BOE Business Meeting 05/11/2026

Name: BOE Business Meeting 05/11/2026
Uploaded: 2026-05-11T00:00:00Z
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Description: God did not ever specify anything against the transgender community and said he taught us to love thy neighbor as ourselves, not thy cisgendered, white Christian neighbor, but all.

Cabarrus County Schools, NC · 2026-05-11 · More Cabarrus County Schools, NC meetings · More North Carolina meetings

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[0:46] And it looks like I'm already skipping. So 2.01 is there? Introductions and greetings. So I'll introduce my fellow colleagues here on the board. On the board and on my left is our teacher of the year, Madison Little. This is your last meeting or second? Second to last meeting. We will miss you. And, um, I'll sit. Next to her is Shannon Lancaster, board member. Catherine Moore, board member. Sam Treadaway, board member. Our superintendent is back this week, doctor John Kopecky. And then to my right is our board vice chair, Greg Mills, board member Escobar and board member Melanie Freeman. So that is our introductions for today. And we'll move on to the setting of the agenda. And board members, I need a motion and a second to adopt the agenda that's presented on the diligent website. Yes. Mr.. Mister Chair, I would like to amend the agenda for discussion. Um, and a response to the many people that we have here in public comment, which would come at the end of public comments. So your request is to add an item at the end of public comment. Yes, sir. To discuss. Okay. We would need a second for that.

[2:02] Okay. That did not receive a second. So we will again need a motion and a second to approve the the agenda that was been presented on the diligent website since last Thursday. So thank you Mr. Sam of second for that one second. Thank you Greg. Okay. So we have a motion and a second to that, the May 11th business meeting agenda to be approved as it's been presented. All in favor say aye. Aye aye. Anybody opposed? Okay. That passes six one with Miss Freeman opposing. So we're going to move into the recognition section our favorite section of the of the agenda. And we'll start with 4.01 which is going to be the impact through education awards. And we're going to welcome Mr. Phil Fer to the podium. Welcome, Mr. Chair. Members of the board, doctor Kopecky. Good evening. Tonight we'll present Impact Through Education Awards to students and staff at W.R. O'Dell Primary School and Concord High School. Our sponsors for the Impact Awards are our friends at equitable. At this time, I'd like to invite our equitable representative, Phoebe Snow, to join me at the front of the room.

[3:14] Before we get started with the awards, I'd like to offer our sincere thanks and gratitude to equitable for its continued sponsorship of the Impact through Education Awards. Tonight, equitable concludes their 16th year partnering with us to honor those making an impact in our schools with this award. We appreciate their support and thank them for helping us celebrate and recognize deserving students and staff. We also want to say a word of thanks to Concord Trophy Center for providing us with the award plaques each month. Now on to tonight's awards. May I have the O'Dell primary administrative team come forward, please.

[3:55] Our first honoree from Odell is Joshua Chin. Joshua, please come forward with your family.

[4:09] You're gonna go right up.

[4:20] Joshua is an exceptional second grade student who exemplifies leadership, kindness, and integrity in all that he does. He is a positive role model not only within his classroom, but throughout the entire school community. Joshua consistently demonstrates strong character by fostering an inclusive environment. He makes sure that no one is ever left out when working in partner groups, and thoughtfully encourages his peers during collaborative activities by inviting others to share first. His actions reflect a deep sense of empathy and respect for those around him. He also goes above and beyond to support his classmates, often sharing his materials to ensure that everyone has what they need to be successful. Joshua understands the importance of helping others and takes pride in contributing to a supportive learning environment. Academically, Joshua is a high achieving student who approaches learning with enthusiasm and curiosity. Despite his strengths, he remains humble and considerate, often allowing his peers the opportunity to respond before sharing his own thinking. Joshua truly embodies the spirit of the Impact Through Education Award through his character, leadership, and commitment to others. Congratulations, Joshua. You're an Impact Through Education Award winner for Rodale Primary School.

[6:23] Our next honoree from rodeo is Sidney Reynolds. Sidney, please come forward with your family.

[6:32] Hi.

[6:46] What are you doing?

[6:50] Sydney is a second grade student at Oakdale Primary who takes great pride in being an O'Dell Dragon. She consistently demonstrates kindness, respect, and care for others, making her a positive influence in the classroom and throughout the school. Sydney is a thoughtful student who considers others feelings and works to make good choices each day. She is a hardworking and motivated learner who approaches Tasc with enthusiasm and persistence. Sydney is excited to be at school and shows a strong willingness to participate in all classroom activities, whether working independently in small groups or during whole group instruction. She actively engages in her learning and strives to improve her skills. Sydney is also a reliable and supportive friend who treats others with kindness and helps create a welcoming classroom environment. Her sense of humor adds joy to the classroom community and helps build positive relationships with her peers and teachers. Overall, Sydney's positive attitude, strong effort and caring nature make her a valued member of the O'Dell Primary School community. Congratulations, Sidney. You're an Impact Through Education Award winner for O'Dell Primary School.

[8:41] Also from Waddell is support staff member Sharon James. Miss James, please come forward with your family.

[9:03] Congratulations. Thank you. You can just sit there. Right here. I'll keep our eyes on.

[9:16] Sharon James is a highly valued and a central member of the O'Dell primary front office team. Who consistently exceeds expectations in her daily work. She takes initiative on projects without needing direction, contributes thoughtful ideas to improve office efficiency, and help strengthen overall communication and workflow among staff. Each morning, she shares a positive and uplifting message with staff that sets a welcoming tone for the day and is genuinely appreciated by the entire Odell Primary School community. Sharon provides excellent support to parents in person, over the phone and through email, ensuring they feel informed, heard and supported at all times. She approaches every interaction with professionalism, patience and care. When she does not have an immediate answer, she follows up promptly to locate accurate information and ensures families receive clear and healthful responses. In addition, Sharon helps maintain an organized and responsive front office environment by staying proactive, anticipating needs, and assisting wherever she is needed. The front office runs more effectively because of her dedication, and the school community benefits daily from her consistent support, professionalism and care. Congratulations, Sharon, you're an Impact Through Education Award winner at W.R. Odell Primary School.

[10:55] Mr. Martin is. Going to take your picture right there.

[11:04] Oh.

[11:07] I definitely don't want to be in there. I would have ruined that picture. Thanks.

[11:20] And finally, from Rodale is teacher Lori Tong. Miss Tong, please come forward with your family.

[11:33] Congratulations.

[11:37] Lori is a highly decorated instructional leader who invest countless hours working alongside teachers and students to support the success of every learner at O'Dell primary. She is consistently available and approachable, never too busy to answer questions, provide support, or engage in meaningful discussions about curriculum and instruction. Lori actively seeks out resources and ideas beyond the school to strengthen teaching and learning. Always looking for ways to improve outcomes for her students. Her knowledge of curriculum, instruction, and best practices is both broad and deep, and she applies that expertise thoughtfully to support staff and students. In addition, Lori provides office hours after school for any staff who need instructional support. Offering dedicated time for coaching, collaboration, and problem solving. While she brings a high level of expertise to her role, she maintains a strong sense of approachability and collaboration that makes her a trusted partner for teachers. Her willingness to support God and problem solve contributes significantly to the overall success of Odell Primary. Congratulations, Lori. You're an impact through Education Award winner for Odell. Primaries.

[13:25] We will now continue with our May impact Through Education awards by welcoming Concord High School. May I have the Concord High administrative team come forward, please.

[13:36] Our first honoree from Concord High is Gabriela Claros. Gaby could not be here with us tonight due to the first round of the North Carolina High School Athletic Association soccer playoffs. However, here's what her administrative team had to say about her. Tonight, we're proud to recognize Gabby for the outstanding leadership and positive example she brings to Concord High School each and every day. Gabby can be found throughout the school, making Concord High a better place for everyone around her. She is a dedicated leader on multiple athletic teams and within the IB program, balancing excellence in academics, athletics, and service to others. She takes a special interest in making sure others feel welcomed, supported, and encouraged. Helping create the positive and constructive environment that makes Concord High so special. Her leadership, character, and willingness to serve others make her an outstanding representative of the spider family. Our next honoree from Concord is Dulce Velazquez. Dulce, please come forward with your family.

[14:43] Tonight, we're proud to recognize Dulce for the leadership, school spirit and positive energy she brings to Concord High School every day. They'll say, as a prominent member of the school's public safety Academy, where she has demonstrated dedication, responsibility and a commitment to serving others. She is also a critical part of student leadership, helping create activities and opportunities that make school engaging, welcoming, and fun for everyone around her. What makes this a stand out most is her ability to bring people together and make others feel connected to the school community, whether in the classroom, through leadership activities or across campus. She leads with positivity and pride. Congratulations, adults! You're an Impact Through Education award winner for Concord High School.

[16:01] Next from Concord High is staff member Tony Martir. Tony also could not be with us tonight, but I want to read what the staff had to say about Mr. Martire. Tonight, we're proud to recognize Tony for the tremendous impact he makes each day at Concord High School. Tony is known throughout the school as one of the hardest working people on campus. He leads not through words but through his example, consistently showing kindness, dedication, and willingness to help wherever needed. His positive attitude and strong work ethic helped create a safe, welcoming and supportive environment for everyone who walks through the doors at Concord High. The staff truly adores Tony and deeply appreciates all that he does behind the scenes to support students, teachers, and the entire school community. His commitment and servant leadership make a difference every single day at Concord High. And finally, from Concord, hi is teacher William Taylor. Mr. Taylor, please come forward with your family.

[17:04] Tonight we're proud to recognize William Taylor, theatre teacher at Concord High School, for the positive impact he has already made on students and staff. Although he is a beginning teacher, Mr. Taylor has revitalized the Concord High Theatre program and created an environment where students feel safe, supported and encouraged to be creative throughout theater. He is helping students build through theater. He is helping students build confidence, teamwork, communication skills and a sense of belonging. His passion, energy and dedication extend far beyond the school day and his positive influence can be seen throughout the school community. In a short amount of time, Mr. Taylor has already demonstrated the kind of leadership and care that leaves a lasting impression on students. Congratulations, William on being an Impact Through Education Award winner for Concord High School.

[18:27] This concludes our Impact Awards presentations for the 2020 526 school year. Congratulations to all our recipients and thanks again to our partners equitable for your partnership. Thank you, Mr. Fer. We're going to move on to 4.02, which is our helpless forward teacher of the month. And we're going to welcome Doctor Michael Williams to the podium.

[18:49] Good evening. Good evening, Mr. Chair. Board members, Doctor Kopecky and to our viewing audiences both here and those watching the live stream. It is my pleasure to recognize our Hilbert for teacher of the month for May. We would like to offer our sincere, sincere thanks and gratitude to Mr. Tim Vaughan and Mr. Josh Forrester and their team at Hilbert Ford for their tremendous generosity and continued sponsorship of this wonderful recognition program. Our wish for teacher of the month for May is Destinee Hunter, a music teacher at Wayne Kopf Elementary School. At this time, I'd like to invite miss Hunter, her family, and any members of the wine administrative team in attendance to join us up front.

[19:48] Miss Hunter, you were nominated by multiple parents for this award. Tonight I will share one of those nominations. Parent wrote I attended Miss Hunter's Spring Choral concert last month at Wine Cough, which featured 72 students in second grade. It was exceptional and the comments from parents in the audience was noteworthy. The theme was singing through the school year, where each class sang a song that connected to the school with curriculum, with creativity, movement, instruments, dual language, and stage presence from beginning to end. The show was on another level. You could see that as an investment of training, articulation and skill that had been applied. Miss Hunter rewarded all the second graders with music medals at the end to commemorate their memorable moment and hard work. It was amazing to see the passion miss Hunter has for teaching music in a county where she grew up, and now gives back to Cabarrus County School students. This nomination and award is well deserved. Miss Hunter, thank you for the impact you have made to teach, engage and inspire the students and families at Wayne Cliff Elementary School. Congratulations. You're this month's Kilby Ford Teacher of the month.

[21:30] You get one more picture.

[21:50] Thank you, Doctor Williams. We're going to move on to 4.03, which is our Everyday Hero Award winner. And do we have Doctor Jonathan Bowers and Stephanie. Amen to the podium. Welcome. Good evening, Mr. Chair. Members of the board. Doctor Kopecky and our public joining us. I would like to call Mrs. Audra Hunnicutt to the front, please, with her guests.

[22:31] The Everyday Hero Award is presented to an exceptional employee within Auxiliary Services, which includes our kids plus facilities maintenance, construction, school, nutrition and transportation departments. Sponsored by Great Wolf Lodge. The Everyday Hero Award is intended to acknowledge the outstanding behind the scenes work of our auxiliary services professionals, which often goes unnoticed. Nominations are submitted by CHS employees, students and parents, and one recipient is chosen each month. We would like to thank Great Wolf Lodge for their continued support of this recognition. This month, Auxiliary Services is proud to recognize Patriots Elementary School Cafeteria Manager Audra Hunnicutt as our May Everyday Hero Award winner.

[23:19] Audra Hunnicutt is being recognized tonight for her outstanding leadership, resilience, and genuine care for both her team and the school community. During her time at Patriots, she has consistently worked to maintain open lines of communication with school staff, administration, and her own team, even while navigating significant challenges. Rather than allowing obstacles to deter her, Audra approaches each situation with dignity, integrity, and positivity, continuing to show up for her staff and students every day. Her commitment to relationship building proves meaningful and lasting when her department is severely short staffed. Administrators and faculty step in to support students just because, Audra asks, reflecting the trust and respect that she earns. Audrey's leadership extends beyond daily operations to moments, moments that truly define her impact. When an employee passed away. Audra rallied staff members across the school community to reach out with support and assistance. When another employee experienced an unimaginable personal, excuse me, personal loss. That individual was surrounded by care from both the S&P team and the broader Patriots family. Again, a testament to the culture Audra intentionally fosters. She also brings creativity and joy to the cafeteria, uniting her team around monthly themes and shared visions that students experience the moment they walk in through fun bulletin boards, staff costumes, and encouraging posters. Audra creates a cafe environment that is welcoming, safe, and deeply connected to students even as time passes. Audra continues to foster strong team unity and a positive, welcoming environment, as reflected in her ongoing engagement and consistent excellence in kitchen operations, including strong health ratings. Above all, Audra heart for feeding hungry minds. Her tireless work ethic and her calm, effective leadership in high stress situations and exemplify what it means to be an everyday hero. We are proud to recognize Patriots Elementary Cafeteria School manager Audra Hunnicutt as our May Everyday Hero Award winner. Congratulations, Audra.

[26:22] As they finish up the pictures. We're going to move on to 4.04, which our school counselor of the year and Miss Karen Holler, are you here? Oh, we're going to welcome you. Welcome to the buddy.

[26:43] Good evening, Mr. Chair. Members of the board. And I am honored to be here tonight to introduce our Cabarrus County Schools school counselor of the year, Lainey Wagner from Concord High School. At this time, I would like to ask Laney to come forward with her family and guests, as well as any administrators here tonight from Concord High.

[27:10] For the past eight years, Lainey Wagner has been a dedicated school counselor for Cabarrus County Schools. She has served as a steadfast advocate for the school community of Concord High School, working intentionally to ensure that every student and every staff member feels supported, valued, and empowered to succeed. She is deeply committed to building meaningful relationships that promote trust, growth, and a strong sense of belonging within the school environment. Throughout her career, Laney has also played an important role in advancing school initiatives that strengthen parent and community engagement, helping families feel connected and welcomed as partners in their child's education. Her colleagues frequently describe her as someone who excels in everything that she does, from guiding students through college and career planning to providing crisis support, mentoring and supervising new counselors, and actively contributing to both the School Advisory Board, Counseling Advisory Board, and high school professional learning community learning approaches her work with empathy, integrity, and an unwavering dedication to student success. She is equally committed to supporting students pursuing college, entering the workforce or serving in the military, ensuring each student receives the same care and attention as they plan their future. Her influence reaches far beyond the counseling office, leaving a lasting impact on both students and staff. Those who have had the opportunity to work alongside her consistently expressed deep appreciation for her leadership and support, often noting that their work would not be possible without hers. Lenny's passion for serving students, and her belief in their potential to make her make her truly deserving of this recognition. And it is my honor to recognize her here tonight and introduce her to you as the Cabarrus County Schools. 2526 School Counselor of the year.

[29:41] Our next recognition is 4.05 the Multilingual Teacher of the year recognition, and we have Doctor Katie Wagner to present that recognition.

[29:53] All right. Good evening, Mr. Chair. Members of the board and Doctor Kopecky. It's a true honor to be here tonight to introduce Emily Francis, our ML teacher of the year from Concord. Hi. At this time, I would like to ask Emily to come forward with our family and guests, as well as any administrators here tonight from Concord High School.

[30:25] You could have just stayed up here.

[30:31] Mr. Hutchins been very busy tonight.

[30:36] All right. Um, Emily brings over 20 years of experience and an extraordinary commitment to her students, as well as everything else that she does. She's the kind of educator who builds authentic relationships with students, families, and colleagues. She creates a classroom where everyone feels respected, supported, and a true sense of belonging. She's a strong advocate for our multilingual learners, using her expertise in language acquisition to ensure students at all levels can access and succeed in rigorous grade level content. Through co-teaching, collaboration with content teachers, and support for beginning teachers, she strengthens instruction across the entire school. Her impact extends well beyond the classroom through initiatives like noche de café campaign and her leadership of the Latino Student Union. Emily creates meaningful opportunities for family engagement and cultural cultural connection, building trust and community. But what truly sets Emily apart is her ability to build both confidence and identity in her students. She ensures they are not only developing academic English, but also recognizing, recognizing their strengths and seeing themselves as capable and successful. Her leadership reaches beyond her school as well, serving on advisory boards and contributing to the broader field of multilingual education. She is also a recognized thought leader and author, amplifying amplifying the voices of multilingual learners. Emily represents the very best of what it means to serve multilingual learners with expertise, leadership, heart, and purpose. It is an honor to recognize her as our 2526 Cabarrus County Schools Multilingual Learner Teacher of the year.

[32:53] Thank you.

[33:01] Emily was a former teacher of the year and set up here on the board for about a year. She's a real rock star. So we'll move on to 4.06, which is our voice recognition, and we've got Rebecca Welsh on the podium.

[33:18] Excited to learn about what our teams.

[33:39] Here.

[33:58] Good evening, Mr. Walter. Doctor Kopecky and members of the board. We are here tonight to recognize seven teams who competed on the world stage last month. But I would be remiss if I did not recognize the incredible work of Jennifer Callaghan, our Vex Robotics champion, and she is the continued the growth of our very own Vex robotics program under her leadership. Since 2023, Miss Callaghan has grown our district's program from 73 teams to 103, providing expanded opportunities for students across Cabarrus County schools to engage in Stem learning, teamwork, problem solving and innovation. This year alone, 504 of our own students participated in Vex robotics teams throughout the district. In addition to serving as the Stem coach at Central Cabarrus High School and as our district Stem lead. Miss Callaghan tirelessly works with students supporting them and coaches and schools, while continuing to strengthen and expand our program. Through her collaboration with the Robotics Education and Competition Foundation, Cabarrus County Schools became one of only two districts in the entire nation selected to pilot a conference model for the competition season. This innovative approach created a more level playing field for our students and schools, and has already produced remarkable results. This year, seven of our teams qualified for the Vex Robotics World Championship in Saint Louis. This is a significant increase from 1 or 2 teams that we have sent traditionally. Miss Callaghan's leadership, vision and dedication continue to create exceptional opportunities for students throughout our district, and we are grateful for the impact she makes every day. Please join me in recognizing Miss Callaghan, in addition to our teams, and thanking her for her outstanding service and commitment to Stem education in Cabarrus County Schools.

[35:59] Now the show is hers.

[36:06] Good evening, Doctor Kopecky. Mr. chairman and members of the board. It is my absolute honor and privilege to stand before you tonight to celebrate something truly exceptional happening here in Cabarrus County schools and the Vex Robotics Program by recognizing a group of students, parents and their coaches from three different schools the Cabarrus Early College of Technology, Harold E Winkler Middle School, and Wayne Cliff Elementary School was, which is before you now. These students and coaches have gone above and beyond, not only in the classroom, but in the world of innovation, engineering, and teamwork. The Cabarrus County Vex Robotics program has not had this many teams qualify for the World Championship since 2022. This is no small achievement. These six teams and earned their place on one of the biggest stages of Stem education in the world. Over the course of two weeks, these students, along with teams from 56 countries across the globe, competed in Saint Louis, Missouri. They met and competed with teams from Hong Kong, China, Germany, India, the U.K. and of course, the US, just to name a few. Across eight months of dedication, problem solving, long after school hours, and a whole lot of trial and error, they built more than just a robot. They built teams grounded in perseverance, passion, and collaboration to the students. You've shown what's possible when talent meets hard work. You are the pioneers. You are the leaders. And you are a shining example of what Cabarrus County School stands for. To our coaches, thank you for your unwavering guidance and support and your continued dedication to your students in the Vector Robotics Program and to the families. Your encouragement behind the scenes has been a huge part of this success. On behalf of the entire Cabarrus County Vex Robotics Program, please join me in congratulating the following teams for qualifying to compete in the 2026 Vex Robotics World Championship. From Wayne Cliff Elementary Elementary, led by coaches Susan Frazier, Stephanie Newborough, and Laura Whitley. Students, when I call your name, if you'll just please step forward from. From team 37500. Be the Galaxy grinders. We have Aries Herrick, Kai Jones, Isabella Smith, and Sam Tran from team three seven.

[38:44] From team 37500. See the tech titans. We have Truman Hermanson, Quinn Holston, Mateo Martinez and Madison Schmidt.

[39:00] From team 37500 e the taco neighbors, we have King Geiger, Elias Howley, Kona Price, Uriah Price and Dakota Shipp.

[39:18] We are so very proud of all of you. All right.

[39:27] So.

[39:44] You're gonna come around this way. We talked about an idea.

[40:12] All right. From Harold E Winkler Middle School, led by coaches Bo and Tonya Greer. We have team 41400 M managed mayhem. We have Krista Canterbury. Sam. Vita Grimaldi.

[40:32] Ida Agarwal. You guys can step forward.

[40:43] From team 41400 are the robo rockets. We have Porter Roberts, David Lambert, Griffin, Saint Louis and Michael eight.

[41:00] From team 41400 C quad core. We have James Paul, Arif Agarwal, Gareth Garcia, Kaushik Mehdi and Sri John Tory.

[41:18] Great job.

[41:46] It's a sample.

[41:56] From the Cabarrus Early College of Technology led by coach Elizabeth Thompson. We have team five, nine, 735 x the Cobra Bionics. First we. And when I call your name, just step forward. We have Chubb, Sarah Rostova, Jackson Bassett, Camden Coyote, Kevin Grijalva and Na'vi demon. There you go.

[42:29] Congratulations. Thank you guys so much.

[42:40] It's impressive to have that many teams recognized on the world stage with our Vex program. We're going to move on to 4.07, which is the full ride scholarships and military academy recognitions. And we have Miss Betsy unable to join us at the podium.

[43:03] Okay. Did they leave this on? No.

[43:08] Hello? Okay. Good evening. Board members. Chairman Walter and doctor Kopecky. I'm Betsy Naval high school counseling coordinator. And tonight, we're excited to honor the seniors who we have been made aware of, who have been offered full ride scholarships to colleges and universities across our state and nation. As you can imagine, this is a remarkable accomplishment and a testament of years of hard work, perseverance, leadership, and commitment to excellence. A full ride encompasses full tuition, room board fees, and usually book costs. These scholarships represent more than financial support. There are recognitions of academic achievement, character service, and the bright futures these students have in front of them. On behalf of Cabarrus County Schools, we congratulate these seniors and thank the families. Teachers, counselors, administrators and mentors who have supported them along the way. At this time, I'd like to recognize our students who were able to be here. And as I say your name, please step forward from Cabarrus Health Sciences Institute. We actually have two students who were not able to be with us tonight. Jalen Nicholson Nicholson has earned the prestigious Salem College Scholar Full Ride scholarship. This highly competitive award reflects not only outstanding academic achievement, but also leadership, character and dedication to the community. Also from Cabarrus Health Science Institute is Sammy Fain, who won the prestigious North Carolina Gateway to Wake Forest University scholarship. This opportunity reflects Sammy Sammy's outstanding academic achievement, hard work and dedication both inside and outside the classroom. We have one more who's not here tonight, I promise. I'm getting to you guys. We're proud to recognize from Cabarrus Kannapolis Early College Aliya Haynes, who received the prestigious Goodnight Scholars Award at North Carolina State University. This highly competitive scholarship supports outstanding students pursuing studies in Stem and Stem education fields. So we are very excited to congratulate Aaliyah on this. Also from the early college, we are pleased to recognize Jace Renshaw for being offered the Presidential Scholarship for Utah State University. This prestigious scholarship is awarded to students who have demonstrated exceptional academic achievement, leadership, and dedication throughout their high school years, receiving. This honor reflects hard work, perseverance, and the bright potential for future success. While Grace was awarded this full ride scholarship, he will actually be attending USC Chapel Hill in the fall. And I don't think we've shared this with you, Jace, but you also receive the State Employees Credit Union People Helping People scholarship. So surprise. Uh, congratulations, Jason, on both of these accomplishments.

[46:02] Also from early college, we are excited to recognize Yossi for being awarded the Westbridge Scholarship to attend Boston College. This highly competitive scholarship connects outstanding students with leading colleges and universities across the nation and recognizes exceptional academic achievement, leadership, and perseverance. Congratulations.

[46:28] From Central Cabarrus High School, we're proud to recognize Chris Akana for being selected the NYU Stern Breakthrough Scholars Leadership Program at New York University School of Business. This distinguished program provides scholars for years of mentorship, leadership development, individualized support, and is designed to help students excel academically and as leaders within the university community. We are very excited for you.

[46:58] From Cox Mill High School, we're excited to recognize Avi Deshmukh for earning the prestigious Parke Scholarship at North Carolina State University. This highly competitive four year scholarship is awarded to students who demonstrate outstanding scholarship, leadership, service and character, and it provides funding for tuition, fees, room, board and enrichment opportunities. Being selected as a park scholar places Avi among an exceptional group of student leaders and innovators across the state. Congratulations.

[47:31] Also from Cox Mill. We're excited to recognize Cameron Thomas for being awarded the Cheatham White Scholarship at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University. This award is highly competitive, and it's awarded to students who demonstrate exceptional academic achievement, leadership, character, and civic engagement. It covers all the other things that this that others do, but also enrichment opportunities and leadership development. Congratulations.

[48:02] Also from Cox Mill. Ishaan carrot has been awarded a Reserve Officer Training Corps scholarship to attend Georgetown. The scholarship recognizes students who demonstrate exceptional leadership, academic achievement, discipline and commitment to service, and it provides significant support for college tuition and educational expenses. While this is an incredible honor, Ishaan has chosen to continue his academic journey at Harvard instead.

[48:32] We're excited to celebrate your accomplishments from Hickory Ridge High School. We're excited to see that Isaac Tate, sorry, who is not here tonight, has been awarded the Carolina Dramatic Art scholarship, which is a highly selective, renewable, four year award from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill that recognizes exceptional talent and achievement in the dramatic arts. Also from Hickory Ridge, we are proud to announce that Flannery Hunt has been recognized as a recipient of the Liz McRae College Tuition Exchange Scholarship and competitive merit based program that provides tuition support through a national network of participating institutions. This recognition reflects Flannery's accomplishments and continued promise as you begin your next chapter. Congratulations!

[49:19] From J.M. Robinson High School, we're excited to announce that another exceptional student journey Powell has earned the prestigious Cheatham White Scholarship to attend NC A and T State University. This prestigious full ride scholarship recognizes students from their exceptional academic achievement, leadership, character, and commitment to service. And Cameron from Cox Mill. Meet journey, another future Aggie and fellow Cheatham White scholar. So congratulations.

[49:49] From West Cabarrus High School. Everett Michalski could not be here tonight, but he has received the Levine Scholars at UNC Charlotte, and the Levine Scholar Program is one of the university's most prestigious awards, reserved for students who demonstrate extraordinary academic excellence, leadership, and a strong commitment to service. We're very excited for all of you. Congratulations again to all of tonight's students. Your achievements are impressive. Your futures are bright and we are proud to celebrate you this evening.

[50:22] Are we shaking or waving?

[50:32] Yeah.

[50:38] Thank you.

[50:43] Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

[50:55] Thank God.

[51:02] Okay, well, those were pretty amazing accomplishments, amazing students. So we're going to move on to 4.8 which is the performance for performing arts state level recognitions. And we have Mr. Bert Tolbert at the podium. Good evening. Hello.

[51:21] The Harris Road Middle School band students were awarded a number of honors this year. The sixth grade band, represented tonight by Chloe Elster, Shines and Jordan Davis, received a superior rating in grade one music at the 2026 North Carolina music Performance Assessment in March. The seventh grade band, represented Tonight by Ryan Cardea and Ana Abajo, received a superior rating in grade two music at MPA, while the eighth grade band represented Tonight by Conor Parish received a superior Superior rating in grade three. Music. Additionally, Chipola auditioned and was selected for the 2026 North Carolina All-State Middle School Band. The Harrisburg Middle School Band is under the direction of Miss Leah Pifer and Miss Brianna Hobbs. Congratulations to these students and teachers.

[52:20] Thank you so much for

[52:23] joining us.

[52:28] Thank.

[52:36] You for having.

[52:39] Us.

[52:42] Thank you.

[52:50] Both the Harris Road Middle School sixth grade chorus and the seventh and eighth grade combined chorus, represented tonight by Annabel Vardy and Ellison Brookes. Trinity. Valerie, Arlene Jansch and Dawson Mickens received superior ratings at the 2026 North Carolina music Performance Assessment in March. Additionally, Shiv Ganduje auditioned and was selected for the 2025 North Carolina Honors Chorus held this past November. The director of the Harris Middle School choral program is Miss Rachel Juliano. Congratulations to these students and their teacher.

[53:43] I am.

[54:02] Nolan Wingfield from Concord High School. Auditioned and was selected for both the 2026 North Carolina All-State orchestra and the North Carolina All-State band. The Concord High School Band program is under the direction of Mr. Ed Harper. Congratulations to Nolan and Mr. Harper for these outstanding accomplishments.

[54:53] The Kirksville High School Wind Ensemble, represented tonight by Jordan Scott and William Jenkins, received a superior rating in grade six music at the North Carolina music Performance Assessment in March, while the Cox Mill High School Concert Band, represented tonight by Gianna Benavides and Sofia Shapiro, received a superior rating in grade five. Music. The Cox Mill Band program is under the direction of Mr. Drew Carter. Congratulations to these students and their teacher.

[55:30] At.

[55:57] The West Cabarrus High school wind ensemble. Represented tonight by Reagan Vickers, Gabriel Bravo and Ella Touchable received a superior rating in grade 4 or 5 music at the 2026 North Carolina music Performance Assessment in March. Additionally, Gabriel Bravo auditioned and was selected for the Honors Performance Series at Carnegie Hall. This program selects top performing high school students from around the world, offering them the opportunity to rehearse and perform under renowned conductors on one of the world's most iconic stages. The director of the West Campus Band program is Emily MacNeil. Congratulations to these students and their teachers.

[56:49] Thank you.

[57:00] Okay, that comes to the end of our recognition portion of the meeting. We're going to move on to section five, which is the approval of minutes and board members. We have the minutes from last month and March 30th. April 6th and April 13th. You've had an opportunity to review those. There's no changes to those. I would like a motion and a second to approve the master presenter. So move second. Okay. Thank you Sam. Thank you Pam. All right. We have a motion and a second. Any further discussion? Okay. Let's vote on the minutes. All in favor approving those minutes from March 30th, April 6th and April 13th. Please say aye. Aye aye. Okay. The minutes have been approved. Moving on to section six, which is chair and board? Chair. Comments. I'll try to keep mine fairly brief, but I do want to recognize as we approach the end of the school year, I'd like to thank our teachers, our staff, administrators, students and families for the tremendous work that has been taking place all across Cabarrus County schools. This is a time of year that reminds us how much our schools have accomplished each and every day, and we are grateful for the everyone who contributes to that success. So two items I wanted to cover was first, our budget discussions with the county. So I'd like to briefly address the current budget discussions with the county. At this point, we have not had a full discussion with the county commissioners regarding our budget request since that item was removed from the commissioners agenda last month. Our responsibility as a board is to present the operational capital needs of the school district, while the commissioners ultimately determine what our local funding levels will be. As everyone understands, costs continue to rise significantly. Many of our non-discretionary are we don't have control over. Expenses are increasing faster than the county's target growth rate. Last week, our staff presented us with what it might what it might take to meet that 4.5% level. The county has said that they're willing to to support And the impacts of those would be substantial because of those additional rising costs. Throughout this process, the school system has responded to requests for information and worked in good faith to provide transparency regarding our budget. A reasonable people can disagree on priorities and funding levels, but I believe these conversations are most productive when they are based on facts, context, and shared commitment to serving our students and taxpayers. At the end of the day, all of us, our school board members, our county commissioners, staff and community want a strong school system and successful future for our students. So again, I've said this before, but I want to remind our budget discussions are best resolved through direct conversations and collaboration, and not through social media exchanges or public speculation. And the other item here is our bathroom policy discussion. So just a summary of that is really I want to address that. To be clear, this board has not voted on any bathroom policy for comparison. County schools. There was a parents Bill of rights that was related to overnight trips, and that those policies have been approved by this board unanimously. So in the absence of a policy, our staff and superintendent are expected to follow the current law and leave it with legal guidance. Any future policy changes would occur through the board's normal public process, which gives opportunities for review and public input before any action is taken. So I want to emphasize there's no need to vilify our students, our families, our staff members, our community members with this issue. We can respect disagree while still treating one another with some dignity. Our board has received no information indicating a safety issue related to this current situation, but we also recognize that it does involve student privacy concerns. There are legal considerations and potential financial liability for our local taxpayers. Taxpayers. Many school districts across North Carolina are facing the same legal landscape. There are ongoing court cases that could provide additional clarity in the near future, when the Supreme Court rules on them. Because of that, we believe it is important that we approach this issue carefully, thoughtfully and responsibility. And that's why a lot of you are here to share your your thoughts on on this. As elected officials, our responsibilities to listen to you, ask questions, understand the implications of our decisions, and act in the best interest of students. And then lastly, I just want to thank the Cabarrus County Sports Hall of Fame. They had their Walk of Fame opening this past weekend and we were invited to that. I think Pam and I attended. It's really quite impressive. So the next time you are at the Paris arena, you will see. I think it's almost 100 athletes that have been recognized from Cabarrus County and more to come. But the other neat thing that they are doing new they're offering scholarships to to students. So keep keep an eye out for that. So with that I will pass it on to Doctor Vicki for the superintendent comments. Thank you, Mr. Walter. Good evening. As we move into the final full week of the school year, our students staff are preparing for the end of grade test and, of course, exams, final exams and graduation. This time of year always brings a mixture of excitement, reflection, and anticipation to all of our students across Cabrera's County schools. We want you to know how proud we are of the hard work, determination, and growth you have shown throughout the school year. Whether you are taking EOG, an EOC, or a final exam, remember that these moments do not define you. They are simply opportunities to demonstrate. We have learned and how far you have come. So please take a deep breath, do your best and know that we are cheering you on every step of the way. To our teachers, school leaders, support staff and families. Thank you. Thank you for the countless hours you have invested in supporting our students throughout the school year. Your encouragement, patience, and belief in our children make all the difference into the class of 2026 and your families. Congratulations. You are almost at the finish line. The caps and gowns are ready. District and school staff are making final preparations. The celebrations are beginning and soon you will walk across the stage carrying not only a diploma, but years of memories, friendships, challenges and accomplishments. We cannot wait to celebrate each of you in the days ahead. So as we approach the culmination of the school year, Cabarrus County Schools looks forward to celebrating an important milestone for all of our students throughout this week's early college graduation ceremonies. On Saturday, May 16th, we will honor the graduates of the Early College of Technology Cabarrus, Kannapolis Early College, and the inaugural graduating class of Cabarrus Health Science Institute. These ceremonies not only recognize academic achievement, but also reflect the innovation, Partnerships and future focused opportunities that continue to define our school district. The success of these graduates is mirrored in the broader accomplishments of our students and staff across Cabarrus County Schools. Our district continues to excel locally, statewide, and nationally as reflected in several recent accomplishments and recognitions this evening and achievements. Multiple CHS students were selected recently for the prestigious North Carolina Teaching Fellows program, continuing a tradition of students pursuing leadership in education and service to others. In addition, as educators recently earned statewide recognition through the Kenan Fellows Program and in North Carolina Department of Natural Cultural Resources Teacher Ambassador Program honors that reflect the expertise, innovation, and leadership present throughout our schools. Together, these achievements demonstrate the strength of our instructional programs and the lasting impact of the educators, staff, and community partnerships that support our students every day. As we celebrate these milestones, we remind it that our work continues to empower students to build their future and prepare them to make meaningful contributions far beyond graduation. Thank you, Mr. Walton. Thank you, Doctor Becky. All right. We're going to move on to section seven, which is our guest speakers section, and I will see if I can read this this time. So it's on on the record. These are our rules for the public comment time. Each speaker will be allowed up to three minutes to speak, and an individual speaking as a group may be allowed up to five minutes at the discretion of the board chair, to express interest and concerns related to official business of the board in the school district. The speakers will be called in the order in which they will receive the request. A person may not be substituted for a speaker, nor May 1st speaker donate time to another speaker. If the speaker runs out of time, then the speaker may leave the additional information with the board clerk. When the allocated time has expired, there will be a beeping and the microphone will be turned off. Statements reasonably perceived to be disruptive or intimately threatening to the orderly operation of the meeting shall not be permitted. Any limitation to public comments shall be viewed to a point neutral. I have the authority to rule a speaker out of order. If the speaker or attendee willfully interrupts, disturbs, or disrupts the meeting, that speaker or attendee will be asked by me, I guess, to leave the meeting. If the speaker or attendee refuses to leave the meeting after being asked, then the speaker or attendee will be escorted out of the meeting and they may be prosecuted under this general statute 14331817

[1:06:46] and then this is an important board. Members will not respond to individuals who address the board except to request Clarifications of points made by the presenter. So I guess now that we all understand what the the rules are here for our public comment, and I do want to thank everybody for coming out. There are over 25 of you. And so this may take a little while, but we'll go through. We're going to start with who signed up first, which would be Maria Guild, are you here?

[1:07:14] Is everybody in the room? She's not here. Okay, we're going to move on to number two. Kate McMillan, are you here?

[1:07:26] Or is everybody in the room?

[1:07:29] Okay, um, moving on to number three. Orlando Jacobs, are you here? Okay, welcome. Could you come forward to the podium? You have three minutes, sir.

[1:07:48] Good evening. Good evening.

[1:07:54] Good evening, members of hell. Are we not reading this? How y'all doin? My name is Orlando Jacobs. I live in Cabarrus County, and I came here to address you, as a lot of us have in regards to some things that's going on in school bathrooms. Before I begin, I do want to first off say to everyone here, this is a beautiful community of people who have concerns for their daughters, but at the same time who have concerns for their children. I am a 40 year old adult male, 40 year old black gay adult male who lives in Cabarrus County, who understands what it feels like not to be represented, who understands what it means and what it feels like to live a life of fear and everything that I have heard thus far, because this board did not have a statement or gave appropriate directions to how this particular situation was to be handled. This is what we have people fighting with each other, people putting children against each other and that is not a cool feeling. Now, I'm not sure where the miscommunication went through, but we are talking about children using bathrooms. A urinal we watched on social media where adults attacked children verbally. We talked about one kid being is another kid being having Down's syndrome, and we blamed all this on an individual who was supposed to be transgender. I hadn't seen that transgender kid yet, but yet we seemed to always go that direction when we have a disagreement. Not only when we don't like something, we call on people to make things political. Well, it is time for that to stop. We need to start having better conversations and have better directions for our kids. What if there is a kid in this group right now who may think they're transgender? That is between them and their children and their parents, not the community. For the parents to decide, but when the school board is not given the appropriate directions. And forgive me. I had some wonderful relationships with teachers who have helped me to learn who I am as an individual through the power of books. I may not understand Cabarrus County, but they got great books on it. And if we don't understand, then we need to make sure we have the appropriate individuals in positions to teach our children. And one other thing. How much time we got? 45 seconds. I'm gonna use it justice. Yeah, a lot of y'all thought I was just carrying a purse that was theatrical. Like some of the behaviors we had here. You got some beautiful children here. A lot of y'all could be Miss North Carolina, by the way. Okay. At the end of the day, what is it going to take for us to come together and solve this problem? So no child feels like they are being bullied or pressured. Leave the politics at home. Oh, I got more time. Leave the politics at home. We may not agree, but at what I did see in this community is a bunch of adults who cared about kids. Now, I do believe your sign should say all kids and not just girls. I am a father too. And I'm gonna protect my daughter as well. Okay. Thank you. Thank you. Okay. Speaker number four is Melanie quick or Melody quick? I'm sorry.

[1:11:05] Welcome.

[1:11:10] I don't know how to follow that. And I will read mine because I'm scared to death. So. Um. Good evening. Members of the board, Doctor Kopecky and the cabinet members, thank you for the opportunity to speak as a Vex coach. And I am concerned about the funding for Vex. But I am. Here also to tell you a story. During the conference finals last year, our one team from Mount Pleasant Middle School found me and explained that they had a serious problem with their their last alliance or competition because their controller wasn't working and I reminded them that we had extras. However, it was determined that they were not connecting to their robot. So in true Vex coach faction that we have to do, I looked at them and stated, figure it out. You see, as a Vex coach, when students are posed with a challenge, they're tasked with finding the solution. The team walked away disappointed that they possibly not be able to participate in their last alliance. But one small voice looked at me and said, Mrs. Quick, are we allowed to ask another team to borrow their controller? I looked at him and said, good problem solving, do what you need to do. Well, my student went to another team that didn't have to compete for the next few alliances and borrowed their controller. They were happy to help them. After all, we at Vex competitions are working for the same goal, just like we do at the school. You have been provided with a challenge. The Board of Commissioners are telling you that Cabarrus County doesn't have the funds, and you need to figure it out on Thursday. A couple of weeks ago, we were provided with a flyer to list the possible cuts to the budget for the purpose of transparency. It was not. It was political. It was to rile up the parents, teachers, and community members to complain and get angry about the items that were being cut. It was strategic. It was not communication. It was emotionally driven. Programs that parents and students are passionate about are on that list. And due to this purpose, it bothered me enough to be standing here today. You didn't get your 8.43% that you wanted and maybe disappointed. So what can you do? First and foremost, after seeing information that's been posted about the budget, I pray someone on this board did their due diligence in closed session to check the numbers and that we weren't over requesting funds. Other possible solutions to the problem could be to petitions, businesses write grants, or fundraising. You build a flyer to get people upset at the county commissioners, but that won't get tangible results. It doesn't mean that they don't value education. They know they have a budget shortfall, and they're trying to let you know that there are not funds available, and you need to figure it out. You're looking at me. Great story, but a controller is not $4.3 million. To him It was. It was everything he had worked for all year. Learn a lesson from a child. Teachers do it every day. Personally, the Cabarrus County school system I worked for for 18 years is better than that flyer. I believe that the community of Cabarrus County is better than the tensions and discord that's being created from both sides of the aisle, and to everyone in this room. Prove me right. Make me truly proud to be a member of Cabarrus County Schools. My suggestion to the school board, in true Vex coach fashion, is we can't be complaining. We have to figure it out. Thank you. Thank you.

[1:14:22] Speaker number five is Jen. Is it pronounced Kevin?

[1:14:34] Good evening.

[1:14:37] My name is Jennifer. Covey. I grew up in Mount Pleasant. Born and raised. Class of 1999. Being that my dad is a Southern Baptist pastor here locally, I grew up in the church. I served as a youth minister, a missionary, and the Bible Club Bible Club president for Mount Pleasant High School. I went on to achieve a bachelor's degree and a master's degree in biblical Studies in theology. And I did this because I actually know what it is to have a relationship and not try to impose that onto other people, and to use it as policy against other people. Now, most recently, I'm a breast cancer survivor, and I only say all of that to say this because I know with my next statement, the majority of the people here will invalidate my existence and that I am a part of the transgender community. Trans kids exist. There's a simple truth grounded in human experience science and data, not ideology. They are our neighbors, our classmates, and members of our family. Their lives deserve acknowledgment, compassion, and dignity. As parents, grandparents, faith leaders, concerned citizens and allies. We stand together because our trans youth are under attack. Across this county and across the country. Politicians are trying to erase and deny them basic dignity and care that they need to strive to survive and thrive. We even have a sitting county commissioner who likes to diagnose his constituents with having mental illness. Well, I did not know Mr. Pittman had a doctorate in biology, but I would encourage him to come and let me know that, because I promise you, I don't. I am a mother. I am a wife, I am a grandmother. I am more than what the label that is put on me by the people in this room. And so I say to Mr. Pittman and to every adult in this room, to the parents. Enough is enough. Stop bullying trends, kids. Trans kids are not a political pawn. When a child expresses their truth about their gender, it takes courage in our jobs as adults is to listen with compassion, support and protect them. I also stand before you, not only a member of this community, but as someone who was shaped by Scripture. The Bible teaches that the God love is unwavering and unconditional. It celebrates the beautiful diversity of his creation. Every single person is fearfully and wonderfully made. That includes trans kids.

[1:17:06] God did not ever specify anything against the transgender community and said he taught us to love thy neighbor as ourselves, not thy cisgendered, white Christian neighbor, but all.

[1:17:23] To the trans kids, if you're here, if you're listening, I'm just I want to stand here before you and let you know that you're seen and that you are loved. I don't care if you're out or in. There is a community here that will stand and fight for you. We have been in this fight a long time and as much as you want. Thank you. Thank you.

[1:17:46] All right. Next speaker is Joanna Lopez. And I apologize if I pronounce that wrong.

[1:18:04] Carolina, a public teacher and a mom of three. My oldest daughter graduated from Jay Robinson High School last year. I have twins that are in Jay Robinson High School now, and they are heavily involved in school activities throughout their school and sports. And before I say anything, I want to recognize the incredible teachers and coaches and administrators at Jay and Robinson High School. The staff there have worked so incredibly hard to support students academically, emotionally, and personally. My daughters have been surrounded by educators and coaches who genuinely care about the kids, all kids. And as a parent, I am grateful for the environment that has helped create. Over the past several days, there has been a significant attention on a few isolated incidents, with growing concern and conversation about what this means for the safety of their schools. As a mother of three daughters, I can only speak to my personal experiences. And they have. They can. I can honestly say that none of them have come home worried about boys and bathrooms in our locker rooms, but they have talked about feeling unsafe during bomb threats, during lockdowns, active shooting drills and fear that comes with violence in schools across the country. That's what students are talking about, and I think it's important that we are focused on the things students are dealing with. If we want to improve safety in our schools, we should be investing in stronger mental health supports for all students. Support safety, prevent resources. Doing more to prevent school violence. ensuring every school has a full time nurse, a full time social worker and a full time guidance counselor. At the same time, we cannot ignore other major issues facing Cabarrus County schools, and that's compared to teachers retaining Cabarrus teachers. Cabarrus County is losing highly educated, highly qualified educators to surrounding districts because teachers cannot simply afford to stay in North Carolina and Cabarrus County. Right now, the starting pay for Cabarrus County teacher is $46,330 a year, and an estimated wage of living in North Carolina is $46,700. That means the beginning teacher is making about what it means to be for them to support themselves without raising children, paying student loans, or supporting a family. And that should concern all of us when we're talking about recruiting and training information for educators. I know I'm personally one of them. I cannot afford to work in Cabarrus County because I have a family of five, and so I work in a school district that pays me more outside of Cabarrus County. I have a daughter who is going to school right now to be an educator who would love to work in Cabarrus County, and she is currently looking at working in other districts or other states. My plea for you is that you please continue to advocate for more teacher pay and more teacher funding from the state and local. I know you cannot do it from yourself, but please continue to advocate as the president of the PMC. I welcome any conversations to see how we can work together in additional funding for schools. Thank you. Okay. My next speaker is Jamie Stirewalt. Are you here? There you are.

[1:21:22] Can't see me, I promise. And my name is baby. Yeah. Turn on the microphone.

[1:21:31] Okay.

[1:21:34] My name is Jamie. I'm a 46 year old native of Cabarrus County. I grew up attending Cabarrus County Schools, graduating almost 30 years ago. I went on to work in Cabarrus County schools for almost 20 years. This topic of gender equality, in reference to using the same restroom and locker room, doesn't sit well with my spirit. You may have noticed that I walk with a limp and wear a brace on my leg. My physical difference is growing up how I wanted to be treated. I never expected other people to settle for what I wanted or what I thought I needed. It was what it was. I wanted to fit in. I definitely did. And let me just say, when you accept someone versus condoning them, there's two different things that identify that you have to identity. You give yourself versus identity that others give you. I'm a mother. I'm a wife. I'm a teacher. I'm a Christian. What you think and feel are internal. The way you talk to and treat it is one thing. But when you look at physical traits, it's different. Growing up in school, in this school system, I was always laughed at, pointed out, teased, made fun of. So if anyone knows what it's like to want to physically fit in, I do. But you can't expect everyone to accept your differences and change what they do when it comes to sharing a space that's meant to protect your privacy based on physical traits. For example, I wanted to be a cheerleader. Growing up in school, I couldn't do that. I knew that, but it would be like me going to the cheerleading coach and say, hey, I want to do this. And I expect from the cheerleading coach to say, oh, well, girls, you know, here's what we're going to do. And if you can't do it, I'm sorry, but this is what we have to do to accommodate her. I never expected that. Same thing with with students. I teach first grade. Just this morning, I had a student come to me wanting to ask the student across from her stopped talking because it was distracting her. She had asked and he wouldn't listen. He was working with the partner. He wasn't in the seat that physically belonged to him. If I told her to either deal with it or move away from the seat that physically belonged to her, that wouldn't have been right. This is the same principle. This isn't about gender versus another when it comes to right or wrong feelings, etc. this is about what's physically there, not there. It's like it's black and white, just like a chessboard. There is no gray area. We need to checkmate this now. You also need to consider the safety of every student, these young men and women that are willing to stand up and start standing up for the right to privacy. I know what I've taught my daughter to do, and there's going to be a bigger issue. I would like for my daughter to remain innocent, and it's the same for every male and female. Thank you.

[1:24:23] Okay. My next speaker is Lila Sanders. Are you here? Are you?

[1:24:40] My name is Leila Sanders, and I'm a ninth grader at Mount Pleasant High School. I'm here to speak about my concerns with the bathroom policy in our county. There have been biological males going to female bathrooms, which raises serious concerns for me and many other students. Last time we were here, title nine was used as the reason schools supposedly cannot create policies keeping biological males out of the female bathrooms and locker rooms. The argument was that doing so would be discrimination based on sex. However, if you actually look at the definition of sex, it is a classification of male or female based on reproductive organs, chromosomes, and biological functions. Gender, on the other hand, refers to a person's self-representation or how they are viewed by society. Title nine specifically refers to sex, not gender identity. Therefore, it does not stop policies from being put into place. In fact, the Women's Safety and Protection Act went into effect in October 2025 and was created to protect the safety, privacy and dignity of women and girls by keeping private spaces single sex based on biology. This policy provides protections regarding covered facilities, including public schools receiving state funds. These protections were created for a reason and schools should be following them. Bathrooms and locker rooms have always been separated by sex to protect privacy, comfort and safety, so why not keep it that way? Women's rights and protections depend on policies that recognize the biological differences between men and women. A biological male will never experience the same physical and emotional changes that a biological female will go through, which is why many girls feel their privacy should remain protected in spaces meant for them. I also believe allowing biological males in a female bathrooms creates a possibility for dangerous situations. Just because nobody has been harmed yet that we know of does not mean it would never happen. Policies should exist to prevent unsafe situations before they happen, not after. For example, what if a male student falsely claimed to be transgender simply to enter the girl's bathroom with bad intentions? Even the possibility of that happening makes many students uncomfortable and scared. Because you will not help us get the policies we need. Who would really be at fault if anything happened to a child? You will not protect us because you are scared of a lawsuit, right? Then you should also consider the possibility of one. Because of public funded schools failing to protect the students it is responsible for. I am 15 years old and even I can see why these protections matter. Why this job? If you are not willing to fully protect the students in this county, which is exactly what your job is supposed to be, other states have already taken steps to keep bathrooms and locker rooms separated by biological sex, and I believe North Carolina should do the same. I also want to make it clear that this is not about hatred towards transgender people at all. Every student deserves respect and kindness. My concern is about privacy, safety, and maintaining clear boundaries in private spaces like bathrooms and locker rooms. Supporting protections for women and girls does not mean wishing harm or disrespect towards anyone else. I believe it is possible to treat everyone with dignity while still recognizing biological differences and protecting private spaces. There can be alternative solutions for students who feel uncomfortable using bathrooms that match their biological sex, without forcing other students to give up their own sense of privacy and safety. We will not stop speaking up until we get the policies we need. Thank you. Thank you. Mr..

[1:27:55] Speaker number nine is Brandon Matthews.

[1:28:07] Well, Mr. Rob Walter. Emailed. Me and told me. That I'm a little aggressive. The fact that a girl just had to stand up here and explain to you how it's done is an embarrassment to this county. I can call each one of you out on your floors. I asked you last week to stand up because standing up just just shows that you support the safety of the kids. That's not correct. What she said earlier. Nobody's targeting a child. All we're asking is that the bathrooms are accessible to each gender. If they want that, then create a new bathroom. They were offered faculty keys. It was turned down. So if if why was it turned down? If you're worried about being bullied, if you're worried about targeting, why would you turn that down? You know what? It it's a tension. That's all it is. And that's fine. If they want to do that, it's none of my business. But there's ways around this to where the one man said it, right? Everybody's posters out there was about kids. and at the end of the day, it boils down to the kids. But you have let this county down. Rob, you were way out of your league. Sit in that seat. It's the brutal truth. You need to hand it down. Miss Melanie, you should be jumping up and down saying you support these girls. Greg, you see the posters? That's what people are going to remember you by. How does that make you feel? There's a simple way to do it. And I can talk as calm as you want. Or I can get aggressive. I don't mind scaring you, I really don't. Dear God, I want to put the fear of God on you so that anytime somebody touches this little girl, I'm going to hang them from my garage. You don't. Want. Me to get aggressive. You don't want me to get aggressive. I'm being very calm. It can get a lot worse. So respect the fact that you have people here trying to tell you how to do your job. So the best thing you can do is the coward that didn't show up. Revoke his contract. I can't believe y'all renewed it after we left the other night. That man needs to go. He has no experience in educational law. No, zero. She's too much of a coward, Miss Melanie. Right. Here you go. Stand up and just say I support the safety of the kids. That's it. You can rob. You said you couldn't stand up. Yes. You can't. Y'all just stood up for the awards. I was told this guy has a bad hip and can't stand up. She just stood up. Fine. Every one of you got an excuse. What is it? I mean, God almighty, y'all come on. We, a bunch of grown adults and a girl had to walk up here a high schooler and tell y'all how to do your job. Baby, tell these people it's real simple, isn't it? Yes. I'm personally a girl, and I wouldn't want a boy following me in the girls bathroom. It's inappropriate. Now, listen, do I tell you to treat any other kid differently? No. How do you treat everybody. I changed. The way. Thank you, Mr. Matthew. What happens if you bully somebody? Thank you, Mr. Matthew. I appreciate your comments. It's real simple.

[1:31:17] Okay. Next.

[1:31:24] Our next speaker is Doug Winthrop.

[1:31:30] Before, before. Before you. Start. Before you start your speaking for a group so you get five minutes. Can you explain briefly the group that you. So much board for. This opportunity? I greatly appreciate it. In the first Thor movie, there's a character who doesn't get much screen time, but everything hinges on him. Heimdall. Heimdall stands at the entrance to Bifrost, the bridge that connects the worlds, and nothing gets in or out without going through him. He holds the authority to open and close the gate. At one point, when everything is under threat, Heimdall makes a decision. He draws his sword and he locks the gate. Why? Because he understands that when the gate is compromised, everything behind it is at risk. Board. You are the gatekeepers of the Board of Education of this county. And I say this humbly but respectfully. You have been entrusted with the responsibility to protect our sons and daughters in regards to the issue of transgender bathroom usage. You have forfeited your right to remain neutral. First, as a pastor within our community. Let me address this from a spiritual vantage point and the issue involving protection of children. Jesus teaches in Matthew 18 that the degree to which we welcome and protect the innocence of children is directly connected to receiving his blessing into our communities. He goes on to warn that if anyone causes one of these little ones to stumble, it would be better for a millstone to be tied around their neck and be drowned in the depths of the sea. Those aren't my words. This is lamb holding Jesus. He calls for extreme measures when it comes to protecting children. Second, let's walk through the practical issues. Just. By asking some questions. Number one is this about title nine? Congressman Addison McDowell, in a letter written May 7th, said, as you know, title nine was established to preserve and protect equal opportunities for women in educational programs and privacy in facilities. These policies protecting female students are not just best practices, they're actually enforceable laws. And federal education funding is predicated on schools compliance. The Cabarrus County School District's decision not to protect female facilities actually goes in the face of this law, which has been affirmed and reaffirmed at the highest levels of government in 2024, the Supreme Court blocked former President Biden's unprecedented attempt to redefine sex under title nine to include gender identity. On the first day this new administration took office, the president issued an executive order which restored the administration's policy and forcing title nine based solely on biological sex. To say that title nine handcuffs you is inaccurate and you're getting bad legal counsel if they're telling. You that. Number. Second question is this about the money? The facts are that only 10% of the Cabarrus County district budget is from federal dollars, one of the lowest in the state. Great job loss of funding is extremely unlikely, given that the very administration that is defending biological sex would have to be the one to take it away. But even if that would ever happen in the future, what would it look like if state and local entities were prepared to make up the difference. Third question is this about potentially being sued? It was mentioned earlier, but what about being sued by a young lady who's physically, mentally, or emotionally traumatized by the current situation? The current lack of policy is a powder keg for potential litigation. One of the most important things in defending yourself is consistency in your policies. And your own policies are actually inconsistent. You have a policy defining biological sex for sports overnight accommodation, but no policy for protecting biological sex in restrooms and locker rooms. Any good legal representation will tell you that's extremely dangerous to have inconsistent policies. If we're afraid to stand before a judge and defend our policies, I would argue that the judge we should we should fear is not in a courtroom, build by human hands, and does not preside over the Fourth Circuit. This judge presides over the courtroom of heaven, and we will all stand and give an account for every action. I'm being told this is a complex issue. I promise you it's not. There's nothing complex about this. It's not confusing. It's common sense. It's about protecting. Protecting our daughter's board. I urge you, do not be driven by fear based counsel. Do not allow intimidation to silence your responsibility. These are not the days to remain neutral. These are the days to stand. These are the days to act with courage. These are the days to protect our sons and daughters. Cabarrus County School Board, I urge you, please adopt a policy that assigns restroom and locker room usage to that of biological sex. Thank you so much.

[1:37:07] Our next speaker is Courtney Steinberg.

[1:37:14] Hello. Um, so tonight I want. To speak to you fully about funding and. The current situation. That we find ourselves in. Uh, so several years ago, I was in the same room. Talking. To different people. Um, but probably about the same thing. Uh, because it was probably budget season and you guys were doing all the Vex. Uh, congratulations. And I had my kid with me, and I'm pretty sure he was in kindergarten, and he said, mommy, I want to do that. That is the only thing he has wanted to do every single year he wants to do. Vex, he is one of your top performers, and there are many kids like him. And he will do vex whether I pay for it or not. But how many kids won't? You already are paying. Parents are already paying $200 a year to do this program, and you're going to put more cost onto them. That's just not equitable. We talk about equity. We talk about concerns. That's not equitable. And I understand everybody is in a really, really tough position, right? I mean, and it starts at the state level, their inability to do their job and tell us what the budget needs to be. And I've asked them and I know you have asked them, and I will continue to ask them to fund our schools and pass a budget. It will make all of our lives easier. But past that, I would also ask our county commissioners to please sit down in good faith with our school board and come up with a plan. I'm not going to tell anybody exactly what needs to be done or say that everybody is perfect, but there has got to be a better way to fund our schools that doesn't directly impact our kids and their educational outcomes, which is what we're looking at right now. When I looked in the brief amount of time that I had at some of the documents that are out, I looked at what do we have at Central Office? Because we've talked about absorbing teacher positions. We have absorbed a ton of things at school level. What do we have in Central office? Well, I looked at over 110 people that make over $150,000 a year. I looked at ten positions that make between 125 and 150,000, and I looked at 24 positions that make between 100 and 125,000. All of these people are valuable. Everything they do is valued. However, if you're running a business, which I don't always think government should run like a business, if you're running a business, though, when you look at this, there are massive inefficiencies. There just have to be. For an organization this size to have this type of overhead is not a standard. So before you cut another teacher position or before you cut another thing that directly impacts our students. Look at your inefficiencies. Stop budgeting above what you actually are using. Budget accurately and unnecessary subscriptions and memberships. And if you're going to cut anything at the school level, the same percentage should be cut at head office. I love these people. I love these people, and it's not personal. But you can't keep hurting our kids. Thank you.

[1:40:22] Next speaker is Addie Baxter.

[1:40:36] Good evening. Members of the board. My name is Addie. I'm a 15 year old student at Mount Pleasant High School. And today I'm here because I care about my school. But more importantly, I'm here right now because students like me don't feel safe in spaces where privacy should be respected.

[1:40:51] There's been situations where biological male has been in the women's restroom.

[1:40:58] It was reported it was redressed, and yet nothing. That is unacceptable. When students speak up about safety and nothing happens. You send the message that we don't matter. You send a message that girls are accepted, are expected to stay quiet, stay uncomfortable, and deal with the situation by themselves. That is not leadership. That's failure. I've had countless students, parents and community members thank me for standing up because they're too afraid to do it themselves. Think about that for a moment. They're too afraid to speak up because they're scared to be ignored, mocked, or labeled for saying something. Fathers should not have to worry whether their daughters feel unsafe in schools. Mothers should never have to wonder whether the people they elected to protect their students are going to dismiss them. If this board refuses to listen before something serious happens, the responsibility will fall on y'all. All the ones who ignored all warnings. I also want to bring up something that happened at the last meeting when the girls were addressing the situation showed up. Mr. William Eisenhower was seen smiling and showing lack of seriousness towards what had happened when the students raised concern about safety and leadership.

[1:42:26] Don't show responsibility. They and they show action. They don't show action and show passiveness. This is not about hate. This is not about attacking anyone. This is about protecting privacy, protecting boundaries, and protecting all students. The Bible says in Proverbs 318. Speak up for those who can't speak for themselves ensure justice for those who are being crushed. I'm doing this today. I'm 15 years old, and I'm using my voice because I believe students deserve to be heard, especially when something affects their daily sense of safety at school. Girls should not have to sacrifice their privacy to avoid offending anyone. Students should not have to ignore. They should not feel ignored when they speak up. This board should not have to wait until a terrifying and utterly scarring situation to occur before finally taking action. So tonight I asked this board to stop avoiding the issue, stop dismissing students, and stop pretending their concerns are minor. Do your job. Protect the students you are elected to serve, because a school should be a place where students can focus on learning, and not a place where they feel uncertain, unheard, and unsafe.

[1:43:54] Mr. Masters, please. Please, sir.

[1:44:03] Okay. We've all been very respectful so far. Let's let our next speaker speak. Uh, Gene wants. Are you here?

[1:44:20] Okay. Did the board get my materials? Uh, board clerk has it, but hasn't distributed it yet. Okay.

[1:44:31] Yeah. All right. Do I need to do anything to start? So thank you for affording me this time. I am here today to ask for support in running a pilot at one of our local elementary schools to begin to screen for vision disabilities. So we check hearing, we check sight, we check dental, we don't check vision. Sounds strange. I didn't understand what it was until my son had an issue. It's the way our eyes and our brain worked together. It impacts every single piece of school. That means it's going to impact behaviors. It's going to impact how kids learn. Um, and it's a huge gap. Our teachers don't understand it. And so our kids suffer on multiple levels because then we as parents don't know our kids have a problem. The teachers don't know they have a problem, they don't understand it. And so I have worked with a local specialist who is willing to come in and run a pilot program to test kindergarten, second, um, as well as provide check sheets. So parents or teachers who have a concern in those interim years can go through the list of questions. If they fall in a spot where, hey, this might be a concern with vision, they can actually come be a part of that screening. She's willing to come and educate our teachers. So when I look right for the very personal case, my son in kindergarten, first and second grade was sent to summer school for not meeting grade standards. And as a parent, I would go to the educators and they'd say, he's a boy. He's just young. He'll grow out of it, whatever. And he said, something isn't right. And it took me a long time to figure out what that was. Now that he has that, I've worked with great educators and great people who are trying, but they don't understand it. And truthfully, I've lived with it a while. Sometimes it's wacky to me how his brain works, right? But he has to paper test. He can't do the online gyrations. But this child who went through the vision therapy. Who was diagnosed? Went from summer school for his first three years. He's in eighth grade. He has college credits already from Queen's University. He's in double accelerated math. He is excelling academically, not because of anything other than he can now achieve his potential. So what I'm asking you guys today is work with me so I can help you achieve your destination. 27 your two priorities. Priority number one address the whole child. Priority. Number two, make sure that you have individualized teaching and learning so these children can achieve their potential. This is a $0 ask. I'm willing to help. I have a professional in the community who's willing to help. All I want to do is start to get the awareness and the understanding for our children, our parents and our teachers and educators so that we can go ahead and get these children the support they need so that they don't fall through the cracks. I appreciate the offer and the information. I'm sure somebody will reach out to you.

[1:47:52] Next speaker signed up is Dave Calvert. How are you here?

[1:48:01] I've been told that I'm halfway there. So you guys are halfway to with the speakers.

[1:48:09] I'd like to thank each of you board members. Um, I. Know that each of you have made a great sacrifice of your time and your resources to be a Board of Education member, and I think that's probably goes unrecognized. A lot of times you're making the mold, basically, from which you're making the mold that will form educated and balanced young adults as they prepare to become leaders and productive citizens in our community. The definition of school safety includes the provision of secure environment where students are protected from physical, emotional, mental, and psychological harm. The Board of Education for Cabarrus County you have set at School safety as one of your 2026 legislative agenda agenda priorities. When I was a teacher for Cabarrus County Schools, um, student safety was a very high priority. Very much a leave no student behind mentality. A famous quote by Spock and I'm quoting Spock of Star Trek fame, not Doctor Spock. The needs of many outweigh the needs of the few. You know, I call that a perfume quote. It sounds real good, but it tastes horrible. The needs of the, um. The US Marines put action behind their motto of leave no man behind. The challenge of your little legislative agenda item of school safety is to balance those two concepts into a realistic plan, without violating the principle of doing harm to students. As a retired Cabarrus County School, as after I retired from Cabarrus County Schools, I served as a private school principal, uh, a college and university coach, and as an international Olympic coach. Um, I've coached all male teams. I've coached all female teams. I've coached coed teams ranging from. You know, we'll skip all that title nine since it started in and, uh, 1972 has been the subject of preferential bias, political hijacking, an inadequate fix, a quick fix accommodations. Um. School safety involves imparting a sense of value and safety to each student. Bathrooms and locker rooms are intimate places which provide the majority of students an environment that's a known and predictable area of privacy and security. As a middle school teacher. I saw firsthand the emotional trauma of a girl that had been exposed at a boy has exposed himself to her. It wasn't in a bathroom. Um, your job, I think, is. And I'm skipping down to my my closing remark is, uh, basically get those kids in an administrative bathroom and separate them from the other. Do you have a did you have a handout, a prepared speech?

[1:51:22] Thank you. Uh, my next speaker is Deborah Allen. Are you here?

[1:51:36] Good evening. Is the, uh, the the light is on. Maybe I need to bend down a little more. Um, so in a time when common sense is uncommon, it's very encouraging to hear these young ladies from Mount Pleasant High School, Mount Pleasant High School, and Cox Mill speak out on behalf of all young females for their right to privacy in bathrooms and locker rooms. So I'm here to echo their reasonable and rightful request tonight, and I implore you to hear them for this board to hide behind a bad legal decision as an excuse for their inaction is unconscionable and dangerous. Why not stand for what is right for common sense? The facts and the legal intent of title nine are evident. Recognizing how it was perverted by bureaucrats to impose a social and cultural revolution on the American people. May help you to better understand just how wrong your failure is. The rule by letter that William Eisenhower would know is a legal document. They were dear colleague letters. They were written to change title nine from its original legislative intent, which is to protect females from being discriminated against based on their biological sex. Title nine was specific for females through a legal provision that allowed for separate spaces, by opening up the world of athletics created to them. Males had been dominating the playing field for centuries. The title nine was carved out through an executive order, a way for women to compete in women's sports on the playing field. In an article published by National Affairs in 2018 entitled The Strange Evolution of Title nine, R Shep melnick, who, by the way, is from Columbia and he is not a Republican, wrote title nine cannot operate on on Dear Colleague letters because it goes beyond this normal requirement, demanding that all such rules also be assigned by the president. Well, an executive order was issued on January 20th, 20 and 25 announcing the administrator's policy to recognize two sexes, male and female. Essentially, it is lawful for local schools to require students to use the facilities that correspond to their biological sex. After all, sex is is static, not fluid. Sex, like race and national origin, is an immutable characteristic determined solely by the accident of birth. Title nine prohibits educational institutions that receive federal funding from discriminating on the basis of sex. Its sole purpose was to open the doors of educational opportunity to women. We simply cannot stand by and allow these protections to be eroded away by a misrepresented representation of the legal intent of this law. Let me be clear. In my last 10s, there was no equity law or provision in its intent to force any institution that receives federal funding to adopt a particular view of gender identity. We must stop confusing title nine with title seven. They are not the same and the desire to accommodate others discomfort cannot justify policy.

[1:54:57] The next speaker is Lexie Allman. Are you here?

[1:55:22] Good evening, Cabarrus County school board. My name is Lexi Allman. I'm a freshman at Mount Pleasant High School. I'm speaking about the biological male and one of the women's bathrooms. I don't think the biological male student should be called out in any way. However, this his rights are no more or no less important than mine or other females. When the principal was made aware she toed female, she told the female student who didn't feel comfortable with a biological male in the in the bathroom, that she would have to ask her for the alternate unisex bathroom key. I don't understand why this key was given to her when she was in her correct gender bathroom, and not the biological male. Our all girls going to receive this opportunity, so if so, will we all have to wait in line for 30 minutes in miss class in the future just so we can go to the bathroom, which is a basic human need and right, the female population in the school is at risk and female privacy is being violated. For biological males, this isn't only a problem at Mount Pleasant. This all simply could have been avoided by the principal giving the key to the giving the key of the unisex bathroom to the biological male. Instead of my friend who was in the correct bathroom. I hope that this should never be the case. But what if something was to happen in the bathroom and someone gets hurt? Hurt isn't just physical. Hurt is also feeling violated. I understand that this happens in society, but this is a public school where most students are under 18. Every year we take surveys and one of the biggest questions are do you feel safe? I think every female and male should be able to feel safe and not feel violated of their privacy. When we go on school trips that we stay overnight for, males and females are not allowed to stay in the same room. Why is this any different? As part of the North Carolina Legal Compliance and Regulations, it says it's required for males and females to sleep in separate rooms to ensure safety, privacy, compliance with the regulations. The staff and other adults are supposed to protect us and keep us safe. In this case, we haven't. Thank you. Thank you.

[1:57:28] It's just a reminder to check your cell phones. Make sure they're on silent. Don't interrupt our speakers. Um, next speaker is Barbara Hartzell.

[1:58:01] Good evening. Biology defines humans. Sex is set in motion. At. Conception. By. Chromosomes. With most females carrying two X chromosomes, and most males carry 1X1Y.

[1:58:20] Genesis 127. So God created. Mankind in his own image. In the image of God he created them, male and female, created them with House Bill. 805. And. President Trump's Executive Order 14168. For your reference, a policy needs to be made that students are to use the bathroom locker room that is their biological sex. I call on this board to make a motion and have a vote. Let the people know you are not afraid and where you stand. The community demands accountability. Now on to the budget. The out-of-control spending has to stop. We were millions in the red this year and y'all asked for more money. It is time for a full review of every dollar, and a review of the salaries that are three and four times higher than the state and national average. Starting at the top.

[1:59:33] Let's give him the respect of the finishes. Doctor Kopecky makes more than the North Carolina Superintendent of Public Instruction, which is a fixed rate by the General Assembly, which comes out to $168,000.

[1:59:47] The North Carolina average for a superintendent is $150,000. Capek's annual salary this year will be over one over 260,000.

[2:00:01] That is public record. You can find it. To 78. And up, plus a nice rotary membership. That is just one example, but I believe accountability starts at the top. I want the best resources for every student, but if we can't afford it, then we can't buy it for them. It is time to get back to the basics. Pencil and paper still work. We have great teachers who would love to just teach, no matter the resources, as long as they have the support the people deserve. Transparency. And right now all eyes are on this board. So will you step up to the challenge or will you continue to disappoint?

[2:00:56] Okay. My next speaker is Nathan King. Are you here?

[2:01:14] Good evening. I am Nathan King. I'm a pastor at Trinity United Church of Christ here in Concord for the last 25 years. Hard to believe I've been here that long. Thank you, board members, for allowing this time of public comment. I'm speaking on behalf of at least one school staff member who fears repercussions should they speak themselves. Although I concur with everything this person says, our daughters face a real threat right now in Cabarrus County schools.

[2:01:51] It's a threat that's only grown since last year. Our sons face the same stress, same threat, our normal sons, our normal daughters, our normal trans kids. They all face the same threat because it's far wider reaching and longer lasting than what some members of our community continue to focus on. That threat our children faces our federal, state, and local leaders inability to adequately fund our public schools and do it in a timely fashion. As a public school employee of several years, my friend assures you that that they are all focused on the safety of all our students. There's been a lot said about keeping all our students safe tonight. In a recent social media post, one parent correctly identifies the problem. The recent incident of a male SC student wandering into a local school. High school girls bathroom is a staffing problem. We should say staffing shortage because make no mistakes, staffing issues or funding issues, pure and simple. In North Carolina. EC programs have been underfunded since their inception. One state legislator wrongly claims that local schools are overestimating EC status and IEPs among students to get the full potential of available EC funds. Those funds are not ready are already not enough. Cabarrus County School administration, teachers and staff struggle to make do with the funding they have, and frequently go out of pocket to make sure their students have what they need. As our state government takes more and more of public school funding to pay for private charter and magnet school vouchers. Our public schools suffer the loss and pay the price.

[2:03:48] Money that follows students out of public schools into these voucher programs never returns. And when the students, if and when the students do return to the public schools, that money is not reimbursed. Our state leaders have clearly shown that public school funding is not a priority for them. North Carolina is the only state in the nation that hasn't passed a state budget for 26 and 27. That should have been finalized in 25 to allow for community growth, updated educational programs, and as a barrier against inflation for state employees. Thank you, Mr. King. We need a budget.

[2:04:28] Our next speaker is Matt Garris. Are you here?

[2:04:37] Good evening, and thank you for taking time to consider my perspective. I come to you tonight as an educator and a father of four daughters, but also primarily as a concerned citizen. Public schools serve a unique purpose in diverse societies such as ours, because they are the places where everyone learns to get along. And as the world becomes more divided, that work becomes much more challenging and much more necessary. Nevertheless, public schools remain the incubators of tomorrow's society, and future generations depend on public schools to prepare them for success in whatever the future holds for them. Students learn through their successes, their failures, and of course, the adults who are modeling life for them when they recognize a problem is too big for them to solve. They come to the trusted adults in their lives for help. With that, I would like to commend the students from Cox Mill and Mount Pleasant for their courage in speaking up about recent situations in which they felt unsafe. And I would also like to recognize that school leaders and this board are caught between a rock and a hard place. I don't believe this is a case of selective empathy. I believe that all of you have common sense, and you probably genuinely want to do the right thing by the kids, and I recognize that you're constrained by law, by judicial precedent, and by a responsibility to protect this district from litigation. Your hands are tied, I understand that, I truly do, but these girls deserve better.

[2:06:03] They deserve. They deserve a better answer because we tell them if something's going wrong, to tell the trusted adult we're here to help. And when they come to the adults they trust to help them, how do we respond? They deserve a better answer than the world is a complicated place, and there's nothing more we can do about it. We're shaping tomorrow's society, and the response that we have teaches them so much about whom they can trust, and what to do when they feel unsafe. At some point, we all learn this lesson. If you cannot solve the problem, you keep going until you find someone who can. School leaders are bound by the board's policy, and the board policy, in turn, is bound by law. You cannot change the law, but our legislators and the General Assembly can. So I would encourage all of you and all of you to contact the General Assembly as I plan to, and let them know about the challenges facing this district, because they're not unique to Cabarrus County. These are statewide problems, and we could do a little work here locally to make a difference across North Carolina. They can provide the clear legislative guidance that districts all over this state need to give these young ladies and others like them across our state the protections that they deserve. Thank you again for your time and consideration. Yield my time.

[2:07:23] Thank you.

[2:07:26] Next speaker is Jim Quick.

[2:07:33] Good evening all. Um, most of what. I've written has already been spoken, so I'm not going to be duplicative. I worked really me and many people in the Republican Party worked hard for all of you. And I recognize that you all are in a very difficult spot. As the last speaker spoke. 21 states around the United States have figured out how to solve this problem. Today, UNC Charlotte figured out how to figure out figure out a solution. To the problem.

[2:08:04] You see. I spent this last week not being political. I spent this last week talking to parents and students who were just so frustrated and so fed up and didn't know what to do. I talked to a district attorney and a police member because some of the children were being threatened. These are not activities that I, as a political leader, should do. And certainly these are issues that I recognize you as board members should not be doing. Um, but the fact of the matter is this this is an issue that our community is asking you to solve. We can look to D.C. to solve it. That means 218 people have to agree, and 60 people in the Senate have to agree. They can't agree as to what color the sky is right now in D.C.. In Raleigh, we'd have to have every member of the Republican Party, all 71, agreed to a solution and then have one Democrat in the House agree also, because certainly Governor Stein would veto any law that they would put forth. So tonight, I'm asking you to adopt a policy that protects protects our girls and our boys in the bathrooms. And I'm asking you to also adopt a policy that says, if you need an exception to that policy, which says biological bathrooms are based upon sex, follow the the footprint that says a parent can request an accommodation. But you see, I think it should go further. Um, I think that you as a board should take an offensive action and sue the Department of Education because they have put you in a difficult spot. You see, they're asking you to decide between title nine right now, which says sex should be in a biological place, and a grim case which says, you can't do that. You risk losing federal funding. If you go on this direction or you lose risk of a lawsuit, if you go in this direction, you're in an impossible place. And so I'm calling on a county commissioners to earmark a defense fund for you all. So if you take an action to create a plan that our county commissioners that all stood up to support this situation, that they would also support all of you if you take this action. You see, in 1771, nine people took an action in Cabarrus County, and that created the Dec declaration. And then ultimately, uh, we have a free nation. In 1964, people stood up against civil rights. And I'm asking for people to stand today. Thank you. Mr..

[2:10:52] My next speaker is Beth Goodman.

[2:11:07] Good evening. I'm the parent of an AC student at West Cabarrus High School. My son is in a living and learning classroom during our 15 years in the CHS EC program. Our family has built deep connections within this community with students, parents, teachers, therapists, support staff, bus drivers, and administrators. Those relationships have helped my son build friendships, confidence, independence, and a true sense of belonging. Over the years, I've learned how our EQ department typically operates. Class rosters are usually created in March, so families, students and staff have time to prepare for transitions to the fall. Job postings for the following school year are publicly available in the spring. I follow those postings closely because staffing stability matters greatly to our most vulnerable students. This spring, I discovered through my own following that new living and learning classrooms are being added in our district, with no announcement to the public but quietly posted online. While I understand the need for growth, I'm deeply concerned by the lack of transparency surrounding changes to our program. Families have not been informed whether living and learning students are being reassigned or how these decisions are being made. I've called and emailed, asking for answers and only got information today. That living and learning is being added on to for high school, and our West Cabarrus program is not leaving. Rosters for fall still are not made and may not be finished before our EC high school students are dismissed for this year. That uncertainty matters at West. My son participates in Best Buddies. He helps operate the school coffee cart and delivers orders throughout the largest school in the county. He was chosen as a Dream on three Dream Kid after being nominated by staff and peers who truly know and care about him. He has friendships and routines there. He belongs there. In two days, his school year ends. He may walk out of that building for the last time and not even know it. Students in living and learning rely heavily on consistency, structure, relationships, and preparation. Major changes should never happen silently or suddenly without family involvement. Yet teachers, administrators and parents the people who know these students the best, are not being included in what's happening to our program right now. I'm asking this board to require the same level of transparency for any program changes that you provide the general public, with changes to students undergoing redistricting. EC families deserve timely communication. Educators deserve a voice, and our EC students deserve dignity, respect and thoughtful planning. This feels rushed with little time for transition. Meetings are easy. Students are more than numbers. Do you have a. Handout for the report?

[2:14:28] Okay. Marty Tidwell, are you here?

[2:14:37] Good evening. Good evening. Thank you for the opportunity to speak today. My name is Marty Tidwell, and I currently. Serve. As a congressional staffer for Congressman Mark Harris. I am attending this meeting to read a letter from the congressman to the Cabarrus County School Board and to submit for the record, a copy of the Department of Education's response letter to Congressman Harris's April 10th letter regarding the issue of biological boys using girls bathrooms in schools, which violates an executive order issued by President Trump at Title nine. I would also like to tell you that I am a Cabarrus County resident and the mother of two elementary aged daughters. Dear Cabarrus County School Board. Over the last month, I have received reports from concerned parents in North Carolina's eighth Congressional District that biological males are entering girls bathrooms in multiple schools in Cabarrus County. These incidents have made female students feel unsafe and uncomfortable, and have left many parents appropriately concerned about their daughters what they're experiencing in school, and these incidents are being handled by school officials. When these concerns were brought to my attention. I sent to Secretary of Education Linda McMahon on April the 10th to raise these concerns. Ask how the Department of Education is working to ensure that these incidents are properly investigated, and explain how parents can file complaints with the department. As many of you know, President Trump signed an executive order on January 20th of 2025 titled Defending Women from Gender Ideology, Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government. This executive order established that the policy of the United States under the Trump administration to recognize two sexes, male and female. It also ensured that intimate spaces designated for men and women, including boys and girls, is defined by the executive order, are designated by sex and not by gender identity. It directed federal agencies, including the Department of Education, to enforce all sex protective laws, to promote the reality that there are two sexes, male and female, and that these sexes are not changeable and are grounded in fundamental and in convertible reality. This executive order was an important step towards restoring biological reality and ensuring that girls and women's rights are protected. Unfortunately, several North Carolina schools that receive federal funding appear to be in violation of this order, including schools in Cabarrus County and the department in the department's April 29th response letter to my office. It was made clear that the department's Office for Civil Rights, or OCR, would enforce title nine consistently with the executive order. In fact, the letter stated that OCR has opened dozens of title nine investigations of allegations of schools permitting male students to participate on female athletic teams or enter female intimate spaces. It also highlighted they have agreed. Thank you, Miss Tidwell, can you share the letter with our board? Please pardon me. Our board clerk. Can she have a copy. Of the letter?

[2:18:00] All right. The next speaker is J. Schneemann. I pronounce that right. Are you here?

[2:18:18] Good evening. I'm here because the parents. Of. Cabarrus County have entrusted you people. With the safety and welfare of their children. You're not doing that. You're allowing these young ladies to be intimidated. To be. Taken there. They're losing their dignity by a lot. By you allowing the boys and the girls bathrooms in the locker rooms. I'm very disappointed in all of you. I know what you ran on. We voted for you. You're not living up to it.

[2:18:59] What are you going to do? I have to applaud these young ladies for standing up here and bringing it to your attention again. But they shouldn't have to do that. We shouldn't have to have this discussion right now. This is nothing but common sense. Boys, go to the boys room. Girls, go to the girls room again. What are you going to do about it?

[2:19:22] Mr. Kopecky? You came from Pennsylvania. You didn't put up with us there. I know that for a fact. I know what happened. Okay. These people, these supposed transgenders. They're mentally unstable. They can't be trusted. And yet you're putting them in amongst our girls. That shouldn't happen. What are we going to do? I'm only going to ask one more time. What are you going to do? Are you going to wait till the end of the school year? Wait for something to happen. The lawsuits that you're looking at, not only from the people who might have a child that has something happen to them. The people like me will file suit also because you've been warned. And it's not a good place to be. It really isn't. You don't have, I don't know, common sense. You've been given bad legal advice. In fact, if I was you, I'd fire the attorney tonight. He's supposed to be here at every meeting, is he not?

[2:20:41] I don't see him.

[2:20:46] I mean, you have nothing to say. You can't. You people cannot speak to these people.

[2:20:56] You do not have a spine.

[2:21:01] I don't understand you, I really don't. You've made some bad decisions up here. And you've made bad decisions by allowing these boys to go into these girls locker rooms. And one of these days, it is going to come back and haunt you, and it's going to haunt you bad. These girls who have been traumatized need to. Thank you sir.

[2:21:30] Next speaker is Ashley Price.

[2:21:44] Hello. I'm Ashley. Price. I am a mom of. Three boys, one who has graduated Mount Pleasant High School. And two who will walk those halls this fall. People are being. Told that. Their daughters are in danger and that the threat is a child, but a specific kind of child who in reality just wants to use the bathroom. They believe the solution to that threat is a policy that would decide on behalf of every student in this district whose presence is acceptable and who isn't. That's not protection. That's a permission slip to cause harm. And the children who will pay that price sit in your schools and are watching you debate whether their existence is worth protecting. This uproar has never been about safety. It's not depicting a community in crisis. It's the manufactured hysteria from an organization with an agenda to flame a fan, a flame of its own creation. It's about others, other people's discomfort. And these are the lengths that they are going to avoid experiencing it. Shame on the adults who are sitting here and painting their discomfort under the guise of others needing protection, while simultaneously planting landmines for other children to step on. Every student in Cabarrus County deserves to get an education without fear of becoming a political pawn in a game being played by the adults who don't bother to learn their names. I'm a parent and I hear the concerns in this room, but this board cannot adopt a policy that singles out a specific group of kids and then pretend it's for the protection of all of them. What we can do is refuse to let this moment get hijacked from the students, and acknowledge that the real threat sits in Raleigh. The actual threat to our students isn't hiding in a bathroom. It's been sitting on the floor of the North Carolina General Assembly Assembly for 450 days, in the form of an unpaid state budget. It's Cabarrus County carrying a nearly $9 million shortfall. It's services that the children of the exceptional children and their families can't access.

[2:23:49] Its frozen teacher salary schedules driving our best educators out of our classrooms. That is your crisis. That is what requires your action. And I need not only this board, but the other adults who are fired up, regardless of your righteous cause, to sit with some things. Cabarrus County ranks 114th out of 115 districts in North Carolina for per student spending. North Carolina entered this year as the only state in the country without a budget. Over $800 million has already been allocated to public education, and it's sitting there while the General Assembly refuses to act. Where is the outrage at that? This is political theater, and while it's being performed, your students and my students are sitting in underfunded classrooms with overextended teachers, and they're learning what it means to be made into a symbol by the same people who would cause them harm. Pass the damn budget. That's how you protect our kids.

[2:24:57] My next. Speaker is Robert. Burns.

[2:25:07] Good evening.

[2:25:11] Good evening. My name is Robert Burns. I'm a neighbor from Union County and proudly born and raised here in North Carolina. I'm here today as a speaker to speak as a father, a protector, and as a person who believes that females deserve the right to be safe, have the dignity of privacy, and to be protected under title nine. Tonight I'm here to speak up for girls everywhere, including my four daughters and female students at Cabarrus County. Girls should not be forced to undress in front of boys and share showers with them. I can't believe that I'm even here today. To say that just because a male poses as a female doesn't make him a female. The decision to allow boys and girls private spaces where they undress, victimizing girls, putting them in dangerous, humiliating situations. In addition, 1 in 4 girls report being victims of sexual assault and abuse. You are literally forcing sexual assault victims to undress and shower with males while being exposed to unwanted male nudity, traumatizing them further and sometimes threatening them with sexual harassment if they express discomfort. Allowing boys and girls private spaces violates that privacy, legal rights, and even their own feelings. Logic would have it that the school system would ask the transgender student to use an alternative space to change and use the restroom, but girls in North Carolina are told if they feel uncomfortable with boys in their private spaces, they are the ones who must use different facilities. And we've, as we've heard here tonight, this happened in 2024, in Buncombe County, and now it's happening here. We have other examples in North Carolina where female students have detailed their experiences with boys invading their locker rooms. North Carolina school athlete Caylee Allen's testified she changed in a dark, dirty broom closet because she didn't want to make a didn't want a male to watch her undress. Payton McNabb also was expelled from a North Carolina university and was accused of sexual harassment for daring to speak out after Mel invaded the the university's public bathroom. She had to actually go on trial with her sorority for speaking up for her title nine rights. The transgender movement does not want the voices of girls heard by threatening them with sexual harassment, name calling and banishment. They are putting their hands over the mouths of girls to silence these these women. These are girls who don't want male eyes peering at them while they undress. As you can see by the brave female students speaking out today, as you saw with Kaylee and Peyton, you will not silence our North Carolina daughters in the submission. Thank you, Mr. Burns. Thank you all. One point of clarification. Where did you hear that? girls are showering with showering. I have not heard that. So let me be also very clear to I want to, you know, clarify some things with you guys. And this was basically what I'm going to get to is that you can receive bad legal advice. You can you can receive bad legal advice. That doesn't have that question. But I appreciate you coming in speaking. Thank you. So my next.

[2:28:47] Next speaker is Sabrina Berry. Are you Sabrina Berry? Are you still here? The locker rooms have showers in there. Yes. That's what he was talking. Yeah. Thank you for that clarification. Well good evening everybody. It's been almost. A year since I've been back. The last time I was here, I was here to dress the young lady that can't even look up at these young ladies. Miss Pam Escobar, her mockery. So my name is Sabrina Berry, and I'm probably half of the reason everybody is here tonight. I am speaking on behalf of as the chair of moms for Liberty in Cabarrus County, but also as a parent, a community member deeply concerned about the responsibilities of this board that this board has to all students. There's been a narrative that parents speaking on these issues are targeting transgender students. That's simply not true. Every child deserves dignity, respect and safety. But protecting the privacy, fairness and the rights of our girls is not discrimination. It's leadership, common sense, any lawful responsibility. Tonight, I'm asking this board to uphold the law and create a policy that protects students, all students, while maintaining clear boundaries and intimate spaces such as the bathrooms and locker rooms. North Carolina's House Bill 574 clearly states that participation in women's sports is based on biological sex. So why do we even have boys in the girls bathroom? And why is this even an issue again? House Bill 805 further reinforces the authority of local government bodies to uphold those distinctions and protect women's spaces. These laws are not optional. They're not symbolic. These are the laws of this state. School boards do not have the authority to ignore the law or contradict it. They have a duty to implement it fairly and responsibly. Your attorney advises you of title nine violations, but protecting students privacy and preserving fairness for biological girls is not discrimination. Title nine itself was created to protect opportunities and spaces for biological women, not men. So tonight the question is not whether can this board act? The question is whether you will act. Will you keep your campaign promises? I know we remember 2024. You don't want boys and girls bathrooms. Melanie. Vote for me. Greg. Vote for me. Rob. Vote for me. Cat. Vote for me. Shannon I'm just waiting to see that fearless spirit that your husband got. Because I know it's in you. And I know you're a woman of conviction. So will you stand with the parents? Will you stand with these children? Will you protect fairness and privacy for all children? Will you uphold the law? Will you protect all students equally? Parents in this county is paying attention. And we're all here because we care about the children in our schools. We are not here for conflict. We're here for accountability, clarity, and solutions. Therefore, any one of you can make a motion and it can kind of sound like this. I make a motion that Cabarrus County Board of Education reaffirms its commitment to comply fully with North Carolina state law, including House bills 574 and 805, and direct your district administration to ensure that all policy regarding student athletes, bathroom, locker rooms and private spaces are implemented in a manner consistent with state law students privacy, safety and fairness. I urge you guys to speak up and stand up tonight. We stand behind you. Do the right thing. Don't listen to your attorney. I'm one that should know. Second, opinions from attorneys are always good. So I urge you, if you can't do that, at least get a second opinion. Your attorney is dead wrong when it comes to title nine. Thank you, and may God bless you.

[2:33:02] Okay. Next speaker is Alexis Hughes. He's also speaking on behalf of the group.

[2:33:10] I've got some. Things for you guys. Is Mr. Eisenhower really not? Oh, I got this. 20 pages. You're not gonna want to have to stand all that crap. All right, go to the board clerk and she'll distribute that. Well, I'll get for Mr. Eisenhower's. Actually, since he's not here, he's done this first.

[2:33:31] Hey. He's there. You want to get. Caught laughing. This time? Okay. All right. Guys. Um. Alexis, do I still introduce myself? Sorry. Alexis Hughes, I am founder of. You. Heard her. Before I begin, I want to address a separate matter regarding transparency and public accountability. On April 14th, I emailed this board advising that actions occurring during board meetings appeared to violate North Carolina Open Meetings laws. In that email, I requested a written response within ten business days. Today, I have not received a formal response. Let this serve as public notice that the lack of response does not make the issue disappear. At the last meeting, board members reference talks behind the scenes discussions regarding public business. Conducted. Behind the scenes are precisely what open meeting laws are intended to prevent. Those conversations should occur publicly where taxpayers and parents can hear them. Additionally, at multiple meetings, including the last one, discussions occurred while microphones were muted intentionally from the public broadcast. Transparency matters, public trust matters, and open meetings. Laws exist for a reading reason. The board attorney has still not responded regarding FOIA requests submitted more than 22 days ago, nor has he responded to the April 14th email. Frankly, many parents are losing confidence in his ability to legally advise you correctly. Now to the issue at hand. I want to be very clear. This is not about hatred towards transgender students. Every student deserves dignity and respect. And yes, we can care about the budget and also care about female safety in our schools. We are adults. We can walk and chew gum at the same time, I want to be clear about this. Female students deserve dignity, privacy, safety and respect too. Right now, the absence of a clear policy is placing the burden entirely on girls to defend their own boundaries, while adults stand back and do nothing. Multiple female students have independently reported incidences where biological males, outwardly presenting as male but identifying as female, entered the bathrooms, exposed their penises purposely to the girls, laugh about it and tell them nothing can be done. That is not inclusion, that is not safety. And exposing yourself to someone without a consent is against the law. Girls who report these incidents were told nothing could be done because it was, he said, she said. Some were then accused of bullying transgender students simply because they voiced feeling uncomfortable. One female student in our district has endured coordinated social media harassment campaigns. After speaking up, she has been threatened with violence targeted with discussions, discussions of jumping her called names in school hallways and have had slurs and threats written on about her in the bathroom walls. Yes, the Da is aware and they are investigating. All because she dared to say she felt uncomfortable. Even more alarming. Teachers, counselors, principals and administrators privately speak to me and admit they are uncomfortable with what's happening but are too afraid to speak. I have personally been told statements by your staff. Our hands are tied. Until school board creates policy, we are told to allow whatever because they don't want to get sued. And perhaps the most concerning this issue has made it to where even if a non trans biological male entered a female space, all he'd have to do is say he was a girl and we couldn't do anything that should alarm every person in this room, because lack of policy does not just affect trans identifying students, it creates an environment that can be exploited by anyone with with bad intentions. And before anyone says girls have no reason to fear this possibility, they need need only look to Loudoun County, Virginia, where in 2021, a biological male student identifying as female sexually assaulted two girls in school settings after gaining access to female spaces. Now, does that mean every transgender identifying student is dangerous? Absolutely not. But does it mean that these fears are imaginary? Young girls do not know someone's intentions simply because adults tell them to ignore their discomfort. Are we truly willing to wait until a girl in Cabarrus County is sexually assaulted before we implement reasonable protections? Do we really need to risk emotionally scarring a child for life because adults are afraid of controversy or lawsuits? As a society, we teach biological males to respect a woman's boundaries when she feels uncomfortable. Why should that expectation disappear? Simply because a biological male now identifies as a female. Right now, these girls natural response has been flight. Avoiding bathrooms, avoiding locker rooms, staying silent, walking away afraid. But what happens when some day a girl responds with fight instead of flight? What happens when young girls are repeatedly taught that adults will not protect them? North Carolina law defines sex as biological male and biological female. The solution here is not cruelty, it's clarity. Since the board's attorney has thus far failed to provide timely guidance. I've provided you all with a proposed board policy that has been vetted by three different attorneys that specialize in education law. It is asking that you create a policy saying you use the bathroom for your biological sex that aligns with state law. Create a neutral gender bathroom that anyone and their mama can use if they don't care. And that is the accommodation. That is how you don't single students out. Also included in that is the attorneys actual legal breakdown explaining how doing the policy I gave you will protect you in a lawsuit and if you get sued, I will go fund me. I will say, oh, talk so loud. The defense lines, we will raise money for you and our commissioners will stand behind you. Do the right thing for these girls.

[2:39:10] Okay.

[2:39:16] Let's let our last. Our last speaker is Keisha Sandwich. You are also speaking for a group. Can you please tell us what that group is? I'm not. Because you didn't ask everybody else to do that. So one thing, um, all of y'all stood out there. Do it again. What is that? I'm not going to do that because. You have anybody. Else. Do that and you have three minutes. I'm sorry. You have three. Minutes. I am speaking for a group, and it. Is. My group is Purple Table Talk. And I put that on my I put that on my sign up. Rob who is that? I put that on my sign up. I don't hear anybody else talk about their group. I've discussed it in the past. Did you anybody else talk about their group? Rob. No, I'm asking you again to describe it. Nobody else talked about it. Then you have three, then you have three. I have five minutes and it's going now, so I. Hope you have three minutes. Please go ahead. I'm speaking for a group. The name of the group is Purple Table Talk, and I told you all about it last month. And you didn't make anybody else do that. All right. Go ahead. Five minutes. All right. Five minutes.

[2:40:27] All right. In 2024, I was at the Board of elections where four of you purposely campaigned on keeping boys out of the girls bathroom for. Y'all are up there now, and y'all ain't doing nothing about it. These folks asking y'all to do something about it. I am concerned with children being bullied. Like y'all might not have intended for that, but children are being bullied right now and y'all ain't standing up for them kids. I am wondering why people are here talking about providing safety for one group of kids. We are supposed to make sure that all kids are safe. Bathrooms are cesspools. There is vaping that happens in bathrooms. There's fighting that happens in bathrooms and all of the bathrooms. If you guys want to provide for safety and bathrooms, there is a whole safety group that has law enforcement, that has teachers, that has parents from our community. Sign up for that group. There is also a group called Child Protection and Fatality Team that meets monthly here. And they talk about the deaths that are happening amongst our kids in this community, which is very scary for me. We have gotten people to come up here who are not authorized and who not do not go to school to diagnose mental illnesses for children. Y'all stop it. Every transgender kid does not have a mental illness. If you did not or you did not go to school to be able to diagnose kids, stop diagnosing them. I'm telling you, this leads to them committing suicides and being victims of suicides. Right now, we have created a problem in this county that that does not exist the way we are talking about it. There are so many issues. Do you know that in North Carolina, a kid or all of our kids can walk into a vape shop and get drugs and use those drugs in our schools? Give them two other kids in our schools. But I don't hear the outrage about that. Let's go to our General Assembly and talk to them about really providing for safety for all of our students. And let's stop making this about, oh, this county commission is going to fight with the school board. And then in that we get nothing. Our schools are still underfunded. This is not the school board that can fix this problem. It is way above the school board. Y'all stop coming to this school board and blaming them for things that they cannot fix. And then if you're going to say that they're going to protect you and and provide for legal fees for you, please get a memorandum of understanding from those entities and from those people that said they're going to pay for your legal fees, because I will tell you, I will tell you, I know students who are transgendered and their parents are going to protect them at all costs. Now, I don't want girls and boys in their bathroom that they shouldn't be in. I'm not asking y'all to do that, but I am asking you. These are your friends. These are the people that was at the polls out there handing out materials for you. And they're coming up here and blasting y'all now. Blasting y'all. Are y'all not telling them what's happening and what y'all hearing behind the scenes? Are y'all not telling them that? Because clearly y'all are at the polls? I promise you every day, if y'all don't want boys in the girls bathroom, vote for these four individuals. And I see y'all up there now. And I don't see nothing changing. And that to me is the problem. That is the problem. Don't run on something that you cannot successfully guarantee. And I'll tell you, when I was on the school board, I wasn't voting for nobody to get a raise in the salary. Doctor. Topeka. You can tell them this until our our teachers got paid. But guess what? Our teachers ain't even getting paid. That's the true problem. Then the folks that we're trying to make sure to keep our kids safe. But yet we don't want to pay them. I'm just not understanding how y'all got this backward. Keep this same energy when it's time to go talk and tell these folks who make the laws that our schools are severely underfunded. And if we got time to be looking at people's paychecks, we got time to go up to rally and talk to them or Raleigh and talk to them and make sure they know what we really need. And I'm going to be like one of the other speakers. They need to pass a freaking budget. That's the problem.

[2:44:58] Okay. Thank you, Miss Sanders. She was the last speaker. Um, and again, our procedure is to listen to you tonight. That's what we've done. Um, I've added an item to our our next board meeting, our work session, where board members can speak and they can address these issues. They can present a policy if they want to, but, uh, that'll be at our next meeting. During board member comments. So again, I want to thank everybody for the for being here, for sharing your concerns with the board. And we do take that seriously. We will discuss it. Uh, and you'll hear, hear from us at the next meeting. So with that. Can you guys do us a favor, please? And I don't want to. I'm not aggressive. I'm not asking you to make a policy tonight. I'm not asking you to even give us comments. So I would like to hear them, but we ask you last meeting, and I think there might have been a little bit of miscommunication. We can. You can. You can call us afterwards. And support making a policy. We understand your hands are tied, but if you support making the policy that. You'll you'll you will hear the the you. You'll hear our positions. Next. Next meeting. Hello. Can I have a point of privilege, please? At the end of the meeting? Yes, but not right now. We want. We need to move through and get to get to. Okay.

[2:46:19] Yeah, we need to move through the agenda, which is our report section. So there are committee reports. Pam. Thank you. We met with the curriculum and instruction committee today. Um, and so we covered that there are multiple, um, state standard revisions that are happening. Um, and there are different parts of the process. I will share that the social studies implementation isn't going to go into effect until 2030, and in our Friday five we did thanks to our communications team, we did announce that there's a way for people to participate and give feedback to CDP, um, and the General Assembly regarding social studies curriculum. Um, other, uh, curriculum revisions. Ela, um curriculum was implemented is is going to be implemented this fall. Um, math uh, is two years away. Science um, is in the first year of implementation. Just is going through right now. Um, and then health, PE, world language and fine arts. Um, they will have an implementation in fall of 2026. There's other things that we discussed in that curriculum committee. Uh, we are vetting right now a k through one, um, curriculum called Bridge to Writing. Uh, so there will be more information about that. Um, also, um, because the school year is ending. Um, before, uh, Memorial Day, we do have extra, uh, professional development days, uh, at the end of May. And so our staff has provided, uh, opportunities for, um, our teachers to go through professional development, which in, in the final week of May, um, if they don't have the opportunity because those, uh, professional development classes are so successful or are in such high demand. Um, if they weren't able to get into those, um, they'll have that opportunity in August. But the goal is to prepare our teachers and take advantage of of that extra time that we have at the end of the school year. I also want to share that, uh, what we heard in the meeting today was that CTE gave us some updates. Uh, there's a new relationship with Hyundai and Genesis, and they got to go to an automotive event and, um, saw how mechanics use diagnostics and computers instead of, you know, getting all greasy to find out what's going on. Um, and then, uh, the other thing is, is there's a relationship with school links, which is a new way to handle internships. And so our students can work with their employers. And instead of using paper forms, they'll be able to do, uh, the digital process. Um, and then I also just want to just share and again, I should thank Sarah Reeves and Tracy Hayes for running that committee. And, um, and all the people who volunteer their time, staff and parents who participate on that call or came to the, uh, center today. Um, and then I will just also my other committee that I will talk about is just the interns. Um, last week, we, uh, honored, uh, the ones that completed that. I wanted to share that we have received the applications from many students. Um, it's going to take me a minute to go through all of them with our staff. So I just want to prepare students who have applied. I want to say thank you. I specifically want to say thank you to your principals and your teachers who gave you support for those applications, and just know that we will get to them and you will find out. But I cannot promise that will happen before the end of the school year due to, um, the extra work that we have. And then I'll just want to take the opportunity to say thank you. Yeah, we did get to go to the, um, Hall of Fame, uh, which is set up at the Cabarrus Arena. So for those of you who are going to graduations, you have this opportunity to see these amazing athletes, athletes throughout history, uh, that are that live in Cabarrus County. Uh, and it was really impressive to meet some of those athletes on Saturday. Um, men and women who have, um, yeah. Just been impressive, not just when they were here, but also some of them went on to be professionals. And, um, I also want to do a special shout out to, uh, athletic director Brian Tyson because he is in this year's inductee class. Congratulations to him. Thank you, Miss Escobar or anybody else at a committee meeting that Catherine. Um, the. Calendar committee finished up, um, actually a week earlier, um, for the 27, 28 year. And again, you know, anytime you bring all levels together, elementary, middle and high. And not only that, but early colleges and Rowan Cabarrus together to do a calendar. Um, this committee just worked so well together and was considerate of what everyone needed. And a special shout out to Doctor La Grande and Doctor Ward, because they can count them days and count them semesters. And you know, as I said last month, the lot goes into this. We also have payroll. Their carry York is excellent because it depends on the starting date on when teachers get paid. Um, and also, um, Doctor Williams with the personnel side of it. So it's just the committee just did a great job. And I just want to let parents know they really work hard to try to coordinate the calendars between the traditional schools in our early colleges so that families can have a vacation together. Um, also, safety Committee finished up, um, last month, and they took that time to review how far they have come this year. And again, I'm just really impressed, um, with everyone on that committee and the how far technology and safety has come. Thank you Shannon. I just. Want to. Give a shout out to the Cabarrus Education Foundation. Um, Thursday night we had teacher of the year celebration. We also celebrated other educators in the county and the foundation helps with that. Every year. They are a sponsor. So we just want to thank the Cabarrus Education Foundation for their continued support that they give our schools.

[2:53:05] Thank you. Shannon. Anybody else? All right. Let's we'll move on to section nine, which is the approval of the consent agenda. Those are the items we talked about last week. And we all felt we had enough information to vote on those. If that's still the case, please, I need a motion and a second to approve our consent agenda. So moved. So moved. All right. Thank you. Pam. I have a second. Second. Okay. Thank you. Sam, we have a motion and a second to approve the consent agenda. Any further discussion? Okay. All in favor, please say aye. Aye aye. Okay. Consent agenda is approved. And we do have one action item for tonight, section ten. And this is the proposed academic calendar revision based on the hours. And we have Doctor Legrand at the podium to talk to us about that. All right. Good evening, Chairman Walter. Members of the board. Doctor Karpinski, um, I am here to propose a calendar revision, um, to the already approved 2526 academic calendar. Um, with Friday, May the 1st, 2026 recently being changed to an optional teacher workday. We went from being five hours and 37 minutes of banked hours over the ten 1025 minimum instructional hours required by, uh, North Carolina Department in Public Instruction for the school year to being exactly 28 minutes short of the minimum required time and the 1025 required hours. For that reason, we need to make up the deficit prior to the end of the school year, which is vastly approaching. Um, to do this, I am recommending that we revise our calendar to add 30 minutes to the last day of school, which is already an early release day. Um, this would mean that our tier one schools would, um, dismiss at 1130 instead of 11 on that day. Our tier two schools would dismiss at 1230 instead of 12 that day, and our tier three schools would dismiss at 130 instead of the regular scheduled one. So with that, I will turn it over to you for any questions. Board members questions on this. Okay. Oh, Pam. Go ahead. Um, for. For people who aren't watching the meeting, how are they going to find out about this if this gets passed? As soon as we get an approval on this, we will begin, um, communicating this and making sure that our families, through our regular chains of communication and, uh, and through our, our school staffs, we will we will communicate this as soon as possible.

[2:55:53] Okay. So we're adding 28 minutes to the last day of school. Yes, sir. We'll we'll round it off to to 30 minutes. So we'll be 1025 hours and two minutes, um, for the, for the 25, 26 school year. All right. Is anyone willing to make a motion for that, mister chair? I would move that. We accept this proposal as presented. Thank you. Sam, do we have a second? Second. Thank you. Greg. Okay, so we have a motion and a second to adopt the proposed revision of the academic calendar by 30 minutes to the last day of school. Any further discussion? Ready to vote? All in favor, please say aye. Aye. Anybody opposed? Okay. That has passed. So thank you. Thank you, doctor Legrand. And before we go into closed session, um, you asked for a point of privilege, so I'll give that to you right now. Uh. Thank you. Um, it's very hard to sit up here and know that we can't answer things that have been said about. I don't do social media. I will not be on social media. Um, for for those reasons. But our bathrooms have been a problem for years. I'm talking 30, 40, 50 years. We have girls who won't even go to the bathroom and they will hold it. I asked my granddaughter one time on a trip. I said, uh, can you wait till we get down the road for it to stop? And she said, oh, I can hold it for eight hours. And I said, how in the world did you know you could hold it for eight hours? And she said, because I do every day at school, I don't want to go to the bathrooms because they are, as Mrs. Sandage says, a cesspool of bad behavior. So the the boys and the girls bathrooms is just the tip of the iceberg as far as I'm concerned. There is vaping. We definitely need a bathroom policy that will ensure the safety of everybody in that bathroom. Um, and if it takes a supervised teacher on duty, um, then that's what we need to do. But this is not a political issue for me, it is a moral issue, and I stated last week that our our parents expect safety at their schools. They expect their child to be able to go to the bathroom at school. It seems to me a ridiculous request that people would have to come and say, please, um, uh, protect my child while she goes to the bathroom. I don't care if it's in a boy's bathroom, if there's if there's bullying, if there's anything that's going on, then this is the place that's happening. They're not going to do it out here where there's cameras. And if I'm upset tonight, yes, I am upset. I'm normally very calm up here and I don't I don't want to get in anybody's faces. But this has been kicked down. This Kand has been kicked down the road for decades and it's time to stop. And I think this board should step up to the plate and whether or not we're sued, if our if our Revolutionary War people had entertained those kind of thoughts, we would still be under the King of England. It's all I got to say. So I think we need to do something. And sooner than later, these girls are going to have to go back to school.

[2:59:47] Thank you. Okay. You do have the right to bring something forward at the next meeting, if you'd like to. Okay. Thank you for that. And we do have a need to go into closed session. So that's section 11 here. So we're going to read this again as a need a motion and a second for the board to convene and closed session pursuant to General statute 143318811 a one to prevent disclosure of confidential information and including information not considered a public record within the meaning of chapter 132 of the General Statutes, and to consult with the attorney pursuant to General Statute 1433181183, and to consider confidential personnel matters pursuant to General Statute 1433181186.

[3:00:32] Can somebody make that motion for me? I'll make that motion. But before I do, I would like to thank our staff. We had tons of folks coming through here today. I know they did a lot of logistical work behind the scenes, and I move that we go into closed session. Okay. Thank you for the comments and the motion. Then we have a second. I am so motion and second to go into closed session. All in favor please say aye. Aye. Aye aye. Anybody opposed? All right. We're going to say goodnight to our listening audience and we will see you next month.