[11:07] [Captioner present]

[15:21] Chair Jenkins: Good evening.

[15:23] I call the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools board

[15:26] of education meeting to order.

[15:28] The first item on the agenda.

[15:29] May I get a motion to approve the agenda.

[15:31] >> So move.

[15:34] Chair Jenkins: I have a motion from Vicky

[15:36] and a second from Meredith.

[15:38] All those in favor say aye.

[15:40] [Members voting]

[15:41] Chair Jenkins: May I get a motion

[15:42] to go into closed session for the purpose

[15:44] as stated on the agenda.

[15:46] >> So move.

[15:48] Chair Jenkins: I have a motion from Barb

[15:51] and a second from Vicky.

[15:52] All those in favor say aye.

[15:55] [Members voting]

[15:56] Chair Jenkins: Well return to 7:00 as close as possible.

[15:59] Thank you.

[16:05] --We'll return to 7:00 as close As possible.

[16:23] Thank you.

[1:16:32] Chair Jenkins: To amend the agenda.

[1:16:33] I'll entertain that motion.

[1:16:35] Go ahead Barb.

[1:16:37] >> I move that we move to amend the agenda to include items six

[1:16:42] C, gestion of our district joining some multidistrict

[1:16:46] litigation against social media companies.

[1:16:49] Chair Jenkins: I have a motion from Barb.

[1:16:51] Can I get a second?

[1:16:53] A second from George.

[1:16:54] All those in favor of amending our agenda to include item six

[1:16:59] C as Barb stated say I. voting]

[1:17:03] Chair Jenkins: The agenda has been amended.

[1:17:06] All right.

[1:17:12] So our next item on the agenda is public comment.

[1:17:17] I'm looking to Miss Holloway to see.

[1:17:21] Okay, thank you.

[1:17:24] Do you need to adjust that?

[1:17:28] Yeah we can.

[1:17:29] It's a very quiet meeting.

[1:17:31] Do you know how to do it?

[1:17:42] Um the board of the board appreciates and encourages

[1:17:44] public comment.

[1:17:45] Board members will listen to the comments

[1:17:48] and may ask or make clarifying questions or comments

[1:17:50] but there will be no general discussion

[1:17:52] related to the public comments.

[1:17:54] Comments should relate to the education and safety of students

[1:17:56] or the operation of the school system.

[1:17:58] The public time comment times for discussion

[1:18:01] of educational issues or the operation of the Chapel

[1:18:05] Hill-Carrboro City Schools.

[1:18:06] Public comment is not intended for disruptive behavior.

[1:18:09] Speakers may offer criticism of the school

[1:18:11] operation and programs as well as criticism of board members

[1:18:14] and administrators and their official capacity

[1:18:16] however the board will not allow personal attacks,

[1:18:18] seem abusive or definitively language will not be tolerated.

[1:18:22] Since we have just a few speakers tonight,

[1:18:25] speakers will have up to three minutes for their comment.

[1:18:27] When you're recognized, please come forward, state your name

[1:18:30] and if you're speaking for an organization,

[1:18:32] please identify the name of the organization.

[1:18:34] It doesn't look like we have any of our recognized

[1:18:37] teachers organizations, city or student groups,

[1:18:39] so we'll go ahead and start with anyone

[1:18:41] who signed up with advance and thank you Mr. Mullen,

[1:18:44] it looks like you are ready to go.

[1:18:46] >> Hi.

[1:18:47] I'm Rob Mullen.

[1:18:48] I spoke once before in the spring of the year.

[1:18:52] My wife and I have two children in the Mandarin dual language

[1:18:57] pathway.

[1:18:57] I cannot say all I want to say now but I can say this:

[1:19:03] I listened live online to the previous board meeting and heard

[1:19:07] you vote to divide the two Mandarin pathways.

[1:19:11] You had hinted at your leanings since late February early March,

[1:19:16] so that was no surprise.

[1:19:19] I noted also the way you relied on the school camp

[1:19:23] report prepared by folks from NC state.

[1:19:26] That too was no surprise.

[1:19:28] You paid for the report and said its parameters.

[1:19:32] You got what you paid for.

[1:19:35] You own it.

[1:19:36] What did surprise me was when I had the chance to read your lead

[1:19:42] fleshed teacher Shawna Catlett's letter to you

[1:19:45] and saw that you had cherry picked her words

[1:19:47] that the Mandarin World language pathway

[1:19:49] would have difficulty standing on its own while

[1:19:53] ignoring her larger point.

[1:19:55] Clearly stated that the dual language and world language

[1:19:59] pathways should remain together.

[1:20:02] What appalled me was that you, having made many commitments

[1:20:10] to maintain the two pathways, seemed

[1:20:14] so ready to throw the Mandarin world language pathway

[1:20:17] under the bus.

[1:20:19] Thankfully some of you remembered your commitments,

[1:20:24] so the world language pathway will go on for the time being

[1:20:27] in a form yet to be determined.

[1:20:32] In view of the ongoing chaos that the board has created

[1:20:37] over the past year, and the harm is inflicted, supposedly

[1:20:43] in the name of fairness, but perhaps

[1:20:45] more accurately in an attempt to create plausible deniability

[1:20:49] and tick all the legal boxes, I strongly

[1:20:53] suggest that you reconsider your vote

[1:20:56] to separate the two pathways and the subsequent votes

[1:21:00] to house them in separate schools.

[1:21:02] You have reversed yourselves before and you can do so again.

[1:21:08] If that creates a strain on the district administration,

[1:21:12] then so be it.

[1:21:14] That's what we pay all of you for.

[1:21:16] Thank you.

[1:21:28] >> Thank you members of the board.

[1:21:30] My name is Calvin.

[1:21:32] I have a kindergartner at Glenwood in the dual language

[1:21:35] program.

[1:21:36] I don't have prepared remarks tonight.

[1:21:39] I just wanted to express to you how important it

[1:21:44] is to the many parents at Glenwood who

[1:21:48] have been part of this process since January February

[1:21:52] that promises are kept to the parents of the world language

[1:21:58] students.

[1:22:01] I think that could be lots of different things.

[1:22:05] I believe that the message from the Glenwood community

[1:22:08] has always been consistently that we want to work together

[1:22:11] to figure out a solution that works

[1:22:14] for our community and the district as a whole.

[1:22:19] Our community are the experts in the dual language

[1:22:23] and the Mandarin world language pathways.

[1:22:25] We know how they can work.

[1:22:27] We know how they can survive and thrive.

[1:22:31] Certainly at Glenwood but also at the new Environments.

[1:22:35] We want to make sure that those pathways --

[1:22:42] the board has voted to split them,

[1:22:43] we want to make sure that those pathways will continue

[1:22:46] to provide opportunities for students in the school district.

[1:22:52] And whether that is in the current form as part of steam

[1:23:01] squared or and some new form that

[1:23:04] honors the experiences and the cohorts of the children

[1:23:10] that are currently in the World language pathway.

[1:23:13] That's very important to us.

[1:23:16] I look forward to having Glenwood

[1:23:19] double Dutch current Glenwood community to continue

[1:23:22] to be at board meetings, continue

[1:23:27] to meet with the board to make sure there's

[1:23:30] a way forward for all of us.

[1:23:31] Thank you.

[1:23:32] Chair Jenkins: Thank you.

[1:23:35] Kevin are you going to speak tonight?

[1:23:37] Okay.

[1:23:41] >> (Inaudible)

[1:23:44] Chair Jenkins: It's fine.

[1:23:45] We don't have a work session so all public comments are now.

[1:23:48] If it was a work session, then you

[1:23:50] would speak before the work session.

[1:23:52] >> I understand.

[1:23:53] Thank you.

[1:23:54] My name is Kevin Argabright.

[1:23:56] My comment was more of a question on agenda item

[1:24:00] around the rights for students and parents.

[1:24:03] You have a reading where you're amending it, adding

[1:24:07] a statement that is in order to request that students be not

[1:24:13] included in the list of information

[1:24:15] given to military recruiters and higher education institutions

[1:24:18] that they have to submit that in writing to the guidance

[1:24:24] counselor or superintendent.

[1:24:26] I was wondering if you could provide clarification

[1:24:29] as to why that right is being separated out

[1:24:34] in isolated with that because none

[1:24:36] of the other things, such as asking to amend your student

[1:24:41] records require you to submit that in writing

[1:24:43] and I personally believe there should

[1:24:46] be a consistency but the lowest barrier to entry

[1:24:52] for removing yourself from military recruiter scope.

[1:24:57] Thank you.

[1:25:01] Chair Jenkins: Thank you.

[1:25:03] Meredith did you want to ask a clarifying question?

[1:25:06] >> I wanted to see.

[1:25:08] Even wanted to mention why that was.

[1:25:10] I just wanted to wonder if you could reiterate that?

[1:25:13] Chair Jenkins: Microphone.

[1:25:16] >> There are a couple of statutes that require the school

[1:25:19] system to provide information to military recruiters.

[1:25:24] One is the federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act,

[1:25:30] which states that any school system receiving federal funds

[1:25:33] must upon the request of a military recruiter,

[1:25:35] provide name address and telephone

[1:25:37] number of each student.

[1:25:39] And then there's another statute that requires schools

[1:25:42] provide also email addresses for students.

[1:25:46] The military recruiters are supposed to be requesting

[1:25:50] or directing their efforts at students who are 17 or older

[1:25:54] or 11th grade or higher.

[1:25:56] But they are allowed to request the information of students

[1:25:59] who are younger.

[1:26:01] And the statute specifically states

[1:26:03] that we are required to notify parents that they can opt out.

[1:26:11] So the law is that you have to provide it

[1:26:13] unless parents opt out.

[1:26:14] And opt in is not permitted and then

[1:26:17] there's a state statute as well that

[1:26:19] says that any school system that provides access

[1:26:23] for educational or like college fairs,

[1:26:27] anything like that, that you have

[1:26:29] to provide the same access to military recruiters

[1:26:31] as you do to colleges or other employers, job fairs, etc.

[1:26:35] Chair Jenkins: Thank you Eva.

[1:26:40] I mean, you still have time for your public comment.

[1:26:43] If you want to continue.

[1:26:45] >> Hearing all that, it didn't address the concern that I had

[1:26:50] because the state statute said that you have to make those opt

[1:26:54] out requests in writing, understood.

[1:26:56] But the right as it's written right now

[1:27:00] is already an opt out system, so once again, it's

[1:27:03] just adding the opt out via writing to specific people.

[1:27:08] So understanding why that is.

[1:27:11] >> I think if the board wants to pull it from --

[1:27:16] Chair Jenkins: We can do that.

[1:27:18] If there's still questions.

[1:27:19] Thank you Eva.

[1:27:22] Any other community members wishing to make public comment?

[1:27:26] Go ahead and step forward, make sure you state your name, first

[1:27:31] and last name.

[1:27:32] We do need it for the minutes.

[1:27:34] >> My name is Joe Irick and I'm the mother of a student

[1:27:39] at Victor Hill Elementary and Victor Hill Middle.

[1:27:41] I think we all know that we've had a bus disaster.

[1:27:43] My sixth grader was one of hundreds of kids who had no bus

[1:27:48] and for my family, this was an inconvenience

[1:27:51] because my work is flexible and I could drive a middle Schooler

[1:27:55] to school for two weeks.

[1:27:56] But for some families in our community

[1:28:00] who are hourly wage workers or who do not have access to a car,

[1:28:05] this is a disaster.

[1:28:07] This is not an inconvenience.

[1:28:08] And so, I know that Mr. Stewart and others have been working

[1:28:13] very hard on trying to get this straightened out

[1:28:15] but this is an equity issue.

[1:28:18] This cannot happen.

[1:28:19] We can do better than this.

[1:28:22] Our students have to be able to get to school, all of them,

[1:28:26] regardless of their family's ability

[1:28:28] to drive them in the morning.

[1:28:31] And certainly at McDougall, there are a lot of students --

[1:28:41] [NO AUDIO]

[1:30:23] Chair Jenkins: Anyone else?

[1:30:24] All right.

[1:30:25] Thank you everyone.

[1:30:27] Board members, are we open to a motion to amend our agenda again

[1:30:33] and move consent item --

[1:30:36] I just wrote it down -- five C, recommendation for approval

[1:30:41] of first reading of minor changing to policy code 4700

[1:30:45] student records down to discussion and action.

[1:30:47] It will be item six D. Is everyone good with that?

[1:30:53] Okay, we've got a motion.

[1:30:55] Sounds like Barb is seconding.

[1:30:57] All those in favor say aye

[1:31:00] [Members voting]

[1:31:01] Chair Jenkins: So it'll be item six

[1:31:02] D. All right, our next item on the agenda

[1:31:05] is consent, board members may I have a motion to approve

[1:31:09] our consent agenda as amended?

[1:31:11] >> So move.

[1:31:14] Chair Jenkins: I've got a motion from Meredith

[1:31:16] and a second please.

[1:31:17] Second from Vicky.

[1:31:18] All those in favor say aye.

[1:31:21] [Members voting]

[1:31:22] Chair Jenkins: Any opposed?

[1:31:23] Okay.

[1:31:24] Next is discussion and action and our first item

[1:31:29] is recommendation for approval first reading for policy code

[1:31:34] 3460 graduation requirements.

[1:31:48] >> (Inaudible)

[1:31:49] Chair Jenkins: You turned it off.

[1:31:50] There you go.

[1:31:51] >> All right, I am Alicia Curtis executive director for secondary

[1:31:57] instruction and academic program.

[1:31:59] Hi Rebecca Atkins our director of programing.

[1:32:01] A brief overview of policy 3460 and our recommendations

[1:32:05] for revision.

[1:32:07] We last revised policy 3460 prior

[1:32:10] to block schedule implementation at the High school.

[1:32:14] So looking at this, we need to update

[1:32:17] it to reflect a couple of changes in the number of courses

[1:32:21] students take and additionally, with graduation which was not

[1:32:25] necessarily on the table before transitioning to a block

[1:32:28] schedule.

[1:32:28] So you have in front of you the recommended changes,

[1:32:32] one of which removes graduation requirements which were listed

[1:32:36] in tables which were not in addition to the state

[1:32:40] requirement for graduation or state requirements

[1:32:42] for graduation, which are listed in graduation policy 004

[1:32:46] by the state.

[1:32:48] And that recommendation was made at the May Policy Committee

[1:32:51] meeting.

[1:32:52] Additionally, we added language in section C adjusting

[1:32:55] the course load requirements to meet block schedule

[1:32:58] and then added language in section D

[1:33:00] for special circumstances regarding graduation

[1:33:03] and defining an saying that major graduation requirements.

[1:33:07] We are h happy to answer any questions

[1:33:11] or provide any clarity on items that you may need.

[1:33:14] Chair Jenkins: Thank you.

[1:33:16] Board members, do you have any questions about this policy

[1:33:18] change?

[1:33:19] Go ahead Barb.

[1:33:22] >> Thank you Miss Curtis.

[1:33:25] I find see one, what were saying students are generally required

[1:33:30] to be enrolled in eight courses or six courses in a study period

[1:33:34] each semester A confusing sentence because it's not

[1:33:40] each semester.

[1:33:41] It's four?

[1:33:45] >> We could add some punctuation and or tighten up the language

[1:33:50] so it's less confusing for six courses per year and two study

[1:33:58] halls if they choose that route.

[1:34:04] Vice-Chair Fedders: Yeah.

[1:34:06] >> And I think you said this and I missed it but what was

[1:34:08] the rationale behind deleting all the graduation requirements?

[1:34:12] >> The policy committee discussion in May felt that it

[1:34:16] was overkill having the -- all the tables listed since they do

[1:34:20] not differentiate in our district from the state

[1:34:22] graduation requirements that are linked in graduation policy 004.

[1:34:26] >> I can speak to that as well because I think that was partly

[1:34:30] my recommendation.

[1:34:31] Originally, there were state graduation minimums

[1:34:34] and then Chapel Hill had its own in addition,

[1:34:37] but a couple of years ago the legislature

[1:34:40] passed the requirement that you could

[1:34:41] no longer have any additions.

[1:34:42] The state sets it and so it's no longer your policy

[1:34:45] and it was every time the state made a change,

[1:34:48] you would have to come back and make your change your policy

[1:34:50] even though it's nothing that you decided.

[1:34:52] So I think there's still set forth in your handbook

[1:34:55] and so forth but it didn't make sense

[1:34:58] to reproduce the whole state policy and your policy

[1:35:00] now that you have no control over it.

[1:35:03] >> So if a parent wants to know what their kid has to do

[1:35:07] to graduate, where do they get that information?

[1:35:09] I guess then?

[1:35:11] >> It's in the high school course book.

[1:35:16] And on the state website.

[1:35:18] We can add it to the counseling website for high school easily

[1:35:21] but it's in the high school course book.

[1:35:29] Chair Jenkins: Any other questions?

[1:35:33] Go ahead Vicki permit

[1:35:36] >> I want to follow up with Barr for a second.

[1:35:38] Basically what the state did is take away and say you

[1:35:41] guys don't get to have your own requirements.

[1:35:42] It's ours and ours alone.

[1:35:44] Vice-Chair Fedders: I guess if I'm just random parent

[1:35:48] of a sixth grader and I want to know,

[1:35:50] you're not going to look --

[1:35:52] I just want it to be somewhere easy to find for everybody.

[1:35:56] What else did you say Miss Atkins?

[1:35:58] You said it could be the high school course book?

[1:36:01] >> I don't mind adding it to the school counseling website.

[1:36:05] I certainly would it will certainly fit quite well.

[1:36:08] I always wonder what people would Google

[1:36:10] and if they see CC s graduation requirements,

[1:36:13] and we want to make sense what they found.

[1:36:15] >> That makes sense.

[1:36:18] Chair Jenkins: Any other questions or comments?

[1:36:23] So so are we good with the minor adjustments --

[1:36:28] the clarification, I think we just need to say six per,

[1:36:32] and the study session per semester?

[1:36:35] >> I will edit that this evening.

[1:36:38] Chair Jenkins: That's a minor enough edit

[1:36:41] that we don't need to get a motion

[1:36:42] to approve this as amended.

[1:36:46] >> So move.

[1:36:48] Chair Jenkins: I've got a motion from Barb.

[1:36:51] I've got a second from Meredith.

[1:36:54] Thank you.

[1:36:54] All those in favor say I.

[1:36:58] [Members voting] Any opposed?

[1:36:59] Chair Jenkins: Thank you.

[1:37:04] Our next item on the agenda -- sorry my computer is item six b.

[1:37:17] Oh that's me.

[1:37:20] Approval of our draft timeline and application

[1:37:23] process to fill our board vacancy.

[1:37:27] Board members, I put together this abstract.

[1:37:34] I used the information and how we've

[1:37:39] done it in this district for the past couple of times.

[1:37:43] I did include the relevant statutes and policies

[1:37:46] in the abstract.

[1:37:48] That kind of governs who could be elected to the board

[1:37:54] in any requirements listed in our policy 2110 and 2115.

[1:38:01] And so, why don't we start by just looking at the timeline

[1:38:08] first.

[1:38:09] Board members, so if we approve the application

[1:38:14] and the timeline tonight, the timeline

[1:38:19] starts with advertising the process

[1:38:21] to fill the board vacancy.

[1:38:24] And so, the application will go out

[1:38:26] and we'll work with our districts communication team

[1:38:29] on getting this information out to the community

[1:38:32] and obviously it'll get posted on our social media

[1:38:35] and everyone in the community will

[1:38:37] be encouraged to post it out.

[1:38:39] That application will be open from September 4th through

[1:38:42] the 14th, with the applications due by September 14th at 12 noon

[1:38:47] because there is an option for people to drop off hard copies

[1:38:50] of the application.

[1:38:52] Although, electronic is obviously preferred

[1:38:55] but we want to make sure people had both options.

[1:38:59] So that's our timeline.

[1:39:01] And then I did put on here --

[1:39:06] I wanted to hold some time for so a potential special meeting

[1:39:09] for the board to review applications and possibly

[1:39:11] conduct interviews of candidates if needed.

[1:39:13] Obviously, we all know more on September 14th in terms

[1:39:17] of the volume of candidates that we have.

[1:39:21] But those are two dates that I put out there as placeholders

[1:39:24] and obviously, we'll work with staff

[1:39:27] to get it advertised and posted, in terms of time and place.

[1:39:34] Here for a special meeting to do that and the timeline has

[1:39:38] an expectation that we will select at our September 17th

[1:39:43] meeting a replacement board member.

[1:39:46] The swearing in, we will determine at a future date.

[1:39:52] Any comments on the timeline from board members?

[1:39:58] Go ahead George.

[1:40:00] >> I don't think I really have a comment on the timeline.

[1:40:03] I just do have some questions about the process after

[1:40:06] the 14th.

[1:40:07] However you're handling that.

[1:40:11] Chair Jenkins: We can go to the application

[1:40:15] and we can talk a little bit more about process two.

[1:40:18] On the second page of the attachment for the abstract,

[1:40:23] is the actual application.

[1:40:25] It does look slightly different maybe from past applications.

[1:40:31] But it gathers demographic -- just basic data,

[1:40:37] demographic information.

[1:40:38] Their name, their information and things like that.

[1:40:41] And then the two questions.

[1:40:44] The first one is the potential --

[1:40:48] the applicant has reviewed the requirements and they made

[1:40:50] the requirements to serve on the Board of Education.

[1:40:53] Because we're doing this process and it's not like the election

[1:40:56] process where you go to the Board of Elections

[1:40:59] and they vet you to make sure you meet the requirements.

[1:41:01] We just need people to make sure that they

[1:41:03] do that step of confirming that they have

[1:41:08] gone through the process of making sure they

[1:41:10] make the requirements.

[1:41:11] And then the second question is on the application

[1:41:15] why do you want to serve on the school board.

[1:41:18] And that's it with the application.

[1:41:19] It provides the information where any applicant can

[1:41:23] return it with the deadline.

[1:41:25] And so that is the whole application.

[1:41:28] Any questions or comments on the application itself?

[1:41:36] Okay.

[1:41:38] So George --

[1:41:43] >> I appreciated the simplicity of the questions.

[1:41:46] Do you qualify and why do you want to be on the board.

[1:41:48] I think that's a great way to start.

[1:41:50] Rather than 25 questions or something.

[1:41:53] Chair Jenkins: Yeah, I think, the first draft for you guys.

[1:41:59] I thought back to my time of other applications I've seen

[1:42:02] and I think that's really all the requirements we have

[1:42:05] to have as board member as we meet the requirements

[1:42:08] and why do we want to serve.

[1:42:10] That was the question that we got

[1:42:12] asked so we want to make sure we kept it simple

[1:42:14] and it wasn't a barrier for anyone

[1:42:16] who might be interested in applying as well.

[1:42:18] >> So my question is then on the 14th or on the 15th

[1:42:23] in the morning, if we have say double digit applicants,

[1:42:27] what's the process then?

[1:42:29] What are you thinking?

[1:42:31] Because we can't obviously call a meeting and then

[1:42:33] interview people if we haven't decided ahead

[1:42:36] of time who to interview and invite them.

[1:42:38] I'm just curious what happens after applications arrive

[1:42:42] on the 14th?

[1:42:43] What are you thinking?

[1:42:45] Chair Jenkins: First thing, we will

[1:42:48] have our staff go through an organize who they are.

[1:42:52] We'll have our special call meeting that's

[1:42:54] going to be up to us how we weed through,

[1:42:58] however we end up with 1 or 1000.

[1:43:01] And so, we will need to decide then

[1:43:04] what that's going to look like.

[1:43:06] I think prescribing a process now

[1:43:09] probably might be a little heavy handed.

[1:43:12] >> You mean during the meeting?

[1:43:14] The special call?

[1:43:16] Because there's a meeting on the 17th, a board member.

[1:43:19] Chair Jenkins: We do.

[1:43:21] >> I know there's a big agenda for that night.

[1:43:24] Chair Jenkins: Yeah and for something like this

[1:43:26] we want to have it as our own thing

[1:43:28] because we might have to workshop our way through how

[1:43:30] we're going to narrow down.

[1:43:32] >> Okay I'm fine.

[1:43:34] I'm just trying to see how this works.

[1:43:38] If we do have a lot of applicants,

[1:43:40] then we would just go through them

[1:43:42] with a special called meeting?

[1:43:44] Chair Jenkins: That's right.

[1:43:47] We'll review all the applications that are there

[1:43:49] and we will determine how we want to whittle it down.

[1:43:54] Obviously it's all going to be in an open double Dutch special

[1:43:57] call but an open meeting. -- special call but an open

[1:44:02] meeting.

[1:44:03] Any narrowing down or voting we might want to do we'll

[1:44:05] do an open session.

[1:44:06] Go ahead Vicki.

[1:44:08] >> Are we possibly open to moving the selection date if we

[1:44:13] need to based on what we have, considering what we know

[1:44:17] we're going to have on our agenda for the 17th?

[1:44:19] So that we don't have to feel pushed

[1:44:21] to have a placement because we know we're fine with six

[1:44:26] if need be.

[1:44:28] Chair Jenkins: Yes.

[1:44:29] We can always amend whatever we need to.

[1:44:31] Go ahead Barb.

[1:44:32] Vice-Chair Fedders: So is your vision then on the 15th or 16th

[1:44:36] where we're sitting and looking at applications?

[1:44:39] >> Potentially.

[1:44:42] Vice-Chair Fedders: We can't do the interview on that same day

[1:44:44] right?

[1:44:45] Because we'll be looking at them all together for the first time.

[1:44:48] Chair Jenkins: That's correct.

[1:44:50] That's why I held two days there for us.

[1:44:52] Vice-Chair Fedders: And when are we

[1:44:53] going to decide what questions we are going to Chair Jenkins:

[1:44:58] In an interview?

[1:44:59] When we narrow it down.

[1:45:00] Vice-Chair Fedders: Okay.

[1:45:01] All right.

[1:45:02] On the same day?

[1:45:04] Chair Jenkins: On the same day.

[1:45:10] I mean, if we wanted to go ahead and amend the timeline and move

[1:45:14] the selection to the October -- what is it fourth?

[1:45:20] It was at the fourth?

[1:45:21] Is it the first?

[1:45:23] I've been typing these days a lot, so it is the first.

[1:45:27] If we want to move it to October 1st, we can,

[1:45:31] to give ourselves some relief.

[1:45:33] And then we could swap out the language

[1:45:36] for the interview process?

[1:45:44] I'm fine with that.

[1:45:48] I wanted to put dates out there so people are applying --

[1:45:54] you know?

[1:45:54] They have enough and they can go ahead and start thinking about

[1:45:57] if I work or I have obligations with my family

[1:45:59] or something like that.

[1:46:02] Or if I might have flexibility with my schedule, then

[1:46:04] maybe I will hold these two dates open.

[1:46:07] That was my only thinking about calling commas dates

[1:46:11] for a special meeting.

[1:46:14] Vice-Chair Fedders: We just say September 17th or October 1st.

[1:46:18] Just to leave ourselves --

[1:46:22] Chair Jenkins: We can.

[1:46:23] Do we want to put two more dates after the 15th and 16th?

[1:46:26] Or are we okay with the 15th and 16th?

[1:46:29] Are we still fine?

[1:46:32] Are people still fine with the 15th and 16th?

[1:46:34] Okay.

[1:46:35] All right.

[1:46:36] So we're going to adjust the timeline to say September 17th

[1:46:43] or October 1st.

[1:46:45] Okay?

[1:46:45] >> Is it possible that we can leave a little wiggle room with

[1:46:50] the 15th and the 16th?

[1:46:51] Because we also know that we're going

[1:46:53] to have to have another hearing that week.

[1:46:57] Chair Jenkins: We do.

[1:47:00] We could do it the week of the 22nd and 23rd?

[1:47:04] We've got a teacher work day on the 21st.

[1:47:13] >> (Inaudible)

[1:47:23] >> I definitely like that you have the ten days to get

[1:47:25] the applications in.

[1:47:26] We just want to know what we're going

[1:47:29] to look at until after that.

[1:47:31] So you've got a good head start.

[1:47:33] But we just can't foresee.

[1:47:36] Chair Jenkins: I'm just trying to see

[1:47:39] and make sure there's no committee meetings on that day

[1:47:41] to.

[1:47:41] We have student success on the 22nd.

[1:47:45] We do not have a board meeting on the 24th.

[1:47:49] >> We wouldn't hold anything on the 21st though right?

[1:47:54] It's Yom Kippur.

[1:47:56] I don't think that'd be a good --

[1:48:00] Chair Jenkins: Yeah, no.

[1:48:03] We could do the 23rd and 24th?

[1:48:07] Everyone -- I just want to make sure?

[1:48:13] Obviously Miss Manning's not here but.

[1:48:18] >> (Inaudible)

[1:48:20] Chair Jenkins: It'll be the next week.

[1:48:22] The 29th.

[1:48:23] Oh, no it's not.

[1:48:25] No, it's a second.

[1:48:27] The second Tuesday.

[1:48:29] Finance is on the eighth, sorry.

[1:48:32] So it's success.

[1:48:36] >> (Inaudible)

[1:48:37] Chair Jenkins: All right so, 23rd and 24th for holding

[1:48:42] for the special call meeting.

[1:48:46] And moving the -- let me get my titles.

[1:48:56] The selection to October 1st.

[1:49:08] >> (Inaudible) correct those other things strike those other

[1:49:11] things

[1:49:13] >> Strike those other things.

[1:49:14] Chair Jenkins: The dates on the process will be the fourth

[1:49:17] through the 14th for the advertising and application

[1:49:20] going out.

[1:49:20] September 14th at 12 noon for the deadline.

[1:49:23] September 23rd and 24th, we're going to hold those

[1:49:27] for a special call meeting of the board to review

[1:49:31] the applications and also possible interviews

[1:49:36] of candidates if needed.

[1:49:38] And October 1st, will be the Board of Education's selection

[1:49:43] of a replacement and the swearing in still TBD.

[1:49:51] Go ahead.

[1:49:53] >> Well the applications be available for the board members

[1:49:57] to review prior to the meeting where we're discussing?

[1:50:00] Chair Jenkins: Because they're doing the 14th.

[1:50:03] >> Because I think that would be better.

[1:50:07] Nobody wants to watch us reviewing each one.

[1:50:09] Chair Jenkins: That's fair.

[1:50:12] I'll work with our clerk to make sure that you guys get

[1:50:14] the whole package of that.

[1:50:16] Go ahead Eva.

[1:50:17] >> Madam chair com I thought it might be helpful for those out

[1:50:21] loud for those that might be applying that those applications

[1:50:25] are not confidential those are public record.

[1:50:27] So that they're Chair Jenkins: Thank you for stating that Eva.

[1:50:35] Board members, do you have everything?

[1:50:38] All the updates?

[1:50:39] Miss Holloway, do you have everything you need?

[1:50:42] Okay.

[1:50:43] I'll work with the team to make sure the communication goes out.

[1:50:48] Okay.

[1:50:49] This is on discussion and action.

[1:50:54] So board members, I'll need a motion to approve the timeline

[1:50:59] as amended in the application --

[1:51:07] >> Go ahead Meredith.

[1:51:08] >> Sorry one more question.

[1:51:10] Can we request that the communication staff comment

[1:51:13] when they put it out, that they put it out

[1:51:14] in multiple languages.

[1:51:16] Chair Jenkins: Everything gets translated

[1:51:18] into all the languages so yeah.

[1:51:21] Good on that?

[1:51:25] Okay.

[1:51:26] So again, this is on discussion and action

[1:51:31] so we'll need a motion to approve the timeline as amended

[1:51:34] and the application

[1:51:35] >> So moved.

[1:51:38] Chair Jenkins: We've got a motion from Barb.

[1:51:40] Can I get a second?

[1:51:41] A second from George.

[1:51:45] All those in favor say aye.

[1:51:46] [Members voting] Any opposed?

[1:51:47] Chair Jenkins: Okay, thank you.

[1:51:53] Our next agenda item is approval of a retainer agreement

[1:52:01] for Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools

[1:52:03] to join the multi District Social Media litigation

[1:52:05] and we're going to have our board attorney,

[1:52:07] miss Eva assist us with this one.

[1:52:14] >> The proposal before you tonight is whether to join

[1:52:21] as a plaintiff a nationwide lawsuit against social media

[1:52:25] companies.

[1:52:26] The lawsuit is a multidistrict litigation

[1:52:30] against in which all the plaintiffs are school systems.

[1:52:37] The defendants are meta, snap Inc.

[1:52:40] Which owns Snapchat, TikTok and Google, which owns YouTube.

[1:52:46] And the theory of the plaintiffs is

[1:52:49] that these companies deliberately designed

[1:52:52] developed and marketed social media platforms to attract

[1:52:55] and addict minors permit and that that

[1:52:59] has had a measurable impact on schools because of the need

[1:53:05] to deal with the disciplinary and mental health

[1:53:08] outcomes of that.

[1:53:10] This case that was filed in 2022 and has

[1:53:16] been consolidated into this one courtroom in California.

[1:53:20] It is still possible for additional school systems

[1:53:23] to join as plaintiffs.

[1:53:25] And so in order to do that, you would have an open session

[1:53:30] joining the lawsuit and retaining

[1:53:33] the law firm of Brock Stock Madalas

[1:53:39] Frederico, who is lead counsel.

[1:53:43] And then Lieff Cabraser and Darrington Smith

[1:53:49] as local counsel.

[1:53:50] Those agreements are contingencies

[1:53:52] so the board would not be paying attorneys fees unless it

[1:53:55] receives some sort of settlement or judgment.

[1:53:58] But part of the lawsuit is seeking

[1:54:01] damages for school systems to have resources

[1:54:04] to combat these negative outcomes and part of it

[1:54:08] is seeking injunctive relief to require the social media

[1:54:11] companies to change their practices.

[1:54:13] Chair Jenkins: All right, thank you.

[1:54:16] Board members, do you have any questions or comments?

[1:54:24] Okay.

[1:54:24] Do I have a motion to approve the joining of the litigation

[1:54:33] and authorization to execute the retainer agreement?

[1:54:38] >> So move.

[1:54:40] Chair Jenkins: A motion from Meredith.

[1:54:43] Do I have a second?

[1:54:44] Second from George.

[1:54:46] All those in favor say aye.

[1:54:48] [Members voting]

[1:54:49] Chair Jenkins: Any opposed?

[1:54:50] Thank you so much.

[1:54:51] Our next item on discussion and action

[1:54:54] is former Consent item five C, it

[1:54:58] is now six D, recommendation for approval

[1:55:01] of first reading to minor changes to policy code 4700,

[1:55:06] student records.

[1:55:10] Let me navigate over to that.

[1:55:13] I know we had some questions at the beginning.

[1:55:18] And so, just give me one second.

[1:55:21] Give the board members a second to reorganize our notes.

[1:55:28] Okay.

[1:55:34] So for this one, I think there was some concern about why there

[1:55:38] had to be a written opt out from the double Dutch and I'm trying

[1:55:46] to get to the section --

[1:55:48] sounds like a federal act and requirement.

[1:55:52] >> The requirements be that there's an opt out and that was

[1:55:56] already entered policy.

[1:55:57] The additional writing of it being

[1:55:59] in language writing to a different person

[1:56:01] came from the policy committee saying

[1:56:03] there's a concern that an opt out was not enough guidance

[1:56:06] for parents and that they needed more information about how.

[1:56:09] So that's where that came from.

[1:56:11] Chair Jenkins: That's helpful, thank you.

[1:56:14] And I know we've got a couple members on policy here.

[1:56:17] So I don't know if you have anything to add to that?

[1:56:20] Or thoughts?

[1:56:21] Go ahead.

[1:56:22] >> Yes, we're wanting to put it to be done that way so that

[1:56:27] parents wouldn't just be who am I supposed to say it

[1:56:29] to, considering we have different schools and different

[1:56:32] situations.

[1:56:32] So that if it's in the policy saying

[1:56:34] that it needs to have a specific opt out to a certain person,

[1:56:40] we'll be able to get that specific person

[1:56:42] and know exactly who is going to and who will be responsible

[1:56:45] for you to follow up with.

[1:56:47] Chair Jenkins: Okay.

[1:56:49] Any other comments or questions go ahead Barb.

[1:56:52] Vice-Chair Fedders: So is this something

[1:56:55] that the student can do or just the parent?

[1:56:59] Chair Jenkins: It's the parent.

[1:57:01] >> The student can do it if they're 18 or over.

[1:57:07] I believe the student can do it at any age.

[1:57:10] That is my recollection.

[1:57:12] I do believe we looked at that.

[1:57:14] It's been a little while.

[1:57:15] But certainly if they are over 18, they can.

[1:57:22] I think I may have -- here it is.

[1:57:25] Yes, a student or parent may opt out.

[1:57:27] So

[1:57:31] Vice-Chair Fedders: So I want to address the public comment

[1:57:33] and wonder if the request can be a verbal or written?

[1:57:37] I realize

[1:57:40] [Interposing voices]

[1:57:40] Chair Jenkins: I'm curious.

[1:57:42] So if it's verbal and I'm just asking

[1:57:45] as we think about this, if it's verbal and somebody still

[1:57:51] gets contact from the military recruiter

[1:57:54] after they've verbally said it to someone in the school,

[1:57:59] how does anyone say well, I told someone?

[1:58:03] Vice-Chair Fedders: The council would write it down

[1:58:06] that this person wants to opt out.

[1:58:09] >> It is possible.

[1:58:10] I think the idea from the policy committee

[1:58:13] was that this was intended to make it easier for parents,

[1:58:18] not harder, by adding that.

[1:58:23] And I do worry about how we would

[1:58:24] keep track of verbal requests.

[1:58:26] But it's not illegal to have it be verbal.

[1:58:30] Chair Jenkins: Go ahead.

[1:58:32] >> My concern would be if it's verbal and let's just say it was

[1:58:37] a message and technology is technology and that'd be

[1:58:41] a message that you don't know where it went.

[1:58:45] Sometimes lines do go down and you're

[1:58:48] thinking your message was received by a counselor who

[1:58:50] may have ignored your situation and that's not the case

[1:58:54] and it may simply be that it didn't

[1:58:56] get where it was supposed to.

[1:58:58] As opposed to if you have an email,

[1:59:01] I'm just saying or a handwritten letter, something

[1:59:03] that you can put your hand on to stand

[1:59:06] to say I know I sent this to counselor Mr. Or Miss Smith

[1:59:10] and we can follow this up.

[1:59:13] And you can ask that this is placed in my student's counselor

[1:59:16] record.

[1:59:16] We have a method to follow to make sure

[1:59:19] that you have recourse.

[1:59:22] Chair Jenkins: Unfortunately no.

[1:59:26] No

[1:59:27] >> You can send me an email you can send an email though.

[1:59:30] Chair Jenkins: Barb, I see you still contemplating on this.

[1:59:36] Vice-Chair Fedders:

[1:59:37] That makes sense.

[1:59:40] Any email will do we're not going to create a template

[1:59:43] or anything like that?

[1:59:44] >> I don't have an answer to that.

[1:59:47] I think somebody who's been a principal

[1:59:48] would be able to speak to how this work a little bit better.

[1:59:51] My guess is that the recruiters come in annually

[1:59:53] and ask for a list.

[1:59:59] >> And the on the parent side, I could say that often at the end

[2:00:03] of the year you'll get different forms that you'll want to say

[2:00:06] if you want to opt out of this, you sign and you just opt out

[2:00:11] and you send it back.

[2:00:12] To the school and it tells you to who it's going to.

[2:00:15] And then ups you out of what said things

[2:00:18] you want to be opted out of.

[2:00:20] Chair Jenkins: But we're not saying creating a form.

[2:00:24] Vice-Chair Fedders: I'm just saying if the parent just

[2:00:26] said I, Vicki wanted to opt my child out

[2:00:28] from being a, b, c, d to the counselor for the recruiter.

[2:00:32] Chair Jenkins: Right.

[2:00:34] It can be written on a napkin as long as it's written.

[2:00:37] It doesn't have to be in any form.

[2:00:39] There you go.

[2:00:42] We good?

[2:00:48] This one was on consent and is now on discussion in action,

[2:00:53] so if we want to approve this policy,

[2:00:57] I'll require a motion to approve first reading of minor changes

[2:01:04] to policy code 4700, student records.

[2:01:07] >> So move.

[2:01:10] Chair Jenkins: I have a motion for Vicki.

[2:01:12] Do I have a second.

[2:01:13] A second from Meredith.

[2:01:16] All those in favor say aye.

[2:01:17] [Members voting]

[2:01:18] Chair Jenkins: Any opposed?

[2:01:19] Thank you.

[2:01:32] Our next item on the agenda is an update on the Board

[2:01:38] of Education's fiscal year 26-27 budget adoption and I see Mr.

[2:01:43] Scott coming forward.

[2:01:44] Thank you.

[2:01:47] >> Thank you Madam Chair.

[2:01:50] Good evening board members, doctor,

[2:01:53] members of the cabinet and members of the public.

[2:01:55] I've got some good news for you all for a change.

[2:01:58] This time around.

[2:01:59] I wanted to come and update the board of where we are with

[2:02:02] the budget adoption for 26-27.

[2:02:04] As you know, the state took budgetary action early in July

[2:02:09] which has led us to the point now where we're ready

[2:02:11] to recommend a budget for adoption at your September 17th

[2:02:14] meeting.

[2:02:19] It's not working.

[2:02:27] >> The side.`

[2:02:29] >> Technology, right?

[2:02:31] So as I just said, we're kind of at the end now.

[2:02:35] Through our budget process for the year.

[2:02:38] We wanted to give a broad overview of what we intend

[2:02:40] to bring on September 17th for adoption.

[2:02:43] We gave this presentation a few weeks ago

[2:02:46] at Finance and Facilities so some of you

[2:02:48] may be familiar with it.

[2:02:49] Wanted to talk a little bit about enrollment.

[2:02:53] Student data, and just wanted to make sure

[2:02:57] that we're all clear on this.

[2:02:59] We've spoken about many times, North Carolina

[2:03:03] places our budget in arrears in Orange County

[2:03:06] also bases our funding on that.

[2:03:08] So when we're looking at our budget enrollment for this year,

[2:03:11] it's a budgeted enrollment for revenues and not

[2:03:15] necessarily expenditures.

[2:03:17] So this year on the revenue side,

[2:03:19] we're looking at projected decrease of 277 students with

[2:03:23] a budgeted revenue enrollment of 10,741.

[2:03:26] When we get to where we're beginning to apply our cost

[2:03:33] allocations across schools, we use a different estimate,

[2:03:37] which is a projection for this year which is significantly

[2:03:40] lower than the 10,741.

[2:03:41] I just want to call that out because I

[2:03:43] think there's been some questions in years

[2:03:45] past about why enrollments dropped so much from projected

[2:03:48] budget enrollment.

[2:03:49] That's the reason because we go back a year

[2:03:51] and we look at revenue and again we're

[2:03:53] projecting expenses based on our enrollment

[2:03:56] projections for the year.

[2:03:57] And as we approach the 40th day, we'll have more information

[2:04:01] to get back to the board about actual enrollment for the year.

[2:04:04] Let's talk a little bit about the impact of the state budget.

[2:04:09] It was very calm a very different this year

[2:04:11] to normal years.

[2:04:13] The state took actions for teachers

[2:04:17] and instructional certified positions very different

[2:04:20] than they typically do.

[2:04:21] We have seen changes in the certified salary scale from 5%

[2:04:26] to 18% depending on years of service permit that can change

[2:04:31] your raise from basically under $3,000 to almost $7,500.

[2:04:36] People at the beginning of the scale are certified A0 teachers

[2:04:41] went from a $41,000 a year annual salary to a $49,000

[2:04:46] a year or $48,000 a year salary.

[2:04:50] That's where you see the 18% year increases.

[2:04:52] It was very varied this year.

[2:04:54] A lot harder to project especially

[2:04:56] because the majority of our lower ten year teachers

[2:04:59] are on our local side.

[2:05:01] It's created a significant increase

[2:05:04] to the requirement of local funds

[2:05:07] to match the certified increases.

[2:05:09] Our assistant principals, we have our own local assistant

[2:05:13] principal scale.

[2:05:14] It is tied to the average teacher increase

[2:05:18] because the assistant principals have also served that position.

[2:05:22] We're seeing across the board 8% for assistant principals.

[2:05:25] Again, we talked a little bit in the last meeting

[2:05:28] about classified staff, principals, and administrators.

[2:05:31] That was legislated to 3% across the scale except

[2:05:35] of course for employees that we had

[2:05:36] that were under the Orange County living wage which

[2:05:40] this year increased by 10% so we do have a pretty significant

[2:05:43] of our lower paid staff that are receiving raises

[2:05:45] in excess of 3%.

[2:05:47] Beyond that, there are several one time mandated state bonuses

[2:05:51] in the budget.

[2:05:53] Again, for teachers and certified staff

[2:05:56] it will either be a 500 or $1000 bonus depending of your license

[2:06:02] Surestep.

[2:06:02] Anything from 0 to 15 is a $500 bonus anything above that is

[2:06:12] a $1,000 bonus.

[2:06:14] On the administrator and classified staff

[2:06:16] side is a 1000 to $1750.

[2:06:19] That believe that cut off was employees

[2:06:21] who make less than 65000.

[2:06:24] Their bonus would be 1750.

[2:06:27] Anyone above that, it was $1,000 bonus.

[2:06:29] The state will pick up the state side

[2:06:31] but remember we have a pretty significant of local personnel

[2:06:34] so we have to budget that money on the local side

[2:06:36] for our local people.

[2:06:38] These bonuses won't be subject to retirement,

[2:06:40] just social security .

[2:06:46] And then employer matching rate went up from 24.67 to 26.1.

[2:06:52] That was a pretty sizable increase,

[2:06:56] much larger than we anticipated in our earlier budget

[2:06:59] presentations.

[2:06:59] Health insurance is going from 8500 to 8925,

[2:07:02] which is pretty much in line with what we predicted.

[2:07:05] Obviously there were increases in Social Security

[2:07:08] to match the salary increases.

[2:07:10] And then we applied the 4% inflationary factor

[2:07:14] across all Non-personnel costs.

[2:07:16] That brings us to our total continuation budget.

[2:07:20] This is the largest one I've seen.

[2:07:22] Since I began doing this.

[2:07:25] We have a total continuation budget

[2:07:27] on the local side of just over 5.6 million.

[2:07:30] We typically see continuation budgets in the $3 million area.

[2:07:35] Remember though, about a million of that is one time bonuses,

[2:07:39] so our actual continuation is closer to 4.6 million.

[2:07:43] Again, one of the largest I've seen

[2:07:46] by far the largest I've seen.

[2:07:49] Talk a little bit about our revenue

[2:07:52] changes because that offsets some of that need.

[2:07:55] Our budgeted revenues total 98.1 million,

[2:07:58] about 3,000,001 or 3.1% more than last year.

[2:08:02] Driven primarily by a $2.8 million

[2:08:05] increase in the county appropriation.

[2:08:07] Also our special district has increased just under $600,000.

[2:08:13] We also were projecting an increase of about $25,000

[2:08:17] in sales and use tax revenue.

[2:08:19] That's going up because of inflation and our application

[2:08:23] of inflationary factors to non-personnel costs,

[2:08:26] just by nature of that sales tax.

[2:08:29] Just because goods are costing more than they did.

[2:08:32] Also wanted to address a couple of revenue decreases.

[2:08:36] We're proposing to move $375,000 in transportation revenue

[2:08:40] and $50,000 in driver's Ed fee revenue from the local fund

[2:08:44] to Fund eight.

[2:08:45] The reason for that is the transportation revenue we're

[2:08:48] moving will be primarily for activity busses,

[2:08:51] for field trips and sporting events.

[2:08:53] That revenue, if it were to remain in fund two,

[2:08:57] would be shared and subject to sharing with driver schools

[2:09:01] along with the driver's Ed fees.

[2:09:03] So this is a good opportunity for us

[2:09:05] to move those into fund eight where

[2:09:06] we don't know how long I have to share those

[2:09:09] by court decision with the charter schools.

[2:09:12] Also, we're proposing a breakdown of fines

[2:09:16] and forfeitures by about $25,000.

[2:09:19] We just have not been collecting funds fines and forfeitures

[2:09:22] at the level we were previously.

[2:09:24] When you add all that up, you kind of see

[2:09:27] this revenue changes.

[2:09:28] It just kind of paints the pictures

[2:09:30] of the local revenue changes.

[2:09:32] But now we need to look at the impact of that.

[2:09:35] As you compare it to the continuation need,

[2:09:38] so as we talked about earlier, we had a 5.6 million

[2:09:41] continuation need.

[2:09:42] We've addressed just over 2.6 million

[2:09:45] of that with additional revenue.

[2:09:48] That's still left us --

[2:09:51] I'm sorry.

[2:09:52] We addressed about 3 million of that with additional revenue.

[2:09:55] Leaving us with just over $2.6 million deficit.

[2:10:00] As you -- as I'm sure you're aware,

[2:10:04] we've had several significant changes over the course

[2:10:07] of the last couple of months.

[2:10:09] One is that we had a central office

[2:10:11] reorganization and reduction.

[2:10:14] From that, once everything cleared,

[2:10:16] moving to this fiscal year we anticipated about $1.3 million

[2:10:20] in that savings.

[2:10:21] Beyond that, we had a change in the high school

[2:10:24] allotment formula this year and we anticipate

[2:10:26] about a $1.1 million savings.

[2:10:28] When you net those two against the $2.6 million need,

[2:10:33] we've gotten that down to about a $250,000 difference.

[2:10:37] We feel fairly comfortable we can cover that

[2:10:40] with existing surpluses that were available from last year.

[2:10:44] So that's the nuts and bolts or big picture

[2:10:47] to what we intend to bring.

[2:10:49] I want to talk about fund balance.

[2:10:52] We are now through June 30th of 2026.

[2:10:55] At the last board meeting, we provided the board

[2:10:59] with urine financial statements.

[2:11:00] I don't want to go into that too deep tonight.

[2:11:04] But just wanted to project out where

[2:11:06] we anticipate our fund balance to be once the audit report is

[2:11:10] released.

[2:11:10] As you remember last year, we had very little fund balance,

[2:11:14] I think $360,000 in total.

[2:11:16] At the end of this year now we are

[2:11:18] projecting about a $6 million fund balance.

[2:11:22] Of that, we think about 4 million,

[2:11:25] somewhere about 4.2 million will be unallocated and reserved.

[2:11:29] We do reserve a portion of the fund balance

[2:11:31] for prepaid expenses and we try to pay things like insurance

[2:11:35] and large ticket items prior to year end

[2:11:37] as a reservation of fund balance.

[2:11:39] But I just wanted to share this chart with the board

[2:11:42] to let you know that our fund balance is coming back

[2:11:44] a little bit.

[2:11:45] That will be about 4% of local expenditures.

[2:11:50] Which is a good thing.

[2:11:51] And we anticipate that some of those recurring surpluses

[2:11:55] will be available next year to be able to rebuild

[2:11:57] that a little bit more.

[2:11:59] Probably not to the level that we've experienced in 2026

[2:12:02] but we do anticipate that we will be able to add

[2:12:05] a little bit in fiscal 2027.

[2:12:08] And that's pretty much all I had.

[2:12:10] Again, I just wanted to give the board a high level overview

[2:12:13] of what we intend to bring.

[2:12:14] We're in process right now of compiling the official budget

[2:12:19] document and we'll bring that to the board for discussion

[2:12:21] and action on September 17th.

[2:12:23] And at this point, I'd be happy to turn it over

[2:12:26] to you for questions.

[2:12:29] All

[2:12:33] Chair Jenkins: All right thank you.

[2:12:35] Board members do you have any questions?

[2:12:37] Go ahead.

[2:12:38] >> Doctor Scott thank you for that.

[2:12:41] Back to the fund balance, four years ago when we had a surplus,

[2:12:44] we elected to spend a good amount of that on teacher

[2:12:48] supplement increases.

[2:12:50] That's Steph classified staff salary increases to spend down.

[2:12:57] And then thanks to Doctor Hamlet and now Doctor Trice,

[2:13:01] we've had two significant reductions in force

[2:13:05] in the past three years.

[2:13:06] You alluded to them.

[2:13:09] I think that just bears commending people

[2:13:13] for taking action over the years to get us to this point from it

[2:13:17] you yourself, you have been right on the money

[2:13:23] predicting where we would fall for the past three

[2:13:26] years, four years.

[2:13:28] And I'm sure before that.

[2:13:30] I'm not suggesting you weren't before that,

[2:13:32] but I commend you on that because there's

[2:13:34] a lot of reassurance that in very difficult money times,

[2:13:39] you've got a good picture of what we're doing.

[2:13:41] And the last thing I would ask you to comment on

[2:13:45] is our county commissioners at the very tail end

[2:13:49] of their budget work really came through with more money

[2:13:52] than they had originally planned to allocate to public schools.

[2:13:56] And if anybody's been following their agenda,

[2:14:00] it took a big reach for them to find that extra money.

[2:14:03] Could you elaborate a little bit on that

[2:14:05] so that people are aware that the commissioners really did

[2:14:09] come through for the schools?

[2:14:10] I think as much as they could?

[2:14:12] >> Certainly.

[2:14:14] I kind of painted right through that

[2:14:16] so I appreciate you calling my attention back to that.

[2:14:18] With the county manager's recommended budget,

[2:14:20] the county manager recommended a 3% increase for public education

[2:14:26] in Orange County.

[2:14:27] The reason that increase was at 3%

[2:14:29] was primarily because the existing debt from the school

[2:14:33] bonds we're trying to balance the budget

[2:14:35] and they're also experiencing some pretty significant

[2:14:37] reductions on their side that they weren't anticipating

[2:14:40] from Snap benefits to a whole list of things

[2:14:46] that were creating a fairly large budget gap for them

[2:14:48] as well.

[2:14:49] The county manager presented his budget

[2:14:52] at the same time the Board of Education of Orange County

[2:14:56] and of Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools presented their budget

[2:14:59] requests.

[2:15:00] I think it's fair to say now looking back,

[2:15:02] neither board of Education US or Orange County

[2:15:05] had any idea the magnitude of the impact of the state budget.

[2:15:08] And when we went in April.

[2:15:10] So we both went to ask for a 4% increase.

[2:15:15] So subsequent to that and subsequent to the release

[2:15:17] of the county manager's budget, the state did take action

[2:15:20] and they started signaling about what the actual state

[2:15:23] budget would entail.

[2:15:25] From that, it was very both school districts,

[2:15:28] it was very clear that the amount of money including

[2:15:32] in the county manager's budget was not going to be sufficient.

[2:15:35] As I showed you earlier, we have one of the biggest continuations

[2:15:39] that I've ever seen.

[2:15:40] So both superintendents took an opportunity

[2:15:42] to really plead their case with the county manager.

[2:15:45] We all met in Hillsborough to talk it out.

[2:15:50] The county manager was very receptive to what

[2:15:52] the districts were saying and very understanding

[2:15:54] of the situation we're going to be in.

[2:15:57] In between that and his work with his board,

[2:16:00] there was a budget amendment presented by County commissioner

[2:16:06] that increased the manager's budget recommendation

[2:16:08] for public education from 3% to 5.5%.

[2:16:13] It wasn't able to give the schools a full continuation,

[2:16:17] but for both the districts it really went a long way.

[2:16:19] For us it was an additional million dollars,

[2:16:21] so we'd be looking for another million dollars

[2:16:24] had they not done that.

[2:16:25] So we are very grateful for that and it really assisted us

[2:16:30] with balancing this budget.

[2:16:31] >> Thank you.

[2:16:36] Chair Jenkins: Board members, any other comments or questions?

[2:16:41] All right.

[2:16:42] Thank you so much.

[2:16:45] We look forward to seeing this back on our next agenda.

[2:16:53] All right.

[2:16:54] Our next agenda item is a transportation update

[2:17:01] and I see our superintendent doctor Tice.

[2:17:06] Is coming forward.

[2:17:11] >> Thank you chair Jenkins, members of the board,

[2:17:15] and certainly the community.

[2:17:16] Before we get to the transportation presentation,

[2:17:20] I wanted to just share a brief statement with the Chapel

[2:17:24] Hill-Carrboro City Schools community concerning

[2:17:26] transportation, if that's okay?

[2:17:28] I want to take just a few moments

[2:17:32] to speak directly to our students, our families, staff

[2:17:37] and community.

[2:17:38] The transportation problems we've

[2:17:41] experienced since the beginning of school

[2:17:44] have caused a significant disruption to many families.

[2:17:48] Some students have been dropped from our systems.

[2:17:54] Families have received conflicting or incomplete

[2:17:57] information.

[2:17:58] Parents have had to rearrange work schedules

[2:18:02] to find alternative transportation,

[2:18:04] as was shared earlier.

[2:18:07] And to spend far too much time trying to get answers from us.

[2:18:14] Our families expected reliable transportation and clean

[2:18:19] communication and at the start of --

[2:18:22] this was at the start of the school year,

[2:18:24] too many did not experience that.

[2:18:27] I'm sorry for the disruption, the frustration,

[2:18:31] and the uncertainty that this has caused many

[2:18:35] in our community, particularly our students and our families.

[2:18:40] Are our immediate priority has been

[2:18:43] and continues to be getting students to and from school

[2:18:47] safely and reliably.

[2:18:50] The work needs not finished.

[2:18:53] Our transportation technology, data, school

[2:18:57] based, and other staff continue working

[2:19:00] through individual student issues and the broader systemic

[2:19:05] or systems problems that we're experiencing so at this time um

[2:19:10] we have an obligation when we understand what happened,

[2:19:16] where the breakdowns occurred, and what contributed

[2:19:20] to that as the board is aware Uh I'm initiated a that will be

[2:19:28] on we will examine our entire process,

[2:19:35] including transportation operations, our student

[2:19:40] information system, data systems exceptional treatment systems,

[2:19:45] and services communication, school processes, district

[2:19:49] leadership, and the handoff that typically

[2:19:52] occurs between those segments.

[2:19:55] We need to understand what happened, why it happened,

[2:20:00] where the processes and controls failed and prevented us

[2:20:04] from detecting these problems.

[2:20:08] Whether established procedures were followed and were

[2:20:10] adequate and what changes are necessary so

[2:20:13] that we do not repeat these experiences in the future.

[2:20:19] Tonight's presentation is in an important part

[2:20:23] of that work permit but it is not the final accounting of what

[2:20:29] happened this year, there are questions we can answer tonight

[2:20:36] but there are also questions we are still working through

[2:20:39] as a staff.

[2:20:41] And questions that will require deeper examination

[2:20:46] once our staff can focus on the that.

[2:20:53] That work may also require the assistance

[2:20:57] from state and external partners.

[2:21:01] From what we understand today.

[2:21:03] I also understand and know that accountability

[2:21:06] requires transparency.

[2:21:08] So as we develop a a clearer understanding of what occurred,

[2:21:14] we will share that information not only with the board,

[2:21:18] but with our community as well, including

[2:21:22] what we determine As I've heard but what we learn,

[2:21:27] what changes are necessary.

[2:21:29] But today, most importantly I want our families

[2:21:32] to know that we understand the seriousness of what

[2:21:37] they experiencing.

[2:21:40] Transportation is not simply an operational function.

[2:21:45] For many of our students, it's what makes access

[2:21:50] to school possible paramedic when that system does not

[2:21:55] work as intended, the impact on students and families is real.

[2:22:01] We certainly have more work to do both to resolve the remaining

[2:22:07] problems that you will hear about in just a moment,

[2:22:11] but also to rebuild confidence in the system itself.

[2:22:16] We are committed to doing both as an administration

[2:22:20] and with that, I'll turn it over to our team who

[2:22:24] can share tonight's presentation and we look forward

[2:22:28] to addressing any of the board's questions thank you.

[2:22:31] Chair Jenkins: Thank you.

[2:22:41] >> Good evening board members.

[2:22:43] Excuse me.

[2:22:45] Doctor Trice, community members, colleagues,

[2:22:51] we stand before you the operations division

[2:22:53] and transportation tonight and the first thing

[2:22:56] that we want to do is we want to offer our sincere apologies.

[2:23:00] First to the community, to every affected family,

[2:23:04] to every child , we are sorry that we failed you to begin this

[2:23:11] school year.

[2:23:13] Please understand that we take ownership.

[2:23:17] That we are searching still for some answers.

[2:23:25] We hold this as a high priority.

[2:23:28] There's a level of urgency that we have right now.

[2:23:34] But our top priority is to make sure

[2:23:37] that every student that needs transportation

[2:23:40] receives transportation.

[2:23:41] I want to extend that apology to the board

[2:23:46] for the number of correspondence that you've received

[2:23:51] as well as Doctor Trice.

[2:23:53] Doctor Trice, we apologize that you

[2:23:56] had to stand here and offer an apology on our behalf.

[2:24:00] Our staff feels horrible about this

[2:24:03] and they are working seven days a week to try to correct this.

[2:24:08] We have contacted the North Carolina Public Instruction.

[2:24:15] We are working twice a week with each out of North Carolina

[2:24:21] State.

[2:24:22] They are the routing specialists for everyone

[2:24:25] in the state of North Carolina.

[2:24:27] And we will get to the bottom of this.

[2:24:32] We were using a time frame that CHCCS has

[2:24:37] used for probably two decades.

[2:24:39] We were caught in a perfect storm.

[2:24:42] The time frame failed us.

[2:24:44] Our software failed us.

[2:24:46] We had a retirement in the middle of the summer.

[2:24:50] And the information that we received was insufficient for us

[2:24:55] to know that there was a problem with this magnitude.

[2:25:00] Tonight I want to try to go through what a normal year looks

[2:25:06] like.

[2:25:06] What happened to us this year.

[2:25:09] And the steps that we will take to change things moving forward.

[2:25:17] In a typical year with transportation,

[2:25:20] what happens is our software --

[2:25:25] we have three major software groups

[2:25:30] and they speak to each other.

[2:25:32] So we have infinite campus, Tims which is transportation

[2:25:36] information management system.

[2:25:38] Those are the two major components.

[2:25:40] So in a typical year, what you will see

[2:25:43] is data managers at the schools will enter yes's and no's

[2:25:47] for students, for every child that wants transportation.

[2:25:50] If you want transportation, it becomes a yes.

[2:25:53] That information is then downloaded into the Tims system.

[2:25:59] Tims will then begin to route students.

[2:26:01] With the routing of students, we have a lot of codes

[2:26:06] and I'll talk about those when we get to trends

[2:26:09] and try to explain it a little better,

[2:26:11] but after routes are created and students are placed on busses,

[2:26:16] that information is then uploaded back

[2:26:19] into Infinite campus?

[2:26:21] Typically in a year, CHCCS receives

[2:26:26] about 5000 transportation requests or just

[2:26:28] over 5000 requests.

[2:26:29] This year we received about 5000 requests.

[2:26:32] So from the Tims side of things, everything looked normal.

[2:26:36] We had the same number that we've had in years past.

[2:26:39] It was not until we began to try to upload routes

[2:26:45] that it gave us a small indication that something

[2:26:48] may have been going on.

[2:26:51] When we moved out and we moved forward,

[2:26:54] what we saw was our ridership number --

[2:26:57] and I'll need to explain this.

[2:26:59] Well we have about 5000, 300 or so requests, on a yearly basis,

[2:27:05] we route and our ridership numbers

[2:27:08] are around 3800 students per year.

[2:27:11] But we route every student who applies for transportation.

[2:27:14] So about half the district applies.

[2:27:16] We route everyone and as the year goes on, usually

[2:27:20] in mid-October, we have to submit a Tims

[2:27:22] report to the state.

[2:27:24] That Tims report, the state wants us to be around 110%

[2:27:28] of our student ridership.

[2:27:32] We're usually up closer to 160% because we route everyone

[2:27:37] and that's what we do and we have to take those students off

[2:27:40] of routes when they don't show for ten days.

[2:27:43] So this is the normal process of what happens every year.

[2:27:49] We begin the process in the summer

[2:27:53] and this is part of our timeline failing us this year.

[2:27:58] We begin the process usually after summer school.

[2:28:01] So we route for summer school in June

[2:28:05] because we are dependent upon EOC and EOG

[2:28:10] scores in order to know who the grant programs.

[2:28:13] And then once that is complete, we begin to route for the year.

[2:28:18] This year, what happened to us?

[2:28:23] When we hold our download from infinite campus into TIMS,

[2:28:30] we found that information was incorrectly coded.

[2:28:35] It came over incorrect that's a question why that happened.

[2:28:40] I know that's the million dollar question that everybody wants

[2:28:43] to know why did this happen.

[2:28:44] We're still searching with NC state,

[2:28:47] with DPI to find out why this happened.

[2:28:50] But because of the time frame that we

[2:28:53] have used for over two decades, we

[2:28:55] were then behind and being able to correct it.

[2:29:00] So the information came over -- really what did we learn that

[2:29:05] there was a major issue?

[2:29:06] We believed to learn it was a major issue on the first day

[2:29:09] of school because that's when we started to receive communication

[2:29:12] saying my child doesn't have a bus.

[2:29:16] And we went into our TIMS system to research it

[2:29:21] and our system said no, no for that student.

[2:29:25] We contacted the school staff and managers and the school data

[2:29:28] manager said it's showing yes, yes.

[2:29:31] So that was an immediate problem that we had.

[2:29:36] About halfway through the first week,

[2:29:38] we reverted to scheduling students on busses by the end.

[2:29:43] This is the process that we're actually using right now.

[2:29:46] It's the only foolproof way that we

[2:29:48] know that we are capturing every child that needs a bus.

[2:29:51] We're having to do them one student at a time tonight

[2:29:55] to compound matters, what we found

[2:29:58] is that the information that we had in

[2:30:01] Tims when we went to upload it into Infinite campus,

[2:30:05] it did not upload properly.

[2:30:07] Which is why some parents have reached out to us

[2:30:11] and they've said I see that here comes the bus app.

[2:30:14] My child is on 133 in the morning and 155

[2:30:18] in the afternoon, but there are no times.

[2:30:22] There's no location.

[2:30:25] It's because the information was incomplete.

[2:30:28] CHCCS also has a lot of programs, program schools.

[2:30:34] The way TIMS codes is but codes by attendance boundary. --

[2:30:43] it codes biotin boundary.

[2:30:45] So for example let's say a student a,

[2:30:48] they went to Carrboro elementary.

[2:30:51] They've now moved on to middle school.

[2:30:54] They're going to Google to continue

[2:30:57] in Spanish dual language.

[2:30:59] But that student's address is actually in the Smith zone.

[2:31:04] When that information comes down in TIMS,

[2:31:09] they code that student has a 12 meaning they're out of boundary.

[2:31:13] A bus does not automatically granted that to that student

[2:31:15] and you have to go in and handwrite those.

[2:31:18] We had about 475 what we call unmatched addresses,

[2:31:27] where if Andre Stewart lives at 750 South Maryville Road,

[2:31:33] his address needs to be entered in the road needs to be spelled

[2:31:39] out R--a-d.

[2:31:42] If that information is put into infinite campus

[2:31:45] and it is r D or d period, it then kicks me out

[2:31:49] it kicks my information out.

[2:31:50] That's part of the holdup is we had

[2:31:52] to get those addresses matched up

[2:31:55] and work through that as well.

[2:31:59] So what are we saying with some of our data

[2:32:02] and some of the trends?

[2:32:04] We have routed over ten 000 requests.

[2:32:09] That accounts for about 5000 students

[2:32:11] that we place on busses so far.

[2:32:14] I had to submit this for upload to the board earlier.

[2:32:18] We actually have over 4000 students running in the morning

[2:32:22] and over 4600 students running in the afternoon currently

[2:32:26] and that is the data from today comparison wise,

[2:32:30] we have more riders than we did last year.

[2:32:34] But in looking at it, we're looking

[2:32:38] to go student by student to find out where the issues are.

[2:32:42] So we're having to work with data managers.

[2:32:44] I can tell you just today, I responded

[2:32:47] to a parent who emailed me and her daughter, on our side,

[2:32:52] says no and no.

[2:32:54] But still in the infinite canvas side, says yes hype

[2:32:57] and yes so we have to work through that

[2:32:59] and then code that child properly and work through it.

[2:33:05] --yes-yes

[2:33:07] it has been an absolute nightmare for us.

[2:33:10] It's been a nightmare.

[2:33:12] And we apologize and we take full accountability for it.

[2:33:15] But I wanted the board to know and the community

[2:33:18] to know the process that we're working through in order to get

[2:33:22] students on busses.

[2:33:25] We also had issues with walk zones.

[2:33:29] This is something that we've taken accountability

[2:33:32] for because our initial communication on walk zones

[2:33:36] that went out earlier, we placed it in infinite campus.

[2:33:41] And because we later found out that that communication didn't

[2:33:45] reach a lot of homes.

[2:33:47] And it two years ago probably we worked with the towns two

[2:33:52] and tours the state while policy, which is 1.5 miles.

[2:33:57] That 1.5 miles from the top of our neighborhood,

[2:34:00] not to the door of the house.

[2:34:04] And enforcing that and talk about the towns,

[2:34:08] there was a lot of construction projects,

[2:34:10] as well as some safety issues that

[2:34:12] were going on around the town.

[2:34:13] So our routing team grandfathered

[2:34:16] different neighborhoods in.

[2:34:19] As construction things completed throughout the towns,

[2:34:23] we went ahead and removed that grandfathering on those busses

[2:34:28] and put those neighborhoods into the walk zones.

[2:34:32] Our communication failed us here.

[2:34:37] Mr. Austin and his team will actually go out

[2:34:43] and when they receive requests from parents,

[2:34:46] they will actually ride.

[2:34:48] If a parent says I have a safety concern, they will ride,

[2:34:51] they will walk it to see.

[2:34:53] There are students and there are instances

[2:34:55] where students are in within the 1.5 miles

[2:34:58] but they may not have a sidewalk.

[2:35:03] That they can use to get to school.

[2:35:05] Their home may be in a blind curve.

[2:35:08] We have to get those students transportation.

[2:35:11] And working through those types of things,

[2:35:13] that's always a fluid situation with transportation and walk

[2:35:17] zones.

[2:35:18] But we own the fact that the communication,

[2:35:21] the initial communication, did not reach everyone

[2:35:24] and the secondary communication was sent out late.

[2:35:29] How do we fix this how do we change it

[2:35:33] and how do we make it better?

[2:35:34] Well the first thing that we are going to do

[2:35:37] is we're going to overhaul the entire timeline.

[2:35:40] So instead of waiting until August to begin routing we

[2:35:46] are March and April will are routing

[2:35:52] timeframe 20% of my colleagues and some other divisions,

[2:35:57] but at this point, I don't ever want

[2:36:01] to stand in front of the board for this again.

[2:36:04] So we're going to hold fast to our time frame.

[2:36:09] We'll route in April.

[2:36:11] At the conclusion of routing in April, we will send bus routes.

[2:36:16] Will work through communication at the end of the school year

[2:36:19] to let parents know that their 27-28 bus routes are

[2:36:24] in the portal.

[2:36:25] If you don't see your information

[2:36:27] in the portal in mid June, then reach out to transportation

[2:36:30] and we can troubleshoot it.

[2:36:32] That will give us enough time.

[2:36:35] We don't have to run through scheduling summer programs

[2:36:38] the same way that we have due to testing,

[2:36:42] but this will give us a longer runway

[2:36:43] to be able to troubleshoot and make sure that this does not

[2:36:47] happen again.

[2:36:48] The board did tonight approve also

[2:36:52] the hiring of a second tennis coordinator for the district,

[2:36:56] which will help us not only root better in March and April,

[2:37:01] but will help us to come out of the current situation

[2:37:04] that we're in right now.

[2:37:06] And also we'll continue our work with NC state

[2:37:11] and other outside agencies to troubleshoot

[2:37:14] exactly what happened, to get professional development

[2:37:18] for our staff and give them the tools that they need

[2:37:20] to successful in America at this point of where we are,

[2:37:27] we're going student by student.

[2:37:30] We've asked and the communication team

[2:37:33] has sent out a message that at noon tomorrow,

[2:37:37] if infinite campus is not showing that your child needs

[2:37:41] double Dutch has a bus route, that you simply

[2:37:45] send an email to Mr. Austin and myself and we will

[2:37:49] be working to respond to those.

[2:37:52] Working through our alpha listing.

[2:37:55] The Alpha listing is the master list of busses and students

[2:38:00] throughout the district.

[2:38:02] We uploaded an alpha listing this afternoon

[2:38:05] and it had over 5400 entries in it.

[2:38:08] So Mr. Austin and I will be working through that until we

[2:38:12] get every student on a bus?

[2:38:15] You can reach out to us.

[2:38:18] And at this time, we'll take any questions from the board.

[2:38:23] Chair Jenkins: All right, board members

[2:38:26] questions or comments go ahead.

[2:38:29] >> I have a lot of questions.

[2:38:32] I'm also willing to let somebody else go.

[2:38:34] Chair Jenkins, if you would prefer.

[2:38:37] Chair Jenkins: I have a lot of questions

[2:38:39] too so why don't you start and we'll just go down the line.

[2:38:43] >> First of all, I sincerely do appreciate the apology permit I

[2:38:49] believe that was from your heart and thank you for acknowledging

[2:38:54] that.

[2:38:55] And I don't really know where I'm going to start here

[2:39:00] but one thing I wanted to back up

[2:39:02] to was the hand-off from Infinite Campus to TIMS.

[2:39:08] Who did that?

[2:39:10] I don't need to know my name, but my position

[2:39:15] because as I understand it, and if I'm wrong, please correct me

[2:39:21] when we get into this.

[2:39:23] You send over 4800 student requests and TIMS sends it back

[2:39:31] and there's a batch number of problems that are identified

[2:39:33] right then and there.

[2:39:34] If you send over 4800 and you get back 3800,

[2:39:38] you've got 1000 records that have problems.

[2:39:41] Somebody then at that point should have stopped

[2:39:45] and said this is a typical process,

[2:39:48] we've got a problem here.

[2:39:50] I don't care if it was on August the 1st or July 1st or whatever

[2:39:55] and you mentioned it tonight but then you kept alluding

[2:39:59] to software glitch or software.

[2:40:01] We don't know.

[2:40:02] You can't possibly even move forward

[2:40:05] at that point without knowing what to do next.

[2:40:09] Explain what happened there.

[2:40:12] >> Yes sir.

[2:40:14] Doctor Griffin, the process works when the information

[2:40:17] is entered at the school level.

[2:40:19] It is pulled into TIMS through the server.

[2:40:26] You're exactly right when you say there

[2:40:28] should have been some signs.

[2:40:36] >> There's big signs there.

[2:40:37] It's not a should then some signs

[2:40:39] flashing lights there's parameters there

[2:40:41] that don't like where to look.

[2:40:43] Correct?

[2:40:44] >> Correct doctor Griffin if- --

[2:40:50] >> How come somebody didn't do that?

[2:40:53] >> Because there is no sign of it.

[2:40:55] There's no sign of that because there was yes on one side

[2:40:58] and then they became nos.

[2:40:59] They didn't flag it's problems.

[2:41:01] They just flagged as students who did not need transportation.

[2:41:04] Because when we pulled it, there were still over 5000 requests.

[2:41:08] So what we saw as the flags were the 475 unmatched addresses.

[2:41:15] That's something that is normal, every day.

[2:41:19] What we did not see and what we did not get at that point

[2:41:23] until we started to dig into it was the trend data where

[2:41:28] it said students, infinite campus,

[2:41:31] students that were moving from one grade level to the next,

[2:41:35] when building to the next, excuse me

[2:41:38] if Kindergartner's, sixth graders, ninth graders,

[2:41:42] buildings.

[2:41:43] Somehow, they were the ones that dropped.

[2:41:47] They were a good percentage.

[2:41:50] But there's no full rhyme or reason

[2:41:53] because not every sixth grader, ninth grader and kindergartner

[2:41:55] was dropped.

[2:41:57] Then there were outlier schools.

[2:41:58] So we worked through -- we found one school where none

[2:42:04] of the students moved out of the school,

[2:42:07] yet 70 students were flipped from yes to no.

[2:42:12] So there is no rhyme or reason, but from the Tims side,

[2:42:18] we could still see 5000 requests.

[2:42:22] Routing 5000 students.

[2:42:24] We're working through the unmatched addresses.

[2:42:26] We're working through the students

[2:42:28] that are out of boundary like we do every year.

[2:42:31] So there was not an indication when the data pulled

[2:42:36] that there was a problem.

[2:42:39] >> Okay, so then when did you become first aware that

[2:42:44] there's a serious problem?

[2:42:45] >> We became aware that there's a serious problem on the first

[2:42:49] day of school.

[2:42:50] >> You thought everything was good until the first day

[2:42:53] of school?

[2:42:54] >> We did.

[2:42:55] Because at that point we had 4000 students

[2:42:58] routed in on busses.

[2:42:59] >> Okay change in direction a little bit.

[2:43:02] Tims you mentioned on the road.

[2:43:04] I'm not clear if we're working with Tims

[2:43:07] or we've been solo in it and now we're calling them for help?

[2:43:13] TIMS what if advised all kinds of things back in July to say we

[2:43:17] need to do this.

[2:43:18] We need to do that.

[2:43:19] We need to do that.

[2:43:21] Are we working with them like that this summer

[2:43:23] or are we on our own and now we're going to call them?

[2:43:27] >> No doctor Griffin.

[2:43:29] We work with them.

[2:43:30] We meet with them.

[2:43:32] And look.

[2:43:33] What Tims will tell us is the major issue here.

[2:43:39] Is that we had a problem, others had problems as well Tims,

[2:43:45] problem, it was in August.

[2:43:49] And now we're having to work through it manually, by hand.

[2:43:53] Tims is going to say -- and that's part

[2:43:56] of their recommendation, start your process earlier.

[2:43:58] So that there is a problem, you can work through it.

[2:44:02] They do not -- they can come in and look at the system.

[2:44:05] We have a meeting with them tomorrow morning.

[2:44:08] To look at it and to see where we

[2:44:10] are, to see if our things are uploaded.

[2:44:11] To see if our files are correct.

[2:44:14] Those are the things that they look at for you.

[2:44:16] They made the suggestion that our files were corrupt

[2:44:19] when we went to upload and that was the issue that stuff was not

[2:44:23] moving back into infinite campus.

[2:44:25] So they're making recommendations to us

[2:44:28] but they can't give us any hard line answers as to this

[2:44:34] was the exact issue that you experienced.

[2:44:36] I'm going to rephrase my question

[2:44:39] and then I'll let somebody else

[2:44:42] >> And then I'll let somebody else have a turn here because I

[2:44:44] have a lot of questions.

[2:44:46] Tims recommends regular quarterly meeting

[2:44:50] with data managers can I pinch recommends monthly meetings

[2:44:54] with data managers.

[2:44:55] Tims recommends a process that we should have in place

[2:44:59] if we're working with Tims all along.

[2:45:02] And many other school districts are in fact in my career,

[2:45:06] we've always worked with Tims.

[2:45:08] Tims when map it out for you and say picture 110% goal

[2:45:13] for efficiency and we're going to take money back from it --

[2:45:17] are we working side by side with Tims or have we been working

[2:45:23] on our own by ourselves on our own thing and I'm calling them

[2:45:27] for help?

[2:45:28] >> To answer your question as clearly as I can Doctor Griffin,

[2:45:33] could we work with them better and more often?

[2:45:37] Yes.

[2:45:37] Are we working solo alone?

[2:45:40] No we're not.

[2:45:42] We probably could have worked with them

[2:45:45] in the past, monthly can I where we're

[2:45:48] working with them quarterly.

[2:45:51] So yes.

[2:45:52] We need to increase the relationship.

[2:45:55] Increase the fluency of the relationship.

[2:45:58] But no, we weren't out there by ourselves doing this all alone.

[2:46:02] >> Okay well I look forward to hearing then what you learned

[2:46:06] about this glitch.

[2:46:08] In the process that seems to work in other districts.

[2:46:11] Where you upload the information and then they

[2:46:14] send it back to you and right there

[2:46:17] is where everybody should know we've got a problem.

[2:46:20] And that didn't seem to happen here

[2:46:23] but it seems to be working other places.

[2:46:25] I don't know that tonight is appropriate

[2:46:27] or I'll get it tonight, but I really

[2:46:30] want to understand what happened.

[2:46:31] Much less what we need to do down the road.

[2:46:35] >> Yes sir.

[2:46:38] >> I'll stop now and let other people have a turn.

[2:46:41] I've got more questions.

[2:46:43] Chair Jenkins: We'll ping pong this way.

[2:46:46] Go ahead.

[2:46:47] >> Thank you and I also appreciate the apology.

[2:46:51] I know this is really difficult on all of our families

[2:46:53] and I know you guys are working really hard to resolve things.

[2:46:56] One thing that I have not yet heard tonight

[2:47:00] is what the current status is.

[2:47:02] Do we have a number of how many families are still affected?

[2:47:06] And by when they can expect a resolution?

[2:47:09] >> So we are, with the numbers, yes or no.

[2:47:14] We have the number of what we still have to work through

[2:47:20] that we currently know about.

[2:47:22] We're hoping at this point that they're no additions

[2:47:25] and there are always the transportation

[2:47:27] everyday issues that you have to work through.

[2:47:29] This town needs a US, this child wants a different route,

[2:47:34] this child is going through a different place we have

[2:47:36] to work through those as well.

[2:47:37] Are priority right now is every child

[2:47:40] that does not have a bus to get them a bus parent currently

[2:47:43] request wise, this is not children but request wise,

[2:47:46] we are still working about 800 requests.

[2:47:53] >> (Inaudible)

[2:47:53] >> Yes sir.

[2:47:54] But a lot of our children have morning routes

[2:47:58] and afternoon route.

[2:48:00] Or they have an afternoon route and need a morning route.

[2:48:03] That is a request that we're working through.

[2:48:06] And then we have children that need both routes.

[2:48:09] Well the issue, or crystal to 2000

[2:48:15] that we were working through.

[2:48:18] >> That's nearly half, right?

[2:48:21] >> And what we're finding is we think that this is going to be

[2:48:25] higher than normal usage year for transportation.

[2:48:28] For people requesting routes.

[2:48:31] Last Friday, or Monday, excuse me, we were at 1286 requests.

[2:48:41] So today, working through being 800 and so,

[2:48:47] we are working it down one by one.

[2:48:52] >> Even while we've been sitting here at this meeting,

[2:48:54] I got an email from somebody who not a native English speaker

[2:48:59] and really needs assistance.

[2:49:00] I know you guys are doing all you can

[2:49:03] but we got to get through as many of these people as we can.

[2:49:08] And then I wanted to talk specifically

[2:49:09] about the segment of families that

[2:49:11] were affected by the grandfathered neighborhoods.

[2:49:15] I would love to understand, it doesn't

[2:49:18] have to be tonight necessarily, but I

[2:49:20] love to understand what the procedure is

[2:49:22] for notifying those families and what approvals have to be made.

[2:49:28] It just seems like when a family is

[2:49:30] used to having bus service over a number of years

[2:49:32] and they may not have been apprized of the fact

[2:49:34] that it was a temporary grandfathered situation,

[2:49:36] that there needs to be some kind of approval or process

[2:49:43] by which we evaluate the need of the neighborhood.

[2:49:47] Because the descriptions that we're

[2:49:48] getting from a lot of families who are affected by that are

[2:49:51] this is not safe.

[2:49:53] My kindergartner can't cross myth level.

[2:49:56] Just things like that.

[2:49:58] It made me feel a little uneasy that those were

[2:50:04] decided without board approval.

[2:50:05] I know two years ago, there were some things

[2:50:09] that changed as you mentioned.

[2:50:10] I remember voting on a change that

[2:50:12] was due to the state regulations or the state's recommendations.

[2:50:17] And that seemed like that was a bigger board approval process.

[2:50:22] And so, this time, like that was the first time I've heard of it.

[2:50:26] So that concerned me.

[2:50:28] I still don't have a sense of how many families

[2:50:30] were affected by that.

[2:50:31] Some people said they got no notification whatsoever.

[2:50:35] And then, going forward, is it possible that we

[2:50:40] can get a couple times a week of updates

[2:50:44] to say you have 800 requests today, so in a couple of days,

[2:50:49] can we get an update saying that hopefully that number is

[2:50:52] smaller, so we know where we are?

[2:50:56] Because I feel like we haven't gotten a lot of regular updates.

[2:51:00] And so I would like to make sure that we know.

[2:51:08] And then this is a separate note but on the timeline question,

[2:51:13] in your opinion, what is the ideal date

[2:51:16] that families would get a notification of what

[2:51:19] their busses?

[2:51:20] Just best practice?

[2:51:21] To give us enough time to troubleshoot problems.

[2:51:24] Because it really did seem like this year,

[2:51:27] it was very less minute.

[2:51:29] And I think from what I'm hearing from affected families,

[2:51:32] by the time that they realized that they weren't going

[2:51:35] to get an assignment like the first day of school

[2:51:37] was already underway.

[2:51:38] >> For the time, the Monday after graduation in June.

[2:51:44] That's what we're aiming for.

[2:51:46] >> Okay.

[2:51:47] That's certainly better.

[2:51:49] I was a little surprised that it was even you were recommending

[2:51:52] that may time but great.

[2:51:54] I think the earlier the better so families have time to really

[2:51:57] troubleshoot what's going on.

[2:51:59] And then you mentioned the last thing

[2:52:01] I had is just the second coordinator that

[2:52:07] was replacing the staff member that was retired?

[2:52:10] >> Yes Ma'am.

[2:52:13] Vice-Chair Fedders: Yes I echo everybody's appreciation

[2:52:17] for the accountability and apology and extend my own.

[2:52:21] We have oversight responsibility.

[2:52:24] I'm the chair of Finance Facilities and Operations

[2:52:27] and we should have met over the summer so I'll take that.

[2:52:32] A lot of my questions have already been addressed.

[2:52:35] But it seems like we have enough bus drivers right?

[2:52:38] And the good news department?

[2:52:40] >> Yes Ma'am we do.

[2:52:43] Vice-Chair Fedders: And do you feel

[2:52:45] with the new person we just hired, the department has

[2:52:48] enough people?

[2:52:49] Probably nobody has enough people?

[2:52:51] >> We will be in a better place.

[2:52:54] I think one of the things that Mr. Austin and I are working on

[2:52:57] is ensuring that our operators have dedicated time to work.

[2:53:03] That while having a CDL is a requirement for the position,

[2:53:07] trying to keep them off a bus as much as possible as something

[2:53:13] that is helpful so that they can sit in the office

[2:53:15] and they can troubleshoot through this.

[2:53:24] [NO AUDIO]

[2:55:13] >> Just going to every classroom and say who's got a bus problem?

[2:55:16] >> Doctor Griffin I apologize.

[2:55:21] [Interposing voices]

[2:55:22] >> We have 20 administrators sitting here tonight.

[2:55:24] Why not tomorrow?

[2:55:25] The system is not working.

[2:55:27] We're not going to get 800 kids back in another week.

[2:55:30] It's the third week of school next week.

[2:55:34] The kitchen's on fire.

[2:55:36] Somebody needs to go out there and find out

[2:55:39] who's got a bus problem.

[2:55:41] Not waiting for parents to contact you

[2:55:44] for the third time saying nobody's

[2:55:47] told me anything for nine days.

[2:55:50] That's just not good enough.

[2:55:52] It's not working.

[2:55:53] So stop it and go fix it.

[2:55:58] >> Excuse me for a second.

[2:56:00] A while back I am being told and I apologize if I'm out of order

[2:56:04] but this needs to be said.

[2:56:05] A while back I was told that we need

[2:56:08] to make sure we're going to have a certain level of decorum

[2:56:11] and not make our staff feel that we're going to be attacked.

[2:56:14] And if I'm going to be told we're

[2:56:15] going to make our staff not feel that we're going to be attacked,

[2:56:18] that's going to be across the board.

[2:56:20] I want to take a deep breath.

[2:56:22] I would invite all of us to take a deep breath.

[2:56:24] And we're not going to want our staff to feel attacked.

[2:56:28] He's standing here.

[2:56:29] He is owning this problem.

[2:56:31] He is not making an excuse.

[2:56:33] He is not telling me something that's not factual.

[2:56:36] A system that is not working is not

[2:56:39] the same as a person that's telling me

[2:56:41] history that's not correct.

[2:56:42] So I will say yes, the master list may not be working.

[2:56:46] Tims may not be doing what it's supposed to do.

[2:56:49] Our families are hurting and the kitchen may be on fire,

[2:56:52] but we're not going to act like we don't have water

[2:56:55] from the university lake in Owosso.

[2:56:57] We are going to deal with this and we're going to get it fixed.

[2:56:59] I as a board member say I am sorry to our families.

[2:57:03] As a former bus driver will be glad to volunteer my time

[2:57:07] and get in a van to help you get our children to school.

[2:57:11] But we have to work together at this point and realize that

[2:57:14] we're at September the 3rd and we're in a bad situation and we

[2:57:18] need to figure out what we need to do and we can get the answers

[2:57:22] as we can get them, but what needs to happen right now is

[2:57:25] to get as many children on the bus as possible and for us

[2:57:28] to get the answers when we can come and how we can.

[2:57:32] When I want to know is how and what

[2:57:33] is the fastest way to get every little person on a bus,

[2:57:38] in a van, in a car.

[2:57:40] >> Yes Ma'am.

[2:57:42] Thank you.

[2:57:43] I want to take one step back because it

[2:57:46] was an important omission that I made.

[2:57:50] We have spreadsheets from every school that we share.

[2:57:56] So the schools are filling out the spreadsheets

[2:57:59] when they find out that there's a student who

[2:58:02] does not have transportation.

[2:58:03] We are addressing it through the spreadsheets.

[2:58:06] And then adding those students to the alpha list.

[2:58:09] That's my fault for that omission.

[2:58:11] But we are -- we're not relying solely upon the alpha list.

[2:58:17] We are actually communicating with schools

[2:58:20] through spreadsheets, through the apps or the data managers.

[2:58:24] Whoever they're designated as.

[2:58:26] The fastest way for us to get students on a bus

[2:58:31] is simply for us to put our heads down

[2:58:35] to continue to route everything, every day.

[2:58:39] For us to continue to partner with Itry to make sure

[2:58:45] we're doing everything we possibly can the right way.

[2:58:50] We want to resolve this as fast as we possibly can.

[2:58:54] And we will continue to work to do so.

[2:58:59] Chair Jenkins: I'm going to jump in.

[2:59:02] Are there any other resources that we can offer?

[2:59:06] Temp staff.

[2:59:08] I know somebody off the street probably

[2:59:10] can't come in and do this.

[2:59:12] I doubt I can.

[2:59:13] But I don't know if we need temp staff for like five days?

[2:59:18] And Doctor Stewart, I appreciate every school year,

[2:59:20] we talk about transportation since I've been on the board.

[2:59:23] It's like a big concern.

[2:59:25] Like barb, I was chair of FFO so even

[2:59:27] on social media, putting out how people get in touch to address

[2:59:31] transportation issues.

[2:59:33] But if need temp staff for seven days

[2:59:36] I feel like, it sounds like that the energy of the board

[2:59:41] is like we can go out there and bring in temp staff.

[2:59:45] Support somebody working additional hours

[2:59:48] during the next week, two weeks to get this fixed.

[2:59:52] >> Yes Ma'am.

[2:59:54] We're bringing in a second TIMS operator next week on Tuesday.

[3:00:00] We had a former operator that moved to another division.

[3:00:03] That we've brought on board to help us as well.

[3:00:06] Just getting them dedicated time that they can sit down

[3:00:10] and they can route and we'll put out the other fires.

[3:00:12] We'll get on the busses.

[3:00:13] We'll do what we have to do but getting them

[3:00:16] that dedicated time is the most important thing.

[3:00:20] >> Just a word.

[3:00:23] I also encourage our families.

[3:00:26] There's direct communication and it's pretty long

[3:00:30] but it does go a long way in terms

[3:00:34] of letting family know what they can do to help us out

[3:00:39] in the situation.

[3:00:40] To Doctor Stewart's point, when I walked the schools,

[3:00:45] principals and assistant principals

[3:00:47] have a pretty good sense of whether it's

[3:00:51] 20 students, 30 students, 50 students who don't have a bus.

[3:00:54] That's not as quick as okay, we have

[3:00:58] to enter the students in the system.

[3:01:01] The system then has to route the students

[3:01:02] and then you have to notify parent like that's

[3:01:05] not the fastest process.

[3:01:07] But I don't know that I would frame it as, on a large scale,

[3:01:14] any given school doesn't know who doesn't have is not still

[3:01:19] working transportation.

[3:01:21] Whether that's through a spreadsheet.

[3:01:24] What I do understand the frustration

[3:01:26] about how fast we can resolve the issue

[3:01:30] and we're looking forward to the upload that occurred today

[3:01:34] to give us a sense of how far we've

[3:01:38] gone to correct that issue.

[3:01:41] But parents, community members, families,

[3:01:44] the district communication that went out

[3:01:47] today would help us as well in terms of resolving this Chair

[3:01:55] Jenkins: I would agree and I know,

[3:01:57] thank you Doctor Stewart for taking some time

[3:01:58] to talk with me this week.

[3:02:00] I also echo the need for the board, the community, definitely

[3:02:04] the board to get frequent updates.

[3:02:07] You know?

[3:02:08] If it's weekly or whatever.

[3:02:11] One thing I don't want to stop you

[3:02:13] guys who are running a report to give to us when

[3:02:15] you can be doing the work.

[3:02:17] So obviously, give us an update.

[3:02:20] Keep us updated until we get to zero requests per minute we just

[3:02:25] need to know that this is getting worked on

[3:02:29] and we are moving quickly to get these requests done.

[3:02:33] I will say --

[3:02:35] I want to go back to George's point about validation.

[3:02:37] We talked a lot you and I about this

[3:02:39] and I said I'm not going to go and do your job.

[3:02:42] I don't want to be the type of board where we reach in

[3:02:45] and start telling staff, who are supposed to do this,

[3:02:49] but I think there are some additional layers of validation

[3:02:52] and I think as we're thinking about how this process works

[3:02:56] and all the process failures that one along the way,

[3:03:00] there are a lot of opportunities.

[3:03:02] And so obviously, think about, like George said, ahead of.

[3:03:09] Those data managers see the numbers,

[3:03:13] they get a report that says we've got 300 kids in our school

[3:03:16] and 200 of them require transportation

[3:03:19] and we have all those numbers across the district

[3:03:22] and we end up with 6000 and you see what TIMS report says.

[3:03:29] We already have a mismatch.

[3:03:30] There's something going on in the system so I just want you

[3:03:33] guys to think about even -- we all fill out that form.

[3:03:36] I am also --

[3:03:37] I want to make sure we're moving up timelines,

[3:03:39] it's going to impact a lot of things.

[3:03:42] We're saying it lightheartedly now in a meeting

[3:03:45] but to families, that means deadlines for things

[3:03:48] are critical.

[3:03:48] That's why when families are like why

[3:03:50] is this deadline moving up?

[3:03:51] This is why.

[3:03:52] So if there's an application deadline for something

[3:03:55] that students need to enroll in.

[3:03:57] If the district moves up their email

[3:03:59] that they send at the end of the year saying

[3:04:01] what is your intention?

[3:04:02] You need to fill it out.

[3:04:04] I know I get in in June or whatever I get it.

[3:04:07] If they move that up to April, we have to make sure as families

[3:04:12] we're filling it out.

[3:04:13] We're not like oh I forgot to fill it out

[3:04:15] and things like that.

[3:04:16] This is only going to work if we also

[3:04:20] help move this because obviously, they

[3:04:22] want to fix this sooner.

[3:04:25] They want to be able to no issue sooner

[3:04:27] but this is going to be a shift across the board.

[3:04:30] I think if we can communicate that very loud, very clear,

[3:04:36] and keep doing that because I hear you.

[3:04:40] I'm just envisioning all the things

[3:04:42] that are going to be impacted across the district.

[3:04:46] Timelines and deadlines for things that families are used to

[3:04:49] are going to completely shift and people

[3:04:52] are going to be asking why and the response should

[3:04:55] be because we need to make sure we get transportation assigned

[3:04:58] sooner to families, however, we can just remind people

[3:05:04] sooner, earlier, the better.

[3:05:06] Because I want to make sure that we

[3:05:08] have enough time that if we have typically 400 issues every year,

[3:05:13] we can clear those even sooner and if there's continued systems

[3:05:17] issues, we identify that as early as possible.

[3:05:20] And then we can roll that out.

[3:05:25] We've answered a lot of my questions and things.

[3:05:30] But I think board members and community members

[3:05:32] have conveyed it's urgent.

[3:05:35] I appreciate the people emailing the board

[3:05:39] and doing things that we didn't we just forwarded it to Primo.

[3:05:43] Please follow the emails.

[3:05:45] Emailing the board is a slowdown in the process.

[3:05:48] Obviously we have people monitoring

[3:05:49] stuff that comes to us but if I can go directly

[3:05:51] to Doctor Stewart and Mr. Allston, please do that.

[3:05:56] We are aware this is an issue.

[3:05:58] So just get it directly to them for people

[3:06:01] who need the email to email anyone

[3:06:03] because it's another step in the process

[3:06:06] that it has to come out of our inbox and go over to them

[3:06:09] and we don't want any more delays with this to.

[3:06:12] Go ahead Barb.

[3:06:13] Vice-Chair Fedders: I just feel like at the pace that we've

[3:06:16] been going, it's going to take two and a half more weeks

[3:06:19] and I just still haven't heard anything

[3:06:21] that suggests that we're going to solve this problem quickly.

[3:06:25] That's just a comment.

[3:06:27] I don't understand why we didn't hire somebody

[3:06:30] faster after the person quit in the middle of the summer.

[3:06:33] I don't understand why we didn't get temps right away.

[3:06:37] Like on August 25th.

[3:06:40] Again, those don't need answers but I

[3:06:42] think as we're doing our review, I just I'm not seeing enough

[3:06:47] I'm upset also like George, very,

[3:06:51] and it's not getting matched.

[3:06:54] I'm not feeling enough urgency in any of this.

[3:06:59] So I don't know.

[3:07:01] I'm not an operations expert but something

[3:07:03] has to happen that's different.

[3:07:06] We had an audit in 2022, maybe there's something in there.

[3:07:14] I have a couple specific suggestions if that's okay?

[3:07:19] I think we need weekly updates but I think the public does too

[3:07:24] and we have a dashboard for Carrboro elementary

[3:07:29] and we have a digital dashboard for the education plan

[3:07:32] but we need a digital dashboard.

[3:07:34] I think Doctor Tracy's point about trust is really important.

[3:07:37] We're about to redistrict.

[3:07:41] --Trice so people have to trust us.

[3:07:44] That's number one.

[3:07:45] Number two, restore all the kids at school

[3:07:47] are going to be held harmless?

[3:07:48] They're not going to turn in those assignments

[3:07:51] and not be docked on their grades

[3:07:52] I'm going to make sure that happens.

[3:07:54] I think we should seriously consider

[3:07:56] having either simultaneously or after the internal review

[3:08:00] that we're doing, an external firm to audit us.

[3:08:05] Because I'm mystified as to why this is just happening to us

[3:08:09] and why this year not last year when it just rolled out

[3:08:12] I'm like I was expecting it to be a bad last year.

[3:08:15] This is just mystifying.

[3:08:17] And so I think we need some help figuring out what went wrong.

[3:08:20] I hate to spend that money but I think

[3:08:22] it would go a long way to restoring trust.

[3:08:24] So those are my four suggestions.

[3:08:27] I don't know if we should vote on them

[3:08:29] or if we can just discuss them or what.

[3:08:33] Chair Jenkins: Thank you Barb.

[3:08:37] I think in terms of updates, I agree with you,

[3:08:40] I think we don't necessarily need to vote on those.

[3:08:43] We can just direct administration

[3:08:44] to provide not only the board but the public weekly updates.

[3:08:47] In terms of where we stand.

[3:08:51] Typically transportation comes in where front of FFO

[3:08:55] we and the stand. full I think maybe,

[3:08:59] typically transportation comes in front of FFO

[3:09:01] and the full board at the beginning of the year anyway

[3:09:03] so we were set to get a transportation update anyway.

[3:09:06] FFO this month and then the full board

[3:09:09] as part of a greater operations update in October

[3:09:12] if I remember the cadence of these updates.

[3:09:14] So I think in that meeting, maybe we

[3:09:17] can talk about next steps after we hear

[3:09:20] and hopefully the staff will have more time

[3:09:22] and then we can direct another transportation audit.

[3:09:26] I think we also probably need to layer

[3:09:28] in like impact of redistricting as well in.

[3:09:33] So that we factor that into.

[3:09:35] So you know, so I think that part will just

[3:09:38] put it in our notation and administration

[3:09:41] know that that's probably going to come.

[3:09:43] As a request.

[3:09:44] And what was that last one?

[3:09:46] Oh there was some other, the audit that's what I was saying.

[3:09:48] Yeah.

[3:09:49] Oh the holding kids harmless.

[3:09:51] I think that's the important part

[3:09:52] I've been seeing and hearing some things about that, I know

[3:09:56] generally like for transportation if kids are late

[3:09:58] and things like that, it gets noted as like excused

[3:10:01] and it's not penalized, they're not penalized for it.

[3:10:04] But I think also Doctor Trice it would go a long way that if kids

[3:10:09] like miss assignments because they've like

[3:10:11] missed the entire first period or whatever,

[3:10:14] that we ask the teachers provide some flexibility.

[3:10:19] >> We'll make sure that happens.

[3:10:22] Chair Jenkins: Okay thank you.

[3:10:24] Any other questions?

[3:10:26] Comments?

[3:10:27] Go ahead.

[3:10:29] >> I had a question about the Tims in terms of where

[3:10:33] they're clocking the one and a half miles or the 1.6 miles I

[3:10:36] think it is where you say it's at the top of the neighborhoods.

[3:10:39] Is our communities becoming more and more dense,

[3:10:43] from the top of our neighborhood to sometimes the back

[3:10:46] of our neighborhoods, we're looking

[3:10:48] at sometimes three quarters of a mile.

[3:10:51] So if the top is saying, is one and a half so to speak,

[3:10:57] or that child's door is which is where they're not gauging

[3:11:00] is well outside of what a walk zone could be because so

[3:11:04] many of our communities are now being interconnected where there

[3:11:07] are different entrances so how are we,

[3:11:10] are those having to be like one offs?

[3:11:12] Because those are whole additional neighborhoods,

[3:11:15] I'll give you even an example like the way Lake Hogan is now

[3:11:19] connecting for the back on 086, where there's homestead and then

[3:11:24] there's 086 and it's going deeper and deeper and it's a new

[3:11:28] subdivision.

[3:11:29] So how would that look to make sure

[3:11:31] that those children that are in the center towards the back

[3:11:34] wouldn't be considered in a walk zone

[3:11:37] because they are much further away

[3:11:39] from the school than the children that

[3:11:41] are facing like Homestead Road.

[3:11:44] I mean I know you guys probably know where I'm talking about,

[3:11:46] if that makes sense to you that's kind of my question.

[3:11:49] How are we looking at that?

[3:11:50] So that our young people aren't looking

[3:11:53] at spaces without sidewalks or safety to get from so far back

[3:12:00] to get to a main road to maybe be able to get a bus.

[3:12:02] Is that something that will be looked at?

[3:12:05] >> Yes Ma'am.

[3:12:06] We will get you an answer.

[3:12:08] >> Thank you.

[3:12:11] Chair Jenkins: Anything else from our members?

[3:12:14] >> I just have one last little thing that actually jogged

[3:12:18] my memory what you said Risa about redistricting.

[3:12:20] I do think that it would be helpful

[3:12:22] as we approach redistricting, the board

[3:12:25] is made aware of plans on how we're

[3:12:28] going to, I mean there's definitely

[3:12:30] going to be an additional lift in burden

[3:12:32] with regard to transportation as we

[3:12:34] change the existing routes quite a bit.

[3:12:36] So I just want to make sure that like we're

[3:12:39] kept abreast of those plans as we approach that.

[3:12:43] Major event.

[3:12:55] Chair Jenkins: Thank you.

[3:13:03] All right.

[3:13:05] Thank you.

[3:13:06] Thank you doctor Stewart.

[3:13:08] Thank you Mr. Ralston.

[3:13:15] Our last item on our agenda is committee reports and sharing.

[3:13:22] Let's see.

[3:13:23] Who we have here.

[3:13:25] I think we've got all the committee's represented right?

[3:13:28] Finance facility and operations.

[3:13:31] Okay.

[3:13:31] You have an upcoming meeting?

[3:13:33] Okay.

[3:13:36] I think it's the eighth, September 8th, 530.

[3:13:43] Okay.

[3:13:44] And hopefully you all will get more updates on this.

[3:13:47] Previous topic.

[3:13:49] Student success?

[3:13:51] >> Yes we are meeting on September the 22nd as our next

[3:14:00] meeting.

[3:14:01] And we will be going over the results of all

[3:14:08] of the testing and things that have just recently come out,

[3:14:11] so it's going to be an important meeting.

[3:14:13] So I'd encourage folks to watch that if they're

[3:14:15] interested to see some of our growth numbers

[3:14:18] and other things that are coming out with those reports.

[3:14:21] Chair Jenkins: Thank you.

[3:14:23] And then policy.

[3:14:25] Our next meeting?

[3:14:27] That's you.

[3:14:28] >> We have our next meeting on September the 15th at 530

[3:14:32] and our last meeting information was on (Indistinct)

[3:14:37] Chair Jenkins: Okay thank you Vicki.

[3:14:38] Any sharing from board members?

[3:14:42] Well I just want to say I know we've had hiccups

[3:14:46] with the opening of school but I will say,

[3:14:48] thank you to the staff doctor Trice and staff and our schools

[3:14:52] and other board members who joined, Doctor twice

[3:14:55] as he visited all the schools in the district.

[3:14:57] I think I made it to all but one and even wrote

[3:15:00] some of the school busses with the kids early in the morning.

[3:15:03] So thank you so much to our staff, the kids were happy

[3:15:09] and in class and excited, it was just

[3:15:11] really really great to see our kids back in school

[3:15:15] and just really excited and energized

[3:15:17] and enjoying lunch and playing outside.

[3:15:20] It was really great.

[3:15:22] To see all of our kiddos back in school.

[3:15:25] So thank you.

[3:15:26] Thank you again, our community our families and especially

[3:15:29] our staff and our schools.

[3:15:31] And with that, I'm looking around,

[3:15:35] our meeting is adjourned.

Board of Education

Agenda

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