Notes from Board of Education Meeting, 2/8/22

The Board of Education meeting on Tuesday, February 8, 2022 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/ .  CCPS also will post the meeting on its YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/c/ccpsmd.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 - Report

Board Member Correspondence

• McGraw - Thank you to everyone that reached out during my recent loss.  Attended MD Early Childhood Advisory Council Meeting and grants available; State Superintendent working on a strategic plan for the state and wants your input.  Go to www.mdpublicschools.org/survey .  Attended Unified Bocce tournament; Happy school counselor week.
• Herd - Attended CSM/CCPS MOU signing; Unified Bocce tournament; CCASC General Assembly (first one in two years held in-person); Sheriff Berry attended assembly; Vex Robotics Tournament; a couple of basketball games and a swim meet.
• Wilson - Mattawoman Creek Art Center and they were amazing
• Hancock - Thank you to EACC and Sean Heyl for legislative event; Visited Mitchell and read to a couple of classes; 
• Lukas - MABE Legislative Committee; Vex Robotics Competition; Mattawoman Creek Art Center; Tri County Chorus Competition; basketball games; EACC Legislative event; CSM/CCPS MOU signing; Unified Bocce tournament
• Brown - Thank you to staff that gives of their time to make these events happen.

Education Association of Charles County (EACC) update - Report

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

Inclement weather make-up day options - Report

• Submit plan to state for the option to have virtual school on inclement weather days.
• Abell - A sign of the times and we need to keep up.  In favor of Option 1 and/or 2.  Would we maintain autonomy on whether we call it off or virtual?  Yes Not just for snow days, remember the tornado?  Just asking staff to come up with a plan that they think is equitable for us to review.
• McGraw - Can we use all four of our days and then have a virtual day?  Yes.
• Herd - Worried about implementation
• Hancock - Against using snow days as virtual days.  Lack of equity in county with internet access.
• Brown - Agree with Mr. Herd.  Difficult on teachers and not equitable.
• Wilson - Always a good idea to have a plan.  Agree with Option 2.  Adequate time to prepare.
• Battle-Lockhart - Agree with a little bit of everyone's perspective.  After all the loss we need to have a plan in place to continue learning.  We should have it as an option and should have a plan.  I support Option 1 and be proactive rather than reactive.
• Lukas - Good discussion with varying opinions.  Equity is key as well as teacher prep time.  Likes Option 2 or even 1 to at least have a plan.
• Abell - Consensus to move forward with at least a plan
• Herd - Who has final say over whether it is implemented?  Superintendent
• Valentine - Students do not support a virtual option; equity; CTE
• Brown - Option 2 if equitable and if board 
• Herd - Cannot support; feels like the board is giving up authority

Motion to allow staff to come up with a plan by McGraw; Second by Abell

Yes = Abell, Battle-Lockhart, Lukas, McGraw, Wilson; No = Brown, Herd, Lukas

New textbooks

• “Principles and Practices of Barbering” 
• “Illustrative Mathematics”

Superintendent’s proposed FY2023 operating budget

• FY23 Budget Presentation
• FY23 Proposed Operating Budget
• Budget considerations for counselors and summer programs
• Lukas - Activity buses - could cut it in half by offering only 1 departure per school
• Heim - we ran activity buses before.  They don't go to houses they go to depots or hubs
• Herd - Full support; maybe starting small.
• Abell - Need for mental health counselors is greater than need for extracurricular transportation
• Hancock - Price tag is high and we have a lot of other needs that need to be met.

Project status update - Report

Legislative update - Report

• SB379 - Removal of a Board of Education Member (3 counties, including Charles have to have a governors approval as of now; this bill would remove that)
• HB739 - Public/private partnership for CCPS for new school construction
• HB797 - Student board membership require a voting student member
• SB410 - teacher retirement and pensions
• HB???? - Virtual schools (not programs)

State Board mask mandate - Report

• Have to adhere to state regulations and only 3 off ramps for removing masks.  (See presentation)
• Abell - Why such a discrepancy between MDOH and CDC numbers?  Unsure but we have to follow CDC.  Can we find out what the discrepancy is?  Yes
• Hancock - in affect until the end of this school year?  Yes for 180 days
• Herd - Outside or inside.  Does not apply to outside.
• Abell - Governor mandate...how did Virginia do it?  Different regulations.  There Governor has authority to do so, our governor does not.  MSDE regulates.
• Abell - What would happen if we did?  Remove funding.
• Battle-Lockhart - find a way to live with it and try to find creative ways of normalcy.

Policy 6330 - Report

• Herd - Changes in marking period...changing practice
• Abell - Issue with employee work days being under Superintendent purview
• McGraw - Does staff have a required number of days they must work.  No.

Unfinished business

New business 

Future agenda item

• McGraw - Policy revisions
• Lukas - Meet with commissioners again
• Herd - Mask mandate for outside venues and non-school facilities
• McGraw - Special Education

Recognition – 4:30 p.m.

• Resolutions 
• Women's History Month: Accepting: Torri Ball, Chair, Charles County Commission for Women
• Fine and Performing Arts: Accepting: Timothy Bodamer, content specialist, Fine and Performing Arts; Andrew Blumenthal, instructional specialist, Fine and Performing Arts 
• Student Pages
• Tyne Kidd, Grade 12, Henry E. Lackey High School, Principal: Kathy Perriello
• Samuel Chernoff, Grade 12, Maurice J. McDonough High School, Principal: Darnell Russell
• Toluwanimi Dapo-Adeyemo, Grade 12, North Point High School, Principal: Daniel Kaple
• Andrea Kornegay, alternate, Grade 12, St. Charles High School, Principal: Richard Conley
• Students
• Kieron Best, Grade 12, Academic Achievement, Westlake High School, Principal: Diane Roberts
• Maurice White, Jr., Grade 8, Academic Achievement, Theodore G. Davis Middle School, Principal: Robert Griffiths
• Marrkan Girum, Grade 4, Academic Achievement, Billingsley Elementary School, Principal: Sabrina Robinson Taylor
• Savanna Proctor, Grade 5, Personal Responsibility, Indian Head Elementary School, Principal: Shane Blandford
• Brynn Boyden, Grade 5, Career Readiness, Mt. Hope/Nanjemoy Elementary School, Principal: Michael Hoffman
• Staff 
• Adano Murray, special education instructional assistant, Westlake
• Barry Myles, special education teacher, Davis
• Michele Bell, special education teacher, Billingsley 
• Sarah Fleck, reading resource teacher, Indian Head
• Carllisa Jordan, elementary instructional assistant, Mt. Hope/Nanjemoy
• Chelsea Pogar, infant and toddler teacher, F.B. Gwynn Educational Center, Principal: Daphne Burns

Public forum – 6 p.m. - Preregistered speakers only (names spelled to the best of my ability)

• Darlene Persons - parent.  Disappointed with closing of her child school due (Picco) to COVID. Mask mandates are negatively affecting kids.  Defy MSDE.
• Melissa Carpenter - Teacher school counselors needed.  Need more of them and less Chief of Schools.
• Crystal Kipjesky - Parent.  Against mask mandates.  kids are suffering emotionally.  kids are being told if they dont wear their mask they could kill someone.  
• Karen Cross - Parent.  testing for athletics and do not need to be tested over and over and over.  No where else in the county does this happen.  Virtual school is a failure.  child should not have to prove he is healthy to participate.  Made to wear a mask during gym.  Stop punishing our children.
• Joshua Torres - against mask  mandates, contact tracing is a waste of time.  remove masks and stop false testing.
• Ms. Brown - enough is enough.  kids have been enough and the children are emotionally suffering.  Charles County has no mask mandates so why are the schools still required. Masks are ineffective and political.
• Sylvia Acevado - Helpful Hints.  Parent Liaison.  Proper clothing for the weather.  vaccinations current. Emergency contact information should be up to date.
• Athena Jones - Mom.  Against mask mandates.  Long term negative affects.  Son doesnt even take his mask off to eat lunch at school because he doesnt want anyone to see his face.  Emotional and mental damage.  Insecure. 
• Katie Stickel - Schools used to be the heart of the community.  They said children werent at risks and now they are wearing masks.  We have to start repairing the damage that is done and stop wearing the mask.  Unmask the kids.
• Helena Kirby - Parent - Unmask the kids.  Disconnect from board and family unit.  Quarantines on families and working parents.  Tired of being ostracized from schools.  Used to be involved and now cant even go in.  All due to fear and unattainable metrics.  decline in rigor and school moral.  Emotional damage and negative student behavior and teacher resignations.

Action items

• Minutes

Motion to approve the Minutes for 1/11/22 Board Meeting by Wilson; Second by Abell

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

Motion to approve the Minutes for 1/24/22 Work Session by Abell; Second by Wilson

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

• Personnel

Motion to approve Personnel by Abell; Second by Brown

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

• FY 2023 operating budget

Motion to approve the FY 2023 Operating Budget by Abell; Second by Brown

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

 Adjournment