Ready, Willing and Abell: Notes from Board of Education Meeting, 8/10/21

The Board of Education Meeting on Tuesday, August 10, 2021 was 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 – 11 a.m.

Call to order – 1 p.m.

Swearing-in of Student Board Member

Superintendent’s update to the Board - Report

Board Member correspondence

Herd - met with Sean Heyl, President of EACC
McGraw - 2 meetings with MABE on Equity; MABE Board Academy registration is open; Appointed by Governor to Early Childhood Advisory Council, emphasis on early childhood mental health, funding available for child care stabilization
Wilson - Attended Chamber of Commerce Transportation and Commerce meeting with Dr. Navarro; Cobb Neck/Nanjemoy Town Hall Broadband expansion by organization Think Big; congratulations to Dr. Navarro and staff on summer graduations.

Education Association of Charles County (EACC) update - None

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

Summer school and return to school fall 2021 - Report

Battle-Lockhart - concern and plan for overcrowded schools; messaging regarding vaccination bullying
Heim - numbers are based on state rated capacity and have relocatable also.
Gill - telling parents to consult pediatricians and the students really aren't talking about it and haven't witnessed anyone treating anyone differently
Hancock - hard time grasping the testing of unvaccinated athletes.
Stoddard - Policy is to keep the kids on the field; not enough breakthrough cases to warrant testing of those vaccinated also.
Lukas - what is protocol for positive test of students & will they have virtual learning opportunities; and notification of those in contact
Stoddard - 10 days isolation; hasn't been decided yet on virtual options
Navarro - It's a fluid process; we don't want just packages being done, we want quality. We are striving to do more with technology than we did pre-covid for student learning.

Economic Relief Funding through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act (CARES) and the American Rescue Plan Act (ARP)

Intercategory budget change - Report

Project status update - Report

Summer projects - Report

FY 2023 CIP state and local program - Report

Redistricting committee update - Report

Recurring resolutions

American Education Week; American Freedom Week; Inclusion and Diversity Resolution; Black History Month; Gifted and Talented Education Month; Career and Technology Education Month; National School Counseling Week; Read Across America; Women’s History Month; Fine and Performing Arts Month; Month of the Young Child; National Student Leadership Week; Teacher Appreciation Week; Administrative Professionals Week; Child Nutrition Employee Appreciation Week; National Physical Education and Sport Week; Washington Post Principal of the Year Awards Program; Washington Post Teacher of the Year Awards Program; Maryland Teacher of the Year (MTOY): Charles County nominee; Be the Difference Award, Retirement Resolution.

Lukas - adding Asian and Hispanic Recognition Resolutions
Wilson - celebration of Media Specialist week
Consensus was to move forward with recurring resolutions
Abell - asked for notation that of abstention

Unfinished business

New business

Continuation of suspension of Board policies - Report

Motion to accept the suspension of Board Policies by Abell; Second by Lukas

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

Superintendents Contract
Motion to amend the Superintendents Contract by McGraw; Second by Brown
Yes = Brown, Lukas, McGraw, Wilson; No = Abell, Battle-Lockhart; Absent = Hancock

Future agenda items

Lukas - Distance Learning return for in-school high school classes
Battle-Lockhart - Virtual learning options moving forward

Hybrid public forum – 6 p.m.

Preregistered speakers only (both in-person and virtual speakers)
Sean Heyl - President EACC, 27 year teacher, new beginnings
Melissa Carpenter - students have a vote but teachers still do not. Testing and inadequacies.
Keisha Drake - Parent with two children. concern with going back to school and what is our plan? Will it be a hybrid model? What's the plan?
Sean Moran - Parent. Concerned that there is no hybrid model for return to school.
Pascal (sp) Small - Parent. 1 of 700 parents asking for virtual learning option in the fall.
Michelle White - Mother of 4. Concern that children are not old enough for vaccine, has a newborn, don't want them wearing a mask for 8 hours, new variant, not fair.
Chasity Bryant - Parent of 2 special needs children that wont wear a mask for the whole day and parents should still have an option. My children excelled during virtual looking.
Shawnn & Breanette Lucas - parents - option for virtual looking especially for elementary students. What happens if a staff member infects a child.

Action items

Minutes

Motion to accept the Executive Session minutes from June 8, 2021 by Abell; Second by McGraw