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President jana smith-post: good evening, I call the calvert county public schools meeting to

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order. We will start with the pledge of allegiance followed by a moment of

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america and to the republic for which it stands, one nation, under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. >>thank you.

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>>up next on our agenda, we have appointments. The first appointment I'm going to read.

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it is my great pleasure to be here before you today to announce the appointment of our

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new superintendent. After a thoughtful process we are proud to welcome dr. Marcus newsome,

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as the new superintendent of our district. Dr. Newsome brings a multitude of experience of

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education, and strengthened typer det development, and success.

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throughout the process, dr. Newsome not only exhibits the professionalism we are seeking,

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but able to transform lives, and understand that the schools are at the heart of the community,

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and everybody has the right to thrive. Our county will grow stronger, and more innovative.

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please joain me in welcoming dr marcus newsome.

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thank you. >>can I have a motion? >> motion to approve.

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>>second. >>we have a motion and second. All in favor say, "aye".

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>> aye. >> any opposed?  Motion carries, 4-0. >>dr. Newsome, would you like to say a few words? >> dr. Marcus newsome: thank

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you. I'm quite humbled. When I met you in july, I had no idea that I would be in this place. I

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thought that at best I would be here this year to try to serve as a bridge, but over the last

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six months, the opportunity to work with you, your commitment, and dedication. I know some of

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you aren't feeling the best tonight, but this is important to you, and so it's important to

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me. I have come to appreciate, and respect, and even love the staff that we have here. We have

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tremendous leaders, and teachers. I have met so many wonderful students, and had an

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opportunity to spend some time with allison, and many of her peers. I'm ready to roll my

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sleeves up, and work with this team we have here, and face our challenges head on, and to do

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everything necessary to provide the children that calvert county deserve. Thank you.

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>>thank you. >>we have one housekeeping order. We are going to go ahead,

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and sign this contract so you can't run away. >>

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sale, but my wife gave me permission to come whaback to w.

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>>dr. Newsome, I'm going to turn the floor to you. >>dr. Marcus newsome: thank you.

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I'm happy to announce that we are appointing our next cfo, ms. Christine. I would like for you

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to come up to the front, and would like to introduce you to our community.

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she joins calvert county schools as chief public officer. Most recently, she is still serving

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as a supervisor of finance in saint mary's county public schools. She has also served

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there in roles as budget analyst, and accountant. Now she gets to come back home where she

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worked from 2007 to 2018 in multiple roles in our finance department. She holds a

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bachelor's degree in accounting, and master's degree of science, and management from the

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university of maryland, global campus. She brings an incredible resume, and experiences here.

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she left a wonderful reputation. So many of our people who had the opportunity to work with her

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in the past, will be so excited to know she's coming back home. Please show your appreciation,

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and welcome here back to calvert county public schools.

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president jana smith-post: motion to approve. >>second.

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> aye. >> any opposed?  Select to skip to this part of the video">>>all in favor say, "aye". >> aye. >> any opposed? The motion caries 4-0. >>thank you dr. Newsome and board members. I'm proud to be

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the next chief officer of calvert public schools. I'm proud to be back home, and to serve in this community that I not only live in, but that means a lot to me. I look forward to

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day one. I wish tomorrow was day one because there is a lot to be done. By starting with day one,

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I look forward to collaborate with the board to serve the student and the staff and the

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mission and the continued success of our great school district. So, thank you again

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for the confidence that you have placed in me. Thank you.

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>>thank you. Congratulations. >>president jana smith-post: up next we have the resolution for

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cte. Ms. Jones? >> resolution

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whereas, february 2026 has been designated as national career and technical education month by the association for career and technical education; and whereas, the mission of calvert county public schools is to prepare graduates who are

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equipped to be responsible citizens and informed decision-makers with meaningful

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career and educational options in an ever-evolving global economy; and

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whereas, rapid economic, technological, and workforce changes continue to reshape the

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skills and knowledge required for success in the 21st century; and

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whereas, career and technical education provide students with rigorous, applied learning

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experiences through coherent programs of study that lead to the attainment of

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industry-recognized credentials, postsecondary credit, and career readiness; and whereas, each year, more than half of calvert county public schools graduates complete one or more of the district's 24 career and technical education programs,

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offered through the career and technology academy and the district's four

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comprehensive high schools; and whereas, collaboration among educators, families, business

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and industry partners, and community stakeholders strengthens workforce pipelines and supports local, regional, and national economic vitality. Now, therefore, be it

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resolved, that calvert county public schools reaffirms its commitment to expanding equitable access to high-quality career and technical education programs that

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prepare all students for postsecondary success, meaningful employment, and lifelong learning; and be it further resolved, that the board of

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education encourages students, families, educators, employers, and community members to actively support and engage with career and technical education initiatives across the

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district; and does hereby proclaim february 2026 as career and technical

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education month in calvert county public schools.

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>> aye. >> any opposed?  Motion caries, 4-0.

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>>good evening. I'm kerry akins to honor career education month. We recognize tonight is not just

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a subject area of courses. What we are recognizing tonight is excellent. For a long time,

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career, and technical education created perception by another era, and success followed a

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single route. Today we know better. What we know now, and what our students prove every

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single day is that excellence takes many forms. Cte doesn't sit on the margins of education,

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it's at the center of it. They stand across our district, and across all of our cte programs.

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with us tonight are adam, and jrtc, hs, commanding officer, kayla jones, program student,

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also a skilled usa chapter student, and an apprentice. An faa state champion.   Calvert

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high school student. Jasmine. Cta program student, and also with ctsip, and apprentice with

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our maintenance department, and program coordinator. These are the most disciplined, and

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determined students in the district. They go above, and beyond every day. They do not

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settle in a report card, they seek more. They are commanding officers, they are state

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champions, and apprentices doing real work with real environment. They design systems, and solve

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problems with no answer keys. They adapt the lead because the work demands it. In cta, we know

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when the work matters, when learning becomes real, effort becomes real. Rtce program gives

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them meaningful ways to meet them, and make education purposeful. None of this is not

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nostalgic for what it used to be, but what it must become. We send a powerful message to young

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people, your talents matter, your intelligence takes many forms. Tonight's resolution is

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not symbolic, it's a recognition of what is happening in our schools, and you are looking at

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it. Thank you very much for your time. And your continued support.

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recognition.

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>>good evening, president post, dr. Newsome, I'm the director of human resources. The national

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board of certification, requires those to complete a process to meet demands of content

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knowledge through portfolio submissions, and assessments. Achieving national board

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certification reflects a strong commitment to direct excellence, and contributes to high quality

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education in calvert county public schools. This evening, we congratulate our newest national

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board certified teachers. Please join me in congratulating: ( calling names )

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>>

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this join the eight in calvert county public schools who previously received their

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certification. We congratulate them on this significant professional achievement.

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>>

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president jana smith-post: up next we have our public comments. Ms. Jacobs.

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>> >>public speaker: the board of education permits the public to

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address the board on issues of concern. The number of speakers is limited to 30. When you are

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called to speak, please state your name for the record, and limit your comments to two

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minutes. If you have handouts or written testimony, please hand them to be distributed to board

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members. To protect confidentiality, please do not mention specific students in

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your comments. Anyone not following the guidelines, maybe asked to stop speaking. While

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the board of education values your comments, and concerns, this is a business meeting, and

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cannot answer or respond to your questions. Calvert county public schools will respond to issues

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you raise if you provide your contact information when you sign in. Written comments are welcome any time. For more information, please contact the administration at the board of

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education. >>our first speaker tonight is daniel.

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>>public speaker: good evening, everyone. My name is danielle, also the president of the

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citizens advisory committee, and volunteer area representative for the international student

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exchange program. I'm a mom to a student at calvert elementary school, and a student at

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huntington high school right now. When the government goes into if you furlough, I have th

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opportunity to also come in to teach. Now I'm here to talk about the international exchange

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program. I brought two exchange students here tonight that are also going to speak to tell you

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about their experience.ey want

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it has been for our family, and want to show you how they were making fun of our exchange

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student last year, and I didn't realize the impact shed until random people came to talk to me

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about the impact she had on their life. This brings cultural diversity, which continues to

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enrich our community here. A few fun facts, our exchange program has been in place for over a

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century in the u.s.. Approximately 300 current former heads of state, not to mention

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countless government officials have studied in the united states. Our program, with the

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former prime ministe, came to the u.s. On her exchange here through our program. As c right

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now has the highest scholarship winners. This is two percent, and they have the highest chance

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of getting into harvard with a scholarship. Tonight I ask you to accept more students into our

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county through the exchange program so the county can experience the same thing we

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have. >>thank you for your comments. >>

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>> next speaker, please. Rodriguez. >>public speaker: good evening,

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everyone. I'm margaret rodriguez, an exchange student from spain. I'm studying at

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huntington high school. Danielle is my host right now. This year it's changing my life. I have

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many opportunities. Spending a year in the united states. It's making my dreams come true.

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since I arrived in the united states, every single day has been a new opportunity for me. I was a cheerleader. And being on the sideline supporting my team, feeling the school spirit,

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experiencing friday night lights is something very special for me. I'm also going to play

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lacrosse. It's very pop here, and something I always wanted to try. Studying abroad puts you

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out of your comfort zone, and allows you to experience new talents that you didn't know you

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had. I also have the opportunity to travel to new york city, and washington d.c., and orlando.

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this experience is helping me grow, becoming more experience, improving my english, and making

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connections with people. And I hope the county realizes how important this experience are

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for us in the county. This is a dream around the world, and other students will be very

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happy to come to this country. Thank you. >>thank you for your comments.

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>>public speaker: hello, my name is nais, a french exchange student. I'm at calvert high

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school program. In french, it's very popular, and before coming here, I knew it would change my

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life. What I did not predict is that I would end up in calvert county, and love it. I'm very

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grateful, and blessed for my house family, and my high school. My friends, and american

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friends, and this place. Thanks to calvert high school, I have been able to discover cheer

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which is something I would have never done in france. I'm a part of the girls group in high

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school that gives me opportunities to discover people, and new things. This

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program has brought me so much joy, and moreover, I have also learned to past the language

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barrier. This has changed my life in many good ways, and able to have this experience for both

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students, and families. I use the county to know more students who want to experience the

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american dream. I think it would benefit the county, for the families, and those in high

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schools, and kids like me who dream to come here. Thank you for listening to me.

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>>thank you for your comments.

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>>public speaker: good evening. My name is dale shayner. I'm a bus driver. Last time I was a

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bee keeper, but I'm both. We have some issues that are troubling our bus drivers. So

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I'm going to read this to you, and like you said, you already have it. With due respect to all

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concerned. In october 2021, the board of education granted school bus drivers, and well

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deserved raise, and guaranteed workday, and now going back on the part of the agreement, and

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reduce our hours. We certainly hope that this is not the case. Bus drivers are prepared to

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protect what was guaranteed in 2021. If the county needs money, please don't take it from the

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bus drivers. The board of education needs to do the right thing, and continue to honor the agreement with the drivers. Salaries from drivers are put on from taxpayers. Reliable

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transportation to, and from school every day. If the county reduces the agreement hours 8-7.

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the average paycheck will be reduced, which comes to $6500 for the work. School bus drivers

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are not asking for additional compensation. We just want the county to continue honoring the

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agreement given to us in 2021. If the county fails to honor this agreement, we will do

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whatever necessary to protect our jobs, which supports our families. We do not want

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conflict. We do not want disruption. >>thank you for your comment.

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>> >> next speaker, please. >>public speaker: good evening,

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ms. Jones. Congratulations dr. Newsome. The board of education enjoyed a retreat to collaborate

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in reflective activity. Strong boards don't assume effectiveness, they examine it.

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I look forward to hearing how you will enact measures for the board, and accountability, and

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how you will demonstrate accountability to the community, and how you will support the students, staff and the community. As a parent,  advoca for the community, I want to

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speak about the bottom dollar. Ccps is the largest employer in the entire county. From the

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sheriff's office to the amazing staff of parks and rec. When the commissioners cry that half of

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their budget is taken, reframe that in investment in students, and staff. Serving students 180

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days in 10 months, and 365 days a year for those born with the greatest needs, toddlers, and

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partners at head start not through mission creek, but through the mission. Providing

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mission needs, and providing counseling, and all the forms in construction. All this happens

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because it's not written down on the ledger item, but for the people, and provide the best

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instruction for our students to achieve all they are capable of. It takes over 2200 workers, and

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transportation aids, and yes, essential office staff. Advocate for each, and every one of us at the commeissioners table like w do every day. Thank you very much.

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>> next speaker, please. >>public speaker: good evening, y'all. I'm a student in calvert county public schools, and also the president of calvert county club america which is affiliated

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with turning point usa chapter. It's not affiliated with the calvert county public schools.

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it is separate, and not politically involved in a partisan manner, and we cannot

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endorse any candidates nor parties. We invited the board to discuss what they do, and what

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their policies are. All students that were there were in attendance with parental

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permission, and all publicly advertised. However, we received much hate, and we posted online

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that we would not be allowing any adults that are not volunteers nor parents. However,

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a lot of hate has been directed towards us since then, and we have been accused of grooming

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children, and including an allegation that a random unnamed man was president of our group

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with felony charges. I'm the president of the group, I'm 17, and minor. I can't groom any

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child. We have had all of this against our group. I would be happy to discuss anything our

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group is doing with any concerned individuals because we are not doing anything wrong. We

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had our first meetin in november, and discussed how we can support our veterans. We

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discussed policy such as when if we can have teachers assigning things due at midnight. We are

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not causing any harm. I'm a filed candidate. You can reach out to me if you have any problems about our group. >>thank you for your comments. >>

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>> next speaker, please.  Nancy cross. >>public speaker: good evening,

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I'm going off script here to say congratulations, dr. Newsome. In your announcement, you said to

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hope to be more inclusive. I agree. >>turning point usa had an event

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for students. While community building opportunities for students are important, this

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event raises serious concerns related to student safety, parental rights, and governance

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oversight. The materials indicated that parents or guardians were not permitted to

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attend. Excluding parents or guardians from a student focused event lacks transparency, and

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school affiliated joint activities should have supervision standards,

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background check requirements, and accountability structures. I'm also concerned about a

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potential conflict of interest involving board of education members serving as guest

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speakers at this event. They have responsibilities, and participation events targeting

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students particularly when parental access is restricted warrants careful review to

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ensure compliance with district policies, ethics guidelines, and public trust obligations.

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students are widely recognized as vulnerable population. They are in critical developmental

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stages, and susceptible to influence, and transparency is essential. All board members in

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this room are mandated reported understate law as I am. Based upon the circumstances

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surrounding this event, a report was made to child protective services. All of this was

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provided. >>thank you for your comments. >> >> next speaker, please. Nat natalie?

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>>public speaker: hello to the members of the calvert county board of education. I'm speaking

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to you all today regarding the protest. There was a peaceful protest walk out february 13th

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at the high school, and there was a letter sent out in response that walkouts are

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against the code of conduct, and disrupt the learning environment. In addition, the

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email outlined participation for peaceful protest, and participated in community

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service, and out of school activities. These proposed solution are ineffective. Yes,

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contact representative shows support for nationwide debate, and community service.

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nevertheless, when it comes down to it, representatives are not going to value the opinion of

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those who cannot vote, community service does not bring awareness, and other school

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activities organized by high school students are not taken seriously. Uninterrupted

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learning experience is reasonable. The decision to ban student led walkouts is going to

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teach if there is any level of opposition that we shouldn't stand up for them. In addition

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that peaceful protest has been disruptive, and where students are allowed to express their

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beliefs in a peaceful manner that benefits the community. We have the resources to make

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protest safe through school resource officers, and support from school staff. If there is a

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reasonable suspicion to threats to students or staff, that can be dealt with accordingly. My

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proposal is to the board of education is to the adjustment to the limited open forum to

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allow student led protest. I'm aware of the policy. >>finish your last sentence.

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>>all I ask is the ability for students to be given permission to protest at calvert public

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schools. >>that concludes the speakers for this evening. >>thank you. >>up next we have our consent agenda.

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>>motion to approve. >>second. >>we have a motion and second.

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> aye. >> any opposed?  Motion carries,  select to skip to this part of the video">all in favor say, "aye". >> aye. >> any opposed?  Motion carries, 4-0. >>next we have our superintendent's report. Dr.

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newsome? >> dr. Marcus newsome: good evening. I would like to share

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the report with the montage with a kindergarten student who is sharing his lessons learned from

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a math lesson last week. For the last two 1/2 months, our school system, and our leadership team

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have been working very closely with public works on this operations, and efficiency

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assessment.   And we have invested a lot of team to make sure that the presentation they

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present to you tonight is going to be very informative, and helpful for the future of the

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school district. But even with all the work that's been invested, the real work is going

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to come once their presentation is presented. So, we look forward to their presentation

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tonight. We have also spent a great deal of time working on the superintendent's proposed

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budget for fy27, and we look forward to a conversation with the board tonight, and look

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forward to answering your questions. >>you did recognize our career,

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and tech students, and last saturday, they attended a state competition, and they earned 22

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medals across 13 different content areas, six gold medals, eight silver medals, and eight

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bronze medals in the skills area of the competitions in the areas they participated in.   Last

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week, we had the opportunity to attend the all county elementary school band concert. The

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students did a fabulous job, and they received a standing ovation from the large crowd that was

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there. We commend mr. Walker, who is our supervisor for the arts, as well as all of our

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music, and art teachers around the county, and for the parents who support these young students

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to become the musicians that they are. I was visitig wendy hills last week and I walked

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into a room with a special education meeting, and this is the good work that goes on in

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our schools every day where our teachers, and staff work to examine the data of their

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students to make sure they have plans in place to implement the iep's. We also had the

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opportunity to receive food donations from a food drive from the naacp. They collected enough

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food donations that they can present to each of our schools, and those who have food banks,

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and those who correct, and those who don't hopefully will begin food banks in their schools.

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every month we hold a meeting, and this was held at the medical school,  middle school, and revw

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data, and lead the meeting, and go into classrooms, and what we call learning walks. In this

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case, we were in the classrooms where the students were doing ice crystals. Once we complete

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our observation we go back into the meeting, and review the data, and our results, and plans

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moving forward. This was another walk report at the high school where we visited this algebra

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two class and the students explained to me the polynomial functions that was part of their

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learning activity for the day. This is the elementary school. This is an asynchronous

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learning, and they do not have a geometry teacher online, but they have a teacher in class

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from the neighboring high school. This is a math lesson. October of 2024, the county

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commissioners established the student safety, and well-being advisory committee where we have participants from across the county, government, and local agencies, and even

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representatives from the state who have reviewed data for the last 15 months, and hopefully

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within the next several weeks, they will be presenting their report to the county

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commissioners. I'm expecting the board of education will be able to attend with the county commissioners to see what we can implement to ensure that we are supporting the well-being of our

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students. The middle school is growing strong, and we had an opportunity to visit that a

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couple weeks ago. This was the end of a school day at windy hill and the teacher stopped to

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take a photograph. I promised them that they would be able to see themselves at the board

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meeting. They look refreshed after a day with the students. I want to thank mr. Seoul, and his

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team for the onboarding and the orientation for all of our new employees. So they have these

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every couple of weeks to make sure that our new employees are fully integrated into the school

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system. On the back end of this, we established the superintendent's executive

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leader, and superintendent's academy for calvert county leaders. Last week we had our

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third session focused on finance, and public education, and continuous improvement. We

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had speakers, the assistant director for the virginia association of school superintendents. A good friend of mine, dr. Lane. Ceo of university instructor, and state

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superintendent, and worked for the white house and the department of education. And dr. Kramer who is an experienced leader here, and me maryland, and veirginia. And appointed

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secretary of education in virginia. Today, I was able to attend the association of

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student councils. I know she's going to talk about it. I will not steal her thunder. I will

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let the pictures speak for themselves.   I'm sure you can see what is going on here. It

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was a great day. Every day I go by the new school, I take pictures of the construction,

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and finally seeing the walls go up. Hopefully that will be ready for the next school year.

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finally, I want to congratulate the recipiets of this new lighthouse award. We have this

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every month for our support staff. We will go around presenting them with their

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certificates. I want you to be committed to is each of you can nominate a student, teacher,

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adminis administrator, or our support staff to be a lighthouse

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representative of the year. We have someone from the elementary, middle school and high school. Please go to the website to complete your recommendation. That concludes

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my report. Thank you. >>president jana smith-post: thank you, dr. Newsome. Next we

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have student of the board. Ms. Jones. >>allison jones: I have exciting

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news. Tonight the student council has their assembly. We had a pirates of the caribbean

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theme, which many of the students, and advisors were happy to comply with the dress

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code for that. But today, we elected the 2026/2027 student member of the board. We had

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three amazing candidates that presented very good campaigns. I was very impressed with all

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three. I'm very excited to announce that next year student of the board is ollie rice. I

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have worked with her seince she was in middle school, and she has incredible work ethic. I

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want to extend my congratulations to you. I'm so excited, and I can't wait to see

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what you are going to do next year. >> >> up next, we have our efficiency study presentation.

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>> I would like to welcome our representatives from public works who have been working very

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diligently, and hard over the last several months, president cox is the manager. I'm going to

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ask you to introduce yourself, and your colleague. I want to begin by thanking you for how

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diligent you have been throughout this process. And how open you have been, and how

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willing you have been to take feedback from our team, from our staff, from our employees. And

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it seems like you worked around-the-clock. If I had a dollar for every time you and I

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talked over the last two 1/2 months, then the board can contribute that to this budget

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process this year, and do a lot better. >>are we going to have a pizza

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party. >>a pizza party. Thank you so much, and thank you for being us with this evening. >>thank you, and congratulations on your position. I'm joanne

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cox, and led this efficiency review. My background is in high school teaching, and worked in

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the central office of education, and before I came out to the consulting world. John, would

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you introduce yourself? >> absolutely. My name is john gaddis. Recently retired after

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35 years in education. I worked myself as a second grade teacher to superintendent of schools.

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prior to that, I was in worcester county, and then when the elementary school opened. I

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was there for two years because I thought I had to move away from home, and went back home. It's been an absolute pleasure to work with your staff. And we are excited to present what we

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have for you this evening. >> he is very bashful. I would like to say that he did get the

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superintendent of maryland award a few years back. >>I would like to thank the

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board, and for the opportunity to give you this overview report. It's very lengthy. A 450

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page report. We did work day and night in the last four months to produce this report filled with

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facts, and recommendations, and accommodations for the school system. Obviously, with the time

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permitted, we won't go into much detail, and ask that you hold questions until the end of the

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presentation. >>I have participated or led at least 150 of these type of

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efficiency reviews, and 37 different states. I will say the commitment that I found in

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calvert county was very refreshing. Sometimes when we ask for data from a school

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district is like pulling teeth to get them to give it to us, but not this district. You

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fulfilled the data request where we had 2 tthe tools to do this report, and you truly helped our

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team with this report. We thank you for that. A little bit about the company, which has been in

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business for over 30 years, conducted over 150 of these types of studies in 37 different

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states. We do have experience in maryland. We finished one in baltimore county not too long

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ago, and finished one in montgomery county. We have a high implementation rate, and

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hope that carries over into this report with implementing our recommendations, and we have a well qualified team that did this study. This is just a few of the types of projects that we

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have completed in the last few years. As I said, we did do baltimore county public schools,

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as well as baltimore county government. If there are any county government officials in

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the audience, you will know that our team, not this particular team, but we have a whole other

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team of public works that does county, and city government. In baltimore we did both the county

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government as well as the school system. You can find that r report. >> excuse me, can you move your mic closer. >>our staff, linda rose, dr.

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bruce, saw the district chapter and the organizational overall structure, and board, and

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superintendent recommendations. Dr. Greg, I.t. Director of the county school district which is

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the largest in the nation. We had dr. Jane, oversaw hr in garrett county, and on the

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school board in garrett county. For transportation, alexandra robinson, the former director of

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transportation in new york city, and as well as san diego unified school district. Also the past

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president of the national association of pupil transportation. Dr. Lisa

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mcculley has her phd in special ed. And at the university of texas. Also melissa kavanaugh.

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former teacher, and literacy coach, and federal grants manager, and assistant

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principal. You can see we had a pretty well qualified team conducting. They are all out

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there visiting us virtually. When we get down to q and a, if there is something that we

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cannot answer, we have all of our consultants with us online tonight.

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>> next slide, please. >>we conducted many virtual interviews before we even came

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on-site. We had a data request list of over 1200 documents that our team reviewed collectively.

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we collectively interviewed and/or focused group 388 staff members, or individuals, such as

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central office staff. We interviewed board members, including your student member.

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that was fun to interview her as well. School leadership, and staff, some cac members, and

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union reps. And five benchmark directs, carol, seal ill, charles, saint mary's, and

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wicomeco. Why was this study conducted?  It was suggested from the staff, and board

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members. With a decline in student enrollment, and local, and state funding, and coupled

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with the students and the blueprint for maryland's future, dr. Newsome and his team had the

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forward thinking to look at this system to remain resilient, and student centered, and fiscally

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sound. Often this study is done when the big brothers send us in or the county executive. But not

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the case in this district. You invited us to the your data, ang questions, and surveying you.

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you should be commended for that. We look at opportunities to find ways to help you improve

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your sound practices. I kind of lichen this study the book the great you have many great

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policies and procedures. And it's not to what you are doing wrong, but what you can improve in the policies that you have. What we hear when we go into central office studies is that

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the central office is top heavy. Nothing could be less than accurate for ccps. Your central

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office structure is under staffed relative to benchmark directs. The staffing gaps are

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the most evident in executive leadership, and instructional supervision, legal services, and

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communication services. >> next slide, please. Our team completed this study in

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a record breaking four months. And we divided this work plan up into four phases. There was a

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project launch, the on-site visit. An interim briefing where each of your directors from each

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of the departments we reviewed, got a chance to provide us feedback on the report, a back

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and forth on the report to be sure there were no errors in this report. Here we are with

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the final report presentation in mid-february. >> next slide, please.

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extremely long, it's quite user friendly. You will find there is an executive summary. There are

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seven chapters for each of the seven departments under review. You should note there were three

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departments that were not under the purview of this study, and that was the student services,

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food services, and facilities. There is also an overview in appendix a of the survey

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results, appendix b has benchmark comparisons. Appendix c has a list of commendations of

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located, and appendix c with all the recommendations. Overall there were 29 commendation, and

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68 recommendations. If we had more time than four months, I feel confident there would be

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just as many commendations as recommendations that you see on the screen. And the status quo,

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who is staffing the department, the budget, the organizational structure, what are they responsible for. It's a really good quick study for you, dr. Newsome as the new

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superintendent to know the fact, and figures of each of your departments. Each recommendation

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is data driven. We didn't make any recommendations based on one source, not on an interview or

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survey result. We try to tri triangulate all the

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recommendations. We have an actual recommendation, best practice that's maybe been used

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in other districts to help implement. We have an implementation strategy with

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each implementation, and five year fiscal impact.   The overall survey results, kudos,

390
01:03:14,287 --> 01:03:14,287
again to your staff. The overall survey response rate was 34.16%. The principles in ap's get the

391
01:03:24,965 --> 01:03:24,965
highest return rate at 79%. That's quite unusual in the many studies that we have conducted.

392
01:03:31,571 --> 01:03:31,571
that's a pretty high response rate. The survey was also filled with hundreds of open-ended

393
01:03:41,048 --> 01:03:41,048
comments that should be helpful in where your administration. Key survey takeaways, benefits

394
01:03:52,426 --> 01:03:56,096
from a highly committed, and student centered workforce. Staffing shortages, and capacity limits are most pressing system wide. Employees are looking for vision, and direction with

395
01:04:03,170 --> 01:04:03,170
assurance, and support as ccps future in the next 3-5 years. I will share with you in many of

396
01:04:10,911 --> 01:04:10,911
the interviews, it indicated that with all of dr. Newsome's visit, and going to the

397
01:04:22,188 --> 01:04:22,188
classrooms, we even interviewed many para professionals, and they said,newsome, and staff

398
01:04:40,907 --> 01:04:40,907
seeing this, and voting in as superintendent is well going forward with that vision.

399
01:04:50,117 --> 01:04:50,117
resources, and support rather than additional initiatives that are beyond their capacity to

400
01:04:55,089 --> 01:04:55,089
perform. Another theme is improvement, and enhancement opportunities are mostly

401
01:05:00,293 --> 01:05:00,293
organizational, and operational. And the operational systems are the primary hurdles to gaining

402
01:05:20,181 --> 01:05:22,016
efficiency. There is one more theme that is not on the screen. We heard repetitive. We are a system of school, not a school system. By that, many of the interviewees, seems that things

403
01:05:34,996 --> 01:05:34,996
are not consistent from school to school. And there aren't a set of non-negotiables that all

404
01:05:40,034 --> 01:05:40,034
schools must follow. I thought that was a permanent theme throughout a lot of interviews

405
01:05:46,140 --> 01:05:46,140
in the surveys we conducted. Appendix b has 83 of these exhibits. So you have data at

406
01:05:56,784 --> 01:05:56,784
your fingertips. Comparing ccps with the five benchmark districts in all types of

407
01:06:07,695 --> 01:06:07,695
categories. This is just one slide comparison showing that student chronic absentism has

408
01:06:22,310 --> 01:06:22,310
declined, and lowest benchmark for 2025. We will send the five bench marks the copies because

409
01:06:45,500 --> 01:06:49,370
they have been very cooperate e iv in giving us this data. From a high level overview, consistent progress in language arts. Graduation rates above state average, your mathematic scores are not as high as ela scores, however, the proficiency

410
01:07:04,953 --> 01:07:04,953
rate increased from 48 to% from 33%. Also the discipline behavior incident have shown a

411
01:07:18,966 --> 01:07:18,966
decline. We left this bullet here about behavioral incidences because overall that is true

412
01:07:28,943 --> 01:07:28,943
that the discipline behavior data has shown a dleen,ecline, f you look deeper, this is across

413
01:07:43,859 --> 01:07:43,859
all schools shown a decrease, and there may be a need for additional student mental health

414
01:07:49,631 --> 01:07:49,631
support. We did not do student services, and cannot dive too much of that into detail. But

415
01:07:54,970 --> 01:07:54,970
the teachers and the support staff survey results clearly indicated that more focus is

416
01:08:00,575 --> 01:08:00,575
needed on behavioral health. Student behavior, discipline, and safety concerns are the most

417
01:08:22,898 --> 01:08:22,898
evident. Nearly one in five respondents disagreed that they feel safe in their school

418
01:08:28,770 --> 01:08:28,770
environment. If you look at the longer term in the data showing increasing incidences of

419
01:08:39,048 --> 01:08:39,048
bullying harassment, and behavior when compared to the benchmark districts. We can go,

420
01:08:47,423 --> 01:08:47,423
and spend the next couple of hours on commendations. Kudos to the board for your excellent

421
01:08:57,365 --> 01:08:57,365
policy development process. We don't normally see such a tight process, and we noted on your

422
01:09:03,539 --> 01:09:03,539
agendas that you regularly review policies, and update them. That is quite commendable.

423
01:09:11,045 --> 01:09:11,045
we find it worthy to commend the student leadership team to initiate this efficiency study.

424
01:09:18,187 --> 01:09:18,187
the staff members are commended for collaborative efforts in securing grant funds for the

425
01:09:24,493 --> 01:09:24,493
support of staff development, and professional development. >>also, your ccps operational

426
01:09:36,939 --> 01:09:36,939
bulletin is exceptional, and a best practice model that other school districts should emulate.

427
01:09:44,046 --> 01:09:44,046
>> next slide, please. Are you still in the room?  I hope you are listening to these

428
01:09:51,653 --> 01:09:51,653
commendations because have a ton of them in your chapter. The finance department is commended

429
01:09:56,625 --> 01:09:56,625
for their excellent policies, and procedures that are in place. Also, they hold the

430
01:10:04,700 --> 01:10:04,700
school base financial secretaries accountable for funds that are expended at the

431
01:10:09,839 --> 01:10:09,839
school level. They have done an excellent job earning income with the carry over funds, just

432
01:10:16,946 --> 01:10:16,946
over $41 million. All of these details are in the report. The finance department has done an

433
01:10:23,419 --> 01:10:23,419
outstanding job with direct deposit for wages. And not all finance departments can tell

434
01:10:32,361 --> 01:10:32,361
that they have completed ten audits in three years with no major findings.

435
01:10:40,936 --> 01:10:40,936
>>chapter three, these are only select. There are many more in the report. I don't want to you

436
01:10:46,375 --> 01:10:46,375
think those are the only commendations in each of these chapters. For chapter 3, which

437
01:10:53,916 --> 01:10:53,916
is human resources, the hr department is commended for its professionalism, accessibility,

438
01:11:00,423 --> 01:11:00,423
and service orientation. For staff, and supporting schools despite, this is a big despite,

439
01:11:09,432 --> 01:11:09,432
sustained work low pressures, and staffing constraints. In just a moment, we'll share some

440
01:11:15,137 --> 01:11:15,137
recommendations to help improve that hr workload pressure. Also the hr department is commended

441
01:11:24,247 --> 01:11:24,247
for maintaining collaborative relationships with employee association that support

442
01:11:28,585 --> 01:11:28,585
contract implementation, and work stability. Also, ccsps has an outstanding leadership p

443
01:11:40,931 --> 01:11:40,931
pipeline program that is aligned with maryland blueprint, and built internal leadership. The

444
01:11:51,241 --> 01:11:51,241
next department is the department of instruction. I was getting goosebumps when I

445
01:12:03,153 --> 01:12:03,153
saw your career technology students upfront because that wa our recommendation of the

446
01:12:10,460 --> 01:12:10,460
career, and technology academy is wordthy of commendation, and you will see dr. Gaddis is

447
01:12:22,005 --> 01:12:22,005
recommending that you expand that program. Also the benchmark districts. You are commended for

448
01:12:30,480 --> 01:12:30,480
superior performance in a broad range of academic engagements, and coordination indicators. I

449
01:12:38,489 --> 01:12:38,489
will advise you to look at appendix b to see how ccps compares academically when you

450
01:12:51,201 --> 01:12:51,201
compare yourselves in the district. A kudos to the teachers. I was going to ask for

451
01:12:56,473 --> 01:12:56,473
a standing ovation, I don't know if that's too corny or not. Will you go up, and congratulate your

452
01:13:04,748 --> 01:13:04,748
teachers because when you see these scores in the appendix. C'mon.

453
01:13:18,329 --> 01:13:18,329
have a lot to be proud of in this district. The curriculum instruction staff have been very

454
01:13:25,569 --> 01:13:25,569
proactive in seeking business, and community partnerships to increase access to resources.

455
01:13:31,909 --> 01:13:31,909
also, they have implemented a social, and emotional diagnostic screener called panorama to plan

456
01:13:52,963 --> 01:13:52,963
interventions with students with identified needs. Chapter five was your special education

457
01:13:57,635 --> 01:13:59,469
department. Again, we commend the district for investing in the platform for their response innovation program, and training all teachers in the specialized design instruction module, also

458
01:14:03,975 --> 01:14:03,975
highly commended for the consistent commitment of the staff for students with

459
01:14:18,289 --> 01:14:19,457
disabilities. >>next chapter is transportation. The transportation department is commended for being responsive, and with the technology and the

460
01:14:30,168 --> 01:14:30,168
electronic routing is cutting edge technology. Also commended for their low accident rate, and

461
01:14:35,973 --> 01:14:35,973
good on time performance. Typically when we view these types of studies, one of the

462
01:14:42,080 --> 01:14:42,080
complaints is how buses are not on time. We rarely heard that when we interviewed staff, and

463
01:14:48,419 --> 01:14:48,419
parents in this community. Last year, there were only nine accidents in the almost

464
01:14:56,027 --> 01:14:56,027
3.5 million miles driven. That's a pretty good low accident rate. Next chapter.   This is a

465
01:15:03,901 --> 01:15:03,901
department of technology. Information technology. Excellent depth in using key

466
01:15:11,041 --> 01:15:11,041
performance indicators. Several of your departments in the school system have key

467
01:15:16,013 --> 01:15:16,013
performance indicators, but we believe that I.t. Has very strong ones, and we would like

468
01:15:22,320 --> 01:15:22,320
to see all of the departments having very strong key performance indicators. For

469
01:15:32,930 --> 01:15:32,930
these indicators are used as metrics for how well you are delivering your service to your

470
01:15:40,973 --> 01:15:40,973
customers. Technology is commended for the technology that reads, and imports data

471
01:15:47,178 --> 01:15:47,178
from the maryland online iep system. Directly into your e school plus. The I.t. For the

472
01:15:59,758 --> 01:15:59,758
student laptop. This practice should save ccps millions in the next five years. The last

473
01:16:08,133 --> 01:16:08,133
commendation is the I.t. Support team successfully begun the implementation of a unified

474
01:16:16,775 --> 01:16:16,775
school district system. It's much more efficient. >>good evening, again. Before I

475
01:16:28,954 --> 01:16:28,954
begin, I want to let you know. I was in my vehicle looking for my readers, and couldn't find them.

476
01:16:36,028 --> 01:16:36,028
the pair that I have is four times too small belong to my wife. I apologize. I love pink,

477
01:16:46,938 --> 01:16:46,938
and this was all I could find. I want to reiterate what dr. Cox said about the recommendations,

478
01:16:55,213 --> 01:16:55,213
and going to the next level. I can tell you from serving as superintendent in the state of

479
01:17:02,854 --> 01:17:02,854
maryland, and being still involved, there were many many things that are happening in

480
01:17:08,660 --> 01:17:08,660
calvert county that are not happening in other districts. You should be very happy about

481
01:17:13,664 --> 01:17:13,664
that, and I'm sure you are proud. This is about taking it efficiencies, and what can we do

482
01:17:23,041 --> 01:17:23,041
or what did we see coming in from the outside that will help you to do that. So I'm going to

483
01:17:32,717 --> 01:17:32,717
start as dr. Cox said. There was an analysis, and from that, will come the recommendations. I'm

484
01:17:37,190 --> 01:17:37,190
not going to cover everything on here because you have that in the report. I'm going to start

485
01:17:41,560 --> 01:17:41,560
with the report, the central office reorganization. Again, we are looking at building

486
01:17:47,533 --> 01:17:47,533
leadership capacity that is necessary to improve instruction, strengthen

487
01:17:52,238 --> 01:17:52,238
operations, and sustain progress in an increasingly complex educational environment. Right

488
01:17:57,476 --> 01:17:57,476
now, you operate with three chief officers. They manage a wide portfolio of departments.

489
01:18:06,118 --> 01:18:06,118
you have a chief academic officer directly supervising all elementary principals while over

490
01:18:19,598 --> 01:18:19,598
seeing curriculum, and special ed, and others operating on that side of the house with special

491
01:18:29,775 --> 01:18:29,775
curriculum. This is a problem. Principals receive instruction, coaching, and support. Senior

492
01:18:36,916 --> 01:18:36,916
leaders like strategic planning, and continuous improvement, and you can't response quickly to

493
01:18:42,721 --> 01:18:42,721
emerging instruction, and operational challenges. The solution is the reorganization

494
01:18:47,426 --> 01:18:47,426
creates an executive director for elementary, and secondary education to provide day-to-day

495
01:18:59,539 --> 01:18:59,539
instructional leadership models to allow to concentrate on the system wide strategy, and

496
01:19:05,744 --> 01:19:05,744
performance improvement. What will happen, the critical problems hopefully the outcomes

497
01:19:11,918 --> 01:19:11,918
become more consistent instructional coaching for your principals who are your

498
01:19:19,625 --> 01:19:19,625
curriculum leaders in your building, and faster communication, and restoration

499
01:19:24,931 --> 01:19:24,931
of school challenges, strong alignment with district priorities, and classroom

500
01:19:29,468 --> 01:19:29,468
practice, and something that is very important across the state of maryland, if not the country,

501
01:19:33,973 --> 01:19:33,973
put definitely maryland, principal retentin, and development. There needs to be a

502
01:19:39,479 --> 01:19:39,479
pipeline. When we looked at the district comparisons to benchmark districts, this

503
01:19:43,950 --> 01:19:43,950
information is based on comparing calvert with charles county, and saint mary's county.

504
01:19:51,691 --> 01:19:51,691
you will see the enrollment trends, you are declining slightly. Charles county has

505
01:19:59,999 --> 01:19:59,999
stable enrollment, larger district, saint mary's also facing comparable demographic

506
01:20:19,219 --> 01:20:19,219
shifts. In the comparable structure, you are very lean. There is no doubt about it

507
01:20:24,424 --> 01:20:27,560
compared to st. Marys. Some of the staffing patterns with student ratio, but you do face gaps in specialized positions including counsel, and supervision. In fact, you are

508
01:20:34,835 --> 01:20:34,835
the only system that does not have a full-time communications person that that is their only

509
01:20:46,913 --> 01:20:46,913
job, and vital position as well as you are big enough in this educational environment to have

510
01:20:52,986 --> 01:20:52,986
full-time counsel that is at your exposure daily. >>let's go over a couple of the

511
01:21:02,763 --> 01:21:02,763
recommendations. Again, we tried to group these together. These are just a few of them, and I'm

512
01:21:06,967 --> 01:21:06,967
of them. Our analysis found that kpi's had been started me some of the departments. Our

513
01:21:14,475 --> 01:21:14,475
recommendation is to require that all departments use key performance indicators, and that

514
01:21:19,446 --> 01:21:19,446
the county adopt a formal procedures framework that all departments will use so they can

515
01:21:24,952 --> 01:21:24,952
be consistent. One of the other issues, one of the other recommendations is to reorganize

516
01:21:33,993 --> 01:21:33,993
the district office functions with those two executive director positions reporting to

517
01:21:38,499 --> 01:21:38,499
the chief academic officer, and move the secondary principles to report to an executive director

518
01:21:43,771 --> 01:21:43,771
of secondary education. We have talked about full-time counsel, and communications. And then the

519
01:21:49,609 --> 01:21:49,609
last one I will touch on here is having sat in the seat that dr. Newsome has been in, coming in

520
01:21:59,386 --> 01:21:59,386
as a new superintendent, one of the things that we are recommending is that the board

521
01:22:04,725 --> 01:22:04,725
establish some committees to help with the board of self assessment, and also adopt a

522
01:22:11,632 --> 01:22:11,632
formal annual superintendent evaluation process because the committees can strengthen

523
01:22:17,771 --> 01:22:17,771
oversight, and enhance quality decision-making but also, balance the information flow

524
01:22:22,676 --> 01:22:22,676
with everything that the board has to do. Chapter 2, fiscal management. You will see with

525
01:22:33,754 --> 01:22:33,754
the amount of work that goes to the finance department, there are a lot of people that are

526
01:22:38,626 --> 01:22:38,626
doing multiple things. So, we are recommending that there be enough data job descriptions,

527
01:22:46,701 --> 01:22:46,701
and responsibilities, and also a cross training model be implemented. There had been some

528
01:22:52,974 --> 01:22:52,974
vacancies that are now filled, but we want to be sure that things keep going when people

529
01:22:57,945 --> 01:22:57,945
are out of the office. So having the opportunity to cross train, would be a tremendous advantage

530
01:23:03,184 --> 01:23:03,184
not only for finance, but for other departments. Risk management is something that

531
01:23:08,957 --> 01:23:08,957
every system is concerned with. We are recommending you develop a comprehensive risk management

532
01:23:15,296 --> 01:23:15,296
plan with system wide approaches that will align with current best practices, and address

533
01:23:20,902 --> 01:23:20,902
possible threats that may exist. May does a tremendous job in maryland, the board of education

534
01:23:29,276 --> 01:23:29,276
in working with school systems to help with that. Also, you are already doing some cooperative

535
01:23:51,933 --> 01:23:55,670
purchasing, but we are recommending now to talk to the county, and take it to the next level. Could you do something with health insurances, with fleet mpanagement, are there other areas to lower cost to benefit the system. Department of human resources. What we

536
01:24:00,943 --> 01:24:00,943
found was the structured organization, and assignment of duties with clearly defined

537
01:24:06,647 --> 01:24:06,647
lanes will allow for smoother operations. So the recommendations here is to

538
01:24:11,753 --> 01:24:11,753
establish a three division human resources operating model, and reorganize hr into three

539
01:24:22,430 --> 01:24:22,430
divisions or three lanes. Talent acquisition, and onboarding, staff operations, and workforce

540
01:24:32,607 --> 01:24:35,210
administration, and employee services compliance, and labor relations. This would add three fte's to the process, but would be a big help of taking that efficiency, and effectiveness to

541
01:24:40,883 --> 01:24:40,883
the next level. Also, we found that there is quite a bit of mobility among staff. We had the

542
01:24:48,290 --> 01:24:48,290
same thing in the lower shore. You can be in the west side, you have the same thing here. One of

543
01:24:54,796 --> 01:24:54,796
the things we want to do is to recommend that your hiring process required a standardized

544
01:25:05,541 --> 01:25:05,541
centralize managed hiring, and onboarding process with clearly defined stage ownership,

545
01:25:12,948 --> 01:25:12,948
monitoring, and escalation within the acquisition unit. In other words, let's find the

546
01:25:18,087 --> 01:25:18,087
person we want, get them on board, and get them working in our school system as fastas we

547
01:25:24,026 --> 01:25:24,026
can. You will see again, recommendation 3.8, the feasibility of joining a

548
01:25:31,199 --> 01:25:31,199
regional healthcare coalition could potentially help you save $750,000, in cost avoidance, in

549
01:25:40,575 --> 01:25:40,575
2009, garrett county did this, and they have had good results. In chapter 4, we have the

550
01:25:48,950 --> 01:25:48,950
department of instruction, and I quickly went back with what dr. Cox said. One of the things that

551
01:25:56,325 --> 01:25:56,325
I think was the greatest experience for me as the superintendent, was we built a

552
01:26:01,864 --> 01:26:01,864
new tech school. Boy did we hit another population of our students. Success can be seen in

553
01:26:07,803 --> 01:26:07,803
many ways. Every one of those students is successful. That 50s grader in the elementary band

554
01:26:21,217 --> 01:26:21,217
concert was a success. The first area is to expand that tech academy model whether you can

555
01:26:31,794 --> 01:26:31,794
increase the capacity or include programs or satellite. It's clear that it works, and that is

556
01:26:38,267 --> 01:26:38,267
something that would be a big benefit for the school system. Also your department of

557
01:26:43,338 --> 01:26:43,338
instruction, currently has a four strand structure. So what you have is some overlapping of

558
01:26:49,380 --> 01:26:49,380
responsibilities, but you also have people who are working in silos that are by themselves.

559
01:26:58,621 --> 01:26:58,621
so, the recommendation 4-3 is to look at how the role structure of staff, and supported across

560
01:27:06,195 --> 01:27:06,195
support teams. As dr. Cox said, would be an organizational chart to show those recommendations.

561
01:27:14,771 --> 01:27:14,771
also, in the world we live in today with involvement from community to community groups,

562
01:27:23,579 --> 01:27:23,579
parents, students, there needs to be a shot in the arm for the system wide plan for program

563
01:27:31,586 --> 01:27:31,586
evaluation. Anytime you are looking at curriculum, there needs to be a process that is

564
01:27:39,062 --> 01:27:39,062
established that is followed every single time. So we are looking at recommendation 4.5,

565
01:27:46,669 --> 01:27:46,669
in establishing that clear consistent process for reviewing new, and existing programs, not

566
01:27:51,107 --> 01:27:51,107
just the program, the curricular materials, interventions, support and the resources

567
01:28:04,354 --> 01:28:04,354
brought in to help the students. Chapter 5, recommendations for department of special education.

568
01:28:08,725 --> 01:28:08,725
recommendation 5.1, as again, you will have a chart in that chapter is to reorganize the

569
01:28:17,334 --> 01:28:17,334
special education department to improve clarity, accountability, and capacity with one director

570
01:28:28,211 --> 01:28:28,211
of special ed, and five supervisory roles. Your special education structure has done a

571
01:28:33,683 --> 01:28:33,683
phenomenal job with compliance, it's only one part in special education, there is

572
01:28:41,958 --> 01:28:45,495
instructional delivery, and lacking this fine alignment. Going through this organization takes it from compliance to instructional programming, legal responsibilities, but also,

573
01:28:57,174 --> 01:29:00,944
specialized support, and assessment, and transition. Also your special education staff was analyzed for carrying heavy work loads that extend well beyond their direct instruction. As a

574
01:29:07,150 --> 01:29:07,150
result, many have limited capacity to deliver high quality instruction. They are spread too

575
01:29:13,223 --> 01:29:13,223
thin. So recommendation 5.7 is to maintain a simple transparent workload dashboard at the case

576
01:29:23,366 --> 01:29:23,366
management level to ensure staffing decisions are driven by actual workload demands than

577
01:29:32,776 --> 01:29:32,776
simply counting the number of iep's in a building or classroom. Recommendations for

578
01:29:37,614 --> 01:29:37,614
chapter 6, transportation. 6.1, was to reorganize the transportation department, and

579
01:29:51,094 --> 01:29:51,094
implement time saving strategies to be more efficient. There are overlapping job duties, and

580
01:29:57,434 --> 01:29:57,434
everybody in that department works so well, but again, we are looking at what are specific

581
01:30:02,005 --> 01:30:02,005
lanes that you work in, and what are specific responsibilities. Also, there is a recommendation

582
01:30:12,716 --> 01:30:12,716
6.2, to look at your contractual operations, and to look at the whole system how you have done

583
01:30:20,792 --> 01:30:20,792
things, rather than you have a contract, look at that, rather than the practice of historical

584
01:30:31,201 --> 01:30:31,201
mou's, and 6-3, departmental kpi's that align with best practices. Chapter 7,

585
01:30:44,515 --> 01:30:44,515
information technology, and digital learning. One of the recommendations here is 7-3. Out

586
01:30:51,055 --> 01:30:51,055
of 39 of your software service contracts only one is multiyear. So the recommendation is to look

587
01:30:59,997 --> 01:30:59,997
at provide upfront funding for multiyear I.t. Software, and cloud services expanding the

588
01:31:07,238 --> 01:31:11,208
cost, which you can sometimes get a lower cost by doing that. They are going to charge you more for that first year. So spread those things out. It is also something where your fund

589
01:31:16,948 --> 01:31:16,948
balance could be used to potentially help with some of that cost. 7-3-3 is a

590
01:31:29,594 --> 01:31:29,594
recommendation that while we were here, we did not realize that you had 900 hp printers on

591
01:31:41,138 --> 01:31:41,138
desktop. That's a lot of ink, and a lot of printers to keep track of. Teachers can use high

592
01:31:56,187 --> 01:31:56,187
capacity printers located in every single building, and still be able to do what they need. It

593
01:32:00,191 --> 01:32:00,191
would be just down the hallway which is a cost saving because if you ever replace your toner

594
01:32:06,231 --> 01:32:06,231
at home, you know how much it can cost. Also, one of the things we saw is also an

595
01:32:14,739 --> 01:32:14,739
accommodation. You have a wonderful staff. You have a tremendous staff. But I tried to

596
01:32:31,856 --> 01:32:35,626
find a better word, but you have an aging staff as well. There needs to be plans put in place, what is going to happen specifically in technology 7-5. You are facing the retirement of a six person networks operations team within the next 2-3 years potentially. What is the

597
01:32:48,839 --> 01:32:48,839
succession plan , and how you don't lose that. >>ms. Cox: you have seen on the

598
01:32:59,918 --> 01:32:59,918
screen our proposed district organization. This shows the teams recommendation for the

599
01:33:07,225 --> 01:33:07,225
organized at the executive level central office, and each of the chapters we just went through

600
01:33:14,566 --> 01:33:14,566
has another organizational chart. The most pronounced on staffing on school leadership,

601
01:33:22,240 --> 01:33:22,240
and school supervision, based on interviews, job descriptions, benchmark comparisons. This

602
01:33:31,984 --> 01:33:31,984
innovation adds to director positions, one for elementary, secondary, reporting to the cao.

603
01:33:38,290 --> 01:33:38,290
we have the recommendation to elevate the role of the eao, and chief officer to deputy

604
01:33:50,101 --> 01:33:50,101
superintendent to reflect alignment, and more in line with your benchmark district. Ccps,

605
01:33:55,240 --> 01:33:55,240
is the only school district that does not have a communication director, and we recommend one,

606
01:34:03,649 --> 01:34:03,649
and as well as hiring full-time legal counsel to also report to superintendent newsome. You see

607
01:34:15,561 --> 01:34:15,561
an overall savings chart chapter by chapter, the red is cost to implement the recommendations,

608
01:34:22,935 --> 01:34:22,935
the black is your savings. You can see our team's proposed five year savings is over $29

609
01:34:33,512 --> 01:34:33,512
million. And in the report you will have a description of each fiscal impact to show how these

610
01:34:39,652 --> 01:34:39,652
numbers were derived. The next steps, and suggestions for ccps leadership, several people this

611
01:34:46,692 --> 01:34:46,692
evening asked me how can I get my hands-on that report. So I'm keeping it close to my body

612
01:34:52,965 --> 01:34:52,965
because some people said, let me see it. I'm going to defer that question to you, superintendent,

613
01:35:02,541 --> 01:35:05,677
new newsome, and your leadership team because I didn't know how to answer. >>so, the superintendent leadership team should develop a

614
01:35:12,318 --> 01:35:12,318
detailed implementation plan, and prioritize these recommendations. There is a lot

615
01:35:17,357 --> 01:35:17,357
of recommendations. It can't be all done at once. They should have a prioritization. We helped

616
01:35:26,966 --> 01:35:26,966
by providing superintendent news some with a chart, implementation sheet to help you

617
01:35:34,107 --> 01:35:34,107
to track each recommendation, and where you are with each one. It would be, you should

618
01:35:40,413 --> 01:35:40,413
incorporate year one action into your 26/27 budget. Authorize any necessary organizational

619
01:35:47,053 --> 01:35:47,053
changes, and position changes. Adopt policy or governance updates. Try to launch some of

620
01:35:54,994 --> 01:35:54,994
your quick initiatives. Implement performance metrics, kpi's in all departments, and

621
01:36:01,767 --> 01:36:01,767
establish dashboard. Your board should be privy to your progress. And your board

622
01:36:07,740 --> 01:36:07,740
meetings to conduct quarterly board progress reviews. We would certainly love for you to keep

623
01:36:15,615 --> 01:36:15,615
us apprised of your implementation rate because we have a team that is very

624
01:36:20,620 --> 01:36:20,620
committed to doing this work, and your success, and implementing these

625
01:36:24,925 --> 01:36:24,925
recommendations reflects on our success. We are going to be checking back with you

626
01:36:29,429 --> 01:36:29,429
periodically to see how it's going, and if your directors are having issues with

627
01:36:37,404 --> 01:36:37,404
implementation, our team is not going to just run after delivering this final report. If

628
01:36:43,509 --> 01:36:43,509
you want to send some email questions to me, I will forward them to the correct person to

629
01:36:52,318 --> 01:36:52,318
make sure that these recommendations do get implemented. So, next slide, as

630
01:36:59,559 --> 01:36:59,559
a former high school debate coach, I will say I stand ready for cross-examination.

631
01:37:05,532 --> 01:37:05,532
questions, please. >>president jana smith-post: thank you, chair.

632
01:37:09,702 --> 01:37:12,972
. >>ms. Post, before questions, can I make a final statement? >> yes, of course. >>dr. Marcus newsome: effectiveness, I want to thank

633
01:37:20,947 --> 01:37:20,947
you for this very comprehensive report, which you covered over 450 pages in less than an hour.

634
01:37:35,462 --> 01:37:35,462
public education is the most transparent education in the community. You can see the

635
01:37:45,139 --> 01:37:46,973
website, and see how every individual school is performing with this academic performance with attendance, with its discipline, and how it spends its dollars. In my first days at

636
01:37:52,779 --> 01:37:52,779
the board of education, they demonstrated to me that they want to see the same level of

637
01:37:59,820 --> 01:37:59,820
accountability, and transparency within a central office. So this efficiency assessment allows the

638
01:38:08,929 --> 01:38:08,929
entire community to see the operations of every major department, and central office.

639
01:38:15,235 --> 01:38:15,235
we don't have anything to hide. Some of this is going to be very uncomfortable. But that's part

640
01:38:23,877 --> 01:38:23,877
of improvement. And we do plan to provide this information on our website, and make it

641
01:38:31,651 --> 01:38:31,651
available to the community starting tomorrow. I'm sure some people may take some sections,

642
01:38:38,959 --> 01:38:38,959
and perhaps take it out of context, and we'll deal with that, but I said in my comments

643
01:38:46,033 --> 01:38:46,033
at the appointment that we are ready to roll our sleeves up. Take the implementation plan,

644
01:38:54,708 --> 01:38:54,708
and begin work over the next several years starting with this year's budget. So, again, we

645
01:39:01,982 --> 01:39:01,982
look forward to the challenge ahead. And we know that it's going to produce a more

646
01:39:08,522 --> 01:39:08,522
effective, more efficient, and more accountable, and more transparent school system. Thank

647
01:39:28,676 --> 01:39:30,077
you again. >>president jana smith-post thank you, dr. Newsome. Are there any questions? >> I would like to thank you for your report. There are 60

648
01:39:33,114 --> 01:39:33,114
recommendations, what would you say are the top three to five priorities that we might be able

649
01:39:38,486 --> 01:39:38,486
to accomplish this year? >> well, I think that this year, you should focus on your

650
01:39:55,870 --> 01:39:55,870
educational, the changes, and staffing for education. For your central office. I think that

651
01:40:00,008 --> 01:40:00,008
those are optimal, and that's what the whole district is about, improving student

652
01:40:05,680 --> 01:40:05,680
education. I think that after our analysis, those extra positions in your curriculum,

653
01:40:14,021 --> 01:40:14,021
and instruction are well deserved, and well needed. I think that would be one of your

654
01:40:20,928 --> 01:40:20,928
top priorities. >>I think also looking at the first thing that comes to mind

655
01:40:39,880 --> 01:40:39,880
to me is human resources. You want to be sure you have the very best teachers in front of

656
01:40:44,853 --> 01:40:44,853
your students. I think one of those priorities is to look at your process that you are using

657
01:40:50,425 --> 01:40:50,425
in hr, to make sure that right now, someone is talking to those student interns that are in the

658
01:40:59,568 --> 01:40:59,568
building. It may be too late to do that already because a lot of them are being hired right away.

659
01:41:04,672 --> 01:41:04,672
when you again the process of your having your budget discussions tonight, when you

660
01:41:10,578 --> 01:41:10,578
know how many positions you have available, that number is going to probably be consistent, not

661
01:41:17,452 --> 01:41:17,452
only across southern maryland, but the whole state of maryland, and we know there is a teacher

662
01:41:44,112 --> 01:41:44,112
shortage. Everybody wants the best. For me, as superintendent, dr. Newsom will learn question

663
01:41:52,554 --> 01:41:54,289
by is the new process, and you are going to have multiple offers. For staffing, what directly impacts the students are the biggest priority in february

664
01:42:02,364 --> 01:42:02,364
with the budget being developed. >>that leads me to question no. 2.

665
01:42:06,668 --> 01:42:06,668
>>I wanted to add a third one. I think you should start looking deeply at your transportation.

666
01:42:12,207 --> 01:42:12,207
it is highly costly for the school system. Our consultant gave some very good geuidance o

667
01:42:22,917 --> 01:42:22,917
ways that you can cut those costs, and place to tackle in year one.

668
01:42:30,359 --> 01:42:30,359
>>thank you very much. You say the human resources function continues to stand more

669
01:42:36,932 --> 01:42:36,932
improvement. What would it require to our overall hr to better align with the schools.

670
01:42:51,012 --> 01:42:51,012
>>we have our director who can help with that. >>that is such a great question.

671
01:42:58,921 --> 01:42:58,921
I really do encourage to you look at recommendation 3-4. Which is on page 138 of this

672
01:43:06,929 --> 01:43:06,929
report. Because what we are really looking at the hiring, and onboarding workflows that

673
01:43:13,902 --> 01:43:13,902
looks at the structure of the hiring process, and break it up into hiring steps and insures

674
01:43:23,012 --> 01:43:23,012
that employees are fully ready on the first day as dr. Gaddis said earlier. This improves the

675
01:43:31,087 --> 01:43:31,087
timelines. That's what we heard most based on survey results, and we also heard in the enter

676
01:43:41,297 --> 01:43:41,297
views by our focus groups. It improves timelines, and reduces interruptions. Look at that

677
01:43:52,942 --> 01:43:52,942
recommendation 3-4. >>does that answer your question?

678
01:43:59,915 --> 01:43:59,915
>> yes, it does, thank you. I think you touched on pieces of this. How will the new hr

679
01:44:07,222 --> 01:44:07,222
position help us attract, and retain teachers and the funding to restructure this department?

680
01:44:20,603 --> 01:44:20,603
>> that is recommendation 3-2 because when you look at the structure of human resources,

681
01:44:27,243 --> 01:44:27,243
having those three lanes is very important to ensure that we have that talent acquisition

682
01:44:32,949 --> 01:44:32,949
expertise, and the onboarding to get people in place, and in a sequential order, doing the

683
01:44:54,170 --> 01:44:55,971
operations, and workforce administration so it's looking at your certification, licensure improves the hiring timelines, reduces the backlog, and compliance risk, and stabilizes

684
01:45:05,415 --> 01:45:05,415
that service delivery. So also the third lane would be the employee services, and

685
01:45:13,190 --> 01:45:13,190
compliance, and employee relations. Looking at anything that has to do with worker's

686
01:45:19,095 --> 01:45:19,095
compensation, that monitoring, and to look at recommendation 3-2 for the three divisions to

687
01:45:29,138 --> 01:45:32,475
build efficiencies in human resources. >>thank you, and one additional. You also recommend we elevate the chief academic officer, and officer of superintendent. Can

688
01:45:46,322 --> 01:45:46,322
you describe that in more detail? >> by elevating thouse position,

689
01:46:02,138 --> 01:46:04,141
you are emphasizing more instructional leadership. They are stretched very thin from the interviews we participated in, looking at the benchmark directs, and we believe by

690
01:46:11,247 --> 01:46:15,185
elevating those positions given them more time to focus on instruction, and less time on other things they are responsible for, will even more elevate your great student

691
01:46:20,290 --> 01:46:20,290
achievement in this district. Thank you. >>in the key service takeaways,

692
01:46:32,936 --> 01:46:32,936
the operations to hurdles, and gaining efficiency, can you expand on that

693
01:46:46,650 --> 01:46:46,650
>>sure, we focused a lot on kpi. You have a great start on kpi's in many of your departments, but

694
01:46:55,992 --> 01:46:55,992
not all of your departments. It's wonderful to have kpi's, but you have to follow-up on

695
01:47:04,935 --> 01:47:04,935
those, and what are they measuring and the outcomes. We hope in year one thatyou can

696
01:47:10,874 --> 01:47:10,874
focus in on more of your kpi's for each department. >>the other question I had is

697
01:47:16,247 --> 01:47:16,247
this presentation talked a lot about central office restructuring. Was it part of

698
01:47:21,651 --> 01:47:21,651
this audit to look at how schools are structured, our staffing radiatio at the school

699
01:47:30,994 --> 01:47:30,994
level? >> no, just central office. >>okay, thank you.

700
01:47:36,400 --> 01:47:36,400
>>we can always come back. Don't tempt us with a good time.

701
01:47:41,805 --> 01:47:41,805
>>I know that some of why you are staff members, and some of the divisions that were

702
01:47:46,477 --> 01:47:46,477
departments that were not covered, kind of felt like they wanted to be part of the study

703
01:47:56,653 --> 01:47:56,653
too, but we did cover some things in student services, and also we looked at your janitor

704
01:48:05,729 --> 01:48:05,729
position. I know you don't call them janitors, you call them building service workers, pardon

705
01:48:14,238 --> 01:48:14,238
me. We did reach beyond the scope of work in some of those areas.

706
01:48:23,915 --> 01:48:27,818
>>this is done as you all know in haste because it was so important as we move forward into this budget discussion. So, it was just a way the timing had worked out in which we had

707
01:48:49,173 --> 01:48:52,944
conversation with dr. Newsome, and had to go through the bid process, and all of those things to get to this point. In autopi, we wish we had a lot more time, and something that we can go

708
01:48:57,849 --> 01:48:57,849
back to consider. It has been very very helpful. I think it's given us an ability. You are

709
01:49:04,922 --> 01:49:04,922
third party, and you came from the outside looking in, and you had an opportunity to talk to a

710
01:49:10,161 --> 01:49:10,161
variety of folks, and receiven put from a lot of different folks, and in some cases, it

711
01:49:17,902 --> 01:49:17,902
solidifies what many of us were thinking or what we have experienced, but in others, some

712
01:49:25,910 --> 01:49:25,910
of them were surprising, and may have changed the way that we thought things were. And they

713
01:49:36,954 --> 01:49:36,954
aren't necessarily. I think this was really necessary, and especially important as we move

714
01:49:48,133 --> 01:49:49,810
forward through our budget process. >>do you have any questio >> I would like to say thank you, and would like to recognize the finance person to the right.

715
01:49:54,181 --> 01:49:54,181
who are you, young lady? >>I'm barbara. >>thank you.

716
01:50:10,664 --> 01:50:10,664
>>our next segue to this is the budget discussion. So one thing that I look at and I made that

717
01:50:17,571 --> 01:50:17,571
comment in my interview was that we don't have the standard operating procedures. I think

718
01:50:27,981 --> 01:50:27,981
also, looking beyond kerwin, and cte is one of our gems, and I'm glad you recognized that. Maybe

719
01:50:41,528 --> 01:50:41,528
we are not looking far enough ahead, but I think when you detail, dr. Newsome, the

720
01:50:56,076 --> 01:50:56,076
detailed learning, and not necessarily at every school, but projecting the best teachers to

721
01:51:03,817 --> 01:51:03,817
the school in another area. I think that might be part of this future that we face. But I can't

722
01:51:12,226 --> 01:51:12,226
get my head around the benefit that the students get frommen person teaching. So, it's going

723
01:51:20,735 --> 01:51:20,735
to be a public policy discussion of what quality or what effectiveness that we would have

724
01:51:30,277 --> 01:51:30,277
through technology versus an in person lesson. I know that our speech pathologist, the number

725
01:51:35,316 --> 01:51:35,316
of speech pathologists that we have has gone up I think to now eight. I forget how many we

726
01:51:48,196 --> 01:51:48,196
have. But it has gone up because people wore masks for years and the students didn't learn the

727
01:51:57,272 --> 01:51:57,272
enunciation with their speech, and now they are having problems with their own speech. That's

728
01:52:05,146 --> 01:52:05,146
one thing we didn't consider when people were staying at home and were afraid. That bounds

729
01:52:16,223 --> 01:52:16,223
from 2020/2022 where it was thrown to everybody to try to placate these issues, and now we

730
01:52:22,196 --> 01:52:22,196
are getting into the real nuts and bolts of these things, and I'm concerned we have

731
01:52:29,237 --> 01:52:29,237
opportunities, but some of these opportunities also have costs before we can save. And there

732
01:52:37,378 --> 01:52:37,378
has to be some degree of discount on the savings. I don't expect to realize 100%. I think

733
01:52:43,518 --> 01:52:43,518
there is going to be some discount to that. The other thing I want to caution folks, I

734
01:52:54,496 --> 01:52:58,200
believe we are going to put this lie l online if it's not already. >>it will be tomorrow. >>I appreciate what you have

735
01:53:03,038 --> 01:53:03,038
done and it was really quite a process, and it's been commendable. I have been through

736
01:53:13,448 --> 01:53:13,448
some myself in different organizations. Usually, when my bosses are asking me questions I

737
01:53:19,287 --> 01:53:19,287
usually, say, did you check your credenza because some people didn't read the report. I'm

738
01:53:28,197 --> 01:53:28,197
going to read the report carefully. That's probably what got me dismissed from my last

739
01:53:35,737 --> 01:53:38,006
job. >>for reading it carefully or not? >> no, for telling people it was on their credenza, and to look at it. It was probably not the

740
01:53:46,748 --> 01:53:46,748
best thing to say. The public doesn't know also that we take this job very very seriously. We

741
01:53:54,056 --> 01:53:54,056
are trying to do the best we can for calvert county, and the students in calvert county.

742
01:54:03,331 --> 01:54:03,331
also, I have developed a parallel concern for the employees of calvert county of

743
01:54:14,676 --> 01:54:14,676
public schools as well because again, every person that I have met has in their heart, the best

744
01:54:21,884 --> 01:54:21,884
intent from ursula who takes care of the building here to teachers like amanda, and other

745
01:54:29,224 --> 01:54:29,224
folks that I know that are in the system. They are doing everything they can to do the

746
01:54:34,863 --> 01:54:34,863
best possible job. So I want to make sure that we give them the credit for the commendations

747
01:54:42,505 --> 01:54:42,505
that you have in this report. And susan, dr. Johnson, you are doing a phenomenal job. Jackie,

748
01:54:55,250 --> 01:54:55,250
you are doing everything you can. You are probably swimming at everything as soon as you

749
01:55:06,895 --> 01:55:09,432
open your email I'm sure. We are going to try over the next couple years. I still have three years left in my term, but we are going to try, dr. Newsome to support you every way we can.

750
01:55:20,209 --> 01:55:20,209
the elephant in the room though is that funding is flat I expect from the state and the county.

751
01:55:27,283 --> 01:55:27,283
so I would just say we probably have to take a tact where we tell them where this number gets

752
01:55:35,858 --> 01:55:35,858
them, and we put in the things that we maybe able to save, and we give the commissioners a

753
01:55:42,498 --> 01:55:42,498
choice to help us out beyond that flat funding. Because I think that again, one of the

754
01:55:54,743 --> 01:55:54,743
comments tonight is we have to invest in our kids. It is an investment, and it's an

755
01:56:06,055 --> 01:56:09,425
expensive investment because they are in our school system now for 14 years, prek, and 12 other years. That's 14 years time $20,000. So you are investing or spending in every

756
01:56:18,501 --> 01:56:18,501
kid $300,000. That's quite a bit of money especially for folks that don't have kids in the

757
01:56:26,242 --> 01:56:29,979
school system that are living here, and every year their property taxes go up a little bit. The commissioners will say, no, the tax rate didn't go up, no, but my assessment went up

758
01:56:37,687 --> 01:56:37,687
and it went up over 12%. I think we have to balance the needs here with the folks that are in

759
01:56:47,129 --> 01:56:47,129
this county trying to live every day with 12% assessment increases and the state

760
01:56:55,772 --> 01:56:55,772
doubling. >>president jana smith-post: yeah, we are going to segue into

761
01:57:01,077 --> 01:57:01,077
the budget discussion, and part of that will be part of the budget discussion. Can I turn to

762
01:57:06,516 --> 01:57:06,516
you, dr. Newsome, or who is leading the budget discussion? >> yes, thank you again, and

763
01:57:13,023 --> 01:57:13,023
safe travels back. I know you are probably going back to florida.

764
01:57:20,196 --> 01:57:20,196
>>thank you very much. >>I would like to ask barbara, who is the acting director,

765
01:57:27,837 --> 01:57:27,837
interim director for budget, and finance. And she's been working really hard just to give you a

766
01:57:40,417 --> 01:57:43,920
glimpse of the challenges. It's like somewhat put together, a report, and you had to come behind them, and you weren't necessarily involved in the development of that report, and

767
01:57:52,229 --> 01:57:52,229
you have to present that report, and there are going to be some things in the report that you

768
01:58:11,181 --> 01:58:11,181
may not understand, and then there are challenges, and then our full time person will ramp

769
01:58:17,120 --> 01:58:17,120
up and the timeline doesn't change. I want to commend you, barb, for what you are doing,

770
01:58:25,728 --> 01:58:25,728
and working with the team. If you are comfortable there, you can present from there.

771
01:58:32,202 --> 01:58:32,202
>>what she's going to present for you is an overview of the budget categories, and try to

772
01:58:41,278 --> 01:58:41,278
give you an explanation of areas where we see the greatest change from this current year to the

773
01:58:47,184 --> 01:58:47,184
upcoming year. Hopefully that will prompt questions from you in the conversation.

774
01:59:02,832 --> 01:59:02,832
>> are you going to cover fy26 at projected end? >> no, just the proposed stuff

775
01:59:17,213 --> 01:59:17,213
for 27. Good evening, president post, superintendent, dr. Newsome, and board members. My

776
01:59:22,753 --> 01:59:22,753
name is bash sekera. Director of finance, acting. I'm here to present the proposed 2027

777
01:59:43,908 --> 01:59:43,908
budget. >> next slide, please. I thought we would start with the revenue

778
01:59:49,480 --> 01:59:49,480
first. So you can see our budgets for this year for fy27 is going to be $303,325. That is

779
02:00:08,199 --> 02:00:08,199
a 200,000 increase in the budget from fy26 to fy27. So we are talking budgeted amounts. For

780
02:00:16,473 --> 02:00:16,473
our local, we are projecting to take in $1.7 million less in local money. What makes up that

781
02:00:28,653 --> 02:00:28,653
$1.7 million is, in fy26, and this year, we received a big credit from may of 1 $1.3 milli.

782
02:00:40,531 --> 02:00:40,531
we don't expect to get that next year. Also we expect our interest, what we are earning in

783
02:00:46,837 --> 02:00:46,837
interest to drop about $200,000 because our expenditures are going up, and there is less cash

784
02:00:54,512 --> 02:00:54,512
to invest. Also, there is a couple other bigger items. We had this year projected that we

785
02:01:04,088 --> 02:01:04,088
would get $95,000 in insurance reimbursements, and we are projecting that's not going to

786
02:01:14,866 --> 02:01:14,866
materialize next year. Those are the big things of the $1.7 million that were not going

787
02:01:21,873 --> 02:01:21,873
to have in 27, that we budgeted in 26. We moved down to county appropriation. We are asking for

788
02:01:38,156 --> 02:01:38,156
$6.7 million more than what we received last year for the county.   We are going to be

789
02:01:42,527 --> 02:01:42,527
getting $5.9 million more in state funding, and some of that is foundation, which goes for

790
02:01:54,272 --> 02:01:54,272
the total enrollment population, and some of it is for specific enrollment population. So we are

791
02:02:00,212 --> 02:02:00,212
restricted on how we can use those funds. We are going to talk about, probably you have

792
02:02:05,250 --> 02:02:05,250
question of concentration of poverty. That is a supplemental fund that we are going to be

793
02:02:10,855 --> 02:02:10,855
getting for new expenditures. For next year. The prek, that is only for prek funding. There is

794
02:02:23,869 --> 02:02:23,869
some funding sources we can't use for other general enrollment population. Then the federal, we

795
02:02:35,514 --> 02:02:35,514
are projecting $15,000 more, I think that is rotc because of increasing salaries, and we'll

796
02:02:45,390 --> 02:02:45,390
get a little bit more to cover that. Clearly, we are looking at $15 million ask, we are asking

797
02:02:56,034 --> 02:02:56,034
for $4.2 million more in fund balance than we asked for last year. So this is a difference

798
02:03:16,655 --> 02:03:19,226
between 26, and 27. So you can see those differences budgeted between 26, and 27. Do you have any questions? >> you have to stick to your script.

799
02:03:24,430 --> 02:03:24,430
>>I don't have a script. >>that was my point. >>because we are open to public

800
02:03:32,838 --> 02:03:32,838
scrutiny. The increases each year are like 10%. So we went from 262 to 288, right?  So

801
02:03:45,084 --> 02:03:45,084
that's $27 million. Right?  Over 10%. Then, we've got from 288 to 303. That's a little less than

802
02:04:02,534 --> 02:04:02,534
25%. The tough part is that those revenues are not, thosen puts are not changing ten

803
02:04:12,778 --> 02:04:12,778
percent. That fund balance number, which I expect for fy27 is $27 million. There is not a

804
02:04:25,157 --> 02:04:25,157
lot of funds left. We want to keep 30% in budget for one time initiative rainy days. So I'm

805
02:04:44,210 --> 02:04:44,210
worried about the tragjectory. The consultants made a great probably need to change course

806
02:04:57,657 --> 02:04:57,657
because those are going up pretty high. Can you talk about the fixed charges in the budget

807
02:05:03,263 --> 02:05:03,263
for fy27, what you expect them to go up? >> we can go to the next slide,

808
02:05:08,168 --> 02:05:08,168
and talk about expenditures. >>sure. >> can I ask really quickly, the

809
02:05:17,276 --> 02:05:17,276
increase are reflective of some of the proposed changes based on the information from the audit

810
02:05:25,418 --> 02:05:25,418
and the superintendent proposed budget last time on the new increases.

811
02:05:30,423 --> 02:05:30,423
>>those are included in the expenditure. I think I sent the worksheets of the ones that are

812
02:05:38,198 --> 02:05:38,198
in the budget and the recommendations in the budget. >>barb, can you go back to the

813
02:05:43,203 --> 02:05:43,203
first slide. I want to make two points. The 6.7. If the public will look at the county

814
02:05:52,245 --> 02:05:52,245
appropriation leine, the fy26 number that we know for sure is $163 million. The fy27 proposed

815
02:06:02,956 --> 02:06:06,593
is the anticipated county appropriation, right?  It's not something that they have told us is coming? >> it's what we are asking. >>possibly. The board may ask

816
02:06:13,667 --> 02:06:13,667
for more, but that's the projection here. >>correct.

817
02:06:18,271 --> 02:06:18,271
>>the state aid category, the state provides $109,739 million, and the ask, I don't know if we

818
02:06:29,048 --> 02:06:29,048
really have an ask on that one, you are expecting that it might go up.

819
02:06:35,055 --> 02:06:35,055
>>correct. >>so this budget as presented is predicated on almost $14 million

820
02:06:43,930 --> 02:06:43,930
of money that we don't know if it's going to happen yet. Right? We know we can use fund balance.

821
02:07:00,214 --> 02:07:00,214
>>we are pretty certain about state aid, but anything can change because it's still in

822
02:07:05,986 --> 02:07:05,986
legislation right now. >>yeah. >>that's what I will say for

823
02:07:14,061 --> 02:07:14,061
these slides, thank you. >> the expenditure by category. This is an overview of what

824
02:07:31,913 --> 02:07:31,913
budgeted in 26, and what we want to budget in 27. So, you can see the bottom line is a 5.3%

825
02:07:40,121 --> 02:07:40,121
increase in expenditure. From 26 to 27. Do you want me to go through each line?

826
02:07:48,262 --> 02:07:48,262
>> no. >>okay. >>I sure don't. Thank you.

827
02:07:56,270 --> 02:07:56,270
>>I do have one question. I will start with one. Do we have an estimated total amount of what

828
02:08:04,278 --> 02:08:04,278
it will cost to honor all of the current agreements because to paul's point, there is an

829
02:08:13,587 --> 02:08:13,587
increase obviously, to run the school system every single year. And I think it's unrealistic for

830
02:08:20,928 --> 02:08:20,928
anyone to believe that spending is going to maintain because we are going to continue to give

831
02:08:31,237 --> 02:08:31,237
our people steps in colas. Can you tell us what that amount is? Sure, for bargaining units, we

832
02:08:38,980 --> 02:08:38,980
are expecting an increase of $993,000. I know it's a detailed number.

833
02:08:50,758 --> 02:08:50,758
>>paul has goosebumps. >>the labor portion because when you look at the increase, you

834
02:08:59,700 --> 02:08:59,700
have the fixed charges that go along with it. The fixed charges would be $136,986, the labor

835
02:09:12,213 --> 02:09:12,213
portion, $81,860. If you go to cea, the total increase for cea is going to be $6,0 $6,212,000.

836
02:09:51,886 --> 02:09:51,886
the cola increase. It went up by 27 million, and is going up $15 million from 26 to 27.

837
02:10:03,698 --> 02:10:03,698
>>well, 25, are you talking about the difference of 25, and 26?

838
02:10:08,069 --> 02:10:08,069
>> for 25, no, it was close to that number too, wasn't it? >> okay, the funding changed for

839
02:10:18,180 --> 02:10:18,180
25 a little bit. >>the revenue change, yes. It went down to $86 million.

840
02:10:28,990 --> 02:10:28,990
>>for casa, $658,000. And $506,000 in labor, and $90,000 in benefits. Meet, and confer,

841
02:10:46,573 --> 02:10:46,573
$105,000, 63 total, 14,000 in benefits, then a total of $7.7 million. 6.6 million in

842
02:11:01,090 --> 02:11:01,090
labor, one million in benefits in fixed charges. It's going up labor just for the negotiating

843
02:11:06,428 --> 02:11:06,428
agreements, labor, and benefits will go up, we are projecting them to go up 7.7 million

844
02:11:17,072 --> 02:11:17,072
>>thank you. I think that's important for everybody to understand. As a board, we

845
02:11:21,276 --> 02:11:21,276
stated at the beginning we wanted to be sure on this budget cycle we are honoring all the

846
02:11:28,050 --> 02:11:28,050
agreements. The idea that we are not going to need more money doesn't make a lot of sense when

847
02:11:32,888 --> 02:11:32,888
we make that as our first point. >>I also wanted to know do you happen to know, I realize you

848
02:11:41,096 --> 02:11:41,096
are just here, and it's fine if you don't know. How much are we calculating for inflation, for

849
02:11:50,773 --> 02:11:50,773
operation of plant. >>for utilities, are you asking, we are budgeting flat for

850
02:11:58,447 --> 02:11:58,447
utilities. We have been budgeting, we've been coming, our expenditures have been

851
02:12:06,188 --> 02:12:06,188
coming in less for the last couple years. They have budgeted flat with no increase. We have a

852
02:12:13,362 --> 02:12:13,362
couple overall no increase flat. >>okay, thank you. >> to paul's point, and let me

853
02:12:25,641 --> 02:12:25,641
know if you are getting to this section. He did mention we have a fund balance policy in place,

854
02:12:32,214 --> 02:12:32,214
and that was intended as a protection for the school system.   For just that reason,

855
02:12:45,694 --> 02:12:47,497
and I recognize that this may be a situation where we have to utilize some of that fund balance. With that being said, it defeats the purpose of having a policy if we don't follow it

856
02:12:53,235 --> 02:12:53,235
because then what's the point of having any policy if we are not going to follow them. I think

857
02:12:57,940 --> 02:12:57,940
that's something that needs to be discussed. I would like to see specifically how much of the

858
02:13:08,084 --> 02:13:11,054
fund balance, and what that is going to leave us with in that fund balance to make the determination if that's what we want to do if that's what we are doing from our fund balance or

859
02:13:24,834 --> 02:13:24,834
ask what we might ask the county comme commissioners for when we go to

860
02:13:31,774 --> 02:13:31,774
see them. >>barb, were you in the office in 23/24s, you saw the surplus,

861
02:13:46,255 --> 02:13:49,492
which was $23 million is you are pl -- surplus and the 23 was taken away from the fund balance. What was the thinking in the office during those years when you were

862
02:13:57,166 --> 02:13:57,166
building in such a generous budget. >>unfortunately I wasn't

863
02:14:05,909 --> 02:14:05,909
involved in those types of conversations during that time. Maybe there is some history that

864
02:14:12,215 --> 02:14:12,215
we can find for you. >>if I may, I think the purpose that mr. Harrison is asking is

865
02:14:21,023 --> 02:14:21,023
we want to make it very clear when we go to present this budget to our county

866
02:14:28,064 --> 02:14:28,064
commissioners that they understand clearly what we are asking for, and why, and we

867
02:14:33,169 --> 02:14:33,169
understand what our fund balance is going to be, and not that they agree to give us that, and

868
02:14:40,043 --> 02:14:40,043
come back, and we, I don't want to say mysteriously, but all of a sudden, we have a far greater

869
02:14:53,356 --> 02:14:53,356
amount in our fund balance than we say that we did. We cannot have that and it doesn't give

870
02:14:57,460 --> 02:14:57,460
this board a great deal of confidence. To this day, every time I see a county

871
02:15:02,699 --> 02:15:02,699
commissioner, and they want to talk about budget, they talk about that. That's something

872
02:15:10,674 --> 02:15:13,944
that just cannot happen. We need to make sure that we go. We will advocate. If we understand, and it's clear that the school system needs it, then all of us are happy to go, and advocate

873
02:15:19,950 --> 02:15:19,950
for that, but we can't have that kind of -- I'm not speaking to the general, that's one of them,

874
02:15:29,692 --> 02:15:29,692
and to mr. Harrison's point that one, the fund balance policy that's why we have it, and we

875
02:15:40,003 --> 02:15:40,003
can solidly standby, and standby every single penny we are asking of the commissioners, and that's

876
02:15:49,780 --> 02:15:49,780
not going to change. >>dr. Marcus newsome: I believe that a large portion of the fund

877
02:15:58,189 --> 02:15:58,189
balance was probably the result of unfilled positions, and one of the things that we hope to

878
02:16:05,762 --> 02:16:05,762
accomplish through this efficiency review is start to eliminate some positions through

879
02:16:12,804 --> 02:16:12,804
attrition. I presented that two weeks ago, and we have a few that we are starting with this

880
02:16:20,077 --> 02:16:20,077
year. As you know, the largest portion of our expenditures are through positions, so when you

881
02:16:29,052 --> 02:16:29,052
have that large number of unfilled positions, then that's probably the major factor in the

882
02:16:37,094 --> 02:16:37,094
increase in the fund balance. >>I carry, I hope a good deal of respect or confidence or

883
02:16:51,842 --> 02:16:51,842
something, I hope. But in the year where the previous board president demanded $10 million

884
02:17:00,285 --> 02:17:00,285
more from the commissioners, we had a $24 million surplus. So the commissioners are looking

885
02:17:10,828 --> 02:17:10,828
like what the -- >>we are getting beat up still. >>are you sure you need that

886
02:17:16,434 --> 02:17:16,434
money because the last time you asked for it, you had $14 mllion sitting in your pocket.

887
02:17:22,940 --> 02:17:22,940
so we are dealing with a credibility problem, and we can't just ask for a number. We

888
02:17:28,379 --> 02:17:28,379
have to ask for a specific cause. So would it be to fund the fully fund the bargaining

889
02:17:40,057 --> 02:17:40,057
agreement. That's with this cost to implement the savings plans we are going to have to spend a

890
02:17:44,795 --> 02:17:44,795
little money with this cost, and we give them that option to choose what they would like to

891
02:17:54,205 --> 02:17:54,205
fund. I don't want to hold them hostage, certainly it isn't our place, but we want to give them

892
02:18:06,785 --> 02:18:06,785
the best due to previous board actions. >>thank you.

893
02:18:21,232 --> 02:18:21,232
>>president jana smith-post: are we done. >>if you have any questions.

894
02:18:26,804 --> 02:18:26,804
staff are here to answer. >>I have a general question. When we go to talk about the

895
02:18:31,743 --> 02:18:31,743
health plan, very good health plan, trust me. Is that something where you are talking

896
02:18:39,083 --> 02:18:39,083
to a rep from care first who comes out to say, hey, here is what's going to cost you next

897
02:18:47,525 --> 02:18:47,525
year, or is that handled by the county?  What's the process for that?

898
02:18:58,737 --> 02:19:00,639
so calvert county public schools has a healthcare committee. And we have consultants, partners that work with us, and help coordinate our care first to negotiate our best possible

899
02:19:09,914 --> 02:19:09,914
contracts with care first. We are currently in the last year of the contract with care first

900
02:19:14,986 --> 02:19:14,986
with the opportunity to extend it for two more years. >>, and is there any discussion

901
02:19:25,964 --> 02:19:25,964
with st. Marys or charles or mabe about a better healthcare consortium?

902
02:19:34,506 --> 02:19:34,506
>> we have not discussed that with the other two counties. I reached out to the county

903
02:19:44,183 --> 02:19:44,183
administrator to talk about other options that could be possible for us to partner in.

904
02:19:52,224 --> 02:19:52,224
>>thank you. >>president jana smith-post: do you have any questions?

905
02:19:56,227 --> 02:19:56,227
>> paul harrison: I'm just trying to figure out how we are going to package this.

906
02:20:07,973 --> 02:20:07,973
>>president jana smith-post: iv a meeting with two of the county commissioners, and conversation

907
02:20:12,878 --> 02:20:12,878
about safety resource officers, and they said they would be willing to pick up. I think we

908
02:20:17,416 --> 02:20:17,416
have six that we need. Three of, which they would pick up, and three we would have to pick up.

909
02:20:22,688 --> 02:20:22,688
are those three sro's included, was that included in your budget, dr. Newsome, thank you

910
02:20:33,532 --> 02:20:33,532
were not included in the budget with my conversations with the administrator, and her team. My

911
02:20:38,236 --> 02:20:38,236
understanding is they were going to support for all 6 sro's. >>perhaps we should have a

912
02:20:46,945 --> 02:20:46,945
meeting together than a separate meeting. >>paul harrison: that would be

913
02:20:53,519 --> 02:20:53,519
outstanding. That's what I asked on the last budget cycle. >>president jana smith-post: I'm

914
02:20:59,258 --> 02:20:59,258
glad I asked. Any other questions? >> no, but thank you, barb.

915
02:21:03,996 --> 02:21:03,996
that's an excellent job. >>whatever we implement, I would like to see some type of

916
02:21:22,014 --> 02:21:22,014
timeline along with a method of tracking progress, and how that progress is going to be reverted

917
02:21:28,888 --> 02:21:28,888
back to us. Thank you. >>paul harrison: now, here is the immediate timeline is

918
02:21:44,803 --> 02:21:44,803
march 1st is when that budget has to go to commissioners. The next meeting the 26, that is our

919
02:21:51,110 --> 02:21:51,110
final vote to say this budget is going to the commissioners. So, I think we should take, and

920
02:21:58,518 --> 02:21:58,518
this is probably going to be a lot of work for you, barb, but I think we should take that fy26

921
02:22:05,725 --> 02:22:05,725
adopted budget, and then we should layer in what it is we need to ask for additional to

922
02:22:14,334 --> 02:22:14,334
that number from the county commissioners. It's static, we don't get all this, but these

923
02:22:18,938 --> 02:22:18,938
are the things, and we should probably put some kind of priority on those. Is that a

924
02:22:24,778 --> 02:22:24,778
fair, do I need to make a motion on that or is that a fair way to approach it.

925
02:22:32,185 --> 02:22:32,185
>>president jana smith-post: no motion needed. >>paul harrison I would suspect

926
02:22:38,725 --> 02:22:38,725
we are going to have to have something like that because if we just send it to them to ask

927
02:22:44,431 --> 02:22:44,431
for $7 million without any discussion about what it's for, that could be dead on arrival.

928
02:22:55,641 --> 02:22:55,641
thank you. >>president jana smith-post okay.

929
02:23:00,580 --> 02:23:00,580
>>if there is no further discussion the next portion which is new business, I think.

930
02:23:11,190 --> 02:23:11,190
>>future business, not new business. >>I have one thing. This

931
02:23:20,400 --> 02:23:20,400
efficiency review report indicated a drop in overall behavior issues in calvert

932
02:23:26,106 --> 02:23:26,106
county public schools. A couple of schools, however, are showing an increase with their behavior

933
02:23:36,216 --> 02:23:36,216
issues. And if I looked at that correctly, I believe they were at the elementary level. I would

934
02:23:41,856 --> 02:23:41,856
like to know what measures of support could be put in place to support those students, and

935
02:23:52,232 --> 02:23:52,232
staff. >>we'll work on that. >>thank you.

936
02:23:58,605 --> 02:23:58,605
>>do those discussions when we have, I'm not used to all this new language. We used to get

937
02:24:07,481 --> 02:24:07,481
just spankings. Now it's behavioral intervention because we have a behavioral episode.

938
02:24:15,589 --> 02:24:15,589
are we involving the parents at the early stage in that?  What's the process when a kid acts up

939
02:24:29,737 --> 02:24:33,073
for the first time? >> so depending on the incident, if it's one that a teacher responds to, they would be reaching out to the parent. If it comes to the office, we would

940
02:24:39,447 --> 02:24:39,447
be reaching out to the parent so the parent is a partner in how we deal with behaviors, and how

941
02:24:46,220 --> 02:24:46,220
we approach things. >>all right. I really want to make sure that the teachers have

942
02:24:54,161 --> 02:24:54,161
a safe environment as well. You shouldn't go to work every day, and have to worry about getting

943
02:25:03,736 --> 02:25:03,736
slugged from a student. Thank you. >>president jana smith-post: any

944
02:25:08,678 --> 02:25:08,678
other future business? >> I still want to talk about a future business for cta. That

945
02:25:15,249 --> 02:25:15,249
needs to be on the horizon for expansion of the cta. Is that part of the plan or do we have

946
02:25:24,025 --> 02:25:24,025
to contact the state for school facilities, or what else do we have to do to grow that program?

947
02:25:30,598 --> 02:25:30,598
>> president jana smith-post: so, I think it might be a brick and mortar or lack thereof. We

948
02:25:38,806 --> 02:25:38,806
don't have that. I don't know that there is been consideration about expansion for cta. So

949
02:25:52,853 --> 02:25:52,853
certainly, I think it warrants some discussion, agreed about how our capacity with that

950
02:26:00,195 --> 02:26:00,195
program now. I know capacity is relative to the number of children we are allowed, but how

951
02:26:06,367 --> 02:26:06,367
many kids are not getting in that could if we had an additional facility.

952
02:26:12,006 --> 02:26:12,006
>>now you are talking. >>obviously, it's not going to happen this year, but an

953
02:26:17,979 --> 02:26:17,979
important part of the discussion. >>we have a top tier program and

954
02:26:24,185 --> 02:26:24,185
the facilities, you know. >>president jana smith-post: dr. New

955
02:26:37,298 --> 02:26:37,298
newsome, maybe that is an opportunity to have a discussion with staff. Ms. Warner will be

956
02:26:42,304 --> 02:26:42,304
so happy that we are talking about this because I think it would be helpful to know for the

957
02:26:51,213 --> 02:26:51,213
future; and for planning purposes, and would also be good for the county commissioners to

958
02:26:55,983 --> 02:26:55,983
know since they are looking at space, and building things in the county.

959
02:27:05,493 --> 02:27:05,493
>>okay. We'll move into board comments, and we'll start with ms. Jones. You had enough?

960
02:27:11,299 --> 02:27:11,299
okay. No comments for you. >>ms. Goshorn? >> melissa goshorn: I want to

961
02:27:29,250 --> 02:27:32,187
say that I'm glad that we are going to have you here for are four years. And thank you again to all the staff for the efficiency. I know it's a lot of work on top of a lot of work. So

962
02:27:39,327 --> 02:27:39,327
appreciate everybody doing such a great job hearing from the consultants, just how wonderful

963
02:27:44,266 --> 02:27:44,266
our team was to work with at a time when everybody was already really stretched thin. It's

964
02:27:52,774 --> 02:27:52,774
really appreciated. Thank you. >>mr. Harrison? >> paul harrison: me again, wow.

965
02:28:00,215 --> 02:28:00,215
one thing I wanted to ask, kevin is here. Hi, mr. Cook. How many students are on a bus average

966
02:28:18,334 --> 02:28:18,334
per trip? >> this is a board comment. Into ulm

967
02:28:23,772 --> 02:28:23,772
-- that's a comment that I will make because we drive around with a 53 seat bus, and there

968
02:28:29,244 --> 02:28:29,244
are six kids on it. 72 seat bus, wow. And there are six kids on it. I think that's room for

969
02:28:41,023 --> 02:28:41,023
improvement. I think also in the risk management category, buses go right in there. Right. It's

970
02:28:59,942 --> 02:29:03,479
one of the most exposed things, and standard operating procedures for all schools. That's important. And a school system instead of a system of schools. Those are the highlights for me. I didn't do any events this last couple weeks. But I hope to get back

971
02:29:13,756 --> 02:29:13,756
out. I'm going to, hold on, I need to read this into the record here. Friday march 13th,

972
02:29:21,930 --> 02:29:21,930
at mount harmony elementary school, there will be a liberty, and legacy night celebrating

973
02:29:30,439 --> 02:29:30,439
america's 250th birthday. The time is from 5:30 p.m. To 7:30 p.m.. I have an invitation

974
02:29:38,447 --> 02:29:38,447
from dr. Melanie sanchez who does phenomenal work, and I will do everything I can to get there

975
02:29:45,387 --> 02:29:45,387
on friday. Please, if you can make it. It's awesome. Thank you.

976
02:29:53,129 --> 02:29:53,129
>>president jana smith-post thank you. >>vice-president lisa grenis: I

977
02:30:00,336 --> 02:30:00,336
had the pleasure of attended today's calvert association of student council meetings with

978
02:30:12,215 --> 02:30:12,215
there exceptional candidates. Congratulations who will represent schools next year. I

979
02:30:26,028 --> 02:30:26,028
would like to ask you to consider attending the fundraiser on march 24th to

980
02:30:32,668 --> 02:30:32,668
support this organization. We have some upcoming high school spring productions, which

981
02:30:43,613 --> 02:30:46,683
provide families with opportunities to support the arts while enjoying the amazing talent of our students. This year, the high school will be performing "into the woods".

982
02:31:03,800 --> 02:31:03,800
hunting town high school. It will be presenting cinderella. Northern high school, spongebob.

983
02:31:10,307 --> 02:31:10,307
you don't want to miss the high school performance of le miserable. I think it's a fun

984
02:31:21,117 --> 02:31:21,117
thing to do with families. It's affordable and the money is going to such a great

985
02:31:30,594 --> 02:31:30,594
organization. Please support the arts. Thank you. >>president jana smith-post: not

986
02:31:43,239 --> 02:31:43,239
to brag, I saw spongebob on broadway. It's fantastic. I would love to see how it's

987
02:31:53,416 --> 02:31:53,416
changed. It was a number of years ago. Thank you to ms. Jones for the work, and effort

988
02:32:01,391 --> 02:32:01,391
she's put in. We appreciate it, and congratulations to our new cfo, and congratulations to dr.

989
02:32:12,302 --> 02:32:12,302
n newsome, we are grateful that you are here, and thank you to

990
02:32:16,539 --> 02:32:16,539
the staff who have endured a lot of changes. Many of you are leaders, but you deserve to have

991
02:32:26,349 --> 02:32:26,349
a leader working with staff and the schools day-to-day. I am excited for what the next

992
02:32:32,222 --> 02:32:32,222
several years has to hold. I'm looking forward to all the changes, and recognizing that

993
02:32:39,463 --> 02:32:39,463
they might not all be fun, and might be some growing panins, bt in the end better for our staff,

994
02:32:46,837 --> 02:32:46,837
and school system. I want to say thank you even though they have all left to the students who

995
02:32:52,243 --> 02:32:52,243
came, and spoke. I know that is