[00:00:03]
THE IRREGULAR MEETING OF THE EAST BATON ROUGE PARISH SCHOOL BOARD WILL NOW COME TO ORDER.
THE UH, FIRST WE WILL HAVE A BRIEF NOTICE READ INTO THE RECORD.
THE PUBLIC WILL BE ALLOWED TO ATTEND AT A REDUCED RATE OF 25% OF CAPACITY ONCE THEY COULD PASS IT.
HE HAS BEEN REACHED ADMISSION INTO THE MEETING SPACE WILL BE CLOSED AND AUDIENCE MEMBERS, ALL AUDIENCE MEMBERS WILL BE ABLE TO WILL BE REQUIRED TO WEAR A MASK AT ALL TIMES.
MASK WOULD BE AVAILABLE ON REQUEST.
ALL AUDIENCE MEMBERS WILL UNDERGO A TEMPERATURE SCREENING AS WELL PRIOR TO ENTERING THE MEETING ROOM.
A PERIOD FOR WRITTEN PUBLIC COMMENT WILL BE PROVIDED BEFORE THE MEETING AS WELL AS BEFORE EACH ACTION TAKEN BY THE BOARD ON AN ACTION ITEM.
INDIVIDUALS WISHING TO MAKE A PUBLIC COMMENT ABOUT ANY OF THE POSTED ACTION ITEMS WILL NEED TO CLICK ON THE AGENDA ITEM IN BOARD DOCS AND SUBMIT VIA THE HIGHLIGHTED PUBLIC COMMENT LINK ON THE AGENDA ITEM DETAILS.
UPON THE CLOSING OF THE COMMENTS, THE BOARD PRESIDENT WERE READ INTO THE RECORD, THE PUBLIC COMMENTS THAT HAVE BEEN SUBMITTED AND I MIGHT ADD THAT THERE IS A TIME DELAY IN THE BROADCAST AND ALSO A LITTLE TIME DELAY AND JUST RECEIVING THROUGH THE INTERNET THE COMMENTS.
I WILL TRY TO ALLOW SOME LITTLE BIT OF TIME BETWEEN ITEMS SO THAT COMMENTS CAN GET IN, BUT PLEASE BE TIMELY AND PUTTING THEM IN FOR THE PUBLIC ATTENDING THE MEETING.
WE WILL NOT BE USING COMMENT CARDS TONIGHT TO KEEP MAINTAIN SOCIAL DISTANCING.
SO PLEASE STATE YOUR NAME CLEARLY FOR THE RECORD WHEN YOU GET UP TO SPEAK, THE PUBLIC WILL BE SPEAKING FROM THIS ONE MICROPHONE HERE AND WE WILL ASK YOU IF YOU HAVE A PUBLIC COMMENT FOR IN PERSON.
YOU COME UP TO THIS MICROPHONE AND MAKE YOUR COMMENT.
SHOULD THE BUILDING REACH CAPACITY.
WE WILL, UH, HAVE OVERFLOW ROOM ON THE OUTSIDE AND THEN END THE PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD.
WE WILL CYCLE PEOPLE IN IF THEY'RE MORE PUBLIC COMMENT, UH, TO GIVE MORE PUBLIC COMMENT OPPORTUNITIES TO ANYONE WHO IS OUTSIDE.
WE'RE DOING OUR BEST TO ALLOW EVERYONE TO HAVE ACCESS.
AND PUBLIC COMMENT THROUGH ALL OF THESE PROCEEDINGS.
UH, I APPRECIATE THE PUBLIC PUTTING UP WITH US, UH, AS WE GO THROUGH THIS, UH, UNUSUAL TIMES.
AND BEFORE WE GET STARTED, I ALSO WANT TO HIGHLIGHT THE WORK BY OUR IT STAFF AND THE SYSTEM STAFF IN GENERAL FOR HELPING US PULL ALL OF THIS TOGETHER.
I THINK THEY'VE DONE AN EXCELLENT JOB AND WITHOUT THEIR HELP THIS WOULD NOT HAVE HAPPENED.
SO MY THANKS TO ALL OF YOU FOR THAT.
[Item B]
NOW WE WILL HAVE THE CALL TO ORDER INVOCATION AND PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE, THE CALL TO ORDER AND UH, AN INVOCATION BY THE INVOCATION BY SCHOOL BOARD MEMBER MARK BALLOU AND THE PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE LED BY SCHOOL BOARD MEMBER DAWN COLLINS.FAIR, GRACIOUS HEAVENLY FATHER.
ANY BLESSINGS THAT PROMISE YOUR WORD SCRIPTURE SACRIFICE.
YOU ASKED YOU TODAY FOR FIVE HOURS.
WE ASKED YOU TO GIVE US WISDOM, HELP US MAKE GROUP DECISIONS THAT WILL IMPACT OUR FAMILIES AND OUR CHILDREN DURING THESE SPECIAL TIME.
WELL MORE ON THAT PIECE THAT WE FIND TO KNOW THAT YOU WERE THERE WITH THE VIDAS, THAT YOU WILL GIVE US INSPIRATION, YOUR AVERAGE.
WE ASK ALL OF THESE THINGS IN YOUR SON'S NAME.
AND SO THE REPUBLIC FOR WEEKS, I SAY ONE NATION UNDER GOD, INDIVISIBLE WITH LIBERTY AND JUST ALL THANK YOU.
AND I ALSO FORGOT AT THE BEGINNING OF THE MEETING, IF YOU ARE IN THE ROOM AND HAVE CELL PHONES, PLEASE MAKE SURE THAT THEY ARE PLACED ON SILENT.
NEXT WE'LL GO TO THE ROLL CALL.
MADAM SECRETARY HERE, DISTRICT THREE VICE PRESIDENT HOWARD PRESENT.
[00:05:01]
DISTRICT FOUR.MS DYSON? DISTRICT AIM IS BERNARD PRESENCE.
[Item C]
NEXT MEETING MINUTES.APPROVAL OF THE SCHOOL BOARD MINUTES OF APRIL, 2120 20 REGULAR BOARD MEETING AS PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL JOURNAL.
DO I HAVE A MOTION MOTION BY MS DYSON? I MEAN I'M SORRY, MS. BERNARD.
ARE THERE ANY COMMENTS FROM THE BOARD SEEING NONE, ANY COMMENTS FROM THE AUDIENCE? SAY NINE BACK TO THE BOARD SEEING NONE, WE'RE VOTE THE BOARD DOCS.
ALL THE BOARD MEMBERS SHOULD HAVE THAT COMING UP ON THEIR SCREEN.
IF YOU GO TO THE MEETING MINUTES ON THE AGENDA ITEM, HAS EVERYONE VOTED? NOPE.
WAIT A FEW MINUTES AS YOU WERE LOGGING IN, DO YOU WANT TO JUST GIVE US A ROLL CALL? YES.
DO WE ALSO HAVE TO VOTE VERBALLY SINCE WE'RE IN PUBLIC? OKAY.
WORKING OUT THE TECHNICAL, I CAN'T SEE IT, SO.
SO THE VOTE IS SEVEN IN FAVOR.
[1. Monthly Financial Report]
INFORMATION ONLY THE MONTHLY FINANCIAL REPORT.ARE THERE ANY QUESTIONS FROM THE BOARD REGARDING THE MONTHLY FINANCIAL REPORT? I DO HAVE ONE QUESTION.
MR CROCHET, IF YOU DON'T MIND THE LONG WALK TO THE MICROPHONE.
IS THAT FOR THE RIGHT HERE? RIGHT HERE? YES.
MY ONLY QUESTION IS RIGHT NOW, UH, I'VE BEEN READING THINGS IN THE PAPER ABOUT THE CITY PARISH AND THEIR VIEW OF TAX RECEIPTS AND THINGS COMING IN.
DO WE HAVE ANY VIEW, SO FOR, ON WHAT THE IMPACT MIGHT BE ON THE 2019 2020 BUDGET, UH, REGARDING SALES TAX COLLECTIONS? YES SIR.
I HAVE REACHED OUT TO CITY PARISH AS WELL AND SPOKEN WITH THEIR FINANCE DIRECTOR AND BUDGET MANAGER.
AND SO FOR NEXT YEAR THEY'RE USING THE RATES, I THINK 7.6%.
I'VE ALSO REACHED OUT TO THE LEGISLATIVE ART THERE.
THEY ISSUED A REPORT RECENTLY, UM, ENTITLED, UH, EFFECT COVERT ON LOCAL GOVERNMENTAL REVENUES.
AND SO THEY'RE LOOKING AT NOT ONLY SALES TAX BUT PROBABLY TAXES TOO.
AND SO THEY LOOKED AT THE YEAR WE IN NEXT YEAR AND NEXT YEAR AS WELL.
SO, UM, THERE'S THREE DIFFERENT SCENARIOS IN THERE.
THERE'S A OPTIMISTIC, PESSIMISTIC AND AVERAGE.
SO WE ARE LOOKING AT THOSE TWO SOURCES OF DATA ALONG WITH OUR ACTUAL COLLECTIONS.
UH, I'LL BE THERE 45 DAYS IN A REARS AND TO MAKE IT A LITTLE MORE COMPLICATED, THEY ACTUALLY, UH, OR THE SALES TAX COMMISSION EXTENDED DEADLINE FOR FILING, SO A 30 DAY EXTENSION.
SO IT'S REALLY HARD TO LOOK AT OUR COLLECTIONS RIGHT NOW, BUT WE'RE LOOKING AT ALL SOURCES OF DATA.
UM, THE OTHER TWO THAT I MENTIONED AND SO THANK YOU.
I KNOW WE'RE EARLY ON, BUT MONTHLY AS WE GO THROUGH THIS, I THINK THAT WOULD BE A KEY HIGHLIGHT TO JUST KEEP US UP TO SPEED ON WHAT IMPACTS THEY MAY BE HAVING ON OUR, UH, ANTICIPATED IN ACTUAL REVENUES.
[00:10:01]
THANK YOU VERY MUCH.ARE THERE ANY OTHER COMMENTS FROM THE BOARD? ARE THERE ANY COMMENTS FROM THE AUDIENCE? OH, THIS IS FOR INFORMATION ONLY, SO WE DON'T NEED TO VOTE MY, MY MISTAKE.
[2. Personnel Changes]
ARE THE REPORT ON PERSONNEL CHANGES.ARE THERE ANY COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS FROM THE BOARD? SEEING NONE.
[Item E]
NOW MOVE INTO SUBJECT ITEM E ONE UPDATE FROM THE SUPERINTENDENT.I'D LIKE FOR EVERYONE TO KEEP THE FAMILY OF MILLIE WILLIAMS AND YOUR PRAYERS.
HER HUSBAND FREDDY WILLIAMS PASSED AWAY AND HIS FUNERAL IS TOMORROW MORNING FOR EDDIE WAS THE LONG TIME EMPLOYEE OF EAST BATON ROUGE PARISH SCHOOL BOARD AND HE WAS ALSO THE FIRST PRINCIPAL OF SCOTLANDVILLE HIGH SCHOOL WHEN IT BECAME A MAGNET.
SO WE, WE WILL MISS FREDDY WILLIAMS. AND SO KEEP THE FAMILY IN YOUR PRAYERS.
TODAY IS THE LAST DAY OF SCHOOL.
I WANT TO THANK OUR STUDENTS, OUR TEACHERS, OUR PARENTS, SCHOOL STAFF, AND EVERYONE WHO WORKED SO HARD TO MAKE THIS YEAR SUCH A GREAT YEAR.
WE'VE NEVER SEEN ANYTHING QUITE LIKE IT.
WE MISSED AN ENTIRE NINE WEEK PERIOD.
BUT I WILL TELL YOU THAT THE STUDENTS, THE TEACHERS, EVERYONE ROSE TO THE OCCASION AND DID WHAT THEY NEEDED TO DO TO KEEP THE EDUCATION GOING AND KEEP THE CHILDREN FED IN OUR, IN OUR DISTRICT.
SO I WANT TO THANK EVERYONE, UH, FOR JUST A REALLY GREAT YEAR.
IT'S BEEN ONE LIKE NOBODY HAS EVER HAD BEFORE, BUT I WANT TO THANK EVERYONE FOR THAT.
AND TRULY IT WAS A TIME OF, UH, STRESS ON JUST ABOUT EVERYBODY.
YOU KNOW, THIS WORKING FROM HOME MAKES IT REALLY MORE DIFFICULT BECAUSE THERE'S NO STARTING STOP TELLING THEM IT'S ALL THE TIME.
SO AGAIN, THANK YOU FOR A GREAT LOOK FORWARD TO CONTINUED LEARNING THIS SUMMER.
I WANT TO CONGRATULATE DR KAY BROMLEY FOR BECOMING THE NEW STATE SUPERINTENDENT OF EDUCATION.
HE WAS SUPERINTENDENT IN DESOTO PARISH AND JEFFERSON PARISHES AND NOW IT IS THE STATE SUPERINTENDENT OF EDUCATION.
I FEEL LIKE HE'S GOING TO DO A REALLY GOOD JOB.
I WANT TO CONGRATULATE NATALIE ROY TEACHER FROM GLASGOW MIDDLE SCHOOL.
NATALIE IS ONE OF THE STATE'S SEMIFINALISTS FOR TEACHER OF THE YEAR AND WE'LL PROBABLY BRING THEM TO YOU IN PERSON AT THE JUNE MEETING.
SCOTT, PRINCIPAL OF SCOTLANDVILLE PRE-ENGINEERING MAGNET WHO IS A SEMIFINALIST FOR STATE PRINCIPAL OF THE YEAR.
CONGRATULATIONS TO BOTH OF THOSE FANTASTIC EMPLOYEES IN OUR DISTRICT.
WE'RE CURRENTLY IN PHASE ONE OF THE GOVERNOR'S REOPENING OF THE STATE.
THAT MEANS THAT OFFICES AND SCHOOLS WILL REMAIN CLOSED DURING PHASE ONE, BUT IT DOESN'T MEAN THAT THE PUBLIC CAN'T GET INFORMATION.
THE PUBLIC WILL NOT BE ALLOWED IN THE BUILDINGS AND IN THE SCHOOLS IN PHASE ONE.
THAT SHOULD END IN ABOUT TWO WEEKS.
AT THAT TIME, WE WILL LOOK AT WHAT PHASE TWO LOOKS LIKE, WHAT THE GOVERNOR AND CDC REGULATIONS AND GUIDELINES ARE.
BUT IT DOESN'T MEAN YOU CANNOT GET HELP.
YOU CAN CALL YOUR SCHOOL, CALL THE CENTRAL OFFICE, AND WE WILL BE GLAD TO HELP YOU, UH, INTO PHASE TWO.
AND SENIORS BEGAN GRADUATIONS THIS WEEK.
UH, CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR GRADUATES.
IF YOU THINK ABOUT THIS, UH, THE SENIORS IN THEIR NINTH GRADE YEAR, THEY WERE IN SCHOOL FOR ONE WEEK UNTIL THE FLOOD STARTED.
SO THEY STARTED OFF THEIR NINTH GRADE YEAR, UH, WITH THE FLOOD AND THEY'RE ENDING THEIR SENIOR YEAR WITH A PANDEMIC.
SO WHAT DOES THAT MEAN? IT MEANS THAT THEY ARE GOING TO BE RESILIENT.
THEY'RE GOING TO BE INNOVATIVE, THEY'RE GOING TO BE ABLE TO DO THINGS THAT A LOT OF KIDS CAN'T DO.
THEY'RE GOING TO BE READY FOR THIS WORLD WHEN THEY ENTER IT INTO THE NEXT PHASE OF THEIR LIVES.
SO WE WANT TO CONGRATULATE ALL OF OUR SENIORS AND GOOD LUCK MOVING FORWARD INTO THE NEXT PHASE OF YOUR LIFE.
NEXT WE WILL GO TO ITEM F ONE REPORT OUT FROM BOARD APPOINTEES TO COMMITTEES AND AGENCIES.
DO ANY BOARD MEMBERS HAVE ANY COMMENTS OR REPORTS TO MAKE FROM ANY AGENCIES SEEING NONE.
[Item G1]
WE'LL MOVE TO NEW BUSINESS.EVER REQUEST FOR THE APPROVAL OF THE CONTRACT RENEWAL BETWEEN EAST BATON ROUGE PARISH SCHOOL BOARD AND THE UNEMPLOYMENT COMPENSATION CON CONTROL SYSTEMS LLC IN THE AMOUNT OF $144,000 EACH YEAR FOR THE PERIOD OF THREE YEARS BEGINNING JULY ONE 2020 THROUGH JUNE 30 2023 FUNDING SOURCES, GENERAL FUND GRANTS, FUNDS AND TAX PLANS.
[00:15:01]
AND SAGGING IT BY MS. BERNARD.ARE THERE ANY COMMENTS FROM THE BOARD SEEING NONE, ANY COMMENTS FROM THE AUDIENCE AND I HAVE NO COMMENTS COMING ON THE INTERNET LINE.
ANY COMMENTS FROM THE AUDIENCE? SEEING NONE BACK TO THE BOARD.
MADAM SECRETARY, THE MOTION CARRIES.
[Item G2]
WE WILL GO TO ITEM G TO CONSIDERATION OF A REQUEST FOR THE APPROVAL OF THE INNER AGENCY AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE EAST BATON ROUGE PARISH SCHOOL BOARD AND THE LOUISIANA DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION IN THE AMOUNT OF $224,000 TO ALLOW THE DISTRICT TO APPROVE CHILDCARE ASSISTANCE PROGRAM APPLICATIONS, FUNDING SOURCE EARLY CHILDHOOD GUIDE PILOT MOVED BY MRARE THERE ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS FROM THE BOARD, MS DYSON? YOU CAN HAVE TO MAKE AN EFFORT FOR ME TO SEE YOU.
WE'VE GOT NO, NO COMMENTS FROM THE BOARD.
ANY COMMENTS FROM THE AUDIENCE? SEEING NONE BACK TO THE BOARD, SEEING NONE.
MADAM SECRETARY, WE MAY GIVE A MOMENT FOR MS J WHERE JACKSON'S COMPUTER TO COME LIVE SO SHE MAY PARTICIPATE IN THE VOTE.
[Item G3]
NEXT WE'LL GO TO ITEM G.THREE CONSIDERATION EVER REQUESTS FOR THE APPROVAL OF THE FOLLOWING? 2020 2021 PRE-K GRANTS A THE CECIL J P-CARD EARLY CHILDHOOD LA, FOUR IN THE AMOUNT OF $5,038,000 AND B PRESCHOOL DEVELOPMENT GRANT
ARE THERE ANY COMMENTS AND QUESTIONS FROM THE BOARD SEEING NONE.
ANY COMMENTS AND QUESTIONS? ARE ANY COMMENTS FROM THE AUDIENCE SEEING NONE? OH, I'M SORRY.
MR WOULD YOU PLEASE INTRODUCE YOURSELF? SINCE WE DO NOT HAVE CARDS, CAN YOU HEAR MICROPHONE? OKAY, GO AHEAD.
VINNY, CAN YOU HEAR ME THROUGH THE MASK? MY CONCERN WITH RESPECT TO THIS ITEM IS THAT IT NOT GO TO FUND FOUR YEAR OLD PROGRAMS AT SITE TWO.
CHARTERS ARE RECENTLY BECAME AWARE THAT A TYPE TWO CHARTER IN BAKER IS FUNDED BY THE MONEY THAT PASSES THROUGH THE SYSTEM AND COULD HAVE GONE TO ANOTHER LOCATION.
AND I DON'T WANT THIS BOARD TO BE IN THE BUSINESS OF FUNDING THE COMPETITORS' FOUR YEAR OLD PROGRAMS THAT PROVIDE THE BULK OF THEIR LATER STUDENTS.
[00:20:01]
ANY OTHER COMMENTS FROM THE AUDIENCE? AND MY APOLOGIES MR FINNEY FOR NOT SEEING YOU GET UP.ANY OTHER COMMENTS FROM THE AUDIENCE? SAY NONE.
ANY COMMENTS FROM THE BOARD? SEEING NONE.
MR. JACKSON, ARE YOU LIVE YET? CAN YOU VOTE AND MR LANICE, UH, IF YOU'RE NOT LIVE YET, YOU CAN VOTE VERBALLY WHILE WAITING FOR THE COMPUTER TO COME UP.
MADAM SECRETARY, COULD YOU ANNOUNCE THE CAUSE THAT I, FROM WHEN I CAN SEE THE TELEVISION AUDIENCE CAN NOT SEE THE SCREEN? YES.
[Item G4]
NEXT ITEM IS ITEM G FOUR CONSIDERATION EVER REQUEST FOR THE APPROVAL OF AN INNER AGENCY AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE EAST BATON ROUGE PARISH SCHOOL SYSTEM AND THE LOUISIANA DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION IN THE AMOUNT OF $100,767 TO PROVIDE HIGH QUALITY CURRICULUM TRAINING AND SUPPORT CURRICULUM TRAINING, SUPPORT AND SPECIALIZED SUPPORT TO SPECIAL AND REGULAR EDUCATION TEACHERS WHO TEACH STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES FUNDING SOURCE THE REDESIGN GRANT MOVED BY MS DYSON SECOND BY MR. HOWARD.ARE THERE ANY COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS FROM THE BOARD SAYING NONE? ANY COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS FROM THE AUDIENCE AND I'M REFRESHING MY SCREEN.
THERE ARE NO COMMENTS COMING ONLINE.
ARE IN PERSON IN THE AUDIENCE.
ANY COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS FROM THE BOARD? SEEING NONE.
[Item G5]
ITEM CHIEF, FIVE CONSIDERATION OF A REQUEST FOR THE APPROVAL OF THE PROFESSIONAL SERVICES CONTRACTS BETWEEN THE EAST BATON ROUGE PARISH SCHOOL BOARD AND THE FOLLOWING, A GREAT MINDS PVC IN THE AMOUNT OF $25,000 TO PROVIDE EUREKA MATH, VIRTUAL PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT FUNDING SOURCE REDESIGN GRANT B.GREAT MINDS PDC PBC IN THE AMOUNT OF $30,000 TO PROVIDE EUREKA MATH, VIRTUAL PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT LAUNCH FLUENCY AND CUSTOMIZATION FUNDING SOURCE REDESIGN GRANT.
SEE THE WRITING REVOLUTION IN THE AMOUNT OF $79,812 TO PROVIDE PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT ON ADVANCED THINKING THROUGH WRITING PART ONE FUNDING SOURCE REDESIGN GRANT ITEM D, THE WRITING REVELATION IN THE AMOUNT OF $63,577 AND 80 CENTS TO PROVIDE PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT ON ADVANCED THINKING THROUGH WRITING PART ONE FUNDING SOURCE STRIVING READERS COMPREHENSIVE LITERACY.
DO I HAVE A MOTION? MOTION BY MRS. BERNARD SECOND BY MR BELLEW.
ARE THERE ANY COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS
[00:25:01]
FROM THE BOARD? MS DYSON, MS DYSON? I JUST WOULD LIKE TO SEE IF THERE'S ANYONE THAT CAN JUST COME UP AND GIVE US A JUST A LITTLE BIT OF INFORMATION ABOUT THE WRITING REVELATION, UM, FOR STRIVING READERS.COMPREHENSIVE LITERACY LOOKS LIKE IT'S REAL EXCITING TO ME TO GET SOME EMPHASIS ON THIS.
AND IF YOU CAN TELL US, YOU KNOW, WHICH, UH, WHICH GROUP OF, UH, OUR INSTRUCTOR, OUR TEACHERS ARE GONNA GET THIS PD AND IS IT A TRAIN THE TRAINER OR THOSE KINDS OF THINGS.
SO THE WRITING REVOLUTION AND THE STRIVING READERS PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT IS SPECIFICALLY FOR OUR CIR AND UIR SCHOOLS.
WE'RE PARTNERING WITH THE LOUISIANA DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION SO THAT WE CAN INCREASE THE WRITING FOR OUR STUDENTS.
WE'VE NOTICED THROUGHOUT THE YEARS WE'VE GROWN OF COURSE WITH OUR READING, WE'VE GROWN WITH MATH, BUT WRITING HAS BEEN A CHALLENGE AND FOR US AS EDUCATORS, WRITING IS NOT SOMETHING YOU LEARN HOW TO TEACH.
AND SO THIS, UH, THIS OPPORTUNITY PROVIDES LIKE A SCIENCE OF WRITING.
IT HELPS US COMPLIMENT WHAT WE'RE DOING IN READING, BUT ALSO WITH WRITING SO THAT YOU HAVE READ A FULL LITERACY APPROACH WITH WRITING.
AND SO IT ALSO, WHEN YOU SEE THE STRIVING READERS PIECE, IT'S REALLY PEER TOWARDS OUR STUDENTS, UM, THAT ARE STRUGGLING THE MOST.
BUT IT ALSO ENHANCES WHEREVER OUR STUDENTS, UH, MAY HAVE CHALLENGES, BUT ALSO, UH, ALSO THOSE THAT NEED THE STRENGTHS AND OTHER, UH, OTHER ASSESSMENTS.
IT HAS AN ASSESSMENT COMPONENT SO IT JUST PROVIDES A FULL, A FULL SCOPE OF LITERACY FOR OUR STUDENTS.
AND AS FAR AS TEACHERS, IT IS A TRAIN THE TRAINER MODEL.
SO WHEN WE LOOK AT WHO'S GOING TO BE TRAINED, OUR CONTENT LEADERS AND OUR TEACHER LEADERS, IT PROVIDES AN OPPORTUNITY FOR THEM TO SUPPORT OTHER TEACHERS IN IMPLEMENTING IT.
I'LL BE REAL INTERESTED TO SEE, UH, THE DATA ON WHAT THE RETURN IS AND YOU KNOW, AS THE YEARS GO ON HOW THIS IMPACTS AND I'D LOVE TO SEE THAT WE'D BE ABLE TO SEND ONE TEACHER FROM EACH SCHOOL SITE TO PARTICIPATE SO THEY CAN GO BACK AND TRAIN THEIR GROUP TOO.
SO THIS IS JUST ANOTHER GOOD THING HAPPENING.
DO ANY OTHER BOARD MEMBERS HAVE ANY COMMENTS? SING, SING.
UH, WE NOW GO TO THE AUDIENCE.
IS ANYONE IN THE LIVE AUDIENCE HAVE ANY COMMENTS? PLEASE STEP UP TO THE MIC AND PLEASE STATE YOUR NAME.
WHILE UH, I'M IN, UH, MR CHAPMAN'S DISTRICT.
UM, I'M INTERESTED, IT SEEMS LIKE THAT'S A LOT OF MONEY TO SPEND ON THAT PROGRAM.
NOT THAT THAT'S BAD, BUT UM, WITH TRAIN THE TRAINER, MY EXPERIENCE WHEN I WAS A TEACHER, UH, IS THAT FIVE YEARS WAS KIND OF A LONG TENURE FOR A TEACHER.
WILL PEOPLE BE TRAINED THAT WILL STAY LONG ENOUGH TO TRAIN PEOPLE TO USE THE PROGRAM? THAT WOULD BE MY CONCERN.
I'D LIKE TO JUST HEAR A LITTLE FEEDBACK ON THAT.
EVERYONE WILL GET THEIR EXERCISE TODAY.
YOU CAN USE THIS MICROPHONE HERE OR NOPE, YOU CANNOT.
WE ARE CERTAINLY HOPEFUL THAT WE WILL BE ABLE TO RETAIN TEACHERS AS WE PROVIDE THEM WITH THIS PROFESSIONAL LEARNING.
BEING THAT WE'VE HAD SUCH A, UM, WIDE INVESTMENT IN OUR TEACHER LEADERS AND CONTENT LEADERS YEAR AFTER YEAR, WE PROVIDE THEM WITH UPDATE INFORMATION.
AND SO THIS IS ONE OF THOSE NEXT STEPS AS WE OKAY.
REALLY INVEST IN THOSE GROUP OF TEACHERS THAT WE LOOK TO AS MENTORS OR THOSE GROUP OF TEACHERS THAT WE LOOK TO TO REALLY BUILD SUSTAINABILITY OF PRACTICE ON THEIR CAMPUSES.
[00:30:01]
WHILE WE WANT TEACHERS TO SAY YES, UH, IN THE CLASSROOM AND STAY THREE TO FIVE YEARS, IT IS OUR HOPE THAT YES, WE WILL CONTINUE TO, UM, EXPAND OUR TEACHERS' KNOWLEDGE.BUT SOMETIMES WE DON'T CONTROL THE RETENTION RATES.
WE DO A LOT TO DO THAT, BUT WE WILL HAVE ENOUGH PEOPLE AROUND I THINK TO SUSTAIN THE LEARNING NOT ONLY IN OUR TEACHERS BUT ALSO WITH OUR LEADERS.
ONE KEY COMPONENT OF A LOT OF THE PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT THAT WE'VE STARTED DOING IS MAKING SURE OUR LEADERS ARE A PART OF THE TRAINING SO THAT THEY CAN PROVIDE SUPPORT NOT ONLY TO TEACHERS BUT INSTRUCTIONAL LEADERSHIP AS THEY GO THROUGH DIFFERENT PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITIES.
ARE THERE ANY OTHER COMMENTS FROM THE AUDIENCE? I SAY NO ONLINE COMMENTS.
ANY COMMENTS FROM THE BOARD? SEEING NONE.
MADAM SECRETARY
[Item G6]
WE MOVE TO ITEM G SIX CONSIDERATION OF REQUEST FOR THE APPROVAL OF PROFESSIONAL SERVICES CONTRACT BETWEEN THE EAST BATON ROUGE SCHOOL BOARD AND THE FOLLOWING, A ADAPTIVE SOLUTIONS AND SHERRY HOLLINGSWORTH IN THE AMOUNT OF $20,000 TO PROVIDE ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGY SERVICES AND TECHNICAL SUPPORT.THE AUDIO OPTICAL SYSTEMS OF AUSTIN INCORPORATED KURT'S WELL 300 IN THE AMOUNT OF $47,892 TO PROVIDE PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT SOFTWARE AND COMPREHENSIVE TEXT TO SPEECH INTEGRATED.
LITERALLY LITERATE, EXCUSE ME, LITERACY SOLUTION TO STUDENTS SEE CHASE HEALTHCARE AND THE AMOUNT OF $87,000 TO PROVIDE LPN NURSING SERVICES.
D D S SULLIVAN IN THE AMOUNT OF $20,000 TO PROVIDE ORIENTATION AND MOBILITY EVALUATIONS AND TRAINING SERVICES TO ESS STUDENTS.
D I MEAN E DEF RESOURCES CENTER OF GREATER BATTERIES LLC IN THE AMOUNT OF $80,000 TO PROVIDE SIGN LANGUAGE INTERPRETING SERVICES.
AF N O M I SUPPORT SERVICES LLC IN THE AMOUNT OF $60,000 TO PROVIDE TRAINING FOR STAFF FOR STUDENTS AUTISM SPECTRUM, SPECTRUM DISORDER, GI PEDIATRIC SERVICES OF AMERICA INCORPORATED DOING BUSINESS AS PSA HEALTH CARE IN THE AMOUNT OF 48 483,000 FOR LPN NURSING SERVICES.
EIGHT DR HONDA, L WILLIAMS, L P B C B A D N C S B AND CENTURY BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES IN THE AMOUNT OF $60,000 FOR APPLIED BEHAVIORAL ANALYSIS TRAINING A TURNER LLC IN THE AMOUNT OF $621,000 TO PROVIDE AND NURSING SERVICES FUNDING SOURCE.
DO WE HAVE TECHNICAL ISSUES? I SHOULD PAUSE FOR A SECOND.
ARE THERE, DO I HAVE A MOTION MOTION BY MR TOPMAN SECOND AT MY MS. BERNARD.
MR. CHAPMAN
MY NAME IS JOANNA HARRIS AND I WANTED
[00:35:01]
THE BOARD TO TAKE INTO CONSIDERATION WITH THIS FUNDING THAT YOU ALL PUT IN AND PUT PROGRAMS IN PLACE FOR CHILDREN WHO ARE IN BETWEEN THOSE STAGES OF BEING DIAGNOSED AS HAVING SOME TYPE OF ESS NEED IT.WITHIN THE SCHOOL SYSTEMS BECAUSE FROM THIS YEAR, THE EXPERIENCE THAT I'VE HAD FOR MY CHILDREN, BECAUSE OF THE ONLY ONE TO PUT THEM IN EYECARE OR INTERNALIZE IT AS IT'S A BEHAVIOR PROBLEM, WHEN IT WAS ONGOING, UM, THE PROCESS TO GET THE DIAGNOSIS WAS ONGOING.
THAT IS SOMETHING THAT NEEDS TO BE PUT IN A SCHOOL SYSTEM IMMEDIATELY WITH THE FUNDING THAT'S COMING.
BECAUSE AT THE END OF THE DAY, THE CHILDREN ARE ALWAYS SUFFERING FROM THIS.
THEY ARE THE ONES THAT'S BEING INTERNALIZED AS BEHAVIOR PROBLEMS AND ET CETERA.
NOT LOOKING AT THE FACT THAT THE SERVICES IN BETWEEN AND THE PROCESS THAT IT TAKES FOR VARIOUS DIAGNOSIS, ESPECIALLY AUTISM IS SOMETHING THAT NEEDS TO BE LOOKED INTO.
ARE THERE ANY OTHER COMMENTS FROM THE AUDIENCE AND THERE ARE NO OTHER COMMENTS ON THE INTERNET? MOVING BACK TO THE BOARD, ANY COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS FROM THE BOARD? MR LANICE? UH, A BIT CURIOUS BECAUSE I NOTICED THERE ARE SEVERAL SERVICES THAT WE ARE, UH, RENDERING FOR LPN NURSING SERVICES.
SO I COUNTED AT LEAST FOUR OF THEM, I POSSIBLY THREE AND I JUST, I WAS JUST CURIOUS AS TO KNOW WHY ARE WE, WHY ARE WE VENTURING OUT WITH SEVERAL DIFFERENT UM, VENDORS FOR THE SAME SERVICES? WHY NOT GO THROUGH ONE VENDOR AND GET AN OVERALL CAP ON AN AMOUNT OF MONEY THAT WE'RE SPENDING? MR. SMITH IS COMING UP TO ADDRESS THAT.
THIS IS CHAPMAN IS ONLINE AS WELL, BUT UH, MR LANDON'S HIS PRIMARY BECAUSE THE AVAILABILITY OF NERVOUS NURSES.
SO WE HAVE TO CONTRACT WITH MORE THAN ONE COMPANY VENDOR TO GET AN IMMEDIATE NERVOUS SERVICES THAT NURSES THAT WE NEEDED ARE THERE.
DOES THAT, THANK YOU MR ATLANTA.
ARE THERE ANY OTHER COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS? HAVE I GONE THROUGH THE AUDIENCE? OKAY.
ANY OTHER COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS FROM THE BOARD? SEEING NONE.
MADAM SECRETARY, PLEASE VOTE ITEM CARRIES.
[Item G7]
NEXT WE GO TO ITEM G SEVEN CONSIDERATION OF A REQUEST FOR THE APPROVAL OF A WAIVER FROM THE EASTBOUND REDDISH BEAR SCHOOL SYSTEM.LOCAL PERSONNEL ACCOUNTABILITY PLAN, INCLUDING EFFECTIVENESS AND DEMAND STIPENDS FOR TEACHERS AND ADMINISTRATORS FOR THE 2019 2020 SCHOOL YEAR DUE TO COLGATE 19 SCHOOL CLOSURES.
DO I HAVE ANY COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS FROM THE BOARD? MS DYSON.
ON THIS ITEM, IS THERE ANYONE THAT CAN GIVE US A LITTLE BIT MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THESE, UM, DEMAND STIPENDS? WELL, I, I THINK I CAN HELP.
UH, THE COMPASS EVALUATION SYSTEM FROM THE STATE IS A YEAR LONG PROCESS AND WE WERE NOT ABLE TO COMPLETE IT.
IT WAS ONE OF THE WAIVERS THAT THE STATE, UH, GAVE ALL SCHOOL SYSTEMS. SO WITHOUT COMPLETING THAT, THERE WAS NO WAY TO, UH, HAVE AN OFFICIAL EVALUATION OF EMPLOYEES THIS YEAR.
SO EVERYTHING STOPPED WHERE IT WAS, UH, THERE, UH, YOU GET ADDITIONAL MONEY BASED ON WHERE YOU LAND IN THAT EVALUATION.
SO BECAUSE OF THAT, WE'RE ASKING FOR A WAIVER FROM THAT POLICY THAT THAT GIVES ADDITIONAL MONIES.
SO THAT'S THE BASIC, UH, I KNOW DAPHNE'S HERE, I THINK DAPHNE'S HERE AS WELL.
IF YOU NEED ADDITIONAL INFORMATION, BUT IT, IT ALL BOILS DOWN TO WE WERE NOT ABLE TO COMPLETE EVALUATIONS AND WE DON'T HAVE A FUNDING SOURCE
[00:40:01]
TO PROVIDE ANY STIPENDS.WELL WE, WE HAVE A FUNDING STORES BUT WE CAN'T PAY STIPENDS WHEN YOU DON'T HAVE THE EVALUATION BECAUSE YOU DON'T KNOW WHERE THE TEACHER'S LANDED IN THE EVALUATION.
WE'RE ASKING FOR A WAIVER TO PAY THE STATE WAIVER FROM, FROM, FROM HAVING TO PAY STIPENDS.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH MS. COLLINS EXIT.
IT SHOULD COME AFTER THIS, UH, IS A, IS A REQUEST FOR A PERSONAL POINT OF PRIVILEGE SO IT SHOULD COME AFTER.
ANY OTHER COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS FROM THE BOARD? CIGNA, WE NOW MOVE TO THE AUDIENCE.
IF YOU'RE ASKING FOR A WAIVER FROM THE USUAL POLICY, IT WOULD SEEM REASONABLE TO SUGGEST WHAT YOU'RE GOING TO DO IN THE ABSENCE OF THE USUAL POLICY.
WOULD THAT BE TO PAY NOBODY ANY STIPEND OR PAY EVERYBODY AN AVERAGE AMOUNT OF THOSE FUNDS ALLOW OR PUNT THAT TILL NEXT MONTH? AND I COULDN'T TELL THE ANSWER FOR MS DONALDSON'S MEMO THAT WAS ATTACHED AS BACKUP.
CAN YOU, IF SHE'S NOT ME, I'M HERE.
OBVIOUSLY UNDER THE PERSONNEL ACCOUNTABILITY PLAN PROVIDES FOR EFFECTIVENESS STIPENDS.
THE EFFECT OF EFFECTIVENESS IS BASED ON THE EVALUATION THE STATE WAIVED ALL EVALUATIONS WITH HERE.
SO THERE WILL BE NO STIPENDS BECAUSE OF THAT.
UM, ALONG WITH WHAT THE GENTLEMAN WAS SAYING, EVEN THOUGH THAT THEY WEREN'T ABLE TO COMPLETE ALL OF THE EVALUATIONS, I MEAN, TEACHERS STILL WORKED HARD AND CAN WE JUST AVERAGE THE ONES THAT THEY DID GET AND STILL GIVE THEM SOMETHING, EVEN IF IT'S A MINIMUM, I MEAN, I UNDERSTAND THERE'S A POLICY, BUT THE POLICIES CAN BE EDITED IN TIMES OF CRISIS.
HELLO? IS THAT MS DAPHNE DOWNSTAIRS? YES.
CAN YOU HEAR ME OR, YES, VERY LOUD AND CLEAR.
UM, SO THE, THE WAIVER IS BECAUSE IN THE PERSONNEL ACCOUNTABILITY T PLAN, IT IS SAID THAT IF A PERSON GETS A CERTAIN EVALUATION SCORE, THEY WOULD GET A CERTAIN SET STIPEND.
UM, DUE TO THE FACT THAT WE, UM, THE STATE WAIVED THE TESTING, WHICH IS COUNTS FOR 50% OF THE SCORING.
WE WEREN'T ABLE, WE'RE NOT ABLE TO DO THAT.
NOW DOES THAT MEAN THAT WE WON'T OFFER STIPENDS NEXT YEAR FOR ANYTHING ELSE? NO, THAT, THAT'S A TOTALLY DIFFERENT THING.
THOSE TYPES OF STIPENDS ARE DONE DIFFERENTLY.
THIS IS PURELY BASED UPON COMPASS.
UM, WE HAVE TO DO THIS BECAUSE WE ARE NOT, UM, WE'RE NOT UTILIZING STUDENT TEST DATA TO DO AND FINALIZE EVALUATIONS AND ALSO BECAUSE THE EVALUATION ARE CONNECTED TO TEACHER CERTIFICATION.
THE STATE HAD TO WAIVE THAT FOR THIS YEAR.
SO WE'RE JUST DOING THIS IN ALIGNMENT WITH THE STATE.
BUT IT DOESN'T MEAN THAT DOWN THE ROAD IF THERE IS AN ABILITY TO PROVIDE A STIPEND THAT THE DISTRICT WOULD NOT CONSIDER THAT.
WE GOT TO FINISH THE PUBLIC FIRST.
ARE THERE ANY OTHER COMMENTS FROM THE PUBLIC AND I'M CHECKING THE WEBSITE AND I DID NOT SEE ANY.
NOW MR LANDIS, THIS IS OUT OF CURIOSITY.
[00:45:01]
UH, WHENEVER THERE IS A WAVE OF THIS KIND, WOULD WE NOT REFER? UH, UH, SO WE'RE LOOKING FOR THE FIRST TO LAST YEAR SCORES MUCH LIKE WHAT HAPPENED IN TERMS OF ACCOUNTABILITY WITH THE FLOOD, HOW WE REFER TO LAST, THE PRIOR YEAR SCORES RATHER THAN USING THE YEAR OF THE FLOOD.WHAT DID WE NOT DO? THE SAME THING WITH THE TEACHER EVALUATION PROCESS.
I GUESS THE BOARD CAN DO ANYTHING THEY WANT TO.
THIS IS ALIGNING US WITH THE STATE'S WAIVER.
THEY WERE PAID THE STIPENDS BASED ON THEIR SCORES LAST YEAR AND IT WOULD BE PAYING THEM AGAIN FOR THE SAME SCORE THEY MADE.
YOU KNOW, THIS HAS BEEN AN UNUSUAL YEAR AND JUST WE'VE NEVER SEEN ANYTHING LIKE THIS.
THERE'S NEVER BEEN A WAIVER OF THIS.
SO I MEAN, OUR RECOMMENDATION IS TO FOLLOW THE STATE'S RECOMMENDATION, WHICH IS THERE'S NO COMPAS EVALUATION THIS YEAR.
THERE CAN BE NO EFFECTIVENESS RATING BECAUSE THERE'S NO COMPASS EVALUATION.
BUT DOES THIS IN ANY WAY HARM OR HINDER TEACHERS? THAT WOULD BE MY NEXT QUESTION BY THAT.
AGAIN, WHAT DOES IN ANY WAY HARM OR HINDER TEACHERS FROM RECEIVING THOSE, FROM NOT RECEIVING THOSE STIPENDS? I'M JUST CURIOUS.
WELL, THIS IS MONEY IN ADDITION TO THEIR SALARY BASED ON THEIR EVALUATION.
SO I MEAN, I GUESS YOU COULD SAY IT COULD, YES, IT WOULD BE LESS MONEY THAN THEY WOULD GET BASED ON WHATEVER RATING THEY GOT ON THEIR EVALUATION.
UH, SO THAT'S, THAT'S UH, SOMETHING THAT YOU WOULD HAVE TO LOOK AT.
UH, BUT WE WERE FOLLOWING THE STATE'S GUIDELINE, WHICH IS THERE'S NO COMPASS THIS YEAR.
THERE CAN BE NO EFFECTIVENESS RATING, THEREFORE THERE CAN NOT BE A PAYMENT BASED ON THE EFFECTIVENESS RATING.
ANY OTHER COMMENTS FROM ANY OTHER BOARD MEMBERS? CNN, MADAM SECRETARY, PLEASE VOTE YES.
THE MOTION CARRIES, UH, AND GIVING WITH OUR VERY LENIENT POLICY ON REGARDING PUBLIC COMMENT.
UH, I DO NOT KNOW THE LAST ITEM BEFORE THIS HAD A PUBLIC COMMENT THAT EITHER I DID NOT SEE OR IT CAME IN, UH, BECAUSE OF THE TIME DELAYS.
I WILL JUST READ IT VERY BRIEFLY.
THIS RELATES TO THE PROFESSIONAL SERVICES CONTRACT AND THIS IS FROM STORM.
MATTHEW'S SAYING THERE HAS BEEN ZERO TRAINING FOR KURTZ.
WELL, IN THE SCHOOLS WE HAVE REQUESTED THIS MULTIPLE TIMES WILL TRAINING ACTUALLY BE PROVIDED.
SO THANK YOU MS. MATTHEWS FOR YOUR COMMENT.
[Item G8]
WE'LL GO TO ITEM EIGHT G EIGHT CONSIDERATION OF REQUEST FOR THE APPROVAL OF THE REVISED 2019 2020 GENERAL FUND BUDGET FOR EASTBOUND RATIO PAIR SYSTEM.IS MR CROCHET OR MS. LOPEZ GOING TO DO ANY PRESENTING OR MAY I HAVE A MOTION FIRST.
GOOD EVENING BOARD MEMBERS AND MR. DRAKE.
UM, THE 2019 2020 SCHOOL YEAR BUDGET DID END SUCCESSFULLY.
THE GENERAL FUND ENDED WITH A BALANCE OF APPROXIMATELY $680,000 AND A TOTAL FUND BALANCE OF APPROXIMATELY 44 MILLION.
THIS IS A TOTAL REVENUE AS A PERCENTAGE OF FUND BALANCE OF 10% WITH AD VALOREM INCREASING SIGNIFICANTLY BY 4% AND KEEPING SALES TAX FLAT.
LOCAL REVENUES INCREASED BY 5.4 MILLION.
MFP DECREASED BY ONLY ABOUT $200,000 DUE TO LIMITED LOSS OF STUDENTS.
AND THE DISTRICT RECEIVED CDBG FUNDING FOR THE FLOOD FOR A $370,000.
UH, THE MAJOR EXPENDITURES FOR THIS YEAR WERE REPAIR AND MAINTENANCE, WHICH INCREASED BY TWO POINT $4 MILLION DUE TO THE ADA COMPLIANCE RATE PREPARES AT SEVERAL OF OUR SCHOOLS AS WELL AS OUR AGING BUS FLEET CHARTER SCHOOLS INCLUSIVE ABOUT TYPE ONE AND TYPE TWO INCREASED BY TWO POINT $8 MILLION OVER PROPOSED ESTIMATES.
[00:50:01]
MAINTAIN THE WAY WE EXPECTED IT TO AND OUR PROPOSED BUDGET WITH INCREASING BY ONLY 46 POSITIONS AND THESE POSITIONS WERE PRIMARILY AS AIDS THERAPIST AND COUNSELORS.GAS DECREASED APPROXIMATELY $800,000 DO THE LOWER PRICES AND COBIT 19 SUBSTITUTES ALSO DECREASED $200,000 DUE TO COBIT 19 AND THE RENTAL OF BUSES INCREASED BY $300,000 BUT WE'RE HOPING WILL BE A UM, EXPENDITURE THAT WILL GO AWAY NEXT YEAR ONCE WE CONTINUE WITH THE VOLKSWAGEN AND DEER GRANTS TO PURCHASE NEW BUSES.
ANY COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS FROM THE BOARD? MR. HOWARD? YES, MS. LOPEZ.
IF YOU COULD SEND US SOME INFORMATION REGARDING THE, THE CHANGES DIRECTLY IMPACTED BY COBIT 19 AND HOW WE PLAN TO OFFSET THOSE CHANGES WITH MONEY THAT'S RECEIVED FROM THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT AS A RELATION TO COBY 19.
AND THAT MR. HOWARD, THAT'S A VERY GOOD QUESTION.
DOES THIS BUDGET AND ANTICIPATE RECEIPT OF MONEY DIRECTLY RELATED TO COLGATE 19 OR HOW IS THAT HANDLED? THE 2019 DOES NOT RIGHT NOW.
UM, MUCH LIKE WITH THE FLOOD WHERE PUTTING THE COVERT EXPENSES AND OUR EXPENSE AND OUR CAPITAL PROJECTS ARE IN OUR FLOOD RELIEF BUDGET AND THEIR OWN ACCOUNTS SO WE CAN KEEP TRACK OF THEM SO THAT WE CAN PROVIDE DOCUMENTATION TO FEDERAL GOVERNMENT AND FEMA AND RECEIVE REIMBURSEMENT AT THIS POINT.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS FROM THE BOARD? ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS FROM THE AUDIENCE? OKAY.
QUESTION ABOUT TRANSPORTATION.
WOULD YOU GIVE ME THOSE TRANSPORTATION NUMBERS AGAIN AND I'D LIKE TO KNOW, UM, WHAT WE AVERAGE MONTHLY ON A TRANSPORTATION COSTS.
SO CURIOSITY HERE, THAT'S A PRETTY SIGNIFICANT, UH, CHANGE IN THAT 800,000.
IT WAS NOT JUST BECAUSE OF THE COBIT, IT WAS ALSO BECAUSE OF DROPPING OIL PRICES, WHICH HELPS SIGNIFICANTLY.
UM, I WOULD HAVE TO LOOK THAT INFORMATION UP FOR YOU BACK AND GET THAT TO YOU.
MR LANA'S? YES, THIS IS, DO YOU HAVE A ROUGH ESTIMATE OR A NUMBER OF HOW MUCH WE'RE LOOKING TO BE YOUR AMHERST BUT IT'S NOT, UM, RIGHT NOW THEY'RE, THEY'RE NOT, THEIR PERCENTAGES ARE 75, 25, BUT THAT CAN CHANGE AT ANY TIME, BUT THAT IS WHAT THE FEMA REPRESENTATIVES ARE TELLING US IS A 75, 25 COVERAGE.
AMY, ARE THERE ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS FROM THE AUDIENCE? I DO HAVE ONE ONLINE.
UH, THIS IS FROM MARIA HARMON.
AFTER REVIEWING THE REVISED BUDGET, I ENCOURAGE THE EBR SCHOOL BOARD TO UPHOLD THEIR FIDUCIARY RESPONSIBILITIES AND UTILIZING RESOURCE EQUITY WITH OUR TAX DOLLARS IN MEETING THE NEEDS OF ALL CHILDREN IN OUR SCHOOL SYSTEM.
IT IS PROVEN THAT IF ALL THE NEEDS OF A CHILD ARE MET IN A SCHOOL SETTING, THEY WILL THRIVE ACADEMICALLY.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS FROM THE COMMENTS FROM THE AUDIENCE? SITTING? NONE BACK TO THE BOARD SINGING NUN.
THE ITEM PASSES UNANIMOUS AND MS. COLLINS HAS A COMMENT.
SUPERINTENDED, UH, LAST TIME AND, AND MY COLLEAGUES ON THE BOARD AND THE PUBLIC LAST TIME WE MET, UM, I WAS A GENERAL COUNSEL GOING, SHANNON HAD LOST HIS MOTHER.
UH, BUT I DON'T KNOW IF WE TOOK A MOMENT, UH, TODAY TO RECOGNIZE THAT HE ALSO LOST HIS FATHER TO THE, UH, COVERT 19 AND I JUST, UH, ASKED
[00:55:01]
THAT WE LIFT HIM UP, HIM AND HIS FAMILY UP IN PRAYER, UM, THAT THEY FIND PEACE AT THIS TIME.AND IF WE COULD JUST TAKE A BRIEF MOMENT OF SILENCE FOR HIM AND HIS FAMILY.
WHAT THAT MEANT WAS, OH, MR TATLER WAS VERSA.
I JUST WANTED TO ALSO RECOGNIZE THAT I'M A FORMER VICE PRESIDENT AND A MEMBER OF THIS SCHOOL BOARD.
UM, JUDGE TARGET SMITH'S LOST HIS FATHER, UM, TO A STROKE TWO WEEKS AGO.
UM, I GUESS IT'S A POINT OF PERSONAL PRIVILEGE, BUT I, UM, ARE WE LOOKING AT, UM, AND YOU KNOW, TO LEADERSHIP, ARE WE LOOKING AT HAVING AT, UH, ADDRESSING OR HAVING SOME SORT OF A WORKSHOP ON THE IMPACT OF THE
AND I REALIZE IT'S TOO EARLY TO TELL BECAUSE THE NUMBERS DON'T COME IN, BUT I JUST, YOU KNOW, WANTED TO ASK, UH, IF IS THERE A PLAN OR MOVING FORWARD AND IF NOT, JUST URGE ONE THAT'S ALL, UH, ABOUT HOW, HOW ARE WE GOING TO COLLECT THAT DATA AND THEN HOW ARE WE GOING TO COMMUNICATE THAT, UH, TO THE PUBLIC, UH, AND YOU KNOW, SO THAT WE CAN ALL BEGIN TO TRY TO FIND SOLUTIONS TO IT.
AND YES, WE ARE THINKING ABOUT HOW BEST TO DO THAT.
THE GOALPOSTS KEEP MOVING, UH, VERY RAPIDLY.
UH, SO WE WILL BE PRESENTING VERY SHORTLY A PROPOSED BUDGET FOR 2021.
UH, BUT I FULLY SUSPECT THAT THAT BUDGET WILL PROBABLY BE REVISED, UH, SHORTLY AFTER.
AND ALSO IN THE MEANTIME, HOPEFULLY WE WILL HAVE A NEW SUPERINTENDENT COMING IN SO THAT NEW SUPERINTENDENT.
SO I WOULD ENVISION PROBABLY WE WILL PASS A BUDGET THAT REFLECTS, UH, THE BEST KNOWLEDGE THAT WE HAVE.
BUT SOMETIME IN AUGUST WE'D PROBABLY COME BACK AND DO A REVISED BUDGET.
I DON'T KNOW MR. DRAKE, IF YOU HAVE OTHER COMMENTS OR THOUGHTS.
I THINK RIGHT NOW OUR BUDGET FOR THIS NEXT YEAR, IT LOOKS PRETTY GOOD, BUT IT, UH, WE'VE, WE'VE CUT ADDITIONAL MONIES ABOUT $6 MILLION.
UH, BUT ONCE SCHOOL BEGINS, THAT'S WHEN WE'RE REALLY GOING TO FIND OUT, YOU KNOW, THE NUMBER OF STUDENTS WE HAVE AND WHAT, WHAT'S GOING ON.
I THINK WE CAN, I THINK THIS BOARD CAN, UH, WE CAN RECOMMEND, AND YOU CAN PASS A BALANCED BUDGET THIS YEAR, NEXT MONTH IN JUNE.
BUT AS MR
UH, THERE'S A LOT OF MOVING PARTS HERE, SO THERE WILL DEFINITELY, IT'S NOT WHERE YOU START, IT'S WHERE HE AND, AND SO, UH, I THINK WE, WE'VE, UH, THIS STAFF HAS DONE AN AMAZING JOB WORKING ON THE BUDGET THE LAST TWO YEARS.
WE'VE CUT OVER $55 MILLION IN THE LAST FOUR YEARS FROM THIS BUDGET AND, AND MAINTAINED AND, AND, AND GREW ACADEMICALLY, WHICH I THINK IS PRETTY SIGNIFICANT.
AND SO I WANT TO THANK OUR STAFF FOR THAT AND, UH, WE'RE, WE'LL HAVE TO DO IT AGAIN AND THERE'S JUST NO WAY WE CAN TELL EXACTLY WHAT IMPACT THIS FALL WILL LOOK LIKE, BUT WE'RE GOING TO BE READY TO ATTACK IT.
YOU SAW YESTERDAY WHERE I'VE ASKED DR. RUTLEDGE TO FOCUS STRICTLY ON, ON, UH, DISTANCE LEARNING AND WE'RE GONNA HAVE SOME LOOKS AT WHERE WE CAN DO THIS, WHAT TYPE OF FACILITY WE CAN GO INTO.
UH, EDUCATION IS GOING TO CHANGE FOREVER FROM THIS.
UM, I AM, YOU JUST TOUCHED ON IT AND I WAS CURIOUS ABOUT THE DISTANCE LEARNING AND I'VE SAYING, YOU KNOW, THROUGH UH, SOME PARENTS TALKING THAT THERE MAY BE, UM, SITUATIONS WHERE MAYBE ONE, UM, PARENT DECIDES THAT THEY MIGHT TAKE A GROUP OF CHILDREN FROM AROUND THE AREA OR SOMETHING
[01:00:01]
AND HELP, UH, HELP THEM WITH DISTANCE LEARNING, UM, BUT STILL STAY A PART OF OUR SYSTEM.AND, UM, I REALLY THINK THAT WE NEED TO ACTIVELY BE COMING UP WITH SCENARIOS WHERE WE CAN PROVIDE PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT WITH PARENTS, GRANDPARENTS, UM, ANYONE THAT IS INTERESTED IN, THEY'RE GOING TO BE A HOST, UH, FOUR NUMBERS OF CHILDREN IN SMALL GROUPS AND THAT KIND OF THING.
UM, SO I'M JUST HOPING THAT WE PUT SOME PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PLANS IN PLACE BECAUSE I THINK WE'RE GOING TO NEED EVERY PARTNER AND SO THAT THEY CAN STAY A PART OF OUR SCHOOL SYSTEM AS WE KIND OF WALK THROUGH THIS, ESPECIALLY IN THE BEGINNING OF THE YEAR.
AND IF WE COULD DO SOME OF THAT THIS SUMMER, PREPPING THESE, UM, PARENTS TO BE ABLE TO TAKE THAT LEAD, THAT'S ABSOLUTELY A PART OF THIS.
AND I'LL EVEN TAKE IT TO THE NEXT LEVEL.
WE'RE LOOKING FOR A HUB FOR, FOR OUR DISTANCE LEARNING PROGRAM WHERE WE CAN ACTUALLY ATTRACT IN OUR HOMESCHOOL STUDENTS WHO WILL HAVE A PLACE WHERE THEY COULD GO AND HAVE GET RESEARCH AND UH, HELP IF THEY WANT IT.
MOTHERS COULD DROP THEM OFF THERE OR FAMILIES COULD DROP THEM OFF THERE FOR A DAY AND SO WE COULD EVEN GAIN BACK HOMESCHOOL STUDENTS.
THERE'S A LOT OF MOVING PARTS HERE THAT WE'RE REALLY WORKING ON.
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT HAS TO BE THE BIGGEST PART BECAUSE IT'S NEW TO ALL OF US.
SO, UH, PR HAS TO BE IN OUR COMMUNICATIONS AROUND IT.
WE NEED TO BE REALLY THINKING THROUGH RIGHT AWAY BECAUSE THEY'RE MAKING PLANS RIGHT NOW ON WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN WHEN THEY GO BACK TO SCHOOL, WHEN THE PARENT GOES BACK TO WORK.
LET ME ALSO SAY THIS, THIS BOARD, YOU GUYS WERE GAVE US THE MONEY TO PURCHASE OVER 30,000 COMPUTERS IN THE SAME YEAR THAT WE CUT $13 MILLION.
WE WERE YOU, YOU DID US A GREAT SERVICE BY ALLOWING US TO DO THAT BECAUSE WE KNEW THIS WAS COMING.
WE KNEW THAT THAT COMPUTERS IN THE HANDS OF STUDENTS WERE COMING AND OF COURSE IT'S HERE FASTER THAN WE EVEN THOUGHT WITH, WITH TOTALLY OUT OF THE SCHOOL BUILDINGS.
AND SO THAT IS A BIG PART OF IT AS WELL.
NOW WE'LL TRY TO GET BACK ON THE AGENDA.
[Item G9]
G NINE CONSIDERATION OF REQUESTS FOR THE APPROVAL OF THE FOLLOWING SCHOOL BOARD POLICIES AND RELATED MATTERS POLICY E B B D AND POLICY G, B R I B C AND THOSE POLICIES ARE LISTED IN THE BOARD DOCS AND THEY ARE PART OF OUR POLICY MANUAL.UH, DO I HAVE ANY MS. BERNARD A MOTION? I'M SORRY.
DO I HAVE A SECOND SECOND BY MR LANICE? ANY QUESTIONS AND COMMENTS FROM THE BOARD? MS. JACKSON? THE MICROPHONE'S NOT ON.
I'M ALWAYS ASKING FOR A BRIEF OVERVIEW OF, UM, OF POLICY SO THAT, UM, OUR PEOPLE AT HOME CAN UNDERSTAND ANYTHING THAT'S GOING ON IN THE POLICY ROOM.
UM, THE FIRST POLICY EBB D, UM, REPLACES BASICALLY EXPANDS AN EXISTING BOARD POLICY REGARDING THE CANCELLATION OF SCHOOL, UH, TAKING INTO ACCOUNT ISSUES NOT PREVIOUSLY CONSIDERED BY THE BOARD, UM, OR ANY DISTRICT FOR THAT MATTER.
WE'RE GETTING A BETTER MICROPHONE.
[01:05:09]
ALLOWS THE, UH, SUPERINTENDENT THE AUTHORITY TO MAKE THE APPROPRIATE PUBLIC ANNOUNCEMENTS WITH A CONSULTATION BY THE BOARD, REQUIRES NOTIFICATION TO MEDIA, AUTHORIZES THE SUPERINTENDENT FURTHER TO, UH, DETERMINE WHAT EMPLOYEES OF THE SYSTEM ARE ESSENTIAL EMPLOYEES FOR PURPOSES OF, UH, CONTINUING TO PROVIDE SERVICES IAN, SITUATIONS LIKE WE'VE JUST ENCOUNTERED.UH, THE NEXT POLICY IS GB R I C B, UM, EXPANDS EXISTING POLICY WITH REGARD TO EMERGENCY LEAVE IN LIGHT OF, UH, ACTS PASSED, UH, IN CONNECTION WITH COBIT 19.
UM, ADDING ADDITIONAL, UH, LEAVE THAT AMOUNTS TO, UM, I GUESS, UM, AN ADDITIONAL ALLOTMENT OF, UM, WHAT IS FAMILY MEDICAL LEAVE ACT LEAVE.
UM, AND ALSO, UH, PROVIDES FOR, ALLOWS, UH, FOR THE PAYMENT OF, OF EMPLOYEES, ALLOWS THEM TO USE PAID LEAVE, UM, IN ADDITION TO THE UNPAID LEAVE, UM, WHILE ALSO PROVIDING, UM, A CAP ON THE AMOUNT PER DAY AND THE AGGREGATE AMOUNT OF PAYMENT.
AND UH, THE POLICY REALLY IS, UM, THE POLICY EXPANSION REALLY IS EFFECTIVE FOR THE PERIOD APRIL OF 2020 THROUGH DECEMBER OF 2020.
ARE THERE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS FROM THE BOARD? SEEING NONE, WE'LL GO TO THE AUDIENCE.
ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS FROM THE AUDIENCE? I WILL GIVE THE INTERNET A FEW MOMENTS TO CATCH UP SAYING NONE BACK TO THE BOARD.
[Item G10]
G 10 CONSIDERATION OF A REQUEST TO RECEIVE THE SUPERINTENDENT SEARCH SURVEY REPORT ON SEMIFINALISTS FOUR.DO I HAVE A MOTION MS DYSON? DO I HAVE A SECOND? MR. HOWARD IS MR GUERRERA ON THE LINE? YES SIR.
ALL RIGHT, I'LL BE BRIEF WITH MY UPDATES.
SO I BELIEVE EVERYONE SHOULD HAVE A COPY IN THEIR BOARD DOCS WITH THE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT SURVEY REPORT AND DATA.
SO IF YOU T IF YOU WERE TO ADVANCED IT TO PAGE NINE, I'LL QUICKLY HIGHLIGHT SOME OF THE KEY POINTS.
AS OF UH, TWO DAYS AGO WHEN WE PROVIDED THIS REPORT, THERE HAVE BEEN MORE THAN 2000 VIEWS OF THE ONLINE INTERVIEWS THAT WERE POSTED OF THE FIVE CANDIDATES IN CONSIDERATION FOR THE BOARD.
UM, SINCE THIS PORT, UH, REPORT WAS PROVIDED FOR THIS PARTICULAR BOARD DOCUMENT, UH, WE'VE RECEIVED APPROXIMATELY 30 MORE ONLINE SURVEYS.
SO I KNOW THIS FOR REPORT REFERENCES 114 ROUGHLY ONLINE SURVEYS.
UM, BUT AS OF TODAY THERE'S APPROXIMATELY 145, SO THIS IS TWO DAYS, A LITTLE BIT BEHIND SCHEDULE JUST DUE TO THE POLICY OF PROVIDING THIS INFORMATION.
UM, ONE THING I LIKE TO IDENTIFY IS THAT, UM, DUE TO THE
AND I THINK FOLKS ARE FEELING UNDER OVERWHELMED WITH, UM, JUST, YOU KNOW, THE DAY TO DAY LIFE OF, OF UH, MANAGING THE PANDEMICS.
SO JUST WANTED TO, TO BRING THAT TO YOUR ATTENTION.
UM, SO TWO OF THE KEY PRIMARY THEMES THAT WE'VE HEARD IN READING AND REVIEWING
[01:10:01]
THE ONLINE SURVEYS.ONE IS HOW DO WE ALL CALL AS A COMMUNITY AND AS A SCHOOL SYSTEM AND ADDRESS THE PANDEMIC PANDEMIC WHILE PRIORITIZING RESOURCES IN AN EQUITABLE MANNER FOR ALL STUDENTS.
UH, SO THAT'S FIRST AND FOREMOST.
AND THEN SECONDLY, ONE OF THE OTHER THINGS IS HOW WILL THIS INCOMING SUPERINTENDENT ENGAGE WITH THE COMMUNITY DURING THE CRISIS AND HOW WILL HE OR SHE SERVED THE COMMUNITY IN AN EQUITABLE, EQUITABLE FASHION? EXCUSE ME.
AND IF I MAY, UH, WITH UH, SCHOOL BOARD PRESIDENT'S APPROVAL ON THE BOARD AT THE BOARD'S PLEASURE, UH, READ A COUPLE OF THE COMMENTS THAT I PULLED FROM THE ONLINE SURVEY.
I'M JUST GOING TO READ A FEW OF THE COMMENTS THAT WERE PULLED FROM THE SURVEY FROM THE COMMUNITY MEMBERS WHO SUBMITTED THE RESPONSES AS THE CORONA VIRUS 19 PANDEMIC LOOMS. TELL US WHAT WOULD THE 2020 AND 21 ACADEMIC SCHOOL YEAR WILL LOOK LIKE IF YOU'RE A SELECTED SUPERINTENDENT? SECOND COMMENT, I AM HIGHLY ENCOURAGED WITH THE TALENT WE HAVE BEEN ABLE TO ATTRACT TO THIS POSITION.
WE ARE AT A CRITICAL TIME FOR STUDENTS IN EBR AND THE NEXT LEADER MUST ACT WITH URGENCY.
WE CAN'T SIMPLY CONTINUE TO WHAT WE HAVE ALWAYS DONE.
OUR MAGNET PROGRAMS AND INFLUENCE SCHOOLS, WHILE AMAZING PROGRAMS HAVE CARRIED THE DISTRICT FOR TOO LONG AND ALLOWED US TO BELIEVE WE'RE SERVING ALL STUDENTS WHEN WE'RE NOT, WE NEED SOMEONE WHO IS TESTED, PROVEN, AND CREATIVE IN THEIR APPROACH TO SERVING STUDENTS.
THANK YOU FOR THE OPPORTUNITY FOR ALL SHOW SHAREHOLDERS TO ASYNCHRONOUSLY SHARE IN THIS PROCESS.
VOICE AND CHOICE IS IMPORTANT.
FINALLY, IF AT ALL POSSIBLE, PLEASE KEEP ONE TEAM, ONE MISSION.
FOURTH AND LAST COMMENT THAT I'LL READ FOR YOU.
THE FUTURE SUPERINTENDENT NEEDS TO DO A BETTER JOB CONNECTING WITH ALL OF YOUR SCHOOL COMMUNITY.
HE OR SHE NEEDS TO HAVE A CLEAR VISION AND PLAN OF HOW TO PREPARE US EBR SCHOOL, COMMUNITY AND IN PARENTHESES NOW FOR THE FUTURE.
SO THAT'S THE FIRST, UH, THE FINAL COMMENT THAT I'LL READ FOR YOU.
AND LASTLY, I'D LIKE TO JUST THANK THE STAFF AND THE ENTIRE SCHOOL BOARD FOR YOUR DILIGENCE DURING THIS CRITICAL TIME.
I KNOW IT'S BEEN DIFFICULT TO COMMUNICATE WITH EVERYONE, BUT I THINK AS A BOARD AND AS A STAFF, YOU'VE DONE A TREMENDOUS JOB WITH OUTREACH AND I THINK IT'S APPARENT WITH THE TREMENDOUS AMOUNT OF ABUSE OF THE ONLINE SURVEYS EXCEEDING MORE THAN 2000 IS IT'S HIGHLY INDICATIVE OF THE COMMUNITY'S ENGAGEMENT IN THIS PROCESS.
SO ALTHOUGH THE ONLINE SURVEY DIDN'T GARNER AS MANY RESPONSES AS WE RECEIVED DURING THE FIRST SURVEY, UM, AS I MENTIONED EARLIER, I THINK THIS IS JUST A COMMON TREND AND A TRAIT THAT WE'RE SEEING NATIONWIDE.
I THINK FOLKS ARE FEELING OVERWHELMED WITH ALL THE TECHNOLOGY, TECHNOLOGICAL, UM, DEMANDS AND, AND, UH, REQUESTS THAT THEY MAY BE RECEIVING ON A DAY TO DAY BASIS.
SO THAT'S THE END OF MY BRIEF REPORT.
OPEN TO ANSWERING ANY QUESTIONS AT THIS TIME.
THANK YOU, MR. GREER, ARE THERE ANY QUESTIONS AND COMMENTS FROM THE BOARD? OKAY.
MR GARA, I HAD HOPED THAT WE WOULD RECEIVE ALL OF THE COMMENTS IN PART OF THE DOCUMENT AND, UM, IS IT POSSIBLE FOR US TO RECEIVE THOSE COMMENTS? CAN YOU SEND THEM TO THE BOARD? WE CAN EXTRACT THEM IN A VILE.
SO IF AT THE BOARDS WILL, IF THAT'S A, A UNANIMOUS REQUEST BY BY NO MEANS IT'S NOT, UH, IT'S NO TROUBLE WHATSOEVER.
UH, SO I WILL JUST SPEAK IF, IF IT IS NOT A BIG ITEM, UH, TO DO, THEN I WOULD SUGGEST THAT YOU COMPILE THOSE AND SEND IT TO US.
I'D RATHER ERR ON THE SIDE OF HAVING MORE INFORMATION THAN LESS.
ANY OTHER COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS? OKAY.
NOW WE'LL MOVE TO THE, UH, TO THE AUDIENCE FOR PUBLIC COMMENTS.
AND, UH, JUST AS WE GO THROUGH HERE, I HAVE A SERIES OF PUBLIC COMMENTS, UH, ON THE INTERNET AND I WILL SAY, MR VINNY, YOU HAVE ONE CHOICE OF THE, I CAN EITHER READ YOUR COMMENT OR YOU CAN MAKE YOURS IN PUBLIC ON THIS ITEM.
SO I WON'T READ YOUR COMMENT IF YOU SPEAK PUBLICLY.
SO PLEASE, THERE YOU CAN LEAD OFF.
I HAD VERY LOW EXPECTATIONS OF A SURVEY AT THIS POINT, ESPECIALLY SINCE IT DIDN'T ASK THE, UH, THE RESPONDENTS FOR THEIR PREFERENCE AMONG THE SEMI-FINALISTS.
SO I'M NOT SURE WHAT THE RELEVANCE IS.
THIS IS TO THE SUPERINTENDENT SEARCH SEMI-FINALISTS, BUT EVEN WITH MY LOW EXPECTATIONS, I WAS TERRIBLY DISAPPOINTED.
THERE ARE, OH, 240 APPARENTLY RESPONDENTS WHOSE COMMENTS AREN'T GOING TO BE VISIBLE TO THE PUBLIC BEFORE YOU SELECT FINALISTS.
[01:15:01]
QUESTIONS THAT WERE ASKED, INVITED RESPONSES, RANKING THEM FROM ONE TO FIVE AND ALL WE SEE IS MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC ARE AVERAGES.THAT'S ALMOST COMPLETELY USELESS FEEDBACK AND THAT WOULD BE BAD ENOUGH.
BUT YOU ONLY GOT 140 SUMMARY RESPONSES.
YOU HAVE 6,000 STAFF MEMBERS THAT MIGHT'VE RESPONDED.
YOU HAD A COUPLE THOUSAND VIEWS THAT DECIDED IT WASN'T WORTH THE TIME TO CLICK FIVE BUTTONS.
THERE ARE 40,000 STUDENTS REPRESENTED IN YOUR PROCESS TONIGHT ON THE POPULATION, THE SEVERAL HUNDRED THOUSAND AND YOU GOT 145 RESPONSES.
SO I DON'T KNOW WHAT THE SELECTION CRITERIA WAS FOR THOSE COMMENTS EITHER, BUT IT WAS A, I WOULD HOPE YOU WOULDN'T USE THIS SEARCH FOR HIM TO HAVE YOU COLLECT ANY OTHER COMMUNITY INTEREST DATA EVER.
THANK YOU MR FINNEY, ARE THERE ANY OTHER COMMENTS FROM THE IN PERSON AUDIENCE? WE HAVE SOMEONE WALKING UP NOW.
SARAH HART OF THE SOUTH LOUISIANA COALITION FOR EDUCATION AND FOURTH YEAR EDUCATOR HERE IN BATON ROUGE.
SO AS FAR AS THE SURVEY RESULTS GO, I IMPLORE THE BOARD TO WORK IN TANDEM TO GATHER MORE COMMUNITY SUPPORT AND ENGAGEMENT.
UM, SIMILAR TO MR FANNY'S COMMENTS, IF WE CAN HAVE 2000 VIEWS AS WELL AS OVER 50 ATTENDEES FOR A TOWN HALL ATTENDED BY PRESIDENT AND VICE PRESIDENT OF THE BOARD, I BELIEVE THAT IF OUR BOARD WORKED IN TANDEM TO GATHER MORE COMMUNITY INPUT AS A, AS A UNIT, THEN MAYBE WE WOULD HAVE HAD MORE RESPONSES.
ALSO WAS A LITTLE CONCERNING BEING THAT THE COMMENTS HAVE NOT ALREADY BEEN GIVEN TO YOU OR THE DATA HASN'T ALREADY BEEN GIVEN TO YOU ALL.
SO HOW CAN YOU USE THAT DATA TO MAKE A DECISION TODAY? UM, IS IT THAT THAT DECISION IS BEING MADE WITHOUT THE SURVEY RESPONSES? I'M A LITTLE UNCLEAR IN REGARDS TO THAT.
AND I HOPE THAT FOR THE FINALIST PORTION OF THIS PROCESS THAT WE'D HAVE MORE INNOVATIVE WAYS TO GATHER COMMUNITY INPUT.
WE ARE AWARE THAT WE ARE IN A PANDEMIC, BUT THAT DOES NOT MEAN THAT COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT STOPS.
AND NOW IT'S MORE THAN EVER THE TIME TO BE CREATIVE.
SO MY SUGGESTS THAT THE BOARD WORK IN TANDEM TO FIGURE OUT WHAT WAYS CAN WE INCLUDE THE COMMUNITY IF OBVIOUSLY A SURVEY IS NOT WORKING, BEING THAT AN ONLY GARNER 145 RESPONSES.
SO MY PUSH IS THAT INNOVATION FROM THIS POINT FORWARD IN THIS PROCESS IS THE BOARD'S PRIORITY WHEN IT COMES TO ENGAGE IN THE COMMUNITY.
AND SLICE IS ALWAYS HERE IN ORDER TO HELP YOU DO THAT.
ARE THERE ANY OTHER IN-PERSON COMMENTS? SEEING NONE.
I WILL BEGIN TO READ THE INTERNET COMMENTS AND AFTER I REFRESH HERE, UH, THE FIRST ONE IS FROM MR. MICHAEL HAMMER.
ROSS, I PRONOUNCED THAT CORRECTLY.
IN MY VIEW, THE NEW SUPERINTENDENT SHOULD BE A STRONG ADVOCATE FOR TRADITIONAL PUBLIC SCHOOLS, NOT A CHEERLEADER FOR THE CHARTER MOVEMENT.
HE OR SHE SHOULD BE COMMITTED TO STRENGTHENING AND IMPROVING THE SYSTEM THAT IS ALREADY IN PLACE, OFFERING HIGH QUALITY EDUCATION TO ALL REGARDLESS OF INCOME OR ADDRESS, RATHER THAN OPENING THE DOOR TO CHARTER NETWORKS.
PROMISING CHOICE IN RETURN FOR LOWER ACCOUNTABILITY.
I WAS A STUDENT OF EAST BATON ROUGE PARISH FROM KINDERGARTEN THROUGH 12TH GRADE.
I RODE THE SCHOOL BUS MOST DAYS AND ATTENDED BOTH REGULAR AND GIFTED PROGRAMS. I WAS ALSO A TEACHER IN EAST BATON ROUGE PARISH PUBLIC SCHOOLS FOR 15 YEARS SERVING ELEMENTARY STUDENTS IN BOTH THE REGULAR AND GIFTED PROGRAMS AS WELL AS LEAP TUTORING AND SUMMER SCHOOL.
I NOW LIVE IN MID CITY BATON ROUGE AND AM A PARENT OF A FIVE-YEAR-OLD.
THERE ARE SOME MAJOR ISSUES IN BOTH HIGH AND LOW PERFORMING SCHOOLS.
THAT MUST CHANGE FOR ME TO BECOME COMFORTABLE PLACING MY CHILD IN THE SCHOOL DISTRICT IN WHICH I HAVE INVESTED, BEEN INVESTED IN MY ENTIRE LIFE.
I AM 43 YEARS OLD AND I HAVE SEEN THE SAME ISSUES LINGER ON AND WORSENED FOR DECADES.
I LISTENED TO ALL THE SUPERINTENDENT CANDIDATE ENTITIES.
THIS DISTRICT, STUDENTS, PARENTS AND TEACHERS CAN NOT WAIT FOR A NEW LEADER THAT NEEDS TIME TO GET TO KNOW OUR COMMUNITY AND COLLECT MORE DATA TO IDENTIFY NEEDS.
THEY DO NOT WANT TO HEAR ABOUT DEVELOPING VISIONS.
THEY WANT TO SEE A LIST OF WORKABLE ACTION ITEMS THAT CAN BE IMPLEMENTED IMMEDIATELY TO RESOLVE THESE PROBLEMS AS SWIFTLY AS POSSIBLE.
DR CONTAINER TAMALE AND ADAM SMITH
[01:20:01]
BOTH HAVE A CLEAR UNDERSTANDING OF THE GREATEST NEEDS IN THE DISTRICT AS WELL AS DETAILED PLANS OF ACTION.THEY'RE EAGER TO PUT INTO MOTION.
DR NIKIA TOWNS ALSO SEEMS TO HAVE THOROUGHLY DONE HER HOMEWORK TO GET TO KNOW OUR DISTRICT BEFORE APPLYING FOR THIS JOB AND HAS EXPERIENCED ADDRESSING THE SPECIFIC TYPES OF PROBLEMS OUR DISTRICT EXPERIENCES.
I WAS IMPRESSED BY DR TOMORROW'S PRESENTATION, THE SCHOOL BOARD ABOUT THE IMPROVEMENTS MADE AT THE STUDENTS BY THE STUDENTS AT ALTERNATIVE SCHOOLS AND WHEN SHE CHANGED THE STILL SCHOOL CLIMATE FROM PUNITIVE TO EMPATHETIC.
THIS IS THE TYPE OF INNOVATIVE IDEA THAT IS POSSIBLE TO ACCOMPLISH.
THROUGHOUT OUR DISTRICT, DR TAMALE IS A TYPE OF LEADER WE NEED NEITHER.
MARSHALL TUCK NOR LESLIE BROWN ANSWERED THE INTERVIEW QUESTIONS FROM A PLACE OF KNOWLEDGE OF OUR DISTRICT'S GREATEST NEEDS, NOR ARE THEY DO THEY PROVIDE EXPLICIT CHANGES THEY WILL IMPLEMENT HERE TO ADDRESS THOSE NEEDS.
TUCK SAID IN HIS INTERVIEW, I DON'T KNOW A TON ABOUT BATON ROUGE TUCK WOULD BE ESPECIALLY DESTRUCTIVE TO THOSE FAMILIES ALREADY SUFFERING THE MOST IN THIS COMMUNITY BY FURTHER ISOLATING THEM THROUGH PRIVATIZATION BY AN EXPANSION OF CHARTER SCHOOLS.
THERE MAY BE A PLACE IN EBR FOR A FEW CHARTERS PROVIDING SPECIALIZED SERVICES SUCH AS DYSLEXIA AND BEHAVIORAL HEALTH, BUT CHANNELS, BUT CHARTERS OUGHT NOT FULFILL THE SAME FUNCTION AS MAGNETS.
CHARTER SCHOOLS ARE NOT THE ANSWER TO ALL OF OUR DISTRICT'S PROBLEMS. PARENTS WANT TO FEEL THEIR CHILD IS BEING NURTURED AT THE NEIGHBORHOOD SCHOOL WITHOUT WAIT LISTS AND INTEREST TESTS AND APPLICATIONS WITHOUT THE THREAT OF BEING PRESSURED TO TRANSFER SCHOOLS TO IMPROVE DATA.
I AM ASKING THAT YOU USE YOUR VOTE TO ELIMINATE BOTH TUCK AND BROWN FROM THE CANDIDATES.
BOOM BECAUSE THEY DO NOT THAT BECAUSE THEY ARE NOT WHAT OUR DISTRICT NEEDS AT THIS MOMENT.
THANK YOU FOR REQUESTING AND LISTENING TO THE MEMBERS OF THIS COMMUNITY THAT ARE PERSONALLY INVESTED IN OUR EAST BATON ROUGE PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEM.
I'M A FINISHED READING THIS THEN COME BACK.
I WANT TO THANK THE BOARD FOR YOUR ATTEMPTS THUS FAR.
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT IN THIS PROCESS.
WHILE IT IS CERTAINLY NOTED, IT IS ALSO JUST NOT ENOUGH.
TONIGHT I ASK EACH INDIVIDUAL BOARD MEMBER TO FULLY EXHAUST EVERY RESOURCE AT YOUR DISPOSAL TO ENSURE ENGAGEMENT.
112 SURVEY RESPONSES SHOULD BE SEEN AND AS AS AN INDICTMENT ON YOU, PARTICULARLY WHEN YOU SERVE 41,000 PLUS STUDENTS WITH 5,200 PLUS FULL TIME EMPLOYEES AND A CITY WITH OVER 20 220,000 RESIDENTS.
FEW OF YOU HAVE GOING, ARE GOING ABOVE AND BEYOND.
A FEW OF YOU ARE GOING ABOVE AND BEYOND.
BUT WE DESERVE MUCH MORE EFFORT ON YOUR REPORT TO INCLUDE THE PEOPLE WHO WILL BE DIRECTLY IMPACTED BY THE RESULT OF THIS PROCESS.
NEXT IS FROM QUEEN NITHYA WILLIAMS. GOOD AFTERNOON.
AS A PARENT OF A MAGNET STUDENT IN ABR, I WOULD LIKE YOU TO CONSIDER HIRING DR NIKIA TOWNS IS OUR NEXT SUPERINTENDENT.
THE EVIDENCE OF HOW HER STRATEGIES AND SUPPORT HAS ENHANCED ACADEMIC GROWTH PROVES THAT SHE IS QUALIFIED FOR THE JOB.
IT IS MY HOPE THAT YOU ALL WILL CHOOSE WISELY AS THE FUTURE OF OUR STUDENTS AND COMMIT AND COMMUNITY DEPENDS UPON IT.
SINCERELY CONTINUING WILLIAMS. NEXT IS QUINN YAHUAH JACKSON.
I IMAGINE THAT SEARCHING FOR THE RIGHT SUPERINTENDENT MUST BE A STRESSFUL TASK.
HOWEVER, IT IS AN IMPORTANT ONE.
I AM THE PRODUCT AND A PARENT OF A STUDENT IN THE EAST BATON ROUGE PARISH SCHOOL SYSTEM.
FOR YEARS, I'VE WATCHED THE CONCERN FOR STUDENT SUCCESS DECLINE IN THE THIS SCHOOL DISTRICT.
IT HAS BEEN MY OBSERVATION THAT DUE TO CHALLENGES AND THE LACK OF ACCOUNTABILITY IN CENTRAL OFFICE, OUR SCHOOLS ARE SUFFERING TREMENDOUSLY.
I AM SUPPORTING NIKIA TOWNS BECAUSE I STRONGLY BELIEVE SHE WILL BE FIRM, FAIR AND NOT INTIMIDATED WHEN IT COMES TO MAKING THE NECESSARY CHANGES IN THE CENTRAL OFFICE.
IT IS TIME FOR THE SCHOOL DISTRICT TO START BACK FOCUSING ON WHAT'S MOSTLY IMPORTANT.
STUDENTS RESPECT RESPECTFULLY WHEN YANA JACKSON.
NEXT IS FOUR FROM KOHANA QUARTERLY ETHICS IS DEFINED AS THE MORAL PRINCIPLES THAT GOVERN A PERSON'S BEHAVIOR ARE THE CONDUCTING OF AN ACTIVITY AND THIS SUPERINTENDENT SEARCH ABR PUBLIC SCHOOLS HAS COMMITTED ETHICAL VIOLATIONS.
I SPOKE ON RECORD ABOUT THE NEWS MEDIA STORY THAT THE BOARD FAILED TO ISSUE A DISCLAIMER ON.
RECENTLY THE BATON ROUGE BUSINESS REPORT PUBLISHED AN ARTICLE WITH A CEO WHO IS STRONGLY AFFILIATED WITH BOARD MEMBERS ENDORSE TWO CANDIDATES.
NO DISCLAIMER HAS BEEN PUBLISHED
[01:25:01]
ON BEHALF OF EAST BATON ROUGE PARISH SCHOOLS.YOU HAVE NOW SENT A BIAS SURVEY THAT REQUIRED THE INDIVIDUAL'S NAMES, EMAIL ADDRESSES, AND SCHOOL BOARD DISTRICT REPRESENTATIVE.
HOW IS A SURVEY CONSIDERED IN LINE WITH LOUISIANA CODE OF ETHICS? HOW TRANSPARENT IS THE BOARD IN THIS PROCESS? FROM WHAT I'VE DISCLOSED SO FAR, THIS BOARD IS EXHIBITING A FI FAVORABLE BIAS TO THE BUSINESS STAKEHOLDERS.
INSTEAD OF TO THE PARENTS AND CHILDREN ACTUALLY ATTEND.
I STRONGLY RECOMMEND THIS BOARD REDO THE SURVEY IN AN UNBIASED MANNER.
UH, NEXT IS FROM JAMES JANE COMO.
THE COMMENTS FOR THE SURVEY ARE NOT AVAILABLE FOR THE PUBLIC TO REVIEW.
THIS IS A CONCERN OF ME AND OTHER PEOPLE AND I'M GOING TO REFRESH THIS.
AND WHILE THAT IS REFRESHING, MA'AM, PLEASE STEP TO MICROPHONE.
UH, I TO MAKE A STATEMENT THAT IN CHOOSING THE NEXT SUPERINTENDENT, THE CHILDREN, UM, THE VOICE OF THE CHILDREN SHOULD BE HEARD FIRST, THE CHILDREN AND THE FAMILIES BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT THEY'RE THERE TO SERVE.
I'VE HAD EXPERIENCE WITH THE ADMINISTRATION OF EAST BATON ROUGE UP UNTIL MARCH THE 12TH OF THIS YEAR.
UM, AND I CAN SAY IN A TEST THAT I WOULD NOT CHOOSE MR. SMITH AT ALL TO BE A SUPERINTENDENT TO LEAD AN ENTIRE SCHOOL SYSTEM WHEN HE COULDN'T ADDRESS THE CONCERNS OF ONE PARENT.
I WAS, I MEAN, MY CONCERNS THAT TRIED TO SILENCE ME BY COMING UP WITH, UH, UH, UM, UH, DO NOT APPEAR AT THE SCHOOL PAPERWORK AND ALL OF THAT.
WHY? BECAUSE OF PEOPLE THEY KNEW THAT I, I'VE KNOWN THIS PERSON, THIS PRINCIPAL FOR 20 YEARS, I'VE WORKED WITH THIS, UH, ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL FOR A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF TIME.
LOUISIANA IS ALWAYS AT THE BOTTOM OF EVERY LIST.
THAT'S NOT POSITIVE BECAUSE WE CONTINUE TO BRING IN INDIVIDUALS THAT WE KNOW THAT WE HAVE RELATIONSHIPS WITH, THAT THEY KEEP MOVING FORWARD BECAUSE OF THEIR NETWORK.
IT'S TIME TO CHOOSE INDIVIDUALS THAT'S GOING TO STAND FOR THE CHILDREN, THE EDUCATING OF OUR CHILDREN.
IF WE, IF WE WANT TO SEE BETTER THINGS AND OUTCOMES FOR OUR STATE, IT HAS TO START WITH INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE CONCERNED WITH OUR FUTURE.
AND I WOULD, I WOULD ADVISE MR. SMITH WOULD NOT BE ONE.
HE DIVERTS HIS, HIS DUTIES TO THE NEXT INDIVIDUAL AND THEY DO NOT GET THEMSELVES UP UNTIL THE LAST DAY.
THAT FRIDAY WHEN THEY HAD BEFORE WHEN THEY SAID THE SCHOOLS WOULD BE OUT, I WAS DEALING WITH THEM FOR WEEKS, NOT GETTING ANY RESULTS TO MY CONCERNS ABOUT MY CHILDREN, THE HARASSMENT THAT THEY WERE RECEIVING.
AND SO IF YOU'RE GOING TO CHOOSE SOMEONE, I WOULD ADVISE THAT YOU CHOOSE SOMEONE WHO HAS THE CHILDREN FIRST AND NOT BE BASED ON WHETHER THEY'RE FROM BATON ROUGE, WHETHER THEY'RE A HOMEGROWN, IT'S ABOUT THE ABILITIES THAT THEY'RE GOING TO BE ABLE TO PUT FOUR OR FIVE WITH FUTURE.
IF WE WERE SUPPOSED TO DO THESE.
I WAS WAITING UNTIL THE NUMBER 11 COMING UP.
NO, YOU CAN DO IT NOW OR DO IT AT NUMBER 11.
UH, I'M WITH THE PROGRESSIVE SOCIAL NETWORK AND I WOULD JUST LIKE TO READ, UM, A, A STATEMENT THAT WE'VE, UH, PUT OUT, UM, IN WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR.
UM, THE PREAMBLE DID, THE EDUCATION SECTION OF THE LOUISIANA STATE CONSTITUTION STATES THAT THE GOAL OF PUBLIC EDUCATION SYSTEM IS TO PROVIDE LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS AND EXPERIENCES AT ALL STAGES OF HUMAN DEVELOPMENT THAT ARE HUMANE JUST AND DESIGNED TO PROMOTE EXCELLENCE AND ORDER THAT EVERY INDIVIDUAL MAY BE AFFORDED AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY TO DEVELOP THEIR FULL POTENTIAL.
SO THAT'S SOMETHING THAT'S IN OUR CONSTITUTION.
UM, AND UH, ONE OF OUR MAIN GOALS IS THAT WE FOLLOW THE CONSTITUTION AND GIVE EVERYBODY THEIR RIGHTS.
UM, WE ARE LOOKING FOR A WHO EXPERIENCED, WHO HAS EXPERIENCED AN A DISTRICT RUN PUBLIC SCHOOL.
UM, WE ARE LOOKING FOR SOMEONE WHO HAS A COMPREHENSIVE UNDERSTANDING OF A SCHOOL DISTRICT LIKE OURS, UH, WITH SIMILAR RACIAL AND SOCIOECONOMIC MAKEUP DEDICATED TO STRENGTHENING DEMOCRATICALLY CONTROLLED PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEMS. A TRACK RECORD OF LISTENING TO AND WORKING WITH PARENTS UPLIFTS TEACHERS AS PROFESSIONALS PUTS CHILDREN'S WELLBEING FIRST AND FOREMOST.
UM, WE HAVE TO HAVE A STRONG UNDERSTANDING OF SOCIAL EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT AS WELL AS THE IMPORTANCE OF DEVELOPMENT OF AGES ZERO THROUGH THREE AS THE FOUNDATION FOR ALL LEARNING THAT FOLLOWS, WE NEED SOMEONE WHO UNDERSTANDS THAT TEST SCORES ARE NOT A FLAWLESS MEASUREMENT OF KNOWLEDGE, BUT ARE OFTEN A MEASUREMENT OF SOCIOECONOMIC STATUS.
WE'RE LOOKING FOR SOMEONE WHO IS WILLING TO ADVOCATE FOR A MORATORIUM ON MORE CHARTER SCHOOL APPLICATIONS
[01:30:01]
AND LIMIT THE EXPANSION OF CHARTER SCHOOLS BASED ON THE FISCAL HEALTH OF OUR DISTRICT.UM, AND WE WOULD LIKE TO SEE SOMEONE WHO WAS WILLING TO LIVE IN THE EAST BATON ROUGE PARISH SCHOOL FOOTPRINT.
UH, IF YOU ARE HAVING, UM, UH, SORRY, I'VE LOST MY BY MY WORDS.
UM, WE'D LIKE SOMEONE TO, YOU KNOW, UH, LIVE IN THE DISTRICT.
UM, THAT IS OUR STATEMENT FROM PROGRESSIVE SOCIAL NETWORK.
I'M GOING TO STEP ASIDE NOW AND SAY MY STATEMENT FROM JENNIFER CARLYLE.
UM, I BELIEVE THAT, UM, UH, WE HAD SOME STRONG SOUNDING APPLICANTS BUT MR TUCK CONCERNS ME BECAUSE HE DOES NOT HAVE A LARGE SCHOOL DISTRICT EXPERIENCE AND I'M REALLY NOT IMPRESSED WITH HIS, UH, EXTENSIVE CHARTER BACKGROUND.
UM, I THINK WE NEED TO BE LOOKING AT, UH, HOW WE MAINTAIN OUR MONEY AND OUR CONTROL.
I HAVE SOME EXPERIENCE WITH, UH, CHILDREN IN MY LIFE, BUT GO TO CHARTER SCHOOLS AND THERE'S REALLY NO WAY TO, UM, THEY'RE NOT GETTING A GREAT EDUCATION AND THERE'S NOT A WHOLE LOT OF WAY TO, TO, UH, TO UM, STAND UP AGAINST THAT.
HI, I AM ANITA AUGUSTUS AND I AM CURRENTLY THE PRESIDENT OF THE EAST BATON ROUGE PARIS ASSOCIATION OF EDUCATORS.
BUT I AM ALSO A TEACHER IN THIS DISTRICT.
IT CONCERNS ME THAT MICHAEL TUCK RECEIVED FIVE VOTES STRAIGHT DOWN RACIAL LIVES.
THAT CONCERNS US AS EDUCATORS.
WHY WE'RE READY FOR THAT ANSWER.
WHY WERE THERE FIVE VOTES STRAIGHT DOWN RACIAL LINES? OUR COMMUNITY IS DIVERSE.
WE'RE EXPECTING SOMEONE TO BE DIVERSE.
ALSO, WE ARE CONCERNED ABOUT LESLIE BROWN.
WE'RE CONCERNED ABOUT THAT AND MR TUCK DIDN'T EVEN TAKE THE TIME TO STUDY OUR COMMUNITY, SO HOW CAN YOU EVEN HAVE SOMEBODY EVEN CONSIDERED WHO DIDN'T STUDY OUR WONDERFUL COMMUNITY? BECAUSE WE DO HAVE A WONDERFUL DIVERSE COMMUNITY.
WE AS EDUCATORS WANT TO SEE SOMEONE WHO WILL BRIDGE THE GAP.
CHARTERS ARE HERE AND WE ARE NOT OPPOSED TO CHARTERS, BUT WE ARE OPPOSED TO CHARTERS WHO ARE SCORING SCORES LESS THAN WHAT OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS ARE DOING AND THEY'RE STILL ALLOWED TO REMAIN.
WE WANT TO KNOW WHAT IS THE NEXT STEP THAT THEIR SUPERINTENDENT HAS TO BRIDGE THE GAP BETWEEN US.
WE WANT TO WORK ON THE SAME PAGE.
WE'RE WILLING TO DO THE WORK AND BY EVIDENCE OF OUR SCORES THAT OUR SCHOOLS HAVE GONE UP, THAT WE ARE WILLING TO DO THE TOUGH WORK BUT GIVE US SOMETHING TO WORK WITH.
GIVE US SOMEONE WHO WILL RETURN CALLS OR ANSWER EMAILS.
WE HAVE SOMEONE WHO IS ON THE LIST OF WHAT RESPOND TO EMAILS THAT CONCERNS US.
YEAH, WE HAVE SOMEONE ELSE WHO'S ON THE LIST WHO RESPONDS TO EMAILS IN A VERY EFFICIENT MANNER.
EDUCATORS NEED TO KNOW THAT WE CAN WORK IN TANDEM WITH THE PERSON THAT WILL BE SELECTED.
NOW W WE'LL COME BACK TO UM, ANY OTHER COMMENTS FROM THE AUDIENCE? I HAVE RECEIVED ONE MORE ON THE INTERNET DURING THIS PERIOD AND IT IS WILD, UH, IS FROM STAR.
MATTHEW'S SAYING, WHILE I AM NOT PROVIDING AN ENDORSEMENT FOR EITHER EBR CANDIDATE, I CAN ATTEST TO MR. ADAM SMITH ACTING AND BEING VERY KNOWLEDGEABLE ON EVERY LEVEL OF EBR.
HE HAS HANDLED SITUATIONS FROM THE EMPLOYER, THE MIDDLE SCHOOL PARENT, ELEMENTARY PARENT, AND THE SPECIAL ED PARENT.
I APPRECIATE HIS TIME AND COMMUNICATION AND HIS TRUST IN PUBLIC ED.
ARE THERE ANY OTHER COMMENTS FROM THE AUDIENCE? COMMENTS FROM THE BOARD.
I JUST WANTED TO, UM, I APPRECIATE YOUR, UH, YOUR COMMENTS AND YOUR, UH, YOUR THOUGHTS, UH, MS ANITA AUGUSTUS AROUND WHAT HAPPENED DURING THE FIRST ROUND OF INTERVIEWS.
BUT I THINK IT'S VERY IMPORTANT FOR US AS A PUBLIC, AS A, AS A BODY WHO IS WITNESSING THIS LIBRARY MISSION THAT WE ARE SURE ABOUT THE INFORMATION THAT WE PRESENT IN A PUBLIC MATTER AS WE ARE ALL STAKEHOLDERS WITHIN THIS DISTRICT.
AND I JUST WANT US TO CORRECT THE INFORMATION THAT THE, THE FIRST ROUND OF VOTES FOR MR TUCK
[01:35:01]
WERE NOT DIVIDED AROUND RACIAL LINES.AS A MATTER OF FACT, THERE WERE TWO AFRICAN AMERICAN BOARD MEMBERS WHO ACTUALLY VOTED IN FAVOR OF MR. TOKEN, THREE, UM, OF WHITE BOARD MEMBERS WHO VOTED IN FAVOR OF MR. TUCK.
WHILE THAT HAS NO ROLE IN PLAYING HOW WE VOTE TONIGHT, I JUST WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE, AS ALL STAKEHOLDERS ARE PRESENTING INFORMATION TO THE PUBLIC ON ALL PLATFORMS THAT IS ACCURATE AND CORRECT INFORMATION.
SO I JUST WANTED TO CORRECT THAT INFORMATION REGARDING THE FIRST ROUND OF VOTES.
BUT AS ALWAYS, I APPRECIATE YOUR COMMENTS.
ARE THERE ANY OTHER BOARD MEMBERS WHO WOULD LIKE TO COMMENT ON RECEIVING THE REPORT FROM A JJ CONSULTING? SEEING NONE.
DO WE HAVE THE PASSES? EIGHT TO ZERO.
[Item G11]
IS DISCUSSION AND CONSIDERATION OF SELECTION OF CANDIDATES FOR SUPERINTENDENT FINALIST MS DYSON.I MOVED THE CANDIDATE NOMINATIONS FOR THE POSITION OF SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS PROCEED AS FOLLOWS.
EACH BOARD MEMBER WILL NOMINATE UP TO THREE NAMES ON THE FORM PROVIDED BY THE BOARD SECRETARY.
THE BOARD PRESIDENT WILL READ THE NOMINATIONS INTO THE RECORD.
THE BOARD, SECRETARY AND CONSULTANT WILL TALLY THE NOMINATIONS AND ANNOUNCE THE RESULTS FROM THESE RESULTS.
THE BOARD WILL INVITE THE TOP CANDIDATES WHO RECEIVE A MINIMUM OF FIVE VOTES TO PROCEED TO THE FINAL ROUND OF INTERVIEWS.
SHOULD ONLY ONE CANDIDATE MEET THE FIVE VOTE THRESHOLD FOR NOMINATION.
A SECOND ROUND OF VOTING WILL BE TAKEN WITH ONLY THOSE CANDIDATES WHO RECEIVE FOUR VOTES IN THE FIRST ROUND ABOVE BEING CONSIDERED WITH EACH BOARD MEMBER HAVING ONE VOTE, THE VOTING WILL CONTINUE UNTIL A SECOND CANDIDATE REACHES THE FIVE VOTE THRESHOLD AND I SUBMIT.
UM, SO JUST TO REVIEW FOR THE BOARD AND THE PUBLIC, EACH BOARD MEMBER WILL SELECT THREE CANDIDATES ARE UP TO THREE CANDIDATES.
THEY DO NOT HAVE TO SELECT THREE BUT A MAXIMUM OF THREE CANDIDATES AND WE WILL TALLY THE VOTES AND FIVE PLUS PUTS YOU INTO THE FINALIST ROUND.
AND IF WE HAVE ONLY ONE FINALIST AND WE WILL UH, LOOK AT THE PEOPLE WHO HAVE FOUR VOTES AND VOTE ON THOSE TO GET A SECOND FINALIST.
UH, MR LANICE QUESTION JUST FOR CLARITY, I KNOW THAT, UH, ON THE MOTION THAT BOARD MEMBER DIASEND PRESENTED, IT SAYS THAT YOU WILL READ THE NOMINATIONS INTO RECORD, BUT I JUST, I WAS JUST CURIOUS, WILL WE HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO READ OUR OWN PARTICULAR VOTES THAT WE WANT, UH, INTO THE RECORD AND THEN WE JUST GIVE YOU THE PAPER OUT THAT THAT IS PERFECTLY OKAY.
IF YOU WOULD LIKE THAT, JUST MAKE A WAY.
WE WILL GO THROUGH AND WE WILL ANNOUNCE THE VOTE IN DISTRICT ORDER.
AND SO I WILL ASK FOR ALL OF THE VOTES, UH, TO ME AND I WOULD ASK TO HAVE YOUR SIGNED COPY, BUT THEN WHEN IT COMES TO YOUR DISTRICT, IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO READ YOUR VOTES, YOU CERTAINLY HAVE THAT OPPORTUNITY, THE SAME PROCESS AS LAST TIME, SAME PROCESS AS LAST TIME.
UM, ANY OTHER COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS FROM THE BOARD? SEEING NONE.
[01:40:01]
MY THREE POINTS I WAS GOING TO MAKE HAVE EXPANDED THE FOUR CAUSE I'M A MATH TEACHER AND I CAN'T HELP MYSELF.IT'S NOT CLEAR WHAT HAPPENS IF ONE CANDIDATE GETS FIVE OR MORE VOTES AND NOBODY ELSE RECEIVES A MINIMUM OF FOUR.
SO YOU MAY WANT TO CLEAN THAT UP WITH A FRIENDLY AMENDMENT JUST SO IT'S CLEAR WHAT HAPPENS IF ONE GETS FIVE, SIX, SEVEN, EIGHT OR NINE AND NOBODY ELSE GETS MORE AND MORE.
THE FIRST POINT THAT I WAS GOING TO MAKE IS THAT WHILE I APPRECIATE MR BLUNT STEPPING IN IN THE TEMPORARY ABSENCE OF YOUR REGULAR GENERAL COUNSEL, I AM CONCERNED THAT HE'S ADVISING YOU ON THIS MATTER IN ANY WAY.
WHILE ALSO SERVING ON THE BOARD OF NEW SCHOOLS FOR BATON ROUGE BECAUSE IT SEEMS TO ME THE EMPLOYEES OF THAT ORGANIZATION HAVE INTERWOVEN THEMSELVES INTO THE BACKGROUND OF THIS PROCESS IN A PRETTY HEAVY HANDED WAY.
AND I'M WORRIED ABOUT THE IMPRESSION OF THE POSSIBILITY OF A POSSIBLE CONFLICT OF INTEREST IF MR BLONDE'S SERVING BOTH ROLES.
I WON'T COMMENT ON THE THREE CANDIDATES THAT I KNOW VERY LITTLE ABOUT.
SO I HAVE A COMMENT ON TWO OF THEM.
FIRST, THOSE OF YOU THAT ARE ON THE BOARD AND HAVE BEEN FOR SEVERAL YEARS, MAY RECALL THAT I APPLIED FOR THE LAST TWO SUPERINTENDENT POSITIONS YOU HAD BECAUSE I THOUGHT YOU MIGHT BE OPEN TO, UM, CANDIDATES WHO DIDN'T FIT THE TRADITIONAL QUALIFICATIONS.
MY SENSE FROM THIS PROCESS WAS YOU WERE LOOKING FOR SOMEBODY WHO IS TRADITIONALLY QUALIFIED TO BE A SUPERINTENDENT OF A SCHOOL SYSTEM IN LOUISIANA.
TO THAT END, I'M GOING TO SAY THAT MARSHALL TUCK APPEARS TO BE COMPLETELY, ABSOLUTELY, UNEQUIVOCALLY UNQUALIFIED TO EVEN BE CONSIDERED AND TO HAVE GOTTEN THIS FAR.
SO PLEASE DON'T CORRUPT YOUR PROCESS BY BRINGING HIM IN FOR AN INTERVIEW.
UM, I KNOW THAT, UH, THE LAST SEVERAL SUPERINTENDENTS HAVE COME FROM OUTSIDE THE SYSTEM.
CHARLOTTE PLACIDO BEING, UM, ONE EXCEPTION.
I WOULD LIKE TO ENCOURAGE YOU TO IMPROVE MORALE BY AT LEAST GIVING ONE OF THE INTERNAL CANDIDATES.
AND MY PREFERENCE WOULD BE MR. SMITH, AT LEAST THE COURTESY, THE DIGNITY, UM, LETTING THEM INTERVIEW FOR A POSITION THAT HE, HE'S CLEARLY WITHIN A WHOLE CAREER WORKING HIS WAY UP TO IS EMINENTLY QUALIFIED FOR.
AND I THINK WOULD PROBABLY BE THE BEST BET AT THIS TIME WHEN THE, THE MORALE OF THE, UH, FOLKS ON THE SYSTEM HAS TAKEN A BEATING WITH THE VIRUS.
AND I THINK YOU COULD GIVE THEM A STRONG MESSAGE OF SUPPORT FOR THE BOARD OF THE FACULTY BY ELECTING ONE OF THEIRS AS ONE OF THE FOLKS TO BE INTERVIEWED.
UM, SO AS A TEACHER, UM, AT A CIR SCHOOL AND A MEMBER OF THE SOUTH LOUISIANA COALITION FOR EDUCATION AREN'T JUST REMINDING THE BOARD THAT WE MUST KEEP EQUITY AT THE FOREFRONT OF ALL OF OUR CONVERSATIONS AND THOUGHT PROCESSES DURING THE SELECTION PROCESS.
UM, I HOPE THAT THE CONVERSATION ABOUT EQUITY AND HOW OUR SUPERINTENDENT CANDIDATES PLAN TO ACHIEVE IT AND THEIR VISION FOR AN EBR WILL CONTINUE IN THE NEXT ROUND OF INTERVIEWS.
AND DURING THE SELECTION PROCESS, WE ALSO NEED TO REMEMBER THAT EQUITY IS A VERB AND MUST CONTINUALLY BE FLEXED AND ADDRESSED TO MEET THE NEEDS OF ALL STUDENTS.
50% OF OUR SCHOOLS ARE D'S AND F'S AND WE MUST ALL DO OUR PART TO MAKE SURE THE NEXT SUPERINTENDENT SEES THE URGENT NEED FOR A TRANSFORMATION FOR ALL OF OUR STUDENTS, NOT JUST A PRIVILEGED VIEW.
HI SIERRA HART AGAIN FROM THE SOUTH LOUISIANA COALITION FOR EDUCATION.
MY ASK FROM THE BOARD IS FOR THE NEXT ROUND OF INTERVIEWS ONCE THE CANDIDATES ARE SELECTED, IS THAT THE QUESTION POOL IS MORE CLEAR AND POIGNANT TOWARDS EVIDENCE-BASED RESPONSES.
THERE SHOULDN'T BE ANY ROOM FOR KAREN AND SIX CANDIDATES TO GIVE RESPONSES THAT ARE NOT PROVEN AND EVIDENCE AND FACTS.
SO IF WE'RE ASKING QUESTIONS AROUND WHAT TANGIBLE SOLUTIONS CAN THEY BRING TO THE TABLE TO IMPROVE OUR DISTRICT, THE QUESTION SHOULD BE POINTED TOWARDS THAT SO THEY CAN ACTUALLY RELATE THAT EXPERIENCE.
A LOT OF TIMES CANDIDATES WERE ABLE TO ANSWER AROUND QUESTIONS, SO IMPROVING THE POOL OF QUESTIONS THAT ARE BEING ASKED TO CANDIDATES SO THEY CAN PROVIDE EVIDENCE BASED RESPONSES THAT COMMUNITY MEMBERS COULD EITHER EVALUATE OR LOOK TO WOULD HELP US IN THE PROCESS.
BEING THAT WE DON'T HAVE THE SAME ACCESS AS THE INTERVIEWERS.
WE ALSO WOULD LIKE THAT YOU REMEMBER THE COMMUNITY IN THIS PROCESS.
[01:45:01]
UTILIZE SOME OF THE COMMENTS THAT WERE POSED DURING THE SURVEY AND MAYBE TAKE SOME OF THE QUESTIONS FROM THE COMMUNITY THAT WAY, WE ARE ALSO PROUD OF THAT PROCESS AND WE IMPLORE YOU TO CONTINUE TO UTILIZE SLICE AS A PARTNER THROUGHOUT THIS PROCESS TO GATHER COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT AS WELL AS CONTINUING TO HAVE EQUITY AT THE FOREFRONT THROUGHOUT THIS PROCESS.I AM THE CHAIRMAN OF THE BATON ROUGE AREA CHAMBER.
I AM ALSO A LOCAL BUSINESS OWNER ON A FAMILY BUSINESS THAT'S BEEN AROUND SINCE 1926 AND MY FAMILY'S HEAVILY INVESTED IN THIS COMMUNITY AND HAVE BEEN FOR A LONG TIME.
FIRST OF ALL, THANK THE BOARD FOR THEIR EFFORTS AND EVERYTHING THAT THEY DO TO TRY TO EDUCATE OUR COMMUNITY AND THE EDUCATORS THAT I'VE HEARD SPEAK.
AND I APPRECIATE YOUR EFFORTS TO, I COME FROM A FAMILY OF EDUCATORS, MOTHER, COUSIN, AUNT, AND TWO GRANDMOTHERS.
SO IT'S NOT LOST ON ME ON WHAT Y'ALL DO AND HOW DIFFICULT THE CHALLENGE IS.
I WOULD ASK, UH, I REPRESENT THE UH, UM, THE BUSINESS OWNERS OF THE, OF THE CHAMBER, THE 65 MEMBERS OF THE BOARD.
AND I WOULD ASK THAT YOU CONTINUE TO BE BOLD IN THIS PROCESS.
GO FORTH AND DO WHATEVER IT TAKES.
THIS COMMUNITY IS HURTING THE STATE'S HURTING THIS COUNTRY.
THIS WORLD IS HURTING AND IT IS ONLY WAY OUT OF ALL OF THIS IS IF WE EDUCATE OUR CHILDREN.
THERE IS NO DOUBT THAT EVERY JOB THAT ANYBODY IN THIS ROOM OR ANYWHERE ELSE DOES TODAY HAS CHANGED FOREVER.
IT WILL NEVER BE THE SAME AGAIN.
AND WE'RE ALL WEARING THESE THINGS RIGHT HERE AND THAT'S PROOF OF IT AND HOW EDUCATION GETS DELIVERED IS GOING TO BE DIFFERENT AND SOMETHING LIKE NONE OF US HAVE EVER EXPERIENCED BEFORE.
SO I CONTINUE TO CHALLENGE YOU TO BE BOLD, NOT BE AFRAID, AND CONTINUE TO ASK FOR THE BEST FOR THIS COMMUNITY.
MY FAMILY HAS CHOSEN TO BE HERE FOR A CENTURY AND I HOPE WE'RE HERE FOR ANOTHER CENTURY AND WE NEED OUR FAMILIES AND OUR COMMUNITIES TO BE EDUCATED.
AND Y'ALL ARE THE ONES THAT HAVE THAT POWER IN YOUR HANDS TODAY.
I APPRECIATE THE OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK WITH YOU.
ARE THERE ANY OTHER COMMENTS FROM THE IN PERSON AUDIENCE? YOU WILL HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY AT THE CLOSE OF THE INTERNET COMMENTS IF YOU WOULD LIKE.
I WILL NOW MOVE TO INTERNET COMMENTS AND I WILL REFRESH AT THE END.
SO IF YOU HAVE SOMETHING TO PUT IN, I WILL SAY THAT THESE ARE RATHER LENGTHY.
SO THE FIRST INSTRUMENT, MS ANNA FOGEL.
I SENT AN EMAIL THAT I HOPE ALL OF YOU RECEIVED AND READ.
I JUST WANTED TO ADD THAT I HAVE BEEN AN ADVOCATE FOR OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS SINCE MY 21 YEAR OLD DAUGHTER WAS IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL.
I HAVE SERVED ON AND SUPPORTED THE PTS AT ALL OF THEIR SCHOOLS AS WELL AS SERVING ON THE BOARD FOR THE GIFTED AND TALENTED STUDENTS ASSOCIATION.
SOME OF YOU MAY REMEMBER BEYOND BRICKS WHERE THE CLEAR MESSAGE FROM OUR COMMUNITY WAS TO HAVE STRONG PUBLIC SCHOOLS.
MY SON WILL BE A SENIOR YEXT NEXT YEAR, SO I HAVE ONE MORE YEAR AS AN ACTIVE PARENT OF A PUBLIC SCHOOL CHILD.
I AM NOT SAYING I WILL GO AWAY, BUT MY SINCERE HOPE IS TO SEE THE SYSTEM LEFT IN THE HANDS OF A CAREER PUBLIC SCHOOL ADMINISTRATOR WHO HAS A HEART FOR OUR KIDS AND WANT TO SEE OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS THRIVE.
THE CANDIDATE THAT FITS BEST FITS THIS.
I IMPLORE ALL OF YOU TO PUT HIS NAME ON YOUR LIST OF CANDIDATES FOR AN INTERVIEW.
MANY THANKS TO ALL OF YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE AND LISTENING TO ME THROUGHOUT THE YEARS.
I COME IN TO THE SEARCH FOR APPLICANTS.
I WAS VERY IMPRESSED WITH ALL THE CANDIDATES SHORTLISTED AND THEIR SUBSEQUENT INTERVIEW SESSIONS.
I AM VERY OPTIMISTIC ABOUT THE FUTURE OF OUR PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEM.
NEXT IS FROM MS NICKI DANGERFIELD.
MY NAME IS NIKKI DANGERFIELD AND I AM THE REGIONAL ORGANIZING DIRECTOR WITH STANFORD CHILDREN.
AS YOU DECIDE ON THE NEXT LEADER OVER EAST BATON ROUGE PARISH SCHOOL SYSTEM, I WOULD LIKE TO REMIND YOU OF THE COMMUNITY'S VOICE FROM NOVEMBER, 2019 TO JANUARY, 2020 STAYING CONDUCTED A DISTRICT WIDE SURVEY AIMED AT ASKING FAMILIES OF SCHOOL LACED CHILDREN WHAT THEY WOULD LIKE TO SEE AT OUR NEXT SUPERINTENDENT.
OUT OF THE 100 OUT OF THE 1,162 SURVEYS WE'VE COLLECTED, 77% OF THE COMMUNITY SAID THEY WANTED SOMEONE WITH EXPERIENCE SUCCESSFULLY TURNING AROUND STRUGGLING SCHOOLS AND THEY PREFERRED A CANDIDATE WITH EXPERIENCE AS A SUPERINTENDENT OR A SCHOOL SYSTEM LEADER.
THEY ALSO THAT IN THE NEXT FIVE YEARS THEIR BIGGEST HOPE FOR EBR SCHOOLS WAS TO SEE NO MORE DNF RATE AT SCHOOLS.
THIS WILL BE THE MOST IMPORTANT DECISION THIS BOARDS MAKES.
PLEASE KEEP IN YOUR MINDS AND HEARTS THE PRECIOUS STUDENTS
[01:50:01]
IN THE CLASSROOMS. AS YOU MAKE THESE DECISIONS TODAY, THEY NEED A LEADER THAT WILL FOCUS ON ALL STUDENTS.NEXT IS FROM BRENDA CHRISTOPHER.
AFTER VIEWING VIDEOS OF ALL THE CANDIDATES FOR SUPERINTENDENT FOR EBR SCHOOL SYSTEM, I WOULD HAVE TO SAY THAT MY TOP TWO CANDIDATES WOULD BE CONTAINER TOMORROW AND LESLIE BROWN.
BOTH CANDIDATES POSSESS THE EXPERIENCE THAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR IN A SUPERINTENDENT.
EVERY CANDIDATE WAS GOOD, BUT THESE TWO STOOD OUT THE MOST TO ME, ESPECIALLY CONTAINER TOMORROW.
WITH HER ALREADY BEING IN THE EVR SYSTEM AND KNOWING THE ISSUES THAT WE'RE FACING, I FEEL IT WOULD NOT TAKE AS LONG FOR HER TO COME AND IMPLEMENT THE PLANS THAT SHE HAS TO START TURNING OUR SCHOOLS AROUND.
OKAY, NEXT IS ERICA HAMMER, BUT IT'S A REPEAT FROM THE FIRST ONE CAUSE SHE DIDN'T KNOW WHERE TO PUT IT, SO I'VE ALREADY READ THAT INTO THE RECORD.
THE EBR SCHOOL BOARD SHOULD RELEASE THE RESULTS OF THE PUBLIC SURVEY WITH DETAILS ON THE NUMBER OF PARTICIPANTS.
THESE BOARD MEMBERS SHOULD ALSO USE ALL OF THEIR RESOURCES TO PERSONALLY REACH OUT TO THE CONSTITUENTS IN THEIR DISTRICT.
BEYOND SIMPLY HAVING A LENGTH OF THE SURVEY ON EBR SCHOOLS WEBSITE.
CERTAIN BOARD MEMBERS HAVE TAKEN THE TIME TO GAUGE THEIR CONSTITUENTS, OTHERS NEED TO IMPROVE THEIR EFFORTS.
ALL MEMBERS SHOULD EXHAUST RESOURCES, ALL RESOURCES TO GET COMMUNITY FEEDBACK AND SHOW THAT HOW THEY'RE USING THE FEEDBACK TO MAKE DECISIONS.
I ASKED TO CONTINUE TO ASK THE FINAL CANDIDATES DEFINE EXPLICITLY HOW THEY DEFINE EQUITY.
I APPRECIATE THE BOARD'S QUESTION.
IN THE PREVIOUS ROUND OF INTERVIEWS, HOWEVER MANY CANDIDATES ANSWERED THE LATTER HALF OF THE QUESTION IN LIEU OF DEFINING THEIR VIEWPOINTS OF EQUITY.
I WOULD LIKE TO OFFER MY SUPPORT FOR DR TAMALE AS A FINALIST FOR THE SUPERINTENDENT POSITION.
DR TAMALE IS AN ADVOCATE FOR THE CHILDREN IN OUR DISTRICT.
SHE WILL BE A STEADY LEADER DOING THIS UNPRECEDENTED TIME.
DR TAMALE WILL BRING MUCH NEEDED CHANGE AND VISION TO MOVE OUR DISTRICT FORWARD.
HER WORK WITH INNOVATION NETWORK SCHOOLS SPEAKS VOLUMES ABOUT HER VALUES AS A LEADER AND HER WILLINGNESS TO GET THE WORK DONE.
DR TAMALE IS UNAFRAID TO HAVE UNCOMFORTABLE CONVERSATIONS TO ENSURE THAT STUDENTS REMAIN THE FOCUS OF DECISIONS THAT ARE MADE.
HER COMMITMENT TO THE FAMILIES OF ABR IS EVIDENT IN THE WORK THAT SHE HAS DONE DURING HER TIME IN THE DISTRICT.
EBR BOARD SCHOOL BOARD PROVIDING TRANSPARENCY WITH INTERVIEWS OF THE CANDIDATES.
I HOPE THAT THE TRANSPARENCY WILL CONTINUE WITH THE FINAL CANDIDATES WHILE ALL THE WHILE HONING IN ON THE FINAL CANDIDATE THROUGH STRONG QUESTIONS THAT REQUIRES STRONG HISTORICAL EVIDENCE THAT WILL IMPLY FUTURE IMPACT.
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT STARTS WITH THE BOARD AND WE MUST SEE MORE FROM ALL BOARD MEMBERS.
NEXT IS FROM MICHELLE CULVERSON.
THE FOUNDATION THAT HAS BEEN LAID.
ABR HAS JOURNEYED ON THE SAME ROAD FOR MANY YEARS WITH MINOR ACCOMPLISHMENTS.
WE NEED SOMEONE AT THE HEAD WHO IS WILLING TO DO SOMETHING DIFFERENT.
SOMEONE THAT SETS THE BAR HIGH KNOWING THAT THEY HAVE WHAT IT TAKES TO BRING RESULTS, ADVANCEMENT, AND RESOLUTION TO FRUITION.
OUR CHILDREN DESERVE DR KUTINA TOMORROW.
UH, DR KUMAR CONTINUES TO MILES LEADERSHIP WILL CONTINUE TO BRING ABOUT THE STEADINESS AND NECESSARY CHANGE TO LEAD STUDENTS.
SHE HAS AN EXTRAORDINARY VISION AND THEY NEED TO CHANGE FOR THE D.
CONTINUE TO MOVE THE DISTRICT FORWARD.
CONTAINER HAS A DEEP UNDERSTANDING OF THE ISSUES AND WILL BEGIN TO ADDRESS THEM IMMEDIATELY AS A LEADER.
GINA WILL CONTINUE TO ADDRESS ROOT CAUSES AND LONGSTANDING ISSUES WITH THE PROVEN ABILITY THAT IS NEEDED TO BRING ABOUT CHANGE.
I ENCOURAGED THE ABR SCHOOL BOARD TO PLEASE CONSIDER CHOOSING OUR NEXT SUPERINTENDENT WHO HAS EXPERIENCED TEACHING AND WORKING IN THE EBR SCHOOL DISTRICT, SOMEONE WHO UNDERSTANDS WHAT IT TAKES TO PROVIDE EFFECTIVE AND ETHICAL SCHOOL LEADERSHIP.
THE INSIGHT AND EXPERIENCE IN MEETING THE NEEDS OF DIVERSE STUDENT POPULATIONS THAT ARE GRAVELY IMPACTED BY SYSTEMIC POVERTY AND RACISM.
WE NEED A SUPERINTENDENT THAT HAS AN EQUITY FOCUS WHEN IT COMES TO PROBLEM SOLVING AND VALUES, THE INPUT OF COMMUNITY AND INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE DIRECTLY IMPACTED BY THE ISSUES OF THE SCHOOL DISTRICT TO PROVIDE SOLUTIONS.
I ASK THAT YOU PLEASE CONSIDER THESE QUALITIES WHEN MAKING A DECISION AND CHOOSING OUR DISTRICTS.
NEXT IS FROM SHAOLIN NEWTON HALL ABR PUBLIC SCHOOL BOARD MEMBERS.
[01:55:01]
DR QUICK TINA.TOMORROW AS ABR IS NEXT SUPERINTENDENT.
SHE HAS A CHRISTIAN HEART MINE AND SO FOR THE KIDS IN EAST BATON ROUGE.
DR TAMALE IS KIND, LOYAL AND KNOWS EXACTLY HOW TO TREAT AN INTERACT WELL WORTH OF COLLEAGUES AND THOSE IN THE COMMUNITY.
MOSTLY DR TAMALE IS RIGHT HERE FROM OUR COMMUNITY.
COMPASSIONATE POTENTIALS FOR ABR.
PAST ACCOMPLISHMENTS HERE IN THE SCHOOL SYSTEM SPEAKS VOLUMES AND PROVES THAT HER WORK HERE HAS ALREADY STARTED ON THE RIGHT PATH FOR OUR SCHOOL SYSTEM.
I ASK THAT YOU PLEASE ALLOW ME TO CONTINUE HERE.
GREAT WORKS SO THAT WE MAY CONTINUE TO HEAD IN AN UPWARD TRAJECTORY TO SUCCESS IN EAST BATON ROUGE.
I DON'T KNOW WHO IT'S FROM, BUT IT'S ABOUT DR QUINTANA TAMALE.
THIS CANDIDATE BRINGS ABOUT NECESSARY STEADINESS AS WE CONTINUE TO LEAD OUR STUDENTS AND FAMILIES AND EDUCATORS THROUGH THESE UNPRECEDENTED TIMES.
THIS CANDIDATE WILL BRING ABOUT MUCH NEEDED CHANGE AND VISION TO MOVE THE DISTRICT IN A RIGHT DIRECTION.
AGAIN, THIS IS IN FAVOR OF MR MALL, BUT I DO NOT KNOW IT'S A, FROM THIS SCANNING WILL BRING ORGANIZATIONAL INFRASTRUCTURE CHANGES TO ACHIEVE EFFICIENCY AND EFFECTIVENESS BY ELIMINATING WASTE.
SHE WILL KEEP STUDENTS AND FAMILY NEEDS AT THE CENTER OF ALL DECISIONS.
NEXT IS FROM ANNA MARIE BLANK.
PLEASE VOTE TO ADVANCE DR CORTINA, TIMO, MR. ADAM SMITH AND DR NIKITA TOWN.
SO THE NEXT ROUND OF INTERVIEWS, DR TAMALE AND MRS. SMITH AT BOTH SUBMITTED DETAILED ENTRY PLAN SHOULD THEY BECOME OUR NEXT SUPERINTENDENT.
I WOULD LIKE TO SEE A SIMILAR PLAN FROM DR TOWNS.
I HAVE BEEN TEACHING AN EBR FOR 18 YEARS.
I BELIEVE EBR WILL BENEFIT FROM CHOOSING AN INTERNAL CANDIDATE WHO WILL PROVIDE STABILITY WE NEED DURING TRANSITION.
I ALSO BELIEVE WE NEED A CANDIDATE WHO WILL BRING THE INNOVATION OF OUR STUDENT, BRING THE INNOVATION OUR STUDENTS DESERVE BY CHOOSING A CANDIDATE WHO ALREADY HAS RELATIONSHIPS WITH OUR STUDENTS AND STAFF AND WHO KNOWS OUR COMMUNITY AND THEIR NEEDS.
WE ARE MORE LIKELY TO EXPERIENCE THE GROWTH AND TRANSFORMATION THAT WE'VE BEEN BUILDING THE LAST FEW YEARS.
WE NEED SOMEONE WITH ROOTS IN THE CLASSROOM, SOMEONE WHO HAS A HEART FOR CHILDREN AND FAMILIES AND SOMEONE WHO HAS A SHARP MIND TO ENSURE EQUITY AND FOLLOW THROUGH TO SERVE THIS COMMUNITY.
ALL SCHOOL BOARD MEMBERS WERE SELECTED BY THE PUBLIC BODY OF EBR AND THE VOTES IN PUBLIC CANDIDATES SHOULD BE PUBLIC, NOT PRIVATE.
WE SHOULD HEAR ALL VOTES FROM ALL MEMBERS.
NEXT IS FROM SUSAN WINSTON, WINSTON AS BOARD PRESIDENT OF HUMANITIES, AMPS AMPED, WHICH WORKS WITH SCHOOLS AND TEACHERS AROUND THE DISTRICTS.
IT'S SPORT, COMMUNITY BASED RESEARCH AND STUDENT LEADERSHIP.
OUR ORGANIZATION URGES THE BOARD TO SELECT ONE OF THE TWO CANDIDATES FROM WITHIN THE DISTRICT.
I ENCOURAGE YOU TO SELECT GOOD TINA TAMALE.
I'D LIKE TO ADVANCE DR TAMALE TO BE OUR NEXT SUPERINTENDENT.
WE HAVE SERIOUS RACIAL CONCERNS IN OUR SCHOOL SYSTEM THAT DATES BACK INTO OUR HISTORY AND OUR SCHOOL BOARD AND SUPERINTENDENT NEED TO ADDRESS THIS.
I BELIEVE DR TAMALE IS THE ONLY ONE WHO HAS DEMONSTRATED A DESIRE TO EDUCATE HERSELF FURTHER ON RACE IN AMERICA.
SHE WILL BE BEST SUITED TO ASSIST OUR CHILDREN AND TO MEET THE NEED AND MEET THE NEEDS TO BRIDGE THE GAPS BETWEEN RACIAL INEQUITIES IN OUR SYSTEM.
NEXT IS FROM A CORE HONDA QUARTERLY.
THAT'S THE SAME ONE I'VE ALREADY READ.
UM, AS A PARENT OF CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES, I'M STRANGELY DISAPPOINTED.
THE LACK OF MORE PERTINENT QUESTIONS REGARDING SPECIAL EDUCATIONS, INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES ACT, CIVIL RIGHTS IN EVERY STUDENT SUCCEEDS ACT FREE, APPROPRIATE PUBLIC EDUCATION, LOUISIANA'S CONSTITUTION AND CULTURAL COMPETENCE.
EBR PUBLIC SCHOOLS DOES NOT NEED ANOTHER SUPERINTENDENT THAT REPRESENTS A BRAC AND WILL CONTINUE TO PROVIDE OUR CHILDREN WITH GREATER INEQUITIES AND DISPARITIES.
WE WANT AND REQUEST A LEADER THAT IS NOT IN BED WITH THE DEVIL.
WE NEED A LEADER WHOSE CHILDREN ACTUALLY ATTENDS OUR ATTENDED OUR TRADITIONAL COMMUNITY SCHOOLS.
WE NEED TO LEADER OUR CHILDREN CAN RELATE TO, WE REQUIRE AND DESERVE MR. ADAM SMITH AND DR CONTAINER TOMORROW TO ADVANCE TO THE NEXT ROUND.
THESE TWO LEADERS HAVE A VISION, HAVE A VISION AND REALISTIC PLAN.
I ASKED HIM, LET'S ASK HIM TO SHARE IT IN ROUND TWO.
[02:00:01]
WOULD APPRECIATE THIS ALSO.I DO NOT HAVE MY ALLOTTED TIME TO SPEAK.
THAT IS IN THE COMMENTS ARE REFRESH ONE MORE TIME.
UH, AND I BELIEVE THAT IS, OH, OKAY.
AND MS. JACKSON HAS PUT IN A SECOND COMMENT, BUT I'LL GO AHEAD AND READ IT VERY QUICKLY.
CLARITY ON THE PUBLIC VOTE, MEANING THE CHOICES EACH BOARD MEMBER MAKES AS IT PERTAINS TO THE FINALIST AND THE SCHOOL BOARD SEARCH.
SO WITH THAT WE'LL CLOSE PUBLIC COMMENT UNLESS THERE'S ANYONE HERE IN THE AUDIENCE WISH TO MAKE ONE FINAL COMMENT.
SEEING NONE, WE WILL GO BACK TO THE BOARD.
IS THE BOARD VERY CLEAR ON THE PROCESS THAT WE WILL BE USING TODAY? ONE PROGRESSIVE INNOVATION AND WRITTEN CONDUIT SINCE IT WAS MADE ON BOTH.
UM, I AGREE WITH THE READING IT ONLY ONCE, BUT PERHAPS ALEXA, THE RECORD HAS IT.
AND THE PERSON HAS SUBMITTED, IT'S THAT, I'M SORRY, I'M PUTTING IT IN BOTH PLACES.
GOT, I DON'T KNOW WHERE IT GOES.
SO, BUT IT'S IN BOTH PLACES IN THE COMP AND THE RECORD.
SO IS EVERYONE ON THE BOARD CLEAR ABOUT THE PROCESS? WE WILL GO, WE WILL HAVE A ONE SHEET IN FRONT OF YOU WITH EACH OF YOU HAVE IN YOUR NAME, YOU WILL SELECT UP TO, YOU DON'T HAVE TO SELECT THREE, BUT UP TO THREE CANDIDATES ARE THE FINALIST.
SIGN THE SHEET AND THEN PASS THEM TO ME.
AND I WILL CALL THE VOTES OUT IN DISTRICT ORDER.
AND IF YOU CHOOSE TO READ YOUR OWN VOTES, I'M ASSUMING YOU'RE GOING TO REMEMBER THEM AND MAKE SURE THEY MATCH WHAT YOU GAVE ME.
BUT IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO READ YOUR OWN VOTE, JUST LET ME KNOW AS I GET TO YOUR DISTRICT AND YOU WILL CERTAINLY HAVE THAT OPPORTUNITY.
SO WITHOUT FURTHER ADO, WOULD EVERYONE PLEASE MARK THEIR BALLOTS? WE NEED TO VOTE ON THE MOTION FOR, OH, WE NEED TO VOTE ON THE MOTION FIRST.
THANK YOU MISS ARMAUN FOR KEEPING ME IN LINE.
SO, UM, MS MADAM SECRETARY, WOULD YOU PLEASE VOTE PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE CONDUCT A VOTE.
THE MOTION CARRIES UNANIMOUSLY.
SO NOW WE'LL MOVE INTO THIS ROUND, UH, PUTTING THIS IN PLACE.
SO IF EVERY BOARD MEMBER WOULD MARK AND SIGN THEIR BALLOTS AND THEN YOU CAN PASS THEM TO ME AND I WILL TAKE THEM AND WE WILL CALL THEM OUT IN DISTRICT.
MY BAD, EXCUSE ME, TRY TO MAKE SURE I HAVE EVERYTHING BEFORE I START READING.
SO DISTRICT ONE, MR BALLOU, WHAT'D YOU MR BLUE'S VOTES ARE MS LESLIE BROWN, DR NIKIA TOWNS AND MR. MARSHALL TUCK DISTRICT TWO.
[02:05:05]
PRIVILEGED RIGHT NOW.THAT'S THE ONE THAT IS A DIRECT PRODUCT OF THE EASTBOUND BRIDGE PAIR OF SCHOOL BOARD SYSTEM, UH, FROM ELEMENTARY SCHOOL UP INTO HIGH SCHOOL.
BEING AT THIS TABLE RIGHT NOW IN THIS MOMENT IS IMMENSELY IMPORTANT TO ME FOR SEVERAL REASONS.
ONE, I HAVE COME THROUGH THE PIPELINE AND I HAVE SEEN SEVERAL SUPERINTENDENTS THROUGHOUT THE YEARS.
WHEN I WAS IN SCHOOL, CHARLOTTE, PLESSY WAS THE SUPERINTENDENT BEFORE A LOT OF STUDENTS, WE DIDN'T UNDERSTAND WHAT A SUPERINTENDENT WAS YET ALONE.
WE DIDN'T UNDERSTAND WHAT A SCHOOL BOARD MEMBER WAS.
SO MAKING SURE THAT THAT REPRESENTATION IS, UH, OUT ON THE FOREFRONT AT ALL TIMES.
IT'S VERY, VERY CLEAR AND VERY, VERY IMPORTANT.
AND I WANT EVERYONE TO KNOW THAT I'M 110% INVESTED IN MAKING SURE THAT WE GET THIS PROCESS RIGHT, BUT I WANT ALSO WANT PEOPLE TO, TO REMEMBER THAT WHOEVER IS SELECTED AS THE NEW SUPER, THE NEXT SUPERINTENDENT, THEY HAVE TO ANSWER TO THIS BOARD.
AND IN TURN BY ANSWERING TO THIS BOARD, THEY ARE ANSWERING TO THE COMMUNITY AS A WHOLE.
SO I ONLY ASK THAT WE JUST BE VIGILANT AS WE WORKED THROUGH THIS PROCESS.
THIS IS NOT AN EASY PROCESS AND I'M PRETTY SURE THAT EVERY SINGLE BOARD MEMBER SITTING AROUND THIS TABLE HAS RECEIVED HUNDREDS OF EMAILS, CALLS AND EVERYTHING EVERY SINGLE DAY.
MY VOICEMAIL BOX IS COMPLETELY MAXED OUT BY THE CALLS, THE AMOUNT OF CALLS THAT I RECEIVED OVER THE COURSE OF THE LAST TWO WEEKS.
SO I JUST WANTED TO MAKE THAT VERY CLEAR.
THIS IS NOT AN EASY PROCESS AS WE GO THROUGH IT AND IT DOES NOT GUARANTEE THAT WHOEVER WE DO PICK TONIGHT OUT OF OUR THREE SELECTIONS, UH, TWO OF WHICH WILL NOT BE ABLE TO GO ON AND THROUGHOUT THAT PROCESS.
SO I ONLY SAY THAT TO SAY, LET'S MAKE SURE THAT WE KEEP THIS PROCESS OPEN.
WE DON'T WANT TO SCARE ANYONE AWAY, BUT AT THE END OF THE DAY, THE MOST IMPORTANT PEOPLE IN THIS PROCESS OF OUR CHILDREN AND OUR STUDENTS, THAT'S WHO WE'RE DOING THIS FOR.
SO WE HAVE TO WORK AT THE TABLE, BRINGING EVERYONE TOGETHER AS WE CONTINUE TO GO THROUGH THIS.
SO THAT'S TEACHERS, EDUCATORS, COMMUNITY STAKEHOLDERS AS WELL AS OUR BUSINESS COMMUNITY BECAUSE EVERYBODY HAS A VOICE AT THIS TABLE.
AND THAT'S EXACTLY HOW I SUMMARIZE MY VOICE TONIGHT.
I WON'T TELL YOU EXACTLY WHICH ORDER THAT IS, BUT WHAT I WILL SAY IS THAT ONE VOTE IS FROM MYSELF.
ANOTHER VOTE IS FROM THE COMMUNITY AND THE OTHER VOTE WILL COME FROM THE BUSINESS COMMUNITY AS WELL.
AND THAT IS, OR THEY ARE AS FOLLOWED DR Q OR DR CATENA TOMORROW.
DR NIKIA TOWNS AND MARSHALL TUCK.
MR. HOWARD, DISTRICT THREE, DISTRICT FOUR.
MS. COLLINS, WOULD YOU WANT TO READ YOUR OWN OR YOU WANT ME TO READ IT? OKAY.
MS. COLLINS VOTES FOR MS LESLIE BROWN, ADAM SMITH AND MS TOWNS, DISTRICT FIVE.
MS. WHERE JACKSON? UM, DR NIKIA TOWNS, DR QUENTINA TOMORROW AND LESLIE BROWN
MS DYSON VOTES FOR MS LESLIE BROWN.
DR NIKIA TOWNS AND MARSHALL TUCK.
DISTRICT SEVEN IS MYSELF AND I VOTE FOR LESLIE BROWN, NIKIA TOWNS AND MARSHALL TUCK DISTRICT EIGHT.
MS. BERNARD, WOULD YOU LIKE FOR ME TO READ THEM? DID MS. BERNARD VOTES FOR LESLIE BROWN AND ADAM SMITH AND MR TADEMAN AND DISTRICT NINE VOTES FOR LESLIE BROWN AND THE KIA TOWNS? SO MADAM SECRETARY, WOULD YOU ADD THE VOTES AND READ THEM OUT? PLEASE CHECK IN WITH MR. GUERRERO TO SEE HOW HE WANTS TO.
I HAVE SEVEN FOR LESLIE BROWN, TWO FOR ADAM SMITH, THREE FREQUENT TINA TAMALE, EIGHT UH, NIKIA TOWNS AND FOUR FOR MARSHALL TUCK.
DOES ANYONE HAVE ANY DISAGREEMENT WITH THAT VOTE COUNT? THIS LAST CALL, IS ANYONE HAVING ANY DISAGREEMENT? THE VOCAB.
SO ACCORDING TO THE MOTION AND ACCORDING TO THE VOTE COUNT, THE TWO FINALISTS WILL BE MRS LESLIE
[02:10:01]
BROWN AND DR NIKIA TOWNS.[Items H & I]
NEXT, WE WILL GO TO THE ANNOUNCEMENT OF MEETINGS.THE REGULAR BOARD MEETING WILL BE HELD ON JUNE 18TH, 2020 AT 5:00 PM LOCATION TO BE DETERMINED, DEPENDING ON, UH, ANY CORRUGATED RESTRICTIONS AND THINGS THAT WE HAVE.
AND AS WE GO THROUGH THE INTERVIEW PROCESS AND SET UP SCHEDULES, UH, WE MAY VERY WELL HAVE SOME ONE OR MORE SPECIAL MEETINGS, WHICH WILL BE ADVERTISED ACCORDING TO PUBLIC MEETINGS.
MAY I HAVE A MOTION TO ADJOURN? MEETING AS ADJOURN?