[00:00:02]
[A. Meeting Opening]
EVERYONE.WELCOME TO OUR MEET BOARD MEETING FOR OUR REGULAR AUGUST 20, 20, 26 AGENDA.
THE INVOCATION WILL BE LED BY SCHOOL BOARD MEMBER PATRICK MARTIN AND THE PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE WILL BE LED BY CADET LIEUTENANT COLONEL MACKAY MATTHEWS OF A HIGH SCHOOL, ACCOMPANIED BY LIEUTENANT COLONEL STEVEN JOHNSTON.
WILL YOU ALL PLEASE STAND? THANK YOU, LORD.
AS WE GATHER HERE TODAY TO CONTINUE THE WORK OF IMPROVING EDUCATION FOR OUR CHILDREN HERE IN BATON ROUGE, LET US ALL TAKE A MOMENT TO REFLECT ON OUR OWN HUMANITY, OUR OWN IMPERFECTIONS, OUR OWN STRIVING TO DO BETTER.
AT EVERY TURN, LET US REMEMBER THE COMMANDMENT OF OUR LORD TO, TO GIVE OTHERS THE GRACE THAT WE SEEK FOR OURSELVES.
AND LET'S HELP US ALL KEEP EACH OTHER IN OUR GOOD MOTIVATIONS IN OUR HEARTS AS WE WORK TOGETHER.
GOOD EVENING, MADAM PRESIDENT, BOARD MEMBERS SUPERINTENDENT COLE AND MY FELLOW EAST BATON ROUGE PARISH RESIDENCE.
I'M HERE TO INTRODUCE TO YOU THIS FINE AMERICAN.
THIS IS CADET LIEUTENANT COLONEL MACKAY MATTHEWS.
HE IS THE BATTALION COMMANDER OF OUR, UH, J-R-O-T-C AT ASMA HIGH SCHOOL.
AND THAT'S THE SECOND YEAR IN A ROW THAT HE'S HELD THIS POSITION.
HE IS A MODEL CADET AND HE HAS TAKEN UP THE CHALLENGE TO LIVE OUT OUR CADET CREED.
FOLLOWING GRADUATION, AT THE END OF MAY, HE PLANS TO JOIN THE SOUTHERN UNIVERSITY POLICE DEPARTMENT AND HE IS THE SON OF MR. ROCHELLE MATTHEWS, WHO IS WITH US TODAY.
AND LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, HERE TO LEAD US IN THE PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG OF OUR UNITED STATES IS CADET LIEUTENANT COLONEL MACKAY MATTHEWS.
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.
BEFORE YOU LEAVE, WAIT, WE HAVE SOMETHING FOR YOU.
SO, CADET LIEUTENANT COLONEL, I WANNA MAKE SURE I CALL ALL OF YOUR TITLE
AND I ALSO CALL YOU MR. MATTHEWS.
YOU ALL, THIS YOUNG MAN LEADS A MEAN SGA STUDENT COUNCIL AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT MEETING.
I HAVE SAT IN, UH, ONE OF HIS SCHOOL SAFETY MEETINGS AT REMA HIGH SCHOOL BEFORE FOR THE SAFETY COUNCIL, AND HE DID AN AMAZING JOB.
UH, PRESIDENT STEWART VICE PRESIDENT LEWIS, IN SOME CASES BETTER THAN WE DO.
HE DID AN AMAZING JOB OF KEEPING ALL OF THE VOICES GOING AND ALLOWING US ALL THE OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK.
CONGRATULATIONS TO YOU AND THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR JOINING US ON BEHALF OF THE EAST BATON ROUGE PARISH SCHOOL BOARD, AND THANK YOU.
MOVING ALONG, CAN I HAVE, UM, A ROLL CALL? MADAM SECRETARY, DISTRICT FOUR.
PRESENT, DISTRICT FIVE, VICE PRESIDENT LEWIS.
DISTRICT EIGHT, MS. SOLE HERE.
[B. Minutes]
B.ONE MINUTES MEETING MINUTES, APPROVAL OF THE SCHOOL BOARD MINUTES OF THE JULY 9TH, 2026, COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE MEETING AND THE JULY 23RD, 2026 REGULAR BOARD MEETING AS PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL JOURNAL.
ARE THERE ANY COMMENTS? LET'S SEE.
DO I HAVE A MOTION? MOTION APPROVE.
I HAVE A MOTION APPROVED BY MR. RUSS.
DO I HAVE A SECOND? MR. GOE? RUSS AND GOE.
ALL THOSE IN FAVOR OF THE MOTION, SAY AYE.
ALL THOSE IN OPPOSITION, MADAM SECRETARY, PLEASE VOTE.
[00:05:12]
MOTION CARRIES THE THANK YOU.[C. Information Only]
C, INFORMATION ONLY MONTHLY FINANCIAL REPORT.NUMBER TWO, PERSONNEL CHANGES.
[D.1. Update from the Superintendent]
RECEIVE AS INFORMATION.AND WE HAVE OUR SUPERINTENDENT UPDATE.
GOOD AFTERNOON, MADAM PRESIDENT, VICE PRESIDENT, MEMBERS OF THE BOARD.
THOSE OF YOU ARE HERE, AND THOSE OF YOU AT HOME.
THANK YOU FOR ANOTHER OPPORTUNITY TO SERVE AS SUPERINTENDENT OF EBR SCHOOLS.
THIS MONTH MARKS MY 25TH MONTH OF SERVICE AS SUPERINTENDENT.
AS WE REFLECT ON OUR PROGRESS, ONE THING IS CLEAR.
WE HAVE COME TOO FAR TO RETURN TO WHAT WAS.
WHILE WE ARE PROUD OF WHAT WE'VE ACCOMPLISHED TOGETHER, WE ARE NOT SATISFIED.
EVERY STUDENT DESERVES OUR VERY BEST.
EVERY CHALLENGE BRINGS AN OPPORTUNITY.
EVERY DAY GIVES US A CHANCE TO POSITIVELY IMPACT THE LIFE OF A CHILD.
WITH THE RENEWED COMMITMENT TO OUR STRATEGIC PRIORITIES, WE WILL CONTINUE TO MOVE FORWARD WITH THE PURPOSE, COURAGE, AND UNWAVERING BELIEF THAT WHAT'S POSSIBLE, AS WE DARE TO BE GREAT, BUT ALSO DARE TO GROW, ACHIEVE, AND THRIVE.
SO AS ALWAYS, WE'RE GONNA TALK ABOUT, UH, MY REPORT RELATIVE TO, UH, THE THREE COMPONENTS OF OUR STRATEGIC PLAN.
UNDER THE AREA OF STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT, OUR SCHOOL YEARS OFF TO AN EXTREMELY STRONG START.
STAFF AND I HAVE VISITED MOST OF OUR SCHOOLS AND ACROSS THESE SITES, CLASSROOMS ARE ENGAGED IN TEACHING AND LEARNING WITH CLEAR EXPECTATIONS ARE CREATING CONDITIONS FOR STUDENT SUCCESS.
NEXT WEEK, WE WILL BRING TOGETHER PRINCIPLES AND ASSISTANT PRINCIPLES TO FOCUS ON OUR NEW READING CURRICULUM AND EFFECTIVE READING BLOCK STRUCTURES.
THIS WILL BE THE FIRST MEETING.
WE WILL ENSURE ALIGNMENT, STRENGTH, AND INSTRUCTIONAL RELATIONSHIPS, AND REINFORCE OUR COMMITMENT TO HIGH QUALITY LITERACY INSTRUCTION FOR EVERY STUDENT.
AS WE CONTINUE MOVING FORWARD, WE MUST ENSURE THAT WE CONTINUE TO PURSUE EXCELLENCE AS THE SCHOOL YEAR BEGINS.
OUR STUDENTS ARE ACTIVELY ENGAGED IN THE BEGINNING OF THE ASSESSMENT TO HELP UNDERSTAND WHERE THEY ARE AND HOW BEST TO SUPPORT THEIR SUCCESS.
ACROSS THE LOUISIANA STUDENTS IN GRADES K THROUGH THREE ARE COMPLETED REQUIRED LITERACY AND NUMERACY SCREENERS, PROVIDING VALUABLE BASELINE DATA TO GUIDE INSTRUCTION TO MEET INDIVIDUAL NEEDS OF EVERY LEARNER.
THE INFORMATION WILL HELP US TARGET SUPPORT, STRENGTH, AND TEACHING AND LEARN AND ENSURE EVERY STUDENT CAN GROW.
AS WE MOVE FORWARD, WE MUST REMAIN COMMITTED TO USING DATA WITH A PURPOSE.
WHEN YESTERDAY, I HAD AN OPPORTUNITY TO MEET WITH THE ENTIRE ACADEMICS TEAM, EARLY CHILDHOOD, UH, OUR PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT, UH, LITERACY, AS WELL AS OUR, UH, CURRICULUM SPECIALIST TO REALLY TALK ABOUT HOW WE CREATE TEAMS AND TO BE DEPLOYED IN OUR HIGHEST NEEDS SCHOOLS.
WE HAD A VERY ROBUST CONVERSATION AROUND WHAT WE NEED TO LOOK FOR WHEN WE GO INTO THE SCHOOLS, AND THEN HOW WE BEST SUPPORT FIRST OUR SCHOOL LEADERS SO THEY CAN THEN SUPPORT TEACHERS.
AND SO TEACHERS CAN THEN SUPPORT STUDENTS, AND WE CAN ENSURE THAT STUDENTS ARE ABLE TO PROGRESS TO GRADE LEVEL, WHO ARE NOT.
AND THEN THOSE WHO ARE ON GRADE LEVEL, GRADE LEVEL BE ABLE TO ACCELERATE.
WE'RE PROUD AND ENCOURAGED BY THE SUCCESSFUL LAUNCH OF OUR STUDENT FIRST NETWORK AT TWO OF OUR PILOT SCHOOLS, CAPITAL HIGH SCHOOL IN WINOS HIGH SCHOOL.
EVERY CLASSROOM VISITS AS SHOWING STRONG IMPLEMENTATION OF EFFECTIVE INSTRUCTION IN EVERY CLASSROOM, CURRICULUM AND SUPPORT FOR THOSE INSTRUCTIONAL STRUCTURES AND HIGH LEVELS OF STUDENT ENGAGEMENT.
WHILE EARLY THE STRONG START GIVES US CONFIDENCE THAT STUDENT FIRST NETWORK IS CREATING THE CONDITIONS FOR IMPROVED STUDENT OUTCOMES.
WE LOOK FORWARD TO BUILDING ON THIS MOMENTUM AS WE CONTINUE TO SUPPORT STUDENTS, EDUCATORS, AND SCHOOL LEADERS THROUGHOUT THE IMPLEMENTATION PROCESS.
UNDER THE AREA OF OPERATIONAL EXCELLENCE, WE KNOW THAT STUDENT SUCCESS IS STRENGTHENED WHEN SCHOOLS, FAMILIES, AND COMMUNITY PARTNERS WORK TOGETHER.
EARLY THIS MONTH, OUR DRIVE THROUGH SCHOOL SUPPLY GIVEAWAY PROVIDED 1600 SUPPLY FIELD BAGS TO STUDENTS AND FAMILIES IN JUST ONE HOUR, HELPING ENSURE THAT WE WERE PREPARED FOR THE STRONG START TO THE SCHOOL YEAR.
BUILDING ON THAT MOMENTUM, WE LOOK FORWARD TO FALLING INTO RESOURCES EVENT THIS SATURDAY FROM 10:00 AM TO 1:00 PM AT THE INSPIRATION CENTER ON WIND BURN AVENUE.
TOGETHER WITH OUR SPONSOR PARTNERS, WE REMAIN COMMITTED TO CONNECTING FAMILIES WITH RESOURCES, SUPPORT, AND OPPORTUNITIES THEY NEED.
AS A DISTRICT, WE UNDERSTAND THAT STUDENT WELLNESS AND FOUNDATIONAL TO AC IS, IS FOUNDATIONAL TO ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT AND PERSONAL GROWTH.
ON SEPTEMBER 10TH, WE WILL JOIN ICARE FOR NATHAN'S SUNSHINE DAY IN OBSERVANCE OF WORLD SUICIDE PREVENTION DAY, PROMOTING HOPE, KINDNESS, AND THE IMPORTANCE OF CARING FOR ONE ANOTHER.
WE ENCOURAGE STUDENTS, STAFF, FAMILIES, AND COMMUNITY PARTNERS TO WEAR YELLOW.
TO SUPPORT THIS YEAR'S THEME, LIFE IS PRECIOUS HANDLE WITH CARE.
YOU GOT THAT MS. SOLE? I GOT IT.
UH,
THEIR SCHOOL STAFF MEMBERS ARE MEETING WITH SCHOOL LEADERS TO SUPPORT THE EFFECTIVE IMPLEMENTATION OF OUR SECURITY SYSTEMS, INCLUDING THE GARRETT METAL DETECTIVES, THE EVOLVED WEAPONS DETECTION SYSTEMS, AND THE VISITOR MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS. IN ADDITION, SCHOOLS ARE ASSESSING THEIR SITE SPECIFIC NEEDS TO ENSURE THEY HAVE THE RESOURCES NECESSARY TO SUCCESSFULLY IMPLEMENT
[00:10:01]
DAILY SECURITY SCREENING PROCEDURES.AS WE MOVE FORWARD, WE REMAIN COMMITTED TO CREATING SAFE SUPPORTIVE ENVIRONMENTS, UPDATES FROM THE FOUNDATION OF EBR SCHOOLS.
OUR PARTNERS CONTINUE TO INVEST IN OPPORTUNITIES THAT SUPPORT BOTH OUR STUDENTS AND EDUCATORS.
THANKS TO THE SUPPORT OF OUR EXXONMOBIL APPLICATIONS FOR THE UPCOMING STAR STEM TEACHER GRANTS, WE'RE OPEN SOON PROVIDING EBR EDUCATORS WITH ADDITIONAL RESOURCES TO STRENGTHEN STEM LEARNING IN THEIR CLASSROOMS. WE'RE ALSO EXCITED ABOUT THE LAUNCH OF BASICS PARENT PODS.
A NEW EARLY CHILDHOOD INITIATIVE DEVELOPED IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE BATON ROUGE AREA FOUNDATION.
THIS PROGRAM IS DESIGNED TO SUPPORT BRAIN DEVELOPMENT FROM BIRTH TO AGE FIVE.
AS WE KNOW, MOST LEARNING TAKES PLACE BETWEEN BIRTH AND AGE FIVE, WHILE CONNECTING FAMILIES WITH VALUABLE RESOURCES DURING A CHILD'S MOST FORMATIVE YEARS.
IN ADDITION TO FOUNDATION AND THE ACADEMIC DISTINCTION FUND, RECENTLY AWARDED 13 TEACHER GRANTS ACROSS OUR DISTRICT, HELPING EDUCATORS BRING INNOVATIVE IDEAS AND ENHANCE LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES DIRECTLY TO THEIR STUDENTS.
AT THIS TIME, AS WE CONTINUE, UH, IN OUR REPORT, WE ARE GOING TO HEAR FROM OUR DIRECTOR OF TRANSPORTATION, MR. ROB HOWELL, TO GIVE US AN UPDATE ON WHERE WE ARE IN TERMS OF TRANSPORTATION.
WE RECOGNIZE, UH, THIS IS AN EXTREMELY, UH, INTERESTING TIME AT THE BEGINNING OF THE SCHOOL YEAR FOR TRANSPORTATION.
UH, OUR AMAZING BUS OPERATORS ARE DRIVING BUSES EVERY DAY, PICKING UP AND DROPPING OFF STUDENTS.
ONE OF THE BIGGEST CHALLENGES WE FIND AT THE VERY BEGINNING OF THE YEAR IS DETERMINING WHO WILL AND WHO WON'T RIDE THE BUS.
SO OFTENTIMES, FAMILIES ARE REGISTERED AND SIGNED UP TO RIDE THE BUS, AND OUR BUS OPERATORS ARE MAKING THOSE STOPS.
BUT THEN FAMILIES HAVE DECIDED TO PROVIDE, UH, OTHER MEANS OF TRANSPORTATION.
SO WHEN BUS OPERATORS ARE RUNNING A ROUTES FOR THE FIRST TWO TO THREE WEEKS OF SCHOOL, WHILE PARENTS ARE MAKING THOSE DECISIONS, UH, BUS OPERATORS ARE MAKING EVERY STOP.
EVEN WHEN THERE ARE NO STUDENTS AT THE STOP, YOU STILL WANT TO MAKE THE STOP, UH, BECAUSE WE SAID TO THOSE PARENTS, WE WILL PROVIDE, UH, THE OPPORTUNITY FOR TRANSPORTATION.
AS THINGS SETTLE DOWN, WE CONTINUE TO ENCOURAGE PARENTS, UH, TO OPT OUT.
IF YOU CAN, IF YOU CAN LOG ON OR GO ON OUR WEBSITE TO THE OPTOUT PROGRAM AND OPT OUT, THAT WOULD HELP US A GREAT DEAL WITH OUR EFFICIENCIES IN TRANSPORTATION.
BUT AT THIS TIME, WE'RE GONNA HEAR FROM MR. HOW MR. HOW I DID ALL THAT EXTRA TALKING.
SO YOU CAN BE COMING TO THE MIC.
SIR, I'M JUST MESSING WITH YOU.
I DIDN'T WANNA STEAL YOUR THUNDER.
SO, UH, SCORE PRESIDENT, SCHOOL BOARD MEMBERS, THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME.
UH, THANK YOU FOR EVERYTHING YOU'VE DONE TO SUPPORT TRANSPORTATION.
UM, I DO HAVE AN UPDATE FOR YOU.
UH, WE ARE, UH, BASICALLY CLOSING OUT OUR SECOND FULL WEEK, UH, OF SCHOOL, UM, THIS WEEK.
UH, WE ARE EXCITED ABOUT WHERE WE HAVE BEEN AND WHERE WE'RE GOING.
UM, I THINK IT'S A POSITIVE OUTLOOK.
SO THE, THE NAME OF THIS PRESENTATION I'VE NAMED IS CALLED SERVING MORE STUDENTS WITH FEWER ROUTES BECAUSE THAT'S ESSENTIALLY WHAT WE HAVE DONE.
AND YOU'LL SEE IN A MINUTE, NOT NECESSARILY BY CHOICE, SO JUST SOME STATISTICS.
'CAUSE UM, EVERYONE LOVES NUMBERS.
SO LAST YEAR IN OUR, UH, ROUTING SYSTEM, WE HAD, UH, 34,007, UH, 77 STUDENTS.
UM, AND JUST TO NOTE, THIS IS NOT A, UH, UH, A TRUE NUMBER OF ENROLLED STUDENTS BECAUSE THIS ALSO INCLUDES THE PAROCHIAL SCHOOLS THAT WE SUPPORT AS WELL.
UM, THIS YEAR WE HAVE 34,423 ENROLLED.
UM, WE'VE HAD INCREASED ENROLLMENT, UH, FROM CERTAIN SCHOOLS WITHIN OUR DISTRICT AND, AND TRANSPORTATION.
AND WE HAD INCREASED ENROLLMENT WITH PAROCHIAL SCHOOLS.
AS FAR AS STUDENTS THAT WE ROUTED, WE ROUTED 25,312 THIS YEAR SO FAR, AND THIS IS A DAY OLD DATA, SO WE'RE PROBABLY OVER 26,000.
BUT LA YESTERDAY WHEN I CREATED THIS, WE WERE AT 25,625 STUDENTS ROUTED.
UM, LAST YEAR ROUTES WE HAD A LITTLE BIT LESS THAN 400.
CURRENTLY WE HAVE 382, SO WE HAVE 13 LESS ROUTES, AND YOU'LL SEE IN A MINUTE, NOT NECESSARILY BY CHOICE.
SO ACTUAL DRIVERS, WE HAVE 355 DRIVERS.
SO THAT WAS ONE OF THE REASONS WE HAVE LESS ROUTES.
WE, WE UNDERSTAND THAT, AND A LOT OF INSTANCES, THERE'S NO CHOICE.
NOW WE'RE GONNA DO EVERYTHING WE CAN DO TO MAKE SURE WE'RE WITHIN SAFETY GUIDELINES.
UH, STUDENTS SHOULD NOT BE STANDING ON BUSES.
AND, UH, IF THAT IS THE CASE, WE TRY TO COME UP WITH ALTERNATIVES.
SOME OF THOSE ALTERNATIVES AREN'T NECESSARILY PLEASING TO
[00:15:01]
STUDENTS OR PARENTS.SOME OF THOSE ALTERNATIVES ARE DOUBLING UP, TAKING A LOAD, COMING BACK AND GETTING ANOTHER LOAD.
UM, WE HAVE BUS DRIVERS IN THE PIPELINE, BUT ONCE AGAIN, IT'S ONE OF THOSE SITUATIONS WHERE YOU, YOU CAN'T JUST SNAP YOUR FINGERS.
AND THAT BUS DRIVER'S TRAINED TO DRIVE A SCHOOL BUS.
SO IN SOME INSTANCES, IT'S GONNA TAKE MONTHS FOR SOME OF THESE ROUTES TO, TO TAPER OFF, AND WE CAN GET A DRIVER ON IT.
SOME OF THEM WE WILL BE ABLE TO ALLEVIATE PROBABLY THE END OF NEXT WEEK WHEN WE GET SOME DRIVERS IN.
YOU DIDN'T MENTION AC ON EVERY BUS GOING, IT'S 175 DEGREE WEATHER.
GETTING THERE,
EVERY STUDENT WAS ASSIGNED TO AN AC BUS.
NOW, IN SOME INSTANCE, THAT BUS WAS NOT RUNNING.
IN SOME INSTANCE THAT AC WAS NOT WORKING, BUT IT'S THE FIRST TIME WE'VE EVER BEEN ABLE TO SAY THAT EVERY STUDENT IS ASSIGNED TO AN AC BUS.
NOW IF THAT AC IS NOT WORKING, EVENTUALLY IT, IT WILL BE WORKING.
IF THAT BUS IS NOT RUNNING, EVENTUALLY IT, IT WILL BE RUNNING.
SO, UH, ON PAPER, WE ARE AT A POINT WHERE, BECAUSE OF THE SUPPORT THAT YOU GUYS HAVE GIVEN US THE LAST FEW YEARS, WE HAVE A COMPLETELY AC FLEET.
SO, EARLY PROGRESS AND, AND KIND OF WHAT WE NEED TO IMPROVE UPON.
UM, WE BROUGHT IN ANOTHER GROUP OF PHASE SCHOOLS.
SO WE KIND OF GROUP 'EM ALL TOGETHER INTO PHASE TWO.
SO WE'VE GOT, UM, THE CAPITAL AREA SCHOOLS.
WE'VE GOT THE GLEN OAKS SCHOOLS PAIRED WITH THE BELL AIR SCHOOLS NOW.
SO THAT'S OUR PHASE TWO CAPITOL.
GLEN OAKS, THEY'RE ROCKING AND ROLLING.
I MEAN, THEY, THEY HAD A YEAR TO WORK OUT ISSUES.
SO WE'RE, WE'RE ROLLING PRETTY GOOD.
UH, WE, WE COME INTO MINOR KINKS, BUT THEY'RE JUST MINOR KINKS THAT YOU HAVE WITH THE START OF SCHOOL.
IT DIDN'T HAVE ANYTHING TO DO WITH ADJUSTING TO THE SCHEDULE.
BEL AIR, UH, THE PARK FOREST SCHOOLS, THEY'RE DOING GOOD TOO.
WE'VE GOT A FEW THINGS THAT WE'VE GOTTA WORK OUT, BUT THOSE DON'T NECESSARILY HAVE TO DO WITH THE SCHEDULE.
IT'S MORE OF A STAFFING ISSUE.
UM, AND WE'RE WORKING THOSE OUT AND I REALLY ANTICIPATE BEING ABLE TO, UH, SAY THAT WE'RE GOOD TO GO ON THOSE PROBABLY BY THE END OF NEXT WEEK.
AND IT'S ONE OF THOSE THINGS WHERE WE'RE TRYING SOMETHING.
IF IT DOESN'T WORK, WE'RE TRYING SOMETHING ELSE.
WE'RE JUST NOT LIVING WITH THE, THE NOTION OF WE CAN'T DO WHAT WE NEED TO DO BECAUSE OF STAFFING.
WE JUST KEEP TRYING DIFFERENT THINGS.
UM, SOME, SOME, SOMETIMES IT WORKS.
AND, UM, YOU KNOW, FOR INSTANCE, BEL AIR DISMISSES 10 MINUTES EARLIER THAN IT DID THE DAY BEFORE.
AS FAR AS KIDS GOING HOME, WE TRY THAT SAME THING AGAIN THE NEXT DAY.
AND THEY'RE 30 MINUTES LATER
SO, UH, IT'S JUST LITTLE KINKS THAT HAVE TO DO A LOT OF TIMES WITH HOW THE TRAFFIC IS ON CERTAIN DAYS, IF THERE'S A TRAIN IN OUR WAY ON CERTAIN DAYS, THINGS LIKE THAT.
BUT OTHER THAN THAT, I, I THINK, UM, AS FAR AS WHAT THE BUS DRIVERS ARE REPORTING, ATTENDANCE IS UP IN THOSE SCHOOLS.
THEY CONTINUE TO BE UP IN THE CAPITAL SCHOOLS.
I WOULD LOVE TO SEE US EXPAND IT LARGER NEXT YEAR.
UM, WE CAME INTO THE SCHOOL YEAR.
UM, OUR GOAL FOR, UH, MORNING TRANSFER FOR MIDDLE SCHOOL AND HIGH SCHOOL WAS 6 25.
THAT GETS EVERYONE TO SCHOOL ON TIME FOR HIGH SCHOOL AND MIDDLE SCHOOL.
UM, WE HIT IT THE MIDDLE OF LAST WEEK, WHICH IS FANTASTIC.
SO WE SET NEW GOAL, NEW GOAL SIX 15, UM, ELEMENTARY, WHICH IF YOU GUYS RECALL, WE STRUGGLED WITH ELEMENTARY FOR YEARS.
WE WERE LUCKY SOME YEARS IF WE COULD DISMISS ELEMENTARY TRANSFER AT SIX 10 IN THE MORNING.
AND THE EARLIER WE RELEASE FOR THESE TRANSFERS, THE MORE, THE LESS OF AN OPPORTUNITY THERE'S GONNA BE FOR STUDENTS TO BE LATE GETTING TO SCHOOL.
IT'S NOT IN HERE, BUT I'LL TELL YOU, WE'VE EXPANDED OUR COLLECTION POINTS TOO, WHICH IS GOOD BECAUSE MOST OF OUR COLLECTION POINTS ARE CENTERED AROUND THE ELEMENTARY TRANSFER KIDS.
SO THE MORE COLLECTION POINTS WE HAVE, THE LESS STUDENTS WE HAVE IN ELEMENTARY TRANSFER.
CHALLENGES, BIGGEST CHALLENGE DRIVER SHORTAGE.
WHEN I CAME TO YOU GUYS IN JULY AND ASKED YOU FOR THE NEW ROUTING SOFTWARE, I THINK ONE THING I MENTIONED, IT'S GREAT, BUT IT CAN'T DRIVE A BUS FOR US.
UM, AND THAT'S OUR BIGGEST ISSUE SO FAR.
WE'RE HAVING TO DO THINGS THAT WE WOULD NOT NORMALLY DO TO GET STUDENTS PICKED UP TO BRING STUDENTS HOME BECAUSE OF THE DRIVER SHORTAGE.
UM, AS FAR AS THE NEW ROUTING SOFTWARE, WE'RE GETTING ADJUSTED TO THE NEW ROUTING SOFTWARE.
[00:20:01]
JUST LIKE ANY DATA MIGRATION THAT YOU MIGHT HAVE FROM ONE SYSTEM TO ANOTHER, YOU HAVE THINGS YOU DID NOT ANTICIPATE.UM, IT ALSO, UM, EXPOSED AN ISSUE THAT WE HAD IN THE OLD ROUTING SOFTWARE THAT WE DID NOT EVEN KNOW WE HAD IN THE OLD ROUTING SOFTWARE.
THE GOOD THING ABOUT THAT AND THE BIGGEST ISSUE THAT WE'VE SEEN, STUDENTS THAT MIGHT HAVE HAD A BUS LAST YEAR DON'T HAVE A BUS THIS YEAR.
AND IN SOME INSTANCE, WE DIDN'T KNOW THEY HAD A BUS LAST YEAR.
AND IT WAS A, LIKE I SAID, IT WAS A FLAW IN THE PREVIOUS ROUTING SOFTWARE.
THE GREAT THING ABOUT IT IS WE'VE REALIZED WHERE IT CAME FROM, WHAT CAUSED IT.
IT'S NOT GONNA HAPPEN NEXT YEAR.
NOW DOES THAT MEAN EVERYONE THAT HAS A BUS THIS YEAR IS GONNA HAVE A BUS NEXT YEAR? NO.
IT JUST, IT DOESN'T WORK LIKE THAT.
YOU KNOW, WE HAVE A STUDENT THAT MIGHT, WE DO, UH, UM, VERIFICATION, RIDERSHIP VERIFICATION.
A DRIVER'S GOT 20 KIDS AT THE STOP.
SHE MIGHT COUNT 13 THE WHOLE WEEK OR THE KID'S OUT THE WHOLE WEEK.
SO THAT'S HOW NORMALLY YOU WOULD END UP WITH ISSUES LIKE THAT.
SO, ONCE AGAIN, MOST OF THE ISSUES THAT WE'RE HAVING WITH THE SOFTWARE HAVE TO DO WITH STUDENTS NOT BEING ROUTED.
WE SHOULD NOT HAVE THAT ISSUE NEXT YEAR, THAT PARTICULAR ISSUE.
AND ONCE AGAIN, NUMBERS WISE, WE HAVE MORE STUDENTS ROUTED THIS YEAR THAN WE DID LAST YEAR WITH LESS DRIVERS.
OUR NORMAL, UM, WE, WE ALWAYS TRY TO SAY, GET TO LABOR DAY, USUALLY AROUND LABOR DAY A LITTLE BIT AFTER LABOR DAY, EVERYTHING CALMS DOWN.
WE'RE ANTICIPATING THAT CALM DOWN BEING IN THE MIDDLE OF NEXT WEEK.
SO WE'RE STILL, I'D SAY WE'RE PROJECTED, WE'RE STILL AHEAD OF WHERE WE NORMALLY WOULD BE AS FAR AS EVERYTHING CALMING DOWN.
A LOT OF IT'S GONNA DEPEND NEXT WEEK IF WE GET THESE NEW DRIVERS IN AND ON SOME OF THESE ROUTES THAT WE REALLY NEED, UH, SOME SUPPORT WITH.
SO I'LL FIELD ANY QUESTIONS THAT YOU MIGHT HAVE.
UH, MS. POWELL IS IN THE QUEUE.
THANK YOU SO MUCH MR. HOWELL, FOR SHARING.
UM, ALL THE DETAILS THAT YOU SHARED, I WANTED TO ASK WITH THE 55, UH, VACANCIES, I KNOW THAT YOU SAID, OF COURSE WE DON'T, IT TAKES TIME, RIGHT? TO GO THROUGH ALL THE, THE CLEARANCES AND THINGS LIKE THAT.
SO HOW FAST ARE WE SEEING THE TURNAROUND TIME? AND THAT MIGHT BE A QUESTION FOR DR.
SMOTHERS, YOU KNOW, WHAT MIGHT BE THE, THE TURNAROUND TIME FOR GETTING SOMEONE POSITIONED AND READY TO DRIVE? SO ONCE THEY GET CLEARED, I, I, AND I CAN TELL YOU DR.
SMOTHERS CAN ANSWER IT BETTER, BUT I I, WE KNOW THE PROCESS PRETTY WELL AS WELL.
A LOT OF IT'S DETERMINED BY HOW QUICKLY THEY CAN GET THROUGH THAT ONBOARDING PROCESS.
NOW, THE THINGS THAT NORMALLY CREATE ROADBLOCKS FOR SOME OF OUR DRIVERS ARE THINGS LIKE, UM, MAKING SURE THEY, THEY GET THEIR FINGERPRINTS DONE AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.
WE'RE, WE'RE KIND OF PESTERING THEM A LITTLE BIT.
AS FAR AS MAKING SURE THAT THEY'RE, YOU KNOW, CONTACTING HR WHEN THEY HAVE QUESTIONS.
UM, WE'RE ALSO LOOKING AT SITUATIONS WHERE, UM, A DRIVER'S NOT CLEARED, BUT THEY HAVE A FULL CDL.
WHY ARE THEY NOT CLEARED? OH, WELL, THEY, THEY SUBMITTED ONE REFERENCE INSTEAD OF TWO REFERENCES.
SO WE'RE TRYING TO HELP THEM GET CLEARED QUICKER.
THEY'VE DONE E ESPECIALLY THE ONES THAT WE WOULD BE ABLE TO PUT ON THE ROAD ALMOST IMMEDIATELY.
UM, MOST OF THE TIME WE'RE GETTING DRIVERS THAT WANNA BE DRIVERS, BUT THEY DON'T HAVE CDL LICENSE.
WITH A DRIVER LIKE THAT, IT'S GONNA TAKE ABOUT TWO MONTHS TO GET THEM ON THE ROAD.
THE DRIVERS THAT ARE COMING TO US WITH THE FULL CDL, WITH THE, WITH THE AIR BRAKE ENDORSEMENT, UM, WE'RE ABLE TO GET THEM ON THE ROAD USUALLY A WEEK OR SO AFTER THEY'RE CLEARED, DEPENDING ON HOW LONG IT'S BEEN SINCE THEY'VE DRIVEN.
UM, THE OTHER QUESTION I WANTED TO ASK YOU WAS IN REGARDS TO COLLECTION POINTS, UH, JUST FOR THE SAKE OF THE, THE PUBLIC, IF YOU COULD TELL US WHAT A COLLECTION POINT IS AND THEN ALSO WHAT MIGHT BE SOME OF THE LOCATIONS OF THOSE COLLECTION POINTS? SO RIGHT NOW, WITH THE EXCEPTION OF SOUTHEAST, WE HAVE 'EM AT, AT SOME OF OUR LIBRARIES.
UM, WE'VE GOT, UH, THE LARGEST BEING GOODWOOD OF COURSE.
UM, WE'VE GOT COLLECTION POINTS AT BLUE BONNET LIBRARY COLLECTION POINTS AT JONES CREEK LIBRARY, AND WE HAVE A COLLECTION POINT AT SOUTHEAST MIDDLE.
UM, WE LIKE TO USE THE LIBRARIES.
UM, THE SCHOOLS, UM, THERE'S NOT REALLY A LARGE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL OR A LARGE MIDDLE SCHOOL THAT WE CAN USE.
[00:25:01]
DON'T REALLY WANT TO USE THE HIGH SCHOOLS.UM, THEY, IT JUST HADN'T BEEN CONVENIENT SCHEDULING WISE TO USE THE HIGH SCHOOLS.
UM, BUT WHEN YOU DEAL WITH, UM, YOU KNOW, TRYING TO LOOK FOR, UH, ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS TO, TO PARTNER WITH FOR COLLECTION POINTS, TYPICALLY YOUR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS HAVE SMALLER PARKING LOTS.
THAT'S WHY SOUTHEAST IS SO GREAT.
IT HAS A, A VERY LARGE PARKING LOT ON THE SIDE.
HAVE YOU, HAVE YOU SEEN A NEED FOR ANY COLLECTION POINTS ON THE NORTH SIDE OF TOWN? BECAUSE I KNOW I'VE, WE'VE PROBABLY TALKED ABOUT, I BELIEVE WE WERE, WE'VE HAD A CONVERSATION ABOUT THE INNOVATION CENTER AND, AND SOME OTHER PLACES AS WELL.
SO YEAH, AND YOU AND I HAVE SPOKEN ABOUT THE INNOVATION CENTER.
SO IT, IT'S ONE OF THOSE THINGS WHERE THERE'S A NEED FOR IT.
DO WE HAVE THE STAFF TO SUPPORT IT RIGHT NOW? NO.
BUT I WILL MENTION WITH THE INNOVATION CENTER, WE DO HAVE, UM, UH, BOYS AND GIRLS CLUB THAT'LL START MONDAY.
UM, AND WE'LL BE TRANSPORTING THEM TO THE INNOVATION CENTER.
I REALLY APPRECIATE THE EFFORT.
I KNOW YOU GUYS ARE, YOU KNOW, YOU GUYS ARE WORKING AND YOU ARE WORKING HARD AND YOU'RE WORKING FAST.
BUT ON JULY 13TH IS WHEN YOU WERE HERE, I ASKED ABOUT DRIVERS.
WHEN DID YOU REALIZE THAT WE WERE SHORT OF DRIVERS FOR THE BEGINNING OF THE SCHOOL YEAR WHEN WE GOT A LOT OF, UH, DRIVERS THAT JUST DIDN'T COME BACK.
UM, WE HAD DRIVERS THAT, UH, CAME AND PICKED ROUTES.
UM, AFTER THEY PICKED ROUTES, SOME OF 'EM RESIGNED.
UH, SOME OF THEM INFORMED US THAT THEY WERE PICKING THE ROUTE, BUT THEY WERE STILL DOING THEIR RETIREMENT, UH, PAPERWORK.
NOW, TYPICALLY WE'VE HAD DRIVERS TELL US THAT THEY'RE GONNA RETIRE AND THEY JUST DON'T DO THE PAPERWORK.
UM, MAYBE COME BACK ANOTHER YEAR.
I WOULD, WE WERE REALLY HOPING THAT THE, UH, INCREASE IN, UH, THE PAY WOULD INCENTIVIZE SOME OF THEM TO AT LEAST GIVE US THREE MORE YEARS SINCE YOUR RETIREMENT IS BASED ON YOUR, YOUR THREE HIGHEST YEARS.
UM, BUT YOU KNOW THAT THAT'S TYPICALLY WHAT, WHAT HAPPENED WITH THIS, THIS PAST INSTANCE.
HEY, UM, TALK TO ME ABOUT, YOU TALKED ABOUT EVERYBODY BEING ON AN AIR CONDITION BUS.
NOW THAT AIR CONDITION MAY WORK FOR A COUPLE MONTHS AND THEN IT MAY NOT WORK.
WHAT ABOUT THE SUMMER MAINTENANCE? BECAUSE IF WE ARE RUNNING BUSES LIKE WE'RE RUNNING THEM, THEY'RE GONNA START BREAKING DOWN.
SO WHAT'S OUR PLAN FOR IF, IF, IF WE HAVE TO TAKE SIX BUSES OFFLINE IN THE NEXT TWO WEEKS OF SCHOOL? WHAT'S THE PLAN FOR THAT? WELL, THE GOOD THING IS WE ACTUALLY HAVE MORE AC BUSES THAN WE HAVE ROUTES.
SO SOME OF THE SPARES THAT WE HAVE ARE GONNA BE AC BUT WE'VE GOT A SPARE, WE'VE GOT A SPARE, UM, FLEET.
UM, WE WE'RE NOT GONNA BE IN A SITUA WELL, IT'S UNLIKELY THAT WE'RE GONNA BE IN A SITUATION WHERE WE'VE GOT A DRIVER AND WE'VE GOT NO BUS TO PUT 'EM ON THAT'S RUNNING.
WHICH IN THE PAST WE HAVE BEEN IN SITUATIONS LIKE THAT.
HEY, NOW YOU, YOU, YOU TALKED ABOUT CRUNCHING SOME NUMBERS TODAY, AS OF YESTERDAY, HOW MANY UNROOTED STUDENTS WERE THEY WERE THERE? DO YOU YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW MANY STUDENTS WE HAD THAT WERE NOT ROUTED TODAY? I MEAN, SO WOULD YOU SAY, WHAT WOULD BE YOUR DEFINITION OF ROUTE? SO IF WE GOT, SAY I GOT 500 KIDS THAT DON'T HAVE A BUS, THAT DON'T HAVE A ROUTE, THAT DON'T HAVE A PICKUP SPOT, HOW MANY OF THOSE 500 WANT A BUS? HOW MANY OF THOSE 500 ARE WALKERS? HOW MANY OF THOSE 500 CAR RIDERS, LET'S SAY 380 OF 'EM WANNA RIDE A BUS? SO, UM, I DON'T THINK THAT THERE'S ANY, I'LL TELL YOU, I, NOT TO MY KNOWLEDGE, I DON'T THINK THERE'S ANY SCHOOL THAT HAS, UM, MORE THAN 75 STUDENTS THAT THEY'RE WAITING ON TO BE ROUTED.
AND IF THERE IS, THEY, THEY NEED TO LET ME KNOW.
AND WHICH LEADS ME TO ANOTHER QUESTION.
WHO'S, WHO'S ASSISTING WITH THE ROUTING? BECAUSE, UM, IT WOULD, IT WOULD BE ME.
UM, ARE WE ASKING SCHOOL LEADERS TO, TO HELP YOU GUYS ROUTE? NO.
WELL, I'VE BEEN TO SCHOOLS AND THAT'S WHAT PRINCIPALS AND ASSISTANT PRINCIPALS HAVE BEEN SITTING THERE DOING IS ROUTING BUSES WHEN I'VE GOT THEIR JOB DESCRIPTIONS RIGHT HERE.
AND NOWHERE DOES IT SAY AS PRINCIPAL A OF SCHOOL BI GOTTA ROUTE BUSES.
OR I GOTTA HELP TRANSPORTATION ROUTE BUSES.
AND, AND I'LL TELL YOU, I'VE NEVER ASKED A SCHOOL.
I'VE HAD SCHOOLS VOLUNTEER AND I'VE NEVER ASKED THEM.
YOU'VE NEVER ASKED THEM TO DO.
I'VE NEVER ASKED THE SCHOOL TO HELP ROUTE.
THERE WAS AN INTERESTING STORY ON THE, ON THE EVENING NEWS YESTERDAY, 20 KIDS
[00:30:01]
DIDN'T GET PICKED UP.NOW I, I UNDERSTAND IF I GO TO SCHOOL BECAUSE OF ALL THE PROGRAMMING AND ALL THOSE THINGS WE OFFER, BECAUSE WE HAVE, YOU KNOW, WE OFFER A PLEATHER OF PROGRAMS AND PARENTS WANT THEIR KIDS IN OUR BETTER SCHOOLS.
BUT IF I'M BRINGING A BUS FROM GUARD DEER TO WESTDALE, THAT'S A LONG BUS RIDE.
AND WE HAD ABOUT 20 KIDS THAT WEREN'T PICKED UP DOWN THERE YESTERDAY.
I MEAN, IT, I HELPED ME UNDERSTAND THAT.
SO I ACTUALLY DID AN INVESTIGATION BASED ON THAT.
REACHED OUT TO THE PARENT, TALKED TO THE PARENT, MS. YOUNG, SAME ONE I TALKED TO.
UM, THE TRAIL COVERING THE ROUTE RAN THE ROUTE TOO EARLY.
WE MET WITH THE TRAIL TODAY, REWORKED THE ROUTE.
AND I'M GONNA SAY IT'S NEVER GONNA HAPPEN AGAIN, BUT IT'S GONNA BE RUN CORRECTLY IN THE MORNING.
UM, ALSO THE TRAIL WAS ON A BUS THAT HAD NOT HAD, UH, A GPS MODULE INSTALLED YET.
SO THE PARENTS DID NOT HAVE THE ABILITY TO TRACK THE BUS.
SO THAT, THAT IS A ROUTE THAT IS, UH, THE DRIVER IS ON MEDICAL LEAVE AND WE'RE COVERING WITH A TRAIL.
UM, AND WE ANTICIPATE THE DRIVER, HOPEFULLY THE DRIVER WILL BE BACK END OF SEPTEMBER.
I THINK SHE DROVE THE FIRST WEEK.
WELL, I, UM, I GOT A LOT MORE QUESTIONS, BUT I'M, I'M TRYING TO BE BRIEF 'CAUSE MS. SOLE IS IN THE QUEUE.
I DID HAVE A FEW FOLLOW UP QUESTIONS.
SOME OF 'EM WERE ALREADY ASKED.
UM, THE GPS MONITORS WERE, WAS ONE OF 'EM.
HOW MANY BUSES DO NOT HAVE GPS MONITORS RIGHT NOW? RIGHT NOW WE'RE DOWN TO PROBABLY ABOUT 15.
SO, UM, THE SCHOOL DISTRICT WAS GRACIOUS ENOUGH, UM, TO, WE WERE ABLE TO, TO GO IN AND SCOOP UP SOME BUSES THAT ONE OF THE LOCAL SCHOOL DISTRICTS CANCEL AN ORDER ON.
WE ALWAYS KEEP EXTRA MODULES ON HAND.
WE DID NOT HAVE 30 EXTRA MODULES.
WE ORDERED 'EM AS SOON AS WE GOT THE, AS SOON AS WE GOT THE GO AHEAD TO GET THE BUSES, WE ORDERED THE MODULES.
AND IT, IT'S JUST TAKEN THAT LONG.
UM, WE SHOULD GET SOME MORE IN EITHER TOMORROW OR MONDAY.
SO HOPEFULLY IN THE NEXT FEW WEEKS THEY'LL ALL HAVE GPS DONE.
THE GOAL, THE GOAL WAS TO GET 'EM ALL DONE THIS WEEK, BUT WE DIDN'T GET ALL THE MODULES IN THIS WEEK.
AND THEN MY OTHER QUESTION WAS, YOU MADE A COMMENT ABOUT ALL THE BUSES HAD AIR, BUT THE AIR MAY NOT BE WORKING ON ALL THE BUSES.
HOW MANY BUSES ARE RUNNING THAT DON'T HAVE AIR ON ON, ON ROUTES? ON ROUTES? NONE THAT I KNOW OF.
WE, WE'VE TRIED TO, UH, SAY FOR, FOR EXAMPLE, THE, THE, UH, DRIVER THAT, THAT DROVE FOR A WEEK AND SHE'S ON MEDICAL LEAVE TO THE END OF SEPTEMBER.
WE MADE SURE WE GOT HER BUS 'CAUSE SHE HAD AN AC BUS.
AND WE'VE MOVED IT TO A DRIVER WHO HAD AN AC BUS.
SO IF, IF THE AC BREAKS, WE HAVE A BACKUP BUS.
THE BUS MAY OR MAY NOT HAVE AC.
NOT ALL THE, THE, NOT ALL THE BACKUP BUS.
NOT ALL THE BACKUP BUSES HAVE AC.
BUT RIGHT NOW, BUT RIGHT NOW, AND, AND ONE THING THAT WE'VE STARTED TO DO, UM, WE GOT OUR, SOME OF OUR MECHANICS TRAINED ON AC WORK, UM, THIS PAST SUMMER.
SO A LOT OF TIMES WHEN THE BUS WOULD COME IN AND IT MIGHT NEED JUST A SIMPLE FREON RECHARGE IN YEARS PAST, WE'D STILL HAVE TO SEND OUT TO THE VENDOR.
UM, WE ACTUALLY SET UP, UH, KIND OF A QUICK CHECK, UH, THE WEEK BEFORE SCHOOL STARTED WHERE THE DRIVERS HAD ALREADY PICKED THEIR BUS UP IF IT WASN'T BLOWING OR DIDN'T FEEL LIKE IT WAS BLOWING COLD ENOUGH, THEY CAME IN.
WE HAD A CERTAIN BAY THAT THEY LINED UP AND WE CHECKED THEIR FREON.
UM, I THINK WE HAD JUST A FEW.
THE COMPRESSORS WERE ACTUALLY BROKEN, BUT MOST OF 'EM, WE, IT JUST TOOK RECHARGING THE FON.
WOULD IT BE POSSIBLE FOR YOU JUST TO LIKE, SHOOT US AN EMAIL WHEN ALL THE GPS MONITORS GET PUT ON? YES.
JUST SO WE CAN LIKE KNOW THEY'RE ALL, EVERYBODY CAN SEE THE APP.
I THINK MOST OF MY QUESTIONS GOT ANSWERED.
I THINK, UM, JUST GOING BACK TO FLEET, UM, I THINK, YOU KNOW, WE'RE ALSO INTERESTED IN THAT BECAUSE OF PROBLEMS THAT THE SYSTEMS EXPERIENCE IN THE PAST.
AND WE'RE, WE'RE CLEARLY IN A MUCH BETTER PLACE WITH OUR FLEET.
I, I THINK IT WOULD BE HELPFUL IF, UM, YOU KNOW, NOW AND IN THE FUTURE, PRIOR TO SCHOOL STARTING, UM,
[00:35:01]
JUST FOR THE BOARD TO HAVE AN ACCURATE INVENTORY OF HOW MANY OPERATING BUSES DO WE HAVE, UM, THAT HAVE AC FUNCTIONING, THAT HAVE GPS FUNCTIONING THAT MEET ALL THE CRITER CRITERIA THAT YOU NEED TO HAVE A RUNNING BUS AND A RUNNING ROUTE.HOW MANY ARE GONNA BE DEDICATED ROUTES? HOW MANY DO WE HAVE SPARE? UM, THESE ARE ALL NUMBERS THAT WE'VE LOOKED AT EVERY SINGLE YEAR AS WE'VE WORKED TO, UM, TO IMPROVE THE FLEET THAT YOU HAVE TO DO YOUR JOB.
UM, AND WE WANNA MAKE SURE AS A BOARD THAT WE'RE, WE'RE YOU'RE GETTING THE RESOURCES THAT YOU NEED.
AND I, AND WE HAVEN'T HEARD FROM MR. COLE THAT, UM, THAT, THAT THERE'S ANY GAPS THERE.
BUT WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE, YOU KNOW, BUILDING FOR THE FUTURE.
WE DON'T EVER WANNA BE IN THE POSITION AGAIN, LIKE WE ONCE WERE, WHERE, UH, WE HAD AN, UH, A DYSFUNCTIONAL FLEET, NOT ENOUGH BUSES TO HIT THE ROAD.
UM, WE NEVER WANT A CHILD IN A BUS THAT ISN'T GPS ENABLED, THAT DOESN'T HAVE AC THAT DOESN'T HAVE ALL THE THINGS THAT YOUR DRIVERS NEED TO DO THEIR JOB WELL.
UM, SO SOME, SOME INFORMATION LIKE THAT I THINK WOULD BE HELPFUL.
WE DON'T NEED IT RIGHT THIS MOMENT, BUT A REPORT WOULD BE GREAT IF YOU COULD GET THE, GET IT TO THE BOARD SOON.
IN TERMS OF YOUR, UM, YOUR DRIVERS, HOW MANY POTENTIAL DRIVERS WOULD YOU SAY ARE IN THE PIPELINE RIGHT NOW AS FAR AS BEING ABLE TO PUT ON THE, ON THE ROAD PRETTY SOON? EIGHT.
AND DO YOU HAVE LIKE MORE POTENTIALS THAT YOU'RE LOOKING AT OR TRYING TO GET THROUGH THAT PROCESS? WE DO, UM, SEPTEMBER 1ST.
UM, AND WE HAVE 10 ENROLLED IN THAT CLASS.
NOW, TYPICALLY, UM, ACTUALLY I THINK TECHNICALLY I THINK IT'S NINE 'CAUSE MR. HILTON FROM CTEC IS ENROLLED.
WHICH WE ENCOURAGE THE SCHOOLS, YOU KNOW, GET WHOEVER YOU CAN GET, UH, TO GET THEIR CDL.
BUT, UM, YOU KNOW, IN THAT CLASS, TYPICALLY IF WE HAVE 10 ENROLLED, UM, WE'RE GONNA HAVE ONE OR TWO LESS SHOW UP, UM, AND ACTUALLY FOLLOW THROUGH.
UM, SO SAY WE GET EIGHT, UM, THAT FINISH THE CLASS, IT'S USUALLY GONNA TAKE 'EM ABOUT A MONTH AND A HALF OF ACTUAL FIELD TRAINING, UM, TO, TO GET TO, TO THE POINT WHERE THEY'RE, THEY'RE COMPETENT ENOUGH TO SAFELY DRIVE THE SCHOOL BUS.
AND I DON'T HAVE THE PRESENTATION IN FRONT OF ME ANY LONGER.
WHAT, WHAT WAS THE TOTAL NUMBER OF VACANCIES COMPARED TO WHAT YOU HAVE BUDGETED? 55.
UM, WHERE WERE WE AT AT THE END OF SCHOOL LAST SCHOOL YEAR WITH HOW MANY DRIVERS YOU HAD? UM, WE, WE WERE CLOSE TO THAT FOUR 10 RANGE, BUT AS FAR AS ACTIVE DRIVERS, IT WAS LESS BECAUSE WE HAD DRIVERS THAT, UM, FOLKS ON LEAVE, FOLKS, YOU KNOW, FOLKS ON LEAVE.
AND THEN WE HAD DRIVERS THAT EVENTUALLY RETIRED AFTER THEY PICK ROUTES THIS YEAR.
UM, THEY WERE ON SOME SORT OF LEAVE TOWARDS THE END, BASICALLY EXHAUSTING, YOU KNOW, ANNUAL OR SICK LEAVE.
THE, THE, THE PAST SEVERAL YEARS, I RECALL THAT AT THAT AT THE BEGINNING OF THE YEAR, WE'VE HAD TRANSIT PROBLEMS BECAUSE WE HAD KIND OF AN UNEXPECTED NUMBER OF DRIVERS JUST NOT COME BACK.
AND, AND CERTAINLY WE, THAT'S AN UNKNOWABLE NUMBER.
EVERYBODY'S GONNA MAKE THEIR INDIVIDUAL DECISIONS.
DO WE KIND OF ASSUME THAT THERE'S GOING TO BE SOME NUMBER THAT WON'T COME BACK AND HIRE KIND OF IN OUR, IN OUR, IN OUR SUMMER HIRING HIRE MORE THAN WE KNOW NEED, KNOWING THAT THERE'S GONNA BE SOME, SOME SHRINKAGE THERE.
UM, IT'S, IT'S, IT'S CONSTANT THERE.
THERE'S NO NEED TO EVEN ADVERTISE FOR THE POSITION.
UM, IN, IN FRONTLINE IT'S, IT'S PERMANENTLY THERE.
UM, SOMEONE SAID, UM, YOU KNOW, DO YOU REALLY, SHOULDN'T YOU ASK FOR MORE BUD MORE THAN 410 DRIVERS TO BE BUDGETED? IT WOULD BE NICE TO GET THE 410.
WE, WE NEVER GET TO THAT POINT.
YOU, YOU'RE ALWAYS AT A DEFICIT BECAUSE YOU MIGHT HIRE TWO AND LOSE TWO OR, OR SOMETIMES YOU HIRE ONE AND LOSE TWO.
UM, IT, THERE'S, IT, IT'S VERY COMPETITIVE.
UM, WHEN YOU CAN TAKE THAT SAME LICENSE AND GO DRIVE A GARBAGE TRUCK AND MAKE 70 GRAND.
UM, BUT, BUT WE NEVER STOP HIRING.
AND, AND I'LL MENTION ONE THING.
UM, AS FAR AS THE PUTTING THE BUSES ON THE ROAD THAT DIDN'T HAVE THE GPS, IT WAS ONE OF THOSE SITUATIONS WHERE, AND, AND I WILL TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR THAT, BUT I CHOSE TO PUT THE AC BUS ON THE ROAD WITHOUT THE GPS, THEN HAVE IT SIT AND WAIT ON THE GPS.
[00:40:01]
AND I'M IN THE QUEUE.UH, FIRST OF ALL, I WANNA THANK YOU FOR ALL THE WORK EFFORTS AND, UM, ALL OF THE TEAM PLAYERS THAT HAVE COME TOGETHER TO TRY AND IMPLEMENT A SMOOTH TRANSITION FOR THE START OF THE SCHOOL YEAR.
UM, BECAUSE I CAN SAY THAT, UH, I ACTUALLY WENT AROUND TO ALL OF MY SCHOOLS, UM, THE FIRST COUPLE OF DAYS OF SCHOOL AND THERE WEREN'T AS MANY ISSUES OR CONCERNS AS IT RELATES TO TRANSPORTATION.
UH, THERE WERE A COUPLE OF ISSUES WITH ESS, UM, AND I WANTED TO ASK ABOUT THAT AS WELL.
ARE THOSE ISSUES RECTIFIED AS FAR AS WITH THE ESS TRANSPORTATION PORTION OF, OF THE PICKUP? 'CAUSE THEY, THERE WERE SOME DELAYS, I'M ASSUMING.
WELL, THAT, THAT IS OUR BIGGEST CONCERN.
WITH THE, WITH THE PHASE TWO, PARTICULARLY AT PART FOREST.
UM, WE'VE GOT TWO TRADITIONAL, AS WE CALL TRADITIONAL ESS BUSES THERE.
UM, ONE IS NOT GETTING THERE WHEN WE WANT IT TO, BUT NOT NECESSARILY LATE THE OTHER, IT'S KIND OF UP AND DOWN AS FAR AS GETTING THERE.
UM, AND WE ACTUALLY MET TODAY TO COME UP WITH A PLAN.
UH, AND ONCE AGAIN, LIKE, LIKE I SAID EARLIER, IF THIS PLAN DOESN'T WORK, WE'LL COME UP WITH SOMETHING ELSE.
UM, WE'VE, WE'VE DONE IT A COUPLE OF DIFFERENT TIMES, UH, AND IT'S KIND OF VARIED AND IT'S, IT'S ONE OF THOSE THINGS WHERE A A LOT OF IT, IT'S SOMETHING WE DIDN'T ANTICIPATE.
UM, TRANSPORTING PARK FOREST MIDDLE AND BEL AIR TOGETHER, THERE IS A TRAIN TRACK.
WE KNOW THAT TRAIN TRACK WELL BECAUSE TRANSFER IS RIGHT THERE.
WE'VE NEVER REALLY HAD THAT MUCH OF AN INTERFERENCE, UH, BECAUSE OF THE TRAIN WITH TRANSFERS.
SO WE WEREN'T REALLY CONCERNED WITH THE BUSES GOING BACK AND FORTH BECAUSE IT'S AROUND THE SAME TIME.
AND IT HAS, UH, IT HAS REALLY CAUSED SOME ISSUES.
WE'VE EVEN LOOKED AT, UM, WE KIND OF BREAKING THE SCHOOLS UP, GIVING PARK FOREST MIDDLE, THEIR OWN BUSES, GIVING BEL AIR THEIR OWN BUSES.
RIGHT NOW WE'RE DOING IT WITH 17 BUSES TO GIVE THEM SEPARATE BUSES WOULD TAKE 24.
AND THAT LEADS TO THIS QUESTION, HOW MANY BUSES ARE YOU SHORT AS FAR AS LIKE, ARE IN A MECHANIC SHOP? YOU ARE WAITING TO HAVE REPAIRS DONE? I COULDN'T ACTIVELY GIVE YOU BECAUSE IT'S CONSTANTLY SAFE.
SO WE'RE SHORT OF BUSES THOUGH, RIGHT? NO, NO.
WE'RE, WE'RE, WE'RE NOT IN A SITUATION WHERE WE'VE GOT A DRIVER AND NO BUS.
SO WE AREN'T WAITING FOR BUSES IN MECHANIC.
I MEAN, WE'RE ALWAYS WAITING ON BUSES.
THAT, I MEAN, THAT, THAT, THAT ARE AT THE MECHANIC SHOP THAT, YOU KNOW, TO BE UTILIZED OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT.
AND, AND LOOK, OUR MECHANICS, UM, YOU KNOW, IT HAS BEEN A, A, A SORE SUBJECT.
UM, WE'VE EVEN HAD SOME OF YOU GUYS COME VISIT THE MECHANIC SHOP YEARS AGO.
THEY, THEY HAVE DONE, UM, A FANTASTIC JOB THIS SUMMER.
WE'RE DOING MOST OF OUR PREVENTIVE MAINTENANCE ON THE BUSES.
LIKE I SAID, WHEN, WHEN I ASK THEM TO GET CERTIFIED IN THINGS, THEY'RE, THEY TELL ME WHAT CLASS I NEED TO GO TO.
UM, WE ARE ABLE TO TURN OUT, UM, YOU KNOW, QUALITY AND, UM, UH, IT, IT TAKES THE FACT THAT, THAT WE'RE DOING IT INSTEAD OF SENDING IT OFF, HAVING IT WAIT IN LINE WITH OTHER BUSES.
'CAUSE MOST SCHOOL DISTRICTS AROUND US DON'T HAVE THAT, THAT CAPABILITY.
THEY HA THEY HAVE TO RELY ON VENDORS.
AND WE TYPICALLY ARE ONLY RELYING ON VENDORS RIGHT NOW WHEN IT'S A, A REPAIR, THAT'S GONNA TAKE A, A LONG PERIOD OF TIME.
AND ONE LAST QUESTION AS IT RELATES TO, UM, THE BUSES, BECAUSE WE ARE SHORT OF THE OPERATORS, SO THAT MEANS WE HAVE DRIVERS THAT ARE, UH, HANDLING EXTRA ROUTES.
HOW ARE WE HANDLING IT WITH THE PARENTS THAT, UH, UTILIZE THE APP AND THAT CAN'T CORRELATE WITH THE BUS NUMBERS AND IDENTIFY, YOU KNOW, THE TIMES AND THINGS LIKE THAT? HOW WE ASSISTING PARENTS OR HOW WE INTERACTING WITH THAT? WITH THE EXTRA ROUTES ON THE BUS WITH DIFFERENT BUS NUMBERS.
WHEN WE'RE FINDING THAT, WHEN WE'RE FINDING THERE IS AN ISSUE AND, AND, AND THERE'S AN ISSUE THAT WE CAN CONTROL.
LIKE, LIKE FOR INSTANCE, THERE'S NOT GPS ON THE BUS.
THERE'S NOTHING I CAN DO AS FAR AS PARENTS TRACKING IT.
BUT IF IT'S AN ISSUE WE CAN CONTROL.
LIKE FOR INSTANCE, THERE'S A WORKING GPS ON IT.
WHY, WHY AREN'T THE PARENTS BEING ABLE TO TRACK IT? WE'RE BRINGING THE DRIVER IN, SHOWING THE DRIVER HOW TO PROPERLY LOG INTO THE TABLET.
'CAUSE ALL OF THOSE BUSES THAT HAVE GPSS HAVE TABLETS ON IT.
THE DRIVER CLOCKS INTO THAT TABLET, BUT THEY CAN ALSO LOG INTO THE ROUTE.
SO YOU MIGHT NOT BE ON YOUR PARTICULAR BUS MM-HMM
BUT WHEN YOU LOG INTO YOUR ROUTE ON THAT TABLET, THE PARENTS THAT ARE TRACKING THAT OLD BUS ARE AUTOMATICALLY TRACKING THE BUS YOU JUST LOGGED INTO.
AND THAT'S KIND OF LIKE, I GUESS MAYBE WITH A BARRIER OR LACK OF COMMUNICATION COMES IN IT BECAUSE, UH, I'VE SPOKEN WITH SOME PARENTS THAT, UM, HAVE NOT BEEN ABLE TO TRACK OR UTILIZE THE APP.
AND SO THAT'S MY QUESTION IS HOW ARE WE COMMUNICATING WITH PARENTS TO LET THEM KNOW BECAUSE THE BUS DRIVER, AS YOU SAID, ARE ABLE TO CLOCK IN OR, YOU KNOW, UTILIZE IT FOR WHATEVER ROUTE.
BUT THE PARENTS AREN'T GETTING THAT INFORMATION.
THEY, THEY'RE NOT, WE, WE DON'T, WE HAVEN'T SENT ANYTHING OUT IN MASSES TO PARENTS, BUT AS A DEPARTMENT, WE DON'T REALLY HAVE THE ABILITY TO SEND
[00:45:01]
THINGS OUT IN MASSES TO PARENTS.UM, I WOULD SAY THOSE PARENTS AS YOU'RE TALKING TO DIRECT 'EM TO ME.
UH, I, BEFORE I WAS THE DIRECTOR, I WAS THE ONE FIXING THE STUFF IN THE BACKGROUND WITH THE APP.
USUALLY I CAN FIX THE PROBLEM THAT THE PARENTS HAVE IN TROUBLE WITH.
AND, AND BASICALLY WE UNDERSTAND ABOUT THE SHORTAGE OF THE BUS OPERATORS.
IT'S JUST THAT WE, THEY WANNA HAVE AN IDEA, I GUESS OF HOW LONG THAT, THAT ROUTE WILL BE, UH, YOU KNOW, CONNECTED WITH THAT PARTICULAR BUS BEFORE IT ACTUALLY TRANSFERS BACK TO, YOU KNOW, THE ORIGINAL.
A LOT OF TIMES IT HAS TO DO WITH WHY THE BUS IS BROKEN.
UM, WE HAD BUSES THAT WE SENT OFF TO VENDORS FOR, FOR MAJOR WORK BEFORE SCHOOL LET OUT THAT WE HAVEN'T GOTTEN BACK.
JUST 'CAUSE OF THE SHORT OF THE OPERATORS.
YEAH, IT, IT DEPENDS ON WHAT THE ROUTE IS.
THE OPERATORS THAT WE'RE GETTING IN, WE KIND OF ALREADY, THEY'RE NOT GONNA HAVE MUCH OF A CHOICE WHERE THEY GO.
WE'RE KIND OF PUTTING THEM WHERE WE, WHERE IT'S THE MOST CRUCIAL.
UM, THOSE ROUTES THAT WE'RE HAVING TO DOUBLE BACK FOR.
THAT'S WHAT I, THE ROUTES THAT ARE, UM, WHERE WE'RE HAVING TO RUN EARLY OR WE'RE HAVING TO RUN LATE.
THAT, THAT'S WHERE WE'RE GONNA PLACE 'EM.
UM, AND DON'T GET ME WRONG, MR, I UNDERSTAND THAT YOU'RE MAKING THE BEST OUT OF YOUR RESOURCES.
I JUST WANTED TO SEE HOW WE CAN HELP TO COMMUNICATE WITH OUR PARENTS AND, YOU KNOW, TO THE FAMILIES, YOU KNOW, WHEN WE HAVE TO DO THINGS LIKE THAT.
IF, IF THEY'RE HAVING TROUBLE WITH THE APP, DIRECT THEM TO YOU CAN DIRECT THEM DIRECTLY TO ME.
I SURE WILL DIRECT THEM TO ME.
EIGHT O'CLOCK LAST NIGHT I WAS FIXING AN APP FOR A PARENT.
THANK YOU SO MUCH COACH LEWIS.
I KNOW I'M BREAKING THE RULES, SPEAKING TWICE ON WHAT I, BUT REAL QUICK, MR. HOWELL, FOR A LONG TIME, THE INFORMATION, THE INFORMATION IN J CAMPUS HAS NOT BEEN AS ACCURATE AS IT SHOULD.
ARE WE STILL RUNNING INTO THAT ISSUE? NOT, NOT VERY MUCH.
AND, AND ONE ISSUE IS ONE REASON THE, THE NEW ROUTING SOFTWARE WORKS VERY GOOD WITH J CAMPUS.
UM, THE OTHER ISSUE IS THE, THE DISTRICT, UM, MADE A DECISION TO LIMIT, UM, THE PEOPLE THAT HAD ACCESS TO CHANGE TRANSPORTATION CODES WITHIN J CAMPUS.
UH, TO, TO JUST A HANDFUL OF PEOPLE WITHIN THE DISTRICT.
SO NO ONE IS CHANGING ANY OF THE TRANSPORTATION INFORMATION WITHIN J CAMPUS EXCEPT THE TRANSPORTATION DEPARTMENT.
SO THIS SOFTWARE THAT YOU GUYS WERE REALLY PROUD OF THIS SUMMER, DOES IT HAVE THE CAPABILITIES TO OVERRIDE HUMAN INPUT IN, INTO, UM, THE TRANSPORTATION PORTION OR OTHER PARTS OF JAY CAMPUS? JUST DOES IT HAVE, IF, IF I LIVE, IF, IF THIS YEAR AS I LIVE AT 1335 EAST STREET AND THIS YEAR I'M AT 1444 FLORIDA BOULEVARD, CAN THAT SOFTWARE GO IN AND OVERRIDE INFORMATION THAT WAS PUT IN BY A HUMAN? NO.
AND FLIP IT BACK TO WHAT IT WAS THE YEAR BEFORE? IT, IT, IT CANNOT FOR THE ADDRESS, BUT IT, BUT FOR OTHER THINGS IN THE SOFTWARE, IT CAN OVERRIDE HUMAN INPUT ONLY THE, UM, TRANSPORTATION CODE, BUS NUMBER AND THE PICKUP ADDRESS.
UM, AND, AND I WILL TELL YOU THIS, IT WOULD BE SOMETHING THAT WOULD BE LEFT OVER FROM THE OLD SYSTEM STILL IN, IN THERE.
SO WE, WE PUSH TO J CAMPUS AND WE ONLY PUSH TRANSPORTATION CODE, BUS NUMBER AND BUS STOP TO J CAMPUS.
SO THAT'S THE ONLY THING WE PUSH TO IT.
SO IT'S, IF IT'S OVERRIDING INFORMATION, IT'S OVERRIDING OLD INFORMATION, BUT WHICH LEADS TO CONFUSION FOR THE BUS DRIVERS? WELL, THE MOST ACCURATE INFORMATION IS GONNA BE WITHIN THE ROUTING SYSTEM.
JUST WONDERING BECAUSE I MEAN, THAT APP, WE STOOD DOWN HERE AND EVERYBODY, WE HAD A BIG KUMBAYA MOMENT.
WE HAD THE GREAT SOFTWARE AND WE'RE GOING TO TRACK.
AND HERE WE ARE HAVING SOME OF THE SAME CONVERSATIONS WE'VE HAD, WHICH IS NORMAL I UNDERSTAND.
FOR THE FIRST COUPLE WEEKS OF SCHOOL.
BUT HOPEFULLY IN A COUPLE WEEKS FROM NOW WE ARE NOT HAVING THESE CONVERSATIONS.
I MEAN, A COUPLE OF WEEKS FROM NOW, IS IT GONNA BE A HUNDRED PERCENT? PROBABLY NOT.
THERE'S ALWAYS GONNA BE SOME ISSUE WITH IT.
UH, UH, A BUS HAS A, A MOD ON IT AND YOU KNOW, WE REALIZED THAT MORNING THAT THE MOD WENT OUT, THE, THE MODULE WENT OUT, YOU'RE ALWAYS GONNA HAVE SOMETHING GOING ON.
BUT, UM, I'D SAY ONCE WE GET, UH, PROBABLY END OF NEXT WEEK, THE MAJORITY OF THE FLEET, I, I PROBABLY PUT US AT 90, 95% SHOULD BE WORKING AS FAR AS THE, THE GPS MODULES.
IF, IF YOU NEED SOMEBODY THAT MANNED THE PHONE, I'M OPEN ON THURSDAYS AND FRIDAY MORNINGS.
COACH, YOU KNOW WHERE WE'RE AT.
I'M JUST LETTING YOU KNOW, 'CAUSE WHEN I COME OVER THERE, DON'T BE LOOKING AT ME LIKE, WHY YOU OVER HERE THIS MORNING? DO I EVER LOOK AT YOU LIKE THAT WHEN YOU SHOULD? UH, NO.
[00:50:01]
WE NEED COACH TO DRIVE.OH NO, YOU'RE AVAILABLE ON, WE DON'T HAVE ENOUGH INSURANCE AND EBR FOR ME TO DRIVE A SCHOOL BUS.
AT THIS TIME WE ARE GONNA TRANSITION TO AN UPDATE, UH, FROM OUR CHIEF OF HR.
SMOTHERS, UH, IS GONNA TALK TO US A LITTLE ABOUT, ABOUT WHERE WE ARE IN TERMS OF STAFFING.
MATTER OF FACT, CHIEF, LET'S GO.
BECAUSE MR. HALL DIDN'T GET THAT MEMO.
THANK YOU SUPERINTENDENT COLE.
UM, THANK YOU ALL TO ALL OF THE BOARD MEMBERS FOR HAVING ME TODAY TO TALK ABOUT OUR STAFFING REPORT FOR THE START OF THE SCHOOL YEAR.
WE FEEL LIKE IT IS A VERY STRONG STAFFING REPORT TO DELIVER AND THERE'S A LOT OF EXCITING DATA WITHIN THE REPORT.
SO WITH THAT, IT IS A, TO SEEING HOW I CAN MOVE THIS AROUND.
SO, WITH THAT, JUST TO LET EVERYONE KNOW, ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT AND EXCITING DATA POINTS THAT ARE A PART OF OUR STAFFING REPORT TODAY IS OF COURSE, UM, 93.9% OF OUR SCHOOLS ARE STAFFED AT 90% OR HIGHER.
THIS IS AMAZING WORK, AMAZING WORK FOR OUR SCHOOL LEADERS, AMAZING WORK FOR OUR OFFICE OF HUMAN RESOURCES AND FOR ALL MEMBERS THAT ARE ALWAYS RECRUITING FOR EBR.
SO I WANT TO THANK YOU AS RECRUITERS AS WELL FOR HELPING TO SUPPORT THE WORK OF THOSE.
I JUST WANT TO DRILL DOWN A LITTLE BIT MORE TO TALK, UM, ABOUT WHERE WE ARE STAFFED IN PARTICULAR SCHOOLS.
THAT IS 15% OF OUR TOTAL 66 DISTRICT RUN SCHOOLS THAT ARE 100% STAFFED.
AND OF THOSE, UH, OF ALL OF THOSE, OF COURSE 10, UM, 10 SCHOOLS.
IN ADDITION TO THAT, WE HAVE 52 SCHOOLS THAT ARE STAFFED BETWEEN 90% AND 99%.
THAT IS A GRAND TOTAL OF 62 OF OUR SCHOOLS THAT ARE AT THE, OF COURSE, 93.9.
HOWEVER, WE DO HAVE FOUR SCHOOLS THAT WE ARE STILL WORKING WITH.
SO ON THAT FIRST PAGE, YOU'RE GONNA GET AN OPPORTUNITY TO SEE THE SCHOOLS THAT ARE ARE, THAT ARE WITHIN THAT 93.9 94%.
AND ON THE VERY NEXT PAGE, YOU WILL ALSO SEE, THERE WE GO.
THE FOUR SCHOOLS THAT ARE SCORED ARE ACTUALLY STAFFED 90% AND BELOW.
THESE ARE SOME UNIQUE MODEL SCHOOLS, AND OF COURSE THERE'S SOME RATIONALE FOR THIS.
UM, LA BEL ELEMENTARY SCHOOL PARK, FOREST ELEMENTARY SCHOOL AND CAPITAL HIGH SCHOOL ARE ALL AMONG OUR NEW INSTRUCTIONAL MODEL SCHOOL WHERE THERE'S AN INCREASE IN ALLOCATIONS.
SO BEING AS THOUGH THAT THERE'S A, THERE'S AN INCREASE WITH, WITH, UH, UH, POSITION ALLOCATIONS IS GOING TO ALSO IMPACT OUR, UM, ABILITY TO STAFF AS STRONG AS WE DID THE YEAR BEFORE.
WE HAVE GREAT PROGRAMS IN PLACE.
AND SO WITH THAT, WE ARE MOVING, UH, FORWARD, UH, WITH ALL OF THOSE SCHOOLS.
CAPITAL HIGH SCHOOL AND IN ITSELF HAD 10 ADDITIONAL, UM, UH, STAFF POSITIONS.
THE MOST NOTABLE, UH, FACT OR DATA POINT TODAY IS OUR CLASSROOM TEACHER VACANCIES 93.
WE HAVE 93 TEACHER VACANCIES, 42 PARAPROFESSIONALS, 19 ADMINISTRATIVE AND SUPPORT SERVICES STAFF VACANCIES.
WE ARE WORKING REALLY HARD TO CONTINUE CLOSING THOSE VACANCIES.
AND IT'S IMPORTANT TO NOTE THAT LAST YEAR, THIS TIME, UM, WE HAD ABOUT 150 TEACHER VACANCIES.
SO THAT'S ABOUT A 40% DECLINE AS COMPARED TO LAST YEAR.
OUR CRITICAL SHORTAGE AREAS ARE OF COURSE, E-S-S-E-S-L, MATH AND SCIENCE AND WORLD LANGUAGE.
RIGHT NOW, ESS OF COURSE, WE HAVE 35 TEACHER VACANCIES, BUT WE ARE ANTICIPATING SOME, UM, ADDITIONAL, UM, SUPPORT COMING IN IN TERMS OF ADDITIONAL STAFF BEING, UM, ALLOCATED TO SUPPORT NEEDS AMONG SCHOOLS.
MR. MOTOR, PLEASE, PLEASE EXPLAIN FOR MM-HMM
WHAT A CRITICAL SHORTAGE AREA IS A CRITICAL SHORTAGE AREA IS ONE OF THE, UH, THOSE AREAS THAT ARE IN HIGH DEMAND BECAUSE WE DON'T HAVE A LOT OF OUR, UM, PROFESSIONALS GOING INTO THOSE RESPECTIVE AREAS, WHETHER IT IS MATH AND SCIENCE, UM, OR WORLD LANGUAGES.
SO BECAUSE THEY ARE HIGH DEMAND, WE ULTIMATELY END, END UP WITH A CRITICAL SHORTAGE AND HAVE TO BE QUITE, YOU KNOW, CREATIVE WITH OUR RECRUITMENT AND HOW WE GET THOSE MEMBERS IN.
WHETHER WE RECRUIT FROM THE UNIVERSITIES FOR MATH MAJORS OR SCIENCE MAJORS, AND GET THEM ON A, A TEMPORARY AUTHORITY TO TEACH.
THEY HAVE THE CONTENT KNOWLEDGE,
[00:55:01]
BUT THEY HAVEN'T GONE THROUGH A TRADITIONAL PROGRAM.SO THAT IS A CRITICAL, THOSE CRITICAL SHORTAGE AREAS ARE NOT JUST UNIQUE TO EBR SCHOOLS, BUT THEY'RE ACROSS THE STATE AS WELL AS THE NATION AS CRITICAL SHORTAGE AREAS.
BUT I WANTED TO POINT THAT OUT.
FOR THIS REASON, OF THE 93 CLASSROOM VACANCY, 70 OF THOSE POSITIONS ARE IN CRITICAL SHORTAGE AREAS, WHICH MEANS IT'S NOT THAT THERE ARE TEACHERS AVAILABLE AND THEY'RE NOT BEING HIRED, IT'S JUST THAT THERE ARE TEACHERS WHO ARE PROFESSIONALS WHO HADN'T CHOSE EDUCATION AS THEIR PROFESSION.
AND SO WE'RE ACTIVELY RECRUITING, UH, FOLKS WHO AREN'T LOOKING TO TEACH, TO TEACH, UH, TO COME INTO THE PROFESSION.
SO, UH, WHEN WE THINK ABOUT, UH, 70 OF THE 93 POSITIONS BEING IN CRITICAL SHORTAGE AREAS, IT IS JUST THAT WE HAVE TO CHANGE THE NATURE OF HOW WE RECRUIT.
IN AN EFFORT TO GET, UH, PROFESSIONALS INTO OUR SCHOOL SYSTEM.
SO THOSE OF YOU WHO ARE WATCHING AT HOME, YOU KNOW, JOIN THE PROFESSIONAL EDUCATION, IT'S THE GREATEST PROFESSION IN THE WORLD.
THE GREATEST PROFESSION IN THE WORLD.
AND YOU'RE SAYING THESE NUMBERS ARE IN THESE NUMBERS, CORRECT? MM-HMM
THEY JUST, SHE JUST DIVIDED IT IN.
SO OF THE OPEN VACANCIES, WE JUST BROKE THOSE OUT AS CRITICAL SHORTAGE AREAS.
SO WITH THAT, IN COMPARISON FROM AUGUST, 2025 TO AUGUST, 2026, WE ARE, WE HAVE STRENGTHENED OUR FIELD RATE AND WITH THAT, 58% OF OUR SCHOOLS HAVE SHOWN IMPROVEMENT IN STAFFING VERSUS LAST YEAR.
WE ARE CONTINUING OUR RECRUITMENT PRIORITIES AND, UH, RECRUITMENT OUTREACH.
WE ARE DEFINITELY WORKING WITH, UM, OUR, UH, SUBSTITUTE SUCCESS ACADEMY.
WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT OUR SUBSTITUTES ARE PREPARED TO GO INTO THE CLASSROOM.
WE'VE EXTENDED SOME TRAININGS FOR THEM.
WE ARE ALSO, UM, EXTENDING OUR OUTREACH AND OPPORTUNITIES WITH JOB FAIRS.
NOT ONLY DO WE HAVE DISTRICT-WIDE JOB FAIRS, BUT WE HAVE ONSITE SCHOOL JOB FAIRS, WHICH ARE CALLED OUR CONNECT TO SUCCEED.
SO WITH THAT, THAT HAS BEEN ALSO VERY EXCITING.
AND AS I GET READY TO CLOSE ALL OF THIS OUT, UM, ONE OF THE UNIQUE MODELS THAT WE ARE INTRODUCING IS THAT WE WANT TO ENGAGE OUR FORMER EBR GRADUATES WHO ARE BILINGUAL AS POTENTIAL PARAPROFESSIONAL CANDIDATES, OF COURSE, TO STRENGTHEN OUR SUPPORT FOR OUR ESL STUDENTS.
UM, CONTINUING THE WORK, CONTINUING TO GROW OUR OWN THROUGH VARIOUS PROGRAMS, INCLUDING OUR VERY OWN TEACH EBR.
SO, UM, NEXT IS THE VERY, ONE OF THE, UM, ESSENTIAL DATA POINTS FOR TONIGHT IS 97.3%.
THIS REPRESENTS OUR EMPLOYEE GROUPS THAT WERE DIRECTLY IMPACTED BY THE NEW SALARY SCHEDULE.
AND WE ARE HERE TO LET YOU KNOW TONIGHT ON BEHALF OF THE OFFICE OF HUMAN RESOURCES AND EAST BATON ROUGE PARISH SCHOOL SYSTEM THAT WE HAVE RETAINED 97.3% OF OUR STAFF AS COMPARED TO OF LAST YEAR.
IT SPEAKS TO THE IMPACT OF OUR NEW SALARY SCHEDULE AND THE INVESTMENT MADE WITHIN OUR SCHOOL SYSTEM AND OUR DISTRICT.
SO THANKS TO ALL OF YOU FOR YOUR INVESTMENT AND YOUR, UM, YOUR, YOUR MOVE IN THIS DIRECTION.
DON'T ANYWHERE, BUT DON'T GO ANYWHERE.
UM, I HAVE ONE QUESTION AND IT'S IN REGARDS TO THE MATH AND SCIENCE, UH, CRITICAL SHORTAGE AREA.
DO YOU KNOW WHERE THESE VACANCIES ARE? ARE THEY IN OUR LOWER PERFORMING SCHOOLS OR ARE THEY SPREAD OUT? YOU KNOW, HOW IS THIS IMPACTING THE SCHOOLS THAT WE'VE BEEN WORKING REALLY, REALLY HARD TO YES.
YOU KNOW, GET THEIR SCORES UP.
SO, UM, THEY ARE SPREAD THROUGHOUT, BUT THEY'RE HEAVILY, UM, VACANT IN THE NORTH REGION.
THAT IS ONE AREA THAT'S GONNA BE A FOCUS FOR OUR, UM, RECRUITMENT EFFORTS FOR MATH AND SCIENCE, BUT WE'RE SPECIFICALLY FOCUSING AS WELL ON THE LOWER PERFORMING SCHOOLS.
UM, IT'S ABOUT 20 OF THEM, I THINK.
AND WE ARE GONNA REALLY WORK 21.
AND WE'RE GONNA WORK REALLY HARD WITHIN THE NEXT COUPLE OF WEEKS TO MAKE SURE WE HAVE ONSITE INTERVIEWS OR JOB FAIRS ON THOSE PARTICULAR CAMPUSES.
WELL, YOU KNOW, IF YOU SEND ME THE FLYER, I'M GONNA SHARE IT ON YOUR BEHALF.
THANK YOU, MS. UH, PAUL LEWIS.
UM, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THIS, THIS IS VERY HELPFUL.
ONE OF THE QUESTIONS THAT I HEAR A LOT, OR NOT QUESTION, BUT ONE OF THE COMMENTS THAT I HEAR A LOT MM-HMM
IS THAT PEOPLE APPLY, BUT IT TAKES SO LONG MM-HMM
SO WHERE, WHERE ARE WE IN THAT? DO WE HAVE A LOT OF PEOPLE IN THE PIPELINE THAT ARE JUST WAITING TO BE? ACTUALLY, NO.
WE'VE CLEARED OUT AND THAT'S THE REASON WHY WE'VE IMPROVED.
SO, YOU KNOW, SO MUCH ON THE DATA, BUT, UM, WE DO HAVE SOME, UM, SOME CHALLENGES SOMETIMES.
[01:00:01]
REALLY EMPLOYEE GETTING INTO THE SYSTEM, COMPLETING ALL COMPONENTS OF THEIR ONBOARDING PROCESSES.WE ARE HELD UP SOMETIMES BY, UM, MEMBERS COMING IN TO DO THEIR, UH, BACKGROUND CHECK, ET CETERA, UM, WAITING FOR THE BACKGROUND CHECK TO COME IN TO CLEAR.
SO ONCE IT'S CLEAR, THEN WE BEGIN THE PROCESS.
SOMETIMES WHAT, AND THIS IS IMPORTANT TOO, ONCE OUR LOAN FORM LEAVES THE OFFICE OF HUMAN RESOURCES, IT HAS TO TRAVEL THROUGH FINANCE AND IT HAS TO TRAVEL THROUGH AND, AND RETURN BACK TO US.
SO AT ANY POINT, AND WE USUALLY DO A PRETTY GOOD JOB AT KEEPING THE, THE LONG FORMS GOING FOR THE MOST PART, BUT IF WE BOTTLENECK AT ANY POINT, OR IF THERE'S A BOTTLENECK AT ANY POINT IN THE CIRCULATION OR PROCESS OF A LONG FORM, IT CAN ALSO CAUSE A DELAY.
SO WHAT WE DO IS TRY TO WORK COLLABORATIVELY TOGETHER TO MAKE SURE THAT IT'S MOVING AT ALL TIMES.
BUT ONE OF THE MOST ESSENTIAL PIECES IS MAKING SURE OUR EMPLOYEES ARE COMPLETING ALL OF THE APPLICATION PROCESS.
SO THAT, THAT'S KIND OF ONE OF MY QUESTIONS.
I HAVEN'T APPLIED FOR A JOB YES.
SO WHEN YOU GO ONLINE AND YOU APPLY MM-HMM
DOES THAT AUTOMATICALLY LIKE LET SOMEBODY KNOW THAT SOMEBODY'S APPLYING, BUT THEY'RE MISSING THESE SPOTS? YES.
OR DO YOU HAVE TO GO BACK AND CHECK LIKE, SO NO, IT, IT AUTOMATICALLY ALERTS US.
YOU KNOW, FOR INSTANCE, IF WE GO THROUGH A, AN, A SCHOOL LEADER, MAKE A RECOMMENDATION FOR HIRE, ONCE THE HIRE MOVES FORWARD TO THE, UM, HR SUPERVISOR, THEY BEGIN TO ASSESS AND LOOK.
BUT EVEN BEFORE THEY DO THAT, A LOT OF TIMES OUR RECRUITMENT MANAGER IS CLEARING OUT EMPLOYEES WHO ARE MEETING THE CREDENTIALS.
BUT ONCE THAT RECRUIT FOR HIRE, IT COMES THROUGH, WE LOOK AND SEE, HEY, WHAT HAVE WE COMPLETED? MANY, THERE'S 18 PLUS FORMS THAT NEEDS TO BE COMPLETED.
IF YOU DON'T HAVE YOUR OFFICIAL, IF YOU DON'T HAVE YOUR SOCIAL SECURITY CARD, IF YOU DON'T KNOW WHERE YOUR DRIVER'S LICENSE IS, THOSE PARTICULAR THINGS THAT HOLD IT UP.
AND IF YOU ARE NOT ONE THAT KEEPS YOUR SOCIAL SECURITY CARD ON YOU, AND YOU KNOW, MAYBE IT'S AT MOM'S HOUSE OR WHERE SOMETIMES YOU HAVE TO WAIT UNTIL YOU GET ALL OF THOSE ESSENTIAL DOCUMENTS IN.
BUT IT DOES SOMETIMES TAKE TIME.
WE HIGHLY ENCOURAGE MEMBERS TO MAKE SURE YOU CAN MOVE THEM THROUGH, BECAUSE IT CAN HAPPEN.
WE CAN'T ON ONBOARD WITHIN ONE DAY.
WE'VE DONE IT A COUPLE OF TIMES THIS YEAR.
IT'S JUST THEY, THEY HAVE TO HELP US HOLD IT UP.
AND THAT IT STARTS AT, SO SOMEONE APPLIES ONLINE MM-HMM
THEN THE PRINCIPAL SEES IT, THE PRINCIPAL WILL KNOW.
UM, AND THEN THEY CAN ALSO REACH OUT THERE TO THE, UM, HUMAN RESOURCES SUPERVISOR, SUPERVISORS OR COMMUNICATING TO, UM, THE SCHOOL LEADERS.
HEY, WE'RE STILL MISSING A, B, AND C.
WE HAVE OF COURSE, HUMAN RESOURCE SPECIALISTS IN, THEY'RE COMMUNICATING TO THE ACTUAL APPLICANT.
WE STILL NEED YOU TO COMPLETE THESE FORMS. AND I'VE ACTUALLY WENT THROUGH THE ENTIRE PROCESS MYSELF.
AND I HAD TO CALL, HEY, LISTEN, HEY, WE'RE STILL INTERESTED.
HOW ARE YOU? YOU KNOW, THAT KIND OF THING.
OH, I STILL NEED TO PUT THAT IN.
I'VE BEEN SO BUSY I NEED TO WORK ON, SO WE WORK THROUGH ALL OF THOSE PARTICULAR THINGS, BUT CAN IT BE DONE, CAN WE ONBOARD IN 24 HOURS? YES.
WE JUST GOTTA, WE GOTTA MAKE SURE THAT THEY HAVE ALL OF THEIR PIECES IN AS WELL.
SMOTHERS FOR THIS, UH, REALLY NICE REPORT.
I'M PARTICULARLY HAPPY TO SEE THE EMPLOYEE RETENTION.
UH, RECOGNIZING THAT AMIR, LIKE THREE OR FOUR YEARS AGO, WE COULDN'T EVEN CALCULATE EMPLOYEE RETENTION.
SO THE FACT THAT WE ARE NOW FOCUSING ON IT AND, AND HAVING THESE KIND OF RESULTS IS GREAT.
ONE QUESTION I DID HAVE TO ASK IS ON THE CRITICAL SHORTAGE AREAS, I KNOW THERE'S A STATE, UH, PROGRAM OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT WITH LASERS OR WHATEVER, UH, THAT IN AREAS OF CRITICAL SHORTAGE, UH, YOU CAN MAKE EXCEPTIONS FOR RETIRED TEACHERS TO COME BACK AND TEACH.
I DON'T WANT TO GO INTO ALL THE DETAILS OF IT NOW.
I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THAT THAT'S BEING LOOKED AT AND CONSIDERED AS A POSSIBILITY.
I KNOW THERE ARE ALL KIND OF REQUIREMENTS AROUND THAT, BUT JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE PEOPLE WERE LOOKING AT THAT.
AND I JUST HAVE, UM, A REQUEST.
SMOTHERS A WHILE BACK, DID MY LITTLE GRANT TOUR, TRYING TO UNDERSTAND A LOT OF THE PROCESS IN HR MM-HMM
AND IT WAS SHARED WITH ME THAT WE HAVE, FOR THOSE PERSONS THAT ARE INTERESTED IN BECOMING TEACHERS, WE HAVE THE PROGRAM.
DO YOU WANNA TELL US? ABSOLUTELY.
WE ACTUALLY JUST FINISHED OUR VERY FIRST COHORT.
THEY'RE INTO THEIR ONE YEAR OF RESIDENCY.
WE ARE EXCITED THEIR FIR STARTING THEIR FIRST WEEK OR TWO OF, UM, UH, EDUCATING OUR STUDENTS.
SOME OF THEM WERE ALREADY IN, UM, EBR SERVING OUR STUDENTS, BUT GOING THROUGH THIS ALTERNATIVE CERTIFICATION PROGRAM HAS BEEN PHENOMENAL.
OUR TEAM HAVE, OUR TEAM HAS WORKED REALLY WELL WITH THEM.
[01:05:01]
HAD A FUN, FUN SUMMER OF LEARNING.AND SO OF COURSE THAT WORK WAS LED BY, UM, MRS. ALLISON LANDS, MRS. WILLIAMS, MYSELF, AND THE ENTIRE TEAM.
SO IT WAS REALLY, REALLY GOOD.
AND SO WE ARE GOING TO START NEXT WEEK OR TWO GOING INTO THE SCHOOLS TO SEE HOW THEY'RE DOING.
AND WHEN, WHEN IS THE NEXT CLASS BEGIN? SO OUR NEXT CLASS, UM, IS GOING TO BE, UM, NEXT SUMMER.
SO WE TAKE THIS GROUP THROUGH THE FIRST YEAR OF, UM, RESIDENCY.
WE HAVE ALSO APPLIED FOR A SECOND PATHWAY, UM, MIDDLE SCHOOL MATH FOUR THROUGH EIGHT.
AND THAT WILL, UM, CONTINUE TO GROW.
SO TEBR IS OUR IN-HOUSE CERTIFICATION PROGRAM? YES.
SO WE ARE CERTIFYING TEACHERS OURSELVES.
NOW IT COMES WITH SOME AGREEMENTS, LOW COST, IT COMES 3, 9, 9.
IT COMES WITH SOME AGREEMENTS OF COURSE, BUT NO COST TO THE EMPLOYEES.
SMOTHERS, YOU MENTIONED SOMETHING BEGINNING IN APRIL OR SOMETHING.
MARCH NEXT YEAR, YOU, SO THAT'S WHEN WE, UM, WELL, APRIL IS WHEN WE GOING TO GO AGAIN.
WE ARE GOING THROUGH A PROCESS NOW FOR OUR PATHWAY FOR MATH FOUR THROUGH EIGHT.
WE ARE GONNA DO THE NEXT ONE, ELA FOUR THROUGH EIGHTH, SO WE CAN TRY TO GET IT IN FOR THE NEXT SEMESTER.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH MS. MOTHER.
I TOLD YOU TO BE BRIEF, BUT YOU DIDN'T GET THAT MEMO EITHER.
UH, UH, NEXT I WANT TO ANNOUNCE THAT WE OPENED OUR, UH, WELCOME CENTER FOR THE FIRST TIME IN EAST PARENTS PARISH SCHOOL SYSTEM.
WE HAVE A ONE-STOP SHOP, UH, FOR OUR, OUR STUDENTS AND FAMILIES TO VISIT AND, AND WHO ARE LOOKING TO GET REGISTERED FOR SCHOOL.
I DON'T KNOW IF YOU ALL KNOW, TYPICALLY, UH, IT'S BEEN A, AN EXTENSIVE PROCESS FOR A PARENT TO GET REGISTERED FOR SCHOOL, HAVING TO GO TO FOUR OR FIVE, SOMETIMES SEVEN DIFFERENT OFFICES IN AN EFFORT TO GET REGISTERED.
BUT, UH, WE NOW HAVE A ONE STOP, UH, SHOP, UH, AT BELL.
UH, AND, AND SO WE HAVE A NUMBER OF PEOPLE FROM VARIOUS DIFFERENT DEPARTMENTS WORKING THERE TO ENSURE THAT, UH, IF A FAMILY SHOWS UP, HE OR SHE, UH, CAN GET REGISTERED RIGHT ON THE SPOT, UH, FOR ANY SCHOOL IN OUR SCHOOL SYSTEM.
UH, THAT DOESN'T MEAN THEY CAN'T GO TO, UH, THE SCHOOL, UH, THAT THEY'VE BEEN ASSIGNED TO, BUT IT DOES MEAN FOR A FAMILY WHO IS COMING TO BATON ROUGE FROM OUT OF TOWN AND THEY GO TO OUR WEBSITE, THEY WILL SEE A NOTIFICATION FOR THE WELCOME CENTER AND THE ADDRESS.
AND IF THEY GO TO THE WELCOME CENTER, THEY CAN GET REGISTERED THERE.
SO WE WANT TO THANK, UH, MS. JENKINS AND HER TEAM FOR PUTTING THAT TOGETHER.
AND LAST COACH LEWIS, BUT CERTAIN NOT LEAST WE'RE GONNA HEAR, UH, FROM, UH, MS. MS. GRIFFIN ABOUT LET'S TALK OUR, OUR CUSTOMER SERVICE, UH, SYSTEM THAT WE'VE BEEN UTILIZING FOR THE LAST TWO YEARS.
ALL RIGHT, MR. GRIFFIN, I AIN'T GOT BUT TWO WORDS FOR YOU.
UH, BOARD PRESIDENT STEWART, VICE PRESIDENT LEWIS AT THE BOARD, AND ALSO SUPERINTENDENT COLE IS HONORED TO CONTINUE TO SERVE THE STUDENTS', FAMILIES, AND EMPLOYEES AND OUR WONDERFUL SCHOOL DISTRICT.
I AM SUPPORTING CUSTOMER SERVICE AS WELL AS COMMUNICATION THROUGH THE CUSTOMER SERVICE SOFTWARE CALLED ON FLOW FORMALLY.
THIS PARTICULAR QUALITATIVE FEEDBACK THAT YOU SEE BEFORE YOU IS AN EXAMPLE OF WHAT IS WONDERFULLY CAPTURED, UM, INSIDE OF THIS PARTICULAR CUSTOMER SERVICE SOFTWARE.
HERE'S AN EXAMPLE FROM PARTICIPANTS AND VISITORS TOMA HIGH SCHOOL.
THEY WERE ABLE TO RATE EXCELLENT THE SERVICE THAT THEY ENCOUNTERED AT THAT SITE.
THEY STATED THAT THE STAFF THERE WERE POLITE AND RESPECTFUL AS WELL AS ADDITIONAL COMMENTS ARE THERE.
THE LEADERSHIP PROVIDED A WELCOMING ENVIRONMENT FOR THE LER TRAINING.
THEY WERE PROFESSIONAL AND ENSURED THAT WE HAD A PLEASANT THREE DAY EXPERIENCE.
WE ARE ABLE TO HAVE QUALITATIVE AND QUANTITATIVE FEEDBACK CAPTURED IN THIS PARTICULAR SOFTWARE.
WE HAVE AN EXAMPLE OF TRANSPORTATION FROM BACK TO SCHOOL.
YES, BUS SAFETY IS OF THE UTMOST IMPORTANCE.
ALSO, THIS WAS FOLLOWED BY PHONE CALLS THAT ARE ALSO RECORDED IN INSIDE OF THE SOFTWARE.
WE KNOW THAT TRANSPORTATION AND BACK TO SCHOOL, UH, INITIATIVES CAN BE CHALLENGING.
THAT HAS BEEN ADDRESSED SEVERAL TIMES THIS AFTERNOON.
BUT WE ALSO WANT TO SHOWCASE THAT WE HAVE WONDERFUL CUSTOMER SERVICE CHAMPIONS OPERATING INSIDE OF THE SOFTWARE, TAKING LIVE PHONE CALLS, OPERATING A LIVE CHAT, SUPPORTING THE CHAT BOT, AS WELL AS HELPING WITH EMAILS AND TEXT MESSAGES.
OVER 15 EMPLOYEES IN A DISTRICT HAVE SERVED FROM FIVE TO 8:00 AM AS WELL AS FOUR 30 TO SIX 6:30 PM AND WITH THOSE PARTICULAR CUSTOMER SERVICE INITIATIVES INSIDE OF THE SOFTWARE, THAT CUSTOMER SERVICE SCORE HAS BEEN A 9.5 BASED OFF OF 81 TRANSPORTATION SUPPORT TEAM FEEDBACK SURVEYS, 5,000 AND 5,680
[01:10:01]
TICKETS HAVE BEEN RECEIVED REGARDING TRANSPORTATION ALONE SINCE THE FIRST DAY.WE ALSO HAVE CHATBOT MESSAGES AS WELL AS CUSTOMER SERVICE SCORES, NUMBER OF TICKETS AND DAYS OF RESOLUTIONS FOR THE 25 26 SCHOOL YEAR AND ALREADY FOR THE 26 27 SCHOOL YEAR.
WITH OUR ENGAGEMENTS AND CONNECTIONS, I WANT YOU TO TAKE A LOOK WITH ME AS OUR TOTAL ENGAGEMENTS FROM 2024 TO 2025.
WE STARTED WITH 194 ENGAGEMENTS BECAUSE THE SOFTWARE WAS INITIATED IN MAY OF 2025.
THAT NUMBER WAS, IS SUBSTANTIALLY NO LOW IN COMPARISON TO 25, 26.
AND FOR THE ENTIRE USE, YOU SEE HERE, THE 33% OF THE AVERAGE POSITIVE SENTIMENT RATE IS REGARDING FEEDBACK TICKETS THAT WERE SUBMITTED.
BUT LET'S TAKE A LOOK AT THE 25, 26 AND TOTAL USE.
WE GREW UP TO 17,425 ENGAGEMENTS THAT WE WERE ABLE TO QUANTIFY TO BE ABLE TO SAY THESE ARE THE INTERACTIONS WITH NOT ONLY STUDENTS, NOT ONLY WITH OUR COMMUNITY PARTNERS AND OUR EMPLOYEES, BUT ALSO WITH OUR PARENTS DIRECTLY.
AND THIS HAS ALLOWED US TO BE ABLE TO BUILD CAPACITY TO SUPPORT TRANSPORTATION AND ANY OTHER INITIATIVE WITHIN THE SCHOOL DISTRICT.
WE ALSO SEE HERE FOR THE ENTIRE USE OF THE SOFTWARE, WE'VE HAD OVER 23,000.
AND AS OF RIGHT NOW, AS I'M CHECKING MY PHONE, I ALSO KNOW THAT WE HAVE ABOUT 300 MORE THAN I CAN ADD TO THAT NUMBER RIGHT NOW.
WE HAVE PHONE CALLS COMING IN RIGHT NOW.
YOU'LL ALSO TAKE NOTE THAT OUR CUSTOMER SERVICE SCORE HAS INCREASED FROM A 5.7 TO A 5.5.
AND NOW WE ARE HOLDING STEADY AT A 5.9 EVEN WITH MORE, MORE ENGAGEMENTS.
SO YOU MAY BE ASKING, WHERE ARE WE RIGHT NOW? RIGHT NOW, TO DATE, OVERALL IN THE 26 27 SCHOOL YEAR, WE'RE LOOKING AT 6,350.
TOTAL ENGAGEMENTS CAPTURED FROM JULY 1ST UNTIL YESTERDAY.
AS I SAID, 200 ARE THERE MORE.
NOW, TODAY WE HAVE 90% RESOLVED WITHIN THE WINDOW.
AND WHAT THAT MEANS IS THAT 90% OF THE ENGAGEMENTS THAT WE HAVE ENCOUNTERED, WHETHER THEY'RE PHONE CALLS, TEXT MESSAGES, UM, OR LIVE CALLS COMING IN, WE HAVE RESOLVED 90% OF THOSE.
THE CUSTOMER SERVICE SCORE, AGAIN, IS STILL A 5.9 TICKETS OVER THE LAST SEVEN DAYS, 1,135 TICKETS.
WE HAVE A RESOLUTION RATE WITHIN THE WINDOW OF 2.1 DAYS, AND OUR CHAT BOT MESSAGES TOTAL 616 TO DATE.
YOU TAKE A LOOK AT THE GRAPH THERE, ENGAGEMENTS BY STAKEHOLDER, ALL STAKEHOLDERS ARE REPRESENTED.
WHAT I DO WANNA POINT OUT IS I TOOK A LOOK AT HOW MANY STUDENTS ARE ENGAGING US RIGHT NOW.
AS OF LAST YEAR, WE'VE DOUBLED THE NUMBER WHERE AT 66 STUDENTS HAVE ENGAGED US FROM THE START OF THE SCHOOL YEAR, IN THE MONTH OF AUGUST ALONE.
ALSO, WE HAVE STUDENTS WHO ARE BILINGUAL, MULTILINGUAL, FAMILIES ENGAGING, AND WE ARE ABLE TO SUPPORT THEM IN THEIR NATIVE LANGUAGE.
SO I'LL TAKE ANY QUESTIONS NOW FOR THE SOFTWARE.
YOU GOT THE MEMO, MS. GRIFFIN? I DID.
YOU DID SO WELL THAT THERE AREN'T ANY QUESTIONS.
SEE WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU BRIEF MS. GRIFFIN
AND THANK YOU FOR YOUR LEADERSHIP.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH TO MR. HOWELL, MS. SMOTHERS, AND, UH, MS. GRIFFIN.
I KNOW I JOKE WITH, UH, YOU ALL A LOT, BUT THANK YOU FOR THE EXCELLENT WORK YOU GUYS ARE DOING.
LEADING, UH, THE VARIOUS DIVISIONS AND DEPARTMENTS.
UH, WE ARE IN A MUCH, MUCH BETTER SPACE, UH, THIS YEAR THAN WE WERE AT THIS TIME LAST YEAR BECAUSE OF THE WORK, UH, YOU ALL ARE DOING.
AND WE'RE NOT PERFECT WHEN WE'RE GONNA CONTINUE TO WORK TO GET BETTER.
UH, AND WITH THAT, THAT COMPLETES MY REPORT.
THANK YOU SUPERINTENDENT COLE.
[E. Reports from Board Appointees to Committees/Agencies]
ITEM E REPORTS FROM BOARD APPOINTEES TO COMMITTEES OR AGENCIES.DO I HAVE ANY BOARD MEMBERS THAT MISS SOLE? YES.
UM, SUPERINTENDENT COLE, YOU MENTIONED THE SUICIDE AWARENESS MONTH AND SUNSHINE DAY.
AND THAT THE CITY OF, WELL, THE, THE PARISH OF EBR IS JOINING IN ON THAT.
SO WE CAN TALK MORE ABOUT IT AT OUR NEXT BOARD MEETING 'CAUSE WE'LL HAVE ANOTHER ONE BEFORE THAT DATE.
UM, BUT MR. COLE, I WOULD LOVE TO HEAR ABOUT BATTLE ON THE BLUFF NEXT WEEKEND.
I WAS GONNA SAVE THAT TO THE END OF THE MEETING, BUT I MEAN, WE CAN TALK ABOUT THAT.
WE CAN TALK ABOUT IT AT BOTH TIMES,
SO, UH, ON NEXT ON NEXT THURSDAY AND FRIDAY AT SOUTHERN UNIVERSITY, ALL OF OUR HIGH SCHOOLS WILL BE ENGAGED IN THE FOOTBALL JAM.
MARIE ENTITLED, UH, BATTLE ON THE BLUFF, UH, BE EXCITING GAMES.
AND THEN WE DO HAVE A RECEPTION AREA FOR ALL OF OUR SCHOOL BOARD MEMBERS, UH, TO, TO VISIT WITH US SO WE CAN
[01:15:01]
ENJOY THE GAME.AND THEN THERE'S GONNA BE A PARTICULAR SPECIAL, UH, PART WHERE WE ARE GONNA HIGHLIGHT, UH, SOME OF OUR HIGH SCHOOL BANDS, UH, DURING THAT TIME AS WELL.
SO, UH, LOOKING FORWARD TO ALL OF OUR FAMILIES COMING OUT.
ONE PARTICULAR PIECE THAT WE'RE EXCITED ABOUT IS BEING ABLE TO OFFER ALL OF OUR, UM, ELEMENTARY SCHOOL STUDENTS AN OPPORTUNITY TO COME TO THE GAME FOR FREE.
PROVIDED YOU HAVE YOUR PARENT WITH YOU, NOT AN ADULT, YOUR PARENT MUST ATTEND, NOT A BABYSITTER.
UH, THE GAME WITH YOU AND YOU WILL GET IN, UH, THE, THE CHILD WILL GET IN FOR FREE.
OUR ELEMENTARY STUDENTS, STUDENTS WILL GET IN FOR FREE.
SO, UH, SUPER EXCITED ABOUT THE OPPORTUNITY.
AND THAT'S GOING TO BE, UH, NEXT FRIDAY.
AND THE DATE, UH, THE DATE ON THOSE, UH, NEXT, THE 26TH AND 27TH, I THINK, IF I'M NOT MISTAKEN.
IT'S NEXT FRIDAY, THURSDAY, AUGUST 27TH AND FRIDAY, AUGUST 28TH AT SOUTHERN UNIVERSITY.
UH, AS YOU KNOW, I'M THE, UH, LIAISON WITH JUNIOR ACHIEVEMENT AND AT JUNIOR ACHIEVEMENT, THEY'RE FOCUSED ON, UH, PREPARING YOUNG PEOPLE WITH FINANCIAL LITERACY.
AND I WANT TO EXTEND AN INVITATION TO YOU AND TO THE PUBLIC FOR ONE OF JAY'S MOST IMPACTFUL PROGRAMS, THE JA FINANCE PARK, AND TO SEE THE JA MISSION IN ACTION IN JA FINANCE PARK MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENTS STEP INTO THEIR FUTURE SERVICE SELVES WITH JOBS AND FAMILIES WHERE THEY NAVIGATE HOUSEHOLD FINANCES WHILE EXPLORING COST OF LIVING, FINANCIAL DECISION MAKING, AND FUTURE CAREER PATHWAYS.
THIS OPEN, UH, OPEN TOUR WILL OCCUR ON THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 24TH, AND FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 25TH.
BOTH DAYS AT 10:00 AM AT THE JEWEL NEWMAN, JEWEL J NEWMAN COMMUNITY CENTER, UH, LOCATED AT 2031 CENTRAL ROAD IN BATON ROUGE.
SO I ENCOURAGE ALL OF YOU BOARD MEMBERS, IF YOU HAVE A CHANCE OR ANYONE ELSE OUT THERE IN THE PUBLIC THAT WOULD LIKE TO ATTEND, UH, IS IS VERY WORTHWHILE SEEING IT.
IT'S SET UP KIND OF LIKE A MAIN STREET WHERE YOU CAN GO DOWN AND, AND YOU GOT A BANK ON ONE SIDE AND THIS ON THE OTHER SIDE.
AND IT'S, IT'S VERY INTERESTING AND, UH, INTRODUCES THESE MIDDLE SCHOOLERS TO A LOT OF IDEAS AND CONCEPTS THEY HAVEN'T SEEN BEFORE.
AND THEY ARE ONE OF OUR PARTNERS, WE DO SUPPORT THEM, THEY DO DO OUR FINANCIAL LITERACY, UH, COURSEWORK FOR US.
SO I ENCOURAGE ALL OF YOU TO TRY TO ATTEND.
COACH LEWIS, I WORK, UM, I'M ON THE VS BOARD.
I COULD NOT MAKE THE INITIAL MEETING THIS YEAR BECAUSE OF A PRIOR ENGAGEMENT, BUT IF YOU ARE OUT THERE WATCHING OR IF YOU ARE IN THIS ROOM AND YOU ENJOY READING, IF YOU ENJOY WATCHING KIDS GROW, PLEASE, PLEASE GET INVOLVED WITH VS.
IT IS PROBABLY ONE OF THE MOST REWARDING EXPERIENCES YOU'LL EVER HAVE.
A COUPLE YEARS AGO I MET A VOLUNTEER AT VS.
WHO TAUGHT A YOUNG MAN TO READ.
THAT YOUNG MAN BOUGHT HIS KIDS TO HER SOME 20 PLUS YEARS LATER AND SHE HELPED HIS KIDS LEARN TO READ.
PLEASE GET INVOLVED WITH VS IF YOU CAN.
AND THAT CONCLUDES ITEM E REPORTS.
[F. Consent Agenda]
ALONG TO ITEM F, OUR CONSENT AGENDA.FIRST OF ALL, I DIDN'T PASS IT TO BOARD MEMBER SOLE THIS TIME BECAUSE THERE WERE NOT ENOUGH ITEMS. IF THERE WERE MORE, I WOULD'VE DEFINITELY ALLOWED HER TO TAKE THE PRIVILEGE.
ALRIGHT, SO HERE IS OUR CONSENT AGENDA FOR TONIGHT.
THE FOLLOWING ITEMS ARE TO BE APPROVED AS PART OF THE CONSENT AGENDA AND 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 A ONE GRANTS CONSIDERATION OF A REQUEST TO ACCEPT THE FOLLOWING TEACHER GRANTS A 20 26 20 27 GROW HEALTHY SCHOOL HEALTH PROGRAM GRANT IN THE AMOUNT OF $2,000 TO RIVER OAKS ELEMENTARY FOR NUTRITION EDUCATION AND HEALTH PROMOTION.
DEBORAH ROCHELLE TEACHER GRANTS IN THE AMOUNT OF $29,210 FOR TEACHER PROJECTS AT VARIOUS SCHOOLS.
ALPHABET C ALDI TEACHER GRANT IN THE AMOUNT OF $525
[01:20:01]
AWARDED TO MCKINLEY ELEMENTARY IN GARDENING FOR GARDENING PROJECTS.EIGHT G STUDENT ENHANCEMENT BLOCK PROGRAM.
CONSIDERATION OF A REQUEST FOR THE APPROVAL OF THE EIGHT G STUDENT ENHANCEMENT BLOCK PROGRAM IN THE AMOUNT OF $406,581 TO PROVIDE THREE PRE-K FOUR CLASSES AT OTTOMAN, SHENANDOAH AND TWIN OAKS ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS.
HEALTHCARE AND ANCILLARY BENEFITS PLANS.
CONSIDERATION OF A REQUEST FOR THE APPROVAL AUTHORIZATION OF THE FOLLOWING ALPHABET A PROPOSED 2027 HEALTHCARE RATES FOR ACTIVE EMPLOYEES NON-MEDICARE AND MEDICARE ELIGIBLE RETIREES PARTICIPATING IN THE LOUISIANA BLUE ADMINISTERED MEDICAL PLANS FOR CORE BUY-UP AND HIGH DEDUCTIBLE HEALTH PLANS.
ALPHABET B PROPOSED 2027 RENEGOTIATED PHARMACY CONTRACT RENEWAL WITH EXPRESS SCRIPTS.
ALPHABET C PROPOSED 2027 CONTRACT RENEWAL WITH MEDLIFE FOR LEGAL INSURANCE.
ALPHABET D AUTHORIZED THE SUPERINTENDENT TO NEGOTIATE AND EXECUTE THE 2027 CONTRACT FOR STOP LOSS INSURANCE COVERAGE ALPHABET E PROPOSED 2027 CONTRACT RENEWAL WITH UNITEDHEALTHCARE FOR MEDICARE RETIREES ALPHABET.
PROFESSIONAL SERVICES CONTRACTS.
CONSIDERATION OF A REQUEST FOR THE APPROVAL OF THE PROFESSIONAL SERVICES CONTRACTS BETWEEN THE EAST BATON ROUGE PARISH SCHOOL BOARD AND THE FOLLOWING, A AMPLIFY IN THE AMOUNT OF $356,000 TO PROVIDE PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION PACKAGES FOR HIGH QUALITY INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS FOR GRADES K THROUGH TWO.
ALPHABET B SAVAS LEARNING, UH, COMPANY IN THE AMOUNT OF $300,000 TO PROVIDE PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION PACKAGES FOR HIGH QUALITY INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS FOR GRADES THREE THROUGH FIVE OR THIRD THROUGH FIFTH AND SIX THROUGH 12.
A FIVE LAND PURCHASE AGREEMENT.
CONSIDERATION OF A REQUEST AUTHORIZING THE SUPERINTENDENT IN CONSULTATION WITH THE OFFICE OF GENERAL COUNSEL TO EXECUTE A PURCHASE AGREEMENT WITH DJUANA HAMILTON FOR THE ACQUISITION OF 8 6 3 EAST MCKINLEY STREET FOR THE PURCHASE PRICE OF $13,000 AND ANY RELATED CLOSING DOCUMENTS NECESSARY TO COMPLETE THE TRANSACTION.
A SIX LITIGATION CONSIDERATION OF A REQUEST FOR THE APPROVAL OF THE RECOMMENDATION FROM GWEN SHAMBLIN, GENERAL COUNSEL E-B-R-P-S-B IN THE MATTER OF VANESSA, VANESSA M RIDLEY VERSUS EAST BATON ROUGE PARISH SCHOOL BOARD DISTRICT FIVE OFFICER OFFICE OF WORKERS' COMPENSATION STATE OF LOUISIANA AND RELATED MATTERS.
A SEVEN LITIGATION CONSIDERATION OF A REQUEST FOR THE APPROVAL OF THE RECOMMENDATION FROM GWEN CHALIN, GENERAL COUNSEL E-B-R-P-S-B IN THE MATTER OF CHARLENE PICKNEY VERSUS DERON CURRENT AT ALL.
J-D-C-E-B-R PARISH AND RELATED MATTERS.
THIS CONCLUDES THE CONSENT AGENDA.
I MOVE THAT WE ACCEPT THE CONSENT AGENDA TONIGHT.
I HAVE A MOTION BY MS. POWELL LEWIS AND I HAVE A SECOND BY MR. MARTIN.
I DON'T HAVE ANY PUBLIC COMMENTS, BUT DOES ANYBODY IN THE PUBLIC WISH TO SPEAK BECAUSE I DON'T HAVE ANY CARDS.
I, MR. SHALIN, I JUST HAD A MATTER OF JUST A CORRECTION FOR THE RECORD.
UM, UH, MS. POWELL LEWIS READ IT IN AS ITEMS A ONE THROUGH SEVEN.
IT'S ACTUALLY ITEMS F1 THROUGH SEVEN.
WE JUST WANTED TO MAKE SURE FOR THE RECORD THAT WAS CORRECTED AND THAT'S OUR MISTAKE.
SHE DOESN'T HAVE TO READ IT AGAIN.
I THINK SHE WOULD'VE PASSED IT TO EMILY THEN.
ALL THOSE ARE IN FAVOR OF THE CONSENT AGENDA.
UH, I, I ASKED, I ASKED TANYA TO THE Q MAD PRESIDENT REAL QUICK.
I NO, I, I SUPPORT EVERYTHING.
I JUST, UM, ONE OF THE ITEMS IS, IS, UH, DEALING WITH OUR HEALTH PLAN AND, AND I JUST, UM, WANNA ENCOURAGE THE SUPERINTENDENT AND THE STAFF, UM, SINCE WE'VE DONE SUCH A GREAT JOB
[01:25:01]
WITH EMPLOYEE RAISES AND EVERYTHING THIS YEAR, UM, UH, I WOULD ENCOURAGE US TO START RIGHT AWAY AFTER APPROVING THIS TO WORK NEXT YEAR ON, OR THE, THE NEXT RENEWAL WITH A PARTICULAR ATTENTION TO THE IMPACT THAT, THAT A LOT OF THE HEALTHCARE DECISIONS CHANGING PROVIDERS AND THINGS LIKE THAT HAVE A VERY SIGNIFICANT IMPACT ON, ON OUR EMPLOYEES.AND JUST WANNA ENCOURAGE US TO START WORKING, UH, EARLY ON THAT, UH, I SEE MR. PEARSON IN THE AUDIENCE, UM, ENCOURAGE GALLAGHER AND OUR TEAM TO, TO, TO SEE WHAT WE CAN DO TO MINIMIZE DISRUPTIONS TO OUR, TO OUR, OUR STAFF AND THEIR HEALTHCARE WHEN, WHEN WE HAVE TO CHANGE PROVIDERS OR MINIMIZE CHANGING, UH, PREFERRED PROVIDERS AS MUCH AS WE CAN.
AND I JUST WANTED TO MAKE SURE NO ONE WANTED TO PULL ANYTHING.
SO SINCE THEN I WANTED TO PULL ANYTHING.
WE HAVE A MOTION BY MS. POWELL LEWIS AND A SECOND BY MR. MARTIN.
ALL THOSE IN FAVOR OF THE CONSENT AGENDA, SAY AYE.
MADAME SECRETARY, PLEASE VOTE.
[G.1. Resolution: Contract Review and Signature Process ]
G, NEW BUSINESS RESOLUTION CONTRACT REVIEW AND SIGNATURE PROCESS.CONSIDERATION OF A REQUEST TO ADOPT A RESOLUTION TO PROVIDE FOR A REVIEW OF ALL DISTRICT CONTRACTS BY THE BOARD'S OUTSIDE ACCOUNTING FIRM.
AND TO PROVIDE FOR THE DEPUTY SUPERINTENDENT TO REVIEW AND COUNTERSIGN ALL CONTRACTS GOING FORWARD FROM NOW ON THROUGH THE DATE OF ADOPTION OF THIS RESOLUTION AND RELATED MATTERS.
UH, MEMBERS OF THE BOARD, MR. COLE, MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC, THIS ITEM IS A REQUEST TO APPROVE A RESOLUTION TO ESTABLISH TEMPORARY DISTRICT CONTRACT INTERNAL CONTROLS, AND THE AUTHORIZED AND INTERNAL AND INDEPENDENT EXTERNAL AUDITOR I CONTRACTS.
UM, THIS IS AN ADMINISTRATIVE ITEM.
IT'S DESIGNED TO PROTECT THE LEGAL AND FINANCIAL INTEGRITY OF THE BOARD AND THE SCHOOL SYSTEM.
AND TO REINFORCE OUR COMMITMENT TO OPERATIONAL ACCOUNTABILITY, THE RESOLUTION INTRODUCES TWO PRIMARY MECHANISMS. THE FIRST IS AN INDEPENDENT EXTERNAL CONTRACT AUDIT.
THE SECOND IS A MANDATORY JOINT COUNTER SIGNATURE REQUIREMENT.
UH, THE FIRST MECHANISM INVOLVES A FOLLOWING.
IT DIRECTS THE DISTRICT'S INTERNAL AUDIT FIRM, EISNER NER, TO CONDUCT AN IN-DEPTH REVIEW OF OUR FINANCIAL, UH, INSTRUMENTS.
UM, IF THE BOARD APPROVES THE RESOLUTION, IT'S ACTUALLY APPROVING THE SUPERINTENDENT, MYSELF, THE DEPUTY SUPERINTENDENT TO ENTER INTO AN AGREEMENT WITH EISNER ANE TO ACCOMPLISH THAT, UH, COVERS ALL CONTRACTS, AMENDMENTS, MOUS, COOPERATIVE ENDEAVOR AGREEMENTS AND PURCHASE ORDERS.
UH, THE SCOPE SPANS TRANSACTIONS EXECUTED FROM MARCH 21ST, 2024 THROUGH THE RESOLUTIONS ADOPTION DATE, WHICH IS TONIGHT.
UM, IT FOCUSES ON PROCUREMENT, LEGALITY, AUTHORIZATION, REGULARITY, CONFLICT OF INTEREST, DISCLOSURES, AND COMPLIANCE WITH POLICY DAA, WHICH INVOLVES, UH, CONTRACTS.
UH, THE SECOND MECHANISM IS A COMMON SIGNATURE CONTROL.
IT IMPLEMENTS A MANDATORY DUE SIGNATURE REQUIREMENT FOR ALL CONTRACT INSTRUMENTS, UH, EXECUTED LEGALLY REQUIRE SIGNATURES FROM BOTH THE SUPERINTENDENT AND THE DEPUTY SUPERINTENDENT.
UH, IT OBLIGATES THE DEPUTY SUPERINTENDENT TO VERIFY POLICY COMPLIANCE AND PROPER AUTHORIZATION LIMITS PRIOR TO SIGNING TAKES EFFECT IMMEDIATELY UPON ADOPTION AND REMAINS ACTIVE UNTIL JULY 31ST, 2027, UNLESS SHORTENED BY A MAJORITY VOTE OF THIS BOARD.
AND, UH, WE ASK FOR APPROVAL OF THE RESOLUTION AND I'LL TAKE ANY QUESTIONS.
MS. POWELL? LEWIS, I DON'T HAVE ANY QUESTIONS.
I HAVE APPROVAL BY MS. POWELL LEWIS.
DO I HAVE ANY COMMENTS OR, OKAY, MR. GODDE? YES.
UH, FIRST OF ALL, I WANTED TO, UH, EXPRESS MY APPROVAL FOR THIS ON MY AGREEMENT WITH THIS, UH, PROPOSAL, AND ALSO EXPRESS MY GRATITUDE TO FELLOW BOARD MEMBER MARTIN, WHO DID A WHOLE LOT OF WORK, UH, IN PULLING THIS TOGETHER.
APPRECIATE, APPRECIATE YOUR TIME AND EFFORT ON THAT AND, UH, APPRECIATE THE COOPERATION AND EVERYTHING THAT RECEIVED, THAT WE RECEIVED FROM OUR SUPERINTENDENT, UH, TO PUT THIS TOGETHER TO HAVE THE FULL TRANSPARENCY.
SO, UH, THIS WAS, THIS WAS THE, UH, JOINT EFFORT AND, UH, I'M GLAD TO SEE IT CAME TOGETHER, UH, WITH, WITH AGREEMENT, UH, ACROSS THE BOARD, NO PUN INTENDED, ACROSS THE BOARD.
ALL THOSE IN FAVOR OF THE RESOLUTION, SAY AYE.
MADAME SECRETARY, PLEASE VOTE.
MADAM SECRETARY, I ACCIDENTALLY DELETED MY BOARD DOCS.
COULD YOU DO A ROLL CALL, PLEASE? SURE.
[01:30:02]
MR. BLUE? YES.I'M AN APPLE PERSON, SO I SCREWED THIS ONE UP.
[H.1. Announcement of Meetings]
MOVES US TO ITEM H, MR. RUSSTHAT'S YOU SHOULD HAVE LOOKED A LITTLE CLOSER.
ANNOUNCEMENT OF MEETINGS, COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE MEETING TO BE HELD ON SEPTEMBER 3RD, 2026 AT 5:00 PM IN THE CENTRAL OFFICE.
REGULAR MEETING TO BE HELD ON SEPTEMBER 17TH, 2026 AT 5:00 PM IN THE CENTRAL OFFICE BOARDROOM.