1
00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:10,240
Thank you. I would like to welcome everyone. Apologies that we're just a tad behind. But let's

2
00:00:10,240 --> 00:00:15,400
go ahead and get started because we've got a pretty full agenda today. I'm Janet Graham

3
00:00:15,400 --> 00:00:21,560
and I am the chair of the policy committee and I also represent District 7, which is Conway

4
00:00:21,560 --> 00:00:26,280
and Portions of Carolina Forest. And I would ask each board member around the horseshoe

5
00:00:26,280 --> 00:00:33,440
to introduce yourselves, please. My name is David Cook. I represent District 1 and I am

6
00:00:33,440 --> 00:00:40,440
a member of the policy committee. Debbie Edmonds, District 2. Tracy Winters, District 3, and

7
00:00:40,440 --> 00:00:47,480
I serve on the policy committee. Howard Barnard, District 5. Neil James, District 10.

8
00:00:47,480 --> 00:00:58,000
Pam Dawson, District 6. Melanie Wellens, District 8, committee member. James Edwards,

9
00:00:58,000 --> 00:01:04,540
District 9. And Eddie Ingraminterum, Superintendent. I messed up the first time, so. Well, Pam,

10
00:01:04,540 --> 00:01:14,560
Lord Brooks. Tyler Nolemley, sorry. Thank you. Okay. Do we, if everybody's had a chance

11
00:01:14,600 --> 00:01:17,560
to review the agenda, do we have a motion to approve?

12
00:01:17,560 --> 00:01:23,640
So moved. Second. We have a motion and a second. Is there, are there any, is there anybody

13
00:01:23,640 --> 00:01:29,440
against it or do we have any discussion? Okay, so moved. If everyone's had a chance

14
00:01:29,440 --> 00:01:36,240
to review the minutes, we will ask for an approval, but you should have received

15
00:01:36,240 --> 00:01:42,000
just a few minutes ago the updated version that has some minor typographical corrections

16
00:01:42,000 --> 00:01:49,160
on it. I can tell you what they are if you want me to. It's just some wording. Or if

17
00:01:49,160 --> 00:01:54,920
you want to, you can give us a motion to approve. Motion to approve. Second. We have a motion

18
00:01:54,920 --> 00:02:02,720
to approve and a second. All those in favor? Aye. Any opposed? Aye's had it. Okay. For

19
00:02:02,720 --> 00:02:09,960
our new business, Mr. Lee James is going to come before us and give us a review of

20
00:02:10,000 --> 00:02:16,240
some of our results and some of the wording that we may need to shore up in that.

21
00:02:21,760 --> 00:02:26,920
Thank you. So good evening. I'm here to discuss just some, some slight modifications

22
00:02:26,920 --> 00:02:32,440
that I'd like to recommend for our results, more governance policies to bring them

23
00:02:32,440 --> 00:02:37,600
in line with what our current practices are. I'll go through each individually. You'll

24
00:02:37,640 --> 00:02:43,560
see there are very minor changes with the exception of R7. So R1 Literacy. In R1

25
00:02:43,560 --> 00:02:47,560
Literacy, it talks about the overall student performance in the current policy. The

26
00:02:47,560 --> 00:02:50,720
overall student performance will meet or exceed the district consolidated goals.

27
00:02:50,720 --> 00:02:54,320
You'll see the majority of these changes are related to those district consolidated

28
00:02:54,320 --> 00:02:58,680
goals. Those goals are no longer a part of our policy manual. What we are

29
00:02:58,680 --> 00:03:04,200
instead relying on are our strategic, strategic plan performance goals. So our

30
00:03:04,240 --> 00:03:08,680
strategic plan is a document that is updated every year and is recreated or

31
00:03:08,680 --> 00:03:14,000
redeveloped every five years. So that's a part of district practices, part of our

32
00:03:14,000 --> 00:03:17,280
practices in learning services and in other divisions because it affects

33
00:03:17,280 --> 00:03:22,440
everyone. So that will always be up to date and I would recommend that we use

34
00:03:22,440 --> 00:03:30,640
that as the comparison for these results reports. You'll see the same language

35
00:03:30,640 --> 00:03:35,600
in R2 Numeracy, just replacing district consolidated goals with strategic

36
00:03:35,600 --> 00:03:47,120
plan performance goals in R3 Science and in R4 Social Studies. I did not see the

37
00:03:47,120 --> 00:03:55,800
need for amendments for R5 or R6. Those do not relate to any of these goals in

38
00:03:55,800 --> 00:03:59,680
our reports on a variety of areas that are not commonly measured for

39
00:03:59,720 --> 00:04:05,080
accountability. The biggest change that I would like to recommend is actually in

40
00:04:05,080 --> 00:04:11,720
R7, I'm trying to get it to fit on one page here. In R7, current policy states

41
00:04:11,720 --> 00:04:15,480
that college and career readiness will be measured using the on-time graduation

42
00:04:15,480 --> 00:04:22,800
rate and the composite SAT and ACT scores. Since the writing of this

43
00:04:22,800 --> 00:04:27,280
policy, the South Carolina Department of Education has included in its

44
00:04:27,280 --> 00:04:32,640
accountability system for high schools a definition of college and career

45
00:04:32,640 --> 00:04:37,680
readiness which actually relies on I think eight different indicators. So we no

46
00:04:37,680 --> 00:04:40,800
longer have the need to designate what it is whenever it's defined for our

47
00:04:40,800 --> 00:04:46,600
schools and their accountability if you choose to do so. So what I'm

48
00:04:46,600 --> 00:04:49,560
recommending that language be changed to is that the college and career

49
00:04:49,560 --> 00:04:54,720
readiness will be measured using the criteria set forth by the South

50
00:04:54,720 --> 00:04:58,040
Carolina Department of Education Accountability Manual. That will bring

51
00:04:58,040 --> 00:05:01,680
in line with what our schools are responsible for and their efforts. The

52
00:05:01,680 --> 00:05:07,720
college and career readiness rate will meet or exceed the strategic plan

53
00:05:07,720 --> 00:05:12,960
performance goals baseline measure. I didn't want to ignore graduation

54
00:05:12,960 --> 00:05:17,240
rate entirely so I would like to propose leaving that in as a very

55
00:05:17,240 --> 00:05:22,160
important metric for us and the on-time graduation rate will meet

56
00:05:22,200 --> 00:05:27,040
or exceed the strategic plan performance goals baseline measure. SAT and

57
00:05:27,040 --> 00:05:32,240
ACT composite scores are not, they are part of college and career readiness

58
00:05:32,240 --> 00:05:35,320
and will still continue to be reported but it's not necessarily to

59
00:05:35,320 --> 00:05:38,560
stand alone because there's so many other ways kids can become college and

60
00:05:38,560 --> 00:05:44,040
career readiness. So I did recommend that we take that out and those are

61
00:05:44,080 --> 00:05:48,120
the policy changes that I would recommend. Any questions?

62
00:05:53,120 --> 00:05:59,440
Any questions from our committee members? No questions but you know once

63
00:05:59,440 --> 00:06:06,080
again as you did in the other presentation appreciate this time and

64
00:06:06,080 --> 00:06:11,760
going through this and especially the college and career readiness

65
00:06:11,800 --> 00:06:15,880
because recognizing that there are several different ways to measure

66
00:06:15,880 --> 00:06:20,760
that performance but thank you sir. Thank you. Thank you Mr. Cook for

67
00:06:20,760 --> 00:06:24,120
reminding me to thank him for that because we've talked and there's a lot

68
00:06:24,120 --> 00:06:30,680
of work that goes into this so thank you. Oh I'm sorry. Mr. James you

69
00:06:30,680 --> 00:06:37,560
know how many pages are in that plan? Or in which strategic plan?

70
00:06:37,800 --> 00:06:48,000
107? 3. 173? 173 excuse me that was all. It's rather extensive. Yeah that's a

71
00:06:48,000 --> 00:06:56,840
huge. It is. What's in there is excellent. There needs to be some way we

72
00:06:56,840 --> 00:07:04,520
can pull that out. Putting in the policy manual or something so you can

73
00:07:04,560 --> 00:07:10,520
refer to that without having to go to a 173 page document. We do have an

74
00:07:10,520 --> 00:07:14,560
area on our accountability website where we have just the strategic plan

75
00:07:14,560 --> 00:07:18,080
performance goals listed entirely separately so you're correct. It is a

76
00:07:18,080 --> 00:07:21,080
very large document. It has many elements that are required from the

77
00:07:21,080 --> 00:07:26,680
state and of course it is rather robust even in comparison to others. I'm

78
00:07:26,680 --> 00:07:31,640
sorry. A lot of board work to play. But we have already separated out

79
00:07:31,680 --> 00:07:36,120
performance goals since that's what this part focuses on. I certainly don't have

80
00:07:36,120 --> 00:07:42,280
any problem with you changing it. I just hate to see us know the policy

81
00:07:42,280 --> 00:07:46,280
manual is way too long and now we've got a strategic plan that's

82
00:07:46,280 --> 00:07:53,640
underneath 173 pages long. It should be getting shorter not longer. I hope that

83
00:07:53,640 --> 00:07:57,240
our next strategic plan cycle results in a more abbreviated plan. Thank you

84
00:07:57,240 --> 00:08:02,080
very much. Mr. James. That's like that's a lot of shot. It is just a

85
00:08:02,080 --> 00:08:07,000
comment on getting more verbose when we're going to get shorter.

86
00:08:10,160 --> 00:08:16,920
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. I'm sorry. Yes. Mr. James. Thank you so

87
00:08:16,920 --> 00:08:22,480
much. This now is my understanding that this will sync us up with the

88
00:08:22,480 --> 00:08:27,400
reports that you provide us on the our report will now be synced directly to

89
00:08:27,400 --> 00:08:32,360
the strategic plan performance goals. We know that we have a measurement

90
00:08:32,360 --> 00:08:36,800
objective and in that measurement objective if I'm not mistaken don't

91
00:08:36,800 --> 00:08:40,920
we have year over year incremental gains embedded in those strategic

92
00:08:40,920 --> 00:08:46,320
performance goals on many of the. We do. All of these were written as

93
00:08:46,320 --> 00:08:49,120
comparison to the baseline measure we talked about last time about the

94
00:08:49,160 --> 00:08:54,360
importance of having lofty goals for us to strive to attain. And we also

95
00:08:54,360 --> 00:08:58,880
talked about how we should compare itself to show the growth to show how we

96
00:08:58,880 --> 00:09:02,520
have grown. So every time that I make a report for a results report I

97
00:09:02,520 --> 00:09:09,720
include that information in there. Great. I'm very very pleased to see

98
00:09:09,720 --> 00:09:15,240
that we are eliminating the confusion of having the district consolidated

99
00:09:15,240 --> 00:09:19,240
goals which are no longer in many cases applicable. Thank you so much for

100
00:09:19,240 --> 00:09:26,000
going to the trouble of syncing this up. Thank you. Thank you. Next on our

101
00:09:26,000 --> 00:09:33,040
agenda is G C one board self assessment. And we have discussed this several

102
00:09:33,040 --> 00:09:40,400
times and you have received in your packet a sample self assessment that

103
00:09:41,000 --> 00:09:45,200
from the South Carolina School Board Association. I did not receive any

104
00:09:45,240 --> 00:09:49,920
other samples from any board members. So if everybody's had a chance to look at

105
00:09:49,920 --> 00:09:59,840
this. Do any of our committee members have any discussion on this item. Yes,

106
00:09:59,840 --> 00:10:06,120
sir. Mr. Cook. So one I just you know we've discussed this before. I like

107
00:10:06,120 --> 00:10:10,280
anything with metrics kind of makes things easy for me. I like to score

108
00:10:10,320 --> 00:10:17,000
out. And I think that this is very thorough. I believe that it really it runs

109
00:10:17,000 --> 00:10:23,360
through pretty much everything in the G C's all the way down and then also to be

110
00:10:23,360 --> 00:10:28,960
able to have a little bit of narrative to go along with it. I think it just

111
00:10:28,960 --> 00:10:33,800
pulls it all together. I like this personally. I would hope that everybody

112
00:10:33,800 --> 00:10:40,360
else who is if hopefully everybody's had a chance to look at this. We are

113
00:10:40,360 --> 00:10:46,200
supposed to do this before I think our first meeting in January. So we really

114
00:10:46,200 --> 00:10:53,040
need to get this done so that we all can this fill out this form and assess

115
00:10:53,040 --> 00:10:59,440
ourselves. And we also need to make sure that when we do it that we get

116
00:10:59,440 --> 00:11:05,040
the results back in a timely manner and that we are meeting to discuss what those

117
00:11:05,040 --> 00:11:13,560
results are. So that will come later, I suppose, but is is the we're going to

118
00:11:14,520 --> 00:11:19,640
what I propose is that we if we adopt this that we be ready in January at our

119
00:11:19,640 --> 00:11:21,400
first meeting to do this assessment.

120
00:11:21,920 --> 00:11:28,520
Yes, sir. And if I could, Madam Chairman, so I'm guessing that we're all going to do

121
00:11:28,520 --> 00:11:33,880
one. Yes, then we're going to sit down at the meeting and come together. Somebody

122
00:11:33,880 --> 00:11:38,840
has to compile it. Great. And then give it to us. Give us a chance to look it

123
00:11:38,840 --> 00:11:47,480
over. And then we need to have a discussion. Thank you. Okay.

124
00:11:48,480 --> 00:11:55,760
Yes, ma'am. Well, no board members have any committee members have any any other

125
00:11:55,760 --> 00:12:03,200
comment? Yes, ma'am. Under each in our policy manual under each one, almost all of

126
00:12:03,200 --> 00:12:08,440
them like under GC2, GC3, there are requirements for these board self

127
00:12:08,440 --> 00:12:14,800
assessments. So since in the policy manual, it says, for example, we're

128
00:12:14,840 --> 00:12:18,840
supposed to do a board self assessment pertinent pertinent to governing

129
00:12:18,840 --> 00:12:25,440
commitments. That's GC2. And then we're supposed to do one under GC3 pertinent

130
00:12:25,440 --> 00:12:31,720
to board job description, one under GC4 pertinent to officers role. So is the

131
00:12:31,720 --> 00:12:36,160
proposal that we're going to use the same board self assessment for each one

132
00:12:36,200 --> 00:12:42,280
of the board self assessments that are called out under each one of the

133
00:12:42,840 --> 00:12:47,800
governance culture items? If I'm understanding what you're asking, are

134
00:12:47,800 --> 00:12:51,360
you asking if we're going to do one for each one of those? Are we going to use

135
00:12:51,360 --> 00:12:55,880
this one document for all of that? That's the question. Okay, I am assuming

136
00:12:55,880 --> 00:12:59,400
that we're going to use one document for all of that. And if anybody has

137
00:12:59,400 --> 00:13:05,320
anything that they want to single out, there's some space at the end that

138
00:13:05,320 --> 00:13:08,160
you can say, well, none of this was addressed in this document. And I

139
00:13:08,160 --> 00:13:12,600
would like to see this addressed. That would be my suggestion. And do we have

140
00:13:12,600 --> 00:13:17,880
clarification on who specifically is going to be tasked with compiling the

141
00:13:17,880 --> 00:13:22,520
results and presenting the report? I was assuming it would be Amanda. She's

142
00:13:22,520 --> 00:13:27,840
not here. There she is. Amanda's volunteering. She's got her hand up.

143
00:13:28,320 --> 00:13:32,240
That was my assumption.

144
00:13:35,760 --> 00:13:37,920
Does anybody have any objection to that?

145
00:13:39,520 --> 00:13:40,840
Thank you so much. Thank you.

146
00:13:43,840 --> 00:13:48,960
Okay, we're now down to GC eight item number three, which is in GC 10, if

147
00:13:48,960 --> 00:13:54,720
applicable, board member employment slash subcontracting with Ori County

148
00:13:54,760 --> 00:13:58,800
schools. And Ms. Wellens will be discussing that with us.

149
00:14:00,880 --> 00:14:06,560
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I just wanted to bring it to the policy

150
00:14:06,560 --> 00:14:14,560
committee's attention that we currently have no wording. And thank

151
00:14:14,560 --> 00:14:18,080
you, Kenny, for providing the information that you've provided to

152
00:14:18,080 --> 00:14:33,120
us. No wording in our in GC eight under governments policies about board

153
00:14:33,120 --> 00:14:39,160
members working directly for Ori County schools and or subcontractors.

154
00:14:39,360 --> 00:14:54,680
Um, and according to the information that Kenny provided 59, 19, 300, um, they

155
00:14:54,680 --> 00:14:57,000
are not permitted, correct, Kenny?

156
00:15:00,000 --> 00:15:07,300
Good evening. Yes, I can share information with you in reference to this. There's a South

157
00:15:07,300 --> 00:15:14,680
Carolina Code of Law section 5919-300, which talks about board members receiving pay as

158
00:15:14,680 --> 00:15:21,000
a teacher. It says it shall be unlawful for a school trustee to receive pay as a teacher

159
00:15:21,000 --> 00:15:27,600
of a free public school that is located in the same district of which such person is

160
00:15:27,600 --> 00:15:35,920
a trustee. So the law is in place in reference to receiving pay, and that would be all inclusive

161
00:15:35,920 --> 00:15:42,920
pay coming directly from the district or pay coming through a third party. What also we

162
00:15:42,920 --> 00:15:49,480
have in researching this particular topic, there is a South Carolina Attorney General's

163
00:15:49,480 --> 00:15:57,240
opinion that is dated January 5, 2016 that also talks about this type of relationship

164
00:15:57,240 --> 00:16:02,920
in reference to what is described, legal term described as master-servant relationship

165
00:16:02,920 --> 00:16:09,080
or one party having authority over another. And it also incorporates not only a teacher

166
00:16:09,080 --> 00:16:15,440
role but other roles that may be within a school system from an employee standpoint.

167
00:16:15,440 --> 00:16:20,600
And also in looking at this, I have looked at language from other school boards in the

168
00:16:20,600 --> 00:16:26,800
state of South Carolina to make sure that whatever language is suggested here mirrors

169
00:16:26,840 --> 00:16:32,800
or is similar to those, and I have some suggested language for you for consideration in reference

170
00:16:32,800 --> 00:16:38,920
to it, which will include not only what the statute says but expands it for those that

171
00:16:38,920 --> 00:16:47,920
need a further definition of clarification. Do you have those languages now? Yes, I do.

172
00:16:47,920 --> 00:17:09,320
Again, this is the law portion of it. And this is a portion that I was able to find in

173
00:17:09,320 --> 00:17:16,280
some other school board policies in South Carolina where it expands it not only, again,

174
00:17:16,320 --> 00:17:20,760
for just teacher but it also talks about otherwise being employed in other positions

175
00:17:20,760 --> 00:17:26,800
and that it's irrelevant as to the source of the pay if it's coming directly from the

176
00:17:26,800 --> 00:17:32,560
district or third party. This particular school board did include temporary agencies when

177
00:17:32,560 --> 00:17:39,480
it comes to substituting teachers, substitutes for other employment pieces as well. And

178
00:17:39,480 --> 00:17:45,760
it talks about whether someone is a volunteer and defines whether what that is, if you're

179
00:17:45,760 --> 00:17:54,520
in a volunteer capacity which you are having responsibilities or overseeing certain aspects

180
00:17:54,520 --> 00:18:01,200
of the district or if you are responding to or directly report to superintendent, principal,

181
00:18:01,200 --> 00:18:07,720
a district or school administrator, those types of things. So, again, this is extracted

182
00:18:07,720 --> 00:18:14,280
from information from the law but also from the Attorney General's opinion that was

183
00:18:14,400 --> 00:18:15,880
established in 2016.

184
00:18:19,960 --> 00:18:27,400
Okay. So, essentially what we're saying is any board member who is a seated board member

185
00:18:28,400 --> 00:18:34,520
enters into conflict of interest if you are being paid by the district in which you sit on the board.

186
00:18:35,320 --> 00:18:41,480
That's specifically with the law and right. And then the Attorney General expands it so the

187
00:18:41,480 --> 00:18:47,640
pay element is also out of the question as far as coming from either the district or third party

188
00:18:47,640 --> 00:18:53,160
but also if you're not getting paid. It's a volunteer. A volunteer in a position of some

189
00:18:53,160 --> 00:18:59,480
capacity within the system that it could in essence create a conflict of interest relationship

190
00:18:59,480 --> 00:19:04,440
with that being in that position paid or not paid because you also in a higher position

191
00:19:04,440 --> 00:19:08,040
by being a board member. That's the master servant. Relationship.

192
00:19:08,600 --> 00:19:14,200
Okay. Any committee members have any questions or commentary on that? Yes, sir. Mr. Cook.

193
00:19:15,880 --> 00:19:21,880
Thank you for all your clarification, Kenny. I want to go back to the volunteering a little bit.

194
00:19:22,680 --> 00:19:29,400
So, as I look through this and this is something that I stopped doing when I got on the board

195
00:19:29,400 --> 00:19:36,360
that I want to make the volunteers say for the band, you know, if I'm working for the band,

196
00:19:36,360 --> 00:19:43,720
if you really look down and get into this, any principals, athletic director or other school

197
00:19:43,720 --> 00:19:48,840
or district administrator, I guess even volunteering for the band could be considered

198
00:19:49,480 --> 00:19:56,920
under this, come under this. Is that correct? It could, sir. Again, the impression that you

199
00:19:56,920 --> 00:20:04,280
would have in your role, dual roles could create a potential conflict. Now, say for example,

200
00:20:04,280 --> 00:20:09,800
if you're volunteering on the day that you're reading to kids, that's a little bit different.

201
00:20:10,680 --> 00:20:14,440
It's not a position that you would have, like you're volunteering to help

202
00:20:14,440 --> 00:20:21,000
do something established with a specific group or activity. Let's say they gave me

203
00:20:21,000 --> 00:20:25,880
a responsibility to watch this group and be responsible for that group. That's kind of...

204
00:20:25,880 --> 00:20:31,240
Yeah, right. Like you being a chaperone, that type of thing, that might be one of those

205
00:20:31,240 --> 00:20:39,960
issues that could be a conflict of interest. But if the group is assigned to clean the road

206
00:20:39,960 --> 00:20:44,440
for Adopt a Highway and you volunteer in that capacity, that's different.

207
00:20:44,440 --> 00:20:48,680
Great. Thank you. Any other committee members?

208
00:20:51,640 --> 00:20:54,200
Ms. Edmonds, I think, and then Mr. James.

209
00:20:54,200 --> 00:20:58,760
Okay, so just so we do the right thing. We want to do the right thing and make

210
00:20:58,760 --> 00:21:07,880
sure because unlike you, I didn't quit going to volunteer to read, so I should not go to read.

211
00:21:07,880 --> 00:21:12,760
No, no. You're volunteering to read. That's not really in a position. That's volunteering your

212
00:21:12,760 --> 00:21:18,760
time to read to kids. So that's not like you're in a solid position where

213
00:21:19,320 --> 00:21:23,800
superior versus someone of a lesser position. Okay. All right. Thank you.

214
00:21:24,440 --> 00:21:33,240
Yes, ma'am. What if you're volunteering for staff in the office so that they can have Christmas

215
00:21:33,240 --> 00:21:40,440
lunch or something like that? That's a position that you're substituting yourself in,

216
00:21:40,440 --> 00:21:44,840
so that may be a great area that could potentially be a conflict of interest.

217
00:21:44,840 --> 00:21:49,320
Okay. Thank you. And my suggestion to you, when there is a doubt or question,

218
00:21:49,320 --> 00:21:53,320
err on the side of caution. Mr. James.

219
00:21:53,320 --> 00:22:01,240
Mr. Jenrett, I may also have, I guess, stepped in it. I have been responsible for building the

220
00:22:01,240 --> 00:22:08,920
sets for a chorus production. And in the building of those sets, I had students assisting me.

221
00:22:10,040 --> 00:22:15,240
I was solely a volunteer working for the Coral Director. Is that an issue?

222
00:22:16,040 --> 00:22:22,520
I see that as a little bit different, because what capacity are you in a

223
00:22:23,080 --> 00:22:27,160
control, controlling over somebody else? I mean, you said you had others,

224
00:22:27,160 --> 00:22:31,240
students working in building, but you're sort of joining them to build something,

225
00:22:31,240 --> 00:22:35,720
so I don't know if that's really the same. Well, I just want to make sure,

226
00:22:35,720 --> 00:22:40,280
because I see this as a really gray area. We're getting into the weeds.

227
00:22:41,000 --> 00:22:46,440
I think the intent is crystal clear. As a board member, we're not supposed to be in a

228
00:22:46,440 --> 00:22:53,000
position that would influence or put the principal or assistant principal in a position that they may

229
00:22:53,000 --> 00:22:58,760
not want to do their job, because we're the ones that were involved in the supervision of kids.

230
00:22:58,760 --> 00:23:04,520
I understand that. But at the same time, I think we all got into this business because we

231
00:23:04,520 --> 00:23:09,640
wanted to make the schools a better place. We had children, grandchildren that are going

232
00:23:09,640 --> 00:23:14,920
through the schools, so we want to be participating in some way, so that's a fine line.

233
00:23:15,880 --> 00:23:23,640
I guess would there be a, if we were to be involved in an activity, should we have a legal

234
00:23:23,640 --> 00:23:28,600
interpretation by you to say it's okay before we agree to undertake a certain activity?

235
00:23:29,800 --> 00:23:35,320
That's fine as far as the suggestion, whether it's thumbs up or thumbs down with certain

236
00:23:35,400 --> 00:23:41,720
activities. But I would look at it like this. If you're working in a volunteering in a capacity

237
00:23:41,720 --> 00:23:48,920
that is a position of some sort within the system, then that clearly, to me, is a conflict of

238
00:23:48,920 --> 00:23:53,800
interest. Or are you subbing to do something that is a service that an employee would do

239
00:23:53,800 --> 00:23:58,840
normally, that type of thing? But devoting your time to help the betterment of the school,

240
00:23:58,840 --> 00:24:04,440
the community, I think it's a little bit different than the other volunteer aspect that

241
00:24:05,240 --> 00:24:10,280
the intent of the opinion is based on. Mr.

242
00:24:13,640 --> 00:24:20,600
Kenny, may I ask, so in my mind, I'm drawing a distinction and you correct me if I'm wrong.

243
00:24:22,040 --> 00:24:27,240
If that person wants to volunteer, but they're having some sort of

244
00:24:27,240 --> 00:24:33,560
discretion or authority in that position that they're wanting to volunteer for,

245
00:24:33,560 --> 00:24:38,600
then it would be best not to serve. That's correct. Okay. Mr. Varnit.

246
00:24:41,160 --> 00:24:50,040
Mr. General Rat, you and I have spoken about what I feel was another conflict of interest

247
00:24:51,000 --> 00:25:03,000
in board members recusing themselves. I think the law clearly says when there's an issue

248
00:25:06,200 --> 00:25:16,520
that any board member has someone in their family or close friends, relatives,

249
00:25:16,520 --> 00:25:27,240
that receives a financial benefit, they must recuse themselves from discussion and from voting.

250
00:25:28,200 --> 00:25:35,000
Your answer is you can recuse from an individual. I don't believe that's what the law says.

251
00:25:35,720 --> 00:25:41,320
And what I'd like you to do, Mr. General Rat, is give me the legal opinion.

252
00:25:41,880 --> 00:25:50,440
I want that recorded on the video and in the minutes. And then I'm going to go to the

253
00:25:50,440 --> 00:25:57,960
South Carolina Ethics Commission and ask them for an opinion. Mr. Varnit, does the recusal that

254
00:25:57,960 --> 00:26:03,560
you're talking about, does it pertain to this issue right here with the care custody and control

255
00:26:04,120 --> 00:26:09,800
exerted over some of our employees and the act of conflict of interest?

256
00:26:10,360 --> 00:26:16,920
Yes. It's a conflict of interest. I'll give you an example. Last week we voted on a holiday bonus.

257
00:26:17,960 --> 00:26:21,320
Okay. Is it possible for us to separate these?

258
00:26:21,320 --> 00:26:26,520
No. I don't think so because that's a conflict of interest and it needs to be

259
00:26:26,520 --> 00:26:32,840
covered in the same paragraph. And it needs to be specific writing in that.

260
00:26:33,800 --> 00:26:43,080
We have a worm, a word of mouth. When I ask Kenny, Kenny says, as long as it's the way we've done it.

261
00:26:44,040 --> 00:26:50,040
Sir, there's a law that's an exception. And it is also found on the South Carolina Ethics

262
00:26:50,040 --> 00:26:55,400
Commission website in reference to large groups. And that's a large group exception.

263
00:26:55,960 --> 00:27:01,960
The large group exception means that you're voting for mass of large group of individuals,

264
00:27:01,960 --> 00:27:08,600
that type of thing. And when doing so, that if the board member has a family member

265
00:27:09,800 --> 00:27:15,320
that is receiving the same, nothing greater than, then they are able to vote and block

266
00:27:15,320 --> 00:27:21,000
the large groups. What we have done in the past historically is that in the event that a

267
00:27:21,000 --> 00:27:25,960
board member does have a family member, they still complete the recusal form and state

268
00:27:25,960 --> 00:27:30,200
their family member. And they also state verbally that they're voting for the group

269
00:27:30,200 --> 00:27:36,360
except their family member. But there is the large exception group. And that's what happened

270
00:27:36,360 --> 00:27:44,680
at the last meeting with each board member. Thank you very much. And I would add too that if

271
00:27:45,800 --> 00:27:51,480
you're looking at, if you have care, custody or control of a situation, you have that master

272
00:27:51,480 --> 00:27:55,800
servant relationship. And that's where the conflict is coming from. And I think we all

273
00:27:55,800 --> 00:28:05,640
understand that. Okay. Everybody good? Okay. May I ask a question? Certainly. Is the next step

274
00:28:05,640 --> 00:28:14,680
that this proposed change to GC8 will come before us as a business item? We will. Thank you.

275
00:28:15,880 --> 00:28:21,000
Along with any, any others that we discuss that need to come as well. Thank you.

276
00:28:21,080 --> 00:28:24,840
Thank you, sir. Oh, well, you might as well stay there.

277
00:28:27,000 --> 00:28:34,200
Next, we're discussing electronic participation in board meetings and possibility of proxy. I

278
00:28:34,200 --> 00:28:40,840
think that was on the original one. Yes. And doing research and references to this topic,

279
00:28:41,480 --> 00:28:46,120
of course, you may be familiar with some of you on the board at the time

280
00:28:47,080 --> 00:28:54,680
and some of you were not. But during COVID, the practice was to have meetings virtually to conduct

281
00:28:54,680 --> 00:29:02,440
business. And at some point in time, the director from the state level is to all board meetings to

282
00:29:02,440 --> 00:29:08,040
occur in person. And so we moved into that direction. Actually, we moved in that direction

283
00:29:08,040 --> 00:29:14,840
prior to the information coming down from the state to do so. And with that in mind,

284
00:29:15,800 --> 00:29:22,840
so the electronic or virtual option was being used then. And for most school boards that are out

285
00:29:22,840 --> 00:29:29,480
there now, they are conducting their meetings in person with individuals all appearing in person,

286
00:29:29,480 --> 00:29:37,720
voting in person by hand, by voice, et cetera. There are few that do some electronic options,

287
00:29:37,720 --> 00:29:42,760
but those options are very specific as to when they were, when they are to occur.

288
00:29:42,760 --> 00:29:47,720
And there are some components that are out there that you have to take into consideration.

289
00:29:48,520 --> 00:29:52,760
One being the connectivity issue. You may have issues as far as connecting

290
00:29:54,360 --> 00:29:59,800
and with whomever, wherever the person is and the board room.

291
00:30:00,000 --> 00:30:05,920
There are also issues, I think most importantly, that overshadows that, the issues of confidentiality

292
00:30:05,920 --> 00:30:12,560
in reference to who's on the other end, who has access, or with the capabilities of highly

293
00:30:12,560 --> 00:30:18,840
intelligent folks, they're able to tap in to your connection and join you when you don't

294
00:30:18,840 --> 00:30:24,640
need or want them to join you. Also, the confidentiality aspect of things happening

295
00:30:24,640 --> 00:30:32,320
in reference to the topics that you would discuss by law in executive session. So, most boards

296
00:30:32,320 --> 00:30:39,120
are doing it in person, voice vote, in person votes, et cetera, and just some language that

297
00:30:39,120 --> 00:30:44,840
I've seen is in reference to all votes by members would be by hand or voice vote and

298
00:30:44,840 --> 00:30:51,360
also there's no proxy voting when it comes to voting at the board level. So again, that's

299
00:30:51,360 --> 00:30:59,880
what most are doing, just want to share that, but they are up to you that do the electronic

300
00:30:59,880 --> 00:31:04,080
connection, but there are some concerns in reference to that.

301
00:31:04,080 --> 00:31:09,480
Discussion? Mr. Cook.

302
00:31:09,480 --> 00:31:16,880
Thank you, Mr. Graham. So, I've been thinking about this a lot. It's easy for me to, you

303
00:31:16,920 --> 00:31:21,400
know, I drive over an hour to get here every meeting that I come to and it's easy for me

304
00:31:21,400 --> 00:31:26,600
to go, oh, that would be great for me. I zoom every day and I do it all the time. But we

305
00:31:26,600 --> 00:31:32,080
bring up these, you know, connectivity is not usually a problem, but I do start thinking

306
00:31:32,080 --> 00:31:37,120
of confidentiality, safety and security. One of the other things that I think of

307
00:31:37,120 --> 00:31:42,960
is, I guess I have no other way to describe it other than, well, wow, this could really

308
00:31:43,000 --> 00:31:47,760
just become a thing for somebody. I mean, at some point we could go, oh, this is so convenient.

309
00:31:47,760 --> 00:31:53,440
I'll just, eh, I don't feel like going tonight. I'm going to just do this. And, you know,

310
00:31:53,440 --> 00:32:00,440
I feel like that could turn into an issue. And the other part about it is, if I'm not

311
00:32:00,440 --> 00:32:05,440
going to be here, which I've probably missed a couple meetings, I guess, in my two years,

312
00:32:05,440 --> 00:32:11,640
but I am fully confident that everybody else who's sitting at this board right now can

313
00:32:11,640 --> 00:32:17,320
make good and sound decisions. And I believe that that's, you know, we are a board that

314
00:32:17,320 --> 00:32:22,720
works as one together. And I do, you know, I trust everybody here. So I don't think,

315
00:32:22,720 --> 00:32:26,920
you know, for me, you know, if this were ever to come do a vote, I would probably not

316
00:32:26,920 --> 00:32:33,920
vote for it. Thank you, ma'am. I also, I feel that way as well. Because I love

317
00:32:34,240 --> 00:32:41,240
phoning in and zooming in. But I do understand the need for me to personally be here. If

318
00:32:44,080 --> 00:32:49,080
I'm sick, I'm not coming here. And I don't want to call in. And I don't want to zoom

319
00:32:49,080 --> 00:32:54,080
in. If I'm on vacation, I'm not zooming in. If there's an emergency, I'm going to

320
00:32:54,080 --> 00:32:59,200
take care of it. I'm probably not going to be here. And just like Mr. Cook said,

321
00:32:59,240 --> 00:33:05,440
we have 12 highly intelligent people on this board. They are perfectly capable of making

322
00:33:05,440 --> 00:33:09,960
decisions. In my absence, I feel like I think it would be presumptuous of me to think that

323
00:33:09,960 --> 00:33:15,320
if I'm not here, you can't make a right decision. I just, I know that's not true.

324
00:33:15,320 --> 00:33:22,320
So I would be voting for us to be present at a meeting to participate and to vote.

325
00:33:23,320 --> 00:33:27,320
I think that's what our constituents expect. Yes, ma'am.

326
00:33:27,320 --> 00:33:34,320
I feel the same way as Mr. Cook and yourself. My question is, we still get to give our proxy

327
00:33:36,480 --> 00:33:39,320
during committee meetings, however.

328
00:33:39,320 --> 00:33:46,320
Yes, that's different. And we need to clean that verbiage up, too. Yes, ma'am.

329
00:33:47,320 --> 00:33:48,320
Ms. Whelan?

330
00:33:48,320 --> 00:33:49,320
I'm good.

331
00:33:49,320 --> 00:33:53,320
Any other board members?

332
00:33:53,320 --> 00:34:02,320
Is there proposed language to amend the current policy manual that identifies that we're allowed to

333
00:34:02,320 --> 00:34:08,320
provide proxy for committee meetings? I know it was bit ambiguous in our current policy manual.

334
00:34:08,320 --> 00:34:13,320
The committee meetings is stated in the committee meetings to do that, but we can make it

335
00:34:13,320 --> 00:34:16,320
explicitly clear as far as board meetings are concerned.

336
00:34:16,320 --> 00:34:23,320
I think it would be helpful to be as direct and unambiguous as possible in the policy manual.

337
00:34:23,320 --> 00:34:30,320
So if I might ask the policy committee to consider cleaning that language up, as the chairwoman suggests.

338
00:34:32,320 --> 00:34:37,320
I would ask that you give us some language that would be crystal clear.

339
00:34:37,320 --> 00:34:45,320
And I would suggest that we tie all these things up before the end of this fiscal year.

340
00:34:45,320 --> 00:34:49,320
Not fiscal year, this calendar year.

341
00:34:49,320 --> 00:34:55,320
So when we meet again on Wednesday, could you have that for us?

342
00:34:55,320 --> 00:35:01,320
And maybe we put something on the agenda to discuss more if we need to.

343
00:35:01,320 --> 00:35:02,320
Yes.

344
00:35:02,320 --> 00:35:10,320
And just to remind all board members, we do have on schedule two special call meetings after tonight,

345
00:35:10,320 --> 00:35:15,320
one on December 11th and another on December 19th.

346
00:35:15,320 --> 00:35:22,320
So there are agendas that these items can be added to get those matters voted upon.

347
00:35:22,320 --> 00:35:27,320
So if you could get us the language before Wednesday, we can look at it, think about it,

348
00:35:27,320 --> 00:35:32,320
discuss it on Wednesday, and then maybe have it as a business item on the night.

349
00:35:32,320 --> 00:35:34,320
Is it the 19th?

350
00:35:34,320 --> 00:35:36,320
You can do that, or yes.

351
00:35:36,320 --> 00:35:38,320
Yes, you can do that for the 19th.

352
00:35:38,320 --> 00:35:40,320
Can we vote on it this next?

353
00:35:40,320 --> 00:35:50,320
Well, if there is the desire of the committee to forward to and you're reporting tonight a suggestion,

354
00:35:50,320 --> 00:35:55,320
then you discuss it tonight and it can be voted on December 11th.

355
00:35:56,320 --> 00:35:58,320
If that's the desire of the committee.

356
00:35:58,320 --> 00:35:59,320
Yes, ma'am.

357
00:35:59,320 --> 00:36:00,320
Are we talking about two different things?

358
00:36:00,320 --> 00:36:05,320
One, the verbiage on the screen, and then two, the proxy voting, verbiage.

359
00:36:05,320 --> 00:36:06,320
All right.

360
00:36:06,320 --> 00:36:08,320
Which one are we doing this evening?

361
00:36:08,320 --> 00:36:13,320
We're talking about number five, electronic participation in board meetings.

362
00:36:13,320 --> 00:36:18,320
That would be at the next one once he gives us verbiage.

363
00:36:18,320 --> 00:36:23,320
However, this in front of us, is that for this evening?

364
00:36:23,320 --> 00:36:24,320
Do we need to make a motion?

365
00:36:24,320 --> 00:36:25,320
No.

366
00:36:25,320 --> 00:36:26,320
Not now.

367
00:36:26,320 --> 00:36:27,320
Not now.

368
00:36:27,320 --> 00:36:28,320
Okay.

369
00:36:28,320 --> 00:36:29,320
No.

370
00:36:29,320 --> 00:36:35,320
Do you want all the items that you discussed to be voted on together in unison?

371
00:36:35,320 --> 00:36:42,320
If so, then that could be done on the 11th, and you discuss those items as you report them out tonight,

372
00:36:42,320 --> 00:36:43,320
if that's what you want to do?

373
00:36:43,320 --> 00:36:49,320
I want to be as clear as possible to our board members and also to the public as to what we're doing.

374
00:36:49,320 --> 00:36:53,320
So I think that the more we have it in public, the clearer it'll be.

375
00:36:53,320 --> 00:36:57,320
So if we vote in a block, sometimes things get lost and misrepresented.

376
00:36:57,320 --> 00:37:00,320
So I would just like to bring it forth one at a time.

377
00:37:00,320 --> 00:37:02,320
That is my suggestion to the committee.

378
00:37:02,320 --> 00:37:04,320
What do you think?

379
00:37:04,320 --> 00:37:05,320
I'm good with that.

380
00:37:05,320 --> 00:37:06,320
I'm good with that.

381
00:37:06,320 --> 00:37:10,320
I'm good.

382
00:37:10,320 --> 00:37:11,320
Okay.

383
00:37:11,320 --> 00:37:13,320
Thank you.

384
00:37:13,320 --> 00:37:20,320
I guess our next meeting date is Wednesday?

385
00:37:21,320 --> 00:37:22,320
We're not meeting.

386
00:37:22,320 --> 00:37:23,320
It's a policy committee.

387
00:37:23,320 --> 00:37:27,320
Not the policy committee, but the board is meeting a special call for you.

388
00:37:27,320 --> 00:37:34,320
And just to reiterate why, on December 11th, the board will be, after its announcement,

389
00:37:34,320 --> 00:37:38,320
this evening of the top three finalists, the board will be conducting those interviews

390
00:37:38,320 --> 00:37:40,320
on the 11th in a special call meeting.

391
00:37:40,320 --> 00:37:43,320
And the interviews will be conducted in the executive session.

392
00:37:43,320 --> 00:37:47,320
But because the board is meeting and you have to develop an agenda,

393
00:37:47,320 --> 00:37:52,320
then add other items as you deem fit for that purpose.

394
00:37:52,320 --> 00:37:55,320
If we take care of everything we need to do on the 11th,

395
00:37:55,320 --> 00:37:59,320
the policy committee probably doesn't need to meet again until 25,

396
00:37:59,320 --> 00:38:05,320
which would need to be January, I would think.

397
00:38:05,320 --> 00:38:15,320
Is that convenient for y'all?

398
00:38:15,320 --> 00:38:18,320
How about January the 27th?

399
00:38:18,320 --> 00:38:21,320
At four?

400
00:38:21,320 --> 00:38:23,320
January 27th.

401
00:38:23,320 --> 00:38:24,320
I'm sorry.

402
00:38:24,320 --> 00:38:26,320
Ms. Graham, I think that's our second meeting.

403
00:38:26,320 --> 00:38:29,320
In January, the facilities committee has a standing committee.

404
00:38:29,320 --> 00:38:30,320
Okay, that's right.

405
00:38:30,320 --> 00:38:32,320
Well, we can do three then.

406
00:38:32,320 --> 00:38:34,320
Thank you.

407
00:38:34,320 --> 00:38:44,320
Ms. Graham, could you put some times on the self assessment?

408
00:38:44,320 --> 00:38:49,320
In other words, you need to have it filled out

409
00:38:49,320 --> 00:38:57,320
and needs to be in by such and such a date so she can consult.

410
00:38:57,320 --> 00:39:02,320
I would ask that we have it when we come for our first meeting in January,

411
00:39:02,320 --> 00:39:04,320
which is the 13th.

412
00:39:04,320 --> 00:39:07,320
Well, if you need to do it the first meeting in January,

413
00:39:07,320 --> 00:39:09,320
she's going to meet it before then.

414
00:39:09,320 --> 00:39:13,320
No, I mean we actually have it and can print it out

415
00:39:13,320 --> 00:39:16,320
and have it complete to give to her on the 13th.

416
00:39:16,320 --> 00:39:21,320
And then maybe she can have the results to us by the 27th.

417
00:39:21,320 --> 00:39:24,320
Because if I remember correctly in our policy,

418
00:39:24,320 --> 00:39:30,320
it says that we have to have it done by our first meeting in January.

419
00:39:30,320 --> 00:39:32,320
Or sometimes there.

420
00:39:32,320 --> 00:39:37,320
I thought that was the assessment itself had to be done on the first meeting.

421
00:39:37,320 --> 00:39:40,320
And I must be misunderstanding what you're saying.

422
00:39:40,320 --> 00:39:42,320
Excuse me.

423
00:39:42,320 --> 00:39:50,320
In the annual work plan under the board self assessments that we agreed to,

424
00:39:50,320 --> 00:39:55,320
those were all supposed to be covered on January the 13th.

425
00:39:55,320 --> 00:39:58,320
The self assessments for GC6.

426
00:39:58,320 --> 00:40:05,320
There's a whole section here under our annual work plan.

427
00:40:05,320 --> 00:40:06,320
Okay.

428
00:40:06,320 --> 00:40:15,320
Well, do you want us to have this out to you so that you can have it ready

429
00:40:15,320 --> 00:40:17,320
and back to us by the 13th.

430
00:40:17,320 --> 00:40:19,320
Back here by the 13th and complete.

431
00:40:19,320 --> 00:40:20,320
Yes, ma'am.

432
00:40:20,320 --> 00:40:21,320
Okay.

433
00:40:21,320 --> 00:40:23,320
I'm sure Amanda can work with it.

434
00:40:23,320 --> 00:40:27,320
And she will compile the results and we will have the results

435
00:40:27,320 --> 00:40:31,320
by the work, our session on the 27th.

436
00:40:31,320 --> 00:40:33,320
That'll give a couple of weeks.

437
00:40:33,320 --> 00:40:35,320
So do you need more than that?

438
00:40:35,320 --> 00:40:36,320
Excuse me.

439
00:40:36,320 --> 00:40:42,320
I thought the language said we had to have it on the first meeting.

440
00:40:42,320 --> 00:40:44,320
Does it just say January?

441
00:40:44,320 --> 00:40:47,320
It says the first meeting but you would have it.

442
00:40:47,320 --> 00:40:50,320
She's going to get it to us and we're going to complete it and bring it back.

443
00:40:50,320 --> 00:40:53,320
I thought we had to have the assessment.

444
00:40:53,320 --> 00:40:56,320
We physically did the assessment on the first meeting.

445
00:40:56,320 --> 00:41:00,320
If that's what you want to do, we can do that.

446
00:41:00,320 --> 00:41:02,320
That's what we agreed to on the work plan.

447
00:41:02,320 --> 00:41:08,320
And on here it says annually in January and then we agreed to it on the work plan in January 13th.

448
00:41:08,320 --> 00:41:10,320
Okay.

449
00:41:10,320 --> 00:41:16,320
So I would say we get the assessment back to her the first week

450
00:41:16,320 --> 00:41:22,320
and she puts it all together and she can send it back to us

451
00:41:22,320 --> 00:41:28,320
and we can look at it and then do the assessment at the first meeting.

452
00:41:28,320 --> 00:41:31,320
We can even do it if you like.

453
00:41:31,320 --> 00:41:35,320
Since we're going to be meeting a couple more times this month,

454
00:41:35,320 --> 00:41:38,320
go ahead and get it to us now and have it, just have it done.

455
00:41:38,320 --> 00:41:44,320
All right. I like that.

456
00:41:44,320 --> 00:41:46,320
Okay. Are we good?

457
00:41:46,320 --> 00:41:47,320
Everything set?

458
00:41:47,320 --> 00:41:49,320
We need a motion to adjourn.

459
00:41:49,320 --> 00:41:51,320
Second.

460
00:41:51,320 --> 00:41:52,320
No objections.

461
00:41:52,320 --> 00:41:53,320
We're adjourned.

462
00:41:53,320 --> 00:41:55,320
Thank you.