* This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting. [A. Meeting Opening] [00:00:02] HELLO EVERYONE. GOOD AFTERNOON. GOOD AFTERNOON, . WE ARE HERE FOR OUR REGULAR BOARD MEETING, OCTOBER 16TH, 2025. UH, MEETING, UH, WE WILL START WITH OUR INVOCATION AND PLEDGE. THE INVOCATION WILL BE LED BY SCHOOL BOARD MEMBER NATHAN RUSS, AND THE PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE WILL BE LED BY CADET SECOND LIEUTENANT SERENITY SMITH OF SCOTLANDVILLE HIGH SCHOOL, ACCOMPANIED BY SERGEANT FIRST CLASS RETIRED TITUS BLUE. WOULD Y'ALL PLEASE STAND? THANK YOU. PLEASE BOW YOUR HEADS. FATHER IN HEAVEN, WE PRAISE YOU FOR YOUR GOODNESS AND FOR YOUR MERCY. WE ASK, LORD, THAT YOU WOULD SHOW US WHAT YOUR WILL IS FOR US, FOR OUR SYSTEM OF PUBLIC SCHOOLS, FOR THE CHILDREN AND THE FAMILIES OF OUR PARISH. SHOW US YOUR WILL AND YOUR WISDOM SO THAT WE CAN BE A PART OF IT. IN YOUR NAME WE PRAY. AMEN. AMEN. ALL RIGHT. GOOD EVENING, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN. GOOD EVENING. I'M SERGEANT FIRST CLASS BLUE, THE ARMY INSTRUCTOR AT THE SCOTLANDVILLE MAGNET HIGH SCHOOL. ON BEHALF OF MY PRINCIPAL, MR. PAUL JACKSON ADMINISTRATIONS FACULTY AND STAFF, I BRING GREETINGS. MR. LAMONT COLE, SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS, BOARD PRESIDENT AND MEMBERS OF OUR SCHOOL BOARD. IT IS MY DISTINCT HONOR AND PLEASURE TO INTRODUCE ONE OF THE OUTSTANDING JLTC CADETS AT SCOTLANDVILLE MAGNET HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT CADET. SECOND LIEUTENANT SERENITY SMITH. SERENITY IS A SOPHOMORE AT THE JLTC PROGRAM, CURRENTLY SERVING ON THE JLTC BATTALION STAFF AS S TWO INTELLIGENCE SECURITY OFFICER. SHE'S A MEMBER OF THE COLOR GUARD DRILL TEAM AND THE HORNETS BATTALION SABER TEAM. SERENITY HAS BEEN SELECTED AS THE HORS BATTALION'S, LET ONE CADET OF THE YEAR. SERENITY MAINTAINS AN IMPRESSIVE CUMULATIVE GRADE POINT AVERAGE OF 4.0. SHE'S A MEMBER OF THE VARSITY GIRLS BASKETBALL TEAM. SHE'S A MAGNET AMBASSADOR AND WAS RECENTLY SELECTED AT BY HER PEERS AS SCOTLANDVILLE. MISS SOPHOMORE STUDENT CADET SMITH PLANS TO GRADUATE FROM SCOTLANDVILLE MAGNET HIGH SCHOOL, MAINTAINING A FALL 4.0 GPA, PLANS TO ATTEND SOUTHERN UNIVERSITY, MAJORING IN NURSING. SHE PLANS TO CONTINUE HER EDUCATION AND BECOME A PEDIATRICIAN. LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, HERE TO LEAD US IN THE PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE. I PRESENT TO YOU STUDENT CADETS, SECOND LIEUTENANT SERENITY SMITH OF THE SCOTLAND MILL MAGNET HIGH SCHOOL. I PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND TO THE REPUBLIC FOR WHICH IT STANDS, ONE NATION UNDER GOD, INDIVISIBLE, WITH LIBERTY AND JUSTICE FOR ALL. ON BEHALF OF EAST BATON ROUGE PARISH SCHOOL SYSTEM, AND NOT ONLY EAST BATON ROUGE PARISH SCHOOL SYSTEM, BUT FROM ONE ALUMNUS OF SCOTLANDVILLE TO YOU. CONGRATULATIONS AND THANK YOU. KEEP UP ALL THE GOOD WORK. THANK YOU. MM-HMM . THANK YOU. THANK YOU, THANK YOU. SO NOW WE HAVE OUR, UM, ROLL CALL. MADAM SECRETARY. DISTRICT FOUR. PRESIDENT STEWART. PRESENT. DISTRICT SEVEN. VICE PRESIDENT GODDE. HERE. DISTRICT ONE. MR. BLUE. HERE. DISTRICT TWO. MR. LANIS? DISTRICT THREE. MS. POWELL LEWIS. PRESENT. DISTRICT FIVE. MR. LEWIS? PRESENT. DISTRICT SIX. MR. RUSS? PRESENT. DISTRICT EIGHT. MS. SOLE HERE. DISTRICT NINE. MR. MARTIN. PRESENT. WE HAVE A QUORUM. THANK YOU MA'AM. AND NEXT WE MOVE INTO ITEM [B. Minutes] B, WHICH IS THE MEETING MINUTES, APPROVAL OF THE SCHOOL BOARD, MINUTES OF THE SEPTEMBER 4TH, 2025 COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE MEETING. AND THE SEPTEMBER 18TH, 2025 REGULAR BOARD MEETING AS PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL JOURNAL. DO I HAVE A MOTION? I HAVE MOTION TO APPROVE. THERE WE GO. WE HAVE MR. MARTIN AND MR. RUSS. HE WAS, THEY WERE ON IT. , PUBLIC COMMENT. NO PUBLIC COMMENT. AND I DON'T HAVE, OH, MS. PAUL LEWIS. OH. OH. DIDN'T ANSWER. OKAY. SO ANYTHING ELSE? NO OTHER NO. COME ONLINE? NO, NO, NO. ONLINE. OKAY, MADAM. OH. [00:05:01] ALL IN FAVOR OF THE, UH, MEETING MINUTES, SAY AYE. AYE. AYE. ALL THOSE IN OPPOSITION. MADAME SECRETARY, DO A ROLL CALL. OKAY. ALRIGHT. DO A ROLL CALL. UM, COACH, UH, THING THAT, IF YOU DON'T MIND. OH, HE CAN'T, HE'S NOT. MR. BLUE. YES. MS. POWELL LEWIS? YES. MS. STEWART? YES. MR. LEWIS? YES. MR. RUSS. YAY. MR. GOE. YES. MS. SOLE? YES. MR. MARTIN? YES. MOTION CARRIES. THANK YOU MA'AM. MOVING ALONG TO ITEM [C. Information Only] C, INFORMATION ONLY MONTHLY FINANCIAL REPORT AND PERSONNEL CHANGES. AND THAT'S FOR YOUR INFORMATION ONLY. MOVING ALONG, ITEM D, [D.1. Update from the Superintendent] RECEIVE AS INFORMATION. I HAVE IT TO MY SUPERINTENDENT. YOU HAVE THE FLOOR. THANK YOU VERY MUCH, MADAM PRESIDENT AND MEMBERS OF THE BOARD. FIRST AND FOREMOST, LET ME SAY A HAPPY BOSS'S DAY TO ALL OF YOU. , I'LL PUT YOUR GIFT IN THE MAIL. YOU SHOULD RECEIVE IT. HADN'T GOTTEN IT ON. UH, YOU HADN'T, YOU HADN'T GOTTEN IT. YOU'LL GET IT ON, UH, NOVEMBER 31ST. , UH, . I'M JOKING. I DID, I DID SEND SOMETHING TO, I DID SEND SOMETHING TO YOU. I'M JUST JOKING. , UH, UH, THANK YOU TO THOSE OF YOU WHO ARE HERE WITH US THIS EVENING. I'LL TAKE A, A SMALL MOMENT OF PER PERSONAL PRIVILEGE TO RECOGNIZE A VERY DEAR FRIEND OF MINE WHO DROVE FROM ALEXANDRIA JUST TO COME TO THIS BOARD MEETING AN ATTORNEY WHO WORKS ACTUALLY IN OUR JUVENILE COURT. UH, AND I WENT TO SEE SOME HELP OUT WITH SOME STUDENTS TODAY. UH, SO MS. TIFFANY SANDERS, THANKS FOR JOINING US THIS EVENING. WE GLAD STAND UP SO EVERYBODY CAN SEE YOU. . UH, GLAD TO HAVE YOU WITH US THIS AFTERNOON. UH, TIFFANY WAS MY FRIEND IN COLLEGE WHO HAD A CAR. I DIDN'T. SO SHE DROVE US, DROVE US AROUND. UH, HAPPY TO BE BACK FOR ANOTHER MONTH OF, UH, BEING A SUPERINTENDENT. THANKS FOR ALLOWING ME TO SERVE AGAIN. UH, LAST WEEK MARKED THE END OF THE FIRST NINE WEEKS AND THE MIDPOINT OF THE FIRST SEMESTER. A LOT OF EFFORT HAS BEEN PUT INTO A SMOOTH FIRST SEMESTER, SO I WANT TO THANK OUR TEACHERS AND OUR STAFF. AND MORE IMPORTANTLY, I WANNA THANK OUR STUDENTS FOR AN OUTSTANDING FIRST NINE WEEKS OF SCHOOL. AS WE'VE MADE IT TO OUR FALL BREAK, WE CONTINUE TO FOCUS ON THE CORE COMMITMENTS OF OUR STRATEGIC PLAN, WHICH ARE STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT, OPERATIONAL EXCELLENCE, AND EMPLOYEE DEVELOPMENT. DURING THE MONTH OF OCTOBER, WE CELEBRATE MULTIPLE GROUPS AND CAUSES TO SHOW OUR APPRECIATION FOR OUR DEDICATED PROFESSIONAL STAFF AND OUR TALENT TO STUDENTS. OCTOBER IS NATIONAL PRINCIPALS MONTH. I'M GRATEFUL FOR THE LEADERSHIP OF OUR PRINCIPALS THROUGHOUT THE DISTRICT. AS A FORMER PRINCIPAL, I RECOGNIZE THEIR COMMITMENT TO INSTRUCTIONAL EXCELLENCE, SAFE AND WELCOMING ENVIRONMENTS, AND THE GROWTH OF EVERY STUDENT AND TEACHER UNDER THEIR CARE. THEY DESERVE TO BE CELEBRATED AS THE HEARTBEAT OF OUR SYSTEM. OCTOBER IS ALSO RED RIBBON MONTH. THE ICARE DEPARTMENT IN COLLABORATION WITH OUR SCHOOL, CONTINUES TO PROMOTE A DRUG-FREE COMMUNITY. STUDENTS ARE PARTICIPATING IN A VARIETY OF ACTIVITIES, ACTIVITIES TO CELEBRATE OCTOBER 23RD AND 31ST, AS BEEN DESIGNATED AS RED RIBBON WEEK. THE DISTRICT CELEBRATED WORLD MENTAL HEALTH DAY ON OCTOBER 10TH. STAFF AND STUDENTS WERE AGREEING TO RECOGNIZE THE IMPORTANCE OF MENTAL HEALTH AS A GREEN, AS A SYMBOL OF HOPE, RENEWAL, AND GROWTH. I HAD AN OPPORTUNITY TO PARTICIPATE IN A MENTAL HEALTH DAY AT SCOTLANDVILLE, UH, HIGH SCHOOL WITH OUR SCHOOL BOARD MEMBER, KARL POWELL AND DARIUS LANE. SERVED ON THE PANEL, UH, WAS ABLE TO SPEAK WITH THE KIDS, LEARNED A LOT ABOUT SOME OF THE TRAUMA THEY ARE EXPERIENCING, AND WE TALKED A GREAT DEAL ABOUT HOW WE CAN SUPPORT THEM BETTER. AND THEY SHARED SOME INSIGHT ONTO WHAT'S HAPPENING IN OUR CITY WITH OUR STUDENTS. SO, VERY, VERY, UH, PRODUCTIVE CONVERSATION. GLAD TO HAVE BEEN ABLE TO DO SO THROUGHOUT THE MONTH OF OCTOBER. YOU WILL ALSO SEE PINK ACROSS OUR SYSTEM AS WE PROMOTE BREAST CANCER AWARENESS AND RECOGNIZE AND HONOR THOSE WHO HAVE BEEN AFFECTED BY THANK YOU TO OUR HUMAN RESOURCE TEAM AT THE CENTRAL OFFICE, WHO HAVE ORGANIZED AND SCHEDULED EVENTS AND ACTIVITIES AS WE STAND TOGETHER IN HOPE, STRENGTH, AND HONOR. UH, THOSE WHO HAVE BEEN IMPACTED. WE CELEBRATE THE SURVIVORS AMONG US. AND REMEMBER, THOSE WHO HAVE GONE BEFORE US, UH, TODAY, YESTERDAY, EXCUSE ME, TODAY ENDS LATIN AMERICAN HERITAGE MONTH. UH, MYSELF, MR. CHAND AND MR. SMITH AND A WHOLE HOST OF OUR TEAM, WE'RE ABLE TO PARTICIPATE IN AN, AN EVENT TODAY AT BEL AIR HIGH SCHOOL, WHERE THE KIDS CELEBRATED LATIN AMERICAN HERITAGE MONTH. SO, UH, EXCITED FOR THAT. AND ALSO, WE WERE ABLE TO PARTICIPATE IN THIS FIRST SHOWCASE AT PARK MEDICAL ACADEMY, WHERE ALL OF THE STUDENTS SHOWCASE THE THINGS THEY'RE LEARNING IN THE MEDICAL PROFESSION. IT WAS REALLY EXCITING TO SEE MEMBERS OF OUR DISTRICT LEADERSHIP TEAM HAVE COMPLETED 26 IN-PERSON DATA REVIEWS AT NEARLY ONE THIRD OF THE SITES OVER THE LAST FOUR WEEKS. SO WE'VE BEEN DIGGING IN LOOKING AT WHAT IS HAPPENING AT OUR SCHOOLS, PARTICULARLY [00:10:01] STARTING WITH THE MORE CHALLENGING ENVIRONMENTS, TALKING ABOUT THE DATA, TALKING ABOUT ENROLLMENT, REALLY TRYING TO IDENTIFY WHERE WE CAN BEST PROVIDE SUPPORT. THE INFORMATION WE HAVE RECEIVED, UH, FROM THE INITIAL DATA REVIEWS HAS BEEN WONDERFUL IN HELPING US TO DETERMINE WHERE WE NEED TO DEPLOY RESOURCES IN AN EFFORT TO HELP OUR SCHOOLS BE BETTER. UH, I WILL HAVE A REPORT FOR YOU AT OUR NEXT MEETING AROUND THE FIRST 26 DATA REVIEWS. AND WE'RE GONNA TALK ABOUT WHAT WE'VE SEEN, WHAT WE'VE LEARNED, AND THEN WHERE WE THINK WE NEED TO MAKE, UH, SOME TRANSITIONS. UH, WE CANNOT WAIT WHEN WE RECOGNIZE WE CAN DO BETTER. AND SO WE ARE GOING TO ASK THE BOARD TO ASSIST US IN HELPING TO PROVIDE THAT SUPPORT. THE PURPOSE OF THE DEEP DATA DIVE IS TO PUSH SCHOOLS INTO NEED OF EXTRA SUPPORT, TO COLLABORATIVELY ANALYZE FIRST QUARTER DATA, IDENTIFY KEY AREAS OF NEED, AND PROVIDE TIMELY TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AND INSTRUCTIONAL SUPPORT TO ADDRESS IDENTIFY GAPS ACROSS DEPARTMENT. MENTAL ATTENDANCE AND SUPPORT IS PROVIDED TO ENSURE THAT EACH SCHOOL HAS A PLAN THAT IS STRATEGIC DATA DRIVEN AND ALIGNED WITH THE DISTRICT GOALS FOR CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT. THESE PARENTS PARISH SCHOOLS SYSTEM HAS BEEN SELECTED TO PARTNER WITH LS, U'S INTEGRATIVE COMMUNITY STUDIES PROGRAM FOR A FOUR YEAR INCLUSIVE POST-SECONDARY MODEL, INTEGRATING WORKFORCE ALIGNED CREDENTIALS AND PREPARING STUDENTS WITH INTELLECTUAL DISABILITIES FOR COMPETITIVE GAINFUL EMPLOYMENT. LSU WAS AWARDED THE TRANSITION AND POST-SECONDARY PROGRAMS FOR STUDENTS WITH INTELLECTUAL DISABILITIES GRANT. AND WE'LL PARTNER WITH EBR TO PROVIDE THIS OPPORTUNITY TO STUDENTS WITH INTELLECTUAL DISABILITIES FROM THE AGES 18 TO 21 UNDER THE AREA OF OPERATIONAL EXCELLENCE. WE'RE ALMOST HALFWAY THROUGH THE 2025 OPEN ENROLLMENT PERIOD. I CAN'T STRESS TO ALL OF OUR EMPLOYEES AND US YOU, YOU MUST LOG IN AND ENROLL FOR YOUR BENEFIT PACKAGE. WE WANT TO THANK EVERYONE WHO HAS ALREADY ACTED TO RENEW THEIR HEALTH BENEFITS. AS A REMINDER, EVERYONE MUST LOG IN AND REVIEW AND SELECT THE BENEFITS OF HEALTH PLANS WILL NOT ROLL OVER FOR NEXT YEAR. THEY WILL, WILL NOT ROLL OVER FOR NEXT YEAR. ALL COVERAGE EXPIRES ON DECEMBER 31ST. UNLESS EMPLOYEES TAKE ACTION. PLEASE MAKE SURE SELECTIONS HAVE BEEN FINALIZED BEFORE 4:30 PM DEADLINE ON OCTOBER 31ST. WE'RE GONNA CONTINUE TO SEND OUT REMINDERS AND INFORMATION, AND I WANT TO ENCOURAGE EMPLOYEES, IT TAKES LESS THAN FIVE MINUTES. UNLESS YOU'RE GONNA MAKE SIGNIFICANT CHANGES TO YOUR BENEFIT PLAN, IT TAKES LESS THAN FIVE MINUTES. SO, UH, DON'T BE LIKE MANY PEOPLE AND WAIT TILL THE LAST MINUTE. AND IF YOU COME TO THE BENEFITS OFFICE HERE AT CENTRAL OFFICE, A TEAM WILL SIT WITH YOU AND WALK YOU THROUGH THE PROCESS SO YOU CAN GET IT DONE, UH, VERY EASILY, VERY QUICKLY, AND HAVE ANY OF YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED. THE FIRST COHORT OF 20 SCHOOLS HAVE RECEIVED THEIR DEVICES FOR THE NEW VISITOR MANAGEMENT SYSTEM. AND WEEKLY ONLINE TRAINING IS AVAILABLE FOR SITES TO SUPPORT IMPLEMENTATION PROVISION. DIGITAL CAMERAS ARE CURRENTLY IN USE ON BUSES THROUGHOUT OUR TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM. THEY HAVE PROVEN TO BE VERY VALUABLE AS WE STREAMLINE OPERATIONS FOR INCREASED EFFICIENCY, TRANSPARENCY, AND SAFETY AND ACCOUNTABILITY UNDER THE AREA OF EMPLOYEE DEVELOPMENT. TOMORROW IS OCTOBER 17TH, IS A DISTRICT-WIDE PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT DAY. PROFESSIONAL LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES HAVE BEEN DESIGNED TO TAKE A CLOSER LOOK AT IMPLEMENTATION OF HIGH QUALITY CURRICULUM TO ENHANCE DAILY INSTRUCTION ALIGNMENT WITH THE NEW LOUISIANA EDUCATION RUBRIC EVALUATION SYSTEM INSTRUCTION STAFF WOULD EXPLORE PROVEN APPROACHES FOR LESSON INTERNALIZATION, DIFFERENTIATE INSTRUCTION, TEXT DEPENDENT QUESTIONING, AND WRITING, AND DISCUSSION ROUTINES AND ACCESS TO EQUITABLE GRADE LEVEL TEXT. THE GOAL IS TO PROVIDE PRACTICAL STRATEGIES TO STRENGTHEN DAILY INSTRUCTION WHILE SAVING PLANNING TIME. DURING THE MONTH OF OCTOBER, THE HUMAN RESOURCE DEPARTMENT IS TRAINING ABOUT 40 SUBSTITUTE TEACHERS AND EVIDENCE BASED INSTRUCTIONAL AND BEHAVIOR PRACTICES TO BETTER SUPPORT DIVERSE LEARNERS, INCLUDING ESS AND ESL STUDENTS THROUGH CROSS DEPARTMENTAL COLLABORATION AND COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS. OUR HUMAN RESOURCE DEPARTMENT IS ALSO HOSTING A WORLD LANGUAGE RECRUITMENT EVENT AT TARA BEL HIGH SCHOOL AND BROADMOOR HIGH TO ATTRACT CANDIDATES FOR CURRENT VACANCIES. HR IS ALSO HOSTING OUR ANNUAL FALL FLING RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION EVENT ON NOVEMBER 1ST AT BROADMOOR ELEMENTARY. ANYONE INTERESTED IN JOINING OUR TEAM OF TEACHERS PARAPROFESSIONAL AND CHILD NUTRITION PROGRAM? COOKS OR MANAGERS AND BUS OPERATORS SHOULD ATTEND THIS EVENT AND VISIT OUR WEBSITE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE BENEFITS OUR EBR SCHOOLS COME JOIN OUR TEAM. WE NEED YOU FINALLY. STUDENTS WILL BE OUT OF SCHOOL TOMORROW, MONDAY AND TUESDAY. AND ALL DISTRICT SITES WILL BE CLOSED ON MONDAY AND TUESDAY. AND I OBSERVE AS A FALL BREAK. STUDENTS AND STAFF, YOU WORK HARD OVER THE FIRST QUARTER OF THE YEAR. YOU DESERVE TIME OFF. PLEASE GET SOME REST. PLEASE BE SAFE. PLEASE TAKE SOME TIME TO READ. PLEASE COME BACK. WE LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING YOU ALL AGAIN ON WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 22ND WHEN THE DISTRICT RESUMES NORMAL OPERATIONS TONIGHT, UH, WE HAVE AN OUTSTANDING YOUNG LADY WHO IS GONNA COME AND PRESENT THE WORK, UH, SHE'S DOING AT MARYDALE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL AND BOARD MEMBERS. I WANT TO REMIND YOU THAT MARYDALE ELEMENTARY IS ONE OF THE SCHOOLS. WE TRANSITIONED TO OUR EARLY LEARNING CENTER. SO THE ONLY GRADES WE HAVE THERE ARE PRE-K TO SECOND GRADE. UH, AND I'M EXCITED MS. WELLS IS HERE TONIGHT. FUN FACT ABOUT MS. WELLS. SHE HERSELF ATTENDED MARYDALE ELEMENTARY AS A STUDENT AND SHE RETURNED, UH, LAST YEAR AS THE PRINCIPAL. AND SHE'S DOING A PHENOMENAL JOB THERE. ONE OF THE BEST WE HAVE IN OUR DISTRICT. SO AT [00:15:01] THIS TIME, I WANT TO INTRODUCE THE SUMMIT AND PRESENT TO OTHERS THE PRINCIPAL AT MARYDALE ELEMENTARY, MS. CASEY WELLS. WELL, THANK YOU, UH, FOR THAT WONDERFUL INTRODUCTION. SUPERINTENDENT COLE AND BOARD MEMBERS, THANK YOU FOR ALLOWING ME TO COME AND SHARE TONIGHT. UH, ALL THE GREAT THINGS WE HAVE GOING AT MARYDALE. WE HAVE MADE SOME SIGNIFICANT CHANGES IN THE LAST TWO YEARS. AND, UM, OUR DATA, IT'S SHOWING IT. SO I'M, I'M VERY PLEASED, UH, WHERE, WITH WHERE WE'RE HEADED HERE, UM, OUR ENROLLMENT, WE'RE SITTING AT ABOUT 270, I THINK THAT GREW, UH, JUST AS I WAS LEAVING TO ABOUT 273. SO THEY'RE COMING EVERY DAY. SO THAT'S, THAT'S EXCITING. WE NOW SERVE PRE-K THROUGH SECOND GRADE. UM, OUR SUBGROUP PERCENTAGES, AFRICAN AMERICAN, WE'RE ABOUT 98% ESL, 1% ESS, 13%, 5 0 4 1%, HOMELESS 3%. UM, I AND FULLY ANTICIPATE, UM, THAT ESS AND THAT 5 0 4 POPULATIONS TO GROW A LITTLE, JUST BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, A LOT OF THESE STUDENTS HAVE NOT BEEN IN SCHOOL BEFORE. AND SO WE ARE WORKING TO IDENTIFY THOSE IN NEED, UM, WHO NEED ADDITIONAL SUPPORTS. SO, DIBELS, THIS IS WHERE WE ARE. AND AS YOU CAN SEE, THE STUDENTS ARE STARTING THE RACE. WE'RE JUST STARTING THE RACE WITH OUR LITTLES SO THAT YOU CAN SEE IN KINDERGARTEN, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE 60% WELL BELOW, BUT AS WE STARTED LOOKING INTO IT, A LOT OF OUR KINDERGARTNERS DID NOT ATTEND PRE-K. SO WE CONTINUE, WE WANT TO MAKE THAT PUSH. 'CAUSE PRE-K EARLY CHILDHOOD IS SO IMPORTANT. MS. WELLS, YOU MIGHT WANT TO SAY THAT AGAIN. WE HAVE KINDERGARTNERS. THIS IS THEIR FIRST TIME IN SCHOOL. YES, WE HAVE LOTS OF KINDERGARTNERS THEIR FIRST TIME IN SCHOOL, AND WE STILL HAVE OPEN SEATS FOR PRE-K. BRING THEM, HAVE THEM JOIN US BECAUSE WE DO HAVE OPEN SEATS. AND IT'S IMPORTANT THE EARLIER WE GET 'EM IN THE, THE BETTER WE ARE. UM, BUT ALSO THIS DIBBLES, YOU KNOW, IT'S A ONE MINUTE TEST. THEY'VE NEVER TAKEN IT BEFORE. IT'S A LITTLE NERVE WRACKING 'CAUSE THEY'RE DOING IT WITH ANOTHER PERSON, NOT, NOT THEIR TEACHER. SO WE KNOW THAT THIS DATA IS GONNA MOVE AND, UM, WE HAVE LOTS OF GOOD THINGS IN PLACE TO, TO HELP IT MOVE. SO THIS IS WHERE WE'RE GOING. MY SCHOOL GOAL THIS YEAR, AND IT MAY SEEM HIGH, BUT THERE'S NO REASON WHY WE SHOULDN'T GET THERE. UM, I WOULD LIKE 70% OR MORE OF OUR STUDENTS K TO TWO AT MARYDALE, UM, TO BE TO SCORE BENCHMARK OR ABOVE ON THE DIBELS. AND WE'RE GOING TO DO THAT BY CONTINUING TO IMPLEMENT OUR HIGH QUALITY INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS, OUR HAGGERTY LESSONS EVERY DAY, OUR DIBELS BURST INTERVENTIONS, AMIRA, AND WE HAVE CHOSEN INTERVENE AS OUR HIGH DOSAGE TUTORING PROGRAM THIS YEAR. WE'RE MAKING MARYDALE MARVELOUS. HERE ARE A FEW OF THE THINGS THAT WE HAVE PUT IN PLACE. UM, WE HAVE PARAPROFESSIONALS IN EVERY CLASSROOM. SO OUR RATIO IS SITTING AT ONE TO 10. HUGE. THAT IS SO BENEFICIAL TO US. AND THEN I DECIDED OUR TEACHERS AND OUR PARAPROFESSIONALS, THEY NEED THE SAME TRAINING. IF WE WANT OUR PARAPROFESSIONALS TO BE ABLE TO SUPPORT OUR STUDENTS IN THE CLASSROOM, LIKE THE TEACHERS CAN, THEY HAVE TO HAVE THE SAME TRAINING. SO OUR PARAPROFESSIONALS ARE REQUIRED TO ATTEND EVERY PLC MEETING WITH OUR TEACHERS SO THAT THEY ARE LEARNING, GROWING, AND PLANNING TOGETHER. WE'RE UTILIZING THE CO-TEACHING MODEL SO THAT WHEN YOU WALK INTO A MARYDALE CLASSROOM, YOU SHOULD KNOW WHO THE TEACHER IS BECAUSE THE PARA AND THE TEACHER ARE BOTH TEACHING. UM, WE ARE IMPLEMENTING, UH, DAILY SMALL GROUP INSTRUCTION. WE HAVE DAILY INTERVENTION TIME BUILT INTO OUR MASTER SCHEDULE. UM, LIMITED CHROMEBOOK TIME. OUR BABIES DON'T NEED TO BE ON THE CHROMEBOOK FOR HOURS ON END. UM, NOTHING TAKES THE PLACE OF A TEACHER, ESPECIALLY WITH THESE LITTLE ONES. AND SO I HAVE LIMITED THEIR TIME. THEY'RE ONLY ALLOWED CHROMEBOOK TIME WHEN IT'S INTERVENTION OR WORKSTATION TIME. AND EVEN THEN THEY'RE DOING A MIRROR WHERE THEY'RE PRACTICING THEIR SOUNDS AND, AND THEY'RE DOING THOSE THINGS. UM, WE'RE FOCUSING, OF COURSE, ON THE FOUNDATIONAL SKILLS. UH, WE'RE PROVIDING IN-PERSON AND VIRTUAL PD TO PARENTS. WE HAVE TO EDUCATE OUR PARENTS. THAT'S A HUGE, UM, PARENTS WANNA HELP THEIR CHILDREN, BUT SOMETIMES MAY NOT KNOW HOW. UM, I'VE NEVER MET A PARENT WHO SAID, I DON'T WANNA HELP MY CHILD. AND SO WE HAVE TO GIVE THEM THE TOOLS AND THE RESOURCES TO BE ABLE TO DO SO. SO ONCE A MONTH, WE WILL BE PLANNING VIRTUAL AND IN-PERSON, UM, PARENT MEETINGS. 'CAUSE YOU KNOW, MANY OF OUR PARENTS MAY NOT HAVE TRANSPORTATION. SO WE'RE GONNA START DOING SOME OF THESE THINGS VIRTUALLY SO THAT THEY HAVE, THEY HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO PARTICIPATE. UM, AND THEN WE'RE ALSO IMPLEMENTING, UM, THE WRITING REVOLUTION BECAUSE WE KNOW THAT WHEN OUR STUDENTS GET TO THIRD GRADE, THEY HAVE TO DO THE WRITING REVOLUTION IN, UM, GUIDEBOOKS. AND SO AS A FEEDER SCHOOL, MY KIDS ARE GOING OVER TO GLEN OAKS PARK. SO WE'RE ON THE PHONE ALL THE TIME. HEY, MR. WILLIAMS, HEY, LOOK, THIS IS WHAT I'M DOING TO SUPPORT, WHAT ELSE DO YOU NEED ME [00:20:01] TO DO? BECAUSE I KNOW WHERE WE ARE AND THIS IS WHAT I'M GONNA SEND TO YOU. SO GET READY BECAUSE THEY'RE GOING TO COME TO YOU READY. AND IT'S MY JOB TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY ARE. AND SO WE WORK VERY CLOSELY TOGETHER. WE ALSO, UM, WILL HAVE LITERACY NIGHTS TOGETHER, MATH AND SCIENCE NIGHTS TOGETHER. UM, BIG BUDDY PROGRAMS TOGETHER WHERE HIS FIFTH GRADE WILL COME AND READ TO MY KINDERGARTNERS. UM, BECAUSE WE HAVE TO, THESE SCHOOLS HAVE TO WORK IN CONJUNCTION BECAUSE NUMBER ONE, WE WANT OUR LITTLES TO FEEL COMFORTABLE WHEN THEY GO THERE. AND IT'S GONNA TAKE BOTH OF US TO RAISE THESE SCORES. IT'S NOT JUST ONE SCHOOL. WE'RE, WE'RE COMBINED. NOW, THAT'S THE WAY I LOOK AT IT. WE'RE COMBINED AND WE HAVE TO HELP EACH OTHER. SO THIS IS PROBABLY ONE OF MY FAVORITE SLIDES. WE HAVE BEEN SITTING IN THE EIGHTIES, EIGHTIES, EIGHTIES FOR ATTENDANCE. WE ARE UP TO 93% ATTENDANCE. YAY. UM, AND THEN MY TEACHER ATTENDANCE IS FABULOUS. THEY COME TO WORK. SO IN AUGUST WE WERE AT 99%. SEPTEMBER, THE LITTLE GERMS HIT. WE HAD 94%. BUT WE ARE STILL STAYING IN THAT 90 PERCENTILE FOR TEACHERS AND STUDENTS COMING TO SCHOOL EVERY DAY. AND WE CELEBRATE IT BECAUSE THAT, THAT'S WHERE THE MAGIC HAPPENS. YOU'RE NOT GOING TO LEARN IF YOU'RE NOT IN SCHOOL. SO THESE ARE SOME OF THE THINGS THAT WE ARE DOING. UM, I JUST WANTED TO KIND OF OUTLINE AND SHOW YOU SOME OF OUR STAFF AND OUR STUDENTS. UM, WE HAVE SECOND GRADE AMBASSADORS WHO MEET AND GREET THE PEOPLE ON CAMPUS. UM, TEACHER LED SMALL GROUPS, THE WHOLE GROUP INSTRUCTION. UM, AS YOU CAN JUST SEE, WE HAVE A CHEER TEAM TO SUPPORT OUR SPORTS. WE HAVE THE DIBELS NIGHT WAS SUCH A HUGE HIT. THE PARENTS HAD TO COME AND ACTUALLY TAKE THE DIBELS ASSESSMENT, UM, AND PRACTICE IT IN ONE MINUTE TIMEFRAMES. AND THEY WERE LIKE, OH MY GOODNESS, THIS IS STRESSFUL. AND I WAS LIKE, IMAGINE IT FOR LITTLE ONES. THAT'S RIGHT. BUT THEY KNOW EXACTLY NOW WHAT THEIR STUDENTS HAVE TO DO. UM, I DO MONDAY MORNING STORIES. SO IF ANYBODY WANTS TO SIGN UP AND DO A MONDAY MORNING STORY, AND USUALLY MY STORIES ARE WITH LESSONS THAT WE CARRY THROUGHOUT THE WEEK TO KIND OF SUPPORT OUR SEL. AND THEN WE CELEBRATED NATIONAL DAY. AND THEN, UM, WE HAVE GIRL SCOUTS, CUB SCOUTS, UM, WHICH ARE ALL HOUSED AT SCHOOL. WE DO CLUB DAYS, SO PARENTS DON'T HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT TRANSPORTING CHILDREN OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT. WE ACTUALLY HAVE TIME BUILT IN TO DO CLUB DAYS. UM, WE HAD A SCHOLASTIC BOOK FAIR PICNIC. WE DO A STUDENT OF THE MONTH. YOU KNOW, WE HAVE OUR PBIS AND THIS IS NEW THIS YEAR. WE STARTED A HELLO MARYDALE NEWS SHOW. AND OUR KIDS LOVE TO BROADCAST. SO THEY HAVE THE MICROPHONES AND THEY'LL GO TO THE CLASSROOMS AND HIGHLIGHT DIFFERENT TEACHERS AND DIFFERENT THINGS. AND SO THEY JUST THINK THAT IS AMAZING. THEY, THEY LOVE THAT. SO, AND, UM, I WOULD BE REMISS IF I DIDN'T, UM, LET YOU GUYS KNOW ABOUT OUR PARTNERS BECAUSE WITHOUT OUR PARTNERS, UM, IT WOULD BE VERY HARD FOR THIS, THE SUCCESS WE'RE HAVING AT MARYDALE TO HAPPEN. UM, LSU LAB SCHOOL HAS BEEN SPONSORING A LOT OF THINGS FOR US. UM, THEY HAVE GIVEN US SCHOOL SUPPLIES. WE'RE WORKING WITH THEM TO DO AN ART AUCTION FOR OUR KIDS TO DO OUR FUNDRAISER. UM, DR EARLY FROM UM, LDOE HAS PARTNERED, HEY, WHATEVER PD YOU NEED, WHATEVER YOU GUYS NEED, JUST LET US KNOW. COUNCILMAN HURST ALWAYS CALLING. HEY, WHAT DO YOU, WHAT DO YOU NEED? ATMOS ENERGY, UM, HAS AGREED, AND THIS IS WHAT I'M SO EXCITED ABOUT. ATMOS ENERGY HAS AGREED TO BUY US A LITERACY. IT'S A, IT'S A BOOK VENDING MACHINE. AND THE KIDS EARN COINS AND THEY GET TO PUT THE COIN IN AND IT TALKS TO THEM AND THEY GET TO PICK A BOOK BECAUSE THE GOAL IS TO PUT LITERATURE IN THEIR HANDS. THE DECODABLES ARE GREAT, BUT THEY NEED TO BE EXPOSED TO OTHER TYPES OF LITERATURE AS WELL. UM, AND SO IF I CAN GIVE EVERY STUDENT ON MY CAMPUS A BOOK AND LET THEM BE HAPPY ABOUT IT, TO TAKE IT HOME. BUT NOT ONLY DID WE GET THE MACHINE, DELTA SIGMA THETA IS STOCKING THE MACHINE FOR US FOR THREE YEARS. YES. AND SO WE LOVE VS. UM, VS. HAS BEEN JUST A HUGE HELP TO MARYDALE THIS YEAR. SO, UM, I'M VERY EXCITED AND I WANT TO CONTINUE TO GROW WITH THESE PARTNERSHIPS. AND, UM, BUT YEAH, COME BY AND, AND SEE US AT MARYDALE. WE HAVE SOME GREAT THINGS HAPPENING THERE. STAY RIGHT THERE. MS. WELLS. DON'T LEAVE. YES, SIR. UH, MR. MARTIN. I, I I, I LIKE TO THINK THAT AS MARYDALE AS PART OF THE INITIAL PHASE ONE TO START TIMES THE 93% ATTENDANCE RATE BY TEACHERS AND STUDENTS IS A TESTAMENT TO THAT SHIFT. AND SO IT'S WORKING. YES, THE DATA HAS SHOWING US THAT IT'S WORKING THAT, AND THAT, THAT HAS BEEN A SMOOTH TRANSITION FOR US, ESPECIALLY WITH OUR BUSES. UM, SHARING BUSES WITH GLEN OAKS PARK THAT HAS WORKED FABULOUSLY WELL. UM, WHEN OUR FIRST BUS PULLS OUT, WE LET MR. WILLIAMS KNOW, HEY, THE BUSES ARE ON THEIR WAY TO PICK UP YOURS. AND IT JUST FLOWS AND IT'S VERY SMOOTH AND EVERYBODY'S TAGGED. EVERYBODY GETS HOME EVERY DAY. AND IT'S, IT'S, IT'S SIMPLE. AND IT HAS WORKED AND IT HAS BEEN GREAT. SO [00:25:01] THE EARLY START TIMES FOR OUR LITTLE ONES HAS DEFINITELY HELPED BECAUSE THEY'RE NOT FALLING ASLEEP AT THE END OF THE DAY NOW. SO IT DOES HELP. ABSOLUTE. THANK YOU. YEAH. UH, MS. PAUL LEWIS. HI MS. WELL, HI. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR SHARING THIS REPORT. UM, ONE OF MY QUESTIONS FIRST YES, MA'AM. IS HOW CAN YOU ADD ME TO THE LIST FOR THE STORY DAY? OKAY. I'LL SEND YOU THE LINK, . THANK YOU. AND THEN THE OTHER IS, I KNOW IN THE PAST YOU GUYS HAVE HAD AN ACTIVE PARENT TEACHER ORGANIZATION MM-HMM . IS THAT STILL EXISTING ON YOUR CAMPUS? YES, MA'AM. AND, AND TELL US JUST A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THAT, BECAUSE THAT'S ONE OF MY, MY GOALS FOR OUR DISTRICT IS THAT MAJORITY OF OUR ELEMENTARY AND MIDDLE SCHOOLS WILL HAVE ACTIVE PTAS OR PTOS. MM-HMM . COULD YOU SPEAK TO THAT FOR US? YES, MA'AM. SO WE, THEY HAD CHANGED SOME OF THE RULES A LITTLE BIT THIS YEAR. SO WE'RE, WE'RE WORK, CONTINUING TO WORK TO GET IT UP AND RUNNING. LAST YEAR WAS THE FIRST YEAR THAT MARYDALE HAD IT. I IMPLEMENTED IT LAST YEAR FOR THE FIRST TIME IN YEARS THAT IT HAD HAD IT. AND PARENTS AND GRANDPARENTS ABSOLUTELY LOVED IT. AND THEY SHOWED UP. THEY SHOWED OUT AND THEY HELPED US. THEY HELPED US AND THEY LOVED IT. WE ALSO DID A GRANDPARENTS GRIDIRON CLUB BECAUSE THE GRANDPARENTS WERE LIKE, HEY, WE WANT SOMETHING TOO, RIGHT? SO WE'RE LIKE, OKAY, WELL WE'LL HAVE GRANDPARENTS GRID IRON AND THEN WE'LL HAVE OUR PTO. AND BOTH WERE VERY ACTIVE. THEY WOULD COME AND READ. THEY WOULD COME AND DO THINGS FOR THE TEACHERS, VOLUNTEER, WHATEVER WE NEEDED. ESPECIALLY WHEN WE DID, YOU KNOW, OUR DIFFERENT EVENTS. IT'S LIKE TRUNK OR TREAT OR YOU KNOW, JUST DIFFERENT FUN THINGS FOR THE KIDS. THE PARENTS WERE ALWAYS THERE HELPING OUT. THANK YOU SO MUCH. SO IT SOUNDS LIKE MR. ANNE WE'RE BACK ON IT. THANK YOU. YES, DEFINITELY. THANK YOU. UM, MR. LEWIS, MS. WELLS, THANK YOU FOR, UM, THAT FANTASTIC RE REPORT. YES, SIR. KINDA LIKE WE SINGING FROM THE SAME HYMN BOOK A LITTLE BIT. I LOVE THE FACT THAT YOU ARE WORKING IN COLLABORATION WITH PARK. I LOVE THE FACT THAT YOUR TEACHERS ARE COMING TO SCHOOL BECAUSE YOU ARE INVESTING IN THEM IS MORE THAN JUST A PAYCHECK. WHEN YOU INVEST IN PEOPLE, THEY UNDERSTAND THAT YOU WANT TO GET THE BEST OUT OF THEM. EVERYBODY NEEDS ENCOURAGEMENT. YES, SIR. AND I'M SO GLAD YOU'RE STANDING THERE BECAUSE IN A SENSE OF REAL TRANSPARENCY, WHEN I WALKED OUTTA HERE TWO WEEKS AGO, I HAD SERIOUS DOUBTS IF I EVER WANTED TO COME BACK. WELL, THERE'S GOOD THINGS HAPPENING BECAUSE IT APPEARS THAT ALL WE TALK ABOUT IS THINGS THAT DON'T INVOLVE CHILDREN. AND I'LL SPEAK TO THAT A LITTLE BIT LATER. BUT AGAIN, THANK YOU FOR ALL YOU'RE DOING. YES SIR. KEEP INVESTING IN YOUR STUDENTS. KEEP INVESTING IN YOUR CHILDREN. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. AND I JUST WANNA GIVE YOU A KUDOS AS WELL. UM, I HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO VISIT ON THE FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL YOU, AND IT WAS WONDERFUL. SO YEAH, I APPRECIATE THAT AND ALL OF THE THINGS THAT YOU'RE DOING. AND IT WAS ALSO NICE TO KNOW THAT YOU HAD SOME VACANCIES, THAT YOU STILL HAVE VACANCIES, SO THAT'S A PLUS. AND SO ANY OTHER BOARD MEMBERS HAVE ANY OTHER COMMENTS? ALRIGHT. SO THANK YOU. SO KIND. THANK YOU SO MUCH, MOON. ALONG [E. Reports from Board Appointees to Committees/Agencies] TO ITEM, UM, E REPORTS FROM BOARD APPOINTEES TO COMMITTEES OR AGENCIES DO WE MS. PAUL LEWIS . THANK YOU. UM, I AM JUST ELATED TO SHARE THAT I HAD THE OPPORTUNITY YESTERDAY TO PARTICIPATE IN THE EBR SCHOOLS FOUNDATION, UH, BOARD RETREAT, UH, OR PLANNING SESSION. AND IT WAS QUITE INFORMATIVE. I'M SURE THAT MS. LIGHTFOOT WILL SHARE MORE DETAILS AS TIME GOES ON. BUT WE WERE ABLE TO SET OUR PRIORITIES, UH, FOR THE YEAR, INCLUDING HOW WE WILL CONTINUE TO, NUMBER ONE, SUPPORT STUDENTS, UH, IN WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT AND THEN ALSO, UM, IN THE INITIATIVES THAT OUR SUPERINTENDENT HAS SET FORTH. AND THEN ALSO BEGINNING TO TALK ABOUT HOW WE CAN EVEN ALIGN GRANT GRANT FUNDS FOR TEACHERS EVEN MORE, UH, INTENTIONALLY. SO I'M SURE THAT THERE IS ADDITIONAL DETAIL THAT WOULD WILL BE COMING AS TIME GOES ON. BUT WE WILL SAY THIS, THAT IF YOU KNOW OF A PARTNER, A PARTNER WHO IS VERY GENEROUS, UH, IN OUR COMMUNITY, WE WILL GLADLY RECEIVE THEIR PARTNERSHIP. UH, FEEL FREE TO, UM, GET WITH ME OR MS. LIGHTFOOT OR ANY OF THE OTHER EBR FOUNDATION BOARD MEMBERS FOR MORE INFORMATION. SO THANK YOU. THANK YOU MS. PAUL LEWIS. ANY [00:30:01] OTHER BOARD MEMBER? HAVE ANY REPORTS? MR. LEWIS, UM, VS. PARTNERS IN EDUCATION. YOU KNOW, AI HAS BECOME THE BUZZWORD ALL OVER THE COUNTRY, ALL OVER THE WORLD, VS. IS AN OUTSTANDING ORGANIZATION THAT DOES, I MEAN, THEY WORK TIRELESSLY TO HELP IMPROVE THE LIVES OF OUR YOUNG PEOPLE. AND THEY'RE GOING TO DO A, UH, LUNCHEON, AI AND EDUCATION. AND IT WILL BE HELD OCTOBER 30TH AT 11:00 AM TO 1:00 PM AT THE MAIN LOBBY OF THE GOODWOOD LIBRARY. I'LL OWN MS. AMY JONES, CHIEF TECHNOLOGY OFFICER, WILL BE ONE OF THE PRESENTERS. . UH, WE'RE ALSO GOING TO HAVE A YOUNG MAN, MYRICK HOBBES, WHO'S A SENIOR AT LIBERTY HIGH SCHOOL. HE'S GOING TO BE A PANELIST AND A DR. RICHARD SCHWARTZ. HE'S A FACULTY COORDINATOR FOR ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AT THE LOUISIANA STATE UNIVERSITY. HE WILL BE THERE AS WELL. SO IF YOU GOT A COUPLE HOURS YOU WANNA SPEND AND LEARN ABOUT AI AND HOW THE, THE IMPACT ON EDUCATION, OCTOBER 30TH, 11:00 AM TO 1:00 PM AT THE MAIN LIBRARY ON GOODWOOD. THANK YOU. THANK YOU, COACH. MOVING ALONG TO ITEM F. AND THERE YOU HAVE IT AGAIN, COACH. OKAY. ION NO WATER, JUST ONE MINUTE OF COUPLE MINUTES OF PERSONAL PRIVILEGE. OKAY. AND, AND MS. WELLS, I'M, I'M SO GLAD THAT YOU MADE YOUR PRESENTATION A COUPLE WEEKS AGO. I MADE SOME COMMENTS ABOUT TEACHERS AND WHETHER THEY WERE, UM, QUALIFIED OR HIGHLY QUALIFIED. THAT LANGUAGE DOESN'T EXIST ANYMORE. IT'S CERTIFICATE AND IT'S A CERTIFICATE AND, WHAT'S THE OTHER WORD? DEGREED. DEGREED IN CERTIFICATE. UM, AND I MADE SOME COMMENTS THAT MAY HAVE BEEN TAKEN OUTTA CONTEXT AND THEY MAY NOT HAVE BEEN. UM, I APOLOGIZE TO ANY TEACHER OR SCHOOL LEADER THAT I MAY OFFENDED, BUT THE BOTTOM LINE IS, MS. WELLS, YOU ARE INVESTING IN YOUR TEACHERS. WE'VE GOT TO INVEST IN OUR TEACHERS IF WE WANT OUR CHILDREN TO PROGRESS. AND I MADE THE COMMENT ABOUT TEACHERS STANDING IN FRONT OF STUDENTS, NOT REALLY UNDERSTANDING SOME OF, OF THE CONTENT THAT THEY WOULD TEACH. AND THAT'S THE GOSPEL TRUTH. WE CAN'T HOLD KIDS ACCOUNTABLE IF THEY'RE NOT BEING PREPARED BY PEOPLE WHO ARE RESPONSIBLE AND ACCOUNTABLE FOR THE CONTENT THAT THEY'RE TEACHING. SO, AGAIN, IF I OFFENDED ANY TEACHERS, I'M SORRY, I DID NOT MEAN TO. MY MOTHER RAISED TWO KIDS AND TAUGHT SCHOOL FOR 34 YEARS. SO I UNDERSTAND THE SACRIFICES TEACHERS HAVE TO MAKE. I UNDERSTAND THE SACRIFICES THEIR KIDS HAVE TO MAKE. SO, AGAIN, IF I OFFENDED YOU, I'M SORRY, TEACHERS, IF I OFFENDED ANYBODY ELSE TOO BAD. . THANK YOU. AND I MEAN, OKAY, HERE WE GO. THE [F. Consent Agenda] CONSENT AGENDA, THE FOLLOW THE FOLLOWING ITEMS ARE TO BE APPROVED AS PART OF THE CONSENT AGENDA AND ARE CONSIDERED TO BE ROUTINE AND WILL BE ENACTED UPON WITH ONE MOTION. THERE WILL BE NO SEPARATE DISCUSSIONS OF ITEMS UNLESS A BOARD MEMBER. SO REQUEST IN WHICH EVENT THE ITEM WILL BE REMOVED FROM THE CONSENT AGENDA AND CONSIDERED AS AN ITEM ON THE REGULAR AGENDA FOR A SEPARATE VOTE. PRECEDING THE LAST ITEM ON THE REGULAR AGENDA RESOLUTION BOND PURCHASE. CONSIDERATION OF A REQUEST FOR THE APPROVAL OF THE BOND PURCHASE AGREEMENT FOR THE SALE OF 40 MILLION LIMITED TAX BONDS SERIES 2025. AND TO BE ADOPTED AND TO BE ADOPTED. THIS A RESOLUTION PROVIDING FOR THE REOCCURRING OF DEBT AND INSURANCE. IS THAT, YEAH, INSURANCE OF BONDS. ISSUANCE, ISSUANCE, ISSUANCE OF BONDS, THAT MEANS YOU'RE GIVING 'EM OUT, THEREFORE AUTHORIZING THE ASSURANCE. AND WHAT IS THAT? ISSUANCE? ISSUANCE AGAIN, GIVING 'EM OUT AND DELIVERY AND DELIVERY OF THE BONDS AND RELATED MATTERS MR. LOPEZ RESOLUTION. MILEAGE CONSIDERATION AND ADOPTION OF RESOLUTION FOR THE PURPOSE OF LEVIAN MILLAGE EFFECTIVE FOR THE 2026. ASSESSMENT ROLES AS REQUIRED BY LAW MS. LOPEZ [00:35:01] EXTERNAL AGREEMENT LOUISIANA STATE UNIVERSITY. CONSIDERATION OF A REQUEST FOR THE APPROVAL OF AN AMEND AN AMENDMENT TO THE EXTERNAL AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE EAST BATON ROUGE PARISH SCHOOL BOARD AND THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS OF LOUISIANA STATE UNIVERSITY AND AGRICULTURAL AND MECHANICAL COLLEGE IN THE AMOUNT OF $107,933 TO EXTEND THE AGREEMENT FOR ONE YEAR TO PROVIDE UP TO SIX INTERNS. FUNDING SOURCE GENERAL FUND MS. WILLIAMS AND DR. SMOTHERS PROFESSIONAL SERVICE CONTRACT DATA TO INSTRUCT ACADEMY CONSIDERATION OF A REQUEST FOR THE APPROVAL OF A PROFESSIONAL SERVICE CONTRACT BETWEEN THE EAST BATON ROUGE PARISH SCHOOL BOARD AND DATA TO INSTRUCTION ACADEMY AND THE AMOUNT OF $81,836 TO PROVIDE PROFESSIONAL LEARNING WORKSHOPS, FUNDING SOURCE GATES GRANT MS. KOSKI AND MS. EDWARDS CHARTER POLICY REVISION HA CONSIDERATION OF A REQUEST FOR THE APPROVAL OF ALL PROPOSED AMENDMENTS TO THE EAST BATON ROUGE PARISH CHARTER SCHOOL POLICY HA AS IDENTIFIED AS THE AS IDENTIFIED IN THE SUPPORTING DOCUMENT SIX CHARTER SCHOOL POLICY REVISION CHAPTER EIGHT CHARTER SCHOOL RENEWALS. CONSIDERATION OF A REQUEST FOR THE APPROVAL OF THE FOLLOWING PROPOSED OPTIONS REGARDING THE EAST BATON ROUGE PARISH SCHOOL SYSTEMS CHARTER SCHOOL POLICY. AH, CHAPTER EIGHT, CHARTER SCHOOL RENEWALS. PAGE 60 63. OPTION B AMENDING THE STANDARDS IN TERMS OF CHARTER SCHOOL INITIAL AND SUB SUBSEQUENT RENEWALS FOR DISTRICT AUTHORIZED TYPE ONE CHARTERS FOR SCHOOLS AS OUTLINED IN THE SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS BOARD MEMBER RECOMMENDATION CHARTER POLICY REVISION 13 AMENDMENT TO LOCAL AUTHORIZED CHARTERS. CONSIDERATION OF A CONSIDERATION OF A REQUEST FOR THE APPROVAL OF THE FOLLOWING PROPOSED OPTIONS REGARDING THE EAST BATON ROUGE PARISH SCHOOL SYSTEMS CHARTER SCHOOL POLICY. AH, CHAPTER 13, AMENDMENTS TO LOCAL AMENDMENTS TO LOCALLY AUTHORIZED CHARTERS, MATERIAL AMENDMENTS. SECTION E, PAGE 79, OPTION B AUTHORIZING MATERIAL AMENDMENTS REGARDING THE ADDITIONAL, THE ADDITION OF NEW GRADE OF NEW GRADE LEVELS OR CHANGES IN THE STUDENT ENROLLMENT. ENROLLMENT WHICH RESULTS IN ENROLLMENT IN EXCESS OF 120% I THINK SHOULD BE ON THERE. I DON'T KNOW. YEAH. OKAY. 120% OF THE TOTAL NUMBER OF SCHOOLS SET FORTH IN THE SCHOOL'S CHARTER BY ANY CHARTER EX FOR ANY CHARTER. EXCLUDING MEETING WITH A CURRENT LETTER GRADE OF C OR HIGHER OR AN EQUIVALENT SPS, BUT EXCLUDING THE PROVISIONS, ALLOWING A CURRENT LETTER GRADE OF D OR HIGHER ON EQUIVALENT SPS AND THE PROGRESS INDEX EQUIVALENT TO A LETTER GRADE A. SO MOVE . THANK YOU. ARE THERE ANY ITEMS THAT ANY BOARD MEMBERS WOULD LIKE TO, UM, REMOVE SEPARATELY FROM THE CONSENT AGENDA? I'D LIKE TO REMOVE ITEM THREE. OKAY. THAT'S THREE. ANY OTHER ITEMS? ANYBODY ELSE? OKAY. SO I'LL SECOND. OKAY, MIKE, SECONDED. OKAY. DO WE HAVE ANY? YEAH, I, MS. STEWART, I WANT TO HAVE SOME CONVERSATION, A LITTLE BIT MORE CONVERSATION AROUND ITEM ONE. SO YOU WANT TO PULL IT? YES. OKAY. SO ONE, I'M SORRY. THAT'S ONE. SO ONE IN THREE OTHER ONES PULLED. ALRIGHT. IS THAT IT? IS THAT IT? ALL RIGHT, SO WE NOW GO TO PUBLIC COMMENT. UM, YEAH, WE HAVE ALL OF 'EM. THAT'S, THAT'S GOTTA WAIT. YEAH, I KNOW. I'M ALL OF 'EM. WANT? YEAH. OKAY. IN IT, THERE ARE SOME ONLINE. OKAY. GIVE US ONE SECOND. LEMME JUST TO REFRESH. WE HAVE ONLINE COMMENTS FOR, UM, ITEM F FIVE CHARTER POLICY REVISION HA FROM MS. JENNIFER LANDRY. WE KNOW WHAT HAPPENS WITH A DECADE OF NO OVERSIGHT. PROPOSED POLICY GIVEN CHARTERS MORE TIME WITHOUT REAL SUPERVISION IS DANGEROUS. OTHER CHO SCHOOL CHOICE PROGRAMS SUCH AS MAGNET PROGRAM, WHICH OVER TIME WITH NO SU UH, SUPERVISION BECAME ECONOMICALLY SEGREGATED. RIGHT NOW IN ALL OF OUR [00:40:01] SCHOOLS, THE HIGHER THE SB SCORE SPS SCORE, THE LESS POOR AND DISABLED STUDENTS SERVED. MAGNETS AND CHARTERS HOARD RESOURCES INTENDED FOR STUDENTS. THEY CREATE ADMINISTRATIVE JOBS AND TRAVEL FUNDS FOR ADULTS IN EXCHANGE FOR SOCIAL MEDIA OPTICS AS THEY EXPLOIT CHILDREN ON AS PROPS TO KEEP THE CASH FLOWING. WE NEED BETTER POLICIES TO MAKE SURE CHARTERS AND MAGNET SCHOOLS ARE HERE TO SERVE ALL STUDENTS AND ARE HELD ACCOUNTABLE IN LIGHT OF A DISTRICT THAT WILL LIKELY SUFFER MORE ENROLLMENT LOSSES AS A RESULT OF THE SCHOOL CLOSES AND CONSOLIDATIONS. WE NEED TO GET THESE POLICIES RIGHT FOR THE KIDS. THANK YOU AGAIN. THIS IS ON, UH, F FIVE FROM NATALIE ABERT. THE DISTRICT REALLY DID A DISSERVICE BY NOT HAVING A WORKSHOP FOR THIS WHOLE POLICY WHERE THE PUBLIC COULD ASK TOUGH QUESTIONS, PLEASE VOTE NO. MANY DISTRICTS ARE CURRENTLY REVISING CHARTER POLICY TO BE MORE EFFICIENT AND TO HOLD CHARTERS ACCOUNTABLE FOR SERVING EVERY CHILD BY NOT KICKING KIDS WITH BEHAVIORAL PROBLEMS OR ABSENCES TO THE TRADITIONAL PUBLIC SCHOOLS. JUST BECAUSE THE ADULTS DON'T LIKE THE PAPERWORK DOESN'T MEAN WE SHOULD GIVE THEM AN EXTENSION. CHARTER SCHOOLS SHOULD HAVE TWO TO FOUR YEARS TO FIGURE IT OUT. AT THE BEGINNING OF THIS CHARTER POLICY, THERE IS SOME LINE ABOUT CHARTERS ARE NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR KEEPING OPEN SCHOOLS THAT WOULD OTHERWISE BE FAILING. THAT SOUNDS LIKE A PASS. AND THAT CHARTERS CAN JUST WALK WITH NO ACCOUNTABILITY FOR WHAT THEY DID. AFTER THE MONEY IS GONE AND THE STATE IS COMING DOWN THEIR BACK. DID WE LEARN NOTHING FROM ALL THE CHILDREN DISPLACED BY THE IDEA SCHOOL DISASTER? EBR SCHOOLS RECOMMENDED CLOSING IDEA, BUT THE BOARD DECLINED. ITEM SIX, THIS IS CHARTER POLICY REVISION. CHAPTER EIGHT, CHARTER SCHOOL RENEWALS FROM MAYA WILLIAMS 10 YEAR RENEWALS. THE AUDACITY EBR SCHOOLS NEED NEW RULES ON OPERATORS LIKE OTHER DISTRICT, SUCH AS OPERATORS MUST GIVE UP TO 18 MONTHS NOTICE OF PLANS TO CLOSE CAMPUSES AND RETURN ANY UNUSED FUND WITHIN 45 DAYS OF CLOSURE. CHARTER OFFICIALS CANNOT SIT ON THEIR BOARD AND ALSO HOLD EMPLOYMENT WITH THE SAME ORGANIZATION. AND SCHOOLS CAN'T PRESSURE STUDENTS WITH ABSENCES OR DISCIPLINE PROBLEMS INTO VOLUNTARILY, VOLUNTARILY TRANSFERRING. THOSE ARE EXAMPLES OF EFFECTIVE POLICIES. THIS POLICY IS UNFIT FOR A DISTRICT STRUGGLING WITH ENROLLMENT ISSUES. THE BOARD NEEDS TO GO BACK, DO RESEARCH AND WRITE EFFECTIVE POLICY THAT WILL LEAD TO BETTER OUTCOMES AND MORE ACCOUNTABILITY. REMEMBER PROVERBS, HE WHO OPPRESSES THE POOR TAUNTS MAKER. THIS POLICY IS VERY MUCH WRITTEN TO FAVORITE OPERATORS, POCKET BOOKS AND NOT STUDENT OUTCOMES. PLEASE VOTE NO AND COME BACK WITH A BETTER POLICY. F SEVEN CHARTER POLICY REVISION CHAPTER 13 AMENDMENTS TO LOCALLY AUTHORIZED CHARTER FROM MILDRED DUN DUNHAM DRUMMOND, I'M SORRY. WHY IS THERE NO NEED TO SHOW DEMAND FOR INCREASING GRADE LEVELS? WHERE ARE THESE STUDENTS GOING TO COME FROM? ISN'T THE DISTRICT ON DECLINE BECAUSE OF CLOSERS AND CONSOLIDATIONS? WE HAVE ALREADY SEEN WHAT HAPPENS WHEN A SYSTEM EXPANDS ENROLLMENT OR COMES UP WITH A NEW MAGNET WITHOUT CONSULTING THE COMMUNITY. NOT EVERY PROGRAM IS MEANT TO EXPAND OR SHOULD EXPAND WITHOUT EVIDENCE OF DEMAND AND SUPPORT. IF CHARTERS OPERATES LIKE MAGNET, THEY'LL JUST GO TO THE BOARD AND SAY THEY'RE GOING TO EXPAND AND REPURPOSE MONEY FOR STUDENTS THAT NEVER SHOW UP. THERE IS NOT ALWAYS DEMAND THEN. AND THEN A COMMUNITY IS STUCK WITH STAFF AND STUDENTS BEING HELP RESPONSIBLE FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF SOMEONE ELSE'S BAD IDEA. WE NEED TO HOLD ALL SCHOOLS TO A HIGH STANDARD, INCLUDING MADIX AND CHARTERS, WHICH OFTEN PUT EXCESSIVE PRESSURE ON SCHOOLS TO TURN OUT THEME RELATED PRODUCTS AND PERFORMANCES. EVEN IF THE COST IS STUDENT AND STAFF WELLBEING. NOT EVERYWHERE. NOT EVERYWHERE SHOULD EXPAND. AND I WILL REFRESH. THAT CONCLUDES THE ONLINE COMMENTS. THANK YOU MR. GODDE. BUT WE DO HAVE A PUBLIC, UH, COMMENT CARD. MS. TANYA NEWMAN. NEIMAN, I'M SORRY. THAT'S ALRIGHT. UH, THANK YOU. YEAH, I'M SORRY, I I DIDN'T EXPECT F1 TO BE PULLED. SO I HAD, I, UH, THOUGHT I WAS GONNA HAVE TO JUST LET MY COMMENTS ON THE CHARTER SCHOOL UPDATE FROM LAST WEEK'S STAND. SO I JUST WANNA REITERATE AS WE, AS Y'ALL ACKNOWLEDGE, OR AT LEAST MR. GDAY ACKNOWLEDGED LAST WEEK, THAT A LOT OF THE UPDATES ARE PRESCRIBED BY THE STATE LAW. BUT I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT, IT STILL PAINS ME THAT THERE ISN'T MUCH PUSHBACK FROM THIS BOARD OR ACKNOWLEDGEMENT IN THE WAYS IN WHICH THAT STATE CHARTER SCHOOL LAW IS EFFECTIVELY ELIMINATING PUBLIC EDUCATION BY EMPOWERING BOARDS MEMBERS WHO ARE APPOINTED RATHER THAN ELECTED. AND THAT THEN ENTER INTO BUSINESS AGREEMENTS THAT ENRICHED, UM, THE PRIVATE [00:45:01] BUSINESSES THAT ARE ASSOCIATED WITH THOSE CHARTER MANAGEMENT ORGANIZATIONS AND WITH NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL COMPANIES INSTEAD OF INVESTING OUR TAX DOLLARS RIGHT HERE IN EAST BATON ROUGE PARISH, WHICH IS HOW A PUBLIC ENTITY IS SUPPOSED TO WORK. AND SO I JUST HOPE THAT PEOPLE ALSO UNDERSTAND THAT THAT CHARTER SCHOOL LAW IS ACTUALLY WHAT ALSO LAID THE GROUNDWORK FOR ALL THE BREAKAWAYS IN EAST BATON ROUGE PARISH. ON THE ONE HAND, IT CREATED THE INCENTIVE TO BREAK AWAY AND ALSO IT CREATED THE JUSTIFICATION BECAUSE THE CHARTER SCHOOL MODEL DEPENDS UPON A FUNDAMENTALLY FLAWED SCHOOL ACCOUNTABILITY SYSTEM, WHICH TARGETS DISTRICTS THAT HAVE A HIGH CONCENTRATION OF STUDENTS WHO LIVE IN POVERTY. AND SO THEY ARE TARGETED FOR STATE TAKEOVER AND PRIVATIZATION, IE AND EROSION OF VOTING RIGHTS. AND SO, UM, IN ORDER TO, UH, SAVE THEMSELVES, THEY WILL BREAK AWAY. OTHERWISE THEY RISK BEING TAKEN OVER AND PRIVATIZED. BUT I ALSO WANNA POINT OUT THAT ONE PART OF THAT, UM, UPDATE THAT Y'ALL WERE FORCED TO RETAKE IS ALLOWING CHARTER SCHOOL AFFILIATES TO USE THEIR OVERALL AVERAGE OF THEIR DEMOGRAPHICS TO DEMONSTRATE THAT THEY'RE ABIDING BY THE LAW TO SERVE A COMMISERATE POPULATION THAT IS, UM, REFLECTS THE BODY WITHIN THE EAST BATON ROUGE PARISH OR THE PARISH THEY OPERATE IN. AND SO THAT MEANS THAT, UM, A SCHOOL, LET'S SAY THERE'S TWO CHARTER SCHOOLS AND ONE SCHOOL HAS, UM, A NEARLY ALL WHITE POPULATION AND THEY HAVE ANOTHER SCHOOL THAT HAS, UM, A NEARLY ALL, UM, AFRICA, WELL, I DON'T KNOW WHAT THE PERCENTAGES WOULD ACTUALLY BE, BUT A PREDOMINANTLY AFRICAN-AMERICAN POPULATION. AND SO THAT THE SCHOOLS REMAIN SEGREGATED. UM, BUT THEY'LL BE ABLE TO CLAIM THAT THEY'RE ACTUALLY MEETING THOSE TARGETS BECAUSE THE AVERAGE OF THEIR STUDENTS. AND SO I KNOW WE'VE STRUGGLED WITH INTEGRATING OUR SCHOOLS OVER THE PAST, UH, WHATEVER MANY YEARS NOW. UM, BUT THE FACT IS, IS THAT WE WERE MAKING HEADWAY ON THAT INTEGRATION. THEY MAY HAVE BEEN DEFACTO, UM, SEGREGATED IN MANY PLACES, BUT AT LEAST THEY WERE NO LONGER LEGALLY SEGREGATED. RIGHT? THERE WAS NO LAW MANDATING THAT THEY'D BE SEGREGATED. AND NOW THE CHARTER SCHOOL LAW IS RETURNING US TO THAT MODEL. AND IT IS, UM, A HEARTBREAK. IT'S A TRAGEDY. AND I JUST HOPE WE ALL CAN ACKNOWLEDGE THAT WHEN WE ARE FORCED, WHEN OUR LOCAL BOARDS ARE FORCED TO ADOPT THESE LAWS THAT ARE DICTATED BY A STATE THAT CERTAINLY DOESN'T HAVE THE BEST INTEREST OF EAST BATON ROUGE PARISH AT HEART. THANK YOU. THANK YOU MS. NIMAN. WERE THERE ANY OTHER PUBLIC COMMENTS ON THE CONSENT BECAUSE OF THE CHANGE? OKAY, I JUST WANTED TO MAKE SURE. ALRIGHT. UM, DO I HAVE A OH, WE ALREADY HAVE IT. YEAH, I WAS JUST MAKING SURE. OKAY. WHY I SAY CARRIE? I KNOW. OKAY, MS. LOUIS, THANK YOU. UM, I JUST WANTED TO ASK TWO, TWO OR THREE QUESTIONS FOR CLARIFICATION. I KNOW WE TALKED ABOUT THIS TWO WEEKS AGO AND I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THAT, UM, WE ARE SPEAKING CLEARLY AND, AND MAKING SURE THAT WE'RE INFORMING THE PUBLIC FOR THOSE WHO DID NOT PAY ATTENTION. UM, FOR THE COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE, UM, SUPERINTENDENT COLE OR MR. SHAMBLIN, I BELIEVE WE CHOSE FOR, FOR ITEM C OR AL, OR NUMBER C. LOOK, I WAS ABOUT TO SAY ALPHA VISIT, UH, FOR FC. UH, WE HAD THE CHOICE OR THE OPTION OUT OF KEEPING OUR CURRENT, UH, EXTENSION OF RENEWAL POLICY, WHICH IS THE THREE TO FIVE YEARS, OR ENGAGING IN THE SEVEN YEAR, UH, RENEWAL OR THE 10. AND AM I CORRECT IN SAYING THAT WE CHOSE THE SEVEN YEAR? YES. OKAY. AND, UH, THAT WAS BY MAJORITY VOTE AND IT WAS NOT ALL OF US, BUT IT WAS BY MAJORITY, CORRECT? YES, MA'AM. OKAY. AND THEN ALSO I JUST WANTED TO ASK AS WELL IN OUR SUGGESTED REVISIONS, I KNOW THAT WE TALKED ABOUT, UM, MAKING SURE THAT WE'RE STREAMLINING AND THAT WE ARE, UH, SOLIDIFYING THE, THE REQUESTS OR THE EXPECTATION IN OUR POLICY, OUR CHARTER SCHOOL POLICY IN REGARDS TO SPECIAL EDUCATION, TRANSPORTATION, AND THOSE AREAS WHERE THERE WERE SOME GAPS. AM I CORRECT? YES, MA'AM. OKAY. ALRIGHT. THANK YOU. THANK YOU MS. PAUL LEWIS. MR. GODDE? YES. UH, JUST TO PIGGYBACK ON A LITTLE BIT OF THAT I WANT TO ADDRESS, UH, MS. NYMAN BROUGHT UP, UH, A POINT ABOUT THE, UH, THE CHANGE IN STATE LAW THAT ALLOWS THE AGGREGATE SCORE, THE AGGREGATE OF SUBGROUPS, UH, TO STAND FOR EACH, UH, INDIVIDUAL SCHOOL AS A PASS OR FAIL. WE HAVE TRIED TO ADDRESS THAT IN OUR POLICY BECAUSE OUR POLICY DOES HAVE PROVISION THAT YES, THEY WILL, THEY DO THAT. UH, BUT 'CAUSE THAT'S STATE LAW, WE CAN'T DO ANYTHING ABOUT IT. BUT WE HAVE ADDED A PROVISION THAT FOR EVERY SCHOOL THAT DOES NOT MEET INDIVIDUALLY, THAT WE WANT A PLAN FROM THAT SCHOOL AS TO WHAT THEY'RE GOING TO DO TO TRY TO MEET THAT [00:50:01] AND ALSO HAVE THE PLAN IN THERE THAT INCLUDES UP TO AND INCLUDING PREFERENCE IN, UH, IN THE, UH, LOTTERY SYSTEM FOR THAT. SO, UH, I THINK WE'RE ADDRESSING THAT AS WELL AS WE CAN, UH, WITH WHAT THE TOOLS THAT WE HAVE GIVEN TO US. THE OTHER THING I'D LIKE TO ADDRESS IS I HEARD SEVERAL COMMENTS IN THERE ABOUT WHY, WHY ARE THESE CHARTERS COMING UP AND, AND WE'RE SITTING CLOSING SCHOOLS AND WHY IS THERE DEMAND, UNFORTUNATELY OR FORTUNATELY, HOWEVER YOU WANT, I'M NOT GONNA TAKE A SIDE ON IT. THE NEED OR DEMAND FOR SEATS IS NOT IN THE CHARTER LAW. UH, WE CAN DENY A CHARTER, BUT THEN THAT SAME CHARTER COULD THEN TURN AROUND AND GO RIGHT TO BESSIE AND GET A TYPE TWO CHARTER, OF WHICH THERE ARE ALREADY, I THINK FIVE ON THE AGENDA FOR NEXT YEAR. UH, TYPE TWO CHARTERS IN FRONT OF BESSIE THAT RESIDE IN EBR. AND SO IT COMES DOWN TO DO WE WANT TO HAVE ANY CONTROL OVER THESE CHARTERS OR DO WE WANT TO JUST PUNT EVERYTHING TO BESSIE AND LET BESSIE RUN THE SCHOOL DISTRICT, WHICH SLOWLY PUTS OUR DISTRICT OUT. AND SO WHILE I'M SYMPATHETIC TO THE NEED THAT MAYBE WE DON'T NEED ALL THESE SEATS, RECOGNIZE THAT SOME OF THIS IS, UH, THE LESSER IS TWO EVILS IN WHICH YOU GET TO. AND SO TURNING THEM DOWN, I SEE MS. NIMAN SHAKING HER HEAD, BUT TURNING 'EM DOWN ONLY PUTS THE ISSUE TO BESSIE. AND, UH, BESSIE WILL PROBABLY APPROVE THEM GIVEN THE CURRENT POLITICAL CULTURE. SO, UH, JUST UNDERSTAND THAT WE UNDERSTAND ALL OF THESE ISSUES. UH, WE DON'T HAVE SUPREME POWER TO DECIDE THEM THE WAY I THINK THAT MIGHT BE BEST FOR THE STUDENTS AND THIS PARISH. UH, BUT WE'RE TRYING TO DO THE BEST THAT WE CAN WITH THE TOOLS THAT WE HAVE. THANK YOU. THANK YOU, MR. GODDE. AND TO SUM UP WHAT MR. GODDE JUST SAID, MS. NIMAN, IT'S COMING WHETHER WE WANT IT OR NOT, MR. LEWIS, I'D LIKE TO RESPOND TO THE, UH, I THINK IT WAS AN ONLINE COMMENT AND THEY TALKED ABOUT, UM, CHILDREN WHO MAKE UP THE MAJORITY OF THE MAGNET SCHOOLS. YOU'D BE SURPRISED TO FIND OUT HOW MANY OF OUR MAGNET SCHOOLS ARE POPULATED BY KIDS WHO ARE CONSIDERED ECONOMICALLY DISADVANTAGED. YOU KNOW, I KINDA HAD THAT SAME MINDSET. AND ON YESTERDAY I HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO SIT NEXT TO MS. WRIGHT, DR. WRIGHT AT A WONDERFUL PROGRAM AT DROCK. AND WE HAD THIS EXCHANGE ABOUT ECONOMICALLY DISADVANTAGED CHARTER SCHOOLS, THE WHOLE NINE YARDS. AND SHE INVITED ME VERY CANDIDLY TO COME TO HER OFFICE AND SHE COULD SHOW ME IN BLACK AND WHITE THE NUMBERS OF HOW MANY KIDS WHO ARE QUALIFIED AS ECONOMICALLY DISADVANTAGED THAT ARE IN OUR MAGNET SCHOOLS. SO THAT'S A MYTH THAT WE NEED TO DO AWAY WITH. NOW THERE'S SOME, UM, WELL, I'LL JUST LEAVE IT LIKE THAT. I DON'T WANNA TALK ABOUT TOO MUCH WHAT WE TALKED ABOUT. 'CAUSE IT'S A PERSONAL CONVERSATION ABOUT EDUCATING CHILDREN IN THIS DISTRICT AND WHAT WE NEED TO DO TO GET TO THE PLACE WE NEED TO BE CHILDREN, WHETHER THEY'RE ECONOMICALLY DISADVANTAGE THAT ARE OR NOT. WHO ARE IN OUR MAGNET SCHOOLS, DR. WELLS, THEY'RE PRINCIPAL WELLS. THEY'RE LIKE, ARE YOU THE DOCTOR OR THE PRINCIPAL? PRINCIPAL. JUST THE PRINCIPAL. OKAY, GOOD. WELL, YOU GOT THE HARD JOB THEN. THE, THE DOCTORS HAVE THE EASY JOBS. WHAT YOU'RE DOING WITH THOSE PARENTS, YOU ARE HELPING THOSE PARENTS ACTUALLY PUT THEIR KIDS ON THE RIGHT TRACK TO, TO, TO, TO GET TO THOSE SCHOOLS. I WATCH MY YOUNGEST DAUGHTER DO IT. I WATCH MY SON DO IT. THAT'S WHY WE HAVE TO EDUCATE OUR PARENTS IN A WAY THAT THEY'RE NOT DEPENDENT ON THIS BODY OR A CHARTER SCHOOL BODY OR SOMETHING THAT'S SHINY AND NEW. IF THEY'RE GOING TO MAKE CHOICES, LET THEM MAKE INFORMED CHOICES, NOT JUST DANGLING SOMETHING IN FRONT OF THEM THAT LOOKS GOOD AND BY THE END OF THE SEMESTER THEY'RE MATRICULATING BACK BECAUSE, WELL, THAT MAYBE WASN'T THE BEST CHOICE. SO, BUT AGAIN, OUR POPULATIONS, OUR MAGNET SCHOOLS ARE VERY DIVERSE ACROSS THE BOARD. THANK YOU. THANK YOU, MR. LEWIS. ANY OTHER BOARD MEMBERS? ALL RIGHT. NO OTHER PUBLIC COMMENTS. ALL RIGHT, MOVING ALONG. MADAM SECRETARY, I'M SORRY. I'M VOICE VOTE. I'M SORRY. ALL THOSE IN FAVOR OF [00:55:01] THE CONSENT AGENDA. AYE. AYE. A AYE. AYE. ALL THOSE IN OPPOSITION VOTE IN OPPOSITION. AND THE VOTE IS NOW UP. MADAM SECRETARY ALREADY HAVE IT UP. SO IT SAY LOUISIANA STATE IT SAY LOUISIANA STATE UNIVERSITY. YEAH, THAT'S THE, THAT'S THE ONE HE, SO YOU COULD HIM TO. I KNOW, BUT IT CAME UP AS FAR AS LIKE, I WAS BOLD. I VOTED. YOU DIDN'T SHOW MY VOTE. YAY. MOTION CARRIES. THANK YOU. NOW [F.1. Resolution: Bond Purchase] MOVING TO ITEM ONE ON THE CONSENT AGENDA. THE RES, OH, I'M SORRY. CAN WE SEE THE VOTE? OH, AT THE WRONG SCREEN. ALRIGHT. MOVING ALONG TO ITEM ONE RESOLUTION BOND PURCHASE. CONSIDERATION OF A REQUEST FOR THE APPROVAL OF THE BOND PURCHASE AGREEMENT FOR THE SALE OF 40 MILLION LIMITED TAX BOND SERIES 2025. AND TO ADOPT THE RESOLUTION PROVIDING FOR THE INCURRING OF DEBT AND ISSUANCE OF THE BONDS, THEREBY AUTHORIZING THE ISSUANCE AND DELIVERY OF THE BONDS AND RELATED MATTERS. NOW I DO HAVE PUBLIC COMMENTS. UM, FIRST PUBLIC COMMENT FROM MR. JAMIE ROBINSON. COME ON DOWN, . GOOD EVENING. THE JUSTIFICATION FOR PASSING THE BOND SALE IS FAULTY TO SAY THE LEAST. THE ARGUMENT HAS BEEN EBR IS MAKING A FINAL PAYMENT TO THEIR PREVIOUS LOW INTEREST AND NO INTEREST BOND ASSUMED 15 TO 10 YEARS AGO, AND WILL THEREFORE HAVE AN ADDITIONAL $3.5 MILLION AVAILABLE IN ITS BUDGET TO MAKE THE PAYMENTS TOWARDS THE $40 MILLION BOND SALE AT AN INTEREST RATE NO HIGHER THAN 6%. HOWEVER, IF ST. GEORGE SCHOOL DISTRICT IS APPROVED BY VOTERS IN APRIL, EBR WILL ULTIMATELY LOSE APPROXIMATELY $7 MILLION IN TAX REVENUE FROM THAT 5.25 MILLAGE. THE ST. GEORGE SCHOOL DISTRICT IS NOT GUARANTEED TO BE APPROVED, BUT NONETHELESS, E THE EAST BAT PARISH SCHOOL SYSTEM MAY LIKELY FACE A $7 MILLION LOSS RATHER THAN A $3.5 MILLION GAIN AND ITS SCHOOL BOARD. IF THIS SCHOOL BOARD PASSES THIS BOND RESOLUTION NOW AND COMMIT THE DISTRICT TO THESE PAYMENTS, AND ST. GEORGE IS APPROVED BY VOTERS IN APRIL, THE EAST BAT PARISH SCHOOL BOARD OR SYSTEM WILL FACE A $10.5 MILLION REDUCTION IN AVAILABLE FUNDS. THIS IS SOMETHING THAT YOU REALLY HAVE TO WATCH. THIS IS SOMETHING THAT YOU REALLY HAVE TO STUDY. I IMPLORE YOU ALL TO DO THE SAME THING, UM, TO TAKE THE SAME STANCE YOU DID WHEN WE, WHEN IT WAS TIME FOR US TO CONSIDER REDISTRICTING. YOU SAID, WELL, WE DON'T KNOW WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE BECAUSE WE DON'T KNOW ALL THE FACTS. WE NEED TO STUDY. WE NEED TO EDUCATE OURSELVES. SURELY YOU'RE GONNA RESPECT YOUR CONSTITUTIONAL RESPONSIBILITY OF BEING A SCHOOL BOARD MEMBER AND MAKING SURE THAT YOU'RE GOOD FINANCIAL STEWARDS OF OUR BUDGET. CERTAINLY YOU'RE GOING TO DO THAT. CERTAINLY YOU'RE GOING TO CONSIDER LOSING MILLIONS OF DOLLARS WHEN OUR GENERAL GENERAL FUNDS AT LOCAL SCHOOLS ARE NOT GOOD AT ALL. TO THE POINT WHERE WE HAVE TO HAVE SO MANY SCHOOL-BASED FUNDRAISERS TO MAKE SURE CHILDREN HAVE OPPORTUNITIES TO GO ON FIELD TRIPS OR HAVE THE RESOURCES THAT THEY NEED. SURELY YOU'LL CONSIDER THE FACT THAT WE NEED TO HAVE A SUSTAINABLE, UH, SUB ARRAY ARRAYS FOR TEACHERS THAT ARE PERMANENT. SOMETHING THAT YOU DON'T HAVE TO KEEP BRINGING BEFORE THE BO BEFORE YOURSELVES EACH AND EVERY YEAR. WHY ARE WE KEEP THROWING MONEY AWAY? LET'S DO THE RIGHT THING. TAKE THE SAME STANCE. YOU, THIS IS A BAD IDEA. THIS IS NOT SOMETHING WE CAN DO NOW. AND ALSO YOU SAID, WELL, WE DON'T KNOW WHAT'S GONNA HAPPEN WITH ST. GEORGE, SO LET'S NOT WASTE MONEY. LET'S NOT REDISTRICT RIGHT NOW. YOU STILL DON'T KNOW WHAT'S GONNA HAPPEN WITH ST. GEORGE. LET'S NOT WASTE MONEY. YOU NEED IT. THE CHILDREN NEED IT. DO WHAT'S RIGHT. THANK YOU. THANK YOU MR. ROBINSON. NEXT WE HAVE MS. TIPPY JACKSON. GOOD EVENING. GOOD EVENING. UM, JUST TO PIGGYBACK OFF OF WHAT MR. UM, ROBINSON [01:00:01] SAID THERE IS, UM, BRING, BRING YOUR MIC DOWN, MS. JACKSON. I'M SORRY. I JUST WANNA PIGGYBACK OFF OF WHAT MR. ROBINSON SAID ABOUT, UM, THE INFA, UM, INSUFFICIENT INFORMATION THAT WE HAVE TO DETERMINE THE MERITS OF ASSUMING THIS DEBT. UM, I DO APPRECIATE THAT THERE ARE TIMES WHEN ASSUMING DEBT IS NOT JUST NECESSARY BUT BENEFICIAL, BUT IN ORDER TO DETERMINE IF THIS IS SUCH AN OCCASION, SCHOOL BOARD MEMBERS AND THE PUBLIC NEED TO KNOW THE LIST OF PROJECTS, UM, AND THEIR ESTIMATED COSTS. THIS HAS NOT BEEN THOUGHT THROUGH. UM, STILL MORE INFORMATION IS NEEDED. PLEASE UNDERSTAND. $40 MILLION AT 5.95 INTEREST OVER 20 YEARS MEANS THE SCHOOL BOARD IS COMMITTING THE EAST BATON ROUGE PARISH SCHOOL DISTRICT TO PAYING NEARLY $30 MILLION IN INTEREST ALONE TO THEIR CREDITORS. NOT TOWARDS RENOVATIONS, PROJECTS, OR TEACHER RAISES. OUR SPECIAL PROGRAMS FOR CHILDREN, $30 MILLION TOWARDS INTEREST. THAT'S NOT, UH, FISCALLY RESPONSIBLE TO, TO COMMIT OUR OUR SCHOOL'S DISTRICT TO THAT AMOUNT OF MONEY. UM, DO ANY OF THESE PROJECTS ON THE LIST, WARREN, COMMITTING THE DISTRICT TO SPENDING THAT MUCH ON INTEREST ALONE? I DO NOT KNOW BECAUSE I HAVE NOT SEEN THE LIST. WE HAVE NO INFORMATION ON HOW THIS MONEY IS GOING TO BE SPENT. I READ IN THE NEWSPAPER THAT IT'S GONNA GO TO HIGH SCHOOLS. THEY'RE SUBMITTING LISTS, UH, TO THE SUPERINTENDENT. WHAT ABOUT OUR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS? THEY NEED, UH, THINGS, UH, AS WELL. UM, MS. STEWART, I WALK PAST PARK FOREST ELEMENTARY AND IT'S THE SAME UNSAFE EQUIPMENT THAT'S BEEN THERE SINCE MY CHILD WAS SIX AND WE MOVED IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD. SHE'S 26. THEY WANT EQUIPMENT. NO, THEY GOT EQUIPMENT. THEY GOT PE. NO, I JUST WALKED BY THERE. IT'S THE SAME. NO, NO. IT'S BEEN APPROVED. IT'S COMING. NO, THEY GOT, THEY GOT, I MADE A CERTAIN EVENT. I'M HAPPY TO HEAR THAT. DO ALL RIGHT. THE QUESTION OF WOODLAWN. HE, WE TALKED ABOUT ST. GEORGE PULLING OUT, UM, THE PROBLEM IF WOODLAWN IS ON THIS LIST, 'CAUSE AGAIN, WE DON'T KNOW, UM, THE PROJECT, UM, AFTER THE ELECTION, THE VOTERS REJECTED IF THEY REJECT THAT THE BOND, UM, APPLICATION STIPULATES THAT THE SCHOOL BOARD WILL ONLY MAKE IMPROVEMENTS TO AREAS WITHIN THAT JURISDICTION AT THE TIME OF IMPROVEMENTS ARE MADE. THIS MEANS, UM, THERE IS AN 18 MONTH LOOPHOLE FROM THE TIME THAT THE PROCEEDS OF THE BOND SALE ARE AVAILABLE TO THE DISTRICT IN DECEMBER, 2025. AND THE POSSIBLE SEPARATION OF ST. GEORGE, DON'T WASTE OUR MONEY. SAY USE THIS MONEY, UM, USE THIS OPPORTUNITY. IT'S NOT FREE MONEY. THIS, THIS, THE SAME BOARD THAT VOTED UNANIM, UH, UNANIMOUSLY TO APPROVE IEP. THAT'S FREE MONEY. THAT'S MONEY FROM TAXES. THAT'S MONEY FROM BIG BUSINESS. BUT THEN YOU ASK THE PUBLIC TO CONTINUE TO APPROVE, TO RENEW TAXES. IT'S NOT FAIR TO THE PUBLIC TO, UH, STIFLE US WITH THIS DEBT. IT'S NOT FAIR TO US. AND THEN TO GIVE ITEP, SO BE THE SAME BOARD THAT VOTED TO GIVE IT EP TAX BREAKS TO SAY THAT THIS IS NOT RESPONSIBLE. THANK YOU. THANK YOU MS. JACKSON. WE HAVE MS. NEWMAN. THIS TANYA NEWMAN NIMAN. I'M SORRY. MS. NIMAN. YEAH, THAT'S THE FINISHED PRONUNCIATION ACTUALLY. SO YOU JUST, UM, YES. HI, TANYA NIMAN. UM, SO I'M GONNA REITERATE YES, THAT IT IS, THE JUSTIFICATION IS FAULTY BECAUSE OF THE, THE POTENTIAL LOSS OF REVENUE. CALL IT IF ST. GEORGE'S HAPPENS. AND ALSO THAT THERE'S INSUFFICIENT, INSUFFICIENT INFORMATION. WE CANNOT REALLY DETERMINE IF TAKING ON THIS LEVEL OF DEBT, UM, WARRANTS, UH, IS, HAS MERIT BECAUSE WE DON'T KNOW WHAT THE PROJECTS ACTUALLY ENTAIL. UM, BUT I WANNA REITERATE ABOUT THE QUESTION OF WOODLAWN. WHAT REALLY NEEDS TO BE CLEAR IS THAT THEY CAN'T TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THAT LOOPHOLE THAT IS IN THE BOND APPLICATION. THE BOND APPLICATION DOES STIPULATE THAT, UM, THE SCHOOL BOARD WILL ONLY MAKE IMPROVEMENTS TO AREAS WITHIN THEIR JURISDICTION AT THE TIME THE IMPROVEMENTS ARE MADE. UM, THIS MEANS THERE IS AN 18 MONTH LOOPHOLE FROM THE TIME THAT THE PROCEEDS OF THE BOND SALE ARE AVAILABLE TO THE DISTRICT IN DECEMBER, 2025. AND THE POSSIBLE SEPARATION OF THE ST. GEORGE SCHOOL DISTRICT, WHICH WOULD OCCUR IN FALL OF 2027, IF WE WORK ON WOODLAWN, IS COMPLETED DURING THAT WINDOW. ST. GEORGE GETS ITS NEWLY IMPROVED FACILITY WITHOUT HAVING TO ASSUME RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE DEBT. THEY WOULD BE SPARED THE NEED TO RAISE THEIR OWN MILLAGE IN ORDER TO BE APPROVED FOR A BOND SALE. THIS IS HARMFUL TO THE EBR SCHOOL SYSTEM FOR TWO REASONS. ONE, BECAUSE IT SADDLES THAT THE EBR SCHOOL DISTRICT WITH THE DEBT FOR THE PROJECT, WITH NO FIRM GUARANTEE THAT ST. GEORGE WOULD FAIRLY REPAY IT. AND TWO, BECAUSE IT OBFUSCATES THE HARM THE PROPOSED NEW DISTRICT WOULD CAUSE. ALL TAXPAYERS IF CREATED THE ST. GEORGE SCHOOL SYSTEM'S ANNUAL SHARE OF THAT 5.25 TAX MILLAGE WILL ONLY BE APPROXIMATELY 7 MILLION. THAT IS LIKELY INSUFFICIENT FOR THEM TO QUALIFY FOR ANY BOND SALE. THEY APPEAR TO BE UNPREPARED TO COMPLETE THESE TYPES OF PROJECTS ON THEIR OWN WITHOUT LEVYING A PROPERTY TAX MILLAGE ON THEIR RESIDENCE. IF THAT WERE TO BECOME NO KNOWN BEFORE THE VOTE IN APRIL, IT BECOMES EVEN LESS LIKELY THAT [01:05:01] VOTERS WILL APPROVE THE CREATION OF THE NEW SCHOOL DISTRICT. THIS BOND SALE BECOMES A VEHICLE FOR OBS OBFUSCATING THAT FACT, AND THEREFORE A MEANS OF FACILITATING THE CREATION OF YET ANOTHER BREAKAWAY SCHOOL DISTRICT IN EAST BATON ROUGE PARISH THAT DOESN'T JUST HARM THE EBR PARISH SCHOOL SYSTEM THAT HARMS ALL THE CHILDREN IN THIS PARISH, PARTICULARLY THE MOST VULNERABLE ONES. SO I JUST WANNA REITERATE THAT LIKE THERE REALLY NEEDS TO BE A STIPULATION THAT WOODLAWN CANNOT BE CONSIDERED FOR A COMPLETION OF THE PROJECT UNTIL AFTER THAT VOTE IN APRIL. AND THAT IF VOTERS IN ST. GEORGE APPROVE THE CREATION OF THE SCHOOL DISTRICT, THAT WOODLAWN BE, UM, WITHDRAWN FROM ANY CONSIDERATION FOR THOSE PROJECTS AND ANY FUNDS BEING SPILL SPENT ON THAT SCHOOL. AND THAT IT BE MADE CLEAR TO THE PEOPLE IN ST. GEORGE THAT THEY UNDERSTAND THAT THEY DON'T REALLY HAVE THE TAX BASE TO SUPPORT THEIR SCHOOL SYSTEM AT THIS TIME. THAT THAT IS ONE OF THE BENEFITS OF BIG SCHOOL SYSTEMS, THE ECONOMIES OF SCALE THAT ALLOWS YOU TO BORROW MONEY AT HOPEFULLY LOW INTEREST RATES, AND THE ABILITY TO COMPLETE THOSE BIG PROJECTS. SMALLER SCHOOL DISTRICTS ARE INSUFFICIENT AND THAT PEOPLE NEED TO BE MADE AWARE OF THAT. THANK YOU. OH, AND I'LL GIVE THESE OUT. THANK YOU MS. NYMAN. UM, I WANNA HAVE, UM, ATTORNEY SHALIN SPEAK TO . OH, WHO? OH, I GOTTA READ. OKAY. KER. OKAY. OH, I'M SORRY. WE HAVE ONLINE COMMENTS FIRST. I'M SORRY. GO AHEAD. RIGHT DOWN. F1 RESOLUTION BOND PURCHASE FROM SEAN WEISS. AS A ST. GEORGE RESIDENT, I'M CONCERNED THAT THIS BOND COULD CREATE AN UNFAIR FINANCIAL SITUATION FOR BOTH ST. GEORGE AND EAST BATON ROUGE PARISH. THE BOND LANGUAGE SAYS THAT THE SCHOOL BOARD CAN ONLY MAKE IMPROVEMENTS TO AREA WITHIN THEIR JURISDICTION AT THE TIME THE IMPROVEMENTS ARE MADE. THAT CREATES AN 18 MONTH WINDOW BETWEEN WHEN THE BOND FUNDS BECOME AVAILABLE IN DECEMBER 25, AND WHEN A POTENTIAL ST. GEORGE SCHOOL DISTRICT COULD TAKE EFFECT IN FALL OF 2027. IF WOODLAWN PROJECTS MOVE FORWARD DURING THAT WINDOW, ONE OF TWO THINGS HAPPEN. NEITHER GOOD EITHER ST. GEORGE INHERITS THE UPGRADED SCHOOL WITHOUT ASSUMING THE DEBT, LEAVING EBR TAXPAYERS TO COVER THE BILL OR THE DEBT FOLLOWS THE FACILITY. AND ST. GEORGE BEGINS ITS NEW DISTRICT, MILLIONS IN THE RED, WITH NO REALISTIC WAY TO FINANCE FUTURE PROJECTS WITHOUT RAISING PROPERTY TAXES. THIS BOND, IF USED BEFORE VOTERS DECIDE IN APRIL, HIDES THOSE RISK AND MISLEADS THE TAXPAYERS ABOUT THE TRUE COST OF FORMING A NEW DISTRICT. THANKS. AND ANOTHER ONE FROM MS. KATHY CARMICHAEL. AND I THINK SHE AND, UH, MR. ROBINSON MUST HAVE READ THE SAME ONE. THE JUSTIFICATION FOR PASSING THIS BOND IS FAULTY. THE AGREEMENT HAS BEEN EBR MAKES MAKING FINAL PAYMENT TO THEIR PREVIOUS LOW INTEREST AND NO INTEREST. BONDS ASSUMED 10 TO 15 YEARS AGO, AND WILL THEREFORE HAVE AN ADDITIONAL 3.5 MILLION AVAILABLE IN ITS BUDGET TO MAKE THE PAYMENT TOWARDS THE $40 MILLION BOND SALE AT AN INTEREST RATE NO HIGHER THAN 6%. HOWEVER, IF THE ST. GEORGE SCHOOL DISTRICT IS APPROVED BY THE VOTERS IN APRIL, EBR WILL LOSE APPROXIMATELY $7 MILLION IN TAX REVENUE FROM THAT 5.25 MILLAGE. THE ST. GEORGE SCHOOL SYSTEM IS NOT GUARANTEED TO BE APPROVED, BUT NONETHELESS, EBR PUBLIC SCHOOLS WILL LIKELY FACE A $7 MILLION LOSS RATHER THAN A $3.5 MILLION GAIN. AND IF THE SCHOOL BOARD PASSES ITS BOND RESOLUTION NOW, AND IR REC IRRE IRREVOCABLY COMMITS THE DISTRICT TO THESE PAYMENTS IN ST. GEORGE IS APPROVED BY VOTERS IN APRIL, THE EBR SCHOOL SYSTEM WILL FACE A $10.5 MILLION REDUCTION IN AVAILABLE FUNDS. AND THAT CONCLUDES THE ONLINE COMMENTS. THANK YOU, MR. GODDE. UM, CAN WE HAVE ATTORNEY AKERS PLEASE COME UP TO, UH, SPEAK TO, UH, SOME OF THE CONCERNS THAT PERSONS HAVE IN REGARDS TO, UH, PROJECTS BEING STARTED AND HOW THAT AFFECTS IF ST. GEORGE SCHOOL DISTRICT, UH, IS INITIATED? THANK YOU. TALK ABOUT YEAH. YOU GONNA, ABOUT THE PROCESS. WE, YOU TALK ABOUT THE PROCESS AND TIMELINE AS WELL, IN TERMS OF THE BOND ISSUANCE. YEAH. I CERTAINLY BE GLAD TO. THANK YOU. I'M, I'M JASON AKER. I'M WITH FOLEY NEWELL. WE'RE A PLEASURE, UH, HONORED TO SERVE AS YOUR BOND COUNCIL ON THIS TRANSACTION. BEFORE I BEGIN, LEMME JUST RECOGNIZE, UH, WHITNEY LAIRD, WHO'S WITH STIFEL NICHOLAS. THEY'RE THE UNDERWRITER. THEY'RE ONE OF THE TOP 10 UNDERWRITERS IN THE COUNTRY. UH, THEY HAVE A VERY STRONG PRESENCE HERE IN LOUISIANA. AND DIDI RIGGINS, WHO'S WITH GOVERNMENT CONSULTANTS, UH, SITTING IN THE BACK WITH ME AS WELL, MUNICIPAL ADVISOR TO THE SCHOOL BOARD HAS BEEN INVOLVED IN PROVIDING FINANCIAL ADVICE WITH RESPECT TO THIS TRANSACTION. THEY'RE ONE OF THE LARGEST FINANCIAL ADVISORY FIRMS WITH RESPECT TO MUNICIPAL ENTITIES IN THE STATE OF LOUISIANA ALSO. SO THAT'S YOUR TEAM WHO'S WORKING ON THIS PROCESS FOR YOU. SO THE PROCESS AS YOU HAVE GONE THROUGH IT UP TO NOW, IS THAT YOU ADOPTED A PRELIMINARY RESOLUTION. STATE BOND [01:10:01] COMMISSION GAVE ITS APPROVAL. WE'RE COMING TO YOU NOW FOR THE FINAL APPROVAL BY ADOPTION OF THIS RESOLUTION, THEN WE WILL GET OUT INTO THE MARKET AND SELL BONDS. WE DO NOT KNOW WHAT THE INTEREST RATE IS GOING TO BE RIGHT NOW. THERE IS A, NOT TO EXCEED RATE, BUT BASED ON CURRENT MARKET CONDITIONS, AND THE THREE OF US HAVE TALKED ABOUT THIS BASED ON THE CURRENT MARKET CONDITIONS, WE'RE ANTICIPATING THAT THAT RATE WILL PRODUCE A COST OF INTEREST OVER THE 20 YEAR LIFE OF THE BONDS OF APPROXIMATELY $20 MILLION. SO $40 MILLION IN PROCEEDS, $20 MILLION IN, IN, IN, UH, INTEREST. THAT'S APPROXIMATELY $3 MILLION EACH YEAR THAT YOU'RE GOING TO BE PAYING IN DEBT SERVICE THAT MATCHES NOT 3.5, BUT THE 3 MILLION THAT YOU'RE PAYING NOW. SO AT $3 MILLION A YEAR, $20 MILLION ANNUALLY IN DEBT SERVICE. WHAT I WOULD ASK YOU IS BY NOT DOING THOSE PROJECTS, AND I'M JUST SAYING PROJECTS IN GENERAL, NOT GETTING TO THE SPECIFICS BY NOT DOING THOSE PROJECTS AND TO TRY TO, UH, BANK THAT MONEY AND PAY AS YOU GO HERE, WHAT IS THE INFLATIONARY COST GOING TO BE WITH RESPECT TO THE COST OF THOSE PROJECTS? AND I WOULD BE WILLING TO BET THAT WHAT YOU'VE SEEN IN THE LAST FIVE YEARS WITH INFLATIONARY COSTS AND CONSTRUCTION, UH, PROJECTS, IS GOING TO CONTINUE THAT PACE. AND YOU'RE MOST LIKELY NOT GOING TO BE ABLE TO AFFORD ALL OF THESE PROJECTS OVER A 20 YEAR PERIOD. UM, SO NOTWITHSTANDING THE PAYMENT OF INTEREST, YOU COULD GET THOSE PROJECTS AND YOU COULD DO THOSE PROJECTS. NOW, THIS IS THE FORM THAT MOST, UH, FOR FINANCING CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS THAT MOST OTHER SCHOOL BOARDS TAKE THROUGHOUT THE STATE. THIS IS A VERY COMMON, UH, VEHICLE THAT IS USED, UH, FOR, UH, THE ISSUANCE OF BONDS TO FUND PROJECTS AT THE CURRENT, UH, TIMEFRAME, AND PAYING INTEREST OVER THE, OVER THE COURSE OF THE BOND ISSUE SO THAT YOU KNOW THAT YOU HAVE THOSE PROJECTS DONE AND YOU ARE ABLE TO DO 'EM AT A COST THAT IS AFFORDABLE FOR YOU. BUT TO ADDRESS, UH, A FEW OF THE THINGS THAT WERE, THAT WERE, UH, DISCUSSED WITH RESPECT TO ST. GEORGE, UH, UH, COM, UH, THE, ACTUALLY THE NUMBERS, UH, WITH RESPECT TO THE AMOUNT OF TAX, UH, THAT WOULD BE LOST PER THIS TAX, THIS 5.25 MILS IS EXACTLY THE NUMBERS THAT MATCH WHAT WE WERE GIVEN BY THE PARISH ASSESSOR. I IMAGINE THAT INFORMATION CAME FROM OUR STATE BOND COMMISSION APPLICATION. IT'S APPROXIMATELY $7 MILLION THAT THIS TAX IS GOING TO LOSE IF, UH, YOU PROCEED WITH THE BOND ISSUE. I'M SORRY IF, I'M SORRY. IF SEVEN, $7 MILLION, THIS TAX IS GONNA LOSE IF ST. GEORGE IS CREATED. I APOLOGIZE FOR THAT MISSTATEMENT. IF ST. GEORGE IS CREATED, UM, THIS TAX CURRENTLY IS ESTIMATED TO BRING IN APPROXIMATELY $27 MILLION IN THE COMING YEAR, $7 MILLION LESS GETS YOU TO $20 MILLION AT $3 MILLION A YEAR IN DEBT SERVICE. THIS TAX IS ANTICIPATED TO PRODUCE, TO HAVE A NINE TIMES COVERAGE RATIO. IF ST. GEORGE IS CREATED AND THAT $7 MILLION GOES AWAY, IT'S GONNA HAVE JUST BELOW A SEVEN TIMES COVERAGE RATIO. AND JUST TO PUT IT IN PERSPECTIVE, THERE'S A CONCEPT IN PUBLIC FINANCE CALLED AN ADDITIONAL BONDS TEST. AN ADDITIONAL BONDS TEST IS AT WHAT LEVEL WILL INVESTORS NOT BE COMFORTABLE THAT, UH, YOU HAVE OVER LEVERAGED ATTACKS. AND A 1.35 OR 1.5 TEST IS, IS TYPICAL TWO TIMES TEST IS CONSIDERED NOT JUST BY US, AND NOT JUST BY THE UNDERWRITERS, BUT BY THE RATING AGENCIES TO BE INCREDIBLY STRONG. YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE OVER SIX, ALMOST SEVEN TIMES COVERAGE WITH THIS TAX, EVEN IF ST. GEORGE IS CREATED. BUT NOT WITHSTANDING THAT, I REALIZE THAT THERE IS A STRAIN ON THE BUDGETARY, UH, PROCESS FROM ST, UH, IF ST. GEORGE IS ACTUALLY CREATED. SO TWO THINGS I WOULD SAY THERE REALLY, ONE, FIRST IS JUST A MATTER OF TIMING, IF YOU WAIT, THE PROCESS IS THAT THERE'S AN ELECTION HELD ON APRIL 30. IF IT IS APPROVED, THEN CORRECT ST. GEORGE COMES INTO EFFECT AGAINST EDUCATING STUDENTS JULY 1ST, 2027. DURING THAT TIME, THERE IS AN ANALYSIS DONE, AND I'M AS, UH, BY A COMMITTEE THAT I'M ASSUMING IS MEMBERS OF BOTH, UH, EBR SCHOOLS AND THE, UH, C*****G ST. GEORGE SCHOOLS THAT WILL ANALYZE THE, THE VALUE OF THE ASSETS THAT ARE BEING TRANSFERRED TO ST. GEORGE AND THE VALUE OF THE LIABILITIES THAT ARE BEING TRANSFERRED TO ST. GEORGE. THERE ARE COSTS THAT YOU'RE GOING TO SAVE AS WELL. COST OF NOT HAVING TO RUN THOSE, I BELIEVE IT'S NINE SCHOOLS, IF I'M NOT MISTAKEN, COST OF NOT HAVING TO RUN THOSE NINE SCHOOLS COST OF NOT HAVING TO EDUCATE THOSE STUDENTS THAT ARE GOING TO NOW BE ST. GEORGE STUDENTS, STUDENTS COST OF NOT HAVING TO PAY, UH, UH, UH, PENSION COSTS, OTHER POST-EMPLOYMENT BENEFITS FOR THOSE, UH, EMPLOYEES THAT WERE FORMERLY EAST BATON ROUGE SCHOOLS' EMPLOYEES, BUT ARE NOW GOING TO BE, UH, ST. GEORGE SCHOOLS' EMPLOYEES. SO THERE ARE COST SAVINGS THAT GO ALONG WITH IT. I THINK WE DON'T ABSOLUTELY KNOW WHAT THOSE ARE, BUT IF YOU WAITED UNTIL WE FOUND OUT WHAT THOSE COSTS WERE GOING TO BE, THAT'S NOT, AND WAITING UNTIL APRIL 30, THAT'S ACTUALLY WAITING PROBABLY UNTIL JULY 1ST, 2027 TO GIVE THAT COMMITTEE THAT TIME TO DO THAT ANALYSIS THAT IT HAS TO DO. UM, SO THAT ONE PUTS YOU AN ADDITIONAL, BASICALLY TWO YEARS FROM NOW UNTIL YOU WOULD BE CONS, UH, PROCEEDING WITH THESE IMPROVEMENTS THAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT PRODUCING. UM, THE SECOND THING WITH RESPECT TO ST. GEORGE IS THE WOODLAWN QUESTION. AND I THINK THIS IS REALLY [01:15:01] ONE WHERE I DON'T KNOW THAT I CAN PROVIDE AN ANSWER TO YOU. THIS IS A QUESTION THAT REALLY IS, IS A, IS A DECISION OF WHERE TO SPEND THE FUNDS. AND I KNOW THAT'S A PROCESS THAT YOU'RE UNDERTAKING RIGHT NOW. UM, THE STATEMENT IS, UH, IS CORRECT. THE SCHOOL BOARD CANNOT AND WILL NOT SPEND MONEY ON A PROJECT OUTSIDE OF ITS JURISDICTION. AND THERE IS A GAP THERE BETWEEN WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT RIGHT NOW AND WHEN THAT, UH, WHEN THAT, UH, ST. GEORGE SCHOOL DISTRICT WOULD GO INTO EFFECT, ASSUMING THAT IT DOES. AND THAT ACTUALLY IS JUST A DECISION FOR THE BOARD TO MAKE OF WHAT, WHAT MIGHT BE SPENT THERE, AND THEN HOW THAT CAN BE, UH, RENUMERATED FROM THE, UH, POTENTIAL CREATION OF ST. GEORGE. UNFORTUNATELY, THAT'S ONE WHERE I CAN'T GIVE YOU, UH, AN ANSWER THAT'S REALLY A, A BOARD DECISION FOR YOU. BUT JUST SKIPPING AHEAD, PROCEEDING, UH, LET'S JUST CONTINUE WITH THE RESOLUTION. IF YOU DO GIVE YOUR APPROVAL TO IT. TODAY, OUR GOAL IS TO GET OUT INTO, INTO THE MARKET, UM, IN THE MONTH OF NOVEMBER. WE HAVE UNDERGONE THE RATING PROCESS. WE ANTICIPATE THAT WE'RE GOING TO HEAR TOMORROW WHAT THAT RATING IS GOING TO BE. YOU CURRENTLY HAVE AN A PLUS RATING FROM, UH, STANDARD AND PORS. WE HAVE NO INDICATION THAT THEY'RE GOING TO CHANGE THAT. BUT WE'LL REPORT THAT BACK TO YOU AS SOON AS WE KNOW. UM, A PLUS IS A VERY STRONG RATING, VERY STRONG RATING FOR A SCHOOL BOARD, ESPECIALLY IN LOUISIANA. AND, UH, THIS IS A GOOD TIME FOR YOU TO GET OUT IN THE MARKET AND GET THOSE FUNDS AVAILABLE AND START USING THEM TO MAKE THOSE IMPROVEMENTS FOR THE VARIOUS FACILITIES WITHIN YOUR JURISDICTION. SO THAT'S, UH, MY, UH, SUMMARY OF THE RESOLUTION AND RESPONSES TO WHAT YOU'VE HEARD SO FAR. I'M HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS THAT I CAN FOR YOU TO THE EXTENT I CAN OR, AND WHITNEY OR DD CAN, I'M SURE THEY HAPPY TO COME UP AS WELL. AND WE DO HAVE QUESTIONS. MS. UM, CAR? PAUL LEWIS? I DON'T HAVE A QUESTION. OKAY. I HAVE, I HAVE MORE OF COMMENTS. WELL STAY THERE THOUGH. SO ARE WE ON BOARD COMMENTS? YEAH, WE'RE ON THE BOARD. OKAY. ALRIGHT. THANK YOU. UM, SO I, I JUST WANNA SHARE A COUPLE OF THINGS. I'M GONNA, I'M GONNA START HERE. THANK YOU MS. NYMAN, FOR GIVING US THIS DOCUMENT. UM, THE, THE FIRST TWO PAGES SAY CONCERNS ABOUT THE PROPOSED BOND SALE. SO OF COURSE, I'M ASSUMING THAT THESE HAVE BEEN FORMULATED BY MS. NIMAN OKAY. AND OTHER PEOPLE. ALRIGHT, THE NEXT PAGE, THE NEXT PAGE HAS, UM, THE, IN, IN THE MIDDLE OF THE PAGE, IT SAYS REGULAR ANNUAL AMORTIZING LOAN PAYMENTS. UM, I'M NOT SURE WHERE THIS DOCUMENT CAME FROM. OKAY. AND THEN THE NEXT FOUR PAGES SAY STATE BOND COMMISSION, UH, UH, LOCAL POLITICAL SUBDIVISIONS, BONDS, FINAL APPROVAL. UH, THIS IS OBVIOUSLY AN OFFICIAL DOCUMENT, UM, BUT DEEP DOWN INTO THE PAGES IS THAT'S THE BOND APPLICATION. YES. THE AMORTIZATION. I, I DIDN'T HAVE TIME TO GET THAT FROM MS. LOPEZ, AND SO I JUST TRIED TO USE A CALCULATOR ONLINE WITH THE TERMS THAT Y'ALL HAD. AND YOUR PAYMENT PLAN. YES, MA'AM. THANK YOU. UM, BUT IN THIS IT SAYS ESTIMATED, ESTIMATED VERY SIMILAR TO WHAT THE GENTLEMAN WHO JUST CAME TO THE MIC SAID THAT THESE ARE ESTIMATES. OKAY. SO I JUST, I JUST WANTED TO STATE THAT BECAUSE I'M, I'M SURE, LIKE I SAID, THE FIRST TWO PAGES, UM, ARE OPINIONS BASED ON FACT. THAT'S WHAT WE TEACH KIDS IN SOCIAL STUDIES. RIGHT. OKAY. ALRIGHT. AND THEN, UM, JUST WANTED TO SHARE SOME, SOME OTHER THINGS. MAJORITY OF US, UH, HAVE SERVED ON THIS BOARD SINCE, UH, JANUARY 20, 23. MAJORITY MM-HMM . OKAY. UM, AND IN THAT I HAVE HEARD THINGS ABOUT TAX PLANS AND SCHOOLS NOT BEING ABLE TO GET FACILITIES THAT THEY WANT. UM, I'VE HEARD PEOPLE, INCLUDING MYSELF, TALK ABOUT PERMANENT PAY RAISES FOR TEACHERS AND FOR SUPPORT PERSONNEL. I'VE ALSO HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO VISIT SEVERAL SCHOOLS IN LEADERSHIP CAPACITY AND NOT IN LEADERSHIP CAPACITY. UM, TWO OF COURSE, THAT ARE WITHIN MY DISTRICT AT THIS TIME INCLUDED STRUMMER HIGH SCHOOL, WHERE WHEN I WENT TO VISIT WITH THEM AROUND THE FIRST FEW DAYS OF SCHOOL, THEY HAVE THE BLEACHERS PULLED OUT TO TRY TO HIDE A PLACE WHERE THEY'RE, THEY'RE MISSING THE GYM FLOOR. UM, THEY'RE NOT SCALED TO BE THE NEXT SCHOOL ON THE TAX PLAN. UM, SCOTLANDVILLE HIGH SCHOOL, WHICH IS IN MY BACK DOOR, I'M A PART OF THEIR ALUM ORGANIZATION BECAUSE I'M A, AN ALUM. BUT EVERY TIME I GO, I AM LISTED AS A SCHOOL BOARD, UH, LIAISON. AND THEY WANNA HEAR FROM ME EVERY TIME ABOUT WHAT WE ARE DOING AS FAR AS THE TAX PLAN IS CONCERNED [01:20:01] IN REGARDS TO HVAC IN THE FIELD HOUSE. UM, UH, I WAS VISITING A FAMILY MEMBER IN SHARON HILLS AND I PASSED BY SHARON HILLS ELEMENTARY. AND I WAS LIKE, IT LOOKS LIKE IT'S BEEN A LONG TIME SINCE THAT SCHOOL HAS HAD SOME REPAIRS. AND THAT'S NOT ALL. I MEAN, THE LIST GOES ON AND ON AND ON. UM, SIR, I DON'T KNOW YOUR NAME. I DON'T REMEMBER WHAT YOU SAID, BUT I DO REMEMBER MEETING THE LADIES IN THE BACK AT THE LSBA CONFERENCE BECAUSE THEY WERE THERE. AM I CORRECT OR Y'ALL WERE IN LAKE CHARLES THE LAST TIME? I, I, I WENT. I REMEMBER SEEING YOU. OKAY. UM, AND THEN I KNOW THAT WE QUESTION A LOT OF THINGS ABOUT WHAT'S GONNA HAPPEN WITH ST. GEORGE AND WHETHER OR NOT THEY WILL TAKE ON, UH, ANY OF THESE CONCERNS. I'VE HEARD OUR CONSTITUENTS, INCLUDING MS. NYMAN, UH, ASK QUESTIONS ABOUT, UH, WHAT WILL THESE FUNDS BE USED FOR? AND I'M SURE MR. COLE, I'LL PASS THAT THE MIC TO YOU IN JUST A MOMENT. UM, BUT I WILL TELL YOU THIS AS WELL. I, I ASKED MR. COLE YESTERDAY ON A, ON A DIFFERENT CONVERSATION, IF YOU'RE OKAY WITH ME SHARING. I CALLED HIM AND I ASKED HIM, IF WE SAID NO TO EVERY I TIP ITEM MOVING FORWARD, WOULD IT BE ENOUGH TO COVER THE WORK THAT WE'RE TRYING TO DO IN THE DISTRICT? WOULD IT BE ENOUGH TO COVER EITHER INFRASTRUCTURE OR WOULD IT BE ENOUGH TO COVER SALARY INCREASES? AND MR. COLE, WHAT WAS YOUR ANSWER? IT DEPENDS ON THE AMOUNT OF TAX ABATEMENT THAT THE COMPANIES ARE SEEKING TO HAVE. IF THAT AMOUNT IS IN THE, IN THE AREA OF 52 MILLION OVER AN EXTENDED PERIOD OF TIME, IT WOULD BE ENOUGH TO COVER PERMANENT RAISES. BUT IF IT, IF IT'S IN THE AMOUNT OF 20,000 HERE, A HUNDRED THOUSAND THERE, IT WOULD BE ENOUGH TO SUPPORT SMALL, UH, PROJECTS AT CERTAIN SCHOOLS OR IN THE DISTRICT. BUT IT REALLY DEPENDS ON THE AMOUNT OF THE TAX ABATEMENT ITSELF. AND THOSE TAX ABATEMENTS ARE NOT, ARE NOT GONNA COME IN GRAND SCALE. UH, I PERSONALLY KNOW A GREAT DEAL ABOUT ITEP, HAVING WORKED ON THE CITY COUNCIL AND WRITTEN THE ITEP RULES BACK, UH, IN 2018 TO 20 22, 1 OF THOSE YEARS, THEY ALL RUN TOGETHER. SO I UNDERSTAND THE DESIRE OF THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT AND LOCAL SCHOOL BOARD AS WELL AS, UH, THE SHERIFF'S OFFICE TO REALLY EVALUATE, YOU KNOW, THOSE, UH, TAX ABATEMENTS. BUT THE REALITY FOR ME IS, UH, THAT'S ONE CONVERSATION. MM-HMM . THE OTHER CONVERSATION IS HOW DO WE MAKE THE IMPROVEMENTS WE NEED TO MAKE FOR OUR KIDS RIGHT NOW IN REAL TIME? IN REAL TIME. SO, THE ITEP CONVERSATION IS ONE THAT I THINK HAS TO BE EXPLORED BASED ON EVERY ITEP THAT COMES. BUT THAT CONVERSATION DOESN'T LEND ITSELF TO BEING ABLE TO PROVIDE THE SUPPORT AND THE RESOURCES FOR THE KIDS RIGHT NOW. THANK YOU. SO THAT'S TWO DIFFERENT POCKETS. NUMBER ONE, MADAM PRESIDENT, WE ARE ATTEMPTING TO REMAIN GERMANE TO THE TOPIC. RIGHT? RIGHT. OKAY. SO THEN THE OTHER IS, IF WE ARE MAKING IMPROVEMENTS IN REAL TIME, THEN THAT MEANS WE DON'T HAVE THE TIME TO WAIT. OKAY. SO WITH ALL OF THAT BEING MENTIONED, MR. COLE, IF YOU'LL SHARE, SHARE WITH US WHAT IS THE PROCESS FOR HOW THESE FUNDS WILL BE USED? WELL, I, I WANT TO BE CLEAR, UH, AS THE IDEA, UH, CAME TO ME AND I HAD CONVERSATIONS WITH MS. LOPEZ, UH, AND WE REALLY, AND MR. CROCHET, AND WE STARTED TALKING TO MR. AKER, THERE'S A VERY SPECIFIC TIMELINE FOR, UH, HOW THE BOND PROCESS WORKS. AND SO FOR ME, IN MY CONVERSATIONS WITH ALL OF YOU, WHAT I, I SAID TO YOU IN A VERY TRANSPARENT WAY, WE WILL GIVE THE PRINCIPALS, THEIR STAFF AND THEIR SCHOOL COMMUNITY COMMUNITIES AN OPPORTUNITY TO EVALUATE WHAT THEY NEED ON THEIR SCHOOL CAMPUSES AND THEN MAKE THAT REQUEST TO US. AND THEN THE COMMITTEE WILL DETERMINE, UH, BASED ON A VERY, VERY COMPREHENSIVE, UH, PROCESS, WE HAVE WHAT THOSE SCHOOLS NEED. AND THEN WE WOULD BRING THOSE PROJECTS TO YOU FOR APPROVAL. BEFORE WE DO ANYTHING, MR. AKERS ASSURED ME IF THE, UH, RESOLUTION IS PASSED, WE DON'T HAVE TO SPEND THE MONEY. IS THAT CORRECT? WE DON'T HAVE TO SPEND THE MONEY IF IT'S PASSED. I'M, I'M SORRY, LEMME MAKE SURE I'M FOLLOWING THE QUESTION. IF, IF THE RESOLUTION HAS PASSED, UH, YOU CAN STILL, MR. SUPERINTENDENT, YOU CAN CHOOSE NOT TO, UH, PROCEED WITH THE ISSUANCE OF THE BOND, CORRECT? YES, SIR. CORRECT. SO HAVING, UNDERSTANDING THAT I DID NOT WANT TO GO TO SCHOOLS AND SAY TO THEM, CREATE A LIST, SEND 'EM TO US ON THE, UH, ON THE IDEA THAT THE BOARD MIGHT APPROVE US GOING AFTER THE BOND, I WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT THIS BOARD APPROVED US GOING AFTER WHICH IT DID. AND THEN AFTER THE BOARD APPROVED IT, WE SAID, LET'S GO THROUGH A COMPREHENSIVE PROCESS SO THAT THOSE PROJECTS [01:25:01] ARE, UH, TO US. AND WE CAN PRESENT THAT TO THE BOARD IN NOVEMBER AT OUR RETREAT. WE CAN SAY, HERE'S THE SELECT RECOMMENDATION FOR THE PROJECTS. AND THEN THE BOARD WOULD THEN HAVE TIME TO SAY YAY OR NAY TO THOSE PROJECTS. AND THEN WE COULD DETERMINE WHETHER WE SPEND THE MONEY. SO BASED ON THE TIMING OF THE BOND ISSUANCE AND THE PROCESS OF THE BONDS, AND THE TIME WE STARTED HAVING A CONVERSATION, THIS IS WHERE IT'S ALL COMING TOGETHER IN AN EFFORT TO PROVIDE THE STUDENTS WITH WHAT THEY NEED. AND I KEEP USING OUR STUDENTS. 'CAUSE THIS CONVERSATION IS NOT BASED ON WHAT ADULTS HAVE SAID TO ME. THIS CONVERSATION IS STRICTLY BASED ON WHAT HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS HAVE SAID TO ME OVER AND OVER AND OVER AGAIN AT EVERY SINGLE HIGH SCHOOL THAT I HAVE VISITED. THERE IS A YOUTUBE VIDEO ONLINE RIGHT NOW OF ME HAVING A VERY CANDID CONVERSATION WITH SOME STUDENTS AT SCOTLANDVILLE HIGH SCHOOL. AND THAT IS SOMETHING THAT COMES UP. WHY DO WE ALWAYS HAVE TO WAIT FOR OUR ATHLETIC FACILITIES, OUR LOCKER ROOM? WHY DON'T WE HAVE LIGHTS ON OUR STAGE? WHY DON'T WE HAVE CURTAINS AND THINGS OF THAT NATURE? WHY DON'T WE HAVE THOSE THINGS? AND I SAID TO THEM, I'M WORKING ON TRYING TO GET YOU THOSE THINGS RIGHT NOW. MM-HMM . ON THE, UH, THIS IS GONNA BE SOMEWHAT CONTROVERSIAL, BUT I'M GONNA SAY IT ON THE IDEA OF ST. GEORGE. I DON'T THINK ANYONE UP HERE OR IN THIS ROOM UNDERSTANDS THAT PROCESS MORE THAN ME. BUT HERE'S THE REALITY OF THE SITUATION. THEY ARE OUR STUDENTS NOW. ABSOLUTELY. THEY ARE OUR STUDENTS TODAY. AND I HAVE A RESPONSIBILITY TO THE STUDENTS WE SERVE TODAY TO NOT LEAVE THEM OUT OF THE EQUATION. NOT THE POLITICS. I UNDERSTAND THE POLITICS, TRUST ME, I UNDERSTAND THE POLITICS MORE THAN MOST AROUND ST. GEORGE. BUT WHEN IT COMES TO OUR STUDENTS, THERE ARE NO POLITICS. THEY ARE OUR STUDENTS TODAY. THEY ATTEND OUR SCHOOLS AND THEY HAVE SAID TO ME, THEY HAVE NEEDS THE SAME WAY THE STUDENTS AT SCOTLANDVILLE HIGH SCHOOL, AT REMA HIGH SCHOOL, AT CAPITAL HIGH SCHOOL, AT BEL AIR HIGH SCHOOL, AT MA MA OF TARA HIGH SCHOOL, THAT NEEDS TO TRACK DESPERATELY. AND I'VE BEEN WORKING ON GETTING THEM TRACKED FOR 10 YEARS. I HAVE BEEN WORKING WITH TARA TO TRY TO GET THEM AN ALL WAY TO TRACK BECAUSE I THINK THE KIDS DESERVE TO PRACTICE AND RUN ON A TRACK. WE HAVE TO DO WHAT'S RIGHT BY OUR STUDENTS. NOW, AGAIN, THAT'S MY OPINION AS SUPERINTENDENT, AS WE START TO TALK ABOUT THE POLITICS, I HAVE A WHOLE NOTHER PERSPECTIVE ABOUT THAT. BUT WHEN WE TALK ABOUT CHILDREN, I CANNOT LEAVE, I CANNOT EVEN CONSIDER LEAVING WOODLAWN OUT OF THE EQUATION BECAUSE WE HAVE STUDENTS WHO ATTEND OUR SCHOOLS RIGHT NOW, WHO I SEE EVERY TIME I VISIT WITH LAUREN, WHO SAY TO ME, WHEN YOU COMING TO HELP US GET OUR FOOTBALL FIELD, MR. COLE, WE GOT TWO. WE GET SOMEBODY GETS HURT ON THE FOOTBALL FIELD EVERY WEEK. WHEN ARE YOU GONNA COME ASSIST US? AND FOR ME, I HAVE TO ALWAYS THINK ABOUT SEPARATING THOSE TWO CONVERSATIONS. I GOTTA THINK ABOUT THE CHILDREN WE SERVE NOW. AND I CANNOT SAY TO THEM, BECAUSE OF OTHER CHALLENGES WE MIGHT HAVE AROUND THE POLITICS, I GOTTA LEAVE Y'ALL OUT. I CAN CANNOT DARE SAY THAT TO THEM. SO, UH, I UNDERSTAND THAT THERE ARE MEMBERS OF OUR COMMUNITY WHO ARE VERY CONCERNED ABOUT WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN. I THINK ABOUT IT EVERY NIGHT. I TALK TO KELLY ABOUT IT EVERY DAY, ALMOST ABOUT WHAT'S GONNA HAPPEN IF, UH, THE ST GEORGE SCHOOL SYSTEM IS APPROVED, HOW IS IT GONNA IMPACT OUR SCHOOL SYSTEM? BUT THAT CONVERSATION FOR ME IS SEPARATE FROM HOW DO WE PURSUE UPGRADES TO THE HIGH SCHOOL EXPERIENCE NOW, BECAUSE THE REALITY OF THE SITUATION IS THIS. IF WE AS A BOARD AND I AS SUPERINTENDENT AND THE STAFF MAKE THE APPROPRIATE INVESTMENTS IN OUR PROGRAMS AT OUR SCHOOLS RIGHT NOW, THERE WOULD BE NO NEED FOR A ST. GEORGE SCHOOL SYSTEM. IF WE MAKE THE APPROPRIATE INVESTMENTS INTO OUR SCHOOLS AND MAKE SURE OUR KIDS HAVE WHAT THEY NEED, NO ONE WOULD BE TRYING TO LEAD. AND THAT'S WHAT I'M TRYING TO CREATE. A WORLD CLASS SCHOOL SYSTEM WHERE EVERY STUDENT AND WHEN THEY WALK INTO THEIR SCHOOL IS PROUD, EXCITED, AND DOES NOT WANT TO LEAVE. AND WHEN THE CHILDREN START SAYING TO THEIR PARENTS, YOU'RE NOT GONNA TAKE ME OUTTA MY SCHOOL. THAT'S A WHOLE DIFFERENT LEVEL OF POLITICS. WHEN THE CHILDREN START DICTATING WHERE THEY WANT TO GO TO SCHOOL AND WHY THEY WANT TO GO TO SCHOOL, AND I DESPERATELY WANT TO GIVE THEM AN EXPERIENCE THEY CAN BE PROUD OF AT EVERY SINGLE ONE OF OUR HIGH SCHOOLS. SO THEY DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT LEAVING. THEY START CRYING. THEY START FIGHTING AND SCRATCHING. THEY START WANTING TO GO LIVE WITH RELATIVES SO THEY CAN STAY IN OUR SCHOOLS. AND EVEN THEN, PARENTS AND THOSE WHO LIVE IN THE AREA OF ST. GEORGE START THINKING ABOUT, THEY'VE MADE THE TYPE OF IMPROVEMENTS WE DEFINITELY DESPERATELY ASKED THEM TO MAKE FOR OUR SCHOOLS. WE GOTTA THINK VERY DIFFERENTLY ABOUT HOW WE WANT TO PROCEED. MAYBE THAT'S CONTROVERSIAL. MAYBE PEOPLE DON'T LIKE IT. BUT I HAD TO BE HONEST IN THINKING ABOUT OUR CHILDREN. ON THAT NOTE, I HAD OTHER QUESTIONS, BUT I'M GONNA LEAVE THOSE BE FOR NOW. I WILL SAY THAT IT JUST SOUNDS LIKE WE'RE THERE'S A PATH, YOU KNOW, AND THERE ARE CERTAIN THINGS THAT HAVE TO HAPPEN. THERE ARE CERTAIN STEPS THAT HAVE TO HAPPEN TO GET US TO THAT PLACE. WHAT I WILL SAY TO THE COMMUNITY IS THIS, THAT RIGHT BEFORE I WALKED IN HERE, I HAD PRINCIPALS CALLING TO TELL ME THAT THEY ARE PUTTING TOGETHER THEIR LIST. BECAUSE OUR SCHOOL SYSTEM HAS ALREADY, OUR ADMINISTRATORS, OUR LEADERS HAVE ALREADY BEGUN TO ASK THEM WHAT IT IS THAT THEY DESIRE, WHAT IS IT THAT THEIR SCHOOL [01:30:01] CAMPUSES DESIRE. AND SO TO BE ABLE TO SAY, WE'RE GONNA SAY NO TO THIS. AND THERE ARE PRINCIPALS OUT THERE WHO ARE HEARING FROM THEIR TEACHERS AND HEARING FROM THEIR STUDENTS AND HEARING FROM THEIR COMMUNITIES. UH, I, I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHAT TO SAY TO THAT. SO THANK YOU ONCE AGAIN, MR. COLE. YES, MA'AM. THANK YOU. MS. POWELL LEWIS. MR. MARTIN, THANK YOU. THERE'S A COUPLE OF HARD ACTS TO FOLLOW. . I I AGREE WITH EVERYTHING THAT MY COLLEAGUE, UM, UH, MS. POWELL LEWIS SAID, CERTAINLY AGREE WITH EVERYTHING THE SUPERINTENDENT SAID. I WANNA MAKE A COUPLE OF POINTS. 'CAUSE THIS IS, I I, IN MY DAY JOB, I WORK WITH LARGE CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS THAT INVOLVE SIGNIFICANT CAPITAL FINANCING THE FORM OF TAX EXEMPT BONDS. AND SO, YOU KNOW, MR. AKERS POINTED OUT, UH, THE INFLATIONARY COSTS. AND THAT'S A VERY REAL THING. UM, EVERY YEAR, CONSTRUCTION COSTS GO UP 2, 3, 5, 7 SOME YEARS, 8% OR MORE. AND THE LONGER YOU WAIT TO SAY, HEY, YEAH, WE'RE GONNA DO THIS, THE MORE EXPENSIVE YOUR PROJECT IS GOING TO BECOME. JUST SO FISCALLY IT'S RESPONSIBLE TO DO IT NOW, NOT WAIT THREE YEARS TO, TO DO THIS, GIVEN THE NEEDS. THE SUPERINTENDENT'S POINT, OF COURSE, IS THE FAR MORE IMPORTANT ONE, WHICH IS NOT A, ONE OF US HAS GONE TO SCHOOLS IN THIS DISTRICT AND GONE, OH, THESE ARE GREAT FACILITIES. I MEAN, OUR BRAND NEW SCHOOLS THAT WE'VE BUILT IN THE PAST 10 YEARS FOR THE, WITH THE TAX PLAN, YEAH, THOSE ARE GREAT. THE SCHOOLS THAT WERE BUILT 40, 50 YEARS AGO, THEY ARE NOT, WE KNOW THEY'RE NOT. WE'VE HAD THE FACILITIES ASSESSMENTS DONE THAT SAY THESE SCHOOLS ARE IN AWFUL SHAPE AND WE SHOULD BE EMBARRASSED TO SEND OUR CHILDREN THERE. THEY'RE NOT THE, THE, THEY NEED IMPROVEMENTS. EVERY SCHOOL NEEDS SOME DIFFERENT KIND OF IMPROVEMENT. FOR SOME IT'S THE HVACS. FOR SOME IT'S A ROOF. FOR SOME IT'S THE GYM FLOOR. FOR SOME IT'S THE TRACK. FOR SOME, IT'S TWO OR THREE OF THOSE COMBINATIONS OF THOSE THINGS. THEY NEED THESE IMPROVEMENTS. THEY DO NOT NEED TO WAIT FOR TWO YEARS, THREE YEARS TILL THE POLI POLITICAL SITUATION CHANGES OR WHATEVER. IT'S OUR RESPONSIBILITY TO TAKE CARE OF THESE KIDS. AND THE ENVIRONMENT IN WHICH WE'RE ASKING OUR, OUR, OUR GRADE TEACHERS TO EDUCATE THESE KIDS, UM, NEEDS TO BE BETTER THAN IT IS. UM, I'D ALSO POINT OUT THAT, THAT THESE TAXES ARE NOT JUST PAID. THE PROPERTY TAX IS NOT JUST PAID BY, UM, YOU KNOW, INDIVIDUAL CONSUMERS, INDIVIDUAL, UH, HOMEOWNERS AND WHATNOT. THIS IS A PROPERTY TAX ON EVERY PROPERTY OWNER IN, IN THIS, UM, UH, UH, DISTRICT, INCLUDING THE EXXON MOBILS AND THE, UH, AND THE OTHER MAJOR INDUSTRIES. THEY'RE NOT IMMUNE FROM PROPERTY TAXES. THEY'RE, WE IMU WE, WE GIVE THEM SOME, SOME REDUCTION IN THEIR PROPERTY TAX DUE FOR NEW PLAN EXPANSIONS. BUT ANYTHING THAT'S THERE THAT WAS DONE BEFORE IEPS WERE, WERE GRANTED. UH, ANYTHING WHERE AN IEP WAS GRANTED AND IT'S ENDED, THEY'LL PAY, THEY'LL PAY THIS TAX ON THE VALUE OF THEIR PROPERTY THERE. I THINK THE FINAL POINT, SUPERINTENDENT, JUST FOR FOR CLARITY, YOU DON'T GET TO JUST DECIDE YOURSELF WHAT PROJECTS TO SPEND ON ALL THE PROJECTS THAT, THAT ALL YOUR PROPOSALS FOR PROJECTS WILL COME BACK TO THIS BOARD FOR APPROVAL. IS THAT CORRECT? ABSOLUTELY. ABSOLUTELY. SO WE'VE GOT PLENTY OF TIME FOR THE DEMOCRATIC PROCESS TO PLAY OUT WITH THOSE. WE DON'T HAVE THE LUXURY OF WAITING BECAUSE OF THE, THE, THE SCHEDULE THAT YOU AND MR. AKERS DISCUSSED. WE DON'T HAVE THE LUXURY OF WAITING FOR THAT. SO, UH, WITH THAT, I MOVE APPROVAL OF THIS ITEM. SECOND, WE HAVE APPROVAL BY MR. MARTIN AND HAVE A SECOND BY MR. PAUL LEWIS. BUT WE ALSO HAVE STILL COMMENTS IN THE, UH, QUEUE. MR. GODDE. THANK YOU. UM, I CAN ECHO A LOT OF WHAT'S SAID, UH, PARTICULARLY AROUND THE INFLATION SIDE BECAUSE I'VE ARGUED FOR YEARS THAT, THAT WE HAVE WASTED TONS OF MONEY ON OUR TAX PLAN BY NOT BONDING OUT SOME OF THAT REVENUE AND MOVING SOME PROJECTS FORWARD. AND I WAS CONSISTENTLY STAED BY THE THING, IF WE SOLD THIS AS A PAY AS YOU GO AND NO ONE WANTED TO, UH, I GUESS IT WOULD'VE BEEN DIFFICULT LEGALLY TO CHANGE THAT. BUT WE HAVE WASTED MILLIONS AND MILLIONS AND MILLIONS OF DOLLARS WHERE WE JUST, BY NOT SPENDING THE MONEY EARLY, WE COULD HAVE AVOID AVOIDED, JUST LOOK AT ALL THE COSTS THAT WENT UP IN THE PANDEMIC. UH, WE COULD HAVE AVOIDED ALL OF THAT. HAD WE BONDED OUT SOME OF THESE PROJECTS AND NOT ONLY SAVED MONEY, WE'D HAVE GOTTEN KIDS IN BETTER FACILITIES SOONER. SO I, I THINK IT'S A, I THINK IT'S A REAL FLAW IN HOW WE'VE THOUGHT ABOUT ALL THIS BY NOT GOING TO BOND IT. I UNDERSTAND THAT AT THE TIME THAT ALL OF THAT WAS DONE THERE, THERE, THE POLITICAL ATMOSPHERE WAS AS PAY AS YOU GO WAS A SELLING POINT. I GET IT. BUT I HOPE AFTER 30 YEARS OR 40 YEARS OF TAX PLANS, WE'VE GOTTEN BEYOND THAT. [01:35:01] BUT I DO HAVE ONE TECHNICAL LEGAL QUESTION BECAUSE SOME OF THE COMMENTS AROUND HERE HAVE, HAVE BROUGHT THAT UP. WHEN I READ, UH, ACT 2 34, WHICH SETS UP THE ST. GEORGE, UH, SCHOOL DISTRICT, SCHOOL DISTRICT IN THERE, IT TALKS ABOUT BONDED INDEBTEDNESS FROM THE EFID OR RFID. WHAT IS IT? E-F-I-E-F-I-D-E-F-I-D-E-F-I-D. THIS MONEY IS NOT GOING TO THE EFID. THIS MONEY IS GOING TO THE SCHOOL BOARD. THAT'S CORRECT. OKAY. SO WHATEVER PROVISIONS IN THERE FOR THE EFID DON'T APPLY. BUT IN THE, THE REST OF THE PROVISIONS SAY HERE THAT I'M A QUOTE FROM HERE REAL QUICK. UH, UH, GIVE ME TWO SECONDS HERE, NO LAYER THAN JUNE 1ST, 2027 EAST BATON ROUGE. UH, OH. THAT'S EDUCATIONAL FACILITIES. I'M SORRY. UM, NO LATER THAN 60 DAYS AFTER THE EFFECTIVE DATE OF THIS ACT, THE EAST BATON ROUGE PARISH SCHOOL BOARD, AND NO LESS THAN 60 DAYS, OKAY? EAST BATON ROUGE PARISH SCHOOL BOARD AND THE ST. GEORGE COMMUNITY SCHOOL BOARD SHALL MEET JOINTLY AND BEGIN TO PROCESS TO DETERMINE THE FAIR AND EQUITABLE DIVISION OF ALL ASSETS AND LIABILITIES, UH, RELATED TO THE FORMATION OF THE SCHOOL DISTRICT, BLAH, BLAH, BLAH, BLAH. TWO SCHOOL BOARDS OF MUTUAL, UH, AGREE ON AN ACTUARY APPRAISER, DA DA DA DA DA. THE DATE OF THE VALUATION SHALL BE THE EFFECTIVE DATE OF THIS ACT. THE EFFECTIVE DATE OF THIS ACT IS IF IT PASSES THE DATE OF THE ELECTION. AND SO, UH, BECAUSE OF THAT, UH, I THINK, AND I'M GONNA VOTE FOR THIS AND WE NEED TO DO IT, BUT WE NEED TO BE VERY CAREFUL, SHOULD THAT PASS, WE NEED TO GET AGREEMENT FROM THIS WHATEVER GROUP THAT ST. GEORGE PUT TOGETHER, DID THEY ACCEPT THE LIABILITY FOR ANY MONEY WE SPEND IN ST. GEORGE? IF NOT, WE COULD SPEND THE MONEY AND THEY SAY WE, WE DON'T WANNA PAY IT. SO WE, I'M JUST SAYING WE NEED TO BE VERY CAREFUL ON THE TIMING AND HOW WE DO THIS. IF IT, IF THE VOTE FAILS, THERE'S NO PROBLEM IF THE VOTE PASSES, THE VALUATIONS ARE AS OF THAT DATE. AND IF WE HAVEN'T SPENT THE MONEY AS OF THAT DATE, EVEN THOUGH WE'D SPEND IT BEFORE JULY, 2027, WE COULD BE ON THE HOOK FOR IT LEGALLY, UNLESS THEY AGREE TO TAKE IT. AND SO I'M JUST POINTING OUT THAT WE NEED TO BE EXTREMELY CAREFUL AS TO HOW WE DO THAT. AND IF THAT PASSES, WE GONNA NEED, WE NEED TO MAKE IT VERY CLEAR THAT IF WE DO THE UPGRADES TO WOODLAWN, WE NEED TO DO THAT WITH THE AGREEMENT AND APPROVAL, UH, AND HELP OF WHATEVER THE NEW ST. GEORGE COMMUNITY SCHOOL DISTRICT IS. BECAUSE THEY ARE GONNA HAVE THE, THEY'RE GONNA HAVE THE FINAL SAY OF WHETHER OR NOT WE GO DO IT BECAUSE THEY, I MEAN, THEY WOULDN'T EXPECT US TO DO IT IF WE WEREN'T, WEREN'T GONNA GET PAID BACK FOR IT. AM I CORRECT IN THAT? I BELIEVE YOU ARE, YES. OKAY. AND, AND THAT, YOU KNOW, AND, AND AGAIN, I DON'T WANNA GET INTO SPECIFICS ABOUT ST. GEORGE, I THINK WE'VE TALKED ENOUGH, BUT THERE WOULD BE NEGOTIATIONS AROUND ALL ASSETS AND ALL DEBTS RELATED TO THE SCHOOL SYSTEM IN EVERY ASPECT, INCLUDING WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT TONIGHT. SO, BUT THE KEY, THE KEY HERE IS THAT THE LAW SAYS VALUATION AS OF THE DATE OF THE DATE OF THE ACT. CORRECT. AS OF THE DATE OF THE ACT, WHICH IS THE DATE OF THE ELECTION MM-HMM . OKAY. AND IF WE SPEND THE MONEY AFTER THE DATE OF, BECAUSE I DOUBT WE'RE GONNA SPEND MONEY, THAT MUCH MONEY BETWEEN NOW AND APRIL MM-HMM . MM-HMM . AND SO WE NEED TO MAKE SURE IF WE SPEND ANY MONEY ON WOODLAWN AFTER APRIL, IT'S WITH THE APPROVAL AND ACCEPTANCE OF THE LIABILITY OF WHATEVER THIS NEW ST. GEORGE SCHOOL DISTRICT BOARD IS. OKAY. I JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WAS CLEAR AND HAVE THAT IN THE RECORD POINT. POINT OF INFORMATION IN FAVOR OF THIS. YES. UH, LOOK, I'M JUST GONNA ADD TO YOUR, YOUR POINT AS WELL. SO IF THAT'S THE CASE, IT SOUNDS LIKE WE NEED TO BE PROACTIVE IN THE WORDING TO MAKE SURE THAT, THAT WE HAVE SAID DOCUMENTS PREPARED. I, I DON'T, I DON'T THINK SO, BECAUSE THOSE PROJECTS GOTTA COME FOR US FOR APPROVAL AND WE WANNA APPROVE THEM UNLESS WE GOT AGREEMENT RIGHT. TO DO THAT. SO I WANNA, I DON'T WANNA OVERCOMPLICATE THIS , RIGHT? YES. I JUST WANT TO HIGHLIGHT THE SENSITIVITY OF WHAT THAT IS. THANK YOU. OKAY. THANK YOU. THANK YOU MR. GODDE. I APPRECIATE EXPLAINING THAT BECAUSE THAT, I THINK THAT WAS SOME OF THE CONCERNS THAT, UH, MS. NIMAN AND SOME OTHER PERSONS HAD IN REGARDS TO WHETHER OR NOT WE WOULD BE ON THE HOOK FOR ANY MONIES PUT INTO, UH, ANY, YOU KNOW, HIGH SCHOOL OR WHATEVER IN ST. GEORGE. AND OF COURSE, AS WE JUST INDICATED, THAT IT STILL HAS TO COME BEFORE US TO BE APPROVED. AND SO ULTIMATELY AS A WHOLE, SO I'M UNDERSTANDING CORRECTLY, COME TO THE MIC PLEASE, MS. DIAMOND. I DON'T MIND YOU COMING UP. YOU CAN GO HELP ME THERE. THERE IS NO LOOPHOLE. PLEASE DO NOT USE THAT. THERE'S A, THERE'S A TIMING WINDOW ALSO BEEN THAT I SHOULDN'T SAY UP ESCAPE . UM, THANK YOU. NO. SO MY UNDERSTANDING THEN IS THAT BETWEEN DECEMBER AND APRIL IS [01:40:01] ACTUALLY THE ONLY WINDOW WHERE YOU'RE SAYING AFTER APRIL YOU CAN ACTUALLY STIPULATE THAT ST. GEORGE HAS TO AGREE BETWEEN NOW AND APRIL. IF WE SPENT THE MONEY BETWEEN NOW AND APRIL, THEY WOULD AUTOMATICALLY HAVE TO CONSIDER THE LIABILITIES. IF WE SPEND THE MONEY AFTER APRIL. IT'S GOTTA BE WITH THEIR AGREEMENT. WITH THE AGREEMENT. RIGHT. SO YOU WON. OKAY. THAT, THAT'S, UH, THANK YOU. OKAY. NO, YOU DON'T LIKE LOOPHOLE. OKAY. SO WITH THAT BEING, WITH THAT BEING SAID, THAT'S ALL OF OUR, UM, COMMENTS. UM, ALL THOSE IN FAVOR OF THE ITEM VOTE. YAY. OH, SAY YES. SAY YES. AYE. ALL THOSE IN OPPOSITION, MADAM SECRETARY? OH, OKAY. SORRY. OKAY. AND THEN WE GOT THREE. THREE. MM-HMM . THE MOTION CARRIES. THANK YOU. MOVING ALONG TO ITEM [F.3. Extern Agreement: Louisiana State University] THREE, UM, THAT WAS ALSO, UM, PULLED EXTERNAL AGREEMENT. LOUISIANA STATE UNIVERSITY CONSIDERATION OF A REQUEST FOR APPROVAL OF AN AMENDMENT TO THE EXTERNAL AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE EAST BATON ROUGE PARISH SCHOOL BOARD AND THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS OF LOUISIANA STATE UNIVERSITY AND AGRICULTURE AND MECHANICAL COLLEGE IN THE AMOUNT OF $107,933 TO EXTEND THE AGREEMENT FOR ONE YEAR TO PROVIDE UP TO SIX EXTERNS FUNDING SOURCE GENERAL FUND WILLIAMS SMOTHERS. AND GO AHEAD. UH, MADAM PRESIDENT, I RECUSED MYSELF FROM THIS ITEM. OKAY. THANK. SAME. OKAY. AND MS. PAUL LEWIS. OKAY. AND SO, DO WE HAVE ANY PUBLIC COMMENTS ON THREE? NO, NO ONLINE EITHER. OKAY. OKAY. ANY BOARD COMMENTS? NO BOARD COMMENTS? I MOVE. WE ACCEPT WE HAVE A MOTION BY MS. ATE. HAVE A SECOND BY MS. SOLE. AND ALL THOSE IN FAVOR OF THE ITEM? UH, CAN I GET A YAY? YES. YES. AND THOSE IN OPPOSITION? I'M SORRY. CAN I GET A NO, NO. ONE. MADAME SECRETARY. THAT WAS QUICK. YOU OWN IT. MISS APRIL THE MOTION. CARRIE, MOVING ALONG THE ITEM. OH, SORRY. MOVING ALONG THE ITEM [G.1. Resolution] G, NEW BUSINESS NUM, UH, RESOLUTION, CONSIDERATION AND ADOPTION OF A RESOLUTION FOR THE PURPOSE OF LEVERING MILLAGE RATES TO BE APPLIED TO THE 2025 EAST BATON ROUGE PARISH TAX ROLL AS REQUIRED BY RS 47 17 0 5 A. MS. LOPEZ, DO I HAVE, HOLD ON. NO COMMENTS. NO COMMENTS. NO COMMENTS. OKAY. AND THAT'S, OH, OKAY. I'M SORRY. NO BOY. COMMENTS? UH, NO BOY COMMENTS. OKAY. I GET A MOTION. OKAY. THANK YOU. I GOT A MOTION FROM MS. SOLE. SECOND. I GOT A SECOND. BY MS. PAUL LEWIS. ALL THOSE IN FAVOR OF THE ITEM? YES. YES. AYE. AYE. YEAH. AYE. YES. ALL THOSE IN OPPOSITION, MADAME SECRETARY? MOST A MOTION CARRIES. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. MOVING ALONG [G.2. Student Expulsion] TO ITEM TWO, STUDENT EXPULSION DISCUSSION, CONSIDERATION OF A REQUEST TO APPEAL A STUDENT EXPULSION, UH, BOARD MEMBERS. HAVE YOU HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO REVIEW THE CASE? DO OKAY? DO I HAVE A MOTION TO HEAR THE MATTER ON OUR NEXT REGULAR MEETING? PRESIDENT STEWART, LET'S READ THE ITEM INTO THE, OH, I'M SORRY. OKAY. FIRST, YOU, RIGHT. OKAY. SO HOLD UP. YEAH. DISCUSSION, STUDENT EXPULSION DISCUSSION, CONSIDERATION OF A REQUEST TO APPEAL A STUDENT EXPULSION. THAT'S IT. UM, . AND SO, UM, DO I HAVE A MOTION TO HEAR THE MATTER AT OUR NEXT REGULAR BOARD MEETING? COACH? AND DO I HAVE A SECOND? MOVE A SECOND. YEAH. NEED TO SECOND. SECOND. OKAY. MS. PAUL LEWIS. THANK YOU ALL. SO THAT'S THAT. MOVING ALONG, ITEM [H.1. Announcement of Meetings] H CARRIED OUT MS. SOLE H ORGANIZATIONAL ITEMS. ONE ANNOUNCEMENT OF MEETINGS, BOARD RETREAT TO BE HELD ON NOVEMBER 1ST, 2025 AT 10:00 AM AT THE EXECUTIVE CENTER COMMITTEE [01:45:01] OF THE WHOLE MEETING TO BE HELD ON NOVEMBER 6TH, 2025 AT 5:00 PM IN THE CENTRAL BOARDROOM. REGULAR MEETING TO BE HELD ON NOVEMBER 20TH, 2025 AT 5:00 PM IN THE CENTRAL OFFICE BOARDROOM. AND SO BEFORE WE DISMISS, I WANT TO, UM, GIVE A KUDOS ON CAPITAL HIGH SCHOOL. THEIR HOMECOMING IS TONIGHT. I'LL TRY TO MAKE IT AFTER WE LEAVE. UH, AND OF COURSE THE, UM, MY ALMA MA SOUTHERN UNIVERSITY HOMECOMING IS THIS WEEKEND. KUDOS. I'M DRESSED FOR THE OCCASION TONIGHT 'CAUSE I WON'T BE IN ATTENDANCE, BUT JUST WANTED TO GIVE KUDOS. UH, I HAVE HOMEWORK GUYS. SO WITH THAT BEING SAID, UM, THIS CONCLUDES OUR MEETING. AND COACH, WE ARE JUNIOR. . THANKS. * This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting.