001gentlemen, we'll be get on our way here. If you'd uh bow your heads and we'll open in prayer. Heavenly Father, we thank you and praise you that we're able to come here tonight and conduct the business of DD2. We pray Lord your presence with us. We pray that you would bring knowledge, discernment, wisdom, genuine respect and kindness as we discuss the business of the district. Lord, as we celebrate the successes and uh collaborate in dealing with what's best for our children and accomplishing the goals of our district. Lord, we pray that uh everyone who's here tonight, Lord, would be um enlightened, encouraged, and informed as we go through the business of the meeting tonight. And Lord, may it all be for your glory in Jesus' name. Amen. and join me for the pledge. Good evening
002and welcome to the February 23rd, 2026 Dorchester District 2 board meeting. I would like to welcome Dr. Wilson. He is sitting in this evening as Mr. Doherty is out of the district and so we appreciate him being here with us tonight. Thank you. All right. Um, at this time, I would ask for an approve or a motion to approve the consent agenda and meeting minutes. Motion made by Miss Powell, seconded by Miss Bates. Any questions or discussion? All right. Hearing none, we will call for the vote. Motion carries. Seven in favor. All right. The first item on our agenda this evening is our district highlights. And looks like we've got a great crowd here. We will bring up Mr. Brian Bohannan. >> Thank you, Dr. Wimblely. Members of the board, Dr. Wilson. Tonight's district highlights
003recognize outstanding student achievement, meaningful community partnerships, exceptional leadership in student health services, and excellence in counseling. We'll begin by celebrating students who exemplify scholarship, leadership, and service. Okay, students in the room, I'm going to read a bunch of nice stuff about you. We're all going to clap and then I'll bring each school up in one time. We'll get a big group photo. It'll be great. But hang tight. The National Beta Club, the largest independent educational youth organization in America, is built upon four pillars: academic achievement, character, leadership, and service. Through academic competition and leadership excellence, Beta students make meaningful impacts within their schools and communities. Recently, students from Newington Elementary School and Fort Dorchester High School traveled to Myrtle Beach to compete in the South Carolina Beta Convention, and their performances were exceptional. At Newington
004Elementary, students earned first place in the performing arts solo duo trio and first place in Songfest with individual students also receiving premier awards. At Fort Dorchester High School, 15 students qualified across multiple academic and performance categories, including dance, language arts, psychology, and US history. As a result of these achievements, students from both schools have earned the opportunity to represent DD2 at the National Beta Convention in Nashville, Tennessee this June. We congratulate these students and their sponsors for representing our district with excellence, and we wish them continued success at the national level. >> [applause] >> We're gonna start with Newington Elementary. Everybody in Newington, come on up. I know you're here. Lots of them. Newington Elementary. Moving on. Anyone we have from Fort Dorchester Elementary, if you can start making your way to the front. Oh,
005sorry. High school. Fort Dorchester High School. You're also freshfaced. >> [laughter] >> Congratulations for Dorchester High School. Best of luck. We know you're going to represent us proudly in June. Our next highlight reflects the power of community partnership and the meaningful impact local organizations have on our schools and students. And for that, I'm pleased to welcome Miss Sloan Strauss from the Junior Service League. Good evening everyone. My name is Sloan Strauss and I'm the current president of the Junior Service League of Somerville. For those unfamiliar with our organization, we were founded in 1988 by a group of extraordinary women with a passion for making Somerville shine. And that mission remains just as true and evident 38 years later. We are dedicated to uplifting our community through hands-on volunteer work and spirited fundraising. I am proud
006to stand here today alongside several of our members to present a check for 17,775 which will be shared among the DD2 and DD4 schools with each school receiving $555. This gift is made possible through our fall events, Scarecrows on the Square, Christmas on the Square, and PJs with Santa. all held annually on Hutchinson Square during the fall and early winter months. These events would not be possible without the dedication of our members, especially the event chairs, some of them standing behind me here today, the incredible Somerville community that shows up year after year, even when there's inclement weather. and the town of Somerville Parks and Recreation Department. We are especially grateful to Amy and Riel for their continued support in helping make these events possible on the square. Many of you may have noticed that
007we did not host our annual ghost walk this year. We chose to take time to thoughtfully evaluate how we can reimagine the event to better serve our ever growing community. And we are excited to share that it will return this fall and stronger than ever. At the heart of everything we do is a simple belief. Women when women come together with purpose, meaningful changes happen. The funds presented tonight represent countless volunteer hours, late night planning meetings, early morning setups, and late night cleanups, even when it's pouring down rain and dropping below 40 degrees. And a whole lot of heart. It is an honor to support DD2 and DD4 schools and the students, teachers, and families you serve each day. We believe deeply in investing in our community's future, and that future is sitting in your
008classrooms right now, and we just saw many of them come forward to receive recognition. Thank you for allowing us to partner with you and thankful for the work you do every day in serving our community. We are proud to present this check and look forward to continuing to make Somerville shine together. [applause] >> [applause] >> Thank you, Miss Strauss. We're grateful for your continued support to our community partners. [snorts] Our next recognition celebrates exceptional leadership in student health services. Cat Busane, the director for the South Carolina Association of School Nurses, could not make it this evening, but she sent the following remarks about Amanda Sims. Amanda represents the very best of school nurse leadership. Visionary, principled, and relentlessly committed to student health and professional excellence. In a remarkably short period of time and at such
009a young age in her leadership career, she has achieved what many spend decades striving toward. Her impact extends far beyond the boundaries of Dorchester School District 2. Through strategic innovation, statewide advocacy, and national engagement with the National Association of School Nurses, she has strengthened practice standards, elevated the voice of school nurses, and advanced health equity for countless students. Amanda leads with both intellect and heart. She builds systems that endure, mentors with intention, and advocates with courage. Her work reflects not only professional competence, but moral clarity and an understanding that school nursing is essential to student success and public health. Please join me in congratulating the South Carolina Association of School Nurses Administrator of the Year, Amanda Sims. [cheering] [applause] >> [applause] [applause] >> If any of Amanda's co-workers would like to prolong this moment, you
010can come get in this picture, too. I'm sure Amanda would appreciate it. Bring flowers and balloons. >> [applause] >> And for our final district highlight, I'm filling in uh director of counseling, Gail Mercer Brown. unable to make it tonight, but I get to read some lovely things that she wrote about our district counselor of the year. It is my honor to recognize Miss Blair Shelley as our 2026 District Counselor of the Year. For the past 13 years, she has faithfully served the students, staff, and families of William Reeves Elementary School. With unwavering dedication and heart, Miss Shel understands that meaningful, trusting relationships are the foundation of effective school counseling. She balances compassion with intentional data form practices to ensure that student well-being remains at the center of her work. Whether supporting students navigating grief and
011loss, responding to cases involving trauma, or providing support to children experiencing anxiety or depression, she approaches each situation with professionalism, care, and quiet strength. At the district level, Michelle serves as one of the elementary professional learning community leads for school counselors and has represented our district as a stimmerion ambassador. She is currently piloting a fifth grade careerfare model focused on career exploration and communication skills with the vision of expanding this opportunity districtwide. Miss Jelly models accountability, authenticity, and humility in every aspect of her work through intentional support and meaningful student experiences. She helps ensure our students are prepared for college and/or career pathways. She exemplifies the standard of excellence we strive for in Dorchester School District 2. After a competitive selection process that included outstanding counselors from across the district, Miss Shelley was selected as
012our 2026 District Counselor of the Year. We are proud to celebrate her leadership, her impact, and her unwavering commitment to students. [applause] >> [applause] >> We're going to give Blair the Sure. >> Good evening, Dr. Wilson, schoolboard members, and all of our DD2 family. It is a true honor to be here as the 2026 Dorchester School District 2 counselor of the year. I have served as a school counselor at William Reeves Elementary for my entire 13 year of school counseling. I'm deeply deeply grateful for the leadership at Reeves and for my principal Natalie Hayes. Her support ensures that school counseling services are embedded in the heart of school's planning and decision-making. It has been a privilege to grow in a school community and district that consistently puts students first. School counseling is often viewed as
013support work, but in reality, it's foundational work. When students feel safe, connected, and understood, they are better able to engage academically and pursue their goals with confidence. When we when we intentionally teach students how to regulate emotions, build healthy relationships, and advocate for themselves, we are equipping them with skills that impact their academic success and their lifelong well-being. Today, school counseling is relational and researchbased. Our work is guided by data which includes attendance, behavior referrals, and academic progress to identify needs and implement targeted, measurable supports. We align our efforts with district priorities to ensure students are not only meeting expectations today, but are truly college and career ready for tomorrow. I am proud to represent a district filled with dedicated counselors who advocate daily for students and work collaboratively to strengthen our schools. As school
014counselor of the year, I'm committed to continuing to put students first, using data to guide decisions, and advocating for systems that ensures every child has the opportunity to succeed. Thank you. [applause] Thank you, Miss Shel. This concludes our district highlights. Uh so, if you're not going to hang out, this would be a great time for you to to leave. We're going to bring the Shelley family up with her administrators and make sure we get a picture uh with all of them. All right, moving on from those amazing exciting highlights. Next item on our agenda is our public comments on agenda items. We do not have any this evening, so we will go to our board committee reports. Um, and first up, we have our policy committee, Miss Bates. >> Yes. Thank you, Madam Chair. Uh
015the policy committee just met prior to this board meeting at 5. So we'll have some policies for first reading at our next meeting, but currently we do not have any today. As you can see on the screen, that's our upcoming schedule for our following meeting. So please take note to them. And do you have anything to add, Miss K? All right. All right. Great. Thank you. We have finance committee Mr. Lee. Uh the finance committee did not meet today since our last meeting, but uh all the focus is now beginning to turn towards the budgeting process for the coming school year. And uh it's been interesting receiving some information at the school board's association conference over the weekend about potential changes in the legislature and funding formulas. Unfortunately, we don't have any real information, but
016now we have something else to look forward to. So, uh Evan, any uh comments you want to add? >> Yep. >> All right. Great. Thank you very much. Next, we have our facilities committee, Mr. Farnsworth. >> Um, thank you, Madam Chair. The work of facilities marches on, of course. Uh, we have our next meeting will be March 9th. Uh, a couple things and and I want to point out and and highlight. Uh, Oakbrook, we were at Oakbrook last week. Got to see the additions over at Oakbrook Elementary and Oakbrook Middle. Um, both of those additions look amazing. We're very excited to uh to get those up and running and kiddos in the hallways. Um we have walkthroughs continuing so this week. So board members uh please look at your calendars. Um and if anybody plans
017on attending those, make sure to accept the calendar invite so we know how many folks to plan for. Um but again, that'll continue this week. And just appreciate everyone uh operations, facilities, it it takes a uh takes a village for sure. So, thank you. >> All right. Thank you, Mr. Farnsworth. And next, we have our governmental and community relations committee, Mr. Lee. >> So, our committee met to kind of lay out a charter. What we're going to try and do, the whole purpose of this committee is to to be more intentional in terms of reaching out to the various uh committees that we need to have relations with both across the community as well as with the government. And space, we want to kind of give more detailed update. We talked about it quite a
018bit in our board retreat earlier. So, I don't really have anything necessarily to add, but stay tuned. Uh we will be coming up with some events and various meetings that might be for the public. Some will be more for us and with our partners and the delegation and county council and such, but apart from that, we look forward to continuing to move forward with this committee. All right. Thank you, Mr. Lee and Miss Bates. Next up, we have our board chairs report. And um I just had a couple events I wanted to remind everyone of. We do have our exciting reality towns happening across the district in our middle schools. Um here are some March dates listed on um the slide and I know that Wanda has sent out calendar invites for us for those
019so that we can sign up if you're interested if you have not participated in a reality town. It is a lot of fun, very entertaining, and also very educational. So, I encourage you if it fits into your schedule to um try to attend at least one this year. And then also, just a reminder that we also have our national conference coming up um CASPA conference that will be March 13th through the 15th. And I believe that we have almost everyone registered for that. So, if you haven't gotten registered, there still is time. All right, any questions? um board members about those things. All right. Very good. Um so the next item on our agenda is our superintendence report and as I mentioned earlier, we have Dr. Wilson here and he is going to be leading
020that for us. So I'm going to hand it over to him. >> Thank you, Dr. Wimberly. Members of the board, we do have five presentations tonight on behalf of the superintendent according to the um agenda. The first one is the Dorchester 2 Educational Foundation. And so we will ask Mr. Ralph Hayes, our executive director to come forward. >> Good evening, uh, Madam Chair Wimberly, uh, Assistant Superintendent Dr. Wilson, members of the board. Excited to be here tonight just to give a couple of quick updates. And the first thing that we wanted to do, um, we wanted to squeeze this in with everything else we have going on, but Kim Kahel, you know, joined us, uh, just about a year and a half ago. And one of the first things that we tasked her to do
021was to go through the certified education foundation leader program which is hosted by the national association of education foundations. That is the industry standard in leadership for education foundations throughout the country. Um it is a year-long process with six independent month and a halfl long courses and um she did exceptionally well. She finished the courses in December and we just wanted to take a second to say what an honor it is to have her on the staff to serve the students and staff here. And South Carolina currently has three uh CFL members. Um myself, Kim, and then Rock Hill is the only other place in South Carolina that currently has one. And so we're just super super proud of Miss Cahill and what she does every day to bring benefit to our students and staff
022at DD2. So thank you Kim for that. [applause] [cheering] Um I did want to point out too one of the things that Kim does in her engagement. Last month we were awarded the nonprofit of the year from the Chamber of Commerce. That is something that Kim completely led independently on her own. We're very fortunate that we work collaboratively on almost everything, but obviously her connections with the business community and everything really lead to her being confident in situations like that. So, we're really happy to get that because really we feel that that's a representation of the fact that as a nonprofit in the community, we're viewed as doing positive work that's making an impact. And again, a lot of that is because of the wonderful person behind me right there. So, um, yeah, I'm good.
023Uh, if you guys would, uh, just take a second and humor me. This is only about, uh, a minute and a half long, but we also wanted to kind of give you an update on some of the things that we're doing. Um, this past year we worked with Google who gave us some funding to implement some things that really would be innovative and outside of traditional funding. And so this video really showcases that and shows you what we're doing with some of that funding. Just last week, I had the pleasure of meeting with Google representatives again with uh Miss Katie Barker and Miss Emily Delantis. And we're very very confident that Google will continue to be a strong partner for our school district and what we're doing here. But um yeah, if you'd humor me
024and just watch the video and huge kudos to Brian Bohannan for having someone in house that has the ability to showcase things. [snorts] >> Sorry, I'm usually way louder than that. I promise. I'm more off the cuff. I'm not >> The foundation [music] always says we like to fuel innovation in our classrooms. This is [music] exactly what we mean. The Lou interactive playground is something unlike anything else. It allows the PE classroom [music] to become an immersive experience where students can learn cross-curricular instruction and support their core academic [music] subjects while they're having fun and also working on their motor skills and PE skills. We are so thankful for the DD2 Educational Foundation. I have been seeking this opportunity for years [music] and years and we finally got an opportunity to have it in our
025building and it has been [music] one of my best moments as a principal being able to see our kids engaged with this activity. What I've enjoyed [music] most about this opportunity is seeing our 4K kindergarten and our special education students >> [music] >> utilizing this playground. We would not be able [music] to accomplish this amazing project if not for the generosity of Google who provided a grant to us to be able to implement Lou boards to support four of our schools in [music] Dorchester School District 2. Google is an amazing partner who wants to invest [music] in our community and invest in our future through our children. Um, so again, thank you Brian Bohannan who came out and and took the shots and Dr. Johnson who's there and really just having the ability, you know,
026we do lots of small giving and trying to celebrate teachers throughout the year and everything. Um, but those pieces of equipment are fairly substantial investments for us and the feedback that we're getting from the administrators and the teachers and the students at those schools are really rewarding and and something that we want to make sure we're continuing to work with leadership on to infuse things that are improving the uh academic uh portfolio of what's going on in DD2. So, we're just we're really thankful for that. Just wanted to make sure the board and the community had an opportunity to see that. If you're ever over at uh Joseph High, go in and see there the one there. We currently have one at Oakbrook Elementary as well. And then those two units are going to be
027rotated to Oakrook Middle and Sireers so that they impact students at all four schools. And I love that you guys talked about your conference that you're going to be at in March. I hope that you gain so much out of it because while we're here in DD2, we're going to try to be celebrating and raising funds to make sure we're able to do incredible things like that. Kim has some gear here. So, anybody who wants to come out to the event, it's going to be yacht themed and uh for anyone who hasn't been before, I promise there's a place for everyone there. Um, you'll never be overdressed, you'll never be underdressed, and you'll never leave there not knowing that you're contributing to making an impact on teachers and students in our community. This is the
028largest fundraiser for Dorchester School District 2 each year. So, if you have the ability to attend, please go to dd2foundation.org and get yourself a ticket. If you cannot attend, one of the things that we started uh a couple years ago that's been really rewarding, if you go to the same site where you would purchase a ticket for yourself, you can purchase a ticket to be donated to an educator in your honor so that you can send a teacher and they can experience the event and be there and be a part of us trying to raise revenue so that we can do some amazing things in the classroom. So, thank you so much. We appreciate everything. Before you sit down, I just want to say on behalf of the board, on behalf of all the educators,
029and that includes janitors, bus drivers, whomever, just want to say thank you so much. Ever since I heard about the foundation, you all have been doing great things. So, um, just continue to do what you're doing and know that we're missing you already and the party hasn't even started yet, but >> you guys are going to have a good, you know, get a ticket and go have a drink and enjoy your conference, I'm sure, but won't quite be the big event, but but you'll enjoy yourself. No, but um, not not to be completely off topic or anything with the national group that I serve and with some other local groups that are starting ed foundations right now. We really feel confident that one of the things that allows us to be successful is the alignment
030of what we're doing with district leadership and with the school board. We we want to have open communication with everyone. We want to be working collaboratively so that what we're doing is aligning with the board's goals and aligning with what district leadership is trying to do. And uh we're we're very thankful for that. And I I just I hope all of you know that that doesn't come easy everywhere. And I see other places where that's not the norm and we we are very very thankful for that. Um but as always there there's a lot of work to be done. I I mean we all know we're trying to do what we can, but there's a big there's a big bucket to fill. There's there's a big gap to fill. So, we appreciate your continued advocacy
031and support so that we can try to do our part. Thank you, Mr. Hayes, and congratulations to Miss Cahill as well, uh, and to the education foundation. Um, our next presentation is in regards to redistricting. This has been presented previously. It's being represented tonight by Mr. Kenny Ferrell. And at the end of this presentation after questions, we'll be asking the board for action on this particular item. >> All right. Good evening. Um, as we said before, we're going to start off with Eugene Sireers. You know, um, redistring from Syres to Oakrook Elementary. You can see currently there's 87 students at Sireers. um as we moved um the students from span to excuse me yeah as we moved the students from span to to sireers now we have to move sireers to Oakrook Elementary so the
032current capacity after enrollment will be 1095 which should go to 92% um so that requires us to to to try to bring that number down a little bit so our recommendation is to move 85 students to Oakrook Elementary a result district of sires enrollment 924 will drop it to 84% capacity capacity and the result on Oakbrook, you know, since we're building the addition, it'll take it to 71% capacity. And you can see up here really, you know, the the dividing line is the the little backwards seven there. Um that's Laten Road. So Latin Road will be the divider line between Sireers and Oakrook Elementary. All right, pretty quick. Uh you can see East Edestto is one of our largest um attendance zones. Uh within that attendance zone, there's over 4,000 approved houses. Uh currently, we're
033at 105% capacity. Um so, um in the next four to six years, it's going to be up to 122% capacity. So, that is the why that we're asking for redistricting. And you could see the uh the developments. This is in 2022 uh when Eastto first started off. And if you go to the next one, you could see that the the population of of Watson Hill Summer's Corner. Um, what am I missing one? Watch the homecoming. Um, you know, so as we continue as the blue star is the possible future of our new middle school, but as we continue to see growth in this area, we have to address the need. And uh, so the next slide. All right. So these are the 400 4,77 approved houses already. Um, and you if you know out there,
034there's a lot of developers still own land out there. So this is only going to continue to grow in that area. So the plan to address growth, you know, we've addressed at Ashley Ridge um in the you know 23 24 um we're asking to to address East Edestto which is one of our largest pieces. We helped out in Sand Hill. We built 10 classrooms to help with that and going to move in for additional mobile classrooms. So that that capacity will be there and we helped out Beach Hill by moving to Newington in 2024. >> [clears throat] >> All right. So, you can see that the Bacons Bridge Road will be the new recommended dividing line. Um, you know, this is the northeast corner of East Ed's u um attendance zone. So, you know, just
035you know, logically that this is the the best fit to to transfer students. Uh rising seventh, eighth grade students have the choice to remain if transportation is provided. Rising sixth grade students zone for EMS must attend MS regardless if they have siblings. East Edestto Middle School. So East Edestto um you know our goal is to try to keep them you know you know available seats. You know there's no place to put trailers. There's there's no way to put you know go go second story. It's really on a tight campus and behind our one of our largest elementary schools. Uh so current enrollment is 1052 which is 106% capacity. you know projected you know projected capacity over the next couple years will get to 122%. So we reszone approximately 184 students to keep capacity stable. It
036results in current enrollment at Oakbrook is 86 um students increase student capacity to MS by adding seven classrooms. So we have a new addition that Mr. Farnsworth referenced earlier. So we have some extra classrooms and the result of redistricting MS would stay at 89% capacity. Of course, [clears throat] you know, I just addressed this. You know, the challenges of East Edestto of of the wetlands. It's tucked in behind Beach Hill. Um, currently, we cannot add a second floor due to the structural support, has limited outdoor space and parking. Uh, because of the limitations, increased enrollment cannot be addressed by adding physical space. The school was built for a thousand, and it's fastly moving past that point. District goal is not to exceed 28 students per class. 52% of the core classes exceed the district goal
037of 28. 36% of the core classes have 30 or more students. The library has previously been utilized as a classroom. As enrollment grows, class sizes will continue to increase and will decrease our ability to um provide assistance to our students within the classroom. Large class sizes make it harder for teachers to provide interval instruction. Uh there is no available space for additional academic support, remediation, intervention services. Students who need extra academic, behavioral, social support are most affected. Shared spaces like hallways, cafeterias, arrival dismissal areas become more crowded, rising safety issues and supervision concerns. Teachers large class sizes makes it harder for teachers to provide in individualized instruction. Makes differentiated instruction more difficult. uh can affect the district's ability to retain high quality teachers. So as as the cloud goes up, crowd goes up, the students
038go up, it it reduces the teachers effectiveness. You know, as always, we're going to do with all of ours, you know, we have a transition plan where we buy videos, school staff, support staff, field trips, open house in the spring, and then we're going to consider anything we can to make sure that this process, if approved, is smooth transition for our students. And this is the redistricting timeline. We brought it January 12th to the board meeting information only. January 27th parent meeting for Sireers parents going to OES. February 3rd parent meeting for East Edestto Middle School parents going to February 23rd it was tonight board meeting. Any questions? All right, board members. At this time, I would ask for a motion to approve the redistricting plan beginning in the 2026 2027 school year as presented.
039>> So moved. >> All right. Made by Mr. Farnsworth, seconded by Miss King. Any questions or discussion? >> So I I'll start and and first and foremost, I want to say um thank you to to the district and Mr. Dhy, Dr. Wilson, Mr. Frell. Lot of folks that that have gotten us to this point. Um, you know, folks don't understand it seemingly maybe just is no big deal. Like, hey, we're just going to move some students from here to here. But the the redistricting is is an entire process. And and to go through that process, I've been through it a few times now. And I know that it's it's much much much more difficult, much more complex. And and so I just want to say how much we appreciate what the district has has put
040forward. Um you know I think to the community change is change is hard. Change is difficult. Um nobody likes change and and so I understand from that perspective but what what we've got and and this is a a great example. So, if anybody is is feeling that pit in their stomach maybe and and they're really really really upset about this stuff, um I would say it's probably a good time to examine behind the scenes and and really pull back the curtain because what we've got is is kind of a perfect storm. We we've got a conglomeration of a lot of issues, um financial issues, um I would say unbridled growth issues in our county. um unchecked growth in our county. There there's a lot of stuff. There's stuff happening at the state level. Uh we
041could start talking about Act 388. We could talk about how our district is funded, how underfunded we are. We could go down all those rabbit holes, but what all that amounts to is this decision tonight. And and so again, so anybody that that may feel that pressure and and not like what we're having to do, um I would just ask to please look kind of deep down and and really investigate the core of that uh because there is a lot more to it um than us just kind of picking up students from here to here. So again, so I just want to say I appreciate the district and um what they brought to us tonight. Thank you. Ditto seems so inadequate to follow that but ditto would would be good for starters. Two things in
042in that presentation I do want to point out you know in the situation where we have 52% of core classes exceed the district goal of 28 students and one can have an argument whether 28 is the right number anyway uh that is something that we're facing with all of this growth and to back up Mr. Farn's point, you know, this this is the most recent and uh vibrant example of what we're facing as a district. This is not the last time we're going to have to deal with these kind of things because we don't know what's ahead. Uh what they've done in thinking through not only this particular situation, we've also had the conversations with what happened uh what we had to do with Knightsville Elementary and everything else and putting those plans in place.
043the amount of rework and rethinking to try and stay in front of this is getting more and more difficult with the unmanaged growth. So for for folks who don't quite see it all come together, they they can't put all the pieces together, it's okay. It's it's it's complex. There's a lot of moving parts, but I encourage you to to kind of engage in and see what's happening as we deal with uh the funding challenges that we face as well as the uh nearly unmanaged growth is what I would call it. And uh I thank the the district for all that they're doing. Uh we keep coming back and saying, "Okay, can you look at it this way? Can we try something sideways?" But this doesn't solve all the problems. Uh, as I pointed out, just
044one one statistic in there still jumps out at me. Uh, this helps us to get through tomorrow. It doesn't help us get through next year in the years that follow. So, thank you. >> All right. Ditto and ditto. And then I would just also like to say that um we recognize that this is a major transition for our students and families who will be reszoned and that we don't take it lightly and we want to work with you together um with your family to make sure that this is a smooth as smooth as possible transition and as Mr. Frell presented. There are lots of options for that. But also, please know that these students are moving from a great school to another great school and that the people at these schools want to help ease
045and and facilitate that transition and make it as as smooth as possible and they will be there to help and assist and guide as well as others in this district. So please reach out um because we want to make that process as as as good as it possibly can be for our students and our families. So all right, any other comments, questions? Okay, then we will proceed with the vote. Motion carries. Seven in favor. Thank you. Our next presentation is the finance report and we'll have that by Miss Tina Met, our chief financial officer. Kenny, you're tall. Okay. Um good evening, Madam Chair, board members, um Dr. Wilson. Um this evening, the finance team has prepared for you the um general fund financial statements through January 31 of 2026. We are seven months into our
046fiscal year. Um on the cash flow analysis that you see first on your screen and we're right in the middle column. Um fun item to note is that our very first line item on the property taxes, we've received $53.7 million in January, which um typically we don't receive a second payment in January. It usually comes in February. So we got a little extra money ahead of time in January. and you'll see how that flows through on some of our other reports. Um so our total revenues um for January were 71.4 million. Total expenditures were 24.9 which left us with a positive um fund balance positive monthly um gain this month of $46 million. So um our fund balance went to 31.1%. You can see where the month before it had been at 15.63. So, another
047good reason for us to keep a good fund balance so that we can make it through all the way until we get our property tax revenues from the county. Um, one item I also wanted to note on here is that if you look at your total um on the far right um in the green of the 1.1 million that is reflected as a negative amount at this point in time. Um we were we did not receive as much state aid to classrooms um revenue from the state as was presented at the beginning projected from the state in the beginning of the year. Um so that's where our deficit is coming in right now. Um those are based on 45th day numbers. So we have another time for uh true up with our 135th day numbers.
048So um hopeful that that will um come back to to make us in balance again. Um the other item that I had not pointed out in a couple of months, my apologies, is our food service fund balance. Um we had some timing issues with um the Aramark invoices. So it seems like some of the months um reflect some negatives right there. It's just um the timing of the invoices. And we also have been paying for some equipment. Um so that that does cut into our fund balance a little bit, but we will still have some funding um at the end of the year. Um our next report is our um balance sheet for the general fund. Um as we were just talking about we received that extra funding in um January. So our cash and
049our investments is higher this year as compared to last year with our comparison column of 25 beside that. Um so our total assets at the end of January is $ 101.3 million. um liabilities are right in line with where they were last year at 8 million. Um so again that gives us a positive reflection of our net change in fund balance. Um the schedule of revenues, expenditures and changes in fund balance is the next report. Um again we um exceeded our taxes in this month in January. So our percentage um is only remaining at 22% whereas last year at this time it was at 64% remaining that we would still be expecting to get through the end of the year. So that makes our total revenues number um of 185 million reflected at 38%. So
050that's a timing difference again of the 50% from last year. Um our total expenditures are right on track at the 47% mark as they were last year of $159.5 million. Um the next set of reports are the um fund pictures and colors um from just the numbers that I presented a few moments ago. Um these just show you kind of in bar graph the three years preceding of the the breakout of local revenue, state revenue, other revenues on this first form. And also um just as we were talking about the timing of the of the property taxes that's um that's stated on this report as well. Um the second um form there is the expenditure overview. Um, same thing. It's broken out into our um instruction related categories, our other general fund expenditures, other financing
051uses um which brings us to our total expenditures of 159.5 million. And we're right on target with that. Some of our expenditures, as we have stated in the past, um the instructional expenditures are a month behind because our teacher contracts run from July to, pardon me, from August to um the following July and most other expenditures are on our fiscal year of July to June. Um this final report is the fund balance overview which um looks a little different from years past because um again we received the um property taxes at a different timing this this month. So in January our fund balance went way up. So that makes our numbers look a little better. Um it's just a timing issue and it and um we don't expect um there to be any other fluctuations
052during the year. So, um, those were our, uh, financial reports for this month. If there are any questions, >> if I can go back to the the state aid to classrooms deficit, um, what's the confidence level that's going to get adjusted in a positive way? >> Um, well, we we have grown in um, students since the beginning of the year. Um, so I feel like we're going to um probably regain some of that money. I will say that the um formula that the monies are based on at the state level, agreed [laughter] um is a little bit wonky in that it's based on the entire state's weighted pupil units. And so if you grow in your area, if another district look grows as well, um it's the same bucket of money. It just gets distributed
053to different different districts. So, um, we're hoping we're hopeful that we will see a a gain back of some of those funds. >> Thank you. >> You're welcome. >> Thank you, Miss Met. Board members, the next thing we have in your packet is the approval of personnel recommendations. >> All right. Thank you, Dr. Wilson. Board members, we did receive this information um in our packet. So, is everyone okay with proceeding in open session? All right. At this time, I would ask for a motion to approve the personnel recommendations as presented. >> So, moved. >> Motion made by Mr. Guthrie, >> seconded by Miss Bates. Any questions or discussion? All right. Hearing none, we will call for the vote. motion carries. Seven in favor. >> And the last item I have tonight on behalf of the
054superintendent is the approval of student enrollment recommendations for 2025 2026. >> All right. Thank you, Dr. Wilson. Board members, we also received this information in our packet ahead of time. Is everyone okay with proceeding in open session? All right. At this time, I would ask for a motion to approve the student enrollment request as presented. >> Motion made by Miss Bates, seconded by Mr. Lee. Any questions or discussion? Hearing none, we will call for the vote. Motion carries. Seven in favor. All right. Thank you, Dr. Wilson and team. Appreciate the great information. Next item on our agenda this evening is our public comments. We have one, Mr. Jason Brockert. Good evening, Dr. Wilson. I think everybody else is pretty familiar with me being up here. So, music means a lot to me. Means a lot
055to a lot of people. A lot of times we can hear each other's feelings a little bit better when it's set to music. Um, so I saw that uh the big event is going to be at the fairgrounds this year. That's pretty awesome actually. That's a that's a big upgrade. Uh, there's going to be another event at the fairgrounds in May which will be about bullying prevention and suicide prevention. If anybody from Doorchester 2 would like to check that out, there will be formal invitations coming as soon as we have it locked in. Uh the idea is actually to have counselors from DD2, DD4, Berkeley, Charleston, all of them there for the event that we're going to host. That's a bigger version of the event that we hosted last September that we invited you all
056to as well. So, I'm hoping that maybe there will be a better Doorchester 2 turnout at our second community event that we try to throw. Recently, there's been an issue with the local high schools concerning potential protected speech. I have a feeling like protected speech is something that ought to be pretty important to all of us. And I feel that protected speech is something that everybody should be able to do. It's it's an intrinsic right. I know we like to throw around God-given rights. What did God give or not give to you? But it's an intrinsic right. We all have the right to have our opinions and have them be heard and be respectful. Now, my understanding when I went to check out things last Friday was that students were planning to be respectful, but
057there was this fear that they weren't planning to be respectful. Now, a lot of times we operate out of fear rather than trust, genuine honesty. And sometimes it's out of fear. I have a feeling that sometimes when I come up to this podium that that pit of the stomach feeling happens for some people in here. And that's odd because all I've ever wanted to do is tell people to respect each other. For years, I've been at this podium asking people to respect each other. Again, I I'll challenge you to to argue that point even at my worst. And I'd like for you to review me at my worst. I've been at this podium at my worst. Please see what I was like at my worst and see how respectful I was. There's a hurricane and
058it's on the way. And I never heard those lyrics more profoundly than I have recently. Thank you. >> Thank you, Mr. Rockert. All right, board members. We do not have an executive session this evening. So, at this time, I would ask for a motion to adjurnn. So, moved. Motion made by Miss Bates, seconded by Miss Powell. Any questions or discussion? Hearing none, we will call for the vote. Motion carries. Seven in favor. We are adjourned.