Notes from Board of Education Teleconference, 5/12/20

The Board of Education Meeting on Tuesday, May 12 was conducted via teleconference and streamed live on ccboe.com and aired live on Comcast Channel 96 and Verizon FiOs Channel 12.  The meeting will be re-broadcast on Comcast Channel 96, Verizon FIOS Channel 12 and is available via webstream at http://www.ccboe.com/ . To view the full agenda and the various reports, please visit BoardDocs .

The below notes are my personal notes and are not intended to be all-inclusive or official minutes for the Board of Education meetings and are provided as a request from my supporters and the general public in a personal effort to be more transparent. Although I have diligently tried to make these notes as unbiased and accurate as possible, I am only human and do make mistakes. Individual names are spelled to the best of my ability.

Executive session – 12 p.m.

Call to order – 1 p.m.

Superintendent’s update to the Board - Report

Correspondence/Board Member updates

• Brown - attended MABE meeting and Board of Commissioners Meeting
• Battle-Lockhart - attended a couple of lunch sites
• Lukas - thank you to everyone in the system for trying to meet needs of students; congratulations to graduates

Education Association of Charles County (EACC) update - Report

American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) update - Report

Student Board Member update - Report

Graduation Oral Update - Dr. Kimberly Hill, Superintendent of Schools

• Three options initially considered. One by appointment in person, second was a drive up, third was completely virtual.
• Consulted with health department, Maryland state police, and Charles County Sheriff's Office which resulted in a decision of the third option, completely virtual.
• Received additional information on Friday with revised guidelines which allows a second option.  Everyone still invited to participated in the virtual option but also have the option of an in person appointment as well.  Schools will begin reaching out tomorrow.
• Virtual will be available on June 11th at 7:00 a.m.

Distance learning instructional Oral update – Amy Hollstein, Deputy Superintendent of Schools

• Finish out 4th quarter and 4th quarter report cards posted in June
• Seniors will finish May 20th
• Online scheduling for next year
• Uncertain what the fall will hold for us
• Recommendation to continue suspension Policy on eligibility for the fall (6431). On the agenda later today.
• For more information, go to CCBOE.com and go to Distance Learning for additional resources and updates.
• Battle-Lockhart - questioned cosmetology  updates for the state.

Technology Oral update – Charmaine Thompson, Chief of Technology

• Survey to all staff and students on technology availability and needs
• 7,400 laptops for students, 2300 for teachers and 52 for staff
• 2500 Help Desk Tickets
• Quick reference guides & Webinars
• Added expansion of wifi hotspots at schools
• donated used ipads to SagePoint and Hospice

Project status update – Michael Heim, assistant superintendent of supporting services - Report

• Some projects still continuing with social distancing guidelines
• Some process and design aspects are being tackled virtually/remotely
• Henson construction started
• Sanitizing is ongoing

Educational Facilities Master Plan update – Michael Heim - Report

Food Nutrition Services update – Crystal Richardson and William Kreuter, supervisors of food and nutrition services - Report

• Please view the awesome report to see all of the great things food services has accomplished.
• Congratulations and thank you to all

Five-day waiver request – Eric Schwartz, staff attorney - Report

• Letter to state superintendent to request the waiver

Motion to approve the minutes by Lukas; Second by Brown

Yes = Abell, Battle-Lockhart, Brown, Hancock, Lukas, McGraw, Wilson

• Governor vetoed the Kirwan Bill.  - This does not affect the FY 2021 funding, however that could change depending on state revenues.
• Built to Learn Act on school construction was dependent on the Kirwan bill passing.

Unfinished business

New business

• Continuation of suspension of Board policies - Report

Motion to approve the continued suspension of policies by Abell; Second by Brown

Yes = Abell, Battle-Lockhart, Brown, Hancock, Lukas, McGraw, Wilson

• Policy 6431 regarding eligibility
• Lukas - what about students that have not tried to complete the online work
• Hancock - Use third quarter grade as reflection
• Abell - requested appropriate wording from legal
• Legal (Schwartz) - Policy is suspended; continue suspension and have the Superintendent address.

Consensus of board to allow Superintendent to make determination of eligibility

Yes = Abell, Battle-Lockhart, Brown, Hancock, Lukas, McGraw, Wilson

Future agenda items

• Lukas - Work Session to discuss budget; possible date Wednesday, May 27th

Action items

• Minutes

Motion to approve the minutes by Abell; Second by Brown

Yes = Abell, Battle-Lockhart, Brown, Hancock, Lukas, McGraw, Wilson

• Personnel

Motion to approve the personnel by Abell; Second by Lukas

Yes = Abell, Brown, Lukas, McGraw, Wilson; Abstain = Battle-Lockhart, Hancock

Adjournment

Agenda for Board of Education Teleconference Board Meeting, 5/12/20

The Board of Education’s next monthly meeting is Tuesday, May 12. The Board is observing social distancing due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and it will conduct the meeting via teleconference. There is no public access to the Jesse L. Starkey Administration Building on Radio Station Road in La Plata; however, the meeting will stream live on ccboe.com and air live on Comcast Channel 96 and Verizon FiOs Channel 12. Charles County Public Schools (CCPS) will rebroadcast the meeting as well as post it on CCPSTV under the Board Meeting tab.

Executive session begins at noon, and the public portion of the meeting starts at 1 p.m. Agenda items have been condensed to include updates and issues that require Board attention at this time. Although the Board is unable to make Public Forum live, it is encouraging the public to email comments to boardmail@ccboe.com. Comments should be limited to 250 words. Board members will read all comments as well as post them on ccboe.com. There will not be any recognitions during this meeting.

Board meetings are streamed live on the school system website at www.ccboe.com. Select the live stream image displayed in the center of the home page. The following is a tentative meeting agenda and is subject to change. 

Executive session – 12 p.m.

Call to order – 1 p.m.

Superintendent’s update to the Board

Reports of officers/boards/committees

·         Correspondence/Board Member updates

·         Education Association of Charles County (EACC) update

·         American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) update

·         Student Board Member update

·         Distance learning instructional update – Amy Hollstein, deputy superintendent of schools

·         Technology update – Charmaine Thompson, chief of technology

·         Project status update – Michael Heim, assistant superintendent of supporting services

·         Educational Facilities Master Plan update – Michael Heim

·         Food Nutrition Services update – Crystal Richardson and William Kreuter, supervisors of food and nutrition services

·         Five-day waiver request – Eric Schwartz, staff attorney

Unfinished business

New business and future agenda items

·         New business

o    Continuation of suspension of Board policies

·         Future agenda items

Action items

·         Minutes

·         Personnel

Adjournment