[00:02:20] MIC] [CALL TO ORDER] [00:05:19] WE TYPICALLY BEGIN OUR MEETINGS WITH A MOMENT OF SILENCE. SO IF YOU WOULD JOIN ME IN A MOMENT OF SILENCE, AND WE WILL FOLLOW THAT WITH THE PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE. OKAY. THANK YOU. PLEASE STAND. I PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG, OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, AND TO THE REPUBLIC, FOR WHICH IT STANDS, ONE NATION, UNDER GOD, INDIVISIBLE, WITH LIBERTY AND JUSTICE FOR ALL. [SPECIAL ORDERS OF BUSINESS] FIRST ITEM OF BUSINESS THIS EVENING WILL BE THE SWEARING IN OF THE NEWLY ELECTED BOARD MEMBERS. WE HAVE FIVE NEW PERSONS WHO WERE MOTION REELECTED, ONE ELECTED FOR THE FIRST TIME. MR. JIM BROOME OVER HERE. MR. BRIAN SILAS IS A RETURNING BOARD MEMBER. BARRY MOULTON IS RETURNING. MR. SMITH, WHO IS ABSENT DUE TO ILLNESS THIS EVENING AND WON'T BE HERE. AND MISS PATRICE RHINEHART-JACKSON, WHO IS A RETURNING BOARD MEMBER. IF YOU ALL WOULD COME DOWN FRONT, I'M GOING TO ASK MR. LAURENCE TO COME FORWARD AND SWEAR YOU IN. IF YOU HAVE MEMBERS OF FAMILY OR FRIENDS THAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO STAND WITH YOU WHEN YOU ARE SWORN IN, PLEASE, IF THEY WOULD COME FORWARD ALSO, THAT WOULD BE NICE TO STAND BY YOUR BEHIND YOUR BOARD MEMBER. MR. LAWRENCE. IS IN CASE WE NEED A RECOUNT. ALL RIGHT. FIRST OF ALL, BOARD MEMBERS, CONGRATULATIONS ON YOUR ELECTION OR REELECTION. IF YOU WOULD RAISE YOUR RIGHT HAND AND REPEAT AFTER ME, I DO SOLEMNLY SWEAR OR AFFIRM. I DO SOLEMNLY SWEAR OR AFFIRM. THAT I AM DULY QUALIFIED ACCORDING TO THE CONSTITUTION OF THIS STATE. THAT I AM DULY QUALIFIED ACCORDING TO THE CONSTITUTION OF THIS STATE. TO EXERCISE THE DUTIES OF THE OFFICE. TO EXERCISE THE DUTIES OF THE OFFICE. WHICH I HAVE BEEN ELECTED. WHICH I HAVE BEEN ELECTED. AND THAT I WILL, TO THE BEST OF MY ABILITY. AND THAT I WILL, TO THE BEST OF MY ABILITY. TO DISCHARGE THE DUTIES THEREOF. TO DISCHARGE THE DUTIES THEREOF. AND PRESERVE, PROTECT AND DEFEND. AND PRESERVE, PROTECT AND DEFEND. THE CONSTITUTION OF THIS STATE AND OF THE UNITED STATES. THE CONSTITUTION OF THIS STATE AND OF THE UNITED STATES. SO HELP ME GOD. SO HELP ME GOD. CONGRATULATIONS [APPLAUSE]. THANK YOU. OKAY. THE AGENDA HAS BEEN CIRCULATED AMONGST THE PUBLIC AND THE BOARD. I'VE RECEIVED NO REQUEST FOR MODIFICATIONS OF THE AGENDA, SO WE WILL APPROVE IT AS SUBMITTED. WE HAVE ONE SET OF MINUTES REQUIRING APPROVAL FOR THIS EVENING, THE MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING OF OCTOBER 25TH, 22. IS THERE A MOTION TO APPROVE THE MINUTES AS SUBMITTED. MOVED BY MS. RHINEHART-JACKSON. IS THERE A SECOND? SECONDED BY MR. MOULTON. ANY DISCUSSION? HEARING NONE ALL IN FAVOR. PLEASE RAISE YOUR HAND AND MR. BLOOME WILL BE. [INAUDIBLE] BECAUSE YOU WEREN'T HERE RIGHT. OKAY. OKAY. ALL RIGHT. UNDER SPECIAL ORDERS OF BUSINESS, PUBLIC PARTICIPATION, WE HAVE TWO REQUESTS. THE FIRST IS A REQUEST BY MRS. [00:10:01] SYLVIA HAZEL, WHO IS HERE TO TALK ABOUT THE AUTOMATIC THREE DAY OUT-OF-SCHOOL SUSPENSION FOR FAILURE TO OBEY. SO MRS. HAZEL IF YOU WOULD COME FORWARD AND TO THAT MICROPHONE OVER BY DR. MINOLFO AND GO AHEAD. WE ASK THAT PEOPLE WHO PARTICIPATE IN PUBLIC PARTICIPATION LIMIT YOUR REMARKS TO 5 MINUTES. YES, SIR. THANK YOU. GOOD EVENING. MY NAME IS SYLVIA HAZEL. MY SON IS A STUDENT AT AIKEN HIGH SCHOOL. HE IS. HIS NAME IS COREY HAZEL. HE IS AN 11TH GRADE STUDENT AT AIKEN HIGH, AND HE WAS RECENTLY SUSPENDED FROM SCHOOL. I'VE CONTACTED SEVERAL OF YOU, MEMBERS OF THE BOARD ABOUT THIS. HE WAS RECENTLY SUSPENDED ON HIS FIRST OFFENSE EVER FOR EXITING A INCORRECT DOOR THAT EVIDENTLY WAS PUT INTO POLICY SOMEWHERE SOMETIME THIS YEAR. IT'S STILL UNCLEAR TO ME WHEN, AS HE HAS BEEN EXITING OUT THAT SAME DOOR UNDER THE PRINCIPAL'S WATCH AND WITH HER PERMISSION THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE YEAR. BUT ONE DAY THEY DECIDED TO ENFORCE THIS RULE. AND THE THE NOTE THAT WAS WRITTEN ON THE SUSPENSION NOTICE WAS A BROAD TERM CALLED FAILURE TO OBEY. AND SO I JUST ASK THAT THIS BOARD REALLY TAKES INTO CONSIDERATION THAT BROAD TERM AND THE PENALTY THAT IT CARRIES WITH IT IS AN AUTOMATIC THREE DAY OUT-OF-SCHOOL SUSPENSION. TO ME, THE LAST PLACE A CHILD NEEDS TO BE IS OUT OF SCHOOL, ESPECIALLY FOR SUCH A MINOR OFFENSE. NOW I KNOW THAT WE NEED TO TAKE INTO CONSIDERATION THE SAFETY OF OUR CHILDREN. I UNDERSTAND. I UNDERSTAND THAT. BUT I JUST FEEL LIKE THE PUNISHMENT FOR THAT PARTICULAR, UM, VIOLATION WAS EXCESSIVE. I MEAN, I'M A LITTLE BIT OLD SCHOOL. MY MOTHER WAS A WAS AN ADMINISTRATOR IN THE SCHOOL DISTRICT. AND, YOU KNOW, I REMEMBER BACK IN THE DAY, BUT SOMETIMES A CAR HOME WOULD SUFFICE, YOU KNOW, TO THE CHILDREN VERSUS AUTOMATICALLY SUSPENDING THEM FOR THREE DAYS AT THAT OUT OF SCHOOL. AND SO I JUST FEEL LIKE IT WAS AN OVERREACH. YOU KNOW, I REACHED OUT TO THE PRINCIPAL AND THE VICE PRINCIPAL, AND I JUST COULDN'T GET ANYWHERE WITH EITHER ONE OF THEM. AND SUSPENSION IS OVER. IT'S PRETTY MUCH ONE WATER UNDER THE BRIDGE AT THIS POINT. HE ENDED UP MISSING A WHOLE WEEK OUT OF SCHOOL BECAUSE YOU HAD A LEARNING DAY AND THEN IT WAS ELECTION DAY AND THEN HE WAS SUSPENDED FOR TWO DAYS. AND THEN THE LAST DAY WE HAD BAD WEATHER. SO HE ENDED UP BEING OUT OF SCHOOL A WHOLE WEEK FOR NOTHING. AND THIS IS THE CHILD DOESN'T MISS SCHOOL. HE HAS A 3.0 GPA. HE'S CAPTAIN OF THE VARSITY FOOTBALL TEAM. I MEAN, HE JUST HAS GREAT CHARACTER. AND I KNOW I'M A LITTLE BIASED, BUT I MEAN, I THINK SOME PEOPLE THAT ARE HERE TO SUPPORT ME WOULD AGREE WITH THAT. AND SO I'M JUST ASKING YOU TO RECONSIDER THAT FAILURE TO OBEY SUCH A BROAD TERM FOR A REALLY MINOR INFRACTION THAT CAUSED HIM TO MISS ESSENTIALLY A WHOLE WEEK OUT OF SCHOOL FOR THAT. AND I'VE BEEN I'VE BEEN HEARING THE TERM PROGRESSIVE DISCIPLINE. YOU KNOW, I JUST FEEL LIKE THIS SHOULD HAVE BEEN A CASE BY CASE, CHILD BY CHILD BASIS. YOU KNOW, MAYBE CONSIDER HIS HISTORY AND NOT HAVE, YOU KNOW, OFF THE BAT JUST SEND HIM OUT OF SCHOOL FOR THREE DAYS, WHICH WAS USELESS. HE LEARNED NOTHING BY BEING OUT OF SCHOOL. AND AS A MATTER OF FACT, WE WERE UP TO LATE LAST NIGHT GETTING HIM CAUGHT UP FROM MISSING A WHOLE WEEK OUT OF SCHOOL. SO I DID SPEAK TO THE PRINCIPAL. SHE DID REDUCE HIS HIS SENTENCE TO TWO DAYS. I FIGURED IF SHE COULD REDUCE IT TO TWO, SHE COULD HAVE REDUCED IT TO ONE AND MAYBE NOT EVEN HAVE RECONSIDERED AND NOT EVEN PUT HIM OUT OF SCHOOL. AND SO I'M JUST ASKING, YOU KNOW, ON ON BEHALF OF MY FAMILY AND SOME OF THE OTHERS THAT ARE HERE SUPPORTING ME, IF MAYBE THAT TERM NEEDS TO BE RECONSIDERED, MAYBE THE PUNISHMENT FOR THAT BROAD TERM NEEDS TO BE CONSIDERED CASE BY CASE, CHILD BY CHILD IN THE FUTURE. AND ANYWAY, I'M JUST HERE TO EXPRESS MY DISPLEASURE WITH THE PUNISHMENT THAT HE RECEIVED. AND, YOU KNOW, I PRIDE MYSELF ON BEING VERY PRESENT PARENT BEING PRESENT AT THE SCHOOL. I'M A BOOSTER CLUB SECRETARY, A MEMBER OF THE PTSO, AND ALL THAT IS ON PURPOSE. AND SO I'M JUST REALLY DISAPPOINTED, YOU KNOW, IN THIS OUTCOME OF THIS. AND SO IS HE. AND SO I'M HERE TONIGHT SPEAKING ON HIS BEHALF. AND I JUST APPRECIATE YOU GUYS GIVING ME THE TIME TO DO THAT. [APPLAUSE] THANK YOU. MRS. HAZEL. WE HAVE A SECOND PERSON WISHING TO SPEAK THIS EVENING, MR. JOHN PETTIGREW, AND HE'S HERE TO TALK ABOUT THE SAME TOPIC. MR. PETTIGREW. THANK YOU, MR. CHAIRMAN. MR. SUPERINTENDENT, MEMBERS OF THE BOARD. I DIDN'T MEET MRS. HAZEL TILL TONIGHT, BUT I HAD HEARD ABOUT THE SITUATION INVOLVING HER SON BEING SUSPENDED OUT OF SCHOOL FOR [00:15:04] GOING OUT AN UNAUTHORIZED DOOR. AND IT BROUGHT BACK MEMORIES TO ME BECAUSE MY DAUGHTER HAD FACED THE SAME CIRCUMSTANCES BACK ON SEPTEMBER THE 1ST AND SEPTEMBER THE 1ST WAS THE FIRST DAY THEY WERE ENFORCING THIS NEW POLICY AT AIKEN HIGH SCHOOL TO ONLY EXIT THROUGH THE MAIN ENTRANCE. AND I UNDERSTAND THE REASON FOR THE POLICY TO TO CONTROL THE COMINGS AND GOINGS AT THE SCHOOL, BECAUSE YOU DON'T WANT JUST SO MANY DOORS, PEOPLE COMING AND GOING. I UNDERSTAND THAT. HOWEVER, THIS THIS WAS A NEW POLICY THAT WAS IMPLEMENTED THIS YEAR. THE STUDENTS WERE TOLD ABOUT IT AT AN ASSEMBLY, BUT THE STUDENTS MY DAUGHTER'S A SENIOR AND SHE AND HER FELLOW SENIORS, ONE OF THE SENIOR PRIVILEGES, SO TO SPEAK, WE DIDN'T HAVE SENIOR PRIVILEGES WHEN I WAS COMING ALONG. WAS TO PARK IN THIS PARKING LOT BY THE CAFETERIA. AND TRADITIONALLY, THE STUDENTS HAD GONE OUT OF THE DOOR BY THE CAFETERIA TO THE CAR. AND SO MY DAUGHTER AND HER FRIENDS HAD BEEN GOING OUT OF THIS DOOR THE WHOLE SCHOOL YEAR UNTIL SEPTEMBER THE 1ST. AND THAT'S WHEN I THINK IT WAS EIGHT OF THEM WERE CAUGHT AND WERE SUSPENDED FOR THREE DAYS, WHICH WAS LATER REDUCED. BUT THE CODE GIVES THE ADMINISTRATION BROAD DISCRETION, AND IT'S EVEN SPELLED OUT THAT THE ADMINISTRATION HAS BROAD DISCRETION IN ENFORCING THE CODE. AND IT SEEMS TO ME LIKE THAT FOR FOR SOMETHING SUCH AS THIS, A NEW POLICY AND WHERE THEY KNEW THE STUDENTS WERE USING THIS OTHER DOOR, THAT THEY COULD COULD BE A WARNING GIVEN. OR THERE COULD BE ONE OF THE SECURITY STAFF STAND BY THE DOOR THE FIRST FEW WEEKS AND SAY, WE'RE NOT GOING TO USE THIS DOOR ANYMORE. BUT NO, THAT WASN'T DONE. THERE COULD BE SIGNS ON THE DOOR. THERE WEREN'T SIGNS ON THE DOOR. I ASKED ABOUT THAT AND THEY SAY, WELL, SIGNS HAVE BEEN ORDERED. THEY HADN'T COME IN YET, SO THERE WEREN'T SIGNS ON THE DOOR. SO, ANYWAY, YOU KNOW, MY MY DAUGHTER WAS WRONG. SHE WENT OUT A DOOR SHE WASN'T SUPPOSED TO GO OUT OF. BUT BUT, BUT I ALSO QUESTION THE DISCRETION USED BY THE ADMINISTRATION AT AIKEN HIGH SCHOOL IN SUSPENDING HER AND SUSPENDING MR. HAZEL AND OTHERS FOR THREE DAYS, EVEN THOUGH IT WAS REDUCED. STILL, THEY CALLED IT REFUSAL TO OBEY SLASH INSUBORDINATION THAT THAT'S THE INFRACTION AS A LEVEL TWO INFRACTION IN YOUR CODE. NOW, IT SEEMS TO ME THE PRINCIPAL COULD HAVE GIVEN THEM A WARNING, COULD HAVE HAD A LOSS OF PRIVILEGE, COULD HAVE HAD SOME RESTRICTION, COULD HAVE CALLED IT IN AN OFF LIMITS AREA, WHICH WOULD HAVE JUST BEEN A DETENTION, COULD HAVE CALLED IT AN OTHER MINOR OFFENSE, WHICH ALSO WOULD HAVE BEEN AN DETENTION. SO THIS THIS DISCRETION HAS HAS HURT SOME OF THESE STUDENTS. I KNOW THEY DID WRONG, BUT I JUST WONDER IF THE PUNISHMENT FITS THE OFFENSE. WE WERE RECENTLY FILLING OUT COLLEGE APPLICATIONS FOR MY DAUGHTER AND ON ONE OF THEM IT HAD ASKED, HAS YOUR HAVE YOU EVER BEEN SUSPENDED FROM SCHOOL? SO WE PUT YES. AND IT HAD A PLACE TO EXPLAIN. NOW, I DON'T KNOW HOW THAT COLLEGE IS GOING TO LOOK AT THAT BEING SUSPENDED FROM SCHOOL, BUT WE WON'T KNOW REALLY, I DON'T THINK. SO I JUST ASK THAT YOU YOU KNOW, LOOK AT THE DISCRETION IN THE CODE AND MAYBE SPELL OUT THINGS A LITTLE CLEARER IN THE CODE FOR THE FOR THE ADMINISTRATION TO USE WHEN THERE IS A WHEN THERE IS AN OFFENSE. AND ALSO TO SEE THAT THESE THESE ARE APPLIED ACROSS ALL OF THE SCHOOLS, FROM WHAT I UNDERSTAND, THE THE OTHER SCHOOLS. OTHER HIGH SCHOOLS HAVE NOT ENFORCED A POLICY OF GOING OUT ONE DOOR AND HAVE NOT SUSPENDED STUDENTS FROM SCHOOL. SUSPENDED FROM SCHOOL FOR THIS FOR THIS OFFENSE. SO, AGAIN, I JUST THINK THAT THIS COULD HAVE BEEN HANDLED DIFFERENTLY. AND I HOPE THAT YOU ALL WILL WILL TAKE SERIOUSLY THE CONCERNS THAT THAT THE PARENTS HAVE IN THIS REGARD. [00:20:06] AND TAKE A LOOK AT THE CODE AND AND LET'S LET'S MAKE SURE THAT THE PUNISHMENT FITS THE OFFENSE. THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME. I APPRECIATE I'LL BE GLAD TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS ANYBODY HAS ANY QUESTION ABOUT ANYTHING. ANYBODY HAVE A QUESTION? ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU. [INAUDIBLE] NEXT ITEM IS THE PUBLIC INPUT ON THE RETURN TO IN-PERSON INSTRUCTION AND CONTINUITY OF SERVICES PLAN. WE WERE AWARDED A PRETTY MAJOR GRANT OF MONEY BACK DURING THE COVID PANDEMIC, AND ONE OF THE CONDITIONS IS THAT FOR US TO GO BACK TO SCHOOL FULL TIME, WE HAD TO UPDATE THE PLAN EVERY SIX MONTHS. SO THIS IS WHAT THIS IS ALL ABOUT. MR. LAURENCE, WOULD YOU LIKE TO SORT OF SUMMARIZE WHAT WHAT THE PLAN CONTAINS? I THINK THAT MISS HART IS GOING TO DO THAT WHEN WHEN WE GET TO THAT POINT OR SOME SOMEONE IS GOING TO DO THAT, WHEN WE GET TO THAT POINT IN THE AGENDA WHERE Y'ALL WILL ACTUALLY BE VOTING ON IT. WE DID RECEIVE ONE ONE EMAIL COMMENT ON IT, AND I THINK WE'RE GOING TO BRING THAT UP AS WELL WHEN WE GET GET TO THAT. THIS IS JUST AN OPPORTUNITY FOR FOR THE COMMUNITY TO PROVIDE INPUT ON WHAT OUR PROCESSES ARE FOR FOR BRINGING STUDENTS BACK TO SCHOOL AFTER THE PANDEMIC. THE THE PROPOSED UPDATED PLAN HAS BEEN AVAILABLE ON OUR WEBSITE FOR ABOUT A WEEK, I WOULD SAY, TO GIVE PEOPLE AN OPPORTUNITY TO TO REVIEW IT. AND IF THEY HAVE QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS ABOUT IT, TO BE ABLE TO PROVIDE THOSE. I THINK IT MIGHT BE BETTER IF WE MAKE OUR PRESENTATION NOW SO THAT THE PEOPLE AT LEAST KNOW WHAT WE ARE TALKING ABOUT [INAUDIBLE] THEN WE WILL VOTE ON IT WHEN THE TIME COMES IN THE AGENDA. OKAY. YES. CHAIRMAN BRADLEY AND MEMBERS OF THE BOARD, MR. LAURENCE, I WAS NOT PREPARED TO MAKE A PRESENTATION TONIGHT. CAN YOU JUST SUMMARIZE. ABSOLUTELY, YES, SIR. I JUST. SO THIS IS A REQUIREMENT EVERY SIX MONTHS. SO EVERY NOVEMBER AND EVERY MAY, WE'RE REQUIRED TO SOLICIT COMMUNITY INPUT AND PUT BACK OUT ANY UPDATES ON THAT RETURN. RETURN TO IN-PERSON INSTRUCTION. THE PRIMARY CHANGES THAT WERE MADE IN THIS PLAN WERE RELATED TO QUARANTINING AND REPORTING. SINCE WE'RE NO LONGER REQUIRED TO QUARANTINE UNDER [INAUDIBLE]GUIDELINES AND WE'RE NO LONGER REQUIRED TO REPORT OUR POSITIVE CASES TO [INAUDIBLE], THOSE WERE THE PRIMARY CHANGES MADE. WE DID HAVE ONE QUESTION, AND IT WAS A QUESTION ABOUT TECHNOLOGY SAYING THAT THE TECHNOLOGY GOES HAND IN HAND AND WANTED TO KNOW IF THERE WAS A PLAN TO REPLACE LAPTOPS. WE'RE IN OUR SECOND FULL YEAR WITH THE ONES WE HAVE, WANTED TO KNOW HOW LONG THEY WOULD LAST AND WHERE FUNDING WOULD COME FROM IN THE NEXT COUPLE OF YEARS. AND I REALLY NEED TO DEFER TO DR. MURPHY FOR THAT ANSWER. I KNOW IT WAS BUILT INTO THE PLAN THAT THERE IS A PLAN FOR REPLACEMENT AND MAINTENANCE. BUT THERE IS A PLAN. AND SO THAT WAS THE ONLY QUESTION THAT WE RECEIVED. SO IT WASN'T NECESSARILY A QUESTION ABOUT THE PLAN ITSELF. IT WAS A QUESTION REGARDING TECHNOLOGY, MAINTENANCE AND REPAIR. MR. CHAIR, MEMBERS OF THE BOARD, THAT THE FIRST REPLACEMENT CYCLE IS BUILT IN. BEYOND THAT, IT BECOMES A BUDGET ITEM EIGHT YEARS FROM NOW. I'D OPEN THE MICROPHONE TO ANYBODY IN THE AUDIENCE THAT HAS A COMMENT OR QUESTION OR WHATEVER ABOUT THIS PLAN. IS THERE ANYONE OUT THERE THAT HAS ONE? WELL, APPARENTLY NOT. SO THANK YOU VERY MUCH. THE NEXT ITEM ON THE AGENDA, STAFF SUPPORT CHAIRMAN. I DON'T REALLY HAVE ANYTHING. I'M GOING TO POINT OUT TO BOARD MEMBERS THAT AT THE NEXT BOARD MEETING WILL BE THE TIME TO ELECT OFFICERS OF THE BOARD AGAIN, WE DO THAT ANNUALLY. BASICALLY, IT'S CHAIRMAN AND VICE CHAIRMAN THAT HAVE TO BE ELECTED. I'M GOING TO REQUEST THAT I NOT BE CONSIDERED FOR CHAIRMAN. NEXT TIME I'M DONE IT FOR THE PAST TWO YEARS AND I'M GRATEFUL FOR THE OPPORTUNITY AND I APPRECIATE THE CONFIDENCE THAT YOU'VE BESTOWED IN ME. [00:25:06] BUT DUE TO MY ENERGY LEVEL AND SOME OTHER DEMANDS THAT HAVE BEEN PLACED ON ME, I THINK IT'D BE BETTER FOR THE BOARD AND FOR ME TO LET SOMEBODY ELSE DO THAT. SO THANK YOU. INDIVIDUAL ITEMS. PERSONNEL APPOINTMENTS. THIS IS A LIST OF INDIVIDUALS WHO'VE BEEN RECOMMENDED BY THE SUPERINTENDENT TO US FOR EMPLOYMENT. WE NEED A MOTION TO APPROVE THE LIST OF PERSONNEL FOR EMPLOYMENT. MOVED BY MS. RHINEHART-JACKSON, SECONDED BY DR. HANKS. ANY DISCUSSION? ALL IN FAVOR, PLEASE RAISE YOUR HAND. THAT'S EVERYONE. THE PROPOSED 2023-2024 BUDGET CALENDAR. MR. TRAXLER HAS SUBMITTED A CALENDAR FOR THE PROCESS OF PREPARING THE BUDGET FOR THE NEXT SCHOOL YEAR. YOU'VE ALL HAD THAT. IS THERE A MOTION TO APPROVE THE CALENDAR SUBMITTED? MOVED BY MS. SHEALEY SECONDED BY MS.. RHINEHART-JACKSON ANY DISCUSSION? MR. NUESSLE. YEAH, AND I HOPE NOBODY THINKS THIS BEING SEMANTICS ON THIS, BUT IF YOU LOOK AT THE BUDGET CALENDAR, ONE THING I'D LIKE TO SEE REVISED IS THAT WE SPECIFICALLY HAVE TIME WHERE WE'RE GOING TO GET BUDGET REQUESTS FOR INPUT FROM THE BOARD PRIOR TO BRINGING A FIRST DRAFT OF THE BUDGET TO A BOARD MEETING. SO WE COULD DO THAT IN A WORKSHOP OR SOME OTHER PLACE. BUT WE DON'T HAVE THAT SPECIFICALLY CALLED OUT IN THE CALENDAR. AND FOR THE BUDGET CYCLES THAT I'VE BEEN THROUGH THE LAST THREE YEARS, I THINK IT WOULD BE HELPFUL IF WE DID THAT. THEN, MR. CHAIR. MR. LAURENCE, BOARD MEMBERS. WE DID ADD A WORK STUDY DATE, AND IN WALLACE NOT SPECIFICALLY NOTED IN THERE THAT IT'S FOR BOARD INPUT THAT FEBRUARY 21ST DATE IS AN ADDITIONAL DATE THAT WE HAVEN'T HAD IN THE PAST. THAT WOULD BE SPECIFIC. I APPRECIATE THAT. SO COULD WE DO THAT EARLIER? TELL ME WHY WE WERE WAITING TO FEBRUARY 21ST. WE CERTAINLY COULD. THE THING WITH FEBRUARY 21ST, WE TYPICALLY GET SOME INPUT FROM DEPARTMENTS AND SCHOOLS. WE THOUGHT THAT MIGHT BE A GOOD TIME TO SHARE THAT INFO, IF THAT'S SOMETHING THAT THE BOARD ALSO WANTED TO HEAR. ALSO, IT GIVES US A CHANCE TO SEE WHERE SOMETHING'S SAID OR WHAT SOME EARLY SUGGESTIONS ARE IN THE STATE BUDGET PROCESS AS WELL. BUT WE HAVE HAD A WORK STUDY IN JANUARY BEFORE AND IF THE BOARD PREFERRED JANUARY VERSUS FEBRUARY WE WOULD CERTAINLY APPLY. WELL, THE ONE THING I WOULD SAY, MY APOLOGIES BECAUSE THAT WAS MY OVERSIGHT THAT THAT JANUARY MEETING CAUGHT MY ATTENTION AND WE WERE [INAUDIBLE]. SO JUST FROM MY VIEWPOINT AND WE CAN GET CONTINUE THE DISCUSSION. I WOULD LIKE TO START TALKING ABOUT, EVEN IF WE DON'T HAVE SOLID BUDGET INFORMATION, PRIORITIES WITHIN THE BOARD, EVEN WITHOUT KNOWING WHAT THE FUNDING WE MAY HAVE. BECAUSE JUST IN MY EXPERIENCE THE LAST THREE YEARS, IT ALL SEEMS KIND OF COMPRESSED. AND WE'RE GOING TO FINISH UP. I KNOW, I KNOW THREE OR FOUR MONTHS SEEMS LIKE A LONG TIME, BUT I'D LIKE TO HAVE THAT BUDGET WORKSHOP IN JANUARY INSTEAD OF FEBRUARY, BUT I'LL LET EVERYBODY ELSE CHIME IN. I'D BE AMENABLE TO A LITTLE BIT EARLIER AS WELL. ON OUR END WE'RE GOOD WITH WHATEVER. SO IF PULLING UP MY CALENDAR LOOKS LIKE THAT'D BE JANUARY 17TH FOR AN OFF WEEK. ANYBODY ELSE GOT A PREFERENCE? I'M SORRY. DID YOU SAY JANUARY 17TH? YES, MA'AM. OKAY. YES, MA'AM. THAT'S OFF TUESDAY BETWEEN BOARD MEETINGS, RIGHT? YES, SIR. DO WE HAVE TO DO ANYTHING TO AMEND THE CALENDAR? DO WE NEED TO MAKE A MOTION TO AMEND? WE HAVE A MOTION TO APPROVE. SO I THINK WE PROBABLY HAVE TO HAVE A MOTION TO AMEND THE CALENDAR. OKAY. CHANGE IT FROM THE 21ST OF FEBRUARY TO THE 17THOF JANUARY. MR. CHAIR, AS WELL. MR. CHAIR, JANUARY 31ST, IF YOU WANTED MORE, AN OPTION IS ALSO AN OFF JANUARY 31ST. [00:30:02] I CAN'T DO JANUARY 31ST. SO AND ONE QUESTION BEFORE I MAKE ANY MOTION, WE CAN CONTINUE TO MAKE UPDATES TO THE BUDGET CALENDAR OR WE CANNOT. CERTAINLY IT COULD BE ADJUSTED AT ANY POINT, RIGHT. SO THE MOTION I MAKE IS I MOVE TO AMEND THE EXISTING MOTION ON THE FLOOR TO APPROVE THE BUDGET CALENDAR BY MOVING THE FEBRUARY 21ST BUDGET WORKSHOP, SPECIFICALLY WITH THE BOARD TO JANUARY 17TH. EXCUSE ME. THAT'S MY MOTION. SECOND, SECONDED BY MR. MOULTON. ANY DISCUSSION? ALL IN FAVOR OF THE AMENDMENT TO THE MOTION. PLEASE RAISE YOUR HAND. THE AMENDMENT MOVES THE WORK STUDY SESSION FROM FEBRUARY 21ST TO JANUARY 17TH. NOW WE HAVE A MOTION TO APPROVE THE CALENDAR AS AMENDED. ALL IN FAVOR, PLEASE RAISE YOUR HAND. THAT'S EVERYONE. SO WE'VE APPROVED THE BUDGET CALENDAR WITH THAT AMENDMENT. THE THIRD ITEM IS AN UPDATE ON THE 2022-2023 RETURN TO IN-PERSON INSTRUCTION AND CONTINUITY OF SERVICES PLANS. THAT WAS THE ITEM THAT MS. HART SPOKE TO EARLIER. IS THERE MOTION. SO MOVED. MOVED BY MS. RHINEHART-JACKSON. IS THERE A SECOND? SECOND. SECONDED BY MR. SILAS? ANY DISCUSSION? ALL IN FAVOR, PLEASE RAISE YOUR HAND. THAT'S EVERYONE. NUMBER FOUR IS THE REVISION TO POLICY JICDA, CODE OF STUDENT CONDUCT, FIRST READING. AND WE HAVE DR. MURPHY'S NAME BY THAT. SO MAYBE YOU WANT TO COME AND JUST BRIEFLY TELL US WHAT THIS IS ABOUT. MR. CHAIR. BOARD MEMBERS. MR. LAURENCE, DURING THE SCHOOL YEAR, WE'VE HAD A RAPID INCREASE IN AMOUNT OF STUDENTS BEING COMING TO SCHOOL WITH THE VAPING DEVICE, ELECTRONIC SMOKING DEVICES. MANY OF THESE DEVICES ALSO CONTAIN ILLICIT MATERIALS. MARIJUANA, IT COULD BE SOME OTHER HARDER DRUGS AS WELL IN THESE. AND SO THE ADMINISTRATION RECOMMENDS TEASING OUT FROM THE REGULAR TOBACCO POLICY A SEPARATE VAPE POLICY. VAPE CONSEQUENCE AS WELL AND BASICALLY AT THE MIDDLE AND HIGH SCHOOL, THE GUIDELINE WILL BE 3 TO 5 DAYS SUSPENSION ON YOUR FIRST INFRACTION IF THE THE DEVICE IS FOUND NOT TO CONTAIN ILLEGAL MATERIAL LIKE MARIJUANA. BUT IF IT DOES HAVE IT, WE WILL RECOMMEND EXPULSION FROM THAT INFRACTION AS WELL. SO THIS IS A CHANGE OF THE POLICY AS IT STANDS. AND SO WE WANT TO BRING IT TO YOU ALL FOR APPROVAL. OKAY. IS THERE A MOTION TO APPROVE. MOVED BY MS. RHINEHART-JACKSON IS THERE SECOND. SECONDED BY MR. [INAUDIBLE]. ANY DISCUSSION? DR. HANKS. I THOUGHT THE POLICY CHANGE WAS GOING TO GIVE MORE LEEWAY AND STRONGER CONSEQUENCES. AND I THINK WE'RE STILL AT THE SAME POINT THAT WE'VE ALWAYS BEEN. HOW DO WE TELL OR KNOW WHAT'S IN THE VAPE PEN? WE HAVE RECENTLY PUT OUT A POLICY LETTER TO THE PRINCIPALS. IT WAS PENNED BY OUR DIRECTOR OF SECURITY NOW, SO WE DO HAVE A PROTOCOL IN PLACE TO IDENTIFY WHICH PENS HAVE THAT ILLICIT MATERIAL. OKAY, SOUNDS GOOD. THANK YOU. ANYBODY ELSE. I THINK I'M A LITTLE BIT CONFUSED. I THOUGHT WHAT WE WERE DOING WAS WE WERE MAKING THE POSSESSION OF THE VAPE DEVICE THE INFRACTION THAT WE WOULD SUSPEND UP TO THREE DAYS ON THE FIRST OFFENSE, UP TO FIVE DAYS ON THE SECOND, AND EXPEL ON THE THIRD JUST FOR HAVING THE VAPE. YES, SIR. BETWEEN 3 TO 5 DAYS FOR THAT FIRST INFRACTION. YES, SIR. BUT I WAS JUST MAKING CAVEATED, THOUGH IT WON'T BE 3 TO 5 IF IT'S FOUND TO CONTAIN THC OR MARIJUANA OR ANY ILLICIT SUBSTANCE, THEN IT WOULD BE A RECOMMENDATION FOR EXPULSION. SO THEN, TO DR. HANKS POINT, IT IS TRUE THEN THAT THE CONSEQUENCES ARE MORE SEVERE THAN THEY CURRENTLY ARE FOR POSSESSING THE VAPE PEN? ABSOLUTELY. IT'S FURTHER EVALUATION COULD TAKE IT TO THE NEXT LEVEL. YES, SIR. AND JUST GO AHEAD AND JUST FOR THAT COMPARISON FOR THE THE TOBACCO PART OF OUR CODE OF CONDUCT, WHAT'S THE FIRST VIOLATION OF TOBACCO POLICY ON THE CODE OF CONDUCT? IT COULD BE AS SIMPLE AS A CALL TO PARENTS AT THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL. IT COULD BE ISS, 1 TO 3 DAYS AT THE MIDDLE AND HIGH SCHOOL. RIGHT. SO THAT'S WHAT JUST POSSESSING THE VAPE PEN WAS BEFORE. [00:35:05] ANYONE ELSE. SO HOW ARE WE GOING TO TELL WHICH PEN IS AN ISSUE? ARE YOU SAYING SIMPLY BY LOOKING AT THE LABEL OR I'M NOT UNDERSTANDING BECAUSE THIS IS THE ISSUE WE'VE HAD IN THE PAST, SO I JUST WANT CLARIFICATION. A STUDENT IS FOUND WITH THE PEN. WE ARE THEN GOING TO DO WHAT. OUR PROTOCOL RIGHT NOW SAYS. WE HAVE TO RESEARCH THE ACTUAL BRAND OF THAT ACTUAL VAPE PEN, AND IF WE CAN'T ASCERTAIN IT, WE WILL CONTACT LAW ENFORCEMENT IN NO INSTANCE WILL BE RETURNING THE VAPE PENS TO THE STUDENTS AS WELL. PART OF THE PART FOR THE PUBLIC INFORMATION. PART OF THE DILEMMA HERE IS THAT WE'VE HAD STUDENTS APPREHENDED WITH VAPE PENS AND THERE WAS SOME CONFUSION ABOUT WHAT WAS IN THE VAPE PEN. YOU KNOW, THEY WERE WITH ALL THESE DIFFERENT CANNABIS OILS AND EVERYTHING THAT ARE ON THE MARKET, SOME BEING LEGAL AND SOME BEING ILLEGAL. WE DON'T HAVE A LAB OR ANYTHING AT OUR DISPOSAL TO ANALYZE THE MATERIAL THAT'S IN THE VAPE PEN, AND THEN IT BECOMES ONE PERSON'S WORD AGAINST ANOTHER'S AND ALL THAT. SO IN ORDER TO COUNTER, IN ORDER NOT TO HAVE OUR HANDS TIED IN THOSE SITUATIONS, WE DECIDED TO NOT WORRY SO MUCH ABOUT WHAT'S IN IT, BUT TO TREAT THE POSSESSION OF THE PEN AS A CRIME OR AN INFRACTION INDEPENDENT OF WHAT WAS IN IT. SO THAT'S WHAT THE FIRST PART OF THE POLICY CHANGE IS ABOUT. THE SECOND PART, THOUGH, THE CAVEAT IS IF SOMEHOW WE IDENTIFY THAT THERE IS A DRUG, AN INTOXICANT, WHATEVER, IN THE VAPE PEN, THEN IT MOVES FROM THE VAPE PEN INFRACTION TO A DRUG INFRACTION, WHICH USUALLY HAS A STIFFER PENALTY. AM I RIGHT? AM I MAKING. THAT'S EXACTLY RIGHT, SIR. AND THE ONLY REASON WHY I'M NOT GOING TO SAY WE WILL WE CONTACT LAW ENFORCEMENT. WE DO NOT CONTROL THE ACTIONS OF LAW ENFORCEMENT. SO WE ARE NOT GOING TO PUT THAT ACTUALLY IN OUR PROCEDURALS BECAUSE ONCE WE CONTACT LAW ENFORCEMENT, IT WILL BE OUT OF OUR HANDS. FINE. OKAY, EVERYBODY GOOD? ALL RIGHT. EVERYBODY IN FAVOR OF MOTION, PLEASE RAISE YOUR HAND. THAT'S EVERYONE. THANK YOU. THE NEXT ITEM IS CONSIDERATION OF AN EMPLOYEES CHRISTMAS BONUS. MR. LAURENCE. THANK YOU, MR. CHAIR. MEMBERS OF THE BOARD, I MAY ASK MR. TRAXLER TO HELP ME WITH THE FINANCIAL PIECE OF THIS, BUT WE HAD SOME QUESTIONS AS TO WHETHER THE BOARD WAS GOING TO CONSIDER A CHRISTMAS BONUS THIS YEAR, AND WE'VE HAD SOME CONVERSATIONS ABOUT THAT AND IT IS SOMETHING THAT WE HAVE DONE FOR, I THINK FOUR YEARS NOW. PRIOR TO THAT, WE HAD NOT IT'S SOMETHING THAT WE'VE CONSIDERED CERTAINLY THROUGH THE THROUGH THE PANDEMIC YEARS AND AND IN YEARS WHEN WE WERE UNABLE TO PROVIDE A SIGNIFICANT COST OF LIVING INCREASE AND THOSE KINDS OF THINGS. IT'S SOMETHING THAT WE TRY TO REMIND EMPLOYEES EACH TIME THAT THIS COMES UP, THAT THIS IS NOT SOMETHING THAT IS IN OUR BUDGET. THIS IS SOMETHING THAT FROM TIME TO TIME THE BOARD MAY WISH TO CONSIDER AND DETERMINING WHETHER OR NOT TO TO INCLUDE A BUDGET TO INCLUDE IN IN THE AS AN AMENDMENT TO THE BUDGET. SOME OF THE CONSIDERATIONS THAT THE BOARD HAS WOULD BE WHETHER OR NOT OUR FINANCIAL POSITION ALLOWS US TO DO THAT WITHIN THE CURRENT BUDGET. ANOTHER OPTION THAT THE BOARD HAS IN WHICH THE BOARD HAS USED IN PREVIOUS YEARS IS IS TO USE FUNDS OUT OF THE FUND BALANCE TO PROVIDE A BONUS. THIS YEAR FOR FOR A VARIETY OF REASONS, ONE OF THEM BEING A NUMBER OF OF UNFILLED POSITIONS IN THE SCHOOL DISTRICT. WE ARE IN A FINANCIAL POSITION THAT THAT WE'RE COMFORTABLE IN BRINGING THIS TO THE BOARD FOR CONSIDERATION. SO THAT'S WHY WE'RE WE'RE BRINGING THE RECOMMENDATION THAT WE DO PROVIDE A $150 BONUS FOR ALL EMPLOYEES FOR THE HOLIDAY SEASON. DOES ANYBODY WANT TO MAKE A MOTION? SO MOVED. SECOND, GOT A MOTION AND A SECOND DISCUSSION. JUST ONE QUICK CLARIFICATION. SEEMS I REMEMBER FROM PAST CHRISTMAS BONUSES, THE $150 BONUS IS A TOTAL IMPACT OF AROUND $500,000. $550? YES, SIR. [00:40:02] WE'RE WE'RE ESTIMATING THE COST BASED ON THE NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES THAT WE HAVE RIGHT NOW IT'S $550,000. OKAY. LESS AND LESS. YEAH. SO WHEN THINGS LIKE THIS ARE GREAT BECAUSE FROM THE STANDPOINT IT ALLOWS US TO SHOW NOT A LOT OF FINANCIAL BENEFIT FOR ONE PERSON, BUT SOME GRATITUDE FOR PEOPLE'S WORK AND THINGS LIKE THAT. MY EDITORIAL COMMENT I'LL MAKE MOVING FORWARD IS THAT FOUR YEARS IS A TREND. IF APPROVED, AND WE SHOULD SERIOUSLY CONSIDER MAKING THIS A LINE ITEM IN OUR BUDGET. IF THIS IS SOMETHING WE'RE GOING TO KEEP DOING, IT'S ONE OF THE REASON I SAY THAT IS THAT WE'VE GOT SOME THE 30 MINUTE UNENCUMBERED BREAK TIME THAT WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO COMPLY WITH NEXT YEAR IS AT LEAST $1,000,000 IN OPERATIONAL COSTS. AT SOME POINT, WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO START PAYING FOR THINGS THAT WE'RE PAYING FOR WITH ESSER FUNDS NOW THAT WE PROBABLY DON'T WANT TO GIVE UP. IT SEEMS LIKE LIKE MR. LAURENCE SAID, WE'RE IN A GOOD POSITION TO DO THIS THIS YEAR. BUT THE COMMENT I'LL MAKE IS THAT I'D LIKE TO SEE US JUST PLAN FOR IT. DID ANYBODY ELSE HAVE COMMENT? MY COMMENT IS THAT WE PUT A LOT OF MONEY INTO SALARIES. IT WAS A PRETTY SIGNIFICANT INCREASE IN OUR SALARY SITUATION DURING THE YEAR, DURING THE BUDGET THE PAST BUDGET. AND I DON'T REALLY SEE THE NECESSITY IN THIS. I DON'T IT'S A NICE GOODWILL GESTURE. IT GETS US SOME GOOD PUBLICITY. IT'S GOING TO MAKE THE TEACHERS LIKE US MAYBE $150 IN ONE PERSON'S POCKET IS NICE TO HAVE, BUT IT'S NOT A CRITICAL AMOUNT. HALF A MILLION DOLLARS IS SOMETHING THAT COULD BE PROGRAMED TO DO. SOME REAL GOOD TO TO TO TO PROGRAMMATIC GOOD. I THINK WE OUGHT TO PAY ATTENTION TO TO COMPENSATING OUR EMPLOYEES IN A COMPENSATION PACKAGE, NOT NECESSARILY IN SOME KIND OF CHRISTMAS BONUS. I THINK IT'S MORE OF A PUBLIC RELATIONS THING THAN ANYTHING ELSE. THAT'S JUST MY OPINION. MS. RHINEHART-JACKSON. DR. BRADLEY, I HAVE TO DISAGREE WITH YOU, EVEN THOUGH IT'S A MINUSCULE AMOUNT. I JUST FEEL THAT EACH AND EVERY EMPLOYEE IN AIKEN COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS DESERVES SOME TOKEN OF APPRECIATION WHETHER HOW SMALL. EVERYONE NEEDS AND NEEDS TO AND NEEDS TO KNOW AND FEEL THAT WE APPRECIATE THEM. SO IF THIS IS THE MANNER IN WHICH WE CAN DO IT, I'M ALL FOR IT. I APPRECIATE EACH AND EVERYBODY IN AIKEN COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS. I DON'T NECESSARILY DISAGREE THAT PEOPLE NEED TO BE APPRECIATED, BUT BUT I DON'T SEE $150 CHECK AT CHRISTMAS IS A GREAT SHOW OF GRATITUDE. I WOULD MUCH RATHER SAY, OF FAIR COMPETITIVE MARKET SALARY AND THE BENEFITS THAT GO WITH THAT. THAT'S THE WAY I WOULD DEMONSTRATE APPRECIATION TO PEOPLE IS TO TO PAY THEM WHAT THEY DESERVE. BUT HAVING SAID ALL THAT, WE'VE GOT A MOTION AND A SECOND. SO ALL IN FAVOR OF THE MOTION, PLEASE RAISE YOUR HAND. I'LL HAVE TO VOTE FOR IT JUST NOT TO BE THE LONE RANGER. RATIFICATION. WELL, THE BIG ITEMS, CONSENT ITEMS, WE CONSIDER ALL THESE AS A GROUP AND THEY VOTE ON THEM AS A GROUP. IF THERE'S ANY NEED TO, WE CAN VOTE TO REMOVE ONE OF THOSE FROM THE GROUP AND CONSIDER IT INDIVIDUALLY. OKAY. THE FIRST IS RATIFICATION OF EXPULSIONS. THIS IS THE LIST OF STUDENTS WHO ARE BEING RECOMMENDED FOR EXPULSION, WHO DID NOT EXERCISE THEIR RIGHT TO APPEAL. THE BOARD STILL HAS TO EXPEL THEM SO THAT'S THE LIST. OUT OF DISTRICT TRANSFER REQUEST. THIS IS A GROUP OF STUDENTS WHO ARE REQUESTING PERMISSION TO COME TO AIKEN COUNTY SCHOOLS WHEN THEY DON'T LIVE IN THE SCHOOL DISTRICT. OF COURSE, THEY HAVE TO PAY A FEE TO DO THAT. THREE IS THE REQUEST TO ADMIT A FOREIGN EXCHANGE STUDENT TO, IN THIS CASE, NORTH AUGUSTA HIGH SCHOOL. I THINK THIS PERSON IS COMING TO US FROM ANOTHER DISTRICT. SCHOOL CALENDAR CHANGE. THERE'S A CHANGE IN THE CALENDAR FOR NEXT YEAR WHICH BASICALLY CHANGES THE RETURN DATE FOR TEACHERS [00:45:01] FROM 7/19 TO 7/19 FROM 7/18, AND IT WILL BE A WORKDAY AND 7/20 WILL BE A PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT DAY. AND FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 16TH WILL BECOME A WEATHER MAKE UP DAY IN THE PROFESSIONAL THE PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT DAY. [INAUDIBLE] NUMBER FIVE IS TEXTBOOK ADOPTIONS. THESE ARE LIST OF TEXTBOOKS THAT ARE BEING RECOMMENDED BY THE STATE. WE PICKED FROM THE LIST. WE HAVE A COMMITTEE OF TEACHERS WHO REVIEWS THESE BOOKS AND SO FORTH AND MAKES THE RECOMMENDATION. IN TWO CASES I THINK THIS YEAR THERE WAS ONLY ONE CHOICE, BUT THEY STILL LOOKED AT THESE AND MAKE COMMENT. AND THEY ARE, I THINK, ON VIEW NEXT DOOR OVER HERE, IF ONE WANTS TO GO LOOK IN. SOUTH CAROLINA ARTS COMMISSION ARTS AND BASIC CURRICULUM LEARNING LOSS GRANT AWARD FROM EAST AIKEN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, THEY ARE GETTING AN AWARD FROM THE SOUTH CAROLINA ARTS COMMISSION FOR $4,833. THE AIKEN COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT HEAD START EARLY HEAD START PROGRAM, AMERICAN RESCUE PLAN GRANT AMENDMENT. WE ARE NOW ELIGIBLE TO RECEIVE ADDITIONAL FUNDS PROPORTIONATELY BASED ON OUR FUNDED ENROLLMENT LEVELS. WE ARE THIS DISTRICT IS HAS BEEN ALLOCATED $459,456 IN THESE GRANT FUNDS. NUMBER EIGHT IS REQUESTED REQUEST FOR HOME APPROVAL. APPROVAL FOR HOME INSTRUCTION. THIS IS THE BOARD HAS TO APPROVE STUDENTS BEING INSTRUCTED AT HOME. NUMBER NINE IS THE GNP. NUMBER TWO, FOUNDATIONS BUILDING PAD AND STEEL PACKAGE FOR THE WAGENER-SALLEY HIGH SCHOOL PROJECT. THEY'VE RECEIVED A BID FOR BUILDING THE PAD AND THE STEEL PACKAGE FOR THE WAGENER-SALLEY HIGH SCHOOL PROJECT. THE AMOUNT OF THAT'S IN YOUR PACKET CHANGE ORDER NUMBER ONE FOR TWO 2022 INSTALLATION OF FLOORING IN HAMMOND HILL ELEMENTARY. THIS IS A CHANGE CHANGE ORDER. WE NEED TO CREDIT THE AMOUNT OF $16,796.50 TO TO MAKE THAT CHANGE. THEN WE HAVE ANOTHER CHANGE ORDER NUMBER ONE FOR PRACTICAL LLC INDOOR AIR IONIZATION PROJECT. WE NEED TO AN ADDITIONAL COST OF $43,082.50 BECAUSE WE'VE ADDED SOME ADDITIONAL CLASSROOMS TO THE ORIGINAL OFFERING, BID OFFERING. IS THERE MOTION TO APPROVE THESE ITEMS. SO MOVED. MOVED BY RHINEHART-JACKSON. IS THERE A SECOND. BY MRS. SHEALEY. ANY DISCUSSION? MR. [INAUDIBLE]. THANK YOU, MR. CHAIRMAN. IF WE GO BACK TO AGENDA ITEM B4, THE SCHOOL CALENDAR CHANGE, I JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE I UNDERSTAND SO THAT WILL PUSH FOR THAT SCHOOL CALENDAR YEAR 2 3-24 THAT WOULD PUSH THE FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL FROM TUESDAY 25TH OF JULY TO [INAUDIBLE] OR IS THE FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL NOT AFFECTED. FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL IS NOT AFFECTED. FIRST DAY, FIRST DAY FOR TEACHERS IS AFFECTED BY THE FIRST DAY FOR STUDENTS IS NOT. OKAY. AND THEN THE SECOND QUESTION IS THE COMBINATION WHERE WE'RE PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT DAY AND DESIGNATING WEATHER MAKE UP DAY ON FEBRUARY 16TH OF THAT OF THAT SCHOOL YEAR. DOES THAT MEAN I UNDERSTAND WHAT WE DO WITH E-LEARNING DAYS, BUT DOES THAT MEAN THAT IF WE FOR SOME REASON WANTED TO USE THAT WEATHER MAKE UP DAY, THAT WE'D HAVE TO MOVE THE PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT DAY? WE WOULD HAVE A NUMBER OF OPTIONS BASED ON STATE REGULATIONS. ONE OPTION IS TO MOVE THAT PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT AID TO TO ANOTHER DAY. ANOTHER OPTION IS TO DESIGNATE TIME ON, YOU KNOW, BEYOND SCHOOL HOURS TO TO ADDRESS PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT. OKAY. THANK YOU. LET'S VOTE. JUST A QUICK QUESTION, DR. BRADLEY. ON ON ITEM NUMBER 11, THE CHANGE ORDER NUMBER ONE. DR. MURPHY, THIS IS PROBABLY FOR YOU. IS THAT IS THAT CHANGE ORDER FOR I SEE IT'S FOR CERTAIN ADDITIONAL CLASSROOM SPACES, BUT WAS THAT ORIGINAL PROJECT FOR ALL THE SCHOOLS? [00:50:01] IT WAS I CAN'T REMEMBER. I'M JUST TRYING TO REMEMBER WHAT IT WAS FOR. YES, SIR. RECALL PROTOCOL IS THE AIR IONIZATION PACKAGE THAT WE PURCHASED USING THE ESSER FUNDS. ONCE COMPANY, WHICH THEY CHANGE EVERY AIR HANDLER IN OUR SCHOOL SYSTEM. ONCE THEY GOT INTO SOME OF THE SCHOOLS, THEY NOTICED THAT THERE WERE A FEW AREAS THAT THEY JUST DID NOT CATCH ON THEIR INITIAL RECON. SO BASED ON THEIR INITIAL COST, WE NEGOTIATED WITH THEM AND GOT THE PRICE DOWN TO AS REASONABLE FOR THE SCHOOL DISTRICT AS POSSIBLE. AND JUST ONE FOLLOW UP QUESTION, DOES THAT OBVIOUSLY IT'LL ADD A LITTLE BIT OF TIME TO THE SCHEDULE ALSO, IS THAT RIGHT? NO. SO THEY'VE ALREADY ACTUALLY COMPLETED THE WORK, BUT WE HAVEN'T CLOSED OUT THE PROJECTS YET TOTALLY. SO THEY'RE STILL MOVING ON WITH THE PROJECT. SO I THINK WE'RE AT NOW WE'RE IN THE PUNCH LIST PHASE OF IT, SO WE'RE JUST GOING BACK THROUGH AND MAKING SURE EVERYTHING IS THERE THAT THEY SUPPOSED TO INSTALL. THANK YOU. OKAY. WE HAVE A MOTION AND A SECOND. ALL IN FAVOR OF THE MOTION. PLEASE RAISE YOUR HAND. AND THAT'S EVERYBODY. INFORMATION ITEMS WE'VE GOT THREE CONSTRUCTION STATUS REPORTS THAT DR. MURPHY WILL GIVE THOSE TO US. ALL RIGHT. IF IT WOULD MOVE FORWARD NOW, IT'S NOT WORKING. YOU DO SOMETHING. OKAY, COOL. WELL, GOOD EVENING ONCE AGAIN. I'M GOING TO BRING YOU THE LATEST EXCITING CONSTRUCTION STATUS REPORTS WE HAVE ON OUR CURRENT PROJECTS RIGHT NOW, BEGINNING WITH THE AIKEN HIGH SCHOOL AUDITORIUM, AS YOU CAN SEE. IS CONTINUING WITH ROUGH SITE GRADING, THE SITE UTILITIES AND STORM DRAINAGE IN PROGRESS. AS YOU CAN SEE HERE, THE MASONRY VENEER, THE ROOFING AND STRUCTURAL FRAMING IS ALSO IN PROGRESS OUT THERE. ELECTRICAL, PLUMBING, MECHANICAL AND FIRE PROTECTION. OVERHEAD ROUGH END IS CURRENTLY IN PROCESS. THE [INAUDIBLE] PROJECT IS CONTINUING ON BUDGET AND ON SCHEDULE. OH, AND [INAUDIBLE] FOR SOME THAT LIVE VERY CLOSE TO THE SCHOOL. NEXT, WE HAVE HAMMOND HILL ELEMENTARY. AGAIN, JUST ANOTHER VICTORY LAP WITH THE PLAYGROUND. THE UPPER PLAYGROUND AT THE HILLSIDE AND SURROUNDING AREA HAS BEEN FINALLY GRADED THE GRASS AND IRRIGATED SO THAT THAT AREA LOOKS A LOT BETTER AND IS IS SHEDDING THE WATER PROPERLY RIGHT NOW. SO WE ANTICIPATE MANY YEARS TO COME ON THAT. PHASE TWO OF THE CONSTRUCTION, THE LOWERING GRADING OF THE ROADWAY BEHIND THE NEW CAFETERIA IS NEARING COMPLETION. THE INSTALLATION OF CMU WALLS FOR THE NEW CAFETERIA AND KITCHEN ADDITION HAS BEEN COMPLETED, AND INSTALLATION OF THE BRICK VENEER ON THIS NEW ADDITION IS APPROXIMATELY 75% COMPLETE. WE ARE CURRENTLY INSTALLING GRASS SEATING AND IRRIGATION LINES AND IT'S BEEN COMPLETED AROUND THE PERIMETER OF THE NEW VEHICLE. THE QUEUEING LANE PARALLEL TO WOODLAWN AVENUE. AGAIN, THIS PROJECT IS ON SCHEDULE FOR A MARCH 22 COMPLETION DATE AND IT'S 15. IT'S WITHIN ITS $15 MILLION BUDGET. OVER TO HIGHLAND SPRINGS. CONSTRUCTION IS CONTINUING AT A STEADY PACE, WITH NUMEROUS TRADES WORKING ON SITE. THE MASONRY, DRYWALL, FRAMING AND ROOFING ARE CONTINUING, WHILE PLUMBING, FIRE PROTECTION AND MECHANICAL ROUGH END IS CONTINUING AS WELL. OUR SITE WORK INCLUDES ROUGH AND FINAL GRADING AROUND THE NEW FACILITY, WHILE BUCHANAN PARKWAY IS PAVED WITH AN INITIAL BASE CODE. AND HERE'S A SHOT. WE DO HAVE A SHOT OF BUCHANAN, A SHOT OF BUCHANAN PARKWAY, THE ENTRYWAY. AND GOING BACK TO THAT LAST SHOT, IT WAS JUST A PHOTO OF THE ADMINISTRATION AREA ON THE LEFT. AND THEN ON THE RIGHT SIDE, YOU CAN SEE A LOOK AT THE MEDIA CENTER WITH THE GABLE ROOF AS IT'S COMING IN. BUT BUCHANAN AND THIS PARKWAY EXCUSE ME, THIS PROJECT IS WITHIN BUDGET AND IS CONTINUING ON TIME FOR AN AUGUST 2023 COMPLETION DATE PENDING YOUR QUESTIONS. NO QUESTION. THANK YOU, DR. MURPHY. NEXT ITEM IS INDIVIDUAL BOARD MEMBERS ITEMS SUBMITTED BY INDIVIDUAL BOARD BOARD MEMBERS. FIRST IS CELL PHONES. AND HERE COMES THE BUS APP BY MR. MOULTON. ALL RIGHT. IN LIGHT OF THE TIME, I'LL KEEP MY COMMENTS SHORT. THE FIRST ITEM, I'M JUST GOING TO MAKE A MOTION ON BOTH OF THESE CELL PHONES. ALL I WANT TO DO, I'D LIKE FOR MR. LAURENCE, IF YOU AND SOMEBODY FROM THE ADMINISTRATION WOULD LOOK AT HOW WE ARRIVED AT OUR CURRENT CELL PHONE POLICY. I'VE LOOKED AT THAT POLICY IN PRETTY GOOD DETAIL, AND I'D LIKE TO KNOW HOW WE ARRIVED THERE. AND THEN ONE OTHER THING I'D LIKE FOR THE BOARD TO SEE IS HOW MANY OF OUR DISCIPLINE CASES HAVE INVOLVED CELL PHONE [00:55:09] USAGE. THOSE TWO ITEMS, IF YOU COULD AT A FUTURE DATE, BRING IT TO THE BOARD JUST FOR REVIEW. MIGHT NOT EVEN BE ANYTHING WE HAVE TO VOTE ON. I'D JUST LIKE TO GET AN UPDATE ON THAT. OKAY. AND THEN SECOND IS THE HERE COMES THE BUS APP. DR. MURPHY, THIS IS PROBABLY MORE FOR YOU. I'M CURIOUS AS TO WHERE WE STAND ON THAT. I'VE HEARD VARIOUS THINGS. AND I, I THINK I RECALL WHEN WE APPROVED THIS, IT WAS A FAIRLY COSTLY BUDGET ITEM. AND I THINK I UNDERSTAND RIGHT NOW WE'RE NOT USING IT TO ITS FULL POTENTIAL. IS THAT TRUE? THAT IS UNFORTUNATELY TRUE. IT IS A VERY COSTLY ITEM TO THE TUNE OF ABOUT $130,000 A YEAR. UNFORTUNATELY, THE PROGRAM IS VERY IT IS INEFFECTIVE WHEN YOU DON'T HAVE 100% BUS DRIVERS. BASICALLY, WHAT WE DO IS WE WE TAKE THE STUDENTS OFF THE BUS AND PUT THEM ON ANOTHER BUS TO GET THEM HOME IN THE SAFEST, THE MOST TIMELY FASHION. BUT THE APPLICATION ONLY TRACKS THE LOCATION OF THE BUS. AND SO IF WE WERE TO TRY TO CONSTANTLY UPDATE THE STUDENTS AND I'D BE TAKING A DRIVER OFF THE ROAD TO UPDATE STUDENTS CHANGING BUSSES, WHICH WOULD MAKE THEIR WAIT TIMES EVEN GREATER. AND SO UNFORTUNATELY, THAT PROGRAM IS JUST NOT EFFECTIVE WITH OUR CURRENT 39 BUS VACANCIES. AND SO WHAT WE'RE IN THE PROCESS OF DOING NOW IS IDENTIFYING A NEW PROGRAM WITH THE STATE THAT ACTUALLY TRACKS STUDENTS. AND THEN WE'RE GOING TO SWITCH OVER TO THAT HOPEFULLY WE'LL BE ABLE TO SWITCH OVER THERE BY ENDING OUR AGREEMENT WITH THE ORIGINAL BUS PLANNER. ALL RIGHT. THE ONLY COMMENT I HAD, I WAS I WAS BEHIND THE BUS ON THE WAY HERE AT 537 THIS AFTERNOON. AND I WAS THINKING, YOU KNOW, THIS WOULD HELP A LOT OF PARENTS KNOW WHERE THEIR STUDENTS ARE. AND THE ONLY THING I WAS WONDERING, SINCE WE'VE ALREADY PURCHASED THIS APP, COULD WE OPEN IT UP? I MEAN, IS IT POSSIBLE TO JUST GIVE ACCESS TO ALL THE BUSSES? IS THERE A PROBLEM WITH DOING THAT AS FAR AS A PARENT BEING ABLE TO SEE ALL THE BUSSES AND WHERE THE STUDENTS ARE OR THAT WOULD ALSO CAUSE A PROBLEM WITH. WELL, IT TRACKS BASED ON THE BUS YOUR STUDENT IS ASSIGNED TO. AND SO YOU AS A PARENT WILL BE TO SEE YOUR ASSIGNED STUDENTS BUSSES. IT WOULDN'T GIVE YOU A LOT OF INFORMATION IF IT SHOWED ALL 119 BUSSES, YOU KNOW, AND YOU'D KNOW WHERE A BUS IS, BUT NOT YOUR CHILD'S BUS. SO IT JUST IT'S VERY UNFORTUNATE THAT WE JUST SIMPLY CAN'T TRACK AS WELL WHEN WE'RE MISSING. AND WE'VE GOT DRIVERS DOING DOUBLE AND EVEN TRIPLE IN SOME SITUATIONS, ROUTES ON THE EVENING. WE'RE JUST TRYING TO OUR FOCUS RIGHT NOW IS GETTING HOME AS QUICKLY AND SAFELY AS POSSIBLE. AND AND WE'RE DOING FINE. I'M NOT WORRIED ABOUT IT. I JUST WAS WONDERING, IT SOUNDS LIKE WE HAVE A PATH FORWARD. SO THANK YOU. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. OH, YEAH. I WILL MAKE A MOTION. THIS PROBABLY DOESN'T INVOLVE YOU, BUT I JUST WANTED TO MAKE A MOTION THAT WE JUST GET AN UPDATE ON WHERE WE STAND ON THE NEW APP VERSUS THE HERE COMES THE BUS APP AGAIN, AT A FUTURE DATE THAT'S FEASIBLE. YOU MAY NOT BE AT A POINT WHERE YOU CAN DO IT RIGHT NOW, BUT AS SOON AS YOU CAN, I'D LIKE TO HEAR AN UPDATE ON THAT. [INAUDIBLE] ALL RIGHT. WE HAVE A MOTION. IS THERE A SECOND? MS. RHINEHART-JACKSON SECONDED. ANY DISCUSSION? ALL IN FAVOR PLEASE RAISE YOUR HAND. ALL RIGHT. MOTION PASSES. NEXT ITEM IS AN AUDIO ENHANCEMENT UPDATE BY MR. SOUTH. YEAH, I APPRECIATE IT, MR. CHAIRMAN. I SEE THAT AN UPDATE WAS INCLUDED IN OUR INFORMATION PACKET. I REALLY WISH THAT REPRESENTATIVE OF THAT COMPANY WERE HERE TO BE ACCOUNTABLE TO WHAT I CONSIDER TO BE POOR PERFORMANCE. I REMEMBER THE SALESMAN STANDING WHERE YOU ARE EARLIER THIS YEAR AND I ASKED ABOUT TIMETABLE AND HE SAID THEIR TIMETABLE WAS TO INSTALL BY THE BEGINNING OF THE YEAR. HE SEEMED TO THINK THAT WAS A FEASIBLE SCHEDULE. PRETTY SURE THAT THAT WAS THE ANSWER. BUT AS YOU CAN SEE, AND FROM MY VISITS TO ALL BUT ONE SCHOOL IN MY DISTRICT, YOU KNOW, I GOT REALLY WHAT'S REPRESENTED HERE IN THIS UPDATE THAT NOT MUCH HAS BEEN DONE. A LOT OF SHIPMENTS, SHIPMENTS TO THE WRONG SCHOOLS. ONLY LOOKING AT THIS, I'M JUST GUESSING MAYBE SEVEN OR EIGHT COMPLETELY INSTALLED. WE WERE ALL PRETTY EXCITED ABOUT APPROVING THIS. RIGHT. AND I'M JUST DISAPPOINTED THAT THE PERFORMANCE, YOU KNOW, IS NOT THERE. AND THIS CERTAINLY IS NOT TO YOU. YOU'RE STANDING THERE BEFORE US TO, YOU KNOW, TO ANSWER FOR IT. WERE THERE ANY DELIVERABLE CONSEQUENCES IN THIS CONTRACT? WELL, THE I WANT TO I GUESS I CAN'T CORRECT YOU. I'M NOT SURE WHAT YOU ARE, BUT THERE WAS NEVER A FOR US THERE WAS NEVER AN UNDERSTANDING THAT WE WERE GOING TO GET IT FINISHED. IT'S A VERY AGGRESSIVE PROJECT. YOU KNOW, WE'RE CHANGING OUT [INAUDIBLE] INSTALLING SPEAKER SYSTEMS IN EVERY ONE OF OUR CLASSROOMS. [01:00:02] AND SO IT'S BEEN A HERCULEAN TASK TO GO THROUGH THE SEVEN SCHOOLS THAT WE'VE DONE RIGHT NOW. AND SO WE'RE BASICALLY, ONCE WE GET IT IN THERE, WE NEED TO GET THE SCHOOL, ONCE THEY GET COMMISSIONED, IS THE TERMINOLOGY I USE THERE. WE NEED TO GET THE PRINCIPALS AND THE USERS USING IT TO TELL US WHAT THE KINKS ARE, AND THEN WE GO BACK AND DO A PUNCH LIST. AND SO WHAT WE RATHER DO IS GO A LITTLE BIT MORE DELIBERATELY AND GET IT DONE ACCURATELY VERSUS BECAUSE TAKING ANOTHER SCHOOL OFFLINE. YOU UNDERSTAND THAT THERE IS A GAP BETWEEN THE DAY WE TAKE THE SCHOOL OFFLINE WITH THEIR CURRENT INTERCOM SYSTEM AND WE BRING IT ONLINE. SO WE DON'T WANT THAT GAP TO BE ANYTHING MORE THAN HOPEFULLY A NIGHT OR A WEEKEND. AND SO THAT'S WHY I SAID, HEY, LET'S JUST GET A LITTLE BIT MORE DELIBERATE WITH IT. WE HAVE HAD SOME SNAGS IN SUPPLY CHAIN AND WE'VE HAD HAVE HAD SOME SNACKS IN THE STANDARD OF THEIR INSULATION VERSUS OUR IT STANDARD OF INSTALLATION. AND SO WE'VE BASICALLY KIND OF HAD TO RESET AND MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE MOVING FORWARD TO WHERE THIS STUFF WILL BE ABLE TO IT'LL BE BACKWARDS, COMPATIBLE WITH THE FUTURE SO WE CAN GO BACK IN AND SEE HOW IT WAS INSTALLED. SO THERE HAVE BEEN SOME SNAGS, BUT WE ARE MOVING FORWARD, SHOULD BE ENTERING INTO PHASE TWO OF THE IMPLEMENTATION EARLY, EARLY IN JANUARY. WE'RE THINKING WE'RE GOING TO HIT THE NEXT THREE SCHOOLS ON PHASE ONE IN THE NEXT COMING DAYS AND WE SHOULD BE HITTING PUNCH LIST ITEMS AS SOON AS TOMORROW. OKAY. I APPRECIATE THAT. AND I DON'T RECALL A FIRM SCHEDULE ESTABLISHED SALESMAN WAS DOING WHAT SALES PEOPLE DO, AND IT WAS QUITE A BIT OF OVERPROMISING AND UNDER-DELIVERING HERE. SO IT IS CERTAINLY A LOT OF WORK. AND TO THAT LAST POINT, MAYBE I MISSED SOMETHING. ANY UPDATE FROM THEM ON WHEN WE THINK WE'LL BE THROUGH WITH ALL SCHOOLS? WELL, AN IDEA THAT'S NOT SOMETHING I'M GOING TO COME BACK SIX MONTHS AND SAY, YOU TOLD ME . IT'S A LOT OF VARIABLES IN PLACE RIGHT NOW AND NOT NOT THE LEAST OF WHICH IS THE SUPPLY CHAIN. EACH SCHOOL BASICALLY TAKES A DIFFERENT SET OF EQUIPMENT. SO I WAS LOOKING AT WE WERE TALKING ABOUT IT TODAY EARLIER WHEN I WAS I HAVE A WEEKLY CALL WITH THEM AND I WAS TRYING TO KIND OF SPITBALL IT. PUTTING A TIMELINE OUT WOULD BE PROBABLY IT WOULD BE PREMATURE UNTIL WE GET TO AT LEAST PHASE TWO. SO I WANT TO GET THROUGH THE NEXT SIX OR SEVEN SCHOOLS WITH OUR NEW CONTROLS IN PLACE, WANTS TO DO THAT. I KIND OF WE SLOWED THEIR WORK DOWN. SO, I MEAN, I HAVE SLOWED THEIR WORK DOWN, SO I HAVE A HARD TIME HOLDING THEM TO A FASTER SCHEDULE WHEN I PUT IN SO MANY CONTROLS TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE GETTING OUR BANG FOR OUR BUCK. SO I WANT TO GET THROUGH THIS NEXT PHASE OF IMPLEMENTATION WITH THE CONTROLS THAT WE'VE PUT IN PLACE HERE AT AIKEN COUNTY, OTHER THAN WHAT THEY HAD IN PLACE WITH THE ACTUAL CONTRACTOR THEMSELVES, THEN I'LL HAVE A BETTER INDICATION OF HOW LONG IT'S GOING TO TAKE. ALL RIGHT. I APPRECIATE THAT. DR. MURPHY, JUST INTERESTED IN TAKING FULL ADVANTAGE OF THIS AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE. YES, SIR. THANK YOU. I UNDERSTAND. ALL RIGHT. THAT'S IT. THAT'S IT. THANK YOU. THANK YOU VERY MUCH, MR. NUESSLE. E-LEARNING DAYS AND ASSIGNMENTS AND BOARD POLICY IJK. YES, SIR. THANK YOU, MR. CHAIRMAN. ON THE FIRST SUBJECT. SO WE JUST HAD AN E-LEARNING DAY LAST FRIDAY. AND SUBJECT TO THAT, I RECEIVED AN EMAIL FROM A PARENT OF AN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL STUDENT THAT I WOULD SUMMARIZE TO SAY THAT, YOU KNOW, FOR, FOR THEIR CHILDREN, ONES IN EARLY CHILDHOOD GRADES WHERE THEY DEFINITELY ONLY GET PAPER PACKETS TO GO HOME WITH AND THE OTHER CHILD IS IN A SELF CONTAINED CLASSROOM AND ANY KIND OF THING DONE AT HOME IS JUST NOT THE SAME. AND THE POINT BEING THAT WHAT WAS DONE FOR THEM, WHAT WAS DONE ON THAT FRIDAY, THEY DON'T SEE HOW THAT REPLACES A SCHOOL DAY, RIGHT. IN A DAY OF INSTRUCTION. AND THEN I THOUGHT ABOUT THAT, AND THEN I WENT AND LOOKED AT WHAT MY OWN TWO CHILDREN IN HIGH SCHOOL DID ON THAT DAY. AND THEY HAD SOME GOOD ASSIGNMENTS TO DO THAT DAY. BUT AT A HIGH LEVEL, I WOULD CALL THAT IT WAS VARIABLE, YOU KNOW, AND I THINK THAT KIND OF JUST BEGS THE QUESTION OF WHAT WE WE PURCHASED A LOT OF TECHNOLOGY. RIGHT. EVERY KID'S GOT A LAPTOP. THINGS LIKE THAT I HAD ENVISIONS OF E-LEARNING, DAYS OF ASYNCHRONOUS LEARNING AND THINGS LIKE THAT. NOT NECESSARILY WHERE, YOU KNOW, SOMEONE'S TEACHING OVER A CAMERA, ALTHOUGH THEY COULD, BUT SOMETHING A LITTLE MORE INTERACTIVE THAN WHAT APPEARS COULD BE JUST A HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENT. SO I WANTED TO RELATE THAT THAT PARENT COMPLAINT AND JUST ASK THAT WE WE THINK ABOUT WHAT IS OUR EXPECTATION OR COMMUNICATE THE BOARD, WHAT'S THE EXPECTATION FOR E-LEARNING DAYS? AND IF WE DON'T THINK WE'RE MEETING THE STANDARD WE WANT TO ACHIEVE, WE SHOULD USE OUR WEATHER MAKEUP DAYS. AND THAT'S PROBABLY NOT A POPULAR OPINION OPINION, BUT IT WAS ENOUGH TO JUST HAVE ME CONCERNED AND JUST ASK FOR FOLKS TO EVALUATE THAT. [01:05:03] NO MOTION. THE SECOND ONE, I WOULD DESCRIBE IT. SO POLICY IJK IF YOU WANT TO PASS THAT DOWN. SO POLICY IJK IS THE POLICY BY WHICH THAT WE SUPPLEMENTAL SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIALS, SELECTION AND ADOPTION. SO THIS IS HOW SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIALS GET APPROVED. AND WHAT GOT ME THINKING ABOUT THIS IS HEARING A COMPLAINT ABOUT BOOKS IN SCHOOL. AND I THINK YOU GUYS PROBABLY HEAR IN THE NEWS ABOUT BOOKS THAT GET CHALLENGED AND THINGS LIKE THAT. IT GOT ME THINKING ABOUT THIS POLICY AND LOOKING AT THE POLICY. THERE'S PLUSES AND MINUSES TO HOWEVER YOU WANT TO DO IT RIGHT. BUT THE POLICY I'LL JUST KEY YOU IN TO THE LAST SENTENCE IN THE POLICY, THE PRINCIPAL MUST APPROVE SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIALS. SO WE HAVE A PROCESS FOR TEXTBOOKS WHERE WE HAVE A STATE APPROVED LIST OF TEXTBOOKS, THE DISTRICT OFFICE VETS THAT PICKS THE TEXTBOOK THAT WE WANT TO USE. WE APPROVE IT. WE JUST DID IT TONIGHT, THE PROCESS FOR SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIALS, WHICH THIS CAN BE VERY VALID, RIGHT? IT INCLUDES BOOKS, MAGAZINES, NEWSPAPERS, FILMS, SLIDES, STUFF LIKE THAT. SOMEBODY WANTS TO USE IT. THEY GET THE PRINCIPAL TO APPROVE IT. THAT'S IT. AND WHEN I STARTED THINKING ABOUT THAT, A PRINCIPAL WHO'S EXTREMELY BUSY AND HOW MUCH TIME DO THEY HAVE TO REALLY PAY ATTENTION TO THAT? AND THEN THE OTHER THING PROBABLY IS PART OF OUR PROCESS. WE HAVE A POLICY, I THINK IT'S IJ WHERE PARENTS CAN CHALLENGE ANYTHING THAT'S IN THE BOOK USED AND THINGS LIKE THAT, AND THERE'S A PROCESS FOR THAT IF WE HAVE A COMPLAINT AND WE FOLLOW THAT PROCESS. SO BUT I THINK SOMETIMES WE'RE TELLING OURSELVES THAT, YOU KNOW, IF WE MAKE A MISTAKE OR IF WE GO SOMETHING LIKE THAT, COLLECTIVELY, WE, THE PARENTS ARE GOING TO TELL US AND GIVE US FEEDBACK. AND I THINK PEOPLE TODAY ARE SO BUSY, RIGHT. AND ESPECIALLY WHEN WE START TALKING ABOUT TEENAGERS, YOU KNOW, SOMETIMES TEENAGERS DON'T WANT TO TALK TO YOU. I THINK THAT RELYING ON PARENTS FOR FEEDBACK IS PROBABLY NOT THE BEST THING THAT WE COULD DO. SO THE MOTION I'D LIKE I'D LIKE TO SEE US CONSIDER. I'D LIKE TO SEE US REVISE THIS POLICY. I DON'T KNOW WHAT THE ANSWER IS, BUT THE MOTION I WOULD MAKE, GIVEN THAT IS THAT I WOULD MOVE THAT WE ASKED THE ADMINISTRATION TO CONSIDER ALL THE INFORMATION WE HAVE TODAY. EVALUATE POLICY IJK AND PROPOSE A REVISION BACK TO THE BOARD OR NOT. TELL US THAT YOU WANT YOU WANT TO KEEP IT. BUT I THINK WE NEED TO HAVE A DIFFERENT KIND OF OVERSIGHT OR APPROVAL PROCESS THAN JUST ONE PERSON WHO'S REALLY BUSY. SO AND I WOULD LIKE TO HAVE THAT. I'M KIND OF I'M LOOKING IS I'M THINKING OUR FIRST MAIN FIRST MEETING IN JANUARY. THAT'S WHEN I WOULD LIKE TO SEE THAT PROPOSAL BACK ON A REVISION TO THIS POLICY. AND THAT'S MY MOTION, IS THERE A SECOND? [INAUDIBLE] MS. RHINEHART-JACKSON. DISCUSSION? DR. HANKS. JUST WANTED TO CLARIFY [INAUDIBLE]. SO WHAT WE'RE ASKING IS THAT SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIALS, WHATEVER THEY MAY BE, NOT JUST BE APPROVED OR LOOKED AT BY THE ADMINISTRATOR OF THE PARTICULAR SCHOOL, BUT THAT THERE'S A SECOND OR AN OVERSIGHT, IN OTHER WORDS. YEAH. SO SPECIFICALLY WHAT I WHAT I'M INFERRING IS THAT THE THE PRINCIPAL HAS TOO MUCH GOING ON TO GIVE THIS IT'S DUE TIME AND THAT'S LIKE A SINGLE POINT FAILURE IF RIGHT. AND I'M ASKING THE ADMINISTRATION TO PROPOSE A REVISION THAT WOULD GET OTHER PEOPLE INVOLVED AND I WOULD LIKE TO SEE WHAT THEY WOULD PROPOSE AS A REVISION TO THIS POLICY TO HAVE DIFFERENT OVERSIGHT ON IT. ANYBODY ELSE? YES, SIR, MR. CHAIRMAN. YEAH, I AGREE WITH MR. NUESSLE. I THINK THINKING THE CRITICALITY OF WHAT GOES IN THE CLASSROOM, YOU KNOW, IT'S SO CRITICAL AND THE POTENTIAL IMPACT IT HAS IN THE COMMUNITY AND FOR A WRONG DECISION TO BE MADE OR TO HAVE BEEN MADE, YOU KNOW, BEARS MAYBE A SECOND LOOK BY SOMEONE OUTSIDE THE SCHOOL, RIGHT? I THINK SO. I'D BE IN AGREEMENT FOR THAT REASON. YEAH. ANYBODY HAVE A QUESTION? [01:10:02] YES, SIR. OF COURSE CREATIVITY IS AN IMPORTANT PART OF THE EXPERIENCE OF SCHOOLS AND THEN UNDERSTANDING THAT WHEN IT SAYS HERE THAT PRINCIPALS APPROVE. SO FROM MEMORY MATERIALS, DO THEY HAVE A A GUIDELINE THAT THEY'RE TRAINED TO GO BY? BECAUSE I KNOW I KNOW BACK WHEN I WAS IN BACK IN THE DAY, TEACHERS COULD DO PRETTY MUCH WHAT THEY WANTED IN THE CLASSROOMS. AND NOW OBVIOUSLY THAT'S NOT THE CASE. IS THERE GUIDELINES THAT THE PRINCIPALS HAVE TO TO MAKE THESE DECISIONS, THE WRITTEN GUIDELINES? MR. LAURENCE, YOU NEED TO ANSWER THAT. YEAH. I'M NOT I'M NOT SURE THAT THERE'S A WRITTEN GUIDELINE THAT THAT WE ACTUALLY FOLLOW. BUT BUT THERE ARE CERTAINLY A NUMBER OF POLICIES THAT WOULD ADDRESS IT. AND WE WILL CONSIDER I MEAN, THERE ARE A NUMBER OF POLICIES THAT I LOOKED AT IN PREPARATION FOR TONIGHT THAT I SAW KIND OF WORK HAND IN HAND WITH WITH THIS PROCESS. SO WE'LL CERTAINLY LOOK AT ALL OF THOSE POLICIES AT THE SAME TIME THAT WE LOOK AT THIS ONE. AND ALSO WE'RE GOING TO BE LOOKING AT AT SOUTH CAROLINA STATE STANDARDS. I MEAN, THAT'S ONE THING THAT THE PRINCIPALS ARE GOING TO LOOK AT. DOES THIS MATERIAL ALIGN WITH AND MEET THE NEEDS OF OF SOUTH CAROLINA STANDARDS? SO THAT WOULD THAT WOULD BE THE PRIMARY QUESTION THAT THAT WOULD BE ASKED RIGHT AT THE BEGINNING. AND THEN, OF COURSE, THERE ARE GOING WE CAN PUT OTHER CRITERIA IN THERE AND THERE ARE SOME CRITERIA THAT ARE LISTED IN ONE OR TWO OF THE OTHER POLICIES. SO WE'LL TRY TO PUT THAT IN IN A FORMAT THAT MAKES IT EASY FOR FOR FOLKS TO UNDERSTAND. LET'S SEE. I WOULD JUST LIKE TO ECHO THAT LIKE MR. NUESSLE, I THINK I WOULD, YOU KNOW, FEEL COMFORTABLE WITH ADMINISTRATION BEING ABLE TO GIVE SOME OVERSIGHT TO THAT AND NOT HAVE SUCH A BROAD LEEWAY THERE. I THINK THAT WOULD BE I THINK THAT WOULD BE GOOD AND SOMETHING THAT I WOULD FEEL MORE COMFORTABLE WITH. YEAH. MR. BROOME MAKES A GOOD POINT. I THINK THAT IF WE LEAVE IT TO INDIVIDUALS TO MAKE DECISIONS, WE'RE GOING TO GET A DIVERSITY OF DECISIONS. AND OBVIOUSLY THE ADMINISTRATORS DON'T SEE THE EXERCISE OF THEIR LEEWAY IN THE SAME WAYS BECAUSE WE'VE ALREADY HAD THE FIRST EXAMPLE TONIGHT WAS WE HAD PRINCIPALS INTERPRETING THE DISCIPLINE CODE IN DIFFERENT DIRECTIONS. WE HAVE DIFFERENT PUNISHMENTS BEING DISPENSED FOR INFRACTIONS FROM SCHOOL TO SCHOOL. OBVIOUSLY, I'VE HAD SOME MATERIAL POINTED OUT TO ME BY PARENTS AND SO FORTH THAT IF THE PRINCIPAL APPROVED IT, MY OPINION OF WHAT SHOULD BE IN THE SCHOOLS AND THAT PRINCIPAL'S OPINION OF WHAT SHOULD BE IN THE SCHOOLS IS VASTLY DIFFERENT. SO, YOU KNOW, I THINK WE NEED TO FIND SOME WAY. YOU KNOW, IT USED TO BE EASY. I GREW UP IN A LITTLE RURAL SCHOOL, AND EVERYBODY IN THE SCHOOL PRETTY MUCH BELIEVED THE SAME THING. YOU KNOW, OUR SOCIOECONOMIC BACKGROUND WAS SIMILAR AND OUR BELIEF SYSTEMS WERE SIMILAR. WE WENT TO THE SAME CHURCHES AND SO FORTH. NOW, THAT'S NOT THE CASE. AND WHAT ONE PERSON FINDS OFFENSIVE, SOMEBODY ELSE IS GOING TO THINK IT'S CREATIVE. AND WE'VE GOT TO FIND SOME WAY TO TRY TO DEAL WITH THAT ISSUE WITHOUT BEING TOO REPRESSIVE OR TOO LIBERAL. YOU KNOW, WE'VE GOT TO YOU KNOW, THE WAY I PERSONALLY DEAL WITH IT IS THAT I THINK THAT WE HAVE TO DECIDE DOES THIS PIECE OF MATERIAL REALLY CONTRIBUTE TO THE EDUCATION OF THE CHILD. AND I KNOW THAT CONTROVERSIAL BOOKS EXIST, BUT I MANAGED TO GET THROUGH 24 YEARS OF EDUCATION WITHOUT HAVING TO READ TRASH. YOU KNOW, NOW TRASH IS MY WORD FOR MY OPINION ABOUT CERTAIN THINGS THAT THAT ARE OUT THERE. AND I DON'T KNOW WHAT THE RIGHT WAY TO TRY TO NARROW THE GAP DOWN BETWEEN JUDGMENTS ABOUT THINGS IS BUT WE CERTAINLY NEED TO DO A BETTER JOB THAN WE'RE DOING. HAVING SAID THAT, WE GOT A MOTION AND A SECOND. IF THERE'S NO FURTHER DISCUSSION, CALL FOR THE QUESTION. ALL IN FAVOR OF THE MOTION, PLEASE RAISE YOUR HAND. THAT'S EVERYONE. ALL RIGHT. SUPERINTENDENT. MR. LAURENCE. THANK YOU, MR. CHAIR. AND I'M GOING TO BE VERY BRIEF BECAUSE WE ARE GOING TO TAKE A LITTLE MORE TIME FOR THIS AT OUR NEXT MEETING. BUT I DO WANT TO ACKNOWLEDGE THE AIKEN HIGH SCHOOL VOLLEYBALL TEAM AND THEIR STATE CHAMPIONSHIP FOR A STATE CHAMPIONSHIP WIN LAST WEEK. [01:15:05] SO CONGRATULATIONS TO THEM. THEY ARE WELL DESERVING. THIS IS THEIR SECOND YEAR IN THE IN THE FINALS. AND THEY FELL JUST A LITTLE SHORT LAST YEAR BUT THEY CAME HOME WITH THE BIG PRIZE THIS YEAR. SO SO CONGRATULATIONS TO COACH RENDER AND ALL OF THE GIRLS ON THE AIKEN HIGH SCHOOL VOLLEYBALL TEAM. AND AGAIN, WE'LL HAVE THEM GIVE THEM THE OPPORTUNITY TO BE CONGRATULATED BY ALL OF YOU VERY SOON. YEAH. THANK YOU. WE WILL NEED AN EXECUTIVE SESSION FOR THE PURPOSE OF HEARING STUDENT APPEALS. [EXECUTIVE SESSION] WE HAVE FIVE STUDENT APPEALS, AS YOU SEE ON THE BOARD, SO I WILL NEED A MOTION FROM MS. RHINEHART-JACKSON TO GO INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION. A SECOND FROM SOMEBODY? MR. MURPHY? NOPE. I'M HUNG UP ON WITH DR. MURPHY OVER THERE. YOU KNOW, MY. MY APOLOGIES BARRY. HAVE A MOTION A SECOND GO INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION. PLEASE SIGNIFY YOUR WILLINGNESS BY RAISING YOUR HAND. THAT'S EVERYONE. AFTER THE EXECUTIVE SESSION, WE WILL RECONVENE IN HERE INTO OPEN SESSION TO TAKE ACTION ON THE THINGS THAT ARE DISCUSSED AND DEALT WITH IN EXECUTIVE SESSION. IF WE COULD ASSEMBLE IN ABOUT 10 MINUTES, THAT WOULD BE GREAT. WE ARE GOING INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION. [03:08:41] IN THE REGULAR SESSION. [03:08:43] WHILE IN EXECUTIVE SESSION WE HEARD FIVE STUDENT APPEALS. [RETURN TO OPEN SESSION] [03:08:47] THE FIRST APPEAL F1A. [03:08:51] IS THERE A MOTION? YES. [03:08:54] I RECOMMEND THAT THE STUDENT IS PLACED IN SEAL FOR THE REMAINDER OF THE YEAR. [03:09:03] YOU SURE YOU GOT THE RIGHT ONE? [03:09:05] I'M SURE. [INAUDIBLE] IS THERE A SECOND? [03:09:12] MOTION DIES FOR LACK OF A SECOND. [03:09:15] IT'S AN ALTERNATIVE MOTION. [03:09:17] I MOVE THAT FOR STUDENT APPEAL FROM STUDENT A THAT WE UPHOLD THE DISTRICT'S RECOMMENDATION. [03:09:25] IS THERE A SECOND, ANY DISCUSSION? [03:09:29] ALL IN FAVOR, PLEASE RAISE YOUR HAND. [03:09:33] THAT'S EVERYONE EXCEPT MRS. [03:09:36] RHINEHART, WHO'S OPPOSED. [03:09:37] I'M OPPOSED. OKAY. [03:09:42] F1B, THIS WAS AN APPEAL FROM A STUDENT FROM NORTH AUGUSTA WHO WAS FOUND WITH CONTRABAND IN HIS CAR. [03:09:53] IS THERE A MOTION? YES. [03:09:55] I RECOMMEND THAT THE BOARD UPHOLDS THE DISTRICT'S RECOMMENDATION FOR EXPULSION. [03:10:02] IS THERE A SECOND. POINT POINT OF ORDER. [03:10:05] THE DISTRICT'S RECOMMENDATION WAS TO ALTERNATIVE PLACEMENT. [03:10:09] OH, CORRECTION. [03:10:12] I'LL CHANGE MY MOTION. [03:10:14] I RECOMMEND THAT THE DISTRICT THAT THE BOARD UPHOLDS THE DISTRICT'S RECOMMENDATION. DR. HANKS. ANY DISCUSSION? ALL IN FAVOR. PLEASE RAISE YOUR HAND. THAT'S UNANIMOUS. F1C. THIS IS A STUDENT WHO WAS RECOMMENDED FOR EXPULSION BECAUSE THE STUDENT DID NOT DO WHAT THE TEACHER ASKED. SO IS THERE A MOTION? YES, MA'AM. YES, IT IS. I RECOMMEND THE STUDENT BE PLACED IN SEAL FOR 45 DAYS.[INAUDIBLE] MR. SILAS SECONDED. ANY DISCUSSION? ALL IN FAVOR. OH, I'M SORRY. I THINK I'D LIKE TO AMEND THAT MOTION JUST TO SAY THAT WE WANT TO REVERSE THE DISTRICT'S RECOMMENDATION OF EXPULSION AND RECOMMEND SEND TO SEAL FOR 45 DAYS. IS THAT SATISFACTORY, MRS. RHINEHART-JACKSON? IT IS. CAN WE DO THAT WITHOUT AMENDING? RESTATE YOUR MOTION. I RECOMMEND THAT THE BOARD CHANGES THE DISTRICT'S RECOMMENDATION OF EXPULSION AND THE STUDENT BE PLACED IN SEAL FOR 45 DAYS. OKAY. AND WE GOT A SECOND FROM DR. MR. SILAS. SECOND. ANY DISCUSSION? ALL IN FAVOR, PLEASE RAISE YOUR HAND. THAT'S EVERYONE. THE NEXT ONE IS F1D. IS THERE A MOTION? YES. I RECOMMEND THAT THE STUDENT BE PLACED IN SEAL FOR THE REMAINDER OF THE YEAR. SECOND BY MR. SILAS AGAIN, ANY DISCUSSION? ALL IN FAVOR PLEASE RAISE YOUR HAND. THAT'S EVERYONE. NO, SORRY. OH, MR. NUESSLE DID NOT. [INAUDIBLE] F1E. IS THERE MOTION. YES. I RECOMMEND THAT THE BOARD DOES NOT TAKE THE DISTRICT'S RECOMMENDATION OF EXPULSION AND PLACE THE STUDENT IN SEAL FOR THE REMAINDER OF THE YEAR. IS THERE A SECOND? [INAUDIBLE] ANY DISCUSSION. ALL IN FAVOR OF THE MOTION. PLEASE RAISE YOUR HAND. THAT'S TWO. AND THAT MEANS ONE, TWO, THREE, FOUR. SO EVERYBODY ELSE IS OPPOSED? YEAH. OKAY. IS THERE AN ALTERNATIVE MOTION? MR. CHAIR, I MOVE THAT WE UPHOLD THE DISTRICT'S RECOMMENDATION FOR EXPULSION ON THE LAST APPEAL, AND I'LL SECOND. SECONDED BY MR. SILAS ANY DISCUSSION? ALL IN FAVOR, PLEASE RAISE YOUR HAND. VOTE. 4-2. 5-2. [ADJOURN] IS THERE MOTION TO ADJOURN? SO MOVED. IS THERE A SECOND. SECOND BY DR. HANKS ALL IN FAVOR PLEASE RAISE YOUR HAND. STAND ADJOURNED. * This transcript was compiled from uncorrected Closed Captioning.