* 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. WELCOME. [00:00:01] THANK YOU FOR ATTENDING EBR SCHOOL'S, REGULAR MEETING FOR JANUARY 15TH, 2026. AGENDA. THE INVOCATION WILL BE LED BY SCHOOL BOARD MEMBER NATHAN RUSS, AND THE PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE. WILL BE HEAD BY CADET, LIEUTENANT COLONEL GABRIEL KNIGHTON OF BROADMOOR HIGH SCHOOL, ACCOMPANIED BY LIEUTENANT COLONEL RETIRED. DAVID MARSHALL. CAN Y'ALL PLEASE STAND? THANK YOU. PLEASE BOW YOUR HEAD AS I PRAY WITH ME. FATHER GOD, WE PRAISE YOU. WE THANK YOU FOR ALL THE BLESSINGS THAT YOU GIVE OUR FAMILIES, OUR CHILDREN, OUR COMMUNITY, ALL THESE THINGS THAT ARE GOOD COME FROM YOU. WE PRAY THAT YOU WOULD TEACH US TO BE GOOD STEWARDS OF THOSE BLESSINGS, TO BE GOOD STEWARDS OF OUR CHILDREN IN OUR COMMUNITY. LORD, GIVE US EARS THAT HEAR AND EYES THAT SEE, LET ALL THINGS THAT WE DO, PRAISE AND WALK IN YOUR WILL. IN YOUR NAME WE PRAY. AMEN. AMEN. GOOD AFTERNOON, SUPERINTENDENT COLE, MADAM PRESIDENT, BOARD MEMBERS AND FELLOW CITIZENS OF EAST BATON ROUGE SCHOOL DISTRICT IS MY HONOR AND PRIVILEGE TO INTRODUCE CADET BATTALION COMMANDER GABRIELLE KNIGHTON. CADET KNIGHTON IS A SENIOR AT BROADMOOR SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL AND IS THE DAUGHTER OF LA MILES AND CHRISTOPHER KNIGHTON. SHE IS A MEMBER OF THE JRTC ARCHERY TEAM WHO WON FIRST PLACE THIS YEAR IN THE SCHOOL DISTRICT, THE COLOR GUARD AND DRILL TEAM, AND IS HEAVILY INVOLVED IN THE DISTRICT CTEC PROGRAM WITH SPECIAL EMPHASIS ON HEALTHCARE. CADET KNIGHT HAS A 3.2 AVERAGE GPA AND CONTINUES TO IMPROVE IN HER ACADEMIC STUDIES. AFTER GRADUATING FROM BROADMOOR SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL, CADET KNIGHT, PLANS TO ATTEND SOUTHERN UNIVERSITY IN A AND M COLLEGE AND MAJOR IN NURSING. LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, HERE TO LEAD US IN THE PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE. I PRESENT TO YOU CADET BATTALION, GABRIELLE KNIGHTON. 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. WAIT, DON'T COME. COME. YEAH, WE HAVE SOMETHING FOR YOU BEHALF. BEHALF OF SUPERINTENDENT COLE. AND DO YOU HAVE ANY FAMILY? NOW WE HAVE OUR CALL TO ORDER. MADAM SECRETARY, CAN WE DO A ROLL CALL? DISTRICT FOUR, PRESIDENT STEWART. PRESENT. DISTRICT FIVE, VICE P. VICE PRESIDENT LEWIS. PRESENT DISTRICT ONE. MR. BLUE? HERE. DISTRICT TWO. MR. LANIS, DISTRICT THREE. MS. POWELL LEWIS. PRESENT DISTRICT SIX. MR. RUSS? PRESENT. DISTRICT SEVEN. MR. GODDE PRESENT. DISTRICT EIGHT. MS. SOLE PRESENT. DISTRICT NINE. MR. MARTIN, WE HAVE A QUORUM. THANK YOU. [B. Minutes] MOVING ALONG TO ITEM B. UH, MEETING MINUTES, APPROVE OF THE SCHOOL BOARD MINUTES OF THE DECEMBER 4TH, 2025, REGULAR BOARD MEETING AND THE DECEMBER 15TH, 2025 SPECIAL BOARD MEETING AS PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL JOURNAL. DO I HAVE A MOTION? SO MOVED. I HAVE A MOTION BY MR. GOEY AND A SECOND BY MR. RUSS. I HAVE A PUBLIC COMMENT BY MR. FINNEY. THANK YOU. I NOTICE WHAT ISN'T IN THE MINUTES AND IT SHOULD BE IS YOUR FOLLOW UP ACTION ON REDISTRICTING, WHICH IS THREE YEARS PAST DUE. SO I DUNNO WHAT YOU'RE WAITING FOR, BUT QUIT WAITING AND DO GERMAN TOPIC. IT'S VERY GERMANE. NO, IT'S NOT. IT'S NOT. I WAS DONE. DO YOU WANNA KEEP HAVING THIS CONVERSATION ABOUT YOU HAVE A JOB TO REDISTRICT? DO IT PLEASE. THANK YOU, MS. PAULA LEWIS. THANK YOU. UM, WE ARE ON THE ITEM OF MEETING MINUTES, CORRECT? [00:05:01] YES. CORRECT. SO I WOULD JUST LIKE TO TAKE A MOMENT OF PERSONAL PRIVILEGE. UH, AND I BELIEVE THAT, THAT I'M USING THE RIGHT PHRASE, UM, ATTORNEY SHAMBLIN. BUT I WOULD JUST LIKE TO TAKE A MOMENT TO APOLOGIZE TO MS. WASHINGTON SCOTT, WHO SUBMITTED AN APPLICATION, UM, FOR THE COMMUNITY ROOTS, UH, CHARTER SCHOOL. UH, SHE MENTIONED TO ME IMMEDIATELY AFTER OUR THURSDAY MEETING THAT, UH, SHE SENT ME A, A MESSAGE ACTUALLY THROUGH A SOCIAL MEDIA SITE THAT TELLS YOU THAT WE HAVE NO COMMUNICATION WITH EACH OTHER OTHER THAN, UH, ON SOCIAL MEDIA. AND SHE MENTIONED TO ME THAT SHE WAS TOLD NOT TO COME TO THE MEETING, UH, AND THAT, UH, SHE DID NOT NEED TO BE HERE TO EXPRESS HER SENTIMENTS ABOUT HER APPLICATION AND THAT SHE WAS NOT A PART OF A NATIONAL CHARTER ORGANIZATION. AND I JUST WANTED TO APOLOGIZE JUST FROM MY STANDPOINT, BECAUSE I KNOW I MADE MY COMMENTS AS WELL, UH, ABOUT HER NOT BEING HERE. AND I JUST WANTED TO PUBLICLY APOLOGIZE TO HER. UH, AND WHENEVER THE OPPORTUNITY ARISES FOR US TO RECONSIDER OR EVEN TO HEAR HER, UH, CASE ONCE AGAIN, I HOPE THAT WE WILL TAKE THAT TIME AND THAT SHE WILL BE HERE TO BE ABLE TO REPRESENT HERSELF. THANK YOU. THANK YOU, MS. UH, LEWIS. ALL I DO HAVE A MOTION. UH, ALL THOSE IN FAVOR OF APPROVING THE MEETING MINUTES, SAY AYE. A ALL THOSE AYE. ALL THOSE NOT IN FAVOR, SAY NAY. MADAM SECRETARY, PLEASE VOTE. THE MOTION CARRIES. THANK [C. Information Only] YOU. MOVING ALONG TO ITEM C, INFORMATION ONLY, UH, THE MONTHLY FINANCIAL REPORT. UH, NUMBER TWO, PERSONAL CHANGES. AND NUMBER THREE POINT OF INFORMATION ANNOUNCEMENT OF THE EAST BATON ROUGE PARISH SCHOOL BOARD MEMBERS WHO HAVE SUCCESSFULLY COMPLETED ANNUAL TRAINING FOR THE 2025 MANDATED BY LOUISIANA REVISED STATUTES. TITLE 17, SECTION 53, AND THE TOTAL CREDIT HOURS RECEIVED. MARK BALLOU 3.5 DANGEROUS LANIS 3.25. CARLA POWELL LEWIS, 18.75. SHOSHONE STEWART, MYSELF. 16. CLIFF LEWIS. SEVEN. NATHAN RUSS, 8.75. MICHAEL GOE. SIX. EMILY SOLE 15.25. AND PATRICK MARTIN, 4.75. MR. GOE? YES, I WANTED TO BACK UP TO THE FINANCIAL REPORT. OKAY. WE HAD SAID, UH, WE WERE GONNA DO A BRIEF PRESENTATION ON THE, UH, ON THE FINANCIAL MY REPORT. OH, IT'S IN YOUR REPORT. OKAY. THANK YOU. OKAY. [D.1. Update from the Superintendent] AND WE NOW HAVE ITEM D RECEIVE AS INFORMATION UPDATE FROM THE SUPERINTENDENT. THANK YOU MADAM PRESIDENT, MR. VICE PRESIDENT, MEMBERS OF THE BOARD, THOSE OF YOU WHO ARE HERE, AND THOSE, UH, WHO ARE WATCHING AT HOME. SINCERELY APPRECIATE ALL OF YOU FOR ALLOWING ME, UH, TO SERVE AS SUPERINTENDENT FOR ANOTHER MONTH. I WANNA SAY HAPPY NEW YEAR TO EVERYONE. THIS IS MY 17TH MONTH OF SERVICE AS SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS, AND I'M EXCITED ABOUT, UH, THE YEAR OF 2026. AS WE MOVE FORWARD, I'VE CHALLENGED MYSELF AND THE TEAM TO GO HIGHER IN EVERY ASPECT OF OUR ORGANIZATION AND SERVICE OF OUR STUDENTS AND OUR COMMUNITY. IN JANUARY SCHOOL BOARD MEMBER RECOGNITION MONTH ACROSS THE STATE OF LOUISIANA, IT IS WHEN WE TAKE THE TIME TO RECOGNIZE THE CRUCIAL ROLE OF OUR ELECTED SCHOOL BOARD MEMBERS, CELEBRATE THEIR COMMITMENT TO OUR DISTRICT AND THANK THEM FOR THEIR SERVICE TO OUR COMMUNITY. I PERSONALLY WANT TO SAY THANK YOU TO THE BOARD FOR THEIR LEADERSHIP AND COLLABORATION AND GIVING US A NEW STRATEGIC PLAN. OUR BOARD GUIDES OUR DISTRICT ACTIVITIES. TONIGHT'S BRIEF UPDATES ARE ALIGNED TO THEIR VISION, MISSION, AND CORE COMMITMENTS. I'D LIKE TO PERSONALLY GIVE YOU ALL A ROUND APPLAUSE FOR YOUR SERVICE. EVERYBODYS SHOULD BE CLAPPING, ESPECIALLY EMPLOYEES. THEY VOTE ON RAISES, THEY VOTE ON ADJUSTMENTS TO SALARY AND, AND ALL THE GOOD THINGS THAT HAPPENED IN OUR SCHOOL SYSTEM. YOU'RE WELCOME. YOU'RE WELCOME. UH, ON THE F , ON THE FIRST DAY OF THE SEMESTER, I PERSONALLY VISITED 29 SCHOOLS MYSELF, UH, AND MR. CASEY GILBERT. AND THE STAFF JOINED ME BY VISITING SEVERAL OTHERS, AND WE RETURNED FROM THE HOLIDAY BREAK AND TO ALL THE OTHERS. I LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING YOU ALL AT YOUR SCHOOLS, UH, THIS SEMESTER. ADDITIONALLY, I WOULD LIKE TO RECOGNIZE AND THANK OUR EMPIRE WINGS FOR THEIR CONTINUED SUPPORT AND PARTNERSHIP. THEIR GENEROSITY IN ASSISTING [00:10:01] US WITH PROVIDING FRIDAY LUNCHES FOR OUR TEACHERS AND STAFF AT INDIVIDUAL SCHOOLS IS MORE THAN JUST A MEAL. IT'S A CELEBRATION OF THE INCREDIBLE WORK OF OUR EDUCATORS AND WHAT THEY DO EVERY DAY. NOT JUST OUR TEACHERS, BUT OUR CAFETERIA WORKERS, CUSTODIANS AND SUPPORT STAFF WHO SERVE IN THOSE SCHOOLS AS WELL. EMPOWER WINGS CHOOSES TO FEED EVERY SCHOOL, EXCUSE ME, CHOOSES TO FEED EVERY MEMBER OF THE STAFF WHEN THEY VISIT THE SCHOOLS. THESE MOMENTS OF APPRECIATION HELP BOOST MORALE AND REMIND US THAT WHEN WE COME TOGETHER AS A COMMUNITY, WE CAN GO HIGHER AND ACHIEVE GREAT THINGS. DURING THE MONTH OF JANUARY, MEMBERS OF THE EXECUTIVE LEADERSHIP LEADERSHIP TEAM AND I ARE MEETING WITH EVERY SINGLE PRINCIPAL AT EVERY SCHOOL TO REVIEW THEIR SCHOOL PERFORMANCE SCORES AND STRATEGICALLY PLAN FOR MEANINGFUL IMPROVEMENTS IN KEY AREAS. IN THESE MEETINGS, WE ENGAGE AND GUIDE OUR SCHOOL LEADERS IN DEVELOPING CLEARER UNDERSTANDING OF THE NEW LDOE SCHOOL PERFORMANCE SCORE FRAMEWORK. GROW, ACHIEVE, THRIVE AT OUR K EIGHT SCHOOLS. WITHOUT A GRADUATING CLASS, ACHIEVE ACCOUNTS FOR 46% OF THE SCHOOL PERFORMANCE AND GROW ACCOUNTS FOR THE LARGEST SHARE. AT 54% OF THE O 54% OF THE OVERALL PERFORMANCE SCORE AT THE HIGH SCHOOL LEVEL, ACHIEVE ACCOUNTS FOR 33%, GROW ACCOUNTS FOR 42% AND THRIVE 25%. THE SUCCESSES AND THE SUPPORT. WE MUST CONTINUE TO BUILD A CULTURE OF ENCOURAGEMENT AND EMPOWERMENT TO GROW OUR STUDENTS IN ALL OF OUR SCHOOLS. IN ADDITION TO MEETING WITH DIRECT RUN SCHOOLS, THE OFFICE OF CHARTER MANAGEMENT HOSTED A MEETING FOR OUR CHARTER OPERATORS AND LEADERS TO DISCUSS THEIR INDIVIDUAL SCHOOL PERFORMANCE SCORES AND SHARE BEST PRACTICES TO ENSURE THE SUCCESS OF ALL OUR STUDENTS IN OUR COMMUNITY. OUR MEETING WAS WELL ATTENDED. THERE WAS A REPRESENTATIVE FROM ALL 13 OF OUR CHARTER SCHOOLS, INCLUDING ONE OF OUR NEW CHARTER SCHOOLS THAT WILL PERHAPS BE APPROVED TONIGHT. UH, THESE CONVERSATIONS NOT ONLY CELEBRATE OUR SHARED PROGRESS, BUT ALSO REINFORCE THE AUTONOMY OF SCHOOL LEADERS TO INNOVATE AND MAKE DECISIONS THAT BEST SERVE THEIR STUDENTS. WHILE STAYING ALIGNED WITH OUR DISTRICT'S VISION FOR EXCELLENCE. DURING THE MONTHS OF JANUARY AND FEBRUARY, THE ICARE PROGRAM WILL HOLD A VIOLENCE PREVENTION AWARENESS CAMPAIGN AT THE SCHOOL AND DISTRICT LEVEL. WE WOULD LIKE TO INVITE STAFF, STUDENTS, AND COMMUNITY PARTNERS TO PARTICIPATE IN NATIONAL WEAR. ORANGE DAY WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 11TH, 2026. TO RAISE AWARENESS OF TEEN DATING VIOLENCE WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT EFFORTS REMAIN FOCUSED ON POST-SECONDARY READINESS AND SUPPORTING THE NEW THRIVE COMPONENT WITH ALIGNING WITH THE FOLLOWING HIGH SCHOOL CORE PROGRESSION. MIDDLE TO HIGH SCHOOL PATHWAYS, CAREER AWARENESS, STRENGTHEN A CT WORK KEYS PREPARATION AND INCREASE ACCESS TO INDUSTRY BASED CREDENTIALS THROUGH PARTNERSHIPS WITH TARGETED SUPPORT, SENIOR SUPPORTS OPERATIONAL EXCELLENCE. THE TRANSPORTATION DEPARTMENT IS PARTNERING WITH BRCC TO HOST AN INTERN FROM ITS MECHANIC CERTIFICATION PROGRAM AND WORKING WITH HUMAN RESOURCE TO RECLASSIFY QUALIFIED SERVICE STATION TECHNICIANS TO MECHANIC TWO POSITION. THESE EFFORTS AIM TO HELP EMPLOYEES ENHANCE THEIR SKILLS, EARN HIGHER PAY AND PROGRESS TOWARD MECHANIC ONE ROLES. THE OPERATIONS DEPARTMENT IS WORKING WITH PARTNERS TO IMPROVE CONDITIONS IN THE ESS TRANSFER POINT TO INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING, REPAVING THE SURFACE, IMPROVING THE COVERAGE AND THE INTEGRITY OF THE CANOPY SYSTEM, AND INCREASING THE UPGRADING RESTROOM FACILITIES AND SU SUPPLEMENTING PARKING AREAS UNDER THE AREA OF EMPLOYEE DEVELOPMENT. THE DIVISIONS OF ACADEMICS AND WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT CONTINUE TO HIGHLIGHT, GROW, ACHIEVE, THRIVE IN BOTH FORMAL AND JOB EMBEDDED LEARNING SESSIONS. IN JANUARY, MORE THAN 1900 EDUCATORS PARTICIPATED IN 120 PROFESSIONAL GROWTH DAY, PROFESSIONAL GROWTH DAY PROFESSIONAL LEARNING SESSIONS OFFERED ACROSS THE DISTRICT. AND THESE PROFESSIONAL LEARNING DAY STAFF WERE ABLE TO STRENGTHEN INSTRUCTIONAL PRACTICE TO ALIGN CONTENT SPECIFIC LEARNING. STAKEHOLDER ADVISORY COUNCIL MEETINGS ARE ONGOING. THE FOCUS, UH, FOR THESE MEETINGS HAVE BEEN HEAVILY EMBEDDED IN OUR BUDGET PROCESSES AS WE LISTEN TO OUR COMMUNITY IN TERMS OF WHAT THEY WANT TO SEE INCLUDED AND OUR BUDGET. AS WE PREPARE FOR THE BUDGET CYCLE OF THE 26 20 FOURTH TO 26 27 SCHOOL YEAR, THE PRINCIPAL ADVISORY COUNCIL MET ON MONDAY, JANUARY 12TH AND PROVIDED FEEDBACK REGARDING HIGH SCHOOL CLASS AND SCHEDULING STRUCTURES. THE PARENT ADVISORY COUNCIL MET ON WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 14TH, AND PROVIDED INPUT FEEDBACK REGARDING THE 2026 STUDENT RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITY HANDBOOK, SCHOOL CHOICE OPTIONS FOR THE 26 27 SCHOOL YEAR AND THE 26 27 DISTRICT BUDGET. BOTH STUDENT AND TEACHER ADVISOR COUNCIL MEETINGS ARE SCHEDULED FOR NEXT WEEK. AS WE CONTINUE TO GAUGE OUR STAKEHOLDER GROUPS WITH FEEDBACK CENTERED AROUND SOME OF THE DISTRICT'S STRATEGIC INITIATIVES. UH, WE ARE GOING TO HAVE A PRESENTATION FROM ONE OF OUR OUTSTANDING LEADERS WHO SERVES. YOU CAN START COMING THIS WAY, WHO SERVES, UH, AT THE PRINCIPAL AS THE PRINCIPAL OF RIVER OAKS ELEMENTARY. AND I'M GOING TO ASK HER TO INTRODUCE HERSELF AND TELL US ALL ABOUT THE WONDERFUL WORK SHE IS DOING AT HER SCHOOL. AND IN YOUR, UH, PRESENTATION. MAKE SURE YOU RECOGNIZE ALL THE STAFF THAT HAVE [00:15:01] COME WITH YOU. ALL RIGHT. HI. UM, MY NAME'S ANGELA OAKWIN. I'M THE PRINCIPAL OF RIVER OAKS ELEMENTARY AND SOME OF MY AMAZING TEAM MEMBERS WHO CAME WITH ME TODAY ARE ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL, MS. HUXSON, UM, MR. HEKE, FIRST GRADE TEACHER, MR. SMITH, FIFTH GRADE TEACHER. AND WE ALSO HAD A COUPLE STUDENTS COME WITH US. THEY ARE SOME OF OUR STUDENT LEADERS, UM, OSMOND, OSMOND, STANDUP, AND BROOKE, ALL OF YOU STAYING TO BE RECOGNIZED FROM VOTE JUST. AND OF COURSE, THE MOMS WHO CAME, BECAUSE YOU GOT TO, Y'ALL GOTTA GIVE IT UP FOR THAT TOO. YOU GOTTA GIVE IT UP FOR THE MOMS TOO. I THINK I RECOGNIZED MR. SMITH. I THINK I'VE KNOWN HIM SINCE HE WAS ABOUT ZERO, PROBABLY . ALL RIGHT. HOW DOES THIS WORK? OKAY. ALL RIGHT. SO, RIVER OAKS ELEMENTARY HAS 465 STUDENTS. UH, WE SERVE PRE-K THROUGH FIFTH GRADE. UM, OUR SCHOOL HAS AN AMAZING CHOIR WITH A FABULOUS CHOIR DIRECTOR, MR. HILL. UH, WE HAVE CHEERLEADING, UH, SPORTS, AND THEN, UM, OUR PBIS HOUSE SYSTEM. UM, THE SCHOOL IS 72% ECONOMICALLY DISADVANTAGED, 43% AFRICAN AMERICAN, 49% HISPANIC, 6% WHITE, 2% ASIAN, AND 34% ENGLISH LEARNER. OUR CURRENT SCHOOL PERFORMANCE SCORE IS A 63. OUR PROGRESS WAS IN 86.8 B. UM, AND YOU CAN SEE THAT WE GREW, UM, A LITTLE BIT FROM LAST YEAR TO THIS YEAR. CELEBRATE THE GROWTH. YES, CELEBRATE THE GROWTH. UM, SO IF WE LOOK JUST AT HOW WE DID ON THIS LAST LEAP, UM, YOU CAN SEE THAT FOR THE STUDENT SCORING MASTERY IN ADVANCED ELA WAS AT 37%. MATH AT 29% SCIENCE, 21% AND SOCIAL STUDIES 19%. UM, SO, UM, WE ARE TRENDING UPWARDS IN THE PERCENTAGE OF STUDENTS SCORING MASTERY IN ADVANCED. UM, ON THE ELPT, UH, WE HAD 32% WHO MET THEIR TARGET. UM, THIS IS THE NEW CALCULATOR. UM, IT'S KIND OF NEW FOR EVERYBODY. UM, THIS IS WHAT MR. COLE WAS TALKING ABOUT WITH THE GROW ACHIEVE THRIVE ELEMENTARY, WE ONLY HAVE GROW AND ACHIEVE. UM, LAST YEAR USING THIS CALCULATOR, UM, WE HAD A D IF WE WERE USING THIS CALCULATOR THIS YEAR, IT IS A 42.6. CAB IS A 44. SO WE ARE RIGHT THERE BY A B. SO USING THIS NEW CALCULATOR, WHICH PUTS MORE EMPHASIS ON GROWTH, UM, THAT'S WHERE YOU REALLY SEE, UM, A SHINE. SO, UM, WE HAVE A LITTLE MORE WORK TO DO TO GET TO THAT B BUT, UH, WE DO THINK IT IS DEFINITELY POSSIBLE FOR THIS YEAR. AND SO, PART OF OUR PLAN, UM, OUR LONG RANGE PLAN IN CYCLE ONE, THAT WAS THE FIRST NINE WEEKS. WE FOCUSED ON USING THE HIGH QUALITY INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS AS INTENDED. UM, CYCLE TWO, AND NOW WE'RE IN CYCLE THREE. UM, OUR PUSH IS FOR EFFICIENT AND EFFECTIVE INTERVENTIONS. UM, WE HAVE INCLUSION, UM, THIS YEAR FOR OUR ESS STUDENTS. AND IF YOU WANT TO SEE REALLY GOOD INCLUSION INSTRUCTION, WE HAVE A FEW REALLY, REALLY AMAZING TEAMS, UM, THAT ARE A VERY GOOD MODEL FOR HOW IT SHOULD LOOK. UM, FOR OUR ENGLISH LEARNERS, WE USE A MIX OF, UH, CO-TEACHING PUSH-INS, PULLOUTS. IT ALL DEPENDS ON WHAT EITHER THE INDIVIDUAL STUDENTS OR THE SMALL GROUP OF STUDENTS NEED. UM, WE HAVE, UM, A REALLY STRONG AFTERSCHOOL TUTORING PROGRAM, UM, WHICH INCLUDES ENRICHMENT FOR OUR FIRST THROUGH FIFTH GRADE STUDENTS. WE HAVE A STRONG SUPPORT SYSTEM FOR OUR TEACHERS. UM, THAT'S BOTH IN-HOUSE AND THROUGH, UM, OUR DISTRICT'S CURRICULUM DEPARTMENT. THIS YEAR THOUGH, WE ARE FOCUSED A LOT ON ENGAGEMENT AND MOTIVATION AND HOW DO WE GET OUR STUDENTS TO WANT TO BE IN SCHOOL AND TO WANT TO DO WELL. UM, WHICH LEADS ME TO, UM, OUR HOUSE SYSTEM. UM, LAST YEAR I TOOK SEVEN TEACHERS WITH ME TO ATLANTA, TO THE RON CLARK ACADEMY. UM, RON CLARK ACADEMY IS AN INTERNATIONALLY RECOGNIZED MIDDLE SCHOOL IN ATLANTA, GEORGIA, KNOWN FOR ITS HIGH ENERGY INSTRUCTIONAL PRACTICES, STRONG SCHOOL CULTURE, AND INNOVATIVE HOW SYSTEM MODEL THAT PROMOTES STUDENT ENGAGEMENT, LEADERSHIP AND ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE. UH, FOR [00:20:01] ALMOST 20 YEARS, THEY'VE PROVIDED PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT FOR TEACHERS FROM AROUND THE WORLD. UM, SO I, I TOOK AN ESS TEACHER, I TOOK THE MUSIC TEACHER, I TOOK, UM, A SOCIAL STUDIES TEACHER, A SCIENCE TEACHER, ELA TEACHER. I TRIED TO GET A LITTLE BIT OF EVERYBODY WITH ME. UM, SO THEY COULD ALL SEE, BECAUSE IN THE SCHOOL, WHEN YOU GO TO VISIT, YOU GET TO SEE THE TEACHERS IN ACTION. YOU GET TO SEE THE ENGAGEMENT STRATEGIES, AND THEN THEY'LL HAVE SESSIONS WHERE THEY EXPLAIN THE ENGAGEMENT STRATEGIES WHEN THEY EXPLAIN HOW IT WORKS. UM, AND SO WE CAME BACK AND WE CA SO WE WENT IN APRIL, WE CAME BACK IN MAY, AND WE SORTED THE TEACHERS. UM, SO EVERY TEACHER IS IN A A HOUSE. I'M TEAM RIVER. UM, SO WE HAVE FOUR HOUSES, ISAB, BINDI, AMISTAD, ALTRUISM AND RIVER. WE USED THE ORIGINAL, UM, RCA HOUSES, UM, BECAUSE HONESTLY THEY ALREADY HAVE ALL THE MERCHANDISE. SO, UM, IT'S JUST EASIER. AND IT, WE GET TO STICK WITH THEIR TRADITIONS. SO WE LIKE THE FOUR HOUSES. UM, IN AUGUST, WE SORTED THE STUDENTS. UM, SO WE HAVE THE BIG WHEEL. EVERY STUDENT GRADES THREE THROUGH FIVE, THEY GOT TO SPIN THE WHEEL, UM, TO SEE WHAT HOUSE THEY'RE IN. AND THAT'S WHY OSMOND'S WEARING HIS REVERSE SHIRT AND BROOK'S WEARING HER ALTRUISM SHIRT. OH. AND, AND MR. LEWIS IS WEARING HIS BRACELET. 'CAUSE HE CAME TO THE SCHOOL AND HE GOT TO SPIN AND HE IS IN NDI. UM, SO AFTER THE STUDENTS, UM, FOUND OUT WHAT HOUSE THEY WERE IN, THEY ALL GOT A BRACELET, UM, TO HELP IDENTIFY THEM. UM, A HUGE PART OF OUR SYSTEM IS, UM, OUR LEADERBOARD. UM, SO EVERY STUDENT HAS A LITTLE VIDEO CLIP, AND WHEN THEY GET POINTS, SO THEY GET POINTS FOR, UM, FOR DOING REALLY WELL ON AN ASSESSMENT. UM, SOME TEACHERS WILL OFFER POINTS. IF A STUDENT GIVES A REALLY GOOD ANSWER, A REALLY THOROUGH ANSWER IN CLASS, THEY GET IT FOR GOOD CHARACTER, FOR GOOD BEHAVIOR. AND SO YOU NEVER KNOW WHO'S GETTING POINTS OR FOR WHAT. BUT THROUGHOUT THE DAY, THIS LEADERBOARD IS CONSTANTLY UPDATING WITH STUDENTS GETTING POINTS. UM, AND YOU CAN'T SEE IT IN, IN, IN THE SLIDESHOW, BUT THEY MOVE JUST LIKE IN HARRY POTTER WITH, UH, YEAH, WITH THE MOVING, UM, PICTURES. SO YOU CAN SEE THEM MOVING IN THE VIDEOS. ALL OF THEIR POINTS CONTRIBUTE TO THE HOUSE POINTS. AND THAT IS THEIR GOAL. THEIR GOAL IS TO BE ON TOP AND FOR THEIR HOUSE TO BE, UM, TO BE ON TOP. I LIKE THAT . YEAH, IT'S REALLY COOL. IT IS. UM, SO EVERY FRIDAY WE HAVE, SORRY, THIS IS ANOTHER ONE OF OUR AMAZING TEACHERS. SHE'S ALSO IN TEAM RIVER . SORRY. MUCH MUCH. OKAY. SO, UM, EVERY FRIDAY WE HAVE A HOUSE MEETING, UM, WHICH IS A MIX OF A PEP RALLY AND, AND A MEETING. UM, IT'S HIGH ENERGY. THERE'S A LOT OF MUSIC. UM, THE STUDENTS GET RECOGNIZED. UH, TEACHERS CAN GIVE SHOUT OUTS TO THEIR STUDENTS. THE KIDS COME UP, THEY GET TO SPIN THE WHEEL TO GET POINTS. UM, WE GIVE HOUSE POINTS FOR ATTENDANCE. WE GIVE HOUSE POINTS FOR THE HOUSE THAT DOES THE BEST ON THEIR CFAS THAT WEEK. SO WE'RE REALLY PULLING EVERYTHING IN. WE'RE PULLING BEHAVIOR, ATTENDANCE AND ACADEMICS. UM, AND THEN WE ALSO GET RECOGNIZE THE TEACHERS. SO WE HAVE AN EAGLE OF THE MONTH AND THE EAGLE OF THE MONTH GETS HER OR HIS, OR HER, UM, AWARD. UM, SO, SO YEAH. NEXT, OH, THIS WAS, UM, WE WERE IN THE NEWSPAPER, WHICH WAS A VERY BIG DEAL FOR OUR BABIES. UM, AND IT WAS INTERESTING BECAUSE WHEN THEY SAW IT ONLINE, IT WAS LIKE, EH, YEAH. BUT WHEN THEY ACTUALLY SAW THE NEWSPAPER, THAT WAS SOMETHING WHEN THEY WERE ACTUALLY IN THE NEWSPAPER. UM, SO ALL OF THAT, UM, GOES TOWARD OUR GOALS. UM, SO THAT IS WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO DO. AND WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN OUR BEHAVIOR REFERRALS FROM LAST YEAR AND THIS YEAR, UM, THAT IS A SIGNIFICANT DECREASE. THANK YOU. AND THEN, UM, WHEN YOU LOOK AT OUR ATTENDANCE, OUR ATTENDANCE IS UP. UM, DESPITE SOME OF THE ISSUES WE HAD LAST MONTH, UM, OUR ATTENDANCE IS UP. UM, AND THEN THE BIGGEST, UM, I GUESS THE BIGGEST ACCOMPLISHMENT IS OUR CFA SCORES. UM, I PUT BACK IN THERE OUR GOALS FOR THIS YEAR, AND YOU CAN SEE WHERE THE CFA, UM, AVERAGES ARE ALL SLIGHTLY HIGHER THAN WHAT OUR GOALS ARE. UM, [00:25:01] AND SO THROUGH OUR HOUSE SYSTEM AND THROUGH ALL OF OUR ENGAGEMENT STRATEGIES AND JUST THE AMAZING TEACHING THAT HAPPENS AT THE SCHOOL, UM, I DO THINK WE ARE MEETING OUR GOALS. AND THAT IS IT. THANK YOU. DON'T LEAVE MS. OAKLEY. MS. CARLA PAUL LEWIS, FIRST, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR SHARING THAT WONDERFUL PRESENTATION. UM, I WANT TO COMMEND YOU AND YOUR STAFF ON YOUR WEEKLY CULTURE PEP RALLIES AND KEEPING THE CULTURE GOING FOR YOUR SCHOOL. BECAUSE WHEN YOU DO THAT, THAT'S WHAT MAKES PEOPLE KIDS. MM-HMM . STUDENTS, TEACHERS WANT TO BE A PART OF YOUR SCHOOL FAMILY. SO I REALLY APPRECIATE YOU SHARING THAT. UM, I JUST WANTED TO ASK YOU TO GIVE US A BIT OF VOCABULARY, BECAUSE I KNOW, I KNOW WHAT THESE PHRASES MEAN. YES. BUT I DON'T KNOW IF THE GENERAL COMMUNITY KNOWS WHAT THEY MEAN. BUT PUSH INS, PULLOUTS, AND CFAS. OKAY. CFAS ARE COMMON FORMATIVE ASSESSMENTS. UM, THEY'RE MADE BY OUR, BY OUR CURRICULUM DEPARTMENT. SO EVERY SCHOOL GIVES THEM, WE ALL GIVE THE EXACT SAME ONES. SO THOSE ARE JUST TESTS. THOSE ARE THE TESTS THAT EVERYBODY TAKES. AND IT'S EVERY OTHER WEEK. UM, FOR THE SUBJECTS, UM, PUSH-INS. UM, WE HAVE, AT RIVER OAKS, WE HAVE FOUR ESL TEACHERS. AND SO SOMETIMES THEY'LL PUSH INTO THE CLASSROOM TO WORK WITH STUDENTS, AND SOMETIMES THEY WILL PULL STUDENTS OUT OF THE CLASSROOM. UM, IT ALL DEPENDS ON WHAT THE STUDENTS' NEEDS. SOMETIMES THEY JUST NEED SOMEBODY SITTING WITH THEM TO HELP THEM UNDERSTAND WHAT'S HAPPENING IN THE LESSON. SO THAT'S WHERE THE PUSH-INS COME IN. SOMETIMES THEY NEED SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT. AND SO THE, UM, THE, THE ESL TEACHER WILL PULL THEM OUT AND TAKE THEM MAYBE TO THE LIBRARY OR THE CAFETERIA SOMEWHERE ELSE SO THEY CAN WORK ON SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT. THANK YOU. SORRY. . MR. LEWIS. UM, EXCUSE ME, MS. O'QUINN, YOU GUYS ARE DOING A FANTASTIC JOB. THANK YOU. YOU KNOW, I'VE VISITED THE SCHOOL SEVERAL TIMES. MM-HMM . UH, I'VE GOT MY GREEN, UH, BAND ON. THAT WAS, THAT WAS MAYBE ONE OF THE BEST DAYS I'VE EXPERIENCED IN A SCHOOL. THE DAY THEY WERE SPINNING THE WHEEL. UM, IT'S JUST AMAZING. AND THANK YOU. REALLY, RIVER OAKS IS KINDA LIKE A, A, ONE OF THE OUR BETTER KEPT SECRETS. NOBODY KNOWS WHERE WE ARE. . YEAH, IT IS. YOU KNOW, IT'S JUST KIND OF DOWN THERE ON THE, ON, ON THE LAST BUILDING ON THE STREET. MM-HMM . UH, BUT YOU GUYS ARE DOING A, A GREAT JOB. LAST YEAR YOU HAD A, A WONDERFUL FLAG, UH, NFL FLAG FOOTBALL TEAM. WE DID, YES. THAT WON A CHAMPIONSHIP. YES. UM, AND ALSO THE, UH, MISS O' QUINN'S FATHER AND I CAN GO BACK 40 PLUS YEARS. HE WAS THE TRAINER. HE WAS MY ATHLETIC TRAINER AT SOUTHERN MISS. HE TAPED MY ANKLES, HE TAPED MY KNEES. UM, SOMETIMES HE TRIED TO HELP ME GET OUT OF PRACTICE WHEN I . NO, NOT REALLY, BUT, UH, WELL, GREAT FAMILY, GREAT JOB. THANK YOU. THANK YOU MR. BALLOU. THANK YOU MADAM PRESIDENT. UH, AND, UH, THANK YOU, MS. O'QUINN. YOU ALREADY ANSWERED MY QUESTION ABOUT THE PUSH-INS AND PULLOUTS, BUT I, SO I'LL JUST, UH, COMMEND YOUR ESL TEACHERS, UH, BECAUSE YOU, WITH THE GAINS YOU'VE SHOWN AND, AND MM-HMM . THE PERCENTAGE OF ENGLI ENGLISH LEARNERS, UH, YOU HAVE AT THAT SCHOOL. IT JUST SHOWS THAT THEY'RE, UH, DOING A GREAT JOB, SON. YES. THANK YOU. SO THANK YOU. THANK YOU, MR. ATE. YES. THANK YOU. AND CONGRATULATIONS TO YOU AND ALL YOUR STAFF. AND I JUST WANT TO PARTICULARLY COMMEND, UH, YOUR EFFORTS AND THEIR EFFORTS TO STEP OUTSIDE THE BOX AND GO VISIT THE PEOPLE IN ATLANTA AND DO THAT. 'CAUSE YOU KNOW, ONE OF MY FRUSTRATIONS WHEN I FIRST CAME ON A BOARD MANY YEARS AGO WAS, IT WAS THE EBR WAY MM-HMM . AND THAT WAS THE ONLY WAY WE EVER DID ANYTHING. AND I THINK WE'VE FINALLY BROKEN THROUGH THAT THE LAST FOUR OR FIVE YEARS, WHERE WE'RE DOING A LOT OF BEING WILLING TO LISTEN TO OTHER IDEAS ABOUT HOW TO GO ABOUT DOING THINGS, AND THEN IMPLEMENTING THEM WITH INTEGRITY. AND IF THEY DON'T WORK, WE DROP 'EM. AND IF THEY DO WORK, WE KEEP 'EM AND SPREAD 'EM. BUT, UH, I JUST WANT TO THANK YOU FOR TAKING THE INITIATIVE TO GO AHEAD AND DOING THAT. AND, UH, THANK YOU AND YOUR STAFF FOR ALL THE HARD WORK THAT MEANT TO THAT WENT INTO MAKING THAT WORK. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. I CAN'T TAKE ALL THE CREDIT FOR IT. YES, YOU CAN. I JUST GAVE IT TO YOU, . WELL, TO BE, TO BE FAIR, MR. COLE AND I, WE WERE HAVING A CONVERSATION ABOUT ENGAGEMENT AND HE SAID, HAVE YOU EVER HEARD OF THE WRONG CLARK ACADEMY? I SAID, YES, SIR, [00:30:01] I HAVE ACTUALLY. AND SO YEAH, THAT WAS, THAT WAS HOW ALL OF THAT HAPPENED. , MS. OLAND, KEEP UP THE EXCELLENT WORK, UH, TO ECHO, UH, BOARD MEMBER GOD'S COMMENTS. THANK YOU FOR STEPPING OUTSIDE THE BOX. WE WERE HAVING THAT CONVERSATION. AND, UH, YOU PUT THINGS INTO PLACE AND YOU AND YOUR, UH, LEADERSHIP TEAM OR YOUR TEACHERS ARE DOING A PHENOMENAL JOB. UH, YOU KNOW, THERE'S A SAYING THAT SAYS CULTURE, EACH STRATEGY FOR BREAKFAST EVERY DAY OF THE WEEK. MM. AND WHAT YOU HAVE DONE IN TERMS OF CREATING AN OUTSTANDING CULTURE HAS IMPACTED THE OVERALL PERFORMANCE OF YOUR STUDENTS ACADEMICALLY, HAS DRIVEN ANY OF THE INCIDENTS YOU ALL WERE HAVING DOWN AND HAS INCREASED THEIR LOVE FOR BEING AT SCHOOL. SO WE SEE ATTENDANCE GOING UP. SO IT IS A MODEL WE LIKE TO SEE REPLICATED ACROSS OUR CAMPUSES. SO I'M GLAD THAT YOU WERE ABLE TO LEAD THE WAY AND HOPEFULLY, I KNOW THAT YOU DON'T LIKE TALKING IN FRONT OF PEOPLE, BUT HOPEFULLY YOU'LL BE WILLING TO WORK WITH OUR TEAMS TO HELP DEVELOP SOME OF OUR OTHER SCHOOLS WHO WANT TO PARTICIPATE AND DO THE SAME TYPES OF THINGS. SO KEEP UP TO EXCELLENT WORK. WE SINCERELY APPRECIATE YOUR EFFORTS IN OUR SCHOOL SYSTEM. ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU. ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU. AND THANK YOU. LET'S GIVE HER A ROUND OF APPLAUSE AND CONTINUE WITH OUR REPORT. WE ARE GONNA HEAR FROM, UM, MME. LOPEZ WHO'S GONNA TALK TO US A LITTLE BIT ABOUT OUR BUDGET AND COMPARISONS, AND THEN GIVE US AN UPDATE ON WHERE WE ARE WITH OUR CHILD NUTRITION PROGRAM, MS. LOPEZ, GOOD EVENING, BOARD MEMBERS AND SUPERINTENDENT. AND AS MR. COLE ALWAYS TELLS ME, I WILL BE BRIEF . ALRIGHT, SO TONIGHT'S DISCUSSION IS GONNA TALK ABOUT THE GENERAL FUN AND CHILD NUTRITION. AND BOTH OF THESE WE'RE GONNA LOOK AT TWO DIFFERENT AREAS. THE FIRST ONE IS GONNA BE LOOKING AT DECEMBER OF 2024 COMPARED TO DECEMBER OF 2025 THAT JUST PASSED. AND WE'RE ALSO GONNA BE LOOKING AT DECEMBER OF 25 AND WHERE WE ARE COMPARED TO OUR PROPOSED BUDGET. OKAY. SO WE'RE GONNA START WITH THE GENERAL FUND. AS FAR AS OUR REVENUES, THERE'S BEEN MINIMAL CHANGE FOR AD VALOREM TAXES. AND THAT IS BECAUSE WE DON'T GET OUR VAST MAJORITY OF OUR PROPERTY TAXES UNTIL TODAY. YES, MR. COLE, WE GOT OUR PROPERTY TAXES. THAT'S RIGHT. ALL RIGHT. SO SALES TAXES ARE UP 17%, WHICH IS WONDERFUL. I'VE SEEN THE BUSINESS REPORT AND SEVERAL OTHER ARTICLES HOW SALES TAX IS DOWN, BUT WE ARE UP RIGHT NOW, AND I'M NOT COMPLAINING. OUR OTHER LOCAL REVENUE IS DOWN 48%. AND THAT IS BECAUSE AT THIS TIME LAST YEAR, OUR MEDICAID REIMBURSEMENT HAD COME IN AND IT HAS NOT COME IN AT THIS TIME. SO WE'RE STAYED WAITING ON THAT. MFP IS SLIGHTLY DOWN AT 1.9% DECREASE, BUT THAT, THAT GOES ALONG WITH OUR PROJECTIONS AND OUR STUDENT ENROLLMENT. WE'RE SLIGHTLY DOWN. SO OBVIOUSLY OUR MFP IS IS 12. OUR OTHER STATE REVENUE IS AT 4.2%. AND THAT IS INCLUSIVE OF THE STATE RAISES. THE LDO WE PROVIDED US WITH, AND IT'S ABOUT THE SAME AS IT WAS LAST YEAR. 'CAUSE OUR POPULATION OF TEACHERS AND STAFF HAS NOT REALLY CHANGED THAT MUCH. AND OUR FEDERAL REVENUE IS DOWN 55%. AND THAT'S BECAUSE OF ESSER. ESSER IS NO LONGER WITH US. NOT ONLY DID WE RECEIVE INDIRECT COSTS FROM ESSER, BUT WE RECEIVE THE UNRESTRICTED INDIRECT COSTS FROM ESSER. INSTEAD OF RECEIVING 7% ON THE DOLLAR, WE RECEIVE 26% ON THE DOLLAR. AND THAT IS A HUGE CHANGE. SO LET'S TALK ABOUT OUR EXPENDITURES. SO OUR SALARIES ARE DOWN ABOUT 7%, AND THAT IS BECAUSE WITH THE REALIGNMENT THAT MR. COLE IMPLEMENTED THIS YEAR, THE NATURAL ATTRITION OF TEACHERS AND STAFF HAS DECREASED SLIGHTLY. OUR BENEFITS ARE UP 2%. MAJORITY OF THAT IS FROM OUR GROUP INSURANCE. AS YOU KNOW, WHEN YOU APPROVED IT, OUR EMPLOYEES DID NOT RECEIVE ANY INCREASE, BUT THE DISTRICT DID. SLIGHT INCREASE. FOR THIS YEAR, OUR PROFESSIONAL SERVICES IS UP 28%. AGAIN, WITH THE ENDING OF S OR MANY OF OUR CONTRACTS THAT WE HAD RETURNED TO THE GENERAL FUND TO BE IMPLEMENTED. PROPERTY SERVICES ARE UP 69%. AND I HAVE TO GIVE ALL THE CREDIT ON THIS ONE TO MR. GILBERT AND HIS TEAM. THEY HAVE BEEN DOING AN OUTSTANDING JOB OF MAKING OUR CAMPUSES LOOK THE WAY YOU EXPECT THEM TO LOOK. PURCHASE SERVICES ARE DOWN 14%. WE HAVE A NEW FOCUSED ADVERTISING, UH, INITIATIVE AS WELL AS OUR PROPERTY AND CASUALTY INSURANCE WENT DOWN SIGNIFICANTLY. SO THAT WAS WONDERFUL. MATERIALS AND SUPPLIES WERE UP 26%. OUR TEXTBOOKS CAME BACK THIS YEAR FROM ESSER, AS WELL AS THE IMPLEMENTATION OF NEW MATH CURRICULUM AS OUR EUREKA IS NOW EUREKA SQUARED TO COMPLY WITH LDO E'S TIER ONE CURRICULUM PROPERTY IS DOWN 26%. THAT'S BECAUSE OF OUR SCHOOL BUSES. BLESS YOU. WE HAVE DECIDED TO GO WITH LEASING BECAUSE IT'S MORE COST EFFECTIVE FOR US RATHER THAN PURCHASING THE BUSES. SO THAT'S YOUR DECREASE DEBT SERVICE CHANGE VARIES SLIGHTLY. OUR QEP BONDS HAVE BEEN PAID OFF. THE INTEREST THIS YEAR WAS SLIGHTLY LOWER BECAUSE THAT IS THE END OF THEM. AND AS YOU KNOW, WE HAVE IMPLEMENTED THE NEW BOND THAT WILL BE FOR THE HIGH SCHOOL EXPERIENCE. APPROPRIATIONS IS UP 16%. AS YOU KNOW, IN THE CITY. TYPE TWO CHARTERS ARE INCREASING. AND THAT IS BECAUSE AS THE SO FAR HAS BEEN THE PREFERRED CHOICE OF CHARTER SCHOOL MANAGEMENT COMPANIES. AND SO WITH THAT, THE TYPE TWO'S INCREASED. SO WE MUST BUDGET FOR THAT. SO LET'S TALK ABOUT, AGAIN, WITH OUR ACTUAL VERSUS OUR REVENUES. SO WHILE WE'RE STILL WAITING ON 87% OF [00:35:01] OUR REVENUES TO COME IN, YES, OUR PROPERTY TAXES DID COME IN. UM, OUR EXPENDITURES ARE RIGHT AT 48%, WHICH IS WHERE YOU WANNA SEE MIDDLE OF THE YEAR, ABOUT 50%. SO LET'S TALK ABOUT CHILD NUTRITION. SO AS YOU KNOW, AT THE BEGINNING OF THE YEAR, MS. MCKNIGHT PROVIDED US WITH A CORRECTIVE ACTION PLAN. AND SHE HAS BEEN WORKING DILIGENTLY TOWARDS HER GOALS IN THAT. SO OUR LOCAL REVENUE DID DECREASE. WE HAVE LESS CHARTER SCHOOLS COMING IN AND USING OUR SERVICES. STATE REVENUE INCREASED SLIGHTLY BECAUSE THE LDOE REQUIREMENT FOR TOP CHILD NUTRITION REQUIRED THE GENERAL FUND TO PROVIDE ADDITIONAL MMFP MONEY TOWARDS THEM. AND AS YOU CAN SEE, FEDERAL REVENUE IS UP 14%. NOW, AS MANY OF YOU MAY OR MAY NOT KNOW, THE ONLY WAY TO GET FEDERAL REIMBURSEMENT IS FOR CHILDREN TO EAT. NOW OUR MFP IS DOWN, SO WE DON'T HAVE MORE KIDS, BUT WHAT WE HAVE IS A HIGHER PARTICIPATION. AND MS. MCKNIGHT'S STAFF IS, IS WORKING HARD. SHE'S DOING NEW INITIATIVES TO GET OUR KIDS IN SO WE CAN GET ADDITIONAL FEDERAL REVENUE. AND IF OUR KIDS DON'T EAT, THEY DON'T THINK AS WELL. SO THEY DIG BETTER WHEN THEY EAT. ALRIGHT, SO TELLS TALKING ABOUT OUR CHILD NUTRITION EXPENDITURES. SALARIES ARE DOWN 13%. AND THAT IS AMAZING. THIS TIME LAST YEAR THERE WERE 511 EMPLOYEES. WE NOW HAVE 425. WE ARE STREAMLINING AND WE ARE WORKING WITH WHAT WE HAVE BENEFITS SLIGHTLY DOWN. AGAIN, GROUP INSURANCE WENT UP, BUT HER BENEFITS ARE STILL DOWN. SHE HAD A HUNDRED PERCENT DECREASE IN PROFESSIONAL SERVICES BECAUSE THIS TIME LAST YEAR THEY HAD BOUGHT SEVERAL CONTRACTED SERVICES THAT THEY'RE TAKING IN HOUSE. AGAIN, THEY'RE STREAMLINING, UM, WITH OUR PROPERTY SERVICES, 20% DECREASE PURCHASE SERVICES, 9% DECREASE. SHE HAS STARTED THE EQUIPMENT REPAIR MANAGEMENT SYSTEM. SO INSTEAD OF BUYING LARGE EQUIPMENT WITH YOUR PROPERTY DOWN A HUNDRED PERCENT, SHE'S DOING A REPAIR CYCLE SO THAT THEY CAN KEEP THEIR THINGS GOING. UH, MATERIALS AND SLIDE SUPPLIES ARE UP 2%. AND THIS IS NOT BECAUSE SHE'S SPENDING ADDITIONAL MONTHS, SHE'S USING HER COMMODITIES THAT ARE PROVIDED THROUGH THE USDA, WHICH IS WHAT WE'RE SUPPOSED TO BE DOING. UM, AND OUR APPROPRIATIONS 90% INCREASE, UH, DECREASE BECAUSE THEY DID NOT GIVE ANY ADDITIONAL, UM, STIPENDS THIS YEAR. SO RIGHT NOW, AS OF DECEMBER, 2025, WE ARE STILL A $2.1 MILLION DEFICIT. HOWEVER, WE HAVE NOT RECEIVED OUR DECEMBER REIMBURSEMENT FROM THE USDA, WHICH ON AVERAGE IS ABOUT $2.7 MILLION. NOW, WHILE DECEMBER IS OUR LOWER REIMBURSEMENT MONTH, BECAUSE AS YOU KNOW, OUR CHILDREN DO NOT EAT FOR TWO WEEKS. THEY ARE AT HOME. HOWEVER, IF THEY COME IN AT 2.1, THEY WILL BE BROKEN EVEN RIGHT NOW. AND THAT IS A WONDERFUL PLACE TO BE IN SIX MONTHS WHEN THEY WERE PROJECTING FOUR YEARS, THEY ARE DOING THE WORK AND THEY ARE TRYING REALLY HARD TO MAKE THIS A SUCCESSFUL PROGRAM. ANY QUESTIONS MR. LEWIS? MR. LOPEZ, COULD YOU UNPACK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE, UM, PROFESSIONAL SERVICE CONTRACTS OVER IN THE GENERAL FUND? SURE. THEY, THEY INCREASED 28%. AM I SAYING THAT RIGHT? YES. JUST KIND OF TALK TO ME ABOUT ALL. SO, SO THAT CAN BE, THAT CAN BE A LOT OF DIFFERENT THINGS. THAT CAN BE KIDS ORCHESTRA, THAT CAN BE CITY YEAR. THAT COULD BE, UM, EDGENUITY. IT COULD BE ANY CONTRACT SERVICES THAT WE HAD THAT WE ORIGINALLY HAD ESSER PAYING FOR MM-HMM . THAT WE BROUGHT IN. NOW, AS YOU KNOW, WHEN WE TALKED ABOUT THIS BUDGET WITH ESSER GOING AWAY, WE TALKED A LOT ABOUT CONTRACTS AND WE WORKED REALLY HARD TO ELIMINATE MANY CONTRACTS, BUT THERE ARE SOME THAT WE FIND THAT ARE REALLY SUCCESSFUL FOR OUR CHILDREN. AND SO WE'RE NOT GONNA GET RID OF EVERYTHING. YEAH. AN EXAMPLE OF ONES THAT WORK, JUST AN EXAMPLE OF ONE THAT REALLY WORKS WELL FOR OUR CHILDREN. WELL, SIR, I'M NOT CURRICULUM, I'M, THAT'S, THAT IS A MS. EDWARDS QUESTION. I CAN TELL YOU WHAT WE KEPT I UNDERSTAND, BUT I CAN'T TELL YOU IF THEY WORK. I UNDERSTAND. AND OVER IN CHILD NUTRITION IT'S A HUNDRED PERCENT DECREASE. YES. BECAUSE THEY DID A SUMMER PLANNING PROGRAM THAT THEY DID NOT DO THIS YEAR. MS. MCKNIGHT TRAINED HER STAFF, SHE HANDLED EVERYTHING AND THEY DID THE SUMMER PROGRAM AND IT WAS VERY SUCCESSFUL. SO THEY DIDN'T NEED THAT EXPENDITURE. RIGHT. OKAY. ALRIGHT. THANK YOU MR. ATE. THANK YOU. AND FIRST OF ALL, THANK YOU MS. LOPEZ FOR, FOR THE PRESENTATION. I THINK SOMETHING LIKE THIS AT THE MIDWAY POINT SURE IS, IS EXTREMELY VALUABLE. UH, I ALSO WANT TO GIVE OUT A FU KUDOS TO THE SUPERINTENDENT AND THE STAFF. UH, YOU KNOW, WHEN WE WENT THROUGH THE RESTRUCTURING, PART OF THE RESTRUCTURING WAS TO, UH, REDUCE OVERHEAD AND REDUCE COST. AND THESE NUMBERS ARE SHOWING THAT THAT ACTUALLY HAPPENED. YES. BOTH IN THE GENERAL FUND AND IN CHILD NUTRITION, WHICH WAS THE REASON WE WENT AND DID SOME OF THOSE THINGS. SO THAT FREES UP, UH, MONIES FOR OTHER THINGS SUCH AS SALARIES AND, AND OTHER THINGS THAT WE HOPEFULLY WILL BE GETTING AROUND TO. UH, THE OTHER ONLY QUICK POINT I WANTED TO MAKE AS YOU REFERENCED, AND I ALSO HAD NOTICED THAT HOW THE CITY PARISH IS TALKING ABOUT [00:40:01] A DECREASE IN SALES TAXES MM-HMM . AND WE'RE SEEING AN INCREASE IN SALES TAXES THAT IS THE ST. GEORGE EFFECT ON THE CITY PARISH. YEAH. AND SO YOU CAN LOOK AND SEE WHAT THAT EFFECT IS AND UNDERSTAND WHAT THE EFFECT MIGHT BE ON US SHOULD THE ST. GEORGE, UH, SCHOOL DISTRICT GO FORWARD JUST A, AS A FINANCIAL ABSOLUTELY. PLANNING TOOL. ABSOLUTELY. BUT THAT'S THE REASON THAT WE ARE UP IN THE CITY PARISH IS DOWN. UH, UM, SO WHEN WE STARTED THIS BUDGET, UM, WE HAD I THINK EITHER A SLIGHT NEGATIVE OR A SLIGHT POSITIVE ON THE BUDGET. SLIGHT POSITIVE, A SLIGHT POSITIVE. BUT, UH, WHEN I LOOK AT THE NUMBERS, WE SHOULD BE, UH, MULTIMILLION DOLLARS AHEAD WHEN WE LOOK AT THE, UH, THE SALES TAX INCREASES. NOW, WE DON'T HAVE PROPERTY TAXES. I KNOW IT'S EARLY, UH, LOOKING ALL THIS, BUT THE NEWS HERE IS, A, WE'VE SAVED THE MONEY, WE SAVED, WE WOULD SAVE B THE REVENUES ARE COMING IN ACTUALLY SLIGHTLY BETTER THAN WE THOUGHT WE WOULD. SO OUR BUDGET RIGHT NOW IS IN VERY GOOD SHAPE. GOOD. YES. AND SO, UM, THANK YOU FOR THAT. I DON'T THINK WE TALK ENOUGH ABOUT THE GOOD THINGS THAT WE DO, UH, THROUGH ALL OF THESE AND THANK YOU. AND, AND THE CHILD NUTRITION PROGRAM FOR ALL THE HARD WORK THAT THEY'VE BEEN DOING, THAT WAS ONE THAT SEEMED LIKE IT KIND OF SPROUTED OUTTA CONTROL A LITTLE BIT. AND I'M GLAD TO SEE HIS BACK. WE'VE BEEN WORKING HARD BACK ON THE RAILS. I KNOW YOU HAVE. AND, AND THANK YOU. AND THE STAFF OF CHILD NUTRITION, ALL THAT. ABSOLUTELY. THEY, UH, WE, THAT IS ALL MS. MCKNIGHT AND HER HANDLING IT. I JUST TRACK THE MONEY. YES. WELL, THANK YOU VERY MUCH. YOU'RE WELCOME. UH, I WANTED TO, KELLY, DON'T GO ANYWHERE. THANK YOU FOR DOING AN EXCELLENT JOB OF MANAGING THE FUNDS. WE MADE, UH, SOME PROMISES TO THIS COMMUNITY, UH, DOING REALIGNMENT THAT, YOU KNOW, SOME OF WHAT WE WERE DOING WAS CHALLENGING, BUT IT WAS WHAT'S BEST, UH, FOR OUR STUDENTS AND FOR OUR FAMILIES. AND WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO DO THAT. UH, I ALSO WANNA SAY TO MS, UH, MCKNIGHT, WHO WE'VE BEEN CALLING M MCKNIGHT, BUT SHE CORRECTS ME QUIETLY THAT HER NAME IS MS. HILL. SO I WANT TO SHOW, UH, ALL DEFERENCE AND RESPECT TO YOUR HUSBAND, JONATHAN. BUT MS. HILL, YOU HAVE COME IN AND THERE WAS A PROJECTION THAT IT WOULD TAKE FOUR YEARS TO RECOVER, AND YOU RECOVERED IN SIX MONTHS. SO I THINK YOU HAVE DONE A PHENOMENAL JOB. AND I JUST WANNA GIVE YOU A ROUND OF APPLAUSE, UH, UH, FOR BEING YEAH, PLEASE STAND, SIR. EVERYBODY CAN SEE YOU, MS. HILL. UH, THANK. YEAH. AND, UH, DON'T BE SHY. YOU'VE DONE A, A PHENOMENAL JOB AND, AND, UH, I APPRECIATE YOU FOR BEING FIRM, UH, WITH ME. WHEN WE START TALKING ABOUT, UH, THINGS I WANT TO SEE YOU DOING, YOU SIMPLY SAY, NO, WE CAN'T DO THAT. SO, UH, I APPRECIATE YOU FOR, UH, TAKING ON A CHALLENGE. APPRECIATE YOU KELLY. AND I WANT TO, UH, THANK THE ENTIRE STAFF, UH, FOR THAT EFFORTS. WE, WE HAVE ASKED OUR PRINCIPALS AT SCHOOLS TO THINK CREATIVELY ABOUT HOW THEY'RE USING THEIR STAFFS. UH, THEY'VE DONE THAT JOB. WE'VE TALKED TO ALL OF OUR VARIOUS DIFFERENT DEPARTMENTS TO THINK CREATIVELY ABOUT HOW THEY'RE CHOOSING TO USE THEIR STAFFS. AND, UH, WE ARE SEEING, UH, THE TEAM DO A PHENOMENAL JOB OF DOING THAT IN TERMS OF THE WAY WE USE OUR FINANCES. AND I KNOW THAT WE HAVE AREAS WHERE WE STILL CAN IMPROVE BECAUSE THERE'S A LOT OF THINGS. THERE ARE A LOT OF THINGS WE CAN DO IN-HOUSE, AND WE JUST HAVE TO THINK ABOUT HOW WE PUT THOSE STRUCTURES IN PLACE TO ENSURE WE MEET THE NEEDS OF OUR STUDENTS. SO THANK YOU SO MUCH TO THE STAFF AND EVERYONE INVOLVED FOR MAKING SURE THIS HAPPENED. AND WE CAN SAY TO OUR COMMUNITY ON THIS DAY THAT WE HAVE A VERY HEALTHY BUDGET. SO THANK YOU FOR THAT. THANK YOU, KELLY. AND WITH THAT, UH, AS A REMINDER, THE SCHOOL SYSTEM WILL BE CLOSED ON MONDAY, JANUARY 19TH IN OBSERVANCE OF MARTIN LUTHER KING. UH, DAY INTO QUOTE, MARTIN LUTHER KING. INTELLIGENCE AND CHARACTER IS THE TRUE GOAL OF EDUCATION. SO HAVE A VERY SAFE MONDAY, HAVE A VERY, VERY SAFE WEEKEND. AND MADAM PRESIDENT AND MEMBERS OF THE BOARD, THIS CONCLUDES MY REPORT. THANK YOU SUPERINTENDENT COLE, AND THANK YOU KELLY AND MS. HILL. UM, MOVING ALONG, UH, TO ITEM E REPORTS FROM BOARD APPOINTEES TO COMMITTEES AND AGENCIES, ARE THERE ANY REPORTS THAT ANY BOARD MEMBERS WOULD LIKE TO SHARE? OKAY. NONE. WITH THAT BEING [F. Consent Agenda] SAID, MOVING ALONG TO ITEM F AND MR. BALLOU, YOU HAVE THE FLOOR. THANK YOU. THE FOLLOWING ITEMS ARE TO BE APPROVED AS PART OF THE CONSENT AGENDA AND ARE CONSIDERED TO BE ROUTINE AND WILL BE ENACTED WITH ONE MOTION. THERE WILL BE NO SEPARATE DISCUSSION 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 PROCEEDING. THE LAST ITEM ON THE REGULAR AGENDA ITEM F1 DISCUSSION CONSIDERATION TO APPROVE THE HARVEST COMMONS CHARTER SCHOOL APPLICATION AND RELATED MATTERS. ITEM F TWO, [00:45:01] DISCUSSION CONSIDERATION TO ACCEPT THE RECOMMENDATION TO DENY, DENY THE COMMUNITY ROOTS LEADERSHIP ACADEMY CHARTER APPLICATION AND RELATED MATTERS. ITEM F THREE CONSIDERATION OF A REQUEST TO APPROVE THE GROUP ONE PROJECTS FOR THE HIGH SCHOOL EXPERIENCE INITIATIVE AND AUTHORIZE THE SUPERINTENDENT TO NEGOTIATE AND EXECUTE CONTRACTS AND COMPLIANCE WITH STATE BID AND PRO PROCUREMENT LAW. THAT CONCLUDES THE, UH, CONSENT AGENDA. AND AT THE APPROPRIATE TIME, I MOVE APPROVAL. I HAVE A MOTION BY MR. BALLOU. DO I HAVE A SECOND? SECOND BY MR. MARTIN. YOU GOT IT. NO PUBLIC COMMENTS. OKAY. I HAVE MY FIRST PUBLIC COMMENT BY MR. JAMES FINNEY. I I WOULD ENCOURAGE YOU TO PULL ITEM F1, THE HARVEST COMMONS CHARTER SCHOOL AND TO DENY THEIR APPLICATION. SO LET ME GIVE YOU A FEW NUMBERS. THEY MET EXPECTATIONS IN APPROXIMATELY 13 CATEGORIES AND DID NOT MEET EXPECTATIONS IN APPROXIMATELY 32 CATEGORIES. I'LL PUT THAT TOGETHER JUST A FEW MINUTES AGO SO I COULD BE OFF BY ONE OR TWO. BUT IF THEY MET A FEW EXPECTATIONS AND FAILED TO MEET MOST EXPECTATIONS, I DON'T KNOW WHY YOU HAVE A PROCESS OF HAVING PEOPLE DO AN APPLICATION AND REVIEWING IT, BUT LET ME TALK ABOUT MONEY. LET'S ASSUME VERY CONSERVATIVELY THEY ENROLL THEIR MINIMUM, UH, OPENING PROJECTION OF 210 STUDENTS AND USING A BALLPARK FIGURE OF ABOUT $13,000, BOTH STATE AND, UH, LOCAL MATCH. MFP PER STUDENT, THAT'S AN ANNUAL EXPENSE OF 2,730,000. AND THE BOARD POLICY RECENTLY APPROVED GIVES THEM FIVE YEARS UNLESS THIS BOARD TERMINATES THEIR CONTRACT EARLY, WHICH THIS BOARD AND YOUR PREDECESSORS TEND NOT TO DO. SO THEY BASICALLY GET A CONTRACT FOR AT LEAST 13,650,000 OVER FIVE YEARS. AND IF WE USE 420 EXACTLY TWICE THAT, WHICH IS CLOSE TO THE 425 NUMBER THAT WAS MENTIONED LAST WEEK, THAT'S MORE LIKE 27.3 MILLION OVER FIVE YEARS BASED ON A STRONG PITCH AT ONE MEETING, NOT SUPPORTED BY THE BACKUP. UM, TURN IN. SO I'M SAYING THIS NOT 'CAUSE I EXPECT TO CHANGE SIX OF YOUR MINDS. I'M SAYING THIS. SO IF AND WHEN THIS FAILS AND YOU KNOW, I'M WITH MR. LEWIS, I HOPE THEY'RE SUCCESSFUL, BUT I DON'T BELIEVE THEY WILL BE. AND I WILL BE BACK TO SAY I TOLD YOU SO IF IT'S NOT SUCCESSFUL, I ALSO HAVE ONE MORE THING THAT I NOTICED IN THE, UM, REVIEW. IT MENTIONED THAT THE TARGET WAS THE BAKER SCOTLANDVILLE ZION CITY CORRIDOR AND THE LOCATION I HEARD LAST WEEK WAS SOUTH BOULEVARD, WHICH IS NOT NEAR BAKER OR IN SCOTLANDVILLE AND WOULDN'T SERVE THE ZION CITY COMMUNITY. SO I WOULD STRONGLY SUGGEST YOU DENY THIS AND ENCOURAGE THEM TO, UM, STUDY THE REVIEWER'S COMMENTS AND HAVE A STRONGER APPLICATION FOR A YEAR FROM NOW. THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION. THANK YOU. NEXT WE HAVE MS. VALENCIA JOHNSON. OKAY. VALENCIA JOHNSON, PRESIDENT OF THE EAST BATON ROUGE PARISH ASSOCIATION OF EDUCATORS. GOOD EVENING. UM, I AM COMING TO TALK ABOUT, UH, F1 THAT HOW YOU SHOULD PULL THE CHARTER, UH, CONTRACTS, UM, AND DENY THEM AND NOT TODAY, NOT APPROVE THEM. TODAY, THE NUMBER THAT I'M GONNA GIVE YOU IS 8,157 STUDENTS. 8,157 STUDENTS WILL BE AFFECTED BY THE ST. GEORGE. UM, MEASURE THAT WILL BE ON THE BALLOTS ON MARCH 14TH. EARLY VOTING STARTS FEBRUARY 28TH THROUGH MARCH 7TH. [00:50:04] IF WE ARE ALREADY IN LIMBO OF 8,157 STUDENTS, AND MR. FINNEY JUST DID THE MATH FOR YOU. OH, FOR 210 STUDENTS, WHAT ABOUT 8,157 STUDENTS? IT MAKES NO SENSE THAT WE HAVE, ARE ACCEPTING ANY CHARTERS INTO OUR DISTRICT WHEN WE ARE ALREADY LOSING STUDENTS. WE ARE SUPPOSED TO BE GAINING STUDENTS AND MAKING THE DISTRICT STRONGER. THAT'S WHAT, WHAT OUR EXPECTATION WAS. AND WHEN WE TALK ABOUT LOSING THESE STUDENTS, THAT MEANS THAT YOU GOING TO LOSE YOUR TALENT IN EMPLOYEES THAT YOU TRYING TO MAINTAIN. Y'ALL NEED TO THINK ABOUT THE WHOLE PICTURE AND NOT JUST LOOKING AT SEL. YES, THE FORUM SOUNDS GREAT, GREAT, BUT WE GOT SCHOOLS THAT'S ALREADY DOING AGRICULTURE SOUTHERN SERVICE THEM TOO. WHY WE CAN'T ADD THE MODEL TO OUR OWN SCHOOLS. IT DON'T HAVE TO BE ALL OF THEM. MAYBE JUST ONE OF THEM THAT'S ALREADY DOING IT. YOU KNOW, NORTHEAST GOT PRETTY PLENTY OF LAND OUT THERE. THEY ALREADY GOT, UH, FORMING. THEY ALREADY GOT FORM TOO. LET'S JUST HYPE UP THEY MODEL. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. I HAVE A CARD FROM MS. DONELLA WASHINGTON THAT DOESN'T WISH TO SPEAK, BUT DOES OPPOSE THE RECOMMENDATION FOR F1 AND F TWO? WHY ARE WE APPROVING CHARTER SCHOOLS WHEN WE SHOULD BE FIGHTING AGAINST ST. GEORGE? I HAVE, UH, DR. TERRANCE THAT WOULD LIKE TO SPEAK. GOOD EVENING. I JUST WANTED TO SHARE MY SUPPORT FOR COMMUNITY ROOTS. I AM DR. LUCRECIA TERRANCE, AND I AM A FORMER EDUCATOR HERE FROM EAST BAT ROUGE PARISH SCHOOL SYSTEM. ALSO A FORMER STUDENT OF EAST BAT ROUGE SCHOOL SYSTEM FROM WOODLAWN HIGH. UH, WHEN I GRADUATED, WENT TO DALLAS, TEXAS, CAME BACK AND WORKED HERE IN THE SYSTEM FOR A ABOUT 10 YEARS BEFORE I WAS, UH, UM, RECRUITED TO BE THE INNOVATION INNOVATION DIRECTOR FOR DALLAS ISD. AND THEN I'VE BEEN IN THE DEEPER LEARNING WORLD AS A CONSULTANT EVER SINCE. I WANTED TO SHARE MY SUPPORT FOR COMMUNITY ROOTS BECAUSE I HAVE WORKED RIGHT ALONGSIDE OF, UH, ROCHELLE SCOTT FOR A LONG TIME. UH, BEFORE SHE DECIDED TO, UM, BECOME A CONSULTANT IN LEARNING ALONG WITH MYSELF, I PULLED HER TO GO WITH PBO WORKS, WHICH IS ONE OF THE BIGGEST AND GREATEST NATIONAL COMPANIES AROUND PROJECT BASED LEARNING. AND I'M AN EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR WITH THEM. AND SO SHE BECAME ONE OF OUR CONSULTANTS. AND SO ALL THE THINGS THAT SHE'S LEARNED ABOUT DEEPER LEARNING, PERSONALIZED LEARNING, CO COMPETENCY BASED LEARNING, ALL THOSE THINGS, SHE'S PICKED UP ALONG, UM, HER RIDE ABOUT TWO YEARS AGO WE WENT AND SERVED THE STATE OF KENTUCKY AND WE ARE SO EXCITED. THAT'S WHY WE ARE SO EXCITED TO BE HERE. WE TURNED AROUND THE ENTIRE STATE, A TEAM OF US, OF THE STATE OF KENTUCKY, AND IT WAS RECOGNIZED OUR WORK BY THE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION. AND SO SHE WORKED ON THAT TEAM WITH ME WHERE I WAS THE LEADER. AND SO TO HAVE THE US TO COME BACK TO BATON ROUGE, LOUISIANA, OUR HOME, AND WANTING TO IMPART AND IMPACT THE STUDENTS ALONGSIDE EAST BATON ROUGE PARISH, WE WERE REALLY, TRULY EXCITED ABOUT THAT. SO AS TIME PERMIT AND AS OPPORTUNITIES ALLOW THEMSELVES, I DO, UH, PRAY AND, AND ASK THAT YOU DO HEAR HER, HEAR HER OUT IN HER ENDEAVORS. THANK YOU. NEXT WE HAVE MS. ROCHELLE SCOTT. I, GOOD EVENING, MADAM PRESIDENT, BOARD MEMBERS, UM, AND ALL THE SUPERINTENDENT AND ALL THOSE WHO ARE GATHERED TODAY. MY NAME IS ROCHELLE WASHINGTON SCOTT. I AM AN EDUCATOR. I'M A SCHOOL LEADER. I AM A COMMUNITY ADVOCATE. I HAVE BEEN AN EAST BATON ROUGE PARISH SCHOOL SYSTEM FOR OVER 20 YEARS. [00:55:01] UP UNTIL THE TIME, UM, THAT OUR SCHOOL EBR READINESS ELEMENTARY, UM, WAS CLOSED. AND SO AT THAT TIME, I HAD SERVED AS A TURNAROUND PRINCIPAL. I HAD SERVED A, SERVED AS AN ALTERNATIVE SCHOOL PRINCIPAL. I EVEN DID SOME WORK AT THE DISTRICT LEVEL AS A LITERACY SPECIALIST HERE. AND SO FOR ME, I AM HERE TODAY ON BEHALF OF COMMUNITY ROOTS LEADERSHIP ACADEMY, WHICH I AFFECTIONATELY CALL CRLA. A PROPOSED GRASSROOTS CHARTER SCHOOL ROOTED IN NORTH BATON ROUGE AND DESIGNED TO SERVE STUDENTS WHO HAVE HISTORICALLY BEEN UNDERSERVED BY TRADITIONAL SCHOOL MODELS. THE SCHOOL WAS NEVER INTENDED TO COMPETE WITH THE DISTRICT, BUT TO COMP COMPLIMENT IT BY ADDRESSING THE GAPS THAT WE SEE ON THE GROUND EVERY SINGLE DAY. PERSISTENT LITERACY DEFICITS, DISENGAGEMENT AMONG OLDER STUDENTS, LIMITED ACCESS TO AUTHENTIC CAREER PATHWAYS, AND THE NEED FOR CULTURALLY RESPONSIVE COMMUNITY CENTERED COACHING. OUR MODEL INTEGRATES STRONG FOUNDATIONAL LITERACY, PROJECT BASED LEARNING AND CAREER EXPOSURE, BEGINNING EARLY, NOT AS ENRICHMENT, BUT AS CORE INSTRUCTION. THE INTENT IS TO PREPARE STUDENTS NOT ONLY TO PASS TESTS, BUT TO THINK CRITICALLY SOLVE PROBLEMS, AND TO SEE THEMSELVES AS CONTRIBUTORS TO THEIR COMMUNITY. THIS VISION WASN'T SHAPED IN ISOLATION, BUT IT WAS SHAPED DIRECTLY BY LIVED EXPERIENCES IN NORTH BATON ROUGE AND THE SURROUNDING AREAS AS WELL AS MANY OF OUR COMMUNITY MEMBERS. THIS IS NOT THEORY, THIS IS NOT TREND, AND THIS IS NOT EXTRACTION. AFTER MY CAPACITY INTERVIEW, I WAS INFORMED THAT I HAD A LIMITED WINDOW TO SUBMIT A WRITTEN RESPONSE TO THE AUTHORIZERS RECOMMENDATION. I REVIEWED THE FEEDBACK CAREFULLY AND WAS LATER NOTIFIED THAT THE RECOMMENDATION TO DENY WOULD BE PRESENTED TO THE BOARD. AT NO POINT WAS I INFORMED THAT MY PRESENCE WAS EXPECTED, PERMITTED, OR NECESSARY AT LAST WEEK'S MEETING, NOR WAS I INVITED TO PRESENT OR CLARIFY IN PERSON. BECAUSE OF THAT, I TUNED IN EXPECTING A PROCEDURAL VOTE, NOT A PUBLIC DISCUSSION THAT INCLUDED COMMENTARY OF MY CHARACTER OR INTENT OR COMMITMENT TO THIS COMMUNITY. I WANNA BE CLEAR, MY PURPOSE TODAY IS NOT TO DEBATE, AND IT'S NOT TO REFUTE THE EVALUATION IN ITS ENTIRETY. IT'S TO SIMPLY CLARIFY THE PUBLIC RECORD AND ENSURE THAT ACCURACY, FAIRNESS, AND CONTEXT ARE PRESERVED. FOR ME, THIS IS HOME. THIS HAS BEEN HOME FOREVER. I CAME TO LSU AS A STUDENT FROM HOA, LOUISIANA, AND I NEVER LEFT. I'VE BEEN GROUNDED IN THIS COMMUNITY. AND SO, AS DR. TERRANCE ALLUDED TO, OUR GOAL WAS TO SIMPLY BRING BACK ALL OF THE EXPERTISE THAT WE'VE BEEN DOING ACROSS THIS NATION AND MAKE IT, UH, APPLICABLE AND HELP OUR OWN STUDENTS. SO EVEN IF YOU DO NOT REMOVE MY, UM, PIECE FROM THE CONSENT ITEM, CAN YOU WRAP THAT UP THIS TIME? YES. OKAY. EVEN IF YOU, IF YOU DON'T REMOVE IT, IT WAS JUST IMPORTANT THAT WE CLEAR THE ATMOSPHERE AND WE LET EVERYONE KNOW. MS. LEWIS, I APPRECIATE YOU. I WALKED RIGHT IN, UH, WHEN YOU WERE SAYING YOUR WORDS. AND SO FOR ME, THAT DEFINITELY GAVE ME SOME CONFIDENCE BACK INTO THE BOARD. AND SO THAT'S WHAT I HAVE TODAY. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. WE ALSO HAVE SOME ONLINE COMMENTS. WE'LL GO TO THE ONLINE COMMENTS NOW. MS. KATERA MOORE. I'M A MEMBER OF THE EBRI. I MEANT, I GUESS YOU MEANT FAMILY AND I SUPPORT CRLA. WE NEED MORE SCHOOLS LIKE THAT IN OUR COMMUNITY. UH, KEANDRE KEANDRE BAYER. I'M A MEMBER OF THE, I'M A MEMBER OF THE EBR FAMILY, I GUESS, AND I SUPPORT CRLA. WE NEED MORE SCHOOLS IN THE COMMUNITY LIKE THAT. PAST THAT ANGELA, MONIQUE, MAXIE, AING, OINGO MAXEY. I WANT TO EXTEND MY SUPPORT FOR NOT JUST ROOTS, BUT FOR MRS. R SCOTT, WHO IS NOT JUST, WHO IS NOT JUST A PILLAR IN OUR COMMUNITY, BUT HER EDUCATION, LOVE, COMMITMENT, AND SUPPORT TO EVERY PERSON WHO HAS PLANNED, WHO HAD THE PLEASURE OF MEETING HER. THE SCHOOL IS NOT JUST NEEDED FOR STUDENTS, BUT ALSO FOR PARENTS. SHE HAS A BEAUTIFUL WAY OF EMPOWERING AND INSPIRING, CHANGING MENTALITY, UH, EMOTIONAL AND SPIRITUAL EDUCATION. THIS WILL, I'M SORRY. THIS WILL BLE, THIS WILL BLESS NOT JUST TGIS GENERATION, THIS GENERATION, BUT EVERY GENERATION TO FOLLOW. THEN THERE'S ANOTHER ONE. MS. UH, FISHER. AS A FORMER ADMINISTRATOR OF THE CURRENT AND THE CURRENT BOARD OF BOARD CHAIR OF COMMUNITY ROOMS LEADERSHIP, I WANT TO OFFER MY SUPPORT AND, AND PERSPECTIVE IN A SPIRIT OF CLARITY, RESPECT AND SHARED COMMITMENT TO OUR COMMUNITY. [01:00:01] MY BACKGROUND IN PUBLIC EDUCATION AND GOVERN AND GOVERNANCE, GOVERNANCE GIVES ME A DEEP APPRECIATION FOR THE RESPONSIBILITY THE BOARD CARRIES AND THE IMPORTANCE OF CAREFUL INFORMED DECISION MAKING. COMMUNITY ROOTS LEADERSHIP ACADEMY WAS ESTABLISHED WITH INTENTIONALLY IN, WITH INTENTIONALLY INTEGRITY AND A GENUINE DESIRE TO MEET THE NEEDS OF FAMILIES IN OUR COMMUNITY. I HAVE HAD AN OPPORTUNITY TO WITNESS THE VISION PLANTED AND LEADERSHIP BEHIND THE WORK FIRSTHAND. AND I'M CONFIDENT THAT IF IT, I'M CONFIDENT THAT IT REFLECTS A THOUGHTFUL AND STUDENT-CENTERED APPROACH TO EDUCATION. THE FOUNDER'S HISTORY OF SERVICE AND COMMITMENT TO THIS COMMUNITY ARE ALL WELL KNOWN TO THOSE WHO HAVE WORKED ALONGSIDE HER AND THEY SPEAK AND THEY SPEAK TO A CONSISTENT PATTERN OF LEADERSHIP GROUNDED IN CARE, ACCOUNTABILITY, AND PURPOSE. I SUBMIT THIS COMMENT SIMPLY TO ENSURE THAT THE MISSION LEADERSHIP AND INTENT OF COMMUNITY ROOTS LEADERSHIP ACADEMY ARE UNDERSTOOD WITHIN THE FULL AND PROPER CONTEXT. THIS WORK REPRESENTS INNOVATION PAIRED WITH RESPONSIBILITY AND A SINCERE EFFORT TO CONTRIBUTE POSITIVELY TO THE EDUCATIONAL LANDSCAPE OF OUR DISTRICT. IT IS MY HOPE THAT COMMUNITY ROOTS LEADERSHIP ACADEMY WILL BE CONSIDERED WITH THE SAME SPIRIT OF FAIRNESS, ACCURACY, AND OPENNESS THAT GUIDES ALL EFFORTS TO SERVE STUDENTS AND FAMILIES. I WILL STAND IN SUPPORT OF THIS SCHOOL AND THIS VISION, AND I REMAIN COMMITTED TO WORKING COLLABORATIVELY FOR THE GOOD OF OUR COMMUNITY. AND AS MRS. CARRIE, OUR SUPPORT COMMUNITY, ROOTS LEADERSHIP ACADEMY, FROM THE MOMENT I, FROM THE MOMENT I LEARNED ABOUT THEIR MISSION ROOTED IN LITERACY, LEADERSHIP, AND LEGACY, I FELT A SENSE OF RELIEF AND RENEWED HOPE. THAT IS EXACTLY WHAT OUR CHILDREN NEED. A SCHOOL THAT IS NOT FOCUSED ON ACADEMICS, BUT ALSO ON BUILDING CHARACTER, NURTURING, CREATIVITY, AND HELPING EACH CHILD DISCOVER THEIR VOICE AND THEIR PURPOSE. MS. HARRIS TIKA HARRIS. AM I SAYING THAT RIGHT? TIKA TIKA HARRIS. I SUPPORT COMMUNITY ROOTS SCHOOL'S LEADERSHIP ACADEMY. WHEN I LEARNED ABOUT THE COMMUNITY ROOTS LEADERSHIP ACADEMY, I FELT, I FELT HOPE FOR OUR EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM. UH, UH, MRS. LEAH WASHINGTON, A FULLY SUPPORT COMMUNITY, ROOTS LEADERSHIP ACADEMY, AND ROCHELLE SCOTT AS HIS LEADER, AS HIS LEADER. WITH OVER 20 YEARS OF EXPERIENCE IN THE SCHOOL SYSTEM, ROCHELLE BRINGS PROVEN SKILLS, DEEP UNDERSTANDING, AND REAL GRIT TO THE WORK THAT MATTERS MOST MATTERS THE MOST. PREPARING OUR CHILDREN FOR THE, FOR THE WORLD, THEY ARE STEPPING INTO BATON ROUGE NEEDS STRONG SCHOOLS LIKE CRLA NOW MORE THAN EVER, THE CLIMATE OF THE WORLD IS CHANGING AND THE EDUCATION SYSTEM MUST EVOLVE WITH INTENTION, INSTRUCTION, AND COURAGE. OUR STUDENTS DESERVE MORE. OUR STUDENTS DESERVE MORE. I'M LOSING MY PLACE THAN EVER, RIGHT? YEAH. I'M OKAY. YOU SEE IT? YES. I GOTTA I GOTTA GET BETTER GLASSES. A BIGGER PRINT. I TRULY BELIEVE THAT WE HAVE, I TRULY BELIEVE IT WILL BE A STRONG AND CONSISTENT SUPPORT SYSTEM FOR THE STUDENTS AND THE FAMILIES OF THIS COMMUNITY. SANDRA MIMS. I'M WRITING TO EXPRESS MY STRONG SUPPORT FOR THE OPENING OF COMMUNITY ROOTS LEADERSHIP ACADEMY. UH, TANISHA DANGERFIELD, THE FOUNDER, HAS CONSISTENTLY DEMONSTRATED THE HIGHEST LEVEL OF INTEGRITY IN BOTH LEADERSHIP AND DECISION MAKING. SHE LEADS WITH TRANSPARENCY, ACCOUNTABILITY, AND A CLEAR MORAL COMPASS ALWAYS PLACING STUDENTS, FAMILIES, AND STAFF AT THE CENTER OF HER WORK. HER ACTIONS ALIGN WITH HER STATED VALUES AND SHE FOLLOWS THROUGH ON COMMITMENTS WITH PROFESSIONALISM AND HONESTY. THE TRUTH. SHE BUILDS THE TRUTH. SHE BUILDS WITH STAKE. I THINK THAT'S SPELLED TRUST. THAT'S TRUST. THE TRUST SHE BUILDS WITH STAKEHOLDERS IS A DIRECT RESULT OF HER ETHICAL LEADERSHIP AND UNWAVERING DEDICATION TO DOING WHAT'S IS RIGHT. AND WHEN FACED WITH CHALLENGES, UH, WILLIE CURRY AS A MIDDLE SCHOOL SOCIAL STUDIES TEACHERS WITH 10 YEARS IN THE CLASSROOM EXPERIENCE AND A CAPTAIN IN THE UNITED STATES ARMY NATIONAL GUARD, I GIVE MY FULL SUPPORT TO COMMUNITY ROOF LEADERSHIP ACADEMY. THE SCHOOL'S MISSION ROOTED IN LITERACY, LEADERSHIP, AND LEGACY ALIGNS DIRECTLY WITH WHAT I KNOW WILL BE ESSENTIAL FOR ALL STUDENTS. [01:05:04] UH, CIVIL WASHINGTON. I'M, I'M A SPECIAL EDUCATION TEACHER AND I'M HERE NOT ONLY AS AN EDUCATOR, BUT AS SOMEONE WHO HAS SPENT YEARS WORKING WITH STUDENTS WHOSE NEEDS ARE TOO OFTEN UNMET BY TRADITIONAL SYSTEMS. I WANT TO SPEAK IN SUPPORT OF RACHEL SCOTT AND THE COMMUNITY'S ROOTS LEADERSHIP ACADEMY. AS A SPECIAL EDUCATOR, AS A SPECIAL EDUCATION TEACHER, I SEE EVERY DAY THAT ONE SIZE FIT ALL EDUCATION DOES NOT WORK. MANY STUDENTS, ESPECIALLY THOSE WITH LEARNING DIFFERENCES, TRAUMA OR GAPS IN GAPS IN FOUNDATIONAL SKILLS NEED SCHOOLS, NEED SCHOOLS THAT ARE INTENTIONAL, FLEXIBLE, AND ROOTED IN RELATIONSHIPS. CRLA MODEL DIRECTLY RESPONDS TO THAT REALITY. THE FOCUS ON SMALL LEARNING COMMUNITIES, MENTORSHIP AND PERSONALIZED LEARNING. PERSONALIZED LEARNING IS NOT A TREND, IT IS A BEST PRACTICE. THE FAMILY HOUSE MODEL CREATES CONSISTENCY AND LOVING AND BELONGING, WHICH IS ESSENTIAL FOR STUDENTS WHO STRUGGLE ACADEMICALLY AND EMOTIONALLY. EACH LITERACY FOUNDATION, PROJECT BASED LEARNING AND LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT ARE EXACTLY WHAT RESEARCHERS AND EXPERIENCE TELL US ABOUT. STUDENTS NEED THAT TELL US STUDENTS NEED TO STRIVE. UH, CIVIL WASHINGTON, MS. ROCHELLE, SCOTT SCOTT'S WORK SPEAKS FOR ITSELF. HER IMPACT IS NOT LIMITED TO BATON ROUGE. HER LEADERSHIP, ADVOCACY, AND SERVICE EXTENDS BEYOND LOUISIANA SUPPORTING FAMILIES, EDUCATORS, AND STUDENTS WHO HAVE BEEN LONG OVERLOOKED. CRLI IS NOT JUST TRYING TO REPLACE PUBLIC EDUCATION. IT IS PUBLIC EDUCATION, TUITION FREE ACCOUNTABILITY, ACCOUNTABLE AND DESIGNED TO MEET REAL NEEDS, DESIGNED TO MEET REAL NEEDS THAT CURRENTLY EXIST IN OUR SYSTEM. CHARTER SCHOOLS HAVE, CHARTER SCHOOLS HAVE A SHORTAGE OF STUDENTS WHO NEED THEIR SCHOOL. WE HAVE A SHORTAGE OF BOLD, THOUGHTFUL MODELS, WILLING TO SERVE THEM WELL. I URGE THIS BOARD TO RECON, TO RECONSIDER, TO LOOK BEYOND THE FEAR OF CHANGE AND TO RECOGNIZE THEIR COMMUNITY ROOTS. LEADERSHIP ACADEMY REPRESENTS OPPORTUNITIES, EQUITY, AND HOPE, NOT JUST FOR BATON ROUGE, BUT FOR THE FUTURE OF EDUCATION IN LOUISIANA. THAT, UH, CONCLUDES THE ONLINE COMMENTS. THANK YOU, MR. LEWIS. NOW WE HAVE FOUR COMMENTS AND WE HAVE MS. CARLA POWELL, LEWIS. THANK YOU. UM, MR. SHALIN, IS IT TOO LATE TO ASK FOR AN ITEM TO BE PULLED FROM THE CONSENT AGENDA? YES. IT'S AT THE REALLY, AT THE PLEASURE OF THE CHAIR. OKAY. WHO'S ON THE ITEM? SO IT'S PRESIDENT NOTAM. OKAY. SO I WOULD LIKE TO PULL ITEM TWO FROM THE CONSENT AGENDA. YES, MA'AM. YEAH. MM-HMM . OKAY. AND, UH, AND AS WE DO THAT, I JUST, I JUST WANNA SHARE, UH, AND I'LL SAY THIS TO YOU, UM, MS. WASHINGTON SCOTT, UH, THANK YOU, NUMBER ONE FOR SHARING YOUR COMMENTS. UM, I'M HOPING THAT WHEN WE PULL THIS ITEM, THAT YOU WILL BE ABLE TO COME AND SHARE WITH US WHAT COMMUNITY ROOTS DOES. AND FAIR IS FAIR. I CAN'T PROMISE YOU THAT WE'RE GONNA VOTE TO APPROVE IT, BUT FAIR IS FAIR. AND I'LL JUST SHARE, UM, MS. SER, UH, AND MS. WRIGHT FROM HARVEST COMMONS, THEY, UH, CALLED ME BEFORE THE COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE AND ASKED IF IT WAS WITHIN THEIR RIGHT TO COME AND SHARE THEIR PRESENTATION BECAUSE IT HAD BEEN MENTIONED TO THEM THAT THEY DID NOT NEED TO COME. AND SO, WITH THAT IN MIND, FAIR IS FAIR. SO WE WANT TO GIVE YOU THE OPPORTUNITY TO COME FORWARD AS WELL. SO IF WE CAN PULL THIS ITEM. THANK YOU. YES, THAT'S FINE. I DON'T HAVE A PROBLEM WITH IT. SO IS IT ANYTHING ELSE THAT I NEED TO DO? OKAY. SO NOW THAT WE HAVE ITEM TWO PULL, SO THE ONLY ITEMS THAT ARE A PART OF THE CONSENT AGENDA ARE F1 AND F THREE. WAS THERE A MOTION TO APPROVE THE CONSENT AGENDA YET? YES, THERE WAS. SO THE MAKER OF THE MOTION NEEDS TO AGREE TO THAT POLL, WHICH WAS MARK AND WHO ELSE? MARK AND PATRICK. OKAY. THANKS GUYS. ALL THOSE, ALL THOSE IN FAVOR OF THE CONSENT AGENDA? VOTE, SAY AYE. AYE. ALL THOSE IN OPPOSITION SAY NAY. MADAM SECRETARY CAN HAVE A VOTE FOR THE CONSENT AGENDA, PLEASE VOTE. PLEASE VOTE. [01:10:06] THE MOTION CARRIES. THANK YOU. MOVING ALONG TO ITEM G, NEW BUSINESS ITEM ONE OH OH. DO I NEED, OH, WE HAVE TO WAIT. WHEN YOU SAY PULL IT, I THOUGHT YOU MEANT PULL IT SO THAT OKAY. OKAY. SO, UM, DO WE HAVE ANY PUBLIC COMMENTS? LET'S READ THAT ITEM INTO THE RECORD. OKAY. YES. [F.2. Charter Application: Community Roots Leadership Academy (Part 1 of 2)] UH, CHARTER APPLICATION, COMMUNITY ROOTS LEADERSHIP ACADEMY DISCUSSION CONSIDERATION TO ACCEPT THE RECOMMENDATION TO DENY THE COMMUNITY ROOTS LEADERSHIP ACADEMY CHARTER APPLICATION AND RELATED MATTERS. ANY COMMENTS FROM THE PUBLIC? MADAM PRESIDENT WITH THE, THE, THE INDIVIDUAL WHO IS SEEKING TO OPEN THE SCHOOL WANT TO COME AND MAKE HER COMMENTS NOW. THEN WE'LL HEAR FROM, UH, ANYBODY WHO WANTS TO SPEAK FOR AGAINST THE, THE SCHOOL. SO IF YOU'D LIKE TO COME NOW AND SHARE A PRESENTATION OR MAKE, UH, HAVE DISCUSSION ABOUT YOUR, YOUR SCHOOL, I'D SAY COME NOW. DO THAT , IF YOU YEAH. COME. SO THANK YOU FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO SHARE. UNFORTUNATELY, WIFI IN HERE IS NOT THE BEST . BUT, UM, WITH THAT BEING SAID, JUST TO GIVE A BRIEF OVERVIEW OF COMMUNITY ROO LEADERSHIP ACADEMY, AS YOU'VE HEARD MENTIONED OVER AND OVER, COMMUNITY ROO LEADERSHIP ACADEMY IS AN ACADEMY THAT IS ROOTED IN THREE PILLARS, LITERACY, LEADERSHIP, AND LEGACY. AND SO, WITH THAT BEING SAID, ONE OF THE PIECES THAT WE BELIEVE IS IMPORTANT IS THAT EVERY STUDENT, WHETHER NO MATTER WHERE THEY COME FROM, UM, IN EAST BATON ROUGE, PARIS HAS AN OPPORTUNITY TO HAVE A LEARNING, TO HAVE LEARNING THAT IS PERSONALIZED TO THEM. HERE, THIS SPECIFIC SCHOOL IS, UH, PROPOSED TO BE A K THROUGH EIGHT SCHOOL. ORIGINALLY, WE WERE LOOKING TO BE A K THROUGH 12 SCHOOL BECAUSE WE WANTED TO OFFER THREE PATHWAYS TO STUDENTS. OFTENTIMES STUDENTS ONLY ARE GIVEN COLLEGE PREP. AND SO WE WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT ALL OF OUR STUDENTS HAD NOT ONLY COLLEGE READINESS, BUT THEY ALSO HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO, UM, HAVE AN LLC UPON GRADUATION AS WELL AS A TRADE OR LICENSE THROUGH OUR CTE PROGRAM. MS. SCOTT. SO YES. POINT OF POINT OF INFORMATION, YES. IS IT POSSIBLE TO GET HER PRESENTATION UP ON THE SCREEN? OKAY. SEE IF I CAN, OKAY. SHE SAID THAT SHE'S TRYING TO EMAIL IT TO YOU. JUST IN A MOMENT OF . MR. SHALIN, WOULD IT BE OKAY IF WE COME BACK? 'CAUSE IT'S GONNA TAKE A FEW MINUTES FOR HER TO EMAIL IT TO APRIL, APRIL TO GET IT TO TRYING TO DO THE TEAM. CAN WE MOVE THROUGH THE, THROUGH THE AGENDA AND THEN COME BACK? IF THERE'S NO, IF, IF THERE'S UNANIMOUS CONSENT OF THE BOARD TO REORDER THE AGENDA ITEMS, YOU CAN DO THAT. IF THERE'S NO OBJECTION, MOTION. DO I HAVE A MOTION TO MOVE AROUND THE ITEMS? I HAVE A MOTION BY MS. PAUL LEWIS. THAT'S OKAY. THAT'S ALL RIGHT. WE JUST NEED TO CHECK TO SEE IF THERE'S NO, IF THERE'S NO OBJECTION, MOTION, NO MOTION REQUIRED. DO I HAVE ANY OBJECTIONS TO MOVING AROUND THE AGENDA ITEMS? OKAY. ALRIGHT, SO MOVING [G.1. Student Expulsion] ALONG UNTIL WE GET THAT SITUATED TO ITEM G, NEW BUSINESS, UM, BOARD MEMBERS, HAVE YOU HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO REVIEW THE CASE? DO I HAVE A MOTION TO HEAR THE MATTER AT THE NEXT REGULAR MEETING? IS THAT'S THE NEXT THING? YES, MA'AM. THAT'S CORRECT. SHE'S REQUESTING A MOTION. AND THEN A SECOND. RIGHT ON WHICH ITEM? THE G ONE. G ONE. G ONE. THE STUDENT EXPULSION. OKAY. MOVING ALONG. SORRY. [G.2. Student Expulsion] MOVING ALONG. THE G TWO STUDENT EXPULSION, DISCUSS SOME CONSIDERATION OF REQUEST TO APPEAL STUDENT'S EXPULSION, UH, BOARD MEMBERS. HAVE YOU HAD AN OPPORTUNITY TO REVIEW THE CASE? AND DO I HAVE ANY MOTION TO HEAR THE MATTER AT THE NEXT REGULAR MEETING? OKAY. MOVING [G.3. Student Expulsion] ALONG TO G THREE STUDENT EXPULSION DISCUSSION, CONSIDERATION OF REQUEST TO APPEAL TO STUDENT EXPULSION. HAVE YOU HAD AN OPPORTUNITY TO REVIEW THE CASE? AND DO I HAVE A MOTION TO HEAR THE MATTER AT THE NEXT MEETING? OKAY. [G.4. Student Expulsion] MOVING ALONG TO G FOUR STUDENT EXPULSION DISCUSSION, CONSIDERATION OF A REQUEST TO APPEAL A STUDENT EXPULSION BOARD MEMBERS. AGAIN, HAD YOU HAD THE OPPORTUNITY [01:15:01] TO REVIEW THE CASE? AND DO I HAVE A MOTION TO HEAR THE MATTER AT THE NEXT REGULAR MEETING? [G.5. Student Expulsion] G FIVE STUDENT EXPULSION DISCUSSION, CONSIDERATION OF A REQUEST TO APPEAL A STUDENT EXPULSION BOARD MEMBERS? HAVE YOU HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO REVIEW THE CASE? AND DO I HAVE A MOTION TO HEAR THE MATTER AT THE NEXT, THE NEXT REGULAR MEETING? I MOVED, I MOVED TO HERE. YOU MOVED TO HERE ITEM FIVE. AND DO I, UH, LET ME, LET ME, LET ME, HOLD ON. LET ME, NO, EXCUSE ME. I MAY BE GETTING THEM CONCERNED. I THINK THAT, I THINK YOU ON THE LAST ONE. YEAH, I, I, YEAH. YEAH. SIX. YEAH, WE, NO, I, I I WITHDRAW MY MOTION. THANK YOU. ALL RIGHT. THAT'S THOUGHT. OKAY. UM, [G.6. Appeal Hearing-Student Expulsion] MOVING ALONG TO ITEM SIX, WHICH IS APPEAL HEARING STUDENT EXPULSION REQUEST TO APPEAL A STUDENT EXPULSION, THERE'S A POSSIBILITY THAT THERE WILL BE AN EXECUTIVE SESSION, UH, UNDER THE PROVISIONS OF THE LRS 42 6 1 A SEVEN TO CONDUCT AN APPEAL HEARING FOR A STUDENT EXPULSION. THE HEARING MAY BE OPEN, CLOSED AT THE OPTION OF THE PARENT OR GUARDIAN. SO, DO I HAVE A MOTION TO HEAR OR TO GO INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION FOR ITEM SIX? I MOVE TO GO INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION TO HEAR THIS ITEM. OKAY. AND DO I HAVE A SECOND? SECOND. OKAY. SO, MR. UH, MARTIN TO GO INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION ON ITEM SIX AND SECONDED BY MR. GODA. SO WE ARE GONNA GO INTO THE EXECUTIVE SESSION. UM, TAKE A VOTE. OH, I'M SORRY. ALL THOSE IN FAVOR OF GOING INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION, SAY, AYE. EXCUSE ME. POINT BOARD. DO WE HAVE PUBLIC COMMENT ON THE MOTION TO GO INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION? DO WE NEED THAT OR YEAH, JUST GO AHEAD AND TAKE PUBLIC COMMENT? YES. OKAY. DO I HAVE ANY PUBLIC COMMENTS, UH, ON THE NUMBER SIX ITEM APPEAL HEARING FOR THE STUDENT EXPULSION? AND I DON'T HAVE ANY PUBLIC COMMENTS. I MEAN, I'M ONLINE COMMENTS. I'M SORRY. YOU HAVE A CARD? I'M SORRY. GO AHEAD. NOW I CAN TURN ONE IN. OKAY, GO AHEAD. UM, I OBJECT BECAUSE OF THIS REASON FOR YOU HAVING TAKEN THE ITEM OUT OF ORDER. YOU'VE GOT LOTS OF FOLKS THAT WOULD LIKE TO SPEAK ON COMMUNITY ROOTS, AND INSTEAD, YOU'RE GONNA BE BACK THERE IN EXECUTIVE SESSION FOR AN UNKNOWN LENGTH OF TIME, AND YOU SHOULD HAVE TAKEN ITEMS IN THE CORRECT ORDER. THAT'S ALL. THANK YOU ALL. ALL THOSE IN FAVOR GOING INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION? SAY AYE. AYE. ALL THOSE IN OPPOSITION OF GOING INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION, SAY NAY, MADAM SECRETARY, CAN YOU, YOU A VOTE PLEASE? VOTE. OH, WE WANNA DO A ROLL CALL. MADAM SECRETARY, CAN YOU DO A ROLL CALL? MR. BLUE? YES. KYLE LEWIS? YES. MS. STEWART? YES. MR. LEWIS? YES. MR. RUSS? YAY. MR. GODDE? YES. MS. LEY? YES. MR. MARTIN? YES. MOTION CARRIES. AND WE ARE BACK. SO, UM, GOING BACK TO ITEM D I'M SORRY, G SIX. DO I HAVE A MOTION ON THE FLOOR? YES. UH, MADAM PRESIDENT, I MOVE THAT THE, UM, THAT THE RECOMMENDATION OF THE SUPERINTENDENT BE OVERTURNED WITH THE CONDITION THAT THE STUDENT REMAIN ENROLLED AT, UH, WOODLAWN MIDDLE. I SECOND. OKAY. SO I HAVE A MOTION, UM, BY, UH, BOARD MEMBER MARTIN TO OVERTURN THE SUPERINTENDENT'S RECOMMENDATION TO ALLOW THE STUDENT TO REMAIN AT WOODLAWN. AND I HAVE A SECOND BY MR. GODDE. ALL THOSE IN FAVOR? I'M SORRY. OH, NO COMMENT. I'M SORRY. YEAH, I FORGOT. UM, GIMME ONE SECOND. DO I HAVE ANY PUBLIC COMMENTS ON THE MOTION THAT HAS JUST BEEN, UM, GIVEN CALL YOU IN NOW. OKAY. YEAH. OKAY. SINCE I HAVE NO PUBLIC COMMENTS, NO BOARD COMMENTS. ALL THOSE IN FAVOR OF THE MOTION OF OVERTURNING THE SUPERINTENDENT'S RECOMMENDATION AND ALLOWING THE STUDENT TO REMAIN AT WOODLAWN, SAY AYE. AYE. AYE. ALL THOSE IN, NOT IN FAVOR. SAY NO. MADAM SECRETARY, PLEASE VOTE. CAN WE DO A ROLL CALL? I'M, I'M OKAY. I GOT IT NOW. OKAY. [01:20:01] OKAY. MOTION CARRIES. THANK YOU. OKAY, NOW [F.2. Charter Application: Community Roots Leadership Academy (Part 2 of 2)] WE'RE GONNA GO BACK, BACK TO ITEM F TWO WITH THE PRESENTATION. UH, IT WAS SUBSTITUTION MARKED BECAUSE IT, IT'S A SUBSTITUTION. THANK YOU FOUR, ALLOWING US TO PRESENT AND TO SPEAK. UM, I THINK WE HAVE BEFORE US NOW THE SLIDE. IT IS COMING UP. THANK YOU. AND SO WE ARE COMMUNITY ROOTS LEADERSHIP ACADEMY. OUR MODEL IS FROM LITERACY TO LEGACY, REBUILDING THE MIDDLE, AND RESTORING THE FUTURE. OUR SCHOOL IS A K THROUGH EIGHT HYBRID MODEL THAT SEEKS TO REDEFINE EDUCATION THROUGH LITERACY. AS I SAID EARLIER, LEADERSHIP AND LEGACY. YOU CAN ADVANCE THE SLIDE FOR US. UM, HERE, WE HERE BECAUSE NOT JUST THE DATA IS CLEAR, BUT SO ARE OUR STORIES. THE MESSY MIDDLE IS REALLY COSTING OUR CHILDREN THEIR FUTURES. EARLY GAINS FADE GAPS WIDEN. AND BY HIGH SCHOOL, TOO MANY OF OUR STUDENTS, ESPECIALLY BLACK, BROWN AND MULTILINGUAL LEARNERS, HAVE ALREADY DISCONNECTED FROM OPPORTUNITY. CRLA EXISTS TO CHANGE THIS TRAJECTORY DRAMATICALLY. YOU WILL NOTICE THAT I BEGIN THIS PRESENTATION WITH A HEAVY EMPHASIS ON LITERACY. THAT'S INTENTIONAL. LITERACY IS THE STABILIZING ROOT. LEADERSHIP IS THE GROWTH AND LEGACY IS THE HARVEST. WITHOUT LITERACY, LEADERSHIP COLLAPSES AND LEGACY IS LOST. BUT TOGETHER THEY BUILD A FUTURE THAT BATON ROUGE, I BELIEVE, HAS NEVER SEEN. AND SO THIS SLIDE IS A LITTLE BIT ABOUT ME. I'M NOT GONNA GO INTO ABOUT ME THOUGH, BECAUSE I'VE ALREADY KIND OF INTRODUCED MYSELF. AND WHAT'S IMPORTANT TODAY IS THAT WE ARE HERE TO TALK ABOUT CRLA. WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW IS THAT, AS YOU SEE ON THIS NEXT SLIDE, IS THAT WE HAVE, UH, WHEN WE, EARLIER WHEN WE LAUNCHED CRLA, AS I SAID, IT WAS A FULL K THROUGH 12 ECOSYSTEM. IT WAS A MODEL WHERE EVERY GRADUATE WOULD WALK AWAY WITH A DIPLOMA, A CERTIFICATION, AND A REGISTERED LLC. THE IDEA WAS SIMPLE. STUDENTS SHOULDN'T WAIT UNTIL ADULTHOOD TO OWN SOMETHING. THEY SHOULD GRADUATE OWNING THEIR FUTURE. THIS VISION IS STILL ALIVE, BUT WISDOM DEMANDED THAT WE REFINE IT. NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. THIS DREAM HERE, WHAT WE UNDERSTOOD AFTER TALKING AND MEETING WITH OUR PARTNERS WAS THAT WE NEEDED TO ADJUST AND WE NEEDED TO SOLVE A SPECIFIC CRISIS. AND SO THIS CRISIS HERE HAD NOTHING TO DO, UH, WITH WHAT HAD TO DO WITH WHAT WE CALL, WE'RE GONNA SAY LITERACY OUTCOMES OR STAGNANT. SO WE KNOW THE CRISIS, I'M SORRY. AND SO WE WANTED TO ADDRESS IT. AND SO WITH THIS BEING SAID, YOU SEE THAT OUR MISSION AND VISION IS ON THE BOARD. COMMUNITY ROO LEADERSHIP ACADEMY IS A TUITION FREE PUBLIC CHARTER SCHOOL IN BATON ROUGE, SEEKING TO SERVE GRACE K THROUGH EIGHT. OUR MISSION IS TO CULTIVATE ROOTED LEADERS, STUDENTS WHO READ WITH FLUENCY, THINK CRITICALLY AND LEAD CONFIDENTLY AND BUILD LEGACIES THAT TRANSFORM THEIR COMMUNITIES. GROUNDED IN THREE PILLARS, LITERACY, LEADERSHIP, AND LEGACY. CRLA EQUIPS EVERY CHILD TO LEAD THEMSELVES, THEIR COMMUNITIES AND THEIR FUTURES THROUGH RIGOROUS ACADEMICS, CULTURAL IDENTITY, REAL WORLD READINESS. CRLA ENSURES THAT EVERY CHILD MASTERS FOUNDATIONAL SKILLS DISCOVERS THEIR VOICE AND DEVELOPS THE CONFIDENCE TO SHAPE THEIR OWN FUTURE. OUR VISION IS VERY SIMILAR. WE ENVISION A CITY WHERE EVERY CHILD, REGARDLESS OF THEIR BACKGROUND OR ZIP CODE, HAS ACCESS TO TRANSFORMATIVE EDUCATION THAT BUILDS BOTH CHARACTER AND CAPACITY. OUR SCHOOL HAS PROPOSED THREE CENTERS. WE HAVE A EARLY FOUNDATION CENTER, WHICH IS K THROUGH TWO, AN ELEMENTARY IMPACT CENTER, WHICH IS THREE THROUGH FIVE. AND THEN OUR LEGACY CENTER, WHICH IS GRADE SIX THROUGH EIGHT. WE CAN GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE. AND SO WE KNOW THE CRISIS LITERACY OUTCOMES ARE STAGNANT. ONLY 22% OF OUR STUDENTS ARE MEETING STATE MATH MASTERY. WE HAVE GAPS THAT WIDEN THE HARDEST BETWEEN FOURTH THROUGH EIGHTH GRADE. HENCE WHY I AM CALLING THIS THE MESSY MIDDLE. THIS IS EXACTLY WHERE IDENTITY, BELONGING, MOTIVATION, AND CONFIDENCE SHOULD BE FORMING. AND HERE'S THE TRUTH. OUR CITY DOES NOT CURRENTLY OFFER WHAT STUDENTS NEED TO NAVIGATE THAT SPECIFIC WINDOW SUCCESSFULLY. WHAT DON'T WE HAVE? WE DON'T HAVE A MIDDLE SCHOOL MODEL THAT'S DESIGNED TO LAUNCH THEM AND NOT LOSE THEM, ESPECIALLY WHEN THEY'RE ALREADY BEHIND. WE DON'T HAVE EARLY ACCESS TO FINANCIAL LITERACY, ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND AI LITERACY, AND WE DON'T HAVE A K THROUGH EIGHT DEVELOPMENTAL PIPELINE THAT TREATS LEADERSHIP AS TEACHABLE IDENTITY AS ESSENTIAL, AND REAL WORLD RELEVANCE AS NON-NEGOTIABLE. SO CRLA SEEKS TO FILL THAT GAP WITH AN INTENTIONAL DESIGN, NOT MORE OF WHAT WE'VE BEEN DOING. ONLY 33% OF LOUISIANA STUDENTS IN GRADES THREE [01:25:01] THROUGH EIGHT READ ON LEVEL. CURRENTLY IN BATON ROUGE, 83% OF K THROUGH EIGHT STUDENTS ARE RATED C OR BELOW. AND THESE NUMBERS ARE CLIMBING SPECIFICALLY IN THE AREA THAT WE ARE TARGETING, WHICH IS NORTH BATON ROUGE. THE TRUTH IS THE MIDDLE HERE IS WHERE EARLY GAINS ARE FADING AND OPPORTUNITY GAPS ARE EXPLODING. WITHOUT INTERVENTION IN THIS SPECIFIC PLACE, OUR STATE STORY, IT WILL NOT CHANGE. NEXT SLIDE. AND SO THIS IS OUR WHY WE EXIST TO CLOSE THE LITERACY AND LEADERSHIP GAP BY REIN RE-ENGINEERING MIDDLE GRADE EDUCATION FOR IMPACT. THIS SPECIFIC SLIDE IS VERY IMPORTANT TO ME. THESE ARE NOT JUST RANDOM STUDENTS. THESE ARE EAST BATON ROUGE SCHOOL STUDENTS THAT I HAVE SERVED OVER THE YEARS, SPECIFICALLY IN THE LAST FIVE YEARS OF MY PRINCIPALSHIP AT EBR READINESS, UM, ACADEMY, AS WELL AS EDEN PARK ACADEMY BEFORE WE TRANSLATE IT OVER TO EBR READINESS. AND AS YOU CAN SEE, MOST OF THE STUDENTS HERE ARE BLACK AND BROWN STUDENTS. THESE ARE STUDENTS THAT WERE ACTUALLY PUT OUT OF THE SURROUNDING SCHOOLS DUE TO SUSPENSION OR EXPULSION. AND THESE STUDENTS, WHAT ENDED UP HAPPENING WITH THEM, US BEING A K THROUGH FIVE CAMPUS, THEIR PARENTS BEGGED THAT WE KEEP THEM. AND SO WHILE I WAS THERE, THE FIVE YEARS, WE NEVER RETURNED THESE STUDENTS TO THEIR ACTUAL ORIGINAL SCHOOL. WE WERE ALLOWED BECAUSE WE ARE STILL CONSIDERED, UM, A ELEMENTARY SCHOOL IN WITH THE STATE AT THE TIME. WE WERE ALLOWED TO KEEP THESE KIDS DURING THIS TIME. WE BUILT IN PBL PROJECT BASED LEARNING. WE BUILT IN SOME FOUNDATIONAL PIECES WITH THE SCIENCE OF READING, AS WELL AS WE BROUGHT IN MENTORSHIP FROM ALL OVER, FROM DIFFERENT PEOPLE WHO WANTED TO VOLUNTEER. AND SO THE PURPOSE FOR THIS WAS WE WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT OUR STUDENTS WEREN'T LOST IN THE SAUCE. A LOT OF TIMES WHAT I NOTICED WHEN I LOOKED AT THE DATA FOR THESE SPECIFIC STUDENTS IS THAT THEY WERE NOT JUST BEHAVIOR PROBLEMS. ALMOST 90% OF MY STUDENTS WERE LOW IN LITERACY. AND SO WHAT HAPPENED WAS THEY WERE BEING LOST IN THE SYSTEM BECAUSE THEIR BEHAVIOR WAS WHAT IT WAS ATTRIBUTED TO, WHEN IN ACTUALITY IT WAS A DEFICIT IN READING. THE NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. AND SO WHY NOW? THIS IS ANOTHER SLIDE. SPECIFICALLY THE SAME STUDENTS ON THIS SLIDE. THESE ARE STUDENTS THAT I ACTUALLY HAD IN K THROUGH FIVE AT EBR READINESS ELEMENTARY, THE SUSPENSION AND EXPULSION CENTER. ONCE THEY LEFT ME, THESE STUDENTS IN MIDDLE SCHOOL ACTUALLY ARE EITHER IN THE CEMETERY OR THEY'RE IN PRISON. AND SO THIS WAS WHAT KIND OF TUG OF ME TO COME BACK AND SAY, WHAT CAN WE DO TO SAVE THOSE THAT ARE FURTHEST FROM OPPORTUNITY? AND SO WHAT PARENTS BEGIN TO SAY IS THAT WE NEED PURPOSE OVER PERFORMANCE. WE NEED SOMETHING THAT MAKES SURE THAT WE'RE NOT LOSING OUR GENERATION. AND SO WHAT WE LIKE TO CALL WHAT WE'RE DOING, IT GOES WITH THIS PRINCIPLE CALLED THE CURB CUT CUT OF CURB CUT EFFECT. AND SO WHAT WE SEE HERE OFTENTIMES IS THAT WHEN YOU THINK OF A CURB CUT, YOU'RE THINKING OF SOMETHING THAT WAS BUILT FOR PEOPLE IN WHEELCHAIRS OR PEOPLE WHO HAVE STROLLERS. BUT IN ACTUALITY, ALL OF US USE CURB CUTS. AND SO THAT IS WHAT OUR MODEL IS BUILT ON. IT IS BUILT ON MAKING SURE EVERY STUDENT, NO MATTER WHERE THEY'RE COMING FROM, HAVE A PERSONALIZED LEARNING PATHWAY. NOT, NOT JUST BECAUSE THEY HAVE AN IEP AND NOT JUST BECAUSE THEY HAVE A 5 0 4, BUT EVERY SINGLE PERSON THAT ENTERS ONTO OUR CAMPUS IS GIVEN THE OPPORTUNITY TO GET EXACTLY WHAT THEY NEED INDIVIDUALLY. WE CAN GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE AND WE CAN SKIP THIS ONE. KIND OF, I KIND OF TALKED ABOUT THIS ALREADY. AND SO WE DID NOT DESIGN CRLA IN ISOLATION. WE DID CO-DESIGN IT WITH BATON ROUGE. AND WE'RE CONTINUING TO CO-DESIGN THIS WITH BATON ROUGE THROUGH LISTENING SESSIONS, THROUGH FOCUS GROUPS, AND THROUGH OUR FAITH-BASED FORUMS. WE HAVE MANY CHURCHES IN NORTH BATON ROUGE IN THE SURROUNDING AREAS THAT HAVE BEEN IN THIS WORK WITH US AND IN THE TRENCHES WITH US. AND SO WHEN WE LOOKED AT THE DATA, OUR PARENTS SAID THAT THEY WANTED RELEVANCE. THE BUSINESS OWNERS WANTED PARTNERSHIP, AND THE STUDENTS WANTED A REASON TO BELIEVE THAT SCHOOL MATTERS IN THAT AREA. AND SO WE BELIEVE THAT CRLA IS THE SOLUTION TO THAT CRY. NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. SO, AS I SAID, OUR THREE PILLARS ARE LITERACY, LEADERSHIP, AND LEGACY. AND SO WE'RE GONNA GO AHEAD AND GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE, BUT I'M GONNA KEEP TALKING ABOUT THIS. WE HAVE THREE COMPONENTS TO OUR SCHOOL. WE HAVE OUR EARLY FOUNDATIONS, WHICH IS K THROUGH TWO. AND SO ONCE AGAIN, WE'RE GROUNDED HEAVILY IN LEADER IN LITERACY. SO WE BELIEVE THAT THE SCIENCE OF READING UNTIL MASTERY IS IMPORTANT IN GRADES K THROUGH TWO, OF COURSE, THIS IS YOUR PHONICS. THIS IS YOUR PHONEMIC AWARENESS. THIS IS YOUR READING COMPREHENSION. THIS IS YOUR VOCABULARY, THIS IS YOUR FLUENCY. WE BELIEVE IN GREAT FIRST TEACHING, BUT WHERE WE BEGIN TO KIND OF GET A LITTLE BIT OFF IS WHEN WE LOOK AT THE IMPACT CENTERS, WHICH IS GRADES THREE THROUGH FIVE, AND THE LEGACY LAB, WHICH IS [01:30:01] GRADES SIX THROUGH EIGHT. MANY TIMES WE ARE RECEIVING STUDENTS WHO ARE ALREADY BEHIND WHEN WE GET INTO THREE THROUGH FIVE AND WE GET TO SIX THROUGH EIGHT. AND SO WHAT WE SEEK TO DO IS NOT JUST MAKE SURE THAT OUR EARLY STUDENTS ARE GETTING WHAT THEY NEED IN LITERACY, BUT THAT WE'RE BUILDING IN THOSE INTERVENTIONS AND THOSE COMPONENTS TO ACCELERATE STUDENTS IN GRADES THREE THROUGH EIGHT. ALSO IN OUR ELEMENTARY IMPACT CENTER, THIS IS A PROJECT AND PLACE-BASED LEARNING, UH, PIECE WHERE THAT IT'S TIED TO REAL BATON ROUGE PROBLEMS. YOU'LL SEE LATER THAT THE ACTUAL AUTHOR OF PLACE-BASED LEARNING IS SERVING ON OUR BOARD CURRENTLY. AND SO WHAT MAKES IT DIFFERENT? WE'VE ALREADY TALKED ABOUT THAT. BUT WHAT WE WANNA KNOW IS THAT OUR STUDENTS ARE MASTERING THE FUNDAMENTALS. THEY'RE ACCELERATING LITERACY. THERE IS HANDS-ON RELEVANCE. AND THEN OUR LEGACY LAB LEADERSHIP, ENTREPRENEURSHIP, AND COMMUNITY IMPACT. EVERY EIGHTH GRADER ON OUR CAMPUS WILL GRADUATE, AS WE CALL IT, WITH A MINI MOGUL CAPSTONE UNDERNEATH THEIR BELT. THEY WILL ALSO HAVE THE OPTION AND THE OPPORTUNITY TO ACTUALLY DO AN LLC BECAUSE STUDENTS UP UNTIL THE AGE 18 DO NOT HAVE TO PAY TAXES ON LLCS. AND SO WE CAN BUILD THAT PIECE IN AND ALLOW FOR THEM TO ACTUALLY HAVE REAL HANDS ON RELEVANT OPPORTUNITIES TO BUILD FINANCIAL WEALTH AS WELL. AND WE CAN GO TO THE NEXT ONE. THANK YOU. CRLA IS HYBRID BY DESIGN. AND WHEN I SAY HYBRID, WE WE'RE CALLING IT A HIGH TOUCH AND HIGH TECH MODEL. WE USE AI DRIVEN PERSONALIZED LEARNING TOOLS POWERED BY MAP DATA. AND THIS IS IMPORTANT BECAUSE WHEN I WAS WORKING IN THE SYSTEM, IT WAS VERY DIFFICULT TO MAKE SURE THAT EVERY SINGLE CHILD HAD AN INDIVIDUALIZED, UH, PATHWAY. WHEN YOU WERE TRYING TO DO IT BY HAND, YOU WERE USING DIFFERENT COACHES, YOU WERE HAVING TO PULL IN YOUR IEP SPECIALISTS AND THINGS OF THAT NATURE. WELL, NOW WE HAVE AN ACTUAL PLATFORM THAT WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO CREATE THROUGH AI. AND SO WHAT HAPPENS IS EVERY STUDENT THAT WALKS ON THAT CAMPUS IS ASSESSED. THEY ARE ASSESSED IN READING, THEY ARE ASSESSED IN MATH. WE GET TO HAVE, UH, DEEP CONVERSATIONS WITH PARENTS TO KNOW THEIR SOCIAL, EMOTIONAL, MENTAL COMPONENTS AND, AND STATES, IT'S ALMOST LIKE THIS HOLISTIC PIECE THAT WE CAN PULL INTO OUR, UM, AI DRIVEN, UM, TOOL AND WE CAN CREATE THE PERSONALIZED PLAN THAT IS NEEDED FOR EVERY STUDENT, UM, TO THRIVE AND TO SURVIVE. ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE FIND IS HAPPENING ACROSS THE NATION IS THAT MANY PEOPLE ARE SO QUICK TO RUN TO HIGH TECH, AND SO THEY THROW EVERYTHING ELSE AWAY. BUT IN ORDER FOR OUR STUDENTS TO BE SUCCESSFUL, IT'S IMPORTANT THAT WE LEARN HOW TO MERGE THE TWO. SO OUR STUDENTS STILL NEED TO HAVE HANDS-ON LEARNING. OUR STUDENTS STILL NEED TO BE IN THE COMMUNITIES PARTNERING WITH THOSE THAT THEY CAN LEARN FROM. AND SO WE BRING IN BUSINESS MENTORS. WE BRING IN THOSE WHO HAVE NONPROFITS. WE'RE EVEN BRINGING IN THOSE FROM, UM, THE DIFFERENT CORPORATIONS JUST SO THAT OUR KIDS COULD HAVE, UM, HANDS ON INSTRUCTION FROM WHAT WE CALL THE EXPERTS IN THE FIELD. SO WHEN WE'RE TALKING ABOUT REAL PROJECT BASED LEARNING, WE'RE NOT TALKING ABOUT, WE'RE JUST DOING PROJECTS. WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THE METHODOLOGY OF OUR STUDENTS ACTUALLY LEARNING AND ACTUALLY GROWING. AND SO HERE, HYBRID LEARNING IS NOT ABOUT SCREENS, IT'S ABOUT SCALABILITY, IT'S ABOUT PERSONALIZATION, AND IT IS ABOUT RELEVANCE. WE CAN GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE. AND SO OUR LITERACY MODEL IS GROUNDED IN THE SCIENCE OF READING. UH, WE USE MAP READING FLUENCY AND WE USE TARGETED INTERVENTIONS. EVERY STUDENT ALREADY STATED, BUT I'LL STATE IT AGAIN BECAUSE IT'S IMPORTANT, RECEIVES A PERSONALIZED LEARNING PLAN. EVERY QUARTER. WE UPDATE IT BASED ON GROWTH. BY YEAR FIVE, WE AIM FOR 90% OF OUR K THROUGH THREE STUDENTS AND 70% OF THREE THROUGH EIGHT TO BE READING ON GREEN GRADE LEVEL. AND I SAY THIS UNAPOLOGETICALLY, EXPLICIT PHONICS IS NOT JUST FOR BEGINNERS, IT'S FOR BREAKTHROUGHS. AND SO WHAT'S HAPPENED IS WE'VE DROPPED THE BALL WHEN IT COMES TO OUR UPPER ELEMENTARY AND MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENTS. AND SO HERE AT CRLA, IT IS IMPORTANT THAT WE INFUSE THOSE FOUNDATIONS AND THOSE PHONICS PIECE INTO OUR THREE THROUGH FIVE AND OUR SIX THROUGH EIGHT STUDENTS. WHAT I FIND IS I HAVE A LOT OF STUDENTS THAT ARE COMING TO US, UM, AND THEY'RE COMING TO US FOR TUTORING ENRICHMENT. PARENTS ARE FRUSTRATED BECAUSE THERE WAS A GAP THAT COVID BROUGHT. AND WHEN COVID BROUGHT THAT GAP, WE HAVE SIXTH GRADERS AND SEVENTH GRADERS THAT ARE SITTING AND THEY CANNOT DECODE PHONICS. THEY CAN'T AND SO MUCH LESS PAST THE LEAK TEST, RIGHT? AND SO IT'S IMPORTANT THAT WE FIGURE OUT OR WE BREAK, BRIDGE THIS GAP SO THAT WAY OUR STUDENTS CAN CAN GROW AND WE CAN GO TO THE NEXT ONE. AND SO THIS WAS OUR PROPOSED TIMELINE THAT WE DID PRESENT, UM, FOR OUR, OUR PROPOSED SCHOOL. WE ARE LOOKING AND WE'RE HOPING THAT WE CAN GET AN APPROVAL AND THAT WE CAN OPEN IN AUGUST OF 2027, WHICH WOULD PUT OUR YEAR ZERO IN 2026. OUR [01:35:01] LEADERSHIP MODEL IS ONE OF MYSELF AS THE CEO AND FOUNDING EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, BUT I WILL BE OPERATING IN DUALITY. SO I WOULD NOT ONLY BE THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, BUT I ALSO WOULD BE THE SCHOOL FOUNDING PRINCIPAL. IN ADDITION TO THAT, IN YEAR ONE, WE LOOK TO HIRE THREE DEANS. WE THINK THAT IT IS VERY IMPORTANT THAT WE'RE BUILDING A LEADERSHIP TEAM THAT IS EFFICIENT, THAT IS EFFECTIVE, BUT THAT IS ALSO MEETING ALL OF THE MOVING PARTS. AND SO WE HAVE A DEAN OF OPERATIONS, A DEAN OF ACADEMICS AND A DEAN OF CULTURE, UM, THAT WE ARE LOOKING TO HIRE. WHEN WE LOOK AT PLACEMENT, WE'RE LOOKING AT FACILITIES AND WE'RE LOOKING AT WHERE WE WANT TO GO NEXT. UM, THE SCHOOL, WE HAVE NOT PICKED A SPECIFIC AREA, BUT THE AREA THAT WE ARE HOPING TO LOOK AT IS JK HAYNES. UM, JK HAYNES HAS A DEEP ROOTED, UH, HISTORY IN THE COMMUNITY, AND IT'S IMPORTANT FOR US THAT WE PICK SOMETHING THAT ACTUALLY GOES WITH OUR PURPOSE AND THE LEGACY THAT WE ARE TRYING TO LEAVE AND BUILD. THE NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. AND SO I AM NOT DOING THIS WORK BY MYSELF. I WISH THAT MORE OF MY BOARD MEMBERS COULD HAVE BEEN HERE. I HAD TWO THAT ARE ACTUALLY WERE TRYING TO GET HERE BEFORE WE STARTED. UM, BUT OUR, THESE ARE OUR CURRENT BOARD MEMBERS. THE FIRST ONE IS JANEISHA FISHER. SHE IS OUR ACTUAL BOARD CHAIR. SHE PRESIDES OVER ALL OUR MEETINGS. SHE'S BEEN SETTING THE AGENDA. SHE'S ALSO ONE THAT'S SENT A CON. SHE DID SEND A PUBLIC COMMENT IN. SHE HAS NOT ONLY WORKED IN THE BUSINESS SECTOR OR IS WORKING IN THE BUSINESS SECTOR, SHE WAS A FORMER PRINCIPAL HERE IN EAST BATON ROUGE SCHOOL SYSTEM. UM, AND SHE IS FULLY INVESTED. SHE ALSO HAS A CHURCH THAT SHE PASTORS HERE IN BATON ROUGE, LOUISIANA AS WELL. OUR SECOND PERSON, OUR VICE CHAIR, IS CHARITY MORAN. CHARITY. MORAN IS NO STRANGER TO EAST BATON ROUGE SCHOOL SYSTEM. SHE IS DEFINITELY THE GURU WHEN IT COMES TO PROJECT AND PLACE-BASED LEARNING. SHE WROTE THE BOOK ON PLACE-BASED LEARNING AND SHE LEADS OUR ACADEMIC STRATEGY OVERSIGHT. SHE IS AN AMAZING, AMAZING GIFT TO EDUCATION. SHE'S ALSO AN ENTREPRENEUR THAT WORKS IN BUSINESS, WHICH IS ALSO IMPORTANT TO US AS WE ARE BUILDING, UM, THIS LEADERSHIP LEGACY AND LITERACY MODEL. DIAMOND HOLIDAY IS OUR TREASURER. SHE IS OUR MONEY GURU. SHE ALSO IS OUR LEGAL COMPLIANCE OPERATIONS AND RISK MANAGEMENT PERSON. AND THEN WE HAVE AMBER MCKINNEY, WHO IS OUR ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE CHAIR. SHE HAS BEEN WORKING WITH CURRICULUM AND INSTRUCTION, AND SHE HAS DONE CONSULTING, UH, FOR MOST OF HER TENURE. UM, AND SHE'S DEFINITELY DONE A LOT OF WORK WITH CHARTER SCHOOLS HERE IN BATON ROUGE. WE HAVE ISHA BREYER, UM, WHO IS OUR COMMUNITY AND ACADEMIC INNOVATION CHAIR, WHO IS ADVISING US ON LITERACY AND SPED. SHE HAS A DEEP BACKGROUND, UM, IN WORKING WITH THE COMMUNITY AND ENGAGEMENT, A LOT OF INITIATIVES THAT SHE HAS WORKED ON. DR. SHATHA SHERMAN, UM, IS OUR EARLY CHILDHOOD AND SPED SERVICES ACTUAL EXPERT. UM, AND SHE ALSO DOES MENTAL HEALTH COUNSELING, UM, AS WELL. AND THEN WE HAVE DR. RIS LODGE, WHO IS ALSO, ACTUALLY, SHE STILL WORKS HERE IN EBR. SHE'S AN AMAZING, UM, ACADEMIC DEAN HERE. AND SO SHE'S BEEN WORKING WITH US WHEN IT COMES TO THE WHOLENESS, THE WELLNESS PIECE, AND MAKING SURE THAT WE'RE BRIDGING THOSE GAPS HERE. TO MY RIGHT IS DR. LACRECIA TERRANCE THAT YOU MET EARLIER. SHE IS OUR, UM, INSTRUCTIONAL ADVISORY BOARD CHAIR. AND SO WE DO HAVE AN ADVISORY BOARD AS WELL THAT IS MADE UP OF SEVERAL, UM, EDUCATORS AS WELL AS THOSE WHO ARE WILLING TO PARTNER WITH US, BUT ARE NOT NECESSARILY WORKING ON THE GOVERNANCE ASPECT OF, OF WHAT WE'RE DOING. AND SO I AM GONNA STOP THERE. UM, AND I AM GOING TO THANK YOU FOR ALLOWING ME TO PRESENT. I'M GONNA ASK DR. TERRA IF SHE HAS ANYTHING THAT SHE WANTS TO ADD. BUT HERE WE'RE BUILDING WHAT OUR STUDENTS HAVEN'T SEEN, AND WE JUST WANNA RAISE LEADERS WHO WILL BUILD THE REST, YOU KNOW, BECAUSE OUR KIDS, THEY DESERVE IT. AND SO THIS IS NOT SOMETHING THAT WE ARE NEW TO. THIS IS SOMETHING WE'RE TRUE TO, AND WE'RE REALLY PASSIONATE ABOUT MAKING A DIFFERENCE IN OUR COMMUNITY. I DO JUST WANNA SHARE ONE THING. UM, FOR OUR, OUR, UH, INSTRUCTIONAL MODEL TEAM, WE DO HAVE RESEARCHERS THAT ARE ON OUR TEAM. AND WHEN MS. SCOTT CALLED US AND ASKED US WOULD WE BE A PART OF THIS WITH HER, WE DID START DIGGING INTO DATA SPECIFICALLY FOR NORTH BATON ROUGE. WE DID TALK TO PARENTS. WE DID GO DOOR TO DOOR. WE DID ALSO, UM, I, BECAUSE WE DO KNOW HOW TO PULL SOME OF THE DATA, WE PULL SOME OF THE ACADEMIC DATA, WE LOOKED AT THE GAPS AND WE STARTED, THAT'S, THIS IS THE THE WHY BEHIND IT. AS WE ARE ON THE GROUNDS ON THOSE STREETS, TALKING TO PARENTS, WE BEGIN TO THINK ABOUT WHAT ARE THE THREE PILLARS THAT ARE MOST IMPORTANT FOR THIS COMMUNITY. THAT'S LITERACY, LEADERSHIP, AND LEGACY. THAT'S THE WHY. BECAUSE THE PARENTS FEEL HOPELESS AND THEY FELT LIKE THEIR KIDS [01:40:01] WEREN'T GONNA HAVE A FUTURE. AND WE TOLD THEM, THEY ARE A LEGACY. YOU WILL, YOU WILL LEAVE A LEGACY AS PART OF THIS SCHOOL. WE WANTED FAMILIES TO BE A PART OF THIS. THERE WILL BE A, A FAMILY COMPONENT WHERE FAMILIES GET TO COME IN AND LEARN. THEY GET TO LEARN ABOUT FINANCIAL LITERACY. SO WE ARE NOT ONLY JUST BUILDING UP THE STUDENT, WE ARE BUILDING UP FAMILIES AS WELL. SO WE KNOW WHAT RESEARCH SAYS. WE KNOW WHAT THE BRAIN RESEARCH SAYS, AND WE, EVEN FROM THAT DATA, WE, WE STARTED A THINK TANK WITH EDUCATORS NATIONALLY TO HELP US THINK ABOUT WHAT IS THE INSTRUCTIONAL MODEL FOR THE FUTURE? WHAT IS PROJECT-BASED LEARNING, AI, THE HUMAN ASPECT OF THAT? HOW DO WE BLEND ALL THOSE THINGS IN AND CONTINUE TO ENGAGE STUDENTS? PROJECT BASED LEARNING IS NOT JUST A BUZZ WORD. UM, I MEAN LIKE, I'VE DONE THIS NOW FOR 15 YEARS AND IT KIND OF MAKES ME SAD THAT PEOPLE SAY PROJECT BASED LEARNING AND DON'T KNOW WHAT IT IS. PROJECT BASED LEARNING IS AN INSTRUCTIONAL MODEL. IT IS A WAY OF LEARNING. IT IS AN EXPERIENCE. STUDENTS GO IN AND WE ENGAGE THEM IN THE SKILLS THEY HAVE TO LEARN IN ORDER TO MASTER THE STANDARDS. THAT'S HOW THEY LEARN THROUGH IT. IT'S WOVEN THROUGH. AND SO IN THAT EXPERIENCE, THEY GET TO COME OUT AND THEY HAVE STUDENT DEFENSES, THEY HAVE STUDENT PASSION PROJECTS. THEY GET TO DO ALL OF THESE THINGS THAT WE ARE SAYING AT FIFTH GRADE. THEY GOTTA HAVE A STUDENT DEFENSE AT EIGHTH GRADE. THEY GOTTA HAVE A STUDENT DEFENSE. PROVE US. YOU LEARNED IT, PROVE IT. TELL US HOW DID YOU LEARN IT AND BE ABLE TO SHOWCASE THAT. AND WE HAVE THESE EXHIBITIONS TWICE THE SCHOOL YEAR, TWICE DURING THE SCHOOL YEAR. SO IT'S REALLY EMBEDDED. IT'S A LOT MORE IN, IN, IN, IN TALKING ABOUT WHAT THAT INSTRUCTIONAL MODEL IS GONNA LOOK LIKE FOR US. AND I'LL, YOU KNOW, AND I I, BECAUSE OF THE LIMITED TIME, I'M JUST SHARING THAT'S WHAT IT'S GONNA BE, RIGHT? AND THAT'S THE REASON WHY WE CHOSE THOSE THREE THINGS. BECAUSE WALKING THROUGH THAT COMMUNITY, WE WANT TO CHANGE, WE WANT TO SHIFT, WE WANT IT TO CHANGE FROM WHERE IT IS. AND WE KNOW THAT LITERACY, LEGACY AND LEADERSHIP WILL DO THAT. THANK YOU LADIES. ARE THERE ANY PUBLIC COMMENTS? DO I HAVE ANY PUBLIC COMMENTS? NO CARDS. BUT WE DO HAVE ONE ONLINE COMMENT THAT HAS COME IN. THAT'S IT? YEAH. OH, NO, NO. THAT'S IT. NO, HE GOTTA HIT THAT. IT'S AT THE BOTTOM OF THAT AND GO ALL THE WAY DOWN. THE LAST ONE. YEAH. THE LAST COMMENT, THE LAST COMMENT IS FROM MS. KENDRA M JONES. KENDRA LOW. KEN LAW. I'M SORRY. KENDRA. KENDRA LAW. ALRIGHT. MAYBE I NEED SOME PHONICS OR SOMETHING. . NO, SERIOUSLY BELIEVING. I BELIEVE. EXCUSE ME. I BELIEVE THIS CHARTER SCHOOL IS EXTREMELY BENEFICIAL BECAUSE IT MEETS BOTH THE ACADEMIC AND DEVELOPMENTAL NEEDS OF STUDENTS. THE SCHOOL EMPHASIZES EXCELLENCE, DISCIPLINE AND INNOVATION, AND ITS EDUCATIONAL APPROACH. FAMILIES ARE SUPPORTED THROUGH STRONG COMMUNICATION AND PARTNERSHIP. STUDENTS ARE GIVEN THE TOOLS TO GROW ACADEMICALLY, SOCIALLY, AND EMOTIONALLY. THE SCHOOLS THIS, SCHOOL'S THIS SCHOOL POSITIVELY IMPACTS NOT ONLY STUDENTS, BUT THE BROADER COMMUNITY AS WELL. AND THAT WAS THE, UH, LAST ONLINE COMMENT THAT WE HAD. THANK YOU. WE HAVE BOARD COMMENTS, UH, BOARD MEMBER PAUL LEWIS. THANK YOU. UM, FIRST I WANNA SAY THANK YOU TO MY COLLEAGUES FOR OBLIGING ME IN ALLOWING, UM, THE, THE COMMON ROOTS LEADERSHIP ACADEMY TO COME AND SHARE THEIR PRESENTATION. AGAIN, AS I MENTIONED BEFORE, FAIR IS FAIR, RIGHT? UM, IF IF WE ALLOW SOMETHING FOR ONE GROUP, WE SHOULD ALLOW FOR THE OTHER AS WELL. I DID HAVE A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS FOR YOU, MS. SCOTT, IF YOU'LL COME BACK JUST FOR A MOMENT. OKAY. ONCE AGAIN, THANK YOU AGAIN. UM, AND THANK YOU FOR SHARING YOUR CONCERNS, FOR COMING BACK TODAY, UH, AND ALSO SHARING YOUR PRESENTATION AS WELL. MY FIRST QUESTION IS THIS. I SAW THAT, UM, YOU MENTIONED OF COURSE YOUR LAUNCH DATE WOULD BE 2027. IN, IN THE CASE THAT WE DID NOT APPROVE YOU TONIGHT, WHAT WOULD BE YOUR NEXT STEPS? WOULD YOU COME BACK TO US OR WOULD YOU GO TO THE STATE FOR APPROVAL? TRUTHFULLY? SO THAT IS TRUTHFULLY, YES. THAT IS, UM, PROBABLY MY NEXT STEP WOULD BE TO GO TO THE STATE IF WE'RE BEING HONEST. UM, JUST BECAUSE, UH, WHEN WE RECEIVED SOME FEEDBACK FROM HERE, THERE WAS SO MUCH CONFUSION SURROUNDING THE FEEDBACK AND SURROUNDING THE METHOD. AND SO FOR ME, IT WAS MORE IMPORTANT FOR ME TO BE CONNECTED TO THE DISTRICT BECAUSE I MEAN, TO BE QUITE HONEST, I, MY, I HAVE A SON THAT'S [01:45:01] GRADUATING FROM LIBERTY THIS YEAR AS A SENIOR. I HAVE A SOPHOMORE THAT'S AT LIBERTY, AND THEN I HAVE A EIGHTH GRADER THAT IS IN THIS SYSTEM. I HAVE PRINCIPAL FRIENDS THAT STILL WORK HERE. I HAVE TEACH. SO MY, MY WORK IS CONNECTED TO THE DISTRICT. THERE ARE PEOPLE IN THIS ROOM THAT I HAVE WORKED FOR THAT CAN VOUCH FOR ME. SO FOR ME, IT WAS IMPORTANT TO BE CONNECTED TO THE DISTRICT AND TO PARTNER, UM, BECAUSE IT'S A GAP THAT I'M LOOKING TO FILL AND I'M NOT LOOKING TO REPLACE AND I'M NOT LOOKING TO TAKE OVER ANYTHING. I'M LOOKING LITERALLY TO, TO FILL WHAT I WAS DOING WHEN I WAS HERE AS AN ALTERNATIVE PRINCIPAL. NOT LIMITED TO THAT, BUT IN THAT SPACE. UM, HOWEVER, IF THE DISTRICT IS NOT READY TO APPROVE ME, THEN THAT, THAT NEXT MOVE WOULD BE TO SEE, OKAY, CAN WE STILL, UM, OPEN WITH THE STATE APPROVAL? AND IF, IF THAT WORKS, MY GOAL IS STILL TO WORK WITH THE DISTRICT. IT'S JUST ANOTHER METHOD FOR ME TO BE ABLE TO OPEN THE SCHOOL. OKAY. AND THEN MY NEXT QUESTION, THANK YOU FOR ANSWERING MY NEXT ONE. YOU MENTIONED THE POSSIBILITY OF JK HAYNES. UM, ARE YOU AWARE OF THE REASON WHY WE MOVED THE STUDENTS FROM JK HAYNES? I AM NOT, ACTUALLY. I KNOW THAT I'M AWARE OF WHY THE SCHOOL CLOSED. OKAY. UM, THAT'S WHAT I'M AWARE OF. IT WAS A CONVERSATION THAT WE HAVE NOT GOTTEN FEEDBACK WHEN WE REACHED OUT ABOUT IT, UM, AS OF NOW. AND SO WE ARE NOT, UM, BUT WE WERE LOOKING AT THAT LOCATION, NOT NECESSARILY JUST THE BUILDING. OKAY. BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT I WAS ABOUT TO SAY. ONE OF THE REASONS WHY WE MOVED THE STUDENTS WITH HASTE MM-HMM . WAS BECAUSE OF THE, THE CONDITIONS OF THE BUILDING AND THE, UH, ANTIQUATED NESS AS WELL AS THE DILAPIDATED CORRECT STRUCTURES OF THE BUILDING. SO I JUST WANTED TO SHARE THAT. AND IF WE'RE BEING HONEST, THE TWO SCHOOLS THAT I WERE, I WAS AT BEFORE WERE JUST AS BAD IN THAT CONDITION. AND SO FOR ME, IT'S IMPORTANT ABOUT THE HISTORICAL, UH, IMPORTANCE OF THE, THE LAND ITSELF AND THE AREA. SO WE ARE EVEN, WE WERE EVEN LOOKING INTO POSSIBLY BUILDING OR USING T BUILDINGS UNTIL WE WERE ABLE TO BUILD. OKAY. THANK YOU. THANK YOU SO MUCH. THAT WAS IT FOR MY QUESTIONS. UM, I HAD ONE ADDITIONAL COMMENT THAT I JUST WANTED TO MAKE. UM, UH, AGAIN, THANK YOU MS. SCOTT, AND THANK YOU DOC FOR COMING WITH MS. SCOTT AS WELL. UM, AND IN A POINT OF TRANSPARENCY, BACK IN OCTOBER, 2024 WAS WHEN I SAW THAT MS. SCOTT, I WENT OVER, WENT BACK THROUGH IT IN MY DEVICE. I SAW THAT MS. SCOTT MENTIONED, UM, IN LINKEDIN THAT SHE WAS LOOKING FOR BOARD MEMBERS FOR HER COMMUNITY ROOTS LEARNING ACADEMY. AND I INQUIRED ABOUT, WELL, WHAT IS THIS? BECAUSE I HADN'T HEARD OF IT BEFORE. AND SO, UM, THAT WAS OUR ONE COMMUNICATION. SHE MENTIONED TO ME THAT SHE WAS STARTING THIS PROGRAM. I DID NOT UNDERSTAND THAT IT WAS GOING TO BE A SCHOOL. UM, BUT THEN AFTER THAT, WE DIDN'T TALK AGAIN UNTIL LAST THURSDAY. UH, WHEN SHE, SHE ACTUALLY SENT ME A VOICEMAIL THROUGH MY LINKEDIN MESSAGE. I DIDN'T EVEN KNOW THAT WE COULD DO THAT. UM, AND SHE WAS HYSTERICAL AND VERY EXPRESSIVE ABOUT THE WAY, THE OUTCOME OF THE VOTE FOR OUR COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE. AND SO WITH ALL OF THAT IN MIND, THOUGH, OUT OF A PLACE OF, LIKE I SAID, FAIRNESS AND OUT OF A PLACE OF PROFESSIONALISM, I'M GONNA ABSTAIN FROM MY VOTE, BUT I DID WANT TO GIVE YOU THE OPPORTUNITY TO SHARE. BUT BECAUSE OF, BECAUSE OF THE PREVIOUS CONVERSATIONS AND THINGS OF THAT NATURE, I THINK THAT THAT IS WHAT MAKES PROFESSIONAL SENSE. BUT I WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT YOU HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY THAT ALL OTHER GROUPS HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO AS WELL. THANK YOU. THANK YOU, MS. LEWIS. UM, MR. MARTIN, UH, THANK YOU. I JUST WANTED TO APPLAUD YOUR, UM, UH, VERY SIGNIFICANT FOCUS ON THE SCIENCE OF READING. I THINK THAT IS ABSOLUTELY ESSENTIAL. UM, AND SO ANYTIME I FIND, UM, UH, ANYBODY ELSE SUPPORTING THE SCIENCE OF READING, WHICH IS THE ONLY PROVEN WAY THAT CHILDREN LEARN TO READ AND AND YOUR UNDERSTANDING, I THINK THAT, UM, I MEAN, TO GO BACK TO THE PHRASE FROM WHEN I WAS A KID, READING IS FUNDAMENTAL RIGHT? IF YOU CAN'T READ, YOU CAN'T LEARN ANYTHING ELSE. AND SO I THINK THAT, UH, YOU'RE, YOU'RE, UM, SOMEWHAT RELENTLESS FOCUS ON THE SCIENCE OF READING IS WELL PLACED. AND I APPLAUD YOU FOR THAT. THANK YOU. I, OKAY. I, ALL RIGHT. SO THOSE ARE ALL OF THE COMMENTS, THUS FOUR? NO, HE, HE WAD. YEAH, HE WAVED. UM, SO IS THERE A MOTION ON THE FLOOR? I, I'LL MOVE THAT. WE ACCEPT. DO I HAVE A SECOND? OKAY. I HAVE A MOTION TO DENY BY MR. BLUE AND A SECOND BY MR. GOE. ALL THOSE IN FAVOR SAY AYE. AYE. AYE. ALL THOSE IN OPPOSITION SAY NO. MADAM SECRETARY, PLEASE VOTE. [01:50:15] MOTION CARRIES. [H.1. Announcement of Meetings] MOVING ALONG TO ITEM H, ORGANIZATIONAL ITEMS. ANNOUNCEMENT OF MEETINGS, COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE MEETING TO BE HELD ON FEBRUARY 5TH, 2026 AT 5:00 PM IN THE CENTRAL OFFICE. BOARDROOM, REGULAR MEETING TO BE HELD ON FEBRUARY 19TH, 2026 AT 5:00 PM IN THE CENTRAL OFFICE. BOARDROOM, COACH, WE ARE ADJOURNED. THANK YOU GUYS. * 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.