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IT IS 6:00. WE WILL CALL THE NOVEMBER 19TH REGULAR MEETING OF THE AIKEN COUNTY BOARD OF
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EDUCATION TO ORDER. WE BEGIN ALL OUR MEETINGS WITH A MOMENT OF SILENCE AND THE PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE. PLEASE JOIN ME IN A MOMENT OF SILENCE.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.
SO IT'S NICE TO HAVE A GOOD CROWD HERE TONIGHT.
AS WE WANT TO TALK ABOUT THE THE CHANGES TO THE CELL PHONE POLICY.
RIGHT. NOW, I KNOW WHY YOU'RE HERE, AND THAT'S WHY IT'S FIRST ON THE AGENDA.
WELCOME TO EVERYBODY. DOCTOR MURPHY WILL BE SWEARING IN OUR TWO NEW BOARD MEMBERS, MR. COLIN LINDELL AND MISS ELIZABETH MORRIS.
WHAT? OH, SORRY. I HAVE TO BE SWORN IN.
OH, AND I FORGOT ALL THREE OF US.
WE'RE REALLY EXCITED ABOUT THE NEW MEMBERS. IF YOU CAN'T TELL.
ALL RIGHT. SO THE AGENDA FOR TONIGHT'S MEETING WAS PUBLISHED TO BOTH THE THE BOARD AND THE PUBLIC IN ADVANCE.
I HAVE NOT HEARD ANY CHANGES OR REQUESTS FOR CHANGES.
AND WE'LL CONSIDER THE BOARD APPROVED WITH NO OBJECTIONS.
WE HAVE ONE SET OF MINUTES TO APPROVE.
AND THAT'S THE MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING OF OCTOBER 22ND OF THIS YEAR.
IS THERE A MOTION TO APPROVE THE MINUTES OF OCTOBER 22ND? MOTION MADE BY MISS RHINEHART-JACKSON. IS THERE A SECOND? SECONDED BY MR. LINDELL. ANY DISCUSSION? ALL THOSE IN FAVOR OF APPROVING THE MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING OF OCTOBER 22ND OF THIS YEAR? PLEASE RAISE YOUR HAND. FOR.
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SO THAT WAS FOUR IN FAVOR? AND I JUST IF YOU WEREN'T PRESENT AT THE MEETING, YOU ABSTAIN. SO THAT'S FOUR IN FAVOR.ALL THOSE ABSTAINING. AND I'LL COUNT TWO.
SO WE'LL CONSIDER THE MINUTES APPROVED.
WITH FOUR IN FAVOR. WE DID NOT HAVE ANY REQUESTS IN ADVANCE FOR PUBLIC PARTICIPATION, AND NO ONE SIGNED UP AT THE MEETING.
WHICH BRINGS ME TO THE OFFICE OF BOARD CHAIRMAN.
I REALLY JUST WANT TO ISSUE A WELCOME AND A THANKS.
SO I WANT TO WELCOME MISS MORRIS AND MR. LINDELL ON BEHALF OF THE ENTIRE BOARD OF EDUCATION, WITH A HEARTFELT WELCOME.
THOSE FOLKS HAVE JUST TAKEN THEIR OATH, AND WE'RE EXCITED TO HAVE YOU ON THE TEAM.
AND WE LOOK FORWARD TO YOUR CONTRIBUTIONS AS WE WORK TOGETHER.
AND I WOULD SAY SERVING ON A SCHOOL BOARD IS NO SMALL TASK.
AND SOMETIMES YOU'RE ASKED TO MAKE DIFFICULT DECISIONS AND BALANCE COMPETING PRIORITIES AND WORK COLLABORATIVELY, COLLABORATIVELY AMONGST A GROUP OF THE NINE OF US, FOR THE GOOD OF ALL STUDENTS.
YOUR WILLINGNESS TO SERVE AND YOUR DEDICATION TO OUR SCHOOLS SPEAK VOLUMES ABOUT YOUR CHARACTER AND COMMITMENT.
I WANT TO THANK THE PUBLIC AND OUR VOTERS SPECIFICALLY FOR THE OVERWHELMING SUPPORT FOR THE EDUCATIONAL CAPITAL PROJECTS SALES TAX OR THE PENNY SALES TAX.
SO JUST WE HAD WELL, I FORGET THE EXACT NUMBER, BUT OVER 70% OF VOTERS APPROVED THE PENNY SALES TAX.
AND YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW MUCH THAT MEANS FOR THIS DISTRICT AND CONTINUING THAT FOR ANOTHER TEN YEARS. THIS IS A ANOTHER STEP, ANOTHER SIGNIFICANT STEP TOWARDS OUR COMMITMENT IN TRYING TO PROVIDE OUR STUDENTS WITH THE BEST LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS THAT WE CAN. AND THE SUPPORT WE RECEIVE FROM THE PUBLIC IS VITAL IN THE FORM OF THIS PENNY SALES TAX TO TRY TO RENOVATE AGING BUILDINGS, MAKE REPAIRS, EQUIP OUR STUDENTS WITH MORE MODERN LEARNING SPACES AND EQUIPMENT THAT MEETS THEIR NEEDS. AND THE.
ONCE AGAIN, ON BEHALF OF THE WHOLE BOARD, WE'RE DEEPLY GRATEFUL FOR BOTH THE THE TRUST THAT YOU'VE PLACED IN US TO MANAGE THESE RESOURCES EFFECTIVELY.
AND SO THANK YOU FOR INVESTING IN THE FUTURE OF OUR COMMUNITY AND OUR STUDENTS.
THAT MOVES US TO THE INDIVIDUAL ITEMS, FIRST OF WHICH IS PERSONNEL APPOINTMENTS.
SO WE HAVE A LIST OF CERTIFIED AND CLASSIFIED PERSONNEL THAT HAVE BEEN PROVIDED BY HR, SCREENED AND APPROVED BY THE ADMINISTRATION THAT WE MUST APPROVE.
IS THERE A MOTION TO APPROVE THE LIST OF PERSONNEL APPOINTMENTS? MOTION MADE BY MISS RHINEHART-JACKSON. IS THERE A SECOND? SECOND? SECOND BY MISS MORRIS.
ANY DISCUSSION? ALL THOSE IN FAVOR OF APPROVING THE LIST OF PERSONNEL APPOINTMENTS, PLEASE RAISE YOUR HAND. THAT'S UNANIMOUS.
SECOND INDIVIDUAL ITEM IS THAT A REVIEW REALLY A A REVIEW OF POLICY CF COMMUNITY USE OF SCHOOL FACILITIES AND FILE CF SCHOOL FACILITY RENTAL CONTRACT.
UNLESS I MISS SOMETHING THIS THESE WERE REVIEWED AND NO REVISIONS WERE SUGGESTED.
THAT'S ACTUALLY ACCURATE, SIR. WHAT DID CHANGE WAS THE COST STRUCTURE THAT'S ASSOCIATED WITH THIS ADMINISTRATIVE RULE. ADMINISTRATIVE RULE ASSOCIATED WITH THIS POLICY. GOTCHA. IS THERE A MOTION TO APPROVE? MOTION MADE BY MISS RHINEHART-JACKSON. IS THERE A SECOND, SECOND, SECOND BY MR. SILAS? ANY DISCUSSION ON THIS? ALL THOSE IN FAVOR, PLEASE RAISE YOUR HAND.
THAT'S NINE IN FAVOR. THE MOTION CARRIES.
FIRST READING OF A REVISION TO POLICY G PAGING DEVICES, CELL PHONES AND OTHER PERSONAL ELECTRONIC DEVICES. SO RECENTLY, SOUTH CAROLINA BUDGET PROVISO 1.103.
CALLS FOR SCHOOL DISTRICTS TO PUT A POLICY IN PLACE THAT MATCHES THE STATE BOARD'S POLICY.
SEE WHICH, IF I SUMMARIZE AT A HIGH LEVEL, DOES NOT ALLOW ANY USAGE OF CELL PHONES AND THE MAIN OFFENDER CELL PHONES IN A SCHOOL.
ALL RIGHT. SO CAN'T TAKE YOUR PHONE OUT AT ALL DURING WHILE YOU'RE AT SCHOOL.
AND THE BOARD WAS AFFORDED THE CHANGES TO THESE POLICIES AND HAD A CHANCE TO REVIEW IT.
IS THERE A MOTION TO APPROVE ON FIRST READING THE REVISION TO POLICY JIC.
SO MOVED. ALL RIGHT. MOTION BY DOCTOR BRADLEY SECOND.
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ANYONE SECOND. THAT'S WHAT I HEARD.OKAY. OKAY. SECONDED BY MR. MOULTON. ANY DISCUSSION ON THIS REVISION ON FIRST READING? MR.. SILAS. I GUESS A QUESTION.
FIRST OF ALL, AGAIN, WE DIDN'T HAVE A CHOICE IN THE MATTER TO ADDRESS CELL PHONE USAGE IN SCHOOLS, RIGHT? SO I THINK YOU MADE THAT CLEAR.
I JUST WANTED TO REITERATE THAT THE OLD FASHIONED SIDE OF ME AND THAT MAY BE THE ONLY SIDE OF ME IN THIS CIRCUMSTANCE WOULD WANT TO SAY, WELL, LET'S JUST KEEP THEM OUT OF THE BUILDING ALTOGETHER, RIGHT? AND MAKE THE JOB EASIER FOR OUR TEACHERS AND NOT HAVE THEM BE THE CELL PHONE POLICE.
AND SO PART OF ME STILL THINKS THAT.
BUT I DO UNDERSTAND WHERE THE DISTRICT'S COMING FROM AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF POLICY.
YOU WORK WITH PRINCIPALS TO COME UP WITH THIS.
I'M JUST INTERESTED TO KNOW WHAT'S THE DISCUSSION AND THE PLAN AROUND, YOU KNOW, NOT INCREASING THE WORKLOAD ON OUR TEACHERS TO ADDRESS THIS AND MANAGE THIS NEW WAY OF DOING BUSINESS WITH ELECTRONIC DEVICES? WELL, THANK YOU FOR THE QUESTION, I APPRECIATE IT. PART OF PART OF OUR HESITATION WITH THIS POLICY IS THAT IT WAS KIND OF RIGID IN THAT NOT ONLY DOES THE POLICY COVER CELL PHONES, BUT IT ALSO NOW COVERS SMARTWATCHES AS WELL AS WIRELESS EARBUDS. AND SO IT BECOMES A LOAD FOR SOMEONE TO MANAGE.
AND SO THE INTENT OF IT IS TO ALLOW STUDENTS TIME TO FOCUS AND ALLOW TEACHERS TIME TO TO FOCUS ON TEACHING. SO IN CRAFTING THE POLICY OURSELVES, WE WANT TO MAKE SURE WE WERE NOT ADDING TO THAT WORKLOAD OF THE TEACHERS.
AND IN DOING SO, WE SPOKE WITH ADMINISTRATORS ON ALL THREE LEVELS, AND WE'VE COME UP WITH A PROCEDURAL OUR PROCEDURES SHOULD ELIMINATE A LOT OF THE ANGST THAT COMES WITH HAVING THE PHONES AT SCHOOL.
SO THE ELEMENTARY KIDS ARE NOT GOING TO HAVE THEIR PHONES AT ALL.
MIDDLE AND HIGH SCHOOL CAN HAVE THEM STOWED.
AND SO AS LONG AS THEY CAN STOW THEM, WE KNOW THE KIDS, SOME KIDS ARE WALKING HOME ALONE.
SOME KIDS PARENTS USE THEIR PHONES FOR I GUESS TRACKING THEM AS THEY AS THEY GO HOME THROUGHOUT THE EVENING.
SOME KIDS, BELIEVE IT OR NOT, THEIR CELL PHONE IS ALSO THE KEYS TO THEIR CAR. AND SO THEY'RE USING THEIR PHONES TO GET BACK AND FORTH TO SCHOOL, BASICALLY BECAUSE THE CARS DON'T HAVE KEYS ANYMORE. AND SO OUR POLICY MOVING FORWARD, OUR PROCEDURES MOVING FORWARD WILL NOT INVOLVE ACTUAL CONFISCATION, BUT JUST ACTUALLY STRICT ENFORCEMENT OF THE RULE THROUGHOUT THE DAY.
GOOD. I THINK IT'S A LOGICAL AND REASONABLE APPROACH UNDER THE CIRCUMSTANCES, SO I APPRECIATE THE ANSWER.
MR. RHINEHART-JACKSON. SO JUST FOR CLARIFICATION, DOCTOR MURPHY, SO STUDENTS WOULD NOT BE ALLOWED TO HAVE AIRPODS IN OTHER SMART WATCHES OR PHONES ON THEIR OUTER PERSON.
ALL OF THAT HAS TO BE PUT UP, HAS TO BE TURNED OFF AND STOWED AT ALL TIMES THROUGHOUT THE SCHOOL DAY. ALL RIGHT. AGAIN, THIS IS IN COMPLIANCE WITH THE STATE LAW.
SO AND IT'S AND IT'S WHAT I'M LOOKING AT FOLKS NOW IN THE BUT YOU KNOW, ONE THING I'LL COMMENT IS THAT IT'S NOT LIKE WE DIDN'T HAVE A CELL PHONE POLICY.
SO JUST WE'VE GOT A LOT OF PEOPLE HERE TONIGHT, AND MAYBE THIS IS THE FIRST TIME THEY'RE HEARING ABOUT IT. MAYBE NOT THE OLD CELL PHONE POLICY, YOU KNOW, DIDN'T ALLOW ELEMENTARY SCHOOL STUDENTS TO USE A CELL PHONE. IT HAD VERY ONCE YOU GOT UP TO THE HIGH SCHOOL LEVEL, IT WAS VERY LIMITED TO BASICALLY USE IT AT LUNCH IN COMMON AREAS OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT.
AND I BELIEVE WE HAD A PROVISO FOR EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES AND SOMETHING LIKE THAT.
BUT SO THIS IS BEING TIGHTENED UP A LITTLE BIT MORE.
YES, SIR. AND SLIGHTLY EXPANDED TO INCLUDE THE OTHER DEVICES.
THAT'S THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT IT IS. SO. YEAH.
MR. LINDELL. SO THE STUDENTS CAN'T HAVE THE CELL PHONES DURING LUNCH? NO, SIR. THERE'S NO EXCEPTION ANYMORE.
BASED ON OUR UNDERSTANDING AND THE LEGAL JUDGMENT THAT WE HAVE WHEN WE WENT TO THE STATE DEPARTMENT. YEAH. OKAY.
ANY OTHER DISCUSSION? THERE'S A MOTION AND A SECOND ON THE FLOOR TO APPROVE THE REVISION TO THIS POLICY ON FIRST READING.
ALL THOSE IN FAVOR, PLEASE RAISE YOUR HAND.
THAT'S EIGHT IN FAVOR. ALL THOSE OPPOSED, PLEASE RAISE YOUR HAND. THAT'S ONE OPPOSED.
ALL RIGHT. AND I BELIEVE THE NEXT INDIVIDUAL ITEM.
YES. SO INSTEAD OF STARTING WITH A MOTION, WE'RE GOING TO WE'RE GOING TO INVITE MR. JEFFCOAT TO COME UP AND DISCUSS THE MODIFIED ACADEMIC CALENDARS FOR THE NEXT TWO SCHOOL YEARS. OR WE SHOULD JUST SAY OUR CALENDARS FOR THE NEXT TWO SCHOOL YEARS.
SO PARENTS AND STUDENTS CAN KNOW WHAT TO EXPECT, AND I THIS IS, LIKE, NOT ONE OF MY LEAST FAVORITE TOPICS TO DEAL WITH,
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JUST FROM THE SENSE OF BLESS THE PEOPLE WHO WORK ON THE CALENDAR.BECAUSE YOU ASK TEN DIFFERENT PEOPLE, YOU GET TEN DIFFERENT ANSWERS.
SO, MR. JEFFCOAT JEFFCOAT, PLEASE GO AHEAD, MR. MESSEL. MEMBERS OF THE A BOARD AND DOCTOR MURPHY.
I HAD THE PRIVILEGE OF PRESENTING TO YOU OUR CALENDAR FOR THE NEXT TWO YEARS.
SO I QUICKLY WANT TO TELL YOU A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE HISTORY.
I WON'T GO INTO DETAIL ABOUT THAT.
BUT PART OF THE REASON THAT WE WENT TO A MODIFIED CALENDAR WAS BECAUSE OF AFTER THE PANDEMIC. WE SAW THE SOCIAL EMOTIONAL NEEDS OF OUR STUDENTS AND STUDENTS BEING BURNT OUT.
THE CHALLENGE WAS THAT WE ALSO SAW TEACHER RETENTION AND RECRUITMENT WAS A CHALLENGE FOR US AS WELL AS ADMINISTRATORS.
SO ONE OF THE THINGS WE DECIDED TO DO WAS TO TRY SOME THINGS TO ADDRESS THOSE ISSUES.
AND WE ALSO SAW THAT AMONG ALL STAKEHOLDERS, INCLUDING ADULTS.
SO WE TRIED DIFFERENT THINGS, CURRICULUM AND PROGRAMS THAT ADDRESS THE SOCIAL EMOTIONAL NEEDS OF OUR STUDENTS.
WE TRIED BONUSES FOR RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION OF STAFF, BUT WE ALSO THOUGHT ABOUT COULD WE ADJUST THE NUMBER OF DAYS IN THE YEAR TO ALLOW FOR MORE TIME FOR BREAKS FOR OUR STUDENTS AND OUR STAFF, AND THAT'S HOW WE CAME TO THE MODIFIED CALENDAR OR SOME CALL IT THE YEAR ROUND CALENDAR. AND SO THE DEFINITION OF THAT IS AN APPROACH TO SCHOOL CALENDARS, IN WHICH INSTRUCTIONAL DAYS ARE SPREAD OVER THE COURSE OF AN ENTIRE YEAR, INSTEAD OF BROKEN UP BY A SINGLE LONG SUMMER BREAK.
AND RIGHT WHEN I CAME INTO THIS POSITION AS ASSISTANT SUPERINTENDENT, I SHARED WITH THE SUPERINTENDENT THAT I DID A YEAR LONG RESEARCH PROJECT FOR MY MASTER'S DEGREE ON YEAR ROUND SCHOOLS AND MODIFIED CALENDARS, SO HE DECIDED THIS WOULD BE MY PROJECT.
AND SO SOME OF THE BENEFITS FOR A MODIFIED CALENDAR REDUCED BURNOUT.
RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION OF STAFF.
WE SEE. IMPROVEMENT OF STUDENT AND STAFF ATTENDANCE, REDUCED DISCIPLINARY INCIDENTS, IMPROVE ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT, PROVIDE INTERSESSION OPPORTUNITIES AND OTHER ENRICHMENT ACTIVITIES, AS WELL AS ENHANCED SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL WELL-BEING OF ALL STAKEHOLDERS.
AND THESE ARE SOME OF THE BENEFITS THAT WE'VE SEEN AROUND THE COUNTRY FOR MODIFIED CALENDARS. AND IT GOES ALONG WITH OUR MISSION STATEMENT AS PART OF OUR MISSION STATEMENT IS TO BE INNOVATIVE. AND SO THIS IS ONE OF OUR WAYS TO BE INNOVATIVE AND RESPONSIVE TO THE NEEDS OF OUR STUDENTS AND STAFF AND THE COMMUNITY.
SO JUST QUICKLY GO THROUGH THE PROCESS OF HOW WE DID THIS.
I ALREADY TALKED ABOUT THE FACT THAT THIS BECAME OUR PROJECT. SO I STARTED RESEARCHING CALENDARS ACROSS THE UNITED STATES.
AND THEN ALSO SOME DISTRICTS IN SOUTH CAROLINA HAD ALREADY STARTED USING MODIFIED CALENDARS, SO WE STARTED RESEARCHING THOSE DISTRICTS.
I WAS CALLING ALL AROUND THE COUNTRY TO GET INFORMATION ABOUT THEIR CALENDARS, AND WE LOOKED AT DIFFERENT VERSIONS OF THE CALENDAR.
SO WE CREATED A DRAFT OF THE CALENDAR AND THE BOARD MEMBERS WHO WERE PRESENT AT THE TIME REMEMBER, WE HAD ALL THOSE TOWN HALL MEETINGS.
AND SO PRESENTING THOSE TO THE COMMUNITY, WE DISTRIBUTED SURVEYS TO THE STAKEHOLDERS FOR FEEDBACK. AND AS YOU CAN SEE, THE OVERWHELMING RESPONSE WHERE PEOPLE WERE INTERESTED IN A MODIFIED CALENDAR.
SO WE DECIDED TO GO AHEAD AND MOVE FORWARD WITH THAT.
THEN WE DEVELOPED AN ACTION TEAM AND THAT ACTION TEAM ACTUALLY DRAFTED THE FIRST CALENDAR THAT WAS GOING TO BE PRESENTED TO THE BOARD, AND THOSE WERE THE ORIGINAL.
WE HAD FOLKS FROM ALL FIVE AREAS.
WE ALSO HAD ATHLETICS, BAND ADMINISTRATORS, TEACHERS, REPRESENTATIVES FROM THAT FIRST GROUP WHO CREATED THE CALENDAR.
AND THEN THE NEXT THING WE GOT DOWN TO WAS WE DISTRIBUTED SOME SURVEYS TO OUR PARENTS ALSO ABOUT THE CALENDAR. AND BEFORE WE DID THAT, WE ALSO WE BROUGHT IT FORWARD A BOARD YOU ALL DECIDED WE WANTED WE WANTED A TRANSITION YEAR.
SO REMEMBER WE CREATED THAT TRANSITION YEAR.
AND AT THE SAME TIME WE WENT AHEAD AND CREATED A MODIFIED CALENDAR.
SO WE HAD TWO YEARS WORTH OF CALENDAR.
THAT'S PART OF THE REASON WE'RE ASKING FOR TWO YEARS AGAIN IS BECAUSE ONE OF THE THINGS OUR COMMUNITY SAID THEY WANT TIME TO PLAN AND WITH BEING A YEAR AHEAD, HELPS EVERYONE WITH PLANNING.
AND SO WE DRAFTED THE CALENDARS.
WE PRESENTED THE THOSE GOT APPROVED.
THEN WHEN WE WENT TO THE WE DRAFT THAT CALENDAR FOR THE 2425 SCHOOL YEAR AND I WENT TO THE TEACHER FORUM. THE TEACHER FORUM MADE A FEW TWEAKS TO IT, ASKED US TO, FOR EXAMPLE, MOVE THE HALF DAY FROM THREE HALF DAYS AT THE END OF THE YEAR TO MOVE ONE OF THOSE HALF DAYS RIGHT BEFORE WINTER BREAK. SO WE ADJUSTED THINGS LIKE THAT.
THEN WE SENT OUT A SURVEY TO PARENTS. I'M NOT GOING TO SPEND LONG ON THAT.
THAT WAS LAST FALL. WE DID THAT SURVEY FOR PARENTS, AND THE OVERALL RESPONSE WAS THAT PARENTS AND STAFF LIKED THE TWO WEEK BREAK.
WE ACTUALLY ASKED WHICH THEY PREFERRED ONE WEEK, TWO WEEKS, AND MOST SAID TWO WEEKS.
ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WAS THE MOST IMPORTANT FOR US WAS, DID IT IMPACT OUR STUDENTS AND OUR STAFF WELL-BEING? THAT WAS ONE OF THE BIGGEST PARTS.
WHILE MOVING TO THIS, AS YOU CAN SAW, 77% OF PARENTS SAID IT HELPED THEIR STUDENTS WELL-BEING AND 9,092% OF STAFF SAID IT HELPED THEIR WELL-BEING.
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AND SO NOW WE'RE AT THE PART WHERE WE PRESENT THE DRAFTS TO YOU ALL TONIGHT FOR THE 2526 SCHOOL YEAR AND THE 2627 SCHOOL YEAR.SO THESE ARE OUR GUIDELINES FOR OUR CALENDAR COURSE IS OUR POLICIES BOARD POLICY.
OUR POLICY IC BOARD POLICY IKA, WHICH TALKED ABOUT THE NUMBER OF HOLIDAYS THAT WE HAVE TO PUT IN THE CALENDAR. IT TALKS ABOUT THE NUMBER OF DAYS STUDENTS HAVE TO HAVE 180 DAYS TEACHERS, 195 OF THOSE ARE FOR WORKDAYS, FIVE OF THOSE FOR IN-SERVICE DAYS.
AND THEN WE ALSO FOLLOW ALL THE STATE REGULATIONS FOR CALENDARS AS WELL, AS IT INCLUDES A TWO WEEK FALL BREAK, TWO WEEK WINTER BREAK, AND TWO WEEK SPRING BREAK.
AND THEN ONE OF THE THINGS THAT'S REALLY IMPORTANT FOR OUR HIGH SCHOOLS, SINCE WE'RE NOW ON THE BLOCK SCHEDULE, IS TO FINISH THE FIRST SEMESTER BY WINTER BREAK. SO THAT'S PART OF OUR GUIDELINES AND THEN THE FIRST DAY FOR TEACHERS BECAUSE OF THAT, AFTER THE WINTER BREAK IS A WORK DAY, SO THEY CAN GET THEIR SCHEDULES ADJUSTED AND EVERYTHING READY FOR THE NEW CLASSES.
ALSO, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT TEACHERS HAVE TOLD US THEY WANT TO END BY MAY, THERE'S JUST SOMETHING ABOUT NOT GOING INTO JUNE, SO WE ALWAYS END BY MAY 31ST.
FIRST THIS ALSO, WE ALSO MAKE SURE OUR TEACHERS STILL GET A FULL SIX WEEK SUMMER BREAK AND OUR STUDENTS GET A FULL SEVEN WEEK SUMMER BREAK.
SO I WANT TO PRESENT TO YOU OUR CALENDAR FOR DRAFT CALENDAR FOR THE 2526 SCHOOL YEAR.
IT FOLLOWS THE SAME FORMAT THAT WE'VE BEEN USING WITH JUST A FEW LITTLE TWEAKS.
ONE. THE TWEAKS IS THE FACT THAT WHEN I MET WITH THIS LATEST GROUP OF STAKEHOLDERS ONE OF THE THINGS THAT KEPT COMING OUT WAS THEY WANTED A FULL WEEK FOR THANKSGIVING BREAK.
SO I WENT BACK I WAS FIGURING OUT HOW WE CAN MAKE THAT HAPPEN.
SO UNDER THE DIRECTION OF THE SUPERINTENDENT, HE SAID, I REALLY WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT OUR WEATHER MAKEUP DAYS, WE DO NOT HAVE SCHOOL.
SO I SAID, THIS IS A PERFECT OPPORTUNITY.
SO THE FIRST TWO DAYS, THAT MONDAY AND TUESDAY OF THANKSGIVING BREAK ARE ACTUALLY WEATHER MAKEUP DAYS, AND THEN THE REST OF WEDNESDAY THROUGH FRIDAY, REGULAR THANKSGIVING BREAK.
AND THEN WE ADDED IN A DAY RIGHT BEFORE SPRING BREAK.
WE HAVE A WORK DAY. I MEAN, A PD DAY.
THEN WE HAVE A DAY THAT STUDENTS AND STAFF ARE OUT OF SCHOOL.
THAT'S THE NEXT WEATHER MAKEUP DAY.
AND THEN THE WORKDAY AT THE END OF THE SCHOOL YEAR IS THE FOURTH WEATHER MAKEUP DAY.
SO WE HAVE TWO WEATHER MAKEUP DAYS IN THE FALL AND TWO IN THE SPRING.
AND THAT FOLLOWS OUR STATE GUIDELINES.
THEN THE NEXT ONE IS OF COURSE, THE 2627 SCHOOL YEAR CALENDAR.
IT FOLLOWS THE SAME GUIDELINES, EXCEPT FOR ONE LITTLE TWEAK.
AND THAT ONE LITTLE TWEAK IS WE COULD NOT SQUEEZE IN ONE OTHER DAY AND STILL GET OUT BY MAY 31ST. SO PRESIDENTS DAY IS THE OTHER WEATHER MAKEUP DAY.
SO WE HAVE THE TWO DURING THANKSGIVING.
THANKSGIVING BREAK. PRESIDENT'S DAY AND THEN THE LAST DAY OF SCHOOL FOR TEACHERS.
THE TEACHER WORK DAY. SO THAT PRETTY MUCH FOLLOWS THE SAME PATTERN THAT WE'VE BEEN FOLLOWING. AND ONE OF THE REASONS WE WANTED TO KEEP THAT IS, IF YOU THINK ABOUT IT, THIS IS ONLY OUR SECOND YEAR IN THE MODIFIED CALENDAR.
OUR SECOND YEAR. SO WE REALLY DON'T HAVE ENOUGH DATA TO SEE.
DOES IT WORK? AND WE REALLY DIDN'T WANT TO PUT ANOTHER CHANGE ON THE COMMUNITY.
WE'RE OFTEN ACCUSED OF THE FACT THAT WE START SOMETHING.
WE CHANGE IT. WE DON'T GIVE IT TIME TO WORK.
DON'T GIVE IT TIME TO WORK OUT THE KINKS. SO THIS WAY, KEEPING IT THIS WAY. WE'RE ABLE TO WORK THROUGH ALL THE KINKS AND ANY CHALLENGES.
AND I'LL TURN IT BACK OVER TO OUR BOARD CHAIRMAN TO ADDRESS ANY QUESTIONS.
SO I THINK I SAW MISS TYLER AND THEN MISS RHINEHART-JACKSON, THEN MR. LINDELL. THANK YOU, MR. JEFFCOAT. EARLIER IN YOUR PRESENTATION, YOU SAID THAT PARENTS SAID THAT IT PROVED TO BE GOOD FOR THE WELL-BEING OF THEIR KIDS.
DEFINE WELLBEING. WE LEFT THAT WIDE OPEN.
KIND OF LIKE THAT. IT WAS WHEN WE TALKED TO THE PARENT GROUP, SAID, DID YOUR KIDS ENJOY? DID IT HELP THEM GET READY FOR SCHOOL, THE SCHOOL YEAR TO START BACK? DID THEY FEEL BETTER HAVING THAT BREAK? DID IT HELP REDUCE BURNOUT? AND SO IT ENCOMPASSED ALL OF THOSE THINGS.
SO IT WAS NOT RELATED TO ACADEMICS AT ALL.
NOT SO MUCH ACADEMICS REALLY THEIR SOCIAL EMOTIONAL WELL-BEING.
THAT WAS ONE OF THE MAJOR REASONS WHY WE STARTED THE CALENDAR, BECAUSE STUDENTS ARE JUST SAYING THEY'RE BURNT OUT. AND SAME WITH PARENTS WHO HAVEN'T WORKED WITH THEIR STUDENTS. THANK YOU.
GOOD EVENING, SIR. FIRST OF ALL, I WANT TO SAY THANK YOU.
I NOTICED THAT THERE IS A LEGEND CLEARLY MARKED AT THE BOTTOM OF THIS CALENDAR.
SO, PARENTS LISTENING AT HOME, PLEASE TAKE NOTE THAT THERE IS A LEGEND THAT TELLS YOU WHEN YOUR CHILD IS SUPPOSED TO BE TO SCHOOL AND WHEN THEY'RE NOT.
AND I ALSO WANT TO THANK YOU ALL FOR DOING A YEAR IN ADVANCE AS WELL.
BECAUSE THAT GIVES PARENTS PLENTY ENOUGH TIME TO PLAN VACATIONS.
AND IT TAKES A LOT OF STRESS OFF OF US BOARD MEMBERS.
HAVING TO SAY WE GOT SCHOOL TODAY WHILE THE CALENDAR IS NOT OUT.
SO I APPRECIATE YOUR HARD WORK ON THIS.
ONE QUESTION WHEN THESE TWO CALENDARS ARE APPROVED, HOW SOON WILL THEY BE POSTED FOR PARENTS TO TO VIEW? WE PRETTY MUCH POSTED RIGHT AWAY. I MEAN, I'LL LEAVE THAT TO MARY GLENN.
AWESOME. THAT'S IT. THANK YOU.
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ALL RIGHT. YEAH. WE POST IT RIGHT AWAY. AND AND THAT IS ONE OF THE THINGS WHY WE WANTED TO DO TWO YEARS. BECAUSE WE HAVE BEEN GETTING REQUESTS. FOLKS ARE ASKING WHEN'S THE CALENDAR COME OUT? BECAUSE THEY WANT TO PLAN A MISSION TRIP FOR NEXT YEAR. THEY WANT TO PLAN WEDDINGS. AND WE AS A STAFF ARE WANTING TO PLAN THINGS FOR NEXT YEAR AND EVEN THE YEAR AFTER. SO THAT REALLY HELPS US TO BE A YEAR AHEAD.MR. LINDELL HOW MUCH DATA DO WE NEED OR TIME DO WE NEED TO KNOW THAT THIS IS A GOOD OR BAD USE IT REALLY ABOUT REALLY FOR ANYTHING YOU IMPLEMENT? WE'RE ALWAYS MONITORING YEAR TO YEAR.
BUT REALLY TO SEE THE FULL BENEFITS YOU SAY LIKE 4 TO 5 YEARS BEFORE SO THAT IT WILL THAT CHANGE CAN TAKE PLACE. PEOPLE CAN GET OVER THAT HUMP OF IT'S A CHANGE.
AND THEN THEY BEGIN TO SEE THE FACT, OKAY, WE REALLY DO LIKE THIS OR NOT.
ONCE YOU GET PAST THAT JUST THAT NATURE OF GOING THROUGH A CHANGE.
WHEN I CALLED OTHER DISTRICTS AND OTHER STATES, ONE OF THE THINGS THEY SAID, JUST STICK WITH IT, STICK WITH IT.
EVENTUALLY YOUR FOLKS WILL GET TO A POINT. THEY REALLY LOVE IT. AND SOME OF THEM SAY WE WOULD NEVER GO BACK TO A TRADITIONAL CALENDAR, AND SOME OF THEM HAVE BEEN DOING IT FOR DECADES NOW. MR. SILAS APPRECIATE DOCTOR JEFFCOAT AGAIN, I CAN'T HELP BUT TO MAKE ONE SIDEWAYS COMMENT.
I APOLOGIZE FOR AHEAD OF TIME, AND THEN I WANT TO GO BACK TO THE BENEFIT SLIDE. SO MY SIDEWAYS COMMENT IS I WOULD LIKE TO HAVE A FULL WEEK OF THANKSGIVING OFF AT MY PLACE OF EMPLOYMENT, BUT UNFORTUNATELY MY WANTS DON'T ALWAYS LINE UP WITH THE BUSINESS PLAN FOR MY EMPLOYER. THAT'S CALLED PAID TIME OFF VACATION.
WELL, I MEAN, SO FROM A BUSINESS SIDE OF THINGS, THAT'S HOW I THINK, RIGHT? AND I GUESS, CONGRATULATIONS, YOU'RE IN THE EDUCATIONAL WORLD AND IT AFFORDS YOU SOME BENEFITS ALONG WITH THE OTHER HEADACHES THAT YOU HAVE, I GUESS. BUT SO AS YOU GO BACK TO THE BENEFITS SLIDE, CAN YOU DO THAT? YES, I CAN.
YOU HAD MENTIONED THAT. YES. WE'RE ONLY INTO OUR SECOND YEAR, NOT EVEN QUITE A YEAR AND A HALF.
BUT, YOU KNOW, I THINK FROM THE BEGINNING, I'VE NEVER BEEN A BIG PROPONENT OF ONE OF THE SELLING POINTS WAS THE WEEK OF RECOVERY, RIGHT? ONE OF THE TWO WEEKS WAS INTENDED TO BE.
AND THAT MAY NOT BE THE RIGHT WORD, RECOVERY OR INTERSESSION.
RIGHT. IT SOUNDS GREAT ON PAPER, RIGHT? BUT I'VE NEVER FELT LIKE THAT THE VALUE WAS THERE OR THE BANG FOR THE BUCK, THE COST BENEFIT, HOWEVER YOU WANT TO REFER TO THAT, RIGHT? BECAUSE IT'S I THINK WE LEARNED RECENTLY IT WAS LIKE $1 MILLION FOR THOSE TWO WEEKS, APPROXIMATELY. RIGHT? YES, YES. AND SO I DON'T HAVE ANY EVIDENCE OF THAT, JUST MY FEELING. I DON'T FEEL LIKE THE KIDS THAT REALLY NEED IT COME.
I KNOW WE'VE HAD SOME GOOD PARTICIPATION AT AT LEAST ONE SESSION OVER THE OTHER.
RIGHT. SO THERE'S SOME GOOD METRICS MAYBE THERE TO POINT. DO YOU HAVE ANY EVIDENCE SO FAR OVER SOME OF THESE OTHER THINGS, LIKE REDUCED DISCIPLINARY ISSUES? I DON'T THINK I'VE SEEN OR HEARD THAT.
I CERTAINLY RECOGNIZE ALL THE OTHER BENEFITS.
EVERYBODY LOVES IT RIGHT FROM FROM A TIME OFF STANDPOINT TO RECOVER AND ALL THAT.
BUT BUT GOING BACK TO THE ACADEMIC SIDE OF IT, WHAT WHAT HAVE YOU SEEN OR WHAT EVIDENCE DO YOU HAVE WITH DISCIPLINE? SOME OF OUR PRELIMINARY STUDIES WE'VE BEEN DOING WITH THE DISCIPLINE PART, WE HAVE SEEN A DECREASE IN DISCIPLINE, AND THAT'S BEEN REALLY EXCITING PART ABOUT THAT.
I'VE BEEN DOING THIS KIND OF STUDY THAT LOOKING AT YEAR TO YEAR AND BACKING UP, I THINK IT'S LIKE 5 OR 6 YEARS.
AND LOOKING AT THE DISCIPLINE HAS GONE DOWN SINCE WE HAVE IMPLEMENTED THIS.
NOW WE ALSO HAVE THAT HIGH SCHOOL HAS GONE DOWN A LOT, BUT THEY ALSO HAVE TWO THINGS GOING ON THEIR BLOCK SCHEDULE AND THE MODIFIED CALENDAR.
AND WE HAVE SEEN SOME DEFINITELY A REDUCTION IN DISCIPLINE IS THAT AS MEASURED BY SORRY TO INTERRUPT AS MEASURED BY REFERRALS, BY REFERRALS, BY REFERRALS, JUST REFERRALS. THAT'S THE ONE THING THAT'S CONSTANT IS THE NUMBER OF REFERRALS WE HAVE NOT DUG DEEP INTO LIKE EXPULSIONS OR SUSPENSIONS JUST BY REFERRALS.
OKAY. THANK YOU, MR.. BRADLEY.
DOCTOR BRADLEY. DID YOU HAVE SOMETHING? AND THEN, MISS MORRIS? I JUST WANTED TO FOLLOW UP ON WHAT MR. SILAS IS BRINGING UP.
I DON'T WANT TO LOCK IN ANY COMMITMENT FOR INTERSESSION AT THIS POINT.
THIS IS BEFORE WE LOOK AT A BUDGET AND ALL THE OTHER NEEDS WE'VE HAD THIS DISCUSSION ABOUT. IS IT REALLY DOING ANYTHING WORTHWHILE? I HAVEN'T SEEN ANY DATA OR HEARD ANYTHING THAT MAKES ME THINK THAT IT IS.
MILLION DOLLARS IS A LOT OF MONEY TO SPEND, AND I'D LIKE TO MAKE SURE WE'RE GETTING SOMETHING FOR IT BEFORE WE CONTINUE TO DO IT.
THE FORMAT I DON'T HAVE MUCH CONFIDENCE IN.
IT'S JUST TOO SHORT A TIME TO DO MUCH WITH.
I JUST DON'T LIKE THIS CREDIT RECOVERY BUSINESS.
I'M GOING TO BE REALLY HONEST.
I THINK IT'S A HOAX TO THINK THAT A CHILD CAN MAKE UP A YEAR'S WORTH OF WORK IN A TWO WEEK PERIOD. AND I REALLY THINK WE GOT A I THINK WE HAVE A WORKSHOP COMING UP BEFORE TOO LONG TO DISCUSS THESE THINGS.
AND ALL I'M SAYING ABOUT THE CALENDAR IS WE'RE GOING TO HAVE A RECESS THERE.
[00:35:06]
BUT I DON'T WANT TO COMMIT AT THIS POINT TO LOCKING IN TO AN INTERSESSION OR ANY KIND OF REMEDIAL PROGRAM. I MEAN, I THINK IT'S SUFFICIENT TO BLOCK IT OFF IN THE, IN THE CALENDAR AS A RECESS FROM SCHOOL.KIDS WON'T COME TO SCHOOL UNLESS THERE IS A PROGRAM FOR THEM.
BUT I JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT THAT I'M NOT VOTING ON IN A SESSION PROGRAM AT THIS POINT. I WOULD AND JUST I WOULD SAY, IF YOU LOOK AT I WAS LOOKING FOR THE ADMINISTRATION TO RESPOND, BUT THE CALENDAR IS THE ONLY THING THAT WE'RE VOTING ON.
SO THE POINT THAT YOU RAISED, WHICH IS A GOOD ONE, IS A BUDGETARY ISSUE THAT WE'LL DEAL WITH IN THE SPRING, BASICALLY. WINTER. SPRING.
MISS MORRIS? YES. I'D LIKE TO ASK A QUESTION REGARDING THE ACADEMIC COMPONENT.
DO WE HAVE ANY DATA? AND HOW IS THIS IMPACTING STUDENTS WITH ACADEMIC STRUGGLES WHEN THEY'RE OUT FOR THIS AMOUNT OF TIME AND THEY'RE ALREADY BEHIND? HOW DO WE MAKE UP FOR THAT FOR THOSE STUDENTS THAT THEY'RE OUT THAT PERIOD OF TIME OR MAY NOT EVEN HAVE THE BEST HOME SITUATION IN SCHOOL? BEING IN SCHOOL IS VERY IMPACTFUL FOR THOSE STUDENTS.
WELL, THE ONE THING THAT STUDENTS STILL THE SAME AMOUNT OF TIME, THEY'RE STILL IN SCHOOL FOR 180 DAYS.
THE ONE THING WE'VE JUST SHORTENED THE SUMMER AND MOVED THOSE DAYS INTO THE SCHOOL YEAR.
SO AS FAR AS THE NUMBER OF DAYS STUDENTS ARE IN SCHOOL, THAT HAS NOT CHANGED AT ALL.
MATTER OF FACT, ONE OF THE THINGS SOME OF THE PRINCIPALS SAID, THEY ACTUALLY LIKE THE FACT THAT THE SHORTER THE SUMMER IS A LITTLE SHORTER FOR HOPEFULLY STUDENTS NOT FORGETTING AS MANY THINGS WITH A SHORTER SUMMER BREAK VERSUS A LONGER SUMMER BREAK, AND WE REALLY HADN'T HAD ENOUGH TIME TO REALLY SEE FULLY THE ACADEMIC IMPACT.
ALSO, BECAUSE OF THE FACT THAT SOME OF OUR TESTING PROTOCOLS FROM THE STATE HAVE CHANGED, SO IT'S HARD TO MEASURE FROM ONE YEAR TO THE NEXT YEAR BECAUSE THE SYSTEM HAS CHANGED. SO THAT'S WHY WE'RE HOPING THAT AFTER A FEW YEARS, TO REALLY BE ABLE TO GET SOME GOOD METRICS IN THERE TO FIND OUT HOW WE'RE REALLY DOING.
RIGHT. AND EVEN THINKING ABOUT THOSE PARENTS WHO MAY NOT HAVE CHILD CARE DURING THOSE PERIODS OF TIME THROUGHOUT THE YEAR, BECAUSE USUALLY IF YOU HAVE A SUMMER, YOU KNOW THAT YOUR KID IS GOING TO BE IN THAT PARTICULAR SUMMER PROGRAM FOR EIGHT WEEKS OR NINE WEEKS, VERSUS HAVING TO FIND CHILDCARE, ESPECIALLY FOR THE YOUNGER ONES, THAT IN OCTOBER AND THEN IN NOVEMBER AND THEN IN WAS IT APRIL? AND SO IT'S JUST I DON'T KNOW IF THOSE THINGS HAVE BEEN CONSIDERED AS WE'RE MAKING THESE DECISIONS. THEY HAVE ONE OF THE THINGS WHEN WE STARTED THIS, WE HAD AN AGREEMENT WITH QUEZON. SO QUEZON PROVIDES AFTER TO CARE FOR THE WHOLE BREAK DURING THE FALL BREAK AND THEN ONE WEEK OF SPRING BREAK.
THEY'VE NEVER PROVIDED CARE DURING THE MASTER'S WEEK, SO THAT WAS ONE OF THE AGREEMENTS WE HAD.
SO THAT PARENTS WOULD HAVE AN OPTION FOR THEIR CHILD IS THROUGH OUR QUEST ZONE PROGRAM, IF THEY CAN AFFORD IT.
ANYTHING FOR YOU, SAM? OKAY. THANK YOU. YEAH.
I HAVE ONE QUESTION. I'M GOING TO MAKE SOMEONE SAY THIS OUT LOUD.
BOTH THESE CALENDARS, THE LAST DAY OF THE SCHOOL YEAR, LIKE IT TRADITIONALLY IS, IS A TEACHER WORK DAY.
AND ON THESE CALENDARS, THEIR WEATHER MAKEUP DAYS.
YES. SO I WANT TO SAY OUT LOUD, IF FOR SOME REASON WE HAVE TO USE THAT, THEN THAT TEACHER WORKDAY WOULD BE THE NEXT WEEK ON JUNE 1ST.
IT WOULD BE. IT WOULD, UNFORTUNATELY, IT WOULD BE. IF WE DO HAVE TO USE THAT FOR WEATHER MAKEUP DAY, WE WOULD HAVE TO DO THAT.
THERE'S NO GOOD TIME FOR A WEATHER MAKEUP DAY.
BUT, MISS REINHART, THE REASON I SAY THAT OUT LOUD IS MISS RHINEHART-JACKSON WAS TALKING ABOUT MAKING SURE PARENTS ABSORB THIS.
STAFF NEEDS TO ABSORB IT AS WELL.
AND THAT IT'S ALWAYS A POSSIBILITY.
ALL RIGHT. AND WE CAN AT THIS POINT, WE'VE HAD A REVIEW OF THE CALENDAR FOR THE 25, 26 AND 2627 SCHOOL YEARS.
I'M TRYING TO GET BACK TO MY AGENDA ITEM.
SO IS THERE A MOTION TO APPROVE THE PROPOSED CALENDARS FOR THE 25, 26, 26, 27 SCHOOL YEARS? MOTION MADE BY MISS RHINEHART-JACKSON. IS THERE A SECOND SECOND? SECONDED BY MISS TYLER.
ANY FURTHER DISCUSSION ON THE MOTION? ALL THOSE IN FAVOR, PLEASE RAISE YOUR HAND.
THAT'S NINE IN FAVOR. MOTION CARRIES.
THE NEXT SECTION IS CONSENT ITEMS AND THEY WILL BE VOTED ON IN A GROUP.
IDEALLY BUT EACH INDIVIDUAL ITEM MAY BE DISCUSSED PRIOR TO A VOTE BEING TAKEN.
AND I'LL WALK THROUGH EACH ONE.
AND I THINK WE'LL HAVE DISCUSSION ON, ON SOME OF THEM.
[00:40:04]
ALL RIGHT. SO THE FIRST ONE OF WHICH.SORRY, FOLKS, PART OF THE CONSENT, THE FIRST CONSENT ITEM IS RATIFICATION OF EXPULSIONS. SO WE'VE BEEN PROVIDED A LIST OF STUDENTS RECOMMENDED FOR EXPULSION, AND THE BOARD HAS TO APPROVE THAT.
NEXT IS A LIST OF OUT OF DISTRICT TRANSFER REQUESTS WHICH THE BOARD ALSO HAS TO APPROVE.
THEN WE HAVE A COUPLE OF OF DONATIONS OR GRANTS OR AWARDS BENEFITING THE SCHOOL DISTRICT. THE FIRST OF WHICH IS WESTERN CAROLINA STATE FAIR FOUNDATION, IS DONATING TO THE CAREER AND TECHNOLOGY CENTER $2,000 TO THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE PROGRAM. NUMBER FOUR, SAVANNAH RIVER NATIONAL LABORATORY THROUGH ITS K THROUGH 12 CATALYST GRANTS FOR STEM EDUCATION AWARDS IS PROVIDING THE SCHOOL DISTRICT TO RECEIVE $5,000 IN A IN A GRANT AWARD.
WILLIAM I'M GOING TO PRONOUNCE THAT WRONG.
CAUTHEN ESTATE IS MAKING A DONATION TO REDCLIFF ELEMENTARY IN THE TOTAL OF $3,500, TO BE USED FOR FACULTY AND STAFF INCENTIVES TO RECOGNIZE THEIR DEDICATION AND HARD WORK.
NEXT, NUMBER SIX, PICNIC MASTER INCORPORATED, IS DONATING $1,400 TO MIDLAND VALLEY HIGH SCHOOLS IN JROTC PROGRAM TO BE USED FOR UNIT T SHIRTS. AND NUMBER SEVEN.
SOUTH CAROLINA DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION, ARTS AND EDUCATION.
THERE'S AN ARTS ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM GRANT AWARD THAT WILL BE, IF APPROVED, AWARDED TO AIKEN ELEMENTARY AND THE AMOUNT OF $10,000 TO BUY IMPLEMENTING THEATER AND DANCE STANDARDS AND TRYING TO IMPROVE STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT THROUGH VISUAL AND PERFORMING ARTS. CONSENT.
ITEM NUMBER EIGHT IS ITEMS THAT NEED TO BE DECLARED SURPLUS AND THEIR METHOD OF DISPOSAL. SO THERE'S A LIST PUBLISHED THAT GOT VARIOUS DIFFERENT KINDS OF SCHOOL FURNISHINGS AND EQUIPMENT THAT HAVE BEEN SCREENED AND DETERMINED TO OBSOLETE AND OF NO FURTHER USE. THEN CONSENT ITEM NUMBER NINE IS GMP NUMBER ONE FOR FOOTBALL FIELD TURF FOR ARTIFICIAL TURF FROM AIKEN HIGH, MIDLAND VALLEY HIGH AND SILVER BLUFF HIGH.
THIS PROJECT IS WE'RE AUTHORIZING IF APPROVED, WE'RE AUTHORIZING THE RECOMMENDATION TO ALLOW THE ADMINISTRATION TO NEGOTIATE A CONTRACT WITH REYNOLDS. NOT TO EXCEED TO DO THOSE TURF MANAGE THAT PROJECT, TO DO THOSE IN TOTAL, NOT TO EXCEED $5.1 MILLION? AND THEN NUMBER TEN, WE'VE GOT BIDS RECEIVED FOR NEXT YEAR'S SCRUBBING AND COATING OF GYMNASIUM FLOORS, WHICH WE DO A NUMBER OF THOSE GYM FLOORS EVERY YEAR.
AND WE'VE BEEN PROVIDED THAT TO APPROVE.
I'LL START OFF WITH A MOTION AND THEN WE CAN START HAVING DISCUSSION.
THANK YOU. SO MISS RHINEHART-JACKSON MADE A MOTION TO APPROVE THE CONSENT ITEMS AS PRESENTED. IS THERE A SECOND? SECOND? SECONDED BY DOCTOR BRADLEY DISCUSSION ON ANY OF THE TEN CONSENT ITEMS. I WOULD LIKE TO HAVE SOME DISCUSSION ON ITEM NUMBER NINE.
FOOTBALL TURF. I'VE HAD SOME QUESTIONS ABOUT ABOUT THE PRICE OF THIS TURF AND WHAT TYPE OF TURF WE'RE GETTING.
AND I DON'T THINK ANY OF THAT'S BEEN SHARED WITH THE BOARD, TO MY KNOWLEDGE. I'D LIKE TO GET SOME INFORMATION ON THAT BEFORE I WOULD BE IN A POSITION TO, YOU KNOW, TO BETTER UNDERSTAND WHAT WE'RE DOING.
HERE WE GO. GOOD EVENING, MR. BROOME. AS I STATED BEFORE, THE PRICE THAT WE'RE ASKING FOR THIS IS A GMP PRICE. THIS IS A GUARANTEED MAXIMUM PRICE, WHICH MEANS THE PRICE CANNOT EXCEED THAT.
BUT WHAT WE'RE DOING TONIGHT IS ACTUALLY PROCURING A CM AT RISK CONTRACT.
AND SO THEY WILL GO AND TALK TO THE VENDOR.
THEY WILL BRING US SPECIFICATIONS BACK.
SO WHAT WE'RE DOING IS GETTING THEM TO BRING US THE PROJECT, GET BRING US THE FINISHED PRODUCT.
AND SO THAT'S THE BEAUTY OF OUR CM AT RISK CONTRACT.
WE WE DO NOT ANTICIPATE IT COSTING $5.1 MILLION.
THAT'S THE OUTSIDE PRICE TO INCLUDE ANY UNFORESEEN ITEMS THAT MAY HAPPEN BETWEEN NOW AND THE TIME THEY TURN IT OVER TO US.
AND TYPICALLY AT THE END OF THESE PROJECTS, WE GET A VERY HEALTHY ALLOWANCE BACK,
[00:45:03]
AND THE CM AT RISK CONTRACTOR IS INCENTIVIZED TO KEEP COSTS LOW AS WELL.SO THAT'S WHY YOU DON'T HAVE AS MUCH OF THE DETAIL NOW UNTIL THEY GO OUT AND THEY'LL HIRE THE CONTRACTOR AND THEY'LL GIVE US THE SPECIFICATIONS WE'RE ASKING THEM TO JUST DO, HEY, WE WANT RENTALS TO GO AND COMPLETE A FIELD TURF PROJECT, AND THEN THEY'LL COME BACK WITH THE SPECIFICS.
MR. SILAS. MY MEMORY COULD BE FAILING ME, BUT I THOUGHT THAT PART OF THIS.
WE'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT IT, AND, YOU KNOW, I'VE BEEN ASKING YOU ABOUT STATUS FOR PROBABLY TWO YEARS ON, ON THIS TURF SITUATION.
DIDN'T WE AT SOME POINT IN TIME GO GET QUOTES ALREADY? SO HOW DOES THIS WHY WHY IS THIS NECESSARY TO CIRCUMVENT WHAT I BELIEVE YOU'VE ALREADY DONE? AND I WAS A LITTLE SURPRISED TO HEAR REYNOLDS LIKE I.
THAT'S NOT THERE. I GUESS IT'S PART OF CONSTRUCTION SOMETIMES, BUT I GUESS I THOUGHT THIS WAS THIS TYPE OF THING WAS MORE LIKE THE LIGHT PROJECT, RIGHT? YOU HIRED SOMEBODY TO COME IN TO DO A SPECIFIC THING. YOU WORK DIRECTLY WITH THAT VENDOR. SO HELP ME UNDERSTAND WHAT WE DID BEFORE, HOW THAT PLAYS INTO NOW, WHY WE NEED TO DO IT DIFFERENTLY.
THE PROCESS WE FOLLOWED THIS TIME WE WE DID RECEIVE SOME PRESENTATIONS, BUT WE DID NOT GO THROUGH A FORMAL SOLICITATION PROCESS BECAUSE WE KNEW OUR TIMELINE WAS COMPRESSED IN ORDER TO GET THREE SCHOOLS DONE BETWEEN THE TIME THEY FINISHED PLAYING FOOTBALL AND THE TIME THEY START SPRING PRACTICE.
IT'S A VERY COMPRESSED TIMELINE, SO WE DON'T HAVE THE INFRASTRUCTURE IN HOUSE TO PROJECT, MANAGE THREE MULTI-MILLION DOLLAR PROJECTS OR POTENTIALLY MULTI-MILLION DOLLAR PROJECTS SIMULTANEOUSLY.
IF WE DIDN'T USE A CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT COMPANY SUCH AS REYNOLDS, A LARGE, SCALABLE COMPANY, WE'D BE IN A SITUATION WHERE WE'D HAVE TO PICK ONE ONE YEAR, ONE OR NEXT YEAR AND ONE THE FOLLOWING YEAR.
WINDOWS HAS DONE SEVERAL TURF FIELDS IN THE PAST, SO THEY HAVE EXPERTISE IN THIS WORK, AND THEY CAN MAKE SURE THAT WE EXPERIENCE SOME OF THE EFFICIENCIES WHEN THEY, YOU KNOW, HAVE THREE PROJECTS GOING AT ONE TIME AS OPPOSED TO US HAVING TO DO IT SEQUENTIALLY.
SO WE DO ANTICIPATE IT BEING MORE COST EFFECTIVE IN THE LONG RUN.
MAYBE THE INITIAL PRICE MAY SEEM HIGHER, BUT AGAIN, WHEN BY THE TIME ALL THREE PROJECTS ARE DONE AND TURNED IN, WE EXPECT TO SEE SOME ALLOWANCE ON.
I'M GONNA BE KIND OF LET THE RUBBER HIT THE ROAD.
THIS BOARD AT SOME POINT HAS GOT TO DETERMINE, ARE WE GOING TO GO FORWARD AND TRY TO DO ITEMS IN HOUSE ON PROJECTS? I'M JUST GOING TO BE STRAIGHT UP.
AND I KNOW I'M NOT FAR OFF BECAUSE I ASKED YOU FOR THE NUMBERS.
DOCTOR MURPHY, YOU HAVEN'T GIVEN TO ME.
WE'RE PROBABLY GOING TO SPEND 1 MILLION TO 01,000,002 IN OVERSIGHT FOR THIS PROJECT.
MY ISSUE WITH THIS PROJECT IS THESE TURF COMPANIES COME IN AND THEY DO THESE JOBS TURNKEY. IF YOU PUT THE RFP OUT CORRECTLY, THESE JOBS WITH THE DRILLING, THE SAMPLING, ALL THE THINGS THEY HAVE TO DO, THEY DO ALL THAT. AND WHEN WE LOOK AT WHAT THIS DISTRICT SPENDS IN MONIES THAT I FEEL LIKE A LOT OF TIMES WE COULD START AT SOME POINT.
WE'VE GOT TO DECIDE, ARE WE GOING TO PAY ALL OUR MONEY TO OUTSOURCE, OR ARE WE GOING TO START TRYING TO BUILD OUR TEAM IN-HOUSE WHERE WE CAN HANDLE OUR BUSINESS? BECAUSE I THINK WE'RE GETTING LEFT BEHIND IN A LOT OF CASES, BECAUSE I KNOW OTHER NEIGHBORING DISTRICTS THAT'S DOING THIS KIND OF WORK THEMSELVES.
WE SHOULD HAVE CAPABILITY IN-HOUSE TO HANDLE SOME OF THIS WORK.
AND I WOULD JUST LIKE TO KNOW WHAT IS GOING TO BE DONE THAT THE OUTSOURCE THE THE TURF COMPANIES ARE NOT GOING TO DO.
I DON'T UNDERSTAND. I MEAN, THIS IS A JOB THAT THEY COME IN AND DO TURNKEY. SO I DON'T REALLY UNDERSTAND THE NEED FOR GOING TO A CONTRACT THAT WE'RE GOING TO POSSIBLY SPEND 1 MILLION TO 1,000,002 IN FEES THAT WE HAVE SO MANY OTHER NEEDS.
TOTALLY UNDERSTAND WE HAVE NOT HAD THAT EXPERIENCE THAT YOU TALKED ABOUT ABOUT TURNKEY PROJECTS. I HAVE YET TO SUPERVISE A TURNKEY PROJECT.
ANYTIME WE HIRE A CONTRACTOR TO COME IN AND DO WORK, THERE'S ALWAYS UNFORESEEN CIRCUMSTANCES, AND THAT'S WHAT WE'VE BEEN GOING THROUGH FOR MANY OF OUR PROJECTS. THIS IS ANY PROJECT THAT EXCEEDS $1 MILLION.
SO THIS IS NOT ONE OF OUR SMALLER IN-HOUSE PROJECTS WHERE WE WOULD WANT TO CONSIGN IT TO A NEWLY APPOINTED CLERK OF WORKS, A NEWLY APPOINTED ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OF
[00:50:02]
FACILITIES CONSTRUCTION, NOT SIMULTANEOUS PROJECTS.IF IT WAS MAYBE ONE, AND WE WERE TRYING TO GET IT ALL DONE.
SO THE ANECDOTE I ALWAYS HEAR, YOU KNOW, AND WORKING IN PROJECT MANAGEMENT IS YOU GET YOU HAVE THREE OPTIONS.
YOU CAN GET SOMETHING DONE QUICK, YOU CAN GET SOMETHING DONE FAST AND YOU GET SOMETHING DONE HIGH QUALITY, HIGH QUALITY, FAST AND CHEAP, BUT YOU CAN'T PICK THREE.
AND SO RIGHT NOW WE ARE TRYING TO MOVE A LITTLE FASTER BECAUSE WE DON'T WANT TO GET INTO A SITUATION WHERE WE'RE GOING TO SELECT ALL RIGHT, MIDLAND VALLEY, YOU'LL GET YOURS THIS YEAR. SILVER BLUFF, YOU'LL GET YOURS NEXT YEAR BECAUSE ALL ALL THREE SCHOOLS HAVE ALL BEEN WAITING FOR YEARS.
AND THEY DEFINITELY DESERVE BRAND NEW FOOTBALL FIELDS.
AND SO AND SILVER BLUFF ESPECIALLY.
RIGHT. I WANT IT I WANT IT AS BAD AS ANYBODY.
AT THE SAME TIME, AT SOME POINT, I FEEL LIKE THIS DISTRICT HAS GOT TO POSITION ITSELF TO LOOK FOR EFFICIENCIES, RIGHT.
YOU KNOW, AND I DON'T SEE THAT HAPPENING.
I JUST HONESTLY DON'T SEE US DOING IT.
AND WE KEEP GOING DOWN THIS ROAD AND NEVER MAKE THAT TURN.
WE'RE NEVER GOING TO GET THERE. I JUST REMIND YOU THAT THE WE DID DAKTRONICS, WE DID SCOREBOARDS AND WE DID THOSE IN-HOUSE, AND THOSE SCOREBOARDS WERE ABOUT 250,000, 300,000.
SILVER BLUFF HAD ONE WHEN THE PROJECT WAS DONE.
AND I'M NOT DISPARAGING THAT COMPANY. BUT WHEN THE PROJECT WAS DONE, WE ENDED UP HAVING A CONVERSATION BECAUSE THE CONTRACTOR LEFT A LOT OF THINGS.
WE HAD A LOT OF WORK WE HAD TO DO ON THE BACK END, AND THAT FORTUNATELY ENOUGH, WE HAD SOMEONE THAT DONATED A LOT OF THEIR TIME TO GET THAT WORK DONE.
BUT HAD THAT NOT HAPPENED, THE DISTRICT WOULD HAVE INCURRED MORE COSTS.
SO SOMETIMES IF WE DON'T SEE THE COST ON THE FRONT END, WE MAY IN FACT SEE IT ON THE BACK END.
AND THAT'S WHAT THE BEAUTY OF THE CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT WHEN IT SAYS AT RISK, THAT MEANS THEY HAVE A DOG IN THE FIGHT TO MAKE SURE THE PROJECT COMES IN ON TIME AND UNDER BUDGET AS WELL. AND SO WE DO IN MANY CASES ON LARGER SCOPE PROJECTS, SEE A BETTER PRODUCT AT A BETTER PRICE IN THIS INSTANCE.
WELL, I'M JUST GOING TO SAY THIS THEM SCOREBOARDS WERE EXECUTED NOT VERY WELL.
I'LL BE THE FIRST TO TELL YOU THAT.
AND I'M STILL NOT HAPPY WITH HOW SOME OF THAT'S GOING.
HOWEVER, WHEN YOU BUILD A TEAM TO EXECUTE SMALL PROJECTS, YOU DON'T PAY A VENDOR.
THE FINAL DRAW UNTIL THE JOB IS SATISFIED.
SO A LOT OF THAT'S BACK ON US AND ALL.
MY POINT IS I WANT THIS STUFF.
SO DON'T THINK I DON'T WANT THESE JOBS DONE.
I WANT THIS DISTRICT TO POSITION YOURSELF AS A LEADER, THAT THEY SHOULD BE WHERE WE PUT EMPLOYEES IN PLACE AND CAN PAY THEM TO BE ABLE TO HANDLE A LOT OF THIS OVERSIGHT IN HOUSE WHERE WE DON'T HAVE TO DEPEND.
AND THEN WHEN WHEN THIS JOB'S OVER THIS MILLION OR WHATEVER EXTRA WE'RE SPENDING, WE'VE GOT THAT MONEY BACK TO HAVE EMPLOYEES THAT CAN DO OTHER JOBS FOR US.
AND IT JUST IS. THAT'S ALL I'M SAYING.
AND WE'VE GOT TO DECIDE AS A BOARD, ARE WE GOING TO EVER GO THAT ROUTE, OR ARE WE JUST GOING TO SPEND ALL OUR MONEY OUTSOURCING? AND I THINK WE'RE JUST GETTING FURTHER AND FURTHER BEHIND OTHER DISTRICTS BECAUSE WE'RE SPENDING SO MUCH MONEY GETTING WORK DONE.
THIS TIME. MY THOUGHTS ARE I'M I'M FINE WITH THE OTHER ITEM.
NINE I'M NOT COMFORTABLE VOTING ON TONIGHT.
I'M WONDERING IF WE CAN PERHAPS PULL THAT, OR AT LEAST VOTE ON THE OTHER ONES, WITH THE EXCEPTION OF NUMBER NINE.
AND I SAY THAT BECAUSE THERE ARE OTHER WAYS THAT WE CAN APPROACH IT.
AND I KNOW THAT YOU'RE HIRING RENTALS AS A CM AT RISK, BUT THERE ARE OTHER COMPANIES OUT THERE. I DON'T THINK WE SHOULD JUST BE HANDING IT BECAUSE THAT CM AT RISK.
THEY'RE GOING TO, OF COURSE WHETHER OR NOT THEY DO IT IS GOING TO BE BASED ON THE PERCENTAGE THAT THEY WALK AWAY WITH.
SO THAT CAN BE A COMPETITIVE PROCESS TO I THINK WE HAVE TO STOP HANDING STUFF FOR EASE.
YOU KNOW, JUST BECAUSE IT'S EASY AND IT'S QUICK TO DO IT.
I THINK WE HAVE TO BE BETTER STEWARDS OF OUR DOLLARS THAN THIS.
I JUST WANTED TO ADD THAT WE JUST RECOMPETED RENTALS, AND WE'VE ACTUALLY PROCURED FIVE OTHER COMPANIES FOR SOME, AT RISK RENTALS IS A COMPANY THAT HAD THE MOST EXPERTISE RIGHT NOW FROM THE COMPANIES WE'VE TALKED TO. AND SO THAT'S KIND OF WHAT WE HOW WE LANDED WITH THEM.
BUT JUST PLEASE KEEP IN MIND THAT ANY DELAYS IN THIS PROJECT MEAN THAT WE MAY NOT BE ABLE TO COMPLETE THESE PROJECTS BY NEXT SEASON. AND THAT'S ONE OF THE THINGS THAT ALL THREE SCHOOLS WERE VERY ADAMANT ABOUT WAS TRYING TO COMPLETE THE PROJECT. SO WE HAVE A COLLAPSED TIMELINE BECAUSE YOU DON'T KNOW WHEN THE FOOTBALL SEASON WAS GOING TO END.
IF THEY WENT LATER IN THE SEASON, WE WOULDN'T BE ABLE TO CONTINUE ON.
SO NOT THAT WE WANTED THEM TO HAVE BAD SEASONS, BUT THE FACT THAT WE CAN GET STARTED EARLY ACTUALLY INCREASES THE CHANCES OF THOSE
[00:55:02]
PROJECTS BEING DONE ON TIME, SO THE KIDS WON'T LOSE ANY PLAYING TIME.AND RENTALS HAD THE MOST EXPERTISE ON FOOTBALL TURF.
THEY THEY COMPLETED OUR NORTH AUGUSTA PROJECT FOR US.
SO THEY JUST HAD PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE WITH US, WITH US, AND WE KNOW THEY'VE DONE IT BEFORE. YES, MA'AM. SO, MISS TYLER, TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTION, YOU CERTAINLY CAN MOVE TO AMEND THE MOTION TO ELIMINATE NUMBER NINE IF YOU WOULD LIKE.
WHILE WE'RE COGITATING ON THAT.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS, OR MR. LINDELL? IF WE DID AMEND IT, CAN WE REVISIT AT THE NEXT BOARD MEETING AND STILL HAVE THE PROPER TIME AND JUST MAYBE GET MORE INFO? ABSOLUTELY. I MEAN, WHAT I'M SAYING IS THAT THE TIMELINE IS CONTINGENT UPON THE SOIL SITUATION. SO THE LONGER WE WAIT, THE LESS LIKELY.
I'M NOT SAYING IT'S POSSIBLE THAT IT'S NOT IMPOSSIBLE, BUT WHAT I ASSURED THIS PREVIOUS BOARD AND THE PUBLIC IS THAT WE WOULD START EXACTLY WHEN WE COULD. AND SO THAT'S WHAT THIS THAT'S WHAT THIS DATE REPRESENTS FOR US.
AND THAT'S ALL IT IS. SO I'M NOT THERE IS NO ABSOLUTE RUSH ON THIS BOARD.
YOU DO NOT MAKE THAT PROMISE I DID.
SO IF YOU WANT TO IF YOU WANT TO PONDER IT, THAT'S THAT'S TOTALLY UP TO THE BOARD BECAUSE I'VE ALSO HEARD ISSUES WITH PREMIER TURF FOR STANDARD TURF, I'VE SEEN VIDEOS WHERE PREMIER TURF SOME COACHES IN COLLEGE DON'T CARE FOR IT.
DO WE NEED TO SPEND THE EXTRA MONEY ON PREMIER VERSUS STANDARD? I JUST LIKE MORE ANSWERS.
DID YOU HAVE SOMETHING ELSE, MISS TYLER? NO I DON'T OH, I'M SORRY, I THOUGHT YOU DID, MR. MOULTON. AND THEN MR. SILAS.
REGARDLESS OF WHETHER WE VOTE ON THIS TONIGHT OR NOT, DO WHEN REYNOLDS COMES BACK WITH THE ACTUAL BID, DO WE VOTE ON THAT? OR AS LONG AS THEY'RE BENEATH THE 5.1 MILLION, YOU CAN MOVE FORWARD. IS THAT RIGHT IN THIS CASE? YES, SIR. SO BOTTOM LINE, THEY'VE MET WITH OUR PRINCIPALS.
THEY'RE GOING TO MEET AGAIN WITH OUR PRINCIPALS, AND THEY'RE MAKING SELECTION BASED ON PRINCIPALS AND ATHLETIC DIRECTORS AND COACHES AS WELL WHO CAME OUT.
THEY SAID THIS IS WHAT WE PREFER.
AND SO THAT'S THE PRODUCT WE'RE GOING WITH. THERE ARE A LOT OF DIFFERENT DIRECTIONS. I DON'T THINK TO MR. LINDELL'S POINT, THERE IS NO AGREEMENT IN THE INDUSTRY RIGHT NOW. SO YOU'LL HAVE YOU HAVE NATURAL TURF PURISTS WHO SAY THE ONLY PLACE TO PLAY FOOTBALL IS ON A NATURAL TURF FIELD.
BUT IN THE HIGH SCHOOL SETTING, WE HAVE A LOT OF SPORTS THAT PLAY ON THAT FIELD. AND WHAT ENDS UP HAPPENING INVARIABLY IS IN BY OCTOBER, MOST OF THE FIELDS LOOK LIKE MUD BOWLS BECAUSE THEY'VE THEY'VE HAD A SOCCER SEASON.
THEY'VE HAD BAND OUT THERE MARCHING AND PRACTICING.
THEY'VE GOT POP WARNER OUT THERE PLAYING, AND THEN THEY HAVE REGULAR FOOTBALL.
AND SO THAT'S WHY MORE AND MORE DISTRICTS ARE MOVING TOWARDS TURF.
IF IT COMES TO CONSENSUS, I WOULD SAY NO.
THERE'S NO LIKE, OH MY GOD, I MUST HAVE THIS PERSON, THIS THIS VERSION OVER THAT VERSION BECAUSE EACH ONE COMES WITH THEIR GIVE AND TAKE.
THAT'S WHY WE PUT IT TO THE SCHOOLS AND THEY MADE A DECISION ON WHAT THEY PREFERRED.
AND THAT'S WHAT REYNOLDS WILL BE MEETING WITH THEM TO DISCUSS AND MOVING FORWARD.
SHOULD WE MOVE FORWARD? IF WE COULD, I WOULD LIKE TO SEE IF WE COULD MAKE A MOTION, MAYBE TO TABLE NUMBER NINE AND VOTE ON EVERYTHING ELSE.
WITH THAT, MISS TYLER SUGGESTED.
SO WHAT I HEARD MR. LINDELL SAY IS HE.
HE MOVES TO AMEND THE MOTION ON THE FLOOR TO REMOVE ITEM NUMBER NINE FROM THE LIST OF CONSENT ITEMS AND ONLY VOTE ON ITEMS ONE THROUGH EIGHT AND NUMBER TEN.
IS THERE A SECOND ON HIS AMENDMENT TO THE MAIN MOTION? SECOND. I HEARD TWO PEOPLE AT THE SAME TIME.
I HEARD MISS TYLER. SO WHAT WE HAVE NOW, RIGHT NOW, WE ARE CURRENTLY HAVE A MOTION AND A SECOND TO AMEND.
AMEND THE MAIN MOTION SUCH THAT WE REMOVE ITEM NUMBER NINE AND ONLY VOTE ON ONE THROUGH EIGHT AND TEN. IS THERE ANY DISCUSSION? MR.. SILAS? YES, SIR. YOU KNOW, DOCTOR MURPHY, I'M CERTAINLY NOT INTERESTED IN DELAYING THIS AT ALL.
AS I SAID BEFORE, WE'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT IT FOR TWO YEARS. I AM A LITTLE BIT CONFUSED AS TO WHY WE'RE WHY WE NEED TO DEAL WITH THIS IN JANUARY INSTEAD OF NOW, WHERE EVERY WEEK SEEMS TO MATTER.
SO MAYBE IN A MINUTE YOU CAN ADDRESS THAT ALONG WITH A QUESTION I HAVE IS CAN COULD WE AUTHORIZE SOME OF THE PRELIMINARY WORK TO BE DONE WITHOUT THE FULL CONTRACT, SUCH AS YOU MENTIONED, SOIL SAMPLES, IF THAT'S THE FIRST STEP IN THIS PROCESS, CAN THAT BE AUTHORIZED WHILE WE FERRET OUT THESE OTHER QUESTIONS IN THIS CASE? NO, BECAUSE THAT WILL BE DONE BY THE ACTUAL CONTRACTOR THAT'S DOING THE INSTALLATION. SO WE WOULDN'T HAVE LIKE A AIKEN COUNTY SOIL SAMPLE, BECAUSE WHATEVER VENDOR COMES IN, THEY'RE GOING TO SAY, HEY, WE'RE GOING TO DO OUR SOIL SAMPLES, SO THEY'RE STILL GOING TO WANT TO DO THEIR OWN.
SO WE WOULDN'T BE ABLE TO START ANY WORK.
[01:00:01]
IT WOULD JUST WE WOULD STAND BY FOR THE DECISION OF THIS BOARD.BUT LIKE YOU MENTIONED EARLIER, THAT WAS A PREVIOUSLY MADE PROMISE TO GET IT DONE. WE DID ACTUALLY START ABOUT A YEAR AGO.
BUT AGAIN, WHEN YOU START LOOKING AT THIS PROCESS THAT THERE ARE SEVERAL DIFFERENT OPTIONS TO GO OUT. AND SO WE HAD TO DO SOME RESEARCH AND SOME HOMEWORK.
AND THEN AT THE END OF THE DAY, THE OVERSIGHT OF THE PROJECT IS REALLY WHAT WE WERE LOOKING AT TO WITH THE CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT AT RISK.
SO INSTEAD OF HAVING OUR ONE ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OF FACILITIES TRYING TO SUPERVISE THREE PROJECTS OF THIS LARGER SCALE, WE'D HAVE A COMPANY COME IN VERY SIMILAR TO HOW WE DID WITH THE AUDIO ENHANCEMENT PACKAGE.
THAT WAS $11 MILLION TOTAL CONTRACT GOING ON AT MULTIPLE SITES.
WE DID. WE DON'T HAVE THE BANDWIDTH CURRENTLY.
AND I'M DEFINITELY GOING TO TALK WITH YOU ALL ABOUT THAT IN THE BUDGET WORKSHOP.
BUT WE DO NOT HAVE THE CAPABILITY RIGHT NOW TO SUPERVISE SIMULTANEOUS PROJECTS OF THAT SCOPE AND SCALE. AND I I KNOW TIME IS MONEY IN THE IN THE IN THE THREE CHOICES YOU GAVE EARLIER, AND I UNDERSTAND THERE'S A COST TO THAT.
BUT I DO THINK MR. BROOME'S POINT IS IT'S A BIGGER ISSUE, PROBABLY IN TERMS OF A VISION FOR THE BOARD.
AND BECAUSE WE DO HAVE A RESPONSIBILITY TO WATCH THE MONEY.
AND SO I UNDERSTAND THE COST OF TIME, BUT I THINK I'M IN SUPPORT OF MR. BROOME'S GENERAL COMMENT THAT THAT WE NEED TO HOPEFULLY START RETHINKING HOW WE APPROACH BIG PROJECTS AND WHAT CAN WE DO INTERNAL.
BUT I SUPPOSE THAT'S A TOPIC FOR ANOTHER DAY.
ANY OTHER DISCUSSION ON THE AMENDMENT TO THE MAIN MOTION? SO WOULD WE ACTUALLY GO BACK COME BACK TO THIS NUMBER NINE AT THE NEXT MEETING? IT CAN IT CAN GO ON ANY AGENDA THAT WE WANT IT TO GO ON.
OKAY. SO WE'RE JUST THE AMENDMENT WOULD SAY WE'RE NOT GOING TO VOTE ON IT TONIGHT.
ALL RIGHT, SO WE'VE GOT A MOTION AND A SECOND TO AMEND THE MAIN MOTION SUCH THAT WE REMOVE ITEM NUMBER NINE AND ONLY VOTE ON ONE, ONE THROUGH EIGHT AND TEN.
ALL THOSE IN FAVOR OF THE AMENDMENT TO THE MAIN MOTION, PLEASE RAISE YOUR HAND.
ALL THOSE OPPOSED, PLEASE RAISE YOUR HAND. THAT'S TWO.
OPPOSED? ANYONE ABSTAINING? THAT'S ONE. MOTION CARRIES SIX TO 2 TO 1.
SO THE MAIN MOTION HAS BEEN AMENDED.
SO WE HAVE WE STILL HAVE A MOTION AND A SECOND FOR WHAT IS NOW THE AMENDED MAIN MOTION. WE ARE VOTING ON APPROVING CONSENT ITEMS ONE THROUGH EIGHT.
AND NUMBER TEN. IS THERE ANY FINAL DISCUSSION ON ONE THROUGH EIGHT AND TEN BEFORE WE TAKE A VOTE? ALL THOSE IN FAVOR, PLEASE RAISE YOUR HAND.
THAT'S NINE IN FAVOR OF THE MOTION. CARRIES CONSENT ITEMS ONE THROUGH EIGHT AND TEN ARE APPROVED. ALL RIGHT. THAT BRINGS US TO INFORMATIONAL ITEMS. WHICH WE TURN IT OVER TO, THE FIRST OF WHICH IS A PRESENTATION, AN INITIAL, A FIRST PRESENTATION OF SCHOOL REPORT CARD DATA.
BY DOCTOR EDWARDS. AND WHAT I WILL SAY IS WE ARE, AS THE BOARD KNOWS, WE ARE PLANNING A WORKSHOP IN JANUARY WHERE WE'LL HAVE LONGER PERIODS OF TIME TO TO DIVE INTO PLANS BASED ON THESE RESULTS AND SO FORTH.
BUT, DOCTOR EDWARDS PROCEED WHEN YOU'RE READY.
CAN YOU HELP ME WITH THIS? I DID GIVE YOU A PAPER COPY FOR Y'ALL TO REVIEW AS I GO OVER THIS.
OKAY. YOU SAID TAKE IT OUT OF THIS.
LET ME TAKE IT OUT OF HERE AND I'LL START BACK.
YEAH. THAT'S GOOD. I WANT TO DO IT THIS WAY.
LOOK, I WANT THIS. I NEED THIS VIEW.
IS IT COMING? YAY! LOOK AT ME.
MEMBERS OF THE BOARD AND DOCTOR MURPHY.
I'M GOING TO TRY TO GET THROUGH THIS. I KNOW MY TEAMS BACK HERE LAUGHING BECAUSE I
[01:05:01]
ACTUALLY PRACTICED THIS A COUPLE OF TIMES IN HERE BECAUSE I WAS AFRAID OF WHAT TECHNOLOGY WOULD OR WOULD NOT DO FOR ME.SO I'M GOING TO GO THROUGH THIS.
YOU HAVE A COPY. PLEASE MAKE NOTES.
EVERY YEAR, THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION COMPILES REPORT CARD DATA FOR ALL SOUTH CAROLINA SCHOOL DISTRICTS.
AND I WANT TO BE VERY TRANSPARENT IN TELLING YOU, BEFORE I BEGIN THIS PRESENTATION, THAT AIKEN COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS IS NOWHERE CLOSE TO WHERE WE WANT TO BE AND WHERE WE SHOULD BE IN THE AREAS AND INDICATORS OF THIS REPORT CARD. THE INSTRUCTIONAL LEADERS AT THE DISTRICT AND SCHOOL LEVELS ARE WORKING COLLABORATIVELY TO ADDRESS AREAS OF CONCERNS, AND YOU'LL SEE THOSE AS WE GO THROUGH TONIGHT AS I SHARE THIS PRESENTATION WITH YOU ALL, PLEASE KEEP IN MIND THAT ALL PRINCIPALS WILL BE SHARING THEIR INDIVIDUAL SCHOOL DATA AND ACTION STEPS IN AN UPCOMING WORKSHOP AT THE TIME.
YOU'LL SEE. YOU'LL SEE WHAT THEIR PLANS ARE OF MOVING FORWARD AS EDUCATORS AT THE STATE AND LOCAL LEVELS. OUR GOAL IS TO GRADUATE STUDENTS WHO POSSESS THE COMPETENCIES OUTLINED IN THE PROFILE OF THE SOUTH CAROLINA GRADUATE REPORT.
CARD DATA IS ALIGNED TO THIS PROFILE, SO WE'RE ABLE TO USE WHAT THEY SEND US OR HOW WE PERFORM TO MAKE THE NEEDED INSTRUCTIONAL ADJUSTMENTS.
SO I'VE OUTLINED THIS FOR YOU.
AND IF YOU WILL JUST FOLLOW ALONG WITH ME IF YOU NEED TO WITH YOUR PAPER COPY THOUGH THE PROCESS IS COMPLEX. THE STATE HAS REPORT CARDS ORGANIZED BY INDICATORS AND HAS ASSIGNED A VALUE OR A WEIGHT TO EACH OF THOSE INDICATORS.
FOR EXAMPLE, ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT IS WORTH 40 POSSIBLE POINTS IF YOU'RE AN ELEMENTARY OR MIDDLE SCHOOL WITH LESS THAN 20 MULTILINGUAL LEARNERS OR WE CALL THEM MLS HERE AND 35 POSSIBLE POINTS WITH 20 OR MORE MULTILINGUAL LEARNERS.
IT LOOKS SIMPLE ENOUGH, BUT BEHIND EVERY VALUE HERE THERE IS A FORMULA USED TO CALCULATE OUR POINTS.
THE TOTAL NUMBER OF POINTS OF THE COMBINED INDICATORS GIVE US A NUMERICAL VALUE, WHICH IS TRANSLATED INTO ONE OF THE PROFICIENCY PROFICIENCY RATINGS.
AS YOU CAN SEE HERE, ELEMENTARY AND MIDDLE SCHOOLS INDICATORS LOOK THE SAME, BUT HIGH SCHOOL LOOKS DIFFERENT.
NOTE THAT THE MAXIMUM POINTS ARE DIFFERENT FOR SOME INDICATORS, DEPENDING ON WHETHER THE SCHOOLS HAVE ENOUGH STUDENTS TO HAVE A MULTILINGUAL LEARNER SUBGROUP. THIS YEAR THERE HAVE BEEN SEVERAL CHANGES TO HOW THE REPORT CARDS LOOK AND HOW THEY'RE ACTUALLY CALCULATED.
FIRST OF ALL, THE INDICATOR PREPARING FOR SUCCESS WAS NOT CALCULATED THIS YEAR BECAUSE IT WAS THE FIRST YEAR THAT FOURTH AND SIXTH GRADE SCIENCE STANDARDS WERE ASSESSED.
THE KIDS TOOK THE TEST, BUT THEY WE DIDN'T WE WEREN'T THEY DIDN'T SCORE US BASED ON THAT SCIENCE ASSESSMENT.
THE TEN POINTS WERE REDISTRIBUTED TO ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT AND STUDENT PROGRESS.
ALSO, THE ON TRACK TO SUCCESS INDICATOR WAS ADDED SO THAT HIGH SCHOOL POINTS CHANGED TO ALLOW 12 POSSIBLE POINTS IN THAT PARTICULAR CATEGORY.
THESE ARE THE FIVE POSSIBLE RATINGS. AND WE KNOW AND WE'RE FAMILIAR WITH THEM. EXCELLENT.
GOOD. AVERAGE BELOW AVERAGE AND UNSATISFACTORY.
THESE BAR GRAPHS SHOW WHO WE ARE THIS YEAR COMPARED TO LAST YEAR.
WE SAW A SHIFT IN THE NUMBER OF SCHOOLS PERFORMING AT EXCELLENT MOVED TO GOOD AND FROM GOOD TO AVERAGE. A COUPLE OF INTERESTING FINDINGS THOUGH.
OF THE SIX EXCELLENT SCHOOLS FROM LAST YEAR, ONLY ONE OF THOSE REMAINED EXCELLENT THIS YEAR AND A NEW ONE ACTUALLY MOVED UP FROM GOOD TO EXCELLENT.
OF THE NINE GOOD SCHOOLS THIS YEAR, FIVE MOVED DOWN FROM EXCELLENT AND THREE MOVED UP FROM AVERAGE.
THE MOST UNFORTUNATE THING TO REPORT TO YOU ALL, AND WE WERE REALLY UPSET ABOUT THIS, IS THAT WE REALLY GREW BY THREE SCHOOLS, THREE SCHOOLS SCORING BELOW AVERAGE AND ONE SCORING UNSATISFACTORY.
SO JUST OUT OF CURIOSITY, I PULLED THE STATE DATA AND FOUND SIMILAR MOVEMENT. WE CAN WE CAN LOOK AT US.
I MEAN, WE ONLY HAVE 41 SCHOOLS POSTED HERE.
BUT WHEN WE LOOK AT THE MOVEMENT OF THE STATE, WE SAW A DECREASE IN EXCELLENT GOOD KIND OF STAYED THE SAME.
THE ONLY AREA WE DIFFERED AND I WISH I COULD TAKE AWAY, WAS THE FACT THAT WE DID GROW BY ONE UNSATISFACTORY SCHOOL IN OUR DISTRICT.
NOW, WE'RE VERY PROUD OF CHUKKA CREEK AND AIKEN SCHOLARS ACADEMY.
THEY ARE OUR TWO EXCELLENT SCHOOLS.
THEIR ABSOLUTE RATINGS WERE EXCELLENT.
THREE AIKEN COUNTY SCHOOLS RECEIVED EXCELLENT ACADEMIC RATINGS.
BELVIDERE, HAMMOND HILL, AND AIKEN SCHOLARS ACADEMY.
THEY IMPROVED ONE LEVEL IN THEIR ABSOLUTE RATINGS, AND YOU CAN SEE WHERE THEY WERE IN 23.
THESE TWO SCHOOLS WHO WERE UNDERPERFORMING LAST YEAR,
[01:10:03]
WILL CONTINUE TO RECEIVE ADDITIONAL SUPPORT THROUGHOUT THIS YEAR SO THAT THEY CAN MAINTAIN OR SUSTAIN THAT PARTICULAR RATING.THE INCREASE IN OUR CLIMATE PROFICIENCY WAS A BIG DEAL FOR OUR DISTRICT.
WE HAD 11 SCHOOLS WHO RECEIVED AN EXCELLENT CLIMATE PROFICIENCY, AND THAT'S PRETTY IMPRESSIVE.
33 OF OUR 41 SCHOOLS IMPROVED THEIR CLIMATES, SO THAT'S ABOUT 80% OF OUR SCHOOLS HAD AN INCREASE.
SO I DO LIKE TO SHARE GOOD, GREAT THINGS THAT HAPPENED AT THE ELEMENTARY LEVEL. WE HAVE ONE EXCELLENT SCHOOL.
SEVEN GOOD SCHOOLS. 11 AVERAGE SCHOOLS.
ONE BELOW AVERAGE AND ONE UNSATISFACTORY SCHOOL.
THIS IS A VERY IMPORTANT SLIDE FOR ME.
JUST TO SHARE A COUPLE OF THINGS AS WE REVIEW THESE SCHOOLS BY LEVELS, PLEASE NOTICE THE SCHOOLS I'VE HIGHLIGHTED IN BLUE.
THESE ARE THE SCHOOLS WHO'VE BEEN IDENTIFIED BY THE STATE DEPARTMENT AS UNDERPERFORMING.
THESE IDENTIFIED SCHOOLS MUST DEVELOP, SUBMIT TO THE STATE AND EXECUTE AN ACTION PLAN THAT WILL HOPEFULLY GET THEM OUT OF THAT PARTICULAR RATING AND MOVE INTO AT LEAST AVERAGE OR BETTER. AT THE ELEMENTARY LEVEL, WE HAVE TWO UNDERPERFORMING SCHOOLS.
BUSBY IS BELOW AVERAGE IN RIDGE SPRING-MONETTA IS UNSATISFACTORY.
MIDDLE SCHOOLS HAD TWO SCHOOLS WITH GOOD RATINGS, SIX AVERAGE AND FOUR BELOW AVERAGE.
THE UNDERPERFORMING MIDDLE SCHOOLS ARE AIKEN INTERMEDIATE, LANGLEY, BATH, CLEARWATER, LEAVELLE, MCCAMPBELL AND SCHOFIELD.
OF THE EIGHT HIGH SCHOOLS, WE HAD ONE.
EXCELLENT. WE HAD FIVE AVERAGE AND TWO BELOW AVERAGE.
THE UNDERPERFORMING HIGH SCHOOLS OR MIDLAND VALLEY AND SILVER BLUFF.
SO AS A TOTAL, OUR DISTRICT HAD EIGHT UNDERPERFORMING SCHOOLS THAT WE THAT WE MUST COMPLETE AN ACTION PLAN PRETTY QUICKLY FOR.
SEVEN OF THOSE WERE BELOW AVERAGE AND ONE UNSATISFACTORY.
SO HERE WE HAVE THE ELEMENTARY ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT FOR ELA.
AS WE GO OVER THESE COMPARISONS, PLEASE NOTE THAT THESE GRAPHS SHOW THE PERCENTAGE OF STUDENTS MEETING AND EXCEEDING EXPECTATIONS.
ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT IS BASED ON SOUTH CAROLINA READY'S, ELA AND MATH RESULTS. AND HERE, COMPARING OURSELVES TO THE STATE, WE WERE BETWEEN 1.8 AND 5.5 PERCENTAGE POINTS BELOW THE STATE IN GRADES THREE THROUGH FIVE.
IN MATH, THE STATE OUTPERFORMED US BY 7.8 PERCENTAGE POINTS IN GRADES THREE AND FOUR AND TEN PERCENTAGE POINTS IN GRADE FIVE.
THIS IS A BIG CONCERN FOR US IN AIKEN COUNTY.
FOR ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT IN GRADES SIX THROUGH EIGHT, WE WERE OUTPERFORMED BY THE STATE 6.4 AND 5.6 PERCENTAGE POINTS IN GRADES SIX AND SEVEN.
AND WE DID SLIGHTLY WE DID SLIGHTLY OUTPERFORM THE STATE IN GRADE EIGHT.
YES. ONE GRADE. AS FAR AS MIDDLE AND EXCUSE ME, AS FAR AS MIDDLE LEVEL MATH, WE WERE OUTPERFORMED BY MUCH LARGER MARGINS THAN ELA 15.9 PERCENTAGE POINTS IN GRADE SIX, 8.8 PERCENTAGE POINTS IN GRADE SEVEN, AND 5.4 PERCENTAGE POINTS IN GRADE EIGHT.
AND BASED ON WHAT YOU SAW IN ELEMENTARY AND HERE IN MIDDLE MATH IS AN AREA OF EXTREME CONCERN FOR US WHEN THE PRINCIPALS PRESENT THEIR DATA.
YOU WILL EXPERIENCE JUST HOW PASSIONATE THEY ARE ABOUT ADDRESSING THIS CRITICAL AREA OF ACHIEVEMENT. FOR ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT AT THE HIGH SCHOOL LEVEL, YOU CAN SEE THE ALGEBRA ONE COMPARISON CHART AT THE TOP.
I'VE INCLUDED EXACT NUMBERS OF STUDENTS PARENTHETICALLY HERE, SO YOU CAN SEE EXACTLY HOW MANY OF AIKEN COUNTY SCHOOL STUDENTS PERFORMED AND AT WHAT LEVEL. I WANT TO POINT OUT, THOUGH, BECAUSE THIS IS A LITTLE DIFFERENT FROM THE PREVIOUS ELEMENTARY AND MIDDLE SLIDES.
THE BAR GRAPHS ACROSS THE BOTTOM REPRESENT AIKEN ALL OF AIKEN.
WE'RE NOT COMPARING OURSELVES DOWN AT THE BOTTOM WITH THE STATE.
THE LIGHT GREEN BAR GRAPH SHOWS STUDENTS THAT SCORED C OR HIGHER IN THE DARK GREEN BAR SHOWS STUDENTS WHO PASS THE PERCENTAGE WHO PASSED.
SO WE'RE ACTUALLY LOOKING AT SOME TREND HERE MOVING UP.
OF COURSE, IT'S WAY OFF FROM WHERE WE WANT TO BE AND WHERE WE SHOULD BE.
HERE'S THE STATE HERE. 50.7, WHERE AIKEN IS 43.1.
WE KNOW WE HAVE TO MAKE ADJUSTMENTS IN ENGLISH TWO FOR THE EOC.
ANOTHER AREA FOR ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT FOR HIGH SCHOOL.
WE'RE STILL SLIGHTLY BELOW THE STATE.
WE WERE PRETTY CONSISTENT WITH ALL WE HAD.
A LITTLE A LITTLE HAPPINESS HERE.
[01:15:01]
AND THEN WE WENT BACK TO WHERE WE STARTED IN 2022.AGAIN, YOU CAN SEE OUR TOTALS HERE.
THE NEXT INDICATOR IS PREPARING FOR SUCCESS BIOLOGY AND US HISTORY AND OF COURSE TEST OF HOW WE MEASURE THAT INDICATOR.
BIOLOGY EOC SCORES MOVED A LITTLE IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION FOR C OR HIGHER, AND ALSO FOR TOTAL PASSING IN 2023.
AND THE FINAL PREPARING FOR SUCCESS IS US HISTORY.
WE'RE CLOSEST TO THE STATE'S PERFORMANCE HERE.
WE'RE AT 40% COMPARED TO THEIR 43.8%.
AND HISTORICALLY, THIS HAS BEEN THE MOST DIFFICULT OF THE END, OF COURSE, TEST, I MEAN, FOR YEARS.
SO WE'RE PROUD OF THIS GROWTH AND THE WORK THAT'S BEEN DONE BY TEACHERS AND CONTENT SPECIALISTS AND THESE PEOPLE ON FIRE.
EXCUSE ME. OUR INCREASE IN SCHOOL CLIMATE TOOK US JUST ABOVE THE STATE FOR OUR OVERALL.
HERE WE HAVE COLLEGE AND CAREER READY SEPARATED INTO THE FOUR AREAS MEASURED ON THE REPORT CARD. COLLEGE. THEY'RE ACTUALLY FOUR.
YOU'RE EITHER COLLEGE READY, COLLEGE CAREER READY, COLLEGE OR CAREER AND COLLEGE AND CAREER.
AND BASED ON THE RECENT CONVERSATIONS AROUND THIS PARTICULAR INDICATOR, I FEEL STRONGLY THAT AIKEN COUNTY IS GOING TO PASS THIS. I THINK YOU'RE GOING TO HEAR THE PLANS OF ACTION. WHENEVER THESE HIGH SCHOOL PRINCIPALS CAN MEET WITH YOU AND SHOW THEM WHO THEY ARE INDIVIDUALLY.
AS FAR AS OUR GRADUATION RATE DATA, YOU CAN SEE THROUGH THIS ILLUSTRATION THAT AIKEN DROPPED 4.2 PERCENTAGE POINTS AND DROPPED ABOUT ONE PERCENTAGE POINT BELOW THE STATE. THIS INDICATOR HAS REALLY NEGATIVELY IMPACTED SEVERAL OF OUR HIGH SCHOOLS ABSOLUTE RATINGS. AND WE WERE WE WERE VERY DISAPPOINTED WHEN WE SAW THAT BECAUSE IT REALLY, AS YOU CAN SEE HERE IS AIKEN HERE 90.5.
AND WE DROPPED 2022. HERE'S OUR STATE AGAIN TO 88.7.
AND THIS THIS YEAR WE ARE JUST BELOW THE STATE AT 84.5.
CURRENTLY WE SERVE 1333 MULTILINGUAL LEARNERS IN AIKEN COUNTY.
I CHECKED TODAY JUST OUT OF CURIOSITY.
I CHECKED AND I FOUND THAT 637 OF OUR MALE STUDENTS ARE BETWEEN THE PROFICIENCY LEVEL OF ONE AND 2.5. AND WHAT THIS MEANS IS THERE ARE 637 STUDENTS ACROSS OUR DISTRICT THAT ARE IN THE BEGINNING OR ENTERING PHASE OF PROFICIENCY.
ALSO, AT THIS VERY MOMENT IN TIME, AIKEN COUNTY IS SUPPORTING OVER 48 DIFFERENT LANGUAGES. IF YOU COUNT THE FOUR DIFFERENT CHINESE LANGUAGES, THAT'S REALLY 51 LANGUAGES WE'RE SUPPORTING.
SO WITH THIS BEING SAID, WE'RE VERY PROUD THAT OUR MULTILINGUAL LEARNERS DID MEET GROWTH GOALS AT THE SAME LEVEL OF THE STATE.
TECHNICALLY, I'M GOING TO JUST SAY THAT WE WERE 2/10 OF A POINT HIGHER THAN THE STATE.
I'M VERY PROUD OF THAT JUST BECAUSE THEY WORK SO HARD.
WELL, SORRY. WE OUTPERFORMED THE STATE BY 6.5 PERCENTAGE POINTS IN THE NUMBER OF LEARNERS WHO MET ENGLISH PROFICIENCY.
AND I JUST WANT TO MENTION TO YOU ALL THAT IS 4.4 IN OUR STATE, IF YOU SCORE 4.4 THAT YOU'RE CONSIDERED ENGLISH PROFICIENT.
SO I KNOW THAT OFTENTIMES THAT CHANGES.
AND THE CALCULATION FOR THAT DID INDEED CHANGE THIS YEAR.
SO WHAT HAVE WE DONE SINCE THE NEW YEAR STARTED IN JULY, AND WHAT CHANGES ARE HAPPENING RIGHT NOW? AND I'VE LISTED THESE ARE SMALL WORDS AND A LOT OF WORDS, BUT WE'VE INITIATED STUDENT LEVEL GOAL SETTING TO MEET INDIVIDUAL NEEDS.
OUR TEACHERS AND INSTRUCTIONAL COACHES ARE HAVING INTENTIONAL DATA MEETINGS WITH STUDENTS, AND THEY'RE REALLY TRYING TO MATCH THE INTERVENTIONS TO ADDRESS CERTAIN DEFICIENCIES. WE KNOW THAT THIS IS GOING TO PAY OFF WHENEVER STUDENTS UNDERSTAND WHAT'S EXPECTED OF THEM, AND AT THE SAME TIME, THEY UNDERSTAND THEIR DEFICIENCIES.
WE HAVE IMPLEMENTED INSTRUCTIONAL COACHES TO PROMOTE STUDENT CENTERED COACHING AT ALL LEVELS, AND THIS ENSURES THE DIFFERENTIATION THAT NEEDS WHENEVER WE'RE DEALING WITH STUDENTS WHO ARE INDEED ON DIFFERENT LEVELS.
WE'VE JUST INTRODUCED AND TRAINED HIGH SCHOOL LEADERSHIP TEAMS ON THE WIN CAREER READINESS SOFTWARE. I WAS INVOLVED IN THAT TRAINING A COUPLE OF WEEKS AGO.
THIS IS GOING TO BE AVAILABLE FOR FRESHMEN AND SOPHOMORES TO INCREASE SUCCESS ON THE 11TH GRADE CAREER READINESS ASSESSMENT.
THIS WILL CERTAINLY IMPACT THE COLLEGE AND CAREER INDICATOR THAT WE SAW EARLIER.
WE'VE INCREASED THE FREQUENCY AND THE DEGREE OF MONITORING OF THE GRADUATION COHORTS.
THIS IS JUST TO ENSURE THAT TRANSFERS ARE PROPERLY DOCUMENTED AND THAT STUDENTS ARE MEETING ON TRACK INDICATORS.
[01:20:01]
AND ALL OF THIS DATA FEEDS TO THESE INDICATORS FOR HIGH SCHOOL ABSOLUTE RATINGS.WE REQUIRE THAT ELLIOTT OBSERVATION TOOL TO ENSURE PRODUCTIVE LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS IN PLACE. WE ACTUALLY STARTED THAT IN JULY AS WELL.
AND THAT IS THE EFFECTIVE LEARNING ENVIRONMENT OBSERVATION TOOL.
THIS ALLOWS FOR CONSTRUCTIVE FEEDBACK TO BE PROVIDED SO THAT INSTRUCTIONAL COACHING CAN HAPPEN, AND WE CAN IMPROVE THE INSTRUCTIONAL DELIVERY IN THE CLASSROOMS WE REQUIRE AND CLOSELY MONITOR SCHOOL INTERVENTION TEAM MEETINGS TO ENSURE MULTI-TIERED THE MULTI-TIERED SYSTEM OF SUPPORT IS IN PLACE.
THIS IS ALL GETTING IRONED OUT RIGHT NOW.
WE HAD A MEETING ABOUT THIS TODAY AND IT'S GETTING READY TO GO FULL FORCE AND WE'LL HAVE FULL IMPLEMENTATION, FULL IMPLEMENTATION OF THIS ONLINE STARTING IN FEBRUARY.
RIGHT NOW, WE'RE TRAINING OUR FOLKS SO THAT WE UNDERSTAND THAT WE'RE GIVING OUR STUDENTS EVERYTHING THAT THEY NEED TO BE SUCCESSFUL.
LASTLY, WE'RE PROVIDING ENHANCED PERSONALIZED PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT AT EVERY LEVEL.
THE BOTTOM LINE IS THAT WE ARE USING DATA TO INFORM US TEACHERS AND COACHES ON HOW TO SUPPORT, BASED ON WHAT THEY NEED TO HELP SUPPORT STUDENTS SO THAT THEY CAN BE AS SUCCESSFUL AS POSSIBLE.
SO HERE'S YOUR SAVE THE DATE JANUARY 23RD THROUGH 25TH.
WE ARE PLANNING A BOARD WORKSHOP TO GO OVER THIS DATA BY SCHOOL.
THE PRINCIPLES WILL BE THERE SHARING THEIR PLANS MOVING FORWARD.
SO, DOCTOR EDWARDS OF COURSE, FOR ANY FOLKS THAT ANY OF OUR SCHOOLS THAT GOT EXCELLENT RATINGS OR IMPROVED TO GOOD OR ETC., CONGRATULATIONS TO THEM.
AND ONE MAN'S OPINION, I THINK THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL REPORT CARD CRITERIA IS PROBABLY THERE'S NO EASY POINTS THERE IN MY OPINION.
SO THE RESULTS THAT WE SAW IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS WERE PRETTY GOOD WITH AREAS THAT WE NEED TO WORK ON. I JUST HAD ONE LITTLE NIT QUESTION THAT I WANT TO REMIND MYSELF IS FOR THINGS LIKE EOC EXAMS FOR THE HIGH SCHOOL SUBJECTS.
DO THOSE COUNT IN STUDENTS GRADES? COURSE GRADES? YES, SIR. 20% OF THEIR GRADE.
OKAY. 20%. ALL RIGHT. SOMETIMES OVER THE LAST.
OVER MY LIFETIME. THAT'S CHANGED.
YES. AND I JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE I WAS CLEAR.
THANK YOU. AS HAS THE THE WAY THAT THEY FIGURE OUR REPORT CARDS.
YOU KNOW, THIS YEAR WE HAD A CHANGE, TO BE HONEST WITH YOU.
WE WERE ALL KIND OF JUST ON PINS AND NEEDLES WAITING TO SEE WHAT THIS NEW REPORT CARD LOOKED LIKE, BECAUSE IT'S THE FIRST TIME WE COMPARED OURSELVES WITH 2 OR 3 YEARS BACK.
BUT IN REALITY, THIS IS BASELINE DATA WITH THE NEW INSTRUMENT.
SO I JUST DIDN'T WANT TO JUST FLASH THAT ONE TIME DATA UP.
BUT IN ALL FAIRNESS TO OUR SCHOOLS, YOU KNOW, THIS IS BASELINE DATA.
IT'S THEY'RE THEY'RE CALCULATING IT DIFFERENTLY ALL THE WAY UP THROUGH GRADE 12 ADDING INDICATORS HERE AND THERE.
WE'VE GOT SOME PRINCIPALS ON FIRE RIGHT NOW.
THEY DON'T LIKE IT. THEY DON'T WANT TO BE LESS THAN GOOD OR EXCELLENT.
SO THAT'S SOMETIMES IT'LL BE OKAY.
I THINK WE'RE GOING TO BE ABLE TO GET THROUGH IT. WE'RE WORKING COLLABORATIVELY WITH THEM, GIVING THEM THE SUPPORT THEY NEED. AND I AND I THANK YOU ALL FOR SUPPORTING US IN THAT EFFORT. MR. LINDELL. I WAS DEBATING IF I WAS GOING TO ASK, BUT DOES THE AIKEN SCHOLARS ACADEMY AND THOSE STUDENTS THAT GO THERE, HOW DOES THAT AFFECT THE HIGH SCHOOLS THAT THOSE KIDS WOULD BE POSSIBLY GOING TO? IS THAT HURTING OUR HIGH SCHOOLS, OR DO YOU MEAN AS FAR AS THEIR DATA THAT THEIR PERFORMANCE DATA? NO, SIR. WHAT WE DO AT AIKEN SCHOLARS ACADEMY IS, OF COURSE, YOU KNOW, THEY GO THROUGH THE PROCESS AND IT IS FOR SCHOLARS.
IT'S IT'S THE MOST, NOT MOST, BUT A LOT OF OUR BRIGHT STUDENTS HAVE THAT OPPORTUNITY. BUT IT DOES NOT AFFECT HOW THESE OTHER SCHOOLS PERFORM.
AND AS YOU KNOW THESE CALCULATIONS ARE BASED ON NUMERATOR.
DENOMINATOR TYPE EQUATIONS, EVEN THOUGH THEY'RE VERY, VERY COMPLEX EQUATIONS, 1 OR 2 SPREAD ACROSS THE DISTRICT DOES NOT IMPACT LARGE DENOMINATORS.
BUT, YOU KNOW, NOT LIKE YOU'RE THINKING, I JUST I'D LIKE TO REPEAT BACK TO YOU, THERE'S 200 STUDENTS AT AIKEN SCHOLARS ACADEMY, NOMINALLY, NOMINALLY SPEAKING, 23,000 STUDENTS ACROSS THE DISTRICT.
THERE'S PROBABLY IN HIGH SCHOOL.
THAT'S PROBABLY, WHAT, 5000 HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS, PROBABLY 7500, 8000, 8000.
SO YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT 200 HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS OUT OF SEVEN, 8000. AND BECAUSE OF THE 200 THERE, THERE ARE FOUR COHORTS OF 50.
SO THIS, YOU KNOW, IS BASED ON COHORT COHORT DATA.
[01:25:02]
SO COHORT DATA HAVING TROUBLE SPEAKING TONIGHT.BUT ANYWAY, YOU KNOW, YOU GOT THE POINT THERE.
BRADLEY. GO AHEAD. BEFORE WE HAVE THIS WORKSHOP ON, I HOPE THAT I CAN LEARN WHAT EACH ONE OF THESE CRITERIA ON PAGE FOUR OF THESE THINGS REALLY MEANS. I KNOW EVERY TIME WE HAVE A DISCUSSION ABOUT THE REPORT CARD BUSINESS, I FEEL LIKE I'M WADING THROUGH MUDDY WATER.
YOU KNOW, I JUST DON'T KNOW WHAT PREPARING FOR SUCCESS MEANS.
SO, DOCTOR BRADLEY, I WILL SHARE WITH YOU THE ACCOUNTABILITY MANUAL IS 176 PAGE DOCUMENT.
AND TO BE HONEST, JUST LAST WEEK, DOCTOR MURPHY ASKED ME TO PREPARE SOMETHING ELSE AND I CALLED THE DEPARTMENT.
AND UNDERSTANDING THAT DOCUMENT IS IS A CHALLENGE.
SOMETIMES WE DO OUR BEST AND THE DOCUMENT CONTINUOUSLY CHANGES.
SO I WILL DO MY BEST TO HELP YOU.
I KNOW THAT THE PLAN IS TO BRING MISS KATE OLIN TO ASSIST WITH THE NEW ACCOUNTABILITY ABILITY MODEL. SHE'S GOING TO GO OVER AND EXPLAIN IT IN A LITTLE MORE DETAIL.
SO SOMEBODY THERE OR WILL BE ABLE TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTIONS AND PLEASE TAKE QUESTIONS FROM TONIGHT. OR IF YOU FORMULATE OTHER QUESTIONS, PLEASE SEND THEM TO ME AND SO THAT I CAN PREPARE FOR THAT AND BRING THEM WITH YOU.
I'M HAPPY TO HELP EXPLAIN EVERYTHING, BUT I THINK YOU'RE ALL GOING TO BE VERY PLEASED WITH THE VERY CLEAR PICTURE THAT YOU GET FROM EACH ONE OF OUR PRINCIPALS IN THE DISTRICT. WELL, MY POINT IS THAT SOMEHOW WORDS LIKE PREPARING FOR SUCCESS HAS TO BE QUANTIFIED IF WE'RE GOING TO TURN IT INTO NUMBERS TO RATE COMPARE SCHOOLS.
SO I WANT TO KNOW HOW WHATEVER IT IS THAT THIS IS SUPPOSED TO BE GETS TURNED INTO A NUMBER. WHAT IS THE TOOL THAT YOU'RE USING? WHAT IS THE I MEAN, I UNDERSTAND ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT.
IT'S SUPPOSED TO BE A TEST WHERE KIDS WORK PROBLEMS OR DO THE YOU KNOW WELL, PREPARING FOR SUCCESS.
I DON'T NEED TO KNOW NOW, BUT I'M JUST SAYING I DO WANT TO SHARE THAT.
IT'S INTERESTING BECAUSE PREPARING FOR SUCCESS AT ELEMENTARY LEVEL IS REALLY SCIENCE TESTS FOR GRADES FOUR AND SIX.
AND AT THE HIGH SCHOOL LEVEL, IT'S REALLY, IN MY MIND, ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT AS WELL, JUST IN A DIFFERENT CONTENT.
BUT AT HIGH SCHOOL IT IS BIOLOGY AND US HISTORY.
THEY MEASURE OUR PERFORMANCE AND THEY CALL IT PREPARING FOR SUCCESS.
SO THAT'S IT'S JUST THE TITLE THERE.
IN FACT, I HAD TO COMPUTE I MEAN, IT NEEDS TO BE A RATIONALE FOR CALLING IT PREPARING FOR SUCCESS.
BUT ANYWAY, I'D LIKE TO SEE THAT 76 PAGE DOCUMENT.
OR UNLESS SOMEBODY'S GOING TO DO A REAL GOOD JOB OF DISTILLING IT DOWN INTO ELEMENTARY LANGUAGE THAT I CAN UNDERSTAND.
SO I'M GOING TO EMAIL IT TO YOU.
MAYBE YOU CAN EXPLAIN IT TO US WHENEVER WE GET THERE.
I REALLY AM BOTHERED BY THIS WHOLE CONCEPT.
IT USED TO BE B, WE GAVE KIDS NATIONALLY STANDARDIZED TESTS AND WE COMPARED THEM WITH THE STATE. AND THEN WE KNEW REALLY HOW WE WERE DOING.
I MEAN, I COULD TELL YOU HOW WE WERE DOING VERSUS CALIFORNIA AND NEW YORK OR ANY PLACE IN THE UNITED STATES, ANY PLACE IN SOUTH CAROLINA.
WE DON'T HAVE ANYTHING LIKE THAT NOW.
IT HAPPENED BACK IN THE 80S, WHERE WE STARTED TRYING TO HIDE FROM THE REAL QUANTIFICATION OF ACHIEVEMENT IN SCHOOLS AND MADE UP A BUNCH OF STUFF.
EVEN OUR OWN TESTS, WE HAD TO MAKE UP OUR OWN TEST AND SOMEHOW PUT IT INTO SOME FORMAT WHERE WE COULD PRETEND TO BE EVALUATING SCHOOLS VERSUS OTHER SCHOOLS.
AND I MEAN, I JUST THINK IT'S I JUST DON'T GET IT.
I MEAN, IT'S SMOKE AND MIRRORS TO ME.
I REALLY WOULD LIKE TO SEE US GET SOME REAL ACADEMIC MEASURES.
I KNOW THESE OTHER THINGS ARE IMPORTANT.
CERTAINLY THE QUALITY OF YOUR CLIMATE IN A SCHOOL IS GOING TO AFFECT HOW STUDENTS WORK AND PRODUCE AND THAT SORT OF THING.
BUT WE ARE HERE FOR ONE MAJOR THING THAT HAS TO TEACH CHILDREN HOW TO READ, WRITE AND DO ARITHMETIC AND THOSE KINDS OF THINGS.
AND WE GET LOST IN ALL THE OTHER STUFF.
AND I'M NOT SAYING THAT OTHER STUFF IS NOT IMPORTANT.
I'M NOT ADVOCATING WE THROW IT OVER, BUT I THINK WE REALLY NEED TO KNOW HOW WE'RE DOING ACADEMICALLY. AND RIGHT NOW, I DON'T HAVE A FEEL OF HOW OUR KID IN AIKEN COMPARES TO A KID IN RALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA, OR A KID IN MARTINEZ, GEORGIA, OR FOR THAT MATTER, BECAUSE WE'RE ALL ABOUT COMPARING WITHIN THE STATE AND NOT LOOKING BEYOND TO TO THE BIGGER PICTURE. BUT BUT I'M PREACHING NOW.
I MY REQUEST IS I NEED SOME DOCUMENT OR COACHING OR WHATEVER TO HELP ME UNDERSTAND
[01:30:10]
THE COLLECTION OF DATA AND WHAT DATA IS BEING COLLECTED AND WHAT WE'RE CALLING THAT DATA.BEFORE I CAN SIT DOWN AND TALK TO PEOPLE ABOUT HOW YOU'RE GOING TO IMPROVE YOUR SCORE, OR EVEN MAKE SENSE OF HOW YOU'RE GOING TO TELL IT.
HAVING THEM TELL ME HOW YOU'RE GOING TO IMPROVE YOUR SCORE. I WILL PROVIDE THAT FOR EACH OF YOU. ACTUALLY, I DON'T NEED TO BE THE ONLY PERSON WHO GETS THIS DATA. IF ANYBODY ELSE WANTS TO, YOU KNOW, I WOULDN'T MIND HAVING A LITTLE CLASS.
AND ANYBODY THAT WANTS TO CAN COME AND SIT IN ON IT, AND YOU CAN TEACH US HOW TO DO THIS.
WE CAN CERTAINLY ARRANGE THAT TO DOCTOR MURPHY.
YOU HELP ME DO THAT. MISS RHINEHART-JACKSON A FEW OF THE BOARD MEMBERS ARE REALLY GOING TO GET A KICK OUT OF WHAT I'M GETTING READY TO SAY, BUT I ABSOLUTELY AGREE WITH DOCTOR BRADLEY.
I SAID IT. YOU CAN QUOTE ME ON THAT.
I NEED YOU TO EXPLAIN TO ME, LIKE DOCTOR BRADLEY SUGGESTED IN ELEMENTARY TERMS. IN LAYMAN TERMS AND THE MOM IN ME IS SITTING HERE BECAUSE I LISTENED TO YOUR PRESENTATION. I READ THE INFORMATION THAT YOU GAVE US, AND ALL I COULD THINK IS IN MY MIND AND MY HEART AND MY SPIRIT IS WE ARE FAILING OUR KIDS. I CAN'T REST WELL WITH THAT.
AND WE'VE GOT TO FIGURE IT OUT NOW.
NOT TOMORROW, NOT YESTERDAY, LIKE NOW.
I'M GOING TO NEED YOU TO BREAK IT DOWN IN LAYMAN'S TERMS FOR ME.
THANK YOU, DOCTOR EDWARDS, FOR THE PRESENTATION. I WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT, LIKE YOU TRIED TO DO, WE DON'T LOSE IN THE FRAY OF THE NEGATIVE REPORT OVERALL THAT WE DID HAVE THE SITS COUNTY SCHOOLS THAT IMPROVED.
AND I THINK THAT'S WORTH, YOU KNOW, MAKING A NOTE OF AS YOU AS YOU ALREADY HAVE THE OTHER THE QUESTION THAT I HAVE AND I'LL LIMIT IT TO JUST ONE I WON'T GO ON. THE QUESTION I HAD WAS PAGE NUMBER 25 ON THE GRADUATION RATE WHAT GOES INTO THAT GRADUATION RATE? AND THE REASON IT BOTHERS ME IS I SEE IT STEADILY DECLINING FOR US.
AND THEN A BIG JUMP DOWN WHERE THE STATE'S STAYING STEADY AND THEN MAKES A MINOR JUMP UP IN A FOUR YEAR PERIOD.
AND SO AS THAT DROPOUTS, IS THAT ALSO ACADEMICS? I MEAN WHAT'S INVOLVED IN IT DOES IT INCLUDES IN FACT MR. POSTELL SHARED WITH ME TODAY.
AND BERT, YOU'RE WELCOME TO STEP UP IF YOU'D LIKE, BUT WHENEVER THAT COHORT DATA THAT I WAS TALKING ABOUT AND THIS AGAIN WILL BE SOMETHING THAT Y'ALL WILL LEARN WAY MORE ABOUT THAN TONIGHT FROM MISS OLIN.
BUT IT DOES INCLUDE DROP OUTS.
IT INCLUDES KIDS WHO GET THEIR GED, ADULT ED FOLKS THAT LEAVE TO GO TO ADULT ED.
SO ALL OF THOSE THINGS ARE TAKEN INTO CONSIDERATION.
AND ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE'RE PUTTING INTO PLACE RIGHT NOW IS REALLY DIGGING DOWN AND TRYING TO KEEP OUR FINGERS OR OUR THUMBS ON THESE KIDS TO SEE WHERE THEY ARE, BECAUSE IF WE CAN PROVIDE DOCUMENTATION TO THE DEPARTMENT THAT WE KNOW WHERE THEY ARE, WE DON'T HAVE TO COUNT THOSE STUDENTS AGAINST US.
BUT IF WE CAN'T, AND THAT WAS SOME OF THE PROBLEM THIS YEAR, IS THAT THAT WE JUST COULDN'T WE COULDN'T FIND THE KIDS.
SO THOSE STUDENTS THAT WE COULD NOT FIND, AND I'M USING THAT AS AN EXAMPLE, REMAINED IN THAT DENOMINATOR.
WHENEVER THAT CALCULATION THAT'S THIS LONG IS COMPLETED.
AND SO THERE ARE MANY THINGS THAT HURT US AROUND THAT.
IF THAT ANSWERED AND I APOLOGIZE, YOU'LL LEARN MORE IN IN THE ACCOUNTABILITY 101 CLASS THAT DOCTOR BRADLEY IS GOING TO SO MAKE SURE THAT HELPED.
THE THING WITH YOUR EXPERTISE, I WAS WONDERING, WAS THERE SOMETHING OUT OF WHAT'S FACTORED INTO THAT EQUATION, OR WAS THERE WAS THERE 1 OR 2 THINGS THAT REALLY JUMPED UP HIGH AND MADE THIS THING LOOK BAD, OR IS IT JUST A CULMINATION OF OF ALL OF IT? WELL, I DON'T I REALLY DON'T WANT TO SPECULATE WHAT ACTUALLY HAPPENED.
WHAT I DO KNOW HAPPENED IS THAT THE FORMULA DID CHANGE SLIGHTLY.
WE CHANGED THE POINT VALUES IN THE RUBRIC THAT YOU SAW ON SLIDE FOUR.
SO GRADUATION RATE USED TO BE 25 POINTS, 25 POSSIBLE POINTS.
IT DECREASED TO 19. WHENEVER THEY ADDED THE TRACK FOR SUCCESS PIECE.
THEY TOOK AWAY SOME POINTS IN DIFFERENT AREAS.
SO THERE ARE SEVERAL THINGS THAT COULD HAVE HAPPENED.
BUT FOR PARTICULAR SCHOOLS, I THINK AGAIN, WHENEVER THESE SCHOOLS, I THINK THE THE SCHOOLS HAVE DRILLED DOWN TO DETERMINE WHAT ACTUALLY AFFECTED THEIR RESULTS, SO YOU'LL BE ABLE TO SEE IT MORE CLEARLY AT THE SCHOOL LEVEL THAN YOU CAN AS A DISTRICT. YOU KNOW, WHEN YOU COMBINE 41 SCHOOLS TO GIVE AN OVERVIEW,
[01:35:03]
IT'S NOT A REAL CLEAR PICTURE OF WHO WE REALLY ARE INDIVIDUALLY.SO I'M EXCITED THAT Y'ALL ARE GOING TO GET TO EXPERIENCE THAT.
AND I THINK Y'ALL ARE GOING TO ENJOY IT TOO. MR. BROOME GOT ONE HARD QUESTION FOR YOU.
YOU KNOW, MISS JULIE CAN ATTEST.
I'VE SERVED UNDER HER FOR YEARS UNDER SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT, AND EVERY TIME WE GO TO A NEXT YEAR, THIS STUFF CHANGED AND SHE'S GETTING THERE AND SHE'S LIKE, OH LORD, BECAUSE JIM'S GOING TO ASK ALL THESE QUESTIONS AND SHE'D HAVE TO RETRAIN ME ON WHAT IT MEANT, BECAUSE. AND I DON'T UNDERSTAND WHY WHAT YOU SAID, DO THEY TELL YOU WHY THEY KEEP CHANGING THE CRITERIA? BECAUSE YOU CAN NEVER GET VERY MUCH.
YOU KNOW, WE ALWAYS TALK ABOUT CUMULATIVE DATA, BUT GOLLY, THIS THING HAS EVER WENT PAST THREE YEARS WITHOUT CHANGING.
AND AS I TOLD YOU BEFORE, THIS IS THE FIFTH AMENDMENT THEY'VE MADE TO THE ACCOUNTABILITY MANUAL THIS YEAR SINCE I THINK OUR SCHOOL YEAR STARTED.
SO THE CONSISTENCY IS A PROBLEM.
BUT I DON'T KNOW WHY THAT THEY CAN'T JUST MAKE IT MORE SIMPLE.
IT IS COMPLICATED. AND SOMETIMES I THINK IT'S COMPLICATED ON PURPOSE.
IT'S REALLY HARD FOR EDUCATORS TO KNOW, YOU KNOW, WHAT WE'RE DOING TO EVEN UNDERSTAND IT.
I KIND OF HAVE TO LAUGH ABOUT IT, BECAUSE, I MEAN, I'VE BEEN TRYING TO CATCH UP WITH IT FOR.
I KNOW I'M A COUNTRY BOY, BUT I CAN.
I JUST CAN'T KEEP UP WITH WHAT THIS STUFF MEANS.
AND AND I LIKE TO LOOK BACK AND SEE TRENDS, AND THEY'RE NOT THERE TO SEE, LIKE YOU SAID, BECAUSE IT KEEPS CHANGING.
WELL, OUR GOAL AS LEADERS IS TO MEET WITH YOU ALL ON THOSE DAYS THAT WE'RE PLANNING AND AND MAKE IT MORE CLEARLY, UNDERSTANDABLE.
MAYBE. YOU KNOW, THAT'S OUR GOAL.
WHEN YOU LEAVE, YOU'LL HAVE A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF OF HOW WE DO THINGS OR HOW THEY'RE DONE, NOT HOW WE DO THEM, HOW WE FOLLOW THE RULES.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS FOR DOCTOR EDWARDS? THANK YOU, DOCTOR EDWARDS.
I'LL SAY IT'S CLEAR WE HAVE WORK TO DO, BUT WE'RE NOT AFRAID TO DO IT.
NEXT, WE HAVE A COUPLE MORE INFORMATIONAL ITEMS. DOCTOR YARBOROUGH IS GOING TO PROVIDE TWO CONSTRUCTION STATUS REPORTS, ONE ON THE NORTH AUGUSTA ATHLETIC FIELDS AND THEN WAGENER-SALLEY HIGH SCHOOL DOCTOR YARBOROUGH. YES, SIR. MISTER BOARD MEMBERS.
DOCTOR MURPHY. OKAY, THERE WE ARE.
SO THE FIRST PRESENTATION IS, OF COURSE, ON THE NORTH AUGUSTA HIGH SCHOOL ATHLETIC COMPLEX. AND OUR PROGRESS THERE.
SO THIS IS A VIEW FROM THE THIS IS A VIEW, OF COURSE, FROM THE SIDE OF THE BASEBALL FIELD, THE EXTREME SIDE OF THE BASEBALL FIELD, LOOKING BACK TOWARD THE SOFTBALL FIELD.
DUGOUTS, CONCESSION STANDS ALL COMING TOGETHER.
JACKET LANE, WHICH IS THE ENTRANCE OFF OF KNOBCONE AVENUE, HAS BEEN WIDENED. YOU MIGHT RECALL THOSE OF YOU THAT GO THERE FREQUENTLY.
THERE WAS A GRASS MEDIAN THAT WAS REMOVED, AND WE PUT IN MORE LANES TO ALLOW MORE CARS TO GET IN AND OUT OF THE THE STUDENT PARKING MORE EASILY ONTO KNOBCONE.
SO OF COURSE, THE PROJECT MOST IMPORTANTLY IS ON SCHEDULE AND WITHIN THE BUDGET.
MOVING TO WAGENER-SALLEY HIGH SCHOOL.
OKAY, THIS IS VIEWING THE MAIN ENTRANCE AND THE ADMINISTRATION AREA.
YOU SEE THE STAIRWAY, THE GLASS STAIRWAY, AS THEY CALL IT, LEADING TO THE SECOND FLOOR.
THIS IS THE ATHLETIC HALLWAY ON ONE SIDE.
ON THE RIGHT SIDE, THE MAIN GYM ON THE LEFT SIDE, THE AUXILIARY GYM. BOTH FLOORS ARE IN.
BLEACHERS ARE IN SO THE FLOORS HAVE BEEN TREATED WITH THE VARNISH.
THEY'RE VERY BLOND AND VERY BEAUTIFUL.
AND THIS IS THE WEIGHT ROOM, AND THAT IS ARTIFICIAL TURF THAT THEY'LL BE ABLE TO USE DURING RAIN AND THAT KIND OF THING TO GET PRACTICES IN. NICE, NICE.
WE OF COURSE, DO HAVE A BOARD VISIT AT WAGENER-SALLEY HIGH SCHEDULED.
[01:40:01]
HOPEFULLY YOU HAVE THAT ON YOUR CALENDARS FOR DECEMBER THE 6TH AT 12 NOON ON A FRIDAY, AND THEN THE RIBBON CUTTING IS SCHEDULED FOR JANUARY THE 6TH AT 9 A.M..TEACHERS WILL RETURN TO WORK THAT DAY, AND STUDENTS WOULD RETURN THE NEXT DAY TO THE NEW CAMPUS. SO WE NEED QUESTIONS ABOUT THOSE.
ONE QUICK ONE. MR. SILAS ON THE ATHLETICS COMPLEX.
IF THERE WERE A CHANGE IN SCOPE, YOU'D HAVE TO COME BACK TO US, RIGHT? DOCTOR YARBOROUGH. YES, SIR.
SO THERE'S BEEN NO CHANGE IN SCOPE PAST THE THE DRIVEWAY OR THE ADDITIONAL LANES? AGE. YES, SIR. ANY, ANY, ANY CHANGE IN SCOPE WOULD HAVE TO BE APPROVED BY YOU. VERY GOOD. MR. LINDELL. FOR THE NORTH AUGUSTA COMPLEX.
WHEN IS THAT PROJECTED TO BE DONE? APRIL THE 4TH.
ANY FINAL QUESTIONS FOR DOCTOR YARBOROUGH? THANK YOU SIR.
YOU HAVE THE FLOOR, DOCTOR YARBOROUGH.
YES, MA'AM. SO, ARE WE FINISHING ON TIME AND ON BUDGET WITH WAGENER-SALLEY HIGH? OH, I HAD TO ASK. YES.
YES, MA'AM. WE ARE. THANK YOU SIR.
I APPRECIATE IT. ABSOLUTELY. THAT'S AN OBVIOUS THING I SHOULD ALWAYS MENTION.
THE OTHER INFORMATIONAL ITEM ADAM IS MR. TRAXLER SUBMITTED TWO MONTHLY FINANCIAL REPORTS.
EXCUSE ME FOR ONE FOR THE PERIOD ENDING END OF AUGUST AND ONE FOR THE PERIOD ENDING END OF SEPTEMBER. THAT WAS THAT WAS GIVEN TO THE BOARD IN ADVANCE.
AND IF ANYBODY HAS A QUESTION ON THOSE TWO REPORTS, MR. TRAXLER WOULD BE HAPPY.
BE HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS ON THE TWO REPORTS.
ALL RIGHT. WE'LL MOVE ON THEN.
WE DO HAVE ONE INDIVIDUAL BOARD MEMBER ITEM FOR THIS EVENING.
MR. SILAS HAS AN APPOINTMENT TO MAKE A PROPOSAL FOR AREA THREE ADVISORY COUNCIL.
MR. SILAS, THANK YOU. APOLOGIZE.
I'VE ALREADY SPOKEN MORE THAN I ENJOY SPEAKING IN A BOARD MEETING, BUT ONE LAST ITEM. MISS PAULA HOLLEY HAS BEEN SERVING ON OUR ADVISORY COUNCIL FOR THE PAST SIX YEARS AND HAS BEEN A GREAT MEMBER OF THAT TEAM.
SHE HAS RESIGNED HER POSITION BECAUSE SHE'S TAKEN A JOB WITH THE DISTRICT AS A NURSE AT, I THINK, BELVIDERE ELEMENTARY.
SO WE NEED TO REPLACE MISS HOLLY, AND I'D LIKE TO MOVE TO REPLACE MISS HOLLY WITH MISS PEGGY COLEMAN FOR THE REMAINDER OF THAT TERM.
SO MR. SILAS HAS MADE A MOTION TO APPOINT MISS PEGGY COLEMAN TO THE VACANCY ON AREA THREE ADVISORY COUNCIL.
IS THERE A SECOND? I SECOND IT SECONDED BY MR. BROOME. ANY DISCUSSION ON THE MOTION? ALL THOSE IN FAVOR, PLEASE RAISE YOUR HAND.
I BELIEVE THAT'S NINE IN FAVOR.
THE MOTION CARRIES. THAT BRINGS US TO THE SUPERINTENDENT'S UPDATE.
DOCTOR MURPHY, IT'S ALL YOURS.
GOOD EVENING, MR. NUSSLE. BOARD MEMBERS AND COMMUNITY.
TONIGHT WE ARE EXTREMELY HAPPY ABOUT THE THE SUCCESSFUL PENNY SALES TAX REFERENDUM, AND WE WANTED TO SPEND JUST A LITTLE BIT OF TIME THIS EVENING SHOWING YOU OUR SENTIMENT.
AND SO WE PREPARED A VERY BRIEF VIDEO FOR YOU ALL, AND IT WILL BE POSTED ON OUR WEBSITE AS WELL AS ON YOUTUBE MOVING FORWARD.
BUT THIS IS KIND OF ENCAPSULATES OUR THOUGHTS RIGHT NOW ON ON ELECTION DAY, AIKEN COUNTY HAD AN OPPORTUNITY TO CONSIDER A RENEWAL OF THE EDUCATIONAL CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT, SALES AND USE TAX.
VOTERS GOT TO DECIDE WHETHER OR NOT TO EXTEND THE 1% TAX ON MOST PURCHASED GOODS FOR AN ADDITIONAL TEN YEARS. THE 1% TAX WAS APPROVED IN 2014 AND WAS SCHEDULED TO SUNSET.
A YES VOTE WOULD HELP FUND UPGRADES, RENOVATIONS, AND IMPROVEMENTS AT SOUTH AIKEN, SILVER BLUFF, AND MIDLAND VALLEY HIGH SCHOOL.
CONTINUATION OF THE PENNY TAX WOULD MEAN A NEW SECURE ENTRY ADMINISTRATION AND CLASSROOM WING, MEDIA CENTER, AND GYMNASIUM WOULD BE CONSTRUCTED AT NORTH AUGUSTA MIDDLE SCHOOL, AND THAT SPACE FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOL STUDENTS IN AREA THREE, THE FASTEST GROWING AREA IN THE COUNTY, WOULD BE ADDRESSED THROUGH CONSTRUCTION OF A NEW ELEMENTARY SCHOOL SERVING STUDENTS IN THE AREA.
A RENEWAL OF THE $0.01 SALES TAX PASSED IN EACH OF THE COUNTY'S 89 VOTING PRECINCTS, AND THE TAX PASSED WITH 73% VOTER APPROVAL.
THANK YOU. THANK YOU, AIKEN COUNTY.
[01:45:02]
TO ENSURE THAT ALL STUDENTS GRADUATE FROM A STATE OF THE ART HIGH SCHOOL.YOUR YES VOTE MEANS THAT STUDENTS, STAFF, AND FAMILIES WITH MOBILITY CONCERNS WILL NOT HAVE ANY ISSUES ACCESSING OUR NEW SCHOOL AND THAT WELCOMING AND SECURE ENTRANCES TO SCHOOLS BECOME THE NEW STANDARD.
THANK YOU. WE ARE GRATEFUL FOR YOUR SUPPORT.
THANK YOU FOR INVESTING IN US.
IS THAT ALL YOU HAD? OKAY, GREAT.
I WOULD I WOULD ALWAYS CHOOSE TO FINISH WITH THE VIDEO TOO.
SO WE ARE IN NEED OF AN EXECUTIVE SESSION THIS EVENING.
SO WE'LL NEED A MOTION TO GO INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION FOR THE PURPOSE OF CONSIDERING THE FOLLOWING MATTERS IN SUCH ORDER AS THE BOARD DEEMS APPROPRIATE.
WE HAVE ONE STUDENT MATTER THAT'S A STUDENT APPEAL FROM AREA TWO.
WE HAVE TWO EMPLOYMENT MATTERS.
ONE, A BREACH OF CONTRACT AND THEN EMPLOYMENT MATTER AROUND TRANSPORTATION.
AND THAT IS ALL WE HAVE FOR EXECUTIVE SESSION.
IS THERE A MOTION TO ENTER EXECUTIVE SESSION FOR THESE PURPOSES? MOTION MADE BY MISS RHINEHART-JACKSON. IS THERE A SECOND? SECOND? I HEARD A LOT OF PEOPLE SECONDED BY DOCTOR BRADLEY.
ANY DISCUSSION ON THE MOTION? ALL THOSE IN FAVOR OF ENTERING EXECUTIVE SESSION FOR THESE PURPOSES, PLEASE RAISE YOUR HAND. THAT'S NINE IN FAVOR.
THE MOTION CARRIES. WE'LL TAKE A 5 OR 10 MINUTE BREAK, AND WE'LL GET STARTED BACK IN THE BOARDROOM.
[02:44:31]
OKAY. WE HAVE CONCLUDED INCLUDED EXECUTIVE SESSION.[02:44:34]
WE'RE IN NEED OF A MOTION TO EXIT EXECUTIVE SESSION AND ENTER REGULAR SESSION.[02:44:39]
MOTION MADE BY MISS RHINEHART-JACKSON, SECONDED BY DOCTOR BRADLEY. ANY DISCUSSION?[02:44:43]
ALL THOSE IN FAVOR, PLEASE RAISE YOUR HAND.[02:44:45]
THAT'S NINE IN FAVOR. WE ARE IN REGULAR SESSION.[02:44:48]
WHILE IN EXECUTIVE SESSION, WE DISCUSSED THREE MATTERS,[02:44:50]
THE FIRST OF WHICH WAS A STUDENT MATTER.[02:44:52]
A STUDENT APPEAL FROM AREA TWO.[02:44:55]
IS THERE A MOTION IN REGARDS TO STUDENT APPEAL FROM AREA TWO?[02:45:01]
I'D MOVE TO ACCEPT THE DISTRICT'S RECOMMENDATION.[02:45:05]
MR. SILAS HAS MADE A MOTION TO ACCEPT THE DISTRICT'S RECOMMENDATION.[02:45:09]
IS THERE A SECOND? SECOND.ANY DISCUSSION? ALL THOSE IN FAVOR, PLEASE RAISE YOUR HAND.
THAT'S NINE IN FAVOR. THE MOTION CARRIES.
WE DISCUSSED TWO IMPORTANT MATTERS, THE FIRST OF WHICH WAS A BREACH OF CONTRACT.
EXCUSE ME FOR. YEAH, I GOT THAT RIGHT.
IS THERE A MOTION IN REGARDS TO THE BREACH OF CONTRACT? I MOVE, WE DIRECT THE ADMINISTRATION TO MAKE A FORMAL COMPLAINT TO THE STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION REGARDING EMPLOYEE A, B, C, D, E AND F'S BREACH OF CONTRACT.
SECOND. OKAY. WE HAVE A MOTION AND A SECOND MOTION MADE BY DOCTOR BRADLEY, SECONDED BY MISS RHINEHART-JACKSON TO DIRECT THE ADMINISTRATION TO MAKE A FORMAL COMPLAINT TO THE STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION REGARDING THE EMPLOYEES INCLUDED IN THIS ITEM A, B, C, D, AND E. ANY DISCUSSION? ALL THOSE IN FAVOR, PLEASE RAISE YOUR HAND. THAT'S NINE IN FAVOR OF THE MOTION CARRIES.
LAST ITEM IS ALSO EMPLOYMENT MATTER REGARDING RELATED TO TRANSPORTATION.
IS THERE A MOTION? I'LL MAKE A MOTION.
GO AHEAD, SIR. I DON'T KNOW WHAT.
I'M SORRY. SO. OH, I SHOULD RESTATE SO, BASED ON THE TRANSPORTATION MATTER, THE RECOMMENDATION WAS TO APPROVE THE CREATION OF A TRANSPORTATION TRAINING SUPERVISOR POSITION. IS THERE A MOTION TO CREATE THAT POSITION? ALL RIGHT, SO MR. LINDELL HAS MADE A MOTION TO CREATE THE NEW TRANSPORTATION TRAINING SUPERVISOR POSITION. IS THERE A SECOND? SECOND BY MISS RHINEHART-JACKSON? ANY DISCUSSION? ALL THOSE IN FAVOR, PLEASE RAISE YOUR HAND.
THAT'S NINE IN FAVOR OF THE MOTION CARRIES.
WE'RE NOW IN A. I WILL ENTERTAIN A MOTION TO ADJOURN.
MOTION MADE BY MISS RHINEHART-JACKSON IS THERE. SECONDED BY MISS TYLER. ANY DISCUSSION? ALL THOSE IN FAVOR, PLEASE RAISE YOUR HAND. THAT'S NINE IN FAVOR.
WE STAND ADJOURNED. THANK YOU.
NEW.
* This transcript was compiled from uncorrected Closed Captioning.