public hearing, we'll return to our standard public comment protocol where we'll first hear from students. We have several students here tonight. Uh we'll let all of them present first and then we'll move to our on agenda topics, on agenda speakers, and then speakers who want to comment on an item off agenda. Um after um you know sometime we might be you know we might uh off agenda speakers could be moved to the conclusion of the business agenda but we'll see how everyone does and if we can we'll just try to push on and have everyone's public comments at the beginning of the meeting again just so
007that everyone can get home. All right. So, with that, what I'd like to do is go to our first speaker tonight in our public hearing, and that is uh Susan Book, who will be followed by Maggie Fe. Good evening. Hello, and happy Autism Acceptance Month. Our children are worth the investment. I chanted this phrase this weekend as I marched in Rocky Mount for public education. It is true in Rocky Mount all across our state and here in Wake County. Our children are worth the investment. You are tasked with repairing the budget ask. Since a large part of the budget is in the hands of the state and the local portion in the hands of our county commissioners, all you can do is make the best case possible for our students needs. Why not ask for
008all of what our students, educators, and community really need? We need a vibrant county school that fully invests in the future of our community. That should always be our ask. Let the budget cuts come when they come. I understand you've got a plan, but let's not implement that plan until we really need it. Let's start by communicating what it really takes to educate. No child should ever be considered government waste. I know you'll hear negative things and quotes and quotes of test scores that very few people actually understand. I understand that there has always been a throughine to poverty and student well-being to test scores. So, the last thing we should do is to cut our counselors and social workers who diligently strive to make our student body stronger. We should take all the grants
009we can get to build our revenue and to build resilience for all children. We need to make sure our kids are wellfed and they have a building that is safe and functioning. I've heard other systems brag that they just have to do more with less. Yet, I know to educators that isn't bragging. That just code for more work on their shoulders and time spent away from their family and friends. How many more kids can you add to a special educator's case load and expect a good result? How many kids in crisis can a counselor handle? Let's not find out. Dark clouds may be on the horizon. No one can completely predict the future. I'm sure having a budget plan A, B, and C will at some point be necessary. Thank you, Miss Book. Our next
010speaker is Maggie Fe, who will be followed by Elizabeth Riley. Is Maggie here? All right. If not, we will go to Elizabeth Riley. If Maggie um is present before the end of the public hearing, we'll add Maggie to the end of the queue. So, we'll hear now from Elizabeth F Elizabeth Riley Riley followed by Gerald D. Alshami. Good evening. Good evening. Can you hear me? Okay. Um my name is Elizabeth Riley. I am a school social worker at Northridge Elementary in Raleigh. I'm here on behalf of my department, my school, and my students and families. When I heard that cast the cast department was once again up for discussion in regards to the upcoming de upcoming budget, I was deeply dismayed. I understand that cuts must be made, but like our previous speaker just said,
011it should not be at the extent expense of our students and families. We currently have over 5,400 families who are um identified under our McKenna Vento program. I want you to let that number sink in. That is over 5,000 students who will suffer if this is enacted. If a decision is made to continue to pull funding from our department, our v most vulnerable students will suffer. It's not about us, it's about the students. The work that we do as social workers and counselors is vital to student success. We meet families in their most v vulnerable moments and we provide the resources and support to help them move from crisis to stabilization. Everyone that I've spoken with about this proposed budget change has expressed shock and dismay that the board would rescend funding for a department
012such as ours that is so vital to student success. I urge you to think about our families. Think about how the restructuring of our department will impact the families that depend on us for support. We are their lifeline. If these cuts are made, social workers currently assigned to one school, like myself, will be um assigned a second school, which is a challenge in and of itself. Um, it's a huge disservice to our students. I urge you to find other ways to trim the budget that do not include any impacts to the cast department and especially to social workers. We do this job not for the money but to be of service to our community. Thank you. Thank you. Our next speaker is Geraldine Alshami who'll be followed by Christina Cole. Is Miss Ashami here? All
013right. Then we'll proceed to uh Christina Cole who'll be followed by Michelle Mororrow. Good evening. I'm Christina Cole, a proud product of North Carolina public schools, a special ed teacher by trade, currently the Wake NCA president. I stand today to speak against the proposed budget for fiscal year 26, which calls for strategic repurposing. If we need a $60 million increase to next year's budget to maintain our operations, the superintendent and the school board should ask for it. Which governing bodies can public school staff, students, and parents count on in this political moment to be brave and do what's needed? We certainly know it isn't the current federal administration where we are watching billionaires take over the government, targeting our most vulnerable populations, students with disabilities, immigrants, working-class people, and children. It's certainly not our general
014assembly who continues to underfund public education and move legislation that negatively impacts our schools. Increase funding to private school b vouchers, anti-dei bills, lifting class size restrictions, criminalization of our librarians, and ignoring court's decisions about the Leandro comprehensive plan. Waken CE is opposed to the current budget proposal. This is the first and only time in my three years as president that our union is not asking for increases to the local supplement, even though our staff are not paid enough. Cuts to employer paid dental insurance as a pay cut for staff if they have to pay it out of their pockets. Cuts to school-based staff like building subs, clerical staff, APs, a comprehensive high school, counselors, and social workers are vital to the functioning of our schools. And I shouldn't have to tell the board that
015less staff in school buildings is the exact opposite of what is needed right now. And you know where we stand on cuts to facilities and maintenance with the amount of deferred maintenance that we have. It makes it hard for us to fight the general assembly when we have to come back to local elected leaders year after year to ask for basic necessities. No cuts. Ask for all of it and make adjustments later. Thank you. Thank you. Our next speaker is Michelle Mora who's followed by Lisa Ashworth. Hey everybody. Um I'm here as the executive director of the National Alliance for Education Reform. And I want for everybody that's listening, not only here, but um on the screen as well, to understand that what you're doing is just fear-mongering for something that isn't true. Because the
016reality is when you talk about a budget, you look at the money that you're given and then you prioritize it as to what the needs are. And we can all recognize that the needs here in Wake County are that we've got to get our children so they are proficient at reading and math. We need to have safety in our schools. And when you talk about special needs students and you're lying about the fact that they're not going to have funding, what's happening is you have changed the the definition of what a special needs student is. All of us probably here when they think of special needs students, we think of those kids that have either cognitive issues or developmental delays or even learning differences. Also, you have to look at the other side of the
017spectrum of that with the children that have very high functioning and they're incredibly gifted and talented. Those students right now are not being served in the Wake County Public Schools. And you can talk all you want about how you're going to protect everybody's feelings, but we all know that just several months ago, we found out that there were special needs students that were being abused in a classroom. Their parents were never told. It took an entire year for it to be uncovered. And what did you do with that teacher? You ended up sending them to a different school and you gave them teacher of the week. So, let's call this what it is. What I am here today is to say, take the money that you are being given and recognize that any money that
018you are not getting for grants, it's because you are not following the law. It's because you have mocked the parental bill of rights. You have fought against protecting our girls in their bathrooms and in their sports. You have fought against making that money go into the classroom, into our teachers needs and into the classroom needs. Instead, it's special interest groups. And we saw that in the last rant that you gave, giving everybody, you should be giving money to political action groups. That is not what education is about. It's time for us to put our student needs first and that's where every dollar should be considered first and for speaker is Lisa Ashworth who'll be followed by Ki Alber. Good evening. Good evening. Come on. Can you hear me? Yes, ma'am. All right. Good evening, Dr.
019Taylor, chair, Chairman Hagerty, and members of the school board. My name is Lisa Ashworth. I've been here before, as you know, and I'm a veteran teacher of 26 years in public schools. I'm currently an AIG intervention teacher at Diller Drive Magnet Middle School down the street. And I'm a proud product of Wake County Public Schools. As a graduate of Broton High School, I'm here to discuss some of the budget proposal cuts you have in some of your 202526 budget. As we all agree, our job here is to educate our Wake County Public School students in a safe, nurturing environment. In order to make that safe, nurturing environment, we need fully staffed schools, including all support staff. Eliminating counselors, social workers, assistant principles, nurses, and other critical support staff, greatly reduces a safe, nurturing environment. Teachers
020rely on these support staff to help them give all students a self a safe quality education. Cutting school-based staff should be at the bottom of the list. In my school, half of our teachers are under 35 years old and all of these young teachers are forced to take a second job, part-time job to make ends meet. If you cut their basic dental insurance benefits, that will cause an reduction in pay of $28 per month. The last thing any staff member in Wake County Public Schools needs is a pay cut. As you know, one in 10 teachers are now leaving this profession. And it's because of benefits. Bottom line, we don't need cuts in our staff benefits and resources. And um and our staff in order to provide a safe, nurturing school environment. Thank you. Our
021next speaker is Cy and I'm I'm afraid I mispronounc it. Is it Alber or Alber Kari? All right. And again, if the speakers arrive before the end of the public hearing, we will add them to the end of the queue. Uh the next speaker then I have on the list is Chris Tuttle, who will be followed by Nathan Fowler. Good evening. Good evening. I'm Chris Tuttle, a librarian at Southgarner High School, and I'd like to share some Southgarner data with you. We have the highest growth index of all high schools in the district. We are 12th in the state for academic growth. We have been in the top 5% in growth for the last three years. We have increased proficiency by 6% for all students. We've increased proficiency by 5 to 11% for subgroups. We've
022increased library book circulation by 136%. This remarkable growth is a direct result of the dedication of our incredible staff who go above and beyond every day to connect with challenge and celebrate our students. Thanks to their efforts, our students have exceeded expectations across multiple measures. To keep this incredible momentum going, it's vital that funding for priority schools, which are those high schools that will no longer receive Title One dollars, remains in the budget. Dr. Taylor has reassured us that teaching positions will be protected, and this funding is key to maintaining the positions that were previously supported by Title One funds. While the priority school funds can offer immediate help, a one-year bridge loan simply can't provide the lasting impact we're aiming for. Our students and staff deserve stability and long-term support with a permanent funding
023solution. You see what's possible when we invest in our students. Southgarner is proof. With your continued support, we can keep that momentum going. Please keep funding the people and programs that are truly making a difference for our kids. Thank you. Thank you. Our next speaker is Nathan Fowler, who will be followed by Tom Bowman. Good evening. Good evening. My name is Nathan Fowler and I work at Southgarner High School in the CTE department and I'm a proud member of my union, Wake CE. I also have two daughters enrolled at Vandor Springs Elementary. I'm here tonight with my union family and co-workers to oppose this proposed budget and to speak to the needs of these schools as we move forward into ever more uncertain times. As I as you now know about but South Garner has
024achieved exceptional growth due to all the hard work of school staff who work every day to make the school great. These gains that have been made in our school have been made possible by both the dedication of our staff members and the support and funding received from all levels of the education system from here in Wake County up to title one and other funding from federal from the federal government. What I want to stress to everyone tonight is any cuts will harm schools. Southgarner is looking at extreme loss of funding for instructional supplies for the coming school year. That means less copies, books, digital tools, and subscriptions, and any number of things that make our classrooms work. Any cuts will harm staff morale. The current proposal includes an increase to educator insurance costs. Just one
025more slip in benefits that will make teachers question, is this worth it? Any cuts will harm student outcomes. South Garner is losing at least five positions for next year compared to the school this school year. Uh, one of which would be a counselor, resulting in an estimate 20 to 25% increase in case load for the counselors that remain. We should be able to stand united and say proudly that whatever forces are outside of our influence, we will wrap our arms around our students and educators and tell them in no certain uncertain terms, this cannot be passed on to you. Not again. We need a fully funded budget that covers all the costs we know we need to operate our schools. Thank you. Thank you. Our next speaker is Tom Balman, who will be followed by
026Beth Hrent. Good evening. Good evening. Good evening. Uh so the budget's 40 something more million than last year and that was 50 something more million than the previous year and 50 more million than the previous year before that. Um, one thing in the budget that I saw, uh, is that federal expenditure money, uh, pales in comparison to Charlotte and Meckllinburgg. This might be a title one thing. I don't know what the what the background on that is, but if we were going to be on par with federal expenditures with that county school district, that's $112 million annually. So, I don't know what what's in the way of that, but I'm sure you guys can figure out how to close that gap in terms of federal money. And then, uh, the one thing that's curious about
027last year's budget with this year's budget are the projected enrollment numbers that I saw. Um, I'm not sure who's doing these projections for enrollment, but the projected numbers versus the actual numbers are very far apart. Um, and then, you know, just it's a bit confusing that facilities and operation cuts are going to be made in this budget. just is um let alone the dental part. But what I see is that the board and administrative services are 4% of the budget. Meanwhile, only 3% is allocated to facilities and operations. So, thank you for your time. Thank you. Our next speaker is Beth Hart. Hey, Beth. Hi. Can you hear me? Okay. Um, good evening board members, community, everybody who showed up tonight. Um, I'm a longtime lurker, but a first-time speaker because the budget made me
028mad enough to speak. Um, my name is Beth. I am a school counselor in Wake County. I'm the parent of a student in Wake County. I'm a proud member of and rep for NCE. And before I was a counselor, I was a teacher for over a decade. I'm standing before you to emphasize the crucial role that school counselors and social workers play in the success and well-being of our students in Wake County. Some may believe that cutting back on student services is a solution to these challenges, but I urge you to reconsider. The importance of these professionals cannot be overstated. School counselors and social workers are not just support staff. They are lifelines for our students facing challenges in and out of the classroom. They're sometimes the first to recognize when a student is struggling
029and the first one to pick up the pieces for that kid. in particular. They are vital in supporting our LGBTQ plus students who are facing unique challenges at home and at school and especially in Wake County where they're basically challenged every week or every couple of weeks during these meetings. Furthermore, we're advocates for equity and inclusion. I know those are dirty words right now, but they're necessary. They ensure that every student, regardless of their background, has access to the resources they need to succeed. Whether it's providing counseling to students facing mental health challenges, offering college and career advice, or assisting families in crisis, these professionals help bridge gaps that could otherwise lead to academic failure or personal hardship. Reducing the number of counselors and social workers would mean fewer opportunities for students to receive individual
030attention and care that they desperately need. It would lead to more kids slipping through the cracks, struggling in silence without the support they deserve. We have to invest in the people who are there to support and uplift our students and our staff. School counselors and social workers are essential to the emotional and academic growth of every child, particularly those in marginalized communities like our LGBTQ plus students and our immigrant students. We do not need to be taking steps backwards. We need to ensure that every student has the support they need. Thank you. Thank you. So before we conclude our public hearing, I I will go back through for the speakers that were called earlier. Maggie Fe. Hi y'all. Uh, thanks for letting me speak. I'm Maggie Fe and I have two kids in Wake County
031Public Schools. I definitely appreciate the crazy economic climate that the board is working within, but I'm still opposed to the proposed cuts. My kids go to Enllo. It's a big comprehensive high school. Um, ENL will lose a counselor and two front office staff as well as a permanent sub. And I know we're uh one of maybe all the schools in the county that are facing those losses. 450 students to one counselor. That will be the new ratio at ENLO. 450 students to one counselor. So that's double what's considered best practices. Without sufficient front office staff, who is monitoring the doors and helping secure campus? Without a predictable sub, how much instructional time will our students kn lose? Teachers are demoralized and their work is politicized. Cutting their dental benefits is an unnecessary additional blow. We
032have almost a billion dollar state surplus and have diverted 500 million taxpayer dollars this year to wealthy families to use at private schools who don't have to publicly report any data. The state simply won't fund our schools and our federal government is just as bad. You've seen the grant cancellations. They're going to send money back to the states. I'm not holding my breath. There is no clear pan, no guarantees, and a basic disregard for any government program that actually helps poor and middle-class folks. We have a funding issue at the state level and now the national level, which trickles down and impacts our county spending. Nonetheless, the board should ask the county to fully fund our schools so that no cuts are made to personnel or benefits for our teachers. Thank you. Thank you. The
033next um going through the list, Geraldine Alshami, greetings from the back. Good evening. Good evening. Um and I just want to say thank you to all of you awesome awesome folks who do the work in schools. Thank you so much for the work you do. I want to uh address the board some and I I don't want to be Yeah, I do. I want to talk about waste. I want to talk about waste. I'm getting folks who are who have been calling me for almost a year now talking about I'm sitting in a class in a in a cuddle. I think we talked about it. sitting in a huddle or whatever it is that they sit in and I don't see p I don't see these are mental health workers. I don't see anybody. I
034don't get to do any work. I'm just playing on my phone and I'm just doing this and I and I want to be out there and I want to be doing work with these children. We need people that are doing the mental health work. So my question first of all I think we talked about it once before and we said that oh that's the job job of the principles to refer the children to these folks who are sitting there doing nothing again I say so my question is how do you close those gaps what do you do because that is a waste that they're sitting there withdrawing a salary not not to mention um my piss being pissed off about DEI Not really because our children weren't getting the benefit of it anyway. When we
035come up with solutions about how we can do things for our communities just like right now we ask about training parents so the parents will be ready for this moment right here. So this for this moment right here we we ignored it. We ignored it and it don't feel good. So I'm saying and the other thing is why are we opening another school in other schools when we don't have the staff? Our children are not going to school. They don't want to go to school. They don't go to school. They duck school because they say they don't want to sit in a classroom and get fourth and fifth grade work because all they get are uh substitutes. So I'm going to cut it right there. Thank you. So, the last speaker we had on the
036list, um, Ki, uh, Kari Alber. All right, if Ki is not here, then we'll move to our student speakers tonight. We have, uh, 13 student speakers, starting with Seth Steiner, who will be followed by Alexisen. Good evening, members of the board. My name is Seth Steiner and I'm one of the co-editors and chief for Wakefield High School's newspaper, The Howler. We all appreciate your time today and for granting us the ability to speak on this matter. The matter at hand being the discontinuation of Snow and WordPress. Uh snow being student newspapers online. Um this choice has obviously disappointed many of us for an abundance of reasons, but I'd like to touch on one specific area of concern to me and my peers who are all here dressed in blue. The importance of a digital footprint
037online in today's modern world has become more and more important especially to employers and academic institutions. Our site in its current form allows us to keep a digital archive of all of our work including things like best the best of snow award and honor granted to snow websites to recognize the best student written articles from around the entire country. I know that for me and my fellow writers at the howler many of us mention our roles on the newspaper on resumes and college applications. If snow is removed then our website goes with it. All this work we put in will disappear, greatly hindering many of our online portfolios and preventing us from showcasing a great talent and source of pride for many of us. The decision to walk away from snow and WordPress is illogical
038for a number of reasons that I know my peers will get into. But ultimately, I worry most about how it makes our work feel unvalued by the school system. If student journalism and teaching to exercise the rights of the press are important, then the journalism curriculum should be t taken just as seriously by keeping this professional level equipment around. Thank you. Thank you. Our next speaker, as I said, was Alexis Englesen, who will be followed by Katie Spemanatada. Good evening. My name is Alexis Anglesen and I'm from Leville Road High School's newspaper, The Mcinian. Today, I come before you not just as a concerned student, but as a proud member of student journalism. This room is full of students who have poured their hearts into school newspaper publications. We are here today because we care
039deeply about what we stand to lose. Recently, Wake County newspapers were informed that our current websites run off of WordPress and Snow will no longer be available for updating, leaving behind not just years of student work and growth, but everything that we have built. Starting in the 2025 to 2026 school year, high school publications across the county will be forced to restart with an unspecified system. We are told that this decision was based on security concerns, but the impact of its removal goes far beyond technical issues. WordPress and Snow are currently content management systems that allow newspaper staff to create, manage, and publish their articles across the web. They help students produce highquality content that is shared on a national scale. Through these platforms, we've earned recognition, built archives, and created digital spaces that reflect
040our voices, our schools, and our community. They become the backbone of our publication. In a website, we are looking for three things. The ability to publish articles across the web, a unique and customizable design that represents our paper, and a content management system to differentiate and organize our content. These are the very tools that we stand to lose. In this room, there are representatives from multiple Wake County newspapers, students and advisers who cherish the work done in WordPress and Snow and who are concerned not just about what is being taken away, but about the lack of alternative options. As these students begin to speak, you will hear about the importance of newspapers and how these platforms support our classroom instruction. You will hear about how the future journalism classes will suffer from the loss of
041a professional digital presence. You'll hear about a petition with over 1,000 signatures in support of Wake County newspaper students. You will hear about alternative content management systems that we have found that are currently approved by Wake County to replace WordPress and Snow. And you will hear about the reputations of students and newspapers that were built article by article because of an ever updating website. In each of these student testimonies, one theme will be clear. Loss. Loss of our platform. loss of our publication power and loss of a vital part of our educational growth. These websites are not just a place to put our stories. It's a place where we learn, where we share our voices and opinions with our community. While we acknowledge the challenges with WordPress and Snow, we are disappointed with the lack
042of communication and assistance from Wake County and the lack of choice in the decision that deeply affects our programs. Once you have heard from everyone, I ask you to consider the students that are being affected by this decision. I urge you to recognize the impact on student journalism and to work with us towards a compromise that meets both security needs and educational goals. Thank you. Our next speaker is Katie Spamponado who is follow who will be followed by Daniela Plat. Good evening members of the board. First off, I would like to show my appreciation for giving students like me the opportunity to speak on an issue that not just affects our classrooms, but our futures. My name is Katie Spamponado, and I'm one of the co-editors and chief of Wakefield High School's newspaper, The Howler.
043I believe I speak for all student journalists in this county when I say we are heartbroken over the discontinuation of the platform we use to base our publication on, Snow. Imagine classroom where students aren't just learning about journalism, they're living it. They're pitching stories, conducting interviews, editing multimedia content, and publishing breaking news, all in real time on a professional level. Platform specifically tailored for student journalism publications. That's the reality Snow makes possible. And for student journalists in Wake County Public Schools, this isn't a luxury or a privilege. It's a necessity. As a daughter of a public school teacher, I know the hardships that teachers face when structure and tools are not accessible for instruction. While I may not have the degree, as co-editor-inchief, I know from personal experience that fulfilling the role of a leadership
044position is not an easy one. WCPSS offers one of the most robust journalism and leadership pathways in the state. From newspaper 1 where students are introduced to the basics of journalism to newspaper 3 honors where they master editorial decision-making, digital imaging, journalistic ethics applied in real world professional journalism. Students aren't just learning journalism, they're immersing themselves in the field. Courses like media one and two honors, the one I'm in, push even further. These students aren't just contributors, they're leaders. They're running meetings, producing content that serves not just the school, but also a community. One of the key reasons students can meet these high standards is because of the platform that supports them, Snow. Snow is our genesis. It's the foundation from which everything else in our newsroom grows. This platform provides everything that students and
045advisers need to meet curriculum demands. Snow isn't just a publishing tool. It's a complete educational resource. It provides lesson plans, tutorials, IT support, and training materials. I myself have been able to receive IT support in less than a minute. It guides students towards national recognition through snow distinguished sites program, which sets six high standards and rewards excellence with visible badges of achievement. They also provide site boosters, training, and an intentive staff. Snow allows student design and manage. Snow allows students to design and manage a fully functional digital newspaper, publish multimedia content, develop portfolios, and implement analyt analytics to understand what our audience needs. In a class like news, newspaper 2 honors where students are expected to master advanced layout, digital imaging, and editorial planning, a traditional print model simply falls short. Snow bridges that gap
046with real world to tools by used by professional newsrooms. Tools that allow students to plan, edit, design, and distribute stories with professionalism and precision. So I ask you, when a curriculum calls for real leadership, real collaboration, and real world skills, how can we offer anything less than a real world platform? Thank you. Thank you. Our next student speaker is Daniellea Pida, who will be followed by Darcy Mi. Good evening. Good evening. Hi, my name is Daniela Plata. I am from Leisero High School's the Mcinian News and I am one of many of the students affected by the decision to revoke Snow's access in school due to the Cisco umbrella extension. Under the extension, Snow's removal will make it so hard that we as students cannot post on our websites any further. All of the newspapers
047affected write articles to be posted on our websites or to be included in our print editions of the newspaper. As a majority, we have discussed many of the options to combat snow's removal, but the most promising solution we have come up with is printing more frequently. Currently, Leville's newspaper prints three issues a year with each issue printing cost upwards of $350 per issue. We raise all of our funds on our own with with the ability of advertisements, but we struggle with the upkeep of these costs, especially with little to no funding provided by our schools and the board. With the removal of snow, we would need to print up to 12 times a year to continue to be a successful paper. To print at this rate, it would cost over $4,000 a school year per
048newspaper program. If you get rid of snow, the Leisville Road High School newspaper program would need massive amounts of funding for the printing of issues alone. This is not to mention the cost of speci specified computers to be able to produce the pages to be printed. We are not the only school who would need this funding. Several other schools, both represented here today and not, would need this funding. We are simply asking that with the removal of snow's availability to us that you consider the amount of money that is needed for each newspaper to continue and the necessary funding needed to provide that. We as the student newspapers need to be able to publish our works to be accredited and this is the most promising way to that can be done. Thank you. Thank you.
049Our next student speaker is Darcy Mian who will be followed by Caroline RH. Hi everyone. Thank you all for your time. I'm Darcy Mihan and I'm a student on the Leeward High School newspaper. My fellow newspaper students have or will present to you many arguments on the importance of WordPress and snow for high school newspapers. So I want to touch on my own personal experience on my high school paper. Journalism classes are incredibly valuable for high school students and they need an appropriate platform to publish their work. I joined my high school's paper as a sophomore. When I started, I was shy, quiet, and the entire idea of newspaper terrified me. Interviewing somebody was literally my biggest fear. However, over time, the work became less stressful, and I became so invested in the class, I
050had the opportunity to be a junior editor. As junior editor, I learned so much about myself and gained confidence in almost every area of my life. By teaching my staff writers, I learned how to be encouraging as well as instructive. And by being in charge of print pages, I learned how to handle many variables at once and collaborate with others. I cannot put into words how grateful I am to have taken newspaper. It is the single best, most educational thing that I have done in high school, and I'm looking forward to my senior year on the paper. Without newspaper, I would not be the person that I am today, and I'm positive that many other newspaper students could say the same thing. The class teaches so many soft skills that students would not learn anywhere
051else which will be essential when entering the workforce. It does not just teach journalistic writing and working with inesign. It teaches leadership, social skills, accountability and so much more. That is why we have to have newspaper classes in schools. Students need a community where we can try new things and fail. And without a proper website, we do not have this community. We also know that people do read the articles that we post online. I've had people come up to me and mention that they've read an article I'd written that was posted on our website. Because our articles are posted on a platform where people will actually read them, we have pressure to improve our writing, which is another vital skill in the eyes of employers. Newspaper provides an incredible outlet for teens to learn and
052discover what they enjoy. Which is why we need a newspaper class. And to have a newspaper class, we need an effective website. We understand the decision to ban WordPress has long been made, but this decision fails to provide viable solutions for newspaper students. We are here asking Wake County to acknowledge the value of journalism classes and support our group of students in finding a website we can be successful on. We want to be able to either keep WordPress or have access to another platform that will allow our papers to thrive. Please understand the importance of newspapers in high school and the importance of having a website to publish our work. Thank you. Thank you. Our next speaker is Caroline RH who will be followed by Sophie Key. Um before I begin, I have some papers.
053I'd like to pass out if that's okay. Sure. Hand them to Mr. Remy here and then he'll get those distributed to us and they'll also be made part of the record of the meeting. Okay. Thank you. Good evening members of the board. My name is Caroline RH and I'm the sports editor for Wakefield High School's newspaper, The Howler. I'm here today as a student journalist to express serious concerns about Wake County's decision to ban the snow publishing platform from our school newspapers. I believe this decision, while well-intentioned, unintentionally hinders our ability to share our stories and represent our achievements, and it plays a role in shaping our futures in media. First and foremost, this restriction was implemented with alarming speed and seemingly without fully considering its consequences. It feels as though Wake County made this
054decision in a vacuum, without consulting the very people who use the platform daily, the students. Journalism is built on the values of transparency and engagement with the public. Yet, this decision was made behind closed doors without input from student journalists. In doing so, the district has silenced the voices of those that it should be uplifting. I urge Wake County to consider a collaborative approach. Tom Hutchinson, co-founder of Snow, responded directly to our staff, stating that his emails to the district have gone unanswered. He clearly expressed that Snow is willing to install and configure a plug-in to enable single signon at no additional cost. In fact, Snow has worked with other large districts facing similar security concerns such as Los Angeles and Broward County and Florida to successfully implement solutions. To our understanding, the district is
055concerned about the lack of Google Signin integration. However, Mr. Hutchinson assured us that several secure thirdparty plugins can be used to meet this need. The technology exists and the willingness to cooperate is there. What's missing is communication. I asked the school system to speak with the vendor, see that no sensitive data is being stored, and hear how the concern was resolved with other districts. Once the school system completes a deeper analysis of the situation, I believe they will agree that snow can be kept. Moreover, Wakefield's yearbook class does not use a platform with single sign on. They put their student ID as well as their photos into the platform they use. The district should not get to pick and choose when they take platforms due to security concerns. There are several inconsistencies regarding this decision.
056So again, I strongly urge the district to look deeper into this concern and find a solution with Snow themselves. Furthermore, as a junior preparing for the college applications process, I am personally affected by the sudden shift. I have won two best of snow awards, national recognitions for exceptional student journalism. My published articles are part of my portfolio and hosted on our snow site. These represent not only my hard work, but also my potential as a future journalism student. Losing this platform threatens to erase my work I've built and the credibility I have earned. We're not asking for anything drastic. We're simply asking for the opportunity to continue learning, growing, and sharing our voices in an environment that meets our needs. I respectfully urge you to reconsider this decision. Let's work together with Snow and most
057importantly with us, the students. Together, we can ensure that student journalism continues to flourish in Wake County. Thank you for your time. Thank you. Our next speaker is Sophie Key, who will be followed by Yusha Assan. Good evening. My name is Sophie Key. I'm a junior at Leisel Road High School and staff writer for myian our school paper. I'm here today to discuss the decision prohibiting the use of snow and WordPress. While I understand the security concerns, we are left without a viable option that will allow us to achieve the creativity and professionalism we strive for. For the past year, I have been training to become the website editor of Myinian. I've worked hard to understand our website's function and how we can grow through publication. When we learned that WordPress would not be an
058option next year, I started exploring alternative options we were provided. Canva, Adobe Express, and Google Sites. Unfortunately, these offered do not give the same abilities as WordPress. The Minia needs a website that does the following. Creates customizable pages, publishes searchable articles, and allows us to create and organize subdivisions of content. If we cannot use WordPress, then we need another platform that will include these applications. Upon further research, my peers and I have found engines that could provide us these functions and aligned with security concerns. Further, they are already being used within the district. The first is our schools today, which is currently authorized for athletics departments to use to publish information regarding sports. Our schools today is capable of providing us with the professionallook platform that we can create and maintain under the careful supervision
059of our adviser. The second is schoolwire which is currently powering all school websites districtwide. This is also an excellent option for us that can be overseen by Wake County. Using this would further align with policy and increase consistency among our papers. My journalism class has taught me so much about not only writing creativity and critical thinking, but also using my voice. I'm using my voice speaking before you today urging Wake County to continue to work with us and finding a solution we can accept. a solution that will allow students to continue using their voice. Thank you for your time. Thank you. All right. Next, we have Yusa Assan who will be followed by Charlie Pine. Good evening. My name is Yusha Assan and I am co-editor and chief of the Hower, Wakefield High School's newspaper.
060I would like to thank you all for giving us the opportunity to speak tonight. Snow and WordPress allow student newspapers to operate like real world publications which enable students to gain hands-on experience in journalism. In the student led newsrooms, the process of writing all the articles and the curriculum taught are strictly professional. From the emails we sent out to conducting interviews, research, writing the actual article and editing them. So removing these platforms will completely strip the professional feel of our publications and decrease the value of it as it won't necessarily embody the time and effort put into them. Taking away snow would also mean taking away an integral part of practicing journalism. As Snow and WordPress provide various tools and features that help writers to grow as journalists and as teams with the use of
061useful critiques about the website at the end of each school year, helping to efficiently identify areas that need improvement. Snow and WordPress are the backbone of how student newspapers operate, so it's very difficult to imagine them running successfully without them. Thank you for your time. Thank you. So next we have Charlie Pine who will be followed by uh Nadia for Johnny. Okay. Um I'm standing here as a student who cares a lot about my school. It's why this is not my first meeting um speaking at but uh I care about my peers and the people who work every day to make education happen. Our teachers, our bus drivers, our counselors, our cafeteria workers, and everyone in between. We don't always realize how much they do for us, but they're a part of what makes school
062feels like a second home. and I ask that you not decrease their already dismal pay. Lately though, it's been hard not to feel worried with the Department of Education being dismantled or stripped down or whatever is going on with it. A lot of the protections that have been there, especially for students who are LGBTQ, students with disabilities, and students from marginalized communities are now at risk. That's not just a political shift. That's personal for a lot of us. But here's the thing. Even if the federal support is weakening, we still have the power and the responsibility to protect each other right here at the local level. We can't use what's happening in Washington as an excuse to lower our standards. In fact, now it's time to raise them. We need to commit to maintaining safe,
063respectful, and inclusive spaces in our schools. That means having clear standards for behavior, real consequences for harm, and strong support for those who need it most. And we need to make sure that students feel safe being who they are, especially LGBTQ students who too often face harassment or feel invisible. This is not just about policies. It's about culture. It's about the choices we make every day to listen to each other, to look out for each other, to treat every person in this school community with dignity and kindness. We're all part of this. Students, teachers, drivers, staff, administrators, we each have a role, and we all do better when we're working together. So tonight, I'm asking that we hold the line, that we protect what matters most, that we lead by example even when leadership at
064the top is falling short, because our schools should be places of safety, of learning, and of belonging for everyone. Thank you. Thank you. Our next speaker our next speaker is uh Nadia Fjani who will be followed by Katherine Stevenson. Good evening ladies and gentlemen. My name is Nedia Fjanni. I'm a part of the Myinian at Leville Road High School. As a senior speaking today, I first want to acknowledge the leadership and courage seen by my fellow peers who are with me this evening. So, I'm so honored to be standing alongside them advocating for not just journalism, but for the future of student voice in Wake County. As a reminder, today you've heard real experiences from many students. And I ask you to truly consider what they had to share. The removal of snow and WordPress
065impacts our printed newspaper, the influence of our articles, and impedes our professional development as journalists. You've heard the numerous alternatives that we as students sought out ourselves. So I ask you to consider the viable options and work with us to keep journalism alive in Wake County. For me, being a published being a published journalist at a young age has not only opened doors for me, but given me opportunities. It's allowed me to be considered a published journalist at a young age and submit my published work to universities for consideration, which in turn has earned me scholarships in the past couple of months. The removal of these websites will take away this opportunity for students following me, including the awards and national competitions as mentioned by the previous students. We understand security concerns, especially in today's
066world. However, the the proposed alternatives don't align with our operations. They don't support the organization, functionality, or customizability that a newspaper needs. They aren't designed for professional journalism. And by forcing us to use them, it undermines the very work we have been taught to use. We're not asking for special treatment. We're asking for equal treatment. Other departments in Wake County, like my school's athletic department and my own high school, use more robust, approved platforms that would meet our needs. We're asking to use those same platforms, ones that are already in the system. We simply need your permission to extend their use to our journalism. As a senior, my only wish is for the students succeeding me to have the same and improved experience that I had in my newspaper class. However, this new policy is
067doing the opposite. I cannot graduate in good conscience knowing the state that journalism will be left in at Wake County if an alternative solution to publishing is not met. Today, we are talking about preserving more than a website. We're talking about preserving journalism because our websites are more than just places to sash stories. They are a living public record of our student body, our opinion, and our voice. So, I ask you to not let this be where the story ends and instead be a turning point of collaboration between the student body and the Wake County School Board. to find a real solution. Once again, my name is Nedia Fjanni. Thank you for your time and considering the student voices of journalists. Thank you. Our next speaker is Katherine Stevenson who'll be followed by Cameron Oliver.
068Hello again everyone. I'm Katherine Luna Stevenson, a Kerry High senior speaking here before you once again. As we all know, our current budget isn't really looking all that good. Many of our schools are old and outdated. We have undersupported teachers, substitute shortages, bus driver shortages, and even teacher shortages are common place. And that's with our current funding. Next year is bound to be worse. If and if we want to mitigate the damages, we have to focus on the foundation of our school system. The foundation of our schools are the security guards, bus drivers, custodial staff, cafeteria workers, and most of all, our teachers. And if we don't support them by raising salaries and offering better benefits, we risk losing our entire system. If our teachers don't receive enough pay, who is going to teach our
069students? If our te and if our bus drivers don't receive a living wage, who is going to take our kids to school? We need to be able to Oh, oops. Sorry. We need to be able to offer services and salaries that make the job of a teacher more appealing. If our school district becomes a better career option for teachers and other foundational staff, then we will have access to more passionate applicants as more they are and higher educated teachers for these positions. We would be able to escape the shortage of these foundational workers. Of course, these funds will come out of nowhere, which is why I propose we allocate more resources to our priorities as well as our foundational workers and less to other non-essentials. As much as I would love to see these non-essentials
070occur, we have to focus on maintaining our system and using the resources we already have in an efficient and comprehensible way. I believe that if we keep fighting and keep our spirits high, we can make it through this year. I believe that as a community, we can turn Wake County into an even brighter star in these dark times than it already was. Thank you for listening, your hard work, and have a wonderful night. Thank you. All right. So, next we'll hear from Cameron Oliver and then we will conclude our student speakers with Harper Rossi. Good evening members of the board. My name is Cameron Oliver and I'm a junior at Kerry High's um the page where I serve as an editor and a writer. I'm here today because the decision to block WordPressbased snow sites
071isn't just a tech change. It's a decision that will silent student voices across the district. Our snow sites aren't just websites. They are newsrooms and our archives and our voices. Through it, we've covered school events, celebrated student success, and tackled important issues. Student journalism teaches us how to think critically, ask hard questions, and speak up when it counts. That's not just educational, it's essential. By cutting off snow sites, the district is erasing a years of work, stories that matter, memories we've shared, and perspectives that often go unheard. We haven't been offered a real alternative. And without that, this isn't just a software change. It's a shutdown. It sends a message that student voices are optional, disposable, and that's not the message any of us want to be sharing. Along with this, many newspapers will or
072are at risk of getting shut down. Um, we are taught that journalism is the foundation of democracy, that speaking the truth and asking questions is what makes a community stronger. But now we are being told that our voices are a security risk, that our stories are less important than a login button. What lesson does that teach? We are not asking you to ignore safety. We are asking you to find a better way to work with us. Talk to Snow. Talk to our adviserss, but most importantly, listen to the students who are directly affected. Don't take away our voices, strengthen them. Student journalism matters. Our voices matter. Please don't silence them. Thank you for my Thank you for your time. Thank you. And our final student speaker tonight will be Harper Rossi. Um hello. I am
073speaking before the board today to address a policy which I was recently made aware of, one which directly affects me and many other students. A few weeks ago, I attempted to have my name in the Wake County school system changed to match my new legal name. In doing so, I was informed by my high school's registar that in order to change my name in the school system, I would be required to have an amended birth certificate. After further discussion with this registar, I was informed that I apparently needed no documentation. This was the same person who previously told me that I needed an amended birth certificate. And when I attempted to research this on my own, I found inconclusive information. Thus, I have come here today to ask you all for a clear policy on
074for changing your name in the school system. One which does not require an amended birth certificate, which is a major barrier for many students. Many states um do not allow amended birth certificates even in the event of a legal name change. Students from these states would be unable to change their name in our school system. This isn't a safety issue. This isn't a legal issue. This is frankly a stupid policy which serves only to get to provide students with documentation which does not reflect their legal names. I would like for you all to provide a clear I would like for you all to provide a clear policy so that way all our students can have their names reflected within their documentation. Thank you for your time. Thank you. So, as we close the the student
075section, the student uh speakers tonight before you leave, I know that we do have staff that want are available to talk to you tonight before you leave um about the WordPress issues and we could also have some staff talk to you as well about that name policy. All right. Um so, that is available to you before you leave. I'll give you um I'll give everyone a quick moment if some people do want to leave and then we'll proceed with our on agenda speaker and then our off agenda speakers for the rest of our public comment period. Were you a part of it? That's awesome. So glad to be here. It's terrific to hear about academics. Victory. Have a nice day. My name is 771. All right, we'll come back to order and we will continue
076with our public comment period. Uh we have one speaker speaking up for an onag agenda topic tonight, Mr. Joseph Deon, and then we'll move to our off agenda speakers. Let's come to order. Good evening. Good evening. Uh the pro proposed revisions to policy 1710 removes transgender and gender identity from part A section 4 that concerns title 9. Thank you for that. But I'm not sure what really will change because transgender and gender identity are still included in the introduction and in sections one on discrimination and section two on harassment and th those are what title 9 is about. Now nobody wants transidentifying students to be discriminated against or bullied. I I am truly saddened by accounts of trans students being bullied and what they endure. Policy 1710 already prohibits harassment and bullying of anyone whether
077or not they belong to any particular group. So it is not necessary and indeed impossible to enumerate all the groups that could be subject to bullying. Uh Mr. Chairman, I I agree that all students, including trans students, must have equal access to education, but that doesn't mean schools should conduct the active psychological intervention of social trans transition. I I have shared previously at length how that intellectably leads to psychological and physical harms. True compassion tells the the truth. Does inclusion of transgender and gender identity in part A section one mean that girls will lose opportunities or get hurt in sports? Does inclusion in section two mean that students and teachers will be disciplined for harassment as for example in the following actual cases from from other districts. For wearing a t-shirt that says there are
078only two genders. for refusing to refer to another pro student by pronouns that they can see with their own eyes does not fit the the other students uh sex for expressing shock and alarm at being exposed to or by someone of the opposite sex in the locker room. The the problem is that problem is that policy 1710 can still be used to justify all that as well as compel participation in social transition. Thank thank you. Thank you. We'll now move to our off agenda speakers. Uh we'll start with Colleen Miller who will be followed by uh Nyla Den. Thank you. Thank you. It's been a while since I've been here, but I'm always concerned about the safety of every student in our school system. Uh I recently had the opportunity to hear hear from a
07917-year-old who shared her heartbreaking testimony testament to the devastating consequences that sexually explicit content in our schools can inflict on impressionable young minds. Her journey started innocently with romance novels. Megan's love of reading began in kindergarten. She loved the Sam books as they were like an adventure. When COVID started, she like other students were subjected to online education. She started reading more books and utilizing the internet. In middle school, Megan had easy access to books that normalized some sexual behaviors and it piqued her interest. Some of those books were even recommended by a librarian as the time this time as this time was a time of hormonal change for her. She wanted to learn more and to figure out human nature. Her love of reading books took her from romance novels to books with the
080heavy sex stuff. The heavy stuff. That's her words, not mine. Before she realized it, she was addicted to sexually explicit material. She states that it was like a fix of dopamine. As her addiction grew, she took to the internet. She needed that online connection and was even chatting with pedophiles, sometimes acting like the character in one of her books. Her perilous behavior put her in danger. Her once extroverted behavior changed and she began distancing herself from friends. She struggled mentally. She began to hate herself, her family, and her friends. She spiraled into depression and self harm. Megan states that reading these books is being normalized in schools by teachers and librarians. Even peer pressure causes students to read some of some of the more popular books. She states it's like a popularity contest of who
081know knew what was in a book a friend had recommended. Kids were marking pages where they could find sexual content. She said the point of the books isn't romance or a cute love story. It's about getting the reader in an aroused state. Think about that. Why do we want our minor children in an aroused sexual state? She became desensitized to what was right and wrong, even spending time in juvie twice for bad behavior. Thankfully, Megan was rescued from her mental decline and from those harmful books. She would disagree with this school board that ex that sexually explicit books aren't detrimental to students. She wishes she could go back in time, get all those books books out of her hand, and let her innocence reign again. She now wears a suicide prevention necklace as a promise
082to herself to stay alive. Do you really understand how detrimental these books can be? As educators, are you willing to risk one child? Books that violate obscinity laws should not be in our schools. Let me emphasize, should not. Our next speaker is Nyla Den, who will be followed by Donna Williams. [Applause] Hello board. I come before you as a 2022 Kerry High alumni where I was a senior class president. I am currently the student senate president of NC State University which is an elected position of the student body of the largest public higher institution in the state of North Carolina. I come on behalf of my office as student senate president and on behalf of the office of the student body treasurer to make the statement that was submitted to the NCATE student body. Dear
083NC State community, the Wake County Public School Systems, the largest school system within the state of North Carolina that provides education to over 160,000 students has announced that student newspapers will no longer be able to use SNO sites or WordPress for publications beginning June 30th, 2025. These platforms are necessary to the public to the publications sorry to the public dissemination of articles by student journalists which allows students to exercise their rights to freedom of speech and expression. Wake County Public School System is one of the top performing schools in the nation. A high achievement that requires students to be well equipped to take on the challenges and demands they will encounter after graduation. To do so, however, students must have the freedom to fully exercise their First Amendment rights in order to cultivate their personal
084and civic responsibility. What concerns us is the risk of newspapers losing their historical archive of publications and milestones. Without the renewal of WordPress, these records will not be accessible to the public and could be lost. The NC State student senate prides itself in storing our legislation, documents, and meetings minutes as we feel as though it's imperative to uphold the integrity of our work. We believe in the importance of other bodies of advoc advocacy and representation at every level to do the same. And we urge the Wake County School Board to for local K through2 public school newspapers to continue documenting, publishing, and storing their work. We further asked the Wake County School Board to support and source for alternative ways that the student newspapers to preserve their historical records if not under WordPress. The protection
085security of student and staff data was a guiding factor in the Wake County School Board's decision to restrict the use of these platforms. Attempts were made by Tom Hutchinson, the co-founder of SNO, to work with Wake County School System to improve privacy for students and staff. Yet, the school system did not seek out collaboration to resolve this issue. The NC State student senate stands in firm support of upholding student privacy and calls upon the Wake County School Board to participate in conversations with SNO and WordPress to improve data privacy of students. In the 103rd session two years ago of student government, the student senate passed resolution 48, NC State University Student Directory Privacy and Safety Act, which worked with the NC State Office of Information Technology to increase privacy protections for student directory. The student
086voice is vital to engaging with the missionaries to promote change on campus and believe the Wake County School Board has the capacity to extend an invitation to these students and the companies involved for their inclusion and conversations to uphold student newspapers and student privacy. Thank you. All right, our next speaker our next speaker is Donna Williams who will be followed by our final speaker Richard Brides. Good evening. Good evening. I just first want to say thank you to each one of you for the work that you do. This is a huge school system, a lot of kids. And I come before you tonight as a grandmother who there was an article I read today. Um, it is about the grant that I understand this board is going to be deciding if you're going to accept
087and it's from the It Gets Better Project. So, I went to their website to take a look at it. Um, I have seven grandchildren. They're all here in Wake County and I have a granddaughter. I think all children, I don't care anything about them. All of them deserve the best education possible. So, when I look at this and I think, okay, here's another possibility of our county school system losing more federal money. We already lost a lot from last year from the Title N. And so this, if I understand this correctly, could could cause us to lose even more money if this happens. So here's what I just want to say. My granddaughter, she is in she's um in a Wake County high school now. And for the last six years, every day, every year,
088the last day of school, the first day of school, she says, "Grandma, I don't know why they're putting me forward into the next year. I am failing. I am failing." And this is her telling me and I cry because what in the world are we doing? And so then she's now 15 and I said, "Well, sweetheart, are you going to get a driver's, you know, start driver's ed?" I can't. I said, "Why?" Cuz I'm failing. Well, first of all, kudos that we won't let a failing student go that I I I'm not I'm not questioning that. But what I am questioning, what are we doing about a child like her? And there's got to be others in our school system. Why are we talking about all this other stuff when we're when we have kids
089that are not doing well? And here's my thing. She's 15. It's not going to be long before, in my opinion, she's going to drop out because she is so deflated with school. She hates it because there's zero confidence that she can get what she really needs. What's going to happen to her? what is going to happen to her as an adult? What kind of a job can she get? What kind of a life is she going to have? And so I believe silence is consent. And when I read that, I said, you know what? I just had back surgery. I really shouldn't be here tonight, but I came because it's that important to me. And it's not just about my granddaughter. It's about all of the children in this county and in state and country
090that are failing. And I feel like we are failing them if we don't put some of this stuff to the side. And God bless these students that came and spoke tonight. I don't know anything about that. I am with them all the way. I don't know the background on it, but they God bless them. They are very well spoken and to get up here and come before you all. So anyways, that's my speech. Thank you very much. Thank you. Our final speaker is Richard Bridges. I came before the board on March March 4th and informed you all about how my son was grabbed by a substitute teacher and I did not believe the principal or vice principal followed up with an active investigation in a timely manner if at all. After the meeting, I was
091assured by someone on the staff that I would be up updated as to what was going on and informed in a timely manner. I'm here tonight because that has not happened. I am deeply deeply disappointed in this. I can't put into words how upset and angry I am at each of all of you. That being said, someone made a post online about the speech I gave. And in that comment, I was planning on reading it tonight. However, it has been deleted. But they said not only did they experience something similar to what happened to my son, but they had to call another parent when their kids told them that the student had been held against the wall by a teacher. In that comment section, two other people had a similar story to mine, which was
092startling to me because in October of last year, I had to tell a parent that their son had been held against the wall by the vice principal and a teacher. This is a consistent problem within South Elementary School. So, I'm here tonight to ask each and every one of you, why does it take legal action for you to do something? When I told you about my son being isolated, I looked that up, too. There was a lawsuit. Students had been isolated in full view of other students and principles. Nothing was done until legal action was taken. I looked at that article. It said that when this happens to students, it needs to be reported to the Department of Education. When it happened to my son and I called the area superintendent, nothing was done. I
093very seriously doubt it was taken to the Department of Education. Now, I'm standing before you tonight telling you that not only has my son been assaulted by a substitute teacher and nothing was done about it, but it's happened consistently to students at South Lakes Elementary School. I'm hoping that you will take this seriously. I'm hoping that you will adopt a policy that requires teachers and administrators to be fired the moment that they hurt a student. And I'm asking each and every one of you to ask your lawyer what willful negligence means. And I'm asking sincerely, will you follow up with the promises that were made to me that you will investigate what happened to my son and talk to me about it? I am not asking for much, but at this point, I'm pissed off.
094I told you I would become more I would become louder. I would become more vocal. All I'm asking for is someone to talk to me. Thank you. And Mr. Bridges, before you leave tonight, we will have someone from staff available to talk to you. So that he he was like, can I say our chief of staff who's over the area or over that appropriate staff. Before you leave tonight, I want you to have some answers and be able to explain in more detail everything that's gone on to somebody in authority here. I don't want to take more time than given. It's unfair. Why are we here? Why am I having this conversation with you? Why are students being hurt and nothing's being done? Why is there a lawsuit for isolating students? Why is there a
095teacher filed with 12 counts of assault that apparently was moved to another school? Why are we here? So, we can't So, if you could um Dr. Robinson, I believe, will be able to help help provide some information. Thank you. So, that concludes our public comment portion of the meeting tonight. um by our amended agenda. The next item that we have is approval of the HR recommendations and administrative appointments. Motion to approve. Second. We have a motion from Miss Mafy to approve the HR recommendations and administrative appointments. And we have a second from Vice Chair Swanson. All in favor of the motion? Any opposed? All right. Thank you. That motion passes. Uh, next we'll proceed to our information items and that means Dr. Robert Taylor. Thank you, Mr. Chair, and good evening to the board of
096members and all of our uh, public members that are here. Um, this week is assistant principal appreciation week. So, I would like to take this opportunity to express my sincere appreciation for the vital work assistant principles provided uh, each and every day at all of our schools. Assistant principles are the glue that holds schools together. They ask to take on a wide They are asked to take on a wide variety of roles on any given day from managing the logistics of school operations to addressing student discipline to supporting classroom teachers. They start their days early making sure arrival runs smoothly and their work days often last well into the afternoon or evenings as they oversee dismissals as well as a host of extracurricular activities in between. They are a vital resource for students and staff
097members alike serving in many capacities as a mentor, advisor, and cheerleader. It's a lot to juggle, but our assist for placing first and second in the kid wind project challenge at the National Society of Black Engineers annual convention. These young engineers designed and constructed their own wind turbines, testing them in in various wind tunnel conditions to measure energy output. Uh they then presented their findings to a panel of judges. The members of the first place team were Lance Hall, Carly McCulla, and Troy Scott. The second place team was Austin Hall, Grayson Dove, and Grayson Cross. Both teams produced designs that generated more than 58 jewels per minute, more than double the work output of any other entry. More than double the output of any other entry. I'm going to express that. Uh these students are
098a shining example of the strength of our magnet programs and our overall commitment to making sure students develop skills that will lead them to pursue meaningful careers. So again, congratulations to these outstanding engineers at Southeast Raleigh. I'd like I'd like I'd next like to recognize two of our teachers who recently were honored for exceptional service to our students. Peter Westerbeek, a special education teacher at Nate Nightdale High School, was named runner up for the North Carolina beginning teacher of the year by the North Carolina Center for the Advancement of Teaching, uh, commonly known as ENCAT. And Dennis Park Perks, a technology teacher at Apex Friendship High School, was named the Wake County Career and Technal Technical Education Teacher of the Year. Now, Mr. Westerbeek was hailed for serving students with some of the most complex
099and significant needs in our schools, meeting those needs with compassion, patience, and a belief in those students abilities. He builds his entire classroom routine around his students care plans and uses creative lesson plans to open doors uh for them. Uh I can tell you that I've had an opportunity to visit his classroom on multiple occasions. uh and I have been super impressed by the work that he does and so I look forward to his uh continued growth as an educator. Mr. Perks who has been an educator for 27 years teaches Adobe Creative Student uh suite programs including preparing students for Adobe certification. In addition, he is seen as a leader in the school community, including encouraging students to research and produce videos about the history of the original Friendship School, a Rosen Wall School built
100in 1923. His principal, Brian Pitman, says this. He thoughtfully builds on student learning to grow across courses to build skill and understanding while also building relevant, authentic experiences that allow students to give back to our community. Both these teachers demonstrate our commitment to helping each student find their strengths and broaden their horizons. I can tell you had a chance uh to visit with Mr. Perks this morning on our prize patrol and surprise him. Uh and I can't speak uh enough about how his students uh uh applauded him uh and and recognized the wonderful work that he does. So I do want to congratulate both these teachers uh for the great work that they do. Lastly, April is Occupational Therapy Month, a welcome opportunity to recognize our 97 hardworking occupational therapists. Our school-based OT's provide critical
101support for students at all grade levels. They focus on student participation in academics as well as play uh uh uh as well as play and leisure while also helping students develop self-care and work skills. They can be found working with students in all areas of the school, including the classroom, playgrounds, and hallways. In some, they help students overcome physical challenges so they can fully engage in all their schools have to offer. I hope you'll join me in thanking our OT's for all they do to impact our students. And with that, Mr. Chair, I'll turn it back to you. All right. Thank you, Dr. Taylor. So, the next item on our agenda is our consent agenda. Members have had an opportunity to review all of the information on the tonight's consent agenda. And at this point,
102I'll entertain any motions. Motion to approve the consent items. We have a motion from Miss Mafy. I'll take a second from Miss Rice. All in favor of tonight's consent agenda, please say I. I. Opposed? Okay. I heard uh seven I nay. Accurate. Okay. Motion passes. Thank you. Um, we'll move now to our action items. Uh, the first action item is, uh, facilities approval of a 7-year capital improvement plan and resolution requesting funds for capital improvement. Um, and we want Yep. Good. I see Mr. Morrison. So, give him a minute to get situated and then we'll be ready to begin. All right. And so we'll just coordinate with our comm staff and make sure that the presentation is up on the screen. I was trying to get the music off. Oh, worth it. Yeah. So, um
103Mark, if you want to start and then board members, we do have this in assembly, so you can pull up the presentation. Um members of the public can also find it on the WCPSS website in the board materials on assembly. We do have some other materials um that I want to project and present. So, we do need to get it working, but let's not let that delay us. Taylor CIP executive that's the one that shows the three categories items that we have Is your mic on? It is now. All right. Do I need to say that again or did everyone hear me? I think we got it. Okay. Sorry, I couldn't. Uh, so tonight uh we are requesting approval of the seven-year capital improvement plan and the resolution requesting funds for that capital improvement plan.
104Earlier today, you all heard a presentation uh an overview of the executive summary of the CIP. This was also discussed some time ago. That is the wrong slide. Um you all heard some time ago um the at the facilities committee meeting there was a presentation um the same presentation that was given today and so we have shared this with you all a couple of times. It is worthwhile to note that for this year's executive summary of the CIP there are very little changes from last year. We made some minor uh additions and renovations to names and moved some small amounts of funding around. I think it is again worthwhile to note that for this year these are minor changes as we discussed at the work session earlier today. When we go through this process next
105year this time there will be u a lot of different options for you all to consider. We will begin working on this immediately and bring recommendations to you uh this time next year. But tonight, um, at least my part of the presentation, we are looking to answer any questions and and get approval of this so that we can forward it to the county. So, Chair Haggedy, that's, uh, my comment. Okay. We appreciate that, Mr. Strickland. Um, there it is. Chairy, I make a motion we approve the seven-year CIP plan and resolution. All right. We have a motion from Miss Mafy and we have a second from Mr. Hershey. Um as we move into discussion I would like to follow up our discussions in facility and in work session with all of you. Um and actually
106if I can Matt if we can go to the the documents that I provided we'll stay put we'll go back to the first document page one there should be four pages. Let's go back to page one. All right. [Music] Um that should not be page one but that's all right. Um, what I've done is I wanted to take a look. This is this is the should be the same document. If we can blow it up a little bit. It says cash and debt debt funded modification, but this first page is you don't have an assembly. Okay. I'm I I'm bringing this to you now. Yeah. Um, this first page is really just the same numbers that Mark presented to you. Let's go to page two. All right. What we've talked about in facilities and in
107work session is that you know every year as board members we get presented with a CIP executive summary. It's a lot of information. we have we don't really have a lot of time to digest it but when we do it's you know it's the process of a team working together for a year to present us a final recommendation okay and so the ability to change something at the last minute is made very difficult so by the time the CIP comes to us we don't have a lot of time for a lot of input So while I support advoc I support adoption of the CIP proposal that Mr. Strickland is bringing what I wanted to do was engage the board in some discussion now from the outset so that as they do their work over the
108course of the next few months they can get some idea from the board about directions and about priorities for how these capital improvement funds should be spent. And so if we can go go back to the Yeah. So what I'm proposing is if you look at it again, I I don't know why it's flashing like that. We, you know, I'm not I I don't want to talk about anything for fiscal year 2026 because this is something that's been planned for a year. This is something that staff has been working toward and any sort of changes we want to make would require a runway. Okay. Um, and I'm not advocating changing any of the amounts that staff has looked at, has worked with our county partners in terms of capital expenditures and capital construction. So, if
109if you were to go, this is just a copy of the same document that Mr. Strickland had presented. I've just highlighted fiscal year 2026 and those bottom totals as items that would not change. But what I'd like to talk to you about, let's go to page three. Maybe that'll be a little more stable, is we have two parts of the CIP. We have programs that are funded by cash and programs that are funded through debt. Um, and looking at it, I think that we have all talked about different priorities we have as a board where um, thank you Dr. Taylor. We might be able to rep prioritize some of the items that are being proposed to address some of the needs we have we have board members have talked about. Chair Hagerty. Yes, ma'am. I'm
110I'm sorry. I have a question for clarification. Are these modifications that you are proposing for this CIP that we are looking to approve tonight? It is. It is not, but it is the introduction of them to give staff direction in preparation for the coming year's CIP. I had discussed um with staff a couple a couple ways to bring it up and rather than trying to modify the current CIP, you know, tonight the thought was to bring some proposals for people to consider as part of the public debate in this meeting. So my question is this information that you are providing us now that is very small and very hard to read and glitching. Yes. um may be better suited for either facilities or a work session so that we can better process it because it
111is not necessarily gerine to the question tonight and this information was not provided before the meeting. So I ask that okay that we get this presented at another time when we have time to look through this and process it. Thank you Miss Mathy. It just has been emailed to all board members so you will have it. I do have I will I mean I'll take your suggestion as a motion. Um if you want to move on I I believe that the conversation is germaine and I would like to present on it at this time but if you'd like to make it as a motion I'll accept. I will make that as a motion because I believe again um I'm not seeing this and I am struggling to read it and was not expecting this to
112be discussed this evening. All right. Is there a second? Second. As a point of clarification, what's the substance of the motion to defer consideration of this uh spreadsheet? I or the the document. It is not entirely clear to me, Mr. Remy, but I believe that is what I have been asked to do if I would. So, yes. We're clear on what would be not sure how. There we go. Uh just so we're clear on what would be voted on. It sounds like you would just ask that this discussion be deferred to a to a later meeting or another meeting as we did not have notice that this was going to be tonight's conversation but just to some other meeting to be determined later but in the normal course of agenda setting. I suppose I think
113that's as long as everyone's clear on what your motion is, that's that's a proper motion. All right. So, there is a motion. It has been properly moved and second. Is there further discussion on the motion? Well, I would like to speak against the motion. Again, I believe that we're talking about the CIP and as I've talked about in facilities and I talked about briefly today in work session when we go through this process and we talk about how we spend our capital funds oftent times there is in my opinion inadequate debate. we do not have a full opportunity for the board to talk about their spending priorities, to talk about what we might like to see. And in the almost eight years that I've been here, you know, we it's almost like a rubber stamp.
114And so before providing approval for the recommended CIP, I wanted to discuss what we might do, what we might change. And you know, again, without going into the merits of that, but just on the motion, I would like the briefest of opportunities to explain my thinking on this and this information. I apologize for the technical glitches. You know, we all do get to speak on items that come before the board. we don't all submit our comments to everyone ahead of time. I thought presenting it with the graphic aid might be more helpful rather than just talking about it in the abstract. I apologize the presentation was not what it what it needed to be. But that is why I would like the opportunity to speak on this tonight if you will permit me. Mr. Hershey,
115I I I just will offer up since we had a uh facilities planning meeting the other day that I believe we have time either next week or we have a significant amount of time in May. I don't believe we had much of anything on the May agenda. If you wanted to dedicate, you know, 45 minutes minimum to something like this as an alternative to really, you know, because you want the robust conversation, we've got an opportunity to do that if if you would like. I appreciate that, Mr. Hershey. Miss Mafy, and again, Chair Hagerty, my motion or concern is not to dismiss your concerns. I believe that they need an appropriate time to have them. I just believe that, as Mr. Hershey extended that time during facilities would be an appropriate manner for new information
116discussing next year's CIP whereas the motion before us tonight is based on approving um the CIP that is before us and I believe that your changes are for forthcoming CIPs, not the one that is being presented tonight. All right. Is there any further debate? I won't argue my point. I'll put it to you all. All in favor of the motion, please say. Oh, Mr. Hershey to send it to facilities. Yeah. To do what you proposed to send the part that chair defer consideration to a future meeting, which could be the facilities meeting. It would be up to you all to determine that. The motion wasn't specific, but just not to discuss this issue at this time, but to defer consideration to some future meeting. But I'm still not clear. you know, attorney Ramy, am I
117allowed to speak on the CIP and then what sort of what sort of brevity what sort of leeway do I have to speak on about concerns on it? Right. That's what I'm not that's why it's a little I think it's a confusing discussion all around. Um any member can speak on the CIP of course um within you know the bounds of your policy and you know at some I mean with some reasonable amount of time any member can speak on the CIP. anything that's germanine to the motion which is approving the CIP and the resolution um is is fair to comment on. Um so if you wish to add comments in you know in support of your uh or in opposition to a motion to approve the CIP in the resolution that would also be
118appropriate. I think uh the concern was the document that I heard was the documents hard to read and hadn't been seen before and that and that the preference of Miss Mafy would be to consider that document and have discussion about it at a later date. All right, Miss Rice. Um, just just so that I also um understand as well, um I I don't think that you're asking us to um vote on anything. you're just sharing information in a preliminary space that we'll consider at a different time um but in more a robust conversation at a later date but you wanted to do a foundational introduction is that is am I hearing that correct chair that would be correct okay so I am I think that I don't and it's and you're saying it because it's
119in reference to CIP even though it is future but it's to just to lay a premise on what uh Mr. Strickland is going to share tonight to get it in our minds to condition us for what is to come. And so I don't necessarily see a harm in sharing what you want to share for us to hear with the understanding we're not necessarily we're not voting on anything. We're just sharing information because it's in reference to the same uh subject matter. Is that correct? That would be correct. That's what I needed to know. Thank you. Thank you. Any further questions? Any discussion on the motion? Dr. U, just for point of clarity, just so there are there is no substantive changes to the uh executive summary, the CIP executive summary for this year. Correct. Correct.
120So what we're talking about is for future or just to think about the for the future um consideration for other you know changes in for the sub like next year's executive summary. Is that correct? Correct. Okay. Miss Evans I'd just like to request a voice vote on Miss Mafy's motion um so that we're all clear on what we're doing. Thank you. Miss Cfield, I guess we're all just kind of a little bit confused. So, I think what I'm hearing from you is that you just kind of want to get an overall temperature check of what it is our main concerns are going forward so that we can have a deeper conversation later. Is that correct? That's correct. All right. Any further questions? All right. We'll do a voice vote. I can withdraw my motion. I
121just again my concern is I I'll withdraw my motion. Go ahead, Mr. Ramy. Is that proper at this time? Yes. Sorry. Hasn't been called for a vote. The movement can withdraw it. All right. Thank you. All right. So then without the benefit of the poor uh poor legal aid, what I'd like to do Pardon? It's been emailed to you. What I'd like to do is talk about what I think are some deficiencies in the CIP and some things we might want to look at. Specifically, we have all expressed concerns that are part of the CIP and that would give reason not to vote for the CIP presented tonight, but I believe those can be addressed. The first of these has been safety and security and the security improvements that have been recommended and the timeline
122for achieving those recommendations. We've also talked about our maintenance issues. Oftentimes we meet those through SNAP and PRIMP and other projects and problems. You know PE our representatives of our schools have brought to us about the ability to achieve those. So, I looked at a couple options that we could talk about where looking either at the cash mo the cash funded areas or the cash and debt funded areas where we might move some money around in the budget from our tech purchases and land acquisition. two areas that are talking to staff. It looked like we might have some flexibility so that we could speed up our timelines for uh the safety and security improvements so we could address other important issues that have been brought to us by staff and teachers as part of our
123operating budget um about our facilities, about environmental concerns, concerns that have been brought to us about trailers and mobiles. And these are just examples of areas where through rep prioritizing some funds, we could address those important concerns that citizens bring to us year after year after year. But if we keep doing the same thing that we always do, we can't expect anything to change. If we say we've got a problem with these mobiles, we need to do more to retire the mobiles and we don't spend adequately to do it, it's not going to happen. If we have teachers and students and families bringing us concerns about air quality and other safety, environmental issues in our building and we don't allocate more money to them, it's not going to happen. And so rather than vote against
124the CIP presented tonight, the you the the sort of compromise that I had in in talking with staff was that let me present these concerns to you with the promise that you know we're not going to change anything for 2026, but that going forward we can talk about these concerns that we've all raised and come up with a plan to keep, you know, uh, better, healthier school environments to address the important safety needs that we've all prioritized and then looking as as we talk about at some ways that we could pay for them. So, another thing that I had suggested as part of this that I'd wanted to include in the CIP but realized we needed a runway for it was many of you have also heard from librarians about the important needs that our
125schools have regarding their book collections. Now I view books as part of the library and part of the facility that we make available. You know if a Chromebook is considered a capital expense and part of a book than a book in a library that's used regularly by students throughout the years should be considered part of the capital expense and we've been presented different ways we might make that happen. I think through the CIP, we have a vehicle to make that happen where we could allow our schools to refresh books. And again, I had intended on bringing these ideas as potential amendments to the CIP tonight, but in working with staff, the thought was, well, instead, let's bring them to you as ideas and suggestions with the promise that staff would look at these at a
126future meeting. So I think there are ways to improve the current CIP, but rather than present them tonight to modify this CIP as presented, the thought was just to introduce them, get some comment, and then if Mr. Hershey is willing, perhaps we can bring them up in a future facilities committee meeting. Thank you. So with that, are there any is there any further discussion or debate concerning the CIP, Miss Edmonds? Well, not as presented by Mr. Strickland, but with what you've sent to us, is there a difference between the yellow and the green highlighted? I was just looking at I I used a color coding just to show areas where I was subtracting funds and areas where I was adding funds. So, anything that was green would just show you um an increase to funding.
127So, safety and security would be an increase. Uh depending on whether we're looking at the cash funded or the debt funded modifications, you know, and these are just hypotheticals. I understand. that was the color coding just to show you where we'd add something new or increase it versus where we might find the funds for that. Yeah. Um and if I may, I I I have no problem with where you're coming from here and I I just um a couple things. So, it's definitely a conversation to be had in facilities in in my mind. Excuse me. when we have more time. Um, and and we can all be better prepared for the discussion. I also want to uh I I may not have been on this board, but I've been around a long time and I
128remember when the county staff and our facility staff did not have a working relationship at all, let alone a good one. So, um, but I don't know. I mean, I do think it's appropriate for the board to have input there because it's our facilities that we're responsible for um you know, and getting the funding from the county. So, I think it may be time to revisit and provide a deeper level of input there. But I just want to recognize and honor the fact that um we've come such a long way and I know you all work well together and that needs to be uplifted, I think, for the public. Thank you, Miss Edmonds. Dr. Ring, um I I know the difficulty of this proposition um just because there's so many areas of conversation of different
129topics that we've had summarize into this one sheet. Um and um none of these conversations really go through in in satisfactory completion in my mind. Um, and so I know that you're you're bringing it out so that uh it kind of forces us to really look at it as a a big picture and um and and it's um kind of looking at how we can um rep prioritize the things that that um uh that we are doing with our um uh capital uh improvement um um money. And um I guess a question for Mr. Strickland is are these um numbers um set in terms of expenditures like you know for that particular area for the year that you know when if you don't spend it it's there available or is it or is it available
130for other uh areas general budget funding that's not not spent during the year remains in the CIP program so it doesn't go away it would roll over and accumulate Um so um that money would still reside in there. Um we and appreciate Chair Hagert's comments. Um we can and will and look forward to the opportunity to um broaden our horizons and and do some better and different things with the available funding that we get from the county. And um we had started some of these discussions early on. I won't get into the details now. I'll share th those at the facilities committee meeting. But um there's some opportunities for us to do some things and get ahead in some areas. Um again, this year we brought no new changes. My request to the chair when
131discussing this was that we we really need a longer runway on this uh to figure out where we're going to go. We need to make sure that both we have the internal and external capacity to enact these things and any changes we're considering. But we feel good about it. Just a followup, please. Um, yeah, I think that'd be great. Um, and also if we you can give us some tangible um possibilities um of the redistribution of of the resources in terms of like let's say our security um or our library collection um so forth right now or at the meeting. Sure, we can certainly do that. Thank you, Mr. Hershey. So we'll just plan on putting this on the May agenda for the facilities committee and then also as mentioned in the work session we
132are going to be they're going to be starting some small group discussions so there's opportunities to ask questions at that time as well. Okay. Any further comments? Any further discussion? All right. At this point we have a motion from Miss Mafy for adoption of the CIP. Properly moved and seconded. All in favor of its adoption please say I. I. Any opposed? All right. Thank you, Mr. Strickland. And Chair Hagerty, just to um I just wanted to confirm that the board intends also to approve the resolution that is attached to the CIP. So the I believe the executive summary, the precies for the item indicated the board's approval would approve both. Just want to do we need to reward I believe that was in my motion. I think that was in the original motion. Uh the
133way you called the vote, you mentioned the CI. I just wanted to be clear that I think it's a sedition as long as everyone's clear that that was the that was the cont the subject the content of the motion and that's what you all intended to vote to approve both items. Okay. Thank you, Mr. Ramy. All right. We'll move to the next items on our action item agenda. These are policies uh coming to us. Our first is board policy 1710 40217230 prohibition against discrimination, harassment and bullying on first reading. Welcome Dr. Crane. Good evening. So tonight I'm going to bring first two policies and then we'll let Dr. Matillo bring um another u I'm bringing policy 1710 prohibition against discrimination harassment and bullying and policy 1720 um discrimination harassment and bullying complaint process for first
134reading. At the March 25th, 2025 policy committee meeting, we discussed and uh attorney Neil Ramy was there. Gratefully, he's here again tonight so he can answer any further questions you might have. Changes that were recommended by our attorneys to both of these policies necessary to comply with recent legal changes, the federal court vacator of the revised 2024 Title 9 regulations. The board was aligned with the revisions reinstating the language of the 2020 regulations. At the policy committee meeting, Dr. Ing raised a question about the meaning of the phrase unless otherwise specified in the first paragraph under section B of 1710. That's on page five. Council has stated um that this should be deleted. It was left in from an earlier draft. So, we do recommend and we'll note that as struck for second reading. In
135response to another question, Miss Caulfield asked if we could confirm that the current legal provisions, the reinstated 2020 regulations would be applied to complaints even if filed prior to the January 9th vacator. I believe the answer to that is yes. Uh they will have the new the new old regardless of when they were filed. Yes, it's a little bit of a complicated question in that um if a if it a title 9 complaint that's subject to the title 9 regulation that's now in effect which is the 2020 regulation um that now covers only sexual harassment not discrimination based on sex um and there's specific sets of procedures that apply. So, anything that since the federal court decision that took us back to the 2020 rags, we would have to follow the law in that sense.
136If it's a sexual harassment complaint, per se, it follows specific procedures. But just to be clear, your policy also prohibits discrimination based on sex, gender, and other uh categories and and that remains a prohibition that there's other pol there's other procedures in your policies uh for by which those complaints would be processed. So, all complaints get processed. in terms of figuring out which set of rules to follow, it may depend on when the complaint originated and is it a sexual harassment complaint per se. So given those things, tonight we request the board's approval of the first reading policies 1710 and 1720. Chair Hagerty, I move that we adopt 1710 and 1720 on first reading. Thank you, Miss Edmonds. Is there a second? We have a second from Dr. Ring. Um, Miss Evans, do you have
137any comments on the proposal? I do. Thank you. Um, just just to reiterate, and I said this in policy committee, uh, whether or not you you know, some of us were advocates of the Biden administration changes to Title 9, some of us were not. Regardless of that, it does not change the expectation of the Wake County Public School System that no child will be bullied for any reason in our schools. that does not change. And so, um, as Mr. Remy just noted, you know, any bullying, harassment, um, complaint will still be well respected and well investigated. It just may not go through the Title N avenue based on the new going back the new what's old is new. What was new is old, however you want to phrase it. But um I just think it's
138very important to make that very clear to our students and our families and um our our staff are already there but um to our students families and the public. Thank you. Thank you, Miss Edmonds. Are there any other comments or any other discussion about the policy or any questions for Dr. Crane? All right, seeing not we're ready for a vote. All in favor of board policy 1710 4021-7230 prohibition against discrimination, harassment, and bullying on first reading, please say I. Any opposed? All right, the motion passes and we'll move on to its uh next reading. Dr. Crane, if uh you going to be here for the next one. We also u we're bringing the very minor changes to policy 1720, which is the complaint process. Those are found on pages one and three of that policy.
139Again, they're very minor. Um, and we request your approval on first reading of those. And so to be clear, this is a separate policy, board policy 4157225. Is there a motion? Uh, actually I included that in my motion a few minutes ago. I did say 1710 and 1720. So if we need to redo it, we can. But I did include both of them. That's that's what I heard as well. Well, if there's any confusion or or anyone didn't understand that, we could certainly revote just to clarify, but that's how that's you may just be and if so, I apologize for the oversight. I just want us to be correct with what we're supposed to correct. Okay. Well, then the person who seconded the motion got it too. Then uh then we have adopted both 1710
140and 1720. Great. On first reading, let me correct myself. Thank you. So, we still do have another policy on uh for consideration tonight. Board policy 5026-7250 use of tobacco and nicotine products on second reading. Yes. And uh looks like we have Dr. Matillaa. Sir Chair Hagerty, Vice Chair Swanson, Dr. Taylor, members of the board. Um tonight I'm bringing policy 5026 7250 use of tobacco, nicotine, and alternative nicotine nicotine products for second read. Um this is a revised wake policy. It went to first reading on consent March 18th. The board also asked us to take this policy back to committee to make clear that the policy does not prohibit the use of FDA approved nicotine cessation um products. So we appreciated this feedback. We made those um reflections. So you will see highlighted in yellow in
141subsection 3 um the reference to that clarification. We also took the opportunity to add alternative nicotine products into the title of the policy as it reflects that red language um for the school board's association that we already had in there. So um seem to be alignment um with the proposed language during committee. So tonight we request the board's approval of the second reading of policy 5026 7250. Thank you Dr. Mutillo. Is there a motion at this time? So moved. We have a motion for adoption of board policy 50267250 by Miss Evans. Is there a second? Second from Dr. Ring. Is there any discussion? Any debate? Miss Evans? Just very quickly, and I actually meant to say this um in regard to all three of these, I just want to thank staff and Mr. Remy for
142all of your work. We these were ones that we brought back in policy committee and I know that there's lots of work behind, you know, to make that happen. And so I just want to thank staff for all your work on these. Thank you. Any further questions? Miss Cfield, I don't have a question. I just would like to make a comment um to those that are following along to sim in simil um that they see how much we've changed the language to accommodate the fast, rapid, and growing need for all the things that are being put in front of our children when it comes to vaping and nicotine and all these products. And it's it's just really overwhelming as a parent just to see how many things are available to our kids. And I just
143had a discussion with my uh teenagers this past weekend and they introduced me to they introduced to me to other language of even more products and more language that you know I went back and looked at this policy. I'm like nope that's not on there and I I don't even know what it is yet. I still got to look it all up. But just to alert the parents and make them more aware to have these conversations and to really pay attention to how big this world is of vaping and drugs and all the things that are being challenged against our students. Thank you. Thank you, Miss Cfield. Any other comments? Any questions? If not, if we're ready for a vote, all in favor of board policy 50267250, use of tobacco and nicotine products on second
144reading, please say I. I. Any opposed? All right. The board p the the board policy passes. Thank you. All right. So, at this point, what we'll do on our agenda is we will move to our information items um on our comments tonight. We'll start with board member comments. I'll start with uh Vice Chair Swanson. Thank you, Chair Hery. I was looking to you to go first, so I you threw me for a loop tonight, which is good. Keep me on my toes. Um I think Dr. Taylor, I'd recognize the folks I want to recognize, but I'll say happy AP appreciation week um to all of our APS who are doing hard work every day keeping our schools safe. Um I also want to thank Dr. Taylor and for presenting his proposed budget at the last
145District 9 BAC meeting uh where we heard a lot of robust conversations about what's happening. And so I want to remind the public that if you were not able to make it to today's hearing, we have one on Friday at Fuway Arena Middle School at 6:15. We have uh another one that will be on April 16th at Abbottz Creek Elementary School and the final will be at the Southeast Raleigh YMCA. And so I want to thank the folks for bringing their concerns to us. I also want to just address one piece that you know we hear a lot about HVAC issues being on there. And so I do thank Mr. Strickland for bringing some of those pieces on our consent agenda. Um especially as it relates to some of those needs. So I know we
146hear a lot about HBAC concerns and I know we're doing what we can. But I think it's important that we really read through what's on our consent agendas and make sure that we're voting for those pieces that we're advocating for. Um on yesterday I had the pre pleasure of joining Mr. Hershey and Miss Gordon at uh Morris Square Magnet Middle School where we joined um elected leaders uh the governor uh Governor Stein and his team for his new task force on student well-being and school safety. And so it was great to be in that space and hearing our students. Um I really appreciated this the chorus and the orchestra that was there playing the great music for So, it was great to see those leaders and I know that there was a little concern when
147the governor announced, you know, the plans to make every school cell phone free during the school day and hearing the students voices was um their reaction was expected. And so, Senator Batch assured them that, you know, we survived without cell phones, they will be just fine, and it'll be a great way for them to focus on teaching and learning. So, um, we are ahead of the curve what they're doing and so I look forward to the great work and the policy that we're going to be leading as we address cell phone usage. Um, so again, thank you and again, please continue and give me your feedback to us on the budget. Um, it's on the website and you can feel free to email us as we continue to go through those those uh concerns. So,
148those are my comments, Mr. Chair. Thank you. Thank you, Vice Chair Swanson. I apologize. We talked about that and you were right. I was supposed to go first this night. We'll go to Miss Mafy. Thank you, Chair Hagerty. Um I'd like to say thank you to Susan Susan Pium and the members of our BAC. Um we had our final BAC of the year before spring break um where we learned about growth um in regards to new schools and not new schools. Um, and again, happy assistant principles week and autism acceptance week. And um, I'm sure Dr. Taylor that Mr. Perkins told you that they are working along with the town of Apex, the Apex Historical Society, and some local churches to restore the original Friendship School. Um, and we are very excited about that. Thank
149you. We'll go to Miss Cfield. Thank you. Um, I heard the comment earlier today that silence is consent and it really is a very true statement. I did not vote to approve on two of the consent items today that were on the agenda because they leave me concerned and I cannot invoke could not vote in favor of it. So, I wanted to explain why. The first one was that there was a grant in the consent items. I cannot consent to approving a grant that is putting even more sexual content and gender ideology in our schools. We have so much to improve on, so many topics that we can cover. Wake County needs to be focused on improving test scores, the vaping problem, school violence, and we need to focus on the basic things such as
150making sure our students have hair air HVAC and heating and air. Instead, the board has spent this time and imports even more political charged materials in our schools. This grant, it gets better, feels like it really should be called, it's getting worse. Here is a picture from the website that is promoting not only drag, gender, dysphoria, and identities such as drag, I can't spit the word out, and two to two spirit. I'm not even sure what that is. Why does this board want to convince children that they aren't perfect how they are? that they need to become something else. This grant is concerning. It's social influence and it confuses our children. It's radical and it shouldn't be in schools. It was clear that the board was feigning concern when the Biden changes were immediately adopted
151because of the fear of loss of funding. If it was a genuine concern of our board, we would not be considering this grant. The federal government stated our federal funding will be yanked if we push gender ideology which is this grant. It gets better and what the materials would do. I ran for school board to improve education not to be constantly beating with radical social agendas being brought to our school and our agendas at the dis. The second item was policy 16107-7800. Transparency is important and this is why I was persisting for the link for loaning forward to be included so the public would have access. I do not I I and I hope that not including that we didn't not include this to int county standards linked us to forward learning forward. The fact
152is that it was riddled with DEI language and the partner CEO statement in the Bill Gates section says our intention is we will have DEI in everything we do and also while building our exe our existing work in gender equality. It also had equity drivers prioritizing equity in professional development and identify and address their own biases and beliefs. This is our teachers. Saying our teachers are biased versus the teachers begging for the support in orderly classrooms in that in their setting is just wrong. It's not the teachers fault for bad behaviors or violence. I have a hard time believing that the teachers would take this job not for the pay but for the love of teaching and we're going to blame them completely misses the mark for the core of the problem. This is another
153example of why our federal funding is being threatened. I know there are other options. This is our choice as a board and this is how we risk losing the funding. On another note, I wanted to give a shout out to Wake Forest High School. Miss Owens is one of our fabulous teacher who goes out of her way to stay involved and engaged with her students. She shared with me last week during their spring break, their spring break week, Wake Forest High School FCCLA, the Family Career and Community Leaders of America chapter competed at the state leadership conference. These students work very hard on their project and we would like to congratulate them. Their project results were impressive. Emily, I'm going to try and say all these names correctly, so forgive me if I don't. Emily
154E Engelhart earned a silver award for her career investigation. Sophie Willilifford also earned a silver for her event management. Kinsley Dicolias and Ilana Laauo and Alyssa Jao they earned a brown a bronze for their focus on children the children project. Bridget Gamboni for job interview project she earned a silver. and Madison Delzel. She did for job interview won a gold. She placed first place in the state and will be going to the nationals in Orlando this summer. Carly Edmonds and Cameron Fulton. They did public policy advocate was their project. They won a bronze and they placed third in the state. So congratulations to all of you. Very well done. Another exciting event that is coming up in Wake Forest is a Heritage High School play Legally Blonde. that is April 17th, 18th, and 19th. April
15524th, 25th, and 26th. So, please come support our students. It's always a fabulous show and super talent talented students. This year is kind of bittersweet for me. U my son is a senior and a lot of the kids that I have watched grown are now seniors, showing off their talents and about to embark on their new journeys. But it has been an amazing journey to watch them grow from their early years and find their talents and strengths. And I would also like to add um that I was very impressed with our students that came up here today to speak about the snow and the word press. I read an article that one of the students had come to us for for an interview and it was very well done, very professional and I would love
156to hear for us to talk a little bit more about how we can assist them with that and continue that for them. Thank you. Thank you, Miss Rice. Good evening everybody. All right, let me get my notes. My transitional aren't working. Hold on. Okay. All right. Before I share our wellness tip, I want to take a moment to sincerely thank our staff for the hard work, dedication, and perseverance during this challenging budget season. Your efforts do not go unnoticed, and I truly appreciate appreciate the commitment you continue to show. the work you're doing is crucial and it's because of your unwavering focus and resilience that we are able to navigate this time with strength. So, thank you everyone for everything you do. Um, your contribution is invaluable and I am incredibly grateful to have such
157a dedicated um team to be able to partner with and let's continue to support each other as we move forward. So, I wanted to make sure I say that to our staff today. Um, I also want to um give an amazing shout out to Riverbin Middle School. I believe they won first place in their step show competition at a state level. So, they've been doing that consistently for the past 3 years and I wanted to make sure that I um highlighted that accomplishment for them. Um, also um I want to share our eight dimensions of wellness focus tonight which is physical wellness. Um, I want us to think about the summer ahead as it approaches. But before I do that, I want to say thank you to the educator, S Brown. Um, she's a music
158specialist at Harris Creek Elementary School. Why am I mentioning her? Because at 5:30 in the morning, I met this amazing educator as we were doing some physical wellness at the gym together. And so I received permission for her to mention her name and um how she was taking care of herself so that she could best serve our students. So I want to tell her thank you um for that time. So it's always good to be nice to people that you're beside. You never know who they are, right? So um I want to remind us as we go through our summer, stay hydrated and eat nutritious meals, right? As the weather warms up, is an essential to stay hydrated and fuel your body with nutritious foods, encouraging everyone, our student, staff, and our schoolboard members, to
159drink plenty of water throughout the day and enjoy a diet rich of fruits, vegetables, and a lean proteins to maintain energy levels and support overall health as they prepare for the summer months and including this budget that we got to continue to go through. Okay, so increase your physical activity outdoors a little bit. So, with the arrival of the warm weather, it's time to encourage outdoor activities. I know some of us have allergies, right? But whether it's a walk or jog or a bike ride for participating in sports, it's getting active outside can boost your mood, your energy levels, and overall well-being. So, I want to encourage everyone to take breaks during the day and stretch and walk around and promote regular exercise like I did this morning with that great teacher, right, to prepare
160for a healthy and active summer. Um, and the last thing that I want to um say is everything that we do is I thank the staff uh here for what the work that they do, not just about this budget, but when we find opportunities to meet the needs of all of our students, regardless of whether we agree or disagree with what people choose to do with their own children and their own famil family's lives, it does not take away from the fact that each child deserves to be seen. to be engaged, to be heard, and to be challenged. And I want us to always remember that that is our first priority. What my belief system is as a pastor in the community has nothing to do with what every child deserves to have when I
161sit at this table. And I just want to thank our staff for taking the opportunities to make sure that when we have funding available to make them feel seen, right, to be known, seen, and heard, I want to make sure that they know that someone is available. And I we have to always remember that every family and household is different. And that is what makes Wake that we have different perspectives, different thought processes, and we have to meet our students in different ways. So that's it. So that we can all have what a positive and productive day. Thank you, Miss Rice. We'll come around to Miss Gordon. Thank you. Good evening. Um I first would like to um send another um well wishes and and congrat congratulations to my fellow uh newly and um uh
162maintained national board certification um educators. Congratulations. It is welld deserved. Um, I also would like to um lift up I had the opportunity to um attend um newly uh Chief Rico Boyce's um swearing in ceremony at Southeast Raleigh uh Magnet High School. Um, and I specifically wanted to um, speak on that because um, Chief Boyce um, demonstrated and he lifted up the importance of community and that falls within my next comment. Um, I want to send a a huge kudos to the staff. Um, we've been receiving feedback on the budget from the staff and I cannot tell you how proud I am, um, as an educator to sit on this board and receive the feedback specifically from the people who are boots on the ground um, working with our students day in and day out.
163So, I I did want to say that. Um, but there's a there's a quote that I often use. The strength of the community lies in the strength of its schools and the strength the strength of its schools lies in the commitment of the community. Um and I want to lead with that because as you all may know we have um budget um uh discussions that are going to be open to the public. Um and the first one is this Friday as um vice chair um Mr. Swanson has reminded us that it will be this Friday at Fueway Verina Middle School. And I want to say and I want to ask and encourage the community to come out. That means not just moms, dads, adults, um, who care for our students, but also nasps um, and
164grandmas and grandpas and auntes, um, and the rest of the community because we also need your input as well. Thank you. Thank you, Miss Gordon, Mr. Hershey. Thank you, Chair Hagerty. Um, I want to really say I appreciate the students that spoke tonight, what they spoke on. Uh, it highlights, I don't want to say an ongoing issue for us, but something that we need to continually work on and that's when, um, we take something away that we make sure we are replacing it. Uh this is not the first instant uh in instance where as as I've been on the board that's kind of happened and and we could do a better job there. Um I will be interested in finding out based on what they said if if we have reached out to the vendor
165and if we could connect with the other uh school districts that they cited. They cited some pretty large school districts dealing with this so we could get some information on that. Um, and like I said, at at a minimum, when we do something like this, we need to make sure we're offering an alternative. Um, but really impressive. And again, I love when our students come to speak cuz those that try to diminish our school system, I mean, they got nothing on those students. Um, I think lastly, uh, I just want to refer everybody to the final minute of Mrs. uh Rice's comments, uh board member Rice's comments, and I appreciate what she said, and I just don't think people should disparage uh the board um over an issue, a $10,000 grant that is looking for
166to promote leadership. That's what this is really about. this this grant. I mean, if you have I understand that some people have political ambitions and maybe it's a good topic to, you know, try to beat against, but uh I view it as leadership. I view it as everything uh my colleague Miss Rice said. And um I just don't think it's appropriate to disparrage not only the board, but our teachers and staff over something like that. and I have great faith in uh our chief of schools and the grant department and um whoever applied for this grant and doing it for the right reasons. Thank you, Chair Hagerty. Thank you, Mr. Hershey. Dr. In um yes, good evening. Um yesterday I had the opportunity to um go to uh Heritage Middle School and uh join in
167on a visit um by Representative Mike Sheetselt. Um um I wish to thank Principal Light and the three student ambassadors for giving him a tour of the school. Um he was able to see the wonderful things that they are doing especially in the area of arts education. Um in fact one of the student ambassadors will be playing the genie in their production of Aladdin Jr. the musical which will be on April 14 to 16. Um, Representative Sheets was a also able to join in and play his trumpet in the band practice. Um, he is a big supporter of public education and he attributes music education and his band instructors specifically as being his lifeline in helping him to get through high school. And um, thank you everyone for coming today and for giving us input
168on the budget. Um, there's a lot that we have to consider and there are some hard decisions to make and I appreciate Dr. Taylor for putting forth a valiant attempt to give us proposed cuts in expenditures to think about. Uh we on the board board all agree that there are things that we cannot sacrifice. But in this time of uncertainty, we cannot just do the same thing year after year, asking for more and more from the Wake County Commissioners, especially when the citizens of Wake County are already hurting financially. We also just passed a resolution asking for help with our capital improvement plan which is really sorely needed for our aging schools. Um so we cannot ask the citizens of Wake County to carry more of the tax burden every year unless we can show
169that we are using our funds efficiently and effectively. Also, let's make sure that we are compliant with the executive order so that we are not at risk of losing any more federal funding. Um, speaking of budget, our next BAC meeting will be focused on the review of the budget. Uh, Mr. David Nether, our chief business business officer, and his staff will be our guest speakers, and it will be held at Wakefield Middle School on Monday, April the 28th at 5:30. Thank you. Thank you, Dr. Ang and Miss Evans. Thanks. Uh, April is school library month and um, school library month is celebrating 40 years. The American Library Association has some great resources you can find at ala.org. And I would like to read one paragraph in their intellectual freedom section on their website. And I
170think it is very poignant. It goes like this. Our founders recognized that public schools are a vital institution of American democracy. But education, they also knew involved more than reading, writing, and arithmetic. Education in a democratic society requires developing citizens who can adapt to changing times, make decisions about social issues, and effectively judge the performance of public officials. In fulfilling their responsibilities, public schools must not only provide knowledge of many subject areas and essential skills, but must also educate students on core American values such as fairness, equality, justice, respect for others, and the right to dissent." End quote. Thank you to all of our school librarians for your service, your commitment to our students, for your professionalism, and your expertise. And thank you for doing all of this without dedicated district level funding for your
171library collections. We know that's something we need to work on. Keep holding us accountable for it. Thank you, chair. Thank you, Miss Edmonds. And I'll just close tonight again thanking all of you for the work that you've put in as we go forward in this difficult budget season. There are a lot of distractions, but you know, if we keep the main thing the main thing, we will push onward and we will develop a good budget. Um, I appreciate the work that Vice Chair Swanson and as chair of the budget and finance committee has put into this and the idea that we will have our own public hearings out there in the community on the budget, something that the county commission has done in the past. I think that's a really great innovation for us this
172year. You know, we these aren't um you we have to make sure that we don't um you know, let me say it a different way. You know, I I encourage we've tried to spread these around across the county. I encourage you to come to your local meeting if you can. Um I believe there'll be a lot of great feedback, but please encourage other people even if there's not a public hearing near them to provide their feedback. You know, it's it's one thing again, we love all of you out there in the audience. We hear from you, but we know there's a much bigger broader community out there and we want to make sure all voices are represented. So, um, with that, let's, you know, please continue to work together. I've I've said it before, you
173know, we can't do the same thing over and over and expect anything to change. So, we do need to be bold in looking at changes we can make to our budget and really make sure that our budget priorities are reflected in the document that we put together um, and pass as our board budget. So, thank you all. With that, what I'd like to do is entertain a motion to return to close session for the uh items so stated in the agenda. Mr. Chair, I move that we return. So moved. Thank you. I'll take that. A motion for Vice Chair Swanson with a second for Mr. Hershey. All in favor of returning to close session, please say I. Any opposed? All right. Thank you. Good night to everyone else.